Chapter Six

The sun shone brightly on Nathaniel's back as he walked the familiar short six-block walk from his temporary apartment to the hospital where Shepard was still fighting for her life. Nathaniel had been making this walk everyday around the same time since Chakwas had cleared him of his injuries almost four months ago, which included time for various therapies such as occupational and physical. The day he was discharged he set out to find a place to live close to the hospital and made a vow that he would visit Shepard everyday until she was discharged. He had yet to miss a single day of visitation, even braving terrible storms to make it on time.

"Good morning, General," said the morning receptionist Wendy as he entered the reception area of the hospital. "I have your visitor's pass ready to go right here."

Nathaniel smiled at her; she had been a great help with various miscellaneous details regarding Shepard's stay. "Thanks, beautiful," he said as he put the badge on his shirt. "Is Trinity in today?"

Wendy nodded. "Yes she is, actually she should be checking on Miss Shepard as we speak, if your friend isn't distracting her too much."

"James is here again?" asked Nathaniel with a slight shake of his head. "I'm surprised he's up this early, what with all his important meetings and such."

"Well, I guess Trinity's enough motivation to get up in the morning," replied Wendy with a slight laugh, the older woman enjoyed seeing love blossom at the hospital, it was a nice change of pace. "Just like a certain rear admiral is for a certain general."

Nathaniel blushed as he signed the sign-in sheet. "Speaking of Shepard, do you have any news on her condition?"

"Nothing yet, but I'll let you know," said Wendy kindly as Nathaniel made his way to the elevator. "I'll bring you some lunch!"

"Thanks, Wendy!" called Nathaniel just before he stepped into the opened elevator.

The elevator stopped at the fourth floor just as it always did for Nathaniel and he stepped out, checking as usual for any signs of potential threats before he proceeded down the hall, stopping at the sixth door. He glanced inside and saw Shepard was as he had left her the previous night, lying prone on her back still in her medically induced coma with tubes flowing into her body. This was different though from how she had initially arrived, there were fewer tubes now and she was no longer living in an incubator like a premature baby; her body had recovered enough that such equipment was no longer necessary. She was even breathing on her own, the iron lung they had put her on when she arrived had been removed about a month into her stay; all that needed to happen now was for her to wake up and then they would remove the rest.

Nathaniel entered the hospital room and settled himself in the chair that he had placed by Shepard's bedside the first day he visited her, telling the doctors and nurses to only move it if it was in their way, otherwise it was to be left in its position. So far, no one had moved it. He reached over and gently caressed Shepard's hand for a few seconds, watching for any sign of a reaction from her; there was no change. Sighing heavily he relaxed back in his chair and opened the book he had brought with him; so far he had read through most of the books he had inherited from his grandfather, having brought them out of storage shortly after he moved into his apartment. He had used the time watching over Shepard to catch up on his reading, currently he was making his way through Shakespeare, having already read most of the Tennyson books in his collection.

"What's the flavor of the day, General?" asked Trinity as she came into the room. Trinity was Shepard's primary care nurse and was responsible for taking care of most of her needs plus maintaining the various machines and taking down her vitals. During Nathaniel's visits, the two of them had formed a friendship and often shared meals together whenever she was off work; while he enjoyed her company, he had no interest in her romantically. Besides, James obviously had her in his sights and she was now asking endless questions about the Marine, questions he was sure only Shepard could successfully answer.

"It's The Lady of Shallot," he said, briefly glancing at the title of his book. "Pretty good so far though I'm not too invested."

Trinity chuckled warmly as she looked from screen to screen, writing down the various numbers that popped up on her tablet. "James was by earlier," she said casually as she checked Shepard's pulse manually. "He's thinking of getting a more permanent place here, rather than continuing to share the apartment with Major Alenko."

"Good for him," said Nathaniel as he started to read his book. "Do you know if he got that position as a liaison between the Alliance and Turian military?"

"He mentioned that that position might be going to someone else," said Trinity as she finalized her morning report on Shepard's vitals. "Expecting any visitors today?"

