From: Staff Commander Kaidan Alenko

To: Commander Maria Shepard

Shepard,

Thank you, for talking to me, for listening, for just being the wonderful woman that you are. With the things I've said to you, I don't deserve this second chance. I promise won't mess this up. I can't lose you again, not to the Collectors and definitely not to my own selfishness and stupidity. So be careful out there, ok? I have full confidence that you'll find a way to take out the Collectors, but just make sure you take care of yourself too. You have the tendency to take care of everyone else and forget about yourself.

I know you're busy, and so am I, but please send a message when you can. If I know anything about Liara, I know she's given you a more secure omni-tool by now so you don't have to worry about anyone going through your mail. I just, I need to hear from you. I know what you're thinking, and yes I'm a worrier, but can you blame me? I'm starting to ramble a bit so I'll wrap this up. Thank you again Shepard. I really hope I hear from you soon.

I love you,

Kaidan


From: Maria Shepard

To: Kaidan Alenko

Kaidan,

I should be thanking you. Most people would've written a passive aggressive letter and left it at that, but you didn't. You took the time to sit down and actually talk it out. That's one of the things I've always loved about you, your ability to think things through. I told Ashley once that if I wanted an opinion from the head, I'd go to you and if I wanted an opinion from the heart, I'd go to her. Well, it looks like now you embody both of those traits. You make decisions from both your head and your heart. Considering the promotion you got, it looks like that made you an even better soldier.

I don't want to waste this second chance either. Once this is all over and I'm finally able to tell The Illusive Man to go fuck himself, I think I'll take you up on that offer to go see Vancouver. That's still valid, right? I haven't seen that much of Earth and I'd love to have a local show me around. Don't worry too much about me. Your partner in crime, Garrus is here to make sure I'm getting my required calorie intake and I'm not taking too many risks. You two always did hover over me. Ok, so maybe "hover" isn't the right word. I appreciate the concern though.

If anything, I'm the one who should be worried about you. How are your headaches? I hope they're not as bad as they were on the SR-1. I always hated seeing you in that much pain. Knowing that there was nothing I could do to help you… it killed me a little bit inside every time. The quiet moments though? I always loved those. It felt so good to just sit with you and, be. No pressure for conversation, no expectation of anything. Those moments were the only times where I felt normal - like a regular human being. I miss that. I miss you. Well, Joker is informing me that we've arrived at our destination which means I have to get back to work. No rest for the wicked.

I love you,

Maria