Chapter Text
Kaidan Alenko's favourite part about being away on an assignment was always coming back home to his two favourite girls. Despite it being ten years since the end of the war with the Reapers, he couldn't find it within him to give up the Alliance completely.
Spectre Garrus Vakarian had taken over command of Normandy as he and former Commander Faith Shepard had long given up her own adventures to raise their daughter.
The little girl had been a complete surprise, arriving in their lives just after what would have been their original wedding day. A project of Cerberus, who used tissue taken from a child they had conceived together the night before Ilos. Kaidan had never known about the pregnancy, and Shepard had died, assuming that was the end of that chapter.
A rival group called Vita Nova had set out to destroy any and all biotics, claiming that a powerful child like theirs could be the downfall of all humanity.
It had almost cost Shepard her life to save Aurora from their clutches, but she had survived. With the new threat abolished, they were able to get married and begin their new life together.
And what a life they had. Kaidan had surprised her with a house on Vancouver Island, desperate to give her a sense of security and a home as she'd never experienced it before.
His new assignment had him out helping the new colony on Horizon. It had been abandoned for years, no one had wanted to stir up the ghosts of all those who had perished when it was deemed Sanctuary, a cover for horrible experiments on people desperate to flee the Reapers.
It had taken three years, and Kaidan was tasked with overseeing the project's final stage. Although there was no galaxy-wide threat now, both the Reapers and Leviathan were gone for good, no one wanted to be unprepared, so they had defences installed as standard.
His job as a General within the Alliance meant that he got to pick and choose assignments, but the horrors of Horizon still haunted him. Even though it had been nearly twelve years, he could still hear the screams of the colonists as they were stung and frozen. Kaidan could still vaguely remember watching as others around him were scooped up and taken to a ship that looked just like the one that had destroyed the Normandy SR-1.
Due to his biotics, whatever effect the bugs had on him managed to fade quite quickly, and the first thing Kaidan had done was try to find those who were being taken.
Kaidan definitely hadn't been prepared to run into Shepard. It had been looking at a ghost, at what he had lost when she died.
“General Alenko.”
Breaking free of the memory, he looked to the Corporal, who was desperately trying to get his attention. He had stepped straight off the transport with his holdall and made a beeline for Vancouver HQ.
“Sorry,” he murmured.
“I said you're clear to go through, sir,” the younger man said with a nervous smile.
Thanks to his Spectre status and the fact that he was married to Faith Shepard, his name was almost as well-known as hers. Kaidan found there weren't many places they could go without being recognised.
“Thanks, Corporal,” Kaidan said with a soft smile and then stepped through the other armed soldiers.
Although it was a time of peace, after Vita Nova had managed to launch a covert attack, security remained high. No one dared to take for granted that they were not at war, but they never wanted to be caught unaware ever again.
Kaidan knew this route off by heart; he and Shepard had walked it constantly on and off over the past few years. He could hear raised voices as he approached the large room. The door was open, and he discreetly peeked his head inside.
At the front of the large classroom stood a slightly younger woman, one or two streaks of grey marred her red hair, and the students were hanging on her every word.
“Now, I trust you've all read your copies of “Beyond The Stars” or at least read the prologue,” she stated, looking over at one of her students. “Mr Monroe, I'm looking at you.”
The boy with blonde hair just gave a grin, easing back in his seat. All her students were aged between thirteen and fourteen, at that difficult age where they were learning who they were and trying to navigate the range of thoughts and feelings they were beginning to experience.
Other students laughed. Kaidan leaned against the door frame with a small smile.
“Has anyone got any initial thoughts on the book?” she asked.
A few hands were raised, and she pointed over at a girl.
“Yes, Bree.”
“I don't think it's realistic that a man like Major Andrews was willing to give up everything because he fell in love with an Asari like Feyna.”
“Not realistic?” the teacher asked.
“The period it's set in was like really early on, and people were still afraid of aliens,” she continued. “So Andrews and Feyna were met with disgust and hatred.” The girl shrugged. “It doesn't seem like it would be worth his reputation to fall in love with her.”
“But they didn't let that stop them,” another voice said from way in the back. Kaidan followed the source of the voice, and he practically beamed as he spotted his daughter, Aurora Shepard-Alenko. She was tall for her age, with dark, long hair like her mother's, yet her eyes were similar to her father's. It had been a few months since she turned fourteen, and he still couldn't believe that he had a teenage daughter. “If anything, it just made them even more determined to be together.”
