Ashley entered Shepard's room shortly after he messaged her. She came up to him with a curious face, wondering to herself what Liara had said to him. She assumed it was just another warm thank-you or appreciative message she wanted to personally tell Shepard.
I hope that was it, Ashley thought worriedly.
Why am I even worried? Liara has nothing against me. At least I don't think she does. If she did, she should come to me, not Shepard. Okay, I need to stop thinking out of proportion. I'll just wait and see what Shepard has to say.
Shepard tried to sit in a more upright position. He repositioned himself and faced Ashley as she came up to his side from the door.
"Hey Ash."
Ashley breathed a hey back and kissed him. Shepard pushed into the kiss smiling at the comfort, savoring it. He felt safe in Ashley's presence, comfortable, almost like he was home.
Ashley leaned back,"Okay, what's up?" She tried to act like she wasn't suspicious of Liara's little visit with Shepard.
"You aren't gonna believe what Liara just told me.. God, I feel like a little gossipy school girl."
They both laughed.
"No but in all seriousness, I shouldn't act like her feelings are a joke. I'm obviously gonna tell you one way or another though."
"Okay, what happened?" Ashley calmly asked.
"Well, she came in and she went on about how much I meant to her. But she got to the point and said she loved me."
Ashley was shocked. She suspected Liara may have had a simple crush or liking for the Commander, but love? A slight discomfort formed in Ashley's stomach. She knew that Shepard and her were inseparable at this point. Nothing would come between them but death.
Why didn't she tell me first at least? I guess everyone has a right to what they want to say..
"Wow.." Was all Ashley could get out through all the thoughts racing through her mind.
"Ash I don't know,"
Ashley suddenly felt anxious from the tone in his voice. She looked at him nervously.
Shepard had a nonchalant look on his face as he gazed out the window looking out toward London,"I don't know, it's kind of weird now. Between her and I, I just don't know what it'll be like now, or how I'll act around her. Like I gotta watch everything I say or do or she'll think I'm making a move." He frowned, but smiled.
Ashley laughed at that, all of her worries dissipating as Shepard took her hand in his.
He looked into her eyes,"Nothing is going to separate me from you Ash. Only death and your word itself."
"Shepard please. You need me as much as I need you."
He smiled frustratingly,"Alright, I want to get out of this bed. I really do so I can hug you properly damn it!"
Ashley chuckled,"Like we've been saying, in due time babe. I'm gonna go get Dr. Chakwas because your bandages need changing though. Then maybe I can give you a private bath?" She raised an eyebrow.
Shepard perked up at that last part.
"Because those hospital wipes are so lavish and fancy!" Ashley exclaimed with heavy sarcasm. Shepard frowned as she strode out the room with a smirk, leaving Shepard in a state of dissatisfaction, and she yet again, felt accomplished.
Shepard sighed and looked at the hospital wipes on his bed stand.
"Damn you.."
Dr. Chakwas came in with Ashley shortly after.
"Alright Shepard," Dr. Chakwas started slowly,"here comes the bad part." She started gathering up supplies and wraps.
Shepard sighed yet again.
"Okay Skipper, want me to stay?"
Shepard desperately wanted Ashley to stay. But, he knew he'd probably be in a lot of pain from the process of replacing his bandages.
He smiled,"No Ash, it's okay. You go catch some shut eye. That's an order." He exaggeratedly frowned in superiority.
Ashley sighed,"Well okay then, I'll bring you some food when you're all done. Oh and we're both Spectres, remember?" She came close to his ear and whispered,"I'm not your subordinate anymore, Commander." She pecked him on the lips before he could do anything more, and left the room.
Shepard shook his head in disbelief.
Dr. Chakwas had all the supplies ready and approached Shepard. "Alright, I'll start from top to bottom and please try to move as little as possible. You don't need to help, I can take your bandages off by myself, okay?"
"Got it doc."
"Alright, here we go."
*Thirty strenuous minutes later*
Dr. Chakwas' hair was a bit frizzed, her breaths a bit short,"Okay Shepard, all of your bandages are replaced, wounds cleaned, and bathed. I gave you some more regenerative shots to help the healing. You're all set, would you like me to fetch Ashley for you?"
Shepard tried to rearrange his position to get more comfortable,"No you can let her sleep doc."
"As you wish Commander, I'll get you some food then."
"Thank you." Shepard nodded appreciatively.
