AN: Thanks to everyone who has favourited, followed and double thanks to everyone who has reviewed.

Special thanks goes to my beta Spyke1985! You're the best!

I'm on a bit of an updating spree today. :D

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Nine – The Most Excellent Friends

Sarah sat at Tia's desk, trying her best not to pester the poor asari in her bored state. But she was finding it really difficult to sit still.

She missed Tiberius. Badly.

As much as she wanted to ignore that fact and swear that she wasn't bothered by the distance, she couldn't. She would work alone, patrolling the catwalks by herself. She spent most of her time plugged into music, trying to ignore the oppressive silence that did nothing, except remind her of his absence. In truth, she was sure that even if he was still there, she would remain silent. Knowing that if she opened her mouth in his presence, all of her feelings would tumble out in a bumbling, awkward confession that would leave what was left of their friendship unsalvageable.

So, she had taken to annoying Tia or Philip when she had some free time, and today it was the asari's turn to put up with Sarah's attempts to get on with her work without her mind distracting her with old memories that made her heart jump into her throat.

"Sarah, why don't you just tell him when he gets back? He should only be gone for another couple of weeks." Tia said for the thousandth time, as Sarah swung in her chair.

"I can't! I… I just want to stop feeling like this. I don't want to go out with him or whatever…" Sarah told her and the asari sighed, shaking her head. As much as she wanted to help, Sarah was beginning to get on her last nerve with her whiny crap.

"Then do something productive to distract yourself! Weren't you going to try and get put back on your case?" She asked, sighing.

"It was Red's case and there's really no point to trying if he doesn't want to. Plus, he's not even here..." She explained and Tia gave her an exasperated look.

"Then just do it anyway. Or find yourself another distraction. Because right now you're driving me to distraction. And I deal with distractions with an omni-blade." She warned and Sarah held up her hands in surrender.

"Okay, sorry. I'm just bored." Sarah told her and the asari sighed.

"I know." The she said, rolling her eyes, as Philip walked in the room.

"Hey ladies, s'up?" He asked, earning him a glare from both of them. He just folded his arms and smirked. "Ah. So this is the point at which you've been living with each other for too long and you've started driving each other up the wall." He observed and the two women shifted guiltily as he laughed a little. "I knew it. I knew it would only be a matter of time once Lia left."

"I'm sorry, Tia. I'll try to be less… Mopey. Trust me; it's annoying me as well." Sarah said and Tia nodded in acceptance.

"That's okay, Sarah. I'm sorry that I haven't been very understanding." Tia said and Sarah smiled at her as Philip nodded, clearly pleased with himself for having fixed the girls' problems.

"So, now that you two have stopped bickering, who wants to guess the big news I've got?" He asked and they both fixed him with a look that clearly told him that neither of them were in the mood for guessing games. "Jesus, you two are just PMSing like crazy right now, huh?" He asked, but continued on before either of them could correct him with lessons in either asari or hybrid biology (not that Sarah would have actually told him about her hybrid status over such an inane comment, but she was sure as hell thinking it). "I got a gig for the band!" He announced and they both looked at him, blankly.

"What band?" Tia asked and he frowned at her.

"You know, our band." He said and she raised her eyebrows.

"You mean the band that hasn't existed for months now? That band?" She asked and he just kept grinning.

"Yeah." He said simply and Sarah couldn't help but smile at his upbeat attitude.

"Aren't you forgetting a few things?" Tia asked and he shrugged.

"Like?" He asked and she sighed in frustration.

"Like that Alexa moved away. We no longer have a singer. Plus, even if we did, we haven't practiced in months." She told him and he shook his head dismissively.

"It's fine. Come on, Tia. We know enough songs and you must know someone who can sing." He said and Tia's gaze shifted to Sarah.

"Well…" She said and Sarah fixed her with a death glare.

"No." She said firmly, earning her the puppy-dog eyes.

"Come on, Sarah." She said and Sarah just gave her an incredulous look and shook her head.

"Not happening." She told her and Philip frowned as he struggled to follow their argument.

"Wait, Rookie can sing?" He asked and Tia nodded as Sarah shook her head.

