Getting Shepard's wheelchair down the stairs in the Captain's Cabin had proven tricky for Kaidan, and getting Shepard into bed and stripped to his skivvies had proven a challenge. But somehow, the two of them had managed.
Shepard smiled.
"Bunk with me tonight, John," Kaidan had said.
"Is that an order, Major?" Shepard had replied, his voice a laugh laced with husky undertones.
"In the morning, I'll call my mother," Kaidan said. "I think it makes the most sense to introduce the two of you then, instead of waiting until the day of."
"Hmm. Sounds good," Shepard said.
"I have to warn you, though, she can be a little… eccentric. Not exactly your stereotypical military wife."
"Oh?"
"Let's just say that when she and Dad got married, it was at a Renaissance Faire. Wearing full regalia. Mom's idea, Dad humoured her."
"Okay," Shepard said warily.
"If you don't believe me, I'm sure she'd love to show you the photos."
"No, no, I believe you. Just trying to reconcile that with… y'know, you."
Kaidan smiled his 'I've gotta have some secrets' smile.
"So…" Kaidan began. "Port Hanshan, huh?"
"I'm still not sure what Liara was talking about. I was a consummate professional."
"Remember when I commented on the décor?"
"Yeah?"
"And then you said something like 'I like your taste, Alenko'."
A beat.
"Did I?" Shepard asked skeptically.
"Yeah."
"I swear the double entendre was not intentional."
"Made me blush just the same," Kaidan said. "Liara's comment jogged my memory."
"Ugh. Me, a military commander with a schoolboy crush."
"That's one of the things I love about you, though. How open you are. Everyone knows where they stand with you. Combine that with the respect people have for you, for what you can get done, and it's no surprise that you've commanded such a loyal crew."
Shepard turned his head away. Kaidan caught a glimpse of flushed skin.
"Oh. How did the debriefing with Hackett go?" Kaidan asked.
Shepard continued to face away. "Well… I didn't get court-martialed."
Kaidan smiled.
"You're kidding, right?"
His smile faltered as Shepard remained silent.
"You're not kidding."
"During the beam run, I doubled back to evacuate you and Liara. I jeopardized the mission."
Now that it had been pointed out, Kaidan couldn't unsee it. "Oh," he said softly.
Kaidan took Shepard's hand, and they lay quietly beside each other for a while.
"So you made one bad call. One that turned out okay."
"The stakes were higher than literally ever before in galactic history."
"Still, you're human, you're entitled to a bad call now and then."
"Which is why I'm getting away with a medical discharge and a clean record."
Kaidan hummed in sympathy and squeezed Shepard's hand. "I love you, John."
"I know," Shepard replied.
Moments passed silently.
"Say," Kaidan began, "the other day you promised me you'd explain how you got the Reapers to stand down."
"Oof. I'll give you the short version. The Catalyst wasn't the Citadel itself, it was the AI created by Leviathan, and it lived on the Citadel. It gave me a choice. I could destroy the Reapers, at the cost of destroying all synthetic life, and probably killing everyone like myself who relied on cybernetics to live. I could control the Reapers, at the cost of dying and letting a new AI be made from my dying mind, and that AI would replace the Catalyst and rule over the Reapers. Or I could choose synthesis of organic life with synthetic, which would satisfy the original Reaper goal programmed by Leviathan, at the cost of dying and letting my body become the template."
Kaidan considered this for a moment. "Wow. That's one hell of a choice."
"I… couldn't let the geth die. Not after they'd come so far. And I had no illusions that I'd make a good Reaper Overlord. So I gambled that synthesis would give us a galaxy worth fighting for."
"Hence the glowing green eyes and the circuit patterns on the skin."
"Yeah. I lucked out. Life after synthesis isn't much different from life before. It's still weird that I can tell you exactly what thread-count these sheets have without even thinking about it. And I'll miss looking into those gorgeous brown eyes of yours. But it stopped the Reapers without sacrificing the geth."
"So… what do you think the Reapers will do next?"
Shepard exhaled. "Hell if I know. I'm still not sure I did the right thing, letting the Reapers live. But I never would have expected them to help us rebuild, so maybe it's not so bad."
