Greetings All, wishing you a good day and a great weekend. Sorry for the delay but wanted to get this out before Real Life attacked. (Rent as always) This is sort of a filler chapter - a cooling off - at least for Shepard after she punched out Kaidan. LOL As always all the favs, follows, comments and reviews make my day. Your input is what keeps writers writing. This universe and these characters belong to Bioware. I'm just playing with them.
Unexpected
Shepard
Shepard stormed back through the corridors until the aching stiffness in her legs made her slow down and realize what she was doing. She stopped and got herself under control. No use spooking some cadet like Hendan into thinking the Reapers had reanimated. Inwardly, though she couldn't really remember them, she shivered at the concept.
She wrenched her mind away from those thoughts. Hopefully, finally, the situation with Alenko was solved. If not she'd cold cock him again. Damn, she hated to admit it; but that had felt good. She couldn't punch Renfield out (not that she didn't want to) so getting to hit Alenko was very satisfying, even if her hand hurt now.
As for her punishment – at this point she didn't care. If the Reapers counted for points then one destroyer sized Reaper ought to take care of it. If not, she'd take whatever punishment they deemed appropriate.
As she calmed, along with her legs, her hand started throbbing angrily. Well her N7 combat instructor had said that hitting a human skull barehanded was gonna hurt. He'd always advised the use of something to protect your hand - like a two by four, gunstock, or rebar.
Figuring she was finally calm enough, she started walking again. Amused at her ease of getting around the mansion. It wasn't the Normandy but it had become very familiar, and, in some cases, far more welcoming. Once she got back she'd be taking care of that. Purging Renfield and Corso's cronies and getting back those of her crew that had been forced out. If they wanted, or could come back. She knew, for many, they were helping loved ones or their home communities, or searching for lost loved ones. She would not allow them to be ordered back, they had more than paid their dues. Heroes all in her book.
Up ahead was the small room the Turians had set up as a place to get dextro food and drinks when the kitchen was shut down. Smart idea that, saved the cook being on 24/7 and made it easy on the med suite staff and patients. Whiteson, all on his own, had added a coffee/hot drinks machine and snacks for the humans. She envied Victus – Whiteson was the kind of man any sane commander would kill to have on their staff. He followed chain of command but he could also think on his feet and adapt – sometimes a rare combination.
She spotted Solana heading for the break? snack? room. The Turian was studying a datapad and hadn't noticed her.
"Solana?" Shepard called when she was closer.
The younger woman started and looked up.
"Commander." She smiled.
"Is everything okay?" Shepard asked as they stopped in front of the break room.
"He's fine." Solana's mandibles moved outward in a smile. "Still sleeping, which he will for awhile."
"Is that normal?"
"After SRH yes."
"SRH?" Shepard didn't recognize the initials.
"Oh, short for Stress Relief Hormone." Solana explained. "We don't much use it." Here she smirked. "There are other more fun ways of relieving stress."
Shepard grinned back, having learned all about those other ways.
"But Garrus isn't up to either of those – so – SRH." Then Solana scowled. "Not that the idiot wouldn't try one of them, given a chance."
Shepard smiled, recognizing the sibling sniping.
"I'll go keep him company." She told Solana, who nodded.
As she turned to go.
"Are you sure you don't want to join me? He will be okay" The young woman tentatively asked Shepard as she paused in the doorway.
"I wouldn't mind the company and a cup of coffee and a donut; but I want to find Chakwas.." At Solana's quizzical look she indicated her aching hand. "Alenko has a hard head."
Solana grinned at that. "I'll bring you back a coffee then. Not so sure about the donut thing – whatever that is."
"It's a hunk of sweet fried dough." Shepard explained. She'd always had a bit of a problem with sweets.
"Probably not. How do you like your coffee?"
"A spoonful of sugar and a little cream if you can. If not, black is fine." With that the two women separated.
Fortunately for her stiffening knees – the med suite was just down the hallway and around the corner from the break room.
