Mass Effect 1. Stolen

**A/N:** This is the sequel to "Just Right". If you haven't read it, I strongly suggest that you at least skim through it, there are a few things that you may not understand if you don't. Please also note that "Just Right" is still being worked on to fix any errors. This fic for the most part has been looked over by a beta.

This fic takes place a year after "Just Right". Since BioWare has not released any info on ME3 (at the time this was written ME2 has only been out for about a month), this is a what-if fic. Anything that I have put in here is purely my speculations. In this fic, the only thing that has happened since the end of ME2 is that they have defeated the Reapers. Garrus and Shepard, for the most part is referred to as Commander or Jane now, are trying to live a simple life that just seems a little too dull for them, but things aren't always that easy.

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**Once Again  
Chapter 1**

**Stolen**

The weather on the Presidium almost never changed. It always felt like spring to Commander Jane Shepard-Vakarian. The crystal clear water surrounded by luscious green gardens shone beautifully beneath the simulated morning sky. She was not sure how, but they were even able to simulate a light breeze. It was truly an amazing place, but for Jane there was no substitute for the real thing. She missed the different climates, from the freezing cold environment on Noveria covering everything in snow to the blistering hot summers on Palaven.

She sighed as she looked down at the perfect gray walkways that looped and arched around the silent scenery from her apartment window, to be more specific, _their_ apartment window. Garrus was down at C-Sec checking up on Thane's son Kolyat. Thane was escorting a group of dignitaries from the Citadel through a more hostile part of space and had asked if they could keep an eye on his son while he was away. She liked it that their friend had found a new line of work that was more honorable. Thane seemed to like the work as well. He could use his skills as an ex-assassin to make sure that the people he escorted were kept safe.

Jane, on the other hand, was getting restless. It had been a few months since they had finally defeated the remaining Reapers. Although life on the Presidium was not bad, it did have a very bland feeling. She knew Garrus was beginning to feel the same. The Council had not sent either of them on a mission since their return, it was not like one would leave the other for a solo mission anyway, and Jane was beginning to wonder if they where just keeping them here for some odd reason. Maybe it was to satisfy their own need to show her off, like some trophy you kept in pristine condition in some glass case, only taking it out once in a while to dust it off. Or maybe, it was to keep her from getting into anymore "trouble" as they would call it. What ever it was, she did not care. She was just itching to get off this hunk of metal. She wanted it to be running around the galaxy, to see things for the pleasure of it instead of work. She still needed a little more action, more adventure. This place was just so damn boring to her. Not that having a permanent place to call home was not nice and all; she just did not want to sit around all day doing nothing.

Sighing, she stepped away from the window and picked up her omni tool. It flicker to life with a touch and she tapped at it dully. _Oh well, might as well start another game of mahjong until Garrus gets back._ At least their one-year anniversary was coming up soon and they would be making a trip to Virmire. They had agreed that every year they would go back there to honor Ashley's death by letting her spirit know how they were doing. At the moment, it was the only thing she was really looking forward to and she knew that Garrus felt the same.

__

Garrus inhaled a deep breath of the warm afternoon air. It felt good to feel real ground under his feet again. Not that he did not enjoy working on ships but there was just something about being cooped up on a ship too long that got to him. He wondered if it felt the same for Jane. She had grown up with her parents being in space all the time. What was it like? Had she even been to her home planet Earth? The water splashed over his ankles and pulled the sand toward the open water. Soft and tiny arms encircled his waist breaking into his thoughts. He purred in answer to her touch.

"Are you going to have me make camp all by myself while you go off to have fun without me?" Jane's hands fiddled with the bottom hem of his shirt.

The tent was already set up so Jane was just teasing him. There was not much for them to do except enjoy the temperate weather of Virmire. After Thane had returned, Joker was more than pleased to take them to the sparsely populated planet. Grunt was on his way back for a visit to Tuchanka anyway and it was easy enough to drop them off for a few days. Only some of the crew stayed with the Normandy. It mostly ran escort for special dignitaries or those who could afford an ear, or money, to the Council now that the Reaper threat was exterminated.

"Maybe," Garrus answered looking down at Jane with a mischievous look in his eyes. She giggled in return.

He had never seen what humans wore on Earth, just those who traveled or lived on colonies, so their fashion was very new to him. Jane must have really liked Earth fashion for a spacer. She had a collection of clothing he had never seen other humans wear in their closet at home. Today she was in something he had never seen before. The fabric was covered with floral designs in bright blues and greens, and it only covered her high proud breasts and her round bottom. It slightly reminded him of the things she wore under her clothing, but it had a much different feel to it. The undergarments she had worn where very see through and, to be frank, arousing. If he had never seen her in clothing like that he would have sworn that she was wearing some now. It was nowhere near being as see through, quite the opposite actually, but it still left nothing to the imagination.

Jane let go of his waist and winked at him before she ran strait into the water without so much as shedding a single piece of clothing. _What is she doing?_ She dove under the water and came up with very wet, stringy hair. It was the only thing Garrus did not quite understand about their species. Their hair looked so different when wet. After discarding his clothing he walked slowly toward her form, which was nothing but her head bobbing above the water. She was grinning strangely at him.

"Why are you wearing those things in the water?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

She cocked her head to the side quizzically. "You don't have swimwear on Palaven?"

"Uh… what's swimwear?" Jane laughed lightly and pointed at her clothing. "Oh… um, no."

"So, do you all just swim naked together then?"

If Garrus could blush, he would have. "I, uh, we don't normally learn to swim with the opposite sex. There isn't really any reason to swim unless one has too."

"Oh." Jane looked a little surprised. "It was one of the only things we did when I would visit my grandfather. Not much too really do in California except for maybe shopping and making trouble.

What was California? _Must be a place on Earth._ "So you _have_ been to Earth."

She nodded her head. "Just because I grew up in space doesn't mean my parents didn't always try to find excuses to get rid of me now and then. I spent almost two months every year until I joined the military on Earth with my grandfather. I would always go with the neighbor's kids down to the beach and we would go swimming and play volleyball."

Garrus was not sure what "volleyball" was and it probably did not matter either. It just felt good being alone with Jane away from everyone else. They swam together for a while in silence. Garrus could not help but watch how the water and sunlight sparkled across Jane's sculpted body. They did not speak much, just swam and enjoyed the warm sun and tepid water. He had never really thought of swimming as a pass time before this. Jane continued to amaze him with new things almost every day. It was like learning to live again after all the pain he had felt for so many years, he did not want it to end. After about half an hour, Jane called it quits. Saying if she stayed in the water any longer she would turn into a prune, what ever that was.

