Flux was filled with smoke, the sound of people screaming as they tried to escape from the club. Bouncers were filing people out of the doors and into the wards. Shepard was picking himself up off the floor, wandering through the smoke filled room as his ears rung. The explosion hadn't caused any damage to the structure but the blast and shock wave had blown back the tables and destroyed the bar area.

The commander was standing up in the middle of the club, looking around. Kaidan was behind him, slowly pushed himself off the ground. Tali and Garrus were also picking themselves up, dusting themselves off. They had been the closest to the agent when Feral had shouted that dreaded word….bomb. Then he realised he couldn't see Feral anywhere, he had dived for cover instantly and now he couldn't see him

"FERAL?" Shepard shouted out, stumbling around over a knocked over bar table. His eyes darting around the club as he desperately tried to find the man. Scanning around the bar until finally he saw something on the floor, blood. It had to be been Feral's but it had been smeared along the floor as if he had moved.

Shepard followed the trail before he finally saw Feral, who'd propped himself up against a wall. The commander couldn't believe that he'd been able to move when he saw him; let alone speak.

"Hey Shepard" Feral groaned out, his breathing was forced. He was having trouble getting the words out. "I am never drinking" Feral coughed, a small amount of blood splattering onto the ground "ever again" he tried to laugh but just ended up moaning in agony.

Feral was slumped out against the wall, his head laying back. His legs were out in front of him and his arms were limp against his thighs. Feral had taken the brunt of both the explosion and the shock wave and he was in a bad way because of it.

The cuts on his face were already starting to close up, but his eyes were bloodshot and it looked like he was having trouble focusing on anything. He had a few large gashes on his chest and sides but he guessed the man's shields had stopped the majority of it. But the sound of Feral's breathing was worrying him, even with his titanium reinforced bones it sound like the man's lungs were having issues.

The most obvious problem was Feral's arms and legs. He'd obviously built up his shields around his head and chest; the shielding hadn't protected the rest of his body as much. Feral's arms and legs had been torn apart in several places. Missing pieces of flesh and muscle were making the titanium weaving on his bones shine out slightly on his forearms and hands. His legs weren't fairing any better and he was bleeding badly out of the gaping flesh wounds.

Shepard had looked over Feral in a second, jumping forward and letting his combat training take effect. His omni-tool lighting up as he started to apply medi-gel in all the places he could. He could see Feral's regeneration was working but the damage was so deep, the man could bleed out before his body could heal. "MEDIC!" Shepard called back to his team without ever turning around; he was working as fast as he could.

For the first time since he had met Feral, he was in a situation where the man could actually die on him.

Kaidan had made his way over to Garrus and Tali, all three of them were disorientated. The blast had hit them and knocked them down, but apart from their head's hurting and feeling very sore. They were all ok. All three of them were scanning around the room, Feral had yet to be seen and Shepard had disappeared into the distance. Tali practically felt her heart stop when she heard Shepard screaming medic through the smoke.

Kaidan and Garrus were the first to react to the call, running in the direction of the scream. Their military training kicking in as they rushed towards the position, moving out of sight as Tali just stood there. Feral was hurt….he was hurt badly and the sound of Shepard's scream. It was panicked, she knew what that meant and finally she was able to bolt forward. Following her friends quickly around the corner.

She stopped when she saw all the blood on the floor, footprints had smudged it but she could see it smeared off towards Shepard. Gasping and panting as she followed the trail around the corner, her eyes just stared at the scene in front of her.

Garrus was standing over them, she could hear him calling for the Normandy to ready the medical bay. Shepard had ordered them to be on standby, Chakwas was the best doctor he knew and the only one he trusted in this situation.

Both Kaidan and Shepard were applying whatever medi-gel they had onto Feral, she could see them talking as they tried to figure out the best places to put it.

Then she saw Feral and once again her heart stopped, her friend was slumped against the wall. Blood dripping out of the corners of his mouth, his eyes were blood shot and she couldn't even see where his pupils began. His face had blood on it as well but she could see the cuts closing up, her heart starting at that. It meant his regeneration was still working, but the sight of his arms and legs quickly made her stop celebrating.

