Thankfully her hallucinations didn't greet her in the morning, especially during his normal morning ritual of checking her pulse and making sure her normal civvies were in working order. She didn't bother tying her hair up or doing really anything with it besides making it look better then the bedhead she had. She didn't even run a brush through it, knowing she would spend an awful amount of time just getting through knots. She would have to do it when the missions were done.

She took her coffee as per usual, pausing before her first cup to look into Chakwas' office. She had promised Garrus she would visit her to understand why she was having hallucinations. She set her cup down, asking Gardner to hold it for her, and entered the med bay to a surprised Chakwas.

"Commander. How are doing this morning?"

"Alright. I need your help though for something."

Chakwas set down her cup of coffee, a look of motherly worry coming to her time-worn face. "What seems to be the problem, Shepard?"

The Commander sighed, sitting herself on one of the gurneys, folding her hands in her lap before setting them besides her.

"I've been having some issues that keep on persisting. Nothing physical, just... something I really don't need at this moment."

"If you don't actually tell me what it is, I can't help you, Shepard." Chakwas scolded.

"I've been having vivid visual and auditory hallucinations, Karin... hallucinations of myself as this.. this cybernetic monster. Hallucinations of Saren, of fucks sake."

Chakwas hummed for a moment, standing up to face Shepard with a worried look. She gently took hold of her commander's face, looking at the faint lines of her cybernetics, dropping her hands and picking up a notepad. She was in full doctor mode immediately, a worried look seemingly permanent on her face. A few buttons were tapped, and the door was locked. A few eyes looked toward the windows but soon disengaged.

"When did these start, and did they start as auditory or visual?"

Shepard took a breath, drawing one leg up to her chest, staring at the opposite wall.

"Auditory. It started just after getting Garrus. It was whispers, hisses... some voices I recognized, some I didn't. Some were memories. A few days later, they became visual. Dead crew members, old enemies, Saren... Saren has been showing up now more then the others."

Chakwas continued to let, letting Shepard speak of her experiences. Shepard's voice softened, taking on an almost haunting quality as she recounted the recent past, drawing her other leg up to her chest.

"Saren likes to appear when I'm vulnerable. When I'm in my cabin, when I'm alone in cargo. He loves to thank Cerberus, loves to compare me to him. How I'm just another cog in the synthetic journey to complete control. He likes to think I'll be just like him, and we'll rule as half synthetic gods over the universe. He points out my scars, the cybernetics, the lack of compassion in my words now.

"He loves to remind me that by the end, I'll have no one. That once I'm done here, they'll be all gone. That the universe will take and take and take from me. It took Nihlus, it took Kaidan... and it'll take Garrus. Honestly, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if he was right."

Chakwas looked up from her notes, seeing the exhaustion already covering her face, the pain and horrors clinging to her. She gently touched of her hands, holding it for a moment.

"Shepard... you know better then any of us that this universe is messed up, but I know better then you that you are one of the best things to come out of that universe. Now, I think I have a theory for why these hallucinations are happening."

"I'm just crazy now, Karin?" Shepard chuckled, pushing her hair out of her face. The good doctor chuckled softly.

"Not crazy at all, dear. It's possible that the early wake up you had did more then we thought. Your visible cybernetics and scars were only one of the things that resulted in the early wake. It could be a possible form of Parkinson's or what we would call a Migraine coma. You're still technically recovering from your two year coma, in a sense. This could happen until your body and mind realize its healed."

"Is there anything you can do to help?" Shepard asked.

"I could prescribe something to help stop them, but it would only be temporary. It could also make them worse, so I wouldn't recommend them."

"So... waiting game?"

"Sadly, yes. There are ways to make them stop, or at least ignore then in a way to lessen the stress."

"Give me the lecture, and an empty datapad. I'll take notes, professor."

She lay her head on the table before her, awaiting the next cup of coffee through the pain of a headache. Life went on through the ship, crew members moving in and out of the mess. Much of what Chakwas had taught her didn't seem logical in her situation, but she had no other options to curb the issues rotting through her unstable mind at the moment. The smell of coffee hit her and she lifted her head, giving a weak but passionate 'thank you' to her gracious mess sergeant before curling up in her chain and taking a sip. Another brush through her tangled hair, sighing softly as she peered into her cup, seeing her blurry face in the dark liquid. The lingering scars, the painful look. She tilted her head, trying to understand herself, until a new figure joined her in the mirror of her coffee, drawing her eyes up to the worried turian behind her.

