A murmur.

Distant.

Soft.

Welcoming.

His nose itching.

Huh, not dead, why am I not surprised?

You haven't finished yet.

Yeah, yeah.

Slowly, he spread his senses, trying to gain his bearings as his body limply lay on its back. Arms and legs intact...everything seems to be where it should be. The bed he lay on was somewhat hard, the material of the blanket covering him papery in texture, something heavier lying on his stomach. Also, the room felt...cold, sterile, yet if he strained his ears, he could hear a faint hum from beneath. Normandy, Med-Bay...home.

Now, the murmur was growing more distinct, his mind settling back into his body from his no doubt drug-induced sleep and trying to make sense of what was happening around him. "Yes, it's an amazing recovery, but I don't think it's wise to wake him up yet, I'm sorry." Chakwas, still concerned for your patients, I see.

"I don't need him running around today, but I do need to talk to him, Doctor." Was the terse reply, making Michael smile. Garrus, are you taking over as leader while I sleep?

Sensing the conflict about to occur, Michael forced his heavy eyelids open...and blinked in surprise at the first thing he saw. T-Tali?

The Quarian was sitting on a chair to his left, her head lying against the edge of the bed and her hand resting on his stomach as he watched her torso move with breaths far deeper than any human were capable of as she slept. Wh-what are you doing here...? Confused, nervous, Michael tried to lift his left hand, to stroke her visor, but the arm was too heavy, his fingers merely twitching at his effort. His mouth worked though, his lips tingling as he felt the exhaled air from his lungs touch every ridge within his parched throat. "T-Tali...?"

The sound triggered movement at the edge of his vision, forcing his gaze up, making him locate a surprised looking Chakwas and a grinning Garrus staring at him from across the room. The former was the first to react though, the frowning woman quickly pulling something from a table and marching over to him, her tone low and annoyed. "Of course you wake up from enough medicines to keep a Krogan sleeping for the proper time. Really, Commander, sometimes I despair with your body's inability to act like it should."

"My apologies." Michael managed to whisper, his throat as dry as a desert as he found Chakwas pulling his head up before she offered him a glass of water, an offer he eagerly accepted. It was cool, with a minty quality that probably meant some kind of medicine...and Michael closed his eyes as he relished the way it soothed his burning throat. "Thanks, Doctor, you'd make a great nurse."

Chakwas smiled at that, gently putting his head back down before giving his cheek a quick swat. "In your dreams, Commander." Crossing her arms in front of her chest she straightened and gave him a friendly if somewhat stern look. "I suppose it's going to gladden you that you've only been out for two days and that you're almost fully healed?"

"Almost...what?" Michael kept his voice low, glad of the way his throat suddenly felt better, but not willing to strain it, nor to wake up the Quarian he couldn't quite believe was sleeping next to him. "That doesn't seem..."

"Possible, no." Chakwas replied, frowning as she bit her lower lip. "Scans are showing your implants have worked overtime, we haven't had to remove half as much metal out of you as I'd expected from what seems to have been a grenade exploding right in front of you." She shrugged, looking frustrated and puzzled. "At least we got to treat the extensive burns...though you have broken the record for quickest acceptance of a skin-graft...I'm sure you're very proud."

"It's...helpful, at least." Michael replied with a strained smile. My implants are working overtime? I...don't like the thought of that... Feeling guilty, he shot the sleeping Tali a glance. "So...I'll be up in no time?"

"As soon as the medicines get out of your system..." Chakwas sighed, frowning down at him. "...which seems to be far earlier than they should." A shake of her head and she turned away and waved Garrus forth as she walked towards the door, voice a low mutter. "Comes in looking like a corpse, turns normal in two days. I'm joining doctor Michel in her lunch...and a drink, clearly we're no longer needed...he's all yours, Vakarian."

As the door slid shut, Garrus took a step closer, taking Chakwas' spot as he looked down on Michael. "Hey, buddy, how you doing?"

"Erm..." Michael bit his lips. "...I can't move my limbs yet, but I'm good...my nose itches though."

A sigh that couldn't quite conceal Garrus' smile escaped the Turian, and his hand moved up, claw surprisingly gently scratching Michael's nose. "So will this be a thing we do every fourth year? Me touching this pudgy thing of yours?"

Michael smirked, a low chuckle escaping him as he breathed a sigh of relief. "Sure, I kind of like it. That claw of yours is great...don't tell Tali I told you that." He couldn't help but throw a nervous glance down at his own words. "Erm...and on that subject...?"

At first, Garrus didn't answer, the Turian looking down at the sleeping Quarian with gentle look in his eyes. "She hasn't left the Med-Bay since we got back." The Turian's eyes flashed in a grin as he looked back up to Michael. "You lucky son of a bitch."

"She...hasn't?" Michael blinked, confused, unsure...and with a warmth flooding his chest.

"Well, I don't blame her." Garrus turned his head aside and grimaced, shrugging. "You should have seen yourself when the others broke into the room. I saw the recording...pieces of bone stuck in you, all blood and...well damn, I saw your skin just...on fire and peeling off..." To Michael's surprise, Garrus visibly shuddered. "You looked more than dead, you were...burning...turning into a bloody skeleton before James got a blanket over you." Looking back to Michael, Garrus' browplate rose. "It's still...strange to see you back like you are now...damn, those are some implants, huh?"

"Yeah..." Keeping me going...until the end. Michael looked back down to Tali, grief gripping him as he tried to raise his hand to stroke her cowl, yet finding his arm still too heavy to lift. "...they're great."

Awkwardly grunting and shifting his feet, Garrus cleared his throat. "Sorry..."

"Don't worry about it buddy, nothing to worry about." Michael forced his gaze back to Garrus, smiling as best he could. "You look better, guess lounging back with that kid felt good?"

"Yeah...I still owe you for that order." The Turian shot him a predatory wink that drew a chuckle out of Michael. Then, Garrus glanced back down to Tali. "You want me to wake her...?"

For a moment, Michael hesitated, his heart aching for her to wake, to ease the worry he suspected she felt...but then he managed the smallest of shakes of his head. "No, you needed to speak to me? Business before pleasure, right?"

"That's your rule." Garrus replied, a hint of teasing in his voice as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, then rolled his eyes in a surprisingly human gesture. "But very well...Liara checked Miranda's body..." Michael and Garrus grimaced as one. "...good work in ending that asshole by the way." For a moment, the two of them looked at one another, nodding as one as Michael sensed a drink to be had together once he was out of the Med-Bay. Then Garrus shrugged. "Anyway, Miranda carried a data disc on herself."

Michael's eyes brightened as he sensed good news. With him just awoken, he hadn't had time to think on Miranda's last words, and judging from the look on Garrus' face, there was more information on that data disc than she had managed to shout out. "And?"

"And we've struck gold, as you humans say." Garrus grinned, hand moving to the other, activating his omni-tool. "She wasn't just planning to sabotage Cerberus' efforts, she was planning to go for the heart." The omni-tool lit up, drawing up an orange hologram of a large cylinder with a rectangular structure sticking out from its centre, the details on it telling Michael what it was. "Behold, the Illusive Man's base."

Finally.

Michael's eyes widened at the sight as Garrus continued. "It comes with a detailed map of the interior." The hologram flashed again, making a dizzying number of yellow strings appear within the base. "Interior defences, garrisoned troops..." Within the base, along the yellow strings within the base, hundreds of red dots appeared, some in great clusters, others solitary or in pairs. "...outer defences..." Red shapes of turrets appeared all over the exterior base even as the shapes of three Alliance-styled cruisers hovered around it. "...oh, and an encryption key that identifies any ship transmitting it as a Cerberus vessel." Garrus let the complex hologram die with a predatory grin. "We've got our buddy by the throat and he doesn't even know it."

Wow, Miranda, you've thought of everything, as usual. Michael smiled wistfully, leaning his head back onto the bed with a deep sigh as a great tension he hadn't even felt suddenly let go of him. "Okay...that's...man, that's great...wow..."

"You okay?" Garrus asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah..." Michael blinked, feeling...surprised. "...I guess I'm just...confused by things going our way for once..."

"You mean our way after you were nearly killed and Miranda dying?" Garrus asked, frowning.

"Well I didn't have to climb a bloody Reaper this time." Michael replied, managing a weak shrug as he felt the heaviness of his limbs slowly fade. "Of course, that base looks bigger than a Reaper, but I think we can do it."

"Well...sure." Garrus replied, frowning. "It's about as big as the Collector base, but I thought you didn't want any more suicide missions?"

"Who said we'd have one?" Michael replied, smiling. "Remember, people actually listen to us now...we'll call Hackett." His smirk turned into a grin. "Time to bring down the fires of hell on the Illusive Man and end his insanity."

"Well, it's about time." Garrus grinned back. "Do I get to shoot him?" He watched Michael's face shift and sighed. "Right, you're going to hog all the kills, aren't you?"

His grim look turning into a smile, Michael shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a bloodthirsty son of a bitch."

"Tell me about it." Garrus grunted. Huh, you look...peeved. "You apparently didn't even trust me. Cortez or even the Normandy to nail Kai Leng when he tried to escape." Yep, peeved...crap. Sighing, Garrus leant closer, browplate low in a frown. "Really, you need to stop putting everything on your shoulders, you're not the only one fighting this war, and you shouldn't throw yourself into every situation as if you're the only who can make a difference, and have to do it at any cost."

"Hey, I wasn't sure if-"

"What would have happened, had he killed you?" Garrus stopped Michael's protest short, leaning closer as he narrowed his eyes. "Hmmm? Who would open that Prothean data? Who would unify the galactic races and groups? Groups only barely holding on thanks to your efforts? What will they do when you're gone? Will they keep fighting a unified front? Will they honour their word? The word they've given to you and you only?"

Michael grimaced. "Come on, it's not like-"

"Oh, it is." Garrus growled, glaring down at Michael. "And you shouldn't-" Then, his mouth clicked shut, gaze darting down as a low mutter reached Michael's ears, making him look down too.

Tali.

The Quarian was slowly stirring, her three fingers digging into the blanket over Michael as her visored head rubbed against the edge of his bed. A surge of panic gripped Michael, uncertainty of what would happen holding him even as he looked up to Garrus...who met his gaze and stepped away. "I'll...talk to you later about this, okay?"

Michael opened his mouth to protest...

And Garrus jabbed a finger his way even as the Turian moved towards the door. "Later."

Before Michael could try to protest again, the door to the Med-Bay closed behind his friend, leaving him alone with the waking woman at his side.

"Michael...?" The mutter was half asleep, half awake, making Michael's gaze dart back down to the Quarian. Before his eyes, the woman began to stir, her head rising ever so slowly as twin slits of lights escaped the visor as she began to open her eyes.

Slowly, deliberately, Michael managed to pull his left hand out of the blanked it and place it on the suited hand on his stomach. Right..calm down, low expectations, take things as they come... He managed an uncertain smile. "Good morning, sleepy head..."

She turned her head, looking up at him, voice still a sleepy mutter, now tinted by disbelief. "Michael...?"

An awkward chuckle escaped him as Michael struggled to maintain his smile while his gut was rebelling in worry. "I think we're a bit past introductions, don't you?"

"Michael!"

Gasping, Michael found a pair of thin but surprisingly strong arms wrap themselves around his neck as the subtle weight of her torso pressed down on his chest, her helmet cold against the side of his head. Wha..? His mouth opened, but no words came, a vice around his heart as he managed to force his heavy arms up around her waist. I...are you crying? His arms twitched as he felt her shake, holding her closer on instinct, biting his lower lip as he closed his eyes, surprised with himself as he struggled not to cry himself.

"I..." The whisper was low in his ear, a furtive sound as the Quarian slowly stopped trembling. "...I saw you..." He grip tightened on him, making Michael grimace in pain. "I...I can't stop th-thinking..." He felt her taking deep breaths now, as if readying herself to leap off a cliff. "I...don't want to lose you again." Michael's heart stopped. "I can't...I can't endure that again...I just can't."

"I...I'm glad." Michael managed to croak, confused. He was glad, too much for words...yet at the same time there was a sinking dark pit in his stomach, one growing larger with every moment.

She doesn't know...

A warm tear moved down the side of his face.

Slowly, Tali pulled back enough to look at him...and as Michael opened his eyes, he saw her reach for her face.

Michael's eyes widened, hands coming up to stop her. "Don't, you shouldn't-"

Tali brushed his hands aside without a word, then pulled her visor off.

Her large green eyes looked down on him, her slit pupils wide and her pale cheeks covered in tears. Yet her small mouth was smiling, revealing the tiny and pointy teeth she once had been so self-conscious about. Now though, she barely paused for breath before diving down to kiss him, her teeth brushing his lower lip in her passion, her hands holding his face in a vice, refusing to let him go.

God...

Dizzy, overwhelmed, Michael's hands returned to her waist, holding on for dear life as he kissed her back, their tongues brushing for but a moment.

"Keelah..." Then, just as sudden as she'd started it, Tali pulled away from him, her lips trembling with a slight smirk, eyes shining, voice a low whisper. "...sorry, but I do what I want, love."

"L-love...?" Michael stuttered, grip tightening on the woman above him in disbelief, his throat thickening with emotions.

"Yeah..." Tali sighed, still smiling despite the hint of sadness in her eyes. "I...can't help it, damn you." She grimaced, hesitating. "We...we still have to work things out, I...can't just...well..." Her hands left his face, trailing down until they loosened his from her waist so she could hold them. Her smile was soft, gentle. "...but there's no choice, I think. It'll just have to take the time it takes...but we'll get through this, together."

Pain.

It physically hurt Michael as the words she spoke sunk in. I have to tell her.

What's the point? Don't you want to stop things from being more complicated for once? Just to take the easy road?

Michael grimaced. No, this isn't up for debate. "T-Tali...I..." His lips moved, but no words came, his tongue leaden in his mouth. I've put this off for way too long. "...I..."

Tali's smile froze, worry instantly filling her eyes. "Y-you don't want t-to-"

"Of course I do!" Michael quickly stopped her. "Don't be ridiculous!" The worry in Tali's eyes didn't abate though, it only got confused as she eyed him. Tell her! "I've...healed up, right? Very quickly?"

"Well...I don't know, I guess so." Tali replied, shrugging even as her worry lingered. "I'm no expert on human injury recovery time...and Chakwas said your implants helped, right?"

"And those implants are not something normal...they're..." Michael hesitated, agonizing over how to tell her as she stared at him with her big eyes.

Tali suddenly went still.

Her eyes widening.

"Th-they're...what?" Michael swallowed...and Tali didn't move a muscle as she stared at him. "They're...Reaper tech?" Michael blinked, the corner of his eyes stinging. I'm sorry. Tali's gaze was blank as she stared at him, voice dull. "A-and when the Crucible...?"

Michael looked back into her eyes, agonizing over the words that wouldn't leave his mouth.

Instead, he managed a small nod.

In reply, Tali punched him.

Blinking, Michael found his head twisted to the side and his jaw aching. Damn... "Tali, I..." He turned his head back to look at her...and caught a brief glimpse of her tearful eyes before her second punch once more forced his head to the side, this time making his vision swim. "I meant to-" His words were cut short by a sharp explosion of air out his mouth as Tali thumped her fist into his chest, then the second. "Tali, please..."

"It's not fair!" The cry was as much angry as it was desperate and grieving, and as Michael turned his head to look back, he found Tali with her head lowered and her eyes closed, her fists again and again – only without the same force – thumping against his chest in despair. "I know life has never been...but it's not fair!" She looked up, and her eyes were nearly squeezed shut in agony as she growled at him. "I can't believe you didn't tell me, bosh'tet!" Her hand shot out like lightning, slapping him.

"I'm sorry." Michael managed, the words pathetic even to his own ears. "I...I didn't know how to tell you, not with everything that...that happened. I...thought it for the best."

"For the best!?" Again, Tali's hand shot out, the slap making Michael's face burn as his ears rang with the force of the hit. "You figured there was no need to tell me and you'd, what, die and let someone else explain why!?" The back of her hand struck him hard, making Michael see stars. "I should just...I...gaaaah!" Growling out her frustration, the Quarian clenched her hands in front of her face as she stared at the floor.

Silence.

Well at least she's not bashing my face anymore...

"Tali, I..." Michael swallowed, hand moving up to the top of her head, pushing her cowl back and stroking her red quills as he struggled for words. "...I wasn't sure if..." Again, he swallowed. "...I understand if you want to leave it like this, I...I should never have tried to take you back when I knew what..." His throat was thick, painfully so, as if his body was trying to stop the words from coming. Yet they had to be said, his love for her demanded it. "...if you want you could leave, I...wouldn't want you to go through this again..."

A weary sigh, followed by a small chuckle, escaped Tali. "Yeah...that's not going to happen...I...I can't stop my feelings, and it doesn't matter where I'd go, it would still..." A shudder, and she lowered her hands, eyes soft as she looked down at him and leant into the hand on her quills. "...there is no choice to make, Michael, I'm yours." Michael winced in sympathy, but Tali simply smiled, leaning closer. "I...I guess I'll do it like Liara's told me the Asari do...take the time I can get, enjoy the time we still have." Then she hugged him, face boring into his chest as guilt gripped Michael. Yes...Liara...

Tell her.

Michael hesitated, his hands moving up to hold the Quarian...and then he smiled. No, there's been enough pain, no more of that. Instead he stroked her back. "Okay...if that's what you want, I'd love that." Then, he forced a little chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. "Besides, afterwards you'll always have Garrus, right? He's the perfect lady's man to forget your troubles with." Tali's hug tightened even as the Quarian awkwardly shuffled, obviously finding the joke in poor taste. "Heh, just messing with you, it would be a bit icky with you two practically being brother and sister."

"Yeah...exactly." Tali muttered back into his chest, holding him tight, making Michael arch a confused eyebrow. Huh...? "But...Keelah, you're useless at this, I don't want to hear any jokes right now, idiot..."

Michael smiled at that. "Okay." His hands slid up, one pushing into Tali's mane of quills as the other gripped her chin, raising her head until she was looking into his eyes. "I deeply, truly, love you, Tali'Zorah Vas Normandy..." With that, he pulled her down for a gentle kiss, then smiled up at her. "...and I'm never letting you go again."

"Oh..." Tali's pale cheeks flushed into dark purple. "...well..." Still blushing, her lips quirked into a coy smile. "...I guess that's a start."

Again, he pulled her down, simply holding her close as her breath tickled his neck.

God, I needed this...

He smiled, happy.

And then he chuckled.

"I can't believe you punched me."

Tali chuckled back. "You had it coming."

"Well...okay, true."

8

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8

Thanks to Abydos Jackson for being crazy in just the right way, and to all a good new year.