Hey all! Blue here! I'm likely loading waaay too much work onto myself but I just had to get this one outta my system. I love 'Mass Effect' too much not to. It'd be just too cruel on me and likely the rest of the world if I didn't. But that don't matter! I won't waste anybody's time (should anybody actually take the time to read this) and just move on. I don't own 'Mass Effect' in any shape or form, but I'm prepared to fight whoever wants Garrus just as much as I do. Enjoy!

"Iii" = speech

"Iii" = radio speech

Iii = thought

Chapter 1: Meeting You

Officer Garrus Vakarian, agent of the Turian Hierarchy military and sniper of almost unrivaled skill, was doing his best to keep his blood from getting into his eyes. His visor was helping him but the navy blue blood coming from a rather nasty crack on one of his brow's face plates was making it hard to see clearly. It was bad enough the Harpoon X in his grip was starting to get heavy, even though he was lying on his stomach, fully armored, with the end propped up against the ground. The wound on his head was making his vision blurry and his mind start to lose focus. If not for the fact he'd run out of medi-gel, he'd have dealt with the damn wound by now. Plus on top of being awake for almost two full days, Garrus was sure that his eyes would finally fail him, if he didn't pass out from blood loss first. At this point, he had no idea where the rest of his unit was, or even if they were still alive. He was almost sure they thought he was dead. Lying there, amidst various brush and fallen foliage, Garrus focused mostly on the scene beyond his scope.

The mercenaries he'd been watching since early morning yesterday had yet to make any moves toward him, though his team had already killed almost half their number before being driven back into the woods. And beyond any kind of plausible radio contact. Every time he tried, all he got was static and mixed conversations from the mercs channels. If that weren't enough, the right side of his face was coming close to killing him, especially since he couldn't be on his meds while in the field. Weeks had gone by since a rather nasty band of pirates had tried to take him out with a missile launcher, but that didn't mean it wasn't still sore. He'd only been allowed to bring some of his pain medication, ones his superiors were sure wouldn't affect his abilities while in the field. Now, two days later, Garrus wished to the high heavens he'd brought some of the other ones with him. And on top of that, he was tired and was almost out of food. Mandibles twitching subconsciously into the uneasy quiet that surrounded the cool mountains as he focused his attention back on the mercs caught in his crosshairs.

From what he could tell, most of them were turians and batarians, all moving in a fairly somewhat organized manner as they strutted around their compound with their annoyingly colored Blue Suns armor. Carefully counting them, Garrus was sure that roughly fifteen of their men were dead out of the almost fifty they'd been warned about. And from the way they were acting, something in the pits of his stomach told him his team wouldn't be coming to help him anytime soon. Slowly panning his gaze from one end of the exposed area to the other, something at the western side of the compound caught his attention. Zooming in on it, he soon found it was indeed movement, several Blue Suns mercs making their way into the trees and up the hill, vanishing into the brush soon after. Suspicious, Garrus quickly turned his attention to the eastern side, barely catching a glimpse of another group disappearing into the lush green flora that'd yet to yellow with the changing season. Looking back at the main area, the southern entrance as he knew it, Garrus found that a number of the men outside had vanished. The turian had no trouble seeing a few of their oddly painted helmets before the trees hid them completely. That only meant one of two things: his team had drawn some of them out for another round…

Or they're out to find me or anyone else who might be left. Shit! Garrus thought angrily to himself, doing his best to rise without giving away his position to his oncoming pursuers. His body ached from the lack of movement, his joints burning before the weave in his armor somehow eased the pain away. His cobalt blue and black armor was a rather distinct contrast compared to the bright green trees and bushes he was surrounded by, but somehow Garrus felt confident. If he got far ahead enough, his chances of slipping out of their patrol area were getting higher with each step. Careful of any sticks his feet might snap loudly in half, Garrus quickly jogged down the hill from his look-out spot, using the trees to keep him from slipping and falling should he lose his footing. The last thing he needed right now were broken bones. Or plates. As he made his way down, he winced in pain to a gunshot wound he'd received only a few days before. A patrol of Blue Suns had found them just as they'd landed, managing to kill only one of his comrades and wounding three, himself included. He'd been putting medi-gel onto the wound ever since, as sparingly as possible, though the wound was like a parasite to his ever-thinning resources. If he got shot one more time and couldn't get help, it was likely he was going to die on this unnamed planet.

