"Are you sure you're ready for this, Shepard?"
"Yep," she answered firmly, steeling herself against a case of rattling nerves. "Let's get this over with."
"You don't have to do this now. Say the word and we're out of here."
"Shut it, Alenko," she ordered through clenched teeth. "We're doing this."
Kaidan pressed his lips together to keep from laughing at her barely concealed terror, and then shook his head. "Alright. No taking it back now."
With that, he extended a hand and knocked on the wooden door before them with four sharp, staccato raps.
He smirked as Eve grasped his other hand, tighter than had to be comfortable for her.
It was only about eight seconds later that the door slowly opened and a small, gracefully aging woman with grey-streaked ebony hair and lovely almond-shaped dark eyes peered through.
"Kaidan!" She gasped, hastily pushing the door open all the way and throwing her arms around him.
"Hey, mom," Kaidan murmured softly in her hair.
"You're home," she said in a broken voice, clinging tightly to her son. "You're finally home."
"I'm home," he smiled, shooting a sheepish look toward Shepard. "There's someone I'd like you to meet." Gently, he pried her from him, and gave her a bright smile before turning to Eve. "This is my mother, Luli Alenko. Mom, this is Commander—well, soon to be Major Evelyn Shepard, savior of all galactic life as we know it." She noticed his face had developed that shit-eating grin again as he added that gratuitous title and she just barely managed not to roll her eyes. "And my fiancé."
"Commander Shepard," the woman breathed reverently, her eyes glossy. "It's a great honor to meet you."
"Call me Eve, please," Shepard offered warmly. "The honor is mine, Mrs. Alenko."
Without any warning, the older woman had her clutched in an embrace, tight enough to make her wince in pain. Kaidan immediately noticed and stepped closer to intervene on her behalf.
"Mom, she's—"
"It's okay," Eve interrupted, throwing him a rueful smile. It had been too long since she'd had the magical sort of hug that only a mother could give. She'd welcome the opportunity.
"Thank you," she heard near her ear, realizing that Kaidan's mother was quietly sobbing. "Thank you so much."
Eve got the impression that the words were for more than just bringing her son by for a visit, and she swallowed hard, an unexpected wave of guilt washing over her. Instantly, she'd thought of Kaidan's father. This woman had lost her beloved husband, and the idea of living through that kind of loss nearly overwhelmed her. It didn't escape her that it had to be similar to what Kaidan had experienced when she'd died three years ago. If their roles had been reversed, she wasn't sure how she'd handle it. She'd lost people before, but someone that meant as much to her as the man that stood not three feet from her with a trembling smile on his lips... that would be a new depth of pain. "I'm just sorry I couldn't do more before…"
"Shh," Mrs. Alenko hushed her as she finally pulled away. She took Eve's hands, briefly noticing the gloves before she settled her tearful eyes on Shepard's. "Kaidan told me that you take too much responsibility onto your shoulders. You did more than enough. You saved us. You saved my son, when I was almost sure I'd lose them both. I don't think anyone in this life could thank you enough for what you've done."
It was true that Shepard had figured she'd likely hear some thanks from time to time, whether or not she thought it was necessary—after all, it was a selfish endeavor to stop the Reapers, in a way, considering that she'd wanted to keep the galaxy that she loved alive, both for herself as well as everyone else. This kind of gratitude, though, was so heart-wrenchingly genuine that it made her feel utterly awkward and inadequate.
Evelyn Shepard the human couldn't possibly live up to the overblown image everyone harbored of Commander Shepard the soldier, she was sure of it. When she really broke it down, the conclusion that she always came to was that it was sheer chance that she'd managed to do what she'd done. She was a soldier, trained like any other, but simply in the right place at the right time, if one chose to see it that way. She'd been the one to land in front of that beacon on Eden Prime, as anyone could have, as Kaidan almost had. Sure, there'd been speculation that she'd had exceptional constitution to be able to withstand that kind of mental assault, but Shepard wasn't convinced that it would have been different had another strong-willed individual—possibly Kaidan himself—ended up in her place. Since then, equipped with only the knowledge she'd just happened to stumble across, she'd been fortunate enough to get the team and the resources she'd needed to realize an end to all of it. It was something any person could have done with the right motivation and some hard work. This praise was too big for her and she had no idea what to do with it.
"I… you're welcome," she mumbled lamely, humbly. The right words to explain this had completely eluded her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she could hear the words Kaidan had told her when they'd discussed this after the Crucible. 'But the thing you keep failing to see, Shepard, is that not everyone would have done it. Never mind could have. That's what makes you the true hero you are. You stared straight into the abyss, into that darkness that keeps the rest of us awake at night, and spat in its goddamn face, even while your own hands were shaking.' She was starting to think that maybe it was just him that brought the hero out in her. With a wisp of a smile, she added, "I couldn't have done it without your son and the rest of my team."
"And you'll make such beautiful babies," Mrs. Alenko concluded with a sniffle, patting Eve on the cheek before turning back to the house. "Come in, come in. We've so much to talk about."
