A/N: The following chapter contains detailed descriptions of explicit sexual acts. If you are underage, or that's just not your sort of thing, continue reading at your own risk.

A few minutes later, she was striding into the comm room, back in full command mode. She accepted the call, and was taken aback to see Toren's small form materialize before her.

"Commander Shepard?" he piped up in a squeaky voice.

"Toren, I'm so glad to see you're all right."

"Yes, ma'am. Me too. I mean, I'm glad you're all right, too. Um, thank you for saving me."

She wished he were really there so she could hug him. In lieu of that, she gave him her broadest smile. "Um, you're very welcome."

He was quiet for a long moment. "You and Garrus are going to kill the Reapers, right?" he asked intently.

"We're certainly going to try."

He looked down nervously at his hands. "They took my mother."

Apparently, her crying jag the previous evening had broken some kind of emotional seal inside her - everything seemed to be bringing her to the brink of tears.

"Toren ... I'm so sorry. We're going to stop them. We have a plan - a weapon." A weapon we're not sure we can build, not sure we can use if we build it, and not sure what it will do if we use it, but still ... it's a plan.

The boy's eyes brightened. "Okay. Good." He paused briefly. "Did it hurt?"

Shepard smiled. If only the Council had been that easy. "Nah, not really. Just a little pressure." No need to go into detail.

"Oh, okay." He glanced over his shoulder. "My dad wants to talk to you. Bye, Commander Shepard!" he said with a wave. He walked out of view, and Corinthus took his place.

"Commander Shepard. You have no idea what a relief it is to see you in one piece. Toren insisted on calling to thank you himself. I hope we didn't reach you at an inconvenient time. I know you're extremely busy."

Well, I was trying to get busy. "It was very sweet of him to call - I'm glad I got to meet him."

"He hasn't stopped talking about you since you left. He sits in our quarters scouring the extranet for stories and vids about you and your crew. Actually, he's developed quite an obsession with humans in general. The last couple of days I've been under a barrage of questions, most of which I don't have the first clue how to answer," he said, laughing.

"Well, I'd be happy to answer any questions I can. Just have him email me."

Corinthus held up his hands. "Oh, no, Commander, I didn't mean ... You have far more important concerns."

"Believe me, General, I would welcome an email from Toren now and then." She crossed her arms and gave a tight smile. "You should see my inbox."

"I can imagine," he said sympathetically. "All right. I'll tell him that you'll answer if and when you can." He paused to take a long breath. "Shepard, thank you. First you save his life, now this. You have no idea how much this will lift his spirits. It's hard for him, being cooped up in that hut all day. I wish I hadn't had to bring him here, but after we lost his mother..." he trailed off.

"I'm just glad I was there to help. And like I said, a little friendly communication will be good for both of us."

He nodded. "Thank you for your time, Commander. My regards to Garrus."

"Of course."

The image faded as the connection was severed. She headed into the war room to look for Victus. She found him at the conference table, hunched over his datapad. He rose as she entered.

"Commander Shepard." he greeted her warmly. "Thank you for meeting with me so soon. I am sure you can't be fully recovered."

She shrugged. "Just about. In any case, the war doesn't stop for a few broken ribs," she said as they seated themselves.

"No. I guess it doesn't. I must tell you, Commander, you've caused quite the stir on Palaven. The vids of you coming to Toren's rescue are all over the extranet. That, combined with widespread feelings of solidarity with Earth over the Reaper attacks have raised turian-human relations to an all-time high." He hesitated.

"But you still need the krogan," she finished for him.

"Yes. Popular opinion aside, from a military standpoint, we have to shore up our defenses on Palaven before we can consider offering help for Earth. And for that, we need the krogan."

"That's going to be a tough sell. We'd better get our talking points straight."

Her meeting with the Primarch lasted the rest of the morning. After that, she attacked the piles of backlogged work that had accumulated while she was out of commission. When she couldn't stand the thought of looking at one more report or email, she made the rounds of the ship, checking in with everyone, making sure things had been running smoothly in her absence and letting them see she was all right.

