Author's Note: I could list all the excuses for how long this took, but there's no point really. I'll offer my apologies and my heartfelt thanks to those who are still with me. To those who left a review: Jules Hawk, kirabaros, ShadowCrystal26, Impslave, GrimNekros, HeroInTraining, Vorcha Girl, and Kirsah, thank you so so so much. Your words have really kept me going. I will promise, right now, that I will be finishing this story - even if it kills me.

With no further babble... enjoy! - TLC

Chapter Ninety-One

Kaidan watched the comm cut out; Hackett's form disappearing before their eyes. Shepard dropped her head for just a moment, heaving a great breath. Without turning towards him she lifted her omni'tool and called the ground team to the war room. Then, she turned to him. Her eyes met his, weary, resigned. They were old soldiers now. They knew what this meant. This could be, probably was, the beginning of the end – of their end. Her lips quirked for just a moment, a sad shadow of a smile, before the doors opened in the room behind them. She moved passed him, her hand brushing his as she did.

"I'll be making an announcement to the ship soon, but I wanted you to hear it first," Shepard started as Kaidan moved to the doorway, already aware of the news she was sharing. He leaned against the wall, his arms folded over his chest. Even Joker brought himself from the Bridge for the meeting. They must know what was coming, too. "Traynor's intel was good. Joker, when we leave here, I'm ordering you to follow the heading to Cerberus' base. I just confirmed with Hackett. The Crucible is as ready as it can be. All it needs is the catalyst which we will be obtaining from Leng." Kaidan noticed as Tali leaned into Garrus' side. The turian wrapped an arm around her without removing his eyes from their Commander. James' eyes darted across the room to Liara, who kept her gaze on her omni'tool.

"It will take us a full cycle to reach the base, Shepard," EDI's voiced.

Shepard nodded as she looked to those gathered around the table. "There should be no mistaking it. When we move on Cerberus, the reapers will notice. Reports from Earth indicate something is happening in London. It's where the Reaper forces are heaviest. So, while we take care of Cerberus, Hackett will be moving the Crucible to Earth. It is imperative we gain the intel on the catalyst. Once we take out Ceberus, we move to retake Earth, to end the war, with or without the catalyst. Take the day, prepare. One way or another, this war will be over soon." Her shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. "Dismissed."

Slowly, silently, the room emptied. James folded his arms across his chest and dropped his head as Liara filed passed him. When the room was empty, save for Vega, Shepard, and Kaidan, Kaidan asked, "Did you need something, Vega?" It was then that Shepard noticed the Lieutenant. Kaidan stepped up next to Shepard.

"Something to… care to spar, Viejo? I need something that will hit back," Vega asked simply. His tone simmered with pent up aggression, and Kaidan had a feeling he knew the source of his anguish. Kaidan looked to Sloan and he wondered if James' words brought the same memory to her as it did him. She turned towards him, leaning against the console and the gentle quirk of her lips told him it did.

"What did the bag do to you anyway?" … "It doesn't hit back." … "Well, I do."

Kaidan wanted to take care of his duties and spend their night off alone in their cabin, but he had to take care of his crew first. A slight nod from Sloan told him she understood. "I'll meet you down in the cargo bay in ten," Kaidan agreed and James left quickly. He reached up, and brushed the back of his fingers across her cheek. "I'll meet you upstairs in … an hour?" She took his hand, holding it to her face before turning her head and kissing his palm. She nodded, taking his hand and zipping their fingers.

"Think it's Liara?" Shepard asked softly as they turned to leave the war room.

Kaidan looked to her from the corner of his eye; he bit back a smile as he answered, "Of course, it is; it's always the woman."

Shepard snorted, dropping his hand and pushing him away from her as they shared a tired laugh. Kaidan nodded at Westmoreland and Campbell as they passed through security. They reached the elevator and Kaidan pushed the button for the cargo bay as Shepard went towards the Bridge to speak with Joker and EDI. He watched her go, a heaviness spreading in his chest. Whenever she walked away from him, the finality of their situation constricted his lungs. Every beat of his heart against his ribs, every second that passed, reminded him the end was closing in on them. That this could be the last time he watched her walk away from him.

He scrubbed his hands over his face as he stepped onto the elevator, keeping his eyes shut until the doors closed. The ride down to meet James was as long as he expected. He'd never had a problem with small spaces, but being in the elevator as it inched its way down sent his insides squirming and his palms sweating. The doors opened at just the right moment, any longer and he feared the tension would trigger a migraine.

Kaidan found James at his work station, fidgeting. "Hey, Vega, you good?" Kaidan asked as he stripped off his BDU top. His dog tags clinked against his chest. He untucked his undershirt as he walked towards him. Vega's usual tee was damp and Kaidan assumed he'd already started. They moved to the center of the bay.

