I am a beta reader, not a writer. I think it's rather silly that I have to had published my own works. I am a great beta, but not a great writer. Here's the solution that my writer came up with for me

This story isn't actually mine, but it is the one that I am beta reading for right now. The author is Roarkshop and the title of the story is Sense and Flexibility. This is the 3rd Chapter.

Tali and Garrus fell in behind Shepard on Therum, trying to find the daughter of Saren's number two, Matriarch Benezia T'soni. She was supposedly a professor and expert on prothian technology so if they could reach her before Saren did, she could prove quite useful. They mowed down the army of geth easily enough, but now there was a colossus in the way. Shepard and Garrus dove into cover before trying to take it out.

Tali was too busy trying to hack it, she didn't see it preparing to fire. Shepard jumped from her cover, tackling the quarian and taking the blast herself before dragging Tali behind the nearest cover. She took an electromagnetic blow easier than Tali. Her shields going down meant she had to stay in cover an extra minute or so, Tali's going down usually meant a suit rupture. Suit ruptures meant infections, and infections sometimes meant death. Not a chance Shepard was willing to take with her people.

Damn her, Garrus thought, his mandibles clicking. He admired Shepard for, among other things, always putting her crew before herself. Right up until she put herself in danger doing it. She was the Specter, the mission couldn't continue without her. But you wouldn't know it by the way she threw herself in front of bullets.

"Damn it, Commander," he said into the comm. "You'd do well to at least attempt to stay alive." He waited for her reply with some sort of clever quip, but it never came. Complete radio silence. "Commander, do you copy?"

He popped out of cover and focused his scope on her across the field. She was waving her arms at him, and when she saw he was looking, pointed to the ear piece on her visor, then gave the universal sign for 'cease', running a flat hand across across her throat in a slash.

The blast had knocked out her comm. He didn't hesitate to scramble from cover to cover to get to her, the colossus firing at him every time he started to run. Finally, he threw his back into the wall they were covering behind, and he noticed Tali was unconscious.

"What happened, Commander?" he shouted to be heard over the gun fire and explosions.

Shepard leaned out of cover to spray a stream of automatic rifle fire. "I guess I don't know my own strength."

Garrus loaded a clip into his rifle, but paused to look back at the Commander. "Wait, what? You knocked her out?"

"When I tackled her," she said with a embarrassed smile and a shrug of the shoulders.

He smiled. He couldn't help it. Garrus wasn't used to any lightheartedness in life threatening situations.

"Well she obviously can't hack the colossus now," he said. "Orders, Commander?"

"We're gonna have to go to Plan B."

He leaned out of cover to take a shot. "What's Plan B?"

When he turned around she was holding a flame thrower.

He liked Plan B.

"I have to get right up on it to have this work, and I've only got one shot. If you don't get its shields down, it's gonna get a shot off while I'm out there and I'm gonna get a big bright dose of death right to the face. Make sure that doesn't happen, Vakarian."

"I won't let you down, Commander."

"I know."

As soon as she heard the colossus take its shot, stopping to recharge, she charged it, and even with her comm out he heard her roaring at it. He took the shot, firing right into its core. It frizzled the shields but didn't drop them. Damn it. His window was closing. She was almost on top of it. He had less than a second. He didn't have time for a heat sink so he just took the shot. His rifle screamed in protest. The shields died right as she slammed the flame thrower into its core and lit it up.

Boom.

It exploded in a fire of blue and pinkish hues. Warped, melted pieces of synthetic raining down on the battle field. He dove to cover Tali's unconscious form before popping back up to his knees to look for Shepard amongst the fire and smoke. His eyes danced across the field but the smoke was too thick. He sprang to his feet to charge into the flames, when he saw her silhouette approaching through the smoke. Flame thrower over her shoulder, she emerged triumphant, her faced smudged with ash and smiling that smile of hers.

"That's how you take down a colossus!" she shouted, raising a fist in the air. She kicked a piece of scrap, laughing at the sheer joy of a risky kill.

He laughed, and leaned his weight on his back foot, watching her. She was certainly something.

"Surrender," the krogan Warlord growled, his small army of geth readying their weapons. "Or don't. That would be more fun."

"I know you're probably kind of dense," Shepard said, stepping in front of the terrified Dr. Tsoni. "But this whole place is coming down around us."

"Exhilarating, isn't it?" the krogan returned. "Now hand over the asari."

Shepard laughed and waved a hand at him. "I'll hold on to her, thanks,".

"Not an option. Saren wants her, and he always gets what he wants."

"You mean like a pet krogan?"

Garrus tried to stifle a laugh.

