Author's notes- Last chapter was actually fairly experimental, which may be why it wasn't exactly the most interesting or enjoyable. Ever since the start of this story I felt like characters other than Shepard and Tali were getting the short end of the stick so I was hoping to find some way to have them more involved with the story. Garrus is going to be the best friend we all know and love, supporting and making fun of Shepard's deranged romance and Liara is going to be kind of timid and caring... which may change as the story progresses like it did in the game series. However this is still, by it very core, a Tali/Shepard story so many other characters will barely be a footnote in this story and the general story of mass effect is also going to be more of a background thing.

Also that chapter was pretty hard for me to write and I might change the second category of this story to Drama

"We were just talking you, or rather us"

Shepard froze as quite possibly the worst words possible came out of Tali's mouth. Judging by the expression on Liara's face Garrus's assumption of what Tali would do wasn't too far off. He remembered that Liara wouldn't be the only person that would have been forced to listen to Tali's deranged story time and quickly glanced around the room and spotted Dr. Chakwas. Her facial expression was no where near as damaged as Liara's but there was still a noticeable amount of shock. This was not a situation the commander wanted to deal with so early in the morning, or rather at all and he felt less than pleasant feelings for Tali begin to brew inside of him for forcing him in this situation. That talk he had planned to have with her later on would be a whole lot less friendly and civil than he had originally intended, but that would have to wait right now he had to do damage control.

"Doctor Chakwas I would expect you know what Doctor-patient confidentiality is?" He asked in a very leveled tone, one that barely expressed the annoyance and anger he currently felt.

"I...Of course commander" The doctor replied slightly confused by the seemingly random question.

"Excellent, not a single word of what you heard will reach the rest of the crew, now got take a bit of a break, mingle with the crew or whatever just do it out of the sick-bay"

"I can't do that sir, a crew member could walk in anyti-"The doctor began to explain why she couldn't leave her post, most likely a logical reason, but Shepard didn't really care about logic at the moment

"I insist" The commander cut her off, his tone and expression conveying that he wasn't really suggesting for her to leave

Suddenly the voice he wanted to hear least spoke up "John why not let her tell the crew, I want them to know, want them to know you're mine" Tali happily cooed

The commander felt his jaw tighten up at her claim of possession over him, it seemed that Garrus' wasn't alone in his believe that he had been 'Dominated and broken by a sickly Quarian.' He was going to lay this brief to rest now however

"You" He said with a very noticeable amount of venom while he pointed a finger at Tali "You don't say another damn word" He noticed Tali visibly tense up at his words and briefly wondered if that was a bit too much. He quickly defended his own actions in his mind however.

Like hell that was too much, if anything that wasn't enough
I'll save the rest for later, because right now I got to unstir all the shit she stirred up

He saw Tali quickly glance down, seemingly wanting to avoid his burning gaze as she nervously twirled her thumbs. He noticed that the Doctor was still lingering which only further increased his annoyance "Doctor is there some reason you're still here?" He rhetorically asked

Doctor Chakwas quickly shook her head, seemingly getting the message "N-no commander I was just on my way out" She quickly headed for the door and was about to leave before the commander addressed her again.

"Doctor Chakwas, not a single word" He confirmed that his earlier order would be followed to the letter.

"Of course commander" She hastily said before finally exiting the sick-bay

He turned his attention back to the other occupants in the room. He noticed that Tali was looking at him while his back was towards her but she quickly looked down again when his attention was on her.

"Liara return to to your quarters, I'll be there in just a moment" He intensified his glare on Tali and he could have sworn he saw her whole body trembeling "I just have a few things to say to her" He purposely but more intensity on the last word to further express his current disdain for her.

Liara was far quicker in following his orders than the doctor and quickly moved to the back room with only a quick "yes commander" as her answer.

