Chapter Text
I knew that this was it. I was going to die, mauled to death by this bear with my family not thirty feet away from me. This huge female grizzly bear decided I was going to be her lunch instead of the fish. I knew that I would never be able to warn my family in time before this bear attacked. I was helpless and I knew it too.
"Damn... I'm sorry, Kaidan and Lydia. I love you both." I whispered, barely audible as the breeze caught my words and carried them away.
Maybe my luck had begun to turn, I don't care how or why, but the bear left. She stared at me for a long moment, without blinking, before she moved away. I let out a shaky breath that I hadn't realized I had been holding and went back to my family.
Kaidan looked at me in worry as I made my way back to the comfort of his chest. I sighed heavily and began to remember my close encounters and my helplessness throughout before I started to hyperventilate. Kaidan's strong and reassuring arms pulled me against him and he whispered to me,
"Baby, what's wrong? It's ok. We're ok, you're ok. We are all ok. So what's wrong?" I knew not answering him would make him more worried but how can I say to him that- 'I was nearly killed but the bear decided I wasn't worth it?' Someone tell me how can I say that to the man I love?
So I retreated a little back into my old persona, from when my parents were killed. I hid behind my mask. I didn't mean to but it happens when something traumatic goes down.
"I'm fine now." And to seal the deal, I continued,
"I'm ok." And I kissed him. I knew what I was doing was wrong. I knew if I faced him, I would see the hurt on his face. As I began to move away, Kaidan grabbed my hand and stopped me.
"Don't lie to me, John. Please don't retreat behind your mask. Not to me." I could hear the pain in his voice, that I didn't trust him, even though I did. I trusted him with my life. Instead I hurt him once again. I was about to say something when Kaidan let go of my hand.
My hand felt cold without his in its grasp. At the lack of contact I forced my mask to drop and turned back to my husband. I grabbed him into a hug and whispered,
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Kaidan wrapped his arms around me as I told him what happened. His grip on me tightened. One of his hands rested on my head as I leaned into him. I placed a small tentative kiss on his neck and he whispered reassurances into my ear.
I felt embarrassed. Embarrassed because I am the Commander. I'm not someone who is supposed to be afraid of anything. I'm supposed to be the strong one. So why am I acting this way? Was it because we nearly died?
No, that can't be it. Kaidan and I faced death everyday we were in The Alliance. So why? I didn't, and couldn't answer my unspoken question. I didn't know how.
That's when I felt them. Tears.
Tears were flowing down my face silently. Kaidan's grip tightened even more and I know, he knew. He placed kisses on my neck then on my forehead, down my eyes to my lips. It was his way of letting me know I'm not alone anymore.
That I could trust him and that he'd never leave me. He is my rock. The only person in the whole galaxy, I could always confide in. I thought once again, 'I really don't deserve this man.' Before we kiss passionately.
The kiss was cut short, however, when Kaidan hissed out in pain and a small body landed in our laps. Lydia. I smiled as she hugged the both of us for apparently no reason just because she had felt like it. I looked to Kaidan but all he did was show me a pain filled shrug.
I then stood up and helped Kaidan stand as well. Lydia put the backpack on while Kaidan and I moved forward. We had to get out of here. There's no telling when or if that grizzly bear will return.
Once the pack was situated, Lydia fell into step with us then moved ahead of us when Kaidan and I were going too slow but not too far. She always stayed within our sight.
We been moving slowly along when Kaidan fell, tripping over a root of a tree, taking me with him. I didn't even see that root. My eyes have been straining to see for the last few hours. My head continued to hurt along with my shoulder and now I injured my legs when I fell onto Kaidan's metal makeshift splint.
Lydia stopped, ran over to us, and tried to get us up but not without hurting Kaidan. My legs and Kaidan's got tangled together when we fell. Every time I moved, Kaidan groaned in pain and it was the same for me whenever Kaidan moved. I would groan in pain because his metal splints were digging in my side.
Lydia finally moved my and Kaidan's legs back to their anatomically correct postitions before she helped me up. I in turn helped Kaidan. Seeing as I can't really see properly due to my head injury, we decided to walk a little further before we stopped, with Lydia and Kaidan leading the way. Well, pretty much just Lydia.
After a while, I decided that we had gone far enough for one day because the sun had already stooped below the trees. Another reason we're stopping; I think my head injury is worse than I had initially thought.
Our shelter for the night was a hollowed out tree. I lead Kaidan inside carefully then had Lydia place one of the blankets that I found onto the ground for us to sleep on. Once Kaidan was on the ground, Lydia and I searched around the area for some firewood.
Lydia and I found firewood to last us, at least, the night. I told Lydia to get inside the tree while I built us a fire. Using two twigs, I managed to get a spark going then built that up into a nice roaring fire. Kaidan, Lydia and I had been traveling for a long while and we were freezing, but we hadn't realized how bad.
After the fire was started, I crawled in next to Kaidan, who happened to be in the middle, with Lydia on his left. It wasn't long after the fire was started that Kaidan and Lydia were fast asleep. I smiled down at them. They are my everything and if something were ever to happen to them.... I don't know what I would do.
