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Loyalty and Limerence

Part 3

Chapter 17

The Citadel

"Fuck."

Garrus' mind raced as he pulled up his omni-tool. The room was bathed in a dim orange light, revealing nothing helpful except for a desk with an inactive console terminal. Jane hurried over to it, but it quickly became apparent that the console wasn't powered. The clone's doing, most likely. Garrus hissed angrily as he searched the rest of the vault, but to no avail. There were no controls, buttons, or latches anywhere, and any attempt to contact anyone over the comm failed. Jane cursed again and there was a clatter of armor as she sank to the floor, leaning against the desk with her head in her hands.

"You okay?" he asked as he came to sit beside her. Her fists clenched through handfuls of her hair for a moment before she took a deep breath and let go.

"Yeah. Just pissed." There was silence between them. "I don't know what to do. This is really bad." She added in a whisper, and Garrus registered the icy cold dismay settling into the pit where his stomach had once been. He looked down at his omni-tool. He couldn't just leave it activated, but the thought of sitting in absolute darkness for the rest of their lives, however short that may end up being, made him feel sick.

His mandibles flicked as a thought occurred to him. He swiped through the apps on his omni-tool, and then gave it a small wave. A tiny, flickering orange candle appeared on the floor before them, and he deactivated his omni-tool, treasuring the small dose of satisfaction.

"Is that… is that the omni-candle from the little date Kasumi helped you set up the night before we hit the Collector's base?" Jane asked with amused astonishment, and he snorted.

"Yeah. Though I'll admit, this wasn't the purpose I foresaw using it for."

They sat there in silence, watching the flicker of the mock flame together. Jane leaned her head down to rest against his shoulder, and he hummed as he gave her a nuzzle.

"Sorry I never got around to downloading that combat drone program Tali suggested." She murmured after a moment. "Maybe I could have used something like that to get us out of here."

"Maybe," Garrus agreed, unable to stop a smile spreading across his face, "but then we'd have to deal with... that noise it makes." He shivered overdramatically and Jane chuckled. She knew his annoyance with combat drones all too well, and the way he liked to tease Tali about it incessantly.

Before he knew it, they were both laughing. It built over a matter of moments, the sound reverberating through the small space until it crescendoed. It left his sides hurting and his mandibles sore, and Jane clutched her middle as she doubled over. The laughter had a manic edge to it, uncontrolled and shaky with an underlying dissonance of panic.

They leaned into each other as their chuckles finally began to peter out, seeping up slowly like fetid bubbles from a rotting bog. It wasn't until it was nearly silent again that Garrus registered the forlorn chords humming in his subvocals.

There was no way out. They had no choice but to wait.

"Garrus, what are we going to do?" Jane murmured quietly, and his heart clenched at the despondency in her voice. He found her hand and wove their fingers together, clutching it like a lifeline. He wasn't sure if he was looking to comfort her or himself.

"I don't know." He admitted carefully, possibilities and estimations beginning to run through his head as he considered. "He didn't lock us in here just to get rid of us, he said we were bait. I imagine he would have just shot us if he only wanted us dead. I guess we just hope he decides we're useful enough for whatever his plan is, and that we can foil it and escape somehow."

"Right. So we'll just sit tight until then." Jane stated numbly, a hint of the same frustration he felt tinging her voice, and Garrus nodded.

"Yeah. Hopefully, we're not kept waiting too long. I'm guessing this is a fully sealed system. We probably have an hour's worth of air, maybe two if we're lucky." He cut off as he ran through ideas, options, and possible eventualities. Some were grimmer than others.

Perhaps they had an hour or two, but if there were only one of them, it would last a bit longer. Long enough for Shepard to come and save Jane? What were the chances the clone planned on leaving them there for dead, all but forgotten? Assuming Shepard avoided whatever trap was being laid for him—which was a whole other bundle of anxiety that Garrus was trying to ignore—would he even be able to figure out where they were? Would they be able to-

"I'm glad I'm not stuck here alone." Jane admitted softly, breaking the silence and snapping him out of his spiraling thoughts. Her gaze was on her lap as she rested one arm atop her knee, and Garrus' stomach twisted. There was a vulnerability to the slump of her shoulders, her head hanging as she sighed, and it ate at him painfully. He clutched her hand a little tighter, flailing around for a topic of conversation to distract them both.

"So," Garrus finally began tentatively, "that scar on Shepard's forehead, the one you pointed out as proof the clone wasn't him. I always just assumed it was earned in combat, but is there a story behind it or something?" Jane grinned sheepishly at the question as she looked up.

