Just a short little chapter this time, since we all want to know what happened to Shepard.
"Vakarian. Garrus Vakarian, wake up!" Dr. Chakwas's voice seemed to come from far away. Garrus startled awake with a gasp, almost jumping to his feet. It took him a second to realize that he was in the hospital room, at the bed where Shepard slept in her sedated state. He had fallen asleep in the chair, next to the pile of his upper armor. It had been two days since the Normandy had pulled into port.
Two days had passed where Dr. Chakwas had tried to wake Shepard every few hours, only to sedate her again when she began screaming. Garrus had talked to her, yelled, anything to make her hear him but she had kept on screaming, her head whipping around, her eyes unseeing and wide in panic. Only when the sedatives kicked in again did she look normal for a second. Garrus held on to that fleeting look that he might have imagined when her eyes met his and were not filled with utter panic, just before they rolled into the back of her head.
It pained him like a knife in his gizzard to see her like that. He had tried to distract himself with work, running all over the Citadel with Dania, trying to find the quarian Tali'Zorah. He had thought that he had done a good job, but after a few hours the director had called him up and ordered him to stay with Shepard, so that everybody else could actually get some work done. Garrus had been surprised by her understanding, a turian leader would never allow himself or his subordinates this much sentimentality.
After initially getting some strange looks, he was now an accepted presence in the hospital room, mostly thanks to Captain Anderson. Garrus had heard the exchange in front of the door. They had not realized that he could hear them.
"Captain Anderson?" That had been Alenko's voice, the Lieutenant who had been with Shepard on Eden Prime. "Can I ask you about the C-Sec officer at her side, Garrus Vakarian?"
"They are in a relationship. What else is there to know?" The captain answered. "I was hoping that his presence would help her, and he... I'm sure he needs to be here."
"Permission to speak freely, Sir?" There must have been an acknowledgment from Anderson because Alenko continued. "Are you okay with that? I'm sorry, Sir, I..." The Lieutenant's voice was flustered and Garrus could almost see him raking through his hair.
"It is hardly my place to judge, is it?"
Alenko answered with his voice strong again. "With all due respect, Sir, I think it is. You are almost like a father to her, and wasn't Vakarian supposed to be assigned to the Normandy too? Would the Alliance accept her having a relationship with him, a turian nonetheless?"
At this point Garrus had to clamp down on his subharmonics, to not growl out his anger.
"As far as the Alliance is concerned..." Came Anderson's voice booming through the closed door, "Right now I'm the Alliance, and I surely don't have a problem with whom she chose as her partner. And Alliance regulations are only concerned about superiors taking advantage of subordinates, we don't have a problem with established relationships."
Dr. Chakwas voice came up, quiet amusement in her tone. "But you did have a thorough check run on him."
"Of course. Very thorough." Garrus could hear the slight grin in Anderson's tone before his voice became harsh again. "Do you have a problem with him being here? Or with him being a turian, Lieutenant?"
"No, Sir. But I know several people in the Alliance that would have a problem and I just wanted to know where you stand, Sir." Alenko said.
The conversation had ended at that point and Garrus wondered what Alenko was really thinking about him. He had not noticed any resentments from him but he decided to look at him a bit more critically.
He realized that Dr. Chakwas was speaking to him. "... see an improvement."
"I'm sorry, doctor, could you run that by me again?" Garrus stretched his neck, trying to loosen the strained muscles.
The doctor raised an eyebrow and patiently repeated what she had said. "I have been monitoring her brain waves constantly and something is changing. We still don't know what exactly is going on in her head but it seems like she manages to fend off the foreign wave patterns that I have seen since she came in contact with that beacon. I actually see an improvement."
Garrus looked at Shepard, she appeared to be sleeping, just like she had the whole time the doctor had kept her sedated.
Dr. Chakwas put a hand on his arm. "I want you to talk to her. I am going to monitor what happens when you do."
"I've been doing that, doctor," Garrus mumbled, "I talked to her but nothing changed." He knew that he should not give up hope but it still tasted like failure in his mouth. His love, his mate, helpless and trapped in her own mind and he could not help her.
