Chapter Text
“Remember, Dr. Shepard is presumably somewhere among the colonists, so watch your shots!”
Maggie had never been so happy to hear Alenko’s voice.
“Last I heard from her,” Joker said over the comm, “she was holed up in the freighter in the middle of the colony. Said she was going radio silent to keep her position as long as possible.”
“Understood. Alenko out.”
She was safe for the moment, but if any of the colonists had an ounce of sense left, they’d hack the lock, and then she’d be done for.
It had all happened so quickly. One minute, she’d been chatting with Ledra about the places he’d been, the types of things he thought were most valuable to sell. The next, the colonists had swarmed her. She’d kicked and fought her way through them, running for the only cover she could find, ducking into one of the rooms in the downed freighter.
As she huddled in the corner farthest from the door, she could hear the rattle of guns firing, though she had no idea who was shooting. She’d heard bits of conversation over the comms before the team had returned to the colony, so she knew Alenko had a nerve gas that would stun the colonists, assuming he intended to use it.
The gunfire gradually faded until it stopped altogether. For too long, a deafening silence filled the space before the comm crackled to life.
“All clear.”
Maggie listened to Alenko giving instructions to Williams, Jenkins, and Garrus, but stayed where she was. She couldn’t move, couldn’t find her voice to even respond when he asked her where she was, if she was still alive.
“Dr. Shepard?” He paused, sighed. “Maggie, please. I need you to unlock the door of the room you’re in.”
Still, she didn’t move—she’d been in this scenario too many times now. “Prove… prove you’re you.”
Silence on the other side of the door before her omni-tool went off, a message from Alenko:
I’d never told anyone about how my biotics manifested the first time, not even my mom or the kids at Brain Camp. The only people who know that story are you, me, and my dad.
It was another couple of minutes before Maggie finally got to her feet and slowly crossed the room. She called up her biotics before she unlocked the door. Just in case.
They faded the instant the door opened and Alenko stepped into the room. He wrapped an arm around her and guided her to sit on one of the crates that lined the wall.
“Are you all right?” He opened the scanner on his omni-tool. “What happened?”
Maggie shook her head. “I don’t know. It was all… it happened so fast. Like a switch flipped in their brains. One minute, we were just chatting, the next I was running for my life. Again.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“They gave up looking after awhile, I think. I heard Joker yelling about them attacking the docking tube.”
Alenko nodded and stood up. “We were radio silent for awhile, not by choice, but his message about the colonists attacking the ship was what spurred us to come back.”
Maggie ignored the hand he held out to help her up, instead focusing on his face. “Are they… are they okay?”
“I don’t know. They’re not dead though, if that’s what you meant.”
“Okay. Good.”
“Are you okay to go on? Physically, you appear relatively uninjured aside from a few scratches. But if it’s too much…”
“No, I’m okay.” She finally took his hand and stood. “I want, I need to see this one through.”
“Fair enough.”
She squeezed his hand but didn't let go. “Thank you.”
“Don't thank me yet. We're not out of the woods yet.”
“No, I mean… Thank you for being, well, you, I suppose. For indulging me when I asked for proof before I opened the door.”
He nodded but said nothing else, only gestured with his free hand toward the door. She gave him a faint smile and followed him, their fingers still intertwined.
They were halfway down the corridor when the comms crackled to life.
“Skipper!” Williams said, panic evident in her voice. “We’ve got a situation out here!”
Another voice, farther away, sounded determined, defiant, though their exact words were unintelligible.
Moments later, a single shot rang out.
“Williams! Jenkins! Garrus!” Alenko shouted into the comm as he all but dragged Maggie to the nearest exit.
“We’re all right,” Garrus said. “It was Fai Dan. The Thorian was trying to make him kill us. He defied it and killed himself.”
Alenko swore. “Where are you?”
“Right outside the freighter.”
They pushed through the outer door at the far end of the freighter and found Williams and the others standing over the body of Fai Dan.
Alenko shook his head with a sigh. “Did he happen to tell you how to get to the Thorian?”
Garrus stepped over to a console several feet away and typed in a sequence. The ground rumbled before the middle of the freighter lifted, revealing a set of stairs leading into darkness.
“Well that doesn’t seem ominous at all,” Williams quipped. She turned to Maggie. “You coming with?”
Maggie nodded even as her heart thundered, threatening to burst through her armor.
Alenko gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand before he let go and took point as the group descended into the space below Zhu’s Hope.
“Let’s end this so Fai Dan will not have died in vain.”
