When Garrus awoke in the med bay, Shepard wasn't there, and for a brief moment, he thought it had all been a dream. But the med bay was distinctly not Omega, and by and large looked the same as the Normandy's had. He began to think he actually had died and this was some sort of strange purgatory, but then Karin walked in, beaming.

"Garrus, you're awake!"

He sat up and a sharp pain tore through his side. He winced and held his hand against his ribs. "Karin? What…? Where am I?"

"You're on the Normandy, Garrus. Or I should say, the Normandy SR-2. Shepard said she told you about Cerberus," the doctor looked concerned.

It all came flooding back to him then. Shepard's strange story about being rebuilt by Cerberus, almost too bizarre to believe, except for the fact that he had seen her die and no explanation for her return from the dead would have sounded normal. He remembered that she had mentioned the new Normandy, and that Joker and Karin had joined her crew. It was nice to see a familiar face after so long on Omega.

"I remember now," Garrus said. "What happened to me?" The right side of his face was sore, though it didn't feel as bad as he thought it should, remembering the explosion that had hit him. He touched the skin carefully and felt the ragged, sinewy scars on his mandible. He could only imagine how he looked.

"You were hurt pretty badly, Garrus. I'm glad you pulled through. You've been out for a while now," she glanced at her watch. "Almost twenty-four hours. Do you think you can stand?"

He moved slowly, his ribs aching with nearly every turn of his body. He slid himself off the medical bed and onto his feet, surprisingly stable considering everything he had been through. A towel slid off of his lap onto the floor and he realized he was naked.

"I've had some clothes brought on for you," Karin said, unflinching. Some humans would have been embarrassed by his nudity, even though there was nothing to show. The doctor handed him a pair of simple civilian clothes. "Shepard brought back some armor from Omega for you as well. I believe it's up in her cabin."

Garrus pulled the clothes on, surprised at how well they fit. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been out of his armor. It felt good.

"I thought I'd feel more light-headed," he told the doctor. "I haven't eaten in days."

"We gave you IV dextro-nutrients," she explained. "Shepard told me you were in quite a state when she found you. You're lucky she showed up when she did."

"Believe me, I know. Where is Shepard?"

"She just got back from a mission. We're just leaving Omega now. Why don't you take the elevator up to the top floor? I'm sure the commander will want to be the one to give you a tour of the new ship," Karin said.

Garrus held his hand out to shake the doctor's in thanks. Instead, she hugged him, which took him completely by surprise.

"It's good to have you back, Garrus."

"Thank you…Karin."

He stepped out of the med bay and took stock of his surroundings. From this vantage point, the crew deck was largely unchanged. The mess hall, with a long table for the crew, still sat at the central part of the room, and across the way was a closed door, though Shepard must not have been in her cabin if the doctor wanted him to head up to the observation deck. The only change he noticed so far was another door at the bow of the ship, leading to some unknown room. He made his way for the elevator and some of the crew that were seated at the table stared at him as he went. If the Alliance crew hadn't been fond of him as an alien, he could only imagine what Cerberus thought.

Changes to the ship were more evident near the elevator. In place of the stairwell, two long corridors stretching in either direction ended abruptly with doors labeled with either "Port-" or "Starboard Observation Deck". Other doors had labels for restrooms and the crew quarters.

Garrus stepped into the elevator, much shinier than the old one, with a more advanced terminal interface. He hit the button for the top floor and was shocked at how quickly and smoothly the elevator glided up to its destination.

The doors chirped and slid open and he was surprised to find no upper observation deck at all. Instead, there was a small walkway leading to a locked door. He wasn't worried about being reprimanded for hacking the lock, so he used his omni-tool to let himself in, stunned at the view inside.

The entire top level of the ship had been converted into a captain's cabin the likes of which he had never seen; it took him a moment just to take in all the luxury surrounding him. Thankfully, the view was still the same, a brilliant sea of stars moving past on the other side of the glass. They must have departed recently, the jump to FTL hadn't even been made.

Shepard was nowhere to be seen, though her clothes and bloodied armor lay in a heap by a desk that was separated from the rest of the room by a clear glass wall. He realized he could hear the shower running and peered into the bathroom across from the desk. The glass-enclosed shower was covered in steam, but he could see Shepard's outline behind it.

He wanted to join her, but he was too exhausted to stand much longer, so he moved slowly to the couch in front of the bed, recessed into the floor with a mini-bar next to it. This was certainly not an Alliance vessel.

The couch provided the exact comfort he needed. He sunk into the cushioned seat, draping his arms on top of the couch on either side of him. Closing his eyes, he waited for Shepard to finish her shower.

It only took a few minutes before he heard the water shut off, his eyes snapping back open. From his position, his view of Shepard was obscured by the placement of the terminal at her desk. He could only see the top of her head, back turned as she dried herself off and slipped something over her head.

She walked around the desk and descended into the main part of the room wearing nothing but a tank top and her underwear. When she saw Garrus sitting there, her face lit up.

"You're awake," there was almost a sigh of relief in the way she said it. "Why didn't Karin call me?"

"She knew you were busy," Garrus replied. "She sent me up here. Nice digs, Shepard. I could get used to you working for Cerberus."

She laughed and gathered up her bloodied clothes, throwing them down a mysterious chute on the wall. "I'm still not used to it."

"I haven't seen myself in a mirror yet," he told her. "Be honest with me. How do I look?"

Shepard crossed the room and stood in front of him. Seated on the low couch, his eyes were roughly level with her breasts. She stroked the scarred side of his face gently.

"Some women find scars attractive," she told him.

"Hm, yes," he lifted her shirt and kissed her stomach. "Most of those women are krogan."

She placed her hand on his head, running her fingers along his fringe. "Garrus, I was so worried about you."

Now that he was touching her, the allure was too strong. It had been so long since he'd touched her like that. He kissed her stomach again, running his tongue along the circle of her belly-button. She shivered and patted his head.

"You're too weak."

"No," he insisted. "I'm not. I promise." He moved his mouth up her stomach to her chest, pushing her shirt out of his way as he moved.

"Garrus," she sighed.

"Two years, Shepard…two long years…"

She laughed. "I don't believe for a minute that you were celibate that entire time."

There was no point in lying to her. They had never really committed to each other, and she had been dead. It wasn't that he thought she would be angry, it was that, for some reason, he felt guilty about it. Now that she was alive again, it felt almost like a betrayal. It was stupid of him to feel that way.

"No," he agreed, moving his mouth away from her skin and looking up at her. "There were others. It took me almost eight months to even try, but…"

She stroked the soft skin behind his fringe. "Garrus, I'd be concerned if you hadn't. I was dead. We never put a label on anything. You should have been with other women. It's healthy."

"I even slept with an asari," he told her.

"Really?" she looked genuinely intrigued. "How was it?"

"Different," he shrugged. He kissed her stomach again. "Not to sound like a cliché, but nothing really compared to you. Sex is different when you care about the person you're with."

"It is," she agreed, inhaling sharply as his mouth moved back up to her chest and his tongue moved across her nipple. He'd spent most of his time over the past two years focused on how much he missed her, her companionship and her guidance, but now he was acutely aware of how much he'd missed her body as well.

"Garrus, really." She put her hands on his shoulders. "You're still healing. You're too weak."

He pulled her onto his lap, but even that small effort made his ribs throb with pain. He let his head fall back onto the couch, defeated. The moment would have to wait until he was feeling better.

She shifted her legs to the side and remained on his lap, resting her head on his shoulder. He placed his head against hers and found he was content to stay that way, just feeling her body against his.

"We have a lot to talk about," she said. "How did you end up killing criminals on Omega? Why didn't you contact anyone? I ran into Tali during my first mission with Cerberus and she said everyone had been worried sick about you, not sure if you were even still alive."

"How is Tali?" Garrus asked, ignoring the rest of her questions.

"She's…I don't know if she's okay. She had some sort of business to attend to. Said it was important, but she would be in touch if she made it through alive. Hey!" she smacked his shoulder gently. "Don't ignore me!"

"Is that an order, commander?" his subharmonics purred.

She flicked him in the forehead with her finger. "Don't start that."

"All right, Shepard. I owe you an explanation, I know," he sighed. "Where do I start? When you died…I didn't take it well, to say the least. I spent a few days…maybe a few weeks, lying in bed wanting to die. I've never lost someone I cared about like that. It was so much more painful than I could have imagined. Then my dad came and kicked my ass in gear and got me back at C-sec for a while. I was being reckless, though. I kept breaking the rules to bring cases in. It had been nice with you, not having to answer to anything or anyone to get the job done, but you always act with such a strong moral compass. I didn't seem to have one."

"Garrus…"

"There's no need to tell me otherwise. I lost myself without you," he told her. "I spent my whole life never knowing you and only a few months aboard the Normandy and somehow I didn't know how to get by in any other setting. Eventually I went after a criminal my dad had let loose because of my sloppy work bringing him in the first time. I almost killed him. My dad found out and we had a huge fight and I decided I'd had enough of all the bureaucratic bullshit on the Citadel, so I left; tried to find somewhere where I could really make a difference, somewhere that seemed beyond help."

"Omega," Shepard said.

"Yes. I built up a team of other skilled soldiers, people who were interested in bringing change to that shitheap of a space station. It started with one other turian and we built it up until there were twelve of us. Spent most of the last year trying to clean the garbage out of Omega together. Earned a reputation around the station that got the merc groups on our tail. But the same man I'd started the group with…the turian…he betrayed us to the mercs. They took out the whole squad and I was all that was left. I managed to barricade myself in that warehouse, but as you saw, they had me cornered. If you hadn't shown up…" He shook his head. "I'm one lucky bastard."

Shepard kissed his mandible, unperturbed by the mangled skin. "I'm so sorry, Garrus."

"It's not your fault."

"If I hadn't died…"

"Shepard, don't," he begged. "There were so many nights where I dreamed about you. Saw you dying over and over. Every time, I tried to save you, but I couldn't. It's everything I could have hoped for to hold you again."

"So you'll stay?" she asked. "Help me figure out what the Reapers are up to?"

He kissed her forehead and ran his fingers through her hair. "I would follow you to the ends of the galaxy, Shepard."

At some point, Garrus and Shepard had moved to her bed and fallen asleep there. She awoke much later in the middle of the night shift, the soft blue glow of the fish tank providing the only light in the room.

One advantage of having a window in her new cabin, and casting away any semblance of secrecy with Garrus, was that she didn't have to sneak away to the observation deck when she couldn't sleep. She lay in bed, Garrus' arm wrapped around her, listening to him breathe while she watched galaxy rush by outside. She had received approval from the Illusive Man to return to the Citadel and make her presence known, mostly because he was interested in the potential return of her Spectre status, which would grant additional benefits if Cerberus had access to them. She hadn't hesitated to give Joker the order to return. She wanted to see Anderson, and she was ready for the galaxy to know she wasn't dead.

Lying with Garrus in that moment, it was easy to selfishly wish someone else could take on her tasks, that she could abandon her responsibilities and run away with him to live happily on some remote tropical planet where no one could ever bother them again. But reality, and her better judgment, would never let such a thing happen. No one else would take the Reaper threat seriously, so she would have to take on the task herself. And dreaming of running off to spend her life with Garrus was a far leap considering the most serious conversation they'd had about their "friendship" was refusing to put a label on it.

Her comm link was buzzing, signaling a call. She rummaged around on the floor for it, assuming she'd tossed it off in her sleep. Garrus had removed his clothing, probably when they'd drowsily stumbled to the bed, and she found the comm link beneath the pile of his clothes at the foot of the bed. She pressed the button to answer it before she realized she was still wearing hers, and that this comm link belonged to Garrus. She had also neglected to realize she was accepting a vid call.

A hologram image of none other than Castis Vakarian was projected out of the comm link. The two of them stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, Castis opening and closing his mouth several times without making a sound.

Finally, after several minutes, he spoke.

"Commander Shepard?" there was a tangible note of disbelief in his voice.

Shepard was acutely aware of the turian officer's son lying naked in the background of the vid she must have been projecting to him. Garrus hadn't even stirred at the noise, only rolled onto his back when Shepard sat up, stretching out and snoring.

"Castis," Shepard said, too stunned and embarrassed to manage anything else.

Castis shook his head, clearly reeling from the shock of what he was seeing. "What…what's going on? You…you died. My son was a wreck. He played me the audio file from your comm link. You could hear the whole thing. How…how…how…" Shepard had never seen such a dignified turian so lost for words.

"It's um, a very long story." She rose to her feet and moved over to her desk to avoid waking Garrus.

"Lucky for you, commander, it's morning on Palaven and I'm a retired man. I have all the time in the world to listen."

Shepard wasn't fond of running around telling everyone she'd been rebuilt by Cerberus. The official line for the Council was that she'd been comatose when Cerberus found her. Some people could be uneasy at the concept of being 'rebuilt'. But Shepard felt, for whatever reason, that Garrus' father deserved the truth. So she explained it to him, watching the range of expressions unfolding on his face as she spoke.

"I had heard…rumors…" Castis said when she had finished her story. "I wrote them off as nonsense, vain hope amongst the people, wanting their hero to return. But it seems there was truth to the gossip. I see now why Garrus felt his odds had changed."

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked.

"I'm assuming, based on the fact that I saw him on the vid screen and can hear him snoring even now, that you managed to get my son out of whatever desperate situation he was in. He called me from wherever he was, said he was at target practice. He sounded so…defeated. I was sure he was going to die there. But then he said he thought his luck had changed and hung up. I've been trying to reach him for the past day," Castis explained.

Seeing and hearing the concern he had for Garrus' well-being, it was hard for Shepard to believe she'd ever been scared of him. He was only looking out for his son, something any protective father might have done.

"He was in really bad shape when we found him," she told Castis. "He's been on Omega for the last year…"

"Omega!?" He cried. "Spirits, what was he doing there?"

"Trying to fix it," Shepard sighed. "Taking down criminals. The merc groups had him cornered in a warehouse when we got to him. We got him out, but…he was hurt pretty badly. His face…"

"Go and wake him, Shepard. Please. I have to see him."

She didn't want to, but she couldn't say no. She crossed the room back to her bed and gently shook Garrus awake. He stirred and sat up, rubbing his eyes in confusion. "Whatsit?" he asked.

"Your dad is on the comm vid," she told him, handing him the link.

"Oh," he sighed. "I'm sorry, dad."

"Garrus…your face…" Castis' subharmonics quavered at the sight of his son's mangled face.

"I know," Garrus ran his hand over the skin. "It would have been a lot worse if Shepard hadn't been there."

"Well thank the spirits one of you has their head on straight!" His father bellowed. "What were you thinking? Omega!? Did you think you could single-handedly turn over a space station that's been a criminal haven since it was built? You could have died, Garrus. What if Shepard hadn't shown up? It's a good stroke of luck for you that she did…" The tirade went on and on.

Shepard knew that Castis' explosion of complaints was out of concern for his son, but she couldn't help but laugh. When she first met the man, she had never imagined he would be taking her side on any issue, praising her for stepping in where Garrus had failed.

"Dad…dad…I…dad…listen…okay, but…dad…" Garrus kept trying to interrupt. He shot an unhappy look in Shepard's direction.

"I'm happy you're alive," Castis finally said. "Wherever you are. At least Shepard will keep you out of trouble."

"Last time I traveled with Shepard, you told it me it was dangerous to work with a Spectre, and that I was going to get myself killed," Garrus pointed out.

"Well Shepard got you a Palladium Star. Then she died and you went to Omega of all places and almost got yourself killed. Which do you think I'd prefer for my son?" Castis asked.

"Look, dad. I'm alive. I'm okay. A little scuffed up, but fine. Can we leave it at that? It's night shift on the ship and I'm tired."

"Fine," Castis agreed. "But we need to discuss other matters, when you get a chance. No one's heard from you in over a year. We've been worried sick. Your mother and sister will be pleased to hear you're okay. You keep my son safe, commander."

"I'll do my best," Shepard told him.

"Goodbye, dad." Garrus hung up the comm link and tossed it back on the floor. He immediately turned on Shepard. "Why did you answer that?"

"I thought it was mine," she said, honestly. "I didn't realize I was still wearing it."

Garrus fell onto his back and sighed. "I was not ready for that."

"You should have called him when you woke up," Shepard said. "He was just worried about you."

"I was more concerned with you."

She lay down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "We're heading for the Citadel. I imagine there might be some people there who will be happy to know you're still alive."

"Sure, but you coming back from the dead will probably trump that."

"Your father said he'd heard rumors that I was alive again. Word travels fast from Omega, I guess. If I were to pinpoint anyone, I'd blame Aria."

"Good guess," Garrus yawned, his eyes fluttering shut.

A moment later, he was snoring, a sound she normally hated in a bed partner, but turians didn't snore like humans. His subharmonics vibrated in his chest with each breath, a strange mix between a purr and a buzz. It was an almost comforting sound.

She lay listening to the sound, soaking up the warmth of his body, until gradually, sleep found her too.