The Normandy was as quiet as a ship at war could be. Shepard and his squad had returned from another mission, thus after the debriefing they'd all turned in for a little rest before the next one. Everyone had been pushing themselves pretty hard and time was doing them no favors.

Tali made her way to the ship's bar to see if she could find something to help her relax. They had just solved the problem with her people and the Geth, and the event left her drained. Legion was lost to them, but they gained a legion in return. As much as Tali was thankful to have peace between the Quarians and the Geth, she tired of it all. The Quarians had made her an admiral, and while she felt a certain honor, the responsibility weighed heavily. But this wasn't the only matter weighing the girl down. Tali's relationship with Shepard had moved more quickly than anticipated. On some level she felt excited by the prospect, and then on another it also made her nervous.

Upon arriving at her destination, the door slid open to reveal someone else already drowning their cares in whatever happen to suit their palette. It was Garrus sitting at the bar, totally ignoring the door that had just opened and probably everything else as well. Tali was able to walk in, sit two seats down from him, all the while helping herself to some turian brandy. Garrus hadn't moved a muscle the whole time, yet it was he who broke the ice.

"Come to drown your cares as well, Tali?"

She noticed he still hadn't moved, so the quarian shot back, "What's wrong with you? You haven't moved this whole time. I'm starting to get concerned."

"Are you concerned about me, Tali? I suppose if I haven't moved its because I was deep in thought. That or I've had too much to drink, anyway."

Tali noticed he started moving his head as he spoke now. At first it was just his mouth, but now he would turn toward her as they talked. "You're my friend, Valkarian, why wouldn't I be concerned if something was wrong? I mean you were so still it was like you spaced out and became a statue for...well there aren't any birds here but you get my point."

Garrus finished his drink then swung his seat so he could look at the quarian without having to turn his head. The look on his face as he stared at her was starting to make her uncomfortable, and he sensed it. The turian immediately dropped his gaze downward and away from his friend. Garrus was ashamed now when he said, "Friend...such a harsh word at times. Here at the possible end of our existence you'd think it would be a nicer word."

"Okay Valkarian, you're drunk! You don't sound drunk, but you speak like a drunk." Tali dared not tear her eyes from him, not even to drink. Evidently Garrus could take his booze well for he didn't slur his words, nor did he have an issue with balance when his stood.

"Can I ask you a question, Tali?"

"That was a question right there. Now go sleep it off." Tali's voice was calm but getting noticeably irritable. All she wanted was to drink in peace so she could sort through some things, but the quarian couldn't do it with Garrus interrupting her train of thought.

"Things have moved pretty fast between you and Shepard, haven't they?" Garrus began slowly moving toward the door as he spoke, but was in no hurry to leave. It occurred to him that maybe Tali needed to slow down, to make sure that's what she wanted. Though the turian had something else scratching at the walls of his mind, something that he might only be able to suppress for so long.

"What!? Can I please be left to drink in peace please?"

The turian was only a step from the door sliding open when he continued, "I don't know...here at the end. Maybe it's the drink talking, but I wanted to get it out there. You know, just in case we don't make it."

Tali only stared at him. Maybe if she let him finish he would feel better and then perhaps she herself could as well. It wasn't that she didn't care about him, it's just that there had been so much on her mind that the girl thought the weight would eventually be too much. Shepard told her repeatedly to have faith in herself, that she could do it if the quarian put her mind to it.

"Tali, I'm not sure how to say this, but I care for you." Garrus paused momentarily to gauge her response, which turn out to be an awkward staring contest so he continued, "I just wanted you to know before we..."

The quarian cut him off saying, "Not another word, Valkarian!" Tali held her left hand up for Garrus to get a good look before she added, "Before you say something we might both regret, take a look at what's on my hand."

"Decided to adorn your suit some more?" The turian asked being absolutely clueless as to what significance it might have had.

"Shepard had it made for me. All this fighting trying to save the galaxy and he was able to take the time to have such a small trinket made for me." She stood then move up in front of him so his drunk vision could get a good look.

There were moments of silence as he looked to the quarian's finger and then to her face and back again. "I don't understand," he said.

