Inspired by Alicia Keys' "No One"

Well, we've reached the end of Mass Effect 2. Good news is that Mass Effect 3 is set to release either in late 2011 or early 2012! ...That's also the bad news. In the meantime I'll be keeping up with the DLC that should bridge the gap between the games. First up will be the Lair of the Shadow Broker, but I've got a few chapters planned in between as well. Thank you all for sticking with me!

No One

Let it never be said that Erin Shepard lived a boring life. After leading her team of crack specialists through the hell that was the Collector base and rescuing the crew of the Normandy she had proceeded to take Garrus and Jack with her into the heart of the base where they faced down something that would forever haunt their dreams.

A human Reaper.

Shepard, true to her nature, had decided that the best way to remove the offending being was to destroy it.

With EXTREME prejudice.

Of course this was also after she had told the Illusive Man to stick it up his, she was in a pissy mood and this base was going to go up in flames like it or not. Jack had laughed after cutting him off, and Garrus had for a little bit as well.

Now he was sliding down a platform towards the dying Reaper larvae, only one thought echoing through the Turian's head.

I am not leaving Shepard again.

Shepard, to her credit, must have been thinking the same thing since she took a dive headfirst down the slope, still glowing with electric blue biotics as she reached for him. Her ocean blue eyes seared with determination, her fingers just slipping through Garrus's talons a few times before finally connecting. Below them the Reaper shrieked and groaned as explosions consumed it but the couple just grinned at each other.

"Gotcha."

As he was hauled back onto the platform, Garrus had to shake his head wryly. "And you call me reckless…"

Opening her mouth to retaliate Erin was cut off by a sudden jarring of the platform as the systems began to fail. She and the Turian beside her were tossed down, tumbling over and over like children often roll down a hill. In a blur of color and sound a second platform careened out of the depths of the base to slam into their own.

What felt like ages later, Shepard rose slowly, shaking her head. Stumbling to her feet, she gazed around and froze. Some distance away Garrus lay deceptively still, his form half shrouded in the shadows. Bridging the distance in a few short strides, Erin knelt by Garrus' side, one hand lightly resting on his chest, the other to the back of his head.

"Garrus?"

Her voice was soft and hesitant. They'd come so far…did she really go through all that to lose him here? Had she unknowingly condemned the man she cared about to die? Fortunately these thoughts were brushed aside as Garrus opened his ice blue eyes, quickly focusing in on Shepard.

No words were exchanged. There would be time for that later. Shepard hastily helped Garrus up before darting over to where Jack was pinned beneath a slab of scrap metal. Behind her the Turian moved to help her lift but it didn't matter. The commander ducked beneath and lifted the piece off with relative ease. Swiftly kneeling, Shepard was once more rewarded as Jack opened her eyes, blinking for a moment before accepting the hand up.

Satisfied that her team was still alive, Shepard tuned into the voice buzzing in her earpiece.

"Commander? Come on Shepard, don't leave me hanging! Do you copy?"

The brunette commander swallowed a little to clear her dry throat. If they lived through this, first thing she would order is a big glass of water. Or champagne. Whichever was more readily available. "I'm here Joker. Did the ground team make it?"

Joker's response sent a wave of relief through Shepard. "Everyone's, we're just waiting on you!"

"Shepard!"

She didn't need to look over her shoulder to hear what was coming. A dark cloud of seeker swarms began to race towards the trio while in the cloud Collectors moved like dim shadows. Jack took the lead with Garrus behind and Shepard bringing up the rear. As her teammates sprinted for the ship, the Commander took a few crack shots before abandoning that for all out running.

"You have changed nothing. Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater. That which you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction."

Harbinger's voice seemed to echo all around them but there was nothing that was about to stop Shepard. Ahead she could see Garrus skip lightly into the Normandy only to turn around and stand next to Joker, the concern on his face visible even from where she stood. Behind her the Collectors fired again and again, a few bullets hitting their mark. One managed to find a spot into Shepard's side, causing the woman to stumble.

As she did so, a huge beam crashed down into the platform that separated the Normandy from an easy run up to the ship. Now there was a gap of at least twenty feet and a seemingly endless drop below.

Beside Joker, Garrus inhaled sharply. "She's not going to make it."

If that thought ever occurred to the commander in the past, it certainly wasn't going through her mind then. She charged up the slope, her short mahogany hair streaming behind her while her eyes burned like brilliant sapphire beacons. In awe, Garrus watched as his bond mate reached the edge of the ground, stepped right on the edge, and pushed herself off into the air.

While it's impossible for time to slow down or speed up, it seemed to everyone at that moment that Shepard hung in the air, almost as if the universe were holding its breath. And as suddenly as the moment had slowed, time resumed its pace. Shepard slammed into the side of the Normandy, the air knocked from her lungs for a moment while she clawed at the edge.

Garrus didn't even blink as projectiles soared past his face. Reaching forward, he wrapped his hand around Shepard's and pulled with such force that the commander was yanked into him, the pair falling against the opposite wall.

Around them was a flurry of activity as Joker hobbled off and the rest of the crew scrambled to stations but the pair simply sat there, twined together in a mess of armor and weapons before bursting into laughter.

