Derra - Wife / female bondmate
Verro - Husband / male bondmate
Amimahir - Grandchild
Patrem - Father (Familiar form Pari equivalent to dad)
Matrula - Mother (Familiar form Mari equivalent to mom)
Tarc - Vulgar expletive equivalent to shit.
Fragrutis - A cactus native to Palaven that grows short, tough, and spiny but succulent leaves. The leaves are crushed, chopped and used as a spice in turian cooking. Very hot and spicy.
Acuta Eus: a chip made from a combination of grains and spices. Turian doritos.
84 Days ASR
Over the next nine hours, Garrus and his family—he fought a wide, stupid grin, trying to maintain a professional facade he strode across the shuttle bay—his family spent most of their time talking to Miranda, Chakwas, and Mordin. Once he, his derra, and Nihlus explained what Mordin had told them, the entire team met in the genetics lab to organize everything Izzy needed to enter the world happy and healthy.
Izzy. Garrus made his way to the shuttle newly returned from Ploba. A baby. The entire concept just boggled his mind. A few hours before, he'd been a newlywed and a general about to engage in the most terrifying war imaginable. Now he was twenty-four weeks from being a father. The grin spread until his mandibles ached. No doubt panic would return, and he'd face more than any one person's share of doubts about his fitness to raise another life. But for those moments, his daughter's care settled, he allowed that image and its tiny fluttering heartbeat to fill him to the brim and over.
Less than three months before, he'd been certain of a life spent alone, mourning the lost half of his spirit. Now, a previously undiscovered section of his heart began to beat.
"Hey! Callor! Are you coming?" his kahri's voice called from the other end of the shuttle bay.
Garrus looked up, focusing on her as he wrestled his stupid grin under control. It returned as soon as he saw the excitement on her face. "I think you're more excited about this special platform than EDI is."
Shepard smiled, waggling her head a little, telling him his guess hit the mark. "She's going to get to experience being a part of a crew … a family. I think it's the beginning, just like with Legion and the geth. Just like us." She held out her hand, waiting for him to catch up and close his talons around it. Her fingers trembled ever so slightly.
"Yesterday, it felt like we were just tumbling downhill, gaining speed as we crashed toward the end of everything. But today … these geth change everything. EDI could change everything. Imagine, Garrus … AI and organics living in peace." She spread the arm not attached to his hand as if to embrace the entire galaxy. "Evolution? Chuck that outdated idea out the window. We'll all be limitless given time and compassionate cooperation."
Each of her words spurred his heart to pump harder, sending hot blood and hope surging through his body. Emotions foamed above the current as it raced to power muscles that begged to move, to get to work already and make her vision reality. Where did she find all that hope—that belief in other people—especially people so very different than humanity? Even her faith in him and in Nihlus seemed completely mysterious sometimes. She trusted that at the core of every being in the galaxy lived an honourable spark, and if she could breathe enough hope into that spark, it could warm the most frozen heart and redeem the lost.
Naive? Quite possibly. Doomed to failure? Maybe, but hadn't they all just lined up to prove her right? For his part, he'd dedicate his every last breath to see her optimism bear fruit, and he knew Nihlus felt the same.
She squeezed his hand, tugging him toward the shuttle as the hatch opened. "Come on, verro, we've got a couple of deliveries to receive."
EDI's mobile unit—
When it stepped up to the edge of the hatch, then down onto the Ypres's deck plating, gleaming like a billion diamonds coalesced into bipedal form, Garrus's brain froze, the word unit all that entered his mind. But dear spirits, such a humble word didn't do it the slightest bit of justice. A mechanical and technical work of art, it transcended the geth platforms that followed it off the shuttle, one of whom carried Izzy's home for the next six months.
"Holy cats," Shepard whispered, a bright grin lighting up her face, "didn't they just outdo themselves on EDI's new ride?"
Outdo themselves, they had. While bipedal, the unit balanced and moved like an ungentira ready to pounce, unlimited potential energy and balance coiled in every joint and artificial sinew.
