A/N : Hello everyone ! This is my first ever fanfic, so I thought a lot before publishing this, and I hope you'll enjoy it ! It's a Shepley story, with an Earthborn, Survivor of Akuze, and full paragon Shep. Done every mission and every DLC of course. I am not an English native speaker, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give me some feedbacks, don't hesitate to correct some mistakes I made (this is very useful for me, and it is also for your comfort !), and PLEASE leave some reviews !
This is not a "ME3 end is bad" (in my opinion, with the EC, it is a very good end), I just wanted a happy ending with the synthetics, that is all. I did not decided yet about a date of update, I'm in exam period (yeah, I'm smart to publish this at this time hehe). Hope you'll enjoy !
Today, it has been three months. Three months since the Crucible fired. Three months that Adrien Lucas Shepard freed the galaxy from the Reapers.
It was a tough war. Every race in the galaxy lost a lot during it. Earth was almost destroyed, as Palaven, Thessia, or Rannoch. But life goes on, and every species began to rebuild everything, with an inter-species coalition. Krogans were on Earth or Palaven helping with the remaining rubble of collapsed buildings, Geths were monitoring schematics to build houses, farms, or orphanages – for all the children left alone by the war – which could be used at a top efficiency to produce food and home for everyone.
But this day also marked the third month of Shepard's coma. Three months in this hospital bed in Paris. He grew up in France, in the streets, alone, his parents having left him without looking back. Even after he joined the Alliance, he wondered why. What he did wrong to be abandoned like that, to feed for himself. He never had the answer, and probably never will. He had to find a way to survive in the streets. He was in a gang during his childhood, the Tenth Street Reds. A little gang that turned into a criminal organisation after the First Contact War. He was good at that, robbing, scaring people. But he met David Anderson, an Alliance soldier, and everything changed for him.
The boy was on the ground, bleeding, face on the floor, mouth opened, breathing heavily. His comrades had left. He had lost the fight after all, it was his fault. He was alone. He had broken bones, a shiner, and a very long cut made by a knife on the forehead, near his hair. The back alley was very dark, and it was almost certain that nobody would see him until tomorrow. But an Alliance patrol had been warned about a fight in this little street by a neighbour. The soldiers spotted him, and came near him
"Come on, it's a rat! Just leave him here. You know how they are! They were born in there, rat you were, rat you will be."
"It's just a kid Brewster! We can't leave him here. He is coming with us. He needs medical attention. I'm sure he is starving."
"Aaaah, Anderson, always here to help, uh! The Saviour of the Rats!"
"Shut it Brewster, it's our job to protect people. Why are you even in the Alliance if you can't save a kid's life?" The little boy began to regain consciousness. Surprised, he tried to flee. "Hey, come on little guy, I'm here to help. What's your name?" The little boy hesitated a little, fully aware that he could not go anywhere.
"Adrien..."
"Okay Adrien. My name is David Anderson, and over there it is Marshall Brewster. You are fine, okay? You are wounded, we are going to take care of you. Do you understand?"
Since that day, Shepard never left Anderson. He was like the father he never had. He became a N7, the elite of the Alliance, Survivor of Akuze, then the first Human Spectre, Saviour of the Citadel, Destroyer of the Collector, and finally, Saviour of the Galaxy. He came a long way. From the streets of Earth to the most famous human in the galaxy, adored by every species. He cured the Genophage, managed to end a long war between Quarians and Geths, and destroyed the "pro-human" organisation Cerberus.
"This is Evdokia Belyakova from Gossalaxy, reporting directly from Paris, France, Earth. Like always, information on Shepard's health are not communicated, but our sources signalled that he is still in a coma. He is stable, and improves each passing day, but there is still no sign of him waking up anytime soon. Will the Saviour of the Galaxy will wake up one day? All the galaxy is wishing this. However, a question remains! Does Shepard have a g..."
The TV was turned off. In Shepard's hospital room, Ashley Williams was about to go back to her place. The visits were not allowed after 7:00pm. Today, she was alone. Nobody came by. She was glad. Sometimes, she wanted to be alone with him, in this tiny room. A bed, a nightstand, and a chair. He was the only one to have a room just for himself, with a big window showing the huge City of Lights being rebuilt. Sometimes, she would just stare outside, looking at the workers, at the crowd walking, laughing, talking, because they were alive, because Shepard sacrificed himself so they could do all of that. At some point, she wondered how people could go on in their lives while Shepard was not, how the entire galaxy could move on while he was stuck in this bed. It was unfair, but it was what it was.
"It is time for me to go, Skipper. I'll see you tomorrow. You were nice today. Your condition is improving each day... I miss you, you know... I wish you were with me to see how each world comes back to life...Anyway, good bye."
