He could see it in the way she moved; the smallest, almost imperceptible hitch in her otherwise fluid movements. His brilliant blue eyes flickered for a moment to her face and found it perfectly controlled. He would have frowned if he could, but like always he held the emotion back, it wasn't his place to mention anything.

"Commander." He nodded to her as she approached him; her slim form falling in the shadow of his own.

"Garrus," Her slightly too-large eyes stared up at him, nearly forcing him to open his mouth to ask, to try and sort out the conflict. Humans had always seemed so strange to him, so easily hurt and yet so unwilling to show it. But he had always known she was special, that she was strong so that others could be calm, be weaker. He could still remember the first time he had noticed it; noticed her. It had been in the Council Tower on the Citadel after he had just been told he would have to drop his investigation of Saren.

Flashback:

The resentment he felt burnt its way up his throat, he had spend years working on this case and now… he could feel the rules and regulations of citadel work as they tightened around him. It was enough to make him lose composure, no matter how unsightly a scene it would cause. He could barely think straight much less care about what others thought.

But before he could find that final reason to push him over the edge he became aware of another presence behind him. An odd presence, tranquil and calm in contrast to his hot anger; it was unsettling enough to make him turn around at once.

Whirling around with predatory grace he stopped short as his eyes met the intelligent purple-blue gaze of the human female flanked by two more of the same species. He had heard of her of course, the massacre that had occurred at Akuze had been all over the net, despite the fact that the only victims had been human. Still, that didn't explain how unsettled he felt with those eyes looking up at him, the haunted eyes of a survivor hidden under the veil of strength, the clarity that made him think that she knew him.

Feeling slightly foolish he introduced himself anyway.

"Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in the C-Spec Investigation of Saren."

The woman's eyes flickered briefly at his name but revealed nothing as she took the information in. Then, nodding in the direction that Executor Pallin had walked off she spoke.

"Sounds like you really want to bring him down."

It took Garrus a few moments before he could understand who she was talking about. Surely not Pallin, so who? Oh! Saren. The bitterness reared its head once again making it hard to speak for several more moments. When he felt he could finally control the tone of his voice he responded.

"I don't trust him. Something about him rubs me the wrong way. But he's a Spectre, everything he touches is classified. I can't find any hard evidence."

Again those beguiling eyes seemed to brighten a little as she took in the information. He tried to wait impassively as she sought for the proper response, but couldn't stop wondering silently about her presence; the aura of both strength and vulnerability that wrapped itself around this one human woman.

Turian culture had always frowned on the weak. Those who could not fight were of no use to a society where warriors were born and bred. Even the females had a ferocity that when provoked could border on violence. Still, this human woman intrigued him.

"I think the Council's ready for us Commander."

Garrus's eyes shifted immediately to the speaker; the male.

The Turian officer disliked him on the spot.

Still, it was the commander that caught his attention and compelled him to offer what he could.

"Good luck, Shepard. Maybe they'll listen to you."

End Flashback:

Then time sped up and seemingly passed them by. He had accepted her offer to become part of her team, not just because he wanted to catch Saren; his blood still boiled at the thought of that Turian disgracing the name of Spectre. But another part of him, the part he refused to allow fully grow, had decided to join because he was curious; curious about the woman who, despite being so small, could fire a shotgun and shrug off the nasty recoil with a simple roll of her shoulders.

And then there were those moments that left him feeling upset and overprotective despite his outward uncaring attitude. He wasn't like the others of her now 6 member landing party, he felt her emotions like no one else. When that human man, Kaiden, had started to flirt with her he had seen her shyness, the panic and vulnerability in her moment of hesitation. He resented the feelings, but worried over the fact that she was staring to act like him. She never seemed to show anything and her pains would have gone unnoticed if he wasn't what he was.

But he was Turian and that was why he worried. He could 'feel' emotion, sense it instead of having to see it. It was part of Turian society, feeling another's emotion, understanding their heart. A Turian couple could seemingly never touch one another but the invisible emotional communication, the subtle body movement was always enough to convey the message. Enough to know the person.

And right now was one of those times.

"What are your thoughts on the last mission?" Despite the sensibility of her question Garrus found her tone worrisome. And even more so was the frightening lack of her emotions.

Normally alive with all sorts of feelings she felt oddly empty.

"You mean the destruction of the Thorian?" He tried to respond as he normally would, but found his senses on edge. Something wasn't right.

"Yes…how did you think I…"

He looked at her face and was surprised to find dark smudges under eyes that seemed dulled with fatigue. She had always made a point to at least look confident and self assured even when she wasn't so why did she look so exhausted…so why did she…

He had barely identified the reason before she collapsed her body limp in the arms he had used to catch her.

"Commander?!"

"Oh my god!" he could hear Gunnery Sergeant Williams as she ran towards them, "Skipper? Skipper?!"

Garrus gently picked up his Commander as the young Sergeant fretted about and walked smoothly over to the elevator.

"I'll call ahead to the doctor ok?" Ashley said as the door began to close, "I hope she's ok."

As do I Garrus thought privately, and then the door closed.

Looking down at the woman in his arms, Garrus wondered in silence about her as he always did. She was so light, so fragile. He had known she was not always what she seemed. But she had gained his respect, proven time and time again that she could protect herself and he would follow her anywhere. But there were moments such as these that made him wonder if he didn't stick around simply because he wanted to protect her.

Akuze had left its scars on her. The mark on her cheek a small representation of the bigger mark it had left on her life.

There had been more than one occasion when he had heard muffled screams coming from her bedroom on his way up to inspect the bridge. Moments when he'd have to distance himself from the terrible haunted look she got whenever they finished killing a Thresher Maw.

And now it seemed he would have to protect her from something he knew he could never understand, the visions she had received of the Protheans.

He had seen the reaction of Doctor T'soni aftershe had attempted to make sense of the visions the Commander had been exposed to; how exhausted the Asari researcher had been.

But the Commander had remained seemingly untouched, inexhaustible in her drive to bring Saren to justice. Or had she?

"Doctor?" Garrus walked into the medical bay, the woman still held close to his chest.

"Yes, Sergeant Williams called ahead," The grey haired physician motioned to one of the beds, "Please, put her down over here."

Garrus deposited his commanding officer as gently as he could and then giving her one quick glance, took leave of the ward, only to be stopped by the doctor's request.

"Garrus, could you get me the Commander's sleep log please? It should be in her quarters."

Without wishing it Garrus's eyes went immediately to the woman now lying quietly on the medical cot, her hair slightly mused and her face entirely unguarded.

"Of course doctor." And within moments he found himself face to face with the plaque labeled 'Shepard' just outside the Commanders' door.

Hesitating for just a moment the Turian placed his taloned hand on the door and watched in reverent silence as the door slid open.

What he found stunned him.

Littered all around the room were Medi-gel packs ripped open, dissected and altered in a way Garrus recognized as the usual formula for stimulants.

He had looked up her background in enough detail to know she had had a tough childhood on Earth, but had she really needed to know how to make stimulants out of the packs? Those were practically illegal in every citadel world.

Feeling numb, and slightly terrified, the Turian carefully walked through the cluttered room and pulled the sleeping log out of the bed recorder.

Designed to measure the bodily conditions of a person on a daily basis and their sleep intake, Garrus stared at the small digital board uncomprehending its data for several moments. And when it finally sunk in, the cold terror that crept into his heart could have rivaled that of space.

Commander…what were you thinking?

And without another thought he tore out of her room and made his way back to the medical ward, desperately hoping she hadn't accidentally killed herself.

Total Sleep for the past two weeks…Zero

WARNING: Medical Attention needed immediately…