Faith

A post-ME3 fic. (Destroy ending recommended.)

This is the first Mass Effect fanfic that I've completed and been brave enough to post. I haven't written anything since I wrote my AC fic, A Day In May, so if this sucks I apologise, I'm a little out of practise. Hope you enjoy. This is just some cute Shenko love.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to Bioware.

He was pacing up and down the waiting area, stopping every now and then to admire the beautiful view from the spotless floor to ceiling windows of Huerta Memorial Hospital. He ran a hand through his messy short dark hair, and a sigh emitted from his lips. The waiting was killing him.

"Kaidan, please, for the love of the Goddess, come and sit down," urged Liara, who was sat on one of the waiting room chairs.

The tired, anxious Major stopped in his tracks and glanced over at his Asari crewmate and friend. "I... I just can't."

And then he continued his pacing.

Liara smiled a reassuring half-smile at him, even though he didn't notice. She knew how difficult it was for him, not knowing what was going on, not being able to just burst through those doors and hold the love of his life. But she knew Shepard was strong. She would hold on and make it, not only for him but for everyone else who loved her. And Amelia Shepard was, Liara knew, an incredibly loved woman.

Next to Liara sat a quiet and patient Tali, who was reading an article about drive cores on one of the waiting room datapads, scrolling through the pages with one finger on her only available hand. Garrus was sat next to her holding the other. The quarian glanced over at her turian bondmate, tilting her head affectionately. Garrus smiled warmly at her in return.

There they were. The three that had been with Shepard since the very beginning. Her three closest friends, the three she trusted implicitly with her life. Liara wondered if Shepard knew that they were all out here waiting for her, praying for her to pull through.

Kaidan stopped in his tracks again, this time in front of the Asari, and he looked distraught. "Liara, I... what if she doesn't make it?"

At once Liara stood up, and took both his hands in hers. They made eye contact, and she could see he was making a valiant effort to fight back tears. "Kaidan, I know this is hard. I do understand, more than you realise. That woman lying in there," She pointed over to the massive metal doors that protected the medical quarters on the other end of the hospital, "Is the truest friend I have ever had." Now Liara was having trouble fighting back tears. She felt a line of moisture slide down her cheek. Kaidan broke the eye contact and glanced down at the floor, a painful lump forming in his throat as he processed Liara's words in his mind.

"I lost my faith in the Galaxy when she died the first time," he whispered, "I can't lose her again. I can't go through that again."

Liara reached a hand out to his chin, and cocked his head up so they were face to face once more. "You need to keep the faith," she spoke firmly, though the tears running down her face gave her away in an instant, Kaidan nodded, unable to speak. Liara signalled to the chairs behind her. "Come on, let's sit down. They'll surely be out to give us some news soon." The Major didn't say a word, but let Liara lead him back by a hand to the chairs, and they sat down together. No more words were spoken between them.

They waited for an hour. An hour, Kaidan silently noted, which felt like an eternity. Aside from some quiet small talk between Tali and Liara, nothing had been said. They were all too on edge to speak.

The doors to the medical quarters opened, and out strolled a doctor. She was heading in their direction, but Kaidan was in too much of a daze to even notice at first.

"Major Alenko?" The doctor spoke as she reached the group.

Kaidan snapped out of his reverie at once, and shot up out of his seat urgently. "Dr Chakwas, what's happening? Is Amelia alright?"

She tried to hide it, but Dr Chakwas couldn't help but smile broadly. "The Commander is doing just fine. The procedure was successful."

In one move Kaidan dropped to his knees on the tiled floor, hands covering his face as he let out dry, strangled sobs. He stood up again momentarily, grabbing Dr Chakwas' hand to shake it. "Thank you, thank you," he said, voice cracking through his emotion.

Liara gasped, reaching over to pull Tali into a massive hug as they both wept, relieved.

"I knew she would, she's a tough son of a bitch," Garrus said, grinning, as he joined Tali and Liara's embrace.

"Would you like to see her, Major?" Dr Chakwas asked. Then she addressed the rest of their group. "I hope the three of you don't mind waiting here just for a few minutes? You can go in one at a time once Kaidan's seen her. I don't recommend overexciting her too much." She smiled genuinely.

"Of course," Liara spoke for all of them, as she brushed fresh tears from her beaming face.

"Okay, well if you'd like to follow me," Dr Chakwas said to Kaidan, and the two of them walked down the hallway and through to the Medical Quarters.

