Summary: Spanning over a few days time we get a look at Liara, Javik and Garrus.

Author's Notes: I love all the reviews that I got and am thrilled that everyone is still enjoying my mediocre story. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy! I hope you enjoy this one as well!

Disclaimer: I own nothing as all of it belongs to Bioware.

"By the Goddess," Liara muttered tapping her console angrily, her lips turning up in a smile despite her anger remembering Garrus making fun of her. She shook her head and bent down searching for the wire that was culprit of her frustration. Her eyes landed on a thick black braided cord that ran from the base of the console towards the right near her message terminal. Reaching she grasped it and tugged on it gently. The minicomputer slid from the desk and bounced off the floor landing somewhere near the door. Grasping the cord she maneuvered it up and hooked it over a thin metal bar so she could easily reach it to plug it back in, but it fell instead. "Dammit!" She sighed and went to stand but a voice startled her making her jump and she clipped her head on the desk sending a shockwave of pain through her. She pressed her hand against the pain and smacked the side of the desk in anger. She leaned back on her heels, waiting for the pain to subside and looked at the source of the voice.

"Troubles, Asari?" He leaned down and picked up her computer, turning it in his hands and glanced at her. Inwardly she groaned. Now was certainly not the time for his smartass comments about her being incapable of doing even the smallest of things because she was a primitive. Again she tried to maneuver the cord and this time the blasted thing stayed right where she wanted it.

"I have a name, Javik. I would prefer it if you would use it instead of insisting on calling me Asari." She laid her hand on the desk, using it to lift herself from the floor and stood. She used her thumb and index to rub the bridge of her nose trying to alleviate some of the pain from her headache. She jumped slightly at a light pressure on her arm and looked at Javik.

"You're right. I'm-I'm sorry, Liara," he said handing her the minicomputer. She gave him a small smile and took the offered object, setting it back down on the desk. She reached for the cord but his hand stopped her and she looked at him. "Here. Let me help you." She raised her eyebrows at him as he turned and gracefully plugged the cord into her computer then turned it on for her. Recently his behavior towards her had changed and she was still trying to work it out in her mind.

Normally he usually treated her coldly, dismissing her questions of the Protheans with anger and irritation, but since Shepard's party on the Citadel he had been calling her on the intercom to talk for no apparent reason, showing up at her door with a cup of tea claiming that he had made too much for himself. She found this odd and wasn't quite sure what to make of it. On more than one occasion Tali had told her that Javik had asked about her or called her to ask questions about her. When she had asked Tali what the conversations entailed she was ether vague or would start giggling which confused her even more.

After a mission from Admiral Hackett, before their assault on the Illusive Man's base, Shepard had seen her in the mess hall and told her that Javik was looking for her. When she asked for what reason all she had done was smile and mutter something about her blue eyes and voice then went on to find Garrus to presumably relieve tension or at least that was what Shepard and Garrus had always told everyone when asked why they spent so much time in between missions hanging out in the gun battery. Tali and Joker would always start laughing hysterically when she asked what they could possibly be doing in the gun battery to relieve tension but never actually answered her questions.

She turned her thoughts back to Javik who was standing unnecessarily close to her, glanced at him, and quickly typed in her password. He was standing there watching her and it was making her quite nervous. She inhaled through her nose, catching the scent of his cologne and it made her stomach flutter. He smelled like the forests on Thessia mixed with leather and something spicy though she couldn't place her finger on it. She exhaled quickly, trying to deny what she was feeling and turned away from the computer to look at him.

"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked. He gave her a ghost of a smile, showing his pointed eye teeth, and chuckled. He looked at her and tilted his head, his eyes narrowing slightly. Nervously she felt herself flush, her cheeks getting hot under his gaze.

"Am I making you nervous?" As best she could she gave a small laugh that was intended to sound more irritated than breathless and crossed her arms over her chest trying to hide her sweating hands. She swallowed and leaned back.

"Of course not." The look he gave her told her that he didn't believe her, but he didn't press her and for that she was thankful. He looked over his shoulder at Glyph then back to her.

"Your drone is quiet today," he stepped towards her, closing the space between them and she felt her heartbeat pounding against her chest. He was quiet for a moment, continuing to look at her. His gaze was beginning to unnerve her as well as his closeness. She swallowed reflexively and glanced at the incessant blinking green light her terminal alerting her to new messages.

