She is intruding but she cannot help; there are too few memories, and time even less. Pressing her hand on the door panel, Kahlee Sanders enters David's apartment.
The size overwhelms her, just like before, making her feel doubly unwelcome. She doesn't know the details of the arrangement with Shepard, she is quite sure that the Commander wouldn't mind her presence, it is the place itself that has that effect on her. The flat was not designed for the man but for the post of a Councillor, and just like David, she feels best in that small guestroom where she can feel connected to him, one last time. She runs her hand over his books and audios, sits on his bed, runs her hand over the pillow where their heads had rested.
So much time wasted, so little left.
After Grayson's attack on the Academy, she called on David exactly twice. Then the Reapers came, and that was the end to the little dreams of life together that she was starting to nourish.
With a sigh, she gets up and smooths the blankets. There is only one more thing to do but she keeps postponing it in its finality. Instead, she roams through the flat, noticing the small signs of another's presence. An N7 hoodie over the back of an armchair, a pile of PDAs scattered on the coffee table. An untidy heap of clothes with a black leather jacket on the top, a smear of lipstick on a towel. The big waterbed in the main bedroom very untidy – Kahlee finds herself half blushing, half giggling, and then both feelings blend into a small pang of envy, for which she immediately scolds herself. She should be happy for Jack and her Commander, for what little they may have before the end.
The thoughts of Jack revive the memory of their last meeting, in the docks as they were boarding the Lima. The kids were flocked together, pale and wide-eyed, the smiles and jokes coming forced. Some were even on the verge of tears when hugging her, Jack last of them. "Take care over there while we do some ass-kicking," she said but her eyes were no less scared than the kids'. It was a different fear, though, Kahlee understood: one that she shared, looking at the boys and girls whom she had known almost all their lives, wondering if she would ever see them again.
"You too," she replied simply, "all of you. I'll be waiting for you."
Jack's face contorted for a moment. "I'll keep them alive," she muttered thickly. "I will."
Kahlee could only hug her tightly in response.
Then they were gone, and Kahlee feels alone, even though she still has her techies to join in their assignment to the Crucible team. She likes all her students, she does, but over the years, she has come to realize that the biotics are dearest to her. The techies usually came to the Academy later in their lives, and they had a choice.
All in all, they were Vincent's kids more than hers.
But Vincent is gone, just like most people and most things in her life.
Kahlee makes the bed and when she wants to put the clothes away, she finds out that although the waterbed has seen quite some use, the Commander and Jack occupy another small bedroom next to David's as their own.
It brings a smile to her lips and moisture to her eyes, and she finally feels up to what she came for. She goes to the bathroom to wash her face, and from the cabinet, retrieves the overnight bag with her initials: a present from David, the only that is left.
As she leaves the lavish apartment, it feels empty; the only content of value she is holding in her hand.
