Chapter 5:

"Daddy, lemme help with your tie!"

I paused in my struggle with the piece of cloth and looked down to the little asari girl standing on a nearby chair. She was three years old but looked four, was cute as a button, and was often startlingly mature in between fits of the usual little kid hijinks. Her penchant for getting into places where she didn't belong had already earned her a commendation from C-Sec when she saved a duct rat from falling to his death. Not that the heroic action had ended the teasing long.

"Okay, Keena, I'll let you give it a shot, but be careful. It's been passed down in my family for a while now." I turned and started to kneel a little so she could reach.

It was then that she pounced, wrong her arms around my neck and hanging there, "I'll be daddy's tie! Wear me through the whole wedding! It'll be funny!"

I hugged the little scamp back as a beep sounded, indicating someone wanted to come in, "Come on in."

Garrus strolled in, dressed to the nines in his dress uniform and ready to do his job as the best man. He smiled at the scene of wholesome family goodness, "Well. Looks like the little princess is making trouble again."

Knowing too well that she wanted to present her joke, I let go of m daughter and let her hang from my neck and proclaim, "Uncle Garrus, look! I'm daddy's tie!"

"Sure you are pumpkin." Garrus came over and grabbed the girl, pulling her gently off me. She didn't fight, but did swat at his mandible as usual, "Hey! I told you to stop that."

His gentle protests only earned him hugs and the laughter of the child.

I smiled, but the back of my mind worried about Keena. She was incredibly outgoing and affectionate with people she knew, but when it came to making new friends and getting along with people she didn't know she was almost a totally different person. I supposed it comes from none of her parents being incredibly outgoing early in their lives. Her unusual appearance and abnormal origins probably didn't help her get along with other either. She was the first of what some called a 'new generation of asari'. A child born from an asari surrogate using the genetic identities of two people rather than one. Liara had been the first to successfully do it of many that tried, and while most of her race saw it as a boost to the genetic diversity they valued highly, many saw the child as unnatural. The fact that a combination of a Liara, Tali, and my genetics created a very pale asari with colorless irises, a lankier yet muscular body, and sharper facial features didn't help much. While most of the children were calling her "Ghost" because of her appearance and quiet nature, the asari children were calling her something that translated into the more garish "Ghoul".

Garrus snapped me out of my thoughts, "So, Councilor, finally getting around to officially tying the knot. It's about time you made an honest woman out of Tali."

I nodded, and went back to struggling with my tie, "Who'd have thought that ruling the council and keeping up with spectre duties would take up a lot of time?"

"Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't stay retired from active duty that long."

"Says the guy that was back in the spectres after only two months."

"You've got me there." Garrus set my daughter down and walked over to me, turning me around to ace him and grabbing the tie, "Here, allow me." He had it done almost instantly.

"Where the hell did you learn to tie a tie?" After all, humans and sometimes asari were the only races that wore them.

"Wrex showed me."

"That just creates more questions, but I can probably guess the answers." I adjusted the tightness of the miniature noose and tried to make it look less like it was meant to kill me.

"Everyone's here and seated in the hall. Kept it nice and intimate. Oly friends and their immediate families. Well, Wrex and Grunt left their kids behind of course. We'd need another hall for those."

"Wrex seem upset about the bill that was passed?"

"I get the impression he doesn't like the council regulating krogan birth rates, but Eve seems to be on board and talked some sense into him. Wrex might be thick, but he wants to avoid another disaster like the Krogan Rebellion as much as the next guy."

"I figured requiring they only use Tuchanka as the laying grounds would help balance things out a bit without being overly cruel."

Garrus shrugged, "We'll see. This generation will be fine. I dunno about the next."

"That aside, any leads on the missing husks?"

My old friends laughed and pulled my attention to Keena, who was pouting, "We should stop talking about work on your wedding day, Shepard. Someone's upset."

I bent down and gave the youngster a hug, "Sorry. Daddy deals with nervousness by working."

"There's nothing to be nervous about, Dad. Mommy loves you almost as much as I do."

I smiled even wider, "I know. Your daddy is the head of the council and your mother is leader or her whole people, so lots of eyes are on us. I just want today to be perfect."

"It will be! I've been practicing the flower girl part lots and lots!"

Garrus chuckled, "For some reason Jack got stuck cleaning up every time."

It still astounded me how much Jack, the 'psychotic biotic' liked kids. I was tempted to ask if she was dressed properly for the occasion, but honestly 'appropriate dress' for Jack was three more strips of cloth than usual. Putting that aside, I did one last check on business on my omni-tool, skimming over the intel Liara had wired me about reaper tech dealers, none of which trafficked in the husks that still weren't accounted for. The data was easy to o over thanks to organization and analysis from Miranda, who had been using her freedom from fugitive status working as my assistant.

Keena tugged on my coat, "Stop working, Daddy! Everything will be fine. Don't be nervous!"

Garrus nearly fell over laughing at her misplaced but totally earnest reassurance.

The door beeped and EDI's voice came over the comm, "Shepard it is time. Make your way to your position."

I hugged my daughter and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was time. Long overdue actually. That day wasn't the start of a new part of my life, but a tribute to it. I had a family, one that included a hell of a lot of friends and love. The walk down the aisle for both me and Tali was more symbolic than anything. Thinking back, it was a far better walk than any of the three that ghostly hallucination had offered me.

The End

A/N: Kinda short I know, maybe even a bit anti-climactic, but I admittedly wrote myself into a bit of a corner and a time skip was the best way to tie everything up in one chapter. In summary, everyone is pretty much doing what you'd expect and living happily. That includes Jacob and Joker, who weren't directly mentioned. The 'missing husks' thing is a plot hook for a sequel idea I'm pondering. Let me know if you'd like a sequel (which may or may not actually star Commander Shepard).

Considering some messages I've gotten about this chapter ending things too abruptly, I'm considering adding some more chapters in, but it might be a while. Other stuff to write and such.