Leaders of the Krogan

by PrincessEspie

During the fight against the Collectors, a certain Urdnot leader finally made his move towards a certain long-thought dead Commander. Now, years later, he thinks back to what happens and tries to come to terms with what happened to his fleshy lover. /Just my contribution to a small fanbase. Please read inside for more details .

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Chapter 3

Home

My Comments :

So apparently this is going to be a story. Why? Simple. I'm a neurotic writer who can never make up her mind. And now that my book is finished and in the editing stages, A Return With the Reapers was my only project. And I need more than one at a time for when Writer's Block (otherwise known as my imaginary friends fighting back for all the terrible things I do to them) strikes for one story and I can work on the other instead.

Regardless, there isn't nearly enough out there for this couple so I hope you enjoy!

I received a question in the reviews about the bracelet. For those curious, Shepard's eyes are golden, but the metal wasn't gold just because of that. It was gold due to her eyes and the fact that engagement rings are generally gold. I hope that clears up any confusion.

Also, any stories I make after this, I'll probably prewrite most of the chapters before publishing any of it. Just so you all know!

The Story :

Shepard slowly slipped out of the room, flinching as a loud snore came from Wrex just as she was about to shut the door. Golden eyes carefully surveying the hallway, she made her way towards the closest exit and bolted. Spirits did she need fresh air. Wrex had been practically smothering her with affection whenever he wasn't busy with work. It was endearing, definitely, but still smothering. And she was Commander Shepard. She didn't let herself get smothered.

"Wrex thought you might leave, Commander."

Shepard jumped, her Omni-Blade lighting up as she spun. With a sigh of relief, the light faded and she opened the regular Omni-Tool up to send a message.

S: Bakara. You scared me.

The female Krogan chuckled. "Wrex mentioned something about you being a stubborn woman, Commander. I didn't doubt him, but I'm still surprised to see you up."

S: Krogan. Shepard winced as she typed out the next part of her message. S: Surprisingly good at being so emotional you feel suffocated.

Bakara laughed again. "I had a feeling that might be it. Come with me. I want to show you something."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. S: What?

"You'll see."

The Commander frowned. It wasn't that she didn't trust Bakara – she did without a doubt – but it was strange for her to follow anyone without knowing where she was going to end up. But then again, Bakara didn't lead her far. She led to her an inner garden, one of the strange places on Tuchanka where some type of grass and native flowers grew. In the middle of the flowers and stone pathway, was a statue. Of Shepard.

S: What the heck?

With a chuckle, Bakara led the woman to a bench, sitting down with her. "Wrex had it built. About one month after we'd learned of your presumed fate." Shepard cringed at the word 'presumed'. "He built quite a bit of it himself too, with a law stating that no Krogan could bear your name. Or Mordin's. But the poor Salarian was an afterthought."

Shepard frowned at the mention of Mordin. In her pocket was a parting gift Liara had passed on. Apparently, the loveable, fast-talking, Salarian had been working on it ever since he'd learned of her relationship with Wrex. And she still hadn't told the Krogan about it.

"Commander?" Bakara questioned noticing the woman's distant glance.

With a frown, Shepard slipped the small vial out of her pocket. A prototype, Liara had said. The best Mordin could do with the time he had. A small vial filled with a green liquid that reminded Shepard of poison, much to her discontent. Still, it had a special purpose. One she wasn't sure she wanted to tell Wrex. Or anyone, for that matter.

"What is that?"

Shepard jumped a little, having forgotten that her friend was still there. S: A gift. Mordin made it for me.

"And what does it do?" Bakara continued, the curiosity plain in her voice. The woman, while initially a little jealous, had wholeheartedly accepted the relationship. Now, she wanted nothing more than for Wrex to be happy. The poor guy deserved better than losing Shepard again.

S: You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Shepard had a thoughtful look on her face as she looked up at the statue.

"I've seen the Genophage get cured, Commander. There is little I choose not to believe."

After a moment, Shepard nodded. S: It is supposed to enable two different species to have children together. The woman shifted sheepishly. S: Specifically a Human and a Krogan.

Bakara just stared at her for a few moments before taking a deep breath, tilting her head to look up at the bright, night sky. "Leave it to Mordin to think of something so different." She smiled slightly. "Have you told Wrex?"

