Apple Tarts and Asari Sharks

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"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal."

An old headstone in
Ireland

July 2nd, 2187

Ashley Williams

The room she slept in was old fashioned, with a wall of double-square latticed windows overhung by a beautiful cameo portal, a spider web of seams channeling into a single eye. The seams and trim were painted in a brilliant aqua gloss, the walls and furniture in the room were white with aqua trim, and the covers on her bed were light blue. Ashley remembered this place, not from her own memory but from a description.

There was a hall just outside her room, and a bathroom right around the corner. She'd spent some time in and out of it the past few days, vomiting into the toilet basin while Liara held her hair aside. She vaguely recalled being bathed by the Asari as well, and being forced to drink water and tea, as well as receive an IV drip. An older woman was present to assist Liara. Ashley recalled a friendly face, kind eyes, and again, something familiar, something she should know.

She sat up in the bed and stretched. How many days had passed? It was all a blur. She made her way once more to the bathroom. Once she finished, she stared into the mirror. Someone had put her hair in a ponytail, fortunately, and she looked only slightly worse than her usual self. Ashley pulled at the old t-shirt she was wearing, another familiar token. Where had she seen these style shirts before?

"Kaidan," she said aloud. "Kaidan used to wear these."

Someone knocked on the door. A woman's voice called. "Ashley, dear, are you feeling better?"

She opened the door to greet the woman. "Yes, Ma'am," she said. "If I may ask?"

The woman extended her hand. "Jean," she said. "Jean Alenko, but no Mrs. Alenko here, just call me Jean, or Jeanie, either will do fine."

The older woman's smile was Kaidan's smile, her mouth his mouth, but the eyes were different. Hers were crystal blue, fringed with sadness, and shadowed with hardship. Ashley felt awash in emotions.

"Thank you Mrs. Al... I mean, Jean. I apologize if I was a burden. I... lost myself for a while," confessed Ashley.

"There is no need to apologize. A broken heart can tear down the best of us, especially if it is shattered into so many pieces," said Jean. "Now, come, there's coffee, still, and an apple tart for breakfast. Always was my son's favorite."

"I remember," said Ashley. "He used to talk about them endlessly, and your pies."

Jean laughed. "Yes, never a day went by that he didn't brag about my apple pie to someone. Oh, and dear, please put on some britches. I just got my husband back, and if you walk downstairs wearing only that, he'll die of a heart attack for sure."

Ashley looked down and realized the t-shirt she was wearing wasn't quite long enough. This was compounded by the fact that she had no underpants on. She quickly scampered back to the bedroom, passing through the door about the same time the blood arrived to her cheeks. She hoped like hell she hadn't gotten up and wandered too far in the middle of the night.

Jean called to her from the hall. "There's sweat pants in the drawer, more t-shirts, and a few pairs of shorts. Liara sent for your things yesterday. Hopefully they'll arrive this afternoon."

"Where are the things I arrived with?" asked Ashley.

"You weren't well dear. I believe Liara chose to incinerate them rather than wash them," said Jean.

Ashley groaned. "I probably shouldn't have asked. About sending for my things, you don't need to do that, Ma'am. I'll get out of your hair as soon as I can and track them down myself."

Kaidan's mother approached the doorway. "No you won't. You're under orders from Alliance command, and the Council; indefinite leave. It's all on the pad down on the kitchen table, and you're required to stay here on the island with us for the rest of the summer, if you can call this summer."

Ashley became angry but she held her tone out of respect for Mrs. Alenko. "That doesn't make any sense. I can't do that."

Jean crossed her arms. "You can, and you will, Ms. Williams. You once wrote to me that you owed us a debt you could never repay. If you want to honor that debt, and Kaidan's memory, you will take your medicine like an adult, obey your orders, and stay with us, hopefully into the fall."

Jean shook her head sadly. "My husband is not well, he was imprisoned and indoctrinated and even though those dreadful machines were destroyed, he will never be the same. His mind is, well, he is troubled, and forgetful, and we have much work to do on the farm. The whole place is a mess and Dr. T'Soni is pregnant. I don't want her working too hard."

Ashley pulled on some sweat pants and stood up, sighing. "Ok, Jean, you made your point. I'll check in with command. I probably have some apology letters to write in any case. It will be my honor to help out, as long as you promise to give me the hardest work you have."

"You'll get your fair share," said Jean. "Now, come on downstairs before the tarts get cold."

Ashley put on a fresh t-shirt and made her way down the stairwell. The house was just as Kaidan had always described it. Bright, cheerful, and old-fashioned. It was a Victorian style farmhouse, originally built in the late nineteenth century, and thrice restored. It had all the modern accoutrements, solar panels, a VI home manager, and a warm-diffuse lighting system that was gentle on the eyes and rendered the beautiful home in perfect clarity.

