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That bastard was on her ship. He was on her ship! Kaidan had sullied her baby by his presence. The moment the hatch closed on the loading bay, she stormed past him into the main hold of the ship, ignoring the sound of her name on his lips. Luckily the elevator doors had shut in his face before he'd had the chance to do anything more than look at her.
"Sonuvabitch!" she growled, storming onto the CIC toward the cockpit. Vega looked at her curiously as the blond whirlwind sped through the command deck, then shrugged his shoulders and followed.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me," she barked out, skidding to a stop behind Joker's chair, staring at the new incarnation of their AI. As Joker banked the ship sharply, dodging the debris of a good number of the Alliance fleet that littered the atmosphere and outer rim of Earth, James reached out to keep her upright so she wouldn't topple over. Grinning back at the thankful look she gave him, she then focused on what was outside the windows, relaxing only when they were in the clear.
"Yeah, shit's gone to hell since the Alliance retrofitted my baby. First they give EDI a body that so doesn't work with the mother image I had of her and then I'm stuck admitting Tight Ass on board. I wonder who he kissed up to for the rank of Major?" Joker groused, fingers flying over the board in front of him.
"I'm guessing you don't like the Major?" James asked as he looked between the husband and wife team.
"Fuck no, and right now that's all that will be said on that matter. I'm not about to get court-martialed just because he has his head shoved up his ass," Kara muttered.
"Pft, like that would happen right now, love? I mean look, the Alliance needs us to beat back the Reapers and they wouldn't take the chance of removing their best bet against this threat just because the Major has a hard on for you that he never lost."
"Yeah, well, still that's a story for another day."
"We could always drop him off on Horizon," Joker smirked. Kara laughed softly in his ear before nibbling on it, enjoying the little shiver it caused.
"How about locking him in a room with Jack? That ought to be interesting…"
Her words were cut off at the sound of a throat clearing behind them. Twin scowls turned toward Kaidan as Kara and Joker looked in his direction.
"Commander, I need to speak with you," Alenko stated, his eyes boring into hers.
"Later. I have business I need to attend to. Joker, plot a course to the Citadel. Let's see if the Council will actually believe us this time about the Reapers, now that we have vid footage of the nasties," she replied, turning on her heel after squeezing her husband's shoulder gently. Making her way back toward the elevator, she shrugged off the hand that caught at her arm.
"We need to talk, now, Kara," he said, his voice low enough that the others couldn't hear him.
"I told you I have business to attend to. It can wait," she reiterated as she stepped inside the elevator, pressing the button for the loft. Leaving him behind after being deposited on her floor, she walked to her room in enough of a mood that she ignored his presence behind her.
"As your commanding officer…"
"You might be ranked higher than me, Kaidan, but you're not my commanding officer. I am the commander of this vessel, therefore what I say goes." Her posture was stiff as she made her way further into the room.
"Damnit, just stop for a moment and listen! I tried to apologize. Why didn't you reply to that or any of my messages following it?" The anguish in his voice was thick enough to almost touch.
"Why didn't I reply? I didn't think your excuse for an apology deserved a response. Hell, after that I blocked your codes so I wouldn't receive any other communication from you."
"There was something between us, Kara. Don't deny it…" he began, trailing off as he noticed where she had stopped, almost bumping into her from behind. He looked down into the bassinettes that had been set up in between the couch and desk on the lower level into the peaceful sleeping faces of twin girls.
"Wh… What? Whose… Kara?" Kaidan stuttered as he watched her lift the babies and curl up with them into the corner of the L shaped couch, holding them close as tears slid down her cheeks. What she had seen down below… she needed to feel them in her arms.
"Say hello to Ashley and Davina Moreau," she whispered, pressing gentle kisses to each forehead. "When I told you I was in love with Joker, Kaidan, I wasn't lying. Hell, I'm surprised you didn't hear about the wedding through the Alliance grapevine, when you consider the fact that both Admirals Anderson and Hackett were there."
"I… gods. I'm so sorry Shep… Kara," he murmured, pain lacing his tone. His eyes zeroed in on the wedding ring on her finger, a soft sigh escaping him.
"You can still call me Shepard. Everyone still does since they're so used to it. But, Kaidan, realize that what you had hoped for, what you had imagined between us, it's not there. I belong to Joker."
"Damn straight you do," Joker muttered from the top of the stairs, glaring daggers at Alenko. At Kara's look, he curled up beside his wife and children, pulling them close. "Don't worry, Cortez is manning the helm. It's not like there's anything for me to do with the ship at FTL speed anyway."
"I… I should go…" Kaidan backpedaled toward the exit, the truth finally hitting home for him.
"Yes, you should," Joker growled. The moment the Major had left, Jeff rested his chin on Kara's shoulder and closed his eyes. The thought of losing her or the twins had left him shaking when he had seen the attack on Earth, knowing his wife had been in the thick of things without him nearby.
"I love you, Mrs. Moreau," he whispered in her ear.
"And I love you, Mr. Moreau," she replied, turning just enough to press her lips to his.