Kaidan just snickered as he took the hand of his suddenly flustered girlfriend and led her inside.
It was a relief to see his mother up and fluttering around the kitchen after a long, difficult talk about what had happened in London, barring the gruesome details, followed by a rough discussion about the parts of Vancouver that had been demolished during the invasion, and what they knew of his father's disappearance. She seemed much lighter in spirit than she had been when they'd first arrived, and Kaidan was glad to see it. He'd dreaded the idea of having to leave again while she was still so emotional. For now, though, she seemed happily occupied with whatever she was baking while he and Eve sat contentedly in the living room.
He was sorting through messages and letters that his mother had kept for him over the last few months he'd been away from home, from various friends and family, things that she hadn't been able to forward once he'd fallen out of contact in the midst of the attack. There was even a note from Rahna, to his great surprise, though she'd left a very vague 'Call me when you get some time', followed by contact information.
"So… Luli," Shepard broke into his thoughts from where she'd sprawled out sideways across a giant maroon recliner. It had been his father's favorite chair. "It's an unusual name. What's the origin, if you don't mind my asking?"
Kaidan leaned back in his seat on the matching sofa after putting the pad aside and looked over to her, instantly drinking in the sight of her long, lithe form. The novelty of witnessing her in these relaxed states, down to the slim-fitting, dark jeans and long-sleeved sweater, had yet to wear off and he relished it every chance he got. "It's Chinese. Her mother's side. Her father was Irish."
Shepard's lips curved in an appreciative smile. "That's a very eclectic background. And Alenko?"
"Ukrainian," he replied, adding a shrug then after. "Pretty distantly. The family defected a long time ago and there are a few of us sprinkled around Canada and the northern U.S. here and there. I look almost nothing like his side of the family. Except my smile." He chuckled thinly.
"It's a great smile," she murmured, a knowing expression on her face. "And your mother's lovely. No wonder you turned out so pretty."
"Pretty?" he repeated, aghast.
"That's what I said, Major."
"You take that back."
"Not on your life."
"We're gonna talk about this later," he warned, mischievous promise sparkling in his eyes. "What about you? Evelyn Shepard seems about as Anglo as it can be."
Shepard nodded, turning her gaze to stare out the front window. "Yeah. I don't really know much about the family lineage, but… someone was probably English at some point. I know little else for sure." With a shrug, she didn't go any further and Kaidan didn't push.
They'd discussed their families in minor detail a few times throughout their relationship, and he knew enough to understand it was a hard subject for her, despite her effort to be unyieldingly honest. He knew she'd tell him anything if he simply asked her to, but putting her through unnecessary anguish just to appease his curiosity was something he was loath to do. She would volunteer more once she was ready, as she always had.
After all, there was no need for urgency anymore, to learn everything they could about each other in concise sentences and windows for silent assumption. Fear of the unknown, of what tragedy every turn might bring, no longer simmered around them. No, for once they had time.
They had time.
It hit him with all the subtlety of a freighter right then, and emotion swelled up in his throat and pricked his eyes. Time was an unfamiliar concept, and the realization that, for the first time, it was within their grasp enveloped him like a warm spring after a long, cold winter. They had time.
There was no crisis anymore. Somehow, this amazing woman had managed to unite an entire galaxy—every race, every gender, every age—for perhaps the first time in history, sharing a common love for life that superseded any grudge. It wouldn't last, he knew, but he'd lived to see it with his own two eyes and he knew it would take the rest of his life—his foreseeably long life— to fully appreciate its magnitude.
Even more amazing was that, in a few weeks, the woman that made it all happen, who had helped to show him his full potential and still regarded him as an equal, would be his wife.
And they had all the time in the universe.
Yet another light(ish) chapter to touch on a few other interactions that I believe are important. There might be another one or two of these before we start getting into the heavier parts, but who knows? Maybe less. Right now I'm winging this story just based on ideas that pop into my head and that I think are worth saying, and it's kinda nice to utilize the one-shot series approach. It allows me a lot of liberties and doesn't require me to make everything mesh together all that cleanly-unclear time jumps forward and such. Good for the creativity. Also, I'm still trying to keep this as vague as I can as far as Shep's history. I did give her the name and physical characteristics of my Shepard, it's true, but I'm trying to gloss over the details to make her fit in each of your heads the way you prefer her.
If you're curious, though, my Shep is pretty much full Paragon (with the exception of the Rule of Cool-Renegade options when I think it's situationally appropriate or just badass), she was Earthborn, and... I think Sole Survivor? To be honest, I'm not sure. I've been playing her since ME1 and I just stopped paying attention after a while. I know that she is, however, an Infiltrator. I LOVE my hot sniper Shep. But yes... all of this is stuff that I won't get too detailed about in story, since I want the character to be pliable enough to fit into the molds you may have built for your Sheps.
Thanks so much for the awesome responses. I've seen a lot of hits, faves, and alerts, and I'm grateful for each one. Please, if you can take a minute or two, drop a review. Feel free to submit ideas for things you might like to see in this story in the future... I'm always willing to hear them and use them if they'll fit with my main idea.