Thank you for all the reviews, alerts, and faves! I really appreciate your support, everyone! Because the fic is a little dialogue-heavy, it looks better if it's viewed in 3/4 (maybe 1/2 on larger screens. I'm working on a laptop, so I'm not sure).

The Shadow Broker dossiers tell us that Garrus' mother has Corpalis Syndrome, which causes neural degeneration. I don't know any specifics about it, but I'm probably going to use Huntington's Disease as a reference.

The first of the chapter will deal with events after the Shaodw Broker DLC in which Shepard confronts Garrus about telling Mordin about his mother but not telling her. The rest is flashback material.

Shepard stared at the terminal, scanning over her crew's dirty little secrets. She was mildly amused by some them. Legion was a secret gamer. Grunt was interested in Hemmingway. Tali couldn't decide whether or not to install that nerve stim pack or not. Jack was a poet. Others were more sad. Miranda's inability to have a child. Samara's conversations with her daughters.

When Shepard came to her lover's file, she gave pause.

For a moment, she wondered if there was anything she didn't know about Garrus... then came to the horrifying realization that she didn't actually know much about him at all. She had only picked up little bits of information about him, after years of fighting together. She knew he grew up on Palaven but knew nothing of his family, except for his strict father. She had never asked about things that happened to him growing up, his time at C-Sec, his vigilante life on Omega.

Everything she knew about him, he had supplied without being asked.

Shepard was suddenly nervous about his file. What secrets could it contain? Against her better judgement, she accessed the file and began reading.

Solana Vakarian. He had a sister. A sister who was angry because she hadn't seen him in so long.

His mother was sick. Very sick.

Garrus had been busy retrieving samples from the Collectors. He had also convinced Mordin to push his weight around and get corporate clearance for the Helos medical team.

Shepard hovered over that information. Garrus had gone to Mordin with this. He had confided in Mordin and not her. She closed the terminal, suddenly feeling angrier than she should. Hastily, she uploaded the dossiers into her Omni-tool and trudged out of Liara's lair towards the docking bay.

"Garrus," Shepard said, her voice low. He was at his usual post, looming over the console in the main battery. The orange light from the screen played warm shadows over his features as he calibrated. "Do you have a minute?"

"Of course," he said without turning. His console glimmered for a moment then powered off as he shut the program down. He whirled around from the console to face her, his turian grin disappearing when he saw the look on her face. "What's wrong?"

She held up her Omni-tool, pulling up a downloaded copy of his Shadow Broker file. She held the hologram up to him, giving him a moment to read. He scanned a few lines, mandibles going slack as recognition dawned on him. "Shepard, where did you get this information?"

"As it turns out, Liara's a very good information broker," Shepard said. Her brows knitted together. "My question is: why did I have to get this information from her? Why didn't you ever tell me about any of this?"

"Shepard-"

"And why did you tell Mordin, of all people?"

Garrus hung his head. "Don't be angry with me." He pulled a chair from his desk and took a seat. "I had to involve him because of his connection to the STG. It's a medical matter. He practically jumped at the chance to help further their research."

"But why keep it from me?" Shepard said, a little more roughly than she intended.

"It wasn't important. You had other things to worry about." A sad undertone laced his voice, and his words filtered through the translator like a soft wail. It almost floored Shepard and she immediately corrected her tone. One thing she had learned from Garrus was that turians communicated through both words and sounds. He'd told her once that turians could convey a lot of things without even using words and that many of their sounds couldn't even be heard by human ears. Remembering that, she assumed that her tone had a much harsher significance to him.

"You had other things to worry about, too," she said softly, trying to insert a tenderness in her voice. "And, everything about you is important to me. Don't ever think it isn't." She stepped toward him and snaked her arms around his cowl.

"I'm sorry you had to hear it from Liara," he said, nuzzling her collarbone. A low hum rumbled in his throat. It wasn't his usual happy purr, but a sad sound reminiscent of a porpoise on Earth. It made Shepard feel uneasy.

"It's okay," she soothed, stroking under his crown. "Just don't keep me in the dark. Mordin's not the only one who can help, you know." Her fingers found a sweet spot and he (finally) began his usual purr. "My Spectre status was returned to me, and now that I've cut my ties with Cerberus, the council has reinstated my stipend. I can help you pay for treatments."