"No, she cannot." Sarah said adamantly.

"Yes, she can. And quite well." Tia countered, earning her another glare.

"Come on, Sarah. You'd really be doing me a solid." Philip interjected and Sarah just kept looking at them as if they were crazy.

"Here's a question; why does Philip talk as if he's a rap artist in late twentieth century America? And why haven't we addressed this before?" She asked and Tia just shook her head.

"Stop trying to change the subject." She told her but Sarah kept on.

"Seriously, I'm curious." She said, earning her a look from the asari.

"Sarah…" She warned and Sarah sat back in her chair, folding her arms.

"Look, the answer is still no. Stop glaring Tia, I know for a fact that asari can't set you on fire with their mind." She told her, shaking her head. "Here's a point that you two seem to have forgotten; I don't do crowds. Performing on a stage involves crowds. So, that's not happening." She told them and Philip narrowed his eyes at her.

"But you're fine on stage. It's different because the crowd isn't close or surrounding you." He said and she gave Tia a betrayed look.

"Tia! You've been talking about this stuff with Philip?" She asked and the asari shook her head.

"I haven't said a word." She said and Philip shrugged.

"I was just guessing. I figured Tia would never have brought it up if you couldn't do it. But now I know so you have no excuse." He told her, grinning at the idea of winning the argument.

"That doesn't mean that I have to say yes." She pointed out, but he kept grinning.

"But you're going to anyway because I'm your friend and I'm asking nicely and because with Smiley gone you're bored out of your mind and this will be a good distraction." Sarah sighed at that, thinking that her friends knew her a little too well.

"Fine." She eventually sighed. "But you owe me."

"What is this gig anyway?" Tia asked and he grinned at her.

"It's the twenty year anniversary of the end of the Reaper War in a few weeks. They're setting up live music venues and they needed one more band." He told them and Tia narrowed her eyes at him.

"How the hell did you land that gig?" She asked, incredulously.

"Smith is helping to set it up and he owes me a favor." He said and she frowned at him.

"Does this favor have to do with not handing him over to Chellick?" She asked suspiciously and he shrugged.

"Does it matter? Point is, band practice. Tonight." He told them before leaving again. Sarah gave Tia a questioning look.

"I hate to ask this, but are you guys actually any good?" She asked and Tia nodded, sighing.

"Yeah. As much as I would never say it to his face, Philip is actually a good musician." She said and Sarah folded her arms.

"And you?" She asked bluntly.

"He actually taught me. Guitar, anyway. I taught myself piano when I first came here." Sarah just frowned at her, shaking her head.

"Good God, you're a nerd, aren't you? Next I'll find that you're an avid chess player." She joked and Tia blushed.

"Not an avid player per se..." She said and Sarah grinned at her, causing the asari to fold her arms and narrow her eyes. "I'm sorry, 'is addicted to Galaxy of Fantasy'?" She asked and Sarah shrugged.

"I refuse to be ashamed of that. That game is awesome." She said and Tia smiled at her.

"Well, I will say the same about chess." She said and Sarah rolled her eyes before changing the subject.

"So, a band with only three people?" She asked and the asari shrugged.

"The wonders of modern technology mean that we can synthesize the other instruments. Just not a vocalist. At least, not a good one." She said and Sarah nodded.

"So, you'll actually be ready for this thing?" She asked.

"Yeah, we both know enough songs. It's just making sure that you know them." She said and Sarah nodded, sighing. If nothing else, she was no longer thinking about Tiberius, she thought. Or, at least, she hadn't been until that moment. Crap...

"Morning, Executor." Tia said as Executor Vakarian walked past the desk.

"Morning Tia. Sarah? What are you doing here?" Her aunt asked and Sarah frowned.

"It's paperwork day. I'm always here on paperwork day." She said and her aunt nodded.

"Right. Of course. Sorry." She said, seeming a little distracted.

"You okay?" Sarah asked and her aunt nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping much lately." She admitted and Sarah nodded.

"Yeah, I know the feeling." She said, having not slept properly since Tiberius had left. Her aunt nodded before turning her attention to business.

