The cab pulled up to the Tower and both Elissa and Joker slumped into the seat more as they got closer and closer, they could see the crowd of their friends waiting for them, no one looked happy from what Elissa could tell.
"Think we can make a run for it?" asked Joker, pulling his cap further down how face.
"Not a chance," sighed Elissa, "Kaidan could use his biotics to pick us up and drag us back, there's no getting out of this."
"Damn," grumbled Joker as the cab came to a halt and the door flung open.
"Where the fuck have you two been?!" shouted Kaidan, he managed to move so Elissa and Joker could exit the cab but soon he was back in both of their faces. "You were supposed to be on the ship! We have been searching the whole Citadel looking for you two!"
"You obviously didn't search the entire Citadel, otherwise you would have found us," muttered Joker, his arms crossed.
"Don't get me started with you, Flight Lieutenant!" snapped Kaidan, turning his full attention on Joker, "What do you think you were doing, sneaking off with my fiancee?"
"Gee, I don't know," said Joker, his tone snarky, "I was thinking she needed a friend by her side since her fiance was off trying to nail a waitress!"
Joker suddenly felt his body moving involuntarily, he was being pushed out of the way of something, luckily for him Jacob was there to catch him before he fell to the ground then he heard shouts and a thud. When he stood back up he turned around and saw to his horror Elissa on the ground, Kaidan's glowing fist hovering in the air, and the rest of the crew looking on with faces of disgust and dismay. The next few seconds seemed to move in slow motion, James tackled Kaidan with Jacob and Garrus helping to hold him down, Tali, Liara, and Hannah rushed to Elissa's still form and Joker could feel himself falling to his knees beside her body. Carefully, he pulled her upper half into his lap and held her, stroking the stray hairs out of her face when he glanced at his fingertips he saw the unmistakable color of blood.
He pressed the palm of his hand against her wound, 'Keep pressure on any open wound, don't let up, not until bandages or stitches can be applied' Joker thought, remembering his field training class from his early days during Alliance basic training. Even with just his palm on the wound he could tell it was not a deep cut, though he was worried that she might have a concussion or maybe broken ribs, her breathing was ragged enough for that possibility to be very real. Joker looked down at her, he could see her eyes moving underneath her eyelids so he knew she was still conscious to a point, now all he wanted was for her to open them so he would know for sure she was alright.
"Joker, we have to move her," said Liara, putting her hand on his shoulder, "Jeff, we have to get her to Chakwas, she needs immediate attention."
Joker could hear her voice but could not register the words, he felt almost in a dreamlike state and could not be reached at the moment, he sat there just looking at her, praying that her beautiful green eyes would be looking back up at him anytime now.
"Joker," said Hannah, using his chin to direct his face towards hers, he could see the anger and worry in her crystal blue eyes, "she needs medical help, you need to help her."
Joker nodded, then as carefully as he could he supported her neck and shoulders then placed his other arm underneath her legs and stood, cradling her in his arms as he walked with Liara and Hannah to the cab that had yet to leave. Gently he eased himself and Elissa into the back seat, still holding her, as Liara sat next to him and Hannah sat in the front seat directing the driver to C-Sec Academy. Joker looked out of the window as the cab slowly started to pull away from the curb, James was beating the crap out of Kaidan, Garrus and Jacob were trying to hold him back but failing miserably. Inwardly, Joker was smiling at the sight of the mighty Kaidan Alenko getting his biotic ass handed to him by James, then he looked down at Elissa and even that smile faded.
"Why would you do that?" Joker whispered, his forehead pressed against hers, "That was so stupid Ellie, incredible, but stupid."
"Thanks," croaked Elissa as she opened her eyes, "it's been a while since I've done something stupid."
Joker could feel his heart leap in his chest at the sound of her voice, "How are you feeling?"
"Like I just got headbutted by Wrex," groaned Elissa attempting to sit up but stopped when she felt a sharp pain in her chest, taking her breath away, she resettled herself against Joker who was more than happy to be her chair.
"Broken ribs?" asked Joker, stroking her hair.
