Wrex didn't let him put his drink down for the next two weeks. He saw the pain in the poor bastard's eyes when he told the news. The look haunted even his old bones, even after all the shit he'd seen. He knew this was the look of a man who might just try to follow after Shepard, and Wrex-though he'd never admit it out loud- couldn't stand the thought of losing another of his very few friends. Damn this turian.

"Y-You know, I didn't even like Tali if it wasn't for Sh-for her. She was like this big sister for the quarian and with all that love you had to love her too, right?" Garrus was well into the depths of his drunkenness, every day getting more nostalgic, but still unable to say Shepard's name.

"Hell at least she didn't sign you up to train the poor kid. How do you think she knew how to even point a shotgun if not for this master marksman?" as if to make his point, Wrex took a swig from his glass, but unfortunately missed his mouth entirely. He threw his glass on the floor, shattering it for good measure.

"I thought she knew how to shoot before we picked up your big grumpiness?"

"What? No not...her… I meant the quarian. Keep up. She was too damn nervous. I had to show her how to even hold the thing so the recoil wouldn't make her wet herself," Wrex chuckled to himself at the memory of the frail little Tali squeaking in surprise the first time she fired his gun.

"As I recall, she still wet herself around you," the glaze in Garrus' eyes weren't as heavy as he spoke, so Wrex offered him another drink

"If I had a credit for every time I heard that..."

"What, you could finally pay for drinks?" they both laughed at that, clinking their glasses together like they used to do with Shepard in the mess hall after tougher missions. Wrex broke all three of their glasses the first time.

Soon Wrex knew it was time to sober up, as the funeral drew near, knowing that Garrus would want to be in the right state of mind to say goodbye. It took about three cold showers and finally a trip to Dr. Michel to get all the liquor out of his system. Wrex just needed a good nap for one of his livers to kick in and fix him up, so he wasn't sure what to do with a drunk turian. The doctor scolded both of them, said something about alcohol poisoning, and restricted Garrus to bed rest for a day.

"We'll get you out of here. Alcohol won't kill you if you've got the quads to soak it up right," try as Wrex might to cheer up his friend, his face was still deep into a trashcan. Dr. Michel was out of earshot, so he began to verbalize his escape idea until Garrus held up a hand.

"What day is it?"

"It's today," given any other context it would've been a smartass remark, but Garrus knew exactly what he meant. It was time to see Shepard again, for the last time.

Dr. Michel overheard, and given her already growing affinity for the turian, offered him a few pills to cure his raging hangover. Wrex chuckled, pondering aloud what hell could've been raised if they had those when he was a teenager.

"I don't think I want to imagine you as a teenager, Wrex. No offense, but you're ugly enough as it is. Seeing you go through puberty…" he gagged, holding his stomach as the pill's effects hadn't kicked in yet, "well it might be a bit much to bear,"

"Ha! Spoken like a true outsider. One day I'll take you back to Tuchanka and put you through our rite of passage. You have just taken your first steps to becoming a true krogan, so why not seal the deal?"

"You mean all it takes is surviving ryncol to become a krogan?" he sat up, gingerly beginning to get dressed for the upcoming event.

"I said a true krogan. Any pyjack humper can claim to be a krogan. But it isn't until his insides turn to molten lava and he survives the trial till he earns the respect of his clan,"

"I'm flattered, Wrex. I've always wanted a clan. I was getting so tired of those pyjacks," Garrus snickered as the krogan helped to pull him up off the bed.

"We better get going, Ugly. It's going to be hell trying to flag a car in our getup. Especially with all the crap they have planned for the ceremony," he hated to bring it up, to end the last chance for his friend to feel happiness. But it was true, the Alliance wanted to show their respects for their most honored hero, and the Council wanted to make a show for saving their lives. Whatever. He just wanted to pay his respects to his battle sister, and make sure the turian didn't kill anyone- or himself- before it was all over.

Dr. Michel gave them both some more of those magic pills before they left, and Wrex could've sworn that she let her hand stay a little long when she handed them to Garrus. She directed them from the clinic to the nearest rapid transit terminal, where the unlikely duo hailed a cab with surprising ease.

The ceremony was held in the presidium, and it almost wasn't big enough to hold the crowd gathered. Everyone wanted to get one last look at the hero of the citadel, even though most of them had never met her or cared for her. Not like he did. Not like her crew.

The quarian was there, along with the humans from the ship.

"Looks like Liara isn't going to make it," Garrus mumbled. He didn't notice the absence of the shy asari until Garrus brought it to his attention, but now that he said it, it seemed odd for her not to be there.

"Probably stuck in some digsite. Give it a week, we'll be getting a call that she's stuck in a crumbling ruin," Garrus nodded, but didn't respond. It was almost time to begin, and it was time to take a seat.

Given that they were with her in her final moments, the Normandy crew were seated front row, able to see every puffed up politician give their speeches over heroism and sacrifice. Something Wrex bet none of them knew the first thing about. Songs and poetry readings didn't suit his battle sister, and the crew knew it: he could tell by how they squirmed in their seats with irritation. Finally it was time to pay their personal respects. It was time to say good bye.

He saw the turian walk up to the casket, resting his right hand there with the other covering his face. It felt like an eternity of silence as he stood like that, displaying what everyone was feeling. Wrex debated going up to him for support when he finally turned around. His eyes were dry, but hollow. The next time Wrex saw him, his visor was back but the turian from the SR-1 was gone.

He left Vakarian behind along with Citadel space as he took off for some pisshole called Omega.