Part I: A Colonel's Quiet Retirement

Just a castaway,
On an island lost at sea,
Another lonely day,
No one here but me…
-- From the song "Message in a Bottle", by The Police

Chapter I: Risks and Gains

"Shepard…"

Garrus Vakarian suddenly felt quite uneasy. This was primarily because of the second-thoughts he was beginning to have about what he was planning on discussing. Maybe "discuss" was not the right term…Maybe "tell" was, since he figured that Shepard would not be saying much. It would be him doing most of the talking, and even then he was at a loss on what to say.

The past few weeks had been hectic, to say the least. They had gone to Therum, Feros, Noveria, Virmire…They had gone to plenty of worlds in between, most barren planets with only slight points of interest. They had taken on Geth, Asari Commandoes, mercenaries and even a few Cerberus commandoes. And in Garrus' perception, there was one constant in all of this: The part they had to play in tracking down Saren, in thwarting his scheme and stopping this Sovereign being. There was also Commander Kate Shepard, the young human soldier who was in charge of this whole thing. She had willingly let Garrus on board the Normandy to become a part of the group, to help track down Saren and stop him. And she had shown Garrus how to get things done: The mission had to be completed, no matter what the cost, even if it meant innocents would have to die. Garrus had always thought along these lines but to see someone like Shepard think the same thing…well, Garrus could only like that in her. She was certainly something, a woman who took no-nonsense from anybody, a woman who was not afraid to get her hands dirty if the situation called for it. Garrus would be reassigning himself for Spectre training once this was all over but there was part of him that wanted to stay on board the Normandy, to stay with Shepard and the crew and go about the galaxy bringing justice to those that required it.

They had tracked down Dr. Saleon a week or so ago. Garrus had killed him in what was perhaps the most satisfying death he had caused. The bastard did not deserve to live and Shepard…she had agreed. When Garrus had first met her, back on the Citadel he had thought she might have disagreed with his beliefs in getting the job done no matter what. Instead, she thought along the same lines and she reinforced Garrus' own beliefs as a result. Garrus liked her for that and, if he was not mistaken, there was something else, an underlying feeling he had for her. He could have just been foolish thinking like this: she was human, he was turian. It could never work, could it?

The corridors of the Normandy were quiet, save for the faint background hum of the engines. The lights were dimmed to give the illusion of night time. The night crews, consisting of only a few bored technicians, were seated up on the bridge milling over control panels and ensuring the ship was running smoothly. Most people had retreated to their sleeping pods. Some of the more important crew members had their own quarters…Garrus had taken the quarters of Ashley Williams, since she had died on Virmire. She had been distrustful of other species and Garrus had never really paid much attention to her. Her death might have affected Shepard and some of the others, but to Garrus he cared little about it. Besides, he got her quarters…It certainly beat sleeping in a pod every night.

They were heading to Ilos, a planet that was covered with ancient Prothean ruins. Saren was heading there as well to find something called the "Conduit". Details were vague but Garrus was certain that things would become clearer once they were on Ilos. It would be several hours before they reached the planet, giving the crew a chance to rest up. Garrus had decided to gather up all of his courage and confront Shepard in her quarters. It was an ideal opportunity to tell her how he felt about her.

