"James..." Dr. Chakwas regarded him as he entered the medbay.
He rubbed the back of his neck somewhat sheepishly as he smiled and moved past her to the medical bed that he normally slept in. He was tired after the day's events, and wanted nothing more than to get some rest. Shepard had taken the Quarian, Tali to see the council and show them the evidence she collected. With nothing to offer, James opted out of the event so he could get some shut eye. As he sat down on the edge of the bed, he glanced over to find the older woman still staring at him with a concerned look on her face.
"What?" He offered innocently, shrugging his shoulders as if to further feign ignorance of any wrongdoing.
Chakwas shook her head, not entirely surprised at his antics, and walked over to stand in front of him. She crossed her arms and leaned against the adjacent cot, eying him with an appraising look. She doesn't say a word, but just tilts her head and waits patiently for him to quit his facade.
A few moments pass before James breaks the silence. "Okay, if this is about what happened at the clinic-"
"You quite literally beat a man's head into pulp." Chakwas interjected, loudly putting emphasis on the last word.
He begins to shrug again, though isn't able to complete the motion before Chakwas grabs his shoulder. "James!" She barks out frustratingly.
He looks away, staring intently at a panel on the wall. "I saved your life."
The doctor's face softens, and she gives his shoulder a slight squeeze. "And I thank you for that. But let me help save yours." She moves to the side to intercept his gaze, looking into his eyes as she speaks in a slightly softer tone than before. "You'll get yourself killed if you keep on this way. I know that look in your eyes, that look you have even when you're joking..."
James tries to move his head to look away again, but she moves his chin back to force him to look at her. Her face is deadly serious, more so than she has ever been since they met. But it is her eyes that give him pause. For a moment he sees sadness in her eyes, and in a flash it is gone and replaced with a fire.
She speaks up again, her tone changing to almost an angry one. "I've been doing this a long time James. I've seen that same look you have in your eyes a hundred times before. I've seen it in patients, soldiers... friends." She says that last word as if it pains her. After a pause her voice rises again, recapturing the same fire it had before, but also sounding pleading at the same time. "I've seen what it does to them. You're dead inside, and you're just waiting for your body to catch up. And if you keep on this way, you're not going to have to wait for long."
She finishes her statement by giving his shoulder a hard push backwards, and then abruptly spins around to storm out of the med bay.
As the door closes behind her, she nearly collides with a figure moving with almost as much purpose toward the med bay. "Captain Anderson! You must excuse me, I did not see you there." Chakwas managed weakly, forcing a smile as she said it.
Anderson gives her a knowing look, seemingly unconvinced that she should be smiling. "Is everything okay doctor?"
Chakwas sighed heavily. "Stubborn patient."
"Ah!" Anderson chucked slightly in recognition. "Just the one I was coming to talk to actually." He paused thoughtfully. "Though perhaps I should tell you instead... He's not going to like what I have to say."
The doctor straightened up at the last sentence, not looking forward to more news that would upset James. "Oh?"
"Tell me Doctor, has he asked any questions about his past?" Anderson stated seriously.
"Well, no... he hasn't. I honestly don't think he wants to know." She paused hesitantly. "Or maybe he just isn't ready... Why?" Her look changed to one of concern. "Did something terrible happen to his loved ones? His wife?"
Anderson's brow wrinkled in a worried look as he hesitantly responded. "He doesn't exist."
"What?" Chakwas almost laughed at the absurdity of the statement.
The man just shook his head. "Or at least his background doesn't. There's no record of him, his wife, or anything that he said. Nothing. I'm being told that he should be classified as a section 8 and be brought to an Alliance medical facility for mental evaluation."
"That's absurd! He's-" Chakwas began to object, but was halted by Anderson holding his hand up to let him continue.
"I agree. Something isn't right here." He shook his head. "Investigations like this usually take time, sometimes months, but this is different. Some people higher up seem to want to put a lid on this as quickly as possible... It doesn't make any sense. I don't know, it might just be the timing with Shepard becoming a Spectre. Perhaps they don't want the media getting wind of this and ruining the PR Shepard is generating for the Alliance. Either way, this just doesn't add up."
"Do you really expect me to just let you haul him off to some facility to be fitted for a straight jacket?" Chakwas muttered defiantly. She was taken off guard however, when Anderson chuckled at her display. "No no, I'm not going to let it come to that. Shepard is a Spectre now, which makes her somewhat outside of the Alliance's direct control. I've talked to her about it, and seeing as how this is now her ship, she is also able to recruit whatever crew she wants." Chakwas nodded, seeing where he was going. "And Shepard wants James on her crew, and a Spectre's authority over-rides this old Captain's any day of the week." He said as he chuckled at the statement.
There is a pause in the conversation as Chakwas mulls over what he's said. After a moment she seems to reach a decision and looks up from her thoughts. "If it is alright with you Captain, I'd prefer not telling James anything yet unless he starts asking questions. He certainly isn't crazy, but this news surely wouldn't help his sanity."
He nods in response. "Agreed Doctor. For what it's worth, I'm not done looking into this. I've called in some favors and have a few people doing some digging. I'll let you know what they find out as soon as I hear something."
"Thank you Captain." She says warmly. "I'm sure James will say the same once this is all cleared up."
Anderson shakes his head, a troubled look sweeping over his face. "I'm not so sure he will, but the man deserves to know the truth either way."
