Kassie woke up to the sound of beeping and humming surrounding her on all sides. Heaviness lay about her body, a lethargic feeling that kept her from opening her eyes or moving around much at all. It was just as well, they felt like lead sheets at the moment. She could hear quite well though, having more focus to concentrate on the noise now that one of her senses was temporarily out of commission. Everything around her except the beeps and hums seemed quiet. Not the kind that would signal a place deserted, but a quiet that was the byproduct of a once busy place having settled down after a day of heavy productivity. She managed to move around a little, feeling what was underneath her body. Her searching fingers found soft cloth underneath her, and next to it, a railing? This must be a hospital bed, which meant that she had to have been taken to a hospital after she'd escaped. Her foolishly daring plan had actually paid off!
After a while, she finally had the energy to pry open her eyes, only to immediately shut them. The lights in her room were dim, but she'd managed to look at a lamp that was placed next to her bed on a nightstand. It took several minutes before she could bring herself to open her eyes again, this time looking from the light of the lamp and around the room. She was indeed in a hospital room, equipment beeping away, the noise she'd first heard waking up. An I.V. line was inserted into her left arm, as her right was swathed in bandages from her shoulder down to her wrist. It ached horribly, but at least it was still attached. The same couldn't be said for her sanity, that was cracked and repairing in several places at the moment. Feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over her after this internal reflection, Kassie closes her eyes and let's the dreams take her away.
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Kaidan went to the hospital the day after his successful rescue of the drowning girl. He wanted to check up on her to see how she was doing after all the craziness that had ensued. That and his superiors had thought it prudent to keep an eye on her, considering they'd found no identification, Omni-tool, or anything at all to tell who she was on her. Considering her injuries and what had happened yesterday Kaidan wasn't surprised at this, she seemed to have been running from someone who wouldn't make the mistake of leaving evidence on their victims. She was on the ICU floor of Huerta Memorial, after a fall like that it was best to be cautious, especially after they discovered her gunshot wound. It formed a pattern distinct to a brand of shotgun, the M-27 Scimitar, a shotgun favored by Blood Pack mercs. They were banned from Council Space, a fact he would have his superiors pass on to the Specters. She was lucky to still have the use of her arm, normally a blast like that would cause irreparable damage, likely the use of the arm itself.
He ran towards the sound of distress and came upon the sight of the girl he rescued thrashing around her hospital bed, eyes wide open in sheer terror. She was backed up against the head of the bed as far as she could go. A turian nurse had his hands out to her in a gesture meant to convey that he meant no harm and was here to help. He took a step forward towards the girl, who only screamed louder. He chirped a soothing melody, a Turian method of calming down their young and conveying a calmer atmosphere. It didn't seem to be working, she was still pressed against the wall, not taking her eyes off the nurse and following every move he made. Kaidan walked into the room slowly, signaling the nurse to switch places with him. The male looked visibly relieved, dealing with patients in distress didn't seem to be an area he was familiar with. Most likely fresh out of nursing school, he had that feel about him.
Kaidan sidled forward, hands out in front of him to show he meant no harm, hoping it would work better than it had with the other guy. His skills as a negotiator would come in handy, they certainly had during his stay on the Normandy. He was always called along on missions whenever Shepard had to deal with politicians (Udina) and he was usually on hand to talk her down from showing the pompous bastards what the color of their insides looked like. A few times, too many to count, he'd wished he had just let her go to town and not held her back (Udina again). But as not holding her back in similar situation usually caused an international incident or two, something Shepard managed to get herself into at least once a week, he refrained from doing so, amusing as it might have been. At least Anderson had gotten one in for all of them when he sucker punched Udina to get the lockdown on the Normandy lifted. Luckily there had been cameras in the Ambassador's office recording the whole thing and somehow a copy had made its way to the crew. Nobody could keep a straight face for the next week whenever the video was mentioned.
The girl had calmed down somewhat after the nurse had left the room, uncurling from her spot on the bed, but not doing much more than that. Her piercing gaze of storm grey eyes landed on his face, scanning it for any sign of a threat. It was an action he himself remembered performing many times both on and off the battlefield. They held a strange quality to them, something that was rarely seen outside the gaze of one of the Asari or Krogan. No human however, had yet reached past the age of one-hundred fifty, the newest threshold for a human lifespan. Whatever it was he saw in her eyes, Kaidan wasn't sure. It wasn't quite… human, but not alien at the same time. Considering he knew next to nothing about her, he didn't really have a lot to base his opinions on.