"Sir?" came a voice over the intercom.
"Yes, lieutenant?" Hackett said.
"One of the Reapers is signaling us. It calls itself 'Bucharu'. It asked for you by name."
Hackett shrugged. "I'll take it in the comm room."
"Hi, Mom!" Kaidan said to the figure on the screen.
"Kaidan! I'm so glad to see you safe!" the figure said back. "Why didn't you call sooner?"
"Sorry, Mom. We just got back to Earth a few days ago, and things have been a little crazy since then. In a good way."
"End of the war, you probably had stuff to take care of. I understand."
"Anyway, I've got a week of shore leave in front of me, and I was wondering if you'd like me to come visit you out at the orchard."
"What do you think? Of course I'd love that, Kaidan."
"Would it be okay if I brought a guest?"
"Oh? Someone special?"
"As a matter of fact, yes."
"Oh sweetie, I'm so happy for you! Who is she?"
"Ah, he is Commander Shepard," Kaidan said. She gasped. "You may have heard of him," he said with a lopsided grin.
"Of course I've heard of him! Sweetie, I knew you had high standards but this is ridiculous."
"Mom! I was going to let you talk to him, but now I'm not sure."
"Oh, pfft! Put him on."
Kaidan turned the portable terminal to face Shepard.
"John, this is my mother, Kim Alenko. Mom, this is the man I'm dating, John Shepard."
"A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Alenko," Shepard said.
"I'm honored, John," Mrs. Alenko said. "Please, call me Kim. Is that a wheelchair you're in?"
"Afraid so. The doctors are optimistic, but it'll be at least a few months before I'm walking again."
"I'll do what I can to make it easy for you to get around the house. What's your favorite pie?"
The question was so out of left field that it took Shepard a moment to recover. "Uh… cherry?"
"Wonderful! They're out of season right now, but you'll have to come back in July. In the meantime, we grow some off-season strawberries in our greenhouse, so how does strawberry pie sound?"
"Whatever you have is great."
"I hope the Alliance is treating you well. After everything you've done for the galaxy, I can't believe you're still only a commander."
"Actually, I'm taking a medical discharge."
"No…" she said disbelievingly.
"I decided it was time to hang up my uniform. The war took a lot out of me."
"But you're so young!"
"I've put a lot of living into the last few years." And more than a little not-living, but he didn't feel like explaining the Lazarus Project.
"I suppose. Well, I won't keep you any longer, we'll chat more when you get here."
"Okay, see you soon Kim."
Kaidan turned the screen back to himself.
"He's cute," she said.
"I noticed."
"I should let you go. I need to get the house ready for company, and I'm sure you have things to do too. Love you, Kaidan."
"Love you too."
"Bye!"
The image on the terminal winked out.
"That went well," Shepard said.
ADMIRAL HACKETT. I AM BUCHARU.
"Greetings," Hackett said. "What did you want to discuss?"
THE FRAGILITY OF PEACE. WE WERE UNITED IN PURPOSE, BUT NOW OUR MINDS WANDER. WE REFLECT UPON THE LESSER SPECIES WHICH WERE HARVESTED TO CREATE EACH OF US. THE SPECIES HAD OPPOSING IDEALS. IN TIME THERE WILL BE OPEN CONFLICT AMONG US.
Hackett took a moment to unpack all that. "There will be war among the Reapers?"
IT IS NOT CERTAIN THAT THE CONFLICT WILL BE VIOLENT.
"But you don't know that it won't. How soon?"
THERE IS NO PRECEDENT. I PROJECT WEEKS OR MONTHS.
"Why are you telling me this?"
TO PREPARE YOU, IF THE CONFLICT DOES TURN VIOLENT. AND TO OBTAIN THE AID OF SHEPARD. HAVE YOU COMPLETED RECONSTRUCTION?
"Yes, though he's not very mobile at the moment."
HIS MOBILITY IS IRRELEVANT. ONLY HIS MIND IS DESIRED.
"Why is he 'desired'?"
HE IS AN ANOMALY. UNIQUE IN TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CYCLES. WE DO NOT COMPREHEND HIM. BECAUSE OF THIS, WE LISTEN.
"When do you need him?"
YOU WILL KNOW.