STORY NOTES

I do not own any of the Mass Effect content.

This story is a continuation of On Your Six, a post ME3 fanfic that featured Garrus Vakarian and his efforts to direct the Normandy crew in saving Commander Shepard.

This story is also in a sense an AU. In this play through of Mass Effect, I had no access to the Leviathan DLC, and so they were never a feature. This fiction features the consequences of ignoring the Leviathan race.

This play through of Mass Effect had Shepard as a Spacer/War Hero. Liara was romanced in ME1. 2 and 3 were devoted to Garrus. This version of Shepard is almost pure Paragon to the point of stupidity, which has mostly been explained by an incredible amount of self-control.

It had been nearly eight months since the Reapers had been defeated, and only now was the Normandy and its captain cleared for takeoff. It had taken Jane Shepard quite a bit of physiotherapy to make sure she was up to military standard, and she had worked her ass off for it. It was to be expected from her. She was stubborn, and rarely did she crack in public. However, in public was the key word. In private, Jane had gritted her teeth, gotten frustrated, and had gotten sullen and irritable. It was a very frustrating time for Jane Shepard.

But today was to be the first voyage that the Normandy SR-2 had taken since Shepard's rescue mission. It hadn't become a focal point for pomp and ceremony. Jane hadn't kept it quiet on purpose, but she had never really liked attention either. In fact, there were only two Admirals at this occasion, and it was for a private meeting with Jane.

Garrus wasn't right behind Shepard, but he was definitely close enough to be able to hear the conversation going on between Jane Shepard and the two Admirals. Jane was in her off-duty uniform, which was a black uniform with the Normandy's code emblazoned on her chest. On her shoulder lapels, the bands of an Alliance Captain flashed gold. She wore a heavy jacket, and underneath the jacket at her side, he could see the outline of a magnetic pistol holster. Her fiery red hair was tied up in a ponytail again, a style that she seemed to grow fond of.

In front of Jane were the two admirals. One was an elderly man, and one of the main heroes of the Reaper Wars. Admiral Hackett had a surprisingly straight posture for an elderly soldier, however he had the aura of a man who was running on his last legs. Meanwhile, the vision beside him was a slightly older copy of Jane. She had the same fiery hair, although it was streaked with pure white streaks, and crow's feet gave her the look of age. She also wore the uniform of an admiral, although she was a lower rank than the elderly admiral beside her. She was examining Jane with different eyes though, emerald hued and far harder than that of her daughter. Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard, the mother to Jane Shepard.

"Your first mission is a very simple one, Captain." The woman said calmly. She seemed to have a stony mask, one that Garrus recognized from her daughter's face. "Should I expect to hear about another plot to take over the galaxy if you complete it?"

The mission was indeed simple. The Alliance had managed to repair two mass relays that could connect to each other; one was here at Earth, and the other was near Eden Prime. Each race of Council Space had agreed to devote resources to repairing the mass relays within their systems. The Alliance had been the last to get two mass relays operational, but they finally had it, and Captain Shepard's team were to be sent in to test the relay. This was for a couple of reasons. The first was that this was a simple mission for Captain Shepard to come back to service to. It was something that wasn't exciting, so that her and her crew didn't have to do anything too strenuous. The second reason was that if something WERE to go wrong, if anyone could get the crew through it alive, it would be Captain Shepard.

Garrus was a little bit surprised at the comment, but all he saw was a smile on Jane's face. That caused him to relax. If she was alright with it, he could just ask her later about it. "I hope not, Admiral. I don't go looking for them."

Hannah Shepard let a smile cross her face, and that was where Garrus saw the similarities between the two of them. They both had the same smile. It was soft and gentle, a reflection of the woman underneath the command. He heard her reply with a "Good." and saw her nod. "Are you ready?"

"I've been waiting for it for the last seven months." Jane replied as she rotated her shoulder to relieve the tense muscles within them. "I'm ready."

"Your crew?"

"Of course!" Joker's voice came through the speakers. Clearly Joker had already shuffled off to the cockpit, and Garrus could picture his fingers twitching nearby the flight controls for the minute that the admirals were clear. Garrus chuckled underneath his breath. The two admirals looked up at the ceiling for a second, and then Admiral Shepard pointed upwards.

"Is he always like that?"

