A/N: This is the first time I've written anything like this. While playing through ME2, I realized that Shepard was all "Oh, Garrus is gone? Oh well!" and being the Garrus fangirl that I am, I was inspired to rectify that mistake.

That being said, I'm not really sure where this is going to end up. I like the beginning, though, so there will probably be more.

***

Commander Gabriella Shepard

A small part of me feels guilty for hacking the door to his apartment.

Every surviving member of the original Normandy has been accounted for-- everyone, that is, except Garrus. Tali is back with the Flotilla, Liara is somewhere on Illium, and Kaiden never left the military. True, I don't know exactly where Kaiden is, thanks to the Alliance and their bullshit classified information, but I know he's alive at least and that's good enough for me.

Good enough, huh? You actually have (had?) a relationship with Kaiden, yet here you are, running after another man. Classy. The devil on my shoulder has been working overtime lately.

No one, and I mean no one, knows what has happened to Garrus. And no one really seems to care, either. This whole fucking situation makes my blood boil., so I decide to do the only logical thing and find him myself. If that involves a little breaking-and-entering, well I just hope he forgives me later.

If there is a later…

The door slides open with a barely audible whoosh and I stand blinking in the brightness. The only indication that the living room has been unused for the past two years is the thick coating of dust that covers every surface. There's a couch, a table, a small vid screen, and a few photos on the wall. I stand with my back to the door, unsure of what to do. After a few moments of indecision, I decide that the best course of action would be to make a quick check of all of the rooms before I go any farther. I'm not sure what I'm hoping to find, but I do know what I'm afraid of seeing.

A Garrus shaped skeleton lying on a blue stain.

I shake my head as if to physically rid myself of these morbid worries. Until I realized that he was missing, I didn't even admit to myself how much I cared for Garrus. He was a friend and a trusted ally on the field. He never second guessed my judgments, but always offered honest opinions. I can't imagine taking on the Collectors without him. You're giving yourself too much credit, Gabby. You're assuming that Garrus would commit suicide over you. You're assuming he has any feelings for you whatsoever. How very tragic and romantic.

A quick check of the rest of the apartment reveals a tiny kitchen, a small bath, a bedroom, and a room that looks like it was used as an office. Every room is furnished, dusty, and devoid of corpses. I feel a little relieved, but not much.

I find myself back in the living room, looking at the photos on the wall. One picture that is slightly askew catches my attention. In it, a female turian is sitting with a very small child on her lap. I can tell that she is fiercely beautiful, even from my human standpoint. Her facial markings are unfamiliar to me, but besides that she looks remarkably like Garrus: same coloring, same intense blue eyes. His mother? The boy in her arms is bare-faced and gangly, hugely grinning for the shot.

I'm suddenly struck by the realization that I know next to nothing about Garrus's personal life. I know the basic outline, thanks to access to his personnel files, but the details are beyond me. I know that he has two older sisters and a respected father. His mother died before he was even old enough to received his clan markings. Whenever we talked, he spoke of his time in the military, the crushing boredom of C-Sec, or the current mission. He never offered information about his family, friends, lovers, hopes, or dreams.

Amongst the other family photos, there was one picture from the original Normandy: Garrus leaning against the Mako, arms crossed and looking very pleased with himself. I was in the picture, too, sitting on some crates and laughing.

***

I walk toward the Mako with several data pads in hand, to check on the repair status and to find some peace and quiet so I can get these damned reports finished. That's what I tell myself, anyway. Truthfully, I'm trying to avoid Kaiden. Our innocent flirting has turned into something different, something much more intense and my feelings have caught me off guard. I need to do something, anything to take my mind off of my worries. Talking to Garrus usually does the trick.

As I approach the tank, I can see Garrus's feet sticking out from under the machine.

"Son of a varren fucking whore!" A wrench flies out from underneath the Mako, just barely missing my shins. Garrus slides out after it, still muttering under his breath. I don't think he's noticed me yet.

"You kiss your sisters with that mouth, Vakarian?"

He's startled by my voice, but recovers quickly. "Sorry, Commander. The repairs… let's just say that they're not going well." He's cradling his left hand awkwardly and I can see a smear of dark blue blood across his chest.

"You're bleeding." I should just change my name to Captain Obvious to avoid any confusion.

Garrus shrugs a little. "I managed to strip a bolt, bend a wrench and tear up my hand all in one go."

I dig around in my pocket and pull out a small "single serving" packet of medi-gel. Garrus looks surprised as I toss it over to him.

"Do you always carry medi-gel around?"

"You never know when someone is going to whip a wrench at you." I laugh. "Besides, I can't have the only person on this damned ship who can repair the Mako dying of a blood infection."

He hisses as he rubs the gel into his palm. When you're on the battlefield and adrenaline is running high, you don't even notice the sting of medi-gel. But using it to treat a minor injury? It would probably be more comfortable to cauterize the wound closed with a rusty soldering-iron. "Is that all I am to you, Shepard? An underpaid mechanic?"

"Not exactly." I take a few steps forward, closing the gap between us. Garrus backs up a half step and bumps into the Mako. I'm not quite touching him, but I'm damned close. I'm close enough that I can feel how warm he is and I can smell the antiseptic tang of the medi-gel. I swear I can actually feel the tension and confusion vibrating through his body.

"Sh- Shepard?" God, he's so cute when he's nervous.

I stand up on my tip-toes and lean in. "You're also a damn good shot. That's why I keep you around."

The tension breaks as I take a step back. "Goddamn, Garrus. You are too easy!"

"For the record, Shepard," he's still nervous- he's started to rub the back of his neck, "I only act like an idiot around you."

I continue to back up and sit on some crates that are stacked beside the Mako. "That's good to know. Remind me next time we're fighting the geth together."

We both laugh.

***

The comm on my omni-tool beeps, startling me out of my reverie.

"Yes, Joker?"

"Find anything yet, Commander? Miranda's starting to get… antsy."

I sigh. "Not yet, but I'm still looking. Tell Miranda that we will leave the Citadel when I decide it's time to go and not a moment sooner. If she doesn't like it, she can go fuck herself."

"Wow, um, okay. Joker out."