Three weeks have passed since Garrus was back on the Normandy. Meeting with Shepard once more was the best thing that could have happened to him, he wished more than anything in the world to be able to support her in her endless fight against the Reapers. Nonetheless, there was something different this time. He felt inexplicably nervous around her, and he started to notice he was watching her back more than he should lately. Something was seriously wrong with his body and his priorities. It took him some work to finally accept that he felt attracted to his commander, but he was especially mad at himself for the moment his hormones started to act. They were in the middle of a war! His mind had been going over again the consequences of creating a bond with his her without stopping, and to be honest, the results were not very encouraging. Even if he could find some good reasons, he didn't even know if she was willing to try. He sighed frustrated, looking at the omni-tool on his arm. His mind kept telling him that it was a bad idea, but there was a voice in his head with a simple phrase that made him forget about everything else.

If not now, when?

Not being able to contain his curiosity any longer, he tried to formulate his question the best way he could to get the information he was looking for.

How to seduce a human female.

Although his search made him feel embarrassed, soon he started to get lost in the articles that gave all kind of advice about courtship between human beings. Some were stranger than others, but he felt he was starting to get an idea about what he needed.

"Pay attention to her body language and her facial expressions". Well, he would probably have trouble with that. But later he would make sure to change his search to "Human expressions and how to recognize them"

His mind had already started to ramble about how to put in practice everything he learnt so far, but a familiar voice made him startle. He quickly stopped what he was doing and turned around with a guilty attitude, as if he was doing something he shouldn't.

"Is it a bad moment?" Asked the recently arrived woman when she noticed her friend's discomfort.

"N-not at all, I was just… You know, doing some research about calibrations and giant weapons… Ahem, do you need something?" He answered awkwardly, making Shepard smile. She knew that the turian was trying to hide something, but if he didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't force him.

"Not really, I just wanted to talk. Do you have a minute?"

-Sure-. He quickly recovered his composure, trying to leave his nervousness aside. –Got something on your mind?-. He asked genuinely concerned about her mental well-being. The last mission wasn't exactly easy.

The woman walked silently towards the handrail and leaned herself on it with a thoughtful look. She took a few seconds before answering.

"I was thinking about the salarians. It is… Kind of frustrating. Trying to come up with a way to get their support in the war while the Reapers keep destroying everything. Besides… Mordin…" She paused when she said his name aloud, as if her mouth went suddenly dry. She didn't need to say anything else; her friend understood perfectly what she meant. Garrus came closer to adopt the same position as her.

"That wasn't your call, Shepard. You know that. Besides, helping the krogan was the right thing to do. Who knows what might have happened if you had sabotaged the cure and they had found out. We need to work together to win this war, not to create motives to start another one."

The commander felt as every word from the turian lighten the heavy weight that made her restless. She still mourned Mordin's death, but Garrus had a good point. Even if the leader of the Urdnot clan wasn't a good friend, she couldn't allow herself to lose the krogan support in the war. She stood straight before speaking again.

"You're right. Sometimes I just think too much. I'm glad you're here to make me see reason."

The turian nodded. "Whenever you need me, Shepard."

The woman gave him a weak smile and touched his arm softly as a gesture of gratitude before leaving the room.

Garrus watched her walk through the hall until the doors closed and he was alone again. His stomach shrank with that last gesture and he cursed himself for thinking how lucky he felt that she went to him to talk about her concerns.

-o-

A little after what happened on Tuchanka and the attack on the Citadel, the crew finally got some news from the quarians. The good part was that Tali was safe and sound, but the recent start of the conflict against the Geth wasn't as nice to hear. Especially not in a moment like that. Shepard got down to work quickly, agreeing to deactivate the signal controlling the Geth's ship so the quarian fleet could retreat from the battle.

She thought it wasn't the best idea to start a war against the Geth. Not just because they were already in a war against the Reapers, but also because she was hoping for both species to cooperate after meeting Legion. And she was glad Tali thought the same way.

Tali, Garrus and Shepard quickly moved forward inside the Geth's ship. The three of them had been working together for more time than they could remember, so it wasn't very hard to adjust once again to each other's fighting style.

Garrus noticed that Shepard placed herself in what she considered a safe spot and took out her sniper rifle to shoot from afar, taking advantage of the distraction that Tali's drones provided. He was about to get back to his own fight when a strange movement caught his attention. Clearly, a Hunter Geth was getting close to Shepard from her back, making it even more obvious when he checked with his visor. He barely got enough time to point his weapon on her direction and take down his target before it could reach the commander. His heart was racing really fast as she finally looked back to see the Geth materializing and falling beside her. She nodded at Garrus in gratitude when she realized what happened. He nodded back and moved to a different target, but his mind kept running thousands of sceneries where Shepard got hurt.

They moved forward, but this time it was harder for him to keep up the pace. His new obsession of being constantly watching his commander didn't allow him use his skill to the fullest, and many times he made stupid decisions or reacted slower than usual. The consistency of the team had decreased, but it became even more evident when Tali asked him if he was okay.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." The turian answered, feeling ashamed for getting to the point of making the team worry.

Shepard felt a mix of relief and anxiety when they found Legion. She was sure they could trust him, but she also knew that it would be hard to persuade everyone to stop the conflict. She decided to try not to think about it and focus her attention on the huge quantity of heretics that had gathered in front of her.

The turian continued his secret mission of keeping her always within his line of sight. After the terrible feeling he had at the beginning of the mission, the strong instinct of protection was impossible for him to avoid at this point. He wouldn't forgive himself if Shepard got hurt in a mission with him. He wouldn't allow it.

He got out of cover to change his position when he noticed she wasn't close, but it didn't take him long to notice that it was a terrible mistake. Cursing himself for not being more careful, he evaded the Geth's rocket that was heading directly to his torso. He couldn't help but get his arm terribly damaged though.

Damn shield he thought to himself as he got back to cover once more grabbing his arm, which was bleeding at an alarming rate. The wound burned as hell, but luckily for him, Tali didn't take so long to hack his opponent, giving Shepard time to get close and apply some medigel.

"Damn it, Garrus. Don't tell me you got addicted to get hit by rockets." She teased in a serious tone, making the turian laugh, but it sounded more like a panting.

"I couldn't allow the scars to fade." Answered as he felt the relief of the medigel healing his wound. Although the most important damage had been fixed, it was still difficult to move his arm. He definitely wouldn't be able to use it. He was glad it wasn't his right arm.

"Can he get up?" Tali asked after defeating the last enemy in the zone. Garrus stood up before they could even doubt it, and the three of them started running once they heard about the quarians's intentions towards the ship they were on.

They escaped just in time thanks to Legion's help, but it didn't reduce the rage of the squad members once they were back on the Normandy. Garrus on his side, felt the urge to rip admiral Gerrel's head off, but it wasn't a very diplomatic thing to do. He still doubted if he should stay to check on Shepard or go to Dr. Chakwas's to fix his arm. He was about to go when he noticed the admiral in charge of the heavy fleet leaving the war room, walking slightly bowed and with a hand on his stomach. He smiled to himself, only imagining what could have happened in there.