So here we are again. How delightful. Please, have a seat and read this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, but Riley is all mine! ^^
Chapter Four Starts Here
Noveria – During Peak 15 Mission
His mother took both Liara and his father with her to Peak 15 after helping Gianna Parasini bust Anoleis for corruption. So while those three handled things at Peak 15, everyone else was allowed to take a brief shore leave at the hotel. Wrex had gone to the bar with Kaidan. Ashley preferred to stay near the windows and watch the snowfall. Riley stayed with Tali, mostly.
She sat at a table with a sterilized, non-alcoholic drink and he went over to the small indoor fountains near her, staring at his own reflection. He was briefly disappointed when he didn't see any fish in the water, but was a bit excited when he noticed other children around. He looked to Tali, who was sipping at her drink through a straw, before going over to the other children. They were mostly turians. One girl there was an asari, Riley guessed maybe a year older than him, her skin the natural blue, a couple shades darker than Liara's, and the markings on her face a soft lavender color. The turian kids ranged from nine to twelve. There was also a salarian, but he was more of a bystander, a young teenager seeming to glare at the noisy children nearby while he tried to get back to his studies.
Shyly, he went over to them, close enough for them to see him, but not close enough to impose. One of the turian noticed him and gave him a brief look over, quick enough to not notice his extra fingers or unusual boots.
"Hey," he greeted, coming over. "You wanna join us?"
"What are you doing?" Riley asked, looking at the others.
"Playing Battle," he answered, holding his hand up like he was holding a gun. "Wanna play, too?"
Hesitantly, Riley nodded. Because of his parents being protective, he didn't interact with children much. He noticed Tali watching from her table, waving her hand encouragingly with a nod of her head. So with a smile, he joined the other children with their game. The small group broke into two teams, one team all turian and the other had the asari girl, two turians, and Riley. They would hide behind the fountains or chairs, anything they could come across. The young asari girl was acting like she was a commando, but was very careful not to unleash any of her biotics. The turian children were just running back and forth between their covers, mimicking the sounds of guns while holding their hands out and jerking them, as though they really were handling weapons on their kickbacks. Not really paying attention to his surroundings, Riley hid underneath a table to hide from one of the children on the opposing team.
"Hey, watch it!" a quick voice sharply snapped.
"Sorry," Riley apologized as he got out from under the table.
The salarian teenager shook his head and glared at the young hybrid. "All I wanted was some peace and quiet so I can study, and here I am surrounded by noisy brats," the salarian muttered under his breath, but Riley heard him anyway.
Curious, Riley looked at him. "What are you studying?" he asked.
"If you must know, I'm studying to be a geneticist," the teenager sighed heavily.
"Why would you want to be a geneticist?" Riley asked, brow plate rising slightly. "No offense, but aren't there enough salarian geneticists? I mean, there are only so many things geneticists can do before there isn't anymore to study, unless another species is discovered, I guess."
"I have an uncle who's one," the salarian answered, his mouth twitching slightly as though he wanted to smile. "I've always looked up to him. He's done some amazing work, but even among salarians, he's… odd."
"Odd how?" Riley went on.
"I don't know much about his work, but he's one of those guys who doesn't waste a lot of time saying words he doesn't need to say, even though he won't stop talking once he starts. Not to mention that if the need rises, he'll go against his own work. He's done that once."
"He sounds interesting," Riley chuckled. "So what's your name?"
The salarian blinked at him. "Don't you have some friends to go play with instead of bugging me?" he asked.
"Sorry, I was just curious," the boy said, lifting his head a little bit. "I'm Riley, by the way!"
The salarian humph slightly, finally realizing that this child won't leave him alone so easily. "If you must know, my name is Kanoth." He looked at the young boy for a moment. "Riley doesn't sound like a turian name."
"Well…" Riley trailed off, looking towards Tali, or in her general direction.
"Interesting," was all he heard from Kanoth before the salarian was touching his hands. Riley jumped, blue eyes trained on the three-fingered hand grasping his own five-fingered one as the salarian took a closer look. "You're awfully young for someone to be running experiments like this on you."
"I wasn't experimented on," Riley muttered, pulling his hand away.
