"We've found the Normandy, they're coming home." There was a sudden intake of breath, audible even on the faint comms.
"All of them?" The voice shook as it asked the question.
"All of them."
***
Kaidan Alenko stared critically at himself in the mirror trying to be objective. His eyes narrowed briefly before he realised that only enhanced the lines on his forehead. The few strands of grey that had been visible in his hair five years ago had spread and he had to admit it was difficult to tell whether there was more grey or black these days. He sighed. There was no denying it, he looked forty.
There was a good reason for that of course, he was forty. But today he didn't want to look it. He had been thirty-two when they met, thirty-five when he last saw her, and he didn't want her to be shocked, or worse disappointed, in how he had changed. He turned sideways, at least he hadn't got fat, the early days of having to hunt or scavenge for food and then the long hours with nothing to do but exercise had kept his body in peak condition.
He turned back to the mirror and reached for a razor. As he picked it up he recalled that she had always liked him with a little stubble. He put it down again and ran a hand through his hair. Perhaps he should have dyed it? Well it was too late now and it would only have given Joker something else to make fun of.
Stepping away from the mirror he ran a hand over the pile of clothes on the bed. Dress blues? No, too formal, too much like he was trying. Not uniform at all, this wasn't a military event he reminded himself. He settled on a plain black t-shirt and jeans, not that there was much choice after five years of wear and tear. He went back to the mirror scowling at what he saw but admitting it wasn't going to get any better.
He looked down at his left hand, at the band of gold on his fourth finger. They had married quickly and in secret. The only witnesses had been strangers paid for their signatures on the marriage certificate and their silence. At first they had agreed to wear the rings on chains around their necks but after being stranded for a few months Kaidan hadn't seen the point of hiding it and had taken to wearing it openly. He wondered if she had done the same or if he should remove his. She hadn't had the freedom that came from total isolation from the Alliance and their regs. He decided to leave it on, if anyone asked he could say it was a family thing.
His voice had stayed remarkably steady when he'd asked the captain of the turian scout ship that had finally located the Normandy whether he knew if Commander Shepard had survived the battle in London. He had kept it together when he had been told that she had lived. But as soon as he was alone he'd leant against the sun warmed hull of the Normandy, slid down the metal and wept. Over the years he had hoped, prayed, begged gods that he didn't believe in, despaired, given up, raged and tried to be logical. Nothing had helped, he couldn't believe that she had died, but he also couldn't convince himself that anyone could have survived the crucible.
"Major Alenko, we will be docking in 5 minutes," the cold voice of the VI interrupted his preening. He missed EDI every time he heard the machine speak. He took a deep breath and headed out of the captain's cabin and into the elevator.
***
Garrus Vakarian held Tali's hand in his as they stood at the top of the ramp leading down to the Alliance dock below. Already engineers were swarming around the Normandy as the crew milled around at the base of the ramp, each being coralled into a medical evaluation room. It was strange to see the human homeworld so alive with activity after all that had happened.
"Are you ready?" Tali asked, looking up at him. He smiled at her, she looked so different in the new suit that she had been given since their rescue. Over the past five years the few suits that she had brought with her had been ripped and torn so many times that they resembled a patchwork quilt. The crew had donated all the plastic and materials that the could to the cause of keeping at least one suit airtight but it had been a losing battle. Infection after infection had assailed her and Garrus' heart had constricted in fear with each potentially fatal cough or sneeze. They had both known that their time together would most likely have been short had they been forced to remain isolated from quarian medical care. Dr Chakwas had done her best but in the end it would not have been enough. The fact that he would no longer have to worry about every passing sniffle had not sunk in quite yet.
"Just a moment, it feels strange to be leaving the Normandy after so long." Tali nodded.
"Strange. But wonderful." Garrus stared to where Kaidan stood leaning against a workbench while a woman took blood from the crook of his arm and a man ran through questions from a datapad. Tali followed his gaze.
"He's going to have a busy time of it," Garrus mused, "we're aliens to these people, we can just slip away. He'll have to explain what happened, the people we lost." Tali sighed.
"They won't blame him, they couldn't. The crew will back him to the end. I just hope..." she trailed off.
"I know," Garrus replied, he turned to face her, "you have no idea how often I wished that you'd been safe somewhere else rather than stuck on that damned planet with the rest of us. But having you there... it made things easier." Tali laughed.
"More comfortable you mean?" She said, swishing her hips suggestively as she spoke.
"Much," he said with a grin, "I meant that at least I knew you were... if not safe then at least alive. I can't imagine five years of not knowing one way or the other."
"You nearly didn't," Tali reminded him, "if Kaidan hadn't been injured on that final run to the crucible you and he would have been with Shepard and I'd have been stranded without you."
"Then Kaidan and Shepard would have been together. But I guess it worked out our way this time." Tali slapped him lightly on the arm.
"Garrus that's an awful thing to say."
"I know but it's true." They were silent for a moment.
"I just hope she's here." Tali said nervously.
