Can you ever return to normal?
Garrus was frustrated, the long days, paperwork, and red tape was suffocating him. "Time to hit the range." He opened the weapons locker in the corner of his office. It may have been the most powerful weapon on the Citadel, but he never went anywhere without her.
"Ready love? Got the target range all to ourselves for the next few hours." Whispering to himself, he slung the heavy rifle over his shoulder and started to make his way to the practice range. Weaving through the crowded ward he silently wished there was a better or faster way to get things done. He was so lost in thought he almost missed the Young Asari being pulled into the alley at gunpoint.
"Shit" he muttered, unslinging the rifle as he jumped onto the roof of the 'Fish Dog Food Shack' stand. The weapon unfolded itself as he keyed in an alert to C-Sec. Looking through the thermal scope; he could see the gunman busy trying to rip the skirt off the frightened girl.
"What's the situation Garrus?" came in over his earpiece.
Garrus studied the situation, noting every little detail he could make out in the infrared. "Attempted Rape in progress. Have target on thermal now. Biped, wearing a hood, cant make out facial features." he flipped the scope to max. "Has 5 digit hands, either Asari, Batarian, or... " The struggling girl pulled the mask off her assailant, causing him to panic and place the gun to her head. Garrus squeezed the trigger."(BOOOM) human..." The thunderous roar of the massive weapon causing a resounding echo throughout the district.
"Vakarian! What in Spirits name did you just DO?" Came screaming into his earpiece making him flinch.
Garrus reloaded the rifle 'just in case'. "Target Down! No choice, had to take the shot, or watch her die." He jumped down off the roof, slinging the rifle and drawing his pistol. He rounded the corner of the alley to find that the shot had rang true. There was light shining through the wall where the round had pierced it before turning the thugs head inside-out. A frightened young Asari was slumped against the trash bin crying.
Garrus leaned down, "You ok kid?" She jumped up, wrapping her arms around his neck, smearing the remains of her would-be attacker on his armor. She didn't speak, her silent sobbing sending shivers through her small frame.
He holstered his pistol, and picked her up. "It's ok kid, You're safe now. Let's go find your mother."
Two C-Sec officers came running around the corner. "Vakarian! You can't discharge your weapon without authorization, what were you thinking?" they were looking at the large hole all the way through the wall. "Spirits! Did You use that Gods Forsaken Cannon?" They stopped their hollering when they saw the set of his plates, and the aggressive stance he took.
"I think She would disagree." reverberated from his chest as he adjusted the child's position. The tone was a dare, practically begging them to disagree so he could tear them apart.
He turned around and left the alley. Hastily making his way into the med-clinic. "Dr. Michelle. Could you help me with a... Situation?"
"Garrus, What happened?" Dr Michelle quickly went to work cleaning up the girl. "I don't see any damage. Just filth and gore. Do you know her name? She's going to need a shower. Come with me child." she tried to uncoil the small blue arms from his neck.
The fragile whisper was almost unheard in the din of the busy clinic. "Atheen" Garrus could feel her distress. The raw emotions being transmitted to him through her clinging arms. He was about to ask her what she said when she looked up into his eyes. (my name is Atheen Traela thank you for saving me).
He didn't even flinch when she sent him the thought. It wasn't the first time a victim had been to shaken up to speak. Being Asari gave her the chance to convey some useful info without trying to talk. "Nice to meet you Atheen, now let Dr Michelle help you get cleaned up so we can get you home, Ok?" He moved to hand her to the Dr, but she just clung tighter, as her sobbing returned with intensity. He sighed. "Ok Atheen, let's get you into that shower." He stepped into the decontamination shower, gently rocking her as he made sure the water washed all the gore from them both. "How's that? All clean, feel any better? I do, now let's get dried off and find your mother."
Dr Michelle watched the interaction silently. Once they were clean, she helped them dry off and gave Garrus a bottle of pills to give the child's mother. "It will help her relax, she should be able to sleep without any nightmares. How about you Garrus, sleeping any better these days?"