She could see the shimmer of his bones, the metal weaved into his skeleton was making the light shine slightly off of them. All of the skin on the backs of his arms had been torn away, blood constantly leaking out onto the floor and onto his legs. He was bleeding out, the wounds to his arms and legs were deep and there was so much blood. A normal human would have been dead by now, but Feral was barely hanging on by a thread.

She just watched helplessly as the men worked, a group of the Normandy's crew members suddenly burst into Flux carrying a stretcher with them. They'd been in C-sec and had grabbed a stretcher from Dr Michel's clinic when they had heard the news of the explosion. They had no idea what had happened to Feral, they'd simply wanted to help any of the wounded.

Tali watched as they moved Feral onto the stretcher, they had managed to stop most of the bleeding, but he was still in trouble. He had lost a lot of blood and his skin was even paler than usual, he needed to get to Chakwas fast. She just watched as the carefully picked up the stretcher he was laying on. As the men, including Shepard and Kaidan, ran out of Flux. Feral had looked over at her as he was lifted away, a small smile on his face when he felt he look back.

Garrus had managed to radio forward to Chakwas, he'd explained the situation to her and she told him she'd be ready for Feral to arrive. It'd take Shepard and the group about 5 minutes to get back to the Normandy if they moved fast, C-Sec was close and the elevator that led to the Normandy would really be the longest part of their journey. He sighed as he closed his omni-tool, looking down around his feet, there was a lot of blood but Feral was tough. Garrus knew the man would make it, there was no way some Cerberus coward was going to kill him like that. He was going to step out of the club when he saw Tali, the poor quarian was paralyzed.

Garrus walked over to her and looked down into her eyes "Tali, he's going to be ok" he was trying to reassure her.

Tali looked back at him before looking back at the blood on the floor "B-but….Garrus I could see the bones in his arm….there's so much blood!" she stuttered out, panicking slightly

"He's also one of the toughest bastards I've ever known Tali" he kept his voice calm, not uncaring. He was extremely worried but right now he had to be strong for Tali. "If anyone can survive that, it's him. He's on his way to Chakwas now Tali, he'll make it I promise"

Tali just nodded slightly, Garrus was right. If anyone could it would be him, but even so. She couldn't help but consider this would be the last time she ever saw Feral alive.

"Tali we should go back to the Normandy" Garrus just said, putting a hand on her shoulder "Don't you want to be there when he pulls through?" Garrus had said when even though he really meant if, but it seemed to work. Tali nodded again in agreement and the two silently walked off as C-sec started to flood into the club. They were amazed that there had only been one casualty in the explosion, if Feral was going to die. He was going to die a hero to all the people in Flux.

- 1 hour later, Normandy's mess hall-

The entire squad stood in the mess hall in silence, Shepard had explained what happened to Liara, Ashley and Wrex. Wrex had mumbled something about a Krogan being able to handle something like that before he had returned to the lower deck. If Feral died it meant that wasn't deserving of them but if Feral survived, the krogan would have to toughen him up a little. One little bomb shouldn't have caused the super soldier so much damage.

Ashley was worried about Feral, she'd been looking for the chance to get him back for his prank on her that morning. But now she just wanted him to survive, maybe she'd consider getting him back in the future once he was better. Ash just sat with Tali, the two had formed somewhat of a sisterly relationship together, she reminded the marine of one of her younger sisters. Tali could kick ass but she was also a very caring person, Ash couldn't help but just try and get her through this.

Liara was just sitting next to Shepard, she wanted to comfort him but the commander was just sitting there, staring at the door to the med bay. He hadn't even cleaned the blood of his hands. She was worried. Shepard had told her about how they had lost Jenkins on Eden Prime. He'd never really gotten over losing the young man and she knew that losing Feral would mark the commander even more. She just squeezed her hand gently on his forearm, even if he didn't acknowledge her she'd let him know she was there.

Kaidan and Garrus just sat at the back, waiting for Chakwas to finally give them the news. They had both seen Feral get wounded and they'd both seen him walk the wound off. Seeing Feral in that state had them both considering his mortality, they both were guilty of taking advantage of Feral's regeneration. Situations where they could've stepped forward and taken the lead but Feral had instead, and instead of arguing they just fell into line. Neither of them ever thought that they'd be waiting to find out if Feral was still alive.