"Sure as hell feels like it," said Elissa, her breath hitching as she inhaled. She was tired and desperately wanted to fall asleep, but every time she would close her eyes, she felt a small pinch on her hip which would wake her back up. Eyeing Joker suspiciously, he merely smiled at her before staring forward at the windshield of the cab.
"We'll be at the Normandy in a few minutes," said Hannah from the front seat, "then Karin can take a closer look at you."
"You know Doc?" asked Joker, still stroking Elissa's hair.
"Yes, I was at her wedding, she married a mechanic friend of mine," said Hannah, looking at her daughter, furious that she had been hurt, "Major Alenko had best hope I don't get my hands on him after what he's done."
"What are you thinking of doing to him, if you get the chance?" asked Joker unable to keep the glee out of his voice.
"Removing his L2 implants by hand," muttered Hannah darkly, her eyes shinning with malice, "Migraines are the least of his problems right now."
"Mom, don't," said Elissa wearily, she was messing with the buttons on Joker's shirt, trying to distract herself from the throbbing pain in her skull.
Hannah rolled her eyes and faced forward again just as they were coming to a stop outside of the elevator that would take them to the docking bay. Liara got out of the cab first, Joker followed with Elissa still in his arms being extremely careful not to hit her head or move her abdomen too much in the process. They followed Hannah into the elevator and patiently waited as they ascended to the docking bay, no one speaking, all listening to Elissa's ragged breathing. When the elevator doors opened Joker was the first out, bypassing Hannah and Liara, he wanted Elissa safely on the Normandy with Chakwas before Kaidan arrived and all hell broke loose. Fortunately, Liara had radioed ahead to Chakwas that they were coming and to stand by for their arrival, when the doors of the Normandy opened Chakwas was already standing there waiting with a hover stretcher.
"Joker, place her on the stretcher," directed Chakwas, he could sense she was not in the mood for any lip from him so he obeyed and gingerly placed Elissa on the stretcher. Then she and Liara each took an end of the stretcher and were off to the medbay, leaving Joker and Hannah standing in the CIC.
"And now we wait," sighed Hannah, slumping to the floor, her back against the cool metal wall.
"I hate the waiting," said Joker and he joined her on the floor despite his body's protests.
"Does Chakwas need to take a look at you?" asked Hannah when she saw him wince as he sat down.
"Nah, just a bit sore from that shove," said Joker, rubbing his shoulder, "What exactly did she do? I mean, I know she pushed me but why exactly?" Actually he did know, but he wanted Hannah to talk, she was starting to shut down like Elissa did whenever something went wrong or she lost a friend. Talking was the only way to delay that enough that sometimes she did not shut down completely and he had learned quickly when it would work and when it would not.
"Major Alenko was going to punch you," said Hannah, running her fingers through her hair, "his hand was glowing blue and Elissa saw it before he made contact with you, so she pushed you away, getting hit by him in the process."
"Son of a bitch," grumbled Joker, he really wanted to destroy Kaidan for what he had done and attempted to do, but right now his mind was on Elissa and the fact she had saved his ass for once instead of it being the other way around. He could feel the ever present knot of guilt in his stomach tighten, 'Another thing to add to the list,' thought Joker, not only had he been responsible for her death, now he was the reason her fiance had nearly broken her skull on the pavement.
"Do you think she's safe with him?" asked Hannah quietly.
Joker looked at Hannah, she and Elissa both possessed the uncanny ability to present themselves to everyone around them as fearless warriors when faced with unparalleled danger, he had seen them both show that look. Right now though she was not Admiral Shepard, she was Hannah Shepard a concerned mother, and Joker could see the love she held for her daughter and the fear that the same daughter she loved was going to be harmed by someone she thought she could trust.
"The better question is, is he safe with her?" said Joker, trying to lighten the mood, Hannah smiled giving a halfhearted laugh in the process.
"You have a point," said Hannah, giving him a small smile, "In all seriousness though, what do you think, can she be safe with him around?"
"I think so," said Joker, trying to sound convincing, not only for her sake but for his as well, "Ellie's always been able to handle him, although, I for one don't want to be left alone with him from now on."
