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The Normandy floated peacefully in space, the crew ready to face another day of chasing Reapers and recruiting new people in their struggle to free the galaxy from the machine invaders. Commander Jane Shepard dragged herself out of bed, grabbed her alliance issued uniform and left her private chambers after dressing up. While she waited for the elevator to arrive, she combed her disheveled red hair, making sure that every strand of hair was in place and within alliance regulations.
The elevator eventually arrived after a long moment, but it took an even longer time to arrive at the command deck. How come that we have one of the fastest ship in the fleet, but the slowest elevator in the entire galaxy? Thought Shepard.
When the elevator finally came to a stop on the right floor, she exited it with a frustrated sigh, relieved to be out of there.
“Commander!” said one of her crew member. The middle-aged man saluted her and went back to his designated station.
“What the hell is this?” asked Shepard. On her way to speak with Joker on the bridge, she stumbled upon something that strangely resembled a Christmas tree. She wondered how and when it came on her ship, but she had a strong feeling about who it was who brought it onboard.
“It's a Christmas tree, Ma'am,” answered specialist Traynor; a tiny smile crept to the corners of her mouth as she glanced at the small decorated tree. “I think that it is a great idea to have it onboard. It brings warmth to the ship, with all the green, blue and red lights.”
Shepard took the time to look at the fake tree, the glow of the lights made her remember the last Christmas she had spent on Earth, many years ago. She shook her head, trying to chase the memory away, now wasn't the time to bring all those painful souvenirs back.
Shepard made her way to the cockpit, and stopped behind the pilot's seat, tapping Joker on the shoulder with one finger. The chair slowly turned around to face her.
“How's it going Commander?” he asked, a smirk plastered on his lips.
“What's with the tree back there?” Shepard asked, thrusting a thumb behind her, in the direction of the tree.
“We thought it could be a good idea to take the time to celebrate the Holidays with you Commander,” he said, looking past Jane's shoulders.
“Are you kidding me? With all that's going on with the Reapers, do you really think that we have time to celebrate anything right now?” said Shepard, her tone cold and harsh.
“That's precisely why we want to throw a party Commander. It might be the last chance we have at celebrating.”
Shepard understood why her crew,-the human ones at least-, wanted to celebrate the Holidays, but she wasn't sure if it was a good idea. They were supposed to assemble a fleet powerful enough to beat the Reapers, not exchange gifts and eat turkey in the comfort of the ship.
After checking in with Joker, Shepard had decided to make her usual round around the ship, making sure that everything was in working condition. She occasionally stopped to talk with the engineers and her teammates.
“Merry Christmas Commander!” said Garrus without looking away from his work. He was tinkering with the Normandy's weapons, testing the new upgrades he had just installed moments ago. “I heard that it's an important day for humans.”
“It is! During Christmas, our families and friends come together to celebrate and exchange gifts,” said Jane. She wondered if Joker was trying to convince the team to throw a party onboard the Normandy.
“Why do you want to know about that Garrus?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest, staring at the tall Turian. Garrus shrugged and made a dismissive motion with his hand.
“I'm just interested in learning more about human culture!” he said. He clasped his hands behind his back, hiding something from Shepard's view.
“Right! Did you talk to Joker recently?” Shepard walked closer to Garrus, trying to peek at what he was concealing behind him.
The Turian retreated toward a gun battery, trying his best not to let Shepard see the object in his hands. He looked around him, looking for a good reason to excuse himself from the interrogation.
“Joker! No, I didn't see or talk to him today,” he said rapidly. “I just remembered, Liara was looking for you! She said it was urgent.”
Shepard stared at him for a long moment, not buying one word he had said. She knew that Joker was behind this; after all, he was the one who wanted a party in the first place. She sighed and left the room, leaving a relieved Garrus alone in the battery room.
Shepard knocked on Liara's door three times and waited. She heard the asari cursing from the other side, followed by a big thump noise. Did something just fell to the ground?
“Is everything all right in there?” asked a concerned Shepard. More sounds came from the other side of the door; it sounded like Liara was now dragging something heavy on the floor. “Hey, you better not be scratching the floor with that thing Liara!"
“Goddess, Shepard! Uhm...I'll be with you in a minute!” said Liara.
Moments later, the door wooshed open, a blushing Liara waiting on the other side. She waved for the Commander to enter, trying not to look guilty.
