I don't really have anything to say about this chapter, soooo...keep reviewing and favoriting and following and all of that! I love you guys!

xoxo

THR

Chapter 27

Your name was Admiral Steven Hackett and you hadn't been expecting the spectacle that had played out in front of you.

When you first met the parents of Commander Shepard, they also hadn't been what you were expecting.

Katherine and Captain Mitchell Shepard had approached you while their daughter was still missing in action with Cerberus. You knew their names well. Their company, Ariake Technologies, was referred to as the best in the business. They were self-made moguls that had paved their way through the Earth tech community. After years of success, their products expanded across the galaxy and their expertise began to shift. Instead of thinking of their own innovations, their focus was on new charities. That must have been a luxury that came with basking in your own empire's glory. They had grown rich enough to the point that their knowledge no longer mattered. They were figureheads, not inventors.

Their ingenuity was an asset that the Alliance could use, though. They had mentioned that they wanted to get into a different business and philanthropy genre, and supporting their planet's armed forces was the only direction that they had wanted to go on. Katherine's bubbly nature and Mitchell's rigidness clashed, but they seemed to be a power couple. Their talent spanned across the galaxy and you weren't about to turn down an offer that you could use.

Their formal induction had been brief and they got to work quickly on advancing Spectre technology with the Citadel as well as improving armor quality for your soldiers. You hadn't discovered their relationship to the Commander until today while conversing with them after getting off vid comm.

Katherine's contagious zeal to rekindle her relationship with her estranged daughter had been fervent and honest. When the subject of Liz came up, she practically jumped for joy. You had casually interjected Commander Shepard's name into the conversation while mentioning your schedule for the day. You had a meeting planned with the a few tech agents that were supervised by the Shepards until their daughter decided to reappear.

Her husband, on the other hand, had been much less enthusiastic to hear about his child's arrival.

"I haven't seen my daughter since she was eighteen! I must see her if she's coming back to Earth! We had the closest rapport even though I was absent for most of her teenage years. Oh, if only you knew about the things she did as a child, Admiral!"

You never understood the Captain. Although he had worked for you for just a short period of him, you were still trying to comprehend his unusual bitterness. You had met many people in your line of work, but none of them were quite like him. Despite being a good soldier when he was still in service and also a genius, his aura was one that was surrounded by the rigidness of a Turian. From what you were told from a background check on the man, he was a talented biotic and a private man. His attachment to his wife seemed limited and he wasn't much of a talker.

You later realized that Shepard could sometimes demonstrate the same qualities, minus her passionate attitude that got in the way of her exhibiting a silent demeanor.

You watched the Commander carefully. She happened to be in front of you at the moment, and the reunion that was supposed to go smoothly had been anything but.

Upon seeing her parents, she threw her body up out of her chair and yelled at them in horror. The strong bond that Mrs. Shepard spoke of had to have been a fantasy in her mind. The Commander, a skilled biotic like her father, retaliated upon seeing them. She lost her temper, which was something that astonished you.

You were aware of her thin patience when it came to rogue Spectres and vicious alien races, but you could now add her relatives to this list.

You felt bad for putting her in that sort of situation. Her reaction wasn't something you could have predicted, but you wondered what the real history between her and her guardians was.

"Commander, I had no idea that your relationship with your parents was so…strained."

She turned around swiftly to face you and her boyfriend. The people in question had been escorted out and you noticed some changes that had gone on with her. Her hair was no longer standing on end. Her stance was one that expressed relief instead of aggression.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

You nodded at her and sat back down in your seat.

"My parents are jackasses!"

Her tone was vile and bitter as if it could cut through the thickest steel. Her true feelings towards her parents were now lucid.

"They left me to rot back on Earth while they did whatever the hell they wanted in the galaxy. If I didn't have any sense then…then…"

Her pause was drastic. She was pondering something in her mind as if it was a questionable statement.

"Then what?" Garrus asked daringly. Shepard looked him in the eye and then dropped back into her chair, which she had moved back in front of your desk.

