The crew was on shore leave on Omega. Shepard spotted most of them at one of the more popular bars Kasumi had recommended. She was motioning to Shepard excitedly.

"You made it!" she beamed.

Shepard smiled and gave her a hug, "Finally finished that last report."

Joker and Jack tried to offer her a drink.

"No thanks," she involuntarily scrunched up her nose. Since her Cerberus re-build she'd been adverse to most amino food, preferring dextro food. She scanned the room for Garrus and found him on the dance floor with Tali.

She frowned. She'd often wondered if there was something more going on between them, but couldn't quite decide if there was. It was hard to tell, with them being close friends. The two years she'd been in a coma, they had become closer. She regretted the time she'd missed out with Garrus.

Suddenly he saw her and walked over to her, "Hey, I'll get us drinks, ok?"

She nodded and Tali came up to her side, breathless. "Thanks for giving us the night off, Shepard. We definitely needed it."

"Yea, I think we should do it more often, actually."

Garrus brought her some Turian whisky and she took a sip.

He looked down at her, "How is it?"

"Mmm, very good, thanks."

He put his arm around her, "Let's go get some more." He walked her over to the bar, and they spent the better of the next hour drinking shots and talking about old war stories. Garrus liked to try to one-up her, and sometimes surprise her with a story she'd never heard before.

Kasumi appeared at their side, "Hey you guys, you need to get out and dance, the music is fantastic!"

Shepard shook her head vigorously, while Garrus stood up and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him.

"My girlfriend does not want to dance."

Shepard rolled her eyes and Kasumi laughed and waved her hand at them in dismissal. Garrus often did that when he was drunk, or messing around, say she was his girlfriend as a joke. It started on the SR1 when they were in clubs to help Shepard out when she was getting hit on. Then he started doing it for a laugh.

She looked up at him and he smiled down at her, "Right?" and he laughed loudly.

She used to laugh with him, but after a while when he called her that, it irritated her. Lately it was starting to hurt. He didn't do it very often, but when he did, it hit her in the gut. She stood up and finished her drink, slamming the glass on the table.

"Fine. Let's go out on the dance floor."

Garrus was surprised, but readily took her hand and they made their way to where the crew was grouped together on the crowded dance floor. She did her best to imitate their dance moves, as uncoordinated as she was. The mash of sweaty bodies, the pulsating music, it was a great escape for the gravity of their mission and the tedious day to day.

Shepard checked her omni-tool and let the group know she needed to get back to the ship.

"No, stay!" Tali asked her.

"It's late, I've got to go." She smiled and pointed at the door, mouthing she was leaving. Garrus grabbed her arm.

"I'll go with you too. I don't want you walking around Omega by yourself."

She rolled her eyes, "You forget I'm a Spectre."

"These criminals don't give a shit. They travel in gangs. No, I'll go with you. I'm ready to go too."

They left the club and in the cool night air, they made their way back to the Normandy. Waiting for the docking doors to open, Garrus leaned his arm against the wall to steady himself.

"Well, sweetheart, that was a great night."

She let out a frustrated grunt, "Yea." The doors opened and she walked quickly ahead.

"Hey, wait a minute. I'll walk you to the elevator."

She turned to look behind her, "I'm safe on board the ship, Garrus," she said sharply as she walked around the CIC to the elevator and punched the button. Garrus came around the corner as she stood with her arms crossed.

"Whew, I think I definitely need to skip the mission tomorrow." He leaned back against the wall by the elevator.

She continued to stare at the doors, waiting for them to open. "Don't worry about it, I'll put it off to late afternoon, or skip it until the next day, no big deal."

"You're fantastic, Jane, you know that?" he leaned forward away from the wall and pulled her into a hug.

"Sure Garrus," she mumbled into his chest, keeping her arms stiff by her sides.

He let go and turned, keeping his arm around her shoulder as the doors opened. "You take it up first, beautiful."

She pushed against Garrus and got out of his embrace, "Stop saying that, Garrus," she said angrily.

He looked confused, "What?"

"All the 'girlfriend' stuff, quit it."

He stood in the doorway of the elevator holding it open as she stood inside, facing the back and refusing to turn to look at him.

"I – I'm sorry. I'm just kidding."

"I know." She crossed her arms in front of her chest, tense.

He continued to look at her back, surprised at her strong reaction. "I didn't mean to offend you, to insult you."

She turned around and pushed the button for her quarters as he walked back out of the elevator doorway.

"It's not like that." She said.

The look on her face was sobering. He shrugged his shoulders, "I was only joking."

She looked up at him, "I know, and that's the problem." She continued to push the button and finally the doors closed and she was in the elevator alone. She buried her face in her hands. She was frustrated that she had snapped like that, but she'd had enough. The opposite doors opened to her quarters and she walked out, putting the code in. She went to her bathroom and contemplated the scene with Garrus as she used the toilet. Dammit. I guess there's nothing I can do now, she thought.

She hadn't said too much, and he was pretty drunk. They could talk it out later that day. She flushed and washed her hands, looking up at herself in the mirror. If only he really did mean it, that he thought I was beautiful. He has no idea how much it stings when he talks like that. What a huge joke it would be if we were together. She shook her head. He probably is interested in Tali. He obviously doesn't see me that way.

She took off her casuals and went to bed.