Ashley Shepard, Forgotten Hero

Chapter 27

^No One's Pov^

A soldier of the search and rescue team finds Shepard, and he can't tell if she is alive or not.

"I FOUND HER!" He shouts to everyone.

The medical team rushes over to her, some of them attending to Anderson, Liara and Garrus who are awake.

Another soldier is looking for other survivors when she falls out of the sights of everyone else.

"I FOUND SOMEONE!" She shouts.

The soldiers medical team rushes over, their faces covered in grime and blood already. They are the soldiers medical team, the team that will search through the rubble for the soldiers that people will forget about.

They gently lift the person out of the hole, nothing burnt or scorched just broken.

"Wait is this Commander Ashley Dawn?"

The woman that found her look at her dog tags, and she frowns.

"It is," she answers.

Liara hears this and against the will of the Hero's doctors; as they call themselves; she races over and chokes back a sob.

"No..." Garrus whispers as Ashley passes by him, the medical team rushing back to the base camp.

Jane and Ashley are right next to each other, they both are Shepards but only one is alive. Only one can rejoice the victory and cry for the losses. The one that continues on though will be forever scarred by the war, as everyone else that had to go through any amount of this war.

"No!" the squad mates that Jane left to defend the base cry out when they see the two Shepards.

"Ashley, no!" Joker cries.

Joker cares more for Ashley than he cares for his Commander and friend of many years.

The two are rushed into the makeshift hospital, the top priority of the doctors now. Hours later the crew of the Normandy are standing around the two women.

Joker, James, Jack, and Tali are standing around Ashley. Garrus, Kaiden, and Liara are standing around Jane. Jack is trying not to cry but the sight of seeing the young woman that she saw as her sister dead is too much. Tali and James are just silent, in to much shock to react.

Joker is taking it the worst out of all of them, this young woman stood by him even when he drove everyone else away. She was so delicate but strong at the same time, easily broken but not easily swayed. He knows now that he will never find out about the fourteen years of her life before they met, and if he does then it will not be actuate. He cries for the happy and sad memories that they shared in their four years as friends, he just wishes that they could share more still as friends.

Every once in awhile the squad mates of the Shepards' would switch the Shepard they stood by, all except Joker who stayed by Ashely; until days later Jane wakes up. Garrus, Jack, James, Kaiden, and Tali are in Jane's room when she wakes up.

She is frantic, reaching for her rifle or pistol which is no where near her. She tries to use her omni-tool but it is not on her arm anymore. Her mind is still in battle mode, she is in the middle of a fire fight in her mind.

"Jane calm down." Garrus comforts.

"No! I have to get to the beacon!"

"Ashley did that already Jane, she helped us win." Jack mutters, she is still happy that Jane woke up even if she is mad.

"Where is she?" Jane questions.

No one answers, Jane grows worried. This is not the first time she has worried about the death of a teammate but this is the first time she hasn't been there to try and prevent it.