The program Mordin had uploaded into her omni-tool blipped softly each time the vital reader reached a peak, before dropping back down to a baseline and then climbing back to peak again with another, soft blip. The brain function and heart rate readers all showed fairly normal vitals – startlingly normal, after all the stress the foetus had undergone in the last few weeks. In fact, despite Mordin's well-meaning warnings about how the growing thing inside her was tremendously fragile and would likely come undone at the slightest provocation, it was proving frustratingly hard to get rid of it. Selecting the heartbeat vital, Shepard stared at it, blankly, her hand resting half-heartedly on her stomach as she watched the line spike and drop in a steady, rhythmic meter.

Sheer spite had split her feelings on the matter of her child into a stark fifty-fifty – on the one hand, she was tempted to keep the baby just to say she did. Just to spit in the faces of those who would see her fail for being both an officer and a mother. Just to see the Council squirm at the sight of Commander Shepard with a baby on her hip. On the other hand, Ghorek's words and her horrific dream still gnawed angrily at the back of her mind – what sort of quality of life would her child have, if she were to go ahead and have it? What if she carried it fully to term, just to have it be unable to survive outside the womb? Or, even more frightening, what if it did survive? What sort of life would it have then, being the only one of its kind, incapable of finding acceptance or appreciation anywhere but its parents?

"Parent," she reminded herself quietly, collapsing the omni-tool screen. "Just one parent." She still had yet to tell Garrus about the whole thing, but honestly, that was the only part about this entire ordeal that felt like she was doing something right. He did not need that extra stress on top of what he was already taking on. His planet in ruins, his father and sister in the wind – the last thing he needed was one more thing to worry about, especially something so uncertain. She would never hear the end of it. Two months? You went two whole months without telling me? Two and a half, she guessed, but that was an unnecessary detail. It was all unnecessary details, as far as Garrus was concerned. This decision was hers to make, and hers alone, and those who did know about it had sworn themselves to silence.

Hearing the telling beep of an incoming e-mail, Shepard pushed herself up off the bed, making her way over to her console and waving a hand to turn the holo-screen on. The e-mail was from the salarian Council member, which surprised her, but she was even more surprised by the e-mail's content. The Councillor, it seemed, was becoming highly concerned about large sums of money he had witnessed moving through the bank accounts of human Council member Donnel Udina, and had requested that Shepard come to the Citadel to investigate. An odd task, but one that piqued her curiosity – Udina had always been a bit of a snake in the grass, as was his lot in life as a politician, but she had never suspected him of actually doing anything illegal.

Pressing the intercom button beside her console, she waited for the telltale sound of Joker's voice to pick up on the line. "Joker," she told him. "We're heading to the Citadel. The salarian Councillor needs our help."

"Anything for the salarians, right, Commander?" Joker returned, sarcastic.

"Gotta love salarians," Shepard answered, before severing the connection.

The cockpit was filled with the sound of Joker pressing buttons on his display as Shepard approached. She could not help but be a little surprised by the apparent flurry of activity, as usually it did not seem to take any effort at all for Joker to connect them to the docking authority and pull them into port, but now, for some reason, he appeared to be meeting with trouble on the other end. "Alliance Control, this is SSV Normandy, are we clear to descend?" Joker asked, beeping a communications access serial into a box that kept popping up on the screen, asking for identification. No matter how many times he seemed to input the information, the box would just pop up again, requesting for him to input the information once more.

Resting a hand on the back of the pilot's seat, Shepard frowned, looking out the cockpit window to where she could clearly see the Citadel floating within easy access range. It was strange that the Normandy could be hovering in an airspace where anyone within the Citadel could simply look out the window and see them, yet no one seemed to be bothering to acknowledge their presence. "Alliance Control, this is Normandy – we're headed to Bay 1-4, Zakera Ward, are we clear to descend?" Joker requested again, getting frustrated. "What the hell's going on down there? Even if there were a station malfunction, they'd have backups online. I've got a bad feeling here. I'm gonna check emergency channels, see if I can figure out what's up."

"Good idea," Shepard commended, leaning on the back of his chair, anxious.