The wait was a silent, nightmare. No word from inside the med bay, Chakwas had locked the door so her team could work. The crew of the ship went about their duties but the feelings of the main squad resounded around the ship. Not knowing was the worst thing. Until finally, Chakwas walked out of the med bay. Everyone just looked up, hope in their eyes as the doctor finally spoke.

"It was touch and go from the very start, I've never worked on someone with such a unique biology. He went into cardiac arrest a few times from the shock and blood loss. I'm sorry Commander…"she tapered out; the entire team just closed their eyes and let their eyes drop to the ground. No one could believe what they were hearing.

"But you're going to have to deal with Feral another day" the doctor finally smiled, finally finishing her sentence "He's alive and he should be sleeping but he's refusing" her hands jolting up into the air, Shepard was about to stand up and walk into the room. "Before any of you go in, he's still in pain. His arms and legs are broken and the skin is still closing up. I didn't want to risk using grafts because I'm still unsure how he'd process them. He's healing commander and he's healing faster than anyone I've ever seen. According to him, he'll be back in action in a few days, maybe less" she finally nodded at the group and stepped off.

Shepard jumped up from his seat and quickly walked into the room, he was joined by Kaidan and Garrus who had run around from their seats. The sight of the bandaged up Feral caught them by surprise but he was laying back on one of the medical beds, smiling and holding up one his strapped and bandaged arms.

"Hey…so I guess this answers the 'can I catch a missile with my face?' question huh?" Feral smirked as he let his arm fall back down to the bed, wincing as he forgot. His arms and legs were strapped in place, it was easier than a cast and it'd keep his limbs straight while his bones reformed around the metal cores, the bandages had a slight red colour to them. He wasn't bleeding anymore but his wounds were still healing, so a little blood still seeped into the bandage.

"Well…..technically it was a bomb Feral" Garrus snorted as the three stepped up to his bed "but I guess it was in the air when it exploded sooo….close enough" Feral laughed loudly before groaning again.

"Christ Garrus, you have to make me laugh? My chest may look fine but it's still sore" he grinned back at the turian, his shirt had been cut off but luckily the cuts had quickly healed. Like Chakwas had said his regeneration had quickly caught up to the damage.

"You're lucky to be alive Feral" Shepard cut through the laughing, he crossed his arms "Why didn't you get to cover?" He needed to know what had gone through the man's head.

Feral sighed "If I had just thrown him from where I was, the bomb would've gone off inside Flux. I had to get closer to the door before I threw him." He looked up at the commander "Did anyone else get hurt?"

Shepard sighed before shaking his head "No, because of what you did you probably saved a lot of people's lives. Good job Feral" he finally smiled and let his hands drop to his sides again "but….don't ever accept anonymous drinks again, that's an order" he stepped back and walked out of the room, he had to go and clean Feral's blood of his hands. The sound of Feral laughing and then moaning filling the room as Kaidan and Garrus started talking to him.

Shepard walked out and saw Ashley, Liara and Tali talking amongst themselves, Tali was clearly itching to see Feral but Ashley had persuaded her to wait for the men to be done in there. Trying to talk over them would be difficult and she had the feeling she'd rather talk to him alone.

Shepard just smiled as he walked up to the three "Well he's ok, he won't be walking around for a little while longer but he's fine", the three women smiled they were all glad to hear it. "Now if you excuse me, I need to wash up and figure out what the hell I'm going to tell Udina" Shepard rolled his eyes at that. He was sure he'd get to find out the definition of 'political shitstorm' this time.

Tali finally got up and walked off towards the med bad, leaving Ashley to talk to Liara. Ashley had nowhere else to be and Liara couldn't go back to her office quite yet, she wanted to give Feral a little privacy for a while.

"So Liara….you and the commander..." Tali heard Ashley ask from behind her, the rest of the sentence trailing off as the door shut behind her.

