As Shepard and Garrus came through the CIC, EDI informed them, "Commander, Tali was looking for you—" and then the elevator door opened and there was Tali herself, wringing her hands, about as agitated as Garrus had ever seen her.

"What's wrong?" he said immediately.

"Shepard! I was just looking for you. I need to go back to the Flotilla."

"Why?" Shepard stepped into the elevator. "Come on up to my quarters and tell us what's going on. Unless you mind Garrus knowing."

"No, of course not," she said, looking from one to the other. "I can take a commercial flight, but I didn't want to leave without telling you."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Shepard. "The Normandy can take you, assuming they'll let us approach. I know there's some bad blood with Cerberus."

"I think it would be all right," Tali said doubtfully. She was clasping her hands together so tightly that Garrus was half afraid she'd rupture her own suit. He put an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned against him, her slim body visibly tense.

"Okay," said Shepard when they'd reached his quarters. "What's the problem?"

"I just heard from the Admiralty Board today. I have to report for a... they're charging me with treason."

"What?" said Shepard.

Garrus snapped, "That's impossible."

"I know! They must have a reason, but I can't think what I could have done." Tali gulped.

Garrus looked at Shepard, who nodded, and Garrus steered her over to the couch while Shepard opened up the stock of dextro liquor. She sat heavily onto the couch. "I... oh, thank you." She took the drink Shepard offered, and clicked it into the correct suit aperture. Shepard handed another to Garrus.

He took a sip. "Tali, no one who really knew you could ever think you were a traitor." The mere idea made him feel a cold thread of rage he hadn't felt since sniping thugs on Omega.

"We know how much you care about your people, about the Fleet," Shepard added, sitting down with his own glass. "This has to be some kind of mistake. Has your father contacted you?"

"No, but since there's an official proceeding, he might not be allowed to contact me until it's resolved."

Garrus asked, "Have they told you any details of the accusation?"

"No. The details are confidential, they wouldn't send them on an insecure channel."

"So you don't even get a chance to prepare your defense?" he demanded. Tali shook her head.

"That's bullshit," Shepard announced. "Of course we'll take you. This has to be a mistake, but I'm not going to leave you to deal with this mess alone. Send Joker the coordinates for the Migrant Fleet. We'll head out there right away."

"Thank you," she whispered. "I really didn't expect you to go so far out of your way."

"Don't be silly," said Shepard.

Garrus added, "You know we'll back you up."

They talked for a while, trying to work through the problem. Tali had undertaken a number of missions for the Flotilla over the last couple of years.

"Do you think this is about Haestrom?" asked Shepard. "Or Freedom's Progress?"

Tali said, uncertainly, "I don't see how. Neither of those missions went smoothly, but I don't think anything I did there rose to the level of treason. But I can't think what else it could be. I've done a lot of geth investigation, some errands for my father, some other missions for the Flotilla, and none of them seemed like problems at the time."

Gradually Tali calmed down a little, started sounding slightly tipsy, and eventually fell asleep, leaning on Garrus's shoulder.

Shepard sighed. "I hate to wake her. You think she'll be okay on the couch?"

Garrus looked down at her, a slight weight against him. "She might be more comfortable in her own bed. I can take her."

"All right." Shepard rubbed his eyes. "Ugh, it's really late. We should all get some sleep."

"Yeah." Garrus stood and picked up Tali, careful of her suit connections. "Sleep well, Shepard. See you tomorrow."

"You too."

Tali was totally out. She didn't stir at all as he took her into the elevator and down to the row of little cabins. He was briefly stymied by the amount of encryption she'd placed on her door lock, but managed to get through it by using her own omni-tool, since she'd fallen asleep with it turned on. She sighed and turned over when he settled her into the bunk. He stepped back and watched her for a moment. She'd been through enough lately; she didn't deserve this crap. The Admiralty Board had better have a good reason for their accusations.


They didn't.

The Migrant Fleet was an annoyingly long way from anywhere. It was an impressive sight, from the sheer number of ships involved, until you got close enough to see how small or antiquated or battered most of them were. They were headed for the Rayya, one of the larger ships, which provided food for the rest of the fleet. It was also Tali's ship of origin.

Tali intended at first to go alone. "No way," said Shepard. "What if you need backup? I'm coming, and you can pick one other person."

Garrus said, "If you don't let me come, it's going to hurt my feelings, Tali. You don't want that, do you?"

She laughed, faintly. "No, that would be terrible. Imagine all the sulking everyone else would have to put up with."

"I don't sulk."

"Brooding, then."

