Chapter 1

2 months had passed since Shepard saved the galaxy and defeated the Reapers. Humans, and aliens alike were still busy trying to pick up the pieces.

Shepard herself, was still recovering in a hospital in what used to be London...

Upon entering her room, Garrus was pleased today to see her looking better than yesterday. She smiled slightly when their eyes met, and he walked over to her, placing his massive hand on her shoulder and leaning in to kiss her forehead. "Just a few more days, Shepard. Hang in there" he assured her, knowing how she hated to be babied and watched constantly. She was dying to be released and get back to work. The Reapers had been taken care of, but that by no means meant that her work was finished, and she knew that.

As she started to get her barrings to swing her legs down over the side of the bed, Garrus took her hand and helped her up. "How do you feel?" He asked, concernedly. "I'm fine," answered Shepard, "getting better everyday" she added. "Good." Said her Husband, "The crew misses you" ...Shepard smiled again, she missed them too.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you" Garrus began again. "What?" Asked Shepard. "The Alliance has given us a suitable home here on Earth, that we can use until the Normandy is back up and running. Apparently its in a remote part of town, far away from all this commotion"

"Oh yeah?" Shepard replied. "Well if they ever let me out of here...I look forward to christening the bedroom with you." She said giving him a playful look. "Now dont go getting me excited Shepard, you arent strong enough for that yet."

Visiting hours were over soon, and Garrus had work to do, so they said their goodbyes for the night, knowing he would be back tomorrow as soon as he could. "Love you" he said on his way out the door. "Love you too" Shepard replied, settling back into her bed for the night.

That next afternoon, after Garrus had finished all the tasks the Primarch had given him for the day, he made his way over to the hospital yet again. As he approached the enterance, he noticed a small body beside a pile of concrete rubble, as there was still much to be cleaned up and put back together... Quickening his pace, he turned towards the body, making his way over, realizing as he gets closer that it was the body of a human child. A little girl.

From what Garrus could tell, she wasnt hurt...bruised and scratched but alive and in one piece. Not wanting to scare her, he crouched down, and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. The child jumped and looked up at Garrus with her big blue eyes. Sure he had terrified her, he thought to let her know he wasn't going to hurt her. Before he could speak though, her look of surprise turned quickly into a smile. She wasnt scared at all.

Garrus felt overwhelmed with emotion, thinking of what this child, no older than 6 or 7, must have seen and lived through. The fact that she was still so quick to smile gave Garrus hope. He stood up and reached out his hand for her to take. As she tried to stand up, she fell a little, so Garrus took a chance and tried lifting her up. The child didnt fight it, she let herself go limp in his arms and he carried her straight into the hospital.

Finding a nurse, he told her what was going on, and immediately they brought him and the child to a room, where they asked him to set her down. Although, when he tried, the little girl stiffened her grip around his neck, almost refusing to let go. After a minute of trying to pull her tiny hands away from him without hurting her, the Turian was able to set her down on the bed. "We can take it from here," said the nurse. So Garrus turned to leave, knowing the child was in good hands...but he stopped after walking a few paces towards the door, looking back at the child who's eyes were now filled with tears, as she pushed herself off the bed, and began walking towards him. He was turned fully back around now, trying to gesture to her to get back onthe bed, trying to let her know she couldnt follow him. "This way" he said gently as he turned her to face the bed again and softly nudged her towards it. Lifting her up once more just to sit her back on the bed, she spoke. "Stay here" she said, in the smallest voice. Garrus felt his heart weaken, how could he leave her now? Looking over at the nurses who were now staring at them both, he asked if it would be okay if he stayed in the room while they fixed her up. "Sure" said one nurse. Garrus nodded in appreciation and stepped back, just a bit, to give the nurses room to work.

The child was very compliant, letting the nurses hear her breathing, touch her arms and legs, examine her bruises and overall check her out, all the while her eyes focused on the Turian standing nearby.

