Chapter 5Shepard looked up from the data pad he was reading and smiled. “Anderson! What are you doing here?” Shepard said as he moved to get out of bed. Anderson quickly waved him to stay where he was, “Don’t get up Shepard, you won’t do yourself any favours.” Anderson took the chair from Shepard’s desk and carried it down the step to the living area. He put it next to Shepard’s bed and sat down, a somewhat concerned look on his face, “Just dropping by to see an old friend.” Shepard’s brow furrowed as he studied Anderson’s face closely. “What’s the real reason you’re here, sir?” he asked. Anderson let out a small sigh and dropped his shoulders, “Miss Lawson invited me aboard Shepard, using your name. We talked in her office before I came up to see you; she’s worried about you Shepard. You two are close aren’t you?” Shepard seemed to drift into a long past memory before answering. “I haven’t been as close to anyone since...” his eyes began to glisten as he spoke, “since Jenny.”
Anderson noticed a tear fall from Shepard’s face. He took a moment to let Shepard compose himself before he spoke. “Jenny? I thought you cared for each other a great deal, but I didn’t think you were that close, at least not yet. She told me you haven’t been sleeping well, that you’re plagued by dreams of your last mission. What happened?” Shepard looked thoughtful for a moment before turning back to look at Anderson, “Nothing went wrong Anderson, nothing. It was the smoothest operation I’ve ever been a part of. No friendly casualties, none. That’s what I don’t get. You know that since Elysium I’ve had dreams after every major operation going over in my mind what I could have done better, what I could have done to save those I lost.” He paused for a moment and closed his eyes briefly before continuing, ”You know I had terrible dreams after Virmire, going over the operation again trying to see if there was anything I could have done to have saved Ash. There was nothing anyone could do to save her, but I kept going over it anyway just to be sure. This time we didn’t lost anyone. Everyone on my team made it through and we saved every last crewman the Collectors captured. This time I just don’t understand it Anderson.”
“Have you talked to her about any of this Shepard? Have you talked to her about Elysium, about Jenny?” Anderson asked. Shepard raised his eyes to the ceiling, “No, I haven’t. I had dinner with my Yeoman, Kelly, a week or so back and talked to her about Elysium. Unofficially she’s the ship’s counsellor. I knew it was getting close to the end and that we’d be hitting the Omega-4 relay soon and it was something I needed to get off my chest before the mission. I couldn’t tell Miranda then, I couldn’t risk having anyone on my team distracted by any concern for my emotional wellbeing. But I didn’t talk about Jenny; it still hurts every time I do.” Anderson stood and turned to look at the aquarium, “I told Miss Lawson about you and Elysium Shepard. Not everything, but enough. I’ve arranged to have the
Normandy moved to dry-dock for repair. If I’m right Miss Lawson is already planning a little trip for the two of you while you’re in dock, at my suggestion.” A gentle smile crept onto Anderson’s face as he turned back to look at Shepard, “Take my advice Shepard, tell her what happened on Elysium. Tell her everything. Tell her about Jenny. Maybe it’s time you faced you went back and faced your demons. You’re not alone anymore Shepard.”
Modifié par DarthReavus, 13 mars 2010 - 07:59 .