The Miranda Situation
A/N: So this is a one-shot to try and getting me back into writing fanfic and yes I will be carrying on with my other stories too when I find time (which will be really soon I promise)
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the ME series
"Go Joker go!" Shepard yells as she pulls herself through the airlock with Miranda staggering as her hand clutches the rapidly darkening red patch on her thin mesh like armour.
"Aye Commander, we are pulling out of their orbit now!" Joker yells as the airlock slams shut and the Commander grabs hold of Miranda as the sense of weightless causes the Operative to lose her footing and stumble and the Operative clenches her jaw as pain flares in her side as the Commander pulls her towards her as they leave the warzone of another place they had picked up a distress beacon and the Commander and Miranda had investigated not thinking anything of it other than another empty colony.
They had never been so wrong.
"EDI alert Chakwas that we will need a bullet extraction, Miranda has been hit" Shepard says as she wipes the sweat from her brow before wrapping her arm around Miranda's waist, in an attempt to slow down blood loss as the patch was growing larger by the second. Miranda struggled against the Commander as her action made Miranda feel weak; she would not be seen as weak in front of the crew, especially over such a minor injury.
"Commander, I can get there by myself. I do not need your assistance" Miranda said coldly and Miranda looked into the Commanders hazel eyes and she could see the Commanders protest against her wishes and she felt the Commanders arm tighten around her waist.
"Miranda you have been shot, and the more time we spend bickering the more blood you are losing" Shepard says in a calm tone and Miranda scowls at Shepard and she pushes away from the Commander and leans against the wall and she grits her teeth before meeting the Commanders eye again.
"I can make it on my own Commander, besides shouldn't you be attending to your own wounds?" Miranda says as she pushes onto her own two feet and the pain doubles, but she manages to stop it from showing on her face, the Commander sighs before shifting her weight from her badly sprained, if not broken ankle, before turning to meet the intense gaze of Miranda's cerulean glare.
"I always make sure my crew is okay before I even think about attending to my wounds" Shepard says and Miranda takes a step forward and a sense of light headiness hits her and before she knows it Shepard is half carrying half dragging her towards the elevator and Miranda manages to pick her feet up and leans heavily on the Commander as the elevator gets closer and closer. Miranda didn't even realise how much blood she had lost but now the adrenaline of battle has worn off, pain was lacing her veins.
"And you wonder why you ended up dead" Miranda mumbles as they enter the elevator and Shepard presses the button for the Observation Deck and she laughs before readjusting her hold on Miranda as her arm is getting tired as fatigue is beginning to rest heavy in her body. She looks down at Miranda and she seems to be turning paler than she is normally and something close to worry goes through Shepard. If they hadn't gotten back to the ship in time who knows what condition Miranda would have been in.
"But now you know why all my crew are still alive" Shepard replies and Miranda looks up at Shepard and with some effort she manages to scowl,
"You shouldn't be like that, remember you are key to this mission, if the others including me die it doesn't matter, we are expendable Shepard" Miranda says and annoyance runs through the Commander. The doors open and Shepard begins to carry them towards the medbay.
"None of my crew are expendable you know that, you are all important to the success of this mission" Shepard says with annoyance shadowing her voice as Miranda's feet give up on taking steps altogether and so the Commander grits her teeth as fatigue burns in her arms as the door to the medbay opens.
"Just hang in there Miranda, almost there" Chakwas rushes over, her brown eyes meeting Miranda's deflated form before darting to the Commander's hazel eyes.
"Put her over here, quickly. The sooner we get this bullet out, the better." Shepard nods wearily before moving as fast as her tired limbs will allow her to move. Miranda is placed on the bed with the aid of the Doctor helping to guide a semi-conscious Operative onto the bed. Shepard leans heavily on the bed railing and looks down at Miranda as her eyes flutter open in a desperate attempt to stay awake.
"Keep her awake Shepard; she has lost a lot of blood. Try to keep her awake until I can remove the bullet" Chakwas says and Shepard nods as she rests her gloved hand on Miranda's hand.
"You need to stay awake Miranda, only for a little while longer, can you try for me?" Shepard says worry coating her voice,
"Shepard… I am not a child… don't speak to me like one" Miranda murmurs out and a smile appears onto Shepard's lips.
"Okay, well, you get the message I take it?" Shepard asks and Miranda's eyes meet Shepard's for a moment before she nods slowly.
"Commander, I need your help" Shepard attention turns to Chakwas who has cut away the thin fabric which Miranda calls armour only to reveal a gushing wound and buried within the fountain of blood is the glow of incendiary ammo. The Commander groans at the unrelenting difficulty this mission is beginning to show.