It was unlike him to feel so nervous, but these were unique circumstances. He was even having trouble fathoming it himself…Seriously, could he really feel this way about a human? It was not unheard of but it certainly was not common: Turians and humans were an unlikely pairing and Garrus had never thought that he might end up in such a pairing. At least, he had never thought so until recently. Even then he was afraid of what Shepard might say: Would she accept what he says or would she be repulsed, perhaps so much so it might destroy their friendship? The most likely occurrence was that she would simply tell him that they can still be friends…Fraternization was disallowed in the military, both human and turian ones. He was breaking the rules and his father would not be pleased. Then again, his father was on Palaven enjoying a quiet retirement. Who would know? Only him and Shepard, maybe the rest of the crew…not that they would do anything about it. That was assuming things would go well between the two of them. Chances are it would not. He was thinking too far ahead of himself. He decided to quit all of the second-guessing: he was here now and there was no use pondering what might and might not happen. If this were a combat situation he would have no qualms about marching right in and shooting the place up…he enjoyed that sort of thing. However, when it came to the opposite sex he hesitated and a fear he had not felt for years struck him down and near paralysed him. He had had experiences with a few women in the past, all turian. All of those relationships had ended one way or another for whatever reason. He remembered his last one that had lasted for about six months…she had been in C-Sec, as he had. Again that was fraternization and it was breaking the rules. Garrus was not afraid to break the rules, especially when this particular turian female had seemed the perfect one for him. How it had ended was still unknown to him, it had simply dissipated and he had never seen that girl again. Maybe she had found someone else? If she had, such an occurrence did not help Garrus with his self-esteem. There had been that recent fling with that female he had had a sparring match with, as brief as it was.

Sure, he was quite confident about himself and his place in society but when it came to females…well, he could be at a bit of a loss on what to do or say. However, he was more fearful about Shepard because, well…she was human.

That was why he was standing outside of Kate Shepard's quarters, trying to work out what he would say. There was no one else in the corridor and there was the distant sound of someone snoring…a man, who exactly was impossible to determine. It was not too late in the "night" (such a term could only be loosely applied to the downtime on a star-ship) and Shepard would still be up, working on her reports and such. She would probably be up until quite late, seeing as she was the Commander and had more work to do than anyone else on the ship.

"Shepard…There's something I have to tell you…" He whispered, shaking his head when he realized that it sounded pretty lame. What would he say? That he liked her? Liked her more than a friend? And how would she respond?

Garrus, you idiot.

Maybe he would be best to simply retreat to his quarters and just forget about this whole endeavour. He was making a mistake…a big one at that. There was a part of him that just wanted to get on with it, quit all of these second thoughts and just go inside and tell Shepard what he wanted to say. What did he want to say? Damn, he didn't know. What was he doing here again? Talking to itself, it seemed. He was standing in the corridor, talking to himself like some sort of delusional madman. The door to her quarters was right in front of him, yet he could barely sum up the courage to step inside and confront the Commander.

"I think…I think I like you Shepard. If you were turian…"

"If you were turian…" That sounds so lame. I feel like such an idiot.

He had to go in, yet he would not at the same time. It was a dilemma, worse than any of the ones he had found himself in before. He could handle himself in a fight, but again when it came to the opposite sex, he had no idea. None at all.

He heard voices somewhere further down the corridor, coming from the mess hall. A brief bout of laughter followed. Well, it seemed that there were other people actually having fun. Yet here he was, standing outside Commander Shepard's quarters, muttering to himself and frustrated at himself for being unable to go inside. There had to be something he could say that did not sound so lame and forced.

There was the option of simply strolling inside and improvising. He had never been one for rehearsed speeches anyway since he had never really had to give any, at least not for several years. Public speaking was not something he enjoyed.

He would go inside. Yes, he had decided: No more of this useless rehearsing or dawdling out in the corridor. He would go inside, say whatever came to mind and see what Shepard had to say. So what if she didn't like it? It would hurt, sure but Garrus would get over it just as he had gotten over previous rejections. Life was tough, he knew this better than anyone.

He was about to activate the panel on the door, about to walk in and say what he wanted to say…but again he hesitated. Instead, he sighed and angrily slapped the doorway but not hard enough for anyone else to hear. The last thing he needed was for Shepard to come out and see him standing outside her quarters, not doing anything except feeling sorry for himself. They had done so much together, taken on overwhelming odds together…They had killed geth, mercenaries…This was the next step. Garrus liked her, there was no denying it. He had to do this, otherwise it would be gnawing away at his mind for the rest of his life. He could not live with himself for not doing it. Then again, he was not entirely sure just what he would be doing. Confessing his love for Shepard? It was crazy. She would never buy it. He was turian, she was human…There was a difference.