"Yeah, though it probably wasn't my finest moment. Sometimes I, er…" She floundered for a pause before continuing, "I struggle with self control when I get angry." Garrus deadpanned as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"You don't say." He stated dryly, and she glared at him playfully.

"Enough from the peanut gallery." She snapped, and he chuckled. "Anyway, when we were kids, I got into a spat with one of the other kids in our street crew."

"The Reds?"

"No, before we joined them. We were just a ragtag group of kids sticking together so we wouldn't get beaten up or mugged. Anyway, the argument eventually came to blows, and John yelled at us to knock it off and tried to separate us." Jane leaned back, her smile wistful and bittersweet as she let the memory wash over her. "We backed off, and the kid turned to leave, but we kept exchanging insults, and the kid said something that really pissed me off. I don't remember what anymore, it doesn't matter."

Jane paused, her lips curling down into a small frown, and Garrus waited for her to continue.

"I just saw red and totally lost it. I picked up a rock, a big, heavy, sharp one. But here's the thing, I was like seven or eight years old, and I hadn't exactly had the chance to join a little league team or anything." Garrus ignored the confusing human reference, supposing it was some sort of sport, "So I chucked it at the kid's back, and completely missed. Instead, I pegged John square in the head, and he dropped like a rag doll."

Garrus' eyes popped in surprise and he sat forward as he turned to look at her, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I know. Not my finest moment. But I was like seven or something." Jane sighed, "I thought I'd killed him. God, there was so much blood. You know how head wounds are. I screamed, everyone screamed, it was chaos for a few minutes. But then he just sat up. He was a little dazed, but mostly fine and confused about why everyone was making a big deal about it. I got him to a clinic, and they agreed to patch him up, which was lucky. They sometimes refused to let street urchins in." Garrus couldn't help another shock of surprise. Sometimes Earth sounded horrible, but maybe that had just been the darker corner they'd grown up in.

"So he was fine?" He asked tentatively, and Jane nodded as she smiled again.

"Yeah, though he'll never let me live it down. It always comes up at the most unexpected moments. I'll complain about something inane and he'll pull out the ol' 'at least your sibling didn't chuck a rock at your head' line. We're going to be a hundred years old, crusty and living off royalties from the vids, and he's still going to be reminding me how I almost killed him with a rock as a kid."

Garrus began to chuckle, but stopped as a bright white light materialized out of nowhere in the middle of the vault.

"And you will have completely deserved it, I'm sure." Shepard's dryly amused voice echoed through the room unexpectedly as Glyph coalesced before them.

"Commander." the drone chirped cheerfully, "I have found them."

"Oh, thank god." Jane whispered, and Garrus could feel her relax as she released a breath she'd been holding. Quickly, she stood and offered Garrus a hand. "John, assuming that's really you this time, if you get us out of here, I'll let you give me shit about whatever you want for the rest of our lives. However long that ends up being."

"I'll hold you to that." Shepard chuckled, but Garrus looked at Glyph critically.

"How did you get in here? Aren't these vaults made of iridium? They should be nearly impregnable."

"Trust me, I know. It was no small feat." Liara's voice replaced Shepard's emanating from the drone. "It involved tracking your biometric data, salarian intelligence, and a hanar prostitute with camera implants."

Garrus and Jane shared a wide-eyed look. "Seriously?"

"No." Liara stated bluntly, and they both nearly fell over as the vault began to move with a sudden jerk. "But the truth is boring."

When it finally came to a stop, the door opened with a hiss, and light streamed in. Jane winced, lifting a hand to cover her eyes before leading the way out of the vault. Before them stood the true John Shepard, and Garrus didn't need to check the tiny scar to know it was the real deal this time. His body language, stance, and expression spoke volumes. His amusement at having to break his sister and best friend out of a vault was genuine, and his relief that they were alright was nearly palpable.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you guys let yourselves end up in this situation." Shepard quipped, stepping back after giving Jane a quick hug, fighting back a smile. He received more than one wry look from his team arrayed behind him.

"Don't give me that bullshit." Jane snapped as she leaned back on her heels and crossed her arms. "We were drugged back at the apartment, and you let them spirit us away right under your nose."

"Oh, come on! I got a message from you saying that something had come up, and that you'd meet us here."

"Well, I might not have sent it, but looks like it was bang on the money, 'cause here we are!" Jane rolled her eyes, and though the conversation had all the animosity of any sibling spat, Garrus could see both Shepards were overjoyed to have found each other.