The whole day felt like he was dreaming. The air was so quite he would have sworn he could hear the core of the planet shifting around on its axis. He could hear the waves crashing and receding against the beaches. Animals calling out with happiness, even the plants gave off a faint aura of joy.

They shared a lunch on the sand and watched the clouds drift by. Jane pointing out that if he looked really closely he would be able to see the clouds take on different shapes. He did not really understand, but it felt nice just lying on the ground with Jane curled up next to him in her tiny clothing. He knew that if they both were not so antsy about seeing the galaxy, even when they had seen quite a bit of it already, he would want to stay here forever; just like they were now.

___

Nights on Virmire were only slightly cooler than the nights on Palaven. With Jane in his arms and blankets surrounding them, it was not too bad. Garrus was so deeply asleep he never heard them coming. There was a violent ripping sound as the material of the tent was torn away and by the time he had his eyes open all he could see was the butt of a very large shotgun coming down onto his face.

___

Garrus finally came to amidst the wreckage of their camp. He felt like his head had been cracked open by the blow from the shotgun and rubbed the spot with a groan. Whoever they were, they had torn the place apart. Automatically, Garrus reached to his right to wake up his beloved only to find… nothing. She was not there. Someone had taken her from him. Her spot was cold and ruffled. Garrus panicked. Grabbing his omni tool, he punched it angrily. Hoping the Normandy was close enough to pick up the signal. Someone had taken his wife, and he was going to get her back and make them pay.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. I will upload new chapters as they are finished being refined.


	2. Searching

**A/N:** Here we go, chapter 2. Note, Garrus is starting to become less like himself. It's for a reason, please don't be upset if he seems a little out of character. Not much really to say about this chapter. Enjoy.

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**Chapter 2**

**Searching**

It felt cold. Jane struggled to understand why her brain felt so sluggish. _Maybe Garrus got up to make breakfast._ She tried to curl up and snuggle into his spot in the makeshift bed. Something was horribly wrong though. _What the hell? I can't move!_ She struggled hard. Nothing happened. It was not like she was dead; she knew what that felt like. There was no awareness when you were dead. She strained with every fiber of her being to make some part of her body work.

Whispers. She could hear someone speaking. Not to her, there were multiple voices. She willed her ears to hear what the where saying.

"… it ready?… can't… make mistakes."

"… first subject… survive… will work…"

"… do it…"

What were they doing to her? She could not tell if the voices were human. Defiantly not Turian though, there was no distinct flanging in the voices. There were at least two, maybe three, people in the same room with her. She lost the ability to hear and her conscious sunk back into itself. One thing was for sure, there was no pain. Jane sighed. At least there was no pain.

___

"Did you find anything?" Garrus asked impatiently. Miranda visibly sighed.

"Not since the last time you asked five minutes ago."

The Normandy had arrived within the hour from when Garrus sent his message. Miranda and Legion where studying the wreckage for clues while Garrus paced back and forth agitated. Tali placed a hand on his shoulder breaking his concentration and made him look at her bright eyes that shone through her helmet.

"Don't worry, Garrus. We will find her."

Legion suddenly froze, his eye twitching up and down quickly. "EDI wishes to tell you that Council has finally reviewed the Mass Relay entry usage. There was only one other ship to pass though this Relay."

Garrus's mandible flared out angrily. "Do they know who it was?"

"No. The ship that passed through was only a freighter. The heading logged was to the Omega Nebula."

Everyone exchanged uncomfortable glances. _Damn it. I thought I was done with that dirty little shit-hole._

____  
_

Afterlife was as filthy as ever. The lights flashing rapidly and the Asari whores swaying their tiny bodies on the tables as the men looked hungrily at them. Garrus hated this place. It was too full of corruption and crime. Aria was up on her pedestal like always. Her Turian bodyguards looked at him suspiciously as he walked right up to her.

"Well, hello there Archangel, I didn't think I'd ever see you again." A cruel smile laced her over her blue lips. He reached over and grabbed the collar of her shirt threatening to lift her up off the ground.

"Where the fuck is she Aria?! And don't call me by that name."

There was a sudden commotion as there was a fumbling of weapons from the bodyguards.

"I wouldn't do that if I where you." All the guards turned to look at Miranda, Jacob, Tali, Legion, Grunt, and Jack. They all had their weapons already trained on them.

"I'd listen to the cheerleader. I'm feeling rather blood thirsty today myself, you wouldn't want my finger to slip." Jack was finally getting along with everyone. Even Miranda. Sometimes she would still be that cold-hearted bitch they picked up from Purgatory but she had found a sense of belonging when she was with them.

Aria just looked calmly at Garrus and grinned. He wanted to snap her neck, but he needed information. "I don't know who you are talking about."

Garrus let her go in disgust. "Don't play with me, Aria. You know about all the "trading" that goes around on Omega."

She put a look of thoughtfulness on her face. "Hmmm… maybe. Nope. I don't think so. But go ahead and ask around if you want."

His hand was so fast she never noticed it. SMACK! The hit sent Aria stumbling into the sofa. She reached a hand up to her face and worked her jaw. Small scratch marks trailed down a cheek.

"If I find out you had something to do with this, you are a dead women Aria." He had wanted to bash her head in with his rifle, but it would not do him any good if he lost it over the stupid bitch. The little group trailed down from the pedestal. It was useless. They were not going to find anyone of Omega who would want to talk to them.

"Pssst!" Garrus almost found that odd noise humans made annoying. He glanced to his side. A young human male was leaning up against the wall.

"What." Garrus growled quietly.

"Hey, don't get your panties in a wad. The Patriarch would like to see you, said he has a few stories that you haven't heard yet." The young man uncrossed his arms and walked off toward the bar as if he had never spoken to Garrus at all.

___

Garrus entered the private entertaining room by himself. The others had agreed it would be a little inconspicuous if they all went to see the Patriarch. So they had all scattered off in different directions to "find" information on the freighter. Just like the rest of Afterlife the room was poorly lit, but at least it was not flashing every few seconds. The Patriarch was standing in the corner waiting for him. Somehow, he was able to get rid of all of the guest that normally loitered around the sitting room.

"Patriarch! It's been a long time. Have you any more good stories to share since the last time we met?" Garrus hoped that the room was not bugged, but there was a very good chance it was. The Krogan nodded his head once in confirmation. _Great, at least I'm good at puns._

"Many in fact. It would take much too long to relate for your short stay I'm sure. I just have a message for you. My krantt passed through here a few days ago and wanted to let you know that she will be visiting an old friend, someone by the name of Ice Queen." _Ice Queen?_

"Oh, uh, thank you very much. I am sure she is waiting for me to join her. Next time I promise to stay for at least one story." The Patriarch laughed. "Good bye, Patriarch, keep care of yourself."

