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Turnabout-	By : Spiritwolf71 Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 7688 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This story takes place within Bioware's Mass Effect Universe, their creative property. I do not own any of Bioware's stories or characters or locations. The Author recieved no money from this story and is writing it purely for entertainment.

Chapter List
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The phantom had come out of nowhere. She had been sure they were heading in the same direction as Cayle but instead, of catching up with her, this Cerberus monstrosity showed up and attacked Koylat instantly. The young Drell had been forced into a defensive retreat. Liara moved to help him when she heard the commotion from behind her and two of the guard mercenaries were aiming at them. She quickly threw up a barrier which left her out of the fight, unable to aid Koylat.
The Drell was a great information broker but he was not the fighter that his father was. She watched as the bullet flew off her barrier and, when she had a chance, she released it. She needed to take care of them so she could help Koylat before it was too late.
She clenched a fist and felt the energy flow through it and was about to toss the pair as far as she could when she noticed a slight movement and a head exploded a spray of blood covering his counterpart. There was a shimmer and Cayle was behind them, her gun moving to the other mercenary and dispatching him as well. She then looked up to the Phantom.
Liara noticed that the woman was covered in blood, and she knew it was not just the mercenaries. She was barely standing on her own feet. She had seen Cayle in enough battles to know she was barely hanging on. The Asari thought for a moment of intercepting the Phantom as it moved towards whom she believed whole heartedly was Shepard.
Cayle moved forward, firing her own weapon as the deadly Phantom charged at her. In the end it was Cayle that remained standing, as the Phantom slid off a sword that Shepard had been holding. Liara found her feet were not moving as fast as she wanted them. She was still slightly in shock that the Cerberus assassin, Cayle Shepard, had come for them.
She could only stare as the information sunk in. The woman was beaten and bleeding and barely able to stand, but she had come for them, for her. Tears crested her eyes and she fought them back as she moved, Shepard was falling.
“I’ve had enough of this place,” Cayle said as she fell to her knees, dropping the gun. Liara ran over to her and caught her before she could hit the ground.
“I got you.” Liara said as Shepard fell into her arms. Her eyes were closed but she was still breathing. “I got you my love, and I will never let you go this time,” she said looking up as Koylat approached.
“Liara we still don’t know if it’s her,” he cautioned. “I know you want it to be…”
“I know,” she said defiantly. “It’s her. She would have never come to our rescue if she was truly some unknown Cerberus agent. I don’t know what they did to her, but we can make this right.”
Koylat moved to his knees beside them and began to remove the woman’s armour. “She is hurt very badly Liara.” Koylat looked up into her eyes. Liara barely heard him as she held the woman she loved in her arms. Her mind was racing in a million different directions and her emotions were overwhelming her.
“Liara,” Koylat said more firmly. “We need to get her to a hospital. She is beyond what medigel can do.”
Liara looked to him almost lost. Now that she had Shepard back what did she do with her? “We can’t lose her,” she said. “The Citadel?”
“Ok, but we need to look at some things here,” Koylat said. He was not used to being the one in this position, not with Liara anyway. The Asari was always in so much control; she always knew what she was doing and always planned two steps ahead. “Firstly she is wanted by the Alliance for several war crimes, including the assassination of the Salarian Dalatrass. Secondly she is a Cerberus Assassin wanted by several other races. Thirdly, if it is Shepard and Cerberus did do something to her, they will most certainly want her back.”
“There is nowhere safe,” Liara whispered running her hands through Cayle’s short blonde hair.
“I have an idea. I will have Mouse go and get your ship. Then, I know you hate the place, but we will need to go to Cronos Station. It’s the only thing I can think of.”
“Miranda,” Liara whispered. She looked back down to Cayle. As much as Liara was not fond of Miranda, Shepard had always thought of her like a close sister, akin to a best friend. Liara could never figure out why Shepard was soft on the woman, and had always been a little bit jealous. Miranda was more like Shepard than anyone else she knew. She remembered just how happy Cayle had been when Miranda had finally decided to work with the Alliance. She had always believed the woman was capable of great things.
“She knows Shepard inside and out, she rebuilt her, and she will be able to fix her now.” He paused. “And we both know she would never tell anyone.”
It was true, they could trust Miranda. Miranda would fix Shepard and she would be able to figure out what Cerberus had done to her. Liara nodded slowly and Koylat stood up and moved away. They were not far from Cayle’s ship with the working communicator.
She looked down at the sleeping form of the woman that had disappeared five years ago and she couldn’t help but think of that fateful day, of Shepard leaving her on the Normandy…
“No matter what happens, you mean everything to me Liara,” she said as she climbed back up the ramp and took the Asari’s hand in hers. She looked deeply into Liara’s eyes. “You always will,” she whispered and cupped her check and kissed her briefly on the lips.
