Note: Sorry for how long this took to get finished. I broke my arm on July 29th so typing has been a bit slow. Once again I screwed with some characters, missions, and plots but I think it came out pretty good.

Spectreofslythrine once asked me if I had intended to write Sidda as Cerrus' counterpart (or vice versa) and that was the reason they didn't get along. At the time I answered no but as writing Sidda evolves I'd have to say yes. This chapter will show some of that.

Thank you Ipander for the review, always a pleasure and you're welcome. ;) Thank you also to the favorites and follows. My broken arm is better(ish) and it's easier to type so at least that's a blessing.

I did listen to some specific songs for this

To Leave Something Behind by Sean Rowe (yeah I used it in the last chapter too)
The Only Thing Worth Fighting For by Lera Lynn
and
Taking You Home by Don Henley

Please enjoy Chapter Six: Worth Fighting For

Mass Effect
"Foreign Relations"

Chapter Six: Worth Fighting For

The crew quickly heard about what had happened. Sidda received several strongly worded messages from The Illusive Man that she simply ignored. She did get a 'thank you' note from the Alliance for the gift that'll take then years to decode and then a nasty message from her mother asking why she had to hear third hand that her daughter was alive. Sidda avoided that. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk with her mother but it was just too difficult to deal with. If she survived this mess then she would talk to her. It did surprise her that after over a week there had been no more messages from Nov. At least he wasn't pushy. He probably wasn't even on the Citadel anymore.

To avoid all this she'd thrown herself into work, a lot of work; mission after mission as she fell into cleaning up mercenary messes. She was still a Spectre and apparently policing the Wild West was the best use of her time while she waited on the magic bullet to get through the impassible relay.

Tarith was worse than awful. A swampy, foggy, toxic mess. Part of her punishment for giving up sensitive data was the mandatory fixture of a Cerberus operative on her team. Sidda just let it ride, she did over step but she didn't apologize for it.

"Alright, comms are futzy," she began, "and we're blind as a bat." Tarith's chlorine fog blocked their sensors and made a mess of communications. Short range they were okay but it seemed that once out of line of sight they phased out. "Reports of an unknown species too so stay in pairs. Thane, you're with me, Samara and Jacob. Let's figure out this relay."

It was Jacob's turn in the mandatory rotation, it irritated her to some degree but she dealt with it. Her general opinion of him aside, Jacob was a trained soldier who could handle himself in a fight. Just because she didn't like him didn't mean she couldn't see his use.

The fog was so thick that it was hard to see in front of her more than a few feet. It made following the path more dangerous. One bad step and the unknown terrain could spell disaster, which is exactly what happened. They found a clearing where the fog wasn't quite so thick and were attacked by a giant bug-like creature Sidda had never seen before.

"What the hell is that?" Sidda shouted.

"It is a Klixen," Samara informed. "Do not let them get close-…" the Justicar was interrupted when Jacob dodged the fire it breathed. "They breathe fire."

"What the fuck?" Jacob shouted as Sidda's Mattock spoke killing the creature right in front of Jacob. The creature exploded in a ball of fire. "They explode too!?"

They heard a roar from above and then the ground shook. The flying creature hit the ground and more Klixen emerged, the fog didn't help but when the wings of the flying creature flapped it help clear the air. "Great, first fire breathing insects now a damned dragon!" Sidda complained.

They needed to focus and settle, take it one bad guy at a time. Part of her N7 high marks was a command of the battlefield, a battlemaster despite her being a biotic. She could command the battlefield and coordinate all aspects all while lobbing biotics at them. To be a Biotic Specialist she had to have a mastery of both. The dragon, for lack of a better term, was the most visible threat and it seemed that all the Klixen were coming from it. It made a lot of noise, flapped its wings, stomped but that was about it.

"Concentrate on the Klixen," she ordered but wasn't sure who heard her, she still had Thane within eyesight and kept it that way.

The scuffle deteriorated and the terrain didn't help. Samara and Jacob were not out of sight but they could see the occasional flash of biotic power. Sidda and Thane scrambled from two creatures. Sidda shielded herself from one of them exploding causing the one next to it explode. The mad scramble to get out of the way caused Sidda to stumble over the terrain and gravity took over as she plummeted down.

"Thane!" she yelped and the Drell tried to grab her. They both fell, tumbling down a distance they couldn't quite judge. Sidda hit the ground and felt her left leg twinge from her ankle to her knee. She hollered and cursed profusely.

"Commander," Thane began as he appeared over her, "are you injured?"

