Pain

Abigail Shepard felt her body spasm, but only as an outside observer. Something was preventing her from feeling her own body and connecting to her senses. But she knew what was happening around her.

Pain

Her eyes fluttered open only to instantly slam them shut again as the light nearly blinded her. She opened them and squinted.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh

Light poured in and a blur, it would get darker for a split second before brightening just as suddenly. She could just feel and intuit that there must've been many lights above her and she was being dragged underneath them on something.

What?

She felt a pressure on her hand and tried to crane her neck around to see what the new problem was. She failed.

Why can't I think? Why can't I move?

"Hang on Lola don't leave me not as we are so close." Someone yelled in her ear, young sounding, desperate.

Lola? That's nice…I like it…why?

"Take care of her Doctor; we need her to get better. Make sure of it." A voice graveled out.

Hackett?

Something jerked her, with a crash and a bump as she grinded against something holding her down. She groaned

She was able to peer up past the door through the windows as she saw a younger looking woman in a white lab coat hold a hand on Hackett's chest restraining him slightly.

"Admiral we'll do our best. You have to trust us we all know who she is and what she means. But there are a lot of other people here and we are in the pure definition of triage right now." She said. "But we need to work and you need to back off and let us do our jobs."

He sighed, "I know…sometimes it's hard not being in charge."

Abby could just see the woman's lips curl slightly upwards. "Relax Admiral, I've read her file and have top secret clearance…from everything I've heard she's tough. If there is a way for her to survive we'll find it."

Do I want to? Her mind fled from the thought recoiling it as if someone had just set off a hydrogen bomb. But I am in so much pain.

She moaned out and felt her body spasm, straining against the straps and grinding on it.

"My God!" Someone exclaimed behind her. "She's waking up."

The woman who was conferring with Hackett spun around on the balls of her feet and turned to glare directly into her half open eyes.

"What the hell?" She started to walk over. "That's impossible we put enough sedatives in her to sink a small warship! Increase the dose and give me fifty CCs of sedative stat."

"Right away doctor."

No! Fear pierced her stomach and she tried to move her lips but nothing came out. She wanted to stay awake, she needed to stay awake! If they put me under I may never wake up. She couldn't help but think.

But she could feel herself beginning to lose contact with her body. She suddenly felt heavy as her eye lids began to droop. Her eyes flickered as she wanted to desperately keep her eyes open but slowly they began to succumb.

Into darkness.

Hospital Ship Harriet Tubman

Admiral Steven Hackett sat in the large waiting room of the emergency triage and surgery bay of the SSV Harriet Tubman. His eyes cast downward at the deck plating trying not to make eye contact with any of his fellow waiters for the wounded.

Not that there were many here in the room on Deck 6. Only a few scattered privates and noncoms, most of them just staring out the large viewing bays which were thankfully turned towards the stars and not towards the home world of humanity.

And most of the rest were scrunched sitting in a nice row along the far wall, a vid screen towering above their head. All of them were waiting to hear the news of one woman.

Commander Abigail Shepard.

Hackett sighed.

To his left James sat, his head bowed and his hands folded in his lap.

To his right sat Samantha Traynor, Tali Zorah, Garrus Vakarian, Liara T'Soni, and EDI.

Javik was missing after the battle.

Joker hadn't come yet and Hackett was sure he wasn't going to either.

Chakwas was helping with the incoming casualties.

And Ashley Williams said she had her duty to do, but her only reason for staying away was probably the same as Joker's.

The Reapers were gone and the fleet was just sitting there as a result. Taking stock of their damage, their losses, their casualties, and who was left. Trying to heal the wounded and take stock in their current situation. What supplies they had left what food and weapons in case they needed something.

It had been five hours since they had gotten Shepard onto the hospital ship. Five hours of surgery. Five hours of sitting there and waiting for any sign of news. Vega had paced for a while, looked out the view port, before settling in his chair.

Garrus had maintained his usual calm and exterior demeanor, but Hackett knew from the reports that he had received on his relationship with Shepard, being with her from the very beginning and sticking with her even though she was on a Cerberus vessel, he had to have been faking.