Tali could hear what the three men were talking about, all three of them were joking about what had happened. She wasn't listening though, her eyes were just focused on Feral. He still looked a mess, his arms and legs were bound and bandaged up. His eyes were still slightly bloodshot and he couldn't breathe without a slight wheezing. He was coughing and groaning every time he tried to laugh. Tali was thrilled he was alive, but to see the man in such a state hurt.

"Hey Tali" she looked up as she heard Feral's voice, he was smiling at her and she couldn't help but smile back slightly.

"Hey" she quietly said back, waving her hand slightly.

Garrus and Kaidan just exchanged looks with each other before patting Feral's leg "We'll talk to you later buddy, don't stay in bed for too long" Feral winced and glared at the two as they walked out chuckling.

"Bastards" Feral snorted out as he sat up as much as he can, he was staring at Tali. The woman was just standing there, looking at him. "Why don't you grab the stool behind you and sit down?" he offered gently.

Tali just spun around and saw the metal stool behind her, she quickly bent over and picked it up. Walking over to Feral and sat down on it, looking down at the floor. She sighed, she had no idea what to say or do. She was happy he was alive but it killed her to know that he had gone through so much pain again. She couldn't even look at him until suddenly she felt something on her helmet.

Feral had put a hand to the side of helmet, gently tilting her head up until he could see her eyes and he asked her "Are you ok Tali?" That was when she couldn't hold it anymore, she could see the worry in his eyes and she heard it in his voice. Feral had endured so much pain, he'd been poisoned and blown up. Tali had come into here to comfort him but she'd frozen up, now the man was worrying about her. All of those emotions exploded in her mind, and she did the only thing she could think of.

Feral was looking into the glowing eyes of the quarian, he was worried about her. She wasn't fidgeting, rubbing her hands or saying anything. It was unlike the bubbly woman and it was worrying, when someone's character changed so dramatically it never meant anything good. He stared into her eyes, trying to work out the emotions running through them before suddenly he felt her lunge forward. Her arms wrapping around his neck and her visor pushing into his shoulder.

Feral just sat there as the quarian buried herself into his shoulder and neck, his bound arms hovering in the air behind her before he slowly placed them on her back. He couldn't bend them at all but he'd still return the embrace. He was about to talk but she beat him to it.

"I thought you were going to die" he could hear it in her voice, she was trying so hard not to cry "I was so scared Feral" his eyes closed at that and he just pushed his head into her head cloth.

He sighed into the soft material surrounding the sides of her helmet "Tali I'm sorry I didn't mean.." he was cut off as Tali suddenly pushed him back, holding his shoulders with her outstretched arms. Feral just held his arms in the air on either side of hers, he didn't understand what was going on.

"Why?...why are you sorry?" Tali spoke each word slowly "You got poisoned and then blown up…and I couldn't do anything. I just watched as it all happened. I should be the sorry one" she was losing her grip on her own emotions, her voice shaking as she saw Feral's face drop before he smiled again

"Why are you smiling?" Tali quietly cried "I promised you that I'd help and I didn't. I failed you Feral" this time it was Tali's turn to be surprised. Feral had placed both of his hands on Tali's helmet, bringing her towards him using his strength to overpower Tali, but not to hurt her. He pushed his forehead into her visor, his eyes were closed and Tali just sat there, rubbing her hands gently together as she waited.

Feral slowly opened his eyes and stared into her eyes, he could see her eyes fixing on his. He gently rubbed his fingers against the sides of her helmet, he didn't know if she could feel it but it felt like the right thing to do. "Tali you didn't fail me. You never have, the moment you fail me is the moment you're not here" he spoke forcefully, not to intimidate her but to make sure she understood

"Whenever I needed you, you've been right here. When I was working through my identity crisis, you were there for me. And now? Just look Tali, here you are." Feral smiled as he pushed his forehead into her visor gently. He could see the woman's lips curling up slightly.

Tali was staring back into his eyes, the deep red orbs that were looking so kindly through her visor. His face was so close to hers and she could feel his hands holding her head up. She wondered if he'd be this close to her if she didn't have a visor in the way. She raised her hands up and squeezed them around his, pushing his hands into her helmet more. Tali had seen the man's strength, and yet she was finding comfort in him holding her head.

