AN: I hope you like this chapter and I would love to hear your thoughts! Let me know if there is something you would like to see happen C:

"I have no clue what I'm doing, Sol. Spirits know I wasn't meant to be an interior designer."

Garrus closed the kitchen cabinet he had just completed stocking. There were a mix of different glasses and cups from almost every store at transit length. The rest of the apartment echoed a similar handling of decoration. Nothing really matched, at least by turian standards.

"As much as I enjoy hearing you struggle," Solana's voice lulled through his visor, "You know that wasn't why I called."

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Wow, is it that bad?" she asked, "I usually have to beg for you to stop talking about Shepard and how amazing and wonderful she is." Her words were light, but there was an undercurrent of concern to them.

Busying himself with unfolding the empty boxes in the kitchen, Garrus answered vaguely, "It could be worse."

There was a pregnant pause before Solana spoke up, "She still doesn't remember."

"No. But the doctor says her memory will come back with time. Physically, she's on the mend, and that's all that matters."

"Varren shit! What's with all this fucking emotional martyrdom? You're allowed to be selfish and upset, and I swear to the spirits, if you screw this up—"

"Sol?"

"Yeah?"

Garrus let out a breath leaned against the kitchen counter. "Have you started watching those horrible drama vids with Mom again?" he asked plainly.

The younger Vakarian, hotheaded and passionate as she was, replied coolly, "Deflect all you want, but you know I have good reason to be worried. If there's any truth in the vids we watch, she'll fall for the first one she sees when she wakes up. You're already off to a bad start."

"Thanks. That's exactly what I need to hear."

"And I know that it isn't really your strong suite, but you should try to lay on the charm. Put on some human pheromones, learn their flirting techniques."

"Sol, I'm ending the call."

"Fine, be that way! Send our love to Shepard and tell her we hope to see her soon."

He knew his sister's warnings were a joke. She always ribbed him at every chance she got. But that didn't ease the growing knot in his stomach.

After powering down his visor in an attempt to gain some peace and quiet, Garrus continued to ready the apartment and did his best to forget Solana's dismal prediction.

Kaidan ran his fingers over the paperbound book left open on Shepard's bedside table. The pages were littered with personal notes and faded stains. Tape was carefully pressed against tearing seams. He remembered seeing the same book in the original Normandy; it was obviously loved.

Just as he was about to turn the page, the door hissed open. Shepard made her way inside, balanced between two crutches that clicked softly against the hard tiled floor. "Kaidan!" she greeted, pleasantly surprised, "What are you doing here? I didn't know you were visiting today."

"I wanted to see you," he smiled, tearing his focus away from the book. His smile only grew as he watched Shepard navigate around the room on her own. "The doctor told me you wouldn't be out of the chair until the end of the month."

Shepard chuckled, setting the crutches down before easing herself into the bed, "Say what you want about Cerberus, but their implants are definitely worth the credit."

Kaidan took his customary seat beside the bed, scooting the chair as close as he could get. "By this rate, you'll be released by the end of the week," he said, "Which is…what I wanted to talk to you about."

Shepard stuffed a pillow behind her head and sat up against the headboard. "Shoot," she prompted, folding her hands neatly in her lap. She steadied her gaze on her former squad mate, immediately noticing his telltale signs of nervousness.

"Well…I've been offered a leadership position in Vancouver," he started to say, eyes not quite meeting hers as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's temporary, like all the relief efforts going on right now, but they're asking me to make base there."

"That sounds great, Kaidan. And you'd be closer to your parents," she nodded, "The big cities need all the help they can get, and they can really benefit with your direction. But I don't see how this has to do with my release."

After taking a breath and moment to gather his courage, he reached forward to take her hands in his. "I know you have plans after you're released, but I want you to come with me." He looked down to their hands as he said with uncertainty, "With all that's happened, I feel like I've been given a second chance. And I can fix all the problems we've had in the past. I…" He met her gaze and smiled weakly, "I don't expect an answer right away. I just wanted you to think about it. Think about what…we…can have."

Shepard, whose immediate response was elation, was now experiencing a growing sense of dread. Something didn't sit well with Kaidan's proposal, and Shepard was never one to ignore her gut feeling. She did well to hide her trepidation and simply nodded with a squeeze of his hand, "I'd like to think about it."

"E-Excuse me, Commander," a particularly stressed attendant said as they entered Shepard's suite, "There is a woman at the front desk demanding to see you, but you haven't cleared any visitors for today."

Shepard looked up from her recently repaired omni-tool and turned off the interface. "Who wants to see me?" she asked, crossing her legs as she sat on her bed.

The salarian replied quickly, "Jacqueline Nought. She says you two are buddies."

She mentally filtered through all the logs she read, trying to remember coming across that name. Out of all her immediate squad mates, Jack was the only one who hadn't visited. And from what she heard of her, she was definitely the type to come unannounced.

"Give her clearance," she nodded. But before the salarian even left the doorway, Jack made her way through the hall, trailed by several nurses and guards.

"The amount of security makes this hospital feel like a fucking prison," the heavily tattooed and petite woman scowled, sidestepping the salarian and sauntering into the room, "Can you tell them to stand down or something?" She lifted a large paper bag and grinned, "I come bearing gifts."

"That hasn't been cleared by security," a guard said, making her way to snatch the bag from her.

Shepard envisioned how the next ten seconds could play out and quickly raised her hand to quell them, "There's no need. I asked her to bring me something. Return to your stations."

After a few exchanged glances between the staff, Shepard and Jack were finally left alone. Shepard noticed that the bravado the woman previously displayed was slightly damped as she stalked around her bed. Inked knuckles wound tightly around the paper bag, betraying her unease.

"You remember me?" Jack asked unceremoniously.

