Thank you Miss Amyress for all of your help, I honestly don't know how you put up with me.

Thank you BJHanssen, for your assistance, encouragement and your criticism. ALWAYS appreciated!

Seabo76, welcome back! I have to disappoint this chapter but I promise to make up for it in the next.

A breath in, a breath out. Another breath in, and out again. No pain. That's… encouraging. I inhaled deeper, hearing and feeling the air move through my nostrils and into my lungs. Holding it a moment, I pushed it back out through my mouth, hearing the wooshing sound as it passed through my lips. A small smile crept over them as I slowly opened my eyes.

I was surrounded by the scanner, the top covered in a metal apparatus that I assumed was the mechanics of it and the sides transparent. Turning my head, I felt the stiffness in my muscles and joints resisting but I pushed until I saw a person sitting in a chair next to my makeshift tomb. My heart swelled.

"John." It came out a whisper but disturbed the sleeping form enough to open his eyes. Drowsily he fought to focus on my face and when he did his expression became shock mixed with something intense, something I couldn't pin down. He leaned forward, placing a hand on the barrier between us and giving me a soft yet brilliant smile that took my breath away. I tried to raise my hand to meet his but white-hot pain shot down my arm before I could, forcing a hiss through my teeth as I clamped my jaw tight to keep from screaming. The beeping of buttons being pushed on the machine above me signaled something was going on, but what?

I looked over at John again and saw he was standing next to Doc, the two whispering heatedly, apparently arguing. John shook his head but Karen grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a shake, insisting she was right. He must have relented because she returned to the screen to enter more data. John looked down at me and gave me his attempt at a reassuring smile.

"I won't lie, this is going to hurt," he admitted, "but it will bring your nervous system back online, fully operational. Your muscles and the rest will take a little time but we can deal with all that later. Right now the most important thing is to make sure your nerves are properly connected to each other and to your brain." He winced, looking at Chakwas one more time before nodding at me. "Ready?"

I laughed, though scared out of my mind, "It's gonna feel like a thousand volts going through my body, isn't it?" I saw the worry in his eyes as his jaw clenched and took that as a yes. Nodding my head, I took a deep breath and looked back up at the thing that was going to essentially electrocute me.

"Do it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I woke to a tapping sound coming from my left, the same direction I had found John slumbering in that chair. Noticing I was exposed to open air, I took a deep breath and let out an audible sigh.

"Must you?" I croaked. I turned to see Garrus in the chair, tapping his talon on a datapad he was working on. His eyes immediately flew to me and his face slowly followed.

"It woke you up, didn't it?" he smirked, dropping the pad on a nearby table before standing. Two steps and he was leaning over me, taking my hand in his talon and brushing his 'lips' across my forehead. Rearing back, he held my eyes with his for a few moments then sighed. "Good to have you back, Kayla."

I smiled uncomfortably at the name but replied politely, "Thanks Garrus." He gave me a confused look and I shook my head. "I think her name is getting to me. I really need to figure something else out." Pulling the chair closer to my bedside, he sat back down and smiled.

"I'm sure I could come up with a few names for you," his smirk returned, his vibration full of humor. "Like - "

My hand flew up to stop him. "Garrus, don't," I giggled but the laugh turned into a cough, one I was unable to stop. I rolled over onto my side to keep myself from choking when I felt large hands on my shoulders, pulling me upright.

"Here," John's voice whispered in my ear, "drink this." I felt hard plastic on my bottom lip and opened my mouth, letting the cool liquid run down my throat. I took a few swallows and nodded, catching my breath as he put the cup down behind me. "Better?'

I nodded, glancing at Garrus. "Just tell the Turian to keep the jokes to a minimum." They both smiled and nodded.

"I can take a hint," Garrus said, picking the datapad back up and saluting toward me with it. "I will see you later, miss." And with that he walked out the door.

Shaking my head, I looked around for Doctor Chakwas. "Where's Karen?" John moved around the table to stand beside my dangling legs. Sitting down next to me, he took one of my hands in his, turning it over and over as if examining it.

"She's on the Citadel," he said, still looking over my hand, "we're docked there." Apparently satisfied, he released it and looked up into my eyes.

I waited for an explanation, a reason we were there or some small talk to pass the time but he was silent. He just stared at my face and into my eyes. Feeling my heart pound in my ears, I laughed and shook my head, breaking the silence.

"The Citadel," I forced the words out and took a breath. "Isn't that where your Ambassador friend is?" Never taking his eyes off mine, he smiled and nodded.

"I was hoping you were feeling better, I wanted to take you on a tour." He eventually broke eye contact, looking back down at my hand in my lap.

Finally curiosity got the better of me, "OK, why are you staring at me like that?"

His eyes met mine again, confusion behind them then understanding. "You don't know…"

"Know what exactly?" I could feel the frustration bubbling up but I tried to keep it contained as I waited for a response. When I was met with more silence it dawned on me that I didn't know how much time had passed. "John," I spoke slowly and carefully, "how long have I been out?"

I could tell he was uncomfortable with the question which meant I probably wasn't going to like the answer. Adjusting my seating position I took a breath to calm myself and tried to smile as I nodded for him to speak.

He shook his head and sighed, "Almost a month, but Kay-" he stopped himself, then continued, "but that's not the most unbelievable part." He stood up and made his way to the desk, grabbing something off of it and coming back over to stand next to me. He held out the object, a mirror, but when I went to take it he held tight.

"John?" I cocked my eyebrow at him but his expression remained full of warning.

"You should know, you don't look the same." His expression went blank as he released the mirror.

I looked down and held tight to it but didn't bring it to my face. The mirror, the cryptic wording, his features becoming vacant, the whole thing set me on edge.