Sidda shifted and groaned, her armor absorbed most of the impact but she felt the rocks on the way down and definitely when she landed. "Probably," she groaned out in a pained tone. "Help me up." Thane pulled her up carefully and she cried out when she put weight on her leg. "Okay, yeah, definitely hurt."

"Broken?"

"Only if my luck changes," she muttered quietly. All that came to mind was Nov's comment of a 'typical week'. "Nah, I don't think so…just sucks. Where are the rest?"

Thane's Omni-tool scanned her body; the readings were a little distorted but didn't reflect anything broken. "Not sure," he answered and took her hand in his carefully pulling her to her feet letting her use him for support.

"Guess we gotta figure out where the hell we are first. Samara, Jacob, do you copy?" she asked into the comm as she leaned on the Drell, unsurprisingly there was no answer. "So much for an easy one."

Jacob learned to stay out of the way of post mortem explosion and by the time all the rampaging Klixen were taken care of he and Samara were staring at a steadily thickening chlorine cloud and not much else.

"Where's the Commander?" Jacob asked trying to see through the fog.

"We got separated during the fight. Commander, do you copy?" Samara said but received no response. "Thane, Commander, do you copy?"

"Conditions in the atmosphere are so jacked up the comms can't get through," Jacob said and huffed. "We gotta find them."

"We should complete the mission," Samara said and Jacob turned to look at her.

"We need to find Thane and the Commander."

"With the relay offline and low visibility, that would be ineffective," Samara argued with the soft wisdom of Justicar. "We should continue the mission. As EDI observed, the reactivation of the relay should restore sensors and communications."

"They could be in trouble."

Samara was the element of calm. Task driven and the one with the most experience of anyone on board. "We must continue, Jacob. It would be pointless to wander about hoping to find them. Restore the relay and then we can contact them."

As irritating as it was, the Justicar was right so he followed. To make sure they didn't lose their way or travel in circles Sidda had issued flares, they'd dropped one by the Kodiak and once Samara found the path with the beacons she dropped more flares. Jacob had to admit that Samara was everything her reputation said she'd be. Neither one of them were techs but the beacons were pretty straight forward, activation wise.

The cloudy green sky brightened some drawing Sidda and Thane's attention as they slowly walked out of the ravine they were stuck in. "You see that?" Sidda asked as she could see the communication towers lighting up above them.

"I do," Thane replied between heavy breaths. He was supporting most of Sidda's weight and slipping in the sand. Kepral Syndrome made it hard for him to breath and the exertion now wasn't making it any easier.

"Looks like some one's getting the mission done," she muttered and tried to ignore the pain in her leg but couldn't ignore the obvious strain Thane appeared to be under. "You doing okay?"

"Fine. Little hard to breathe is all. Perhaps signing on with you wasn't such a good idea," he commented but she cackled. Serious or not she would never have left Illium without him.

"Are you kidding? You walked through two buildings worth of mercenaries without help or any civilian casualties. Regardless, you were coming with me," she said and heard Thane chuckle. Generally, Thane kept to himself, he had a sense of humor he just didn't show it much.

"I'm pleased you value my very specific skillset," he replied and Sidda grunted loudly as she tried to help him as much as possible up the steep incline.

"I think that's the most I've heard you talk at one time," she commented as the climb became easier on them.

Thane liked Sidda, she was fine soldier forced into situations beyond her control. Working for Cerberus, a sworn enemy, to save colonies of innocent people, very noble, he really did like her. "Then I would say, join me more often, Commander, few things are better than speaking with a beautiful woman."

Sidda almost paused but Thane was controlling the pace. He just called her beautiful. "You're the first Drell I've met so tell me, are all of you such smooth flirts?" she asked and Thane let out a soft chuckle.

"I'm going back for the Commander," Jacob announced as he and Samara were steadily moving up the path following the beacons as indicated.

"We must complete the mission," Samara replied and Jacob huffed.

"Then you continue but I'm going back. They could be trapped or in trouble, I'll use the flares as a point of reference."

"We should not split up, Jacob."

"Continue on," he insisted. "I'll be fine."

Samara debated a moment before continuing on up the path. The Blood Pack needed to be stopped, Sidda was a Spectre currently assigned to the Terminus so she would help police it with her. Part of her told her that she should go with Jacob but the mission came first.

Jacob trotted down the path following the flares left along the way until he returned to the one left for the Kodiak; he didn't need to go to the Kodiak as its sensors were useless in the chlorine fog. He passed the remains of the first creatures they fought and kept moving. Sidda and Thane had to be around here somewhere.