While Liara looked…she looks lost. Hackett thought as he gazed into the Asari staring blankly at the far wall.

He shared her sentiment but he felt he had to maintain a brave face in the current circumstance. I am getting too old for this.

Vega sighed uncrossing his legs before marching in long strides over to the viewport. Hackett followed the soldier with his eyes but didn't join him, and stayed silent.

Mother hen certainly has had an effect on these people. Hackett shook his head ruefully.

Hackett was well aware of the relationship that Abby had carefully forged with her crew. A close, personal leadership style, as loyal to her crew as they were supposed to be for her and thus they were far more loyal then your typical crew. That and they had been through a lot even when the rest of the Galaxy largely considered the Reapers a myth, Suicide missions and Sovereign. She just had a knack for getting people to follow her and warm up to her instantly.

As evidenced by the young soldier before him sulking over by the viewport looking out at the distant stars.

Had she learned her lessons from Torfan? From the Tenth street reds? Or was this natural? After all her squad and her gang seemed willing to follow her into all sorts of shenanigans. Even giving their lives and their reputations. Hackett wondered.

The door to the surgical bay whooshed open causing Hackett to look up from his reverie. The Doctor who they had followed in was there, her hair a mess, and her smock streaked with blood.

"How is she Doc?" Vega asked beating them all to it, but not by much as the entire group huddled in around her.

The Doctor looked at the half moon of comrades forming around her, blushed, and shifted on her feet. "Uh, well she is fine. Well she is stable…for now. We might have to go in again but I think she will be just fine."

"Good." Hackett smiled.

The Doctor grinned and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "We uh…nearly gave up on her. In fact if it weren't for Project Lazarus apparently making a few upgrades to her over all skeletal and other structures she probably would be dead."

"I'm sure wherever Miranda is right now she is looking down on us…and gloating." Garrus graveled.

She looked at the Turian curiously, but he waved her down.

Hackett glanced around the room trying to see through the walls to the innards of the surgical bay. "How is the rest of the situation?"

Her smile fell but she tried to recover it, "desperate, we've been at this for hours now and this just isn't stopping. Chakwas has been a God send; she has done five major surgeries in the last six hours. We are saving a lot of the people and fortunately if they get to us then their injuries probably aren't that bad, you know since if you get sliced apart by an energy weapon there is little we can do for you then anyways."

Hackett winced; most of the group shared his opinion.

"But right now we are worried about running out of supplies, mainly whole blood and plasma. We are just running out of our stocks because we have managed to stabilize a lot of people but they are still bleeding. And with the relays acting up we can't risk calling for help."

"What about Earth?" Samantha cut in.

"Overun. Most of the hospitals were either destroyed in their entirety or are suffering from huge over runs of patients, especially resistance fighters."

"I see." Vega muttered looking down.

"Check on the Citadel. Huerta Memorial and all the other hospitals. Check them for supplies and equipment, you have my authorization to take what you need if you find anything, hopefully that'll still give us a few days."

"Understood Admiral." The Doctor nodded before she began to head over to the surgical bay.

Admiral Hackett looked around to the assembled group of people, and cleared his throat. "I know how much you want to stay around until she is awake and you can see her but it sounds like that is still a ways off."

He let the message sink in slightly looking at each person in turn.

"I can't order you to leave but I suggest we all get some sleep, I think we are going to need it."

With that he turned on the balls of his feet and departed the waiting room, leaving them behind to contemplate their decisions.

AC/AN: Well this is it the start to a brand new Fem Shep story. Set post ME 3 as you probably already guessed and not only just any pre ME 3 story but following the events of my latest serious of one shots. Starring Abigail Shepard as everyone's favorite dashing hero.

As always reviews and many readings are greatly appreciated, and the more you review, the more eager I will be, and the more I will want to get these chapters out.

And as always everything belongs to Bioware and EA. Which a lot of people are apparently upset about but hey we do have fan fic to at least offer our own perspectives?

Fem Shep face code: .UFC..471.5EB.1D7.C46.G8H.2B3.132