Going by the amused smirk Garrus has been wearing nearly all day, he agrees.

"What?" she finally asks through a mouthful of food, catching him watching her again somewhere nearing midnight.

"Just thinking how damn lucky I am." he hums back, food abandoned in favor of pulling her close against him, nuzzling her forehead, "And how surprising it is that we lived to see this day."

"Thank the Spirits." Arisa whispers, echoing one of his preferred phrases, setting her own food aside and wrapping her arms around his neck just as the countdown starts in the background.

"...4, 3, 2, 1, HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

"Happy New Year, Mr Vakarian." she breathes, grinning.

"Happy New Year, Mrs. Vakarian." Garrus rumbles back, and the cheering fades as he closes the distance between them.

 Aria and Jaal make it home just before the countdown starts, relieving Ellen of babysitting duties and plopping down on the couch with their family.

They'd wandered a bit, visiting the Crew, checking in with people back on the Nexus, but ultimately wanting to be back home with their kids.

Aria can't help a grin as she settles with Senri propped in her lap, Jaal's arm around her shoulders and the boys both managing to fit in the angara's lap. Life in Andromeda had settled turned out differently then she'd expected, but she wouldn't trade it for the world.

"Okay, everyone," Jaal's voice catches her attention, her husband grinning wider then she's ever seen, "Time for the countdown!"

"10, 9, 8-"

Both boys are chanting jubilantly, Sayren's speech still just a little slurred but getting better every day.

"-7, 6, 5-"

Aria counts along and bounces Senri, earning delighted giggles from the baby.

"-4, 3, 2, 1-"

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" shouts Jaal, Piper howling along from her place near the TV, the boys laughing and cheering.

Aria laughs, manages to steal a kiss from her exuberant husband , and then sits back to watch her family, content.

There's no place I'd rather be. Thank you, Dad.

 The lock clicks open and Willow stumbles in through the sliding door, shrieking with laughter when Thane catches her wrist and reels her in against him.

"Well hello there, handsome." she giggles, linking her arms around his neck and pressing immediately closer, sighing happily at his touch on her waist.

"Hello, gorgeous." Thane chuckles, just barely ghosting his lips over hers before trailing kisses down to her throat, nipping teasingly at the flesh, "I believe someone had too much to drink at the party."

"Who, me? Naaaaw." Willow lets her head fall back to give him more space, humming in response to his pleased rumble, "Biotics'll burn it off soon. Just wanted to celebrate, live a little, yknow?"

"I do, Siha." Thane nips her neck one last time before lifting his head, forehead brushing hers, "But remember... we have all the time in the world, now."

Willow murmurs an affirmative, falling easily into the swaying, rocking motion he's started, a slow dance just for them, a rhythm all their own.

Here in Andromeda, they have a new start, so to speak; they are healthy, and together, and Willow doubts this ecstatic happiness will ever dim completely, a fact that she is so, so grateful for.

They can hear the vague cheering over the comm. systems as the countdown finishes, see the splashes of light from the artificial fireworks display outside their windows, but all either of them cares about is each other.

"I love you, Thane." Willow murmurs after a moment, smiling, "Happy New Years."

Much as her eyes want to just pop open in shock, it's a much slower process; a weak flickering of her lids on the first attempt before she manages to pry them open on the second, vision hazy and blurred.

Ellen coughs, startled to find  her lungs still working, reaching for the tall blonde blob that can only be Scott, "Sc... Scott. I'm...?"

"You're alive, Mom." Scott's hands close tightly around hers, and she can hear the waver to his voice, "Welcome back."

She grips him back as her strength slowly comes back, blinking as her vision clears, "How?"

"Dad put you in stasis before your disease could get worse; he had you placed on the Hyperion without anyone knowing. Not even me or Aria. We're in Andromeda, Mom, and they found a cure. You're not sick anymore."

Her vision clears then and Ellen sucks in a breath, startled by the matured face in front of her, the young man that's clearly grown up while she was asleep. She notices a glimmer on his finger and can't help staring. "You're married?"

Scott's grin turns sheepish and ah, there's my boy. "I am. So is Aria. But we can talk about all of that later, now that we've got time. We've gotta go."

