Caius Victomus's mandibles twitched in surprise when he logged into his work station and saw he had a notification from Commander Bailey. It wasn't exactly rare to get a notification from Bailey. Usually he had something or other to tweak about what to do with the refugees for the day, or give the other officers a head's up if they were expecting trouble with the next arrival of refugees.

But it was unusual to get a notification from Bailey this blunt and obviously addressed to only him.

Come to my office as soon as possible.

And if 'soon as possible' isn't in the next five minutes, then come immediately.

Caius gave a grunt, and his mandibles twitched again as he frowned and logged out of his work station.

'Well now what?' he wondered as he signaled to a human guard, Fredericks. Fredericks waved back impatiently, only half acknowledging Caius as he argued with one of the refugees, a doctor, if Caius remembered correctly. Probably asking for more medi-gel, he figured.

He figured right.

"I swear," Fredericks grumbled as he finally came marching up to him, "no matter how many times you say 'No', they don't hear it."

"Problem?" Caius asked.

"Nothing I can't handle. Wants more medi-gel but he's already used up his ration for this week. I tried telling him we don't have an infinite supply and he should start making a priority list of who needs it most, but he didn't want to hear that."

Caius shook his head, already feeling the familiar throbbing in his head. Things couldn't go on like this. With more refugees arriving every day and quarters getting crowded and rationing getting tighter, something or someone was bound to snap.

But he couldn't think about that now.

"Hey," he said, tapping Fredericks' shoulder, "take over for me for a sec, will ya? Bailey wants to see me for some reason."

"Sure. What's it about?"

Caius shrugged helplessly.

"Beats me." He answered.

"Hope it's not that Batarian again." Fredericks grumbled.

Caius remembered which one Fredericks meant. There was one Batarian that kept trying to get other refugees to share the minor sleeping meds they were all issued on arrival to help let them get some sleep amidst the noisy conditions. When the refugees inevitably refused to give up what little they had, he raised a fuss and claimed racism. They'd had to "calm" him three times now.

"Don't think so." Caius said, "But I guess I'm going to find out."

"Sure, throw me to the wolves." Fredericks said, and his tone was only half-joking. Caius shrugged again, then turned and started for Bailey's office, at least grateful to get away from the sound of pained and saddened voices all surging and tumbling over each other as they tried to comfort each other and grieve together.

Everyone had lost so much. And if things kept going the way they were, Caius thought grimly, they were all going to lose even more.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Caius asked, standing to attention in front of Bailey's desk.

"I did, Officer Victomus, I did." Bailey answered, "And you can relax, you're not in trouble and we've all been tense enough."

Caius let his posture relax, and felt some of the nervous tension leave his chest. Bailey didn't sound angry. But he did sound tired. And…older.

"You want something to drink, Victomus?" Bailey asked, glancing covertly down at a drawer in his desk.

Caius blinked in surprise.

"Uh, n-no, sir. Thank you." He said in bemusement. Bailey shrugged, opened the drawer he'd indicated, and produced an unopened bottle of whiskey. A rarity.

"Suit yourself." Bailey answered. "Let me know if you change your mind."

Caius watched Bailey struggle to open the bottle, wandering why he'd even been summoned unless Bailey just wanted a drinking buddy. And why would Bailey choose him if he did? They weren't exactly friends.

To be sure, they weren't enemies, but they were very much coworkers and nothing more.

"I'm sorry sir," Caius said as Bailey started to take a swig from the bottle, "but what did you need me for?"

Bailey sighed and set the bottle down reluctantly.

"Turians," he muttered, "all business." He sighed again, rubbed a hand over his face, and then straightened in his chair and looked Caius dead in the eyes.

"Word has it that you've been looking after that refugee girl. The young one. What's her name…Kara?" Bailey said, sounding more official, but still tired.

Caius nodded, some of the tension returning. He'd been teased about Kara. Rather unseemly comments had been made on occasion, much to his disgust.

"Yes, sir." Caius said, "And if there's been any complaints made about my conduct I can assure you that our relationship is-" he began, but Bailey grunted and waved his hand dismissively.

"No complaints." Bailey said, "I know you've been teased about it, but honestly I'm glad someone is showing some humanity to those poor souls out there."

Caius grunted, smirking. Bailey caught it.

"Oh," he mumbled, "and by 'humanity' I mean…" he trailed off and waved his hand again.

"What I'm trying to say," Bailey continued, "is that I hate to punish you for being nice to a kid who needed someone to be nice."

Caius frowned and tilted his head.

"Have I done something wrong, sir?" he asked. Bailey shook his head, reaching for a datapad by his keyboard.

"No, Victomus. Can I call you Caius?" Bailey asked abruptly. Caius nodded. "You're not being punished, really," Bailey said, "I guess that was the wrong word to use. It's just that I think I'm going to have to put you in a very hard position and I hate to do that to you when you've just been trying to help."

"Sir?" Caius said, a sudden sinking feeling stealing over him and settling firmly in his stomach.

"Kara, did she tell you her parents' names?" Bailey asked.

Caius nodded. She'd asked him to keep a look out for their names to show up on the list of incoming refugees when she couldn't be there to watch the monitor herself.

Bailey frowned, and stretched the datapad out to Caius.

Caius stepped forward, grasped it in his talons, and scanned over it quickly, already knowing what he was going to see.

Gwen Whitaker (29)

Zachary Whitaker(31)

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Then Caius finally lifted his head and looked at Bailey. Bailey wasn't looking at Caius, he was busy taking a quick draught of whiskey.

"What is this list for, sir?" Caius asked, but really he already knew.

"That's the updated list of the deceased from Kara's home-world. Hasn't been published yet." Bailey answered quietly.

Caius felt the tightening in his chest, so he closed his eyes, took a breath, and handed the datapad back to Bailey before he opened his eyes again.

'Kara…' he thought with a pang.

"She'll be devastated." Caius murmured. Bailey nodded solemnly.

"It's gonna be hard on her, that's for sure." He agreed, "Kid that young…losing 'em both just when everyone needs the ones they love close by." He sighed, took another swig of whiskey, and shook his head.

Caius watched him, understanding what Bailey was trying to tell him: He wanted Caius to tell Kara.

"If it's okay with you, sir," Caius broke the silence, "I think I'll have that drink now."

Caius handed the bottle back to Bailey and stifled a burp.

Bailey put the lid back on the bottle and leaned back in his chair. Between the two of them, the bottle was now more than half empty, though they had tried to be careful not to drain it.

"There's another problem, you know." Bailey said after a moment's silence. Caius looked up, vision a little bleary and swimming. He gave a shake of his head, which made it worse, and instead took a deep breath.

"Of course there is." Caius answered.

"She's gonna need somewhere to go," Bailey said, "I mean, she's safe enough where she is, I suppose. But with more refugees coming in, that may not hold true for much longer. And after this is over, assuming we're still alive, she's gonna need somewhere to go. Does she have any other family?"

Caius shook his head.

"She said her last grandparent died when she was little," he explained, "that's what made her parents want to go settle on a new world. Her mom had a sister, but last they heard she was killed on Earth. Kara's dad was an only child."

"What a mess." Bailey said after another pause.

Caius sighed in agreement.

"You have a place, don't you, Caius?"

The question took him by surprise.

"Well, yes, sir," he answered, "I was watching the place for a pal, but…" he sighed, "He went to command a squadron back on Palaven. Haven't heard back from him, so I guess it's mine for now. Beats the barracks, anyway."

"I hear that." Bailey chuckled. "I don't want to tell you your business, but-"

"I know what you're hinting at," Caius interrupted. "You think I should have Kara come live with me."

"I think it's better than having her stay where she's at, don't you? Especially with her being alone."

Caius frowned and gazed very hard at the floor, no longer feeling loopy.

"That could…complicate things."

"With you being a turian?"

"Not so much with my being turian as being an older turian living with a very young, very pretty female human." Caius answered, "If comments are already being made about us what do you think is going to happen if I do that? It wouldn't be fair to her."

Bailey was quiet for a minute, thinking, or trying to think through the booze, anyway.

Both were quiet for a good minute and a half before Bailey roused himself again. He tapped on his desk, and watched his fingertips drumming, as though watching the beat helped him focus past the alcohol in his bloodstream.

"You know, Caius," he said, "it's a funny old universe, isn't it? I mean, none of us know the punchline yet, and maybe there isn't one, but it's a funny old universe. And most of the time it feels like the little things just don't matter. The little people and their little problems." He took a breath, the flow of speech coming easier, "I mean we've got Reapers tearing the galaxy apart. We're still scrambling to have a chance to slow them down, and it feels like all this-" his gesture indicated the datapad, his monitor, and his office, and beyond, "just doesn't matter at all, does it?"

Caius wasn't sure how to answer.

"No offence, sir," he finally said, "but if this is a pep-talk…I'm not feeling the pep."

Bailey laughed, a grumbling laugh that grew into a rumbling, choking kind of laughter.

"Ya got me." He said. "Been a bit addled lately, don't mind me. I'm just an old man tryin' to wing it." He chuckled again, then grew serious and looked up at Caius.

"But these things do matter," he told Caius, "maybe not in the long run, to the grand scheme of things, but to those people out there, that is the long run. What happens to them is their grand scheme of things. It's hard to remember that sometimes, but they're just like you and me. They have their lives, their histories, their futures, however long or short they're going to be."

Caius nodded slowly.

"I agree," he said, "but…not to be rude, but what does that have to do with Kara?"

Bailey smirked.

"Son," he said, and Caius couldn't help but twitch his mandibles in amusement at the word, "when people talk about you and that girl, they may tease about it, but underneath it I've seen some warmth. It's hard to find things to smile about these days, but when I hear or see people talking about you and her, they're smiling. They're not disapproving, they're seeing what they need to be seeing: people looking out for each other, regardless of species."

Caius sat back in his chair. He hadn't known the talk about him and Kara had reached quite so far.

"I mean, it's your business," Bailey finished, "but if you were to look after Kara…I don't think you need to worry about disapproval."

Caius watched the older human for a moment, and then slowly stood up.

"Thank you, sir." He said. "I-I'll have to think about it for a while."

"Of course." Bailey shrugged, "The deceased list is always delayed from publication for at least a day after it comes in, to make sure everyone's accounted for and no discrepancies have been made. So you have some time to tell her, whatever you decide."

"Thank you, sir." Caius answered, giving a half-hearted salute.

"You're welcome, Officer Caius. Good luck."

"What's up, Caius?" Kara asked as he approached. She had a bright smile on her face, but her eyes were bloodshot, and there were stress lines already forming under them. He smiled instead of answering right away, and she popped up from her seat.

"How're you doing, Kara?" he asked.

"Okay, I guess." She said, "A little tired, maybe. There was a baby in the sleeper next to mine and he kept getting fussy during the night, poor thing."

"Sorry about that," Caius said, "if you need, maybe I could see about getting you some more knockout pills?"

"Nah, that's okay," Kara answered, "other people need them more than me, I bet." She smiled cheerfully, not noticing his wince.

"Say," Caius said after a moments' hesitation, "I have some time off today, and I bet you must feel pretty stifled in here, so what'd you say I take you up to the markets? Get you some different smelling air, maybe a decent meal?"

Kara's face brightened, some of the stress lines disappearing into her smile.

Caius couldn't help but wonder if that smile would ever come back after she knew.

"Really?" Kara asked, "You could do that? You won't get into trouble, will you?"

"Nah." Caius answered, "We wouldn't be gone all that long, anyway. Maybe an hour or two. Sound good?"

Kara nodded, ponytail bouncing, eyes sparkling.

"Sounds great!" she exclaimed.

"Okay, then," Caius forced a smile, "let's get a move on before Fredericks spots us."

"Is there something on your mind, Caius?" Kara asked.

