Chapter 38

The tall, glass door between the columns slid open. Tali put her hands on her hips.

"Shepard, what are you doing here?"

"Too early?"

Tali pointed at the dark sky beyond the gravel landing pad.

"The sun isn't even up."

Shepard shifted in the doorway. "You were always early risers on the Normandy."

"We're lazy now. We like waking up closer to the sun rising than setting."

"Ah. Well …"

Tali stepped aside. "Come in. I'm already down here answering the door and awake. Garrus wanted to open a window and throw a shoe at you."

"Whose shoe?" Shepard stepped through the entryway.

"Couldn't agree on that part." Tali lead Shepard down the hallway. "That's why I came down to answer the door."

"So, I'm to thank your love of footwear for sparing me a dented forehead?"

"His aim isn't that good." Tali turned into the kitchen.

"I'd say 'I heard that,' but I'm pretty sure you meant me to." Garrus blew on the mug in his hand. He handed a steaming mug off the granite counter to Tali.

"How're you drinking that? A straw? Looks hot," Shepard lifted an eyebrow and strolled to the island counter. She dragged a stool out.

"Well, make yourself at home, Shepard," Garrus said.

He sipped off his mug.

"Whatcha got there?" Shepard asked.

Garrus held it out to her. It smelled like a bog. Shepard crinkled her nose and sat back.

"No thanks."

"Wasn't offering." Garrus clutched it in both hands. "Just had to show you it wasn't booze. Didn't want you wrestling it away from me."

"Good strategy. I won't."

Tali dug through a kitchen drawer, rattled it closed, and pulled out the next one down.

"I put your emergency induction ports in the counter cannister," Garrus said.

"Oh."

"And be careful." Garrus eyed her. "It is hot. Shepard's right about a few things."

"Every so often," Shepard said putting her elbows on the counter. She rested her chin in her hands. "Any non-dextran eatables around here?"

"Hmm." Garrus turned to the cupboard over the island. He set two wine bottles down in front of her.

"They're open," Shepard said.

"From the party."

Shepard swept them aside with the back of her hand. "How about non-alcohol?"

Garrus gasped and pressed a hand to his chest. His eyes and mouth stretched wide, and he froze. Shepard gazed back flatly.

"Tali?" she turned.

"Emergency induction ports. Ah ha." Tali drew a straw from a clear cannister. She glanced over at Shepard then paused to stare at Garrus.

"He's frozen in shock, because I turned down alcohol." Shepard waved absently.

Garrus's jaw loosened. He relaxed and brought the mug up to his mouth.

"That's all I was looking for."

"Yeah, well, I could have ignored you longer, but your swamp water was getting cold. I do have some heart since I woke you up."

"Yeah … about that." Garrus leaned back against the counter and crossed his ankles. "We bring your bombs in for you, hardly get to shoot any bad guys, and you're still here waking me up in the middle of the night."

"Me too," Tali said stirring her drink with the straw.

"Woke us both up," Garrus corrected.

"Thank." Tali tilted her head at him.

"Of course. Shepard's screwing with both of us."

"Hey." Shepard leaned forward on the counter. "You got to shoot more 'bad guys' than you have in years. Give me some credit for that."

Garrus shrugged. "Eh. I really like my sleep."

"Oh," Tali said suddenly and set her mug on the island.

She bent down and opened a lower cabinet.

"So …" Garrus rolled a hand in the air. "Why the early morning house call?"

"Well, we hadn't touched base after you got back on the train. How'd it go?"

Garrus looked at her blankly. "Really? You woke us up for a status report? You know the warhead were recovered, right? Defused?"

"Yeah."

"Then?"

Tali popped up and plonked a metal bowl in front of Shepard.

"Ta da?" Shepard asked. She looked down into the bowl with a frown. "Was this covered? Is it from the party? I don't remember pretzels."

"You remember everything from the party, Shepard?" Garrus asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shepard said holding up a pretzel pinched between her fingertips.