Shepard shook her head, but responded with a message anyway. S: No. She suddenly turned her head, staring at Bakara with a distinctly Shepard expression. One that she reserved for when she was confused, but serious. S: When the Genophage was cured I asked Wrex if he wanted to break it off so he could have children. Bakara's eyes shot to her in surprise. S: He asked me if I was an idiot, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was kind of sad. I was still wondering, up in that hospital room, if this was really for the best, when Liara showed up. Gave me the vial, some instructions, and a note. Mordin was worried he might not live long after he cured the Genophage, so he wrote the note. Apologized for being difficult of all things. Shepard shook her head, turning back to the statue with a slight smile. S: He said Wrex and I deserved to be happy, too. Mentioned that he'd noticed Wrex looking a little torn. And then that he'd actually gone to talk to him about. Apparently, Wrex had been thinking the same thing I had. He also left the room being really angry at himself for ever thinking that, too. Mordin said that if we were really happy together, that we should have the chance at being parents. Though he did warn me it might not work... Her shoulder slumped slightly, unsure with herself.

Bakara placed a large hand on the woman's shoulder. "Wrex would be happy with the chance, Commander. If you were willing to try."

Shepard shifted uneasily. She wasn't used to letting her feelings show, and now was no exception. S: You think so?

"I do. But what do you want?"

At this point, Shepard frowned again. S: Me? I want to stay here and, as much as I love the Normandy, not go back to fighting so many pointless battles. I want to stop saving the galaxy and let them solve things by themselves for a change. She turned to Bakara, eyes glistening with tears. S: I want to stay here with Wrex. And start a family.

"Then do that," the female Krogan responded easily. "Wrex and I will both be here to back you up and protect you from possible threats. No need to worry about that." She leaned back, looking at the sky. It had begun tinting orange like it did on Earth, signaling the sunrise. While Bakara was used to it, it made Shepard feel a little more at home. "For now, heal. And tell Wrex about that medicine if you decide to try. You have no idea how happy that would make him." With a grin, she stood. "And you deserve this as well, Urdnot Shepard."

The Commander froze. S: What? She managed to only type that out, eyes wide and hands shaking.

Bakara chuckled as she walked off. "You were there when Grunt went through his rite and you aided in killing the Thresher Maw. The Shaman acknowledged you as a member of the clan, but it wasn't official until yesterday when Wrex went to see him." She turned to her for just a moment. "You are as much of a Krogan as any other, Commander." The Krogan waved her hand in farewell before turning the corner and disappearing.

Shepard was still staring with her mouth hanging wide open. Urdnot Shepard? An official Krogan? Sure she was dating the leader of the Krogan, but still! As her mouth slowly shut, she found the corners of her lips turning up slightly. With her at Wrex's side, they'd be the Leaders of the Krogan. And damned good ones if she had anything to say about it.

A crash from inside the building behind her caught her attention. She looked back with a raised eyebrow, curious at what was going on. Moments later, Wrex barreled out of the building and the woman felt a twinge of guilt. She should have left a message or something. She'd disappeared from the poor guy once. When the Krogan spotted her merely sitting on the bench, he seemed relieved for just a second before charging forward, wrapping her in his arms.

"What are you doing out here?" he growled.

Shepard smiled at his worried tone, hoping to calm him. S: Fresh air. And I was talking to Bakara.

Wrex glanced at his Omni-Tool for a moment before letting go.

S: Sorry. I should've left a note. For second, Shepard wished she could speak so he could hear the guilt in her tone.

Wrex grumbled something under his breath before collapsing onto the bench where Bakara had been sitting. He grabbed Shepard's arm in a attempt to get her to sit with him. Unfortunately, that was the arm that was currently holding a very special vial. A vial that, in her surprise, tumbled from her grip. Shepard squeaked – yes, squeaked – at the feeling of the vial coming loose in her fingertips.

The vial twisting over and over again before, crash!

She could already imagine it.

Feeling a painful twinge from subconsciously activating her Biotics, Shepard shook out of Wrex's grasp and dived for the vial, barely catching it before it hit the ground. In her haste, she had forgotten to prepare herself and ended up forcing herself to the ground instead. With a sigh of relief, she smiled at the confused Krogan before her and held up the vial.

"Shepard?" he questioned, looking as it he was questioning her sanity. "What's that?" He held out a hand to help her up.

With a grunt, the Commander used the hand to aid her in standing before she plopped down next to Wrex and slipped the vial back into her pocket, where she'd hoped it would be safe. Still, looking back on it, Shepard realized that the vial wasn't weak. In fact, the note Mordin left said that someone could probably run over it in a Mako and it wouldn't even crack. Still, her desperation just showed how much she cared about the contents.

"Shepard," came a growl.

Oh. Right. She had to answer Wrex. S: It's a parting gift from Mordin. Apparently, it was nearly a year in the making when he... She sent that message as is. No need to elaborate really.

"What does it do?"

S: It enables... Shepard froze. How the hell was she going to explain this one? S: It allows a male Krogan and a female Human to have a child together. Shepard felt like she'd just blurted it out. Sure, she wasn't actually talking, but she'd typed it with the same urgency.

Meanwhile, next to her, Wrex was frozen. Mouth hanging open, his wide, red eyes reading, rereading, and re-rereading the message before him.

S: I got this the other day. Liara said one of her broker's had found it shortly before the war ended. She didn't have the chance to let you or me know before the Reapers were destroyed. Shepard scratched the back of her head sheepishly. S: So, yeah. In the back of her mind, she cursed at herself for not having more tact.

With no warning, the Krogan spun to his side and wrapped his arms around the fleshy being he really, truly loved – no matter how corny or non-Krogan that sounded. His body trembled just enough for Shepard to notice. Right now, he didn't care though. Children! He could have a child with Shepard. Wrex wouldn't admit that he'd been wishing for the chance to have a kid ever since the Genophage was cured, but that was because he knew Shepard was insecure about the whole idea. Now? Well, now she could have a real family!

Wrex knew all about Mindoir and Akuze. And later, well, he was there on Virmire and he'd heard about the destruction of the SR-1, the few crew she lost on the Collector Base, – none of her ground team, Garrus had informed him, but crew nonetheless – Thane on the Citadel, and Mordin. So many others, too. Including one of the men who had saved her from Mindoir, Anderson. Now Wrex planned on giving her a family. A real one. Where everyone was happy.

~ Break ~

Shepard stretched her arms above her head, yawning loudly. It was one of the few sounds she'd been able to make. According to Chakwas, who was staying on Tuchanka for a while to take care of her Commander, her vocal chords had taken some damage when she'd gone flying through the crucible as it crashed. While they seemed to be healing, she didn't know when the woman would be able to talk again. Apparently, if Shepard had waited before talking, kept herself from saying Wrex's name, then she might be able to talk already. Regardless, she didn't regret it. She could say his name as many more times as she pleased later, right?

Her eyes raised to look in the mirror. They were currently in a house. Her and Wrex's house. Some parts were still really dusty, but as of now, the kitchen, master bedroom, and master bathroom were clean. Apparently, Wrex had it built for the two of them after the war, but when he learned that she was MIA, never went back inside. Now, the duo – mostly Wrex since he refused to let Shepard strain herself too much – had set to cleaning and setting up the house. Nevertheless, it was still taking a while to clean.

Those weren't the only rooms of course. There were three more bedrooms – something about most Krogan needing a lot of space recently – two more bathrooms, a living room, and an office for Shepard to work. Her new job required her to read reports from other Council Spectres and make sure they are proceeding as they should. She also kept an eye on who was abusing their privileges or doing things that should raise suspicion. And Shepard couldn't be happier with her new job.

Right now, Shepard had just finished her shower and had gotten into her preferred clothes – her N7 sweatshirt, a pair of black jeans, and a pair of combat boots. In the back of her mind, she was vaguely aware of the sound of Wrex cleaning downstairs in the living room. However, she was mostly focused on her reflection. Her red hair had grown out quite a bit, reaching just below her shoulders. It hid the small scars from the surgeries that remained after Miranda had somehow managed to save her spine. Then there were her eyes.

The bright, golden eyes that were once feared across the galaxy had dulled a little from the multitude of nightmares she'd been having lately. Each memory that came back from being on the Citadel brought a nightmare with it. Twisted images of Reapers and a young boy haunted each one. Despite this, she hid each one from Wrex, forcing herself to wake up before they got too far. The lack of sleep was starting to get to her, and she was starting to worry Chakwas would notice during one of the checkups that happened weekly.

