Only two more chapters left - this went by so quickly! Thank you so much for reading!

"Shepard!" Anderson came around the War Table to her. "You know what you're doing?"

"Removing every piece of the Reapers from our planet, sir?"

"You got it. I— Well, I'll see you on the other side."

"Yes, you will. Take care of yourself, Anderson."

"I could say the same to you."

They saluted each other, and Shepard and Garrus left the War Room, finding Liara, who would accompany them through the battle. All the others were assigned to various troops—Tali with the quarian fleet, Javik with the turians, Vega with the Alliance, Cortez with the flyers, Jack with her team of students, Kasumi with the Catalyst. Shepard's people were everywhere, and Garrus was proud to be among them.

She clicked the comm link in her collar. "Joker. Patch me through to everyone. I want to say—I have a few things I want to say."

"You got it, Commander."

Shepard waited for the connection, taking a deep breath. "Normandy crew. Friends," she began. "This war has brought us pain and suffering and loss. But it has also brought us together. I couldn't have asked for a better team, a better family. And that bond is our strength. It is something the Reapers have no capacity to understand. It is what will see us through this battle. More powerful than any weapon, stronger than any ship. It can't be taken or destroyed." She took a deep breath, looking up at Garrus, her eyes bright with affection. He nodded at her, and she continued. "The next few hours will decide the fate of everyone in the galaxy. They're all trusting you—depending on you to win them their future, free from the threat of the take heart! Look around you. You're not in this fight alone. We face our enemy together and together we will defeat them."

Through his comm link, Garrus could hear their friends and fellow crew members echoing Shepard's thoughts, affirming their feelings for one another. Shepard was right—they were a family. The best one he could ever have asked for.

"Come back safe, all of you," he said, hoping they couldn't hear how his voice trembled. "I hear drinks are on Kasumi later."

"Hey, I only said that to Shep!" Kasumi said indignantly.

"Yes, but you know you meant it for all of us," Garrus told her.

"Well … maybe so."

"First round's on me," Shepard said. "Wherever we are. So take care of yourselves."

They disconnected the comms and gave each other one last look, reaching for each other's hands, and for Liara's. The three of them stood for a moment, and then let go, pulling their guns. It was time. This was the moment they had been gearing up for.

"Let's take these bastards down," Garrus said.

"I like the sound of that." Liara's voice was hard, and he knew she was seeing Thessia in her mind's eye, as he was seeing Palaven. As they were all seeing before them what the Reapers had done to Earth.

Following Shepard, they moved out, working their way through husks and marauders and cannibals toward a Reaper in the distance, crouched like a giant metal spider over what Garrus understood had once been a beautiful city with a lot of history. With luck, it would be again someday. Well … with luck and Shepard.

The fighting was hot, some of the hardest Garrus had ever been in. The Reapers knew this was the deciding battle, too, and they had brought everything they had to bear on the assembled troops of the galaxy. It remained to be seen whether they could stand.

Garrus saw an elcor squadron moving on his left, giant and ponderous, and a team of asari commandos on his right, darting swiftly among the rubble. Who would ever have imagined such a coming together? Only Shepard. No one else could have done it.

Her focus was steady now, her aim sure, as she picked off husks and banshees and brutes. Garrus shot over her head, taking the long-range targets, and Liara provided supporting fire for both of them. They made such a good team. Garrus felt invincible, climbing the rubble and aiming across the wasted land and making the galaxy safer one Reaper creature at a time.

Until something slammed into his side and he felt himself falling. It was hard to get up again, his left arm and leg not obeying him properly.

He felt himself being shifted, tucked into a hollow between what looked like it had been a car once upon a time and a tall red box. Small hands moved over his face and side and just grazed the edges of what seemed to be a wound.

"Garrus. Garrus, can you hear me?" There was urgency in Shepard's tone.

"Of course I can hear you. Give me a second, I'm with you."

"I'm calling an extraction team."

"Shepard." Liara looked at her, shaking her head. "We can't afford to pull anyone out of the fight."

There was a pause, and then Shepard admitted reluctantly, "No, you're right. Garrus …"

"You've gotta be kidding me. I'm not staying here while you fight our fight. I'm going with you."

"Don't argue," she said gently.

"We're in this together. Till the end." He could feel a tear rolling down his cheek, matching the one he could see shining on Shepard's face.

"No matter what happens, you know I love you. I always will."

Garrus leaned into the small hand touching his face, closing his eyes to savor her touch. "Shepard, I …" He thought he finished, "love you," but she was gone and he was alone here in the middle of the battle, the light fading around him as he slid into unconsciousness.