Act I : III

SSV Normandy

Slade Jordan opened his eyes slowly and was greeted by both an annoyingly painful headache, and an uncomfortable bed. He slowly sat up in the bed only to realize that it was not a bed, but a medical cot. Confusion slowly set in but he did not have a long time to think before a voice broke through his grogginess.

"Do not be afraid", said a woman with a polished, sophisticated accent. "My name is Karin Chakwas. You are safe inside a medical bay and I am the doctor in charge of making sure you are healthy. No need to worry." Slade's vision finally cleared and he saw an elderly lady with neat, silver hair wearing a lab coat standing next to him. He made another attempt to move but was silently persuaded to be still by the Doctor as she placed a gentle, but firm hand on his shoulder.

"Young man", she began with her gentle, posh voice. "Please refrain from moving. Unless I am mistaken, you have no urgent matters to attend to. Why not relax? I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. I am sure you have plenty." Through a mixture of aching pain and exhaustion, Slade agreed and ceased attempting to stand up. He asked the first question that came to mind.

"Why is everyone being so nice to me?" Slade demanded, perhaps sounding more rude than he intended. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so ungrateful. I'm just confused." The Doctor's eyebrows furrowed and she gave him a questioning look.

"Why would you ask that?" she asked curiously. "While we are on the subject, to whom exactly are you referring to? Would anyone have a reason to NOT be nice to you?" Slade bit his tongue and restrained himself from answering the question; his first question had already given too much away. The Doctor noticed his hesitation and activated her omnitool, pressing a few buttons without taking her eyes off him. Slade heard a soft hiss from behind and turned to look for the source. The Doctor's voice brought his eyes back to her.

"Do not be alarmed", she reassured. "I just closed the door and engaged the lock. You are my patient and there is an unspoken promise between us. Anything you tell me will always be for my ears only. I simply closed the doors as a method to solidify my claim that anything you say will not leave this room. On that note, you have my word." She then brought over a chair and sat down so she and Slade were now at eye level together.

"I have several questions for you", she asserted. "However, I shall only ask them when you are finished asking yours. Please continue, Slade. Also, if you ever need to refer to me, please call me Karin." Slade did not find it difficult to ask his next question:

"How do you know my name?" Slade asked.

"Lieutenant Alenko, or Kaidan as you may know him, brought you here along with Chief Williams", Karin explained. "They told me your name and it was not difficult to track down your medical records. You were born on Eden Prime which is a registered Alliance colony. By law, all citizens either born or emigrated must be processed, which means you must have a medical record. If you did not have one, you would be considered an illegal addition to the colony; however, you DO have a medical record so there is no point in asking if you are an illegal colonist." Slade's throat was now dry with fear.

"If you have my medical record…" Slade cautiously began. "Then you know about…my condition. Don't you?" Karin gave him another puzzled look.

"I have read your entire profile and I have no idea what you mean", she answered. "Do you have a medical condition I am unaware of that is not in your record?"

Oh thank God. She doesn't know I'm a biotic. It must not be in my record.

Slade breathed a sigh of relief, which was immediately noticed by the Doctor.

"Slade", she prodded. "I am afraid I must ask what 'condition' you are referring to. Your medical record has not been updated in over fifteen years, which essentially means you have not seen a doctor in fifteen years. When you were brought here and I was sure you were in a stable condition, I conducted multiple tests and procedures to compensate for the fifteen years you missed. You are now 'caught up' so they say. Now, please enlighten me. What condition are you referring to, and how did you possibly get away with living in a colony without a single medical examination in fifteen plus years? You are a biotic, which means you actually required more attention than an average person to ensure proper brain development. Why was there no record of any brain and biotic examination?" Slade had suddenly stopped listening. His mind was now going at a million miles an hour. Karin Chakwas KNEW he was a biotic, and yet she was being NICE to him. Similar to Commander Shepard, she showed him genuine compassion and made him actually believe she cared about him. Not a single insult or taunt escaped her lips and she had plenty of time to come up with one. Slade's stunned expression must have been obvious because Karin now looked worried.

"Slade?" she asked. "Are you alright?" Slade snapped out of it and was brought back to reality.

"You knew?" Slade started. "You knew I was a biotic this whole time? And you still wanted to help me? Why? Just…..why?" Karin looked at him with a troubled expression and it was a while before she said anything. Once again she activated her omnitool and her voice echoed around the room.

"Attention Normandy crew", she announced over the intercom. "This is Doctor Chakwas. I will be preoccupied for the next few hours. Please refrain from disturbing me unless it is a medical emergency. The medbay will remained locked and off limits unless in the event of previously mentioned medical emergency. Thank you. That is all." She turned off her omnitool and looked deep into Slade's eyes.

"Slade Jordan", she said in a very serious tone which scared Slade. "I want you to tell me everything about your life. Everything. Especially everything that has occurred over the past fifteen years while you were not seeing a doctor. I already know this is going to be difficult for you and I understand completely. This is not a command. I am not forcing you to tell me anything. However, I am still the doctor in charge of you and you will not be permitted to leave this medbay until you tell me what I wish to know. If you need food or water I will have it brought to you. Bathroom breaks will be at your leisure but there is a bathroom in this medbay and you will not be leaving. You may begin when you are ready." Karin stopped talking and just looked at him. Slade knew she was serious, he really was not going anywhere until she got what she wanted.