"Shepard, I can't ask for-"

"You aren't asking," she cut. "I'm offering." Her nails bit his skin gently and he gave an approving hiss. "And it would be insubordinate of you to not accept."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, attempting a grin. "It's been difficult the past few months. Mom wasn't responding well to treatments. We're hoping the Salarians can do something, but they're damned proud of their work. You have to pay a hefty price for the best. Had to jump through hoops to get the fees waived." Shepard ceased her minstrations, not knowing if it was appropriate to be rubbing him while he spoke of his sick mother, but Garrus gave a pleading whine and she continued, assuming it comforted him.

"Heard anything recently?"

"She's been doing a little better," Garrus hummed. "She's still on Palaven, but Sol's hoping to have her transported to the Helos facility next month. The next time we're dismissed for shore leave, I'd like to go see her."

Shepard quirked a brow. "You don't have to ask my permission, you know."

"I know," he said, "but I was, um, hoping you'd go with me. My sister isn't exactly happy with me at the moment, as I'm sure you gathered from Liara's file. I'll need the moral support when I see her."

"And your mother?" Shepard asked. "Are you not worried about what she'll say?"

"Not particularly. Mom's always been laid back and considerably less strict than my father," Garrus replied. "I haven't spoken with her in a very long time. The last time was the day after your... funeral... actually." He still struggled whenever he spoke of her death. "I told her what had happened to you and that I'd be taking some time off work to... compose myself." His mandibles tickled Shepard's neck as he smiled. "She told me to be careful, like she just knew I was going to do something stupid, and to call as soon as I felt like myself again."

"She seems... perceptive," Shepard said.

"She is," Garrus said. "Of course, after what happened to you, I was a complete mess. I'm sure she could see it, hear it." He nuzzled, inhaling deeply, as if to remind himself that, yes, Shepard was alive and with him again. "My father even noticed a change in me, but he wasn't as understanding. He said I should always be prepared to lose the ones I fight with, even my commanding officers. Said that if I didn't want to see people die, I should've stayed in C-Sec instead of parading around with a Spectre."

"Your father sounds so charming," Shepard groaned, "but at least your mom seems reasonable. Does she know what kind of trouble you were up to after I...?" Okay, so Shepard had trouble talking about it, too. Not every day a person dies and lives to tell about it.

"I'm sure she doesn't," he said simply. "I was more worried about Solana or dad finding out about it, anyway. Mom probably wouldn't care about what I did on Omega, especially since I got out alive."

"She wouldn't care that you were a vigilante?" Shepard asked incredulously. "Or that you caught a missile with your face?"

"I didn't say she'd be happy about the missile," Garrus said quickly. "No, she'll probably have a good piece to say about that. But, everything else on Omega is fair game. She's always known I'm a terrible turian. Even tried to convince dad to let me try Spectre training. He was livid." Garrus chuckled and was silent. Apparently, that was all he wanted to say on that subject.

Shepard, though, was suddenly very curious about his mother's character. Good turians were law-abiding and didn't rock the boat. Garrus' father was apparently a perfect example of a proper turian. Why would a man like that be with someone who could stomach the idea of Spectres, let alone the thought of her own son becoming one? Shepard swept that thought under the table, for the moment, at least. She'd definitely ask Garrus about it later. For now, there were bigger questions. Specifically: "Are you not worried that they'll get suspicious of us if I come along?"

Garrus pulled back from her. "You... weren't expecting me to tell them?"

"Well, I just found out about them," Shepard said. "I wouldn't have expected you to tell your father."

"Really?" he asked, astounded. "You wouldn't be upset?

"Garrus, we've got the Reapers to deal with," Shepard said simply. "I want to enjoy whatever time I have with you before we take them on. If you think your mom and sister won't give you hell, then tell them, but if you have any doubt, don't."

"I... honestly don't know," Garrus muttered. "We've discussed my occupation before, so I know where they stand there. But, we've never spoken much about my potential mate. My parents-mostly my father-have tried to set me up with turian women who have good family ties, of course-" Shepard gave him a quizzical look. "It's common for turians to mate for political reasons. We're a militaristic species. We want our children to be well-bred, have good standing in society."

"I see."

"But, I've never really had an interest in any of them. They thought I was just young and would grow into my proper role eventually." His mandibles quivered pensively. "The conversation of a mate from another species has never... It just wasn't something they would expect." He looked conflicted.

"Garrus," Shepard said, "I really won't be upset if you want to wait until after this Reaper business to tell them."

"Right. Finish up one hellish mission before I take on another potentially deadly one."

Shepard kissed his brow. "If we can take out the Reapers, I'm sure your family will be easy."

"You say that now," Garrus laughed. He pulled Shepard into his lap, nipping at her neck lightly. "I still want you to come on shore leave with me."