Knowing that Shepard didn't want to draw too much attention to the AI's new ride, Garrus looked to the phalanx of geth standing at the shuttle's threshold.
"These are all actualized platforms?" he asked Shepard, keeping his voice to a whisper, but he didn't really need to ask. The geth platforms showed individuality to an extent he hadn't seen before. One platform sported four legs and two arms, more like a keeper than a quarian, and several of the others had attached small pieces of tech in ways that looked more ornamental than strictly functional. Seeing individuality where once he'd only witnessed uniformity, amazed him anew, and not just for the geth, but for his kahri's uncanny way of figuring out what people needed.
Nodding, Shepard stopped a couple of metres away. "They all have nexus brains. Legion said that some of the juggernauts and primes grouped together in the tens of thousands, almost as if each platform's geth formed family groups and villages before merging into one, unified mind." She released his hand and strode toward their guests.
"Welcome aboard the Ypres. Your offer of service honours us." She ushered the geth down out of the shuttle. "We've installed temporary work stations in the server room and EDI has adjusted our communication protocols so you can maintain connection with the consensus and the cynosure."
"Thank you, Captain," the four legged geth carrying Izzy's artificial womb replied with a decidedly feminine voice. "I am called Taje. I believe Dr. Solus requested that this maturation unit be installed as soon as possible?"
"Yes." Shepard waved them toward the elevator. "It'll be completely autonomous? We aren't staying aboard the Ypres much longer."
Taje nodded, making Garrus smile at the very human gesture. Turians didn't even naturally nod or shrug thanks to their cowls, but those who dealt with a lot of humans just sort of seemed to pick it up. He'd considered Legion's mimicry a strategy to set the organics at ease. Apparently not, or at least it propagated throughout the consensus.
"The maturation unit can be moved, but great care must be taken. The geth have mirrored the natural conditions inside your uterus …"
Garrus flinched as the needle on his turian 'private things stay private' metre hit the redzone. Thank the spirits he and Shepard had Nihlus to deal with most of the events and topics that fell into that category. Between them, the 'nope, too personal' list stretched for kilometres.
"... as closely as possible, but most maturation tanks are permanent installations with carefully monitored climate control. This remains an imperfect solution."
Garrus hit the elevator control, his gaze still fixed to Shepard as she leaned a hip into the metal railing and crossed her arms.
"How imperfect?" she asked, her eyes shuttered, expression pinched and closed. Her anger over Mordin's liberties remained etched into the lines around her mouth and eyes despite her calm. "It's bad enough she's had to spend her first twelve weeks inside a petri dish and a germination chamber. I want the rest of her time to be as natural and stress-free as we can manage."
"We'll do our best to ensure her comfort and wellbeing." The geth nodded and faced the door.
"Captain," Cortez came through over the intercom, his business-like tone helping clear Garrus's head, "we're ready to get underway."
"Then get us to Illium, LT." Shepard's voice echoed, all edges and corners.
"Aye, aye, ma'am."
With Izzy's concerns tabled, Garrus watched the switch in Shepard's head flick over to EDI's new platform. But right there and then, she could only fight off the questions she couldn't ask. As far as it concerned anyone on the Ypres or in Archangel, the geth were testing a prototype hybrid platform. Paying it undue attention could betray the secret, and Cerberus becoming suspicious placed the entire experiment—and EDI—in jeopardy. The engineering team on Omega had installed a quantum blue box aboard the Aurean to backup EDI in case Cerberus panicked and pulled her plug. Still, organics reacting out of fear to a free AI had caused more than one war, and as Shepard would say, once the furry mammal escaped the bag, it proved impossible to put back.
His derra's stare turned to lock onto his, a soft, but tenuous, smile curving her lips. Fear, worry, anger … so many emotions flickered in that gaze, flames consuming the pine forest green. He smiled back, one formed of resolute confidence. Once the geth finished installing Izzy's new home, and their daughter slept securely within, he'd take Shepard up to their cabin. They needed time alone to process and relax as well as they could before Illium.
