AN: I previously would have called this a 'long' chapter, but after the last one it seems so small...

As usual, thanks go out to every who reads with special thanks for all of who have taken the time to follow/fav and extra special, super, mega, ultra thanks to Horrorclown, Barleyguy, Zombie Pixel, and 1054SS325MP for the awesome reviews. You guys are getting better at guessing where I'm going... Hopefully I can still throw you through a few more loops before the end. ^^ (Imagine maniacal cackling here...)

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 36 - "All right, Brian, we'll go. But don't touch anything while we're there. Even stepping on a mosquito can cause a chain reaction that drastically alters the present." "Really?" "Nah. You can do whatever you want."

"So, who was the guy?"

Sophia turned a little to give Peter a questioning look as they approached the turian camp in the mako, looking for their missing tech.

"What guy?"

"That enthusiastic young biotic who caught up with you on shore leave."

"You mean Kaidan? He's just a friend. We went through biotic training together."

"Just a friend, huh?" Peter asked with a smirk.

"Yes," she confirmed adamantly.

"Friends don't look at friends the way that kid was looking at you." Sophia grumbled at that. "What, you're not interested in him?"

"No, I'm not…"

"Why not? I mean, he's a good looking guy. Don't tell me there's someone else."

Sophia frowned at that, looking away. "No… No, there's no one else."

"So you're just really into the loner thing, huh?" he joked as they parked up, just out of sight of the turians.

"Shut up and find out how many turians I have to beat up to get our stuff back."

"Soph, remember when we talked about the right and wrong ways to talk to your commanding officer?"

"Shut up, Sir."

"That's better," he replied with a grin as he climbed out of the top of the vehicle to see exactly what they were dealing with. "Mae was right," he told her as he climbed back down. "Too many for just us. We wait for Reed and his lot to do their thing and we make sure no one escapes this way with the tech."

"How long do you think that will be?" Her question was answered by an explosion. "Okay, so not long at all."

"Just keep an eye out. They can't escape with the tech."

"You know, your insistence on broadening my horizons is boring as hell."

"Yeah, well, tough shit. Aw, crap. See that turian over there? I think he's making a break for it."

Sophia could definitely see the turian. Her turian.

Peter frowned at her as he noticed how she paused. "Recognise him?"

"I've run into him before. Remember the last time I was beaten?"

"Wait, this is that turian?"

"Yep. Permission to run after him, beat him to death, and take our stuff back?"

"Just don't cause too much trouble."

"No promises," she called back as she used her biotics to propel herself along in order to catch up with Vakarian.

He diverted into the ruins of a building that had been destroyed by the conflict a few weeks back and she quickly followed, making sure she didn't catch up with him until they were well concealed by the building's walls.

She caught him by surprise, slamming into him so that he was pressed up against the wall.

"I knew you were following me," Garrus told her as soon as his breath returned to him.

"You have something of mine," she countered.

"Fight you for it."

She grinned at that. "I wish we could, but we don't have time. Why don't we just skip to the tiebreaker?" she asked, before pressing her lips to his.

Wait what? That's not how this went… And I'm dreaming again, aren't I?

Sophia resigned herself to the realisation as she moved her hands down to his lower armour, quickly freeing his erection as she continued to press herself close to him, taking his cock in her hand.

"You know that I can't give up this tech, right?" he warned her as she pressed her lips to his neck.

"Oh, I think I can get you to change your mind…"

Sophia awoke in the shuttle, only to blush as she remembered the events of her dream.

Damn Garrus and his stupid ideas, Sophia thought to herself as she brought a hand up to her newly formed bondmark, her frown replaced by a smile as she remembered how gentle he'd been with her; how he'd worried over hurting her.

It had only been a few days and she missed him already. She just wished that she had some idea of how long the Alliance intended to keep her on Earth.

"Hey, kid. Been up long?" Anderson asked as he approached, sitting opposite her.

"Just a moment or two," she answered.

"You must have woken when we hit the atmosphere."

Sophia looked out of the window to see that they were, indeed, landing. "Wait, this isn't anywhere near an Alliance base… This is…"

Anderson nodded. "They wanted you close, but I managed to talk them into house arrest. I figured it might be nicer to stay with family."

