I do not own Mass Effect

Chapter Two:

Shepard held Tali's small frame tightly to his own. Cuddling together before the day started had become routine for the two. Tali's fingers lightly curled around Wayne's bed of charcoal hair. Wayne gave Tali a light squeeze, one that Tali quickly returned. Both exchanged sweet nothings for what seemed forever. Finally the two were interrupted by EDI informing them that breakfast was being served in the mess hall.

"I'm sorry if I woke you." Wayne stated suddenly before sitting up. Tali only wrapped her arms around him coaxing him to lay back down with her. She always got her way. When Tali demanded attention she received it.

"It's okay I was already on my way to wake you up." Tali replied soothingly. Wayne smiled faintly and edged closer to Tali. Right as he grew content being in her arms last night's dream flashed through his mind. Ever since the defeat of the Collectors, the dreams had become more frequent, more vivid.

Tali turned to one side and looked up to the ceiling and let out a small laugh. Shepard shifted his focus back to her and asked what was on her mind. For a moment she was silent as if waiting to hear an answer speak to her. Then she looked to Shepard and asked.

"Have you ever dreamt of something that you wanted all your life?"

"Well, there was this 98 Chevy, a turn of the century Earth vehicle that my dad owned. Sure it was a rundown rust heap but he spent most of his life finding parts for it and restoring…" Tali placed a single finger to his lip and added.

"Dreams for the future?" Wayne grew silent and looked to the ceiling. Future That was something. Wayne blinked a couple times trying to think of an answer but there was none. Actually there was but that dream was dead.

"We should get going before they stop serving." Wayne remarked quietly before sitting up again. This time Tali sat up with him and looked him in the eyes. She was trying to gauge what was going on. Wayne had been distant lately, almost cold. It was as if seeing someone that she didn't even know.

"Shepard what's wrong?" Wayne didn't answer. He simply threw on his rusty brown shirt and leather vest then helped Tali to her feet. The elevator down was quiet. Wayne stole a glance of Tali, wished he didn't. Even though her face was veiled he knew that she was troubled.

By the time they reached the mess hall, the room had been mostly cleared. Shepard knew that Tali was self-conscious when it came to eating and offered if she just would like to go back to his quarters to eat. She declined numbly and walked over to Gardner. He handed her a single vegetable paste tube and an orange for Shepard. Once back at their table she handed him the orange

"Are you sure you don't want more?" Tali asked while taking her seat across from him. Shepard shook his head and used his teeth to tear open the peel.

"Not a fan of breakfast, Pa always forced us to eat several helpings before working the fields." Shepard admitted before ripping off a wedge and popping it into his mouth. Tali looked at him, fascinated. He rarely brought up his life before what had happened. Her curiosity piqued Tali couldn't stop herself from asking.

"What was life like back then… on a farm I mean?" Shepard offered her a faint smile and ate another wedge before answering.

"Hard, but I enjoyed it. I miss working with my hands, getting hot and dirty under the sun. I member this one time me and an ol pal, Chuck Flynn stole off back round one of Pa's silos. He brought a bottle of Shine and we…" By this time Shepard noticed that Tali tilted her head to one side. It was her version of curiosity or an awkward glance. His time with both her quickly taught Wayne that body language played a very significant role in quarian society.

"I'm sorry… I get to talking about home and my drawl starts popping out." Tali gave Shepard a swift shake of her head and urged him to continue on. She leaned forward in her seat with genuine interest.

"So your friend Chuck, what would you all do?" Tali asked reassuringly. Shepard placed his orange down on his plate and offered another smile as he recalled the devil of a human being Chuck.

"It's more of what we didn't do. We drank, got into fist fights and one time nearly punched a hole in his Pa's shed with a tractor… Chuck was full of bad and so was I." Tali felt better as Wayne opened up more. Watching him reminisce brought a smile to her face. He seemed more like his usual self.

"You're not a bad person, Wayne. You have a good heart." Shepard merely shrugged and finished the last of his orange and quipped.

"Maybe, but enough about me. What was your childhood like?" Tali fiddled with the artificial paste in her hands. It was hard trying to picture him as a child growing up. She thought over her answer for a moment before answering.

"Well you already know that my father was one of the Admiralty Board, so making friends was difficult. Everyone feared me or was intimidated. It was lonely."

"There must have been someone who had your back."

"There was Reegar" This gave Wayne a bit a pause. He nodded remembering the quarian marine. This came as a mild surprise.

"You knew Kal as a child?" Shepard mused. Tali gave an affirmative nod before attaching the tube to the food port section of her helmet.

"We used to play Parchi near the reactor chambers and inside of the air vents as children." Shepard thought back on what little quarian he knew. His brow furrowed while he debated if it meant tag or house. He had played both that first day with Syla…but could not recall which was which. Wayne bit his lip and took a shot in dark.

"That's house, right?" Tali stifled a light chuckle and shook her head before correcting Wayne.

"No, no that's Mazziak, Parchi roughly means stones… it's sort of like tag but we played Mazziak too, sometimes… just not that much." Shepard nodded as he recalled Mazziak and felt a little embarrassed that he had gotten it wrong. He shook it off as nothing and continued.

"So what else did you and Reegar do?"

"There wasn't really all that much to do aboard the Migrant Fleet. The fun was when the Fleet would go to port and open trade. Since a quarian child's immune system is even weaker than an adult's we were forbidden from leaving the safety of the Migrant Fleet. A lot of children did any way." Tali stated with her head lost in the nostalgia.

"Reegar and I would always have a bet going on who could sneak onto the transfer shuttles first and another if we could do it without getting caught. One time we were docked at the Citadel and Reegar got himself lost. It was so scary but we eventually found him hassling a Hanar for directions." Shepard pictured Reegar as a child and suppressed a smile.

"What was Reegar like as a kid?"

"Headstrong and stubborn, almost like Garrus." Tali replied jokingly. Hearing that made Shepard grin but his smile suddenly turned to a small frown which worried Tali. Did she say too much? As she was about to apologize she heard someone behind herself clear their throat. Garrus was standing behind her.

"Oh, Hi…some weather huh…" Tali managed.

"Considering that we are in the vacuum of space, docked on a space station with no weather to speak of, yes… we have great weather." Garrus grumbled before flashing a quick smile to Tali.

"Just need to borrow you Shepard for a moment if you're free." Garrus continued.

"You could have told me he was right there…" Tali murmured in monotone as she squeezed some veggie paste into her mouth. Shepard bowed his head and offered an apology before turning to face Garrus.

"Can it wait?" Shepard asked simply. The turian's mandibles clicked together slowly as he answered.

"It's nothing important. I just have an informant on the Citadel saying he's got something big. Wanted to know if you'd look into it with me today or tomorrow." Shepard nodded his head in agreement.

"Thanks Shepard." Garrus offered before heading towards the elevator grumbling something about calibrations.

"It's okay, you should go with him." Tali remarked. Shepard shook his head and took his plate and threw away the orange skins. Sitting back down Shepard looked to Tali and asked.

"I was actually planning on going out to pick up some things around the Citadel market district, want to go with me?" Tali thought it over for a moment and agreed.

"I'd love to."