Holding back gasps and hisses of pain, Garrus managed to keep himself crouched should he need to start running, the assault rifle he'd pulled from its holster thankfully lighter than his sniper rifle as he went. He managed to trek over two hills before a sound to his right caught his attention, pointing his gun at the source of the noise. No sooner did he do this, bullets whizzed past him, barely scratching his shields, creating a blue light flicker around him. Either these mercs were bad aim, or they wanted him alive. Taking no chances, Garrus quickly got himself behind a rather thick tree, using his visor and his instincts to make quick kills. Bullets went by him almost in waves, some of them boring holes into the tree that was his barrier, giving him ample cover to take down at least eight of the twelve men sent to kill him. He was sure their variously colored blood was already soaking into the earth as they fell to his well-practiced aim. Garrus was about to ponder just how good his luck had gotten, until one of the other patrols appeared behind him, also barely missing several vital areas as they tried to weaken his shields with their onslaught. Cursing under his breath now, Garrus quickly gunned down a few that'd taken point before tossing grenades at both and making a break from the top of the next hill. Adrenaline was his friend now as he struggled up the hill, almost slipping on the wet leaves as he came down the other side. He could barely hear their angry yells and screams over his heavy breathing, his own heartbeat pounding in his ears as he ran.

Finding the trail that'd led to their landing site, Garrus instinctively took it, ignoring the blood leaking from not only his head but his old wound. More shots rang out, creating small explosions of dirt, leaves and other earthly debris before a few shots took down his shields, a lucky hit clipping him in the right ribcage. Only mere inches away from his two-day old one, which had been placed in his chest by a merc he'd immediately gotten between the eyes mere moments later. Almost howling in agony, Garrus stumbled, but didn't stop, turning only to return fire. He managed to kill a few more of their number before going into another flat-out run towards the shuttle he hoped was still there. If it wasn't… it wasn't something he was up to thinking right now. Following the path from memory more than anything, Garrus heard more shots go off, only this time coming from in front of him. Practically skidding to a halt, his breathing sounded off in wet and ragged gasps for air now in the sudden quiet. He didn't have to wait long for more shots to come from the path ahead of him, angry shouts sounding off almost drowned out by the exchange of fire. Mandibles twitching with indecision, Garrus honestly didn't know what to do anymore. Go forward and hope for the best? Or go back and take his chances?

The decision was made for him, when a gruff shout sounded off from behind him, making him curse at his stupidity. Dodging gunshots and biotic fields, the turian was surprised at how quickly he was able to get running again. Adrenaline was truly his friend this day. After a few more meters of running ahead of his pursuers, Garrus had to once again hide behind a tree to get a view of the battle that still continued, all involved unaware of his presence. The armor of one of the newcomers was definitely human, the N7 logo evident on their chest piece, standard issue to Systems Alliance marines. Only this human was female, her face hidden by a matching N7 helmet, leading what looked like a quarian female and a dark skinned human male. He didn't know the humans but the sight of the quarian girl made his blood run cold.

