Chapter 22

"Bad spill, Shepard," a woman's voice sighed. "I'll have to sedate you."

Shepard gasped at the lights and sound blurring around her. She fumbled to grasp something or anything. Her heart fluttered. She was still falling. A warm hand grabbed her wrist.

"Just settle down. Don't try moving. You're on the Normandy again. You're fine."

Everything so fuzzy. The world blurred away.

X

Shepard shot up with a gasp. The room exploded in brightness as Shepard blinked around her. A hand touched her shoulder.

"It's okay. You're fine."

She squinted into the light of the med bay. The image crisped into the frowning face of Dr. Chakwas. She shined a light into Shepard's face. Shepard shied away, but Dr. Chakwas grabbed her chin. She looked in Shepard's eye one at a time then backed up.

"You're doing a number on yourself this time, Shepard. Good thing you brought me along." She turned the light off on her Omni-Tool. "No serious damage. Not this time at least."

Shepard sat on a metal table with a thin blanket across her lap. She plucked at her hospital gown before putting a hand to her ringing head. She winced as pain throbbing up her leg.

"You broke your legs," Dr. Chakwas said. "Gave you a pain med twenty minutes ago. Still going to hurt though."

Shepard calmed her breathing. The shard flashed in her mind. Shepard squirmed to twist off the table and drop her legs on the floor.

"You can try, but you're not going very far. Your legs are still setting. I sedated you for the shortest time I could to let the bones heal. Knew you'd want that. But you've got to rest them. And you're head, Shepard, be glad all that trouble didn't upset your implant. You do have a concussion though. You'll have trouble with that for a while, I imagine."

Shepard took a deep breath and pressed her fingers to her forehead. Dr. Chakwas patted her back.

"Maybe I should sedate you again. Give you more time to heal before you agitate yourself."

Her mind sped through disjointed memories. Those creatures, the shard, the fall … Anchor. Shepard grit her teeth and dropped her hands from her face. She balled them into fists.

"You're clearly getting too agitated."

"No!" Shepard said as her voice cracked.

"Yes, you are."

"I need to see Anchor. Where is he?"

"On the bridge I imagine. He's acting CO while you're out. I've been down here with you for days."

"Days!" Shepard lunged to get off the table again.

"Pointless, Shepard," Dr. Chakwas said. "I told you. Your legs are setting. You can't feel they're in containment?"

Dr. Chakwas dug around the counter for something. She pulled out a syringe out of wrapper and drew an amber liquid of a vial. She looked sidelong at Shepard. Shepard frowned and spread her fingers out at Dr. Chakwas as she neared.

"I guess it was too soon, Shepard. Sorry."

"Where's Kaidan?"

"Kaidan?" Dr. Chakwas paused with the needle and frowned. "He's not here, Shepard."

Shepard frowned in concentration. That's right.

"It's your concussion talking. You clearly still have inflammation. Here."

Shepard squirmed away, but Dr. Chakwas grabbed her IV tubing instead.

"Where am I?"

"You're on the Normandy." Dr. Chakwas injected into the tubing port and stared down at Shepard.

"My legs broke?"

"Yes."

The world blurred into white light. Shepard felt a hand on her forehead pushing her back. Then nothing.

X

When Shepard woke up again, she still in the med bay. Dr. Chakwas's slumped forward over her desk asleep on folded arms. The overhead lights hummed dimly. It must be night cycle.

Shepard tried her legs. They moved with only a slight twinge of pain. She threw the covers back and flexed her calves. Bruises covered her legs, but at least they were workable now. She touched her wrist, but her Omni-Tool was missing. Her feet touched onto the cool metal floor. Nerves in her leg zinging with each step as she padded over to the counter and pulled out a drawer. Dr. Chakwas stirred and lifted her head.

"Up walking?" she murmured. "How are you feeling?"

"Like new," Shepard said quickly and pulled out the next door. She rifled through it.

"Looking for something?" Dr. Chakwas stood.

"My Omni-Tool," Shepard said.

"Damaged, I'm afraid. Adams repaired it though. It's up in your room."

Shepard frowned shoving the drawer back in and turning to face Dr. Chakwas. "What's the update? How long have I been out?"

"The update?" Dr. Chakwas chuckled. "Very well. You've been out five days."

"Five days." Shepard's eyes flew open. "Five days?"

"Takes a while to set legs. You broke your femur. Not to mention your brain edema. We nearly lost you."

"You said I was fine!" Shepard snapped. "Kept hearing you say it."

