Inspired by "Anyone Else But You" from Juno

I really enjoyed writing this chapter...I think that even before he consciously realizes he's in love with her Garrus would be sort of a protective kind of guy. ^_^ D'awwwww. Shepard's casual outfit inspired by the wonderful rabbitzoro on DeviantArt.

Anyone Else But You

If there was one place in the galaxy Garrus thought he would never go again, Omega would have to be it. Still, if Shepard asked it of him, he would follow her to hell and back.

He hung back, watching her converse in low tones with the Asari Justicar, Samara, just outside the back entrance to Afterlife's VIP section. Samara had asked for Shepard's help in apprehending her murderous daughter, Morinth and of course Shepard had agreed. Usually Garrus wouldn't object to such a dangerous mission – they were a strong team and could handle themselves – except that Morinth was the Asari equivilant of a serial killer. An Ardat-Yakshi, as it were. To lure her in, Shepard was supposed to be the bait…draw her in and then get her alone.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Garrus closed his eyes and tried to remain calm. He understood the importance, truly he did, but couldn't Shepard wear something a little less…

Well, to use the human term, sexy?

Over a black, form fitting t-shirt Shepard wore a cropped vest of light violet and white. A short, almost smokey lilac skirt covered mid way down her thighs and a pair of knee high boots made her legs look long and slender. She wore fingerless gloves that stopped just before the elbow and as he snuck a peek over, Shepard adjusted the two belts that criss-crossed over her hips.

If Garrus had a say in the matter, Shepard would have worn her armor. Or his armor. Or hell, even Grunt's armor. Or all of them at the same time. Anything but…that. But when he'd offered to help choose an outfit he had been forcibly ejected from Shepard's room by Tali, Yeoman Chambers, Samara, and to his surprise, Miranda. After she had helped the Cerberus operative save her sister, Shepard and Miranda hadn't been so cold to each other. It was refreshing in a way.

"Garrus?"

He snapped out of his thoughts to find Shepard standing before him, her hands clasped tightly behind her back. Beaming, she rocked back and forth nervously. "I…I was just about to head in. Thought you'd want to know so you can get ready to follow me when I come out."

Smoothly, the Turian reached around to retrieve his rifle. "Oh, yeah. Thanks for the heads up Shepard."

For a long moment, the pair stared at each other. Shepard looked so uncomfortable out of her armor, and if he had the capabilities, Garrus would have been blushing furiously. Finally Shepard moved towards the door but paused with her hand on the activation pad, glancing back at her friend.

"Garrus?"

The blue eyed Turian met her gaze. "Yes Shepard?"

She smiled nervously. "Thanks for the flowers."

And with that, the brunette spectre vanished into the dimly lit club

"Look into my eyes and tell me you want me…tell me you'd kill for me. Anything I want."

Morinth looked incredibly like her mother. Shepard had to keep reminding herself that there could not be two people more different. Still…gazing into those black pits that were the Asari's eyes…it would be easy to simply lose control, to slip away…

Nobody calls Commander Shepard for an easy job, right?

In the back of her mind, Shepard started. That voice…it wasn't her own, she had figured out what her internal voice sounded by now. No, this was different. The tone, the harmonious way it seemed to almost sing…Garrus?

Come on Shepard, I thought you knew me better than that.

Garrus's voice seemed to revive her, allowing Shepard to pull back, yanking her eyes away from the Asari's. Panting a little, she set her jaw. "Don't count on it!"

Morinth blinked rapidly, her eyes returning to their crystalline blue. "But you…Who are you?"

Erin sat a little straighter, her shoulders back and her hands balling into fists. If worst came to worst, she would fight Morinth until Samara could intervene, but she didn't like going into a situation like this without Garrus at her back.

Or without armor.

Realization seemed to set in for the Asari across from her, since she furrowed her brow in disbelief. "Oh no, I see what's going on. The bitch herself found a little helper."

