A/N: Finally! The dinner scene! I had a lot of problems about how to make this chapter. I kept most of the conversation from the game because I really liked it, but I added some stuff after, so I hope you guys like it.

Thank you as always to those who are following and favorited this story. You guys are great! And a big thank you for the reviews (you know who you are). ;)

Reviews and feedback are always welcome.

Mass Effect belongs to Bioware. Lucky them.

P.S. See any mistakes? Let me know! :)

After Shepard sat, she looked around nervously. She had an old habit of checking where the nearest exit was and look for the best spots for a sniper in case of an ambush. Kaidan looked at her and chuckled. He knew her so well. "Don't worry Shepard. I don't think Cerberus is gonna try something anytime soon."

That brought her back to reality. "What? Oh. Right, sorry." She looked down and saw a menu lie on the table as she rested her arms on it. "What are you drinking?"

Kaidan smiled when he heard the playfulness in her voice. "I don't know. I'd really like some Canadian lager. Think they have it?"

She huffed. "Yeah right. They're more likely to have batarian shard wine."

Kaidan sighed. "You know, at my parent's place in Vancouver," he looked away, remembering those moments perfectly in his head. "we drank more than a few beers on the balcony looking over English Bay. Yeah, beautiful view." He turned back toward Shepard, a new feeling of determination flooding through him. "You know what though, I feel good about our chances."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

He looked down so she couldn't see the doubt in his eyes. He – everyone – needed her to believe that they could win this war otherwise they wouldn't stand a chance. But he also wanted to be honest with her. "Yeah. Let's me sleep better at night."

Shepard looked at him with concern. "You're not sleeping Kaidan?"

"I'm a little restless, that's for sure. But it's not the only thing keeping me up at night." He looked at her. Her expression didn't change. She waited for him to continue. That made him even more nervous. Now or never. "I… I wonder about us."

She rested her back against her chair. "Us?" She asked simply.

Kaidan rested his forearms on the table and looked at Shepard directly in the eyes. "I love you Shepard." She sucked in a breath. "I always have. And I want to understand what this is between us, and make it real." He sighed when she didn't say anything or didn't even react. "That's what I want. That's all I want." He was silently begging for Shepard to say something… anything. "What about you? What do you want?"

Shepard leaned forward and looked at Kaidan intensely. "I can't bury what I feel for you anymore… and I don't want to."

Kaidan smiled and took her hands in his. "And that… makes me so happy." He brought her right hand to his cheek. "And there are benefits to that happiness." He said seductively. He kissed her palm when an idea occurred to him. She liked to tease me before. Now it's my turn. He put her hand back on the table and tried to hide the smile on his face. "But more on that later."

She could clearly hear the amusement in his voice. "Later? Really? If so then we need to get back to the Normandy ASAP."

Kaidan could see the waiter coming toward them to take their order. "Too late." They both gave their order and the waiter left. Kaidan took her hands back in his. "After Mars, I realized that we didn't really have the chance to go on a date like this. I just want to savor this moment with you. Call it a "Sanity Check"." When she nodded, he kissed her knuckles tenderly.

Kaidan and Shepard were slowly walking toward the elevator. Suddenly, she stopped. Kaidan walked a few more steps before he realized she wasn't beside him anymore. He turned around and looked at her. "Hey. What's wrong?"

She looked at the ground. "I don't want to leave yet. Want to walk with me a little bit?"

He slowly approached her. "I don't know. I don't think that's a good idea."

Her eyes widened. "Oh."

Kaidan stopped in front of her and smiled. "See, I don't want other people getting jealous because I have the most beautiful woman at my side."

She laughed and punched his shoulder. "Jerk." He laughed as well and offered her his hand. She took it and they started walking hand in hand. She didn't care if someone saw them. They probably wouldn't recognize her anyway with her makeup and her dress.

They walked in comfortable silence for a while before Kaidan spoke. "I'm really glad we took the time to do this."

She nodded and looked at him. "Yeah. It was a good idea for us to have a heart to heart."

They walked for half an hour, talking about little things like Garrus' calibrating and Joker's stupid jokes. They talked about anything but the war. As they waited in front of the elevator to get back to the Normandy, she asked him something. "Think you'll sleep better now?"

He laughed. "Depends where I sleep, because if we sleep in the same bed, I don't think I'll be able to get some rest anytime soon." he said seductively as they stepped in the elevator with Shepard.

She turned to face him. "Oh? And why is that?"

He slowly put his arms around her waist. "Because we'll have a lot of catching up to do."

Then she wrapped her hands around his neck almost instantly. She had done this so many times before that it was like her arms were acting all by themselves. "Hmmm, I like that idea. And then you can show me all the benefits of your happiness."

"Yes, ma'am." he murmured.

Kaidan could almost feel her goose bumps through her dress. "God I love it when you say that."

He chuckled once again. "I know."

"Then don't stop."

"Aye aye, ma'am." She moaned her approval as he brought his lips to hers for the first time in three long years.