Clearing his display, Joker pressed an agitated finger to his in-ear comm, dragging a new frame from the far edge of the holo-screen and starting to scroll until he seemed to hit on something. "Hello?" he asked, testing it, before his expression suddenly cleared. "Hey, yeah, this is Joker! Uh-huh, yeah, no kidding." Then, turning to look back at Shepard, he pointed to his console. "Commander, there's a communication from Thane," he told her. "He says it's important. I think you'll want to hear this."

"Put him through," Shepard agreed, leaning in to listen.

The intercom system hissed as Joker quickly switched over from the in-ear comm to the overhead, before Thane's deep, raspy voice finally came over the speakers for everyone in the cockpit to hear. "Shepard, the Citadel is under attack," the drell reported, urgently. "Cerberus troops are everywhere and they're in control of the docks."

"Are you safe?" Shepard asked, leaning anxiously on the back of Joker's chair.

"No," Thane told her, truthfully. "I had to evade their commandos at the hospital. I'm in a Presidium storefront."

"Did Ashley make it out?" Shepard asked, hopeful.

"We got separated," Thane replied. "She said she had to protect the Council. I'm going to C-Sec headquarters."

At this, Shepard frowned, taken aback. "Why C-Sec headquarters?" she asked, surprised.

"It's been compromised, and C-Sec's response depends on it," Thane told her, frankly. "As long as Cerberus is holding the headquarters they have the station."

"All right," Shepard nodded, before turning and starting to make her way out of the cockpit. "Joker, get us away from the docks and close to C-Sec HQ. We'll deploy in the shuttle."

"Aye-aye, Commander," Joker agreed, closing the communication.

The door of Shepard's cabin slid open, revealing Liara standing in the doorway, her gloved hands clasped anxiously in front of her. "Oh good, you're here," Shepard said, beckoning her over towards the bed, where her armour lay spread out on the comforter. "I need your help getting this on. I used to be able to do it on my own, but things being what they are…"

"I understand," Liara answered, nodding.

"Great," Shepard answered. "First, I need some help zipping this stupid underthing up. I can reach the zipper but it's being stubborn for some reason."

"For some reason," Liara repeated, pointedly, before taking hold of the zipper and pushing it upward, forcibly. "Suck in," she instructed, and, slowly but surely, she managed to zip the tough-hewn material together, forcing the suit closed and secure.

"Thanks," Shepard told her, able to breathe again. "You're a pal, Liara."

"How long do you intend to try to keep this a secret?" Liara asked, propping her hands thoughtfully on her hips as she stared worriedly at the minor curve protruding from the Commander's undersuit. The material of the suit was thick and tough enough that it concealed the telltale bump effectively enough that anyone not looking for it would easily miss it, but it was still quite clearly there. "You know eventually someone is going to notice something is awry when it starts taking you this much longer to put on your uniform."

"That's why I have you to help me," Shepard answered, matter-of-factly. "Now, if you could help me with the rest of the suit, I'd really appreciate it."

Liara sighed, bending down to the bed to pick up the first piece of Shepard's armour, and Shepard turned, holding out her arms expectantly. When, after a moment, she did not feel the first piece being strapped on, she glanced back over her shoulder, confused, to see Liara still standing with the piece in hand, staring at the back of Shepard's undersuit, her painted brows drawn into a soft, anxious frown. "Shepard, are you sure you want to go down?" she asked, looking up at her, her malt-blue eyes worried and set. "There are so many other people who would be more than willing to go down in your place. They're well-trained and intelligent, and I'm sure they can take care of the situation just as well as you can."

"I'm going down, Liara," Shepard insisted, now starting to get annoyed. "Just help me get this thing on. I can't keep them waiting any longer than I absolutely have to."

"Maybe you should ask the Alliance for a new set of armour," Liara suggested, looping the abdominal guard around her stomach and pulling the straps until she managed to snap them closed around her friend's back. With the abdominal guard settled in on top of the heavy undersuit, it was nearly impossible to tell there was anything awry with the Commander. "Tell them this one got ruined somehow. You broke off a thigh-guard or something. Or the biotic tech harnessing is fried and won't read."

"Or you could just work on getting me those names you said you would look up for me," Shepard returned, picking up her helmet off the bed, starting to get peeved. "I thought you said getting information was what you were good at. It's been almost a week, Liara. Haven't you found anybody yet?"

"You told me you only wanted somebody you could trust to be discreet," Liara told her, sounding equally nonplussed. "I don't know if you realize this, but it's not exactly easy finding someone to do a procedure like this without giving out any personal information whatsoeve—"

"Thanks, Liara," Shepard told her, cutting her off, frustrated. "I think I can handle the rest of my armour from here."

"Shepard—" Liara started to warn.

"I said I got it," Shepard snapped.

Liara bristled, pursing her blueberry lips, her hands returning to her hips. Then, turning, she started to head for the door, before turning and addressing Shepard again, pointedly. "Either you should keep the baby or you shouldn't," she told her. "You're not fooling anyone with this noncommittal back and forth. If you want to keep the baby, you should keep it, and if you don't want to keep it, nobody will judge you for that, either. But holding on like this when you don't know what you want to do with it is just cruel."

"Get out, Liara!" Shepard demanded.

"Fine!" Liara exclaimed, hurt. Then, turning on her heel, she exited the cabin, letting the door slide shut behind her. Once Liara was gone, Shepard turned, throwing her helmet back down on her bed with an angry yell. Then, before she could stop herself, she sat down on the bed, burying her face in her hands, defeated.

The Kodiak zipped effortlessly around the spires and walkways of the Citadel's buildings, the windows of the buildings blazing by too fast for anyone inside to see the shuttle, or for anyone in the shuttle to see inside. Shepard was not a fan of going into a situation blind, but figured they had little choice in the matter, all things considered. Pulling her Marauder from its maglock at her back, she weighed it anxiously in her hands, cupping the smooth base of the weapon as her fingers tapped against its side, itching for the trigger. "Here's the plan," she said, turning to face her teammates in the shuttle. "We drop in hot and take out as many Cerberus troopers as we can. Our main priority right now is to find Thane, then all of us will head up to C-Sec headquarters. Thane says if we take back C-Sec, we can take back the Citadel. Got it?"

"Got it, Commander," Vega answered, giving a reassuring little salute.

"Thane is the drell assassin, right?" Kasumi asked, before bringing up a hand to cover a conspiratorial little smile. "I remember him. He is very good-looking. Very proficient at his job as well, but… also very handsome."

"Sure I guess, if you're into that," Vega answered, shrugging. "Drell always looked kinda froggy, to me. But if you guys dig that, I guess that's cool."

"Aw, don't be jealous, Vega," Kasumi cooed, sliding over to drape two reassuring hands over his broad shoulders. "You are also quite attractive. And sweet! Anyone would be lucky to have you."

"You think so?" Vega grinned, glancing over towards her. "Thanks, Sombra."

"Anytime," Kasumi returned. Then, tracing the outline of the Alliance symbol on the front of his chestplate with one finger, she added, wryly, "So… what are you doing later tonight?"

"We're here," Shepard announced, cutting their moment short. Kasumi and Vega were quickly on their feet, and as soon as the side door of the Kodiak opened, Shepard jumped out, followed closely by her two teammates, who ducked for cover on either side of the stairway leading up to the door of the C-Sec office. Blasts of plasmic light flew overhead, the dull drumming of Cerberus weapons interrupted only by muffled shouting, the troopers' voices made almost indistinguishable through their thick, specialized helmets. Kasumi vanished, skirting her way around the edge of the perimeter, while Vega took an offensive position, propping himself just over the edge of his hiding-place and drawing the heaviest weapon he had brought with him. Between his hard-hitting artillery, Shepard's semi-automatic fire, and Kasumi's stealth, the Cerberus troopers had soon been taken care of, and they quickly pulled out of hiding, making their way up the stairs towards the doorway.

Beside the door, Captain Bailey sat in a small pool of broken plexiglass, a tiny trickle of blood seeping between his fingers as he pressed a hand to a wound in his side, which seemed to have been otherwise thankfully cauterized by the plasma bullet it had taken. "Shepard," he grunted, beckoning her over. "I saw those Cerberus troops on ya. I thought you were done for."

"Bailey?" Shepard frowned, crouching down to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Gettin' my ass shot off tryin' to retake headquarters," Bailey answered, truthfully. "Cerberus took it in the first push. We gotta kick them outta there. Everyone in C-Sec's flyin' blind without the network."

"How bad is the situation?" Vega asked, watching as Shepard pulled a tube of medi-gel from her pouch, unscrewing the cap and beginning to dab the fast-drying ointment on Bailey's wound. "Do you know if the Councillors are still alive?"

"They split up," Bailey told him, hissing a bit as Shepard touched a sore spot. "I'll know if I can access the terminal inside."

Finished applying medi-gel, Shepard returned the tube to her pouch, getting to her feet and offering a hand towards Bailey, who took it, letting her help him to his feet. "Can you get us in?" Shepard asked, taking a step back, allowing Bailey room to breathe.

"I'll get the door," Bailey told her, nodding. "If no one interrupts me with a bullet this time…" Limping to the security panel beside the sealed double-doors, Bailey input a code, and, with a sharp beep, the doors hissed open, allowing the group inside. Shepard, Vega, and Kasumi instantly raised their weapons, ready to fire, but were met with nothing but an empty, silent hallway. "Here we go," Bailey said, moving around the computer desk situated in the front entryway and dropping himself into the seat. "C-Sec network access. Courtesy of Cerberus."

"How's that gonna help?" Shepard asked, moving up to lean against the computer desk, her gun still trained on the adjoining hall, ready for any unexpected surprises from Cerberus.

"Cerberus has control of the main channels, but I can set up a new one," Bailey answered, typing information into the console quicker than Shepard could figure out what he was doing. "Without it our people have no plan and no chance. …Hello."

"What have you got?" Shepard asked, dropping her weapon to take a look at what Bailey was doing on the console.

"A warning from Councillor Valorn," Bailey answered, opening a message file so that it expanded to fit the whole screen. "He's supposed to be here, meeting with the Executor. 'Be on guard: the likelihood of betrayal from within is high'. Not a lot else… but if he's inside…"

Shepard frowned. "Why would the Councillor be meeting with the Executor?" she asked, concerned.

"Usually it means someone big is about to be prosecuted," Bailey answered, matter-of-factly. "I guess that someone had Cerberus friends."

"The Councillor mentioned Udina…" Shepard began, before shaking her head. "But that's insane. Does he even have this kind of pull?"

"Well, you know who'd have the answer to that?" Bailey answered, frankly. "The Councillor."

"One Councillor's better than zero," Shepard sighed. "Where am I headed?"

"He could be in the Executor's office," Kasumi suggested, making a quick check of her weapon to be sure the heat sink was still fresh. "It's a fairly defensible position."

"I'm on it," Shepard announced. "Bailey, sync our omni-tools and keep in touch. I fully expect trouble."

"Don't I know you?" Bailey asked, narrowing his eyes at Kasumi, but before he could have a chance to place her, Shepard had turned, heading further into the building, with her team following closely behind.

With the most recent level cleared of Cerberus troops, Shepard quickly made her way to the elevator at the far end of the room, resetting the override on the panel beside the elevator doors and listening for the telltale hissing and grinding sound that let her know their ride to the upper levels was on its way. The elevator doors opened with an inviting ding, and Shepard, Vega, and Kasumi were quick to pile inside. Jamming the button on the panel to send them upward, Shepard docked her Marauder, turning to face Kasumi as the doors closed shut behind them and the elevator began to move. "How much further to the Executor's office, Kasumi?" she asked. "Do you remember?"

"Once we reach the upper floor, there's a hallway, then an open clearing," Kasumi answered, making indicative motions with her hands to go along with her explanation. "Then there should just be a flight of stairs before we reach the Executor's office. Simple enough, if we don't run into any unanticipated trouble."

"What would you classify as 'unanticipated trouble'?" Vega asked, giving a small, incredulous laugh. "From my experience with the Commander, pretty much everything should be classified as 'anticipated trouble'. Never a dull moment, right, Commander?" He looked up, expecting an answer from Shepard, but she did not seem to even hear him. She shifted from foot to foot, wetting her lips, before letting out a short, hard huff of breath and looking down at her feet. She tapped her hand against her thigh, anxiously leaning against the wall of the elevator, feeling the gentle rattling of the trolley on its cable, which now felt almost agonizing. Vega frowned, watching her, before finally clearing his throat to get her attention.

"Commander?" he repeated, worried. "Are you okay? You seem kinda… antsy."

"She probably just has to pee," Kasumi commented, teasingly.

"I do have to pee," Shepard answered, frankly. "I've had to pee since we were on the Kodiak."

"Why didn't you just go before we left?" Vega asked. "You had plenty of time to do it on the Normandy."

"I didn't have to, then," Shepard returned, peeved. "Clearly, James. Or else I would have done it."

"Sorry I asked," Vega answered, holding up a hand, innocent. "Jeez. Women are loco."

"Or maybe men are just insensitive," Kasumi suggested.

"Are we still talking about Shepard needing to pee?" Vega asked, looking over at Kasumi, confused, but before he could get his answer, the elevator had reached their floor, and the doors slid open with a ding. Instantly, they were hit with gunfire from all directions, but even so it did not take long for them to clear the room of Cerberus troops. Heading down the hall and up the stairs as Kasumi had instructed, Shepard led the way to a wide, unlocked door with the word 'Executor' written above it in big, blocky blue lettering. Taking point on one side, with Vega on the other, she let Kasumi open the door, and the three made their careful way inside, looking around for an ambush before moving in to investigate the scene.

"Bailey," Shepard reported, pressing two fingers to her earcomm. "Looks like they got the Executor and two salarian bodyguards."

"Damn," Bailey swore. "All right, keep searching. If you don't see the Councillor's body, don't count him out yet."

Vega moved to the edge of the room, to the large window overlooking a spacious meeting-hall, and Shepard followed him, curious. It did not take long before one of the chairs in the hall began moving, and, after another moment of watching, the salarian Council member stood up from under the table, his cloaking device fizzling out as he looked around, checking to see if the coast was clear. "Found him," Shepard reported, pressing on her earcomm again. "He looks unharmed."

"Get him somewhere safe," Bailey instructed.

"Got it," Shepard started to say, but before the words had even finished leaving her mouth, she spotted a dark form out of the corner of her eye. A man, dressed all in black, had dropped from somewhere in the metal rafters into the hall with the salarian Councillor, and was starting to creep closer to him, menacingly, his light-footed actions giving the impression of a trained dancer or gymnast. The exaggerated aura of comic-book villainy this individual exuded would have been almost painfully heavy-handed, had the situation not been so dire. Thinking fast, Shepard picked up her gun, firing into the glass window of the Executor's office and shattering it, before sliding out the window herself and landing heavily on her feet on the floor of the meeting-hall. Grabbing up her gun again, she aimed it at the assassin, who quickly moved out of the way, using a nearby railing as a catalyst to springboard himself to the far side of the salarian Councillor and holding up a hand to show off a white biotic glow as a thin, knowing smirk slid across his angled, half-hidden face.

"Don't even think about it," Shepard warned, moving in closer, her gun aimed squarely at the assassin's head.

"Shepard, he's going to kill us all!" the salarian Councillor hissed, holding up his hands, frightened.

"That remains to be seen," Shepard answered, testy, holding her gun at the ready.

"I mean Udina," the Councillor insisted. "He's staging a coup. He's got the other Councillors now to hand over to Cerberus!"

Shepard frowned, gritting her teeth. This news had not been entirely unexpected, considering all the warning signs leading up to this point, but it still stung to hear it. The sound of the door of the meeting-hall sliding open caught her attention, and she glanced back in time to see Vega and Kasumi moving into the hall, their weapons drawn at the ready as well. Turning her attention back to Leng, she jabbed her gun in his direction, indicative. "Three on one, pal," she told him, taking another step forward. "It's over."

"No," Leng replied, shaking his head, his voice dark with bitter amusement. "Now it's fun." He sidestepped again, the pulsing glow in the palm of his hand giving a warbling buzz as it began to grow in strength, and the Councillor held up his hands, covering his face from the impending blast. Suddenly, the sound of a gun whining as it heated up pressed against Leng's ear, and he turned his head, surprised, only to see a fourth assailant aiming a gun at him, this one a drell.

"Didn't even hear me coming," Thane said.

Shepard cursed, raising a hand to cover her eyes as she watched the shuttle with Kai Leng astride it zipping off in the direction of the upper levels. Popping the heat sink on her gun angrily, she turned back towards the door she had come from, where Vega and Kasumi stood eagerly, looking up after the shuttle as well. "The son of a bitch got away," Shepard exclaimed, moving back towards them, out of breath. "Where the hell does he think he's going?"

"He's heading up to the top floor," Thane informed her, pressing past Vega and Kasumi to make his way to the front. "To a shuttle pad in the Presidium. That's where Udina's holding the Councillors. That's where you have to go."

"Thane!" Shepard exclaimed, storing her gun in its maglock before moving over to him and making a quick once-over check of his most obvious exposed parts. "Are you hurt? It really looked like he got you pretty good back there. I was worried he might have killed you."

"He very nearly did," Thane answered, truthfully. Lifting the flap of his coat, he showed her a telltale hole that had been burned through it, the plasti-dipped threads melted at the ends where the electrically-charged weapon had seared through the material. "My time on board your ship was well spent," he told her, letting the coat fall back into place. "I learned quite a bit from Miss Goto. My methods are good – the best – but hers were…" He faltered, trying to think of a good word for it. "She helped me improve my craft in ways I had not thought to before," he finally said. "My ideology initially hinged almost entirely on stealth, but she convinced me to try adding a cloaking component to it. Illusion. Tricking the eyes, in addition to just the ears. It looks like it saved my life. I'll have to thank her for that one of these days."

"You can thank her now, if you want," Shepard told him, nodding towards Kasumi, who she could already see was beaming under her hood.

"Perhaps later," Thane decided, lifting his head and clasping his hands dutifully behind his back. "When things are a bit more settled. Wouldn't want it going to her head by telling her about it so soon after my actual brush with death. What a catastrophe that would be." He chuckled, good-natured, the sound a low, soothing rumble, before taking in a long, slow, deep breath. "I was lucky Leng fell for my projection," he added, more solemn. "Half a second sooner and it would have been me. It very nearly was me." Lifting a hand, he pressed it to the hole in his coat, self-conscious. "Leng is good," he told her, nodding once, solemnly. "He's very good. But comparatively, he is still a young man. He still has much to learn. He is very, very talented, but also very, very cocky. He doesn't know when it is time to wait his opponent out, or simply try again another day."

Letting his hand fall back to his side, Thane took another deep breath, thoughtful. "He is headstrong," he added. "Rash. Arrogant. And it will be his downfall."

"Good," Shepard replied, her voice barely above a growl. "I'd like to kill the son of a bitch right now, if I could."

"Your intentions are good, but your reaction is reckless," Thane warned her. "Give him time to get comfortable. Let him come to you. He'll get cocky again. That's when you can take him out most easily. Right now your priority is the Council."

"Right," Shepard agreed. "Meanwhile, you take the salarian Councillor back to the Normandy. One near-death experience is enough for you for one day. There's a shuttle waiting with a pilot, Cortez, just outside the building on the ground floor. Just tell him I sent you."

"Your concern for my well-being is touching, Shepard," Thane told her, amused.

"Yes," Kasumi agreed, barely able to contain a conspiratorial grin. "Shepard is very good at that. Touching people."

"You're terrible, and that's not funny," Shepard told her, but she could hardly keep from smiling at the lowbrow joke, herself. Then, turning towards a taxi shuttle parked nearby on the landing, she pressed two fingers to her earcomm, quickly getting Bailey back on the line. "Bailey," she told him, pushing a button on the side door of the taxi and watching it open easily with a hiss. "Get the word out that Udina's trying to seize power. I've got to get to the Councillors." Sliding into the driver's seat, she waited for Kasumi and Vega to take their places in the car as well before pressing another button and allowing the car to close up and seal itself tightly. The engine whined into life as she pressed the ignition, the shuttle wavering a bit as its thrusters fired, pushing it up into the air.

"Start drivin'," Bailey told her. "I'll try to raise them on the comm. Good luck, Commander."

It felt good to be out of her armour. Her feet ached, every inch of her felt bruised and sore, and, best of all, freedom from her armour meant her job was done. Ashley, embarrassed about her blindness to the truth of Udina's treachery, had agreed to come back to the Normandy after the ordeal on the Citadel. She had taken up lodging in the Starboard Observation room, sealing the door behind her once she was inside, preferring to be left alone to think about what she had almost done. Shepard knew to give space where it was needed, and so had not pursued the matter, instead making her way to the room adjoining the life support system, where Thane had made his comfortable home once more, having convinced Zaeed to move down into the hidey-hole Jack had once called home. The mercenary had not taken much convincing, and had instead decided that he would spend his time until he was needed again sprucing the place up.

