A/N – Warning! Jack incoming. I'm not changing the rating just for one chapter (possibly two if she reappears) so just be mindful there will be examples of rude language down below.
And I bet you all thought this had been forgotten about. I haven't, it's just my focus is on other things. You'll still get the occasional chapter.
"Don't you dare even think about trying to touch me!"
"Jack, the doc is simply trying to help you," Shepard stated calmly.
She couldn't help but notice the almost hateful glare thrown her way before the young woman looked back at the Commander. "Like fuck she's trying to help. I know all about Cerberus doctors, Shepard. If she touches me, I'll break her fucking fingers first before moving on to her arm. And that'll just be the start."
"Do you see any Cerberus symbols on this uniform, Jack?" Chakwas asked gently.
The young woman looked her up and down, her eyes darting everywhere. "Well… no…"
"What do you see?"
Her eyes darted again, finally coming to a stop on her chest. Not looking there but… "There's a badge."
"And what does it say?"
"It says SR-2."
"That's the name of this ship, Jack. You're on the Normandy SR-2."
"This ship is run by Cerberus. The crew is Cerberus. So you must be Cerberus!"
"Is Shepard part of Cerberus?"
Jack glanced to her side at Shepard, who stood there with his arms folded. Chakwas thought he was amused, keeping his face blank, though what was happening wasn't funny. She looked back at Chakwas. "Well, no… At least, he said he wasn't."
"Do you believe him?"
Jack shrugged. "Well, yeah. I guess."
She glanced at Shepard beside her. "Commander, am I a member of Cerberus?"
Shepard chuckled. "Heavens no, doc. I can't think of anyone on this ship who hates the organisation more. I have a rather personal and intense dislike of them as well. Already told Jack I'm only here because of the Collector threat, otherwise I'd be long gone. But I'm still surprised they didn't have to kidnap you to get you on board."
"Thank you, Commander." She turned her attention back to Jack. "I don't know what your issue is with Cerberus, Jack. But I can assure you, all I want to do is help you. Now, you're quite obviously wounded in a couple of places. I just want to check the wounds and patch you up. Once I'm done, you'll be free to go."
She glanced to Shepard again, then back to her. "Promise?"
She smiled. "Of course. I just want to help, Jack. I'm a doctor. It's what I do."
Jack finally appeared to relax, if ever so slightly. Shepard visibly relaxed as well. "We all good, Jack?"
The young woman nodded. "Yeah… Okay…"
"Jack, if at any time you feel uncomfortable, just tell me, alright?" The young woman just nodded, relaxing slightly more with every second that passed. "Okay, let's get started." She glanced at Shepard. "I think we should be okay now, Commander. Thanks." Shepard simply nodded, turned and disappeared out of the med-bay.
Normally she would have asked her to put on a gown, but as she was effectively topless, only slim straps holding her small breasts in place, and didn't appear to even understand the word modesty, she simply got on with the task at hand. The young woman had obviously been in a fight recently. But it was the innumerable scars that left Chakwas wondering what she had been through. She was clearly still quite young, no more than 21 or 22 if she took a guess on what she could assess, made more difficult than normal as it appeared nearly her entire body was covered in tattoos. The one thing she was sure of was that, despite all the swearing, aggression and bluster, it was clearly a front. A deception. She was quite clearly a scared young woman.
To put her at ease, she tried her usual tactic. Small talk.
"So how did all this happen?" Jack didn't say anything, simply staring ahead as Chakwas started applying medi-gel to her wounds. She figured that she understood why she was quiet, at least. Trust is obviously an issue. Clearly doesn't want to talk about what happened today. Would probably take months, if not years, of psychiatry for her to open up completely. Or a few days with the Commander. She tried not to smile at that last thought. "The Commander is always in here needing my help. You'd think with all the modern armour and shields available that I'd have little to do. But soldiers always manage to find a way to get injured. Seems like technology continues to find better and better ways, if you could use such a term, to injure and kill people." She sighed. "Oh well, at least medicine has kept pace so doctors' can help the wounded at least."
"They were trying to kill me," Jack stated quietly.
"Who were?"
"Everyone. Guards. Prisoners. Shit, I thought Cerberus was there to finish off the job they started."
Chakwas wasn't aware of all the mission details, but knew the whole purpose of the last mission was to recruit Jack. "Why were they trying to kill you?"
Jack just shrugged. "People don't like me. But I don't like them back. Fuck people."
"And what's your connection to Cerberus? Why would they be trying to kill you?"
"There is no connection. They did this to me."
"Did what?"
"The scars, doc."
