Note: Sorry this took so long everyone.

Shepard spent the rest of his afternoon pondering Clint's accusation. Could it be true? Did he really have feelings for this visitor he knew nothing about? It didn't seem entirely impossible for the answer to be yes, but there was currently no way of knowing for sure. All he could do was wait for the quarian to wake up; then he and Clint could find out the answer once and for all.

He looked into the room where their unconscious company was currently resting. She slept soundly. Uncertainty began to fill Shepard's mind. Maybe Clint was right. Maybe Shepard was in love with the quarian, who just a week prior had demolished town square.

Now that's a weird way to put it…

Looking cautiously around for his medical chum, Shepard entered the room, and seated himself next to the bed. "Whoever you are," he began, "if you can hear me, we need a sign; a moan, twitch, anything. We need to know if you're alright, otherwise…"

Then he heard it. It was faint, barely audible, but Shepard heard a sigh. The quarian heard him, and that meant that she could wake up at any minute. "Miss," he continued, "can you hear me?"

She sighed again, a bit louder than the last, but still awfully quiet; and this one was accompanied by very slight movements.

Shepard started to leave, hoping to catch Clint before he left, but he stopped. He was told not to leave a patient who was waking up from comatose. So he stayed, and soon he could see the silver illuminations under the quarian's visor that must have been her eyes.

"Ugh…" She groaned, looking around ever so slowly. Her gaze fell upon our protagonist, "Where… am I?"

"Take it easy," Shepard said. "You're in a medical clinic on Mindoir. Let's just say you've been through quite a bit. Can you give me your name, Miss..?"

"My name…" She tried to sit up, but Shepard stopped her, insisting that she needed to rest. "My name is Tali."

"'Tali,'" he repeated. "That's a nice name."

"I'm sorry, but what did you say your name was?" Tali asked.

"I didn't, I'm sorry," Shepard apologized. "My name's John, though people around here just call me by my last name: 'Shepard.'"

"'Shepard...' It has a certain ring to it…"

Shepard smiled briefly, then went back to being professional, "Well, Miss Tali, if you ever need anything while you recover, just send for me; I'll be more than happy to assist you however I can."

"Thank you; I'd like that…"

Shepard rose and proceeded to his duties, but not before Clint stopped him outside the door. "Well, Shepard," he said, "I guess you were right. I didn't see you flinch or stutter once."

"I told you," Shepard replied, though he was honestly still sorting out his emotional mess.

"And here I was waiting with my own 'I told you so.' Puts me to shame, man."

Shepard snickered, patting Clint on the shoulder as he passed. "C'mon, we've gotta get back to work."