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The doorbell rings. I glance at the clock to find it's only 7 am. Shepard groans next to me.
"What time is it?"
"7. It seems Traynor is early." She snuggles deeper into the blankets.
"You should probably get that." It's my turn to groan.
"Oh come on, it's your meeting."
"Too bad, I'm a cripple. Looks like you're the one who has to get out of bed." I glare at her, but her eyes are still closed. I'm a bit of a grump in the mornings until I get some caffeine in my system.
"Fine," I say, "but you're going to have to get up too. I can't hold the meeting for you." She scoffs.
"Traynor is three hours early. She can make herself comfortable in the den for a few hours while I sleep. Why don't you let her in and then come back to bed?"
"That is a wonderful idea," I say, giving her a kiss and getting out of bed.
"Oh, and Kaidan? Put some pants on. No need to make her rethink her sexual orientation." I pull on a pair of sweatpants and stumble towards the kitchen to turn on the coffee maker. On the Normandy my days started at five with a quick workout, a shower, and reporting for duty at six, but life with Shepard in recovery runs at a looser pace. Not to mention I kept her up past three last night. The doorbell rings again as I flick on the coffee pot.
"I'm coming Traynor!" I yell. I make it to the door with my eyes half closed and open it before checking who's on the other side. "You're early," I say, rubbing my eyes. "Shepard says she's not getting out of bed yet, so-" I have got to start checking the vid screen. Standing in front of me isn't Traynor with a datapad, it's my mom with tears in her eyes.
"Hello Kaidan. I'm sorry it's so early. I had hoped you might be up."
"Oh my God, Mom!" I step forward and wrap her in a big bear hug. "I can't believe this! How did you get here?" She looks slightly overwhelmed and I remember she's never been off world before.
"I took a shuttle. I managed to get a hold of your Admiral Hackett and he helped me find where you were staying. This place is amazing, by the way," she says, her wide eyes taking in the scope of our apartment.
"Yeah, it was a gift to Shepard from our prior C.O." Speaking of which, I'm sure Shepard's waiting for me to crawl back into bed. "Mom, why don't you have a seat by the fireplace? I'll be right with you." She nods and goes to take a seat while I activate the intercom. "Hey Shepard, I'm not coming back to bed. I figure since I'm already up I'll get in a workout or something."
"Okay baby," replies her sleepy voice. "Have fun."
"Get some sleep babe." I can practically hear her rolling her eyes as I switch off the intercom. Last night, during our rather extensive amorous activities, Shepard discovered my definite approval of her using pet names. She's even agreed to let me try calling her a few too, albeit reluctantly. I like it though. I guess it makes me feel more like a normal couple instead of one who struggles to catch a few hours together between missions. I sit down across from my mom and take her hands.
"Mom, I'm so glad to see you!" She smiles warmly at me.
"I'm happy to see you too Kaidy." I roll my eyes.
"Come on Mom, don't call me that. I really don't want Shepard deciding it's the perfect new nickname." Her smile fades slightly.
"So you're living here with her?"
"Yeah, she's upstairs sleeping. I'd go throw on a shirt, but I don't want to wake her."
"You're sleeping in the same room?" I struggle not to sigh. I had forgotten what a traditionalist my mother is.
"Yes Mom, we're sharing a room. Is that going to be a problem?" She pastes on a smile. God bless her, she's trying.
"I'm sorry Kaidan, of course not. However you want to live your life is perfectly fine with me. I'm just so glad to see you alive." The coffee maker beeps and I get up to get a cup.
"Want some coffee?" She laughs.
"I caught you before your morning coffee? I'm surprised you were able to speak instead of just grunting at me. Sure, I'll take a cup." I get out a second mug for her, fill them both, and return to the living room.
"Not that I'm not thrilled by it, but what are you doing here Mom? The Citadel isn't exactly in the right shape for tourism at the moment."
"Well, I... I came to bring you home." I raise an eyebrow.
"Bring me home?" She looks a bit uncomfortable, but determined at the same time.
"Yes. The house in BC is still standing, with it's own working generator and the running well, so there's no reason not to come back. Besides, with your father still missing the house seems... a bit too big for just me. And I had heard that there's no stable power or water up here. Though it seems that this apartment is doing fine."
"Yeah, since Shepard saved the entire galaxy from the Reapers they're trying to make sure she recovers in comfort."
"Recovers? Recovers from what?"
