Disclaimer: The wonderful world of Mass Effect isn't mine…blah, blah, blah…you all get it.

***A/N: Here's part two, dear readers! This is a big one for me, since it is one of the first scenes I came up with when I was writing out the storyline for this fic! I am truly thankful to everyone who has given this story a read, left a review or critique, or added it to their favourites – it's all help spur me onward! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! – Fallon.

Chapter Twenty-One

"So it's true, when all is said and done, grief is the price we pay for love." – E.A. Bucchianeri

Eira thought she knew what pain was.

When she was eleven, she'd broken her arm badly while training. The bone had pushed through the skin and she had screamed and sobbed until a tech injected her with something and her entire body had gone numb.

But when the thresher maw's acid struck her, splattering across her back and grazing the tender flesh of her neck and cheek, Eira knew she had been wrong.

She'd never imagined pain the likes of what was ripping through her body was possible.

And she found herself praying for the tech with the syringe would step onto the battlefield and make it all go away.

But he didn't appear and it didn't go away.

There was only the dry Tuchunka dirt under her fingers, the far-off cry of the Thresher Maw as it retreated into the earth, and the sickening scent of her burning flesh overloading her senses with each sharp, shallow breath she managed to draw in.

Spread out on the ground on her stomach, Eira's body twitched of its own accord, each tiny movement reigniting the agony that engulfed her. It was as if she'd been hit by the rays of the sun itself. The burning, searing pain blanketed her; its weight enough to keep her pressed to the ground.

She wanted out of her body, away from the pain.

Digging her fingers into the earth, Eira screamed until her throat was raw.

A dozen feet from where Eira lay, Shepard groaned as he heaved himself upward, confused as to what had happened until the heart-stopping sound of her screams tore through the proving grounds and overpowered the ringing in his head.

His heart stilled as the reality of her actions sunk in.

She…she took the fucking hit…

Shepard screamed her name as he threw down his rifle and scrambled to get to her.

No…please, Gods, no…not her…

He was nearly at her side when gunfire forced him back and he dove for cover.

"What the fu –

"Uvenk!" Grunt shouted from behind a fallen pillar as he cocked his shotgun, "Coward brought his krantt!"

Shepard's gaze shot back to Eira, whose screams had turned into pained whimpers.

She was completely vulnerable.

And he couldn't leave her like that.

"Cover me!" Shepard yelled, trusting Grunt to have his back as he emerged from cover long enough to grab Eira by her wrist and drag her behind the rubble with him.

The sudden movement tore a strangled sob from the wounded biotic that made him hate himself even more.

"Hang on, Eira," he hissed, "hang in there."

Once he was sure she was safely shielded from gunfire, Shepard pressed his hand to her forehead, brushing her hair from her face. She was pale and motionless, but a weak fluttering of her eyes told him she was still alive.

"Don't you dare fucking die," he pleaded, spinning on his heels and opening fire on the approaching krantt.

Uvenk raised his shotgun and laughed as he fired a shot that hit spot Eira had been in not a moment earlier.

The raging krogan ranted and raved as he progressed closer and closer to where Grunt and Shepard were hunkered down.

A well timed shot from Grunt took down one charging krogan, knocking him on his ass. Shepard fired off a shot that took the legs out from under another, then retreated back behind the debris and reached for his communicator.

"Shepard to Normandy, Shepard to Normandy," he yelled as a hail of bullets began raining down on them, "Request immediate evac, repeat, request immediate extraction – Eira's down!"

He picked up his rifle and squeezed of a shot, taking out another of Uvenk's goons.

"Joker, get your crippled ass down here right now!" Shepard screamed into the communicator when no one gave any reply, "Eira's dying!"

He vaguely registered Joker's panicked response. He was too wrapped up in his own words as they echoed in his mind.

Eira really was dying.

It suddenly felt as though unseen hands were squeezing tightly around his neck. The thought of losing her…

Pissed off and afraid, Shepard picked off the approaching krogan, screaming as he fired each shot. Grunt gave a mighty growl and charged forward; taking advantage of the path Shepard had cleared, and tackled Uvenk to the ground.

