4.1 Citadel Orbital Lounge

"Thanks for helping me with this, Shepard," Garrus said.

"Are you sure about this?" She said. "Have you thought it through?"

"No, but I'm not turning back now." He said.

"It's not too late." She said. "You don't have to go through with this."

"Who's going to bring Sidonis to justice if I don't? No one else knows what he's done. No one else cares." He said. "I don't see any other options."

"Let me talk to him." She said.

"You can talk all you want but it won't change my mind." He said.

"Don't you at least want to know what happened?" She said. "Maybe it's not what you think. Maybe there was a good reason."

"I don't care what his reasons, he screwed us. He deserves to die." He said.

"You really believe that?" She said.

"I appreciate your concern but I'm not you." He said.

"This isn't you either." She said.

"Really, I've always hated injustice, the thought that Sidonis could get away with this… Why should he go on living when ten good men lie in unmarked graves. I'm sorry Shepard, words aren't going to solve this problem." He said. "I need to set up. I can get a clear shot from over there."

"How will this work?" She said.

"Just keep him talking and don't get in my way," He said. "You better go. He'll be here soon." He got out of the car and she drove away.

4.2 Citadel Orbital Lounge

Thane had watched everything unfold. While he had wanted to plan out an interrogation strategy for Elias Kellem, Shepard had said she'd improvise. He had stayed out of her way and she had expertly gotten the information from him. Here he had watched as Shepard and Garrus had talked not only to Fade's volus agent but interrogated Harkin. While it too had been improved, there was a rhythm to it, a dance of words and actions, as they went back and forth. Shepard had let Garrus do most of the talking, which was unlike what she did with others, including himself, when she had taken the lead. She backed up his threats and statements but when he seemed to go too far, she reigned him in with little more than a touch. It was... surprising.

Garrus was a dangerous individual in his own calm and calculating way. Violence was a tool to be used and one he didn't shy away from or try to avoid, as Thane himself did. Garrus did not enjoy it for its own sake, as Grunt did, but found satisfaction in its results, unlike Samara who took no satisfaction in either. Neither was it an outlet for his emotions as it is for Jack. But like many such individuals once his anger was roused it burned with an intensity little could withstand.

His rage, fueled by sorrow and guilt, was threatening to explode. Even his formidable self-control was threatening to crack. Thane could hear it in his voice. And if he did lose control, it may very well destroy everything in its path including him and perhaps even Shepard.

"What will you do?" he asked as the skycar drove away

"I either do what he wants or I do what I think he needs." She said.

"What is it that you believe he needs?" He said.

"He needs to know why. Sidonis was a friend of his. Garrus deserves to hear what happened, and then he can make up his mind." She said. "Right now he's grieving and angry but once you pull that trigger you can't take it back. Maybe he'll be fine with it but I think one day he'll want to know why and maybe he'll even regret it. He deserves better than that."

"So it seems you have decided." He said.

"I guess so." She said. "Hopefully, he doesn't end up hating me for it."

4.3 Orbital Lounge

The skycar landed and they both got out.

"Shepard, do you read me?" Garrus said.

"Loud and clear." She said.

"There he is. Wave him over." Garrus said. A nervous turian was sitting on a bench. Shepard waved him over.

"Let's get this over with," Sidonis said.

"You're in my shot. Move aside." Garrus said.

"Listen Sidonis, I'm here to help you," Shepard said. Thane was alarmed. It was always dangerous to get between a shooter and their mark, even more so when they wanted the mark dead. Garrus's emotions were threatening to boil over, It was possible that he might try to shoot around her or pull the trigger accidentally. He had seen such things happen under stress. She was taking an incredible risk. He prayed that she knew what she was doing.

"I'm a friend of Garrus's," she said. "He wants you dead but I'm hoping that won't be necessary."

"Garrus? Is this a joke? Wait, you're not joking?" Sidonis said.

"Damn it, Shepard! If he moves I'm taking the shot." Garrus said. If Sidonis moved, Thane decided he would pull her out of the line of fire. She was too important to risk.

"Screw this. Tell Garrus I've got my own problems." He started to pull away. Thane started to reach for her but before he could, Shepard grabbed Sidonis. Thane pulled his hand back.

"Don't move." She said.

"Get off me!" Sidonis said.

"I'm the only thing standing between you and a hole in the head." She said.