Bree turned around to look at Aurora as she spoke. “No one asked you,” she retorted.
“Bree,” the teacher admonished. “You know I always encourage discussion in my classroom.”
The other girl's shoulders sagged a little more, and then she offered Aurora an apologetic look. “Sorry.”
To Kaidan's ears, it seemed false, and he looked back at his daughter, who was just glaring at the other girl. Sometimes, Shepard claimed that she struggled to see herself in their child, but she had nailed her mother's look of disgruntlement perfectly. Even after ten years of marriage, Kaidan still backed down if his wife gave him that look.
Aurora ignored the apology and looked at her teacher. “My mom told me that nobody ever fell in love without being a little brave,” she stated, remembering how she had told her that when she asked about the relationship between EDI and her godfather, Jeff Moreau.
Kaidan smiled softly when she said that.
“Didn't your mom also kill a bunch of Batarians?” Bree retorted.
Her expression changed drastically as she mentioned that darker time in her mother's history.
“And she faked her death so she could have you,” another boy added, speaking of the story that had been circulated when everyone found out about Aurora's existence. Fearing people would alienate her if the truth about her conception came to light, Shepard had lied and said that Cerberus had forced her into forgetting about the pregnancy.
“No, she worked for terrorists, and they made her forget,” a girl added. “The same ones who helped stop the Collectors.”
The teacher was quickly losing control, and Kaidan could see it in the way she frantically raised her hands, her eyes darting between all of them.
Aurora didn't know any of this, only what her peers knew or, in some aspects, didn’t know. Kaidan could only watch as she seemed to shrink in on herself. “Stop reading the extranet, Tommy,” she retorted. “It's rotting your brain, well, what's left of it.”
“That's enough,” the teacher said, raising her voice a little. “All of you.”
No one dared breathe, let alone speak. Although she was their teacher, she was also an Alliance officer and someone not to be messed with.
Kaidan decided it was time to make his presence known. He straightened up and took a few steps inside, acting like he had only just arrived. He rapped his knuckles against the wall; his ring finger emitted a faint blue glow, as he and Shepard had wedding bands made from a mineral that interacted with their biotics.
He gave a small smile when all turned to face him, jaws dropping in awe as they spotted Humanity’s second Spectre standing in their classroom.
“General,” the teacher greeted. As this was the beginning of a new semester, she had yet to meet either of Aurora's parents personally. Both he and Shepard tried to maintain as much distance as possible with Aurora, as he didn’t want their reputations affecting her. All of a sudden, she was flustered and turned to her class. “Class, what do we say to General Alenko?”
As if rehearsed repeatedly, in unison, they said. “Good afternoon, General Alenko.”
All except Aurora, who had straightened up in her seat, practically vibrating with the urge to leave her seat and greet her father.
It still felt weird being greeted in such a manner, and even more bizarre that he had a class full of students doing the same. He was no stranger to being in a classroom as he had spent four years teaching biotics.
“Thanks for the warm welcome,” Kaidan said with an easy smile, acting like he hadn't heard some of the teens saying horrible things about his wife. “You can relax, this isn't an inspection.”
“How can we help you today, General?” the woman asked softly, moving a little closer and fiddling with the sleeves of her shirt.
Aurora thought it was completely gross that people could act this way around their parents. They saw them in a different light than her, amazed by their antics a decade ago and utterly enamoured with how they looked. To her, they weren't Spectres or people who had saved the galaxy; they were just Mom and Dad.
Kaidan sought out his daughter. “I was wondering if you could spare Aurora for the rest of the day. I just got back from an assignment and I haven't seen her for a while,” he said quietly as he leaned in, flashing her a smile for good measure.
The older woman's cheeks flushed, and Aurora felt like rolling her eyes. Her mother could be quite jealous and would have punched the woman for being so obvious, especially in a room full of kids.
“I don't see the problem with that, General,” she said with a smile of her own. Kaidan stepped back and then looked over at Aurora. “Aurora, gather your things, you have permission to leave early to spend time with your father.”
All eyes turned to her as she slid her datapads into her bag. Grabbing her jacket from the back of her seat, she stood up and approached Kaidan. As she manoeuvred around the desks, she was met with false niceties. Students told her to have a good day and that they would see her tomorrow, obviously being nice to her because her father was here and trying their hardest to get noticed by him.
“Bye, Aurora!” Bree exclaimed, smiling and waving as if they were best friends, despite having been horrible about Shepard.
