Author's Note: Does a Javik/Liara romance creep anyone else out? Because I'm totally freaked out by the idea. Javik is just such an awful person and Liara isn't. I do find the Prothean hilarious, but also a total jerk. Sorry if you like that ship.

Also, reviews are an amazing thing (hint, hint). They motivate me to write more, faster. Plus they let me know if things are going well, or not so much. It's hard to know if I should keep writing when I'm in the dark on other's opinions. Thanks, and sorry for begging.

Chapter Fifty Nine: Are We Any Better?

"Commander, what's wrong?" James asked carefully. He was watching Shepard prepare a shot of some type between throwing up and coughing.

"Commander, we need to get you back on the Normandy," EDI tried. Shepard was completely ignoring them, and continued to work on his shot preparation. James was getting a little aggravated at Shepard; he could at least acknowledge them.

"Commander!," James yelled; this would definitely get Shepard's attention. Shepard didn't move, though. Instead he injected himself, and sat up a little more. He groaned in pain, but did not acknowledge the others.

James decided to go with another tactic. He tapped Shepard on the shoulder, where a piece of his armor was missing. Shepard jumped, glowed blue, and looked up at him viciously. The look went as fast as it came, however. He smiled at them, revealing bloodstained teeth, and tried to stand.

"The Commander may have ruptured his eardrums. He probably cannot hear anything," EDI explained. James looked towards Shepard with a new understanding. He lowered a hand towards his Captain, and Shepard took it with a red hand. Shepard almost fell back, because their hands were slick with blood.

…

Commander Shepard was almost unconscious. He was hanging onto the world desperately with each stride. A significant amount of his life force had drained on the rubble twenty feet behind them. His clear cybernetic goo had been leaking alongside his red blood. Shepard's weak body was being drug by James and EDI; both had a vice grip on his shoulders. The world was a soundless landscape. Shell shock was probably to blame, and his loss of hearing would be temporary. Another fifteen minutes, and everything would be fine and dandy again.

It seemed like everything was failing in a spectacular fashion. He felt like his body was shutting down, his hearing was messed up, and losing Lieutenant Victus was a massive blow. The mission had been a disgrace. He let himself throw a pity party the whole way back to the shuttle.

Once on board the Kodiak, Shepard felt himself stabilizing more. He no longer felt like he was on the edge of the real world, and the unconscious one. He was able to realize that despite thinking it would, his hearing had not come back. The shot he gave himself had gotten his insides under control, but the world was still lacking any auditory input. His temporary deafness should've been gone by now.

Shepard warily put his hand next to his ear, and snapped. There was nothing. He snapped again, but it was a constant silence. Shepard hated silence; it was like being alone. The ride back to the Normandy was filled with fear. Shepard relied on his ears, and now they had been taken away.

The shuttle's door opened without its usual whoosh. Colt was on the verge of panic. He couldn't function without his ears. No way he could, how was he even functioning now? The world wasn't supposed to be silent. Bad things happened when it was silent. It meant that he was alone-it meant he could die without anyone caring. It means that he would be separated from his friends, from people.

Chakwas appeared in front of him. She was saying something, but he didn't know what. Colt clung onto her like she was the only thing keeping him grounded. Terror coursed through his veins. He felt like he was suffocating...again. He choked on fear, and started to come undone. It felt like the sun, and everything he knew, had been blown out along with his ears.

Liara showed up next to Chakwas, and put a hand on his cheek. He barely felt it. Colt was desperately trying to hold it together, but everything was just falling apart. Then a pleasant sensation ran through his body. A few seconds later, he fell into sleep.

...

"You know, Commander. I would like a little time to myself in between gluing you back together after missions," Chakwas stood above him with an insufferable grin. Other medical staff moved around the room. None of them were Chakwas' assistants, so he was obviously at Huerta.

"It's a damn good thing that I'm pretty then, isn't Doctor? Having to look at me for hours on end while you carefully apply super glue isn't so bad when you're staring at such a marvel," Shepard gestured to himself.

"Don't flatter yourself, Commander," Chakwas turned, and spoke to one of the medical people.

"That was hurtful, Doc. I think I need to find you a significant other, so you don't take all your repressed emotions out on your patients," Colt sat up a little more. He was in the same room he had been before. It wasn't so small this time around, however. Probably because all of his friends weren't trying to fit inside. He was so tired of ending up on Huerta.

"Stop," Chakwas said with a laugh. "I have to give you credit for managing to hurt yourself so much that you continually end up in Huerta. You didn't hear this from me, but I think you've been put in the running for patient of the year," Chakwas smiled at her own words, before injecting him with something. He had not seen that one coming.

"It's disturbing to me how much fun you have giving me shots," Shepard was tense from fear. If the Reapers started using needles, then the galaxy could deal without him.

