AN: Fast upload, because of the short-ish chapter. This took more time than it should have, but I blame the Citadel DLC entirely.

But, damn, that's some good DLC. Also, some times when they release a DLC, at first you're all happy because it's awesome, but then you realise that they've just messed up your entire story plan. This time was like the exact opposite.

(Although, you know you have social anxiety issues when a virtual party has you nervous... ^^)

So, thanks go out to Bioware for the awesome ride! (Despite the hiccups along the way *cough*redbluegreen*cough*...)

Also, I think maybe some of my plot hints are too subtle. Or maybe they just rely on you having an A-level in biology or something...

Anyway, I'm rambling, so, without further ado...

Thanks go out to everyone who reads, with double-thanks to all of you that have taken the time to follow and favourite. Special, triple, awesome thanks go out to barbex, Zuguzita, Zombie Pixel, 1054SS325MP, DeltaAgent, shantie1984 and Laufeyson'sWife for the reviews!

You guys are awesome, and the response that the last chapter generated was beyond awesome. So, virtual hugs all-round!

Okay, on with the chapter!

(Warning: smut ahead. Well, not directly ahead. In the middle of the chapter. But still, fair warning, and all...)

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 21 - Well, Then That Must Make Me the Goddess of Sanity Because I Find This Ridiculous

Sophia recognised the strange dream world immediately, although she didn't recognise the location or all of the faces. They appeared to be in some kind of bar, all sitting in a large booth. Sophia was sitting with a beer in front of her, next to Garrus, who had his hand over hers.

To say that the atmosphere was morose would be an understatement.

"So, we haven't seen you for years, Soph," Ash spoke up, breaking the silence.

Sophia found herself nodding. "Yeah... it's just hard with the kids, you know?"

Sophia recognised one of the engineers from the Cerberus crew - Gabby - as she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, tell me about it." She shared a smile with the other engineer - Ken - at that. "How old are your two now?"

Sophia had learnt months ago to stop questioning the events of these dreams. She wouldn't remember most of it when she woke up, anyway. So, she was sitting in a bar, all sad, and she and

Garrus had two kids. Okay, then. "Five. Although they look about eight, they're so tall..."

"It's sad that it takes something like this for us all to see each other..." Ashley commented, bringing the mood down once again as Sophia figured everyone was feeling guilty for not seeing the others more.

"Sparks was always trying to get us to meet up," a large slab of meat commented. Sophia definitely didn't recognise him, but figured that he was probably a soldier.

Garrus nodded, sighing. "We were all just so busy, her included..."

Sophia gave a sad smile, raising her drink. "To Tali. The best damn friend you could ask for. Keelah

Se'lai!"

"Keelah Se'lai!"

Sophia awoke, finding Garrus gently stroking her arm in a comforting way, his subharmonics making a lower tone that she had learnt meant worry, although it was combined with the higher chirps of reassurance.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

She nodded, frowning a little as she sat up, only to find her cheeks wet with tears. "I... I was dreaming again..."

"What was it about this time?"

She shook her head. "I can't really remember. It was... I think it was a..." She sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know..."

"You haven't asked Mordin about it yet?"

"No, I keep on forgetting... I promise that I'll do it before we arrive at Horizon."

"Any idea who we'll take?"

Sophia shrugged. "I thought it might be a good place to try out our new krogan." Garrus growled a little, almost unnoticeably at that. Sophia raised an eyebrow in response. "What? What is it?"

"Nothing, just... I know that you and Wrex were friends, and, honestly, I trust him, but any other krogan? Especially one that's just been… woken up. I just don't think we need more people we don't trust."

She gave him a wry smile at that. "Right. Because, you know, the people who we do trust are just lining up for this..."

"Soph, Ashley never liked working with turians, that's just expected after so many years of war."

She nodded, sighing. "It's not just Ashley..."

"Nihlus?"

She nodded. "I just... I don't know. Kira seems down. She's spending all of her time with Mordin on that secret project of theirs. But, it's not just him..."

"Tali, too?"

She sighed. "Yeah. Tom's as bad as his sister for moping. I just can't... do you ever think our private lives affect our work?"

He lowered his forehead to hers at that. "Of course they do. But, I've seen you when you're fighting for something, Soph, and it's a thousand times more effective than when you're not. You get your strength from the people around you. I'm not going to say that it wouldn't be a distraction to everyone – hell, Kira is the worst for not being able separate her personal life from her job – but it works for you."