Aurora ignored them as she finally reached her father. He took the bag from her and offered a wider smile to her classmates as they continued to play along.
“See you tomorrow, Aurora,” the teacher said enthusiastically. “Lovely to meet you, General.”
Kaidan offered her a polite smile and then led Aurora out.
As soon as they were out of the room, she practically launched herself at him and hugged him tightly. Kaidan wrapped his arms around her and lifted her slightly, swinging her gently and sighing deeply.
“I missed you, Daddy,” she whispered.
Kaidan smiled softly when she said that. Even though she was growing up, she was still his little girl, and he loved her with all his heart. Reluctantly, mindful they were still in the corridor, he set her back down and then smoothed back her hair. “Missed you, too, sweetheart. You okay?”
Aurora nodded a little too quickly. A habit that she shared with her mother, pretending everything was completely fine even though the world was falling apart.
“I heard some of the things they were saying about mom,” Kaidan added, giving her an opening to talk if she needed to.
Dark eyes glanced back at the classroom as she took a step back and pulled on her coat. Tugging her long hair free of the collar, she scowled. “They're just being Bosh’tets,” she murmured.
Kaidan frowned. “Hey, language,” he said softly.
“They don't know what that means,” she retorted, using her vast experience around multiple species to her advantage.
“No, but I do. And Aunt Tali wouldn't be impressed with you mouthing off like that.”
“No, she'd give me a medal,” she shot back immediately with a grin.
They started walking, but he just shook his head. A strong woman had raised Aurora, and many strong women surrounded her, so he knew that she could handle herself. However, it also made her just as stubborn. “Aurora,” he said, his voice low.
Recognising the tone in his voice, she looked down at the ground as they walked. “Sorry, Dad,” she murmured. He could see that she was genuinely remorseful, and as a parent, he knew it was his job to worry; however, with Aurora, it was so much harder.
She'd had a traumatic time when they finally rescued her; she'd seen her “papa” Jack Harper and her caregiver Zalira, an Asari matriarch, slaughtered in front of her. It had taken a lot of time to help her forget those memories, and she was also a powerful biotic thanks to him and Shepard.
The teenager had exceptional control over her abilities, and they suspected she wouldn't need an implant to harness them like him and Shepard. Unfortunately, being so attuned to them meant that when she lost control, it could be catastrophic, and she inherited her mother's temperament.
“Let's get home to Mom. She been okay while I was gone?” Kaidan asked, setting his holdall and Aurora’s bag down as they cleared security. He passed through with a smile.
“Mom’s been…mom,” she answered as she stepped through the detector.
The alarms set off loudly. Kaidan’s eyes went to the screen, as did the two corporals on the desk. One craned his neck to look as a full body scan of Aurora flooded the screen.
There sat a metal plate embedded in her wrist from where she had broken it attempting to fly with her biotics when she was younger, as another kid in her class had asked her if she could do it. Stubborn, she hadn't told her parents she had hurt it and concealed the injury until a few days later, when it had swollen to almost twice its size.
Due to the nature of the fracture, it had already begun healing, and she'd required surgery to fix it. However, due to the complexity of the break, they'd to use old-school methods, and they had inserted a titanium plate and screws.
“You're clear to continue, Ms Alenko.”
Even though her full name was Aurora Shepard-Alenko, they found it easier to address her as Alenko as it was less of a mouthful. Her school work had her full name, but in class when registering, she was known as Alenko.
Aurora continued through and reclaimed her backpack; she spared a look for her father. “Can't they just calibrate it to ignore the metalwork?” she asked quietly. “It's not like it changes or anything. What do they think I’m gonna do? Bomb the place?”
Another trait inherited from Shepard was her dark and bizarre humour.
Kaidan wasn't certain how this particular system worked and didn't have an answer for her. “If they did that, they might miss something vital,” he murmured as they stepped outside to the large sky car parking lot.
The clouds were grey, and it was a little chillier than usual. Kaidan pulled his jacket around him a little tighter and escorted her to their blue sky car.
“No one has dared launch an attack since Vita Nova stole the Catalyst,” Aurora murmured, her tone casual.
Those words made his blood run cold. Aurora had no idea of her involvement at that particular time. The truth was that Vita Nova had kidnapped her in an attempt to control the Catalyst. Still, as with everything else, Javik and Liara had helped remove the more painful memories, effectively blocking them out.
If he and Shepard had their way, they would have erased both names from history, but they were taught alongside everything when school kids learned about the Reaper War.
