Will update and fix things such as italics soon. Posting from the ipad so things aren't working write.

Please, please, please review!

Garrus was good at many things. He performed well under stress and was a valued team member. He was one hell of a shot, even if he did like to keep things at a distance, and if things did get up close and personal, he was an expert in hand-to-hand combat. And, if Garrus could not do anything else, he could calibrate big guns.

Garrus could admit, however, that there were things he was not good at. He had voiced on many occasions that he was not a very good turian and was not so good at following the rules. He always got hot headed and inpatient with government red tape and tended to act before he thought things through. Garrus, no matter what anyone else said, did not think himself a good leader, after all he had gotten his whole team killed. And everyone would agree that public speaking was not his forte. Sure he could banter back and forth with Tali, talk smack with Jacob, joke with Joker, even trade sniping tips with Thane, but meaningful personal conversation, he just could not find the words. He would stutter, "um", and pause awkwardly especially when a certain red headed commander was around. And if he was not badly mistaken, that was her approaching the forward battery.

"Shepard, need me for something?" He asked without turning around when he heard the hiss of the door open.

Please say no... the little voice in his head chanted.

"You got a minute?"

Crap...

"Can it wait? I'm in the middle of some calibrations." He could picture her crossed arms and rolling her eyes as she let out a frustrated sigh.

"I'll let you get back to work." Garrus allowed himself to let out a sigh of relief.

"After you answer a couple of questions."

At that Garrus spun around and stared at her in shock.

Jane Shepard may have been the commander, his superior officer, and as Jack liked to call her, the boss lady, but rarely did she ever push people to talk. She had always been more laid back than most commanding officers and her open door policy gave the crew a sense of comfort that they could and would be listened to if a problem arose. However, at that particular moment Garrus felt anything but reassured as he stood there staring blankly at her. Shepard leaned back against the bulkhead; arms crossed, never breaking eye contact.

Get a grip Garrus... It's just Shepard... Just answer her questions, don't stutter, and don't say anything stupid... You'll be fine... Oh... And pick your jaw up off the floor... A bug might fly in...

Snapping him mouth shut, Garrus attempted, and failed miserably, to look at ease.

"Go ahead Shepard, what do you need to know?"

The tension in Shepard's shoulders eased as she relaxed slightly. "Well to start with, when was the last time you ate?"

See... Easy question... And you were worr-... Wait... Crap... When was the last time you ate?

Seeing him drawing a blank Shepard turn toward EDI's terminal. "EDI," She barked, "When was the last time Officer Vakarian ate?"

As EDI's blue holographic orb materialized, Garrus cringed.

Oh you are so fucked... She called you "Officer Vakarian"...

"Eighteen hours, forty-one minutes, and six-"

Feeling the need to defend himself, Garrus cut her off. "I had a plasmid sandwich just last night!"

"There is no reason to yell Officer Vakarian. I can assure you that my auditory microphones are in top working order. I believe that the Commander wished to know when the last time you ate a nutritious satisfying me-"

"EDI! There was nothing wrong with my-"

Before the two could could really start bickering, Shepard cut them both off with a "Thank you EDI."

Strike one "Officer Vakarian"...

"Next question," she did not even bother addressing Garrus at all this time; she instead turned all of her attention to EDI's terminal. "When was the last time Officer Vakarian slept?"

"Thirty-two hours, fourteen minutes, thirteen-"

Strike two bird brains...

Garrus cut her off again outraged. "I nap here and there all the time!"

"Officer Vakarian, the amount of time needed for a turian to descend into a deep sleep-"

"Thank you EDI." Shepard let out a tired sigh. "One last question, when was the last time Garrus Vakarian willingly had a conversation with me?"

EDI was quiet, maybe because she did not know the answer; possibly because she was just ticked that she kept getting interrupted. It was still even more likely that she sensed that here presence was no longer needed so with a quieter than normal, "logging you out Shepard," her soft blue globe disappeared from the battery. Little did Shepard or Garrus realize that she also disabled the cameras and listening devices on her way out.

Shepard just stood there, waiting patiently for Garrus to gather his thoughts and give her an answer.

Strike three... Your out buddy... Great... Just two more things your not good at...Taking care of yourself and being a good friend... Hell Garrus... Your one of the few people she can trust on this Cerberus infested ship!

"I'm sorry Shepard. It's just that I... I..." He trailed off.

You what moron?... Decided that you had a bit of a crush on your commander... That your terrified of embarrassing yourself so you just avoid her... Geez Garrus... Can you not do anything right?...

Garrus felt like banging his head against the bulkhead. It seemed like all he wanted to do was run and hide. How could he ever tell the great Commander Jane Shepard how he felt? And more over how could Shepard ever feel the same way back? He was nothing but a head strong sorry excuse for a turian.

Turian, that was another thing. Would she not prefer a human boyfriend? He did not even have his looks anymore, not that she would have found him the least bit attractive anyways, and that did not even cover the whole biology problem! He had done some research and to his horror he discovered that most humans were allergic to turians. Like that was not enough, if they were not allergic, the sharp angles of turian plating would cut a soft skinned human to shreds. After he had analyzed everything he had discovered, Garrus had came to the conclusion that there was no way in hell he deserved her. He had no money, no real job, no home to speak of, no wealth, no property, not even the chance to bring her pleasure much less children someday.

"Hey..."

Her movement startled him out of his morbid thoughts. As she stepped up to him, she gently placed a hand on his scarred cheek.

"Garrus," she said softly, "talk to me. Tell me what's going on in that head of yours."

To be continued

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