Thane set Sidda on a rock to rest on after finally clawing their way out of the ravine. He rested his hand on his thighs and composed himself. Physically he was in great shape, like nearly every Drell, the Kepral Syndrome however created issues breathing but he wasn't about to pass out now because he helped haul his injured 'employer' up a hill.

"You good?" she asked and carefully stood. A twinge of pain hit her left leg but she didn't collapse. Thane nodded, at less than three feet from him she could clearly see it. "Alright, let's go find the others."

"How?"

Sidda limped forward and put her left hand on his shoulder as she moved then gestured up to the connecting communication beacons. "Follow the yellow brick road, Toto," she said lightly before remembering Thane wouldn't know the phrase, she headed it off. "Earth book, forget I said anything."

"L. Frank Baum. Very interesting novel," Thane replied and Sidda snorted.

"Thane, you are without a doubt the most interesting assassin I've ever met," she said with a chuckle.

"How many assassins do you know?"

"Alive or dead?" she quipped back and he chuckled.

The more she walked on the injured leg the easier it was but the limp was still noticeable. "I can see a flare, in the distance." The Drell announced. His vision was another reason why Sidda was glad to have him, of everyone on board his vision was far superior. He could actually see through the fog to a point. He pointed out a flare that she couldn't even see. After a moment Thane stopped like he'd seen something else in the distance. "Commander."

In the distance they saw flashing like lightening. It was in the same direction all the beacons were pointing so Sidda and Thane deduced that someone was duking it out in the distance. But that wasn't what he was fixated on. He walked forward a few more feet and knelt down.

"Oh my god," she exclaimed as she knelt down. When Thane rolled the body over she recognized the armor. "Oh my god, Jacob." Both she and Thane's omni-tools lit up at the same time but the scan didn't show and vitals.

"His mask is broken," Thane observed. "He is dead."

Sidda could see that, she could also see the two Klixen in close proximity and melted portions of his armor. "Looks like he died taking them out. Son of a bitch."

Thane took stock of what he could see around him but only saw the Klixen carcasses. "I don't see Samara."

It was the standard understanding of all people in military command that casualties were inevitable. It didn't mean Sidda was okay with it. No one liked losing people no matter who they were or how unpopular but she focused, she thought of the last person she expected to think of; Cerrus. The Turian had a singular focus and no matter how much of a pain in the ass he was she'd learned a lot from him. "She's probably responsible for the lightshow up over the hill," she deduced. "Drop a flare…we'll come back for him."

Returning to the Normandy was a silent affair, they'd found the Justicar. Samara was the picture of seasoned experience and came strolling off the hill with comms restored to a degree. Chakwas took Jacob's body and Sidda was bombed by Miranda almost immediately.

By the time it was all said and done Sidda was having a really bad day. Chakwas has seen her also, her left leg was not broken but the ankle had a minor sprang and the knee had been twisted. All in all it wasn't terrible just damned inconvenient.

"Look, what do you want from me?" Sidda snapped at Miranda while Chakwas applied the wrap to Sidda's ankle. "I told everyone to stay in pairs."

"So where were you then?"

Clearly Miranda thought she was Superman. "I fell down a damn hole." She'd already told her that, twice.

"It was a ravine slope," Thane clarified.

Miranda was losing her temper with this, Jacob was her friend and now he was dead during a seemly simple mission. "Shut up," she hissed to the Drell. Thane simply cocked his head to one side but fell silent.

"Hey, don't tell him to shut up he saved my ass out there," Sidda snarled.

"You care more for the aliens than you do your own people. You never liked Jacob so you passed him off as soon as you could," Miranda argued back as Chakwas cautiously eyed the room as she finished up the last wrap.

Sidda sneered. She didn't care if it was Human or Hanar, Batarians she could do without but Cerberus was equal opportunity hate, and Sidda hated that. "I don't much like you either but you've survived so far."

"I'll be harder to kill than Jacob."

Sidda was offended. "You think I did this on purpose?"

Miranda was about to answer when Samara spoke up. "It was my error. I should have gone back with him or forced him to stay with me and complete the mission. If you wish to blame someone, Miranda, I believe I am the one."

"Samara, we'll talk about not staying in pairs later. This was an accident, Miranda, an accident," she repeated and stood up trying not to hobble too much. "Now you can report whatever the hell you want back the Illusive Man but if you still think I did this on purpose then you and I are going to have a real problem."

"Whatever happened and whatever the result, it was not the Commander's fault," Thane said quietly and Miranda's reaction wasn't readily identifiable. If she believed them she didn't show it, the Cerberus Operative just left the Medical Bay with a searing glare.