"I just told you that it did change something," Chakwas scolded him, "so keep doing that. Talk to her, sing to her, anything. Her brain waves change when she hears your voice. I'm letting the sedatives flush out of her system and I want your voice to guide her back." She ushered him back to the chair next to the bed. "This isn't a fairy tale, Vakarian, but there is still hope."
Garrus wasn't quite sure what a fairy tale was but he settled back into the chair that he had spent the most of the last two days in and took her hand in his. He tried to think of something to say but his mind was blank.
"Shepard, I'm here, I... I..." A frustrated trill left him. "I don't know why I can't find the words. I have so many things I want to tell you..." Another trill with a low hum came from his gizzard. It was easy to express his feelings in his subharmonics but it was near impossible to find the words.
"Do that again." Dr. Chakwas ordered from her terminal.
"Do what again?"
"That subvocal hum. I see an effect in her brain wave patterns." Dr. Chakwas eyes did not leave her screen and her hand waved an impatient pattern in the air.
Garrus suddenly felt self conscious. Subharmonics were usually uncontrolled, subconscious expressions. He had a bit of trouble to make them as his main expression now. He leaned forward and hummed.
"Yes, good. Keep going." Dr. Chakwas stepped over to him and scanned Shepard with her omni-tool. "I know this is awkward, Vakarian. I wasn't joking when I suggested that you sing to her. Turian singing uses subharmonics as a second harmonic voice and it looks like those have an effect on her."
Garrus wondered how this human doctor knew so much about turians. She turned to him and smiled. "I'm the leading medical expert on turians in the Alliance. I'm fairly certain that Spectre Kyrik owes his survival to my knowledge and abilities."
Garrus acknowledged her explanation with a nod, he was quite impressed. While asari doctors were known for their interspecies studies, he had never heard of a human doctor being an expert in a non-human species.
Of course, singing on cue was just as hard as speaking on cue and it took him a little while until his brain came up with the melody of a recent hit song from an asari-turian pop band. He was botching it at first, but he slowly got the sub-harmonies settled and added the rather stupid lyrics with his main vocals. Garrus had never been in a singing class but he had been complimented on his singing voice before. He actually managed to do quite well on this song.
Dr. Chakwas smiled at him, encouraging him onward while she continued scanning over Shepard's body. For long, agonizing minutes nothing changed. Garrus started the song over, more confidence in his voice this time and laying more power in his subharmonics.
The hand, that he held in his, twitched. He noticed it before he even heard the sharp intake of breath from Dr. Chakwas. She frantically typed something on her omni-tool, while she nodded to Garrus to continue.
Another twitch, a flicker from Jane's eyelids. Her hand suddenly grabbed his with all her strength. It was almost painful. Garrus steeled himself for another attack of nightmarish screaming spasms like they had experienced the few times before when Dr. Chakwas had tried to wake her.
Garrus kept singing the stupid song, the words meaningless, his subvocal hum carrying the tune. It was different his time. She did not spasm, she did not heave in air to scream it out again as loud as she could. Her eyelids fluttered and her breath was calm. She still held his hand, her grip strong but not painful anymore. Garrus let himself hope that finally, this time, she would really wake up.
When her eyes opened and locked onto his, he was relieved to see them as normal as they had always been. The few times before, when she had opened her eyes, a greenish light had shimmered in them and she had not seen anybody. This time, her eyes had the familiar greyish-blue tint that he knew.
She looked at him and the song got stuck in his throat. She tried to speak but her throat seemed to be sore, no wonder after all the screaming she had done before. She began coughing and Dr. Chakwas helped her to sit up. Her hand never left his.
Finally, her throat was clear and her voice was only slightly raspy when she spoke to him: "Hey, my Angel. You're here!"
Garrus's subharmonics trilled out whole songs of his happiness. "Yes, I'm here Sunshine, Spirits, I'm so glad you came back." He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers.
"I heard your voice, I heard you sing," she whispered, "was that an old song that your mother sang to you when you were young?"
"Spirits, I wish I had thought of that." Garrus chuckled, his forehead still on hers. He had no intention of changing his position soon. "It's just a current pop song from an asari-turian band. They sing about how they can't share food and how unfair that is."