Tali. Tali'Zorah vas Neema he'd heard last when she'd messaged him at the end of her Pilgrimage for the Flotilla. She'd sent him messages now and again, but other than that, they'd rarely spoken in almost a year. Though her contact with him had spiked when he told her he'd been hurt, her concern for her 'older brother' was a heart-warming thing to behold. Now here she was, teamed with two humans for a reason that was unknown to him. But from the way the mercs were trying to flank them, they needed his help. Without even having to look, Garrus didn't waste time in diving into the brush, quickly hiding himself amidst the various bushes and young trees as he brought his sniper rifle to hand. Just as soon as he was sure no one could see him, he took aim and fired, easily puncturing a batarian's shields and busting a giant hole into the back of his helmet. As soon as he fell, his companions began to look around for the source of the shot, scattering into a less organized formation. It was all the three needed to get the upper hand, his good aim taking down any stragglers that remained. As Garrus relaxed, he felt everything about him suddenly become heavy.

Thankfully his limbs weren't too heavy for him to put his sniper rifle back in its holster, replacing it with his pistol as he tried to get up but failed. He felt so tired, like he just wanted to lie down and sleep, forget all his troubles and finally get some shut eye. If only the sound of shouts and approaching feet didn't interrupt his plans to finally get some much needed rest, the sound of crunching leaves, cracking twigs and rustling branches making him look towards his immediate left. Suddenly wary of the possibility of attack, Garrus found the energy to point his weapon at the source of the noise, his rising pulse pounding in his head. Only instead of a merc unwittingly coming towards his death, Tali appeared instead, her new purple suit an interesting sight if not for the fact that Garrus was too focused on staying alive.

"Garrus! Garrus it's me! Put that away! Please?" she pleaded suddenly as she put her own weapon away, sounding both soothing but a little scared at the gun pointed at her.

The turian lying in what he knew was his own blood, blinked at the quarian girl before her appearance seemed to register in his adrenaline filled mind. When he spoke, even he was surprised at how tired he sounded as he lowered the gun and gasped out the words that first came to mind. "T-Tali… I thought I recognized you. Nice suit by the way."

"That doesn't matter now, we need to leave." He heard her say, the young woman kneeling next to him as she looked him over. After a close examination, the quarian was immediately tearing open a pack of medi-gel, her voice suddenly filled with panic. "Keelah you're bleeding! What happened?"

"I—ah!" he gasped as she touched a tender spot, the cool gel somehow burning as it made contact with his injuries, barely hearing her soft apology as he tried to steady his voice. "It's a long story."

"Commander! Over here!" she called over her shoulder, pausing in her work briefly before turning back to him, whispering in a sisterly tone he remembered quite well. "Don't worry. We'll have you out of here in no time. Just stay awake for us."

Garrus nodded, forcing himself to relax at the sound of approaching footsteps before his brain finally brought forth another memory. "M-my team. I was on a team. I-I have to find them. They might still be alive." He managed to say, letting out a weak cough as he tried to mess with his omni-tool. "I lost radio contact with them almost two days ago."

Only the girl shook her head, her glowing white eyes looking sad in the purple abyss he knew was her face. "We haven't seen anyone else but you Garrus. I'm sorry."

"Is this him? Garrus Vakarian?" an almost rough female voice called. It was the N7 armored human from before. Almost immediately anger rose forth despite his weakened state.

"Not for much longer if I keep bleeding like this. And what on all of Palaven are you doing bringing her here? What were you thinking human?" he growled, his voice gaining strength and emotion as he spoke, his mandibles tensed against his face in his barely contained rage at the woman before him.

The human female snorted as if in amusement, her navy blue armor a stark contrast to their surroundings. Just like his own armor. "I'm was thinking you be more grateful, not pissed off. Now hold still." She said as she knelt down next to Tali, roughly turning him, likely using more force than necessary.

Garrus let out a loud yell of agony, shutting his eyes against the pain before he glared at her, his mandibles clamped against the sides of his face. "That. Hurt."

"So we noticed. Can you stand?" her tone was truly apologetic, defusing some of the anger he already felt for the human. Sighing, Garrus turned to Tali, his expression softening as he spoke. It was easy to show them just how tired he was.

"Do I have to?" he practically mewled, looking straight at the quarian. Both humans either had the manners or the sense not to laugh at how pitiful he sounded.

