I don't really have any chapter notes for this, so I'll just say the normal stuff. Please continue to review! I've had some lovely reviewers lately but I'm still not getting a lot! That makes me glum. :((( I've gone from getting four reviews to like only one or two. Please, please please leave feedback! It means so much!

xoxo

THR


Chapter 29


Your name was Garrus Vakarian and you were now able to say that having sex in a coupe could be crossed off of your bucket list.

It wasn't something that you had intended on doing at first, but that didn't take away from the experience's wondrous consequences that were anything but unpleasant.

Drenched in your woman's sweat, you eyed the foggy windows to see the Earth's dark sky casting a menacing black light into the vehicle. The way the luminosity hit your scaly exterior didn't make you feel like the most confident Turian in the world. If you could, you would reach down for the remnants of your armor. They had been tossed onto the ground because of the heat of passion that had overtaken you in the most sudden romantic whirlwind that you had ever experienced. While you were still alert and aware of your atmosphere, your girlfriend was not. She had succumbed to her own fatigued desires and left you to relish in the memories of the forgiving moments that you had just shared.

Her body was flopped over the leather cushion of the seat as if she was a ragdoll. Her clothing was obsolete at this point; even if she wanted to put it back on, she had taken a beating. You were well aware of how rough she liked things and on multiple occasions she pushed you to not hold a single thing back. Turian mating rituals could be described as forcible and scarring, but still zealous and intimate nonetheless. Her body, once pure with porcelain skin, was now covered in red marks. Some of them were from the inevitable allergic reactions while some were simply from accidental talon scratches. Sleeping with you made her exhausted every time. She could keep up for the duration of the encounter; she was Commander Shepard after all. You had learned to become more gentle with her as time ran its course and her agility began to get sloppy towards the end. To hide this, she would still want more even when her head hit the pillow and her eyes were drooping shut.

Keeping up with her was still a challenge despite your own energy level. Just when you would think that she was done, she would play an absolute wildcard. Pushing you down or biting into your flesh wasn't out of the norm but it wasn't something that she would pull frequently. Needless to say, she kept you on your toes when she wasn't even on her own.

Her ungloved fingers twitched while she laid on her stomach. You let your eyes wander down her back, and you were still questioning the correctness of staring at her bottom. It was yours; she had said that numerous times to you with a flirtatious wink afterwards. You had the permission from one of the scariest women of the galaxy to stare at her ass until your heart was content. You could look at the concealed tattoos that dotted her back and the war scars that tainted her form.

Perhaps it hadn't occurred to you that she was really yours. Did you deserve a woman like Commander Shepard? She had flaws and so did you, but she felt so perfect compared to you. A ragtag C-Sec officer shouldn't have been able to score an Alliance marine that had done more for the galaxy than you ever thought you could.

As much as you wanted to scream these things out to the world, you couldn't allow yourself to.

She was your girlfriend, damn it.

You were sure as hell going to be proud of her and flaunt her. It was the exact opposite of what Turian society wanted you to do, and going against these expectations excited you.

"You will be arriving at your destination in approximately twenty minutes, Commander Liz Shepard and Garrus Vakarian. Please resume your upright position and continue to enjoy the flight!"

You silently cured the VI that was built into the ship. That thing was more useless than a Krogan on a reconnaissance mission. Part of you hoped that the thing didn't have a built in camera. The other part of you knew for sure that it did.

You heard the sound of a bare body moving against the seat and turned to see a naked Shepard facing you with a daring grin. She had forgotten about the events that had happened an hour prior and was back to her calm and unguarded demeanor. That side hadn't been coming out a lot lately, and she blamed it on "Alliance stress".

"Mornin' hon. How's it hanging?"

The informality of her speech made laughing easy for you.

"I'm going try and appreciate that sort of Earth slang without reporting you for misconduct."

She responded to your threat by doing something that drove you absolutely wild.

"I'll have you taken in for insubordination, soldier."

Her body pressed against yours, pushing her curves just into the right crevices of your own being. Feeling her slick body slide like the way that two puzzle pieces fit together wasn't something that you could handle. You felt like a wild animal when you forced her further into your slender personage but regret was not a feeling that clung to you.

She cursed under her sweet breath when her bruises hit your scales, and you gained a grasp on reality again. Her body was soft no matter how tough she claimed she was. Without enhancements she wouldn't be able to fully keep up with you.

"This hurts more than being hurled into space. Get some moisturizer or something, Vakarian."

You planted a kiss on her forehead and tried your best to think of a witty reply.

"In your dreams, Commander."

Your name was Garrus Vakarian, and although you weren't all that witty, you still had the best woman in your life that you could ask for.


Your name was Doctor Karin Chakwas and you wanted to catch up with an old friend who was sitting in a stiff position a few feet away from you.

Instead of being able to do so, you were seated in front of your desk in your office with the Council breathing down your neck. On a normal day this sort of thing wouldn't have bothered you. You could recall when Shepard used to come to you and howl about "those sons of bitches" and how they were inadequate officials. You didn't share this opinion because you lacked the proper experience when it came to the Asari-rooted group. Until you had official dealings with them, you planned on giving them the utmost amount of respect. Shepard had been known to bend the rules when it came to what she said and did. If you bad mouthed the Council, you would be willing to bet a lot of money that your job would end up on the line. However, it wasn't just the Council's presence that had made your day more than a little out of the ordinary.

You glanced up from your paperwork to look at the spread of individuals in front of you. When you scanned the row you saw nobody unusual until you reached the end. Sitting on a chair to your left was the one and only Kaiden Alenko. When the governing body of the Citadel had arrived at your door on such short notice requesting to see you, you hadn't been expecting the second human Spectre to be in tow with them. Instead of greeting you with his normal enthusiasm, he nodded to you.

You had read the email that he had sent. Like him, you wished to assist Commander Shepard in any way that you could. He had vocalized his efforts in this email a few days prior.

He had even mentioned getting the charges that had been put against her dropped.

Upon first reading his message, you thought his goals were little more than wishful thinking. Spectres operated above the law, and from what little knowledge you knew about them it didn't seem like a man such as Kaiden would do such a thing no matter what sort of privileges he was given. He, like Garrus, was someone who would do anything to uphold justice. He wanted to do the right thing whenever possible.

"Doctor, we've dispatched Shepard. The way it was executed wasn't the most…formal way of doing so. One of her accomplices was spotted being treated at this hospital and was spotted by a C-Sec agent, who notified us immediately. This man claimed to be that great Alliance pilot. Joker Moreau, I believe it was. He's sent for Shepard and she is supposedly on her way."

You let out a mysterious laugh at the mention of Joker and wondered if he was still taking his medications without your constant reminders. You looked up at the Asari councilor, who had sounded rather disturbed when she mentioned the Alliance pilot.

"There's no reason to fret about Joker, Councilor. He's a fine man. A little rough around the edges, but still great nonetheless."

She nodded and put her hand to her chin. It looked like she was in intense thought, but you chose not to waste time pondering about what went on inside her brain.

There wasn't any more chatter for the next few minutes. You spent your time signing forms that the Salarian councilor had handed to you at the beginning of your meeting and observing the facial expressions of each of the aliens in front of you.

Out of all of them, you found the Turian's to be the most fascinating.

Until recently, he had been a just man in the eyes of the media. Unlike his predecessor, he had been tolerant towards every Citadel race. He had even shown kindness towards Commander Shepard on multiple occasions.

Now he appeared to be brash and impersonal to everyone who attempted to discuss the scandal that had been forcibly tossed into the Council's hands.

Since entering your office, the things that had been uttered from his mouth were limited. When he did speak, his words were muttered underneath his breath. You might have been old, but that didn't mean that your hearing had gone south. You were well aware that he didn't want to be in your office. In fact, you wouldn't be surprised if everyone but Kaiden shared his opinion on the matter of Shepard.

As you looked over the paperwork, you observed some incredulous requests from the Council. Their inquiry to you had at first mentioned nothing more than a simple physical. Now they were ordering that you test Shepard for diseases that you hadn't even heard of. Biotic stability experiments and full mental disability analyses were the tamest demands that you read.

You could be a stubborn woman when you had to be, and now it was time to let that side out. In your opinion, this examination would do nothing but send the Commander further into madness.