Enough of this…I'm doing it.

With some slight hesitation he activated the glowing green panel by the door. It slid open, revealing the coolly lit sleeping quarters behind. They were the Commander's, thus they were appropriately spacious and bigger than any other living quarters on the ship. In one corner was the bed, in another was the desk and computer of Commander Shepard. She was seated at the desk, milling over a recently completed report. Chances are she would be in a lot of trouble…they would all be in a lot of trouble because of their escape from the Citadel. The ship had been in lockdown after all, denying them the chance to leave and pursue Saren. Captain Anderson had aided in their escape but they would all be in a lot of trouble if C-Sec ever found them. That was why the plan was to get rid of Saren before that happened, although knowing Shepard there was a chance that she had no plan.

Katelyn Shepard was dressed in the standard blue uniform for the Alliance Navy. Her hair was auburn and wavy, well-maintained and definitely silky smooth just by the look of it. Her eyes were a matching brown colour and she bore a slight scar that put a small gap through one eyebrow. She probably had a few more scars elsewhere, especially from what she did on Torfan years before. It was a messy business what had happened on that planet but Shepard, as is to be expected, got the job done.

Garrus stepped in, taking it slow. The door slid shut behind him, providing a rather unwelcome barrier to the rest of the ship. Now there was no chance of anyone overhearing them.

Shepard swivelled around in her seat and looked towards him, raising one eyebrow slightly. Garrus found himself looking into her eyes, realizing that maybe he was gazing at her a bit too deeply. He shifted his vision away from her slightly, looking at a spot on her desk instead. Shepard seemed to sense his apprehension and simply smirked, as if she found it amusing. Knowing her, she probably did find it amusing.

"Garrus," she said, "What do you want?"

"Me? Oh, uh…Nothing much…" Garrus swallowed. He realized then and there that he had no idea what he was doing in here…it was as if his mind had gone completely blank and now he was standing in here, completely purposeless.

Nothing much? Oh, you idiot Garrus. Why the hell are you in here for then?

"You look like there's something on your mind," Shepard said. She stood up and Garrus watched her, trying to work out what she was thinking. He was also trying to work out what he would say.

"You want to talk about it?" She asked.

"Talk about what?"

"Whatever's on your mind."

"On my mind?" Garrus shrugged. Rather than get straight to what he was here for, maybe he could change topics a little…He had plenty of time, after all.

"If there's one thing that's on my mind, it's getting Saren," Garrus said, "We've been chasing that bastard for weeks. The only thing we have to show for it is just bad news…I mean, these 'Reapers', what the hell are they really? And when we finally did confront Saren, he escaped. We should have gotten him on Virmire…"

Shepard shrugged. She didn't seem so concerned about it and Garrus had a feeling that he was probably coming off as a bit forced. He knew that he was just stalling, just rambling on about nothing in particular…but what else could he do?

"We'll find out more about the Reapers, I'm sure of it," Shepard replied, "And Saren…We'll get him. There's no doubt. Missing out on finishing him on Virmire is nothing. He'll get what's coming to him."

"I hope so," Garrus said, "Otherwise this whole thing would have been a big waste of time."

"I don't waste time," Shepard said.

"I know."

There was a pause then, leaving nothing but silence in the room. Garrus looked into her eyes again, taking note of that fiery spark each contained. Shepard did have a bit of a temper, one that could flare without warning. This was one thing Garrus did really like about her: her temper. He could be much the same and as such he could see a part of himself in her. They agreed on so many things, especially when it came to getting the job done…no matter what the cost.

"You didn't come in to talk about Saren, did you?" Shepard asked, a slight frown crumpling her features, "Because I'm getting sick of that guy."

"Uh…So am I," Garrus said quickly, "So am I…"

"Quit being such a kiss-ass and tell me what you're doing in here," Shepard said bluntly. She was smiling at the same time, so she wasn't being entirely serious about it. Garrus was taken off-guard at first but when she saw her smile he was able to compose himself.