"Don't listen to him," Tali leaned in with a mock whisper, "Glyph had to pull our asses out of a vault, too." Jane smirked as she turned a sardonic eye on her brother, who shrugged.

"Guys, not to put a damper on the family reunion or anything," Kaidan spoke up from nearby, raising his hand slightly into the air, "But maybe now we should turn our attention to the clone currently heading off to steal the Normandy?"

"Wait, hold up, what?" Jane's eyes went wide, and Shepard gave a quick nod before ordering everyone to the door.

"You're going to need to fill us in on what we missed while we were, uh… indisposed." Garrus pointed out as they all filtered out of the room and through the Archive.

"Of course. It's been an exciting hour or two. First though," Shepard glanced at Jane questioningly, "Do I really say 'I should go' too often?" She cocked an eyebrow at him in confusion, but then looked away in consideration.

"I mean, yeah. You do say it pretty often."

"Really?" Shepard asked forlornly, and she nodded, but Garrus couldn't help but butt in.

"You both do, actually." Both Spectres turned to look back at him. "Shepard more than Jane, I think, but yeah."

"I thought it was just a Shepard family thing. Like your trademark or something." Ashley added from nearby, and Javik sneered.

"You should never announce your plan, even when leaving a conversation. It shows weakness."

"But they seem so attached to it. Why ruin a good thing?" Kaidan quipped with a smile. Both Shepards wore astounded faces as they looked from person to person as they picked their way through the Archive.

"I thought it was some weird Earth custom or something." Wrex muttered with a shrug.

"You could try 'I'll be seeing you', that might spice things up." Liara added, one corner of her lips upturned in a small smile.

"I would be happy to recite the 48 possible variations when you both have time." EDI added helpfully, and Shepard turned to Tali.

"But I'm more confident than that clone is." He pointed out hopefully, "More in control. With me, it's more like 'that's all for now.'" Garrus wasn't sure if Shepard was trying to convince Tali or himself.

"Of course, sweetheart." Tali reassured as she took his arm comfortingly and gave his hand a gentle pat. "It's always important to remind them who's running the show." Shepard smiled, and Jane rolled her eyes.

"Oh, damn straight." James snorted with a smile, "You're the Commander. Rank has its privileges. End the conversation however you want." Shepard nodded curtly at that, his head held a little higher, sufficiently comforted. Jane sighed and slapped him on the back.

"Okay, enough stroking his ego. Let's go save the Normandy."


One short, tense skycar ride later, and they found themselves standing before the Normandy's airlock, staring down a very angry and confused Traynor and her toothbrush.

"That's a Cision Pro Mark 4." Shepard explained with forced calm as Garrus and Jane moved to scan the door lock. "It uses mass effect fields to break up plaque and massage the gums."

"Yes," Traynor snapped as her nostrils flared, "I told you that."

"And I remember, because I'm the real Shepard." He explained evenly, his patience holding on by a hair.

"He can't fire you without a disciplinary hearing, Traynor!" Jane stated firmly as she rolled her eyes, scoffing in frustration as the door lock refused to budge. She turned to look back at the other woman with a raised eyebrow, "And really? The first thing you grab is your toothbrush?"

"But someone just threw me off the ship!" She cried, ignoring Jane, "If it wasn't you…"

"It was a clone." Garrus piped up as Jane returned her attention to the door, "It's sort of a long story." The door finally pinged and opened, and they all hurried into the airlock as the Normandy's engines began powering up.

When they did finally make their way aboard the Normandy, it wasn't via the locked inner door. No, it was through an emergency exit hatch in the floor, of all things. They'd needed a very fine, controlled mass effect field to get it open, and by some stroke of luck, they'd just so happened to have one at hand.

"If you had told me this morning that a toothbrush was going to save the Normandy," Shepard began as they quietly picked their way through the low crawl space, "I'd have been very skeptical." Somewhere behind Garrus, he heard Jane snort softly, only to be hushed by her brother. Above them, they could hear the footsteps of the clone's mercenaries. Slowly, they made their way through the space, but after a moment, Shepard added, "Pretty sure we broke it, though, getting through the hatch. Remind me to reimburse her for that."

"Seriously, John? That's what you're worried about right now?" Jane hissed, only to grumble wordlessly as she was hushed again. They reached the end and came face to face with a green button. Shepard looked back at them, their weapons at the ready, and they both nodded. He hit the button.