"What's the catch?"

Anderson sighed. "They've retrieved some of the data from the Normandy. Some of the… proposed gene mods that they never implemented. The Alliance has reason to believe they'll work."

"You mean the Alliance found out that Kira has the mods and figured they'd give them to me? You know, I think I might actually prefer jail to them tampering with my genes."

"Right. An Alliance prison. Where they'll have access to you around the clock. Even when you're asleep…"

Sophia nodded, taking his meaning. "So, you convinced them that having me submit voluntarily would be better than altering me without my knowledge."

"You would have caught on. And it would have been no use to them if you refused to cooperate."

"So letting me stay with Tommy is a gesture of good faith on their part?"

"Exactly. Of course, your extranet usage will be monitored and you aren't allowed to leave the premises."

"Of course…"

"This can't be… recent. I mean, it has to just be an image from two years ago, right?" Tali asked as she turned to her aunt.

"Three minutes and forty three seconds ago, actually," Raan told them. "An image is recorded every five minutes along with general readings from the stasis chamber. I suppose some explanation is in order…"

Tom nodded absently as he regarded the readings from the stasis chamber.

Alive. Alive and stable.

"We searched for some way to allow Tali to carry the child to term," Raan explained before turning to the young woman. "As much as you may have thought that you were keeping it to yourself, it was clear that Tom was your lifemate. We all saw how his departure hurt you. Your father worried that losing the child would be the last straw.

"He managed to rig together this stasis unit and then we waited until the last possible moment before removing the child. And it worked and you got better, but… while she's in perfect suspended animation for now, she can't be removed. There's nowhere to put her. The stasis halts the aging process and there's no way she'd survive outside of it at this early stage. We were looking to make some kind of surrogate system that could support her unique genetic makeup but we've had no luck…"

"Why was I never told?" Tali eventually asked, her voice quiet and strained.

"Your father wanted a solution before he told you. The stasis chamber is keeping her alive for now but it's only a temporary measure. Quite frankly, we're shocked that it's held out this long. We simply don't have the technology to do more. Your father had hoped that the geth might have more answers, but if he didn't find anything…"

"Nothing to do with this," Tali replied.

"Cerberus," Tom muttered absently as he kept regarding the readings.

"What about them?" Tali asked.

"Well," he started, pulling himself out of his thoughts, "they have this technology. They used it… well, for me and Kira…"

"Isn't Kira on her way to that facility now?"

Tom nodded, before giving his bonded an anxious look. "If you want, I could ask her to retrieve the equipment and we could… see this through. But only if you want to."

He was still mindful of her admission of being scared when she had first suspected that she had been pregnant. Plus, it wasn't exactly something they had talked about. They had both been under the impression that it was impossible.

"I… Call her," Tali told him.

"You sure?"

"Yeah… I think I am…"

Kira seemed lost in thought as Nihlus entered the cockpit, fiddling with her short strands of still-wet hair. He had to admit that he found himself nervous as he approached. He was concerned that he had pushed her too far. He knew that Kira scared easily, it was just a difficult fact to remember at times - especially now that he knew how it felt to hold her close as they showed each other just how much they truly cared.

"Hey," Kira greeted quietly as he approached, though she didn't turn her chair around to face him.

"Hey," he replied as he sat down in the chair next to her. "We need to talk about this, don't we? You know, without the-"

"The awesome, hot, mind-blowing sex?"

"Yeah. That."

"Probably wise."

"Are you okay? You seem..."

"I'm sorry," she told him, turning to face him. "I shouldn't have… I just figured… You're gonna be mad anyway when this wears off… I figured a second time wouldn't make much difference…"

"Kira, why are you beating yourself up over this? I've already told you that this has nothing to do with the pheromones. Not really. They just acted as a catalyst, making me finally face my feelings for you. Feelings that were there anyway. That have always been there."

She shook her head. "You don't know that. Of course it feels real to you, they're manipulating your emotions. You might be right, they might have worn off, but if they haven't, I don't want to make things worse."

