It was a quiet evening in the apartment. Work was over for both Kaidan and Shepard, Kaidan made dinner, and within a few hours they were in bed. It was about eleven p.m. or so, and all was quiet. The lights had been turned out in the apartment save for their bedroom, and the only noise was the chattering from the television. It was tuned onto some sitcom that Shepard enjoyed watching, something to distract her from the aching and irritation of pregnancy. Kaidan was resting in a white shirt and boxers, and Shepard was just relaxing in a maternity nightgown. It was light purple and draped over her rounded gut loosely.
By now, Kaidan had lost interest in the show and was reading a novel on a datapad, and Shepard had crossed her arms and watched the screen, smiling every so often at the jokes. The bump in her midsection suddenly jerked, and both Kaidan and Shepard stopped what they were doing to stare at it. "Did it just..." Kaidan's question was answered when it jerked again, bouncing the rest of Shepard along with it. Shepard raised an eyebrow.
"What the hell are they doing in there?"
"Do we need to go to Chakwas?" Kaidan asked. Shepard shook her head calmly; Kaidan had gotten so protective after she stopped the Reapers, and even more so since she got pregnant.
"No, my mom told me this could happen. Sometimes babies hiccup in the womb. Apparently I did it all the time in the third trimester when she was pregnant with me. It's just kind of-" Her baby bump jerked again, "-jarring. That's all."
"Oh." That was all Kaidan could think to say. Gingerly, he patted the bump, but it jerked again. Shepard gave a loud groan.
"This is going to get annoying really, really fast."
"Aw, it's kinda cute." Kaidan reassured her with a small smile. Shepard glared at him.
"You wanna carry these little shits, Kaidan? 'Cause if you were the pregnant one you wouldn't think it was cute..." She sighed. "Okay, maybe it's a little cute. Just not cute enough for me not to get annoyed. I'm going to sleep soon and they need to stop it."
Kaidan grinned at her and patted her baby bump again. A moment later he quickly retracted his hand, looking taken aback. He blinked in surprise. "One of them kicked me!" he blurted, looked a bit amused. Shepard smirked at him.
"Yeah, they're punishing you for making their mom unable to drink alcohol for nine months. Your fault."
"I know. I'm sorry." her husband admitted. He beamed proudly at her. "Though, Jane, can you believe it? Soon enough we'll be parents of two. We'll have two beautiful newborns, a son and a daughter. I know you're grouchy, but I'm really happy."
"I am too. I'm just not happy about the nine month process that occurs before they come in." Shepard replied. She twitched again as one of her yet-to-be-born children hiccuped. She stroked a hand over the bump quietly and glimpsed at it. "I hope I'll be a good mom."
"Sure you will!" Kaidan said cheerfully, "You're a kind and loving person."
Shepard shrugged against her pillow and silenced, turning her attention back to the television. Both of them were quiet for awhile, though Kaidan could sense that something was wrong. Shepard's face had fallen into a small frown, and her eyes soon enough fell away from the screen and towards her baby bump. Her husband frowned as a result. "Jane, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly. His wife didn't look up.
"Nothing, Kaidan. I-"
"I can tell when something's off with you. Honey, what's wrong?" he inquired worriedly.
"It's nothing, I swear-"
"Jane." Her name came out as stern, letting her know her husband wasn't going to drop it. She turned her head away from him, looking down at the floor.
"It's just...I remember when you were in the hospital a few years ago, you said you preferred ground work to teaching. Now that I'm pregnant, you've gone to teaching at Grissom and black-ops right here on the Citadel." She turned her eyes back to him. "Kaidan...you're not upset that we're not doing any field work right now, are you?"
"What?" Shepard flinched at Kaidan's shocked response. He frowned. "Shepard, of course not. I'm happier than I've ever been. Do you know why? It's because I never have to worry about you dying on me again. I lost you once, almost lost you twice, and I never want to feel that terror again." He picked up her hand and kissed it. "Now that you're safe, I know I'm not going to lose you again. I couldn't bear it. So if it meant I'd never be on the battlefield again just to ensure you and our children are safe, I wouldn't even hesitate. I love you more than anything."
Shepard began to smile a little. "Thank you, Kaidan...that means a lot." She kissed him tenderly, and after a moment, her husband frowned again.
"You're not bored, are you?" he asked anxiously. Shepard shook her head.
"No. I actually kind of enjoy being an admiral, and I still get to travel sometimes on the Normandy across the galaxy. I'm not doing a lot of it, but I'm happy, because I have you. I could be pushing papers around for a job, and I'd still be happy as long as I was with you."
Kaidan smiled again and put an arm around her. "I've said this before, and I'll always say it. I've always loved you."
"Good to hear. I love you, too." She yawned. "Now, are you ready to go to sleep yet? I'm tired."
"Of course." He flipped off the lights, plunging the apartment into darkness. His arm wrapped around his wife, and she felt the warmth of his body against hers. "Sweet dreams."
"Sleep tight, Kaidan. Don't let the thresher maws bite."
He chuckled. "I'll try not to."