"Watch out!" A merc yelled as the hatch popped open and they opened fire. "They're here in the CIC!" Shepard motioned for them to spread out and they dove for cover before beginning to take out the mercs one by one. Shepard winced as a stray shot took out a display at one of the navigation posts.

"This is not the best place for a firefight!" He exclaimed in dismay, "I hope we don't hit anything important."

"Shoot now, worry later!" Jane replied tersely, and Garrus couldn't help but chuckle.

"One of my favorite places to fight!" Garrus called out as he ducked back into cover after a particularly good shot. Shepard turned to him, his eyes widened in confused disbelief.

"The CIC of a warship? My warship?"

"Right there above the gardens and below the electronic shops!" Garrus stated as he lined up his next shot, and he heard a bark of laughter from Jane nearby.

"And antique shops, as I recall!" She added, and he grinned as he thought back to their mission in the old krogan hospital.

"But only if they're classy!"

"Remind me again why I brought you two idiots along?" Jane and Garrus shared a grin, and Shepard sighed. The last merc fell, and they stood to scan the room. "Come on, let's get to the cargo bay."

He led the way toward the elevator and hit the button to summon it, but stopped as Jane gasped.

"What? What's wrong?" Shepard asked sharply as he raised his weapon and turned to look around. Jane was reaching for a note affixed to what appeared to be their hamster's tank, which sat atop a pile of things clearly intended to be thrown away.

"'Please send this to an animal shelter for proper disposal," Jane read, her eyes widening as she went, "as a warship is not an appropriate…' Oooh, that is not okay!" She tossed the note and turned, her eyes flashing angrily as she clenched her fist. "That bastard was going to chuck out the hamster, John!"

"Add it to the list of his crimes." Shepard grunted as the door opened and he stepped inside. Jane and Garrus followed suit.

"We should check on the fish after this," Jane continued as the elevator began moving, "because if he's getting rid of all the pets-"

"Maybe we should focus on the homicidal clone bunkered down in the shuttlebay before we start worrying about the fish." Garrus mused lightly as he checked his heat sink, and Jane huffed in irritation, muttering to herself about hours spent feeding and caring for pets she hadn't even bought.

When the elevator came to a stop, they took up positions beside the door. It snapped open, and they peeked around the edge, scanning what appeared to be an empty room. Slowly, they left the elevator, stepping out into the shuttlebay, their weapons raised.

There was the clanking of armored footsteps, and a fully armored Commander Shepard stepped out from behind a crate, his chest adorned with the N7 emblem and a shotgun in his hands. The clone smirked, and Garrus nearly reeled at the strangeness of staring down his best friend, his familiar face between his crosshairs.

"Well, that's creepy." Jane commented dryly, and a second later, the clone opened fire. They all ducked into cover as they returned fire.

"You want to stop shooting up my ship?" The clone called out from where he'd ducked down behind a crate, and Shepard growled.

"It's not your ship."

"It will be!" The clone exclaimed heatedly, "I've taken your name, your Spectre rank, even your fingerprints!"

"And then you left us to die." Shepard replied as they slowly stepped from cover, carefully moving forward.

"Only we didn't!" Jane called out tauntingly. "You think fake fingerprints are going to fool the Council? Or Hackett?"

"Or Anderson?" Shepard added, "My entire team made it out of the Archive. You think they're going to sit around on their hands while you run amuck? You won't be able to shut them all up." The silence in the shuttlebay was deafening as they snuck up on the clone's hiding spot, but as they turned the corner, he was nowhere to be found. "How's that big plan looking now?"

Garrus heard the footsteps a moment too late, but Shepard spun quickly, a glowing blue fist coming up to catch the clone's biotic attack before it could land. Jane and Garrus were both flung backwards by the shockwave that emanated from the attack, and they stumbled as they regained their footing. The two biotics were locked in a struggle as they both worked to push back the other.

"Hatchet squad to the shuttlebay!" Brooks called out as she leapt out from behind another crate, a shotgun in her hands. Shepard jumped back, a barrier springing up to protect the three of them as she fired. They quickly returned to cover, and Garrus prepared a concussive round.

As they exchanged fire, Shepard seemed like an avatar of anger, the embodiment of rage and fury as he rained biotic blasts down upon Brooks and his clone. It became difficult to tell the two apart as they zipped across the battlefield, biotic charges making them little more than blurs to the rest of them. If it weren't for the fact that the clone was wearing Shepard's backup armor, which had slightly different coloring, Garrus might have been in trouble. Even as it was, he had to take an extra second to double check before firing, which slowed him down and made targeting much harder.

