Author's Notes: Sorry that I have not updated in while. I have had work and other things to do, but I certainly hope that you thoroughly enjoy this chapter! Just as a heads up this chapter will contain sex between Shepard and Garrus and a few memory flashbacks for Liara involving Shepard in sexual and non-sexual situations. So if you're opposed to it then skip this chapter. Also here is the link that I based Garrus' naked body off of! Please review!

Disclaimer: Bioware and EA own all the rights to the Mass Effects series. I own and claim nothing but the plot point for this story.

Reignite

Hope can drown lost in thunderous sound
Fear can claim what little faith remains

But I carry strength from souls now gone
They won't let me give in...

I will never surrender
We'll free the Earth and sky
Crush my heart into embers
And I will reignite...
I will reignite

Death will take those who fight alone
But united we can break a fate once set in stone

Just hold the line until the end
Cause we will give them hell...

I will never surrender
We'll free the Earth and sky
Crush my heart into embers
And I will reignite...
I will reignite.

-Malukah, Youtube.

"Shepard!" The voices were calling; so many voices, too many voices. They were indistinguishable. She tried to make a noise, but the only thing that had managed to escape her dry and searing throat was a deep crackling noise. She gasped at the pain, trying again but to no avail.

She shifted her weight, lifting her good arm to feel above her but there was nothing. She futilely grasped for something, anything, but she made no contact. She heard the voices again, muffled by the concrete, scrap metal, and dirt that surrounded her like a dirty tomb.

She tried to shimmy her broken and aching body upwards, but the pain was too great. Her legs were refusing to cooperate.

"Shepard! Damn you answer me!" one of the voices cried out, still a considerable distance away. She squeezed her eyes, took a deep breath and with what was left of her strength she shoved the heavy object off of her legs which made dust mixed with a little dirt cascade down. She let out the breath she had been holding, panting from the searing pain radiating in, what seemed, every part of her body.

She heard heavy pounding and the voices became clearer and much closer. Her body, her mind and her will were weak. She tried against her power to dig her way out of this tomb, but nothing came of it. She lay back panting, hearing the voices calling her name.

"Shepard, you better not be fucking dead!" came Jack's voice from above her. She tried calling out but her throat gave out on her and she moaned in pain, feeling something wet and hot seeping from her body when she twisted.

"She's over here!" came a voice, but it sounded distant. Too distant.

"Wrex… that chunk… Grunt… me please!" the voice kept cutting in and out. Shepard found it odd, but felt herself fading to a sweet, painless place and couldn't find enough reasons to care about it.

"Shepard! Can you hear me Shepard?" Miranda asked, bending over into the pile of rubble that surrounded Shepard like a shroud.

"Dammit Cheerleader, we need to get her out of there!"

"Agreed. Grunt, move that shit while me and Jack haul out Shepard."

As soon as a there was a clear view of Shepard, Jack and Wrex bent down and quickly, but carefully pulled Shepard out of the dirty, bloody pit she was in. Frantically, Miranda checked Shepard's pulse. It was faint, but it was there. Miranda snatched a satchel off of Jack's back and sifted through it pulling out medical supplies that hadn't been seen since the 21st century. Carefully, she placed a mask on Shepard's face and instructed one of the Krogan to squeeze it at a steady pace while she placed a needle in Shepard's arm and started an intravenous fluid to get her body hydrated. It was a slow process and not nearly as quick as using medi-gel but it would get the job done for now.

Jack was at Shepard's side ripping open a small needle and thread to stitch some of Shepard's deeper, though not life threatening wounds while Wrex pressed a material to Shepard's side to staunch the bleeding of giant, gaping and extremely deep hole that kept oozing blood and pus.

"We need to get Shepard to a hospital or she's not going to make it," Miranda said, quickly tearing off Shepard's armor and casting it to the side, wiping her body down with a wet towel and wrapping her in soft sterile linen. She grabbed a small flashlight and looked into Shepard's eyes checking the dilation. Suddenly Shepard's body started shaking and her eyes flew open. She was screaming and trying to push every one away.

"I need you to hold her down while I give her this sedative! Dammit she's in shock!" Miranda screamed while trying to get the needle into the IV to calm Shepard down. Once Shepard's body slackened, her eyes closed and her pulse returned to normal Jack looked at Grunt.

"Call the shuttle and tell them to pick us up faster than a fucking Hanar moves in water then call the Normandy and tell them that Shepard's alive."

He was very nervous. He had never dreamed that in a million years Shepard would want to be with him in any way other than comrades, squad mates and friends. The elevator to her cabin seemed to moving much too fast for him. He knew, however, that he could change his mind and just head straight back towards the gun battery but he was a Turian. He liked challenges but this particular one could potentially fuck up his entire relationship with her and he cherished it too much. Maybe it was best to head back and apologize. She would understand. He took a deep breath when the elevator opened and stood there for a few moments trying to collect himself.

"Garrus, there are others who need to use the elevator," came EDI's smooth voice with a hint of a smile. He cleared his throat.

"Of course, my apologies EDI," he said, his voice rumbling deep within his chest and he stepped out, grasping the cheap bottle of wine that could be shared between himself and Shepard, courtesy of Mordin Solus, without any repercussions.

He walked to the door, inhaled and exhaled before pressing the green button. The door opened with a quite whoosh and the cool air of her cabin felt good against his warm skin. He stepped in and looked around, noticing her fish tank and hearing the running water in the bathroom. He walked over and watched the fish, waiting for her to finish her shower. For a split second he thought he was early but caught the time in his visor and he was on time. He heard the water turn off a few minutes later she emerged from the shower and turned to him, a small smile on her pink lips as she crossed her arms over chest.