Tali shook her head again, her voice full of worry and regret. "We can't carry you Garrus. Why? Have you been gorging yourself on tuperi fruit again?"

"Very funny. But I can try." He growled, slowly rolling over so he could brace against the ground, already turning black with his life's precious proverbial waters. As he did, Garrus was glad no one mentioned how his limbs shook at the effort.

Tali was quick to give him aid, putting an arm under his to gently wrap around him, helping him stand upright. "Easy. Take it slow."

Garrus coughed up a laugh, his mandibles flaring in an amused smile. "Slow? Ha! You should've seen me earlier."

"Alright, alright hotshot. Just stay awake and you'll be fine in no time." The human woman stated, her own voice taking on that of sarcasm.

No sooner was she done speaking did the dark skinned male speak up from his position amidst the brush, giving them all a worried look. "Uh Shepard? We should probably get a move on. Those mercs are comin' in heavy."

"How many?" the woman he now knew was called Shepard demanded, her switch to cold professionalism a little unnerving. Wait… where have I heard that name before? He thought as the male responded.

"Almost thirty, maybe more." The man stated, sounding worried as he fingered the trigger of his pistol, his body coming alive with the fire of biotic power.

"Shit!" Shepard cursed, turning her masked face toward his, her voice low and almost accusing. "The hell did you do Vakarian?"

Garrus scoffed at her. "Like I told you, you should've seen me earlier. How the Spirits do you think I got shot?" he snapped back, his voice sounding weak and tired, a lot of his anger lost to all the blood loss he'd suffered. If they wanted him to be awake, they weren't doing a very good job of it.

Growling low over the radio, Shepard shook her head at his comment. "We don't have time to deal with them now. Everybody back to the shuttle! Jacob, cover fire. Tali? Help me walk this guy to the landing site. He needs to see Dr. Chakwas."

Chakwas? Yet another familiar name to Garrus's ears. Something told him he might have come across an invisible interconnection he'd never noticed before. Chakwas being a human doctor he'd met briefly on the Citadel when the old woman had come to visit his friend and contact, Dr. Michel. He'd exchanged greetings and a few word with her, but never saw her again since. For the name to be mentioned now seemed like a hell of a coincidence. He was brought out of his thoughts when he saw the dark skinned male, Jacob he now knew, pointed his assault rifle at the many possible places a merc might appear as Shepard somehow got around him to take his other arm. Just as soon as she took his arm and put it over her shoulders, Garrus bit down a hiss of pain as her body pressed against his wounds. If she muttered an apology, he couldn't hear it over the pain screaming in his head as they led him away, his longer legs doing their best to take longer strides. After what felt like an hour when he knew in his mind was moments, they came to a shuttle that was definitely not of turian make.

Gunshots were echoing in the air, Jacob shooting back, sending the occasional blue ball of energy as his body flamed with biotic energy. Suddenly Tali was the only one leading him into the shuttle as Shepard vanished only to reappear, her own form covered in the ethereal blue fire. Shouting various orders that he couldn't hear, Shepard joined Jacob in deterring their pursuers long enough for Tali to help him lie on the floor of the shuttle, the cool metal a welcome contrast to the blazing heat of his own body. Which was odd since he was starting to feel a little too cold for his own tastes, and Garrus could already feel himself start to shiver. Even worse, the need to sleep was coming back strong and he wasn't sure if he could fight it anymore.

"Tali?" he managed to say, thoroughly surprised at how weak and pitiful he sounded now that he thought about it. Almost like a wounded puppy of sorts.

The young quarian was suddenly there, her three fingered hand holding his, glowing white orbs watching him with worry-filled intensity. "Garrus? Garrus what's wrong?"

"I don't feel so great." Garrus managed to say, his body suddenly starting to shake, the hand holding hers included. "Was it always this cold?"

