Things hadn't worked out like they were supposed to – but then again, does anything? Kaidan wasn't supposed to be here, my past with him wasn't supposed to come up, Cerberus wasn't supposed to ambush us, and my plan was supposed to have worked. But none of it had.

Green was overwhelmed with three assault troopers. Miranda and Chakwas shot them down, thankfully, but it was close. Samara's biotics flared among the offensive group constantly and sent men flying through the air, dead or unconscious. She was doing a serious number on them. Anderson quickly shot down enemy after enemy, but slowly. Kaidan was also deliberate in his shots. He aimed for key points in their armor, taking one man down in under ten shots. Thane was next to me still, popping out from behind cover to pop off a few shots and duck back into cover. Garrus was atop the landing, carefully taking out whatever targets were still enough. Zaeed, returned from getting Grunt, was shouting to the Cerberus lackeys as he took them down easily. Something about "wankers". The newly arrived Grunt was up in the front lines, punching and kicking and charging his way about the group as they came in. Altogether, at the start we burned through them like they were tissue paper.

But then, as we finished off the first wave, another swarmed us. Samara threw a small black hole like biotic energy at the doorway. It certainly slowed them down, but did only that. If I had my biotics, I would have charged straight into the group, knocking them all down, and hit them with biotic punch after punch. Without that, I was reduced to a pistol. I unloaded clip after clip into them. Samara was looking exhausted and Garrus was running out of ammo. Miranda and Chakwas fell back.

With a low oath, I slammed my fist into the table and reloaded. I popped back up out of cover and took down one. There were about eight left in the room.

I grit my teeth and shouted, "Focus your fire! Front to back!" I shot one a few times, and the others did the same. He was down in two seconds. "Next!" Another down. Another. Another.

Soon there was only two left. Things seemed to be going perfect.

I reloaded and peeked over the top to aim. My vision focused on one trooper. My finger pulled back at the trigger. He opened fire. I felt it before I realized it. I grunted as it made impact. The bullet tore through me. It pushed my skin apart and buried itself inside my muscle. It burned as it drove farther and came to a stop at the top of my deltoid. I groaned and choked on my own throat. I clenched my jaw and screwed my eyes shut at the sight of a spray of my blood. Somewhere along the way I had fallen backward. I laid on my back, writhing.

"Siha!" Thane shouted. I rolled up against the bottom of the table. Thane moved over in a crouch and hovered over me, peeling the bloody cloth away from my shoulder. I watched as bullets flew by over our heads and felt as they impacted with the table. I pushed Thane's tentative hands away gently and ripped the jacket open. Every movement sent a fiery, pulsing trail of pain along my shoulder. My fair skin was covered in a layer of blood. From the bottom of the entry point flowed a steady stream of blood.

"Shiiiiiiiiitt..." I hissed. I exhaled shakily and groaned as Thane's tender fingertips touched the skin a few centimeters off. "Oh, this is great," I ground out. "Perfect." Thane gave me a wary glass and tried to focus on my wound. "Okay, Thane. I know what to do. Apply pressure. Prevent bleeding. Got it. Kill those bastards for me, love?" I placated.

Before Thane could protest or comply, all firing in the room ceased. The wave was already taken care of, apparently. Thane called out over the table, "Siha is hurt!" and returned to crouching over me. I heard heavy footsteps and disbelieving shouts.

Thane pressed my shoulders back into the table and looked me in the eye. "Siha, the Doctor is coming. You will be well soon." His dark eyes carried worry and compassion and unyielding trust and hope.

My hand went up to his shoulder and gripped the crook of his neck. I shook him lightly as I spoke. "I know, Thane. Don't worry. I'll be fine."

I saw Chakwas appear around the corner and duck down next to me. "My god, Shepard…" she said upon seeing the seeping gash.

"Well, Chakwas, I had no idea you thought so highly of me," I chuckled, adjusting myself to sit straight.

There were heavy footsteps drawing near as Chakwas gave me a warning look and inched closer. "Did it reach you deltoid muscle?" she asked, prodding at it.

"Yeah. Definitely." My fingers tingled with blood loss. "Hate to be a bringer of bad news and all, but I'm losing sensation in my hand. Let's just burn the bitch shut for now, eh?" I proposed, wincing as her leather gloved finger tips opened the wound. Blood seeped down my torso, sticking the inside of the jacket to my ribs and waist.

I looked to Chakwas for permission. "You can't be serious Shepard." Her voice was laden with denial.

"Okay, okay, I get it-ah! Ouch. Easy there, killer." I could feel a few drops of my blood on my cheek. "Hey, I didn't spray my blood all over or something, did I?" I asked quickly.

"No, Shepard. Just a bit on the bottom face of the cot," answered the doctor.

I jumped as her fingers pushed down roughly on either side of the hole. Blood gushed out briefly. I growled and hissed as she worked. Suddenly, on the side of Chakwas opposite of Thane, Anderson and Kaidan appeared.

