The ride back was silent; uncharastically so. It seemed to Kaidan that Kacey had a lot on her mind; as always. She had refused to look either of them in the eye since Kaidan spoke to her, and he wondered why.

The shuttle entered the shuttle bay effortlessly; the bay doors closed as the trio hopped out, only to come face to face with the rest of the squad; it made sense. Kaidan hadn't told any of them where he and Kacey were going and neither did Garrus.

"Commander, where the hell have you been?" James asked, his voice laced with concern, "Seriously did you—Kaidan? You went too?"

Tali scoffed, amused, "Of course he did. Those two are joined to the hip."

"As is Garrus." Liara added, "You shouldn't have gone out there."

"Don't start with them." Kacey spoke up before Kaidan and Garrus could respond, "I was going down there regardless. They only went to make sure I was okay."

"You shouldn't have left either." James pointed out, "Admiral Hackett's been trying to contact you for hours. Kaidan too."

"I thought so. I'll handle that." Kacey mused before sighing, a look of guilt and sincerity on her face, "But first, I owe you all an apology."

Everyone shot Kacey a look of confusion; Kaidan wasn't exactly sure what had brought this on, until Kacey spoke again.

"I was angry and I took that out on all of you." Kacey continued, "I shouldn't have but that doesn't excuse it. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Tali said, "I understand."

"So do I." James added, "I think we all do."

Everyone nodded in agreement; Kacey seemed relieved by the squad's response, "Thank you. Now, I should probably go talk to Hackett."

"Sounds like a good idea." Kaidan said with a snicker.

"Laugh it up." Kacey smirked.

…

"I…can't believe it. They were turning refugees into husks?" Liara asked, despondent.

"It seems on brand for them to be honest." James mused, taking a swig from the bottle.

"You say that like it's a good thing." Kaidan mused. James choked as he registered what Kaidan had said, shooting a worried look at the biotic.

"I didn't—"

"Relax, James I know what you meant."

"Someone's been spending too much time with Kacey." Garrus quipped.

The Lounge had never been livelier than it was right now; with most of the squad taking the time to relax while Kaidan and Garrus filled them in on their discoveries on Horizon. The squad was taking it about as well as Kaidan thought they would; horrified but not surprised.

"Get lost, Garrus." Kaidan scoffed.

Garrus smirked, "You didn't deny it."

"Of course he didn't." Kacey said with a smirk as she entered the Lounge, "Because that would mean he's lying."

"Hey, Kacey. Take it, the admiral gave you another lecture?" Kaidan asked.

"Yep. But it's nothing I haven't heard before." Kacey replied, before cocking her head to the side, "Hey, is Tali okay?"

"Oh Kacey…hey." Tali said in a sing-song voice, "Wanna drink? I'm toasting Miranda…I think."

"What the..?" James mused.

"Tali, how are you getting drunk?" Kaidan asked.

"Verrrry carefullly." Tali replied, her words slurred, "Turian brandy. Triple filtered, then introduced into the suit through an emergency induction port."

"That's a straw, Tali." Kacey replied as the room filled up with snickers from the squad.

"Emergency induction port. It's actually getting a little harder to get it into the slot. I think that means it's working…she was soooo rude. What did Jack call her? 'Cerberus cheerleader'? With her perfect genes, and that attitude and…and still she gets it done. She stopped her father."

"I didn't realise this would be so hard on you." Kacey replied sympathetically.

"I didn't like her." Tali said with a little hiccup, "Keelah, she was such a bitch. But I respected her. Sometimes that's better than liking. She did whatever it took to stop her father. She never gave into him. Never changed herself to please him."

"Ah."

"Don't 'ah' me. You sound like vorcha."

"Seeing a bit of yourself in Miranda fighting her father?"

James shot Kaidan a confused look, "Did I miss something?"

"Don't question it." Kaidan replied as Tali sighed.

"I spent my life trying to live up to him, then making up for his mistakes, doing what he would have wanted." Tali replied.

"It's never that easy." Garrus sighed.

"When do we get to stop reacting to our parents and start living for ourselves?"

"The answer to that one is at the bottom of that glass." Kacey replied, folding her arms.

