Tali regained consciousness and attempted to open her eyes; a bright light blinded her causing them to quickly shut. She then reopened them, slower this time to allow them to adjust to the lighting in the room. As they did, she looked around and noticed that she was in the medical bay on the Normandy. Dr. Chakwas was reading something on her datapad, and had a concerned look in her eye. Tali was still out of it from the anesthesia, and she couldn't remember how or why she was even there.

She started trying to remember the events that led up to her unconsciousness. She remembered running with Garrus as the Reaper laser struck a Mako in front of her, causing it to flip in the air and explode on impact. Garrus managed to avoid most of the damage, but still received some burns and some minor wounds from shrapnel. Tali however, was closer to the explosion, and all she could remember were bits and pieces of the moments after the explosion. After a couple of minutes a memory came rushing to her. It was of a human in red and black military-grade armor. He looked worried and was covered in dirt and mud. His vibrant green eyes, filled with years of loss and sadness, were locked in on her, and one sentence came out of his mouth.

"Go back to Rannoch, build yourself a home."

Blake! She internally screamed. She left him down there by the beam. He's not back yet. She tried to move, but the medical equipment stopped her. tubes - an IV, probably - hooked up to her, and a heart monitor that was beeping at a steady pace.

"You shouldn't move too much. You still haven't fully recovered from your injuries." Came a voice she recognized as Dr. Chakwas, the medic stationed on the Normandy. "You had eight suit ruptures, and a lot of cuts and burns from the explosion. I isolated the infections, and you should be fine, but you should consider yourself lucky to be awake right now."

I don't really feel lucky. She thought to herself as she got up to a sitting up position in the bed "I can't just sit here. I need to go back for Shepard." Tali said as tears started to form behind her visor.

"I can't allow that to happen. Garrus said you were to stay here until you were fully healed." Chakwas couldn't hold eye contact with Tali. She knew how much pain she was enduring, even without her injuries.

"You can't be serious, doctor. There's no way I can sit back while he may be dying down there." Tali went to get up again, but this time Chakwas put her hand on her shoulder.

The doctor had a pained look in her eyes, and the other hand was closed as if she was holding something, but what it was, eluded Tali. She grabbed one of Tali's hands, and placed the object inside. "Before you do anything reckless, listen to this. It's something you might want to hear."

Tali looked down at the device, confused as to what she meant. Before she could ask, Chakwas had left the medbay to help Traynor with something, locking the door behind her. Tali was left there alone in the room, with only the pinging of the heart monitor to break the silence.

Kaidan and Joker were arguing on the bridge and most of the crew were starting to get uncomfortable about the situation. Garrus could tell the argument was getting heated, and he was worried that blows might be exchanged pretty soon.

"We need to leave Joker!" Kaidan yelled as he was face-to-face with Joker. "If we get caught in the blast, we will lose the Normandy again! Do you want that?!"

"If anyone wants to leave they can. I programmed the escape pods to fly to Hackett's ship. Everyone can make it back if they leave now."Joker had his fists clenched, and could be seen visibly shaking in anger. "I can't leave Shepard to die! I won't fail him again! You know he would do the same for us!"

They both looked at each other with stares that could burn through metal, but they both knew the other made sense. They both wanted to save Shepard, but it could risk the entire crew. They turned to Garrus, who's tall frame had just stepped onto the bridge, and they both changed their attention to him. Even though it was never officially stated, everyone on the ship knew Garrus would take over as command if Shepard was not here. They both waited for his orders.

Garrus was feeling the pressure of making one of the hardest choices he's ever had to make, and when he usually made hard choices he had Shepard there with his input. He was thinking the entire time he was on the elevator. He went over both options pros and cons and still couldn't decide. He realized that instead of using his brain, he had to use his gut on this decision. Shepard had always put his life on the line for his crew. It was time for them to return the favor.

"We're going after him Kaidan," Garrus said as he passed him his rifle. "Joker, I need you to get us to the Citadel ASAP, every second we waste can be the difference."

"Aye-aye, Garrus!" Joker saluted Garrus, and couldn't hold back the happiness in his face. "Don't worry, I'm not going to fail Shepard this time."

"Good, Kaidan you're going with James and Liara in Bravo Squad, and I'm going with EDI and Javik in Alpha." Garrus was putting on a good front for everyone else, but he still feared the worst had happened to Shepard.

