I wanted to say thanks again for all the kind words and alerts. I put this story on the back burner for so long, it's nice to see you still like it. I've been writing like mad and will probably finish writing it all today or tomorrow and upload the last, oooh, six or seven chapters over the next few days. Another short one, this time a look at Butler. The end is coming and it's been rough to write, but also good to get it all down at last. Enjoy.

Ch. 21

Melanis was more hurt than he let on. Butler could see that. He'd been caught in one of the bomb explosions, and pieces of the turian's plating were just gone from his shoulder and back, exposing tender, pink skin once the burns and soot were cleaned away.

Monteague was in bad shape, too, his left leg had been shattered from a gunshot, chunks of his armor caught in the flesh. The doctor had slapped some medi-gel on it and took a handful of stims so that he could tend to the injured back at the base with Butler's assistance. Monty gave Melanis a handful of painkillers after cleaning and bandaging the wound. Now the kid was lying on his stomach with his arms folded under his chin and a miserable expression on his bony face.

It was the first time Butler had ever seen a turian out of its armor, and Melanis looked strangely human, like a scrawny teenager in a Halloween mask.

Butler stepped outside the infirmary and into the hall, fingers running over his omni-tool. He needed to call home.

His wife answered almost immediately with a hint of panic in her voice, "Neil?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"You're okay?"

"Yeah."

"Everyone else?"

"Everyone is alive." He listened to her exhale, and then heard Kiran call out to her in the background. Butler closed his eyes. "He should be in bed."

"When I can't sleep, he can't sleep. Are you coming home tonight?"

"I don't know, Nalah. Garrus isn't back yet."

"He's not hurt, is he?"

"I don't know. He's not back yet." Butler glanced back into the room and saw Melanis watching him, then look away quickly when he was spotted. "I'll call you when I find out, okay?"

Nalah sighed. "Okay. I love you, Neil."

"Love you too, sweetheart. See you later." He slid his fingers along the omni-tool to end the call, and stepped back into the infirmary towards Melanis.

Garrus usually gave Butler a heads up before missions like the one they just walked away from. Enough time to go home and hug his kids and wife if nothing else. Enough time to say good-bye in case this was the time he wasn't coming home.

Other, quieter nights Garrus would visit their little apartment at Nalah's insistence. She'd make him a home-cooked meal, the closest thing to Punjabi chole she could craft with turian ingredients. He'd always pour on the compliments when it came to her cooking, and was always patient if a bit awkward with his kids.

"That was your wife?" Melanis asked.

Butler nodded, pulling a chair up to his bedside. "Yep. Painkillers kicking in?"

"Nalah, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you've got kids."

Butler was silent a moment, fixing his dark gaze on the young turian. Finally, he nodded. "Ava and Kiran. Three and eighteen months."

"Don't take this the wrong way," Melanis arched his brows, "but I always thought it was stupid for people to have kids on Omega."

Butler tilted his head, "What about your parents?"

Melanis shrugged, and then winced at the pain the action brought. "Look how they ended up," he muttered.

Butler exhaled slowly, hanging his head, hands clasped between his knees. "I didn't know your mom or dad." He lifted his head, looking back at him. "But I'm sure they were doing the best they could for you."

The turian looked back at him with a scowl. "They were Blue Suns."

"I was a merc, too." Butler shrugged. "Freelance. Until Ava was born. My dad-…" He trailed off, frowning down at his hands. "I had a shitty father, Mel. And I didn't want to be him. When Nalah told me she was pregnant, I realized for the first time that I didn't want to be him. You hear people say it all the time, y'know, having a kid changes you. But it's true. You hold your little girl in your arms for the first time, and nothing is the same. There's a little person who is so… completely vulnerable, who depends on you for everything. And in that moment, to keep her safe, you are willing to sacrifice everything that used to mean something to you."

Melanis fell silent and rolled onto his uninjured side, eyes on the human. "I don't know if I buy that."

"That's how it was for me."

Melanis' mandibles tucked close to the sides of his face. "They didn't get out when I was born."

Butler had to think for a moment, leaning back in his chair. "If they tried to get out and gotten killed for it when you were a baby instead of a young man, you'da been much worse off."

"Maybe." Melanis lifted his arm and looked at his bandages.

"I'm going to tell you something that took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out." Butler leaned forward, meeting Melanis' gaze. "You don't have to be your father. You can be the man you wish he was." He lifted a shoulder and glanced as his omni-tool, spotting two dots on the display that represented Sidonis and Garrus approaching the base. "You might have figured that out already, though. You'll really get it when you have kids."

The turian snorted, "Yeah right. I'm never having kids."

Butler chuckled as he got to his feet, "Uh huh. That's what I said. Get some rest, huh?"