She kissed his forehead, and went away. She'd come every day to see him. She was the second Human Spectre, and the current commanding officer of the Normandy. With David Anderson now gone, her present job was to head the reorganization of the Alliance fleet with Major Coats and Admiral Hackett. It will take time, but the situation was improving day after day. After her work, she'd come see him. She talked about her day, what she saw, who she met. She'd tell him about her sisters, her mother, Garrus, Tali, and of all the others, as if he was going to answer. As if there was not the beeping of the heart monitor or the tubes in his mouth.
He had improved. Before, there were a lot of machines, monitoring his breathing, injecting nutriments, analysing his brain. When he was first wheeled in, he could not even breathe on his own. That had broken her heart. Now, he was better. After that, she would pray, kiss his forehead, and go back home. And each day, it was the same thing. Every day, she would wake up, wishing it will be the day where he would finally open his eyes and smile the way she loved, and everything would be perfect. They would be together, and everything else would not matter anymore. He would not fight for his life anymore. For the first times in years, he would be happy. With her. He would never be alone again, not like during his childhood.
But when the day will come, he will be broken. He lost a leg and three fingers from his right hand. He lost a lot of muscles mass while in coma. But it was not only physical. Psychologically, there will be sequela. What he saw up there, in the Keepers' tunnel, or the vision of the Prothean beacon. And the nightmares of this little boy... But she was ready. She wanted to be with him, to help, no matter what. Because she loved him. And she knew for sure that he loved her too.
She arrived at her place, a little prefab suburban house. Paris was a beautiful city before the Reaper War. Now, there were a lot of prefab buildings to house everyone. Roads were cracked, houses and skyscrapers a pile of ashes. But night and day, work shifts relieved each other to give access to shelters, water, and electricity to everyone. Around Ashley's house, some houses were already finished, and some buildings were almost done. Nonetheless, she preferred to stay in this little prefab house, it was easier to see Shepard. For some time, she lived with her sister Sarah. Her family knew for Shepard and her. When he died over Alchera, she was broken. But fortunately, her family was there, like always.
It was time for dinner, and like always, she was dead on time. Her house was very simple. A bathroom, two bedrooms, a little kitchen, and a living room, with a couch and a table to eat. It was still difficult to have food, there was a rationing, and the fact that she was an Alliance officer did not change that, everyone was treated the same. She sat at the table with her sister. Lynn, Abby, and her mother Madeline were not here, they went back to Amaterasu, but Sarah stayed. She had some papers to deal with for the death of her husband, Thomas, who died during the war. Her little sister was still hurting, but she was getting back onto her feet. The grief was over, she had now to move on. Today, Sarah made vegetables. Beans, with some onions.
"So, how is he?" said Sarah.
"Still asleep...but he improves. The nurses say his brain activity is high. But they don't know when he is going to wake up..." Ashley answered, sighing at the end.
"He earned a little rest...and with everything which is going to be thrown at his face with the reconstruction and you, he needs this rest!" told Sarah, with a weak smile, trying to cheer her sister up.
"Yeah...maybe. It is hard you know. Maybe he is not going to wake up at all..."
"Oh, come on, Ash! Do you lose faith in him? Or in God? Your prayers will be answered. Just give Him time, He has His hands full with everything which is going on out there. And Shepard always beats the odds. You know him better than me."
"Yeah...but I miss him, you know. At least now, we have time. For us."
"It's okay to miss him. It's normal. I missed Thomas a lot. But think about your future. It is worth it, don't you think?"
"Yeah, you are right..."
Ashley finished her meal, kissed her sister, and went to bed. But as usual, before going to sleep, she read a poem for Shepard.
"J'ai laissé dans des flaques de larmes
L'acier de mes armes
Des sombres vents
D'avant
N'en reste que poussières furtives
A jamais captives,
Du passé
Trépassé..
Car tu m'as ouvert la porte du bonheur
Cet unique seigneur
Lumière
Bannière
En Face duquel, les autres dieux ne sont rien
Que dogmes incertains
Que relents
De sang.
Dors mon ange
Le futur nous lange
Les nuits prochaines seront nôtres
La sérénité en sera l'apôtre
Je m'arrime là
A côté de toi…. "
And then, everything was quiet.
So, tell me what you think ? Shepard is French because it is easier for me to describe France than another country such as England, for obvious reasons ^^
The poem is "Je m'arrime à côté de toi", from Christophe Bregaint. I am sorry that it is not an English poem, but since I am French, it was far more easier for me to find a love poem in French than in English. And of course, Ash read French poetry to Shep to be "closer" to him, y'know ?
Updated on 28/05/2015 : I added some details, corrected some mistakes I saw.
Updated on 17/12/2016: Added some details, changed some sentences, corrected some mistakes.