"May as well," Shepard said softly. "I'm sure everything I owned was given to someone else when I died. Not like I have anywhere to go when I'm off duty."

Garrus honestly hadn't considered that. Everyone on the Normandy had big plans for when they finally docked. Tali had business with the Flotilla and would be bringing Legion with her to discuss the geth problem. She thought maybe a compromise could be met with the geth who, like Legion, no longer wanted to kill the quarians, but she had to trust Legion to speak for his kind. Mordin had been mumbling about a classified research opportunity for days. No doubt, his genius was needed elsewhere. The others had pleasure trips in mind. Miranda and Thane planned to visit family. Jack and Zaeed were out to stir up as much trouble as they could. What would Shepard have done if Garrus hadn't invited her along?

Curiosity got the best of him. "Shepard, what were you going to do?"

He reclined in his chair as she shifted into a more comfortable position. "I don't really know. I guess I was going to stay in a hotel until everyone came back."

Garrus wrapped his arms around her waist to support her. "What about your family?"

"I'm an only child, dad's dead, and mom's busy on the SSV Orizaba," Shepard said bluntly. "I guess I could stay at mom's apartment, but she won't be there. Better to stay on the Citadel."

Garrus was suddenly very glad Shepard would be coming with him to Palaven. He didn't like the thought of her sitting alone on the Citadel, waiting for her crew-her family-to return to her. Shepard never had enjoyed shore leave the way the rest of the crew did. She was raised on ships, she liked to stay on ships. No doubt, she'd camp out in the Normandy even when she was off duty if she could. Of course, the Normandy was about to be grounded and torn apart. Shepard had kept the ship even though she no longer worked for Cerberus, but the Alliance brass couldn't trust a vessel they had built. Before they would release the ship back to Shepard, they had to do a complete scan for Cerberus bugs, replace the surveillance system, and reprogram EDI so she would affiliate herself with the Alliance.

Garrus pulled Shepard against him, resting his head into her neck again. "I won't leave you there by yourself."

"Thank you, Garrus," Shepard whispered, stroking the inside of his cowl and pressing her cheek against his fringe. "I lo-"

"Yo, Shep!"

They groaned at Jack's voice blaring over the intercom. Moment ruined, Shepard called back, "This better be important."

"Seriously?" Jack shouted back. "We're all sitting in the mess, just down the hall from the battery. You guys aren't seriously fucking in there, are you? Cause I figured you'd be louder-"

"We were discussing things, Jack," Shepard hissed.

"Right," Jack barked. "Well, soup's on when you're done in there." In the background, Joker could be heard making a forced gagging noise and commenting on how he was going to lose his appetite if he heard anything.

Shepard angrily slid out of Garrus' lap and stormed out of the battery. She motioned at her clothing. "Fully clothed," she spat. Garrus was close behind her, proving that he, too, was dressed. Half the crew was snickering. Tali met them at the end of the hall, passing Garrus a bowl of dextro-rations. He took them and waited for Shepard to collect her own plate before they headed for a table. Jack pulled out a chair for Shepard and motioned for her to sit, shit-eating grin plastered on her face.

"Eat up, Shep," she sang. "You're gonna need the energy."

Shepard didn't argue, instead saying, "Yeah, you're probably right. Just hope we don't have a romp on the lower engineering deck while you aren't looking."

The murmurs that came from the crew made Shepard uneasy. Everyone knew she and Garrus were an item, but it wasn't something that anyone really spoke about. Shepard figured her comment might spawn some pretty nasty responses, but Jack's face at that moment... totally worth it.

The Normandy docked less than a week later, allowing everyone to go their separate ways. After seeing everyone off, Garrus and Shepard packed up and boarded the first passenger flight to Palaven. The trip was long and nerve-racking. About half-way to Palaven, Shepard started having second thoughts about Garrus' family. Sure, they weren't going to know about Garrus' romantic involvement with a human, but she was still his commanding officer. What if they didn't deem her fit to lead? What if they hated her form the start?

There was no backing out, however, and Shepard did her best to prepare herself for the introductions. Solana was going to meet them at the docking bay, so Shepard would have to be on her best behavior as soon as they landed.

Garrus exited the ship ahead of Shepard, scoping the crowd in true sniper fashion. Shepard was close behind him and was off the vessel when Garrus held up a hand to signal his sister. In a crowd of so many turians, it took Shepard a moment to locate the one particular female, but her vision soon focused on a woman with Garrus' colony markings. The woman returned a quick wave and dashed towards them. Shepard took in the sight of her, a little surprised at how graceful she was.