After Shepard was all done with his food, he felt very tired. It was about 11:04 standard earth time when he looked at his omni-tool. He had hundreds of messages from God knows who, but didn't want to deal with them at the moment.
He closed his omni-tool and settled in for sleep.
It had been a couple of days, and Shepard was finally ready to try and stand up. It was midday and his hospital room was illuminated by the bright sun looming over London.
Shepard gazed out the window with Ashley sitting by his side.
"Man, it seems like years since the sun has shined so bright."
"It sure does. I imagine many more sunny days ahead. She took his hand as they both smiled. She couldn't resist the urge to kiss him. Ashley pushed her lips to his in a gratifying kiss. Just as they pulled apart, Dr. Chakwas came in with a datapad in her hand.
"Hello you two." She smiled as they said hello back. "Well Shepard, I heard you wanted to try and stand up today. I looked over your recent medical tests and I think that it's a splendid idea. When shall we get started?"
"Oh I'm ready now," he looked at Ashley as she nodded encouragingly.
"Great. Lets start with getting your feet to the ground."
"I got it Dr." Ashley said as she helped Shepard slowly get his feet off the bed. He grimaced as he clutched his abdomen.
"Remember Commander, if it gets to be too much, sit down. There will always be time, no rush. You are still weak and we can't risk a fall."
"I got it doc, I'm good, thanks."
He balanced on his two feet with Ashley holding him at his elbow. He nodded to her and she slowly let go, eyeing his movements closely in case she needed to help balance him. Shepard started to walk slowly but surely. After a bit, he could shift around the room with little to no pain.
"At the end of the week your pain should significantly reduce. However, we didn't anticipate for you to lose so much muscle mass. The main thing after the pain will be muscle regeneration." Dr. Chakwas smiled,"I bet you're missing those long intense workouts, hmm?"
Shepard gave a quick teasing glance at Ashley, he chuckled and focused on his walking,"Actually, I am right about now. I want to move. Anything but laying in that bed for another second."
"Well you're going to have to endure it for a little longer I'm afraid. You're almost there though," she reassuringly smiled.
"Don't worry Dr. Chakwas, I'll make sure he stays rested." Ashley was close and within reach of him in case he needed help.
Shepard just smiled to himself.
"It seems you've got it under control then. Let me know if you need anything at all. I will be in to give you your meds and lunch in an hour Commander."
"Thank you Dr. Chakwas."
She exited the room leaving both of them alone. Shepard reached out for Ashley's waist, almost stumbling in the process. He kissed her furiously as she reciprocated.
He stopped for a breath,"I've been wanting to kiss you like that for so long." He had his eyes closed, savoring the kiss.
"Me too." Ashley smiled and looked up at him.
Shepard opened his eyes, a grin appearing on his face,"You know, we can probably get a lot done in an hour." He started to fiddle with the zipper of Ashley's jacket.
She smacked his hand away, receiving an exaggerated ouch from Shepard, putting a smirk on her face.
"You need to rest Shepard. Besides, you might get hurt." She winked and pulled away form his grasp.
"Ashley I think you underestimate me." Shepard raised an eyebrow.
"No, no it's the other way around babe. Look, I have to fill out some paperwork and I can fill it out here if you'd like. How about that at least?"
Shepard sighed,"Yes of course you can fill out paperwork here. Instead of other things..."
Ashley smugly smiled,"Great, I'll go get it." She walked out of the room.
Shepard suddenly felt his knees tremble. He knew he needed to sit down.
I hate this. I can't be this weak. Not me.
He sat down with dissatisfaction on his bed. He examined his thinned biceps that used to be bulged and tan. He sighed and pulled his legs up and leaned back. He suddenly started to feel tired and slowly felt himself slip into a deep slumber.
The next day, Shepard made many more attempts at standing up and walking around his room. Naturally, he was near exhausted at the end of the day.
Him and Ashley were sitting on his bed, side by side facing the window again. This time at night, and more city lights were showing this time than before.
"I guess they got some buildings up and running. Almost looks like a city again," Shepard said. He put his arm around Ashley and pressed her against his side.
Ashley calmly breathed,"Yeah."
She looked up to him,"Shepard, what's gonna happen with us?"
The question caught him off guard. He didn't expect Ashley to ask so soon. Then again he didn't blame her.
"Well, I know we're going to be together. I love you more than anything and whatever happens next in life, I want you to be a part of it. But, you had to have known that already."
Ashley snuggled closer to him and smiled,"I did. I just like hearing you say it. So what, career? Life? What?"
