Love, Blood & Tears
Chapter 26:

Shepard walked along the beach…the warm sand under her feet. She walked towards the water…letting it rush around her feet and ankles.

"Mommy! Mommy!" shouted a little voice. "Look what I found!"

She turned her head to see her son, a little barefaced tan turian who couldn't be more than four years old, running towards her. He was holding a huge shell in his hands and he extended it out to her.

"Oh wow, it's beautiful baby," she exclaimed.

"I got it for you!"

"I love it! Thank you so much."

His face was beaming with pride at his mother's reaction. He turned back and yelled, "Mommy loves it!"

Shepard looked up to see who her son was shouting to. Her eyes locked with the piercing blue eyes of the turian approaching…Garrus. He walked up beside her and put his arm around her waist.

Garrus chuckled, "We were down in that cove for hours trying to find the perfect one. He would not settle for anything less."

"It is perfect," she replied; flashing a warm smile down at her son. "Let's go see what else we can find!"

"YAY!" their son shouted as he ran ahead of them.

Garrus grabbed Shepard's hand and they strolled along the beach as they kept an eye on their son.

"This is nice," she whispered. "I wish we could just stay here forever."

"That would be nice, wouldn't it?" Garrus replied as he gave her hand a squeeze.

All of a sudden…everything began to fade…the ocean…the sand…the sky…all fading…she began to panic and her eyes searched out for her son…just as she caught sight of him…he vanished before her very eyes…she looked over at Garrus…he was starting to disappear…

"I love you," he whispered as he faded away completely.

Shepard's heart sank as she slowly opened her eyes and the realization set in that it was all just a dream. Her vision blurred as tears welled up in her eyes. She had no motivation to get out of bed; it had been over three months since she arrived at the facility. She still had no word from the Committee and she had yet to see Anderson. It had been over two months since her last conversation with Garrus; she had not been allowed any calls since then. She desperately wanted to hear his voice…to find out how he was doing…to be connected with someone outside the facility.

She heard the door to her room open.

"Shepard, you've got a visitor," said Vega.

She sat up in bed and looked at James with a puzzled expression. She wasn't allowed visitors…no one except for Alliance personnel were allowed to see her.

"Still in bed at this hour?" she heard a soft voice say as the person walked into her room and around Vega.

"Mom!" Shepard exclaimed.

Her mother flashed her a warm smile as she approached her with open arms.

"Oh it's so good to see you, Jane," Hannah said as she wrapped her arms around her.

"Mom…what are you doing here?"

"What? Not happy to see me?"

"No, I'm very happy to see you…just surprised. I haven't been able to contact you…I thought you were on a classified mission."

"Ah yes, funny thing about missions…they all have an end. Anderson notified me of your situation, so as soon as I finished my mission, I made my way here to see you. How are you holding up?"

"Not good," she sighed. "The Committee hasn't told me a God damn thing yet. Did Anderson tell you anything? Any status update on what is going on?"

"No, unfortunately not. He's trying his best…he really is."

"I'm sure he is."

Vega nodded at Shepard and exited the room.

"Why don't we just sit and chat for awhile, hmm? Catch up on things," her mother said as she had a seat on the couch.

"I'd love to, mom. You go first…tell me what's been going on…or at least what you cantell me."

Jane sat on the other end of the couch and listened to her mother tell her bits and pieces of her last few missions. A lot of the work Hannah Shepard did was classified…so Jane never really got a full picture of what her mother was up to. She was used to it though; it had been that way since she was a teenager.

"Okay, it's your turn and I'm sure there's a lot more to be told on your end. So speak, child! I'm all ears," said Hannah.

"Alright…but this could take awhile."

"I've got nowhere else to be than right her with you."

Jane unloaded everything she had bottled up inside her…all her frustrations…all her worries…she vented for hours to her mother. Hannah sat there silently…taking in everything that was being said to her. Jane could see the wheels in her mother's head turning about something…but it felt so good to vent that she dismissed the look on her mother's face. When Jane was finally done speaking, she let out a hearty sigh and slouched back on the couch.

"Feel better now?" Hannah chuckled.

"Much better," Jane replied with a smile.

"Good. So…how long have you and Garrus been together?"

Jane tensed and she looked at her mother puzzled…

"What do you mean...together?"

"I just listened to you ramble on for hours, honey. Either Garrus is your boyfriend or you've gotten way friendlier with your crewmates than I pictured you being. You don't realize how you talk about him…do you?"

