Just as Shepard closed down her private terminal, the door opened and Garrus entered carrying a bottle. "Hey, I brought wine," he said. "Best I could afford on a vigilante's salary."

"Does this mean that Dr. Chakwas has cleared you to return to duty?" Linda asked hopefully.

"Duty and…other activities." Garrus stepped around her, turned on some music and danced a few steps away. Shaking her head, Shepard slowly walked closer.

"If you were a turian, I would be complimenting your waist or your fringe. So…your, uh, hair looks good. And your waist is…very supportive." Shepard just grinned as Garrus continued nervously. "Hopefully that's not offensive in human culture. Crap. I knew I should have watched the vids. Throw me a line here Shepard."

Linda chuckled. "Calm down Garrus. You're worrying too much. And talking too much." She reached over and turned off the music.

"I just….I've seen so many things go wrong, Shepard. My work at C-Sec, what happened with Sidonis…I want something to go right. Just once. Just…"

Shepard reached up and lightly stroked Garrus' scarred mandible. He leaned over, placed his forehead against hers affectionately, then reached up and stroked her cheek.

Shepard shifted slightly so she could look Garrus in the eyes. "Silly man," she said tenderly. "Haven't you learned yet that it's always right when we're together? It doesn't matter if we're in combat or sharing a meal; it only matters that we're together. Tonight will do far more than 'go right' – it will be a night to treasure, I promise." Giving him the wicked grin that he loved, she added, "It will also go right more than just once, if I have anything to do with it."

Taking Garrus' hand, Linda led him down the stairs into her bedroom where she removed his visor and took the wine bottle away from him. "You won't need either of these for awhile," she added as she placed them on the table in the sitting area. She put her arms around his neck and told him, "I'm just as nervous as you are."

"Really?" he asked.

"Really." She placed his hand on her chest. "Can you feel my heart pounding?" He nodded. "It's a combination of desire and nerves. I also have butterflies in my stomach the size of birds. I think the best way for us to get over this awkwardness is just to take the plunge, get out of these clothes and get better 'acquainted'." She cocked her head at him and added, "In case you have forgotten, I still haven't seen a naked turian male. It is definitely time for that to change."

Stepping away from Garrus, Shepard quickly stripped out of her clothes then watched as he struggled to do the same; his nervousness caused him to fumble with the fastenings. She went to him, moved his hands and began to undress him. "Relax," she whispered as she undid the last fastener and removed his shirt. She pulled him against her in a hug, their bare skin touching for the first time. She felt Garrus relax as he put his arms around her with a sigh. "Better?" she asked. He nodded against her shoulder.

Shepard broke out of the hug so that she could examine Garrus' torso – with her eyes and hands. She took in the slight roughness of his thick skin and the plate-like structure of his muscles. It didn't take long for her to learn that his skin was sensitive in spite of its thickness. She heard Garrus' breathing quicken as she explored. He closed his eyes and let her investigate without interference. She turned him around so that she could see his back and continued her explorations there. Once the previously unknown regions of his upper body had been charted to her satisfaction, Shepard returned to face Garrus, kissed him passionately and nibbled on his neck until he began to moan with pleasure.

Garrus' eyes flew open as Linda reached for the fastenings of his trousers; she arched her eyebrow at him. "Shepard," Garrus said breathlessly, "I've learned that whenever you look at me like that, something interesting is about to happen." She grinned and dropped to her knees, stripping his trousers down and taking his cock into her mouth. As she drew on him, Garrus groaned and plunged his hands into her hair, forcing himself deeper into her mouth. Shepard teased him with her mouth, tongue, and teeth as her hands explored his ass and thighs. She discovered that, as rumored, turian testicles are indeed smaller than those of their human counterparts; No biggie she thought, grinning at the accidental pun.

"Shepard," Garrus panted, "if you keep that up, I can guarantee that you will be ingesting more than just turian skin cells." He felt her grin as she lightly ran her teeth down him as she pulled away. Shepard finished removing his trousers before getting to her feet. Cocking her head, she said "I believe that the balls are in your court" as she stroked the balls in question.

Garrus grabbed Shepard and pulled her against him. "My turn," he growled; she shivered in anticipation. Garrus ran his hand into Linda's hair and pulled her head back, exposing her neck. He put the rough skin of his mouth to good use on her neck until she gasped and arched her back, offering her breasts to him. He accepted the offering graciously. He slid his mouth down to suckle one breast while cupping the other in his hand and lightly circling the nipple with one blunted talon. Linda whimpered and pressed her breasts further upward. He chuckled in satisfaction as he felt her nipples harden in response to his ministrations. She raised her hips and pressed them against him, trying to get him to enter her. Even though he ached with the need to do just that, he eased his hips away from hers. "Not yet," he whispered.

