"So I hear you're causing trouble."

Shepard paused in her perusal of a family holo set on a desk in a family room and glanced over at an older, dark haired woman who looked enough like Mrs Alenko to cause a shiver to run down her spine.

"I'm Elspeth." The friendly, open smile was given as she extended a hand and approached.

Pale eyes considered the other woman with careful deliberation, not missing the faint tremor in the fingers reaching out to shake her hand. With abrupt decision, Shepard clasped that hand in a shake.

"Shepard." She said with a neutral expression.

Elspeth burst into laughter, her petite but well curved frame all but bouncing with mirth. "I know. Mai was very put out at that. Like we weren't good enough for your first name."

Shepard simply smiled.

The laughter faded under that silent statement. "Oh." Elspeth said, her nervousness all back.

"Don't worry about it. Kaidan and I were sleeping together before he earned the right to call me by my first name." Shepard chuckled before her gaze returned to the holos of the family. "Quite a big brood you have." Her fingers flicked over a picture of two parents and five children.

Elspeth stepped forward determinedly and nodded. "That's my husband, Rhys. The youngest, Alayna, then Alyssa. Marguerite is our preteen and her sweet sixteen sister is Jacobia. Our oldest, the boy you were studying when I came in, is Kaidan. We call him Kaid for short."

Shepard slanted a glance toward the jutted chin and fierce expression on the proud mother's face. "Call me Kaet." She said easily before running her finger over the holo image of the teenage Kaidan, enlarging and studying the picture. "He looks like his uncle."

"It's been years since I've had anything but news holos to compare them with." Elspeth said quietly. "Thank you for bringing Kaidan home."

"How old were you when Kaidan was taken to Brain Camp? BAaT?" Shepard asked restoring the picture to its original view with a flick of her nail.

"Fifteen." Elspeth answered. "Mai was the oldest, seventeen. She always blamed herself for Kaidan being taken away." She moved to another image, that of a younger Mai standing sullenly in a group photo with Ken and Mrs Alenko and Elspeth.

"She should add him staying away to that little guilt trip." Shepard said without pity and earned herself a sharp glare.

"It's easy for you to judge. You weren't here. You don't know what it was like." Elspeth snapped, her fists clenching.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Shepard considered that statement long enough for Elspeth's nervousness to return in full force.

"You have a valid point." Shepard finally acknowledged. "So tell me what it was like."

Elspeth, fingers twitching as if they needed something to do, moved one of the back family pictures, an older one with a younger version of the woman that held it and had a smiling teenage Kaidan sitting among the rest of the Alenkos.

Shepard gave a light laugh of delight. "Oh, I so need a copy of that. He's so geeky cute!" She reached forward and tapped the picture, enlarging just his image to the frame. "Look how skinny he is! His hair is longer, not military reg. Doesn't have that weird bump thing it does going on. Chin scar is missing, too."

"He got that at BAaT, I don't know how." Elspeth was smiling at Shepard's enthusiasm. "We don't know a lot of what happened to him then. Just that he…killed that alien. That they closed it because of that."

Shepard snorted, her attention more on tapping commands into her omni-tool as she looked at the image of Kaidan rather than on the woman speaking. "Best thing that could have happened to that place. Idiots."

Elspeth shook her head. "I can't imagine Kaidan killing anyone."

Shepard gave the older woman a frowning glance. "You do know he's been in the military for the last several years, right? The military likes to kill things it deems hostile. And then there was that whole Reaper incident that he was in with me. Lots of killing got done then."

"Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot, Kaet." Elspeth's temper rose, but her body seemed to be more contained, more controlled. "I know that alien was hardly the last kill my brother made. But the boy you see in that image? That boy could never have killed. BAaT did that to him!"

"No." Shepard tossed back, her gaze fierce. "His family cutting him off, abandoning him, did that. Brain Camp simply put Kaidan in a position where the choice had to be made. Survive or be killed."

"They told us he was dangerous. That his powers could kill us. That he needed to be taken away for his own safety as well as ours." Elspeth's defended. "We didn't know anything about biotics! We believed them!"