While he understood the logic behind Shepard trying to bring Lawson on-side by helping the operative secure her sister, he clung to far too much rage to give a single fuck. Why Lawson should care so much for a sister she didn't know and show such callous disregard for others … well, it formed one of the greatest mysteries of humanity. Even some of the most caring among them would sacrifice fifty children to save their own.
The elevator arrived at the CIC. Garrus walked drag, content to stay back and take a support role. He and Shepard needed time to think and sort through their emotions before they could really process what the gestation chamber would mean to their daughter's development. He didn't want her to feel alone or isolated. Maybe babies so small didn't feel fear, but he'd do anything to make sure she didn't.
Shepard tucked herself in against him once the lab door closed, and Mordin swooped in to help the geth set everything up. Arm wrapped around his waist, she clung to him, trembling ever so slightly. They both needed to speak to their maris. He hoped that once they did, they'd be able to slide the panic to the back of their minds and focus on getting ready for war.
Tarc … he hated the idea of telling his mari over the comms. That sort of news needed to be shared in person. Thank the spirits Izzy and their new resident crazy salarian doctor came along when they did. His mari would get a chance to meet and spoil her amimahir.
"We are prepared for you," Taje said, catching his attention.
"For me?" Shepard's arm tightened around him.
The geth waited by the end of the biobed, one arm held out in a vague, inviting gesture. "We will embed a transmitter beneath the muscles in your abdomen where the child would develop." Head flaps rose and fell in agitated waves as if causing Shepard distress, distressed Taje in return. "The transmission will be carried through the chia encasing the inner bladder so the child hears and experiences all the vibrations, sensations she would naturally."
Shepard detached from his side and strode across the genetics lab to sit on the table, gripping his hand to the last. "That's incredible." She laid back in response to Taje's hand signals. "So, she'll be able to hear my voice and heartbeat … everything?"
"At all times, yes."
Shepard latched onto him with a stare that vacillated between awe and panic.
Following his derra, Garrus stood at the head of the biobed, one hand stroking the silky strands of her hair, the other braced against the cool metal of the table: both sensations grounding him. The procedure took less than a minute; the comms device tiny, using chia to communicate to the gestation chamber.
"We need to contact Ploba tomorrow," Shepard said, looking up into Garrus's eyes, "and thank the chia for everything. They are taking a lot of hits for the cause."
"The chia involved in this project consider it a joy and a privilege to assist your child in this manner." Taje offered a hand to help Shepard sit up. "She will be embraced in love and warmth."
The last sentence startled Garrus and snatched a slight gasp from between Shepard's lips. Geth concerning themselves with love and warmth … . To think that he'd wanted to just put a bullet through Legion's head when they'd found him on Eden Prime nearly three cycles before.
"Best if you leave lab for implantation," Mordin announced, stepping up to the table. A small, octangular unit sat cradled in his long-fingered hands. "Will send message when finished."
Garrus felt Shepard lean in as he did, his stare glued to the blinking lights. Could that be … ?
"Is that her?" Shepard asked a half second before he could, her voice breathy.
Garrus understood, someone had sucked all the oxygen out of the air. The germination unit tugged at his talons, insisting that he reach out and make contact. When his talon pads pressed to the warm polymer case next to Shepard's, Mordin didn't react by scolding them. Instead, he made a gentle clucking sound.
"Go. Daughter fine, but concentration vital to successful transfer," the salarian said. Their fingers slid from the chamber as Mordin turned away, continuing without pause, "Hours of careful preparation and work. Will contact you when finished."
"And if anything goes wrong?" Shepard asked, sliding down off the table to press back in against Garrus's side. "You'll let us know?"
"Immediately." He placed the chamber on his desk and set to work on his computer. "Do not anticipate complications, but will keep you informed."