“Never say never, sweetie,” Kaidan finally said, turning to check that she had her seat belt on and was secure. He looked ahead with a frown as he powered it up. “Never say never.”
****
Adjusting to a far more domestic life, at least for the most part, had been challenging for Shepard. She looked down at the giant hairball in the middle of the kitchen floor. It was ginger and wet, and she knew precisely who was responsible.
“Lieutenant!” she said, her voice rising a little as she sought out the suspect. A pair of golden eyes looked out at her from beneath the kitchen table. She sighed as she grabbed some tissue and cleaned it up. “I suppose you didn't do it on the carpet.”
Crouching down, sensing that her anger has disappeared. The orange ball of fur rubbed up against her, purring contentedly.
“Ahh, Mango, what are we going to do with you?” she whispered, using the other hand to scritch his head.
Lieutenant Mango was the oldest of their two cats and was the fluffiest creature she had ever seen. His long fur was well-groomed, but that also meant it came with an excessive amount of hairballs.
A tiny bell rang from above, and their second cat arrived, having heard all the commotion. The tuxedo cat sat majestically on the counter, bright green eyes staring down at her. She was chaos and the wildest of the two.
“Commander,” she murmured.
Her tail thumped against the side, then she let out a quiet meow.
Commander Whiskers was a few years younger, more chaotic, but just as loving with the right person. Her whiskers were full and lush, and she was such a pretty cat.
Aurora had been responsible for the names. Kaidan found it hilarious. Shepard hadn't been able to argue with both sets of rich golden eyes.
“No, Whiskey,” she said, her voice a little firmer. “It's not dinner time yet.”
The black and white cat straightened up, tail pointing in the air, and she leapt from one side to the other, where the window was. She ducked her head, ears going back as she listened.
Although she had never had pets before, Shepard had learned to trust their instincts, and it meant someone had arrived. Considering how remotely they lived, someone couldn't just stumble upon their house.
Standing up, she tossed the tissue aside, and Mango followed her as she went to see what had upset Whiskers.
Their skycar had arrived back home, which meant Kaidan was back. Even after being together for so long, she still experienced a knot of excitement whenever he returned home. Shepard consulted the time and realised that Aurora would be at school for a few more hours, which meant that she could welcome him home in style.
Shepard, accompanied by both cats, ran out of the kitchen and into the living area. A giant fish tank full of creatures from all sorts of worlds lived together in harmony. Thanks to Ashley Williams taking control of the Reapers, the resources to complete the tank were finally available. It was the final piece of their home, and it had been perfect.
That was of course until five years ago when they adopted the two dickheads currently trying to trip her up.
Pausing to check herself in the mirror, she looked down at the shirt and sweat pants, at her long brown hair that hung limply in a ponytail. Had she known Kaidan was coming, she would have made a greater effort.
The man was home four days early, not that she was complaining.
Shepard sighed and realised he had seen her looking worse. She ushered the cats back inside then closed the other door so they couldn't escape, not that they'd run off but she didn't need Mango getting dirty as trying to bathe that fucker was scarier than facing the Reapers or Leviathan, and she had the scars to prove it.
With them secured away, she opened the door with a bright smile.
It faltered a little when she saw Aurora heading up the path, as Kaidan had obviously picked her up while he was in Vancouver. Leaning against the doorframe, she folded her arms, and the smile faded into something a lot softer.
Being a mother had been a daunting experience, especially as she hadn't had time to prepare for it. It had been a learning curve for both of them, but now Aurora was fourteen, she reasoned they must have been doing something right. With her backpack slung over her shoulder, she walked alongside her dad and smirked when she spotted her mother.
“What have I told you about accepting rides from strange men?” Shepard asked, her tone casual, but she was visually checking Kaidan over.
Despite his assignments being routine, there was always the constant worry that something could go drastically wrong or that the peace they had experienced over the last decade would somehow slip away. Her nightmares of dying over Alchera, of being lost in the dark due to Leviathan, had been replaced by far mundane ones. She dreaded the day a man in Alliance uniform arrived at the door with a folded flag, announcing that war had been declared and her husband had been the first casualty.
Shepard forced the thought aside, her jaw setting as she shook herself free of the ridiculous vision.
Aurora glanced over at her dad, then bit back immediately. “Find the weirdest one?” she retorted with a giggle right as Kaidan gave her a playful shove.