"I would have killed them both and passed it off as Spectre business."

Her statement had been alarming. Perhaps Cerberus had made her judgment unstable.

"I'm assuming you'd like that stripped from the record, then." you muttered.

She bit her lip and uttered a quiet "yes" before straightening up. You were going to disregard her comment for the most part, but it wouldn't be something that would be removed from her psychological profile. You made a mental note to mention it to the chief doctor when you send Shepard in for her physical.

"Now that we have that out of the way, would you mind if we reviewed Garrus' status for the mission?"

You raised an eyebrow at the woman in front of you and then began to look her Turian over.

He had markings on his face, which indicated that he was at least somewhat of a good man. You had heard a lot about Garrus Vakarian and had met him sparingly. From what you knew, his gun expertise was impeccable and he had the best shot in the galaxy. You were hesitant in sending an alien on a human Alliance mission. The fact that he was not a Spectre also made accepting him difficult.

"The Alliance is going to have a background check on you, Vakarian. I trust Shepard's judgement and I'm well aware of your former position at C-Sec, but the Alliance isn't exactly the easiest organization to work with. Considering the importance of this mission…"

Shepard was waiting for your response with bated breath. Allowing her to bring along a companion would give her a form of closure and combat assistance. However, you were worried about potential romantic rendezvous that could potentially occur. For all the time that you had known this woman, she had never once mentioned any sort of partner in her life. She was a solemn woman who felt complete on her own.

This was not the case anymore.

Your trust in the Turian was relying on nothing but Shepard's good word now. You supposed that you could give him the all clear once he was given the same evaluation that Shepard was to receive.

"…I believe that having a partner may benefit you."

A face of victory graced Shepard's face and her hand glided towards Garrus'. Her hand looked so unnatural in his grasp. Different species in a relationship was considered bizarre (with the exception of Asari), especially between one of your own and a Turian. These two felt different in your eyes, though. The way he looked at her and her bashful eyelash flutters told a tale of two lovers that wasn't exactly the same as everyone else's.

Your name was Admiral Steven Hackett, and you were now truly aware of how diverse love could be.

Your name was Garrus Vakarian and you were worried.

It had been twelve hours since Shepard had been knocked out and things had been rather uneventful. After transporting her safely to the couch so she could slumber in peace, you and Joker scavenged the Extranet in search of proper care techniques. No matter how many medical apps you downloaded for your omni-tool, none of the scans came up with anything more than symptoms of exhaustion when you waved the device over your girlfriend's body. Not being able to take her to a hospital was a difficult feat to overcome. If you brought her and she was supposed to be imprisoned, you would be the one responsible for screwing her over. From watching the security feed, you were aware of her upcoming psychological evaluation that had been ordered by the Asari councilor, which meant that she would be put into yet another hospital in due time.

There was a lot that you didn't know, though.

In fact, you weren't even sure if Shepard was supposed to be home in the first place. She had, after all, murdered two men. Her status didn't make her crime inexcusable, but the opportunity for her to plead not guilty due to reason of insanity had to be an option.

When you weren't tending to her, you spent the time assisting Joker in his escapades to locate EDI's hardware, which was hopeless. The both of you lacked the proper tech skills when it came to AI capabilities and requirements. You were good with calibrations and guns while Joker's skills coincided with his brilliant flight capabilities. As talented as the both of you were, this did not mean that you were capable of solving much when it came to artificial intelligence conflicts.

Joker had amassed a bit of research on the matter and had compiled it onto a few datapads, which you read while watching the news on Shepard's television. If there was nothing else to do, you supposed that helping him achieve his dream of reviving his so-called girlfriend wouldn't be so bad.

You wished that you were capable of paying attention to what he had written, but you couldn't help exhausting all of your energy by raging internally over the news arguments that were on TV. Every network was talking about the incident dubbed as "The Shepard Scandal". Every so often you would hear reporters knocking on the door, which you ignored.

Some channels argued over your own morality. You had a small amount of fame before, but now it felt like everyone on the Citadel was familiar with your name.

