Author's Note: I will start by thanking Elissa Theirin, Jules Hawk, spacecats, Vorcha Girl, RBurger, PillarofNormandy, and the guest for your comments on the last chapter. It was nice to write something happy after the the final battle. This next chapter is one of my favorites. I hope you all like it as much as I loved writing it. Enjoy! - TLC
Chapter Thirty-Three
The cab pulled up in front of his parent's home and Kaidan felt the pleasant sensation of warm nostalgia as he looked over the large house, and English Bay beyond it. It was a two story home, with white paneling, and black shutters framing each window. There was a large wrap around porch on the first level and, though Kaidan couldn't see it from the front, there was a balcony at the back second level. Kaidan paid the cab driver and exited the sky car. He pulled one of his bags over his shoulder and held the other in his hand. He could see his breath when he turned towards the house again as the cab pulled away. Instantly, his nose and cheeks were chilled. It had been a long time since he'd spent any time in a place without controlled weather.
The chill in the air was refreshing, and cleared his head in a way nothing else could. His father's vehicle was in the drive. He crunched through the snow to the front door and opened it. It squeaked just like he remembered. The heat of the house washed over him as he crossed the threshold. There is a distinct smell that one will always associate with the place they grew up, and he took a deep breath letting it fill him before loudly dropping his bag next to the door. "Mom? Dad?" He called out, looking into the house as he closed the door behind him. He was in the mud room, and looked through another doorway towards the kitchen.
The door to the kitchen swung open, and his mom rushed towards him. She was a short, stout woman, round in the middle with smile lines crinkling the corners of her eyes and around her thin lips like parenthesis. Her hair was cropped close to her head, and she insisted on dying it dark brown to hide the grey. He grinned at her and she threw her arms around him. He winced at the pressure on his injured ribs, but wouldn't let on to his mom. He just wrapped his arms around her, and inhaled deeply. She smelled like homemade bread, cookies, and peppermint. He could feel her tremble as she cried. He wrapped her tighter in his embrace, and buried his face in the crook of her neck. When his father came down the stairs, he looked up and met his dad's eyes. His mom pulled away and cupped his face, "Let me look at you." He met her grey eyes as she ran her hands over his face. "You look exhausted, and you're too thin," She scolded him and he laughed. She always thought he looked too thin, and would never believe that it was the biotics. "You need a shave, and a haircut." She added and he chuckled kissing her cheek.
"I missed you, too, Mom," He answered and she stepped away so his father could greet him. His father hugged him, slapping him lightly on the back. His dad, however, did not miss the wince as his mom had, and raised an eyebrow at him. His father was just slightly shorter than Kaidan but stockier. Kaidan knew he looked a lot like his father, though, his father's eyes were a darker brown and his hair had long since turned white. "How are you, Dad?" He asked him.
"Hungry, your Mom wouldn't feed me until you got here," He answered and Kaidan laughed as he shrugged out of his coat and toed off his boots leaving them near his bags at the door. He'd take them up to his room after breakfast. His mother tsked, rolling her eyes as she led her boys into the kitchen. She was still wiping at damp eyes as she filled their plates. Kaidan's stomach rumbled. He hadn't realized how hungry he'd been. He listened to his parents as they teased each other back and forth over their meal. It was comforting to come home and be able to fall right back into the routine like he had never left.
After breakfast, he helped his mom clear the table and took pleasure in the simplicity. Afterwards, he took his bags up and dropped them on the bed in his room. His room hadn't been changed since he'd last lived here. The desk was covered with schematics he'd found on the extranet and broken omni-tools he'd been attempting to rebuild. His bookshelf was against the wall and he browsed the titles. He only had a few paper and ink books, Dickens mostly. The rest were datapads filled with sci-fi stories; the same stories that had encouraged him to join the Alliance. The walls were a dark blue, and the bed had the same grey comforter he'd used as a teen. He sighed deeply and ran his hands through his hair. It was like this room had been forgotten by time. Frozen and waiting for the teenage Kaidan to return from BAaT. He never did. This may have been his childhood home, but he had changed so much since he last lived here he didn't think it could ever be home again.