"You said she was about to pop," Ellen licks her lips, using her grip on Scott to lift herself into a sitting position, glad when the world only spins for a moment, "She's pregnant?"

"She is - and she's been in active labor for ten hours already. I'm hoping seeing you might somehow trigger an end to the waiting." Scott helps her swing her legs over the edge of the bed, ready to steady her, "I mean, we all kind of figured it would be a harder birth, since the father isn't human... please don't freak out."

Ellen pauses, processing that for a moment. "What species?"

"Angara - local to Andromeda. You haven't seen them yet. But Jaal is the best thing that's ever happened to Aria, Mom - and he'd die before he'd let anything happen to her or their baby."

"Relax, Scott; if you'll recall, I've never been a xenophobe," Ellen thinks briefly back to Shepard and wonders, curiously, if the Spectre's own interspecies relationship had influenced Aria's tastes, "So long as she is happy and loved, I'm happy. Now help your mother up."

Wonder of wonders, her legs don't immediately buckle when Scott carefully pulls her to her feet, though she's grateful for the support as they make their way slowly out of the medbay.

"There's a bit of a crowd outside Aria's suite - the Tempest Crew wants to be there for their Pathfinder, after all - and Jaal's mother Sahuna is here, to, helping out-"

Ellen's heart stutters. "Pathfinder?"

"Oh. You don't-" Scott trails off, seems to think, before giving her an almost pleading look, "We'll explain everything later, Mom, okay? Everything. We should focus on Aria for now."

"Alright. Lead on."

They round a corner and the aforementioned crowd comes into sight - a gaggle of every species she knows and a few she doesn't.

Two turian females stand with an asari, a Salarian, and two humans to the right of the door, a rather wound-up looking Krogan pacing behind them.

To the left of the door sits a blonde woman Ellen vaguely recognizes as Alec's second, Cora - holding a toddler of an unfamiliar race in her lap, an older child of the same species standing to one side of her and a turian child on the other.

"That's Vetra and Sidera, Kallo, Peebee, Liam and Suvi - and the krogan is Drack. He's kind of the cranky, overprotective grandpa of the group." Scott whispers, pointing at each in turn. "You've met Cora, I think - the one of her lap is Sayren, and the girl is Tela - they're Angara. The Turian is Adrian; Sayren and Adrian are Aria and Jaal's adopted boys, Tela is Jaal's niece."

Ellen glances over the kids - catches them asking Cora if their mom's okay, when they can see her, will the baby like them? - and immediately loves them. So long as they can accept a surprise grandmother.

"Ellen!" Cora spots them then, face lighting up, though she stays seated due to the position of the children, "I'm relieved to see you're alright. Perfect timing, really; Lexi just said she's finally getting proper contractions, shouldn't be long now."

Ellen catches the fond looks between the two, the ring on Cora's finger that matches Scott's, and she smiles, resolving to grill them about it later.

"I can manage from here, Scott." she says, taking a purposeful step away from him and towards the doors, proud of how steady she seems, "Later, we need to talk."

"Promise." Scott replies, grin wide as she's ever seen it.

Ellen returns the look before resolutely reaching for the pad to open the door, stepping inside and feeling suddenly overwhelmed as the door slides shut behind her.

An Asari dressed in Initiative medical gear flits around the bed, taking measurements and checking readouts, clearly trying to be prepared for any scenario.

An Angaran woman sits on one side of the bed - Sahuna, she remembers Scott mentioning - but her attention falls on the male Angara standing to the left, and her first thoughts are tall, strong, broader then a human, different physical structure-

Then she notes his expression - a startling mix of awe and fear, love and worry, happiness and anxiety - and her analysis changes to caring, loving, the exact opposite of Alec in showing emotion. Good.

Her attention is on Aria the moment she makes a sound - a pained cry, familiar from Ellen's own pregnancy - and though she's startled by how she's grown, it's still her daughter lying there, gritting her teeth through the pain and only letting the occasional grunts slip past, her typical stubborn Aria.

"Mom?"

Aria's eyes are on hers suddenly, surprised but happy, and Ellen feels warmth bloom in her chest as she moves closer, knowing the others are now looking at her as well.