"Then why do you-"
"What's going on over here?" one of the other children asked, interrupting the salarian's question. "Riley, I thought you were playing."
"Sorry, got a little caught up in a conversation," he answered, trying to hide his hands.
Though it was a little too late. "What's wrong with your hand?" a different child asked, grabbing Riley's hand and holding it in front of his face.
"Spirits, what's wrong with him?" the first child, an eleven-year-old turian boy, asked.
Riley tried jerking his hand out of the other child's grasp, but he wasn't letting go. "What are you, some kind of freak?" the child ask, letting Riley's hand go suddenly.
Riley stumbled back, trying to catch his balance. "No!" he argued. "I'm not!"
"So you're just deformed?" the eldest turian boy commented with a scoff. "Still a freak."
"I'm not a freak!" Riley protested, hands balled into fist and at his sides.
"Well you're not natural either," another child taunted him.
"Stop it, leave him alone!" the asari girl defended, pushing her way through the turian children and standing in front of Riley, her back to him. "What did he do to you for you to pick on him?"
"Nothing, but he sure isn't normal," the only female turian child in the group answered with a wave of her hand.
"So that gives you a right to pick on him? That is just mean!" the girl nearly yelled.
"Well, can't help but say the truth," the eldest stated. "He's a freak. A deformed turian."
"I am not a freak!" Riley shouted loudly. Many adults around looked in their direction, startled by the shout. Tali got to her feet and briskly walked over. "I can't help that I was born this way! I can't help what I am! But I am NOT A FREAK!"
"Riley," Tali called softly, reaching out to him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and could feel him shaking. "Come on."
"I'm not a freak," he mumbled.
"I know you're not," Tali assured him as the other turian children turned and left, sneering over their shoulders.
The young asari girl turned to him and smiled. "I don't think you're a freak, just unique!" she chirped, lacing her fingers behind her back.
"Yeah, don't listen to them, kid," Kanoth commented from his seat. "Those kids are dumb anyway."
Riley turned to Tali and hugged her tightly, burying his face into the quarian's side. "I wanna go back to the Normandy," he spoke quietly.
"Alright, we're going back," Tali told him softly, running her hand over his fringe. "Sorry if he disturbed you," she told the salarian.
"He's good," Kanoth replied with a slow nod of his head. "He seems to have a good head on his shoulders."
"Bye, Riley," the little asari said as Tali led the hybrid boy away.
Riley didn't say anything, even after he was back on the ship. Almost immediately after the decontamination was done, he bolted inside. Joker tried calling out to him when he boarded, but all Riley wanted to do was go to the room he and his mother shared.
Tali sighed sadly. How was she going to explain this to Shepard and Garrus? "What happened down there?" Joker asked, bringing the quarian's attention to him.
She shook her head. "Kids being kids, being mean to things they don't understand or people that are different," she answered. "I'm going back out to let the others know so they don't go running around looking for him."
After Noveria Mission
Shepard sighed as she entered the decontamination chamber. Garrus was behind her, standing still and silent. He most likely still disapproved her decision to let the rachni queen live. Liara was silent as well, but Shepard knew it was for a completely different reason.
The door finally opened and all three went into the Normandy. "Twenty minutes to clean up, then I want everyone in the debriefing room," she said before the other two left with a nod.
"Hey, Commander," Joker called her over.
"Something wrong?" she asked, approaching him.
"More of a heads-up," he told her. "Riley was out with the others, mainly with Tali, and from what I picked up, he had some trouble out there."
"What kind?" she worriedly asked, hip cocked to the side with one hand on it, the other hanging.
"Some kids were picking on him," the pilot answered. "I doesn't know the whole story, but you may want to check on him first thing."
"Yeah, I'll do that," she said with a nod of her head before patting Joker on the shoulder and walking towards the stairs that would lead to the deck below. A million thoughts stormed in her mind, but she knew better than to jump to conclusions. She had to hear what happened from Riley himself. Her door opened, revealing their quarters almost exactly like she had left it. The only difference was the large lump on Riley's bed, hiding under the covers. She smiled softly and started to playfully call out to him. "Riley? Hmm…I wonder where he is…" As she spoke, she stepped closer to the bed until her hand was on the blanket. In a swift second, she pulled the blanket away, but her smile fell. "Riley, sweetie? What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Riley muttered, not uncurling from his ball position and not looking at her. "I'm fine."
