Author's Comment:

Here is the second chapter of the story. I could go on, ramble and make a text about how a lot of thoughts regarding this, but I won't. Just read it, and if you have something to say: a word of praise, or one of criticism, feel free to leave it here. Enjoy.

Chapter Two: A room with a view

Anna's mind drifted in her unconsciousness as she lay on the floor. She found herself inside the darkened park area, her recurring nightmare. Running in a frustration inducing slow motion, she went after the child that died back on Earth. This time, the child gazed back at Anna, who was able to hold on to the kid. He smiled, laying his small left hand on her cheek. "I am ok. It is all over, now..." Suddenly, a white glow pierced from between the branches.

The child was gone, and Anna stood up. Around her, the trees became brown, the leaves and the grass turned into a pleasant green, the shadows all became people she witnessed dying in front of her, or self sacrificing individuals. Legion, Mordin, Thane, and many others: all of them looked over at Anna, and walked to her, giving her words of comfort, before stepping behind her and fading away.

Mordin smiled as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. It couldn't have been any other way. I got the seashells to keep me busy."

Thane, with his hands behind his back, stopped next to her, shoulder aligned with shoulder, his eyes locked on her expression. "Everyone's sacrifice matters. I died so others could live a while longer." Thane took a step forward and smiled, facing Anna again. "Good job facing Kai Leng. If I beat him, I am sure he wouldn't withstand you very long..." He then continued to walk forward, fading away as he started to go down the slope.

Anna looked around and saw that the park area opened into a path that led down a slope, which was bathed in warm sunlight. This path went on forever, and in the very far distance, she saw a beach. The sea breeze struck her, and she knew that somewhere along that shoreline, she could find Mordin.

Legion walked by her, his voice set to that familiar robotic pitch. "Shepard-Commander... Thank you for giving the Geth another chance." Anna smiled, and Legion kept going forward, vanishing as soon as he went past the low stone wall, which was interrupted by the dirt path. There was no gate, just an opening. Something told Anna that it was still too early to go past the wall. She looked up at the sky, blue in its own way, with a few clouds rolling by.

Suddenly, an odd effect covered her sight, as if glass was between her and the sight of the clouds. She looked around slowly, noticing that she was lying down on a hospital bed. Glancing through the class, and then examining her room, she starts to wonder where she is. And then a memory comes to her: one where she was standing in this very same room, looking at Ashley, laying on the very same bed, after the mission at Mars.

She felt like shit... that was an understatement, to be honest. Feeling sore, and weak, she felt like she spent too much time doing nothing, which sparked another question into her mind: how long had she been out? She was about to sit up, to get out of bed, when a minor pain in the left side of her waist quickly appeared.

An Asari nurse, sporting a somewhat purple skin type and no markings, walked into the room, and began analyzing the console, where all the information regarding Anna's condition was present. She had been coming here for quite a while, so she didn't even bother looking at Shepard, until a groan froze her with a wide expression of astonishment. "Commander Shepard?" The Asari nurse said, turning around and bending forward to have a closer look.

Anna turned her head, and faced the nurse, her eyes semi-open. "Is this..." The nurse smiled. "You will be fine. Please don't try to make any effort just yet. I need to ask in a doctor to check on you." Anna mumbled. "How long was I out?" The Asari checked her datapad. "You have been in this room for almost four months, now..." The nurse offered Anna a glass of water, helping her gain a stronger voice. "Four months for a small cut?" The nurse checked her datapad once more. "The cut was small, at least seemed so. But it was deep, and the infection that was taking place was well spread... we had to keep you in a coma, relaxed, in order to treat you properly... seems you woke up well on your own..."

The Asari walked out of the room, and Anna was left alone for a couple minutes. Then the door opened with the characteristic electric noise, and Dr. Chloe Michel walked into the room, addressing Shepard with a noticeable French accent. "Commander Shepard, it is about time you woke up. How are you feeling?" Anna smiled. "Considering I felt like death in the last few months before blacking out... right now it has been an improvement. I feel a little sore, though..."

"Well... you need to stay here for a little while longer. We need to do some checks before you are cleared. I will warn some of your friends that you have awakened. Surely the news will spread from there to all corners of the galaxy." Anna chuckled along with the doctor, laying back on the bad, and staring out the window.

"Doctor?"

Chloe looked at Shepard. "Hmm?"

"These four months of coma... how will they affect my physical performance?"

Michel shook her head. "I am not sure, but we do know we had a physical therapist working on you for the same duration, in order to keep your muscles strong."

Anna thanked the doctor and kept staring out the window. Ten minutes later, she was given the all clear, and began to get dressed in the privacy of her room. As she finished buttoning her shirt up, she heard mild yelling in the hallway.

"Where is she? Where is Shepard?"

Anna opened the door and saw an old friend. "Wrex?"

He laughed with heart and gave her a strong handshake, finishing with a firm grip, just like they did on Tuchanka, prior to facing the Reaper guarding the shroud.

"Good to see you are alive, Shepard. I knew those Reaper bastards had to do a lot worse to bring you down. Come on, there is a lot of catching up to do."

Waving at Chloe, Shepard began to walk out of Huerta Memorial Hospital, with Wrex keeping a slow pace, since she was still somewhat affected by being bedridden for such a long time.

"So Wrex, what happened after the Crucible fired?"

"Well, the blast spread across the galaxy through the relays, the same which became unusable after being forced to spread the explosion."

"What happened to the Reapers?"

"I am getting there. Anyway, that purple energy thing you did spread all over the galaxy, leaving the relays damaged and unusable. The Reapers themselves, once they were hit by the blast, they just stopped attacking and went up into the sky..."

"So it worked... what about the husks, and marauders and all the other ground troops?"

"That is the interesting part. They just dropped. Once the blast hit, it's as if they had shut down. Needless to say, we got rid of them... after stripping the corpses for parts, weapons and any other materials we needed..."

"The way you spoke, I am sure there is more to tell..."

"Yeah, there is..." Wrex tapped away at the elevator console, and they both got in. "The Reapers themselves, the big ones, they began repairing the Relays, had done it in just a few days..."

Before Anna walked out of the elevator, he grabbed her shoulder. "What did you do to the Reapers?"

She smiled at him. "I will let you know later... I just want to gather everyone that deserves to hear the full story in one place, ok? Honestly, I would hate to be forced to tell the same story more than a couple times..."

Wrex chuckled. They kept walking, crossing the path between the elevator and the familiar docking bay of the Normandy in the Citadel. The seconds it took to walk to the door that led to the Normandy, everyone in that docking bay stared at Shepard, as if they were seeing a mythical being. She still carried herself with the same posture she did before, and this only made her stand out anymore: she didn't look defeated; she seemed confident, and victorious.

Wrex opened the door, and they kept walking in absolute silence. When they enter the control chamber, Wrex looked at his friend and smiled.

"I am not the emotional type, but I am sure everyone is eager to see you. They just don't know you woke up yet."

Anna shook her head, smiling. "Then I assume you gave them an excuse to go to the Citadel."

"I was actually talking to the Council, earlier. I just happened to check in on you before that, and Dr. Michel warned me first, since I was in the area."

"What about the rest of the crew?"

"Eve and I split up after the meeting with the Council. She went somewhere with a few other krogan females... to do some... shopping..." He groaned, as if he was embarrassed. "Anyway... everyone else is spread out. They went off to do their own things. We have been docked here for a week now, and I am pretty sure you can set up some sort of surprise..."

Anna glared at him. "I can set up a surprise? Wrex, you and I have been doing the same kind of work for years, and our surprises usually involve shooting someone..."

Wrex smirked. "Yeah, I always love those... if I could pull off a headshot, then the day was won, no matter the outcome..." He scratched his chin. "But you know what I mean... the normal kind of surprises is not my field of expertise..."

The door in front of them opened. Wrex walked ahead, going to the cockpit, with a few words from the pilot seat being directed at him. "Hey, Wrex, what's up?" Wrex placed his hands on the back of the seat. "Still here? You know we aren't leaving any time soon, right?" Joker tapped away at the console. "Well, this is where I am most comfortable, besides... since they upgraded this leather seat to fit my body shape; I don't see myself happy elsewhere..."

"I swear to God, you will take that seat to your grave, if you are allowed to..."

These words made Joker's eyes open wide. He turned his seat around quickly, just as Wrex stepped to the side. He stared in astonishment at Anna, and slowly got up, in order to salute her. She shook her head, and they both smiled, giving each other an embrace worthy of true friendship.