Before her computer had been unplugged she had been trying to figure out a way to boost the signal from Admiral Hackett's ship to Earth and it was proving to be a difficult challenge. While she was researching quantum entanglements she had enlisted the help of the highly qualified and skilled Specialist Traynor. Traynor had droned at her for forty-five minutes about interfaces, communicators and other tech laced information that Liara knew nothing about before leaving and seeking out EDI and Tali telling Liara over her shoulder that contacting the scientists would also help.

Staring at the blinking light reminded her that there were important emails for Tali from the Admiralty Board that needed forwarding as well as classified and urgent marked messages for Garrus from Councilor Sparatus and despite her immense curiosity she had not opened them respecting their privacy.

She was broken out of her thoughts when Javik reached towards her suddenly, encircling her wrists with his fingers and bowed his head. She had never felt anything like this as she was forced to the melding of their minds, feeling as if the breath was knocked out of her as their memories, thoughts, and feelings were exchanged.

She closed her eyes, quickly trying to regain her balance, pushing back against his mind and embraced the melding. She saw images bright and beautiful of the Protheans passing by her as he searched for something, probing her mind, reading her body. He threw information at her at an alarming rate, things she had always wondered about his species were answered and she felt breathless.

She grasped his arms, digging her fingers into his flesh and held on. She dug deeper into his mind but slammed into a hard wall unable to penetrate it. She tried working her way around this wall and found small way inside, pushing her limits and felt the most overwhelming amount of pain crush her, leaving her gasping as it washed over her scalding her.

He jerked away immediately, pulling his hands away having found what he was searching for and stared at her as emotions flickered over his face and through his eyes, too fast for her to decipher what they meant. She stared at him, panting heavily and as he finally settled on a stoic expression.

"What? What was-"

"It does not matter as it appears I was wrong," he said through gritted teeth. "You love the Commander." It wasn't a question but a simple statement and for reasons unknown to her she felt guilty and wanted to explain to him but he turned away, anger radiating from him and she reached grabbing his arm.

"Javik," she tried but he shook off her hand and strode out of her room without a backward glance.

The last thing she had expected was for him to read her, but the forced melding of their minds left her reeling. She should have felt violated. Instead all she wanted to do was go to him, soothe away the pain she had encountered, and figure out what he had been searching for.

He had been throwing pictures and information at her to keep her distracted while he searched her mind and it had worked. Closing her eyes, she sank to the floor and went over everything that had just happened. What was he looking for? What had been so important that he had melded with her so violently?

She leaned back against the desk and wondered at his anger. He melded with her, took things from her mind without kindness, gave things to her forcibly, and he was angry? What did he mean that he was wrong? Wrong about what? She tried to find what he was looking for but came up with nothing. She could find no rhyme or reason for what just happened let alone his sudden anger at her. She sighed, momentarily giving up but determined to get answers.

For now, however, she needed to help Admiral Hackett and forward those messages.

He was a fool. A fool to think that she- no, he would not think about it, he told himself staring at his reflection in the water. No matter what he tried to think about, his thoughts kept betraying him and in sheer frustration he slammed his hands against the water basin watching as the water splashed against the sides and spilled over the edge.

His plan had been laid out and all the edges had been smoothed away. He was to return to Eden Prime and live out the rest of his days there or until he decided that he didn't want to continue any longer, but when Joker had offered to drop him off, as per his request, he couldn't go. He couldn't force himself to leave the confines of the Normandy or to leave her behind.

That damned Asari ruined it all, he thought angrily. He had told Shepard on more than one occasion that his purpose on this ship was to destroy the Reapers, not to make friends or more with himself and the crew but at some point, and that particular point eluded him, he began to care for the crew as friends and more despite his best efforts to ignore them and their personal lives.

It wasn't as easy as he had thought it would be. Shepard was always coming down to talk to him, Liara was constantly calling or visiting him for various reasons, Tali had even called him as well as the Krogan, Wrex, and he even found himself considering Garrus a good friend and comrade must to his disbelief. The more he thought about them, talked to them, and listened to them he realized how empty he had felt but would never have dared to admit that to anyone of them except perhaps Shepard.

Commander Shepard. Now that was someone he greatly respected on more than one level. He had thought her to be naïve at first with her childish views on Synthetics but she had proved him wrong and he was willing to admit it. He didn't think she had it in her to be the Commanding Officer that her crew claimed her to be. He was surprised and shocked to learn that she was more than capable. After learning that she had stopped a Reaper invasion twice, single handedly, made him curious about her so he used the extranet to research her. He even went as far as talking to the crew. Every single one of them had never doubted her, except for the human biotic, Kaidan he believed his name was.

