Kaidan did not sleep that night. He felt no need. His whole body buzzed with energy, and while Catherine slept and recovered, he sat beside in the bed beside her holding Jane and Everett. Karin had come back to take blood samples from each of them to run all the tests she still could to determine their health and had not come back to give them any news yet. To Kaidan's eyes they seemed perfect.

As he sat there in the darkness his mind wandered into the past and he tried to think of how Shepard would feel about the path his life had taken. They may never have discussed the future, but that hadn't stopped Kaidan from thinking about the possibilities. Particularly in the time between Saren's defeat and the destruction of the first Normandy.

The fantasies had taken an intense level of willful suspension of disbelief. Imagining Commander Shepard raising children and keeping house had been a challenge. But it was easier now to admit to himself that it probably never would have happened.

Shepard had been born into military life and had never know anything different. For Kaidan as a biotic, service had been the best option. For Shepard, there had never even been a question. Even if she had ever decided to retire from active duty she never would have left the Alliance or the Specters entirely.

Kaidan shook himself out of the memories and focused his attention back on his children. They hadn't done much other than feed and sleep, and their minds were quieter now, but the wonder he felt holding them was almost overwhelming.

They were both completely bald. Most babies were born with some hair, but not his kids. They didn't even have peach fuzz. Catherine said every baby in her family had been born bald but kept a full head of hair until they day they died.

Other than being bald, the babies didn't appear to have a lot in common. Everett was noticeably smaller, but Karin had assured them that that was common in twins. His eyes were the same electric blue as Catherine's but his features seemed to be more similar to Kaidan's. Jane had Kaidan's rich, brown eyes and Catherine nose. They truly were a mix of both their parents.

But Kaidan hadn't been prepared for a boy and a girl . He was still trying to wrap his head around it. He supposed this is what having children must have been like hundreds of years ago. Before medical technology had advanced far enough to sex a baby before birth. It was a wonderful surprise.

Towards dawn, Catherine awoke just as the twins started to fuss in Kaidan's arms.

"I could almost sense their hungry," she said as she pulled herself up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Kaidan asked as he passed Everett to Catherine.

She pulled the shoulder of her shirt down and tucked it under her breast. Everett needed no encouragement.

"I feel great," Catherine said with a hint of surprise. "Morgan felt rotten for days after Lola was born. I expected to feel a lot worse than I do."

"Well, we heal a lot faster now," Kaidan said. "And Lola was the biggest newborn ever. She was bigger than these two put together. And Morgan is a tiny little woman."

"Kaidan, I think we are going to need a bigger house," Catherine said suddenly, worry creasing her forehead.

Kaidan laughed and kissed away the wrinkles. "Not for a while yet though."

A knock on the door interrupted them and Catherine called for whoever it was to come in. Karin and Morgan came through the door. Morgan all but threw herself on the bed bedside Catherine, peering down at the suckling Everett and making sounds of adoration.

"Oh, he's just precious, Cat," Morgan crooned. "And look at those eyes. They're so blue you can't even see the synthetics."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you two about," Karin put in. "I've been up all night analyzing their DNA and have discovered several interesting facts."

She looked at Morgan and then back at Kaidan, clearly asking if they wanted more privacy. Kaidan shook his head. Morgan would find out sooner or later anyway so she might as well hear whatever it was now.

Karin continued. "Firstly, they are both likely going to be biotics. And powerful ones at that. Clearly the synthetics believed the eezo nodules in both your bodies to be genetic traits to be carried to the next generation. They are probably the first human to be born with natural biotic abilities."

"That's amazing," Catherine said.

"Does that mean they won't need implants to use their biotics?" Kaidan asked.

"Correct," Karin said. "Secondly, the reason you can barely make out they're synthetics is because it seems to have fully integrated in them. It matches skin and eye colour very closely, and mimics cellular structure almost perfectly. I believe that we are looking at the future of humankind in them."

"Is this all because of those mushrooms?" Kaidan asked.

"It's the only answer I can think of," Karin said. "Given all the changes it caused in both of you and in Joker and EDI, I can only assume it's the reason for the changes in your children."

Morgan looked up from her admiring of Everett and asked, "Why would those mushrooms do that? What's so special about them?"

