(This chapter was massive after I edited it so I broke it into two, 9 and 9.5)
Shepard's Timeline:
The medical crew rushed off with Grunt, leaving her standing in the docking bay. She may as well check in with Kaiden and Thane while she was here, both of them had emailed her wanting to meet. She set off towards the elevator when a familiar voice called her name. She turned and her eyes went wide.
"Miranda?" She blinked. It wasn't safe for her to be on the citadel, not with Cerberus going crazy. While she was never truly a fan, she understood the changes you went through when in command. It could change the real you, if you let it.
"Its been far too long." She smiled, "I couldn't get near you while you were locked up."
"Well, thanks for trying." She said with half a laugh. They spoke of earth, her sister, and that Miranda was in trouble, but the woman wouldn't give her any details. Shepard offered her peripheral support, doing her best not to pry though her curiosity was piqued, and to let her know if she needed anything. She waved farewell and set off to the hospital.
She stopped in with Kaiden first. It was good to see him up. She'd been starting to wonder if she'd ever get to speak to him again. They spoke awkwardly for a bit before Kaiden looked at her intently.
"What?" She raised an eyebrow, "You're staring at me like I've got a spider on my face."
"I just wanna know… after Horizon, after Mars… you and me, we're good, right?" She could tell it was uncomfortable for him to ask. She smiled.
"Yeah, we're good. It was great to have you back on the Normandy." She smiled. "Oh, I got you this." She handed him the bottle of doctor approved whisky. He smiled and thanked her, promising they'd drink it when he was out. She encouraged him to be a spectre, he'd make an excellent spectre. After a moment, he grew quiet again.
"You know, I haven't been wrong about Cerberus… but I've been wrong about you. I owed you better than that, and I'm sorry."
"Thanks, Kaiden; that means a lot." She smiled and they shared a moment of peaceful silence before her omni-tool pinged, "I'd better get back to it, you'd get better quick so I can go back to tossing you on the front lines."
"Yeah," He laughed, "Will do."
She turned to leave the hospital and saw a very familiar Drell punching the air near a window. She smiled and approached him.
"Thane!" She smiled, "Good to see you staying in shape. How have you been?"
She was glad to hear he was keeping in touch with Kolyat, that boy needed help and she was glad Thane was here to give it. She'd have to remember to thank Bailey again. She caught up with him a bit, he promised to protect Kaiden, and she dismissed herself after thanking him for trying to send messages, and promising to stay in touch.
As much as she wanted to stay and catch up, she had a lot to do, and it was still just the beginning.
Traynor called out to her as she entered the CIC. "Commander, do you have a minute? I've picked up something unusual."
She reported the fake Turian signal coming from Grissom Academy. Those Cerberus bastards wanted everyone to think that the students were safe and sound while they took over the academy, doing god knows what to them. She set course for it immediately. The cure was nearly ready. They had time to save Grissom Academy, who's distress beacon would go unnoticed by any other ship. She never thought she'd be grateful that the Illusive Man sent her into that trap, if he hadn't, EDI may not have picked it up in time.
She made her way to the little kitchenette and made herself a large mug of black tea. She was taking a deep whiff of the lavender oils within when Garrus walked up and leaned on the counter, his arms crossed, staring her down.
She blinked and raised an eyebrow at him, "Yes?"
He continued to stare at her, unmoving. She felt very uneasy.
"Garrus, what is it?" She set her tea down.
"Ah, so you do remember me." He raised a brow plate at her. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten me down here."
She sighed, "Sorry, Garrus. I've-"
"Been busy, I know." He sighed and pushed off the counter and moved towards her, pulling her into his arms and tucking her head beneath his chin. She relaxed quickly and curled her arms around his waist. "I had no illusions of us rolling around in your bed all day, but I have to admit, I kinda hoped."
She laughed softly, "That sounds like much more fun."
"I guess I'll just have to hunt you down if I want to talk to you. Maybe even sneak up on you when you're sleeping." He pulled back and planted a kiss on her hair. Something seemed off about him. Her brow furrowed.
"Garrus, whats wrong?" She put her hand on his shoulder when she saw his face fall, "What is it?"
"Still no word on my father or sister." He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose and leaned back against the counter. "Getting a lot harder to stay hopeful."
"If they're anything like you," She smiled, "I'm sure they're fine."
"That's the thing about getting older, Shepard, the platitudes get just as old."
"Well, I'm nothing without my platitudes." She smiled raised an eyebrow at him, but he just shook his head.
"I'd better get back to work, I'll let you know if anything changes." He pushed off the counter and walked back to the battery.
She wanted to call out to him, but she didn't know what to say. She grabbed a cup of coffee for him and went to follow when Traynor called down that they had arrived at Grissom. She cringed. She set the drinks down and ran to the battery. She opened the battery, grabbed him by the mandibles and pulled him down to her face for a kiss. His eyes were open and he blinked down at her for a moment, before letting out a laugh against her lips. She broke away.
"I can't promise that I will make time for you because you and I both know I can't give time I don't have. But I promise I will try and do this more often." She kissed him once more. His arms came around her waist and pulled her against him, deepening the kiss until she pulled away to smile up at him. "Deal?"
"Sounds good to me."
"Now get your gear, we are heading down to Grissom academy."
He gave her a soft smile, "Yes, ma'am."
Seeing Jack had been quite the surprise. She looked amazing, and she was bossing the kids around, they all seemed to admire her. Her heart soared to see how well David was doing. She still remembered the feel of him in her head, pushing her forward to discover the truth. It gave her a chill and he seemed to notice it and smiled at her, it calmed her nerves and she returned it readily. She would never regret saving him, no matter how violent it had was glad she was able to get them all off the ship in one piece.
She'd had way too much fun in the Atlas mech, and almost sent the Normandy back through to go get it until Garrus talked her out of it. She sighed, one of these days she was going to buy a damn mech and walk through the Illusive Mans base and just tear everything up.
She spoke with Anderson at the terminal as soon as she returned and let him know Khalee Sanders was safe, and he could rest easy. She new they didn't have a formal relationship, but that didn't mean he didn't love her like crazy. She signed out and stopped through the war room to check on all of their assets. They'd already made so much progress, but it still wasn't enough. She yawned. And sleep wasn't being her friend. She barely had the chance to lay down and attempt sleep, there was always one more thing she could do. And those few times where sleeps blissful hold took her, she was wracked with nightmares, leaving her more tired upon waking.
She looked at her mission log, she'd have a few hours before she was required to do anything, and Liara wanted to speak with her. She could invite Liara up, do whatever she wanted, then lay her head down after a few glasses of wine and hopefully have a nice, dreamless sleep.
She was snuggled up on the couch with her hamster when Liara came up and 'wrote her name in the stars'. They shared a surprisingly peaceful moment, and a few glasses of wine, until Joker piped up. It was time to cure the Genophage. She cringed internally. Now the wine had her nice and relaxed and she was so ready to just close her eyes for a few moments, and now she had to drag her ass off the bed and get back to work. She was so tempted to tell them it would have to wait a few hours, but Wrex was already blowing up her omni-tool to get to work.
Like to see your ass jump up at the drop of a hat with no sleep you grouchy old bastard. She growled in her head as she stepped into the elevator. She stopped by and grabbed a few stims from Mordin, ignoring his warnings and concerns for her health due to her lack of sleep and pressed forward.
She grabbed her gear, along with Garrus and James, and headed down to the shuttle. She was about to step into the elevator on the CIC when Joker piped up about a message from the Dalatrass. She motioned them to go on without her and stopped by to answer the call in the war room.
"What do you want, Dalatrass? I'm a bit busy." Her patience was already thin thanks to lack of sleep, but the stims just made her a bit more snappy.
"Commander you cannot allow your misguided sympathy for the Krogan to impair your judgement." She scolded.
"The Krogan deserve a chance. You can't doom an entire race due to what 'might' happen." She crossed her arms. "Besides, the Krogan have been significantly more forthcoming with their intentions than the Salarians up to this point."
The Dalatrass defended her actions, scolded Shepard once again, and began explaining the exact details as to how Shepard could fool the Krogan and get both races support for the fight.
"…No one will be any the wiser. Let Urdnot Wrex believe it worked." She finished her speech, then tried bribing her. Shepard laughed in her face.
"So you're telling me, the woman who saved your life I'd like to mention, that you'll only help my race if I not only destroy the hope and future of the entire Krogan race, but to lie and deceive one of my best friends in the process?" She shook her head as a snide grin spread across her lips as she scoffed, "You've got a quad, Dalatrass."
She took a step back and held up a hand, as if Shepard had thrown something at her, "Commader, that was very inappropriate. And if you want my ships, you'll do what I say."
"And if you want to survive the reapers you'll do what I say." She sliced her hand through the air, signaling she'd had enough, "Hide in the shadows if you want, let all of history know how the Salarian's Dalatrass cowered in fear."
She cut the comm. before the woman could reply and headed down to the Hollows.