Tali tried to clear things up for him, "I've done some reading on human cultural traditions and such before I started seeing Shepard. I'm not going to explain all of my reasoning to you why I did that, but let's just say I'm good with research. What I found, and Shepard confirmed this recently, in some human cultures an item such as this is given as a symbol of love. It's what they do when one of them proposes marriage to the other. The band is suppose to represent their bond without end, thus the circle, an eternal love."

Garrus truly didn't know what to say, but Tali had effectively hit him between the eyes. He had no idea it had become so serious between his friends. The turian started to say something but she cut him off again.

"Look. Shepard surprised me with this and at first I didn't know what to say, but I did accept his proposal. I'm not sure what kind of life we'll be able to have, but we do love each other. I've known how I felt about him since the first Normandy. So please, Garrus...don't bring this up again."

Her friend was about to leave before she added, "Shepard is also your friend, your best friend. I'm a little shocked that you would bring this up. You know I was quietly keeping this to myself," Tali didn't want to be mean but he struck a nerve so she continued, "but I discovered that your surname means idiot in the human tongue. Or something close to it. So I would ask you to quit acting like a..." The quarian girl was tired so she let the sentence trail off, her point had been made.

Garrus opened his mouth then shut it as though he were about to say something and thought better of it. The turian realized he should have remained silent, but he couldn't because he needed Tali to know how he felt. However, she was clearly dealing with a lot of stress if his friend wasn't holding back. Or was she?

"Shepard never told me that," replied the turian.

Tali's voice was softer in response this time but ended with a very matter of fact tone, "And I wasn't going to tell you either."

The turian left without a word and when he was gone, Tali returned to her drink. Shepard had asked her to marry him before they left Rannoch and after the quarian had accepted they said they would tie the knot when the war was over. Shepard had promised they would build a house on her homeworld and they would settle there if that's what she wanted. Of course she wanted it. Tali might have bounced her decisions around trying to find an answer at times when she was stressed, but deep down she wanted an end to the fighting. A new start for her people. And a life with Shepard, whatever that might entail.

After the war was over, Tali and the others searched for Shepard's body for weeks. Eventually he was deemed dead or missing in action by the Alliance. A ceremony was held on Earth to honor the fallen of all races and a memorial was erected. Tali had the honor of adding Shepard's name to the Normandy's long list of fallen heroes. Returning to Rannoch to build the house she wanted without Shepard hurt in ways the quarian hadn't thought possible. It was something they wanted to do together, to start a new life. Tali would have to do it without him, and while she wasn't alone in the task, it wasn't the same. There the quarian made a home among her people.

Every year Tali made the voyage back to Earth to visit the memorial that was erected. When she found Shepard's name plate it simply read, "Hero of the Citadel. Hero of Earth." Upon reading it she would become overwhelmed with emotion. Tears streamed down her face as choking sobs made it hard for her breathe. Tali would always return on the anniversary of their engagement and cry her heart out. The quarian knew the man in a way no one else would ever have the chance, and he was gone. The remarkable thing was despite all of her mourning she had faith that he wasn't dead. Most of the year it kept her from breaking down and gave strength to move forward. However, on their anniversary Tali would always break down at the memorial.

Decades passed and over those years she ventured out less. She had few visitors but Garrus who would pop in now and then to see how his friend had faired. He never mentioned that time in the bar on the Normandy, nor did he ever make another advancement. The turian had a lot of respect for Shepard and he felt for Tali enough not endanger their friendship. Garrus and Tali both stopped drinking after the war because they felt it made things worse. Tali still wore Shepard's ring for she never gave up hope. Shepard told her to always have faith, and while the pain of his absence was great she could not give it up. The quarian learned what the ring truly meant, it was a promise, and she intended to keep it even if he really was dead.

One day a mysterious human appeared on Rannoch and he visited Tali. A small ceremony was held outside her home with a few surviving friends from the old days, and it was after this that she stop visiting the memorial on Earth. Rumors began to circulate that the mysterious man was Shepard, his injuries so severe it took years for him to recover. The Alliance and governments from other worlds had caught wind of this rumor, but even if it was true they felt he had earned whatever peace he found. Whatever the case the two of them lived out the rest of their days in the home Tali built.