Turian facial expressions are hard to read but even so a look of understanding and terror crossed over his face. "Fuck." He said. "Look, I didn't want to do it. I didn't have a choice."

"Everyone has a choice," Garrus said.

"They got to me, said they'd kill me if I didn't help." He said. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Let me take the shot, Shepard! He's a damn coward!" Garrus nearly shouted into the comm.

"That's it?" She said. "You were just trying to save yourself." Sidonis started to walk towards the railing. Again Thane thought to pull Shepard out of the line of fire but she moved with him, continuing to block Garrus's shot. Thane had to wonder if she had any idea how close to death she was or if her trust and belief in Garrus was that complete.

"I know what I did, that they died because of me, and I have to live with that," He said. "I wake up every night sweating. Their faces accusing me. I'm already a dead man. Most days I just wish it was over."

"Just give me the chance," Garrus said but there was less anger in his voice.

"He's already paying for his crime, Garrus." She said. "Let him go."

"He's still got more to pay, ten men are dead because of him!" Garrus said but the anger was being replaced with grief.

"Will killing the eleventh bring them back?" She said.

"My men," He said, his grief now drowning out his anger. "They deserved better."

"Tell him," Sidonis said. "I guess there is nothing I can say to make it right." Sidonis's voice was now filled with sorrow. He bowed his head, closed his eyes, and waited.

Shepard stepped out of the shot.

Thane looked up at where Garrus was set up. He watched as he lined up the shot and then looked away.

"Just go." He said. "Tell him to go."

"He's giving you a second chance, Sidonis." She said. "Don't waste it."

"I'll try, Garrus, I'll try to make it up to you somehow," Sidonis said. "Thank you for talking to him."

Thane looked up to see Garrus step back from the railing, sit down on the floor, and put his head in both hands.

4.4 Citadel Orbital Lounge

Shepard had sent Thane back to the ship. She drove the skycar up to where Garrus was waiting.

"I know you want to talk about this but I don't," He said. "Not now anyway."

Normally, Shepard would respect that he didn't want to talk but she knew that the reason was that he wasn't sure how he felt about what had happened. The right words here could make a huge difference. "I know it didn't go the way you planned but I think it's for the best."

"I'm not so sure." He said.

"Give it time." She said.

"Yeah, maybe that will be enough. I want to know I did the right thing not just for me but for my men." He said. "But when he was in my sights, I just couldn't do it."

"The lines between good and evil get blurry when we are looking at people we know." She said.

"Yeah, there is good in him." He said. "It's so much easier to see the world in black and white. Gray, I don't know what to do with gray."

"No one does," She said. "you just have to go with your instincts."

"My instincts are what got me into this mess." He said.

"You know that's not true." She said. "You need to stop being so hard on yourself."

"Thanks, Shepard, for everything."

4.5 Normandy SR-2 Medical Bay

"Dr. Chakwas, when you have a moment I'd like to review the readout on the cybernetics," Miranda said into the comm.

"Now, would be a good time." She said.

"I'll be right there." Miranda picked up her datapad and left her office. Dr. Chakwas was getting a cup of coffee. "Would you like some? I just made it fresh."

"Yes, please," Miranda said and with their coffee, in hand, they went to the Medical Bay.

After the reports had been reviewed. Miranda started to leave. "Wait is that Serrice Ice Brandy?" she said.

"Yes, it is." Dr. Chakwas said. "You like it?"

"One of my favorites but I haven't had it in years," Miranda said.

"Well, if you get the glasses we can cure that right now." Dr. Chakwas said. Miranda got the glasses. They sat and drank and talked for a couple of hours.

"I should let you get some sleep," Miranda said.

"Yes, I'm not quite the heavyweight I was in my younger days. But come back anytime." And Miranda could tell she meant it. Miranda smiled and realized that this had been one of the most enjoyable times she'd had.

"I will." She said.

4.6 Normandy SR-2 Battery

"Thanks again for your help with Sidonis," Garrus said.

"You okay with what happened?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah," He said. "He can't make up for what he did but if he does some good, well, I guess that's something. I just hope my men understand."

"I'm sure they do." She said.

"You didn't know them." He said.

"No, but they were your squad." She said. "And all of them were trying to help people, make the universe a better place and you all were succeeding."

"Until I got them all killed." He said.