The same two guards from earlier were still on duty and they nodded at her as they graciously opened the doors.
"Thanks guys."
Once inside with the doors closed behind her, she happily collapsed into a chair to rest her aching legs. Her anger had carried her down to Alenko's room and then back up here; but now it was wearing off and she was beginning to really hurt. Well Akiko had wanted her to push herself; but not quite this much. She chastised herself mentally.
She pushed herself to her feet before her knees could really stiffen up and went looking for Chakwas.
But before she did that she checked in on Garrus. Solana had dimmed the light by his bedside and rotated it so it wouldn't shine in his face. With what illumination there was, Shepard could see he was resting peacefully. His muscles at ease. When she'd seen him earlier his muscles, particularly in his arms and legs, had been visibly knotting and unknotting as they contracted and relaxed. Looking both painful and alarming.
Now they were quiet except for an occasional slow twitch.
His breathing was slow, deep and easy.
As she turned to go, she noticed a roll away bed over against the wall. Unfolded and neatly made up. Once again Whiteson had come through.
Reassured, she went in search of Chakwas. Finally locating the older woman at the back of the med suite in a little rest area they'd set up; with a battered old couch, a couple of arm chairs, and a table.
She was, apparently dozing, in one of the armchairs. Eyes closed, hands laced across her stomach; but the second she heard Shepard's footsteps she was alert.
"Shepard." She straightened up and glared at the Commander. "You're supposed to be resting. What have you been up to?"
Shepard grinned sheepishly and held up her swollen hand. "Bruising myself on a biotic."
Chakwas gaped at her for a second then swung into action. She motioned Shepard into the area the humans used. (The Turians had simply moved their doctor into the same room – making it a central area for medical needs.) Surgery, though, was performed in different rooms as per species.
Shepard sat down on the bed while Chakwas scanned her hand; and her legs. She hummed disapprovingly under her breath at what she was reading.
"You should know better than to punch someone bare handed, Shepard." She turned to the medical cupboard (marked with red crosses to signify levo supplies).
"Yeah, I remembered that about the time my fist connected with his chin." Shepard sighed then hissed as Chakwas began cleaning her hand.
"What did Alenko do?" Chakwas asked neutrally.
"Damn near got his stupid ass into a fight with Vakarian." Shepard growled.
"What?" Chakwas stopped, startled.
"I told him no in no uncertain terms so he decided to go behind my back and try to get Garrus to call it off." Shepard was still enraged about that.
"Not a particularly good idea." Chakwas put a spray dressing on her hand where Alenko's teeth had scored her skin. "From all I know, Turians don't take kindly to people messing with their mates."
"Yeah, well he apparently damned near triggered some kind of instinctive protective response. The only reason Vakarian didn't attack was that they'd been on the ground team together." Shepard told her.
Chakwas readied a shot. "I know Kaidan has carried a torch for you for a long time."
Shepard snorted dismissively at that.
Not daunted Chakwas went on. "But this seems excessive even for him." She paused and looked thoughtful. "I wonder if this is some form of PTSD."
"I thought that took the form of nightmares?" Shepard's nights were often torn apart with nightmares she couldn't, probably didn't want to, remember.
"Often; but conditions like PTSD can have many different ways of manifesting." Chakwas explained.
"Well, he can get himself checked out at Huerta E." Shepard grumbled. "I told Hackett I want him off the Normandy before I get back."
Chakwas sighed but didn't say anything. From somewhere, Shepard remembered that the doctor had been a fan of the biotic.
"Speaking of." Shepard paused. "I know you're still swamped with the injured and the healing, Chakwas; but I'd like you to come back to the Normandy – if you want or can."
Chakwas frowned as she began to clean up. "Like you, Commander – I don't like wasting time on useless gestures. There are too many injured for that kind of wastefulness."
"You'll get no argument from me; and I'll be telling Hackett and by extension the Alliance that. The Normandy needs to be doing concrete things like ferrying supplies and survivors – rescues – protections." Shepard snorted. "Not running around doing dog and pony shows." Something came to mind and she snickered. Chakwas looked curiously at her.
