Jolted Awake

How... long had she been laying there?

She took a slow, steady breath, quietly acknowledging the soft grass and vibrant wildflowers that drifted in the corner of her eyes. There was nothing but blue skies above her and she found herself wincing against the bright light as she sat herself up.

"Ow..." Her hand shot up to her temple. The world around her tilted on its axis and a blur of red was left streaked across her palm. How did that happen...?

"... Hello?" Her voice echoed out.

This hill felt so familiar, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it.

All he wanted was to relax and drink the day away. The guys at the fire station sure have noticed but didn't seem to mind at all when he took a few beers for himself. Then a beautiful voice filled the air. Shepard froze and glanced around. He wasn't that drunk yet, was he? Standing up, he overlooked the hill. Further down, an individual had sat up.

He knew this person.

Her smile and her hugs seemed to follow him around in his dreams. The way her eyes light up, or her laughter sending his heart into loops. He knew this person. He knew her. Even by the disheveled back of her head, Shepard knew her.

Beer forgotten, Shepard half skidded half fell down the hill to see her. "Joanna! Jo! You're okay! You are alive! Oh my god!" He placed a hand on each shoulder overlooking her. She looked pretty beat up, but most definitely alive. "God, I missed you."

Joanna? Was that her name?

"Am I okay? I don't feel very okay..." She smiled weakly. Who was this guy? Where did he come from? She hadn't a clue, but there was something that was comforting about his voice, and she didn't find it in her to resist as he grabbed at her shoulders. "What's going on?"

Finally, she brought herself to look up at him. Blonde hair, blue eyes... Had a sort of warmth to him, it reminded her of the sky, or the sun, the stars? Was he an angel?

Shit, was she dead?

"... who are you?"

Shepard managed a socked laugh. "Well, yeah. I wasn't feeling very okay after I got here either." He eyed her cuts with a concerned look, rambling on out of sheer relief of seeing her again."A few of us from our world were transported to another world--similar to but not quite our own world. And--" Shepard blinked back at her. Joanna's eyes were on him. But they weren't the same. She was confused.

"W-what do you mean who am I?" He asked, color draining from his face. "Joanna, this isn't a good joke." Shepard leaned forward, and took a hand to her head, checking for a fever. But as he looked over her blank expression he quietly responded. His voice was soft, heartbroken. "It's me. Shepard. Your best friend. Please Jo..."

She'd felt her heart leap up in excitement before crashing back down. In her confusion, it had almost completely overwhelmed her. "Shepard?" She repeated with a uneasy grin, nimbly shaking her head. "I'm sorry... I don't think we've met...?" Her voice lilted, uncertain.

"We have." He insisted, worriedly glancing around for any other wound. "We grew up together, Joanna. We--" Shepard's voice crack caused him to fall silent. He considered her for a long moment and quickly stood up."You need to get to the hospital and figure out what happened. Okay?" Anxiety fluttered in his chest.

He had his best friend back. But did he really?

Her heart picked up and her eyes began to search wildly around, looking for answers that weren't there. "Right, okay -" Joanna tried her best to stand up after him. A pain immediately shot through her back and a wave of dizziness came over her. She let out a low groan and fell against Shepard, completely losing her balance.

Shepard had turned to look for the quickest way down the hill when Joanna collapsed into his arms. Eyes wide Shepard wrapped his arms around her, lowering them both to the ground. "What happened? What hurts, Jo?" He hovered over her, slowly becoming more panicked. If he had better control over his powers, maybe he could manifest his wings and get them out-- but his powers haven't been the same. "Can you use your powers still? Try and give me some of the pain if you can."

"Only everything," she chuckled, an actual bad joke. Jo attempted to pull herself back up, seething as the pain spasmed again. "How do I do that? What?" The young woman's breaths became shallow, rapid, and she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. Her back ached. It felt like thunder had cracked away at her skull.

"Shepard?" She muttered, loathed to focus on the pain and yearning for it to disappear.

His heart sunk.

She didn't even know about her powers. It was killing him to see her in such pain. "I'm not sure, you never really shared how..." Shepard trailed off as she hugged him back, forcing him to resist the urge to give her a big hug like he usually would. "I'm so sorry you are in so much pain Jo. I'm sorry. I'm--" Holding his breath to fight away the tears, he murmured in response "Yes?"

She could feel her heart swell and her throat clench up. He couldn't have been playing her for a fool, not when she could feel him trembling in her arms. He felt safe enough? Joanna took a shaky breath, digging her fingers lightly into the nape of his neck.

"Thanks for finding me." The young woman forced a small smile, trying to pull herself up against slowly. "Would - ah, would it look weird if you helped carry me some? I'm really trying... "

"Of course, Jo. I'll always be there for you." He answered honestly, glancing up at the top of the hill where empty and full bottles alike sat. Shaking his head, the blond managed a shaky smile. "You don't remember me, you would know I would do anything to help you, even if I looked weird for doing it." There was a pause, and he added quieter. "You did the same."

Situating himself under her he then added. "Okay, hold on tight." Then gingerly lifted her off of the grass, looking over her to watch where he put his feet. "Are you alright? Does this hurt?" He asked, looking back to where her face was buried into the crook of his neck.

