"So Skipper, I heard you and Garrus got a bit, "hot and heavy" the other day." said Ashley as she grabbed her drink off the table. She took a slight taste and set it back down on the table.
"And exactly who told you that?" asked Shepard as she laid back into her chair. She took notice that the Lieutenant Commander was smiling a bit, and it occurred to her. "….Joker...?"
"Joker….he saw you sneaking back onto the Normandy, all soaking wet from head to toe…guess Garrus knows how to get you going." Ash folded her hands together as she waited for her CO to respond.
"Oh …. that's just embarrassing, and to think of all the people it had to be Joker." Jane shook her head and began to laugh, she then began to think about what was going through his mind at that time, as well as all the jokes he could make up just from that moment.
"Shepard...you shouldn't be ashamed at that, I'm glad you found someone, even if it is Garrus…you guys make a cute couple." Ashley replied as she took another sip of her drink.
"What do you mean by that Ash, what's wrong with me being with Garrus?" Shepard asked as she starred sharply at the Lieutenant Commander.
"Hey…I have nothing against Garrus, he one of us, been there since the beginning, its just that…what I mean is…he's a Turian…and well ma'am, I never figured you would fall for alien, always thought someone closer to home…no offences" she said.
"None taken LC…Garrus was a bit hesitant about the whole thing too…he loosened up after a bit of convincing." Jane replied as she began to tap the table top with her fingertips. An awkward silence form between the two soldiers, Ashley decided to break the silence.
"So…umm… how do you two do…well you know..?" she asked. Shepard's mouth gapped open slightly and a puzzled look began to develop on her face, Ash had a bit of a schoolgirl giggle to her face.
"Uh…I think that's a bit too personal Williams…." answered the Commander as she took a large taste of her own glass.
"Hey I'm just curious Commander, its okay if you don't want to talk about it…I just figured that it's just us girls, and we know how to keep secrets." Williams explained as she leaned forward staring at Jane.
"Alright, well…at first it was a bit "rough", neither of us knew what to do, we tried a few different "positions" …even ended up with a few cuts and bruises on my legs and chest… but he really began to figure out all the right spots…and he knew exactly when to…" said Shepard until Ashley interrupted her.
"Okay… I get it… very personal…no need to go into anymore details." She said as she pointed her finger at the Commander.
"Hey you wanted to know, I was just giving you what you ask for." said Shepard while straightening herself in her chair.
"Yeah well…I don't need to hear ALL the vivid details, well unless you're willing to buy me another drink…maybe one of the big tall ones." She laughed a bit while examining her half full glass.
"In your dreams LC, next time I might not be so willing to buy…" said Shepard as she smirked and took the last of her drink in. She then took a look out onto the rest of the bar floor, everyone just sitting around, talking, laughing, drinking till they fell on to the floor. The two alliance soldier raised their glasses and finish off the last of the alcohol.
"You know Shepard, now that I think about it, Joker has been saying that Garrus is the one with the moves on you." Ashley pondered out loud.
"And what's your point…you don't think that I capable of being romantic?" asked Shepard as she began to get up from her seat.
"No ma'am , I'm just saying that maybe you should invite him for something to do…you know dinner or a dance under the…umm… "stars"" she replied knowing that she was going to get an answer back very quickly.
"Maybe your right…maybe I should invite him for a fling or two…least I can do to repay him for that date of ours." said the Commander as she looked up into the sky.
"You should skipper, you should take the time and enjoy yourself, while you still have the chance…just don't mortify Garrus with your dance moves." she said as her seat was placed underneath the table. "Well I'll leave it to you Shepard…you always made the right choices anyhow… see you back on the Normandy." The Lieutenant Commander stood straight and began to work towards the exit. Shepard refocused back onto her hand held to the glass. Jane knew that Ash was right, that no matter how hard she tried to deny it…she never actually dragged Garrus out into a romantic act. Shepard took a slight sigh and then preceded to head for the exit as well. If she was to "sway" Garrus, she was going to have to come up with something a bit more "creative" than a simple stroll. As she walked by the bar's exit, she took notice of a young couple sitting on a bench. They cuddled against one another with hands held tightly. Shepard smiled a bit and looked toward the elevator control panel.