"Victus told me that 'dog and pony' translates out to 'varren and elcor' for the Turians." She grinned and Chakwas laughed.
"I bet that must have confused them?"
"I think they wrote it off to – 'humans are very strange'." Shepard chuckled.
"Speaking of Turians…" Chakwas got serious. "What about Garrus?"
Shepard sighed. "I'm not sure – except that the more I'm around him the more I want him around." Chakwas nodded with a soft smile.
"But that's what I want – what does he want..or, more importantly, need." She glanced off to the side. "In a few months most all the Turians are going to head back to Palaven. His family is going to want him to come home and I know Victus wants him to help put their home world back together."
She was quiet. "I can't…won't ask him to abandon his people."
"Jess. He won't abandon his people but he's not going to leave your side until you tell him to go..and even then it won't be far." Chakwas told her. "Garrus decided for you a long time ago."
"But I can't remember so many things about us." Shepard ran her good hand through her hair in frustration then snorted. "The X-rated stuff – yeah." Here she blushed furiously and Chakwas grinned at her embarrassment. "But not the beginning stuff – the deep stuff."
"I'm pretty sure it will come, you just have to give it time." Chakwas assured her.
Shepard let out a breath as she climbed down off the bed. "All right; but the personal porn movies are getting a bit much, considering some of the places we..er...seemed to have investigated things."
Chakwas laughed at that. "Okay, I want you off your feet for the next 12 hours at least."
"12 hours! I can't be out of it that long."
"Do you have anywhere pressing to be?" The older woman shot back, hands on hips.
"Er." Shepard thought about it. "No."
"Then 12 hours it is." Chakwas told her.
"Yes mother." She tossed over her shoulder as she made her way back to Garrus's bedside. Behind her she heard Chakwas chuckle.
When she got back to Garrus, he was still resting quietly. With a sigh she pulled the chair out of the corner and next to the bed. She settled into it very cautiously, unsure how long her now aching and stiffening legs could take sitting. She chided herself mentally for over doing it.
Before she could get too comfortable or in the case of her legs, uncomfortable. There was a sigh and a low mumble from the bed.
Instantly she was on her feet, watching as he twitched and shifted in his sleep. His sub harmonics and his visible tones colliding.
After a few moments of clicks, hums, growls, purrs, and chirps. (Which she thought were adorable but would never tell him.) His eyes slowly opened.
He glanced around wearily, rather out of it, and she knew he was still exhausted so she kept quite in case he was just going to fall asleep again.
Then his eyes lite on her and he smiled. It was slow and crooked but it made her feel warm all over.
"Hey big guy." She smiled back. "How you feel."
He stared at her for a few moments then with a grin and a slightly slurred voice. "You're cute."
She about died of shock. He'd never, that she knew of, been this forward.
"No…wait…that's not right." His face plates shifted. "Your waist is supportive?"
Shepard didn't know what to say or what the hell was gong on.
"No, your fringe is..." He shook his head and stopped. "No, wrong thing." He now looked as confused as she felt.
Just then, thankfully, Solana came in with her coffee.
"Commander…" Then she saw that Garrus was awake.
He spotted her at the same time and scowled. "I'm not talking to you. You broke my destroyer model."
Solana came to a halt, startled.
"He woke up and called me cute." Shepard explained, waving her hand at the bed.
"Well you are." Garrus retorted with what rather looked like a silly grin on his face.
After a second, Solana started to smirk. "Spirits, I'd forgotten about that."
"Forgotten about what?"
"SRH relaxes everything – heavily." She explained.
"So?"
"He's basically – what is it you humans say – three blankets to the storm?"
Shepard tried to figure that one out as Garrus, she hadn't though they knew that maneuver, stuck his tongue out at his sister. Then it hit.
"You mean 3 sheets to the wind?"
Solana nodded smirking even wider at her brother, as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her.
"He's drunk?"
"VERY." Solana said and started giggling.