"Yes." Garrus and Jane replied in unison. He hadn't even realized he spoke until Jane tilted her head towards him and smirked. Garrus quickly raised his hands in the air. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Vakarian, you've proven yourself almost as much as the Captain." Admiral Shepard said matter-of-factly. She motioned him forward and Garrus took a few steps to stand beside Jane. He kept his arms behind his back out of respect, subconsciously treating her as if she were a turian officer. Admiral Shepard held out her hand towards him, which Garrus took carefully.

"I don't think I got the chance to thank you properly." Hannah Shepard stated calmly, staring directly into Garrus' eyes. Hannah was a decently tall woman, unlike Jane who was only 5'10". Granted, the first time that Garrus had called Jane short, she had protested that she was tall for her kind, which only made Garrus picture a bunch of human children in their military. Garrus nodded.

"No thanks needed, Admiral. I was doing my job."

"As her crew mate or as her significant other?" Hannah asked pointedly. Garrus felt a lump in his throat. He saw Jane blush out of the corner of his eye. Garrus coughed once and stared up at the ceiling.

"Uhm... both?"

He could feel Jane's silent laughter beside him and saw Hannah smirk out of the corner of his eye. Hannah turned her head to Jane and seemed to give her a knowing smile. That was the first time that Garrus thought the words, [i]'Damn Shepard women...'[/i], and it probably wouldn't be the last. He let go of the Admiral's hand and placed his hands behind his back again, feeling uncomfortable as he did so.

Hackett on the other hand just seemed to be highly amused. Garrus could kind of imagine what it must be like for him... to be at the end of his life, watching the young folk joke and play around. Hackett soon rescued Garrus from the silently giggling women and looked at Jane. "Captain, come back alive this time."

Jane looked genuinely ashamed. "I'm sorry that has to be something to be said, Admiral."

Admiral Shepard seemed to have gathered her composure and was looking directly at Jane with scrutiny. "Well... suffice it to say that if they tell me you're killed in action again, I'll most likely call bullshit."

"I've been doing that for years." Garrus mused. That earned him a dirty look from the young woman beside him.

"Admiral... Mom. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted." Hannah replied gently.

Garrus had taken his cot in the main battery again. When asked about staying in the captain's cabin, he had firmly declined. His period as the captain was over, and he gladly gave back command of the ship to Jane. Jane had more experience and she was a better leader than Garrus could ever hope to be. She said on a regular basis that Garrus could be a leader if he wanted to, but he honestly didn't feel comfortable with it when Jane was around. He defaulted to being her right-hand man, always backing her decisions, and always watching her back. Besides, he liked the cot in the main battery. There was a certain charm to sleeping in the room. The way that the machines around him whirred and buzzed was comforting to sleep to. Tali once told him that the reason that she slept in Engineering was because of the sound and the comfort it gave, and after eight months of shore leave, Garrus was finally beginning to understand what that meant. Garrus also knew that Jane regularly had meetings with the crew in her office, and he really didn't feel like interrupting that.

He was at the moment not tending to the guns. Many jokes had been made amongst the crew about how much Garrus calibrated these guns, and even he occasionally made jokes about it too. He knew that he had something that border lined on an unhealthy obsession with the guns, but at least the crew knew that they were well kept. But that wasn't what he was doing at the moment. Right now, he was listening to a communication that he obtained about six months ago from someone he cared very deeply about; his little sister Solana.

"I never actually thought that you'd come clean on what you've been doing. It's good to hear. I won't say that I didn't panic though. When you told us that you were on board the famous Normandy, everything suddenly clicked into place. You never could tell us where you were or what you were doing. Now we finally understand why. At least you weren't on pleasure cruises like you said you were. I could've nearly kicked your pale scaly ass for that.

Mom forgives you, by the way. She and Dad had a long talk about everything. Mom's dying, Garrus. The doctors don't think that she'll last the year. The Reaper Wars just took too much out of her, having to move from med facility to med facility. But Mom also knows about your little fling with that human commander. Dad's pissed. Mom fully approves."

'Fling?' Garrus thought scornfully. It was something he couldn't help but think every time he reviewed this message.

"I got a position on a research vessel. Mom told me to accept it. We're headed out to the Far Rim next week. I probably won't be back to Palaven for a long time, since the mass relays are down. I think Mom's happier with that. She wouldn't want us lingering on her death bed.

I'll keep in touch, Garrus. Try to tell me about your pleasure cruises. Why won't you return my messages?"