"And you too, my good friend."

Garrus joined the rest and they headed back to the Normandy. There was an uncomfortable silence as they waiting for him to speak.

"Well?" Tali urged.

"He said that Jane went to see the Ice Queen." Everyone except Tali looked confused.

"Ice Queen? Who the fuck is that?" Jack asked. Tali and Garrus exchanged a look.

"It's a code for _where_ they took her, not who." They all waited for him to say something. "There was only ever one queen Jane and I ever came across."

"And that means what? I thought you said it was to where they took her." Garrus shot a glare at Jack. _Sometimes she just talks too much._

"That queen was the Rachni."

"So that means she was taken…"

"… to Noveria." Garrus finished and everyone finally understood why he was so quite. The only thing on Noveria was Binary Helix.


	3. Ice Cold

**A/N:** Sorry it took so long, here is the next chapter.

Not much to say, except I always wondered why they never really put much hand-to-hand combat in the ME games. It would totally be bad-ass, even if it was just scenes and you couldn't actually execute them.

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**Chapter 3**

**Ice Cold**

It was not hard to get to Noveria. A few calls to various contacts and a short trip to Illium and they where on their way. There was only one reasonable place they would have taken Jane on Noveria: Peak 15. Liara was wonderful enough to supply them with a few credentials to get them through security without raising any suspicion.

It was just as cold on Noveria as it was three years ago. Garrus hated the cold. It made it difficult to move. The wind was just as bad too. It pushed against the shuttle as they flew lower into the atmosphere. The only thing warm inside Garrus was his blood, hot with the need to kill something. He wanted his Jane back and he wanted the bastards who took her dead.

___

All Jane could do was lay there, trapped inside her body, only aware that she was still alive. She would drift in and out of sleep infrequently, distorting her sense of time. How long had it been? Days? Week's maybe? She could not tell. Sometimes, she would be able to hear people talking; it was like trying to listen through water, only being able to catch a few words here and there. None of it made any sense. She could not tell what they were doing but it was apparent that they were doing _something_ to her and that she might not be the only one.

She could feel her consciousness slowly lift and fall. Not really doing anything except willing herself to stay alive and fight whatever they were doing to her. It was a bit hard since she did not have control of her body. She twitched her face in a moment of disgust. The action felt almost like she had really done it. Her conscious sighed and she tried to flex her hands in and out of fists.

She froze. It was not just her imagination. She could really feel her body slowly coming back to her. Were they done with whatever sick experiment they were performing on her, or were they just getting lazy and forgot to keep her drugged. Staying still at the moment was her only thought. She was not sure if anyone was near enough to see her move but she was not taking any chances. Not until she had full control over her body. Slowly feeling crept through the rest of her body, her skin prickled like it had been used as a pincushion. The air was slightly cold but after being so close to Garrus all the time it was expected.

The sound of voices approaching made her blood run hot as adrenalin rushed through out her body. Creating a tingling sensation as it quickened the return of life to her nerve endings. At first they were only murmurs, as if they were talking through something, then a door hissed open and she heard two distinct male voices deep in conversation.

"I think she is ready for the final dose." One man said. He had a deep and scratchy voice.

"Good. They want her finished as soon as possible." This man had a much higher pitched voice, almost female like. She could hear the delicate clink of metal instruments being moved around and the scuffs of their shoes on the hard floor.

"It is a pity really." The squeaky voice got closer. "She was so beautiful once."

The other man huffed. "It doesn't really matter. She will be able to provide us with whatever we need."

"I don't know... I wish they would let me keep her. Too bad she went and destroyed her face." The voice was much too close for Jane's comfort.

A cold, fleshy hand scrapped across her right cheek. In less than a second her eyes were open and she had a hand around the man's wrist, crushing it so hard she could feel the bones starting to fracture. She was done being their guinea pig. They were not going to stick another needle in her and this man had just crossed the line by touching her face. The man's eyes were wide with shock and fear.

"Oh shit! She's awake! Quick, give her the injection!"

Jane was not going to let them touch her again. Before either of them could react she swung her foot up, a feat that would hurt most people if they were not as flexible as she was, and slammed her heel strait into the man's chin. The force was so brutal, even with being barefooted; she could feel his jaw give way with a wet snap. The man stumbled backward but Jane still had a hold of his wrist. Wrenching his arm to the side she planted her foot on his chest and pulled causing the man to try to scream past his ruined jaw as his shoulder came out of its socket. The man passed out and slumped to the ground like a puppet with is string cut.

"Nobody fucking touches my mark." Her voice was hoarse from disuse but the disgust laced in her voice got her point across.

She was so fixated on that man that had violated her by touching her mark that she had forgotten all about the second voice who, by this time, had recovered from the shock of her being awake. Taking advantage of Jane's inattention he lunged at her, stabbing her in the side with the syringe in his hand and hastily pushing the plunger down. Yelping in surprise from the sudden pain Jane swung around to confront her other abductor. The man was much smaller and not as muscular as his cohort, which was odd, considering this man's voice was so deep and strong. Fumbling a bit Jane managed to yank the syringe out of her side and tossed it to the floor. _So much for not letting them finish._ Spinning on her back Jane swung her legs into a roundhouse and into a sitting position catching the other man's head with the side of her foot causing his skull to fracture with a sickening crack, dropping him instantly to the floor.

The men were not able to set off any alarms so Jane had a moment to survey her surroundings. It was just like any other medical lab she had been in, except oddly bereft of any actual scientific equipment. Jumping down from the medical bed she started rummaging through the cabinets for some clothing completely ignoring the men at her feet. One of them would likely die from the injuries she had inflicted upon them, but at this point, she did not care. Whoever they were, they were experimenting on her and did not deserve her pity.