He would have to talk to his parents about packing this stuff up and maybe turning it into a true guest room. With a sigh, he opened his bags and pulled out a change of clothes before stepping into the bathroom for that shower and shave he'd been neglecting. It wasn't until much later, when Kaidan was sitting with his father in his study, that his mother informed him she had invited her friend Margaret, Margaret's husband, and daughter for dinner that night. Kaidan groaned and his father laughed from his belly.
Kaidan had retreated to the balcony. The view of English Bay at night was always one of his favorites, and he needed the crisp January air to try to wash away the awkwardness of the dinner he'd just experienced. He wished, for once, his mother would honor his request. He'd really been looking forward to some quiet time home, alone, with his parents. The dinner had been full of questions about the Battle of the Citadel, that Kaidan couldn't answer, and thinly veiled hints that Margaret's daughter, Amanda, was single and ready to settle down, which Kaidan struggled to avoid. Amanda, for her part, seemed utterly embarrassed at the whole exercise and remained silent unless she was asked a question directly.
By the time dessert was served, Kaidan had endured enough. "Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, Amanda, I appreciate your time this evening. It has been a pleasure to meet you. I am quite tired, jet lag, I guess. Please, excuse me," He said as he tossed his napkin down on the table and pushed away. His mother spoke his name in the beginnings of a reprimand and Kaidan shot an admonishing glance at her before standing to leave the room.
His father interceded on his behalf, "Lisa, leave the boy be." He stopped at his father's liquor cabinet and poured himself a drink before heading out to the balcony, which is where his father found him a few minutes later. He came and stood next to Kaidan and Kaidan let out a deep sigh as his father rested a hand on his shoulder. "How bad is it out there?" Alexander Alenko asked his son, his gruff voice quiet on the night air. Kaidan looked at his father and lifted the tumbler to his lips, he knocked back the rest of his drink and set the glass on the railing. Alex knew enough to read the answer in the action, and nodded. "That good, huh?" Kaidan chuckled.
"Did the Johnsons leave?" He asked, turning his gaze back out to the stars.
"They did. Give your mom a break, Kaidan, she's just trying to help and she's not sure how," His father offered, and Kaidan nodded promising his father he would apologize for his disrespect. "Is there anything you can share? Anything you can offload to an old soldier?" Kaidan's hands gripped the wooden railing tight and he looked down to his white knuckles.
"Just, you remember how you taught me to watch the news?" He asked his dad, "How to read between the lines, how to hear what wasn't being said?" Alex nodded as his dark brown eyes met his son's. Alex was surprised to see the concern etched forever in the lines around his own eyes mirrored in Kaidan's. "Watch the news like that for a while. I am afraid they will try to bury the things we've learned, and if they do, and we can't stop it, it's going to get bad, fast." Yes, they had stopped Saren and Sovereign, but the Reapers were still out there and Kaidan had a feeling that maybe this wasn't as over as they hoped.
"Alright," His dad agreed, clapping him on the shoulder again. "Just promise me, if you think we should go stay at the orchard for a while, you'll give me that order." Alex asked of his son, and Kaidan promised he would. Their home was near the city, while the orchard was further out. It was in a more secluded area and always seemed safer. The Alenko men stood and let the heaviness of the conversation sit on their shoulders for a few moments. "Let's go out and get a drink," Alex suggested and raised an eyebrow when his son looked at him, "and you can tell me all about the girl you can't stop thinking about." Kaidan laughed picking up the glass and bringing it into the house with him.