Nihlus just sighed at that. "I still don't understand. Even if you're right, and my feelings for you will suddenly disappear some time in the next few weeks, so what? You're a good friend and I find you attractive. I'll never regret what happened between us and I'll certainly never be angry with you over it." He regarded her carefully as she remained silent. "Unless… this is a human thing? Is there a different… I don't know… cultural significance?"

Kira sighed, shaking her head again. "It's not that. I mean, I have a fairly turian attitude towards such things. I have nothing against casual sex… you know, in theory…" She turned away as she muttered the last part, blushing a little.

"In theory?" he asked, before he realised what she meant. "You mean, you've never…?"

"No. In fact, I'd only ever been with one person before last night…"

"I… I'm… I didn't realise…"

Kira cut him off with a barking laugh. "The stupid thing is that I wouldn't care. If that was all this had been for me - just meaningless sex because we were horny and there - I would have no issue with it. The problem is that I do care. I really do care about you. I never really stopped caring about you. And every time I let myself get just a little bit closer - just a little bit more invested in this - I know it's going to hurt that much more when this all falls apart…"

Nihlus regarded her for a few moments before sighing. "You know, if one of us should be worried about getting hurt, shouldn't it be me? After all, you ran away the last time I told you that I cared. Before I could even realise how much I did care." He paused, trying to get a read on her as he carefully weighed up the consequences of what he was about to say.

She cared about him. It hadn't taken much for her to fully reciprocate his advances, the only thing holding her back was the thought that his feelings weren't genuine. "Me too," she had told him when he had confessed how he had wanted her for so long now.

That made his decision for him.

"Kira, I lo-"

She cut him off with her cool hand, with too many fingers, over his mouth.

"Don't," she pleaded, quietly, her gaze desperately imploring him.

"Okay," he conceded, as he gently removed her hand from his face, though he kept it in his. "But not saying it doesn't make it any less true." She seemed to pale at that, looking away, but her hand tightened around his, as if trying desperately to cling to something tangible. "You're scared," he realised. "Different to how you were last time. Kira… no matter what, I'm still your friend. Please just talk to me."

"I'm dangerous, Ni. Even without meaning to be. And this stupid siren song doesn't help…" He nodded as he listened, assuming she was talking about the pheromones. "The last person who cared about me… He died trying to prove himself to me. He didn't even know my real name…" Despite her best efforts, a couple of tears still escaped down her cheeks. She'd never really faced what had happened on Omega, she had just buried it to be dealt with when there was time. But there was never time. "I just… I need to be sure…"

"Okay but… just try to do one thing for me?"

"What?"

"Try to believe that it's possible for someone to care for you, not just because of what Cerberus made you. Okay?"

She nodded slowly. "Okay… I'll try…"

Their talk was interrupted by Kira's omni-tool blinking at her.

"Hey," she greeted as she opened the channel to see her brother's nervous face. "How'd it go with the quarians?"

"Fine. Tali's been cleared of the charges against her, so that's good... How are things on your end?"

"Good. We're on our way to the facility now."

"When you're there, could you pick up some of the Cerberus equipment for me?"

"Sure," Kira agreed as her eyes narrowed at the odd request. "What equipment?" Her query was answered by Tom sending the data to her 'tool. Her eyes widened as she put two and two together. "Wait… does this mean… No… Unless they… Unless you… No, not now, not unless… Wow, if he managed to get that to work… Tom, does this mean I have little niece or nephew in stasis somewhere?"

Tom seemed uncomfortable at that, as if he couldn't decide if he should be worried or happy. "Yeah," he said finally, his subharmonics just barely falling on the side of 'happy'. "I guess so…"

"Don't worry, we'll be as quick as possible. I promise."

"Thanks."

"Hey, big brother."

Garrus almost let out an audible trill of relief as his sister greeted him from upstairs when he walked through the door to his family home. "I take it this means Dad's not home?"

She shook her head as she came into view, bounding down the stairs to meet him. "Nope. Just me. He's not due until tonight."

"You gonna camp out with a friend?"

She widened her mandibles into a smile at that as she leaned against the wall at the bottom of the stairs. "Yeah. I'm gonna stay at Tullia's."

"Or, you know, you could stick around…"

His sister gave him a confused look, before her eyes fell on his newly formed bondmark. "You're an idiot," she told him plainly, folding her arms.