It wasn't as much of a problem as it could have been, though, as Shepard seemed content to take the clone on by himself, and the elevator chimed a minute or two into the fight, revealing a number of armed and ready mercs. He and Jane focused on Brooks and the newcomers, keeping Shepard's back clear as he whittled the clone down blast by blast, bullet by bullet.

By the time Liara broke through the comm jamming, the clone was starting to look frustrated. By the time Joker and Cortez caught up in a skycar and started blocking the Normandy's escape route, he looked absolutely livid.

"Damn it!" Garrus heard the man exclaim from across the shuttlebay, "Launch the shuttle and blow that thing out of the sky!" The clone then popped out from behind a crate and shot a few rounds at Garrus, all of which missed wide of their mark. Garrus grinned, an idea occurring to him.

"You know," He called out, raising his voice over the sound of the shuttle bay door opening, "The real Shepard would've blown my head off by now!" He chanced a quick glance across the space and was pleased to see the clone's face contorted in darkening anger.

"At least John has a winning personality," Jane chimed in from nearby, mocking laughter in her voice, "But you're stuck with his ugly mug and a personality only a mother could love- oh! That's right! You were born in a test tube. You never had a mother."

The furious snarl that was etched across the clone's face was picturesque, and Garrus savored the satisfaction as the human stood to fire at them only to be caught in the chest with a well aimed biotic blast from Sheaprd.

The clone was back on his feet again in a flash, and before Garrus could blink, he had flung himself across the hanger deck wreathed in a blue glow. The biotic charge caught Shepard off guard, and the two men went tumbling as they grappled with each other.

"Hold on!" Jane called out as she hurried forward to help, but Shepard's biotics pulsed before exploding outward, throwing the clone off him. The doppelganger flew backwards, colliding hard with Jane, who was caught off guard, and the two of them went rolling down the cargo ramp drawing nearer and nearer to the gaping maw opening out onto the speeding buildings of the Citadel wards below.

Garrus's stomach dropped through the floor as he tried to force away images of Jane plummeting downward towards her death. He and Shepard sprinted after them, drawing up as the clone's biotics sprang up around him. Grabbing hold of a dazed Jane, he stood before twisting to hold her precariously over the edge, her feet just barely touching the cargo ramp as she struggled to keep her footing. One of her arms flailed and her other gripped the clone's wrist, her eyes wide and terrified as she chanced a glance downward.

"Stay where you are," the clone barked as he turned to look at Shepard, "unless you want to become an only child."

Garrus swallowed, his throat suddenly dry as his mind raced for ways to prevent his vivid fears from becoming reality. The Normandy shifted, causing them all to shift their balance, Jane's feet barely keeping their connection with the ground.

"We can talk about this." Shepard stated evenly, his voice calm but assertive as he lowered his shotgun. "Just step away from the edge, and we can come to some sort of understanding." The clone scoffed, disgusted.

"Look at you." he sneered, "What makes you so damned special? Why you and not me?"

"Because you're a fucking idiot." Jane growled through gritted teeth. In a flash, her omni-tool activated over her free arm, its blade spinning into existence before plunging into the clone's side. There wasn't much power behind the attack and it didn't penetrate very far, but it was enough.

The clone cried out in pain and dropped Jane just as the Normandy jostled them all again. The two of them fell backwards, and Garrus stopped breathing.

With loud clanks, both of the armored humans hit the lip of the cargo ramp hard, their hands scrambling for purchase.

"Hang on!" Garrus yelled as he shot forward, Shepard right beside him as they reached for Jane. Heart hammering in his chest, his subvocals chirped in gloried relief as his hand wrapped firmly around her wrist.

"We've got you!" He felt Shepard grab him firmly, holding them fast to the cargo ramp as Garrus worked to pull Jane up over the edge to safety. The clone looked on from where he struggled to keep his hold, his legs dangling over the building tops below. His face was a pained mixture of fear and grief as no one came to his aid.

"Thanks." Jane panted as soon as they were clear, and Shepard stood as he looked down at his clone with disdain. "What about him?" She asked coldly, leaving no doubt what she thought should be done.

"To answer your question, it was never about me. It's about us." He gestured back at Garrus, Jane, and the rest of the Normandy with a sweep of his hand. "I'm nothing without my team."

Shepard paused, and Garrus already knew what the Commander would do. He could see it in the minuscule sag to his shoulders as he stepped forward.