"Oh gods you're freezing!" she exclaimed, suddenly more fearful than he'd ever hear from her before. Since when was he the source of misery and sorrow in females? This thought floated away as Tali turned and shouted towards the open shuttle's entrance. "Commander! Commander Shepard we need to go!"

Commander Shepard? Now he remembered. The first human Spectre, highly decorated Alliance marine and savior of the Citadel and its multispecies Council, all earning her a spotlight that each time she gracefully denied. Wasted efforts on pompous bureaucrats he'd always thought. They'd ignored her claims that something called the Reapers were coming to destroy all life as they knew it to be. Up until her ship the Normandy had helped blast one to many, many ancient pieces. The Council was more open-minded afterwards. Suddenly the place got darker as the two humans finally boarded the shuttle and the door shut behind them, bringing Garrus out of his wayward thoughts. Within moments the turian could feel it taking off, the gunfire that'd followed them becoming nothing more than background noise before fading away. He could feel his mandibles quivering as the unnatural cold continued to spread through him, doing his best to keep his eyes open and focused on Tali's glowing masked face.

"It'll be alright Garrus, we'll have you patched up in no time. Dr. Chakwas is the best doctor out there." She said soothingly, though the fear didn't leave what little he could see of her face.

"W-what about my team? They could still be alive… we can't just-!" he said, the thought coming back to mind, adrenaline trying to rush forth again as he attempted to sit up.

Shepard cut him off, quickly kneeling down on the floor next to him, gently pushing on his shoulder to keep him from trying to get up. As she spoke, her voice was surprisingly sincere and commanding. "We'll send a message to the Turian Hierarchy that they might have a team missing, but until then we can't take on that many mercs. Now just focus on us. Focus and stay awake. Can you do that?"

Garrus was taken aback. Of all the things to hear, he definitely didn't expect something like that. He tried to speak only to gasp and cough violently, nearly spitting up ink blue blood onto Tali's mask, the liquid already marking a trail from his mouth. If Tali gasped in horror, he didn't hear it as his vision started to get fuzzy at the edges, sound taking on an almost muffled effect as he felt himself beginning to have trouble breathing.

"Garrus?" he heard Shepard ask cautiously, as if her very voice would cause him harm.

"Ow." The turian grunted out, turning his blue eyed gaze back to the quarian still gripping his hand for dear life. For a moment, a brief few seconds, he squeezed back. "You still owe me an explanation little one."

"Live and I promise I'll tell you all about it you stupid bosh'tet!" Tali exclaimed at him, the speaker in her mask unable to hide the weak sob in her voice, the pain in her tone.

This got the turian laughing again, only for it to become a series of light coughs and low groans of pain. He felt the shuttle hit some turbulence, jostling him almost cruelly, drawing from him an angry growl of agony. Despite his altered state of mind, Garrus was sure he was shouting slurred turian curses at the pilot only to result in another coughing fit. Tali was gripping his hand so hard he was sure her own hand had become a vice. Eventually, finally, Garrus felt himself beginning to lose consciousness, despite Shepard's concerned voice and Tali's pleading cries fading away as the world went black.

White. Blinding, clinically clean, blaringly pure white light met Garrus's tired eyes as he dared crack them open only to find that someone had placed him right underneath a disturbingly bright artificial light fixture. At first he thought he was in a turian med bay, and it was the day after he'd gotten his face nearly blown in half. Only upon closer inspection by his intense gaze, Garrus found the light was shape different, and the ceiling's metal tiles were very much the wrong color. Honestly confused by this, Garrus attempted once again to sit up, only for him to discover it was painful to move. That and someone had taken his visor off. Another thing he noticed was that his armor was missing, leaving him feeling almost naked and vulnerable. If not for the cotton blankets he honestly thought he would have been very exposed, as well as embarrassed. As his mind began to catch up with his body, Garrus finally noticed there were hushed voices coming from… somewhere. Close enough to hear the voices, but not the words being said. Listening just a little more closely and he noticed that it was indeed three voices and all of them were female. And from the way they were whispering, it was obvious they hadn't noticed he was awake yet.

Being the stubborn turian that he was, Garrus attempted for a third time to sit up, only to fail and this time, groan aloud at the effort. The whispering voices suddenly stopped, footsteps rushing towards him, the first to appear being Tali. "Garrus! Thank the Spirits!"

"W-where-?" he managed to get out before the quarian hushed him, once again taking his hand in hers. Only this time gently and with thankful relief.

"In the med bay of the SR2-Normandy. We got you here just in time. If we'd delayed a moment longer…." She said, leaving the sentence hanging as if she dared not utter the words she feared the most.

A kind but old voice said from somewhere all before an equally kind faced human female appeared to his immediate right, right next to Tali. Her face was full of somewhat smooth wrinkles, her eyes a stormy grey he remembered, hair still a shade of platinum silver as she smiled at him with the same kind smile she'd treated him to when they'd first met. "It would've been a close call. But nothing I couldn't handle. Hello again Officer Vakarian. I trust Chloe is doing well?"

"Chakwas?" Garrus ground out, his mind blearily catching up with his memory in tow. Soon the information made things clear. "Y-yes, Dr. Michel is fine. Long time no see doctor."

She smiled again, this time at the two women on either side of him before pulling away a little from his view. He would've tried to see her better, but his stiff neck wouldn't allow it as he heard her speak. "I'll let you all catch up."

"How soon can he leave? Will he be okay?" Tali quickly asked, her glowing white eyes glancing between him and the doctor. Clearly this was the question that'd been on her mind from the very start.

"Not for a few days I'm afraid, though I'm sure he'll do his best to keep me from being truly honest. As for his health, all he needs is rest and medication. Our best bet is to keep him here until I'm certain he won't vomit up his own intestines." The old woman joked, earning a slight chuckle from Shepard but only an understanding nod from Tali.

Stifling her laugh, the human commander waved the doctor away. "Thanks Doc. I'll take a look at your report later."

"Of course Commander." She said calmly before vanishing from Garrus's view, forcing his attention back to the women who literally had him surrounded.

"Well Garrus, it looks like you're going to be with us for a while." She said, smiling as he examined her for the first time albeit with tired eyes. Her hair, a curious human feature, was short and brown, only coming to her chin in straight dark strands. Skin, plate and scale less, just so happened to be a shade of cream that wasn't white, suggesting she spent time in lots of sun, but not too much to change its tone. Her face, another odd thing to behold, was full of almost angular features, presenting a sort of domestic savagery to his gaze. Though it was her eyes that really caught his attention: silver-grey and shining with a flicker of emotions, from curiosity to outright, undeniable defiance.

Though it was none of these things that made him scowl at her and manage to bring some of the anger back into his flanged voice. "You've still yet to tell my little sister is on your ship and not with the Flotilla where she belongs. And if I don't like your explanation Commander, I must respectfully warn you that I'll feel obligated to take my anger out on you."

"You're right Tali! This guy's funny!" Shepard said smiling in a way that took both aliens off guard, chuckling as she continued to stare the turian down. "Well I'm sure we'll both have ample opportunities to bash each other's brains to mush, but I can't exactly do that if my opponent is bed-ridden."

"Is that a challenge Shepard?" Garrus inquired, not sure what else to say, his smug sarcasm kicking in on its own. On the inside, he was kicking himself.

She cocked an eyebrow at him. If she noticed his inner turmoil she didn't say. "Only if you're willing to take it."

"Absolutely not. No fighting until we're sure you're fully healed." Garrus turned his attention to Tali, who just so happened to be sending a playful glare at the human. The look became serious when it was turned on him, making him gulp inaudibly. "And you've yet to tell me what in all of keelah happened to your face!"

This time Shepard's reaction was pure confusion at her statement. "You mean he didn't always look like this? Damn and here I thought krogans were ugly."

