It shook Alenko to see just how quiet the infirmary was. He knew from experience that when dealing with Reapers, most wounded perished on the battlefield, far from help. The smell of death hung in the air, although the space was as clean as one could expect from a makeshift facility. But there were no doctors or medics roving back and forth—they all seemed to be occupied in dividing up supplies into medical packs for the upcoming assault—only a few beds were full. His mother, Jia, was the only person really moving around; even then, it looked like she was simply straightening up for something to do.

For a moment, Alenko simply stood where he was, regarding the tiny Singaporean lady. She didn't wear her hair elegantly put up anymore, something she had always done, but let it hang in a simple braid down her back; there was more grey in it now. It took him a few moments of simply appreciating that she was alive for him to find before he could unstick his tongue. "Hey, Mom."

Jia gasped, flinching rather than jumping, before turning around. Color and relief flooded her lined face as she met him halfway across the room, her hug far too big and too tight for such a small woman. "Kaidan! My Kaidan!"

Alenko's eyes stung again as his mother sobbed into his chest—even though armor wasn't really good for that. So he waited patiently, rocking her gently, patting her back, and murmuring reassurance every so often until she regained her composure.

"Oh, my Kaidan," she said again, dabbing at her eyes. "I'm so glad to see you well."

"You too." He didn't know what else to say, and then wondered if there was anything, really, to say at all. "Have a spare minute?"

"Oh, very yes," she said, and let him walk her over to one of the infirmary beds. They sat down, side by side, his arm around her shoulders. They didn't talk, merely sat in comfortable silence, enjoying one another's presence.

It seemed like a peaceful forever before Shepard announced herself by clearing her throat gently. Alenko shifted, taking in the expression on her face. Nothing new had happened, it was just business as usual. He was glad the tension headaches seemed to have ended. "Need the major?" he asked.

"You've still got ten minutes," Shepard answered, coming around the bed. When she addressed the line of kit-packers, she raised her voice a little. "I'm supposed to let Dr. Shore know, meeting at the command hub in ten minutes?"

One of the kit-packers waved a hand. "Noted, thank you!"

Shepard nodded, then turned back to Alenko and his mother. He only saw it because he knew her so well, the little marks of uncertainty as to whether she should be here, or whether she should save introductions for later. But she knew what family meant to him, and was giving him an opportunity to decide whether now was really the time or not.

"Mom?" He got to his feet, then put his arm around Shepard's shoulder. "I'd like you to meet my beautiful wife, Jalissa." He gave Shepard's shoulders a squeeze, though the words cut like a knife; it was the same way his father, Peter, used to introduce Jia.

Shepard tensed at the introduction, but gave no other sign of unease…except that her expression was reminiscent of someone facing a firing squad. He knew she worried—needlessly in his opinion, but try to tell her that—that his parents wouldn't think she was right for their son. She'd never come out and said it, so he'd never been able to address the matter, but he'd picked up on it.

"Then this is the young lady!" Jia cried, her face lighting up, some of the lines of age vanishing with her smile. "Ah, you precious girl!"

Alenko let go of Shepard so Jia could step forward and hug her. Shepard took it…well. At least she didn't recoil, and although she did try to return the gesture, there was a self-conscious stiffness in it. He thought the 'precious girl' moniker rather threw her, when she was expecting to be judged and graded.

He had to snicker mentally; bring on the Reapers, the Collectors, the husks, or Cerberus by the battalion, but a first meeting with her mother-in-law?

"It's good to meet you in person, ma'am," Shepard said.

"'Ma'am' she says!" Jia grinned, the very infectious grin she saved for people she truly liked. "But never mind. Jia for now; perhaps we'll settle on something more personal later. Once we've had time to talk."

"She's already heard all my embarrassing baby stories," Alenko hastily invented.

Jia laughed, the merry carol of a laugh he remembered, which made everyone turn around. The sound was so alien here, now. "Of course you would have shared those—there aren't any! I was thinking more your sweet teenager stories."

Uh-oh…

It was his beautiful—and big-hearted—wife who saved him. She wrapped her arm around his and gave him a very unguarded look. "I don't need to hear his embarrassing teenager stories. I already know what kind of teenager he was. They're what made him the man I love."

He knew how hard it was for her to say those kinds of things, and for her to say them in public with an audience? It would take being in the middle of the Reapers' strongest point for her to make such admissions seem easy.

Jia's smile faltered, for a moment she looked stunned, then something less definable filled her features, as if she wanted to hug Shepard and never, ever let her go. It was as if Shepard had just answered her every prayer where he was concerned, all at once.

"If we've still got a few minutes," Alenko broke in, looking from his wife to his mother, aware that Shepard's unease was draining away. "Maybe…could we sit here for a minute? Like a family?"