Other than her eyes, the next strangest thing he noticed was her hair. It was obvious when you first saw her, but looking into her eyes you instantly forgot what was in front of you to focus on their intensity and seriousness. Her hair was… interesting. It was a startling mixture of different shades of blues and purples, light and dark and everything in-between. It was almost as if someone had gathered all the skin colors of the Asari and transferred them into the hair of a human. Things just kept getting stranger the more he delved into this girl, and he hadn't asked her any questions yet. While he ran through all of this in his head the girl had come further unfurled and was actually moving down to the end of the bed. He really had to ask her name, he couldn't just keep calling her the girl. The I.V. in her arm didn't let her move much farther than that, and she shot it an irritated look when it tugged at the sore injection site.
Turning back to look at Kaidan she cocked her head to the side, studying him at a closer distance. She must have approved of what she saw, because after that her body language relaxed and wasn't so closed in. There was a glass of water on the table next to the bed, set there so that when she woke up and was thirsty she wouldn't have to yell for the nurse. Kaidan relaxed from his placating stance and leaned against the wall, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the nurses gathered in a huddle watching to see what was happening in the room. He subtly shook his head no, if anything went down he was capable of handling it himself. He let off a small biotic flare, a way to test the waters and see if there was any danger present. Instantly the girl's head snapped up, muscles going rigid and she growled- actually growled! - At him in response. Her grip on the glass loosened and it fell to the floor.
Kaidan attempted to grab the glass before it shattered into small pieces that would hurt if stepped upon, but before he could the glass just… stopped. It was floating in midair, just sitting there unmoving. It wouldn't be out of the norm for a Biotic to accomplish but there was nothing. No flare or corona of dark energy signaling biotic abilities had been used in front of him. His L2 implant usually tugged at his nervous system when his or others abilities were in action. He looked away to find the girl smirking at him, as if she knew something he didn't. Before he could say anything or ask what just happened the glass moved on its own… straight towards her outstretched hand. Kaidan stood there, a bit stunned to be honest. His comprehension of what was happening had gone from grasping an outline to nothing at all. It didn't make any sense.
Shaking his head he decided to put that aside for now, and focus on getting the girl to trust him. If he could get her to talk about her panic attack earlier he could get her talking about the floating glass and whispered words from the day before. If she could speak that is. Shock sometimes knocked a few screws loose. Some people shook uncontrollably, had memory loss, couldn't speak, or had panic attacks whenever another person (or alien) went near them. He'd seen it before on the battlefield and in the ER. He grabbed a chair from the corner and sat down against the wall, getting comfortable for what he was sure was going to be a long talk ahead.
"My name is Kaidan Alenko, I was the one who rescued you put of the water yesterday after you jumped. Do you remember what happened, why you jumped in the first place? Was somebody after you? You have nothing to be afraid of here, you'll be safe." The girl looked up when he started speaking and seemed to gather strength and energy before trying to speak. Her voice was rusty with disuse, as if she hadn't used it to make noise in a long time.
"They held me in a room when I woke up, four walls and a door that was always locked. I never knew where I was or the time. No sense of day and night, because to me they didn't exist. When I was moved, they blindfolded me, knocked unconscious if they were feeling charitable. They never told me why I was there or what was gonna happen to me. I never heard a sound from them until I escaped. I don't know what kind of monsters they were, but they weren't human."
The girl looks away as she trails off, a thoughtful expression gracing her weary face. She lies down on the bed, turning her back to him. She calls out to him after finding a comfortable spot to get into.
"You can stay if you want, I wouldn't mind it. I'll tell you what happened if you do."
Before he can say yes or no, he hears a whispered 'please' as the girl falls into a troubled sleep, only eased when he grabs a blanket to drape over her still form. His decision made, Kaidan sits down to wait.
First I want to say thanks to my battle buddy who read the story and told me I had to put more up if not for her then orher readers. Love you boo! Second, I hope I'm not making Kaidan too OOC. I write him as I feel he would react in a situation like this, and if you think he would wouldn't do this or that when x or y happens feel free to speak up. I was wavering about posting, but take it as part one to this chapter and the next will be part two. Have fun reading!