She wrapped Atheen in a clean towel to keep her warm. "Ok then you two, I have a clinic to run. Atheen I want you to come back with your mother when you can visit Ok?" She followed them to the door and watch Garrus make his way through the crowded street until she lost sight of him.
Garrus weaved his way through the people, bringing up her name and address, he sent the information to his visor so he would not have to disturb her by looking at his omnitool. It took him a while to find her apartment, long enough for Atheen to fall asleep in his arms, still clinging to him as if he was her lifeline. He arrived to find the door already open and C-Sec guards just inside. He stepped through them without a word. He looked at the distraught mother. Her swollen eyes, tear-stained cheeks and he turned back to the officers. The glare he gave them would have been enough to make a Krogan flinch. Luckily they got the point and left without waking Atheen.
The mother was looking at her baby, sleeping soundly in this large Turian's arms. Her small hands grasping at his armor. Garrus nodded to her, then looked down the hall, then at the couch exaggeratedly making his point clear. She waived for him to follow her down the hall to the childs room. She stood off to the side as he gently laid Atheen down on the small bed, and pulled the covers up over her. She followed him back out, then pulled the door shut. He walked quietly back to the living room then stood by the door.
He was about to tell her what happened, when she suddenly wrapped him in a hug, her tears returning. "All they said was there was an 'incident' where my baby was the victim, they didn't even know her name until you looked her up in the database. They couldn't even tell me if she was ok. Just that when you left the scene she was Covered in blood, and then your tracer had shown you in the clinic. What did that Monster do to my Baby; Officer Vakarian?" came out with a mix of tears and snot.
He rubbed her back as gently as he could with his taloned hand. "He pulled Atheen into an alley at gunpoint, was trying to rip her skirt off."
She tensed. "Goddess No!" her tears flowing more freely.
He pushed her back by the shoulders until she was looking in his eyes. "She was fighting him off. Kicking and scratching. Then she pulled his mask off, so he pointed the pistol at her head."
She crumbled, her legs lost their battle with gravity so he helped her sit on the couch. "Oh No, Goddess No" came out a whisper. He sat down next to her, unslinging the rifle. His eyes seemed to grow distant.
"Then the Evil man's head exploded" came out in a shuddering breath from Atheen. She ran out of the hallway and wrapped her mother in a crushing hug, then sat between them leaning on Garrus. "He saved me momma. There was a hole in the wall, I saw the light shining through it. Then he took me to the clinic and helped me get clean. I'm sorry your armor got wet." came out in one breath.
He gave her a gentle hug. "Atheen, why don't you take one of these, Dr Michell said they would help you sleep." he produced the bottle of pills for her mom. "Supposed to keep the nightmares away."
She got up and went into the kitchen. Handing the glass of water and pill to Atheen, she noticed the mess her crying had made on Garrus' armor. "Oh! I'm sorry! I'll get you a towel to clean that off."
He looked down at the supposed problem. "It's fine Miss Traela, It's just armor, and it washes clean pretty easy." hoping to lighten her mood.
"Anora silly, no one calls my mom Miss Traela." came from the girl now laying her head in his lap.
He gave her the Turian equivalent of a grin. "Is that so? Well what if I was being polite? Your mother just got told by those other guards that 'something' happened to you. I know how upset that would make me. Is it ok for me to call her Miss Traela then? Wouldn't it have been rude to use her first name?" he nudged Atheen's side playfully.
"Not from Gabriel. The Angel that saved me, My Gabriel, My Angel..." Atheen was trying to say more, but the day's events along with the pill had taken its toll. She was fast asleep, laying across his lap.
He had heard that term before, from Kat. "Angel." he whispered to the heavy rifle leaning against his leg.
He remembered she was standing there, and looked over at Anora. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. Garrus Vakarian."
She smiled at him. "She knows. She told me everything that you did for her when she hugged me. Thank You for saving my baby Garrus."
"Why did she call me Gabriel? I just thought she didn't remember, from the shock of it all." He looked confused, making her chuckle.
"We have been studying Human culture, she is fascinated by Angels, but I think the Archangel Gabriel was what she was trying to say." Anora told him as she sat down at his side, gently stroking her daughters crest.
