Chapter 11: Two Steps Ahead
"Stubborn, stubborn human. You're going to give me a heart attack before you even leave this station," Tiberus growled to the prone form.
Jane had been shot, three times. One was just a graze to the back of her right calf, but she had also sustained two in her left shoulder, only inches apart. That was where most of the blood had come from.
Tiberus had taken her to the Med-Bay within moving of her form going still. He had no idea what had set the LOKI off, or what exactly Jane had done to have the system go haywire. Once he was sure that Jane would be okay, he was going to inform the MS Deck crew that they needed to check out the VI that controlled numerous systems throughout the station, not excluding the Mechs.
The large Turian had nearly scared half the personnel in the Med-Bay by barking commands at them to make sure Jane was immediately taken care of. He set her gently on an examination table, tucking a lock of red behind her ear before stepping back. Tiberus only hoped that his calm demeanor could fool the crew enough to hide the perilous thudding of his heart in his chest. It was beating so hard, it seemed almost like a bird trying to free itself from his chest.
Only staying a few feet away, Tiberus made absolutely sure that Shepard would pull through before leaving her side. It was uncharacteristic of him to be so worried about her in public, but his hands were covered in her blood, and the scent of it was overwhelming his common sense.
The Salarian surgeon, Dr. Canis, had personally left his private area of the ship to attend to Jane. He had begun giving her a blood transfusion, and although her vitals were low, they weren't in dangerous territory.
Tiberus still had to attend to his afternoon biotics training, and reluctantly left to relieve the substitute while the students were out in the mess hall. Just before leaving the Med-Bay, he left the personnel with a rough threat that surprised the Turian himself, "She better be completely taken care of and stable when I return,"
The Salarian simply nodded his head quickly before turning back to begin extraction of the bullets in her shoulder. Thankfully the auburn-haired vanguard was deeply unconscious when he pulled the bullets from the deep muscle tissue. Once they were gone from her shoulder, IVs were added and Dr. Canis closed the wounds with a few, precise stitches.
Pain shot through Jane's shoulder and she opened her eyes slowly. She felt light-headed and weak, attempting to sit up and failing miserably at it. Her right arm was in a sling; her left arm had two IVs supplying her with water and nutrients. Shepard felt as if she'd been shot.
Wait… I was shot. Jane remembered that she had finally gotten to the original coordinates, and then passed out. A grimace formed on her face as she tried to roll the shoulder that was giving her pain, and she was only supplied with another wave of pain. She let out a small groan, finally lying still.
The groan had alerted a few of the nurses that Jane was awake, and one of them came over. "How do you feel?"
What an idiotic question to ask… How do you think a gunshot feels?
Jane began to answer with a snarky comment, but noted that her bad mood was likely due to blood loss and her current state. Instead, Jane decided to go with, "I feel weak, but overall my shoulder is the only part of me that hurts,"
The nurse nodded, "You lost a lot of blood, over two liters. However, your instructor was able to get you here quickly and Dr. Canis stabilized your condition moments after you arrived. He extracted the bullets from your shoulder and inserted IVs speedily after the rounds were out," That would explain why her shoulder was radiating intense pain. Well, it was better than being dead.
Jane spoke, "I'm thirsty,"
"I can't give you anything to drink until your last dose of dobutamine wears off. I'm afraid if we give you anything to drink now, your body may still be recovering from hypovolemic shock. Your body will reject anything else that you put in it if that's the case, but we'll know within an hour if your body is back to normal," The nurse provided the information easily and succinctly, making Jane feel slightly more comfortable.
"Jane, you should probably try and sleep some more, your body will replenish itself faster that way. Someone will wake you when you're in the clear to eat something," The woman finished speaking, and Shepard simply nodded.
Unable to turn on her side, Shepard closed her eyes and tried to calm her mind, but thoughts of Eliza and her pending graduation raced through her mind. However, her body slowly wore down the sharp pricks of thought, and Jane succumbed to sleep once more.
Jane hadn't been woken up by one of the personnel for dinner, and her stomach had awoken her with a loud growl. The Med-Bay was dim, and from the looks of it, she was alone in the large room. Well, except for a familiar form that was sitting in a nearby chair, a familiar Turian form. A familiar Turian form that was sleeping in the chair beside her bed.
He must've been keeping watch.
Jane smiled as she watched him sleep; the display was calming and peaceful. His mandibles were more relaxed than normal, slightly moving with each breath, and he looked much younger without the tense shape he always took. However, another, much louder rumble came from her stomach, and that stirred the Turian from his sleep. Immediately Jane saw his muscles tense, and crystal blue eyes were staring back at her.
Silently, she reached her hand out towards him. He stood, looming over the bed and took her hand gently in his. She slid her hand out of his, tracing it up his arm and to his collar ridge, pulling his face to hers. Instead of kissing him, Jane pressed her forehead against his. She had learned that this action was one that Turians shared between comrades, those that they trusted and respected above all others. Tiberus had explained to her that it wasn't always a private act, and many Turians would touch foreheads with their squadmates before taking on a rather tough mission. Like a military pep talk.
"Hey," Jane said quietly. She still felt weak, but much better than when she had woken up before.
"Jane…" Tiberus reached up to her face, brushing his thumb pad along her cheekbone in a familiar way, his talons sifting through her hair. "You had me worried," His simple statement held a large amount of emotion behind it. He had been more than worried, he'd been scared.
"I'm sorry, it was a surprise to me too," Jane whispered, her hand sneaking up to the soft skin beneath his fringe. She rubbed it tenderly, attempting to calm him. "I'm okay now,"
"I know," Tiberus sighed, and she could smell something sweet on his breath, her stomach rousing itself again to remind her of the hunger. The growl that left her stomach that time was long and slightly pain-inducing. Jane gave him a small nudge with her elbow.
"If you haven't noticed, I'm starving," She said, "I need to go down to the mess hall and see if I can find something to eat,"
She had begun to swing her legs to the side of her bed, but before they even reached the edge, a Turian hand had stopped them. "Jane, you don't need to be moving around right now. I'll go get you some food; I was the one who stopped the nurse from waking you for dinner, anyway,"
"Do you even know what humans eat?" Jane teased, watching Tiberus make his way to the exit.
He stopped just before the door, "I seem to know well enough what you prefer, Jane Shepard,"
Jane knew by his tone of voice that Tiberus hadn't been talking about food, and Jane's cheeks flushed hot with blood. Tiberus took it as a win before exiting, returning a few minutes later with a tray of food. By the time he returned, Jane had regained her composure.
Looking over the food, which was a large improvement over the mess hall food, she asked, "Where did you get all this?"
"The crewmembers' kitchens, they're separate from the student's mess hall," Tiberus replied.
He had brought her a large bowl of simple pasta with a white sauce, a small salad, and some sort of bread rolls. She smirked, "You certainly do know my preferences, Tiberus," Jane purred as she began to devour the food. She had taken off her sling to give herself more movement to eat in comfort.
Tiberus remained quiet as she ate, watching her intently. Jane had taken notice of his stare, and spoke in between bites. "You know, it's impolite to stare,"
"It's amazing how much you can inhale in such a small time. It's quite enthralling, much like watching a black hole suck in nearby planets," The Turian commented nonchalantly, his stare never wavering.
Jane reddened once more, and she consciously made herself eat at a slower pace. Tiberus chuckled at her reaction, satisfied with her blush.
"Don't you have somewhere to be? Isn't it past your bedtime?" Jane slowly finished her pasta, setting the tray on the table by her bed.
"On the contrary, Turians only need half the amount of sleep that Humans require to be well-rested. In fact, I feel completely rested at the moment,"
Jane simply smiled at Tiberus, "Are all Turians as polite as you?"
He snorted, "I'm not sure what you mean,"
"Your speech is… formal, by human standards. That, and your voice always sounds polished," She explained it the best way she knew how, but Tiberus nodded.
"I was born on the citadel, then my parents had my brother and I moved to Palaven's capital because of work-related business," As he spoke, Jane noted that he had attempted to sound less formal.
She had gone still at his words, shocked. This was the first time that Tiberus had mentioned anything about himself outside of what he'd told her regarding general customs and cultural differences between them. This was the first thing that he shared that was personal, something about himself. Jane wasn't exactly sure how to react or say, and the silence had drawn out while she sat and thought.
"So… Those who grow up in a big city all speak as formal as you do?" She figured another question couldn't hurt; he didn't have to answer if he didn't want to.