Sidda sat down on the gun bench across from were Jacob's usual haunt was. She hissed as she laid her wrapped leg flat on the table. She couldn't help but think that Miranda had been correct, she never liked Jacob, she was responsible for his safety and she'd failed miserably in that area.

"Commander?" a familiar voice said and she quickly wiped the escaped tears off her cheeks. "Are you okay?"

It was Thane; to say they'd bonded in that one mission was an understatement. She liked the Drell. He wasn't anything like she'd expected him to be. She didn't answer his question but passed him the bottle of Whiskey she was sipping on. "Have a drink with me?"

Thane thought a moment but graciously accepted the invitation, generally he didn't drink but he would in this case. He inclined his head to her and took a sip.

"I never gave him a chance," she said after a few minutes of silence. "He was Cerberus and I automatically painted him with the same brush I do all of them." Thane stayed silent as she spoke. "He wanted to earn my trust…I was never going to give it to him."

Thane hadn't been around as long as Garrus had but he listened and he read. He read up on past missions and knew of Cerberus' reputation. "What happened was not your fault."

She knew that, she and Thane fell down a damn hole and got separated. Not exactly her finest moment. "I certainly didn't help."

"You did all you could, Siha."

"My translator must have fritzed out there. Siha?"

"One of the warrior-angels of the Goddess Arashu; a fierce and tenacious protector," he explained and Sidda's brow furrowed, she also felt a few butterflies. He gave her a pet name.

"And that's how you see me?"

"From what I've seen, yes, you are a Spectre. One who died and returned to protect the innocent," he explained. "You care for those you are in command of despite your feelings. It is an honor to serve with you."

She smiled though she tried to hide it and the blushing. "I'm flattered, Thane, thank you." Not really sure what else to say that wouldn't sound dumb. The Drell passed the bottle back to her and gave a polite half bow as he turned to leave. "Thane," she called stopping him from walking away. The Drell turned giving her a curious expression, "thank you for your help down there."

The Drell inclined his head and put his hands behind his back, his typical stance. "My pleasure, Siha."

After enough time spent wallowing in her misery she hobbled her way to find Garrus, Thane was becoming someone else she could trust and confide in but right now she needed Garrus. The Turian was the one person on the ship, including Tali, she could talk to about anything and he'd do anything for her.

She grumbled at the steps leading to the main battery, Chakwas assured her that both the knee and the ankle were just sprained and would heal up good as new but not quick enough. About half way to the door she could hear what sounded like an argument on the other side. One voice was definitely Garrus so she assumed the other was Isla.

"You knew and you didn't tell me!" Garrus barked as they ignored the opening door.

"Of course I told you. By the time I knew what happened you were already under siege," Isla defended and Sidda's brow furrowed.

"You didn't think to mention it afterward!" Garrus yelled and Sidda saw Isla duck her head.

"Uh-oh," Sidda thought but stayed quiet. She knew Garrus saw her but it appeared that he didn't really care that they now had an audience.

"Garrus, I…I don't…," she began and Garrus' hot temper flared as he slapped a canister off the table that had his rifle on it.

"Sedonis betrayed me and my whole team and you didn't tell me!" he roared in her face. He was angry…really angry and Sidda had only seen this kind of anger from once before.

"Garrus, he didn't have a choice-…," she replied sounding like she was trying to plead her case.

"There's always a choice!"

"Alright, Garrus, that's enough, back off." Sidda interjected pushing him back. "What the hell is going on?"

"None of your business, Sidda." Garrus snapped.

"Lantar did not have a choice, Garrus. I know those interrogators," Isla went on as Sidda was still playing catch up.

Isla was the best interrogator that the Blue Suns had, she would know. Garrus' angry glare was something Isla had never seen, at least not directed at her but he was beyond angry and she saw it in his eyes. "Was it you?" he hissed with absolute venom in his tone.

Isla gave him a look that could only be described as offended, hurt, and angry all at the same time. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Garrus wasn't sure what he meant, to be perfectly frank, he was angry plain and simple. "I don't want to see you," he growled and walked away leaving them both behind. Both perplexed for different reasons.

"What the hell happened?" Sidda asked Isla who looked very bothered by what just happened. When she didn't answer Sidda squared up to her, an aggressive posture, a Turian one. "Isla, tell me or I'm gonna go ask him and then there'll be even more fireworks."

