A/N: Thank you so much to those of you reading, reviewing and following this story. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I had planned to update earlier but life got in the way so I added two chapters to make up for it.

Bioware owns all - I'm submerged in their universe and don't want to come up for air.

Banshees! This was the first time they dealt with these things made from Asari, but Karra already hated Banshees. Their screams went straight through her, made her head vibrate, gave her a headache. Of course that was what they were supposed to do, but she still hated Banshees.

Of all the places to come, an Ardat Yakshi monastery. It was great to see Samara again and joining her in battle brought back memories, but she was here to kill her daughters. Karra thought about Morinth and how Samara had killed her, how many times can a mother kill her own children and not be scarred.

Damn banshees! They seemed to be everywhere at once, just when you thought you'd got away they were in front of you again. It was tiring, very tiring. Eventually they were all taken care of and they were back to searching for the detonator. That's when everything went wrong. One daughter lost to the Reapers, the other left to grieve, then Shepard had to stop Samara from killing herself, that damn Justicar code.

Finally they were back on the Normandy and Karra unwound under the shower. Her hand came to rest on her dog tags. They had swapped tags so she now wore one of Kaidans and he had one of hers, it was an acknowledgement of their engagement and she loved having a part of him so close to her heart.

She jumped as a hand softly touched her shoulder and she turned to look at a naked torso. She looked him up and down, savouring the finely honed muscles, the strong thighs that supported that ass, the wonderful piece of manhood that gave so much pleasure, before finally looking into hazel eyes that shone in amusement. Her eyes dropped to his lips and she softly ran her finger across them. Kaidan stepped into the water and pulled her into his arms.

'How are you going to tell Admiral Hackett we're getting married,' she smiled as she ran her hands over his shoulders.

'I can offer to resign but I doubt he'll let me. He's already said the last thing we should be worrying about were regs. He thinks it won't matter when this is all over, they'll need all the soldiers they can get so regs will be the least of their problems.' He cupped her face and stared into her eyes, slowly closing the gap between them. 'Besides, I'll tell him he'll have to face you if he says no.'

She giggled as he kissed his way down her neck. 'I'm sure that will scare him.'

'Are you kidding, show me someone who's not afraid of you,' he chuckled and his hands came to rest on her backside as his mouth found a nipple.

'You're not,' she gasped.

'Ah, but I have you at my mercy, I know your weaknesses,' he grinned and nipped her nipple as he lifted her so she could wrap her legs around him, his erection slipped inside her and they both moaned. 'See,' he whispered huskily between thrusts and nibbling on her neck, 'at my mercy.'

Thessia was a disaster. The reapers were there in force and the Asari home world was being destroyed. Karra couldn't believe it when they found a Prothean beacon inside the temple that the Asari had kept secret. Liara was still trying to convince her that there had to be another explanation when Kai Leng showed up.

Kaidan watched in horror as the gunship tore apart the temple, the floor collapsed beneath Karra, and she disappeared into the hole.

'Shepard!' he ran towards where she'd been but was knocked off his feet as a biotic throw hurled Liara against him and they both ended up stunned on the ground. He groaned as he realised his armour was crushed against his ribs and movement was difficult.

Liara recovered more quickly and rushed to where Shepard had disappeared. Kaidan slowly got up and followed and his heart soared as a hand appeared and Liara pulled her into view. She was no sooner out of the hole than she was on her feet, grabbing a discarded pistol and running after the gunship which quickly disappeared from view.

Kaidan limped to where Shepard stood looking out over the devastation, the horror that was Thessia. She was shaking and he knew it was anger but he also knew this was going to hit her hard, she would blame herself, believe she had let everyone down. He reached out for her but she simply pushed past him and ordered Steve to pick them up.

By the time Kaidan had removed his armour and been checked over by Dr Chakwas Karra was already showered and doing her rounds as she usually did after a mission. He wandered down to engineering hoping to catch up with her and ended up in a conversation with Adams about the destruction of Thessia and how Liara was dealing with it. That was when she walked in. He could see she was upset, no one else probably would have noticed the tightness around her eyes or the stiffness in her jaw but he did.