Joanna pondered what he said before she found herself clinging onto him, clinging on tightly like a cat at first. She winced, biting down on her cheek and holding back a whimper. "Yeah but, I'm fine... I think?" After a few deep breaths, she tried to relax a little. "... Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Jo. I promise...Just worried about you is all." He assured her, beginning to slowly make his way down the hill. It was a decent walk to the hospital, and he hoped that she wasn't in too much danger. He couldn't move fast like he used to. "So, you don't remember anything then?" His stomach did flips as fear sunk into him like a stone dropped into a lake. Would she be the same Joanna he knew?

Shepard was holding her in his arms, which was more than he had ever hoped for. The past few months were torture, life without her had been dull and he had felt overwhelmed. But now...

She shook her head nimbly against him. "No," Jo muttered in a low, apologetic voice. "I'm not even sure if Joanna is my name...? I'm taking your word for everything right now." She tried to keep her voice light, despite the terror that continued to creep up behind her.

Shepard didn't respond for a while. Many thoughts circulated in his head, leaving him unable to say anything as the dirt path curved down the hill. Once they reached the base that led to the road, Shepard spoke again. "Joanna is your name. You can trust me on that."' He spoke as if he had thought out his words before. "It's okay to be scared. I know you are. I'll help you figure this out. I promise." The forcibly light tone in her voice was the biggest hint for Shepard. Despite the two of them having their connection, he seemed to be able to solidify her quirks based on the emotions he knew she was feeling at the moment. As such he tried to be reassuring, or as best as he could manage.

"Let's just see what the doctors say, okay?"

For a brief moment, she worried she might have said something wrong, watching the quiet scenery around them as they walked. Jo still hadn't the slightest clue where they were, but it was calm atop that hill, and nothing seemed completely alien to her... Just new, in an odd sort of way. "Okay," she murmured. "I trust you." He said they were best friends? He felt way more protective than that... like a brother? Or a lover? She didn't linger on the thought.

"You're not going to leave me with them, are you...?" She asked quietly.

He held her just a bit tighter. "I thought I lost you, Joanna. They couldn't pay me to leave your side" Shepard gave her a smile but dropped it as soon as he remembered she couldn't see him from where her head was. Instead, he leaned his head onto hers for a long moment. By now, he had managed to get them both on the sidewalk. It was a few more blocks until the hospital. He eyed the building with frustration. Why did it have to be so far away?

"Do you feel nauseous? Tired?"

She leaned back into the embrace, taking another slow breath and trying her best to relax, as well as she could anyways. Jo found herself staring at the pavement, or some of the small things around waiting for some sort of spark in her memory, but of course things wouldn't be that simple. Did she grow up here? How could she forget?

"Both," she confessed with a little sigh. "You said this happened to you too though...?"

Defiantly a head injury. What he learned from having a little bit of medical training, pointed to it. Shepard didn’t know if he should feel relief or growing horror at the realization that it wasn’t the weird magic that caused her inability to remember. ”Yeah, me and my little sister. We were both confused, but I didn’t lose my memory.” He shifted his grasp slowly to give one arm a break.

”I couldn’t tell you if not remembering things was normal or not. ‘Cuz this entire...event... isn’t normal. You know?” He sighed and a small smile—despite everything crossed his face. He really was happy to have her back.

Joanna hummed, letting her eyes fall close for a moment. This entire event? She had so many questions and had no real idea of where to start. "Did anyone else we know end up here?" She had to have some kind of family too, right? It couldn't have been just her. If he had a little sister with him, maybe she had some other people around looking for her as well? Or anyone that might help jog her memory? "This is normal to me as anything right now." She joked lightly.

”No. I won’t lie, no one knows. I’m sure they are doing research or something. I’m not included in that though.” The smile dropped, and he continued to walk along the sidewalk. Shepard let out a light laugh, though didn’t seem very invested in the joke. The daycare approached his vision, and he paused and nodded in its direction. ”As kids you and I would be left here by our parents. You, I and our friend Stephen would be inseparable.” A wave of sadness crossed him as he thought about his other best friend. ”The playground looks pretty similar.” He offered.

She glanced over at the playground, admiring the tiny swings and slides. A small wave of nostalgia washed over her, but she couldn't place the feeling with any certain memory. She tried to imagine the two of them smaller, with another little boy running around them, but she could only draw up blank faces. "Is everything here kind of the same?" Jo wondered aloud. "It seems like such a small town..."

Shepard shook his head, continuing onward. ”The city we lived in was called River’s Pointe. It was much larger than this. Tall buildings, freshly paved streets...” He trailed off, looking up at the empty sky. ”Only a few things are the same. Some of Beata Academy is the same. They have older computers now though.” His gaze returned to the hospital in the distance. ”The homes we grew up in are gone.” A hint of sadness filled his words. Not for the homes lost, but for the family within it.

"Is that what that is? Our school?" She shot a glance up at the old mansion in the far distance, watching from the corner of her eye. "I feel like... a bit too old to go to school? I think?" Joanna let her eyes flutter closed again. Though she could tell he was trying his best to stay upbeat for her, she felt some sort of pang of longing tearing away at her. He must have been so lonely. "Maybe we can go back someday?" She suggested lightly.