Okay, things are going to get better now, I promise. Though there will still be adult themes as we go along. At this point I am posting a chapter as I finish one. I am on Chapter 22 at the moment. I know I'm really far ahead of what's posted but I like to take a long time to revise old chapters and I only post them when I am confident in them. Thank you all again for the Favorites and Follows. It means a lot to me to see people enjoying this. Enjoy and Review!

Chapter Six

I was starting to lose track of the days and weeks we were stranded. But our time in this system was coming to a close. The Mass Relay has been repaired as well as we can with such few resources. We also supplied it with as much Element Zero as we could find. It was now time to fire it up. I stood on the bridge behind Joker, the rest of the crew gathered behind me. They were scared. They had every right to be. We only had enough Element Zero for a single jump. We had one shot. And we have no way of knowing if the Relay on the other side is functional. If it's not, there's nothing there to catch us. If the calibration on the Relay was even the smallest amount off and we missed we would just end up floating in deep space until we starved. All of our lives are dependent on EDI's calculations and Joker's piloting skills. But we all know we have to try.

"Ready when you are, Commander," Joker said as he received EDI's calculations. The realization that he was talking to me was very painful. It seemed I would never get used to her title.

I took a deep breath. "Let's go. Make the jump."

"Aye, aye, Sir."

The crew watched on in concerned silence. If there was any pilot that could make the jump, it was Joker, especially with the help of EDI.

The next several minutes were tense. Would we make it? Did we overshoot? Undershoot? Were we doomed to starve in deep space? Did we even make it to the right system?

"Jump successful, Commander," Joker reported.

"We have enough fuel to land on earth," EDI said.

"Hold off on that. Try to establish a comm link with the ground and find us a place to land."

"Comm established."

"Alliance Command, this is the SSV Normandy reporting in, does anyone copy down there?" There was only static. My heart sank. There was nothing we could do. All of our work was for nothing.

"We read you, Normandy, this is Admiral Hackett. That ship sure is a sight for sore eyes, so to speak."

"We have enough fuel to land, can you send your coordinates?"

"Sure, sending coordinates now. Status report on your team?"

"With Commander Shepard MIA, I, Garrus Vakarian, have taken temporary emergency command of the ship. We have little for supplies, but the crew is in good health for the most part. We even have EDI back online."

"Coordinates received," EDI said, "Beginning decent."

"I'll meet you planet side very soon, Hackett out."

Though the descent only took a few minutes, it felt like hours to me. I needed to ask Hackett about Shepard. Tali noticed my discomfort and placed a hand on my back. Since my breakdown in the Commander's quarters, Tali and I had gotten closer. She had become my rock, keeping me stable enough to get us this far.

As soon as the ship was securely dry-docked, I was in the airlock as it cycled. The crew minus Joker and EDI followed suit. They were going stir crazy on the ship. I'm sure they were just excited to be on land again.

As the airlock opened, I saw Admiral Hackett standing along with two soldiers at each of his flanks, standing at attention.

"Commander Vakarian," Hackett started but I cut him off. I hoped he didn't notice my wince at being called 'Commander.'

"Just Garrus is fine, Sir."

"Garrus, please come with me, the situation is urgent."

"Tali, James. With me." I knew James always kept his side arm on him and Tali's omni-tool was in the best shape.

"No, just you. Your crew can stay. Walk with me."

I turned to the crew. "Stay within comm range of the ship. Otherwise, help out where you can." I turned back to Hackett and walked beside him. "What is this about?"

"We can speak privately in my office."

"You said it was urgent, Sir. I can't help if you don't tell me what is going on." I know my voice sounded irritated. Didn't he realize that even though the war was over, the entire galaxy was still in a state of emergency?

He was silent until we came to an elevator 50 feet away. He spoke once the door closed. "I didn't want to say anything in front of your crew."

"Tell me now," I threatened.

"It's about Shepard." I was too stunned to speak. "She's alive but barely. I didn't want the crew to know right away. I didn't want to get their hopes up."

"Take me to her."