Moving as a unit, both Shepard and Garrus stepped up to the desk, touching the chamber again before turning to leave. Although, completely his imagination, Garrus fancied that he felt Izzy move inside, responding to their touch. Their daughter ….
They needed to end the damned war fast. The idea of bringing his daughter into a galaxy cowering beneath the reapers' gaze sunk razor-sharp claws into the base of his skull. He took a heavy breath. Ending the war meant moving on the collectors and learning everything they could about the bastards in dark space.
"I want to talk to Ash," Shepard said the moment the inside lab door closed behind them. "Illium isn't a long trip, and I need this boat ready to pull its weight before I get off." She palmed the outer door control. "I'd really like to steal Joker for the Aurean. The Normandy is fleet enough to maneuver through anything on the other side of the Omega IV, but the Aurean is going to need talented hands on the controls."
Garrus lifted a brow plate "Not sure you'll convince him or Anderson. Geth pilots might be the best idea. They could interface directly with the ship. They have better reflexes and response times than any organic."
"Yeah, and we need them to interface with the collector tech to develop ways to burrow past the reapers' firewalls and defenses." She pressed the control to call the elevator. "We have to stop running around reacting. We need to sit down and set out a plan." Green eyes bored into his, his derra's stare as intense as a mining laser. "The reapers are coming and other than the geth-chia plan to sabotage the relays, we've got nothing other than shoot at them until they blow us all up."
They stepped into the elevator, Garrus hitting the control to the crew deck. "We need to get research units on the relays. Maybe there is a historical record of how they moved on the galaxy the last time." Facing Shepard, he leaned back against the railing, hands braced at his sides. "Maybe one of the prothean bases has records of what order the reapers hit their galaxy."
Shepard nodded, her eyes still locked onto his, but her stare had turned inward. "We have fifteen things that need to start yesterday, and we can't oversee them all. Once we get back from Illium, we'll bring together everyone we can think of for the first war council. Until then, we need them scouting resources."
"I'll contact Anderson, ask if the Normandy can take charge of Giran, Liara, and the Brysons." Garrus pushed off the railing and paced a few steps and back. "With its small guard and advanced stealth, the Normandy can get them in and out of anywhere they need for their research."
"If they need backup, we can provide that," Shepard said, her tone one of agreement. "We'll bring in Victus and even Fedorian if he'll cooperate, Kirrahe and anyone else he can find, Anderson and Hackett, Giran … " She shrugged and let out a long, noisy breath. "... anyone we can think of. We'll get the Sanctuary program going, see if we can get the homeworld governments doing something to help."
The door opened, Garrus waiting for Shepard to step out into the rich, roasted meat scent of dinner that filled the crew deck. His stomach growled, the rumble and vague ache a reminder that he hadn't eaten since that morning.
"Damn, that smells good, Gardner," Shepard called as they rounded the elevator. Hungry crew filled the tables, eating with an unusual vigor. "Looks like you'll need to make sure to save me a tray."
Garrus tried to see around the cook. Maybe Gardner made the soup Nihlus loved. That tarc made eating the rest of Gardner's dextro menu worth the suffering.
Shepard glanced over her shoulder at Garrus, snatching his attention from the varren in his stomach. "This isn't going to go well," she said, a sigh following almost as an afterthought. The knowledge in her eyes—the understanding that Ashley might just be a burned bridge that needed to stay burned—dropped a boulder into his gut, but the resigned sadness that followed started a landslide.
Why would Shepard allow Ashley to hate her for something she needed to do … a solid command decision? If he'd been making the calls rather than bleeding out into his thigh, the bodies would've stayed behind. The living mattered, Ashley's guilt for taking on a mission unprepared didn't. Fury welled up in the aftermath as the rocks, mud, and trees rolled to a stop. How dare Ash betray Shepard? Heart pounding, it took every ounce of his control to shove the anger aside.
Shepard no longer needed him to be her second, the solid presence at her six. Now, she needed him to be General Vakarian, a partner, but independent, carrying his third of their joined command. He needed to step up, move out of the comfort and safety of her shade, and take a place at her side. As Shepard said … no time like the present.