"Every thing looks alright" the second nurse began. "Shes weak, but the scrapes and bruises will heal and otherwise she is perfectly healthy" Garrus nodded again, thankful for their help. "How old is she?" He asked. "No older than 6" one of the nurses replied. "But, we cant be sure of anything until we know who she is. And since she seems quite fond of you, perhaps you can try to find out"

Garrus didnt see why he couldn't at least try. So once the nurses left them alone...he stood there for a moment, examining her. She had long brown hair, half way down her back, light skin, big blue eyes, and fat cheeks.

As soon as their eyes met...she did it again. She smiled at him. Even wider this time. Garrus wondered, was it because she'd never seen a Turian before? Is that why she was so taken with him?

He sat himself down on the bed beside her. And attempted to get some answers. "What is your name?" He began. Swinging her feet back and forth, bumping them into the side of the bed as she did, she replied "Aravaeya" and looked up at him again, still smiling. A cute name, he thought to himself. Before he could ask his next question, she lifted one of her fingers and placed it on his chest plate, followed soon by the inquiry of his name. "Im..Garrus" he answered. "Garusss" she repeated, only half pronouncing it properly.

Next, he asked about her parents. He knew in order to get her back to them they would need a name or two. She put her head down, and her smile faded. She shrugged her shoulders and twidled her thumbs. It was a touchy subject, that was obvious. Garrus found himself hoping she didnt have to watch them die...

"Do you know where they are? He asked, trying again to get some helpful information. She shrugged her shoulders again. Garrus could see she was getting more upset, so he dropped the subject.

Just then one of the nurses poked her head in the room, motioning for Garrus to come over. "Ill be right back, Aravaeya" he said. The child must not have believed this, because as Garrus began to stand up, he felt little fingers grasping at one of his talons, holding onto it as hard as she could. "Dont leave" she said, frowning even more now. "Im not leaving. I will be right back." He smiled a little to reassure her. "I promise" he added. She released his talon when he said that, and went back to swinging her legs back and forth.

Once out in the hall, the nurse began explaining what was going to happen. None of it sat well with Garrus and he interrupted the nurse mid sentence. "Foster care? You have given up on finding her parents already?" He said sharply. "Unfortunately," the nurse continued, "the chances of us finding out who they are are slim, and even more so is the chance that they are even still alive." Garrus looked into the room, at the tiny child sitting there. This isnt right, he thought. "Alright," he grunted. "How does it work? How do I become her foster parent?" The nurse looked beyond surprised. A Turian soldier, requesting to foster a human child was most...unusual, at least in her opinion.

"Are you sure...? Taking care of a human child...is a big responsibility..." Garrus felt offended now, what was she trying to imply? "Im sure." He stated very matter of factly.

"Very well then. We will get the papers prepared for you now." Garuss nodded his head, and turned to return to Aravaeya who was still sitting, still swinging her feet and banging them into the bed rails.

Her face lit up upon seeing her new friend return, almost as if she didnt believe he would keep his promise. As he approached the bed, the child scooted herself over, as if to make room for him to sit beside her. So he did.

"Oh shit!" He thought to himself as he came to his senses and remembered the reason he was at the hospital in the first place: his wife. Having been so caught up in the moment, he had almost forgot about her! Knowing she must be wondering where he was by now, he stood up immediately and gestured for Aravaeya to climb into his arms. "Come on," he said with a small smile on his face..."I want you to meet someone" she didnt hesitate, but clutched her hands together around his neck and let him carry her out of the room, letting the nurses know he would be back down soon, explaining he was taking the child to meet his wife, whom everyone in the hospital knew of well.

By the time they took the elevator up to Shepards room, Garrus realized he wasnt too sure how he was going to explain Aravaeya to her. They had talked about adopting a child...but he also knew it was a lot to place on her right now. "Talons crossed" he thought to himself as he entered her room.

Shepard was sitting on her bed, back facing him, although she could tell it was him when he walked in and said "Busy day?" Turning around so she could see him better, she almost didnt register the tiny human on his hip...and when she did, she wasnt quite sure what to say.

"Hey, babe." He started. "Busy day, yes but it got even more...complicated about an hour ago..." He continued now looking down at the child who was cluelessly content just sitting in his arms.

"...How so?" She asked, raising an eyebrow...still completely confused as to what was going on or why her Husband was carrying around a human child.

"This is Aravaeya" he said, sitting her down in a chair directly accross from Shepards bed, making it easy for the Commander to evaluate her.

Aravaeya looked over at Garrus, unsure what to do...but when he nodded, she took that as a good sign. "Hi" she said, directing her word at Shepard, along with a small wave.

"Hello." Shepard replied with a smile. As much as she didnt want to say anything unfriendly infront of the girl, she really wanted to know what in all the galaxies was going on.

Before Shepard had a chance to ask, Garrus began explaining all that had happened, finding her in the rubble and the conclusion that her parents were unfindable, if alive at all.

"Wait..." Shepard interrupted...watching her tone as the child was now staring intently at her every move. "Foster her?"

"Yeah...there wasnt really a choice...they were going to send her to a random family..." Shepard, now paying close attention to what she said infront of the girl, leaned in and spoke lowly "And that would have been a problem, because?"

Garrus stopped for a moment. He hadnt really given this all much thought himself. All he knew was when he thought of her being brought somewhere...else, he couldn't let that happen. Whether he knew it yet or not, he'd already grown an affection for her.

Remembering that the nurses would probably have the foster forms ready by now, he told his wife he would be right back, and motioned for Aravaeya to stay in her seat...she was more trusting this time, considering he kept his promise to return to her the first time, so she stayed sitting. Shepard on the other hand, was alarmed and immediately asked Garrus where he was going. "Just need to finish up the paperwork, I wont be long...Just talk to her Shep, give it a chance."

And with that he had left the room. Turning her gaze from the doorway to the 6 year old sitting across from her, she smiled again, unsure of what to say or do. Its not that Shepard was bad with kids, she did like them and they had talked about adopting when everything was back to normal...but she was in shock.

"How old are you, Aravaeya?" She asked. The child held up 7 fingers and said "Im six!" Shepard couldnt help but smile a bit. She couldn't deny it, the child was adorable...and obviously in need of someone to look after her. She just wasnt sure it should be her and Garrus...

He was taking longer than he said he would, so the Commander decided to start up a conversation. "Are you okay?" She asked first, noticing the little girl was cupping her hands around a scrape on her knee...looking quite uneasy about it. Aravaeya stood up and made her way over to the bed. This surprised Shepard a bit, but she let it happen. Aravaeya then lifted her knee in the air, pointed to the scrape and said "See?" Shepard replied with "I do..." Followed by the question of whether or not it hurt. "Yeah" Aravaeya mumbled shaking her head in a slight up and down motion.

"Would you like me to put some omni gel on it?" Shepard offered, knowing she had some on the table next to her. Aravaeya just shook her head up and down again. "Okay" Shepard stated, motioning for the child to sit on her lap so she had better access to the scrape. Much like with Garrus, the child didnt hesitate long, and plopped herself right onto the Commanders knees. Shepard adjusted the child, making sure her knee was in the right spot...and picked up the gel, putting some onto her finger.

Aravaeya winced, as the gel touched her scrape, but she didnt object. Shepard was as gentle as possible, slowly rubbing it in. "There you go," she said. "That should help." "Thank you" said Aravaeya softly. She was a polite child, thought Shepard.

Expecting Aravaeya to remove herself from her lap, seeing that she was finished applying the gel, she was about to stand, only to realize the child didnt plan to move at all. In fact, Shepard felt her push her body closer to hers, and she felt strangely warm inside.

Not long after, Garrus appeared walking into the room, happy to see the little one sitting on his wife's lap...he couldnt help but think to himself how good she looked like that, holding a child...

"Garrusss!" The child shrieked with excitement, as though she hadnt seen him in days..."Im back" he said, winking at her. Jumping off Shepards lap, she danced over to Garrus and lifted up her arms, requesting to be picked up.

Shepard, watching her Husband gladly scoop that little girl into his embrace, she realized there was no way she could object to all of this now. She could see the joy written plainly on her Turians face as he held her...and whether she was going to admit it out loud or not, that little girl had something special about her, and all of the sudden she was willing to give this a shot.