He just smiled back at her as he dumped his bags on the floor. "Yeah, you've said that already. I just decided that I didn't care."

"My rebellious big brother. This is why you're my role model."

"I thought you were completely against this."

"No, I just thought that you should be aware how much everyone else was going to be against this. I think it's brilliant. Definitely puts my dating issues into perspective…"

"Oh yeah? How are things going with your friend?"

"They're not."

"So, what is the issue there? Tier too low?"

"You know I don't care about that shit…"

"Too high?"

"Not enough to be an issue…"

"Have you tried asking him out?"

"No. He wouldn't be interested…"

"He hacked into classified files for you, if that doesn't scream 'interested' then-"

"Trust me, he didn't do it out of any romantic inclinations. Anyway, why are we talking about this? I want to know more about your bondmate. Are you gonna tell Dad about her?"

"Wasn't planning on it…"

"You know that he's going to notice the marks, right?"

"Yeah but… I'm just hoping he won't ask. Regardless, even if I end up telling him about Shepard, I think I'll leave out the part about our time travelling children from the future making an appearance…"

"Probably wise."

"Hey, little cous," Tommy greeted as Sophia entered the house, pulling her in for a hug.

"Hey, Tommy."

"I thought you were dead."

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot lately… Thanks for letting me stay here."

"Still your house."

"Not technically true. The house went to you when I died, remember?"

Tommy sighed at that, giving her a measured look. "This is very weird, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"Regardless, you're not dead any more."

Sophia shrugged. "Yeah, I'm also involved with a turian. As soon as the Alliance let me go, I don't think there's much of a chance of me coming back to Earth for an extended period of time."

"Wait," Tommy said, frowning, "I remember, before you… just after Saren, you said that you were involved with Garrus Vakarian. I had assumed afterwards that you were joking or I had misheard."

"Nope. But I understand how strange it is… Sometimes I can't even believe it…"

"So, you're still together? Despite the whole…"

"Being dead thing? Yeah. We bonded just before I left…"

"'Bonded'?"

"It's… ah, it's a turian thing. I'll explain it later. Anyway, you... use this place better than I ever could."

"You were about to say I need it more than you, weren't you?"

"I didn't want to hurt your pride," Sophia admitted.

Tommy sighed at that. "Well, I'm not going to argue. The last thing I want is to move Carmen out of here. She loves it. Speaking of, you're lucky she's still at school. She's been bouncing off the walls ever since she learned that, not only is she related to the great Commander Shepard, you were going to come and stay with us."

"You just agreed to this for the free babysitting, didn't you?"

"I can't deny it's convenient. Pretty much makes up for the constant Alliance surveillance."

"Afraid they'll find your porn?" she teased.

"Don't make me change my mind," he warned. "But… there's something else I have for you."

He passed her a datapad which caused her to raise an eyebrow as she began to read what it contained.

"Tommy… how do you have this? There's no way the Alliance didn't search the house before allowing me to stay here…"

"I only skimmed them but, from what I gather, this place has been searched a few times over the years. I always just thought Nonna was paranoid…"

"I think she wanted you to think that. Tommy, I don't want you involved in this any more than you already are. It would have been better if you had just left these files alone entirely…"

"Well, that was never going to happen. Regardless, I agree with you, so I didn't look any further into these things and kept them where they were. I just thought that you should have them."

"Thank you," she told him as she once more began to read what was contained on the files.

Entry 001

God, I haven't had a diary since I was little. But, I've been told this will help to keep me sane. Just so long as I write the entries in Italian, encrypt them and delete them as soon as I send them to my secure server for safe-keeping.

Maybe they just want me to remember where my loyalties really lie...

Getting here was easy enough. Easier than I thought, anyway. I thought Zaeed would see right through me, but apparently my story was more than believable. Are so many people dissatisfied with the war that they're jumping ship? So much so that Zaeed is happy enough to vouch for me?

I haven't seen any actual action in this war. I was taken straight from one deep cover assignment to another, much to my annoyance. I mean, I get that my strength lies with infiltration, but we're currently at war with an alien species and I have yet to even see a turian.

Regardless, this is where I'll be for the next year or so, so I might as well get used to it.

