*SIGH* Unfortunately, I do not own Mass Effect-any of them.

Speaking of which, am I the only person who thinks that March is a VERY LONG WAIT for the third game?! It's only three months from now, but we've been waiting for so long! I hope Kaidan is in the third game. I am going to cry if he isn't.

*clears throat* Ah-hem. Yes, well… Walter, the story, please.

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I woke with a start. My heart thumped loudly in my ears. I felt my heart struggle to bring me back to reality as my fingers throbbed in unison with my hands and legs and face. The pendant on my necklace that now rested on my pulse spot lifted off my skin and fell back down as my blood rushed under my skin. The quiet music in the room slowly faded back into my senses. My muscles were tense, my legs clenched painfully. My arms were so taught I couldn't undo the fists that had my nails cutting into my palms. The air pushed into my lungs and out, quickly, loudly; my pants echoed in my ears. I tried to remember where I was. The Normandy, My quarters. Safe. Alone. I closed my mouth, forcing each breath to quiet and slow. My chest rose and fell rapidly still, despite breathing through my nose. My head hurt and began to feel light. I tried to open my eyes. The lights were intensified instantly. My eyes rolled back into my head as I winced, making the lights streak across my vision.

I closed my eyes tighter, shielding them from the lights lining the floor. I had already asked EDI to turn off all the lights in the room at all times. The only lights that remained were the thin strips of white dotting the perimeter of the floor, my tableside clock, and the small fiery light I had installed beneath my old N7 helmet.

A chill began to set in, and I realized, as per usual of the last week and a half, that I had kicked my blankets away in my sleep.

I first worked my fingers out from my bloody palms, then to unclench my wrists and elbows, making my way up my upper limbs, doing the same for my legs. My now flaccid body twitched with anticipation while I waited for my heart to rest and my breathing to slow. I had requested for more blankets. I now had the basic sheets that were here originally, a slightly thicker blanket, and two quilts. I was still freezing, every night. With some effort, I pulled my arm up and with it the numerous blankets that had been kicked off. I shook from the bitter cold that the sheen of sweat over my body had only amplified. Rolling over onto my side and curling up in an attempt to warm myself, I sat and waited for my intense exhaustion to pull me back into unconsciousness.

"Mr. Moreau," the AI said, it's voice slightly flat but not robotic. It was silent as Joker leaned into his helmsman chair and kept running the ship. His fingers continued to lightly touch the CGI buttons, working his magic with the ship that no one else could. "Mr. Moreau." Irritation passed over Joker's face as he began to push the buttons a little harder than he needed to and shift uncomfortably. "I suggest you stop ignoring me, Mr. Moreau. I believe I must tell you something that you would wish to know." Joker hissed and sighed loudly, pushing himself into the seat and stopping his work.

"What is it, EDI? What is so frickin' important?" he shouted.

The sphere hologram emerged from her station, vocal lines on her graphed surface moving as she spoke. "Commander Shepard asked me not to report this," she said, getting Joker's interest, "But I am concerned that it is becoming a very serious problem." She paused for a moment and Jeff patiently waited, also becoming concerned. "For the past eleven days Commander Shepard has had a fever temperature average of 39.78 degrees Celsius."

Joker shot up and nearly fell, yelling angrily, "What?! You let her have a fever for that long at that temperature?" His face paled and his mind scrambled for what to do. "W-where is she?" He had already started walking out of the cockpit before she answered, telling her to make sure nothing happens to the ship while he was gone.

He limped all the way down the hall, a few of the crew members giving him shocked looks. He came to the part in the path and went left, nearing the receptionist. She noticed him before he reached her. "Joker? What are you doing? I've never seen you up and about…" She gave him a concerned smile, but he hardly noticed.

"Get Chakwas. Tell her to go to the Captain's quarters immediately." The look on Chambers' face was part confusion, part shock, part fear.

She walked away from her holo and toward Jeff, walking with him as they went to the elevator. "Why? What's happened? Is the commander alright?"

