Greetings again my beloved readers, I apologies in advance for the shortness of this chapter. It I think you will nderstand my reasoning after you read. Enjoy :)
The next day Shepard and Tali were at the makeshift clinic in front of the wrecked hospital sitting with the young girl. She had been cleaned up overnight and she was positively glowing when she saw Shepard enter the tent. She smiled at him and he returned the gesture.
"Hey. How are we doing this morning?" Shepard asked as he pulled a two chairs over near her bed and sat in the one closest to her face. She sat up and Shepard grabbed a pillow for her to prop herself up with.
"Better. They said my leg should be alright in a month or two." she replied, tapping the cast with one finger.
"You look better. Yesterday I couldn't see much of you past all the dirt. I had a feeling there was a beautiful young girl under there though." Shepard said with a smile. "Though you never did tell me your name." The girl giggled a bit before answering "My name is Sheela'Vae vas Altistan."
Sheela'Vae was tall for her age, standing at just about Tali's height, and her hair was a tinted amber color, only coming about to her chin. As white as Tali's skin was, Sheela's was positively alabaster. The thin lines that graced Tali's neck were nearly mirrored in dark orange on Sheela's. Her eyes a dark, soft red.
Tali walked in and held the tent flap open for a moment while she finished talking to a doctor. Sheela looked past her at the obliterated hospital and sighed. Shepard followed her line of sight and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"You alright Sheela?" he asked when she turned her eyes back to him. Sheela smile faintly and shook her head slightly. "I will be. I am going to miss my Mom and Dad but I think I'll be alright..." she finished with a slight sniff and Shepard ran his fingers through her hair. "It'll be alright Sheela. I promise I'll take care of you ok?"
Her expression changed instantly, her weak, forced smile now a wide, joyful grin.
Tali finally finished talking with the doctor and closed the tent flap. When she sat down and saw the grin on Sheela's face she couldn't help but smile as well. It seemed to take a minute for Sheela to register the fact that she and Shepard were no longer alone, when she finally noticed Tali she giggled and blushed.
"Well you certainly seem to be in a good mood. I'm guessing you're feeling better?" Tali asked. "Yeah, my leg doesn't hurt quite as much as yesterday and it's nice to have someone actually talk to me, not about my condition." Sheela turned her head and smiled at Shepard, who in turn patted the back of her hand.
"Hey Shepard. Can I please talk to you outside for a second?" Tali asked with a nod toward the tent entrance. Shepard nodded and stood to follow Tali outside, after squeezing Sheela's hand briefly. "We'll be right back Sheela."
After the couple had closed the flap behind them and taken a few steps Tali turned to Shepard with a sad expression on her face. "John she has no family left. Her parents died yesterday and she doesn't have any extended family. And she seems to have taken a liking to you..."
Shepard frowned but that faded when he picked up on where his wife was going with this. "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Tali looked away and started wringing her hands. "I am suggesting that we adopt this girl. She needs a family and..." Tali trailed off, slightly embarrassed by the rest of the sentence.
Shepard decided to poke at the issue "And... What dear?"
"And I thin we would make good parents and we can't exactly have a child of our own so..." Tali was wringing her hands furiously now and Shepard decided to put her out of her misery. "Tali" he said, gently grabbing her wrists "I think adopting her is a wonderful idea, but you are forgetting one important thing."
Tali smiled and cocked her head to one side "And what would that be?" Shepard pointed back at the tent "Her opinion.
When she couple returned to the tent Shepard stood next to Sheela and placed his hand lightly on her shoulder. "Sheela, we have something we wanted to ask you." he said with a smile. "What is it?" Sheela asked suspiciously, looking back and forth between Shepard and Tali.
Tali smiled hopefully "Well we know you lost your family and we want to ask you to join our family, if you want to. It's alright if you don't, I mean..." Tali trailed off and looked down at her wringing hands. Meanwhile Sheela was beside herself with joy.
"Yes!" Sheela practically screamed it.
Sheela was so enthusiastic that her reaction actually made Shepard jump slightly. Tali almost couldn't believe her ears. She moved to embrace her new daughter and she still could barely believe what was happening to her family.
I have a daughter... No... WE have a daughter...
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I am looking forward to seeing some reviews up.