LIEUTENANT COMMANDER WILLIAMS HAS THE DECK
The evac hailing from Despoina had barely been as quick as it should be. Kneeling above her commanding officer, Williams felt panic grabbing at the edges, threatening to make her lose her focus.
"Shepard, snap out of it! She's freezing. Come on, Shepard!" Words fell to deaf ears despite her best efforts to hail the commander from her unconscious state. As they returned to the Normandy, an emergency effort was put forward by the executive officer taking charge of her temporary position. Orders were sent -- they needed to go to the Citadel as soon as was possible. Something was wrong with Shepard, beyond what could be provided in the Normandy's med-bay.
She hadn't liked the idea from the start, and now as she paced the mess hall, waiting for an update, Ashley tried not to stare through the medical bay's windows too often. It was all too familiar to her how Shepard must've felt when she was the one pacing, waiting for updates when Ash had taken the fall on Mars.
The commander was stable, but still unable to be brought to full consciousness. For the days it took to return to the Widow system, Williams had taken temporary command and those in the crew obeyed without question. There were regulations in case of incidents like this, though she wished it hadn't come down to it in the end. Not like this.
For the first surgery, Ashley had brought data pad after data pad with her to fill out reports while she waited, getting hourly updates from one of the doctors attending to Winter. Each was greeted with a nod and small strained smile, though as the night grew on, nothing could even cause her to make the effort to rise from her chair. The night passed, and despite wanting to be around for the commander to wake, errands needed to be run, supplies needed to be stocked, and the ship needed its temporary captain to maintain an appearance.
When the first priority message came through, she made it a point to be the first - and only one - to check in with Shepard. Given her obligations with her updated duties, she felt it of the most importance to discuss what was going on.
"You gave us one hell of a scare, skipper." Ashley stated quietly upon getting visitor's permission to enter Winter's room. Memories of her own stay in Huerta had come back in droves -- the smell of sterilised equipment, the sounds of beeps and other machinery, and the drab interior with the window overlooking the Presidium that helped keep her sane.