"I'm afraid I have no answer to that," Karin said with a tone that implied she'd given up trying to discover it. "Many fungi the galaxy over are capable of changing neural pathways, though usually only for a short time. For all we know, this mushroom naturally triggers mutations. It could explain why life here seems to be so incredibly well adapted."

"All that aside though," Catherine said. "They're both healthy?"

"Perfectly," Karin said with a loving smile. "Years ago I told Commander Shepard that I never had a family of my own because I thought of all the soldiers I served with as my children. It's hard now not to feel like all these babies are somehow part of me."

Kaidan stood and held out Jane for Karin to hold. "You'll be grandma to them, Karin. You've been a mother figure to all of us."

"Thank you, Kaidan. It makes me very happy to know you think of me that way." Karin bent her head down and smelled the top of Jane's head. "I've never learned why babies always smell so wonderful."

With a deep sigh she handed the baby back to Kaidan. She told him that Garrus was waiting to talk to him and then left saying she going to get some sleep at last.

Kaidan traded babies with Catherine and held Everett against his shoulder just as Karin had shown him, patting his back and pacing slowly beside the bed.

"Are you ready for visits yet?" Morgan asked. "There's going to be a line up once everyone is awake, and I think the batarian has also asked if she can come see you and the twins."

"I'm starving, but as soon I've eaten you can parade as many people as you want through here," Catherine said proudly. "By the way, what is happening with the batarians?"

Kaidan leaned over her and passed Everett carefully over to Morgan. "I'm going to go talk to Garrus now and see what they've come up with. James didn't say anything to you, Morgan?"

She shook her head. "We didn't really have any time to talk. Lola's been a fussy little brat the last few days. She's teeth and biting everything she can get her hands on. I put her in bed with James so I could be the first to come see you. Love the names, by the way. Why Everett?"

Kaidan realized she'd already moved on past the previous topic and was back to discussing babies.

"We just both really like the name," Kaidan said. "And David is for Anderson of course."

"And Emma was my grandmother's name," Catherine added.

"It's not weird calling her Jane?" Morgan asked.

"Believe it or not, I rarely called Shepard by her first name," Kaidan said.

"Did anyone?" Catherine asked.

"Nope," Kaidan said. "I don't think even her mother did."

There was another knock at the door and James came in leading Lola by the hand. She wasn't walking on her own yet, but with something to hold on to she could stand well enough though she wobbled from time to time.

"Figured this is where I would find you," he said to Morgan. "Lola wants you."

As if to emphasize this Lola began shouting mama over and over until Morgan got off the bed and knelt in front of her with Everett still in her arms.

"Look at the new baby, Lala," Morgan said, using the name Lola used for herself, and pulled the swaddling blanket away from Everett's face.

Lola looked with interested at the little boy and then gazed up at her father and gabbled nonsensically with a huge grin on her face. James hauled her up by her arms and gave her a big wet kiss on the cheek.

"Don't worry, kidlet," he said. "We'll get you one of those to play with."

Kaidan watched them with pleasure. James was proving to be a wonderful father. His life growing up had been a tough one. His father had been a red sand addict and treated James as a ball and chain, if not worse. He'd once told Kaidan that until he'd met Morgan he'd sworn he would never have kids. He didn't want to end up like his father. But James was living proof that DNA doesn't make the man.

"Let's wait until she's over chewing on table legs before we start thinking about creating another monster," Morgan said wryly as she pulled back Lola's upper lip to look at her inflamed gums. "We've got to get her a pacifier of some kind."

"Table legs? Really?" Catherine said with a laugh.

"Yup," James said, tiling his head back as Lola tried to grab at his chin. "Caught her doing it yesterday."

He set Lola on the ground at his feet and held out his hands for Everett.

"Trade ya," he said. "You're hogging all the baby."

Morgan let James hold Everett and scooped Lola up off the floor. The little girl squealed with delight when her mother tipped her upside down to carry her out of the room.

"C'mon, Kaidan," she called over her shoulder. "Let's get breakfast for our people."

Kaidan pulled on his boots and followed her out into the hall. It was quiet and dark, the sun not quite over the horizon yet, and only a few people were sitting at the tables eating an early breakfast.

Garrus was in the kitchen frying up some strips of meat that made Kaidan's stomach rumble. The turian turned as he approached and let go of the frying pan to spread his arms wide and envelope Kaidan in a manly hug complete with hard slaps on the back.