The message stopped and Garrus closed his eyes, leaning against the wall. Since that message, his mother had indeed died, about a month after this communication. It had been very difficult to keep up good spirits throughout the ordeal. Jane had figured out almost immediately that something was wrong though. The day that he got the message, she had to take one look at him and know something was wrong. When he came to her bedside to visit that night, she hadn't said a word. All she did was touch his face, and then grip his hand, and they had sat in silence that night.

His sister was the focus of his attention at the moment though. Since that message, Solana had sent no others, not even one to their father. It had been six months since anyone had heard from them. But on the other hand, there was no message from the turian high command about her ship being MIA. He tried not to preoccupy his time with it. He shook his head and frowned.

"You know, you're awfully animated when you think you're alone."

The voice had come from the doorway, and Garrus looked up the narrow passageway and up the stairs. Through the gaps in two bars he could see a familiar red head. He stood up a bit straighter and tried to put on the best smirk that he could.

"Is that so?" Garrus replied back. He tilted his head as Jane Shepard walked around the corner and proceeded down the stairs. She eyed his cot and then him in the dark red glow of the main battery. Then she nodded.

"Yes. I've come to notice that."

"You often look at me without me knowing?" Garrus asked wryly.

"No... there's only been a couple of times. That was one of them." She said as she jabbed her thumb behind her at the main landing. Garrus chuckled a bit and then nodded his head towards her.

"How's the walking?"

"Oh, it's going fine. I haven't collapsed yet if that's what you're asking. I think I'm mostly back to health, or at least as close as I'm going to be." She absent-mindedly stretched her arm and rolled her neck once. She did it to relieve the tense muscles in her upper back and neck, Garrus had figured out. Human anatomy was definitely something that he needed to learn more about. He noted the movement and gave a quiet nod. If she started to do that too much, it meant that he needed to convince her to go and relax.

"Good. We'll see if that continues when you get back out into the line of fire."

Jane laughed quietly. "Don't say that too loudly, or we might actually have to resolve a physical dispute." She shook her head and crossed her arms. "Do you really think we'll get ourselves into trouble?"

Garrus stared at her blankly.

"I guess so." Jane laughed as she raised her hands in a peaceful position. She looked over him for a few moments and then smiled. "So. What was that thing you were listening to earlier?"

Garrus didn't know if she'd mention it. He figured she'd heard at least the tail end of it though. "That was the message from Solana. The one I told you about?"

Jane blinked. "From half a year ago?"

"Yeah."

"Why were you listening to that?"

Garrus frowned and looked at the guns in front of him. "Just... thinking."

He felt Jane's hand on his arm and he found his hand reaching for hers without even thinking. "Worried about something, Garrus?"

"It's been a while since she's sent any communications, even to my father. I just hope she's okay."

Jane sighed and raised a hand to his shoulder. He felt her attempt to give it a squeeze. "The universe is a much bigger place now. It could just be that she's in a dead zone, no communications can be sent in or out. It doesn't necessarily mean that she ran into trouble." She smiled reassuringly at him. "From what you've told me about her, she sounds tough. I'm sure she's fine."

That was true, Solana was tough. She was abrasive, annoying and obnoxious, but she was tenacious and daring. She was an engineer for the military, one that specialized in engine cores. However, that didn't mean that she was defenceless She was better with a shotgun then Garrus could ever hope to be. The only time that Solana didn't seem to think she was invincible was when her life, especially her family life, came crashing down around her mandibles. It was nice to see that she was trying to bounce back after their mother's illness, and soon death. Garrus himself hadn't ever been as good at bouncing back from tragedy as Solana.

When the turian got lost in his thoughts, he hadn't really noticed that Jane had reached up to touch the side of his face gently. He felt his head be guided towards her, and the haze over his eyes lifted a little. She was looking him straight in the eye with a focused gaze. His mandibles twitched as she raised one eyebrow. It was the mocking look she occasionally gave him, the 'Do it or else' look.

"Alright, alright." He rumbled gently. "I'm sure she'll be fine too." He kissed her forehead gently and then summoned up the computer for the firing mechanism. He saw Jane look around and then she eyed the cot again.

"You know, you're more than welcome to split my quarters. I don't see why you have a cot down here."

"Because that wouldn't be awkward for the crew." Garrus commented wryly as he started typing away at the keyboard.

"Garrus, I'm serious."