"It's a better arrangement overall, I think," he had said when Shepard had asked him about it. "If we're boarded by those goddamn creepy-crawlies again, nobody will think to look down here. I'll be living large while you're all being turned into Reaper food." At this, he had paused, before giving a telltale grunt. "Plus, with any luck, it'll take a while for Karin to figure out I've moved down here," he had added, reaching up a hand to rub at his stubbled chin. "No more poking about, asking if I've taken my vitamins for the day. You'd think she thought we were married or something, the way she picks after me. Take your vitamins! I'm plenty bloody healthy, thanks very much." With nothing else to add to the conversation, Shepard had left him more or less to his own devices after that, but she could still hear him grumbling about Chakwas' care all the way up the stairs.

Thane, it seemed, was settling in to his reclaimed abode quite nicely. Chakwas had given him some scans when he had first come aboard, before prescribing him some medication to help keep him dry, and the liquid off his lungs. It was only a temporary fix, and they both knew it, but Thane claimed that it made him feel much better, if only in the short run. Satisfied that her newest crewmate was doing all right, Shepard had taken her leave of him, instead making her way down to the war room for some alone time, and a chance to think. After a harrowing mission, she always found the war room to be a peaceful break from the frantic, nonstop pace of the world outside the Normandy. Everything in the war room was constant, from the slowly-spinning hologram of the Crucible in the middle of the hall to the soft, steady beeping of the machines.

Shepard leaned on the edge of the console, taking in deep, calming breaths, her eyes fluttering half-closed as she listened to the gentle whir of the mechanics, allowing her nerves to settle. She did not have long to enjoy it, however, before she heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Opening her eyes, she turned to face her company, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her hoodie as she looked up at Garrus, who came to a stop a few feet away from her, appearing oddly irritated.

"You look upset," Shepard told him, blunt. She was in no mood for runaround today, especially not after what she had just been through at the hands of Cerberus and the Illusive Man's newest pet.

"You didn't think to ask me to come along on a mission to protect C-Sec?" Garrus asked, sounding just as frustrated as he looked. "My old line of work? You don't think I could have helped with that?"

Shepard frowned, taken aback. Then, glancing over her shoulder to make sure they were alone, she looked back at him again, agitated, leaning her hip against the edge of the hub. "I didn't really have time to think about strategy, Garrus," she informed him, peevishly, shrugging her shoulders. "I didn't do it on purpose. It was a snap decision. Vega and Kasumi were there."

"Yeah, I've noticed that seems to be your general way of making decisions," Garrus noted, scoffing. "If someone is there." Instantly, he seemed to regret this snide comment, and he quickly looked down, embarrassed by his outburst. "I'm sorry, Shepard," he apologized. "I didn't mean that. That was out of line. It's just…" He sighed, frustrated, unsure of what he was trying to say, before looking up at Shepard again, his mandibles giving an agitated, self-conscious twitch. "I saw Liara going up to your room," he told her, his voice quieter. "A few days ago. Or… you know what I mean. And she didn't leave for hours. Several hours." Sucking in another breath, he made a face, almost bracing himself for the next question. "Are you two getting back together?" he asked, warily. "If you are, it's okay, I'd just… I'd like to know, is all."

At this, Shepard's expression cleared, surprised. Then, just as quickly, she frowned again, suspicious of his apparent sudden intense interest in her personal life. "What does it matter, Garrus?" she asked, crossing her arms, wary. "You and I have never been mutually exclusive. At least, I didn't think so. I thought this whole thing, our whole… thing… was just… casual. Is that… is that not what you thought?"

Garrus hesitated, fidgeting a bit, before glancing once anxiously over his shoulder and then back at her again, trying hard not to look put on the spot. "I mean, it can be. If you want," he told her, though there was something undeniably forced about his answer. "I don't have a problem with… if you want to, y'know, see other… other people, but…" He wavered again, unsure what else to say, his voice trailing off. Then, letting out a heavy, honest sigh, he dropped his hands back this sides, fixing her with an earnest, electric-blue gaze. "Actually," he told her. "If I'm being truthful… yes, I'm bothered by it. And not because it's Liara. I like Liara. Because… I was…" He faltered, starting to fidget again, before letting out another big sigh and shrugging, earnestly.