Confusion showed on Shepard's face. "What does him having biotics have to do with it? You say the boy in that image could never have killed, but you sent him away because you thought he would kill you just because he was biotic? Make up your mind!"

"I never thought Kaidan would harm us!" Elspeth actually stepped forward, her face pushing toward Shepard. "Never!"

"Then why treat him like you do?" Shepard's voice was just as fierce. "Like he should be ashamed or hide from you who he is? You want me to understand, but you make no sense!"

"You don't want to understand, you just want to make us the bad guys that you have to defend him from!" Elspeth answered before raising shaking fingers to her forehead. "You want it to be an easy, black and white answer that you can deride. There wasn't an easy answer! All we had were bad choices to make."

Shepard paused, her lips compressed together, breathing through her nose as she studied the other woman. Stepping back, offering her space to calm down, Shepard gave a short, crisp nod.

"You're right." The words were terse and not happy. "I do want it to be an easy answer. I like easy answers. I like it when all I have to do is kill the bad guy, not empathize with them. More than anything, I want to fix it for Kaidan so I don't have to see him hurting the way being around those who should love him best is hurting him. But this?" Shepard's fingers waved about the images of a smiling family. "This I can't fix. All I can do is try and make it not hurt so much for him."

Tears seeped slowly out of Elspeth's eyes as her gaze followed Shepard's fingers. A wan smile touched her lips as she approached and selected a single image from the group and held it up. "He was the baby of the family, you know." The smile grew fuller and firmer as she looked down at the sleeping infant. "Mai thought he was hers, Mom just got to take care of the more nasty parts of being a baby. She didn't like strangers near him, didn't like anyone to touch him without her permission. Including Dad." Elspeth chuckled. "They couldn't get her to sleep in her own room for the longest time after Kaidan was born. She would camp out on the floor near his bio-crib and watch over him. Losing him hit her the hardest."

"Why?" Shepard demanded, the question flat. "Why lose him? I don't understand."

"It wasn't something that happened overnight!" Elspeth flung back. "Kaidan started showing his biotics early. Mom and Dad didn't even know he was doing it at the time, they just knew strange stuff happened around him when he was a baby. He'd glow blue and a shelf would get knocked off a wall or a door would slam."

Shepard blinked. "That's pretty good raw power for a baby." She mused with admiration.

"As he got older…" Elspeth gave a half shrug. "We just sort of accepted it. Mom and Dad didn't even tie it to the accident that happened while she was in Singapore and pregnant with Kaidan, they were told that's what happened when those men came to get Kaidan. Official policy at the time of the accident was that no harmful contaminants had been released in the tanker crash."

"Politics in action." Shepard said with a shrug and wandered through the photos once again, her interest on the snapshots of Kaidan's childhood.

Elspeth laughed and motioned to another image with a pre-teen Kaidan sitting on the floor next to a younger version of herself. "He used to make my dolls float about for me. Of course he used to pull my hair and trip me and move chairs as I was sitting down as well."

Shepard gave a sputtering laugh. "Guess he wasn't always a boy scout, hmm?"

Elspeth's smile faltered as she gave Shepard an uncertain look. "He…doesn't play tricks like that anymore?"

Blinking, color surging up in her cheeks as she tried to maintain a poker face and failed, Shepard licked her lips. "Not those kinds of tricks, no."

For a moment Elspeth seemed surprised and then she burst into a peal of laughter even as color spotted her own cheeks. "I see."

"Yeah, I'm changing the subject now." Shepard stated in implacable tones. "I was raised on the streets. Ran with a gang as a child and teenager. When we found someone with biotics…which was rare…we actively recruited them or actively killed them if we couldn't recruit them. We wanted their powers to be used for us and took steps to make sure they weren't used against us." Memories darkened her pale eyes and she shook her head, the war of her childhood an old wound. "I'm getting the vibe that this wasn't the case for you."