As if on cue, Samara strode into the apartment, glowing with biotic energy. She looked confident, but cold in her fury. Extending her hand, she released the power, snarling her daughter's name as the other flew into the window so hard a spiderweb of cracks formed. The sheer force of Samara's power had sent Erin stumbling backwards off the couch, half wondering if she should be anywhere near the two Asari while they fought.

"Shepard! Let us finish this!" Samara cried, never tearing her gaze away from her murderous daughter.

Erin stared in awe at the two. A hair twitch from either would finish it…Her deep ocean blue eyes flickered to Samara for only a moment before she moved like lighting. Yanking the Asari's arm backwards, she met the killer's gaze with no fear.

"End of the line Morinth."

"And they call me a monster…" Snarled Morinth. She didn't have time for any more words as her mother used a biotic push to throw the two women apart.

As Samara moved forwards, Shepard moved back, averting her eyes as the Justicar went in for the kill. Once upon a time she had killed an Asari Matriarch…Liara's mother. To watch Samara kill her daughter was painful because in some ways, she felt it was similar to back on Noveria. The Justicar stood, her back to Shepard. "I am ready to leave this place and get on with my life. Are you ready to go as well?"

Slowly, she approached Samara, concern etched into the commander's features. "Are you all right? Do you want to talk about what happened?"

Shaking her head, a deep sadness seemed to emanate from the blue skinned woman. "Shepard, what do you think I will say? What can I say? I just killed the bravest and smartest of my daughters. There are no words…I will try another time. For now, show mercy on a broken old warrior and let us leave."

Sympathetically nodding, Shepard walked with Samara towards the docking bay where Garrus joined them. The Turian was silent in respect of what had just happened, but they paused outside the airlock to the Normandy. Erin turned to address Samara. "Go on ahead and take however long you need Samara. I think…I think I need a drink."

Bowing her head serenely, the Justicar disappeared into the ship, leaving the human and Turian alone. Shepard glanced up at Garrus, raising an eyebrow as she did so. "I'm headed to Afterlife for a quick drink. Join me?"

Both knew that there would be only one person drinking that evening. Shortly after making up from their fight in the first few days Garrus had admitted to Shepard he'd pretty much given up drinking. Since then Shepard had convinced him to loosen up when they were aboard the ship but he still didn't feel comfortable drinking outside the Normandy. If the crew went to a bar he would often go along as the 'drunk driver' of sorts. He would watch out for the crew, make sure that they stayed mostly out of trouble.

With a shrug, he was already turning to head back towards the noise and light of Afterlife. "Sure. I'll just come along as bodyguard."

In amicable silence the pair made their way back to the bar. No lines for them, Shepard's status made sure of that. Once inside, Garrus was a little surprised to see Shepard making her way away from the main bar and towards a lower level. It only took a few long strides for the Turian to catch back up. "Shepard, this might just be me, but I thought the bar was back that way."

For the first time since starting out on the excursion into Omega, Shepard laughed. Pushing aside a few strands of hair, she shook her head. "I thought I'd try the lower level…somewhere a little out of the way. I don't want anyone to recognize me in this outfit."

Bitterly, Garrus recalled that since they hadn't had time to stop at the ship, Shepard hadn't gotten the chance to change out of her 'bait' outfit. While the idea of his commanding officer in such an outfit had the Turian embarrassed, he just wished that other men wouldn't stare at her so much.

Mercifully the lower level wasn't as crowded as the upper portion of the bar. Trailing several feet behind Shepard, Garrus allowed her to approach the bar alone. Let her do her thing while he took the time to examine the rest of the bar. Unfortunately, had Garrus taken another moment to see what Shepard had been served, he could have told her that it wasn't meant for levo-amino based consumption. All the Turian heard was a thud as Shepard staggered backwards and collapsed to the floor.

"Shepard!"

