Chapter Eight: Camera Ready Face

12 Years Earlier

"You've done so much already, why can't they just let you take a break?" A man in his mid thirties asked Captain Hannah Shepard.

"The Alliance needs me," Hannah reached her hand out and gently placed it on the man's arm. She tried to muster a reassuring smile, but she had yet to master the art of faking sincerity.

"How long will you be gone?" He asked, placing his hand on the side of Hannah's face.

"I don't know. Undercover in the Terminus? It could be years," she said. Out of everything she had ever done, this was by far the worst. But the Alliance didn't care about personal feelings, so neither would she.

"Years!" The man jumped back from her, panic glistening in his eyes. Passion she hadn't seem in much too long sparked pitifully in his eyes. Maybe he had found "What about Colt and Alex?" In a much quieter, and resigned voice, "They need you…Well...I-"

"They'll be fine. Besides Colt's fifteen, almost an adult. He can handle himself. As for Alex, you'll be there for him," she said. The Captain was doing an admirable job of not crying, but she knew that her breaking point was near. The thought of leaving him behind made Hannah physically sick. While he was doing better, it really was an inopportune time to leave.

"Who's going to be there for me?" He had silent tears running down his cheeks. He grabbed Hannah's hands, and ran his fingers over her knuckles. This was the most

"Colt and Alex will keep you company; besides, I shouldn't be longer than two years. I'll be home by the time Colt graduates and the Alliance will give me something quieter to do. Think of this as an investment into our future. I go for two years I never have to do a long tour again," Hannah now had tears streaming down her face, it was hard to keep it together for both of them.

"Will you at least be able to contact us?" He asked.

"No, if I were to contact anyone outside of my assignment, my cover would be blown," the Captain said, pulling the man into a hug. No promise, gesture, or word could ever make Hannah stay. She had to go.

…

The mechanical whirring of machines was the first thing Shepard heard. Where the hell was he? He couldn't remember much. Colt opened his eyes too quickly, and slapped them shut when a bright light assaulted them. He came to the conclusion that he was either in the med bay or last night had been one hell of a party. "Hello?" Shepard tried his voice.

"Commander, good, you're awake. Everyone was worried even though I kept telling them that you'd be fine," Doctor Chakwas appeared in his line of vision and seemed to be checking him over. The flood gates holding back memories from his kidnap and torture suddenly opened, and everything flowed back to him. Everything.

"What's the damage doc?" Shepard rasped, slowly building the courage to sit up.

"Some major bruising on your face and a pretty serious concussion. It's lucky you're so tough; I thought at least a couple of your facial bones would be broken, but nope, there's only bruising," Chakwas glanced up towards him and gave him a smile.

"When can I go back to duty?" Colt didn't like the sound of a major concussion.

"Day after tomorrow is when you can be in combat, tomorrow you can do paperwork," Chakwas was now giving him her full attention.

"So soon? I thought you were supposed to let concussions heal for a couple of weeks," Shepard propped himself up a tiny bit. Colt didn't feel as bad as he thought he would after such an ordeal.

"A couple years ago they released a drug that helps the brain heal after a concussion; it's quick. You'll be good to go in just a couple days. In fact you can go to your cabin anytime you want," she had now moved away and was typing something in at her terminal.

"Thanks doc," Shepard pulled himself into a sitting position and prepared his legs. He had his casual Alliance wear on, and his cabin was set in his sights. He slowly put one leg down and then the other and just stood. After a few minutes of just standing, Colt decided that his legs would be fine and he started towards the med bay doors.

"One more thing Commander, your face is pretty badly bruised and it will be for awhile. I'm afraid that your charming face will look more like the underside of a warthog for awhile," Doctor Chakwas was grinning quietly. All Shepard could do was scowl back, and exit the med bay.

Colt was scrubbing at his face and not paying very much attention when he walked out of the med bay. In fact, he didn't notice the whole non-essential crew waiting in the mess hall. He stood just outside the med bay doors and arched his back in a stretch. Shepard contorted his features while yawning. Very slowly he opened his eyes, and found around ten pairs of eyes staring back at him. "So, how do I look?" Shepard asked everyone; he was trying hard not to smile.

"Let's just say they won't be putting your face on any magazines this week," someone shouted, he couldn't tell who.

Shepard chuckled a little until realization dawned on him, "Wait… what do you mean this week?" The mess hall went silent; his crew glanced at each other and very slowly a magazine was handed up through them until Shepard got a hold of it.

The cover had a decent picture of Shepard on it and the caption by his picture said, 'Commander Shepard: Intergalactic Play Boy?' Colt almost burst out laughing right there. His game had been worse than stagnate for at least a year. When he flipped it to the section about himself there were various pictures of him with the female members of the crew. The whole article was about how he was probably dating everyone and their mother. Shepard was barely keeping himself from cackling hysterically. Then an awful thought occurred to the commander: Had Liara seen this?

"Just when we thought that your ego would fill the entire Normandy and suffocate us all, this happens. Next edition will be a whole Magazine dedicated to," Garrus paused to take the magazine from Shepard's hands and used what was probably meant to be a girly voice, "Commander Shepard's warrior poet eyes. Mystery, romance, and raw sex appeal making up his irises." Everyone, including Shepard himself burst out laughing at the thought. It almost seemed like the Batarian incident was forgotten entirely, Colt was glad. Reopening old wounds wasn't at the top of his To-Do List.

"I think a magazine about my ass would be much more appealing," Shepard said through fits of laughter. "I should go. I'd love to sit and chat with everyone, but the doc told me that I need to rest today." Shepard said, heading towards his Commander cave. Before he entered, a thought struck him, "Garrus, why are you the one who seems to know the most about that article?"

…

"Shepard is so infuriating! I'm expecting him to walk out of here and talk to the crew about his kidnapping and what does he do? He talks about some dumb magazine!" Liara was in the med bay talking to Doctor Chakwas, she hoped to get information on Shepard's behavior.

"I know that it's frustrating when Shepard acts like nothing is wrong, but it helps him," Chakwas placed her hand on Liara's shoulder and gave her a comforting smile.

"How exactly does it help him, Doctor?" Liara was getting frustrated at the lack of straightforwardness she had been receiving.

"It's a coping mechanism. If you were put into a situation where something like that happened to you, would you want to talk to anyone about it, especially to your crew?" Liara was starting to understand, Chakwas' words made sense. "I think the best we can do for him is just be there when he needs us, pushing him for answers will only push him away," Chakwas gave Liara's shoulder a final pat before turning away to her terminal." I think you should go talk to him."

…

Author's Note: I made a mistake in my last author note by saying that Mass Effect didn't win one award at the VGAs but it actually won Best RPG of the Year. Thank you Ripper1337 for pointing this out to me!