"I'll make sure to slide a pistol into the cockpit for you," said Hannah grinning, eliciting a smile from him in return.
"Think he'll be dumb enough to try anything when he gets back?" asked Joker, mildly concerned for his own safety.
"I don't think so," said Hannah patting his arm in reassurance, "if he does though, there's a ship full of people eager to take his ass out, like James was doing earlier."
"Talk about wounded pride," laughed Joker, "One of the most powerful biotics on Earth getting the crab beat out of him by an ordinary soldier."
"Vega's N7, I don't think he's ordinary," reminded Hannah.
"You know what I mean," scoffed Joker, moving his hand in a brushing motion, "he doesn't have any biotics nor is he an alien so he's just a regular guy that happens to be the size of two full grown adult males."
"Point taken," laughed Hannah and Joker joined in with her, it felt good to laugh after what had happened. Joker heard footsteps walking up on them and when he turned his mouth fell open in surprise.
"Kasumi!" shouted Joker, standing up, Hannah helping him stand and then he hugged Kasumi, glad to see another familiar face.
"Hey, Joker," said Kasumi, releasing him and smiling, "How's Shep doing?"
"Right to the point as always," sighed Joker, shaking his head, smiling, "She's not doing great, to be honest, right now she's in the medbay. She saved my ass and is reaping the rewards."
Kasumi clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp, "What happened?"
"My charming son-in-law-to-be decided to use his biotics to try and beat the crap out of Joker," said Hannah, also standing, "Elissa saw it coming and pushed him out of the way, taking the punch that was meant for him. I'm her mother by the way, Hannah Shepard, nice to meet you, Kasumi." She extended her hand to Kasumi who shook it eagerly.
"That's Shep for you," said Kasumi, "Is she going to be alright?"
"She's going to be perfectly fine," said Chakwas, coming up behind the trio.
Joker could feel relief wash over him, he was glad Elissa would be alright, he saw the same feeling in the faces of Hannah and Kasumi.
"How bad was the damage?" asked Hannah.
"She had a cut on her head," started Chakwas, looking at the data pad in her hand, "and three broken ribs, though nothing was punctured, she's very lucky that was all."
"Everything was treatable then?" asked Kasumi, and Chakwas nodded.
"Yes," said Chakwas, "we put medi-gel on her cut, also on her bruises, and I've given her a couple of pain killers for her broken ribs."
"Can we see her?" asked Hannah looking hopeful.
"Of course," said Chakwas, smiling and Hannah dashed off to the medbay with Kasumi hot on her tail, Joker was about to do the same when Chakwas put her hand on his chest.
"I heard what happened," said Chakwas quietly, and she hugged him carefully, "I'm glad you're alright."
"Thanks," said Joker dejected, "I wish she hadn't gotten hurt though."
"Jeff," said Chakwas, smiling, "you're her dearest friend, she wouldn't let anything happen to you, haven't you figured that out yet?"
"Guess not," chuckled Jeff, glancing over her shoulder at the path to the medbay. The look did not get lost on Chakwas, who merely rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Yes, you can go see her," said Chakwas, feigning exasperation as he rushed passed her as fast as he could.
Elissa was sitting up in bed, her head no longer throbbing, the pain more of a dull ache as she sat there looking around bored. She was under strict orders from Chakwas to not get out of bed for at least another hour or face sedation, which only increased her impatience as she watched the minutes tick by like hours. She heard the medbay doors glide open, apprehension gripping her, when she looked over she was relieved to see her mother standing there though she thought it was strange her mother had two shadows. Then there was a shimmering wave in the corner as Kasumi emerged from her hiding spot, brightly grinning.
"Hey, Shep," said Kasumi as she sat on the bed next to her best friend.
"Kasumi!" exclaimed Elissa, pulling her into a tight hug, "I thought you were playing Robin Hood on Thessia, what are you doing here?"
"I got a message from Liara," said Kasumi, motioning towards their friend who was leaving, "she said you needed friends around you right now, so I hopped on the fastest moving boat here, I arrived last night."