"What does that even mean?" I spat, still looking down at the mirror now resting in my lap, face down. Terrified, I couldn't bring myself to look back up at him but his hand found my chin, pulling it upward to see the sympathy in his eyes.

"Doc said she thinks your DNA took over," he explained, "so she thinks you look like the old you now. But we don't know for sure since we don't know what the old you looked like so…" he gently took the mirror from my grasp and held it up to my face.

Slowly I allowed my eyes to wander toward the looking glass, taking in each detail as meticulously as possible. I still had the blonde hair but my roots had started to grow in the dark auburn I'd inherited from my mother. The skin on my face had darkened slightly and my cheekbones were more defined, displaying the twice-removed Native American heritage of my father. My nose was long and straight, chin and jawline more prominent, my lips fuller, more pink than pale…

When I eventually worked up the nerve to look at my face in its entirety I closed my eyes and held up the mirror. When I opened them I couldn't help but smile.

"It's me," I whispered, unable to tear my eyes away for fear of it being a dream. I moved the mirror up and down, right and left to get every angle possible into view. The size of my ear lobes, the slant of my hairline, everything was as I remembered. My eyes roamed over my hands then down my arms, obsessing over every inch. "No scars… but…" Curious as to how much of me there really was, I grasped the right side of my shirt, lifting it slightly to see a dark spot in the shape of an eye had formed on my skin. I smirked in slight dismay. "Figures."

John tilted his head to see what I was looking at. I looked up to see his face the picture of curiosity as he ran two fingers over my birthmark. His lips parted as his eyes remained fixed on the exposed skin. He visibly swallowed and withdrew his hand, looking away rather abruptly. Lowering the shirt, I smiled shyly and cleared my throat.

"So... " I drawled out, trying to think of how to word my next question. Do you think I'm pretty isn't exactly eloquent. I glanced down at the mirror in my hand then looked back up at John. His eyes turned toward me again and he attentively scanned my face. SHIT this is not going to be easy. "What do you think?" The words just tumbled from my mouth so I followed them up with a brilliant smile.

He let out a relieved laugh, "I think..." He hesitated then sat back slightly, rubbing his chin in mock thought. I gave him a playful sneer and a slap on the arm which brought back the smile I adored. "I think you look great."

Great? Great. GREAT. I held my expression but my eyes must have given away my disappointment with his response because his eyes turned worried as he brought his hand up to cup my cheek. Trying to back-pedal, I rolled my eyes and smirked.

"Great, huh?" I let out a small laugh and eventually locked eyes with him again.

The worry had been replaced with a determination, a heated determination that was backed up by something that literally smoldered behind his eyes. It was so intense it made me uncomfortable but in the best possible way, making it hard to breathe and focusing on anything other than his eyes was utterly impossible. I realized my lips had parted so I quickly clamped them shut and swallowed, trying to hide behind my 'pleasant' mask.

Unsuccessfully I was pretty sure.

"Actually, to be honest…" he looked over my features once more then brought his eyes back to mine. "You are beautiful." I couldn't stop the relieved gasp that escaped my lips so I tried to cover it up with laughter, badly. Still holding my cheek, he smoothed his thumb over my cheekbone and steadily held my gaze. The laughter faded and I found myself lost in those amazing blue eyes again...

"Commander... Shepard, I don't know, whatever your title is now," Joker interjected, seemingly unaware of his interruption, "Ambassador Anderson wanted to know if you took care of the details he needed for Kayla's identity." I huffed in frustration as did John but he held it together as always.

"Working on it now, tell him to expect it shortly." John grudgingly released my cheek and opened his omni tool. "I need a picture of you and I'll need a name to go with it." He continued to type something then aimed his arm at me. "Smile."

My hands flew up to block my face as I shrieked, "HELL to the NO! I just woke up and you want to take my picture?" A few moments later when I was sure he wasn't going to take the shot I dropped my hands to rest on my thighs and shook my head, giving him my best angry face. "Nuh-uh mister."

He lowered his arm and sighed, "What, you want some make-up or something?".

I caught the teasing in his voice so I quirked an eyebrow at him. "Can you see my hair? It looks like I've been to a bad stylist and not lately. No, I need a way to get my hair back to its natural color. EDI?"

"There is a stylist on the Citadel that will board the Normandy to perform the service she is asking for, Shepard." Her succinct tone was softening but still was undeniably mechanical. "Would you like me to make an appointment?" John looked at me questioningly to which I nodded, as did he.

"Yes please, EDI, as soon as possible," he replied as he looked back down at his omni tool. "Now, last but not least…" He took a breath then looked back up at me. "I need a name. I heard you tell Garrus you were uncomfortable with Kayla so…" he waved his hand to indicate I should speak but for the first time in a long time I wasn't sure what to say.

I couldn't very well give him my real name, nor any of my aliases. At this point in time all of them most likely could be linked back to me if someone dug deep enough. I couldn't use any family members, again, link. Looking at the man in front of me, the man I've trusted basically with my life for the last few months, I made a decision.

"You pick," I nodded. He gave me a disbelieving look but I nodded again. "I trust you, you pick and tell me what it is. First and last name, come on, what name do you think suits me best?" He lowered his arms to rest on his thighs and looked at me long and hard.

"You're sure?" He couldn't hide the surprise in his voice and it made me giggle.

"Yes, now choose something! I need to know it too, you know." I reached over and gave his bicep a squeeze, regretting it only slightly when I lost control over my expression for a moment. Holy hell he has some arms.

He gave me a knowing smirk, "Ok. How about…" The longer he looked at me the harder it was to hold my facade. A smile slowly crept over my face and suddenly his eyebrows shot up. Just then his eyes softened and his expression became unreadable but pleasant. As he took my hand in his my stomach did a tiny back flip.

"How do you feel about Samantha?"