Shepard's cheek is pressed to the floor. She expects cold to seep through the tiles, but they are warm and somewhat damp. Confused, she tries to lift her head, but is unable. As mild panic settles over her like a leaden blanket, the toe of a pristinely polished shoe appears in front of her face. The periphery of her vision blurs as she focuses exclusively on the familiar accessory. She's never seen her father's shoes scuffed.

"Get up!" Her father commands. Shepard wants to obey. She's always wanted to obey him. Not that getting up should be this hard… yet, for some reason now it is. She always falls short of the mark, uneasily enduring his narrowed eyes and the disappointed downturn of his lips.

"I can't," she whispers, afraid that if she raises her voice any more she will frustrate him further.

"This homework will not complete itself, Shepard. And we don't have a robodog you can claim ate it."

He tosses the papers. They flutter around her, over her, slicing delicate, torturous lines across her face. She squeezes her eyes tightly shut.

When she opens them, she is momentarily disoriented and then very, very relieved by the familiar, incessant blinking of an Alliance branded monitor. She is tucked carefully into a bed in the medbay. The squiggly line on the screen is green. It's not beeping or flashing red, so Shepard supposes that's good. It occurs to her that it's a problem that she'd prefer to be injured (she assumes she's been injured) than to be confronted by her father.

She currently has a different problem, though. Something warm and sticky clings to her cheek. Shepard isn't sure what kind of hokey medicine Chakwas is practicing, but she's fairly certain she doesn't like it. When the thing squirms, Shepard gulps back a un-commander-like shriek.

Although thankful that she realized what it was just in time to stop from embarrassing herself, Shepard frowns. The frown deepens when a miniature knee rams itself into the small of her back. Raina is on the bed, curled up next to her. Her tiny fingers are splayed over Shepard's face. They twitch again and Shepard guesses that the child must be sleeping.

Grumpily, she tries to reach up to move Raina's hand, but a sharp pain lances through her side and she has to scrunch up her face in an attempt to counteract the pain. Normally she'd just howl like a big baby (usually it's just her and Chakwas in the room, and the doctor is used to Shepard's antics) but she can't abide waking the child. She does have a tiny shred of decency when it comes to smallish humans.

"For crying out loud," Shepard hisses, tears spilling down her cheeks.

An amused chuckle sounds from somewhere behind her. "It is only an abrasion."

Shepard's face burns. Of course Liara is there. While she is secretly pleased, she can't help but wish that it were Specialist Traynor on munchkin duty and not her very own brand of kryptonite.

"Well, it hurts."

"Baby," Liara teases.

"Oh stop. Is this not torture enough?"

She can hear Liara's confusion. "I don't take your meaning."

Shepard rolls her eyes. "Never mind. Look can you, I dunno… move her, or something? I need to get up and I don't want to wake her."

"Easier to escape when she's sleeping?"

Obviously the asari is enjoying herself far too much. Time to change tactics. "What happened?"

Shepard hears rustling and soon Liara appears beside the bed, looking down at her, a small smile quirking her gorgeous lips. "You were a little too close to Lieutenant Vega's grenade."

"What?!" Shepard lowers her voice when Liara makes a shushing noise, her forefinger pressed to her perfect lips. "Why the hell would he throw a grenade if I was in the vicinity?"

"It was that or let the brute crush your skull. He aimed for its back and the creature took the brunt of the blast. You were merely… tickled by some shrapnel."

Wondering if anger is unwarranted, Shepard says, "It tore through my armour, Liara. That's more than a 'tickle'!"

Liara's amusement fades. "I know it's not funny, Shepard, but you're okay, and if I didn't laugh about it…"

Shepard relents, unable to bear the shimmer of despair that creeps into her friend's eyes. "You were worried about me?"

"I wasn't the only one. Raina hasn't left your side. Chakwas eventually had to put her to work to keep her from being underfoot. She's the one who bandaged you up."

"Excuse me, what?" She touches the bandage, twists uncomfortably to see it better. The rectangle of gauze, surrounded by large, chunky pieces of tape, oozes medigel. There are less medieval methods of dressing a wound, but this kind of bandage is the perfect canvas for happy faces and hearts drawn in marker.