"Yeah, can we skip the biotics this time? I need…," James stopped when Kaidan nodded at him. "Let's dance." They circled each other with a defensive posture. Kaidan looked for clues to James' mood, and his first move. His eyes were dark, the pupils blending in with the russet irises. His body was tense, nearly vibrating with anxious energy. There was no way this was just the war. This was personal. He may have been teasing Shepard when he said he thought it was about Liara, but now he was certain. The tension in James' shoulders gave away his first offensive move and Kaidan was able to avoid the strike and score a quick jab to James' kidney as he moved past him.

James growled.

Kaidan took the offensive with a string of punches meant to annoy and irritate James. There was no force behind them, it was the equivalent of swatting a fly, but Kaidan was trying to break through James' mental blocks and this was the perfect way to do it. A couple of impacts to his sides, followed by an open-handed tap to the side of his head and James nearly roared.

"Vega, get out of your head," Kaidan said before blocking another attempt from James. Vega flashed a frown at Kaidan before charging him. Kaidan dropped his shoulder and caught James in the chest, using the larger man's size and momentum against him, he caught him and heaved him off his feet. Without biotics Kaidan wouldn't be able to flip him over, but he let him fall to the floor. He landed on his back, winded.

Kaidan stepped away from James and let the marine catch his breath. Kaidan moved and grabbed James' water from his bench and handed it to him. James glared up at him from the floor before accepting Kaidan's hand. Once James was back on his feet, he took the bottle bringing it to his lips and nearly draining it. Kaidan spoke first. "What's going on?"

"Like you don't know," James snapped, moving away from him and falling onto the bench. In this moment he wasn't a headstrong, highly trained, N7 nominee; he was a sullen teenager who just found out his girlfriend was taking someone else to prom – though, Kaidan knew this was bigger than that. Kaidan sighed and leaned against the table across from him.

"Liara and Javik?"

"She's having his baby," James muttered. Shaking his head and scrubbing his hands over his face he sighed. "This is ridiculous. I shouldn't… I'm good. I'll be good." James insisted, frustrated and perhaps a bit embarrassed that he was reacting like this.

"Do you know the story of how we met Liara? Back on the SR-1?" Kaidan asked and grinned when James looked up at him. His head cocked in a way that made him look like a curious puppy. "We were looking for leads on Saren and we found out that Matriarch Benezia was working with him. So, we went to find Benezia's daughter, an archaeologist with a specialty in the Prothean, who was at a dig site on Therum."

"Everybody knows that," James answered leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"But what everybody doesn't know, is that we found Liara trapped in a Prothean defense shield. She'd triggered it when the geth arrived and while the geth couldn't get to her, she couldn't get herself out," Kaidan added and James grinned with a reluctant chuckle. "When you first met Liara, she was efficiently taking out Cerberus operatives on Mars. She was already the Shadow Broker. She no longer had a simple specialty in the Prothean, she was well regarded as a Prothean expert. Her offensive biotics are the strongest and most effective they have ever been. She's a capable, invaluable asset in this war." James nodded, leaning back on the bench and crossing his arms over his chest. "You've only ever known that Liara. When we went to Eden Prime and ended up bringing Javik back, that was the closest I've seen her to that bright eyed, fresh faced scientist we picked up years ago. You never knew that Liara. That that Liara, the scientist with a specialty in the Prothean, wants to procreate with the only living Prothean in the galaxy isn't surprising. That Liara, the Shadow Broker who has very real feelings for you, wants to procreate with the only living Prothean, well, it's not surprising, either."

James snorted, frowning, and Kaidan realized he wasn't helping.

"Vega, she didn't know she should have had a conversation with you about it first. She's over a hundred, but she has next to zero experience in romantic relationships."

James sighed, and looked doubtful.

"She will be the first to tell you, when she first joined us on the Normandy she'd had very little interaction with other individuals, let alone humans. She was independent and so wrapped up in her work she didn't allow distractions like connections with the living. When she first joined us, she thought she had feelings for Shepard simply because Shepard was kind to her. Yes, she's grown since then, and she does care about you, but she is still unsure of how to handle all of it." Kaidan let a moment of silence fill the space between them while James considered his words. He pushed away from the table and sat next to him on the bench. The younger man's eyes following him as he did.

"I just don't know, Viejo. I wasn't looking for this. I wasn't expecting it, and it just happened. I almost feel like, what's the point?"

