The woman stared down at the picture of Leslie, a look of fear on her face. She grabbed the data pad and shoved it back into Garrus' hands.
"No! You can't take her! You don't want her!" She shouted. "Pick another child, not that thing! She's a monster!" the woman was trembling now. Garrus looked down at the picture. He didn't see what was so wrong with her. She looked so sweet and innocent, her description matched her exactly.
Garrus slammed the data pad on the desk hard, making a loud banging noise that echoed throughout the room. "Look, I came here to adopt a child and I chose one! I'm not leaving until that child comes safely into my custody!" Rage and want for the child fueled him. The woman stared in sheer horror at Garrus. As if he were the monster and not Leslie.
"All- all right…. I'll send word that you've chosen a child- there. You're clear to pass. Someone will meet you at the door." She typed in a few words with a shaky hand and motioned towards a door. Garrus looked at the door then back at the lady. He nodded his thanks and walked over to the door, entering the other room.
On the opposite side of the room, Garrus was greeted by an Asari woman dressed in a red and blue dress.
"Follow me Mr... Vakarian." Finally! Someone pronounced his name right! With a smile on his face, Garrus happily followed her. He followed the woman up a staircase and down two halls.
Finally they stopped at a door at the end of the hall. The Asari turned to him and said, "This is one of the bedrooms our girls sleep in. Leslie should be in there with two other girls." She explained.
Garrus nodded and she opened the door. Inside, there were more than three girls in the room. There was a bunch of children inside, crowded together whispering. They seemed too enraptured in what was happening in the crowd that they didn't notice the door opening.
Garrus took a few steps closer, stopping a few inches from the crowd. He overheard their whispers as they quietly spoke. He heard one of them say.
"Do it again, Leslie!" Leslie? He leaned over the crowd to see that Leslie was the center of attention. Her face was contorted in a look of pure concentration. Her hands were hovering above an upturned cup. She let out small grunts of effort; as if she were trying to move it or something. Garrus leaned back and cleared his throat loud enough for the children to hear.
All at once, their heads snapped to look at him. Eyes wide with shock, they jolted back. Leslie stared at him with those large, blue eyes; unmoved by the sudden appearance of the Turian.
In a millisecond, the children crowded around him, smiling and laughing. They couldn't have been more than 4, 5, or 6 years old. Some reached up for him and others clung to his legs. Garrus laughed and looked at Leslie. Garrus was about to speak to her when the Asari spoke up.
"Leslie, get your things. You're new father is here." Leslie looked at the Asari; then at Garrus, the Asari; then Garrus. She seemed dumbfounded as she taking some time to process what was going on. When her eyes snapped wide, Garrus knew that she knew. Leslie let out a squealing laugher and leapt onto Garrus, hugging his torso tightly. The sudden weight added caused Garrus to stumble a little. But with little ones below him, he forced himself not to fall. Leslie looked up at him; her bright blue eyes seemed to sparkle with glee.
The other children crowded away from him and looked up at Leslie. Some had confused faces, others disappointed faces, and only a little portion had happy faces. They were happy Leslie was getting a home.
Garrus set Leslie down on the ground and she sped off to a nearby bed, where she pulled out a bright yellow suitcase with some strange animal on it. It was small and green; it's back legs bent underneath it while it's front legs stayed straight. It had two bulbous eyes one either side of its head and a long pink tongue protruding from its lips. Garrus shook off the thought as he knew he'd probably never find out.
In a flash, the children rushed over to their friend. Handing her pointless objects, but Leslie seemed to cherish them no matter how useless they seemed to be. She hugged a stuffed animal to her chest, then a butterfly pin. Garrus couldn't help but smile at the little girl, surrounded by friends and happy faces. It made him think of Shepard. The way she accepted everyone who accepted her and the way she didn't take shit from anyone who tried to tell her how to do her job.
As Garrus was too enraptured by Leslie, he didn't notice the Asari was talking to him. "Mr. Vakarian!" She raised her voice and Garrus snapped his head to look at her. His eyes widened in realization.