He looked at her for a second, then put his arm around her and held her close. "Why is that? I'm unfamiliar with that term." He sat there quietly as Anora told him all she knew of Angels, and Archangels. After she fell asleep on him as well, he made a mental note to look into this more. "Not someone you would want to meet if you are evil. Sounds just like Shepard, couldn't be a coincidence. Could it?" he whispered to himself, as sleep finally came to him.
He woke with a start when his omnitool beeped. The message telling him he had only a few hours before the inquiry about yesterday's events. That whole; firing your weapon in a crowded ward without authorization thing. Atheen was still in his lap, although now she was dressed in pajamas and watching cartoons. The smell of something wonderful was coming from the kitchen, making his stomach grumble. Atheen giggled. "Someone's hungry! Mom is cooking you breakfast. You better not say no. She went out first thing and bought all the stuff, so if you don't eat you'll hurt our feelings."
"I wouldn't dream of it." He had to smile, here was a family living through a nightmare, and they were making him breakfast.
"Oh good you're awake, breakfast is ready." Anora looked much better this morning, the puffiness was gone, and she was smiling.
The three of them ate breakfast together. Garrus looked over at Anora, "Thank you for this. It's been hard, the past few months."
She caught his eyes looking over at the large rifle propped up next to the wall, still within reach. "A gift?"
His voice suddenly took on a note of sadness. "More like... Inheritance." noticing the curious look he continued. "Was given to Commander Shepard by a Geth ambassador. He in turn gave it to his Sister. Her last wish was for me to have it." his voice cracked as he spoke. "Never leaves my side."
He noticed Anora's eyes were studying the weapon, "Is that what..."
"Yes, couldn't have trusted that shot to anything else. Had to go through over 20 cm of heavy gauge steel." he seemed slightly better now that there were cold hard facts, not just emotions on the table.
"May I?" She motioned toward the rifle.
He seemed hesitant, "Yeah, here let me just unload it first." he extended the weapon to its full length, after removing the heat sink and ammo block, he handed it to her.
She held the massive weapon with reverence. "She is a thing of Beauty Garrus." she sighed. "True Beauty. But what is that? Is that some sort of specialized ammo?" she pointed at the thermal clip as she lay the weapon on the table and admired every facet of its design.
He handed her the thermal clip. "Thermal cartridge, Geth design. Lets the weapon fire a much heavier slug with much more power. You eject the cartridge and insert a new one saving reload time due to no cooldown period. I had to buy a fabricator to produce them." He gave her a smile. "Since this is the only one in possession by an Organic, and the cartridges technically don't exist outside Geth space."
"Yes, quite a long flight for a shopping trip. But I can see why you would keep this close." she noticed the scratches on the stock just below the eyepiece for the scope. "Kat; Commander Shepard's sister? Your Bondmate?" She silently wished she hadn't asked when she saw the look that seemed to overtake him.
He seemed to slump down in the chair. "Katherine Melody Ochoa. Shepard's sister. Not my Bondmate though, we just didn't have enough time to make it that far." he put his hand up to hide his tears.
Anora put the cartridge down and stood. She wrapped him in a comforting hug from behind. "Garrus, let me tell you something. If the most tenaciously honorable SPECTRE on record. Had a sister, and the two of you fell in love while on a mission to save all of us from extermination by hostile Geth. That were led by a rogue spectre. And Shepard didn't murder you for being with her. Does it matter what Anyone else thinks?"
He stopped trying to hide his tears, and just let them fall. "We watched the news vids Garrus, we saw what kind of person he is. He doesn't seem like the type to suffer fools, or people who would break his sister's heart. So If you were in love, and had His blessing. Well... I couldn't think of any string of words on a piece of paper that would mean as much as that." she leaned in close to him, as she sent all the happy feelings she could through the light touch.
He pat her hand. "That means a lot, thank you. He was raised by an Asari. The Alliance probably kept it a secret for some stupid political reason, but his mother... Asari. I think that explains why he was always so compassionate."
"You're Kidding!" she looked at him like he just grew a second head. "He was adopted by an Asari?"