Elspeth shook her head. "No. Kaidan didn't advertise what he could do, but he didn't hide it either. At first, when the reports about biotics started coming out, the attention mortified him. He was a bit of nerd, always taking things apart, rebuilding them. All of the sudden, everyone knew who that geeky Alenko kid was who could move things with his mind. It wasn't a big deal at first. Then the rumors started. Some kid had been shoved in front of a hover at some other school because some kid with biotics didn't like him. Another had drowned in the pool at a rec center and they suspected biotics because the kid had recently been in a fight with one. Vicious things, terrible things. Always about biotics."

Shepard's pale eyes flared with controlled anger.

Elpeth, her attention more on the photos in front of her, didn't notice. "About then we started hearing that biotics was witch power and religious extremists started protests against the children showing the power. They'd find out where they lived, who played with them and were vicious. Then fringe Wicca groups threatened to sue saying biotics were claiming to be part of their religious beliefs and they weren't. It was a mess. Every day it was something new."

"Children, egged on by parents, aren't subtle about their prejudices." Shepard murmured, her fingers brushing over a young Kaidan's cheek in an image of him standing next to a tall horse. "There would have been violence."

Elspeth nodded. "The school wanted to pull Kaidan out, it was getting so bad. Kaidan refused. All of his friends had already taken off, afraid to be near him. It was just pure cussedness that kept him going. Until they showed up to take him away."

Shepard's gaze flickered to the woman standing next to her. "Tell me."

A shrug moved Elspeth's shoulders. "I wasn't there. I only heard about it afterwards. Kaidan was gone by the time I got home."

"You never got to say goodbye?" Shepard's expression creased with disbelief.

Elspeth's eyes filled. "The next time I saw my baby brother, Kaet, he was a man and he'd killed."

Shepard looked at the pictures again, the oldest child in Elspeth's family who went by Kaid. "There are no words for how wrong that was." She murmured with a shake of her head. "Tell me about Mai. Tell me why you named a child after Kaidan and Mai won't even be in the same room with him."

"What do you know about guilt, Kaet?" Elspeth countered with a twisted, sardonic smile.

Taking the question literally, Shepard shrugged. "Wasted emotion. If something is broken, fix it. If you can't, accept it and move on. Feeling guilty is a waste of time and energy."

Elspeth's mouth dropped open slightly as she stared at the taller woman. "What about something you've damaged? Surely you'd feel guilt for that!"

"No." Shepard shook her head. "And trust me, I've damaged a lot of things. And people. And aliens. Most had it coming. Those that didn't…guilt won't repair what was done. I simply try to do better next time."

"How nice it must be to live in your world!" Elspeth shook her head in disbelief. "The rest of us mere mortals have guilt."

"Yeah and most of you wallow in it and then wear it like a hair shirt. Pisses me off sometimes." Shepard gave a one shoulder shrug. "But we're talking about Mai, not about my idiosyncrasies. Mai's behavior as a child was vastly different toward Kaidan than what it is now. She watched over him, protected him, played the big sister. What changed?"

"Backlash of being the older sister of the 'Blue Glowy Freak'." Elspeth said and from the stiffening in her own frame, Shepard knew that Mai hadn't been the only one to suffer it. "You know how sweet and pure teenage girls are."

Shepard gave a snort of derision. "At least I was honest about doing vicious harm as a teenager. Most of my kills were clean, too. I never went in for that torture crap."

"You killed as a teenager?" Elspeth blurted, startled.

Waving a hand, Shepard shook her head. "This isn't about me, it's about Mai and Kaidan. Focus."

Elspeth was quiet a moment and sighed. "She wanted him to stop going to school, stop putting himself in a position to be ridiculed and tormented. She couldn't understand why he wouldn't back down. Neither could I."

"Kaidan's a hero." Shepard answered softly. "He can't back down in the face of what he considers evil. That would mean the evil has won."

"As an adult I can see that. As a sister to Kaidan and a mother to a boy who looks so much like him…it tears me apart, Kaet." Elspeth shook her head, hands tossing in helplessness. "Mom stopped sleeping and we couldn't get Dad away from the damn lake. Mom finally told him if he brought home any more fish she was going to make him swim with them. We were in such turmoil and we were young and didn't understand. When you don't understand you blame the cause, not always understanding they may be the victim as well. And then a solution shows up as a couple of men in suits who say they can 'cure' him. Make him better. Not dangerous. You take it."

"Never believing they might have been the ones to cause the fear and persecution to begin with." Shepard gave a slow nod.

Elspeth's eyes widened. "Wha…no. They wouldn't have done that. Not for Kaidan." Shepard said nothing, her pale eyes simply watching the older woman. "Why? Why would they turn everyone against him? Why…no." She shoved her hands down and away in denial. "No. You're wrong and you don't know a damn thing!"

Shepard watched the older woman stomp out of the room. "Let's see, I've been here less than twenty-four hours and managed to molest my father-in-law, insult one sister-in-law and piss off another." She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I need to be nicer to Udina. This diplomatic crap is tough."


She found Kaidan by tracking his omni tool and stood at the base of one of the largest trees she had ever seen in her life, looking up at a tree house large enough to contain at least a quarter of the Normandy crew.

Frowning, she circled the base of the tree, assessing the construction and quality of the workmanship, trying to decide if it was tough enough to support her weight. With a final shake of her head, she moved to the knotted rope dangling below a square in the floor and hand over hand she rose until she could pull herself up into the interior.

Kaidan was watching her as he cleaned the blade of his knife off on his pant leg before sliding it back into the sheathe on his belt. He was leaning back against a wall, one leg outstretched, the other bent at the knee, his wrist resting on the top, trying to act casual. Shepard gave him a questioning glance as she pulled her legs up.

"Whacha doin'?" She asked brushing her rope roughened palms on the back pockets of her BDUs.

"Remembering." He motioned for her to join him and she happily did so, turning her body until her back was leaning against his bent leg and her neck supported by his arm. He pulled her closer to his chest. Once she was settled he grabbed her hand and entwined his fingers through her own, stroking her palm. "I spent a lot of time in here as boy. The world couldn't touch me here."

For a boy being actively persecuted for something he was born with, that would have been very important...having a safe haven. Someplace to sit and dream of a better future.

Shepard glanced around the enclosed interior, her gaze assessing. "You know, I thought these things were just myths."

Kaidan arched an eyebrow at her. "Tree houses?"

"Yeah. I thought they were just pretend things people always waxed nostalgic about but nobody really did. Did you build this?" Shepard motioned about.

"Mostly my Dad." Kaidan gave a shrug.

"Where are the mostly naked Asari dancers?"

He laughed. "Somewhere my wife, with her most excellent aim, will never find them."

Shepard grinned at him. "And they say husbands can't be trained." Deciding she'd looked at the wood enough, her gaze moved to his face. "How are you doing?"

Inhaling deeply, he leaned his head back against the wall. "I think this was a mistake."

"Hope's never a mistake, Kaidan." She murmured sliding a hand up his chest to cup his jaw, her thumb brushing over the beginning stubble.

"I wanted them to love you." He said abruptly. "To adore you, the way I do."

Of course he did, Shepard mused closing her eyes against the sudden spark of tears. If they adored her then he hoped that maybe some of that love would wash onto him. "Yeah, well, we both know I'm not the easiest person to love."

He laughed, his brown eyes twinkling. "Actually, I find it pretty easy to love you, Kaet. Living with you…especially when you shoot at me…is an entirely different matter."

"It's your stupid spider's fault!" Shepard answered hotly. "I swear it stays awake late at night staring at me, just waiting for the right moment to jerk me around!"

"The woman Reapers feared, Collectors trembled in front of and countless other bad guys in the Universe lose sleep worrying will come after them can't handle a spider." Kaidan chuckled, a smile that didn't reach his eyes on his lips.

Shepard considered him for a long quiet moment. "If we had a place of our own…a place not on the Normandy…we could put Rambo in a different room. One I can pretend doesn't exist."

Kaidan's attention snapped to her, his expression suddenly intense as he searched her expression. "You mean that, don't you. A place that's ours."

