***Author's Note***

Hey, It's a bit shorter than usual and unfortunately I wont be able to post for about a week...so sorry :/

Thank you to Gamer072196 :) I love out little chats :P

Chapter 11 - Whistling

Morinth would not shut up. Everytime he looked at some random memento around her apartment she would rattle of about this or that resembled some sort of personal blight or experience. And he could not care less. You're doing this for Samara, just keep cool man.

A particular comment about her Krogan ex rattled him and Samara still had not made her entrance. Help. He sent a plea to Garrus, half joking...half not.

And then she invited him to sit, and everything went wrong.

Her eyes went black and his brain went blank.

He was making promises to her as she ran her fingers through his long blonde hair. I would kill anyone for you. She straddled his hips and he felt unimaginable pain, but that pain brought pleasure along with it. Oh, do it again. Her lips were moving, her voice echoing in his mind.

Garrus...help me.

They locked onto Shepard's signature and moved to the nearest fast transit area. The tension between Garrus and Thane was almost palpable as they strived to help their commander. The three of them loaded into a skycar - much to Marie's excitement - and set of for apartments not too far away from Afterlife.

The nearer they got, the more nervous Garrus seem to get. Thane had his head bowed and hands clasped in prayer, muttering quietly beneath his breath. Amonkira. Lord of Hunters. Grant that my hands be steady, my aim be true, and my feet swift. And should the worst come to pass, grant me forgiveness.

Through the tension, Marie's own nervous habits came to light. She began tapping out a tune on the seat next to her. Slow and rhythmic, Garrus and Thane tilted their heads at the unusual tune. She sighed and began to whistle along making the two in the front seats to turn their heads and look at her with wide eyes.

"What?"

Thane smirked as Garrus let out a hum. "Do that again..." She did and his mandibles fluttered. "How do you do that?"

"A lot of people can do it, you just sort of purse your lips and blow." She demonstrated. "You can't?"

"Ha. My lips aren't exactly flexible." He turned back to watch where he was going.

"Can you do it, Thane?"

"I haven't tried."

"Try."

He slowly pursed his full lips but then thought better of it. "Maybe when we are not in such a hurry." He turned to face the front once more.

"Oh, right..." She resumed her tapping and before long they had arrived at the apartments.

"Samara? What's your position?" All they got in return was static and Samara was nowhere to be seen. "Shit...I thought she'd be with him all the time!" Garrus let out an angry trill as the looked around the apartment for their asari squad member.

Marie patted his arm. "Maybe we should just go in? He did ask for help after all..." The aliens looked down at her and then at each other with a nod.

"Yeah, we should."

Together, the three of them grouped around outside the door to the apartment. Muffled grunts and sharp hisses could just be heard as Garrus pressed the side of his head up to it.

He began to hack the door as Thane pulled out his pistol, Marie copying him with her own. He nodded at her.

And then the door was opened, Thane and Marie entered first and Garrus saw the human cover her mouth in shock. He pushed past them and looked down at the asari and Shepard.

She was straddled atop him, her hands woven into his hair and eyes as black as the void. Shepard tilted his face slightly and he caught sight of a thin stream of blood dripping from his nose. Before anyone could do anything, Marie sprinted forward and charged into Morinth, her arms catching her around the waist and toppling her to the ground. Thane took the initiative and ran to Shepard, pulling the fallen commander away from the asari.

"Who are you? Oh, no - I see what's going on..." Morinth flung Marie away with a biotic push and human landed with a thump into the couch. "...The bitch herself found little helpers." Garrus pulled up his assault rifle and took aim, ready to shoot if she so much as twitch. Shepard ground and held his head in his hands as he came around.

The door slid open and in walked Samara. Shepard chuckled. "You're late."

"Morinth." Samara began to glow blue as she stepped forward, ignoring her comrades as she blasted Morinth with her biotics. Marie was flung backwards as the couch toppled and Thane ran to protect the small human. He wrapped his arms around her and dragged her to the safety of the group, depositing her beside Shepard who nudged her with his elbow.

"Mother."

"Do not call me that." Another blast toward the younger asari as she was pinned to the window.