Garrus smiled, "Yeah, well saved is more like it. But yeah she was a spectre candidate herself, and rescued him from some really bad things when he was only two. She raised him, along with Wratch." noticing the puzzled look "Err, sorry. His Father, Wratch; her bondmate was Krogan."
She smacked him. "You're Kidding!" she was laughing.
He grinned, waiving his hands in mock defense. "Seriously! If you ever go to Elysium, there is a statue in their honor in the middle of the square when you exit the port." he rubbed his shoulder where she had hit him, feigning pain.
She smacked him again. "He was not raised by Krogan! Although that would explain his temper, and we did see him headbutt a few people on the vids."
He stopped pretending to be injured. "Honestly, His mother's name is Atraya. His father's name is Wratch. Shepard was the best commander I have ever had. He was the most amazing biotic I've ever seen, and..."
She cut him off with a comical face. "The Most amazing biotic you have Ever seen huh?" she put a hand on her hip.
"His power easily rivaled an Asari Matriarch. Hell he nearly killed one when he was 9. Anyway We found out first hand how much damage he could do even without an amp when his got overloaded. He could speak just about any language you can learn. Was a damn good cook. I don't know if his levo food was as good as everyone said, but he cooked great food for me on more than one occasion. He was the second most amazing Human I will ever know." his voice taking on a hint of sadness.
She realized what he had said. She kneeled down and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close. "Garrus, why do you keep saying Was?" she whispered so Atheen didn't hear, fearful of the answer she was going to get.
He tried to swallow, his throat suddenly dry. "He's gone Anora. We were attacked. He died trying to save Kat. He went to help our pilot get to his pod, if he hadn't... Well he would still be alive... Anyway Shepard got Joker into the pod, then Kat came out from below deck. He got to her in time but the ship took another hit. Joker told me Shepard was bleeding badly, some big piece of metal punched right through his oxygen supply all they way through him and Kat." Garrus took a deep breath. "The last thing he saw was Kat throwing this into the pod." he ran his hand along the barrel longingly. "Then Shepard launched the pod. The data recorder shows he was alive for another 3 minutes before..." he trailed off, and gathered himself. "She went back for this, It's all I have left."
They were both silent for a few moments before she spoke. "Garrus... Would you honor me by sharing your memory with me? I wish to help. You saved my daughter from bearing nightmarish memories or worse, let help you do the same. If you don't want the intrusion I understand. It can be painful." he looked over at the rifle, the tears threatening to fall again. She sensed his hesitation. "I wish nothing more than to help you, perhaps a different view may ease your pain? Not to forget, just to help it not be so... raw."
He stared at the scratches on the stock for a long time. He decided that in order to remember the good times, he might just need someone to help him see past the bad. "What do you need me to do?" he sighed.
"Have a seat on the couch, please." She gave Atheen her coloring books, and crayons. Then she sat next to Garrus taking his hands. "Relax Garrus, clear your mind. Embrace Eternity." Her eyes went black.
There was a flash. Garrus felt his body become light, disconnected. Anora faded into view beside him, taking his hand. "What is the first thing you remember about meeting Commander Shepard?"
As if to punctuate her question. The Citadel medical clinic came flooding into view around them. She watched the scene unfold in silence. Shepard melting the only surviving Merc, then running to get to Tali before she was killed. The meeting with the Council. Getting invited on the mission. Garrus broke the silence. "This was when I first saw her."
There was a small Human woman laying in a net suspended from the support beams in the Normandy cargo hold. "It's called a Hammock." Anora felt the feelings rush up inside him as soon as the images of Kat joking with the other people in the mess hall came into view.
"I know it will be hard, but just watch for now Garrus." The Feros mission was next. He did as she asked, and started to see Shepard from a different perspective. The anger he showed at the people in charge of the colony. The way he tried to save all of them. How much the cipher affected him, yet he did it all without complaint.
She held his hand comfortingly, as the vision of Kat showing them all the footage from the blitz started to seep into him. Then she felt the adoration? Admiration? when Kat kicked out the Alliance marines and stayed to help the Quarian and Garrus with what they just saw.