"Ah, but it's only fun if I get to poke and prod," the Doctor turned back around.

"Ya, fun for you," Colt muttered. "What was it this time?" He looked around for clues to see why he might have been brought in.

"Ruptured eardrums. Your smart-ass comments tell me that the surgery was successful," Chakwas did that smug little grin again.

"Don't lie. You know you missed my wit," Shepard replied. "I have no memory of something like that happening," he touched his ears. He did remember Victus, God did he remember that.

"Probably a good thing. It wasn't pleasant. Your ears were bleeding, and you may have panicked," Chakwas said the last part quickly. The good doctor was turned away, so he couldn't read her face.

"Wonderful," he groaned. "Like it wasn't already traumatic enough for the crew to have a deaf Commander, I have to go and panic."

"Actually, your XO kept everything going quite well," Chakwas' words were definitely said with a grin. He didn't need to see her face to know.

Colt also came to the realization that he didn't know who his XO was. He had been too caught up in saving the galaxy to announce who his XO was. A stupid decision, but he just didn't think about it. He needed to remember to appoint Engineer Adams to XO when he got back into things. "Who exactly is my XO?"

"A one Doctor Liara T'Soni," Chakwas laughed at his reaction.

"I knew she was amazing, but stepping up as XO? Damn, if I were in her situation I wouldn't be able to do it. I wouldn't be able to function if she was hurt...just wow," Colt was grinning madly. Liara continued to astound him, "I should probably go and see her." He stood, and cracked his back satisfactorily.

"Just a minute, you probably want to shave," Chakwas handed him a mirror. He had a thick head of semi-curly hair, and a long beard. They were brown, with streaks of white. The hair on his head was three inches long, and his beard was an inch and a half long. "A side affect of those shots is that your facial hair grows a lot faster than it normally would," Chakwas explained to the shocked Shepard.

His Commander Shepard look was a shaved head, and a shadow bridging on a beard. He did not look like his usual self. His former gang leader self looked like he did now. This look brought him back to when he was sixteen, and homeless. Unkempt would be a good description since his hair was uncombed, sticking up weirdly, and had a slight natural curl.

...

The unbearable silence spread throughout the Normandy. Liara couldn't believe they had lost Colt and Lieutenant Victus in a matter of seconds. She refused to acknowledge her own loss - Colt couldn't be gone. So instead of thinking about him, she stared at the Primarch trying to gauge his reaction.

Liara had never seen a turian cry, she didn't know they could. Until now. The Primarch was staring at the black screen with tears running down his face. He looked like he didn't quite believe his eyes. It was so odd how someone can be perfectly fine seconds before, only to be dead now. The Primarch's son had been completely healthy five seconds earlier, and now he didn't exist.

One of the three screens was black - Shepard's screen. James and EDI were searching for the Commander. He was still alive, Liara could still feel him in her mind. She had to take control of the situation, it's what Shepard would've done.

...

Colt saw Liara sitting alone just outside his hospital room. She had her head in her hands. It broke Colt's heart, so he decided his singing voice would cheer her up. "Liara, oh my dearest Liara! So blue, I really like your hue, makes me coo, but I'm not through," Colt paused for a moment to think, "Well...shit. I'm actually through, because I'm not very good rhyming." He grinned at her, and sat next to his blue beauty.

"Colt," Liara whispered, and buried her head into his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and was partially sitting on his lap. He could feel her tears seeping into his shirt. "Why do you keep getting hurt?" Her voice was painful to hear.

"Occupational hazard, I suppose," Colt supplied helpfully. He didn't know what to do, so he hugged her close. Shepard wasn't a fan of public displays of affection, but this was important. Liara needed comforting.

"Stop getting hurt, then. By the Goddess... stop it," Liara sobbed. She sounded so weak and defeated.

"I will. I'll stop," at this point Colt would've turned into a hanar if it stopped Liara crying. "Let's get back," Colt said gently. He stood up with Liara still in his arms. Her feet were off the ground, and she dangled from him for a second, until she untangled herself from him. The loss of contact was disappointing, and Colt almost started hugging her again.

They started walking towards the entrance hand in hand. In the waiting area sat their friends. They all looked horrendously bored. An elite team of soldiers was not supposed to wait around, but it was very amusing. "Hey everyone," Colt greeted everyone happily. His heart warmed when he saw how they all looked so relieved, "The famed Major-Doctor Chakwas has restored my hearing abilities with her secret magic powers, and they're better than before. So now I can hear every sarcastic comment you guys make behind my back," Colt announced cheerily.

"I am also pleased to announce that we shall be having a three day shore leave," Colt felt even better when he saw their excited faces. "Meet back at the usual time in three days, dismissed," he watched everyone, except for Liara, file out of Huerta's waiting room.