Garrus walked through the Normandy's corridors with a steady pace, making his way to the Crew lounge. As the doors slid open, he took notice of a few friendly faces sitting at the table. The three feminine figures turned around staring at Garrus.
"Hey look….its Garrus…how you doing Garrus…" said Ashley as she pointed at him in a slight drunken speech. She stumbled a bit but recovered. "I'm okay… I think, do any of you guys hear that buzzing?"
"I see Ash has been a bit busy…I assume Vega was responsible for that." asked Garrus as he pulled up a chair from the bar.
"Well we were all just sharing our own little war stories, next thing we know, Ashley is on the floor laughing with a few shots of Krogan liquor under her belt." replied Specialist Traynor with her own small glass in her hand. Garrus grabbed his personal bottle and poured himself a half glass, than took a small sip.
"Of course she did…guess she didn't learn last time she challenge Shepard to a drinking contest…didn't end well that time either" Garrus laughed as he straighten himself in his chair. "…And Liara, what brings you down here , didn't think you ever got away from those Shadow Broker terminals. "
"Well Shepard suggested a "girls night out", for drinks and laughs…but she couldn't make it, had to make an emergency report to Hackett at the last minute." Liara grasped the counter as she pushed herself away from the table.
"Yeah…she been doing that a lot lately…more than she should be doing…I'm worried that she is pushing herself too…" Garrus began to lower his face to the table as his mind began to wonder to darker thoughts.
"Hey…don't think like that, Shepard has always had a clear head and with you by her side…well I think she will be just fine." Liara reassured him placing her hand on top of his.
"Yeah …and if everything goes to hell…than will just ….will just…oh I know, will get…what's that thing called…umm…dam I think I'm a tad drunk now." Ashley peered out with her slurred words looking at the empty bottle in her hand.
"Well I think I'll take the Lieutenant Commander back to her quarters, so she can sleep this off." Traynor said as she got up off her seat, moving slowly over to Ashley.
"Slow down there girl…your goanna have to work at it if you want…some of this…" said Ashley as she tugged on Traynor's uniform. She hesitated for a second with a slight blush to her face and then took hold the drunken soldier, leading her to the door, still with an empty bottle in her hand. "…Oh and Garrus…I'm not suppose to say anything… suppose to be a surprise… but…the Skipper has a nice little thing being planned for the both of you…it was my idea you know." She yelled to him with a bit of a laugh in her voice. Garrus simply nodded in response and then redirected towards Liara once the two alliance soldiers had left and the doors closed. Garrus then took a long sip of his drink, slamming the glass back down onto the table once he had finished it.
"What's wrong Garrus, you seem more distracted than normal… are you and Shepard…fighting?" question Liara as she starred ever so closely at the Turian. He lifted his head back up and focused on her.
"No… no were not, it's just that… with this war and all…she hasn't been herself…distant even… a few days ago I spent the night with her and… I woke up during the night and heard her crying…I didn't move, but I could feel that she already had my arm gripped to her body…she was hurting some much, yet I didn't know how to help her" said Garrus as he gazed into the vacuum of space.
"Garrus...that must have been hard for you…Shepard has had it rough, more than most people could ever bare…but she has you, and I know that as long as your there with her, she won't be lost, no matter how dark it gets, you're the light that keeps her spirit and strength up." replied Liara as she walk over to comfort him in his vulnerable state. "…and like Ashley said, Shepard wants to plan something special for the both of you, so make sure you remind her who loves her."
"Why do you always make it seem so easy….maybe your right, but I wish I could do more for her, more than just simply being by her side." said Garrus as he continued to ponder about what Liara said.
