A little coming to terms, and some calm before the storm.

Laying face down on a metal gurney that is apparently used for spinal surgeries (hence my unobstructed view of the floor), I listened as Dr. Chakwas and John went back and forth. Doc was trying to keep John calm while still evaluating me and John was trying to understand what Doc was planning to do to treat the wound, as well as the subsequent damage. I, in the meantime, was shivering like mad.

Endlessly waiting for a pause in the heated discussion, I finally decided to just interject, "Doc, I think I'm going into shock here." Both voices stopped and not even a second later I saw two sets of feet to my right.

Humming to herself, Dr. Chakwas patted my arm gently, "Yes Sam, I'll take care of that." I felt the table get warm and the cooling rush of pain medication going through my veins. "Better?"

I nodded as much as the gurney would allow, "Thanks Doc. Can I ask something before you two go back at it?" I heard a grunt and a sigh so I continued, "Can the damage be repaired and, if so, please explain it to me."

Without hesitation, but with a little relief in her voice, the good doctor went into doctor/patient mode, "It can, and quite successfully I might add." I heard the beeping of data being entered onto a data pad then it appeared with some notes on gunshot wounds in front of my face. "First I clean the wound, which is already done. Next I open up the affected area and assess the damage. Then," the pad disappeared momentarily, then reappeared with what looked to be a schematic of some kind of bone and muscle tissue, "I can repair and replace the injured sections with this. Add in some cybernetics for nerve communication and you'll be right as rain in a few days."

It may have been the shock, but I didn't feel like I was absorbing much of what she'd said, "Wait, so you'll just open me up and replace the broken bits, add some cyborg shit and I'm all good?"

She mumbled a laugh, "Not the way I would put it but essentially, yes." Her feet moved away and I heard the rustling of metal instruments. "The cybernetics are the trickiest part, but I've done them a thousand times so you are in good hands. The only question is, how far do you want me to go with the enhanced bone and tissue?"

My lack of response must have worried John because I felt his hand brush some of my hair away from my face, "Sam, you ok?"

Unsure of how to react, I fumbled my words a little, "Just, em, well, I am not sure what to say?" I shrugged a little and felt his hand on my upper back, massaging gently.

"Hey, doc is going to take care of you," his response was warm and loving, making me feel a little less anxious. "She just needs to know if you want the upgrades all over or just in the damaged area."

Not believing what I was hearing, I laughed a little, "Wait, I can get all of my bones and muscles upgraded?" The shock must really have been affecting me because even I could tell I sounded a little drunk. The two of them laughed lightly.

Karen's voice was a little calmer, "Yes. I can program nanites to coat your bones, muscles and skin with a synthetic weave that will make them almost unbreakable. An added bonus, it allows the medigel to travel faster and be more effective."

I smiled like a kid on Christmas, "Oh yes please!" Ecstatic that I was going to be able to recover from a shot in the back plus return better than ever, I felt practically giddy, "And I'll only be down for a few days?"

John rumbled out a laugh, "Yeah, well, we will see about the timing." He gave my shoulder one last squeeze and moved away from the table. I heard a faint 'Thanks doc, keep me posted' and he left the med bay.

I let out an exasperated sigh and shook my head, "I thought he'd never leave. So tell me the truth, how bad is the recovery going to be?"

Her feet reappeared and suddenly I got very groggy, "You'll see soon enough."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Slowly and carefully, I opened my eyes, closed them, then opened them again to try to clear them. Everything around me still seemed fuzzy, so I repeated the process with limited success.

A rustling of someone adjusting themselves in a chair to my left, I turned to see the dark outline of who I was pretty sure was Kasumi and smiled, "Hey you." My voice cracked, but before I could ask for water she was up, tilting my head forward and holding a cup to my lips.

"Here you go, careful though," the expert thief cooed at me. Taking the cup away, she lowered my head back to the gurney and smiled down at me. "How do you feel?"

Sighing, I stretched my neck a bit then stretched out my arms, "So far so good." Terrified to push things too fast, I first wiggled my toes. Feeling the blanket pull and tug on them, I smiled. "Do I have restrictions?"