"Well, honestly, I was hoping we could try to… become… exclusive," he admitted, finally. "Which sounds ridiculous, now that I'm saying it out loud, but… I… I like you a lot, Shepard. And I feel like… or, I guess, I was hoping you felt the same way. That you liked me a lot, too." He stared at her, trying to read her expression, hoping for some response, something to let him know how she felt about the whole thing. "I'm not meaning to put any undue pressure on you, all things considered," he added, quickly. "But… maybe, if you'd be willing, I'd like to… give us a try. As a couple. A real couple this time, not just…"

Shepard sighed, cutting off his fumbling as she ran a hand back through her hair, her other hand resting, frustrated, on her hip. She did not know what was making her so uncomfortable about this proposition – she liked Garrus a lot, but she had never been one for romance, or exclusivity, or much of anything past whirlwind-type flings, and his proposition, however sweet, was putting her on the spot. "Garrus… we're at war," she finally told him, holding out an explaining hand.

"That doesn't mean anything," Garrus countered, quickly. "…I mean, yeah, sure, of course it does, but… you know what I mean. Just because we're at war doesn't mean we shouldn't think about ourselves. We're not machines, Shepard, we have… feelings. Lives. If we dedicate the entirety of ourselves to this war, then once the war is over, what will be left?" He held out his hands, waiting for her answer, before finally deciding to just answer it, himself. "Nothing," he told her. "We'll have nothing left. You can't sacrifice every part of yourself for the greater good, you know. You're a person, too. You have a life."

Shepard hesitated, thrown off-kilter by his logic. The worst part was that he was making a lot of sense, and she found herself suddenly questioning the stick-to-it, war-comes-first idealism she had found herself subscribed to for what felt like the first time since getting back on board the Normandy after her six months of shore leave. "You really think there are more important things in life than being dedicated to a cause?" she asked, frowning as she crossed her arms over her chest again.

"Of course," Garrus answered, matter-of-factly. "I know you, Shepard. This whole… tough, dedicated soldier thing is just one part of you. You're funny, you're warm, you're kind. You're a good person, but this war is taking so much out of you that I'm having a hard time recognizing you, myself." Leaning back against the war console as well, he turned his head, glancing back towards the slowly-spinning Crucible, and Shepard was quick to follow his gaze, curious. "What do you see when you look in the mirror?" he asked, her thoughtful. "Is all you see the soldier? Because that's all I've been able to see these last few weeks. It's not you, Shepard. You're so much more than that."

"I don't know how to be anyone else," Shepard admitted, turning her attention back to him again. "Being good at my job is all I know how to do really well. You know me, Garrus. You know I'm awkward at best outside of work. If it weren't for my job as Commander, I wouldn't even have any friends."

"That's not true," Garrus scolded her, shaking his head. They fell silent for a moment, Shepard folding her arms as both of them looked intently at the floor. Then, his mandibles giving a nervous twitch, Garrus turned his gaze up towards her again, watching her, anxiously. "Can I… kiss you?" he suddenly asked. Then, realizing he might have made a mistake, he added, quickly, "I mean… unless…"

"Liara is just a good friend," Shepard assured him, shaking her head. "She just came up to check on me. I ate some bad something-or-other and got food poisoning, I think. Not a pretty sight." A faintly embarrassed smile touching her lips then, she shrugged, encouraging. "Liara is a saint for taking care of it," she told him. "Might have been that pizza-thing Gardener made for Joker, but I'm not entirely sure."

"Yeah," Garrus agreed with a chuckle. "That did look… suspicious, at best." He fell silent again, almost awkward. Then, reaching over towards her, he took her chin in his hand, gently, before leaning across the gap between them and pressing his mouth to hers. The kiss lasted for a long time, longer than she realized, until finally he pulled away again, breaking the connection. Garrus smiled at her, his smile gentle, happy, and she could not help but offer a small smile back. "I like this exclusivity thing," he joked, lightheartedly. "Anything that means I get kisses like those all to myself is all right with me."

"Are kisses all you want?" Shepard joked back, raising her brows. "I figured I was getting into this deal for more than that. I don't know if I'm getting my full money's worth out of this bargain."

"Yeah, well," Garrus said, chuckling as he leaned back against the console again, shrugging his shoulders, lazily. "You gotta start slow with these kinds of things if you want them to last. I mean, I don't see this turning into marriage and a baby just yet, but… maybe, with time. We'll see."

"Yeah," Shepard returned, the humour suddenly leaving her, giving a forced, uncomfortable chuckle as she tucked her hands self-consciously back into the pockets of her hoodie. "We'll see."