With a slight sigh, she opened her mouth. Not a sound. Glaring at her reflection, she tried again. Nothing. On the third attempt, a small sound came out. Both eyes widened in surprise as she did it again. Throwing her arms up in the air, she gave a silent cheer. Now for the real test. She took a deep breath, opening her mouth and-

"Shepard. What are you doing?"

The woman froze at the sound of the Krogan's voice. She closed her mouth and spun, realizing how guilty she must of looked. With a shrug, she locked eyes with him, trying to ignore the feeling the heat created in her cheeks.

"Sure. Doctor said not to strain your voice. Give it time." He turned. "Come on. She dropped off lunch again."

Despite the fact he sounded so calm and collected, Shepard was well aware that he was disappointed. They had decided to wait on trying to have children until she could speak again. And it was killing her inside knowing she was the cause of his unhappiness. Silently, she began following him out of the bathroom, stopping when she reached the bedroom.

Spirits. How had he even gotten the idea for that room, anyway? The bed was split in two, each half created with materials common to each culture. It was still pretty obvious which side was Wrex's because of the huge dent in the bed. Every night their back would be pressing against each other. When Shepard woke up, since she usually did so first, she would notice Wrex had turned and wrapped his arms around her. And then whenever she tried to wiggle away, he'd just tighten his grip. Generally, she would lay there for another half hour or so to wait for him to wake up so she could finally be freed and go shower.

Shepard looked at her feet. Realizing she had stopped, Wrex paused, turning. "Something wrong?"

With determination, Shepard's head shot up. "W-" she started, her voice giving out before she could finish. Narrowing her eyes, she tried again. "Wr-"

The Krogan's eyes widened. "Shepard, you really don't need to-"

"Wrex," Shepard finally managed, her eyes gleaming with happiness.

Wrex was frozen in place for a few moments before his lips quirked up. "You really are as stubborn as a Krogan, Shepard," he said with a chuckle and shake of his head, moving forward and wrapping her in his arms.

"I," she paused, feeling the strain, "try."

When her stomach suddenly growled and effectively ruined the moment, Wrex let her go with visible reluctance and led her down the stairs to their kitchen. On their way, right next to their room, they passed a very special room. It was the bedroom they planned to put their child in if the medicine worked. If it worked. Still, Shepard still wished Mordin was around to see the result.

Noticing her odd quietness, Wrex sat her down at the island counter in the kitchen and started unwrapping the food. Her gaze was distant. It meant she was thinking.

"He'd be happy, Shepard. That old Salarian just wanted to make up for his past."

Shepard nodded, a little surprised at how fast he noticed what was wrong. "I," she paused again, coughing, "know."

The Krogan eyed her warily, placing a plate of food in front of her. "Here. And stop doing that. No need to lose your voice again."

The woman nodded, eyes sparkling with happiness. "Wrex?"

"What?" he grumbled, sitting in the chair next to her, one built specifically for Krogan.

"Love you."

Wrex started beside her, freezing. He glanced to the side, seeing her slowly eating her food with a smile on her face. His own lips curved up a little as he started on his own meal. Liara had told him time and time again that if Shepard ever said that, she was serious. And that thought was more precious to him than anything.

Meanwhile, Shepard's mind was floating back to memories that were still resurfacing. While she was still having a hard time remembering the important stuff, the little things were starting to come back.

~ Break ~

Shepard paced nervously in the elevator. Spirits... What the hell was she doing? Oh, yeah, going to tell Kaidan that she couldn't be in a relationship with him because she was with a Krogan. Not just any Krogan, one of the few he knew and trusted with his life. They were in the middle of a war, dammit! Why the hell did she have to deal with this?

When the door opened, she walked out without looking up. And promptly ran into something large.

"Ow," she grumbled, rubbing her head. "Sorry," she added after a moment, moving to the side to keep going.

"Shepard?" a very familiar voice asked, grabbing onto her shoulder.

Still rubbing her head, the woman turned around with some hesitation. "W-Wrex?!"

The old Krogan seemed just as surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"The Normandy is getting mandatory shore leave soon. A couple of my crew wanted to talk before we go on leave." Shepard winced inwardly. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to tell him she was going to go talk to Kaidan. Talk about awkward.

"Who?"

Figures he'd ask that. "Liara," Shepard managed. It wasn't a complete lie. But she'd told the Asari she had to talk to Kaidan first. And since Liara knew the situation, she'd accepted.

Wrex nodded, accepting that explanation.