"Riley," she sighed, sitting down on his bed. She gently rubbed his back. "Joker told me something happened. Do you want to tell me what happened?"
A soft sound escaped the boy until he finally uncurled from his fetal position and sat up, but he brought his knees back to his chest. "Am I a freak?" he asked quietly.
"What?" Shepard said in disbelief. "No! What made you think that?"
"Some kids I was playing with saw my hands," he explained lowly. "They called me a deformed freak."
"Riley, look at me," Shepard sternly told him. His blue eyes stared into her. "You are not a freak. Yes, you are different. Yes, there is no one else like you. But what people don't understand is that is the way everyone is. Do you think there are other quarians like Tali, so eager and beyond intelligent with tech? Or asari like Liara, who prefers to spend her maiden days studying Protheans instead of running around like an idiot? Or a krogan like Wrex, someone who is more interested in keeping his species alive than quickening their extinction because he lost hope? Do you think there are other turians like your father, who says 'screw the rules, I'm doing my job whether you like it or not'?
"No, there isn't. Because we are all unique in our own right. We're special in our own way. And if you ask me, being normal is way overrated." She pulled him into her lap, her hands rubbing his upper arms. "What we are doesn't make us who we are. We become who we chose to be. Our decisions make us who we are." A small smile came to her lips. "I actually met someone new today, and she showed me something. Her entire species was brought to extinction because they were thought to be dangerous. And at first, I thought they were, too. But she said some things that made me realize that maybe she's different. Can I condemn her to death, her species back to extinction, because of what her ancestors had done? That's like calling all humans cavemen, or calling krogans mercenaries."
"There are a lot of krogan mercs," Riley pointed out.
Shepard chuckled. "Yeah, I know. But you understand what I'm telling you, right?"
He nodded slowly. "I understand."
Normandy - Cargo Bay – After Debriefing (And hanging up on Council…Again)
Garrus looked over when he heard the elevator stop. The door raised to reveal Shepard looking around the area before stepping out and heading towards him. "Hey," she greeted.
"Hey, yourself," he answered back.
"You're not still upset about the rachni queen, are you?" she asked lowly.
Garrus shook his head. "No," he replied with a heavy sigh. "I don't understand you, but after all this, I trust you. I just hope you're ready for this to bite you in the ass one day."
She chuckled. "I got used to my decisions biting me in the ass a long time ago," she pointed out, leaning against the Mako. "But I have a good feeling about this one."
Garrus rolled his eyes before going back to the console. "Something on your mind?" he asked.
She sighed heavily, crossing her eyes as her gaze dropped to the floor. "Do you ever regret?"
"Regret what? I need a little clarification."
There was a slight pause before she finally looked at him. "Riley."
Garrus ceased what he was doing before turning to look at her. "What?" he asked in shock. "Maybe I regret the way he was conceived, but no. I don't regret him!" He looked at her for a moment. "Do you?"
She shook her head. "He's my treasure," she told him. "I love him with all my heart, as any mother would. But sometimes, I think it's a little unfair to him."
"What is?"
A heavy sigh escaped the human. "While we were at Peak 15, Riley was playing with some other children," she started. "Tali was watching over him at the time. She said that things were fine for a while, until they noticed his hands. The other turian children called him deformed, a freak…unnatural." She was silent for a moment then lowered her head again. "Humans are prejudice, even to our own species, not to mention to aliens. We see something we don't understand and it's shoot first, questions later. And we think we're all that. Probably what started the First Contact war. Showed us, yet we're still trying to take over. But we're also curious. If a human sees Riley, find out that he's a hybrid of two different amino acid based life forms, he'll be taken away and locked in a lab, forever a experiment. Forever a lab rat."
"And if a turian finds out what he is, well, that won't exactly be pretty either," Garrus commented. "May end up doing the same thing, if not worse."