Once aboard the Rayya, Garrus rapidly came to the conclusion that quarian politics were at least as nasty as every other kind. Possibly worse. Tali's so-called trial was nothing but an opportunity for grandstanding on the geth issue. Admiral Raan, for all Tali considered her family, seemed to him the worst of the lot. She'd let Tali walk into this situation without any warning: her father dead, geth aboard one of the Fleet's vessels, and Tali herself charged with sending active geth parts. If anything had gone wrong with the geth, Garrus was willing to bet a significant sum of credits that the problem lay with Rael'Zorah, not with Tali. As far as he could tell, Raan hardly even had a stake in the admirals' ongoing quarrel.

As it turned out, it was good that Shepard had come, since he was the only advocate Tali was going to get. He was, of course, seriously disadvantaged by not knowing the people, the law, or the culture, disadvantages a quarian captain would not have had. The entire tribunal was engineered to work against her. Garrus had to content himself with glaring at the various admirals. Since he had to wear his helmet, that wasn't even an effective intimidation tactic. In spite of the wide berth the rest of the quarians were giving him, he was dissatisfied. He really wanted to shoot something.

"Right," said Shepard as the tribunal dispersed. "All we have to do is fight our way through a ship crawling with geth, find some data, come back, and persuade the admirals to see reason. Easy, right?"

Garrus said, "Well, fighting geth is always fun. Just like old times."

He couldn't see Shepard's face very well in his helmet, but the skin around his eyes crinkled. "Sure thing. Let me go talk to the admirals first, see if I can get something out of them." Garrus nodded, and Shepard departed into the crowd.

Tali was very quiet. The news about her father had obviously hit her hard. Garrus rather hoped Rael'Zorah was still alive. Not only for Tali's sake, but because he'd like to tell the man what he thought of him. How anyone could raise such a smart, brave, resourceful daughter and treat her as Rael did was beyond him. He put his arm around her quivering shoulders, to offer what support he could. She leaned against his side, very slightly. He wasn't always this casual about physical contact, but it seemed entirely natural to touch Tali, and she didn't seem to mind.

She seemed a little off her game throughout the mission. Not badly, just a little erratic, a little too slow to react, a little too quick to move forward. And she and Shepard kept arguing about the geth situation and the quarian homeworld, leaving Garrus to actually pay attention to their surroundings. She was certain she'd only sent inactive geth parts to her father, and what information they could find didn't indicate anything different.

And then they found one male quarian body at the entrance to a corridor, and Tali's reaction made it more than clear they'd found her father. Garrus almost reached for her when she started sobbing, but Shepard beat him to it. He sighed quietly inside his helmet and turned away from them, keeping a watch for incoming geth. The whole situation irritated him, and he wasn't sure which grated more: the admirals' callous use of Tali, Rael's foolish experimentation on geth, or Rael's neglectful treatment of an extraordinary young woman. Tali deserved better from her only surviving parent.

He wished he'd actually had someone to take that bet when they finally found the incriminating evidence. It gave him the most real pleasure he'd had all day. They had Rael dead to rights. They could prove it was he who'd planned and orchestrated the geth experiments, and... was Tali actually arguing that they shouldn't use it? Was she actually defending him? Trying to preserve his reputation at the expense of her own? He caught her elbow as they returned to their shuttle, and hissed, "What are you doing?"

"He's my father, Garrus," she said, her voice thick.

"He's dead, and you're not, and we came here to prevent them from exiling you."

She flinched, and he regretted his sharp words for a moment. "I know," she said, her voice shaking. "I know that's why we came here. But it's different now, can't you see that? His reputation... everything he's done for the fleet... It's about his honor, Garrus. You can understand that, can't you?"

Rael's behavior was dishonorable, as far as he was concerned. Garrus thought about his own father, and whether he would sacrifice his reputation to preserve his father's... well, Garrus's reputation couldn't be worth much in the Hierarchy these days, anyway, after leaving C-Sec and disappearing for two years. He sighed. "All right. I get it. If you're sure this is what you want."

"I'm sure." She turned to him and put her hands on his shoulders. "Please don't make this harder for me."

"Whatever you need," he said. "I'm here for you."

She closed her eyes. "Thank you. That... means a lot to me. More than you know."

It played out exactly as he feared. Without the evidence, Shepard couldn't make a good enough case, and the Admiralty Board voted to exile her. Tali said her farewells to a few friends, and the three of them returned to the Normandy in silence.


Tali headed down to engineering, saying something vague about getting back to work, even though she wasn't usually on-shift at this hour.

As soon as she was gone, Shepard pounded one fist against the bulkhead and swore. "I just didn't think she'd ever forgive me if I used that evidence."

"You're probably right," Garrus agreed.

