"Blue Suns, mecs, and wardens OH MY!"
That's what Eve said when they finally killed the warden and chased down Jack.
She sneered a curse under her breath when she saw that Jack was a psychotic, biotic, angry, woman.
It was defiantly harder to 'catch' her, but not hard to 'find' her. She seemed to leave five to six bodies behind her every ten feet.
When they reached the Normandy they saw Jack rampaging and pacing.
Shepard turned her head and put a finger to her mouth. She took her pistol out and made quiet strides to the angry tattooed woman. The Blue Sun behind her continued to advance so she took the shot and the dead man fell too the ground.
Jack turned to look at her.
Shepard went to put her gun away when Garrus grabbed her hand.
He bent down and whispered in her ear. The hairs on her neck stood up making her cringe.
"Don't you think we should leave them out?"
She turned her head to whisper back,
"She has no gun, no where to go. She'll come with us."
She yanked out of Garrus' grip and slid her pistol into the holder. Giving him a nasty look and almost growled. She stepped forward and Jack backed up.
"Who the hell are you and what do you want?"
How did Shep know this was going to be one of those people that doesn't 'care'.
"I just saved your ass a thank you would be suffice."
Jack seemed to calm down, but her pacing was driving Eve insane.
"He was already dead...He just didn't know it. Back to you. Who are you and what the hell do you want?"
"My name is, Shepard. Do I really need to force you on my ship or are you going to co-operate?"
Jack's face sneered along with her tone.
"I'm not going anywhere with you your Cerberus."
Again with the Cerberus thing.
"I'm offering to be your friend. You don't want to be my enemy."
_Garrus_
Shepard's voice, tone, and attitude was sending him on edge.
She wasn't acting like herself. She was angry only when she dealt with other people.
She never sneered at him or Joker, maybe it was because she trusted them.
He had been shocked that she had snarled at him and pulled away from him like that.
He had to let it go, but something wasn't right. She seemed mad all the time almost like she was pissed.
It had to stop it was going no where, but he had no right to tell her to stop something.
After that mission she had been pissed at him. He was now in the Main Battery thinking it all over.
When we were fighting Saren...she was sweet, kind, she made sure everyone who could be saved got saved. She was a damn symbol of leadership. Not that she isn't now, but she was more strict.
What the hell had gotten her so mad?
_Eve_
She sat on the edge of her bed, head in hands. No sleep at all. Not one hour, minute or second.
It was final. Sleep wasn't going to come. She hobbled over to the bathroom and picked up the pill bottle that Chakwas gave her and tossed two in her mouth. She swallowed them with water and went to her desk to check her mail.
Less than a minute later a screeching pain made her grip her stomach.
'What the hell?'
The pain in her stomach was so painful that she almost cried out. She swore that it was just hormones and it would pass, but it continued for over five minutes.
Then a sweat broke out on her forehead and a skull crunching headache replaced the abdomen pains.
She unsteadily got up and walked over to the bathroom. She double checked the pills and threw them on the ground, spilling the contents of pills on the floor.
"DAMN."
She yelled and called out to EDI,
"EDI, get-"
Her body finally gave way and she toppled on the floor.
"Shepard, are you alright?"
She watched as the view of the office disappear into darkness.
"Shepard?"
_Garrus_
"Officer Vakarian. Shepard is not responding to me. She said something I was not able to make out.
Can you go up and see if she is alright?"
Garrus looked at the blue orb.
"Can't you do it? Don't you have cameras in her room or something?"
EDI sounded upset.
"No, she took out all of the cameras that were built in the ship. I can only hear her when she requests something from me. I cannot see what she is doing or what is going on. I apologize if that is an inconvenience."
"It's not. Yeah, I'll go check on her."
He turned off the terminal and stopped next to the sphere.
"EDI, why did you ask me to go see? I mean. Why not ask Grunt, or Jack, hell what about Miranda?"
The silence was long. He thought EDI was malfunctioning or something.