The sound of Grunt's killing shot was drowned out by the shuttle's approach. Shepard gave a heavy sigh of relief and made for Eira as the shuttle circled above, cautiously descending to the clearing nearby.

Kneeling at Eira's side, the only sign of life came from the violent trembling of her hands. He knew that regardless of how he picked her up she was going to be in pain. So, bracing himself for her cries, he hoisted her limp body up and over his shoulder. Eira gave a long whine but otherwise gave no protest to being manhandled.

Being so close to her, the scent of her charred flesh was nearly overpowering and he had to take a steadying breath to quell the sudden urge to vomit.

"I've got you, Eira, hang in just a little longer, please."

Grunt had yelled for him to go on without him, opting to stay with the shaman and Wrex's men for the time being. Shepard hardly heard him though. The moment he had her on the shuttle he shouted for Joker to get them back to the ship. The startled helmsman nodded and hurried to get them off planet.

Shepard laid Eira down as gently as he could but his heart immediately plummeted when he realized she wasn't moving at all. Disregarding her injuries, he rolled her over onto her back and brushed the hair from her face. Her eyes were closed and her lips had a blue tint to them.

"No…no, no, no," Shepard slapped her cheek, "Wake up!"

"Commander?" Joker spoke up from the front of the shuttle.

"She's not breathing!" Shepard said in a voice laced with desperation, "Joker, you get us there now!"

He began frantically tearing off the tattered remains of Eira's armor as he straddled her hips. Once he got to the thin layer of under armor, he began compressions.

Each time he pressed down he pleaded with her; begging her to come back.

He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, forcing his breath into her before redoubling his efforts with the compressions.

"Wake up!"

One of Eira's ribs cracked.

"Eira!"

Another snapped.

"Please!"

Eira convulsed under him as she coughed, her eyes fluttering open. Once awareness returned to her, her eyes opened wide and she arched her back as she sobbed.

He eased himself off of her but stayed close so she could still see him and know she wasn't alone.

Fighting back tears, Shepard comforted her as best he could.

He hushed her, running a gentle hand across her cheek as she pawed at him. It was then he noticed that some of the maw's acid had struck her neck and cheek as well, leaving angry red burns. Small circular burns marred the left side of her face almost like freckles. Her neck was dark red and already pustules were forming. Dead skin had begun sloughing off, leaving the entire area raw.

"Eira…" He whispered, awestruck by the damage he was seeing.

Her eyes started to close.

"Stay awake!" He exclaimed in a gasp, "Look at me; keep your eyes on me!"

Her body twitched and trembled as shock wracked her body.

"Please, Eira!"

Her eyes closed.

Shepard stood completely still outside of the med bay completely lost in thought. A few members of the crew had tried to get him to rest or at least change from his armor but he ignored all of them.

He wasn't going anywhere until he knew Eira was going to make it.

Chakwas had met them in the loading bay and immediately rushed Eira to the med bay while Joker plotted course to the Citadel.

It was bad.

That was all Chakwas had said as they'd rushed her through the Normandy.

He began pacing; oblivious to the concerned glanced from his team.

Garrus had been first to arrive and the others had followed it quick succession as news spread. Kasumi sat quietly on the mess hall counter, while Gabby and Kenneth sat somber at a nearby table. Even Grunt, who had returned with the primary shuttle, was silent. Miranda had made an appearance but hadn't lingered, retreating to her office when the tension became too much.

Garrus had tried to speak to Shepard but nothing he said garnered a response from the commander. So he kept to the sidelines, watching Shepard pace like a caged animal in front of the med bay doors and waited.

After what felt like an eternity, the med bay doors opened and a flustered looking Chakwas beckoned Shepard inside.

Shepard bolted past the doctor without saying a word but stopped in his tracks the moment he registered the sight before him.

Eira lay strapped to a gurney on her stomach, naked from the waist up. She was struggling weakly against her restraints, sobbing as she bucked and writhed on the cot. She'd been hooked up to an oxygen mask and had a dozen or so IVs in her arms.

A terrified looking attendant was standing nearby, clearly overwhelmed as she scanned the monitors Eira was hooked up to.

"We have to flush her wounds," Chakwas said as she moved to Eira, tugging a fresh pair of gloves on, "I need you to keep her calm; she'll not have a chance if we don't clean this mess!"

Shepard nodded mutely and approached Eira. He saw for the first time the full extent of the damage inflicted upon her and his blood ran cold. The burn dominated the left side of her back from her neck to the curve of her waist. Her skin was twisted and covered in welts, making it a far nastier sight than the damage to her neck. It was clear this was where the maw's acid had struck her.

"Without her armor it'd have been much worse," Chakwas said as she readied her needles, "if she struggles too much I need you to help hold her down, Commander. It's vital we get her wounds cleaned."

He swallowed hard, "Understood."

The moment the liquid from the syringe hit her raw skin; Eira let out a pained wail and bucked against her restraints.

Shepard grabbed her hand and squeezed.

"Eira…"

She began sobbing.

"I'm here, Eira," Shepard said weakly, unsure of what he could possibly say to bring her any comfort.

After a violent fit when Chakwas tended to a particularly nasty spot on Eira's hip, the biotic went limp and merely twitched and groaned as the doctor worked. Shepard knew she was still feeling the pain despite the medication Chakwas had pumped her full of; she'd merely run out of energy to fight.

Chakwas worked methodically, taking great pains to ensure she didn't miss a single grain of sand or debris. A thin remnant of Eira's armor had fused into her skin across her shoulder and took increasing Eira's medication and a tremendous amount of cutting and prying on Chakwas's part to free it from her flesh.

Though Eira had stopped struggling, Shepard stayed. He allowed her to squeeze his hand and tenderly toying with her hair with his free hand as he watched her face.

Chakwas finished over an hour later, applying the last of the bandages and giving Eira more antibiotics through her IV.

"You did it," he said warmly, "you did so well, Eira."

He let go of her hand long enough to adjust the blanket so that it covered her a bit better.

"It's all right," Shepard soothed, "you can rest now."

"You might take your own advice, Commander," Chakwas said as the exhausted biotic finally drifted off, "She's stabilized; right now all she can do is sleep until we reach the Citadel."

Shepard dismissed the idea without hesitation.

"I'll stay here, thanks."

Chakwas sighed, "You haven't even changed from your hardsuit, Commander. Please get some rest; Eira wouldn't want you doing this to yourself."

He shook his head.

"Commander –

"She pushed me out of the way," he blurted, his gaze not leaving Eira, "I froze and she pushed me out of the way…"

Startled by his abrupt confession, Chakwas said nothing at first. She knew Eira was fond of him of course, anyone with eyes could see that. But to take such a risk and endure such pain…that went beyond mere fondness. She didn't think it wise to bring that to his attention at the moment, not when he was so distraught.

"Commander –

"She can't die," Shepard muttered under his breath, shaking his head, "Doc, she can't…"

"Hush," Chakwas touched his shoulder, "Eira is alive, Commander. We'll soon have her at the Citadel. The doctors there will be able to do what I can't here."

When Shepard said nothing, Chakwas sent a crewmember who had been loitering in the mess hall to the commander's cabin to fetch a fresh change of clothes for him.

As she waited for the boy to return, she turned to Shepard and began removing his armor a piece at a time as she checked him for injuries. Shepard protested but a stern look from the doctor was all it took to get him to comply.

She was cleaning a wound she'd found on his shoulder when the crewmember returned, depositing the clothes on the counter before scurrying from the med bay.

When she was sure she hadn't missed anything, she dampened a cloth from the sink and began cleaning the dirt and blood from Shepard's face.

"You've made quite the mess of yourself, Commander," She chided as she wrung out the cloth and began applying an ointment the superficial cuts on his face and his split lip.

He shrugged and gazed past her to where Eira lay sleeping.

"It'd be a lot worse if not for her…"

"You said you froze," Chakwas said, hesitating only briefly before the words left her, "What made you freeze?"

Shepard took a deep, shaky breath.

"Akuze."

Curious, Chakwas's brow arched and she searched his face for understanding.

"The maw," Shepard said quietly, shame thick in his voice, "I saw it and I wasn't on Tuchunka anymore…"

"You nearly died on Akuze," Chakwas said, "it's understandable that seeing a thresher maw again brought back painful memories."

Shepard shook his head. He wanted to sob, to cry out and scream until the nightmare he was in ended.

He pointed to Eira, "I should be there, not her!"

"She made the choice to take that hit, Commander," she said gently, "perhaps you need to ask yourself why she made that choice?"

Shepard watched her as she slept.

The med bay was quite save Eira's slow, shallow breaths and the rhythmic beeping of the monitors she was hooked up to. The lights had been dimmed in an effort to help Eira get what sleep she could, but even with drugs the pain tormented her.

When her brow furrowed and her body tensed, he knew it was bad and he'd hold her hand or toy with a strand of her hair, twirling it between his fingers until she relaxed.

He was playing with her hair when her eyes opened.

Shepard smiled, "Hi."

Eira tried batting the oxygen mask from her mouth but failed miserably.

He hesitated, not really wanting to deprive her of it, but helped her move it aside after a second failed attempt.

She licked her lips and tried speaking, but managed only a wheeze.

"Hey, it's all right," he said, seeing her frustration, "you don't have to say anything."

Eira swallowed hard but said nothing, her far-off gaze fixed on him.

Leaving her hair alone, he squeezed her hand.

"We're nearly at the Citadel," he said quietly, "Chakwas sent word ahead; doctors are going to meet us the second we dock."

Eira hummed.

"You're going to be all right," he said, more to himself than her, "they're going to help you get better…"

She weakly squeezed his hand and sighed.

"A-Are…you…all right?" She said in a weak, whisper of a voice.

Utterly astonished by question, Shepard stammered over his words. She'd been burned by thresher maw acid…and she was asking him if he was okay.

Her question made him hate himself even more.

He didn't deserve to be pushed out of the maw's path.

And he certainly didn't deserve her.

"I…I'm fine," he said solemnly, "only because of you…"

"I…couldn't l-let it get you," she said, struggling to keep her eyes open, "I c-couldn't…"

"Eira –

"W-What's wrong…with m-me?" she breathed, her lip quivering, "I'm not a child…"

He felt open and exposed under her gaze and his previous insistence at pushing her away was far from his mind. The fear remained though, rendering him silent.

He just wanted to hold her and cry and it pissed him off.

Eira sighed, "You're an idiot."

"Can't argue with you there," he said a heavy sigh.

Eira slowly closed her eyes, "M-My big, brave, beautiful idiot…"

Shepard smirked, "Eira, I…"

She took a deep breath and relaxed into the cot and he realized she'd dozed off.

He placed the oxygen mask back over her mouth and returned to toying with her hair as he mulled over what she'd said.

Exhaustion, pain, and potent pain killers all combined to leave her delirious. That he knew. Still, the weight of her words was real.

He really was an idiot.

The doctors met them at the dock just as Chakwas said they would.

Eira was still sleeping as they prepped her for transport and Shepard stayed close the entire time. When it came time to pass her off into their care, he found himself clutching the rail of the gurney, not wanting her to be from his sight.

"She's going to be in good hands, Commander," Chakwas said gently, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You trust them?" He whispered, not taking his eyes from Eira.

"Yes," she said without hesitation, "they'll be feeding us updates on her condition. You're not going to be completely in the dark."

"But I won't be here," he countered, "with her…"

"No…"

Shepard nodded. There was nothing he could do to change that. He couldn't remain idle on the Citadel while Eira underwent treatment, not with the threat of the Reapers looming over them.

But that didn't make the prospect of leaving her any easier.

If she dies…

His throat tightened as tears threatened to fall.

No.

He forced himself to let go of the gurney and ran his fingers through her hair.

I'm going to see her again…I'm going to make this right…somehow…

***A/N: I'm so excited to get into the next chunk of chapters! While things seem a little hopeful at the end here, expect more angst! Everything is going to change for Eira after this and it's certainly not going to be easy for her or Shepard! Thank you all so much for reading!