"Sarah, have you thought any more ab-"

"No." Sarah said, cutting her aunt off. "He's coming back in a few weeks. I can handle things by myself until then." She said and her aunt sighed.

"Sarah, it's not my policy to send only one person out on patrol. I would urge you to reconsider. You can take whoever you want with you, just don't go alone." She said and Sarah shook her head.

"Why not? Red was without a partner for months before I showed up." She pointed out.

"And I spent every minute trying to pair him up. Just take someone. Please." Her aunt said, her sub-harmonics trilling with concern that made Sarah stop for a moment. Something was going on, she knew that much for certain. Why was her aunt suddenly so concerned for her safety?

"Fine. Wanna go on patrol with me?" She asked Tia who shook her head.

"No. I hate patrol work. Get Philip to go. He needs the excuse to leave HQ." She said and Sarah grinned at her aunt.

"There you go, I'll take Philip with me." She said, the idea appealing to her rebellious streak.

"Fine but if your uncle wants to yell at you about it, I won't stop him." Her aunt said and Sarah wondered when she had found out that Tia had figured out her secret.

"That's okay, Aunt Sol. I'm used to his yelling." She said, smiling with more than a little mischief. She hadn't always been the most well behaved child when she had been to stay with her aunt and uncle.

"Okay then, but you have been warned."

"So, is this where Philip lives?" Sarah asked as they walked into the apartment building.

"Yeah, but we're not actually practicing in the apartment. That does nothing but piss off the neighbors. His apartment came with an extra space on the roof to store a skycar, and since neither Philip or Smith drive, it's empty. So he converted it into a practice space." Tia explained and Sarah suddenly held up her hands, shaking her head.

"Wait a minute, are you telling me that we're having band practice in his garage?" She asked and Tia shrugged.

"I guess that's a reasonable approximation. Why?" She asked and Sarah snorted.

"Nothing. I just feel as if I've been transported into a bad teen vid. Wait, what's your band called? Please tell me you're called the Wyld Stallyns." She said and the asari frowned at her.

"No, why would we be called that?" She asked and Sarah sighed.

"No one has any appreciation for the classics..." She muttered, as they arrived in the room that Sarah had to admit was fairly spacious.

"Ladies. Welcome to the Cave of Awesome." He said and Tia frowned at him

"Okay, if we're doing this, you're not calling it that." She said and he sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Fine. So, I made a list of songs that we both know. I figured Sarah could look them over and choose the ones that'll be easiest for her to learn." He handed Sarah a data-pad and she was surprised that she knew most of the songs since it had become clear in the last few weeks that she and Tia didn't have the same taste in music. Philip, on the other hand, was apparently a different matter altogether.

"Know that one, don't know that one, love that one, know that one, that one and that one... And there's no way in hell I'm singing that one." She said, going down the list, but Philip stopped her at that.

"Wait, which song are you refusing to sing?" He asked and she folded her arms.

"Well, there are a couple. Here." She highlighted the ones on the list and handed it back to him. His face fell a little as he read them.

"Aw, but that one's always a crowd pleaser. I wanted to open with it, in fact." He said and she shook her head.

"Not happening." She said and he frowned.

"What about this one?"He asked and she shook her head.

"Nope." She said and a wicked grin crossed the human's face. She shook her head as she realized what he was thinking. "I'm serious, Philip. I'm not singing it." She said and he shrugged.

"If you want to be in the band, you have to sing the songs." He reasoned and she frowned at him.

"I don't want to be in the band. I'm doing this as a favor to you." She pointed out and he pouted. He goddamn pouted as Tia gave her big puppy dog eyes. She growled as he passed her the microphone.

"Fine." She huffed. "But I want the record to show that I hate both of you."

"Duly noted." He told her as he moved towards his guitar, a massive grin across his face, annoying her to no end.

"I could just kill him." She joked to Tia. "No jury would ever convict me."

"You would miss his upbeat attitude." Tia told her, smiling.