Anderson whistled and nodded in approval. "You've got a nice scar comin', Commander."

I shook my head and hit the floor with my good hand. "Darn flabbit, I was going for a record. Five weeks without a developing scar. Longest I've made it in recent years." I let out a weak laugh and tried to look down at my shoulder. Chakwas' hand came up and pushed my face back. The blood that was on my face and her hand smeared over my cheek noticeably. I cringed at the smell. "Ugh, seriously, not pleasant."

"Sissy." I heard from behind me. I looked up to see Garrus leaning on the cot, looking down to me.

"The only reason I'm not smacking you upside the head right now, Vakarian, is because you've got the knarliest set of scars I've ever seen."

"Oh, yeah, because you've so seen all my scars, Shepard." Vakarian shook his head.

"Is there something I should know, Gar-bear?" I teased.

With an odd sounding cross species equivalent of a snort, he laughed and retorted, "Absolutely not, Shepard. No. Big no."

I sniffled for show. "That hurt, Gar-bear."

He sighed and leaned back onto the side of the cot, giving in.

"Don't talk so much," Chakwas interrupted.

I turned and looked straight on, an extremely serious look on my probably paling face. "Yes ma'am!"

"And don't shout. I'm hardly two feet from your big mouth."

I was obediently silent, waiting for her to dub me ready for action.

Green said he put a cyber encryption on the door to keep them out. I questioned why he didn't do that in the first place. Ma'am, it was adrenaline, ma'am, sorry, ma'am.

"Shit, Shepard…" whispered Major.

"What, too much skin for you, Major?" I teased idly, mentally dulling the pain with soft, warm memories.

"Yeah, that's it." He replied neutrally, eyes locked on my still oozing wound.

"Oh, and he admits it so boldly, too!" I sang, twitching at a particularly sharp flash of pain.

"Shepard, I have to take this out now," decided Chakwas.

I gave her a look. "What, now? Why? Can't we just… strap it up and move on?" I questioned earnestly.

She scrunched her eyebrows together and scowled in distaste. "Absolutely not. It's hard to see in this light, but I can tell it's grazed your subclavian artery. Since you can still move and feel your left arm, I think it's safe to say it didn't get to your nerves. It's just under the upper curve of your clavicle, so I'd say a centimeter or two deeper and to your right, and it would have completely tore through your artery and obliterated your ulnar and median nerves," she explained.

The words were big. I heard obliterated. Nerves, arteries… very short distances to certain death. Enough to know the bullet needed to be removed and the wound taken care of. "Okay," I said submissively.

"She'll need something to bite down on..." she said with uncertainty. Everyone was wearing armor and reinforced clothing. Nothing that would tear.

"Well, that's spectacular. I'll just keep my mouth open."

"You'll choke."

"Guess that's out then."

I heard a solid click and the sound of metal scraping on metal. "She can use my arm."

I snorted. "I'm sorry, was that you, Zaeed? You can forget that." I scoffed.

"Why does everyone always think it was bloody me?" Zaeed shouted.

A question rose in my throat, but Chakwas spoke before me. "Well, if we're being reduced to limbs, anyone's will really work. Well… maybe not Garrus'… no offense,"

"None taken, doctor."

"It would be best to not use me, either." I glanced over to Thane with a smile.

A laugh bubbled up in me and shook my bloody frame. "Remember that one time I bumped into you around the corner and my mouth touched your sternum?" I laughed. My face pulled up into a smile and painful laughter erupted from me. "Oh my god, that was priceless. I was hallucinating for almost two days. Oh, that was perfect! Greatest trip of my life!" A soft, low laugh sounded from deep in his throat at the memory.

"Yes, I seem to recall being scolded by the good doctor for wearing something that left any of my skin exposed. You were the crew's entertainment for the evening, I might add. Joker said it was the funniest thing he had seen in his entire lifetime." Thane smiled broadly and laughed. "I got a few anonymous requests to 'accidentally' bump into you again."

"Oh, I'm sure you did."

"Shepard, I hate to interrupt your untimely reminiscing, but I'd estimate that you have lost about an eight of your blood already, and chuckling at your previous near drunken stupor is not doing very much to resolve the issue."

"Oh, shit. That's a lot. Alright, let's get to it, chop-chop," I said, waving my hand through the air. "Guess that's why I can't feel my feet. Or from the elbow down on my arm. Or my fingers on my other arm…" I paused, pretending to think. "Yeah, we should resolve the issue."

"Oh, you are impossible, Shepard!" reprimanded Chakwas. "Could you open her shirt more, please?"

Major leaned from out of nowhere and across me, carefully tearing the hole in the cloth further. I felt his warmth through the cloth as his forearm brushed against the jacket over my collar. He was just so close… He ripped the cloth carefully and left a big enough space for Chakwas to work.

"Alright," I declared, "whose arm shall I be munching on while the doc here fishes through my deltoid for a bullet?" I asked, looking around with a plain expression.

"Mine, Shepard. And please limit the munching," presented Major.

