(Chakwas)

It had been two weeks since anybody but Mordin and I had seen the commander. The nurses had been barred out from her quarters to tend to the rest of the crew in my absence. Rumors were floating around that Shepard had been poisoned. But when I would come down from my post, I would tell them flatly that there was no poison whatsoever. The commander was getting better from her illness, and she would be back on her feet in no time.

But, to be honest, I had no idea what had been in the dart. All I knew was that the commander had changed. Her skin, bones, eyes… It was just as Mordin had said; somehow, Cerberus had been able to use the dart to turn Shepard into—

"Doctor Chakwas!"

Nearly dropping the plate of food I had been carrying, I turned to see Major Alenko scurrying up to my side, a look of worry in his eyes. He was probably took the worst hit of the entire crew, having been in a relationship with the commander. Poor kid.

"You scared me, Kaidan! What is it you need?"

"I was wondering if you could let me see Shepard, or at least tell me how she is," he requested sheepishly.

My smile dropped. "I'm sorry, major. Shepard is in no state to be seeing anybody, much less get out of bed and speak. Her vocal cords are in a bad shape, and the constant screaming isn't doing her any good."

"Is that why you're feeding the commander turian food, doctor?"

My face went pale and, flustered, I ran off without a word.

"Good! Leg bones seem to be in place. No more problems. Progressing rapidly. Slight tweak in facial features and you will be well." Mordin took a breath. "May go blind. Temporarily, of course, but blind nonetheless."

"That's not very reassuring, Mordin," I stated, trying to fight the urge to cover my new privates as Mordin probed them with his eyes. The salarian shrugged and went back to my desk, where he fiddled with all sorts of concoctions. He said he was looking into a way to reverse the change, but from the looks of it, all efforts were doomed.

"Oh shit, oh shit!" I panicked as my vision started to blur. "I think it's happening!"

Mordin looked up from his papers and chuckled. "Eyes watering. Nothing to worry about. Yet."

"It's okay Commander," Chakwas said as she walked into the room. My mouth watered at the sight of food in her hands. "You're not going to go blind; he's just messing with you. You went blind before you were able to stay conscious." Chakwas handed over the plate, hands on my hips as I wobbled my way back to the bed.

I began to fiddle with the fork, trying to get the hang of having three fingers. Suddenly, a pain pervaded my nose and I let out a shriek, jumping. The doctor grabbed the plate before it could fall to the ground, taking it from my lap as I flailed in pain.

Mordin looked up, hrumph'd, and looked back down at his work. I held my nose as it shifted, tears welling in my eyes. Doctor Chakwas cooed in what had once been my ear to let go of my nose so she can see what the problem was. After some time, I finally let go of my nose, wiping away the tears in my eyes.

"Looks like her nose has finished, professor," Chakwas called to Mordin. He said nothing, only scribbled something down on another piece of paper. "Now, commander, you need to eat," she told me in a stern tone of a voice that reminded me of my mother.

I took the plate back and picked up the fork, shakily shoveling food into my mouth. The doctor cheered me on, congratulating me on every bite I was able to take without letting any fall off the fork or my mouth.

As I swallowed down the last of the food, I turned to the doctor and asked, "Do you know when I'll be able to get back to my crew?"

I was answered with only silence. The doctors exchanged looks and nodded sadly.

"We don't think you should leave your quarters until we are able to find a way to get you back to normal," Chakwas explained. "We're afraid of how the crew will react to… you know."

"No! I don't," I replied crisply. "Do go on."

The doctor sighed as began to pout like a child. A moment later, Mordin was kneeling before me—

I never noticed how tired he looked before— holding my hand in his. "You are stressed. We will let you out in a few days. Just need to perfect walking," he told me, speaking slowly.

"Really?" I asked shakily. Mordin nodded.

"Promise," he declared. "Now, stand. Have surprise."

Chakwas helped me to my feet as Mordin scurried back to the desk, rummaging through some things before pulling out a crumpled box with a bow tie on top. Chakwas walked me over to Mordin, smiling like a proud mother.

I swallowed my nerves and opened the box, pulling out a large piece of clothing. My eyes widened and I let a toothy smile plaster my face. "You got me new clothes…?"

"And new armor," Chakwas added cheerfully. "Can't send you out into a firefight unprotected, can we?"

"Now," Mordin began. "Should begin exercises. Long way to go. Cannot waste time."