Until she spoke with confidence.
"You and the Commander have a connection that I've never seen before.
You are the only one on this ship who knows her best. I asked you, Garrus. Because you 'know' her."
Garrus was shocked. He didn't know what to say, but it must have shown.
"I am sorry if that was too much."
Garrus waved it off.
"No, it's fine, EDI. I'll talk to her...Thank you."
"Anytime."
The blue glow disappeared and he strode quickly into the elevator.
'I'm sure she's fine. She probably couldn't sleep or...'
He kept reassuring himself, but something in his gut didn't feel right.
It hit him. This felt exactly like when she stopped messaging him before she died.
That instinct.
He punched the elevator keypad. Why were elevators so slow?
…...,.,.,.,..,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,...
When the doors opened he looked around a bit. Bed? No. Couch? No. Office?...No.
He looked down and saw little white oval..what looked like pills.
Spirits...
He turned toward the bathroom door which was closed.
"Shepard, are you alright?"
Garrus waited a couple of seconds. Nothing. "Eve?" He stepped forward and the door opened revealing a dark haired woman lying on the floor. Pills were scattered and a pill bottle near the shower.
His heart pounded faster at the unconscious woman.
He bent down and put a talon to her neck to feel for a pulse. None. Now he started to panic.
"EDI, tell Mordin to get down to the med bay."
He picked her up with ease. If she had been Turian she would have been harder to pick up. Thank the Spirits that she was human. Eve looked...pale. She always had a lighter skin tone, but right now she looked white as if the blood from her body had been drained.
He rushed to the med bay in a hurry and got stuck in the elevator. Damned elevators.
Garrus tried to calm down, but found himself slamming a fist into the graphical panel, again.
Get a grip Vakarian.
The elevator doors opened and Garrus rushed to the med bay. Dr. Chakwas had the tips of her fingers on her chin, slightly covering her lower lip. She looked worried. Garrus laid Shepard on one of the med beds and put a talon to her neck one more time. Nothing. No pulse, no breath was entering or exiting her lungs. Not good. Garrus took in a frustrated breath through his nose. He felt a hand on his arm and he looked over and saw it was Chakwas. Her eyes were sympathetic.
"Mordin and I will take care of this. It's early, go get some rest."
He stood up and hesitantly took steps toward the door. He looked back and the doctor frowned.
"I promise she'll be alright. Now shoo." He hesitated again and tightened his mandibles.
"Promise?" He asked. It wasn't a sincere tone, it was a growl of anger. He hated it when people made promises and didn't keep them. It's happened to him more than once, and it never turned out with a good outcome.
"I promise, Garrus. Now go."
He grumbled and walked toward the main battery, not looking away from the med bay. Shepard had always been tough even when she was unconscious. She wasn't dead, just unconscious. He'd tell himself this multiple times. He heard the elevator which had startled him out of his thought. He watched Mordin speed walk to the med bay with a vial in his hand. That smart man probably already had an antidote. Sighing Garrus entered the main battery. He was wiped, but knew now that he probably wouldn't sleep.
_Shepard_
My eyes opened a tad bit. A rugged breath always seemed to rumble my chest as I breathed in.
"Commander."
It was a familiar voice, but it was harder to make it out. It was considerably harder to open my eyes than I thought. When I finally wrenched them open my sight was blurry and all I saw was darkness. Thankful that someone had turned off the lights.
"That's it, Eve. Take all the time you need to adjust." I recognized Chakwas' voice and grumbled at the smell of antiseptic and plastic gloves. My eyes slightly adjusted and I could just barely make out Chakwas with her hands on her hips and a smug smile on her face. I grumbled and started to feel horrid. My stomach was clenching with hunger and nausea. I whipped my arm over my stomach and groaned.
"Why the hell?"
I heard a chuckle from the other side of the room. Mordin. Thinking about it now I don't think I've ever heard him laugh.. I felt like tossing and turning in the small bed I was laying in. I felt my back getting knots in it as I lay here. I hate these beds. I tried sitting up, but Chakwas grabbed my arms and laid me back down.