He was more than surprised to learn that Garrus, Tali and Joker had been the only ones to have stayed with her from the beginning. Shepard had a fire about her and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he had never had the same fire she possessed when he lead his own people in the war against the Reapers. She had an air about her that exuded confidence. She was always calm with the very occasional outbursts. She never spoke without thinking about what she would say. She could talk down anyone and that was something he liked about her.

When she would take him with her on missions it astounded him at the amount of respect she received from people of all species. The Turians even admired her, even looked up to her as if hoping they could be half the warrior she was. The Quarians who, even in his time had been a quiet and shy people, hung onto her every word and seemed to trust her decision. Once coming to the realization that she was bonded with Garrus he began to understand why he always looked so full of pride that it literally shined off of him when people seemed to forget themselves and stammer at her in their happiness to see her and be able to talk to the great Commander Shepard or rush up to her to thank her. She was one of a very few number that he was willing to die for or with. He, like her crew, would follow her into hell and back with no regrets and he thanked her for opening is stasis pod.

He couldn't blame her for Liara's feelings since he knew that hers were not reciprocated but he still felt some slight animosity towards her. He wanted, no needed Liara to feel the same about him and it angered him that she was in love with Shepard when she was not wanted. He didn't understand how she could harbor such strong emotions for her knowing that Shepard had made her decision to bond with Garrus.

How could she not see that he had feelings for her? He thought in frustration turning around, grabbing his memory shard and hurling it across the room in anger. It hit the wall and clattered to the floor and he stared at it, breathing heavily.

He couldn't get her out of his head no matter what he tried to do. He had tried to help Tali with EDI, despite his prejudice against AIs, even offered to help Garrus with his calibrations and worked out with Vega while trying to ignore the looks from the shuttle pilot Cortez and went so far as to play poker with the men slamming drinks with all of them, Garrus included, afterwards.

No matter what he did he still sought her out and tried to talk to her, keeping his comments at a minimum. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her blue ones looking at him, heard her voice when she wasn't in the room. He believed he was going insane. He leaned against the wall and sank to the floor, his head in between hi s knees, crushing his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut.

He refused to put a name to the feelings he was having and perhaps, in retrospect, it was causing his distress. If this was love then he wanted to crush it and toss it into the area of his mind where he shoved all the pain of losing his friends, family and squad mates. The part of his mind that he sealed off, the same part he had felt Liara trying to work into before he broke his connection with her after learning of her love for the Commander and how deep it actually ran through her.

He groaned, slamming his head against the wall behind him, kicking his legs out in front of him. He knew he should probably attempt to apologize for violating her privacy, taking her memories, thoughts and feelings without warning or explanation but what would he say? The truth? He scoffed at the idea, picturing her laughing at him, pointing at him and cruelly turning him away saying he was deluding himself.

You could have just asked her of her feelings for the Commander, a tiny annoying voice in the back of his mind threw at him. He brushed it away, ignoring it. That wasn't the only thing he had looked for while he had been inside her mind and was pleasantly surprised to find that she was not the perfect woman she tried so hard to be as well as how hard she tried to bury her guilt and pain of losing her mother, the woman who betrayed her species and deluded herself into thinking she could guide the Turian to a more righteous path and failed causing her own death which was meaningless.

Admit what else you found, the voice piped up again reverberating through his brain. He shook his head slowly.

There was nothing else you interminable witling! The voice barked out a sarcastic laugh making him grit his teeth, his anger slowly returning.

Liar. Admit it. He growled and slammed his hand against the floor ignoring the blinding pain that shot up into his arm. You felt it. You know it was there, why must you persist in convincing yourself otherwise?

It was not enough. He finally admitted, rubbing his hand and leaned his head back against the wall.

No?

No. Now leave me be.

Anything is better than nothing.

He looked at the water on the floor wondering if the voice was gone for a moment before pushing himself up, grabbing a cloth and beginning to clean it up. The voice was right, despite his best attempts at ignoring it but her love for Shepard was too strong to even entertain the thought. He half expected the voice to come back but it was quiet inside his head.

He stood up and tossed the rag to the side, wiping his hands on his armor. He had to talk to her he decided. But first he needed to speak to someone who had firsthand knowledge of this, this thing whatever it was. He knew he couldn't just barge into her personal space, again, and demand answers and reveal his feelings.

With his mind made up he strode from the room heading towards the gun battery.