"How did your visit to the good doctor go?"

She sighed. "It's either Parkinson's or a migraine coma. Chakwas is sure its the latter because I wasn't completely done being built when I was woken up."

"What is Parkinson's?" she had a smile, even though it was a morbid question. He was a turian, he wouldn't know what kind of diseases they could develop.

"Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative disorder, it's sadly common. It slowly ruins motor control and mental stability in humans. It can get bad and ruins lives. It's not pretty."

Garrus' mandibles fluttered nervously, and he stood there silently for a moment before taking the seat next to her.

"I did my own digging on the disease," she continued, "and although I fall into the right range of being able to develop it, it's still a relatively low risk. Chakwas is going to make sure that it's this migraine coma thing."

"And what would that be?"

"Something that occurs after long periods of comatose. Basically what happens occasionally during the recovery after waking up from a coma. It makes more sense then Parkinson's. Chakwas mentioned that there is a clear sign that it's this migraine coma, but I would need an MRI to get a look at my brain, parts of my spine. I'm debating when I should do it."

Garrus put a hand on her shoulder, drawing her tired eyes to him. She looked down and then closed them, leaning into him.

"It would be better to get it done sooner then later. We don't need you killing yourself because you're determined to ignore it and think everything is okay."

"I just don't know if I have time, or the ability to even get cutting edge medical help, Garrus. I'm technically still dead, and affiliated, sadly, with Cerberus. What medical facility would take me in?"

"Might I suggest Huerta Memorial, on the Presidium, Shepard?" EDI cut in silently, "Records indicate that Dr. Michel was recently taken on their staff."

"It's a good idea. Someone familiar, and if we can convince Dr. Michel to keep it quiet, no one would know." Garrus commented, "Thanks, EDI."

"It would be no issue getting in contact with Dr. Michel, Shepard."

Both human and turian turned to see Chakwas walking toward him, a datapad in her hand. Shepard looked grimly down at her coffee once again.

"Let me get Jack first. I don't want to lose the chance to get them."

"One mission only, Commander. You don't want to risk worsening your condition. We need to confirm what is causing this and find a way to keep it from continuing."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I mean it, Shepard. Don't make me drag you back into that med-bay."

Jack was an interesting woman. They hadn't expected her to be covered in tattoos, locked up in high security, or proceed to completely break apart Purgatory in her escape. The burning remains they had to fight through were fun for her, as she relied near completely on her biotics, only ever using her pistol a few times. She was a lightning bolt of blue superiority through the facility until they caught up with Jack.

It was a quick friendship.

"Files are yours, you get your freedom, a dark place to sleep in, and some fun killing more enemies. Cerberus can kiss my glowing ass, so I don't care what you do, Jack."

The biotic was almost caught off guard by Shepard's willingness to let her free to do as she pleased, but she caught herself, smirking at the Commander.

"Well then, let's get out of this shithole already. I don't want to linger here."

They didn't bother with briefing her in the briefing room, or sugar coating anything, especially if she wasn't warm with Cerberus. They did get her to meet Miranda, though it wasn't surprising that they immediately starting throwing insults at each other. She was quick to curb it, passing a datapad to Jack and getting Miranda to act a little more accommodating and welcoming. She did wish in silence she could have another second-in-command, but she could deal at least for the length of the suicide mission. She would get Miranda's cold shields to come down eventually. With Jack, it could get tricky but she knew she could. If she could get Wrex's walls and Garrus' walls down, she could break down a cold, overworked friend to come clean.

"Play nice, please. Or better yet, just be nice."

"I'd rather not have her digging through all of our files. She's unstable." Miranda counter. Shepard scowled.

"Yes, because any victim of Cerberus' is guaranteed to be sane and safe. Just, for me and the crew, get over this."

She left Miranda to think, moving toward the elevator, before taking a detour to the galazy map until Joker's voice came over the com.

"Commander, the Illusive Man's on the line. Being pushy about getting you in there. Better deal with him before he gets snappy."

Perfect. She needed to get to Chakwas, but if the Illusive Man had something for her, she had to get it done before she could do anything. Pushing her hair back, she trekked back to the briefing room, stepping into the call, staring at the holographic image of the Illusive Man coming to her. He paused, taking a drag of his ever lit cigarette.

"Shepard, I think we have them. Horizon, one of our colonies in the Terminus Systems, just went silent. If it isn't under attack, it soon will be. Has Mordin delivered the countermeasure for the seeker swarms?"

