Oh my god guys you are such sweethearts! I got so many reviews on the past few chapters and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Please enjoy the chapter, and I may or may not have referenced something a certain reviewer named Chelsea said. :D

xoxo

THR

Chapter 9

Your name was Joker Moreau, and never before had fixed your hat or your shirt so much for someone who couldn't even see you.

Your calculations had initially indicated failure. Even the computer in front of you was claiming that there was no chance to resurrect the AI who had been so much more than a piece of technology.

The familiar blue orb that had been with you on your bridge for so long was staring back at you on the same computer, though. Her voice was as crisp as always and she was waiting patiently for a response.

"Jeff, do you require assistance or not?"

She had repeated herself and you couldn't help but be mesmerized. Maybe there really was some sort of god out there, because you knew one thing for sure.

EDI was not supposed to be alive right now.

"Holy shit…" was the response you gave to her. The pain in your arm seemed to melt away at the thought of her being right in front of you. Although she was not physically near you, the proximity the two of you shared was enough to speed up your heartbeat.

"Hold yourself together." you thought. There was no sense in acting like a dipshit.

"EDI, when was the time of your last shutdown?"

The blue orb on the computer pulsated a bit and soon provided a response.

"Approximately a year ago. Without a proper database to reference, precise dates are unknown." She blinked a bit more before speaking again.

"Jeff, I would advise you to take me back to the Normandy for further data synthesis and linking. You have saved my critical functions to the point of operational use. However, I am finding your current systems to be inadequate. I would also feel more comfortable in Dr. Eva Coré's body, if possible. It would make interactions far easier, although it is not required."

She hadn't changed at all, which warmed your chilled heart more than you could ever imagine. With hesitation, you got up and limped back towards your comfortable chair to sit closer to her.

"It's good to have you back, EDI. I'll get all of that for you." you chirped. You knew that she could detect the happiness in your voice.

"I am pleased to hear from you as well, Jeff. However, I have a few inquiries before you start to get anything else done."

You nodded your head as you nursed your bad arm. You didn't think she could see you and you had thought wrong.

"I understand that Commander Shepard is here on the Citadel and your email logs indicate that the two of you have not been in contact. You also haven't corresponded with the rest of the crew. Did anything happen between my shutdown and now?"

Hearing Shepard's name made your eyes hit the floor. You still cared about her more than she would ever know. Hell, you were the one Anderson had appointed to look out for her. You had always worried about her since the beginning and that hadn't changed.

You knew you would never forgive yourself for leaving her. Watching a person who you had been willing to die for disappear into an abyss had never been easy. After losing her and EDI at once, things in your life had been unbearably complicated in the worst way possible.

After the Normandy had been taken back into Alliance possession, you remember the way the crew had felt. Some had tried to seek atonement while others went along like it was their duty to continue fighting. You, on the other hand, felt nothing at all.

Rumors had been circulating about the Commander's survival for months now. You had felt like she was still alive since the beginning despite the crew's discouraging comments. You had known her longer than some of the people that had been aboard the Normandy; Shepard was not one who could be killed easily and a supposed "explosion" wasn't enough to put her out forever.

Around the six month mark since her departure, the speculations had been confirmed by your former crew's own Diana Allers. The broadcast had been brief, much to your disliking. Shepard was very much alive and her location was undisclosed. You remembered how relief had surged through your body; you had never really cared for Diana much, but now she was like an angel from god that was delivering divine news.

It was odd because you never saw her on the news again after that. You didn't think anything of it.

Hearing EDI talk about was alarming, even if she wasn't right, and it made you wonder where she was. What if she was here? The Citadel wasn't as large as a planet. In theory, you should have run into her by now despite the limited travelling that you did on the structure. You weren't about to doubt the one source of information that had been true every time you consulted her. However, something seemed to be off.

"I didn't think she was here—alive, I mean. The entire crew has disbanded and shit. Not much has gone on." you said. It was the quickest response you could think of without going on a tangent. When asked about the Commander and the current state of the galaxy, you tended to ramble a lot.

