30 years in the future...

"Are you ready to go?"

"If your child would hold still, I would be."

The irritation in her voice was prominent as Rayhel struggled with her child to get him ready to leave the house. The agitated sentence had hardly left her mouth before she felt Tavus' hand on her shoulder. She got to her feet, letting go of the small turian she'd been dressing. Tavus brought himself close to her, a sympathetic look in his eyes.

"Have I told you you're beautiful today?" Rayhel closed her eyes, letting out a short breath. Tavus made her look back up at him, her eyes opening reluctantly. "Go get ready. I'll take care of him."

"Thank you."

"Take your time, ok?"

Rayhel nodded before she turned away from her bondmate. She let out a long sigh, listening to him talk to their son before she reached their bedroom. She felt herself slipping from control, tears threatening her eyes as she heard her Omni tool beep at her. She lifted her arm, looking down to see her mother's face.

"Hi." Rayhel said.

"Are you coming?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"We weren't sure if you would be."

"Mom… That's ridiculous."

"Are you ok?"

Rayhel had to look away from her mother's holo image, biting back the tears again. She cleared her throat after a moment, nodding.

"As ok as you'd expect me to be."

"I know it's hard…"

"I can't imagine what it feels like for you." Rayhel said, looking back to her mother.

It was Natasha's turn to look away from her, a small sigh escaping her. It broke Rayhel's heart to see her mother like this. It was something she'd never seen in the past. Natasha wiped her tears quickly, shaking her head.

"He wouldn't want us to sit and cry over him."

"Can I ask you something?" Rayhel said hesitantly.

"What?"

"Does it hurt like it did the first time?"

Natasha looked back to her daughter, shaking her head.

"No. It's much deeper."

"I can't imagine losing two mates, let alone one…"

"Let's not dwell on this." Natasha replied.

Rayhel admired her mother, but she hated how well she could push someone away. It was something she'd inherited from her, and though it served her well in the past, she knew it made her hard to deal with. Natasha wouldn't make this healing process easy, and she wouldn't let anyone help her through it. Rayhel understood it. Everyone did. For the past thirty years her parents had been inseparable. Rightfully, they should be. Now Garrus was gone and Natasha was all alone.

"I should go." Rayhel said after swallowing the lump in her throat.

"I'll see you there."

"I love you."

"I love you too baby."

The holo image of Natasha cleared from Rayhel's tool. She let out a sigh as she walked to the small bathroom in her room. She looked at herself in the mirror, her white clan markings shining from the tears on her plated face. She let her eyes fall down to the counter in front of her before she placed her hands on it, leaning slightly. She closed her eyes tightly, feeling her body shake as her emotions began to spill over. She couldn't shake the empty feeling in her chest. She didn't want to even think about how everyone else was handling the news, shoving the thoughts of everyone out of her head, instead thinking of how their plan for a memorial would work. She heard a footstep behind her before feeling arms wrap around her waist. She was grateful for Tavus' patience with her. He'd been by her side for anything she needed for the past week that they'd know about her father's death.

"Do you need anything?" he asked gently.

Rayhel turned to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He held her tightly for a few silent moments before she looked up to him and gave him a small kiss.

"I just don't know how to make peace with this…"

"You have to let yourself grieve before you can make peace with it."

"Anytime I needed anything it was him I turned to… Now I have to figure it out on my own."

Rayhel idly wished her father's immunity to Corpalis Syndrome had lasted. It was something she'd wished for a long time, even before the doctors had confirmed what his illness was. She often scolded herself for her own immunity. Being half human, she had zero risk of developing the disease. She shook her head at herself before Tavus swiped his thumb under her eye, wiping away the tears gently. He shook his head at her.

"You're not alone. I may not have answers, but you're never alone."

Rayhel gave him a soft smile through her tears.

"I love you."

He smiled in return, leaning forward to press his lips against hers. A small comfort ran through her as she stood in his arms.

"Mommy?"

Rayhel opened her eyes to look down at her son, kneeling down with as big of a smile as she could muster.

"Yes?"

"Don't be sad anymore." he said, pointing to her tears.

Rayhel opened her arms, gesturing for him to hug her.

"Come here baby." He gave her a tight squeeze until she let him go, straightening herself up. She looked over at Tavus. "We should go."

It was going to be a long day, Rayhel could tell, and it was only 1100.

Rayhel made no hesitations to hug her mother once they landed their shuttle at the docks on Palaven. Her mother's sadness was lifted at the sight of her grandchild, who hugged her excitedly. Calpurnia gave Rayhel a hug as well, patting her on the back for comfort.

"Drinks on me after this, alright?"

Rayhel let out a short laugh, nodding.

"Will you ever be too old to party?"

"Absolutely not."

It didn't take long for others to show up at the dock, all of them gathered and waiting for the Normandy to arrive. Nostalgia fell over everyone on the docks as they watched it land, memories flying to the forefront of their minds from years past.

The ship let out a soft hum after being set down so that it's passengers could dock on Palaven. Rayhel smiled at the sight of Joker, who seemed glad to be off the ship.

