Kaidan was almost uncomfortably warm, like everything from the neck down had been mired in a hot tub for too long. He didn't know if he could move his limbs, didn't know if he even wanted to. He turned his head to the side and took a breath.

A breath that carried a trace of Shepard's beautiful and unique scent deep into his lungs.

His eyes drifted open, and there she was, lying on top of him, chest to chest, her legs nestled on the bed along his right side, her face directly above his. The look of relief that crossed her face when his eyes focused on her was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen, her hand moving to rest gently against the side of his face. "Kaidan," she sighed and leaned in to kiss him. He twisted her lips open, needing to taste her, but she only let him in for a moment before kissing a path towards his ear. "I thought I lost you on Mars," she whispered into his ear before taking the lobe between her teeth. "I need to know that you're alive. And whole. And all mine."

She kissed him again, her hand sliding down his neck, grazing across a nipple, fingertips dancing along his abs and lower until she finally settled around his already hardening member. Her touch was tantalizingly light, reverent even, and it was arousing as hell, but Kaidan wanted—needed—more. He tried thrusting his hips against her, but the deeper touch he sought was ever elusive. His teeth ground together of their own accord, his body frustrated and searching for an outlet.

She grabbed his hand in hers and guided it between his legs. "Show you me how you like it, baby," she whispered hotly as they began to stroke together, fingers entwined around his delicate flesh. With her encouragement, he showed her both the speed and pressure that would bring him the most pleasure. Having her help was more erotic than anything he had ever experienced alone. He longed to be inside her, both to reassure himself that she was still his Shepard and to show her just how much he had missed her, but she was unrelenting, and, by the slight tightening he could feel in his balls, he wasn't going to last much longer.

"Shepard," he groaned, trying to slow their hands and savor the moment, but it was too late, and he completely lost himself as he stared into her gorgeous green eyes.

Alarms started going off, and Kaidan was shocked awake the moment before a nurse rushed into his room. She seemed somewhat surprised that he was awake, but surprise quickly turned into shock washed with total embarrassment when her gaze took in his scandalous posture, and that his erection was still in hand. He opened his mouth to say something—anything, really, to try and explain the situation the poor girl—but she turned tail and fled.

Kaidan tried to pull himself together, to get his bearings as his memories of Earth and Mars came slamming back, but he was still coming off his orgasm and felt completely disoriented. The door opened again, this time to admit none other than Dr. Chakwas. "Major," she said calmly as she walked to the offending machine and deactivated the alarm before retrieving a few towels and a clean sheet from the cupboard. "Do forgive Nurse Branam. She is somewhat…skittish."

Kaidan's cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of red. "Dr. Chakwas," he began, but was unsure of exactly how to continue. "What…how…?"

"I was paged automatically when the alarms on your monitor tripped," Chakwas said smoothly as she held up a sheet to give him some privacy as he cleaned himself. When he was finished, she deposited the soiled linens in a bin, stripped off her gloves, and began taking his vitals herself. She even gave him a slight smile. "How are you feeling, Kaidan?"

He rubbed his forehead. "Besides thoroughly embarrassed? Somewhat disoriented. I thought…Shepard…"

"She brought you here after what happened on Mars, seeing as the Normandy doesn't exactly have a medical officer at the moment." Her fingers moved from the pulse at his wrist as she reached for a blood pressure cuff. "She stayed for quite a while, but she had urgent business on Palaven." She put away her equipment and sat on the edge of the gurney. "I promised her I'd look after you until she got back. I would appreciate it if you could refrain from setting off the alarms again."

He looked out the window and muttered, "It isn't like I did it on purpose, doc."


Udina was pressing him for an answer. Again. But hell if he was going to give that prick anything before he at least heard from Shepard. "You'll have my answer soon, Councilor. I promise."

"I look forward to it," the politician replied as the doors to Kaidan's room opened to admit the one woman who somehow managed to draw his attention with her mere presence, whether in a crowded room or the middle of a battlefield or in the narrow corridors of a spaceship.

"Shepard, hey! You missed snack time." He thought about Nurse Branam's horrified expression the night he woke up and the ensuing awkwardness any time she brought him his food or medication, and he blushed slightly as his gaze slid away from the woman whose mere memory had teased him into such complete arousal. "Actually, that's probably a good thing. Thanks for coming."