Sorry this has taken me so long to update. I hope I can get back to regular updates. Thank you all again for reading/following/favoriting and reviewing.

Chapter 55

Tali sat on her bunk wondering why she drank as much as she had. Sure, she was fairly coherent now but she was still woozy from its effects. She reached for the filtered water, hoping it might make her feel better. For all she knew, Kasumi and Jack were still continuing their own party but they had a much higher tolerance. Slowly standing up, she stretched with the same amount of care she had taken when adjusting her position. She figured that now would be the best time to walk the foreign, yet familiar, ship; maybe it would help her get used to it.

It was eerily quiet. The Normandy had always been quiet with its engines, that had unnerved her first but now it was a silence of very few bodies being around since almost everyone had gone out to start their leave with a bang; there wasn't even snoring. She worked her way up the ship, trespassing into as many areas that she could.

Heading into the CIC, she worked her way up to the cockpit. She half expected it to be locked like everyone else's personal rooms since it seemed like Joker lived in this part of the ship; at least, he had before. This version of the Normandy was certainly more advanced, even more than she had expected. It wasn't a surprise of course; Cerberus couldn't stand to be behind in technology.

Having finished her personal tour of the ship, she decided to head back down and go to sleep. Opening the doors to the elevator again, she stepped in. The doors were about to close when she heard someone call out.

"Wait! Hold the elevator!"

Tali held the door, barely registering who had called to her. When she saw it was John and Miranda, she silently cursed herself, hating that she would be stuck in the elevator with them. Maybe she or Garrus could work on speeding up the lift to avoid future situations like this.

John looked up to see Tali holding the door. He held one of Miranda's arms over his neck and held up the rest of her by her waist. "Thank you," he said with an appreciative smile.

Tali only nodded.

"Did, uh, did you have a good night?" John asked awkwardly. "I mean… I wasn't expecting you to still be up."

"Yes," even one word sounded odd coming out of her. "Jack, Kasumi, and I were hanging out."

"Oh yeah? Do a lot of drinking?"

"Is it that obvious?" she asked embarrassed.

"No, no, it's not," he grinned at her with a small chuckle.

Tali felt her heart melting at seeing that grin from him again, especially since it had happened while speaking to her. Just as she was enjoying the moment she heard a grown from Miranda. She almost wanted to slap the woman but with how terrible she looked Tali probably couldn't make her feel any worse.

"Sorry," John said, directed at Tali, "Someone had too much to drink."

"It wasss to cope with… having to be there," Miranda muttered.

"Yeah, yeah, we know," John said back to her. The doors opened and John carried the woman out, "Hey, Tali… um, look I would really like to talk to you but I'm worried Miranda here might swallow her tongue. Can I see you tomorrow?"

She stood there stunned. Did he really say what she thought she heard? "Uh, yeah. Yes, of course. I would like that."

"Good," he smiled. "Alright, then, um… I'll stop by late morning… or early afternoon," he laughed.

"Okay. I'll see you then," she stared at him as he turned away until the doors shut, obstructing her view.

Garrus groaned as he rolled his head forward, slowly waking up. He started to stretch and felt soft skin across his arm, prompting him to wrap his arm around the body in front of him. He heard a whine and felt her move against him. This seemed to be a routine that was starting for them and he was loving it.

"Why are you waking me up?" she whispered.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Bullshit…" she groaned.

He waited for her to finish turning over before he spoke, "I really didn't. But I won't say that I'm disappointed you are awake." She was barely awake, and he could tell she was feeling hungover. He looked past her and saw her dress delicately laid over the couch. He had been very careful not to damage it the night before, though he had required her assistance with part of it; human clothes were still a little foreign to him. "You can go back to sleep," he said pushing hair out of her face; his talons lightly grazing her skin. He could still see some of the silver strands and wondered how they were attached or if they were painted.

"No… no, it's fine. I just… need some water… and some meds."

"There is some water on the table, I'll get it for you."

"Look in the desk for the meds. It's a white bottle."

He retrieved the items and sat on the bed, handing them to her. She sat up, holding the sheet to herself as she sipped the water and swallowed the pills. Stretching out in his previous spot, he ran his talons up and down her back, giving her a few minutes of silence. She moaned as the points pressed her back.

"Do you want to do anything today?" Garrus asked quietly.

"Hmmm…" she cuddled closer to him, "I have a few ideas."