Liara could barely even form words. “Shepard, I, I am yours,” she managed but could not get anything else out.
Cayle released her hand and smiled. “I know.”
Liara leaned over and placed her lips over Cayle’s, not caring about the blood and dirt that covered them. “I am yours Shepard, always,” she whispered. “We’ll get through this, me and you. I love you.”

It had taken them the better part of two days to reach Cronos. It had been touch and go, with Shepard’s vitals all over the place. Liara had not left her side; she was terrified too move, half convinced herself that if Shepard left her sight, she would lose her again. She had not slept and had barely eaten. To make matters even worse, she had still not been able to get her emotions under control. Twice now, she had almost called Tali and Garrus but resisted, afraid of her communications being tapped into.
Falere had pretty much left her alone but she knew the other Asari would soon start to bother her about taking care of herself. They knew each other too well. Liara would sit by Shepard forever and Falere would nag her forever.
Liara stood and moved over to where Shepard slept. She had cleaned her up as best she could and changed her into a gown so that Miranda would be able to work on her as soon as they arrived. She ran her fingers through her hair and leaned over. She kissed her on the forehead careful not to jar her too much.
“We’re almost there, my love.” Liara whispered to her. “I’m going to eat and shower so Falere doesn’t disown me. I’ll be back as soon as possible. Do not go anywhere.”
As she stepped out of the room, Falere looked up from her post and smiled. “She won’t go anywhere.” Falere assured her. “I promise.”
Liara nodded and moved to her own room peeling off her dirty clothes. She stepped into her hot shower and leaned against the wall.
Five years, it had been five years. She had always insisted Shepard was alive, but she had her doubts at times. She knew they would be able to really confirm it at Cronos. Miranda would have Shepard’s DNA somewhere. Not that Liara needed that; she knew the woman in the other room was Cayle. She just figured everyone else would need the proof.
She was right next door, in the room right next to hers. Five years. The hot water began to mix with tears, as she felt the emotion that had been building up in the last few weeks burst out of her. She fell to her knees, arms wrapped around herself.
Five years of believing she was alive, of longing to see her again. It was as if her life had been on hold and now she had that chance to really live again, with Cayle. The emotion overwhelmed her as her forehead rested on the floor of the shower, she could no longer control them,fight them. It had been dark but now the light was back. So many memories and dreams and desires put on hold. Every feeling she went through in the last five years flowed out with the tears.
Finally she took a deep breath and looked up to the shower head, enjoying the warmth of the water over her skin. Slowly, she stood as her cries steadily ebbed and only her slight headache remained. She was back, Shepard was back, and Liara would never let her go this time, even if she had to limp behind into some unknown beam.
She quickly cleaned herself off, then dried and got dressed into some clean clothes. As she headed to the door, a slight panic built up inside of her. She knew her thoughts were foolish, but she could not help herself. She ran from her room into the med bay, stopping at the door. She looked from Shepard to Falere.
Falere smiled gently. “She is still here.”
Liara smiled back and felt a bit more at ease. Falere approached her and gave her a hug. “We are at the station and have been cleared to dock. I thought I would wait for you.”
Liara nodded and gave Falere a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, for always being here for me,” she said. Falere smiled again and left the room. Liara moved back to Shepard’s side and took her hand between hers. “I’ll be back very shortly, love, I just have to go and make some arrangements.” Again she bent down and kissed Cayle this time on the lips, before leaving the room. She wanted to talk to Miranda face to face. This was a huge bomb she was about to drop on the woman.

“You found Shepard, and she’s alive?” Miranda repeated slowly. She was leaning against her desk in her office. In typical Miranda fashion her arms crossed over her chest. Both she and Shepard had a tendency to do that. Shepard did it when she was being defensive; for Miranda it was a natural pose. “On your ship, but she’s been working for Cerberus. She was the one that killed the Dalatrass.”
It sounded odd as Miranda repeated everything that Liara had explained over the last ten minutes. She imagined it had sounded even worse for the ex-Cerberus officer since she was hearing it all for the first time. She watched as Miranda loaded Shepard’s DNA on a flash drive.
“I know it’s unbelievable and incredulous but it’s true. That is why we came here, we had nowhere else to go and we knew you would help her.” Liara explained as they turned and made their way to Asari’s ship.
“If that is truly Shepard, I will be there for her. Have you done blood work?”
“I was afraid if I accessed her files it would raise flags. You would have more of a reason to go into her files than I would. You brought her back; you could just say you were going over your old research.”