Her ransacking produced a heavy, if not plain, utility jump suit, and a pack of medigel to cover up slightly irritated and bleeding hole in her side where the needle had enter her skin. She striped out of the medical smock they had her in and began to dress in the unisex clothing but stopped briefly when she noticed the little symbol on the breast pocket. _What in the hell does Binary Helix want with me?_ It did not really matter, she would figure out what they wanted once she was out of here. Performing a quick search of the surrounding labs for weapons and/or any information on what they were doing to her turned up squat. The place was practically stripped and gutted which was odd if they were actively working on her. She had a feeling that the place was once abandoned and only recently reoccupied. Sighing in disappointment Jane walked towards the door wincing a little at the cold metal under her bare feet. Carefully, she peered out of one the windows that framed the electronic doors to the hallway leading toward what Jane assumed was the center of the complex. There were armed mercenaries everywhere. Taking a couple deep breaths to center herself she girded herself for what she was about to do. Thankfully, her parents' insisted she learn extensive hand-to-hand combat along with her sniping classes. _"_Better safe than sorry, Jane_." _Her mother had told her when she asked why she had to learn this. She snorted at that. _Yeah, I hate it how mothers are always right._

____  
_

Garrus, Miranda, and Jack entered the building that should have been deserted. After they had let the Rachni Queen go the place had been shut down, or so everyone thought. It was quite apparent that it was not deserted; there were human mercs everywhere.

"Are you sure she is going to be here?" Miranda whispered as they crouched behind a wall. He nodded.

"I can smell her." It was strange to notice that he could still smell her. It had bothered him deeply that her sent was gone for the past week and he had to sleep with her clothing just so that he could get a few hours of rest.

"Damn. I thought you said that those weird Rite effects would wear off after a while. It's been what? a year?" Jack never really thought about anyone except herself, it was shocking that she would remember that.

"Yeah, the initial effects. The, uh, need to…" Garrus coughed. "… it lessens if, well, blood isn't drawn." Talking to anyone about Turian mating was just plain weird. "Normally, Turians don't…" Garrus paused again, why was he having to describe this again? "… bite their mates, but they are much more aggressive, uh, during… It is just much safer for me to do that then accidentally break something. I have a much higher tolerance for levo-acids than most Turians, but it still gives me slight indigestion; It doesn't seem to bother Jane much as well."

Jack cocked an eyebrow at him. "Men and sex, from what I've heard, it wouldn't matter if you drew her blood or not."

Then she was right back to the icicle she was when they had first picked up. "Ha! Not like you're just as bad Jack." At least Miranda had his back every now and then. Since she and Jacob had left Cerberus they had all gotten along much better.

"Oh shut it, Miranda. At least I can go and get some from whoever I want." Jack was certainly softening up. A year ago she would have called her a "cheerleader whore". Miranda gave her a look of superiority.

"Whatever," Garrus broke in with a glare, "you can fight about that when we get Jane and we are back on the ship."

A loud noise made all three of them jump. The mercs where yelling and there was a lot of confusion. The three of them took the chaos as an opportunity to start taking their shots. It caused even more confusion, as the only rounds the mercs had were purely concussive. A door hissed open on the opposite side of the room and a slim figured dressed in slightly baggy clothing leapt out.

Garrus had never seen Jane like this before. He could see the fire in her bright green eyes and her dark hair was a wreck. She had no weapon in her hand. _What does she think she's doing?!_ Then she was a blur and gone from his crosshair. Garrus looked up and saw her move like he had never seen any human move before. He knew she was flexible, but this took it to a whole other level. The way her hands moved, disabling a man's weapon and sending it flying into the wall, which shattered on impact. Her leg seemed to have no limit to how high they could kick. He had never seen anything like it before. It was… arousing. Wait, was he standing here, when he was suppose to be fighting off mercs, becoming sexually distracted by a women killing someone with her bare hands?

Miranda and Jack did not seem to notice that he had lowered his rifle or maybe they just did not care. Garrus never even fired another shot. He just stood there, entranced, watching her twist her body around turning her whole being into a weapon. All of the mercs were dead by the time he noticed that everyone else was staring at him. As Jane moved closer toward them he realized he was frozen. He could not even move to hug her.

"What?" Her voice was a little hoarse.

"I… uh, I've never seen anyone do that before."

Jack laughed. "You've never been to Earth."

Garrus glared at her and twitched his mandible in annoyance. "No shit."

That brought him out of his shock enough to catch a wave of Jane's scent. It was intoxicating. Sweeping her up into his arms he practically crushed her against his chest. His blood was running so hot right now he hoped he would be able to restrain himself when he finally got her alone. Mordin was not on the Normandy anymore, having gone home to visit his nephew, so there would not be any antihistamines or epinephrine to make sure that neither of them went into anaphylactic shock.

"Let's get out of here. I'm tired of the cold." Garrus wanted her alone.

Jane gave him a confused look. "Where are we anyway?"

* * *

A/N: Please, don't be upset if Garrus seems out of character. There is a reason for it.


	4. Unexpected Surprises

**A/N:** Yeah, a bit smutting here. Gotta satisfy my Garrus love. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Unexpected Surprises**

Garrus nuzzled his face into her soft clean hair, savoring the moment of being able to hold her close. Garrus sighed to himself in contentment. When Dr. Chakwas finally let Jane out of the med bay she had gone straight for the shower. She had insisted that Binary Helix was conducting some sort of experiment on her but two full scans had proved to bring up nothing unordinary. The doctor promised that she would keep looking, but without her exhibiting any symptoms, there was little for her to do. They just did not have certain equipment without Mordin on the ship anymore. They would have to go see him before they could find any answers. Jane had grumbled a bit before getting fed up and stated she wanted a shower to get the grim off her body.

They had barely made it to their room when Jane started shedding her clothing as she bolted for the bathroom.

It was something he had never thought about before: Jane, naked, with water running down her smooth body. Just that thought was making his heart pump faster than it ever had before. After seeing her fighting hand to hand the way she had, how she became a living weapon, he just could not get out of his head. It was just so… sexy. He wanted her right then and there.

With the water running and echoing loudly in the small enclosed room she never heard him enter. The steam rose from the hot water, creating a light mist around her. Jane had her eyes were closed. Her head tipped back as she vigorously washed her hair building up lather. Water rolled down her soft skin as she stepped back into the spray and began to rinse the soap from her hair. The white, puffy lather covered her body, concealing her proud breasts and the curvy hips and thighs, for a moment before sliding down her generous lines toward the floor and disappearing down the drain. Garrus's breath caught at the erotic sight and could not help but reach out to touch her, sliding his arms carefully around her waist and bringing her body against his.

"Garrus!" Jane whirled around in surprise. Slowly a sheepish smile graced her lips.

Reaching out she pulled him right under the warm spray of water. Now he was just as wet as her but it did not matter, she was kissing him all over his face. He let out a groan as she licked his mandibles and traced the lines of his markings. Her tongue was so delicately smooth he was slightly afraid she would cut it on his hard plated skin. Somehow, she was able to do things with her mouth he did not think was possible, especially on a Turian. Humans had an odd fascination with using their mouths, not that Garrus was going to complain about it.