"I'm sorry I missed your arrival," sighed Elissa, leaning back against the pillows, "Last night pretty much sucked."
"I know, I saw," said Kasumi, a wicked smile on her face, "I was there at the restaurant."
"Were not," scoffed Elissa her tone disbelieving.
"Was so," protested Kasumi, "I got a vid of you and Joker ballroom dancing." She pulled out her vid recorder, searching for the most recent of her many recordings.
"Have you uploaded it to the extranet yet?" asked Elissa as Kasumi handed her the recorder with the vid loaded.
"Not yet, maybe after the trial," said Kasumi also resting herself against the pillows on the bed, "A scandal might not look good on either of you."
"Scandal?" asked Elissa as she watched herself and Joker dancing, she could feel a smile forming across her face, looking at the scene from a bystander's perspective she had an idea of why this might cause a scandal.
Kasumi looked at her and smirked, her friend and former commander was not all that transparent but there were times when someone could see the true Elissa Shepard, and watching her watch the vid was one of those times, "Want a copy?"
"Oh, hell yes," said Elissa handing the recorder back to Kasumi who slipped it away somewhere in her outfit.
"How are you feeling, Jackie?" asked Hannah as she sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes showing a great deal of worry for her daughter.
"I'm feeling fine, Mom," said Elissa, reaching to put a hand on her mother's, "Chakwas really knows how to patch me up, she's been doing it long enough."
"That's an understatement," said Joker as he entered the medbay, he was greeted with the largest smile he had ever seen from Elissa, that eased the knot in his stomach enough for him to approach the bed.
"Kasumi," said Hannah, standing up from the bed, "Why don't we go and have something to drink? I think I saw Rupert making a pot of tea."
"Rupert's still here?" asked Kasumi as she removed herself from Elissa's side.
Joker knew what they were doing, he was not sure whether to be annoyed or amused that they were giving him some privacy with Elissa, he decided to protest a little, "You don't have to go, I was just stopping by."
"It's alright, Joker," said Kasumi, grinning at him, "I want to get to know Hannah better anyhow, she seems to be as fascinating as Shep."
"Kiss ass," muttered Joker and Kasumi playfully bumped his shoulder with her's as she passed by him.
"Should I bring you back anything?" asked Hannah, her eyes shining with mischief.
"No, Hannah," said Joker, giving her a slightly wicked grin back, he definitely knew she was up to something just by the way her eyes gleamed in the light.
"Alright," said Hannah leaving the medbay with Kasumi. Joker shook his head grinning as he watched them leave, then he made sat down on the edge of the bed, his hands clasped in front of him as he thought about what to say.
"Ellie," said Joker, trying to keep his thoughts straight while his hands trembled like mad, "I'm so sorry, this wasn't supposed to happen, I didn't want you to get hurt—"
Elissa placed her fingertip on his lips to silence him, then she smiled beckoning him to sit directly next to her on the bed, he smiled back at her and gingerly he repositioned himself so he was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with her.
"Joker," said Elissa, looking at him full in the face, "I chose to come between you and Kaidan, and I don't regret that in the slightest. Did you honestly think I was going to stand by and watch him beat the crap out of you?"
"No," sighed Joker, casting his eyes down, "but I didn't want you to get caught in the crossfire either."
"It's what I do best," said Elissa, shrugging her shoulders, leaning against him.
"It certainly is," agreed Joker, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and resting against the pillows, he could feel his eyelids getting heavier the coffee certainly had not helped him wake up.
"Jeff," said Elissa, he could hear in her voice that she was also tired, "thank you for always being there for me."
"Anytime, Ellie," yawned Joker as he eagerly welcomed sleep.
"Where are they!?" yelled Kaidan as he entered the Normandy sometime later, his shouts made Joker jump and he could feel Elissa stirring beside him, he could hear Kaidan's footsteps getting closer, his heart was pounding harder with each footfall.
"They're resting!" shouted Chakwas, the anger obvious as she spoke, "I'm not going to allow you to go in there and disturb them."