"What about Tali?" Kaidan asked.

"She's too injured. I'm not letting her come along in her condition. We move in fifteen."

Tali was still staring at the device. What is on this? She said I needed to hear it. She decided to listen to it. A video appeared on the screen. It was Shepard, he was wearing his usual nightwear, a t-shirt and some sweatpants. He was in his cabin, and he was smiling, but she could tell he was hurting.

"Tali, if you find this then I most likely died during the mission on Earth. Hopefully me or somebody else were able to defeat the Reapers, and that most of the Normandy crew made it out alive."

Blake, why did you have to do this on your own? Tali thought to herself as tears started flooding down her face again. She still couldn't believe what had happened. She didn't care if she died alongside him, she just didn't want to lose him.

"I just want you to know that I love you with all of my heart and soul. It brought me so much happiness to see you take back your homeworld, and I hoped one day we would make a life there and live out the rest of our days on Rannoch. Sadly, it doesn't seem like that's happening anymore. I've never been good at these types of things, but I wanted to tell you one last thing; don't blame yourself for what happened to me, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Go back to Rannoch and build a future for your people. You'll forever be the other half of my soul. I love you.

Keelah Se'lai."

After the message, the recording device shut off.

Blake… what type of future would I have without you? She tossed it to the side, and started removing the medical equipment from her body. I will find you!

She quickly ran to the control panel by the door and started to hack it with her omni-tool. The pain made it hard to focus, but she couldn't let that stop her.

EDI's voice came over the comms. "Tali, by order of the current acting Commanding Officer Vakarian and Dr. Chakwas, you are not permitted to leave this room."

"EDI, I don't care. One way or another, I'm going with them to get Shepard." Tali winced at the pain in her shoulder. It was her biggest cut, and it just started to reopen. I won't let anything stop me.

"I know, Tali." EDI's voice sounded sad. She figured that in Tali's situation, she'd do the same thing.

Tali finished her hack and the door opened. As she got up, the pain in her shoulder grew. It felt as though someone was taking a knife and jamming it inside. She quickly applied a medi-gel that she always kept on her, in case of infections. She snuck her way to the elevator and pressed the button to head to the armory. She was hoping the others had not left yet.

The elevator doors slid open to the armory. Garrus was working on the final preparations before they took off. He noticed her exit the elevator, and almost dropped all the ammo he had in his hand. Her presence here was not expected.

"Tali what're you doing down here? You're supposed to be resting." Garrus spoke with a firm tone. He also noticed her favoring her hurt shoulder.

"Garrus, I'm coming on this mission whether you like it or not." She walked over to the weapons locker and grabbed her shotgun.

He shook his head and folded his arms. "Tali, please. You're hurt. You can't bleed the enemy into submission. We need you safe. Shepard needs you safe."

"And I need to go looking for him. You either bring me along on this mission, or I go down there in an escape pod. Your choice."

He rubbed his head in frustration. She's always so stubborn. "Fine!" He said with a hint of annoyance. "You can come along, but I want you to stay back on the shuttle and on sensors."

"Recon?!" She walked up to Garrus and got in his face. "Shepard would never…"

He cut her off before she could finish. "I know what he would want!"

The last outburst was followed by complete silence. Garrus kept his gaze on her, but his eyes shifted from anger to sadness. What do I do? He thought to himself as he felt his heart starting to tear in two. His brother-in-arms had asked her to keep her safe, but she was his best friend, and all she wanted was to save her love. "Alright, Tali. You can come along, but nothing risky." Garrus knew she wouldn't take no for an answer and figured it was better than having to keep her away from him.

Tali felt relieved. "Thank you, Garrus." She gave him a hug, and he hugged her back. Thank you for being a good friend Garrus. They then entered the shuttle with Javik and EDI, motioning Cortez they were ready to take off.

It would take a while before they could take the shuttles down to the citadel. The beam from the crucible left tons of debris which made it hard to find a safe entrypoint near where they thought Shepard could be. Tali looked at the pendant that she got for Shepard. It was a necklace with a giant amethyst stone in the middle. It was both of their birthstones. She got one for the both of them, and it was a way that they'd always be with each other. As she looked down at the pendant, she took the time until they landed to think about Shepard, and the first time they met.