"Oh! Right, sorry..." He apologized, feeling his face heating up from embarrassment. He turned to face her and looked up at her.
"The cost for her custody is 7,974 credits." She prompted. Garrus' eyes widened.
"What?!" He raised his voice. Leslie stopped, mid-pack, and looked up at Garrus. Her eyes were wide with fear; like he'd discovered a secret of hers. The Asari nodded, her expression had arrogance written all over it. Her blue cheeks crinkled as she gave him a conniving smile.
"You must understand, Mr. Vakarian, Leslie is a very special child and requires special needs." Her violet eyes glinted with pure greed.
As Garrus was about to wail on her, Liara and Tali rushed ahead of him and squared the Asari woman up. Liara's eyes were wild with rage and Tali's hands were clenched tightly into fists.
"Listen here you greedy bitch!" Garrus was taken back as this was the first time he'd ever heard Liara curse. "Do you have any idea who we are?! What we've done?" She pointed at Garrus, fixing the woman with a look of pure hate. "That man over there is Garrus Vakarian! He risked his life to save your meaningless life and you pay him back by being greedy!"
A wave of heat washed over Garrus as he shrunk back with embarrassment. He just wanted to die somewhere and then he wouldn't have to worry about this anymore. Things only got worse as Tali spoke up.
"Exactly! We all risked our lives so that you could live; losing our beloved friend in the process." She shouted. "Our good friend Shepard died to save sniveling, thieving, disgusting people like you!" The mention of Shepard's name sent a worm of hurt into Garrus' heart. He sighed and looked down at his feet, wishing; wanting; yearning that Shepard could be here with him.
In the middle of all the yelling, Leslie had been staring at the group, her eyes wide with awe. When Tali stopped yelling, she gasped and rushed over to Garrus, throwing her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly. This took him by surprise. Leslie looked up at him with a wide smile on her face.
"I want you to be my daddy…." Her voice came out no more than a whisper, but her words made Garrus melt. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away a little to give him room to kneel down in front of her.
Garrus looked into her eyes and smiled, smoothing her hair away from her face. "You're a special kid, Leslie... And I want you to be my daughter." He smiled. Leslie grinned wildly as she jumped on him again, tugging him down for another hug. Garrus returned the embrace and stroked her hair. When the two pulled away, Garrus looked back at the Asari. Her face was filled with outrage and bewilderment.
"Look, I'm not leaving without her, so I think it'd be best for both of us if you lowered the price to..." Garrus pondered a bit. "2,000?" The woman scoffed and rolled her eyes, as if he was a strange man in a bar and he'd just hit on her.
"I'll go up to 2,500." She said. "That's as low as I'll go." Garrus nodded and looked down at Leslie. She'd buried herself into his arm and hand, hugging him tightly. He smiled at her, feeling the chasm in heart fill with love for the young girl. She'd brought love back to him, leaving him filled to the brim with soft, gentle feelings that seemed to flutter about in his stomach.
He remembered Shepard calling them butterflies in her stomach. This thought took Garrus back to a time before; when Shepard was alive.
He and Shepard were lying side by side on her bed, drenched with sweat and their breaths coming in deep and long as they'd just finished their pleasurable night together. Shepard was tracing lazy circles in the crevices in the plates on his chest as she stared straight into his eyes.
As her breathing became normal once more, she didn't move; just stared at him with unblinking green eyes; when finally, a smile tugged at her corners of her lips.
"What?" Garrus asked, wondering why she was smiling. "What is it?" But Shepard kept smiling. Garrus poked her stomach and chuckled. "If you don't tell me, I'm going to have to tickle it out of you." Shepard smacked his hand away and giggled.
"You get your fingers anywhere near my stomach and your ass is sleeping on the couch!" She warned with a smile still stuck on her face.
Shepard sighed and relented. "I'm smiling because you give me such butterflies, Garrus." She smiled. Garrus gave her a confused.