"What are you doing here?" Shepard asked after a moment. It was weird to see Wrex anywhere near the Citadel and their obvious Krogan biases.

"Butting heads with the Council over expansion." He gave her a smirk. "We're gonna need the space."

"Right," the woman responded, drawing the word out as she rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I've got to go. I need to meet with Joker later for dinner. He's upset about being kicked off the ship."

"Okay." He looked away for a moment. "Let's meet up before you leave."

Shepard smiled a little. "Of course, Wrex." With that, she ran off towards the cafe, waving as she went.

However, the second she saw Kaidan, her nerves went haywire again. Spirits, she'd avoid the topic of a relationship whenever she visited in the hospital! Now he wanted to speak with her, and she knew that was why.

"Shepard!" he called, noticing her near the entrance of the cafe. "Over here!"

Ignoring the stares of those who heard him say her name, Shepard made her way to the table, slipping into the seat across from him. "Hey, Kaidan."

"It's nice to be able to talk to you, Commander." He shifted a little uneasily in his seat. A young Salarian put a cup in front of each of them before walking off. "I ordered you something, hope you don't mind."

Shepard sniffed the drink. "Mm," she hummed. Coffee with a swirl of chocolate and vanilla creamer. "It's fine. This is my favorite." She took a sip, smiling at the blissful feeling. It was almost perfect. The creamer was a little sour.

Kaidan sipped at his own coffee. "So, um, Commander. Shepard. I wanted to talk to you about, uh, us."

The woman across from him nearly choked on her drink. With a slight grimace, she set her cup back down on the table. "Listen, Kaidan, I-"

"I want there to be an us, Shepard." His gaze locked onto her's. "I really do."

"Kaidan," she said slowly, unable to meet his gaze. "We can't."

"Why not?"

"I'm already in a relationship, Kaidan. I'm sorry if I led you on – I didn't think I was doing so – but it's the truth." She sighed, finally looking up. His eyes were full of sadness; it made her cringe.

"Since when?" he asked, looking away from her eyes.

"During the fight against the Collectors," she said quietly, looking down as well.

"Who?"

"Huh?" Her eyes widened a little at the sudden response.

"Who is it?"

Shepard was frozen, staring at the swirls in her cup. Eventually, she sighed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Her fingers rubbed the bracelet on her right wrist.

"Tell me, Shepard. I have a right to know."

The Commander visibly tensed. "You have the right to know? No. You lost any right to know anything about me when you called me a traitor on Horizon!" Shepard took a deep breath when she realized her voice had raised a little. "Listen, Kaidan. I'm sorry, but I honestly think you should take a step back and realize exactly what you said and did to me back then." She stood, opening her Omni-Tool and paying for both drinks. She looked up, ready to say her goodbyes when she notice Kaidan's terrified expression. Having a good idea of why, the woman slowly turned.

Just behind her was Wrex. Who was looking like murder was a great idea right now.

"Wrex?! I thought you were butting heads with the Council," she said, trying to sound calm.

"Not until later," he growled, eyes still focused on Kaidan. "You said you were meeting with Liara."

"That's where I'm going now," Shepard responded.

"No. Right now you're coming with me." Wrex finally turned to her, grabbing her arm and dragging her off.

If Kaidan's expression from when she glanced back was any indication, he knew very well who she was in a relationship with now. This was going to be a long day.

~ Break ~

After having a very long talk with Wrex about the importance of her having to speak with Kaidan alone to break it off and a nice talk – and sudden shopping excursion at the mention of the restaurant she was meeting Joker at – with Liara, Shepard changed into her dress and climbed into a skycar she had called. Time for dinner. Which was good. Since she'd missed breakfast and lunch too. Her stomach was starting to revolt.

Stepping out, the host immediately waved her down, telling where her seat was. Without hesitation, she walked over to the table, slipping into her seat. "Hey, Joker."

"Hey, Commander." He looked up from the menu, eyes widening. "You, uh, look good. Can't say I've ever seen you in that."

"Don't remind me," she growled. "Liara practically forced this onto me." The dress wasn't too long, reaching her knee. The sea blue color, actually seeming to shiver, complimented her golden eyes and red hair. The top was a simple sweetheart neckline and the bottom lifted a little whenever she spun. The heels, which her Asari friend has insisted on, were the same color and about three inches high. The Krogan bracelet adorned her wrist as it always did and she also had a silver necklace that was similar to the one she wore with her black dress. According to Liara, this particular necklace also doubled as a Biotically charged whip when unclasped. That woman had strange taste in jewelery.