Shepard was, again, caught off guard at these questions he hadn't thought about all that much. In the back of his mind however, he knew he wanted to retire if possible. He wanted to live his life with Ashley in peace. He wanted to settle down and knew it could only be with her.
"Geez Ash these are some hard questions you're dropping on me on the spot like this. Since you thought of them, why don't you answer me first?"
"Well okay then." Ashley sat up and faced Shepard. "I was thinking I'd want to, well, retire." She was looking at her hands, then looked to Shepard with guarded eyes,"Is that what you want?"
As she said that, relief overcame Shepard.
"Ash, I'm so glad you said that. I want the same." They both seemed to relax, deflate. "I'm just curious though, why? Why retire now?"
"My goal when joining the Alliance was to regain my family's legacy and get my family name off the black list. I raised up in the ranks to Lieutenant Commander and was finally made a Spectre. I've regained my family's legacy and found you. I don't need to prove myself anymore. I don't need to fight. What about you?"
"I can understand why you'd want to retire. There will always be war around us. But I'm tired Ash. I'm tired of being in the middle of it. I want to breathe again. I found the love of my life and I just want to live in peace with her. That's my goal now." He put her hand to her face and smiled. He leaned down and kissed her warm welcoming lips.
Shepard's omni-tool suddenly beeped. He looked down and saw that Admiral Hackett was calling. He nodded to Ashley and she pressed the comm button since he couldn't with his left hand. Hackett's face popped up on a small, holographic screen.
"Commander Shepard and Lieutenant Williams, it sure is good to see your faces. I was glad to hear you are recovering nicely Shepard. I'm sorry I can't see you in person, I have my hands full over here. I'm guessing you heard the order to stay rested for at least a week Shepard?"
"Yes sir, Dr. Chakwas informed me."
"Good. I'm not gonna lie, Earth looks like hell. It's going to take at least a decade for everything to recover. I'm gonna get to the point. Shepard, you've done the whole galaxy a great deal. I wouldn't be surprised if people started worshiping you. You are a legend and a damn fine soldier. I would like to offer you a position on the council. You would be presenting humanity's finest. The Asari, Turian, and Salarians contacted me themselves to offer this position to you. You have earned this and much, much more."
Shepard was shocked by the council position Hackett had offered him. The job didn't sound too appealing since he was never one for politics. Plus, him and Ashley had just finished talking about how they wanted to settle down. Nevertheless, he was very honored that Hackett offered him this.
"Admiral, I am very honored by your proposal but I will have to respectfully decline sir. I'm just a soldier doing my job. I think I've done just that and I was hoping to retire and live my life peacefully. Also, to be honest, I've never been one for politics."
The Admiral sighed,"Well Shepard, I'm disappointed to hear that, but on the other hand I completely understand."
"Thank you sir."
"Now, Lieutenant Williams. You have done an excellent job during all this. You have stood by Shepard's side. You vouched for him even when he was working with Cerberus, your enemy. In two years you moved from a Gunnery Chief to Lieutenant Commander while grieving your deceased Commander simultaneously. I would like to offer you the position of First Admiral for all of your bravery and courage throughout the Reaper war. Unless of course you have other plans." Hackett smiled slightly. An expression the two rarely saw on the Admiral.
Ashley looked at Shepard who just smiled at her. She looked back to Hackett,"Sir, I feel the same as Shepard. I've fulfilled my family's legacy by becoming the second human spectre. I'm proud of what I've done, and I'm proud of all my fellow crew. I will be following in Shepard's footsteps and retiring. I know we're young, but this is a new, different path for us."
"I respect both your decisions and wish you the best. You're welcome anytime to send in your resignations, I don't care how long you hold off. It's been an honor and I'm proud to have been your Admiral and officer. I'm talking to two of the finest soldiers I've seen in my time. I hope this won't be the last time we see each other, but just in case, good luck. Hackett out." He saluted and the comm went blank.
"Well that was interesting." Ashley said in amazement.
"I'd say. I can't believe he offered me a council position. I can't even imagine what that would be like. But First Admiral? You sure you want to pass up that for a damaged grunt like me?"
"You wouldn't be Shepard if you weren't a damaged grunt. Like you said, everyone comes with baggage, and you're my matched set."
"Ah, the awful line that sounded like it came from a fortune cookie. Looks like I'm growing on you Williams." He smiled and leaned in for a kiss.
Happy New Years! :D New chapter soon :3