Work Text:
2161
Two Shepards sat together at a table, the big Shepard nursing a beer and the little one an apple juice in a fancy glass, please and thank you very much. As one, their eyes followed a third Shepard as she moved with grace, elegance, and charm through the crowd in the large hall.
They'd already pushed their chairs together, and the little Shepard leaned against the big Shepard. She was old enough now to Sit Still Like a Big Girl, but she was tired, and her father knew it. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head before looking back out at his wife, the mother of his daughter.
Jane Shepard wasn't really sure why they were there. She usually wasn't sure about these event things; her mama would just braid her hair back, and then Jane would put on her nice dark blue dress and patent leather shoes. Her mama would then tell Jane that she looked lovely in her "dress blues," and the three Shepards would laugh together, and off they'd go to the next dinner. There would always be speeches. Sometimes, either her mama or papa would be given special praise. That was Jane's favourite; she was so proud to be her parents' daughter.
Tonight, there had been speeches but no special praise. Still, it felt like a Big Important Thing: there were aliens present. She hadn't really seen too many before, but she did know of them from her lessons at school. A few beautiful blue asari, salarians with their eyes big and wide like saucers, and intriguing-looking turians hung about in the large hall. There were a few she hadn't learned about yet, too: a floating pink jellyfish – she longed to reach out and squeeze one of their tentacles, but she knew that would be impolite – and some kind of elephant, but with no trunk or floppy ears.
First Lieutenant Hannah Shepard stopped to talk to each of them.
"Everyone really likes Mama," Jane noticed aloud.
Major Shepard smiled as he responded, "They sure do. Aren't we lucky that we're her favourites?"
Jane looked up at her papa, taking in the love and pride on his face. "Why isn't she with us, then?" she asked.
The major cast his eyes down at his daughter and gave her question some thought. "Well, Jane," he began, as he looked back over at his wife, "your mother and I love you very much, and will always look out for you. And sometimes that means putting other people first for a little while."
The sentence had a "you'll understand when you're older" tone to it she'd learn to recognize from adults, but never in her seven years of life had her father given her that response. He treated her like a big girl, so she gave a big girl response and nodded solemnly.
"It's important she gives everyone a bit of her time," Papa said at length. "They all need to feel valued."
"How?"
"Most people love to talk about themselves," Papa explained. "You just have to give them the space to do it."
Jane sipped her apple juice thoughtfully. "Even alien people?"
"Even alien people. We aren't so different from them, Jane – and they aren't so different from us. That's what tonight is about, and that's why we Shepards were invited." Major Shepard smiled, looking down at his daughter once again. "Everyone knows your mother could charm the pants off a hanar."
The pink jellyfish! Jane scanned the crowd for the hanar she'd seen earlier. "But they don't have pants," she pointed out once she spotted it again and could be sure.
"Or maybe your mother already worked her magic on that one," Papa said. Jane looked up at him questioningly, and he winked to let her know he was joking. She grinned back at him.
"Are you two gonna let me in on the joke?" came Mama's voice.
The two Shepards sitting at the table both smiled the same impish smile at the third Shepard approaching them.
"Papa says you're good at taking the pants off of hanar."
Major Shepard laughed while First Lieutenant Shepard looked scandalized. "What are you teaching our daughter?"
"To be like you, dear," he responded, and Jane watched as something passed between her parents. It made her heart feel… safe. But it also grossed her out a little: she knew what adults did in their bedrooms.
"Maybe everyone should keep their pants on," Jane suggested.
Her papa laughed again and Mama said, "I think you're teaching her to be a wise guy."
Papa stood, giving her mama a kiss. "My turn," he said, and he melted into the crowd while Mama took his seat and pulled Jane in close.
"So what were you talking about with your papa?" Mama asked.
Jane frowned in thought as she watched the crowd. "He said… people like to feel valued, and that you're good at letting them talk about themselves, and that's we were invited here."
"Ah, yes," Mama responded knowingly. "People want to be heard. And I think the Alliance recognizes that Shepards are good listeners."
"I see," Jane replied seriously, digesting this information as she spotted her father bowing slightly to an asari.
"Good listeners build bridges, and those bridges keep us safe and secure," her mama explained.
"So you and Papa build bridges for the Alliance with the aliens so that we don't have another First Contact War."
"Got it in one, my love," Mama said.
"And you're better than building bridges than Papa is," Jane continued, still working through the thread of her thought.
Jane felt, rather than heard, her mama's rumble of laughter. "Well… we each have different strengths that we can contribute."
Jane looked up at her mama, then back out at the crowd. "Like how he's a better shot than you."
"What?!" Mama choked out, staring down at her daughter. Then she laughed and sighed. "You let a guy win at target practice one time…"