Maggie groaned as she slid down the wall to slump on the ground. She’d never been so exhausted in her life, and certainly had never used her biotics for such a long stretch of time.
The fight against the Thorian, its creepers, and asari clones had been brutal. But they’d finally defeated the giant plant, and freed the asari who had been the template for the clones. Shiala, one of Benezia’s former acolytes, had told them of boarding Sovereign with Benezia, a failed attempt to lead Saren down a different path. Shiala herself had been sacrificed to the Thorian in exchange for a cipher that allowed Saren to understand the message from the Eden Prime beacon.
She had then mindmelded with Maggie, as Liara had done, to give her the Cipher as well. It still made little sense, but Shiala had assured her that in time, the message would become more clear. In the here and now, however, the meld had only drained Maggie of most of her remaining energy. She wasn’t sure she’d be walking of her own volition back to the ship.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” Maggie gave Alenko a weak smile as he crouched in front of her. “Hell of a day, huh?”
“Yeah. You okay?”
She nodded. “I think so. Not injured anyway, just… drained. I guarantee Aunt Karin’s gonna have a fit.”
Alenko laughed. “That so?”
“Don’t tell her I called her that within earshot of anyone.”
“Scout’s honor.” He stood and held a hand out. “Let’s get you back to the ship.”
Maggie took his hand with a grateful smile, allowing him to do most of the work of getting her back on her feet. She stumbled and braced her free hand on his chest. “Sorry. A bit…”
Her words trailed off and she sucked in sharp breath as she looked up to find him staring at her. The look in his eyes was unreadable but not unkind.
“Should get you back to the ship now.”
She laughed breathlessly. “You said that already.”
“You gonna make it?” His arm tightened around her waist almost imperceptibly as she wobbled. “You look like you’re gonna pass out at any second.”
“I’m fine,” she said, even as a wave of dizziness came over her. “Oh. Nope, I think I need to sit again.”
He helped her sit on one of the larger vines strewn about the space and crouched in front of her again. “If I had to guess, you’ve got low blood sugar from the fight, and the mindmeld couldn’t have helped.” He glanced away a moment as Williams called his name. Turning back, he took a protein bar from a pouch on his belt and pressed it into Maggie’s hand. “I’ll be right back.”
She ripped into the packaging and ate slowly, watching Alenko— Kaidan one part of her brain insisted—as he talked first with Williams and then Arcelia, the presumed new leader of Zhu’s Hope. The latter seemed equal parts grateful and wary, happy to be free of the Thorian’s influence but perhaps wondering if Fai Dan had actually taken his own life or if he’d been “helped.”
Maggie finally felt the effects of the protein bar, her mind clearer than it had been all day. She pushed herself up from the vine and went to talk to Shiala.
“I wanted to thank you,” she said as they stood in an out-of-the-way corner. “I know none of this could have been easy for you. And while I still don’t have a fully clear picture of the message from the beacon, it’s getting there, I think.”
Shiala smiled. “I’m glad. I didn’t want to cause you more pain and suffering, but without the Cipher, you’ll never be able to stop Saren.” She sighed. “I just wish all this hadn’t been at the expense of innocent lives.”
“And Benezia. She was a good person, and she was able to overcome the indoctrination for a few minutes at the end.”
“I’m relieved to hear that. I only wish my sisters had had the same fortune. We were with her for so long, it feels like a part of me is missing without them.”
Maggie nodded. “I didn’t know her long, though I suppose in terms of human lifespan, it was quite awhile. And though it was years ago, I still feel her influence. I regret that I never reached out much after she left.” She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. “What will you do now?”
“I don’t know. If they’ll have me, I’d like to help the colonists to rebuild. Beyond that, I have no idea.”
Maggie glanced over Shiala’s shoulder, seeing Kaidan and the others walking toward them. She smiled and put a hand on Shiala’s arm. “Keep in touch, okay? Let us know you’re doing all right.”
Shiala returned her smile and nodded. “I will. And good luck.”
“Yes, Dad, I’m fine.” Maggie sat cross-legged on one of the cots in the med-bay. “Just a little tired is all. It’s been a long day.”
Karin had just about had kittens when she heard everything that had happened on Feros, especially after Liara had done an additional mindmeld once they returned to the Normandy. She and Kaidan and Maggie would sort through all of the information, including what Benezia had provided in her last moments of clarity before she died, and hopefully come up with a viable gameplan to stop both the Reapers and Saren.