Nibbling on his neck was new to him too. Humans had such tiny smooth teeth that he would have never guessed could tear threw meat if he had not seen it himself. She came across a more sensitive spot where his skin was a bit more delicate. Garrus gasped in surprised as her teeth nibbled at the particularly soft spot, licking and sucking gently; it sent chills down his spine. Jane giggled at him through the water as he shivered a bit.

He growled sensually at her as he backed her up against the bathroom wall. Bending down Garrus nuzzled her neck with his mouth, nipping gently as to not cut her with his mandibles or teeth. He never wanted so much to have the same lips as a human so he could kiss her body. His mandibles flared in and out with each breath he took, lightly grazing her skin making her giggle a bit. She had told him once that it tickled when he did that to her, like butterfly kisses, which spurred on a whole conversation on what butterfly kiss were and what ticklish meant. She had spent a good fifteen minutes explaining the sensitivities of human skin then demonstrated the other. Fortunately, Turian's were not ticklish or rather, could not be ticklish would be more appropriate to say.

He mentally kicked himself, his mind should not be wondering at a moment like this. Turning his attention back to Jane, he slowly ran both his hands down the sides of her body, lightly dragging his talons, enjoying the slick feel of her skin as he caught Jane's eyes with his trying to put as much feeling into his gaze as possible. It must have worked because Jane's breath quickened and she moaned his name softly. When his hands reached her slender waist he lifted her up and pushed her harder against the wall. Jane's hands found his fringe caressing it lightly in teasing strokes.

Slowly and carefully he brought his face closer to her body and for the first time lightly licked up the skin of her breast and over her collarbone. He made sure to keep his teeth and mandibles a small distance from her so that he would not accidentally bite her. It could be dangerous if he did that right now without any antihistamines, but the taste of her skin was more than enough to satisfy the mating lust most of his race found nearly impossible to resist when engaging in intercourse with their bonded. He felt her body tremble as he swirled his rough tongue across the delicate skin of her erect nipple.

When he stopped and pulled his face from her body she gripped his fringe tightly growling at him not to stop. He flared his mandibles into what he hoped looked like a smile. Human facial expressions were just so hard to imitate for Turians. Shifting his grip Garrus situated her into a more comfortable holding position and was rewarded with her strong, muscled legs wrapping around his thin waist. She looked down at him with hungry eyes while biting her lower lip. Not hard enough to break her skin but enough for Garrus to tell she was very frustrated.

He could practically feel her body sighing with pleasure as he slowly slid inside her. A deep throaty moan escaped from Jane as she arched her back and let her head fall back exposing her throat to him. Her grip on his collar ridge was all that was keeping her up as he thrust into her. It felt different having hot water drip down them as they expressed their love.

After a while it was obvious that while fooling around in the shower was fun, it was not comfortable for real intercourse. Jane had managed to dry everything off except her hair, which lay in wet locks that framed her face. It reminded him of when they were on Virmire and had gone swimming.

Picking her up and carrying her to the bed Garrus lowered her carefully onto the covers. Jane reached up to catch his collar ridge and pulled him firmly on top of her. Passion filled his eyes as she whispered hot in his ear what she wanted. Positioning his body over hers Garrus ran his talons gently down the length of her body and watched as her skin puckered into little tiny bumps, her body shivered in excitement as he slid his hands up the inside of her thighs to slide them further apart. He toyed with her a little; keeping her legs in their position with his, his breath hot on her skin as he licked her slender stomach. Traveling upward, he let his mandibles flutter on her skin and listened to her little gasps. She snarled at him and arched her body up against his silently begging for more.

Slowly, as he continued his exploration of his tongue on her upper body, he slid inside her. Moaning loudly, she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. As her nails ran smoothly over his back, he slowly took her, building up his pace ever so slightly. A small growl escaped her throat as she tightened her grip and muscles on him. The way those muscles felt, flexing around his member never ceased to bring him pleasure. It made him want more of her, to be deep inside. Her short gasps and little nails trying to dig into his plated skin let him know she was getting closer. Quickening his pace he brought them over the edge together. The climax always left Garrus rattled. There was just something about how her body spasmed around him that was just too much for him to hold onto reality. He lost his vision and collapsed on top of her.

They had lain there quietly, just holding one another, for a long time before Jane finally drifted off to sleep. All Garrus could do was hold her close, running his talons gently on her soft skin. He traced her markings carefully with a talon, just like she had done to him so many times before. It was frightening to think he had lost her again. He had faced that possibility twice now in his life when it came to the woman in his arms, it was a horrifying feeling he never wanted to feel again. It made him not quite himself to even think of her not being part of his life. He shivered at those thoughts as his hold on her tightened a little as he willed himself not to let go as sleep overtook him as well.

___

It had been well over two weeks, and neither Dr. Chakwas nor Mordin could figure out what they had done to her on Noveria. The two of them worked feverously over the scans and tissue samples and still they could not find anything wrong. However, with Mordin's equipment, they were able to discern something "different" about her DNA, but what exactly, they were not entirely sure. So while they worked, Jane and Garrus spent their time together in the Captain's quarters talking.

"So, what exactly were you doing to those men on Noveria?" His voice was so full of curiosity Jane could not help but laugh.

"It's a form of hand to hand combat called martial arts. My parents made me learn it when we were all still on the same ship. They said that it built character and you never know when you would be without a gun. I thought it was just to keep me busy and out of trouble."

Garrus chuckled. "Maybe it was both. You can be quite a handful Jane."

She lightly nudged his arm. "Very funny Garrus, just because you have trouble with me doesn't mean everyone does."

He glared challengingly at her. "I've handled you very well."

"Is that so?" She laughed. "I remember how damn nervous a certain Turian was the first time he came up to my room. I practically had to force him into bed with me."

Garrus harrumphed and looked off to the side. "You enjoyed getting to push me around. And you were my commanding officer; I do what I'm told." Jane laughed so hard at that she almost fell off the bed.

"I think you enjoyed it just as much."

Garrus growled for a moment then his eyes grew softer as he pulled her closer. She could tell when he was serious and he was now. "Jane, do you think… you can teach me?"

She was confused. "Teach you what, Garrus? I think you have been learning quite well."

He shook his head. "No, I mean what you called 'martial arts'."

She gave it some thought. "Sure. You won't be able to do some things, your body is built a little differently, but I don't see why I can't teach you what I know."

Garrus's mandibles flared into a smile and he nuzzled her cheek. "Thank you. You know how I like sparring."

