Chapter 9

Kaidan's head slipped out of his hand, and the rush of the movement abruptly woke him up. He took in a sharp breath, and placed a hand over his eyes, blocking out the bright lights of the hospital. His ears perked up when a sweet sound echoed throughout the room. A quiet giggle. His caramel eyes flicked open, and he found himself staring straight into Rose's twinkling eyes. A smile spread across both of their faces. A small sound escaped out of Kaidan's mouth.

"Why didn't you wake me?" He asked, pulling himself closer to the bed.

"Didn't have the heart." She replied slyly. Her left eye was slightly closed, still caught in the shadows of the room.

Kaidan let out a laugh, before his smile turned sad. He reached for her right hand, placing his lips on the back of it. A tear formed in the corner of his eye.

"I know. I'm sorry." She whispered. "I'm sorry that I put you through this again."

Blinking the tears away, he interlaced his fingers with her. "Don't. We're both here, that's what matters."

A tear rolled down her face at the sight of his, she moved her head to the side, resting her cheek on the pillow. "Can I just say one more thing though?"

Kaidan nodded, squeezing her fingers.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done." Her voice croaked.

He raised his curious eyes, and met hers. "What, firing the crucible? Walking into death?"

"Saying goodbye to you."

Kaidan couldn't bear it any longer. Reaching over he placed his lips gently on hers, tasting the salt of her tears. Tucking a stray piece of her hair behind her ear, he cupped her face looking at her closed eyes.

She kept them closed as she spoke again, her eyebrows furrowed together - like she was in pain. "Out of any mission, any decision - I never want to do it again. I'm never saying goodbye to you again. Ok?"

Kaidan touched her forehead with his slightly, and nodded.

"Ok?" She repeated, her voice broke again on the word.

"Of course." His thumb brushed away her tears. "I'm not going anywhere Rose."

Her heart fluttered at the sound of her name on his lips. She pushed her lips to his, hungry for his kiss. They kissed gently, before a thought flashed through Kaidan's, and he pecked her soft lips once more before, reaching down to the ground. He sat down back on his chair, and placed the bouquet onto her covered lap.

A small gasp escaped out of her mouth. "Kaidan.." She propped her head up on the pillow some more. "Peonies?"

Kaidan nodded, a smile spreading across his face.

"I can't believe you remembered."

During the Normandy's first visitation to the Citadel in 2183, Rose brought Kaidan and Ashley with her before she spoke with the Council. They wandered around the vast city, all of them in awe of it's beauty. Ash had asked if they could go down to the market, so she could get her sister a tacky gift. Once the three of them had reach the market place, Ash excitedly ran away towards an alliance booth leaving Kaidan alone with his Commander.

He walked behind her, his hands folded behind his back, still embarrassed about his slip up earlier. Even though she was his Commanding Officer- he was still a man, and he couldn't help but watch her hips sway as she walked ahead of him. Her figure was still so defined, even with her bulky N7 armor on. It took a lot of effort for Kaidan to not bite his lip at the sight. While distracted by her figure, Rose had spoken to him. Kaidan's face flushed red, and he asked her to repeat herself.

With a cheeky smile, she spoke again. "They have a memorial of Earth store." Then she turned on her heels, and entered the store. Kaidan followed her in like a lost puppy. It was filled with the usual touristy things - miniatures of famous landmarks, globes, photographs. But it was also filled with imports - fish, some food items, even flowers. He found his Commander standing in front a stand filled with bouquets. Her small fingers were running over the delicate petals of a white flower.

"My mom used to send me these on my birthday when I was a kid, when she was on duty. I loved getting them so much." She said simply, before moving down to the next aisle. Kaidan flipped the tag over, noting the name of the flowers before following her.

"Of course I did." His lashes brushed his face and his cheeks flushed as he remembered the memory. But his ears perked up, and eyes flashed open as he heard Rose wince. She had leaned forward to grab the peonies off of her lap. Practically thrusting himself off of the chair, he reached for her but she waved her hand at him casually. He dragged the chair even closer to the bed, as she spoke.

"S'okay." She tried to force a small to spread across her face, as she carefully laid back down onto the pillow.

Kaidan placed his head on the edge of the bed, on top of his arm. He so desperately wanted to be as close to her as possible, but this would have to do for the moment. With a deep breath, Kaidan savored the moment - her sugary scent, her warmth and her soft touch. She had raised her hand, and ran her fingertips over his cheek feeling the scabs and tender bruises that decorated his face. Moving up, she gently ran her fingers through his jet black hair. Kaidan's body relaxed at the action, and his heart fluttered. They both laid there, their breath low and deep.

Suddenly, the doors to the room slide open and the thud of footsteps echoed throughout the room. Neither of them looked over to see who it was, rather both of their eyes lingered on each other. But Kaidan's shoulders hunched over when the person finally spoke.

"Sleeping beauty finally woke up hey." A low, scratchy voice rang through Kaidan's ears.

Rose looked up, a smile spreading across her face. "Good one Garrus. Very original." Sarcasm soaked her voice.

"Yeah, I stole it from Vega. I don't even know who Sleeping Beauty is." The two of them laughed, while Kaidan's mouth formed a hardline. He refused to turn around and greet Garrus. He listened as Garrus walked closer to the bed, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw talons place a bottle of whisky on the night stand.

"We'll save that for later." Garrus cheekily said. Then he patted Kaidan on the back, "Hey bud."

Kaidan's eyes flicked up to Rose's, before he forced a civil smile onto his face and looked up to Garrus looming over him in his chair.