"Why would Mr. Vakarian, a former C-Sec agent, get romantically involved with a woman that slaughtered two members of his species?"

"Should Garrus Vakarian be blamed for the Shepard Scandal? He was technically her enabler!"

You tried to shrug these claims off. They were news channels who broadcasted political bullshit, half of which wasn't correct to begin with. Shepard was the topic of the week. They would move on to something else eventually.

You never once questioned your relationship with the Commander during this twelve hour period. You didn't feel like you had to. Yes, she had fucked up big time with Turians and most everyone important on the Citadel.

She hadn't been in the right state of mind to control herself, though. Some would say that you were justifying her actions because of your relationship, but it was true.

Wasn't it?

She was theoretically innocent.

"Shit! Garrus, look! She's moving!"

Your head jerked in the direction of Joker's voice and you started to tune out the TV that was playing in front of you. Shepard had moved, and by the time your eye focused on her she was beginning to sit up.

"Goddamn…"

You should have figured that the first word she would utter would be something along those lines.

Joker limped over and sat on the now free space near the couch while Shepard lifted her head. To be honest, she looked like absolute shit. Her hair was no longer neat and the makeup she had applied over a day ago had smeared across her face. Scars and bags were a little more prominent near her eyes.

Instead of acknowledging anyone in the room, she just looked around and eyed the both of you before standing up and maneuvering to the kitchen. You presumed that she was hungry and you weren't about to question her actions. Her being able to get up like that displayed some form of self sufficiency, which, to your knowledge, she seemed to lack.

Joker turned to you and furrowed his brows.

"What the hell is she doing?" he mouthed.

You were just as clueless as he was.

Your name was Garrus Vakarian and you really weren't sure of how to handle what exactly was going on.

Your name was Dr. Karin Chakwas and you were feeling sentimental.

Since leaving the Normandy after it had been taken into Alliance possession for a second time, you had given up on your dreams to be a more exotic and adventure seeking physician. You were getting older, but your fighting spirit had not subsided by any means. Instead of being constantly aboard a ship, you had decided to take a permanent job over at Huerta Memorial Hospital instead of serving under the Alliance. It had been a bold move that was also towards the direction of retirement. It wasn't entirely what you wanted, but it was what was good for you.

You had been given your own office and worked alongside Dr. Michel to lead the Upper Ward sector of Huerta. It had been an honor and the experience it gave you was truly rewarding. With the patients from the war and all of the refugees that needed to be checked, it gave you fulfilling opportunities that you wouldn't have been able to experience on the Normandy.

You thought of your old ship every time you looked at the photo on your desk. It had been taken years ago and you always reveled in looking at pictures of your younger self. Next to you was the famed Commander Shepard, and in both of your hands were glasses of Serrice brandy.

You had heard of what had happened to the Commander and yearned for those old times with her. During your free time, you had also taken advantage of your status so you could view her medical reports from her last visit.

To put it lightly, they looked rather grim.

You had put in a request to examine her numerous amounts of times. There was something that wasn't adding up with her condition.

You had heard all of the news broadcasts and had devoted a small bit of time to researching the facts, but to no avail. There was nothing that you would be able to determine without having her there in person.

You stared at your photo longingly before an interruption occurred.

Your computer had dinged, which meant that an email had arrived.

With reluctance, you refreshed your page and smiled when you saw who the first one was from.

Kaiden Alenko.

You had gotten to know the Spectre well over the years and you had been thinking about him recently. You didn't spend any time on this message; you figured that saving it for later would be a better idea considering that it was probably about personal matters. You went on to the next email that had been labeled as urgent.

It was from the Council themselves.

Or, it was composed and sent by Commander Bailey and it happened to contain the Council's official seal.

You scanned it and you began to feel like karma wasn't such a falsehood after all.

They had requested your expertise and had invited you to be the chief physician to lead the investigation of the disgraced Commander Shepard.

A smile crept up onto your face.

Your name was Dr. Karin Chakwas, and in a few days time you would finally get to see a troubled old friend.

Perhaps some brandy would make things better.