Shepard huffed and rolled over onto her side and patted the girls back for what felt like twentieth time in the last hour. She was in a word… exhausted. She had 'familiarised' herself with her small home as best as she could. A table in the middle of the room with two chairs, a few cupboards to hold personal items and clothes and a hollowed out section in the wall which she assumed must be for cooking as it had a hole leading up in the shape of a chimney.

And to the side was one double bed… which was technically just a mattress on the floor made from what she assumed must be hay, foliage and other soft materials except for the fact that it reminded her of a futon she had once slept on. The lumps and bumps probed and prodded at her ribs and she could already feel that her back would be protesting loudly in the morning. Add to the fact that she had been carrying around a baby krogan as well while she had walked through the camps earlier, she was definitely going to suffer tomorrow. Shepard continued to soothe the little one who gave a few kicks and jolts in her sleep and thought about the 'village' that was now her home.

The walk through the camp had proved useful. She was approached by a few women who wanted to know things about humans or what kind of life she had been living before she had gotten here. The rest of the women – the elders – avoided her and scowled if she came to close to their homes. She had stopped by a small market where meat and other goods were traded and got chatting to the krogan behind it about stock and delivery dates. She learned many useful things, such as the fact that it was a four mile walk to retrieve water from a spring down in the valley, that going into certain shrines were forbidden unless you were a shaman and to never allow a male into the camps unless it had been discussed with the elders. Little titbits of information floated through her ears and she smiled and nodded at all the questions and curiosities but after an hour she was desperate for some privacy.

She had made her way back to her home and Umi had then decided to test Shepard's limits by demanding a piggyback ride all the way back up the hill and Shepard was gasping for breath throughout the entire experience, while Umi cackled out her joy from behind. She had finally gotten the kid to eat a few scraps here and there between tantrums of an unholy sort – where Shepard had ended up wearing her dinner – and Umi had finally settled into the bed with her at round about eleven that night and had promptly fallen asleep.

Shepard came out of her musings with a start as the padd Nihlus had given her, beeped with an incoming message. She slowly and carefully extricated herself from the sleeping girl and tiptoed to the other side of the room. She picked up the padd and taking the two steps to the 'kitchen' she poured herself something to drink and read through the message. It was from Nihlus –naturally. He wanted to know if she was alright. She messaged him back saying that she had become a mother sooner than expected and explained about Umi and how she was now living with the women in their camps. Five minutes later she received another message.

'I miss you Shepard.' The message read and Shepard choked on her water.

While it was true that she missed his company – what with having spent every moment together for a week on his ship, but she didn't know how to answer his message. She didn't want to lead him on. Their night together was just that… one night. She bit down on the inside of her cheek and hummed. She decided to ignore the message. She could always feign that she had fallen asleep again. It may be cruel of her but she wouldn't respond to him if he ever became too emotional… too attached. The feelings of love and commitment she had inside of her stretched only far enough to reach Garrus and to her unborn baby. Shepard checked the time and groaned.

Bakara had told her that all the women get up at five each morning and walk down to the stream to get water and upon returning, attended to the chores for the day in the camp. Shepard didn't understand how this species could be okay with having star ships and weapons of mass destruction but the thought of using a fucking dishwasher was somehow frowned upon. She had asked the female at the market why the camp was run in such an old-fashioned way when there were machines and technology that could do everything required of them in a blink of an eye and with no effort on their part at all. The female's response had been that 'nothing worth having was ever achieved without effort' and that 'Life was never meant to be easy'. Shepard had given a small laugh at that but quickly controlled herself when she saw the look of disappointment in the woman's eyes.

She harrumphed again in a snort. She might as well stay up now as it was half four in the morning and any chance of getting back to sleep had gone out the window long ago. She wished that she had kept her omnitool purely so that she could look at all her holo's that she had stored on it. Holo's of Garrus. She would give anything just to hear his voice again, his nervous stutter, the feel of his chest that vibrated when he purred. She wanted to bury her face into his neck as he played with the strands of her hair, letting them fall through his long fingers. Her stomach growled loudly and looking down at it she lifted an eyebrow in question. Better to eat now rather than later when she may not have the time… she didn't want to keep her baby waiting.

Her mouth twitched in a small smile and she wondered – not for the first time- what her child would look like. She hoped beyond hope that he or she would be mostly Turian, with bright crystal clear blue eyes like it's father. If she could never see Garrus again, she at least wanted to be able to look into her child's eyes and see him there in some small way. She leaned the padd upright on the table in her line of sight while she prepared a small breakfast for herself and Umi who would no doubt also wake up soon and selected the news channel to play softly in the background.

