A/N - Originally, TTT had only one epilogue, but then my son challenged me with an idea and suddenly there were two lol... Since they're radically different (this first chapter is the serious, fluffy one, the second is more comedy...) they get separate chapters and you get a double post! Although that means that this is no longer the last chapter in this fic, I'm going to abuse this authors note and leave the next one short and sweet! First, let me give my eternal thanks to Bioware once again for creating the ME universe and everything in it... Without their brilliance, we'd have no Shepard, no Kaidan, no Shenko... and no happy fanfic writers to twist their story from how it was originally told! They own credit for everything~
Since there really isn't enough space here to repeat the names of all the reviewers, followers, favorites, etc and I doubt you have the patience to read them, plus I've already thanked them personally once, I hope you'll forgive me if I just use a blanket: Thank you in this note. Thank you for all your feedback, encouragement, support and for the gift of your personal time. You have truly made writing this fic a pleasure, even when it was a chore~
For those of you who are interested, I'm hard at work at continuing this Shepard's and Kaidan's tale through the events of ME3... Ordinarily, I feel very bittersweet about completing a fic, but the sequel has helped a lot with that... I have several chapters complete and more in progress, and I'll post the prologue tomorrow. It's called 'Twist the Knife' so look for it if you'd like!~
Finally, words can never fully express my gratitude to StoneburntHeart... she has held my hand, been my cheering section, let me bounce ideas off her relentlessly and been willing to beta anything I sent her, despite the hour (we have a severe time difference!) In short, TTT is what it is thanks largely to her!
The bright warm Canadian sun shone in gentle benediction over a sea of gently swaying green grass the first time Kaidan met his son. He stood on the edge of the yard that surrounded the small cottage at his parent's orchard in the British Columbia interior and forgot how to breathe as the door opened and a small bundle of energy shot out on legs that were short but nimble.
Caleb's black curls bounced over his head as the toddler made a beeline for his mother in a dead run, yelling, "Mama!" in a joy-filled tone the entire way. It was a short journey but Shepard dropped the bags she was carrying at Kaidan's feet and took off at a jog herself and met her son in the middle of the yard. Kaidan watched with tears welling in his eyes as she dropped to her knees and wrapped their son in her embrace. She buried her head against his neck and Kaidan saw her back heave with sobs. The sight was so powerfully emotional, Kaidan had to glance away to catch his breath. He looked up with eyes filled with tears to see his parents standing in the door to the cottage. Kaidan took a moment to study them as they watched the touching reunion and again gave thanks that he was here, finally. Home. With his family.
In the month since the Normandy barely escaped the Collector base and carved her name in galactic history as the first ship to ever return through the perilous Omega-4 relay, Kaidan had dreamed of this moment every night. He had held Shepard in their bed and begged her for stories of home and family in a desperate attempt to stave off impatience at the obstacles that kept them from their return to Earth. She had patiently recounted and often repeated stories of her time with Caleb and Kaidan's parents before she had left to rejoin the Normandy. Kaidan had fancifully begun to think of them as his bedtime stories, and the scenes she detailed had played out in his dreams when he finally closed his eyes to sleep.
After the relay, the Normandy had docked at Omega for two weeks of repairs and safety checks before Tali, Joker, Shepard, and Kaidan had declared her safe to fly again. The day that they cleared the station, Kaidan's heart had sung. When the message from Councilor Anderson requesting their immediate appearance at the Citadel had arrived an hour later, he tried to shove impatience aside in favor of duty. Some days he was more successful than others. They had passed another four days on the Citadel in Council debriefings and endless meetings with Alliance personnel in between saying their goodbyes to various crew as they left to go their separate ways. By the time they were summoned to Alliance HQ on Earth, the only members of the crew not subject to that authority – at least at some time in their careers – were Garrus and Miranda.
Garrus had never been to Earth and decided to join them out of curiosity to see the human homeworld for the first time and in a desire to meet his newly adopted 'nephew'. Shortly after the Collector's defeat, Kaidan and Shepard had broken the news about Caleb to Garrus – he was their closest friend and they felt he deserved to hear it from them – and he had touched both of them with his sincere and emotional reaction. He started calling himself 'Uncle Garrus' the next day and even now was waiting in Vancouver for the family to join them.