Chakwas wasn't sure if she meant the physical scars, which were quite obvious despite her tattoos, or the psychological scars, which anyone would have been able to decipher after spending two minutes talking to her. She was left wondering what had happened to this young woman in front of her, which had left her a lethal ball of hate and rage. Even though she appeared relatively calm as Chakwas finished up cleaning her wounds, it seemed that she could, quite literally, explode at any moment. Just how is the Commander going to deal with her? She finished wrapping one of her upper arms in a bandage and stated she was now finished. Jack hopped down from the bed, shoving her hands in her pockets, looking slightly lost.
"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions for my file?"
"What for?"
"Just in case you're injured again. I need to know medical histories. I have everyone else on file. It's a standard procedure and nothing to do with Cerberus. They won't see your file."
She appeared to chew on the question for a while before giving a slight nod. Chakwas just gestured to the available chair opposite her own.
"How old are you?"
"Honestly, I don't know. Early 20s, I guess."
"Do you know your blood type?" Jack shook her head. "Would you allow me to take a sample?"
"I'd rather you didn't yet."
"Why not?"
Jack scratched her arm absent-mindedly. "Don't really like needles…"
Chakwas nodded. "Fair enough. We can leave it for now. Apart from the scars, what other injuries have you sustained?"
Jack shrugged. "Think it's more of a question of what hasn't happened. Been shot, stabbed, tortured, raped, beaten, drugged etc etc. You name something shitty to happen to a person, doc, and it's more than likely happened to me."
No wonder she is the way she is. "Any drug use?"
"You mean apart from the drugs I was pumped with for years as a child?" she replied bitterly. Chakwas could only nod. What happened to this young woman? Jack just shrugged. "Sure, why the hell not?"
"Anything in particular?"
"Mostly just red sand. But I'd take anything I can get my hands on."
"You're being rather candid, Jack."
"Figured you'd at least want me to be honest, doc. Why, you shocked?"
She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little. "Not particularly, not to say that I thought that you would lie to me, but it's the… brutal honesty, I guess you could call it. Though I guess what you've said so far explains a few things."
"Like why I'm so fucked up?"
"While I wouldn't quite put it like that… Yes."
"Most people are afraid of me, doc."
"I'll admit that you already intrigue me."
"How so?"
"You're…," she paused, trying to think of the right word, "You're interesting."
Jack raised an eyebrow, an almost smirk appearing. "You're not coming on to me, are you, doc?"
She chuckled. "No, Jack. You don't interest me in that way. Purely a professional interest."
Jack looked around, scratched her arm again. "Listen, doc… You've been…" She sighed. "Can I go?"
She nodded. "We can do the rest at a later time, Jack."
Jack didn't say anything else, just standing up and walking out of the med-bay. Chakwas thought she was resisting the urge to run. She didn't think Jack was frightened, but there was clearly a reason why she hated doctors and detested med-bays. She wondered if she should speak to the Commander. Looking out her window into the mess, she then had another thought. No harm in asking her, I guess. She'll probably deny everything though.
She took a couple of steps out of the med-bay. "Ms. Lawson, may I have a word please?"
The Cerberus officer turned around and was clearly surprised by the request. She then put on an easy smile. "Of course, doctor," she replied, following Chakwas into the med-bay. Again the doctor gestured to the available chair, allowing Miranda to sit before she pursued what she wanted.
"So, how can I help, doctor?"
She was quiet for a moment, trying to think of the best way to approach the subject. Eventually she figured the best way was to tackle the issue head on. See how honest they would be with each other. "What can you tell me about Jack?"
To her credit, Miranda gave away nothing at the question asked. No surprise. No anger. No interest. She merely pursed her lips for a moment, apparently in thought. "Why do you ask, doctor?"
"I've just spoken to Jack. Not at length but I've already learned enough to ask. What is her history with Cerberus?"
"I don't know, doctor."
Chakwas didn't believe her. She found it highly unlikely that someone who disliked Cerberus as intensely as Jack appeared to, and who quite obviously has history with the organisation, would not appear on their radar. "You're going to have to try better than that, Ms. Lawson. As I said when we met for the first time, don't play me for a fool. I may not be privy to all the information, but I haven't got where I am today by missing the obvious signs. So, I'll ask again. What can you tell me about Jack? For what reason would Cerberus have any interest in her? In fact, I think I can take a guess at the interest, but that is beside the point."
Miranda glared slightly at her for a moment, though she simply glared back. A battle of wills almost playing out in silence. Neither of them looked away. Instead Miranda just gave a slight nod.
"Fair enough, doctor. I will tell you what I know. But, as I said, I don't know a lot."
"How is that possible?"
