Councillor Alenko rubbed his temples. He could feel a headache coming on, but not one of his usual biotics-strained-to-the-point-of-exhaustion headaches. No, it was one that came from having to listen to the same old argument over and over again.

The Reapers had been vanquished and now the galaxy was eighteen months into rebuilding. It should have been a time for peace but Kaidan had seen more ugliness than he'd cared to admit when it came to sharing the resources that were left.

Everyone wanted something. Everyone thought their cause was more important than anyone elses.

He'd once considered his patience to be a virtue in this position, keeping his cool when a more sharp tempered person might snap. It was why the Alliance brass and what was left of the Council had offered him the position, and eager to do what he could, he'd accepted. Now he was beginning to regret his decision, wondering if someone like Commander Shepard would have been a better candidate instead. After all, she had united them once maybe they needed her to do it again.

His fingers stopped moving as he paused, ignoring the bickering around the table. Turians, Salarians, Asari, Quarian and Krogan. The cacophony of voices was deafening but the thought slowly started to take shape in his mind. He had an idea on how to finally get these races working together.

—

It was late by the time he'd finally slipped under the sheets and pressed himself against his warm, sleepy wife. She hummed and reached for his hand, pulling it to her chest and snuggling back against him as he wrapped himself around her.
"Hey, sleepy," he whispered. "Are you awake?"

She grunted before answering, making him smile. Never get between Rayne and her sleep.

"Well I am now," she said dryly, wiggling closer. He could see her eyelashes flutter in the dull moonlight. He bit his lip, wondering how to broach the subject that had consumed his thought for the last few hours. He must have taken too long to answer because before he could speak, she suddenly sat up and flicked on the bedside lamp. He squinted against the unexpected bright light. "Hey," he protested weakly.

"Okay, Kaidan. There's that little thundercloud above your head again. I can hear it in your voice. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," he said as he also sat up. He was momentarily distracted by the golden light from the lamp on Shepard's bare skin as the sheet pooled in her lap. He almost forgot what he wanted to say.

"You never wake me unless it's something serious. What did the council do this time?"

"Hmm? Ah, it's what they didn't do that concerns me."

"Oh?" she said, leaning back against the pillows and folding her arms loosely across her chest. One eyebrow was lifted in anticipation. He knew that look. Despite her taking a back seat since the Reapers were defeated, she still held a keen interest on what was happening in the galactic circus. There had been many times they had spent long hours into the night discussing a number of key issues but without her ever stepping in. She had too much rehabilitation to do – and after years of service to the galaxy, it was time she finally concentrated on herself.

But, Kaidan reminded himself, it had been over eighteen months and while she still had a long way to go, he knew she was itching to get back to work. They just didn't know what that work would be just yet.

Maybe this would be the answer?

"I have an idea I want to run by you."

—

She woke early the next morning, filled a new sense of purpose and something that felt suspiciously like excitement humming in her veins. Beside her, her husband was still asleep, his bare chest rising and falling steadily, the titanium band on his finger glinting in the morning sunlight. It was in those quiet moments she was thankful she had survived that final battle. The heavy bone weave, the cybernetics, the nanites all coursing through her system – all gifts from Cerberus that had kept her alive long enough for help to reach her. Ironic that as crazy as the Illusive Man had been at the end, he'd given her the tools she needed to survive the those final few hours when the Reapers fell.

The real work began after she had been reunited with her crew. Trying to heal both the physical and emotional scars. It was a long road, but Kaidan and her team had been there right along with her. In the past eighteen months, she had spent thousands of hours receiving therapy, she'd married the love of her life, she'd seen her closest friends and allies rise to ranks of power and responsibility, all while she was content to stay hidden in the shadows. It was time for someone else to have the glory.

But in the lonely midnight hours when the dreams woke her and she lay there feeling lost, she started to realise that it wasn't enough anymore. She saw how hard Kaidan worked, she saw how much Tali and Garrus and Wrex were achieving, and her heart itched to be a part of it. She chuckled inwardly to herself. She should have realised that her ever perceptive husband had been one step ahead of her on that front. The man knew her better than she knew herself.

All at once she was filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and love so powerful it knocked the air from her lungs.

Akuze. Alchera. The Omega 4 relay. The final battle with the Reapers… she had more lives than a cat.

She leaned over, brushing her lips across her husband's cheek before slipping away to shower and dress.

—

Kaidan strode into the conference room with an ironclad resolution he hadn't felt in weeks. The various representatives had mostly arrived, the krogan and the salarian already snarking at each other. He pursed his lips as he leaned his hands on the table. He hadn't even been able to open his mouth before the chaos started.

"Councillor Alenko! I demand that the krogan withdraw their request for out scientific data on optimal krogan breeding cycles immediately!"

"That data belongs to us! You-"

"Forget the data," the quarian piped up. He slammed his fist against the table with surprising force, making the salarian beside him jump. "We need more farmland on Rannoch-"

"The Asari-"

"Fuck the Asari-" the Krogan snarled.

"You already do," the Turian drawled, one talon tapping the wood grain of the table.

"Enough!"

Kaidan's roar carried out over the room like the crack of a whip, silencing the bickering instantly. In spite of himself, he felt a small thrill of pride at the strength in his voice. They all turned to look at him and he suddenly found himself trying to hold back a gleeful smirk. They had no idea what was about to him them and he for once had no sympathy.

"We've been in this room talking in circles for weeks. None of you will come to an agreement on the next stage of rebuilding and none of you will allow private negotiations." Kaidan's voice was sharp and he eye balled each one of the representatives without pause. "You've all wasted too much of the Council's precious time so we have made the decision to bring in a dual Spectre & Alliance negotiator. She'll see to it that you'll all reach an amical consensus."

He ignored the protests behind him as he beckoned to the other end of the room. The doors opened and his breath caught at the sight of her in her Alliance BDU's. He hadn't seen her wear anything but civilian clothes for the better part of a year. She looked like how he saw her in his dreams when she died over Alchera, albeit now her hair was a little longer, her body a little softer.
Judging by the stunned silence in the room, they all recognized her too. It was the Asari that jumped in first, clearly angling to get Shepard on her side before any of the others could. Kaidan was almost disappointed he wouldn't be around to watch Shepard put her in her place.

"Commander Shepard!"

The quarian slapped the table again, letting out something that sounded like a snarl behind his helmet, the krogan roared and the Turian leaned forward as the salarian blinked, hand waving. "But-"

"Yes," she said calmly, striding into the room with her usual commanding grace. She caught his eye from the other end of the chamber and he could see by the almost imperceptible smirk on her lips how much she was enjoy it. A tiny part of him relaxed. Deep down he had the smallest of doubts that perhaps she wasn't ready yet but those fears were buried as soon as he saw her lay down the law.

"It's me. And we're going to sort this out once and for all and leave the Council to deal with other things."

Yes, Kaidan grinned to himself as he closed the door on the commotion behind him.

Commander Shepard was back and the galaxy wasn't going to know what hit it.