Holy Goodness! Look at me, on a roll! Thought I'd wait until tomorrow to post, but once again Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is on and I have a few things to do after work so I'll be busy. Hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter. And if you haven't read it, you really should. I know it's unbelievable that I actually posted two updates for the same story in a matter of hours so I'm sure some of you haven't even realized that I posted chapter 9 already!

Thanks to the guest reviewer who pointed out my fail in the last chapter. I wrote a little comment at the end of the chapter to verify that I did indeed break from cannon. Thanks for the positive review!

Isabelle was feeling more than miserable. Her back felt like someone had sucker-punched her to the kidneys, and her head was aching. She hoped she wasn't coming down with anything. So far in their trip abroad they'd seen nothing you wouldn't expect to see after the Reapers' invasion. A few trips to stranded colonies revealed damaged homes, destroyed cities and too many dead bodies to count. And yet she was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of gratitude she faced when people recognized her. People tried to give her gifts of money and goods that they needed themselves, one man offered the sweater he was wearing when it began to rain. He'd cried at her gentle dismissal, thanking her for saving his wife and children.

She went to bed in tears at night, thinking of all the people her actions had saved, and all that they had not. And still there was no sign of Kaidan or the Normandy. They found ships that had crash-landed on several different planets, following distress signals cautiously. They'd been ambushed twice, but their assailants were worse off then them, desperate and ill-equipped. Shepard had put them down with a sense of regret and horror. They'd survived the Reaper war, only to be gunned down by the woman who'd tried to save them all. Jack didn't understand her remorse. They'd done it before, killed men who'd attacked them. Perhaps it was only the pregnancy hormones. Or maybe it was simply because she was tired. Tired of killing, tired of racing from one world to another to put down every threat that popped up in the galaxy. And yet she would not relinquish her Spectre status. She had to find Kaidan first. She had to give birth and see if her feelings would change. She had no doubt that there would always be someone to chase after, but was she still willing to be the one that did the chasing?

Their final stop was almost too far out for her to travel comfortably. There were more pirate ships out here than anywhere in the galaxy, excluding perhaps Omega. Red Cricket was a colony of former Earth citizens that had gotten sick of the Alliance, and the governments on Earth. They had remained untouched simply because they had nothing worth stealing, and they were so far below the radar that Shepard was surprised they'd actually found the place. They'd contacted them weeks before, promising aid in the form of food and medical supplies. It was their last stop before they returned to Earth and her last chance to look for Kaidan. She planned to take the drop-shuttle from one planet to the next on the journey home, short jaunts that shouldn't overly tax the Kodiak.

She was beginning to feel desperate. Several of the mass relays were up and running, if not at full capacity. Communications between Alliance ships had been mostly restored. Kaidan had to be far from home for her not to hear anything about him. Not rumors, no contact, nothing to indicate the Normandy had survived the initial blast of the Crucible and near destruction of the relays. She wouldn't give up hope now. Not when she was certain Kaidan was out there, waiting for her to find him.

She went to sleep that night with a heavy heart, wondering what the stop on Red Cricket would yield.

Isabelle was in the Commander's quarters on the Normandy. She opened her eyes to the sight of Kaidan, his hair rumpled and sticking up in places. He smiled at her, reaching for her hand and pulling it close to his chest.

"I thought I'd never see you again, Isabelle."

"Why would you think that?" She was teasing him, the hand laid on his chest beginning to stroke the hard muscles under soft skin. She'd missed him so much.

"We were so far apart. I wasn't sure I could make it back to you. That you'd be waiting for me when I did return."

Isabelle offered him a kiss, pulling his head down until his bare chest pressed against hers. When they pulled apart Kaidan's brown eyes were dark, with warm flecks of whiskey-brown as they traced over her face.

"I'll always wait, Kaidan. You should know that." She chided him gently, simply enjoying his presence too much to actually be displeased.

"And I'll always come home to you." Kaidan promised with another kiss pressed to her lips.

