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“Where’re we headed?”
A quick grin flits across Kaidan’s face, but he keeps his eyes on the road. “Some place I want to show you,” he replies. “It’ll be worth the wait. Trust me.”
Shepard settles back in the seat. Patience isn’t exactly his ‘thing,’ but after the mission they just finished, he’s willing to give it a try. And it goes without saying, he trusts Kaidan. With his life. “Just so long as there’s no geth.”
A soft snicker fills the air. “That, I can promise.”
The skycar speeds along the streets of Vancouver heading north. Time passes quickly enough; the scenery in late afternoon isn’t too bad for a metropolis of this size. Shepard figures wherever they’re headed is tied to Kaidan’s family – this is supposed to be a meet and greet of sorts with his parents – but when they veer east and bypass the classier high skyrises and apartments, he looks over in surprise. A sign flashes by indicating English Bay is to the west … “I thought your folks lived on the Bay?”
A smirk toys with Kaidan’s lips. “They do and the Bay is bigger than you think. But we’re not heading there just yet. We have another stop to make first.”
It’s another twenty minutes and some fancy maneuvering through heavy traffic in the center of Vancouver itself before Kaidan dips off the main highway and continues on city streets. The buildings are older here; not the sharp, clean lines of more modern construction, but reminiscent of more than a century ago. In a way, it reminds Shepard of home; of the darker, run down parts of the city where he and the Reds operated. This area isn’t quite as dark or run down, but once it gets dark …?
“Here we are.”
Pulled from his thoughts, Shepard watches Kaidan slide the vehicle into a single parking space with practiced ease. There’s barely enough room for the vehicle to fit, but he makes it work as easily as he tosses his biotics around during battle. “Damn,” Shepard mutters, a soft laugh of appreciation chasing it, “no wonder you hate it when I drive the Mako!”
Kaidan chuckles but says nothing as he exits. Shepard follows him out. Standing on the streets, the sun is out of sight as it sets, fallen behind several of the taller buildings in the area, but the sky is clear and the first hints of stars flicker. Street lights are flickering on at an uneven rate, but the light they provide is enough to see where they’re going.
“This way.”
Shepard follows him down the street, no more than a half block, to an old stone building sitting on the corner. There are a half dozen signs above the entryway, advertising everything from a dentist’s office to an after school tutoring clinic, but it’s the large sign painted on the window that catches his eye. K’s Kafe. Shepard pauses, a smile curling at his lip as he notices the delicate scroll work that decorates the letters. This isn’t some professional job; someone took the time to hand paint it. He can’t fail to miss the sign on the door that reads, “Closed for private party,” either. He gives Kaidan a curious look, but says nothing as they head inside.
The interior of the building is cozy; there’s no other word for it. No more than two dozen tables, candles and flowers arranged in the center of each. The main dining room is dark, but this doesn’t stop Kaidan who heads towards the back, through a doorway and a short hall, and then turns right. It’s obvious he knows the place, and Shepard wonders if he’ll ever get the full story. A larger, heavier door stands in front of them now. Kaidan pushes on it, opening the way into a large, professional kitchen.
Shepard isn’t certain what he expects, but finding a lone woman standing at an industrial stove singing at the top of her lungs as she cooks certainly isn’t it. Dressed in a flared skirt and an oversized sweater, her waist length dark brown hair is twisted into some sort of messy bun type style on the top of her head with a few loose wisps hanging free. Somewhere deeper in the room, music is being fed in, but it’s impossible to hear if it’s the same song as the one she sings. Not that she has a bad voice, he decides. In fact, her vocals are quite good, in his honest opinion, and she certainly could go up against any sergeant in Alliance uniform in a competition where they belted out orders. “Who’s that?” he hisses over at Kaidan.
Kaidan grins but doesn’t reply. Instead, he cups his hands around his mouth and bellows out loud enough for her to hear, “Ten hut!”