"Nothing is worse than being locked away forever and being experimented on," Shepard scoffed. "Even death would be better, merciful. Anyway, those kids on Noveria…it really tore him up a bit. The only ones who defended him were a salarian teenager and an asari girl. I know he appreciates that, but I think he was also hoping to be accepted by others. To be honest, I thought turians would accept him better than humans would. He could fit into turian society better than a human one since he took more after you than me."
Garrus chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, he did at that."
"But those kids…Garrus, do you know how many years I have been trying to have him accept himself for who he is, never mind what he is?"
"We both have, Shepard," he admitted, his mandibles twitching. "I'll confess, when he was with me on the Citadel, I was really overprotective of him. And I felt bad for isolating him from other children."
"I don't blame you," she stated with a small twitch of her lips.
"But just like you know how humans would react to him, I know how turians would react," he continued, shaking his head. "We're a hard bunch to please. I knew that if anyone, child or adult, notices his unique features, he would only be isolated even more. Other turians won't accept him. Most deformed children are actually killed, sometimes by their own parents. They always have some sort of health problem and short life expectancy anyway, but it's not just that."
"You're thinking of someone in particular," Shepard pointed out.
He nodded. "I have an aunt, my mom's sister," he started. "I was supposed to have a cousin, but when he was born…he had no plates on him. The doctors tried to put fake plating on to protect him from the radiation, thinking maybe it'll grow on its own. But he also had heart problems, was in an incubator for the first five months of his life. Then he just kept getting sick, weak immune system. My uncle thought it was best to just…end it all. My aunt was heart broken, but he eventually convinced her."
"They killed their own baby?" Shepard asked in shock, her voice nothing more than a whisper.
Garrus gave her a single nod of his head. "To turians, deformed means problems. Unnatural means problems. I know Riley's perfectly fine, healthy. He may not be natural, but with us as his parents, who would expect him to be?" He let out slight huff that sounded like he was holding back a short laugh. "He may be natural anyway. How are we supposed to really know? He's the first human-turian child there is. If it were possible and more were born, I'm sure he would be considered normal."
"Try convincing him of that," Shepard sighed, pushing away from the tank. "Joker told me something happened. I went to go check on Riley, find out what did happen. Do you know the first thing he asked me was?" Garrus shook his head, blue eyes trained onto her. "He asked me if he was a freak."
"And what did you tell him?" Garrus asked, head tilting to the side a little bit.
"What I always tell him," she answered. "He's not. It's not what he is that matters, but who he is and what he does."
"I suppose that's all that can be said," he sighed with a shake of his head. He looked at the tank before perking up a little bit, his mandibles flaring out slightly. "I think I have an idea to cheer him up, if he's still down."
Shepard looked at him with a raised eyebrow before looking at the tank, then smirked and nodded at the turian. "Anywhere in particular?"
"First planet with nice scenery and breathable air we come across," he said, turning towards his terminal. "Maybe we can go to… Ontarom? It's a ways off, but I think it'll be enough to take his mind off Noveria."
The commander nodded her head a couple times. "Sounds good. I'll have Joker set a course. I think everyone could use a breather, anyway."
"I feel an 'and' coming along as well," Garrus pointed out, looking at her over his shoulder.
"And that information we found on Noveria may have peeked my interest…as well as what Hackett told me not too long ago."
"After the debriefing, I assume?"
Shepard nodded once. "Scientist on some kind of secret mission…one concerning Akuze…something doesn't smell right, Garrus."
"Then we can deal with that," the turian commented with a wave of his hand. "Get that done and out of the way, give you a bit of closure. Then afterwards, we can find a nice, safe, flat piece of land and everyone, especially Riley, can come out, relax, and do whatever they want. I think it would make a nice little family outing."
"Family outing, huh?" Shepard teased, picking up on those words.
"I- I mean…" He let out a small, awkward cough.
"Relax, Garrus, I'm just playing," she giggled behind her hand. "Who would have thought you were so awkward?"
"Well, um…it just kind of…um…slipped out?" he managed to say with a small shrug.
"You're blowing it!" Wrex yelled out from across the room, earning a weird look from Ashley.
"Shut up, Wrex!" Garrus yelled back. "Quit eavesdropping!"
"Not my fault you're so loud and pathetic, youngling!" the scarred krogan shot back. "Like a little pyjak!"
Garrus stared at the krogan before looking at Shepard. "Can we tie him up and throw him into some deep, dark hole while we're on Ontarom?"
Shepard laughed gently, unable to hold it in anymore.
Liara's Room
Riley waved to Dr. Chakwas as he passed her in the MedBay, continuing on his way to Liara's quarters. Pressing the button by the door, the entrance opened for him to pass through, then close once he was inside. He noticed Liara was at her desk, as usual, but was hunched over and her shoulders shaking. He thought he heard her sniffle every few seconds.
Momentarily stunned, Riley looked back and forth between the datapad of Liara's research on Protheans to the door, wondering if he should just leave it somewhere she can find it easily and leave her to her distress. Then he shook his head, chewing himself out. Liara's a friend, and she needs someone. He didn't doubt his mother had already been down here, but most likely, Liara acted as though she was not bothered.
So with a deep inhale, he approached her, gently placing the pad on her desk before touching her arm. Liara jumped with a gasp, her blue eyes on his before wiping away her tears. "Oh, Riley," she said with a low voice. "I am sorry. I did not hear you enter."
"I'm sneaky like that," he joked, earning a small smile from the asari. "Auntie Liara? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I am just…attempting to…cope with the last mission," she answered, still wiping her tears.
"Mom told me about the rachni queen. But I don't think that's why you were crying," he pointed out. "What happened?"
"It is complicated," she sighed, finally placing her hands over each other on the desk.
"And yet, you still need to talk," Riley argued, pulling himself up onto her desk and sitting there, looking at her with a tilted head. "Mom and Dad always said that talking about bad experiences helps to make you feel better. And I think you need to talk about what happened."
Liara chuckled with a slow shake of her head. "I suppose it would help," she caved in. "We met my mother on Noveria. She was retrieving information about the Mu Relay from the rachni queen. Only she was not getting that information for herself, but for Saren. You were right before, Riley. Something did go wrong. She said Saren's flagship, Sovereign, has a power to indoctrinate. My mother was indoctrinated, she had spent too much time on that ship. Before Sovereign's indoctrination took over her completely, she sealed part of her mind away. And she managed to speak with us."
"Were you able to help her?" Riley asked.
Liara lowered her head, tears threatening to spill once more. "Even with that part of her mind sealed away, she could still hear Saren's voice in her mind. Soon, she was completely under his control. We had to kill her."
Shocked by the confession, Riley just didn't know what to say. He slipped off the desk then approached Liara's side, wrapping his small arms around her. Liara shook with sobs again.
"She said she was always proud of me," she went on. "She called me 'Little Wing' before she died. Goddess, why did she have to die?"
"I'm sorry, Liara," Riley tried. "I can't say I understand, because I don't. But I bet that she's still watching over you. That's what mom's do. No matter where they are, they're always watching over us and protecting us. And at least you got to hear your mom say how much she loved you."
Still sniffling, Liara wiped her eyes again. "Thank you, Riley," she choked out. "Your mother already came to check on me, but I did not want to seem weak in front of her. So thank you for being here."
"You're welcome," Riley whispered, still hugging the sobbing asari.
Ontarom
"Dad's right, you're a crazy driver!" Riley exclaimed as his mother drove the Mako up a mountain.
"Yet you sound quite happy about that," Kaidan commented from his spot next to the young hybrid.
"Riley, will you sit down before you get hurt while your mother does these crazy stunts?" Garrus asked, earning a smack on the arm from Shepard.
"Relax, I know what I'm doing," Shepard said with a smile as the Mako finally reached the top of the mountain. "Riley, buckle up."
"Why?" Riley asked.
"Shepard, don't!" Garrus and Kaidan protested.
"Blast off!" the woman cheered, activating the thrusters. Riley threw his hands up happily, letting out his own cheerful yell as the Mako fell. Before it hit the ground, the commander activated the thrusters once more to soften the landing.
"Shepard!" Kaidan yelled once the Mako stopped moving. "Are you trying to get us killed?!"
