I'm making progress. I write about 15 or so chapters ahead of what I've posted so I have a lot of time to go back and change things if I need to. I think I only have about another 5 or so chapters to write then I'll post as fast as my Beta/Husband can read them. Enjoy and Review!

Chapter Fifteen

I awoke groggy, as I usually did after such intense dreams. I felt fingers dancing around the side of my head. I gently squeezed my hand but felt nothing there. Shepard's hand should be there. It was there when I fell asleep. I opened my eyes and there she was, awake.

"Shepard!" I quickly stood up and reached for her. "How long…? Are you…?" I rambled until she reached up and took my hand in hers.

"Garrus…" She whispered. Her voice was horse but I didn't care. It soothed a part of me that had been on edge for a long time. Though I had been on edge, I hadn't noticed it until her voice soothed me.

"How long have you been awake? You should have woken me."

"I just woke up." It seems she has a hard time talking over a whisper.

"I'll call Miranda here." I pressed the call button for the first time. "She'll want to take a look at you."

"Miranda?" she asked.

"Yeah, she found you right after the blast… How much do you remember?"

"Reapers. The Crucible… It was finished. The Beam. Anderson… The Illusive Man. Killed himself. Indoctrinated… The Catalyst. I made the best choice." She started to sob.

"Catalyst? Choice? What happened? Are you in pain?" I gently stroked her face. She didn't respond but a tear fell down her cheek.

I heard the door open and a nurse I had not seen before walked in. "Bring Miranda, please. She is awake." The nurse rushed out.

"How long… was I out?" I looked at the date on my datapad. I had let the days get away from me.

"Six weeks."

"Feels like yesterday… Like a bad dream."

"What hurts?" She winced. "Try not to move too much."

Miranda rushed in, still drying her hands. "Shepard. It's good to see you. How are you feeling?"

"I think she's in pain. Can you give her something?"

"I'm okay, Garrus." Shepard squeezed my hand.

"You don't need to be tough. We need to know what hurts so we can help you."

She turned to Miranda. "I feel like hell. Everything hurts a bit but nothing is too bad."

"That's good. Well, not feeling like hell, but nothing is excruciating?"

Shepard tried to nod, but the neck brace got in her way. "Yeah."

"Try not to move too much for me. I'm gonna run a few tests to make sure your spinal cord is functioning. Do your best to relax for me."

"Okay."

Miranda went around Shepard's body, asking how it felt. Most of the time Shepard said it hurt to be touched but she could feel it. She could move her arms, hands and fingers. Miranda moved the blankets off and I could see large casts on her legs. Miranda poked at her toes poking out the end of the cast. She could feel and move her toes.

"Okay. I'm going to take the brace off now and have you move your head around slowly. If anything hurts let me know." Miranda pressed a button on the bed and it lifted Shepard's head so she was closer to a sitting position. She only made it to about a 45 degree angle before she winced and Miranda stopped.

"I'm okay." she whispered. Miranda helped her sit just a little bit forward then reached behind Shepard's head and unfastened the neck brace. Shepard relaxed as the plastic device was removed. "That actually feels better."

"That's good," Miranda said. "Garrus, can you help her sit up some more while I check her back?"

I froze. I didn't want to hurt her. She was still so fragile. Miranda saw my apprehension. Thankfully, Shepard was looking away.

"I'll show you." Miranda placed my arms under Shepard's, threading my hands behind her to help support her.

Then she moved behind Shepard, feeling around her back. "If anything hurts, let us know."

"I'm okay." She whispered as she rested her head on my shoulder. "It feels nice to be close again."

"I couldn't have said it better myself."

Miranda deliberately took her time, double checking her work, before standing up and helping me lay Shepard down. Shepard grabbed my hand at the first available moment.

"Everything is looking very good. You don't need to wear the brace anymore. Though if you feel any pain worse than right now, it might be a good idea to put it back on for a couple hours."

"How long until I can walk?"

Miranda turned sympathetic. "A couple more weeks. But tomorrow, if all is still well, I can let you get in a wheelchair."

Shepard deflated. I lightly squeezed her hand.

Miranda sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to hurt Shepard. "The damage was quite extensive… We even lost you a couple of times." The painful memory of my panic attack flashed through my mind. I hoped it didn't show on my face. Shepard had enough to deal with, I needed to keep my issues to myself.

"I died… again?"

"Yes. My team and I reached you as your heart was failing. We managed to get you going again once we got you here. Parts of your brain were bleeding badly. We had to take out parts of your skull so the pressure didn't kill you permanently. Those incisions are nearly healed." She reached up and felt her head. Her hair was still less than an inch long. She looked surprised, then disappointed.

"It will grow back with time." I whispered to her, squeezing her hand.

"Now, I'm afraid I need to break up this sweet reunion."

"Why?" I asked sharply. A growl nearly escaped my chest as I said it. I was feeling rather possessive of her, especially in her frail state. I knew I shouldn't feel that way. She may have changed her mind about me, with having to leave her behind after the blast.

"I have a psychologist coming in to assess her. We spoke about this before, Garrus." Miranda said, sitting straighter, trying to assert herself.

"Why do I have to leave her?"

"It's only temporary, an hour at most. It's so the psychologist can work with Shepard without any distractions. This way he can get an accurate feel of any brain damage. Besides, this will give you a chance to head back to the Normandy and get cleaned up and report to the rest of the crew that she is going to be okay."

"Okay." I said, reluctantly. I really did not like the thought of leaving her for any amount of time.

"Wait. I want Garrus to stay…" Those words excited a part of me that had been quite dormant in me for some weeks.

Miranda frowned. "It will be very short. I promise. Dr. Garrandt is a personal colleague of mine. We even went to medical school together."

"Okay." Shepard also seemed very reluctant, but it seemed we were not going to sway Miranda on this.

Miranda's datapad chimed. "He is here. Garrus?"

I turned to Shepard and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll be back to break you out in an hour. I promise." I set a timer on my datapad. I would be back in this room in exactly one hour, psychologist be damned.

"I'll be okay." I squeezed her hand gently one last time, then walked out with Miranda. She introduced me to Dr. Garrandt but I didn't stick around long for pleasantries. I wanted to get to the Normandy and back as quickly as possible.