She grinned at him saucily. "I think…" Jane trailed off as something felt very wrong. Her stomach felt like it was going to come out of her mouth. She barely reached the bathroom when she retched into the toilet.

"Jane! Are you ok?" Garrus had followed her quickly behind her. All she could do was sit on the cold, hard floor.

"I… I don't know." Jane was pale and her eyes looked blank but she could see the fear in his.

"Let's get you to Dr. Chakwas."

The trip to the med bay was horrid. Rolling waves of nausea assaulted her all the way there. She nearly retched in the elevator when it jerked to a stop. It only settled down a bit when she lay back on the cot Dr. Chakwas put her in and told her not to move. Dr. Chakwas fussed over her, mumbling to herself. Jane felt heavy and cold. The only heat was from where Garrus's hands were resting on hers.

"Any other symptoms?" She asked. Jane shook her head.

"All we were doing was talking and then she suddenly ran to the bathroom and threw up." Garrus looked at the doctor with concern. "What's wrong with her?"

"I'm not sure, could just be a reaction to something she ate. She didn't…"

"No! Of course not! You know I wouldn't put her at risk like that."

Dr. Chakwas sighed and gave him a knowing look. "Well, I will have to run some tests maybe have Mordin look at her as well. I'm sure it's just a…" She dropped her medical scanner. Jane barely noticed the sound.

"What? What is it?" Garrus sounded scared.

Dr. Chakwas retrieved the scanner and check it again then looked her squarely in the face. "Jane, when was your last menstrual cycle?"

Slowly Jane looked at her and answered in a small voice. "I don't think that has…" She stopped. _Wait, when was my last… Oh no._ She had never late, ever; and it had been far too long. The look on the doctor's face only confirmed her thought.

* * *

A/N: Yes, yes. I know they are not compatible with the whole levo and dextro thing. Just wait till the next chapter please; then if you're still mad, go head.


	5. Secret of a Lying Woman

**A/N:** Sorry it took a while to get this up for those who have been waiting. I do understand there is a major difference between leveo and dextro dna and that they shouldn't be able to mix. So after reading this, if you still find it weird, I won't be offended. I hope it makes sense though. Anyways, enjoy. Oh, I also want to thank those who have reviewed my fics so far. I enjoy hearing what people think. :)

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Secret of a Lying Woman**

What was the doctor talking about? Garrus did not quite understand what she was asking Jane.

"Are you sure?" He was happy she was talking again but her voice sounded all wrong.

"Yes, I checked it twice."

"Wait, what are you two talking about?"

Jane turned her abnormally pale face toward him. "Garrus, I'm pregnant."

The world dropped out from underneath him. _Pregnant? But how?_ "I… I don't understand. How can you be pregnant?"

The question was meant for Jane, but Dr. Chakwas answered for her. "I'm not sure, Garrus. There is one thing for sure though, the fetus has Turian DNA. To be more specific, _your_ DNA."

_What?!_ "Wait, I thought Humans and Turians couldn't…" He did not know how to finish his thought.

Dr. Chakwas sighed. "They can't."

"You're absolutely sure? Run it again."

"Damn it Garrus! I've checked it four times now. I don't know how it's possible! The only thing different about Jane is that her implants seem to be releasing a strange bio-material into her blood that I can't identify. It didn't even show up in any of the earlier scans."

Silence hung in the air for a long time. Garrus was trying to wrap the whole thing around his head. Something Dr. Chakwas said was just not settling right.

"Did you say fetus? I'm not sure how long human pregnancies are but wouldn't it still be too early for it to be a fetus already?"

The doctor sighed. "Normally yes, it is still in the very beginning stages of gestation but something _is_ accelerating the process. It will take some time to figure out what exactly. I'm going to have to have Mordin look over it as well. He has much more experience with alien reproduction."

Jane suddenly made a strangled sort of noise in the back of her throat before she threw herself off the medical bed and was out the door before either of them could ask her what was wrong.

"Jane!" Both of them took off after her following the stunned looks of the rest of the crew strait into… Miranda's room.

There was a loud crashing noise and a small scream as Garrus scrambled into the room. Jane was no biotic, but she had Miranda by the throat as high as she could lift her up against the wall. There was no way she could really kill Miranda like that, Miranda could just use her biotics to get out of the hold, but it had to hurt though. Miranda's hands were clawing at Jane's.

"What. The. Fuck. Did you people do to me?!"

Miranda struggled against her grip. "I don't know what you're talking about Commander. I swear!"

"Jane Alana Shepard-Vakarian." Dr. Chakwas's voice was so stern she had a flash that her mother was there instead of the good Doctor. "Put Miranda down now! She can't possible answer your questions if she can not breathe."

The muscle in Jane's jaw twitched as she ground her teeth together and let go of Miranda causing her to fall straight to the floor. Miranda coughed a little and rubbed her neck.

"What the hell was that for?" She managed to croak out.

"The Commander is pregnant." Dr. Chakwas crossed her arms, glaring accusingly at the ex-Cerberus operative.

"So?"

"She's pregnant with my child." Garrus was finally starting to understanding why Jane was so upset with Miranda. There was no way they would be able to conceive a child unless someone interfered. Dr. Chakwas did say there was abnormal bio-matter emanating from her implants, implants that were put in her by Cerberus.

Miranda's eyes widened. "Oh god… I swear Commander; I was only in charge of making sure Project Lazarus brought you back. Wilson was the only one who ever actually worked on you."

"I knew you shouldn't have killed that bastard." Jane growled. "I don't trust you right now, or Jacob. You two have been very buddy-buddy since you two left Cerberus. For now, both of you are to be under surveillance at all times."

Miranda looked at the floor. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry. If I knew what they did to you, I'd tell you in a heart beat." Her voice was small and weak.

Garrus watched as Jane turned on her heals and stomped out of the room. There was not anything for him to do. It was not like Miranda or Jacob could go anywhere or do anything on the ship.

"I'm going to go take these scans to Dr. Mordin." Dr. Chakwas left him alone in the mess area. Everyone was staring at him.

He did not think she would go back to the medical bay so he headed for the elevator and up to their room. She was sitting on the couch with her knees drawn up to her chest. Her shoulders were slightly shaking and her face hidden from his view. When he touched her hair with a hand she flung herself into his arms. Her sobs were so heavy it even made him vibrate a little. Tears left wet little trails down her face. He had not seen her cry like this since the crew was taken by the Collectors. It did not matter; he just rocked her gently and stroked her soft hair with his talons making soft sounds that he hoped would sooth her anguish. A child would normally bring joy to a family, but this was different. He himself did not know how to react. Slowly, her sobs lessened. Her shakes less violent, then eventually it stopped. Only sniffles remained.

