Author's Note: This chapter contains Drugging
Chapter 2:
The next day, I was puttering about in the kitchen, making a hot coco for myself, when Garrus left the guest room.
He didn't seem surprised to see me up and about, those heightened senses of his alerting him I was awake, no doubt.
"Morning." I murmured quietly, unsure if he was a morning person or not.
He gave me a nod, a soft "morning" in reply, and went to the fridge, looking through what I had to offer.
I made my way to my desk, getting situated before navigating to the lecture call.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, I had three classes. Eight am to eleven am, eleven-ten am to two-fifteen pm, and two twenty-five pm to four forty-five pm.
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, I had three more, different times from the other weekdays. Eight am to eleven-thirty am, eleven forty-five am to two pm, and two-ten pm to four forty-five pm.
I still wanted to know who had set the times for these things. If someone was going to them in person, it left little time to get from one place to the other and take care of themselves with bathroom breaks and getting nourishment.
At some point during the day, Bailey showed up to pick up the envelope. I spared a moment to nod toward him, quickly returning my focus back to the lecture.
The next week flew by. Online lectures throughout the day, eating dinner with Garrus in front of the tv, while watching Midsomer- he was hooked, not that I complained- and going over my notes after dinner.
Every night, Genesis badgered me. And every night, I pushed her away.
Soon. Not today, not tomorrow.
Soon.
I was finishing writing down my notes from the eleven forty-five lecture, when a plate was set down on my desk. I blinked, confused by its appearance, before looking up at the person responsible.
Garrus nodded toward it. "Eat." Then, he turned and walked back to the armchair, getting back to work on his datapad.
I looked at the plate again. It had two things on it- a turkey and cheese sandwich and a can of Dr. Pepper. I blinked a few more times, before snarfing it down quickly.
After my last class of the day was finished, I leaned back in my chair, stifling a groan.
Leaving my little cave, I looked across the room at him.
"Hey, Garrus?" I called out.
"Yeah?" He didn't look up from the screen.
"Thanks. For the food. You didn't have to do that. I appreciate it."
His eyes rose to meet mine, and he nodded. "You should eat more often than just dinner."
"I know, but I don't have the time in my schedule for it." I got a ping on my omni-tool, a reminder. "Oh, tomorrow, I have a lab session, so we'll be leaving around ten-thirty in the morning to get there on time. It's at eleven, and it goes for about four hours, give or take."
"What do you do in lab sessions?" I had his interest now.
"We're going over anatomy for all the races. Learning what's where and how to care properly for each organ, muscle, and bone."
"So, someone goes in and your teacher points everything out on them?"
"Oh, no. We learn through cadavers."
He blinked.
"They're bodies donated to the program. Either by themselves before they die or by their loved ones. For learning purposes."
"Uh-huh."
I chuckled, going to the kitchen to make something to eat. "You don't have to go into the room with me. Just find something to do for the duration. That's what the other officer did."
There was a knock on the door, and then my manager walked in, the biometrics allowing him entry. That reminded me- I needed to do that for Garrus.
"Who are you?" The officer asked, standing.
"This is my manager, Avery. Avery Blackstone. Avery, this is my guard, Garrus Vakarian."
"It's nice to meet you, finally. I'm sorry. I would've come by earlier, but I've been busy." My manager nodded to the turian, before turning back to me, holding out a bag. "Here's some of your fan mail, the sorted stuff."
"Oh! Thank you so much." I eagerly took it from him, placing it carefully on the counter.
I could already tell there was food in it, the scents hitting my nose.
"Well, I only had enough time to drop those off. I'll see you in a few days." With that, he left.
"What's in a few days?"
"Oh, I have a signing in a few weeks. A fan event."
I opened the bag, pulling out the goodies first. The letters, I could get to after my lab tomorrow, since that was the only thing scheduled. Lab days were days I could relax, sort of.
A few candy bars, a couple of plastic-wrapped pastries, and a plastic-wrapped piece of vanilla cake.
I immediately ripped open the cake packaging, grabbing a fork and going to sit on the couch.
A few minutes in, I frowned. Something felt.. off.
Gen?
Silence.
I leaned forward to place the plate down, feeling dizzy. It was similar to being on a boat- a constant movement, even when sitting still.
Gen? I called out, more urgently.
I opened my mouth to say something out loud, but nothing came out. I couldn't form words. Couldn't make a sound.
Starting to panic, I threw my hand out and knocked over my drink. That got Garrus's attention.
His eyes widened at the sight of me, and I wondered briefly what I must look like, before my eyes rolled back, and I passed out.
...
I slowly came into awareness, my body feeling awfully heavy. It took me forever to move my fingers.
Gen?
Meda, you're awake! Oh, thank the Goddess.
What... What happened?
I don't know. I'm so sorry I couldn't help. I tried to, but it was too late by the time I realized something was wrong. I was too weak to reach you.
It's not your fault, Gen. I reassured her. I need to get up and go talk to Garrus.
For once, she didn't say anything about him. Just fell silent. Neither of us wanted to have this conversation, but it needed to happen. We needed to know.
Even if I already had an idea.
I forced my eyes open, forced my body to sit up.
There was a shuffling outside my bedroom door, and then it opened. Bailey, Garrus, and Dr. Michel walked in. She came over and took my temperature, my vitals.
Bailey asked me what the last thing I remembered was, and I told him- knocking over the soda and passing out.
He nodded, exchanging looks with Garrus.
The latter shook his head, turning his attention to me. "You're not eating anything else from fans."
I nodded slowly, eyes falling to my hands as I fidgeted with my fingers. "I... I was drugged, wasn't I?"
Silence, where I imagined them looking at each other again.
"Yes."
"What time is it?"
I had a bad feeling.
"It's four am." My head shot up, my eyes wide. "We've been waiting for you to wake up."
"No, no, no." I moaned, dropping my head into my hands. "Damn it!"
"What-"
"That means I missed my evening pills." Tears filled my eyes, starting to run down my cheeks. "They're the most important ones. Without them..." I trailed off, the hiccupping from sobbing starting.
"They're her most important mood stabilizers. This was another reason I wanted to stay for her to wake up." Bailey explained.
He moved closer, the bed dipping from his weight as he sat on the edge.
"It's okay, honey." A hand on my shoulder. "It's going to be okay."
I only cried harder, unable to help myself. The emotional spiral had already started.