Chapter I: Happy Birthday!

I didn't notice anything unusual to my day at first. It seemed just like a normal day; slowly waking up to the darkness of my bedroom with the feeling of cold starting to seep into my blanket-buried body. The perfect way to start the day in my opinion. Slow and steady.

Until someone suddenly switched on the blinding bedroom lights and yanked off my blankets. Rude. It completely ticked me off, and it distracted me for a bit from the odd sensation of being lifted up. Now that got my attention. I would've looked but my eyes were shut tight. Heavy eyelids in the morning, as usual.

Except, this wasn't really the usual. I was flipped over - now it felt like I was on really, really large hands - and was lightly slapped on my butt.

What?

A cry of surprise escaped my lips. I mean, who wouldn't be surprised by suddenly getting butt-slapped? And for some reason, I couldn't move my arms nor my legs. Something clicked at that moment, and my train of thought froze and I backtracked to my voice.

That didn't sound like my voice. Not one bit. It sent a shiver through my body, whether it was due to the growing fear inside me of what the hell was even going on or my newly observed state of undress, I had absolutely no clue. Maybe both. I'll take both, with a dash of ever-present anxiety on the side. Though, whomever those large hands belonged to is pretty perceptive, and then my unresponsive body was wrapped with another blanket. It was thin, but I'd take what I can get at that point.

It felt like I was getting transported somewhere - I wasn't really sure other than the feeling of motion. In fact, I might as well take stock with the goings-on with my body, in case I needed to do anything drastic. Just in case.

I tried moving my limbs again, but other than squirming I couldn't do a single thing. I could feel things with my skin just fine - the very soft fabric around my body was testament to that - but everything else seemed… muted. My hearing's shot, everything sounded as if I'm underwater; even my sight was too blurred that I can only identify light and anything that moved. Heck, just opening my eyes were too much of an effort. I can scream just fine, though. Which sucked, since it wasn't even my voice I was using. I can't even talk properly - like I had no teeth - and the voice sounded too high-pitched like a squealing baby.

Holy shit.

Baby.

No. Really?

No way.

I had the most frustrating urge to slap my forehead in realization, but of course I can't. Like an itch I can't scratch. Great.

Back to the point, there is no way I'm a baby. Last time I check, I was a fully-fledged adult. Granted not the most responsible one, especially with many of my questionable choices in life, but adult nonetheless.

This had to be a dream. It must be. I mean, everything feels fuzzy that it has got to be a dream.

My inner crisis apparently went unnoticed by the one carrying me - the doctor, most likely, if I am to follow this weird baby dream - and I'm passed on to another pair of hands. Smaller, more delicate hands. Ah, mother. It was an instinctual thought. And unbelievably comforting. She cradled my gently and closely to her chest, and despite my underwater hearing, I could hear a feminine voice cooing at me, and then dropping to quieter voice that I had to strain to barely hear.

"-e's so beautiful, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is." A soft and deep rumble sounded beside Mother. Like a laugh, I think. It definitely sounded happy. A man's voice. Father? "She has your eyes, Hannah."

Hannah? My mother's name isn't Hannah. I tried squinting as I looked at the face of the woman holding me, as if willing the images I could see to become clearer, but to no avail. It seemed to catch Mother's attention though. "Hello, lil' Bethy."

Bethy?

"Bethy?" Apparently, Father had the same question in his mind.

"Of course, Mama would've adored her." Which one? Yours, his, or mine?

"Bethany." Father's voice cracked. I guess that answered my question. "Y'hear that, little red? Your name is Bethany."

That doesn't sound too bad. At least I'm not a man. It would be much weirder if I suddenly had an extra body part by my lower regions after being a woman for more than two decades. Even if this is a dream.

"Bethany Jane Shepard."

Wait, what?

Just something that made its way to my mind and grew on its own. Updates will most likely be inconsistent. This story has no beta reader, as I'm just writing for the fun of it - nothing serious - and decided to share it to the internet on a whim.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Mass Effect.