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Checkups

~Later the same day~

"She says her food tastes bad and I have watched her eat it, she definitely reacts like the food is bad." Kaidan explained while sitting in med bay.

"Well there are several things that can cause that. Some we can rule out because more people would have had reactions, like chemical poisoning and several different snake bites. These can be ruled out, the former because we would have more people reacting to it and the later because I doubt there are any snakes on the Salice. That leaves the most likely suspect an allergen." Dr. Chakwas told him.

"Well this all started after we got on the ship. She was bored and driving everyone crazy. I noticed then she wasn't finishing her meals. It actually may have started earlier then that, but I didn't notice it. It got worse after she got the treadmill, she would maybe take a bite or two then push it aside."

"Well it could be airborne but the scrubbers should have taken care of most of the allergens. If it is airborne, it would have to be something that she is very close to. It just seems highly unlikely that there would be anything like that on the ship. The decontamination procedures are very thorough..." She walked over to her terminal and activated it. After a few moments of studying it she said "Well, she is going to need a check up," Kaidan groaned "yeah, I realize that's not going to go over too well. It also could be a mold spore, so you're going to have to check her clothing, bedding and her armor."

"We don't have the equipment for a micro test, we need an incubator." he told her.

"Yes, do swabs tests and we can put them into a crate and put the box by the FTL drive, it's really warm there, warm enough to get results anyway. It wouldn't be good for documentation protocol but I am just trying to get the molds to grow to test them, so that should give me enough to work with."

"That's going to take some time. She isn't eating now. She is giving me more and more trouble every day." Kaidan said.

"Well get her in here for a check up and I will talk to her."

"Me? I thought you were going to get her in here."

"I need to set up the growth medium for your test swabs" she said as she started to take plates out of a cabinet. "You get her to come here and I will do the exam and talk to her"

"Thanks Doc, you just added a bit of hell to a day that actually started out really well."

"Yes, that was my plan all along" she turned to him and smiled.

Kaidan left the med bay cubical and entered the cargo hold proper. Shepard was on the treadmill running. He contemplated... okay which would be more productive, spend hours swabbing everything she comes in contact with in her day to day; or trying to get her into med bay for an exam. Damn and I really wanted to look into that item she found. He ran his hands through his hair why is it that I am always the one put between a rock and a hard place? He walked over to the treadmill.

"You looked like you were deep in thought a moment ago" she said to him as he approached.

"Yeah, trying to think if it is safer to talk to you; or to throw myself out of an airlock." he said.

She stopped the treadmill. "It's something I'm not going to like, is that it?"

"When do you like anything Shepard?" Kaidan said getting frustrated.

"I like my guns." she said getting off the treadmill and walking slowly and deliberately to stand in front of him. "And I loved my shower this morning." And Kaidan felt his cheeks heat with the blood that rushed to them. She said "So what do you want me to do, because I assume it's something that I have to do, that I am not going to like?"

"Doc wants you to come in for a checkup." He braced for impact, he wasn't disappointed.

"This is about the eating thing again isn't it!" She scowled at him. "You really have to leave me alone about this. I told you nothing tastes right! I can't help it if you don't believe me. I am not going to get an exam! There is nothing wrong with me Lieutenant." and she stalked off.

He took a deep breath then turned and followed slowly after her. It's a good thing the doors were automatic, because she would be slamming them. He turned into the corridor just in time to see her back disappear into the bedroom. He took another deep breath to steel himself and entered the room.

She was pacing the length of the room quickly. He tried to intercept her, but she went around him. Her fist keeping pace with her steps by banging on her leg. The look on her face left no doubt to how angry she was. He walked over to his bunk and sat down.

"Shepard..." She stopped and glared at him for a moment before resuming pacing. "Shepard I think you are sick."

"Lieutenant, I am not sick, I feel fine. You are wrong!" she snapped at him.

"It's just a check up, if I am wrong, you have nothing to worry about."

"You are wrong, and I don't need a check up to prove it!"