"Nah-ooo, let go."
I hadn't realized I'd said it until the Doc snapped at me.
"Oh, quit your complaining! You sound like Joker."
I felt like laughing, but couldn't make anything come out. "You took the wrong pills. You should have brought those down after Mordin warned you. But NO Commander Shepard is always aware of which pills she takes."
I grumbled. Her smart ass was starting to tick me off.
"Garrus had to go up there and bring you down here unconscious. He was worried sick. I promised him you'd be fine, but he didn't look like he believed me."
Garrus, I'm still pissed about what he did. Why...why was I so mad? I had forgotten now, but I bet that later I'd remember and kick his ass back to the stone age. I tried to flip over on the bed and lay there.
"Why can't I get up?"
I complained and tossed my legs over the edge of the bed and quickly stood up.
"Shepard!"
Chakwas grabbed my arm and I pulled back.
"You need to rest."
I couldn't rest on that bed even if I wanted to.
"I can't!"
I yelped when she put me back on the bed and I grumbled a little more.
"This is mutiny. MUTINY I TELL YOU MUTINY."
I yelled and Chakwas put a rough hand over my mouth and growled with a stern expression.
"You're acting like a child, Shepard. Calm down!"
I pulled the rough sheet over my head and heard the two doctors start to leave the room.
"Go to sleep, Commander."
I heard the door close and I let out a frustrated breath through my teeth. How does she think I can sleep in here, or even at all?
_Shepard_
I woke up and felt a bit dizzy. I tried to move, but went still. I couldn't handle the dizziness. It swirled in my brain and gave me a headache just laying there. It was still dark other than the dim glow of monitors and datapads in the small medical bay. I turned to my side, closing my eyes and sighing. I felt a migraine coming on, but dismissed it. I was good at doing that these days. I slowly pulled myself to a sitting position and placed my feet on the floor. A chill ran up my legs when my feet barely hit the cold metal. Frankly, it felt good.
I'd been laying in that bed heating myself up under those fleece blankets. I shivered a bit and stood. I felt my knees buckle a bit, but I kept my ground. I hadn't really been hooked up to anything since my condition wasn't that bad. Chakwas had insisted, but of course I didn't let her. It was bad enough being stuck in this room. I knew I'd be fine and she respected my judgment slightly. I slowly started to slink over toward the door. I needed a drink. My mouth was dry and started to water at the thought of cool water. I looked down and saw I was in my same old t-shirt and shorts. Nothing fancy.
Making it into the mess I pulled a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with water. I lifted it to my lips and sighed through my nose when the cool liquid touched my lips. I shivered a bit as I felt it slide down my throat. My legs were starting to shake. I quickly shuffled tiredly to the table, sat down, and set my glass down. Placing my head on my arms as they laid on the table. I listened to the hum of the ship. The fridge making ice cubes and the hum of the main battery...
The main battery.. what was in the main battery? I searched my mind for the answer, but being so tired I just couldn't figure it out. Then it came up. Garrus. I was still mad at him.
~But for what? Eve, you can't hate someone when you don't even know what you hate them for!~
That's it. Apologizing. Or did I already do that? I needed it off of my chest anyway. I lifted myself to my feet and they took me toward the main battery. I glanced at the red lights on either sides of the walkway. It was lighting up my feet... Barefoot. I hadn't cared much for shoes when I'm on the ship. They didn't do any good on it anyway. When I reached the door I didn't even bother knocking. Well, the door wasn't locked! It opened and revealed an empty terminal. ~Hmm..~ I glanced around. My eyes still adjusting to the darkness. Garrus really liked his room dark! My eyes fell on a figure lying down on a cot. I heard the slight breath of him. It made my breath get caught in my gut.
