Alexa Shepard was showing Garrus Vakarian around her new apartment.
"It seems very insecure to me Shepard," he said sceptically as she slipped behind the bar and fixed him a drink. She raised an eyebrow.
"Any home with me in it is not insecure," Garrus chuckled.
"Nice place," he said gulping down his drink, she shrugged.
"I thought that after all that confinement on Earth I'd have got used to living off-ship, but no. Everything's too quiet, I worry that EDI won't be able to find me if there's a crisis and it's too big for me on my own. I need to feel the crew nearby."
"I doubt you'll be short of visitors once this is all over, and I doubt that Alenko is planning to let you spend too much time alone," Shepard sighed and sank into a seat.
"Once this is all over? I wish I had your confidence Vakarian." She shook her head.
"Oh don't be a baby Shepard. Things have always been tough but you've got us through them, it's what you do. Now is not a good time to start doubting yourself, no one else doubts you." Garrus watched her shoulders slump.
"Everyone doubts me Garrus, the council doubt me, the Alliance had me locked up for months, Anderson's got Joker watching me for a nervous breakdown and even Kaidan didn't trust me enough not to point a gun at me."
"Kaidan's an ass," Garrus said without hesitation, Shepard's eyes narrowed and she looked up at the turian. "Don't get me wrong I like the man but he's not a trustful person. If it had been anyone except you he would have pulled the trigger. He trusts you Shepard, if he didn't one of you would be dead. The crew would follow you anywhere and you should hear people talk about you; you're Commander Shepard, Saviour of the Citadel, and you can take down a reaper single handed. That's why they aren't panicking, because they know that you're on it. Now, get a grip." Shepard laughed, Garrus always knew how to get her head out of her ass.
"You're right, we've done the impossible before."
"Well I have," Garrus mused, "and sometimes you even helped."
"Surely the great Garrus Vakarian never needs help," Shepard replied.
"No, but we've got to keep you humans busy somehow," Garrus stopped as Shepard's omni-tool buzzed.
"It's Kaidan, I'll be back." Shepard said strolling through to the den and settling herself by the fire. She answered and Kaidan's unsmiling face appeared.
"Shepard where are you?" He said without preamble.
"I'm at my very swish new apartment, Garrus has been cheering me up." Kaidan's frown deepened.
"Has he now, how nice of him. Look Shepard, we need to talk," her smile fell.
"What's up Kaidan?"
"Oh I think you know what it is," she shook her head in bafflement trying to think of what she could have done to upset him.
"Really Kaidan I have no idea. Why don't you come round and we can talk about it?" He laughed bitterly.
"I'm not talking about anything with the turian there," he snapped. Shepard, shook her head really confused now.
"Has something happened between you and Garrus?"
"Between ME and Garrus?!" He was shouting now, "I can't believe that you're asking me that. I don't know what is wrong with you today Alexa. I'm going to go and calm down now but you'd better have a damn good explanation later."
"Kaidan, what…" Shepard began but Kaidan had already cut off the call. Angrily Shepard stormed back to the bar.
"That man is impossible sometimes!" She snapped, pouring herself a large drink. Garrus leant back keen to avoid being caught in the path of an angry Shepard. "He's angry with me for something and apparently I should be able to read his mind and know exactly what it is."
"I'm not getting in the middle of this one Shepard," Garrus said hurriedly, he knew full well that if anything was going to push the commander over the edge it was Kaidan Alenko, the great sulk after the Horizon debacle was burnt into his memory. She gulped back the drink and glared at him.
"Oh you are in the middle of it somehow. We're both on his shit list. You're just 'the turian' and there's no way he's coming round while YOU'RE here" Garrus gritted his teeth.
"What have I done?" He asked, his face a picture of wounded innocence.
"God knows… you can't think of anything you've done that would set him off?" Garrus shook his head.
"Honestly I always thought of Alenko as the calm controlled one, shows how little you can know a person," Shepard shrugged.
"He'll come round when he calms down. If there's one thing Kaidan is then it's rational. If he wasn't so bloody rational he might have believed the whole coming back from the dead thing earlier."
"It's amazing that someone so rational can put up with the irrational Commander Shepard," Garrus said with a smile, "I should be going," he said standing up with a stretch, "I'm meeting the Primarch in an hour. Look after yourself Shepard." Shepard nodded and showed him to the door.
"You too Vakarian," she muttered as he left. Closing the door behind him she climbed the stairs to her bedroom and flicked out the lights. She'd got into the habit of catching her sleep whenever she was alone, these days she never knew when she would get the chance again. Before she closed her eyes she sent a quick message to Kaidan.
Love you even if you are crazy xxx