He seemed to sense what she was thinking. "When I saw her, laying back on that bed. When she stretched out, through tears that wouldn't stop falling. She was the most caring, selfless person I had ever met. I knew it without being told. I mean Shepard was too, don't get me wrong. That much was obvious. But her, She was something else, and I just knew I had to get to know this person. The One Shepard trusted with more than his life."
She felt his shock at finding out Shepard had paid for all their weapons and armor. Even more shock when he almost strangled the female marine down in the hold. "Katherine was the only thing keeping him in check sometimes. You know that? She was what kept him from killing several people over the past few years. As powerful as he was, She was stronger. She was the safety for the weapon."
She nodded her understanding. Then watched the next memory unfold. Joker called him to the bridge and asked him to help keep the crew off the two marines until Shepard was back on the ship. They had committed an act of sabotage, mutiny, or treason whichever you prefer. "He still gave them another chance."
The blast that stopped Shepard's heart on Therum showed. "Did you see Garrus?"
"Yeah, he sacrificed himself to save everyone else."
"You starting to see a pattern yet?" she squeezed his hand.
On the Normandy: Kat telling him about her plan. "Garrus you have to distract Shepard long enough for me to inject the sedative before he bleeds to death."
A dimly lit medical bay: Watching Shepard as he writhed in pain from the nightmares given him by the beacon, and cipher. Trying to keep him in the bed without making him mad enough to attack.
Finding out that he had made Tali acting captain when he was down.
Garrus on Elysium: She could feel the concern radiating from Garrus as watched the interaction between Wrex and Shepard. The decision to hold up Kat's mantle when she wasn't there to watch over Shepard, weighed on him. "Why did you decide to watch over him when she wasn't there?" Anora snapped him out of the melancholy feeling.
Garrus looked in her eyes for a few seconds. "I admired her. I thought that if this remarkable person had decided to make watching over him her duty, then I would make it my duty to watch over them both. She was trying to make sure he didn't kill himself, or anyone who didn't deserve it. I thought it was a good and just cause. Keep the weapon pointed in a safe direction so to speak."
"Noble cause Garrus."
He sighed. "I thought so."
She pulled his hand so he was facing her. "You don't think so now?"
He shifted his gaze from the floor to her eyes. "I... I thought so, until Virmire." as if on cue. Virmire spun in around them. She watched as they had the discussion with the Salarians. The team making its way to the base.
She smiled at him when he told Wrex they were all one big happy dysfunctional family. "Why do you think you said that?"
He looked at her, pondering the question as the interaction with the beacon played out around them. "At the time. We had Wrex as the grumpy father figure and Shepard was the crazy uncle. Well two crazy uncles. One just wants to kill everything he sees. Tali was the little sister, and Kat was the older wiser sister."
"Where do you fit into that family Garrus?" she leaned over and nudged him.
He smiled for the first time. "The devastatingly handsome friend of the older sister?" he sighed. "An older sister who was watching Him start to lean on Liara more, and more. She had made watching over him her life, and now it wasn't necessary. Well except during combat." he waved his hand around them in a grand gesture.
She grimaced as she watched the amp get fried "Goddess" And when he leveled the Geth destroyer, and then the Krogan. She saw the readings from the visor showing how bad Shepard was. "And still he went on to fight." she said in awe.
She quietly watched them all herd Shepard toward the ship, Garrus following Kat to try to get something to knock him out before he killed himself. The ship taking off without Shepard or the rest of the team. The utter helpless feeling when Wrex brought him back aboard almost dead. The massive knife sticking out of his back. "He had to nearly kill him to save him. But it worked." she said for Garrus.
"Yeah, didn't make anyone feel any better though." he told her as the hold appeared. Garrus drinking with Wrex, and Kat. Then the 'distraction' at the hospital.
Kat beating the shit out of Ash for blaming Shepard for Kaidans death.
"Well this did cheer us up a bit." The making of Shepard's hand cannon started to play around them.
"Why is this a happy memory?" she nudged him again. "Is it because you thought by making this weapon he may be able to stop hurting himself?"