"Not exactly, our family was rather well off, and we lived in a good area. Our tutors were some of the best on Palaven," He explained, and Jane had an incredulous look on her face. The Turian stared at her for a minute or two until he finally asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Jane shook her head, "If your family is so well off… why are you here? I mean… no offense, but this isn't exactly a dream job, having to babysit emotional biotic teenagers all day,"
Tiberus didn't seem to want to answer that question, he had gone silent. His form was still, eyes still watching her, but they seemed to focus on a faraway object.
Jane decided to change the subject, "You still didn't answer why you're down here, sitting with an injured human, instead of doing something productive," She leaned on her elbows, bringing her face closer to his as she winced slightly at the pain that shot through her left shoulder.
"I'm making sure that the injured human doesn't decide to do something to put herself in more danger. She tends to attract trouble and make brash decisions," Tiberus leaned on the bed with his forearms, his face nearing hers. A silent dare for her to move closer.
"This human can take care of herself pretty well, she took down a group of Mechs without any armor on," Jane moved a few inches closer to the turian, smirking. "She only sustained a flesh wound,"
Tiberus looked over at her shoulder, the last time he saw it, there had been blood soaking through her suit's sleeve, dripping into his hands and onto his clothes. He had panicked when he heard her heart begin to slow and her pulse weaken, and nearly ran to the Med-Bay. His thoughts led his hands to slide up her arm, stopping at her shoulder. "Does it hurt?" His voice had quieted to a whisper. The worry had returned in full force, and he had force himself to keep his emotions in check. Tiberus was so used to seeing Jane fully of energy, ready to take on any challenge, that this paler, weaker version of her was upsetting.
"I'm fine, it's just sore," She had leaned into his warm hands when he touched her. With a full stomach and hours of rest, Jane felt substantially better. "It would have been a lot worse if you hadn't been so quick to come to my rescue," She murmured.
His eyes met her emerald gaze, and she leaned forward, and kissed him. She felt his hand move from her shoulder to the nape of her neck, and she slid her legs off the side of the bed. Before the kiss was over, Jane had settled herself in Tiberus' lap, and her stare held an underlying heat as she observed him.
"Thank you for saving me," Her hands ghosted up his chest, finally settling on the sides of his neck.
"Jane, you are certainly worthy of saving. You are incredibly capable and strong, anyone would have done it had they been in my position," His dual-tones had lowered in register, his voice only slightly more than a deep rumble.
"Regardless, thank you," She pressed her forehead to his once more, before pulling him into a long kiss, her tongue brushing against his. Jane felt a small growl vibrate from his chest, and Tiberus gathered her in his arms and laid her on the bed.
"Jane, you shouldn't be tempting me when you're in such a fragile condition," His words were rough, sending a small shiver down Shepard's spine.
"Who said I was just tempting you? I'm not that fragile," Jane responded. Her hands snaked their way from his neck to the skin underneath his fringe and rubbed lightly. A satisfied look crept onto Jane's face as Tiberus emitted a low purr.
"Jane…" When his voice was so low, it drove her crazy. Heat rolled through her in waves as Tiberus was warning her to back off before it was too late. It was already too late for Jane.
"Tiberus…" She spoke in a similar fashion, a provocative smirk fixed upon her face. Her tongue darted out of her mouth, and she gently slid it along the bottom of his mandible.
Within moments, Tiberus had covered her form with his.
In another part of the station, a menacing figure was watching the live feed from a Luma-gel monitor. His mind didn't fully want to comprehend what was happening between the Turian and his human subordinate. It was disgusting.
Mandibles clacked together in irritation as the Turian shut off the screen, making sure that the scene was being recorded, whatever was going on. Sharp talons gripped the console, the metal making a strained noise underneath the strength of the silver Turian. This was unacceptable for a General of the First Contact to have a son that fraternized with humans.
He wasn't exactly sure what was going on between the two of them, but it had to stop. It was sickening. Humans were so inferior, so idiotic. How could Tiberus even stand to be around humans any longer than necessary? He had joked with the female, enjoyed conversation, and more. The dark figure shuddered in revulsion.
One thing was for sure, Vyrnnus would put a stop to this. Tomorrow.
Oooooh, another cliffhanger! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I love writing about these characters, it's incredibly fun. Let me know what I'm doing right or wrong with a review!