"EDI just told me that Shepard has had a fever for eleven days." He heard her gasp and bring her hand up to cover her mouth. He looked over at her as they turned in the elevator and he pressed the top level button. "Her average temp is over 39 degrees." He watched as Kelly became fidgety, willing them to move faster after her face paled.

Why didn't Shepard do something about this? Does she even realize that she could seriously get hurt? That they'd have to go to the Citadel and get her to a hospital that would be able to take care of her? He knew his answer already. She puts her crew and mission before her health, and yes and yes. They were on their way to Omega to help Samara tie up the loose ends with her daughter, which is great and all, and they'd be getting a killer, but it is just ridiculous to allow this to happen to herself and go anyway. The elevator reached the top level, opening up to the small room before Shepard's room. "Get Chakwas. I'll check on the commander." Kelly nodded and went to close the elevator. "Hey. Tell Garrus and Thane and Tali and the rest of the crew what happened. We're canceling the mission until Shepard is better."

She nodded again just as the doors closed and went to get the doctor. Joker turned around and pressed the button to open the door. It flashed red and made a curt beeping noise.

"Of all the days to lock your door…" Jeff murmured to himself. He hit the door a few times, knowing it was too thick for a gingerly knocking. "Shepard! Shepard!" There was a moment of silence and then he hit the door a few times again. He sighed when the door wasn't opened and he began to worry. "Shepard, please, help me! Open the door, please! Shepar-AAGGHH! Ah! Help! No! Ahhh! Auughhh…" He sounded, thumping his feet on the hard floor to make it sound like he had gone unconscious.

Suddenly the door opened with a loud whoosh of air. Shepard came out with a shotgun at her hip, an angry and frantic look on her face. Her face was pale and her eyes were watering. She was obviously desperately trying to reach him in time, thinking he was being attacked. She was panting and sweat covered her entire body, running down her shoulders and…

Jokers eyes went wide as he saw she was nearly stark naked. She bore nothing but a tank top that stopped just before her belly button and boy short underwear. He tried to grasp how this achingly sexy woman before him was his commander who had fought Sovereign and saved the Citadel and ran around every day in an unflattering suit of armor. Her stance was ready for anything, toned muscles stretching over her long legs and arms, her face fierce and sultry at the same time and the exact image of every male soldier's fantasy. She was a badass, sexy woman, and gave off the air that she could handle herself and you well. Joker was completely unashamed to admit that he was thinking this. This is Joker, after all.

Her brow furrowed in confusion as she saw he was just standing there. "Joker…? Is that you?" He smiled a devilish smile and though he hadn't tried to, he set off the "menacing adversary trying to mess with her head" alarm in her head. She swung the shotgun in his direction, aiming straight for his head. Joker went rigid. Was she delusional, like for real?

"Shepard. Put it down. If you shoot me, it will take the rest of your life to find another pilot as bat-shit awesome as me." He said this with a straight face, too. It was a moment before Shepard lowered the gun and relaxed, staring into his eyes for a long time. She sighed and shook her head weakly, turning around and going back into her room. He had to hustle to make it before the doors closed.

Joker almost fell when he walked into the bedroom. It was damn near pitch black in there. He squinted to see right, and his eyes slowly adjusted. He couldn't see correctly as he went over to the panel on the wall and turned the lights on. All of a sudden Shepard screeched and sobbed, yelling, "Turn the lights off!" Joker quickly turned them off and walked over carefully to her bed where she was sitting.

"Shepard, why didn't you tell us about your fever?" He asked as he sat down next to her. He could hear her panting even as he spoke. "Christ…" He put his hand on her forehead, brushing away the sweaty clumps of her long black bangs. He flinched and pulled away. Her forehead was so hot…

"Shh…" she whispered between gasps and heaving exhales . "Shh… Not so loud." He had barely been speaking above a whisper.