I felt oddly still and warm under his eyes. They swam with hidden thoughts and sentiments and secrets. One thing he bore openly for me: he saw. He saw what was happening to me. Did he know it was his biotics that caused it? Did he think of me as lewd and perverted? But one thing… one thing was for sure: he saw. "I think not, Major."

"Why?" asked Chakwas. "A limb is a limb."

"Oh, no, you don't, you sex hungry mongrel! Keep your itchy fingers away from my Shepard!" shouted Miranda.

I raised an eyebrow at the situation. Truly too ironic…

"Your Shepard?" challenged Kaidan.

Miranda grew indignant at his affronting attitude. "She is more mine than yours, asshole!"

I sat silently, lips pursed together into a tight line, eyebrows heightened. I sighed and waited for someone to say something. No one did, so I, bleeding out and shot, took the jump for them. "Okay, guys, let's do this. A limb is a limb."

"Well said, commander." Chakwas shifted and kneeled in front of me. Major did the same. "Now, Shepard, you need to kneel over his right knee and hold your arms behind your back. When it hurts, just bite down on his shoulder." She settled at my left side.

I looked up at Major. He was waiting patiently. I suddenly felt a wave of dizziness and reached out. My hand found Kaidan's chest. I felt his heart thrumming under my palm. It steadied me, and with a reminder of urgency from Chakwas I moved forward, resting my hands on his shoulders and moving on my knees. I lowered myself onto his leg and slowly rested my forehead on his shoulder. The front face of my right shoulder pressed against his right shoulder face, his arm supporting our weight behind him. I pulled my hands behind myself and grabbed my wrists. Kaidan's warm, rough hand held both of mine. "Tell me when you're going to do it, okay, Chakwas?"

"Of course, Shepard."

I inhaled and, once Chakwas gave the indication, I exhaled sharply. The pain was excruciating. I gagged instantly and my nails dug into the smooth skin of my wrists. I groaned and cried out as the doctor's forefingers and thumb reached in the entry wound. Before Major could pull my face to his shoulder, as I had gone tense, a small scream escaped me through clenched teeth. I inhaled again to let out another yelp but Kaidan's hand reached up and cupped the back of my head. He pulled my head down to his shoulder and I bit down on his shirt. I found enough restraint in myself to keep from cutting him. His hand remained holding the back of my head. With Kaidan's shoulder between my teeth, my scream fortunately sounded more of a high-pitched growl. The grip I had on my wrists gave way and I grabbed Kaidan's shirt, knotting the fabric over his chest in my hand. My left hand held for dear life on a pocket of my cargo pants. I could feel as Chakwas' slender fingers reached the bullet. It pushed the metal further in for a second. I yelped and I couldn't bite down on Kaidan's shoulder anymore. I put my forehead into the nape of his neck and tried not to cry. I would not shame myself as to cry; I am a soldier, no less. My chest heaved and the edges of my eyes were wet with what was dangerously close to becoming a tear rolling down my cheek. Kaidan's hand that had been supporting our weight found mine and pried it from my pants, holding it with a strong, sturdy grip.

I heard vaguely from Chakwas that she had the bullet. She pulled it out quickly and with ease. I took a deep breath at the striking relief. Near all the pain was gone. I panted, my breaths ghosting over Kaidan's neck. His hand left the back of my head and fell to between my shoulder blades.

"Shepard, I got it. Where are the cloths you were wearing?" asked Chakwas.

"… floor by the terminal…" I mumbled.

"I'll get them," said Thane. A second later, he turned the towels over to Chakwas.

She slipped under my jacket and carefully wrapped it around my underarm and the top of my shoulder. She wrapped it tightly to keep the bleeding slow. She bound the second from my under arm to the other side of my neck.

I felt weak and tired, but tense and taut. I tried to flex my shoulders, finding that Kaidan's head was on my shoulder as well. I let go of his shirt and his hand and sat up straight. I looked down at his soft, thick, dark hair. He looked defeated and pained– a completely unsupported observation without any grounds whatsoever. Without thinking, I reached up and held the back of his head to my shoulder, running my fingers through his short tendrils. "It'll be okay, Kaidan. It'll be okay."

I raised my head. A trooper limped forward. Time stood still. An all-encompassing, earth-stopping terror chilled me and numbed my senses. I felt rather than heard the click of the shotgun being reloaded. The Cerberus soldier raised his gun. I shoved with all my strength. The pain didn't come as I moved. I pushed Kaidan back behind me. A shout of denial flowed from my lips. I felt no resistance as we spun. I pushed him against the cot. I knelt in front of him, gripping the side of the cot with both hands. I pulled Kaidan down into my chest. I am his shield. The shot was loud and it rang through my ears. I felt a solid impact, like being hit with a pillow at sixty miles per hour. It lurched me forward.

There was no pain.

There was no sound.

There was nothing but the red flames dancing at the rims of my eyes and Kaidan's eyes. Oh, his eyes… those beautiful… molten chocolate… eyes…