When Hope walked back into her apartment after three days, she had to do a double take- albeit a tired one, but a double take, nonetheless. Her father and Kaidan were laughing together on the couch as though they had been the best of friends for years.

"You can blame her father for that," her mother called. Looking around, Hope realized that her mother was busy in the kitchen.

"You would think that months of driving it would make her better- but it was almost like she got worse!" Kaidan informed them which led to both of her parents laughing.

Oh.

They were talking about her driving the Mako.

Part of her wanted to point out that she hadn't been raised on a planet where she could learn how to drive. No, when she was sixteen, her father had taught her how to pilot a shuttlecraft- which is completely different than a vehicle with the influence of gravity on it thank you very much!

"And, since she's so stubborn, she wouldn't let anyone else drive. No, she would get this grin that was almost sadistic and would hit the accelerator."

"That's our Hope," Nathanial chuckled at the same time as her mother said, "She gets that from her father as well."

Well, that was enough of that.

"Hello?" she said in way of greeting.

Kaidan looked over his shoulder at her before getting up from the couch and making his way to her. When he was close, he reached out and ghosted his hand over her right cheek.

"You're hurt," he informed her as he took her hand.

"Damn Cerberus," she muttered in way of explanation. When he started to lead her up the stairs- well, to say that she was surprised was an understatement.

Kaidan seemed to sense what she was thinking. "It's not what you think. I just want to clean and treat that cut."

"Once a field medic, always a field medic," she joked.

After sitting Hope down on the sink counter and gathering the needed supplies, Kaidan asked, "You want to tell me about it?"

"Maybe in a little bit. Mom and Dad are going to want to know what I've been up to." She paused briefly. "Speaking of what people have been up to…."

"Your father and I reached an understanding about you."

"Care to elaborate?"

He smiled enigmatically as he cleaned her cut and applied medigel. "No. It's something that's between your parents and me."

As he finished up, she leaned forward and ran her hands up his chest and around to the back of his neck. When he moved his hands to her waist, she rested her head against his chest tiredly.

"That kinda day?" he murmured into her hair.

Shrugging, she simply said, "Aren't they all?"

"You could always go to bed- your parents would understand," he informed her, running his fingertips up and down her sides.

Shaking her head, she pulled back and accepted the kiss that he gave her. "Nah, We don't get enough chances to just be in the same room as a family- especially recently."

Kaidan chuckled as she hopped off of the counter. "I get that."

He allowed Hope to lead him down the stairs by his hand and sat down next to her when she all but flopped onto the couch.

Nathanial's inquisitive eyes moved over them both (and Kaidan had to fight discomfort when he realized that Nathanial was looking for post-sex dishevelment).

Before he could finish his inspection, Hope rolled her eyes. "Dad, Kaidan and I didn't have enough time to do anything up in the bathroom- and, even if there was time, I'm too tired," she informed him matter-of-factly.

Kaidan and Nathanial both turned bright red from her words. Had she not been so tired, she might have laughed aloud instead of cracking a satisfied smirk.

Hannah walked in from the kitchen and handed them each a plate with a hamburger and fries on it. "How'd the mission go?" she asked- apparently oblivious to what her daughter had said.

"Well, we managed to get Omega back from Cerberus," she murmured, taking a bite from her burger. When she looked up and saw everyone's astonished faces, she shrugged. "I promised Aria I'd help her when I first saw her here."

"You went to Omega alone- with no squad or backup?" Kaidan asked, his voice tight.

She shrugged again. "I had a team- Aria and Nyreen Kandros. Nyreen was a Turian who was in charge of the Talons." Taking a pause to eat a few French fries, she continued, "She was someone I think Garrus would have liked a lot."

"You keep using the past tense…" Hannah said in way of a question.

"She died to protect civilians right before I made it in to take care of General Oleg Petrovsky." There was a brief moment of silence as she took in her parents' expressions. "No, I didn't kill him- turned him over to the Alliance."

She didn't mention that she had had to fight the urge to let Aria kill him.

Her father nodded his approval (still looking somewhat pink in the cheeks) as he ate his burger. "Was it necessary to not take any of your squad?"

Hope understood that her father wasn't thrilled with her apparent acquaintance (friendship?) with Aria, but she was way past the age of him questioning her every decision. "Aria told me to come alone, so I did. If I really thought that I couldn't handle it myself, I would have brought a few people with me." The admonishment in her voice had him nodding his head in understanding.

"Aren't I aloud to worry about my little girl?"

They had had this argument before.

He would say that and she would reply that she wasn't a little girl anymore. He would then raise an eyebrow and purse his lips before he would say, You'll always be my little girl.

"I left you Kaidan- weren't you worried about him?"

Nathanial hid a smile behind his burger.

"How long until you guys have to leave?" Hope asked as she finished off the last of her fries.

Hannah and Nathanial shared a glance that was like a silent, intimate conversation. It was almost as though Kaidan and Hope were intruding on a private moment.

Kaidan had to wonder if he and Hope would ever be that close.

"We've got a day or two before our ships will be refueled and restocked," Hannah informed them.

Nathanial gave a small nod. "It's getting harder and harder to restock everything we need."

Hope and Kaidan kept silent on that. It was true that it was harder to get luxury goods, but the Normandy never wanted for that which it needed. It was apparently the difference between the flagship of the war and one of the others.

"Is there-"

Hope was cut off from the beep of an omni-tool. All four glanced down to see if it was their own. Kaidan stood up and walked away when he realized that it was his. Hope watched him for half of a second before turning back to her parents.

"Is there anything absolutely dire that you guys critically need? I can put in a special requisition order," she informed them.

Nathanial and Hannah both shook their heads with small smiles. "We'll get by- both of our ships. We're just asking for replacement fatigues and a few noncritical parts," Nathanial said nonchalantly.

"I'm serious- just tell me what you need."

"That's enough of that, Hope Ann," her father snapped, his eyes narrowing dangerously. Hannah hid a smile behind her hand.

Pursing her lips, she wisely let her argument drop. "Fine," she murmured, turning her head slightly as Kaidan came back.

"I've got to head to the Spectre office- some news about my parents were forwarded there. Need anything while I'm out?" he asked.

"No."

He leaned down and gave her a quick, chaste kiss on the lips before leaving the apartment.

Nathanial raised an eyebrow at her and she just shrugged with a smirk.

At that moment, two omni-tools beeped at once. Her parents both glanced down and read the messages. Afterwards, they nodded dejectedly.

"I leave at 22 hours," Nathanial stated.

"I have two hours," Hannah murmured.

Hope took a deep breath, but didn't say anything. This had been their lives for as long as she could remember. They had never been together as a family for very long.

Hannah began rushing around gathering her belongings and Nathanial did the same. Taking a deep breath, Hope decided that there was nothing for her to do but get in the way. Moving into the other room with the bar, she turned the television onto the news. She might as well see if there was any one place that needed help more than any other.

She lost track of time as the news coverage progressed.

"Do you love him?" her dad asked, startling her.

Turning around to face him, she gave him a questioning look. "What?"

"Kaidan. Do you love him?" he repeated as he walked around the couch to sit next to her.

After a second of trying to figure out where he was going with this line of questioning, she simply stated, "Yeah, I really do."

Looking more than slightly uncomfortable, he informed her, "I think he's good for you, Hop-Hop."

The old nickname brought back memories of a four-year-old Hope hopping around their living quarters squealing, 'Hop, hop, hop!' Her father had come up with the nickname from that. It was strange just for the fact that he hadn't called her for years.

"I'm surprised, dad," she admitted. "I never thought that I'd hear you say that you like one of my boyfriends."

Nathanial shrugged. "You and Kaidan…you both remind me a lot of your mother and me. It's obvious that disregarding the Alliance's fraternization rules doesn't matter to you." He smiled at her knowingly. "Even if I had disapproved, would that really of stopped you from being with him?"

"So do you really approve or are you just saying that because you think that it doesn't matter either way?"

"I think he's good for you. You've needed someone like him for a long time. I'm just glad that he came along."

Kaidan had come back to the apartment in time to hear most of the conversation. Hannah had stopped him from interrupting them and from walking away.

After they had finished talking, Hannah took his arm and led him to the back of the apartment. "He's not wrong," she informed him. "You two are a lot like Nate and I."

"Well…I love her," he stated lamely.

Hannah nodded. "I don't know what your plans are with Hope- that's probably something you don't even want to think about until after the war. I understand that. She won't ask anything more from you. When you're ready for more, you'll have to ask."

"Did you have to ask Nathanial to marry you?"

With a small smile, she shook her head. "No. However, I had to drop so many hints that I may as well have. And it took him almost a year after I started dropping hints.

"I don't even know if you want to marry my daughter. I just think that it's important that you know that about her. She may want it- or eventually want it-, but she won't say a thing about it."

"Yeah, she's more about wanting to make sure that other people are happy as opposed to herself," Kaidan acknowledged.

"This might not be in your plans, but there's something that I know she'll eventually want- what Nate and I want for her as well."

Kaidan raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Hannah gave him a wicked smile that was just like the one that Hope often gave him when she was about to do something that might make him slightly uncomfortable (or excited- it could go either way depending on the situation). "Nate and I would like to eventually have grandchildren- and I know Hope would eventually like to have kids."

His face burned. "I-um-"

"I'm not saying now, Kaidan- after the war is over and everything settles down." She smiled. "Just think about it."

She walked away leaving him completely dumbfounded and red-faced.