"I'm sorry, Garrus. I should be happy that we are going to have a child but… somehow, it just feels…wrong this way."

He hushed her and pulled her closer. "I know love. I feel the same way." For a long time they just held each other, neither saying anything.

___

A blue light illuminated the room as EDI calmly treaded on their privacy.

"Commander, Dr. Mordin and Dr. Chakwas would like to see you and Garrus in the science lab."

Jane cleared her throat. "Thank you, EDI."

Mordin's lab had not changed over the past year, even when he was not there. Dr. Chakwas had her head close to the Salarian.

"Commander." Mordin nodded his head at them as the entered the room. "Found something important you should see. Pertaining to…" The Salarian inhaled grasping for the right word. "…the child."

Jane nodded her head. "What did you two find?"

The two doctors exchanged a look. "Mordin was able to identify the substance being released from your implants. It's a modified version of human and Asari DNA."

"Somehow, someone has found a way to make human DNA "act" similar to an Asari's."

Jane swallowed visibly. "Is… is our child going to be full human then?"

"Not exactly. It doesn't act exactly like an Asari's. Child will look human, but there will be a few distinguishing features. Possibilities: voice, eyes, hair, bone structure, dextro immunity. The list can be endless."

Jane looked up into his eyes, her face taking on a very scared look. Garrus hugged her close. "So there won't be any problems for either of them?" The two doctors shook their heads.

"Aside from the accelerated growth of the child, there shouldn't be any major side effects besides the normal ones."

He heard Jane groan at that comment. Human pregnancies must have some unpleasant side effects for the mother, obviously nothing life threatening, but unpleasant none the less.

"What I would like to know is why someone would want Jane to be able to conceive a child with me."

The two doctors looked even more worried then ever. "From what Jane has told us she remembered when being tested on, it's not just her."

"Wait, are you saying…"

"Yes. Someone wants the whole human race to reproduce with any race and…"

"… replace the foreign DNA with human." All four of them look at each other. This was not something that would just affect them.

* * *

A/N: I never really ever trusted Miranda for some reason. I guess this is a small lash-out at her too. Hopefully I will be able to get the next few chapters refined soon. :)


	6. The Rule of the Journey

**A/N:** Mostly Jane and Garrus musing about the predicament. Enjoy. :)

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**The Rule of the Journey**

Jane stared off at nothing in particular. Sometimes she had a bad habit of doing that when she was thinking about something. Everything was moving a little too fast for her.

After Mordin and Dr. Chakwas calculated the current growth of her child, they gave her a time of around six months. She would not begin to show for another month and a half so there was no reason she could not continue to run around and fire a gun when she wanted. So there she was, throwing punches and kicks into the empty air before her.

The noise from the exercise room was not as loud as it normally was since most of the crew was at diner. Jane, on the other hand did not feel like eating much. _Not like I can keep down much of anything these days._ The "morning sickness", and what a crock that was she was sick all the time, seemed to be very severe. Mordin was hypothesizing it was due to the accelerated growth of the fetus and both he and Chakwas were worrying over if she was getting enough nutrients. Jane had already been hooked up to a nutrient rich I.V. several times and she didn't want to do it again. She hoped one of her doctors would find something that will agree with her body soon as the new hormones integrated and settled. Until then, she found working off her stress with exercising was helpful. Both doctors even said it was fine as long as she kept it limited to teaching and dummy practices, no live sparing though.

She had promised Garrus she would teach him some martial arts and was surprised how dedicated he actually was. Martial arts were not just a fighting style. It took mediation and structure. Maybe it was because of Garrus's religious beliefs that he found it even more intriguing. To most, the idle jabs and kicks would have bored them out of continuing, but Garrus had told her he found a certain "challenge" to the art. Jane was enjoying their time together, practicing and breathing as one as they moved from form to form.

Despite his enthusiasm, she could tell he was getting a little anxious to progress. She had yet to actually show him how to use the forms in actual combat. Normally, a Master would tell his or her students that before one could fully learn to use it one must understand it completely.

Jane was not sure if she was fortunate or not, but there was an actual Master on the ship she grew up on. He was utterly ruthless in enforcing that rules and making sure his students understood everything he taught them. _It is not where you get to that counts, it is the journey that you take that molds you. _She remembered those words so clearly. That was the day she had challenged him to teach her an exceptionally hard move she had seen one of the marines do in a spar earlier that day. He had said that if she could beat him, he would. She had gotten the beating of a lifetime that day and was furious for a long time thinking he was purposely trying to humiliate her. It was not until later that she finally understood what he was telling her. _Our choices make us who we are, not the things we accomplish._

Jane sighed and smiled to herself. Her form must have been wavering a little because she heard Garrus fumble around and a small sound of disappointment

"Uh, Jane? What was that exactly?" She had not been paying much attention to her kata and had accidentally slipped into one of the more advanced forms she had yet to teach him.

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about my Master." Garrus's mandibles fluttered in thought.

"Your what?"

"A Master is the title they give to the person who teaches those these techniques."

Garrus looked a little confused. "So, does this make you my Master? I do hope I don't have to call you that." There was a hint of teasing at that last remark. Jane laughed at him. The first real laugh she had in days.

"Heavens no! A Master has to be one of the very best and earn the title after many years of practicing and perfection."

"Ah."

"If you'd like, after we figure all this out and things settle down, we can go to Earth and we can take lessons from a real Master." She would actually like to do that herself again. There was a sense of peace when she practiced that she had missed. It had been a long time since she had felt that kind of serenity.

Garrus gave her a thoughtful look for a moment. "Yeah, I'd like that." She smiled warmly at him and continued though their practice. She hoped they would hear from one of the many people she had sent mail to soon.

Garrus yawned widely. The light from the terminal was the only light on. For some reason, Jane had asked EDI to turn off the light from the fish tank tonight. She was sleeping more too. He was not sure if it was because of her pregnancy or something else entirely. She was not eating much anymore, if she ate at all. It seemed no matter what she ate it all came back up. Not the most disgusting sight he had seen before, but it was not pleasant either. Mordin was trying to create a supplement that would give her the nutrients she would need but easy enough on her stomach to digest quickly so she could keep it down.

Jane was keeping herself preoccupied with teaching him "martial arts" in place of those meals. He still ate, normally after their practices, but she would just sit there watching him, almost stone like. He had asked her once and she told him she was "just thinking". She was doing a lot of "thinking" lately, especially during their practices. He was enjoying those practices. Not just because he was spending time with her or learning something new about her, it was rather… soothing. It had as much spiritual value as it did physical. He was aching in places he did not know he even had.

