Garrus was thinking about the events at Virmire when Joker came on his comm.
"Hey, Garrus. Can you go check on the commander? She just told me she didn't want to be disturbed and a crewmember said they saw her heading to her room with a whole bottle of Asari brandy."
"But I thought you said she didn't want to be disturbed?" Garrus asked him.
"I know what I said. Look I know you care about her and I don't think being alone is what she needs." He replied.
"What are you-" Garrus started.
"Me and Wrex like to gossip. But that's not the point. Just please go check on her. Ashley's- it's really tearing her up and I'm worried."
"Alright. I'll go." Garrus told him. He still didn't know what to say to comfort her but he knew he had to try.
"Thanks, Garrus. You're not bad, for a turian."
Garrus grabbed some of his whiskey and headed towards Jane's room. Before he got there, Kaidan stopped him.
"Where are you going?" He asked him.
"I'm going to go check up on Jane." Garrus replied.
"But we were told that she didn't want to be disturbed. And why are you taking alcohol with you?" Kaidan sounded angry.
"Look Joker asked me to go check on her." He told him.
"He what? You never answered me about the alcohol. Look you better not touch or take advantage-" Kaidan started.
"I'm going there as a friend cause that's what she needs. And the whiskey is because Ash's death has taken a hit on me, too. She became friendly with me and Wrex. You would've noticed if you thought about anyone but you and decided to pull your head out of your ass once in awhile!" Garrus interrupted him. He was usually calm but he wasn't in the mood for Kaidan's accusations and jealousy. Kaidan stood there in silence as Garrus continued to Jane's room.
He knocked and when she answered, he could see her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet. He wanted to take away her sadness, but didn't know how. He still thought her eyes reminded him of emeralds and her spots made him think of stars in the galaxy. She told him she wanted to be left alone. He lifted up his bottle and convinced her that she needed a friend and he did too. She reluctantly agreed then sat on the bed and started drinking. She asked him if she did the right thing and he told her neither choice was right or wrong but it was what needed to be done. He also told her that she was the most compassionate and considerate person he knew. He reminded her not to let this bring her down but to use it and make Saren pay. He still wanted to tell her about his feelings but he thought this wasn't the time or place for that. He sat down next to her and she thanked him then made a toast to Ashley and her sacrifice. He raised his bottle back and toasted to good friends lost too soon. They sat there drinking and sharing memories about Ashley then he felt something on his shoulder. Jane had fallen asleep on him. He looked at her looking peaceful then touched the top of her head.
"Don't shoulder the galaxy's problems on yourself, Jane. Share your burdens with me, with all of us once in awhile. You don't need to be so tough on yourself. I'm always here for you." He whispered softly. "You really are an amazing woman, but even you can't do everything by yourself."
He kissed her cheek then laid her down and covered her up before leaving. He and Wrex spent the rest of the night drinking and talking about Ashley. The next morning when they went to the mess hall, they saw Jane and Kaidan.
"Ugh. Do I have to deal with the council today?" Jane asked with her head on the table. Garrus assumed she was nursing a hangover.
"How much did you drink, Shepard?" Kaidan asked, eyeing Garrus.
"I don't know. I passed out. How much was it, Vakarian?" She looked up at Garrus. She was still in her pajamas and her hair was a mess.
"Well, you finished your whole bottle of brandy then you tried to drink my whiskey. I had to put it up where you couldn't reach it because you wouldn't listen when I told you it would kill you."
"You drank the whole bottle? Jesus, Shepard. That asari stuff is strong." Kaidan said.
"Ugh! Can we just tell the council to fuck off? They don't believe me anyways." She put her head back on the table.
"We'll be at the citadel in 20 minutes." Joker said over the comm. "You might want to look like you didn't get drunk off your ass last night, commander."
"Here. The doctor gave me this to give to you. It'll get rid of your hangover." Kaidan gave Jane some medicine.
"Why didn't you give this to me earlier?" She snapped.
"Well, you told me my voice was too loud and my walking and my breathing." Kaidan laughed.
"Come on, Shepard. Let's go get you dressed." Tali said, grabbing her arm.
"Ugh. Stupid council. That turian hates me you know." She groaned, getting up.
"Nah. He hates all humans, not just you." Garrus teased.
"Not helping. And you still owe me a drink!" She yelled from down the corridor. At that moment, Kaidan looked at Garrus.
"She uh won a bet." Garrus told him.
"Yep. Kicked his ass in a shooting contest." Wrex laughed, as he walked away. "Just let me know if you need me to headbutt that turian councilor."
"Hey, about last night…" Kaidan turned to Garrus.
"Kaidan." He sighed. "Look. Nothing happened. We talked about Ashley then we drank until Jane passed out then I left. I went there as a friend like I told you I was."
"No, I didn't- I mean. You were right." He stammered out.
"What?" Garrus looked at him in surprise.
"I wasn't thinking about Shep or her feelings. I was just focused on myself. Then Ashley died and I blamed Shepard for saving me. I didn't even stop to think how it was affecting her. I'm going to start putting her first." He told him.
"Oh. Good for you." Garrus said as he walked away. Sure he could've told him about his own feelings towards her but he didn't even know how she felt and he didn't want to start any trouble for Jane. She had enough on her plate the way it was. He decided he would just tell her how he felt after the meeting with the council.
Jane, Kaidan, and Garrus made their way to the council chambers. Once there, the council announced they were preparing their fleet to protect the citadel. Jane begged them to let her go to Ilos to stop Saren. They told her they didn't want to incite a war with the Terminus system. Jane told them she could be discreet and the turian councilor reminded her that she blew up a building on Virmire. She adamantly told them that's where Saren was going and he was going to the conduit to help the reapers. They told her that Saren was playing mind games and making up reapers to put them in chaos and attack the citadel. Then Udina told her he was grounding the Normandy and he'd assist the council. Jane called him a "traitorous bastard" and pleaded with the council more but they told her that they made their decision and went on their way.
After returning to the docked Normandy, Garrus decided to look for Jane. He wanted to try to talk to her about what happened and tried to steel his nerves to tell her about his feelings.
"Hey Tali. Have you seen Jane?" He asked as he walked by her.
"Sure. I think I saw her walking towards the locker room. Why?" She replied.
"Oh, uh, I just wanted to talk to her." He told her and made his way towards the lockers. He had reached the door and could see Jane through the crack in the door. He saw her punch her locker then put her back to it and slowly slump down to the floor, looking defeated. He was about to go in when he saw Kaidan go over to her. Damn, he thought. He'd have to talk to her another time. He didn't know what he was feeling but he didn't like the thought of Kaidan being the one to console her. He stood there with his back to the wall for a few minutes trying to put his thoughts together. He wasn't sure why but he wanted nothing more than for her to be happy and he wanted to be the one to make her feel that way. He wanted to fight beside her and protect her at the same time. He wanted to see her face everyday, the same face that reminded him of the stars in the galaxy. He wanted her to be his galaxy. It was then he realized he didn't really want to go back to C-sec, he wanted to stay on the Normandy with Jane. His thoughts were interrupted when Jane came flying out of the locker room with Kaidan behind her.
"C'mon, Garrus. We're going to Flux." She said as she ran past him. "Anderson wants to talk and if I know him, he's got a plan."
"Are you kidding? I'm right behind you." He replied as he ran after her.
