A/N: So a lot has happened since I last updated, part of it good! I lost power in the Great Snowstorm That Plowed Boston for the entire weekend last week, and managed to write out a chapter. On top of that, last Monday I found out that I was accepted into Michigan State's PhD program - so that's a big weight off my shoulders! Granted, that's more pressure to get my thesis done but . . .
Anyway, since I wrote this and I needed some pick me ups, I thought I'd edit and post it tonight. I'm still on hiatus, but I didn't want everyone to think I'd forgotten about them! (That and I'm still running off the Acceptance High)
Illium
"I still think this is a trap," Kaidan said, as they left the ship.
"Even if it is," Shepard replied. Neither of them were wearing their armor, but both were armed. "We're running out of leads. EDI is keeping an eye on communications and we'll hopefully have a warning before anything happens."
Kaidan sighed, but knew she was right. "I've just . . . I've got a bad feeling."
"So do I." She shook her head. "But we have to go." She reached the skycar terminal first, and summoned a cab. The automated car landed, and she and Kaidan had a momentary, silent battle over who would drive. He relented, and she climbed into the driver's seat with a smug grin.
"Where's her office?" Kaidan asked, after quickly conferring over text with EDI.
"Down by the docks. I met her when she was dealing with Samara. Saved her life – Justicars are only supposed to be held in custody for twenty-four hours, and then they're fully allowed to fight their way out."
"Sounds pleasant." He glanced over at her, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "The Samara we met in that asari temple? Who offered to get you asari maternity gear?"
"The same." Shepard pulled the car into another lane of traffic. "Justicars are complicated folk."
"Sounds like it."
They rode in silence for a few moments, and Shepard started to steer the car for the docks landing pad. It was about that second that something on the car panel blinked, and the dash stopped responding.
"K-kaidan—" Shepard's hands flew over the panel, even as she stuttered out her husband's name. Kaidan swore, and opened his omnitool.
"Someone's hacking the car," he said, opening a military-grade hack program on his omni-tool.
"Kaidan, do you see where we are?!" she snapped as she struggled to regain control. The car jerked away from the docks, heading lower into the cityscape. "What if everyone loses control of the car from you doing that?"
"I'm not going to let whatever's happening happen," he replied, hand flying over the screen. "They've cut communications too. We can't get EDI to get a lock."
"Maybe we should land. See what happens."
"I'm not putting you in a firefight."
Shepard glared over at him. "Kaida-"
Something in his counterhack worked, but not at all in the way they wanted. As soon as Kaidan let out a half-whoop of triumph, the interior of the car turned black.
"Shit," Shepard barked, trying not to panic. The car was completely dead, dark except for the glow of Kaidan's omni-tool. His teeth were clenched, focus completely on trying to reactivate the car's systems. "Kaidan-"
"I've got it under control," he said, hardly paying attention. Shepard unconsciously rested a hand on her stomach, the other hovering over the panel, and drew a deep, shaking breath.
The steel of another docking pad was looming ahead of them.
"Kaidan!" It came out in a half-sob. She could stop the car, she knew. But they'd told her not to use her biotics, and the exertion it'd require –
Kaidan abandoned his omnitool as the gray floor loomed closer, and suddenly flared bright in the dark car. The door next to him flew open, blasted off its hinges, and Shepard reached for him when he leaned out and directed the energy forward, slowing the car's momentum so that – Shepard reflected as, without thinking, she threw a shield around herself seconds before her head slammed forward into the panel, and – the crash was a lot less bad than it should have been.
#
Consciousness slowly returned to her, and Shepard groaned as she lifted her head, only to be met with the cacophony of sirens and flashing lights that surrounded their car. She started to lift her head, and –
"No, no, don't move."
Shepard cracked her eyes open, spotting an asari medical tech standing just outside the car's door. It'd apparently been sliced off already.
"Wher's Kai?" she managed to croak out.
"He's fine," the asari assured her, stopping her before she tried to make her way out of the car. "They're taking care of him now. He said you were pregnant?"
Shepard blinked, still dazed. "Yeah," she replied. "Twelve weeks."
"Are you feeling any pain? Anything strange in your abdomen?"
She thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No. I-I don't think anything's wrong."
"All right. Hold still, we're going to get you out of there." She stepped aside for a small medical team, and Shepard held still as they fastened a brace around her neck and carefully pulled her out, settling her onto the backboard. She winced, but she'd been injured a lot, and to her this felt more like she'd just been smacked around a bit rather than seriously injured. Then again, that could have been the adrenaline, she thought as she swallowed heavily.
"We're just going to run you back to the hospital," the lead medic explained, after a cursory examination revealed no external issues indicating problems with the pregnancy. "And check you over, and then we'll release you."
