Harkin lay on the ground, writhing in pain after Garrus shot him in the knee. "You need to keep your pet on a shorter leash, Shepard" he grated through clenched teeth. Garrus growled and raised his assault rifle; Shepard stopped him with a look.

Linda looked Harkin over in disgust. "You're lucky. I wouldn't have shot you in the leg." She gave his crotch a pointed look. Thane chuckled. Turning away, she slapped Garrus lightly on the shoulder. "C'mon gentlemen, we have a meeting to attend."

As she went through the door, Shepard called back, "Don't worry, Harkin. We'll make sure C-Sec knows where to find you."

####

Outside the Orbital Lounge, Shepard left Garrus to set up for the hit. She then lured Sidonis into the line of fire, and stepped aside to let him take the shot. They met back at the transport. Shepard searched Garrus' face; "Is this over?"

"Yeah, it's over. I can move on. Now, let's get moving. I need to get away from this place."

####

Shepard, freshly showered and wrapped in her robe, sat on her bed hugging one of the few remaining mementos of her childhood – her teddy bear. She stroked Hershey's brown fur as she thought about her most recent conversation with Garrus. We could test your reach and my flexibility. She shook her head. Subtle, Shepard - really subtle. "In for a penny, in for a pound, right Hershey?" she said aloud.

Just then, the door opened and Garrus entered. He walked slowly down the steps and sat on the edge of the bed. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Hershey," she said, holding him out for Garrus to inspect. "He's a teddy bear. He was my best friend when I was a child." Speaking to the bear, she said "Hershey, this is Garrus; my grown-up best friend."

"Hershey?" Garrus asked.

Shepard smiled. "Hershey is the name of an Earth company that makes candy – including dark chocolate. My relationship with chocolate started at an early age." She cocked her head at Garrus. "So, I didn't scare you off with my bluntness?"

Garrus laughed. "Scare me off? Hell, no - you made me an offer I couldn't refuse! Shepard, if your bluntness was going to scare me off, I would never have joined your team on the first Normandy. Subtlety has never been a one of your strong points." He grinned. "I'm just as attracted to you as you are to me, but I was afraid to make the first move – I didn't want to scare you off. We've both been doing some serious flirting lately – the key word being serious; the feelings behind the flirting are very real."

"The feelings are real for me too, Garrus. It seems like everyone wants something from Commander Shepard. I know that you want me for me."

"Shepard, when we're on a mission, you are my Commander; the person that I respect more than anyone else in the galaxy. The rest of the time, you're my best friend; the person I care about more than anyone else in the galaxy; you're just Linda."

Shepard smiled. "You've never called me by my first name before."

"I know," he replied, stroking her cheek. "Somehow, calling you Shepard comes more easily. I'll work on it though." Changing the subject he asked "Why was Hershey your best friend? Weren't there other children for you to play with?"

"Sure. There were other kids and I had friends, but Hershey was different." As she talked, she studied Hershey's face and stroked his fur. "I could talk to Hershey about anything. I could tell him my hopes and dreams, my fears, and my deepest secrets. He always listened, never judged me, never told me that I couldn't do something, and most importantly, he never told anyone what I said." She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to Garrus'. "Now, the one that I talk to like that is you." She grinned. "I guess that makes you a teddy bear."

Garrus grumbled, "Shepard, I am not a teddy bear."

"Oh, but you are. You're the best kind of teddy bear – the slightly dangerous kind." She arched her eyebrow at him, then stretched up to kiss him on the fringe. She felt him stiffen and asked "What's wrong?"

"Um, Shepard - are you wearing anything under this garment?" he asked.

She realized that her robe had gaped open when she leaned forward to kiss him. "Nope," she replied giving him that slightly wicked grin that always took his breath away. Much to her surprise, he reached for the belt on her robe and started to untie it. "Garrus – what are you doing?" she asked, putting her hands over his.

"I've never seen a naked human female. May I?"

Shepard stood up. "I guess you have a right to see what you're getting into." She blushed.

Garrus grinned at her choice of words until he noticed her biting her lower lip – a sure sign that she was worried. "What's wrong?"

She looked at him seriously. "We both know that I'm not like the other women that you've been with." She glanced down at the floor and added quietly, "I don't want you to be disappointed."

"Shepard, you could never disappoint me."

Linda took a deep breath, stepped back, and let her robe fall to the floor.

Garrus felt like he couldn't breath. His eyes roamed over her body. She was trim and nicely muscled with a slim, smooth waist. He could feel his body responding. As he continued his perusal of her body, he realized that her hands were clenched at her sides. He took her hands in his and drew her closer. "Relax, Shepard."

"How? You haven't said anything." In answer, he glanced down. Following his gaze, she could see the outline of his erection. "I'll take it that means you are not disappointed," she said with a relieved sigh.

