Story Notes

- Chapter Nine went under a rewrite for the second part. I was a little bit shifty about it, and while I kept the original writing and may upload it someday, I realized quickly that life shouldn't work as well as that. Plus, I'm not even sure if the characters would accept such a position. So, chapter nine is probably getting split into two chapters.

Blausen: Aww. Of course I'd mention you in a chapter. Thank you for being such a sweetheart.

Barbex: Thank you for your feedback as well. Thankfully enough, your feedback sparked an idea in my head. Let's see where it goes.

The turian standing before Admiral Hackett when they reached the small base in London was not the same turian that Hackett had assigned to this mission. He stood straighter, his gaze more focused, as he gave his debriefing on what he had found on the Citadel. Garrus watched Hackett as he paced, and then glanced back at Garrus.

"You're sure, Vakarian?"

"Ninety-five percent, sir." Garrus nodded. "I'm sure she's here on Earth. In fact, she's probably beside Harbinger, beside where the teleportation beam was." He wanted to tell Hackett that he was immediately heading out, but he also knew that he had something to attend to. "Sir, about Admiral Anderson..."

"Yes. It's fortunate that you found his body. I can understand why you left it where it was. There wasn't enough time to give him proper ceremony." Hackett nodded. "I'll be sending a team to get him. You said that the Keepers had gone rogue?"

"I'm not sure if it was all of the Keepers or just those two. Shepard shot at them to get them out of her way when she was fleeing the blast." Garrus replied.

"How do you know this?"

Garrus motioned to Javik, who was in a corner of Hackett's office beside Liara. The both of them were conversing quietly. "Prothean minds can glean information out of their surroundings. They can see the memories of the objects in the area. He transferred those thoughts to me for the mission."

Hackett smiled. "Then it's fortunate that he was along." He looked around the office and then back to Garrus. "Will you need a team with you to extract Shepard?"

"I'll need a medical team on standby." Garrus replied firmly, which prompted a look of surprise from Hackett.

"Medical team? You think she's still alive?"

"There's a very good chance that she is, sir." Garrus stated. He charged into what he needed next. "I also need someone to track down Miranda Lawson. She was in charge of the Lazarus Project, and knows the most about Shepard's physiology. If Shepard is alive, she's badly injured, and she needs the best minds to put her back together."

Hackett nodded. "Lawson was going to leave on the next commercial ship to Eden Prime. I'll make her stay."

Garrus chuckled. "You won't have to do much convincing. She owes Shepard a big favour and thinks of her as a friend."

Hackett smiled. "Alright. Anything else?"

Garrus shook his head. "No. I need to get back to the ship."

"Bring her back, Vakarian."

Garrus' mandibles twitched. "I will, sir. The galaxy has been an awfully empty place without her."

"Alright!" Garrus growled as the team walked to the shuttle bay. "Tali, Liara, James, Javik. We're on the ground. Ashley, make sure that Dr. Chakwas is ready, just in case everything goes right."

"Gotcha Garrus." Ashley's voice crackled through his communications device. Garrus lowered his talons and kept walking briskly to the doors, the other three in tow behind him.

"Where do we search first, Garrus?" James asked as he checked his pistol.

"Joker will drop us as close to the beam as he can. From there, we're going to move outwards. Tali, I want you checking for vital signs. Javik, you've got the north. Liara, James, take the south and east. I'll go west." Garrus glanced at the four of them. "We're finding her, dead or alive, today. No excuses. We're clear?"

"You seem a little tense." Tali laughed.

"I am a little tense." Garrus replied.

"Don't be." James grinned. "Lola had to have made it out. She wouldn't be Lola if she didn't."

Garrus really had to ask Jane about that pet name later.

Joker dropped them at the site and the five of them hopped off of the platform before Joker could even land. Tali stayed nearby the ship, scanning the area, and she sent out Chiktikka to buffer her signal. The other four started to search around. Garrus walked briskly, searching as much as he could. He didn't even know where to begin. The landing zone had so much rubble, it was impossible to tell where she could be. He didn't think she could go far, though. He moved one of the blocks of concrete with some effort, and used it as a stepping stone to get on top of some of the rubble.