"How was the trip?" Natasha asked after hugging him.

"She flies like she always has. Can't say the same for me though." Joker said with a slight laugh. "Everyone's here, huh?"

"Most." Natasha said with a nod, looking back at the people who had gathered in her time of need.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too."

"Shall we?"

"Let's do it."

Rayhel could tell it was hard for her mother to walk into the airlock of the Normandy. A sigh sounded throughout the group of past crewmembers as they all walked through the CIC. Rayhel didn't remember much about the ship, but she knew this was where the first several years of her life were spent. Once they reached the elevator, an engineer approached Natasha, holding out a small silver plate. Natasha gave him a sad smile before looking down at it. She clutched it tightly before they continued down to the lower levels of the ship. It was very silent among the small crowd, except for the engine's low hum that carried throughout the Normandy.

Rayhel didn't recognize most of the names on the memorial wall, except Commander Shepard. Still, even the one name of a man she never knew caused her the same sorrow as the rest of the group as they looked at all of the names they knew. For a while, they stood in silence, all of them surely thinking of their own memories of Garrus, or even of the past crewmembers that had been up on the wall for years. Rayhel had been against the idea of putting her father's name on the wall, and she refused to be the one to do it. She knew it was a job for her mother, and it was no one else's right to do so, unless her mother had been dead. Rayhel shook the thought after glancing over at her mother. At least she knew how to deal with the loss of a bondmate while everyone watched her.

Rayhel was pulled from the train of thought as her mother stepped forward, finally ready to put the name plate on the wall. She did so slowly, whispering to herself as her hands pressed against the wall. Rayhel inched closer to Tavus, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Natasha returned to her place beside her daughter as everyone took in the sight of the new addition to the wall. Rayhel looked over to her mother, who looked back to her.

"What did you say?" she asked quietly, keeping her voice low enough for only her mother to hear.

"I said 'I love you.'"

Rayhel heard the quiver in her mother's voice as she looked away. Her heart ached, making her lay her head on Tavus' shoulder. She wasn't completely up for chatting about the good old times with the rest of them, but she knew her parents' friends wanted to visit with her. They'd known her since she was a kid and now she had one of her own. She was grateful Wrex was able to show up, though he was looking quiet rugged himself.

"How's your little pyjak?" he asked.

"He's good." Rayhel said, looking down at her son.

"I'm no pyjak!" he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm a turian!"

"Are you sure?" Wrex asked, kneeling down to get closer to the kid. "Turians are big and scary. I could eat you in one bite."

"No you couldn't!"

"Oh yeah?"

"My Dad would kick your ass."

Rayhel let out a surprised laugh, looking over at Tavus. He shrugged.

"I've been trying to keep the language to a minimum, but his mind… It's like a sponge."

Calpurnia let out a laugh nearby.

"Have I mentioned how glad I am that my kid is an adult now?"

"I second that." Caeus replied.

"Now I just need to go back about forty years."

"Good times."

"We had a couple of good times, you and me."

"We still do."

Rayhel looked back to Wrex and her son, who growled challengingly at the krogan.

"You're doomed, kid." Wrex said, patting the small turian on the shoulder before standing up again. Rayhel gave him a smile. "How's spectre life?"

"It's… Uneventful at the moment."

"She and I both told the council we'd be out of reach for a few weeks." Tavus explained. "They understood."

"I still can't wrap my mind around you having clan markings. Last time I saw you was the day you got them."

"That was quiet a few years ago."

"Too many." Wrex groaned.

"You have some years left in you." Rayhel said, though she was unsure if she was reassuring him or herself.

"Is it ironic to you that you ended up with Nihlus' markings?"

Rayhel shrugged at him.

"They aren't his markings. They're Tavus' markings. I'm a Vakarian."

"It's a shame that Garrus is gone. You remind me of him quiet a bit."

"Thank you, Wrex." Rayhel said, feeling her throat tighten as she bit back her tears once again.

"You made him proud."

She just gave him a small smile. She was sure if she tried to speak she'd break down. He gave her a clap on the shoulder before turning away from her, mingling with the rest of the group. Tavus looked over at her, trying to read her emotions.

"You alright?"

"Yeah." she said with a strained voice.

"Want to go?"

"No. We should stay longer. We don't get to see them much."

"Do you need anything from me?"

She gave him a small smile, shaking her head.

"I'm ok."

It was difficult to get back into the swing of life after everyone parted ways again. Time dragged by, although Rayhel felt herself coming to terms with her father's death. It was only a few weeks after that Rayhel found she was pregnant again, which only helped her focus on her everyday life, rather than her past with her father. After finding they'd be having another child, Rayhel and Tavus resigned as spectres, both of them more than happy to settle down with the family they had to enjoy the years raising their kids. Other crewmembers of the Normandy followed her Dad in death shortly after, but it was a while before her mother passed.

Rayhel and Tavus were happy together, and it wasn't about to change, even as their kids got older, both of them joining the turian military when they were old enough. It was a good life, and they would continue to enjoy it together, until it was their time to pass.

Look out for part three!

Thanks guys!