A/N: This is my first attempt at FanFiction, and I hope you guys enjoy it. :D This is my take on what happened after Mass Effect 3 ended. While most of it will be centered around Shepard and Garrus, many of the other characters will be present as well. Thanks for taking the time to read it and review if you'd like!
Also, everything from the Mass Effect Universe belongs to Bioware! I own nothing.
Shepard Info: Vanguard, Colonist, Sole Survivor, Mostly Paragon. Romance: Garrus.
We're in this til the End
Chapter One
(Normandy SR2 One Week after the Reapers were destroyed)
"I should've gone with her."
This thought had echoed in his mind for a week now, haunting and tormenting him.
Garrus Vakarian was sitting on his bed in the main battery of the Normandy as the memory of that fateful day replayed itself again. He could remember every detail.
He, Shepard, and Liara were making a run for the beam leading to the Citadel. It was chaos. Dead and injured soldiers lied everywhere along with Reaper corpses. Husks and Marauders were running out and attacking anything still alive. Then there was the Harbinger's beam, destroying everything in its path. They had been doing well considering the circumstances. That all ended when the beam hit the Mako though. Before he could even to attempt to get out of the way, the impact of its explosion had knocked him down injuring one of his legs. Shepard helped him up and called the evac without a second thought. She was always so calm and resourceful on the battlefield even when the world was literally going to hell.
Garrus silently cursed his mind for making himself relive this again, but it didn't matter. The memory would continue like it always did.
When they arrived at the Normandy, Shepard quickly handed him over to Liara who had avoided an injury from the Mako's destruction. That was when he realized Shepard wasn't going with them.
"Shepard," he began.
He had to convince her to let him stay. He couldn't leave her, not right now and not ever.
"You gotta get out of here," she said calmly as she slowly walked down the ramp.
"And you've gotta be kidding me," he countered back.
After all they had been through, there was no way he was going to let her do this without him.
"Don't argue, Garrus."
There was finality in her voice that he knew all too well. He had been in enough battles with her to know when Shepard had made her choice.
"We're in this til the end."
But he wasn't going to let her go that easily. He couldn't, and Shepard knew it. She knew exactly what to say. She walked back up the ramp, looked him in the eyes, and said,
"No matter what happens here, you know I love you, I always will."
Her voice almost broke when those words came out. He could still remember the look in her brown eyes. It was a mixture of love and sadness, like she knew that it would be the end.
"Shepard I… love you too."
And he let her go and watched her run down the ramp toward the beam.
That was the first time. The first time he had told her he loved her. He had loved her long before that moment, but he had always held back, for reasons that seemed trivial now. Regardless, he was pretty sure he'd never get another chance to say it, and that filled him with even more regret.
"Damn it," he said quietly.
It was the third time he had relived that memory today and probably the thousandth time since the reapers had been destroyed. It wouldn't leave him alone.
He continued to sit on his bed lost in thought.
The reapers were destroyed, completely destroyed. Even though it happened a week ago, Garrus couldn't help still marveling at the thought. Of course there was a great amount of reconstruction to be done, and there were still a few things that were still unexplained. After the Crucible had been activated, EDI went offline and was unresponsive. The same thing happened with the Geth. So far, no one really knew why. But regardless, Shepard had united the galaxy, and together, it was enough to send the Reapers straight to hell.
His thoughts then shifted, like they usually did, to that woman and their time together.
Maggie Shepard. The love of his life. If you had asked him years ago, that he would fall in love with a human, a human with stubbornness and a temper to match his own, he would've scoffed and called you insane. But that's exactly what happened, and he wouldn't have had it any other way.
She was the most amazing and frustrating woman he had ever met and ever would meet he was sure. She was a warrior, capable and dangerous on the battlefield and could bark out orders more effectively than any Turian general he'd seen. She also had this gift that could bring people together. He couldn't explain it, but the intense loyalty of the crew was enough proof of that. She was stubborn and never took the easy way out of a situation, and that usually meant more interesting missions for him and the rest of the Normandy's crew. She did everything she could do to achieve the most good. But what he loved most about her was the person behind the mask of Commander Shepard, the vulnerable side that she kept hidden from everyone else. He was amazed and honored every time she took her walls down in front of him. He knew how hard it was for her, and she only did it for him and him alone.
His thoughts were then interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Garrus, Garrus, may I come in?"
Garrus sighed. It was Liara. No doubt she was coming to check on him, but he didn't want company. He wanted to be alone. Everyone on the ship was just a reminder of what had happened, what had been lost, and he didn't want to face any of them right now.
"Leave me alone Liara, I've got calibrations to do," he shouted back through the door.
