This is it, the end of the road, though there may be one-shots in the future.

Thanks to everyone who read this, commented, followed and favorited. Y'all are the best! :)

Two Months Later...

It had taken awhile, but Kat had finally come to the realization that Dr. Michel must have told her physical therapist not to go easy on her. There was no other explanation; she'd had too many therapists to think Lt. Riley was that hard-assed with all of his patients. Though she knew the doc wasn't petty, it didn't stop Kat from thinking it was payback for not staying in the hospital long enough. She'd gotten zero sympathy from anyone except Grunt, who shared her hatred of hospitals and had made his own early escape from Huerta during the war. Where Kat had gone for ultimate stealth, her "adopted son" had opted for a more spectacular exit by crashing through the window in his room.

She was in the midst of a sparring match, in what she prayed was one of her final sessions, when Zaeed walked into the gym to watch. When it was all over and she was lying flat on her back, trying to remember how to breathe, he came over to crouch beside her.

"Nicely done, sweetheart," he said with a smirk as he handed her a bottle of water.

"Bite me, Massani." She frowned at him as she slowly sat up. "Did you have a particular reason for distracting me?"

"I did actually." He stood up and hauled her to her feet. "The Admiral came by a few minutes ago. The Normandy is finally coming home."

She inhaled sharply and choked on her water. "Did you tell Hilary?" she asked hoarsely when she finally regained the ability to speak.

"She was the one who answered the door."

"Oh, good. Did Dad say when they'd be here?"

He shook his head. "He wasn't sure, though he did say it probably wouldn't be more than a day or so."

From: Jeff

To: Kat

Subj: Hilary

Would you care to explain why my little sister just responded to the message I sent her with one asking me to prove that I'm really me?

What the hell has been going on since the end of the war?

-J

PS: Glad to know you're still alive and kicking.

From: Kat

To: Jeff

Subj: re: Hilary

We've been friends for how many years, and all I get is a PS? Thanks a lot.

As for Hilary, she's been living with me and Massani for the last two months. I'm guessing some of his constant paranoia has rubbed off on her. Sorry about that.

But before that, some of the reporters at ANN apparently got bored, or their ratings were slipping after the war, or they're just a bunch of fucking bastards. They ran a story about the Normandy, claiming she had crashed and you guys were all dead. Hilary saw it and freaked out. I thought she'd gotten past it by now, but I guess she didn't believe my dad when he told her you guys were coming home.

-K

PS: Welcome back to civilization, such as it is.

It was 0300 when the Normandy docked at the Citadel, but that didn't lessen the insanity that awaited the crew when they finally began coming down in the elevator. Kat was relieved to see that everyone was alive and well, and that Kaidan and Garrus were fully recovered from the brutal hits they'd taken in the run to the beam. She hadn't admitted to anyone – though she suspected Zaeed had figured it out – that as the weeks had dragged on, she'd started to doubt the absolute positivity of her statement to Hilary that everything was going to be fine.

It took nearly two hours to get the reporters to stop their never-ending list of questions; Kat was amused to see that the crew refused to answer them anyway. The "interviews" ended as the crew began to go their separate ways, most to find out what had happened to loved ones who hadn't been on the Citadel before the war ended.

Finally, the only ones remaining in the docking bay were Kat, Zaeed, Hilary and Joker.

"You are more than welcome to stay with us 'til you figure out what your next move is," Kat said after Joker wondered if any of the Alliance officers quarters were still available. "That way, you and Hils can stay together."

"But only if you don't mind living in the same space as Grunt again," Zaeed added with a smirk.

"He didn't go back to Tuchanka?" Joker asked.

"He and a bunch of the krogan he fought with in the final battle decided to stay and help rebuild London. He's been back and forth but stays with us more often than not."

Hilary grinned. "There's a varren too."

"Of course there is," Joker muttered. He raised an eyebrow at Zaeed. "You actually put up with all of this in your apartment?"

Zaeed scoffed. "Hell no. Mine isn't anywhere near big enough for extra people, much less a bloody krogan. We moved into the apartment on the Strip weeks ago."

Kat saw him shake his head slightly at Joker's probable next question: what happened to Anderson?

Since the mass memorial service for everyone lost during the war, it had become an unspoken rule to never mention Anderson. Nearly four months post-war, she still felt overwhelming guilt about what had happened with them and the Illusive Man on the platform right before she'd fired up the Crucible. It threatened to crush the tentative sobriety she'd forced herself to maintain in order to set a good example for Hilary.

Kat knew her father had wanted to send her for a psych evaluation before she was declared fit for duty, but they both knew that if someone delved deep enough, there was a danger she'd be Cat-6'd. Some would have said it should have happened years ago. But if she was totally honest, which she usually wasn't when it came to things like feelings, she wasn't sure she cared anymore. And now that the Normandy had returned, she felt like she could finally relax.