Half an hour later found Garrus sitting in the medbay, staring out the window at Shepard and Kaidan talking about something, looking rather intimate if he had anything to say about it. It almost looked like he was comforting her, and Garrus was starting to feel upset that Dr. Chakwas had separated them.
She had all but rushed Shepard out the door, saying that she needed peace and quiet to give him a thorough checkup, and she didn't need the patient's significant other hanging around to do back-seat doctoring. Shepard knew that what she really meant was, 'I'm probably going to be doing scary tests, and reading off scary results, and potentially doing scary treatments, and therefore I don't want you around to see this first hand.' Shepard probably would have rather stayed anyway, but she had always respected Dr. Chakwas' domain.
Shepard was the one responsible for commanding everyone, but Chakwas was responsible for saving them, so Karin was perhaps the only person on board that Shepard would ever take an order from just to get out of her way and let her do her job.
He almost felt fine now that he had the shuttle ride to warm himself up in. There was still a slight chill to his bones, but he had regained feeling in his extremities, and he wasn't shivering uncontrollably anymore. He was merely uncomfortable at this point, but Dr. Chakwas had insisted on giving him a real checkup before allowing him to do anything else.
Karin ordered him to unwrap the blankets so she could give him a proper scan, noting that there had been signs of early organ failure, but thanks to their advanced treatment options, and the damage having been minimal, she could just hook Garrus up to an IV and reverse any of the issues with a quick drip.
"Alright, I'm going to need you to strip now, so I can put the IV in and make sure you haven't gotten any frostbite."
Garrus was still just staring out the window, watching his mate and her ex-lover, wondering what must be so damn interesting for them to still be lingering around together that he didn't even hear Chakwas.
"Garrus?," she asked, as she rubbed his arm slightly to get his attention.
"Huh?," he finally said, being brought back into the present.
"I need you to strip," she repeated, as she went on about how the IV fluids would also help bring his body temperature back up, and how important it was to treat any frostbite. He was still barely paying attention to her though, more interested in what was going on outside the medbay. The windows had been set to privacy mode, so they couldn't see in, but he could see out.
Garrus followed her orders, and started disrobing his undersuit before sitting back down again. That's when Dr. Chakwas got a good look at his shoulder.
"My my, that's quite the injury. Did that happen down there just now?," she asked as she prodded the bite mark, acting rather surprised at this new development, noting that it was so deep that it was still bleeding mildly.
Her examining fingers made it easy for him to snap back into reality, as it had reinvigorated the pulsating pain at the base of his neck. It was probably the only part on his body that was actually hot right now, still searing from the newness of it, and he loved it.
"Yeah. It might just be what saved my life."
Dr. Chakwas just looked at him, with a genuine smile on her face. "She's a lucky woman, Garrus."
"I think I'm the lucky one."
She nodded, agreeing with the sentiment. "Well, perhaps you're both the lucky ones then," she said as she took a glob of medi-gel out and slathered it on the bite mark. "Mouths are full of bacteria though, and you don't want that to fester. Put this on it three times a day, and it should be fine. Come back to me if it gets worse, or doesn't clear up in about a week."
"Will the scar still be there?"
"Oh yes. Medi-gel is amazing at what it does, but it's not a miracle worker. You'd need the scar removal therapy for that if you wanted it."
"No!," he said a little too enthusiastically.
"Not to worry, Garrus. I wasn't about to force the treatment on you. I figured you'd want to keep these particular markings," she said with a wink.
She continued to examine him while his drip was going, finding a few patches of early signs of frostbite, but nothing too serious. She told him to use the medi-gel on those too, before letting him know that he could get dressed again, as she gave him another quick scan to check on the progress that the IV meds had provided. She waited for him to be fully clothed again before turning the privacy mode off on the glass, and giving a gentle knock, signalling that it was okay for Shepard to come in again.
"I'm happy with the progress you've made already, but I'd like to see you again in the morning to make sure, and possibly run another treatment," she said as Shepard walked in.
"I'll make sure he comes to see you, doc," she said with a smile, happy to see that Garrus seemed to be doing much better.
"I'll hold you to that, Commander. Also, make sure he ices that swollen mandible, and I don't want him in the field for the next few days."
"Yes ma'am," Shepard said with a nod, respecting her decision.