"First, you need to speak with her main physician. She will be waiting in my office." The elevator door opened and he led me down a hall.

"Why can't you take me to her now?" I heard the desperation in my own voice and I will be the first to admit that I sounded pathetic.

"She is in very critical condition. I believe she is in surgery as we speak." Hackett stopped and opened a door, inside was a small office with a small sitting area. Standing in the middle of the room was Miranda. "Miss Lawson can tell you more."

"Miranda!" I shouted, shocked.

"Garrus, I heard the Normandy made it here, somehow, but I honestly didn't believe it until I saw you. I thought you were all dead, and the Normandy lost to the stars."

I stepped forward and we shook hands. "We crash landed in an uncharted system and made just enough repairs to get to Earth."

"I'm glad you got here when you did. Please sit. Her condition is… complicated." I sat across from her. Hackett took his seat at the desk. "She is in super critical condition. She isn't able to breathe on her own and we are beating her heart for her. She essentially has total organ failure. We've barely gotten her bleeding under control, and she still needs regular transfusions." My mind was blank as I listened. "There is the smallest hint of brain activity. There was no way for her to survive that but she did. Her heart was failing as my team found her."

"When can I see her?"

"Garrus." She leaned forward, grabbed my hand and sighed. "It's bad. She should be out of surgery now, but I'm not sure you are ready to see her."

"Miranda, I have had to live the last several weeks, knowing there was no way for her to survive, while commanding a grieving crew. I have fought so hard just to get to Earth. If I wasn't ready, I and the rest of the crew would be starving to death in the middle of nowhere."

"Just realize that the only reason we are telling you at all is because you are the closest thing to next of kin she has. That she is even alive is confidential. Everyone who knows about her is on a need to know basis, except for Hackett, you and I. You must not tell the crew until she isn't critical anymore."

"Why not? They are her crew. They are the reason why I was even able to make it here. They are the reason I am still alive. They deserve to know about her condition." I was angry at Miranda for trying to tell me how to handle my crew.

"If word got out that the reason why the hospital is turning away so many wounded is because we are using so many resources on one person, there would be riots. The hospital would be under attack."

I stood threateningly in front of her. "I will tell the crew. And you will take me to see her now."

She tried to stare me down, but my gaze was unwavering. "Ok. Fine. Have it your way. But they must not tell anyone." Miranda stood. "I will take you to her now." She led me back out of the office and to the elevator again.

The silence on the ride down was awkward. Miranda hadn't seen me mad like that yet, but the rest of the crew had. The rest of the crew had seen worse. She stood as far away from me as she possibly could in the small space with her arms crossed. The silence continued even on the walk to the shuttle. Miranda stormed from the elevator ahead of me. I had to jog to keep up.

As soon as the shuttle door closed, she turned away from me, arms crossed. I felt bad. "Look, Miranda. I'm sorry. I haven't been myself since… well since I watched her die in that blast."

She deflated. "No, I'm sorry. I should have been more sensitive. I didn't realize that you had to watch something so traumatic happen to her then be trapped in another system for so long. I was too caught up in my own grief to see that you are in pain, too."

Soon later, the shuttle stopped in front of a large white building. Miranda and I stepped out onto the concrete. Above the door in front of us read 'Trauma Center Level I'. Somewhere deep down, I started to realize that this was far worse than I had imagined so far.

Miranda led me inside and through winding corridors. We came to a door. "You need to scrub in. I'll show you how."

"Why? We have different DNA. I can't carry human diseases."

"No, we aren't worried about that. She is on a lot of immunosuppressants while her cloned organs grow so her body doesn't reject them. We need to keep her in a completely sterile room." She handed me a stack of folded clothes. "Change out of your armor and into these, then come back and I'll teach you how to scrub in."

"Ok." I took the stack of clothes and headed for the nearest restroom. I had thought I was ready to see her up until this moment. I was scared that I was wrong. What if I saw her and she looked so gone that I gave up on her? I wasn't sure I could afford that outcome and neither could she if she ever woke up. I dressed quickly, knowing that I needed to see her, no matter what state she was in.