"Went home a little tipsy," Garrus said.

Tali took a drink from her straw. "Nothing wrong with that."

"It is when you walk eleven kilometers to get home."

"I made it, didn't I?" Shepard tentatively bit off a corner of the pretzel.

"Yes, but you needed an escort."

"Escorted against my will." Shepard popped the rest of the pretzel in her mouth.

"Well, either way – an escort." Garrus shrugged. "Did you have it out with Alenko? Seemed like a scolded puppy dog when he came in. Sent Miranda after you. Must be some reason he didn't go himself. Though … if I had to walk over ten kilometers with Miranda or Kaidan for company … hmm … hard one."

"Kaidan," Tali chose. "We could talk Omni-Tools, warp core accelerators, and the new quantum drives in the Vestus II shuttles. Miranda? I … uh, I'm sure we'd find something to talk about."

"What about you, Shepard?" Garrus turned. "Oh, wait. We already know. Guess that leaves me to break the tie."

"We didn't 'get into it.'" Shepard put her finger into the bowl of the pretzels and spun it around on the countertop.

"Don't scatter them," Tali said lowering her mug.

"If one falls on the floor, I'll still eat it. Promise. I'm that hungry."

"Why didn't you eat earlier?" Tali asked. "You know we don't have your food here."

"I didn't come for food," Shepard said.

"Still in suspense over the reason," Garrus said watching her spin the bowl around her finger. He slapped a hand on top.

"Spoil sport." Shepard frowned.

"Yeah, answer the question, Shepard," Tali agreed.

"What?" Shepard put up her hands. "I can go." She flicked Garrus hand off the pretzels. "I'm taking the pretzels though." She dug her fingers into the bowl and stood up.

Garrus drummed his fingers on his mug and sighed. "Ugh. Just stay, Shepard."

"Oh, okay." Shepard hopped back onto her stool and put a handful of pretzels back in the bowl.

"I should have made you wait for it," Garrus chided himself. "You left me frozen for a good two minutes."

"Two minutes?" Shepard's face scrunched. "Ninety seconds, maybe."

"Two minutes or ninety seconds?" Garrus turned to Tali.

"Oh." Tali looked back and forth between them. "Definitely two minutes. Felt like three."

"What?" Shepard surged forward on her stool.

Garrus laughed.

"You weren't even paying attention," Shepard said.

"Only eye witness." Garrus thumbed his talon at Tali. "Judge is going with her statement."

"Biased testimony."

"Next time, you can line up an eyewitness you're sleeping with."

Shepard squinted at him with a frown. A scoop of pretzels crunched in her fist.

"Wow," she said.

"More useful tactic than money depending on circumstances," Garrus said.

Shepard put the whole handful of pretzels into her mouth and dusted her hands.

"Romantic," she said over the mouthful.

"And why couldn't she find someone at the bar?" Garrus turned to Tali and thumbed at Shepard this time. "Who can resist that charm?"

"What?" Shepard picked at the small pieces of broken pretzel in the bowl. "I charm snakes right outta the basket."

"Huh?"

"Trust me. That was clever. Just made it up right now. Sounded kinda dirty though."

"Again," Garrus turned to Tali. "Irresistible."

"Why didn't you bring a date to the party?" Tali asked.

Tali set her mug in the sink. Garrus cradled his drink in both hands as Shepard gave them a shrug.

"Kaidan was going to be there," Shepard said. "Would have made things awkward."

"Hmm …" Garrus considered. "Think he'd really still get upset about that? Now that he and Liara …"

Shepard put up a hand. "I don't want to talk about it."

She reached forward and emptied the bowl into her palm. Just a lot of salt. She threw it back in her mouth anyway and munched it down.

"I mean," Shepard continued settling down on her stool. "It would upset him. I know it would."

Garrus gave a sidelong shrug, and Shepard frowned down at the countertop. Of course, it would have upset him. She felt sure. Although, maybe things were changing.