"I came in because…" Garrus trailed off. What would he say? He had absolutely no clue on what he would say. Shouldn't this sort of thing come naturally?

"Because?" Shepard raised an eyebrow expectantly. Garrus took a moment to answer.

"Because I like you, Shepard," Garrus said. Immediately he regretted saying it, primarily because of the lengthy silence that followed. Shepard didn't look fazed at all, then again she never seemed to get fazed by anything.

"You like me?" Shepard asked, "I like you. You're a good man…turian…whatever you want to call yourself. We've been through a lot together. Why wouldn't I like you?"

Garrus felt relieved for a moment, until it occurred to him that Shepard had completely misinterpreted what he had just said. He wasn't surprised about this, so rather uncertainly he decided to elaborate on it a little more.

"We're friends, I understand that," Garrus said, "But what I mean to say is…I like you…I don't know how to say it, but I think I like you more than as a mere friend. Much more."

Shepard took a moment or two to reply. She looked at Garrus carefully, taking in his rather serious gaze just to make sure that he wasn't joking. He certainly wasn't and the last thing he wanted was for this to be taken as some kind of joke.

"Are you saying you love me, Garrus?" Shepard asked.

"You…could say that," Garrus said carefully. Love a human? It wasn't impossible, far from it. But would Shepard actually accept it?

"Uh…I don't know what to say," Shepard said, "Honestly, Garrus, I wasn't expecting this."

How was she reacting? She seemed unsure, lost, confused…Garrus took a step towards her. She didn't retreat but she didn't come forwards either.

"I have to admit, you and I do have a lot in common," Shepard said, "But seriously, Garrus, it just doesn't feel right…You and I…"

"If you feel that way I'll get over it," Garrus said, his voice laced with some disappointment, "I'll leave if you want me to." He swallowed: it was to be expected. Shepard didn't seem the accessible type: she didn't seem the type who would bother with close relationships. In fact, she did seem a bit "inaccessible": all stone-hard and ruthless.

"No, don't go Garrus," Shepard said, her tone lightening a bit as if she had had a sudden realization, "I like you too. It's just that…well, this is all a bit sudden…Don't get me wrong, you're important to me. I just need some time to think."
"Really, if you don't want me here, I'll go," Garrus said anxiously, "It's getting late anyway."

Shepard took a step towards him. Garrus felt his heartbeat increase a little and his eyes went to hers again. He was almost lost in them, barely paying attention to the way she came close to him and put an arm to his side.

"Maybe if you were turian…" Garrus began, spouting off a line he had previously decided against saying. He was no longer thinking clearly now, unable to do little else but look into Shepard's eyes. "This could have worked out differently…"

There was another pause. Shepard just looked up at him, put a hand to the side of his face and felt along the hard scaly plating there. Her gaze was uncharacteristically gentle, hinting at a somewhat softer side to the otherwise stern and inaccessible Commander Shepard.

If she had been turian, Garrus would have had no hesitations in confronting her like this. Because she was human, the situation's complexities increased somewhat. Now that she was caressing his face while he looked into her eyes…well, it was a good sign that things were going well. They were going far better than he could have imagined.

He exited his reverie and put an arm around her. He brought her close, felt her slender frame against his. He couldn't feel the heat of it through his armour, but he longed to feel it, to be free of the burdening armour suit he so often wore.

"Who said I had to be turian?" Shepard asked. She was smiling now and Garrus tried to return the favour. Turians couldn't smile like humans, making them a species that was harder to read than most. Garrus' heart was racing and all sorts of thoughts were running through his mind…primarily there was the notion that maybe he was making a mistake. Was he? Would tonight simply complicate matters further? They still had to take on Saren and save the galaxy, two things that were far from being small matters. Would inciting a relationship with Shepard make these two things harder to accomplish? There was a reason why fraternization was disallowed in the military: close relationships could impede the judgement of those involved and as such their performance in a combat situation could falter. Then again, Garrus didn't think much of this: he was confident of himself and his own abilities and that getting involved with Commander Shepard would not prove to be a mistake. Shepard was probably thinking the same thing.

