Her lifeless body held in his hands, he looked up through the branches of the dead forest as the tears rolled down his cheeks. Dirt and ash flitted around his legs as he helplessly clutched at her. Stubbornly, he rubbed at her arms, hoping that she would wake, but to no avail.

The hole in her chest had stopped leaking blood for her heart had given out minutes ago. The rest of her life lay stained around him, soaking his legs as he howled into the night, past the mist, past the red glow on the horizon. He wept on her body as he shook horribly, the night bringing the darkness closer, tendrils of black reaching for him.

A shadow was now pushing aside the twigs as it walked toward him. It had a slow, purposeful gait, taking its time. It was as big as him and garbed similarly. In its hand it held a simple pistol, the barrel smoking from the one shot it had expunged.

Feet away from him, it stopped and remained there. Shepard looked at it with a hopeless longing, still holding the still body of Tali close to his chest as her warmth slipped away. The shadow did not speak but coldly regarded him as he sat miserably below it.

He sighed, "Go ahead, do it. Kill me. I don't have any fight left."

"Kill...you?" the shadow growled. "No...not yet."

He was incredulous, they could not be so cruel as to deny him this, this chance to remain with her forever, could they? "Do it!" he shouted. "It's what you want, isn't it? Kill me!"

"It is...what you want...but not what we want."

"Please…I need to be with her…"

"And you shall. But first...you will be with us." Walking forward, the foggy light washed over the shadow as it smiled down at him, its face cruel. Looking up, he stared at himself as his mirror image started to laugh. His breath catching in his throat, he glanced down at his arms and saw that the flesh had been peeled away, the glinting arms of his endoskeleton exposed. He put a hand to his face and felt no give, merely a tink as metal touched metal.

"No...please no…"

"It's too late, human," the clone grinned, victorious. "You are and always will be...ours."

A bluish glow began to emanate from his arms, the wiring starting to shine through his metal plating. His hands shone with the light of a billion candles, piercing his eyes as he frantically shut them to prevent him from being blinded. All the while, his shadow howled with laughter as his body felt like it was dissolving, a roar of rancor sounding above it, shaking his very frame.

Assuming direct control.

He threw his head back and screamed.

Shepard's eyes flared open as he jerked on the bed, reeling from his dream. He turned to the side immediately, hoping that none of what he saw was true.

Tali was lying next to him, eyes closed behind her mask as she still soundly slept. The steady rise and fall of her stomach gave the impression that she was in a relatively dreamless sleep. He quietly swore and turned on his back, staring at the ceiling as he fought to control his quick breathing.

He envied Tali, not because she had just gotten her world back, but because she could approach sleep with an open mind and embrace it as one would a lover. Sleep brought nothing but pain for him, causing him to relive the one moment he feared the most over and over again. It was slowly eating away at his mind. If this continued any longer, he would have to resort to pilfering the sedatives from Chakwas' station to skip his nightmares and enter into his semi-coma immediately. If his internal system would not be able to filter them out quickly, that is.

His hands came together and he absentmindedly squeezed his fingers, feeling the bone-like structure beneath the skin. There was no use in going back to sleep now, he was too wound up. Shepard craned his neck to look at the chronometer at the side of his desk. From what it denoted, it looked like there was still an hour and a half before they were due to arrive at the Citadel to restock and rearm.

Grumbling, he threw away the covers, Tali mumbling sleepily from the sudden movement. Holding his head as he fought back an intruding ache, he walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. A piping hot dousing would do an adequate job in warding off his demons temporarily.

After spending thirty whole minutes doing nothing but standing in the scalding spray, Shepard grabbed the nearest towel and walked back out into the room. Tal was still lying under the covers and after he had put on a fresh pair of clothes, he decided to join her under them once again. He did not care if his clothes got rumpled, he had nothing else to do with his time anyway.

Once he got settled, he was surprised when Tali turned her body to face him, awake after all, one hand holding up her head as she propped her elbow on her pillow. Her deft fingers smoothed over his chest as she sadly looked at him.

"You had another nightmare, didn't you?"

He slid his hand into hers, linking their fingers together, "You could tell?"

"You were sweating in your sleep, John. And it's cold in here."

Shepard shrugged grimly, "It was just a dream, Tali. Nothing more."

