And I'm back from the dead! I'm sorry to all my people who started this with me for my M.I.A. maneuver I pulled. School took away my time and my creativity. But I am almost done and will be (Hopefully) getting back to writing. So look for more chapters to come.
Edit: Don't forget to review my dears. I need to know if you guys are liking the way the story is going ^.^
Disclaimer: As always I do not own anything except my creativity.
There were very few people in the galaxy that could truly intimidate Garrus. Among those few were hardly any women at all; his mother and sister being two of the only ones. So he would've liked to think that he was rather solid and unwavering when it came to intimidation. But as the airlock doors opened and the figure moved towards them, he felt himself straighten his back even more before giving a small swallow.
Beside him Jane rose up to her full height as the woman entered the room. As the brightness of the shiplights hit her face, Garrus was shocked to see an older Jane with hard, cold eyes staring right at the woman at his side. Sure, there was quite a bit of difference between the two women. Hair that was a blonde color, laced with strands of silver was pulled back into a tight bun at the base of the older woman's neck. If John's hair would have the hint of red removed from it, then it would have been right around the same shade as his mothers. The fierce eyes that seemed to study her daughter, occasionally flicking towards him, were a deep royal blue. But her face, it was structured quite like Jane's, the same full lips as well as the same high cheekbones.
As she neared, she stood with her arms clasped behind her back, waiting as if she expected something from Jane. After a moment she spoke with a voice that was clearly worn from shouting orders for many years.
"Jane."
It was a simple word but was said as if it was an order. He chanced a glance to Jane who seemed to study her mother for a moment before that wicked smirk worked its way to her lips.
"Mother."
The word only caused the woman's eyes to narrow ever so slightly more. Her nostrils flinched in detest before she regained her composure.
"It is Captain, soldier. I thought that I had taught you to respect an officer of higher ranking."
The air around them was crackling, Garrus could almost see it as the surroundings grew even more tense. His gaze traveled further down the line to John. The usually confident marine was fidgeting, it seemed that he was also against Jane pissing off their mother. Jane only seemed to brush off the comment from her mother.
"And as you know Ma'am, I am no longer an Alliance officer," Jane said calmly. "So now your ranking as my mother outweighs your status in an organization that I am no longer a part of."
Hannah Shepard seemed to accept the comment, although with no fondness, as her gaze moved up towards Garrus. The blue that was close to rivaling his own took in every inch of his features.
"I see that you are keeping company much the same as the last time that I saw you."
Garrus was not sure if it was a compliment or not. Either way, he wanted to make sure that he started on the right foot with her. He gave her a bow of his head to show her respect.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain Shepard. I have heard quite a bit about you. My name is Garrus Vakarian," he said, keeping his head lowered for a few seconds before he looked back at her.
The captain's eyes moved from him down to Jane then back to him. He wasn't quite sure but it was almost as if the woman could tell of his interest in her daughter. But if she did, she did not make note of it as she turned and moved down to her son.
Garrus looked to his side and down meeting with Jane's eyes. The corners of her mouth twitched in a smile as her hand moved to bump his. He could not fight the pulse of warmth that traveled up his arm from the simple gesture.
He began to tune out most of the conversation that went on between Hannah and John. It was very military like with a lot of 'Yes sirs' and 'No sirs'. It was still odd to him that human military protocol had women of high ranking called sir. It was something he would have to ask Jane about later.
After a short exchange in greetings between Hannah and the rest of the ground crew, John began to lead his mother down the hall to show her the ship. At his side Jane relaxed as she turned to look at him. She was about to speak when someone spoke up from his other side.
"And I thought you had a stick up your ass when I first met you. That woman is so tightly wound she could eat coal and shit diamonds…" Joker moved so that he was leaning on the wall at the entrance to the cockpit.
Jane's eyes turned to the pilot with a slight state of shock. The look on her face told Garrus that she thought Joker was referring to her. To ease her worry he spoke up to the cocky, comic pilot, "But as I recall you also said that now I have removed that stick and had begun to beat people over the head with it." Garrus watched as Jane's eyes now turned to him, a glimmer of amusement hidden in the depths of those cool silvery blue orbs. After a second, a fit of giggles overtook her and her hand moved up to shield the laughter from him.
"I'm sorry but that's way to funny." She took a breath to stop her giggles. "Almost as funny as imagining you with a stick up your ass. So you were not always this charming and quick-witted?"
Garrus smiled and raised his hand in a one arm shrug. "What can I say. I was fresh out of C-sec and had no idea how to really relax. You know, before I was gunning down mercs for kicks."
They shared a smile before Joker once more spoke up. "You know, looking at you and looking at the Commander it's hard to imagine where you got your fun loving personalities from compared to your mother. What did she do? Shag a clown to get you two?"
Jane once more let out a laugh as she turned her back to the airlock, to see them both better. It had to be somewhat distracting watching the airlock open and close with different personal coming aboard. Even with the use of omni-tools and pings, the Captain still needed to look over data-pads of information and sign off on different orders for her own ship.
"My father might as well been. He is far more like John and I. Well more like me at least. John can be 50-50 with our parents. My mother only seems to come out when something really bad happens. And I usually put her right back in." Her smile lit her face but did not travel to her eyes. It was clear to Garrus that Jane had a type of love/hate relationship with her mother. Her shoulders rose in a shrug as her eyes moved down the walkway to where John was showing his mother into the armory. "She never seems to be able to relax. I never once saw her enjoying life. It was always by the book and orders. I wonder how my father ever found a match in her."
Joker, being as he was, found a way to lighten the mood from the cloudy disposition it had taken. "Perhaps she's really good in the sack."
All three of them joined in a small fit of laughter. Jane finally raised her hand to wave them off. "Oh that's something I would never want to hear about ever in my life. In fact-"
Jane's words were cut off as two arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her up and spun her in a circle. All the while a deep voice was saying, "Janey, Janey, Janey! My little shooting star!"
When she was placed back on the ground, she quickly turned and hugged the man standing right behind her. Garrus was now able to see the man properly and Spirits help him it was another look-a-like in this family. An older John stood there with his arms around Jane. There was no doubt that this man was Jane and John's father.
Were all humans like this? Almost exact replicas of their parents? Just as with Jane and her mothers there were few differences between John and his father. What Hannah's hair was lacking of red of her childrens hair, their father held it all. Bright red curls fell just short of his ears. His eyes were a light green color that caused Garrus to wonder exactly where John's golden eyes came from. And while John was strong and quiet toned, this man almost put him to shame with the size of his biceps and chest. He almost looked as though he could wrestle a Krogan and win.
Which made him wonder how exactly he missed the man sneaking up on them. Another effect of Jane. When she laughed it was a dangerous thing because he seemed to block out the rest of the world and focus solely on her face as it lit up with laughter.
Jane pulled away from the hug with a bright smile. "Papa, what are you doing here? I thought that you were back on the Citadel?"
The man laughed the deep laugh from before as a hand moved up to lightly ruffle Jane's hair. "I was able to sweet talk your mother into letting me be transferred to her ship. I think the only reason the Alliance allowed it was because no other pilot can stand your mother in the cockpit. Now she's hardly up there barking her orders." The man's voice was as deep as his laugh and held a hint of accent much like the one Garrus heard from Ken. It was still an oddity to him how humans could all sound so differently. From what he understood at one point the whole of Earth used different languages. No wonder they never worked well together in those days.
It was now Joker's turn to add to the conversation. "Wait a minute Jane, your dear old father is a pilot? No wonder you're always ready to help me up here. I thought it was my dashing good looks and amazing humor." Joker shot Jane a look of fake hurt as she laughed and placed a hand on her fathers arm.
"Yes, he is one of the best in the Alliance. Maybe the best now that you are technically part of Cerberus." She smiled as she held up a hand to indicate the man beside her. "Guys, this is Kane Nash. All around ace pilot and my father." She now turned so she could indicate the two behind her. "Papa, this is Jeff Moreau a.k.a Joker. One of the best pilots that has ever left the Alliance." They both shared a laugh as Kane reached out to shake his hand.
