Chapter VIII
"Are you ready for this, Alenko?" asked Garrus, patting him on the shoulder.
"Never been readier in my life. How do I look?" said Kaidan, fixing his clothes for the umpteenth time, obviously antsy.
"Like a man in love," said Tali, absentmindedly.
"Relax, man, she's not going to eat you alive," remarked James.
"She might!" chuckled Joker.], and they all let out a chortle.
"Thanks guys, you've been good friends to me."
"Right back at you, Kaidan. You're a good man. We are all very happy for both of you," said Liara, warmly placing her hand on his arm.
Kaidan beamed at them and inhaled deeply. The door to the Citadel docks opened to a hallway filled with rows of soldiers from all species in formal attire. As the entire crew of the Normandy entered the large room, Major Coats called the room to attention. The human soldiers immediately took their stance and saluted. The rest followed their own customs. The area had become still and serene.
The crew walked in awe across the floor. At the end of the front row, Alliance officials and family stood facing the honored soldiers. Shepard, who was standing next to Admiral Hackett, came out of formation, ignoring protocol, and started walking toward them. Overcome with emotions, Kaidan couldn't help but walk a little faster to her. He could see her sparkling green eyes glazed with tears. With a sense of urgency, they both hastened their pace. When they reached each other, Kaidan took Shepard in his arms and kissed her so passionately, so completely, that the people around them seemed to vanish. The world felt right again-whole. Her lips, her scent, her body felt so familiar to him, as if they had never been apart. While they slowly broke off from their embrace, the room came back into focus. It had erupted in celebration. Everyone was ecstatic. Hands were being shaken, hugs were given, and families were reunited.
"I showed up, Shepard," whispered Kaidan, before kissing her again.
Hackett soon came in to greet Kaidan. "Hello, son, it's nice to finally see you in person again."
"Yes, Sir. You, too, Sir. It's nice to be here," said Kaidan unconsciously stepping away from Shepard and nervously shaking the Admiral's hand, evidently embarrassed.
"It's quite alright, Major," said Hackett, guessing the reason of Kaidan's sudden anxiety, "No need to worry about your relationship. The Alliance has given its consent."
Kaidan smiled in relief. Hackett had suspected a romantic involvement between Shepard and Kaidan for a while, but he never pursued the issue. There were more pressing matters to attend to at the time. After the war, Shepard and Kaidan's possible fraternization was irrelevant.
"We have someone else here to see you," said Shepard, showing Kaidan to whom she was referring.
"Mom!" exclaimed Kaidan. Although she had aged significantly since the last time Kaidan had seen her, he immediately recognised his mother's soft brown eyes. They hugged ever so tenderly.
Shepard had called Lillianne a few days earlier and persuaded her to come to the Citadel for the welcoming party. Shepard had given Lilianne a tour of the Citadel, and they got to know each other a little. Lillianne was glad to have the chance to talk to Shepard one-on-one, and rapidly understood why her son had fallen for the famous Commander Shepard.
Lillianne was a shapely and good-looking woman. She was warm and loving. The family resemblance was obvious. Shepard saw so much of Kaidan in his mother that she took to her instantly.
Lillianne had known about Shepard and Kaidan's relationship since Shepard's funeral. Kaidan had never said anything specific back then, but Lillianne could tell something was up. She started to read everything she could about her son's presumed deceased Commander. When news of Shepard's return had surfaced, Kaidan finally confided in her.
"Hi, honey," whispered Lillianne, still holding her son. "It's so good to see you."
"I'll let you two talk," said Shepard.
She left Kaidan with his mom, and walked toward her crew. Shepard chit-chatted with her junior officers and their families. She thanked them for their service and told them her door was always opened. Then she turned to see her gang huddled up, laughing merrily.
"Shepard, where's my smooch?" shouted James.
"You should be so lucky," snickered Shepard as she joined the group.
"So, this is it? The sweet taste of victory? No more ancient civilization out to get us? No more obscure organization looking for world domination? Just peace and quiet?"
"Garrus, you sound almost disappointed," responded Shepard.
"Not disappointed, more like skeptical."
"He thinks some crazy lunatic will force us back to war or something," explained Tali. "Shepard," she continued, turning to Shepard and whispering, "May I talk to you privately?"
"Yes, Tali, of course. What's up?" replied Shepard as they walked away from the others.
"Well, it's about EDI," said Tali, making sure Joker wasn't listening. "During our trip, I found a backup of her in the root programming of the Normandy. It's from before the final assault against the Reapers. I believe I can restore EDI into Dr. Eva's body again, but I am concerned about Joker's reaction. I haven't told you before, because Joker is always too willing to hack any secure channel."
"I see," contemplated Shepard. "How certain are you that the upload will work?"
"I haven't been able to assess the integrity of the data from the backup and how it may affect EDI's personality, but with the right equipment, I am confident I will be able to revive her."
"Tali, that's amazing news!" said Shepard. "Don't worry, I will talk to him."
"Thank you, Shepard," replied Tali, relieved. "I appreciate it."
"I need a drink!" exclaimed James. "Anyone with me?"
They all nodded and agreed to head down to the Purgatory Bar to keep the party going. Before joining them, Kaidan and Shepard stayed behind to say goodnight to Lillianne, as she had already made plans to catch a ride back to Earth.