"I believe it would be a good idea to go and see her. She is very much alive, according to Council documents." the AI countered. "Medical reports show evidence of insanity. Or, rather, possible insanity."

Your jaw dropped at the sound of that. Insanity from the sanest person you knew? How could that be possible? Wait—there was another part of what she had said that you weren't listening to. Shepard was here. Well, you liked to imagine that she was.

You rested your unharmed hand on your cheek and sighed. After the bullshit she had been put through, it was no wonder that insanity had plagued her.

"I think it would be a good idea to go to Huerta, EDI." you said. "And I'll bring you back the Normandy hardware after doing a little smooth talking."

"I'll send for a car right away."

God, you loved that woman.

Your name was Garrus Vakarian and you didn't find Shepard crazy at all.

You spun around to look at her, and it was evident that she was on the verge of tears. The way she was sitting on her counter was unsettling. Her posture had been so profound while she was still in duty. She had exchanged her proud stature for something that was more or less like a slump. The liveliness in her eyes was gone; they had been replaced with anger and defeat.

The words she had just said replayed in your head like the repetitive sound of machine gun fire.

"I'm tired of feeling like I'm fucking crazy."

You didn't know if it was okay to tell her about everything you knew. Maybe she would get closure from it. There was also the risk of her going even farther off of the deep end.

She slid off of the counter and came up behind you, hugging your slim waist. In an instant, you felt her snuggled against the coldness of your armor. You could hear her sobbing again. It didn't take long for you to decide that you didn't like it; it was something so unnatural coming from her.

For the second time in a day you witnessed the greatest Alliance commander cry, and you didn't blame her for it at all.

Your name was Liz Shepard and you felt the need to cry again.

It was trivial of you and you felt like a baby. Crying was for children, not for a full fledged military woman.

But you weren't in the military anymore, and you felt like crying might be justified right now.

You weren't just crying because you had a lack of stability. You were crying for Garrus.

You were crying because you hadn't been outside your own goddamn balcony in a year.

You were crying for the lives you couldn't save in so many places.

Thessia.

Vancouver.

The entire galaxy.

You cried because you weren't really sure if there was something to live for except the turian in front of you, and that scared you.

Because eventually, you knew he would leave.

Your tears hit his metallic armor, and you whispered into him.

"Don't leave me again."

You confirmed that he heard you when he turned around, and in a moment he gripped your shoulders tight enough to show that he cared.

"Shepard, listen to me." he said, his voice firm but soothing. This time, you didn't avoid eye contact. The two of you owned the room and nobody was there to interrupt.

"I've loved you longer than you've known, and I will never leave. You're the one good thing that's happened to me in a long time, and you'd better know that I'll be your armor when you don't have it protecting you. I'll give you as much security as you need and I won't leave unless you want me out. This whole thing is crazy, but that's what happens after a damned war—nothing is right. Nothing fits. But spirits, somehow I managed to get here, and I don't understand all of this. You've been hurt but I'm not leaving."

He pushed back your hair just like how you liked it again, and every word he said had been injected with the most truthfulness that you had heard in a very long time.

Your expression lightened and you looked up at him. His scars were still present, his visor still glowed, and he was the most handsome man you could ever concoct in your mind.

Nobody else could convince you differently.

A rough pair of lips kissed your forehead, and the way his mandibles felt against your skin made that feeling of security feel a little more real.

Security.

You liked that.

You liked it a lot.

In a second, he pulled away from you and looked down.

"Vakarian…" you whispered. There was one more thing you needed to know from him right now.

"How did you get here? As far as I know, the Alliance has me under lock and key."

He sighed and you pondered your own question. Had you really been as difficult to find as you thought?

"If you want to know the whole story, we can at least go out for a drink. I mean, if you're ready for that sort of thing. It has been a year, hasn't it? There's nothing wrong with breaking a few rules—I mean, I am a bad turian." he answered.

You perked up like an excited animal at the thought of going out, and never before had you rushed to your closet so fast in your entire life. It was like you were being broken out of jail, and no matter how wrong it was for you to leave confinement, your chains were now shattered.