Come Home with Me
This story sort of spawned in my head and had been sitting at the back of my mind, and I felt the need to share it :) Hope you enjoy it. Played both male and female Shepard and both times I paired him/her with Kaidan, I think they just fit. Though sometimes I find Kaidan to be a bit too sensitive… but I guess it's part of his charm :p
Summary: After Shepard made the choice to destroy the Reapers, the Normandy crew survived, but not without complications. They also found Shepard, but was it too late to save him?
*Spoilers ME3*
This is it... This is the end, his thought scrambled as the Normandy shook violently. He couldn't hear a thing but his own heartbeats, and the loud prayer he had been reciting over and over again in his head. He didn't even feel the pain that he should have felt from his injuries anymore, it had been replaced by the gut clenching sensation as his heart paced faster, and Normandy shook more violently, and in the cockpit, Joker's hands moved more urgently across the panel. I will show up!
He felt the burn as tears pooled in his eyes, unable to contain it any longer. He was prepared to die that day... And he was... thought he was prepared to face the reality that he may not see his Commander again, but preparation could only do so much. He could hear thunderous rattling all around him, he felt the tight knot on his stomach, and the dense air around him as the crew braced for what was to come.
He remembered the feel of weightlessness, and the impact, but funnily enough he didn't feel a thing before his world went dark.
"I love you... Until the end of time" he felt the words left his lips, but he couldn't see the person in front of him… just shadows. He brought his hand forward to reach, but it was empty air.
"Are we gonna make it, Kaidan?" the question lingered in his head. He remembered the expanse of Shepard's back as his palm explored the naked warm skin. He remembered every ripples of the other man's body like he had travelled the road million times over, and he remembered the warm feeling that washed over him as the Commander held him close and not even the strongest force in the universe could separate them then.
"Whatever happens... Know that I love you. Always" came the voice again, and Kaidan remembered the blue of the Commander's eyes, the silent plea for him to get to safety before he told the crew to leave, and Shepard spared another look over his shoulder, gaze locked onto his before he turn and ran towards the beam. Kaidan spun to look for the source, but there was still nothing.
"John! Where are you?" He tried to yell, but his voice never came out, his body wouldn't move, and he became a prisoner in his own body.
"Welcome aboard, Major" he remembered his faint smile clearly, that slight upturn of his thin lips that made his world spin, the one that gave him the push to do better, the same one that appeared when he said "I love you"
"That's how I cope. I think about how Earth looked... and how it's going to look when we get back. Guns blazing, the whole galaxy behind us" his voice filled the emptiness again, and this time he saw Earth the way it was, beautiful and magnificent.
"Home" he whispered softly as he laid eyes on the blue planet, feeling himself relax a little.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" The voice was closer this time, and Kaidan felt a warm breeze caressed his face. Kaidan let himself be taken further without a fight, feeling himself gently lowered to a grassy field. Anything to see you again, to be closer to you, to hold you once more.
"I'll never forget that first night we bunked together" his voice came a little happier, holding promise for more, and Kaidan felt his spirit lifted, allowing his lips to break into a small smile.
"That's it, Kaidan. Let it go" he sounded encouraging, and Kaidan felt a sudden warm pressure on his right hand.
"When this is over, I'm going to be waiting for you. You'd better show up" the voice became clearer and closer. He found himself able to move again, and reached to his right, expecting to catch empty air again, but this time a hand met his, and a light kiss was planted to his palm.
"Hey" Kaidan's voice came out almost a whisper as it almost hurt to speak.
"It's over, Kaidan" he said softly, fingers caressing his hair gently.
"And I'm here" he answered, I showed,pressing his palm to his cheek, bright blue eyes met his with such intensity that Kaidan just knew it must be real, not just a dream.
"You're almost home" Shepard told him.
"I am home" he squeezed his hand, but the other man shook his head.
He pulled at him gently until he was pressed against him, his back to his chest, and his arms dropped over Kaidan's shoulders, hands rested on his chest where his heart was. He nuzzled in the crook of the Major's neck and squeezed him into a hug. Kaidan turned and took him into his arms, brushing a kiss to the other man's forehead as their surrounding changed almost abruptly, they were amongst the stars then.
A sudden bright light came by, knocking him off balance, but he held onto Shepard's strong arms and brought himself firm on his feet again. There was a look in his eyes that made Kaidan's heart clench again, and he suddenly felt sick.
"No! Come home with me" he held onto him as the bright light came passing again, knocking him back slightly, but he still held on.
"You are my home Kaidan" he leaned in and gave him a kiss.
The bright light came again, and it knocked Kaidan harder, and again, and again, until he was thrown back, pried away from the Commander, his Commander. He struggled against it as he felt Shepard's hand slipped away from his but only resulting in him being drifted further away from the Commander.
"Come with me!" He pleaded, his feet dug down, finding traction wherever he could find it, and with all his might, he lunged forward to him again, and managed to catch his arm.
"You'll do great, Kaidan" Shepard's voice was assuring, filled with pride as he stood there unmoved, still not willing to move as the other man pulled him.
The bright light pulsed once more, and to Shepard's surprise, this time knocking them both off balance.
"Come!" Kaidan said again, this time his other hand latched onto Shepard's arm as well.