Shepard couldn't help but laugh at her witty remark. She pushed herself off the door frame and leaned forward to kiss Aurora on the forehead. “Go put your things away,” she whispered to her, then watched as Aurora opened the second door to a chorus of meows.
The teenager side-stepped both cats, and they trailed behind her as she made her way up to her room. Kaidan watched as they walked away and sighed deeply. Both cats were hit and miss with him; sometimes they liked him, and sometimes they hated him, especially Commander Whiskers, who was thoroughly attached to Shepard.
“Whiskey put on weight,” he commented as he watched the black cat swiftly scale the stairs to follow the teenager.
“Don’t let her hear you say that,” Shepard answered, her voice quiet so the four-legged terror couldn't hear her. “She’ll crap on your pillow.”
Kaidan chuckled, then looked back at his wife. His smile turned far more intimate, his gaze now a lot softer.
“Hey, you,” he murmured.
Shepard smiled gently and cupped his cheek, moving her hands up to his hair that now had a lot more grey. She had to touch and feel him to ensure he was real, that he was back home where he belonged. Convinced, she leaned in and placed a gentle kiss against his lips.
The holdall hit the ground with a thud, forgotten as he pulled her into his arms and immediately deepened the kiss. It had been months since he had held her, and it always felt like they'd been separated for a lifetime. Whenever they were apart, it always felt like a part of his heart was missing.
Reluctantly, Kaidan pulled back, but his hold on her was firm, unwilling to release her for even a second. “I missed you,” he whispered.
“I missed you,” she replied, leaning in and giving him another brief kiss. Shepard crouched down to grab his holdall and motioned for him to head inside. Kaidan glanced at the fish tank as they walked and then sat down on the large corner couch in the centre with a groan.
Setting the bag down, intending to deal with it once he was more settled, Shepard joined him and cuddled into him, not wanting to miss a single second with him.
“You know,” she said, ensuring to keep her voice low. “If you hadn't sprung our daughter so early, I'd show you just how much I missed you.”
Kaidan glanced sideways at her with a knowing look. “Pervert.”
Shepard gave a soft chuckle, but it faded as she looked at him, then rested her head against his shoulder. “How was it?” she asked, not wanting all the details, just a brief rundown of things.
During his deployment, it had been rough as coming back to Horizon had dual memories. Not only was it a reminder of their first time seeing one another after Shepard’s death, but it was also a reminder of the tragic circumstances surrounding Sanctuary.
“The colony is up and running, back to where it was before the Collectors and before…” Kaidan hesitated, unwilling to utter the name and closed his eyes.
“Before Sanctuary,” Shepard supplied for him, her gaze growing distant. They'd almost lost Miranda Lawson and her sister Oriana during that mission; their father had held the younger woman at gunpoint, and Kai Leng had nearly killed Miranda.
“Fortunately, the last of the husks were cleared out a few months before I arrived,” Kaidan answered. “They had the entire facility filled with concrete before submerging it in water.”
“Burying that godforsaken place where it belongs,” Shepard said, her tone a little firmer as she always grew agitated at any mention of that hellhole. Men, women and children, desperate to flee the Reapers, had swarmed there in their thousands to seek refuge. It had cost them all their lives.
It had taken a few years, but determined, Miranda had found records and had been able to track down the families of those who had perished. She'd personally taken the time to compose letters to regrettably inform them that they'd become a casualty of Cerberus.
She'd been met with a lot of anger and tears, but it was closure she had needed for not finding out about Sanctuary sooner. Had she not been so relentless in her pursuit of Oriana, she'd have never known, and Shepard informed her that most lives would have been lost had she not done something.
“Yeah,” Kaidan finally answered, bringing his hand up and smoothing back her messy hair. Shepard closed her eyes at his touch and sighed deeply, more contentedly. “Anything interesting happen while I was away?”
Her eyes snapped open as he asked that. “Not really,” she whispered, if anything, a lot of her days were pretty much the same. “We went to your parents' last week for the weekend, your dad made another batch of Kaidan's Faith. Tastes nothing like the first one.”
Kaidan chuckled at the mention of the wine Adam Alenko had made specifically for their wedding. They'd had a bottle hidden away that they'd opened not long ago on their tenth wedding anniversary.
“Well, those grapes did survive the Reapers, fear really adds flavour,” he joked.
Shepard sat up and then pulled a face at him when he said that. “Kaidan,” she murmured, although she had a slight smirk on his face.
“You're not the only one with a dark sense of humour, Shepard,” he retorted, and then shook his head. “Speaking of, when did Aurora get so sassy?”
