Chapter 15

Sean was alone in a dark room. He sat in the corner, his legs pulled up to his chin. He shivered at the icy touch of the stone walls. The door opened and a clatter was heard. Sean squinted into the darkness, but his eyes could not make out what it was. Sean refused to move, everything around him was cold and unwelcoming.

A light turned on, illuminating the other side of the room. Sean raised his hand in front of his eyes, cutting down on the glare. As his eyes slowly adjusted he could make a shape out.

"Tali?" he asked. The figure nodded, but did not move. Someone placed a hand on Sean's shoulder. The hand was cold causing Sean's skin to prickle at the touch. Whirling around Sean saw that Kate stood behind him. Her skin was pale and cracked and her eyes glowed from behind the darkness that obscured her face.

She looked down at him and said, "It's up to you, Sean." She then slowly stepped backward.

"What do you mean?" He asked. There was no response. He was nervous and scared. Carefully, Sean stood up. He paused then slowly took his first step forward. A light appeared, illuminating the room with a soft glow.

Sean took another step forward, towards Tali, and the light began to intensify. He couldn't hold it back any more. He broke into a sprint towards Tali. He had to close his eyes from the intensity of the light as he drew closer and closer. He finally made it to Tali and embraced her tightly, lifting her up into the air. He felt ecstatic. The first time in many years he had felt complete happiness. He couldn't help it any more, couldn't hold back his tears.

Sean's eyes fluttered open. The constant beep from the heart monitor was the only sound echoing through the room. His entire body ached. It felt like years since he had last moved. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room. He slowly moved the covers off of his chest and jumped in surprise. His entire torso was covered in a large bandage.

"What the?" he muttered as he tried to sit up to get a better look at it. Pain erupted in his chest causing him to groan in pain and slowly lie back down.

"You're awake!" Chakwas said, stunned.

"How long?" Sean said as he began to scan his body. Everything felt the same, but one thing was different, he couldn't feel his right hand. Curious, he glanced at his right arm and discovered it in a sling. He went to move it, but Dr. Chakwas stopped his hand.

"You've been out for three weeks. You sustained a tremendous amount of damage on your last mission with Shepard." Chakwas responded.

"What happened?" Sean asked, his head spinning.

"Before I answer that, there's someone who would like to speak with you." Chakwas said smiling.

"What-" was all Sean could say before the door slid open and Tali rushed in.

"Oh thank Keelah you're alright! I thought you were dead!" Tali said hugging Sean; Sean, as well, put his arms around Tali. He smiled as the memory of his dream returned to him. He felt his heart flutter inside his chest as butterflies formed in his stomach. A Tear began to slowly roll down Tali's cheek as she squeezed him tighter. Sean let out a groan of pain. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She quickly apologized. She loosened her grip but did not let go entirely.

"No, it's alright. I'm just a little sore." Sean said, smiling. "So, what happened?" He asked again.

"You took a shot meant for me." She said squeezing his hand, "A Collector beam hit you while your shields were down, then a premature detonation of your concussion shot knocked you out." Tali said, taking a seat near by.

"That doesn't sound that bad." Sean said. Itching his right shoulder. His hand began to slowly trace down his right arm.

"Unfortunately the combined power of the Collector beam and the concussive blast," She paused, "damaged your arm beyond repair."

Sean froze as he felt the cold touch of metal halfway down his bicep. "What the hell?" He said in shock as he removed his arm from the sling. He stared at what had once been his right arm; in its place was a metal plug at the end of his bicep. His heart began to pound against his chest. "What the fuck?" He said in horror as he began to hyperventilate.

"You were losing blood too quickly, this was the only way to stop it." Chakwas explained as Tali tried to comfort Sean. Sean's breathing slowed as he began to accept the situation.

"I just- I just- I just- Oh God." Sean stammered. He rested his head on Tali's shoulder and took a couple long breaths, calming himself. Sean turned his head toward the door as a clutter of noises sounded from behind it.

"He's awake?" Garrus said as he entered the doors. "Hey!" He said as spotted Sean, "How are you feeling? Still in one piece?" He asked.

"Some what…" Sean said, depression filling his voice, returning his attention to his right arm.

"Oh, sorry." Garrus apologized taking his place at the foot of the bed. "The whole Normandy is buzzing with stories about what happened. Did you really…" He turned and looked at Tali, holding Sean's hand, "ah! So it is true!" He said smiling.

"You did something remarkable there." Kasumi said materializing behind Garrus, causing him to jump.

"Thanks." Sean said, his smile growing. "Thanks for being here guys."

"Hey we're always here for you." Garrus said.

"Me too." Tali said squeezing Sean's hand in hers. Sean smiled as he turned towards Tali.

"Looks like the hero has awoken." Came a voice from the door. All heads turned to see Shepard casually leaning against the doorway. "How are you doing? You took a major hit." She asked walking forward.

"Much better." Sean said.

Shepard took a seat on the foot of Sean's bed, "You did something pretty heroic."

"Yea..." He said smiling as he turned to Tali.

"You think you can sit up?" Shepard asked.

"Yea I think." Sean groaned trying to lift himself up. He fought through the burning pain in his chest and slowly sat up.

"Dr. Chakwas, can I take Sean for a moment?" Shepard asked.

"I'm sure that will be fine, let me get the wheelchair." Chakwas said, trying to hide a smile. She slowly wheeled it to Sean's bedside as Shepard and Garrus slowly lifted Sean from his bed.

"What's this all about?" Sean asked, looking around the room for an answer. He desperately tried to look out the windows to see if something was going on outside. He saw nothing; no one was milling about the Mess Hall. There was no noise, the
Normandy felt empty. Shepard slowly began to push Sean out of the Med Bay. The doors parted and Sean curiously poked his head outside. What looked like every crewmember stood in front of the Med Bay. They turned as they saw the doors open. A slow clap began followed by applause. "What the-" Sean said, shocked by everyone standing before him. He just sat there, dazed at the response. He heard shouts of encouragement, and couldn't help but smile. It felt good to be back.

Author's Note: Well he's back! This chapter took a while to write and review. I wanted Sean coming out of his coma to a big part.

The relationship between Sean and Tali took a real jump too. I need to focus on that for a while... (Mental note!)

Any way... Big stuff happens the next few chapters!