"Listen, it's the Doc's idea..." Kaidan started but she didn't let him finish.

"After you went to her and told her I wouldn't eat. After you told her that I think the food taste bad. This is all you Kaidan Alenko, don't you try and blame her!"

He stood up and grabbed her by the shoulders to halt her progress and said "Ari please..." She wrenched herself free of his grip.

"Don't you dare use that name for this!" Okay that was a mistake he thought, I just pushed her into irrational. She continued "that is for intimate moments only lieutenant! This is as far from intimate as you can get! At this point you may never get to use that name again!"

He took a deep breath and counted to ten. This may all stem from whatever is effecting her medically. He tried to tell himself. She has a temper, but this is bad even for her. She isn't sleeping right, not eating; this could be why she has been so short tempered lately. He tried another tactic "Commander, I do believe you. I mean I believe you food tastes bad."

That halted her progress. "You believe me?"

"Yes, I believe you. I have watched you eat, or try to avoid eating I should say. I see the face you make when you eat your food. I know it tastes bad to you. But don't you see, that is why you need a check up, so we can figure out why. You have to eat, Commander, you have to eat to live."

She flew into his arms and started kissing him all over his face. He held her close trying to contain her exuberance as he felt himself relax, the battle over. He caught her mouth with his pressing it deep, giving her a slow warm kiss before pulling back and looking into her beautiful blue eyes. "Does this mean I can use your name again?" He asked her.

"If you follow the rules; only in private and only during intimate moments." she said huskily.

"Shepard, I am all about the rules."

Entering the cargo bay Kaidan walked towards his workbench as Shepard headed to the med bay. He went to the cabinet and pulled out the small box he had put the alien technology in and placed it on the Bench and sat down in front of it. Using his omni tool he started to record the dimensions and physical characteristics of the piece. He noted the damage and his theories on what caused the damage. It didn't appear the damage was internal so he didn't believe it was an overload. The part that was missing must have contained the power module because he couldn't see any room for one it the intact part of the item.

He turned the piece around and examined the other side making note of all the details. He made sure he took a holo of the item checking to make sure that even the most insignificant detail had been captured. He got a probe from the equipment locker as well as a stronger light and a magnifier. He sat back down and set the piece in the vice grip. He proceeded to examine the item more closely. The outside did appear to have some organic qualities. It appeared malleable and there was some body to the skin. There were some smooth ports that could be status lights. He didn't see anything that could be an activation switch. He cataloged everything he could about the outside of the item. He turned it around in the vice so he could take a look at the inside.

Shepard entered the med lab and walked over to Dr. Chakwas. "You wanted to see me Doc?"

Doc looked at her through slitted eyes, "Kaidan did tell you that I wanted to do a check up, right?" she asked warily.

"Yes, he told me you think I am allergic to something." she saw the doctor relax "Hey I'm not that bad, am I Doc?"

"Shepard when you are in a temper, yes you are that bad, it's a bit trying."

"I'm sorry; I can't always stop it though."

"Yes, I know. Now let's get you set up for a scan."

An hour later after being poked and prodded, having given blood and other liquids, and having her nose swabbed (oh yes, that was pleasant), the exam was complete. "So Doc, what's the verdict, am I going to live?"

Well your white blood cells are up so something is definitely working on your system. I don't know what it is yet, but I am going to do some cultures. Now tell me about the food, what does it taste like?"

"It just taste terrible that's all, it smells vile too. I can smell it almost all the time now."

The doctor perked up at that "all the time?" she asked her.

"Pretty much yeah, why?"

The doctor went over to her terminal and started typing. Shepard got up and looked over her shoulder.

"Have you been anywhere warm and damp lately, like in the past few months." Dr. Chakwas asked.

"Yes, Vimire."

"Right, it was really warm there, but you were in the mako most of the time, weren't you."

"No, I like the water, we got out and walked most of the way, I like sneaking up on the geth, and I love to hide behind rocks and kill armatures while they shoot at the rocks." Shepard told her.