"I figured we could enjoy each other's company," Liara smiled at him shyly, making his knees weak.

"Great idea," Colt agreed. He grabbed her hand and swung their intertwined hands enthusiastically.

"You know, your singing isn't that bad," Liara admitted once they were outside the waiting room.

"Reeaallly?" Colt asked with a playful tone.

"What have I done? The entire crew agreed that we wouldn't inflate your ego anymore," Liara brought her free hand to her forehead.

Colt was about to reply, until he heard something odd. "Liara, do you hear something?" Colt stopped, and looked all around him. He knew he heard someone in trouble.

"Nope, not a thing. What do you hear?" Liara stood next to him, and glanced around.

"Someone needs help!" Shepard took off towards the shouting and crying. He wasn't going as fast as he could; he didn't want Liara to be left behind. His ears led them to a little side street that was oddly not lit very well. Probably the only place on the Citadel that wasn't lit up. He could hear laughing, and crying farther down it.

"What the fuck is happening here?!" Shepard called into the alleyway. Liara was next to him with glowing biotic fists.

"Piss off," a deep voice responded. He could hear whimpering. Shepard nodded to Liara, and together they traveled into the dark street. A part of him noticed how Liara looked terrifying when she was angry, and glowing blue.

They came upon a group surrounding something. Shepard grabbed the back of someone's shirt, and ripped them backwards. The person tumbled backwards, and revealed someone in the center of the group. Whatever was happening was not good.

One of them turned and threw a punch towards Shepard. He easily dodged his fist and in turn grabbed the guy's arm, twisted, and listened to the crackle of bones. Another one tried the same thing, and got similar results. Now two of the five were laying on the floor crying in pain.

Liara sent a ball of biotics towards a third. The ball hit him easily, and sent him crumbling to the floor. The fourth tried to run, but Liara caught him. Her fist, surrounded with crackling blue, connected with his face and sent him sprawling. A devastating punch from Shepard sent the fifth sailing to the ground.

Colt moved to their target, and realized the person was a teenage girl. "You're safe now. I'm Commander Shepard, okay? I'm not going to hurt you," Colt kneeled down next to her. She looked at him with terror written on her face. Her face was slightly bruised, but it appeared that they had stopped the attack from becoming too bad.

"Colt, they're Alliance," Liara called to him. She opened one of their coats, and revealed a shirt with an Alliance insignia printed on it. Colt's head didn't want to stop spinning. Alliance members were the best of the best, not scum.

"Call C-Sec, and Huerta," Colt turned back to the frightened girl. Before he could react, she was hugging him. She started bawling into his shoulder, and shook from the fear. He stood, and carried her out of the secluded street. C-Sec officers, and an ambulance were already there.

Shepard watched with tired eyes as Alliance personnel were taken away. It was a terrible blow to know that his side in the war wasn't always so good. He would be more alert with his own in the future.

Colt stayed with the teen while doctors ran a couple scans, and determined that she only needed a few applications of medi-gel. Liara discussed what happened with C-Sec, but the weirdest thing was when members of the Normandy started showing up. They all said that Garrus had told them that Shepard was involved with an assault, and seeing as how Shepard was always being targeted, they came to help. Garrus' old connections in C-Sec must've told him. Colt would never admit this, but he was secretly touched that Garrus seemingly kept tabs on him.

The girl refused to let go of Shepard until her parents showed up, and even then she stayed close. When word got out that Commander Shepard had saved someone, the press flocked to their location. The girl's name was Tonya, and she seemed perked up at all the attention. Her parents got a few personal pictures, which he signed (which was unusual, Shepard almost never signed anything to keep his signature rare). Amazing how saving a poor girl had turned into a media circus.

"Commander, any advice for Tonya?" A reporter asked. Commander Shepard, Liara, and Tonya stood side-by-side for pictures.

"The best advice I can give is this: If you're gonna smell, smell good or don't smell at all. That simple rule has saved me on several occasions. Honestly, you've heard it all before. So hopefully that helps," Shepard smiled down at her. It must've been an unexpected answer, because the growing crowd erupted into laughter. At this point expecting the unexpected was a great policy with him. The best part was Liara's melodic laugh and the amused expression she threw at him.

Tonya's parents decided to take her home, but not before a final hug and a word with her father. "Commander Shepard, I cannot put into words how grateful I am. Saving my daughter is..." the poor man choked up. "Thank you."

Liara pulled up next to Colt, and intertwined their fingers. "I will save anybody needs saving. I'm just doing my job. Any member of my crew would've done the same. I'm just a grunt doing my part." Shepard used to believe that the entire Alliance would've done the same, but after this...

The man smiled warmly at him, and replied, "No, Commander. You are so much more than that."