She nodded, her fingers running over the wiry hairs on his forearm curved over her stomach. "It took me a bit to notice you're not quite as at ease with the vagabond life as I am. I'll watch you look around the cabin, tense up and then force yourself to relax. Like you just need some space. Some place to stretch. A place to call home."

"You are all I need to be home, Kaet." He murmured shoving strands of hair behind her ears.

"No. I'm not. But I do thank you for the compliment." She smiled with self-deprecation. "You need roots. You were raised to sink them deep and hold the land firm. Events interfered, but there is a definite…I guess glow works, for lack of a better word…about you since we got here. Even through all the family drama, there is a part of you that is so happy to be here."

He clutched her tighter to his chest, resting his chin on her head.

"Mind you, I don't want to live in the same time zone as your mother…possibly not even the same planet. Or solar system." Shepard continued in plaintive tones. "I was thinking something bigger than your bachelor's apartment on the Citadel. Since you have to coordinate with Udina and Anderson and I usually need to pretend to listen to the Council when they tell me how to do something they want done. Maybe later, after we both get tired of the politics in our lives, we'll find something like this." She flickered the fingers of her hand about, encompassing more than the tree house they were in. "But something bigger, something we can both call ours and stretch in, that would be good."

He said nothing for a long moment, simply breathing as he held her before he finally responded. "Thank you."

She turned her head and pressed a soft kiss to his lips and then smiled, smacking his leg. "Come on. I'm feeling itchy."

"Shepard, we are not having sex in this tree house where a child could come up at any time." Kaidan informed her, but his lips curved.

"If we were, I'd get top. No splinters in my bum, please and thank you." Shepard responded with a grin as she moved off him and toward the exit. "But, no, I was actually thinking about going swimming."

Kaidan laughed . "For someone who lives in space, you sure do love water."

"Maybe I just like seeing you in as few clothes as possible, ever think of that?" She quipped with a laugh. "See you at the bottom!" She stepped casually into air, disdaining the rope and quickly fell, landing easily on the soft grass.

She looked up and caught the faint expression of worry on Kaidan's face as he looked down at her from the tree house and gave him a cocky grin.

"I dare you to fly." She challenged raising her voice.

He shook his head. "It's not a good idea, Shepard."

It took a bit, but she schooled her anger from her face. "If you think you're going to spend the next four days hiding your biotics…your natural abilities…you are in for a sad reality check, Kaidan Alenko. You're also in for a world of stubbornness from me." She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him.

Kaidan flared blue, the mist rising about his body, swirling a dark and sullen blue as he began a controlled, slow descent from the tree house, his hands holding calm at his side as he gently touched down. "I'm trying to be circumspect."

"Why?" She answered with annoyance. "Education is the best cure for ignorance. They know only the fear of what a biotic out of control can do. So show them what a biotic with far too much control can do."

Inhaling a deep breath, Kaidan looked away from her for a long moment, thinking before his attention slowly returned to her. "I get what you're doing, Kaet. I even understand it. I'm just not sure how I feel about it." Brown eyes watched her, their depths deep and murky.

"If I didn't think you wanted this, Kaidan, we'd have already left." She responded quietly, watching him.

"I know." He agreed flashing a soft smile of gratitude in her direction. "I think the problem is, Kaet, I don't know what I want. I don't know if I want more from my family. I think part of me is still so angry at them that it never wants to forgive them."

She nodded slowly. "That I get, Kaidan. That I understand. I can see the question you want to ask them. I can see the anger you try to hide from them. I can see how it hurts you."

"There's no question, Kaet." Kaidan said instantly, too quickly for either of them to believe the denial.

She let the words hang there for a moment and then decided a change of subject was in order. "Since you have bowed to my greater wisdom…" She ignored the snorting laughter that came from him. "…you will have absolutely no problem using your biotics to catapult me into the ocean as I scream in delight like a loon?" Shepard blinked innocent blue eyes at him as if they weren't both aware that if he started tossing her there wasn't a child in a five mile radius who wouldn't demand their own turn.

Kaidan frowned. "You know, Shepard, there are times when you remind me of my mother. I'm not sure I like what that says about either of us."

"You ever say that again and I'm squashing your spider."