"That was what you said the last time I asked you, all those weeks ago. Are you absolutely sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"Maybe some other time," he promised, "But not when it's still raw."

Tali sighed, not wanting to press on, "If you're sure, then. I do worry about you, John."

He gave a quick laugh as he raised her hand to his mouth, kissing it, "Well, if I can't be trusted to look after myself, then I guess someone has to."

"You bosh'tet. Are you even concerned about your own health? About yourself?"

"I really can't tell anymore," Shepard admitted. "Things have been going by so fast that it's hard for me to stop and take things at face value like regarding my own safety. I mean, in just the span of a month I've witnessed the cure of the genophage and the first time quarians have set foot on their home planet in over three centuries, not to mention the fact that there's a brutal war currently going on all over the galaxy. Each one of those situations involved a substantial threat on my life but I'm still here, despite the odds. I don't really think my health is on the top of my list of things that I should be concerned about."

He frowned for a quick second, "Speaking of which, you sound a little congested. You doing okay?"

Tali slowly shook her head in exasperation. She had only caught a sniffle from the brief exposure to the Rannoch air but Shepard had managed to turn the conversation back around to her. "You see?" she indicated. "That's your problem right there. You spend too much of your time caring about others like me and not yourself."

"Look who's talking," Shepard joked. "Although I can't tell if you consider that to be a positive or a negative."

Tali reached out and stroked his cheek, "It's both. But you have to stop sometime or else you'll burn yourself out. I mean it, John. You need to relax."

"Hey," he grinned, "I'll be fine, trust me. But if I stop sometime, then who will pick up the slack?. Besides, I need to know that you're at my side at all times. I can't fight the Reapers without you, Tali because, in all honesty, you're the one keeping me going. I need to have a goal in sight if I want to hold out to that last shred of hope that we can actually win this war."

"And what goal would that be?"

Shepard gave a playful bump of his eyebrows, "Building that house with you would be a start."

She lightly swatted his chest, "You can be so sappy sometimes, you realize that?"

He feigned surprise, "You mock me. I was only speaking the truth."

Tali launched herself on top of him, fiercely pinning his shoulder down with her hands as she leaned her head down inches from his face. "I never mock," she purred. "You know this."

Shepard gave an exaggerated expression of disinterest, faking a yawn in his submissive position, "I may have temporarily forgotten that bit. Or perhaps I just assumed that you were being difficult…"

"Oh," she laughed, "You are so going to pay for this later."

"Why not now?" he shrugged before he twisted his body, and with a small shriek, Tali found herself on her back with Shepard atop her. He gave a wild grin and plunged his head down to where her collarbone was, beginning to kiss her suit as she started to stroke his head.

Tali felt the pressure of his lips through her suit and she gave a quiet moan, closing her eyes in bliss. Both of them were not intending to take things any further, what with her current condition and all, but it did not mean that they were not entitled to have a little fun now and then. Besides, Tali reasoned, it would be good for Shepard to unwind a bit, it would serve to get him off the edge he'd been feeling since Vancouver. Regardless, she loved the intimacy.

Shepard arms snaked around her waist and he allowed her to climb back on top of him. The welcome heat from the human flowed through the quarian's suit, causing her face to flush. She gasped as his fingers started to form points, pressing into her back and causing her feet to twitch uncontrollably as a few of her nerves flared from his touch.

Tali jerked back and had only a moment to view Shepard's expression before she pressed her helmet forward against his face without thinking. She closed her eyes, longing to feel his lips on her skin again, to let out all of her pent-up desire in one sitting. But Shepard continued to rest his forehead against her visor, softly mumbling as his hands gravitated towards the sides of her helmet, keeping her head still. His fingers were not anywhere near the clasps that held her visor in place but it seemed like with every passing second, they were inching closer and closer.

She was seriously considering ripping off her suit, foregoing any consequences, for she could not control her inhibitions any longer before his omni-tool flared up and rang once.

"God damn it," Shepard muttered from underneath her, breath clouding her visor. "Of all the lousy timing…"

Tali was disappointed as well but she slid off of him, throwing her legs to the side as she resumed her normal breathing, the heat vanishing from her body, "Um...you'd probably better get that."

He groaned, not wanting to in the slightest but he pressed the appropriate button to establish the connection, audio only. "Yes?" he mustered.

"Commander?" Joker's voice flitted through. "You said for me to alert you when we were half an hour out from the Citadel?"

Has it already been that long? Shepard looked back at the chronometer and found that the time had just flown by since he had woken up. Mentally scratching his head, he coughed before proceeding, "Yes...yes, Joker. I did, thank you. I'll join you in fifteen minutes."

"Roger that."

Shepard disconnected the call and flopped back down on the bed. He sighed aloud as the quarian next to him stirred, hands crossed over her stomach. "I'm sorry, Tali."

"Don't be," she whispered. "It was fun while it lasted. We will get another chance."

He smiled, "I hope so, but for now, we should at least start getting ready for the day ahead."

"Well, I'm already dressed for the occasion," Tali made a grand gesture at herself before giggling, "Unfortunately."

Shepard could not resist breaking out a peal of laughter at that, already walking to his desk and lifting a jacket off the back of his chair. Throwing it over his rumpled shirt, he walked back down to put on his casual shoes, tying the laces quickly and methodically. While he was doing that, Tali stood from the bed, after throwing the covers off her, smoothed over her suit so it did not look too much in disarray before grabbing her Scorpion that she left lying on the ottoman, hooking it to her belt.

Shepard zipped up his jacket as he turned to her, "Oh and by the way, regarding your statement for me to relax…"

Tali blinked, "Yes?"

He gave a shrug, "Well, I don't have any errands to run for the ship this time so I figured that we could take a break and have a decent meal together, get the rest of the gang and see if they want to join. Does that sound like a good idea?"

She bounced on her toes, "You mean a place that serves actual food and not that tasteless sludge for rations?"

"I bet there's a place that does well with quarian cuisine. A good place, I mean, not a fast food joint. I hear the asari specialize in pretty much every culture's style of food these days."

Since the topic had been brought up, Tali did notice that her stomach was rumbling. A good meal would do wonders for her, now that Shepard had mentioned it. Besides, the mood would be kept light, for once. Nothing shooting at them for this mission, just the prospect of tackling a meal in a group, surrounded by her closest friends. Maybe Shepard understood the need for interaction more than he had let on, after all.

"I think," she began as she sidled up to him seductively, "That sounds like a wonderful idea."

"They can never make these elevators go any faster, can they?" Garrus groused as floor after floor passed them by.

In addition to the turian, Shepard, Tali, and Liara were all crammed in the tiny box as it sped on down to the Silversun Strip, a popular leisure attraction for both tourist and resident of the Citadel. It boasted some of the station's most posh casinos, a combat simulator, movie sets, and several fancy restaurants. Shepard was hoping that he would get a table at one of these places because he read several recommendations on the extranet that pointed to at several of the establishments housed in this particular area of the Citadel.

Cortez had gone off to procure extra parts for the Kodiak, James tagging along with him. The last thing that anyone heard from the marine as they were leaving the Normandy was a desperate plea for the pilot to come to the club with him and drink themselves into a stupor. Shepard did not mind, as long as they were back on the ship when it was time to go he did not care if one of his subordinates drank themselves into a coma. It was what they did during that coma that he had cause to worry. Hopefully he would not have to rescue any of them from a bar fight.

Joker, in the meantime, had hobbled off to see a movie, EDI along with him. The man had gotten incredibly used to the company of his synthetic copilot and requested that she come along and actually see a showing of a film with him, most likely the first film in years that Joker was going to pay for seeing as he constantly used the Alliance's data network to pirate each and every video that he desired. FTL jumps could be monotonous sometimes.

EDI, on the other hand, seemed very interested at the prospect of leaving the ship in a non-combat situation. The idea of obtaining information about social patterns in a purely relaxed environment was a big unknown staring right at her. For the time being, she was posing as Joker's 'mobility mech' as the Citadel still had rather strict laws on AI platforms running rampant around the station. But she passed through the checkpoints without incident, proving that the laws that had been implemented had been nothing but mindless twaddle as the officers did not even look like they knew what a rogue AI platform looked like. Shepard mused that they probably could not even recognize a geth if they saw one.

So all of them were headed in separate directions, aiming to reunite at the ship in three hours time. Plenty of time for the four of them to grab a bite to eat and hold a decent conversation afterward.

In the small cube, Shepard sighed at the turian's complaint, "You know, we are traveling at hundreds of miles an hour, Garrus. It just so happens that this station is so massive that our ridiculously high speed doesn't really matter."

"I don't care. They still should be faster."

Liara rolled her eyes, "Shepard, can I hit him?"

"Be my guest," he allowed.

A short while after a thud and a "ow!" reverberated around the lift, it decelerated and opened its doors to wash its inhabitants in a world of neon.

"Oh, wow," Tali gasped.

The floor was streaming with people as they hustled in all directions. The gleaming floor glowed from frequently shifting lights and the ceiling extended endlessly on as holographic advertisements lit up the place like a perpetual sun. Slot machines lined the alleyways, restaurants filled the corners, and a large casino stood in the distance, a great beacon that drew unlucky patrons toward it so that they could lose money, but have a fun time doing so.

"All these people," Garrus tugged at the collar of his shirt nervously, "And me without my armor. I feel so exposed."

"Shut up, Garrus, and help me pick out a place to eat," Shepard barked as they quickly evacuated the elevator, getting caught up in the bustle of the place. Their heads swiveled to and fro as every one of them frantically sought to spy out a place that catered to all of their needs.

They dodged a group of people just standing in the middle of the path, walking another block before Garrus tapped Shepard on the shoulder. He looked over to see the turian point at a place called "Ryuusei."

"I've read that that place serves both levo and dextro food there," Garrus offered. "It's supposed to have gotten rave reviews from the local press."

Shepard was amused, "And exactly how would you know that? All I see you reading is trade magazines that specialize in exotic firearms."

Garrus shrugged, "It's those damn popups whenever I browse on the extranet. I got to reading one and I guess this place stuck in my mind. They're supposed to have an asari chef here which is one of the reasons they have a slant on seafood here."

"Well, I hope you have a plan for getting in," Shepard said as he eyed the line that stretched out the door, filled with hungry patrons, "Because it looks like it will take the rest of our natural lives just to get in the building."

Garrus snorted, "Have a little faith, Shepard." Turning on his heel, the turian walked straight past the line, down the steps towards the maitre d'. Shepard, curious at Garrus' boldness, followed with Liara and Tali alongside him.

At the foot of the stairs, the little bald man regarded the turian as he approached. "Good evening, sir," he said in such a heavy French accent that it sounded fake, "Do you happen to have a reservation for today?"

"For me?" Garrus said with mild amusement, "No. But my friend was hoping you would make an exception." He stepped to the side to let the man see Shepard coming up from behind. He recognized the commander instantly and scrambled to procure four menus at his desk.

"Ah...Commander Shepard? I had no idea you would be coming by today. Please, follow me and don't hesitate to ask for me if you need anything!"

"This was your plan?" Shepard whispered to Garrus as they walked between the tables as the man ahead cleared out a path, some of the customers taking furtive glances towards them. "Drop my name and hope for the best?"

"What?" Garrus shot back, "We're here, aren't we? No way am I waiting in that line until the end of the war. I'm starving."

Tali and Liara had been overcome at this point with a bout of the giggles, enjoying the banter between the human and the turian as they argued over the merits of taking advantage of Shepard's status as a war hero. At least to Tali, it gave her a sense of pride and admiration at seeing Shepard trying to be as modest as possible.

Glancing down, Shepard was intrigued to realize that the floor was actually one enormous fish tank. Koi of various shapes and sizes floated past along with a few other species that Shepard had never seen before in his life. Most likely they had been taken from other worlds and all combined into one big reservoir. The proper research on these species living together probably was done rather hastily as he could see a moray slither from the side and snap up a colorful fish in an instant which he guessed probably was not supposed to happen. Typical facade, it was all supposed to look nice but have no real purpose in hindsight.

The staff went way out of their way to have the table looking spotless before they set eyes on it. The chairs were pushed in as everyone sat down. With another spout of endless pontification, the waiter gave an over-the-top bow before backing out of sight. Shepard's face was locked in a state of confusion as Garrus chortled.

"Not bad," the turian sounded smug. "I could get used to this."

"Even I have to admit," Tali said, "That was pretty sneaky."

"But look at these chairs!" Garrus prodded the back, "Leather! And I initially gave Joker a hard time for him making a big deal out of his pilot's seat but now I understand why you humans hold it in such high regard."

Before Shepard could respond, their waiter was over to take care of their drinks and food. After some fumbling with the menus, they all ordered and the man left them in peace once again. Shepard declined to make a big deal out of Garrus' slightly unethical decision. He had to concede that for all he had done for the Citadel, he most likely deserved an instant seat at a nice resturant at least once.

"Ryuu-sei," Garrus squinted at the overhanging sign, sounding out each syllable. "Doesn't sound like a human word I've ever heard of."

"Technically, you've never heard me speak a word of English to you," Shepard pointed out, referring to the translator programs embedded in their omni-tools, enabling Garrus to hear only the turian language from everyone's mouth, regardless of their origin. "But the word itself is Japanese, it means 'shooting star.'"

"Just how many languages do you have on your planet?"

"A lot."

Garrus twitched his mandibles, "How did you humans ever survive without translator programs?"

"Not well," he admitted.

Their drinks were brought over very quickly. Shepard moved his items out of the way to make room for the pinot gris that the waiter set down. In front of Liara, he placed a deep blue drink in a tall flute. Tali received a screwball glass filled with a dark red substance, a turian rum cocktail of sorts. Garrus, on the other hand, received a large drink the size of a fishbowl, colored orange and boasting a little paper umbrella on top near the straw. The turian looked delighted but Shepard had to fight not to gag from laughter as he sipped his wine.

"I didn't realize we were planning a beach excursion anytime soon," Shepard chuckled.

"At least I didn't choose such a boring drink for lounging in a study," the turian scowled as he began to slurp through his straw.

"You wait and see," Shepard shrugged, "This perfectly complements the meal that I ordered."

Garrus waved a hand in dismissal before glancing at what Liara was drinking, pointing at what was contained within its depths. "Is the fish supposed to come with the drink?" he asked, astounded.

The asari gave a quick glance to the genetically modified minnow swimming around her glass before giving a secretive wink and proceeded to continue on with her drink. Tali laughed at Garrus' expression and slid a straw into a slot underneath her vocabulator as she too started to drink.

The warmth of the wine was very soothing to Shepard, even if it was not going to impair him in the slightest. He savored the taste in his mouth, letting the faint hints of crisp apples and cinnamon come out in a gradual swirl. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying their drinks as well. Tali was happily tapping her foot as she took careful draws from hers, Liara took measured sips while smacking her lips, and Garrus took large swigs and made audible grunts as the alcohol hit him like a freight train.

Liara looked amused as the turian winced and coughed, chuckling, "Can't take you anywhere, can we?"

"Bite me, T'Soni."

"I'll pass, thank you."

Interrupting the banter, the staff arrived to distribute the plates of food amongst the four of them. Shepard nodded in approval as a set of sushi rolls containing several different types of fish was set in front of him, along with a few small bowls for the dipping sauces, wasabi, soy, and some vinegar-based dressing. Tali received two medium sized tubes containing carefully shredded fish and vegetables doused in a savory sauce, dextro chilarity of course. Liara was presented with a fried calamari dish, containing within the pile of strips a set of live wriggling eels, their slimy skin making them slippery to the touch. Garrus, glancing at Liara's dish, looked rather perturbed until a simple bowl was set in front of him, containing a trio of live Palaven blue crabs that tried to scurry up the smooth surface.

Garrus grabbed a knife and immediately sunk it into the nearest crab's head, the crustacean going limp almost immediately, barely twitching after that. He repeated the process for the remaining two and proceeded to chop off a claw to tear into the sweet meat inside.

Liara calmly raised one of the eels to her mouth, still alive, and sucked the whole thing down. Garrus dropped his fork for a second before scrambling to pick it up, staring the whole time. Focusing on the main dish in front of her, she began to dig into her squid with gusto as the greasy cooked flesh crackled when she cut into it.

Tali reached for one of the tubes and inserted the straw into her slot. Sucking up a healthy portion of the meat inside, she exclaimed around a mouthful of food her pleasant surprise. It was quite possible that she had never partaken in anything this delicious in her life. Swallowing, she sucked a little more vigorously at the straw, trying to cram more food into her mouth. But, she managed to relax in the middle of an enormous bite and chewed more slowly, savoring every taste as she started to calm down. Gulping down her enormous portion, she sighed in relief before sucking up more of the fantastic concoction with a little more sensitivity this time.

Once Shepard was sure that everyone was satisfied with their meal, he picked up a set of chopsticks and selected a salmon roll, dipping it in soy sauce before chowing it down. The fish had a very distinctive flavor and the sauce gave it a very salty taste. This was probably all more food than his body could process at a time but he could always flush it out manually when he had the time. Besides, this was a nice place to eat, and any opportunity to eat food outside of the Normandy's mess was one that should be seized at all times.

The rest of the time was spent in silence as everyone ate their food but it was by no means lonely for all of them. Shepard and Tali kept on stealing glances at each other while Garrus would alternately take the occasional glimpse at Liara's writhing eels and turn away, looking sick. It was an odd group, the members at this table, but they had all known each other for so long that it ultimately did not matter to any of them.

Shepard smirked as he washed a piece of cod down with a gulp of wine. Look at them, a human, a quarian, an asari, and a turian. All were from different walks of life and yet here they were, sitting at the same table, sharing a meal. What would any of their ancestors have said if they knew this would happen? Would they be pleased, apprehensive, or disgusted?

It ultimately did not matter. The people he surrounded himself with were his dearest friends and that was the only answer in this situation. Could he have predicted that he would be best friends with a turian and an asari as well as beginning a relationship with a quarian after getting rebuilt from the ground up? If a drill instructor had yelled this in his face during boot camp, he would have scoffed out loud. Fate, it seemed, had a way of making life unpredictable.

The empty plates were soon cleared away and the group resumed chatting (after shooing away the waiter who came back to offer dessert, to which all politely refused) in their playful tone. Tali leaned back in her chair, stomach full to bursting. She could not recall a time when she had been so utterly satisfied with her meal in her life. She made a mental note to visit this place again.

As the evening continued, Shepard and Tali gravitated to holding hands underneath the table, laughing together as Liara endlessly mocked Garrus in front of them. Their fingers intertwined together as they slowly undulated, squeezing each other's hand as they explored the foreign shape. Shepard enjoyed the feeling of his five fingers encasing her three and Tali felt a jitter each time he smoothed his thumb over the back of her hand. Both of them were completely content, all memories of the war pushed far out of their minds, comfortably out of their heads.

"So...'Archangel,' really?" Liara laughed. "I mean, I do like code names but that one seemed a little...extravagant."

"It wasn't my fault!" Garrus protested, waving his glass, "I only rescued some woman from getting mugged on Omega and she called me a 'guardian angel.' I'm guessing someone picked up on it and the name began circulating."

"Oh, well at least you weren't called just 'Angel,' you would have been the most adorable hitman the station had ever seen."

Garrus looked at Shepard for support, his expression completely miserable. Shepard just smiled and shook his head, "Stop using your puppy-dog eyes at me, Garrus. It's about time that you got your smug ass handed to you anyway."

Not finding any help, Garrus went on the attack, "Well, I didn't see you helping out at all on the quarian liveship, or Freedom's Progress, or Horizon. What happened there, Dr. T'Soni?"

"Tali told me why. Apparently you told Shepard that I was working for the Shadow Broker and was not to be trusted, so he declined to pursue after me at the moment. Is that how it happened?"

"You...w-what?" Garrus turned to Tali, appalled. "You told her I said that?"

"Tali tells me a lot of things," Liara confirmed as Tali gave a meek shrug. "We actually can't resist swapping all the dirt we get on you. In fact, we even received a few tidbits from Shepard here..."

"Oh no," the human waved a hand, "You leave me out of this, Liara."

"This was a damn setup," Garrus muttered grumpily. "I should have known…"

The rest of the table continued to laugh at the poor turian, Shepard the loudest of all until he saw a glow coming from underneath the table. Confused, he raised it and saw that he had received a message marked "urgent." He opened the file and read its contents, eyes narrowing in response. Tali watched him curiously as he put his arm down before abruptly standing, setting his chair aside.

"Guys," he said as he threw on his jacket, "I'm sorry to have cut the day short but I have to go. The asari councilor wants to see me immediately."

Liara leaned forward, taking a break from ribbing Garrus, "Did she say why in particular?"

"No idea. Just that I had to come right away."

Garrus nodded, "Well, we were almost done here anyway so it's not like you ran out on us."

"I'm really sorry, guys. I truly am."

"Shepard," Garrus said as he rose to meet the human, shaking his hand "You haven't done anything wrong. We've all had a great time, every one of us. I just wanted to thank you for inviting me along." He leaned in a little closer, "Although, if we do pass by here one more time, I'd be willing to join you for a drink so we can actually have some time to talk about more important topics."

"Like rifle scopes and other various modifications for your rifle?"

"Exactly. So if that time ever comes, just meet me at the bar."

"I'll hold you to that, Garrus. But you'll be buying next time."

"Fair enough."

Shepard walked around to Liara who also stood to give him a quick hug. She smiled as she scooted her chair back, "And thank you for inviting me as well. It's been a long time since I've had food other than the Normandy cook's...um...sustenance."

He laughed, "You can be up front about it. It's terrible. I figured that all of us have at least one decent meal fresh in our memories before we press on. No telling when the next five star restaurant will turn up."

"That is true. Or you can always hire a new cook."

"Can't. Too expensive."

"So you say," she smiled.

Tali was at him before he even walked in her direction. Her hug was full, pure, and snug as she nuzzled her head against his chest. He lovingly responded to her, feeling warm inside for having shown her another perfect day. Guess he would have to count today as a resounding success. They remained embraced for so long that Garrus coughed and raised his glass in a mock salute. Shepard rolled his eyes and parted reluctantly, but kept their hands connected in a solid grip.

Tali looked at him with shining eyes as she whispered, "Thank you for...for everything, John."

"Did you have a good time?"

"I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat."

"Then that's a good sign. Really, I'm sorry that I have to leave so soon-"

"No one's blaming you," she waved a hand. "I'm just glad that I got to spend as much time with you as I did."

He stepped in closer and put a hand on the back of her head, "Things will be different soon. That I promise."

"You do have a good track record of keeping your promises," Tali smiled under her mask. "And this one is not as unrealistic as many you have made before. I will look forward to that day, whenever it comes."

"Thank you." Before departing, he dug in his pocket for a small plastic rectangle, to which he pressed into Tali's hand, a credit chit. "Would you mind paying the waiter for me?"

"Would you believe it if I said that I would do anything for you?"

"So, should I take this as a 'no?'"

"Bosh'tet," she flicked at his arm, "Now you're just being difficult."

He playfully waved his hands, "Can't resist, sorry. It really doesn't take much for you to telegraph the fact that you're hopelessly in love with me, right?"

"That may be true," she responded just as merrily, "If you weren't telegraphing the fact that you're hopelessly in love with me."

"Guilty as charged."

Tali felt her knees weaken, feeling very much like a little girl with a whopping crush. This was certainly too good to be true, right? That she had found the one for her? All of this and more, did not point her elsewhere, but to the man who was gazing serenely at her and embracing the love she poured out from her heart and fed his own back to her.

How could she be so lucky?

"You…" she felt her breath catch after a quick laugh, "You should probably go."

"Okay," he said quickly before kissing the back of her hand, ignoring Liara's giggle and Garrus' snort. "I'll see you back at the ship in about an hour if this doesn't take too long."

Watching him ascend the top of the stairs, Tali slowly sat down as she fiddled with the chit in her fingers, Garrus and Liara becoming absorbed into the background. She spun the little rectangle on the table, feeling an odd absence from Shepard's departure. But she let that fact cause her to beam in realization.

Two parts of the same whole. They truly were meant to be together.

Shepard's euphoria had faded by the time the elevator reached the embassies. Putting on a wholeheartedly disinterested face, he walked through the throngs of anxious politicians as he made for the offices on the right side of the floor.

It was an odd request, the asari councilor asking him to meet in Councilor Udina's office. Or as it should read, ex-Councilor Udina's office. There were two guards adorning the locked door as he approached. The councilor must already be inside. The turians straightened as he approach and unlocked the door for him to proceed. Giving a respectful nod, he walked on through and faced the asari as she stood in the middle of the room.

"Commander," she began gracefully. "I apologize for having contacted you on such short notice but this is too important."