He stopped in the kitchen where his mother stood, washing up from dinner. He set the glass in the sink and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He leaned in and kissed her cheek before resting his forehead on her temple and whispering an apology into her ear. She sighed and lifted a hand to rest it over his on her shoulder. He felt her lean her head into his and tapped his hand in forgiveness. He let her know his dad and he were going out for a few drinks and she nodded. Alex smiled at the pair before going to his wife and giving her a quick kiss. Kaidan couldn't help but feel a little jealous of them, and the solid relationship they had built over the years. By the time his mom was his age, they'd been married for twelve years already. He hoped he'd have that for himself someday, but the lingering threat of the Reapers made him doubt it was a real possibility.
His father hailed a cab and they went to a bar near Alliance HQ, closer to downtown Vancouver. The cab ride was short, so they sat in a comfortable silence, neither wanting to start a conversation until they reached their destination. Once in the bar, his father found a table in the corner that would give them the privacy they both enjoyed and Kaidan went to get the first round. He joined his father at the table, and they clinked glasses before lifting the Canadian lager to their lips. Kaidan savored the familiar flavor and let out a deep sigh. "So," his father started, "who is she?"
"What makes you think there's a girl?" He asked his father, without making eye contact, his voice raising in false denial. His father spoke his name sternly and Kaidan looked to him with an eyebrow raised. He chuckled softly and took another drink before he spoke, "She's special, but…" Kaidan trailed off not sure how to continue. How do you describe Sloan to someone? He had barely begun to decipher his own feelings and to have them called into question forced him to make decisions he didn't think he was ready to make.
"But you have to salute her in the morning, don't you?" Alex asked and Kaidan looked to him, his eyes open wide in shock and Alex laughed, loudly. Kaidan shook his head and lifted his beer, trying to drown the embarrassment. After a minute, his father asked, "Does she feel the same?"
"I don't know. I hope so. It's all so different with her. Civilian women, like Amanda for example, they don't understand what it is to be in the Alliance, let alone a biotic. This girl," He paused and felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips, "This woman, I don't have to explain anything to her, or hold anything back when I'm with her," Kaidan found himself opening up easier than he thought he would be able to and he was slowly realizing just how far over the line he had gone. He sighed and lifted the bottle to his lips. "Civilian women like Mom, I don't think they grow them like that anymore."
"You know your mom wasn't really a civilian," Alex started and Kaidan nodded. He knew his mother had grown up in a military home. "So, she was more understanding than most women. Your mom, over the years, has met a lot of soldiers and a lot of widows. She feels men with families are less likely to sacrifice themselves for their mission," His father attempted to explain. Kaidan interrupted him saying he has family, he has his mom and dad but Alex shook his head, "It's different and you know damn well it's different. When it's your wife, or your child, that you're thinking about while you're facing down the enemy…" He trailed off momentarily, his gaze moving over Kaidan's shoulder and Kaidan wondered where he went for that instant. Then his father looked back to Kaidan and continued, "You'll be more careful when you have that kind of motivation. She wants that for you," Kaidan sighed at his father's words and lifted his drink again, without speaking. Of course that's what he wanted, too. After BAaT, he hadn't thought he'd be able to find someone. Then he met Sloan, there was something about the way she understood him that gave him hope.
His father let the silence stretch for a minute before continuing, "Truthfully, Kaidan, my advice to you," He paused and Kaidan looked up and locked eyes with the older, wiser Alenko and waited for him to finish, "When you find the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with, just hold on and whatever happens, don't let go." Kaidan and his father held their eye contact as Kaidan took the words to heart. Growing up in the home that he did, he knew that if he were to take relationship advice from anyone, it would be his father.
They were interrupted by a waitress, "Excuse me," She said simply, her voice soft and husky. Kaidan looked up at her. She was attractive but not right. Her eyes were too dark, her hair too light. She was too short and her frame too narrow. Her mouth was too thin and her make-up too heavy. His father returned the greeting. She turned her attention from Kaidan to Alex with a sigh that betrayed her annoyance at being ignored by Kaidan. She set two bottles on the table and nodded over her shoulder, "From the baseball cap at the bar." Kaidan turned his attention to the bar and his heart thudded wildly in his chest and a smirk played on his face.
