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Liara checked her omni-tool for what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour. The Normandy was due to leave the Citadel soon and Shepard was yet to return to the ship after an afternoon of picking up supplies and speaking to dignitaries. Liara paced around aimlessly, trying to quell her worry that something bad had happened to the Commander. What if she was attacked? What if she was injured, hurt, physically incapable of returning to the ship somehow? She had known the Commander for several weeks now and knew just what strength the human woman had, but the Commander had insisted on making this trip to the Citadel alone and unarmed aside from her pistol. Despite the complete faith Liara had placed in Shepard, she couldn't deny logically that if she were cornered and attacked in force, without her usual combat gear and squad to back her up, there would be a good chance she may not survive the encounter.
Liara hadn't realised that she had left the storage room behind the medbay and was now standing in the mess hall until she was broken from her troubling thoughts by the sound of someone's footsteps coming down the staircase from the CIC. A quick scan of the area told her that there was nobody else in the mess with her aside from a few crewmen so caught up in a conversation between themselves that they hadn't yet noticed her presence.
Just as Liara was about to spin round on her heels and return to her usual room so that she wouldn't have to engage in a conversation that she didn't feel like keeping up with while her mind was occupied with worry, a familiar figure entered her line of vision, heading straight towards her private quarters.
Shepard! She's back! But something wasn't quite right. The Commander's shoulders were slumped, her head was hung low and she moved as though she was thoroughly exhausted.
Before Liara could think any better of it, she followed the Commander, catching up with her as she reached the door of the captain's cabin.
"Hello Shepard, is everything alright--"
"Send me the coordinates and I'll see what I can do." Shepard mumbled in a way that struck Liara as automatic, even rehearsed.
"I'm sorry?"
Liara's confusion seemed to bring Shepard back to her senses. The glazed expression on her face was replaced by a sheepish smile.
"Oh, hey Liara. Sorry I didn't see you there. Come in." Shepard gestured for Liara to enter which she did, shutting the door behind her so that they could have some privacy.
"I'm so glad to be back on my own ship, now hopefully I can have some peace and quiet before we head out for the next mission." Shepard said as she sat down on her bed.
Liara pulled out the desk chair Shepard kept nearby, spinning it so that she was sat facing Shepard just as she had done during her last few visits. The Commander and herself had grown particularly close in recent weeks and Liara felt incredibly grateful to be the only person on the Normandy allowed to make herself at home in the Commander's private room.
"Were people bothering you while you were out?" Liara asked, concerned that the recent increase of people suddenly recognizing the Commander now that she was a Spectre meant that she was starting to get unwanted attention from people in passing.
"Not bothering, exactly. There's just a lot of people out there with problems they believe only a Spectre can solve, and those problems tend to span across the entire galaxy." Shepard sighed.
"Is that why you greeted me by telling me to 'send you the coordinates', Commander?" Liara asked, the faintest hint of amusement creeping into her tone.
"Ugh, yeah. I'm sorry, with how many times I've had to say that today I suppose it's just become an automatic response." Shepard replied, allowing her own amusement to slip through. She was still amazed at how easy it was to let her guard down and even joke around with Liara.
"Just how many people did you agree to help?"
Shepard pulled out her omni-tool and loaded up a small galaxy map interface. "These are all the places I've been requested to go to. And that's just the places in other systems. I was longer than I'd planned to be on the Citadel because I was running from ward to ward on at least three different errands at a time. By the time I was done with one, someone else had approached me with another."
"Goddess, that is far too many people." Liara gasped. "I can understand people asking you to help out with their personal matters on the Citadel but to ask you to travel to a system in the middle of nowhere, asking you to risk your life..."
"It's just part of the job now that I'm a Spectre." Shepard shrugged. "People see me as some kind of untouchable figure of authority now rather than just a soldier. They put all their trust in me and believe I have the ability to fix their problems."
Liara couldn't deny that she had also thought of Shepard in a similar way after they had met through the Commander saving her life but now, though she still had immense belief in Shepard and her abilities to stop Saren, Liara could also see that she was still just a person. Beneath her tough exterior there was a woman with worries and doubts, as well as passions, interests and personal desires; beneath her literal armour, her body was as fragile as everyone else's, and one well placed shot could be all it takes to put an end to the Commander's life.
"Their trust is not entirely misplaced, but that does not mean you are obligated to go so far out of your way to help everyone." Liara said firmly before adding, "You may be a Spectre but right now we have a much more important task to focus on. I don't want to think about what Saren will do if he succeeds, all because an irrelevant merc at a base somewhere got lucky and managed to kill you."
Shepard knew Liara was right. "I know, it's just... I have this innate need to help everyone. If there's something I believe I can do to help someone out, I'll try my best to do it. But I do know that right now Saren is our priority, which is why I've been telling people that I'll 'see what I can do' instead of that I'll definitely get it done for them. I was hoping we could stop by some of these locations if we happen to be in the area as we continue to pursue Saren."
Liara watched as Shepard rubbed her tired eyes, a sure sign that she really needed to get some sleep. Liara considered Shepard's words and realised that as much as she didn't like the idea of the Commander risking her life on matters not even related to their mission of stopping Saren and his geth, she would have better luck gluing a broken rock back together with her biotics than convincing the Commander to change her mind. Not to mention, Shepard's willingness to help people, even those she didn't know just because it was in her nature to, was one of many reasons why Liara admired the human woman so much.
"I suppose there is no convincing you otherwise," Liara began, "but now I have a favour to ask of you too."
Shepard perked up a bit at that. "Alright, let's hear it."
"Take me with you as part of the ground team on these little detours." Liara held up her hand to cut Shepard off when she opened her mouth to protest, "I know you have been wary of letting me join you since I am not a trained combatant and you don't want to risk my life unnecessarily, but I have been risking my life during my digs for many years and my biotics have been plenty strong enough to ensure I live to see another day."
"Why do you want to come with me?" Shepard asked. There was no judgement in her words, only curiosity.
"Because as strong as the team is when you're out on the field, you often lack biotic power. I mean no disrespect to Lieutenant Alenko or Wrex, they are both strong biotics, but I have biotic skills that were honed into me by my mother when I was young that they do not. The kind of skills that can only be taught by a matriarch after hundreds of years of experience." Liara stated.
"Wrex is also hundreds of years old. He's probably been using biotics longer than you've been alive." Shepard countered, though she didn't outright refuse Liara's idea. Liara took that as a good sign.
"True, but krogan biotics rarely have the same finesse and fine control over their biotics as asari." Liara responded matter-of-factly, hoping her words didn't seem arrogant or smug.
After a moment of contemplation, Shepard nodded. "Alright, point noted. Is that the only reason?"
Liara hesitated, debating whether she should say what she was thinking of saying next. Bravery won out as she admitted, "No, actually. I have another, more personal reason for wishing to join you."
"Which is?"
"I have come to care for you greatly in the time that we have been together here on the Normandy. I know that while I am no soldier, my skills will be a valuable addition to the squad. I have a vested interest in keeping you alive because you are important to me, not just because I also want to bring down Saren. I want to help you help people, by helping to protect you while you're getting shot at."
"I mean, there's no guarantee I'm going to be shot at. I can resolve things peacefully!" Shepard exclaimed humorously, though there was also warmth and affection in her expression at the knowledge that Liara cared so much about her. Her feelings were reciprocated, but Shepard wasn't sure if Liara knew this yet. They would have to talk about it at some point.
"Please, Shepard. This is you we're talking about. You are almost always being shot at." Liara responded dryly.
"Alright, I can't promise anything but I'll think about it and take your points into consideration." Shepard concluded, "Perhaps we can try a few merc bases together, just to test that you're suitable for squad duty. I've been to a quite few already so I know the risk factor is usually pretty low compared to our more crucial missions."
Liara nodded in agreement. She knew that Shepard wasn't insulting her or her abilities, she was just concerned about the lives of the people under her command. If she sent Liara into battle without knowing whether she could actually cope, she may very well be putting Liara in unnecessary danger along with the rest of the squad, including herself.
"Thank you, Commander." Liara said, slipping back into addressing Shepard by her formal rank as she normally did while they discussed work together.
Shepard just flashed Liara a grin before yawning into her hand. "Thank God we won't be returning to the Citadel for a while. I don't think I'll be able to handle another day like this any time soon."
"I can understand. People used to approach me a lot while I was attending events with my mother. They rarely asked me to do anything for them but being constantly approached by people I did not know was not my idea of fun."
"Tell me about it," Shepard chuckled, "I forget that you come from such a renowned family because you're so independent and down to earth."
Liara couldn't help but blush slightly at the compliment. It surprised Liara how easy it was to speak about her mother with Shepard despite still being in disbelief that she was now helping Saren commit atrocities across the galaxy.
Shepard yawned again and flopped back onto her mattress, laying with only her legs falling over the edge of the bed. "Mm, comfy... Maybe sleep will finally come to me. I didn't exactly get a lot of it last night, thinking about Saren and those colonists on Feros."
"I should leave you to rest." Liara stood to leave, only to be interrupted by an incoherent mumble coming from the bed.
"No, don't go yet! I mean, uh," Shepard propped herself back up onto her elbows so that she could look at Liara again, "I mean you don't have to hurry off, I'm not kicking you out or anything. You can stay however long you want."
Liara smiled at Shepard but shook her head. "Thank you for not wanting to forcibly remove me from your room but you need sleep, you are obviously exhausted. Besides, I need to get back to my research that I started earlier."
"Oh, okay. Have fun with that." Shepard mumbled in acceptance, flopping back onto the bed once again as exhaustion won out.
This time as Liara turned to leave, Shepard didn't protest. By the time Liara had reached the door, she suspected that the Commander was already fast asleep.