"When's my Kay-dee comin' back?"

Emma's question, accented by tearful sniffles, carried through the front door of Jason's house as Katie got into a cab bound for the spaceport. Her last three weeks of medical leave had nearly come to an end and she was finally on her way back to Vancouver for a physical and the dreaded psych eval.

It had been three weeks of hell, and the soul-baring conversation she'd had with Zaeed hadn't helped in the least. In fact, it had made it worse, for both of them. The second week in, neither of them could stand the tension between them anymore and she'd gone to stay with Jason – much to Emma's delight – and Zaeed had left town altogether on a bounty.

He'd promised to be in Vancouver when she was done with her evaluations, for which she was grateful. No matter the outcome, particularly of the psych eval, she knew she was going to want to get drunk, either to celebrate or to mourn the loss of her career. And no matter the reason, she couldn't think of anyone better to drink with than Zaeed.

Confining herself to the house hadn't been a problem, until Sarah had asked if Katie was planning to continue therapy sessions with the group in San Diego. Katie had panicked momentarily, until she remembered that Ellie Fletcher, the group leader, had told her that many past members still checked in via vid-chat every so often. It was the best of both worlds: the structure and help of the therapy without having to leave her room.

But now, finally, it was all over. At least she hoped it was. Both her father and Jason had offered to go with her, a shoulder to lean on, but she'd declined both. Not only could she blend into the crowds better if she was alone, but they'd likely spend the entire flight trying to reassure her that she'd be fine. She was nervous enough as it was, without their platitudes.

The last three weeks might have gone by so slowly that time had seemed to stand still, but now, it seemed to be speeding up. In what felt like literal seconds, Katie's cab was pulling up to a stand at the spaceport.

Engulfed in the crowds milling around the common areas, she hid her face in the depths of one of Jeff's flight school hoodies she'd "borrowed" the last time they'd been to Arcturus to visit his parents. She just prayed no one would recognize her. "Fans," reporters, or worst of all, anyone who blamed her for the lives lost on Akuze… she couldn't deal with any of that right now.

It hadn't been her fault, and any rational person knew that, but she knew that those blinded by grief might lash out at her anyway, instead of blaming whatever monster set the trap for her unit. She still might not remember much of anything that had happened that night, but after reading everything she could on the investigation that the Alliance had launched afterwards, she had absolutely no doubt it had been a trap.

By the time she'd made it to the correct boarding area and onto the shuttle, she was regretting making Jason stay home. She was still glad her father hadn't come – he would stick out like a sore thumb in this crowd – but Jason would have been a good shield for the flight.

No point in dwelling on it now, idiot, she chastised herself as she made her way to the very back of the shuttle, to a seat in the very last row, and turned to face the window. If she was lucky, anyone who sat next to her would think she was staring out the window or asleep and leave her alone. Unless it was an old woman; they always tended to be chatty no matter what.

Two blessedly silent hours later, the shuttle arrived in Vancouver. Katie waited until everyone else had departed before she got up, making sure the hood was still in place as she left the relative safety of the shuttle.

"Lt. Shepard?"

She groaned and rolled her eyes, but as she'd done with the reporter in the cemetery, she ignored the man who'd called her name.

And just like the reporter, he persisted.

"Kathrine, there's no use hiding your face. I already know it's you."

She stopped dead in her tracks. No one, not even her own parents, had ever called her Kathrine – well, except the headmistress at the academy on Arcturus and Dr. River.

She spun on her heel and found herself face to face with David Anderson, an Alliance captain and one of her father's oldest friends. And then she understood: he'd only called her Kathrine to get a rise out of her, to get her to stop walking without resorting to physical means.

She narrowed her eyes and took a step closer to him. "Dad sent you, didn't he?"

Anderson chuckled. "Sent might be a bit of a strong word. Steven knew I was in town, asked if I could spare a moment to make sure you got where you were going without harassment."

She rolled her eyes but secretly, she was grateful for the company. She didn't think a hoodie would actually keep her hidden all that long.

"Shall we?"

She nodded once. "Let's get this over with." Anderson raised an eyebrow and she cracked a smile as she clarified. "The evaluations. I'd much rather spend that time catching up on your adventures."

"Mmm I bet. Those suckers can be brutal, but they're over quick enough."

"Quick in what universe?" Katie muttered. Aloud she asked, "How long have you been here? Were you here a few weeks ago when I was confined to that godawful hospital?"

"I've been stationed here for a few months. I popped in once while you were out of it but I'd been out of town since then, until a couple of days ago."

The conversation shifted as they reached a cabstand just outside the terminal.

"Not up for walking, Captain?"

Anderson shook his head. "Don't think I can't see what you're trying to do, Katie."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she protested, attempting an innocent smile that faltered almost immediately.

His expression and tone turned sympathetic then. "I know you're nervous, but you'll be fine."

She frowned. "You've all known me my whole life. How are every single one of you so goddamn optimistic?"

"You've had psych evals before, and you've passed all of them with no trouble."

"So?"