Garrus stood in the front of the comm-link waiting for the connection to be established, his palms sweating and thought back to Shepard's words.

"I noticed Generals saluting you, Garrus. How far down the line of succession are you these days?" He away from her for a moment.

"Let's not go there."

"Why not? I've seen you in action. Think about it… "Primarch Vakarian: honored war hero". Somebody's going to need to rebuild Palaven when this is over."

"Your confidence is… inspiring. But it'll have to be someone who knows how to hold a hammer."

And yet, here he stood waiting for his connection to the Councilor to give him his decision. He had received and urgent message from Councilor Sparatus who had informed him that Primarch Adrien Victus had been declared killed in action and he was now in line for the seat of Primarch. He opened his omni-tool to read through his email once again still doubting whether he was correct or not.

I know that this is not an easy decision for you to make and I am very aware of how this will be difficult for you, given the simple fact that the Relays have been badly damaged but you have proven yourself on more than one occasion. Your actions in 2183 coupled with your determination to ready our people for the war against the Reapers have shown that you are more than capable and ready to handle this responsibility. I admit that I was among the many who dismissed your claims and had no faith in you and for that I am regretful, but you are the sole ray of hope for our people.

Our people, our way of life and the continuity of our civilization are now in your hands. I believe that you can lead our people and guide them in these dark times, Officer Vakarian. Our people look up to you as they have no other before. You along with Commander Shepard and the crew of the SSV Normandy have done more than anyone could have ever asked of you. You alone saved the entire galaxy from certain extinction. I ask that you consider this off and give me your answer in the next 24 hours.

He was brought out of his revere by the blinking light and stepped forward taking in a deep breath. He briefly wondered what Shepard would think. He pressed the blue light.

"Officer Vakarian, it's a pleasure to you," Sparatus said, clasping his hands together in front of him.

"Councilor," he nodded at him.

"Have you considered what I wrote to you about?" Garrus shifted his weight and nodded. "Very good. And your decision?" For a moment Garrus considered turning and running back to the gun battery but instead found himself stuck to the ground as his words left his mouth even when he was not entirely certain.

"I accept." The Councilor exhaled deeply and then smiled at him.

"I am very glad to hear it. Preparations will be underway. I will personally be letting the fleets know that you are now the new Primarch and should be treated as such. As soon as we are able we will hold a ceremonial service, presumably on Earth."

"Councilor, are you sure you want me to be the new Primarch? Surely there are others who are more qualified than I am." The Councilor chuckled and gave him a knowing look.

"Had I not believed that you were ready I would have found someone else. Now, Primarch Vakarian I must get back to my duties. If there is nothing else I would suggest, and this is merely a suggestion, that you begin to try and establish a connection to the Fleets and work out the logistics of reforming the Hierarchy. I will forward as many dossiers as I can. If you ever need me feel no hesitation in contacting me. Good day and good luck, Primarch."

The link was severed and Garrus was left standing there not having any idea how to feel. He wanted to talk to Shepard but was told that was not going to be possible again until they reach Earth. Liara was vague in her answers as to why which frustrated him, but told him that she was dealing with the Alliance and Council.

He had little more than a week until they were at Earth and if he couldn't see her he would have to occupy his time with something else. It seemed that Sparatus had given him something to do and as much as he wasn't feeling up to it he had no choice. He was Primarch now, even more so he was a Turian, and it was his absolute duty to make sure that the Turian people had a competent leader and to reestablish the Government of his people.

Sighing he turned and began to make his way back to the gun battery. He smiled as he stepped off the elevator and noticed Javik sitting with Liara in the mess hall together talking quietly. Javik met his eyes as he passed and he nodded at him. Apparently his little talk with him went well after all. He shook his head remembering how Javik had burst into the gun battery a few days prior looking like a crazy man.

He turned at the sudden commotion and lifting a questioning brow to Javik who was standing there looking as if something were chasing him. He no longer found it odd when Javik appeared out of nowhere to speak to him and it surprised him at how he began to consider Javik a friend.

"Everything alright?" He set down his rifle, carefully placing his scope on the bench and leaned back against the bench. Javik gave him a look, sighed and sat down across from him.

"Do you have alcohol?" Garrus jerked his head towards a crate next to him and he pulled out a dextro-levo safe bottle of some of the strongest alcohol Garrus could find and poured them both a glass. Javik took a deep drink and drew his brows down. He looked at Garrus and opened his mouth as if to say something to him, but closed his mouth, pressing his lips together as if thinking better about it.