"Hey. I brought wine. Best I could afford on a vigilante's salary," he said, holding it up to show her. He turned away and quickly made his way to the stairs, keying in something and starting music then turning back to her, lifting his arms as if asking what she thought while walking back to her beautiful fish tank. Her smile widened and she shook her head. He looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her defined hips in the skin tight black dress she wore, accentuating her curves. "If you were a Turian, I'd be complementing your waist or fringe. So… your, ah, hair looks good. And your waist is… very supportive," he said, feeling his heart beat faster as she casually placed her small hand on her hip, shifting her weight to her right side while smiling at him. "Hopefully that's not offensive in human cultures. Crap. I knew I should have watched the vids. Throw me a line here Shepard." He shook his head feeling inadequate. She lifted her hand and pointed it at him.

"Whoa! Consider me seduced, smooth talker. Now shut up and stop worrying," she said, her smile never faltering as she turned to stop the music.

"I-I just… I-I've seen so many things go wrong, Shepard. My work at C-Sec, what happened with Sidonis…" he said, looking into her deep, bright green eyes that held nothing but patience and understanding in them. "I want something to go right. Just once. Just…" She raised her left hand and caressed the scarred side of his face, the warmth from her hand melting any worried he had that she might not reciprocate any of the feelings he had been harboring for her. He leaned towards her and she into him and they rested their foreheads together. He pulled back and cautiously placed his hand on her arm, slowly stroking it. He looked at her and her eyes fluttered closed and he instantly missed seeing the piercing green. She pulled back, her eyes opening and captured his hand in hers and tugged him down the stairs to the couch.

She took the bottle of wine from him, opened it and poured them a glass while gesturing for him to sit down. He did and took the offered glass. She took a sip of hers before sitting down beside him closely, crossing her leg over the other at the knee and looked at him.

"I understand what you mean Garrus," she said, looking into her glass while she swished the red liquid around.

"I know you do Shepard," he said, his voice rumbling. She gave a soft laugh and looked at him, her eyes shining.

"Garrus please," she said, leaning into him, "I'd prefer to be called Elizabeth by you, especially in my quarters. I get tired of being called Shepard. Besides, all of my close friends and loved ones call me Elizabeth. It's high time you do the same. And that's an order," she added seeing the look of protest on his face. He chuckled.

"What kind of Turian is going to disobey an order from his commanding officer?" he asked her, leaning into her as well feeling his heart skip a beat when she placed her hand on his thigh the heat from it burning his skin in such a delicious way.

"Not a good Turian," she whispered. She quickly drained the rest of her wine, her cheeks flushing, and set the glass down on the coffee table before turning her upper body towards him. She looked at the glass in his hand and he did the same as she just had. He leaned back; fully aware of the pattern her soft tanned hand was drawing on his thigh and suddenly he felt the air was getting hard to breathe. He looked at her and she was looking down watching her hand on his thigh. He lifted his hand and gently touched the side of her face, making her look at him. Her tongue darted out, wetting her lips that he so desperately wanted to feel against himself. Slowly he leaned towards her, hoping that what he was about to do worked, and pressed his own inadequate lips or lack thereof, against hers feeling how soft and moist they were against his. Her eyes closed and he felt her lips open against his. He followed her lead and felt her soft, silky tongue slide over his and he let out a distinctively Turian sound, but she didn't falter. He felt his own eyes close and basked in the immense pleasure that she was giving him.

She trailed her fingers up his thigh, making him shiver, over his hip and up towards his stomach. He slid his hand up her arm, feeling strange dots rise on her skin, over her shoulder, down her chest reveling in the feel of her soft warm flesh above her breast, before brushing over a hardened nipple and continuing down her stomach to grasp her hip tightly, bringing her body close to his.

Her tongue danced in his mouth and left him reeling from the surprised pleasure, but he pulled away and looked at her face. Her eyes were still closed and her breathing was faster, much like how her breath sped up in firefight, but this was different. He could tell she was enjoying this and this woman, this human woman had captured him in a way that no other woman ever had. This side of her, this womanly, feminine woman was a totally different person and he loved it for many reasons but it was mainly because he was able to cause this remarkable and beautiful change in her.

He dipped his head towards her neck, but when his visor got in the way he impatiently and almost angrily, pulled it off and tossed it to the side, faintly hearing it hit a wall but her quiet laughter caught his attention. He looked at her and she was smiling, her cheeks flushed a soft rosy color. He turned towards her, shifting his weight and wrapped his other arm around her shoulder, effectively bringing her close to him and pressed his face into the crook of her neck smelling her soft skin, the scent of vanilla, lavender and moon shadow floating into his nostrils. Softly he ran his mouth over her neck before lightly running his tongue over her skin, feeling her body tense and pulling a soft moan from her mouth. He moved his hand from her hip and caressed her stomach while pressing his lips against her neck. Another moan, this one slightly higher pitched than the previous one was drawn out of her mouth.

He felt her soft lips on his neck, felt them part, he eyes closing ecstasy as she opened her mouth and sucked on his skin, running her tongue over him drawing out a loud, encouraging Turian noise from deep within his chest. He was semi aware of her hand running over his chest and down his stomach. His stomach muscles clenched, his body tensed, and he wrenched his head away from her neck, clutching her hip in his hand as she rubbed her hand over his severely hardened and swollen erection. Her mouth pulled away from his neck and her lips trailed lightly up, over his mandibles that twitched in pleasure, over his cheeks and up to his ear.

