If he had the chance.

Dr. Chakwas had pulled shrapnel and various debris from his side, scolding him for not allowing her to put him under for the process. Burns of varying degrees covered majority of his right side as well. The medi-gel and bandages kept him from falling apart, but as soon as she was finished, the turian was back up and heading toward the CIC.

Every one of the squad circled around the galaxy map, watching as the sensors picked up all of the movement of the ships around them. Joker and EDI worked endlessly to maneuver and duck the Normandy through the fights, using the cannons and slipping past the bulk of the fighting to defend the Crucible. Hearing someone had made it up through the Conduit sent a new jolt of hope through the Normandy crew. Only one person would have the will and, all of them had to admit, blind luck to make it that far. However damaged she may have ended up, Shepard was alive. And she was going to save them, as she always did …

A cheer of relief came out from the crew as the arms of the Citadel opened. Joker and EDI continued working together to fly the ship as the Crucible was released to be docked. There were minutes of breathless anticipation, searching scanners, ports … trying to find something to show their work had paid off.

"What the hell's going on?" Kaidan Alenko demanded, moving to stand by the airlock to talk to Joker.

"Nothing's happening …" Joker sighed. "Why am I not surprised?"

Hackett's curse was heard over the ship's communications. "Normandy, I'm not able to link to Shepard's comms. Is there anything you can do to access it?"

"One moment, Admiral," EDI said calmly. Her hands worked quickly with the holographic options of the helm.

Garrus had had enough of hearing it at that point. Maybe he could get the shuttle bay opened without too much interference. Cortez, who had rejoined the Normandy shortly after the shuttle not-so-smooth landing on Earth, was occupied with the rest of the crew up on the CIC deck; he wouldn't notice one of his back-up shuttles missing until it was too late. The turian thought briefly about asking Vega to come with him, so he had back-up that wouldn't argue about his decision.

A three-fingered gloved hand suddenly blocked the access panel of the elevator. Garrus hadn't even noticed the slight quarian approach from his left side. It was rare for anyone to catch him off guard. Of course, it was even rarer that he would be doing something so unspeakably stupid. Rarer still was the fact that he would be doing something so incredibly stupid for one person. But he had to. There were no options.

"Something tells me if I let you open that … Shepard will not be happy with me," Tali offered gently, looking up at him with her glowing eyes.

"Move, Tali," he snapped with more aggression than he meant. He considered Tali one of his closest friends, as did Shepard. The quarian woman had to understand.

"Look, I know, Garrus. It's taking everything in my power not to open the air lock and try to get to her. It's driving me crazy. But you know she would never forgive us. Not after all she's done; if you were to be hurt—"

"After all she's done, she shouldn't be left to deal with all of this alone. You know that."

"You have no idea how much I know. One being doesn't deserve this much pressure. But she can handle it. You know Shepard as well, probably better, than I do. When we see her next, I don't want her killing me because I let you go get yourself blown up trying to reach her."

"Shepard?" Hackett's voice interrupted their stare-down. "Commander!"

EDI had left the comms open on the Normandy. Garrus felt a growl grow in his chest. Come on, Shepard … Answer him. The seconds of silence had everyone waiting with bated breath. It was there, in those seconds, that Garrus felt more pain than he thought imaginable. She was still up there; she had to be. We had a deal, Shepard. No Shepard without Vakarian … You know that.

"I, uh—what do you need me to do?"

The woman's voice was strained, softer than he had heard in a long while. She sounded so tired, but it was her. Shepard was still alive. A collective sigh exhaled from most of the crew. Garrus couldn't fight the smile from his face, and he was positive Tali was smiling herself under her helmet. The two of them turned back to where Specialist Traynor was leaning on her terminal, gripping the sides as they waited to hear more. Shepard's sounds of struggle were faint, but they weren't hard to miss. She was in pain, but she was still fighting. That's my girl, Garrus thought as he leaned against the railing by the galaxy map. EDI had rerouted the War Room holographs of the on-going battle to the main part of the ship, allowing the crew to see the events unfold. Unsettling as it was, everyone wanted to know what was happening, and this was easier than having to verbally update.