"As flattered as I am, I meant outside of this room," he pressed his head to hers. "Let me take you out on a date." He wrapped an arm around her, his hand resting on her hip.

She smiled but concern was evident on her face, "You sure that's a good idea?"

"What do you mean?"

"We still haven't told John. What if he is out and he sees us?"

"I can try and tell him now but I'm worried that we won't get another chance. But it's up to you."

She sheepishly smiled, blushing, "Is it bad that I want to enjoy this a little longer? At least right now I can pretend that he will be happy about it."

"If you're positive you want that, we'll wait another day. Shouldn't hurt."

Tali held her head, whimpering. Everyone was approved for personal leave but she was still trying to work. It was a bad idea but it had been years since she had taken an extended leave from working. Slouching against the wall, she thought about her previous night. Hanging out with Jack and Kasumi was a lot of fun and she was relieved to be able to make friends on the ship. She had been positive she wouldn't since she was on a Cerberus ship.

And what had happened with John? It was so confusing, she almost wasn't sure it had been real. Maybe she had dreamed it? He was with Miranda but was he with Miranda? She couldn't be sure but if there was any chance for her, she would take it.

A light knocking came from the doorway. "John!" she tried to jump to her feet but her foot slipped, causing her to thud back down on her ass.

"Hey, hey, slow down," he chuckled, "Let me help you."

She froze, staring at his hand. As she accepted his help, she stood and her mind already wandered; she wasn't sure if it was her imagination but it seemed like his hand lingered a second longer than it would for anyone else. Maybe he had forgiven her?

"Thanks for letting me see you today."

"Of course… Why… Why wouldn't I?"

He ignored her question, "Do you want to go get something to eat? Drink?"

The sound of drinks made her a little light-headed from the memory. "If you want to get anything, I guess. I'm not feeling up to it right now."

"Heh, okay," he chuckled. "I did want to spend time catching up but I wanted to ask you something that you might know first. Then we'll move on to the last two years. Is that okay?"

"Of course," she gripped her fingers a little tighter to keep them from shaking. What was it going to be? Perhaps he was upset with her still?

"Do you know of anything between Garrus and Jane?"

The question threw her for a loop. Whatever questions had been running over in her mind, that was not one of them. "What?"

"Sorry, I know it is kind of out there but with a few things from last night… are they dating? Or something like that, that I don't know about? You would tell me right? Or do you at least think I deserve to know?"

She couldn't tell him what he wanted to hear. "John, I wish I could tell you but I don't know for sure. What I can say is that it was suspected… you know… before but Jane and I don't talk as much as we used to… I'm afraid I'm at fault for that. I do think you deserve to know but I'm not the one to ask."

"I get that… I haven't been there for her like I should either. I just can't help but feel like they are hiding something from me. I ran into Alenko last night and with what he said… I just… I don't know."

"Well, Alenko never was the biggest fan of Garrus. He could just be exaggerating. But, if he wasn't… would it be such a bad thing if they were together?"

John wrinkled his nose and frowned. "I don't like the idea of it."

Tali thought about pushing him on the topic and having him talk through it, but he didn't seem too open to the idea and she didn't want to ruin their conversation since he finally came to her. It was selfish, she knew but maybe it was okay to be selfish every once in a while.

He shook his head at the ground, "Anyway, I'm sorry that I've been very rude to you. You didn't – don't – deserve it."

"No, John, please… I'm sorry. I deserve it all. I'm so sorry." John took her hands and in the process took away Tali's breath.

"Still… I haven't been around for anyone. I held on to a lot of resentment when I lost Jane and then you." She looked away from him but he picked up her hand. "I don't hold any of that against you. You had no obligation to me."

"But I did, John. I shouldn't have… I wish – "

He stopped her, "You don't have to blame yourself. Things worked out the way they needed to. If I hadn't been at the low point I was, they wouldn't have found me. I wouldn't have been recruited and wouldn't have been able to have a hand in Jane's life

Even getting back I don't feel like I am really here. Everything has been moving so quickly and I just got used to life without Jane in it. Without a lot of people in it… I just

"How about we just move on? Forgive and forget?"

I hope you don't mean forget everything… she thought, "I suppose so."

"So, what kind of research have you been doing for the Flotilla? I may not understand a quarter of it but I'm willing to try."

Jane sipped her tea, studying the turian across from her. Garrus had recommended a new one for her that she was enjoying a lot more than she expected. "So you really don't have a preference for what we do?"

He shook his head, "I just wanted to spend some time with you away from the ship. This may be our last chance for a while."

She nodded as she leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs. "I hope it isn't."

Garrus grinned, "I'll tell John tonight. So at least we won't have to be sneaking around after this. I want to say it to him one on one."

Jane looked at him a little surprised but kept her mouth shut. "If that's what you want."

"Thank you for not trying to be all 'Commander – type' on this."

She exhaled as her mouth dropped open, "What? I am not controlling!"

"Yeah but you always want a hand in things," he smirked.

The waiter, a young drell, came by and cleared their plates. Jane waited for him to leave before reaching for the screen to pay but Garrus held her hand and took care of it with his free hand. He gave her a kiss on her fingers before letting go. She glared at him, "You know I do have more funds than I need from our missions and what the Illusive Man has dropped. It makes more sense for me to pay for it."

"I know, but I told you… I was taking you out. Not the Illusive Man," he grinned at her, "Also, what did we just talk about? Always wanting a hand in things…" He laughed at her slightly annoyed reaction. "So what do you want to do next?"

"I don't know. I'm kind of up for anything. Let me think…"

Garrus stood and held his hand out, "Let's take a walk while you think about."

Jane smiled and accepted his help, getting up. She enjoyed not feeling like she had to be independent constantly. As they walked, she felt his hand slide across her back and rest on her hip, prompting her to respond in kind.

Across the restaurant, a woman stared at the human-turian couple. "No way…"

"What?" the human that sat with her mumbled between bites of food.

"That is Shepard and Vakarian. And they're together!"

"So?" he scoffed.

"Don't you see? There were only hearsay rumors about the two of them before. I can expose their real relationship! Broadcast it!" she exclaimed grabbing the hovercam sitting between them.

"Khalisah, listen to me, that's stooping to bottom of the barrel ratings. It's one thing to ask hard questions but to put effort into a gossip channel? You might as well throw your career away."

"You know I don't like it when people call me by my first name, not even you."

He rolled his eyes, "Fine. Jilani… Just please, leave them alone. You're going to get in trouble."

"Trouble with who? Them?"

"How about the Citadel? C-Sec? You know that privacy laws are strict. That's why we can only stand and ask for interviews. If we follow we can be accused of harassment."

"Don't preach to me," she snapped.

"Then don't make a dumb choice. Come on, let them go and you can press them for information later."

"No! We both know she wouldn't give me a second of her time. I've made politicians, generals, and charity leaders crack under pressure. She will not get off that easy."

"I'm not going to help you."

She glared at her friend, "Fine! I'll do it myself. Without you!" She picked up the camera and hustled through the restaurant trying to find her targets again. The reporter heard her friend call out to her something about covering the check but this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. After nearly running down the stairs, she paused to look around. The paths were bustling with activity from the influx of visitors for the Gala. For a moment, she thought she had lost them until there was a flash of blond hair near turian fringe. "Got ya!"

She began to tail them, keeping a safe distance but enough to still see where they were going. For the moment, it seemed like they were just strolling, heading nowhere in particular. Jilani was hoping they would stop soon; the camera was starting to weigh her down. There had been a moment where she considered launching it to record the hunt but thought it might draw too much attention.

Finally, they veered off towards a less populated area. They stopped at the canals and leaned on the railing looking out over the water. Vakarian's arm was still around Shepard but with the exception of a little hand holding there was nothing new. Jilani set her hovercam down and opened her omni-tool for the remote controls. She moved to an upper deck, her camera following her until she directed it to move down slightly and zoom.

"Come on, come on, give me something I can work with." Shepard was facing him now and Jilani could see that they were exchanging words but her camera wasn't able to pick up sound without getting closer. The couple moved. "Yes, yes, this is it!"

Joker rocked in his chair, draping his arm above his head, pushing the brim of his hat down over his eyes as he tapped the beer bottle with his finger nails. He thought about asking someone to hang out with him but he hated being the buzzkill to someone else's plans. Normally Jane would already be hanging out with him but now she was stealing moments alone with Garrus. He could probably hold that against her, if he wanted, but he knew Garrus made her happy and that's what he wanted for her too. He let out an audible sigh.

"Should I call someone up for you?" EDI inquired.

"What? Why?" Joker barely moved. EDI's unannounced interruptions were becoming a norm that to which he had become accustomed.

