A/N: Thank you starrdancerr for the favourite. I hope you're enjoying the story so far.

Kaidan didn't know what to do. One minute, he was helping to set up the bomb and the next, over a dozen geth troops began to flood into the area. He tried to hold them off; Kacey, Garrus and Tali had gone to rescue Ashley from the AA tower, where she was pinned down along with some of Commander Kirrahe's men. She hadn't been gone long; she left about five minutes before the geth troops started to pour in.

"Heads up LT!" Ashley said through the comms, "We just spotted a geth dropship heading to your location."

Too little, too late. The ship was hovering above him, with several geth fighters dropping down into the area below.

"Its already here!" He replied, shooting down a geth rocket trooper, "There's geth pouring out all over the bomb site."

"Can you hold them off?" Kacey's commanding yet calm voice ringed through the comms.

"There's too many! I don't think we can survive until you get here. I'm activating the bomb!"

He had to. There was no other choice. No matter what, that bomb had to go off. He knew that, and Kacey did too.

"Alenko, what are you doing?!" Kacey shouted, "Kaidan?!"

"I'm just making sure this bomb goes off!" He replied, "No matter what! It's done Commander! Just go get Williams and get the hell out of here!"

"Screw that!" Ashley shouted, "We can handle ourselves! Commander, go back and get Alenko!"

Kacey was oddly quiet, leaving Kaidan wondering what she was going to do.

"God dammit!" Kacey shouted, "Alenko, radio Joker and tell him to meet us at the bomb site! That's an order!"

"Yes…Commander…I…"

He didn't expect that choice. He didn't anticipate Kacey coming back for him. He couldn't understand it. Maybe it was his own emotions getting the better of him?

"You know it was the right choice, LT." Ashley said.

"I'm sorry Ash." Kacey said, "I had to make a choice."

"I understand, Commander." Ashley replied, "I don't regret a thing."

…

"I can't believe that Ash didn't make it." Kaidan said as he waited in the comm room with Kacey, "How could we just leave her down there?"

Kacey looked over at Kaidan, her expression unreadable, "Williams knew the risks going in. She gave her life to save the rest of us."

It was a vague answer. A standard answer. But not the one he was looking for.

"But why me?" Kaidan asked, "Why not her?

Kacey looked him dead in the eye; for the first time, Kaidan noticed how…bright blue her eyes were. They were like little, sparkling sapphire gems, shinning in the light.

"I'm sorry, Kaidan." Kacey said, "I'd never leave you behind. I couldn't. You know that."

"I know, and I am grateful. But Ash died because of me. Because of us."

"Don't blame yourself, Kaidan. It wasn't your fault. The only one to blame is Saren."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll—we'll get it done."

…

Kaidan awoke suddenly, nearly jumping out of the bed. As he got his bearings, he remembered the conversation both he and Kacey had the previous night. He was still processing what Kacey had told him; the dreams seemed to all reference the Collector base in one form or another, always had a younger version of Kacey in them and all involved someone either dying or the dead. To Kaidan, it seemed that Kacey was more concerned about the squad's welfare than he initially thought.

He looked over to find the scarlet haired commander resting her head on chest, sound asleep. He had his right arm still wrapped around her, both tucked under a blanket. She seemed so calm; not like she was the previous night. Kaidan didn't want to disturb her, instead opting to get more comfortable on the bed.

He thought about his dream and wondered what Ashley would've thought about them being together. He remembered when she used to tease him about having a crush on Kacey, and how obvious it was. She had even told him once to make a move quickly because she had suspected that Liara had also taken a romantic interest in Kacey; hell, Kaidan had even asked Kacey about it. And Kacey's response? It made things clear:

"I'm not interested in Liara like that, Kaidan. I've got my eyes on someone else. Someone…closer to home."

But him being him, he didn't see it like that. Looking back, it was clear that Kacey was flirting with him a lot. But to him, it didn't seem that way. He was too worried about making a mess of things to even consider what Kacey was saying. And now? Things were so much clearer.

He was brought back to reality by a knock on the door. Kaidan remained quiet; the first deck didn't get a lot of traffic, mainly because Kacey's cabin was the only room on the floor. He didn't know who was at the door, but he didn't want to wake Kacey up either.

"Kacey? Kaidan? Are you there?"

"Garrus?"

"Yes? It's just me."

"Come in."

As the turian entered the room, Kaidan gestured to the turian to keep quiet. The last thing he wanted was Kacey to be woken up, especially given how exhausted she was. Garrus sat down on the nearby sofa on the side closest to the bed, leaving Kaidan wondering what the turian sharpshooter wanted.

"How did you know I was here?" Kaidan asked.

"Come on, we both know you weren't sleeping down on the Crew Deck since you and Kacey got back together." Garrus said, smirking, "You didn't after Ilos, remember?"

"Yes, I remember."

"Anyway, I noticed that Kacey wasn't in the med bay and Doctor Chakwas mentioned she woke up and that you took her here. How is she?"

"She's okay, just got an injury on her thigh that Chakwas says should heal before the next mission. If she rests, that is."

"I see. And I assume that's what's been keeping you busy the past several hours?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Kaidan said smirking, "Not that I'm complaining."

Garrus couldn't help but laugh, "Now, it really is like old times, isn't it?"

"Definitely." Kaidan replied, "It's good to be back."

"Good. Because the Normandy doesn't feel the same without you."

"Good morning, Kacey." Kaidan said, "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No." Kacey yawned, "I just…woke up. Are we at the Citadel yet?"

"Not yet." Garrus said, "We'll be there soon."

"Mmm, okay."

"How are you feeling?" Kaidan asked.

"Better than last night, that's for sure."

"And your injury?"

"Still stings a bit, but I'll be fine."

"Good, cause you had Kaidan going crazy for a couple of hours there." Garrus quipped.

"Laugh it up, Garrus." Kaidan laughed in response.

"Now it's like old times." Kacey said, smiling, "Just the three of us, taking the mickey out of each other and having a good laugh."

"Was this before or after you drove through a Mass Relay in a tank?" Garrus said, "Because I remember you thought that we were crazy think you were crazy for doing it."

"Both. And you're still not letting it go? That was three years ago!"

"And I'm convinced it took three years off Kaidan and I's lifespans."

"Agreed." Kaidan said, smirking.

"Speak for yourself, I personally didn't mind it. We did have a galaxy to save after all." Kacey said, turning to face Kaidan, "Speaking of crazy shit, we could go over the next part of the story, if you want."

"Sure. Why not?"

"How far long in the story are you?" Garrus asked.

"We just finished the part when Thane joined us, Garrus." Kacey said.

"Oh, so it's Liara and the Shadow Broker next?"

"Yep."

"Wait, wait." Kaidan said, "Liara and the Shadow Broker?"

"Did you ever wonder how Liara became the Shadow Broker?" Kacey smirked, sitting up.

"A little bit."

"Do you want to stay for this one Garrus?" Kacey asked.

"Why not? I could use a distraction." Garrus smirked.

"Okay, so after we brought Thane aboard, Garrus and I went to see Liara." Kacey said, "And Garrus was going to apologise."

"Yeah, something like that." Garrus quipped, "Did you tell Kaidan about…?"

"Yeah, she did." Kaidan said, "I've spoken to Liara about it already."

"Okay, just making sure."

"Anyway, we went over to her apartment." Kacey said, "And we got a lot more than we bargained for, as usual…"