“She's a teenager,” she answered, as if that would explain everything. “Besides, she's always been a handful.”
Kaidan gave a slow nod. “Yeah, she takes after her mother,” he quipped, but his look seemed extremely pensive.
Bobbing her tongue out, Shepard smiled, but it faded when she saw him staring down at the floor in thought. Considering she couldn't fly a sky car, Aurora relied on family or friends to fly her back and forth to school, and Shepard tried to stay away from HQ as much as possible. When Aurora was younger, she drew too much unwanted attention and looks because of who she was.
Everyone was polite, but some could be a little too much, still in awe of the battle-worn hero who had saved the galaxy from annihilation twice. She and Kaidan tried their hardest to keep Aurora sheltered from their legacy, but it wasn't easy, especially when the younger biotic acted out.
“Did something happen?” Shepard asked, and then her eyes went to the hallway and the stairs leading up to the second floor. “Did Aurora say something to you?”
Aurora had always been closer to Kaidan; he'd been the first person to strike a bond with her, and although he would never admit it, he had been thoroughly wrapped around her finger when she was younger. Shepard didn't know if she was more aloof as she'd experienced a different childhood to Kaidan and was more afraid of fucking up their daughter.
“No,” Kaidan said, then glanced over as this would be the time Aurora strolled on in while they were discussing her. With the coast clear, he continued, regarding his wife with a serious look. “I overheard some of her classmates.”
After being together so long, she had learned how to read between the lines with her husband. Shepard knew precisely what he meant, as she had heard parents conversing between one another a few times, those who disagreed with how she had handled the destruction of the Mass Relay when she delayed the Reapers.
“Shit talking me,” she said bluntly.
Kaidan seemed reluctant to confirm her suspicions, but his expression gave him away as he frowned. “Not exactly,” he said, looking down at the carpet and then back up at her. “I get the sense that she’s kind of used to the way they talk about us.” A beat. “And she shouldn’t be.”
Shepard had no idea how to navigate other children as she had never been around them long enough to form a love-hate relationship. When she was younger, kids usually shipped in and shipped out again when they were adopted or reclaimed. Yes, they were mean to her, but they usually left her alone.
“We should never have hyphenated her name,” she said quietly.
“The name Alenko isn’t exactly unknown, Faith,” Kaidan reminded her. “And it’s not a secret whose kid she is anymore.”
Although she knew he had a point, they’d gone on Battlespace with Diana Allers to announce that they had not only got married but that they had a daughter, as they had wanted to control what information made it out into the world. She knew that if they tried to hide it, all sorts of theories would emerge, and the couple had desperately wanted to protect Aurora as much as possible.
People had believed the lie that Cerberus had brainwashed Shepard, accepting the reason for her disappearance for so long, and it had actually warmed a lot of them to her. The information being made so public also meant that both she and Kaidan had avoided any kind of repercussions from the Alliance, and she had made Admiral Steven Hackett guarantee that this wouldn’t impact Kaidan’s military career.
The Admiral had agreed, stating that both of them had proven themselves time and time again.
“Maybe we should homeschool her?” Shepard asked, picking nervously at her cuticles, a habit she had when she was particularly nervous. “It’s not like we don’t know people who can probably give her a better education than the ones at the Alliance.”
Kaidan sighed as that was her answer every single time this topic cropped up; they’d had the same conversation when Aurora was eight and had broken her arm trying to impress the kids who had told her all biotics could fly. “Is that really what you want for Aurora?” he asked. “Alienating her from her peer group?”
Often, they managed to agree on parenting, but at times, they also clashed. “Kids are cunts, Kaidan,” she retorted.
Although used to his wife’s foul mouth, he couldn’t help but wince. “That’s a little harsh,” he answered.
“Accurate though, most kids get their views from their parents, so if they’re alienating Aurora, it’s because they’ve heard it from an adult,” Shepard replied, having had first hand experience of the kids at the orphanage turning on her because they had seen the way the nuns reacted to her biotics. “Besides, didn’t you get bullied at school for requesting a time out when you had a migraine?”
“That was different.”
“No, that was worse, as you had migraines and were suffering from chronic pain. That makes the kids at your school far worse than Aurora’s classmates.”
Sometimes, sharing your past with someone meant they used it against you, and Kaidan sighed deeply. He knew their childhoods were vastly different, and that was the reason they both wanted to ensure Aurora had an amazing one.
