Thanks so much to everyone who responded to my plea for more reviews last month. I thought at most that I'd get one or two more than usual. I was feeling stressed out about going back to uni and getting feedback from so many people really did make my week a hell of a lot better. You guys rock :)

A big thanks as well for all the new alerts and favourites.

As you may have already noticed, the rating on this fic has gone up to M. The change is because of a bit of smut in this chapter, but there's nothing too explicit in here. I was trying to make the scene more meaningful than anything else. Hopefully that comes across in the text!

All the smut is basically in the first half of this update, so, if you don't like that sort of thing, you can skip it and go to below the mid-way divider (a series on dots halfway down the page). In a weird way, this chapter is a bit like two smaller chapters stuck together. I would've posted them separately, but then the word count would have been ridiculously low on both of them.

Anyway, enough from me, onto the chapter…

….

Teagan came round slowly, realising as her senses began to return to her that she was lying with Garrus on top of the comfy bed in their hotel room. No blankets covered her body and she was still wearing her leather evening dress, but his strong arms were wrapped around her, keeping her warm and snug.

The night before was a bit of an unfocused blur in her usually sharp mind. Aside from needing to go to the bathroom though, she didn't feel all that bad considering how many drinks she'd tossed down in the bar.

The last thing she could remember was arriving back in the room with Garrus, throwing herself with very little grace across the bed and then waiting impatiently for him to undress and join her there. Evidently, she'd fallen asleep before he'd been able to.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw that it was now morning and that streams of orange sunlight were making their way across the room through the windows. In front of her, Garrus was still fast asleep. His eyes were shut and his chest was moving slowly in and out with each regular breath he took. He looked very peaceful in a way he, unfortunately, only rarely did when he was awake. She wondered if he was dreaming about anything, almost wishing she could see right through his plates and bones to whatever was going on in his head. But she couldn't of course, so she contented herself with simply watching him draw in breath after breath as he continued to sleep soundly beside her.

She probably would've been happy to stay with him like that for hours, but unfortunately nature began to call her increasingly insistently.

Doing her best not to disturb him, she eased herself out of his hold and made her way to the bathroom. Once there, she spent a few minutes freshening up and trying to make herself look more presentable. She also finally removed the leather dress, dumping it on the floor with her underwear, before slipping into one of the cosy white robes that the hotel had provided for the two of them.

By the time she returned to the bed, Garrus had moved slightly, but he was still asleep. One of his arms was now outstretched, and his hand open, almost as if he'd tried to reach out for her across the mattress while she'd been gone. Well, she was back now. Even though there'd only been ten metres of air and one door between them when she'd been in the bathroom, she hadn't much liked the two of them being separated either.

With a soft smile on her face, she lowered herself down to the bed and took her place beside him. She wrapped his arm around her again and felt him grip her waist surprisingly firmly for someone who was asleep.

Her body gradually relaxed in his hold, but she kept her eyes open and began to simply watch him again. She didn't think it would be possible for anyone to love their mate more than she loved the turian in front of her. He'd been unbelievably good to her when she'd been upset, doing so much to try to cheer her up and then calming all of her ridiculous worries simply by talking with her. Maybe the whole time all she'd needed was for him to tell her that he had no intention of going anywhere, that he loved her and that nothing had changed between them despite everything they'd gone through.

She should have talked to him as soon as she'd started to get worked up. She should've known that's what he would say. She'd acted like an idiot. However, things had turned out okay anyway. The difficulties they'd faced since coming to Palaven had forced their relationship through its first real test, but it had passed easily, rather than merely scrapping through.

Some people were always going to hate what she had with him because they couldn't, or wouldn't, understand it. That much was clear. But their disapproval and pettiness wasn't going to be enough to break the bond between the two of them and rend them apart from each other. They wanted to stay together too much. Hell, even though he was asleep right now, he was still holding onto her tightly. And that was just fine by her. The galaxy was massive and messy, but she felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Her days of drifting along by herself were long over.