“‘Just a little tired’ was not how Karin put it,” her father said. “She made it sound like your brains were on the verge of turning to mush.”
Maggie rolled her eyes. “Honestly, I’m fine. She’s probably peeved at me for letting an asari mindmeld with me, again. It could also be payback for all the times you bugged her and David during those 15 hours after Eden Prime.”
“I was worried!”
“I know, Dad.” She raised an eyebrow at the figure standing in the doorway of the med-bay. “Gotta go. Looks like I’m about to have a miniature war council. Love you.”
“Love you too. Keep me posted. Hackett out.”
Maggie turned her attention to the doorway. “What can I do for you, Commander?”
“Commander, huh?” Kaidan walked over and settled on the adjacent cot. “What’s it gonna take for you to use my first name?”
“How’d the call with the Council go?”
He seemed to brush past her attempt at dodging his own question. “About as well as any of them have gone.” He shrugged. “They’re not happy about us destroying the Thorian, or that it was in aid of a human colony.”
“But—”
“Yes, you and I, and everyone else on this ship, knew it had to be done. And deep down, the Council probably realizes it too. Maybe if we'd gone to Feros first, they wouldn't have made such a fuss, but that piled on Benezia's death and the destruction of the Prothean ruins on Therum…”
Maggie nodded. “True. They seem to think you're only after saving humans, likely think if Feros had been a turian colony, you'd have passed right by.”
“Ridiculous, but an accurate assumption.”
“So what now? You want to call in Liara? She's probably finished at least some of the data compilation.”
Kaidan shook his head with a laugh. “Are you always this determined to work after an exhausting day?”
Maggie shrugged. “Sometimes. Keeps my mind occupied.”
“Fair enough. Anyway, that can wait. We have a small diversion while we wait for any more possible leads.” Kaidan hopped off the bed and held a hand out. “Are you stuck here or are you free to leave?”
“I can leave whenever. Just quieter in here than most anywhere else on the ship, good place for a vidchat.” She quirked an eyebrow as she regarded his outstretched hand. “Are we going somewhere?”
“Have you eaten?”
“Nothing solid since the protein bar.” She gave him a small smile. “Thanks for that by the way. It really helped, even if it was disgusting.”
Kaidan laughed. “Yeah, they haven’t made an edible protein bar yet. Somebody should get on that.”
“Definitely.” Maggie gave him a mockingly stern look. “This isn’t going to be a repeat of a few days ago is it? I don’t want to end up back here yet again.”
“Cross my heart and—”
She put a finger to his lips. “No, don’t. That thought doesn’t need to be put out into the universe.”
He nodded, pressed a kiss to her finger and took both her hands in his and pulled her off the cot. “I promise, I won’t…” One hand still clasped in hers, he put his other hand at the small of her back, guiding her out of the med-bay. “Come on, hopefully there’s something edible left in the mess.”
Maggie only hummed in agreement, mulling over the events of the last few minutes. Her thoughts returned to those she’d had during the kitchen fiasco. Was Kaidan flirting with her? Worse, was she flirting with him? Why did she not mind it?
And why the hell had she suddenly started thinking of him only as Kaidan instead of Alenko?
The answer hit her like a raging Krogan.
Oh.
Well, shit.
“You okay?”
She blinked, startled to find herself standing outside Kaidan’s quarters. She nodded. “‘M fine. Why do you ask?”
Kaidan squeezed her hand. “Just wondering if I, or more specifically my door, had done something to piss you off lately?” he asked, a hint of a laugh in his tone. “You’ve been glaring at the lock for the last minute and a half.”
“No, just stuck in my own thoughts, I guess.” She frowned. “Wait, I thought we were going to the mess.”
“We were. Joker gave me a look that said ‘this is poison’ and flipped off his food when we passed through.”
Maggie laughed. “That bad, huh? Whatever shall we do now?” She turned and narrowed her eyes at Kaidan. “If you even think the words ‘protein bar’...”
“I’d never do that to you, outside of combat.” He lightly pressed against her back as he reached around to open the door. “Should be something good in my fridge.”
“You… have a fridge. In your quarters.”
“Of course.” As if it was the most natural thing in the galaxy. He winked as he gently pushed her through the doorway. “You've never had a mini fridge as a bedside table?”
She shook her head with a quiet laugh. “Never crossed my mind.”
Fridge aside, Kaidan's quarters hadn't changed much since the last time she'd seen it except a few more personalized accessories, practically luxurious compared to when it had been David's—he’d had a picture of himself and Kahlee on their wedding day, one of Maggie and her father at her doctorate ceremony, his personal terminal, and little else.
