Chapter 53

A Brief Moment In Time

Garrus was numb.

It was still dark outside. As Garrus turned his head to gaze out the hospital room window, all he could see were stars glittering in the night sky.

The nurse on call was scribbling at the work desk and would pop over to inspect the machines and monitors attached to his son's body.

Gaius was passed out soundly.

He was more at peace in his dreams than either Garrus or Shepard had ever seen him.

There was no twitching, no turning or flailing of his little limbs. More importantly, he didn't scream or wail.

In what was the most horrible time of his young life, in his parents lives in fact, the boy slept without fear. Garrus would have found it amusing if he wasn't so heart scalded.

At that very moment, with his hand clenched around his little boy's and with Shepard fast asleep in his arms, Garrus couldn't imagine laughing ever again. The world seemed so... bleak.


His son had been... Garrus shook his head.

He couldn't even bear to frame the correct words in his mind for what had happened to his boy. He wanted to just scream.

Not that Gaius suffered from the trauma of what happened to him at that very moment. The boy, hidden by bandages and drooling because he could only breath through his mouth, was lost in his own world while his mother slept with her head resting in Garrus's cowl.

Shepard was not as restful as their son. She would sleep for brief periods than wake up almost in a panic.

It had become predictable after the fourth time. She would startle herself awake before she dived over to check on the unconscious boy. Garrus would hold her until the violent shaking in her body passed, until her fear and desperation finally left her small frame.

Shepard had always seemed so much bigger than her actual size, her personality and confidence making her seem like a giant among them. But now, she was so fragile.

Once the shaking had stopped, she would sob and weep in his arms. Not long after, she would eventually once more go to sleep.


So here he was, holding his love in his arms and unable to take away the devastation in her heart while their child rested in more peace then he had in all his short life.

It was a strange moment in time for him. Sooner than he would like, the sun would rise on another day. Garrus would not sleep that night nor, he believed, for the next few nights.

He could feel it in his plates, in his very bones. A chill had set in and was turning him to ice.

Once before he had felt like this but back then he had been on Omega.

He wanted revenge, he wanted blood spilled for the crimes against his child.

Atilius had denied him that when he had interrupted him. Shepard might understand the old turian's reasoning but, in his heart, Garrus did not.

Logically perhaps it made sense but, inside his very core, he wanted Perdita dead.

He wanted August Marius dead too.

Garrus's eyes became hard like stone. No matter how long it took, he was going to find a way to do it.

He could just about stomach Perdita living as long as she remained in the clinic but August... no.

No, he would find a way to end him. He just needed a plan and help.


Garrus stood up carefully.

With Shepard in his arms, he went to the nurse. In a whispered conversation she directed him to the visitor's room.

It was a long space with a number of beds set up. Each had dividers which could be moved to allow for some privacy.

This area was mainly used for those who had relations currently in intensive care. It allowed for one or two family members to stay in case of emergencies.

Garrus picked a free bed and pulled back the sheets before he closed the divider, allowing him and Shepard some alone time.

He carefully peeled off her outer clothing before settling Shepard under the covers. The clothes he neatly folded on to a chair before he took off his own.

Garrus slipped into the bed beside her and held Shepard tightly to him.

The nurse had promised faithfully to come and get him if anything changed.

Shepard let out a contented sigh in her sleep before nestling closer to him. Her soft flexible body always seemed to manage to fit so perfectly against his own.

Garrus would not sleep. Instead, he held Shepard close and rumbled away her fears and nightmares.


Morning eventually reared its head, the light of the rising sun flooding the window.

Garrus sat up and watched the system star begin its daily journey across the sky.

"Hey."

He glanced down at the now awake Shepard.

"Hello there. Awake again?"

"Yeah. Where are we? Where is Gaius?"

Garrus gently tugged her back down, stopping Shepard from darting out of the bed.

"Calm. He is fine. Gaius had a more restful night then either of us."

Shepard dragged herself upright once more before she sat astride Garrus. Her bright green eyes stared into his blue.

"He is okay?"

"You know he is. The nurse will get us if something goes wrong."

She nodded before sighing. Shepard stared at him before she moved his hand to her waist.

The turian looked to her quizzically before Shepard kissed him. The human wrapped her arms around his neck and dug her nails under his fringe.

Garrus pulled back.

"Shepard... is this really what you want?" he panted.

"I need this. I need to not think for five minutes."

He hummed., "Might be longer than five minutes. I don't like to rush."

Shepard stopped. "Does it make me a bad person to want... this, right now?"

Garrus ran his hand down her neck. "No. It makes you normal. For a turian anyway. I imagine humans are pretty much the same. You are not being a bad mother by wanting a release from the pressure. Gaius is safe in the hands of the medical staff."

Shepard started to nuzzle him before Garrus flipped her on to her back.

He kissed her.