So I spelled Shepard wrong in the first chapter and I apologize :( but I'll spell it right from here on out, I promise.
this chapter is a little shorter than the first one, enjoy!
Garrus slowly opened his eyes, then shut them tightly again against the offensively bright lighting.
"Good to see you awake Garrus." A female voice said next to him. He turned his head then immediately regretted the movement, suddenly feeling nauseous. Dr. Chakwas stood smiling down at him, "How are you feeling?" she asked, checking the monitors beeping over his shoulder.
"I've definitely felt better." He grunted trying to sit up. Dr. Chakwas tried to stop him but he just shrugged her off. After the room stopped spinning he looked at the doctor again.
"What happened? Where's Shepard?" Garrus asked, noticing while speaking that the right side of his face was not exactly working. He reached up and felt the metal plate that was holding the muscles and tendons together.
Dr. Chakwas crossed her arms looking every bit like a mother scolding a child. "What happened was you nearly died. When the commander brought you on board, you were seriously injured. Shepard told me you went head to head with a gun ship? What were you thinking?"
Garrus sighed. "It wasn't exactly by choice, Doctor."
Chakwas made a noise in the back of her throat like she didn't believe him. "Well, you had her worried sick. I had to send her away before she paced a hole through the floor."
Garrus was surprised. She didn't mean the Commander did she? The surprise must have shown on his face because the doctor started speaking again.
"Oh don't act so shocked. After all the time you two spent together on the other Normandy, of course she would be upset. You both were very close."
Garrus was suddenly overcome by the urge to go find Shepard. He started to stand but Chakwas put a hand on his arm. "Look," she said "I know I can't stop you from walking out of here but there are some things that you should know."
She went on to explain about Cerberus bringing Shepard to life, the Illusive man and the new Normandy.
Garrus couldn't believe it, Cerberus? What was she thinking? Cerberus was one fucked up organization with crazy experiments and corrupt leaders. But he trusted Shepard, and as long as she was the one in command, he could deal with it. After getting the directions from the Chakwas he made his way to the elevator. Once the door closed he realized that he never actually looked at the damage to his face.
Oh well, he could just ask Shepard when he saw her.
Jacob watched Shepard walk from one end of the conference room to the other, and back again. Whenever her back was turned he would look appreciatively over her form. Maybe he could get her alone sometime and-
Shepard stopped and braced her hands on the table. She fought the urge to glare at Jacob; did he really think she couldn't tell what he was doing? "Any word?" she asked trying to keep her voice level.
The sound of her voice seemed to wake him up. "We've done everything we could, Commander, but he took a bad hit."
Her stomach dropped. What did that mean? Did that mean he wouldn't fully recover?
Jacob continued. "The docs corrected with some surgical procedures and some cybernetics. Best we can tell, he'll have full functionality but…" The doors slid open.
Shepard turned and saw Garrus standing in the doorway. His blue armor was destroyed on the right side from the neck up. His right jaw covered with a metal plate and what wasn't covered by the plate was badly scarred.
Garrus nodded to her. "Shepard."
Just one word and he seemed so calm. Did that mean it was weird that she wanted to run up and hug him?
Jacob spoke next to her. "Tough son-of-a-bitch, I didn't think he'd be up yet."
Garrus started walking towards her. "Nobody gave me a mirror… How bad is it?"
It was bad. She knew, HE knew it was bad. She tried to but herself in his situation, what would she want if she was the one scarred?
She would want someone to make a joke.
She smiled "Hell you were always ugly Garrus, slap a little face paint on there and no one will ever notice."
To her delight he actually laughed. "Heh, oh… don't make me laugh. Damn my face is barely holding together as it is. Besides, some women find scars attractive… Mind you, most of those women are Krogan."
She just smiled and shook her head. There was really nothing else to say. She turned to Jacob and he saluted her then left the room. As soon as he was out the door Garrus turned to her.
"Frankly I'm more worried about you." He said. "I've heard bad things about Cerberus these past few years."
She leaned against the table. "That's why I'm glad you're here Garrus, If I'm walking into hell I want someone I trust at my side." She meant it, probably on a level that she wasn't exactly comfortable exploring at the moment.
"You realize this plan has me walking into hell too. Hmm, just like old times."
She opened her mouth to say something, but he beat her to it.
"I'm fit for duty whenever you need me, Shepard. I'll settle in and see what I can do at the forward batteries." And he left her standing in the conference room.
Garrus stepped into the elevator, pushed the button for the third deck. He sighed and leaned his head against the wall. Why did hearing her say that she trusted him make his heart jump to his throat?
When he had first entered the room he noticed her face was drawn from lack of sleep. She really had been worried about him. Then when she had said she wanted him by her side when she went through hell, he made a joke. When he had wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and say he would follow her anywhere.
The elevator doors opened and he walked around towards the gun battery. He got a few strange looks from the crew but just ignored them. It wasn't any different than when he'd first started on the original Normandy. He just looked forward to when she would come down and talk to him like she used to, if she even wanted to… Maybe that wasn't too much to hope for.