"I did my research too," she said quietly, her voice deep and throaty, which was the sexiest thing Garrus had ever heard in his life. He tried saying something, but nothing came out except a moan as she ran her hand over his length, stroking him. He felt her fingers fumbling at the waist of his pants and he opened his eyes, putting his hand on hers shaking his head.

"Over there," he said, and pointed in the direction of her bed. She gave him a smile and pushed herself away from him.

As he was getting ready to stand she placed her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. She put her arms behind her back and he heard the zipper slide down which made his mouth water. He wanted to see what she looked like. Sure, he had done his research with help from Mordin and found that human females didn't look that much different from Turian or Asari females when it came to anatomy, but seeing her would be different. He also knew that his anatomy wasn't that different from human males based off the incredibly clinical videos Mordin had sent him.

He watched as she slid the thin, tight black fabric off her body slowly. Her eyes were gleaming, the green of them was so bright and beautiful he felt it was difficult to look away from them until the fabric slid off her shoulders and his eyes snapped back to her tanned skin. The dress seemed to melt off of her as it slid off her breasts, around her waist, over her hips, and floated down to the floor over her legs. He slowly looked at her body, taking in all the information of her. Her breasts were perfectly shaped, her areolas were the same color as her lips, and her nipples were hard and puckered. Her stomach was flat, with a hint of abs. She was beautiful to him when no woman ever was before. She certainly did not have the largest breasts, but they were certainly not small either. To him her body was perfect.

She bent over to remove her heels and stood back up and looked at him expectantly. He stood slowly from the couch, his erection almost painful now and he couldn't take his eyes from her body. He hastily took off his jacket and shirt, and quickly tossed aside his pants and boots discarding them haphazardly and looked at her face. There was some shock but she covered it quickly. "She didn't do all her research apparently," he thought. He wasn't sure what she had expected and suddenly felt nervous. He rubbed the side of his face and shifted his weight.

"Is there uh, something wrong?" he asked, dropping his hands to rest on his hips. She brought her eyes up from his torso to his face and walked towards him, placing her hands on his shoulders, caressing him.

"Definitely not," she replied, sliding her hand down his pectoral plates, his partial rib plates, and down over his abdomen which was smooth, hardened skin under her fingers. She traced the outline of his six pack and let her hands fall down to the base of his shaft, making his body jerk with pleasure. "I just expected you to have plating on all parts of your body. Your body is more Human than I thought." She let her hands trail over his body as she walked backwards to the bed and sat on it, crossing her legs waiting patiently for him.

The side of her mouth lifted up and she scooted herself up on the bed and lay down as he walked towards her, running his eyes over her body. The light from her fish tank and armory cast blue, white and orange tones across her body and he watched as her chest rose and fell with her rhythmic breathing. She opened her legs as he came closer, reaching her arms up as he came closer and he moved between her legs and dipped his head down. She pulled his head down hers and pressed her lips against his, opening her mouth and sliding her tongue into his mouth and his eyes slide shut. He let his hand caress her side, feeling those strange bumps on her skin again, running his fingers down to the curve of her hip and back up the roundness of her breast.

Bravely, his ran his finger over her hardened nipple and was pleasantly surprised with her reaction. She moaned, pushing her hot, wet tongue deeper into his mouth while arching her back, pressing her soft, warm naked body against his hard, angular one. He pulled his face away from hers, feeling her slightly hardened stomach pressing against his erection, and trailed his mouth and tongue over her jaw, down her neck, inhaling her fragrance, and over her collar bone. When he reached her breast, he looked up at her and she was looking at him through her dark red eyelashes and nodded.

Slowly he ran his tongue over the hardened peak, feeling the difference in skin type. Her eyes snapped shut and she moaned, her hips moved upwards toward his body and she ran her hands over his back, across his plates. He sucked her nipple into his mouth, rolling his tongue around it. He pulled away from it and gave the same attention to the other one before licking his way down her abdomen, stopping at the divot in her belly, sliding his tongue into it, feeling her legs close around him as she let out another moan.

He made his way down to her womanhood and he paused for a moment, suddenly unsure of himself. The information he had gotten from the extranet said that Human women, much like the Asari women he'd been with, liked oral sex and even Mordin had confirmed. She looked like the Asari except for the soft patch of hair on her pubic bone. Her legs closed abruptly and he looked up at Shepard. Her eyes were full of worry and her brows were drawn down over her eyes and she was covering her breasts.

"If you've decided otherwise Garrus, you can tell me," she said softly. Suddenly he felt like an idiot, but he looked at her and realized that his hesitation had made her self-conscious which was not his intention. There were no words he could say to her to describe how absolutely beautiful and perfect she was to him, though it struck him as odd how this usually sexually assured, confident, strong woman seemed to be worried about her body in front of him. Perhaps, her normal attitude was a front but he would dwell on that later. Instead, he ran his hand over her thigh and gave a soft, rumbling laugh.

"No, I haven't. I want this, more than you know. I-I just was unsure if you'd enjoy what I want to do to, ah, you," he finished lamely. She smiled and let her legs fall open once more.

"Trust me, I like what you want to do to me," she replied. He nodded and she laid her head back down, watching him. He looked back at her womanhood and ran a finger over her and heard her take in a deep breath. He slid his finger between her warm folds and felt the moisture there. He licked and nipped at the inside of her thigh, while rubbing the soft nub he found and remembered that it was called a clitoris and was supposed to bring her immense pleasure when touched softly and not rubbed to hard. She moaned loudly, turning her head to the side, her eyes squeezed shut in pleasure and he felt his cock twitch. Slowly he increased his pace on her clitoris until she was wet and glistening before him, before removed his finger and was given a frustrated moan from her. He replaced his finger with his tongue, spreading her lips and pressed his finger against her opening, looking up at her to make sure he was doing everything right.

