Beginnings- Chapter 10

Liara had barely slept. She had gotten up and dressed twice with the intention of talking to Shepard. Both times, she felt foolish and decided to wait until morning. Now, here she was up and dressed again, pacing the floor. She needed to tell Shepard that she did not blame her for Benezia's death, needed to thank her for trying to save her mother, needed to apologize to her for shutting her out…just needed her. Deciding that she could not wait until morning, Liara left her quarters to find Wrex in the med bay engaged in his own pacing.

"Dr. T'Soni, is everything okay? Do you need something?"

"Wrex, everything is fine. I need to talk with the commander. And, Wrex, please call me Liara."

"Well, Liara, I will walk you to the commander's quarters."

They headed toward the door at the other end of the med bay. They were almost to the door when both were sent flying sideways into large crates filled with medical supplies. Liara hit the crates just before Wrex, who slammed into her and knocked the air from her lungs. They hit the floor and a mountain of crates fell on top of them. Wrex was out cold. Liara was struggling to take a breath when something else fell, causing the crates to press her to the floor. She couldn't move, couldn't get enough air into her lungs and could hear an ominous creaking somewhere above her. Every inch of her body was yelling at her to move, to get out before more debris came crashing down on her.

"Wrex! Wrex, wake up!"

Her thoughts turned to Shepard. Goddess, keep her safe. Please keep her safe for me. It was getting more difficult to breathe and Liara could still hear creaking sounds above her. The Normandy was still shuddering from the explosion which, Liara assumed, was another attack from Saren. Where are you, Shepard? Are you safe? Suddenly, there was another, smaller explosion and more debris fell. The corner of a crate hit Liara on the side of the head. She was conscious long enough to feel blood trickling down her face and to think of Shepard's silly, lopsided grin.

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Ash pulled herself up and ran back toward Shepard's cabin. The emergency alarms were deafening and the crew was starting to fill the corridors. She ran into Kaidan who was trying to organize the crew and assess the damage to the Normandy.

"Kaidan, what the hell happened?"

"An explosion… a bomb. I don't know. Where is the commander?"

"She was going to the med bay to see Liara just a few minutes ago. I'm on my way there now."

"I need to get the crew organized then I'll find you." Kaidan turned away and started shouting orders as Ash continued to make her way to the med bay.

Before she reached the med bay doors, Ash saw Tali at the opposite wall crouched over a still figure. She knew it was Shepard and experienced a moment of panic. Ash ran to them and knelt beside Shepard.

"Tali, is she alright?"

"Yes, I think so. She has a bump on her head but I can't find other injuries."

Ash let out the breath she had been holding and said, "Have you seen Liara or Wrex?"

"No, I was afraid to leave Shepard to look for them."

Ash frowned, knowing that something was wrong if Liara hadn't found Shepard. She would have seen her if she had left the med bay. "Tali, I need to find her. Stay with the commander. Kaidan is assessing the damage and organizing the crew. He will be here soon."

Ash entered the med bay, finding half the ceiling had collapsed on top of the many crates holding medical supplies. There was no sign of Wrex. She ran to the back of the room and entered Liara's quarters. It was empty. "Damn! Where are you, Liara?"

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Shepard was starting to wake up. Tali was hovering over her, gripping Shepard's hand.

"Shepard, take it easy. You have a nasty bump on your head."

"Where's Liara?"

"I don't know, Shepard. Ashley is looking for her."

Shepard tried to stand but a wave of nausea caused her to lie back down. Her head was pounding and her vision was a bit fuzzy.

"I need to find Liara and get a damage report."

"Commander, you were only unconscious for about 15 minutes. Lt. Alenko will be here with a damage report soon. You need to stay here until Dr. Chakwas examines you."

There were several crew members nearby. Tali yelled to one of them and asked her to find Dr. Chakwas. When she saw Shepard, she ran for Dr. Chakwas' cabin.

Ash came back and was relieved to see Shepard was awake. "Commander, good to see those green eyes."

"Where's Liara? Did you find her?"

"She's not in her quarters and Wrex is not in the med bay. Maybe she couldn't sleep and just needed to move around. Wrex would have gone with her, Commander."

Shepard looked at Ash, her eyes pleading, "Ash, I have to find Liara. I need to know that she's safe."

"I'll find her, Shepard."

Tali put her hand on Ash's arm, "You go look for Liara. I'll stay with the commander until Dr. Chakwas gets here."

Ash left and Shepard, once again, tried to stand. When Dr. Chakwas arrived a few minutes later, Shepard was on her feet with Tali supporting her weight.