"Don't worry Garrus you'll do fine, just be yourself…show Shepard that she has someone to wake up to everyday, that single spark to keep her going…well I should get going as well, I'm expecting a few new reports coming in, possibly new information on Reaper movements." The Asari got up and made way towards the door in an ever so fluid motion. Garrus continued to change his position and look out into the vast emptiness of space. Only if it were that easy, he said to himself as he finished off his glass and took a small rest on the chair.
Shepard laid flat across her bed, looking up at the stars overhead. She had her hand spread out against her chest, holding her tags, twiddling them between her fingers. Being a spacer, she had seen stars more often than sun sets and rises, yet for some reason her mind continued to admire the cosmos. She smiled a bit, remembering the first time her mother took her aboard an Alliance Cruiser, she was ten at the time. Ever since that day, she wanted to be just like her …yet now she is beyond that entirely. She wondered if this was all just a dream, and she was going to wake up from it, but just thinking about it made it clear it was not. After a few more seconds of reminiscence about her past, Shepard sat up on her bed, only to be stop by the intense pain at her side. She grasped it until the pain subsided, she still could not believe that a sniper round had gotten that close to her. If it was not for Garrus pushing her out of the way, that round would have made its mark in the right spot. The more she thought about it, the greater the pain became, an unyielding agony that seem to overshadow all other senses.
"Shepard… are you alright?" said a voice in front of her. She look up in the direction of the voice, seeing Garrus standing by the door. The pain slowly dissipated when her eyes began to focus on him. He walked up slowly to her bed, placing himself next to her.
"That stray round that clipped me on our last mission….well the wound is still a bit tender, you would think I'd be used to gunshot injuries by now." She replied as she smirked ever so slightly.
"Mind if I have a look?" asked Garrus. Shepard nodded and slowly pulled up her shirt, reveling the wound that mark her side. The skin was discolored and riddled with a scar, blood had pooled and remained solidify in the ridges of the wound. His talons slowly traced around the healing wound, applying an ever so slight pressure on the skin. She closed her eyes and clutched her fist together, allowing the surge of pain to flow steadily though her. Garrus took notice of her reaction and quickly released his touch. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to hurt you… I just wanted..." said Garrus as he placed his hand on her shoulder lowering his head in shame.
"No…you didn't hurt me Garrus…you could never hurt me." she said as her fingertips ran across his face.
"Then what's wrong Shepard…and don't give me that I'm fine crap…I know you too well for that to work this time." He grasped her face while staring into her dark blue eyes. She got up and moved towards the desk, Garrus' eyes followed her motion.
"Garrus…it's not that simple, I don't think I can explain it with just words." she brushed the side of her hair that was covering her face, than slowly moved towards her cheek. "…Why do I deserve to live, when countless others….innocent people, are dying."
"Shepard, you're the one that is going to save us all…don't tell yourself otherwise, we all believe in you." He said as he got up from the bed, approaching her slowly.
"How can you say that Garrus, with everything that I've done…Mordin, Thane, they died because I didn't have the strength to save them…everything that I do just brings pain and suffering to everyone I care about… I'm not the one...I'm not strong enough…I…" she dropped to her knees, cupping her hands over her face. He went up to her, lowering himself to her level, placing his hands on her cheeks. As he raised her face into view, tears were flowing across her skin. Garrus pressed his fingertips along her soft skin, wiping the tears as they passed by. She closed her eyes and allowed him to continue stroking her face, which she then laid her head across his chest.
"It's alright Shepard…you let it out, I'm here for you… I'll always be here for you." He said as his hand brushed her fine smooth hair. She looked up and kissed him. Her lips traced along his, while she continued her passionate action, Garrus held her ever so gently. Jane quickly grabbed him, pulling him down on top of her. She started to smile at him while she stroked his face.
"How is it that you always seem to know how to cheer me up?" her voice softly asked while starring into his eyes.
"Comes with being in a relationship with a Turian…always have to be the one saving the…ah… "damsel in distress"…I believe that's what you humans say ." He said as he angled his forehead towards hers.