"Feral you've done so much for me, you defended me, you confided in me and you've saved my life countless times. Including today's bomb attack." Tali sighed "I just wish I was strong enough to do the same for you" closing her eyes as she just rubbed his fingers gently in her hands.

"Tali you've already done all of that" Feral's words were quiet "You may not believe it but you're already so strong Tali. You shot me in that Geth base and you stood up to me in this very room." He smiled, Tali just looked at him confused "I know what you're thinking Tali and shush just for now" he laughed gently

"I can't even begin to imagine having to be asked to shoot someone, Tali you had no idea if I really could survive it. You did it anyway, you believed in my words enough to do something that your mind was screaming at you not to" Feral was still smiling "and then in this room, after I had been shot again. After I had spent all day tearing things apart and I even shouted at you. You stopped me, you stood up to me despite everything I had done. Then you saved me from myself."

Tali smiled up at the man, this time it was a full smile. Feral was right, even though she hadn't taken a bullet for him. She had done so much in her very own way. "Tali there isn't a single living being in the universe I trust more than you. There is no one I'd rather have here over you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me" Feral smiled as he nuzzled his forehead into the area of her visor that rested over hers.

"You're the best friend I've ever had Tali and the strongest person I know" he leaned back slowly, one of his hands staying at her cheek. The woman was holding it to her head so tightly and leaning into his bigger hand. She was blushing furiously behind her visor, biting her lip to try and stop herself grinning like an idiot.

Tali managed to hold her excitement at the man's words, but her hips gave her away as she wiggled slightly on the seat. "Feral….I…..thank you" smiling back at the man as they sat together "I feel exactly the same as you" Feral had been so kind to her, they'd only known each other for a few weeks and he'd never been anything but good to her. She had never been just a quarian to him, he'd always treated her like everyone else.

"Good" Feral smiled happily as he stretched his legs out, groaning slightly "Thank you for coming to talk to me Tali and I promise not to get blown up again too soon" they both laughed at that "Not being able to walk is getting irritating"

Tali just giggled, she could understand. Chakwas' idea of bed rest was exactly that, no moving whatsoever and the doctor could be terrifying when she wanted to be. "Well if you wanted I could get you something to help you pass the time" she smiled happily

Feral snorted slightly "Tali you're already my silver lining, I don't think you need to be my nurse too. But thank you for the offer Ms' Zorah"

Tali quickly looked around before turning back "you're very welcome, Mr Lloyd" she purred out teasingly, flaunting the fact that she knew his name and getting a fake look of shock in return, before Feral laughed again.

"I should get back to the engine room though" Tali said sadly, she really didn't want to go. She was having fun with Feral and his words were still making her blush even now. She'd always hoped, but now she knew. Feral cared about her as well; the moment they had shared had been brief but wonderful. She hated that she had to leave, she hated that she had to wear a suit. She just wanted to spend more time with him.

"Well you know where I am and….where I will be until the doctor gives me the all clear" Feral sighed and rolled his eyes as he laid back again, smiling the moment his eyes went back to Tali "Feel free to come by whenever you want. A silver lining as beautiful as you is always a pleasant sight" Feral closed his eyes as he wiggled himself into a comfortable position.

"You're pretty good to look at as well" Tali purred dreamily before instantly bolting up as she realised she'd said it and not thought it. Feral just looked up at the quarian, his red eyes looking at her questioningly before she just stood up and said "Keelah I didn't mean…erm…what I mean is….err….talk to you later Feral" and quickly hurried out of the room, she couldn't believe what she just done. 'Stupid stupid STUPID!' she mentally hit herself as she walked away as calmly as possible, her face couldn't get any hotter as she thought about what she'd just said.

Feral just laid back in his bed, blinking a couple of times before biting his lip to stifle a chuckle. He had forgotten he was shirtless and he was getting pretty red at the realisation Tali had enjoyed the sight. He slid back down and pulled the sheet over himself as he decided to get some rest.