"Not today," sighed Nathaniel as he turned a page. "Garrus and Tali are back in London with Liara, all three acting as ambassadors while trying to get this whole mess cleaned up. James and Kaidan are still here obviously but busy with their duties, Joker's still with the Normandy and has yet to leave it. Haven't heard much on the other members of Shepard's team, but there's hope they're all still alive."

"I think I heard about one," said Trinity quietly. "That woman, Jack? She's been reassigned to Biotics division."

That was news to him. "Really? I thought she was a teacher at Grissom Academy," he said, looking up from his book as he spoke.

Trinity looked somewhat sad as she spoke. "Well, James was told this morning that her entire squadron of students had been decimated on the front lines during the war. She's being transferred per her own request."

"Shepard's probably not going to take that well," he muttered, glancing at the sleeping soldier. "If memory serves me, she saved those students and then recommended that they be placed at the front lines."

"From what James said, Jack doesn't blame Shepard for what happened," sighed Trinity as she prepared to leave the room. "She blames the Reapers, just like the rest of us do for our losses."

Nathaniel nodded grimly, he was all too intimate with loss; he had lost most of his troop to the final assault, lost more friends than he could count to war overall, and had lost his parents to the initial attack on Arcturus station. Trinity had told him that she lost a majority of her family during the war and a number of friends as well, so in some way they were bonded through loss and grief.

"Which doctor should I expect to come in today?" asked Nathaniel before Trinity left.

"Hmm, I believe it's Doctor Richards today," replied Trinity. "Want to have lunch together again? I think James said something about possibly joining us, and I'm sure he could persuade Kaidan to accompany him as well."

"Yeah, alright," replied Nathaniel absentmindedly. "Wendy said she'd be bringing my lunch up later today, so when she does take that as the signal to call James and Kaidan."

"Will do, General," she said with a laugh as she closed the door.

The morning progressed slowly from that point on; nurses filtered in and out of the room to check on Shepard though nothing had changed since the last time they had been in there. While Shepard had been making progress in her recovery, it was still doubtful that she would be back to her old self if she did wake up, most of the doctors that had been in to see her had all declared she would never wake up. They told Nathaniel to just take her off the life support machines and let her go, after all Hackett had given him medical power of attorney since she had no one else. He adamantly refused to do that and asked for another specialist, taking recommendations primarily from Chakwas who was still in London patching up soldiers. She had been a great help up until recently.

'I need another specialist,' Nathaniel says as he rubs his eyes. He had spent another sleepless night going through the list of possible doctors for Shepard and it was catching up with him.

'What happened to the other one?' asks Chakwas, her voice strained and tired.

'Same thing that happens to all of them,' sighs Nathaniel irritably. 'They say there's some hope but not much and that it would be kinder to just let her go.'

There is a pause on the other end before Chakwas speaks again. 'Perhaps they're right, Coats,' she says finally. 'We've been trying to revive her for the better part of a year with very little success and it doesn't look like anything's going to change any time soon. I think it would be kinder if we gather everyone to her hospital bed, have a small good bye and then turn off the machines.'

Nathaniel is stunned, he never expected Chakwas to give up on Shepard, he thought she has been in her corner and would always be there. 'I'm sorry, Karin, but I disagree with you,' he says bitterly. 'We can't give up on Shepard, not now nor ever. She didn't give up on us or the galaxy when she had every reason to, so we all owe it to her to do anything we can to bring her back.'

Chakwas sighs heavily, he knows he has won and that she was about to give in. 'Fine, Nathaniel,' she says finally. 'There's one more I can think of and I'll send him to you as soon as I can. His name's Doctor Tyler Richards, but don't be surprised if he says nothing more can be done for her.'

'Thanks, Chakwas,' says Nathaniel with a grin before he closes his omni-tool.

