Chapter 16 - Preparation pt. 3 - Birth

Aeova T'karos
April 20th, 2188

"What do you mean 'don't worry'?!" I screamed, biotically throwing a small drinking glass towards the wall, shattering it, and splashing its contents across the painted white surface. Kaora sat on the couch, silently watching me. I stopped my agitated pacing, "You told me we had a simple job, and you needed a spotter you could trust. In and out, no trouble." She walked up and got into Kaora's face, "We shot the fucking Primarch of Palaven! Not only that, he didn't die! We barely made it back to Illium as it is!" I turn away, "We're going to be hunted for the rest of our lives! I had it good here… I had it…."

"Aeova!" Kaora snapped, causing me to stop for a second and listen, "When have I ever led you astray? We will be fine. I promise. There is no way they can find us! Now, I have to go. Calm down. Everything will be fine." She smiled at me through the crack of the closing door.

It took a few minutes for me to calm down, aided greatly by the glass of Terra bourbon I had poured myself. I sat on the couch, sipping at the amber liquid, enjoying the burning feeling of the alcohol traveling down my throat, distracting me from my worries. I flipped through the channels on the television, the mindless pictures lulling me to sleep.

-0-

May 20th, 2188

I awoke to a pounding fist on the door to my apartment, quickly freeing me from the grasp of drowsiness. I got up and opened it, seeing Kaora standing in the hallway, her face now significantly more worried than it was when she had left earlier.

"Kaora?" I asked, rubbing a knuckle in my eye and yawning, "What's wrong?"

"Everything," Kaora said, explaining without explaining, pushing past me as she entered the apartment, with the door swinging shut behind her. "The cops were at my apartment, Aeova. I don't know how, but they know."

"But if they know about you, then they know about…." I couldn't finish the sentence before the apartment door was blown inwards by an explosive charge, sending wood fragments into the room and stunning us. By the time we recovered, we were both on the ground, an officer's knee on each of our backs and our hands secured by restraints.

"CLEAR!" One of the unoccupied officers yelled. At the notification, a lithe asari walked in, inspecting the two prisoners. She wore the uniform of the Nos Astra Police Department.

"Aeova T'karos? Kaora T'raoius? You are under arrest for the attempted assassination of Primarch Garrus Vakarian."

Garrus
May 20th, 2188

I grimaced as I lifted a free weight with my left arm, still sore under the regrowing plate and spirits, it itched like hell. I set down the weight, digging my talons into the space between the plates and alleviating the infernal itch, sighing in relief.

The band on my arm buzzed, alerting me to a call. Dropping the weight to the floor with a solid thud, I flipped my wrist up, revealing Liara's smiling blue face. "Liara." I greeted her with a smooth voice, hiding my discomfort and labored breathing, "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing well, Garrus. Thanks for asking. How is your recovery going?" Liara's singsong voice asked.

"You know me, Li, it'll take more than a bullet to keep me down," I replied, my voice drawling low and deep, causing the young asari to laugh, making me laugh. Pain bloomed inside my lung as I did, making me stop and grunt in discomfort. After a fit of coughing, I recovered enough to look into the now-worried asari's eyes, "Still hurts, though."

"Well, if you say you're okay, I believe you," Liara said, but in a tone that I knew meant that she didn't believe me, and in fact, she knew exactly how he was doing, asking merely as a courtesy. "I called to tell you that the assassins were arrested in Nos Astra earlier. Both were taken alive and are being held."

"Thanks, Li."

"Of course, Garrus, anytime." She replied, terminating the call.

-0-

Less than an hour later, I sat down at my desk and placed a call to Raeyme M'cryris, the Governor of Illium. "Primarch Vakarian, I'm glad to see you're alright."

I smiled at her, "Thank you, Matriarch M'cryris. That is why I am calling. My sources have told me you have arrested the two responsible." I relished in the surprised look on her face before the Matriarch marshaled herself. It was sometimes good to have friends in low places. "I would like them extradited to Palaven as soon as possible."

"Of course, Primarch. I will arrange for it as soon as possible."

Amelia
May 21st, 2188

"Babe, what's wrong?" I asked, walking up behind Garrus, sitting at the dining table, laying his forehead down on his crossed arms. I rested my hands on his shoulders, lightly massaging them. He leaned back into me, pulling one of his hands off the table and resting it on mine, humming lightly as he did.

"I don't want to bother you with it," Garrus said, sighing and sinking deeper into the chair.

I pulled out the adjacent chair and sat down, grabbing one of his hands with both of mine, "Garrus, we're partners. I want to share everything with you, not just the good, but the bad too."

Garrus averted his eyes, his mandibles dropping in shame. It took him a few minutes before he responded, "I'm sorry." He looked into my eyes, a surprised look when he saw nothing but love and concern rather than the anger he probably expected. I squeezed his hand and waited patiently for him to continue. "A few months ago, a patrol ship disappeared in the Kite's Nest Cluster, and its group was sent out to find it. After a week, they finally found it, 100,000 kilometers from its last known location. No bodies were found, and the weapons were stripped off."