With the two of them finally being the only ones remaining in the room he quickly walked beside Tali

She tried to speak first, her voice trembling and weak "J-John I-"

Her attempt at speech was quickly cut off however "Don't" Shepard said with noticeable anger. He heard a slight whimper come from Tali but he didn't really care. "I'm going to ask you a question and you're going to answer, that's it"

Tali nodded hastily while she continued to avoid eye contact. Shepard had to admit that a small part of him hated seeing Tali act so...broken but he would ignore that part of him for now. "What did you tell them?" he said with no trace of gentleness in his voice.

Tali's voice was uneven as she spoke "I...I told them that we were together"

Shepard spoke with no apparent care for her feelings "A lie of course, what else?"

He heard a very pained gasp come from Tali and as she continued to speak her voice seemed to be on the verge of breaking "I...I told them we m-made love to cement our...our new" she seemed to struggle with her next word as her speaking was on the verge of breaking down to mere sobbing "Our new life together" she finally choked out.

If the commander was feeling anything for Tali's current state he didn't show it "Wouldn't call what you did to me lovemaking, now get to the point." He harshly said "Did you tell them that you drugged me?"

He waited patiently as Tali finally broke down and weakly sobbed on the bed as she curled up, his patience quickly faded however "Did you tell them you drugged me?!" he angrily whispered through clenched teeth.

He heard a very weak whisper come from Tali before she resumed her sobbing "You'll have to say that again" he clarified for her "I don't exactly speak inaudible sobbing"

It seemed to take everything in Tali for her to choke out her answer "No" she finally looked him in the eyes "I couldn't tell them that I...I couldn't get you to notice my feelings with out resorting to such pathetic means" she said with shame, although the shame was for all the wrong reasons.

He pulled his head back in confusion and his brows furrowed

Not exactly the best reasoning behind not telling them but I suppose the end result is still nice

He quickly corrected his facial expression, recovering from the pleasant surprise that she didn't tell them about her criminal activities from last night. It would be alot easier to explain last night now...easier to defend her now. "Good, now I have to go speak to Liara, fix any misunderstandings you might have caused" He plainly said before making his way to the back door that lead to Liara's room, he had almost reached the door when Suddenly Tali called out for him

"J-John I-" she still struggled with forming sentences as her breathing was uneven from her sobbing "I'm sorry p-please don't hate me" she finally managed to sputter out.

Shepard stopped walking towards the door when he heard Tali's plea for forgiveness. He didn't want her to know that he had really felt something from that, that he winced when he heard her weak voice call out for him. "Tali from now on" he breathed in and quickly restored his stony facial expression before turning around to face her again "Address me only as commander"

That's too much, I don't have to go that far, She doesn't deserve this
No...this has to be done

He saw the life practically drain from Tali as she slumped down into the mattress she was laying on, not even sobbing anymore just...nothing. "When I'm done here and you are able...come to my cabin and we'll...talk more" he stated calmly before finally leaving Tali alone with her thoughts in the sick-bay

"Address me only as commander" the words played over and over in her mind never endlessly. He had taken everything away from her, their love, their future, her right to use his first name. Everything she had in this life he had crushed, she wanted to cry but she couldn't find the energy to bring forward any tears. She laid there hating herself. She had done this, this was her fault and now he hated her.

It's all my fault, It's all my fault, It's all my fault, It's all my fault, It's all my fault, It's all my fault, It's all my fault, It's all my fault, It's all my fault.

Suddenly she spoke, to no one as the room was empty

"I'm sorry"

As soon as he walked into her room Liara stood from the chair she was sitting in and addressed him, with very noticeable nervousness "C-Commander, how are you?"

He slightly grinned at Liara's concern for him and the...cute way she showed it. "I'm fine Liara but I'm not here to talk about me" He pointed towards the door "Did she cause you any problems?"