Miranda shrugged. "Because I simply don't. The dossier we received from the Illusive Man stated her name and a few details about her. I tried researching for more, but there was little available on our systems. There was little information on Purgatory about her either. Honestly, doctor, the only way you are going to find out her personal history is by asking her. Although Shepard has given her access to our more secure files. I'm not sure if that will give her information about who she is or where she is from, but that may be your best bet."
Chakwas was silent for a moment. Okay, that's a far more honest answer. I guess she really doesn't know. I'm sure she has her own thoughts on Jack. "One more question, Ms. Lawson, and then I'll let you go. What's your personal opinion on Jack, from what you've seen so far?"
"Completely unstable. Psychotic. Dangerous. And I'm simply keeping my fingers crossed that her recruitment will not be a detriment to the mission. The only thing I find intriguing about her is the biotic talent she apparently possesses. I saw a slight preview on Purgatory. I'll be interested to see how she will work in a team and how effectively she uses and manages her biotics on the field." Chakwas knew her eyes must have widened slightly in surprise as Miranda grinned ever so slightly. "You asked for my opinion, doctor. I figured you'd want to hear the truth."
She nodded. "I did. I appreciate it, Ms. Lawson."
The officer stood up. "Will that be all?"
She nodded again. "Yes, Ms. Lawson. Thank you for the information."
Miranda shrugged. "I know it wasn't a lot but every little helps, right?" She turned and walked out the med-bay, as Chakwas leaned back in her chair slightly, deep in thought about just who Jack really was.
She was finishing up for the day when the Commander appeared later. She couldn't help but look up with a slight grin as he took the available seat across from her. Though he had a look of confusion on his face as he looked at her, then avoided her eyes. She had to stifle a slight chuckle as he looked uncomfortable with whatever was on his mind.
"Something wrong, Shepard?"
"No, I'm okay. Just something Kelly just told me about Jack. Her psychological profile."
"Oh?"
"Apparently I will have to be careful when I approach Jack when I do my usual thing. You know, talk to people, get to know them and, if necessary, help them out."
"Why would you have to careful? Do you think she's dangerous?"
"That's… not exactly what Kelly meant, I think. She mentioned about Jack's… er… possible…," he trailed off. She thought for a moment before it hit her. Sure, makes sense. Granted, Jack will have a different idea to most, but it is him after all.
"Kelly thinks Jack may be interested you in that way?" she asked, having to stifle a slight chuckle as he was clearly uncomfortable with the thought.
He shrugged. "No idea, she said I may just have to be careful how I approach her. Apparently even my attempts to be friendly may be misinterpreted."
"Well, that's understandable, Shepard, being the fine specimen you are," she replied in a tone that the Commander picked up on, as he looked at her and she swore that he almost blushed.
"What's your opinion of her, Karin?"
She shook her head. "Honestly, Shepard, I wouldn't know where to begin. Her physical injuries will heal quickly; you won't have a problem there. Psychologically, though," she shook her head again, "Kelly was right in one way. You will have to be careful. You will have to earn her trust, and I think that will be something that will take a long time earn, and also easily broken. She respects power, but it's not a weakness for her. She enjoys the power-play. I think you just being nice to her will leave her confused, if anything. More than likely, she will think you're after something, such as like what Kelly has suggested. I think she's simply been used, as a tool or… for other things, all her life."
Shepard raised his eyebrows at the final bit but nodded immediately in understanding. He's a smart man, and he's already spoken to her. She's either already mentioned it or he's simply put two and two together.
"You had no problem with her after I left?"
"No, Shepard. She was the perfect patient once she calmed down. Underneath the gruff exterior is a scared young woman. In fact, I think six months with you and you'll perhaps strip away some of that armour."
"That's the hope. I'm not going to let first impressions colour my judgement." He let out a sigh. "Well, I'd better get on with it. Can't spend all day and night in here…," he grinned ever so slightly.
"But you'd like to, right?" Chakwas stated, finishing his thought.
The Commander just stood up and the grin widened. "What can I say, Karin. I enjoy the company."
She just stood up and followed him to the door, an easy smile on her face that she knew he couldn't see at the moment. She thought he'd just say goodbye and disappear into the mess. Instead he turned and appeared thoughtful for a moment. He then took a deep breath. "Would you like to join me for dinner later, Karin?"
She knew her own smile widened as his face echoed her own. "I'd be delighted, Shepard."
He appeared to let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Pick you up in an hour?"
"Okay."
He just nodded, turned and slowly walked away. She was sure she heard him start to whistle to himself as he disappeared around the corner towards the elevator. All she could feel were a slight case of the butterflies as she walked back to her seat. Stop being foolish, Karin. It's just dinner. Between two colleagues. It's not a date or… anything like that.
Isn't it?