Smiling again, Teagan leant forward and began to kiss his face, first pressing her lips to his brow plates and then to both his cheeks. When she reached his small, flat nose and planted another soft kiss there, he finally started to stir.

"Garrus," she whispered into his ear. "You still alive after last night?"

A noise somewhere between a grunt and moan came from his mouth before he answered her. "Yeah…I think so."

"Good."

He opened his eyes and stared at her groggily. "How come you're so perky this morning? You drank a hell of a lot more than me."

"I really don't know. Maybe it's all the cybernetics. I guess there might be some benefits to being brought back from the dead after all."

He chuckled softly. "Well, I'm glad you're okay. You did fall asleep on me last night though, just when I was about to use some of my best moves on you. It was very, very disappointing."

"Yeah…I remember. I'm sorry about that, big guy. But I can, ah, assure you, I'm wide awake now."

"You are?" he said, sounding and looking considerably more alert than before.

"Yes." She ran her hand down his chest so there was no way he could fail to understand what she was hinting at it, stopping only when she reached the waistband of the pants he'd been wearing since the previous night.

He raised his brow plates at her. "You know, I'm suddenly feeling a lot more awake myself."

"Imagine that."

"Mmm," he murmured as her hand made its way down his chest again. "And by my count it's almost been three days since the last time we blew off steam together."

"No wonder I've been so tense lately."

"Well, Teagan, I'd be more than willing to help you relax now, if you want. I'm sure I could find some way to get every last bit of tension out of your system."

"My, that's a generous offer, Garrus. I think I'll take you up on it."

Her words seemed to drive away the rest of his drowsiness. Giving her no warning, he rolled her onto her back and began to nuzzle her with some enthusiasm. She felt his tongue graze her neck a few times, then he added a couple of gentle nips for good measure.

"You smell different than usual this morning," he mumbled. "Like leather."

"Well, I did spend all night in that evening dress. You smell a little like beer by the way."

"I'm not surprised. Together we probably drank enough to stock a small bar."

She laughed. "God, Garrus, this is some awful dirty talk."

"True. Maybe we should just move things along then."

Without bothering to wait for her to respond, he placed his hands on her, grasping the soft material of her gown. He pulled it slightly open, exposing the upper half of her body and then began to gently stroke her breasts. Once, that part of her anatomy had been completely strange and alien to him, but he knew exactly how to touch her there now. She lay back and simply let him work on her with his skilled hands until he began to use his rough tongue on her as well and she found she could no longer stay so still and placid. She whimpered, grasping the sheets in both her hands, and he chuckled above her.

"You know, Teagan," he said in a teasing tone, "You already seem a bit more relaxed, but I don't think all your tension is gone yet."

"It's not, Garrus."

Taking her words as a cue to move things along, he undid her gown. It fell completely open, revealing that she was wearing nothing underneath to protect her modesty. His brow plates raised in amusement as he stared down at her bare, flushed skin. A moment later, his hands were on her again. He ran them all over her body this time, caressing her, but never stopping in one place for too long. Though his talons were blunted, they left behind light lines on her skin, creating winding pathways that showed exactly where he had touched her. They would soon fade, but for a short time she was marked all over as his.

He paused with his hands resting on the top of her thighs before slowly urging them apart with his hands. She knew she was slick and ready for him, but he made no move to take her. Instead, he simply ran his tongue up the length of her right thigh, keeping his eyes on her face the whole time. Apparently, he liked what he saw, because he moved onto her other one and licked it too.

He seemed to be intent on mercilessly teasing her for as long as she would let him get away with it. Teagan tried her best to keep some control over herself, but her mutinous body was having none of it. She began to whimper again and he chuckled once more, sounding even smugger than before.

In his defence, she supposed that his exemplary performance so far earned him the right to be a little smug. But she wanted him to do more than merely tease her. She tugged on his fringe gently, but firmly, making sure she had his full attention. "Undress," she said, not giving a damn about how unladylike she sounded. "I want you."

"You'll have to be a little more specific, Teagan." He licked her again.

"I want you to make love to me. Please, Garrus."

"Of course, Commander. You know I'd never refuse a request from you."

He immediately began to undo his pants, while she tugged her own gown completely off. As soon as she'd rid herself of it, she raised herself up to her elbows so she could watch as he finished undressing and was rewarded with a view of him that made it clear he was just as ready for her as she was for him.

With all their clothes now lying forgotten on the floor, he braced his body over hers, pushing her back down against the mattress. To her dismay, however, he pulled away from her again almost immediately.

"What…what are you doing?" she asked in a desperate voice.

"We forgot about the lotion. I don't want to hurt you."

"Garrus…it's okay. I'll be fine. Just come here." Maybe she wasn't being totally sensible, the chafing from his plates really could hurt sometimes, but she was finding it supremely difficult to care about that right now.

"It'll only take a moment."

He bounded across the room to the dressing table, grabbed the lotion and then rejoined her on the bed. Instead of passing it to her, he began to apply it onto her skin himself. Using slow, deliberate movements, he spread it over her thighs, stomach and chest. Beautiful little sparks of pleasure seemed to shoot outwards from wherever he touched, threatening to set her whole body on fire, but never quite managing to do it.

She couldn't keep still. "Ugh. Why do I feel like you're just doing this because you like watching me squirm?"

"How dare you accuse me of such a thing?" He rubbed some more lotion into her thigh and her whole leg twitched. "I have your best interests at heart."

"Sure…sure you do…" She let out a groan, incapable of saying any more because of where his hands had now wandered.

Thankfully, mere seconds later he tossed the lotion to one side and positioned himself over her, ready to join their bodies together.

"All done," he said. "You happy now?"

"Yes," she replied, her voice coming out strained. She wrapped her arms around him so he couldn't escape from her again. "Very. Now, stop teasing me, Garrus. Please…"

He pressed his forehead against hers for a moment. "Anything for you, Teagan."

Finally, he began to slide into her in one long stroke. Her hold on him tightened as he moved deeper and deeper into her, and she cried out. Even now, after weeks of being with him, she was still not quite used to the intense pleasure mixed with a little bit of pain she felt whenever he entered her. And he'd made her so desperate for him this morning.

Once he was fully sheathed inside of her, they remained still for a moment, simply taking each other in with obvious looks of pleasure on both their faces. Then he started to move and so did she, and, God, it felt good. So good. But then sex had always been good between them, the first time. The second. The thirtieth. She couldn't understand how anyone could criticise them for being together like this. They weren't in the middle of some dirty tryst. They were a couple who cared deeply for each other and were making love.

Teagan looked up at him, staring into the calm depths of his blue-green eyes. His gaze was so open, so full of desire and need, that it made a rush of love for him surge through her entire body, stronger than anything she would have thought herself capable of feeling just a few months before. All of a sudden, it was like nothing else existed apart from her and Garrus. And all that mattered was what he was doing to her, the way he was burying himself inside of her and giving her so much pleasure.

Loudly, she began to cry out. Garrus' immediate response was to speed up his pace, trying with great success to bring her yet closer to feeling her release. Even so, she did her best to continue moving in time with him. To keep her eyes focused on his. She wanted to hold his gaze right up until the end.

She didn't quite manage it though.

Her eyes slid shut and she gasped out his name when she finally came beneath him. Two strokes later, her name formed on his lips as well and he joined her in bliss.

Although their bodies were both spent, and their desire for each other sated for now, they made no attempt to pull apart. They simply stayed joined together as one flesh, all the physical differences between them forgotten and rendered meaningless. After a moment passed during which they lay still, panting in almost perfect sync with each other, Garrus leant down and pressed his mouth against hers. She kissed him back, gently but persistently, and the two of them remained lost in each other for a while longer.

When the kiss eventually broke because they needed to draw some more air into their lungs, Garrus buried his face in Teagan's hair and, still breathless, whispered, "I love you," into her ear.

Up until that point, she'd always said "I love you" first. It was almost like some part of him had been afraid that he would say it, and she wouldn't repeat it. But that fear finally seemed to have left him. She wondered if his newfound confidence was down to the talk they'd had last night. Whatever the reason though, hearing those three words come unprompted from his mouth made her very happy.

With a smile curling on her lips, she stroked his fringe and said, "I love you too."

….

Half an hour later, they had yet to leave the bed and were lying facing each other in a tangle of human and gangly turian limbs. Neither of them had made any attempt to cover themselves up so their naked bodies were still completely exposed, but there was no awkwardness or embarrassment between them.

Garrus was playing with Teagan's hair, while she smiled at him and ran her fingers along the gaps between his chest plates as if they formed some sort of strange maze for her to explore. She was so relaxed that even thinking about leaving the bed seemed like too much hassle.

"I wish we could stay here all day," she said. "Or, you know, forever."

"Yeah," he replied. "I can think of a lot of worse ways to spend all eternity than in bed with a beautiful woman."

Her smile instantly turned into a full-on grin. She'd never been the type of girl who needed to be complimented all the time, but, God, did she love it when he called her beautiful, even if it was partly in jest. By human standards, she knew she wasn't anything that special. Not ugly, but not gorgeous either. It touched her deeply that he really did seem to think she was beautiful in spite of that and all the differences between their species.

She had come to see him as beautiful too and, right now, with the sunlight from the windows shining on his plates and a soft expression on his face, he looked even better to her than he usually did.

"Spending all eternity with you definitely appeals to me as well," she said. "But we probably should get up at some point."

He sighed. "Do we have to?"

"Well…our shore leave is almost half over now and you said that you were going to visit Solana and your mother today."

"I guess I did say that, and I will see them both, but it's still morning. I think we can afford to waste at least another hour before we bother with boring things like dressing."

"That's fine by me. Do you want to order in some room service or something?"

"Ah…no. I thought we could maybe…spar again." He leant forward, nipping and licking her neck. "But if you're hungry, I…

"No," she said quickly, cutting him off. "Your idea sounds a hell of lot more fun than mine."

She had just begun to kiss him when a loud beeping sound came from somewhere in the room, startling the both of them. They pulled apart from each other with slightly dazed expressions on their faces.

"What the hell is that?" Teagan asked. "I know I didn't set any alarms last night. I was way too out of it."

Garrus glanced over her shoulder. "It's your omni-tool, Teagan. Someone's calling you."

She turned to where it had been sitting on the bedside table for the last four days without making so much as a peep and saw that, unfortunately, he was right. It was flashing manically and emitting the beeping sound.

"I wish that thing would just stop going off." she said. "Maybe if we ignore it, the caller will give up."

But they didn't. The noise continued until the quiet intimacy that had existed between her and Garrus a few seconds before was completely and utterly lost. Teagan knew she had no choice but to answer it.

Suddenly, she felt strangely exposed. Even though she knew that the person on the other end of the line would have no way of seeing her, she still didn't want to be naked, with an equally naked turian beside her, when she took their call. She located the gown she'd thrown off earlier, pulled it on and tied it tightly, before finally picking up the omni-tool.

"It's Joker," she said, frowning as she looked down at the omni-tool's display. "I told him not to contact me unless there was some sort of emergency. This…isn't good, Garrus."

With her stomach sinking, dragging her good mood down with it, she pressed the button to answer the call. Images of awful things happening to her ship and her crew were already making their way through her mind. Maybe Grunt had got himself into to some sort of trouble with one of the rival clans on Tuchanka or Jack had tried to play pirate and steal a cruiser from Vectis' spaceport. Given how spread out her crew members were across the galaxy during this week, the possibilities for disaster were almost endless.

"Joker? It's Shepard," she said, tugging at her gown with nervous hands. "Is something wrong?"

"Ah, hi, Commander." His voice sounded odd. Not panicked exactly, but definitely not quite as laidback as usual. "There's nothing major wrong, but, well, there is something I think you and Garrus should know about. And that's why I'm calling. Yeah. How have the two of you been over the last few days by the way?"

"Fine. Joker. Most of the time anyway," she said simply. Yeah, it was nice of him to ask her that and all, but she wished he would get to the point. "What is it you need to tell me?"

"Okay…" There was a pause on the line. "This is a bit awkward, but a photo of you and Garrus is all over the extranet this morning."

"What?" His words caught her so off-guard that she felt as if she'd taken some sort of blow and been knocked right over. "What…what kind of photo, Joker?"

"Well, it's sort of intimate. One of the crew came across it this morning and then forwarded it to everybody else left on the Normandy. I haven't looked at it too closely at it myself because I don't really want to picture you guys doing…things, but, basically, it's dark and you're out in the street somewhere, uh, kissing. According to the extranet reports, it was taken last night, Commander."

"Oh God." A vague memory of sitting and talking with Garrus on some steps the night before and then abruptly starting to kiss him flashed up in her head. "Oh God," she repeated. "Has Garrus been named as well as me?"

"Yeah….I think people were able to work out who he was since he helped you defeat Saren."

"Shit."

Beside her, Garrus moved slightly, but she didn't look at him yet to see how he was taking all of this. She simply continued to stare down at the omni-tool.

"A lot's been written about it already," Joker said. "You know how fast the extranet moves."

Teagan groaned. "Not all positive I presume."

"Well…no. It hasn't all been that bad, but Khalisah al-jilani laid into you like always. I think she said something about how she thought it was strange that you had time to mess around with a turian on Palaven when the galaxy is supposedly at constant threat from the Reapers."

"Great."

"Yeah, well, other reports have been less bitchy. And the crew's all been fine about it. It's not like we didn't all know the two of you were canoodling with each other already. Most people on board have found it pretty hilarious."

"Strangely, that doesn't comfort me much, Joker, but thanks for trying."

"Sure." He paused. "Do you want me to send a copy of the photo through to you?"

"Yeah go ahead. I may as well see it first hand and complete my humiliation."

"Right, Commander. I hope you have a good end to shore leave anyway."

"I'll try. Say hi to EDI for me. I hope the two of you are still getting along?"

"Yeah, except when she's nagging me to feed your hamster or complete a diagnostic. She doesn't seem to think I can remember to do anything by myself. She'll be telling me to clean my room and get my hair cut next."

"I'm sure she's just trying to look out for you. Thanks for letting me know about all of this."

"No problem. See you, soon, Commander."

"Yeah. Shepard out."

She ended the call and, with no real reason to stare at the omni-tool for any longer, finally turned towards Garrus.

They needed to talk about what had happened. It wasn't every day a photo of the two of them in a clinch ended up plastered all the over extranet. However, she couldn't for the life of her think of the right thing to say first. Apparently, neither could he. They stared at each other for a long moment, then, just as Garrus seemed to be on the verge of speaking, the omni-tool beeped again. Joker had sent through the photo, as he'd promised.

After drawing in a long breath, Teagan pressed a single button on the omni-tool and the picture was immediately displayed for both her and Garrus to see.

The first thing that crossed her mind as she stared at it was how unbelievably drunk and undignified the two of them looked. She was almost straddling Garrus in the picture while kissing and touching him with all the enthusiasm of an overly amorous teenager. He seemed to be doing his best to keep up with her.

At the time, she could remember feeling an almost overwhelming urge to be close to him and then immediately deciding to act upon it. Unfortunately, jumping him in the middle of a street hadn't turned out to be the brightest idea she'd ever had. In retrospect, she realised that she hadn't so much thrown caution to the wind as hurled it full-force as far away from her as possible.

"That is just not a flattering shot of us," Garrus said after a moment. His attempt at humour sounded slightly forced, but she was so glad that he was still joking with her like always and didn't sound angry or upset.

She managed to let out a chuckle. "No. No it's not. I…can't believe this, Garrus. I didn't think anyone would recognise me on this planet. And what are the chances of someone with a camera stumbling across us right at that bloody moment? Any other time, at least it wouldn't look like I was trying to eat your face."

"Maybe they were following us. Someone might have tipped them off."

"Oh…"

"What?"

"This might be my fault, Garrus. I've said my name in front of more than one person since we came here, including those two soldiers. I bet they had something to do with it."

"You don't know that." His voice was still calm. "Besides, it makes no difference how someone managed to get that photo."

"This is my fault though. It was me who started to kiss you. I remember."

"Yeah, well I didn't exactly try to fight you off. Quite the opposite. And I heard some noises while we were kissing and didn't catch on to what was happening. There's no point in either of us blaming ourselves. The picture's out there and we're just going to have to deal with it."

"You're right. God, thousands of people are bound to have seen it already. Maybe even millions."

"Yeah…I bet my old buddies at C-Sec are laughing their asses off."

"Do you think there's any chance the council won't end up seeing it?"

"Unfortunately, I doubt it. Hell, we're probably known all across the galaxy as xenophiles by now." He chuckled nervously. "How do you, ah, feel about that?"

She looked at the photo for a moment and then back at him. Yes, what had happened was mortifying, but she the fact that the romantic nature of their relationship was now out there for anyone to see didn't bother her in itself

They going to stay together so people might as well know that they were a couple and get used to it. Assholes like Khalisah al-jilani could shoot their mouths off all they wanted; their opinions didn't matter to her. She was done worrying about what strangers thought about her choice in mate.

As long as Garrus was okay with all of this, then she was going to be too.

"I'm alright. Really, really embarrassed, but alright," she said, wanting to make it clear that she wasn't going to start freaking out on him again. She'd put him through more than enough neurotic crap already. "I've been called a lot worse things than a xenophile since I became the first human spectre." She took his hand and squeezed it. "But how do you feel, Garrus?"

"Well…everyone knows I'm the great Commander Shepard's mate. That's a pretty nice thought." She laughed and he smiled at her, but when he spoke again his tone was more serious. "I doubt my father's going to like it, or Sol for that matter, but I can deal with that."

"I…hadn't thought about your family seeing it."

"It'll be okay. There is one slight problem though." She could tell he was choosing his words very carefully. "Mom still doesn't know about us and, well, if the photos really are all over the extranet, I guess she'll probably come across them sooner rather than later."

"Oh, shit, Garrus. I'm sorry. I didn't…"

"Don't start beating yourself up, Teagan," he said firmly. "I was going to tell her about you anyway and if I head over to the medical centre this morning, then I'm sure I can get things sorted out okay somehow or other. Really."

"I guess you better get over there as soon as you can."

"Yeah. I should probably call Sol too and warn her about what's happened. It's a shame though. I really was looking forward to another hour in bed with you."

"Me too." She shot him a small smile in commiseration and then got to her feet. He followed her.

They started to get ready, both scrambling around the room as if they were late for duty onboard the Normandy. However, they were still interrupted before they could finish dressing. Garrus was wearing pants, but no shirt, and Teagan just had her underwear on when a beeping noise filled their hotel room once more. But it wasn't Teagan's omni-tool that was going off this time, it was Garrus'.

He walked over to where it had been sitting with hers on the bedside table. "It's Solana. Trust her to call me before I could contact her."

There were probably far worse people it could have been, like his father, but Teagan still felt herself tense up. "She has to be calling about the picture," she said, closing some of the gap between them. "What do you think she's going to say?"

"I'm not sure, but it'll be okay. I know how to handle her. I've years of firsthand experience in it. Don't worry, Teagan."

But she couldn't stop herself from feeling concerned. She would hate it if the photo caused a row between Garrus and his only sister. A part of her didn't want to hear their conversation at all and yet she knew she was going to stand beside him and mutely listen to every word of it. Good, bad or very bad.

He gave her a reassuring smile before finally answering the call. "Ah...morning, Sol."

"Morning, Garrus." From just two words spoken over a crackling comm line, Teagan could tell she was not in a good mood. "Guess why I'm calling."

"Well...I suppose it could be to do with a photo of me and Teagan being all over the extranet this morning."

"You're right. And on your first guess too. Congratulations. I know I told you guys to have fun when I said goodbye at the medical centre, but, really, I think you've taken it a bit too far."

Garrus shot Teagan an apologetic look, but, honestly, she thought that she probably deserved that little jibe, even if he didn't. "How did you, ah, find out about it?"

"That's the funny thing. Mom told me. I'm in work and I've just taken a very confused call from her asking if there really are photos of you and your Commander scattered all across the extranet or if she's just seeing things."

Teagan put her head in her hands and for a moment there was silence because Garrus seemed to be unable to speak. "I'm sorry, Sol," he forced out eventually. "What did you say to her?"

"I explained things the best I could. I told her that you'd been Shepard's mate for a while and that you were going to tell her. She seemed to be okay about it, but, honestly, I think you should visit her and talk to her face to face. I'm stuck in work for a couple more hours, but why don't we meet at the centre and clear this mess up as soon as I get out? She's expecting me to come up anyway."

"Okay." He paused. "I'm really, really sorry."

"I believe you. You don't have to keep repeating it over and over. Look, I'm not going to lie and say I'm happy about all of this, but I know you didn't mean for any of it to happen."

"So we're okay?"

"Yeah, big brother, we're okay. But for Spirits' sake, if you're going to do stuff like that out in the street make sure no one's watching you next time. I do not need to see you like that. In fact, no one does."

"Fair enough. I'll see you later, Sol."

"See you, Garrus. Try not to get into any more trouble before we meet up."

She cut the line. Garrus put the omni-tool back on the bedside table and then turned to face Teagan. He looked slightly dazed, but fine apart from that. She hoped he wasn't just putting on a brave face for her.

"Are you still alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "That wasn't the easiest conversation I've ever had with Sol, and I didn't want mom to find out about us via the extranet, but I'm okay. In a couple of hours this will all be sorted."

She wanted to apologise to him again, but she knew he wouldn't let her get the words out of her mouth so instead she simply said, "I think I should come with you when you go to the medical centre, Garrus. I don't necessarily mean to talk to you mother or anything, but just to, you know, be there with you."

"You don't have to come."

"I know that. I want to."

"If you're sure…."

"I am. We're in this mess together."

"Okay then." He smiled at her. "Come here, Teagan."

She obeyed and he wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in the warmth from his body. She laid her head on his shoulder.

"Things just can't seem to go smoothly for us, can they?" he said, mumbling the words into her hair.

"No…maybe you really did curse us last night."

He chuckled. "I hope not, but we'll get through this, just like everything else."

"Yeah, of course we will, Garrus," she said softly.

It was frustrating that their morning had been going so well at first, only to end up like this, but at least she was still in his arms. And she was sure that in the future they would have plenty of mornings, as well as afternoons, evenings and nights together where absolutely nothing would go wrong.

….

I know there was a little more drama in this chapter because of the whole photo incident, etc, but I promise that this fic isn't going to get angsty again. There's not much left of it now and the last couple of chapters are about bringing the story to a resolution more than anything else.

I want to update again in two weeks' time, but I'm beginning to think that there's not much real chance of me being able to do that. Since starting uni a week and a half ago, I've been given three assignments and they all require a lot of reading, etc. I'm also still working as both a freelance journalist and a sales assistant like before so fitting in any fiction writing is going to be pretty hard.

If I don't update in two weeks, however, it definitely doesn't mean this story has been abandoned. I'm determined to finish it one way or another!

Thanks, as always, for reading :)