''In an astonishing report, we have footage of Sabine Crassus, wife of Detective Vakarian- being released from jail today. An inside source has revealed to us that she has been confined to the Citadel as her case continues. The allegations are severe and we can't help but wonder what the outcome will be. Sabine is closely related to the Primarch of Palaven and according to Mr Vakarian's interview with PND it started off as an arranged marriage between the two families which quickly turned sour.'' The reporter in the video stated and Shepard stood numb in front of the padd.

She turned the volume up, not caring at this point if she woke Umi up and stared hard enough to make her eyes hurt at the clip of Sabine being rushed by the media and fleeing the scene. The reporter droned on and on about likely scenarios, outcomes and resorted to playing clips of Garrus speaking in between each point she made.

''But the real question, ladies and gentlemen, is where is Shepard? Where is the human who let a soon-to-be-married turian mark her? Where is the human who was allegedly attacked by Sabine? We only hope that she is safe and that the Alliance and all its human counterparts will keep an eye out for her. This is Khalisa Bint Sinan al-Jilani from Westerlund News. Back to you Shaila.'' The dark haired women said and the clip stopped.

Shepard stood perplexed and worried at all once. She couldn't believe that Sabine had been released that quickly! It was a only small comfort that she was confined to the Citadel, but she probably still had access to all her connections and Shepard sneered as she pictured that Batarians hands all over her. She needed to be ready, she needed to learn and quickly, how to properly defend herself. Shepard was no idiot and she knew Sabine would order another attack on her as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

''Shep… Shep… foooood!'' Umi squealed from the other side of the room and Shepard was embarrassed to admit that she may have levitated a bit in fright.

''It's almost done Umi. Wait a minute ok?'' she told the girl, who rolled over onto her belly and wiggled as she laughed.

Shepard turned her back and continued preparing their food on the small hob she had been given – having no idea how to properly cook food over a fire- and she cringed when a loud crash echoed from behind her. Turning slowly with one eye still closed in a wince she saw Umi had knocked over several of the pots and pans that had been neatly piled next to the table against the wall.

''Now how the hell did you get from the bed to over there in one minute?'' Shepard muttered and walked over to pick the girl up and placed her back on the bed only to groan as Umi wriggled off of it and started running around the table in circles with her thick chubby legs, kicking the pots and pans all over the room in her excitement.

''Seriously kid, we have got to talk about a few things…'' she scooped the girl up for a second time and looking around the room she spotted an extra blanket. A flash of inspiration later and the girl was neatly bundled on her back, tied to her by the blanket in a knot in front and Umi squealed at the confinement.

''Tough luck Umi. You want to eat right? Then you need to stay still there on my back and let me finish this okay?'' Shepard asked, not expecting an answer but getting one in the form of a grunt of acceptance.

''Good girl.'' Shepard cooed and taking the food off the hob she used a ladle to scoop the slop into a bowl.

Untying Umi from her back proved to be easy, as the child all but slid down her legs, sharpened claws dragging down her sleeping pants and causing Shepard to hiss in pain. She turned and lifted the krogan into the air and seating her down at the table she cautiously nudged the bowl towards the infant, not wanting a repeat of last night's events.

''Eat.'' She said to the young girl.

''No.'' Umi said.

''Eat.'' Shepard insisted again, getting impatient as her own food cooled and started to resemble concrete in her bowl.

''No!'' Umi shrieked and Shepard thanked her reflexes as she gripped the edge of the bowl before Umi could tip it everywhere.

''You just said you were hungry Umi.'' Shepard said exasperated by the whole ordeal.

''Look, here…. I'll have some... Mmmmm, tasty. You see, it's not so bad.'' Shepard lied through her teeth and with effort swallowed the lumpy gruel down. She really needed more cooking practice.

After almost ten minutes of coaxing with a spoon, Umi took her first bite and although she wrinkled her nose at the taste, Shepard decided that she can't have hated it that much, as Umi had just stuck her whole face in the bowl, slurping and licking away at what was left.

''Geez kid, you're covered now.'' Shepard grumbled and snatching a rag, she wiped the girls face and cursed silently as she tried to get between the plates on her face where the food had lodged itself.

''I hope to god we won't have to do this every morning.'' She muttered standing up and throwing the bowls into a small bucket to be washed later. Keeping an eye on the child, Shepard got dressed and smoothed her hair down. She had no mirror in her small house and she shrugged.

Not like she had anyone to impress anyway.

Hearing a knock on the door Shepard half-wished it would be someone to relieve her of baby-sitting duty. Bakara stood on the other side of the door, hands clasped behind her back.

''Good morning Shepard. I trust you slept well?'' Bakara asked stepping in to the room and laughing at the site of her destroyed home.

''Uh, yeah, thank you. We had a few… incidents. Nothing I couldn't handle of course.'' Shepard said by way of greeting.

Bakara rumbled again in laughter and picked the small girl up, nudging her head to the little one in greeting.

''Come. It's time to go get the water. It's a long walk and I expect that you will be quite tired after. So gather what little strength you have and let's go.'' Bakara said, passing Umi over to Shepard who quirked a brow.

''Do the children come too?'' Shepard asked her.

''Naturally. Exercise is good for little legs and they get to see more of our world this way. It will also give you some much needed experience as well Shepard.'' Bakara's eyes shone with amusement as Shepard sighed.

''Brace yourself for a long day ahead Shepard.'' The elder krogan said with a slap to Shepard's back making her stumble forwards.

''Great.'' Shepard mumbled and looked longingly back at her uncomfortable bed as Umi's finger made its way into her ear.

Garrus cringed as his alarm clock blared through his room. He fumbled with getting his hand out from under the blanket and lifted his arm with his eyes closed and slapped the table next to him. The sound continued to assault his ears and he slapped the table again.

Oh… right…

He realised belatedly that he wasn't in his room, in his home and that's why no matter how hard he slapped the table next to his bed, his alarm wouldn't shut off. Because it wasn't on the bedside table to begin with. He cracked open a sleepy eye and saw the offending machine across the room on his desk and as the sound continued to grate on him he stood up, cursing as the sheets tangled in his legs. He switched the machine off and yawned, his jaw cracking with the effort and he scratched his fringe which tingled from the blood rush in getting up too quickly.

He revelled in the silence of the room and getting his training clothes laid out on the unmade bed, he stepped into the bathroom for a quick wash. He dried himself and pulling on his clothes he grabbed his Stiletto pistol from the draw in his desk and clipped it on to the side of his pants. It's not like he was in any imminent danger here on the Spectre training grounds but he felt naked without his weapon and never, ever left home without one. He locked the door behind him as he left his room and headed to the gym. An hour of cardio should wake him up and as he entered the gym he was grateful that no one else seemed to be using it. There weren't too many candidates that actually stayed on the grounds here and Garrus loved that he didn't have to make idle chit chat with people when all he wanted to do was run his problems away on the treadmill.

Climbing on and setting the speed to a casual jog to start off with, he programmed his ear piece to play music while he ran. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the music and the feel of his feet hitting the machine. His pace increased dramatically and he got to put his full Turian stamina to the test. Rivulets of sweat started to stain his shirt and he grew annoyed as the beads dripped from his neck to pool into his cowl. He huffed and checked the time. Two hours had gone by and he had thought of nothing and everything in the space of those hours. He was tired but his body felt good - apart from the hollow feeling in his chest that he could feel with each breath from Shepard's absence - he was actually tempted to say that he was feeling fine.

Stepping off the machine, he wrapped a towel round his neck and began a routine of stretches to cool down his body. His fringe tingled again and he looked up to see a Salarian leaning against the wall, watching him. He cleared his throat and stood up straight, clasped his hands behind his back and formed a perfect military pose of attention.

''Spectre Bau.'' Garrus said in greeting, nodding his head.

''Candidate Vakarian.'' Bau returned the greeting as he approached Garrus on the mats.

Before Garrus had time to ask questions, Bau advanced on him with a punch and he barely blocked it with his arm, before spinning and crouching down, countering with a jab at the salarians stomach from the side, which the salarian also avoided by side-stepping.

''Hmm, reflexes not bad. Co-ordination needs work.'' Bau muttered in that fast paced Salarian speech.

Throwing his one hand on the ground, Garrus' eyes had just enough time to narrow before the nimble Salarian's body lifted off the floor and his boot connected with the side of Garrus' face, the thwack from the hit sounding extraordinarily loud in the room. Garrus fell to his knees before rolling forward to stand and face the Spectre again, holding his face in his hands and a growl escaping him.

''That was a cheap shot Spectre Bau.'' Garrus hissed and squared his shoulders, feet apart as he braced himself for the next attack.

''Just because I am not your enemy does not mean I will not resort to dirty tricks. Your enemies will certainly do it so why can't I?'' the salarian questioned and smiled, the corners of his mouth pulling up as his oval eyes slanted down as they closed.

''Very well, I have learned much. Spectre Jondam Bau. Pleasure to meet you recruit.'' Bau said and stuck out his hand to Garrus who took it.

Bau gripped Garrus' hand and flipped him over his shoulder making him slam onto the mats with his carapace cracking against the blue material. Garrus groaned as the air rushed out of him, temporarily winded.

''You have skill Vakarian. But your weakness lies in you not knowing how to predict your enemies' movements. You have good reflexes but you are still of a frame of mind where you would rather rely on defence and diplomacy to get what you need. Working with me should cure of the notion that not everyone who smiles at you is a friend.'' He said and once again reached his hand down to Garrus.

Garrus looked up at the Salarian with narrowed eyes and grunted, unsure as to whether or not he should take the hand being offered. He sighed and gripped the hand and Bau chuckled, pulling him upright.

''Then again, I hope you will look upon me as a friend until your training is done. I am your teacher and I have much to teach you. When the day comes that you are named Spectre, that will also be the day when you and I will cease being friends, as with most of the recruits I have trained.'' He said and Garrus detected a hint of sadness.

''And why is that? I mean, why aren't you still friends with your recruits after they pass?'' Garrus asked, rubbing at his chest to try and coax it into breathing properly again.

''Ego? Jealousy? Competitiveness when it comes to getting the better cases? Who knows? I haven't trained anyone in a long time. You are somewhat famous these days so I suspect that you and I will have our work cut out for us.'' Bau said again and Garrus shrugged at the' famous' bit of the conversation.

''Understand Vakarian. I am well aware of the bond between you and your human, but know this, if I ever feel like you are doing this... becoming a spectre I mean, for the wrong reasons, I will do everything in my power to make sure you won't succeed.'' He rasped and Garrus' eyes widened at the warning.

''I will try my best to not let my bond with her interfere in my duties, however I do ask for a small modicum of understanding as well. She is my mate. If she dies, I die. And I very much want us both to continue living. If I ever hear news of something or someone wanting to harm her, I will rush to her side because in the end I will be saving us both from death. I can't very well do my job or be of any use to you anyway if I'm dead.'' He said to Bau, who inclined his head and agreed with what he just said.

''Very well, I will open all channels on my side as well, to ensure that she is found.'' Bau stated and Garrus spluttered from the sip of water he had just swallowed.

''Y-you will?'' he asked the Spectre.

''Of course you twit. Didn't you just say that if something happens to her that you would die as well? Can't have my first recruit in four years dying now can I? Saren would never let me live it down. Smug bastard… just because Nihlus turned out so great…'' Bau huffed and then turned his head to the side as Garrus hissed his disgust at once again hearing that bastard's name again so soon.

''You don't like Nihlus then I take it?'' Bau asked, folding his slender arms over his sinewy body.

''He's trying to fuck my mate. So no, I don't like him.'' He snarled and walked over to the android console, programming three mechs to continue his hand-to-hand training.

''Ah. Problematic then that I hear Shepard has left with him. Sure she just isn't interested in you anymore and that's why she left?'' he asked Garrus, who roared in anger and struck the nearest mech with such force it short circuited and fell to the floor in a metal heap.

''No! Definitely not. I would sooner die than believe she doesn't love me!'' He hissed pointing his finger at Bau.

''Of course, of course… but I have to caution you… that was another test Vakarian, to see how quickly you could be goaded into losing control. You failed miserably by the way. Be sure to work on that.''He smiled and left Garrus alone.

Breathing hard, Garrus gripped his fringe with both hands and yelled, kicking the downed mech repeatedly until his frustration went away. His toes ached from the constant bashing he had just given them and he sank down on his ass into the blue mats and leaned back on his arms. Well fuck, this was going great wasn't it he thought to himself.

He stared at the empty gym for a time and his eyes flickered to the door as they opened and a few recruits came in. He sighed loudly and dragged himself up with a curse. Time to move on he mused as he grabbed his towel from the floor and made his way back to the dorms for another shower.

Later that evening

''Detective Chellick?'' he heard a voice say and he cursed out loud wondering what fresh hell he was in for now.