"I've heard a great deal about you, lad. The way you slung the Normandy around during the attack on the Citadel was a feat that all could admire and would cause others to be quite envious. It's damn great to meet you, lad."
Joker returned the handshake with an inflated ego, bringing his crippled form up a little higher. "You know, gotta do what I was made to do."
Garrus was surprised. He had not seen Joker at a loss at quick banter before. Maybe this was a side he had not seen. One where Joker was given a full compliment that he could neither wave off as a joke or gloat about. Perhaps the battle on the Citadel against the reaper had been one of the truly serious moments in Jokers life.
From behind them a beep was heard and Joker turned to look. A smile filled his face as he turned back towards them. "It looks as though there is no rest for the most amazing pilot the galaxy has ever seen."
There he was. The Joker Garrus knew best. As Joker left them to take his seat, Jane turned to her father to face him.
"Papa, this is Garrus Vakarian." She did not add anything to it but the way she spoke gave him the impression that her father already knew of him. Which was odd because the only reason he could think of was that he had been with John on the first Normandy.
"So you are the one that has my girl's heart."
Well, there was that too….
Garrus looked towards Jane with a bit of uncertainty as he reached out to shake the man's hand. Jane moved in closely with a slight blush spread over her cheeks. He had to admire just how cute she looked at that moment. That hint of shyness spreading across her features was a rare sight on the confident woman.
"I might have sent my father a few messages here and there. Some of them might have had a few things to do with my attraction and in turn your own…" She spoke in a hushed tone as a look of guilt crossed her face. It was clear she had not thought that her father would have gotten straight to the point.
Garrus offered her a reassuring smile as his eyes moved back towards her father. "I may have hers, " he said, "but in turn she has more of mine than anyone ever had. You have an amazing daughter that I don't think I could really live without."
He smiled down to her as he removed his hand from Kane's and moved it to brush her arm lightly with the back of his hand. It was a simple movement but it held so much power. Simply touching her caused so much emotion to build up within his core. He didn't mind at the moment that her father knew. Hell, he didn't think he would care if the whole ship heard. All that mattered at this moment was her face as she looked up to him. There was a small amount of shock on her face that slowly fell way to one of the warmest smiles he had ever seen.
They had spoken briefly about how they felt before. About how they did care for each other. That was definitely clear. But he had never said to her just how much he cared for her. But it was true. And damn the Spirits if he was going to deny any of it. He would even tell John if Jane wasn't so worried about it. If it was up to him, he would sing out at the top of the Citadel that this woman was slowly consuming his world and he was loving every minute of it.
Kane seemed to be slightly taken aback as well. But a warm smile that sang so much like his son's, spread on his face as his hand moved up to clap Garrus on the shoulder. "Well my boy, it seems that my little girl is in good hands. I know I can trust a man who knows his heart and won't shy away from it." He laughed slightly as he looked down towards his daughter. "I take it your brother and mother have no idea?"
Jane shook her head as she looked up to the tall man beside her. As she spoke, she stepped back so she could stand with her shoulder against Garrus's arm. "John has far too much on his mind to have this sort of shock. I know he may be alright with it in the end. But I don't want to take a chance just yet."
Kane gave a nod as he looked them over. "Well there you have it. I wish you two the best of luck." His smile was warm and welcoming as he looked them over. Those light green orbs landed on Jane with a nod of understanding. "You remember what I told you when you first started to date Trydonis. Although time has gone by, sadly not much has changed. Be careful."
His smiled returned as his gaze moved towards their side. Coming up from the back of the ship, John was approaching them with a large grin. His arm reached out to take his father's arm who grasped his in return. They leaned into each other in a short hug, that broke as quickly as it was formed.
"John, my boy, it is so good to see you! Look at how you have grown. You are almost as large as I am."
His comment brought out a laugh from John as the two men seemed to tighten their hold on each others arms. "I'm not quite the bear you are, father, but lets face it, who is, besides maybe a krogan." They both laughed as John now turned to address them all. "We are meeting in the mess to have a nice group meal. Shall we all go down together?" Everyone nodded and began to fall in step behind John as they made their way towards the elevator.