"Yeah, well... That was our hope anyway." he seemed lost again.
The next memory was of the interaction with the crooked cops on Noveria. "We did all have fun here." his smile returning. Anora could feel the weight that had been crushing both of them lifting as she watched the whole team busting out laughing after Shepard threatened to carve up Lorek Qui'in.
Suddenly she felt paralyzing terror as the cold death overtook his body. "Garrus, it is but a memory, it holds no power over you."
He stilled his frantic breathing. "It's ok. Sorry, I'm ok." She watched as Shepard 'baked' Garrus to keep him alive, then threw him into the waiting embrace of Kat on the Mako. Then him with Kat under the blanket, and then alone in the room at the research facility.
Anora didn't blush, she just watched everything unfold objectively. The vision changed to the Citadel, and a protest going on by some pro-human group. "Watch this, it sums up Shepard perfectly." he told her with a smug grin.
She watched intently as Shepard took the leader of the protest off and talked to him quietly, after which the man apologized and shut the protest down. "Goddess, what did Shepard say to him."
Garrus laughed. "That's just it! Never would tell us. Only one he told was Liara. He always was a devious bastard."
She laughed at Garrus as he panicked when Shepard cornered him by the Mako in the hold of the Normandy, teasing him, by lighting up his barrier.
The memories seemed to skip for a second, the area going black for a heartbeat.
The fight with Saren and Sovereign play around them. She was looking at Garrus. Shame crept his mind as he looked away from Anora.
The celebration party and then the evening leading up to the destruction of the Normandy came into view. The utter devastation he felt when Joker walked out of the pod and handed him the rifle. "What did you not show me Garrus?" her voice was stern.
He looked ashamed. "I... "
"I know, but I am trying to help. I cannot, if you don't show me everything." she sighed.
"Ok" he whispered, as the cargo bay on the Normandy came rushing back into focus.
She watched Shepard tease him about being nervous, then start to walk away. "Take it easy Garrus. I won't kill you. Unless you hurt her. If you do, Then Goddess help you."
Shepard stopped before the lift door closed. (You had Better take good care of her) came through his comm. (You had Better take good care of her) "That was what he told me to do. The savior of the damn Citadel and maybe the Galaxy told me to take care of his sister, whom I Loved! And I FAILED! She died because I wasn't good enough to save her. If I had gone with her..." he didn't get to finish.
"You would BOTH be dead! Look at me, Look at ME! Do you HEAR ME? You would both have died on that ship. Nothing will change that fact!" The rifle materialized in front of him. "Do you see Garrus? This weapon is a symbol, it was given to Shepard by an Ambassador from a race of AI the Galaxy thought would kill any organic they met. It represents Hope. Kat went back so that symbol wouldn't be lost. Her last act was to make sure that this had a chance to find its way into the hands of the One Person! She thought deserved to wield it! A weapon of Hope." she hugged him tightly. "He died trying to do what he Always did. Protect the ones that needed it, at ANY Cost. Just like You did with my daughter." Anora stopped yelling at him, and just looked in his eyes. "You are an Archangel Garrus, the one that does the job no one else wants. Breaking stupid rules to save the innocent. That's what Kat wanted."
He stood there, the realization of the truth in her words stinging him like a thousand papercuts. "I understand."
She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "About time you Stubborn Archangel."
She ceased the meld, and he was starting to make sense of reality. His eyes lingered on the rifle. "Weapon of Hope." came out a hushed whisper.
She gently wiped the tears from his face. "Yes it is."
His omnitool beeped. He opened the message. "Damn. Well I have to go to the inquiry. Probably going to have to babysit drunks for a few weeks, or something equally as demeaning."
Anora pat his leg. "You going to be ok?"
"Yeah, I am. Thank You. It did help to have a different perspective." his eyes had glazed over, seeming to see through her. But he eventually focused on her. "You're a pretty good shrink Anora."
The smile spreading across her face, showed him that the flattery had worked. "I'm not a shrink, I'm a bartender."