By then, it was getting late, and she felt surprisingly drained. For a fleeting moment, she harbored the faint hope that she might actually get some real sleep that night. Her talk with Garrus had been cathartic, but somehow, she didn't think her nightmare-induced insomnia would be resolved so easily.

Inner skeptic: 1 - Hope: 0, she thought as she lay awake several hours later.

She had long ago given up on standard methods of overcoming sleeplessness: counting sheep, counting backward from 500 by threes, doing 50 push-ups before bed, warm milk – she'd tried them all a hundred times. Early on, they'd sometimes even worked. But no sooner would she drift off than she would find herself wide awake, heart pounding, soaked with sweat. There was no hope for sleep after that.

Her eyes fell on the bottle of pills on her nightstand. She wasn't quite desperate enough to risk that, especially since the hard-core industrial-strength sedatives had barely left her system. She would need a completely clear head to broker an alliance between the krogan and turians. Even with a clear head, I give it slightly more chance than a naked volus in a varren pit. But a clear, well-rested head may improve those chances to a suited volus in a varren pit, and that might just be the edge she needed. I mean, what could they possibly ask me to do - cure the genophage?

Her thoughts drifted back to that morning with Garrus. She craved him more than sleep. And those few brief moments certainly hadn't helped. She suddenly felt uncomfortably warm. She kicked off her blankets. Still hot. She peeled off her t-shirt and underwear. That gave some temporary relief as her bare skin made contact with the cool sheets, but that didn't last long.

Her hand drifted down between her legs. Masturbation was her favorite method of curing insomnia. Even if it didn't work, it made being awake a whole lot better. During her time on Earth, it had been her only way to cope with her feelings for Garrus. She wasn't sure whether knowing he was now sleeping a mere two decks away would make this easier or harder, but she was going to find out.

Her fingers snaked their way between her folds, quickly homing in on her sensitive bud. The morning had left her aching for release and she roughly massaged her clit, imagining Garrus's rough, leathery hands roaming over her body. Her other hand came up to clutch at a breast, tugging at the hard nipple.

Garrus came awake with a start. The alerts he had set in his visor to alert him to abrupt changes in Shepard's physiology were going off, filling his view with lots of blinking red numbers. Respiratory rate: elevated. Pulse: elevated. Heart rate: elevated. Perspiration: above normal. All signs pointed to her suffering one of those nightmares she had told him about. He was up in a moment, pulling on his underarmor and racing for the elevator.

Perhaps if he hadn't been half-asleep, he would have thought about other situations that produced similar effects. Perhaps he wouldn't have opened her cabin door. Perhaps he would have experienced surprise at being able to open it. During the day, she left it open, to be accessible to the rest of the crew. At night, she usually locked it. Perhaps he would wonder if maybe Dr. Chakwas had requested she keep it open in case of emergency. But he was half-asleep, driven only by his concern for Shepard.

He started toward her bed, thankful for his excellent night vision. She definitely seemed in some distress, writhing around on the bed, blankets thrown off, moaning softly. He moved closer, planning to wake her, then abruptly stopped in his tracks as he caught the musky scent of her arousal and his groggy mind finally caught up. He was near enough now to see her hand working feverishly between her legs, her eyes - thankfully - closed tightly in concentration. He knew he should leave and give her her privacy, but he was captivated. When he felt his body begin to respond to the scene in front of him it snapped him fully awake. He turned as quietly as he could and began stealthily making his way back to the elevator.

Fuck ... almost there... She pushed her hips faster against her hand. She was breathing hard, and maybe that was how she caught his scent, the same familiar one that had greeted her on her return to consciousness the day before. Garrus. Is it possible to fantasize so strongly about someone that you can actually smell them? She opened her eyes and could just make out a shadowy form headed toward the door.

"Garrus, don't you dare leave." She'd been going for a tone of sultry command, but it came out more of an aching plea. He hesitated only a blessedly short moment before stalking over to her bed. His eyes raked over her hungrily, the thin material of his underarmor doing little to hide his desire. He quickly shed himself of it and walked around the bed to slide in beside her. Her eyes followed him, transfixed.

