It began with a sniffle.
After rescuing the ex-Cerberus scientists off of Noveria, Shepard had begun to sniffle, occasionally stepping aside to hack up a lung or sneeze violently.
Kaidan, who had been down there with them, would frown at Shepard, but she waved him off, stating that she was perfectly fine, that it was probably just a minor cold.
By the time the Cerberus scientists had been dropped off to the Citadel to be transported to the Crucible project, the supposedly invincible Commander Serenity Shepard was bedridden with what Chakwas described as a flu.
Garrus felt helpless; he was supposed to be her boyfriend and yet he barely understood what Serenity was going through. Apparently humans could get sick if they weren't careful in the cold, which was…surprising to Garrus. The cold were merely uncomfortable to turians, but Shepard could get sick from it? She was sneezing, coughing, hotter than she usually was (and not in a good way), and had thrown up several times. And she was not an easy patient. The woman was practically a workaholic.
"Give it back, Garrus." Garrus moved the tablet out of the woman's reach, shaking his head,
"Chakwas said you had to rest, Shepard. And it's my job to make sure you do." She slumped forward, grumpily asking,
"Don't you have something to calibrate?"
"Did all of them ahead of time. We need you back at 100% as soon as possible. And besides, when's the last time you had a decent sleep?" An irritated grumble was the response he got, and in the imitation of a kiss, he pressed his mouth plates to her sweaty brow.
Interrupting the rather private moment, the door to the captain's quarters suddenly slid open, and in stepped Kaidan, holding a tumbler of some sort.
"Am I interrupting something?" Garrus gave Kaidan an expression of intense relief, stepping aside to let the man in. The Canadian laughed at Serenity as she sat up in bed, kinky hair all over the place and not at all in the usual prim bun that she was known for.
"Is that soup? Gimmie!" As she held her hands up in a grabbing motion, Kaidan handed it over. The commander screwed the cup off and a wonderful smell that Garrus couldn't put into words filled the room. Serenity took a deep whiff and sighed with contentment, before taking a tiny sip and putting it on the bedside table. "Thanks, Kaidan."
"No problem. I used to get sick with the flu all the time; it's a recipe my mom would use for me."
"Soup?" Garrus raised a brow at the man, as he explained,
"Chicken noodle soup. I don't think it does much for the flu, but it seems to help, so I figured Shepard might want some." Garrus looked over at the woman as she sipped, bit by bit on the soup, occasionally chewing when she came across the meat that was called 'chicken' or a vegetable. As she ate, Kaidan and Garrus chatted about everything; from the last mission to the latest Blasto, agreeing that if Shepard had seen it, she would burst a blood vessel in sheer rage. When she was full and content, she flopped back against the pillows, pale eyes hooding in exhaustion.
"Feeling better, Shepard?" Garrus pressed the back of his hand to her forehead, and noticed that her temperature had gone down just a smidgen. She'd finished much of the soup; Garrus silently hoped it wouldn't make a sudden re-appearance.
"Mmm. C'mere." Despite her illness, the Commander was still extremely strong, and pulled the turian into bed with her, arranging him on her right side. Then she turned her attention to Kaidan, patting the space on her right side. "You too, Kaidan."
"Uh…I don't know if Garrus would be okay with that."
"Sure he'll be. It's just cuddling. Are you okay with it, Garrus?" Garrus was still new to 'cuddling. Turians had their way of showing affection, but 'cuddling' wasn't really one of them. And while he was usually pretty territorial and protective of Shepard…Kaidan joining them didn't bother him. In fact…he sort of liked the idea.
"Sure. C'mon Kaidan, if it makes Shepard happy…" The biotic nodded and got in on the other side, as the Commander settled into the soft bed and let out a sigh of contentment. Within moments, she was asleep; snoring slightly due to being congested. Garrus confessed, laughing a bit,
"…Humans are strange."
"You're one to talk. How do turians drink, if you don't…" Kaidan tapped the side of his cheek. Garrus chuckled, making eye contact with the man,
"Funny you ask about that…"