"What do you need me to do Doc?" Shepard says as she begins to apply pressure to the wound and Miranda lets out a small groan and Shepard can see her frown in her peripheral vision.
"I am sorry Miranda but this needs to be done" Shepard turns back to Chakwas before removing her gauntlets and cleaning her hands before reapplying pressure to the wound.
"I need you clean up some of the blood as I try to remove the bullet, but be ready just in case because these bullets do love to fracture into pieces and if that happens we need to remove the pieces fast" Shepard nods as the towel she was holding becomes heavy with Miranda's blood and she throws it to the side before grabbing some numbing cream and applies it to the area around the wound before placing another towel to remove the excess blood.
"I am ready for it Chakwas. We are not going to lose her to this" Shepard says and Chakwas already has surgical tongs in her hand as she uses the scalpel to widen the wound and Miranda moves slightly and Shepard grabs her arm.
"Miranda you need to stay still" Shepard says sternly before turning her gaze back to the wound as the tongs go into the wound,
"I've got the bullet, removing now" Chakwas says and with a steady hand she begins to remove it and that's when Shepard can hear the shattering of the bullet.
"Shit, Shepard-"Shepard releases the pressure on the towel and grabs a pair of tongs and she widens the cut with the scalpel before pulling shards of the bullet out. Miranda lets out a moan as the ammo burns into Miranda's flesh, Shepard and Chakwas grab shards of the bullet and place them in a metal tray as the both work together to remove all of the shards and after 5 minutes Chakwas scans Miranda's abdomen and it picks up no signs of the bullet. Shepard lets out a sigh of relief as she drops the tongs and takes a step back.
"Thank god that's over" Shepard says, Chakwas gives Miranda a sedative before applying medigel,
"Shepard? Are you still there?" Miranda murmurs out and Shepard stands on tired legs and pulls herself to Miranda's side.
"Yeah I am still here" Shepard says softly and with all the energy Miranda has left she rests her hand on Shepard's on the bar, Shepard looks down at her hand before grasping Miranda's hand in her own.
"Thank you" Miranda says so softly that the Commander has to strain to hear her and a soft smile forms on Shepard's face. Miranda falls unconscious and Shepard watches her for a few moments before realising their hands are still entwined as she slowly pulls away and she sits on one of the medbay beds as Chakwas comes over.
"What is going on between you two? There is a… air about the two of you" Chakwas says before removing Shepard's boot and she winces slightly as her ankle flares in pain.
"Nothing, we are just friends, besides, I did just save her life" Shepard points out and Chakwas shrugs as she takes a scan off Shepard's foot.
"Of course Commander, whatever you say" Chakwas says with a bemused expression and Shepard rolls her eyes.
A few hours later...
Shepard limps towards the elevator as her ankle was indeed, fractured. Not to mention the various other cuts and nicks she picked up when responding to the distress beacon. The Commander pulls on her N7 hoodie over her matching fitted t shirt, carrying her official report about the distress beacon. Shepard runs her hands through her soft wavy brown hair before entering the elevator and presses the button for the elevator.
"Joker, have we docked on Illium yet?" Shepard says and the blue holo appears.
"Not yet Commander, we are entering their orbit now and we will have docked in 5 minutes" Joker says as his voice fills the elevator.
"EDI alert the crew that they have the night off to go and get some R and R, we have had a hard week and they have all worked their asses off and deserve a break" Shepard says,
"Of course Commander, the crew have been notified at your request" EDI says.
"Good that will be all" Shepard says as the elevator doors open to the CIC and she steps out only to be handed a mission dossier by Kelly Chambers. Shepard looks up meet the green eyes of Kelly,
"Miss Chambers, as Miranda is in medical I am handing you this report on the distress beacon mission, you know what to do with it" Shepard says and Kelly nods enthusiastically
"Of course Commander I will have it filed before I go for shore leave, the documents I have handed you are about potential crew mates and a report on the psyche of the crew in general" Shepard nods at her, weary of everything that has happened today,
"Of course, thank you Miss Chambers" Shepard says before turning away and going back into the elevator and pressing the button for the Observation Desk.
"We are docking in Illium now Commander" Jokers voice booms through the elevator.
"Thanks Joker, now get off my ship and go have some fun" Shepard says with a smile on her face as the doors open,
"I shall do so at your request ma'am" the blue holo disappearing. Shepard limps towards the medbay and enters only to see Miranda is still asleep. Shepard smiles and she pulls a chair up beside Miranda's bed.