"What's got you so wound up?" They drank in silence for a few more moments before Javik finally spoke.

"You understand women. You are bonded with the Commander. I have a question." Garrus lifted a brow plate at him. This was certainly unexpected. He nodded slowly, wondering where this conversation was going to go. "How did you deal with Shepard's feelings towards Liara?" He jerked back at the question and gave a small laugh.

"Well I uh, what?" Javik sighed in frustration and drained the rest of his glass pouring himself more and topping off Garrus' glass.

"Must I spell it out to you? When you first began your bizarre relationship with the Commander how did you feel knowing that she was still in love with the Asari?" He wasn't sure how to answer the question really.

"Part of me felt worried that she would, in the end, choose Liara over me. I wasn't sure how she would feel after the Omega-4 Relay and even more uncertain after the Reapers began attacking. We were separated for six months with no way to communicate but on the other hand," he said taking a sip from his glass. "I also felt that since she came to me she must have cared about me in some way. It wasn't just about blowing off steam or easing tension for her and I knew that as well."

"How did you convince her to love only you?" He took another hard sip from his glass. Garrus sighed and ran a tired hand over his face, scratching at a deep scar that still would twinge with pain every now and again.

"It wasn't," he paused and adjusted his visor, thinking about what to say. "I never convinced or forced her to love me. That's not something you can force. It-it's complicated." Javik looked at him expectantly, his four eyes blinking slowly and he had to suppress a laugh at the look in his face. "I made it known to her that I cared. After not seeing her for six months and already knowing that she had recruited Liara onto the Normandy I had my doubts. When she came to me I fully expected her to turn me away but she didn't and I knew then that she loved me. No matter what I would have respected her decision but that's not to say that I would have given up."

"How did you deal with it knowing that she loved the Asari?" Garrus looked at him for a moment, his eyes narrowing.

"What is this about?" Javik took a drink for him glass and set it back down with a loud click.

"Answer the question, Turian." Garrus barked out a laugh and when he didn't answer Javik fixed him with a steely look before dropping his eyes back to his almost empty glass. "That damned Asari has somehow found a way to get inside my head." He looked back at Garrus whose mandible twitched in slight amusement. "What can I do when she is so obviously still in love with the Commander?" Garrus' mandible clenched tight against his jaw, a sour look taking over his face for a moment. He didn't like that Liara still cared for Shepard and Javik smirked in satisfaction.

"You can't force her to care about you, like I said. The most you can do is talk to her and admit your feelings. Worst case scenario she says she's not interested." Javik made a noise and stood.

"After what did I am not so certain the Asari will be willing to talk me." He was pacing in front of Garrus.

"What did you do?" he asked cautiously. Javik paused in his pacing for a moment to glance at him. He had the decency to look slightly ashamed of himself.

"I melded with her mind forcibly. I couldn't ask her so I just took the information I wanted." Garrus groaned and leaned back against the wall, looking up at the ceiling for a moment. He lifted his arms and pointed at Garrus. "I gave her information about my people that she wanted to know in return." Garrus shook his head, running a hand over his eyes.

"You're going to have to apologize. You know that don't you?" Javik blinked at him for a long moment before nodding. "You have to stop calling her Asari as well."

"How do I get her to love me?"

"It's not going to happen overnight. You can't just rush in and say that you love her and beg her to love you back. You have to talk to her, spend time with her and do things with her. Liara is a very kind and understanding woman. It's not in her to be cruel. She'll listen to anything you have to say."Javik sat back down and poured them another glass.

"What do I say to her?" Garrus looked at him and felt sort of bad for him. He really did care for her, but he was very inadequate at this. Not that he had been much better when first beginning his tumultuous relationship with Shepard now that he thought about it.

"You say you're sorry and explain your actions. Listen to what she has to say. Ask her to have a drink with you and enjoy her company."

"You make it sound as if it will be that easy."

"It will if you don't make another mistake. I wouldn't wait too long though." Javik downed the rest of his drink and stood, looking at Garrus.

"If this makes the situation worse-"

"You know where to find me." Javik nodded and quickly left the gun battery leaving Garrus behind shaking his head and smiling. Love always found a way.

His omni-tool alerting him to a new message brought him back to the present. He cast one last look at Javik and Liara before opening the door to the gun battery. The Councilor worked fast and Garrus had over one hundred dossiers blinking at him in his inbox.

Time to start acting like Primarch he thought as he opened the first of many dossiers.