Notes: And this is where the stories basically decided they all wanted to be part of the same thing. This one basically continues from right where the last one left off, save for maybe a six minute gap for the crew to congregate.
Also
ANGST ALERT. Milder this time.
The crew deck was packed, every member of the crew clustered onto it, gathered in a messy semi-circle around Kaidan and Garrus. Even Joker, as EDI had insisted he let her take over flying the ship for a short while. And every single one of them was silent.
Silent, until Tali burst out, "You had no right to keep that from us!" as she jabbed a finger at Kaidan's chest.
"I've been unconscious since I found out," he pointed out evenly. "I suppose I'll work on my dream walking for future occasions."
"Shepard wouldn't have kept something like this from us!" she insisted, that time aimed at both him and Garrus.
Kaidan recoiled a step. "I'm not Aurum," he reminded her, voice slightly unsteady. "I don't need to be told that. And if you think you're the only one who wishes he was the one talking to you instead, you're very sadly mistaken."
Tali shrank back, one hand hovering near the bottom of her helmet, as if she could somehow physically force the words back inside. "I-I just-" She stammered off into senseless syllables.
"How're you holding up, Major?" Joker interjected, almost pointedly.
Kaidan held his breath for a moment, almost audibly grinding his teeth until he could force out in a reasonably even voice, "I'm…I'm good."
"Yeah, that's bullshit."
"Kaidan…" Tali's voice had softened. "I'm sorry. What-what do you need us to do?" She reached out as if to pull him into a hug.
He jerked back, away from her hands, backpedaling a few steps until his back met the wall. "We'll be arriving at Earth soon," he replied quickly, hands curling into fists at his sides as if to physically hold himself together. "You should all get ready to disembark." He turned and all but fled towards the elevator.
"That was something," Garrus observed after a few seconds.
Joker reached out and smacked the back of Tali's helmet, only to quietly grouse, "Ow," as he cradled his hand to his chest. "They were basically married," he pointed out. "Just, you know. In case you forgot."
"I know, I just-I don't know why-Shepard's gone." Anything else Tali might have said came out as a sob.
Whatever spell had kept the rest of them relatively calm up to that point broke, as Donnelly swore colorfully and punched the table, before turning to pull Gabby into a hug. It was not news to Cortez, who tried to calm Vega as he screamed like a wounded animal, and shortly after they disappeared to the shuttle bay. Liara, predictably, was mournful but not surprised, and she did her best to comfort Traynor, Chakwas, and Tali. Javik seemed to simply vanish, disappearing into the lowest reaches of the engineering deck, though there was nowhere to hide from Shepard's pride and affection that blanketed every corner of the ship.
Soon, it was just Garrus standing in the middle of the mess hall. His fist met one of the medical bay windows with enough force that it cracked, denting slightly inwards and spiderwebbing within its coating. He hurried back to the main battery.