"And here I thought humans were fleshy weaklings. Did your species lose its plates at some point?" he snapped, just a little tired of her banter. Just having her around made him tired.

"Alright, alright that's enough. Both of you! Commander, we should probably get back to work." Tali stared down meaningfully at him, pulling at his arm playfully. "And you bosh'tet, are staying here to get some rest. If you don't-."

It was Garrus's turn to scoff, clearly not all that threatened by the young quarian. "You'll what? Shoot me? I'm sure those Blue Suns already filled that quota thanks."

"I'll hack your visor so badly you'll wish you listened to me." She said almost tonelessly, changing her posture to a more serious stance.

Garrus blinked, taken aback and a little shocked at the threat. Since when had this girl gotten to be so bold? "You wouldn't dare!"

"Need me to prove it turian?" the question hung between them as orbs of glowing white met sapphire blue, both staring and relatively unblinking.

Seeing that she wasn't going to give up, Garrus only sighed and laid his head back a bit more, pulling his hand from hers to use both to try to wipe some of the sleep from his tired and aching face. "Fine. I give. I'll stay. And only because you're insisting."

He could literally hear both women giggle at his discomfort. "Good."

"By the way little one, were you ever able to get that putty out of your pockets?" he asked, resting his hands on his stomach, giving the girl a smug look before beaming in a triumphant turian grin when she turned her head away. A clear sign of embarrassment that made him laugh with close to no pain in his chest at all. "I'll take that as a no."

Shepard looked between them, her cream colored face twisted in a very human expression of amused confusion, the woman shrugging it off before nodding at him and silently walking away to talk to Chakwas once more. This gave Garrus the chance to look back at the quarian that was once again gripping his hand as though she feared it would vanish.

"Tali. Tali look at me." When she did, he whispered low enough for only the two of them could hear properly. "I'm going to be fine. From what I know about Chakwas, she's the best out there. Albeit her being an elderly human female."

The quarian girl sighed, some of the worry coming off her shoulders as she spoke. "I wanted to tell you where I was, what I was doing. I really did! But I've been so busy lately that I was either too tired to think about it or it would be all over before you found out." Soon enough she placed her free hand on her mask as though to hide her eyes. "Keelah save me, listen to me and my excuses!"

"What matters is that we're here, and that we're alive. That's all that counts." He said with a chuckle before groaning. This time there was pain he couldn't ignore, and the more he tried to take deeper breaths it only got worse.

Suddenly worried, Tali was almost leaning over him, her voice coming in a worried exclamation. "What's wrong?"

Garrus just shook his head, but the action only made him dizzy. "N-nothing. My chest just hurts. My meds must be wearing off. Aw damn that hurts."

"Dr. Chakwas?" Tali called, pulling away to give the elderly human room.

Almost immediately the woman was there with an already prepared syringe, her soft hands already gently turning his right arm in search of an entry point. "I'm right here. Another dose should do the trick. In the meantime, out with you! This young man needs his rest. Now out! Both of you!"

"I'll come back later Garrus!" Tali called, quickly vanishing as Dr. Chakwas took her place, giving him the same kind smile he remembered, her eyes shining with reassurance.

Garrus managed to wave at her as she left, his arm a barely movable limp chunk of meat attached to him via nerves, muscle and bone. Doing his best to steady his breathing against the pain, Garrus grunted at the slight sting of the syringe poking between plates into his rough skin down into the flesh beneath. Soon the sensation faded as the medicine coursed through his veins, quickly making its way through his body, helping him feel more relaxed. Pretty soon Garrus could feel the meds slowing his breathing for him, once again dipping his mind into a calming abyss that threatened to swallow him whole. Unable to fight it and not really up to the struggle, the beaten turian let the darkness win once more, this time fading into a more comfortable void than the one before.