Her breathing was quick and raspy, her moans getting louder and he pushed his finger inside of her feeling her soft, silky, wet and warm inside clench around him. He was rewarded with a cry of pleasure and her hips bucked under his tongue. He slid his finger in and out of her, while his tongue danced over her clitoris. He felt a strange ridge inside of her and rubbed his finger against it and she practically threw him off of her, saying his name and he decided that she really liked that. He pressed his free hand on her stomach to keep her from throwing him off and continued his ministrations.

Her breathing became choppy and she swallowed, moaning loudly, the sound echoing off the walls and said his name. She turned her head to the other side, her hand grasping his fringe and said, "I'm so close Garrus." He smiled inwardly and increased the speed and pressure until her body began convulsing, her pussy clenching and squeezing his finger tightly and she cried out telling him she was coming. He pulled himself away and moved up her body. He wanted to be inside of her so badly that he was aching. He pressed himself against her opening and her eyes flew open. She pressed a hand to his chest and gave him a devilish smile.

"Not quite yet Vakarian. It is my turn to please you," she said and sat up on her knees. He lifted one of his brow plates. She showed him where to sit on the edge of the bed and she quite ungracefully, it was Shepard anyway, got off the bed and went to kneel in front of him, her eyes looking at his cock appreciatively. He suddenly got her meaning and shook his head.

"I don't know if this is such a good idea, Shepard… uh, Elizabeth," he said awkwardly, correcting himself at the look on her face.

"Stop talking," she said. He shut his mouth went he felt her hands on him, sliding his eyes closed. She ran her hand up and down his shaft, pausing at the head shortly to massage it gently then stroked him again. He let out a sound that came from deep within his chest and dug his fingers into the bed sheets. His eyes opened when he felt something hot and wet touch his cock and looked down at her. She was sliding her tongue over the head of his cock and down his shaft. It was definitely getting hard to breathe as he continued to watch her. This was definitely something new to him.

He watched as she opened her mouth and took him into it, sliding her mouth down his shaft and back up, sucking lightly. His legs twitched and he felt back onto his elbows, leaning his head back and letting out a long and slow guttural groan as he felt the head of his cock touch the back of her throat. He lifted his head to continue watching as her mouth did things to him that he thought was not possible.

She sucked on the head harder and stroked his cock quickly then ran her tongue down the length of him, before doing it again. Every time she slid him insider her mouth, she sucked him harder and he was finding it increasing more difficult to not fist his hand in her hair and thrust his cock into her mouth over and over until he finished inside of her mouth. "Fuck Elizabeth," he said. He felt himself getting too close and he pushed her off, sitting up quickly.

"No, not yet. I want you before I finish," he rasped out and she smiled, running her tongue over her lips effectively turning him on even more. She pushed him back onto the bed, laying him flat and climbed on top of him, her soft mouth parted slightly.

She rested her hands on his chest, swinging her left leg to one side of him and looked at him. He placed his hands on her hips, gripping them tightly and watched as she slowly lowered herself onto him. Her eyes closed and she moaned as he slid into her. She was so tight, so wet and so damn warm. She lifted herself above him with her thighs, sliding him in and out of her. His breathing was coming hard and fast from the pleasure she was giving him and from the sight of watching her on top of him, working his cock in and out of her delicious pussy while her breasts bounced softly.

He leaned up and took on of her nipples in his mouth while his finger found her clitoris again eliciting a strangled cry from her throat and a deep rumbling animalistic sound from him as her pussy clenched tightly around his cock. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her against him while his tongue lapped at her nipple and his finger rubbed her clitoris. She pushed him back against the bed and began a rocking motion on top of him, her moans getting louder as she said his name.

"Elizabeth," he panted, loving the sight of her above him. He didn't stop rubbing her clitoris and her rocking became frantic as he thrust his hips up towards her, hitting that strange ridge with his cock he felt earlier with his finger which warranted a loud cry of ecstasy from her as she touched her nipples while he slid his finger between her lips and over her clitoris, over and over again. "Garrus I'm-I'm" but her words were cut off with an intake of breathe and a sudden barrage of curse words mixed with loud moans as her pussy squeezed his cock so hard he thought he was fixing to come just from watching and feeling her he orgasm around him. He watched as her body convulsed and she threw her head back in the throes of passion and caressed her chest and stomach.

When she was finished he flipped them over with him on top. "I want you like this," he said and disengaged himself from her, turning her over onto her stomach and pulling her soft ass up. The extranet said Humans called it "doggy style" and it was supposed to hit that strange ridge of hers again. She turned her head to look at him, while groping for the headboard and nodded.

He plunged himself into her slick wetness and the position made her tighter than she already was. "Spirits, Elizabeth," he choked out as she pressed her ass against him, taking him in deeply. He groaned and it mixed with her moans. He watched as she used her left arm to keep her propped up while she used her right hand to rub her clitoris as he slid in and out of her quickly, hitting her ridge and closing his eyes in immeasurable pleasure. She was crying out saying his name and he gripped her hips tightly.

"Harder Garrus," she ordered and he gladly obliged, pounding into her, leaning forward and placing his hand on the headboard next to hers as he thrust his cock in and out of her quickly, deeply.

