The doorway to the med-bay opened, Chakwas looking up from her terminal to see the Commander walk through. He was holding his right shoulder with his left hand, slowing rotating his right arm. His face showed that he was clearly in a lot of pain as he noticeably winced with every rotation.

"Are you are alright, Commander?"

"Just a bit of pain, Doc. You have anything I could take?" he replied, though she could hear that he spoke through gritted teeth. She just shook her head. Typical soldier, only asking for help when bits start falling off.

"That looks more than 'just a bit of pain', Commander. Hop up on the table here and I'll take a look."

"It's okay, Doc. I don't want to be much trouble. Just need something to dull the pain and I can get on with my work."

She just put her hands on her hips and stared at him. "Commander. Shirt off and on the table. Doctor's orders." She watched with some amusement as he appeared to decide what to do before he simply grinned slightly and started to take off his jacket then his shirt before he lay back on the bed. She noticed the large bruise forming and significant swelling taking place around his shoulder. "When did this happen?"

"Yesterday."

"And why has it taken you until today to come and see me, Commander?" she asked, watching him squirm slightly at her tone, "You could do yourself more damage in the long run by not getting treated straight away."

He shrugged his left shoulder but didn't meet her eyes. "It didn't feel that bad yesterday. Though it was incredibly stiff when I woke up this morning so guessed I should actually come see you."

"Right, well, let me just check you over," as she keyed her omni-tool, running it over the bruised section of shoulder, "Well, at least there aren't any broken bones." She continued to scan his shoulder, keying into a number of different available programs. "Hmmm. And no muscle damage from what I can see. What was the cause of this?"

"I thought standing in front of a charging Geth Destroyer was a good idea."

"You're lucky to be here at all, Commander! What on earth made you think that was a good idea?"

"I was protecting my team. Tali's shotgun had overheated, thanks to one of their bloody tech attacks. Before she could get into cover, she came under fire from at least three other geth, and the destroyer charged towards her. I ran towards the thing in return, leapt over the crouched figure of Tali and put in a good shoulder charge of my own. Praise be to heavy armour, that's all I can say. I think I actually stunned it!"

She simply nodded her head as she prodded the bruised section. It caused the Commander to wince every so often, but she was old school at times. She had a million omni-tool programs that could decipher what was the cause of most illness and injury, but sometimes all she needed to do was use her hands to figure out a problem.

At the same time, she couldn't help but let her eyes wander down his body. While he was clearly fit and looked after himself, it was hard not to notice the amount of scarring and healed wounds he had dotted around his torso. There were indications that he'd been shot at least twice but probably far more than what she could tell, while a long scar up his side may have been the result of a knife attack. Before she realised, their eyes met and he simply smirked. "Yeah, I'm a battered young man, Doc. I could probably tell you the story behind every single one of them. There's a couple of interesting stories." He pointed to the long scar. "That was done by a knife held by a batarian. Hand to hand combat sucks sometimes. Got him in the end though." He then pointed to a small cluster of wounds. "Took at least three rounds here. Shields failed and I didn't get into cover in time. Learned my lesson that day." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Also have a couple of good scars on my back. The one thing you hope for when a bullet goes through is that it doesn't hit anything important. I've been lucky so far."

"I understand it's a hard life, Commander. I've treated enough young men in my time. Some of them just like yourself. I just hope…" She stopped abruptly as she didn't want to finish the sentence. I just hope you don't become one of the so many that I've seen lost. She figured the Commander must have realised what she may have said as he simply patted her hand.

"Don't worry about me, Doc. I'll be just fine. I live by one rule. Make the other bastard die first."

"And there's the typical bravado I always hear as well."

"I'm not invincible, Doc. I know my limits. But I'm very… self-confident," he stated with another smirk. She just laughed, shaking her head as she grabbed a salve from the cabinet behind her, handing it to him as he swung his legs over the bed and put on his t-shirt.

"Just apply that to the bruising every night. It should help take down the swelling and relieve the pain. With any luck, you should be good to go within a few days. You may want to take it easy until then, though."

"No missions?"

"I'm not saying no, Commander. But just be careful. You may find your muscles will seize up if you tax yourself too quickly. If you have a mission coming up soon, it may be wise to sit it out. I'm sure your team can survive without you on the ground in the meantime."

Shepard was silent for a moment, as if mulling over her advice. Eventually he gave a brief nod. "Very well, Doc. I'll take it easy for a few days." She knew she must have looked surprised as he started to chuckle. "Come on, Doc. I'll always listen to what you have to say, and you haven't steered me wrong yet. Plus… my shoulder really hurts!" With that, he simply grinned, turned and walked out of the med-bay. Chakwas just stared after him, shaking her head for a moment before she sat back down at her terminal.

She clicked through a few options until she found the Commander's file. She quickly updated his details, filling in the information regarding his injury and his treatment. But she had found her interest in his history perked after seeing all his scars so spent a few minutes looking at his very extensive and detailed history. She was amazed he was still in one piece after she had finished reading through everything. The knife wound he had suffered had left him on death's door due to extensive blood loss. It had taken him weeks to recover from that injury. He'd been shot at least half a dozen times. He was lucky that only once had the bullet impacted a vital area, leaving him with a collapsed lung and various other maladies that took him months to fully recover from. She then thought about the event he was probably most famous before becoming a Spectre. She looked up to see if he'd been wounded there. While she couldn't find any physical injuries, he had spent time in a facility dealing with 'personal issues'. She could only wonder what that may refer to.