Shepard burst out laughing and behind him he heard Dr. Chakwas quietly snicker to herself. "Well, it was the most beautiful song I have ever heard." Shepard said, still laughing. "You should sing more often."
"I'll do anything, Jane, anything for you." Garrus blurted out before he could stop himself. He wanted to pull away but she did not let him. Her hand had creeped up to the back of his head and she was holding his head with her hand under his fringe. Her soft lips met his mouth plates and he felt himself fall into the world of only her and her kiss.
A soft cough from the doctor made them break apart. "If I could get access to my patient now, I need to run some more tests on her. I'm glad that you are back with us, Shepard, but I have to make sure that it stays that way."
"Of course." They both said in unison, slowly pulling apart until only their hands were still touching.
Dr. Chakwas passed her omni-tool scanner over Shepard's head. "Can you describe what you saw, what happened when the beacon touched you?"
Shepard let her head fall back on the pillow. "Touch is a good word, it felt like something touched my mind, injected thoughts directly into my head. It's like a vision, that takes over my mind." She squeezed Garrus's hand harder. "It feels like it's supposed to be a warning but I don't understand it, it's many pictures, coming way too fast and too bright. It felt like my head would burst from the amount of information."
"How does it feel now?" Dr. Chakwas asked.
"Like I locked it up in a box. When I think about it the pictures, they all come rushing back..." She suddenly pressed the palms of her hands against her temples and let out a choked scream. Garrus searched her eyes for that terrifying green glow but they stayed normal. With a sigh she relaxed and let her hands drop again. "But I can push it back into the box now." One hand found his and he squeezed it reassuringly.
With a gasp she tensed. "Nihlus! What about Nihlus?" She asked, the grip on his hand so very tight.
"He has a good chance to survive with almost full functionality of his face." Dr. Chakwas said, pulling up charts on her omni-tool. "I had to use extensive cybernetics to repair the damage. That will look a bit rough unfortunately, I had to use the resources the Normandy had, which wasn't much. Luckily I had stocked up on turian synth-blood and dextro-transplants, but the cybernetics were originally not meant for facial reconstruction."
"What about... brain damage?"
"As far as I can tell, he might have trouble with the movement of his arm and leg on his right side. As for other injuries..." She paused, looking over the charts on her omni-tool again. Garrus appreciated that she was precise and truthful in her statements, he had never liked it if doctors told patients that everything would be fine when it was clearly not.
She looked up from the display and looked first Shepard, and then him in the eyes. "The scans do not indicate any problems concerning memories, speech or personality. But brain damage is still an area of medicine where we can't really predict anything. I expect him to wake up fairly soon, and then we will know more."
Shepard's face showed her relief. "So you think he has a chance to recover?"
Dr. Chakwas showed a small smile on her face. "Yes, I think so. But I can not guarantee..."
"Of course not, doc, I understand. I think his condition should remain a secret for now." Shepard said. Garrus wondered what the point of this secrecy was.
Dr. Chakwas nodded. "Captain Anderson agrees, he has already put a ban on any news about Spectre Kyrik's condition."
"Alright doctor," Shepard threw the cover to the side and attempted to sit up but fell back on the bed, "whoah, dizzy. Doc, I can't work like that."
"Good, I wouldn't let you anyway." Dr. Chakwas said with a friendly smile that did not hide her stern look at all.
"But doc...!"
"No, my dear, you are on bedrest for at least another 10 hours. You will rest, you will sleep naturally without the aid of sedatives, and then I will examine you. Then - and only then - will we talk about the conditions of your release from my care."
Shepard clenched her fists in frustration. "But doc, I really need to..."
"Yes, I know, you really, really need to do something, and knowing you, after a few minutes someone will probably shoot at you. You are in no condition to fight and that's final." Dr. Chakwas's voice was friendly but firm, and any other retort that Shepard wanted to make, died when the doctor raised a finger and looked at her sternly.
Shepard made a huff of frustration but settled back under the thin blanket, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Garrus had to suppress a giggle, she looked so much like a pouting child, she actually reminded him of his little sister. Only without mandibles.