"I can't, I'm sorry" the Commander shook his head before he met Kaidan's gaze and a sudden realization flickered in the blue eyes of his. He looked down briefly before looking back up towards Kaidan, something changed as blood trickled down his nose.
"I love you" he whispered, only this time it was filled with pain. Kaidan noticed the blood on his hands, then on the Commander... He stared in horror at the sight before him and his heart shattered. The sight of the legendary Commander Shepard severely wounded... so weak, beaten and broken was devastating. He wondered how he survived that.
Shepard tried to push him away with whatever he had left as another bright light came closing in, he even made it an order, but Kaidan wasn't going to let go, not when he was that close to having him back... so Kaidan did the only thing he could think of… hold on.
"Come home with me. I will take care of you as you took care of me" Kaidan pleaded as he held on tight, he murmured soothing and comforting words, squeezing his eyes shut as he felt Shepard stopped moving, hands clutching to the side of Kaidan's arms, and the light came with a force that was enough to knock the air out of his lungs.
"He's back!" Kaidan recognized the voice that rang loudly in his ears. Liara.
It felt different this time, his eyes fluttered half opened, blurry movements came passing by, he felt his chest constrained tightly as he tried to breathe and found it to be difficult, and he was sore in way too many places. Another bright light shone right into his eyes, as he felt fingers around his eyes, he tried to flinch away, but found that he only managed to twitch a little.
He heard murmurs from around him before it became clearer. He noticed that he was in some kind of medical facility, and it wasn't Normandy.
"Welcome back, Major. I thought we lost you" Dr Chakwas greeted him, offering a warm smile before she rose and his vision was replaced by another familiar face. Liara came to his view with a wide smile on her face, relieved, she said something that would make a lot of sense if he listened, but at that point he only had one person in mind.
"We're losing him!" He heard an alarmed voice coming from the bed next to him. Dr Chakwas and a few nurses crowded the bed, screaming status and orders as he heard the continuous flat tone coming out of the heart monitor.
He tried to speak out, asking for Shepard, but he found himself unable to, so he stared at the Asari, pleading for her to understand what he needed. Squeezing her hand gently.
"We found him a few hours ago... It... It's not looking good, Kaidan" she informed him, her voice was weak, almost breaking, he knew the odds were not on their side.
"It has been... touch and go - as Dr Chakwas said it - since then, she hasn't been able to stabilize him yet" she squeezed her eyes and turned her head towards the bed next to his. It became another fight for life, both Kaidan and Liara held onto each other's hands for comfort and again, Kaidan found himself reciting prayers once more.
Please John... fight he pleaded silently, eyes fixed on the motionless hand that peeked out of the white blanket draped on him. But who was he to ask that of him? The man had been fighting as hard as his body would allow him to, and he had destroyed the Reapers… it was over.
Time slowed as the monitor showed no changes. Kaidan's lips moved slightly as he kept pleading for him to come back, and it almost crushed his heart when Liara squeezed his hand harder as she saw Dr Chakwas stopped trying.
He squeezed his eyes shut, not willing to face the truth just yet. Everything became a blur once more as he said I love you towards Shepard to send him on his way with a promise that he'd see him again one day, only this time it was answered by a beep. Opening his eyes again, he heard the beep again. They were far apart, but there it was again.
"We have a pulse!" Dr Chakwas voice was loud and clear followed by gasps from the nurses and Liara, and the smile on the Asari's face returned brighter.
"He's alive" Liara told him after moments passed, confirming the news shortly after the Doctor mentioned that he had a strong and stable pulse, much better than the condition earlier that day. Dr Chakwas said it was a miracle that he came back, stronger than he ever been before, there would be a lot of work to be done, but the turn of event had brought a hope that wasn't there earlier. Shepard will live, was the statement. Kaidan let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and said thank you million times over in his head for the miracle.
The Normandy crew had dropped by to see Kaidan. They had been aboard Normandy to go all around other sites to look for survivors and treat the wounded. It was then that Kaidan learned that his severe injuries from the run to the beam were further worsen by the impact when Normandy crash landed. The Normandy itself was not badly damaged, and was up and running again in no time, but it was enough to injure several crews, and Kaidan had to undergo a surgery. Only that things weren't looking great after the surgery. Liara carefully informed him that he was dead for a minute before they managed to bring him back.
Even in death, he still saved my ass, Kaidan chuckled at the thought of his "encounter" with the Commander and grateful for it.
That night Kaidan laid peacefully in bed, Shepard was still in an induced coma, but hearing the heart monitor beeped steadily gave him peace. He looked over at his savior, the nurses had done what they could to patch him up, but he still looked fragile. He sighed, and allowed a small smile took form, You came.
Within his peaceful state, he closed his eyes and swore he could hear Shepard cursed, You really sucked at following orders. The tone hid an affection and maybe even appreciation and was followed by a soft chuckle. Maybe Kaidan was just imagining the whole thing. He peeked beneath his half lidded eyes, the Commander was still unconscious... Satisfied that Shepard was still peacefully asleep, Kaidan closed his eyes again, it didn't matter…
"We are home" Kaidan whispered finally, and let himself drifted off to sleep.
END