Kaidan Alenko had indeed met Jane Shepard before the incident in the alley.

It was the spring he was ten, just before school let out for the summer. He was, at the time, considered a strange and quiet boy by most of his class. Perhaps it was the way his father too often was gone, leaving him on the docks of the spaceport with the same instructions every time. "Take care of your mom, soldier. You're the man of the house 'till I get back." He took it seriously. He grew as fast as he could to fit the responsibility of being an adult. At the time, he still wore it like his father's military uniform. When the house was empty he would sneak in and put it on, rolling up the sleeves and pant legs and observing himself in the full length mirror, it was over sized and baggy and he still hadn't mastered the at of walking in the shoes, his father had big feet. The brim of the hat dropped over his eyes if he didn't hold his head just so.

She was tiny for her age and leaning against the side of a basketball hoop watching him. Her wide green eyes watched his sandwich like a hawk. Years late he'd be able to see the way her bony legs stuck out from the denim shorts that were too baggy and covered with dirt. Her shirt was equally dirty. A picture of some hopelessly style-less cartoon character grinned out at the world. It was a strange contrast with her expression, tight and fearful. Her lips were pressed tightly together and turned ever so slightly down. She looked, he thought, half ready to either fight or flee.

He took another bite and glanced at his second half of a sandwich at his side on the bench still wrapped in a plastic baggy. It was his favorite, salami and cheese, but her eyes watched it with such intensity he found himself asking, "Hungry?"

She nodded and walked over, even then she had a way of glancing from side to side as she walked, as if she were always expecting an attack from somewhere. He held the half sandwich out to her and she snatched it as if he might change his mind. She must have eaten it, but perhaps she had done so without chewing. All he remembered is that she was holding it, and then it was gone.

"Thanks," her voice was quiet, almost unintelligible over the after school exuberance of the school children. Kaidan nodded, "no problem." He held out a hand. he had started shaking hands young, imitating the way his father would envelope his own soft hand in his two leathery ones.

"name's, Kaidan Alenko."

He knew her by reputation alone. A month ago her mother had come to remove her from school, and, according to Sam Doherty was really drunk. He said she had barely been able to walk straight and she kept shouting about wanting her baby. Kaidan thought he might be lying when he said she punched the aprincipal in the eye though. Two police officers had come to remove her from the school. Everyone knew who Jane Shepard was. The girl chewed on her lip nervously as she glanced at his hand. He held it there for a long time before she shook it and said her name.

She sat down on the bench beside him. "Is your mom-"

Jamie's hands closed into fists so tight her knuckles were white. Kaidan changed the direction of the sentence. Jane's hands clenched into fists and he changed the direction of the sentence, "is that who you're waiting for?"

Jane relaxed. "Yeah."

"I'm waiting for my dad."

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, "did your dad really fight in the first contact war?"

"How did you-"

"I was walking to the bathroom and I heard you telling someone in the hall," she sounded almost bored. "I hear everything." Her eyes suddenly sparkled, "did he ever see a turian? Do they really all have tattoos on thier faces? Do thier voices really sound all funny?" Her hands gestured wildly as she showered him with questions. Too often he found himself telling her he didn't know. It wasn't that he wasn't curious, it was more that the idea of being an alliance officer, just like his father, while appealing in concept, had little practical meaning to him. He wanted to grow up to be just like his dad, what kid didn't? Especially when your dad was a war hero, or at least that was how Kaidan thought of him. Still, he liked her questions, especially when she asked him if he had ever been on one of the alliance ships and he told her all about the time his dad had taken him to see the SSV Trafalgar last summer. She listened wide eyed, rapid firing questions whenever he paused for breath.

He was in the middle of that story, when her mother called her. Jane turned and grinned and rushed towards her mother. Kaidan remembered her from the infamous cafeteria incident and she looked similar now, dressed in skimpy clothes despite the cool breeze. She was young, little more than a teenager, and the grin she gave her daughter almost split her face in two. It wasn't until he was older that Kaidan would be able to look back in his memories and see her bloodshot pupils or trace the scars on her skin.

From that day on Kaidan Alenko and Jane Shepard were if not friends. At least conversation partners..

Eating with Jane after school and waiting for their parents became a ritual they observed on days they were both present. They were both outcasts. Her mother was strange and she was poor and dirty and always late when she arrived at school at all. He was too mature for school, constantly fighting to be the man his father asked him to be. In some ways, she seemed the same way. When she was quiet and simply looking out into nowhere there was a maturity on her face that he suspected exceeded even his own.

Jane's most common questions were about his dad. She wanted to know what the spaceport was like, if his dad had ever let him on a space ship, if he had ever met an alien; he answered as best he could and she could always convince him to give a little more detail.

"Why do you want to know all this?" He asked her once.

She half shrugged, "I wanna go someday. It's got to be better than what's down here."

"How do you know?"

"I just know. It just has to be, ok?" Her hands were in fists again, a sure sign she was upset. It was better to agree with her than risk her temper. It always seemed to be there, simmering just below the surface.

Kaidan wasn't sure why he avoided mentioning her to his parents. It didn't seem like a good idea, that was all. She was different. She was his secret. It seemed better to keep her to himself. His mother simply assumed his appetite had grown and started lacking him two sandwiches. Growth spurts, she had told him. He didn't argue and Jane ate the extra.

She wasn't at school often. As the school year wore on her absences became more and more frequent. When she did come to school sometimes she was there until long afterwards. He would leave her sitting on their bench and waiting. Other times there was a man with her mother. Kaidan didn't ask a lot about him, he didn't like the way Jane looked when he did.

One day it wasn't her mom, just the man. Her mouth twisted to the side as she watched him.

"C'mon Jane."

Kaidan cringed, there was something loud and harsh about his voice. Jane's eyes narrowed. "Where's mom?"

"Busy. get over here."

Jane shook her head. "M'waiting for mom."

"She ain't coming." The man crossed to her in two long steps and grabbed her upper arm. "Now c'mon, or your going to be in trouble when we get home."

Jane's expression fell and she moved back. When the man released his grip she followed him away. Her shoulders were stiff and she didn't look back. The next day she came to school with a black eye. "Get in a fight?" Kaidan asked.

"Kinda."

"What happened?" He pressed.

Jane glanced away and sighed, "I lost."

"Was it your dad?"

She was two inches from his face in the blink of an eye, face contorted in rage, "he isn't my dad." She backed away, sighing again, "that's just Brad."

"But," Kaidan said, "did he hit you?"

Instead of answering Jane sat down and said quietly. "Someday I'll be stronger." Something in her voice made Kaidan sorry he had pressed her at all. He changed the subject.

And then, just like that, the school year was over. He saw her once that summer, sitting alone on a swing in the playground. It was almost sundown. He wondered how long she had been there, but he didn't stop to ask.