"So I guess you're Papa Kaidan now," he said cheerily. "Congratulations, my friend."

"Thanks, Garrus," Kaidan said back happily. "Feels pretty amazing. Sucks that we have to get right back to business."

"Don't you worry about that today," Garrus said. "We can't do anything until tomorrow anyway. Steve and Joker are going to make sure the shuttle is up and running and we want to get as much as we can out of this Bortai before we do anything."

"So you guys have a plan then?" Kaidan asked.

"In so much as we plan to confront this batarian, yes."

"Good," Kaidan said, reaching for a bowl from the cupboard above the sink. "I'm going to take the day off then."

"And so you should," Garrus replied. "Tali would really like to visit. She's not as close with Cat as Morgan and Liara are so she didn't want to come uninvited. She kept me up most of the night nattering about babies."

"She feeling any better about not having any of her own?"

Garrus shrugged. "Yes and no. She's resigned to it, but I can tell she regrets not staying on Rannoch with her people."

Kaidan hadn't realized Tali had been feeling that way, but he should have guessed. Having grown up on the flotilla, constantly surrounded by her friends and family, her entire species, she must be feeling their absence acutely. Much more than Garrus or Liara, who had always been rather solitary people, missed their kind.

"I'm sorry, Garrus. This must be tough for you," Kaidan said sympathetically.

"Quarians are nothing if not adaptable," Garrus said, not taking his eyes off his frying meat. "She'll be alright."

"You tell her she can come by whenever she wants," Kaidan said, giving Garrus a pat on the shoulder. "James is there now. Speaking of which, if I don't bring Cat something to eat she may sic him on me."

There was still hot water in the kettle and he set a cup of herbal tea to brew while he put together Catherine's favourite winter breakfast; dried fruit and nuts mixed with grains and the gummy, nourishing sap of one of the many species of trees growing in the area. Kaidan thought it was a disgusting mess, but Catherine loved it.

When he got back to the room she was on her feet and stretching. James was kneeling beside the bed looking down on Jane and Everett where they lay side by side, sound asleep once again.

"You did a good job with these two, Catnip," he was saying. "Except for the baldness, but we'll blame Kaidan for that."

Catherine had her hands stretched high over her head when he said this and doubled over with a hand over the stomach when she laughed.

"Ugh, no laughing yet, James," she said with a wince. "Still hurts to flex just about every muscle."

Kaidan handed her her breakfast, suddenly feeling fatigue hitting him. He sat down on the end of the bed, careful not to shift it too much with his weight.

"They're pretty awesome, aren't they," Kaidan said as he leaned back on one elbow to look down on the twins.

"I like 'em, amigo," James said. "I'm going to order a bunch more just like them. You look dead tired, man. You look worse than her."

"Didn't sleep last night. Bit too excited."

"I decided I'm going to go hang out in the hall," Catherine said around a mouthful of breakfast. "Go get some sleep."

"And miss their first day?" Kaidan said. "I think not."

Kaidan and Catherine did nothing that day except receive visitor after visitor, all eager to meet Jane and Everett. Tali stayed with them most of the day and Catherine was happy to let her hold one or both of the twins. When Kaidan fell into a light doze on the couch no one bothered to wake him. He felt mildly annoyed, but having had some rest his displeased mood didn't last for long.

Kaidan tried his best to keep his mind off of the batarians and what they were going to do the following day. Garrus came to him later in the day and told him the plan was to fly the shuttle to the area where Bortai said they had been camped last. She doubted they would have moved on yet and she said the cave should be visible from the air.

She had adamantly refused to go with them. She feared that Batukhan would shoot her on sight for having run away. Nothing they said could convince her that she was safe with them. In the batarian world, Batukhan owned her and could do with her what he liked. Kaidan couldn't see the difference between being a concubine and being a slave and when Bortai tried to explain it, it only made him more confused.

That night, when Kaidan and Catherine returned their house with the twins for their first night in their own home, Catherine told him when she and Bortai had talked about privately.

The twins were asleep in their crib beside the bed and Catherine was lying across Kaidan's chest, idly rocking the cradle with her outstretched hand.

"So do you want to know why Bortai and the other concubines can't have children?" Catherine asked.

"Sure," Kaidan said, though his curiosity didn't demand a reason.

"Batukhan actually had their female reproductive parts removed. Can you believe that?" Catherine said with disgust.

"Why would he do that?" Kaidan asked, equally as appalled.

"Because all he wants is lots of sex," Catherine said. "He has no interested in paying for children. I learned a lot more about batarian law yesterday. A batarian male can essentially spay all of his concubines, except for his first wife, because any child they produce they must provide for entirely until they reach the age of fifteen."

"That's not all that different from any other species," Kaidan said. "Well, providing for children anyway."

"The difference," Catherine continued. "Is that when I say provide for, I mean everything. Seems children get pretty much whatever they want. You know batarians are all about material worth, and the ability to give your children everything is a mark of pride and distinction."

"But isn't sterilizing your source of children like saying you can't afford to have them?"

"They thought of an excuse for that," Catherine said. "Apparently it can be passed off as a shrewd business decision. Don't ask me to explain it because I really don't understand it."

"So why hasn't this batarian's first wife had any children?" Kaidan asked.

"Bortai isn't sure, but she thinks Lortak, that's his first wife, may actually be his sister," Catherine said.

"That's disgusting!" Kaidan exclaimed more loudly than he intended.

"Bortai says before they left Aratoht Batukhan and Lortak never slept in the same room. Apparently she had more freedoms than any other wife or concubines Bortai knew. She pretty much ran the show around their compound," Catherine explained. "Usually someone with as much money as Batukhan apparently had would have hired a steward to look after their home, not let a wife do it. Bortai said it always seemed more like a partnership than a marriage."

"I wonder if that kind of thing is common? I doubt all batarian want to see their female family members become slaves and concubines," Kaidan opined.

"Do you really think we can convince them to live peaceably with us?"

"I think we have to try," Kaidan said with a deep sigh. "Batarians aren't exactly known for their ability to cooperate."

"I get the feeling from Bortai that we can't trust Batukhan," Catherine said, sitting up to look down on Kaidan. "Please, promise me that you won't go out there without you guns drawn."

"You really think that's the way to start our relationship with these people?" Kaidan was surprised to hear this from Catherine.

"Yes. For two reasons," she said. "First, batarian respect power. It would be great if you could walk in there with your hand extended in friendship and expect positive results, but the fact is that Batukhan, and the females as well, will think less of you for it. That is definitely not the way to start."

She paused and moved until she was lying on top of Kaidan and rested her chin on her laced fingers.

"And secondly, Kaidan, you have two children now. They need you. I need you. I don't know what we do without you."

Kaidan wrapped his arms around her and rolled so that she was on her back and he on his side next to her. He kissed her passionately, burying his fingers in her lush curls. When he broke away her cheeks were flushed and her pulse throbbed in her throat under the soft touch of his fingertips.

"I love you so much, Kitten," he said huskily. "I am not going to let anything happen to myself tomorrow. I would never leave you."

"You'd better not," Catherine said and flung her arms around his neck.

Kaidan felt his ardour rising as the tempo of their kiss intensified. It the back of his mind he heard his conscience reminding himself that Catherine had just given birth and the direction this was going could not result in what he wanted it to, but he kept it up anyway.

He found he was thinking less about the actual physical sensations and more about his own feelings. His desire was being driven by the powerful love his felt for Catherine. What she had done the day before ignited his passion in a way he had never experienced. This was his wife and the mother of his children.

"Cat, Cat, Cat," he said as he kissed his way along the ridge of her collarbone. "You have no idea how much I love you."

"Of course I do," she whispered. "I can feel it. Every time you think it, it echoes in my mind and I can hardly breath for the joy of it."

Their impassioned kissing soon turned to affectionate cuddling and eventually to a sound and dreamless sleep. Halfway through the night Kaidan was awoke by a sense of hungry and fear he'd never felt before. Catherine was already awake, sitting on the couch with one of the twins at her breast.

Not fully awake, Kaidan pulled himself out of bed and picked up the other, Jane as it turned out, and sat on the edge of the bed, rocking her until Catherine was ready to trade.

Neither of them said anything, and when both babies were asleep again, they crawled back into bed. Catherine was asleep almost immediately and Kaidan wondered if she had even really been awake while she fed them. Kaidan had not really been looking forward to waking to the sound of babies screaming in the night, so this turn of events was a pleasant surprise.

The connection they had with each other and with the twins obviously allowed them to anticipate their needs before tears started. That, Kaidan could live with. In fact it was rather pleasant. They hadn't turned a light on or made any noise, and it felt like he'd barely woken up.

Before worries about the next day could set in, Kaidan wrapped himself around Catherine. She had her back to him and when she felt him close she made a small murmur of contentment and snuggled closer. Kaidan brushed her hair out of his face. It was getting long and unruly, but he would never ask her to cut it. It was glorious and one of her best features.

Never had he imagined that his life would end up like this. He'd dreamed of a wife and family yes, but not of being a farmer and hunter and woodsman. Even on colony worlds people didn't live the way they did. This was the kind of romantic life read about in books. Those kinds of stories usually proved to be pure fiction, but this one really was the dream. Kaidan was happy. Incredibly so.

His mind remained on the same train of thought the next day as they prepared to head out for the batarian camp. With him he was taking Garrus, James, Liara, EDI and Cortez. He would have liked another woman to come, but he'd had no volunteers and he wasn't about to insist. The six of them would be enough of a show of force, and hopefully an example of how species could cooperate and live together.

The shuttle wasn't in bad shape after a winter of disuse, but it wasn't in great condition either. The fuel lines needed to be cleaned and the whole systems chugged and sputtered for the first few moments in the air. It made everyone nervous, but Cortez assured them that she would fly, they just needed to give her some time to clear her throat.

The directions Bortai had given them were good. They followed the ridgeline west, going further than they ever had before. They'd never found anything in this direction worth exploring. East had always been for fruitful for them.

James kept watch out the side of the shuttle and gave a shout when he spotted the cave in the cliff face and the clearing before it. Cortez circled the area and waited until they saw a batarian come out of the cave. He took the shuttle down and the team drew their weapons and primed them to full power.

"No one fires a single shot," Kaidan instructed. "Defense only. I don't want this to get violent."

"Are you sure that's wise, Kaidan?" Garrus asked.

"Liara and I have our biotics," he said. "We can put up a barrier before any of us can stop one of them from taking a shot. Besides, my guess is that only Batukhan is going to have a weapon. From the sounds of it, the wives are pretty well cowed."

Garrus shrugged. "If you say so."

"Open the hatch," Kaidan said to James, and the burly man hauled the side door open letting in a flood of mid-day light.

The clearing was small. Just a space of dusty ground big enough for two shuttles to land. There was remains of a carcass dumped carelessly beside the cave mouth and the stench of it rotting in the sun was revolting. Survival training obviously had not been something this batarian had learned. A rotting carcass drew predators. Even if they didn't plan to stay in the area, they should have dug a midden pit downwind of their camp.

Kaidan took in the details quickly as they approached the small group of batarians, trusting his team to keep their eyes fixed on the strangers. When the large male called for them to stop and raised his weapon, an old Scimitar shotgun, Kaidan proceeded several more steps before coming to a halt.

Careful not to tilt his head to either side or break eye contact with the batarian's lower set of eyes, he took one step forward from his team.

"I assume you're Batukhan?" he said casually.

"And who the hell are you?" the batarian snarled.

"My name is Kaidan Alenko," he said. "We have a settlement to the east of here. Bortai tells us you could use some assistance. We'd like to invite you to join us."

Batukhan gave a scoffing laugh. "You think I can't take care of my harem? You believed that sniveling bitch?"

Liara stepped up beside Kaidan. "Batukhan, there are no other batarians here. And there never will be. There is no one for you to impress. Let us help you."

"Don't you dare use my name!" he shouted. "I don't care what the rest of the galaxy thinks of the asari. To me you are still just a woman."

His head was angled far to the right as he said this, but as the gesture meant little to Liara she kept right on talking.

"Batukahn, if you would just listen," Liara insisted. "There is no leaving this planet for any of us. We have to learn to live together."

Batukhan ignored her and stared at Kaidan. "I will not listen to her, human."

Kaidan turned to Liara. "We don't want to provoke him. I appreciate the effort, but how about I do the talking."

Liara made a face but stayed silent after that. Kaidan decided to take a more aggressive approach.

"Look, we're offering to help you survive here," he said. "If you want our help you are going to have to learn how to live with other species, and with us everyone is equal."

"Where is Eloiti?" he demanded.

"She's at our camp," Kaidan said. "Alive and well."

"And if I demanded her return?"

"Bortai has free choice now. If she doesn't want to come back, we won't make her."

"You humans," Batukahn snarled. "You think you can just impose your will on whoever you want. You have no respect for your culture."

"I have respect for individuals and their rights," Kaidan said harshly. "This is not a batarian world and if Bortai wants to be free of you she has that choice."

Kaidan could hear James and Garrus whispering behind him but he kept his eyes on Batukhan. The batarian's wives were whispering as well. EDI sharp ears caught some of their words.

"Kaidan," she said softly. She was able to regulate her voice so that it was only audible at close range. "The females want him to agree. They are starving and desperate."

Kaidan nodded. "We don't want you to lose your culture either, but there are some part of it we can't let you continue here. Slavery for example."

"Slavery is an integral part of our culture!" he shouted.

In his mind Kaidan saw an image of his children on their knees and in chains. He felt rage boil to the surface and the calm, cool demeanor he normally exuded vanished.

"And you really think we're going to allow you exist here knowing that you might one day come our children?" Kaidan bellowed. From the corner of his eye he could see the shock on Liara's face. "You have two options here. Either you live as part of our community, or we finish you now!

Kaidan had never before felt rage of the caliber course through his veins then. He wanted to tear the batarian limb from limb. Twist his neck until it snapped. Shatter his body on the cliff face with every ounce of power he could draw from his biotics.

His shoulders were heaving with every breath and his pulse pounded in his temples. There was a firm touch on his arm. Liara said his name softly.

"Don't Kaidan me, Liara," he said harshly. "You have a daughter now too. Do you really think these batarians are going to see her as anything other than a servant to be bound and whipped?"

"Kaidan, slow down," Liara said calmly. She stepped closer and lowered her voice. "Bortai said there were seven other wives. There are only six here. Where is the seventh?"

Batukhan must have heard her because he threw back his head and a vicious peel of laughter echoed off the cliff face behind him.

"The asari is right human," Batukhan boasted. "I heard your shuttle approach. Eloiti is not as clever as she thinks. I knew you were here and I allowed her to leave to find you. I could have tracked her and brought her back if I had wanted to. You have walked into my trap."

Now it was Garrus' turn to have his say in the conversation.

"There are more of us. Many more. And a herd of powerful animals that will defend us. What are you against all of us."

"Ah, but if you never come back and I have your shuttle," he paused and raised his weapon higher, taking aim squarely at Kaidan. "Just think what I could do then."

He fired the shotgun. Kaidan and Liara threw up massive barriers at the same time and the spray of pellets bounced harmlessly of the sheen of scintillating blue power. Garrus and James had their weapons raised, ready to fire as soon as the barrier faded, while EDI scanned the area with her highly sensitive eyes, searching for the other batarian.

"You've failed, Batukhan," Garrus said smoothly, confidently. "Might as well just give in."

Batukhan fired again. Kaidan poured more power into his barrier, but Liara backed off, reserving her strength.

"Take him down," Kaidan said coldly. "Spare the women."

Except for EDI, all of their attention was focused on the batarians in front of the cave. Unfortunately, EDI was facing the other way when the missing female sprang from the bushes and fired a second shotgun.

The blast hit Kaidan full in the side, pellets peppering his upper arm and torso. He fell to the ground screaming in agony. EDI went to the ground beside him and a second blast pinged off the armored plating of her back.

With Garrus' help she lifted Kaidan and hauled him backward toward the shuttle, Cortex covering their retreat, while James and Liara opened fire on the batarians.

Through a red fog of pain, Kaidan watched as Liara warped the female with a power biotic blast. Blood spurted from her eyes, ears, nose and mouth as her insides came apart. She disintegrated at a molecular level and was dead in seconds.

Letting go of Kaidan for a moment, Garrus raised his Widow sniper rifle and managed to clip Batukhan in the shoulder as he leveled the shotgun at James who was charging at him, a war cry pouring forth from his mouth.

As Kaidan was lifted into the shuttle James reached the batarian and slammed the but of his rifle into his face. By this point Kaidan's vision was going blurry and white around the edges, and he wasn't sure, but it looked like Batukhan's skull caved in with the force of the blow, completely obliterating his face.

And then he was lying on his back on the floor of the shuttle with EDI kneeling over him. There were shouts from outside, but Kaidan wasn't sure who it was. It could have been any of those still on the ground. His hearing was starting to go the way of his vision.

The shuttle lifted off the ground without the others on board and EDI forced him to sit up while she wrapped bandages tightly around him, pinning his arm to his body.

She calmly continued to tend to his wounds, but she would not answer his questions. Would not tell him how bad the damage was. Her synthetic face was impossible to read.

As he lost consciousness the pain began to fade and a warm sensation, like being covered in a down comforter on a winter night, spread through him. He could hear more voices around him and felt like he was being carried, but didn't feel the need to respond to any of it. He briefly caught a glimpse of Catherine's face and then he slept, and it felt good.

When he next awoke he was disoriented and confused. He was looking sitting on a stool beside a bed and had no idea how he had got there. He seemed unable to move, to so much as turn his head or lift his arms. His vision was still fuzzy and snapped in and out of focus in a strange fashion. One moment he was looking down at a figure in the bed. A blink later and he was standing on the other side of the room.

The pain was gone but was replaced by something else, something less like a physical feeling and more emotion. Kaidan couldn't quite put his finger on it. Maybe he was alright but Karin had put him out and this was some kind of drug induced dream.

He couldn't seem to focus on anything for long and when he next found himself sitting at the bedside he tried to direct his eyes to the figure in the bed. It took what felt like ages and most of the energy he could muster, but finally he forced himself to look at the face of the person in the bed.

It was himself.

Karin was there the next time he became aware. She was speaking to him, or rather to the eyes he was seeing through. Her words were muffled and hard to make out, but what he heard was not encouraging.

"He lost a lot of blood, but he seems to be healing," Karin was saying.

"So why has he not woken up?" It was Catherine's voice. "It's been days."

"My concern is brain damage due to the blood loss. EDI and I have been unable to obtain readings that would suggest it, but I can think of no other reason why he would not have woken by now."

Hands came up and rubbed his eyes and then Kaidan was seeing through tears and he realized what was going on. He was seeing through Catherine's eyes. Somehow, the strange connection formed between them was allowing him to witness events from her perspective.

"Catherine, I know you want to but you can't spend every moment at his bedside. Your children need you. You must care for them."

Everything went dark again and when he was able to see and hear again, it was Catherine's voice her heard.

She was at his bedside, this time sitting right beside him. In the crook of one arm she held Jane. Lying on the bed beside him was Everett. His hand had been placed on his son, spread over his tiny body.

"Kaidan, you have to wake up," she pleaded. "I know you're there. I don't know why I can't hear you anymore, but I know you're not gone. Please, listen to my voice and come back."

Kaidan wanted nothing more than to comfort her and wipe away her tears, but her voice was the problem. He couldn't hear her voice through his own ears. He didn't know how. Whatever was happening, it was stopping him from feeling his own body.

Everett began to cry. A sharp, piercing wail that cut to the marrow of Kaidan's very being. It was not a cry of hungry or exhaustion or even discomfort. It was a howl of pure, unadulterated sadness. He could feel his son's sorrow. Whether he could feel it because Catherine could feel it or because his own ability to sense his children remained, Kaidan didn't know, but he latched on to the emotion and willed all of his thought towards his son.

He wished to be able to pick up the tiny infant and hold him close and comfort him. To tell him it would be okay. That his papa would never leave him.

As he thought these things something started to happen. The edges of his vision blackened and colours and textures dulled. But his hearing grew sharper and began to lose the muffled quality of moments before.

Suddenly he could see nothing but his sense of touch returned. First there was pain, a flash of it in his arm, before he realized there was something warm moving under his right hand. He flexed his fingers and the wailing faltered.

With great effort, feeling like his hand weighed a metric ton, he lifted his fingers and found the source of the noise. The tip of his index finger found a dainty nose and then moved down to find two perfect lips parted in the last discordant notes of one final burst of tears.

The tiny mouth latched onto his finger and sucked with force, the cries stopping immediately. A voice filled with relief soon took their place.