“See, not a scratch on your precious floor!” teased the asari when she reached Shepard's side, waving a hand toward the ground.
The human pretended to study the tiles for a moment, scratching her chin with one finger as she reached a decision.
“It's a bit dirty!” she said, poking the asari with her elbow, a smile on her lips.
“I didn't have the time to clean recently. I wonder whose fault this is?” Liara answered, giving Shepard a quick kiss on the cheek. “But, I don't think you came to see me just to talk about maintenance, am I wrong?”
“I thought you asked to see me?” said Shepard, confused. Or did Garrus made that up so I would leave him alone with whatever he was hiding from me?
“I didn't ask to see you. But, now that you're here, I'm not gonna complain about it!” Liara moved closer to Shepard; she traced a line on the Commander's neck with one finger.
“So, you mind telling me what it was you were doing before I got here?” Jane asked. She wasn't sure yet if Liara was also involved in Joker's plans. She was apparently trying to hide something from her, judging by the way she had reacted when Shepard waited outside.
“Oh, that's nothing! Just a new project of mine,” said Liara, slightly shaking her head.
“Liara!” Shepard stared hard at Liara, making the asari uncomfortable.
“Okay, I give up! Joker and other humans onboard the ship want to throw a party for something called, Christmas,” confessed Liara, confirming what Jane already suspected. Feeling guilty, her eyes shifted from Shepard to look at the floor.
It was impressive that Joker had convinced even the non-human crew members, to participate in the holidays. The man was persistent; she had to give him that.
“Joker said that it would be good for the morale of the crew.” Liara took Shepard by the shoulders. “You need to relax as well. We can take a break from fighting the Reapers for at least one day, Shepard.”
She had a point; it would be good for everyone to take a breather, to regroup and refresh their minds. It wasn't healthy for anyone to fight for so long without a break.
“Did you have any plans?”
A few hours later, everyone assembled in the mess hall. Doctor Chakwas had brought her bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy that she had kept in reserve for such occasions. Liara had prepared an assortment of delicious looking meat; the food plates were steaming in the middle of the table. Others had brought cheese, beer, and stuffing made out of mushrooms. Shepard had no idea where Joker had found the enormous turkey, but it sure as hell looked delightful.
The mood in the room was pleasant; everyone had smiles on their faces as they chatted with each other. Shepard was sitting next to Liara, taking a sip of wine as she watched her crew. Yes, she had been against the idea of partying when there was a galaxy-wide invasion, but as she watched them laugh, she realized how wrong she had been.
Joker stood up, a glass filled with wine in his hand. He knocked on his glass three times with a spoon, asking for attention. When everybody in the room stopped talking and looked at him, he raised his glass in the air.
“Before we start eating, I would like to propose a toast to the Commander,” everyone looked at Shepard, raising their glasses as well, waiting for Joker to continue his speech.
“Since I can't keep my arm up for too long without dislodging it, I'll make this quick!” they all laughed.
“Commander, we all know how hard this year had been on everyone, but we wanted to say thank you for letting us throw a party. Thank you for all you have done for everyone onboard this ship, we are all grateful for all the goods you did and still do. We can't predict what will happen tomorrow, but what I know for a fact, we will kick those Reapers right in the exhaust port! To Shepard!”
“To Shepard!” they all repeated in unison before taking a sip of their drink. Shepard felt a pleasant feeling grow inside her, grateful for the support they all gave her.
“I couldn't do it without all of you guys. It's me who should say thank you,” she said.
“I like speeches as much as the next guy, but there's a whole the size of a Thresher Maw in my stomach, so can we eat now?” asked Wrex.
“Yes, let's eat!” laughed Shepard.
The conversations grew louder again as they all filled their plates with food. Chakwas opened the bottle of Brandy and began filling the cups. Jane took a big piece of turkey, filling the rest of her plate with stuffing and Swiss cheese. The turkey was prepared to perfection; the roasted meat left a pleasant taste in her mouth. They all drank, ate and laughed together, enjoying this night of peace and hope.
“That food you made is very good Liara! What is it?” asked Shepard, putting another piece of the delicious, exotic meat in her mouth.
“It's from an animal that resides in the wilder regions on Thessia,” said Liara, taking another sip of her drink.