"You didn't get them killed," Shepard said. "They knew what they were signing up for and they followed you because they believed in you. You took a group of individuals and turned them into a fighting unit that took on all the gangs in Omega and drove them into something so unprecedented even Aria was surprised by it. You can't call that a failure." She said. "Everyone who has ever led has lost people, including me. Jenkins, Ashley, Presley, the rest of the crew…"

"But those weren't your…"

"And the deaths of your team we're your fault either. You can't blame yourself for what happened." She said.

"I should have seen it coming." He said.

"You can't foresee betrayal, because in order for it to work it has to be someone you trust, if you think they'll betray you then you don't trust them." She said. "He's not a bad person, or else he wouldn't regret it. He was just weak. Everyone has a breaking point, some are just less than others. You couldn't have known he would do that."

"Maybe," He said.

4.7 Normandy SR-2 to Cerberu HQ

Garrus seems to have put much of what happened behind him. He still has a way to go in the grieving process but his sleep patterns are returning to normal, he's started listening to music again and has stopped obsessively recalibrating the weapon system. He has continued to work on improving their overall performance and systems are now working better than specifications, an unforeseen benefit of him being on the team. He is also working on plans for adding a new gun.

More important, he is not only talking to Shepard but interacting with the rest of the squad, including sharing drinks with Zaeed, joining in the poker games he holds in the starboard cargo bay, and talking to people over meals on the crew level and in the lounge. His natural leadership talents are coming through more strongly as he had not only made a point to talk to most of the team but asked if they were having any trouble with the Cerberus crew. While there have been no incidents and no doubt the squad feels comfortable talking to Shepard about anything, they seem more comfortable knowing that they can go to him, a non-human, if they did have a problem. In addition, the obvious trust and respect that Shepard and Garrus have for each other have also helped their overall comfort level, as it confirms that Shepard has no prejudices against aliens. Will continue to monitor.

4.8 Normandy SR-2 Crew Level

"This is a pretty diverse bunch," Shepard said. "You must have something in common with some of them. Get out of this room and talk to them."

"I will consider it," Thane said. And he had.

Normally he got his food and took it back to life support. He got a bowl of what Rupert called 'gumbo,' a dish he was unfamiliar with and sat at the table. The room was too open, there wasn't any cover. He felt exposed. He had just decided to go back to life support when a man he had seen around the ship but not met came up to him.

"Zaeed Masoni," He stuck out his hand to him and Thane shook it.

"Thane Krios," Thane said. "Masoni, the bounty hunter. Yes, I've heard of you."

"Yeah, that's right and you're the assassin. Never heard of you, which means we're both doing our jobs right." He sat down across from him. Zaeed proceeded to tell a story related to the last time he had gumbo. It was an entertaining story, well told. He wondered if he was the type who liked the sound of his voice but when Thane talked he listened attentively and made insightful comments. They ate their gumbo, which was delicious and reminded him of something he had had on Illium once, and talked about guns and past missions.

When they finished Zaeed invited him to come down and see him in his room down on the Engineering level. He had some scotch that was actually worth drinking. Thane started towards life support but then walked to the elevator.

4.9 Normandy SR-2 Starboard Cargo Hold

The door opened and Thane walked in just as Zaeed was pouring a glass of amber liquid. He handed it to him and then poured himself one. Zaeed showed him the trophies he had and then told him about Jesse. Thane told him about a sniper rifle he had when he had first started out. He had called it 'the bow of Arashu.' It was amazingly accurate even over great distances.

Zaeed asked what had happened to it. Thane told him that he had been discovered during one of his assassination attempts and the gun took a shot that would have killed him, but the gun was destroyed.

"Broke your goddamed heart, didn't it? It's like losing a part of you." Zaeed said. "Vakarian said how turians believe in spirits that inhabit things, like ships, or cities or even goddamed armies. I think that weapons can have them too. I know my Jesse had one."

Thane considered. "You may be right."

4.10 Normandy SR-2 Main Battery

"I couldn't do this without you, Garrus." She said.

"Sure you could, not as stylishly, of course." He said.

"You ever regret leaving C-Sec or the turian military?" She said.

"Not for a second." He said. "The truth is I don't think I'm a very good turian. When a good turian hears a bad order he follows it. He might complain but he knows his place. I just don't see the point of keeping quiet when the whole galaxy's at stake."

