The situation these days isn't free from stress, but it's different. It's her problem but it's not her problem, and that makes all the difference. It means she can sit here with Kaidan, and nobody will question it. It doesn't have to be hidden, stolen moments beneath the noses of the brass.

She can't regret that.

But she won't tell Kaidan about how much she wonders about what would have happened if they had stayed home.

"If nothing else, we are where we are." Shepard squeezes his hand. "Once Ryder has figured out this whole Archon shit, you think they'd give me a ship?"