"Oh I can be your damsel if that's what your into Garrus… just don't forget that this damsel can still kick your ass all the way back to Ilos" The smirk grew into a pure perfect moment that forced her to softly touch his hands.
"Hell Shepard, if anyone was to do that…I would be glad it was you, besides I can be very stubborn you know." He said as he laughed.
"Yeah, you are a very stubborn Turian…lucky me, so you just goanna lay on top of me all day, or you going to do something more "productive" with those big strong Turian arms of yours." demanded Shepard as she arched herself up. Garrus grasped underneath her body slowly lifting her off the hard metal floor. Her legs swung back and forth as they dangled off his arm. He gently placed her firm body on the bed, legs crossed over one another. "Hmm…so now you got me into bed, you plan on doing something…." She smiled placing her hands on her lap, fingertips slowly walking towards her pants button. The eager Turian gripped her ankles, slowly tugging on her pants. She released the clasp, letting the tugging of her clothes to continue. Gently, the pants moved down her slender legs, reveling her gentle skin underneath and her black undergarment. She slowly moved up to the edge of the bed, stretching her legs pass Garrus' body. He pulled her nearly naked lower half towards him, while slowly brushing her soft skin. Jane's head slowly fell backwards, eyes closed as she began to fantasize on what was happening to her firm body. Garrus' hands cautiously rose up from her ankles, to her thighs, and passing straight over hips, gripping straight onto her back. She felt his sharp talons dig into her delicate skin, a feeling that should have been painful, but was instead a sense of sensual vitality. Her shirt pulled up slightly as he continued to move further up her back, reveling her toned midsection as well as the scar on her side. He lowered his hand back towards her bottom curve, setting straight across both sides. She smiled and began to look down toward her bottom half, looking at what Garrus was doing underneath her. Jane's face drew color as she blushed from Garrus' "forceful" action along her backside. Shepard's hands delicately lifted her shirt off her body, exposing her bare chest. The turian closely surveyed Jane's body starting from her blue eyes all the way down to her hips. His tips traced the outline of her chest, starting from one side and slowly moving over to the other. He took notice of the slight markings that were on her breast, from their first experience, he could still see the indents of each of the cuts from his teeth. "See anything you like?" she asked as she starred straight into his eyes with a devious smile on her face, barely able to maintain a sustained breath.
"Sure do…wouldn't mind seeing a bit more though." he replied while continuing to stroke her face and body. Shepard gave out a slight giggle as she pressed her silky smooth body against his. She wrapped her legs around him and swiftly flipped Garrus over onto the bed. Her heart rate continued to race faster and faster as she stretched her body across his. Her hands began to slowly pull off Garrus' shirt reliving his plated skin underneath. She began to trace the edges of his skin with her fingertips, than slowly planting her lips along his plates. Jane rose up with her hands still bound to Garrus' arms, than looked across the room at the shower room.
"Hmm…I got an idea, care to join me in the shower?" Shepard asked as she got up from the bed placing her hands on her hips.
"Ah…is that something humans do, turians tend to just bath in showers, not …um… "fraternizing" ". Garrus replied while scratching the top of his head, trying to make sense of what she was trying to get him to commit to.
"Ha…playing innocent as always Garrus…how sweet…yeah it's something human couples do to show their bond to one another." she continued to tease him with seductive stance. Garrus got up from his seat on the bed and slowly walked over to Shepard as she laid back against the wall wearing only her underwear. "…So…do you prefer hot or cold?"
"Oh…well not that it matters but…I doubt that the water going to make much of a difference, were not going to be clean anyhow." he countered while placing his hands on Jane's waist, lifting her up off her feet.
"That's the idea Vakarian…I'm pretty sure I'm been a dirty girl either way." She said as she threw up her arms over his shoulders. Her lips continued to kiss him on the lips, still being held up by Garrus' arms, a passionate moment that could not be interrupted, even from the static noise that emitted from the computer console next to them.
"Uh…Commander, are you in the middle of something?" said a nasally voice which spoke out loud. Shepard stopped her motion and began to look around.