The doctor walked towards the door. Before she left, she turned around and fixed Garrus with a look. "Vakarian? You have ten more minutes to talk to her and then you need to leave. Commander Shepard needs to rest."
"Yes, ma'am." Garrus answered, involuntarily straightening.
As the door closed behind the doctor, Shepard pulled him back for another kiss. He felt her soft lips again, he had almost forgotten how wonderful they felt. Her tongue dipped against his and his subharmonics hummed in bliss. Her hand stroked under his fringe and her other hand traced the plates on his cowl. Her tongue tangled with his and he managed to wrap his own around hers. The feeling was overwhelming, he wanted to drink her in, press her body to his and finally feel whole again.
With a raspy sigh he left her mouth and pressed his forehead to hers. This move had become so natural to him, as if they were truly bonded already. His scent released before he could stop it. "Jane, my shining sun. I... I missed you so much..."
"I missed you too."
"I thought you were injured or dead, I was so worried."
Shepard chuckled quietly. "I'm hard to kill, you'll see. I'm like weeds, you can't get rid of me."
"I would never want that."
"Me neither." She whispered, pressing once more against his forehead.
Garrus held his breath to stop himself from yelling out his happiness. Only a trill sang out from him and every turian in close proximity would have known exactly what he meant.
She laid her head on his cowl and sighed. "I have so much to tell you, I don't even know where to start."
"I saw footage from Eden Prime with Frank, I saw geth and that spire they moved." He spoke into her hair, careful not to tangle up his mandibles in it.
"That was the beacon that put these visions into my head. So the geth had moved it? I had wondered who did that." She leaned back on the bed and her face showed exhaustion and pain.
"We saw it on the camera footage, just before some kind of EMP took all cameras out planet wide."
"I have never before seen a geth in my life and we had no intel. We lost... I lost Jenkins. A geth turret just mowed him down." She stared at the ceiling and Garrus could see a tear forming in the corner of her eye. "He was just a kid, Garrus, and he had been born on Eden Prime! He was on his home planet, had hardly taken ten steps and... end."
Garrus just held her hand, knowing that he could not say anything to make her feel better.
"And then we ran into geth and these... zombies -"
"Husks. We call them husks."
"How... what?" Shepard looked like she had swallowed a bug.
"Lorenzo educated us that zombies are different, and Tali'Zorah had called them husks, so we settled on that name." Only after he had said it he realized that Shepard had no idea what had happened while she was on Eden Prime.
"Garrus, what the fuck are you talking about?"
Garrus sighed, time was running out, Shepard looked very tired and there was so much that they still had to tell each other. "Why don't you finish your part of the story first and then I will tell mine. Let's just say that I know what husks look like, trust me." His subharmonics vocalised the shudder that went through him.
She still looked at him confused but continued talking. "Alright, we ran into these... husks and geth and we picked up another soldier, Ashley Williams. Good shot, she was a life-saver. The geth killed the people and then put them on these big pointy things, and when they came down, they had turned into husks, it was horrible." She closed her eyes for a second.
"And Nihlus, fucking Nihlus! I'm so mad at him, I would punch him in the face if he had not gotten it shot off already." She punched the mattress once before looking up in guilt.
"Sorry, that was a horrible thing to say but, damn! Before going groundside, we get a hazy transmission from Eden Prime, and we see this ship that has strange protruding arms in front. It reminds me a little of the ship he showed us as Saren's, but it's hard to tell."
She raised her finger. "So what's the first thing Anderson does? Scan's the database for that ship, of course. What does Nihlus do? Twitches his mandibles and starts to suit up. No question as to what kind of ship it is. I'm sure he recognized it but he didn't say anything." Her forehead had settled in deep frowns, her eyes showing anger and worry at the same time.
"So we go groundside and Nihlus goes alone! Gnarls something about working better on his own and jumps out ahead of us. Why the fuck would he do that?"
Garrus shook his head, "As a Spectre that might be true..."
