Tali came to in Garrus's arms a few moments later on the floor.
Her headache was on full blast and she felt uncomfortable as everyone was huddled around and staring at her. Except for Joker, who was for some reason laughing his head off with tears in his eyes. For a moment she completely forgot where she was, but it didn't take long for her to remember the news she just learned a few moments ago. Energy surged through her body and she shot up, taking everyone by surprise.
"Tali?" Garrus started.
Despite the headache, Tali couldn't help but shout. "Get us home, now!"
Joker paid no mind to her angry, anticipated, but yet very excited tone. He only replied with a hearty, "Yes, ma'am!" and they flew off after their escort ships.
Even before entering the Sol system, there was a wariness about coming back. It was unspoken, the crew felt a teeming sense of dread when returning to Earth, they didn't want to see it smoldering in ashes and ruins. The place where final battle had ended, and where many lives were lost. But after what they just heard, hope had finally been fully restored to them.
As they drew nearer and nearer to the planet, moments felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours, and time was just too achingly slow as they entered Earth's smoky atmosphere. Once upon the continent of Europe, Tali started to near hyperventilate and was clutching to her chest. Garrus noticed this and gripped her shoulder with concern, but yet he couldn't stop the excitement that filled his own voice.
"Calm down," he said.
This only seemed to make it worse. "I can't, I can't, I can't," Tali repeated, air rushing in and out of her lungs at FTL speed. To her, Garrus seemed too amazingly calm through all of this, he stayed silent but she noticed that his breathing was also very heavy. Her mind still was trying to process the news.
John is alive?
"Alright Normandy crew, we set up a makeshift docking station in the burned park over here, we will have to search your ship before we let you leave, it's a new protocol. The Commander is in an emergency medical building on the other far side. We also informed Admiral Hackett of your return, he will be present. Welcome back to Earth."
"Thank you," Tali and Joker said at the same time.
They waited as the burned park that was cleared of rubble and debris came into view. It had escort ships that lined up along the grass and asphalt of the field. Tali's eyes followed the scorch marks around the park until a solid, nearly fully repaired building stuck out on the far end.
John is in there?
Tali ran from the cockpit to the airlock. A few moments later, Garrus, Liara, and James fell in behind her.
James loudly whispered to Garrus, "I heard that Loco is still alive, is that true?" Tali didn't look behind her but she imagined Garrus nodding his head.
"How is Sparks holding up? She's lookin' like jello."
Tali didn't know what jello was, but guessing from the way she was shaking and the fluid way the name rolled off her mind's tongue, she could only guess that it was something liquid-like. She still rolled her eyes from the comment and she started focusing on getting off the ship as quick as she could. The ship now felt like a prison keeping her from holding hands with the one thing that helped give her freedom. A freedom that protected her, and helped her gain a real sense of family. Because of him, she felt at home.
They heard a loud hum and a knock as the Normandy touched down. She mustered all of her patience that she could as the airlock opened, wanting to run off to the medical building as fast as she could. She saw a ladder lead down to the ground, and noted that it was a happy change of pace from the rocks that she gotten used to seeing while they were stranded.
At the bottom were multiple soldiers with rifles and a clean older man in a blue uniform. Her feet barely met the ladder as she launched herself downwards to the human Admiral, her patience dwindling and all of her sense of being professional and formal were gone. After all, she was still at heart a love-struck quarian girl waiting to see her human lover once more.
"Good evening, Admiral Zorah," Admiral Hackett greeted with a smile.
"Thank you, and you, too, Admiral Hackett. Where's John, I must see him," Tali said with speed. She hardly noticed that the soldiers that passed Garrus and James went up the ladder to search the ship.
The human Admiral perked an eyebrow and Tali's manner, "I didn't realize that the Commander allowed his crew to call him by first name basis."
Tali blushed furiously as she thought she just slipped their relationship to him.
"Then again, the Commander is a very interesting man," he chuckled. "I have to apologize, we can't let you leave until the ship has been searched for anything suspicious. I know it's been a few weeks but we can't risk any chance of possible hidden reaper threats."
With a sense of relief and impatience, she tapped her foot and wrung her hands, trying to retain some amount of composure. "Please do hurry, the crew aches to see their Commander," Tali said calmly, masking the specifics with a sentence that was similar to a line from Fleet and Flotilla. Tali desperately hoped that the Admiral haven't seen it, because it would have only hinted their relationship even more.
"Yes, we are very anxious to see him," Garrus said. Tali was relieved to have her turian brother had come to save her from any potential embarrassment.
"Vakarian, it is a pleasure to meet you, the Commander speaks of you highly."
Garrus raised his hand in an awkward three fingered salute, "It is an honor," he replied as the human Admiral returned the gesture. Tali felt embarrassed that she had forgotten about the salute and raised her own hand awkwardly, she still wasn't entirely used to human military customs, no matter how many times she had seen it and studied it.
Tali stood by as Garrus recounted the Normandy's story of being stranded to Admiral Hackett while the ship was being searched. It was time consuming and frustrating.
"I'm pleased that you now know that Commander Shepard is alive," said Hackett as Garrus finished. "It must have been devastating to believe such a thing while your crew was marooned."
"We are, too," Garrus replied as he shot a knowing look over to Tali. Mere moments later and the soldiers came down the ladder and gave the all clear.
"Alright Vakarian, given that you are second in command, what would you like to do with the crew while you visit the Commander?"
Garrus seemed taken aback, he was never asked to give an order from someone as high ranking as a human Admiral.
"Uh, let them leave, give them space to relax for awhile, they haven't seen anyone other than each other for nearly a month. It would be nice to see some amount of civilization...Or what's left of it." He turned his head to look at the still devastated landscape. There were still debris littered everywhere, but at least now reconstruction could begin. There was already many improvements being made.
"I'll send a report later."
"Alright, I have some business to attend to and search parties to call off. So please, enjoy yourselves if you can, I'll send a message to the medical staff," Admiral Hackett said with a salute. He turned away and dismissed them to do what they needed.
Garrus was only able to shoot a glance to Tali before she ran across the burnt field after Hackett's departure. The black grass and the gravel crunching underneath her feet as the doors to the building became larger and larger with an achingly slow speed. Soldiers were placed outside but they did not stop her, they must have already gotten Hackett's message.
She pushed the doors open to a desk with a frightened woman behind it. Tali marched up to the white desk with a brown tabletop, it was a major change from the sights outside.
"Normandy crew member Tali'Zorah. Visiting Commander Shepard, where is he?" she demanded, out of breath.
The small woman stumbled upon her words, fumbling with papers. She was obviously perplexed as to why a seemingly simple quarian wanted to see the Savior of the Galaxy so urgently. "Second f-floor, southwest c-corner room, number fifteen. You'll need a key-"
Tali flew towards the stairway past the recently repaired elevator, she didn't want to take it and have to stand still any longer than she had to.
I can't wait, I must see him!
She ran up a single flight of stairs, the soles of her boots echoing throughout the building. She shoved open the doors and immediately looked at the numbers on the doors. As she read them, she noticed most of the rooms didn't have patients, but machines and utensils with multiple doctors in both regular coats and lab coats working on them, some even with gas masks on. Nine...ten...eleven...twelve...thirteen...fourteen...
She paused in front of the normal, white door with a black sign with a clean number engraved in it. The number fifteen. Unlike the other doors, this one had a large sign and a high security locking mechanism on it.
There was a simple sign on the door. Authorized Personnel ONLY! Tali didn't let it hold her back, she scanned the mechanism. She had to see him.
She pulled up her omni-tool and started hacking the mechanism, red lights blinking while her fingers worked furiously. It was surprisingly easy enough to hack and it beeped its access once she got through, the red lights turning to a tantalizing green. She ripped open the door and slammed it behind her, and was disappointed to meet with another door, this time more metallic. She was about to tear this one open too when a black box scanned the room in green light while mist swirled the room. "Decontamination in progress, please be patient," a V.I. rang.
She waited impatiently, however, for the chamber to cycle, but when it finished, she couldn't help but pause. Her hand rested above the pad to open the door. She was about to see her lover again. The man who saved the galaxy multiple times, the man who saved her multiple times, the man who loved her like no one else did, or could. She imagined him laying in bed with that goofy grin of his, only moments away from walking out of the makeshift hospital and going to Rannoch to live their true lives. She smiled brightly and tapped at the pad, the door swung open with a metallic ring.
As she closed the door behind her, her smile vanished.
Her heart stopped. Cold caged her lungs. Life was wilting. This was not what she expected.
Instead of a strong and healthy man full of life that looked ready to tackle her in a bear hug sitting on his bed, in front of her sat a shell, a pale ghost of the human's former self. It was John, but he was not the same.
His body was deathly pale and saggy. His muscles no longer rippled under his skin but hung to him lazily. His stature was reduced to a wilting flower compared to the normal sturdy tree.
But their eyes locked to each other. This was perhaps the most shocking detail to her.
His face looked glum and his cheeks sagged slightly. His hair was slightly longer, as well as his facial hair. But his eyes. His eyes.
The eyelids were droopy and the lack of energy was seen in the dark rings that rested on his cheeks. His irises were murky and lacked the normal rich blue color. But his gaze was determined, like they always were. The hairs on the back of Tali's neck stood on end, and she could feel the temperature in the room plummet. Neither of them spoke for a long time.
Tali's heart broke once more, it seemed like it was becoming too much of a normal occurrence. She began to silently cry in both relief and sadness. Relief that he was still alive, but sad that he seemed lost. She felt that even though he was there in front of her, that she had lost him again anyways. She took a few steps closer to him. It amazed her when he finally spoke.
"Tali?" he said in a hoarse whisper.
She wrapped her arms around his small frame and wept openly. She hardly realized that he now stood up.
She felt his arms wrap around her in a loose embrace and heard his own sobs. They inched closer to the floor until they were finally kneeling and crying, tears flowing freely from both of them. He's broken. He's actually broken...and shattered. But he's still alive...He's still my John.
Tali has never seen him this low. But to her, this was a truly special moment for both of them. No words could describe or even define what they went through together, their adventure born through harsh beginnings, beaten further by threats of exile, separation, and death. But yet they still clung to each other, their adventure will have a happy ending, she will make sure of it. It was time for the happiness to to truly begin, the time for peace has come.
But first, they finally let themselves become a shattered mess, and they rebuilt themselves. This time, they built deep into each other, using each other to become something more. She felt that their two hearts truly became one. They had no ceremony yet, but they really were lifemates.
"I thought I've lost you," they said in perfect unison.
Their hug deepened further and so did their love. They were finally reunited, and nothing will tear them apart ever again. Damn whoever tries.