"Here," He said as he reached down to his clone, "take my hand." The clone looked up at him with wide, confused eyes, rage simmering just beneath the surface.

"And then?"

"And then you live!" Shepard replied hoarsely as he leaned forward a hair further. Jane grabbed her brother's other arm to steady him as the Normandy picked up speed, her grip tight and her lips pursed in disapproval.

The clone's face morphed into a grim mask of anger and despair. "For what?" He spat, and then he let go.

It was haunting to watch as his best friend's face plummeted downward toward certain death, almost as though in slow motion. It was an image that would sit with him, visiting him often in the late sleepless nights to come.

The three of them stood there motionless for a few heartbeats until Shepard turned away, his face pained and defeated despite their victory. He began slowly walking back up into the shuttlebay, tonelessly responding as he was hailed by Cortez, asking permission to dock their skycar.

Jane turned back a moment or two later, "That was… anticlimactic." Garrus nodded, and followed after.


"Is shore leave always like this?" EDI asked as they stepped into the large, posh apartment, and Jane chuckled as she collapsed onto the couch. The rest of the team filtered in, each looking exhausted and worn out in their bloodied and battered armor.

"No." Tali grunted as she plopped down beside Jane. "This was the worst. Shore leave. Ever." She spat, and Shepard huffed a laugh.

"Well, the Normandy still needs a few days before all the work is done, so maybe now we can take some actual time off. No explosions or anything. Just us."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Garrus replied dryly as he reached for his chest piece's seals, "but it's worth a shot."

"Ah!" He looked over to see Jane sit up suddenly, realization dawning on her face. "I know where I remember Brooks from!" The room went quiet, voices vanishing as people exchanged glances.

"She was with Cerberus at one point." Shepard said carefully, and she turned to him in surprise. "She explained that much when we were back in the Archive."

"Yeah, I think I crossed paths with her once or twice during my time undercover with them. She went by the name Rasa back then, among other names. I think I also ran into her name while I was trying to figure out what Project Lazarus was."

"She said she had something to do with putting together the dossiers when we were building our team for the Collector mission." Shepard added, and Jane nodded as she leaned back again in contemplation.

"Huh. I guess that would explain it," she mused, but any further thoughts were cut off as Joker clapped his hands.

"Alright! So after a hard day spent fighting an evil clone, you know what comes next?" the pilot asked, his voice full of giddy anticipation. Exhausted eyes swiveled to him with curiosity.

"A nap?" Garrus asked with a snort as he raised a brow plate, but Joker pointedly ignored him.

"It's party time!" There was a series of groans from around the room.

"Well." Wrex slapped his knees before standing and shaking out his shoulders. "I gotta get going." He gave some excuses about fires he had to put out, and everyone offered goodbyes as he headed for the door.

"I dunno, Joker." Shepard finally replied with a tired sigh. "How are you not exhausted? I'm going to need to sleep before I consider anything else, much less a party."

"Oh, come on! You're a bunch of lightweights!" Joker moaned in frustration as the rest of the team added their weary agreement to Shepard's bid for rest.

"That's rich coming from someone who wasn't involved in any firefights." Ashley grumbled as she glared at Joker, who shook a finger at her.

"Not true! I was there when it all started at Ryuusei! Shepard used me as bait!"

"Okay, okay guys. Calm down. I'm not saying no to a party, but maybe not right now. How about we all head home, wash up and sleep, and then we'll see about heading out for drinks or something once we're all rested?"

"I'd be game for that." Jane nodded as she stood and stretched. They said their goodbyes, and the team filed out of the apartment, all except the Shepards, Garrus, and Tali.

"I call the shower first." Garrus grinned as he sidestepped around Jane and made for the stairs. She laughed and hurried after him.

"Over my dead body, Vakarian." She managed to beat him up the stairs, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him playfully as she laughed.

"I'm sure it's big enough for the both of us, if you're willing to share…" He murmured in her ear, and he didn't think he was imagining the shiver that ran the length of her body.

"Now you're talkin'."


The next few days flew by, and catching a moment with Shepard became very difficult. Crew members kept requesting his company, whether to play games at the arcade, gamble at the casino, or just to spend quality time together at the apartment. At first, Garrus had assumed this would mean he'd be able to spend plenty of quality time with Jane, and yet she seemed nearly as in demand as her brother, just sometimes for stranger reasons.

"You know, I'm not entirely unsurprised to get a call from C-Sec because of Grunt." Shepard started as he and Garrus turned from the officer to face the two grumpy looking detainees sitting before them outside one of the Silversun Strip's restaurants. "But, Jane? Seriously? You're a Spectre."