"Garrus, if you don't let me in this door, I'll just get Glyph to bypass it. You have to talk to someone sooner or later!"
"Fine, give me a second."
He slowly got up from his bed, all thanks to the annoying cast on his leg.
"Ugh," he thought as he limped over to the door controls. Since becoming the Shadow Broker, Liara had become much more determined and outspoken, and while most of the time Garrus thought this was a great thing, right now, he was beyond annoyed.
"There, now you're in. What do you want?" he said with a bit more malice than he intended.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing and talk to you. You've barely left the main battery since everything happened. It's not good for you to stay in one place like this. I am worried about you."
"I appreciate your concern Liara, but I don't want to talk."
"But you need to talk."
"No I don't. Not to you and not to anyone."
"Garrus, did it ever occur to you that you aren't the only one who misses Shepard. We all were close to her, and we all are hurt after losing her. We—"
"We haven't lost her," he interrupted. "The Alliance declared her MIA just a few days ago. She could still be out there."
Liara had to admit that she didn't see that coming from Garrus. He was always so objective and realistic about everything: the Reapers, battlefield tactics, politics, anything. She assumed he would've accepted Shepard's death by now.
"Oh, so that is what this is all about."
"What do you mean?"
"You believe that Shepard is still alive."
"And you don't, Liara?" he questioned her with scrutiny.
Of course she wanted to believe Shepard was alive, but if the Reaper war had taught Liara anything, it was that there were always casualties. She couldn't help thinking that they really had lost the Commander this time, even though it broke her heart.
"Garrus, believe me, I want to, but it has been a week since the Crucible was activated and the Reapers were destroyed. Don't you think they would have found her by now? And could she even survive on her own for a while if they haven't yet?"
"I—I don't know Liara, but she's Shepard. She's defied odds before. You know that as well as I do."
Garrus knew that his hopes were probably in vain, that Shepard probably died after activating the Crucible on the Citadel. Hackett informed them that was the last place he made contact with her, and after all the time that had passed, it certainly didn't look good, but it was too soon, far too soon for him to accept that he lost the love of his life. He wasn't going to do that yet. Hell, he couldn't do it.
"I just know that I can't accept that she's dead. Not yet," he added.
Then Liara understood. She knew Shepard and Garrus were in love, and she should've realized that all of Garrus' realism and logic went out the window when Shepard was involved.
"I understand Garrus. I do not wish to accept it either, but I fear it may be inevitable."
"Yeah it might be. Liara, I'm sorry for being rude to you earlier. I just wanted to be alone, so I could come to terms with everything, although I'm not really having much success with that."
"It is quite alright Garrus. I understand. It's got to be hard on you, and I know your busy communicating with the Primarch about Palaven's reconstruction a lot of the time. But I think maybe you would feel better if you left this room for a while. Sometimes being alone with your thoughts can be the most painful thing."
"Yeah. You're definitely right about that."
"Yes I know. I know that from experience. After Thessia fell, well, it was hard not to dwell on it."
"I'm sorry Liara."
There was a silence between the two before Liara spoke again.
"But there was another reason that I wanted to talk to you today."
"Alright."
"The crew is having a small service at the Memorial Wall this evening. We are going to spend some time remember those we've lost throughout these past few years. The rest of the crew, well, they wanted me to ask you if you would want to come. I think all of them want to see you, and I think you should go.
"Okay, I'll go. What time?"
"What? That's not the answer I was expecting."
"If being there will help the crew, then I'll do it. Liara, you were right. I was being selfish. I know I'm not the only one who misses Shepard. Everyone on this damn ship does, and they're still doing their jobs instead of hiding away in the Main Battery. I really haven't helped you guys much in the past week. That's going to change."
"I'm glad to hear that Garrus. Thank you. It starts at 7 p.m."
"To be honest, I thought it would be much harder to convince you to come to the service," she added in a lighter tone.
"Oh really?"
"Yes, it appears the great Archangel is getting soft," she teased. "I didn't even have to use some of my Intel I found of you trying to seduce a Hanar in Chora's Den when you were still with C-Sec as blackmail."
"That? That was recorded? You wouldn't dare," Garrus sputtered.
That night occurred a long time ago. Curse those strong, Batarian drinks.
"I certainly do," Liara said with a laugh, and Garrus couldn't help but laugh too.
"Being the Shadow Broker has made you cruel T'Soni."
They both continued to laugh for a little while, and Garrus had to admit that it felt nice to forget the pain he felt, even for just a moment.
"Well I suppose I should return to my quarters. I've got some work left to do before the service tonight."
"Okay, I'll see you then. And Liara?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you, you know, for everything."
"You're welcome Garrus."