"Miranda's vitals are strong and she should be fine by tomorrow morning but I will keep her in overnight just in case, I will go now and leave you two to talk" Chakwas says and she hands Shepard her charts before walking out without uttering another word.
Shepard turns her gaze to Miranda's charts when she hears the movement of sheets and she looks up to she Miranda frowning under the bright light.
"Welcome back Miss Lawson" Shepard says as she stands up and her shadow shields some of the light from getting into Miranda's eyes and her eyes glow as they meet the Commanders hazel ones. The Commander hands her the cup of water which was resting on the side and Miranda takes it gratefully before drinking from it deeply.
"What's the damage then?" Miranda asks and Shepard looks at the chart, before looking back at Miranda,
"Only a minor scar, but that's it really. It was in pretty deep Miranda" Shepard says and when she looks back at Miranda she is fully awake with her eyes trained on the Commander.
"See? You worry too much" Miranda says off handily and Shepard shakes her head.
"If anything I was right to worry, that flimsy fabric you call armour wasn't enough to stop a bullet breaking through that could have killed you if I hadn't have cared enough to practically carry you to the medbay" Shepard says with agitation coating her voice at Miranda's lack of regard for her own safety. Miranda frowns,
"That is a state of the art armour for a biotic, not all of us can wear that heavy armour Commander, plus I was fine, I could have treated myself but you insisted in carrying me to the medbay" Shepard scoffs at her disregard for her own life.
"You could barely walk let alone remove incendiary ammo from a wound! I couldn't just leave you there" Shepard says as her hand tightens around the bed railing as her eyes burn into Miranda's.
"I do not need you to baby me Shepard; I did not need your help. I am not some damsel you can save" Miranda says as she sits up.
"Miranda you are my second in command, a member of my crew and more importantly I consider you my friend, regardless of what you think I am not going to let you die" Shepard says calmly and Miranda relaxes and looks away from Shepard.
"I just don't understand how one bullet can do that to me, I am designed better than that." Miranda says. Shepard grabs Miranda's wrist and Miranda takes a deep breath at the unexpected contact but looks into the Commanders eyes and they are soft,
"Miranda, you have to remember that it only has to take one well-placed bullet to kill you, but that why we have a crew, to make sure we have each other's back, to make sure we survive a little while longer. At the end of the day, you're only human as the rest of us Miranda, you are just as vulnerable" Shepard says and Miranda remains quiet and she drops her gaze from Shepard's eyes as she blinks away a tear from her eye and this time she finds she can't pull up that mask she wears, it is like Shepard just knows how to disarm her without leaving her feeling exposed.
"I just…I just don't want you to think of me as vulnerable, let alone see me like that" Miranda says softly and Shepard's hearts wrenches with empathy and she slides her hand into Miranda's and entwines their fingers.
"Miranda, you shouldn't feel like that, I am here to help you and take care of you when you get hurt in anyway, as both your friend and your Commander" Shepard says softly and Miranda tightens her hold on Shepard's hand before meeting her eyes again and maybe this time around Miranda's heart beats a little faster under Shepard's gaze.
"It good to know I have at least you looking out for me" Miranda says and for once raw emotion coats her voice of vulnerability and fondness. Shepard smiles at her and rubs her thumbs over the back of Miranda's delicate hand.
"I was always looking out for you, maybe now you'll notice how much I do care" Shepard says as she brings up her other hand and pushes the rouge strand of hair out of the way of Miranda's face and tucks it behind her ear with her deft fingers and Miranda's cheeks have a faint blush on them as Shepard looks deep into Miranda's eyes before offering her a soft smile that lights up her eyes and Miranda's gaze transfixes upon hers as they remain this way for a few moments and Miranda offers her a small smile.
"I should let you get some rest, you have been through a lot today" Shepard says before pulling back and she slowly pulls her hand away from Miranda's and Miranda almost feels like complaining at the loss of comfort and contact Shepard gave her.
"I will see you tomorrow Commander?" Miranda asks, hope coating her voice as the Commander begins to walk away and she turns to face Miranda,
"I will come and see you first thing" The Commander says before turning back around and Miranda allows herself a secretive smile at Shepard's retreating form.
"Oh, and by the way, you should smile more. It really shows how beautiful you really are" Shepard says simply before walking out, leaving a blossoming blush on Miranda's cheeks.
A/N: So there we have this cute little one-shot. I enjoyed writing this so please review and let me know what you think of it - Bexaday