Given the dissimilarities between human and turian physiology, Shepard had been surprised to discover how alike the male sexual organs of both species were. Garrus was longer and thicker than the human sexual partners she had had (not that that was a statistically significant number by any means), but not uncomfortably so. The head was a touch more prominent, slightly pointed, and subtle horizontal bony ridges ran along the length of the shaft. The most noticeable difference was the lack of exposed testicles. They remained safely tucked away behind their plates to protect them from Palaven's harsher environment. (There was a popular joke that the krogans had taken the turians' collective balls during the Rebellion, accounting for the former's extra pair, but that was a joke best not told within earshot of a turian.) Not to disparage human anatomy, but she found the turian model to be a bit of an upgrade.

Not that that was the only alluring thing about him. She found his whole presence exciting. Garrus with armor was intimidating; Garrus without armor seemed downright dangerous. His predatory evolutionary ancestry was reflected in his every movement, in his lean, angular form, potent and powerful. She had always considered herself tough and strong, but lying naked next to Garrus she felt soft and vulnerable. And somehow, she found it very arousing.

They lay together in silence, still a little unsure of one another. Shepard finally made the first move, and she decided to skip the usual preliminaries. Her hunger was way beyond the appetizer stage; she needed meat. She reached out to stroke his shaft, and he let her brush her fingers lightly down its length for a moment before pulling away.

"I want to watch you."

With anyone but Garrus she would've refused. She had always considered it a very private act. But she wanted to share this with him. Well, that coupled with the fact that by this point she had reached a whole new level of sexual frustration and probably wouldn't have cared if the whole crew of the Normandy was watching, as long as she could finally get off.

Conscious of Garrus's raptor gaze following her every move, she slowly ran her hand over her breasts and down her stomach, stopping just short of its ultimate goal. He looked at her quizzically.

"You, too," she purred.

Groaning, he wrapped three clawed fingers around his cock and began working it slowly. She was still wet from her earlier ministrations and she slipped two fingers inside, moving them in and out in a steady rhythm, letting the pressure build again. She was fascinated by the sight of Garrus's cock thrusting into his tight fist. Knowing that watching her pleasure herself was driving those thrusts faster and faster was unbearably erotic. She brought her other hand into the action, rubbing her clit, her fingers now plunging in and out of her in a blur. Her hips jerked off the bed, her whole body shaking, as she came hard.

"Fuck yes!" She cried out, the tension of the day finally released. Wave after wave washed over her and she struggled to keep focused on Garrus. He was close, too, she could tell, the head of his swollen prick flushed a deep blue, straining against the friction of his hand, his eyes riveted on her.

"Shepard," he moaned softly as jets of pearly white come erupted onto the plates of his stomach.

She immediately felt the pangs of need stirring within her again. They had been apart too long for her to be fully satisfied by anything less than Garrus's cock inside her. Still weak from her orgasm, she managed to make her way to the bathroom and dampen a washcloth with warm water. She returned to Garrus and wiped the sticky fluid off of his stomach, then wrapped the cloth around his shank, gently mimicking his earlier motions. It had begun to retract slightly, but the warmth of the cloth and her soft touch caused it to stiffen again. She tossed the cloth onto the floor and knelt over Garrus's legs. Bending down, she ran her tongue around the crown, then down the underside of the shaft, flicking rapidly at the joining. Garrus's head dropped back onto the pillow, and he made a sound between a moan and a growl. She took him into her mouth, sucking first on just the tip, then lowering her head until she had as much of him as would fit. Her short hair fell forward, just brushing his sensitive waist. He pushed into her involuntarily, grabbing at the sheets. She wrapped her hand around the lower shaft, pumping, sucking and licking. The ribbing along its length teased her lips and tongue, and she felt it begin to throb and swell. Garrus struggled to a sitting position, reaching down to pull her off of him.

"Shepard..." he groaned warningly.

She longed to let him finish, to taste him, but she knew he was right. She hadn't forgotten Mordin's warnings. He had given them some pills to prevent allergic reaction, but those were long gone, lost in the shuffle of the Alliance overhaul, and she hadn't yet worked up the courage to approach Chakwas for more. Odds were she'd just get an upset stomach, but there was a small chance of anaphylactic shock, and she was not anxious for a return trip to the med bay so soon.

