At first Kaidan thought he was still in denial that the man who obsessively bought and cared for every fish he came across and insisted on a specially designed habitat for a hamster he never bothered to name had just saved the universe. Or that the same man wasn't allowed to survive. Overwhelmingly Kaidan couldn't understand that he had lived alongside the rest of the Normandy's crew even as they were forced to let Shepard go alone.
So many things were trying to force their way into comprehension that at first Kaidan stood completely still watching the reapers disintegrate in front of him. It took a solid punch in the shoulder from Vega to snap everything into focus and Kaidan can actually hear it. Commander Shepard is alive. The entire right side of his torso feels like it's on fire because Vega can't keep away from the weights but that's nothing compared to the trembling in his fingers and pressure in his chest.
"Let's go," someone says it, maybe even Kaidan, but it doesn't matter because Joker already has the ship burning fuel and Cortez is running to prep the shuttle with everyone following him. And it is everyone; people Kaidan swears have never left the bridge are pushing each other aside to follow their Commander. Luckily no one is getting in front of Garrus and whoever is closest behind him. Liara gripped his hand when they run out of the elevator and Kaidan nearly jumps out of his skin before realizing that they're almost there.
It's on all their Omni-tools, the unsteady pulse fluctuating between barely there and near silence that's leading them into the ruins of the tower. No one wastes time, biotics starting using lift and pull while everyone starts directing the hordes of people that are showing up. Instead of weeks of months it's only taking seconds but of course it's still a mad rush. Even with the sounds of running, lifting and yelling every Omni-tool is still overpowering in there increased moments of silence.
And it's such a cliché that Kaidan is the one to find him that he pauses in disbelief before letting himself fall to his knees. Miraculously not crushed under the weight of concrete rubble Kaidan kneels down and sees the slight rise and fall of his chest and where his Omni-tool is hastily connected to an engineer's enhanced radio output. Kaidan's willing to bet there's a medi gel ignored somewhere within reach. "It's Shepard," says a faraway voice in awe and of course Kaidan knows that. Beat to hell and barely alive but still the same person that would watch Kaidan cook as if he was performing an amazing feat of sorcery.
Kaidan's brief moment alone with Shepard is over but it's worth it so many times over to be crammed in the back of a medic shuttle to the closest thing to a hospital they have. The galaxy was just saved and finally it's starting to feel like it for Kaidan.