The Long Walk Home

by Lirael6

ME3 Extended Edition Addition: We see the gasp of breath, but with the fleet away and the Normandy stranded, can Shepard really survive? I needed a bridge to make peace and make sense of things. Multi-perspective, but largely Kaidan's as the crew fix the ship and begin their journey back to Sol. T for gory flashbacks and cursing? MShep/Kaidan mostly Paragon Vanguard.

2. Chapter 2

James leaned casually against one of the displays in the forward battery, tree-trunk arms crossed over one another as he watched the turian work half-hidden beneath an internal barrel of the main cannon.

"So we're in the deep and empty parts of space, no one for light years, and you take the time to play with toys?" He laughed, rolling the knots of his shoulders in a shrug. "I mean, I'm all for the big guns, but it seems kind of pointless, no?"

"Keeps me focused." Garrus pushed off and rolled out from the underside to come up for air. Sitting up, he considered the worrying flicker in his visor display. "You know, Shepard asked me something like that, back on the -" he stopped, backtracked, "I mean, back while we were busy playing politics around the whole damn galaxy."

It was a familiar and comfortable conversation he used to have, telling his cohort stories and boasting about his days on the Normandy. When it was another place and another time, he had spoken of those days riding into Hell with fondness, and it was a great way to push forward resolve when spirits faltered. He started that story here, the same way of telling of it, but he was on the Normandy. This was the same ship. It just didn't feel as much like it these days. The anxiety, the pressing sense of need was still there, but they hadn't seen anyone in weeks. There was no danger, no adrenaline, no way - or at least only a few ways - to blow off steam.

Still, it was better than their fight against the Collectors when they had Cerberus and the Illusive Man listening to their every snore. His hands tightened on the edge of the railing, then released with some careful thought.

Vega watched his crewmate's face, the twitch of his mandibles - it was hard for him to tell when Garrus was angry. He just assumed that there was always a low level of mad in the turian, and Vega was a man who could appreciate a good mad.

"No more politics to play here, man," arms spread wide, and the compartment seemed even more cramped than it was with that wingspan, "no one here!

"But I know, Scars. Doesn't seem like home without the Commander around." He stood and slapped a hand on the console, making the display hiccup violently. Yet James was smiling. "Still, good that we've got the two biggest baddasses in the galaxy on board, yeah?"

That, at least, got a chuckle. "Yeah. Yeah it is."