This chapter is short just because it's, well, the beginning! Just a little teaser as I write chapter two... Which will be posted shortly!
Reviews are always welcome and icyfreezerpop is my hero!
The war had been over for well over two years.
People had survived, picked up the pieces, and moved on with life.
Ships were repaired, the relays were repaired, and even EDI and the geth were brought back online.
Everything was progressing smoothly, except for Jane Shepard. She was still unconscious after being found in the rubble of the Citadel's presidium.
Specialists had come and gone, friends visited as much as possible, but she still slept there motionless, unaware of the passing of time and opportunity.
A year passed and she was able to breathe on her own, her injuries almost all healed. A year longer and the visits all but stopped.
Only Hackett still stopped by whenever he was planet side to deposit some lilies, update her on the times, and to apologize, again, for pushing her through the Reaper War.
She had been medically retired months prior, it being decided that if she ever did wake then she would no longer be in a condition to lead or fight – her down time was too long and the injuries took too much out of her.
Unfortunately for them, they had forgotten who they were dealing with.
The storm raged outside of Vancouver B.C. for hours before the tedious sounds of rain splattering the window caused her to open an eye.
Slowly, as if reciting to herself how to make her body respond, she opened the other eye and moved to sit up.
Her muscles were indignant at the prospect of work; they had been allowed to sit still for too long. She looked at her surroundings, old letters and cards placed nicely on the stand next to her bed. She had a feeding tube in, and what felt like a catheter.
How long had she been asleep again?
Where were her crew? Where was Garrus? They never would have left her side, left her alone, if she was injured.
She tried to activate her omni-tool only to find that she no longer had the implant. Strange.
She tried to move more, to stand, and then felt the pull of medical equipment effectively binding her to the bed.
She tried to speak and nothing came out. Her throat actually hurt from the effort so she decided to hold off for now.
She hit the Call Nurse button on her monitoring equipment and sat patiently. This would all be sorted out eventually; she just needed to let everyone know she was awake.
Once the initial shock wore off of her currently awake status, the staff got to work testing her memory and physical capabilities. She could stand, with help. She could talk, with effort. Hell, the only thing that seemed to be easy right now was breathing and eating. She could still manage a fork and she counted that as a win!
The doctor informed her that she had a visitor and her heart rate picked up. She was hoping for a tall figure with decidedly sharp angles to come in to view, blue colony markings to shine in the dull light, blue-green eyes to pierce into her soul and remind her why she even wanted to wake up in the first place.
Instead she was greeted with blue fatigues and an aging face. A friendly face, a concerned face, but not the face she wanted.
He explained to her the time frames and how long she had been gone. He told her what her crew had been doing and that she had been retired. He told her how the krogan had been keeping their end of the bargain for the genophage cure and even had an embassy on the Citadel.
He was telling her everything except what she wanted to hear.
The weight on her chest grew the longer he spoke to the point where the discomfort was almost palpable. She forced herself to ask the question she had been wanting to hear and was now dreading to know.
"Garrus?" Was all she could say, but he would know what she meant.
She didn't miss the way his eyes had grown cold, the way his body had shifted from awkwardly comfortable to tense and the way his fists held onto the bed rail a bit more desperately.
"He's a spectre now, which should please you. He spends much of his time on the Citadel with his mentor and… companion, Spectre Quinela."
He said the word companion softly and it tore through her heart. She looked down and to her credit managed not to cry.
She felt like she had been slapped – what happened to finding out about turian-human babies? What happened to a future? She hadn't died.
She didn't say anything else for the remainder of her visit with Hackett. She didn't comment when he left, the hollow look in her eyes worrying him more than her silence.
When she was alone she let the silent tears fall.
She'd given everything for this damned universe and it left her with nothing in return. No job, no team, no love… Just more challenges.
Anger quickly replaced her initial despair.
Well fuck them.
Fuck Garrus Vakarian and the horse he rode in on.
Fuck her team for not being here. She went through hell to make sure they were all taken care of, how bad was it to expect something in return?
Hackett had said her last team member visitor was three months after she had been found and the last time he received communication from someone, Tali, was six months after.
Fuck. Them. All.
Six months and she was no more a memory.
She could do whatever she wanted now, Hackett had informed her that her Spectre status was still good – he had checked before coming to see her. She just needed to pass a physical evaluation.
She would pass. She could still do something in this galaxy and it was something she did well.
She didn't need a team anymore. She didn't need anyone else.
She quickly grabbed at the portable terminal that Hackett had left for her and typed up a message to Councilor Sparatus. He had told Hackett personally that he would sponsor her training; he owed her he had said.
Damn right he owed her.
She waited countless minutes for a response – hell time wasn't really tangible to her at the present. She didn't look at the clock, but she was aware of several episodes of whatever cheesy soap opera was on the vid screen had come and gone.
When the response finally came she felt herself relax. He had agreed and said he had something particular in mind. Something he wanted to discuss in private, something he was going to travel to Earth to tell her.
She already decided she would agree but she didn't say as much. She would take whatever he wanted if it meant getting out of this bed and back in a job. Hell, she'd work for him personally at this point, old issues be damned.
As she waited, she formulated her physical regime in her head. She had a timeline to keep now, goals to achieve. She wouldn't be some dolt sitting on the sidelines for long.