"Yeah… I guess it does." She smiled at him before moving to get dressed. "So, you don't want us to take Grunt out for the first time on an important mission? Fair enough. You, me, Kira and Tom it is."

Garrus frowned at that. "When did he get a name?"

"When I woke him up last night…" She kept her back turned, knowing that he would be furious with her. He had been all for blasting the krogan out of the airlock before he had a chance to hurt anyone.

She shivered a little as she heard his growl from across the room. "You went without backup, didn't you?"

"Maybe…"

She found herself caught off guard as he managed to sneak up on her, but he simply sighed, wrapping his arms around her. "Your disregard for your own wellbeing is staggering at times, Soph."

"I can handle myself, Garrus. Plus, it turned out fine."

"That doesn't mean that I don't worry about you, Soph," he reminded her softly.

"Garrus, my job is always going to be putting me in dangerous situations."

"I understand that, Soph, I really do. I just don't want to lose you."

"I don't want to lose you, either," she admitted, not wanting to acknowledge just how true her words were.

Sophia wasn't surprised to see Kira as she walked into the lab. She and Mordin had been working on some kind of project ever since they had come on board. She had asked Mordin about it a few weeks ago, but he had just started rambling in a way that had left her head pounding, so she left them to it, simply hoping that they didn't blow up her ship.

"Hey, Mordin. Got a minute?" she asked as she approached.

"Of course. What do you need?"

Sophia's gaze drifted to Kira, but she figured that they could probably both help her. "Well, Kira, do you remember what I told you about that dream before Ilos?"

Kira frowned. "The one about Garrus?"

Sophia blushed at that. "Well, I was actually referring to the fact that in it Garrus was talking about Sidonis and working at C-Sec…"

Kira shrugged dismissively. "It was probably nothing…"

"Kira, it keeps happening. I don't always remember all of the details, but… they're scarily accurate at times. Of things that haven't happened yet or things I couldn't possibly know. But then, some aspects, like Garrus working at C-Sec, are just plain wrong…"

Kira looked away at that as Mordin spoke up. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, it's… it's almost as if I'm trapped in my own body. I do and say things as if I'm just playing a part, but I have no control."

"As if reliving a memory?" Kira asked.

Sophia nodded. "Yeah."

Kira sighed, shaking her head. "It sounds like they're memories from my- from the Shepard in my timeline. It would certainly explain the C-Sec thing…"

"But don't remember any other details?" Mordin asked. Sophia didn't miss the way Kira tensed a little, but she had no idea why, so ignored it.

"Not really. I… sometimes remember, but don't realise, you know? I'll start saying something but it slips away before I can finish…"

"Has anyone else mentioned anything similar?" Kira asked, clearly disconcerted by what she was being told.

"Your fa-" Sophia cut herself off, frowning. "See, it happened again! I have no idea what I was about to say…"

Mordin and Kira exchanged a worried glance, before Kira spoke up. "Has Garrus been having the dreams too?"

Sophia nodded. "Yeah, that was what I was trying to say. We both have, but, since turians don't usually dream, he remembers even less than I do."

Kira sighed, shrugging. "I don't know what we can do about them."

Sophia nodded. "I figured. I just wanted to know what they were. I guess it makes sense that they're memories from your timeline…"

"Alright, well, if you need anything else, I'll be here," Kira told her, returning to her work.

Sophia sighed, moving over to her. "Kira, I'm worried."

Kira frowned at that, but didn't look up. "Why?"

"Well, you've barely left the lab since the Citadel."

"I'm busy."

Sophia sighed, folding her arms. "I know, but I feel like you're just burying yourself in your work. Kira, what happened on the Citadel?"

"I have no idea what you mean…"

"I mean with Nihlus. I ran into him as we were leaving, but he said that he couldn't join us."

Kira sighed, finally looking up. "Remember on the SR1, when I kept on making mistakes?"

"Kira, you were managing."

"No, I was distracted. It's a miracle that my lack of focus didn't have more disastrous consequences. But, Shepard, things are worse now. I can't afford distraction, and that's all Nihlus would ever be."

"Kira, I'd hardly call someone you care about a 'distraction'…"

"They are if they don't return your feelings." Kira sighed, looking a little defeated. "Unrequited love is a bitch at the best of times. I just can't deal with it right now. One fully-functioning genius assassin with foreknowledge of your mission is more valuable than a Spectre, hindered by a stupid girl making mistakes, right?"

"That's awfully cocky of you."

