"Major! Major Alenko! She's awake."
Three weeks had passed since the Reapers had been defeated and the rebuilding had only just begun. There were so many tasks to take on and so many people who needed help and guidance. But the number one thing on Kaidan's mind was Commander Shepard, to all she was a hero, the one who faced the Reapers straight on and won the battle for everyone. But to him, she was his best friend, the love of his life, his everything, his Cali. Few people knew her first name, and fewer still ever called her by it, especially the shorten version. Shepard once told him that her name, Calynn which means "powerful in battle", was an old Celtic name reflecting her mom's Irish heritage. She certainly lived up to that name time and time again.
Shepard had ordered the evacuation on Earth toward the end of the final battle, because Kaidan and Tali had been hurt while trying to get to a beam that led up to the Citadel, that was under Reaper control. As they were being carried on to the Normandy, she told Kaidan that she will always love him no matter what happens. Once on board, Kaidan begged Joker not to leave the Sol system, as he was preparing to do, and asked to try to get in touch with Shepard. When Joker finally heard from her, she didn't sound good and he made the decision to try to get her off the Citadel. Just then a shot of orange light came from the structure that had been the headquarters of the galaxy for thousands of years. All the Reapers were instantly deactivated as soon as the orange light touched them, but the Citadel was destroyed. The Normandy landed back on Earth to help in any way that they could. Kaidan, who had been treated for his injuries, wandered among the rubble fearing the worst.
Suddenly there was a great commotion, two Marines were shouting, "We found someone! She's still alive!"
Kaidan rushed over hoping on hope that this survivor was the one and only Calynn Shepard. As he approached he noticed the "N7" on her armor, "Cali?! Cal! Are you alright?" She said nothing, the only sign of life was her shallow breath. "She's barely breathing! We've got to help her!", Kaidan said as he picked up the great hero of the galaxy, and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry Cal. Everything's going to be fine", remembering that she appreciated simple reassurance. Over the next three weeks Shepard gradually made improvements, but had yet to regain consciousness. Until now. Kaidan rushed to the hospital, hoping that today would be the day that he would finally be able to once again hear her voice and look into her eyes.
He walked into her room, knelt by her bedside, took her hand in his and said, "Cali? It's Kaidan, can you hear me?"
She slowly opened her eyes, and said in a soft voice, "Kaidan?" She smiled, reached up and touched the side of his face with her hand, caressing his cheek with her thumb. "Kaidan, what happened?"
"You did it, Cal. You stopped them. They're gone, for good."
She smiled, and pulled him into her as tears began to form in her eyes. She buried her face in his chest, wrapped her arms around him, and cried unexpected tears. Tears that she had been holding back for three years. Tears that were a release of sadness, fear, doubt, disappointment, exhaustion, and thankfully now an expression of relief. She tightened her hold and pulled him in a little closer. She whispered in his ear, "Don't let go. Don't ever let go."
"I won't, Cal. I won't."
After several minutes of holding each other, they pulled away and Kaidan helped her sit up in her bed. He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his hand, and kissed her forehead. Shepard smiled and said, "I love you Kaidan. I love you so much. And when I was up in the Citadel, I was so worried that I would never see you again. But I also knew that no matter what, I needed to finish the mission."
"I know, its okay you did what you had to do. And I love you too, more than I could ever adequately express." Kaidan sat down on the side of her bed and asked her, "Do you remember what happened while you were up there?"
Shepard thought for a second and looked as though she was struggling to remember, "It's all so fuzzy. I remember saying goodbye to you, and running toward the beam. I got hit by something, but still managed to make it up there. Anderson was there, so was the Illusive Man. He had been indoctrinated, he shot Anderson, then tried to kill me. Anderson shot him, and we were able to start the Crucible. I remember sitting with Anderson looking down at the Earth. He said he was proud of me, then he died. I can't really remember much after that." Shepard stopped and thought for a moment. Then she said, " How long ago was that?"
"It's been three weeks."
"Three weeks?! Where's our crew?", she asked.
"They're here. All of them, helping in any way that they can."
"And EDI?", Shepard asked with obvious concern.
"She's fine. She's with Joker. Why do you ask?"
"No I just...thought that someone had told me that she wouldn't be okay. I'm so glad he was wrong." She closed her eyes for a few seconds, and breathed yet another sigh of relief. She put her hands on Kaidan's shoulders and pulled him close her until their foreheads touched. "Kaidan, you are the love of my life."
"And you Calynn, are my everything."
A week later, Shepard had regained much of her strength and was well enough to be released from the hospital. Kaidan led her to the temporary headquarters of the Alliance and they were greeted by the best welcome party in the galaxy. Her crew, her best friends, her family, rushed in to greet their commander. Garrus, Tali, Liara, Joker, EDI, even James and Steve took turns exchanging hugs and "We missed you. We're so glad your safe."
Shepard smiled and said, "I'm happy to see you all again. Where's Wrex and Grunt?"
Garrus answered, "Wrex needed to get back to Tuchanka. And Grunt is.."
A deep voice interrupted Garrus, "Shepard! Haha! I knew that the Reapers wouldn't be able to knock you on your ass for long!", Grunt exclaimed while picking her up in a tight hug.
"Hi Grunt, I missed you too!" Shepard smiled at her crew, recalling everything that they had been through together. "Thank you. All of you, for everything. I couldn't have done it, any of it, with out you. You're the best crew in the whole galaxy."
Tali answered, "Thanks Shepard. We love you too."
Shepard smiled and hugged Tali, and Grunt, again. Kaidan came by her side, took hold of her hand and whispered, "Will you marry me?"
Shepard was momentarily surprised by the question, then smiled and said, "Yes. Yes!"
Kaidan wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up in a tight hug, spinning around once. Shepard was so overcome with joy that she couldn't help but laugh.
James noticed the exchange and asked, "And what's going on here Lola?" Shepard and Kaidan didn't take their eyes off each other as they said at the same time, "We're getting married." Cheers of excitement and congratulations erupted from the crew, this was one of the few happy moments they had all shared.
Later that evening on board the Normandy, Shepard and her crew held a small remembrance service for Admiral Anderson adding his name to the memorial wall. The wall was full of the names of the people they had lost in the fight to stop the Reapers. Those that had died when the original Normandy was destroyed, and also Ashley, Mordin, Legion, and Thane. The last three years had been full of disappointment, heartache, and so many other emotions. But also brought friendship, love, and forced them to dig a little deeper to find their true strength, and become better versions of themselves. Shepard looked at the faces of her crew, they had all become her family. Her eyes finally rested on Kaidan, the best thing to come out of all of this, she walked over to him and he pulled her in for a hug. Her past may have been full of fighting, struggle, and loss; but the future was unwritten. She was determined to make it happy, full, and bright; with more time to relax and maybe a little less gunfire.