Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for joining me on my first published work ever! If you enjoy the ride, please leave a review! This was originally intended as a one shot, but if you would like it to continue, lemme know in the comments and we'll see how it goes!

Oh, and if words repeat, it's intentional! They help, they help portray how people repeat themselves when they're on a train of thought. But if you think it sucks, or it can be done better, lemme know!

As her eyelids opened, the blurred images became clear. Ceiling, bed, clock, closet, even the extensive collection of ship models. The room felt like it had been sleeping as well, even the ticks of the clock seemed like the dull breaths of sound sleep. She took in all these things with new eyes now, no longer with a musk of who provided them and what it took to be here. No longer with the sullenness that had gripped her only one night before.

One leg slowly fell off the side of the bed as the rest of her slowly got up. The Turian that now shared this space stirred, and rolled towards her, placing his hand on her back.

She's many things, he thought, but a good sleeper is not one of them.

"Another bad dream? … Shepard?"

The hand on her back began to shake, breaking her daze.

"… No."

She shifted her body to face him and tucked her legs underneath her. He was wiping his eyes now, the shirt he was supposed to be wearing was on her, and the soft white blanket covered what was left of him. These new eyes drank in his form as a warm feeling flushed through her body, one she thought had disappeared with girlhood. Her face did not betray this feeling, but there was a glimmer in her once dark eyes.

"Garrus… Do you…" Shepard tried to search for a diplomatic way to speak, but the power of persuasion alluded her. No, she swore to herself, I am going to tell him. She began again after a sigh, "I dreamed that I saw my Dad… for the first time in a long time."

Well this was unexpected, Garrus thought smiling a bit to himself, but it's better than Thresher Maws and shadowy figures. He began to settle in, these dreams can become long, complicated, and a little twisted.

"I don't want to sound crazy, but I guess it's too late for that," she began, "but ever since my Dad passed away, I would see him in my dreams. He looks younger than I remember, his hair is slicked back and he's… he's wearing his white button down shirt. And his sleeves are folded a quarter of the way up, always up a quarter of the way up. And, and he has his black dress pants, always pressed, always immaculate." She didn't realize it, but Shepard began to smile as she described her father. Her hands patted where the sleeves would be folded up to, they traced where to crease in the pants would be, and her head angled as she pretended to slick back her hair.

He saw this transformation from determined commander to dreamy child. It was endearing, the joy Garrus now saw in his superior officer as she spoke of a man long dead from a far off place. Shepard was not a stern person, but there was a certain sadness in her eyes that never left, only lessened, especially in the presence of a good joke. But this was different, that sadness was gone and the glint that now had its place had caught his unsuspecting heart.

"Dress shoes too," she continued, "Always had dress shoes on, even if it wasn't for church. My Dad always looked good, always. He wasn't afraid to get dirty though, I remember one Saturday night he got out in the middle of a rainstorm to fix our neighbor's car. It took an hour, and he was covered all in grease and oil and mud, but the car started again! It started again…" Shepard's eyes drifted, getting lost in memories that once made it hard to see clearly.

"He sounds like a real stand up guy," Garrus said, softer than he would normally speak.

"Ah, yeah, my Dad's my hero… he was always helping people, just always ready to do whatever was needed."

"You take after him quite nicely."

"What? Oh no… if my Dad, if he was here, he'd fix this whole mess in two minutes lemme tell ya," her drifting eyes met his and locked, "Thank you though… that means a lot." They shared a smile, and maybe a blush too, but neither would admit to it. He reached out and traced the line of her face, she held the hand that touched so gently. They let it linger for a moment, then drew back to themselves. It's not good to be too mushy for too long.

"So what happened in your dream?" Garrus asked, as they slightly regained themselves.

"That's the thing," Shepard began, a bit of the darkness creeping back, "Usually, usually I'd only see his back. He'd be standing in a white light, but I could only see his back. Or if I saw his face, I couldn't see his eyes. And he would always felt sad, or angry, or like he wanted to tell me something. I'd wake up sad, a deep kind of sad, maybe even with tears in my eyes. You can kind of tell when it happens too, it takes me a little longer to respond, especially in morning meetings."

"I always you'd gotten lost during one of Mordin's lectures and didn't want to admit it ." They both chuckled, her heart warmed up again, in the presence of a good joke…

"Heh, no but this time, this time he turned, and looked straight at me. Just, shoop, right through my soul… And, and he smiled." Shepard's eyes began to water, "He smiled at me for the first time… for the first time…" Her hands folded as she brought them to her heart, "And I just woke up happy. Just happy. For the first time since… since, wow, since I was a little kid.

"I always remember my Dad smiling, but in dreams, he was sad. It felt like he was sad for me, or for something I had done, for something I didn't do. And it would break my heart, but this time… this time he smiled, could see the whites of his teeth."

"Could you see his eyes?"

"No, no couldn't see his eyes. But I didn't have to you know, I felt it here." Folded hands flattened as Shepard pressed them deeply into her chest. Her body hunched over, like it was absorbing itself. "Thank you for listening, by the way. I know how much this can disturb your sleep, and, and I know that…"

"Hey," He said, putting his hand on the back of her neck, "I don't mind, it's nice to see a real smile from you."

Shepard looked up, Garrus was sitting up with her now. He leaned against the headboard, and his arm laid across the knee that was close to his chest. They looked into each other's eyes, and let it linger for longer than they should have.

She leaned in for what should have been just a kiss, but he soon was on top of her, getting more lost in her eyes. He scanned her face, then neck, and then began to lick as she searched for something to grab. Usually these intercourses only fed her carnal desire, or more accurately, the loneliness from which it stemmed. But this time, this time it was different. Her heart was open, fully open, for the first time in a long time.

And this male, this Turian, would be the one to fill it.