Author's Note: Some introductory smuttiness here. Nothing too serious... yet.

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Mission: Citadel

Countless days had passed since leaving Palaven, and all front line news coming in through the feeds was bad. The turians were losing ground almost as fast as the humans on Earth were, and all the other council species were panicking over who was next. When the news vids weren't busy showing the destruction and devastation of the Reaper forces, Admiral Hackett was cramming more bad news down Shepard's throat. She sighed, leaning heavily on the console in the comm room after the admiral had dismissed himself. There seemed to be no retreat from this, no break, no time.

No time. If I stopped working for just one moment, how many people would die? She hung her head.

"Joker, set coordinates to the Citadel." She straightened up and pushed herself away, setting a brisk pace to the elevator. Joker replied with a "You bet.", and almost immediately the Normandy hummed to life. Shepard entered the elevator and punched the button a dozen times to the Crew deck. She stared at the ceiling until the door opened, then bee-lined to the main battery. She pressed the button to the door and resisted the urge to walk in impatient circles while waiting for the damn thing to open.

Garrus was standing at his console, talking to the Primarch. This was nothing new; she typcially found them either huddled together in the War Room or here, doing... well, this. She sat on the table next to his rifle and studied it's mods while waiting for them to finish. They were discussing what to do with the Krogan if- when- they arrive to help. Just another miracle that rests on my shoulders. She sighed heavily, warranting a glance from Garrus. She smiled softly with tired eyes.

"Sorry commander, maybe later." He said quietly under Victus's next statement, then directed an "Mmhm." to the Primarch. Didn't miss a beat.

Shepard felt a pang in her stomach and silently left the room. Between the Admiral and the Primarch, they had to consider themselves lucky if they could even wave at each other in passing. And when did he become formal again, calling her "commander"? She tried not to think of it much, no sense clouding her mind with silly worries over personal relationships in a time of war. There were much more pressing matters to focus on, like rescuing a female Krogan from a high security base on the Salarian home world, curing the genophage, securing an alliance with both the Turians and the Krogans, figuring out what the hell Cerberus is going to do next, find a way to win the Asari to their cause...

She had to do this. Even if the deepest, darkest corners of her mind told her it was impossible, she would not let anyone see. They needed her to be a pillar of strength in this war, and to see a crack in the facade might cost her everything. Shepard took a deep breath and arranged her features appropriately, then continued to chat with various other members of her crew until the Citadel offered her a ride upon their arrival.

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Shepard felt like she had been walking around the Citadel for hours. Rallying all these strangers to the war effort is a serious pain in my ass.. Between resisting another punch to the face for her favorite reporter and convincing all the gang related scum that working for Aria T'Loak was good for their health, she was ready for a drink or five. She met with Ashley in Huerta Memorial, happily supported her promotion to SPECTRE, then moved on to the Docks for another myriad of assignments that needed her attention.

She also knew Garrus was there, and maybe now that he was away from the Normandy she'd finally be able to- but that thought went right out of her head when she found him busily coordinating efforts with turian survivors. Damn it all. She furrowed her eyebrows and focused her attention on the salarian that would be taking over for the Eclipse mercenaries for Aria.

Just as she was walking away from a successful deal, Garrus's hand found her shoulder. "Shepard. You sure are a welcome face down here."

She stopped and looked around at all the different species in the area. "You getting soft on me, Garrus? I figured you'd be right at home with people as spiky as you." She turned around to face him, smiling.

He laughed and cleared his throat. "I, uh.. guess there's at least one human out there I can make an exception for. She makes up for her appearance with a spiky attitude." He paused and glanced back at the AI hologram that looked curiously like Shepard in the corner he was previously occupying. He made a noise that Shepard didn't understand, then found herself being walked along with Garrus to a spot a little further away.

She twisted and tried to find what he had looked at. "What was that all ab-"

"Nothing, just wanted to get a little fresh air. Er, fresher... air... I should say.. Except the air really isn't fresh anywhere down here." He fidgeted.

Shepard put a hand on his shoulder, completely misunderstanding his behavior. "Are you okay? How are these men holding up?"

"Oh, the men?" He relaxed a little. "They're doing the best they can. There's more dead than injured, most get killed in action.. Reapers don't leave much in the line of casualties."

"I'm sorry, Garrus. Do what you can for them. Make them comfortable."

"I plan on it. A few of them are ready to get back into the fight.. but, we'll see. It sure beats laying around here, thinking about home, but we need them healthy in case there's no Palaven to go home to when this is over."

"We won't let that happen." Shepard stepped in a little closer to him, pausing for a moment to consider her words. "Any news about your family?"

He looked down and shook his head. "No, but I'm hopeful. I'm taking this as a 'no news is good news' kind of deal. It helps." He looked back up and gently touched her face, tracing her jaw line. "What about you? I'm starting to see some wear and tear."

Shepard closed her eyes and focused on his touch. "There's at least a hundred fun ways to respond to that statement.. but I won't lie, it's been rough."

Garrus's mandibles twitched very slightly. "Well, don't forget to come up for air. And not just because the rest of the galaxy needs you.." He leaned in and touched his forehead to hers. "..more importantly, because I need you." She looked into his fierce blue eyes and found all the hope and inspiration she sorely needed, like a ray of light in the darkness. Her burdens seemed to melt away, even if just for this moment. "Don't forget it."

He took her hands in his as he stepped backwards, preparing to rejoin his men. Shepard held on until he slipped away, smiled affectionately in his direction and turned to finish her missions.

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Tomorrow was a big day. They were en route to Sur'Kesh to handle a very delicate matter that could potentially topple the scales of this whole war to defeat. As tired as she was, she wasn't ready for sleep yet. She knew that as soon as she closed her eyes, the young boy would be waiting for her in the forest of ashes. She couldn't figure which was worse in her dreams: the voices of her fallen friends echoing in her memory, or the sad look on the boy's face when she failed to rescue him from the flames.

She stood in front of the giant starboard side Observatory window and looked out across the stars. It was a late hour on the Normandy, most of the crew had turned in long ago, and the lights were turned down low so she could see the glimmering of the stars all the more clearly. This was easily becoming her favorite space on the ship.. well, maybe second favorite.

The door opened, but Shepard was too exhausted and lost in her own thoughts to hear it. Only when she saw the reflection in the glass did she straighten herself a little. Strong hands caught her before she could turn around, and Garrus pulled her against him. She hugged his arms closer, leaning back into his chest. They silently gazed out into the vastness of space, watching as hundreds of orbs of light slowly flickered in and out of view.

Some moments later, Garrus spoke softly against her ear. "We should never forget to take a few moments like this, just for us, Shepard." She closed her eyes as the vibrations of his voice touched her skin, and squeezed his arms unintentionally. That voice could shake mountains, I swear.. Her thoughts started to go somewhere unclean.

Garrus hugged her tightly while nuzzling the side of his face against hers, then slowly dropped his mouth to the side of her neck. "You give me a reason to do more than just fight these damn monsters." She shuddered again at those sensational vibrations. "You give me a reason to live through it, too."

Shepard partially opened her eyes, her heart skipping a beat. She tried to put together a sum of words, some kind of poetic reciprocation.. But after a moment, she felt Garrus give what felt like the turian version of a kiss on her neck. She closed her eyes and shivered and smiled again, her mind quickly overtaken by those previous unclean thoughts.

"We should get some rest." He said quietly, with a bit of reluctance. "Tomorrow is a big step toward this galactic peace everyone keeps talking about. Besides, I need you at your best. We've got some.. unfinished business to attend to." He let the last sentence roll out through his lowest vocal harmonics, and reveled at the way Shepard's skin prickled under his touch. "Sleep... Shepard." He slowly let her go and backed out of the room.

Shepard nearly crumpled to the floor. She leaned on the glass and watched his reflection disappear. "Right.. 'cause I'm definitely going to be able to sleep, now."

Garrus smirked to himself on the walk back to his quarters. It feels damn good to be on the giving end of the torture, this time. He glanced down at the sudden buldge in the front of his trousers and sighed. But it sure as hell isn't easier.

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AN: What was all that about with the Shepard VI, I wonder? Next chapter up within a week. Hope you enjoy! -ValkyrieDown