"That's right, I forgot they're not making that part public knowledge. When she defeated the Reapers she got caught in the collapse of the Council Chambers. She was buried under a few tons of rubble for three days and was very badly injured. She can't walk and her biotics are... let's just say unstable. The neural pathways in her brain are out of sync and her L-3 implant needs readjusting. She's been doing physical therapy and can walk short distances, but she's nowhere near what she was before."
"And what was she before?"
"The most unstoppable Vanguard I've ever seen. Come on Mom, you must have heard something about her. She is Commander Shepard after all." My mom smiles.
"I've heard a lot about her publicly. They were calling her the last hope for the galaxy, and it seems they were right. The only source I haven't heard much about her from is you." I blush.
"Well, after the destruction of the first Normandy it was too painful to talk about her. After I found out she was alive we had a huge fight and I didn't want to talk about her. And it's not like we've been able to talk much since the Reapers invaded, Mom."
"And now? Why don't you tell me about her now?"
"Okay," I say a bit awkwardly. "I can do that. She was born on Mindoir-"
"Not her biography Kaidan. Like you said, she's Commander Shepard, I've heard all that already. Tell me about her." This is a new experience for me. Plenty of people have asked me about Shepard, but this is the first time anyone's asked about my Shepard.
"She's beautiful, which, if you've ever seen a picture of her you already know. She's smart and brave, but those are obvious. She has long hair that gets in her way a lot, but she can't bring herself to cut it, which is why it's always up in that bun. She's sarcastic, always up for a laugh. She gets drunk on girly drinks and challenges anyone nearby to an arm-wrestling match." I stop and smile. "She's pretty amazing."
"What's the age difference between the two of you?"
"I'm three years older, though Shepard will tell you five. She claims when Cerberus rebuilt her they rebuilt her at 29, so she didn't age those two years," I say with fondness. My mother's eyes go wide.
"Cerberus?"
"It's a long story Mom." She just nods her head slowly and takes another drink of her coffee.
"What does she like to do? How does she spend her free time?" I laugh.
"She doesn't have much free time. Let's see, she likes old romantic movies, claims she can cook, although I've never seen any proof, and always cleans everyone out in Skyllian Five."
"It sounds like you really love her."
"Yeah, I really do."
"Although she doesn't sound very domestic." I choke on my coffee.
"No, domestic is not a word I would use to describe Shepard."
"That's all right. I'll teach her all she needs to know when the two of you come back home with me." I must have misheard that.
"When we what?"
"Well, I wouldn't dream of asking you to leave her here! You should probably go wake her. We can be home by this afternoon if we hurry."
"Mom, I'm sorry if I have in any way made you think I'm going to be going back to Earth with you. I'm not." She looks at me in shock.
"Why not?"
"Kaidan, can you come give me a hand down these stairs please?" calls Shepard from the upstairs.
"Be right there! Mom, just stay here for a second. Let me go help Shepard and then we'll talk about this."
Kaidan and I have a deal: if I'll use that stupid chair out of the apartment I don't have to use it while I'm here. This, of course, leads to a lot of him carrying me around, but he doesn't seem to mind. I watch him come around the corner from the living room.
"Good morning sleepy-head," he says with a smile, climbing the stairs and picking me up.
"Good morning Major," I say, leaning in for a kiss.
"You must be the great Commander Shepard," comes a voice from behind Kaidan. I look at the woman the voice came from in confusion.
"And you're not Traynor."
"No, she's not. Shepard, this is my mom. Mom, this is Shepard."
"Pleased to meet you," she says, a bit uncomfortably. This is not how I planned on meeting my future mother-in-law for the first time. For one thing, I was planning on walking instead of being carried by her son.
"Kaidan, put me down!" I hiss. He sighs.
"At least wait until we're off the stairs." Without waiting for an answer he jogs to the bottom and sets me on my feet. I'll take what I can get.
"Mrs. Alenko, it's a pleasure to meet you," I say, striding towards her with my hand outstretched. Striding is a bad idea. I'm not being as careful as I need to be, causing me to trip over my own feet and fall. Kaidan catches me before I hit the ground. I smile at him gratefully. "Thank you." He helps me stand and I try again, this time with Kaidan holding my hand as I walk. Kaidan's mother hasn't said a word, as if she's not quite sure how to handle this situation. When we reach her I drop Kaidan's hand and reach out to shake hers.
