"I thought you were dead Shepard, we all did.." Her eyes flew open when she heard his voice, her anxious eyes scanning the darkness.

"Kaidan?" her lips shaked in confuse.

"I thought we had something Nessa, something real. I loved you.. Thinking you were dead tore me apart. How could you put me through that?" His accusing voice made bile rise to her mouth.

"I didn't want that Kaidan, I really didn't. I love you, Kaidan. Please, trust me please. " there were tears in her eyes. The scenery changed in front of her very own eyes. The sceenery, the houses were very familiar. She was in Horizon. Those dark memories returned to her. This was the place of her nightmares. The place she had lost Kaidan.

"You betrayed me Nessa.." Kaidan looked down at her, with darkness burning in his eyes. "You betrayed everyone.."

"No I didn't. I'm still he..." her sentence was cut short in realisation that she was still indeed very dead.

"You left me behind.." the last words of his were heartbreaking. A familiar sound caught her attention. Seeker swarms were closing on them.

"Run Kaidan, run!" her voice strained. The seeker swarms were getting closer and closer. Her attention shifted to the spot Kaidan had previously been in. He was gone. A hint of a smile was on her lips when the seeker swarms attacked her body, eating her flesh. The pain was nothing compared to the pain she felt inside. She closed her eyes.

There was a loud hum, then quietness and the swarms were gone. She opened her eyes again and was looking straight at the Human-Reaper. The horror crept inside her mind and the chills crept up her spine. She was backing from the Reaper, looking frantically for her weapon. She had none. The Reapers eyes flashed and looked straight at her.

"You can't escape me Shepard... You can never escape me.." the Reapers' cold mechanical voice hummed before it's arm grabbed her by her waist and hauled her with him to the pit, Nessa had once send it. She let out an earpiercing scream.

Current location: Leonov Alliance Base, Moscow, Russia 2 months later.

The snow had completely painted the scenery white, when the doctor let Kaidan roam in the park next to the hospital for the first time. Of course he never went anywhere unsupervised. With him were 2 gorilla sized guards, who spoke only some English they knew. He sighed and shook his head lightly. There was a railing to which he leaned and looked more closely at the city now. It was slowly starting to rebuilt after the reaper attack. Even though there were so much destruction around, many of the families had returned to the park sledding the tiny hills and ice-skating. The kids happily laughing and playing while their parents looking over their young ones, made Kaidan realise there was still hope amongst all the chaos that happened, all the destruction and horror. The hope had returned amonst the people, the children in which the future was held in.

There was a sharp shriek on the ice, which made Kaidan jolt. A child had fallen on her skates and was crying for mother. Kaidan walked over the fallen child and crouched over her and brushed some snow of her head. The child sniffled as she looked at Kaidan with her big blue eyes. Kaidan couldn't stop himself from smiling. Somehow she reminded him of Nessa. The child stared at Kaidan for a while before she put her tiny hand on his nose and chuckled, which made him chuckle too.

A woman hurriedly rushed to the childs side and told something to her in Russian. The child took the womans hand tightly and gripped it. The old woman straightened and started talking something in Russian towards Kaidan. The only thing he could understand in her speech, was "Spasibo". He looked behind him and asked one of the gorillas: "What did she say?"

"She was thanking you, Major. She was helping the other children put on their skates, when she had disappeared. She searched her everywhere, when she found her with you." The other one said with broken English.

"Where are her parents?"

"Her parents died when the reapers hit Russia. That woman is the headmistress of the orphanage here." Kaidan turned to look at the child again with sad eyes and brushed her blonde hair. There was a butterfly pin on her hair. The child who didn't seem to care, put her tiny hands on his nose again. He smiled and kissed her tiny cold hands.

After thank yous and goodbyes Kaidans break was over and the three men walked quietly towards the Alliance base. He could see Joker, Liara and Garrus were standing in front of the base, Joker as always shaking his arm furiously at him. He's going to seriously break his bones on his arm soon.

"Men, I think I can handle myself to my room now. I need time with my crewmates." he looked at the Russian gorillas. They both looked hesitant.

"I'm not thinking of running away if you have thought about it. I already understand that its impossible to run away from the past 3 times I have tried it." he sighed. The gorillas just nodded at each other and left to their own business. The freedom of 2 minutes felt relieving. He jogged towards his crewmates and they headed towards Kaidan's room inside.