I. OWN. NOTHING. This is also my version of event - it is slightly different to the game. Don't eat me :)
7. Sleep
The ship is quiet.
This is unusual given the steady stream of Alliance brass, reporters, citadel hospital staff and technicians that have been crawling all over the SSV Normandy's crew decks for the past few days since Sovereign has been blown to pieces. The press has been largely disappointed and the Alliance commanders have been turned away, their de-briefing folders un-filled.
Commander Shepard is out; cold.
Kaidan shifts in the lounge chair that the Doctor has wordlessly had moved into the Med Bay for his use, all pretense at being clueless as to the nature of their relationship completely gone. He doesn't find himself minding too much, particularly since his superiors in the military don't seem to have anything to say.
Well, he supposes that's what happens when you save the Galaxy.
He attempts to focus on the datapad in front of him, the steady beeping of Shepard's heart monitor like a soothing balm as he reads through the message for what must be the thousandth time that afternoon.
"Admiral Steven Hackett does hereby confer the title of "Commander" to Lieutenant Kaidan Alexander Alenko in light of recent exemplary services to Humanity."
Commander. Commander Kaidan Alenko. Commander Kaidan Alexander Alenko.
"Nope," he murmurs to himself, turning the datapad face down on the arm of the chair, "doesn't sound right."
He runs through the rest of the message in his head, the words burned into his memory, "You are to report to the Human Embassy on the 29th of November, 2183 at 0800 hours for your new assignment."
Two months from now. Two months is all he has left on the Normandy. Two months of shore leave before he's reassigned. Two months until there's not a chance he's going to see her everyday. Two months until their main form of communication is going to be via email. Two months until he's worrying about her, rushing into ridiculous situations without him to watch her back.
And she's still not awake.
He sighs and runs a tired hand across his face, very aware of the fact he looks like hell. Sleeping in an armchair will do that to a man; he has cricks in vertebrae in his back he wasn't even aware existed. Yet he refuses to leave. He's already been deathly afraid she's dead once before and he has no desire to do it again.
"Arianna!" He's aware he's screaming her name, her first name, but he doesn't care; she's not answering.
Strong hands close around his waist and he struggles, shouting for her as Wrex pulls him away from the falling debris, his world falling into black as the ceiling collapses on top of them.
"Over here!"
Kaidan blinks, crying out with shock and blinding pain as light overwhelms his migraine-addled brain. He's dimly aware that he's overdone it; the sour, metallic taste in the back of his throat coupled with the ear-splitting agony speaks volumes. For a second he's confused then in an instant everything rushes back and suddenly the migraine doesn't matter anymore. He closes his eyes against the onslaught, squeezing them shut as much as he can.
"Anything broken Lieutenant?" Captain Anderson's voice is strangely hushed.
"Just my brain Sir." He replies, his voice cracking oddly.
"I need a medic!" Anderson calls before turning back to Kaidan, "Hang in there soldier."
"The Commander?"
The silence is all Kaidan needs to tell him what he's been fearing. He opens his eyes, squinting against the stars of the migraine, takes in the Captain's clouded expression, and decides darkness is the better option.
He's silent as the Medic gives him a quick once over with his omni-tool and presses a shot of pain meds into his neck. A muffled shouted protest in a familiarly gruff voice lets him know that Wrex is alive and unharmed. Probably.
Only one is missing.
"On your feet Alenko." The Captain tells him, hauling him up into a sitting position, one arm under his elbow.
Kaidan bends his knees and rests his arms outstretched on top of them, his head low. The Captain can hear him breathing heavily, long and slow, through the pain and he winces in sympathy. Anderson watches as his shoulders slump and his breathing evens out, the fast-acting meds taking a hold and relieving some of the mind-numbing agony L2s were prone to feeling.
"Sir," a stupidly young Private salutes the Captain smartly, "we've done a sweep of the area sir. All clear."
Kaidan's shoulders slump even more and Anderson watches his face crack, his hands reaching up to cover his eyes almost like he's about to…
And then he's remembering the two of them on his ship before he's reassigned. Their easy banter, their idle chattering in a strange language when they think they're alone. He was always watching her, aware of her every move, filling the gaps in her battle plans so seamlessly and without being asked that Anderson can remember wondering if he was telepathic as well as telekinetic. She was always seeking him out after missions to get his opinion, and every time he saw one of them on the decks, the other was never truly far behind.
Just as the Captain is reaching out to lay a comforting hand on the Lieutenant's shoulder, there's a shout from the other side of the ruined council chambers.
"Oh God." Kaidan whispers, bracing himself for what he knows is coming.
He takes a deep breath and accepts Anderson's outstretched hand to haul him to his feet, ignoring the obviously pitying look on his face, turning to face what he knows he must.
And there she is.
He stares at her for a moment, watches as she stands on the piece of the ceiling, her body wreathed in the artificial light from the Citadel's core like some long forgotten ancient hero, her eyes scanning the crowd for something, someone.
Anderson watches as she finds him and a broad grin splits her face in two. Kaidan claps his former Commander on the shoulder, an identical smile plastered across his features and the Captain can only stare between them, dumbfounded.
For his part, Kaidan can almost feel the final traces of the migraine evaporate as her green eyes meet his own. Before he knows it, he's running towards her and she's climbing awkwardly down off the rock, swaying slightly as she moves towards him. His smile fades, his insides churning and he's aware of the alarmed shouts around him. He's sprinting now, calling out her name, her first name, damned if he's going to lose her just as he's got her back. She pitches forward, her eyes rolling into the back of her head and he barely gets there in time, catching her just as she tumbles towards the ground.
"Shepard?" His voice sounds distant in his own ears, "Ari? Arianna?! I need some help over here!"
Kaidan snaps awake with a jerk at a light pressure on his shoulder. "Wha…?"
"It's just me."
He rubs his neck awkwardly, sitting back with a sigh at the snapping and popping of his stiff joints. Three nights on the chair is not doing him any favours, he muses.
"Any change?" Captain Anderson asks, pulling up Doctor Chakwas' rolling office chair.
Kaidan shakes his head with a small sigh, "None yet sir, although the Doc said she's dreaming. Which is apparently a good sign." He doesn't seem completely convinced.
"She'll pull through, I've seen her get up after worse."
Kaidan's mouth twists into a frown and his eyes rest, worriedly, on the Commander's sleeping form. "That's what the Doc said."
"See? She's probably just exhausted." Anderson leans back and props his legs up, nonchalantly on the side of her bed.
"Hah." Kaidan laughs, releasing his held breath in a rush, "Before we hit Ilos I don't think she'd slept in… two, maybe three days?"
Anderson smiles, almost wickedly, "And just how would you know that Commander?"
"Ah…" Kaidan isn't sure if his currently beet-red face is because of the obvious implication of the question or his new title.
"You do know I could absolutely have you both officially reprimanded and demoted for fraternization?" Anderson's smile is gone.
Despite his exhaustion, Kaidan bristles, his brown eyes flashing. "With all due respect sir, I would like to see you try. That woman just saved every last one of us."
Anderson notes, with not a small amount of pride, that Kaidan makes no mention of his role in the world-saving. He's pretty sure the new Commander would sacrifice his shiny title to make sure she didn't lose hers. He smiles, satisfied that this is no small fling.
"Relax Commander. I was just testing you."
Kaidan huffs out another breath and smiles ruefully. "Yeah, I figured."
They're silent for a few minutes, both staring at the woman in the hospital bed, her eyelids flickering quickly and her mouth curved upwards in a small smile.
"You really do love her don't you?" Anderson's voice is hushed.
"Yeah." Kaidan meets the older man's eyes and smiles. "I really, really do."
"And you know that's why Hackett's transferring you?"
The younger man is silent for a moment, his eyes fixed on a point somewhere on the wall in front of him. "Yes sir."
"… Kaidan?"
They both jump in surprise, snapping around to the bed to where Shepard is stirring, her movements groggy and confused. Kaidan is almost immediately there at her side, his callused fingers curling around the hand that's reaching for him blindly. He barely feels the hand on his shoulder as Anderson says goodbye, the Med Bay hissing shut behind him.
"Hey it's ok! It's ok Ari. I'm here." He kisses the back of her hand, relief coursing through him like an instant balm.
Her eyes flutter open and then widen as she seems to remember something vitally important, "Did we get him?"
Kaidan grins at her, "We kicked his ass Commander. We kicked it all over the Citadel actually." His voice lowers and his smile fades, "One of the pieces nearly took you out."
Arianna frowns, her eyes narrowing as she takes in his appearance properly. His eyes are bloodshot and there are dark circles beginning to form. There are lines on his forehead where there didn't used to be any before and he's sitting, hunched over, shoulders stooped in exhaustion.
"Kaidan, how long have I been out for?"
"Three days."
"And have you slept at all?"
Kaidan's eyes hold hers, darkening with some unreadable emotion and as the doors hiss open, he shakes his head.
"Welcome back Shepard." Doctor Chakwas says, moving over to the Commander with her Omni-tool at the ready.
Kaidan is forced back into his chair, watching with slight amusement as Arianna protests and Doctor Chakwas fusses.
"I'm fine Doc, honestly. I'm just a little tired."
"Oh you're fine are you? You've just woken up after severe head trauma Arianna Shepard, don't you tell me how you're doing. I'll tell you how you're feeling." The Doctor continues to process her scans and eventually looks up with a slightly sheepish smile. "You're fine. Apparently just exhausted."
Arianna laughs softly and Kaidan grins at the sound, realizing he's missed it deeply, an ache in his heart slowly fixing itself. He has his Shepard back.
"I'm giving you something for your headache Shepard." The Doctor says, pressing an air-syringe to her neck. "You'll need to stay here for a couple more days and you'll need bed rest for at least a week but you'll be ok. Your biotics are more or less fine, which is surprising. A knock to the head like that would have been enough to kick them loose." She smiles down at her patient, "You're a tough one Shepard."
"I try." She smiles back, then her face snaps into a yawn that she tries to cover without any success at all.
"Sleep Arianna." The Doctor says, "I'll be back in the morning to check on you." She turns a stern face to Kaidan without warning and suddenly feels like a ten year old. "And you. Get some proper sleep. That's an order Commander. I don't want to see you in that chair when I get back."
"Yes Doctor." He says meekly, wondering how Chakwas always manages to make him feel like he's being scolded for something.
She smiles genially at them both before leaving, the doors hissing shut behind her.
"Commander?"
"Ah yeah… we need to talk." She opens her mouth to speak but Kaidan moves over and swiftly lays a hand across her lips. "But later. You heard the Doctor."
She narrows her eyes but thankfully doesn't argue, instead shifting awkwardly over to one side of the narrow cot, pulling the covers back. He smiles, taking the cue, and climbs in, arranging his limbs so neither of them will fall off the Med Bay bed. The instant his head touches the pillow, they're both sound asleep.
When the Doctor strides into the Med Bay the next morning, she stops in the doorway, a soft and fond smile crossing her face. Kaidan is resting on his back, one arm trapped under Shepard's side, the other on her waist. Arianna is lying with her head on his chest, her arm draped over him almost possessively.
Well, she thinks, I did say I didn't want to see him in the chair.
The ship is quiet.
Nawwwwwwwww.
*ahem* Anyway, time for some more Shenko fluffiness next week as we head off-ship! Woop!