Their eyes met once more: Shepard leaned forwards and brought her face close to his. Her lips went to his mouth and pressed onto the hard scaly skin there. Her tongue found its way into his mouth and felt along the slick walls within. Garrus forgot about all of his doubts then and there: All that mattered now was the woman in his embrace and what they would do.

He wrapped both of his arms around her, putting a hand to her waist and feeling along her back, taking in every curvature of her body. He broke from the kiss and put his mouth to her neck, gently nipping the skin with his mouth. Turians didn't possess lips like a human so he had to make do with delivering his own interpretation of human "kisses". Shepard didn't complain, in fact the subdued moan she emitted implied that she was enjoying it.

He could feel her hands tracing along the back of his armour. One of them found the release mechanism for the suit and with a faint hiss the back of the suit opened. Garrus took a step back, noticing that Shepard was wearing a rather expectant look on her face. He wriggled out of the upper torso of the armour suit, letting the bulky outfit clunk onto the floor. Garrus hastily released himself from the lower parts of the armour, letting it drop to the floor. Underneath he wore a flexible black under-suit and once he was down to this Shepard stepped forwards, finding a zip on the front and pulling it down. Underneath was tough and scaly grey and blue skin, his shoulders carefully tattooed with the dark blue markings that all turians with lineages like his had. Shepard looked at them and put a hand to one shoulder, using one finger to trace along the intricate dark blue designs.

"Nice," she said simply. Whatever slight embarrassment Garrus might have felt was gone now, especially when he saw the hunger in Shepard's eyes. She wanted him and she would not take no for an answer.

Shepard took a few paces back, going against the side of the bed. Garrus stepped forwards, his hands going to her shirt. He grabbed it from the bottom and lifted it, pulling it up and past her head. Once it was off he tossed it onto the floor. Shepard leaned back and fell onto the bed while Garrus leaned in after her, his hands going for the belt at the waist of her trousers. He fiddled with it for a moment, grew frustrated and gave up. Shepard easily unbuckled the belt and Garrus, without hesitation, simply pulled the trousers off of her legs. She kicked off her shoes and pulled off her socks. The pair were now in their undergarments and Garrus had an intention to rectify this immediately.

He put an arm around her, leaning forwards and putting his mouth to hers. Once again her tongue found its way into his mouth before she broke from the kiss and moved her lips slightly downward, suckling on one of his mandibles. Garrus forgot about everything else and let his impulses and instincts take over, emitting a low growl as the fire in his loins began to build.

With one taloned hand he slipped it into the strap of Shepard's underwear and pulled, breaking the flimsy apparel. He threw it aside and Shepard simply laughed, giving him an amused look.

"You're lucky I have more pairs of those…" She said. Garrus did not respond and instead went to work at the clasp of her bra, quickly growing tired of fiddling with the flimsy mechanism. He used one talon to break it as well, pulling away the bra and leaving Shepard naked under him.

Shepard found the zip at the under-suit that still covered his lower half and pulled it away. Garrus brought his scaly bulk against her slenderer frame, feeling the heat of her body against his. He curled his body protectively over her own. He licked down her neck, tasting the sweat that had begun to form there. It was almost like a drug, one that Garrus took in more of, tasting down her neck and across one shoulder. He put his head between her breasts and growled, hearing Shepard moan beneath him. She seemed so much softer than he was, completely unlike a turian female. And her flexibility…it was quite amazing. No turian female could put her legs around him like Shepard was doing now.

The longing ache in his loins reached a crescendo. Garrus bucked impulsively and Shepard arched beneath him, shouting at the new sensation. Shepard seemed to smile up at him and immediately any remaining uncertainties in Garrus had gone. The turian held her down with one hand at her stomach as he thrust forwards, forcing his scaly hide against her, feeling her writhing movements beneath him. Shepard called his name but he did not pay much attention, instead his concentration was entirely set on what he was doing. Everything else was a mere blur. He leaned forwards, feeling her breasts press against his chest. He caught a whiff of some sort of perfume or some other sort of product that Shepard had on: it was sweet, with something musty underneath. Garrus growled again, forgetting civility and letting his instincts take over.

