***Author's Note***

Enjoy the chapter :)

Gamer072196! Read their stuff! You wont be disappointed :3

Chapter 24 - "A fine line between living and dying"

The crew was too tired. They stumbled and stopped to catch their breaths even as the Collectors breathed down their necks. The clutched at each other, lending their strength and receiving some in return. They never looked back for fear of what they would see. Their eyes never left their valiant protector.

The green of his scales was tainted by his blood as he took bullets for them. He paid the pain no mind as he concentrated on the glistening blue shield that protected the people the squad had fought to save. He would not let this battle finish him until he had delivered them all safely to the ship. And the ship was close.

He stopped the crew before rounding a corner as he checked for more enemies. There were so many. He took a breath and aimed his gun at those blocking his path and pulled the trigger.

The Collectors turned to him at his signal and began their onslaught. He threw out his biotics, warping them and throwing them away from him in mad bursts of blue. His submachine gun firing out its staccato rhythm in an endless song. His punches and kicks landed heavily, stunning those around him. He snapped necks indiscriminately.

I will not die until they are safe.

The back of his head became an onslaught of pain and he spun to protect himself. There are so many. A swift blow with a gun hit his side and he staggered. The Collectors surrounded him. Kalahira...

An orange beam of light took out a Collector to his right and he spared a glance to the crew. Outside the protective bubble, Dr. Chakwas stood with a Collector weapon in her grasp. She fired it again, her mouth drawn in a tight line as she fought with the weapon's kickback. He used the distraction to his advantage and swept a Collector of its feet and proceeded to kill it with a graceful snap of the neck. A drone appeared and began shocking the other enemies and he saw Marie leaning heavily against a wall as she directed it and set of an incinerate. Chakwas fired the weapon once more and the are became eerily quiet.

Thane nodded his thanks at the two women and motioned for the crew to move with him. The exit could just be seen above the next slope in the corridor. They were going to make it.

Samara blew her biotics outward, pushing the energy into the approaching Collectors. They were blown backwards, some landing with sickening crunches, others falling of the edge of the walkway.

Together, Shepard, Grunt, Mordin, and Samara proceeded through the door. Shepard began to shoot at the Collectors' reinforcements, neatly placing bullets into vital areas. and then the door shut.

"...repeat, Shepard, do you copy?" Garrus' voice finally made it through the comms that had been disrupted because of the Seeker swarms.

"I copy. What's your position?" He looked around the rendezvous and saw no one but his team.

"We're at the door. They have us pinned down." Shit.

He rushed to the door. "We're coming. Just hold on, Garrus." he looked over at Mordin who had already pulled out his Omni-tool. "Mordin! Get this door open!"

Mordin nodded and began to furiously scramble the doors locking mechanisms. His long fingers tapped and tapped, his brow furrowing as he cracked code after code of Collector data. Come on, Mordin.

Shepard could hear the fighting on the other side and bit his lip. Garrus...

The door finally slid open and his squad dashed through beneath a rain of bullets. He mentally checked them of a list in his head as he spotted each one. Miranda, Tali, Zaeed, Jack, Legion, Jacob, Kasumi, and finally, Garrus. He sighed in relief.

"Seal the door!" The door slid shut.

He heard a grunt behind him and spun on his heel. What..? Garrus had fallen to the ground in a heap, his hand holding his stomach. Blue blood slowly seeped from between his talons. Shepard cried out and rushed to his side.

"Garrus!" He knelt beside him. "Garrus! Wha-"

The turian chuckled he usual deep laugh and his Omni-tool lit up to dispense his medi-gel. "I'm fine. Nothing a little medi-gel wont fix, Commander."

Shepard nearly cried with relief and pulled Garrus bodily to his feet. "Don't fucking scare me like that, man..."

Garrus placed a hand on his shoulder and grinned that turian grin at him. Shepard walked away shaking his head in mock insult. He squad followed close behind and he quickly glanced at each of them. A bit of wear and tear...nothing too bad...He scowled, feeling as though he had forgotten something. Shit! The crew!

"Joker! Are you at the rendezvous point?"

"I'm here, Commander. Chakwas and the rest of the crew just showed up." He could hear the smile on Joker's face.

"Thane's group just arrived, Shepard. No casualties."

He heard varying breaths of happiness pass through the squad. Everyone is okay. Now we just have to get this over with and go home.

"What's our next step?"

"There should be some nearby platforms that will take you to the main control console. From there you can overload the system and destroy the base."

"Commander?" Joker's voice broke through EDI's with urgency. "You've got a problem. Hostiles massing just outside the door. Won't be long until they bust through."

"Dammit." Shepard groaned as the fatigue began to settle in his muscles. Long day...He hopped up onto a raised platform and turned to face his squad. "A rearguard could defend this position and keep the Collectors from overwhelming us."

