A fix it alternate ending to Mass Effect 3 and the lives of Liara and Shepard After the fall of the Reapers, where Shepard must learn she can allow the help of others when she simply cannot help herself due to injuries.
Darkness, Darkness and pain that is all she knew, all she felt at this current time. Commander Shepard lay motionless amongst rubble and debris. Her whole body was on fire with pain. She groaned and tried to move, she couldn't. The pain was like nothing she had ever felt before. Her green eyes covered in dirt and dust flickered painfully around trying to see even the tiniest bit of light. Breathing was becoming a chore, every breath the commander took she inhaled even more dust making her cough up blood and dirt. She managed to turn her head to the side slightly as she vomited, she moaned painfully as she slammed her eyes shut.
xxxx
Liara T'Soni was waking up, she was in the med bay in the Normandy. Her eyes flickered open and she went to sit up. "Easy there Liara" came the voice of Dr Chakwas.
"Ouch" groaned the Asari as she brought her hand to her head and groaned.
"You had quite a nasty concussion Liara you should lay back down." The Asari glanced around the room and spotted almost all of Shepard's team scattered around various places of the Med bay. Some were sleeping others where passing about. Then it hit her.
"Shepard! Where's Shepard!" cried the scared Asari "Goddess…Dr Chakwas, please where is Shepard?" the panicking Asari quickly got to her feet before collapsing to the ground.
"Liara…" replied the medical doctor as she helped Liara back onto the bed, holding her down this time so she wouldn't try get up again. " they haven't found her yet"
"No! Please let me go, I have to find Shepard…my, my Bondmate please I can't lose her again"
"Dr T'Soni, there is nothing you can do at this moment, you are injured. Ashley and Garrus are out there looking for the Commander."
"I must go, please!" cried the Asari as she struggled in Chakwas' grip, all the more eager and determined to help find her lover.
"Liara, you must calm down, you will only injure yourself further if you keep this up, and please I do not want to have to sedate you".
By this time everyone in the Med bay were staring at Liara and the commotion she was causing.
The Asari seemed to not hear any of the doctors words as she was still frantically trying to get up. "Shepard!" she cried a heart breaking plea.
Tali, who was also in the med bay had walked over to the distressed Asari and was now trying to comfort her. "Liara, its okay…Commander Shepard she is strong, we all know this" reassured Tali as she put her arm around Liara's shoulders.
Liara rested her head gently on the Quarian's shoulder and let herself cry gently. "Now, now Liara, all will be well, you shall see" she smiled as Liara lifted her head up to see everyone staring at her. The young scientist suddenly felt rather humiliated.
"By the goddess, I have embarrassed myself" she mumbled to Tali and Chakwas.
"No its okay Liara, besides they can all leave now. If they are well enough to be staring they are well enough to leave, you heard me!" she called out to all the onlookers.
Slowly they all filed out of the Med bay leaving only Liara, Tali, Chakwas and a few of the crew still passed out on the beds.
"Come on Liara, lay back down, you need to rest some more" came the voice of Dr Chakwas, she gently helped the Asari lie back on the bed.
"Don't worry Liara" spoke Tali " they will find the Commander"
Liara turned her head to face Tali and gave her a small grateful smile, right before she winced and quickly put her blue hand to the back of her head where pain seemed to be generating from.
"Goddess…what has happened to me?" asked Liara as she pulled her now bloody hand away from the back of her head.
"Look, Dr Chakwas she's bleeding on the side of her head" said the Quarian as she pointed to the Asari.
"Let me examine you" said the doctor as she proceeded to prod at Liara's bleeding head. " It appears you have a rather large cut Liara, probably from whatever it was that hit you that gave you a concussion, it will need stitches"
"Oh…ok" mumbled the Asari. She was suddenly very tired, her head ached, her eyes were stinging from crying and she was only just realising that her arm must be broken because a white cast was covering it, it too was starting to inflict noticeable pain.
Tali sat and held onto Liaras hand as the stitches were applied to liaras head followed by some medi-gel. "How are you feeling?" asked Chakwas once she had finished.
"Sore" came the quit reply. The Asari's eyes were closed now but her face showed signs of pain.
