A/N: Kolyat and Shepard have a moment alone when Thane finally loses all his patience for his son. This will be a shorter chapter, I want to try to get some closeness set in stone for Shepard and Kolyat.

The Normandy was just seven hours out from reaching Earth. Shepard was trying to keep calm for the crew, but some panicked they might be arrested by the Alliance once they'd landed.

Hackett had confirmed this wasn't the case and Cerberus wasn't going to be mentioned during their time there. The Illusive Man was far from happy about Shepard agreeing to go, but he trusted her judgment on this.

Thane and Kolyat were struggling to be so close together. Thane had little to no experience in being a father and his lack of knowledge angered him when Kolyat lashed out about stuff so small. He'd convinced Joker to let Kolyat come to the helm for a couple of hours, hoping a distraction would help. But the raising voices didn't sound too good when he came back only twenty minutes later to check in on them.

"You can't just change what you like," Joker shouts as he looks over the feed Kolyat had completely changed around.

Kolyat leans into the co-pilot seat, waving his hand towards the pilot. "This is a better design than your old one. Your AI isn't very good."

"Hey," Joker snaps. "Don't talk to her like that," he warns. Kolyat rolls his eyes.

"Son? What's the problem?" Thane asks as he stands between the two angered men. Joker shook his head, turning back to his own console.

"Your pilot didn't want my suggestions on new and improved fuel consumption for the ship. So I changed it without him knowing." He looks at Joker, "now, I'm the bad guy."

"No. I said it was a good idea, but we cannot change the ship like that mid-flight. We are at FTL, it's dangerous." Edi had kept quiet the whole time. Without her input, Kolyat's upgrade would have caused some issues in the drive core, but she fixed them without pointing them out.

Thane narrows his brow ridges at Kolyat, shaking his head in disapproval. "You do as Joker says, son. He is the pilot of the ship."

"Not a very good one," he mutters. Joker finally snaps, turning his chair and pointing his finger towards the door.

"Get out. I'm not being questioned by a damn kid. Thane, get him out," he shouts in anger. Garrus was walking down the bridge, quickly turning to leave before he got the brunt of Joker's wrath.

Thane pushes Kolyat up from his chair, dragging him along to the lift. The crew kept a clear path for the steaming Drell and his disobedient son. They both were in silence on the ride down to deck three. Thane finally broke the tension, standing tall with his chin held high. "You cannot question those who have been working on the ship since its design. I understand you have ideas, but there is a way to implement them."

"Well, this ship is boring. I need some entertainment." Thane drops his chin, sighing heavily.

"You are different son. This is not how you were as a child." Kolyat scoffs.

"As you remember," he mumbles. The lift comes to a stop, and they both exit together. "I don't need you telling me how to behave."

"I shall if you embarrass your father," he shouts. The voice was deafening, even Grunt flinched from his seat in the mess hall. Shepard was speaking with Tali until all eyes were on them. Thane holds himself back, now realising he just made a huge scene. His vocal cords burned from the spike of his voice, and he held a hand to his throat.

Shepard came over, pulling both Drell to the side away from all the stares. "What's going on?" she asks with a hiss.

Kolyat and Thane looked at each other, and neither spoke a word. Shepard taps her foot, but Kolyat moves first. Walking off to Life Support.

Thane looks at the closed door. "I am sorry, Siha. He had an issue with Joker and upset him. He doesn't like being here and won't open up to me about his feelings. This behaviour is not how Irikah or her family would have raised him to be."

"Let me speak to him," she whispers. Thane nods, holding her hand for a moment before she moves from his grasp. Thane needed some water, his throat hurt and he was holding back a cough.

"Know knock," Shepard calls as she walks in. Kolyat jumps in his seat, his chin in his hands as he pouts like a child.

"I locked the door?" he questions. Shepard leans against the glass gun cabinet, smirking at him.

"My ship, remember? I can override any room if I wish. I won't make it a habit, though." Kolyat only nods and looks towards the drive core. "Are you going to tell me what's been bothering you?"

"I don't like this ship or the crew," he quickly states. Shepard laughs at him, getting a glare from him in response.

"That's bullshit. You like Garrus and I believe you have a little soft spot for Jack, even if it's annoying her." Kolyat doesn't argue with her, only nodding slightly with a small smile on his lips. "Do you like me?"

"That's not a fair question," he says as he sits up. Shepard crosses her arms over her chest, waiting for him to clarify. "You are with my father, I do not see you as a mother or caring figure."

"I don't see you as my son either," she snaps back at me. Kolyat is taken aback, expecting her to become upset with his answer. "Look, Kolyat. I love Thane with all my heart, I'm not with him because I feel sorry that he's dying or anything. I am trying to accept I only have so much time with him, but you being a spoiled kid constantly isn't helping him. I have never seen him snap like that before you came aboard."

"He wants to make up for lost time," he explains. Shepard stands straight, coming closer to stand at the foot of the small, two-seater table.

"At least he is trying. I wish I had that as a kid." Kolyat looks up in surprise, watching as she slowly sits down and sighs into her hands, brushing her hair behind her ears. "I didn't have the normal upbringing for most humans. I was neglected by my own parents. They gambled and drank our money away, not caring about me. I was a mistake in their eyes, a child not wanted."

Kolyat sits forward, he'd expected a much different life than what Shepard was describing. He anticipated her to have a normal navy brat life. Parents already in the Alliance, putting in a good name for their golden child. "My mum died when I was eight from an overdose. My dad blamed me. 'You're mother drugged herself because of you.'" she says with air quotes. "He left me for days and weeks on end, leaving barely enough food, warm water and electricity to keep me going on my own."

She sits back, clasping her hands together. "I left when I was fourteen, living on the streets until I met Admiral Hackett at sixteen. He took me in and I joined the Alliance at eighteen."

Kolyat was in shock, he opened and closed his mouth multiple times before finally speaking. "Where is your dad now?"

"Six feet under I hope," she laughs. "I don't really know. I think he is dead as I am sure the news of me ranking up so quickly and becoming the first human Spectre would have gotten his attention. He would have come begging for money by now." Kolyat can only nod. "Look, there is a point I'm trying to make here. I know what Thane did ten years ago isn't forgettable. But it can be forgivable if you gave him a chance. I would swap my situation with yours when I was a kid. I would have hated my dad leaving all the time, but at least I knew I was loved when he did return."

"I... I shouldn't have been so hard on him. There are people out there who have it worse than me." Shepard nods, finally happy to see Kolyat was getting the bigger picture.

"Just give it time, Kolyat. Forgiveness will come to you soon enough," she says with a warming smile. "And if one day you do see me as your mother figure, I'd be honoured to be that. I know what it's like to miss out on love from family."

Shepard was expecting Kolyat to get angry, but he started to actually cry. He places his warm, large-scaled hand on her colder one. "Thank you... Shepard," he whispers.

"Anytime, kiddo," she smiles as she pats his hand.