Garrus stopped what he was doing and looked in Jane's direction. She did indeed have a serious look on her face. He looked over her face and glanced off to the side, as if expecting someone to walk in on their conversation... and perhaps wanting it to happen, in a small part of him. Then, he looked back at Jane. "Your military doesn't have any regulations about bunking with subordinates?"

Jane frowned. "First of all, we're hardly a typical Alliance ship. Second of all, I'm supposed to be conducting my business as a Spectre, and they frankly don't have any damn rules on who a Spectre can sleep with." She folded her arms. "And third of all, no, there isn't a rule." Then, Garrus spotted the sudden realization flash over her face. "And who said you were a subordinate?"

"It was assumed." Garrus raised his hands. "Jane, I don't mind, really. I've been in charge of the Normandy. It's not one of my favourite activities."

"I could tell."

Garrus blinked twice. "Erm... you could?"

Jane grinned a wicked grin. "You're right by the way. The captain's log isn't a personal journal."

Garrus was confused for half a second, and then memories suddenly poured back to the forefront of his mind. With each passing second, he recalled more and more, and by the end of it, he coughed once and stared up at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry... I honestly... I didn't... I... It was a good way..." Garrus stammered.

That was when he was greeted by a kiss to the cheek, and the feeling of wanting to melt into a puddle flooded through him. He looked down at Jane, who was actually laughing quietly now, her eyes full of mirth and joy. She shook her head. "Thanks for not putting my name up on the memorial wall, big guy."

"S'fine." Garrus mumbled.

"And I will take you out on that date eventually. Next time we have shore leave."

Garrus coughed, now fully and completely unable to articulate anything at all. He felt Jane's fingers on the side of his face and he let his face be guided by them, until he had to stare into her eyes, and all thoughts through his head vanished, only to be replaced by numb embarrassment... and happiness.

"I'm glad you did it... not just for the obvious reason of being alive because you saved my life. You've... changed Garrus. When you first came on the ship, you were a lost and frustrated young turian, always willing to bend the rules if it meant that justice wouldn't be obstructed. I almost worried that you'd become overzealous. I'm glad we had those chats when you first left C-Sec... the chats about morality and justice. I also thought you had a stick up your ass a lot of the time."

Garrus gave a cough of a laugh, completely stunned by the conversation topic.

"But... you really grew as a man." Jane said sagely to him. "You grew to open yourself up, no matter how many times the universe took away what was precious to you. I thought we'd lose you again when we went after Lantar Sidonis... but after you began to listen to me, I knew we had you back. You're a great leader, and a gentle intellectual when you put your mind to it. I can't think of anyone better to have as my second in command... or as the love of my life. Thank you, Garrus... for everything."

Garrus finally found his voice, but when he found it, he was incredibly humbled. He bowed his head and replied quietly, "Thank you, Jane."

"You're welcome. Now!" Jane smirked, gaining back her mischievous nature. "Now that I've buttered you up, NOW are you willing to move in with me?"

Garrus stared at her. He looked incredulous for a moment. Then, he let out a quiet, rumbling laugh. "Maybe. Slowly. I can't abandon the other love of my life."

"And who's that? Who do I have to kill?" Garrus saw the look of anger on her face, livid and overprotective in nature.

Garrus flashed her a grin and jabbed at the machine beside him. "The guns, of course. They'll always need calibrating."

"... ass."

"Payback is sweet, isn't it Shepard?" Garrus earned a backhanded slap in the arm for that comment.

"Preparing to hit the mass relay Captain. ETA, six minutes." Garrus heard Joker inform Shepard.

Garrus himself was sitting in the cockpit of the Normandy. He still came up to visit and help Joker every once in a while... in fact, Garrus could be found in a lot more places than just the main battery. He was sitting in the co-pilot's seat while the aforementioned Captain stood behind Joker, leaning over his chair to look at the monitors. She frowned and nodded.

"Good job. Get us through safely. This is just a straightforward run, let's keep it that way." She straightened up and glanced at Garrus.

"I'm stealing Garrus back from you, Joker. I'm going to need him for the ground team."

"I've done this alone before. Take him." Joker said calmly as he waved the two of them away.

Garrus got up out of his seat and nodded once at Shepard. The two of them started to walk down the hallway towards the command terminal in the main foyer of the ship. Garrus glanced down at Jane. Her face was grim, her stance tense. Garrus raised an eye ridge.

"Expecting trouble?"

"Always." Jane muttered back.