"Fuck," he moaned thrusting into her harder and harder every time she cried out. He couldn't help himself as he grabbed a handful of her hair with his hand and pulled her head back and to the side, exposing her neck. Her breathing was becoming frantic again and he knew she was close once again. He grabbed her hip and pounded into her furiously, hitting her ridge until she started coming around him.

He felt himself lose control as she orgasmed around him and let out a sound that reverberated throughout his body and vibrated hers as they were joined, he felt like fireworks were exploding in their bodies and he leaned forward feeling his seed spill into her hot pussy as she convulsed around him, bending towards her neck, her cries of pleasure fading as he opened his mouth and bit her, feeling her blood flow into his mouth. He felt his soul try to twine with hers, her very essence trying to became his but he released himself, all of himself into her, partially claiming her as his.

He pulled back, feeling the aftershocks of the best sex he'd ever have leave his body, but still feeling her pussy pulsing around his still hard cock, and opened his eyes.

Everything suddenly seemed quiet and she was very still, her breathing was slow. He saw his mark and realized what he had just done and how she wouldn't understand. Suddenly, he felt fear, worry, and embarrassment flood through him. Panic slithered through is body and he jerked away from her and off the bed and sat down in the chair at her desk, placing his elbows on his knees and letting his head fall into his hands. He couldn't look at her, not after what just happened. He heard her move on the bed, the sound of her omni-tool turning on, and the soft murmur of the medi-gel being applied to her neck. He heard the sheets rustle, heard her feet hit the floor, and heard the sound of her putting something on.

He jumped when he felt her hand touch his fringe and jerked away from her touch as if she had burned him.

"What just happened?" she asked him softly. He shook his head, refusing to look at him.

"I-I'm sorry Shepard," he said quietly. "I lost control and I did something that I shouldn't have." He felt, rather than heard, her sit on the floor in front of him.

"Look at me Garrus," she said forcefully. He lifted his head and let his arms fall. She was tilting her head, peering at him with nothing but curiosity. It made him feel worse. How could she be so damn understanding all the fucking time? "Tell me what happened. I feel the need to understand." He sighed and looked away from her soft green eyes, rubbing his forehead.

"It's extremely difficult to explain to someone who isn't Turian," he began, but stopped and sighed. She smiled and placed her hand on his knee.

"I think I can keep up," she replied.

"Let me at least put some pants on," he said and stood, turning away from her. He found his pants near the foot of the bed and slipped them on while she went and sat on the couch. He turned back and went to sit next to her. He sighed and looked at her for a moment before looking away.

"Does it happen to be part of the bonding process?" she asked and he jerked to look at her. She laughed and smiled again. "I told you I can keep up."

"How did you even know about that?" She shrugged her shoulders and crossed her legs.

"Does it matter really? I know Turians have a bonding process but that's about as much as I know," she said honestly.

"Yes actually it is part of the bonding process, but know that I never meant to do that with you, Shepard," he began. Her eyebrows flew up and he cursed himself. "No that's not what I meant- I mean that- fuck." She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him.

"Then what did you mean? I'm curious, Vakarian," she tossed back at him, pointing at him. He looked at her. She might not act like he had hurt her feelings, but he could tell that he had but she was a damn good actor, better than he was anyway.

"I meant Elizabeth," he enunciated her name clearly for effect. "That I never meant to try to bond with you without your express consent. I literally took advantage of you. I want to be bonded with you, but I know that you have history with others. When a Turian bonds with someone it is not much different than how an Asari bonds with their partner. Since you're not fully committed to this relationship the bond isn't as strong as it normally would have been if you were. If you were with Liara again she would know that someone had attempted to bond with you, she would read it in your body when you meld with her or embrace eternity as they call it," he continued carefully. He looked at her and her eyebrows were drawn down and she was looking away at her fish. He swallowed nervously. She rubbed the side of her face and glanced at him, but resumed looking at her fish.

"You think I'm not fully committed to this relationship? You think that I'm going to go running back into Liara's arms?" she repeated his words softly. He looked down at his knees and turned to face her.

"I know that you care about Liara is all that I am saying," he said, touching her shoulder and trying to get her to look at him. "Will you look at me Elizabeth?" She turned her gaze on him and her face, as well as her eyes were devoid of any emotion and he didn't like that. That was not a good thing when she masked her feelings. "Dammit," he muttered and rubbed his face with his hand. "Look I-" he started but Shepard cut him off.

"I want to know how you feel. I want you to tell me what you think I'm doing with you and what you're afraid my feelings are," she said softly, still looking at him with the flat emotionless stoic face. He paused, trying to read anything from her but came up blank. He was going to be honest.

"I feel that I care more about you than you do me. I feel like you're in love with Liara but are currently with me because she's not here. I feel that you care about me, but only as a friend. I feel like an ass and an idiot for doing what I did to you. I feel like, if given the chance, you'd go back to Liara. I know what you did with her on the Normandy, EDI and Joker have big mouths. I lost control and tried bonding with you because I love you and I don't feel that you love me back," he said quietly. The air was so thick you could have sliced it with a knife. She sighed, closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index fingers, her forehead creasing. She swallowed, removed her fingers and looked up at him, her eyes a clear, bright green. She placed her hand on the side of his face and caressed him.

