A blinding light flashed before Shepard's eyes. He wanted to shield them but he could not close his eyes. The light quickly cleared revealing a vast field of tall yellow grass. He looked around but found no end to it. It seemed as if it went on forever. He began to walk slowly and cautiously. He wondered why he couldn't feel his heartbeat or the grass under his bare feet. Suddenly he felt his foot catch something and he tripped; breaking his fall with his two hands. He gazed at the ground beneath him as he began to lift himself, but then another blinding flash of light blurred his vision. When it cleared he was awestruck at what he saw.

Tali. She lay under him. Mask off, unsuited. Only loosely wrapped purple robes covered her body. She stared into his eyes with affection as a genuine smile grew on her face. Shepard tried to say her name but realized he couldn't speak for some reason. Worry began to overtake him, what is this place? Where did Tali come from? Why can't I feel- His thoughts vanished as she reached up with one hand to pull him in for a kiss. Their lips touched and Shepard felt a wonderful sensation rush through his body. He lifted his head to stare affectionately into her eyes as she stared back. He began to lower himself once again; bracing for the next divine kiss. But just as their lips were about to touch...

Shepard awoke abruptly. His eyes shot open and he gazed at the ceiling. He didn't bother to make any sort of movement for a few moments. He wanted to cherish the feelings that the beautiful dream he just experienced brought on. He closed his eyes once again and began to reach over to the side of his bed as if to feel for something, or someone...

Nothing... No Tali... She was still in med bay. Poor Tali he thought. Having to sleep in that dreadful medical bed while he lay in comfortable warm sheets in his cabin. Thoughts of the day before came back to him. Tali, suit breach, She could be deathly ill. He looked over at the holo-clock on the counter next to the bed. 07:35 hours. Morning. He practically leaped out of bed and slipped his uniform on quickly, not realizing he had put his pants on backwards. He slipped them off and corrected his mistake then ran out of his cabin and into the elevator.

...

He arrived at the crew deck and before stepping out of the elevator, took a deep breath to prepare for the worst. Then walked at a quick pace over and into the med bay. When he walked in Tali was sitting up in her bed. Chakwas handed her a packet of nutrient paste. Shepard's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something but decided not too. Instead he just smiled at seeing her up and well. Tali noticed him upon taking the packet from Chakwas. She coughed harshly before speaking.

"Shepard!" She said sniffling. Shepard rushed over to her side and embraced her tigtly causing her to drop the packet of nutrient paste. He squeezed as hard as he could. Tali's arms flew out as she whimpered in pain.

"Ugh, Shepard!" Shepard released her immediately and his expression turned to sadness, thinking he had hurt her.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." Tali put her hand on his arm.

"It's not your fault. My joints are aching really bad right now." Tali said in a nasally tone. Shepard turned to Chakwas as if expecting her to elaborate on Tali's condition. She smiled.

"It's not better than I'd hoped, but it's not worse than I feared either. She's having a moderate allergic reaction. Flu like symptoms. Joint pain, nasal and chest congestion-Should be better in a day or two, commander." Shepard felt the bump in his throat and ache in his chest vanish. He was relieved that she wasn't suffering or worse, dying. He grabbed her hand that was still on his arm and placed it in his.

"Glad to hear it doc." He said turning to face Tali. She looked down at the packet on the floor and Chakwas knelt down to pick it up.

"What is it?" The Spectre questioned.

"Her breakfast mixed with anti-biotics and other supplements that will ease her symptoms." Chakwas replied as she placed the packet in Tali's lap. Shepard looked at Tali with a loving stare then picked up the packet and connected it to her helmet. Tali finished the process by reaching to touch something behind her helmet. She began to slowly devour the medical paste, talking to Shepard in between each mouth full.

"I'll be alright Shepard." She took another mouth full and swallowed. "Don't let me slow you down. I'm sure you have a lot to attend to after what happened yesterday." she said. Shepard watched her glowing eyes as they stared back at him while she continued to eat. He could tell she was smiling behind her mask. He began to slowly wrap his arms around her but she recoiled as if expecting it to hurt. He brought his head back and smiled at her assuring that he would be gentle. He then held her in a soft, gentle embrace.

"Is it OK for her to leave the med bay?" he said turning to Chakwas.

"Yes, but I wouldn't recommend her returning to duty before getting some rest." the doctor said with concern in her voice.

"I actually had something else in mind." Shepard reached one hand around Tali's back and the other under her legs. She squeaked upon feeling herself being carried in his powerful arms.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked playfully.

"To a more comfortable bed." he replied.

"I wouldn't advice sexual activity either, commander." said Chakwas. Shepard shifted his body ,bringing Tali around with him, to look back at Dr. Chakwas as he stood by the door.

"It's her you should be worried about Doctor. I have to just about tie her down to keep her from pouncing on me" he said grinning at Tali. Tali responded with a soft punch to his shoulder.

"Bosh'tet! Ow..." She whimpered as she felt the aching in her hand. Shepard laughed and walked out of the med bay towards the elevator.

...

He carried Tali over to his bed, never once breaking his gaze from her eyes. He laid her down gently across the bed and pulled the sheets up over her. Tali grasped the hand she had used to hit Shepard and rubbed it gently. It still throbbed with pain.

"Allow me my lady." Shepard grabbed her hand and slowly leaned in to place a soft kiss on her glove.

"Once I'm finished attending to the many unimportant things...I'll be back to attend to the one important thing in my life." He said putting his hand on her leg. Tali tried to giggle but it only came out as a series of coughs which she quickly shrugged off as Shepard planted one last kiss on her visor.

"Get some rest Miss vas Normandy-"

"Captain's orders." She interrupted with a sniffle. Shepard smiled and then turned to walk towards to the door. It opened and he looked back once more and smiled at her. She waved at him and let out a single cough before he turned back to the door and walked out.

Arriving back down in the crew deck, he walked over to the table to sit down. Gardner brought him a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and buttered toast. He griped his fork and prepared to enjoy himself when Garrus sat down on the opposite side of the table; a datapad in his hand.

"Sleep well?" The Turian asked.

"You could say that." Shepard replied as he scooped up the eggs and took a mouth full. "What do you got there?" He asked with his mouth still full of food.

"Was hoping you'd ask." Garrus laid the datapad on the table and flipped it around. "I was going through some of the data EDI managed to decrypt while you were sleeping. Recognize him?" Shepard picked up the datapad with his free hand and took a good look. There was an image of a old man. Bald on top with grey hair covering the sides of his head.

"Isn't that-" She started to say. Garrus crossed his arms.

"The Hand of God? Yeah, his real name is Doctor David Kindeler. He was the lead researcher aboard the Bermuda and head of something called Project Black heart." Shepard's eyes met Garrus' as the turian continued. "Guy had quite a nack for micro-biology, physics, chemisty, you name it."

Shepard looked at the image for a moment and then back at Garrus. "I remember him having a lot less hair though." said the Spectre. Garrus leaned forward.

"The strange thing is his background showed no history of mental illness in himself or his family. Not even a spec of clinical depression. The guy was totally sane despite being religious. It's as if he just... cracked." Shepard scrolled through the bits of data.

"What is project Black-heart?" he asked as he handed the datapad back to Garrus.

"Dunno... But I bet the answer is in the data yet to be decrypted. I'd guess it has something to do with the Illusive man's toy up in the lab. Mordin hasn't slept since he started examining it." Garrus replied.

Shepard finished his breakfast and looked down at his plate, drowned in thought. "How's Grunt?" He asked after a moment. Garrus stood up.

"Don't think I wanna know. But if I were you I'd get us to Tuchanka asap and get this whole fighting business dealt with so he can be back to his cute and cuddly self again... Not that he ever was that way before..."

"That much confidence in me huh?" Shepard said with a chuckle.

"If you can take on a giant human-shaped reaper then one tank bred Krogan should be a cupcake." Garrus winked at Shepard and then got up and headed for the main battery. Shepard just sat for a few moments resting his chin on his right arm as he thought about Grunt. Maybe there was still time to change his mind before they decided to go through with his plan to duel on Tuchanka. Maybe he could convince him just like he convinced Wrex. He had to try. There was always an alternative.

Shepard sat up quickly nearly stumbling over the seat and left the crew deck to head down to engineering. The elevator ride down seemed to take hours. He took a deep breath as he kept telling himself what he had to do. If he could turn him around, solve this problem without violence, he wouldn't have to put Tali through so much torment. He wished there was no violence in the universe. No mercs, no Reapers, and especially no insane, blood thirsty, eye gouging, gut ripping Krogan.

Finally he was there. Exiting the elevator he glanced over at the hatch leading into the tankbred Krogan's room. He tried to think of something persuasive to say, something similar to what he told Wrex, but nothing came to mind. He would have to just say what needed to be said. So he continued toward his destination. He stopped just inches away from the green hologram that was the door control.

"How do I know he wont kill me the second the door opens" he thought. He reached for his gun holster and griped his pistol, ready to draw it at a moments notice.

The door opened and Shepard saw what he didn't expect. Everything was in order. No dented walls, no shattered glass, excluding the broken window Grunt had punched a hole through days earlier. The Krogan was standing. Just...standing there without moving a muscle. Gazing through the window down into the cargo bay. The only sign of life came from the blinking of his eyes.

"Are you sure you still wanna go through with this? There's nothing I can say to change your mind?" Shepard griped his pistol tighter after speaking, expecting the Krogan to swing his fist or simply charge him into the wall, but he remained motionless.

"My body demands battle. Therefore... battle is the only thing that will clear this haze..." Grunt replied calmly. Shepard removed his hand from the grip of his pistol seeing that his caution wasn't necessary.

"You know I love Tali... I made a promise to her... That I'd never leave her. If we do this, I won't hesitate to kill you." Grunt turned to Shepard with a snort.

"Love is an illusion, a ruse. Something made up to bring understanding to a feeble emotional sensation. It has no meaning. It is a weakness and will only make you that much more fragile." Shepard's eyes shut and he turned to leave.

"I feel sorry for you... I really do..." The Spectre said just as the door shut behind him. Grunt chuckled at what Shepard had said. Ignoring it and returning to his pointless stare out at the Normandy's cargo bay.

Shepard roughly ran both hands threw his shaved head. Frustration built up inside him until he vented it by slamming a fist into the wall next to him.

"Dammit!" He shouted. What if he failed? He would break his promise. He couldn't bare the thought of Tali enduring such sorrow. Not again. The thought was worse than any physical pain. Worse than the pain he felt when he felt when he suffocated to death after the Collectors destroyed the first Normandy.

What Grunt said was wrong. Love doesn't make you weaker, it makes you stronger. It makes you fight all that much harder for your loved ones. Even if he had to rip the Krogan's two hearts out, he would do it knowing that he was keeping his promise. It was time they finally settled this. No more delays.

Shepard activated his comm link. "Joker, plot the course for Tuchanka... It's time." There was a second of silence. Joker didn't want to hear that.

"You got it, commander... Plotting course. Hope you're ready for this." Shepard could hear the concern in his voice. It only made him feel worse. Maybe checking in on Ken and Gabby would help him feel better. One of Ken's smart ass jokes sometimes cheered him up. He didn't really feel like lifting his spirits at the moment, but he knew it was what he needed.

He lazily stepped through the hatch to find them both at work. "Hey Shepard! Things have been getting done real slow like without our chief engineer." Ken said with a shrug. Shepard smiled.

"She's not feeling too well. No more than 48 hours and she'll be back on her six toes." Shepard replied. Ken proceeded to roll his eyes.

"Sick huh? More like playin; hooky-Ouch!" Gabby stomped on Ken's foot causing him to immediately change his tone. "I mean uh, I hope she gets well soon. Poor Tali." Shepard just grinned knowing full well he was only joking. Anyone that didn't know him well would have taken it the wrong way. He glanced over at Tali's terminal, imagining her standing over the console typing away commands at light speed. It made him chuckle at the thought.

"Something funny commander?" Ken asked.

"Nothing. Carry on." Shepard replied as he left for the elevator. He wanted to go talk with Tali until they arrived at Tuchanka. She was probably worried even though she didn't show it. But that just meant she didn't want Shepard to feel bad for her. So selfless he thought. She'd treat a broken leg like a paper cut just to keep him from getting upset.

...

Tali lay elegantly in his bed with one leg bent inward. She was apparently passing the time by watching Fleet & Flotilla on the holo-screen Shepard had set up just above the bed. She turned it off when Shepard approached the bed and coughed quietly.

"Shepard? Are you...alright?" Her voice was hesitant. She knew what he was thinking about when she saw the worry in his expression. Though she didn't bring it up. So...so selfless. He didn't want to tell her they were headed to Tuchanka. Not in her weakened state.

"I am now." His expression instantly turned to happiness when he sat down on the side of the bed next to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You miss me already?" she said with a sniffle. Shepard lay down next to her and he reached his arm behind her head, bringing it up on his shoulder as he climbed in bed and laid down next to her.

"I've got nothing but time for you Miss Vas Normandy." Shepard turned the holo-screen back on and began to watch the romantic vid with her as they lay comfortably next to each other.