She reluctantly released him, giving the tip one last kiss. He pulled her into his lap so she was straddling him. He surprised her by leaning his head down to kiss her. She had never forced the kissing issue, knowing it was not customary among turians. Apparently, Garrus had been doing some research into human customs. It was certainly different from kissing a human, but no less pleasurable. His mouth plates were much more pliant and flexible than those over the rest of his body, and his tongue, thin and tapered, felt wonderful as it sparred with hers. She was a little wary of his razor-sharp teeth, but he was very careful, and as long as she kept her tongue out of their way, they weren't a problem.

He moved to her neck, nipping her gently with his plates, then dipped his head to her breasts to catch a hard nipple between them. His hand came up to softly knead the other. She gasped at the feel of his rough mouth and tongue against her breast and unconsciously pressed herself harder against him. She could feel the fiery heat of his erection between her splayed legs and she rocked her hips against it, trying to increase the pressure on her core. Garrus was forced to release her from his mouth to let out a loud groan.

She raised herself up on her knees, positioning her opening over the tip of his cock. Placing her hands on his shoulders to steady herself, she slowly sank down, enveloping him in her slick, velvety sheath, her soft hairs tickling him as she took him in to the root. She held still for a long moment, savoring the feel of him, their connection, then began rocking her hips in a measured cadence, reveling in the delicious pressure his pelvic plates put on her clit. Before long she was pistoning up and down on his shaft, grinding herself against his rigid plates on every downstroke. His ribbing massaged her inner walls, and they gripped him tighter, increasing the exquisite friction. Her breath came in short, erratic bursts. Garrus grasped her hips, supporting and guiding her movements, and she threw her head back, flushed and shimmering with a sheen of sweat, as she neared the brink of orgasm. Then it was on her, muscles spasming around him, and she collapsed against his chest, soft breasts meeting hard plates as she clutched him as hard as she could, riding out her climax.

As the capacity for coherent thought returned, so did the awareness that Garrus had not yet finished. She continued stroking her hips up and down and moved her hands to his waist, caressing his the thin band of exposed skin there. His eyes were shut tight, his expression strained.

Maybe he needs control to be able to come, she thought, briefly remembering that their only other encounter had ended with her on her hands and knees.

"Take me from behind, Garrus," she whispered, expecting him to immediately flip her over and start pounding. Instead, his whole body simply froze. He opened his eyes, and looked at her helplessly. The conflict she sensed in him triggered more of the memory of what had happened the last time they were together like this. He had scratched her, the shallow cuts appearing much worse than they were, bleeding profusely the way such surface wounds did without causing much pain or real damage. She hadn't even noticed them until she'd heard him gasp. He'd apologized repeatedly, clearly agitated and guilt-ridden. She'd dabbed on some medigel and showed him how the bleeding had already stopped, how no harm had been done ... But apparently more harm had been done than she'd realized.

I guess we all have our demons. She rose off of him, not wanting to torture him any further and noted with concern that he was still hard. A human male experiencing a similar psychological block would have lost his erection. She was starting to feel out of her depth. There was so much about turians she still didn't know. Garrus would probably be better off with a therapist, but she was all he had right now. She just had to convince him to trust himself as she trusted him, to prove to himself that he wouldn't hurt her.

She quickly reviewed her mental to-do list: 1. Resolve centuries-old animosity between krogan and turians. 2. Fix Garrus. 3. Save galaxy. Pretty mental, all right. Whatever happened to the good old days of "bring rogue spectre to justice" and "fly suicide mission into black hole at center of galaxy" - you know, the easy stuff?

She turned to Garrus and placed a hand on his chest, trying to formulate a strategy. If this encounter could end with him satisfied and her in one piece, it would be a step in the right direction. He just needed to start building positive experiences and eventually, that single bad memory would be overwhelmed by a multitude of good ones. Yeah, that sounds like brilliant armchair psychology.

Garrus shook his head. "Shepard, I'm sorry..."

"Shh, Garrus. We're just taking a break. I'm not done with you yet."

His whisper was barely audible. "I'm not sure I can."

