Shepard walked into his quarters and headed straight to the monitor. Hackett needed to talk to him privately. It wasn't long before his commanding officer's face appeared on the screen. "You wanted to talk to me, sir?"

"Yes, I did Shepard. I have some news and I'm not sure how it's going to affect you and certain dealings."

"What is it I need to know?"

"We Major Alenko arrived at the Citadel, tests were done on him. One of the nurses noticed blood on his tags. The Major explained that it belonged to The Illusive Man, as you can understand this would give us some information on him, maybe a name."

"Of course, so what did it turn up?"

"We didn't get much; the only thing we did find out was that he has a blood relative, a son."

"I'm still not sure what this has to do with me, do I know this man?"

"Commander Shepard, The Illusive Man is your father." Hackett watched the other man closely.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, we made them retest it. Are you okay with this?"

"A man who tested on my team in Akuze, who brought me back from the dead, if he didn't know before then, he did after. It is clear he wants nothing to do with me. He tortured and experimented on a man I…respect. The Illusive Man was willing to send me into some of the most dangerous situations with no hesitation. Let's not forget the fact he abandoned me as a baby, is my mother still alive too?"

"I know it's a lot to take in. If you have any problems come back to me."

"There won't be any, we may be related by blood, but he is in no way family to me. Nothing has changed."

"Very well carry one Commander."

Shepard straightened his body and saluted. "Yes, sir." As soon as the call ended he took a deep breath, everything was feeling too claustrophobic he needed to be able to look out and remember what he was fighting for, and then the perfect place came to him.

XXXXX

Shepard leaned against the wall beside the large window in the observation lounge. There was so much running through his head, he was going to be a father. It gave him the boost he needed after seeing the attack on Earth. Kaidan and their child would be safe; he had to make sure of that. He'd just received a message that there had been an attack, he was thankful that a Drell hospital patient stepped in to help. He had no doubt that it was Thane, he and the Asari commandos saved Kaidan.

On top of that finding out that The Illusive Man was his father. There were so many questions running through his mind, but he knew they would never be answered. He turned as the door opened, it was Liara.

"I wanted to check up on you." Her voice gentle and soothing.

"I appreciate it. It was hard to leave Earth and Anderson. My heart tells me I should've stayed there and fought. My head knows we need more help and that's my job now."

"You've had a lot happen to you, not just on Earth, but finding out about Kaidan and your father."

"How did you-right the Shadow Broker." Shepard smiled at the look she threw his way. "I didn't realise that I needed a boost and Kaidan carrying our child gave me that. It might mean that we can be together. I just hope he's happy about being pregnant and that he'll forgive me."

"Forgive you for what?"

"It's entirely my fault that this happened to him."

"None of the blame can be put on your shoulders. Kaidan will understand that. When you see him be honest about everything, don't let this build up. Don't hide from something you so desperately want."

"I'll..try, that's the best I can do."

"I'll take it." Liara moved so she stood next to him so they both could stare out of the window.

XXXXX

Shepard looked up as soon as he left the Normandy and noticed a familiar face.

"Good to see you, Shepard."

"You too Bailey." The two men reached out and shook hands.

"The council is currently in a meeting, and asked me to escort you to them."

"You, why?"

"I've been promoted its Commander now," Bailey grumbled as he spoke.

"Why don't you go and see Kaidan." Liara nodded towards the elevator and smiled at him encouragingly.

James Vega just watched the two interact. There was something more going on when Major Alenko was mentioned it was brief and at times it was followed by furious whispering/

"Yeah, I'll go, thanks Liara."

"It's going to be fine." She promised. "I'll head straight to the Council Chambers and wait."

"What about you James?"

"I'll just look around; I promise not to get into any trouble." He grinned at the look that Shepard threw his way.

XXXXX

Shepard arrived on the right floor but felt a little lost. He was having second, third and fourth doubts about doing this now. He had a lot of things going on; maybe he should wait until later.

"Commander Shepard." A familiar female voice called out.

"Dr Chakwas, it's good to see you."

"You're here about Kaidan correct?"

