A/N: This fic takes place right after the end, only my events are as follows: the paragon femShep survives the final battle, the Reapers are destroyed (because that should have been the paragon option GRR!) and Harbinger is the final boss battle, and no stupid little god children. The Citadel isn't moved to Earth, nor is it the "Catalyst." Harbinger should have been the Catalyst. If you're curious about all these events, it's all in my other story called "How it Should Have Ended: The Non-nonsensical Ending." There's some LiaraxFemshep in that one too, if that interests you. It's not necessary to read that fic to have a pretty good idea what's going on in this one (because it's PWP), but there are plot inconsistencies with the game in this one, so just be aware that I'm going off my own events from "How it Should Have Ended". Also, it is important to note, Liara is pregnant. That scene was included in the other fic.

Disclaimer: Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So don't sue!

Warnings: This is a PLOT WHAT PLOT FIC and it is Mature for a reason. 'Nuff said. Okay, okay. I'll give you a hit: fluffy lemony, limey, citrusy deliciousness will be in this fic. And language. And little blue babies damnit! And some serious sap. This fic is about as sappy as it gets. And probably cheesy. Ah well, fan fics are meant to be self-indulgent silliness, right?! XD

Chapter 1

Shepard . . .

Darkness. It was all-consuming. It pressed in around her, suffocating her. There was noise . . . muffled . . . far away. It seemed like it was urgent. People sounded worried.

More darkness. Black, inky abyss, always pressing in on her, surrounding her.

Shepard . . . fight for me. Live for me. Please, Shepard . . . live.

She wanted to rest. She was just so tired. She could feel herself slipping further and further down . . . down into darkness.

Shepard . . . I love you.

Liara . . .

Beep.

Strange.

Beep.

There it was again. What was beeping . . .?

Beep.

Okay that was just annoying.

Shepard tried to open her eyes and failed miserably. At least she thought she was trying to open her eyes. Were they closed? Everything was muffled, including her brain apparently. Could a brain be muffled? With agonizing effort, a crack of light spilled through her eyelids. It hurt like a bitch so she quickly shut her eyes again with a soft moan. Then she realized she hurt. Everywhere. She moaned again. Why did she just have to go and wake up?

Wait.

Why the hell did she hurt everywhere?

She attempted to open her eyes again with a bit more success. When she did, she saw blue. And black. And a tiny bit of red. Odd. Was she outside? Was she looking at the sky? No, then why would there be black? And why was only one of her eyes opening? She could have sworn she still had two eyes. Damn. This whole waking up process was starting to get on her nerves. With a burst of energy, she opened her eye. Well that took a ludicrous amount of energy, she thought, mentally shaking her head at the ridiculousness of her current predicament.

But when the world finally came into view, the sight before her instantly made her forget her irritation.

"Liara," she whispered. Well, it was more of a croak. Her voice was in about the same shape as her left eye, so it would seem. But regardless, her lover's name felt sweet on her lips.

Liara opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a soft sob of sheer relief and subdued happiness. She took Shepard's hand and nuzzled her cheek into it.

"Hey," Shepard crooned, brushing Liara's tears away.

"Shepard," Liara breathed, then leaned forward and placed a soft, chaste kiss on Shepard's lips. It lingered for some time, suspended by love, desire, and complete relief to feel each again. Shepard melted into the kiss, surrendering herself to Liara's loving touch. For a few precious moments she forgot how much her body ached.

When Liara pulled back, Shepard moaned softly in protest. She opened her eyes again and noticed for the first time Liara was wearing her N7 hoodie. Weird. When had Liara had time to change? It was incredibly sweet, just confusing. She glanced around the room and became more confused. They weren't in the Normandy's med-bay.

"Where are we?" she asked.

Liara brushed a stray strand of hair from Shepard's forehead with a gentle hand. "We're at Huerta Memorial Hospital," she replied. She hesitated before continuing, "You've been in a coma for three weeks."

"Three weeks? We're on the Citadel? Why aren't we on Earth? What happened to Harbinger? Did it work? What happened?" She had a few million more questions, but it took too much energy to keep asking them.

"Can I show you?" Liara asked, taking Shepard's hand again.

"Of course," Shepard answered. It worried her that Liara looked hesitant about a simple mind link. What about Shepard's injuries had Liara so worried?

Liara's eyes shifted to black and images flooded Shepard's mind.

Liara, running through Harbinger's ship in a desperate search for Shepard. She finds the human, her body is broken and covered in blood. With the help of a biotic lift, she carries her commander back to the Normandy. The Normandy takes flight, narrowly escaping the ensuing explosion of Harbinger's ship. The Crucible worked. It activates the Mass Relays and sens out a signal across the universe. A deactivation code to all the Reapers in the galaxy. Reaper after Reaper collapses to the ground all across Earth, some even self-destruct. She sees herself in med-bay. She is broken in every possible way. Dr. Chakwas is frantically trying to stop all the bleeding from multiple wounds with the help of Liara and Miranda.

Shepard could feel all of Liara's worry flood into her mind, all of her fears, all her love, her terror at losing Shepard again. It consumed the human's mind, leaving her fighting for air.

"Liara . . .!" she gasped, tears spilling from her eyes.

Liara severed the link so fast it temporarily disoriented Shepard.

"I-I'm sorry!" Liara stammered.

"It's okay," Shepard assured her. After that barrage of emotion, though, her words sounded hollow in her head. She had caused Liara so much pain. "I'm sorry, too."

Liara's eyes darted up to meet Shepard's. "You're sorry? Whatever for?"

"For . . . everything!" Shepard exclaimed. "I'm sorry I haven't been there more, I'm sorry I've always put missions first, I'm sorry I got you pregnant, then the day after I dragged you into a suicide mission against Harbinger. I'm sorry for mm-!"

Liara shut her up with a forceful kiss. The kiss quickly became heated as Liara made her point loud and clear. Shepard only regretted her body was in such a sad state of affairs. When Liara pulled back, Shepard was left breathless. And exhausted.

"Don't, Shepard," Liara said, her voice quiet but firm. "Don't ever apologize to me for anything pertaining to our mission again. You saved the entire galaxy from the Reapers, you united a divided galaxy, and you broke a cycle of violence that has been plaguing this universe for more eons than we can comprehend. You have nothing for which to apologize. I would officially be the worst bondmate in the galaxy if I held anything you did against you. If I couldn't cope with it, I would have left long ago. And you were there for me! You were there for me when my mother died, you were there when I needed help finding Feron and tracking down the Shadow Broker, you were there for me from the moment you met me on Therum. The fact that you made time for our relationship at all is a miracle. Our child is a miracle. And the fact that you're alive is the biggest miracle I could . . . I could . . .," her voice broke again and tears once again spilled from her sapphire eyes.

Though her body protested, Shepard sat up and kissed Liara again. She gently encouraged Liara onto the bed and her bondmate obliged, curling up next to her. Shepard was about to wrap her arms around Liara when she noticed one of her arms was completely covered in bandages. Then she remembered how it happened and shuddered. Just thinking about it made her arm ache.

"Are you okay?" Liara asked, concern rippling over her face.

"I'm kind of a mess, aren't I?" Shepard said, carefully raising her bandaged arm to demonstrate her point.

"I've been wanting to ask how it happened, actually. The doctors said it was an electrical burn?"

"Yeah . . . I kind of put my Omni-tool blade right through Harbinger's power source . . . thing. In retrospect, it was probably a really stupid plan."

Liara laughed softly. "That 'stupid plan' is what made the Crucible work." She tenderly ran her fingertips along the bandage. "And, you know, saved the galaxy."

"Well thank the goddess for stupidity," Shepard said with a light yawn.

Liara wrapped her arms around the human and kissed her cheek. "Sleepy?" she asked, nuzzling into Shepard's neck.

"Very. What time is it?" she asked, glancing around. She didn't see much activity, just a few salarian nurses checking on patients and most of the lights were dimmed.

"Oh-two hundred," Liara replied.

Shepard thought about everything Liara had just told her when a thought dawned on her. "Have you been here all three weeks?"

Liara lifted her head to look into Shepard's eyes. She didn't say anything, just gave Shepard a look that clearly said, "Of course I have been, my silly Commander."

An endlessly fond smile curved Shepard's lips. "I love you, Liara T'Soni."