Miranda nodded. "Pick a team to go with you, Shepard. Everyone else can bunker down here and cover your back." The squad nodded in agreement so Shepard took it as a majority vote. I wish I could take everyone with me. He fought the pout in his lip before it had chance to show.

He looked to each of his crew. Damn. He pointed quickly to Zaeed and Jacob and ignored Garrus' look of disappointment as they climbed up beside him.

"The Collectors, the Reapers - They aren't a threat to us. They're a threat to everything. Everyone. Those are the lives we are fighting for. That's the scale, guys." He looked into everyone's eyes as he spoke these words. Flashes of determination, hope, and rage all flickered at his from behind those eyes. They can do this. "It's been a long journey, and no one's coming out without scars. But it all comes down to this moment. We win or lose it all in the next few minutes. Make me proud. Make yourselves proud." He glanced at Garrus and smiled. "Let's finish this."

The platform wobbled and carried him away from his squad who turned to face the threat head on.

Garrus watched Shepard go with the mercenary and the ex-alliance marine. They had better keep him safe.

He turned away, unable to watch his Elliot any longer. If he didn't make it out of this he hoped, at least, that Shepard would.

He had never been an overly religious follower, being the bad turian that he was, but in those moments he caught himself praying. He said small quick prayers to the spirits around him, sustaining him, in the hope that they would hear him and let them succeed.

Either way, Garrus Vakarian wasn't going down without a fight. And he would fight. He would fight with everything in him until he either collapsed or the bullet with his name on found its home.

The doors opened and hell broke out around him.

He signalled for everyone to find some sort of cover and they followed his orders immediately. Everyone had someone on their six, as it should be in a family. He snorted to himself. This is one dysfunctional family.

He fell back from the group and quickly set up his sniper rifle. Mordin covered him without being asked. He nodded his thanks and looked down his scope.

One down. Two. Three. They just kept coming through the doors. He watched as Jack threw a shockwave through the bottled area in their enemies, scattering six of them easily and leaving them as easy pickings for the rest of the squad. Mordin set of a cryo blast, freezing one and letting Garrus shatter it with a concussive shot. The iced pieces of dead Collector made a few stumble, allowing for Miranda to warp the area. Grunt let out a roar and ran into the fray with his shotgun pumping at top speed. He drew the enemies to him easily. Kasumi took advantage and went dark, coming up behind a Collector and putting it out with a swift strike of her hand. Legion boosted his shields and began battering at a Collector that had gotten too close. Tali sent out her drone and continued to shoot at the enemy with her heavy pistols as Samara stood by her side with her assault rifle.

He heard a yell and spun his rifle to its source. Jack was cornered, angrily punching and clawing her way through the enemy. He pulled his trigger and a neat hole appeared in its target. Miranda rushed over to hell her fellow biotic just as Jack was lifted by her throat. The Cerberus officer charged into the one holding Jack and they collapse to the ground. Jack was up first and promptly stamping on the Collectors head with her heavy boots. She turned to help Miranda to her feet but stopped dead when she saw a Collector put a bullet through the womans chest.

Garrus growled and took out the Collector and covered Jack as she pulled Miranda to the safety of the small walls in the area. Miranda didn't move and looked up with blank eyes.

He comm clicked. "Shepard to ground team! Status report!" He sounded tired and angry and relieved all at once. What had happened?

"Elliot! We are holding, but they keep coming. They got-"

"Head to the Normandy, Garrus! Joker! Prep the engines. I'm gonna blow this place sky-high!"

"Elliot! No!" "Commander!" Garrus and Joker shouted down the comm at once.

"Do as you're told!" The comm went dead.

Garrus growled.

"Team! Let's move out!" He motioned for Grunt to carry Miranda. "We have orders to leave, let's go!"

The group nodded and gathered around Grunt as he lifted Miranda and balanced her on his broad shoulders. The woman was dead, but Garrus didn't feel like he could leave her. Not after what she did.

He glanced at Jack who nodded somberly before sneering and powering up a Shockwave and clearing the door for them.

Come on, Shepard.

He hefted Zaeed to his feet. "Fucking hell, Shepard..." The scarred man rolled his neck and together they helped up Jacob who was limping badly and had damaged his side when he nearly fell to his death.

"Come on! We have to hurry!" He threw Jacob's arm around his shoulder and Zaeed held his other side. The men began to move as quickly as they could even as the enemy regrouped around them. He knew more were coming.

"Do you copy? Commander? Come on, Shepard, don't leave me hanging! Do you copy?" Joker was nearly screaming down his ear as he moved.

"I'm here, Joker. Did the ground team make it?" He panted, he was so tired.

"All survivors on board. We're just waiting on you." Survivors!? He picked up his pace, ignoring Jacob's grunts of disapproval. Garrus.