"Well," Garrus said. "Guess there's no reason to make him droopier that you already did."

"We talked after Shepard left," Tali said. "Talked about my ambassadorial duties. He seemed fine to me."

"Looked like a sad puppy when he first came in." Garrus turned to Shepard. "I'm using the human reference, puppy, just for you, Shepard."

"Oh," Tali said, "I was going to look that up later."

"We're going to know so much Earth, human stuff after this stint, Tali. Probably could coauthor a book."

"Something on fighting the reapers with Shepard might sell better," Tali said.

"Mercenary. I like it."

"I have a whole homestead to build."

"You mind us selling your story, Shepard?" Garrus turned to her. "We'll make you look good."

Shepard gave a shrug and tapped the counter with her fingertips. "I wasn't mean to Kaidan, you know. I hardly said anything. Told him I didn't need his help home."

Garrus took a final swig of his mug and handed it to Tali.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked.

"Set it in the sink. You're right by it."

Tali sighed, and Garrus turned back to Shepard.

"Must have been the tone of voice then," he said.

"No tone." Shepard pointed at Garrus. "Kaidan's too sensitive if his feelings got hurt."

"You'd know more than us," Garrus said.

"I mean," Shepard sat up higher on her stool, "I touched base with him before the mission. Made sure things were good. He seemed just …"

'Fine' maybe wasn't the right word. In her mind, she saw him avoiding her eyes, his rigidity posture on the shuttle ride over, the silence as they waited in the council room for everyone to assemble, the bite in his voice when he'd left her.

"You falling asleep?" Garrus asked. "Been up all night?"

"Just thinking," Shepard said dropping to her feet from the stool.

"Where you going?"

"Uh …"Shepard paused. "Wake up another friend. Decided to start a streak."

"That so? Want to deliver …" Garrus looked around and settled on the two open wine bottles. "Yeah, this works. Why don't you deliver these to Jack."

"Jack?" Shepard pushed them away. "Why?"

"Curious how her middle-of the- night-hospitality matches ours. Thought you'd need an excuse for dropping in."

"Ha ha." Shepard waved a hand at him. "I wouldn't do that if I had 1000 credits to deliver."

"True. Probably get shot before the drop off no matter what you brought," Garrus mused.

"I bet Jack's still up," Tali said. "Knocking after dawn is the risky time. Then you'd be waking her up."

"Dawn did seem to be the magic hour. Jack and Vega sure can party." Garrus shook his head. "Next party's at your apartment, Shepard."

"Hardly an apartment. A room," Shepard said, "but it's an option, long as people don't mind talking with faces pressed together."

"You'd know they were listening," Tali said.

"And what they had for dinner," Garrus agreed. "Well, except for you, Tali,"

"I was just going to say that."

"I know, so I did it for you."

"Good to know chivalry isn't dead." Shepard rolled her eyes and pushed away from the counter. "Okay. Thanks for letting me wake you up. And the pretzels." Shepard pointed at Tali.

"No problem," Tali said. "Almost forgot about them. Could have gotten mice."

"Mice?" Garrus said. "Those the furry things that gnawed our speaker system?"

Tali nodded.

"Just happy to help," Shepard said. "And really, thanks."

She crossed the kitchen to the hallway.

"We'll be at the Summit geared up," Garrus said.

Shepard paused just short of the hall. "Don't get too excited. It's only for 'in case.'"

"I live for 'in case,'" Garrus said.

"When do you get your big Council award?" Tali asked.

Shepard shrugged. "When they call my name. Hope it's fast."

"It's a big honor," Garrus said. "Seriously, Shepard. The Council's never created an individual award for someone."

"It means something," Tali agreed.

Shepard looked down the hall. "Well … yeah. Means something." She waved a hand back at them and turned down the hall. "Thanks again. See you in a few hours."

"Why did you come? You really aren't going to tell us?" Garrus called after her.

"I was lonely," she called back and headed to the door.