"And was there mold on the rocks."

"Yes, there was, but Doc that was like three months ago. And I went through decontamination before getting back on the ship."

"No you didn't remember, we were rushed because of the bomb, and Kaidan was injured, you entered through the cargo bay doors." Dr. Chakwas typed some more and then pulled up a picture of a wet hot planet and started to read. Shepard tried to read over her shoulder but it had a lot of medical phrases and she wasn't sure she understood it correctly.

"Okay Shepard, I need to send a probe into your sinus cavities."

"Why?"

"You may have a Hanar Parasite in one of them."

"Ew Doc, I am not liking the sound of that, and you look too happy about it."

"Well if it is the problem it's a quick fix and you can be eating dinner with us tonight without the bad smell or taste. It's really the smell that is the problem. The parasite is giving off the bad smell and that is why your food tastes bad." The doctor explained.

"And this bug is in me?"

"It isn't really a bug it's a mold nodule like a plant. I will take it out and clean out your sinus and you should be good as new."

"Okay Doc, have at it." Shepard said and then they heard a pop and a shout from outside the med bay cubicle. Shepard rushed to the door followed closely by the doctor. The shout had come from Kaidan.

He was sitting at his workbench with the thing she had found in a vice in front of him. Wrex was standing over him. His hands were down flat on the table, but it was his face that caught her eye, he looked scared.

"What happened?" she asked him.

"Get Garrus and Adams." Kaidan said, his voice was strained.

"Wrex get Adams, Doc get Garrus." she said, then went to touch his hand.

"Don't touch me!" he snapped. She pulled her hand back quickly a look of shock on her face. "I was looking at the inside of the piece that you found, I had tried to move a piece of it out-of-the-way, so I could look behind it. There shouldn't be any power to it; I don't see a power supply. There was a dark flash, and now I can't move my arms. And it's climbing higher."

"What do you think it is?" she asked.

"I don't know, paralytic or stasis field maybe. There does appear to be a shimmer along my skin."

She looked down at his skin. He was right, there was a shimmer, but it looked dark rather then bright. It didn't seem to touch the skin but kind of hovered over it. Maybe if we could get something between the field and him, maybe that would disrupt the field. But what? She looked around and tried to think of anything that she could use. Then her eyes fell on Kaidan.

"Kaidan, have you tried to raise a barrier?"

"What?"

"Your barrier, have you tried to raise it? It hugs your skin, this field is kind of floating over your skin, if you could raise your barrier, then maybe it would disrupt the field."

Shepard watched as Kaidan concentrated. She could see sweat beads breaking out on his forehead. Garrus came in with the doctor, followed quickly behind by Wrex and Adams.

"What's going on?" Garrus asked her.

"He was looking at that thing I found on Prenedee and he somehow activated it, or part of it and now he can't move his hands or arms. If you look closely you can see a field of some kind hovering over his skin."

Garrus bent over to look at Kaidan's arms. Shepard watched Garrus for a moment and then put her eyes on Kaidan. The sweat was more pronounced now but he was starting to have that bluish tint that always came with his barrier. She realized to deploy his barrier he usually used his hand, so this must be a bit of a strain for him. Shepard looked at his hands, there did seem to be a bluish color coming up under the black filmy substance. The stronger the barrier got, the more you could see the black. Then suddenly there was a crack and spark and Kaidan was covered in his barrier, and the black was gone. Shepard let out her breath.

"Can you move now?" She asked him.

He lifted his hand to show her "yes, I can move. Shepard what made you think of the barrier."

"Well I noticed the film actually floated above your skin and I thought if we could get something between you and the film you would be okay. I was looking around the room for something and when I looked at you I realized you had a built in something. That's all." She told him.

"Well that was brilliant thinking." A rush of warmth ran over her. He said to Adams and Garrus "we are going to have to do more study on this and we are going to have to be very careful. I think we now know how the biotics are being taken. If they don't think to raise their barrier, they can't move. Once they are taken they can keep them locked up or unconscious. This is extremely advanced technology, there is no way that the batarians have this technology and from what you said its way over the heads of the vorcha too."