Karen came out from her desk-nook and smiled, "If you did I would have you strapped to that gurney miss, don't you worry." Moving to stand next to me, she took out a scanner and read the results. "All the nanites have been removed from your body and the grafting has taken. All cybernetics are synced and online. You, my dear, are good to proceed." She gave me a wink and stood back, watching.

I took a deep breath, then carefully moved to an upward position, legs stretched out in front of me. Wiggling my toes again, I moved my torso around to stretch the muscles along my waist and lower back. Everything felt a little stiff, but solid, so I swung my legs off the side of the gurney and gave them a good stretch before lowering my feet to the floor. Slowly I let go of the gurney and stood on my own, smiling like a fool.

I walked over to Doc and hugged her fiercely, "Thank you!"

"Argh! Sam, you're stronger than you realize," she choked out so I quickly released her, confused. She smiled, "It's ok, all of your muscles will be stronger. You'll get used to it, it doesn't take long, but just keep it in mind."

Worried, I carefully ran my hands up and down her arms, "Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"

Laughing, she gripped her right bicep with her left hand, giving it a squeeze, "Nothing I haven't experienced before, don't worry. Now, I'll let Shepard know you're fit for sparring and exercise, until you get used to the new you, and get you out of my med bay."

Slowly realizing what was happening, I thought about what to do next, "A shower would be nice, all I can smell is antiseptic. Shit!" It dawned on me what had happened that led up to this point, "My clothes are all back on Illium. What the hell am I going to wear?"

Kasumi held up a hand and smiled, "I think you left some stuff in our room, I'll go grab it and meet you in the shower." Before I could say a word she was gone through the open med bay doors, which stayed open a moment longer than normal. I found it a bit curious, so I stared and waited. Then John strolled through them, smiling gently with that warm and beautiful look in his eye he got whenever he was genuinely happy about something. Damn, he still takes my breath away.

Shaking my head, I smirked at him, "And what are you so pleased with yourself about?"

He extended his arms toward me, "I thought it would be obvious." He dropped them to his sides and a thoughtful look came over his face. "How are you feeling? Any stinging or numbness?"

"I thought I was the doctor here, Shepard," Karen piped up from her desk as she continued typing up her report on my condition. "Miss Hackett is just fine."

My breath caught in my throat as I slowly scanned John's face, which was the picture of confusion, then turned to look at the older woman trying to maintain calm, "What was that?"

She turned in her chair to face us, a 'cat who ate the canary' look on her face, "Did you think I had no contacts in the Alliance any more, my dear?" She blinked then shook her head, "As if Steven wouldn't reach out to find out if you were alright when you weren't on Illium. He was very concerned, but I alleviated his fears. You'll have to let him know what your plan is moving forward though, he is eager to hear from you."

My brain was going a mile a minute, having kept my familial connections a secret up to this point. I immediately went into 'how do I cover this up' mode, but then a thought occurred to me. Why bother? Obviously Steven didn't care or he wouldn't have reached out to Karen and confided in her. And Cerberus already wants a piece of me, this information might even make them back off, the repercussions of messing with me too much to bother. Plus John was going to find out eventually anyway, may as well be now.

Not exactly thrilled with how the following conversation had the potential to go, I looked away from John before speaking, "I think you know who Steven is…" I turned my back to him, slowly taking a few steps toward the back of the med bay to give me some distance. When no response came, I decided to just lay it all out and took a deep breath, "He is my handler, and eventually I found out he is also a descendant of my brother. I wasn't supposed to discuss that, but apparently he's changed his mind on that matter." I gestured toward Dr Chakwas and shook my head, smirking to myself. Fucking Steven, as much of a pain in the ass as his namesake. Finally gathering enough courage, I turned to look at Shepard's face.

His arms were crossed and he leaned on his left leg, but to my surprise his expression wasn't angry, but thoughtful, until he responded, "That's kind of a big one, but I think I'm more mad at him than you." Shaking his head, he dropped his arms and gestured as if he were surrendering, "He sent me some intel not long ago, knowing you had been on board… Why not tell me then?"

I shook my head, "I honestly don't know why he wouldn't say anything, other than maybe because I was already leaving and he didn't think it mattered anymore?" I shrugged my shoulders and sighed. "Just a guess, it's what I would consider."