"I thought you might like company."

Joker was quiet for a moment, sipping his beer, "Okay, this isn't funny. Is there an implant or something in my brain?"

"Of course not. There is no reason for you to have an implant since you are not biotic and you did not seem to be a threat to any potential plans for the Illusive Man."

He sat quietly for a moment. "I don't know if I should be offended by that or not."

"Do humans often find the truth offensive?"

"I mean… I guess. Not everyone wants to hear the truth. Or at least not the full truth. But what I just said was more of a joke."

"Is that why John Shepard is questioning others on the ship about the relationship status between Vakarian and Shepard?"

Joker finally moved; only turning his head to stare at the blue orb, "How do you know about that?"

"I can hear conversations in most areas of the ship."

"Right, I forgot about that…" he let his voice drift off. "I can't really speak for John, but there's a good chance that's the case." When EDI didn't immediately come back with a retort he hummed in concern. "Why did you pick him to ask about?"

"There is a broadcast concerning the relationship between Shepard and Vakarian."

"What?!" He nearly choked on his beer.

"It is from a reporter by the name of Khalisah al-Jilani. Shepard and this reporter have had run-ins before and it seems it has been less than good interactions. From the information I have gathered, I believe al-Jilani holds a grudge against Shepard, wanting to 'take her down a peg' to use a human colloquialism. Does she expect that exposing Shepard's relationship would help her achieve that?"

"Maybe," Joker said. His hand hovered over the notification of the report but he wasn't ready to watch it yet. "There have been rumors about those two for a while but nothing confirmed. Exposing hidden relationships can sometimes turn people against you. And for Shepard – who has been suspected dead for two years – this could alienate some people from her. For some more prejudiced fans this might turn them completely against Jane."

"Wouldn't her previous association with other species have already accomplished that?"

"For some, yes, but every person has different limits. Different prejudices…" He sighed, "How bad is this?"

"I do not believe I understand an appropriate context for comparison."

He took a deep breath and played the vid.

The screen opened on the reporter, "Kalisah bint Sinan Al-Jilani here, bringing you a special exposé concerning a human everyone has an interest in. Spectre Jane Shepard, Savior of the Citadel," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "who was considered killed in action barely three months ago is not only alive but confirming a rumor that was once considered a mere fantasy contrived by fans. You may be asking, 'but which rumor has been confirmed?' Many of you may have watched the events of the gala last night and might have seen a few glimpses of Shepard cutting it up on the dancefloor." The screen changed between vids of Shepard dancing with Kai Leng, Thane, Kaidan, and Garrus, as she spoke, "Two of these individuals we all recognize from her first crew, Kaidan Alenko and Garrus Vakarian. The other two we do not have names for but I do have it on good authority that the drell is also a part of Shepard's new crew.

"The rumor that I will be revealing tonight: Shepard fraternizes with her own crew members. Fact!" The screen used older images of Jane with other crew members to emphasize the point. "But who could it be? Although our unnamed human is dark and mysterious and there CERTAINLY seemed to be some history between the two, he is not our concern today. There are many people – this reporter included – who seriously considered the secret lover to be Lieutenant Alenko. He was the logical choice: served with Shepard the longest of the crew, human, biotic, handsome, but sources tell me that lately the two have been on the outs and the proof I have does not include him.

"Which brings us to our final two: a turian and a drell. No matter who the selection is, it seems that our beloved commander has a bit of a xenophilia side to her. Now, the footage I have isn't very long because security thinks that some individuals are more entitled to public areas than the average person; that they are above being scrutinized."

The image changed to the footage she had been playing up. Shepard and a turian (to Joker it was clear this was Garrus) leaned on the railing looking out over the water. The turian had an arm around her, his talons stroking her hip and upper leg. Jane turned in his arms, wrapping hers around his waist. The camera moved to the side, going closer to the couple. He could see that Jane was talking but the video didn't have any sound. As the camera moved towards Garrus's profile, Jane put her hand on his face; obscuring the scar Joker knew to be there. The image froze on their kiss.

"Ohhhh fuck…" Joker mumbled to himself.

"Mr. Moreau," EDI interrupted and minimized the screen.

"Shh," he hushed the AI, opening the report again.

"Might I recommend you – " EDI tried again.

"Mute. Don't interrupt again."