Garrus slid his hands down Shepard's back so that she arched over his arms, putting both breasts in easy access of his mouth. He suckled her and teased them with his tongue until she was almost mindless with desire. "Garrus, please…" Shepard begged.

He lowered her onto the bed where he slowly proceeded to work his mouth toward the nest of curls between her thighs, fluttering his mandibles lightly against her skin as he went. Once his goal had been reached, Garrus used one finger to separate the curls and gave Linda a look that she hadn't seen before. She strongly suspected that if he had eyebrows, one of them would be arched at her. Confirming her suspicions, he gave her a grin that sent chills down her spine and lowered his mouth.

"Garrus!" Shepard cried out when his tongue made contact with the mound of throbbing flesh between her legs. She arched upward, gasping "Are you sure you didn't watch the vids?" He chuckled, the vibration almost causing Shepard to come then and there, and pushed her back down on the bed. She panted, "To quote a good friend, if you keep that up, it will be more than human skin cells that you are ingesting." She could feel Garrus grin as he continued to explore with his tongue. Just as Shepard thought climax was imminent, he pulled away and stood up.

Shepard decided that she had never seen a more glorious sight than the man standing at the foot of her bed. "My god, you are gorgeous" she told him. Garrus gave a pleased growl as he grasped her calves and pulled her toward him, placing her legs on his hips.

"Garrus," Linda sighed happily. "With that tiny waist and those marvelous hips, you were made for this."

"No, Shepard" Garrus corrected as he grasped her hips and thrust into her. "I was made for you."

####

Later, when her breathing had returned to normal and she felt capable of speech again, Linda rolled over and propped her head on Garrus' chest; his heart was still pounding. One grey eye peered at her briefly through slitted lids before closing again. Grinning, she asked "So? What's the verdict? A night to treasure or horrible interspecies awkwardness?"

"You have to ask? My god, that was….phenomenal. It's going to take a week for me to recover."

Shepard reached down and began lightly stroking his cock, which immediately began to harden in her hand. "A week, hmm? I don't think so." She slid higher so she could lick his neck.

Garrus groaned. "Shepard…" he began.

Shepard silenced him with a kiss. "Shhh, just relax; I promise I'll be gentle." Putting her words into action, she straddled him and found him eagerly waiting to slide into her. She rode him gently until they both climaxed, then fell asleep in each other's arms.

####

The next thirty-six hours were the happiest of Shepard's life. Her innate time sense made sure that they took their serum on time and Rupert provided food on a regular basis. She and Garrus only left the bed when absolutely necessary; they even ate their meals there. They talked continually and touched constantly. She lost count of the number of times they made love. Shepard learned that Garrus was a thorough and inventive lover. She could sense that he held back somewhat for fear of hurting her, in spite of her assurances that the human form is not as fragile as he might think.

They lay together, arms and legs tangled, still joined after their latest coupling; neither liked to be the first to break their physical connection. Shepard was just falling asleep when she heard Garrus grunt and felt his body stiffen. "What's wrong?" she asked with concern.

"Cramp," came the reply through gritted teeth. She could feel Garrus wiggling his foot madly, still trying not to break their link.

"Where?"

"From my right nut all the way to my foot," Garrus replied.

Shepard went into a fit of giggles as he reluctantly pulled out so that he could stand up and try to work the cramp out. He hobbled away from the bed, mumbling under his breath. Shepard, still giggling helplessly, watched as he paced. Garrus limped back to the bed and glared at her as she struggled to compose herself. "I'm sorry. I know it hurts."

"Hurts? I'll be lucky if I can walk tomorrow!"

Linda gave a snort and went off into another gale of giggles. Garrus continued to glare at her, then turned and hobbled away again. As soon as he turned away, a huge grin covered his face. He had never heard her laugh so freely before and decided that he would gladly suffer massive cramps from head to toe on a daily basis if it meant hearing Shepard giggle.

####

On the last day of shore leave, Shepard and Garrus returned to Ilium; they had a promise to keep. They approached Sabana's kiosk, picnic basket in hand.

Sabana gave them a wave when she saw them approaching. "Back so soon?" she called out when they got nearer.

"Can you join us?" Shepard asked, nodding toward the basket.

"Of course. It's time for my break anyway. You two head on to the park, I'll join you as soon as I have a word with my assistant."

They had just settled down when Sabana joined them. Shepard pulled her down to sit with them. "I promised that we wouldn't forget about you. We have tested the anti-allergen serum thoroughly," her face reddened as Garrus chuckled. "It works wonderfully, with no ill effects." Handing Sabana the picnic basket, she added, "This is for you."

Sabana's eyes grew wide as she looked in the basket. "What is all of this?"

Shepard explained. "The red and blue vials are the anti-allergen; they are color-coded to match your blood. Yours is blue, your friend's is red. Apply a dose every 24 hours via hypo-spray."

"What are all of these other containers?" Sabana asked as she pulled out assorted bottles and examined the contents.

"Those are various lotions and gels that can come in handy if, um, chafing becomes a problem."

"Chafing?"

"Our friend warned us that it might be an issue, but we haven't found it to be."

"Humans are remarkably self-lubricating," Garrus added with an evil grin. Shepard glared at him as her face turned even redder. He laughed and pulled her against him in a hug; she punched him lightly on the chest, and then snuggled close. Sabana watched the interplay between them with a slight smile on her face.

Garrus continued, "Of course, the creams aren't solely for protection against chafing. Each one has unique properties, such as creating a warming or cooling sensation that can greatly enhance the encounter." He glanced at Shepard. "Wouldn't you agree?" She grinned and nodded.

Sabana looked at them, her gaze moving from one to the other. "You two make a great couple. I'm glad that we met. I only hope that Daniel and I will be as happy as you."

Linda saw the tenderness in Sabana's eyes as she spoke Daniel's name. She leaned forward, resting her hand on Sabana's arm. "Do you love him?" Sabana nodded shyly. "Does he love you?" She nodded again. "That's all that matters. The rest will come with time."

Sabana's assistant was waving her back to the kiosk. She stood up and sighed. "I'm sorry, but I have to get back to work." When Shepard and Garrus stood up, she gave them both a hug. "Thank you so much for coming by and bringing this." She grinned. "I can't wait to see Daniel!"

"I hope you'll stay in touch," Shepard said. "The four of us have a lot in common!"

"I will," Sabana assured her.

Garrus added, "Be sure to have Daniel introduce you to human-style kissing. It will probably seem strange at first, but I promise, it will grow on you!"

As they walked away, Shepard asked, "So, what do you want to do with the rest of our day off?"

Garrus slid his arm around her waist. "Well, first we have to return to the Normandy and get out of these clothes. Then…" he began to regale her with the details of what he planned to do once their clothes were off.

Shepard's brows rose as he talked; "I see you've been giving this a lot of thought."

"Absolutely," he glanced down at her. "How about you? What did you have in mind?"

Shepard stopped walking and looked at him. "I was hoping…I mean, I wondered…how would you feel," she stammered and then just shook her head.

"What?" Garrus asked, caressing her cheek, concern in his eyes.

She took a deep breath and began again, as she reached for his hand, "How would you feel about moving in with me?"

He seemed surprised, "Are you sure? What about the crew?"

She laughed. "The crew already thinks we're lovers. I'm pretty sure the past couple of days have confirmed their suspicions. We already spend every spare moment together. Let's make it official – when we get back to the ship, move your stuff from the Crew Quarters to my cabin." When Garrus still seemed hesitant, she reached up to stroke his mandible and added "I've learned the hard way, life is too short not to make the most of every day. I don't intend to make that mistake again."

He nodded and pulled her against him, "OK, you talked me into it. Let's make this happen."

####

Once back on the Normandy, Shepard rode the elevator to the Crew Quarters with Garrus. She decided to take advantage of the solitude and the length of the journey to give him a preview of what awaited when he returned to her quarters and maneuvered him into the corner for a make-out session. When the doors opened, they were greeted by a familiar voice.

"Well, well. What do we have here? I didn't know that turians kiss." Jack stepped onto the elevator, a leer on her face. "I haven't had a turian yet. Want to give me ride, big boy? Better yet, we can make it a threesome."

Shepard turned and smiled at Jack, keeping one hand possessively on Garrus' arm. "Jack, I'm in such a good mood, not even you can put a damper on it. What brings you out of your lair?"

Jack shrugged. "Shore leave. I haven't gotten laid in a long time, so I decided to get to know some of the crew a little better." She chuckled and stroked what appeared to be a bite mark on her breast.

Garrus growled, "Let me guess, we'll find your victims in the Med Lab, curled into a fetal position, crying."

Jack laughed. "Not hardly. Wherever they are, they're thanking their lucky stars and hoping I'll come again soon. Or at least make them come again soon."

Shepard gave Garrus a push toward the door and gave him a wink. "Go get your things. I'll be waiting for you."

####

Garrus stepped into Shepard's cabin and found her waiting for him as promised - in bed, naked, legs spread.