Joker got up from his seat, and he headed for a panel in the wall next to the table. He inserted an old disc in the terminal, and an old version of Jingle Bells came out of the speakers. The song brought back some old memories in Jane's mind.
A few hours later, most of her friends had passed out from drinking and the others who weren't as drunk, had retired to their quarters for a good night of sleep. Shepard went back to her private room, she felt happy and exhausted at the same time. Using her omni-tool, she checked for messages from the alliance high command. There was only one from Admiral Hackett wishing her happy holidays. Jane smiled as she read the message.
She took off her alliance clothes, revealing a pink bra and panties. She moved to the mirror beside the bed, her reflection staring back at her. She passed two fingers over the most recent injury she had received during her battle with Kai Leng. His sword had pierced through her armor, leaving a large gash on her left arm. Doctor Chakwas had stitched shut the wound, but even with all the omni-gel she applied, it still wasn't fully healed, making it hard to move her arm.
Jane's omni-tool chimed on the desk where she had left it. She moved to see who was trying to get in touch with her. A message icon blinked on the top left corner of the screen. Shepard opened it, the message was from Liara, asking if she could come to the Commander's room. Shepard wrote yes and sent it to her asari lover.
It took only seconds for Liara to arrive at her door; she knocked gently on its metallic frame. Shepard unlocked it and motioned at Liara to enter.
“Hey!” she said, grabbing the asari by the waist. The kissed for a long moment, arms tangled together. Jane chuckled as she felt a hand grab and squeeze her butt.
Liara took Shepard in her arms and moved her to the bed, dropping the human on it. The asari sat next to the Commander, her fingers running along the firm stomach of her partner. Shepard pulled Liara's face closer to hers and kissed her. They stayed like this for a long moment, both appreciating the intimacy they shared together.
“I have something for you, Shepard,” said Liara, getting up from the bed. She moved out of Jane's line of sight and reappeared a few seconds later with something in her hands. She sat again next to Shepard and gave the gift to her.
“Wow, you made a small statue of me,” said Shepard as she examined the sculpture, turning it around in her hands.
“It's not just a statue, but also a small archive of your adventures and accomplishments,” explained Liara. She pressed a small button at the base next to the feet of the statuette; a small lid opened at the bottom and projected a hologram on the wall. The texts were mementos of all the exploits Shepard had accomplished during her time as a specter.
“That's awesome Liara! But you forgot to mention one thing.” Shepard looked at the confused asari for a long moment before continuing. “You forgot to mention that I couldn't have done all this without you.” Liara smiled and bent down to kiss the human again.
They laid on their back, watching the stars through the viewport in the ceiling. Their hands locked together, the atmosphere in the room was pleasant and calm, which was something rare for them.
“Do you know the real reason why I usually hate Christmas?” Shepard asked. Liara shook her head.
“No.”
“The last Christmas I celebrated was with my family back on Earth, fifteen years ago. We had installed a beautiful tree in the living room. There were so many gifts at the bottom of the tree; I was so excited to see what was in the boxes.” Shepard's eyes watered as she remembered the faces of her parents. Emotions took hold of her, and she found herself unable to speak, her words caught in her throat. Liara hugged her tighter, caressing Jane's short red hair.
“My parents...They were so happy! But that was the last night I ever saw them. The next morning, a bunch of thieves ransacked our home and shot my parents. I found their corpses lying on the kitchen floor.” tears ran down her cheeks. She thought she had buried that traumatizing event deep in her subconscious.
They stood there silently for a long moment. Liara's hand fondled with Shepard's hair, turning the red locks of hair between her fingers while Shepard was regaining her composure.
“I'm sorry that happened to you Shepard!” whispered the asari. She felt terrible for having pressured Jane to participate in the party.
“But, the party you guys, made was the best one I had since the incident. So thank you!” Shepard kissed Liara on the cheek again.
They laid on their backs, gazing into the void of space through the viewport. Shepard felt Liara's head on her shoulder and saw that the asari had closed her eyes. The warmth of her lover's head on her bare shoulder made Shepard feel at peace. Her eyes went back to the window, and she let her mind wander as she gazed at the stars outside. Jane didn't know what the next day held for her, or whatever future awaited her, but she hoped that she would live through all these challenges and come back safely to her loving asari. Her eyes felt heavy, and she felt her eyelids beginning to close as she slowly fell asleep. Whatever future she was destined to, at least, on that Christmas night, she was at peace with it.