Chapter 7: Post-Surgery
AN: Alright, here's my big biotics headcannon for how it all works.
Essentially, the amp amplifies neural signals meant for eezo nodes. It essentially stimulates the brain to make extra chemical signals and release them in larger amounts. So instead of the nodule releasing a little bit of power, it gets a lot of power. The implant interfaces between the amp and the body, allowing the amp's electrical signals to be sent to the proper parts of the brain. You can't just tap into any nerve. It's a carefully constructed highway. But the body and mind need to get used to it, so after surgery is strenuous on the body.
The doctors had flowered it up and thrown in intelligent terms and statistics, but it all boiled down to the same thing for Annalisa Shepard. They were going to stick a piece of metal in her head and all but fuse it to her brain to make every biotic thought stronger. They had attempted to calm her and her mother with numbers, though Kaidan had proven far more helpful with realistic translations, and his parents had given her mom more advice and stories to explain most of what would happen. But that didn't stop her heart from racing as she laid on a hospital bed, a doctor administering a sedative and her mother and Kaidan gripping her hands.
"We'll all be right here when you get out," her mother assured her, but Anna couldn't keep the ridiculous thought that a bolt of lightning would strike her implant if she went out in a storm from breaking through her calm. She couldn't stay in Vancouver. Why couldn't Karin have done this? She would have done the same things as when Anna was little, running to the doctor with scrapes and bruises for medigel, lollipops, and holo-stickers.
"You aren't alone, ok? Never forget that. We're here for you." Kaidan's words provided some comfort as she felt the world fade to black.
Hannah Shepard had been pacing for ten minutes before one of the surgeons came out.
"Is she alright?" Hannah asked before the man could say anything. Kaidan felt for her, and realized that this was probably how his parents had been.
"Annalisa is doing very well. We've mapped all of her nodule nerves, and they were all healthy and functioning at high capacity. We only tested for longer because we wanted to be sure. We're about to start pairing the implant with her nerves. I'm going to go assist them with that." The doctor was calm and very polite, and Hannah seemed to sag in relief. The small knot of tension in Kaidan's gut loosened as well. They all knew that the surgery could go badly, but the surgeons in Vancouver knew what they were doing with the L3 implants.
"Thank you, Doctor. We'll let you get to your work now." Kaidan's father stood, wrapping an arm around Hannah's shoulders in support. Hannah nodded her agreement and went to sit back with them again as the surgeon left the room. They all were silent for a few minutes as Hannah put her head in her hands.
"Is it this terrifying? This helplessness? The waiting?" Hannah asked them in almost desperation, and Kaidan's heart ached for her.
"Yes," his mother answered simply. "But the day that Kaidan went into surgery, there were three others who went under around the same time. The surgeons there worked almost the entire day to give most of the children their implants. We all just held each other, prayed together, paced together. Hearing good news for any of the kids lifted all of our spirits." Hannah sighed in relief and walked over, embracing the other woman. "Just because you're a Captain doesn't make you invincible or immune to this kind of pain. You're a mother, and your child is in surgery. That's stressful for anyone." Kaidan felt awkward at not being able to contribute much, but he was interested to know more about what had happened behind the scenes with Conatix.
"How did they keep people from bothering you and the others? I know that we saw protestors outside, but how did they keep the protestors from coming inside?" Kaidan had wondered about things like this for a while, but had never had a reason to ask his parents.
"Conatix hired bodyguards to guard the entrance to this floor and the surgical wing. The hospital didn't complain because of all the protestors." His father shook his head as he continued. "I still remember some of them shouting at us when we brought you here. There was one man who kept shouting that we were arming 22nd century atom bombs. That this was the new Manhattan Project, and that we were dooming civilization to another Cold War and another World War. That we were making devils." The distant and closed-off look in his father's eyes was unexpected, and he reached for his father's hand at the pained tone.
"We always wondered about Conatix, but they were the only ones who could help you. We had no other choice. But now biotics are in much better hands, and Anna will have an easier time," his mother assured. "And people are changing as well. Slowly but surely. They no longer camp out for each surgery. And she'll grow up around Alliance folks who have a better appreciation for biotics. It'll be alright. You'll see."
"Thank you all. It means a great deal to both of us that you're here. And I was going to step out and get a cup of coffee. Do any of you want me to bring back more?" Hannah offered, making to stand.
"I do, and I think Molly does too." Kaidan saw his mother nod. "So I'll help you carry all the cups back." His father stood as well and opened the door for the Captain, leading her towards where the coffee machine was as Kaidan and his mother settled in for another round of waiting.
Her whole head ached. When did she hit her head this bad? Last time she hit herself anywhere near this hard had been chasing one of the smaller kids a few years back. He was going to get himself hurt, crawling in the ducts, so she chased after him. However, she had missed a low-hanging bar and speed-crawled straight into it. It had left a nasty cut and bruise as well as a day-long headache. But this time was several times worse than her previous injury. Every thought hurt and she gave a low groan, which she cut short as the sound hit her ears.
"It's alright dear." She gently tried to cover her ear, paying little attention to the voice or the words.
"Hey there." She finally processed these words and chanced cracking her eyes open. The sheer amount of light in the room made her shut them closed again. She could feel every muscle in her face. She heard shuffling and some light rattling before she heard more shuffling.
"Miss Shepard," a female voice whispered. "I'm going to give you some more painkillers. This should help your tolerance to light and sound." Anna felt herself relax as she processed the statement and felt the slight burn of medicine in her arm. Relief. Time slowly ticked by after the shuffling stopped, and Anna finally dared to crack an eye open again. In the dark, she saw Kaidan and her mother.
"Hey," Kaidan leaned forward and spoke, using his lips more than his voice.
"Hey," she replied.
"How's your head?" He didn't bother to veil his concern.
"Ow," he gave a soft chuckle before he took one of the hands still covering her head. Gingerly, he moved it to the edge of the bed. He turned to Hannah, who gladly took Anna's hand. Anna attempted to give a smile, and Hannah returned the gesture with a weak one of her own.
"I'm sorry if I hurt you," her mother mouthed. Anna responded by squeezing her hand twice. Hannah gingerly kissed her hand. Anna began to roll over so she could see her mother better when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Kaidan was shaking his head 'no'.
"You'll roll onto the bandages if you do. Trust me when I say that you don't want to." Anna started to nod her head before she winced, pain lancing down her neck. Kaidan was now gripping her other hand, squeezing it and rubbing circles. As the pain subsided, she looked at Kaidan.
"Anything else that will hurt?" She asked. He contemplated for a moment before responding.
"Rolling over, loud noises, bright lights, moving your neck, and making faces," he rattled off. She shot him a look before she corrected her facial expression. "I told you. It's tough at first. I spent the first two days just sleeping and eating. You might not have to stay like that for as long, since you have an L3, but still. For me, there were headaches for a while afterwards. Oh, and you remember having growing pains right?" She mouthed 'yes' in response. "You get those, but in your neck. It's your muscles trying to get used to the amp." She stared to grimace, ending in just gripping Kaidan's hand. After that, she felt her hand transferred again as her mother rubbed it gently. Anna reached out her other hand towards Kaidan and closed her eyes, letting the medicine take her back to sleep.
She spent the next day and a half exactly as Kaidan had said. Hannah, Kaidan, and his parents were all but permanent residents with her. Later, she was glad that she had been in a single occupant room, which gave all of them the privacy they needed. Though it was obvious why she was: biotics were so sensitive to everything that trying to have more than one recovering biotic to a room would only slow the healing of both patients.
But after that first spell, she was quickly recovering, becoming less sensitive to light and sound. She was also developing her biotic appetite, polishing off whatever was set in front of her. The doctors were all optimistic, saying that she was recovering on time and would be out of the hospital in a week. Anna was happy. She had spent far too long in a hospital for her own good, or so she believed. By the time the doctors were running tests, she could lie on her back without too much pain, but she took to sleeping on her side at nights. Unfortunately, she'd had one bout of 'growing pain' every night, though the doctors all insisted that was normal. Kaidan had also been essential in helping her recover, and the doctors had happily allowed him and his parents to stay after they told the doctors that he was a fellow biotic.
The day before she left the hospital, Kaidan's parents didn't come to the hospital. They spent their time getting the house ready for Anna and stocking up on food and some medigel. Fortunately, her transfer home also went without incident. Kaidan said that his was not, since there had been surgeries for over a dozen biotics in Vancouver's premier neurosurgical center. Plenty of protesters had come out, calling for the surgeries to be stopped and even for the young teens to be quarantined. They had been called freaks and monsters when they left, heckled as they raced to their hovercar. Anna realized just how much things had improved, and hoped they improved further for other generations of biotics as she settled back into the house.
The next week proved difficult as she spent most of her time recuperating in the living room. While she wanted less noise and light, her biotics were beginning to show themselves, randomly spawning areas of distorted physics. Kaidan stayed closer than ever, countering whatever she happened to create. Even though she continually apologized, everyone took the changes in stride, saying that she didn't have to be sorry. Her biotic appetite now growled in full force, and Kaidan would typically bring twice of whatever he wanted to snack on. Overall, Anna was grateful to the Alenkos for everything they had done for her and her mother.
At the end of her first week back at the Alenkos, they all traveled to the Alliance HQ to watch Hannah Shepard leave for Arcturus. The two Shepards shared a tearful hug and promises to call each other when possible before the Captain departed. The Alenkos did their best to cheer her up on the way back to their house, but Anna barely felt her spirits lift. All she wanted was to join her mother among the stars, running around with the other kids her age. But she would have to stay until she had finished her lessons with Kaidan. That was of no consequence. It couldn't be that hard to learn.