That obviously struck a nerve. The Warlord growled at them and commanded his geth to start their assault. Garrus and Tali immediately dove into cover and started to return fire. Tali was hacking the geth one after the other, making them attack each other, and Garrus was trying to focus on the Warlord. He heard the asari cry out and looked over to see Shepard trying to simultaneously protect the cowering professor and shoot at the attackers. Garrus saw Shepard twist her knee as she tried to maneuver, and she cringed as she pulled the asari into cover.

He had been so distracted by the specter's safety, one of the geth snipers managed to target the weak part of his shoulder armor and Garrus felt the sting of the bullet penetrating the soft un-plated part of his shoulder.

"Damn it," he cursed, shooting the geth right in the glowing face. Every time he raised his rifle to take a shot, his shoulder would scream in protest. But it was his rifle arm, and he wasn't going to let a bullet keep him from completing the mission.

Shepard rushed the krogan and poured automatic rifle fire into his face until he stopped regenerating, taking several blows to her abdomen as she did. But, as per usual, she walked away victorious. She waved a hand to her crew.

"Come one, we have to go! Now!"

Garrus and Tali, assuming the asari would follow, rushed for the exit, when Garrus heard Shepard's voice in his comm.

"Oh for the love of..."

He turned around to see Shepard heading back for the, still cowering, Professor, sprinting and showing no signs of the pain that had to be surging through her knee. He cursed to himself as he turned to make sure Tali had made it out alright, before heading for the Commander. Shepard had lifted the asari in her arms and was sprinting back towards the exit. Large pieces of the walls were crashing down around them; they were running out of time.

"Go go go," she shouted at him as she caught up. Once he met her half way, he didn't hesitate to scoop the Commander up in his arms even while she still held onto the Professor.

"Wagh!" was all she said as he turned around to sprint out the door. She was heavier than he anticipated with the added weight of her armor and the asari as he ran up the ramps toward the sunlight. By the time he made it to the exit his calves were on fire.

He leaped through the threshold as the walls of the volcano collapsed behind them.

The women rolled out of his arms as he collapsed onto the ramp, panting.

"Keelah," Tali sighed, going to help the Professor up. "I didn't think you were going to make it out."

"T'soni, are you okay?" Shepard asked, looking up at her from the flat of her back.

"Y-yes. I am alright."

"Good," Shepard said, putting her head back down on the metal ramp. She hoisted herself up on her elbows then leaned over Garrus' face, who had rolled to lay on his back as well. "Hey ugly," she said. "You dead?"

"Damn close, Ma'am" he said with a smile.

"Excellent," she said as she stood herself up, hanging onto the railing. "Remind me to kill you when we get back on the ship."

"I'm sorry the joining is very... exhausting," Liara said, swaying. "I.. should go lie down. Somewhere quiet."

"We're done here anyway," Shepard said, irritation creeping into her tone. "Go ahead. Crew dismissed."

Garrus stayed, regardless of the bullet in his shoulder. The bleeding had stopped and it didn't hurt that bad as long as he kept it still against his body, so he watched her deliver the debriefing to the Council. "A shame the ruins were destroyed," the turian Councilor said. "Was that really necessary, Commander?"

"Would you have rather Saren got the Professor to help him get the Conduit and kill you all? Because if that's the case I can just drop her back off. She's kind of a snob anyway. It's okay, don't worry about it, it's fine. I'll just put her back in the active volcano to restore the ruins. No no, really. I mean what would we do without the ruins of a long extinct species? When Saren brings the Reapers through and we all die in a giant mechanical shit-storm, the next civilization to climb out of the primordial muck will be soooooooooo happy we preserved the ruins."

"You've made your point, Commander. We look forward to your next report. Good luck," The asari Councilor said before cutting off the connection hurriedly.

It took all Garrus' strength not to burst into laughter. Shepard leaned over the railing, gripping it tight with her hands, obviously unaware of Garrus' presence. Deep angry breaths came from her chest and the metal of the railing creaked as she wrung her hands on it. Her arms shivered. She started to mock Liara T'soni as she stood there, her voice exaggerating the deep and sensual tone of the asari.

"The joining can be vvvveeeerrrry exhausting," she said, starting to turn around. "Oh really? Yeah, I can see how using your brain must be just an incredibly difficult expi-AGH! Vakarian!" He finally let out a good laugh, his eyes bright.

"Apologies, Commander," he said between bursts of laughter. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Could have fooled me," she said with a laugh.

"I quite like your impression of the good doctor."

"Yes well, I just blew up the north side of a planet and got chewed out by the Council and turns out she's about as useful as tits on a bull."

"What on a what?"

"Right... uh. She's useless," she clarified.

"Ah."

She smiled, but Garrus saw the exhaustion in her eyes. He was tired himself, the fight with Saren's krogan Warlord had worn them both out, not to mention getting shot.