Medbay stood still and silent but for the cool flow of the recycled air and the hum of the engines. Garrus allowed Shepard to enter medbay and get Ashley's attention before he followed her in. Just over the threshold, he stopped and tried to blend in with the corner. He'd almost congratulated himself at a job well done when Dr. Chakwas caught sight of him and crooked a finger at him. Oh well, tests gave him an excuse to be there if Shepard needed him.
He allowed the doctor to drag him over to a biobed and order him to lie on the cold surface. Tarc, they did not make human biobeds to be even the slightest bit comfortable for turians. Opening his mouth to complain, he silenced his protest when Chakwas appeared next to him with an armload of pillows. Once propped up in a position that didn't amount to inquisition torment, he turned his attention to the other side of the medbay.
Shepard strode up to Ashley's bedside, her back rigid, her hands solid at her side. She looked ready to drag the chief off the bed and wrestle her. Instead, she flexed her fingers and sighed. "Hey there, Chief. How are you feeling?"
"Stupid and pissed off," the soldier said, practically spitting the word. Dark brown eyes shot small caliber bullets that Shepard just shrugged off. "Stupid for walking into that trap, pissed off because you drugged me to shut me up and then left my people to the radiation."
Shepard nodded. "Done is done, Ash. I didn't have hands to spare to carry the dead." Cocking a hip, Shepard crossed her arms, gates locking down tight over her chest … over her heart. "What I need from you now is a plan for your future."
As his derra paused for breath, Garrus felt the vacuum hanging between the two women, one left there to see if Chief Williams needed to pick over any more bones. Garrus doubted if Ash realized how much dying and being dragged back changed Shepard. Death shed most of the silliness, the carefree heart. Well, death and the reapers. Thank the spirits it hadn't killed the absolute goodness at her core … the empathy and the love.
Holding himself rigid, he waited for Ash to react. Instead, the woman just clenched her jaw and her fists. Garrus flashed an annoyed glare at Chakwas as orange light cut off his view of the other bed, but the doctor continued her scans, a slight smile of what he thought might just be satisfaction on her lips.
When the light disappeared, the chief answered with a silent glare, and Shepard nodded before saying, "If you want to stay with Cerberus, I've asked Miranda to get you clearance to act as her XO in command of the Ypres. Would that suit?"
"Why?" Ashley pushed herself up, grimacing for a second before the mask of anger fell back into place. For a moment, Garrus thought she might continue her question into an accusation, but the chief just swallowed and let the word lie.
Shepard let out a long breath and turned, leaning a hip into the side of the bed. "Because as pissed off as you are with me, you're as loyal as the day is long, Ash. I know that I can trust the good people on this ship to stay safe on your watch. I know that you haven't stayed loyal and placed yourself in as much danger as you have just to let personal feelings change that."
"And you know the war is coming," Garrus added, propping himself up on an elbow. "You know that Cerberus is going to be a huge part of one side or the other."
"It's not going to be as simple as all that." Ash shook her head. "But yeah, if the Illusive Man okays it, I'll stay with the ship. There are good people here who deserve to have someone watching out for them." She hung a heavy weight on the word 'are', her stare boring into Shepard as she did. "If those people had been Alliance, would you have left them behind?"
"Yeah, I would have." Shepard looked over at Garrus. "You done being poked and prodded?"
"He is," Chakwas answered for him, "but he's to go straight back to your quarters and into his regen frame. Those grafts need time to heal."
Grinning a little at his direct and immediate disobedience, Garrus vaulted up off the bed, gathering Shepard in against his side on the way to the door. After his derra had crossed the threshold, he looked back at Ash. "I'll be back to talk when you're feeling better."
Despite her chiseled-from-stone expression, the chief's eyes softened as she nodded. "Understood, General."