Isla glared. So far she and Sidda had gotten along but Isla was less familiar with her than Garrus was and sometimes felt that Sidda was a bit much. Her attitude grated on occasion; of course she had the right to be a little angry at the world given the whole resurrection thing. "Lantar Sidonis, one of Garrus' team, the Blue Suns figured out who he was, captured him, tortured him, and flipped him. That's what happened to Garrus' team, that's how Garm nearly killed Garrus. He was able to slip away but by the time he got to the hole you found him in the attack was already finished and his crew was dead."

"Jesus," Sidda said and shook her head. "And you knew?"

Isla shrugged slightly. "I did but by the time I figured it out it was too late. I tried to call him but…I wound up walking into the same mess you did."

Sidda sighed heavily, she didn't want to jump in the middle of their spat but Garrus tended to overreact when he was mad. Most Turians did. "Alright. I'll go talk to him. When Garrus gets mad he's kind of a pain in the ass."

Isla didn't move, she blamed herself for what happened and not figuring out what happened sooner. She didn't like Garrus thinking that she had a hand in death of his entire team and his harsh words hurt her feelings.

Garrus simmered in the Port Observation deck and Kasumi wisely gave him space, she didn't even need to talk to him. The brimming anger was readily seen by anyone who looked at him. Sidda passed Kasumi and her look or warning made her snort.

The door opened and Sidda didn't even miss a beat. "You wanna get your ass back in there and apologize to her?" she said her tone as blunt as possible. Garrus half turned and glared. "Oh don't give me that look, Vakarian," she added. "That woman ran into enemy fire to save you."

Garrus scoffed. "And was a part of that reason why I was under enemy fire."

"You don't believe that. If you did you'd have taken her head off long before I got in that room," she said brushing his anger aside.

That was a very observant point. "Lantar betrayed me. She betrayed me. Now get your nose out of my business."

Wow, Garrus was beyond upset. This was officially worse than tracking down Crowe. "She said Sidonis didn't have a choice. He was tortured into giving you up."

Garrus closed the distance between them but remained out of arms reach. "You didn't know Sidonis and I barely know her…I should never have brought her."

Sidda shook her head. Nothing was more stubborn than a Turian. "Garrus, if you don't get your head out of your ass I swear to God, limp or no limp, I'm gonna throw down with you right now," she threatened and he stiffened his posture. The act reminded her of Cerrus. Now that she had his attention she decided to continue, her patience was absolutely gone for the day and she used her last ounce of it on him. "Now, I've have a really bad day Garrus, I mean a colossally fucked up really bad day. I lost a man, my crew is ready to munity, and the two people I thought I wouldn't have to worry about are at each other's throats. Now what do you need? Whatever it is I'm there for you."

"Time. Isla said Sidonis escaped Omega and is on the run. When I find him I'm going to kill him," he said his voice calm but a constant rumbling growl went with it. "I don't care if you agree with me or not but I'd like your help with it when I know more."

"100%, whatever you need," she said and was satisfied with the calming of the storm. "Just do me a favor…we don't have many friends you and I. Not many that are still breathing and not many that are still talking to us, I'd die for you and I know you'd do the same but one thing I'm realizing lately is that the best things are usually staring you right in the face the whole damn time. Don't lose her…apologize you stubborn idiot."

Sidda made her way through the Citadel to the café like her message said. She was actually very surprised to learn he was still on the Citadel and how quickly he'd responded to her message for a meet up. The last time she saw Nov was on a not so good reunion with Victus. Nov had kissed her, kissed her in front of everyone. It was decidedly not a show of affection that Turians usually used but Nov understood its meaning and showed it. It was embarrassing and toe curling all the same.

Nov was as distinctive a Turian as there ever was one; his bright red face was very unique. Honestly, she expected Victus' reaction to her returning from the dead and part of her thought that she'd never see the members of that crew again. Nov had always been different. She found him leaning against the café bar with a drink in front of him. Nov stood at 6'7" and had a broad build but not as broad a Cerrus. She took in his appearance and smiled; tall and broad…just the way she liked them.

"Hey, Cal," Sidda greeted, seeing him twirling his drink. "This is a surprise."

"And why is that?" he asked he asked with a smirk.

Sidda shrugged and felt a little embarrassed. "Because the last time I was on the Lante it wasn't really that much fun," she said and he looked her up and down. "A grand resurrection from the dead after two years can only have one outcome."

He knew what she was referring to. Victus ending it with her five minutes after seeing her still pissed him off. "No, it can have others," he said and she blinked.