"Not yet," Shepard replied, shaking her head.

"Let's hope he works well under pressure." it seems the lack of progress didn't deter him. "There's something else you should know."

Another drag of his cigarette. She tightened up, fearing the next words he spoke without visible evidence.

"One of your former crew, Kaiden Alenko. He's stationed on Horizon."

Her face went pale, her body tightening up, her heart stretching out in pain and worry. Two years without any contact, no messages. She couldn't imagine the pain in his heart. They had spent time together before Ilos, helping one another shake off anxiety before the final mission. She took a calming breath. The edges of her vision went black, the glow of his eyes returning before disappearing.

"Good to know."

"Plotting our vectors, Shepard. We'll be there in a few hours."

She was silent as the comm link dropped, taking a shuddering breath, calming her nerves. Kaidan was on Horizon.

She didn't know if she was afraid of losing him or ecstatic to see him once again. She wrung her hands together as she moved for Mordin's lab, curious eyes locking to the buzzing seeker inside a glass observation module, giving the scientist a hopeful glance. The mad scientists smiled, nodding as he led her over to his compiled research, and the finalized countermeasure. It was all they had, and hopefully it would work.

"Get it ready for Garrus and Kasumi, and once Horizon is done, get it for everyone. I'm going to prepare."

"Of course, Shepard. Will implement countermeasures into armor, will need access to your locker."

"Granted."

Kaidan Alenko. He really had survived the Collector attack, defending her honor and name to the mechanic that had also avoided the seeker swarms. The man she had been hoping and dreading to meet once again. He accepted the silent request for the hug, holding him as he did the same before they withdrew, and from there, her heart dropped.

"It's been two years, Shepard. We mourned for two years, and you think just a 'it's been a while' is going to work?"

"Kaidan..."

"You left all of us, and to hear after two years that you had apparently come back from the dead of space, and with Cerberus-!"

"I had no choice, Kaidan, I swear-"

He waved her off, anger and resentment swelling in his eyes, as nothing but pain and disaster filled hers. She could just barely hear the soft growl from Garrus.

"I loved you, Shepard. I really did, but to know you're working with a terrorist group, turning your back on the Alliance, on everything we did... this is unforgivable."

"Damn it, Kaidan," Garrus spoke up, "Your so blinded that you can't see what's really happening!"

"Do I need better eyes to see that Shepard isn't herself anymore? We mourned. We moved on as best we could... I honestly thought the rumors were lies, that you weren't gunning for Cerberus, that you weren't somehow alive."

"I have no choice in this situation, Kaidan, god damn it!" Shepard shouted, "Let me explain, you thick-skulled varren!"

"Explain what? How you're still standing, or why you've betrayed us all by siding with Cerberus? Explain to me, then, how and why you would go so far as to betray humanity by supporting them?"

"I am not with Cerberus, Kaidan, I haven't betrayed the Alliance! But I am stuck here. I'm trying to make a difference again, saving these colonies and stopping the Collectors, while the entire galaxy is being spoon-fed lies from the Council!"

"We all know that the Council is denying the Reapers, but Shepard, this act with Cerberus about saving these-"

"IT'S NOT AN ACT!"

Kaidan flinched, stepping back as surprise filled his face before the bitter, nearly uncontrolled anger broke free. Garrus and Kasumi stared at their Commander in shock. Shepard was not a woman to snap easily, not one to let such outbursts happen at such a simple provocation. Her shoulders shook, her ears closing as Kaidan bitterly bit them goodbye, turning his back on Shepard, and leaving to help the colony. For a moment, nothing but silence and the humming of the guns around them filled the air, Shepard watching Kaidan disappear, watching him leave. Garrus took a step forward, and Shepard turned her back, looking to him with guarded eyes, protecting the pain and snuffing out the flames of her aching heart.

"Joker. Get us out of here. I'm tired of this planet."

Her voice was weak, tired, lacking in its usual energy. It was exhausted. Garrus wanted to offer support, but he knew when Shepard needed space. He nodded, stepping to the side and taking up her right flank. Here eyes spoke for her, showing her appreciation for the silent support. Kasumi picked up on it as well, smiling comfortingly before taking her left, and walking with them toward the descending shuttle.

The shuttle ride is silent as well, Kasumi and Garrus glancing at Shepard as she stares at the small images of the colony, lost in thought. As the shuttle shutters, moving up through the atmosphere to dock back on the Normandy, she speaks, hissing her words sadly, running a hand through her now unkempt hair. Kasumi can understand the need for them, but Garrus knows exactly who she's saying the words to in that moment.

"You idiot..."

Shepard barely spars a look to the crew as she dismounts, plucking at armor seals and pulling herself out of her bloody armor, silent as the grave she once rested inside. She had her armor off by the time they had gotten to the elevator, standing in her tight black underarmor with them, plucking at the collar absently.

"...Kasumi, do you have turian ale in the bar?"

Garrus looked curiously to the assassin as she hummed for a moment. Kasumi tapped her chin in thought.

"Yes, actually. Two kinds, if I'm correct."

Shepard closed her eyes, slowly opening them. "Got anything I could drink?"

"Of course. I found a fruity dextro drink called Kilari. Know it, Garrus?"

"Kilari's not bad. It's normally served with a tart fruit called Peri we have on Palaven, though I've seen it served with strawberries." Shepard smiled.

"That settles it then. If you guys are up for it in a little bit, I'd like to have some drinks with you. That alright?"

Kasumi gasped in mock surprise and horror. "A drink with Commander Shepard? Oh no, that cannot be allowed! The great Commander drinks in solitude. You've broken my fantasy, Commander!"

Garrus chuckled, elbowing Kasumi lightly. The assassin chuckled, pushing back at him.

"No problem at all, Shepard. I'll dig for those drinks."

"You know me, Shepard..."

Katherine looked up at him finally, seeing his comforting gaze, hearing the gentle hum of his subharmonics trying to convey his concern and care for her. Her lips twitched gently at the ends, almost into a smile as he finished his sentence.

"...I won't turn you down."

Garrus was the first to get to Kasumi's room, surprised to see the assassin without her hood on. She turned to him at his arrival, her hands twitching to pull her hood up but decided against it. Straight, cropped midnight black hair framed her face, the smallest of cropped fringe over her forehead and dark eyes. If Garrus was correct, she had want humans would call an 'Eastern' look. The name didn't make sense, especially if the word used was orient. She waved him over to the bar, moving behind it.

"Surprised by my looks, Garrus?" she teased, finishing her wipe down of a few glasses for the night's event.

"Somewhat. It looks good on you, though."

"Sweet talker. I don't really care about it much, so I just keep the hood on. Much easier then dealing with my hair flying around."

Garrus tapped the bar, humming. "That makes sense. Hair just looks like a hassle, really. How do you deal with it?"

"Painstakingly. Especially if it's long. Though luckily it's not too hard as long as it's tied up. Like the Commander's."

A glass was passed to him, and taking a whiff he could tell it was genuine turian ale. Not questioning it, he threw the shot back, shuddering at the high quality liquid burned through him. Kasumi chuckled, drawing his eyes. Oblivious to the subtle attempts from the assassin.

"Your mandibles fluttered wildly when you threw that back. It was fun to watch."

"Does that mean I'm doing the drinking and you're just going to watch me get wasted, Kasumi?"

"No, no!" she defended herself, pulling a glass up herself, "I'll drink, I just think it's interesting your face fluttered when you did. Never have seen a turian do that when drinking."

"Well, we try to control their movement. It can get easy to read us if we just let them fly around, so we consciously control when they move. If my mandibles are fluttering, it means I trust you with seeing that."

"Garrus, I'm touched."

He chuckled at her sentiments, taking another shot before backing off from the alcohol for a moment. He did a quick sweep of the room with his eyes, before resting his chin in his hand, setting his elbow on the bar. Kasumi leaned in.

"Do you let them move with Shepard?"

He nodded. "Of course. Besides, she knows when I'm holding back emotions regardless of my mandibles. No point in hiding when she can tell no matter what."

"Sounds like you two are close."

"We've been through hell, Kasumi. Saren, the geth, Sovereign... her death."

He grew silent, his eyes growing dark in what Kasumi could only pinpoint as aged sorrow. He closed them, sighing softly, recounting old memories and a poison once rested in his chest.

"We barely got through her death, and the two years that followed. It's interesting, because when the news got to me in C-Sec, I wasn't mad. I wasn't sad. I was... numb. I didn't believe it at all, and the numbness... I was numb for who knows how long. I quit on the spot once they told me, I couldn't take it there anymore. No matter where I looked, all I could see were the times I had spent with her there. The Citadel wasn't a place I wanted to be anymore.

"That's when I set off for Omega. And that's where the numbness faded, and I channeled the pain and misery into something worth while. Something she would be proud of if she could ever see me. I didn't want her memory to die while the Council stomped on her work and dedication. I didn't want her to disappear once the Alliance held her funeral and memorial and gave her honors only the dead get once they're nothing more then bones."

Kasumi watched and listened with surprise and unexpected revelation. Watching Garrus lament on the time after her death, the horror and pain that came with losing her, she realized what was happening, what truly went on. She gave a knowing smile, pulling his glass away.

"You're in love with her."

Her mandibles fluttered, dropped slightly, rose once more, fluttered once and finally flattened against his face. He looked down to his talons, letting his heart beat, letting his thoughts spin, letting his emotions swim.

"I don't know." he gave weakly. Kasumi shook her head. "I don't know what it is."

"I do, you blind turian. It's love."

"What makes you an expert?" he asked softly, "How can you know just from me talking?"

Kasumi ran her fingers over his empty glass. "The way you talk about it. You make it sound like the universe just burned down around you, that nothing meant anything to you without her there. You lost everything when she died, and when she came back... you found it again. You wanted nothing more then for her to stay alive, to keep her going.

"You also almost growled at Kaidan on Horizon."

He gave an embarrassed keening sound, moving his hand so it hid the blue flush around his neck. Kasumi didn't chuckle, and simply moved his hand, meeting no resistance as she watched it come and go, before tracing the hard lines of his palms.

"It's also in the way you move, the way you act. You're open and vulnerable around her, you let her in entirely. Your body is less rigid, less alert. You're so calm and trusting around her, I was almost fooled into thinking you and her were already an item. Hell, I can tell you now, a lot of the crew suspect it just by how you two act and work together. There is one other thing that tells me that you are in love."

She leaned back, and settled onto the bar, flipped the glass over so she could encircle the bottom rim, smiling softly before looking off to the greybox over on the other side of the room.

"I've felt the exact same way. If anything, I still do in a sense. Genji and I... when he died, I went numb too. Everything just seemed to disappear and fade away. I had to push it back so I could work, so I could chase it all away, Garrus."

Garrus met Kasumi's eyes with wide disbelief. She poked his forehead, making his eyes scrunch up in confusion.

"Garrus Vakarian, you are in love with your CO and best friend, Katherine Shepard."

He opened his mouth, trying to find the words to go against it, but soon shut it, his mandibles falling for a moment before they fluttered, turning his head away and then lowering it.

"...I guess I am."

Kasumi shook her head. "There is no reason for guessing. You are. You're just afraid to accept it, or afraid she wont feel the same."

"She doesn't need the burden of a boyfriend in the middle of this."

She flipped over his shot glass, filling up again.

"She needs support, and someone to trust in, someone to lose herself in so she can get through this. Don't hurt yourself and her by keeping quiet on it, Garrus. I think you'd be surprised."

His mandible fluttered softly, before he gave the equivalent of a smile, taking up the glass again, only stopped by the opening and closing of the doors, his eyes drawn to their arriving commander. Kasumi smiled as his mandibles gave away his happiness.

"You started without me, Garrus. Not fair." Shepard chided him, taking a seat at the bar.

"Kasumi's fault."

"Rat me out so quickly, huh, Garrus? Let me find you this crappy turian rum I found on the Citadel, and see if you'll be so quick."

Garrus chuckled, tapping his glass on the bar. "Bad news, Kasumi, but I have had crappy turian rum. Omega only had crappy rum!"

The chorus of laughter lifted them into a calm and exciting moment of bonding and drinks, swapping jokes and jabs at each other, breaking the cold shudder that had carried over their shoulders since Horizon. Shepard slammed down her fifth shot, looking almost unsatisfied before groaning and sliding her glass back to Kasumi.

"Something wrong, Shepard?" she asked. Shepard shook her head.

"Found one thing I hate about this body. I do not think I can get drunk anymore."

Garrus and Kasumi's eyes went wide. Shepard shrugged, rolling her neck.

"I don't even feel buzzed! This is such bullshit."

Garurs gently patted shoulder in a show of support for the loss, passing his drink over, which she happily accepts. Kasumi pours another for them, and finally moves them to the lounge, looking to Shepard as she settled in.

"Did you offer this just to drink away the pain, Shepard?" Kasumi asked quietly, drawing the Commander's eyes before the fell with a sigh.

It was confirmation enough. Garrus looked to her with concern, wanting to reach out and help, but he could read her. She still needed to be untouched, alone.

"That and just... I just don't know what to do."

"Some sleep could help, Shepard." Garrus offered, "After that, I can assume you'd need the downtime."H

She nodded, stretching for a moment before smiling at Kasumi, who gave the silent approval to leave without issue. She looked to Garrus, and both stood.

"Thanks, Kasumi, for letting me drink and things."

"Come any time, you two. The bar's open."

The left with silent goodbyes. Garrus moved to head back to the battery but Shepard's hands grabbed for him. He nodded, and followed her into the elevator, pushing the button for her cabin. Once the doors closed, she leaned on him. The door silently opened, and he led her in silence into her cabin. She moved forward once inside, absently hitting the button to feed her fish. She looked to her console on her desk, seeing the blinking green light, and ignored it. He watched as she wandered toward her bed, and froze before it.

"Shepard?"

He was at her side just as she flinched back into her. He could feel the gentle shaking of her arms, and he knew these hallucinations were happening again.

"What are you seeing?"

"Hearing. Whispers, Saren. Left shoulder, near the table." her voice was starting to tremble. Her hands tightened around her shoulders.

"What's he saying?"

"Taunting me, haunting me. He's trying to convince me of how its going to end. Death, disaster, loss... he's closer."

"I'm right here for you, Kat. He's not going to get you."

"He's in front of me."

He pulled her closer, feeling her shaking, her fear. Her hands came up to hold his, taking a raspy breath. She took a step back, moving nowhere but into him. Her heartrate was spiking, her lungs were working beyond what they should have been.

"Garrus... make it go away."

"Close your eyes, focus on me. I won't let him hurt you a second time, Katherine."

She hissed, closing her eyes for a moment. He could hear her breath soften, hiding from the horrors before her that were invisible to him. She clutched herself to him as she fought her mind from showing her more. Eventually it was silent.

Shepard starting to move from him, but he was afraid of something. As she moved forward, he grabbed for her with a shout.

She was falling.

"Katherine?!"

He had a decent grip on her as she fell, holding her before laying her on her bed, fear taking hold of him. She had fainted, or something, unresponsive to his shaking. Anger flooded him as he had failed to help her, gathering her in his arms, moving quickly to the elevator once more.

"EDI, tell Chakwas I'm coming down with Shepard, something's happened to her."

"The mess hall is filled with the crew for their evening meal. You will not be able to hide the fact that Shepard is in trouble."

"Damn it." he cursed again, adjusting Shepard in his arms. She was getting pale, and blood was dripping down her face from her nose. He curled her closer to his chest, begging the spirits that they did not take her from him again.

The elevator opened to the empty hallways to the bunks, to his surprise. He could hear the noise from the mess as the crew gathered for dinner, and cursed everything in this world that he could that they had to witness such a thing. He could hear the medbay open, and he made a run for it. As soon as he was visible from the elevator, the crew was watching and gasping ,trying to understand. He could hear Miranda, and immediately her running from her place as he rushed into the med bay.

"GET IN!"

The door slammed shut behind him as Chakwas locked it, immediately followed by what he assumed was Miranda trying to get inside. The shutters came down as crew rushed to try to see, to try to understand what was happening. He lay her down immediately on a gurney, panicking as he pushed back her hair. Blood was still falling, her hands twitched sporadically.

He moved without protest as Chakwas came to her side, cursing again and again, slamming her hand down on the metal gurney.

"Joker! Get us to the Citadel NOW!"

"Chakwas? What's going on, I'm getting reports that-"

Garrus growled, shouting up at him. "It's Shepard, Joker! Get us to the Citadel or she's not going to make it!"

"God damn it, not again!"

The ship shuddered as her pilot pushed her to get to the Citadel, not bothering with even breathing as he took Shepard's other side, Chakwas cursing as she raised her omni tool.

"She's hemorrhaging. Whatever happened to her, whatever she saw, she's suffering a Hemorrhagic stroke. If she doesn't get help now... Joker, move this bucket faster!"

"I'm trying, we're two minutes out, Chakwas!"

"She's bleeding into her brain, Jeff! MOVE IT!"

Garrus knew what it meant to bleed inside the brain, he knew that much. He rested a hand on her head, watching her blood drip down her face from her nose. His heart was cracking into pieces.

If he lost her now...

"Hold on, Katherine... please, for the love of the spirits, hold on..."