Everyone kept checking in on him and asking if he was okay after Shepard's condition was revealed. Truthfully, he was a little startled. Kaidan, however, never said that, preferring to keep up a strong front. He kept it to himself. When he had told everyone about the news, most of them appeared crestfallen. Kaidan knew that Shepard's world would be turned upside down by her new situation, but she was alive. He'd take her in whatever shape as long as she wanted to be with him. Kaidan wished that he could reach out to her now. They had been able to pass a few messages along to other ships heading for Earth, but he was uncertain as to whether any would arrive before the Normandy could make contact.

They were now only a month away from Earth.

Shepard had plans to meet Colby at the coffee shop they had been hanging out in over the last couple of weeks. She was not a fan of the quickie, gourmet coffee joints that were scattered throughout the city and operating at full-force despite the fact that Reapers marched on the same ground a year ago. Nope. Not her style. They had found an old-school diner that served slightly burnt coffee at a bargain price. The only option was regular or decaf, and the creamer was powdered and had no flavor.

Colby was no longer her bodyguard. He had been removed from duty shortly after Shepard's retirement was announced. When the news that she was becoming the latest council member broke, the council had assigned a Spectre to protect her. He was a turian named Norven, a real serious guy who reminded her too much of Saren and Nihlus. Norven was no replacement for Colby, who had grown to be the best friend that Shepard had around these days. Miranda had finished traveling all across the globe to help out hospitals. She was now living in London with Orianna while working at the medical research hospital there. Jack had left her position with the Alliance, believing that since the war was over, biotic kids didn't need to be recruited and turned into killing machines. Instead, she had gone off to the countryside to oversee a kind of academy/foster home for troubled biotic kids. When Jack told her about it, Shepard had jokingly called her Professor X, like the psychic guy in the X-Men comic books and old vids. Jack had threatened Shepard and then proceeded to tell her she was more like Professor X… because of the chair and all. Jack instantly apologized, but Shepard just let it roll off of her shoulders. Shepard was incredibly proud of her friends, and even though she missed them, she understood. Plus, there was always video chat. The council had temporarily taken up Vancouver as its home because of its proximity to Alliance headquarters, so there was no opportunity for Shepard to move elsewhere.

"Hey, counselor," Colby greeted her as he slid into the spot opposite of her. He looked different without his Alliance uniform; replacing his military attire was a weathered leather jacket paired with jeans, though he still wore his combat boots. Shepard found the outfit appealing, and it reminded her of her own everyday style. Had she ever seen Kaidan in anything other than his Alliance uniform or Spectre gear? She panicked- maybe she was starting to forget him. On shore leave, he had worn… had worn… soft old T-shirts that she loved touching when they embraced. Shepard had teased him about his love of nylon cargo pants. Kaidan had jokingly explained that he'd be prepared for anything in them. And oh, how could she forget the sweater that his mother had made for him? She smiled at the memory of it and felt a pang of sadness when she pictured Kaidan in the chunky turtleneck.

"What's up?" Colby asked, once again waking her up from her daydreams.

"Nothing, just thinking."

"Uh huh. So what's going on with you?"

"Same old thing. Trying to get the council to listen to reason. Stop people from fighting. Only this time, they're actually listening to me. A little too late for that, but hey. I guess it helps to be in power."

"Ha. Well, stand your ground. God knows that you're probably the only one there who knows what they're doing."

"I don't know about that, they did replace some of the original members with people I've worked with before," Shepard replied with a gracious smile before taking a sip of her coffee.

"I still think you're the most competent person there. I mean, you're the savior of the galaxy."

"Colby," Shepard playfully warned, rolling her eyes.

"Okay ma'am, change of subject, enough flattery for you. How's the new bodyguard? Miss me?"

Shepard bristled a little at Colby's flirtatious tone before quirking her head at him. "I don't what I'd do without you, Colby! I need a big, tall man to save me from all of the baddies and those pesky fans who want an autograph. I might even chip a nail opening a door or something!"

"You joke now, but I'm sure you miss me getting you out of things," he retorted with a smirk.

Shepard froze in place, her face warm from a blush that was spreading across her face. Get your head out of the gutter, she reprimanded herself. Kaidan, Kaidan, Kaidan. And Colby probably didn't even think of her that way. He was just being friendly. Shepard was simply starved of romance over the past year. "Honestly, I wish you were still my bodyguard. Norven's a complete professional, but sometimes it's good to just have someone to talk to. Plus, I don't really need him. So what if I can't run? I can shoot better than anyone."