Kaidan’s Star of Terra joined numerous pictures scattered across the desk, as well as articles pinned to the wall above it. Maggie scanned the articles, blatantly ignoring the ones regarding Elysium, and then picked up one of the framed pictures.
“My parents at their orchard,” Kaidan said as he walked over with two plates, both bearing large cold-cut sandwiches, a beer under each arm. He handed one of each to Maggie and gestured to the table near the door. “Best I could do at the moment; I hope you like ham and turkey.”
Ravenous as she was, Maggie ignored her sandwich and nursed her beer for a while, her thoughts still distracting her. It was so strange, all of it. In only a couple of months, she’d gone from avoiding Kaidan at every turn, speaking to him only when necessary, to cooking with him, to sharing a meal with him, alone. She’d gone from reliving that day on Elysium every time she looked at him, to only occasionally having nightmares about the worst of it, to enjoying being in his company, to falling for him.
It was infuriating, like everything about him, but it all felt so natural, like this was where she was meant to be.
When she finally looked up from her beer, she wasn’t at all surprised to find him studying her. She put her beer down and held up a hand when he started to speak. “I’m fine. Just… thinking. It’s been, well… you of all people know how long it’s been. The past couple of months have been weird, to say the least. Not only because of getting my brains scrambled and chasing down Saren and all that. But because of this.” She gestured between them. “Us.”
“Us?” Kaidan raised an eyebrow and grinned as Maggie felt a flush rising from her collar to her hairline. “You’re adorable, y’know that?” Scooting his chair closer until their knees touched, he took one of her hands in his. “I’ve thought a lot about us too, in a pipedream sort of way. Given how much you’ve understandably loathed my very existence for almost eight years.”
“Not entirely understandable,” Maggie said, avoiding his gaze. “It’s not like you killed John yourself. And it’s not like I was the only one who lost someone that day.”
“No, but I ended up being the ‘face’ of the Blitz, so I get it. And I’m sure you’re not the only one who’s hated me since then either.”
“Suppose so.” She finally met his gaze again. “And for the record, I’ve never hated you .”
“Oh, no, just my name, my face…”
“No, I never hated your face.” She pressed her thumb and forefinger together. “Maybe a little. At first.”
“And now?”
“Definitely not.” She chewed her bottom lip. “I… damn, why is this so hard?”
He leaned in ever so slightly but not enough to crowd her. “I’m in no rush. If you want to put a pin in this and come back to it later…”
“No. Unless you do. But… It’s time. Long past time. John’s probably been banging his head against a cloud wall for ages.” She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. She didn’t need John’s ghost haunting her right now. “Kaidan…”
“Hm?”
She blew out a long slow breath, looked him in the eyes and smiled. “Kiss me.”
He reached out to trace a thumb along her jaw, slowly closing the distance between them, but stopped just short, as if he was waiting for her to make the final move. She paused for only a moment before she leaned in, closed her eyes, and their lips met.
Any lingering doubts Maggie had vanished in an instant. She wrapped an arm around Kaidan’s shoulder, pulling herself ever closer even as his hand slid from her jaw to her neck and shoulder and down to her waist. Wrapping his arm around her, they attempted to move together without breaking the kiss, shifting so she sat on his lap.
Fate, and Joker, had other ideas—Kaidan’s chair tipped over backwards just as the comms crackled to life. Maggie attempted to lessen the impact with a small biotic barrier; the last thing she wanted was to have to explain to Karin why they were in the med-bay, yet again.
Clearly ignoring Joker’s attempts to get his attention, Kaidan made no move to get up, instead pulling Maggie on top of him as he brushed hair out of her face. “Hey.”
She grinned and leaned down to kiss him. “Hey yourself.”
“Hey, Commander?” Joker coughed loudly. “I’ve got the Council—”
“Tell them to call back later,” Kaidan mumbled around the kiss. “I’m in the middle of something right now.”
“Ugh. Are you… please tell me you’re not… wait are you kissing someone? Is that what we’re doing now?”
“You are doing nothing of the kind, Jeff Moreau,” Maggie said, breaking the kiss to muffle laughter in Kaidan’s shoulder.
“Ugh. Too much information, Mags. Anyway, I don’t think you’re gonna want to miss this, Commander. It’s another possible lead on Saren.” Just before the comms shut down, Joker laughed and said, “Pay up, Williams!”