"Dr. Chakwas. I'm glad you're here. She won't stay still. There's a large bump on her head and she is feeling nauseous."

"Commander, you need to sit down. You probably have a concussion. Is your vision blurry?"

"Yes, it is and yes, I have a concussion. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters if I don't find Liara."

Kaidan walked up before Dr. Chakwas could respond. "Commander, we found the source of the explosion. It was a crude bomb centered in this area. Garrus is taking a team to search the ship for more explosives. The second explosion was in engineering and likely due to damage done from the first explosion. There are at least four casualties and almost two dozen injured. You okay, Commander?"

"Kaidan, have you seen Liara or Wrex?"

"No ma'am."

Shepard hung her head then said, "Kaidan, I want you to get to the bridge and talk to Joker. Make sure the Normandy is responding normally. Tali, I need you in engineering to help repair the damage. Dr. Chakwas, do you have something I can take to help with this headache?"

Kaidan was already making his way to the bridge. Tali helped Dr. Chakwas get Shepard to the med bay then went to engineering. Shepard sat waiting for Dr. Chakwas to get medication for her headache, her thoughts on Liara. Where are you, Liara? Where would she have gone? Shepard felt a sudden clinching in her stomach. What if they took her? I don't even know how many Saren is controlling. I have to find her.

"Commander Shepard, this will help with the headache. Let me take a look at your head then you can look for Liara."

"Dr. Chakwas, I need to find her."

"I know, Shepard. Just give me a few minutes. You won't be of any help to her if you walk out of here and fall on your face."

Shepard reluctantly agreed but her stomach was in knots and her heart was beating frantically in her chest.

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Ash left Shepard at a dead run then stopped because she didn't know where to start her search. She couldn't imagine where Liara would have gone. She started by ruling out places. Okay, she's not in engineering. Tali would have seen her. God, what if someone took her. What about Wrex? He wouldn't let anyone take her without a fight. She suddenly realized that she could check Garrus' surveillance cameras. She made her way to the room where the equipment was set up, found the log for the med bay, backed it up and saw Wrex and Liara being buried under all the crates and the part of the ceiling that had collapsed. She ran from the room hoping they were still alive.

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Wrex regained consciousness slowly and for several minutes couldn't figure out where he was or how he got there. He was pinned and could only move his left leg an inch or two in either direction and his right arm from the elbow down. He turned his head to the right and saw Dr. T'Soni about a foot away. She was pinned as he was and not moving. He tried to call to her but could barely get breath in his lungs due to the crushing weight on his chest. He tried to reach for her but his shoulder was pinned and he couldn't get free. Gotta get her out of here or Shepard will kill me. After struggling for several minutes, he blacked out again.

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Ash ran through the door in the med bay just as Dr. Chakwas finished examining Shepard.

"Commander, they're trapped under this. I checked the surveillance camera," said Ash as she started examining the pile of rubble looking for any sign of Wrex or Liara.

Shepard ran to Ash and started calling Liara's name. There was no response. "Ash, go find Kaidan. He can use his biotics to lift this."

"I'll get him, Chief Williams. You stay here," said Dr. Chakwas as she turned toward the door.

"Hurry," yelled Shepard as she examined the pile in front of her. She continued to call Liara and Wrex telling herself they were still alive.

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Wrex could hear someone calling his name through the cloud in his mind. His voice was barely above a whisper and he couldn't make himself heard. He looked over and saw Dr. T'Soni, still unconscious or worse.

"Liara! Wrex! Can you hear me?"

It was Shepard and she sounded panicked. Wrex tried over and over to answer her but it was useless. He felt around the area at his right hand looking for something small enough to pick up and bang against the crates. There was nothing. He remembered the knife strapped to his upper thigh and tried to reach it. After several attempts he managed to free it and immediately started banging it on the side of the nearest crate.

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"Liara! Can you hear me?" Shepard's voice was hoarse from shouting. "What's taking them so long to get here? Ash, we have to start moving this stuff."

"Commander, it's only been a few minutes. We need to wait. If we move the wrong piece, it could shift and crush them. Kaidan will be able to…"

"Ash, wait, did you hear that?"

Ash and Shepard stood completely still and silent. Then they heard it, someone banging.

"Liara. Wrex. It's Shepard. I need you to hit once for yes and twice for no. Do you understand?"

The answer was "yes"… one hit.

"Is that you, Liara?"—"no"

"Wrex, are you okay?"—"yes"

"Is Liara with you?"—"yes"

"Is she okay?" Shepard's question was met with silence.