"Let's try that again. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Alenko. I'm Angel Shepard." She bypasses my outstretched hand and grabs the other one, staring at my ring in shock. Her eyes fly to Kaidan.
"You're engaged?" He gives her a grin and a nod.
"Yes, we are." Her face breaks out in a smile wide enough to match his.
"Congratulations!" she says, giving first him and then me a hug.
"When's the wedding?" Kaidan glances at me, then back at her.
"We haven't really talked about that yet."
"Personally," I cut in, "I'd like to have it before we ship out again, but not so soon I can't actually walk down the aisle. So... five months?" I ask, looking at Kaidan. He gives me a soft smile.
"Five months sounds perfect. What do you think Mom?" he asks. The smile that was so bright on her face a moment ago has dimmed.
"Shipping out? I guess that's the reason you're not coming back home with me." I raise an eyebrow at Kaidan.
"Home?" Kaidan opens his mouth to speak, but his mother cuts him off.
"Yes, I had come to collect Kaidan only to find he doesn't require collecting. You must be getting tired standing there, let's all go have a seat." She turns and walks into the living room.
"Kaidan," I whisper.
"Hmm?"
"If I'm going to have a surprise meeting with your mother right out of bed I'm really going to need some coffee first."
"On it," he says, helping me to the couch and then heading into the kitchen. He returns with a mug and sits down beside me.
"So, where will the two of you be headed?" she asks.
"I really don't know," I say. "But we're still Spectres, and the Council needs us, now more than ever."
"Of course," she says, staring into her coffee mug for a moment. Then she shakes her head slightly and looks up with a smile.
"So, when can I expect my first grand-baby?" I spit my coffee across the room while Kaidan chokes on his. She bites her lip. "I'm guessing that's another thing you haven't really discussed yet."
"Mom, you are killing me here," mutters Kaidan and I see her attempting to stifle a smile.
"Okay, how about wedding plans? Any ideas on location, Angel?"
"Well, Mrs. Alenko-"
"Call me Annie."
"Okay... Annie. I haven't really given it much thought. I'm better equipped to mod a pistol than to pick out flower arrangements." Her eyes light up.
"Stop me if I'm being too presumptuous, but how would you feel about me planning your wedding?" she asks cautiously before rushing on. "We could have it at the house in BC. You would have final say on all decisions of course, but I could provide the leg work. What do you think?"
"Annie, I think that sounds like an amazing idea, but a lot of work. Are you sure you wouldn't mind?"
"Not at all! Kaidan is an only child, so I don't have any daughter's weddings to hijack. Besides, it might help me take my mind off Paul."
"Who's-"
"My dad," says Kaidan softly. I'm spared the need to respond by the doorbell. Kaidan gets up and checks the vid screen. "It's Traynor."
"Of course it is. Who else would it be?" I ask.
"You'd be surprised," says Kaidan as he opens the door.
"Good morning Major," Traynor chirps as she walks through the door. "I trust you've had your coffee."
"Yep, and so has Shepard, so you should be safe."
"Wonderful," she says, but stops short when she sees us in the living room. "Oh, I'm so sorry Ma'am, I didn't realize you were already in a meeting. I must have gotten the time wrong, I can come back."
"Wait, Traynor. Come have a seat. This is Annie Alenko, Kaidan's mother. Annie, this is Samantha Traynor, my communications specialist. She handles all my messages, meetings, and appointments. Basically, if there's someplace I need to be, something I need to do, or someone I need to talk to, she reminds me of it. Traynor, Annie will be planning my wedding-"
"Oh thank God. We all thought you'd end up eloping. Cortez and Vega are accepting bets on the timing of it, actually."
"Is there anything those two won't bet on? Never mind, I don't want to know. Anyway, I assume that wedding planning involves lots of messages, meetings, and appointments, yes?" Annie nods. "So then the two of you will be getting very well acquainted. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get something to eat before tackling the Normandy crew situation."
"And I need to head back to Earth. I have a lot to do and only five months to do it in."
"Hold on Annie, let me get my shuttle pilot over here. He can take you straight to your doorstep."
"Good idea Honey," says Kaidan, putting a plate of scrambled eggs on the coffee table in front of me. I glare at him.
"I'm vetoing 'Honey.'" He laughs.
"Yeah, I don't like that one either." He kisses me briefly before walking his mom out to the shuttle pad, calling up Cortez on the way. I smile at their retreating forms. Our first meeting went much better than I expected.