"You have got to be kidding me! After all this, the damn Mako won't start." Shepard grumbled loudly.
Marissa Shepard just killed Matriarch Benezia, released the Rachni Queen, and blew up hundreds of bugs in the hot labs. Her, Garrus, and Liara traveled back through central station, the core, administration, and into the garage only to find out the damn Mako won't turn over.
"Frozen, like me. I think I can get it up and running, but it'll take some time."
Garrus probably had hypothermia from this trip despite the environmental controls in his armor. If Marissa had known that Turians had a hard time with the cold she would have left him on the Normandy. Kaidan had pushed her to let him come, which he did at Port Hanshan, but she needed a balanced team and two biotics and an engineer wouldn't cut it. Liara needed to be there because it was her mother they were hunting, so biotic number one… check. Garrus was good in combat and engineering, so Marissa figured her skills in combination with his could help get things up and running, plus having a sharp eye on her six never hurt. That was good intuition because he stepped up and helped her get Mira running; and the Geth overloaded, and the Asari "geneticist" figured out, and a back way through security, and on and on.
"Liara, there is no reason for all three of us to freeze. Garrus and I need to be out here to work on this damn machine. Would you be able to communicate with the staff at Rift Station from the garage and coordinate assistance with the Joker? After the Rachni and the Geth, I'm sure they could use some extra supplies; and see if Dr. Chakwas can remotely assist Dr. Cohen in any way."
"Of course Shepard. I'll set up a link using Mira's connection at the security station. Let me know when we're ready to go and I'll come back out."
"Thank Liara! Let me know if there is any trouble or if anything changes."
Marissa watched as Liara grabbed her gear and headed back into the garage. She hoped they had gotten rid of all the Geth, Krogan, and Rachni, but Liara could watch out for herself and would call if she needed help. Liara was such a young Asari and seemed so vulnerable, but Shepard saw her fight the commandos and was impressed. Marissa knew what it was like to lose someone and she figured Liara needed some alone time to process or work to keep her busy. This afforded both.
"Garrus, why don't you check the systems inside and I'll see what I can do out here," said Shepard.
"Much appreciated." Garrus said as he opened the hatch and climbed inside.
Shepard slid under the Mako to see all the parts encased in ice. Thank you Alliance for plug-in heaters! She attached them to the undercarriage and turned them to high; she hoped it wouldn't take forever. Climbing out from underneath, she opened the hatch, got in, and closed the door.
"The heaters are in place. I imagine it's going to take a few hours to get the engine defrosted. Talk about a frozen wasteland. How are things in here?"
"Just wonderful. None of the systems will start because of all the ice and the Mako's interface is purple instead of orange; not sure what that means. Until the heaters thaw the ice, we wait."
"Bring any cards?" Shepard joked.
"Ha! I wish. It seems I forgot to pack them."
"I don't want to leave this thing sitting unattended in case the heaters don't do what they need to, but I am freaking cold. How are you doing?"
"Shepard, I'm frozen. Palaven is a hot planet and I keep my apartment at a dry 32 degrees Celsius. The temperature in the Normandy's cargo hold is my limit"
"I think we have some emergency blankets under the seats. Let me check."
Marissa bent over and looked under the seats. She found a case with a first aid kit, tools, and one large emergency blanket. Score! She turned around and smiled at Garrus. His eyes quickly moved from her backside to her eyes. She looked down to the blanket and stood up. This gave her an idea.
"Take off your armor!"
"Spirits…Come again?"
"Take off your armor. It's bulky and we won't be able to conserve heat very well with all that metal between us."
Shepard started to take off her armor starting with her upper plating. She was halfway through removing it when Garrus started to take off his.
"Trust me. It'll be fine. Unless this makes you uncomfortable?"
"No…No, I'm just confused about what we are doing."
"Cuddling for warmth." Shepard smiled. "We are going to be sitting here for a while and you and I are both freezing. You are a pretty warm guy and I think I can at least help you be more comfortable. We can sit here for a bit and if it doesn't help, we can try something else."
"Oh… okay."
Garrus moved a little faster at divesting his armor and once both sets were lying on the floor of the Mako, Shepard straddled Garrus' lap facing him and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and his. She immediately felt the heat from his body. The heat trapped by the blanket made her feel better. Garrus even sighed.
"Better? I feel warmer already." Shepard said.
"Yeah, much better." Garrus' mandibles relaxed. "Um… Shepard… will Kaidan be upset if he finds out about this?"
"Kaidan? Why would he…? Okay… what's the scuttlebutt? Shepard asked, brows furrowed. She knew that gossip circulated any ship, but it usually didn't involve her, or at least not anything she cared to address.
"Kaidan is in love with you and you and he are… you know."
"Garrus… Kaidan is a good guy and I like him, but we aren't… you know. Plus, you and I aren't… you know. I'm not worried about it and if he has an issue then I will deal with it."
"I just read that some humans get jealous when their mate spends time with other males, especially in situations where they are half naked."
Shepard laughed. "Oh Garrus… I'm not Kaidan's mate and I'm not half-naked. I'm also not flirting with you and you are not flirting with me. If this is uncomfortable, we can put our armor back on and figure something else out?" Shepard moved the blanket off their shoulders and started to get up.
As the cold air hit her and Garrus, he grabbed her waist, pulled her closer, and whimpered. She moved the blanket back over their shoulders and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her cheek pressed against his mandible which vibrated lightly. She shifted her hips so her legs sat comfortably at his waist. She could feel his carapace plates beneath his under-armor. They were hard and had distinct ridges, his cowl was round but not awkward to reach around, and she could feel the leathery skin and hard lumps of keratin on his neck. She rubbed her fingers around the lumps. His arms were around her back and held her close. She should have felt guilty because this was out of line between Commander and subordinate and Kaidan briefly entered her mind, but she felt warm, relaxed, and comfortable. Garrus made her feel safe.
"Tell me about Palaven or your family, Garrus."
"Ok…um… Palaven is a hot planet, but it has beautiful flora and animal life. Since we have a weak magnetic field and radiation enters the atmosphere easily, everything has adapted to survive. We have plants that wax during the day and bloom at night, animals with metallic shells that glisten, and nocturnal birds that sing their song when Menae is high in the sky."
The vibrations created from his words created a nice feeling along Shepard's body. Soon she found herself dozing against his cowl and shoulder. Her fingers lazily rubbed the back of his neck. They had been through so much with Feros, Noveria, and Luna, and hunting down Saren was tediously chipping away at Shepard's patience. Marissa hadn't slept well in weeks so it wasn't difficult to relax in this safe and quiet moment.
Garrus stopped talking for a few moments to ponder his family's dynamic when he realized that Shepard had fallen asleep on him. She was soft and warm, and her breathing was rhythmic and calm. He had never seen her like this. A woman of action, resolve, resilience, and command, taking on husks, creepers, geth, rachni, and the like, with little fear given away in her body language or verbal intonation. But in this moment, he got a rare glimpse into this amazing woman at peace. His heart thudded a little harder. He felt honor and happiness that he got to share with her this moment of calm, to see someone he admired and held in high regard have a moment of peace. He looked around to see the panel at the front of the Mako had turned orange again and felt the cabin warming to a more comfortable temperature, but he had no intention of rousing Shepard. Garrus found himself dozing too, allowing himself to drift into the serene ambience of this thawing Mako and his Commander in his arms.