"You two still okay?" Shepard asked when the door closed behind him. Before he could do more than inhale to answer, she turned to Gardner. "Send up two servings of whatever smells so good and some bread and butter. I'm starving." She glanced at Garrus, a wry grin trying to force its way past her fake stoicism. "You better order what you want, General. You aren't moving once I get you in bed."
When he saw that Gardner had, in fact, made Nihlus's soup, he ordered a large thermos and a bag of fragrutis flavoured acutas eus. Hopefully he ate it before Nihlus arrived in the room and started giving him the big, sad eyes that led, inevitably, to the rest of the bag disappearing into the Spectre's too-lazy-to-go-down-and-get-his-own maw. He needed to find a flavour Nihlus didn't like.
Shepard said nothing on the ride up to their cabin, her focus directed inward, leaving Garrus's brain to stop gnawing on stolen chips and sink its teeth into the endless heaps of war prep awaiting them.
"We need to know where the reapers are," he blurted, not even aware that he intended to say it. His brain spoke the truth, though. Without any idea of how long they had, they could either end up caught unprepared or be ready so far in advance that they grew complacent and people stopped believing in the cause. "We need a way to look into dark space."
Shepard grinned and nodded. "Yeah, and a way to bring the reapers into the galaxy exactly where and when we want them." After another second, she sighed and stepped up to the door. "We need to find at least one of the other keys. The Conduit was only the greatest of the five. Four more of them are hidden out there, waiting for us to find them."
Garrus frowned, his brow plates dropping low over his eyes, options appearing and disappearing as fleeting as smoke. "They could be anywhere out there. How the hell would we find them in all of dark space, even if we could see past the galaxy's terminus? They could be anywhere, just more black against the darkness" Maybe he'd made a mistake leaving C-Sec. He chuffed, the low sound drawing a cocked eyebrow from his wife. If only ignoring the reapers could prevent the war.
The door opened, letting Shepard step out. "Guess you'll have to add that to the list of things to discuss during our big war council. Maybe the geth and chia can find a way to use the Citadel to take a look out there. It makes sense that they'd be at the other end of their main entrance." She shrugged and palmed the door control. "I feel like a complete doorknob constantly asking the geth to be our techies, but until the homeworlds, especially the quarians and salarians, stop being a pain in the ass, we don't have much choice."
"Everything would be a lot easier if the governments believed in the threat," he agreed. His next thought disappeared from his head as Shepard's arms slipped around his waist to start undoing the fasteners down the front of his tunic.
"Yes, everything would be a lot easier, but we'll worry about that in nine or ten hours." She rested her hands over his hips and turned him around, a warm, loving smile accompanying her gentle fingers as they continued down his tunic. "Right now, I'm just going to get you out of your clothes and tuck you into bed with your regen frame."
Garrus closed his eyes, breathing in the warm perfume of her, savouring the soft touch of her fingers as they brushed over his plates, removing the heavy fabric, then the light shirt beneath. His hands migrated to her sides, resting just above her hips, talons enjoying the play of her muscles beneath them as she moved.
"Maybe we don't have to put the regen frame on right away?" he asked, tilting his voice into a wheedling slant at the end. Lifting his hands to her hair, he brushed a few stray locks around her ears. "We still haven't had a chance to spend any intimate time alone." He brushed her cheek with the backs of his talons.
Despite a sly grin curling one corner of her mouth, Shepard shook her head and moved on to his leggings. "You just about bled out because you tore a major vein, my love. Until the doctor signs off on sending your blood pressure through the roof and performing gymnastics, cuddling is the best you can hope for." And then, just because a healthy dose of cruelty lived inside the adorable, pixie frame, she laid open the waist of his leggings and pressed a heavy kiss against the seam between his plates.
When he tried to pull her up into his arms, to relieve a little of the heady ache she'd stirred, she pushed him backwards onto the bed.
"Lay down and get comfortable, Callor. Once this regen frame goes on, you'll be completely at my mercy." A sharp, evil cackle followed, her delight a gift.
