Notes: Hackett may seem a little out of character but to be honest, we actually saw less of him than we did Anderson so how do we know how he really acted when he wasn't giving orders or telling Shepard he believed in her?
It took them a while to return to Earth. When they did, Shepard had a fresh set of bandages on and had shimmied into her dress blues for her meeting with Hackett.
Hackett was overseeing the operations on Earth on his flagship supposedly to protect him. Shepard felt a cold wave of unease as she walked through the tube connecting the two ships. Two armed soldiers met her at the door then escorted her to Hackett's cabin.
"Commander Shepard, nice of you to finally join me," Hackett said. The man normally didn't take such a tone with the Commander but she decided to forgive him based on the fact he was under a lot of stress and she definitely hadn't helped relieve any of it.
"My apologies, Admiral. There were a few things I had to attend to first," Shepard said, offering a salute.
"So your pilot was adamant on telling me. It's only been a few weeks since the Reapers were destroyed and we're still extremely scattered. I don't need Commander Shepard turning up MIA," Hackett said, gesturing to the couch. His cabin was somewhat similar to the setup on the Normandy though it was smaller and more Spartan.
Shepard took him up on the offer and went to sit down on the couch. Her legs thanked her immensely for it. Hackett took a seat in the chair to Shepard's right.
"Why exactly did you need to see me in person? I mean... I predicted you would want to just not the reason," Shepard said, leaning the cane up against the cushions next to her.
"I needed to see for myself what condition you were in. You're pretty banged up, Shepard. I'm not sure I can rationalize sending you out on what amounts to the front lines against Cerberus right now," Hackett said, shaking his head.
"Yeah and my healing time could be months. We don't have months with how heavy Cerberus is hitting our colonies. It's my responsibility. I have the most experience with them, I have people who have been in the organization. No one else can do it," Shepard said firmly.
"And I believe you, Commander. But frankly, you're not fighting fit. We've sent a few ships out to the colonies most at risk of being attacked. We can hold them off until you're able to at least run and fire a gun," Hackett said.
"I can fire a gun," Shepard defended.
"But you can't run and fire," Hackett said.
"So find me some bone weave," Shepard said.
"You and I both know your injuries are more than that. Your muscles are torn and your ligaments are strained to their max. You need to be on bed rest but you've always been stubborn. Your injuries do not have a miracle fix," Hackett said gravely.
"Fine. But I'm not just going to sit on my ass and let everyone else do the heavy lifting," Shepard argued.
"And I respect that. Why don't you head to Thessia? It's relatively safe and I'm told they have doctors who can help in ways ours simply can't," Hackett said.
Shepard dropped her gaze. The last time she had visited Thessia it had been under Reaper invasion and she'd failed to secure the Prothean VI thanks to Kai Leng and Cerberus. She would forever feel guilty for failing.
"I'm told they've done a marvelous job of fixing up the damage the Reapers made. No one blames you for what happened at the temple, Shepard," Hackett said, trying to ease the Commander's guilty conscience. Hackett had always been a guiding voice when she needed it whereas Anderson had been the guiding hand. Both Admirals had believed in her when it felt like nobody else did. Hackett always said he trusted her judgment.
"I... I'm not sure I can go. It will forever be the location where I was soundly defeated and millions died because of it," Shepard said. Her words came out stiffly, though with a tinge of sadness and regret.
"No, even if you had retrieved the Prothean VI and Cerberus hadn't those people still would have died. You didn't have the resources or the weaponry to take down all of those Reapers," Hackett said. For the first time he reached out to gently touch the Commander's cheek in a decidedly fatherly gesture. She flinched somewhat at the touch, not expecting it from him.
"Take time for yourself, Shepard. For me, for the Alliance, for your crew, for the galaxy. We can keep our heads above water for a time. Everything I did after the Reapers attacked Earth... they were stalling maneuvers for you. We can do it again. Cerberus is not as strong as they were. But we're still going to need you at your best," Hackett said, pulling his hand away. He had promised himself he wasn't going to do this, that he wasn't going to pretend to be a father. He didn't have any of the right qualities and besides, Anderson had known the Commander better. If there had ever been a father-daughter dynamic it had been with Anderson and Shepard.
But, on the other hand... Shepard needed a father figure. Especially in the absence of Anderson. Still, he wasn't going to force it.
"Is that an order?" Shepard asked when she finally got her voice back. She was honestly touched that Hackett seemed to care about her on a more personal level rather than a professional level. But she was still stinging from the loss of Anderson. She rubbed at the scar over her eye.
"If it'll have a greater chance of you doing it, yes," Hackett said shortly.
"Fine. I'll head to Thessia. Though I'm not even sure how Liara will react... it's her home. She was a mess after Cerberus beat us to the punch," Shepard said softly.
"She will have you there. You both need to see Thessia again. It will help you to heal, in more ways than one," Hackett said.
"If you say so," Shepard said. She rose to her feet and picked up her cane. "Nothing's ever simple is it, sir?"
"No, Commander, it isn't. Just focus on healing up and we'll go from there," Hackett said, rising to his feet as well.
He walked her to the airlock.
"You'll get it done, Commander. I have always believed that. Get healed up then we'll thrash Cerberus," Hackett said.
"Thank you, Admiral. By the way, let our ships know that they'll be meeting a few merc ships and turian ships out in the Terminus Systems," Shepard said.
"Your connections pulled through again, I see," Hackett remarked.
"Yessir. Good bye and thank you. I'll be in touch a bit better this time, I promise," Shepard said.
"Appreciate it, Commander. Good luck," Hackett said. In a show of absolute respect he was the first to salute. She stared in surprise before fumbling to salute back. She then went through the tube to her own ship.
"Joker, set a course for Thessia," she said.
"Aye aye," Joker replied.
Shepard made her way to the elevator to take her down to the crew deck. There she had lunch then retired to her cabin.