He heard a buzzing behind him as his comm turned to static. A deep voice spoke over it, replacing Joker's.

"Human, you've changed nothing." He ran, pulling the others with him. "Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater." He fired a few meaningless shots at the seekers converging on them. "That which you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction." An explosion sounded and rocked the ground beneath their feet and he glanced to see the Collectors running with their guns firing.

They ran up a steep slope and he hoped they were near the end. He turned to cover his team, urging them to go ahead. Above the rise, the Normandy slowly appeared in all its majesty, the hull bent and burnt in places, but she was flying. He couldn't help the grin on his face and he ran for his home. He saw a figure appear at the airlock door and it began to cover them. Joker.

A large slab of metal fell from above and landed with a shattering crash, taking some of the floor with it. He urged Jacob and Zaeed forward with all his might, shouting encouragement, and watched as they jumped for Joker. Jacob landed in the airlock and pulled his gun to start covering Shepard as he ran the rest of the way.

More flooring fell away and Shepard saw the three men watch it go with something akin to fear on their faces. Fear for him. He shrugged it off and jumped for his life.
Time seemed to slow as he felt the floor beneath him disappear. His ship loomed closer and closer and he stretched to grab its hull, anywhere. He landed with a sharp pain to his chest and scrambling arms and hands. He legs dangled dangerously.

Collectors began to shoot for him and he gritted his teeth in pain as he felt one find its place in his thigh. Zaeed bent and dragged the Commander through the door and let go when his feet touched the ships floor.

The door shut and darkness filled the airlock. He didn't care. He was home.

Garrus rolled over and grinned when he saw Shepard and Jacob limp together into the overly full med-bay. His arm was in a tight sling and his mid section had been bound to stop his bullet wound from reopening.

He watched as Shepard ordered Jacob to sit on one of the emergency cots and had Chakwas look him over before himself. Always so selfless...well, most of the time. And then Shepard turned to him.

"Garrus..." He breathed before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed onto the hard ground.

Garrus was on his feet in a second and by his side in the next. Chakwas promptly shooed him out of the way and began to look the Commander over quickly and efficiently.

"He's exhausted. Minor wounds and a bullet wound in his leg." She had a assistant strip the armour from the commander quickly and disinfected the cuts and bound the bullet wound. How the woman kept going as she was astounded Garrus as he looked around at the injured members of the squad and crew. "Garrus, help me with him."

The turian nodded and helped the doctor carry Shepard to the cot Garrus had been on a few minutes before. "He needs rest. And so do you." She motioned for him to get on another cot but Garrus shook his head and climbed into the one Shepard was in. She opened her mouth to argue but shewas stopped as Shepard moaned and rolled over to hide his face in Garrus' neck. She smiled then and rolled her eyes.

Garrus trilled to Shepard and watched the activities of the Mess.

Less injured members of the squad and crew had gathered and sat quietly with one another. Jack had her head on the table with Tali rubbing soothing circles on her back. Zaeed was sat with his eyes shut and head resting against the wall he was by. Legion stood over everyone and watched the members of the squad carefully, his metal fingers twisting with each other. Samara nodded her goodbyes to every one and went to the observation room to rest up and Mordin was hastily making his way to the med-bay to help Chakwas. Grunt was sat opposite him in the med-bay, the side of his face bandaged. Kasumi was lay beside Grunt, sedated. It's been a long day.

He quietly watched the Mess. People came and went. Ate food and drank. Talked quietly with one another as they came to terms with being alive.

Thane emerged and gathered two mugs filled with steaming tea and, without speaking to those around him, left again.

Shepard stirred beside him and he pulled him closer to him.

Thane waited patiently for Marie to emerge from the bathroom. She had been showering for a very long time, even with the usual decontamination. But then, he assumed, she need the time. Time to think and to come to terms with what had happened. He himself had showered at high-speed in his eagerness to just be with her.

He grimaced at his wounds beneath the clean bandages as he thought about the Mess and the people there. Varying degrees of tiredness and injured people had amassed. The squad nursing their own wounds and each other as they sleepily recovered. Thane knew recovery would take much more than a few hours. The crew had looked at him with a new-found respect and dodged out of his way when he made his way to the kitchen and made tea for Marie and himself. He had happened to glance at the med-bay and saw Shepard wrapped up in Garrus arms, clearly asleep. Garrus was watching him.

He felt a pang of jealousy at the sight of the two of them. And then he suddenly saw couples everywhere; Jack and Tali were consoling each other, Ken and Gabby were nearly sat atop one another as they rested, two crew members who worked in the shuttle bay held hands quietly. He frowned and moved back to Life Support and, hopefully, Marie.