As they walked, Garrus noticed how Jane hung back slightly, her pace not quite matching their own. With John and Kane deep in conversation and not fully paying attention to the ones behind them, he slowed his steps so that he came up beside her. "Everything alright?"
The warmth of a smile spread across her features as she looked up to him. It was clear that she was walking at such a slow pace on purpose. Her eyes moved towards the men that were now boarding the elevator, the doors closing behind them. "Just taking my time…" A sly smile now covered her features, one that he had seen on few occasions when they were alone. When she was ready to attack him.
His eyes quickly scanned the area around them. Cerberus crew were working away, maintaining the ship as they casually walked past them. None looked their way which was a relief. As they now stood in front of the elevator, waiting for its return, Jane moved to stand closer to him. When she spoke it was in a hushed tone that only he could hear.
"Was that true? What you said to my father?" Her eyes stayed trained to the elevator doors waiting for his reply. Her lips still held traces of her smile. He could not help his hand as it reached out and brushed the backside of hers.
"Of course it was. I have no reason to lie to him. Ever since I met you, you have changed so much of me. In a good way of course. When I first started to understand how I felt for you, I began to see that it was on a level that I had never experienced before. Granted, I've never really had a stable relationship. But with you, it's a whole new game on so many levels." He chanced a look at her as the elevator doors opened to allow them in. Her face was slightly flushed and he could almost hear her heart beating quickly with how close they were.
"Well, then you are one very mean man."
The doors closed as he turned to ask just what about confessing his feeling counted as being mean. But the words never left his mouth as he was pushed back against the elevator wall. His lip plates were covered with a force that was soft and warm. Her arms moved to wrap around his neck, one hand moved to the back of his neck with the other resting on his back for leverage, to pull herself closer. And Spirits did he respond in full to her attack.
His hands moved, one finding a resting point on her lower back while the other took firm hold of her rear. With a slight pull she was off the floor with her legs wrapped around his waist. Damn did that feel good. The slight pressure that her strong legs placed on his tender hips. Turning quickly, he trapped her between him and the wall as she continued the assault on his lip plates, causing other plates to threaten to move.
He broke away to move to her neck, giving it his normal treatment of nips and licks. "And what did I say that was so mean?" he spoke between nips as his eyes moved up to study her face. She was flushed and moaning slightly due to his ministrations. With her weight braced she moved her hands to the side of his face to pull him away so that she could start her own attack on his face.
Her lips traced his mandibles coming to the end of one and giving it a slight nibble that truly caused him to react. A deep growl echoed in his chest as he pressed his pelvis against hers, pulling another delightful moan from her.
Between heated breaths and nips of his mandibles she spoke, "I've been patient, letting you take the steps that you are ready for, not trying to push you. I thought that you might be afraid to take those steps and I didn't want to scare you away. Then you open that amazing mouth of yours and make me want to ravage you in the spot - make me want to give you everything that I am. Show you just how much of my heart you have consumed. I could hardly hold back."
He faltered for a second at the full force of her confession. Taking a breath, he tried to control the the flame that was flaring within him for her, but failed. He had never held so much passion for a single being. Never before had someone caused him to lose all sight of his control over his feelings without him caring in the least.
He had to reign in his desire as he felt the elevator's slow crawl slow even further, warning of its stop. He gave one last squeeze to her rear before setting her down. "I don't mean to tease but I believe it would be ill suited if someone were to see us in such a… pleasurable compromising position."
He smiled to her as she began to straighten her attire. Right before the doors opened she reached up to grab the front of his armor to pull him down for one last sweet, short kiss.
"Don't think that this is over," she whispered against his lip plates. "I plan to punish you later for your sweet words."
With that the door opened and she stepped out first to round the corner to the mess. Garrus smiled as he straightened up his appearance. He exited behind her, greatly awaiting his punishment. He just had to make it through this dinner and getting her family off the ship so he could see just what she had in store for him.