Found this chapter rather hard to write, my mind kept thinking about how the story was gonna go from here and kept getting distracted :S Not really sure if the comedy parts work, wasn't sure if they ruined the mood or whatever. But there' bound to be a least one more in the next chapter since it involves Joker. Please review and I'm open to any improvements. As always Bioware own everything. Thanks and enjoy.

The first thing Garrus noticed when he woke up was odd emptiness of his arms, it took a few moments for the fogginess of sleep to fade before he remembered.

"Jane" he said suddenly, sitting bolt upright and glancing in panic around the room. Why was he never the first to wake up?

Shepard sat on the floor in the bathroom; her back leaned against the cool metal wall. She had been up for at least a couple of hours feeling nauseas and tired. Tiredness was not a feeling that was uncommon for her, nightmares often plagued her mind while she slept. She usually woke up feeling as exhausted as when she'd gone to sleep. If it wasn't for adrenaline she'd probably fall asleep in the middle of a battle. The thought of this amused her and a smile crept onto her face, she could picture Garrus carrying her in one arm and 'blasting the collectors to hell' with his other. The nausea however was less common, she only hoped it would go away soon, throwing up in the middle of a trial wasn't going to do her case any favours, she knew that much.

Eventually she decided it was time to go and wake up her Turian lover. She knew he suffered as much as she did from lack of sleep, often working through the night, but this was one of her last days with him and she was determined to make the most of it.

Slowly she got to her feet. When she was standing she looked over at herself in the mirror and sighed deeply. Her short red hair was sticking up awkwardly thanks to all the tossing turning that came as an added extra with the nightmares and her green eyes were rimmed with smudged make up. She quickly washed her face and made a feeble attempt at flattening down her hair before quickly pulling on her day clothes and walking back into the main room.

The sight that greeted her was so strange it was almost comical; a worried looking Turian seated in the middle of a mass of tangled bed sheets, dressed in full armour. Garrus looked up at her and all feelings of laughter she felt faded. The once bright look in his ice blue eyes was gone, replaced by a hopeless sadness. She took a deep breath and spoke softly

"How do I tell them?"

Garrus knew what she was talking about instantly; knowing neither of them had thought of anything else all night. He had to put on a brave face for her, just like she did for everyone else every day. She thought no one could see through her tough exterior, through the jokes she made to avoid any serious subject matter. But he could, he saw the emptiness in her eyes every time there was an unnecessary death, whether they were on their side or not. She was a woman haunted by past choices, wrong decisions made and the weight of many lives on her shoulders. He wanted to grab her by the shoulders and scream

"You don't always have to be so brave!" but he knew she wouldn't listen, she wasn't the person she was because she wanted to be, she was the person she was because she had to be.

"I could speak to them, if you like" he said, already thinking, trying to find the words to use to explain to a crew that their commanding officer was now thought of as a war criminal. He watched her face intently as she considered his statement, her trained military mind involuntarily running through the risks assessment and the odds of success. Finally a look of calm acceptance overcame her face.

"I have to tell them myself" she said turning away and walking straight for the door without another word to him.

"EDI" she said "Tell the crew I'm holding a meeting in the CIC" and then under her breath "It's just about the only place left on this damn ship that hasn't been blasted to bits"

And with that she was gone, the gentle, innocent woman that had cried herself to sleep in his arms immediately replaced by the fiery, brave faced commander they all knew.