A/N: I don't own anything. The Mass Effect series and characters belong to Bioware. =)

A soft sigh escaped the woman's lips as she tilted her head back, feeling the hot water trickling down every inch of her body. She carefully placed her hands on the wall and stared up at the shower head, seeing the clouds of steam thicken around her. Suddenly two familiar hands came up from behind her, forcing a smile from the soldier.

"I thought you could use some company," Garrus said in a pleased tone, burying his face in her neck. Shepard let out a quiet sigh as she grazed her slender fingers over her partner's fringe.

"And here I thought I would have to beg..."

"You still might."

Her soft laughter filled the bathroom as the Turian firmly pressed his hands on her bare body, running them up and down her waist as he softly nibbled at her neck. Shepard leaned back against him, feeling his erection as it pressed up against the small of her back, forcing her to groan a bit as she gripped his fringe. His hands continued to explore her until they rested on her large breasts. Soon he began rolling her nipples between his fingers, gently pulling at them. Her expression immediately changed at the sharp pain as she lightly hissed,

"Don't do that."

"Hmm?"

He obviously didn't hear her and the woman started to become pissed when he failed to listen to her request.

"I said knock it off!" She blurted out in an irritated tone, forcefully pushing his bare hand away, and pinning it to the side of the shower. Garrus jerked his head back, shocked at her actions as he stared down at the woman. Shepard turned towards him, giving him an icy glare that forced his member to gradually retreat back into his lower plates. He gently slid his hand away from her grasp, rubbed the back of his fringe, and stepped back with a curious look on his face as he replied,

"Did I do something wrong, Shepard? You've always enjoyed that before."

"Just leave me alone, Garrus."

His jaw dropped a bit at her brash behavior as he raised his hands up and moved aside to let her pass. Just as she pushed him away and started to make her way out of the bathroom, Garrus grumbled,

"Whatever you say, Jack..."

Her body suddenly froze mid step at the comment.

"...What did you just call me?" She asked in an unusually chilling tone as she slowly turned her head and glared at the male Turian. Any colder and his head would have burst open in a gory scene.

"Nothing...sorry..." He muttered beneath his breath as he turned his head to the side, sheepishly glancing between the woman and the floor. Shepard turned away as she violently threw her clothes on and stormed out of the loft in a huff, while Garrus stared in bewilderment, cocking his head to the side as he watched her leave. He shook his head as he stepped out of the shower and into his armor in silence.

The Specter proceeded onwards to the second level, still upset by what happened earlier in her quarters as she passed by the kitchen.

"Commander Shepard! Interested in sampling some venison soup?" Sergeant Gardner beamed, ecstatic about the new recipe he conjured up, a spoonful already in his hand like an over eager parent ready to shove food down a child's throat. The other crew members seemed to be enjoying it enough.

"Sure," She replied with a shrug as she sauntered over to him. The commander only made it a few steps before the smell hit her; it was like walking into a brick wall. What the hell did he put in there? Shepard jerked back in disgust, trying to mask her expression as she brought a hand up in defense, shaking her head as she said, "On second thought, I'm not really hungry."

"Well in that case, I'll make sure to save a heaping portion for you. I know how you soldiers like to eat!"

At least he wasn't offended. She forced a smile that looked more like a crooked grimmace as she continued on, soon feeling her stomach churn. In retaliation, her body wrenched forward, forcing her to clasp a hand around her mouth. Shepard ran to the restroom, tasting the mild bile on her tongue before she hunched over the toilet and began retching. Moments later she heard the automatic doors slide open. She erected her arm towards the entrance as if to make a barrier between her and the unwanted guest.

"Oh ho ho-hey, Commander. I never thought you were the religious type. You drink too much last night?" The all too familiar voice snickered. Shepard panted in the bowl, feeling her stomach twist and turn in ways she deemed nearly impossible, then turned to see none other than the helmsman, leaned against the doorway, arms crossed and, his eyes glimmering in amusement.

