A/N: Sorry for the delay, my dear readers. Between life (it sucks that there are other responsibilities) and other writing projects, it took me a while to finish this. And this is, indeed, the last chapter of this story. :D I hope you all enjoyed. Feel free to check out my other fics!

Shepard smiled as Kaidan took his son from her and held the baby to him. She couldn't help but to lean forward to kiss both of her boys.

Resting a hand on his arm, she led him to her room, barely pausing to nod at her guard. The looked at Kaidan in surprise.

"Wait here," she instructed softly before they entered the room. After Kaidan nodded, she made her way in.

"Penny?" Melissa's tired voice asked.

Shepard made her way over to the other woman and smiled at her. "Yeah?"

"Something happen?"

"I went down to the nursery to see Adrian and ran into some unexpected company," she shrugged.

"D'you tell them visiting hours aren't at two o'clock in the morning?"

Shepard smiled and walked to the door and opened it to reveal Kaidan and Baby Adrian before quickly taking their son as Melissa practically launched herself at Kaidan.

"Oh my- are you okay- where have you been- how are you-"

"Mom," he chuckled, hugging her. "I'm fine- everything's fine. Well, except for the fact I'm breaking a quarantine order."

Adrian yawned and his bottom lip began to quiver from all of the commotion. Shepard looked down anxiously at him and then to Melissa before rocking him in her arms.

"You do realize that this wasn't on the agenda for a few more years, Kaidan Alenko," she informed him sternly. "What the hell do I know about being a mom?"

Kaidan smiled and disentangled his arms from his mom to walk over to his son and girlfriend. "You took care of the Normandy crew and stopped a galactic war- what's a little baby compared to that?"

Melissa snorted into her arm, but attempted to hide it in her sleeve.

With the baby in her arms, she slowly made her way to Alliance Command. She wasn't going to head home first- she needed to talk to Hackett. What with Kaidan back aboard the Normandy (hopefully he was able to reboard unseen), she was ready to have a few words with Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett.

As she walked through the halls with the baby, people called out her name and a few even stopped her to take a look at Adrian. It took a while before she was at Hackett's office.

She walked right by his secretary and into his office. "You rat bastard," she snapped when he came into sight.

Hackett stood quickly, with widened eyes. "Penny!"

"Oh no- don't you dare Penny me! Why didn't you tell me the Normandy made it back to Earth? I was in labor- not dead!"

Adrian fussed in her arms and she soothed him with a calming sound and a few rocks of her arms. Hackett took that time to walk to her and help her sit. "If I had told you that the Normandy was home, you'd've left the hospital in the middle of labor to greet the crew. You had more pressing concerns."

"I had the right to know," she snarled- if only to maintain her anger (his reasoning was irrefutable).

Hackett acknowledged her argument with a nod as he sat down behind his desk. "Probably. I thought I was doing what was best for you by not telling you- that's the problem with hindsight."

Shepard's anger ebbed away and she sighed. "I'm going to the Normandy after this," she informed him matter-of-factly.

He smiled kindly. "I never had any doubt. Go on, Penny, go be with your family."

"Thank you, sir."

- END -