She helped him settle and then attached the bulky frame to both legs, effectively immobilizing him from the waist down. Climbing up beside him, she stretched out along his side, her skin warm and bare against him.
"I thought you weren't supposed to be spiking my blood pressure," he said, wrapping his arm around her.
"I'm not doing anything, just lying here all nekkid and warm and squishy."
"Squishy is definitely not sexy." His caresses slipped lower down her side, still wandering in a lazy spiral pattern over her skin. When they reached just above her hip, she jumped and giggled, pushing him away.
"Not there, it tickles. Besides, we're supposed to be discussing our fairly imminent—dear God, we aren't ready to be parents—addition and how to tell our families."
"It tickles?" he asked, ignoring the rest of what she said. He captured both of her hands in one of his and gently raked his talons down her side, subvocals thrumming when her muscles leaped under her skin.
Cackling and cussing in equal measure, Shepard reared off the bed, fighting loose from his grip and swatting his hands away. "Yes, it tickles. Stop it." Fists on her hips, she slapped a stern frown over her laughter. "Garrus Vakarian, you stop it, now. You're still healing, and we're supposed to be talking."
He chuckled and leaned in to nuzzle her ticklish spot, her thigh so soft against the thin membrane of hide over his keel. When Shepard jumped, squirming like an eel on a dock, he stopped, eyes sparkling as they stared down at her. "That's an excellent spot to know about." After a moment, he sighed and nodded, reality and his immobility rearing their ugly heads. "Fine. Yes, we're supposed to be talking, but even though Nihlus told us what he wants, it should be a three way conversation." Faux apologizing for his frivolous behaviour, he leaned down to kiss her navel, his hands turning their attention to kneading their way back down her sides.
"I agree Nihlus needs to be here for all parenting discussions." She sighed, eyes crackling with humour as she nodded, still solid and stern. "And you, sir, nearly bled out yesterday. You need to just lie still and let the frame do its work. No more fooling around." Despite her words, she leaned down, nuzzling into the curve of his neck before kissing her way up the sensitive hollow to just beneath his jaw. "I mean … how would we explain tearing up all of Karin's hard work? You know she'd hold you captive in medbay for days."
Garrus sighed, his even more dramatic than hers, but pressed into her kisses. "So, I'm just supposed to lie here, all helpless while you take advantage of me?" Despite the teasing, he knew she could see the raw, naked yearning beneath it. Everything about his tiny, impossible derra set loose an itch he wanted desperately to scratch even though he truly wasn't healed enough for anything rigorous.
"I was considering taking advantage of my husband's weakened state in a whole catalog of ways, but … " Shepard shook her head as he nuzzled her breasts. "... I doubt very much my beautiful Callor's body has healed as much as his libido appears to have. So just behave."
Garrus answered with a throaty rumble that lifted Shepard's skin into high, tight bumps. Releasing her hand, he answered her concern with a tender smile. "I'm sure I'll be fine." He brushed her cheek with the backs of his talons, his stare soft and warm as it rested on her face.
Shepard smiled and sat up, pushing him gently down into his pillows. "You just lay back and stay still. Let your regen frame do its work. If you think you're getting out of helping me move Miranda's sister, you're sadly mistaken." Lifting herself up onto her hands and knees, she leaned over him, staring into his eyes for a second before kissing him.
"It never crossed my mind." His whisper brushed her lips, soft puffs of warm air. "You're not going anywhere without me if I have any say in it."
She peppered kisses down his chin and neck between every word. "I ... wouldn't … let … you … if ... you … tried." Giving him a flirty grin, she closed her eyes.
He followed suit, taking a moment to sink into the safe, adventurous, lusty happiness singing along his spine and out to every nerve ending.
After a second, she whispered, "No matter what, I'll hunt you down and find you if it takes my last breath."
Garrus chuckled. "That's a little creepy, kahri."
"Yup." Without opening her eyes, she kissed her way down his belly, pausing anywhere his muscles jumped. "Ticklish, are we?" she asked when she reached the outer wing of his plates. Testing her theory, she sucked on his hide, nipping lightly. A soft chortle of pleasure greeted his grumbly little groan. "Oh, this is a good spot, isn't it?" Looking up into his face, eyes alight and teasing, she reached up, raking her fingernails down the thin curve of his waist and the hollows of his pelvis.
Garrus jumped, electric jolts of pleasure and reflex ripping through him. "Spirits, woman!" A soft, rolling keen accompanied the helpless thrust of his hips, his body arching in one long, drawn out spasm.
"Why, General Vakarian, look at you." She backed a little further away. "Helpless, little ol' ball of putty in my hands. I don't think I can be trusted with all this power." Her grin practically screamed, 'Damn, but isn't that the truth?'.
He laughed, leaning up to settle pillows behind his head. "Are you planning to misuse that power?"
She grinned and crawled up his body to kiss him, her lips sucking gently as she pulled back, a mere hair's breadth between them. "Every single way I can, but not until after you're healed. We have a daughter to think about now, Callor. She's going to need her daddy around for a good, long time."
His lusty purrs softening to something deeper, Garrus closed the distance, his tongue teasing as he nuzzled her lips. "I think Mari will recover five cycles when we tell her."
Shepard stretched out along his side, leaning against him, her calf hooked over his closest leg. "Yeah, I think both sets of family will be over the moon." She cuddled in, tucking her head under his chin. "I'm happier about her than I could have imagined a day ago."
He rumbled his agreement, her cheek so soft against his neck. "I admit, there's a big chunk of terror mixed in with the happiness, but she's a gift, kahri. The most perfect gift."
Nihlus's signature knock banged against the door. While Shepard sat up and turned to holler at him to come in, she didn't dive for the covers like she would have even a month ago. A soft vocalization of devotion rolled from Garrus's throat. Her acceptance of karifratrus and everything it meant … her courage astounded him anew at every turn.
A soft rumble of confusion rolled from Nihlus when the torin hit the top of the stairs. "Am I interrupting?" He hesitated until Shepard flopped back down on the bed and patted the mattress behind her. "I figured with Garrus being imprisoned …." He walked down the stairs in slow motion.
"Get in here, yah big dummy," Shepard said, her voice heavy with false annoyance. "We were just talking about Illium and telling the folks about Izzy."
Nihlus laid down behind Shepard, then leaned up on an elbow, to nuzzle her shoulder. "That is why I came up." He paused to brush his mouth plates down her arm. "I have business that will keep us on Illium for a couple of days, so I thought we should invite them to meet us there."
Something in the twinkle behind the Spectre's gaze made Garrus think he knew what Nihlus had planned, but he remained silent. Nihlus would reveal his secrets in his own time.
"The doctor can travel with Mari and Pari on the Aurean," Nihlus continued, "and then we can tell them about Izzy in person." He craned his neck to meet Shepard's gaze. "We could even bring in most of our contacts—the Aurean has more than enough room—and we could hold the war council on the way back to Omega."
Shepard rolled over on her back between them, humming softly in agreement. "Then we could do all our crew swapping on Omega and head off to our different assignments." She slipped her hand into Garrus's talons, squeezing tight. "What do you think, General? Does it sound like a plan?"
Garrus rolled over a little, twisting until he could see Nihlus over Shepard. It did sound good, mostly because it meant giving them an extra day to figure out how to break the news. Spirits, life had just begun moving so fast, that part of him worried it couldn't be real … that he still slept, living in his beautiful dreams.
Then Shepard turned to press a moist kiss against his mouth. "You okay, General?"
He nodded, his teeth clenching for a moment as his body braced for the coming fight. "Fine, and it sounds like an excellent plan. It's time to finally get this dreadnought prepped for its final run on the relay. The sooner we get this war started, the faster we can give our baby girl a safe, peaceful galaxy to be born into."
(A-N: Love you, can't talk. Andromeda! Expect some Andromeda lore to show up in FI. That is all ... second PT! Wooot!)