I don't own Mass Effect or any of the related content, but I do own Jagher Shepard. Here's some background on my Shep that you should probably know: she's a spacer, a sole survivor, and a soldier. She's a paragde, which means she's mostly paragon, but she's not afraid to get bitch when she has to. She romanced Kaidan Alenko. This fic is rated for language and some sexual content.

A/N: I'm glad I don't share a computer anymore, because if anyone saw my search history, they'd think I was pregnant. But I've never had a kid or been pregnant so I have to look this stuff up!

This thing is so fluffy it almost hurts.

Nine; month three.

The tile of the bathroom floor was blissfully cool on her face, shoulder, and other patches of skin exposed by the shifting of her sleep shirt. It was the middle of the night—no, of course she couldn't get her morning sickness in the morning—and her stomach was roiling, tossing up everything she'd eaten the day before. She was in the hall bathroom, attempting to let Kaidan sleep. He'd been up with here almost every night in the past couple weeks and she felt terrible for robbing him of his sleep, especially after the fights she'd instigated the month before.

Her guilt was not enough to keep her from smiling when she felt his fingers brush her hair away from her face, his touch soft and his words soothing. He helped her sit up and wiped the sweat from her face with a damp washcloth as she settled her back against his bare chest. He'd done this for her what felt like hundreds of time before, even when she'd been raging at him between stints bent over the toilet.

As another wave of sickness took her, she grabbed his leg and squeezed. He held her long, dark brown hair back with one hand while the other rubbed her back.

"You didn't have to get up," she said as she settled back into the circle of his arms.

"Shepard," he replied, slipping back into old habits in his sleepy state, "are we going to have this conversation every time this happens? If I wake up when you're sick, I'm not going to lie there in bed. I'm going to come in here and comfort you."

The tears brought on by the vomiting turned into real sobs. Jagher wiped furiously at her cheeks, but Kaidan grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands away from her face, wrapping his arms around her and pinning hers to her stomach. He rocked her gently, his lips pressed to her ear as he hushed her.

"I'm terrible at this."

"Jag, you've never done this before."

"Shouldn't I have some sort of motherly instinct that kicks in automatically?"

Kaidan let out a small laugh, the sound making his chest vibrate against Jagher's back. "I'm not sure that's how it works, babe." He placed a small kiss on the curve of her jaw, the place most easily accessible. "I think it's something you have to learn."

"I think it's something your mother is supposed to teach you," she managed between sobs. The tears were slowing and the sobs becoming dry. Afraid the dry heaving would cause her to throw up or injure her throat, Kaidan began to rock her again and tightened his arms a fraction. "My mother wasn't very attentive; she wasn't 'motherly.' What if I'm not either?"

"You will not be raising this baby on a space station or ship," Kaidan said matter-of-factly. "You will not be consumed with your duties to the Alliance, and most importantly, you will have me to help you."

"What if—"

"No more what ifs, Jagher." He loosened his grip on her so he could stand and pull her up with him. The fit of sickness seemed to have passed. "Let's go back to bed. You need sleep."

She turned into him, melting into the hug as she nodded.

"Pad Thai?"

"Oh! I love you!" Jagher squealed as Kaidan held the take-out container in front of her. She took the box and the fork in his other hand and immediately set to work, crossing her legs underneath her on the couch. It was the good Pad Thai, from the restaurant almost on the other side of Vancouver, the one he'd have to go the opposite direction of home to get to.

Without warning, tears sprang into her eyes. "Thank you!"

Kaidan smiled at her and leaned over to kiss her cheek, taking some of the tears with him when he pulled away. He licked his lips.

Jagher put her head on Kaidan's shoulder as she cried, still bringing forkfuls of food to her mouth. She wasn't sobbing. The tears were just falling and every few seconds she'd make a little sniffling noise. After a few moments of watching the news in silence, the tears stopped and she lifted her head to kiss his cheek, wiping away the sauce afterward with her thumb. He turned and kissed her on the lips, quickly, gently.

He got up and headed for the kitchen to dispose of their dinner things and as he left the living room, he heard the sound of Jagher speaking. Before he stepped back into the room, Kaidan peered around the corner.

She was still sitting on the couch with her legs crossed under her. Her hands were on the swell of her stomach, her fingers splayed wide as if she was trying to hold it all. Jagher was hunched over slightly. A small smile curled her lips.

He strained to make out the words.

"Your Daddy is going to take care of us. I may be scared and have no idea what to do, but he does. He knows what he's doing." Her smile widened and one hand rubbed over the bump. "He's always known. He's always taken care of me, always had my back. He's saved my life more times than I can count and he is going to love you so much. We're going to love you so much."

Feeling a little teary-eyed himself, Kaidan stepped into the room and padded across the carpet. Jagher's head snapped up, the loose strands of her hair falling across her eyes and her cheeks flushing.

She was embarrassed. Kaidan couldn't remember the last time—if ever—he'd seen her embarrassed.

Instead of saying anything to that effect however, he lowered himself onto the couch beside her and wrapped an arm loosely about her shoulders, leaning down so he could whisper to her stomach. "Your Mommy saved me many times too, and don't you ever let her tell you differently. She's a 'big goddamn hero' and she's going to be a wonderful Mommy." Kaidan sat up and found more tears in Shepard's eyes.

"Don't swear at the baby," she said. "And don't quote Zaeed. Nothing he says can be a good influence."

Kaidan returned the smile she was giving him and used his thumbs to wipe away the tears, even if they were happy ones. It was near a one-eighty from her behaviour of the previous month, but Kaidan didn't mind. Sure, the mood swings could be taxing, but he was rather enjoying the ride. It wasn't much different than being with her while she led a ragtag crew around the galaxy, trying to save everyone on her own, even if they were too stupid to believe her. There had been ups and downs then: screaming matches to send even the bravest soldier running, grief and guilt so intense that he had to physically pull her out of bed or off the couch. Those emotions hadn't been undercut by the joy of a baby on the way. They'd just been hard.

He kissed her on the mouth, more fiercely than before.

"What was that for?" Jagher asked, a little breathless from the kiss and the tears.

"Do I need a reason to kiss you like that?"

She shrugged with on shoulder, her hands still occupied on her stomach. "No. It just seemed to come from nowhere. Not that I mind."

"I was just thinking that this is the happiest I've been in a long time. That's all." He kissed her again and placed a hand over hers on her stomach, wrapping his fingers around hers.