Sidda knew what he was getting at, she knew he liked her but the last thing that she wanted was getting attached to someone else with gravity of the mission looming over her. "Cal, I can't-…"

"Sid, let me tell you something," he said cutting her off and put both hands on her shoulders moving her over to the side and sat her down on the stool. "When Garrus told us about…what happened...Victus went…nuclear and turned Damar's face inside out…and I-…"

"Tore the Rec Room in half…I know, Garrus told me," she said and he dropped his head while sitting down in on the stool beside her. "Somewhere in the ballpark of 30,000 credits worth of damage."

Nov sighed at the memory of him losing his damn mind. "32,481 credits to be precise….that came out of my pay."

She had to smile to at his past display of insanity. "Well, it's nice to know that I'm worth…32,481 credits," she said and he took a drink of whatever it was he was drinking. It was meant as a joke but Nov didn't see it that way. She was priceless.

"Sid, there is no price on you," he replied and Sidda blushed from head to toe.

She looked away from him still blushing and started thinking about an active relationship with him. She had to admit she wondered about what it would be like with him but the rational side of her brain waved her off. "No, Cal…I can't," she said and stood. "This mission could end my life."

Nov snorted. "Again, you mean," he said and she scoffed at his joke. "Sidda, look…I came to the conclusion a while ago that I-…"

Sidda shook her head. "Don't say it, Callus, please," she said, it hurt enough losing Victus she didn't want to lose anything else.

He ignored it. He wasn't going to back away this time. "Sidda, I should have said this three years ago." Nov said and Sidda didn't want to hear that either. "I should never have let you walk off the ship without saying it, I should have told you before the drop to Rothla, and I should never have let Victus have you without a fight."

"No, Cal, I died…," she said and he could see she was starting to get upset about the topic. "I lost everything, everyone I knew moved on…Adrien moved on…and now…this mission will likely kill me. I can't die and put anyone else through that, I can't lose anyone else-…," she babbled and Nov needed to stop the upset babbling train and leaned forward cupping her face in his hands kissing her.

His kiss was enough to clear her head and she settled down. This was the second time and it still felt right. He pulled back from her and felt this was going to go one of two ways: either he was going to get what he wanted or he was going to get his ass kicked. He prayed for the former. "Siddalee, the only way you're gonna lose me is if you drop me down a black hole."

Sidda laughed quietly and she was flushed the same color as his bright red facepaint. "I know," she replied. "Alright, Cal," she said and leaned forward giving him a short light kiss. "We'll give it a shot."

Nov resisted the urge to jump up and down screaming; instead he pressed his forehead to hers. He had her, he finally had her. "Dinner?"

Sidda smiled and felt her cheeks flush. "I'm starving."

Garrus strolled through the revamped C-Sec Headquarters; they'd finished remodeling it and moved everyone over to the new set up sometime after he left. As he walked through he couldn't help but notice just how much C-Sec had changed. He heard things as he passed, the use of force in interrogations 'make them scream a little'…of course as soon as he left C-Sec the red tape got thinner.

He passed everyone earned a few looks from people who knew him. Quiet nods from some and smile and slap on the shoulder from others. Garrus quit in grand fashion and now he was back with half his face burned off. He shook the hands of one or two people until he found who he wanted. Chellick. Still a detective but of a higher grade, Chellick would have made an outstanding Executor…that was one of the reasons behind Garrus quitting. C-Sec brass went with a political option rather than the best man for the job. Garrus tapped on the door and Chellick blinked when he looked up. Then he stood up still blinking.

"Garrus?"

"Chellick." He replied with a nod as he approached him to shake his hand, a firm wrist clasp between the two Turians.

"What happened to your face?" Chellick asked as he offered his former partner a seat.

"Omega." Garrus answered and sat down. Omega was the one place that could be used as an apt description and Chellick shorted as he sat down in his own chair.

"Shepard's back from the dead…and was looking for you." He said and Garrus nodded quietly.

"She found me." He replied. "She told me she found you…nearly had to peel you off the ceiling." Garrus was chuckling and Chellick gave him and derisive snort.

"Yeah, it's not everyday someone who'd been dead for two years shows up in your office like nothing ever happened."

"I need your help, Chellick." Garrus announced and Chellick leaned back in his seat. "I need to find someone, a Turian named Lantar Sedonis."

Chellick's expression narrowed. "You have the resources of a Spectre at your fingertips why do you need me?"

"Because Sidda's been dead for two years and you have shady contacts everywhere. If anyone can find it'll be you." Garrus said and Chellick scoffed loudly.