For half a second, Shepard waits for a yell, a scream, some sort of angry, vocal protest from her or an indication that she’s been startled, at the very least. Instead, he is transfixed as she grabs the towel tucked around her waist, seemingly to protect her clothing from the food, and tosses it without a backward glance directly at Kaidan. “Quit your grandstanding, and get over here and help me or you’ll be eating what burns!”
Amazingly, Kaidan hustles over, jumping forward without hesitation and grabbing the towel in the process. Shepard hasn’t seen him move that fast since … Well, maybe since never in the time they’ve known one another. Not even the rachni on Noveria or the husks on the Citadel got him moving so quickly. Shepard follows after him, a bemused smile on his lips.
Kaidan slides into place next to the woman, tossing the towel onto a counter nearby and reaching for one of the pans on top of the stove. Without so much as a question as to what she wants him to do, his hands start moving as if they just know. The pair work in silence together for approximately fifteen minutes by Shepard’s chronometer, at which point, the woman reaches over, flicks several dials to the right and wipes her sleeve along her brow. “Whew! Good timing there, K,” she says flashing Kaidan an easy grin and bumping her shoulder against his. “I thought I might have misjudged when you said you left.”
Kaidan steps back from the stove but leans over to press a quick kiss to her cheek. “Never,” he swears. “Shepard, I’d like you to meet Kandra – owner of K’s Kafe. Kan, this is Commander Michael Shepard.”
The woman turns and Shepard finally gets a good look at her … and his breathing stops. Her face is stunning, no doubt about it, but standing next to Kaidan, it’s impossible not to see the resemblance between them. The shock must show on his face, because Kandra grins and glances over at Kaidan. “You didn’t tell him?”
“Tell me what? That you are brother and sister?” he asks. “That’s kind of hard to miss when you stand right next to each other like that.”
“Actually,” Kaidan clarifies, his cheeks flushing just slightly pink, “we’re twins.”
“I’m the older one,” Kandra adds. “He’s the baby.”
“Twins?”
Kandra’s grin widens as she laughs, a sound as lilting, musical and enticing as her singing voice. “Go on,” she tells Kaidan, shooing him out of her way and in the direction of the door, “go sit down. I’ll bring the food out and we can talk while we eat.”
“Sure you don’t need extra hands?” he asks.
“I’ve got this!”
Hands up in surrender, Kaidan backs away from her then turns and leads Shepard out into the main dining area. He pauses near the bar and opens a small refrigerator where he grabs three bottles, then leads the way to a small back area that’s out of sight of the main windows. Here, the table is larger and there are enough chairs to seat a half dozen people. Two candles are lit, there’s a small vase of simple wildflowers, and there are place settings for three. Kaidan sets a bottle next to each plate then gestures at the table. “Take your pick,” he says.
Shepard grabs one of the end seats, allowing Kaidan and his sister to sit next to one another. Kaidan takes the middle. By the time they’re seated and the bottles are open, Kandra arrives. She has a large serving tray balanced using her left hand and shoulder. Shepard starts to rise to help, but she waves him off. “I’ve got it,” she assures him, then deftly transfers the large platters of food to the table. Once finished, she takes her seat and grabs her bottle, lifting it into the air. “To jobs well done,” she says, grinning at them both, then takes a long sip.
They clink the bottles together, Shepard and Kaidan echoing her toast, and follow suit. Setting hers aside, Kandra points at the various platters of food, identifying each. Shepard’s belly rumbles softly. Although a biotic and his caloric intake is higher than most people, he’s still not used to seeing so much food on the table for just three people. Even with Kaidan being biotic, there ought to be enough left over to feed a small family for several days …
Shepard frowns as Kandra starts serving up the food. “Twins you said?”
She grins at her brother. “He catches on quick, doesn’t he?”
Kaidan rolls his eyes. “Kandra isn’t overly fond of the Alliance,” he explains. “You’ll have to excuse her insubordination.”
“It’s only insubordination if you wear the uniform,” Shepard replies immediately. His eyes travel back to Kandra who is now filling his plate with healthy helpings. “I’m guessing you’re a biotic too?”