Silently admitting to himself that despite his best efforts not to, he had very much enjoyed the sight her walking away from him. Slapping himself on the head as he remembered the way her hips had swung from side to side as she walked out before moaning in pain. Not only his arm felt like it was on fire, but his head rang as the remnants of a concussion healed.

"That's what I get for looking at her arse" the British in Feral bleeding through as he grabbed his head, the man chuckling at the instant karma while he seethed in pain.

- Ambassador Udina's Office, 3 hours later –

Shepard was waiting for the human politician. Udina had requested to see the commander, and seeing as Shepard had decided the Normandy would stay in dock until Feral was good to go, had come straight away. He knew what this was going to be about, Udina had gotten pissed over a small fire fight in the wards. A bomb going off in Flux must have given the man an aneurysm.

Luckily for the commander, Anderson had been waiting for him. The old soldier had been in the ambassador's office and Shepard had told him what had happened. It wasn't good for either of them, they had been keeping Feral a secret from the politician. Udina wouldn't have cared about the repercussions of trying to find out Feral's identity the moment it became known that he was once Alliance, a fact that they would have to tell Udina. The politician wasn't going to take "we don't know" and they both groaned at that. If the worst happened, Shepard had decided, he was going to use his Spectre status to completely override the man. He hoped it wouldn't come to that but even Anderson suggested it, they both knew it would probably boil down to that.

The door's to the office opened and the man they were waiting for, the one man they didn't want to see, walked into the room. "Shepard what the hell is going on?" Udina instantly shouted "Fire fights in the back alleys of the wards were bad enough but a bomb in Flux? Are you trying to kill me commander?"

Shepard and Anderson both rose to their feet, Shepard using his height to make Udina think twice before he tried to confront him, "Ambassador you make it sound like I planned to get attacked by a suicide bomber"

"Because you're not currently hunting down Saren Arterius. How foolish of me Shepard, how could I possibly think that someone wouldn't be trying to kill you?" Udina sneered in response "Shepard I'm more interested in what you were doing in the club in the first place and who this is" he suddenly threw down pictures onto the desk, they were blown up images of Feral from a security camera.

Anderson spoke up for Shepard "Oh come on Udina, you can't honestly expect Shepard and his men to never get a chance to relax. They are hunting down a rogue Spectre across the entire galaxy. A few hours in a bar while they restock isn't something to complain about" Udina just glared at the Captain before Shepard spoke up

"As for who he is Ambassador. He is a member of my squad" Shepard just responded "I don't have to explain anymore to you"

"No commander you do, Spectre or not you still represent humanity and eye witnesses say this man was the target of the bomber" Udina lit up his omni-tool and a voice rang out, it was a witnesses statement about the attack and it described everything in great detail "Commander how long has he been on the team and who is he?"

"We picked him up before the Noveria mission and his codename is Feral" Shepard just calmly replied, clearly annoying Udina further

"I didn't ask what his codename was Shepard, I asked WHO he is" Udina snapped

"Shepard doesn't have to explain any more to you, he's a Spectre and he answers to the council Udina. Not you" Anderson raised his voice but didn't shout. "Who he picks for his team is his choice"

"It concerns me Anderson because the council has caught wind of a rumour involving this mystery man. There's talk he's some kind of super soldier and the council is trying to discover if the Alliance is using Shepard to field test him!" Udina shouted back, Shepard inwardly groaned. Of course a rumour was bound to get out and of course the council would hear it. There was no escaping this now.

Shepard looked over at Anderson, who just sighed and nodded his head. "The rumours are true in some respect. He is a super soldier but he's not Alliance. We found him when we were investigating Admiral Kahoku's death; he was in one of the Cerberus bases we hit. He was given the choice to either find his own way off world or he could help me. Considering I was the only way off world he chose to come with me" Shepard lied in part, Udina couldn't smell a lie and Shepard took advantage of Feral's lessons in what he'd dubbed 'lie detection evasion', small tricks to hide lies from even the most experienced eyes.

Udina just listened before sighing "You found him in a Cerberus base? Did it not occur to you that he's one of them?" he was growling slightly

"Yes, it did. But there is more than enough evidence to suggest that he's not" Shepard just replied

"Such as commander?" Udina looked questioningly

"He told me he wasn't" Shepard smirked, he enjoyed riling the man up. It was a guilty pleasure that most people who knew Udina enjoyed.