"Hey!" She almost cried in relief when she heard Kaidan, and felt a hand wrap around her own. "I'll ride to the hospital with her, all right?"
"Spectre Alenko, we really have to ins-"
"I'm riding with her," he snapped. Whoever had admonished him disappeared, and as she was loaded into the medical transport she smiled weakly at him when he finally loomed over her. A neck brace was hanging half off his neck, and it was obvious that he was completely disregarding medical advice to be at her side.
"How're you feeling?" he murmured, brushing hair out of her face.
"Think 'm fine," she replied quietly, as someone pricked a needle into her elbow. "Wha' happened?"
"I slowed us down, but we still landed too fast." She noticed a trickle of blood on the side of his head, and concern welled up inside her. "I wanted to rehack the car, to at least settle us down. They shut out our systems as soon as they saw what I was doing. I got thrown out, but I slowed the car down. Marra, I-"
"'m okay," she replied drowsily. "I think they're okay too."
Kaidan glanced down at her stomach, worry furrowing his forehead. He was concerned for her, of course, but something about the thought of losing their children nearly crushed him. "We'll find out at the hospital," one of the techs assured him. He grit his teeth, but turned back to Shepard.
"You've gotta stay awake, sweetheart," he murmured. She blinked at him.
"'m awake," she replied, though her voice was still heavy and drowsy. Kaidan, still leaning over her, opened his omni-tool to find that communications had been restored. With a thankful sigh, he raised the Normandy.
#
Chakwas hurried into the hospital lobby, Kasumi and EDI hard on her heels and beelining for the front desk. "A pregnant woman was brought in by medical transport," she says quickly. "I'm her ship's medical doctor."
"Spectre Shepard?" the asari receptionist asked. "Her husband said you would be by. CMO Karin Chakwas?"
Chakwas held up her ID. "These are two of Shepard's crewmembers. They'll be coming with me."
"Fair enough. Wing C, Room 388. It should only be temporary, I believe she just has a bad concussion. They'll probably release her to you for care."
"Thank you," Chakwas replied, hurrying towards the elevators. Kasumi jogged after her, with EDI casually watching the rear.
"You don't think that -"
"I don't know. I feel like we would have heard." Chakwas keyed in the floor, and it took off. As soon as they stepped into the proper wing, it took a few anxious moments to find Shepard's room.
"Stay awake for me, okay?" They heard Kaidan murmur, rounding the corner to find him cradling Shepard against his chest.
"I am awake," she mumbled, sounding irritated. He looked up.
"How is everything?" Chakwas asked. He shook his head.
"We're fine. Shepard's got a bad concussion, but that's it."
"What happened?" Kasumi asked, leaning back against the wall as Chakwas flicked open her omni-tool, scanning the drowsy-looking Spectre.
"Someone hacked our car. I think it was Echidna, but I can't be sure." He shook his head, then carefully settled Shepard back on the bed. "Kasumi, we'll go meet with Anaya. EDI, do you mind staying here?"
She nodded. "I will keep an eye on Shepard," she assured him.
Kasumi, meanwhile, cast a dubious look at the bandage that coated the side of Kaidan's head. "You sure you're up for it?"
"I'm fine. Now that the doc's here to keep an eye on Shepard." He glanced back at Shepard worriedly, but squared his shoulders. "I want to know if this was a trap or not. Will you be all right?"
Chakwas nodded, waving him away. "Do your job. I'll take care of Shepard."
Kaidan nodded, and he and Kasumi headed out. Chakwas settled on the side of the bed.
"Good news," she said, as she turned Shepard's head to shine a light into her eyes. She could have easily read the chart, but preferred her own exams. EDI, meanwhile, opted to stand by the door, quietly watching the nurses. "The scan is showing that the twins are still doing well. I'm sure they'll want to do an ultrasound, but it doesn't look like there's anything wrong. How are you feeling?"
"Like I drank too much," she mumbled. "'m all woozy and shit."
"A concussion will do that to you." She checked her pulse, making a note on her omni-tool. "Any blurry vision, hearing loss . . ."
"No."
"No real speech problems . . ." She nods, making another note. "You should be fine, I think. Just lay back and rest a little. Don't fall asleep on me yet, though."
Shepard settled back into the pillow, lidding her eyes. "I think I used my biotics," she murmured. Chakwas looked up from her omni-tool.
"You did what?"
"It's all blurry. I . . . what if I really messed somethin' up? I—"
"I'm sure it will be fine," Chakwas assured her, settling on the side of her bed. "Trust me, Major."
Shepard nodded drowsily. "Yeah. 'm sure."
"Mathematical projections indicate that a biotic woman can use her biotics for small things occasionally during pregnancy," EDI said. Chakwas and Shepard looked over at her. "However, it is not recommended to do large-scale things, nor to use them frequently. I would proceed with caution, Major."