"So why should this one be any different?"

"It… because… I..." Katie sighed. "Maybe you're right."

Anderson smiled. "I knew you'd come to realize that eventually."

Katie spent the short ride across the city steadying her nerves. She wasn't worried about the physical side of the visit; as far as she could tell, she was entirely healed. She'd been careful not to do too much, even while keeping up with an energetic toddler, and Sarah had helped her put the cream on her back every night.

As for the psych evaluation, she knew Anderson and the others were probably right, that she'd be fine; but the others she'd had – besides the one when she'd enlisted – hadn't been from military doctors, nor had they had such far-reaching consequences. Besides, she always had a sense of dread before any appointment with a shrink.

"We're here."

Katie nodded mutely and followed Anderson out of the cab.

"You want company in the waiting room?"

"I think I'll be okay." She gave him a small smile and a salute. "Thanks for the escort, and the pep talk."

He returned the salute with a smile of his own. "If all goes well, which it will," he said, emphasizing the last three words, "I hope we'll see each other more often in the field."

"Oh? You're looking to add an emotionally compromised prankster to your crew?"

He chuckled. "No, I'm looking to add a brilliant soldier that I know and trust to my crew."

"Oh." Katie blushed. "Thank you, sir."

Anderson gave a short nod and gestured toward the front of the medical building. "Now get going or this conversation will have been for nothing."


How have you been feeling? Any nightmares? Do you remember what happened that night? Do you feel the trauma you've sustained from this tragedy will negatively impact your ability to perform your duties?

Katie squinted as she stepped out into the late afternoon sunlight, relieved the questions had stopped and the evaluations were over, but still terrified of what the results would be. Every other time she'd had a psych eval, the doctors had given her or her father the results right away, but this time, they'd said they would contact her within 72 hours.

She was fucking sick of waiting around. She wanted to be out in the field again, especially if said 'field' was on a ship. She was getting more frustrated by the day, not having any real outlet for her pent-up energy. If she didn't get some sort of release soon, she was honestly afraid she might explode.

"Y'know, for someone who's spent the last month being hounded by the bloody media, you're doing a piss poor job of hiding from them at the moment."

Katie squeaked, stumbling as she nearly fell off the wall where she'd been pacing for the last ten minutes.

"If you meant to give me a heart attack, Zaeed Massani, you very nearly succeeded," she mockingly scolded him as she braced her hands on his shoulders and jumped from the wall.

"Sorry," he murmured, sounding only slightly apologetic, and pulled her into his arms.

Some of the tension from the day melted away while they stood wrapped up in each other for a long minute.

Finally, he pulled back just enough so he could look at her, his eyes seemingly searching hers for the answer to a question before he'd asked it. "So, how'd it go?"

"Passed the physical 'with flying colors,' as the doc put it. But the psych eval? Not a damn clue. Won't know for a few days."

"So you're stuck here until then?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm free to leave. They'll contact me via a secure vidcom link. Probably Dad too," she added in an undertone.

"Why is that such a bad thing?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You've known him for twenty years and you're still asking that question?" She sagged against him and sighed. "If I pass, I'll get an 'I told you so' look; if I fail, I'll get smothered in sympathy."

"You'll get those reactions anyway, kitten."

"What's with everyone and their stupid flawless logic today?" she grumbled halfheartedly, pulling away again. "It's infuriating. You know that, right?"

He snorted a laugh. "Can't speak for whoever 'everyone' is, but, why d'you think I do it?"

"Because you're an ass." She toyed with the zipper pull on his leather jacket. "So, what do you want to do tonight?"

"Well, there's one answer I could give that would likely get me slapped." There was a hint of a smirk on his lips as he tugged her closer until their bodies were flush against each other. "But –"

"'But' nothing." Katie stood up on her toes until they were nearly the same height and their lips were inches apart. "I've been waiting three long weeks for this," she murmured. "Just about all I thought about since that night we talked."

"Me too." Zaeed threaded his fingers in her hair and pulled her impossibly close, his lips barely brushing against hers. "You sure you want to do this here, out in the open?"

"Too late to think about that now. Anyone was gonna take notice, they already have. And besides which, I don't care." She lightly tugged on the hair at the nape of his neck. "Now shut up and kiss me."

She hadn't been totally honest when she said she didn't care, but she'd worry about it later. At the moment, she didn't care. She'd dreamed of this moment more times than she could count in the last three weeks – three years, really. She'd been instantly attracted to him the moment she laid eyes on him at the wedding. But she'd never thought that dream would become a reality.

And yet, here they were. If they'd been any closer, they'd have been naked, a "send your kids out of the room" story on the six o'clock news, and on their way to the brig for public indecency.

A smattering of applause and a couple of wolf whistles burst the bubble around them and effectively shoved them apart. Any other time and place, Katie might have been able to ignore them and continue what had until that point been the best kiss of her life.

Instead, she hid inside her hoodie once more, trying and failing to mask a fit of giggles as Zaeed led her away from the building toward the nearest cabstand.