"No…how do I talk about him?"

"Like…oh I don't know…like he's the most amazing, wonderful, inspiring, trustworthy, respectable person in the galaxy."

"That's because he is."

Hannah laughed, "Yes well, your opinion of him may have something to do with the feelings I suspect you have for him…am I right?"

Jane smirked, "Maybe…"

"I knew it. So back to my original question, how long have you been together?"

"A few months until…well, until I had to come here."

"Oh, I see…so did you guys break it off or something?"

"No…we weren't really dating to begin with…I don't really know what we were…we never put a label on it. All I know is that I love him and I know he loves me. We've never actually said the words to each other but I know the feelings are there."

"Where is he now?"

"He's on Palaven with his family. He's been assigned a Reaper task force and he's working on boosting the odds of survival for the population. I haven't spoken to him in over two months – they haven't allowed me any calls. I'm getting so frustrated, mom. Is there anything you can do to help?"

"I've already tried, sweetie. The Committee said that my viewpoint is skewed because of my relationship to you."

"Honestly, I had to see that coming. Thanks for trying though."

"I haven't given up yet and neither should you, Jane. You'll get through this…just consider this good practice for honing your patience skills."

"Oh, I have…believe me, I have."

"I'm sure you have. Well, I'll be here for a few days before they send me back out on my next assignment. So let's make the most of it, yes? How about we go grab some lunch."

"I'd like that a lot."

Sophira and Solana were busy in the kitchen preparing dinner.

"It'll be another hour at least before Garrus gets home and probably a little longer for your father," said Sophira.

"That's perfect then because it's going to take a little over an hour for this thing to cook," replied Solana as she carried the cooking tray over to the oven and popped it in.

Sophira wiped down the counters and let out a sigh, "I'm worried about your brother, Sol. Has he talked to you lately?"

"Like what…as in talk about his feelings? No…no way. He's been shut down lately and you can bet it's all because of Shepard. He misses her…really really bad. I don't think he thought she was going to be gone this long. I'm pretty sure he hasn't heard from her either since that last call; which was what? At least two months ago? If he has heard from her since then, he hasn't said anything to me about it."

"Poor Garrus, I wish there was something we could do for him."

"We could make a trip to Earth and break her out, yeah?"

Sophira chuckled, "Can you imagine? The look on your father's face alone would be priceless."

Solana laughed, "That and just picture the expression Shepard would have when two turians she's never seen before break into her room and kidnap her!"

"Yeah…that would be pretty funny."

"Why can't Garrus just make a trip to visit her?"

"Two reasons; one – he's got responsibilities here that he can't pick up and leave and two – the last I heard from Garrus, Shepard's not allowed any visitors."

"That sucks."

"Yes, I feel terrible for him."

They heard a sky car approaching outside…

"He's home early," Solana chirped.

Garrus entered the front door and nodded at his mother and sister as he continued walking.

"Dinner will be ready in about an hour," Sophira said.

Garrus nodded his head again and continued past the living room and down the hall to his room.

His mother sighed, "Sol, you want to try talking to him?"

"I've been trying mom, he doesn't want to talk."

Sophira let out another sigh; her son was fading before her very eyes. She knew that Shepard had a big impact on her son's life but seeing how Garrus was now…she understood just how deep this woman was buried into her son's well being. Shepard was essential for Garrus' happiness in every way. She felt helpless watching her son's spirit weaken more and more with each passing day.

Garrus laid down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. His body had been on auto-pilot for the last few weeks. His body was in a daze…he felt hollow inside. He was unable to process deep thoughts or emotions…his mind was numb. When a month had gone by since his last conversation with Shepard, he had expected to receive a call from her any day. Before he knew it, another month had gone by and still no contact from her. He felt sick to his stomach and was starting to go crazy…was she still on lockdown? Was she not allowed to call him? Or did she simply forget about him? He had stressed out his body to the point that it snapped and developed an emotional callus. Since then, he found himself in a constant state of indifference…he felt nothing. His body was guarded and did not allow him to think of her…knowing full well the emotional damage it would cause. The only time he was allowed to think of her was in his dreams, when his mind was resting and not on guard. After a night of dreaming of Shepard, he would wake sadder than the day before…and his mind would bury the emotions deeper within him and he felt himself grow a little colder.