Finding a Way: Mass Effect 1

Once they were finally underway, they received word from Admiral Hackett that a distress call had been picked up from their colony on Terra Nova in the adjacent Exodus cluster. The asteroid that they were mining had been set on a collision course with the colony and all attempts at communication with the team stationed on it had failed. The sixth fleet was prepared to shoot the asteroid down if needed, but the Admiral hoped that the Normandy's stealth systems would get them in to find a less violent solution.

They were still about eighteen hours out from the colony. It was 2200 and he and Garrus had finally finished tinkering with the weapon mods they had been meaning to do weeks ago. He was about to step onto the elevator in the cargo bay to head to his bunk, and found Shepard standing in front of him when the doors opened.

"Hey Kaidan," she said, a smile instantly coming to her mouth.

"Commander," he said, smiling back and joining her on the elevator.

"I was trying to find Liara. You haven't seen her, have you?"

"I haven't, but I have an idea where she might be."

The back of her hand brushed his as the elevator started moving and every fiber of his being wanted to take it and hold it. He felt her hand start to turn as if she was wanting the same thing. He let his fingers gently graze her palm as he moved to clasp his hands behind his back, trying to let her know he wanted to, but removing the temptation. He kept his eyes straight ahead, afraid of what would happen if he looked at her. God it's getting harder and harder to ignore this, he thought.

He led the way off the elevator onto the crew deck. He found Liara where he had suspected – sitting in the storage room area off the back of the med bay. He had remembered Dr. Chakwas commenting that she liked to spend time back there as a way to have some space for herself. Since she was used to solitary archeological digs, he could only imagine the close quarters of a starship and all the people it came with would be overwhelming for her.

"Liara?" Shepard asked tentatively from the doorway.

She looked up at them from where she was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall. There was no evidence that she had been crying, but a heavy sadness was there in her eyes.

"Commander. You need not worry about me. Rest assured I'm fine," she said with false bravado.

"Forgive me for calling bullshit on that," she replied, moving to sit next to her. He hesitated in the doorway and was about to back out to give them space to work through things, but Liara stopped him by asking him to stay. He went and sat on the other side of her.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't save her," Shepard said. "If there had been another way.... I didn't want to..." she floundered.

"It wasn't your fault, Shepard," Liara said softly, laying her hand over Shepard's. "You did what you had to do and, in the end, you did save her – you set her free. I don't blame you. Saren took my mother from me...not you." They leaned their heads together in support and friendship.

Kaidan felt a slight jealousy at the fact the two women were able to be open with their affections, but at the same time was happy that their friendship didn't seem to be damaged by what had happened.

"Tell us about her," he asked Liara, hoping to help her relive some of the happy memories she had of her mother.

She smiled and shared stories of growing up on Thessia, her mother getting her a dig kit and taking her to the park to 'excavate' ruins, how she got her nickname of 'Little bird' falling out of a tree she had climbed, and the time she had shown up to dinner covered in mud embarrassing her mother in front of her guests. They laughed and Liara finally did shed some tears, holding both their hands as she did.