"Thank you, EDI," Chakwas said. "Shepard, just relax. It'll be fine."
#
"Detective Anaya?"
The asari detective looked up from her desk. "Can I help you?" she asked gruffly.
Kaidan produced the tag that identified him as a Spectre, and handed it to her. "Need to ask you a few questions."
"Spectre Alenko. Got hitched to Spectre Shepard, last I heard." He nodded as she handed it back. "Good luck with her. What can I do for you?"
"Just, a quick question, I think," he said. "Did you contact Shepard recently?"
She shook her head. "Haven't had a need to. Why?"
Kaidan and Kasumi traded a look. "Just a question," he said. "She received a message from you, and we were involved in a shuttle crash on our way to see you."
"That was you? Heard about it. Everyone all right?"
"We are." He nodded.
"Well, if I didn't send you a message, who did?" She tented her fingers under her chin.
"There's a group we're hunting," Kasumi said. "It's probably them."
"Well. That's insulting." Anaya shook her head and turned back to her datapad. "What's this group's name? I'll keep an eye out."
"Echidna."
She glanced up, and raised an eyebrow. "What sort of name is that?"
"Depends on who you ask. Small, egg-laying Earth mammal or a mythological Greek monster," Kaidan answered with a shrug. "A continuation of Cerberus, is what it looks like."
"Sucks. I'll give you a call if I hear anything." She shakes her head, checking her terminal. "Just insulting."
#
When they came back to the hospital, they found Chakwas and Shepard waiting in the lobby. Shepard was sullenly in a wheelchair, arms crossed, Chakwas behind her. "They're releasing her to my care," she said. "We can head out. But we wanted to meet back up with you rather than head back ourselves."
"Fair enough." Kasumi grinned. "How you feeling, Shep?"
"I'd feel better if I was back on my ship," she replied sullenly.
"Won't be long. We've got a shuttle waiting," Kaidan said, leaning down at kissing her forehead. "Come on."
"I've got 'er, doc." She grabbed the back of the chair and started for the door. "Don't make me try and cheer you up, Shep."
"You do any wheelies in this and I will personally kill you," they heard her say as they left.
"You're sure she's all right?" Kaidan asked quietly. Chakwas nodded.
"Everything is fine. The babies are fine, there's been no complications with the pregnancy, she's just concussed." She glanced over. "She's fine, Kaidan. She just needs to rest some."
He nodded, frowning, and started behind the other two.
#
It took only a few minutes for the news to spread on the Normandy. By the time they actually made it back several hours later, the entire ship was abuzz. It was all the XO, a man named Willschek, could do to calm the hubbub long enough for Chakwas and Kaidan to get Shepard down to medbay. After plugging in the coordinates for the jump to the Citadel – he wanted to get Shepard checked out by those doctors as well – he headed to check on Joker.
Waiting until they'd pulled out of Illium and into the relay queue, Joker looked over his shoulder. "You and Shepard all right?"
"We're fine."
"The kids?"
"Supposedly fine."
Joker shook his head. "Echidna's getting awful bold," he said. "Hacking your car in the middle of Illium. It could have killed both of you."
"Probably their goal." Kaidan crossed his arms. "Take out the two people with the most knowledge of Cerberus and best ability to find them. I wouldn't be surprised if Miranda and Jacob weren't on the watch list either."
"Would you like me to send them a warning?" EDI asked, from the secondary copilot's seat. Kaidan nodded.
"Any idea what they're after? Apart from, you know, you two dead on at bottom of Illium."
He shook his head. "Probably the same things Cerberus wanted. Human superiority, things like that. And, of course, me and my wife dead at the bottom of Illium."
"Cheery," Joker replied. "So, Citadel?"
"They're saying everything's all right with Shepard. But I want her doctor to check her over."
"Understandable." Joker nodded. "Chakwas has her?"
"Just for observation." Kaidan turned on his heel and started off. "I'm going to go check on her."
"Have fun," he called after him. "Tell her I said hi!"
#
The curtains were still drawn around one of the cots when he walked in, and Chakwas glanced up. "She's fine, Major," she said. "She's asked about you a couple times."
"Thanks," he replied quietly, slipping through the curtains. Shepard was curled up on her side, eyes closed. "Hey, sweetheart."
"Hi," she mumbled, lifting her head. He tsked, and carefully settled himself next to her. She curled into him, nestling her head against his chest. "How're you feeling?"
"Lots of shit hurts," she said drowsily. He smiled weakly, closing his eyes as he held her close.
He had a decision to make, and he was positive she was going to hate him for it.
A/N: Jillian: KALDJ;DAFJDSAKLjklaj;fda
