It was easier to open her eyes the second time, although the light was still far too bright, and once more a hand attempted to move and cover her eyes and once more the restraints held her down. For a moment she was disorientated, but this time it had been hours nor days, and her brain gently reminded her where she was. There was less distress in her movement, or attempt at movement, this time, but the one watching her this time hadn't taken his eyes off her in hours and reacted immediately.

"Shepard?"

"Hey Kaidan" she managed to murmur, knowing it was him even before her eyes opened and she felt a hand on her head, on her hair, and another catch her fingers. Opening her eyes she focused on the hazel eyes, the dark eyebrows, the lines of concern, the sleepless shadows, the stubble on his chin and the thin white scar that marked his lip…and then the pieces fit themselves together and it was his face, the face she loved, pale, tired, concerned and relieved all in one. "You're ok?" she checked, trying to smile, the expression intending to reassure but a sob caught in his throat at the sight of it.

"Shepard, you might be the only person who can wake from injuries like yours and ask if I'm ok" he murmured in disbelief, glancing toward the Doctor who crossed to check her vital signs once more.

"How bad?" she asked, and the hand beneath his shifted, reaching for a better grip even as her attention shifted to the Doctor. Over her head, over her body lying prone and patchworked with bandages and drips, the two shared a look…and there was a faintly discernible nod, the suggestion something had passed between them. That they might as well tell her and get it over with.

"It could be worse" Karin began gently, as though to try to preface the bad news with something positive. "All the bones in both your legs crushed, heavy nerve and muscle damage in both…Shepard…I've done everything I can, the bones are held together with mesh and beginning to heal but you're never going to be able to run again" she said softly, and there was sorrow in her voice as she delivered this news. Perhaps it shouldn't be a shock, but it came as though a physical blow, her stomach dropping, suddenly empty and she closed her eyes to try to process it.

"Will – I walk?" she checked, and the silence, the moment of hesitation, had her eyes flying open again.

"I believe so" was the guarded answer. "It's too soon to promise or be sure, but I believe so. It will take time though, and effort".

"What else?" Shepard whispered, not trusting herself to stay silent and let that news sink in.

"You cracked your sternum, fractured almost all your ribs, dislocated a shoulder – but all these injuries are improving. One lung deflated, which we have managed to save, and a host of bruises, cuts, grazes and wounds too numerous to count but all stitched up. You'll live Shepard…but you won't be a solider anymore".

There was a long silence. Dr Chakwas occupied herself with the screen, checking blood pressures and other outputs, all of them slowly but steadily improving. Kaidan all but held his breath as he looked down at Shepard, her eyes closed once more and her expression unreadable, the swelling and bruising a part of it but there was a distance in her face, as though she had withdrawn from them and he didn't dare call her back till she accepted this news.

It was hard to take in. All her adult life she had been a solider. The moment she turned eighteen she had joined the Alliance. There had been nothing else she even considered doing with her life. There were no parents to advise, no family, so she turned to the military who had saved her and vowed to work to ensure nobody else had to become an orphan as she had. It was all she had ever planned. She had assumed she would end up like Anderson, like Hackett, like Chakwas even – that her life would be devoted to the military, that they would be the only family she ever had. That, or she would die in combat, and that had seemed a more and more likely in recent years. Between that assumption, and the war, she had never thought of an alternative future, had never considered anything else – and now suddenly, there was peace, and the future was a blank slate. A future where she couldn't fight, couldn't run…Shepard had no ideas. It was almost as daunting as the fight had been. Almost.

"I guess I'd better…figure out how people live…when they're not saving the galaxy" she managed eventually, the long sentence, the longest she had spoken since waking, an effort that required her to break off and gasp another lungful of air twice. She tried to sound casual, the relaxed jovial tone she had perfected, but as she looked toward Kaidan her vision was blurred with tears and she choked on the words as she forced them out. "Maybe…get myself a hobby".

"Hey, hey, it's gonna be okay" Kaidan crooned, shifting his chair closer to her with scrap of metal on the tiled floor, squeezing her hand gently, his fingers ghosting over her hair. His instinct was to embrace her, that was what he'd have done normally – pulled her close and hugged her tightly – but with her strapped down to the bed with little wires and tubes taped to her skin, that was a bad idea. He couldn't get close enough to comfort her properly as she swallowed awkwardly, screwing up her eyes to hold back the tears as he leaned in toward her ear, kissing her temple gently before he spoke. "I know it's gonna be tough Shepard, but…you're alive. And that's so much more than we hoped at first" his own voice cracked, remembering the fear. The initial terror and confusion where nobody seemed to know what had happened or what to do, and he thought he had lost her again. "You're alive…and you managed it. Sure, there's the future to think of, but don't let yourself forget that you won and you're going to live to see it".

He had a point and Sophie nodded slightly, her lips pressed together as she forced back the tears. Considering what the sacrifice could have been, she ought to be glad it was just her legs, practically dancing for joy…metaphorically speaking, of course.

"I know I just…I don't know what I'll do now" she confessed and Kaidan offered a shaky smile.

"We'll figure that out together" he promised.