Shepard was reclined in the rocking nursery chair, hands tented over her stomach. Kaidan glanced at her, then back at the wreck of a crib in front of him, wondering how much he'd have to pay Garrus or Tali or both for help.

"Having trouble?" she asked from her perch, indicating that she wasn't asleep like he'd thought.

"It's fine," Kaidan answered, rubbing his forehead and frowning at the so-called "instructions." If he was going to get Garrus to help he'd definitely have to get rid of those.

"Need any help?"

He sighed, looking back over at her. Since it was so soon after the war and she was still considered necessary for the rebuilding (since she refused to sit on the sidelines), she'd finally been put on bedrest. It was all Kaidan could do to limit her to brief walks between different parts of the house, even though she insisted she could still work.

"No, Marra. It's fine."

Shepard frowned, but stayed settled in her chair with only a grimace when a small foot kicked into her diaphragm.

She'd always hated the color pink, and she'd just been able to weasel out of a pink nursery when they knew the twins were girls. They'd gotten his mom to compromise for a light, cheery purple and, at Shepard's fervent pleading, space as their theme. It went together better than he'd expected – the planet and starship mobiles and blankets looked perfect against the walls.

The cribs – Shepard had insisted on round ones because she thought they were different and didn't want a normal nursery – were the last things he needed to put together. And right now, he regretted not talking her out of them. These were a bitch.

And now he was sure she'd fallen asleep.

Kaidan smiled slightly. It hadn't been easy on her – she was carrying a pair of biotic children and could hardly take in enough calories, she was still just coming out of the shock and depression and twinges of PTSD she'd been in after the war. The added stress of a high-risk pregnancy and still trying to sort out the galaxy … he loved her, but damn was she stubborn.

He left the fragments of the crib and leaned over her, kissing her forehead. "Shepard?"

"Mm?" Her eyelids flickered.

"Need anything?"

"Hungry."

Not a surprise. "Anything specific?"

"Hmmm." Her forehead scrunched, but her eyes stayed closed. "Ice cream and bacon."

He snorted. "Together?"

"Real bacon, not that vat-grown shit," she continued. "Crumbled up on top of the ice cream."

Kaidan shook his head, not bothering to hide the grin on his face. Half the time he was convinced she did this just to watch him run around. "What flavor?"

Her eyes shot open. "Of bacon?!" He stifled a laugh.

"No. Ice cream."

"Oh. Uh … do they still have that blue raspberry at that shop?"

"I think so." He kissed her nose, then lingered on her lips, and Shepard smiled as he kissed each side of her stomach. "I'll be back before you know it."

"You better," she replied. "Or else it'll go away again."

Kaidan laughed and kissed her again before setting off. "And don't try to put that together by yourself!"

"I won't, Kai!" she called after him, though she did open her omni-tool.

Anyone want to help a pair of Spectres put together a pair of cribs? - Shepard