Garrus bucked autonomously, growling as he did so. Sweat ran off of his skin and he could feel Shepard's sweat slicked skin slip and slide against his. It had suddenly gotten hot, very hot. Sweat dripped off of Garrus' frame with each exertion. An ache crept up his spine and to his shoulders, one that only eased with each thrust he delivered against the Commander's arching form. He used one hand to grab one of her legs, feeling down it seductively. Minutes passed, the pace slowed and Garrus, short of breath, finally removed himself from her. Shepard remained lying in place, as out of breath as he was.

It took a moment for Garrus to regain his original thoughts. The doubts in his mind, the ones to do with confronting Shepard about the way he felt about her and about navigating their different physiologies: Those had gone, dissipated like a plasma trail in the vacuum of space. Shepard had felt the same way about him and in a way they made the perfect couple: they were both willing to get the job done, no matter what. They weren't afraid to take risks. Garrus should never have doubted himself, especially when it came to Shepard. And to think that what they were doing was wrong…it was not wrong and Garrus knew this as soon as he had felt her skin against his. To him, it felt so right.

The Commander eyed him from where she lay, a slight smile forming at her lips. Garrus let go of her, letting her relax as he rolled off of her and lay down in the bed beside her. The air around them was thick with the smell of their sweat and their fluids. Garrus stared at the ceiling for a moment, feeling Shepard shift next to him. She put a hand to his chest, feeling along the scaly skin there. Garrus felt some guilt at the scratches she bore on her sides, caused by his talons and overzealous actions. Shepard did not seem too concerned about them, though.

"I take it you enjoyed that?" Garrus asked. It had certainly been a new experience for him: never again could he look at Shepard the same way. Never again could he look at a turian female the same way, realizing that turian females lacked a certain something that humans had…perhaps it was a human woman's flexibility? Or perhaps a human's soft, pliant skin? Either way, sex with a turian woman would pale in comparison to doing it with Shepard.

"You were an animal," Shepard said, her voice laced with a playful tone. Garrus gave the turian equivalent of a smile when he heard this. Then again, it had not been the first time he had heard it.

"I…I don't want this to get in the way of…uh…what we're set on doing," Garrus said, feeling some uneasiness form within, "To do with Saren, Ilos…I don't want us to get distracted."

Shepard wrapped both arms around him as she lay on her side.

"Don't worry," she said, her face mere centimetres from his own, "We'll scrape through. We'll be there for each other and the two of us…well, we could probably take on a whole army."
Garrus smiled. She was right about that last point.

When Garrus finally did wake up, Shepard was fast asleep on his chest. Glancing at the computer on the wall, he saw that it was late morning and definitely past his usual time to have breakfast. He rubbed his eyes and figured that he ought to get moving, otherwise the others might start to miss him and Shepard. The last thing he needed was for everyone on the ship to know what was going on between him and the Commander.

His slight movements in his waking state were enough to awake the Commander. She opened her eyes and rolled off of him, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and looking at the time as well. She sat up and turned to look at Garrus, still looking like she was not entirely awake.

"I think you and I should actually get moving," Shepard said, yawning as she spoke, "Otherwise people might start wondering where we are."

"I suppose we should," Garrus said, although he would have preferred to stay in bed…Shepard's bed, to be more exact. He knew they had a job to do: They were going to Ilos for what could very well be the final confrontation with Saren. But when you had fallen in love with someone even the fate of the galaxy could wait a while.

The relative silence of the room was broken by the sound Jeff "Joker" Moreau's voice. He was the skilled pilot of the Normandy and he had a habit of interrupting at the most inopportune times. He could communicate via the ship's systems with anyone on the ship at anytime but thankfully he couldn't see them. If that happened Garrus would be downright embarrassed.