Chakwas nodded in acknowledgement, "Alright then. Garrus you're good to go after you've had a minute to rest and feel good enough to do so. In the meantime, I'll just let you two have some privacy," she said as she started to walk out the door. She stopped in front of Shepard though, and added, "Congratulations, Commander," before exiting the medbay.
Shepard just squinted at that questioningly, thinking it was a bit of an odd thing to say about the situation, but otherwise not thinking too much of it before joining Garrus.
"So, how are you feeling?," she asked, voice still somewhat laden with concern.
"A little cold still, but all in all, pretty good considering the circumstances."
"I suppose that's all you can really ask for," she said as she sat beside him on the examination table.
"Mmm," he muttered in agreement. "I saw you and Kaidan outside. You seemed to be pretty deep in conversation."
"Oh. Yeah. We were trying to decide what to do with the assignment now. Technically we're still supposed to be here for a few days until they can re-open. Liara and Javik are down there for the current rotation, but we were worried about the structural integrity of the building, and were discussing whether it's worth it to stay on the assignment or not. Ultimately, we decided that there's still a job to do though,and even if it means we'll just be doing perimeter sweeps now, we have to stay and see it out."
"Ah. I suppose you're right. That makes sense. I don't know though, you seemed a little more intimate than just talking about the mission," he said, warily.
Shepard smiled at that, looking like she was reminiscing. Garrus didn't like the way that it made him feel.
"Hmm. Yeah, he also gave me a bit of a pep talk I guess you could say. I'm not sure how much you actually remember, but things got kind of scary down there. There was definitely a moment that I thought I might be losing you. He just wanted to make sure I was okay after all of that."
Garrus just looked down to his hanging feet then, sorry that he had put her through that. Shepard noticed immediately that he seemed to be taking this out on himself.
"Hey, this wasn't your fault. It was a freak accident," she said, as she grabbed his hand tightly in hers.
He shook his head. "You're right. I know you're right, but I never wanted to put you through anything like that. Especially not now, when we should finally be getting the chance to start our lives together."
That brought a smile to her face. "Well you'll be fine now. Let's not dwell on what could have gone wrong, okay."
Garrus just nodded at that.
"So, what do you say we go back up to the cabin and get some rest then, huh? I should be on the next team to take a shift now that we're down a man, and you're still recuperating, so it's probably best for both of us right now. We can cuddle and get warm under the blankets."
Garrus grasped her hand more tightly then, "Sounds perfect," he said as they finally stood up to leave, hand in hand.
As they exited the medbay, Shepard told him to wait, while she went over to the freezer. Kaidan was there. They were talking again, and Garrus watched as they shared another intimate moment, beginning to feel jealousy bubbling up through his chest. He couldn't place his finger on it. Everyone knew that he and Shepard were serious. Kaidan was his friend. Even though she and Kaidan had a past, he had never questioned their intentions ever since confirming that she and Kaidan were done when he finally joined the Normandy again during the war.
What was it about now that was making him so unsettled? He didn't really have much time to put any thought to those feelings as Shepard nodded her head in his direction indicating that she was needed elsewhere to Kaidan after having grabbed some ration bars and an ice pack.
Kaidan just nodded and waved at Garrus, seeming like he was happy to see that his friend was okay. Garrus barely responded with a tiny nod as Shepard came to rejoin him. They walked to the elevator, with Shepard barely being any the wiser to his uncharacteristic staring and poor attitude as he looked back and all but gave Kaidan a glare.
After a relatively short sleep, the next morning had found them both in the mess hall, eating a quick breakfast before Shepard had to be headed out again for the next rotation. Garrus had joined her, not wanting her to have to eat alone before having to rush out again. He didn't particularly need the rest anyway, since was feeling much better, and Chakwas would want to give him a check up sooner rather than later. He could always go back to have a nap after Shepard was gone, so he was more than happy to join her now.
They had both taken up a nice lighthearted conversation when Kaidan finally joined them.
"What are you doing up so early?," Garrus asked.
"I'm the other half of the ground team today," Kaidan replied, wiping some of the sleep from his eyes, and taking a sip of his coffee.
That made Garrus go rigid and somewhat silent as he stared at him. Hearing that he and Shepard would be alone together for hours on end were making his feelings of jealousy bubble up again, and he didn't like it.