"Get your leathery ass to the Med Bay so Chakwas can look at that shoulder."

"Only if you bring your fleshy one to get your knee looked at."

She paused for a moment, only slightly amused. "You saw that I hurt my knee." It was stated, but it was also a question. "So that's why you carried me, princess style, out of a volcano."

"Would you have rather I carried you over my shoulder like a sack of grain?" he teased.

"I would rather you never carry me ever again," she said, finally letting her limp show as she made her way to him. "This isn't some romance novel."

"It's a long way over to the Med Bay. I could carry you again, if you like. Don't want you getting hurt on the way there, you humans are so fragile after all," he taunted.

"Don't make me kick you wherever the hell your nuts are, Vakarian."

"I'm afraid that's rather impossible, for you, Commander," he said, leaning down to offer her his unwounded shoulder. "Unlike your fleshy males, we're rather well protected, not all out in the open and vulnerable to the elements."

"Spare me the biology lesson," she said, taking his assistance gratefully. She didn't need to thank him. He didn't need to tell her he was glad she was alright. They already knew.

"I'm benched for Noveria?"

"I'm sorry, Vakarian, but you heard the Doc, you really messed your shoulder up and I can't risk you getting hurt again before we get into the heavy shit."

He pulled his mandible close to his jaw in frustration. He didn't think he had hurt his shoulder as bad as he had, but the Doctor had made it clear that he needed to rest it. Though he had assumed the geth had wounded his pride more than his shoulder. He didn't like the idea of getting left behind. Not that he felt like he deserved to go more than anyone else, but he didn't like the idea of the others going. He knew the asari had to go, it was her mother, after all. But he didn't trust Alenko to protect her. His school-boy crush on her was obvious, not that he could blame him, but humans didn't understand the need to protect the Commander like he did. Whatever happens to them, she was the most important. Turian military 101. The mission could continue without any one of them, but she was the important part. The only irreplaceable member of the team. He didn't trust anyone else on this ship to understand that. To put their instinct of self preservation after the need to keep her alive. But so deep was it ingrained in him not to question orders, that his mandibles just clicked in frustration.

"Aye, Commander," was all he said.

"Why are you so bothered by this?" she asked, sinking into her hip like she did.

"It's nothing," he said.

"Bullshit, Vakarian. This isn't a turian vessel. It's mine. Permission to speak freely or whatever."

"I..." He didn't really know where to begin. He'd never been offered to openly tell a superior why he didn't like their orders. He'd never had an open insubordination invitation.

"If it's just that you don't want to miss any of the action, I can assure you there will be plenty more."

"No, it's not that. I just don't like the idea of staying behind. This mission we're on, it's important. Actually important. Too important for me to stay behind nursing a bullet through the shoulder. What if something happens to you that I could have stopped? That only I would stop?"

"What do you mean 'only you'd stop'?"

"You think the Professor and Alenko would put the mission ahead of their lives? You're the only member of this team worth saving. You're the lynch pin, Commander. Without you the whole mission goes to hell and I seem to be the only one on this team who understands that."

While he was right, she didn't like to think of herself that way; more important than her people. The sentiment made her uncomfortable and she exhaled, putting her hands on her hips, looking at her feet. But it was true, wasn't it? Without her, the human specter, the trail goes cold and everything falls apart. She put her hand on his unwounded shoulder as he sat on the bed, and leaned down to be eye level with him.

"Garrus," she said softly, knowing full well that he could hear her. It was the first time he heard her address him by his first name. It created a strange energy in his chest. "You're the best damn marksman I know. I've never seen anything like it. And to tell you the truth; if I had everything my way, I would never leave this ship again without you on my six. Now with that being said, I will not,under anycircumstances, risk going toe-to-toe with Saren without knowing that your cross-hairs are over my shoulder."

"Commander, I-" what could he say? He was astounded. Garrus' eyes darted from her right eye to her left and back again. Her bright emerald eyes almost staring through his own. He didn't just hear the sincerity in her words, didn't just see it in her eyes. He felt it. His face got hot with embarrassment.

"Now, I need you to rest, and get better before then. A sniper who can't shoot his gun isn't what I need. Can you do that for me, Garrus?"

"I won't let you down, Commander."

"I know," she said, clasping her palm on the side of his neck the way his father always did. But it didn't feel the same way it did when his father did it; patronizing. It was comforting, affectionate. He wondered if this is what his father had been trying to do all the times he did it. He also wondered if this was what a real friendship felt like.

"Commander!" Dr. Chakwas exclaimed bursting into the Med Bay. "I told you to stay off of that knee! Do you ever listen to anything I tell you?"