The brunette was in a pair of light blue jeans and a grey hoodie with a plain black baseball cap. Her hair was pulled back and threaded through the hat. It fell in a familiar soft curl just passed her shoulder blades. Her profile was facing them as she leaned on the bar supporting herself with one forearm and the opposite elbow. She was holding the same beer in her hand that they had been drinking. She smirked and tipped her bottle towards them before taking a long pull. Kaidan heard his father thank the waitress and Kaidan looked back to his dad. The sparkle in his father's eyes told Kaidan he had a feeling the woman at the bar had been the one they'd been discussing. "Well," His father said chuckling. "Small world?"
"Small galaxy is more like it," Kaidan corrected before excusing himself and heading over to the bar.
He took his drink with him in one hand and their empty bottles in the other. She turned to face him as he made his way over. She kept her drink in her hand, but rested both elbows behind her on the bar. Her hips had shifted out towards him and he cleared his throat as his eyes roamed over her freely. She was covered head to toe and her hat was pulled down over her eyes. She was clearly trying to resist recognition but there was no way he would mistake her. He reached her, and stood close. She gave no ground and his leg brushed against hers as he leaned close to set the empty bottles on the bar behind her. He heard her as she took a deep breath through her nose. He leaned in and kissed her unblemished cheek, she turned her head into him and let her exhale dance on his neck. "Nice of you to come over, but I was actually hitting on the silver fox at your table," Shepard teased as she shifted and her leg fell between his. He clenched his jaw and stepped back, he knew his father was watching them. He shifted and let his instep rest against hers.
"Well, in that case, join us and I'll introduce you," Kaidan said with a chuckle as he looked over her face, drinking in her smile and the light in her eyes. She grinned and let her hand reach out and touch his arm as she took another drink from her bottle. "I thought you were going to Arcturus?" He lifted his hand and hers fell from his arm and he caught it. Their fingers tangled together.
"Well, I knew they were sending me off station, I assumed it was to Arcturus. I didn't know they were sending me here until I got to the dock to wait for my shuttle," She explained and he nodded, holding back a grin. He asked about her injuries. "I feel fine. Shoulder is just a little stiff and the knee is a little weak. Nothing some rest and relaxation won't heal," She answered and Kaidan nodded, letting a warm silence fill the space between them for a moment, as their eyes locked. "I was going to message you in the morning. What brings you out tonight?"
"Dad wanted to get me out of the house," He started, then his voice dropped an octave and he continued, smirking, "and away from the set-up Mom had arranged," Her face remained impassive, but her eyes had narrowed. She asked if she should be jealous as she let her biotics barely flare and spark against the sensitive skin of his wrist like the expelling of static electricity. His breath caught in his throat and escaped in a quiet huff. "No," He answered simply before taking a full step away from her. A shared smirk on both of their faces. "Come join us," He said, tugging on her hand.
"I don't want to intrude on your time with your dad," She shook her head, leaning over and smiling at his father. Kaidan watched as his dad lifted the bottle in thanks. Alex called out for them to join him and Kaidan grinned at Shepard with his eyebrows up. He nodded his head towards his dad's table and linked his hand with hers. Shepard shrugged and followed behind Kaidan.
Alex stood when they reached the table, and held his hand out, "Alex Alenko," He offered and Kaidan dropped her hand and pulled out her chair.
"Sloan Shepard," She said with a bright smile as she slid her hand in his for a firm shake. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. She laughed that breathy, rich laugh that made Kaidan's heart pound. Kaidan rolled his eyes at his father as Shepard sat and he pushed her chair in. "Careful, Kaidan, your father is going to give you a run for your money as the most chivalrous Alenko."