Entry 002

Okay, that is the last time I complain about anything.

Ever.

So, it turned out the reason Zaeed was so happy to believe that I disagreed with the war was that he was going to test me. By introducing me to a turian friend of his.

Seriously, he is working with aliens. Not just turians, but every other species that most humans have yet to even see! I have no idea how he's pulling it off - promises of profit, most likely - but he is.

I'll admit that I was completely freaked out by Silvanus at first. I mean, in my defence, I've never even seen a turian in real life before, and we are at war with them. They do look like scary space aliens. I mean, he looks like a charcoal dinosaur with silver tattoos. Though, he just seemed to find my reaction funny. He kept on baiting me to see if he could freak me out more. I'm pretty sure he resorted to flirting at one point.

I hate this. I have no idea how I'm going to convince them that I have no problem with aliens, but I guess I'm going to have to if I don't want to blow my cover.

Shit.

"Stun or kill?" Kira asked Nihlus as they approached the facility. He found it odd that, even given her personal stake in this, she deferred to him.

"What do you think?" he asked, wondering just how far she would go to evade responsibility.

She shrugged. "I don't need the scientists, just the files. It's safe to assume they're all Cerberus, or Alex would have found out-"

"Unless he's in on it, too."

Kira rolled her eyes at his jab. "Nothing in the files suggests that."

"Just because it wasn't in the files, doesn't mean it's not true…"

"I guess this means I should add 'irrational jealousy' to the list of pheromone side-effects."

Nihlus growled a little at that. "I keep telling you, the pheromones wore off ages ago."

"Well, take your pick. Either you're still under the effects of the pheromones or you're actually jealous…"

Nihlus sighed, shaking his head. "So what if I am? You clearly care about him."

"No, I just don't think he's the xenophobic maniac behind this," she told him as she hacked into the security system, creating holes for them to move through. "Are you going to be okay? The last thing I need is you trying to protect me while we're in there. I need your mind on the job."

"I'll be fine," he told her. "So, back to the question, stun or kill?"

"I don't need them alive. I, personally, wouldn't take the chance. But you're the Spectre. It's your call."

"Kill it is."

"Right…" she agreed, seemingly surprised by his answer.

"What now?"

"Nothing… I'm just… not used to it even being a question. Tom would always just stun and then I'd have to clean up the mess."

He took a moment to regard the sudden hardness in her tone, realising that she, like he, had been stabbed in the back one too many times. She wasn't one to trust anything… or anyone. He knew that already, but seeing it like this brought it home again.

He knew that he should take that as a warning that she was never going to change her mind, simply because she wouldn't want to let him get close, but, for some inane reason - probably something to do with all of the whacks to the head he had taken over the years - he instead couldn't help but smile as he recognised one of the reasons he loved her so. She got it in a way that no one else seemed to.

The current situation was going to drive him to frustration, he knew. Especially if it dragged on. To constantly be around her and know what it felt like to be with her…

"Are we going or what?" Kira asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

They made their way through the facility silently and efficiently. He didn't think any of them knew what was happening before the entire facility fell silent. Even working on his own, operations rarely went this smoothly. If nothing else, neither of them could deny that they made a great team.

"Am I being paranoid or was that too easy?" Kira asked as she began copying the data from the main system.

"Could be either," Nihlus muttered as he found himself constantly checking the shadows for any sign of movement. "Maybe they just got cocky…"

"No… Cerberus just lost a whole lot of facilities a few weeks back. While this facility may not technically belong to them, I find it odd that-"

"Kira, look out!" Nihlus just had time to yell as a Cerberus operative dropped from the ceiling, straight down onto her.

Kira managed to dodge out of the way just in time, her eyes widening at the fast moving operative, covered in light armour, identifying her as a phantom.

"Shit," she muttered as she brought her own blades up to meet the Phantom's.

Nihlus growled with frustration as he tried to aim his weapon, but it was impossible as the two moved faster than anyone could possibly track. Not that he was needed, as Kira took down her opponent quickly and efficiently, with a fierce determination that he couldn't help but admire.

Maybe admire isn't the right word… Nihlus thought as he felt himself grow hard watching her, thankful for his armour covering him, even if it was painful. Torture doesn't quite do justice to this situation.