"Yes, that would be too much for the vorcha, that's for sure. It certainly has an organic look to it. Kaidan the only organic technology that comes to mind is Sovereign. This could be Reaper technology." Garrus told him.

"The Normandy was not attacked by a Reaper." Wrex said "we would have picked it up on a scan and recognized it. If this is Reaper technology, then the ones who have it could be working with the Reapers."

"Well it's just another thing we are going to need to find out." Shepard said and she did not get a good feeling about this. "Garrus, when you go back to the cockpit, tell Joker to head back to the vorcha ship, I think we need another look around."

"Alright, Shepard." Garrus answered.

She saw Kaidan rub his head "starting to get a headache?" she asked him.

"Yeah, too much stress I guess."

"Well I want to give you a check up anyway to make sure there are no adverse effects from what happened." the doctor told him.

"A checkup, Dr. Chakwas I don't need a check up."

"Ha!" Shepard felt satisfaction that he didn't want a check up either. "Than isn't it nice that I can order you to get one, since you know, alien technology and all and needing to know the ramifications and danger to the ship." She laughed at him as he gave her an angry look.

"Come on both of you, the faster we get this done the better it will be." the doctor told them.

"But Doc, I already had my exam." Shepard said.

"But if you remember right, Shepard, I haven't removed the problem yet."

"Oh, right. Well Adams it looks like you will be in charge for a bit. Have fun." she said as she headed to the med bay following the doctor with Kaidan in tow.

"Yes Commander" Adams said.

"So the doctor found out what is wrong with you." Kaidan asked her.

"Yep, I have a mold nodule living in my sinuses she thinks, from Virmire no less. This is just one more reason for me to hate that place. And it was such a pretty planet too."

Shepard left Kaidan in the med bay because his migraine had hit hard in the middle of his exam. The doctor got his medication into him and he was sleeping now. She hated to see him in pain, but this was one thing she couldn't defend him from. Her sinuses were still sore, but the offending nodules (because there was one in each sinus) were gone and in some airtight dish to be studied. Everyone who had been on Virmire was going to need to have an exam now to make sure they weren't infected too.

She walked into the mess and it didn't smell bad for once. She actually felt hungry too. She took some protein, some vegetables and a piece of fruit that they had gotten from Prenedee and sat down next to Liara, Joker and Wrex.

"So Commander, are you feeling better now?" Liara asked her.

She took a bite of her piece of fruit and it tasted sweet and clean and she felt the juices running down her throat. "Liara, I am feeling just Peachy." and she smiled.

"Okay so than where is it?" Shepard asked the three men in front of her.

"Well we left it here, this is the right place, the coordinates match." Joker said.

"Could someone have moved it" she asked them.

"Yes they could have." Garrus said sitting to the left of Joker.

"Yeah, but I don't think they did." Kaidan told her, he was sitting in the chair behind Joker. "Garrus look at the coordinates I just sent you. Isn't that a debris field?"

Garrus looked at the readout in front of him. "Yeah, that is a debris field."

"Joker move to these coordinates" Kaidan said as he touched the controls in front of him.

Shepard watched as Joker moved the ship into the position requested. This was not good, someone had obviously destroyed the ship and thus any evidence it contained. She would be really pissed if there were anything she could do about it.

"Well the field it the right size, it could be the vorcha ship. But, I am not getting any pieces large enough to scan." Garrus said.

"The energy signature of the weapon used it exactly the same weapon used against the Normandy. I am going to say that whatever attacked the Normandy, attacked this ship. I'm also going to say since this ship was much smaller then the Normandy, they were able to pulverize the ship into millions of tiny pieces." Kaidan turned and looked at Shepard. "They didn't want any evidence left behind, we were very lucky they didn't come back while we were on board her."

Shepard blanched at his words as a chill ran through her body. She looked into Kaidan's lovely brown eyes. Yes very lucky she thought.