"There were a few minor issues with her heart rate once she awoke from the anaesthetic, but it just turned out to be problems with our equipment. Minor power fluctuation. Ever since that Reaper attack..." Dr Chakwas' voice trailed off, and Kaidan glanced at her knowingly.

"It's happening everywhere. We almost got stuck in the elevator on our way up here yesterday. It's madness. It's been a year since the Reaper attack, you would've thought they'd fixed all the issues by now."

Dr Chakwas nodded, as they continued to walk, stopping outside the last room on the left hand side. They exchanged a grin, and then Dr Chakwas led Kaidan into the room. Kaidan's eyes scanned the room for a moment and then he found her. His love. There was Shepard. His Shepard. Tired and pale but beaming with pride, clutching a small bundle tight to her chest. Her eyes met Kaidan's, and her smile grew wide.

"Kaidan," Shepard spoke in a weak, raspy voice, and she tilted the bundle in her arms slightly forward so that it was in Kaidan's viewing range. "We have a daughter."

The Major had no words, but the warm, genuine smile plastered across his face spoke for him. He took a step forward, and then another, until he found himself standing beside Shepard's bed. He reached out a tentative hand to stroke his love's strands of sweaty chestnut brown hair away from her face, and he let his hand linger there, rubbing her forehead gently with his thumb as the couple gazed at each other lovingly.

Then he turned his attention to that tiny wrapped up bundle in his girlfriend's arms. He watched the baby's chest rise and fall steadily as she breathed. He saw her precious tiny hands, her flawless porcelain face, her beautiful head of jet black hair. She was perfection.

"I'm so proud of you both," he spoke as he turned to face Shepard again, leaning forward to gently plant a kiss on her lips.

"I'll give the two of you some time alone," came the voice of a smiling Dr Chakwas from across the room, "If you need anything, I'll just be outside. Congratulations, Commander, Major." And then she was gone, the door sliding shut behind her.

"You've got three certain people outside in the waiting room dying to see you, by the way," Kaidan remarked to his love as he admired his newborn daughter, gently stroking the tiny tuft of dark hair on her head.

"What? Who's here?" Shepard asked, her voice filled with genuine shock.

"Liara, Tali and Garrus. They've been out there with me waiting for the past fifteen hours. We were all so worried about you, baby," Kaidan's eyes met Shepard's, and the Major felt the grip he'd been holding on his emotions begin to slip once again. "It brought back all the memories of a year ago... when we pulled you out of that wreckage after the Reaper attack..."

Shepard swallowed hard, a single tear escaping to slide down her pale cheek. And then in one swift moment, she forced a cough and swiped under her eye. Amelia Shepard doesn't do crying.

"Come on, let's bring them in," she said, letting the feeling of joy and excitement of the moment wash over her to overwrite the raw emotion of such bad memories, "Time to show them what happens when you mix a bottle of wine, no birth control and a celebration to mark defeating the Reapers."

They both laughed.

"Wait, wait," Kaidan said, a thought suddenly occurring to him, "We need to give her a name."

Shepard raised her eyebrows, nodding in agreement. "True. But I've got no ideas. You got any, Major Alenko?" She grinned cheekily at him.

"Well, Commander Shepard, let's give me a moment to think about this one," he retorted, grinning back at her. Then his line of sight moved back to the tiny sleeping bundle. Kaidan knew that this, admittedly, was something they should have considered. But they'd simply never had time to think about it. Shepard had spent her entire pregnancy suffering, and her and Kaidan often never knew what would be thrown at them from one day to the next. Dr Chakwas had warned her at the start of all this that the batterings and beatings she'd taken during her career, and especially the two years she'd spent as a project on a Cerberus operating table, meant that Shepard shouldn't have even been able to conceive naturally. For nine months it was almost as though Shepard's body was constantly trying to reject the child. But she battled through, as she always did, and that made Kaidan especially proud of her.

Suddenly, almost like a light bulb coming to life above his head, he had an idea.

"Let's call her Faith."

"Faith, huh?" Shepard contemplated the idea for a moment, running her thumb along the bottom of her chin as she thought about it. "You know, I like it. Faith Shepard-Alenko."

"Our daughter, just as perfect and beautiful as her mother," Kaidan gently grasped Shepard's hand and moved it up to his mouth, planting a kiss, "I'm so grateful. My perfect little family."

As he released her hand, Shepard reached to grab the collar of his shirt and pulled him towards her, pressing her lips to his and initiating a long, passionate kiss. "I love you Kaidan," she breathed as he began to pull away.

"I love you too, Amelia. Always."

"Now, shall we start showing her off?"