"I don't mean to question your requests, but these tests that you've ordered are outlandish. My professional medical opinion is that she needs nothing more than mental help that doesn't involve solitary confinement. It doesn't seem right to test her for all of these foreign diseases."

Instead of looking down, the Turian councilor glared up at you with malice.

"We had the best doctors from across the galaxy aid us in formulating the best possible remedy for Shepard's ailments. How do you suppose we should go about it? Would you rather us go with one medical opinion or hundreds?"

You passed the paperwork over to Kaiden, who read over it with a sickened expression. As he slowly began to find reasons to agree with you, your hand crumpled into a fist that had more spite in it than the Turian's entire body. It didn't take long for the Spectre to chime in.

"I have to agree with the doctor, sir. These tests, they're…well, they're unbelievable. I'd also like to know why this examination is so discreet. Shepard was notified through a messenger who may or may not be reliable. There hasn't been a single press release and you just let her go when she was let out of jail without much more than a slap on the wrist. Half of the business that you're conducting is—"

"Alenko!"

Sweat gathered on Councilor Valibus' neck while he stood up to release his pent up rage. Kaiden flinched as if he had been stung, and it wasn't until he mentally remembered his position. He was sitting here in your office for a reason. He was overseeing Council business. It was his job to work above the Council and see that this was being handled correctly.

The Turian councilor soon recalled this, too.

It didn't take him long to leave the room in an irate frenzy. Concerned, the Asari councilor excused herself and left, taking the Salarian councilor with her to deal with their problem.

This meant that Kaiden and you were alone at last.

There was no longer a tense aura in the room. The Council's presence seemed to consistently make things more difficult no matter what situation they were in. Now that they were gone, a weight had been lifted off of both of your shoulders.

Kaiden indicated his emotions with a long and heartfelt sigh. He chuckled a bit and looked up at you with those brown eyes of his. It had been a long while since you had the opportunity to truly see him.

You wondered how Shepard had managed to fall for a Turian instead of Kaiden. He had been a looker since you had known him. Although he had aged since the end of the war, the bits of grey that peppered his sideburns didn't detract from his good looks. He had retained his marine build and was boasting his normal muscular physique. His armor gleamed against the faux Citadel light and it was obvious that he had taken the time to polish it himself. With light stubble dotting its way across his jaw, you came to the conclusion that he was a formidable man fit for a person of the same stature.

That is, if he ever decided to court someone.

"I read your email." you mentioned. "I understand your concern for Shepard, but she still needs treatment. I doubt that the Normandy is a sufficient place for her to deal with her stress. It might bring back memories she would prefer to not relive."

The door had just been closed by the time you started to speak. It didn't take long for you to hear the security guards rioting outside to calm down the Turian.

"Doctor, you don't understand! This is a whole government conspiracy and the Council isn't revealing a thing to the public. The Batarians have them in their pocket and they're going to continue to torture the galaxy's greatest war hero unless we intervene! If we can get Shepard on the Normandy and out into the Terminus so she can—"

"The Commander isn't going anywhere until she's properly reinstated and issued a clean bill of health! I don't care if the Batarians weasel their way back onto the Citadel within a week! Shepard can handle them when she's mentally stable!"

Your tone had been more motherly than you had hoped for. He strained his hair through his fingers while sorting through the options in his mind.

"What happens when she's not, Karin?" he retorted.

You gave Kaiden a look of disapproval. You were reluctant to admit that you were puzzled yourself; if the Batarians were indeed using Shepard to manipulate the Council, then why should you be the person to hold her back?

Your top priority was Shepard's health and wellbeing. As important as she was, there was no way you would let her within mile of the Normandy without making sure that she could handle it. You weren't entirely sure what Kaiden was implying. You did know that he was scheming and that not much good could come out of it. You let yourself cave into him for a multitude of reasons, though.

"Then I suppose we'll have to make up our own kinds of rules. That, of course, would involve the abilities of a Spectre."

A smirk played on your face and you could see that your comrade was well aware of what you were trying to communicate to him.

Your name was Doctor Karin Chakwas and you now considered yourself officially on board with Kaiden's daring project.