They'd been browsing the stores for nothing in particular for the past half hour. Kara had been having a good time, prattling about stories related to this or that item. Stories from her childhood: happy, sunshine-filled memories full of blissful ignorance and bright hopes and dreams for the future that would probably never happen, now.

Caius had enjoyed just listening to her, sin spite of the weight in his chest. He hadn't needed to talk except to make some comment on what'd she said, but now they'd found themselves past the shops, and paused on a balcony overlooking the traffic in the Citadel.

Diners and business people mingled around them, somehow making this feel like just another day on the Citadel, like they weren't running from Reapers. Like everything was normal.

'We're all so good at pretending.' He thought. 'Or just distracting ourselves.'

Then it registered that Kara had asked him something.

He played the question back through his mind.

"Uh," Caius said, rubbing the back of his neck, "sort of. Sorry."

"It's okay." Kara shrugged, "Everyone's got a lot on their minds these days." She laughed lightly and looked around at the busy scene.

"At least," she added, "it seems like that most of the time." She giggled again and turned to watch the traffic. She leaned against the railing of the balcony, tapping the toe of her boot on the ground, making her ponytail bounce. Her smile slipped, just a bit.

Caius watched her quietly for a moment, and then slowly leaned on the railing beside her, trying to think of how to say what he needed to.

"It's okay." Kara's voice surprised him. Not just because he hadn't expected her to speak, but also because she sounded uncharacteristically quiet.

"What?" Caius said.

"Whatever you need to say," she said, "it's okay. Whatever you have to tell me, I've already thought of a million different ways it can come out. And a million more ways of how it happened." She looked over at him. The stress lines were back, and though her blue eyes were already starting to waver and fill with tears, there was a quiet resolve behind them.

That hurt almost worse than if he'd taken her by surprise.

She already knew, somehow. Maybe she'd felt it. Or suspicioned, when the days passed and her parents hadn't come on their shuttle. The poor girl had gone on acting as though she was still hopeful and certain they'd come, but it had been something to fool herself with.

"So you can tell me." She added. Her voice sounded thick, and Caius had to look away before he completely lost his nerve.

He let a moment of silence pass before he trusted himself to speak.

"Kara," he began, trying to ground himself in her name, focus on her, not how he was going to say this; "I-I wish I didn't have to tell you this. Or-I-I-mean, I wish it didn't have to be said." He pushed himself back into a standing position and looked down at her.

"Kara…your parents…I'm sorry. I just found out today." He said it as gently and quietly as he could.

A shudder ran through Kara's whole body. It was as though he'd just punched her in the stomach, and knocked all of the air out of her. She grasped the railing with both hands, shaking for a few seconds, eyes shut. The muscles in her throat contracting in short, agonized spasms.

She turned pale. He saw her clench her jaw, her lips quiver as quick, scalding, long-repressed tears spilled from her closed eyelids.

A sharp stab of pain ran through him when he heard her take a shuddery breath. She was choking on her own grief.

He reached out awkwardly with his talons and grasped her shoulder, unsure of what else to do or say.

"I'm sorry." She managed to whisper, wiping at her eyes, embarrassed.

"No, no, don't be sorry." He murmured, his voice rumbling. "Take your time. Do what you need to, it's okay."

She wiped at her face again, sniffing. She shuddered again, and then opened her eyes and looked up at him. She made a feeble attempt at a smile.

"I knew." She said, "I just knew, when they didn't come. But-but I had to hope that-that maybe they-"

She broke off, her lips trembling again, and she bit her bottom lip to make it stop. Caius nodded in understanding, tightening his grip on her shoulder and wondering what was the proper way to comfort a small human.

"I know what you mean." He said, "I-uh, I have a friend, on Palaven."

She looked up.

"The news said the Reapers are-"

"I know." He sighed. "I haven't heard from him. And I know…I know, that he's…but I still hope, even though I know what I want to be true, isn't going to be. There isn't anything wrong with hoping against what you know and feel is true. Sometimes we have to… we have to so we can hold on to something, especially when everything else is either slipping away or being ripped from us."