He kept wandering along the perimeter, looking into every crevice that he could. All the while, his heart was racing. Where was she? Why couldn't she give them some kind of sign? He got down to his knees at one crevice and used his omni-tool to flash a light inside. Then, he raised his hands to his comm device.

"Tali, anything?"

"Not yet Garrus. Don't worry. We'll keep looking."

He nearly swore as he lowered his hand. Damn. He had never felt this jumpy or panicked in his life. It was amazing what kind of anxiety love could give a man. He just wanted to find Jane, pick her up, keep her close, and never let her go and do these stupid things that Jane always did. Reckless. That was what Jane was. Positively reckless and stubborn. He hopped over some more concrete and frowned, staring around. If only there was some kind of focusing point...

"Vega! I'm detecting signs of life near your position. They're faint, but there! Hurry!" Tali called urgently.

Garrus whipped his head around to locate where James was. He even noticed that Liara had stopped to stare in Vega's direction. Vega was now turning, his head craning to look into the dark crevices in the rubble, before he stomped over to a portion with two tall walls. Then, Garrus saw James jump and run straight in between the two walls.

"I FOUND HER!"

Garrus found himself stumbling over the rubble, running towards Vega's position. Javik was calmly walking back to the center, while Liara rushed towards Vega as well. Tali ran back inside the ship to get a stretcher down to the shuttle bay, while Vega communicated with them all.

"She's breathing. Oh shit, she looks bad."

"Hold on, Vega, we're coming in."

"Jesus Christ... Garrus her armor..."

"I know. Burned." Garrus growled.

Garrus climbed onto the rubble and ran to Vega's position. When he got close, he saw that the two walls was perhaps the best defensive position that could be thought of; it had two narrow exposed sides, and an easy escape route. He stumbled on another piece of rubble and grabbed the wall for support, staring into the hole.

Shepard was breathing erratically, loud gasps sounding through the space. Her head was being cradled in Vega's lap as Vega tried to keep her breathing passages clear. Her armor was burned onto her skin in places. Horrible red welts appeared in the places where the armor had been stripped away. Her pistol was beside her bloody hand. Her eyes were closed, clenched shut. Strands of her hair had been burnt away. Her face was cut up and bleeding. Garrus stared. Any longer in waiting and she likely would've died of infection. How had she survived this long?

He collapsed beside her and his talons shakily touched her arm. Already he was beating himself up for leaving her, for getting injured enough that he couldn't continue. He raised his other hand shakily towards his comm device.

"Where's that stretcher Tali!"

"We're coming as fast as we can, Garrus!" Tali barked back over the comm.

The small infirmary had barely enough resources, and Garrus only knew that because Miranda had bitterly stated so perhaps ten times by now. Day and night, Miranda, Chakwas and a medical team had worked on Shepard, cleaning her wounds and prying her armor off of her body. Miranda had explained that the only way that Shepard had survived was because of her synthetic parts. They weren't going to keep her alive much longer if they hadn't gotten to her when they did though.

Garrus, meanwhile, had not left the infirmary for a moment. When he was told to leave her room, he stood outside the door, looking in at what they were doing through a window. Otherwise, he had sat at her bedside. Tali normally brought him food, which he had eaten mechanically and only because he knew he had to.

Ashley had been the one to talk to Hackett after they found the Commander. She had taken over much of the operations on the Normandy. She was also the one that convinced Hackett to wait until Shepard regained consciousness to make a decision about what to do about the Normandy, which was something that Garrus appreciated.

When Tali came in to make sure that Garrus kept himself fed, he hadn't responded when she called his name from the door. The quarian walked into the room with a box of food, and smiled faintly at the sight. The turian had fallen asleep, his forehead on Shepard's bed, his talons grasped around her left hand. Tali shook her head.

"Finally." She murmered as she came to set the food down on the bedside table beside Garrus' chair.

"Finally what?" called a hoarse voice from the bed.

Tali turned her head to find the human female's blue eyes open... not only that but they were alert. The commander was bandaged in most parts of her body and looked like a quarian corpse, a quarian corpse that was being prepped for burial. Tali turned, placing a hand on her hip, grinning.

"Commander! You scared the shit out of everyone."

"I did?" Shepard's hoarse voice croaked, and her eyes trailed around her surroundings. "Wait... I lived?"

"Somehow. You've got something watching you, Shepard. I don't suggest that you piss it off." Tali walked around Garrus' sleeping form and placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder. Shepard winced.

"I feel like someone decided to club me over every inch of my body."

"I hear that's what it feels like to barely escape death." Tali replied wryly. She shook her head. "But you'd know all about that."

"The last time I died, it was by suffocation. There wasn't much bruising." Shepard replied back, and she winced. "How long...?"

"Were you out, or since the Citadel?"

"I guess both..."

"Well, about two weeks since the Citadel. Miranda and Chakwas did a wonderful job of patching you up." She nodded her head towards Garrus. "He hasn't left your side since we found you. You've found yourself an angel, Shepard."

Shepard pried her hand out of Garrus' grip and stroked the spikes on his head. Garrus growled in his sleep. "An archangel, you mean?"

"What?" Tali asked. She tilted her head to the side questioningly.

"Never mind..." Shepard smiled quietly. "Tali... I think I'd like to say hi to the rest of the crew. Could you tell them I'm okay?"

Tali laughed, which caused Garrus to stir. "I think I'll wait. I'll get out of your way though."

"Mrrnph?" Garrus turned his head groggily, staring up at Tali blearily. "Who are you talking to...?"

"Your girlfriend, you silly turian." Tali replied. She waved and left the room, leaving Garrus to be incredibly confused.

"What the hell...?"

"Morning, Garrus."

It took Garrus a moment to register what he was hearing. It took him even longer to realize that the woman smiling at him weakly was actually awake, was actually there in front of him. Then, when all of these things clicked in his head, his arms lightly wrapped around her, although he wanted so desperately to hold her tight. She embraced him back weakly, keeping her arms locked around his waist as he held her close. She kissed the side of his face gently, and he nuzzled into her neck. She chuckled a little, stroking his back through his armor, while he kept his face buried into her collarbone. He was breathing shakily, and then he seemed to let all of the tension out, releasing it in one long grunt of satisfaction. This was sufficient proof; Shepard was alive.

"Jane."

He felt her body tense and her head turn towards his face. "You... called me by my first name?"

"Never do that again." He growled, completely ignoring her shock.

There was a long pause, before Shepard laughed weakly. "Well... Hopefully we won't have to." She said quietly as she took a finger and raised his chin. Garrus stared into her blue eyes for a long time, his forehead resting on hers. Then, she tilted her head and kissed him tenderly.

Three Months Later

He knew that rehabilitation was exhausting for Shepard. The medical staff had high doubts that she would ever get back to her previous strength. Garrus just justified it to her by stating that even if she were to go back into military service, all she did was sit behind cover and take his shots with her sniper rifle anyway. That had earned him a surprisingly strong punch in the arm, and that was the point where Garrus knew that she'd be perfectly fine.

Most of the non-human crew of the Normandy occupied their free time by helping the stranded members of their races on Earth. Earth had become a centre point for the races of the Citadel. Earth had been very accomodating for their guests, and had devoted their resources to not only building shelters for their kind, but also for the other races. They all seemed to be getting along and working together for now, which delighted the optimistic Shepard. Garrus was sceptical but he wouldn't say a word.

The turian walked into the wing where Shepard was staying. After her initial recovery, Shepard had been moved to slightly more private rooms. Garrus certainly didn't mind. After all that she had done for the galaxy, she deserved to at least have that. Hell, she deserved the universe if they had the resources to give it to her, but of course, Jane would never ask for such a thing.

He made his way to the room where Jane was staying and knocked before he opened the door. It wasn't a courtesy for Jane, but it was a courtesy for the specialists that came in to check her progress. He opened the door and spotted Jane on the other side of the room near the balcony doors. She was wearing a white sundress, one that flowed over her curves in a graceful and feminine manner. Her hair was down around her shoulders, only adding to the look. Garrus had always been a bit alarmed when she saw that most of her off-ship clothing consisted of simple yet elegant and feminine clothing, but in a way, he didn't question. Jane had always been incredibly polite, and while she could raise her voice if she had to, she didn't raise her voice if she didn't have to. A very different approach to command than Garrus was used to, but he had learned to love it.

But while Garrus had been admiring her from afar, he came to the realization that she was talking with a familiar sight. He looked at the hologram in front of Jane and realized he had stumbled in on a conversation between the two of them.

"You're sure?"

"Admiral, there are plenty of better candidates for that position." Jane replied back in a smooth tone. "If I do resume my service, I can't ever see myself in the position of Rear Admiral. I like the feel of one ship crew, not hundreds of ships. I also have my Spectre enlistment to consider."

Garrus spotted the admiral looking at her with a curious look in his eye. "I would've thought that after everything that you've done, you'd enjoy a smooth path to the top of your career track."

Jane laughed softly. "I'm either completely retiring or I'll be on the Normandy for the rest of my life. I still haven't made that decision yet. We'll see how able I feel after I leave this hospital."

The admiral examined her for a moment and nodded. "Captain."

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Captain would give you a promotion and would leave you in a position where you can ascend the ranks when you're ready to." Admiral Hackett laughed gravelly. "I sometimes forget how young you are Shepard."

"It's easy to forget. I forgot daily." Jane smirked and folded her arms. "If you insist, I'll accept. I like the ring of Captain Shepard. Am I getting back the Normandy?"

"The Normandy has been grounded for repairs, to make sure that all systems check out. Your crew did fabulous repairs with the resources they had, but there were some things they just couldn't get cleaned up. When they're done, we'll be releasing back to you Captain."

"And my crew?"

"You will be gaining some of them back. There are a lot of members that we had to relocate. We couldn't afford to have them sitting around. However, you are free to do your own recruitment."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "I am?"

"It's technically the ship of a Council Spectre, not an Alliance Captain." Garrus could've sworn he saw Hackett wink. "Take from that what you will."

Jane grinned wickedly. "Brilliant."

Hackett smiled. "Take care of yourself Shepard. Send reports about your progress."

"Yes sir."

The feed cut and Garrus finally walked fully into the room. The door shut with a hiss behind him and Jane looked up and over at him. Garrus nodded at her and smiled faintly.

"So. Whatever happened to retiring somewhere warm and tropical?"

"You heard that, huh?"

"Most of it." Garrus walked to her side and stared out the window at the view. The city of London was slowly starting to look normal. Crews worked day and night to get the city running. It would be a long time before it looked like it was, and frankly Garrus was getting tired of the constant rain. He once asked Shepard about that, and she told him that the two things you never wanted to forget in London was your omni-tool and your rain shield.

"Well... my thoughts were that the galaxy still needs all the help it can get. I wouldn't want to abandon them in this kind of fragile condition. It wouldn't seem right. All of our friends are doing their part... I want to do mine as well."

Garrus sighed and shook his head. He wrapped an arm around Jane's waist, and Jane instinctively laid her head on his tall shoulder. "I guess so."

"Hey. I promise, no more Reapers."

Garrus looked down at the top of Jane's head in bemusement. "You're sure about that?"

"I THINK I got them all." Jane looked up at him and grinned mischievously, which made Garrus' heart skip a beat. "Can't say for sure but I've just got a feeling."

"Alright. No more Reapers. So what do we do then, Captain?" Garrus rumbled.

"Simple. We take supplies where they're needed. We settle disputes where its needed. We fight to keep galactic peace. We do exactly what we did the entire time the Reapers were a threat, except that we don't have the Reapers."

"Fair enough." Garrus commented, and he looked back out the window. "What about the bullets? Are there no bullets?"

"Oh don't worry, there will probably be plenty of bullets. These ones will be smaller than Reaper bullets though. The worst that'll happen is you might have to catch another rocket."

"I'll try to use my hands this time."

"What did I tell you about knowing when to duck?"

Garrus smirked and squeezed the woman's side with affection. "I told you already, Jane. Turians don't know how."

Chapter Notes

Thank you to everyone for sticking with me over the last few days. I hope to release many many more fics based in this universe. I still want to bring in Solana, and I still want to resolve Joker's and Liara's plots. There's also more characters that I want to give more love to. This chapter's rewrite means a rewrite of the first chapter of my next fic. The title of the next fic, I have the temporary title of "At Your Three", and I kind of like it.

Also, I apologize for the quick updates. They probably seemed like too much. However I didn't see a reason not to release updates if I had the chapters already in hand and I was satisfied with them.