A/N: I romanced Kaidan (as you can probably tell...) and was PISSED when all Shepard got was a SMILE! I wrote this right on the wake of finishing Mass Effect.

Disclaimer: Sadly, not mine.

Something was burning. It was the first thing he registered as he woke. His eyelids were so heavy. He must be dead. That explosion… then the voice floated over him.

"They're here! I've got them, Captain Anderson! They're here!" He blinked in surprise. He'd honestly expected not to survive this. He'd thought it inevitable since Virmire that he'd go out too. He might have cheated death once, but it would claim him eventually. The Commander would be devastated, but…

The Commander!

Suddenly panicked, he rose, stumbled and was caught while staring around frantically. Someone was helping Liara up, but where Aliane had been…

Oh, God, no.

"Commander!" he cried as he struggled free of his own assistant and took a stumbling step forward. "Shepard!" He could hear the desperation in his voice, hear his own terror, unreasonable for a man who'd lost simply his commander, knew his informal address was entirely inappropriate in the current company…

But right now, he simply didn't care.

"Shepard!" he yelled again. "Don't you dare be dead! Or I'll… I'll…" I'll go into the afterlife and drag you back myself, he thought fiercely as he collapsed onto his knees in exhaustion, praying fervently. "Aliane!"

Only silence answered his desperate pleas. He felt tears gathering behind his eyes.

Then, suddenly, he heard a faint answering cry.

"Kaidan!" And there she was; falling to her knees in front of him, grabbing for him desperately, their helmets knocking together until he threw his off as she struggled with hers, yanking at the clasp that held it to her armour until she succeeded in ripping it off and their lips mashed together in a fervour fuelled by fear.

"I thought I'd lost you," she whispered, gripping his armour tightly. "I thought you were…" her voice trailed off and he pulled her closer.

"Never," he promised. "Never ever." Liara coughed politely and the pair snapped apart, military discipline instilled by years of training taking over.

Captain Anderson wasn't even trying to hide his smile as Aliane stared pointedly at him, taking Kaidan's hand in her own and daring him to challenge them. He gripped her hand tightly and pulled her closer to him, head held high. If they were going to berate them for breaking frat regs after this, he'd shoot them himself.

"Come on," Anderson said instead. "We have a victory to celebrate." He paused for a second. "Try to keep your clothes on, will you? At least until you retire." The tension broke. Shepard and Kaidan burst out laughing in perfect unison.