"Garrus, I couldn't find you for ten months." He commented and then sighed to the expression Garrus gave him. "Lantar Sedonis…last seen on Omega I take it?" Garrus nodded quietly as Chellick tapped it into his terminal. "Okay, I'll take a look and see what I can find. There's a Spectre I can ask…one in better standing than yours is. Give me some time."

Garrus nodded thankful that Chellick was willing and able to help him. He stood and looked down at the Detective. "Thank you." He said and lingered a moment. "You would have made an outstanding Executor."

Chellick smiled to Garrus' complement and watched him leave. He studied the name he was given and typed it in. "Okay, Lantar Sedonis, where are you?"

Dinner was at a restaurant that Sidda couldn't say the name of but she saw all walks of life seated and enjoying meals. Most restaurants that wanted to make money in Zakera Ward had to cater to multiple species or move to one that was specific to one or two or less complicated than serving to Volus, Turian, Hanar, and Human.

"Why are you limping?" Nov asked as she sat down at their table in the restaurant.

"It's a long story," she replied as Nov sat down across from her.

"Could be a long dinner."

Sidda laughed but she didn't want to go into it over dinner. Right now she was in a good mood. "Mission went sideways. I lost a man."

Nov didn't say anything right away as she started to flip through the menu. "Sorry," he said and didn't press further.

"What's good here?" she asked also changing the topic.

"Everything. It's the best place on the Citadel," he answered as he set his down knowing what he wanted to order and waited patiently for her. Zakera Ward was the most diverse of the Wards so it was a better dating site for a mixed couple.

After a few minutes the orders were sorted out and simple chit chat filled the time. He was just happy to have her. "So, I didn't see Deliah or Rekka the other day?" she asked as the server brought their orders.

Nov dug into his plate of meat and gave the swift answer. "Desala's on leave. Palaven, three weeks…and Deliah transferred out."

Sidda paused from cutting up the reasonable facsimile of Chicken Parmesan. Deliah transferred off the Lante. That was a surprise though she couldn't blame her, losing Nihlus hit her hard. "You're kidding. When?"

Nov was like a man on a mission, he didn't look up from his plate. "Little over a year ago."

"Wow…back to Blackwatch?"

Nov shook his head sharply and looked up at her. "Nah. The Defiant last I heard."

"Jesus, does that leave anyone for the teams? You and Cerrus commanding the teams, members are getting pretty slim." Nov looked away like he was hiding something.

He took a moment before responding. "Just leaves Cerrus. I'm not on the Lante anymore."

Sidda was shocked to his statement. "What?" she asked dropping her fork.

Nov nearly chuckled at the flustered appearance that overcame her when the fork hit the plate and drew the attention. "I'm off the ship. I…uhh…I had a major blowout with Victus."

"About what?" she asked leaning forward on the table.

"You."

She rolled her eyes and grumbled. So far since she came back all she'd heard was how bad things were without her, how things went so bad, how divided people became. It wasn't her fault…all she did was die. "Oh goddamnit. Am I responsible for everything that went wrong?"

Nov stopped eating and leaned back. "He hurt you. I didn't like the way he treated you so I told him what I thought. He kicked me off the ship."

Sidda downed the glass full of wine. "Cal, damnit…"

"I was off the ship anyway, Sid, just a few weeks early," he clarified and decided to add a little more to it. She went back to eating and he swallowed before continuing. "I'm mustering out."

She froze and blinked a few times looking at him. He didn't hold her gaze and concentrated on his food. "Are you kidding? You've been in the military what…"

"Since I was able to run away from home," he thought but decided to go with the least amount of daddy issues. "Since I was 15, boot camp; Black Ops posting straight out of OCS."

Nov out of the military…that was a surprise, she couldn't imagine him doing anything else. Nov as a civilian was a completely foreign concept. "So what are you going to do?"

Nov shrugged. "I'll figure something out." That was a lie; he had a new job he just didn't want to tell her just yet.

"Cal," she asked suspiciously and he chuckled.

"I'm good, Sid. I'm a highly trained Combat Engineer, believe me, I won't sit on the shelf long," he replied with a grin. "Or ever," he added in his head.

After dinner they walked, bit of a pain in the ass, or leg as it were, for Sidda but Nov went slow so he could match her pace. He offered a cab about a dozen times but she declined it. As they walked she went into a bit more detail about the mission, losing a man, and the rest of this traveling roadshow.

"Have you talked to your mom yet?" he asked and she shook her head quickly.

"Oh, hell no, I'm trying to avoid that," she replied letting out a long sigh.

"Why?"

She was scared to. That was the bottom line. "I'm not going to tell her I'm back from the grave when this mission could put me right back in it," she said and Nov could see her point. "Besides, look what telling you guys did for my social life."

Nov gave her a slight smile and reached down with his right hand taking her left in his. "Not all of us reacted the way Victus did," he said and Sidda felt the damn blush creeping back up, it could have been his kind words, intentions, or just that he was holding her hand. "I met your mom…she'd want to know."

She stood closer to him as they kept walking. "I know," she replied and she thought about something else he said. "Wait, when did you meet my mom?"

"Your funeral on Arcturus, you look like her." He answered.

"How many on the Lante went to the funeral?"

"Victus, me, Ruvvak, Cerrus."

"Cerrus? Of course… that asshole would see me off for good riddance," she joked.

Nov laughed too. "I think he was there mostly because Tali went." The truth was Cerrus had gone of his own volition to pay his respects, as much as he fought her and hissed at her the mission to catch Saren brought them to an understanding. For Cerrus she earned his professional respect. "You should call your mom."

After a few more minutes of walking Nov stopped at an apartment door and Sidda glanced around her. She didn't realize they'd walked so far and now she was confused. "Where are we now?" she asked and Nov punched a code into the doors lock.

"My place," he answered and Sidda balked as the door opened. Nov saw it and snorted lightly gesturing for her to walk first. "I'll be a perfect gentleman I promise," he grinned. Sidda eyed him playfully not sure if she believed him but she walked in anyway looking around at the enormous apartment. It stuck her as strange that he actually had an apartment and not one of the short term tiny ass ones. This was the bigger luxury ones that usually needed a decent pay grade to go with it.

"So…you have an apartment on the Citadel, you are no longer on the Lante, and you say you're mustering out," she said trying to put the pieces together as he tapped a few buttons on the counter telling the apartment to do something that wasn't seen. "You already have a job, damn it, what are you up to?"

He chuckled shaking his head. "You hate not knowing don't you," he said and she gave him a glare that didn't have any heat behind it. "You want a drink?"

"Nah, I'm good." Sidda stepped to a table with some nick-knacks on it. There was a knife she recognized as his family one and a picture of her and Nov. She picked up the image and blinked. "Oh my God, I remember when this was taken…Turians showed me how to throw a birthday party."

Nov's pace slowed for a moment as he joined her. "That was a hell of a night," he commented not really sure of anything else to say. He watched her carefully, making sure she wasn't uncomfortable with his little shrine. Not really a shrine, it was a knife and a picture but he didn't want her weirded out.

She set the image down and picked up the knife. "The knife that caused a lot of problems," she said. It was still beautiful, the engraving, the sigil markings. It was an old blade and Nov had tried to give it to her twice. "I never understood why you wanted me to have this."

"Because I love you," he answered simply. He was keeping with his earlier notion to be honest with her and not let her slip away this time. "I always have. Victus was right to be angry when I gave that to you. And you are absolutely worth fighting for."

Sidda couldn't help but smile. Every girl wanted to hear things like that. He loved her, she could see that, and she had no idea how she totally missed that in the past. He didn't fight for her before because of his personal code to not steal someone else's mate, intentionally anyway, but now he had a second chance and wasn't going to waste it. She stepped toward him until she was close enough for her raise to her tip toes and kiss him. Nov's enormous 6'7" height was a barrier and he leaned down. This time she kissed him and he wrapped his arms around her. She gasped as he dropped his mouth to the right side of her neck and felt him rake his teeth against her flesh. The sensation was euphoric but she gently pushed back from him.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, too far too fast. When he looked at her he didn't see her upset he saw her smiling and felt her right hand on his cheek.

"Don't apologize," she said sweetly. "Just not yet. I don't sleep with guys on the first date."

Nov's nerves began to dissipate and he laughed at her joke. He pressed his forehead to hers. "If you want to go back to the Normandy I can call you a cab but you're more than welcome to stay here. You can have the bed… I can sleep on the couch."

Nov was a running mystery, all Sidda had ever heard of was how smooth on operator he was but with what he was showing now it was a mystery on how he was still single. From what she knew he spent the better part of two years in love with her but never let it become an issue or even tell her and now that he had her he displayed admirable restraint. He didn't push or pressure. He was public with his confession but he moved at her pace. "I think I'll take that drink."

Nov smiled and stood up straight. "As you wish."

PS: Was there flirting going on between Sidda and Thane? Yes, yes there was. Why? Because I couldn't help myself. I love Thane. Ipander: again you're welcome. :) Stay tuned for more, y'all.