"Yes I am, how is he?"

She ran a hand through her hair and gathered her thoughts. "He's coping remarkably well considering what he went through and all the changes his body is going through now. So far everything looks good, but Dr Michel and her team are keeping a close eye on him."

"I'm glad that you are here to help him. A familiar face must be such a relief for him. What are you doing here anyway? What was the outcome of joining Cerberus?"

"I'm currently working in one of the labs and I didn't join Cerberus, I joined you. I also took leave, so technically I didn't do anything wrong. If you had been charged then things would've been different. I would be honoured to join the Normandy again if you need me."

"It's not the same without you, pack your bags."

"Thank you, Commander." A huge smile on her face.

"You say that now, but Joker's there."

"And I bet he hasn't been taking his medication." She chuckled and the watched as he glanced towards the back of the hospital. "He wants to see you."

"He does?" Nothing would stop Shepard from blaming himself for everything that had happened.

"Yes, he does."

"Okay, I'll catch up with you back in the med bay." There were no more excuses, with a deep breath he headed towards Kaidan's room.

XXXXX

Kaidan looked up as his door opened. His breath caught in his chest at the sight of his visitor. He'd heard that Shepard was alive, but seeing him in the flesh, whole and looking just as handsome as he ever had. "Shepard."

"Kaidan, I…I'm sorry I didn't rescue you or get someone to get to you sooner. I didn't know you had been taken until I was on my way here. If I had known-."

"Hey, it's okay." Kaidan moved from his bed and hugged the other man tightly.

John Shepard felt a little of that terror vanish. Here he was in the arms of the man he cared for, listening to him whispering words of encouragement in that sexy, husky tone of his. He wrapped his arms around a muscular body and let go of everything that had been bottled up. Shepard never wanted to let go.

"I guess we should talk about what was done to me, well the outcome of it anyway."

The two men reluctantly parted and Kaidan moved back to his bed, Shepard immediately behind him. He tried to ignore all that skin on show; he was here for a reason. Slowly he moved his hand towards that smooth flat plain of skin but pulled his hand back before it touched it.

"Do you want it?" It was the main question that needed to be answered before anything else could be discussed.

"I have a life growing inside of me, it's our child, how could I not want it. What about you?"

"Yes, more than anything. The two of you gave me hope after what happened on Earth."

"The two of us?" He tried to keep the hope out of his voice.

"Yes Kaidan, I want you as well." Shepard leaned forward and finally kissed the man he had loved for years. His hand splayed across warm, taut flesh and couldn't wait until they could see the signs of their child's growth.

Kaidan closed his eyes and fell into the kiss. He wasn't going to be alone in this; they pulled apart and rested their foreheads together as they both breathed deeply. A simple kiss had affected them both so deeply.

"I wish I could join you on the Normandy."

"I wish you could too, but they still need to run tests. I need to know that the both of you will be okay and no one will hurt you, especially not Udina or The Illusive Man."

"Do you think Udina was behind the attack?"

"I do and I'll have to thank Thane."

"Thane?"

"Ah, I guess he's not going by that name. He's a Drell that helped me destroy the Collector's base."

"Is he actually sick, or just here to protect me?"

"He's dying; it was pure chance that he was here when you needed him. After I tell him who you are too me, he'll keep an eye out."

"You'll have to tell me about the Collector's base. Miranda has told me parts and it sounds so unbelievable. Only you could be brought back from the dead by Cerberus and then have their people become loyal to you."

"They were good people. When human colonies were going missing, the council did nothing. People felt betrayed. It seemed as if Cerberus were the only ones willing to do something." Shepard chuckled at the thought of the mix of personnel. Just like the original Normandy, it was an eclectic mix.

"You always did bring out the best in people. I know you have to do everything you can to stop the Reapers, but be careful. I'm not sure how I would cope with losing you again, now that I finally have you."

"I'll do everything in my power to always come back to you. Death didn't stop me last time and now I have even more reasons to live. There is something else you should know about The Illusive Man. You know the blood they found on you?"

"Yeah, it was his, what about it?"

"It turns out that he's my father."

TBC