"You don't say?" Jane rolled her eyes as she leaned forward, resting her forearms on her knees as she looked up at them from where she sat beside Grunt.

"Okay, okay. Explain what happened." Shepard sighed as he crossed his arms, and Garrus hid his amused smile as his girlfriend groaned.

"I don't know." Grunt grumbled as he looked away, "Drank a bit, left the hospital, broke a few windows."

"Before I sign you both out- wait, can they actually detain you if you're a Spectre, Jane?"

"I thought about just waving my magic Spectre status around and leaving, but that just seemed like…" Jane trailed off as she searched for the proper word.

"An irresponsible abuse of power?" Shepard supplied dryly, and Jane waved her hand vaguely.

"Yeah, sure. Let's go with that."

"Anyway, before I sign you both out… Everyone walked away from this in one piece, right?"

"Sure, yeah, everybody's fine." Grunt replied quickly in a manner that left Garrus wholly unconvinced. "Hospital's seen better days, though." He finally admitted with a small, crooked grin and a chuckle.

"Right." Shepard sighed before looking over at the officer holding out a datapad for him. "And how did you get roped into this, Jane? You were supposed to be doing movie night with me, Tali, and Garrus. She wanted us to all watch that one of hers that she loves so much."

"Fleet and Flotilla?" Jane coughed before shrugging, not quite making eye contact. "Look, John… I know that's Tali's favorite, but it's not really my kind of movie. So when Grunt's buddies got a hold of me and asked for help springing him from the hospital for his birthday…"

"Wait, it's your birthday?" Shepard asked in evident surprise as he looked at Grunt, and Jane sighed in frustration.

"For heaven's sake, John. We're the ones who got him out of that tank. Obviously it's not his birthday." Jane explained with another drawn out sigh. Shepard blinked, even more confused than before. "Anyway, the plan didn't really work as intended."

"Obviously." Garrus snorted, and her glare turned to him before she and Grunt launched into the story. It went from strange to stranger, including a botched hospital escape plan, a defaced Presidium memorial, a C-Sec skycar lit on fire and then promptly stolen, and a high-speed chase that ended only when Grunt got peckish for noodles.

"Both of you, apologize to the nice man for setting his car on fire." Shepard instructed at the end as he gestured to the nearby C-Sec officer. Grunt pouted, but eventually acquiesced.

"Fine. I'm sorry for setting your car on fire." He muttered as he glared at the officer's feet. Garrus bit back a smile. The sour insincerity distinctly reminded him of an apology his parents had roped out of him as a kid after he'd been caught spiking his sister's dinner with hot sauce, a retaliation in what had been a long, underhanded prank war.

Shepard leveled the krogan with an unimpressed stare as he crossed his arms imposingly, and eventually Grunt sighed, "... and I won't do it again." Seemingly mollified, Shepard turned his stare to Jane, who glowered up at him.

"Don't get your hopes up, John. I'm not a fucking child." She ignored the petulant grumble from the krogan beside her.

"Could have fooled me." Shepard muttered through pursed lips.

"Plus," Jane continued, ignoring the quip, "I didn't do anything wrong. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Uh-huh."

"Okay, so I might have taken part in the hospital break. But I didn't climb on the memorial. And I didn't set the car on fire. I might have gotten in the car, but I'm not the one who flew it! I was just along for the ride!"

"Jane…" Shepard sighed, but she threw her hands up in the air as she stood up.

"Don't 'Jane' me. I'm done with this." She bent down to grab her sweatshirt and tossed it over one shoulder before ducking around her brother. Her omni-tool sprang up around her wrist as she gestured to the surprised looking officer. "Here. Spectre clearance and enough funds to cover the damages." She turned to Garrus, motioning for him to follow. "Come on, let's get out of here. I need a drink."

Garrus spared Shepard a chagrined smile and shrug before following after Jane. When he finally caught up with her, she seemed to have cooled down a little. He found her hand, and their fingers interlaced in a way that had once felt foreign, but now felt safe and familiar.

"God, that was embarrassing." She muttered, frowning as she slowed her pace, leaning into him slightly.

"I don't know what you expected." Garrus mused as he glanced down at her. "A bunch of adolescent krogan asked you to help break their pal out of a hospital. You had to know that wasn't going to end well."

"Well, it sounds a whole helluva lot more interesting than watching Fleet and Flotilla." She mimed gagging, and Garrus rolled his eyes.