"Spirits, I hate these things…" Kira muttered as the Phantom fell to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Nihlus asked as his gaze fell across the wound on her arm, trying to focus on that rather than the way she panted a little with exertion.

She nodded. "Nanobots should close it up in a moment."

"How long?" he asked, changing the subject as he nodded towards the monitor.

He was answered by the sound of the console beeping.

"All done. Files have been copied, deleted, and a virus is now circulating Cerberus' systems, removing all traces of the data. Hopefully everyone who had specialist knowledge on the subject now has a bullet in their head…"

There's that hardness in her tone again, Nihlus thought as they made their way back out of the facility. He considered asking her if she was okay - if she was still sure that this had been the right course of action - but he was at a loss for how to tactfully phrase it, deciding, instead, to just ask "Are you sure the virus will work? I can't imagine Cerberus systems are easy to hack."

She smiled a little at that. "You forget that cutting edge for you is over twenty years in the past for me. Also, I am really good with computers…"

He smiled back as he noticed a slight blush across her cheeks, wanting nothing more than to draw her into his arms and press his forehead to hers. He knew that she would just push him away, but he couldn't help but draw closer to her.

She felt her blush spread and deepen as he closed the gap between them. She was still unsure of… well, everything. She hated the way that she had no control over the whirlwind of feelings she had for Nihlus. It scared her that she felt so deeply for someone, that he had such a hold over her. Especially given how quickly the current situation could change. But then there was that part of her that just wanted to let go and get swept up, to just see where the tides took her.

That was the part of her that reached her hand out to his.

But it was the rest of her that pulled it away just as their palms brushed up against each other, her attention drawn to the shuttle landing just next to them.

She folded her arms as she and Nihlus watched what appeared to be some kind of private security force file out, followed by a familiar human male, with soft dark eyes and curly brown hair.

"Alex," Kira greeted as he approached.

"You didn't mention that your friend was a Spectre," he told her, folding his arms as he got close.

"How did you-"

"You left just enough of a trace for me to figure out what Cerberus had done to my lab. I came here to investigate but it looks like you beat me to it."

"Sorry about that," she told him, very glad of the fact that Nihlus' subharmonics were beyond the range of normal human hearing. He was being less than pleasant towards the human in front of them.

"Not at all. Your interference has gotten me out of a lot of paperwork… So, thanks for that. If there's any way I could repay you, just tell me."

"Actually, there is a bit of tech we need from the facility," she told him.

"Just tell these guys what you need and they'll help you get it back to your ship."

"Really?"

He shrugged. "I'm paying them, regardless. They might as well earn it."

"I'll sort it out," Nihlus told her, eager to be out of the proximity of the two humans as soon as possible.

"I'm guessing he's your 'friend'," Alex said once Nihlus was out of earshot.

Kira nodded as she moved to lean on the ship next to him. "Yeah… So, how come you're not furious with me for lying to you?"

"Because everyone lies. Most do it for selfish, dumb reasons. But you? You were surprisingly honest about things most people cover up with the selfish, dumb lies."

"I just lied about who I was in order to steal your files."

"Because Cerberus had infiltrated one of my facilities. If anything, I blame myself for not having realised sooner. Who knows what they would have done if you hadn't stepped in…"

"They were going to create some genetically engineered clones with the intention of raising them with Cerberus ideals at an accelerated rate and then using them to replace certain key figures."

"Okay… Now I'm really glad you stopped them."

"Tell me about it…"

"So… Your friend doesn't seem to like me."

"Picked up on that, did you?"

"I've been working on a translator that gives accurate translations of turian subharmonics in real time. I still have to work out the kinks, but it gave me clear enough idea of what your friend was saying about me."

"He just…" she trailed off, unsure of how to explain without telling him about her pheromones.

"Realised how much you meant to him?"

She sighed. "Something like that."

"You don't seem happy about that…"

"Because he's not…" She sighed once more. "It's complicated," she eventually settled for.

"Is it actually complicated or are you making it complicated because you're scared?" he asked.

She frowned at him, finding his assessment unsettlingly accurate. "I wish that I could say that it was just the latter but…"

He nodded. "I understand."