Looking toward the floor, John shook his head again, as if arguing with himself inside his mind, then mumbled, "Fucking Hackett." He pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds, then released.

A huge sigh later and he was staring me down, like he was boring through me with the intensity of an acoustic weapon. I felt like he could knock me on my ass at any moment, but all he did was stare, his eyes stern yet probing, as if he was searching for something…

Apparently coming to terms with that something inside his head, he smiled softly and slowly closed the distance between us, taking my hand, "I've known all along there were things I wouldn't know about you Sam…" A step closer and he was a breath away, "It's ok."

Confused by the change in attitude, I still felt timid, "Yeah?"

His smile made my heart jump into my throat, "Yeah."

Startled by a cough that reminded us Karen was still in the room, we looked over at the older woman who was still sitting primly at her desk, "Well I am glad you two are on good terms again, however I have work to do, so if you please…" She motioned to the door which we both nodded at and briskly walked through.

When it swished shut behind us, I turned to John, "We need to talk, but right now I need a shower bad. What are you up to?"

He looked away in thought, "Well, we came across a distress beacon that apparently is from Jacob's father's ship, so we are heading now to check that out. And Tali-wait, you haven't met Tali yet." He looked back at me and smiled, "She's a great kid, you'll love her. I'll introduce you when we get back. Maybe we can all have drinks in your quarters? She's having a rough time right now, she could use the distraction."

I smiled, genuinely enamored with his concern for the obviously young Quarian Kasumi had told me about while on Lessuss, "Of course, and I'll look into drink options for her, so she can get a buzz with the rest of us." Putting my hand on his arm, I gave him a warm smile, "We can talk anytime, it's nothing pressing. Right now, I need a SHOWER!" With a wink, I turned and walked toward the restroom to clean off the disinfectant and glue from my newly-enhanced bod.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once I was clean and clothed, I went to my old room to chat with Kasumi while we waited for the team to return. EDI gave us regular updates, advising on the fire-fights and what the varied hypotheses were as they went along. We had just started placing bets when the door chimed.

"Come in!" Kass called out, as she considered my latest guess. Turning to see who was at the door, we both stopped short when we saw Miranda in the doorway.

Seeing her face, all I could think about was running for my life on Ilium and how much she may have known about it before-hand. But did she even know, and would she have told me if she did? And Jacob, how much was he aware of, or even EDI? I was to be kidnapped, questioned, tortured, and who knew what else, what the FUCK?

Realizing I needed to hear it from her directly, I gave her a nod and a half-hearted smile to hide the fact that I was seething, "Miranda."

Obviously more than uncomfortable, she looked down at her feet before speaking, "I, well…" then her eyes met mine, "I read the report on what happened on Ilium, and I wanted to let you know I was not aware of any operation to take you into custody, nor would I have approved of any such operation. The reasons that I was given were…" she hesitated, looking away a moment to collect her thoughts, "for lack of a better word, unacceptable."

Shock came over me, mostly because she had approached me instead of me having to go to her for answers, but also because I never expected her to disapprove of her boss' limitless ambition. I always saw her basically as Jack had, a 'Cerberus Cheerleader'. I expected excuses or silence on the matter, not an admission of guilt and an objective denouncement of TIM's kidnapping attempt for what was probably going to be less about interrogation and more about scientific research.

I glanced at Kasumi then looked back at Miranda, "Thank you, Miranda. I appreciate that. I must say though, I'm surprised you would speak openly against any of Cerberus' plans."

She shook her head, staring dead into my eyes so there was no doubt, "There is a line, and that would have crossed it." Her facade changed back to the accomplished Cerberus agent, "I have made my feelings on the matter plain to The Illusive Man and, for now, he agrees. I do suggest that next time you attempt to leave the Normandy that it be directly onto an Alliance vessel. I wouldn't put it past him to try again and, with him having advanced knowledge of our destinations, it wouldn't be difficult." Visibly swallowing, she shook her head as she looked down at the floor.

Sensing her inner turmoil, compassion took me over, "Miranda, why don't you have a seat and wait with us. Matter of fact-" I jumped to my feet and went behind the bar, grabbing my favorite bottle of bourbon. Her eyes followed, so I gave the bottle a little shake in her direction and grinned, "I think you could use a drink."