"Shepard."

When you said my name, my heart skipped a beat. When I saw those beautiful amber eyes of yours, the world seemed to stop. Only one word came to mind; beautiful. Never once in my life did I imagine you letting down your hair.

I suddenly recalled a particular conversation three years ago. The three of us. Just me, Kaidan and you. Talking on the Citadel. I remembered you saying; "If you expect me to get into a tinfoil miniskirt and thigh-high boots, you'd have to buy me dinner first." Who knew. You were gonna wear those thigh-high boots after all. I guess the only predictable thing about life is its unpredictability huh?

Probably nobody expected that you were gonna get past the rank of Gunnery Chief. I don't think you did either. But I had faith in you Ash. I was pretty darn sure you make it, somehow. I'm glad I was right. Last year, when Anderson told me you got promoted to Operations Chief, you had no idea how surprised I was, though pleasantly so. To see you rise up to Lieutenant Commander, the same rank as me now, you have no idea how proud I am. I won't lie, I was kinda disappointed when I found out about your promotion only then. But I understood why.

Back on Mars, when you still suspected me of being in cahoots with Ceberus, did you have any idea how hurt I was? But I don't blame you. Ceberus brought me back. In logic, I'm supposed to be grateful to them, and give them my unwavering loyalty. True enough, I'm grateful, really. But my heart will forever be with the Alliance. With you.

I'm praying. For you. I think of you, laying unconscious at the hospital. I finally understand why you reacted that way on Horizon. The doctors told me that you'd be alright. Yet here I am, beating myself up. How could I let that happen to you? I was supposed to keep you safe, protect you. I can only imagine what you went through when I died, right in front of your eyes. I'm sorry, Ash.

But right now, I'm just praying. I was never a believer in God, but now, I'm pleading with Him to not take you away from me. He returned me to you for a reason. We were given a second chance, and I'm not going to let it slip between my -our- fingers. So wake up Ash. Come back to me.

A/N: So, here's my new story. I'm a greenhorn and writing these kind of stuffs, so if there's anything that can be improved on, please don't hesitate to point it out. Please rate, and review. Thanks for reading! By the way, I'm religion-less in real life, so there's very little knowledge of God. If I accidentally posted anything offending, please let me know. Again, thanks for reading! :D