"I taught him everything he knows," Alex responded smugly before Kaidan could and Shepard grinned looking over to Kaidan who didn't argue. "It's good to know some of it rubbed off on him." She assured him it did. Alex's eyes moved over her face, clearly looking at the bruise that was slowly turning green in the center but still dark purple at the edges as it healed. "I don't know, Kaidan's not limping and you are... he must have done something wrong. I hope you're well?" Kaidan's face fell as his father fished for information. He knew Shepard would never give away privileged details but that's not what Alex was looking for. He wanted confirmation that this was the woman they had just been discussing. Though Kaidan had left her name out for a reason, he should have known his father would find out eventually; even without this chance meeting. Also, Kaidan didn't want to think about the battle. He didn't to think about those hours when he'd thought Shepard had been killed. He didn't want to remember the anguish he'd felt. It seemed tonight was going to make him face all sorts of feelings he wasn't sure he was ready to face. He felt Shepard's hand land on his leg under the table, just above his knee and she smiled at him. He covered her hand with his and she turned her attention back to Alex.
"Let me assure you, he didn't come away unscathed, but I ordered him to safety. He had no choice but to obey," She stated simply, confirming his father's suspicion and Alex hid his grin behind his bottle. "Kaidan mentioned you served?" She asked him, diverting the conversation to safer topics. They discussed his father's service history and training. Kaidan sat back and watched as Shepard spoke with his father. The conversation was easy for them, and she laughed more than he could remember her laughing since they'd met. Their hands were still linked under the table, a fact he was sure his father had noticed, though he wouldn't say anything about it.
When conversation lulled for a moment, she cleared her throat and excused herself to the ladies room, promising to pick up another round on her way back. Kaidan watched her walk away. "You sure know how to pick 'em, Kaidan," his father grinned, clearly enjoying Kaidan's predicament and Kaidan shook his head. "Well, I know her reputation and to be honest she's not what I expected. She's charming and funny," His father gushed and Kaidan nodded looking at his nearly empty beer bottle. "And beautiful, despite the scars and bruises."
"Not despite the scars, Dad. They, I don't know, they add to her … appeal," Kaidan said as she reappeared from the ladies room. She sent a quick smile their way before stopping at the bar and then limping over with the beer. Kaidan offered to help her and she shook her head at him. "Though she needs to learn how to accept help," Kaidan made the statement to his father, who chuckled, as Shepard tsked at him and set the bottles down on the table.
"If I needed help, I would ask for it," She stated as she sat down. Her chair had slid further away from him when she sat. He watched his father's attention as it was caught by the hockey game on the vid display over the bar. He let his hand fall under the table this time, and executed a minor biotic pull to shift her chair closer to him and she swallowed a surprised squeak with her beer as Alex's attention snapped back over to the pair. Alex said nothing, but smirked as he lifted the bottle to his lips. He found humor in way they were poorly hiding their flirtation for his sake.
Kaidan's hand was still under the table and he slid it onto her thigh. She pointedly left her hands on the table, giving him free reign over her jean covered leg. His heart thundered in his chest as he gently massaged the muscle beneath his hand. Alex asked about N-training, and Shepard filled him in on the basics and the well-publicized stories from her time at the academy. The stories of the successful training missions she'd led that brought her to the often coveted, rarely earned, N7 level were well known, but always sounded different coming from the person who had lived them, and Shepard was no exception.
They finished their current round of drinks, and Kaidan cleared his throat as he squeezed her thigh lightly. He watched as Shepard took her bottom lip between her teeth and his jaw clenched. "This round's on me," Kaidan said, his voice husky as he stood and headed towards the bar. He could feel her warm gaze on his back as he went.
Alex Alenko looked to the woman sitting next to him as she watched his only son walk towards the men's room. He was not a foolish man, nor was he blind. It was clear there was something growing between his son and this beautiful woman sitting with him, and it was no wonder he had shown no interest in the lovely woman who had been introduced to him earlier this evening. As Alex watched Shepard watch Kaidan, he was hopeful that she felt the same. Alex cleared his throat lightly and Shepard turned her gaze to him, a gentle blush on her cheeks at being caught staring. "You have done some amazing things, Sloan Shepard." He commented simply as she toyed with the empty bottle, her head was down so he couldn't see her eyes.