"I'm here, sweetheart," Sahuna moves back and Ellen takes her place with a grateful nod, giving Aria's hand a tight squeeze and leaning over to kiss her forehead, "You can do this, Aria. You're so close, sweetheart."

Introductions can come later; all that matters right now is helping her daughter through this moment.

Aria goes to say something and cuts off with a cry, eyes slamming shut and hand clenching down around Ellen's.

Lexi - she thinks that was the doctors name - is immediately at the edge of the bed and lifting the sheet they'd draped over Aria's legs, eyes lighting up, "Ryder, it's time! Push!"

Time passes swiftly, then; encouragements coming from everyone in the room, cries from Aria as she pushes, Lexi ready between her legs.

The doctor gives on final command to push and then reaches forward to cradle the baby, still hidden beneath the sheet but clearly healthy going by the wail that pierces the air.

Aria slumps back into the pillows, panting, and Jaal is bending to whisper to her, crooning quiet words and nuzzling her cheek, and the clear affection between them warms Ellen's heart.

"You did it, sweetheart." she says, squeezing her daughters hand, "Now, it's time to rest."

 Several hours later finds Ellen sitting in an armchair with her granddaughter cradled to her chest, rocking carefully back and forth. It's been years since she's held a baby, but the instinct is still there, and so far the baby seems content.

Everyone had been in to visit once Aria had been cleaned up and tucked properly into bed, the baby checked over and declared healthy.

Scott had drawn Ellen aside while the crew occupied Aria, and he and Cora had gone over everything that had happened since she'd been put in stasis.

Alec was dead. And while she'd said her goodbyes long ago, to now be here, alive, without him, felt... wrong.

But if he hadn't, Aria would be dead. she sighs, grip on the baby tightening just a little, And you, little one, wouldn't exist.

Alec had made the right choice, and she wished her love peace - something he deserved, more than anyone

Now, the visitors have left, and Aria had slipped into a well deserved sleep not long after. Ellen had been introduced to Sahuna and Tela - and already she enjoyed the Angaran woman's company, and knowing her daughter had had a mother-in-law like her to help made her feel better - and to Adrian and Sayren.

Both were a little shy, but she hoped in time they would warm up to her.

And I get to be here from day one for you, little Senri.

Aria had announced the name once everyone was in the room; Senri Ryder Ama Darav, the first human-Angaran hybrid.

Ellen draws the blanket back a little, tracing a gentle finger over the babies features.

At first glance, Senri looked mostly human; her face, head, and body were humanoid, skin a similar tone to her mother's, ears normal, and the tiniest trace of red fuzz peeking through.

But there were ridges on the back of her head, her middle and index fingers were merged on each hand, and it was already clear that her ribcage would be stronger then a humans, more visible now as a baby. The back and top of her head were coloured like her fathers, ending in a sort of pattern just above her brow, and there were spatters of coloured skin along her collarbones and shoulders, down her arms and legs, some on her chest.

Perhaps the most startling feature, should you happen to miss the others, were her eyes; black and blue like her fathers, only the shape resembling a humans. Beautiful and unique.

Those big blue eyes blink up at her now, Senri yawning widely and squirming to get comfortable before settling down once more, content in the warmth of her blanket.

"So many opportunities ahead of you, little one," Ellen whispers, vaguely noticing the sound of the door opening, "And from what I can tell, so many people already love you."

"She's going to be spoiled." a rumbling voice agreed, and then Jaal was in front of her, smiling cautiously, holding out a mug.

"Thank you, Jaal." Ellen accepts the mug carefully, inhaling the scent of coffee greedily, careful to keep it out of the way as she passes the baby to her father, "Such a calm baby, for now. Hopefully she'll stay calm."

"We will figure it out." he says, and she likes him all the more. Such an interesting son-in-law, she's found herself with.

Jaal rocks the baby as he walks, and Ellen wonders how many siblings he has; he's an old pro, clearly comfortable handling a child, and that speaks worlds of his upbringing.

Senri fusses, making a grumpy noise, and Jaal chuckles, "Are you hungry, little one? Let's wake mama up, shall we?"

The baby gurgles as if in agreement, and Ellen smiles, quietly excusing herself as Jaal settles on the edge of the bed, listening to the gentle murmuring as Aria wakes before the door closes behind her.