"Wrex, are you there?"—"yes"

"Is she awake, moving?"—"no"

"Is she breathing?" Again, there was silence. Shepard was on the verge of losing control. Her head felt like it might explode and her stomach was doing flips. She took a deep breath and felt only slightly calmer. "Wrex, can you tell if she's breathing?"—"no"

"Ash? What am I supposed to do?"

Ash put her hands on Shepard's shoulders. "Commander. Shepard, you don't know that she's…"

"Don't Ash. Don't say it. She has to be okay."

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Kaidan and Dr. Chakwas entered the med bay to find Shepard and Ash moving debris. She saw them and called Kaidan over to her. "They're in this section, Kaidan. Can you move it without causing more to fall on them?"

Kaidan surveyed the rubble and answered that he could move it but they would need to get Wrex and Liara out right away. He would have to drop everything within a couple of minutes.

Ash left the med bay and quickly returned with two crew members who could help pull Wrex and Liara out once Kaidan lifted the crates off them.

Shepard wanted to let Wrex know what was about to happen.

"Wrex, still there?"- "yes"

"Kaidan is going to lift this stuff off and we'll be in to pull you out."

Kaidan was surrounded in a biotic field. He moved toward the pile of rubble and, slowly, started lifting it up. As soon as it was high enough, Shepard was on the floor shimmying under it. She saw Wrex who was starting to move his arms and legs as the weight was lifted from him. To his right, Shepard saw Liara lying motionless. She looked behind to see Ash and the two crew members. "Ash, get Wrex," she called as she scrambled to get to Liara. In seconds, she was by her side. She couldn't take the time to do anything but grab her and get out. Kaidan wouldn't be able to hold it much longer. Shepard got to the edge of the debris. Ash was there to help get Liara clear. When Shepard crawled out, Dr. Chakwas was already bent over Liara. She looked up when Shepard approached.

"She's alive, Shepard. We need to get her moved to a bed."

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Shepard was meeting with the team in the comm center. She hated to leave Liara alone in the med bay. She wanted to be there when she finally regained consciousness which Dr. Chakwas thought would be soon. Amazingly, Liara had no major injuries other than the gash on her head. Wrex also escaped with nothing more than cuts and bruises. Other crew members were not as lucky; seven people were dead and dozens injured. The med bay was overflowing with those most severely injured. The Normandy sustained damage but nothing that would cripple her. Tali had repaired all the damage done in engineering and amazed Engineer Adams with her knowledge and skill. There were no other explosives found and no way of knowing who was working with Saren. They were still en route to Virmire and would be there in a couple of days. Kaidan and Garrus would continue looking for the traitorous crew members while the rest of the team prepared for Virmire. Shepard dismissed the team and practically ran back to the med bay.

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Liara was dreaming of Shepard but it was all wrong. Shepard wasn't really there. She was almost transparent with no substance or color. Liara tried to hold her but her arms went right through her. Shepard's body was like a swirling mist, distorted and billowing.

"Shepard, what's wrong? What happened to you?"

"I'm dead, Liara. I came to say goodbye."

"No, you're not dead. You're not dead, Shepard."

"I am. I have to go Liara. I'll miss you."

Shepard was fading, her form shifting and shrinking until she was single pinprick of light that glowed brightly then was gone. "Shepard, no! Don't go. You're not dead. Shepard! Come back!"

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Liara jerked awake, Shepard's name falling from her lips, tears running down her face.

Dr. Chakwas heard her cry out and went to her bedside. "Liara, you're awake." Liara was motionless and wouldn't respond. Dr. Chakwas was calling her name, trying to get her attention when Shepard walked in to the med bay. Her smile at seeing Liara's eyes open turned to fear when she realized that something was wrong.

Shepard went to Liara, bent down and pressed her forehead against Liara's. "Liara, what is it? What's wrong?" Shepard's hands were on either side of Liara's face. "Liara, talk to me."

Liara could feel familiar hands on her, could hear a familiar voice calling her. She slowly came back to herself to find a pair of emerald green eyes sparkling in her vision.

"Shepard… you're alive. You're not dead." Liara threw her arms around Shepard and sobbed into her shoulder.

"Hey, I'm right here." Shepard looked to Dr. Chakwas for some indication of what happened.

Dr. Chakwas shook her head and said, "She woke up calling your name, crying. She wouldn't respond to anything until you arrived."

"Does she really need to stay here? You could use the space. Can I take her to my quarters?"

"Yes, she can leave. Medically, she is fine. I think it would be a good idea for the two of you to have time to talk."