126 – Confusing Situation (2)

After Samael calmed down Tali and Liara— while also showering them with affection—he turned to face the rest of his family. Just like Tali and Liara, they also wanted to hug him, but they knew they had to wait for Valery to have her turn before approaching him. After all, this reunion had an unspoken hierarchy that everyone was following.

Of course, that didn't stop them from feeling emotional while watching the scene unfold, with Grunt being the most vocal. The now battle-hardened young Krogan had a few ugly scars covering his face, but that didn't bother him one bit.

"Hey, how about you stop him? I mean, his turn is soon, so it'll only be a few minutes," Wrex nudged Javik to act. Just like Grunt, he had his own share of scars, clear evidence of his fierce resistance in the last war against the Reapers. But, like Grunt, he was proud of them. After all, scars made Krogans generally more attractive to their species, and with the Genophage over, both their statuses and newly acquired scars would draw females to them.

In response, Javik looked at Wrex as if he were an idiot. "He's from your species, and we agreed to help him grow together. I helped him more than you in the war, so now it's your turn."

'' Hey, if you're going to lie, do it with people who don't know you.''

Javik snorted and proceeded to ignore Wrex, focusing instead on the reunion. The war had taken many lives, and happy reunions like this were rare.

Valery stood in front of Samael, tears streaming down her face. He had been missing for two whole years, and with a war raging across the galaxy, seeing him safe was a relief for her.

Samael also had tears in his eyes as he said, "I'm home."

Valery hugged him tightly. "Welcome back."

There was so much they wanted to say, but now wasn't the time, he had the rest of his family to meet. Valery knew how much Samael valued his crew, as he was a loner through and through, opening up only to a few people, so it was clear he held them in high regard.

She broke the hug and cupped his face in her hands. "I'm proud of you. You paved the way for our victory. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Valery would not say but many people around the galaxy questioned his absence in the war. But, today was a happy day, so she would leave those topics for later.

"I will keep that in mind," he replied.

Valery nodded before stepping to the side to make way for the others.

After greeting his mom, Samael was face to face with Miranda and Jack, both holding a baby in their arms.

Samael sighed, his eyes filled with emotion. This last cycle had been one of the few in which he had kids. He didn't remember the others because of what his Reaper counterpart had done to his memories. However, after the whole situation that happened in his mind, he discovered he had children in other cycles too.

But this was his last cycle, so the sentiment was even stronger.

Approaching them slowly, he said, "Sorry I'm late."

Samael could see the exhaustion on both their faces, more so on Miranda, who was likely at the forefront of the war, given her position as the CEO of LD. Jack, serving as her secretary, also appeared tired.

"The important thing is that you are here now," Miranda said, fidgeting a little, clearly unsure how to approach the subject. After all, it was more her and Jack's desire to have the babies than Samael's. Sure, he had helped a lot, but they had never discussed what their situation would be like.

True to her personality, Jack acted immediately. She placed the baby from her arms into Samael's, "It's your baby, and it's a girl."

Samael, not shy in the slightest, looked at the baby with glee in his eyes. However, that feeling was short-lived as he remembered the weird situation he was in and asked with trepidation and anticipation, "What's her name?"

"*****."

Samael paused, and his expression became complicated right away. Still, he pushed that particular thought aside and said, "Can you repeat that?"

Jack didn't mind saying it again. "Her name is Olivia J-Lawson. We named her after my great-grandma." She then recalled that Samael was the father, and although he hadn't been around to give his opinion during the birth, he should have had a say in the baby's name.

Jack continued, "I'm sorry, but you were—"

Samael interrupted her as he gently rocked the baby. "I love the name, don't worry." He played with her for a few more seconds before passing the baby back to Jack and looking at Miranda.

This time, he could see it was a boy. Without saying anything, Miranda placed the baby in his arms. "The name is Mason J-Lawson."

Samael was taken aback by the honor of naming the child after his father, but one thing was bothering him about the name. "What does the 'J' stand for, by the way?"

Miranda sighed, looking at the ship's ceiling while Jack looked proud of herself. "It's self-explanatory, really. It's my initial."

Samael looked at her as if she were an idiot. "You do know you have a surname, right?"

Sure, Jack had been kidnapped at birth and became Patient-0, but she had reunited with her mother, so her surname should be known.

Jack didn't seem bothered. "No one complained, and to be honest, it's stylish, right?" she asked the whole crew, who abstained from commenting.

Samael didn't reply to this idea and looked down at Mason. The baby was a mirror image of him as a child, and he smiled when Samael spoke, "Nice to meet you."

Valery and the rest of the crew smiled at the scene, which ended when Samael handed the baby back to Miranda.

Then, Miranda and Jack gave way to the rest of the crew, and everyone rushed at Samael, who, despite his strong build, was nearly crushed by their enthusiasm.

Grunt, who had been 'raised' by Samael for some time, was at the forefront. He bear-hugged the human and lifted him up. "Captain! How I've missed you!"

Samael smiled at him and tapped his shoulder. "I missed you too. Now, how about you put me on the ground so I can properly greet you and the rest?"