"What's a butterfly?" He asked. "It is a fly that's attracted to butter?" Shepard sputtered into laugher, spraying Garrus with spit but he didn't mind.
"No, it's a beautiful insect on Earth, with colorful wings and a graceful stride." She smiled. "The saying 'butterflies in my stomach' means that you're nervous or so happy you feel weightless." Shepard's smile seemed to stick on her face forever. She looked up at him once more, stroking his mandible gently. "I have such butterflies whenever I'm around you, Garrus. I feel so happy around you that I think I might puke."
Hearing this, Garrus pushed her away a little. "If that's the case, face the other side of the bed if you're going to puke." Shepard slapped his shoulder and Garrus laughed, pulling her close to him again. Shepard smiled and looked into his eyes, then leaned in and kissed him gently. Her hand grabbed his wrist and moved his hand from her shoulder to her breast. Garrus rolled on top of her, their lips never parting as they prepared themselves for another moment of lovemaking.
In the real world, Leslie was tugging on his sleeve, trying to get his attention. He looked down at her and smiled. He kneeled down and she leaned up to whisper in his ear. "Do you have a lot of breakable stuff?" She asked, her voice sounded a little shaken with fear.
Garrus pulled away and looked at her, his eyes wide with concern. "I have a few things that are breakable... Why?" He asked. Leslie shook her head to tell him she wouldn't budge. Garrus just smiled and stood up, offering her his hand. She looked up at him and for the first time, Garrus noticed how small she really was; coming up about as high as his knee.
As Garrus gazed down at the little girl, Liara walked up to them and kneeled down in front of the Leslie. "Are you ready to go to your new home?" She asked. Leslie nodded so hard Garrus thought her head would fall off. He offered Leslie his hand and she quickly grasped it in one of her smaller hands; she rushed ahead, pulling him with her. When they got to the lobby, Leslie waved her hand at the old lady at the front desk.
"Bye, Mrs. Julienne!" She called, but the lady averted her gaze from the little girl as though as Leslie was an animal. Garrus looked down at her, wondering what there was to be afraid of. She seemed the normal girl, except for the fact that she asked about the breakable things in his house.
When they arrived home, Leslie burst out of the skycar, leaving her things behind. Garrus grabbed her bright yellow suitcase as carried it over to Leslie, who was trying desperately to open the door. Garrus chuckled as he walked behind her and opened the door with ease. Leslie leaned her head back to look at Garrus, smiling her thanks. When she lifted her head, she was greeted by everyone from the Normandy crew cheering their greetings to her.
Leslie's chest rose with pure excitement and she charged into the apartment, shaking everyone's hand and telling each and every one of them her name. She even approached Wrex without fear.
Garrus was busy putting Leslie's things down when he heard gruff laugher coming from Wrex. Garrus smiled to himself; Leslie had made Wrex laugh, which was a fairly hard thing to do. Everyone seemed to be instantly captivated by the girl as they laid eyes on her. She was a thing of beauty.
While everyone surrounded Leslie, Garrus made his way to the kitchen where he set out mild drinks and snacks for everyone. He leaned against the counter and admired how fast the little girl made friends. She was a lot like Shepard in many ways. From her beautiful face to her friendly personality.
Suddenly, Leslie stood up on the couch and raised her voice against the chatter. "I have an announcement!" She called, but her petite voice couldn't overpower the loud voices of the adults. "Um, excuse me!" She called again.
Garrus decided to help her. He built up all the power he could and shouted out. "HEY!" All at once, the crewmembers turned their heads towards him and their conversing stopped abruptly. He motioned towards Leslie with his hand. "She's trying to say something."
Everyone's head snapped to look at Leslie, who was still standing on the couch. Garrus frowned; he'd have to talk to her about not standing on the furniture. But he'd discuss it with her later.
Leslie seemed to freeze at the sudden attention given to her. She played with her fingers and bit her bottom lip; a motion Garrus came to realize humans did whenever they were nervous or hiding something. Leslie cleared her throat and looked at Wrex.
"Wrex, what do you wanna bet I can't pick up your shotgun?" She asked the Krogan. Wrex burst out in laughter. His thundering laugh seemed to shake the apartment.
"I won't bet a thing on it. A girl your size can't lift this." He pulled out his shotgun from the hostler behind his back and set it on the coffee table. Leslie smirked as if she knew something Wrex didn't, as if she had a secret she was about to reveal.
Leslie stared at the gun, sticking her hands out in front of her. She grunted with effort as if she really were trying to pick it up, but not touching it. Everyone stared at Leslie. Some people had confused faces, others watched with wonder like Garrus did. He stared at her with wide eyes, watching her every move; every twitch; every grunt.
Suddenly, the gun lifted off the coffee table. It was just... floating there. Everyone gasped in either fear or amazement. Even Wrex and Grunt took a step back from what was happening. Then the gun began to move, towards the back of Wrex, where the holster was. There was a click from the holster, a gasp from Leslie, and the sound of applause from the crowd. Leslie opened her once concentrated eyes and looked at Garrus, smiling with pride.
Garrus must've smiled back, because she rushed over to him and hugged him tightly. He looked down at the little girl and smiled. "Wh-what was that?" he asked. Leslie shrugged.
"I've always been able to do it." She looked down. "I didn't want to tell you because you might not adopt me..." Her voice quavered with shame. Garrus stroked her face and brought her gaze up to him.
"Nothing would ever make me get rid of you. And nothing is ever going to take you away from me." He kneeled down and looked into her eyes. "I love you Leslie. You're the best thing that's happened to me in a really long while." Leslie's smile widened so far Garrus thought her face was made of rubber.
"I love you too, Garrus." She said, climbing on top of him and hugging his neck tightly.
After a long night of celebrating Leslie's new home, everyone retired to their homes for the night. Well, everyone except Liara. 'I want to stay and help clean up' She'd said. Yeah right, she only wanted to see more of Leslie. Comment on her mind abilities, maybe. Although, the surprising thing is: she didn't! She just helped clean up. Picking up paper plates, vacuuming up crumbs that'd fallen on the floor and in between the cushions of the many couches the apartment held.
When all the cleaning was done, Garrus let Liara hang around for a little while. Maybe he'd give her a chance to talk to Leslie about her mind power or whatnot. He'd left her downstairs and went up with Leslie to show her to her room. When they got into one of the extra rooms, Leslie took in a sharp breath and looked around to Garrus.
"Is it all mine?" She asked. Garrus chuckled and nodded. "Yes, Leslie. This is all yours." Garrus picked her up and placed her on the bed. When her bottom hit the mattress, she let out a loud gasp.
"Whoa! It's so cushiony!" She giggled and leapt up, landing on her back and rolling around in the covers. Garrus laughed and untangled her from the sheets that she'd encased herself in.
"Now, if you need anything- and I mean anything- my room is just down the hall." Garrus pointed out the door to give the girl a sense of direction. "Alright?" When Leslie nodded, Garrus got up to leave the room. Before he even took two steps, Leslie cried out
"Wait!" Garrus immediately whipped around and looked at her. What was it she looked fine to him. "I don't know how to get myself dressed..." Leslie admitted quietly. Garrus froze. He'd have to get her dressed?! This was crazy! Did all human parents do this? He could understand having to clothe a baby, but a 5-year-old?
"Err... Leslie... I, err..." He cleared his throat. "You're the first child I've ever taken care of- well, except for my sister, but..." His throat ran dry and he was playing with his talons; something he did when he was unsure about things. After a small while of thought, Garrus sighed. How bad could it be?
He walked back over to Leslie, who instantly threw her arms up, ready for him to help her get dressed. Garrus lifted her shirt off of her and averted his gaze to give her at least the smallest bit of privacy. The bed rattled as Leslie crawled over to her suitcase and pulled out a blue and grey nightgown. She crawled back over to him and placed the gown in his hand as she picked off her jeans and socks; then her arms went up in the air again and he slid the gown over her head. Garrus still kept his gaze away from her as he wasn't sure if she was dressed yet.
Leslie giggled. "You can look now, silly." She said, grabbing her clothes and stuffing them into her bag again. Garrus opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her. The nightgown dropped all the way to her ankles and was embroidered with white flowers and a rainbow hovering over the white blemishes. Garrus smiled as he looked at Leslie as she clambered onto the bed. He pulled back the covers and waited for her to get in. When she was comfortable, Garrus teasingly brought the covers over her head. Leslie let out a squealing laughter.
"Hey! I can't see!" She giggled. Garrus' mandibles flickered in amusement. He brought the covers down to her feet.
"How's this then?" He chuckled. Leslie laughed and grabbed his wrists, guiding the covers to her shoulders. "Oh, so that's where the covers go! I was so confused!" He laughed and patted her head. When he got up to leave, Leslie called him back again.
"Garrus, wait!" She cried. He looked behind him to see a saddened look on her face. Garrus sighed and trudged over to her, sitting on the side of the bed.
"What is it, Leslie?" He asked. Leslie snuggled into the covers, scooting over a bit to make room for him. She patted the area next to her to indicate that she wanted him next to her. Garrus sighed and lay down next to the little girl, propping himself up on his elbow. "What do you want?" He asked. Leslie scooted closer to him and hugged his waist.
"Can you tell me a bedtime story, Garrus?" She asked sweetly, a large yawn escaping her mouth. The tone of her voice made Garrus want to melt. She was so sweet and beautiful, he couldn't say no to her. He sighed and shifted around until his arm was around her shoulders and she was snuggled into the side of him.
"Hmmm... Bedtime stories..." He hummed, his subharmonics thrumming to the lower reserves only saved for loved ones. "Not sure I know any..." He looked down at her; she was gazing up at him with those large, blue eyes. "Maybe I could tell you a few of the adventures I shared with Commander Shepard?" When Leslie gasped loudly, he knew he'd caught her attention. He laughed and shifted around some more, bringing the covers over his own legs and waist. He pondered a bit, wondering where he should start. Then, it hit him! The very first time he met Shepard would be tonight's bedtime story.
"Well, back when I was a C-Sec agent, I was part of the investigation into the rogue spectre Saren." He began. "I'd spent hours and days and weeks reading into him. I was so close to proving he was a traitor, but I didn't have any hard evidence to bring him in." Garrus took in a breath to begin the next part, but Leslie cut in.
"Is that how you got your scars?" She asked. "Because you worked too hard?" Garrus laughed loudly and stroked her face.
"No, sweetie. I got these way after we defeated Saren." He placed his left hand on his jaw and smiled. "But, I'll tell you that story another time." Garrus cleared his throat and began telling the story once more. "Anyways, we were about to present our findings on Saren to the council, but before we did, I got into a heated argument with my boss." He snorted, remembering how ignorant his boss was. "I asked for more time to get hard evidence on Saren, to stall the council, but my boss just said, 'Stall the council? That's ridiculous; your investigation is over Garrus.'" For a while Garrus told Leslie all about his missions with Shepard, how she'd helped him in catching Dr. Saleon, how torn he felt when he though she was dead when Sovereign crashed into the Citadel Tower. And that was where he stopped. The light snoring sound coming from Leslie indicated that she was asleep. Garrus smiled and delicately slid his arm out from under her head.
When he was out of the bed, he leaned down and nuzzled his forehead to hers and whispered. "I love you Leslie... Thank you." And with that, he left the room, remembering to switch off the light as he left. When he got out to the hallway, he came in contact with Liara. She had a knowing smiling on her face. Garrus gave her a confused look.
"What," He said; looking around to see if anything around him had made her give him that would make her smile like that. "Why are you smiling?"
Liara laughed a little, and then placed a hand on his arm. "Oh, Garrus. I've seen the way you look at that little girl. You love her even though she so very different from the others." Garrus grabbed Liara's wrist and moved it away from his arm and back to her side. He wasn't ready to be touched by another woman. Not yet.
"Yeah, well I-" He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced back at the closed door behind him. "She needed a home and I'm more than happy to share mine with her." He said, turning back to Liara with a warm smile on his face. She returned the smile and reached out for his hand. Quickly, as if it were instinct, Garrus snatched his hand away and looked down.
"Liara, no, don't." He muttered. "I-I'm not ready... It's still fresh." Liara took a step closer to him; Garrus felt his throat tighten up. He looked back at her to see she was leaning closer, enveloping him with her arms and resting her head on his chest. Garrus tensed in her gasp but he seemed to be immobilized as she held him; unable to push her away and yell at her to leave immediately.
"Garrus, you just need someone to make you feel better." She lifted her head to look up at him. Garrus didn't dare to look down at her; he just kept his gaze straight and wide. "I'm willing to do that for you."
Feeling his heart pound wildly in his chest out of fear, Garrus swallowed hard. He hadn't known Liara had felt this way about him before. He'd only thought of her as a friend. And now, as they stood here, Liara only slightly enticing him with her scent, Garrus didn't know what to do. Things only got worse for the both of them as Liara leaned up and nestled her nose into his neck. Garrus jolted and gave Liara a harsh shove back.
"Liara, stop!" He shouted. "Don't you understand?! I'm still in love with Shepard!" Liara's pained look didn't' stop Garrus rampage. "I'm still in love with her and I always will be! No other woman can make me feel the way I did with her! Did you hear me; No one! I'll never love you!" The last part Garrus could've left out but the words were out of his mouth before he could think twice. Liara flinched and bit her bottom lips. Tears streamed her face and she barged past him, running out of the apartment sobbing. Garrus sighed and trudged to his room, where he collapsed on the bed and wrapped himself in a bedsheets cocoon then fell into an uncomfortable sleep.
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The morning after, Garrus was awoken by a heavy weight on his stomach. He groaned and placed his hand on his abdomen only to feel a mop of hair. His eyes snapped open and he saw Leslie straddling his stomach, her legs tucked underneath her. She was leaning close to his face, her blue eyes staring widely at him. Garrus gasped in surprise and sat up. Leslie fell off his stomach and onto his legs. She laughed loudly and crawled up to him, grabbing his shoulders.
"Again!" She cried out. "That was fun, do it again!" Garrus sighed and lifted her up, placing her beside him. She crawled closer to him and turned his head to look at her. "What's wrong, Garrus?" She asked. Garrus shrugged and got up.
"It's nothing. Come on, let's see if I can't cook you something to eat..." before Garrus got to the door, Leslie shot past him at a remarkable speed. He followed her and watched as she zoomed down the stairs and into the kitchen. Garrus chuckled and walked downstairs to meet her. When he got there, he saw Leslie stuffing her face with human cereal and milk. The white liquid dribbled down her chin and spattered the counter below. Garrus bit his tongue to keep himself from laughing as he grabbed a paper towel and wiped her chin as she ate.
Leslie looked up at him, still shoveling food into her mouth, and said. "Garrus, do my powers scare you?" She mumbled through the food in her mouth. As she spoke, Garrus saw the mashed, soaked grain in her mouth; he looked away and gagged a little. He looked back and placed a hand over her mouth.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, Leslie. It's bad manners." He smiled to show he wasn't trying to be mean. "And no, your powers don't scare me. I love you just the way you are. And nothing in this entire universe and can take my love for you away." Leslie swallowed her cereal and pushed the bowl away. She stood on the stool she'd clambered on to and held out her arms, the stool making her stance uneven. Garrus picked her up and hugged her close, stroking her long black hair.
"I love you Garrus." Leslie said in that small voice of hers; a voice that reminded him very much of Shepard. "You'll be my daddy forever."
Garrus chuckled in her ear and squeezed her tighter, closer to him. "I love you too, Leslie... I'll never let you go..."
This time, Garrus meant it.