"I'm glad you think this is all some big joke Shepard, Flux has been bombed because of this man" Udina stepped forward only for Shepard to lean down and glare back at him.

"I'm sure if you watch the whole security footage it'll become more than clear that Feral is the only reason why no one was killed other than the bomber" He stated "I trust him and his actions today saved lives, not just human lives either. If the council have concerns over him and the fact that I trust him with my life isn't enough. Tell them to contact me personally so I can explain directly to them" he'd had enough of Udina, Feral was a bloody hero and he didn't need a politician destroying that.

"If that's all I'll be going now" he shoved his way past the Ambassador

"Actually commander the council wanted me to pass this along to you" Udina said, you could hear he wasn't at all happy with the commander's actions "A salarian STG team has gone dark on Virmire, Saren is suspected to have a base there. They suggested that it be the next place you look"

Shepard just nodded and noted the amused look on Anderson's face, he smiled as he walked out of the door. Anderson hated Udina just as much as Shepard did and he really did enjoy watching Shepard use his spectre status to block out the politician.

'Virmire' the commander thought to himself. A suspected location of Saren's base, the moment Feral was moving again. They'd be heading there immediately.

- The Normandy –

The Normandy was still docked in the Citadel and Shepard had called for the crew to stand down. A skeleton crew wasn't necessary when they weren't in flight. Most of the crew had disappeared into the Citadel, they'd sleep in hotels and proper beds for the night as opposed to the sleeper pods. A small number of the crew had stayed on board though. Chakwas had stayed behind to keep an eye on Feral much to his dismay, the pain had gone and he was sure that he was fine to move around. But the doctor had insisted he slept in the med bay until morning just to be certain.

The rest of Shepard's squad had stayed on board and most of them were asleep in their sleeper pods. Liara was back in her office and she'd managed to talk to Feral briefly, she had thanked him for talking to Shepard about them. His advice had helped Shepard and Liara talk more and she just wanted to let him know that she was grateful, but she did ask that he keep it to himself. Feral agreed and wished her good luck, laughing as she had walked off with a blush on her face.

Kaidan, Garrus and Ashley had all gone to sleep but they had spent some time with Feral, before being kicked out by Chakwas who had told them Feral was going to rest or she was going to have to give him a sedative. Super soldier or not, she was insisting that the man get rest after being blown up.

Tali had watched the 3 get kicked out by Chakwas before sighing, she had hoped to come back and explain herself to Feral. She run out after saying something she never should have. Feral was her best friend and she'd accidentally let slip that she'd been 'checking him out' as humans put it. She couldn't deny that she found Feral attractive, he was strong, smart, his red eyes were incredibly handsome and most of all he was the nicest person she'd ever met. Still, it didn't excuse her behaviour and she wanted to apologize to him, she didn't want to lose him as a friend because she had said something stupid.

She sighed as she made her way back to her cot in the engine room; she was so scared her selfish actions were going to cost her Feral's friendship. He was injured, lying in the med bay with broken arms and legs after being blown up. His shirt had been cut off, because he had been hit in the chest with shrapnel and he'd had a few heart attacks while Chakwas had saved his life, and she had taken advantage of that fact to eye him up.

She laid in her cot, trying to sleep as she constantly thought about the whole thing. He had called her beautiful, even now that made her smile and blush. He probably didn't mean it a way that was anything but friendly but still…she'd never been called that before and it was getting to her. The shock of his words had caused her outburst and she found herself thinking about Feral again. He wasn't huge but everything was just perfect on him, his muscles were so defined and thanks to his metabolism his skin was constantly warm.

She slapped herself in the head, making her head jar around in the helmet. 'KEELAH! What's wrong with me' she mentally screamed at herself. She was already worried that thinking like that was going to lose her a friend. She sighed to herself, the feeling of Feral's arms around her and the image of his face pressing against her visor were still so prevalent in her mind.

Maybe once she apologized to Feral she could forget about this stupid, selfish infatuation.