My face turned hard, my lips pursing tightly in a frown, but I stayed quiet, listening attentively. "Since then, more ships have disappeared, including two more Hierarchy ships and one Alliance ship. I don't know who is doing it."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to burden you. After the War, you said you were done. I wanted to respect that."

I felt a tear roll down my cheek, "Garrus, I am always gonna help you, no matter what. Please tell me when something is bothering you." I stood up, wrapping my arms around his neck in a hug.

-0-

June 20th, 2188

I breathed a haggard sigh, focusing on managing my pain, but I was filled with an unequivocal feeling of joy despite it. Our daughter was lying on my chest, delivered perfectly healthy, as far as Doctor Chakwas and Padok Wiks could tell. Sitting next to my bed, Garrus cradled our son in his arms.

As expected, the babies externally looked almost entirely turian, sporting small, stubby mandibles and small plates that covered their skin from head to toe. However, their plates didn't fully cover their skin, as they had not finished growing yet. Each sported a miniature fringe, with Octavia's being more petite than her brother's, as expected amongst turian females. Their five-fingered hands and four-toed feet were the main physical difference, each with a backward-facing toe on their heel.

I smiled at her son as Gaius wriggled in his father's arms, flipping himself over before opening his tiny mouth and mindlessly gnawing on a plate of Garrus's arm with his sharp, needle-like teeth, leaving saliva and tiny pinpricks behind. I laughed at the look on Garrus's face before realizing I would be breastfeeding them in the not-too-distant future.

Chakwas entered the room, momentarily distracting me from that horror. "Just got the blood results back from the lab. Everything looks ideal on them." The doctor said, her crisp British voice slightly higher with pride, "Congratulations, you two."

"Thanks, Karin," Garrus said, rocking his upper body to relax the squirming Gaius, further distracting the baby by tickling some of his exposed skin. I merely smiled, rubbing my hand on the back of the sleeping Octavia on her chest.

"So, how does feeding work?" I asked quietly, my mind drifting back to the teeth that could pierce Garrus's plate.

"Their digestive system is mostly human, but they can get nutrients from either chirality, but they need both. Breast milk along with other soft solids would be your best bet." Karin quickly spotted the worried look on my face, chuckling a little, "Don't worry, I have a milk pump." Relief flooded over me as Karin left the room.

-0-

June 27th, 2188

"Hey…" I said, tickling Gaius's stomach as I changed his diaper, laughing along with my son's gleeful squirming and wriggling. "Whatcha doin! Whatcha doin!"

"You're the last person I'd ever think I'd see doing baby talk," Garrus said, surprising me. How was someone so damn big so damn quiet?

"I must be out of practice, didn't hear you. How long have you been standing there?"

"It's not like you were ever the master of stealth and surprise." Garrus drawled, his voice an approximation of molasses, thick and sweet. He walked up to me, leaning me against the table Gaius was lying on, and held me in his arms, lowering his forehead to mine.

"This is true," I smiled up at him once he withdrew his forehead, "I'm more of break shit first and ask questions later kinda gal."

"Understatement of the century," Garrus remarked sarcastically. I stuck my tongue out at him, grabbing Gaius and walking over to the crib, laying him down next to his sister.

Garrus
June 28th, 2188

"Legate, any updates?" I asked Laevitius, settling into the chair at my desk, holding a now-sleeping Octavia against my right shoulder. The light from the comm terminal washed over him in the otherwise dark room.

The turian on the other end of the comm call sighed, "No, Sir. We've had a patrol fleet scouting the area for weeks but no sign of the ships that destroyed the Rallus."

I leaned onto my elbow and pinched my nose, "Spirits, we need to find who was responsible for this." I paused for a moment, but Laevitius didn't say a word, "Is there any connection to the assassination attempt?"

"Unfortunately, Sir, I can't tell you. We don't know anything yet."

I pursed my lip plates, "Thank you, Legate. Let me know the second you find out anything."

"Of course, Sir. Have a good night." Laevitius cut off the commlink.

I stood, being as careful as I could with my movements to not wake my daughter, but it was to no avail. Octavia started to cry again, her small mandibles spread as wide as they could go as she threw her head back in frustration.

"Shhhh… What's the matter? What's the matter?" Garrus repeated, patting her on the back, "Are you hungry? I think you're hungry. Let's get you some breakfast. I made my way into the kitchen, bouncing Octavia lightly on my shoulder, grabbing a bottle of milk before taking the fussy girl into the living room and settling her on my lap.

As soon the bottle made it close to Octavia's face, small, greedy hands reached up, too small to pull it down, but the intention was clear. I watched in interest as Octavia pinched the nipple of the bottle in her mouth, her mandibles sealing the gap between her teeth and allowing her to suck on it. Octavia made quick work of the milk, calming down considerably after finishing it, and was slowly lulled back to sleep by her full stomach. I picked her up, carrying her back into the nursery and laying her down.

After quietly creeping out, I checked the time, seeing that it was nearly dawn. It was too late to go back to sleep, but maybe I could do something nice for my wife. Amelia hadn't gotten much sleep since coming home from the hospital a week prior, as expected for new parents, and I thought she deserved to sleep in. I crept back into our bedroom and activated her omnitool, turning her alarm off.