"Is my assessment wrong?"

Sophia sighed, wishing that she had another answer, but it was true that having Kira working to full capacity was almost invaluable. "No, I guess not. I just…"

"Hate thinking with your head and not your heart?"

"Yeah."

Kira just gave a sad shrug. "But sometimes we have to… Life just sucks like that."

Sophia smiled a little at that, nodding. "Indeed it does. Well, we should be arriving at Horizon soon. I want you and your brother suited up in an hour, okay?"

Kira nodded as Sophia left the room. As soon as the door shut behind her, the younger woman groaned, holding her head in her hands.

"Suspect she almost said 'your father'," Mordin told her, confirming her suspicions.

She nodded as she looked up at him. "I don't really want to think about what this does to my estimates of how long we have until they figure it out…"

"What were original numbers?"

"The probability of them still not knowing hits 0.5 about three months from now…"

"And now?"

Kira paused, running through the numbers. "A rough estimate puts it at just one month from now… Dammit…"

"Sophia is correct. You should take a break."

"No, I need this. I need the closure, Mordin…"

"Need it to move on with Nihlus?"

She shook her head. "It's not even that. I mean, Nihlus made it clear where he stood on our relationship. I just need to close that chapter of my life once and for all."

Mordin sighed, shaking his head. "Can't see a good outcome for you."

Kira just nodded. "Yeah, I know," she replied in a small voice, "but, for once, this isn't about what's easiest for me. I have to do this."

"Could deal with seeing him having moved on?"

Kira nodded once more, although her eye had begun to sting with unshed tears. "Yeah. I mean, hell, I always knew that he deserved better than me. He wanted to settle down and start a family, and I signed away my right to quit my job when I let them implant me with all this tech. Not that we could have done that anyway…"

The silence that accompanied her statement was almost deafening. Mordin was never silent. He always had something to say. So, for him to be quiet for so long…

"You okay, Mordin?"

He nodded. "Just wondering if you're purposefully ignoring information you've been given, or if you're as oblivious as your mother."

Kira frowned for a second, before remembering what he had told Shepard when they had gone to rescue him. She had cut him off before he could explain further, not wanting to face the implications of what he had been saying. "I'm purposefully ignoring it."

"Kira, you are technically-"

"See, that's the word that's bothering me. 'Technically'. So, I'm gonna tell you what I told Tom when he was asking about it; I'm human, he's turian. They are the dominant phenotypes so they're what I'm sticking with."

"Except when you get plague…"

Kira groaned, shaking her head. "I've repaired the nanobot protocols. I shouldn't get sick again."

"Not what I was getting at-"

"Mordin?"

"Yes?"

"Just shut it…"

"I think I have bits of Collector in my hair…" Sophia groaned as she finished blasting the last Collector to pieces. "Any sign of Tom and Kira?" she asked Garrus as she ran over to his side.

"No. What did they say they were doing, again?"

Sophia shrugged. "I don't know. I just decided to let them get on with it… EDI, how is that canon coming along?"

"Almost there, Shepard."

"Well, hurry it up!"

"Soph, we've got incoming," Garrus told her as a huge, laser-wielding Collector appeared.

"Oh, you have got to be shitting me…" Sophia groaned as she immediately leapt out of cover, charging it head-on with her biotics.

Garrus let loose an almost feral growl at her insistence on putting herself in the most ridiculously dangerous situations, firing his rifle as quickly as he could manage, aiming for the eye/light things.

As soon as it exploded into tiny fragments, Garrus ran over to Sophia. She was a little battered and bruised, but her cybernetics had closed up the worst wounds.

"Spirits, Soph, what in the hell made you think that was a good idea?!"

She shrugged. "Worked, didn't it?" He growled but she answered his concern with a kiss, catching him off-guard. "I'm fine, amore mio. I thought we agreed that you wouldn't worry so much."

"You don't exactly make it easy," he told her, softly, but they were interrupted by a shout.

"Shepard?!"

Garrus couldn't help but notice how Sophia took a deep breath, before turning towards Kaidan as he approached them. "Hey, Kaidan."

"Shepard, how are you- I mean, I saw the Normandy go down."

She nodded, trying not to flinch at the accusation in his tone. "I know. I… was recovered."

"But you didn't tell anyone where you were for two years?!"

