This is already up on LJ but I will be editing as I post so it may take a couple days to put the full story up. :)
If he had been paying attention this never would have happened; if he had been focusing on his marks instead of remembering the spark in Shepard's eyes yesterday as she suggested that they test his reach and her flexibility then they might even now be back aboard the Normandy, celebrating another victory.
Instead they were pinned down on some rocky, too hot, no-name planet in the traverse beset by a veritable horde of Blue Suns bent on protecting their cargo, and they were running out of ammo faster than they were foes.
Garrus propped his rifle carefully in a cranny between two rocks, much as he hated to admit it he was growing weary and it was becoming more and more of an effort to hold the weapon steady. He glanced over to Shepard, sheltering in the shade of an outcropping to his left; with a myriad of cuts and scrapes dotting her face from the jagged debris that blew in on the harsh wind, she wasn't in much better shape than he.
Several times now they had tried calling in to the Normandy to request pick up but the heavy cloud cover seemed to be blocking their signal and the surface of the planet combined with its temperamental weather would have made landing a tricky proposition; there was no other choice then than to deal with these bastards and rendezvous with the ship at the agreed upon hour.
Garrus started as he caught movement from the corner of his eye but relaxed when he saw that it was only Shepard coming to crouch at his side.
She had to shout to be heard over the vicious wind, and even then it was sheer luck that he understood. "I'm out of ammo, how are you holding up?"
"Four rounds to go; I think our best chance is to make a run for it, Shepard. We need a better position!"
Shepard nodded firmly, "If we can make it to the top of the rise there should be some cover on the other side, we'll pick them off with the damn rocks if we have to!"
"I'll cover you."
Shepard looked from him to his rifle and out to their oncoming enemies. "There's no end to them; I want you right behind me, understood?"
Garrus allowed himself to be distracted just once more; if this went south he might not have another chance, and even now covered in the dirt and the grit she was beautiful. Her fringe was wildly disarrayed with the force of the wind and he could see the shimmer of miniscule bits of debris caught in it; he wanted to run his talons through it and pick it clean, he knew how obsessive she could be about neatness. He felt a faint stirring of regret that he hadn't taken her up on that offer then and there, but he had been caught off guard by the suggestion.
It wasn't so much the suggestion itself, as he had said, fraternization was common practice aboard a turian vessel; it was just that this was Commander Jane Shepherd, spectre, hero of a thousand battles, savior of mankind- she could have had anyone she wanted with the crook of her little finger, so why choose a scarred and battered turian instead of some other lover? A human, perhaps? He regretted the impulse that had made him question her, this would be so much more bearable if they had had even one night together before this disaster.
"Garrus, I said do you understand?"
"Yes, Shepard." His distraction was what had landed them in this mess in the first place, he mustn't surrender to it again.
Shepard jumped up and made for the ridge at a run, the dirt warped around her heels as a bullet struck not four inches from her to scatter bits of rock and brittle vegetation that struck her armor and bounced off harmlessly; Garrus rose to return fire, mandibles flickering in the equivalent of a fierce grin as he took one of the mercs right through the throat, hoping it was the one that had so foolishly targeted his commander, shot at his closest friend and maybe the beginning of something more if they ever got off this desolate rock.
A heart-rending scream pierced the air and he fumbled his next shot, watching helplessly as it flew wide of its target. "Shepard!" He turned and cast frantically about, searching for any sign of her; movement among the rocks caught his eye, another Blue Sun approaching from the rear dangerously close to Shepard's last position. Garrus took him out almost without thought, watching indifferently as his body crumpled to the ground; Shepard was the priority.
"Shepard!"
"Garrus!" He could hear a muffled sob in her voice, a tight quality to her tone that suggested she was shouting through clenched teeth; he bounded up the rock face heedlessly, following the sound of her voice.
He found her crouched in a small fissure that he nearly bolted right into before he caught sight of the fringe he had been admiring a few minutes past. He slid down the incline and came to rest at her side, talons grazing gently over her face to wipe away the tears that had escaped her eyes to stream helplessly down her cheeks. Her hands clutched at her leg, teeth grinding as she tried to shift it.
"I slipped on the shale; Son of a-" With a visible effort she swallowed her words, took a breath and started again. "I think it's broken."