"Why are you doing this?" Slade questioned with a slight hint of betrayal. He thought she was going to help him, instead she began an interrogation.

"Because, Slade", Karin replied in a motherly, nurturing tone. "I suspect you have deep, deep emotional and psychological trauma. As your doctor, I CANNOT ignore this. It might be difficult, but you must tell me what I want to know. I would not give you such an ultimatum if I saw another option." she then reached forward and held his hand. Slade recoiled at the physical contact. Every single nerve in his body seemed to be on fire. Nobody had ever given him such a nurturing form of physical contact since his mother died. It had been so long since he had experienced anything like this that Slade did not know how to react, other than attempt to push Karin's hand away and try to break her grip. Slade could not explain to himself why his brain was going haywire and he seemed to hyperventilate, but the sudden physical contact was causing him to slowly go insane and he had no idea why. Slade curled his other hand into a fist and prepared to punch Karin. He knew for a fact he would regret it - she had been nothing but kind and sympathetic towards him - but he would find a way to apologize. As Slade raised his fist he abruptly stopped and realized Karin's eyes had filled with water, and she was on the brink of fresh tears. He immediately lowered his fist and prepared a barrage of apologies. The hurricane of confusion, anxiety and indescribable fury swirling inside his head suddenly didn't matter to him anymore, but Karin spoke first.

"I am so very sorry, Slade", Karin's voice was starting to break and became slightly hoarse. "But I needed a way to prove just how badly you needed help. Your reaction to physical contact, intimate or otherwise, just solidifies my suspicions that you have overwhelming mental trauma. Please, Slade. Please let me help you. Just talk to me. That's all you need to do. I know you will not believe me, but I do care about you and I do want to help you."

Slade looked down at this trembling hand, which was still encased by Karin's gloved hand. She reminded him of his mother, which was a first; nobody - not once - had ever reminded him of his mother. Slade did not know what came over him, but he could not help himself from trusting her and immediately began blurting out his entire life's story: The day he and his parents found out he was a biotic, the day his father abandoned the family, the day his mother took her own life, the years of abuse he endured from the colony, and every single other painful moment he forced himself to relive. When Slade was finally finished, he was drenched in sweat and shaking to the point where his bodily tremors actually exhausted him. Karin had not released his hand through the entire narrative, and he could see he had soaked her glove with his sweat.

"I'm sorry" Slade said as he finally broke Karin's grip. "I didn't mean to get your glove all-

"Slade Jordan", Karin sobbed through a broken voice. "Don't you dare apologize to me for such a trivial thing. You're the last person in this galaxy who would owe an apology." Slade finally looked up at Karin to see her crying. He immediately felt a pang of guilt.

"Ignore me", Karin said as she looked away and wiped her face with her sleeve. "A medical professional is not supposed to lose control like this. It is unacceptable. Please do not tell anyone about this." She laughed quietly to herself and Slade could not help but smile. Karin composed herself and once again became the prim and proper doctor Slade had met when he awoke in the medbay.

"Thank you", she said. "I know that was not easy for you, but the healing process may only begin after you take the first step, which you just did. Alright, allow me to explain the situation Slade. First and foremost, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with your biotic potential. I do not care what your entire colony had to say on the matter, but you are not there anymore. You are here with the Alliance and not one soul aboard this ship, or anywhere else in Alliance space, shall abuse you whatsoever. Secondly, Captain Anderson has commanded that you are to remain on this ship until a superior officer says otherwise. He has also left your care to my discretion, and it is a responsibility I take VERY seriously. You WILL be cared for here Slade, do not worry. Lastly, your current physical and mental health is our first primary concern and we shall begin with the physical rehabilitation, while I find the most comforting way to begin mental rehabilitation. As your doctor, I recommend a mild sedative so you may rest unhindered and we will resume once you have awoken. Do you have any objections thus far?" Slade shook his head, he now fully trusted the woman in front of him and was content with allowing her to make the decisions.

"Very well", Karin said. "Please lie back down while I administer the sedative. It will not hurt." Slade obeyed the Doctor's command and gently lowered himself back onto the cot.

She cares about me. I've completely forgotten what it feels like to know someone cares about me.

A wave of panic surged through Slade and he snapped back into an upright position, causing Karin to abruptly jump in her spot and immediately grab Slade's hand again.

"Slade?!" Karin demanded. "Is something wrong?" Slade almost did not give her time to finish her question before he interrupted.

"I had a backpack with me", he stated. "Where is it?" Karin seemed to noticeably calm down.

"It's just over there Slade", Karin said as she pointed to the corner below the opposite side of the cot. Slade quickly glanced over to make sure it was really there, and sure enough it was.

"Nobody opened it", Karin reassured. "It was just scanned for any hazards before it was brought on board." Slade also calmed down and laid back down, allowing Karin to finish administering the sedative. He did not remember losing consciousness.