Her head tilts a little as she looks across the table at him. Kaidan seems to catch on, however, as he says, “I think he’s concerned with how much food you made.”
“Ahhh. No worries there,” she says, the grin back in place. “What we don’t eat will go to some of the tenants where I live. Eat up – as much as you like. If I need to, I’ll make more to take to them.”
The evening settles into a comfortable exchange of stories over good food and drink. Shepard learns a bit about the Alenko children in their early years. Kaidan apparently took up hockey at a young age and because of their twin connection and she didn’t want to be left out, Kandra insisted on playing as well. Turns out, she was a fair goalie, and he a decent defender. There are also stories of exploring the lands out around the family orchard in the BC Interior, of getting caught miles from home in treacherous thunderstorms and arriving home well past dinner to be scolded by Mom for looking so disheveled and not having finished their homework ahead of time.
But the tale that catches Shepard’s attention most is one he knows only one side of.
“Our biotics manifested within weeks of each other,” Kandra explains, her voice more subdued due to the nature of the topic. “Him first; me second.”
“I thought I might end up at Jump Zero without you for a while,” Kaidan admits before taking a sip of his beer.
Kandra shudders. “You likely would have had Nikki Evans not come between us.”
A heavy silence falls into place, even Shepard feels the weight. “Who is Nikki Evans?” he asks.
“Classmate at the time,” Kaidan explains. “She –.”
Kandra shakes her head. “Nikki Evans rode the same bus as us. As me, I guess.” She exchanges a quick look with Kaidan. “They’d already transferred him out of school by that point; I was alone. Anyway, she didn’t know how to shut her damned mouth, and started giving me grief about my brother and how he was being sent away because he was a freak. She had it on good authority – that being of her nosy biddy of a mother who ran the local grocery in town – that ‘people like him’ were nothing but trouble and he’d never be allowed back in this town again.”
When Kandra goes silent, Shepard watches Kaidan reach over and take her hand, patting it gently. “It’s okay,” he murmurs.
She shakes her head. “No, it isn’t … but thank you for saying so.” To Shepard she adds, “Basically what happened is I lost my cool and suddenly I’m hitting the back wall of the bus with my back and Nikki is running as far away from me as she can screaming. The bus driver hit the brakes, Nikki went flying and ended up with a broken nose as her face collided with the front end. I was tossed halfway up the bus and landed on top of two other kids whose names I don’t remember. They started screaming and the bus driver about lost it. Called for parents to just come get their kids. By the time Mom showed up, Kaidan with her, a group of other parents were waiting. Nikki was taken away – like I said, nothing worse than a broken nose, just bled a lot – and I was treated like a bloody criminal.”
“We all headed back to the orchard and waited for Dad to get home,” Kaidan says.
“A few weeks later, Kaidan and I were escorted by Conatix and Alliance personnel to Vancouver and trundled onto a one way shuttle to Jump Zero.” Kandra downed the last of her bottle and rose to her feet. “Anyone want another?”
Shepard glanced over at Kaidan who shrugged. “Sure.”
“I’ll take one, too.”
She returned a couple of minutes later, deposited the bottles and sat back down, noticeably calmer. “I’ll assume he’s told you about BAaT?”
Shepard nods. “I know what happened.”
Sighing, she sits back in her chair. “I’m guessing by your reaction to finding out we’re twins; he didn’t tell you what happened afterward.”
“Just that he enlisted.” Shepard sips at the cold drink. “No mention was ever made of you.”
Kandra rises, walks around and stands behind her brother, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Giving him a hug, she murmurs, “You can stop protecting me now, you know. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
One of Kaidan’s hands rises and pats her arm. “I promised not to mention you by name within Alliance circles,” he replies. “I’ll keep that promise, no matter what you say.”
Shepard frowns. “What does the Alliance have to do with it?”
As she retakes her seat, Kandra shrugs. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Other than Kaidan chose to enlist and I didn’t.”
The frown deepens. “And that’s a problem?”
Sighing, Kaidan shakes his head. “Only to our parents and maybe a handful of people within the Alliance.”