"Somehow, I think I would live." She said Philip started to play. She stood awkwardly as the music started, unsure of exactly what she was meant to be doing. Apart from singing, obviously. She was so distracted by trying to figure out how to stand and exactly how far she should hold the microphone from her mouth that she missed her cue to start singing. The other two stopped playing at that and she sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just not sure what I'm meant to... What am I meant to be doing?" She asked and Tia frowned.

"Singing." She said and Sarah rolled her eyes.

"I mean besides that, Admiral Obvious." She said and Philip frowned.

"Isn't the term Captain Obvious?" He asked and Sarah shrugged.

"That was such a brilliant statement of the obvious I thought it deserved a field promotion." She reason and Philip laughed before indicating for her to pass him the microphone.

"Give it here, I'll show you." He said, as he told Tia to start playing a different song. Sarah watched as he placed the microphone on a stand and started to play. She wondered why she was even needed if he could sing as well as play.

"Well she wants to be a singer in the band,

Maybe I'll give the girl a hand and a microphone,

Looks like she's all alone,

She can bring a friend though she's not my kind of friend,

She keeps staring me out with her black and blue eyes.

And I can take her dancing just to give the girl a chance,

And I was never that good at being nice when I should,

I guess that she'll forgive me right before she tries to kill me,

Cause I sold her on yesterday's,

Come take me home eye..."

Well, that explains it, she thought to herself. He couldn't sing. But that wasn't what he was showing her. Somewhere between the way he stood with confidence and his cheeky grin, he managed to keep her attention perfectly. His stage presence was unmistakable and was exactly what she lacked.

"And Chelsea said she's got nowhere to go,

And if she does she's getting there slow,

And I can help her out but I've got somewhere to be,

And that's the very thing when your dealing with me,

Do do do do do do do do do..." He grinned at her as he finished and she shook her head.

"This is why you need to get someone else. I can't do that." She told him and he rolled his eyes at her.

"We've got plenty of time to practice, Rookie. Now give it a go." She huffed at that, standing up again.

"When are you going to stop calling me that? It's been months." She told him and he shrugged.

"Who knows? Now stop stalling and start singing." He told her and she threw him a death glare before taking the microphone from him.

"Fine. But I still don't like this song." She told him as he started to play again. Tia watched her carefully as she seemed to put all of her effort into loosening her stance.

"It doesn't hurt me.

Do you want to feel how it feels?

Do you want to know, know that it doesn't hurt me?

Do you want to hear about the deal that I'm making?

You, It's you and me.

And if I only could,

I'd make a deal with God,

And I'd get him to swap our places,

Be running up that road,

Be running up that hill,

Be running up that building.

Say, If I only could, oh...

You don't want to hurt me,

But see how deep the bullet lies.

Unaware, I'm tearing you asunder.

Ooh, There is thunder in our hearts.

Is there so much hate for the ones who love?

Tell me we both matter, don't we?

You,

It's you and me,

It's you and me who won't be unhappy.

And if I only could,

I'd make a deal with God,

And I'd get him to swap our places,

Be running up that road,

Be running up that hill,

Be running up that building."

Tia watched closely as Sarah didn't move, but somehow lost the stiffness of before, her eyes glowing with an intensity that Tia had never seen from the young woman before. She's singing for Tiberius, the asari realized, and she couldn't help but hope that the turian would return soon. Before Sarah was driven to do something she would regret.

"What is it with you and roofs?" Philip asked as he and Tia followed her up to the roof of his apartment. "Is this an extension of the dandelion thing?" He asked and Tia frowned.

"What dandelion thing?" She asked.

"Rookie likes dandelions. She 'admires their ability to survive'." He said and she was caught off guard by how well he had remembered their conversation.

"You've got a good memory." She said and he grinned, passing her a beer.

"Well, you gave me every reason to remember." He said, his voice filled with suggestion. She blushed a little in response as she remembered what part of their conversation he was referring to.

"It'll take stronger stuff than this to get me drunk." She told him and Tia sighed.

"I wish the same was true of me." She said ruefully and Sarah grinned at her.

"Tia, between my height and... big bones, I must be almost double your body mass. It's not that surprising that I can handle my booze better than you." She said and Philip smirked.