"Kaidan, the stick up your ass is starting to rival a turian's, no offense, Garrus," she stated, throwing at grin at the alien next to her.
"Do that again!" Riley encouraged. "Can we do that again? That was so much fun!"
"And your kid is crazy," Kaidan groaned as the Mako drove forward again.
"Hey," Garrus growled.
"He doesn't mean it like that, Garrus," she assured the irritated turian. "Kaidan, relax."
"Hey, Mom?" Riley spoke up, looking at the scanner in front of his father. "There's a building over there."
Inhaling deeply, Shepard nodded. "We'll have to go up a little bit," she explained. "Riley, this will probably be dangerous, so I want you to stay inside the tank. The shields are at max and there's no damage-"
"Yet," Garrus added, earning another hit.
"So it'll be safer for you in here," she finished. "We'll just run in, find out what's going on, fix the problem, and get out. Then we can have some fun. Deal?"
"Deal," Riley said, mandibles fluttering slightly as the Mako tilted, driving up the side of the mountain they just jumped down from. "Can we jump off more mountains?"
"Sure," Shepard chirped.
"No!" the other two loudly argued.
"Oh, you guys are spoiling all the fun!" Riley pouted at his father.
Garrus blinked at him before looking at Shepard. "When he's old enough to drive, remind me to stay off whatever planet he's on and warn the inhabitants."
"Just because he looks a lot like you doesn't mean there isn't any of me in him," Shepard stated as the Mako leveled out in front of the building. "Oh shit…mercs…"
Before she could say or do anything, explosions went off near the mercenaries, blow them to pieces and leaving noticeable burn marks on the ground. "Hey, Dad, the calibrations on the Mako's cannon work just fine!"
"Maybe a little too well," Garrus shrugged as Shepard slipped out of the tank with a shake of her head. "Stay in the tank, Riley."
"Sir, yes, sir!" Riley shouted, saluting his chuckling father as he and Kaidan exited the tank. Riley scrambled into the driver's seat, watching the trio through the window as they entered the building.
Riley sighed and leaned back into the seat his mother vacated, still warm from her body heat. The Mako vibrated as the engine continued to idle, the controls still lit up and scanner still glowing brightly. Unfortunately, he did not bring anything with him to occupy either his hands or his mind. His blue eyes darted around until finally landing on the controls for the cannon.
He climbed back to his original spot before pulling up the schematics for the cannon. Line by line, it was examined before his fingers flew over the holographic keyboard. He wasn't aware of how much time had passed as the numbers were altered, the formulas for the cannon's power improved and stabilized. The doors suddenly opened, making Riley jump with a startled shout.
"Whoa, Riley, give us a heart attack, why don't you?" Kaidan joked with a smile, hand on his chest as Garrus shook his head.
"Sorry," he said. "I was too focused." He closed down the program and inhaled deeply. "So what happened? How'd it go?"
All three adults took their seats in the Mako, though instead of his mother driving, it was his father. "Well enough," Garrus answered, looking at Shepard.
"What happened?" Riley pressed on.
Shepard sighed. "Remember when I told you about Akuze?" she asked him.
"Yeah," the hybrid answered. He remembered that well enough.
He was only supposed to be with his father for a few days, maybe a week, while his mother was on another ship doing some kind of mission. Two weeks passed before he finally got a hold of Anderson, who had been trying to pry information out of Hackett. Shortly after, Anderson came to Garrus's apartment and told both of them that Shepard was in the hospital, the only survivor of a thresher maw attack on Akuze. He remembered her telling him about it, how long it took for her to recover and return to active duty. Riley and Garrus both visited her regularly during her stay at the hospital.
"Well," she said lowly. "I'm not the only survivor, but the other one was taken by the people responsible for the attack."
"I thought it was just a freak accident," Riley pointed out. After all, no one could prove otherwise. The squad was just over a maw nest or too close to one.
"It wasn't," Kaidan carried on for Shepard. "Apparently, Cerberus had the whole thing planned out."
"They drew my squad to that spot," his mother explained with fury hidden in her voice. "Then just sat back and watched as everyone was slaughtered, taking notes on the thresher maw's behavior. Corporal Toombs survived as well, but they took him and ran sick experiments on him." She dropped her head into his open hands. "Damn it all! I so badly wanted to shoot that damn scientist myself! I so badly wanted to just step back and let Toombs deal with it himself!"