"She will be." Garrus said confidently.
"She's had so little notice..." Tali continued.
"She wouldn't miss us coming back."
"It's been five years Garrus."
"She'd be here if it had been fifty." Tali shook her head.
"You always did believe she was perfect," she said with a smile, "her life will have moved on without us." Garrus paused to consider.
"I'm sure that's true, but that doesn't mean she won't care what happened to us."
"I know, of course she will. We just shouldn't expect too much from her." She said her eyes on Kaidan.
"You mean he shouldn't?" Garrus replied and she nodded, "Tali he's not a fool. He knows she might have moved on. It won't help him for us to remind him of it. Besides, Shepard is one of the most loyal people I have ever met, if he waited my money's on her having done the same."
***
"I'm sorry to hurry you," Kaidan snapped, finally interrupting the barrage of questions from the earnest young corporal with the datapad, "as you can imagine I'm keen to see my family. How much longer will this take?" The corporal looked taken aback.
"I'm sorry sir, there is quite a way to go yet," Kaidan sighed. The young man had wasted the first fifteen minutes of Kaidan's time off the ship telling him what an honour it was to meet him. The next three hours had been an unending stream of questions about every detail of what had happened since the Normandy had crash landed. Kaidan had answered them, patiently at first, but then less so as time dragged on and the other crew members were gradually ushered away to meet their visitors. When the medical examination was over Kaidan had expected to be allowed to leave.
"Corporal I understand that a full debrief is necessary," Kaidan said, "but can it not wait until I have had a chance to speak to my family and get some sleep? It has been a busy week." Kaidan's first question had been whether there was anyone there to meet him. The man had consulted his datapad and confirmed that Kaidan's mother was waiting for him and that she was alone. Kaidan's initial disappointment had given way to anxiousness to see her.
"I err..." the man stuttered. He was interrupted by a middle aged woman who approached at a brisk walk.
"Major Alenko, we need to borrow you for a moment," she said giving the corporal an annoyed look.
"We still have quite a lot of questions..." he protested.
"You can continue your questions tomorrow. Major Alenko is required elsewhere urgently. Come with me Major." Unsure whether to be grateful that he was being extracted from the interrogation or angry that he apparently had yet further commitments Kaidan followed her.
"I'm keen to see my family," he said as they walked quickly up a staircase and along corridors in the vast terminal.
"I understand," she said kindly, "but I have my orders."
"What orders?" Kaidan asked impatiently.
"You'll see in a moment," they arrived at a door guarded by two men in Alliance blue. The woman gestured for him to go inside and the men saluted as he past them. The door slid closed behind him.
The room was some form of waiting room. One wall was made entirely of glass and looked out over the city. Kaidan was not entirely sure which city, but the buildings were all new, clearly rebuilt since the war. Within the room three large sofas surrounded a glass table on which sat an empty teacup and a half eaten plate of cake. Kaidan's stomach rumbled at the sight, he had not eaten cake in years. At the window a woman stood with her back to him. Her thick dark hair hung in a braid down her back, reaching her waist. She wore a simple violet wrap dress that fell just above the knee and sensible short heels.
"Ma'am they said I should come..." she tensed at the sound of his voice and turned.
"Kaidan..." she began, her voice shaking. It was Shepard, but she looked so different from the woman he remembered. Her dark red hair was now a shade of deep chestnut. She looked softer, the angles of her face and body less pronounced, the muscles in her arms relaxed into femininity. The dress was so unlike her, flowing and almost girly. He noticed all this in a second as he crossed the room and pulled her into his arms.
She relaxed the moment his arms encircled her, breathing his familiar scent. Automatically her head came to rest on his shoulder feeling the firmness of his muscles beneath her cheek. Her arms wrapped themselves around his waist. She felt tears starting in her eyes and choked them back.
"I'm so sorry..." he began, she looked up and silenced him with a gentle finger to his lips.
"You have nothing to apologise for Kaidan," she said, "I... I should have searched harder. I tried but you were just gone. I thought you were dead." He shook his head wordlessly, tears in his eyes.
"I tried so hard to believe that you were alive, but I... it was difficult, after seeing the crucible explode." She let out a muffled chuckle.
"It takes more than the most powerful weapon ever conceived to put me down." He laughed.
"I know. I should have known." He brushed a tear from her cheek and she caught her breath at the skin to skin contact. To her, he looked just the same, so much so that her heart ached for those hours spent in his arms, trying to forget the galaxy falling apart around them. They seemed so long ago, another world.
"Alexa..." he murmered and her heart beat faster. She so rarely heard her real name these days, and to hear it from his lips, she longed to kiss him, to erase the distance of years between them. His lips met hers, gently at first, tentatively, then harder, with a hint of the passion of waiting so long.
"Kaidan stop," she said pulling away, her breathing ragged, "I can't do this."
"I'm sorry," he apologised quickly cursing himself, "it was too soon..."
"It's not that. Kaidan I'm married."