Shepard rolled her eyes and stood to face the Doctor, wincing. "I just really like your company, Doc. Anything I can do to keep me from leaving this florescent hell hole," she said as she limped her way back to her seat. Garrus just laughed.

Garrus had to make himself busy the next day. He couldn't move his shoulder with the giant bandage he had over it so working on the Mako some more seemed like a poor choice. So, with her permission, he took Shepard's visor out of her locker and went to work on it. Might as well make himself useful. He only worked on it for about an hour in his bunk when it crackled to life.

"Well so much for that," he said, disappointed he had gotten it working so fast. What was he going to do with the rest of his day now? It was then that he heard a voice crackling through it. It was Lieutenant Alenko, but it was far away. Whoever he was talking to forgot to turn off their comm.

"-every mission. I don't get it. What's the big deal about him?"

"Yeah, Skipper, you haven't even taken LT here out since we picked up the alien squad," came Williams' voice, loud and clear.

"So that's what this is about? You guys are jealous that Garrus gets to go on all the missions? He's benched for Noveria," said the Commander.

"But that's only because of the slug in his shoulder," Kaidan complained.

"If he hadn't gotten shot would you have taken him to Noveria?"

"You bet your ass I would have, Chief."

Garrus smiled. He really was about to turn it off and respect her privacy before he realized they were talking about him. But he could just blame it on his superior hearing again if it ever came up.

"See? Why? What's the big deal? We're starting to think you just prefer his company over ours. And the report said the quarian hardly did anything on Therum besides some kind of quarian tech crap."

He heard the exasperation in Shepard's scoff. She hadn't slept at all the night before, tossing and turning in the florescent Med Bay, so she still hadn't recuperated from Therum. "I don't play favorites, if that's what you're implying."

"So both major missions, and all side missions, and a little personal errand to go get a crazy salarian doctor Vakarian had a vendetta against, and you don't play favorites?" Kaidan said.

"Do you have something you want to say to me, Kaidan?" The anger in her voice was apparent, but controlled. Garrus was pretty openly angry, alone in his bunk. One minute she was revered, the object of their eternal admiration, and the next disrespected outright? Fickle, fickle humans.

"No, Ma'am. I just-"

"Because this is getting incredibly close to you two disrespecting my orders and we don't have time for an inter-species pissing contest. So I'm going to make this short before I throw you both out of the airlock. I will take who I please on my missions and on whatever missions I choose. It is my prerogative. If you want to be taken with me, step up your game. Kaidan, you are useful right up until you get an implant headache and collapse on the ground. Now it's not your fault your implant gives you those migraines, and I'm sorry that you suffer them, but they are detrimental to the mission and we don't have time for it. Ash, you are hot headed and nearly got yourself killed because you don't think things through, and one of the people in question had to save your sorry ass for it. Tali gets things done. She's fast and she is respectful. I give her an order and she does it. She could hack her way through the Council's personal telephone calls if she wanted to. Can either of you make a geth fight on our side for 20 minutes before it explodes? I didn't think so. Same goes for Wrex. Besides being brash and blood thirsty, he dives right into a situation and gets results." She took a deep breath but not long enough to let anyone interrupt. "As for Garrus, he never slows me down, he never says 'that's not a good idea'. He says; 'How do I get it done?' 'What can I do to help?' I'm starting to think he's the only one on this god damn ship who has any real trust in me."

"He's a turian, Commander. He doesn't trust you, turians just follow orders no matter what," Williams said.

Garrus' hands clenched into fists subconsciously.

"Bullshit. I'm a human, if he were like all other turians he wouldn't listen to a damn thing I said because we, as a species, have not earned their respect. If he was like every other turian, I never would have brought him along. But he's not just some mindless soldier who does what he's told. He's smart and can make decisions for himself without me having to worry about him doing something stupid like running into a room full of husks by himself. He trusts me and I trust him because Garrus Vakarian is a damn good soldier, and an even better shot. So as soon as either of you can hit a three inch flash-light target from a thousand yards away, I will listen to your commentary on Garrus' usefulness." She paused to let her words sink in and there was utter silence. Joker was actually the one to break the silence in the room.

"Commander, the blue professor was asking for you in the Med Bay."

"Thanks, Joker. I'll go check in on her now," she said.

"Let me know if it involves getting naked," he said before cutting the connection.

She didn't even excuse herself from the room, she just left the two astounded humans in her tracks.

"I had no idea she felt that way about me," Kaidan said.

"What way?"

"That I'm utterly useless."

"She doesn't think that, LT. She's just being a hard ass."

"That must be why she's ignored all my advances. She doesn't think I deserve her."

You don't, Garrus thought before turning off the ear piece.

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