"The point? I don't know about you, but every time I go out there, I'm fighting for a chance at a future with Sloan. That's the point. What are you fighting for?" Kaidan voiced the question, but didn't expect an answer. "Look, at the end of the day, we may only have a couple of days left. As cliché as that may be, do you really want to spend them being hurt and angry? Or do you want to spend them making memories with the person you love?" James didn't respond, but his eyes glistened in a way that told Kaidan he understood. Kaidan clapped a hand on his shoulder as he stood. "As much as I'd love to try to help you sort this out-"

"Yeah," James said, scrubbing a hand over his face then up over his hair. "Go, be with Shepard. You deserve as much time for memories as you can get," James added and Kaidan smiled. "Thanks for the dance, Viejo."

Kaidan just nodded and left him to his thoughts. He picked up his shirt and tossed it over a shoulder as he went to the elevator. He hoped he'd been able to help, but as the elevator climbed to their quarters, he let his concerns for James and Liara fall away so he could focus on Sloan. He stopped at the crew deck to grab some food before heading the rest of the way up. Stepping off the elevator, the door to their space sighed open. As he crossed the threshold he could almost feel the day slip off his shoulders and roll down his back.

He found Shepard exactly where he thought she would be. Standing at her desk, staring at the terminal, hair down and dressed in one of his shirts. Still, though the top hung off her slender frame, he could see the tension in her shoulders and the drop of her head. He set the MREs down on the desk and tossed his BDU shirt to her chair before stepping behind her. She glanced at him quickly before he wrapped an arm around her waist. He could feel the firm planes of her abdomen as his arm encircled her. He tried to pull her back, away from the desk, but she didn't move. He reached in front of her with his free hand and turned off the terminal. She let out a snort before he wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her back against him.

This time she let him, and she sighed as she leaned her head back on his shoulder. Her hands slowly stroking his arms. "We've done all we can. There is no point in looking at the numbers all night." He pressed a kiss to her neck and she nodded.

"How's James?" she asked quietly, the soft tone of her voice stirring something in his core.

"Hey, EDI, what's the twenty on Vega?" Kaidan asked, glancing at the ceiling.

"Lieutenant Vega entered Dr. T'Soni's quarters approximately five minutes ago," EDI answered, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"I think they'll be just fine," Kaidan answered into her neck and she grinned.

"Nicely done, Major," she spun in his embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her eyes dropped to his chest before she pressed herself against him and he held her even tighter. The silence fell on them like a blanket of snow, dense and heavy. He ran his hand over the back of her head. She pulled back and met his eyes. He kissed her quickly. Pulling back, he watched as she licked her lips, keeping her eyes closed. Without releasing her, he used his omni'tool to turn on some soft music. As the gentle jazz drifted through the room, he felt her hands fist in his shirt. He took a moment, before he slowly started to sway. Feeling her body, warm and alive, against his was everything he wanted. He felt the muscles shift beneath her clothes and took comfort in the fact that, after everything, they had made it this far.

He wasn't sure how much time passed before her body trembled with a sigh he felt against his neck. "I brought food."

"I don't want it."

"Sloan-"

"Kaidan, can we just … be still tonight? Will you just … hold me?" Her request was muffled against his shoulder. He leaned back and lifted her chin with one finger, forcing her to meet his gaze. She brought her hands between them, her fingers toying with his dog tags. "I'm … scared, Kaidan. What if I can't beat him? What if Leng wins tomorrow?" He took her hands in his, lifting them to his lips and kissing them quickly. He led her to their couch letting her question hang, unanswered, in the space between them. He moved into the corner and pulled her down against him. She settled between his legs, her back against his chest. His arms wrapped around her and his stubble brushed against her neck with his kisses.

"You don't have to beat him. You are not alone in this. Do you hear me?" he asked, his voice strong, determined. She nodded. "We will beat him. We will win tomorrow." She nodded, and he tightened his hold on her.

This woman in his arms was so much to so many. A leader, a beacon, hope, for an entire galaxy. Every defeat, every death was taking its toll on her. Yet, he was the only one who knew how vulnerable she could be. Still, after all this time, he never understood how she handled it. He wanted to take some of the burden from her. He couldn't. So, instead, he'd be her soft place to land. She gripped his arm tight, her fingers leaving welts in their wake. Her nails leaving half moons in his skin. Still, he held her tighter as sleep came for them.

The next morning found them still on the couch, tangled together, holding tight. EDI woke them early. They were an hour out from the station. Sloan opened her eyes and looked to him. Her fingers brushed his cheek and she lifted her lips to his. He cupped the back of her head as his lips parted for her. He poured all the reassurance he could into this kiss. He held her impossibly close. When she pulled back, she was smiling and breathless; her eyes shining. "Cerberus … Leng … they don't stand a chance against us."