Tali lifted her glass, struggling to hold it steady, "Here's to Miranda. Nice job, you genetically perfect Cerberus cheerleader bosh'tet. Keelah se'lai!"

Kaidan choked as James burst out laughing; Tali didn't seem to acknowledge it as she continued to drink. Kacey, however, caught the group's attention as she spoke up.

"So I've actually got some news to share." Kacey said.

"Are we raiding Cerberus HQ?" James asked.

"Kind of." Kacey replied, earning her confused looks from the group, "Hackett agrees that we need to take Cerberus out of the war, however it'll take time for the Alliance to reconvene and plan the attack. Since the Normandy never finished undergoing its retrofits, we are on shore leave until further notice."

"What? But what about—?"

"Is this because of Sanctuary?" Kaidan asked.

"No. It's not a punishment." Kacey responded, "The CBT has be wrecked since the Suicide Mission and even Traynor admits that Normandy needs work done. Plus, we've been working hard non-stop all over this galaxy, so this is our chance to get some rest."

"Why does that sound so…final?" Garrus mused.

Kacey sighed, "Hackett thinks that, once we take out Cerberus, the Reapers will launch another massive offencive. Once we take out Cerberus, we're going straight for the Reapers."

"Holy shit." James mused.

"So this could be our only chance to stop the Reapers." Kaidan mused, "And our last chance to do things with each other."

"Potentially." Kacey replied as a bleak silence hung in the air, "Which just means that we have to make the most of it. Joker's already flying us towards the Citadel."

"It's nice to get a break from the fighting." Liara mused, "How long?"

"About a month. Maybe more." Kacey mused, "No idea to be honest. Anyway, I've got to go."

"Can't you stay for a drink, Commander?" James asked; Kacey shook her head.

"No, I've got a few reports to write up before we dock." Kacey replied, "Enjoy."

Kacey left swiftly, leaving the group in the Lounge alone. Tali giggled as the door closed, absent-mindedly singing as the group continued to chat about the upcoming shore leave. Kaidan could understand their excitement, but the sudden announcement left Kaidan wondering why they were put on the sidelines. Even if the Normandy needed those repairs, surely there was something they could be doing.

He took his leave without the rest of the squad noticing and made his way to the Captain's Cabin. As he entered, he could see Kacey typing away at her desk, her brow furrowed as she tried to focus on the task in front of her.

"Paperwork, huh? You always hated doing it." Kaidan mused.

"Yeah but it needs to be done." Kacey sighed, "But that doesn't mean it won't kick my ass."

"Need a hand?"

Kacey smirked, "Just like old times, huh?"

"Why not? It'll make all of this easier." Kaidan said, taking a chair up towards the desk, "So, what is this one about?"

"Just a report on what we know on Cerberus; their defences, their strategies, that kind of thing." Kacey mused, "I've covered most of the basics so far."

"Assault Troopers, Centurions and Guardians." Kaidan replied, "Okay, so the next one would be Nemesis."

"So far I've got that they're snipers."

"You could also put down that they're useless at short range." Kaidan added, "And that concussive shots work well against them."

"Okay, fair enough." Kacey mused, "Now Phantoms; stick to long range and don't let too close."

"Barriers are fragile and their swords have electric capabilities."

"Noted." Kacey said, typing it on the report, "However, I get the sense that you didn't come all the way up here for paperwork."

"Okay maybe I do have another reason for being here." Kaidan responded, "You don't seem as thrilled about shore leave as everyone else."

Kacey scoffed, "Is it that obvious? I'll be honest, going on shore leave and waiting for the end? What if I mess this up? What if we fail?"

"You won't mess it up. You'll pull through, as always." Kaidan said reassuringly, "Besides, this is a chance for you to collect your thoughts and refocus."

"True. Not to mention, maybe we can actually do what normal people do and go out for once." Kacey replied.

"Like a…date?" Kaidan asked.

"Why does it sound so weird when you say it like that?" Kacey snickered.

"Don't know. Probably because we're the furthest thing from normal." Kaidan laughed.

"Fair. So, are we going to finish this or…?"

"Yeah, let's." Kaidan replied, "So who's next?"

"Atlas mechs, got any suggestions?" Kacey asked. Kaidan smirked as looked over the terminal, adding information as Kacey typed away.