Grunt tried to make a cute face and say, "Tehehe," but the contrast between his expression and his face was quite a sight, to say the least. Fortunately for him, everyone in the place didn't care about that kind of thing,

After Grunt put Samael on the ground, Samael was the one who hugged him. "I'm sorry I wasn't there during the war. I promised to help, but—"

Grunt interrupted him, "No buts. We heard a few things from Miranda and understand the situation, even though it was weird."

Miranda did tell the crew a little about Samael's situation—that he thought he was compromised and decided to leave to protect his reputation. She really didn't need to as the crew trusted him with their lives. Still, it helped them understand the situation better.

Samael didn't mind that Miranda shared some details, as long as she didn't reveal the time travel situation. He wanted to be the one to explain that—if he ever did that.

Samael broke the hug and promised the young Krogan, "I've fixed what was wrong. From now on, I'll be there for you whenever and wherever you need."

Grunt nodded, satisfied with what he heard. "I'll remember that."

Then Grunt got out of the way so that Javik and Wrex could approach. The Prothean and the old Krogan had been close from the beginning, and the war only strengthened their bond.

Unlike Grunt, who enjoyed a bit of physical affection, Samael knew that those two old warriors weren't exactly the same. So he smiled and opened his arms, leaving the decision to hug up to them.

Wrex, however, didn't hesitate and embraced Samael. "Good to have you back."

Samael replied, "You had it rough. Thank you for your help."

From what he had gathered, Samael knew that Tuchanka had suffered greatly during the war. Even then, Wrex had remained on the frontline, doing what he could to help the galaxy while his people struggled.

It was an honorable sacrifice—one that Samael and the rest of the galaxy would not forget.

Wrex broke the hug and smiled at Samael. "Don't mention it. It was the right thing to do and we gained a lot out of this.''

It was the truth. The galaxy promised not only to restore Tuchanka, but also to give other planets to them as well, as long as they didn't cross a line.

Wrex added, '' Besides, Krogans dying wasn't exactly a surprise."

If anyone else outside of this place heard that, they might think that Wrex simply didn't care about his people, but it was the opposite. He cared but he also understood their position in the galaxy. If a few of them dying was enough to restore their reputation, he was happy to pay the price, even more so now that the Genopahe was gone.

"Still, I'll never forget what you and your people did. I'm your brother forever, so don't hesitate to ask for help."

Wrex nodded and went aside, giving space for Javik. The Prothean appeared in front of Samael, who smiled and opened his arms again.

Even the stoic and somewhat germophobic Javik hugged him, proving he cared.

'Hugs all around it's the best way to greet a larger number of people.'

Samael thought that as he said with sadness, "I'm sorry for what happened to your people."

He heard that the majority of the Protheans had been inside the Crucible when it exploded, leaving only 39 of them alive. Losing more than 50% of their species was a huge burden. But, they were not alone now and just like with the Krogan, the galaxy would help them rebuild.

Javik spoke with pain in his voice. "It was an honorable sacrifice. We will never forget them."

Samael broke the hug and said with conviction, "I'll say the same thing I said to Wrex: You are my brother. Don't forget that and don't hesitate to ask for help."

"I won't."

After that, Samael turned his attention to Veronica. For some reason, she hadn't come with Liara and Tali, even though he had made sure she knew that, despite being late to the whole relationship, she was loved.

He approached her as she cried and gave her a light kiss, which was enough to help her recover from whatever was troubling her.

She looked at him with a mix of anger and relief. "Welcome back."

Samael nodded at her and said, " I'm back and I love you. Don't forget that.''

Before Veronica could say anything, Samael continued, '' We have a lot to talk about - you, me, Tali, Liara, and Shepard- but now it's not the time. I have to meet the rest of our family.''

Veronica nodded and went to the side. After all, if Liara and Tali were reasonable and did this, so she would also do the same and control herself.

Samael gave her another hiss and then looked at the rest of his family who had cramped the ship. He hugged them one by one, which included Samara, Keiji, Kasumi, Clare, John, and many others. He spent some time saying sorry to every single one of them and promising to do better in the future.

RR was there too, and Samael didn't hesitate to hug her, although he was already thinking about how to deal with her. The only reason he didn't act right away was that... he simply didn't want to.

She was a loved one, and even now he was trying to find ways to deal with her without resorting to violence. Safe to say, he was struggling.

Samael noticed that EDI, Shepard, and her crew weren't around, so he asked, somewhat apprehensive, "Where's Shepard and the rest? Did something happen—?"

"No, they're okay. They're just dealing with Spectre matters. You might not know, but they were a central part of the whole war," Javik informed him.

Wrex added, "They gained quite the reputation."

Meanwhile, Samael hadn't talked to the Shadow Broker about any of this because he wanted to be surrounded by his family. All the pieces of info he had were the ones he heard on the way to Earth.

So there was no reason to bother the Shadow Broker—if the figure was still alive.

'I should check on that…'

Sighing in relief about Shepard's and her crew's situation, Samael asked the million-credit question, "Now, what is the state of the galaxy?"