"JOKER…didn't I tell you to stop ease dropping while I'm in my quarters alone." She yelled with her arms crossed over each other and still with her legs bound to Garrus' body. He began to stare at Shepard's angry look, laughing a bit at her displeased state.
"Oh…well yes, but I had to…dammit…EDI, could use little help here." replied Joker over the com.
"Shepard…Jeff had received a priority message from the Citadel , Alliance protocol dictates that any high level priority message must be read by the Commanding Officer." said EDI in a paced moderate speech.
"EDI…I'm well aware of standard procedure …but I did asked to be alone for the next hour or so." said Shepard as she redirected her view back at Garrus smiling.
"Understood Commander, I'll make note to this…also once Garrus is complete with his "calibrations" in your quarters, he is needed on the hangar deck, Lieutenant Vega needs assistance with the recently purchased set of rifles." Shepard's smiling face turned into horror as she tried to comprehend what EDI had just said.
"EDI…exactly what makes you think that Garrus is in my quarters?" asked Shepard as she scratched her head.
"Jeff had me remotely activate your cabin's internal communication system… he wanted me to experience an actual sexual encounter for research purposes…I was not convinced that the vids on the ExtraNet provided the necessary information on human sexual interaction with non-human partners." EDI responded with her clam voice. Shepard's mouth gabbed open slightly and her cheeks redden from embarrassment, while Garrus simply stared at Shepard in a petrified stare.
"JOKER!" screamed Shepard at the top of her lungs.
"Oh...uh…losing connection…interference with…" said Joker as his voice began to fall faint with static from the disconnected system. Shepard shook her head placing her hand on her face in disgrace. Garrus angled his head to focus on Shepard's emotion filled face.
"Shepard…you okay?" asked Garrus as he lifted her face back into full view. Shepard slowly pulled Garrus' hands off her body and dropped her feet back to the floor.
"I don't know, while I think it was wrong of Joker to do that, something tells me that I probably had this coming with trying to help those two." she said as she walked towards her computer terminal.
"Maybe, though I doubt you wanted to see some vid about us and cross-species intercourse on the net." laughed Garrus as he took a step back towards the wall.
"Garrus!" Shepard said as she smirked at her Turian lover. "…I'm sorry, I guess the mood is a bit ruined now…" she said as she looked down at the floor in shame.
"Well everything doesn't last forever, besides sounds like Vega needs help…hmm…but I'm glad we had this opportunity, probably should do this more often." replied Garrus as he approached Shepard, leading with a friendly hand.
"Deal…next time I'll find a spot more private, less distractions of course." said Shepard as she walked up to Garrus, planting a kiss on his face.
"Glad to hear…I'll bring the wine this time…oh and about your "special" date your planning, take your time picking a place…I'm happy with whatever you decide." Shepard looked at Garrus with an unsteady look, but before she could say a word, Garrus placed his finger on her lips preventing her to respond. "Ash told me…before I came up, she was a bit out of it though."
"Of course she did…well…you better get going, Vega is probably going crazy by now." said Shepard as she walked pass Garrus, bumping into him slightly.
"Sure…when you're ready…you know where to find me." replied Garrus as he touched her body ever so softly, teasing her feelings.
"Calibrations… right?" Shepard questioned him with her smiling face. Garrus laughed at her remark and made his way towards the door with his shirt in his hands. After the door had closed, Jane made her way back towards the bed, falling backwards onto the soft surface, looking once again at the stars. She closed her eyes and let the cool air flow over her body. Her head tilted to the side facing her desk, she opened her eyes and took notice of a power drill on top. She straighten herself up and continued to stare at the drill, than a smile broke out. Think it's time to pay a visit to Joker's chair, he doesn't need those new cup holders anymore, she said to herself as her smile became more devious by the second. She once again fell back onto the bed, letting her mind wonder into a paradise of her own, just a few seconds to retain the energy that she had used previously, she loved the feeling.