Shepard had seen female turians in various places during her travels. They were, after all, on equal standing with males and weren't quarantined to their home worlds like female krogans. However, Shepard never had paid them much mind. They typically were smaller than males. Their mandibles were less pronounced, and they lacked the crown of horns jutting from their heads. The fringes around their brows, however, were usually more feathery in appearance and decorated. Solana was no different.

Her armor plating and skin matched Garrus' perfectly, but her features were softer and her eyes were green. An excited expression graced her face. Her colonial paint was much more ornate than Garrus' even though it was the same marking. The mark Garrus wore was sharper, the edges square, and, because he was male, his had been tattooed on when he'd been accepted into the military. After many years of wear, his had become dull. Female turians didn't tattoo their markings, opting instead to paint them. It was done this way so the female could adopt the marking of her mate if he was of higher standing. Her paint was fresh and crisp, and it flowed into brushstroke points instead of straight edges. Wrapped behind her fringe was a loose scarf that covered the back of her head and neck. Her waist was wider, hips less pointed, and she, like other females, didn't have spurs on her elbows or legs. She wore a brightly colored sleeveless tunic over pants. Her arms were bare, revealing another set of painted markings, similar to her face paint, from her biceps to wrists. A belt cinched at her waist, accentuating the curve.

She came to a halt in front of them and Shepard focused on her face again. Solana, however, didn't acknowledge Shepard at all. Instead she was staring at Garrus with a horrified look, like he was missing an eye or something. Oh...

"Spirits, Garrus, what happened to your face?"

Shepard realized she hadn't ever listened to a turian female before, and was surprised at the high pitch of Solana's voice. Her words were slightly askew as they filtered through the translator, meaning she was speaking very informally with her brother. She reached up to him, stroking his scarred mandible lightly.

"Sol, I'm fine," Garrus said quickly, grabbing her wrist and trying to pry her hand away.

She resisted. "You don't look fine! Are those cybernetics?"

"Yes," Garrus said curtly. "I was injured. I got it fixed. It's not a big deal."

"Has dad seen this?" She immediately shook her head. "Nevermind, I know better. You haven't called mom in ages so you definitely haven't seen dad. He's going to be pissed, you know. You've ruined your colony mark."

"Stop worrying so much," Garrus said, finally removing his sister's hand from his face. "I was planning on having them touched up anyway. They were getting dull."

"Have mom paint in an outline for you and have it done while your here," Solana chirped. "Her hands haven't been so shaky since she started the new treatments. She did my paint yesterday." By the look of Solana's markings, their mother hand a talent for painting. She wondered if a turian who could draw intricate face paint inspired awe like a human who could write in calligraphy. Maybe a turian's face paint was like a form of handwriting.

"I'm not having it done for a few more weeks, at least," Garrus said, refusing Solana's idea. "I just have been able to take my bandages off. I'll let it scar over first."

Solana was studying the scars again. "How did this happen? It looks like you got spit on by a thresher maw."

"You don't really want to know, trust me." Garrus made a chirping sound that signaled Solana's attention. It was the equivalent of a human clearing his voice. "Sol, I'd like you to meet my commander." She eyed Shepard suspiciously. "This is Commander Shepard. Shepard, this is my sister, Solana."

Solana looked confused by the introduction, but bowed her head slightly. "Sorry, Commander, I'm not exactly well-versed in human greetings." Her words were coming over the translator clearly, now. She was speaking more formally.

"That's okay," Shepard said. "I don't know many turian greetings, so I wouldn't expect you to know human ones. It's a pleasure to meet you, either way."

"Shepard..." Solana muttered. "Is that a common name for humans? Are you related to my brother's old commander?"

"Sol," Garrus cut, "she's the same person."

Solana's eyes searched Shepard's face. "Garrus, she's dead. This woman can't be the same person."

Shepard intervened and explained, "I am the same person. I, uh, was out of commission for some time. It's hard to explain."

"Explain what?" Solana said. "My brother's commander died. He went to her funeral. So unless you are her brought back to life-"

"Like I said, it difficult to explain."

"Unless dad was right," Solana said suddenly, her tone darkening.

"Right about what?" Garrus asked, his voice laced with an angry rumble.

"Dad's been hearing reports that your old commander has been running with a terrorist group. Word has it she faked her death and ditched her crew. Know anything about that, Commander?" A furious growl threatened to rip from Garrus' throat, but Shepard raised a hand to calm him. Solana was obviously distrusting, probably for good reason. Her brother had been miserable knowing that Shepard was dead. Solana had to have felt terrible for him. It was better that Shepard set the record straight before things got out of hand.