"It's all such a waste. They're so focused on the geth. If they devoted even half the attention to restarting somewhere else that they do to the geth, they'd be much better off."

"Mm." Garrus supposed he ought to have an opinion on the subject, but was having a hard time making himself care much one way or the other.

Shepard elbowed him. "You took some dings in the armor again."

"Yeah, I'll drop it off for repairs. I'm fine."

"Right. I'm going to get cleaned up."

He had a shower himself and changed, and stood before the elevator, irresolute. It was late. Should he try to get some work done? Go up to see Shepard? Or... he hit the button marked "down." He just wasn't sure Tali should be alone right now.

The lower deck appeared deserted at first, but he finally spotted her at the end of the walkway leading to the drive core, sitting on the floor, arms around her knees. He called softly, "Tali?"

"I'm all right," she said, not sounding at all like herself.

"I can tell you're not," he said, coming down to join her.

"I still can't quite believe they exiled me."

He felt a moment's irritation that she'd let it happen, but it faded in the face of her obvious unhappiness. "Politics," he said, darkly. "It's not about you. It's about the geth and the homeworld and their own agendas."

She was silent. Then she said, "I can't believe my father..." and her voice gave out. Garrus sat next to her and put his arms around her, and she sagged into him, sobbing. He felt helpless to comfort her as her chest heaved and wet, broken noises emerged from her helmet, so he simply held her, letting her cry as long as she needed to. Eventually her sobs subsided, to little hiccuping sounds, and she said in a thick voice, "I thought one day he'd finally tell me he was proud of me."

He knew very well how that felt, and held her tighter. Tali shouldn't ever have to think she wasn't good enough. He laughed a little, bitterly. "For some people, nothing is ever good enough. They don't see you. They see some vision of who they think you are, what they think you should want."

She shifted around and put her arms around his chest, hugging back. Her head drooped against his shoulder. "I just don't know what to do now. I can't go back to the Flotilla. Quarians are unwelcome so many places, I don't know where I'll go."

She couldn't mean to leave now, could she? The mission needed her; Shepard needed her. Why would she go anywhere? He tightened his grip, as if he could keep her. "What are you talking about? You belong here."

She said, "Sure, for now. But what about later? This mission isn't going to last forever, and who knows what will happen afterward. I just—" She made an odd noise in her throat. "—I don't know where I fit! Even if I weren't exiled, I don't know if I'd want to deal with Fleet politics any more, and outside the Fleet there are only a handful of people I really know and trust..."

Garrus was baffled. Why was she acting as if she'd have to leave the Normandy? Didn't she want to stay? There were only a handful of people he trusted, either. She was one of them, and the idea that she wanted to get away from them burned. He burst out, "Tali, I don't fit anywhere either. I haven't been home in over three years, and my father's all but disowned me. Shepard has no family, and is cast out of the Alliance. Why shouldn't the three of us stick together? You don't have to go anywhere, no matter what happens."

She surprised him by jerking away and pulling herself to her feet. "Do you think I don't see how you look at each other?" she asked, taking a few strides away. He tensed to go after her, but she turned back. "I don't want to be just an... an extra, Garrus!" She continued pacing, short, jerky steps. "I need to belong somewhere, not be an outsider in somebody else's love affair."

The full impact of what she was saying finally hit him. She knew. How had she possibly... he cast his mind back, but couldn't remember saying anything to her... surely Shepard wouldn't have... had they done anything inappropriate in her presence?

She had stopped moving and had cocked her head at him, hands on her hips. "What?" she snapped.

"I... didn't realize you knew." He looked away, feeling self-conscious, wishing again that he had a better sense of where he and Shepard stood, so he could explain better. "I thought we'd been pretty discreet."

Tali's sigh was loud and exaggerated, the kind she made when she was teasing him. He darted a glance back toward her. "Well, I know you better than most of the crew does. And I..." she hesitated.

He felt an odd flutter in his chest as he took in her stance: hips cocked to one side, fists on hips, slightly turned to highlight her silhouette, the pronounced curve of her waist and hip. He'd seen similar poses before. Mostly from women talking to Shepard: human women, sometimes asari. From Tali, even, back on the first Normandy. She wasn't... she couldn't possibly be... posing for... him? Just a little? He stood and took a step toward her. She didn't move. "You what?" he prompted.

"You're my best friends," she said, and added, in a rush, "And I should be happy for you and I am, partly, but you have something I'm not part of and I hate it, I hate feeling like an outsider, it feels so unfair. You have each other, and I can't go home to the Fleet, and I don't have anybody..."