Shepard is confused, and he’s sure it shows on his face. Kandra gives him a smile of understanding. “After we got home from Brain Camp, Mom and Dad suggested we both enlist with the Alliance,” she explains. “The only ‘safe’ place for biotics, as far as they’re concerned, is in the military. At least there, we’re acceptable, we have a purpose. Out in normal society? Not so much. That started almost from the moment we both got home. Problem was, I didn’t want to enlist. After Jump Zero, I wanted nothing more to do with the Alliance or Conatix. I never asked for this power, but at least I knew how to control it enough most people wouldn’t figure out I was one.”
“I wasn’t ready to make that choice yet, either,” Kaidan adds. “But we couldn’t go back to the orchard; not yet, anyway, because of people like Nikki Evans and her family.” He sets his half empty bottle onto the table and folds his arms across his chest. For the first time since meeting him, Shepard sees a very dark look settle across his face. “For a time, we stayed in Vancouver with Dad. He was only here during the week, spending weekends out at the orchard with Mom. Sometimes she’d come into town, too.”
Using her finger, Kandra starts tracing invisible patterns on the table. “I finally couldn’t take the constant nagging anymore,” she admits. “And Kaidan was tired of every interaction between me and Dad turning into a shouting match. So, we both packed up and just … left. Middle of the night.”
Shepard thinks back to the conversations he’s had with Kaidan. Never before has he mentioned what happened during those five years. “Where did you go?”
The twins shrug at the same time, glance over at one another, and then softly laugh. “It’s been a long time,” Kandra murmurs.
Kaidan reaches over and squeezes her arm gently. “It has been.” To Shepard, he says, “We had enough money between us in our savings accounts to head to the colonies,” he explains. “We’d stay in one place for a while, save up money, then move onto another.”
“We did that for five years.” Kandra blows lightly at a few wisps of hair that fall into her face. “It wasn’t easy, and we ran into our share of trouble along the way, but – .”
“But it was worth it in the end,” Kaidan concludes. “During that time, Kandra learned a lot of the ins and outs of running a business as well as how to cook in a variety of styles. We came back, bought the café and the rest, as they say, is history.”
Shepard gives them both a respectful nod. “What about your parents?”
“We let them know we were back,” Kaidan says, “and I stopped by to see them before I enlisted, but some things don’t ever change.”
“I see them occasionally,” Kandra explains. “Big holidays, of course. If Kaidan comes home, I’ll sometimes go over for a while to see everyone. They’ve even been known to stop in here for lunch once in a while, but we don’t really have time to talk.”
She glances between the two of them, curiosity building. “How long will you be here this visit?”
“About a week,” Shepard replies. “We’ve earned a bit of shore leave.”
“I’ll say,” Kaidan echoes.
“Got a place to stay tonight?”
Kaidan sighs. “Kan, this is more than enough,” he insists, gesturing to the empty or nearly empty plates surrounding them. “I’m not going to put you out any more than –.”
Rising with a knowing grin, she winks over at Shepard. Again, she walks over to him and hugs him. “I could have lost you in that battle, you know,” she tells him, the most serious tone heard this evening lacing her words, “and I wouldn’t have known it until it was far too late. This is a little thing. Humor me.” She presses a kiss to his crown before releasing him. She grabs a few of the empty plates, stacks them back onto the carrying tray, and heads in the direction of the kitchen. “And in the morning, I’ll make breakfast.”
Kaidan sighs, part exasperation and part simple brotherly affection. “Waffles or pancakes?”
Shepard senses some deeper significance behind this exchange, but he can’t quite figure it out. He finishes his beer while the twins stare intently at one another.
At the doorway, Kandra looks back at him, a cheeky grin curving her lips as she opens the door with her hip. “Waffles, what else?” Then she ducks inside before he can reply.
“What did I miss?” Shepard asks.
Kaidan shakes his head as he stands up and grabs a couple of plates that still have food. “Nothing,” he replies. “Absolutely nothing.”