AN: Thanks so much to those that have left comments! I appreciate it!

I own nothing.

OoOoOo

He's far more relaxed than he's felt in weeks. Garrus had been able to call up an old acquaintance, and they'd settled a few rounds of 'sparring' in his apartment. He'd need to replace a table, and possibly a few other small items, but it had been more than worth it. She was a former scout from back in his military days.

And, he'd always enjoyed her flexibility. He half-purred to himself at the memory, with his arms swinging loosely at his sides as he walked to work. His face showing a touch of his good mood, as were his sub-harmonics with rumbled with contentment. Mentally, he reminded himself to see when she'd be available again. There was nothing between them aside from mutual respect and attraction.

However, there was nostalgia from his military days mingling with the relaxed hum of his muscles.

All that remained of their night together was a mess, and his obvious smile. He entered C-Sec rather cheerfully, and was greeted by a few of his coworkers. He nodded his head at a few, seeking his desk.

"Got any more good leads today, Vakarian?" Someone calls from behind him. It's an old joke by now, but he bares it with grace and clicks his mandibles while giving a noncommittal hum.

"Maybe," he offers vaguely.

"I've got to find your source," an Asari in the desk next to him purrs, "so I can lure them away from you with my feminine wiles."

"Really?" He asks clearly amused, with a plate sliding up in disbelief.

"Don't knock it until you try it, as my partner always says," she flashed him a superior smile, "once you go blue, nothing else will do."

He nearly barks out with laughter at the thought of her attempting to seduce Shepherd, only to narrow his eyes at the Asari threateningly, when his mind imagines it working. He widens his mandibles in a Turian grin when she reels back. "Now, now. We can't have that, can we? Besides, maybe my source likes Elcor more than either of us." He waggles his mandibles suggestively. It's a way to diffuse the situation because he's suddenly on edge at the idea of someone chasing Shepherd.

The asari grins genuinely and Garrus goes back to logging in and check his reports on a few cases. Forcing himself to get rid of the silly notion of being over protective of the human, he thinks back to his tie breaker from the night before. He thrums with relaxed energy again and more than one fellow male Turian gives him a knowing look. Garrus resists the urge to puff up, and gets down to business.

The hours don't really fly by, but he's buried in paperwork that simply has to be done. He spends an hour or two dealing with some people milling about the office hoping to speak with an officer over some small matter or another. He's just about to tell a preaching Hanar where he can stuff the enkindlers, when he motions for another Turian to take over. It wouldn't do to be seen shouting at the poor misguided thing. He collects more files and puts away some of his finished reports, nodding to a few humans corralling the latest bounty hunter not wanting to listen to the laws of the Citadel.

Around lunch break he notices that he hasn't heard from Shepherd yet today. Seeing her had become a nearly daily occurrence. And, though it is odd, perhaps she was busy? He scarfed down a nutrition bar, and some sort of pastry one of the other turians had brought in. It was one of the few traditions humans had, which other species had quickly gotten behind. Bringing tasty treats to work, though they had made some joke about it happening to cops back on earth. Garrus shrugs it off with good humor, and tries not to reflect on Shepherd's absence today.

He fails miserably an hour later when he's balancing a PAD on his claw and twirling it slowly. No one is paying him any attention, and some mindless task helps him think.

Perhaps she was working another illegal shift for one of the vendors. He's willing to look the other way on something so small, and really she's not hurting anyone. The Turian shop owner seems happy with her, and she is taking mostly adequate care of the ones that follow her. That is what makes the difference on the things Garrus is willing to overlook. Not like that bastard Dr. Saleon.

Thinking about him made Garrus want to break something. The bastard had been growing spare organs inside the people that worked for him. Many were completely unaware. He prayed on the poor and unprotected. He couldn't help thinking of Shepherd. His mandibles fluttered, as he stared blankly at the console screen. He was grateful Dr. Saleon had never met someone like Shepherd, who seemed strangely inclined to sacrifice for others.

His mandibles flatten across his jawline. His face must look fierce, because another Turian warbles at him questioningly. Garrus locks his blue eyes with gold, and gives a slight shake of his head. 'No', he thinks,' I'm sure she's fine.'

He rouses himself and proceeds to finish out the day. There are only two complaints of vagrants in the area, a lovesick salarian with the best of intentions, and an angry krogan to deal with, before he lets his head fall onto his desk with an audible 'whack'.

"I know the feeling," the asari from before mutters under her breath at him.

OoOoOo

He doesn't hear from her, and doesn't see her for weeks. His concern for Shepherd grows each day and before he can stop himself, he's put out feelers to see if anyone's seen her. His contacts come up with nothing. If she's hiding, they tell him plainly, she doesn't want to be found. He glowers at the latest unhelpful information. Viciously he swipes a few scattered PAD's to the floor.

He's agitated. He's worried. And what's worse is he can't explain why it bothers him so damn much. Maybe it's because his work has all but come to a standstill.

She's not anywhere. She hasn't popped up with some new information, and he hasn't seen her on his patrol. He's become accustomed to seeing her face, and those haunting eyes that look right through him sometimes. As far as he can tell, she's vanished and it worries him. Has she been taken by slavers? Did more mercs find her? Was she injured somewhere? Where was she?

He snarled at the predicament and swiped a hand over his neck in frustration. He couldn't even trace her by her gaggle of kids, because the ducts rats were notorious on being tight lipped on one of their own. Both cajoling and threatening hadn't gotten him anywhere. Most of the duct rats seemed to know he was an officer even in plain clothes, and they wouldn't speak to him. Even though it sounds crazy, it's almost like the duct rats were on lockdown for some reason.

Here he was again, down in the lowest parts of the Citadel, walking around the maze of trash, vents, machinery, and the watchful eyes of the neglected.

They edge away from him, or scurry to their respective areas every time he draws near. No matter how cautiously he approaches, or how calm he seems, they are terrified of him. He doesn't see a child he recognizes as part of her group anywhere. It saddens him to see so many abandoned children though. The irony doesn't escape him that here in the bowels of the Citadel, all the species are actually living in harmony. Granted it's covered in dirt, dung, and neglect, but the species all seem comfortable around each other. Still they're kids and it causes him to warble a sad sound. Even a rotund volus peaked out behind a crate with the patches to his ragged suit obvious as he stood next to a dirty salarian child.

Spirits! There were just so many of them. Then again, this Citadel was huge. His blue avian eyes flickered from face to face.

"Have any of you seen Shepherd?" He asks softly, lowly, for the children's' benefit.

They stare at him with distrustful eyes, eyes that hungrily look at his pockets though he didn't bring anything with him. They won't even tell him if they know of her. He isn't sure how well word gets around between them, or even if they grouped in the same clusters. The Citadel is huge, and there was no way to know if duct rats crossed paths with the ones on the other arms. It was impossible to tell, they were the silent and ignored problem of society.

Dejected, Garrus moves away leaving the faces of countless children watching him as the darkness swallows them once more.

"Don't see why you care, C-Sec," a voice stops Garrus in his tracks.

He narrows his eyes into the darkness, and slowly he recognizes a bare face. A bare face and a bad attitude, he thinks to himself.

"Tassus, right?"

The smaller Turian snorts in response.

"Where is Shepherd?"

"Why do you care?" He shoots back defiantly.

"Just tell me, kid."

Tassus remains silent for a moment. "She's not your concern. I can protect her. We don't need you." It's a hiss, but his sub harmonics betray his insecurity. Turian stubbornness, an asset and a fault all in one, and Garrus knows it well.

He warbles in confusion when Tassus won't offer more of an explanation. "Is she alright?" He questions almost softly incase the little Turian is in distress.

"Just go away," the boy warbles with anger resonating from his chest, and his sub harmonics are filled with clear warning.

Garrus feels an eye plate shift in surprise.

"What's going on?"

"Get lost!" The boy shouts, and charges. His tiny fists strike Garrus' armor. It is ineffectual and rather cute to the grown Turian, but the kid is putting up one hell of a fighting instinct. "She doesn't want you around anymore, and neither do I!"

Garrus tilted his head, regarding the boy through thoughtful eyes. "Doesn't want me around?" He stops the boys beating fists easily and kneels down to the child's height. "Shepherd and I are friends."

"Some friend," the boy spits at him, like an angry varren.

He is taken aback by the vehemence in the tone, his mandibles widen in shock. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The child glares at him petulantly. The growl emanating from him shakes his whole body and Garrus growls lowly back at him. As an adult warning a misbehaving child, it quells the boy for a moment with his bare face showing true surprise.

Ice blue eyes clash with metallic gray. The kid may not be in a position to be trusted when he is older, because of his lack of clan markings, but Garrus can see he is protective of Shepherd.

"I just want to know, if she's in trouble." He stated firmly.

Tassus, twitches a mandible considering. Finally, he shakes his head to the negative. Garrus nods in acceptance, and wonders why Shepherd wouldn't want to see him anymore.

OoOoOo

Three weeks later, he's still confused and he's walking the wards, not doing much more than glaring at each passerby. He's been scrutinizing the human females to see if he can spot Shepherd. Day after day, he comes up with nothing, until finally one day his avian eyes narrow on someone who fits the bill.

She's walking quickly away from him, hasn't seen him likely, and Garrus can't stop himself from stalking after her. She stops near a rapid transit terminal her limp fringe splays across her back, and Garrus watches her curiously. She doesn't look injured so some of the tension slips from his shoulders. He calms significantly knowing she is alright, she's such a tender heart compared to the other people in this place that of course he would fear for her safety. Hers and the safety of the children she watches over.

He watches Tassus, making a bee line from the opposite direction, meeting her under the shadows. He blinks and misses the entrance of a drell male in full leather. The drell walks up and taps Shepherd on the shoulder. She turns with wide eyes, those eyes that haunted him so very much recently, and smiles when she recognizes the male. Garrus resonated his sub-harmonics in displeasure. The drell was obviously an adult and that didn't bode well in Garrus' opinion as to why he would be chatting with a young female with limited resources.

The Turian narrowed his eyes on the drell who was likely some depraved sex fiend. Garrus didn't trust his green scaled skin and black eyes, which watched Shepherd far too closely. He felt his fringe rise in agitation, and his mandibles tightened closer to his face.

Blue eyes zeroed in on the drell's hand patting Shepherd on the shoulder, and Tassus must've known this man as well for the Turian boy didn't seem upset. The leather jacket the drell wore swished to one side as he dug a credit chip out of his pocket. Garrus warbled promises of pain and retribution as the drell placed his hand under Shepherd's chin tilting it upward. His free hand made a motion to Tassus.

Oh, that was it! The bastard was trying to pick Shepherd up as if she were a hooker and obviously using the boy as a reason she should agree. Turian pride and fury roared to life, and Garrus strode forward, his harmonics broadcasting before he reached the group.

"What's going on here?" He snarled in rage, his fury written on every line of his face. The drell blinked and watched him.

Something in the way he moves causes Garrus to feel as if this male is a threat in more ways than one.

"Nothing officer," the deeper warbling of the drell irritated Garrus to no end. What a slime ball.

Avian eyes narrow on the other grown male with contempt and disbelief. He swings his gaze to Shepherd who looks at him briefly before lowering her gaze to the floor. Ah ha! It was just as he thought. He steps quickly in front of Shepherd and the pervert presenting a wall of pissed of Turian. The challenge is clear in his eyes and the drell looks…faintly amused as his larger eyes flick from Shepherd to the Turian, then back again.

Garrus clacks his mandibles with some clicks of open hostility to hide his confusion. The drell bows slightly, his face betraying nothing. "Forgive me, I must be off."

Garrus keeps himself from puffing out his chest in pride.

"Shepherd," the drell rumbles lowly, "if you change your mind, you know where I will be."

The C-Sec officers snarled in response. The drell wisely took a step backward.

"Sure thing, Krios," Shepherd says behind him.

Garrus cranes his neck to stare at her incredulously. "You aren't going anywhere near him Shepherd," he warns her firmly.

Human eyes look up at him defiantly. "Tassus, sweetheart, would you go find the others?"

Tassus spits hisses at Garrus as menacingly as a small child can manage. The effect falls flat, but he still tries. "Yes, Shepherd," he responds finally before rushing off from the pair.

"I'm serious Shepherd," Garrus growls pointing a finger at her, "you're not to go anywhere near that Krios character. Ever."

She blinks at him, either unimpressed or insulted he cannot tell, and turns away from him.

"Do you hear me?" He vents his frustration in his vocals, noting that there is hardly anyone else around this area.

She still and slowly turns to face him. "Officer Vakarian," her voice is deceptively calm to the fire flashing in her eyes, "I am free to see whomever I choose."

His mandibles flatten and his faceplates tighten. He does not like hearing that. She could get hurt, he reminds himself, and that is why her open defiance bothers him.

"Like hell," he hisses under his breath.

She hears him, and looks at him in confusion. "Krios won't hurt me. He and I go back a ways."

It makes Garrus sick to think that… that… green sexual deviant has approached shepherd before, or worse, to imagine those hands on her soft human skin. In his head the images play of what could have happened if he hadn't been here with her eyes crying out for him to stop the drell and save her.

"I'll kill him," his predatory gaze is already searching from the leather jacket in the crowd.

Shepherd's face flickers several emotions until her eyes widen slightly and she lets off a bitter laugh. "Not like that officer," she says heatedly, "I'm not a whore."

Unbidden, images flash of Shepherd spread out on his bed. Her luminous eyes are begging him to…He shakes his head, when in his mind her cries turn to pleasure and it's a three-fingered hand tracing up her sides. Whoa. Where did that come from?

He calms slightly, and feels embarrassment crash over his mind. Well, this was awkward.

Her chin tilts up and her eyes are suddenly cold. He doesn't like that look on her, it's so far removed from the way she used to look at him, that it causes his throat to tighten uncomfortably. "Krios is good to us. I give him what I gave you."

Ah, information.

His mandibles itch with the urge to apologize to her, and the strange but compelling feeling to ask her why she's upset with him. Garrus cannot think of anything he'd done before now to make her so upset.

"Oh," he replies lamely, searching in vain for the words to turn this situation around.

"Yeah, oh." She retorts with hands on her hips. "If we are done here officer, I have people to feed."

He doesn't shrink back at her open gaze, but the look of disappointment and sadness in her eyes causes him to swallow a rather large lump in his throat. Whatever he'd been about to say, is drowned out when a gaggle of dirty children approaches Shepherd. Their voices loud and grating on his senses, but Shepherd smiles at all of them and grabs Tassus up to give him an affectionate nuzzle. The hanar child wraps a tentacle around her free hand, and they start chattering away.

He watches the group go, and wonders why her leaving makes his chest hurt.