Garrus shifted her hands away gently, allowing her to grip his as he inspected the damage. "I think you might be right; we're screwed."
A new voice cut in from above them, "More'n you know."
"Sorry." Shepard whispered quietly as she glared at the intruder, "I'm so sorry."
"Nothing to worry about, we'll find a way out just like we always have." He tried for a reassuring smile, but he felt a growing sense of defeat; Shepard and Vakarian, they had always been a kick-ass team but the odds were seriously weighted against them this time.
In the end there was really no other choice save surrender, or so Shepard told herself repeatedly during the grueling hike back to the Blue Sun encampment; she could see in Garrus' eyes the knowledge of what this must cost her, the memories it would evoke. If she had asked it he would have fought them to his last breath and never uttered a word of reproach even as he lay dying. That was part of why she couldn't bring herself to give that order; there was every chance that if they could just hold out long enough for the weather to clear the Normandy would send reinforcements and wipe these bastards off the face of the map- no point in some heroic last stand when rescue was still a very real possibility.
Shepard squirmed, trying to make herself more comfortable in her makeshift sling and sucked in a breath at the bolt of pain that shot up her leg to radiate throughout her entire body. It wasn't any sense of common decency that had convinced them to construct even this crappy sling but rather simple common sense; after the second time she had nearly fainted from applying too much weight to the damaged limb they had stopped long enough to fashion it from any materials that came readily to hand. Night was coming and there were more things far more frightening than a few desperate mercenaries.
Garrus growled as one of the mercs prodded him along to a trot with the barrel of his shotgun, "Touch me with that thing again and I'll shove it down your throat first chance I get."
"And when's that gonna be?" The batarian sneered, gesturing to the restraints at his wrists, "You'll have to get out of those first."
"Give me time." Garrus rumbled.
Shepard couldn't help a tiny smile; maker help them all when Garrus got loose, he wasn't the most forgiving creature by nature and that look in his eyes screamed danger. She saw that Garrus relaxed marginally when he saw her amusement and tipped a reassuring wink; they would get out of this together. She jerked and snapped her teeth as the human ahead of her jolted her leg with a casual cruelty, stars exploded before her eyes and she leaned back, fists clenching in the dirty fabric.
"Still think you're clever? There won't be much to smile about where we're going."
Normally she would have responded with a pithy observation on his shining countenance and speculation about what could have put it there and what he could do with it, but it was all she could do just to sit up straight; despite her best efforts, an embarrassing grunt of pain escaped her as she once again had to correct her position in order to balance.
Garrus released a snarl the likes of which she didn't think she had ever heard come from his mouth, something purely primitive and with such an apparent threat in the tone that her mouth went dry and the hair on her neck prickled. She shook her head as the dizzy spell passed, but her stomach still felt decidedly nauseous; how much farther would it be?
"We're home!" The human ahead of her called out with a mocking joy. Shepard leaned forward for a better view and winced unconsciously, her thoughts of an easy rescue mission evaporating like water on the hot rocks.
An abandoned mining facility, complete with external defenses and likely enough supplies inside to last through a prolonged siege; fortune was a fickle whore indeed.
Their tormentors keyed in an entry code that for all her efforts she could not quite catch a glimpse of, Garrus didn't seem to be having any better luck. What had she been thinking to bring him along after their conversation last night? He had always been a perilous distraction for her, one she hadn't been able to resist, but it was so much worse knowing that they had shot at being something more than just comrades- in- arms; that simply wasn't enough anymore.
They still had much to discuss; she should have left him safely aboard the Normandy where he wouldn't constantly draw her attention; she had become used to keeping him nearby, somehow he had become her right-hand man and when they had received the distress signal from this no-account planet he had been her automatic first choice for accompaniment, no pesky thought required. She had assumed that she could keep it professional long enough to see them safely aboard ship and she had been mistaken. If she hadn't been so preoccupied with the ruthless efficiency of his movements and that sexy turian smirk on his face, they might have been back aboard the Normandy concluding that little discussion rather than enjoying the less than welcoming hospitality of the Blue Suns.
The sudden darkness after hours spent in punishing sunlight had colored bursts appearing before her eyes to obscure her vision; she blinked furiously to clear it as they were swallowed up by the shadows.