"It always seems to sound better than it was," She insisted as she absently tugged with the label on her bottle. "Truthfully, if it wasn't for your son, and the rest of my crew, I wouldn't have been able to stop Saren," She added simply, honestly. He took a drink himself and kept his eyes on her. After a moment, she met his eyes, and smiled. "You know, Kaidan really is an amazing soldier. He doesn't give himself enough credit," She paused, dropping her eyes and he noticed her unblemished cheek color. "Shit, he saved my life more than once."
"You know," He started and her eyes lifted to his again, "I never made it as high in the ranks as some others I served with. I've done bad things in my life, and I've done some good things. Both in the military and as a civilian. I've hurt people. I've helped people," He felt the grin spread on his face as he watched Kaidan leave the men's room and head to the bar. "That man," He pointed at Kaidan and spoke firmly. Shepard's eyes stayed locked on Kaidan's back as Alex spoke. She watched, and a smirk pulled at her lips as the busty blonde behind the bar attempted to flirt, and he very politely ignored her advances. "That man, right there, is the best thing I've ever done," Her eyes moved back to Alex. "I know I don't know everything about him, there are still parts of his past that are locked away in classified files, and I have the feeling he's afraid to talk about them. Out of everything I've done, I am the most proud of the fact that I'm his father." Shepard smiled at him, and he felt like maybe she returned Kaidan's affections. He hoped so. Shepard didn't have a chance to respond, as Kaidan made his way back over to the table. So, instead, she reached out and took his hand. He squeezed it and smiled at her before turning his attention back to Kaidan who had returned.
"Should I give you two another moment alone?" Kaidan asked as he set the beer down and nodded at their connected hands. Alex lifted her hand and kissed it again with a smile.
"No, she's already turned me down. Besides, your mom might have a problem with me bringing home a beautiful woman. Though," Mischief sparkled in his deep brown eyes before he continued, "I'm sure she would love for you to bring her home," Alex said and chuckled as he brought his beer over to him. Shepard grinned as Kaidan flushed red. Alex lifted his beer and downed a quarter of it. Shepard leaned back in her chair, and very openly let her hand fall to Kaidan's knee again and Kaidan stretched his arm out along the back of her chair. Whether it was the openness of the conversation, or the alcohol consumed that allowed them to be so exposed, it felt nice to be so connected with her in public.
Shepard asked about the orchard then, what kind of plants were grown there. Kaidan should have known this would be something she could talk about. Her family had been farmers on Mindoir. As his father and she spoke about the farm and the types of plants and how to care for them, he could feel the question brewing in his father's tone. "How do you know so much about farming?"
"I grew up on Mindoir. My family, we were farmers," She said, and Alex's face fell at the news. Kaidan moved his hand from her chair to her shoulder and squeezed. She looked over her shoulder at him, and smiled. Alex offered his apology and Shepard brushed it away. "It was a long time ago," She paused and a small smile pulled at her lips before she continued, "My mother used to live by the phrase 'everything happens for a reason,' and after the attack, I hated it. What could justify what happened to my colony, to my family? I watched as my brother was beaten, shackled, and dragged onto the Batarian ship. I watched as they shot my parents, point blank, because they tried to warn me. The boy I had been dating, the one I would have ended up marrying, was killed because he stood between them and me. They couldn't get close enough to me, because my biotics kept flaring and at the time I had no control. So, they shot me. It was a gut shot and by the time the Alliance showed up I was near death. Afterwards, I would to cry myself to sleep asking, why? What was the reason? What reason could there possibly be for what happened?" She reached up and covered Kaidan's hand on her shoulder with her own as she maintained eye contact with Alex. "It wasn't until recently, that it all started to make sense. Maybe I'm reaching a bit here but, bear with me," she paused and Alex was leaning on the table between them in rapt attention.