"Yeah, Tia can barely handle one bottle." He said and the asari stuck her tongue out at him.

"It's not my fault that I'm not as... Curvy as other asari." She said and Philip's grin widened.

"No complaints from me." He said and the two girls shook their heads at him.

"You are such a flirt." Sarah joked before deciding to change the subject. "So, what's with you and recreating high school dramas from the late twentieth century?" She asked and Philip narrowed his eyes at her.

"I'm sorry, which one of us knows all of the theme tune to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Blame my mum. Who will blame my granddad. Who will blame my gran-gran. Who will blame her grandmother, who was probably around to actually remember this shit. I had a lot of free time, growing up." She told him and he frowned.

"Yeah, you didn't actually go to school, did you?" He asked and she shook her head.

"Nope."

"Lucky." He said, sighing. "I... Didn't have an easy time at school. I came from one of the really shitty bits of the city. The kind of place where intolerance is rampant and assholes like the ones who run Cerberus and Terra Firma are praised as heroes." He said bitterly and she frowned slightly. Once upon a time, that kind of bigotry had been beyond her comprehension. But now, she knew better.

"I take it you didn't fit in there?" She asked and he shook his head.

"Not even a little. That's why I left. But being here has shown me what life is supposed to be like. I guess I'm just trying to make the most of it. Seize the day and all that shit." He said and she nodded, realizing that he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"So, if we both know so much about old American culture, which one of us is the Tom Paris of our little group?" She asked and he frowned.

"The who?" He asked and she sighed.

"First Bill and Ted and now Star Trek. All of the classics are going to become lost to the recesses of the extranet..." She said, shaking her head.

"Have you told him the news?" Tia asked suddenly and Sarah shot up, remembering.

"No! I totally forgot." She said and Philip frowned.

"Wait, what news?" He asked and she smiled at him.

"I got you a patrol job." She said and he grinned at her.

"No way!" He exclaimed and Tia nodded, chiming in.

"The Executor isn't happy about Sarah going it alone until Smiley gets back." She said and he narrowed his eyes a little.

"Ah. So this is the 'keep Rookie sane' assignment?" He asked. "I imagine patrolling the catwalks alone is driving you crazy." He said and she shrugged, not wanting anyone else to know about her feelings towards Tiberius.

"A little." She admitted and he grinned.

"It'll give me time to persuade you to try the other songs from your 'no' list." He said, grinning, and she groaned. "I'm glad you agreed to help us out, Rookie." He said and Tia frowned.

"What is this 'us' business? This was your insane idea." She reminded him and he waved his hand dismissively before turning back to Sarah.

"Anyway, you're not bad. You just need to learn how to act on stage." He told her and she let her sub-harmonics growl with frustration and resentment. It wasn't her fault that she wasn't good at this stuff. And she didn't want to be. She was only bloody well doing it because they had pestered her into it. "I've got an idea." Philip said, pulling up his omni-tool. "Check this out. This vid has been circling the net for years. Try and guess who the singer is, I bet you'll never get it." He said before playing a video file that looked as if it had been recorded on an old omni-tool.

Sarah watched carefully, noting the crowded nightclub where the recording was taking place. By the looks of things, she dated the video at over twenty years ago. The background noise died down as the camera focused on the stage and a slender, red-haired woman stepped out onto it and began to sing.

"The boys who kiss and bite,

They are the brilliant ones who speak and write with silver luck...

They sing in clever tongues,

Oh how my knees go weak to be the one -

she kicks and bucks.

Always quick to follow,

The boys are too refined,

Won't matter tomorrow,

Oh, to be in his mind,

And if the timing is right to sneak off into the night,

I'll let myself be taken just for the thrill.

And if I'm given the chance to be a doll in his hands,

I will be sure we shake the mountains while we dance."

As soon as she opened her mouth to sing, Sarah recognized her. It was younger than Sarah knew her and the change of hair color was a little distracting, as were the faint glow of orange cybernetics beneath her skin. Reminders that she hadn't always been the woman Sarah knew.