"Liara, I can give you a slight sedation, that way you can have a rest and also stop the pain if you like". Liara nodded slightly. "Very well". The sedation was injected into the Asari and within moments she was fast asleep.
"Poor girl" said Chakwas as she pulled the curtain around Liaras bed.
{Dr Chakwas} Came Ashley's voice over the intercom {we found her, the Commander, prepare a bed and have everything ready Doctor, she's in bad shape}.
Xxxx
"Look Garrus! Over here, I think I found her" yelled Ashley as she dropped to her knees beside a woman wearing N7 armour. "It's her, it is it's the Skipper" cried the Chief she brushed some of Shepard's matted red hair out of her face; it was covered in bruises and cuts. Half her armour was missing, the rest cracked. The chest plate was gone exposing some of Shepards most vital organs, her Alliance uniform under the armour was stained in a sickly red colour. Her right leg was bent at a funny angle and the arm on the same side was twisted awkwardly behind her back.
"Skipper…Shepard" spoke Ashley as she gently shoock the woman lying on the ground. "Please, don't be dead, wake up!".
A deep moan escaped the Commanders throat as her eyes flickered open.
"Skipper! You, you're okay"
"mmm…mmm – Li…liar…a". The sound of the Commanders voice broke the Gunnery Chiefs heart in two. Never before had she felt such pain from the voice of Shepard.
"It's gonna be alright Skipper" replied Ash as she wiped a tear away from her eye. She took hold of the broken woman's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Li…li…liara?" croaked the Commander again
"No, Skipper its me, Ash, but im gonna get you back to Liara very soon okay" .
Xxxxx
"Quick, put her down here, gently" ordered Dr Chakwas. Ash placed Shepard down on one of the Med beds as Chakwas began her examination. Tali, Ash and Garrus stood by the Commander unsure of what to do.
"You don't have to stay, I've got it here" the doctor's voice broke through their momentary trance.
"Where, where's Liara?" asked Ash.
"She's behind there" replied Tali pointing to the closed curtain " she's sedated, but she's going to be fine".
"I'm gonna…you know, I'm gonna see if she's ok" mumbled Ash as she dashed off behind the curtain.
"There's nothing more for us to do here" said Garrus
"You are right, let us leave and give the doctor space to work on the Commander" responded Tali.
Xxxx
It took a while but Chakwas had finally finished attending to Shepard. She had repaired a punctured lung, put a cast on her arm and leg, wrapped up her ribcage with bandages to stop the 3 broken ones from moving and stitched up and bandaged the numerous cuts over her body. The sedation was wearing off now and Shepard's eyes flickered open. Darkness, that was all she saw, for a moment she panicked and couldn't remember where she was, till she smelt the smell of disinfectant and remembered someone had found her and brought her back to the Normandy. She didn't know who, she couldn't see. She went to move her hand up to rub at her eyes but something heavy was weighing it down, she tried the other but someone stopped her before she could reach her eyes.
"That's probably not the best idea Commander, you have dirt and dust in your eyes, I was just about to clean it out" came the voice of Dr Chakwas.
Shepard's body shook with painful sobs, she was confused and in pain. No one had even seen the Commander cry before; it was truly a sad scene.
"Liara…" croaked Shepard. She wanted to sit up, she hated lying down on the job, her head was telling her to get the hell up but her body was protesting, she just couldn't move. Her heart was pounding heavily in her chest; she still didn't know anything about what happened to her lover. The last she remembered was an enemy gun butt making contact with Liara's head, knocking her out cold. "Liara…where, where – is she okay? please I need…I need to see Liara" said Shepard painfully, speaking her first, albeit broken sentence since her being found amongst the rubble.
Whilst Chakwas cleaned out Shepard's eyes she explained what happened to Liara, her injuries and where she was now. "Can…can I see her?"
"You can, but Commander- "
"- can you help me up?" cut in the Commander right before she broke into a series of painful coughs.
"Shepard, it would do no good in me helping you sit, your body needs to rest, I shell fetch Liara for you Commander."
Xxxxx
Chakwas disappeared behind a curtain on the far side of the med bay, Liara was awake now and look much healthier then she did a few hours ago. She was currently talking to Ashley Williams.
"Dr T'Soni" smiled Chakwas, "there is someone out here that wants to see you".
TBC