They lost themselves in soft kisses that turned demanding, Kaidan eager to pull her standard 'casual' attire off of her. But he paused suddenly, his brow creased in confusion.

"Shepard?" His eyes probed hers, and it was only when she felt his hand softly stroking the swell of her stomach that she understood.

"Kaidan..." Isabelle was suddenly afraid to tell him, even though she knew that this moment couldn't possibly be real. Even as she read the dark shadows in his eyes and wondered how long they'd been there. Shadows she'd never seen before, a hurt that he barely hid.

Shepard woke up covered in sheen of sweat. Her heart was racing, and a sharp ache between her legs let her know just how much her body had enjoyed Kaidan's hands on her, no matter that it was just a dream. And yet these dreams were getting more frequent, confusing her with how real they felt while she was in them.

Kaidan. There were still moments that they'd shared that were missing. Moments that she felt might endear him to her even more. She felt like a teenager, her love for Kaidan borderline crazy. She missed him, cried for him when she was certain Jack was sleeping. And she dreamed of him.

Dreamed of warm skin, aching tenderness, conversations that couldn't possibly exist. Reactions that might never happen. Her memories had caught up to Mars. Her heart beat faster every time she thought of Kaidan being slammed around and carelessly thrown to the side. A moment that she'd dreaded. And yet even then, they were not together. Their first conversations after her return to Earth were stilted, polite, sometimes laced with thinly-veiled hostility on Kaidan's part. It didn't stop the ache to touch him, the need to see him smile, if only for a moment. It stop the urge to hold him close and comfort him when she'd seen the hurt in his eyes after their first meeting. It didn't stop the jealousy she felt at thinking Kaidan had dated other women during her absence, perhaps kissed other woman, or more.

Hormones could be partly to blame. Her emotions were all over the place, elation followed by sorrow, followed by anger and then joy. It was a confusing jumble that had her constantly on edge. Solona said it was some of the worst she'd ever seen, the highs and lows of her emotional spectrum and how fast her moods seemed to change. But the doctor wasn't worried. She said it could be because of a number of factors, some that had to do with her implants, or the added pressure of carrying twins during her first pregnancy, even her return from death. The babies were safe and healthy and that was all that mattered.

Shepard was ready to get off the Meridian and stretch her legs. It was nowhere near as big as the Normandy with very little room to move around. She was always caught between the urge to shelter herself from the chaos of the recovering colonies they landed at, and the equal urge to escape the confining space of the Meridian. The crew didn't seem to mind it, perhaps used to sharing space. But with Isabelle's mood swings she was volatile in enclosed spaces, and she was used to an abundance of personal space, both on the Normandy and the months spent in private quarters on Earth. She was pretty sure that whatever attraction Tamlen had held for her before was now gone. She'd screamed at the man often enough that even she cringed at her own voice. Jack had been no help, quietly provoking the situation and watching events unfold with a smirk.

Still the crew held her with open regard, awe still in their voices any time they addressed her. They brushed off her irritability with comments of support and concern over her rough pregnancy. She'd barely resisted the urge to yell at them all in a childish tantrum on more than one occasion.

They arrived at Red Cricket very late in the evening. Isabelle was too tired to investigate the colony after hearing that it hadn't been hit by Reaper attacks. She almost thought that there was no point in getting off the Meridian at all. Once again, her ankles were slightly swollen, and her back ached. Solona cautioned that at this stage forward there was too great a risk to fighting against the pirate and mercenary groups that they'd encountered. So she was basically put on desk duty. Or whatever passed for it on the Meridian. Which basically meant bed rest and aimless wandering in hallways that led to the same damn place.

It wasn't until the morning that she got the greatest shock. Kaidan was on Red Cricket, and so was her beloved Normandy.

Kaidan was restless. The Meridian had arrived late in the night, nearing what would be 3 in the morning if comparing it to Earth. The crew were tired, and he'd only caught a glimpse of Commander Hawthorne. Kelvin had been less than obliging in letting the Commander know that there was a stranded Alliance crew on the outskirts of the Colony. As it was, Hawthorne was tired and had deferred their meeting until the morning. Kaidan had reluctantly agreed to Kelvin's relayed message.