"God, lay down." He pulled the blankets away from the bed, surprised to find at least three extra blankets there. She slowly laid down, shaking the whole way. He pulled the blankets back over her and switched the sweat-covered pillow she was using with her other fresh one next to her. "Just try to lay still and stay warm, okay?" He didn't know what to do beyond that. He opted for rubbing her back through the sheets soothingly.

A minute or so before Dr. Chakwas and Thane and everyone else arrived, as Evey Shepard wavered between consciousness and sleep, her weak, delicate hand reached out from the mass of sheets and took his free one as he kneeled next to her bed. Only her fingers gripped his hand. He looked at her face, shining in the glow from the clock near her head. There were massive circles beneath her eyes and her cheeks were just slightly hollow from lack of nourishment, her full pink lips chapped and her eyes watering. "Thank you, Joker. Thank… you, so much…" Then she slipped back into her light sleep.

Joker heard the soft click in the near silent room easily as the door prepared to open. He took his hand from its motions on her back to over her exposed ear. The door flew open and he made out the silhouettes of several crew members. "Don't turn the lights on all the way. It hurts her eyes."

Garrus was the one who turned the lights on half way, lighting up the room like an early morning on earth. Thane rushed over and Joker scooted to the left, towards her feet, to make room for him to kneel by her head. Numerous people shuffled into the room as quietly as they could. Tali walked over to behind Joker and Thane, wringing her hands in worry. Garrus stood by the foot of the large bed, a sad look on his face. Kelly sat on the bed behind Shepard, running her hand up and down her back like Joker had and taking the hair out of her face. Chakwas then walked in the room, last, with a look of frustration as she tried to get by everyone and reach Shepard. She shooed them out of the way and came to Shepard's side.

The first thing she did was call out to her, to which there was no response. Then she checked her pulse by her wrist and gasped. "Her blood pressure is far too high." She gestured to the case behind her. "Give me the syringe with the label 'three'." Thane's hands shot out and the case was open before anyone knew he was the one opening it. He handed the doctor the syringe and returned to grasping Shepard's hand within his own.

"Now. I need someone to hold her still." Thane gave her an anxious look. "She is mumbling in her sleep. Her muscles are tense, and she is in REM sleep. From the looks of it, she is having a nightmare. If I were to give her this and cause any disruption to her body, she could lash out and get herself or one of us hurt," she explained in her gentle, wise voice. It was still in the room for a few seconds, then Thane hesitantly let go of Shepard's hand and held her shoulders while Kelly held her legs. There was a small pricking noise as the inserted the needle into Shepard's inner elbow. Tali jumped as Shepard twitched violently at the pain and cried out.

"No!" Evey shouted. "No, no, no! Don't… don't touch… get away from…" Tali sobbed. Her hand reflexively went to cover her mouth. Instead it went to cover her eyes. "Get away from… him…"

Thane let go of Evey as if it hurt to do so and clasped her hands in his again. He looked down at them, only now touching her whole hand. "Her hands are bleeding." He stated. His voice was flat and his eyes were as wide as saucers. Chakwas' head snapped in his direction. "Her hands are bleeding." He opened her palms and brought them closer to his eyes. Her finger tips were covered in blood as well. Joker looked down at his hand that had touched hers before. There were thin smears of blood on his hands from her fingers. His stomach churned.

"Did she do that… to herself?"

Thane growled darkly, low in his throat. "Don't make it sound so ominous! She didn't do it on purpose…" He made sure his grip on her feminine and delicate fingers did not tighten. "What happened to you?" he quietly asked the sleeping Shepard.

Chakwas left it to him to bandage her hands.

Kelly and Thane, since they were closest, helped Chakwas get Evey prepared to go down to the med bay, and everyone helped as best they can, Joker handing her all the things she needed. Garrus, Tali, Grunt, and Kasumi all stood slightly away from the busy group, like a family in a waiting room.

"I can't believe this is happening… How could this happen to Shepard? I mean, yeah, she's human and can get sick, but her body is so much stronger than a normal humans', especially after all the things Cerberus did to her," questioned Garrus.