"Is that why you turned down the spectre position?" She said. "Because you wouldn't stop talking about the reapers or stop defending me?"

He looked away. "How did you find out?"

"When you said that your spectre training didn't work out, I was suspicious. You wanted it too much, were too perfect for it and I thought that you'd do it for me if nothing else and was a bit disappointed that you didn't." She said. "And so when the Council reinstated my spectre status, I checked into it. Spectres have access to every candidate's file and are encouraged to comment, recommend or express concerns. It seems you impressed a lot of people in the spectre program and they weren't happy with the Council when you refused the position."

"Are you still disappointed?" He said.

"No, I'm glad to know that someone is going to stand up for the truth, no matter what." She said. "And I'm glad that person is you."

"My people consider that insubordination." He said.

"My people call that integrity." She said.

4.11 Normandy SR-2 Captain's cabin

Kelly was finishing her second glass of wine and looking at the model ships in Shepard's display case.

"These are great." She said. "I didn't realize that this ship was so much bigger than the original."

"She was a good ship," Shepard said a bit sadly.

Kelly saw the picture frame face down. She picked it up and a picture of Kaidan appeared.

"Who's this?" Kelly asked.

"That's Kaidan," Shepard said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought it had just fallen over. I should know better than to touch other people's things." She said and put the picture frame back face down.

"It's okay," Shepard said. "After seeing him again and how that went, I didn't feel like looking at it. "

Kelly noted that while she had put the frame face down she hadn't removed it from the desk. "I noticed that he sent you a message. " Kelly said.

"He did," Shepard said, as she poured them both another glass of wine. "He said he was sorry for what he said but…" She handed the glass to Kelly.

"Sometimes words simply aren't enough," Kelly said.

"It's not even that," Shepard said. "Joker and Dr. Chakwas both knew that despite my run-ins with Cerberus, I'd work with them on this mission. Garrus, Tali, Liara, Wrex, Anderson, Hackett, all of them understand why I'm doing this. They may not agree but they understand and have been supportive. None of them have questioned my thinking, my reasons, or my loyalty, except Kaidan."

Shepard shook her head. "I thought he knew me better than that. I thought that he of all people would understand. He told me once that when you care about someone you help them but when I asked for his help, he walked away. Maybe he only cared about who he thought I was and when I didn't turn out to be that person… "

"When we meet someone, especially someone we are attracted to, we make assumptions about them, both positive and negative, based on our own likes and dislikes, our own character and morals, and prior experience. Then as we get to know them better, sometimes those assumptions turn out to be wrong." Kelly said. "Perhaps he saw you as a hero and then was disappointed when you did something that he didn't consider heroic."

"If he thinks accepting help to save thousands of lives is wrong, Then we have very different interpretations of right and wrong." Shepard sat down on the couch. "Well, I don't need someone who's going to turn on me the moment I do something they don't like."

"Have you thought about what you do need?" Kelly asked.

"No," Shepard said. "I never really thought about needing someone."

"Everyone needs someone," Kelly said. "Having a special someone in our lives gives us hope, comfort, and a peace that's hard to find somewhere else."

What had that asari matriarch bartender said? Shepard thought. Something about finding peace in whatever arms will hold you.

"There is a wonderful quote, I don't remember by who, but it says 'Loving someone deeply gives you strength, being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.' everyone can use that, even the great Commander Shepard," Kelly said.

"I just want someone who I can rely on, that I can trust to be there when I need them. Sometimes you need a shoulder to lean on or someone to tell you everything will be alright or that you're not in this alone." She said. "Someone who'd walk through hell with me and it'd be nice if he was smart and had a sense of humor too. Someone like…ga..." Shepard stopped.

"Like?" Kelly said.

"Someone like… that," Shepard said as she stared into her drink for a couple of minutes.

"Shepard?" Kelly said.

"You know I wanted to ask you about Ken and Gabby. Kasumi thinks they'd be a great couple." Shepard said.

"They would," Kelly said. "The problem is that Ken is completely…."

"Clueless or chauvinistic?" Shepard said.

"...in love with Gabby. So much so that he makes all those comments to keep her in 'friend' zone because he is terrified that if they got together and it didn't work out, he'd lose her. Textbook." Kelly said. "It's hard to take a risk on a friend, especially one that is so important to us. If the other person doesn't feel the same then the relationship is changed forever. Then again no one ever fell in love without being a little bit brave."

"That's a good line," Shepard said. "I'll remember that one."

4.12 NormandySR-2 to Cerber HQ

I had dinner and a long conversation with Shepard. As you suspected seeing Kaidan Alenko again was more upsetting to her than she let on but I do believe that she has put it behind her. She even seemed open to pursuing a new relationship. As per compatibility profiling, Jacob seems a good match for her, and as you suspected he has seemingly developed a small 'crush' on Shepard. Her feelings on the matter are harder to assess. They have continued to talk throughout the mission. I will continue to monitor them.

4.13 Normandy SR-2 Starboard Cargo Hold

Thane knew that you can tell a lot about someone by watching them play poker.

Zaeed was a risk-taker. He played with his gut and would risk it all no matter the odds. It was unsurprising he had been on many impossible missions and lived to tell about them.

Garrus played a calculated game. He'd fold a good hand if the odds were not in his favor. He'd lose a dozen hands on purpose to figure out the other players' strategies. He also benefited from the fact that turians don't have facial expressions at least ones that other species can read but by the same token, turians can't read other species' facial expressions. This inability is somewhat offset by their almost uncanny ability to read body language and voice inflections.

Ken was a good but cutthroat player, though won or lost with equal grace. Gabby too was a good player but more cautious than Ken. She never bet big and so never won or lost big but made steady progress and seemed to enjoy playing more than winning.

Kasumi's strength was her impressive powers of observation and knowledge of people. She was impossible to bluff. Thane prided himself on his ability to observe a target but her skill surpassed his. No doubt due to the fact that it takes far less knowledge about a target to kill them than it does to sneak in, take something of theirs and sneak out unnoticed.

Jack played with her heart. She had skill and did well as long as didn't have a really good hand. Then she'd follow it, not letting it go, no matter what, and if she lost She'd get upset. There was a distinct lack of self-control, of maturity but interestingly enough a realization of it. She was no doubt used to her outburst intimidating people into giving her what she wanted but they also pushed people away. Being treated as 'normal' by those who were not intimidated by her was a new experience and one she seemingly wanted. He suspected that some of her outbursts were simply an attempt to test those around her.

Once after losing a large hand, she started to rant about them cheating, pacing the cargo bay. Thane was concerned as she seemed likely to erupt into violence but both Zaeed and Garrus didn't pay her any attention. Zaeed started to deal and asked if she was in for the next hand.

"I don't have any fucking money!" She said. "You assholes stole it all." Garrus who was winning tossed in the ante for her. Curiously, though he showed no personal dislike for her, he avoided looking at her as much as possible.

"So, you in or not?" Zaeed asked.

"Hell yeah, I'm it!" she said and sat back down.

4.14 Normandy SR-2 Captain's Cabin

Shepard sat down in front of her terminal. Now that she had a moment to herself, she needed to think. She'd had a really good conversation with Kelly when they'd had dinner here. It was nice to be able to just talk about things, about the crew, the team, and to get a few things off her chest. No doubt the illusive man was reading the transcript of the conversation but she didn't care. She had felt better after talking with Kelly, granted that was Kelly's job but Shepard had to admit she did it well.

But there was something that she'd tried hard to not think about since then. She thought it would perhaps go away on its own, an alcohol-inspired idea that while it sounded good at the time wouldn't sound so good sober.

Kelly had asked her what kind of person she wanted to be with. She'd dated if you wanted to call it that, but nothing serious, not until Kaidan. She'd never thought about what she wanted in someone, she'd just followed her heart or perhaps an organ a bit lower than that. But Kaidan was the first person she'd really gotten to know, really cared about, but there had been an attraction there to start with.

What had Kelly said before? Something about character matters, not race or gender or even perhaps how good someone looks naked. When she'd really thought about what she wanted in someone, she had realized that she wanted someone like… Garrus. Thankfully she had stopped herself before she had said it out loud. But the thought was still there, seemingly stronger now than it had been before. Was it just a crazy idea or something that perhaps she had known all along but just now realized? The longer she thought about it the less it seemed like a random thought and the more it seemed like... truth.

If he was human, no… if he was human he wouldn't be him. So the question really was, did she really want someone like Garrus or did she want Garrus?