Garrus gave her a smug grin. "Same thing." as he stood up. He stood there seeming to be lost for a second. "Look, I don't know if you are interested. But If you ever wanted a change of scenery. There is this Great little club on Elysium. Dignity it's called, great neighborhood. The owner is a friend of mine. I could put in a word if you wanted." he sighed "You would both be safe there."
Anora hugged him, "Thank you Archangel. I will honestly consider it."
"I'm gonna have to get used to that name aren't I?" He broke free of the hug. "I have to go, I will stop by and check on you both afterword. Ok?"
"Yes, we would like that. You are always welcome in our home. No matter where we live." She walked him to the door.
Atheen ran up and hugged him. "Goodbye Gabriel" he pat her back, then she released the crushing hug.
"Lock the door behind me." Garrus gave Anora a stern look. Satisfied when he heard the lock engage, he headed for C-sec H.Q., and the ensuing inquiry.
"Better stop and get something to eat before I sit down for hours to get my ass chewed out." he mumbled to himself as he made his way through the throngs of people. After lunch, he clocked in at C-sec, prepared for the worst.
Someone however had changed the definition of worst when he wasn't looking.
He sat there in shock. Garrus couldn't believe that his superiors were telling him that he shouldn't have taken the shot, until AFTER the victim was wounded or killed.
"You risked the lives of Everyone on this station by firing that Damned gun!" Lt. Sotohr. was pacing back and forth. "Do you know; Thanks to your actions, the parents of that girl are suing us! They are claiming that you endangered their daughter, then kidnapped her! Child Endangerment, and Kidnapping! Those are Not charges I can overlook Officer Vakarian."
Garrus was pissed. He knew Sotohr was lying, and that was what made it hurt so much. He had dedicated his life to C-sec, just like his Father before him. Now he was finding out that Everything they had fought for was a lie. They wanted him gone, so they were fabricating charges from the thankful Mother that had just saved his soul. "You want Me gone that bad?" he growled.
The blank stare Sotohr gave him infuriated Garrus. "You want me gone that bad, fine you get your wish. But before I go. Just know this. The old rules don't cut it anymore. The attack proved that. Sooner or later you Idiots are going to have to wake up and realize that." Garrus threw his badge on the Lt.'s desk. He placed his hands on the edge of the desk, knocking over Sotohr's nameplate. "And on that day, I hope that You are at the mercy of some psychopath. See how long you want help to wait when they're saving your sorry ass."
He didn't wait for a response, Garrus left C-sec and went straight to his apartment. He gathered his meager possessions, and boxed them up. On the way back to see Anora and Atheen he dropped the boxes off to be shipped to Elysium. When he reached their door, he had to stop and listen before knocking. "Do you think Gabriel will come back momma?" he smiled. "I sure hope so baby, I sure hope so." He knocked on the door. "Who is it?" His smile grew as he sent her the vidlink from his omnitool.
"It's Archangel. I'm glad to see that you remembered what I said about not trusting anyone." the door was open before he could finish. Atheen running up and jumping into his arms. "Hey little one, how are you feeling?"
Anora hugged the two of them. "How did it go?" she saw his smile slip. "Suspension? for how long?"
He pat Atheen on the back. "How would the two of you like to come with me to Elysium on a little vacation? Maybe check out that club I was talking about."
Atheen was squirming around now. "Can we go mommy?"
"I have to work baby, maybe in a few weeks we could visit him." Anora wished she had vacation time, or that money wasn't so tight. She hated to see her daughter pout.
Garrus stood Atheen back on her feet. Then pulling up his omnitool, he started typing something. After it sent he just stood there looking at his talons, as if they needed cleaning.
Anora knew he was stalling, the grin was obvious. Her omnitool beeped, startling her. She couldn't believe the message.
Anora: As per Officer Vakarian's personal recommendation.
You have one month stress leave, pending evaluation.
Please inform us if the situation changes.
Sincerely: Eternity Employee Relations Department.
She closed the message, and just looked at him standing there smirking over the top of Atheen's head. "Well I guess we had better pack then."
After a quick (throw everything into a duffel bag) time. The three of them left for the transport station.