Every baby needs a name...


The one thing I want to leave my children is an honorable name.
-Theodore Roosevelt

Always end the name of your child with a vowel, so that when you yell the name will carry.
-Bill Cosby

"So," Kaidan said as he capped the marker, "this is it? The final decision? No taking it back, no sneaking a bribe to the nurse-"

"Yes, alright already." Shepard grunted as she struggled into a sitting position. "Let's try to finish this before I have to pee again."

"Right. No cheating this time." Kaidan moved to sit behind her, supporting her against the round mountain of her belly. He traced a finger along her skin there, and the black letters that he'd written rose in goose bumps.

Atton. Kaidan Jr. John. Asher. Garret. Rex. Carth. David. Alistair. Thane. Jeffrey. Jacob. Zaeed. Steven.

Each name was written on a different part of her skin where the baby had been known to kick. After months of trying names on for size, narrowing down the list more and more, and arguing back and forth, this was the best solution that they had come up with. Wherever the baby kicked, that would be his name. This was their second attempt, the first one interrupted by a kissing session that smeared the names beyond recognition.

This time they waited, holding each other. At the other end of the living room the vidscreen was muted, images of an old sci-fi show flashing a silent adventure. Kaidan leaned his own head against the back of Shepard's.

"Nothing yet," she murmured. "But he's stretching right now. We should get something soon."

"You have no idea how jealous I am," Kaidan said.

"What?"

"That you can feel him growing inside you. To know that he's right there with you, safe. It must be amazing."

Shepard turned her head just enough so that she could see him out of the corner of her eye. "It is. But it's strange, too. Like I'm not Jane anymore-I'm this vessel. Like the Normandy. I keep him safe, but...I don't know how to describe it.

"But I tell you what; I am not looking forward to the labor pains. You're getting the better end of the deal, there."

"Ah, the joys of being a man." Kaidan nuzzled her neck.

She stuck out her tongue at him, then gasped. "He's moving...no, never mind. False alarm. I swear, this one's a trouble maker."

"This one?" Shepard strained to look him in the eye as he spoke. "Do you think we should have more?" He couldn't help grinning as he said it. A pack of little Alenkos...

"Let's see how much we like this one first." Shepard drummed her fingers along her belly. "Do you think we can do this?"

"What, raise a baby?"

"Yeah...Kaidan, I've never done this before. I'm really good at killing things, but putting something back into the world is...it's scary. What if I screw him up? What if he hates me?"

"Hey." His arms tightened around her ever so slightly, his lips against her ear. "I've never done this either. But we're a team. We can do anything. So we're going to love him so much that he has no choice but to love us back. Okay?"

She sighed. "You make it sound so easy. But okay. Oh!" Her hand splayed against her stomach and her eyes went wide. "We have a winner! First and middle name."

"So? What is it?" Kaidan felt like a kid on Christmas, ripping into the very first present.

"It was..." Shepard's hands moved over her belly, remembering her son's kicks. "...Asher...Jeffrey. Oh, Joker's going to be impossible when he hears about this."

"Asher Jeffrey Alenko." The name rolled off his tongue. "I think I like it."

"So that's it? The final decision?" Shepard asked. She bit her lip, anxious.

"I think so." Kaidan kissed her cheek.

"Good, because I have to pee again. Help me up, would you?"