“That was back before human biotics were…I dunno…normal,” Kaidan stated, trying in vain to come up with some counterargument.
“After that shit Vita Nova pulled, people are still nervous about human biotics and Aurora being who she is doesn’t help,” Shepard answered, her voice growing quieter.
Despite Kaidan being biotic from birth, his latent abilities didn’t manifest until he was much older. Aurora had been able to use her biotics since the age of three, a feat practically unheard of in a human.
“The difference is she has us to guide her,” Kaidan reminded her, standing up and walking over to the double sliding doors that went out onto the patio. From here, he could see the ocean, and he folded his arms as he hated having this same argument with the woman he loved. “We understand what it's like to be a biotic, and with that knowledge, we can ensure she doesn't have to suffer like we did.”
A thud from upstairs made the conversation stop dead in its tracks. The last thing either of them wanted was for Aurora to hear them discussing her.
Turning as she appeared in the doorway, Kaidan smiled softly as she whizzed past him and into the kitchen to help herself to a snack. Having three biotics in the family meant they needed to keep a constant supply of food. She re-emerged with a bottle of water and a banana before plopping down next to her mother.
Shepard brought her feet up beside her and draped her arm over the back of the couch. “How was school?” she asked.
“Seriously, Mom?” Aurora murmured as she peeled back the skin of her banana.
Kaidan and Shepard exchanged a look.
“I heard you talking about me,” she continued, then took a huge bite, chewing slowly and glancing over at her father.
Even though he had tried to be vigilant, she still managed to overhear conversations she shouldn't have been privy to. Kaidan walked over to her and sat on the opposite side, on the other corner, so that he could see both of them.
Aurora gave an exasperated sigh. “You told Mom what happened,” she said.
“We're just concerned,” Kaidan whispered.
“It's fine, Dad, I’m the kid of two of the most well-known people in the galaxy,” she said as she wolfed down the rest of her banana. She chewed quickly and swallowed. “People like to be dicks, so what?”
“Language,” they both said in unison.
Shepard adjusted herself so she could move a little closer to her daughter. “Just because you are who you are,” she replied softly, reaching out and tucking a dark strand of hair behind her ear, letting her hand linger. “Doesn't mean you have to accept the way people treat you.”
Her eyebrows knitted together as she glanced at Kaidan and then finally back at her mother. She was the least emotional of her parents, but she knew that she loved her in her own way. Aurora had once asked her father why Shepard acted the way she did, and he told her that she didn't have parents growing up and had been on her own for a significant portion of her life. At school, she had used the extranet to search for everything she could on Commander Shepard, and there was information that tied her loosely to the Tenth Street Reds.
It was an old gang that had been disbanded a few years ago, and she had made the mistake of reading comments from people about her mother. There was a mixed reception to her; many people loved her, while others hated her. Although she had been told not to trust what she read, Aurora felt like it helped her see her mother in a completely different light, knowing a sliver of what she had gone through.
After the war with the Reapers, she had been missing and then disappeared entirely. Aurora had no idea that Shepard had lost her memory and was being controlled by an ancient AI. Then, when she finally reappeared publicly, she not only announced that she was the new head of Cerberus, but also that she was in a romantic relationship with Kaidan, and they were suddenly engaged.
Aurora had watched the news footage of her parents, and unfortunately, she had also seen the awful circumstances of their first wedding ceremony. The organisation Vita Nova had executed a pregnant biotic woman called Rahna Reed. It was the only time she had seen her father cry, having no idea that Rahna was the first woman he'd ever loved.
“You accept the way some people treat you, Mom,” Aurora finally said, tossing the skin onto the coffee table and opening up her water. She took a very long swig.
“That's different,” Kaidan supplied.
Shepard pulled her hands back into her own lap, looking down at them and anxiously twiddling her wedding ring. “Your father's right,” she added. “I've got a past, and people are entitled to their opinions. But you, you're so young and you've done nothing wrong, Aurora.”
The teenager didn't answer as she was guilty for just being a biotic. Although her parents were understanding, not everyone had the same views. Despite the war ending nearly a decade ago, the fact that a terrorist group had targeted exclusively human biotics left her feeling uneasy. She didn't know the truth behind their intentions, no one apart from a small group of people hell-bent on taking the secret to their graves.
“If you'd had a choice, would you have kept me?” Aurora asked, frowning slightly as she replaced the cap on her water bottle and placed it alongside her trash.
Shepard blinked, not anticipating that response and once more looked over at her husband, silently praying for him to intervene at any time as he was far better at handling this shit than her.
