WARNING! Non-Rosemary-related lemon ahead! Just a sentence or two. Nothing major. Yet.

XOXOXOXO

CHAPTER 9

In the lobby of the Tower, Rosemary was telling Balint everything on her omni-tool. She told him about Jogh, who had offered himself as a real escort, for a 'price'.

"Of course he did," Balint said dryly. "He a merc?"

Rosemary shook her head. "No. He says he goes by Jogh, of the Curd... knot clan?"

"It's Urd-NOT. Urdnot," Jogh grunted. "It's only the ruling clan of Tuchanka, human. Don't you know anything?"

Rosemary rolled her eyes. "Forgive me, oh patronizing one. His name is Jogh, of the Urdnot clan, Balint."

Balint chuckled at her sarcastic tone.

"Ha! You're a funny one," Jogh said, grinning.

"Anyway," Balint said. "Your father, Oliver, and Keeya are home. They're safe. C-Sec dispatched a couple more guards to watch the townhouse."

That made Rosemary feel a lot better. "Oh, good."

"Yeah..."

The sudden awkwardness between Balint and Rosemary was... different. Balint seemed... preoccupied. Distant. She had a sudden worry – had she ruined... whatever they never really had because of earlier? She didn't know how to feel about that possibility. Depressed... a little?

Rosemary looked at her omni-tool. Her father was calling. "I'll call you later, Balint. Dad's calling."

"Rosie!"

Her father's voice was different. Alive... and panicked? "Yeah, Dad?"

"Oh, thank God!" He sounded genuinely relieved. "When Balint told me you had been shot at... I thought the worst. I'm so glad you're safe!"

It took all of Rosemary's self control to keep herself from crying. The last time her father had sounded... like her father was a little more than two years ago, when her mother was alive. "I... I'm fine, Dad. Are... you okay?"

Her father sighed. "No. No I'm not. But I will be. I didn't realize... until I heard you almost got killed how bad I was. Listen, Rosie, when you get home... I need to talk with you and Ollie."

"... Yeah! I think that'd be great!"

"Human," Jogh grunted. "One of the blue people's calling."

Rosemary looked to where he was gesturing, at one of the councilor's guards. She was being summoned. "Look, I've got to go, Dad. We'll talk... later. … Love you, Dad."

"... I love you too, Rosie."

XOXOXOXO

"We have a problem."

Talk about understating the problem, Rosemary mumbled under her breath. "Why would these assassins want me," she asked the asari councilor point-blank. "I'm not a hybrid. I'm just Keeya's guardian. If they wanted to get to her, they would have attacked the house."

The asari councilor nodded. "Yes, we wondered that, too. You are a very ordinary human. Keeya trusts you, and that's the only thing we can think of that makes you special."

Gee, thanks. "What are you going to do?"

The turian councilor tapped his terminal. "Until we find out why you're being targeted, we will have Citadel Security officers watching you."

"But... I work at C-Sec. They're already watching me!" She really didn't want this. She really didn't need anyone babysitting her! It wasn't like Veracia needed another reason to resent her.

The councilors ignored her. "We'll assign you a personal guard. Balint Fortem will continue to guard your family and Keeya D'Usku. You are dismissed."

Assholes.

XOXOXOXO

Rosemary flashed her identification at the guards guarding the townhouse. Inside, Oliver and Keeya were playing with the Normandy action figures while another guard watched them. She frowned. Where was Balint? She'd tried calling him on the way home, but he hadn't responded.

"Hi Keeya," Rosemary smiled at the toddler. "Where's Balint?"

The guard watching them suddenly looked nervous. Keeya shrugged, preoccupied with shoving the Grunt action figure into the Normandy's cockpit. "Upstairs with his friend. I think they're in your room."

"Fletcher!"

Rosemary was halfway up the stairs when the guard called out to her. She recognized him as one of the C-Sec officers who regularly took the afternoon shift. She couldn't recall his name. "Yeah?"

"I... wouldn't go up there if I were you."

From the tone of his voice, and the reddening of his skin around his eyes, she got a bad feeling... "Who's up there with Balint?"

The guard had a pitying expression on his plates. "A... friend?"

"A friend."

"A friendly friend?"

Rosemary's breath hitched. No... Balint couldn't be... but they... She almost ran up the rest of the stairs. No... No... She was hearing noises coming in the direction of her room. Moaning, grunting noises. From her room!

"Mm, uh! That feels so good," a feminine turian voice trilled.

Rosemary opened the door, and her heart broke.

Balint was naked, and thrusting into a lithe, light-plated female turian, growling with pleasure. His partner's mandibles were flared as she gasped, clawing at the sheets. She was facing the wall, and couldn't see Rosemary, but Balint had heard the door open. He turned just in time to see Rosemary close the door, her devastation unmasked.

"No... don't stop, Balint!"

"Rosemary!"

She ran.

XOXOXOXO

Ignoring the guard's protests, Rosemary took Keeya and Oliver with her out of the townhouse. The ones that had guarded the door hurried after her. Rosemary took them to the Presidium Commons, to Apollo's Cafe. She ordered them ice cream and sat with them, feeling cold.

Balint had been calling her non-stop. He was calling her now. She asked one of the guards who had been following them to watch the kids as they went through their treats. She walked a few feet away to finally take Balint's call.

"What do you want," she asked him stonily.

"I just wanted to say sorry," he began.

"Who was she?"

Balint hesitated. "A C-Sec officer. She was in charge of your protection detail. We were talking security measures when she noticed... my condition."

"Really? Your condition? That's the best you can come up with?"

"Rose... I'm not human. The sexual tension between us has been, well, tense. She noticed. She used to help me out with it a few years back. That's all she is. A sex partner. Sex is... different for turians than they are for humans."

She knew that. Damn it, she knew that. Humans had casual sex, too. So turians were even more casual about sex. She knew that from living in Little Palaven for almost two years, surrounded by turians. Imitha had mentioned it, too. But it hurt. Until now, she hadn't realized she'd wanted more than sex from Balint. Damn it, she liked him.

"Why are you so upset, Rose? We were flirting – it's not like we bonded."

Ouch. "You're an asshole, Balint." She cut off the call. She was glaring at her omni-tool when she noticed a red dot of light on her chest. Not again!

This was ridiculous! She ducked to the side – the wall exploded right where she had been. The guard that had been following her grabbed her and shoved her under a table.

"Stay down!"

Rosemary recognized that voice. She was shoved behind the concrete flowerbed that the other guard, Oliver, and Keeya were crouched behind. She turned just in time to see her guard shot in the side. "NO!"

"I said, STAY DOWN!" Rosemary looked through the flowers to see Yadai K'Mohi dart from cover and shoot at someone in the vicinity of the luxury apartments. The Spectre winced when one of the sniper's bullets grazed her leg, ripping through her armor.

"No!"

Keeya screamed. Rosemary gasped as another assassin in dark purple armor sliced at their guard with her assault rifle's omni-tool blade, killing him instantly. She grabbed Keeya's arm.

"Let go of her," Oliver shouted, pulling Keeya's other arm. His eyes flashed green with fear, and rage. The assassin raised her blade again.

"GET THE HELL OFF MY KIDS," Rosemary roared, her eyes blazing green. Something took over her then, a weird, burning energy crackling through her veins.

She charged at the assassin and grabbed the arm holding the gun. Roaring with rage, she threw her clean across the cafe and off the balcony. The assassin screamed on the way down. Rosemary breathed heavily, seeing everything in a red haze. Kill... again! Kill!

"Rosemary?" That was Yadai's voice.

"Rosie?"

Oliver's trembling voice was the one to bring Rosemary out of her trance. Shaking her head, she pressed a hand to her temple. She had one hell of a headache piercing her skull.

The Spectre approached her warily. Then she saw Rosemary's face. "Spirits... Rosemary, your eyes!"

Rosemary glanced at her reflection in the nearest window. What the... hell...?!

Her eyes were purple. A bright, glowing purple.

"Keeya? Your eyes, too," Oliver murmured, awestruck. Rosemary looked at Keeya. Her eyes were glowing, too.

Rage left Rosemary's body, leaving her weak, and shaky. She looked at her reflection again. They were blue again. Normal blue.

"I'm sorry."

Rosemary looked at Keeya. She looked sheepish, and a little shy. "What are you sorry for, sweetheart?"

"I used you. Like a spatula."

"A what now?"