A/N: Thanks to Rae for very valuable input on this chapter. Enjoy!
Garrus sat in the mess, waiting for Shepard to return from her business on Illium. He had been doing some research of his own during his downtime, and had finally found what he had been looking for. The man who had betrayed him and his whole team, Sidonis, was somewhere on the Citadel. He wasn't going to ask Shepard for help, even though she had helped him out years ago with Dr. Saleon and stopped him from killing the Doctor in cold blood. He just wanted to get permission to take a shuttle to the Citadel and deal with Sidonis himself. He would catch up with the group later.
Seeing Shepard round the corner from the elevator, he stood up and began to make his way towards her. He stopped himself when he saw the look on Shepard's face. She was clearly drunk, and if his skill at reading the woman's expressions had not dulled over the years, she was also very hurt inside. Watching her go into Miranda's office, he decided he would wait a bit for the Commander to cool down and returned to the main battery to work on some more calibrations.
Several hours passed and Garrus figured that Shepard had probably calmed down. He exited the battery and made his way to Miranda's office, figuring that she could tell him where Shepard had gone after her visit. He hit the chime on the door and waited several moments. No response come from within. He was about to turn and leave when he saw the door open. Miranda was standing in the doorway. He was caught a little bit off guard when he saw that her clothes looked hastily put on and her hair was a bit disheveled. Apologetically, he began backing away. "Oh! I'm sorry. I hope I didn't wake you up," Garrus said.
Miranda gave him an uncharacteristic smile in return, which put him off guard. "You could say that," Miranda said with a chuckle, leaning on the side edges of the door to give Garrus a look inside her office.
Garrus looked the room over, and was shocked to see a topless Shepard sleeping in her bed. "Oh Spirits! This is awkward, I should... get back to calibrating things. Sorry for disturbing you," he said, swiftly exiting the situation and heading for the elevator. He looked back and saw Miranda give an amused laugh as she strutted back into her room.
Entering the elevator, Garrus pushed the button for the CIC and took a moment to reflect on what he just saw. Shepard with Miranda? Never saw that coming. What about Liara? Garrus thought to himself. He hadn't heard from Liara since the Normandy crashed and Shepard died, but he assumed she was still alive. He couldn't figure out why Shepard was sleeping with Miranda when Liara was still out there. It wasn't like her. Exiting the elevator, he headed up to Joker to try and glean some information from him.
"Oh, hey Garrus. Done calibrating down there?" Joker asked.
Garrus gave an annoyed groan. He was getting tired of the calibrations teasing that the crew had taken a liking to. "I just saw something... that I'm not sure what to make of. What exactly was Shepard doing while she was out there?" he asked.
"The Commander was helping Operative Lawson with a personal issue. Then, she visited an information broker regarding details of the whereabouts for the next two candidates for her squad. Afterwards, she went to a nearby bar for 4.3 hours, before returning to the Normandy, and has been in Operative Lawson's office since," EDI's voice replied.
"Why? What did you see Garrus?" Joker pushed, wanting to know the latest gossip. EDI refused to tell him anything, although she was not above sharing some of the Normandy's other secrets.
"It's... nothing. She just looked a bit upset is all. EDI, could you give me the location of that information broker? I think I'm going to pay them a visit, try to find out what's bothering Shepard," Garrus asked.
"Of course, Archangel. It would be my pleasure to assist," EDI replied.
Garrus's omni-tool bleeped, and he opened the message from EDI containing the location. "Thanks EDI, but please call me Garrus," he replied. He thanked EDI and Joker for their time, and made his way out to Nos Astra.
After some wandering, Garrus finally found the information broker's office. Making his way up the steps, he walked over to the receptionist's desk and introduced himself. "Hello. I'm here to see the information broker. It's about a... friend of mine, and I need some information," Garrus said, not wanting to drop his name. He didn't trust a place like Illium - it was just a classier version of Omega.
The receptionist smiled at him. "Of course. She doesn't have any current appointments, so you may go on in," she said, pressing a button that opened the door.
Garrus gave her a nod in thanks, and stepped inside. He was surprised to see a familiar face standing inside, clutching a picture frame in her hands. "Liara?" Garrus gasped.
He saw Liara's head snap up, a very brief smile coming to her face. "Garrus! It is good to see you," Liara said, placing the picture frame down and giving her full attention to him. "What can I do for you?" she asked.
Garrus was slightly thrown by the fact that Liara was the broker that Shepard saw. That only made the situation with Miranda worse. "Did you see Shepard today? I was told that she had come to this address to see an information broker," Garrus explained.
He saw Liara's expression fall at the mention of Shepard's name along with a sigh. "Yes. It was... good to see her, but we did not part on good terms. How is she doing?" she asked, eyes filled with worry.
Garrus gulped a bit, not sure how to tell Liara what he saw. "Well, from what I was told, she was pretty torn up after leaving here," he began. "She went to a bar for about four hours, then stormed back to the Normandy." Garrus trailed off there, not sure how to tell the rest to Liara.
He could tell that Liara knew there was something more, because her worried look became more obvious. "What happened next? Tell me, Garrus, is she okay?" Liara pleadingly asked.
Garrus lowered his head, putting his hand to his forehead. "She... went to Miranda's office after she returned to the Normandy. I waited for several hours, trying to give her time to calm down and sober up. I needed her permission to deal with something, and she wasn't in the mood for me to bring it up at that moment," Garrus said. Drawing in a deep breath, he steeled his courage and continued. "When I went to check on her later, I went to Miranda to ask her where Shepard had gone. When the door opened... Miranda was standing there sloppily dressed, which is very unlike her, and..." Garrus trailed off, suddenly losing his resolve seeing Liara's intent gaze upon him.
"And what, Garrus?!" Liara's exclaimed, panic clear in her voice.
Garrus winced a bit as he told her. "And Shepard was naked in her bed," he said as quickly as he could.
"LAWSON DID WHAT?!" Liara yelled, shock clearly in her voice. Her biotics flared, a couple of papers on her desk went flying.
Garrus backed away from the fury in Liara's voice and held his hands out. "Liara, I know how you must feel, bu-"
"You do NOT know how I feel, Garrus," Liara shot back, though her biotics died out. "Goddess, what have I done? I thought Izzy knew..." Garrus watched as Liara took a couple of steadying breaths, a variety of emotions dancing across her face. He grew terrified as Liara looked back at him with an odd sense of calm. "You will take me to the Normandy. Now." Liara demanded.
"I-I don't think th-"
"Now!" Liara seethed, cutting him off again.
Fearful of Liara's wrath, Garrus reluctantly nodded and led her back to the Normandy. He hoped Shepard would be able to talk things out with Liara, he didn't care what happened with Miranda. Garrus had never seen Liara like this, and pondered on what could have made the shy asari this upset.