She looked up from her terminal and out towards the mess where he was busy talking with Alenko and Garrus, the three suddenly bursting into laughter, Shepard patting Garrus on the back, clearly the person behind the joke. She felt a slight smile on her lips as her admiration for the man probably heightened past what it already was. It's remarkable that he's here doing this now. Just how has he dealt with it all? He's so level-headed about everything thrown in his direction. She was tempted to check the extranet for even more details, but chastised herself for being a sticky beak, instead closing his file and continuing with her day to day routine.


It was relatively late in the day when the Commander walked through the door to the med-bay once again. Chakwas looked up to see him rotate one arm then the other before he rotated his neck a few times. He opened his eyes, appearing to notice her concern. "I'm stiff as a board, Doc. I don't know what's going on."

It had been some time since he'd hurt his shoulder, but there could still be lingering effects. "Is your shoulder still sore?"

"No, there's no real pain. It's more just, I don't know, discomfort. I just feel really tight. Not sure what I need. Maybe some relaxants or something? I'm not sure, that's why I thought I'd come ask."

She thought for a moment, pondering the best course of treatment. "You know, Commander, you speak of tight muscles and wanting to feel more relaxed. A simple massage could be the answer." She almost laughed to herself as he appeared to turn a shade of red as if the idea was… embarrassing? "Have you ever had one, Commander?" He shook his head. That was a surprise as, whenever she had the opportunity, she would always find time to have one. Have all the knots kneaded out of her muscles was a delight. "Well, why don't you hop up on the bed here and I'll soon have you nice and relaxed."

He didn't move. "Er, have you given one before?"

"Of course. I wouldn't suggest it otherwise." He still didn't move, looking around, almost as if he wanted to escape. "Am I going to have to drag you over here, Commander? It's for your own benefit in the end."

Slowly he started to walk towards the bed. She was still suppressing a laugh, wondering why he was all of a sudden apparently uncomfortable. Why is he so embarrassed? It's just a massage. Eventually he lay himself down on his front and she got to work. She could feel the tightness in his shoulders and top of his arms, across the bottom of his neck and all the way down his back. She wondered how he managed to get so far without having this done before as he was wound tighter than a coiled spring. But she was still left with the feeling that he wasn't exactly in a comfortable place yet, so thought talking shop would help him relax.

"How did the last mission go?"

"Quite well. Knocked out the last bit of geth resistance in this sector. Hackett was pleased and said the Alliance would now send in ships to add a further layer of protection and ensure the geth don't return."

"Is that why Tali was practically bouncing around the mess earlier?" she asked, chuckling lightly as she remembered just how excited the young quarian was, "She seemed delighted about something."

"Oh, that would be about something else entirely."

"Well?" she asked as she could feel him slowly start to relax.

"We found some data about the geth that would make a perfect Pilgrimage gift to take back to the fleet. She asked me if I could provide a copy. I said it wouldn't be a problem. She seemed very pleased when I told her."

"Is she going to stay? I hope so, she's a lovely girl."

"Yes. I thought she may have chosen to leave. I wouldn't have blamed her as I understand that she's missing her people and her home. But she said she'd stay until the end of the mission."

"That's wonderful to hear, Commander."

"We all like her, Doc. I know Ashley had a real soft spot for her. Adopted her as another sister as far as I'm concerned. They're always chatting away downstairs."

She could feel he was now completely relaxed as she continued to work his muscles, feeling him completely loosen up. She figured that she may have to offer to do this for him every so often to help keep him relaxed and less susceptible to injury. "So what's the next mission?"

"The Council have informed me that an STG has fallen out of contact on a planet called Virmire. I'm going to have us head back to the Citadel first to stock up on supplies, plus I would to speak to Anderson. Get his input on how things have developed so far. Then we'll head to Virmire. There's already a rumour that Saren has a base there."

"Possibly an end to another adventure?"

"I don't know. If I'm honest, I'm hoping we catch him there and then. This constant traversing the galaxy is tiresome. No wonder I'm feeling worn out. Although I'm now feeling very relaxed. You're a miracle worker, Doc."

She just smiled as she removed her hands, allowing the Commander to sit up and dangle his legs over the bed. He did his usual rotating of his arms and legs and it was difficult not to see the broad grin on his face. "Yep, miracle worker, Doc. Those hands must have some sort of magic in them. Thanks."

She knew she smiled at the compliment. "No problem, Commander," she replied, keeping it simple.

He hopped down off the bed and appeared to stagger for a moment as he seemed to understand just how relaxed he really was. Then he laughed. "Okay, maybe I'm too relaxed. My muscles feel like jelly! What have you done to me, Doc?!" he joked.

She didn't say anything, just shaking her head and laughing to herself as he put his shirt back on, before he gave another round of profuse thanks for the help, then he turned and walked out of the med-bay. She just watched him walk away, a slight grin on her face and the merest hint of butterflies in her stomach. She was getting far too used to seeing him with his shirt off. The thought made her blush as she moved a hand to her cheek, feeling the heat in it. She reprimanded herself for being foolish, so sat down at her terminal and simply got back to work, though she couldn't help but think of what had occurred during the past half hour or so. She was just providing help to her Commander. It had been entirely innocent.

Hadn't it?