"Mum..." She whispered, smiling a little. She had heard about the undercover mission on Omega to catch the Ardat-Yakshi from her Aunt Jack, but her parents never liked to talk about it. Her mother would get embarrassed and from the way her father's sub-harmonics responded when asked about it, it had almost ended badly.

"What? No, it's Commander Shepard." Philip said and Sarah froze as she realized that he had heard her.

"I told you that you should have told him." Tia said and Sarah's sub-harmonics screamed Not Helping at her, although she couldn't hear it.

"Tell me what?" Philip asked and Tia gave Sarah a look of I told you so.

"If you don't tell him he'll just...Okay, maybe he won't figure it out but that would be really cruel. Come on, you slipped up. Deal with it." Tia told her and Sarah growled at her.

"Guys, what's going on here?" He asked and Sarah glanced up at him, caught off guard by the worried expression he was giving her. He was more concerned for her than anything else and she sighed, lying down where she was sitting.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She said and Tia folded her arms, realizing that Sarah hadn't actually told anyone outright before. She and Tiberius had figured it out for themselves and everyone else who knew had always known.

"Do you want me to tell him?" Tia asked and took Sarah's silence as permission, figuring that she was communicating something in sub-harmonics that she couldn't hear. "Sarah's surname. What is it?" She asked Philip who shrugged.

"Dunno. Don't know yours either." He pointed out and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"No, you can't remember mine." She said and he rolled his eyes.

"It's some long-ass salarian name. I can't be expected to remember that shit." He said and she frowned a little.

"I... I didn't think you had recognized it as salarian." She said and he shrugged.

"Not that hard, given how long it is. I'm not a complete idiot." He said and Sarah smiled a little.

"That's debatable." She said and Tia rolled her eyes at her.

"Do you want me to tell him or not?" Tia asked and Sarah nodded.

"He won't believe it from me." She said and Tia realized that she might be right.

"So, are you going to tell me or not?" Philip asked and Tia grinned.

"Sarah's surname is- Wait, is it double-barreled?" She asked and Sarah nodded.

"Yeah. Order doesn't matter." She said and Philip frowned at them.

"Are you going to tell me or not?!" He asked impatiently and Sarah sighed.

"I'm Angel." She said simply and Tia pouted a little.

"I wanted to tell him." She said and Sarah shrugged.

"You were taking forever." She said as Philip frowned at both of them.

"Bullshit." He said and Sarah shrugged again.

"Told you so." She said to Tia who frowned.

"It's true." She said.

"Prove it." He said, his face defiant.

Sarah sighed before activating her holo-locket, revealing a picture of her family.

"Shit. Sorry I didn't believe you." His face went from shock to shame in a matter of seconds.

"No big." She said, shrugging. It was a little unbelievable. More than a little, she guessed. But that summed her up, didn't it? Unbelievable. Or was unexpected better?

She realized that she had been lost in her thoughts for several minutes before anyone spoke to her again.

"Why didn't you just tell me, Rookie?" Philip asked gently and she shrugged.

"I didn't want you guys to judge me because of my family. I had to figure out who I was outside of them. I didn't tell the others, they just figured it out." She told him and he nodded, believing her.

"It's okay. Judgment free zone here. Trust me, I know about not wanting to be judged on family." He said.

"I know. Sorry." She said and he shrugged.

"No need to apologize. So, think your parents will show for the anniversary celebrations?" He asked and she frowned, realizing that she didn't actually know.

"Dunno. They showed for the ten year one but they haven't mentioned it in any of their messages." She wondered at that, falling into her own thoughts again. She really hadn't properly talked to her parents in months and she felt a little guilty about it. She had been far too distracted lately, but she knew that it was no real excuse as she fell silent, slipping further into her own thoughts.

If Red had been there, he would have gently touched her arm and let his sub-harmonics trill with comfort and reassurance. Her heart ached at the distance between them, and she wondered if she hadn't been so dense, if she had just said something, would things have turned out differently...?

"Sarah?" Tia asked and she pulled herself from her thoughts again.

"Yeah?"

"Don't."

"I know."

"Then tell him when he gets back."

"No. I... Damn it..."

"Yeah. That just about sums it up."