Chapter Text
Miranda walked through the door of the spaceport terminal on Thessia. Her eyes had only scanned the area for half a second, when she saw Shepard approaching her with a smile. In another half-second, Shepard had her in a bear hug.
"Miranda!" Shepard squeezed so hard, Miranda had to laugh a little.
"Shepard. I'm happy to see you too."
Shepard stepped back and held out her right arm. A network of burn scars from the Battle of London stretched across the forearm. "Hand over the bag."
Miranda shook her head gently. "I've got it."
"That's an order."
Miranda laughed out loud. "I think those days are behind us."
Shepard got a strange look, then said, "A favor for an old friend then." She made a grasping gesture with her hand. "Come on."
A thousand moments flashed through Miranda's mind. Things Shepard had done—or sacrificed—that she could never be repaid for. She lifted the strap over her head and held the bag out.
"Okay. A favor. Commander." She punctuated this last with a wink.
"That's more like it. Lawson." Shepard smiled and tilted her head toward a hallway. "We're this way."
As they walked along the corridor side by side, Miranda took in Shepard's slight figure, her paleness, the limp she couldn't hide. But still—she was Shepard. Still strong, if happily domesticated.
"Shepard, how are you? How's life as a wife and mother?"
Shepard looked at her with a gleam in her eye, "So good, Miranda. Liara. Athena. Peace." Shepard shifted the bag and straightened her spine a little. "There were many nights I thought I'd never see days like these. I'm grateful when I wake up and grateful when I go to sleep."
"I understand. I can't wait to meet this daughter of yours. She's all Jack talks about."
"That's funny. All Jack talks about to me is you."
"Oh, I'm sure," Miranda replied with what she thought was a tone matching Shepard's sarcasm. But Shepard continued on seriously (protectively?), "You should be. She is so in love with you."
This wasn't news to Miranda, but the way Shepard said it took her breath away. For a moment all she heard was the murmur of the crowds around them, then she replied, "The feeling is mutual, I assure you."
She felt Shepard's left hand on her back. "I know." They exited the building into cool, late night air. "I'm glad you two crazy kids were able to get it together. Hell, I was half afraid to walk through that cloud of pheromones between you two that night at Anderson's apartment."
"Alright, Shepard."
"And you know I don't scare easily."
Miranda rolled her eyes, "Enough, Shepard." She heard the locks on a skycar click open.
Shepard threw the bag in the back as Miranda climbed into the passenger seat.
After they settled in, Shepard turned to Miranda before starting the car. "What's the point of any of this, of everything we went through, without love? It makes me happy that there's a universe full of people who are friends and lovers and parents and not just murderous, mindless husks crawling everywhere."
Miranda considered Shepard anew; or rather, she remembered her. Sometimes Shepard's perpetual courage and goodness made her seem simple somehow. But nothing could be further from the truth. Inside Shepard was a never-ending act of creation, a struggle to be that person, that inspirational hero that everyone turned to—to not give in to the despair of all the experiences she carried with her.
Miranda put her hand on Shepard's knee and said, "I'm grateful, too, believe me. I remember . . . how it was. Everything that happened. I love Jack, and I'll take care of her." She paused. "And I'm grateful to have you here, still, as my friend."
Shepard turned to her but seemed to respond from a distance. "You know, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be here. It was all meant to be a certain way, I guess." She started the car and looked away and over her shoulder to begin to back out of the space. "It just hurt a lot."
For a second Miranda felt sadness pouring through a door cracking open inside of Shepard. Completely unsure of how to react, she simply said, "I know."
Then just as suddenly, Shepard leaned on that door and got it closed again. "That's why I concentrate on the good things. Like the friends who are still here with me. Like you said."
They rode in silence for a few minutes. Miranda considered these moments with Shepard. Shepard letting her guard down like that, trusting her with something other than the necessary public image. It made her think of Jack, inevitably. Building trust. How long it could take. And then all she wanted was to see Jack. Hold Jack. It felt like the ride was taking forever, especially with the silence.
Shepard broke it by saying, "She's going to be so excited to see you. She has no idea." And then after a few more moments, the T'Soni Estate was looming in front of them.
Miranda blew out a slight whistle: "That is . . . impressive."
"It's kind of ridiculous, isn't it? I sometimes wonder what my parents would think. But it's where Liara grew up."
"Shepard, I'm sure your parents would be overwhelmed with pride. And that has nothing to do with this place."
Shepard made a thoughtful sound. "Thanks for saying that. I'm sure they never could've imagined how many people their baby girl would kill." Shepard sighed, "Hopefully so their granddaughter will never have to."
For a moment, Miranda wondered if she should worry about Shepard, a thought that had only occurred to her two times before: the first time she ever saw Shepard's body. And after Shepard was recovered after the Battle of London. It seemed like something inside hadn't quite healed after all.
"Come on, Shepard. Introduce me to your daughter."
Shepard perked up again, "Yes, let's go. You're going to love her."
Shepard grabbed the bag, and Miranda had no thought of objecting.
*****
One of the large doors opened, and Liara stepped outside. She moved to embrace Miranda with a tired smile. "Oh, it's good to see you, Miranda. And Jack is going to be very happy."
"Liara, it's nice to see you again too. The T'Soni Estate is as beautiful as I've heard. And I haven't even seen the best part yet."
"Yes. Well, she's asleep. But still beautiful. And there are a number of other things you may find interesting here. We can do a little exploring when Jack and Shepard are at the training facility." Liara's expression changed a little as she said this.
Miranda considered her, then said, "Yes, it would be good to get a chance to talk." There was a little charge in the air when Liara nodded at her. Then, it was gone. "Come. Meet Athena."
*****
As they approached the bedroom door, Shepard raised her finger to indicate quiet. But then she couldn't resist leaning in toward Miranda to say "Prepare yourself. You are about to see the cutest thing you have ever seen in your life."
Shepard quietly turned the knob and pushed the door open gently.
Instead of a crib, Miranda saw a bed. She approached it slowly. On the bed, 2-year-old Athena T'Soni lay asleep with her head resting heavily on Jack's right bicep. In turn, Jack's hand curled around Athena's hip, her arm holding the child close to her. A book titled "The Baby Animals of Earth" lay open just beyond Jack's hand. Jack snored quietly.
Miranda had prepared herself for something adorable, but the feelings this scene evoked were something far deeper. It was beautiful. But it also hurt a little. Maybe more than a little. She exhaled, and felt a stinging in her eyes, but she recovered herself. She turned to Shepard and Liara to say, "She's beautiful."
Shepard moved past her. She said quietly, "Jack, I'm taking Athena."
Jack stirred a little, squinting at the light from the hallway. "Shepard? It's fine. She's fine."
Shepard lifted Athena away from Jack. "She has a visitor."
Jack squinted directly at Shepard now: "What are you talking about?"
"Actually, you both have a visitor."
Jack glanced around, still trying to assess the situation. She said as if she couldn't trust her own senses, "Miranda?" Then, "Am I awake?" She rubbed her eyes.
Shepard was handing the sleeping Athena to Miranda. "Miranda, meet Athena. Athena, this is your moms' friend, Miranda. She's Jack's wife."
Jack's eyes were open now and she was pushing herself up: "Miranda?"
Miranda was cradling Athena and at the same time saying, "Yes, babe. I'm here." Athena began to open her eyes. Miranda saw a glint of familiar green. "Oh, Shepard. . . "
"I know, I know. Liara must really love my eyes."
Liara replied with a smile, "I do" as she nudged Shepard gently with her elbow.
Athena started to stir, and Miranda moved to pass her to Liara. "I don't want to wake her up. I can really meet her in the morning."
Liara pulled the baby close and kissed her forehead. "Okay. I'm taking her to her room. Good night all." She turned to leave.
The next thing Miranda knew, Jack had jumped up from the bed and was squeezing her tight. She was still confused, asking, "Seriously, am I dreaming this?"
Miranda kissed her gently. "No. I'm here. Of course, isn't that what dream Miranda would say?" She said this with a bit of a wicked grin, and finally everything was clear to Jack.
"Holy shit. You are actually here."
Shepard moved to pat each of them on the back at the same time and said, "Enjoy your reunion, you two." She turned to leave too.
Jack was leaning back to look at Miranda. "So how or why is this happening?"
"I had to come see you. I missed you."
"Yeah, I missed you too, as I've mentioned." Jack kissed her. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wasn't sure it was going to work out at first. Liara was helping, and then . . . I don't know. I wanted to surprise you."
Jack laughed. "Yeah, well, I'm fucking surprised. In the best possible way." She pulled Miranda toward the bed. "Come on. What time is it?"
"I don't even know. Late. Let me take this jacket off."
Jack sat down on the edge of the bed, smiling like crazy. "Oh, take it all off!" But then she said quietly, "No, come on. Just lie down here with me." She pulled her legs up on the bed and scooted back.
"Okay, okay." Miranda let the jacket fall, and moved to lie down next to Jack, then started to kiss her.
Jack was gently touching Miranda's face, and pulled back a little, still holding it. "I can't believe you're here. But I am so happy you are." Then, very quietly, she added, "There is some weird shit going on around here."