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Carmen went to speak to Joker on the bridge shortly after the ground team touched down on Eden Prime. She tried to concentrate on other tasks to avoid thinking about the danger Johnny was in after the message intercepted from Eden Prime. She only hoped nothing would happen to him.

She saluted Alliance officers as she made her way to the cockpit, remembering her father's reminder from earlier. She approached the pilot with proper etiquette and military procedure.

Cross your t's and dot your i's, Carmen. Or else you will hear the wrath of David Anderson.

"All right, Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, I have some questions to ask concerning your treatment, if you don't mind," she asked while looking down at her datapad.

The pilot shifted slightly in his seat and gave her a look that could only be described as self preservation. When Carmen looked up, she raised an eyebrow at Joker's sudden defensiveness.

"Okay, I can see where this is going. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Dr. Chakwas. The Normandy wants me as it's pilot. I'm not good, I'm not even great. I'm the best the best damn helmsman in the Alliance fleet. I was top of my class in flight school: I earned that. All those commendations in my file: I earned every single one. Those weren't given to me. If i didn't ask for sick leave then, I'm sure as hell not going to ask for it now. So no, I don't need to "relax" and come to the med bay whenever I turn the wrong way," he protested Carmen's unanswered question.

Turn the wrong way...oh. He thinks I'm talking about brittle bone disease. Interesting...didn't think he was sick.

Carmen bit back a laugh to his defense, "Um...that's good to know Joker. However, I actually came to ask you if the cough medicine we prescribed three days ago was working. You know: for a follow up," she responded with a smile.

Joker's face fell slightly with the realization of Carmen's questioning, "You mean you didn't know?" he sighed, "Oh crap. Okay I have-"

"Vrolik's syndrome, more commonly known as brittle bone disease. Lack of collagen production causes the bones in the body to break or fracture from even the simplest activities. As a result, splints or metal rods are drilled into the bone during early childhood to reduce the number of bone related accidents in addition to keeping the bone straight," Carmen explained.

"Uh. Yeah well, even with my crutches and leg braces, one wrong step and my bones can shatter. Besides, I've learned to manage my condition. So you don't need to be coming here to check up on me every thirty seconds,"

Carmen nodded in agreement, "Of course. Sorry for the confusion. However, as a medically compromised individual like yourself, I understand not wanting people to be looking over my shoulder all the time,"

"You're sick?"

"Yup-I mean, yes I am," Carmen corrected.

"With what? You look like a poster girl for the medical schools. Not that I'm hitting on you or anything. Anderson and Shepard would kill me,"

Carmen smiled. That was a first.

She sat in the empty seat next to Joker, "Well, in addition to having an extremely delicate and fragile immune system, which I take shots every morning to bolster it and to avoid dying prematurely, I'm also an asthmatic. Oh yes, I know exactly where you're coming from,"

Joker smirked, "So...aren't you a little young to be a doctor,"

"Graduated..," Carmen thought of all the grades she skipped before continuing, "Well, I graduated everything sorta early. Having little to no friends in addition to infecting the entire school yard with the flu in the third grade made it easy to get ahead,"

He laughed,"So you took them out all in one shot?"

"Yeah. You can say that. After that, I wasn't exactly Miss Popular. I think they began calling me, Carmy Swarmy afterwords. Now that I think about it, I'm not exactly sure why they picked that one. Doesn't really make sense, " she shrugged.

"At least mine's makes more sense than yours. So you're telling me that you," he glanced at her up and down, "didn't have many friends,"

The flash of a braces wearing, spectacle donning 14 yr old with numerous skin problems came into Carmen's mind. How much things had changed.

"Well, I was younger than most kids in my grade. No one wants to be seen with the baby of the grade. Also...I was a bit awkward growing up,"

"You don't seem that bad to me," Joker replied.

Carmen laughed, "Well, I had years to practice my social skills in med school. It also helps when you the great Johnathan and Esmeralda Shepard as your older siblings. Military award dinners tend to have that affect,"

They spoke a little longer before Dr. Chakwas sent some for her. Carmen gathered her things, but before she left, she smiled at Joker.

On her way to the med bay, she overheard officers talking about an artifact on Eden Prime. That it was this artifact they came all that way for. In addition that this was Johnny's first test to becoming a Spectre. Carmen clutched her datapad closely to her chest to hide her proud smile.

Her brother was a hero.


"I'm worried Dr. Chakwas," Carmen said while pacing back and forth inside the med bay. She looked at the holographic clock, and frowned at the time, "They've been gone too long,"

"You, young lady, need to relax or Commander Shepard will have one more thing to worry about when he returns from Eden Prime," Dr. Chakwas responded while typing. She noticed the change in Carmen's breathing, how it became subtly strained. The young woman should know better than to try to mask her illness from a professional.

Carmen hand shook slightly and she hid it from Chakwas' view, "He's my brother. How can I not worry? It was supposed to be a simple investigation and pick up," she replied.

Dr. Chakwas removed an arensol can from Carmen's compartment and tossed it to her. She couldn't hide anything from that woman. Just like Johnny.

It was an understandable situation, Dr. Chakwas' knew that. However, it was situations such as these that Carmen would need to familiarize herself with. It didn't do her any good to worry every time Johnathan went on a mission. Especially with her delicate health.

"Most things aren't that simple, especially on a mission such as ours. Making yourself sick isn't going to make this situation better. You have to relax and trust your brother's skills,"

Carmen nodded reluctantly before inhaling from the can. She waited for him to return safely. As Dr. Chakwas said, it was the only thing she could do. Put faith that her brother would make it out.

They heard loud shouts outside the med bay and when the doors opened, Johnathan Rafael Shepard was splayed out on a gurney, unconscious. Carmen's heart dropped. It wasn't real. None of this should've been real. It was. A real life nightmare.

"JOHNNY!"

R&R, please :) Thank you for reading!