Kara sniffed again, and turned to look out across the hectic traffic of shuttles and taxis one more time.

"I'm sorry." He said again.

"Don't be," she answered, her voice soft, "it's not your fault. You've been…really great. This whole time. You've been great. I can't thank you enough for that."

Caius shrugged.

Kara cleared her throat, wiping at the last stubborn tears.

"I-I'm not sure what I'm going to do, now." She said, and gave a short, mirthless laugh. "Not that there's much to do, since, you know, it looks like the end of life as we know it."

"It won't be." Caius said, a sudden determination edging its way into his voice that made Kara look at him.

"It won't be the end." He said, "We'll find a way to fix it, stop it, rebuild, whatever. We have to." He sighed and leaned across the railing again.

"It doesn't help to think about it that way," he said, "or we all might as well just lie down and not do anything. We have to keep doing what we can, because now is all that matters. Because tomorrow may never come. Have to make today count."

"My dad used to say that." Kara said.

A frown formed on her face.

"Weird to talk about him as past-tense already." She murmured.

Caius rumbled sympathetically.

"And," he said after a pause, "you don't need to worry about what to do," he said, "I mean…if you want…uh…" he sighed, frustrated, "I'm not good at this. But…if you want me to, I'll look after you. Make sure you're taken care of. I have a place you can stay at…until you find something more to your liking, I mean. Might be nicer than the sleeper next to the screaming baby."

It came out haltingly, and it didn't quite cover what meant to say, but it was what he had.

Kara didn't seem to hear. She continued staring out across the horizon. Then she turned and looked up at him, a sad smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"I think…I think that'd be nice." She said.

"Okay." Caius nodded.

She turned back to the view, and he did the same.

The worst was over. For now, anyway.

And now was all they had.

Kara shifted, moved closer, and, glancing down, he saw she was crying again. But he doubted she even realized it.

Her left arm twitched, lifted, dropped back to the railing. And then she impulsively turned and leaned into him, wrapping her arms as best she could around his armor and laying her cheek against his C-SEC insignia.

Surprised, it took Caius a moment to figure out what he was supposed to do. So he did what he thought he should: He lifted his hands and rested his right hand gently on the top of her head while he pressed his other hand against her back.

"It'll be okay," he murmured to her, realizing he might be making a promise he couldn't keep. So, to make up for it, he made one more; one that he could keep: "I'll take care of you."

"Momma?" Kara looked up with a start, and then had to look down to see who had called her.

It was Roani, the youngest of her three girls. Kara smiled down at her, and Roani grinned back, her green eyes sparkling happily. All the girls favored Kara's wife, of course, in true Asari fashion. So all of them sported the blue skin, but Roani had Kara's eyes.

"What is it, love?" Kara asked.

"What're you looking at?" Roani asked, bouncing in place. She was always moving, somehow.

"Just looking at Uncle Caius," she said, showing Roani the picture of the turian. The picture had been taken a few years ago, and while it showed Caius's advanced years, he hadn't slowed down any. Not so much that it was noticeable, anyway.

"When's he coming to visit?" Roani asked, studying the picture as though to make sure she didn't forget a detail.

"Next week." Kara reminded her. Roani bounced again and handed back the picture.

"Tell me about him!" Roani's voice squeaked excitedly. Kara smiled.

"I've told you just about everything I can about him," she said, "surely you don't want to hear the same old thing again, do you?"

Roani grinned and nodded, all but jumping up and down, now.

"Okay, okay," Kara laughed, putting her hands under Roani's arms and picking her up. She walked over to the sofa, sat down, and waited until Roani had settled herself comfortably before pulling her daughter closer and resting her chin atop Roani's head.

"All right," Kara said, "do you want me to tell about how mommy first met Uncle Caius on the Citadel? Or do you want to hear about how he had to train me after I joined C-SEC?"

Roani snuggled deeper.

"First met." She answered.

"Okay," Kara said, "well, I was just a teenager, lost and lonely when I met your Uncle Caius…"