The three of them continued to eat their breakfast in peace, though Garrus found himself becoming more and more withdrawn throughout the conversation, not seeming able to take his eyes off of Shepard. His gaze trailed down her neck, and he felt nothing but remorse for not being able to fulfill his side of their bonding. He was drawn to her lips as she licked them while she spoke to Kaidan. Wasn't that supposed to be a sign of attraction? Humans could still be so confusing for him sometimes. Then there were the ever-so-subtle dimples she created from the smile that she made any time he said a joke or something interesting. They were features that had Garrus totally enamoured, but they were all features not directed at him.
He wasn't sure why that bothered him so much. It's not like she was particularly ignoring him, or being anything other than just friendly with Kaidan. He didn't think that he had the right to feel threatened, but he did.
He was lost in thought, still staring at her mouth, when Shepard finally broke the silence.
"Hey, Garrus. You've been a little quiet. You alright?"
That made him blink away the haze of his jealousy. "Oh, uh, yeah. I guess so. I think I'm still just feeling a little bit out of it."
"Okay," she said, seemingly satisfied with the answer. "Maybe you should go see Chakwas then. She wanted to give you another check up anyway, and I told her I'd make sure you went."
"Don't worry. I will. But I'd like to see you off first. I'll have plenty of time to get checked out after you're gone," he said, knowing that she was going to have to be leaving right after breakfast anyway, not wanting to waste time doing that while they would be separated for most of the rest of the day afterwards.
"Okay. I'm going to hold you to that. If I hear from Chakwas that you bailed, there's going to be hell to play," she said playfully.
That elicited a small chuckle out of Garrus.
"I'll go, don't worry," he reassured her.
"Well good. I guess it's about time we start getting ready though," she said, looking over to Kaidan now, who nodded in agreement.
Shepard took a quick pit stop in the head, before making their way down to the loading bay where Steve was already waiting for them.
Garrus helped Shepard prepare her weapons, and put on her armour. The entire time he helped her get dressed, he couldn't help but keep his eyes off of her, silently adoring her features. Especially her neck, which in its bareness had become something of an obsession over the last half a day. He couldn't even see it now that her undersuit and armour were covering it, but he could picture it. Creamy and delicate, waiting for his mark.
He was beginning to wonder why she wasn't more upset with his unreciprocated side of the gesture. He supposed it was just her way, tending to be patient in matters of the heart, especially with how their relationship had played out thus far. She had waited for him to make the first move and be comfortable during their Cerberus days after all. He hoped that was the only reason at least.
She finished up, and gave Garrus a chaste kiss before she headed for the shuttle. He saw her and Kaidan sharing another laugh at something before the doors closed, and he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about the whole situation, not entirely knowing why.
He spent the next few hours seeing Chakwas, and then just mindlessly wandering around the ship. In reality his visit with Chakwas had taken less than 20 minutes, so he had wasted a lot of time just pacing around, trying to put his finger on why he had become so jealous all of a sudden.
He realised that even with as much time as they had together since she had bonded them, that they hadn't even had a chance to talk about it yet. She didn't seem to be as excited or happy about it as he would have expected under normal circumstances. He was scared that she might have been disappointed in him, or that maybe she was regretting her decision.
The more time went on, the more he dwelled on what it meant that she hadn't wanted to discuss how their lives had changed. Ever since they had their serious talk on top of the Presidium, he hadn't worried about their relationship. She had agreed to be a one-turian woman, and she had seemed so enamoured that he hadn't questioned their future. But something about her apathy towards the loving gesture that she had performed had rubbed him the wrong way. It had planted seeds of doubt that were beginning to overtake his thoughts.
He tried to do some of his calibrations to forget about it. That was almost always a successful therapy to help lose himself in something when his mind was going to dark places. Besides Shepard, it was probably one of the only things that helped get him through the war, but it wasn't working now.
He kept picturing their time together on Noveria. How she had bitten them, and then they had the most meaningful sex of his life. Then he pictured that she was now down there - alone - with her ex. That she might have been regretting her decision so badly that she was now reconsidering her options and reliving their amazing time together with Kaidan. Maybe she was looking for something a little closer to home after all. He had to quickly shake his head at the thought. He was just driving himself crazy over nothing.
The only thing he felt like he could do is wait for her to get back so they could finally talk about it. He wasn't going to be happy until they did, so he just paced.