He sat at his desk for a further ten minutes as he waited for her. In any other circumstance he would have checked on her, but this was a special case. She needed time.

She walked through the door in only a towel. Her hair dripping onto her bare shoulders. Thane watched her carefully as she walked to her bed and frowned at it. He frowned at her frown as she looked around with a puzzled look on her face.

She then moved over to his bed and sat on it, pulling her pillow to herself ad hugging it tightly. He had used her pillow for comfort the night before when he missed her. He moved slowly and sat beside her gently. He copied her actions and pulled his own pillow into his lap. He waited.

"I-" She began to speak but had to stop to let a small cough out. Her injured hands covering her mouth as she did so. "I prayed for you to come and get me...and you came." Her voice wobbled as she spoke. "I thought I was going to die-"

"Hush now." He soothed and wrapped his arm around her bare shoulders and pulled her against his side. She rested her head on him and he smiled at her even though he knew she couldn't see. "I would not have let that happen, siha." He traced a small pattern into her skin with his fused fingers. One day, I'll make it permanent. He frowned at his thoughts even as they excited him. "I prayed also."

She shifted against him and grabbed the two cups. Together, they quietly shared their favourite past-time with each other. Drinking tea and reflecting on the day. This day had been horrible.

"Thane..?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I sleep here tonight?" She moved to look up at him with those wide eyes.

He furrowed his brow at the question. "You always sleep here."

She smirked, instantly looking more like herself, but with sad eyes. "I meant in your bed...with you."

His mouth opened involuntarily in shock and he mentally slapped himself for his loss of control. In my bed? With me? Now? He felt his neck and cheeks flush.

"I-"

"It's okay...if you don't want me too. I just-"

He stopped her as he spoke over her. "No! Yes. Ah." He paused to collect himself. "Yes, you can stay here tonight."

She looked relieved as she wearily lay down with her back to the wall, pushing her pillow beneath her head and facing him. He followed her example and placed the cups on the floor before laying next to her. He pulled the sheets over them and tucked it around her shoulders.

She's still in a towel...He meant to mention it before he noticed the small track of tears falling down her face and onto her pillow. He frowned and pulled her to his chest.

She cried against him as she had done weeks before. The tears wet his chest and again he ignored it, focusing on the woman in his arms as he attempted to sooth her with hands meant for killing. He shut his eyes and hummed with his dual toned voice. He rubbed her shaking back, feeling the towel move with his hand. Her fingers had woven with his loose sleeping shirt and her damp head was firmly tucked beneath his chin.

Without thinking, he ducked his chin and gently kissed the top of her head.

She stiffened and he felt her hands grip tighter as her sobs calmed. He flinched mentally. You have gone to far. This was the wrong time, the wrong place. Why did you do that?

Her head moved and he could feel her eyes watching him. He chose not to look at her and kept his eyes closed. And then he felt a warmth on his lips and a gentle pressure.

His eyes flew open and he saw her closed eyes and dark eyelashes as she pressed her lips to his. He pulled her closer too him and melted into it, kissing her back with equal parts need and want. He heard her sigh into it and couldn't help but feel happy as he had made her make that sound. The warmth in his chest was intense, his hands found their way to her shoulders and waist as her hands flattened on his chest and hip. She relaxed and he felt her smile into his mouth.

It was over too quickly as she pulled away with a small happy sound mixed with exhaustion. "Goodnight, Thane." She tucked her head once more beneath his chin.

"Goodnight, siha."

He held her close and waited for sleep to take him.

Shepard stood at the foot of her coffin. His head hung low as he waited for the squad and crew to gather around him.

Eventually, he looked up and saw the crew and squad dressed in their best for the occasion. The shuttle bay was full and a soft song was playing in the background over the comm.

He sighed and began.

"Miranda Lawson served humanity to her fullest. And in the end, she fought for the galaxy and everyone in it. She was excellent at what she did and never failed to provide what we needed, when we needed it." He took a breath and glanced at a few people. "I can't say I'll miss the woman who was too loyal to the wrong cause. The woman who was so strong-headed, she argued every point." People watched him back closely. "But I can say I'll miss the woman who worked with me. The woman who saved me. The woman who, in her own way, became a part of this team." He watched Jack as she bowed her head and bit her lip. "The woman who gave her life to save another. And to me, that is greater than any misgiving she may have caused." Nods of head went around the room. "There is a fine line between living and dying. And Miranda crossed that line with dignity...and my respect. May she never be forgotten." He bowed his head as the last notes faded from the comm.

He turned and picked up a nearby flag. he shook it out and the blue field, white stars, and British corner of the Australian flag became clear. He draped it over her coffin and saluted the flag, followed closely by the crew.

This chapter ended to quickly :P Next chapter will have some fun in it...I think we're due a nice cheerful chapter, eh?

Let me know what you all think!