"Like hell you won't!" roared Kaidan, Joker could feel Elissa tense next to him and he tightened his grip around her shoulders as the medbay doors opened to reveal a very pissed off Major Alenko.
"You, out," commanded Kaidan, pointing at Joker, his anger making it nearly impossible for him to speak. Joker hesitated, he knew if he did not leave he would get a fist to the head plus more, but he did not want to leave Elissa alone not trusting Kaidan's motives.
"Did I stutter, Flight Lieutenant?" asked Kaidan, his face contorting with rage. Joker desperately wanted to mouth off, tell him that he was way out of line, and to get the fuck out of here and off the ship.
"Joker," said Elissa seeming to sense what he was wanting to say, her commander persona falling perfectly back into place, "I'll be fine, you should go run some diagnostics on the Normandy."
He wanted to protest, demand that she should not be left alone, but the look of sheer determination on her face told him that she would be able to handle this situation herself so he eased himself off of the bed. Joker took his time leaving the medbay, when he reached Kaidan he smiled at him just to be a jerk, and could almost feel the rage radiating from the Major as he walked out then the doors shut.
"Ella, what the hell were you thinking?!" shouted Kaidan, trying to keep his anger in check, "Throwing yourself between me and him was just plain stupid?"
"You know," said Elissa calmly, "Joker said the exact same thing, he told me it was incredible but still stupid."
"Why did you do it though?!" asked Kaidan angrily, covering his face with his hands in an attempt to calm himself down as he waited for Elissa's reply.
"I wasn't going to idly stand by and watch you try to kill him," said Elissa her tone sharp and voice raised.
"I wasn't going to kill him," said Kaidan in a defensive tone, "just rough him up a bit."
"Kaidan, your biotics were activated," said Elissa, staring right at him, calling him on his bull shit answer, "You wanted to kill him, you knew that one good hit with the power of your biotics would shatter every bone in his chest, so don't stand there and lie to me."
"Fine, I won't," said Kaidan, "Yeah, I might have wanted to kill him, but what guy wouldn't want to kill his best friend after he slept with his fiancee?"
Elissa was taken aback by his response, "What?"
"I know you slept with him," said Kaidan pointing his finger at her face, "Yep, I know you did, you thought you would get back at me for talking with that waitress. I can't believe you would be such a bitch and do that to me!"
Elissa was furious now, not only had he called her a bitch but he was unjustly accusing her of infidelity, "Listen here, Kaidan, I did not sleep with Joker! Nor would I ever cheat on you as a way to get back at you for talking with some bimbo! How dare you accuse me!"
"You know what," said Kaidan furrowing his brow, closing his eyes, "I think I'm going to leave, let you calm down, then we can talk like rational adults."
"You son of a bitch!" shouted Elissa, "You come in here, accuse me of cheating on you, call me a bitch and now you're saying I am not being rational?!"
Kaidan did not say a word but turned and stormed out of the medbay, leaving Elissa fuming as she rested her head against her pillows, her headache now returning with a vengeance, her breathing becoming shallow.
Joker saw that a small group had formed a few feet from the windows that looked into the medbay, so he joined them hoping he would be able to see Elissa from that distance, incase it all went to hell.
"How's she doing?" asked Garrus who was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, watching Kaidan yelling at Elissa who was taking it without so much as flinching as he got closer to her face.
"Apparently fine," said Joker, joining him against the wall, glancing at the others he saw James with a couple of cuts along his cheeks, Jacob was favoring his left leg, and Tali was repairing a small tear in her armor.
Garrus saw where Joker was looking, "It was harder to keep the Major down than we first thought, we're lucky some C-Sec officers came over, the idea of his little tantrum getting out made him calm down enough to be reasonable."
"Any word from the shrink Shepard and I were supposed to talk with?" asked Joker, flinching slightly at some of the words he heard Kaidan yelling at Elissa.
"Tali went and spoke with him," said Garrus, his mandibles flexing defensively as the word 'bitch' worked its way into Kaidan's rant, "he's coming by here later, you'll both be interviewed separately but under guard, from the outside of course."