He'd barely slept, kept awake by thoughts of finally knowing what had happened to Shepard, to his parents and everyone he'd known on Earth. Garrus and Tali were all for storming over to the Meridian and demanding entrance. Garrus was eager to hear from his sister on Palaven, and Tali wanted to know how the Fleet was doing, and if they'd returned to Rannoch. Kaidan had urged them to sleep and think of the messages they'd be sending to their families come morning. Even if they'd had the messages ready to be sent for months.

The morning dawned early at 6 am, and Kaidan was already dressed and ready to confront Hawthorne. He was on edge, for some reason itching for a fight, something to release the tension from his neck and shoulders. He approached the ship flanked by Garrus and Tali, Joker trailing far behind miserably. He had no one to contact on Earth. No one he believed would care after EDI's death. But he'd been forced to go by Kaidan, limping along with the support of crutches since he'd refused a wheelchair.

Hawthorne came from the ships doors with a friendly smile on his face. The expression slipped a little as he took in the anxious faces of the crew that approached him, and the oddity of a Turian, Quarian, and two humans part of the same crew. He started to get an anxious feeling deep in the pit of his stomach. Despite what Shepard believed, he was still intrigued by her. Some part of him had hoped they'd never find her crew, or find them with a few members short, namely the human ones. He brushed the ominous thought aside and raised his hand for the man in front of him to shake.

The man took it reluctantly. Tamlen didn't need his introduction. He recognized Major Kaidan Alenko, a war hero in his own right. And the rumors that he was the father of Shepard's child were spreading fast. Tamlen sized the man up as he gave his name. Alenko was shorter than he was, though a little broader. His hair was liberally streaked with gray, probably from the ordeal of fighting the Reapers. His mouth was set in a hard line as he looked Tamlen up and down. His greeting was curt and to the point.

"I need to contact Admiral Hackett on Earth. And my crew need to contact their families as well."

Tamlen didn't appreciate the man's blunt request. More like a command. But he might be rude in the same circumstances. He reluctantly raised a hand to Kaidan's shoulder as the man tried to brush past him.

"With all due respect, sir. I think there is someone you'd want to see first."

Kaidan raised an eyebrow at the hand that held him back. He shook it off but paused, waiting for Tamlen to elaborate.

Tamlen didn't need to, a small gasp directing all their attention to the woman that had just exited the ship. Kaidan felt his breath stop as he took in the sight of Isabelle. Her eyes were on him, wide and confused as she took him in. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, Kaidan frozen by sudden disbelief. It wasn't until Isabelle's knees began to give that he finally moved, rushing forwards to catch the falling Commander.

"Kaidan."

He caught her before she hit the ground, his eyes looking her over desperately. Shepard had never been one to faint, unless she'd been knocked out by poison, like that time at Omega. She was strong, stronger than anyone he knew. He took in her pale skin, the dark rings under her eyes, the slender fragility of her arms and neck. She'd lost weight, and yet as he picked her up, she seemed to have gained it. It was then that he realized that the waist his hand was wrapped around was slightly wider. He felt his own knees begin to buckle as he realized why. Garrus steadied him with a concerned frown, his own eyes widening in disbelief as he realized where Kaidan was staring.

"Bosh-tet," breathed Tali as she too looked on with bewilderment.

Kaidan was lost in his own head, wondering how this could be true. The dreams that had plagued him since his separation from Shepard were somehow right. Isabelle was pregnant.

Sooo? I really didn't give people enough time to respond to the last chapter, so please let me know what you thought of the story so far. What did you think of the revelation that Kaidan has also been having dreams? Even if I didn't include them in his POV chapters.

I promised a reunion, and maybe it wasn't exactly what you guys were expecting. Already started on the next chapter! Thanks for reading!