The holographic image of the Crucible linked to the Citadel hovered in front of them, unmoving, unrevealing. Something was wrong.

"Nothing's happening," Hackett explained to Shepard. "The Crucible's not firing. It's got to be something on your end."

Garrus caught a shout of pain between Hackett's sentences. A few more seconds, the sounds of the woman he loved struggling with unspoken pain …

"Commander Shepard!" Hackett demanded.

The turian made a note that he would have some choice words for the Admiral were they to meet face-to-face again. Dire situation or not, no one had the right to speak to Shepard, his Shepard, that way. His mandibles clicked angrily and his hands tightened on the railing he held. He wanted to tell EDI to patch him through, to let him talk to Shepard, not this human who seemed so great at ignoring her pain. This prick, as Vega would have called him.

"Pendejo," Vega muttered across the room.

That, too.

"I don't see—" Shepard finally came back on the comm. "I'm not sure how to—"

There was a soft thump then everything went quiet. More seconds of silence …

"Commander!" Hackett said loudly.

No response came. No struggle to keep moving, no rasping breath … just screaming silence.

"Commander Shepard!" Hackett snapped, surprising all of them.

This time, a screeching feedback sound made everyone flinch, then the communication link went quiet again. After a couple more moments, EDI's voice came over the ship's comms.

"I have … lost the signal," she explained with an edge of sadness to her voice. "I am currently unable to reestablish connection."

"Goddamn it!" Joker shouted, loud enough for everyone out around the map to hear.

Several people bowed their heads, defeat shadowing their features. Garrus exhaled heavily and leaned on his arms. He had to do something, anything; there was no way Tali could stop him if he didn't want her to. They both knew he was more powerful than most of the crew here. There had to be something … Tali's hand rested timidly on his left arm, an attempt at comfort. His muscles tensed, screaming to fight, to kill, to destroy. They didn't come this far, endure what they had to endure, see what they had to see, make the decisions they had to make, she had to make, for it to end like this. It was unacceptable.

"Orders, Major Alenko?" a lone crewman asked, probably trying to maintain some sense of normalcy.

Kaidan was selected as the commanding officer while Commander Shepard was off-board. Most everyone assumed Garrus would hold that authority, but he declined it back when he first joined the crew after leaving Palaven. He had laughed when Shepard suggested the idea, stating, "And when do you plan on leaving the ship without me?" The woman shrugged, her eyes crinkling slightly as she laughed herself, "Good point."

The major walked down the stretch from the air lock, stopping where the room opened up around the galaxy map. He looked to all of the people standing around him, all who hoped so desperately for something to go right in this last ditch effort to save everything they knew to exist. Garrus could see the man struggling with his decision, weighing his options. Just to think, Shepard dealt with that kind of pressure every day for years.

"Joker and EDI keep the ship near the Crucible," Kaidan finally announced to the quiet crowd. "We continue to defend it and coordinate with the other ships. Cortez, there's a back-up shuttle in the bay, correct?"

"Y—yes, sir," Cortez answered, caught off-guard.

He nodded and looked across the map, past the holograms to make eye contact with Garrus. The two of them were never the closest of friends. Garrus thought it was partially because Shepard had gently denied his advances when they were after Saren. Then once he reunited with the crew to stop the Reapers, he came to find out that Shepard and Garrus were together. No matter the hesitation between them, they worked well as a team out on the field, covering both of Shepard's sides. At the end of the day, the two of them knew how important it was that she came home.

"Vakarian," Kaidan said, trying to suppress a grin.

Garrus straightened up and crossed his arms. "Yes, sir?"

"Pick your squad."

He just had to be sure he heard the man correctly. "And why's that, sir?"

"Reapers, be damned. She comes home, is that understood?"

A slight smirk spread across the turian's features. "Damn straight."