Now he sat waiting for the latest specialist to show up and tell him everything he had heard from the previous doctors that had shown up over the last few weeks. He held onto a small bit of hope that this one would be different, that he would be able to save Shepard from the brink of death and bring her back. Like countless times before, he dared to hope that she would not be taken from him before he could properly tell her that he loved her and find out if they had a chance together. Not only that, but he knew the galaxy would need its shining star front and center in these dark times, and without her there might not be any renewed hope; a great deal rested on the shoulders of this next doctor.

"General Coats," said a doctor as he entered the room, tablet already at hand as he started writing down notes. "I'm Doctor Richards, I believe Doctor Chakwas told you I was coming, per her request."

"Well, actually it was my request," admitted Nathaniel as he shook the doctor's hand. "I'm sorry to take you from your work at such a dire time, Doctor, it's just that we have a very important patient here whom everyone seems to have given up on."

Richards smiled kindly at Nathaniel and he instantly liked him, most of the doctors before had simply frowned or given him sympathetic looks as if telling him silently that they were merely humoring him. This man seemed different, like he believed there was a chance at saving Shepard's life instead of simply giving up.

"Let's have a look at her then," said Richards as he started towards Shepard. For several long minutes, he simply read what the machines were telling him and then compared them to whatever his tablet contained. He frowned a great deal, repeatedly checking his tablet before he would proceed onto the next machine; Nathaniel was sure he saw something the others had overlooked, he would not be taking this long if he did not.

"How bad is it?" asked Nathaniel after what felt like a lifetime of waiting. "Should I call the funeral home?" The words tasted sour on his tongue, but he had to be realistic about this situation and show the doctor that he was somewhat prepared to hear the worst.

Richards looked up at him. "How many doctors have been put on this case?" he asked.

Nathaniel thought for a moment. "I believe it's been nine, though that's not including Chakwas."

"I see," said Richards and he scrutinized his notes once again. "This may sound preposterous but I believe Shepard's been at functioning capacity for at least two weeks now. Her vitals are at optimum levels, she's able to breathe on her own, and from what I can tell she's been having a great deal of brain activity. If we took her off these machines right now, it's very possible that she'll wake up on her own accord."

Nathaniel wanted to punch someone, hard. For months he had been told that nothing could be done, that it was a hopeless cause, yet here was someone completely competent telling him that the others had been wrong for fourteen days! They had robbed him of two more weeks with Shepard, stolen from her more time that could have been spent doing whatever she wanted. It was an unforgivable crime, yet Nathaniel was too elated to exact revenge at that moment. She was alive, and would be able to wake up.

"How soon can you turn off those bloody machines?" asked Nathaniel excitedly, he was practically jumping for joy at that point though he managed to restrain himself.

"I could do it now if you sign these forms," said Richards, handing him his tablet.

He almost signed it right then and there, but something stopped him, he remembered Chakwas words about how turning off the machines would result in Shepard's death not life. "You know, mate, Chakwas said that turning off the machines would likely kill Shepard," he said slowly. "How are you so sure that she'll wake up once you turn those things off?"

"All signs point to the conclusion that she'll live," replied Richards simply. "Besides, after hearing from several doctors that she'll die, why would I go against popular opinion if I wasn't absolutely sure this was the right way?"

"Fair point," conceded Nathaniel and he signed the paperwork. "Turn off those damn machines and bring her back."

Richards nodded and started to systematically shut off the machines, making sure not to trip the alarms that would bring everyone in at once and probably stop him from completely disabling her. Nathaniel watched Shepard as he did, looking for any signs that she might be coming to, though even after the last machine was turned off and the last bit of equipment removed from her body, she remained still. There was no amazing recovery, there was no hype, just stillness. Richards and Nathaniel shared a concerned look as he felt tears sting his eyes and blur his vision; after all that, everyone had been right after all.

He was just about to call for Trinity, when he saw through the bleariness of his tears her eyelashes flutter slightly. His eyes were on hers as he held his breath and waited for what felt like an eternity; when nothing happened immediately after, he had himself half convinced that what he saw was just a trick of his hopeful mind. Then her eyes opened completely and stared back at him.