"Tali? I wouldn't say she caused my any problems it was just...surprising" She hurriedly stated. She seemed to grow even more nervous as she continued to speak "You...you don't have to be so hard on her"

Shepard stood there for a moment analyzing exactly what Liara had said. He chuckled a bit

Yes I do, I fucking hate it but yes I do

"I'll keep that in mind Liara" he walked up and put a hand on her shoulder which caused her to tense up slightly. "Thank you for your understanding, and if you could please keep this whole thing a secret, don't want to cause any unnecessary trouble between the crew or squad"

Liara nodded in affirmation "of course commander...o-our little secret"

Shepard chuckled "Yes our little secret" he noticed that Liara seemed to glance around nervously, like she wanted to ask him something but wasn't sure if she should "Liara? is there something else?" he gently asked

Liara tensed up again before she slowly and nervously asked the question that seemed to be bothering her "It's just that...well...i-is it true? A-are you and Tali..."

Shepard stood there for moment pondering. To be honest he didn't really know the answer himself, he cared about Tali but to what extent he wasn't sure. It was also true that they had...done things together but that situation was 50 different types of complicated. On the other hand he hated the way Tali had treated him as if he was some sort of possession, some type of trophy to be shown off to others. He also didn't like the way she jumped to conclusions, assuming one night together meant they were simply meant to be. And of course the most noticeable thing about her was her damn obsession...but he wasn't even entirely sure how he felt about that.

He sighed "I...I really don't know" before walking out of Liara's room. As soon as the door to Liara's room closed behind him he heard a faint whisper

"I'm sorry"

He glanced to his side and saw Tali still in the same motionless state on her mattress

"I'm sorry" she whispered again

He sighed as he continued to walk out of the sick-bay, eager to finally put this rough morning behind him

"I'm sorry"

He stopped walking "I heard you the first time" he responded, this time without any anger or spite, just a simply stating a fact.

"I'm sorry"

The commander turned around the face Tali, puzzled by her strange behavior "Tali...it's" He wanted to say it was fine, but truth be told it wasn't fine, they still had much to talk about before things would be fine "it's not necessary for you to keep apologizing"

"I'm sorry"

He began to walk up to her, past experiences making him keep an eye on her for any sudden movements as he approached, and addressed her when he was right beside her "Tali...I think we need to have that talk now,report to my cabin immediately" he said with a small amount of worry that he hoped she didn't really pick up on

"I'm sorry"

He put a hand on her shoulder and slightly but firmly shook her. Thankfully it seemed to have the desired effect as he saw Tali turn to face him. Seemingly snapped out of her trance she spoke "Jho-Commander" he noticed it seemed to almost cause her physical pain to address him as such "h-how can I help you?"

Well that's not a good sign. Shepard thought to himself, noticing Tali's unhinged behavior. "I need you, if you're able, to report to my cabin immediately we...we need to talk"

Tali quickly shook her head in affirmation "Y-yes commander" she looked down and twirled her thumbs again, an admittedly cute gesture. "A-anything for you commander"

Shepard patted her shoulder before removing his hand and making his way to the door "See you soon Tali, I...I hope we can work this all out" he said before making his way back to his cabin.

What could possibly be better than discovering nirvana? Simple, Discovering Nirvana after reaching the lowest point in your life. This is very fitting analogy for what had just happened to Tali as her mind raced with the possibilities that the commander's finishing statement implied.

Ke-keelah he doesn't hate me, he want's to work this out, he can forgive me
I...I can't mess this up, I won't mess this up
I'll make him forgive me...make him love me again
No matter what it takes

Despite her previous mood and her still slightly lingering sickness she shot up from the mattress with new found energy and quickly began to walk to the exit before she suddenly stopped and turned around and headed to the door that lead to Liara's room. She didn't enter her room however, she knew that would displease John, instead she stood in front of the door. She whispered "You can't have him, he's mine, no one will take him from me." She knew that Liara wouldn't be able to hear her but it still brought her immense joy to say

Satisfied with herself she went back to making the short trip to Shepard's cabin, eager to proove that they could work this out and that they still had many years together.

He would understand, He just had too.