Chapter 2

Garrus was crouched behind a half-wall in Dr. Michel's medical clinic as the thugs surrounded her. He targeted one in his scope and his finger hovered over the trigger, waiting for the right moment.

"I didn't tell anyone, I swear!" Michel was half-sobbing.

The thug leered at her. "That was smart, Doc. Now, if Garrus comes around, you stay smart. Keep your mouth shut, or we'll -"

The doors opened behind him and he glanced over his shoulder. Dammit, there was Shepard, about to blow his cover.

"Who are you?" the thug yelled at her, grabbing the doctor and putting his pistol to her head.

There it was, the right moment. He pulled the trigger and the thug fell to the ground. Dr. Michel shrieked as Shepard gave Garrus a questioning look before running to cover with the interrupting human from before and a new companion, a krogan.

They finished off the remaining thugs quickly, and Garrus stood to glare at his newfound rival.

"What the hell was that? I was finally making some progress before you came charging in."

She gave him the most insincere shrug she could muster.

"Doing things my way. It took you how many days to find this lead? I've been on the Citadel for two hours, and here I am, Bird."

He took a deep breath, trying not to shoot her, and walked over to the doctor.

"Dr. Michel, are you hurt?"

"No, I'm okay," she replied weakly. "Thanks to you. All of you."

Her eyes lingered on Garrus intimately, and he repressed a shudder. Ew. Human.

"I know those men threatened you, but if you tell us who they worked for, we can protect you."

She wrang her hands nervously as she confessed. "They worked for Fist. They wanted to shut me up, keep me from telling Garrus about the quarian."

"The one I told you about, Shepard," the krogan rumbled.

"Time we paid Fist a visit," the commander smirked, cracking her knuckles.

Garrus stared at her. "What? No way. This is my investigation, and you don't get to butt in uninvited."

"Does C-Sec have regulations against a pretty lady who just wants to visit Chora's Den?" she asked, mock-innocently.

He stammered something unintelligible, and she laughed at him.

"That's what I thought. Go home, Bird. Let the big kids take care of it."

"I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I'm coming with you."

He didn't like it, but this was his investigation, and he wasn't about to hand it over to some cocky, little, know-it-all -

"You're a turian. Why do you want to bring him down so badly?"

The way she said "turian," like the word was beneath her, made his jaw clench.

"Saren is a traitor to the Council and a disgrace to my people!" he spat, glaring defiantly.

Her eyebrows raised. "Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers, Bird. Welcome aboard."

They'd gotten Fist - the krogan, Wrex, particularly enjoyed killing him - and tracked down the quarian, who gave them an audio clip of Saren that could be used to convince the Council of his guilt. The odd quintuplet of the two humans, a krogan, a quarian, and a turian turned several heads as they made their way to the Council.

Much to Garrus' displeasure, the human spoke to them. It made sense; she'd already spoken to them once, and they'd be more willing to trust her with her captain and her ambassador standing behind her. No one was standing behind him. He'd done everything by himself, until the damn human had showed up. And now here she was, presenting his investigation to the Council.

His blood seethed as they listened to the recording.

"This evidence is irrefutable," the turian Councilor announced. "Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status, and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes."

The Asari Councilor nodded. "There is only one way to stop Saren that doesn't require fleets or armies."

"No!" the turian Councilor protested. "It's too soon. Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres."

Wait, what?

"It was a turian Spectre who betrayed this Council, and it was a human who exposed him," Shepard pointed out, putting her hand on her hip. "I've earned this."

The Councilors looked at one another for a moment before nodding in agreement, syncing their omni-tools.

"Commander Shepard, step forward. It is the decision of the Council that you will be granted all the powers and priviledges of the Special Tactics and Reconaissance branch of the Citadel."

His mind went blank as the Councilors continued to drone on about the responsibilities and honors of the Spectres. This human? This human? He couldn't believe it. Humanity, the newest members in the Citadel, were being graced with Spectre status? And Shepard would be representing them? Bullshit, all of it.

"I've been ready for this since Eden Prime," Shepard muttered to her captain, who held back a grin at the snide remark.

Garrus scowled through the rest of the meeting.

After it was over, he followed her out to the docking bay where she spoke with her ambassador and her captain for a few minutes. He hung back with the krogan, the quarian, and the other human. The human and quarian, Kaidan and Tali, made small talk, but Garrus and Wrex were silent.

She came back to them after the other humans had walked away. There was a surprised look on her face and an eager light in her eyes.

"Well, guys, looks like Anderson's stepping down and letting me run the Normandy." Her voice was filled with glee, and she looked like an excited child as she practically jumped up and down. "I have my own ship!"

"Congratulations, Commander!" Kaidan smiled, almost putting his hand on her shoulder before awkwardly changing his mind and pulling it back.

"So, what?" Wrex asked.

The krogan was very direct. Didn't let Shepard be the one in charge of the conversation. Garrus could almost get to like the guy.

"Now I build a team to help me take down Saren."

She looked at them, waiting for a volunteer. No one spoke.

"Kaidan! Glad to have you on board," she said half-sarcastically, grabbing him by the elbow and dragging the surprised human to her side. "Well? Wrex? Tali?"

"I'm in," the krogan replied.

"Y-yeah," Tali said, hesitantly. "This isn't quite what I had in mind for my pilgrimage, but it sounds a lot more important."

"Great! Let's go, then."

She pulled the three up the Normandy's ramp.

"You're forgetting something."

She turned to stare down at him, a mildly irritated look on her face.

"I wasn't inviting you, Bird."

"Too damn bad." He strode up to her at the base of the ramp. "I want to stop Saren too."

"It's my ship," she replied blankly.

"You didn't show up until my investigation had been overturned, so I couldn't ask you questions. Then you finally got there, and forced your way in, turning it into your investigation. Then you presented the findings to the Council, and they made you a Spectre." He walked up the ramp until he was face to face with her, only inches away. Her hair was tickling his mandibles, and he noticed she was holding her breath. "You owe me this much, Shepard."

She pushed him back, not hard enough to make him lose his balance, but not softly either. "Fine. You're in. Piss me off once, and you're done. Right out the air-lock. I'm pretty sure birds don't fly in space."

At the time, he hadn't intended to make that a challenge.

(A/N): The more you poke me, the more I write. I pay close attention to my reviews, so let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks for all the support!