"Commander? Are you there? Are you even awake yet?"

Shepard slid off of the bed and picked up her undergarments from the floor, only to find that they were broken thanks to Garrus' attempts to remove them the night before. She sighed and shot a slightly irritated glance towards Garrus. The turian simply shrugged in response.

"Commander, now isn't the time to be sleeping in…"

"I'm here, Joker," Shepard replied, "What is it?"

"Finally," Joker said. There was the sound of a sigh over the comm. Systems. Garrus remained lying on the bed, taking a moment to pick at one of his talons.

"We're coming up on the Mu relay now, Commander. You might want to, you know, get out of bed?"

"I'm on my way, Joker," Shepard said. She looked at Garrus again. "You want to be part of the team to go down to Ilos?"

Garrus nodded. He certainly was not going to give up his one chance at getting Saren, not after all he and Shepard had been through just to get this far.

"You bet."

"Uh, Commander…if you don't mind me asking, why is Garrus with you in your quarters?"

Garrus frowned and Shepard just shook her head. She looked a little annoyed at Joker's privacy intrusion since he had obviously been listening in. There was no real way of knowing if he was listening in or not at anytime. On a ship like the Normandy, privacy was somewhat hard to come by.

"How about you quit eavesdropping and get on with what you're being paid to do?" Garrus said, some annoyance creeping into his voice, "You know, piloting the ship?"

"Well, since you're there Garrus, I may as well tell you about the private message we received via subspace. It's addressed to you."

Garrus was somewhat confused when he heard this. A private subspace message…for one, sending that kind of message was awfully expensive. For another, who would be sending him a message? His father? Maybe even his younger brother?

"Leave it alone, Joker," Garrus said, "I'll read it when we're finished up on Ilos."

"Whatever you want."

With that, Joker closed the channel. Garrus sighed and looked towards Shepard, trying to work out what this could all mean. A message for him? It must have been important, coming through subspace.

"He's going to open the message, isn't he?" Garrus asked. Shepard nodded.

"Joker's the inquisitive type," she said, "Besides, what could it be about?"

Garrus shook his head.

"No idea," he replied, "I just hope it isn't anything urgent since it's going to have to wait until we're back from Ilos." He paused for a moment, realizing something rather important at that instant.

"He's going to tell everyone on this ship about us, isn't he?" Garrus asked, "He knows we were together in your quarters…"

"I wouldn't worry about it," Shepard said, "Besides, it's not like he has any solid evidence. You and I could have just been talking."

"No one will buy that," Garrus said, "They'll all just jump to conclusions. Especially Joker."

Shepard shrugged. She didn't seem too concerned by it. She never seemed to be concerned by much.

Garrus could only nod his head, even though he did not like the thought of his involvement with Shepard becoming ship-wide knowledge. However, he did have other things to worry about like what would happen on Ilos. In the next few minutes he climbed out of the bed and started to dress himself and prepare himself for whatever awaited down on Ilos. At the back of his mind was the feeling he had about this "private message" and what it might be about. Something told him that it was not good news.

Author's Notes:

I began writing this story before I purchased Mass Effect 2, but thankfully the events of this story do not really contradict what happens in the sequel…I think, save for the obvious Shepard/Garrus stuff. The back-story prior to this chapter would contain some significant development between the two characters, including Garrus walking in on that three-way confrontation between Shepard, Kaidan and Liara with the intention of talking to her in private but instead becoming part of the confrontation.

Anyway, I wrote this story as a very "loose" sequel to Loving the Alien, which was my previous Mass Effect story. You don't need to have read that before reading this, as I only reference it in the first few chapters and I "ret-con" a hell of a lot of what happens in it (in other words, I more or less make a lot of things that happened in that story obsolete). This new story is more or less standalone, but could also work as a sequel to Loving the Alien. Sure, Shepard can't "get it on" with Garrus in the first game but he would make a far more interesting love interest than the two available.