"And we are on a sterile ship. There's no way something like this could only hit one person out of the entire crew if it were within the ship, least of all if that person is Shepard," Tali noted.

Grunt just kept looking at his battle master. How could this happen? His battle master in shambles from a microscopic organism? Shepard?

Kasumi stood there, her right arm supporting her left as her finger pressed softly to her chin. The other three looked at her at almost the same time, noting how she had remained silent the entire time. Of course, Kasumi knew they were looking at her inquisitively, being the master thief she is. "I for one do not believe she has become so sick because a mere bacterium got into her system. Partially, anyway." They were confused, but knew, in the classic Kasumi manner, she would explain with precision and experience laden in her voice. "This is my theory. Mind you, tis but a theory… What happened a week and a half ago? Did we go anywhere that was hazardous or toxic that could easily get one of us sick? No. Did we do anything that would stress our bodies too far? We did not, no. Who did? Shepard." She let them try to remember what we did a week ago, and no one but Garrus would have known whether Shepard had exhausted herself. He and Thane were the only ones out in the mission.

"We went to Horizon. Could that have stressed her? I mean, she's been through a lot worse, in worse shape."

"Hm. Well, who said that she is in better shape than when she was fighting Sovereign? Her body is improved now, yes. But her mind went through many devastating events over the last two and a half months. She died, she was revived, found out the people who were now practically forcing her to work with them, the ones who saved her, was Cerberus, tried to grasp that she was gone for two years, but most likely the straw that broke the camel's back, as it is said, would be that she lost everyone close to her heart. She got you two back, and Joker and Chakwas, but everyone else left her. For her, those two years probably only felt as if she had passed out after a hangover. And then, when she woke up, everyone… was gone. I'll ask you again: nearly two weeks ago, what happened?" Her gaze did not waver from the stirring commander.

Grunt had no clue what had happened, but knew that ever since about that long ago, Shepard's body had been more exerted after every workout, every sparring session, and the last mission they went on, his Rite of Passage. Now he knew why—she had a fever the entire time. He thought that her face had turned slightly pale, but that could be because so many things, and he had noticed how she wasn't really smiling.

Tali hadn't a clue either. She had known Shepard long enough, though, to know that there was something wrong. She had assumed it was because of the Collector threat that was becoming more and more real every day. Clearly, that was not the case. It wouldn't come as a sudden realization that the Collectors were coming, and the fact that she would have had to realize it exactly one and a half weeks ago made it even more unlikely. She was becoming more and more worried, as she hadn't seen Shepard smile or laugh in a while. Granted, Tali spent a lot of time in engineering, but out of the times when she came up, there was always laughing and joking near Shep.

Garrus had an epiphany that made him feel entirely insensitive. "When we were at Horizon, we came across K-!" Suddenly Kasumi's hand was over Garrus' mouth, silencing him.

"I suggest you not say his name in the presence of our commander. If I am correct, and that is why she is like this, then saying his name could go very badly, even if she is asleep."

Tali gave Garrus a sharp look, though he could not see it through her mask, and knew something had gone wrong on Horizon. "The Illusive Man, damn him, said that, er, a certain Alliance soldier that we know was on the planet that we were going to next." This made Tali's eyes widen and her mouth to drop. No way, she thought. "Then… then he said that it was a colony on Horizon, and that they were going to be next to be attacked by Collectors. This is what Shepard told me." He said, once he got an inquiring look from Kasumi. "We… the Collector ship had already gotten away," anger flashed across his eyes, causing his mandibles to flare, "when we saw him. Just after, in fact. It… it didn't go well.." Garruss' eyes closed as the memory flashed across the back of his eyes… He told them what happened as he relived watching Shepard slowly fall apart…

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Well, people, that's it. That's the first chapter. Assuming, that is, that you read it until the end. I would really love some feedback or suggestions!

PS: as of now, the rating is T, but it MIGHT go up depending on the events later on! (No detailed sex, don't worry…)