"I can't choose to stop being your daughter. Mother." Morinth looked into her mothers eyes.

"You made your choice long ago."

Morinth flared her biotics, the backlash of it hitting those at the back of the room. Marie shielded her eyes from the blast as she put back slightly into Shepard's side. "What choice? My only crime was being born with the gifts you gave me." Furniture was moving around in the biotic storm. Samara was hit by a chair and landed hard on the ground, she twisted and hit back at her daughter. Shepard winced at the force.

"Enough, Morinth!" Morinth flew to the ground under the force of her mother's rage.

"I am the genetic destiny of the asari. But, they are not ready to reveal this, so I must die." They both powered their biotics and aimed them at each other. The force was enough to lift the furniture clean of the ground and have it gravitate around them. Shepard leaned over Marie and took her pistol from her hand and motioned for her to get back, Thane pulled her against him and wrapped her in his own biotic energy. Garrus kept his icy eyes on Shepard, waiting for any kind of signal.

"You are a disease to be purged, nothing more." Thane felt Marie wince against him.

Morinth shrugged it of and turned to the commander and his companions. "I'm as strong as she is - let me join you!"

"I am already sworn to help you, Shepard. Let us finish this."

Shepard ran toward the asari, crashing into Morinth and twisting her arm away. He aimed his gun at her temple. "End of the line, Morinth."
"And they call me a monster." Samara flung her remaining energy at her daughter and threw her away from Shepard. Shepard, for a moment, looked confused and stared at the barrel of the gun. Samara walked up to her daughter, who lay on the floor in a heap and Shepard backed away from the pair.

"Find peace in the embrace of the goddess." And the Morinth was dead, her brain matter coating the floor and furniture around her.

Thane released Marie but she didn't move, staring at the dead body. Garrus sighed, he had forgotten that she wasn't a soldier. An engineer.

Shepard and Samara were exchanging quiet words and when Shepard rested his hand on the Justicar's shoulder, Garrus knew shore leave was over.

Shepard rubbed the back of his neck as he left Samara's quarters. Lost in thought, he collided with someone in the corridor.

"Ah!" The body went to the ground and he took a moment to take in what he was seeing. Marie was on her arse wrapped in a damp towel, her hair braided over one shoulder and toiletries in a mess around her.

"Oh, shit! Sorry!" He sat on the floor to help her pack her stuff back up. She moved to gather her soaps and the towel slipped from her chest, he caught a brief glimpsed of her form before she rushed to cover herself, a red blush climbing her pale neck. "Umm...here..." He stood and offered his hand. "You okay?" She clutched at her towel and grabbed her things from him.

"Y-yeah. This is..."

"Awkward?"

She grinned up at him. "Oh yeah." She shuffled on her feet. "Umm, well..."

"Oh, yeah." He walked with her to the Life Support. "So, how was your first shore leave?"

She laughed, a low throaty sound. "Well, I don't think I'll be going anywhere on my own for a while." She went to enter the Life Support before she turned back. "Hey, about earth?"

"Yeah?"

She rubbed her nose as best she could with her toiletries. "Ah, nevermind."

"Okay...hey, we're going to the Citadel next. I reckon you'll enjoy it there." He grinned and turned away and he heard the door slide open and the distinct rumbling of Thane's low voice.

"What happened?" Thane rushed to help her with her things. Placing them carefully on the shelf that was hers.

"Shepard bumped into me. Super awkward, full of umm's and ah's and exposed skin." She laughed again and looked at Thane.

"I see." His brow was furrowed and the ribbing on his neck darkened. He looked her up and down and turned away as she gathered some sleeping clothes.

"He say's we're going to the Citadel next..."

His eyes darkened and he opened his Omni-tool, frantically skimming through messages. What's got into him?

"What's it like there?" He didn't answer her, flipping at his Omni-tool. "Okay, want to try whistling again?" Still, he refused to answer. Fine...

She sighed and climbed onto her cot, flicking her eyes over the old photographs of her family. Earth...

Hope you all enjoyed :D

As I said, I doubt I'll be able to have anything up until next Monday :/ Sorry about that...

Review and stuff :)

-Sophus xx