"First, just know that your father has been misinformed in some ways, Solana," Shepard said. "I would never, under any circumstances, abandon my crew. However, I was heavily injured two years ago," (no need to tell Solana the gory details, just enough to get the point across), "and was captured by Cerberus, which is a known human terrorist organization. The situation forced me to work with them. I wouldn't have if I'd had any other choice, and I've cut all ties with them now."

"Did you involve my brother with this Cerberus?""

"Sol," Garrus said, "that's not important."

Sol shot him a glare. "Well, that answers that." She eyed Shepard again, stepping close to her. She snarled, "He spent Spirits know how long mourning you and then you show up and drag him into a terrorist group? Are you crazy?"

"It wasn't an ideal situation," Shepard admitted, "but I needed someone I could trust fighting beside me. Our affiliation with Cerberus is over. I've been reinstated as an Alliance soldier and a Spectre." Shepard sighed. "I know it's been terrible the last two years, but even if you don't trust me, trust the Council. They've put their faith in me again. I honestly never would have worked with Cerberus if I'd had a choice."

Solana found it hard to argue with that. The Council wouldn't welcome Shepard back with open arms if she was a traitor. Hell, she hoped that her brother wasn't stupid enough to fight for someone who had betrayed him. She slowly nodded, accepting defeat for the moment. "You should get to your hotel," she said. "Mom's waiting for us at the hospital."

Garrus tossed his bag unceremoniously into a chair in the corner, sitting on the edge of the bed. Solana had followed them to the hotel, so they'd checked out two rooms to keep appearances. With Solana waiting in the lobby, though, they'd sauntered into one room and settled in. Garrus hadn't slept apart from Shepard since they'd taken the Collector base. He sure as hell wasn't going to start now. As Shepard sorted through her clothing, Garrus said, "I'm sorry about the way Sol acted back there."

"It's okay," Shepard replied. "I can see where she's coming from. I've forced you into some pretty awful situations."

He motioned for her to come to him. "You haven't forced me into anything." He embraced her tightly when she reached him, pulling her into his lap. "I'd do anything for you, Shepard." She leaned down to nip at his uninjured mandible, and that set him off. He fell back and rolled with her, pinning her under him. "You know that, right?"

He was licking at her neck, then biting gently so as not to break the skin. "I know, Garrus." His hand was sliding up her shirt, caressing her over her bra. "I love you."

His mandibles flared excitedly at the words, tickling her throat. "Say that again," he mewled.

Shepard pushed him away gently and sat up. "Don't get too excited," she teased. "We can't do this right now. Your sister's waiting."

"A shame, really," Garrus growled, leaning in and pressing his mouth against hers. He'd only recently been introduced to kissing, be he enjoyed it immensely. Shepard obliged, snaking that sweet human tongue of hers into his mouth, touching it to his. Her lips pressed against the plates of his mouth at the same time. It was a simple action, one that humans found commonplace, but it drove him wild. He had to break away after only a few seconds so he wouldn't push her back down onto the bed and have his way with her, Solana be damned. "We should go, or I won't be in any state to leave. If my mother notices how tense I am, it's completely your fault."

"You started it," Shepard laughed, shoving him gently. "Come on. The sooner we get back, the sooner we can play."

Her tone sent a shiver through him. "Completely. Your. Fault."

Shepard had opted to sit out in the waiting room while Garrus and his mother visited. She didn't figure it would be appropriate to join in on the reunion. The hospital was immaculate and much too quiet. It reminded her, in some small way, of the inside of her suit as she drifted away from the Normandy. Quiet. Calm. Sterile. Eerie. It was a little unnerving, really. She had never liked silence much, even before her death, but now it was almost unbearable. Before Garrus joined her on the new Normandy, she would kick up the AC in her room or tamper with the settings of her fish tank to make a comfortable white noise. Now, she had Garrus. If she ever woke up, dreaming about the terrible silence, she would roll into him and listen to his heart or the flow of his breath.

Her thoughts about the silence of the hospital were cut off-she was glad, actually-by Solana, who had come into the waiting room. The turian scuffed the floor with her shoe, unsure of what to say. So, Shepard offered, "Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly, no," Solana replied. She took a breath, almost as though she were preparing herself to say something deathly serious. "Commander, our mother would like to meet you."

In the next chapter, we'll pick up where the first chapter left off and find out what happened to Mama Vakarian. Also, I may stick in a back story idea I've been playing around with. Dunno. Please review if you liked it or have any suggestions!