Garrus reached over and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. She lifted her head and stared at him. "You did the right thing talking Toombs down," he assured her as Riley left his seat and got into her lap. "Granted, I would probably have shot the scientist, but now he'll face justice and be able to give some kind of information as to what Cerberus is doing so something like Akuze or Admiral Kahoku don't happen again."
"I hope he gets what he deserves," she spat out as her arms wrapped around Riley, who was currently nuzzling under her chin to try and comfort her. "Thanks, baby."
The four were silent for a little while, Garrus carefully navigating the rocky terrain to make the ride as smooth as he possibly could. As soon as they were off the side of the mountain, Riley looked over at his father. "Now can we find someplace to relax for a while?" he asked, knowing his mother needed some form of peace.
"Yeah," Garrus answered before looking at Shepard, his thought process similar to Riley's. "Want to call Joker and tell him to land the Normandy for a bit? I think everyone would enjoy some fresh air."
Shepard nodded. "Find a spot and I'll call him."
It did not take the turian long once he had the Mako on even ground. Looking over the scanner, he made his way to the largest plain he could find in the cleared area. Everyone was quiet during the drive, Shepard having too much on her mind and the others not wanting to say anything that could set her off. Finally, Garrus stopped the Mako and nodded to his commander.
With a small smile, she radioed Joker to land the Normandy and inform the crew that they were taking a break for a few hours. Not long after, the large ship came into view, finding a safe place to land without any problems. Once the Normandy was on the ground, the cargo doors opened and people started coming out. The four in the Mako climbed out, Riley stretching as much as his body could once his feet were on the grass.
"So what brought this on?" Ashley asked, walking up to the four.
"Just thought everyone could use a breather," Shepard replied with a small smile and a shrug. "It'll only be a few hours, so try to enjoy yourself, Ash."
"Yes, ma'am," Ashley laughed gently. "But is it a good idea? I mean, Saren does have a head start on us."
"It's just for a few hours, not a few weeks," Garrus pointed out. "We can all use it."
"I agree," Liara commented as she approached. "It would be nice to not be running around the galaxy chasing after a madman."
"At the least, we can still think of a plan of action," Kaidan stated, earning a nod from Ashley.
"Work later, relaxation now," Shepard sighed playfully with a slow shake of her head.
Unable to stay still anymore, Riley took off. Four pairs of eyes watched him run around, dodging the crew as they started to bring out items of entertainment.
"Well someone's excited," Garrus chuckled as Riley ran around, yelling happily.
"Can you blame him?" Shepard replied with a small smile. Ashley and Kaidan had already walked over to one of the crates to investigate the possessions it held. "He spends so much time on a ship that I'm surprised he hasn't gone crazy by now."
"Well…alright, yeah, I can't say anything about that," Garrus chuckled as Riley ran to Wrex, jumping onto the krogan's back. "Though let's just hope no alcohol is involved. He may not survive a drunk krogan."
Shepard let out a soft laugh. "Hey, Garrus?" she spoke softly, looking up at the turian. "Thanks for being there earlier. I really do appreciate it."
"Any time," Garrus replied, trying to sound calm.
"Hey, Riley!" Tali suddenly called out, running after the young hybrid. "Let go of Wrex! He is not something for you to ride!"
"But it's fun!" Riley shouted back. "Run, Uncle Wrex! Run!"
Both Shepard and Garrus watched with amusement as the large red krogan ran by, Riley practically on top of his hump. "How often do you see that?" Garrus asked curiously.
"Not often," Shepard giggled. "You know, I think you were right about what to call this."
"What do you mean?" the turian asked, looking back down at her.
"We're just one big, crazy family," she noted. "It's…nice."
Letting out a low hum, Garrus shifted slightly, his arm gently brushing against Shepard's. "That it is," he agreed with a nod. "That we are."
Here Chapter Four Ends
I hope this is long enough and I am sorry for making everyone wait so long. Please review and tell me what you think! ^^ Don't hesitate to ask questions!