"It was only an abrasion after all…"

"I'm going to kill the lot of you," Shepard growls, "And then I'll find a way to rid the galaxy of the reapers on my own. Bunch of useless, grenade happy..." She trails off when she sees Liara's smile widen, her eyes brighten. The asari isn't looking at her.

Genuine happiness is transformative to the asari. Liara looks radiant, peaceful and even sexier (which she didn't even think could be possible) all because of the presence of an orphaned child.

A child that was now rolling around the bed, trying to untangle herself from the blankets, making Shepard slightly seasick in the process.

"Good morning," Liara says. "Did you sleep all right?"

Shepard assumes Raina nodded, or something, because she didn't say anything, yet Liara looks satisfied.

"Oh good, everyone is awake now. Can I please get up and get back to work?" Shepard attempts, very carefully this time, to roll onto her back with the intention to sit up.

"Well—" Liara begins, but is cut off by a petite, authoritative voice.

"I have to check your bandage."

Liara's eyes shift down to Shepard, as though seeking confirmation that she hadn't just heard things. Shepard opens her mouth, but she cannot form words. Raina has spoken for the first time since arriving on the Normandy and all Shepard can do is stare at the asari in stunned silence. Finally she shrugs, then winces.

Liara turns her attention back to Raina and says, "Of course. Would you like me to get the doctor to help you?"

"Nope, I can do it. Baba showed me how to do a field dressing the last time I scraped my knee."

What the hell? Shepard's brain cannot comprehend what she is hearing. "A field dressing?" she repeats, dumbfounded.

"You have a little cut, just like I had on my knee. It's pretty easy to bandage. Want me to show you how?"

Liara chokes back outright laughter, but Shepard hears her mumble the word 'little' as she chuckles.

"It's okay. I trust you," Shepard grumbles, unable to see a way of getting out of the situation.

"Promise you won't cry this time? Baba says that brave girls don't cry."

Embarrassed, Shepard feels her cheeks redden. "Just get on with it, wouldya?"

Raina doesn't reply as she carefully moves aside the blankets and opens Shepard's hospital gown. The commander shivers as the cool air hits her skin. She seeks Liara's eyes. The asari is watching the child intently, a proud, almost maternal expression on her face.

Liara glances down and catches Shepard watching her. "It seems we've found ourselves a little medic."

"Baba is a medic for the Alliance," Raina pipes up, sounding pleased with the label. "He's a soldier like you." Her tiny fingers suddenly stop moving. "I miss Mama and Baba. Can I go home now?"

Shepard stiffens. In several swift movements, she presses her hand to her side and despite the pain, rolls on to her back before sitting up and throwing her legs over the side of the bed. Raina is quick to move out of the way, but when Shepard turns to her, the little girl is looking up at her determinedly, expectant of an answer.

Stammering for some kind of response, Shepard is relieved when Liara sits on the edge of the bed, too. The asari pats her leg, encouraging the girl to climb up, but Raina surprises them both by crawling into Shepard's lap. Instinctively, Shepard folds the girl into her arms.

Glancing at Liara again, she is surprised to see a different expression on the asari's face. She's not entirely sure how to interpret it, but it's similar to the one the asari wore the first moment she'd seen the human, half disbelief and half pleasant surprise. Shepard shoots her a silent, awkward, plead for help and Liara quickly snaps out of it.

Liara looks crushed as she says, "I'm sorry, Raina, but we can't go back. Your parents are... they're gone."

Shepard unconsciously hugs the girl a little tighter, despite the discomfort to herself.

"Do you understand?" Liara probes gently.

The girl stares distantly before eventually nodding.

"When Vancouver was attacked, your parents were there. They couldn't get away."

"Mama was scared. She put me in air vent and told me to be quiet."

"She was protecting you. She loved you."

"She's dead?"

Liara nods. "I'm sorry."

Raina sniffles, then hides her face in the side of Shepard's neck. The commander feels tears wet her skin, but the girl cries silently. Shepard tilts her head until her cheek rests soothingly on Raina's. Liara shifts closer, enfolding both in a hug.

"Commander Shepard and I will keep you safe now, Raina. I promise," Liara whispers. She kisses the soft locks of Raina's hair.

Then she stretches forward and kisses Shepard's forehead, too.

- x -

Author's Note: A very special thanks to WordKrush for checking this one over for me, despite being swamped with work.