AUTHOR'S NOTE:This chapter regresses in time a little bit. It goes back about three months before the events of the second chapter. The next chapter will be normal, I promise. Read the end note if you're confused!

The ship found her seven days later.

Time passed by in a blur. Shepard spent these far flung hours rummaging through wreckage, searching for food, regaining her strength, anything to keep from thinking too much. She found a half charred Alliance uniform hidden underneath a heap of blackened scrap metal and put it on, grateful for the cover, even if it was a bit…ashy. The wreckage yielded little else.

Her leg fared no better. There were good days and there were bad days, though the bad days outnumbered the good. Pain was a part of her now; it weaved between her muscles and buried itself in her bones. It infected her thoughts and poisoned her blood. Sometimes, when the fever set in, she'd settle down on the beach and listen to the crashing of the waves, let the salty wind cool her burning cheeks.

It wasn't so terrible, being stranded and alone. All the weight that'd been piled on her for so many years was finally gone. She wasn't Commander Shepard here. She was simply…lost. Feverish, probably dying, and lost. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to be lost. But the chances of getting off this planet were slim. She knew that. She'd gotten lucky before. So extraordinarily lucky. Now? Shepard had her doubts.

She buried her fingers in the sand and began her daily regimen. "Liara T'soni. David Anderson. Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Kaiden Alenko. Ashley Williams. Urdnot Wrex. Grunt. Mordin Solus. Legion. Jeff Moreau. EDI. Samara. Miranda Lawson. Jacob Taylor…"

She struggled with the last name. It lingered on the tip of her tongue like a forgotten dream, fleeting and intangible. Every time she thought she remembered, the name would fade and she'd be left as ignorant as before. The rest of them were much easier to recall. Days would pass and new memories would surface.

Liara asking Shepard how she would like to be remembered, Anderson's smile as he told her how proud he was, Mordin's songs, Jeff's jokes. It was all falling back into place…Except for the last one. The tall man. The angular one. He was a stranger to her, though she knew he shouldn't be. He was something to her. Someone important.

Her head spun with the fever's heat. What was his name?

"G-Ga—Garret? No, that's not it." Shepard sighed. Why did this have to be so hard? She brought her knees to her chest and rested her aching head in her arms. Darkness rippled on the periphery of her vision. She needed sleep, but she didn't want it. It brought up too many unwanted memories. Akuze, abandoning Earth, the boy who refused her help, the atrocities on Sanctuary. Awful things.

But when the shadows of rest began to swallow her up, Shepard did not dream of Akuze or the boy or Sanctuary…She dreamed of him.

"I've never told anyone this before, but…I figured someone should know. Just in case I need it engraved on my tombstone after all this is said and done."

"What's the matter?" He asked lightly. "Do you have an extra toe? A deadly, turian-specific disease I should be worried about?"

"Damn. You caught me." She felt herself smile. He always made her smile. Even at times like these. She tucked her hair behind her ear. It was a nervous gesture. She'd been doing it a lot lately. She hoped he hadn't noticed. "But, ah…No. No extra toes, no disease."

Inside, this part of the Normandy was quiet. Outside, however, was a completely different story. Saren was planning something horrific here on Virmire. Something she dared not think about in any great detail. All she knew was that she had to stop him. Whatever the cost.

"Something else, then?" He prompted. "Now you've got me curious. Who knew the great Commander Shepard had a deep, dark secret?"

She laughed. "I don't know if you'd call it that. It's actually pretty boring."

"You're the farthest thing from boring, Shepard. Believe me, I know boring. I worked at C-Sec. And you…You couldn't be boring if you tried."

She had no idea his words would have such a powerful effect on her. What he said wasn't exactly a compliment, but the way he said it…Quiet, soft…like it was something intimate. She cleared her throat. "Thanks. I think."

"Anytime." He said. And she knew he meant it.

"My name isn't really Charlie." She confessed, gaze falling to her lap. "Well, it is, but that's not all. It's uh…Charlotte. Charlotte Shepard."

He shifted in his seat, draping his arm across the top of the couch. His blue, blue eyes glimmered with amusement. "Really?"

"Really. I haven't been called Charlotte for years. Pretty sure I punched the last guy who called me it. I was fifteen. Angry…You know how teenagers are."

"Ouch. I take it I'm next? Now that I know this life changing secret of yours? Just do me a favor and leave my face alone. It's too pretty to be punched like that."

"I'm not going to punch you." She said. "Actually, I take that back. I might, if you abuse this power you've been given."

"I'd never, Commander. I swear on my honor as a turian. And that's a pretty big deal, mind you. We turians take our honor very, very seriously."

"Glad to hear it." It was freakishly easy to open up to him and it was equally as easy to smile around him, to laugh. He didn't treat her like a commander. He treated her like a friend. "But, I tell you what. I'll give you one chance. To use your newfound power. One. That's it."

"Only one? Well, I'll have to use my chance wisely, then."

"You'd better."

The Normandy lurched. The cabin's doors swished open. Shepard jumped to her feet. Standing in the doorway was Ashley, a rifle in her hands. She glanced at two of them, eyes narrowing. "Commander," she muttered. "We're getting ready to land."

"Thank you, Williams." Shepard said stiffly.

Ashley nodded. She exited the cabin without another word.

Shepard blew out a breath, irked by Ashley's suspicion. She'd gotten better with time, but she disliked most of the aliens onboard. Especially the turian.

"Guess it's time to go." He said, standing up. "Be careful out there, Shepard. Saren's a real bastard."

Shepard turned to face him, a wry smile on her lips. "I'm not going alone, Garrus. You're coming with me."

"Again?" He mused. "Here I thought I was going to get a break."

"Not quite yet. You've got to put up with me for just a little bit longer. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. I think I like putting up with you. You're a lot more pleasant than most of the people I had to deal with before."

Shepard grinned. "I think I like putting up with you, too."

She awoke with a gasp. Garrus. That was his name. Garrus. She repeated it to herself over and over again, scared that if she didn't, she'd forget it and he'd be lost to her again. Garrus. He was the man from her fall, he was the man who occupied her silence. All that time…

Come back alive.

A great sense of comfort blanketed Shepard, then. Garrus. She knew him. Better yet, she remembered him. She didn't remember all of him, but that dream was only the beginning. It'd take time—a lot of it—to remember everything. But at least she had this. This single memory of one man, one woman, and one boring secret.

Feeling better than she had in days, Shepard managed to get to her feet. The muscles in her bad leg twitched. Blood oozed from the gaping wound that slashed across her ankle. Her hair was matted and her lips were chapped, but she felt…good.

As she hobbled away from the beach, the familiar whirring noise she'd heard when she first arose ripped across the sky. Another ship? Shepard's stomach gave a squeeze. If it really was another ship and if she could somehow signal it, then she'd be able to get off this damn planet and see Garrus again. She'd see everyone again. The possibility made her frantic.

She shambled as fast as she could back to the shoreline. There weren't any trees here, so it would be easier for her to get the ship's attention. The whirring got louder. Shepard's heart slammed hard and quick against her chest. She was prepared to do anything she had to to signal the ship, and then…Flying just above the treeline, was a shuttle.

It wasn't nearly as large as the first ship was. It didn't look as high tech, either. It was a simple boxy looking vessel painted in blue and white, a peculiar A symbol imprinting the hull. Shepard's fractured mind recognized it instantly. Alliance.

The Alliance was coming to save her.

END NOTE: Right, so this chapter takes place a week after the events of the first chapter and three months before the events of the second. Does that make sense? I hope it does. I was just going to begin this chapter with Shepard going back to Earth, but I felt like you guys needed to see a little bit of what happened after Shepard woke up so it's not quite as jarring when she gets back to Earth. And I wanted to add in a little…memory recognition. Enjoy! Garrus is up next!