Commander Hayden Shepard stared at the Galaxy Map with thoughtful silver-grey eyes as she pondered where to go next. She'd done as Tali had requested and helped her friend, but now she couldn't get the turian out of her head. How he'd practically yelled at her for letting Tali be on her crew, for letting her put the young quarian in danger. He'd even likely shout at her for how poor the dextro-amino dispenser paste tasted and would likely demand to know just how long his 'little one' had been eating it. She distinctly remembered him calling the masked woman his 'little sister'. A sentiment only brought on by possibly months, or years, of interaction and mutual relations, maybe even friendship. Sometimes Hayden couldn't help but feel jealous of the quarian and how easily she got along with the turian sniper. Rarely had her relations with other people had gone so smoothly. Being a military brat made it hard to keep friends, much less make them, and all the faces of the kind adults that'd guided her over the years always stuck more than the kids her own age at the time. Shaking herself out of her thought process, Hayden ignored her assistant Kelly's curious stare as she finally started to view the planets floating before her. Now wasn't the time for such things. After all, she had a job to do.

Though she had to admit it was rare for her to see turians lately. Sure she saw them all the time but never actually saw them. They were just random beings amidst the equally similar looking salarian and asari that roamed the galaxy, granted they had various cloths and markings to give them ample individuality. And on top of that, the only turians she really knew by name were Nihlus, though he'd died before she could actually get to know him. Saren had been a sadistic bastard while Chellick was annoying. Hell even Executor Pallin was a pain in the ass when he really wanted to be. And that was only because the stupid man was a leader of C-Sec security. Just thinking about the ambassador on the Council made her want to smash something with her biotic Throw. But she refrained since that meant loss of funds and time for repairs on whatever the hell it was that would suffer her wrath. Plus it would get the crew giving her funny looks over what the hell she was thinking.

Taking a few calming breaths, Hayden focused on her task as best she could, looking over a gas giant of a planet for resources. Besides, she planned on getting into a more in-depth discussion with the turian in her med bay when Dr. Chakwas could reassure her that he was healthy enough to undergo such questioning. Staring at the holographic planet before her with boredom setting in, Kelly saved her by chiming in. "You've received a new message at your private terminal Commander."

"Thanks. Go take a break Kelly."

"If you say so Commander." The redhead said beaming happily as she shut down her station and headed for the elevator, probably to go to the crew deck. Closing down the Galaxy Map for the moment and thankful the preppy woman was gone, Hayden absentmindedly stepped in front of her private terminal. As she expected, it was a letter from the Turian Hierarchy concerning Garrus and his team as well as their mission. From what it read, she felt relief that a turian cruiser would be coming to check out the planet for any survivors and possibly deal with the mercs. Granted they were still there when they arrived. Though something in the letter caught her attention, and took her by surprise.

What? Are they serious? She thought, leaning forward to gaze at the text a little better, even reading it several times just to ensure she wasn't seeing things. They're letting me keep him? What the hell for?

Biting at her lip nervously, Hayden couldn't help but let her mind jump to conclusions about what this message meant. Was this a political move of some kind? Were they just tired of him for some reason and thought a change of scenery would help? Tapping a few keys the letter was sent straight to her 'read messages' file. After a few moments of almost paranoid pondering the inner workings of fate, Hayden decided to shrug it off. Walking back up to the Galaxy Map, she activated the scanner again, overlooking the same gas giant as before. Smiling almost happily to herself, only one thought seemed to cross her mind: looks like I got my sniper after all.

And done! I hope you guys really enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please send in reviews at your own discretion, no flames and wait patiently for what's to come. Hopefully you all understand if it takes longer than usual to update but hey. That's life right? Right. Anywho, here's what's to come:

Next time:

Chapter 2: First Day

Garrus is now an unofficial member of the Normandy crew and all's well that ends well…. Or is it? One can never tell for sure. How will our favorite turian react to the news of his new employment? Find out next time with:

Chapter 2: First Day!