Shepard's eyes opened to the sight of Normandy's Medical Bay. The doctor was nowhere to be seen but he did notice Ashley sleeping in a chair next to his bed. The sight made him think back to when he first came into contact with the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime. He was knocked out and later woke up to see Ashley next to him then too. Shortly after the Reaper War began, a Cerberus synthetic wounded Ashley and Shepard found himself sitting by her side at Huerta Memorial Hospital on the Citadel. Shepard thought to himself that what was going on between him and Ashley was definitely love. Anytime one of them was wounded, the other would come to their side. Seeing that she was within arm's reach, Shepard reached over and gently shook her. This caused Ashley to slowly wake up.

"Hey there beautiful," Shepard said, "oh wait that's what you're supposed to say to me isn't it?"

"Shepard," Ashley said as she got up and gave Shepard a hug, "you feeling okay?"

"I think so but I'll leave that for Dr. Chakwas to decide," Shepard said, "can you call her in here please?"

"You got it skipper."

A little later, Ashley returned with Dr. Karin Chakwas, medical officer of the Normandy. After giving him a quick check-up, she determined that he was going to be fine despite the wounds he received and having been unconscious for two days. Just like Shepard, she believed that his recovery was nothing short of a miracle. While the two ladies were happy with Shepard's recovery, they couldn't help but notice Shepard's face started to show signs of sadness.

"Is something wrong Shepard?" Chakwas asked.

"Anderson…," was all Shepard could say.

Ashley and Chakwas' faces fell. While Shepard was able to stop the Illusive Man, he was unable to do it before the Illusive Man used his abilities that the Reapers gave him to make Shepard fatally shoot his mentor and friend Admiral David Anderson.

"I'm sorry Shepard," Ashley said, "Anderson was a great man. A lot of the crew here knew him well. I didn't see a single face without tears when we told them. We did find him and brought him back with us. We will make sure that he gets a proper funeral."

Shepard smiled and nodded to show his appreciation for what Ashley said. It was then he remembered something else. He somberly looked up towards the intercom.

"EDI?" he said softly.

The only response he got from the intercom was silence. He bowed his head and silently cursed to himself. He wanted to believe that the Catalyst was bluffing and that it was only going to be the Reapers the Crucible destroyed. The fact that EDI didn't answer his call confirmed that the Catalyst was indeed telling the truth.

Shepard then noticed that Ashley and Chakwas were looking at him with confusion. He quickly realized why. While Ashley and Chakwas had been on the Normandy when EDI died, Shepard wasn't so they had every reason to be confused as to how he knew what happened to her.

"Yes I know EDI's dead," he said, "it's a long story and I promise I'll tell it later. First tell me how Joker's doing."

Shepard was referring to the Normandy's pilot Flight Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau. Joker and EDI had begun a romantic relationship during the Reaper War. Part of it was thanks to a little encouragement from Shepard. That made it all the more difficult when Shepard thought about how he was now partially responsible for her death and how Joker was taking it.

Chakwas sighed, "Jeff hasn't been taking her death well. He's been angrily crying out for an explanation for how come no one knew the Crucible would affect all synthetics. Garrus is with him right now."

"Okay. I'll talk to him when I'm a little better."

"Shepard," Chakwas continued, "I realize that this might not be the best time but Admiral Hackett is waiting outside to speak with you."

"Hackett?!" Shepard said surprised. "What's he doing on the Normandy?"

"He said he wanted to give the war debrief to you in person when you woke up," Ashley answered, "no matter how long it took. He's been coordinating rescue and reconstruction efforts from here while he waited."

"All right, send him in Doctor."

Admiral Steven Hackett, commanding officer of the Alliance Navy, entered as soon as Chakwas called for him. Chakwas and Ashley left the med bay so Shepard and Hackett could talk alone. Shepard greeted him with a salute to which Hackett saluted back. After a quick handshake, Hackett took a seat across from Shepard.

"Well you may not look like you're in the best of shape but it is damn good to see you alive and well son," Hackett said, "you'll be happy to know that the Crucible worked. There is not one Reaper still alive out there. The war is over."

"That's good to hear sir," Shepard said though there was still some sadness in his voice, "we still suffered a lot of losses though."

"That we did. Hammer team was nearly decimated trying to get to the Citadel beam. You and Anderson were the only ones who made it before it got so bad we had to pull the rest of the team out. We also discovered after you fired the Crucible that it didn't just affect the Reapers."

"I know sir. It wiped out all synthetic life."

Shepard's response surprised Hackett, "how do you know that? Did the doctor or Commander Williams tell you?"

Shepard then explained to Hackett everything that happened while he was on the Citadel in the moments before the Crucible was fired. As he went on, Hackett just sat and listened with a look of deep thought. When Shepard had finished, Hackett quietly sat for a minute pondering everything he had heard before finally speaking.

"Shepard I don't know how you managed to make a choice like that."

"It wasn't easy for me to make sir but I just couldn't force synthesis on the galaxy nor did I trust myself to control the Reapers."

Hackett held up his hand, "You don't have to defend your choice to me Shepard. I have the upmost confidence that you made the right choice."

"Believe me sir I'm glad that the war is over but between being responsible for the death of all synthetics and losing Anderson it's hard to feel happy about it."

"I understand Shepard. No war was ever won without sacrifices. I know this might not make you feel better but you can't blame yourself for what happened to the geth…and EDI. You had a tough choice to make but you did what you believed to be right. Unfortunately the right choice isn't always the easiest one."

"Yes sir."

"Well," Hackett said getting up from his chair, "that's all I needed to talk to you about. You just concentrate on getting well Captain."

"Thank you sir," Shepard said, "I'll try my best to….wait. Did you say captain sir?"

"Yes I did. I guess I forgot to tell you. You've been promoted. You've been regarded as the Normandy's captain for some time now. I decided it was time to make it official. Congratulations Captain Shepard."

Shepard saluted, "Thank you sir."

After saluting back, Hackett walked out of the med bay. Shepard fell back into his bed. For the first time since the final battle against the Reapers began, he was actually starting to feel happy and relieved. He was now a captain. True it meant that he was more than likely not going to be in the field much anymore. However the more he thought about it, it might have been for the best. He had saved the galaxy three times now and died once during the process. If it wasn't for the Lazarus Project Cerberus conducted he wouldn't have been alive now. This might be the best time for him to get out of the game. Besides he could still be a great leader even if he wasn't in the field. And if he ever missed the action, his Spectre status meant he would still be able to go on missions for the Council. As long as he could continue to be the captain of the Normandy that would be all he needed.

Or was it?