"Well, you look good."

"Thanks," Shepard said with a sigh. "So. How are you feeling?"

"I don't like being off my ship," he muttered, ignoring her glare. "Can't trust those shifty aerospace engineers. Always stealing the silverware."

Shepard laughed, completely unaware of how the rest of the evening would go.

~ Break ~

The Commander carefully gripped the handgun in her hand, shivering from the water and artificial breeze making its way through the station. Looking down and realizing she'd have to jump straight into the fray was not a pleasant feeling. Regardless, she did just that. As her heeled feet hit the floor – something she'd have to remember to kill Liara for – sound crackled in her ear.

"Shepard?!"

"Wrex?"

"Heard you ran into some trouble. You alright?"

A bullet grazed her arm and the Commander hissed. "Could be better," she admitted.

"Well, lucky for you, I've got a trunk full of weapons and I'm heading your way."

"Yeah, well. Hurry up, will ya?" she hissed through clenched teeth, narrowing her eyes. A bullet had just made its way through her shield and into her side. Damn. That was not pleasant.

~ Break ~

Shepard made her way towards the skycar lot, expecting any moment that a mercenary would jump her. Instead, she watched as a very pissed off, armed to the teeth Krogan tackled two mercs and used his shotgun on them before they even hit the ground. Breathing a small sigh of relief, she opening the door.

"Heard you were having a bad day."

"You could say that." Shepard lowered her gun, a slight smirk on her face. She was starting to get a little woozy from the blood loss.

"The shuttle'll probably come from over there," he grumbled. "Doors locked. I can blast through it."

"Or we could open it," Shepard corrected, rolling her eyes. She moved forward, brushing his arm in a silent thanks. "Let's find the control panel."

He eyed her, lips turning up in a smirk. "Nice outfit. You pull it off." A chuckle followed the resulting glare. "Control panel. Right."

Shepard fought, and failed, to hide her smile before rolling her eyes and pulling her gun back up in case more mercenaries showed up.

"So," Wrex continued after a moment of silence. "Joker mentioned you fell through a fish tank."

"We can talk about that later."

"I've had the fish there before. Your Admiral, Anderson I think, brought me out to eat."

Shepard cast a confused glance his way before shaking her head and reiterating, "we'll talk about it later." Later, she'd learn that her adoptive *******

Wrex chuckled. "And you used Joker as bait." He smirked at her. "He was complaining about it the whole time."

The woman felt a devilish smirk escape her attempts to remain stoic. "Heh." Her smirk immediately left when she reached a locked door. Seeing the Volus behind the window, she grimaced before raising her gun. "One sec," she muttered, lining up the shot so the debris wouldn't hurt the Volus.

"Wait," Wrex said, lowering her gun arm. Ignoring her raised eyebrow, he knocked on the window with the back of his knuckle. "Hey! Open it up or I'll open that suit up for you!" Behind them, the large windows started to open. "Smart choice."

Shepard burst out laughing as they turned away. "Alright. That definitely works."

When the shuttle full of mercs came down later, one Urdnot Grunt wasted no time in jumping on top of it, and, with Wrex's assistance, tackled all of the mercenaries off the platform.

The Commander leaned back, watching them take the enemies out. She knew if she got too close she could take some accidental damage. And besides, it was too fun watching. Afterwords, both Krogan shook the others' wrist and laughed.

"Hell of a fun time, huh?"

Grunt laughed. "Couldn't be better." He turned. "Shepard!"

"Grunt," Shepard said with a smile. "Didn't I just bail you out?"

The younger Krogan gave his mother-figure a huge pat on the back, what Shepard now knew was equal to a hug in his own way. "Heard you were in trouble."

Wrex moved to stand by his mate. "I've got 'er."

"And that you fell through a fish tank."

Shepard grit her teeth a little. "I do not want to-" she cut herself off, activating her Biotics and pulling both Krogan back. "Watch out!"

More shots came at them, only one actually hitting a target; Shepard. She hissed in pain again before joining the Krogan behind cover.

"Well," she muttered, looking down. "Apparently they really wanted it be symmetrical," she grumbled, just loud enough for both men to hear. The bullet had passed through her shield and left side, just opposite the one from earlier.