She thought about the talks they'd had on the SR-1, how she had been so happy to see him on Omega, how she had prayed to whatever deity would listen for him not to die, how when they confronted Sidonis, she had done what she thought was best for him and not what he had said he wanted, how he was the person that she trusted more than any else and how, after Horizon, she had realized what that meant to her, to know that someone had your back, that they would support you even if they didn't agree with you. He was here on a ship funded by a pro-human group. Why? Because she was here and she needed his help; because she needed him here.

But was that enough? To have a relationship there needs to be something more than caring, respect, and trust. There needs to be that spark, that bit of passion that takes 'love' to 'in love'. That was easy to determine in humans but turians and humans don't find each other attractive. Was there enough there to overcome that? She didn't know and there might be only one easy to find out. Then again, it didn't matter if he wasn't interested. And how could she possibly find out without asking him? And then if he wasn't...

But first, she needed to find out if what she was thinking about (and surprisingly, she was really thinking about this!) was even possible. If it wasn't that answered all her questions right there. But if it was possible then what? How did she find out if he was interested without ruining everything? She'd have to look for an opening, some opportunity to bring it up in a casual way. But one thing at a time.

She started to type into the terminal: 'sex between turians and humans.' She erased it and typed in: 'sex between turians males and human females' She started to hit enter and then stopped. She was scared, just a little bit but there it was.

What had Kelly said? "No one ever fell in love without being a little bit brave."

Could this really be love? Not now, of course, not yet, but was that really a possibility? Or was she searching about sexual relationships between species because she was lonely, sad, crazy, or desperate or just wanting to get laid? Or had she been so focused on other things and people that she hadn't seen what was right in front of her? She remembered talking to the asari on Illium, the one with the krogan boyfriend. How it was good to have fun when your young but sooner or later you grow up and want someone dependable. Was that maturity? When you stop listening to your hormones and listen to your head? She hit enter.

4.15 Normandy SR-2 Starboard Cargo Hold

"So where's Garrus?" Ken said as he dealt the cards. "I figured he'd be in on this."

"Probably has to get that goddamned wound cleaned," Zaeed said. "You two hear about that?" He asked Thane and Kasumi. Thane admitted he hadn't, while Kasumi said she had only heard it was bad.

"He had all three merc groups on Omega after him." Zaeed said. "They had him trapped in a building and he held them off for over a day with just a sniper rifle. They even brought in a goddamned gunship and the bastard shot it down. We got there just before their last attack but he took a gunship rocket to the face before we could get out. He damn near died. Then less than a day later he's up walking around like nothing happened. Goddamned tough son of a bitch."

Considering the source, Thane thought, that was quite the compliment.

"I think that qualifies him as a certifiable badass." Kasumi said.

"You've all gone on missions with them right?" Gabby said. "So what's the deal with them? Tali says they're just friends but I think there's a deal."

"Deal?" Thane asked.

"You know, if they are a couple, should be a couple, want to be a couple," Kasumi said.

"I'd say yeah to all three." Zaeed said. "They just don't know it."

"You think so," Kasumi said. "I can never tell with turians."

"Goddamed right." Zaeed said. "If he was human they'd have jumped each other's bones a long time ago."

"I told you," Gabby said to Ken.

"Are you positive?" Thane said. "While I haven't been here as long as you, I have been on missions with them and I haven't noticed any behavior that would indicate they have romantic feelings for each other."

"No, they don't make googly eyes at each other or anything like that. They act more like a team. And you should have seen her when he got injured. She's fought goddamed thresher maws, been trapped in a collector vessel, stuck on an exploding prison ship but I doubt she's ever been as shaken as she was watching them take him into surgery." Zaeed said.

"Men and women can be teammates, friends, even close friends without romance." Thane said.

"Yeah, look at us." Gabby said. Ken looked down at the table.

"Sure they can. "Zaeed said. "I just get the feeling that there's more there, if they can get past the human-turian thing."

Thane thought about Shepard standing in Garrus's shot, her trust in him complete, her faith in him unshakable. Perhaps even more telling was the argument they had in the sky car. The depth of feeling, of trust, of respect, was more than just having known each other longer than others on the ship. There was a bond stronger than any physician attraction. He felt a pang as if a small flame, he didn't even know was there, had been snuffed out.

"What they have… hell of a thing to build on." Zaeed said.