He snorted. "That's an understatement. Shepard, you're gorgeous. But, I'm not through looking yet." Garrus continued to keep Shepard at arm's length. "Your skin is so fair…." He reached out and lightly ran his fingers over her breasts; she shivered at his touch. He slowly ran his hand down her stomach to the nest of strawberry-blonde curls between her legs. Shepard gasped. As he ran his fingers gently through the curls he said "I haven't seen many humans with hair the color of yours; apparently it's natural?"

She laughed. "It is. Red hair is the rarest of all human hair colors. Human races are now so intermingled, it's even rarer than it used to be."

"Turn around; I want to see all of you." When she presented her back to him, Garrus groaned. "Shepard, you have the best ass I have ever seen," he said, reaching out to caress it. She quickly stepped back and sat on his lap, wiggling her ass firmly against him.

Garrus grabbed her around the waist and growled in her ear, "Has anyone ever told you that you have a mean streak?"

Laughing, Shepard turned sideways on his lap so she could look at him. "You wanted to see a naked human female," she reminded him. She reached up and began to stroke the soft skin on his neck.

Garrus closed his eyes and shivered. "Shepard - for turians, the touch of bare skin against the soft skin on our neck is very intimate. Our necks are one of the most sensitive areas on our bodies."

"Really? That's good to know" she replied as she continued to stroke his neck. "Maybe I should have been a turian."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"My neck is also one of the more – ah – sensitive areas of my body. The thought of the rough skin of your mouth against the skin of my neck is very arousing."

His eyes snapped open. "You've been thinking about that?"

"Frequently. And many, many other things" she replied, leaning forward to run her tongue lightly across his neck. "The only thing stopping me from ripping your clothes off and having my way with you right now is the fact that I don't want either of us – or worse, both of us – to wind up in the Med Lab in anaphylactic shock."

"You know about that?" Garrus seemed surprised.

Shepard kissed him again, got up and put her robe back on. "Just to reduce temptation," she assured him as she led him to the couch. "The last time I went to talk to Mordin, he suddenly started telling me that 'sexual activity is a normal form of stress relief for both humans and turians', then proceeded to warn me about the possibility of anaphylactic shock and told me that I shouldn't 'ingest'. He also warned me against chafing." She rolled her eyes. "All in all, it was one of the most uncomfortable conversations I have ever had with a team member." She shook her head. "I never have remembered what I actually went to talk to him about. For the life of me, I haven't been able to figure out how he knew about the attraction between us."

Garrus clenched his mandibles together, seeming embarrassed. "I had something to do with that. Like I said, I was – am – attracted to you. Mordin is a scientist, a doctor, a guy – I asked him for advice on how to proceed with a turian/human relationship. Talking to Dr. Chakwas would have been way too embarrassing. I had no idea he would say something to you."

"It's okay," Shepard laid her hand on his arm and looked him in the eye. "We need to know these things. I intend to make sure that our first night together is a night to treasure and I can't do that without ingesting."

"Really?" Garrus sounded a little breathless.

"Really." She moved closer and began stroking his mandibles. "I intend to introduce you to human-style kissing – which will involve exchanging saliva." Her voice lowered as she continued, "There will also be a great deal of licking and quite possibly biting involved."

"Biting?" his eyes widened. "Turians bite. I didn't know that humans do."

"This one does." She bit him gently on the neck in demonstration.

Garrus opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He finally just shook his head.

"Well, this is something I never thought I'd see…the ever articulate Garrus at a loss for words. I'm going to have to savor this for a few minutes." She leaned back and looked at him archly, blue eyes twinkling. Garrus scowled.

Shepard laughed, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly on the mandible. "Oh, Garrus – I do love to tease you! It isn't easy to get the best of you in a conversation. You have to let me enjoy my small victories."

Garrus hugged her back. "Shepard, I've never had a female friend that I could joke and tease with so easily."

"That, my dear Garrus, is exactly why being best friends is so important to a relationship," she replied.

Garrus hugged her again, then stood up and said "Good night, Shepard. I better leave before temptation gets the best of either of us."

"Good night, Garrus" she replied. "However, you owe me one. I've never seen a naked turian male – we're going to have to rectify that situation very soon." She reached out and stroked his cock; it quivered against her hand. Garrus shuddered, then bolted out of her cabin.

Grinning, Shepard shed her robe and climbed into bed where she grabbed Hershey and almost hugged the stuffing out of him. "Hershey," she said seriously "I do love that man." Startled by her own words, she repeated them slowly, "I do love that man." The shift of her feelings from friendship to love had been so subtle that she couldn't pinpoint when it had happened. However, it had happened and the realization filled her with joy. As always, she knew that she could trust Hershey with her secret. She eventually drifted off to sleep, still hugging the bear.

####

While Shepard was sharing secrets with her bear, Garrus endured the interminable elevator ride to the crew quarters. He considered taking another cold shower, but decided against it. Cold showers really don't help he thought; I just wind up horny AND cold. He had recommended that he and Shepard wait until just before going to battle the Collectors before consummating their relationship. Now, he was beginning to think that was a really bad idea; that could be weeks and his need was almost unbearable. I'll show her a night to treasure…