A/N: Thanks so much for your feedback, follows, and favorites guys! I appreciate it! :D Hope you enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter 2

(Somewhere on the Citadel 6 days earlier)

"I feel like we've been searching through this same pile of rubble for hours Grif."

"Quit complaining Walden. You heard the Sarge's orders," Corporal Griffith said. "We have to search this area for survivors."

"I know, I know. But can we at least take a break and sit for a moment?" asked Walden.

"I guess so but only for a minute."

The two Alliance Marines found a place to sit in the rubble. The Crucible had destroyed the Reapers just yesterday, and reconstruction efforts had already begun. A large bulk of the Alliance units were ordered to search for survivors and get them medical care as soon as possible.

Walden observed the area around them. They were on the Citadel, or what was left of it. It had taken an extreme amount of damage from the Crucible. What used to be buildings was replaced with large piles of debris and scorched metal. It was going to take a long time to rebuild.

"Damn, there's just so much damage. Grif, I still can't believe we beat those things. I really thought we were goners."

"I know Walden. Believe me. But we pulled it off. It took the entire galaxy, but it worked. It really worked."

"It sure did. I'll never forget that image, just seeing the Reapers get decimated. They finally got what they deserved." Walden said bitterly.

"Yes they did but at a price. Do you even know how many we lost Walden?" Griffith asked.

"Not a clue. I don't really want to think about it."

"Me neither."

Then he saw something move slightly in the corner of his eye. Corporal Griffith suddenly ran towards the moving rubble.

"What are you doing Grif?"

"I saw something move over there."

"Well what is it?"

"I don't know. It's underneath the rubble. We need to check it out. What if someone is trapped under there?"

He and Walden began to dig. After a minute or so, they found the source of the movement. It was a woman, a soldier, and she looked beat to hell. Her armor was scorched. She had several cuts, bruises, and burns, and that was just the exterior damage. It was a miracle she was still breathing. Griffith checked her pulse. It was weak. She didn't have a lot of time.

"Walden call for some transport, we've got to get this woman out of here. She isn't going to make it long without some advanced medical care."

"Definitely." Walden said. Then he pulled out his radio.

Griffith continued to look at the woman. She was injured beyond recognition, but some part of her looked familiar to him. He wasn't sure why she did, but it led him to check for her dog tags. When he found them, his jaw dropped.

"Walden, you're not going to believe this."

"Grif can't you see I'm talking over here. Shut up. I'm trying to get us help."

"Get over here, you've got to see this."

"What is it?!"

When Walden made it back over to Griffith his jaw dropped too.

"Holy shit Grif. We just found Commander Shepard."

(Back on the Normandy, a week after the Reapers were destroyed)

"This looks ridiculous," Garrus thought as he smoothed out the wrinkles of his suit.

He was getting ready to attend the Memorial Service Liara had told him about earlier, and he decided to dress up. It seemed like the appropriate thing to do. However, he had forgotten how frustrating nice clothes were. He couldn't remember the last time he had worn something other than his armor, and now he remembered why. It had taken him 10 minutes to get his suit presentable which was 9 minutes longer than it should've taken. He glanced in the mirror one last time and ran his talons along the scars on the side of his face. They had faded a lot since he acquired them a long time ago. He and Shepard had a running joke that his scars were the only reason she was attracted to him. It was completely false, but he still loved to tease her about it. This caused him to remember the first time she ever touched his scars. He began to smile at the memory.

It was his first night on the SR2. He woke up in the middle of the night and felt wet blood on his face. His cuts had started bleeding again.

"Damn it," he thought.

He went to the med bay to replace the bandages. There was no reason to wake Dr. Chakwas for this. He would do it himself. The task proved to be more challenging than he thought though. Taking off the soaked bandages hurt like hell, and he couldn't seem to get the new ones to stay on right. After a good 10 minutes of struggling, he heard someone else walk in.

"Garrus? What the hell are you doing?"

It was Shepard. She was giving him a puzzled look. No doubt the scene in front of her looked odd. He had blood on his hands and there were ruined bandages strewn all over the floor.

"I'm trying to replace these damn bandages Shepard, and they won't stay on," Garrus said loudly and then sighed. "It's made a huge mess too."

"Here, let me help you. We need to stop the bleeding."

Shepard made her way to Garrus. She picked up a towel and began to wipe his face off with it. Garrus was surprised at how tenderly she touched him. For someone who spent most her time in battle, it was very gentle and careful. He also noticed how his pulse began to quicken when she touched him. He felt his face heat up.

"What's going on with me?" he thought. "Shepard is my best friend."

He had never felt this way with her before, but then again, she had never touched him like this. He wasn't sure what to do. These new feelings bothered him, and he hoped Shepard wouldn't notice.

"Well all the blood's cleaned up now. That rocket is going to leave you with some nasty scars. But like you said, now you won't have any trouble picking up some Krogan women. If we go to Tuchanka anytime soon, you'll have to try it out," Shepard said with a smirk.

Garrus was relieved she was joking with him, and he regained his composure.

"Yeah that's not going to happen. I'm not that desperate," Garrus said as he tried not to laugh.

But it didn't work. He and Shepard looked at each other for a moment, and then they both started cracking up. After the laughter stopped, Shepard's expression and tone turned serious, and her eyes looked sad.

"I know I've said this already Garrus, but I'm glad you're okay. You're injuries could've been a lot worse."

Garrus felt his face heat up again. She was truly concerned for him. It wasn't that he was surprised at this. They were best friends, but it felt different now, like it was something more than that.

"I know. I got lucky, in more ways than one. If you hadn't shown up when you did Shepard, I don't know what would've happened."

"Don't mention it. I'll just have to add it to the list of how many times I've had to save your ass," she said smiling. "It's getting pretty long."

"Yeah it's almost as long as the list of how many times I've had to save yours. You know there are other ways of killing people other than charging head first into them," he countered back, teasing her.

"Hey, those biotic charges have gotten us out of a lot binds. You can't deny that," she said jokingly.

"Yeah I guess they have. It's good to be back Shepard. I missed being on the Normandy, and I missed you."

By this time, Shepard had replaced the bandages on Garrus's face, but she placed her hand back on his face tenderly and looked him in the eyes.

"I missed you too Garrus. Lately, I've felt that I can't really trust anyone on this ship, excluding Joker of course, but he's busy fighting with the new AI. I trusted you more than anyone on the SR1, and I'm glad you're back."

Garrus put his hand over her's on his face and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She looked almost vulnerable, and he had to let her know he would be by her side.

"Shepard, I'm here for you, and I'll do whatever you need."

There was a moment of comfortable silence between them as they looked in each other eyes.

"Oh and thanks for bandaging up my bloody face," Garrus added.

Shepard smiled.

"Anytime, I'll see you in the morning Garrus."

"Goodnight Shepard."

That was the first time he realized his feelings for Shepard were more than friendly. When she touched him, he knew it was something much more. Of course it took both of them a while to admit how they felt to each other. They both had their doubts about a relationship between different species, and their first romantic encounters were awkward to say the least. But they became everything to each other, and their relationship had grown into something that both of them cherished. Garrus only wished she was here with him now that the Reapers were defeated, so they could have more moments filled with joy instead of worry.

He took a deep breath and left the Main Battery. Most of the crew had gathered on the 3rd floor for the service.