I awoke on my bed with Grunt watching me. I blinked and regained my senses quickly with a snap of my head. Sitting up, I shook my head, "How long have I been out?"

Grunt stood up towering over me. "About two days now. You took a hard hit to your head." He hit my shoulder and then said, "This one has been watching over you this whole time."

I looked over where Grunt was pointing and I saw Stitch there on a chair sitting and smiling at me. Smiling back at him, I couldn't help but watching him pant, he nearly looked like a dog. If he had white, brown, black, or golden fur, I would have sworn he had become a real dog.

Jumping on my bed, he snuggled into my ribs. I held him and looked back at Grunt. "Still want to eat him?"

Grunt gave me a gruff laugh, "No, I suppose Gardner cooks enough stuff with fur as it is." Grunt walked out of the room saying as he walked, "I'll tell the others you're up. Joker says we should be to Fastener's Rest in 20 minutes." he went in the elevator and said before the doors shut, "Them rocks come out of nowhere."

I watched the elevator descend. All I could do was give Grunt a sly smile which he didn't see. Stitch was still in my ribs rubbing his head, snuggling me. He looked up at me with those black eyes, "Stitch thought Shepard gone."

I rubbed his head, "Nope. Just asleep." I got out of bed and saw the photo frame. It was on Kaiden. Before I could change it back to one of my teammates who were still alive, Stitch asked, "Who's that?"

Clenching my teeth, trying to make it appear I was mad, "What? Did you mess with this?!"

Sitting on my bed like a curious, little asari child, he asked, "Who is he?"

Sighing, I decided to tell him. "He was part of my team."

Stitch cocked his head raising those ears of his curiously, "You're ohana?"

I just nodded confirming it.

"Where is he?"

"He's gone Stitch. I - I left him behind."

Stitch's ears folded back and his eyes became overwhelmed with sadness, "But - he is your ohana. Ohana means…"

"I know what it means!" I yelled out tossing the picture frame. Looking away from Stitch, tears began to stream down my face, "I didn't do it easily. He gave his life for all of us Stitch. I know you can't understand that. Know that the mission…"

Stitch stood on my bed with anger, "Stitch would never leave you behind!"

Closing my eyes as they burned like fire, I opened them letting my tears stream, "If you had to pick between your girl and me, who would you choose?"

Stitch seemed clueless at the question. He confidently said, "I pick both."

"What if you couldn't. What if there was no time or I tried to kill her?"

Stitch sat down hugging himself, "Shepard would never do that!"

"No, I wouldn't but what if you had to choose. What if you could only save one of us? Which would it be?"

"Stitch would save you…both."

I could see he didn't understand. I walked over to my bed and sat down calmly. "It's good you don't understand what I'm asking. I hope you never do. I hope you can always save both. I hope its always that easy of a choice for you Stitch. See, you come from a world different from mine. You're life - You're lucky you found an ohana Stitch. One that loves and cares for you. Some aren't that lucky. You've never had to make a choice. Sometimes in war, you have to choose. You have to weigh one life to a billion others. I had to do that. I keep on doing that."

"Nobody gets left behind."

I stared out my window. "Or forgotten. That choice is always easy. I'll never forget Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko. I never forget." I looked at Stitch. "Never!"

Stitch hugged himself with his four arms. Feeling bad, I dragged the little guy close to me. He uttered out, "Nobody get left behind."

Still fighting back my tears I thought back to Kaiden, "It wasn't just my choice. When you're ohana left you on Hawaii, they did what they thought was best for you. Sometimes Stitch our families do crazy things for us. Even if we don't understand it at the time, we know they're doing it for us because they love us. Kaiden also made a choice. He decided to stay as well as I decided to leave him behind. You made the same choice, didn't you?"

I could see him thinking back to the night of the hurricane. "Stitch rushed back to Lilo. Lilo wasn't there. I searched house but she wasn't there. There was a time -" Stitch stopped himself thinking back. Thinking a long time back. "Stitch was broken."

I just listened to him. His voice getting more and more sad as he went on.

"Stitch ran so Lilo could be safe. Lilo came for me. Didn't forget about me." He looked up at me. "Is that what Shepard is talking about?"

I smiled, "Something like that."

Joker came over the com, "Fastener's Rest - 5 minutes out commander."

Motioning to the elevator, "Come on, lets go see this ohana of yours."

He jumped in my arms as we went down the elevator to the helm in the CIC.