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Bailie Shepard was sitting down on her couch so drunk she was seeing double which of course meant to her eyes she was surrounded by krogan.
Her brain knew there was only Wrex and Grunt however, her cybernetics and other enhancements never really allowed her to stay drunk for long and drinking with krogan was the only way she could drink this much without others staring at her and krogan were the only ones who could keep up.
The rest of the crew had passed out an hour ago and some had partnered up and gone somewhere else, even Jack and Miranda were going at it pretty loud before they too passed out.
Garrus and Tali had disappeared about two hours ago and Joker had to be carried to a bed by Bailie or risk bones breaking in his sleep.
"Shepard, you know that's ryncol right?" Wrex asked her with a chuckle.
"Yeash I know, but I'll be fine" She slurred and reached for the bottle and went to pour herself one.
Wrex snatched the bottle out of her hands and poured a drink "This is ryncol Bailie, you are not having more than one"
Ballie frowned "Three!" Ballie argued, truth was ryncol was not safe for humans but Shepard was not a normal human, something Wrex kept reminding her.
Wrex laughed and replied with "Two and that's final, I heard about those times you passed out on Aria's lap" he said looking at her.
Grunt laughed at this point "Ha"
Wrex turned his head to Grunt "Don't laugh boy we have all heard how much you like T'soni when you're sucking down shots of ryncol"
Bailie chuckles "I really need to teach you how to talk to women" her buzz already dying down.
Grunt seemed to look down and shuffle his feet but stopped when Bailie spoke again "Relax Grunt, it takes time not to make a fool out of yourself. You should have seen me when I first started chatting up girls" she explained laughing as she downed her second drink.
Wrex laughed "It really is true!" he said with a booming laugh "you are his mother"
Grunt frowned "Shepard is human, she can't be my mother and I grew in a tank not a womb"
Wrex shook his head "Who was there when the tank opened?"
"Shepard" Grunt answered.
"And who gave you your first gun?" Wrex asked as he downed another drink.
"Shepard but what does this…." Grunt started to ask.
Wrex wasn't done yet "Who was there when you made your first kill?"
Grunt answered after a pause "Shepard"
"The tank may have shown you how to fight but Bailie taught you when and why to fight" Wrex explained as he looked at Grunt "she also took part in your rite. Can't remember the last time an alien did that"
Grunt looked over at Shepard and seemed unsure, it was clear he thought the same way but didn't know if Shepard viewed their relationship the same and he didn't want to be rejected by the only mother figure he ever knew.
Bailie chuckled and put her arm around his neck "I may not have pushed you out but you're my boy" she said before she looked at the bottle on the table "now that we have that sorted out, could you get mummy a new bottle from the kitchen? No ryncol"
Grunt laughed and shook her arm off him as he stood up "Don't push it Shepard" he said as he walked to the kitchen.
Wrex watched him go "You know you will have to let him fail at times right?"
Bailie looked at Wrex "Afraid I'll turn him into a Momma's boy?"
Wrex laughed "Too late for that" he said before he leaned forward "Krogan are very different then humans Bailie, krogan females would eat him alive" he said with a chuckle.
Bailie stopped laughing "Wait! krogan do that?" Maybe she didn't understand krogan as well as she thought she did.
Wrex paused before he laughed so loud he snorted "What? Eat us after sex? Of course not, not anymore at least" he said with a chuckle.
Bailie jaw dropped "You mean they used to?"
Wrex only laughed again "Ask T'soni" knowing that's exactly what she would do anyway "but I need to know. Why are doing this? With Grunt, the genophage everything?" Wrex had stopped laughing his head was lowered "baby krogan are starting to ask questions as to why you have done any of what you have done. You even pressured the Council into giving us Virmire but I still don't know why"
Bailie leaned forward "Truth is I would have cured the genophage even if the Reapers weren't a threat because of you Wrex, you showed me the krogan could be more and deserve more."
Wrex looked at Bailie and went to say something but she cut him off "Let me finish. I have had mentors, teachers, lovers, adopted brothers and sisters but I never had a father figure. Until I met you"
Wrex seemed to be choked up a little "Shep…"
Bailie held up her hand "You have saved my life countless times…"
Wrex interrupted at that point "You have done the same"
Bailie nodded "True but never from anything I personally had shown or taught you how to do. You taught me how to fight with blunt objects like hammers and batons something that saved me in my fight with Saren, you showed me how get that mod to work right for that shotgun, you have never judged me for my past or for my dealings with Cerberus and you even convinced Joker to tell me how he feels"
Wrex wiped a single tear from his eye and before he could say anything Bailie continued.
"You ask why I have done all this and my answer is why not?" Bailie asked "If you had the chance to save a species not your own would you do it? I cured the genophage because I honestly believe it was the right thing to do and to be honest I want brothers, sisters and grandkids." Bailie said with a laugh before she noticed Grunt had yet to return.
"Let's go find this drunk son of mine, which helps prove why I adopted him. He is literally lost without me and I felt like he needed me" she said as she stood up and walked to the kitchen with Wrex close behind.
"He really is. And if it was anyone else I'd say that an alien couldn't raise a krogan but you have raised quite the warrior" Wrex said proudly "Rarhiak" he said using the Krogan word for daughter not of blood, the translation was fuzzy.
Bailie smiled and leaned into him as they both drunkenly looked for the young krogan, they found him asleep inside the cupboard with ramen noodles covering him.
Grunt had gotten distracted and wanted food but in his drunk state tried to eat ramen noodles raw and based on his current situation had passed out destroying Shepard's food cupboard by knocking down almost every shelf in there.
Bailie sighed and looked at Wrex "Could you pick him up while I'll clean this up?"
Wrex snorted in annoyance "When he wakes up with a hangover you should make him run a mile"
Bailie stopped and looked at him "Come on it's his first real night of drinking. Let's make it two, AFTER I feed him" she warned sternly.
Wrex smiled "Done" he said as he heaved the heavy young krogan over his shoulder and carried him to bed.
Wrex thought about what Bailie had said and truth be told he was touched, he wasn't sure he deserved it but he wouldn't deny it didn't make him proud. Wrex dropped Grunt into a bed and looked down at the still asleep krogan.
"You have no idea how lucky you are" he said, looking down at Grunt before he closed the door and walked back to see how Bailie was doing.
Bailie had found her other bottle and had finished it in the time he was gone.
Wrex chuckled when he saw her, he knew she still had nightmares from the Reaper War but he also knew that she only drank this much when she felt she could totally let her guard down. Around friends and more importantly family.
Gently he moved the bottle away from her grip and picked her up and slowly walked towards her bed. When he got there he frowned, Joker had passed out in the middle of the bed, leaving not a lot of room for Bailie.
Sighing Wrex gently placed Bailie on the ground and moved over to the bed and very gently lifted Joker and moved him over so that he could fit Bailie in beside him.
Nodding now satisfied with himself, Wrex then walked back to Shepard and lifted her up and placed her next to her mate or boyfriend as humans call it.
"Goodnight Rarhiak, you are home" Wrex said as he turned off the light and walked out.
Before he left he could hear Bailie mumble in her sleep a question "So do they eat you after?" she slurred sleepily.
"Sleep Bailie and I may tell you one day" He said with a chuckle.