"What the hell are you-RHAAAA-doing-GAHHH-here?" She asked between her violent bouts of vomiting.

"Uh, well I WAS going to take a leak. Men's room?" He replied, lifting a hand up in a 'duh' gesture. The sight started to become painful even for him, seeing his commander purging her system of her morning breakfast. Joker cleared his throat, trying to keep his own food where it belonged. He scratched the back of his scalp, then gently tugged on the bill of his cap as he lifted a brow, his grin soon disappearing as he continued, "You really don't look that great, Commander. Maybe you should go see Dr. Chakwas."

She hung her head low into the toilet, letting out a painstaking grunt that echoed in the bathroom before lifting her head and running the back of her hand across her cherry lips to rid her mouth of any back-splash. When she peered up from the metallic bowl, the blood had almost completely drained from her face, making her look surprisingly more pale than usual. Joker shifted his weight from the doorway and encircled his arm around the commander as if to help her up to her feet. His gesture wasn't as graceful as he wished, but he never thought the day would come where she would actually be using him as a crutch.

"Oh yeah, this is awesome, Commander!" He finally said, sarcasm lingering in his voice as the two commenced onward, limping together with each heavy step they took. A task that should have only taken a moment, seemed to be taking forever. Shepard was surprisingly heavy, leaning most of her weight on Joker, who seemed to be having as much fun as she was. They came close to falling a few times, only making it halfway there before Garrus spotted them in the corner of his eye. He rushed towards the crippled pair, wrapped Shepard's arm around his shoulder, and held her to him, relieving Joker of the extra weight as he gazed over at him wih a questioning glance.

"What happened?"

"Hey, don't ask me, alright. I don't know what you and the commander do in the late hours, and frankly, I don't want to know. I just witnessed her praying to the alloy gods and handing them offerings."

Joker shook his head, fighting back a neglected shudder as he turned his broken form away from the two and limped back towards the bathroom. Some of the other crew members had started to nose around, hearing the commotion as some witnessed the commander and Garrus heading towards Chakwas's office.

"What seems to be the problem, Commander?"

"I haven't been feeling well lately, Doctor."

"What symptoms have you been experiencing?"

"Every time I smell food I feel sick to my stomach. Sometimes it makes me throw up."

"Anything else?"

"Nope. Nothing else."

She was lying.

"When was the first day of your last menstrual period?"

Garrus shifted uncomfortably as he crossed his arms over his chest, placing most of his weight on one hip as he raised a brow plate and looked at Shepard, perplexed and curious of her next answer.

"Pardon?"

"I'm a doctor, Commander. I can't do much for you unless you answer my questions."

"Uh-I don't know...a couple months ago, I think. I couldn't honestly tell you, Doctor. I haven't had a regular cycle since Cerberus brought me back."

That was the truth.

"I see. Well, let's get a blood sample from you then, and see what we have here."

Shepard gave the woman a nod as she relaxed on the bed. The feeling in her gut had subsided for the moment, but she still felt uncomfortable, knowing her questions wouldn't be answered immediately. She didn't have time to be sick; there were Reapers that needed to be killed, things she needed to do. Her illness was starting to become more of a hassle than it was worth. Shepard peered over at Garrus as the doctor made preparations to extract her blood, seeing him leaned up against the wall, head down, and silent. He had been that way almost the entire time they had been there. What was he thinking about?

Being the true soldier she was, she didn't even flinch when the needle was inserted into her arm; It was finished almost as quickly as it started. When everything was said and done, Shepard slid off the bed and glanced over at the older woman when she heard her say,

"It'll take me about an hour to run all the necessary tests. Until then: get some rest and drink plenty of water. I'll come up and see you once I get the results."

"Sure, thanks Doc," Shepard replied with a small smile as she stepped out of the infirmary with Garrus following closely behind her. Though the other crew members had their suspicions, only a few knew about their relationship. The two remained professional, but while all the others were fast asleep in their quarters, they were still awake, making sure the other wouldn't get a wink of sleep.

One hour had passed, then two...then three. Still there was no word about Shepard's troubling ailment. Garrus remained seated next to a his partner at the edge of her bed, entangling his thick fingers in the silken strands of her dark brown hair. He lightly caressed her cheek with his thumb, watching as the woman drifted in and out of consciousness, quietly pondering to himself. There was no way her period was knocking at the door. His sense of smell was far superior and he couldn't smell any hint lingering on or inside her.

Hearing the door open, Garrus quickly snapped his head towards the direction of the entrance, seeing Chakwas and Mordin as they stepped in. Shepard's eyes fluttered as she slowly awoke and glanced at her Omni-tool to check the time.

"You know, usually it's the patient that's late for appointments, not the other way around," she joked as she pushed a stray strand of her hair behind her ear and smiled, a bit curious why Mordin had decided to join in.

"Good that you're both here. Need to talk," Mordin said hastily as he and the female doctor stepped closer.

"It's not that simple. I asked Dr. Solus to come as well. Your situation is a...delicate one to put it lightly."

"Delicate?" Shepard jerked her head back with a chuckle, then continued, "So what is it then?"

The two professionals gave each other a glance as if waiting for the other to say something, then Chakwas spoke up as she turned to Shepard and replied with a deep breath,

"Commander...you're pregnant."

Garrus could feel his throat close up as he swallowed hard, like that of a teenage boy being caught red handed fooling around with someone's innocent daughter. The four remained silent while the Turian tugged at the collar of his armor as if that could free him from the situation. In his fidgeting, he glanced over at Shepard, seeing her calm and collected, almost amused. That was when she let out a strained laugh.

"Nice one, you two. I never knew doctors had such twisted senses of humor."

"Not a joke, Shepard."

It still took her a moment to process, but soon her chuckles came to a halt. The woman hung her head down as Mordin's words drowned in the back of her mind. She could scarcely believe it. No.

"...That-that's impossible..."

"I thought so too. There are absolutely no records on Turian, human conception. Once I spoke to Mordin, he confirmed to me that you two have been...intimate," Chakwas replied, forcing a sharp glance at Mordin, upset that she hadn't known about it sooner.

"Not impossible. Turian's give birth to live young. Though odd, Turian physiology has changed drastically over the evolutionary period. Besides, stranger things have happened. Survived Omega-4 Relay. Brought back to life by Cerberus. First human Specter and now first human to give birth to Turian."

"...Yeah...lucky me..." Shepard sighed as she remained still in the bed, staring down at her lap as the reality of the situation gradually sunk in.

"Shepard..."

Garrus stared at his lover with saddened eyes as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it tenderly as his heart sunk. His mind was going a mile an hour, wondering if she would want to keep it or not. He wouldn't be surprised if she didn't, after all he wasn't of her kind. The unknowing made him feel even worse as he sulked into worry and depression.

"How far along is she, then?" Garrus finally choked out as he rested his eyes on Mordin and Chakwas.

"Six weeks. You should be getting some tenderness in your breasts and nipples, mood changes, diversion from certain foods...morning sickness."

The heavy sigh that escaped her lips proved that she had been experiencing most, if not all the symptoms that the older woman rattled off.

"Ultimately your decision, Shepard. Pregnancy could turn difficult, both physical and mental for you. Too soon to be sure, though."

"Thank you...both of you."

Chakwas stared at the commander, concerned for her well being as she finally said,

"We'll leave you two alone for now. If you need anything, then don't hesitate to ask."

Mordin nodded in agreement and soon the two made their leave for the couple to ponder on the news. As soon as she heard the doors close behind them, Shepard began to feel hot tears form at the corner of her eyes. She fought back her sobs as she felt Garrus's hand on her back, but she couldn't help herself; she needed to cry. So she did.