Her gaze dropped as she found herself unsure of exactly how to answer him. She hadn't expected this level of anger from Kaidan. "I-"

He interrupted her. "I loved you, Shepard! I can't believe that you would let me think that you were dead! But, then I'd never believe that you would turn traitor either…"

Her eyebrows shot up at that. She knew that Kaidan had a bad habit of deluding himself when it came to their relationship, but this was ridiculous. Plus, she'd love to know how she was a 'traitor'. "Kaidan-"

"Or maybe you just told some people…" he interrupted once more, his tone bitter as he glared at Garrus.

Sophia was about to tell Kaidan exactly where he could shove his attitude, when Kira appeared, sitting on the edge of the roof of the building they were standing next to. "Yes, Kaidan, that's exactly it. She told everyone but you because you're not cool enough to hang out with us anymore."

"Yeah," Tom agreed as he rounded the corner, "we've got a new club-house and everything, but you're not popular enough to play with us."

"You're not even cool enough to talk with us," Kira continued.

"Yeah, so get lost," Tom agreed.

Sophia found herself putting all of her effort into not laughing at the bewildered look on Kaidan's face as he turned to her and Garrus. She simply shrugged. "You heard them, Kaidan. I guess you're not wanted on my crew…"

"I'll be giving the Alliance a full report of everything that happened."

Kira nodded. "Go ahead. And while you're at it, you can tell them how we saved most of the colonists while you were PMSing like a little bitch." Kaidan simply walked away at that. "Asshole," Kira muttered once he was out of earshot, jumping down from her perch.

"Okay, that was a little harsh," Shepard told Kira, folding her arms.

Kira simply shrugged. "He called you a traitor."

Tom nodded. "He was being harsh towards you. We only reciprocated."

"I would have said a lot worse, if they hadn't beat me to it," Garrus admitted.

Sophia rolled her eyes. "Setting a brilliant example there, Spectre Vakarian. Regardless, I just wish that your comment about saving most of the colonists wasn't an exaggeration…"

"It wasn't," Tom answered.

Kira nodded. "Yeah, while you guys were keeping them busy, Tom and I made sure that they didn't load up any more colonists. We couldn't get back the ones who had been taken deep into the ship, but the ones being loaded up when we arrived were all saved."

Tom had to stifle a laugh as he shook his head. "Spirits, Kira was brilliant. This Collector was loading them up, and she was cloaked so, when he turned around, she unloaded them again. The look of confusion on his face was priceless…"

"I recorded it on my visor. If we upload it to the extranet, we'd be e-famous."

Sophia rolled her eyes at that. "No uploading mission recordings!"

As soon as they got back to the Normandy, Garrus headed off to the main battery. Not unusual behaviour for him, sure, but Soph couldn't help but notice how quiet he was being as they returned to the ship. Kira and Tom spent the ride chatting away, making Sophia glad that they were talking once more, but Garrus had just sat there, seemingly lost in thought.

So, she followed him to the main battery, wondering what was wrong.

"Can this wait for a bit? I'm in the middle of some calibrations," he told her as the door closed behind her.

She frowned at the brush-off, more than a little concerned. "Garrus, what's wrong? Come on, talk to me."

He sighed, shaking his head, not lifting his gaze from the console in front of him. "It's nothing…"

Her frown only deepened at that. "Come on, amore mio. If you're not going to stick to our usual post-mission routine, you have to tell me why…"

He frowned, finally turning to face her. "Our 'usual' routine?"

She nodded. "Yeah, you know: you worry about me putting myself in danger, but you refuse to say anything in order to maintain a professional attitude, I notice anyway, and then we have sex in inappropriate places until you calm down again. Doesn't exactly help to maintain a professional attitude, but it's a hell of a lot of fun…"

He stared at her, a little dumbfounded. It was true that watching her put herself in danger like that caused him stress that he had to work off somehow, but he hadn't realised that her response had been a calculated one. It was fairly normal procedure for turian mates to use sex to work off any stress caused by their protective-instincts when they worked together in the military, but he was sure that it was different for humans, especially since they frowned on fraternization.

Sophia stepped closer to him to lean on the console, seemingly sensing his unasked questions. "Kira gave me a crash-course in turian relationships just after we picked you two up," she explained, "but this is different. So, you'll have to tell me what's wrong…"

He sighed, looking away from her once more as he leant on the console next to her. "Soph, maybe you were right. Back on the Citadel, I mean. Maybe I shouldn't be here."

Her heart froze at his words, trying to figure out what had prompted the change of heart. "Why?" She couldn't give the icy feeling, creeping up through her gut, a better voice than that.

"Soph, you saw how Kaidan reacted to seeing us together. He was your friend for ten years and that was his reaction. I just… I don't want our relationship to-"

"To cost me anything," she finished for him, repeating the words she had told him on the Citadel. She shook her head, placing her hand on his arm, so that her gaze locked with his. "Garrus, I don't care what others think. I love you, with all my heart. You are worth everything to me. Kaidan was simply jealous of that. He was my friend once, but he decided that he wasn't happy with friendship. He wanted a romantic relationship, and wouldn't settle for anything else. He ended our friendship a long time ago."

"Soph, others will still-"

She cut him off. "Do you care?"

He frowned, shaking his head. "Of course not, I told you that. I just don't want you to regret this. Us. I am fully aware that you could have something closer to home if you wanted-"

"But I don't want that, amore mio. I want you. More than anything else." She punctuated her point with a kiss, hoping to show him just how sure she was of their relationship. "Garrus, if I didn't want this, I wouldn't be here. But… is that what you want? Something 'closer to home'?"

He shook his head, his hands moving to her sides, stroking her skin gently, leaving trails of goosebumps. "Never. Soph, you are my everything. My amvimae."

Sophia frowned a little at that. "I think my translator just glitched out on me."

He nodded. "I got sick of it translating wrong. Well, not wrong, just not accurate. There's not really a good translation…"

"Not even a close approximation?"

He paused for a moment before replying. "Maybe 'love of my life'. It's… rare to find something like we have. So, turians don't use this term lightly. It's how I know Tom is so serious about Tali."

"He uses it when talking about her?"

Garrus nodded. "Yeah. And I use it when talking about you…"

"Garrus, I-"

Before she could respond further, he had moved his head down to her neck, his tongue charting a loving trail across the sensitive skin, sending shivers of pleasure through her as she brought her hands up to the clasps of his armour, gently removing it, piece by piece, until he was only in his undersuit from the waist up. She waited until he had pulled his boots off, yanking her shirt over her head as he did so, before returning to slowly removing the rest of his armour.

As soon as it was all discarded, his hands travelled down, softly tracing her curves as he went, before reaching her arse. Once there, he pulled her up with strength that never failed to surprise her. She had never thought of herself as a small woman – slender, maybe, but never small – but Garrus made her feel downright dainty as he almost effortlessly pulled her up, onto the edge of the console, swiftly locking it down before any damage was caused.

She bit back a moan as his hands travelled back upwards, towards her breasts, tracing her nipples through the fabric of her bra. She moved as quickly as she could to undo her bra, craving the feel of his warm, rough skin on hers once more.

As soon as the fabric moved away, he was on her, one hand stroking her breast as the other moved down to her pants, undoing them with practiced ease as she brought one hand to help him, the other unzipping his own undersuit, teasing his growing length through the fabric as she went. She loved the way his subharmonics growled with lust as he pressed himself closer to her, increasing her own arousal as the cold air of the battery finally met her wet folds, her clothing now all completely discarded.

"Ga-arrus," she moaned as his one of his thick fingers moved down to her clit, circling it slowly, careful to no more than tease her, making her breath grow shallow, "I need you to fuck me."

She brought her lips to his neck, nipping at the sensitive skin, gently at first, but getting progressively harder as her arousal intensified, leaving her feeling almost overcome with the need to be filled by his now fully-erect cock.

He definitely seemed to like her biting, rapidly moving from teasing her with his fingers to swiftly impale her with his length, earning a cry from her swollen lips as she grabbed at his cowl to steady herself, the growl emanating from his chest reverberating through her as he began to pump in and out of her, his groinal plating hitting her clit on every stroke as he angled his cock to hit her sweet-spot, bringing her closer and closer to the edge with every passing second.

"Harder," she moaned into his neck, biting down just a little harder, ripping a roar from his throat as he thrust with as much force as he could muster as he came inside of her, pushing her straight over the edge, leaving her crying his name as pleasure shot through her.

She leant into him as she waited for her head to stop spinning in the remnants of orgasm. "God, Garrus, that was..."

He growled a little in agreement. "Damn, Soph..." He paused for a moment before continuing on. "But you probably shouldn't bite like that... it makes it damn-near impossible to resist the urge to mark you..."

She pulled away a little, realising why her teasing on his neck had worked Garrus up so. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot..."

He pressed his forehead to hers, reassuringly. "Soph, it's fine," he told her, smiling.

"So, ready for round two?"

Tom groaned as he turned over, his clock confirming that it was still the middle of the night cycle. He hadn't slept properly in weeks, only getting a decent night when he was so tired that he ended up passing out.

Time trying to sleep was simply time for his brain to run over everything that he had ever said or done, trying to figure out what had happened between him and Tali. It made no sense as far as he was concerned, but there wasn't much that he could do until he could talk to her in person.

It made for a lot of sleepless nights.

He frowned as his door opened. No one entered his quarters, and he doubted anyone would without knocking. The light being let in by the door quickly vanished, leaving him unsure of whom exactly the intruder was as they, wrapped in a heavy blanket, sat cross-legged at the end of his bed.

"You asleep?"

He rolled his eyes at the familiar sound of his sister's voice. "No. You?" He didn't catch the error in his words until he had already spoken them. He was just too tired.

"Can't."

"Yeah, me neither."

"Thinking about Tali?"

"Yeah… I can't not."

"Same. I just keep wondering…"

"About Caius or Nihlus?"

She shrugged. "Both, I guess." She paused before sighing, deciding to change the subject. "You know, Cai always worried about you. He thought that you were lonely…"

Tom sighed, not really wanting to think about how accurate his best friend's assessment had been. "I guess I worried about him, too."

She frowned a little. "How come?"

"Don't take this the wrong way but… I never understood you two as a couple. I mean, you were like fire and ice, you know? But, somehow, you were what he needed and he was what you needed. I just worried as we got older… I don't think you would ever be happy staying still, Kira. You don't do static."

She nodded. "But we didn't have to be static. Just get a bigger ship, like he said."

Tom sighed. "I think that was a compromise on his part…"

"Yeah… I know," she admitted softly. "We would have worked it out, we always did, but I guess I'm pretty impossible to be with, huh?"

He shrugged. "I think you just need someone who can keep up with you. You definitely inherited Mom's crazy…"

She gave his leg a light whack at that, before sighing. "Maybe I did… Maybe I just need someone as crazy as I am."

"That would be my first suggestion."

"Yeah, well, you already found a girl at your level of crazy."

He sighed, turning over to face the wall. "Yeah, I guess… can I go to sleep now?"

"It's… empty. In my room, I mean. Can I stay in here?"

"Kira, we haven't shared a room since we were children…"

"I promise to not snore."

He sighed once more. "Fine…"

"What is it?"

Sophia's frown broke as her attention was drawn to the turian tucking strands of hair behind her ear. "Oh? Nothing. Just… worrying about Kira."

He sighed, giving her a humoured look. "I should probably just ask which twin you're worried about, instead of what's worrying you, shouldn't I?"

She gave him a sheepish shrug. "Maybe… I just… she seems to think that Nihlus doesn't care about her anymore."

"Soph, it has been two years. Maybe he moved on

She sighed. "I know, I just…"

"Worry about them?"

She shook her head at that, giving a self-deprecating smile. "I am terrible for adopting strays, aren't I? The twins, Liara, Tali, Jack, Grunt…"

"I think it's sweet," he told her softly. "Like a really big family."

She smirked a little at that. "Yeah, just see how you feel about it ten years from now when you're surrounded by a whole horde of kids- Wow, okay, my mouth just completely ran away from me there… That was just… I don't even know where that came from…"

He interrupted her nervous babbling by pressing his forehead to hers. "Soph, you're not going to scare me away."

She smiled a little at him, her fingers tracing his bandages. "No, I guess if you're still here despite my genetic modifications and my cybernetics, not to mention almost ten years spent trying to kill you, you're probably not going anywhere any time soon."

"Exactly…"

"Soph?"

Sophia sighed a little as Joker's voice came over the comm. "Yeah?"

"You wanted to know when we were approaching those coordinates."

She sat up, grinning at that. "Indeed I did," she replied before turning to Garrus. "Come on, amore mio. It's time to pick up an old friend."

"Tom?"

Tom groaned as he sat up, frowning at the weight on his legs, only to look down to see his sister curled up in her blanket like a cat at the bottom of his bed.

"Yeah?" he answered the voice over the comm groggily, causing his sister to stir.

"You might want to get up here. We just arrived at Haestrom."

"And?"

"And I may have a little bit of intel that says a certain quarian is down there and might need her knight in shining armour about now."

He bolted straight up at that, waking Kira completely.

"I'm on my way…"

AN - Additional - Next chapter should be up soon-ish. I'm a good way through writing already just because of how excited I am to finally have Tali back! ^^