Al-Jilani's image appeared on the screen as well but only on the bottom corner of the screen, clearly wanting to feature the image as long as she could. "Although the camera was removed before I could clearly identify the turian one hundred percent, this reporter is certain he could be none other than Garrus Vakarian. Is this a relationship that Shepard has been hiding for years? Or is this just how she runs her ship and he is the next notch on her bedpost? One thing is for sure, she has been lying to the public. This has been Sinan Al-Jilani brining you the truth. Thank you and good night."

"Jesus Christ… this woman is out to get them," Joker mumbled mostly to himself but also to EDI. He heard a voice behind him – a man's voice.

"So, it's true then," John muttered.

Joker froze. He slowly turned in his chair to see John in the doorway, his arms crossed, hard frown formed on his mouth.

"John…"

"They've been lying to me. You have been lying to me. How long have you known?" He held his hand up, "You know what? Nevermind. I'll just find them."

Joker watched him leave, knowing he wouldn't be able to catch John. "Well, that could have gone better. Why didn't you stop me EDI?!" Joker snapped. Only silence answered him. "Hello? You ignoring me now?" More silence. "Unmute. You can respond."

"I attempted to close the window but you stopped me."

"Yeah… I know. You were able to answer me the first time I said something to you, right? You were just messing with me?"

EDI paused, "Yes, but I wanted to make a point."

Joker rolled his eyes.

John was fuming. How could they do this? How could they keep this from him? Why would Garrus betray him like this? He was vaguely aware of people acknowledging him as he made his way through the ship but he wasn't paying any attention to what was around him. It wasn't until someone stepped in front of him that he stopped. "Miranda," he snapped, "excuse me." He tried to step around her.

"John, are you feeling alright? You don't look well."

"I'm fine. Just need to let off some steam."

"Did something happen?"

He tried to force a smile, "No," he stepped around her and grumbled, "but something is about to." The door opened to the main battery. He didn't see his target. "Garrus? You in here?" he shouted. "EDI! Where is he?"

EDI's voice came overhead, "Vakarian is in the gym."

John grumbled out a thanks as he turned on his heel and headed for the elevator. Miranda watched him leave, wondering if she should follow or stay out of whatever he was about to do. She decided to follow but sacrificed time in waiting for the elevator after him. The air seemed to vibrate with his anger, she didn't want to be in a cramped space with him.

John paced in the elevator, clenching his fists as it descended. He wanted to hit something. Raising his fist, he clenched it harder before deciding to save it for Garrus. Finally, it arrived on the correct level and he tried to rush out before the doors had fully opened. As doors to the gym opened, he saw a few people working out in there before zeroing in on the turian.

"Garrus!"

The turian looked up at the call of his name and saw John stomping towards him. Something was definitely bothering his friend, "John, everything alright? Need to burn off some steam."

"You could say that," John closed the distance. He balled up his fist and slammed it into the side of the turian's face throwing almost his entire weight behind the punch. Garrus went to the ground with a heavy thud and John had to take a step to keep from following. He stood over his best friend, shouting, "HOW COULD YOU! YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Garrus was attempting to get back up and was on his knees when he was met with John's other fist. "I TRUSTED YOU!"

Garrus rolled away so he could stand again. His mandibles were throbbing in pain. Already, the other people in the gym had started to gather and the door was starting to open and close more frequently, eventually staying open from the near constant flow of witnesses. Some were talking amongst themselves as to who should try to break it up but Garrus waved them down; he knew what this was about. "John, listen –" he deflected a blow but missed the other one coming in.

"No! How could you, Garrus?! I trusted you to watch out for her and instead you start SLEEPING WITH HER?!" He tried to punch the turian again but his blows were deflected again, which only made him angrier. He stalked around his friend, his arms by his side with every muscle tense. "That's my sister!" He pointed in the general direction of up, trying to indicate where her cabin was but unsure if he was even correctly pointing.

"John, I know you're angry, but I did want to speak with you about – "

He wasn't finished yelling. The same things were going through his head but his anger wasn't finished yet. "I wanted you to keep an eye on her! Be a friend to her! She was vulnerable! And alone! You knew ALL of that!" He charged and tackled.

Garrus hit the ground again. He blocked some of the hits but received just as many; though it didn't matter, he wasn't going to retaliate. He had insulted his friend. Lied to him, betrayed his trust. Garrus kind of hated himself too.

"She was still dealing with being dead for two years and instead of comforting her like a friend you get into bed with her!"

"It wasn't like that!" Garrus quickly said, trying to get a few words in.

"You son of a bitch! How can you call yourself my friend?!" He brought his arm back for a devastating blow but was caught and pulled back by someone. He struggled against the arms that restrained him, still focused on Garrus.

"Come on, man, she wouldn't want you acting like this," Jacob said, struggling to hold John back even with the help of Thane.

Garrus rolled on his side and spat out blood but could still feel some dripping down his mandible and jaw. He stared at the ground, taking a deep breath to ready himself for a longer argument. There was a larger crowd now; everyone had jumped into the elevator as soon as they heard. There were several whispers, many covering their mouths in shock and to hide their whispers. Garrus saw Jack and Kasumi watching with keen interest, Miranda was in the circle watching John being held back by Jacob and Thane; he assumed she had ordered them to, even Grunt was standing in the crowd and it looked like he was chuckling. Garrus was on his feet now and getting ready to tell Thane and Jacob that it was okay when he heard a familiar voice boom out into the room.

"What the FUCK is going on here?!" Jane said storming into the room. She looked between John and Garrus and instantly knew what this was about. "Everyone get out. GET OUT!" She didn't want her dirty laundry on display more than it already was but John didn't seem to care. She saw Jacob and Thane look at each other then her but she nodded for them to let John go.

He shrugged off his 'restraints' without looking at them. John stared at Jane until he looked around the room and his eyes fell on Garrus. He rushed at the turian again, pulling his fist back. Garrus put his forearms up to defend himself but never felt the blow. Moving his arms out of the way he saw John frozen in place, blue biotic energy flowing around him.

"How could you, Jane?" John yelled at her, unable to look in her direction. "How long were you planning on keeping me in the dark?!" He looked directly at Garrus – the only one he could clearly see – and said, "And you! Did you convince her not to tell me so you could take advantage of her longer? Would you move on when you got bored? I guess with me not knowing, you didn't have to worry about any backlash!"

Garrus normally didn't like yelling, it didn't work as well for turians because their volume usually turned to growls and went more into their subharmonics; it made getting a point across to a human slightly more difficult. "John, it wasn't like that, I swear! I would die for her! I have loved her since the first Normandy. I love her!"

Everyone in the room froze; the ones trickling out of the gym (taking exceptionally longer than it should have) paused, Jane released John from the biotic hold and stared at Garrus. She wasn't sure what it was that shocked her, she had heard it before but it seemed so honest, so real. For him to admit it in front of everyone and not within their hidden world made it mean something more. The silence hung around them until the whispers started up again, grabbing the attention of Shepard and she shot them a look, snapped her fingers, and pointed to the door again. With her snap, the air crackled like lightning with biotic energy. Now, they rushed out of the room.

John took a step back. He clenched his jaw as he looked away from them. He heard the door (finally) shut after the last person. Shaking his head he spoke mostly to the ground, "Why did you keep this from me? Both of you," he looked at them. "Garrus, you're my best friend. Jane, you're my little sister. Why couldn't either of you just tell me?"

"John, we – " Jane had moved between the men and wanted to explain but was cut off when Garrus lightly pushed her aside so he could look at John as if they were having a one on one conversation. She didn't argue but looked at him with concern as his blue blood dripped from his mandible.

"John," Garrus started, he waited until the human was looking at him, "I'm sorry I didn't come to you before. If I could have, I would have asked you first before anything happened. But the way it happened was unexpected and… quickly. After the fact, I wanted to speak to you in person. I'm sorry."

John looked between the two of them. "I don't want to hear anymore."

Jane was almost a little annoyed with her brother, "John, we have been trying to tell you!"

He waved her off, "Not now… I just need some time to process this. I don't want to look at either of you." He walked past them and out of the gym. There was a part of him that enjoyed being dramatic but he quickly realized that there was nowhere for him to cool off. He could go to his quarters but being alone would make him more frustrated. Joker was out of the question since he had known about Jane and Garrus. He wanted to get off the ship but, again, being alone wasn't ideal and if he ran into the wrong people on the Citadel it wouldn't end well.

Jane stared at Garrus. He looked so distraught. Deciding against asking him anything, she took one of his hands and kissed it. "Let's get you to med-bay."

"Jane, I'm fine." At her pleading look, he sighed. Looking down, he saw some of his drying blood on the floor and felt more running along a mandible. "Fine, let's go."