"You actually really seem to."

"One thing I've come to realise over the years is that the more intelligent you are, the less able you are to just accept the simple things. Like being happy. You strive to fulfill this potential that everybody tells you you have and you never quite can. And if you don't kill yourself with imagined pressure, you just make yourself miserable by putting all of your effort into achieving something 'great' when you would really just be happier if you gave up and let yourself be happy."

She stared at him blankly for a few moments before replying. "You've really put some thought into this."

He shrugged. "I've… been trying to let myself be happy, you know? It's harder than you'd think."

"Yeah, I get that… I figured out I was never going to live up to my 'potential' years ago, but…"

"You never really stopped being upset over it?"

She nodded. "When it comes to my work, I learned long ago to just do what makes me happy. But from a personal standpoint? I'm still working on it…"

"Kira!" Nihlus called over to her. "We're all done here."

She nodded, before turning to Alex. "So, normally I wouldn't let this facility stand, given how much specialised equipment is here but, if you promise not to continue what Cerberus started, I could be convinced to not blow up your facility."

"That would be much appreciated, given how expensive it will be to replace. I promise to leave the Cerberus research alone. You have my word."

She nodded. "Then I'll just have to trust you… I'd better go."

Just as she turned, he pulled her back into a kiss. "If you ever get get tired of 'complicated', give me a call."

She nodded mutely as he got back into his own ship before heading back to her own, only to be greeted by a snarling turian.

"What now?" she asked as she settled into the co-pilot chair.

"Kira, if you… If you're never going to be with me, just tell me. Don't let me stay like this…"

She shook her head at that. "Ni… You still don't get it. You have no idea what you do to me," she told, subconsciously leaning closer. "If you decide not to wait around for me to be ready and want to go and find someone else, I wouldn't blame you. I would actually prefer it. I hate this whole situation. I hate knowing that I'm causing us both so much pain. But I also know that I might be saving us from a hell of a lot more in the long-run."

He nodded. "I know that," he admitted reluctantly. "It's just difficult. Knowing that you feel the same way and, yet, not doing anything…"

She just gave him a sad smile before getting up again, heading back to her own room. "I know…" she muttered quietly, feeling more conflicted than she could ever remember being before.

Tom had never wished more for his sister's intellect as he sat, trying to make sense of the files on… On his and Tali's daughter, he guessed. It still felt weird even to think. He knew that he shouldn't, that he should remain detached until they knew if his plan had any real chance of working. It was a long shot, after all.

He pulled himself from his thoughts, only to realise that Tali had left the main lab. He supposed that she'd be in their newly assigned quarters, a sterile room just off the main lab.

He headed that way, deciding that being alone with his thoughts was probably a bad idea. As he had anticipated, he found her in their new quarters, lying on the bed with her mask off as she stared at the ceiling.

"Hey," he greeted, prompting her to sit up as he sat down next to her. "Hell of a day, huh?"

She laughed at that, but it sounded broken, as if a sob was mixed in there. She immediately leaned in close to him as he removed his own helmet and held her closer, running his fingers through her hair in a soothing motion.

"Yeah," she agreed finally. "I don't know… I'm just… I can't believe he's gone, you know?"

"I know," he told her softly.

"And all of this… Tom, I have seen some really weird things in the past few years… Sentient starships, time travel… But this? I mean, even for our crazy lives it's a little…"

"Too crazy?"

"Yes… No! Not- I didn't mean… Just… I have spent so long just… Just…"

"Being the admiral's daughter?" Tom asked gently as he realised what was bothering her. "You know that you don't have to do that with me, right? It's alright for you to not be okay…"

"Even though everyone keeps on telling me I will be?"

"Just because you will be, doesn't mean you have to be now."

She nodded as she snuggled in closer to him, seemingly not bothered by his armour in her way, sniffing a little as tears made their way down her features. "Tom, what if this doesn't work? And even if it does… what will she end up looking like? I mean, she seems quarian but it's so early…"

"We don't have to think about this now, Amvimae. It can wait…"

"Tom, Kira will be back here with the tech in a few days…"

He paused for a few moments, trying to figure out how she might feel about it all. "Is that… too soon?"