"Sometimes the best medicine is a positive attitude. You're alive, aren't you?"

"We got the shard? Where is it?"

"What shard?" Dr. Chakwas frowned. "Let me check you again. That concussion may addle your thinking for a while."

"Where's James?"

"You can see whoever you want. Let me check you out first though. Sit over here." Dr. Chakwas tapped the metal table.

Shepard sighed and walked over swinging her arms. Her legs ached.

"Then, I can go? I'm back on duty?"

"May want to change out of that hospital gown, but yes. Assuming the scan doesn't show anything, you can go. Your legs are still healing. You're not doing anything strenuous for a while I'm afraid, and it's not just me telling you that. You try it, your body's going to tell you same thing."

Shepard hopped up onto the metal bench and cringed from the stretch in her legs.

"See, right there. Go slow."

Shepard nodded. She had a lot to catch up on.

X

Shepard shuffled up the gangway to the cockpit. The familiar green globe of Elliom hung in the distance. Anchor was nowhere around that she'd seen so far.

"What's going on Joker?"

He yelped.

"Sleeping again?" Shepard said. "You had to hear me coming. Probably sounded like Jacob Marley's ghost dragging myself up here."

Joker twisted around. "You're up. Welcome to the Broken Bones Club, by the way."

"Membership sucks."

"Uh, you're telling me."

"Everything all right up here? Anything I need to know about?"

"Actually …" Joker peeked around her.

"He's … I don't know where he is." Shepard waved off toward the CIC. "Not here. Just say it."

"Probe found a grounded cruiser three thousand kilometers off the research site."

Shepard frowned. "When did you find it?"

"About the time you got back."

"And? Have we found anything?"

"Kinda got to look before you find something," Joker said.

Shepard's eyebrows furrowed. She braced a hand against the wall as she shifted her weight. "Nothing's been done?"

Joker shook his head. "Anchor didn't even want me telling people. Wanted to head back."

"But we're here." Shepard pointed out to the planet cresting the cockpit window.

"I may have let it slip in front of a few people. Honest mistake and all."

"So, there's been a standoff?"

"Yeah. Kinda. He thinks he's CO and everything. Guess technically is … was. The rest of us knew you'd be coming around eventually. Figured you might see things different. You're a softie for not leaving people to die on forgotten planets."

Shepard gave a growly sigh. "Five days ..." She turned to go back down the gangway. "Thanks."

"Hey, Commander …" She paused and looked back at him. He lowered his voice. "You think he pushed you or something? You know, down there?"

"Why?" Shepard frowned. "Is that what it looked like?"

"Uh, I dunno. James said it kinda looked strange."

Shepard stared at the floor trying to replay it in her mind. If she hadn't been warned against him, she probably wouldn't even consider the idea. She'd probably biased James and the other, too. It had been strange though.

"I don't know," Shepard said finally. "That's a big accusation to throw around though."

"Uh. Right." Joker looked away and turned in his seat. "Later, Commander."

X

"Lola," James walked out of the elevator and crossed the cargo bay to her. She didn't bother standing up front the crate she was using a bench. "You been waiting down here for me?"

"You or Cortez or someone," she said. "What's this about finding a downed ship?"

"Talked to Joker, huh?" James crossed his arms. "Kinda had some difficult words with XO Anchor. Think he wrote me up even."

"Good luck submitting it out here."

"He's been using your quantum thing. Talking to the counsel. Pretty sure he's passed along his disagreements with all of us."

"Us?"

"Esteban, Adams, probably Joker too. Briggs, Jensen. We're not on board with just taking off."

"He won't check it out?" Shepard said. "We've been orbiting for five days."

"Says it's a risk with the wildlife. Been fighting with us and talking to the council. We've been waiting for you."

"Well, we're going down to see. Right away. Get the others around."

"We? Nuhuh, Lola. I mean, you're the boss and all, but think about it. Your legs? You ain't going down there again."

"I can …" She trailed off and looked off. "Okay. Fine."

James nodded.

"Get everyone around." Shepard stood up slowly as her legs popped. "And, hey," she looked at him, "where's that Mass Effect shard?"

"That thing you were after?" James said. "Anchor's got it, of course. Haven't seen it since we got back up here."

Shepard gritted her teeth. "You seen him? He up?"

"Went up to the bridge, I think. Us talking here, though? Probably on his way down now."

Shepard shuffled to the cargo elevator. Briggs and Plastino walked off and stared at her as she hobbled by. Her head still hurt as she moved, but she tried to give them a smile. Anchor wasn't going to be happy to see her.