Before John realized it, he was on the engineering deck. He walked up to Tali, "Did you know?"

She jumped, "John, I didn't hear you!" she exclaimed nervously. They had only begun talking again but he seemed so upset now. Did she do something wrong? "Um… I'm sorry, did I know what?"

"About Jane and Garrus," he gritted out the words. "I know we just talked about it but you didn't know, right? Please tell me. You wouldn't lie to me, right?"

"Did something happen between them?" she asked worried.

"I guess you could say that," he spat. He looked at her faceplate and although he couldn't really see her face, he believed that she didn't know anything that he was talking about; she was a bad liar even with hiding behind her suit. "They are… apparently… a couple…"

"They're… oh… Oh!" They stood in silence for a moment. She didn't know exactly what to say. She was happy for Jane but it was obvious that John wasn't okay with the development now that it had come to the surface. "So, how did you find out?"

"Well, he didn't exactly deny it when I asked him!" he grumbled, running a hand through his hair and wincing. He looked at his hand and hid it behind his back. "But… initially… Kaidan told me."

"So when you said Kaidan said something to you… what exactly did he say?"

"He said that Jane and Garrus were sneaking around behind my back. I thought he was just bitter about Jane rejecting him and then being back but he was right. He told me that he had seen them together. I didn't believe Kaidan because I trusted them. I trusted them!" He punched the wall for a quick moment before collapsing against it to sit on the floor.

Tali rubbed the joints on her fingers nervously. Kneeling in front of him, she rested her fingers on her knee. "John, please don't take this the wrong way but… Why is it such a bad thing if they were dating?"

"Because they shouldn't be!"

Her nervous fidgeting stopped, "Tell me why."

"Because!"

"Why?"

"Because… I don't want him dating her." Shit… he cursed himself wishing he actually had a reason.

"Is it…" she didn't know how to come out and ask her question but there could be no dancing around the issue. "Is it because he's a turian?"

"What?! God, no!" He wanted to argue, lash out, something but decided against it. Maybe he was acting in a way that would give the impression he was a speciest. "I want Jane to be happy. And Garrus is my best friend I want him to be happy too it's just… I never thought it would be the two of them together. You know? Well maybe you wouldn't. I think it's a brother thing. Or maybe a human thing. If they are together then they are doing things," he grimaced with a little shudder, "Things I don't want to know about or even have the idea that my friend and my sister would be doing those things – let alone together."

"John," she moved to sit next to him, "I know you don't want to hear it but it's perfectly normal for them to want to be together and to do those things. Can you really say you are surprised? Think about how similar they are and what they have experienced together." She took a deep breath to prepare herself for what she wanted to say next. "I know you aren't going to like this but I think they will be great together. Don't humans have the romanticized idea of 'the one'? In a way turians do and I think they could be it for each other."

John studied her. "What if they don't work out? If their relationship ends on bad terms then my family and my best friend will hate each other and I will be stuck in the middle."

"Do you think they haven't considered that? What if they were trying to talk to you about that?" When he didn't respond she continued. "They are both mature adults and I think they will be able to handle the situation appropriately if the need should arise."

John took a deep breath and looked at her, "But you don't think it would ever come to that, do you?"

"No, John. I think they are it for each other."

John sighed, putting his back against the wall he thudded his head against it for good measure. He looked down at his hands, mulling over his recent actions. He ran his thumb over his bleeding knuckles. Scraped and bruised from Garrus's face.

Tali looked down at his movement and reached for his hands, "John! What happened to your hands?!"

"Uh… Garrus's face."

"Come on, you need to get those cleaned up." She stood, waiting for him to do the same. Tali stomped her foot slightly when he didn't move. Eventually, John stood and walked with her to the elevator. She watched him get lost in his own thoughts and touched his arm, bringing him back to her. He tapped her hand with his fingers, giving a weak smile.

They moved through the ship in silence making their way to med-bay. As the door opened, John froze. Garrus was sitting on one of the beds with standing near him, their backs facing the door. Chakwas stood in front of Garrus, addressing the wounds to his face. John tried to back out but heard the scolding voice that brought him back to being a kid in trouble.

"John," Chakwas said, "You will not go anywhere except on one of these beds so I can look at you."

"I'll just come back…" as he said the words Garrus and Jane turned to look at him but Chakwas turned Garrus's face back to her.

"From seeing the damage to Garrus's face here, I can only imagine what your hands look like. Now… Sit!"