Episode 2

The soft flow of water splashed against Roxanne’s feet as she watched up into the bright blue sky. Roxanne laid reclined against the ground, her back resting against the heated sands. The warmth of the sun bathed her skin as she let out a deep sigh of contentment. Her fingers dug into the hot sands as a gentle breeze running through her hair. She pushed herself up halfway as she surveyed the surrounding landscape. Nothing for miles long and wide. The state of peaceful tranquility ran over her like a blanket and she found no desire to leave.

“Whatever I have to do can wait a few more hours.” She sighed as she stretched her arms above her head. Her fingers ran along her arms and held both arms for a moment.

Sitting there, though, Roxanne felt something out of place. Like the entire moment could be too good to be true. It was too quiet and too alone. She pulled her legs up to her chest as her arms wrapped around them.

The atmosphere shifted in the distance to a blackened sky. Storm clouds began to loom overhead as they blotted out the sunlight, contorting the bright colors into grays. The emergence of the storm caused the peace of the beach to turn into a hurricane of a storm. The echos of the wind turned into howls of disarray. With quick speed unlike normal storms, it surrounded Roxanne, taunting her with darkness. The thunder boomed in the distance with a drumroll before the added flashes of lightning join in on the chaos.

The sharp crack of lightning lacing through the sky along with the thunder cause her to jerk and curl closer into herself. The memories race through her mind at the flashes as being a young child. Tormented by electric shocks lashing against her skin. Bright flashes of the lightning dance through the clouds, lighting up the sky. The stinging reminder laced into her skin as if she had just been struck by lightning. No one knew what had happened to her then, it was a secret she long kept hidden. The traumatic sensations of electrical shocks made her tough but gave her this fear that would never leave her alone.

The clouds unleashed a torrent of ice cold rain against her skin which chilled her to the bone. Howls of the wind hit her face as it lash her hair around like a whip. Here Roxanne could not control the storm, leaving her helpless. There was no more color, even her clothes had become as dull as a stone. The only color left was her red hair which was soaked and laying flat against her back.

None of this was right. Roxanne ran her fingers up through her hair, her nails scraping against her scalp as she cringed. “Wake up wake up wake up!” She repeated to herself.

Roxanne’s emerald eyes shot open with terror. Questions raced through her mind as she tried to understand where she was now. The lashing storm was gone. No warm sand shifted through her fingers anymore, only the aching reminder of her that she of her bodie’s agony. Her eyes blinked several times before she finally forced herself to sit up in her bed only to be stopped halfway in torment as she fell back down against the sheets. The realization that she was in a bed and her heart skipped a beat.

“Hey now, not so fast.” The voice caught her attention as Garrus touched her arm. Within an instant she let out a sigh but once more other thoughts ran into her mind.

“Wait, where are we?” Roxanne spoke with urgency. She questioned her sanity at the moment. She wouldn’t jump to conclusions about what had happened. It was also possible they were the truth. She only hoped that she had truly defeated the reapers, that everything she fought for had been accomplished.

“We are on the Normandy.” He spoke clearly as he leaned over and smiled. “Everything is fine now. Dr. Chakwas has you in the best care possible given, as always.”

Roxanne gazed at him for a moment before gathering in her surroundings. They weren’t in the medical bay as she expected. instead, her Eyes took in the aquarium on the right side of the room and the collection of models in front of her. It was the Commander's room, her room. The only difference was the setup with all the medical supplies. She saw the IV in her arm and the bandages over her body. It was a small reminder she was only human before looking back toward Garrus.

“How long have I been out? Who’s commanding the ship? Where is everyone?”

Garrus’ expression soften as he had a chuckle on his mouth. “Always about the others. Just calm down, we are all here, everyone is alive.” Garrus spoke.

“Commander, you are awake. Would you like me to inform your friends?” EDI’s voice spoke from within the room as Roxanne groaned slightly, moving her one capable arm to rub her ears. At least she was capable of firing a weapon if needed. Worse case scenario put aside.

“Not yet EDI.” She softly stated.

“Very well Commander. As to your question, you have been out for one month, two weeks and five days. You’ve had a lot to recover from and went into a medically-induced coma. Your brain waves transmitted signaled that you were still actively alive and fluctuated, showing signs of dreaming. You heartbeat is normal rate but your blood count is still low. You’ve had several transfusions and –”

“Not right now EDI. I’m glad to know I’m alive.” A soft chuckle came from Roxanne’s lips as she waved her hand.

“Of course Commander. I’m glad to see you are awake as well.” EDI’s voice spoke as Roxanne glanced toward the ceiling.

“Do I hear relief?” The intercom went silent for a moment. A small smirk crossed over Roxanne’s lips as she waited for her response.

“I do not know what you mean Commander.”

Roxanne again chuckled and smiled. “Good to hear you are alive EDI. Give me ten minutes and you can inform the others.”

“Very well Commander. I would come up, but my body was destroyed during the blast. So if you need me, I will be in the Normandy system for now.” Roxanne nodded her head even though she realized EDI couldn’t see and glanced over to Garrus.

“What happened? After I– I need to understand what happened.” Garrus’ eyes stared at Roxanne as he squeezed her hand, careful with her body as she was worse for wear than before.

“Garrus?” Apprehension landed on her shoulders, fearing far worse had happened after she destroyed the catalyst.

A pause left her leaning toward him as her hand reached over to touch his. A slight grumble came from her lips as she pushed her body upwards, ignoring the weight in her chest that ached. Finally with a deep sigh she leaned against the headboard and realized that Garrus situated the pillows carefully around her so that her broken right arm was supported along with her back.

“Tali and I, we escaped. Our wounds were treated but nothing too serious. Everyone who, everyone perished on the way to the beam, except you. I don’t know how you did it Shepard, but you did the impossible. The reapers are dead, all of them. The relays are damaged as well, but nothing that can’t be rebuilt. I would say you couldn’t be rebuilt but well, you were.” He said with a smile and Roxanne laughed. “Let’s not do that again.” Garrus added.

She laid her head back against the headboard as she took a moment to let it sink in. “So it’s over.” She whispered as tried to move to face him better but the aches radiated throughout her body. Her smile slowly faded as she realized just how many people lost their lives and most of all, her dear friend Anderson. As it dawned on her, a numb shock rolled through her mind knowing the emotional stress it would cause at a later date. For now, she allowed it to slip from her mind as she had bigger things to deal with, such as recovering.

“Come now Shepard, you may cheat death, but you need to stay in bed. You have a lot to recover from still. Besides, Dr. Chakwas would have my carapace if she learned I let you get out of bed.” Roxanne didn’t realize what to think of that, she wasn't using to sitting still. Her body ached, and she took a moment to look herself over in more detail.

Her left leg was wrapped within a splint and cast and visibly broken, along with her right arm covered in the same casting. And there was way too many bandages over her skin. It bugged her that she hardly had the ability to move and a slight grumble on her lips. To take her mind off of things, she changed the subject.

“I think I missed out on that drink at the bar. I’m a bit late at waking up.”

A soft laugh escaped her lips as Garrus reached over and brushed her hair careful away from her face. “A drink can wait, you’re alive and that’s what matters. You came back to me.” He whispered and leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers.

“I made a promise Garrus, I never break them.” She said as she reached up to touch his face, enjoying the soft touch of his skin. “Can you lay down by me, please?” She asked, her eyes gazing up at him. The way that he moved without a second thought brought a soft smile to her face. There was no hesitation, he was there for her as she was for him

. He moved around and carefully slipped into the left side of the bed beside her, making sure not to lay on any cords or tubes. She shifted even though the pain raced through her muscles so she could lay her head on his arm and rested against his left side.

“Let’s not do anymore stunts like that again. I know you’re crazy Shepard, but that was a bit much.” Garrus reminded her. Roxanne responded with a chuckled and nodded. How many times had she done something crazy and lived to tell the tale? Somehow, she had a sense it wouldn’t end, her life would always throw something her way.

“Well, I’m stuck in bed for now. Don’t think I can do anything crazy from here.” She muttered and glanced over at him. Garrus observed her as and Roxanne knew he was judging his words carefully.

“Roxy, if anyone can do it, you could. But let’s not.” He spoke with a grin as she chuckled and closed her eyes. The tension in her body slowly eased up with the little movement she made.

No matter how much Roxanne argued with herself, she noted she was in no capable condition to fight or even brush her own hair. Memory served her right as she thought back to Mars, when Ashley Williams nearly died at Cerberus hands. The Normandy’s medbay far out stood any medbay on other ships. But she also realized Chakwas would want to get her to a better facility with more advanced equipment that didn’t fit on the ship. If her condition appeared as severe as she figured getting on the planet would be best.

Silence lingered between the two but it comforted her. To many days had gone by where she couldn’t see his face and embrace in his sweet gestures. So for now, she allowed herself this selfishness. Though could she claim this was selfish? No, she refused to think that, for she had been fight for everyone the last few months. This moment, just these few moments she would snag for herself.

While sitting in silence, she pondered the idea of Earth. Since it still stood, she thought about showing some of it to Garrus. They had talked about it here and there but never thought she had the chance to actually show him. A smile crossed her lips as the thought grew into an idea.

“Garrus, how would you like to see where I was born?” She questioned with her eyes closed, allowing herself to relax so the sheer ache and damage faded from her mind.

“You mean on Earth?” Garrus questioned.

“Yeah. I figured since I can’t stay on the Normandy during this whole healing process they will probably transfer me to some Alliance hospital. Might as well be of my choosing.” She said and then spoke up. “EDI, tell Joker to set course to Dublin, Ireland. Also inform the Alliance Fairview Hospital about the situation.” The command in her voice took her for a shock as if she was rolling right back into her same position as before.

“Of course Commander,” EDI spoke up before Garrus shook his head.

“And I didn’t even have to tell you to get checked up. You really did hit your head hard there Shepard, didn’t you?” Garrus’ voice held a teasing note on it as Roxanne smiled with her eyes close, just enjoying this moment.

“Yes, I did.”

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