"I get my own personal guard?" asked Joker, amused at the idea that he was important enough to have a bodyguard.
"Don't let that you head get bigger than it already is," said Garrus, as if reading his mind, "I'm going to be standing guard, possibly with Vega, but it's just a precaution to make sure no one is feeding you what to say or recording the conversation."
"Then you might want to have a talk with Kasumi," said Joker laughing at the Turian's face in reaction to the new information.
"Kasumi's back?" asked Garrus, behind him Joker could see Jacob shaking his head chuckling to himself and James looked almost pleased.
"Yeah," said Joker, smiling, "she's having tea with Hannah. Speaking of women, where's EDI? I haven't seen her since I got back on the ship."
"She was doing something down in engineering with Traynor," said Jacob, "Don't worry, she's not trying to make a move on your girl."
Everyone laughed including Joker but his heart was not in it, usually he would have found that comment to be very funny or he would have feigned jealousy, but there was something in the way that Jacob said 'your girl' about EDI that did not sit right with him. He wished that Elissa was whom they were talking about, the she was his girl but after what happened today knowing that he had been the reason she had gotten hurt, he wanted her as far away from him as possible.
"Major on deck," muttered Garrus and they watched Kaidan storm out of the medbay, his face still showing signs of rage, he glanced over at the four crew members standing across from him and glared at all of them, they did the same to him as well. They watched as he walked away, heard his footsteps in the CIC before the large bay doors to the Normandy opened and they knew he was off the ship.
"You should go to her," said Garrus, indicating Elissa who looked like she had just been hit in the stomach, Joker nodded and walked away from the group hoping that Elissa would not be too upset to talk with him.
When he entered, he was immediately swept up in a hug from Elissa who had bounded from the bed to meet him, he was extra careful where he put his arms since he did not want to disturb her ribs, though underneath his hands he could feel her entire body shaking. Concerned, he released his hold on her enough to look in her eyes, there were tears shimmering in the green pools but he could tell she refused to let them fall.
"He accused me of cheating on him," said Elissa swallowing a sob as she spoke and Joker lead her back to bed, "with you." She said the last part so quietly it was almost a whisper.
"Why would he even think you did?" asked Joker, dumbfounded that Kaidan had jumped to that conclusion, and that reason was why he was so livid earlier that morning.
"I don't know," said Elissa, fighting back tears, her chest hurting, "He said we'd talk later when I was more rational."
"You need to be more rational? Wasn't he the lumbering moron who shouted at everyone and everything that got in his way?" asked Joker, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Yeah, no kidding," sighed Elissa, resting her head on his shoulder, "By the way, have you heard from the psychologist?"
"Tali spoke to him," said Joker, wrapping his arm around her still trembling frame, "she was told he'd be coming by later to speak with us here."
"Good," said Elissa sounding content, "the sooner we get this trial over with the sooner I can deal with my thickheaded fiance."
Joker looked down at her, she looked so beautiful laying against him, the way her eyes shined in the light when she glanced up at him and smiled captivated him, he wanted to kiss her again so badly even if there were people standing outside watching them. Carefully he leaned in closer to her, his eyes starting to close, lips parted slightly and he could feel her warm breath on his lips.
"Commander," said EDI over the intercom, "there is a Doctor Ingleside requesting entry."
"Access granted," said Elissa as she and Joker pulled away from each other, "guess I had better make myself look like a commander and not an invalid."
"Should I greet our guest?" asked Joker, shoving his hands in his pockets, trying not to show his frustration, "You know how I love to perform parlor tricks."
"If you really want to," said Elissa smiling as she reached for her hoodie, "tell him I'll be there in about ten minutes."
"I will," said Joker as he let himself out of the medbay, smiling back at her, then the doors closed.
She could still feel her heart pounding in her chest, she had been so close to feeling that euphoria again that would only come from kissing Joker, now she had to compose herself and go on as if nothing happened. That would be difficult when all she could think about was his soft lips traveling up and down her body, kissing other parts of her body. She sighed audibly, this was getting more and more intense the longer they spent time together, not that she minded.