"I'm sorry Garrus," she said swallowing. He felt his stomach clench and a strange tingling went through his body. He felt like a Collector had just ripped his heart out of his chest and kicked it across Palaven. "I'm sorry I made you feel like that, but none of that is true. I mean, yes Liara did come aboard the Normandy but that was before you and I. That was after Horizon where we met up with Kaiden that bastard," she said, pouring herself a glass of wine and checking the time. He sat there, listening but definitely confused. She took a sip of her wine and continued. "I care about Liara, but we can never work. I realized that soon after she left and went back to her ship on Hagalaz. Please believe me when I say this Garrus," she said and turned to him, reaching out to hold his hand. "I do care about you, very much. I would not have spent this night with you otherwise. My ego is even stroked that you lost control and tried to bond with me. The reason you might feel that I'm not fully committed to this and perhaps why the bonding affect me as well as it should have is because we're fixing to take on the Collector Base. I'm going to blow it sky high. I'm worried, I'm frustrated, I'm hopeful and I'm scared shit less. I died once already and that was painful. I remember everything about when the Normandy got blown up, but I don't want to die again despite everything. I hope that we'll all make it off the Collector Base and live to fight another day," she said, draining the rest of her wine. She looked at him and him back at her. He looked down and stared at her hand in his. Squeezing his hand, he gave her a Turian smile.

"I can live with that," he said deeply and leaned forward to press his mouth against hers.

"Siha, our ETA to the Omega-4 Relay is 45 minutes," Thanes voice said, crackling over the intercom. Garrus pulled back and looked at her with his brow plates raised.

"Thank you Thane," she responded and the intercom crackled off.

"Siha?" Garrus questioned.

"It's Drell for one of the warrior-angels of the Goddess Arashu, fierce in wrath. A tenacious protector," she answered, smiling at him.

"Should I be worried about the assassin?" he asked, standing up to grab his undershirt and jacket. She laughed.

"No, not all Garrus," she murmured before getting up herself and walking towards her armory to pull out her armor.

"Good then if I die on the Collector Base I'll die a very happy Turian."

Garrus opened his eyes and looked over at the blinking console sleepily under the map of where the Turian forces had been displayed. He sighed and sat up, grabbing his visor and put it on. He turned on his omni-tool and looked for recent messages but there were none. It was early, only around 0321 by Earth times. He stood up and looked at the picture on his desk where is sniper rifle was lying.

"Spirits, I miss you Shepard. Come back to me soon," he murmured.

Liara stood there at her computer watching the rapidly blinking light on her omni-tool. Truth be told, she was much too afraid to answer the incoming call. She suspected that it contained only more bad news. Shepard was running out of time and the more time passed the less likely it was that she would be found alive. Instead she turned to her terminal which held messages between people from all around the galaxy. She scrolled down and clicked the message open. She remembered this conversation between herself and Tali. Tali was worried about her after the attack on Thessia but had somehow managed to bring up whether or not Liara and Shepard would become an item again. Liara sighed remembering the conversation she had had with Shepard after the Mars archives.

She heard the door to her private cabin open and she turned to see Shepard stepping in and looking around before turning to her.

"Looks like you brought more than just that drone from your ship," Shepard said with a smile. Liara looked at her, her eyebrow raised.

"A few things were necessary. I'd be a very silent Shadow Broker without data feeds," she said.

"So you have access to your resources?

"What I can get. We'll need it to research this Prothean Device," she said crossing the room to her desk, sitting down and brought up a blueprint of the device on the screen. "Until we understand precisely what it does, it's far too dangerous to use."

"It'd be nice to know that we're not children playing around with a loaded gun," Shepard said, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at her.

"Exactly, but this will be difficult ever for us," she agreed standing up and walking towards Shepard. She took her hands in hers and looked down at their joined fingers. "If something happens on a mission… if either one of us are hurt. I very much enjoyed my time aboard the Normandy Shepard, but let's be honest. That was more than half a year ago. I know that you and Garrus grew close. Is that… in the past? Should I forget there was anything between us?" She looked up into Shepard's eyes, gauging for anything but all she got in return was a blank stare from those green eyes that she loved so much. Shepard pulled her hands away and nervously ran her fingers through her short dark, red hair.

"A lot has happened since then Liara. I don't think we'd work anymore," she said softly her eyes full of apology. Liara felt her heart drop into her stomach and took a breath.

"Really? I-Thank you… for letting me know," she replied as she turned away, not being able to look at the woman who just broke her heart.

"I think it's best for both us," Shepard said, reaching out to touch her arm. Liara walked towards her terminal avoiding the hand that Shepard offered and turned her back to her.

"Of course. Well… anyway. I should get back down to business. There's a lot to do if we're to discover what the Protheans left us," Liara said, typing at her computer. She heard Shepard sigh and begin to walk back towards the door but she couldn't keep herself from asking the question she desperately wanted the answer to. "Elizabeth. I-I have to ask. Why do you think it's best for both us?" She turned around and leaned against the console watching Shepard. Shepard stopped and glanced at her before turning towards her and crossing her arms over her chest. She was thinking, looking down at the floor. When she looked back at her, her eyes were a deep dark green.

"There are a few reasons. After you came to visit the Normandy and after the conversation we had, I started thinking about our future or if we'd even have one," she said, leaning against the wall. "I thought about what you said and how you are only one hundred and nine. I'm thirty or at least I think I'm thirty. With my reconstruction I'm not sure if I should count those two years that I died. You're going to live to be a thousand. I'll be lucky if I make it to one hundred and fifty, but again with the cybernetics it's possible I can live double the average life span assuming I survive this war. I can't allow myself to be a burden to you, that's not who I am," she said pushing away from the wall and going to sit in a chair, leaning back and peering at Liara. Liara looked down then back at Shepard.

"You'd never be a burden to me Elizabeth. I love you," she said going to stand in front of her. Shepard shook her head.

"You don't understand. You're going to stay beautiful until the day that you die Liara. Humans don't have that luxury," she said, her voice taking an angry edge.

"I'll always think you're beautiful Elizabeth," Liara countered, laying her hand on Shepard's shoulder which she shook off.

"Let me tell you how we age, because as far as I can tell you have no idea. When we get older we lose certain functions. Being able to go to the bathroom by ourselves, we can't hold things anymore, we lose our memories, our minds go to places and sometimes there is no coming back from that. Our bodies stop functioning correctly. I don't want you to have to change my fucking diaper Liara. I don't want you to have see me when I lose lucidity and go back to thinking that I'm still fighting the Reapers. I don't want you to have to feed me, it's degrading," she said her voice getting quiet as she looked down at the floor.

Liara stood there watching her, her heart aching for her. She felt her eyes stinging and she blinked to stop the tears from falling. Shepard sighed and rubbed her face. "Shepard," she whispered.

"No. Listen to me. When we get older we can't walk without a wheelchair or something to help us along. Our hair turns gray and thins. Our skin dulls in color, our eyes dull, our skin sags, it wrinkles. I can't let myself be with you and force you to become my nurse. You'd be unhappy. You'd be sad watching me waste away year after year, watching my mind go, watching me forget all the wonderful memories that we shared together. I might not be able to remember our children's names or our grand children's names. I would be miserable and so would you. The age difference matters Liara. I can't do that to you. I love you too much to put you in that situation," she said softly. Liara swiped at the tears that were threatening to fall, trying not to picture the future Shepard had envisioned but her brain betrayed her. She saw what Shepard saw, for only a moment, but it was enough.

She saw herself, still young, ripe and beautiful taking care of a withered old woman who had once saved the galaxy over a hundred years past sitting in a chair by a window overlooking a river. She was mumbling something and Liara went to her, placing her hand on hers, trying to hear what she was saying. The old woman looked at her, her once bright green eyes faded to a mossy green, her skin sallow and white. She saw her lips move and bent down to listen. "It's time to let me go," the old woman whispered and Liara pulled back, her eyes going wide shaking her head.

Liara snapped out of it, felt her cheeks wet with her tears and looked at Shepard. "It doesn't have to be that way. I could go with you," she said, pleading with her. Shepard shook her head and looked at her sadly.

"No. I've made up my mind. I don't want you to waste years mourning me after I die when I'm old. I want you to move on now and find someone with a comparable age. Share memories with them. Love them, cherish them," Shepard said, reaching up to wipe away her tears. She knelt to the ground in front of Shepard, laying her head on Shepard's lap choking out sobs as Shepard rubbed her back, trying to soothe away the hurt and pain. Liara tried to breathe, but it came out choppy.

"I-I love y-you Shepard," she choked out, wrapping her arms around Shepard's knees. She felt Shepard take hold of her shoulders and lift her up, forcing her to look at her.

"Take a deep breath for me, good. Another one," Shepard whispered, looking at her, her green eyes piercing into Liara's blue ones. "Come on, you need to lie down." She stood up and took Liara's hand in hers pulling her to her feet. Liara took in a deep breath and nodded. She felt Shepard lead her to the bed. She sat down and kicked off her shoes, scooching up onto the bed and lying down in the fetal position watching as Shepard got onto the bed next to her and rubbed her shoulder.

"Stay with me," she whispered, capturing Shepard's hand in hers. Shepard sighed and shook her head.

"I can't. I have to go see the Primarch," she said. "Try to sleep." Liara nodded, biting on her lip to try to stop the tears and watched as Shepard walked out of the room.

Liara looked away from the conversation between her and Tali to her bed. She walked over to grab the data pad, sitting down feeling the exhaustion in her body. She ran her hand over her face and thought about how Shepard had comforted her after Thessia. It was not planned and Liara had had no intention of it going as far as it had, but it had helped. Shepard had known she needed it and would suffer the consequences with Garrus later.

She was lying on the bed thinking about Thessia. It was nice of Shepard to have come and talked to her afterwards. To get her ass moving to help the refugees and anyone else that she could possibly help. Watching her planet burn and fall was one of the most difficult things she had ever had to deal with and now she knew how Shepard must feel about Earth. She heard a knock on her door and sat up; telling whoever it was that it was open. Shepard walked in and shut it behind her.

"Oh, Shepard," she said, sitting up fully and crossing her legs. "I want to thank you for coming to me earlier. I was able to set up resources and send out agents to help as many as they could."

"Good. I'm glad you're able to help," Shepard said, smiling softly at her and coming to sit on the foot of her bed. "Are you feeling any better?"

"No, not really. I now fully understand how difficult it must have been for you to leave Earth Shepard," she said, moving some files to the floor. Shepard shrugged and scooted up on the bed to lean against the headboard, crossing her feet at the ankles.

"It's the price of being a commanding officer and being ordered to leave. I've had to make a lot of difficult decisions," she replied quietly, looking at her.

"We'll get back to Earth Shepard." She took Shepard's hand in hers and squeezed, smiling at her. "Is there something you needed?" Shepard shook her head.

"No. I just came to check in on you and escape the massive card game in the lounge though I did have a few drinks," she said, smiling. Liara gave a small laugh and looked at her. She looked down, the image of her home world burned into her brain.

"This was is unimaginable. The Reapers just… they don't hesitate at all," she said, feeling the familiar stinging of tears behind her eyes. She drew in a deep, shaky breath. "All of those innocent people. Those families and children being slaughtered back there Shepard it's…" But she couldn't finish. Her voice stopped and the tears fell. Shepard pulled her against her into a hug, holding her tight rubbing circles on her back.

"Hey, hey. Come here," Shepard said. Liara wrapped her arms around Shepard's back and clung to her, sobbing on her shoulder. When she quieted she pulled back and looked into Shepard's soft, liquid eyes. Hesitantly she leaned forward and pressed her lips against Shepard's, her tears falling silent over her cheeks and splashing down onto her clothes. She felt Shepard hesitate for a second before responding, sliding her hand over Liara's shoulder and down her side.

Under Shepard's soft lips, she opened her mouth and ran her tongue over Shepard's bottom lip, moaning when she responded. She felt Shepard's hand, slide over her hip and her tongue glide over her own. Hungrily she drank in everything that Shepard was offering, opening her mouth wider to accommodate Shepard's questing tongue. She pressed her hands against Shepard's shoulder and lightly pushed her back onto the bed, stripping herself out of her clothes while she watched as the woman in front of her discarded her own clothes.

Shepard reached out a thin hand to Liara and she placed hers in the hand offered and let Shepard pull her down to her side facing Shepard. She ran her hand over Shepard's side, feeling the soft swell of her breast, the gentle curving of her waist and the velvet sloping of her hip. Again she pressed her mouth to Shepard's, moaning as their tongues twined together battling for submission and domination.

Shepard moved and was on top of her, running her soft hands over breasts, her stomach and down between her legs. Liara tossed her head back into the pillow, lying flat on her back, running her fingers through Shepard's hair and down her arms as Shepard kissed her neck, sending shivers down her spine. Her blue hands ran down Shepard's tanned shoulders and over the mounding of flesh to the hardened peaks of her nipples drawing out a soft moan from Shepard. The feeling of Shepard's parted lips drawing her skin into the woman's mouth, made Liara's eyes close and whispered her name. Shepard pulled away from her neck and kissed her way down to Liara's large, supple breasts. She took a deep blue nipple in her mouth and Liara moaned, pressing her hips up against Shepard while her own fingers plucked at Shepard's nipples, making her groan around Liara's nipple.

Shepard kissed her way back up to Liara's mouth, pressing her hips against Liara's before continuing down the other side and giving as much attention to her other breast. Slowly she made her way down Liara's body, drawing moans and soft whispers from her as she continued touching her.

Liara could feel that was already wet by the time Shepard was down far enough and felt like the world exploded around her as Shepard pressed her tongue against her clitoris. Liara let out a loud moan saying, "Elizabeth, it feels so…" She took a deep breath when Shepard sucked on her, lifting her hips to her mouth saying her name over and over again.

She opened her eyes to watch Shepard as she slid a finger inside of her, while sucking and licking on her hot spot making her breathing speed up and words got stuck in her throat. She threaded her fingers into Shepard's hair, while she ran her free hand over her stomach and up to her breast, rubbing her nipples. "Elizabeth!" she cried, feeling herself at the brink of ecstasy. She looked into Shepard's eyes as Shepard brought her to completion, her hips bucking and her moans filling the room. She felt Shepard kiss up her body, stopping to pay attention to her nipples before sucking on her neck.

Liara turned her head and captured Shepard's mouth in hers, turning them over so Shepard was now on the receiving end. Slowly she kissed her, sliding her tongue over Shepard's loving the sounds she was making. She let her hand wander down her body to her pussy, sliding a slender blue finger in between her lips and was rewarded with an intake of breath from the woman under her.

She rubbed her own breasts against Shepard's, while gently running her finger in circles of her clitoris. Shepard closed her eyes and moaned softly, clenching the sheets in her hands spreading her legs wider for Liara.

Liara bent and captured one of her rosy nipples in her mouth as she slid her finger inside of Shepard, feeling how slick and wet she was. Shepard lifted her hips and said her name, as she ran her hand down the back of Liara's neck. Liara used her tongue to trail down her body, before softly running her tongue over Shepard's clitoris as she inserted another finger drawing a sharp, lusty cry from Shepard's throat.

She moved her fingers in and out of her at a steady pace, while sucking on her clitoris enjoying how Shepard's hips bucked and she said her name, telling her that she was close. She stopped and pulled away, climbing back up Shepard's body.

Shepard looked at her, with her eyebrows raised. "I want to feel you against me," she explained and tugged Shepard into the position that she wanted. They both moaned when their parts touched each other, both slick from each of their wetness. Liara's eyes slid shut and they rubbed their bodies against each other, touching each other.

She felt Shepard's fingers playing with her nipples so she reciprocated. Liara opened her eyes feeling herself close again she looked at Shepard. They pressed against each other tightly, the bodies moving frantically.

"Liara!" Shepard cried and Liara watched as Shepard's orgasm took a hold of her. Not being able to fight it any longer she let herself go and came with her, sliding her tongue into Shepard's mouth and their bodies reached completion together. The fell back on the bed, both feeling the aftershocks of their love making. Liara took Shepard's hand in hers and turned towards her.

"Elizabeth… I never meant- I mean I'm- what about Garrus?" Shepard propped herself up on her side with her arm and looked at her, sighing.

"You needed this and I was here for you. I'll worry about Garrus," she said and turned away to start getting dressed.

Liara opened her eyes, feeling as if that was so long ago. From what she heard however, Garrus had taken quiet well and had been understanding. Though he did make Liara promise that it would never happen again. Liara smiled, but turned her attention to her omni-tool, her smile fading. It was now or never that she answer this call and get it over with. It was better to have any news than no news at all. She took a deep breath and pressed the answer button.

"Liara?" Grunt's face appeared.

"Is there any news?" she asked, standing up and walking towards her console.

"We found Shepard Liara. She's alive."