"Kaidan, are you awake? Can you hear me?" Catherine sounded desperate. "Please, you don't have to say anything, just let me know you are awake and all right."

He tried to say something but his throat hurt. It was dry and his voice rasped. Swallowing he tried again. It came out better this time, but it was still barely more than a whisper.

"I'm here," he managed.

Catherine began to weep. Kaidan tried to open his eyes, but it was like they had been glued shut. It felt the same way it had after he'd woken up after the attack on Mars, when he'd been unconscious for well over a week.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice getting stronger.

"Not another word, my love," Catherine said. "Nothing more until you're ready."

"I'm okay," Kaidan said. "I just can't open my eyes yet. Give me a sec."

Something cool and moist touched his face, moved across his forehead, rubbed gently at his eyes, and then caressed each cheek. He tried opening his eyes again. They were gummy with sleep and his lids came apart slowly. Light poured in and he was blind again for a moment, but he soon adjusted and before he knew it he was looking at Catherine and her sapphire blue eyes.

"Hey," he said groggily. "You okay?"

"You were shot and then out cold for four days and you're asking me if I'm okay?"

"I worry about you," he said.

"Then next time there is a dangerous person to approach… don't," she said with gentle chiding.

"How are the twins?" he asked, even though he could now sense both of them and feel their contentment.

"They've both been fretful for the last four days. Jane has been better, but Everett was really distressed and I didn't know what to do."

"It was him who brought me out of it," Kaidan said. "I could hear him crying."

Catherin leaned forward and lay Jane on his chest, holding her steady with her hand.

"What happened, Kaidan? I don't mean with the batarians. Garrus told me all about that. I mean after. Why could I not feel you? You were so silent."

Kaidan didn't answer right away. He wasn't sure how to describe exactly what had happened. He wasn't sure he even knew.

"It was like I wasn't in my body anymore. There were a few times when I could see and hear, but it was like a dream. It was like… Like I was experiencing things through you."

"You were in my head?" Catherine asked.

"I don't know," Kaidan said wrinkling his brow as he pondered what he could only just remember. "It's got to have something to do with the synthetics though. Doesn't matter. I'm back now. How badly was I injured?"

"Not as bad as EDI thought when they brought you back. You lost some muscle in your arm and Doctor Chakwas had to dig pellets out of you ribcage, but nothing major was hit and you've healed so quickly it's all just puckered and pink now."

"It still hurts," he said, shifting his left arm experimentally.

"Well, it's only been a few days," Catherine said with a laugh that sounded genuine though nervous. "EDI took some damage as well and it turns out she can heal herself now. Pretty amazing stuff."

"And the batarians?" Kaidan asked.

"Only Lortak and Batukhan dead. The rest were happy to come here when Cortez went back with the shuttle. EDI and Liara are trying to teach them more English since only Bortai speaks it well. I think they are just glad to be free."

"Maybe thing will finally settle down now," Kaidan said with a sigh that deflated his whole body. "I think I am done with adventure."

"Oh, I don't think adventure is done quite yet," Catherine said as she gently lowered herself down on his left. He lifted his arm and tucked it around her waist.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

Catherine ran her fingers along Jane's forehead and the sleeping child made a cooing sound at her touch.

"Her. And him," she said with a smile that made Kaidan's heart glow. "And whoever might come next. It'll be a different kind of adventure, but it will be just as exciting and hopefully a lot less dangerous. Everything in life is an adventure. We just have to teach ourselves to see it that way. And even when it isn't terribly exciting for us, even when it gets hard or frustrating or, dare I say it, boring, it's all going to be new for them. Every day will bring something new for our children and we can experience it all through them."

"How do you do it?" Kaidan asked.

"Do what?" Catherine replied.

"Stay so unwaveringly upbeat and positive," Kaidan said, pulling her a little closer despite the pain in his flank. "You always know just the right things to say. Your insight in incredible."

"I guess I just always try to find the silver lining in things," she said with a small shrug. "I'm that person who loves every kind weather, lets the spider stay in the window even though it scares the crap out me because I know it's eating flies."

"Have I mentioned I love you?" Kaidan asked with a soft chuckle that caused Everett to stir under his hand.

"Not today," Catherine said contentedly. "I love you too, Kaidan. And I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow."