"Shepard!"

What did I do?! Panic surged inside Kaidan, and the only thing that kept him from rushing to his commanding officer was the arms that gripped him tightly.

"No don't touch her! It's too dangerous!"

His mind barely registered the voice though, watching in horror as Shepard's body floated before him, ensconced in green energy. He hadn't been sure why he had even wandered that close to the damned beacon. It just seemed to tug at him, and his brain felt as if fire had danced across it for a second, leaving a searing glimpse of what was likely happening to Shepard.

The arms holding him tightened as a shrill sound whined through the air. He opened his mouth to speak, but the beacon entrapping Shepard exploded before he could ask anything. The armored figure dropped to the ground in a lifeless heap, and Kaidan felt his heart sink.

T earing himself from his restraints, he rushed to Shepard, his hands searching for the panel in her armor that would show the life support reading, his hands trembling as they moved, fearing the worst.

"Is she—-"

"Go call for a medvac!" He barked the order back at Williams, not listening to the rough edge his voice had taken. Please, oh please, let her be okay.

Finally, he shifted the body enough and found the faint readouts that indicated that Shepard still breathed, that her heart still beat. But that was all it would give, and she appeared to be unconscious. It didn't mean much other than she was alive.

Doing his best to steady his hands, and failing more than he'd like to admit, he reached up and unlatched her helmet. He cradled her head with one hand as he tried to remove the helmet with the other. It caught a snag briefly, and he had to pull her body closer to his in order to slide the helmet the rest of the way off. In that moment, everything seemed to stop around him. Damp, golden curls fell free, cascading down around her face, serene and beautiful. As if in slumber.

This was not the battle-hardened marine that had survived a vicious Thresher Maw attack, that had struggled to live in the streets as a child. This was a woman, beautiful and strong, who had risked herself to save him. Who was brave, and for the brief time they spent on Eden Prime, kinder than the press ever depicted.

He felt a soft ache in his heart, and he moved to hold her head between both of his hands, her skin seeming paler next to the dark gauntlets of his armor. He felt helpless as he stared down at her, unable to fix her, to wake her. If only it were so simple as to press his lips against hers, and for those beautiful emerald eyes to fly open and pierce him to his core.

"Lieutenant!" Williams' voice cut through the time stop in his mind, and he swallowed the hard lump that had formed in his throat. "The shuttle's here!"

Right, this is Lt. Commander Meghan Shepard , he reminded himself as he shifted his arms around her and lifted her from the ground, holding her body close to his. She needed medical attention, not foolish and inappropriate romantic notions. With luck, Dr. Chakwas would be able to help her.