Shepard had sent out a notice to Miranda, who had visited her when she was first comatose. She had adapted to utilizing her biotics instead of her hands but found that it was impossible to complete a simple task without excruciating pain that traveled deep into her bones. She felt nauseous most of the time she was awake, but she knew she had to make an appearance soon. Too much time had passed for her to not have notified the public she was alive. Her next of kin had been David Anderson…Garrus being only immediately after.
She saw Captain Anderson, leaning against her, hand covering his stomach.
"You did good, child…I'm proud of you." Those were his last words to her, before bleeding out as he sat next to her. She had never been so tired…
She took a deep breath and sat up slowly in her bed. Miranda bent next to her and gently pushed her up. She handed her a glass of water with a straw and Shepard drank slowly, her eyes closed. She pulled away from the straw and leaned against the pillows. She sighed and exhaled slowly, her eyes still closed.
"Is there anything you can do about this?" Shepard asked, moving her sheets to reveal her marred side and half a leg. Miranda held the glass in her hand and sighed.
"Much of the research that helped your…first reconstructive surgery is sadly no longer funded with the collapse of Cerberus." Her voice was low, gentle. She had helped Shepard the first time she awoke, all those months ago. Almost two years ago now.
Shepard closed her eyes again and took another deep breath. Her chest felt like it was ripping open, her rib cage spreading past her skin. She gasped and opened her eyes, the pain suddenly like a million knives. She pressed her left thumb on the switch in her hand, her IV connected to a bag of beautiful narcotics. The numbness and insatiable euphoria flooded her within seconds.
"I understand, Lawson. If you can find Garrus…anything…" Her tongue suddenly felt very heavy, and she tried to open her eyes but found the weight of her eyelids overwhelming. Sleep soon overtook her, artificial and broken.
She did not dream.
When she woke again, she saw him. He sat in the cold metal chair next to her bed. He saw her reach out to him, her broken hand unable to truly move. He got out of the chair and kneeled next to her bed, his face leaning against the edge.
He whispered her name the way he did in her dreams. "Shepard."
God, she missed his voice. She almost moaned his name. It ached, how much she missed him. Her chest felt heavy, her heart was pounding a million a minute and she reached out to touch his face with her left hand.
Tears fell from her eyes. "Garrus…are you real?" He reached up and ran his fingers through her hair. She closed her eyes, and he wiped her tears away gently.
"I'm here," he whispered.
She reached for him with her mangled hand, and he paused when he saw the bandages.
"Shepard, I didn't know when you were going to wake up," he murmured.
Tears fell from her eyes, and she reached for him again, pulling his chest close to her head. She was weak and all she could do was weep. She moved her head up, still crying, and leaned in to kiss him.
He pulled away.