He watched her as he spoke to Adams about Liara and he could see the tension building before she turned and walked out. He followed her to the elevator but she refused to look at him, to talk to him. He refused to let go and as the elevator doors closed he stepped closer and reached for her shoulders but she shook him off and turned away.

'EDI, stop the elevator now,' Kaidan ordered and pulled her around to face him. 'Talk to me, Karra.'

'About what?' she almost spat and his concern deepened. 'About the fact that I failed, that I've lost our only chance to save Earth, to save the galaxy. Or would you rather talk about how I couldn't stop Thessia from being destroyed.' She was pacing now, almost yelling and her biotics flared. 'Or maybe I should just forget about all of that and comfort Liara, everyone seems to forget that I left Earth under attack, we left people behind who could be dead by the time we get back. Liara is not the only one to lose her home but apparently she's the only one that matters.' She looked at the ceiling, 'EDI get this thing moving.'

'Belay that order, EDI,' Kaidan was quick to respond, his voice was strong but still soft and Karra glared at him. 'You can't blame yourself, you did everything you could. We haven't lost yet, we will get the data back.' He stepped closer and watched as her shoulders slumped and her eyes closed. 'You're not the only one worried about the people left behind and Liara is just the latest in a long line of people to suffer the destruction of their home world.' He stepped closer and reached for her, holding her shoulders as she took a deep breath. 'We all have faith in you Karra, we know you will get us through this and we will all be there to help you. You can't take all of this on your shoulders.'

'But that's what's expected of me, isn't it,' she pulled back and punched the elevator wall in frustration, 'and I've let everyone down. I should have been quicker, I should have tried harder, I should have done something…' she sucked in a breath and Kaidan pulled her into his chest and held on even though she fought him. Eventually she gave up and leaned into him.

'You did everything you could, you haven't let anyone down but yourself and that's hard for you to face. We know you always do your best, you can't do anything less.' He lifted her face so he could look into her eyes, 'it's why we all follow you to hell and back without question but you are allowed to make mistakes. You are only human after all.' He kissed her forehead as tears rolled down her cheek.

'But my mistakes cost lives,' she muttered against his shoulder and he could feel her shaking as she finally wrapped her arms around his waist.

'We're at war, loss of life is inevitable, you have no control over that, don't forget you have saved lives too.'

'Not enough,' her anger and self-doubt still smouldered.

'You've done more than anyone should be asked to do and done it without hesitation. Hell, you died saving lives,' he took a deep breath and held her tighter. 'You've saved more lives than anyone else I know and you should be damn proud of that, I'm proud of you.' He looked down at her, 'I love you.'

'I love you,' she whispered and lifted her face for a kiss. 'I'm sorry for getting upset.'

'Hey,' he spoke softly as he met her eyes, 'if you can't be upset around me we're in huge trouble.' He kissed her and wiped away her tears. 'Are you okay?'

'Yeah, I'll be fine,' she gave him a weak smile. 'Are you okay, you got hurt and I haven't even asked how you are,' she cupped his face, 'some fiancé I am, some commanding officer.'

'Yeah, I'm fine, a few bruises and my armour needs fixing,' he grimaced but was glad to see Commander Shepard slowly returning, 'And you had other things on your mind.'

She sighed and it seemed to blow away the worst of her mood. 'Thank you, Kaidan,'

'Anything for you, my love,' he stepped back and watched as she fully pulled on her commander persona. 'EDI, we can go now.'

'Yes, Major.' The elevator shuddered into movement.

'I'll see you for dinner,' Kaidan smiled before stepping off the elevator onto the crew deck.

'Of course,' she smiled as the doors closed between them and Kaidan knew she would be alright, she would hurt for a while, blame herself for a while but she would be alright.