Present: Lions Roar

"Kate." Reflexively, Shepard's hand contracted around his daughter's, nearly crushing it. She pulled her fingers away, rubbing them and staring reproachfully at Shepard. "Kate, where is your brother?" It took all of his willpower not to start running wildly around scouring every centimeter of the memorial for his son.

Kate examined her father; when she spoke it was in a tone of extreme patience. "Dad. Arthur's fine. He's over on the bench."

Shepard jerked eyes to the bench where he'd last seen his son so quickly that he wrenched his neck. Sure enough, there was Arthur's silhouette, back still to his father and sister as he blithely watched the sunset push shadows through the garden.

"Kate, who's that on the bench with Arthur?"

For the first time, uncertainty edged its way onto Kate's face. "She said she was a friend of yours, Dad. She recognized Artie because he looked just like you when you were little. Except blond, she said."

"Kate, I don't have any friends left on Mindoir," Shepard said tightly, grabbing her hand again and half-running towards where Arthur sat with the stranger.

Shepard's fears made little impact on his daughter. "I'm not stupid, Dad. I wouldn't leave Arthur with someone who was going to kidnap him. Even if he is a pain sometimes," she muttered, struggling to keep pace with her father.

"If she does kidnap him, you realize I'll end up in jail, and you'll have to live with your mother all year."

"Why would you be in jail?"

"Because I'd hunt her down and execute her. Anyone who tried to touch you or your brother, I'd rip them apart." A dribble of biotic energy ran down Shepard's arm, flaring briefly where his hand met Kate's. She stopped walking for a moment and turned wide eyes from their clasped hands to Shepard's face.

"You're scaring me, Dad," she told him.

Shepard mentally kicked himself. I hate my biotics. He wasn't sure how much Kate understood about biotics, or what they taught in schools these days, but clearly she knew enough to be afraid. He never discussed or demonstrated his biotic powers these days. There was no need to. More than that, the horrible, irrational fear lurked in the back of his mind that by using biotics he might unintentionally increase the chances that Kate or Arthur would manifest biotic inclination. Whenever he thought about that possibility, Shepard remembered all the terrible things biotics had brought into his life: beatings, prejudice, a military career. Things he couldn't protect his children from.

Despite the sick feeling in his stomach from the fact that Arthur was still sitting alone with a stranger (who, to her credit, hadn't kidnapped the boy yet), Shepard stopped and looked seriously at his daughter. Kate and Arthur knew their parents had been soldiers, but Shepard doubted that they really understood what that meant. Most days, it didn't matter; Shepard had worked hard to forget his military career.

"Katydid, you know I would never hurt you. And I wouldn't hurt anyone else, unless they tried to hurt you or your brother. You and Arthur are the most important people in the world to me. Do you understand?"

Kate examined her father for several long moments, considering what he had said. Shepard forced himself not to look away from her, trusting that Arthur was still all right. "Okay, Daddy," Kate nodded finally. She gave him back her hand, and squeezed his briefly in reassurance: I still love you. They rushed the rest of the way to the bench where Arthur and the stranger sat.