Shepard studied her, somewhat reminded of a feral animal ready to strike. Or a mistrustful child returning to an absent parent. "No, I don't," she answered, "I'm sorry."

Something flashed across her face that the commander couldn't quite read. But as fast as it appeared, it was gone. The biotic took a seat at the edge of her bed, kicking off her muddy boots before mimicking Shepard's pose. "Well, one of the things I know about hospitals is that they always serve shit food," she said through clenched teeth, "And, being the always charitable soul I am, I wasn't going to let a fellow biotic suffer through that."

Shepard watched as a variety of containers were emptied from the bag, along with several bottles she had no problem identifying. "Jack, you sure know how to treat a girl," she smirked, claiming one of them, "We'll just have to keep this from the good doctor."

The stiffness in her shoulder's relaxed. "Good to know you haven't changed. I heard you were quite the stickler back in the day," she jested, tossing her a plastic fork

"Oh, when I heard about the things I did…" she chuckled, shaking her head, "I have trouble even believing half of them." She opened the closest container and almost groaned at the smell of smoked brisket and mashed potatoes. "This is a godsend."

Jack shrugged as she opened her own container, "It's no big deal. You would do the same for me." She stabbed her fork into her meal and added, "I never thanked you for your suggestion with my students. They're alive because of you. So, I guess…this is my way of saying thanks…and also saying sorry for not coming sooner."

Shepard swallowed down a particularly large mouthful of potatoes and wiped the corner of her lips with her thumb. "Your students…from Grissom Academy, right?" she asked, and when she saw her eyes light up at the prospect of her remembering, she quickly amended, "I read it on your file."

"Yeah," she said, taking a moment to grab a bite. "They're finally growing into their own. Rodriguez has a knack for the relief efforts going on. I guess her soft, gooey heart isn't a total waste."

"What made you become a teacher?" Shepard asked, opening up another container, "I…get the feeling that teaching wasn't part of your initial life plans."

Jack snorted and scratched behind her ear, keeping her eyes on her food, "Damn, are you going to make me go through this a second time? It was embarrassing enough the first time—"

"Oh, you don't have to—"

"Just, shut up for a second." Jack nibbled on her upper lip as she twisted open a bottle and took a long drink. "You rubbed off me, I guess. All those ridiculous pep talks and personal story sharing…it changed the way I saw things. After we destroyed that Collector base, I wanted to make a difference," she said, "And what better way to do that than train the hopeless biotics at Grissom. With me, they have a fighting chance."

Shepard was already half through her own bottle as she listened. With a nod, she said, "That's about what Garrus told me."

At the chance of steering the conversation away from her, Jack smirked and pointed the neck of her bottle towards her, "You and him still together? Must have been a shock to wake up and find out you're married to his scaly ass."

Shepard swallowed her beer too fast and coughed hard into her sleeve.

"Don't get me wrong," Jack laughed at her reaction, "It's a fine piece of ass. And I've seen the way he fights, holy shit."

Her coughing fit continued as she tried to gather her wits. "M-Married?" she managed to say, taking a smaller sip to soothe her throat.

"You didn't know? Not married, like, in the human sense. But you two are mated, at least, I think that's the word you used."

Shepard reached behind her neck, absent-mindedly rubbing the juncture between her jaw and shoulder. "I knew we were in a relationship, but I never knew how…intimate," she admitted, feeling her face burn, "Shit, I didn't know it was that serious."

The biotic was in stitches, failing her attempts to keep a level face. "Oh hell, you two were far more than just intimate," she wiggled her brows, "Pretty sure there were a few gossip columns on the extranet about it."

With a groan, she finished her beer and opened a second. "I didn't…I need to apologize to Garrus," she muttered, "I should have…Oh my god."

Jack threw the empty bottle in the paper bag and asked, "What's there to apologize about?"

Shepard remembered her reaction with the first run-through of her history. Luckily, Garrus was not present when Kaidan told her. She wondered why he didn't emphasize how close the two of them were. She was under the impression it was just a one-time thing. "When I found out…I didn't believe it, and I laughed…"

"Well, shit."

"Is that all you have to say? You show up after two years and just act like nothing happened? Thought we had something, Shepard. Something real."

Shepard found herself in the middle of a thick crowd, hundreds of arms reaching out to pull her deeper in. She continued to push through, trying to find the source of the voice filling her head.

"I love you. Thinking you were dead tore me apart. How could you put me through that?"

She shook her head, telling herself she couldn't help it. It wasn't her fault.

"You can't really believe that! You turned your back on everything we believed in! You betrayed the Alliance. You betrayed me."

Her legs began to sink into the ground. The bodies came closer, trapping her tight. She could barely breathe. Shepard screamed, "Kaidan! Save me!"

The crowd began to clear, but she continued to sink. She struggled to keep her head above ground, but dirt and sand threatened to choke her. A sole figure approached, in Alliance blues. They knelt before her and smiled softly, "You've changed. But I still know where my loyalties lie."

Shepard woke up covered in sweat, gasping for air. She scrambled to sit up and turned towards the space next to her. For a split second, she almost expected to see someone there.

She swallowed hard, ignoring the sudden loneliness she felt, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Pull yourself together, soldier," she muttered, shaking her head, "It was just a dream."

Right?

"Well, it seems like everything is in place for your release tomorrow morning. You already received my referrals for your physical and cognitive therapy, and your dues were covered by the Alliance. The only thing left…" the doctor said, skimming through their datapad, "Is the question of where you'll be staying."

Shepard furrowed her brow, "Do you need to know now?"

The doctor looked up from their notes and gave a practiced smile, "We need to have it on record, yes."

"The Alliance is providing me an apartment near the city."

"Ah, yes…" they nodded, tapping a few times on their screen, "And you will be staying there for the immediate future?"

Shepard answered without hesitation.