"Shepard!" Wrex growled out, narrowing his eyes. "You didn't tell me you were hit."

The woman shrugged, immediately regretting it as her side stretched. "I thought the shuttle would be here," she admitted. "And only a little," she added defensively after a moment.

Grunt eyed her curiously. "We'll take care of this."

"Like hell you will!" Shepard growled out. "If there's anyone I want to be watching their backs, it's you two!" With a slight wince, she realized she'd called that out in her signature commander voice. But she wouldn't change her mind. Not when her fiance – at least in Krogan terms – and son – he might as well be, she was pretty sure the kid had gone to Wrex to request it – were going to be in danger.

"Then stay in cover," Wrex growled. "Behind us." He knew her best. She was not going to back down.

With a roll of her eyes, Shepard nodded. "Sure." She took off her necklace, focusing on her Biotics. She hadn't eaten all morning, so she wouldn't be able to use them very long. Glancing at the the two Krogan she added, "they're in front of us and back in the lot."

Grunt growled, getting his gun out. "How're we gonna do this?"

Shepard stood up straight, still behind cover. The necklace was being held limply in her hand, about two feet long. The two Krogan were eying her with curiosity.

"I'll get the five mercenaries out here." Noticing their glanced turn to glares, she chuckled. "Don't worry. I'd bet I can take them all out with one blow."

"Impossible," Wrex snarled.

Shepard flicked her right wrist, the necklace lighting up with the same blue light that was surrounding her body. As the light covered it, the device lengthened, becoming six feet long instead of two. She grinned.

"I've got this." Turning her head to gauge where the enemies were, she added, "remind me to give Liara a huge hug as thanks for this thing."

Grunt raised an eyebrow ridge. "Is that a whip?"

Shepard shrugged, leaning back into cover. "Apparently. Liara gave it to me. Said it was always good to have some sort of weapon on you."

Wrex readied his shotgun. "We'll get your back. Get rid of those five and then stay behind us."

The Commander smirked. "Not often I take orders from someone else."

"Well do it this time."

A note of pleading in his voice caught the woman's attention, and she gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

"I'll be fine." With that, she spun, rolling out of cover. "Hope this works!"

Behind her, both Krogan laughed before taking up positions behind her and beginning to cleave a way back into the lot so Shepard would have more substantial cover. And, if they were lucky, find some medigel.

Shepard stood tall once more, smirking. The mercenaries seemed confused for a moment, but recovered with some speed. Her arm raised, she flicked her wrist so the Biotic whip snapped to the side with a large snap, before seeming sure about the attack. The arm went behind her before she slashed her arm in a arc in front of her, the whip following in a much large arc. It sliced through each mercenary like a hot knife through soft butter. Despite feeling exhausted afterwords, the woman smiled.

"I might need to start using this instead of my Omni-Blade," she murmured, feeling lightheaded.

"C'mon, Shepard!"

The woman shook herself out of the exhaustion before joining her two favorite Krogan inside the lot. By the time Joker got there, most of the mercenaries were dead. Reinforcements had been decimated the moment they arrived.

~ Break ~

"Shepard?"

The woman started, snapping her head to the side. "Wr-ex?" she responded, her voice cracking halway through the name.

The Krogan was eying her with a wary expression. "You okay? You've been poking the counter for two minutes now."

Shepard raised an eyebrow looking down. She leaned over on her right arm during her thoughts and her left hand had taken to stabbing the counter. Blushing furiously, she placed the fork back on her empty plate.

"Thinking," she said, standing to rinse her plate off.

"About what?" Wrex asked in response, taking her plate and washing it for her.

"Citadel." Shepard frowned, taking a deep breath and a large gulp of her water before elaborating. "Shore leave."

"Ah," the Krogan hummed. "Still have that necklace?" he questioned, glancing over.

Shepard nodded, slipping it out of her pocket. "Good wea-pon."

Wrex chuckled. "Tore those mercs apart like they were nothing." He placed their dishes to the side to dry. For a moment, he did nothing. When he did finally turn around, his eyes were mixed with worry and hope. "You can talk," he said after a moment.

The Commander nodded, a light smile on her face. Her expression was calm, but still displayed her immense happiness. "Yes."

"And-"

She slipped her hand into her left pocket, pulling out a familiar vial. She continued to smile, nodding. "Yeah."