overflow/open

[projectlazarus]

voice ★ text ★ video★ action

CODE

Comments

[bigplace]

[ Kaidan has his suspicions about Shepard's current state, but it's not until Admiral Hackett hits him with a How's Shepard? to his comm in the middle of shopping that his suspicions are confirmed. On my way to check he replies with Spectre clearance so his message will go to the top of admiral's pile. Keep me posted is the nearly immediate reply.

He's not the only one worried about Shepard. That makes Kaidan feel better, less of a mother hen and more like he's onto something here, something important. No one could survive what Shepard went through after the London FOB and come back okay—and there's no shame to it. If he has to cook Shepard a steak every day so the man remembers to eat, that's just fine.

Bittersweet to remember all this cooking takes place in Admiral Anderson's kitchen. That too must be yet another weight on Shepard's shoulders nothing but time will help heal. ] Good. Be a shame if malnutrition finished what the reapers could not. [ Kaidan's field medic training kicks in as he quietly observes Shepard while unbagging everything on the counter—a bit peaky, the sort that comes from poor sleep and mental fatigue. This man needs a hearty home-cooked meal, stat. But first. ] Nah. [ He uncaps one of the beers, handing it over to Shepard. ] We're all famous now too. Had a man from Earth thank me for saving it. Said he didn't get to pull out his family in time, was worried sick in a colony he later had to evacuate. Said when he got back to Buenos Aires he found them all, hale and hearty.

That's why we do this job, isn't it? He asked me to thank you too. [ You matter, Shepard. ]

[projectlazarus]

( No one lives through what they've lived through and comes out unscathed. Shepard's just lucky that he did make it out. Period. Far too many people were lost to the reapears, a fact that would haunt Shepard for many years. He knows no amount of therapy will erase the idea that he could have saved more. At least he has accepted that despite this notion, he still managed to save a hell of a lot of people.

Kaidan's presence is enough to diminish those horrible thoughts. All of his crew got him through the war, but Kaidan? Kaidan kept his feet firmly planted on the ground. He had been with Shepard from the beginning. It's only fitting that they'd see this through to the end.

Even if it had been a close call. Even if there are some days when Shepard wonders if he really did die at the hand of the Collectors and being brought back to life by Cerberus was all just an attempt of his dying mind to make sense of it all.

Listening to Kaidan speak brings a smile to Shepard's face. He closes his eyes and lets his voice wash over him, focusing on the words, but also letting his mind drift. At least until he hears Kaidan's question - the message he's passing on from the man from Earth. )

Yeah, it is. It makes it all worth it, hearing stories like that.

( And Shepard means it. Even if there are some days that feel darker than others, hearing about those who survived, whose families survived, it makes it all the more easier for Shepard to get out of bed in the morning. )

Sounds like a miracle to me. Glad to hear you're getting as much credit, though. ( His smile falters slightly as his expression grows into a mixture of fondness and severity. ) I wouldn't have gotten far without you, you know?

[bigplace]

[ Hard to tell if Shepard's behavior is depression, dissociation, or if Kaidan's so distracting the commander's mind is elsewhere. You wish, Alenko.

Right. Better to focus on peeling these potatoes. Like hell they lived through that only for Shepard to eat MREs. Mess hall food might not be as bad as that, but it isn't much better. That crap will ruin morale. ]

Yeah, it does. [ Kaidan would brave hell itself if it meant civilians never got to experience war. It does him proud to have been part of the team that ended the Reaper War with a decisive win for humanity and all organic life.

So why, after that monumental victory, does he feel so lost? Listless, as if there's something (someone?) missing. Amber gaze fixated on Shepard, the answer is on the tip of his tongue—then it leaves him as Shepard's question hits him, fingers now occupied seasoning their rib eyes. ] Hard to take credit. You did the hard part, Shepard. Bringing people together under a common cause, getting them to fight for each other despite their differences...don't get me wrong, I'm a hell of a biotic [ Snort. ] but compared to that? Nah. [ Sounds more deprecating than he means to. Wants to correct it, explain he's not comparing himself to Shepard because he doesn't see Shepard as competition. Sees him as a brother-in-arms, someone he'd stick his hand into a thresher maw's mouth for. A friend. A... ] Before you ask—no. I didn't bring hot sauce.