Reporters had been hounding him as much as they had been hounding Garrus and Sabine. He turned around intending to tell whoever it was to politely fuck off when his words died in his throat. Her pale plates glimmered as the city's lights reflected off of them, her dark blue familiar markings sweeping gracefully over her face making her baby blue eyes stand out all the more and his gaze travelled to her waist and back up again. His mandibles fluttered in the face of such beauty and he heard a snort come from the woman who had obviously just clicked on to his appraisal of her.

'Detective Chellick right? I'm Solana Vakarian. I believe you know my brother.'' She said and he found himself nodding but still unable to speak.

Spirits, what was wrong with him. He was thirty years old and he had discreetly slept his way through numerous amounts of women since leaving the military. He wasn't some fledgling on a first date…

Speak you fool... Speak!

''I, uh, yes. Yes, that's right. I'm actually Executor Chellick. I run the division your brother used to belong to.'' He rumbled and he felt himself stand up straighter and he tilted his head forward so that she could get a full frontal view of his elongated fringe.

''Is there any way you can spare me a moment of two? Garrus is quite busy with his training and he messaged me earlier on asking if I could come round and find out what's happening with the case.'' She said and she smiled at him, her mandibles fluttering over her jaw as she spoke and she pointedly looked up at his fringe, before her eyes caught his again.

His breath hitched in his throat.

She was interested.

He purred down deep in his chest as he took a step towards her and she met him halfway.

''Would you like to discuss this in my office… or would you prefer to discuss this over dinner?'' he drawled and he sucked in a breath as her fingers climbed from his hand up to his arm, one finger at a time before she linked her arm with his.

''Oh, I think dinner will do nicely for now.'' She purred back and he was shocked to see her wink at him.

Winking, he had found out was predominantly a human trait, expressing humour or interest, depending on the topic of conversation. As he replayed her action in his mind he became aware of the last few words of her sentence.

'For now'

He huffed and covered her hand with his own and led her out of the building, extending his hand to help her into the cab he had ordered to be there waiting for him.

''I'm surprised I've never met you before Miss Vakarian.'' He said and was awarded with a small laugh from her.

''Oh, I don't usually come to the Citadel all that often. Besides I just got out of the military myself so I'm exploring my options. Apart from this whole mess with my brother, I'm quite enjoying myself here.'' She hummed.

''Ah, that would make you… twenty? Maybe twenty-one? Spirits, I feel old now.'' He grumbled and she giggled at his exaggerated moan.

''You are only as old as the woman you feel Executor Chellick.'' She purred and lowered her hand to his, giving it a small squeeze before releasing it.

He spluttered and cleared his throat as his wide eyes took her in. She was bold… he would give her that.

He shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with the thoughts running through his mind. She was Garrus' sister; he had to tread carefully here.

''Please, call me Chellick. No need to be formal.'' He said softly and she smiled and nodded at him.

Arriving at the restaurant, he walked in feeling proud to have such a beautiful female on his arm and she swatted at him half-heartedly as she saw his pleased grin. Sitting down at their table, he was amazed to find that the night seemed to blur. They had a lot in common and those things that they didn't agree upon were discussed at length through heavy debate and breathless rants which ended up with them both laughing at the other. The restaurant had grown quiet and the two realised they were the last diners in the establishment. Hastily making apologies, they left arm-in-arm.

''We didn't do much talking about the case did we?'' Solana muttered and Chellick snorted.

''No we certainly didn't.'' he said.

''Ah, well. I'm sure if you had anything to add you would have told me by now.'' She hummed and stepped away from him.

''I better get back now, it's getting late… '' he frowned and closed the gap between them.

''Can I see you again… Solana?'' he purred into her ear and she gasped as his forehead slightly brushed her own.

''Yes. I'd like that Chellick.'' She said and he watched a blue flush ride up her neck and he squirmed as he fought off the impulse to wrap her in his arms.

His smile was wide and his face showed every expression of happiness that one could think of as he waved her off, watching the cab fly her away. He had gotten her personal contact numbers and she had promised to come by the office. If only Turians could whistle, he mused… he was that stupidly happy with how his night had turned out. He checked his messages on impulse and saw a response from Dr Michel. Shepard's files were attached with a warning underneath.

'I would suggest you tell Garrus in quiet place, with a bottle of brandy or two at hand.'

He furrowed his brow-plates at the message, wondering what it could all mean. He would wait till he got home to read the full report.