Kaidan himself was curious to see where she was going with this. She continued after a moment, "If I had stayed on Mindoir, if the colony had never been attacked, if my family hadn't been killed or taken, if that boy hadn't been shot for protecting me... I would be on Mindoir still, never having joined the Alliance, never having graduated from N-school. I would never have been assigned to the Normandy. I would never have been made a Spectre. We wouldn't know… the things we know now," Her voice dropped to a whisper and she squeezed Kaidan's hand. "I never would have met your son," He answered with a squeeze of his own, "I lived through something terrible, that no one should have to live through, but if it means that I can stop what is coming, if it means I can know," She paused and Kaidan could feel her uncertainty in how to finish her sentence. "If it means I can get to know the kind of man that Kaidan is, the kind of man you raised, maybe that's the reason."
Kaidan watched as his father reached up and wiped his eyes and he was overcome with the urge to take her in his arms and hold her. Kaidan wanted nothing more than to capture her mouth and kiss away all the pain she'd been through, and make her feel as precious as she was. Alex smiled at Shepard and reached out and patted her hand. Alex Alenko was speechless, and that wasn't something he was used to. He lifted his beer to his lips, and finished it. He stood and held his hand out to her, when she took his hand he pulled her up so she was standing. Kaidan watched as he wrapped her in a hug. His father said nothing, just held her for a moment, and Shepard returned the embrace. "Alright, now that you've gotten me drunk and made me cry, I think the night is over," Alex said as he pulled away from Shepard. She chuckled softly and wiped the tears that had slipped from his eyes. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
"It is getting late," She agreed, and turned back to Kaidan, "and I have meetings in the morning." Kaidan stood and finished off his beer.
"How are you getting ... where are you going?" Alex asked as he pulled on his coat. She answered that the Alliance had her set up in a hotel a couple blocks away. He asked again how she was getting there and she answered that she was walking. "Alone? Absolutely not." Alex shook his head. "Kaidan will escort you." Shepard grinned with a raised eyebrow as she looked to Kaidan.
"Dad, you're drunk. How are you getting home?" He asked, and Alex chided him and stated he would be taking a cab. "I can hear the lecture from Mom tomorrow for sending you home in this state." Kaidan could tell Shepard was enjoying this display as they stood debating travel arrangements.
"Bullshit. Imagine the lecture you'd get for letting Sloan walk to her hotel alone in the middle of the night," He said simply and Shepard laughed Kaidan's favorite laugh.
"Dad, she's Commander Shepard," He reminded him. He was arguing, simply for the sake of arguing. He would have made sure Shepard got back safely. He had intended for them to share a cab, but Alex was making her sound like a delicate flower and she was anything but.
"I don't give a flying fuck who she is," Alex stated simply. "I did not raise a son who would let a woman walk alone at night. Right now, I don't see a Commander. I see a beautiful, young woman with a limp. You walk her, and make sure she gets back to her hotel room safely."
"Kaidan," Shepard interjected, a light teasing tone in her voice. "I think you better listen to your father and make sure I get to my room safely."
"I guess you're right," Kaidan agreed as their eye contact intensified. He could feel his heart pounding madly against his chest at the promise he saw in her bright blue eyes. The trio moved outside and waited with Alex for his cab. When it arrived, Kaidan embraced his father.
"You're welcome," Alex whispered in Kaidan's ear as they hugged and Kaidan chuckled. "I'll see you tomorrow," Alex stated and Kaidan nodded. Alex turned to Shepard and wrapped her in another hug. Her eyes drifted closed in his father's embrace, and he smiled. Alex pulled away and pressed a kiss to her bruised cheek. "You are remarkable, and it was a pleasure to meet you." She blushed and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek in return. She wished him good night, and he climbed into the cab.
Kaidan and Shepard looked at each other, almost shyly, before they turned to walk towards her hotel. She slid her hand into his, their fingers linking instantly, as they started their walk. When the snow started falling around them, Kaidan felt like he was home for the first time since he'd arrived in Vancouver.