Shepard was still a little apprehensive, "Too important to discuss in the Citadel tower?"

"The nature of what I'm about to tell you is too sensitive for anyone listening in. This room is secure enough."

"Rather odd, to pick the office of a man who threatened to kill you, don't you think?"

Tevos shuddered, "The memory of which I hope to be purged quickly. But that is why I asked for you, specifically."

Shepard said nothing but let her continue on as she gestured for him to sit down across from her. Sinking into the comfortable chair, he listened as her face was bleak, "In addition to saving me, as well as the Council, I don't think that there is anyone else who can be trusted with this sort of assignment. Not to mention you helping to cure the genophage and ending the war between the geth and the quarians."

"Are those last two cases bad, relatively speaking?"

"Not at the moment," she admitted, "But it also showcases that you have a knack for achieving the impossible. It's just that I wish I had come to you sooner…"

Come on, get to the point.

"What do you want to tell me, councilor?"

Tevos leaned forward, "Our engineers have reported that construction on the Crucible is going well, apart from you missing one specific component."

"The Catalyst," Shepard whispered. "What do you know?"

The asari merely slid a datapad across the small table in his direction. He picked it up and it flared to a point on a map on Thessia, the asari homeworld. He squinted in confusion, "What is this I'm seeing?"

"That is the Temple of Athame, a relic of our past."

"What exactly is the significance of this temple?"

Her voice dropped an octave as she gave a few nervous glances around the room, "What I'm about to tell you is classified intelligence. You cannot whisper a word of this to anyone outside this room-"

"Councilor," Shepard interrupted, "With this war looming overhead, I make no promises. You've already played your big hand by revealing to me a location of interest, what it contains will be revealed to me eventually, whether I go there and find out for myself or you tell me right here. In each case, I do not consent to keep quiet about such matters if I find out that they are extensively significant."

Tevos' face flashed in annoyance before she relented, "All right, commander. What I know is that there is something inside the temple that may be able to point you to the Catalyst's whereabouts."

"And what would that be?"

She faltered for a second before continuing, "A Prothean beacon."

Shepard blinked, "A what?"

Tevos hung her head, "I swear...I didn't know that it would come to this…"

"How long have the asari known about this beacon, councilor? How long?"

Defeated, she gave a shrug, "A long time."

Shepard glowered as he sat back in his chair, "So...you mean to tell me that the asari have been using a Prothean beacon illegally for god knows how long and you think that I can glean information from the secret that you've kept?"

"It...it wasn't illegal until the Council was formed…"

"But you still chose not to divulge it anyway! I bet I can guess why the asari have always been more advanced than the other races in the galaxy. You've just been taking the knowledge of the beacon and keeping it for yourself." Shepard rose to his feet, furious, "And the fact that you have enacted sanctions on humanity in the past for attempting to keep Prothean technology for ourselves is despicable in its own right. You've been hoarding valuable resources and smirking like a bully when we were caught doing the same thing, as if we were below you all this time!"

Tevos looked up at him and Shepard saw what his fury had caused. A few trails of tears ran down her face as she struggled to breathe, "I...I fully regret the things I have done in the past. The decision was made to assert asari superiority..."

"And boy, did it backfire! I only hope you haven't come with me too late with this information otherwise we are all well and truly fucked." Incredulous, Shepard started to make for the door before turning around one last time to look at the tearful asari sitting on her chair. "You do realize that when this is all over, councilor," Shepard said with all seriousness, "There will have to be an accounting for what the asari have done."

"I know, commander," Tevos replied miserably. "I'll probably be ousted from my position and we will be faced with reparations for years to come but it will all be truly deserved." She looked at him through her watery eyes, "We deserve your retribution."

Shepard shook his head, completely incensed but strangely pitying the woman sobbing in front of him, "Councilor, I do promise you that I will make sure that the asari will not be penalized as harshly as you might imagine. But everyone will know what you have done. That will be punishment enough."

He strode back to the door and was about to step through when Tevos spoke one last time, "I...am very sorry, commander."

He did not even turn around as the door started to slide shut behind him.

"I'm not."

A/N: 200,000 word goal reached. Damn.

But now, we are nearing the endgame of this story. It should be completed by the end of the month if I concentrate hard enough.

Heh, I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve.