At Anderson's insistence, the entire team was being looked over at Huerta. Well, everyone aside from Wrex. No one was willing to argue with the massive krogan when he insisted he was fine and stormed off towards the wards.
Garrus stared absentmindedly at the floor while a pair of salarian hands fussed over his fringe.
"Can't you just slap on some glue and call it a day?" He was exhausted, and mentally numb. The only thing he wanted in this moment was the empty void sleep promised.
"Absolutely not! Must properly restore blood flow to reduce chance of permanent tissue damage. Hold still."
Garrus groaned and leaned forward to give the doctor better access. While the salarian dithered about with the back of his head, he heard a distinct commotion down the hall.
"I'm FINE!"
"Miss T'soni, please. You need a thorough psychological evaluation. You just experienced an incredibly traumatic -"
"Absolutely not! We're done here."
As Liara stormed passed, Garrus attempted to catch her attention. However, the asari only had eyes for the exit. She marched down the corridor and out of sight before his exhausted mind could drudge up a single word.
"Finished. Here prescription for antibiotic. Take twice daily." The doctor rushed off. Whether to address an emergency or just running from one task to the next the way salarians tended to, the spirits only knew. Garrus pulled the electronic key card out of his pocket. The Alliance was putting up the entire team in a hotel located in Bachjret Ward, time to take advantage of it.
The sweet relief of sleep was short lived. Garrus moaned and glanced at the clock. 3:21. Three hours of rest was better than none. Besides, his internal alarm clock would have him up in a couple hours anyhow. The room felt empty, dark. How could it not? Not only did they lose a leader, their best chance against the reapers, but a dear friend as well. Even now, the concept that Shepard was dead and gone seemed impossible. The man was a force of nature, an indomitable killing machine. Reality was a cruel mistress. And in this moment, so was sobriety.
May as well check in and see how the rest of the team is fairing. He pulled up his contact list and rang Liara. She was taking Shepard's death extremely hard, lashing out at everyone around her. When Anderson broke the news that The Alliance would not be issuing resources to recover Shepard's body, the normally meek woman ended up in a screaming match with the councilor. No answer. He tried Tali next with the same fruitless result. The room's emptiness was suffocating. Not wanting to be alone, he dialed Wrex.
"Yeah?" Came the gravelly, brusque answer.
"Uh. Hey. I was just wondering if anyone was awake..."
"Yeah. I'm down in Flux."
"Want some company?"
"You drinkin'?"
"Definitely."
"It's all on the house."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Told Rita what happened. She talked Doran into it."
"Be there in fifteen."
"Good."
Garrus jumped out of bed, pulled on a pair of civvies, and headed down to Flux without hesitation. Anything was better than sitting alone in the dark ruminating over the last few days' events.
Wrex and Garrus sat side by side at the bar, silently sipping on their lagers. Flux was technically closed but Doran kept a skeleton team on to cater to The Normandy's survivors. Yet another reminder that the crew weren't the only ones mourning the commander. Everyone on the citadel owed Shepard their lives. His loss would be felt acutely throughout the galaxy.
"Got plans?" It was Wrex who broke the silence first.
"I'm staying and completing my spectre training. Someone has to step up and continue investigating the reapers."
"Glad to hear it Garrus."
"Since when did you stop calling me turian?"
"Oh for fuck's sake, if you're gonna be a princess about it I'll go back to turian."
"Nevermind. What's next for you?"
"Tuchanka. Still gotta head back to my clan, see if I can't fix things." Wrex drained his mug and waived down Rita. "Want anything stronger?"
"Think I'll stick with beer, thanks. We have that memorial in a few hours."
"Yeah. And I don't plan on being sober for it. The vultures are already descending."
"I'm not surprised."
"Just the usual political bullshit. Shepard woulda hated it."
"Yeah."
Dropping all pretense, Wrex grabbed the bottle of ryncol Rita supplied and raised it over his hump. "Here's to you Shepard. You're a fucking jackass, dying on us like this. Don't think I'll ever forgive ya but you won't be forgotten."
"Here here." Garrus raised his mug for the toast.
They spent the next few hours drinking and reliving their favorite Shepard stories. Already, Wrex was inserting elaborate embellishments regarding their commander's exploits. And Garrus had the feeling that by the time he returned to his clan, Shepard would be ten feet tall and shoot lasers out of his eyes.
The memorial was a smaller gathering than Garrus had anticipated. Apparently, The Alliance was attempting to lessen the impact of Shepard's death. To his obvious dismay, Kaiden was chosen to give the eulogy. The biotic was clearly out of his element, and continuously stared at the camera while reading a pre-written speech off a teleprompter.
The only thing that was noteworthy at the entire affair was one asari's conspicuous absence. When Liara hadn't shown up, even Wrex grew concerned. Every teammate, himself included, tried to reach her to no avail. Finally, Anderson informed them that she booked passage off the citadel after being discharged from Huerta. Garrus couldn't help but find the decision peculiar. Yet, everyone mourns in their own way. Who was he to judge?
At the conclusion of Kaiden's painfully awkward speech, the politicians began mingling and prancing about. The entire scene made his plates itch. And Garrus found himself quickly looking for an excuse to leave. After catching Anderson's attention and using the fact he needed to apartment hunt as justification, he quickly made for the exit. But before he reached the round about door, Tali waved him down.
"Hey Garrus."
"Hey" He stood there stiffly, unsure of what to say.
"I just wanted to say goodbye. I'm going home."
"To the fleet?"
"Yeah. My pilgrimage is finished. It's time. Wrex says you're staying and continuing Shepard's mission against the reapers."
"That's the plan."
"I wish you luck. If you ever need tech help with the geth, well, you have my number."
"I appreciate it Tali."
When they parted ways, Garrus had the sinking feeling that he wouldn't be seeing the team from The Normandy again any time soon.