The walk to the medbay was anxious on her stomach. Opening the door brought upon a moderate scent of medicinal cleaner mixed with linens. Garrus lays sleeping on the bed with a bandage covering half of his face. He looks peaceful in his under suit, covered up in a thin blanket with pillows propping him up. The doctor turns her chair to find Shepard holding a bottle of brandy and her face breaks into a beaming smile.

"Oh Commander you didn't have to do that!"

"Yes I did Karin and you know it. When you get a moment, let's break open the bottle. Just you and me."

"I will most definitely hold you to that commander. Thank you."

Jane flashes a smile her way and looks back over to Garrus. His chest raises up and down slowly, a deep sleep is shown in his body language.

"Will he be up anytime soon?"

"Actually he should be in the next few hours or maybe sooner knowing him. I wanted to make sure he received some hours of sleep. He deserves it after all."

"Agreed. He looks so peaceful while he sleeps. I hope that peace lingers for a while yet. Garrus was really in rough shape when we found him."

"I can imagine commander. I don't think he slept in days. Good thing you showed up when you did."

"I just wish it was sooner. Maybe this wouldn't have happened. None of these wouldn't have happened if I was just there, period."

"Jane, you died. I think that's reason enough to not be there for a friend's difficult times. He tried to emulate you in a way with his group, you made a positive impact on him despite you not being there. Bad things always happen to those with good intentions."

"But…"

"But nothing. You are here now and you saved his life in more ways than one. I bet with those new scars, he'll be batting off the ladies."

They both chuckle in need relief. Garrus seemed like the type who focused more on work than any women who were attracted to him. She's seen a fair share of people on the Citadel eye him and she would give him shit for it but he just shrugged it off. He would always say he had more to worry about than having a romantic partner. Joker suggested he blow off steam with a persistent woman back in the SR1 days but he continued to decline. His body language was awkward when talking about the topic of women. Jane understood that since she's the same with men. Kaidan seemed extremely interested but she couldn't bring herself to sleep with him. She considered a friends with benefits relationship to ease stress but the consistent fear of commitment haunted her. Jane wondered if Garrus was the same way but it seemed like an inappropriate topic to talk about at any given time. Putting him on the spot seemed rude, even if they were good friends.

"Do you mind if I stay here while we head for the citadel? I feel like I should watch over him for a while. Maybe even give you a break."

"A break would be welcome. I'll be back soon. If he awakes before I'm back, keep him at ease and call for me."

"Will do."

Chakwas slowly raises from her chair and walks to the mess hall. She looked exhausted and Jane can't imagine the hoops she jumped to fix up Garrus as well as she did. Maybe it would have been a good idea to recruit Mordin first. It's too late now, despite the logic she had for doing so. Jane watched as his chest kept moving then her eyes moved to his face. She never really studied it before. His facial plates seemed different in a way, relaxed. His visor was on the doctor's desk, giving her a proper look at his right side. The blue markings were beautifully placed and it twitched as he breathed through his nose. It scrunched slightly when he would breathe in. It reminded Shepard of a rabbit's nose, small and cute. He had leathery skin along with his plates. It was a tan color despite the metallic appearance of the hardened surfaces. His fingers ended in sharp talons she noticed, as they were outside the tucked blanket he was covered up in. Shepard runs her fingertips along his talons, curious on how sharp they really are. They were claws, no wonder why he and other turians wore gloves around other races. She laid her hand on his forearm and gazed down in guilt. A deep sigh emitted from her nose.

"Garrus, I'm so sorry. You laying here, injured is my fault…"

His eyes opened as he placed a hand over hers. He grunted slightly to fight off any lasting drowsiness from the anesthesia.

"I didn't want to interrupt you and Chakwas…..she needed a break…"

He twitches as pain from the injury shoots through him.

"Shepard, I would be dead and you know that. Stop beating yourself up over this. Besides, I'm going to get enough of that from all the female krogans wanting to mate with me."

Jane laughs and removes her hand off his arm. Even almost dying he still makes an attempt to make her giggle.

"Now that sounds like a good time."

She pauses and looks at his bandages.

"How are you feeling? It looks fucking painful."

"The doc has me on the good stuff so it's not too bad. I should be up and ready to accompany you on missions soon. I still can't believe you're back, Shep. I was certain I was losing it when I saw you with those mercs. But, here you are."

"Yeah….It's still confusing on what Cerberus did. I think the project started with an L? The Lazerus project? I think that's it. Miranda, the women who was with me when we recruited you, was the one behind it. They obtained my body somehow, spent far too many credits, and here I am. I'm not exactly the same but my mind is still there."

"Well, I'm glad. Joining forces with Cerberus doesn't feel right but the Council won't do anything and the Alliance didn't even believe us when we told them about the Reapers. Hell, they laughed in my face when I tried to tell them. At least something is being done now."

"That's my logic behind it. They're funding our mission, that's it. Plus they're the ones that told me about 'Archangel' so they can't be too bad. I have a feeling they knew it was actually you and just didn't tell me."

"My reputation got around, huh? Hmmm…"

He gives a half smile, his mandibles moving slightly.

"Yeah, it's not every day you see a turian that ugly."

"Look who's talking."

She sticks her tongue out at him and he does the same to mock her. A giggle escapes her chest and she pats arm as she raises from the chair she's on.

"Well, we are going to the citadel and should be there in a few hours. We need to pick up a few things and Anderson wanted to see me."

"I'll come with you if you want. Walking around somewhere that doesn't smell of burning flesh would be a nice change of pace."

"Fair enough. I'll come get you when we're ready."

She pauses in the doorway, turning back to him.

"I almost forgot! Where would you care to bunk?"

His brow plates furrowed in intense thinking, he really wasn't sure.

"Well, I don't know if you'd want the cargo bay again. There's the crew quarters but I'm not too sure if they have a bed big enough for ya. The main battery is pretty quiet or there's also life support or even-"

"The main battery sounds good to me. Besides, I want to see what I have to work with when it comes to weapons. Don't get me wrong, the old Normandy was a powerhouse but this is even more so."

"Understandable. Well, I'm going to be around the ship if you need me. Just give me a holler on the omni-tool, alright?"

"Alright Shepard and….thank you."

Jane smiles brilliantly at him and she leaves, alerting Chakwas he's awake and kicking. Taking her tray, she leaves for the medbay.