"That might be true, but it is necessary."

"Is it really, though?

"Yes."

"Oh well."

"Shepard," Colby sighed.

"It's just that I didn't call him to follow me here today."

"And why is that?" Colby stared at her now.

Shepard couldn't tell by his tone whether he was genuinely concerned about not having a guard or if he was joking. "I don't know," she responded honestly.

And then their eyes met. There was a spark there, one she hadn't come across since Kaidan. Both of them shyly glanced away, but the damage was already done.

"Anyway, there's a reason I wanted to meet up, other than to just catch up," Shepard said, breaking the awkward silence between them.

"And why is that?"

"I spoke to Miranda earlier this week. She's flying in tomorrow. They have the resources now to do a procedure that will hopefully get me walking again. It'll take surgery, stem cells, new cybernetic implants, and who knows what else, but she's confident. There will be a lot of downtime and physical therapy, and there's some risk, but I would be able to do some work for the council while I'm recovering."

"Wow. That's incredible. Are you going to do it?"

"I think I will. I could even rejoin the Alliance once this is all over, if they'll have me again."

"Is that what you want? I thought you were moving on."

"I'm not sure, but it'd be nice to have legitimate options about my future for a change."

Colby was quiet and looked at her with an odd look that Shepard couldn't identify. "Surgery or not, you're amazing just the way your are, Shepard."

"I don't know about that. Thanks for being a friend through all of this. It's meant a lot to me."

"No problem. I'm glad I could be… a friend." He smiled at her, but Shepard could tell he was a bit hesitant.

She wasn't sure when it had happened, but their heads had moved closer to each other somehow over the past few minutes. She didn't know who made the first move, but their lips met. Her eyes shut automatically. The kiss was gentle and reserved, until Shepard took the lead and opened her mouth. Her lips curled into a smile as she deepened the kiss. A second or two passed, and Colby brought up his hand over her cheek. At that, Shepard pulled away. It was extremely strange, almost an out-of-body experience kissing Colby, but she couldn't deny that it had also been exhilarating.

"Shit, I'm sorry," was the first thing out of Colby's mouth.

"Don't be, it's not like it was all…"

"You have a boyfriend, right? Major Alenko? And I didn't even ask… even ask if you wanted something like this," he said, interrupting her.

His words shut her up. She did have a boyfriend. Or maybe she had one at some point. A year with no word about the Normandy has made her wonder if she'd ever see one of her crewmates again. It was easy to keep up the hope at first, but somewhere down the line, Shepard had started to doubt it. Sure, ships were still arriving on Earth from distant corners of the galaxy, but not her ship. She had promised to wait for Kaidan, and she was still waiting. Shepard hadn't blamed him when he saw someone else after her death, but it was a different situation. The lines were blurry, and she was still in love with Kaidan and had no closure. When would be the right time to think about moving on?

One thing she was certain about was that it wasn't the time or place for her to be deciding this.

"Can we put a bookmark on this whole thing and come back to it later?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I can definitely do that," Colby appeared less guilty now, though he was rubbing his face pensively.

"Okay, good. Well, my first surgery is scheduled for next week, so it might be a while."

"That's not a problem. Do you have anybody who's going to be there?"

"Miranda, of course, will be in the operating room. I'm sure Jack will show up at some point. If you're asking… I wouldn't mind you being there."

"No, I was simply asking."

"Okay."

Silence. Shepard wanted to slip out of there. She wasn't sure what to say anymore.

Colby sighed, breaking the tension in the room. "Shepard, I want to…"

But he didn't finish his sentence.

Her coffee cup broke in her hands, and the glass windows shattered into thousands of pieces. There was a massive wave of force that sent Colby propelling forward, sending Shepard back as well. The table turned to splinters when it slammed against a wall. There was a loud, concussive boom and a searing heat. Shepard only had enough time to register confusion. It didn't make any sense. She was having coffee with Colby in Vancouver. This wasn't a battlefield. And then it was just black.

Here they were. Staring down at Earth. Was there ever a more beautiful sight? Kaidan had never felt such relief, such heart-swelling pride to see his home planet. It was over. The yearlong odyssey had finally come to its conclusion. He would finally get to see Shepard, his mom, and his dad- hopefully. First, of course, they'd have to land successfully and probably go through quarantine and debriefing, but it was a small price to pay to be home.

"You ready for this, hombre?" Vega said as he slapped his hand on Kaidan's shoulder as they looked down at their final destination.

"I'm ready for this."