Hey guys. This is my first shot on a fan fiction so no hate please. I personally loved all of the mass effect games, including the me3 ending (go ahead and hate) and i've always had an imagination of what happens after me3 ends. I will change things that happen in the main story as well (Mordin dying for instance). This will be a action/romance between Fem-shep and Garrus. All characters in me3 will be mentioned. Aiming for about 20k words total due to me not being the best author, but will definitely continue if my story is not done. I'll try to get updates out weekly. Thanks for reading.

After

Chapter 1

"Sarah!", Garrus yelled as he sprung up from the bed, losing all signs of the deep slumber he was just in. Shaking from the memory of Sarah being hit by Harbinger's beam, as he flew helplessly away on the Normandy. Garrus looked at his omnitool, it was 0145 hours Earth time. November 7th, Garrus noticed. 3 months since they left Commander Sarah Shepard alone to die on the Citadel. His Sarah Shepard. He knew why Kaiden ordered Joker to abandon the battle over Earth, and the only reason Garrus couldn't protest was because he was unconscious in the medical bay, suffering from 3rd degree burns from Harbinger's beam.

News had trickled in over the dilapidated comm buoy system that the Reaper's had been destroyed in the ring of pure red that was emitted from the Citadel. We had won! The Reapers were no more! But what of Sarah?

Garrus lowered himself back to his pillow. He rolled over and looked at the Thanix Cannon. He had been sleeping in the Battery rather in the Captain's Quarters, because without Shepard, it just didn't feel right.

He dreaded the next day. Without clear confirmation that Shepard was still alive and breathing, the crew decided that they were going to put her name up on the memorial wall. Garrus knew that a name being stuck to a wall wouldn't change whether she was alive or not. It just felt wrong that they should even put her name up there, condemning her spirit to death. He felt that familiar tug in his gut that he felt as a detective when he just KNEW that his hunch was right. Shepard was alive, and Garrus would hold onto that feeling, even if Kaiden and the rest of the crew weren't so optimistic. They didn't have the feeling Garrus did. All they knew was that Shepard was on the Citadel when it fell into Earth's atmosphere, burning and crumbling the whole was down.

—

All she could think of was the pain she felt. All over. The kind of pain where you start to wish the injury had killed you. The total agony she had felt once before, that day floating above the atmosphere of Alchera. Memories of what she had slowly flashed before her eyes, So your life does flash before your eyes…, she thought. She fell into unconsciousness. The blissful state where pain is just a suggestion.

—

Garrus rolled out of bed. It was now 0600 hours Earth time. He had to get up, he had been laying in bed thinking of the things he and Sarah would've done after the war. Tour famous places on Earth, maybe head to Palaven, get her to finally meet his father and sister, Atilius and Solana. He had so much planned for them, now he wondered if they could ever do those things, or if they'd even be reunited. Garrus's love for Sarah ran deeper than any distant could sever, strong enough to withstand even a blast from he beloved Thanix Cannons.

When Garrus walked out into the common area of the ship, he noticed Wrex and Mordin talking to each other. What other wonders will I encounter today, he wondered as he gathered ingredients for his breakfast, a Dextro-Amino version of pancakes. He always loved the Normandy for this reason, among many others. This was a human ship that actually cared for it's Dextro inhabitants. A Dextro pantry fully stocked with every preserved food from Palaven.

Kaiden emerged from the Flight Deck with Joker in tow. He pulled Garrus to one side and said, "Tali needs some help repairing the ship in order to leave this place in the aft windows, and by the new, the Relays are still down, we'll need the ship in near perfect shape to crawl our way back the the nearest civilized planet." "All right, however we need more titanium to fix the hull breech in the cargo hold.", Garrus replied.

Kaiden mulled over this in his head for awhile, finally deciding to scavenge the nearby areas and see if any other unlucky ships where stranded. "Joker! See if you can find any ships within a 20 klick radius of the Normandy.", Kaiden called to the retreating pilot as he limped back to the Flight Deck. "Aye aye Major", Joker replied.

20 minutes later, Joker returned with news of a derelict Geth ship about 13 clicks East of the Normandy's crash site. Kaiden called to James to suit up and accompany him to the ship.

—

After finishing his breakfast, Garrus made his way down to Engineering to meet with Tali. The eccentric little Quarian with penchant for engines was waiting.

"What do you need done Tali?", Garrus asked.

"Well, we are almost ready to lift off, I just need to make absolutely sure this ship won't turn into Swiss Cheese mid flight…", Tali proclaimed as she finished refueling the ship's Hydrogen 3 fuel reactor.

"When did you start using human idioms Tali?", Garrus asked with a hint of bewilderment creeping into his deep, flanged voice.

Tali snorted, "It's your fault you know…. making me distract Shepard while you thought how to pop the question… Keelah! I did it again! …. I mean ask her to marry you."

Garrus twisted and played with the beautiful ring he wore around his neck every day since the battle. He really was going to ask Sarah to marry him. He wasn't the best with romance, and he hadn't asked her yet because he was sure he'd fuck it up in some way. He thought Shepard would laugh him right off the balcony of the hotel that he picked for their vacation. The Hôtel La Villa Fleurie in France.

Garrus secretly let himself feel the agony of his separation from his girlfriend.

—

"It's so damn HOT!", James exclaimed as he cut through the foliage of the jungle towards the Geth ship.

"Agreed Lieutenant… But the faster we get there, the faster we get back…", Kaiden practically panted.

They cut through the final stretch of impossibly thick plant life before they stumbled into a clearing , in which a Geth ship sat. Surrounded by Geth.

On approach, the Geth activated themselves. The largest of the Units stepped forward, measuring about 7 feet and weighing at least 1000 pounds, the Geth was imposing, and the Black Widow he carried didn't help. It's hollow, metallic voice ringed out, "Unit Identification 4c6567696f6e. We have made a consensus that you humans aren't enemies."

"I'm glad", Kaiden stated as he wiped his forehead of sweat. "What can we call you?"

"You may call us 'Legion'"

I figured this would be a good place to finish off the chapter. This is already the longest thing I've ever written. Over 1000 words. Please leave comments about this chapter, I need feedback to see where to improve. And yes, i did use a translator to make the unit ID. Its hexadecimal for Legion.