“What prompted all this?” Kaidan asked, clasping his hands together with a pensive expression.
“In our life studies class, they brought the subject of termination up and that biotic parents used to end their pregnancies because children were born with all sorts of problems,” she answered.
Shepard couldn't control her facial expression; it was the same look Kaidan had seen on the battlefield when she wanted to murder someone. “I'm going to Vancouver first thing and handing someone their ass,” she stated.
Kaidan ignored her outburst, as did Aurora. “That used to be true,” he said calmly, offering her a soft smile as she glanced back at him, as he had always been the voice of reason. “But there are treatments that can prevent those issues now, so much was unknown before, as your mom and I are the first generation of human biotics.” A beat. “With your generation, there's a lot more understanding.”
A small scoff escaped Shepard, and Kaidan shot her a look. He unclasped his hands and stood up, moving to sit alongside Aurora and pulling her into his arms.
“You guys didn't answer my question,” she said, her voice muffled against her father's chest as her cheek was squished against it.
Placing a gentle kiss atop her head, Kaidan glanced at his wife. Shepard couldn't answer Aurora's question honestly as she had known about the pregnancy. Before her death over Alchera, she had scanned herself and realised she was pregnant thanks to their night of passion before Ilos. She was scared and confused, and her first thought was wondering how quickly and discreetly she could see a doctor to terminate the pregnancy.
The very next day, the Collectors rocked up and destroyed the Normandy SR-1.
Swallowing ever so hard, Shepard reached out and stroked her daughter's hair as she cuddled into Kaidan. “Aurora Shepard-Alenko, you're the best thing that ever happened to us,” she finally whispered, a lone tear trailing down her cheek.
Kaidan spotted it and used his free hand to reach over and swipe it away. His hand lingered on her cheek, eyes silently searching hers, and all she could do was close her eyes and nod as if to say she was good. Moving his hand down, he motioned for her to move closer, and soon Aurora was wedged between her parents.
She was safe and she was loved, and that was all Shepard had ever wished for her daughter. She didn't want her to grow up in a world where she had to be alone, had to fear other people and fend for herself. Did that make Shepard a little overprotective? Perhaps. However, it also made her and Kaidan great parents, even if she still doubted her ability at times.
A proximity alarm rang out. Shepard was the first to break off the intimate moment, and she brought up her omni-tool. Security footage of the perimeter flashed to life, and she narrowed her eyes considerably.
Kaidan reluctantly let go of Aurora and stood up. “What is it?” he asked.
“It's an Alliance shuttle,” Shepard replied, and her jaw set.
Aurora looked between her parents. Her mother's love had dwindled for the Alliance once she had given up her position, and any mention seemed to set her on edge. “I thought you were on leave, Daddy,” she said as she looked over at her father. Her voice seemed incredibly small at the prospect of losing Kaidan so soon after she’d only just gotten him back. Like her mother, she hated having to share him with the Alliance, and unfortunately, her own mood could reflect that.
“I am,” Kaidan said, his look just as perplexed.
Shepard walked over to the kitchen, peering out as she looked up into the sky to see the shuttle approaching. “Which means they're here for me,” she uttered.
Although she had agreed to act as a consultant when needed, her Spectre status remained active, and Kaidan knew his wife was reluctant to involve herself in Alliance matters unless absolutely necessary. He walked over to her, placed a hand at the small of her back, and she looked at him with an apprehensive expression.
“Whatever they want, remember you can always say no,” he whispered, drawing close to her and giving her a soft kiss on the cheek.
Shepard turned to him with a glimmer of a smile, but it faded as soon as she saw the shuttle land.
Aurora grabbed the peel of her banana and peered through the window as she deposited it into the trash. “Isn't that Commodore Hackett?” she asked.
The older man was now the most senior member of the Alliance left, and for him to be here in person meant he had a massive request of her. Shepard’s relationship with him was very complex; on one hand, she knew that he valued everything she had done in the name of the Alliance, and on the other, he had spent just as much time as the others lying to her.
“Aurora,” Shepard said, her eyes never leaving Steven Hackett as he walked towards the house. “Go greet the Commodore.”
Turning away, she headed for the foot of the stairs.
“Where are you going?” Kaidan asked.
“I'm going to grab a shower, if whatever he wants is that important, he can fucking wait,” she retorted before disappearing.
Kaidan tried and failed to repress the sigh; it was going to be a long evening.