I hesitated for a moment. ~Shouldn't I let him sleep?~ The hum of the room was making me drift a bit. My eyes were now fluttering and it was getting harder to keep the damn things open. I slugged over to the cot. Not thinking about what to do next. I needed the sound of his breath. I needed the hum of the battery.. Alright, at this point I don't think thinking was needed any longer. I sat down against the bars of the railing at his feet beside the cot. I didn't care at this point if I woke up and my back, tailbone, ass, and neck was out of whack. At this moment I'd sleep where I feel most comfortable. Here...is where I'm comfortable now. Before I drifted off I started to wonder when Garrus would wake up...
_Garrus_
Garrus heard a small noise that made him stir a bit. He wasn't fully awake, but heard a small beeping noise. He poked one eye open to realize it was his visor telling him it was 6 in the morning. With a groan he muttered, "Off." The alarm stopped abruptly and he sat up. Placing his head in his hands over his knees, he sighed. Lots of work was going to have to get done today, but first thing on his list was checking on Shep. Last night he had went in his room to close his eyes for a bit, then sneak into the med bay to watch Shepard. He had been to tired to just 'close his eyes' because he had fallen asleep. He went to get up, but heard breathing and a heartbeat that he was sure wasn't his. He turned his head and saw Shepard.
She had her head on the end of the cot and her hair was in her face. Her body was leaning against a part of the railing and her arms were supporting her head. He chuckled, but then started to think for a second. She had probably gotten up and came in here. Why? He reached out to pull her dark hair out of her face with a talon. Her sleep worn features were relaxed and he examined it a bit closer. He'd never seen her asleep before. He noticed a few new scars, one across her lips and one on her cheek. Saren's talon scars were gone, but she'd always had some to replace it with. The glowing ones intrigued him much more than the others. He figured that they were left over from her reconstruction, but it looked like they'd gotten worse in the past weeks. His face went soft and he got up and gently snatched her up. He carried her to the med bay while she was still sound asleep.
He had never known her to be a heavy sleeper, but maybe it was a side-effect of the antidote, or maybe it was because he had never been in the same room when she slept. The med bay doors opened, a voice came from inside. It wasn't a happy voice either. "Where on earth have you been?" Obviously addressing the sleeping woman in his arms. Chakwas didn't look up from her work as she spoke."I looked all over the place, but we didn't want to wake anyone. I went to give you your antidote for this morning and you were gone!" Shepard stirred a bit and had pressed her cheek against his chest as she groaned quietly.
Chakwas still hadn't noticed that Shepard was sleeping and that he was here. Garrus went into an irritated mood. If Chakwas continued she'd end up waking a sleeping Shepard. "I know you don't like the med bay, but eventually you are going to have to get used to being in here!"
She went on as she raised her hands in the air while looking at her datapad. Garrus was waiting for her to stop ranting, but it just continued to his dismay. "I can't believe you are still stubborn enough to just walk out, and EDI was confirming that you walked out at 0200 hours this morning-"
Garrus cleared his throat making the Doctor look up in surprise. "She's sleeping." He said softly and went to Shepard's bed and put her down. She stirred on the bed. "I'm sorry you had to come in and find her gone, but she was with me the whole time. Try not to give her too much of a hard time huh? She just couldn't sleep and ended up on the end of my cot." He paused for a moment.
"Eh, that just went somewhere it shouldn't have." Karin put her head in her hand and shook her head. "You may go, Garrus. She'll explain when she wakes up." A russtling came from the other side of the room and Garrus' head snapped toward the noise and saw Shepard rubbing her eyes. He stood there for a minute. "Ah, why the hell are the mother fucking lights on?" She groaned loudly and Garrus went to turn them off. When they went off the room went silent. It was quiet for several minutes, until Shepard asked sounding frightened and alarmed. "Are they off?"
In sync Chakwas and Garrus both said, "Yes!" Garrus watched Shepard sit up and look around the room. "Now I can't see." Garrus chuckled and Shepard jumped and looked his way. "WHAT WAS THAT?" He thought that she should have been able to see the glow of his visor. He laughed even louder and Chakwas sighed. "WHAT THE FUCKING HELL IS THAT?" Shepard asked almost sounding frightened, but mostly irritated. Garrus went back to turn on the light so she could see it was just him.
"It's just me , Shepard!" He said as he turned on the lights. "Oh my hell shit! Bright! It burns!" Shepard yelped and flopped back on the bed and covered her head with the sheets. "Oh, heh heh. Yeah, sorry." He flicked it back off and Chakwas stood up. "Shepard, I need to check your blood pressure, and you need your last injection of the antidote for those pills." Shepard muttered under her breath and got to her feet. When she did she almost fell, but quickly tried to scramble out the door saying, "Well, thanks for the antidote I should be back later today after we are done on Illium! Bye!" She sung and started feeling her way to the door.
Chakwas was basically useless in the dark, but Garrus had slightly better sight, hearing, and a better nose. So, grabbing Shepard wasn't going to be hard. He waited until she got just close enough until he reached out barely touched her and said, "Boo." Shepard gasped and almost fell on some equipment while cursing, "GARRUS VAKARIAN!" He chuckled a bit and she groaned in frustration. "You're such an ass!" He continued to chuckle. "How big?" He asked while she stood there still regaining composure. "Huuuuuuuuuge." She replied and reached out and tried to get past him while she waved her hands in front of her. He chuckled some more and grabbed her hands and led her back to the bed.
"URRGH, let go, Garry!" Garrus frowned confused. Why was she acting so odd? "What?" Shepard grinned in the dark. It looked dark when she grinned in the dark...Ha. "You have a new nickname! Garry!" Garrus groaned. "Pleeeaase, don't ever call me that in public!"
He heard Chakwas tiptoe quietly over. He looked over and saw her with the syringe. "Hey, my eye sight is coming back a little. Everything was just a big blur, even in the dark. I can see your visor a bit better. It's not a big blurry, EEP!" Garrus looked over and saw that Chakwas had stuck Shepard with the syringe. "Why? Why would my crew betrayed me? Why, Garrus? Why?" She groaned and he pushed a couple locks of hair out of her face.
"We aren't betraying you, Shepard. We are doing this because we care about you!" She brushed it off. "Ppfft, Care Shmare." Garrus looked back at the doc who was now getting the blood pressure Meter ready."I'll leave you to your work, Chakwas."
Chakwas looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you for arranging the Commander for me." Garrus nodded. "Glad I could help." He turned to leave when a strained voice called from behind him. "Garrus, will you stay?" Shepard looked distressed. He'd never seen her look like this in his life. He wanted to stay. He really did, but he needed to get to work and eat something. His stomach was calling to him. Garrus sighed and shook his head. "Shepard, I really want to, but I have to get to work before we get to Illium. If you need some work done just ask."
She looked at her hands and twined them together nervously. "I couldn't ask you to do my work for me, Garrus!" He smiled. "Of course you can. Just spit it out." Shepard sighed and hesitated at first, but looked up and started. "The crew needs to be checked on, I needed to install the new power couplings to my terminal. My messages need to be checked, and- and- and-"
She muttered before she fell asleep. "Mordin put sedative in that?" Garrus asked. Chakwas shook her head. "It's a side-effect though. Her goofiness was a side-effect and she probably won't remember anything from the last hour."
Garrus sighed thankfully. "I won't be called...uh, what did she call me?" "Garry." Chakwas said over her shoulder. "Ah," Chakwas was taking Shepard's blood pressure and sighed.
"It's better to do this when she's awake. We get better results, but she is only willing to do it unconscious." Garrus laughed. "That's Shepard for you."
Chakwas also laughed a little and finished with Shepard. "You may go now, Garrus. Oh, and turn the light on your way out would you?" Garrus nodded and headed out turning the light on as he went. This day was already eventful and he hasn't even put a dent in it!