Miranda accompanied them to Earth to formally present her evidence against Cerberus in a series of formal hearings. She testified clearly and carefully about the Lazarus project, Kaidan's resurrection, Cerberus' involvement in the Normandy SR1 attack, and finally, detailed the full extent of the manipulations Cerberus had used to prevent Kaidan's return to the Alliance. She offered her detailed medical records and logs as proof, and added Mordin's and Dr. Chakwas' as additional weight. It was an incredible act of courage and honesty and Shepard and Kaidan sat in the gallery and hung on every word of her testimony for three days. In the end, the Alliance Defense Committee voted to pardon Miranda Lawson in exchange for her agreement to attach herself to a civilian medical research organization and on the condition that she denounced all current and future ties with Cerberus. Miranda graciously agreed to all stipulations and was on a transport bound for the Citadel the following morning.
The Defense Committee also voted to pardon Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko of any wrongdoings perceived or real during his time spent hostage on a Cerberus vessel. Kaidan wasn't sure if he had Miranda to thank for that or Shepard for delivering the Alliance the prize of an upgraded stealth-capable frigate with all bells and whistles and nearly wrapped neatly in a bow. The bow part was literal – she had grinned and said she was sticking a bright red Christmas ribbon to the Normandy's hull when they arrived in Vancouver, but Joker had begged, pleaded, cajoled, and finally blackmailed her with incriminating video of Kaidan leaving her cabin soaking wet before she relented and agreed not to 'embarrass his baby.' So the Alliance got their ship - sans bow.
Whatever the reason, they reinstated Kaidan at his current rank and grade and even offered him back pay and accumulated leave. Kaidan had accepted graciously and immediately put in a request for leave for family reasons. In total, they were on Earth for five days before they headed to the orchard. He and Shepard had talked about it when they arrived in Vancouver. They discarded the idea of summoning Caleb and Kaidan's parents to the city with no debate. They would hold this first and most intimate and important meeting out of prying eyes.
Kaidan was started out of his reverie by the sound of Shepard's voice calling his name softly. He turned his head and saw her approaching. She was carrying Caleb now, although he was squirming and protesting, "Down, Mama!" She tickled him and he giggled and she walked the last few steps toward Kaidan in relative peace. She lowered Caleb to the ground and stepped back to give her men a chance to meet.
Kaidan went to his knees so that he could be closer to his son's eye level. Again, he lost his breath for a moment as eyes so close to the ones he saw in the mirror every morning met his. Caleb studied him with a serious concentration for a long minute until he finally broke into a grin and showed off his new teeth. He tilted his head in curiosity and questioned, "Who you?"
Kaidan had to swallow past the lump in his throat before he could find his own voice. "I'm your Dad," he answered his son quietly.
"Daddy?" Caleb echoed and his face showed confusion now, "Daddy go away."
Shepard's voice answered him as she knelt to join them. "That's right, baby," her voice was soft and thick with tears, "Daddy went away. But Mama went to find him. Caleb, this is Daddy. I brought him home," she reached out to stroke her son's hair with a soft touch and Kaidan saw the tears streaming down her cheek.
Caleb, however, was oblivious to the strong emotions around him and accepted his mother's explanation with a giggle and clap of his hands. "Daddy!" he exclaimed and threw himself into Kaidan's arms. "Daddy home!"
Kaidan wrapped his arms around his son's small body and held him tight. When he looked up and met Shepard's eyes over their son's head, he had tears streaming down his cheeks, too. 'Thank you,' he mouthed silently to her and saw her nod in response. He closed his eyes again until Caleb decided he'd been hugged enough and wriggled his way out of his father's embrace. Kaidan stood as Caleb grabbed his hand and tugged on it. He entwined his free hand with Shepard's and they followed Caleb to Kaidan's parents who greeted them with warm embraces of their own. Kaidan stood in the center of a circle of all the people he loved in the world and again gave thanks that despite all odds and twists of fate, he was finally home.