Liara was engaged in some antique game with Mr. Alenko, who stared at the board intently. He was dressed and groomed nicely, but he looked ragged. His gray hair was lank, thinning, and his brown skin had a gray tone to it. He had Kaidan's brown eyes, and his handsome nose, but the eyes were a bit dull and the face heavy with wrinkles. The eyes reminded her of the Salarian prisoners that rushed her position on Virmire.

They lifted to appraise her as she approached the table. "Sit down, Ashley," said the man. "Apple tarts are still warm, and the coffee is hot."

He started to get up but his wife waved him down. "I've got it dear," she said. "Ashley, this is my husband, Maximiano Alenko."

"Just Max, please," he said.

Liara rolled a pair of antique dice and made a move on the board, then spoke to Ashley without looking at her. "Welcome back, Ash. I was worried. You were dangerously dehydrated."

Ashley sighed. "Sorry about that, Liara. Not my finest hour."

"No longer green around the gills," said Max. "That's an improvement right there."

Max rolled a pair of dice and called out. "Acey-Deucy, double turn!" He moved his pieces, rolled again, and then grumbled a little. "Fat lot of good that did me."

Liara snickered, rolled her dice, and jumped pieces around the board. She appeared to be greatly satisfied.

"Ah, you're blitzing me!" protested Max.

"We call that, Z'shyk, on my world," said Liara.

"You have this game on Thessia?" asked Ashley.

Liara nodded. "Yes, we do. It is an ancient Asari game, and it is almost identical to yours in every way, right down to the variant rules and the size and shape of the stones. I find it remarkable."

"That's freaky," said Ashley.

Max sighed. "I picked this out because I thought I'd win easy. I had no idea that Asari were all Backgammon sharks."

Jean set a cup of coffee, a steaming apple pastry on a plate, two small bowls, a napkin, and a fork in front of Ashley. The smell alone made Ashley's mouth water. The aroma of the coffee was the icing on the cake.

"This looks amazing," said Ashley.

"Sorry, no butter, and we are also out of fresh cream and honey. You'll have to do with powdered coffee creamer, and plain old table sugar."

"I drink it black, Ma'am," said Ashley.

Max shook his head. "Just like Kaidan, all you military brats must have iron guts. I have to cut my coffee with cream, or else I'll be doubled up on the floor."

"You should not be drinking coffee at all," said Jean. "It's not good for you, Max."

He frowned. "I'm not about to give it up yet, and the way things are going it's about the only thing we'll have left. Coffee beans will grow just fine in all this gloom. Still, I sure hope them Salarians can finish their project and get the air cleared of particles. I'd like to see a sunny day at least once before I die."

Jean snapped at her husband. "Max, stop being so morbid."

Mr. Alenko grumbled, rolled his dice, made his moves with little enthusiasm, and then groaned in despair as he surveyed the board.

"They'll have the atmosphere shroud done by mid-winter," said Liara.

"Wait, what?" asked Ashley. "You mean to tell me that we're letting the Salarians put a shroud on our planet? Isn't that what they used to neuter all the Krogan?"

"Ashley, please, it's a Council funded project. Remember, Earth will be home to many races for some time, and I imagine that there will be a presence here even after the relays open again," said Liara.

"You should hear the Terra Firma nuts, they're already squawking about this and that," said Max. "By their account, you'd think that all the aliens just showed up at our doorstep to take us over for no good reason, rather than coming here to save our ass, fucking ingrates."

"Max, watch your language, we have guests," said Jean.

"It's no problem, Ma'am, Alliance soldier, here," said Ashley.

Liara rolled her dice and moved again, which only instigated more cursing from Max Alenko.

Ashley ate her apple tart in small bites, savoring each mouthful, then washing it down with coffee. For all his bragging, Kaidan had understated their deliciousness.

"This may be the best thing I've ever tasted," said Ashley.

Liara nodded. "They are wonderful, indeed."

Ashley looked around the room and realized she felt almost human again. The blackness that was stifling her, closing in around her, had eased. The pain in her heart was a dull ache, rather than a searing knife driving through her chest.

"Thank you, Sir, Ma'am," she said. "For inviting me here."

"Like it or not, you're family now, Williams," said Max.

"That's a generous thing to say," said Ashley.

Max shook his head. "It's just the truth. My boy sent a message when he first joined the Normandy crew. He said that for the first time since he had left home, he felt like he had a family again. When we lost him, we lost our family, and Jean and I, we've been incomplete, and this..." he said. "Sorry, I lost my train of thought."

Jean spoke up. "What Max is trying to say, is that having you here makes us feel closer to our son."

Ashley gave her most convincing smile to Jean and Max Alenko. She appreciated their kindness, but she knew they were covering. She could tell by the sadness in their eyes that they would never be over the loss of their boy, just as she would never be over the loss of her family, or Shepard, which was, she supposed, as it should be.

Another dice roll and a gleeful squeal of triumph from Liara, indicated that Max Alenko's Backgammon goose was cooked.

"Best two out three?" asked Max.

Liara agreed to the terms. "That will only require one more game," she said.

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