Part of her wanted to just hold him, to comfort him as he had done for her. She knew, though, that he couldn't let this fester. And it was her job to make sure he didn't give up; he had to face his fear as she had faced hers.

"I know nothing I say will help much, but you can let go with me, Garrus. I can take it." She paused, chewing at her bottom lip. There was something she could say that might help. She just hadn't planned to say it so soon. But then, it really wasn't so soon. It had been true for a long time, and he needed to hear it now.

She pulled him up so they were facing each other on their knees and looked directly into his icy blue eyes. "I love you, Garrus Vakarian." She placed a hand on the back of his neck and pulled his forehead down to touch hers.

Garrus's mind was reeling. Shepard had just told him that she loved him, erasing months of uncertainty and doubt. He should feel elated, invincible ... but he had a new worry now. His fear of hurting her again was crippling. He had been stupid enough to believe that filing the edge off his talons would make everything all right. In a practical sense, it should have. He would really have to try to hurt her now. But that image of her, hips coated in red blood - it wouldn't leave him. He'd been fine right until the end, so close, but the sight of his hands on her and the feel of her tender skin beneath them had stopped everything cold.

"You could tie my hands behind my back," he offered, trying to sound lighthearted, but sure she could hear the defeat in his voice.

She smiled. "Well, that's certainly something to keep in mind for a later time - but right now, I think I have a better idea."

With that, she lay back, pulling him down with her until he was forced to support his weight with his arms to avoid crushing her. Realization dawned, and he looked at her with surprise and gratitude in his eyes. The love and trust he saw in hers melted the anxious chill inside him, and in the next instant they grew dark with desire. He could almost hear her voice in his head: "That's right, Vakarian. Now get out of your head and back inside me."

He had every intention of complying with that imagined order. But first, he wanted to enjoy the feel of Shepard stretched out beneath him. He bent down to lick at her breast. Her fingers caressed the sensitive feathery-thin plates that ran down the back of his neck, and he trembled. Guess I'm not the only one who did some research. Her hands traveled down his sides, coming to rest at his waist, all those fingers seemingly everywhere at once. This time, her touch there had the desired effect and he had to shut his eyes against the intensity of his need. She angled her hips up in silent invitation.

He pulled back slightly and slid home with a single thrust of marksman-like precision. He would never get tired of the feel of her, that molten wetness, the way she molded herself around him, tight and yielding all at once. He started with deep, slow strokes, but his level of arousal soon demanded more. He moved faster and she rose to meet him, following his lead. Her eyes fell shut, her lips quivering. He bent his elbows, lowering himself slightly so that her breasts just grazed his chest and his lower plates contacted her at a better angle.

Her breath came in staccato gasps and her hips bucked against him. Her hands grasped at his back, pulling herself up even tighter to him. Then came the foreign, excruciating pleasure as she contracted around him again and again.

His release came then, and he had lost the will to try and stop it. He stiffened as he felt himself pulsing inside her, holding still until he was completely spent. He lowered his forehead to hers, and after a moment, she raised her head up to kiss him. Then she rolled on to her side and he settled in behind her, her hair lacing each breath with her clean, earthy scent. He noted with satisfaction that he hadn't even ripped the sheets.

He reached over and wrapped her hand in his. "I love you, too, Shepard."

Finally sated, Shepard reached down to the foot of the bed where the discarded blankets lay in a crumpled heap and pulled them up over her and Garrus, who lay nestled at her back. She felt a dull ache in her ribs from her earlier exertions. Totally worth it. She knew it would take time and effort to completely banish their demons, but seeing how that effort would mainly entail having lots of sex and falling asleep in each others arms, she liked their chances of success. The truth was, nothing had thus far mangaged to resist the combined force of Shepard and Vakarian, and as she lay there that night, she knew that together they would overcome those demons. Then nothing would stand in the way of their happiness but the Reapers.

She almost felt sorry for them.

She felt herself drifting off to sleep, and for the first time since leaving Earth, she didn't dread what waited on the other side of consciousness, warm and safe next to Garrus. He stirred sleepily behind her.

"Shepard?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you like pizza?"

"Huh?"