Adrenaline coursed through Garrus as he brushed his forehead against Shepard's in relief. "You reckless fool…what if I hadn't been there to catch you?"

Shakily, Erin laughed and brushed her lips oh so lightly across Garrus's mouth. "See, that's the great part. You're always there to catch me."

The Normandy hummed from stem to stern as it raced away from the explosion that consumed the Collector base. Disentangling herself from Garrus, Shepard stood. "Come on, there's a lot of work to be done…and I've got to explain this to the Illusive Man."

She wrinkled her nose as though his name carried a bad taste with it. Garrus rose but paused when he realized that his hand was stained with Erin's deep crimson blood. "Shepard, you're hurt…the Illusive Man can wait, let's get you to Chakwas…"

Erin waved him off. "No. I'll go after. You get to the cargo bay, see what you can do down there…we should be within transmission range now. "

Casting him one last look, Shepard smiled softly. "Promise. I'll come down and see you as soon as I'm done."

Reluctantly, Garrus resigned himself to the fact that Shepard was going to win this round. After he'd disappeared to the bowels of the ship, Shepard sighed before heading towards the communications room. It seemed forever ago that she had stood in the room and declared that they were going to take the fight to the Collectors at long last. Now she was re-entering them triumphantly. Gingerly setting a fallen beam upright, Erin took a deep breath and stepped forward.

As the program sputtered and started, Erin found she wasn't apprehensive about talking to the head of Cerberus as she thought she'd be. When his image finally appeared his back was to her, a cigarette held loosely in his hand.

"Shepard," his voice was cold like ice, "You're making a habit of costing me time and money."

"Too many lives were lost at that base. I'm not sorry it's gone."

Now the Illusive Man adopted a condescending tone on top of his already disapproving tone. "The first of many lives. The technology from that base could have secured human dominance in the galaxy, against the Reapers and beyond."

"Human dominance, or just Cerberus?" Shepard fired back coolly.

Rising at long last, the head of Cerberus approached, waving his hand dismissively. "Strength for Cerberus is strength for every human. Cerberus is humanity. I should have known you'd choke at the hard decisions. Too idealistic from the start!"

At that point, the usually paitent commander Shepard decided she's had just about enough of the Illusive Man's bullshit. "I'm not looking for your approval. Harbinger is coming and he won't be alone. Humanity needs a leader who's looking out for them. From now on I'm doing things my way, whether you agree or not."

"Don't turn your back on me Shepard!" The Illusive Man was furious now, his emotions barely in check. "I made you, I brought you back from the dead."

And that was it. The remark about her death just pushed Shepard that one bit too far. Looking up, she smirked. "Joker, lose this channel."

With one glance back, Shepard strode confidently out of the conference room.

"So you basically hung up on him?"

After working for several long hours on making the Normandy functional again Shepard had been practically ordered out and so found herself curled up on her bed with Garrus. His large frame seemed to automatically fit around her like a protective blanket. His talons rested gently on her hip, conscious of the bandages that had been wrapped around the wound Shepard sustained running to the ship.

Giggling, Shepard rested her head against Garrus's chest. "I couldn't stand it anymore. Maybe that was a bad thing, but I haven't told Miranda or Jacob yet…I bet they'll know soon."

For the first time, a twinge of worry crept into the commander's voice. Tilting his head down, Garrus took a moment to inhale the scent of vanilla before softly murmuring into her hair. "Shepard, what's bothering you? We won."

"Everyone leaves." This time it wasn't just sadness, but Shepard was on the verge of tears. The Turian tried to meet her gaze but couldn't as she went on. "My parents left, my team on Akuze left, Kaidan left, Liara left, Wrex left, and now everyone is going to go their own ways. Samara has things to do as a Justicar, Miranda and Jacob will go back to Cerberus, they're both too loyal to that cause to leave. Jack will go off on a rampage across the universe, while Mordin will return to his Omega clinic. Grunt will go to Tuchanka with Wrex, Tali will probably go back to the fleet. Thane will probably go to be with his son before he dies and you…"

She shook in his arms, be it from exhaustion or emotion Garrus couldn't tell. Gently he ran his talons along her arm as the commander went on. "It's the way things have always been…hell, even I left you all at one point. People will leave."

Placing a talon beneath her chin, Garrus lifted Shepard's face to meet his own. "Erin. I can't speak for the rest of the crew, but I promise you that I'll always be here. I'm not going anywhere. Not just because you're a great commander and I'd follow you to the ends of the earth and back, but because I love you. No one and nobody can get in the way of that."

For a long time, Shepard was silent, her eyes flickering back and forth over Garrus's face before she put her forehead against his in a silent signal of acceptance. Garrus knew when to accept a victory and pulled her a little closer. "How's your side?"

"Hurts like a bitch."

With a melodious chuckle, Garrus pulled the covers up over the pair. "Get some rest. You deserve it…we can worry about the rest of the crew in the morning."

And within moments the two were dozing peacefully against each other, human and Turian as one seamless entity. Erin's chocolate brown hair splayed over his arm in sharp contrast to his tan plating as they slept. They were together and alive and for that moment, that was all that mattered.