"It is as soon as it is. Can't change that."

"Tali, I don't… I don't want you to feel as if you have to do this. The stasis chamber has held out this long…"

"But we have no way of knowing if it will even hold out another week. And it's not something I want to chance… Tom, I never really thought about this. I had assumed that it was impossible for us. But… the more I think about it, the more I realise that it is something that I want."

"Back on the Citadel, when you spoke about when you first suspected… You said you were scared."

"Of course I was. I still am in some ways, but not in all of them. Tom, I had just come back from my pilgrimage. It's important to… to become an established member of the community of your ship before… well, before you start asking for any extra resources. Bringing you on board was different, you had information for the fleet, but a child… Well, that was over two years ago. I'm now largely regarded as one of the top geth experts in the fleet. It's no longer the problem it was…

"I guess the only real question left is if this is what you want."

Tom looked sheepish at that. "I… I thought that it wasn't possible for us, so I never said anything… but… Yeah, I want this."

"Then I guess it's just a waiting game until Kira gets here."

"Yeah, I guess it is…"

Garrus,

So, I know that, no matter what happens, the Alliance won't let me have any communication with the outside world. With you. So I wanted to write this for you but now I'm not really sure what to say.

I mean, you know it all, don't you? How much I love you; how glad I am that we found each other; how lost I would be without you… I've been thinking about that a lot lately. How strange it is that, even with the war, we found each other and fell in love this time around.

It is actually making my heart physically hurt, thinking about being separated from you for so long. You have no idea how much I've relied on you being around to keep me sane over the past few months, especially given how crazy things got at times.

I'm glad that we bonded. No matter what, I'll never regret that. I just hope you never have a reason to. Okay, well, I was just writing this to tell you that I love you. I know that you know it but I guess I wanted you to have a reminder.

You know, other than the huge scar on your neck.

Love Soph. Your bondmate. (It makes me grin like an idiot whenever I think that…)

Garrus grinned as he finished reading Sophia's letter for, what felt like, the hundredth time, his hand subconsciously moving to his own bondmark. He couldn't help but agree with her about grinning like an idiot. It still made him deliriously happy to think that she was his and, not only that, but he was hers.

"Garrus?" he heard from downstairs, quickly causing his grin to fade as he made his way towards the source of the voice.

"Father," he greeted as he approached, careful to keep his subharmonics and features in check.

His father looked him over for a few moments, his gaze lingering over his scars before making its way over to his bondmark. His gaze remained fixed there for a few moments before returning to meet Garrus'. "So, you said you needed to speak with me in person. I figured it must be important for you to come all the way back to Palaven."

"Ever since Sol joined the military, there hasn't really been much here for me," Garrus reasoned, trying not to let his subharmonics dig at his father over not spending more time with Solana. It was true enough, especially given that his father was rarely home, either. Garrus had actually been surprised that his father had asked him to meet at the family home.

"I suppose not," his father agreed. "So, what did you what to talk to me about?"

Garrus sighed. "This is going to take a while. You might want to sit down."

Garrus began to tell the story of what had happened, starting with Tom's arrival. He left out the part about Tom being his son, but he knew that, being a high ranking general in the Hierarchy, his father already knew about the two time travellers.

He kept on expecting his father to stop him at some point, telling him that the story was too ridiculous, but he never did. Garrus' concentration quickly moved from how crazy his story sounded to not allowing his subharmonics to give his father any indication of his relationship to Shepard or the twins.

Once he finished the tale, his father took a few moments to collect his thoughts before speaking. "I'll admit, your story is… extraordinary. But, given what I know already, it does make sense…"

"So you'll help?"

His father nodded. "I have a meeting with the Primarch tomorrow. I'll bring it up with him then. Can you stay or do the Council need you?"

"They have officially tasked me with keeping an eye on Tom but if he leaves the Migrant Fleet, there's no way he won't tell me."

"You seem pretty confident of that fact," his father observed.

"He's a good kid," Garrus reasoned. "Plus, I doubt he'll leave. I imagine Tali won't be too keen to leave after so long on the Normandy and he'll stay with his bondmate."

His father nodded in agreement. "Then we should work together on this. It will make things easier."

"Agreed."