Swiftly, Garrus crouched beside the human, bending so his face was only inches from hers. He could still feel the tickle of air from her mouth, so she was still breathing. Good. Despite the fact that several patrons had stopped what they were doing to watch, Garrus gently gathered Shepard into his arms. Cradling Erin against his chest like this, the blue-eyed Turian was reminded how fragile humans could be…no matter what Shepard was always trying to prove.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Another Turian approached, his mandibles flared in concern. Garrus jerked his head infinitesimally towards the bar. "Bartender poisoned her. I've got to get her to a medic, excuse me."

Without another word, Garrus swept past and into the darkness of Omega.

"…coming around soon. Commander, how do you feel?"

Erin Shepard groaned, trying to get her bearings. Her limbs felt heavy and the bright lights caused her throbbing headache to worsen.

"EDI, dim lights! Shepard, I should've warned you. I'm so sorry."

As the light faded to a more bearable level, the brunette opened her eyes. Above her she could see the skylight in her room as well as Doctor Chakwas. The silver haired doctor nodded before turning a little. "She should be all right, just rest right now. Let me know if either of you need anything and I'll be in the med bay."

Curiosity piqued Shepard's interest. Rolling her head to the side, Erin blinked. Garrus hovered over her, ice blue eyes filled with worry. He hardly seemed to notice as Chakwas exited, all his attention fixed on Shepard. With a deep breath, Shepard tried to take account of herself. Nothing broken, but as she ran through her mental checklist of body parts intact – starting with her toes and working up – she paused at her right hand.

Not that it was broken or anything. In fact, it was completely fine. It was just firmly grasped between Garrus's warm talons.

The Turian must have realized it at the same time Shepard did, since he released her hand as if it would burn him, but the worry didn't leave his face.

At long last, Shepard swallowed dryly and managed to speak. "What happened?"

Shaking his head, Garrus averted his gaze. "I should've seen it coming. That Batarian bartender gave you a dextro-amino based drink instead of levo-amnio. Basically he tried to poison you. I heard that one of the other patrons heard what happened and took care of it…You're lucky Commander. A few minutes later and Cerberus would've had to start another Lazarus project."

A weak chuckle escaped the commander as she reached up, using her hand to turn Garrus's face so that he would look at her. "You saved me, so we don't need to worry about that."

Her eyes were hazy, but there was no doubt that the Commadner's mind was still as sharp as ever. Against the Turian's smooth plates, her hand was almost cool. "My Archangel, always watching out for me. You're my bond brother and my friend. I don't see why I would choose anyone but you to stand by my side…thank you Garrus."

Too shocked by her touch to pull away, Garrus still managed to clench his mandibles tightly to his face. "It shouldn't have happened in the first place Shepard. I should've been more aware. I…"

Leaning into her touch a little, Garrus closed his ice blue eyes in a poor attempt to hide the guilt in his voice. "I was careless and it almost cost you. I can't lose you again Shepard….none of us can."

Silence settled between the two as Shepard searched for something to say. She wished there was some way to comfort her friend, but for once in her life, no words would come. Instead, she peered up at him inquisitively. "Just how long was I out for?"

Wincing, Garrus's voice was low. "The better part of a day. Chakwas and Mordin have been working pretty hard to make sure you stay with us."

"When was the last time you slept?"

"Before we went after Morinth."

Finally testing her limbs, Shepard used what little strength she had left to move to the other side of the bed. A gentle tug on the covers pulled them back enough for her hand to be seen. "We both need sleep. Stay here and get some rest. And don't give me that look Vakarian. It's not like we're naked."

For a moment, Erin thought the Turian would refuse. Then, he slowly nodded, slipping beneath the sheets while leaving a healthy distance between them. Shepard felt her eyes drooping closed. Before sleep claimed her once more, she gripped the edge of the covers.

"Stay?"

The question was more of a contented sigh than anything else. At long last Garrus relaxed from the vigil he'd kept for well over twenty four hours, relief creeping in. Hesitantly, he reached over and brushed aside some unruly mahogany strands with the back of his talon.

"For you Shepard, always."