"It's not that bad."

"I'd rather crash land beside a noodle bar while riding in a stolen, flaming C-Sec skycar with a drunk krogan, thanks." Jane replied sardonically, her face completely straight. After a pause, her lips curled up in a crooked smile. "I knew you were a closet fan of that movie."

"So? It has good music." Garrus shrugged, and when she elbowed him in the soft flesh of his waist, he added softly, "And perhaps I am a bit of a romantic." Jane smiled at that, until he grinned and tacked on, "At least, until my girlfriend abandons me on movie night to gallivant around the Presidium with a bunch of krogan like some hooligan." Her smile vanished instantly and her eye twitched as she glared at him.

"Oh, that's it. You know what?" She turned around and grabbed his arm, forcing him to spin and follow as she headed in a new direction. "Change of plans. You're going down, Big Guy." Garrus chuckled as she dragged him toward the Armax Arsenal Arena.

"Whatever you say, Sweetie."


Some hours later found Garrus sweaty and thoroughly exhausted. He and Jane were sitting in the food court, enjoying soft drinks and snacks as they cooled down, watching a match down in the arena below.

"How does a volus like that move so damn quickly?" Garrus mused, and Jane shrugged as she popped a strange, thin, crispy looking snack into her mouth.

"My money is on suit enhancements." She said, and he hummed his agreement. Just as he was about to respond, Jane abruptly changed the topic. "I can't believe it's been a week already. When we first left the Normandy in dry dock, I was positive this week was going to drag. But it was a lot of fun."

"Yeah, it was." Garrus said, his eyes never leaving the fighters in the arena below even though his mind began to wander. His one true regret was that he hadn't been able to find time to put together his surprise date plan, but he supposed it could wait till the next time they were on the Citadel. Between that, the whole ordeal with the clone, and his failed attempts to find any sign of his family, and the week had been slightly less than a perfect vacation, but he supposed he couldn't complain.

"What's wrong?" Jane asked, and Garrus tried to smooth out his frown and quiet his subvocals.

"It's nothing, I just…" He sighed, and she reached for his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. He finally turned to look at her, and he savored the way his chest still seized when he looked at her, even after all this time. To find such love, support, understanding, and comfort in another living being was astounding. And even sticky with sweat and grime from the arena and smelling like some of Mess Sergeant Gardner's worst concoctions, she was still the most beautiful, sexy, and alluring creature in the galaxy. Damn if he wasn't the luckiest man alive.

Garrus squeezed her hand before bringing it up to press against his mouth plates. As their hands fell back down to the table, he took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm just worried about my family. I haven't heard from them since they tried to get transport off Palaven." He took another deep breath, "I'm worried they didn't make it."

"If your dad is half as stubborn as you, then they made it." Jane grinned at him, but he knew human facial expressions well enough to see how forced it was. He tried to smile back anyway. "Maybe they made it to one of those refugee facilities." She added after a moment, "I heard they built one on Horizon, I think it's called Sanctuary or something like that?"

"Yeah, maybe. We can hope." Garrus knew he didn't sound very convinced. There was something about seeing the destruction the Reapers wrought up close and personal that tarnished his ability to be optimistic lately.

But they'd had victories. They were not without hope. He had to cling to that.

"Yeah, we can hope." Jane took a long draw of her drink. "John says we're heading to Thessia next. Apparently the Reapers have reached asari space."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, John met with the asari councilor yesterday." Jane glanced around them casually before leaning forward and continuing in a whisper, "She thinks that if we use some sort of artifact in one of their temples on Thessia, we might be able to figure out what the Catalyst is. But it's all very hush hush."

Garrus' mind buzzed and whirred as he considered the possibilities. What sort of secret could the asari be holding that could point them in the direction of the Catalyst? The only answer was something related to the Protheans, and that had enormous implications. Holding onto Prothean technology and not sharing it with the galactic community was underhanded at best, criminal at worst. He could see why their government was trying to keep it quiet.

"Well, whatever it is, hopefully this will set us in the right direction. The sooner we end this, the better." He muttered before tipping back the last of his drink. Jane stood and pushed back her chair.

"Come on, let's head home. I want to enjoy one last night in that glorious, soft bed before we're thrust back into reality." They cleaned off their table, and as they turned to leave, Jane held out her odd, wonderful five fingered hand as she looked at him expectantly. Taking it, he met her smile with one of his own, his mandibles flaring. The luckiest man alive, indeed.