"If you keep thinking that way, something will happen, guaranteed." Garrus replied back. He tried to keep the tone of his voice as soothing as possible, a small gesture that was hardly visible. He knew Jane picked it up when he saw the corner of her lip curl upwards. The rest of her face stayed stony.

"Well, you keep being optimistic. I'll keep us prepared. I need the ground team regardless of the result. Who have we got?"

"Vega got leave to come with us."

"Well, that's good. Anyone else?"

"Gabby Daniels."

Garrus saw Jane's face change as they walked. "Gabby?"

"She's been apparently working on her self-defence She also developed a battle droid. She worked on it after the Collector attack on the ship. She put in her name for the ground teams not long ago." Garrus walked with her towards her private terminal, spotting Traynor out of the corner of his eye.

"I'll consider it if we need a engineering specialist." Jane looked uncomfortable. "Anyone else?"

"No... Ashley went to her own ship, Liara and Javik are on Thessia, Tali made her way back to Rannoch to help build... Out of the old team, it's just you, Vega and I. Gabby may not be Tali, but if we need a specialist..."

"Right..." Jane huffed a little. "I guess that's acceptable."

Garrus wanted to tell her to relax, to take a deep breath and calm down, but he also didn't feel like causing a fuss in front of the other officers. So, he stayed quiet and instead took a look at what Jane was now staring intently at... the Galaxy Map. He watched Jane walk up the steps and look over the railing at the map.

"Thirty seconds until contact."

Garrus sighed and closed his eyes. As far as he was concerned, there was no reason this shouldn't work as planned... and if it didn't, they probably wouldn't survive to tell the tale. Some malfunction may kill them in the next thirty seconds, but he had faith that they'd survive.

"Ten seconds until contact."

"Five seconds until contact.

Three.

Two.

One."

Garrus felt a familiar pull in his gut of the FTL drive kicking in. That was where it all went wrong.

The force of the travel slammed Garrus' body into the floor, as well as each body on the ship. He heard cries of surprise, and heard Jane's grunt of pain as the blow threw her down the small flight of stairs up to the Galaxy Map. It was all Garrus could do to move his limbs. He managed to raise his head and saw Jane and Traynor beside each other, both struggling to raise their heads and failing. If he had been of a clearer mind, he would've seen that the other human crew mates were suffering the same pain due to their physiology.

The force only lasted for about a minute before it ended just as quickly as it came. Garrus groaned and raised his head, and was able to clearly see that the human crew mates were having far more difficulty recovering from the ordeal. He shuffled over on his arms and knees to Jane and Traynor.

"You two alright?" He grunted.

"Joker, what the hell happened?!" Jane had finally managed to get her hand up to her communication device in her ear, wincing all the while as she did so. What followed was complete dead sound. No effort to communicate back. Garrus grew uneasy. "JOKER!"

"I'll get him." Garrus grunted as he pushed himself to his feet. The other members of the crew were still struggling to sit up straight. Garrus staggered for a step, his ear canals ringing with the sudden shift in pressure and height, and then he started to walk slowly towards the cockpit. He gained speed as he grew accustomed to normal pressure, and by the time he got to the hallway, he managed a slow run. Then, he saw Joker's limp body draped over his chair, and he broke out into a fast sprint.

"Shit! Captain, when you people can pick yourself up off the floor, we need medical staff to the cockpit." Garrus barked into the comm link. He straightened Joker out in his seat and the unconscious pilot gave a groan of pain. Garrus didn't need to be a doctor to know that Joker had broken quite a few bones in his body... the biggest indication was the unnatural contortion his right arm was now bent into. Garrus grimaced and felt along the rest of Joker's arm, feeling more breaks, and then his torso, feeling broken ribs there. He was almost afraid to see what else.

"Hang in there buddy, help's on the way." He murmered quietly as he looked at Joker's monitors. Then, he fell slack-jawed. He raised a hand to his comm link.

"Shepard... we're not in the Exodus Cluster."

"Then where the FUCK are we Garrus?!" Jane practically snarled through the comm link.

"Sigurd's Cradle."

He heard silence for a moment and then Jane's shaky voice. "That's on the other side of the galaxy."

"I know that, Jane."

Chapter Notes

Forgive the flufftrain halfway through the chapter. I couldn't help myself. It was Valentines Day, and I wrote that in the days leading up to it. I took a break on the day because it was my fourth anniversary and I'm pretty sure my boyfriend would've murdered my face had I gone into my writing again that day.

That being said:

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUN.