Why did he let his jealousy get to him?

James was a bit annoyed now that he wasn't going on the next mission. They were suppose to go onto Tuchanka to take out a Cerberus threat with an old Krogan Rebellion era weapon. He had so looked forward to seeing how the Krogan lived.

"OUCH!" James heard Garrus cry

James smiled. Worth it.

"Quite squirming around, Mr. Vakarian, or I can't clean you up properly! Seriously, men these days!" Dr. Chakwas ranted

James looked up to see the doctor cleaning up his nose, and checking his face to see if anything was broken.

"What are you two, five? You are Alliance soldiers, not children!"

She finished cleaning him up, then focused her attention to Vega. The doctor was a bit rough, which made James think that she was more than annoyed. He gritted his teeth from the pain.

"Well, it looks like you have a broken nose, and a broken tooth, but other than that, no other broken bones. You took a bit of a beating compared to Garrus. But he's Turian, so his body can handle more."

'What a lucky guy..."

James coughed. Thankfully, Garrus had no idea what it meant.

The doctor got to work fixing his nose, and yanking out the broken tooth. It hurt like hell, but he wasn't gonna let that stupid Turian see him wussing up.

"There, all done. You'll be sore for a few days, so I'd suggest no more rough housing! I'm surprised Joker did want to kill you."

"Aw, Commander Shepard might not have told him."

"You know, Lt. Vega, he's going to find out eventually."

"Till then, I'll be counting my blessings."

The doctor sighed.

"I'll let you two rest. Don't even THINK about leaving the Med-bay until I give you permission to leave."

She left.

"Oh doc... Same as always..."

"So, do you feel better now that you beat up the guy who pissed you off?"

"Hmmm... yes. I'm disappointed for not tackling Cerberus on Tuchanka, but it was worth it."

How strange that they thought the same thing.

"So...?" James asked

"So what, Lieutenant?"

"She was totally watching me."

"Oh, hell no. She was watching my reflexes during that battle. You hardly ever attacked me."

"But with a bod like mine, of course she'd wanna watch the man she could see more often."

Garrus gave a chuckle.

"You know, kid. You're alright..."

"What do you mean?"

"I like you. Sure, I don't like you trying to steal my woman, but you got guts and heart. I like that."

"Now, now Vakarian... you aren't exactly my type..."

Garrus laughed.

"What's wrong, Vega? Too much Turian for you?"

This time, it was James's turn to laugh.

"You're loco, you know that?"

"Loco? What does that mean?"

"It's Spanish for 'crazy.' You, sir, fit the bill."

"I guess I really do fit in that category... Not that you aren't too far from that yourself."

"Oh no, bro, I'm el hombre."

"Knowing from the way you respond, that must mean something that's gonna boost your ego."

"It means 'the man.'"

"As I was saying..."

Garrus crossed his palms together, looked down, then back up to James.

"I can tell she's genuinely happy around you, and I'm glad. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean I'm gonna go down without a fight!"

James chuckled.

"Hey, thanks, bro. I'll willingly accept your challenge after a fight like that."

"You want to spare some more?"

"I had fun, but I think just trying to win her affections will be a hoot."

"A what?"

"A hoot. It's another term for a party, or exciting."

"Well, then I'll be having just as much of a hoot as you probably will..."