I hadn't realized I fell asleep until I heard Kaidan screaming. Both Lydia and I bolted awake to find that same damn bear dragging Kaidan by his splintered leg out of our little cave. I told Lydia to stay inside the tree while I took off outside.
"Kaidan!" I yelled in worry and tried to body slam the bear.
Either due to my luck or something else, the huge female grizzly bear dropped Kaidan to the ground with a loud thump and went after me. I watched both Kaidan's fearful eyes on me and the blood lust, hunger filled ones from the bear as it advanced toward me.
It only took seconds before that bear had its jaws around my injured shoulder. She crushed it and every bone around it as she picked me up and shook me. I screamed in immense pain and I vaguely remember hearing Kaidan yelling my name before my world went black.
(Kaidan's POV)
I watched my husband's smooth, slim, hardened back as he huntched over the pile of wood so he could start a fire. I wanted to reach out and run my hand across it gently but took to just staring instead. I sighed in content for what seemed like the first time since the plane crashed. I knew I shouldn't relax, but I couldn't help it.
We were safe for now. After John's encounter with the female grizzly bear at the river, and how he nearly reverted back into his old persona from when I first met him; we deserved a break. At least for a little while anyway.
Finally, John got a good fire going and came to lay next to me on my right. Lydia had already fallen asleep but it took me a while. John and I watched the flames dance across the wall of the tree and the night sky. John smiled at it. It was a small half one but still a smile. He was relaxed and I was glad.
After awhile, I couldn't keep my eyes open much longer and collapsed into oblivion.
It must have been about two or three, perhaps earlier in the morning, when I first heard a stick snap. I woke up with a start. The fire was just embers and John had fallen asleep, but nothing seemed out of place.
I slowly and carefully sat up because John had snuggled up close to me and peered out into the darkness. Nothing. No glowing eyes, no strange or loud grunts, just the sounds of the forest. I thought nothing of it and went back to sleep.
About an hour later, I woke with a start when I heard a loud grunt outside our little cave inside the tree. I immediately stared out into the darkness, trying to spot something. I couldn't hear, or see, anything as the fire had died out almost an hour ago, judging by how cold it was. I wanted to wake John up, but I didn't want to ruin his much needed sleep. I knew he didn't get much sleep since the crash.
When nothing else came, I thought, 'Whatever it was that grunted was gone now.' and laid back down. I was just about to fall asleep when I felt a pressure on my leg followed by growling. I sat up halfway immediately and nearly died in horror.
Black soulless eyes were staring down at me. Suddenly, I'm pulled from my protected cave in a single move. That's when I realized that those black soulless eyes were from that grizzly bear.
I screamed,
"John! Help me! John!" as I tried to get a grip on the earth below me with my fingers. With a start, John and Lydia were up. I also realized I was a little lucky. The bear had grabbed my metal splinted leg.
I didn't see John move. I only heard him yell,
"Kaidan!" Then his grunt as he hit the bear in the side. I dropped to the ground immediately. I landed with a loud thump before I watched the bear turn toward my husband.
I watched in fear, laying helpless on my back as the bear stalked my husband's every move. Then in a flash, the bear had John in her jaws.
I watched in horror as the bear shook John like he was a rag doll. I screamed out,
"John!" That's when John went limp in the bear's jaws. Fearing for his life, I tried to moved toward John and the bear but neither of my legs were working. My right leg was throbbing far worse then usual and I know it's because of that damned bear. I knew I had to save John and protect our daughter, who is in the tree, but how....?
That's when it hit me like a ton of bricks. 'My service weapon!' I rolled onto my stomach and reached behind me. I pulled my gun from the waist of my pants and fired. The first shot went wild but it stopped the bear from shaking John. I could see the blood dripping from its jaws. John's blood.
Knowing that blood was John's was making me sick. She turned her blood lust filled eyes toward me and stalked her way over, carrying John like he was her cub. I knew I had to be careful where I fired the next two shots because I could very well hit my husband. I did not want to do that.
Taking aim, I fired two more times at the huge female bear in front of me. She dropped John when the third shot got her in the abdomen; when she stood up on her hind legs. She took off then. Using all my adrenaline from the encounter, I moved my way over to my husband.
Just from looking at him, I knew his shoulder and the bones around his shoulder were severely damaged. It didn't take a scientist to see that his shoulder was nearly shot to hell and hanging funny. I knew I needed to wrap up his injuries before they get infected with whatever diseases that were out here.
I knew whenever we got back home, John was going to get that checked with a medical doctor in a med clinic. Once I was finished wrapping his shoulder and the area around it, I told Lydia, who after the fight with the bear, ran out to me and her father, to get some sleep.
I knew sleep was not going to come easy for me. In fact, I didn't sleep for the rest of the night. I was too worried about John and worried that the bear would come back. I just couldn't go back to sleep after the incident. I held John close to my chest as I glanced up into the night sky.
"Please someone help us... I don't think we can go on much further. Anyone...." I whispered to the wind, hoping someone would answer my plea.