“It’s pretty secure here; the Alliance has pretty much left me alone to control this station. It does have all the Lazarus files. There could be a million reasons why I would open them.” Miranda agreed.
They paused for a moment at the lift, Liara looked around. “She is very badly injured. Can we trust your doctors?”
They continued to make their way to the ship. “Most of these Scientist and Doctors were on Gellix. They owe Shepard their lives. I will pick my best people.”
Liara nodded. As they got closer to the ship she felt that panic hit. What if she went back to the med bay and Shepard was gone? She took a small breath as they approached the door to the ship. Miranda looked to her but said nothing. “I just, keep expecting her to disappear.”
Miranda simply nodded to the woman. It was not hard to understand. Liara had lost Shepard twice now; it was natural for her to be worried, maybe even paranoid. She, however, would keep an open mind until the test was over. Unlike Liara, Miranda believed Shepard had died on the Citadel; that the woman had sacrificed herself in some way to end the war. To her, it was the only way it could have happened. She had grieved and she had moved on.
Not that she didn’t miss the Spectre, and nor did she think the galaxy was a better place without her. Shepard had been just about the only friend she ever had. Sure, she had acquaintances and work mates. She even had her share of bed mates from time to time, but she had never had someone like Shepard.
The woman had truly believed in her, even after Miranda had treated her horribly. At first she had been jealous. All that money and time poured into the Commander, into an unknown who easily could’ve backstabbed Cerberus the first chance she had. But, over time, she realized that Shepard was more than a commander. She truly was a leader, a person one would follow into hell and back. Shepard cared about those she served with, those she was close with. Hell, she had hardly even known her when Shepard promised they would save her sister. Miranda had not expected that. It was not something Cerberus would have done.
Then Shepard had shown her that she was more than what her father had built. She had been so hung up on the fact that she had been made to be perfect that she failed to see that she had surpassed what her father built. She had become her own person, and she wasn’t perfect, but she was what she had become. Shepard had believed in her and trusted her and it had never had anything to do with her genetics, they were never important. Not like they were to the Illusive Man. Shepard had shown her a better way and she had taken it. It had been rough at first but once she had found her step, it had been more than worth it.
She really had no idea of where she would be now had she stayed with Cerberus. She knew she would never have helped the allied forces defeat the Reapers. She would never have been offered this position on Cronos nor had trust in her like the Alliance showed. She might not have all the resources she had with Cerberus, but with the Alliance she did not have to constantly check her back. The people were here to help her, not wait for her to fail.
She owed all that to Cayle Shepard and if this woman was her, she would do everything in her power to bring her back.
“You think Cerberus has done something to her mind? That she thinks she is this assassin.” Miranda asked outside of the med bay. Liara nodded. “When we rebuilt Shepard, I could have done that. It was an option as well as putting a safety control chip in her head. Whoever did this to her must have had my research. There were problems with it though.” She said, moving into the sick bay. She stopped in her tracks and looked at the woman in the bed. She was pale and damp with sweat.
“How long has she been like this?” Miranda asked as she moved over and began performing several checks.
“Two days, we were on Horizon,” Liara said.
“You should have come here sooner. We need to get her into our clinic immediately.” Miranda looked to her, comparing her quickly to her memory of Shepard. Give her black hair and those steely blue eyes and yes, it would look like her. She took a quick DNA test and let it compare to the sample she had brought while she continued her check on the woman before her. “Her blood pressure is very low, she’s in hypovolemic shock.”
“I know, we’ve had her on an IV for fluids but we don’t have anything for the require transfusion. I am not that type of a Doctor,” Liara defended. “I stabilized her the best I could, but medigel can only do so much.”
“You did well.” Miranda reassured her, only looking up for a second. That was a lesson she had learned from Shepard. Once upon a time, Miranda would have berated her shortcomings. “I’ll do the rest.” The DNA test chimed as Miranda swung to the top of the bed. She covered the woman’s head so no one would be able to see her. Before she unlocked the brakes to the bed, she picked up the DNA tester. Her eyes widened.
“It’s her,” she whispered. “It’s really her.” She spurred into action and hit her communicator. “Bren, I’m going to need you and Dr. Fraser to meet me with a trusted team in Medical Room one. We have a thirty- six- year- old female, five-foot-six, roughly one-hundred-and-forty-pounds, in hypovolemic shock. We have multiple traumas, across the shoulder and hip area.” Miranda moved to the top of the bed and began to push. “We’ll take care of her, I promise, Liara.”
“I can’t…” she paused. Of course she couldn’t go with Shepard to the operating room, but she was certainly going to follow them there. “I will go as far as I can.” She looked to Miranda. “I’m not getting left behind again.”
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