While she spoke, his heart pounded, and he had an odd feeling of something sliding into place, like finally closing a case, or solving an equation he'd been beating his head against for days. He acted on impulse, as he had when he first touched Shepard. Just like before, maybe it wasn't smart, but it felt right. He crossed to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. He said, "What if you could be part of it?"

Up close, he could actually see her expression through her faceplate as she frowned. "What are you saying?"

He hesitated, wondering if he was reading her wrong, or if he should have talked to Shepard first. "I shouldn't speak for Shepard. But I... I'd like it if you were with us. I think we belong together, Tali, you, and Shepard, and I. I'm sorry, I didn't realize you felt... left out. If I did, I could have..." He wasn't quite sure what he would have done, but he hated the idea that she'd been feeling neglected and excluded.

Her frown deepened. "You'd better not be just saying this out of pity, Garrus Vakarian."

Was she... accepting? "No!" he said hastily, and realized he genuinely meant it. "I really... I mean, we should talk to Shepard..." It was Shepard whose little game had prompted him to think about Tali... intimately, after all. He'd probably think it was funny, especially after Garrus had been irritated with the idea that Shepard might want another partner. He hoped Shepard wouldn't be upset. He sighed, wondering why he was willingly introducing further complications to his life, and fidgeted with his visor. "I'm not good at this stuff," he admitted.

"What stuff? Talking?" There was laughter in her voice, which seemed far more normal, and she slipped her arms around him and leaned into him, soft and supple against his chest. He held her again, tightening his hold as much as he dared, liking the feeling of her against him. "You never seemed to have difficulty talking before," she said, still sounding amused.

He laughed back. "The problem is the emotional stuff. You can ask Shepard."

Her arms tightened. "You're lucky you're kind of adorable."

He was torn between amusement and embarrassment, and tried to think of some way to tease her back. "Uh... thanks, Tali. That's... totally not emasculating, at all. Wait a minute!" He looked at her sternly. "I thought the mere suggestion that we were together was so ridiculous you had to laugh. A lot." That night at Eternity seemed surprisingly long ago.

"Aw, did I hurt your feelings?" She tilted her head as she looked up at him, and then laid her hand against his face. She said softly, "I changed my mind."


Freshly showered and changed, Shepard paced. He'd started on the mission report, but hadn't gotten very far. He was still pissed, and the report ought to be something other than ranting about the stupidity of the quarian admirals. What a nest of vipers, even the ones who'd claimed to be Tali's friends. Nothing really mattered to them but the damn geth and their own dirty laundry. And with her father's death, she had to be pretty upset herself; he should really go see if she was all right. He asked EDI for Tali's current location, and headed down to the drive core.

The elevator took its usual sweet time. He drummed his fingers against the wall. The deck seemed quiet when he arrived, although he heard a ripple of voices, one light and one lower. They came into relief when he stepped through the door into the engineering section.

Garrus's unmistakable voice was saying, "... so ridiculous that you had to laugh. A lot."

"Aw, did I hurt your feelings?"

Shepard paused, momentarily thrown off. Tali sounded a lot more relaxed than he'd feared, though he wasn't surprised that Garrus had come down to check on her.

Tali's voice grew softer as she continued. "I changed my mind."

That sounded... more intimate than he was expecting. Changed her mind about what? Suddenly, Shepard felt strangely like an intruder. His feet moved him forward anyway, on autopilot, and he had just enough wits to announce his presence. "Tali? Are you okay? Oh, there you are." He took in the pair in front of him: her hand on his face, his arms around her. But Garrus looked up and met his eyes calmly, even with a touch of relief, so he felt reassured that there was no need to worry. He asked lightly, "Am I missing out on something here?"

Tali tensed and turned, looking nervous. Garrus was the one who spoke, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Actually, Tali was feeling left out. I thought we should talk to you about it."

Shepard looked from one to the other, wondering if they were really suggesting what they seemed to be. Tali. With him and Garrus. They were two of his favorite people in the galaxy... all right, pretty much exactly his two favorite people in the galaxy, so... yes, if they could figure out how to make it work. Relief mingled with a sense of possibility and affection, and he smiled. He stepped forward and hugged Tali; Garrus, over her shoulder, smiled and touched his arm. Shepard said, "Really? Yeah, we should talk about that."


Author's Note: If the dialogue looks familiar here, you probably saw it in "Belonging", ch. 3. You're just seeing it from other POVs now. With this the two storylines come together. I wasn't really planning on rewriting the sex scene from ch. 4 of "Belonging" here (though I suppose I could be persuaded). I'd originally planned to conclude this story here, but I think there's more to come. It's just not quite written yet, so it's possible the next chapter will take longer than a week to post.