"Yeah, but it's still stupid. And it pisses me off!" Shepard suddenly took hold of his hand again. "We made our way to his position, husks and geth all over the place and there was this shot... we found Nihlus on the ground, blood everywhere." She shuddered at the memory and her hand clenched around his. "He was dying. The back of his head... a witness told us what the other guy looked like..."
He stared at her. "And?"
"It was Saren."
"No." Garrus whined out in disbelief. "He is his teacher, his mentor, his friend even..."
"Who else would Nihlus turn his back to?" Shepard said, her voice very quiet. "And the ship, and Nihlus's strange behaviour... how many white turians come to your mind?"
"Futuo! How can he do that? To Nihlus, his student, his friend?" Garrus felt horror creep up his spine, to betray a friend, cowardly shooting him when his back was turned... no proud turian would ever admit to such a thing.
Shepard kept on talking quietly. "I called the Normandy back and Dr. Chakwas took care of him while we ran after the geth and Saren, we found the beacon and it glowed green."
Garrus remembered the green glow he had seen in her eyes but decided not to mention it.
"Kaidan came too close to it, it pulled him towards it and I pushed him away and... well, it caught me instead." Shepard grinned sarcastically. "What a brilliant move on my part."
Garrus assured her with a hum. "That's part of your job, isn't it?"
"That's part of the job-description? That I have to catch all mind-fucking, green-glowing beams? Nobody told me!" She smiled at him and Garrus felt warm happiness spread in his gizzard. He had missed her smile.
Garrus went over everything she had told him. "So you are keeping Nihlus's condition a secret because you want Saren to think that he killed him?"
"Yes, I want to see and hear how he reacts, when I tell him that Nihlus is dead."
Garrus nuzzled her hair, making her giggle a little. "At C-Sec we say that humans are the best liars in the galaxy."
"Oh, and I'm the best of the best!" She grinned at him. "You should have seen me, lying to Miss Lacroix why I could not possibly do my homework!"
They both laughed and Garrus felt like something that had held his mind in a crushing grip for the last days, finally broke. He laughed and hummed with her and for a while they stayed silent, her head under his mandible, just smiling.
Her face turned serious again. "There is something else that's bothering me."
"Really?" Garrus let out a sarcastic snort. "In a story with geth, prothean beacons and turian betrayal, something is bothering you?"
"Yeah, I know." Shepard made a weak smile and let her eyes fall down. "Just think about the picture. Saren Arterius, the Council's best spectre, standing maybe two metres behind Nihlus. He aims for his head..."
Garrus hissed through his teeth. She was right, the picture did not work. "He wouldn't have missed."
"Exactly, he wouldn't have. But he did shoot, just a little to the side. Why? Did he change his mind? Did he hesitate at the last second?" Shepard let go of his hand to scratch the back of her neck and winced at the strain that put on her shoulder.
She yawned and smiled at him sheepishly. "I guess Dr. Chakwas was right, I'm really tired."
"I'm surprised she hasn't shown up and kicked me out yet." Garrus flared his mandibles at her in a smile and hummed. He was sure that she understood the feeling of relief he sang out for her. Her smile warmed him up inside.
Shepard took his arm and placed it over her shoulders. With a sigh she settled her head into the crook of his arm. "Now tell me your story. And make it exciting or else I'll fall asleep."
Garrus smiled down at her. She needed sleep and nothing would make him happier than having her fall asleep in his arms. He kept his voice low and calm. "So, after you left and I had taken care of my parents for a day, I went back to ANIS. We got called out to investigate a ghost ship, I went over with Keggs, Lorenzo and Dania. It was cold and empty, the atmosphere was vented and..."
Her breathing had gotten light and even; with one look at her and the readout from his visor he saw that she had fallen asleep. He stopped talking and only hummed for her. This time he hummed the melody of an old song that his mother used to sing when he was still a little boy. He could not remember the words but the melody flowed easily from his subvocals.
A little smile played on her lips as she sighed in her sleep. He knew that he should lay her back on the bed but he couldn't. Not when he finally had her back.
He would not let her go.
Fluffy reunions are fluffy. We all needed that, right?
Poor Credete had to give up on sleep again to edit this chapter. This time I added too many commas. I don't know how that happened.