She had spoken highly of someone she called her "Master". Jane had spoken so highly of him in fact that he wondered if he was just more than a teacher of sparring techniques. She had learned something from this man that made her who she was today. He wished he could thank this man, that is, if he was still alive.

___

Garrus yawned again. He was not really tried, well… maybe a little but he was spending some time researching human "martial arts". It was fascinating. It was not just a fighting style; it was a life style as well. Not to mention it was not limited to hand to hand. If he could incorporate this into… he was thinking too far into the future. First they had to find out who messed with Jane's body. Then he could think of training with a Master and creating his own style that could mix Turians physiology and modern weapons as well. He did not doubt that Jane would be able to use the same for humans, since it would be based on a human technique to begin with, if humans have not already done so.

Eventually the words on the screen began to blend into each other and no longer made any sense. He had read quite a bit on martial arts that he felt like he knew enough, at least for now. Maybe when they get to be taught by a Master he will get to learn more. He also felt like he knew and understood Jane a lot better now. At least her actions and the way she did things. Humans had a much more honorable cultural then what some believed. He had never hated humans like is father once did, but now he had a look into the depths of it, he found some of the most wonderful things he had ever experienced.

He reached over and clicked the terminal off, the darkness engulfed him. Slowly, he picked his way back to the bed. Garrus was very glad that he had predator like eyes that could see better than a human's, he would have tripped more than half a dozen times just to get to the bed. Jane was starting to become a bit untidy the past few days and it was a little difficult to keep up with her. He had never been "in charge", as Jane put it, of keeping their room clean but he helped out when he could. Recently though, with her mood swings, he was afraid if he accidentally put something where it was not suppose to go she might get upset.

Jane's steady breath told him she was deeply asleep. Taking a moment to take in her peaceful face Garrus sighed and slid under the covers, trying to move the bed as little as possible so as to not wake her. The small amount of heat that radiated off of her had warmed the bed enough for him to fall almost right to sleep. He managed to pull her close and nuzzle her neck before succumbing to the night's embrace.

___

Jane made a face at the bowl sitting in front of her. Mordin had been able to design a supplement that was easy for Chef to make for her. Unfortunately it didn't look like any food Jane had seen before. It looked pasty and a little wiggly. Garrus had his head down poking at his food, obviously trying not to laugh. His mandibles had not moved except for the quick light flare as she was handed her meal.

"You know," Garrus said between bites. "Now you can't make fun of my food."

She scrunched up her face and stuck her tongue out which rewarded her with laughs from everyone at the table. Stubbornly she picked up her spoon and scooped a generous amount onto it. She studied the contents before chomping quickly down on it with her eyes closed. She chewed once, twice and swallowed. It was not revolting at all. She took another spoonful.

"Taste a little like jell-o, looks sort of like it too."

Garrus gave her a confused look. "What's jell-o?"

Jane chuckled at him. "It's… kind of hard to explain. Jell-o is just well… jell-o. It is sort of a snack like thing that's light and jiggles made of gelatin." Jane lifted another spoonful to her mouth and took another bite looking rather thoughtful. "Needs some flavoring to it though…grape and strawberry were always my favorites I wonder if I can get Gardner to add it next time."

Garrus continued to look thoroughly confused as Jane alternately ate and played with her food. He finally shrugged casting her one last amused glance and returned to his own meal. There was an audible click over head and Joker's voice filled the room.

"Commander, EDI just received a message from Liara. She says it is urgent that we come visit her, there is some information that you may find very useful."

Jane swallowed the last bite of food in her mouth. "Thank you Joker, set a course to Illium please and inform us when we arrive."

"Got it Commander, ETA is three hours."

"Hmmm… should be enough time to have Chef whip me up another bowl of jell-o. Maybe he can get it flavored this time." She winked at Garrus who laid his mandibles flat against his face and turned his head a little to the side, a small "humph" rumbled in his throat.

* * *

A/N: I thought it would be funny to make Jane have to eat something that sort of looked like dextro food. Garrus seems to find it funny up to the part where she acts like its a snack instead of diner.


	7. Light in the Shadows

**A/N:** Ok, I am extremely sorry that it has taken me so long to update this fic. Aside from having to deal with some personal matters, this specific chapter was a bit of a nightmare for me and my beta. We finally got it to a point where we both are satisfied enough with it. Hopefully the other chapters will come quicker now. I would also like to thank everyone who has reviewed my fics. I appreciate what you think and it always brings a smile to my face to see that other people enjoy what I write.

Oh, another thing. I do understand that Garrus is a hand-to-hand specialist. The point I am trying to make is that even though Jane and him are close, there are still gaps between Humans and Turians. Especially how Garrus's father was, it is highly unlikely that Garrus would have studied Human martial arts. Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Light in the Shadows**

Illium was buzzing with business like always. The conversations of contracts and sales laced heavily through the air. There were only two places in which one would not have the feeling of suffocation: Eternity and Liara's office. A good part of the crew jumped at the chance for some time off the ship. Granted, the main purpose was to pick up supplies for the ship, but Jane was the type of commander that did not mind if they wandered around on personal matters as long as they finished their work by the time they left the dock.

Liara had a new, and very young looking, Asari assistant waiting to show them into the office, the last one had proved to be a traitor and was caught and eventually disposed of. The office had not really changed since their last visit together. Data pads littered the desk and shelves, giving Jane the distinct idea that none of Liara's assistants were good at organizing. There was a hint that this assistant was trying to keep up but with Liara's constant demands it seemed to throw the young Asari in disarray. The girl even had tiny wrinkles in her uniform and looked slightly tired from possible over time. Liara never worked her assistants too hard, it had to mean that she had stumbled onto something _very_ important.

The always beautiful and graceful Asari smiled as she rose to great Jane and Garrus. "It is good to see you two! It has been too long, and I was very excited to hear from you." The three of them exchanged pleasantries before taking their seats; the young assistant still standing just inside the doorway waiting to be dismissed.

"Oh, Nellina," Liara waved the young assistant over. "These are my good friends Garrus Vakarian and Commander Jane Shepard, or did you take on Garrus's surname?" The assistant's eyes grew huge at Jane's name.

"It is an honor to meet you. Liara speaks of you often; I never thought I'd have the chance to see you in person." The assistant bowed respectfully toward her causing Jane to chuckle just a little.

"It is wonderful to meet you too. I'm sure Liara trusts you immensely since she has decided to introduce us. Be sure that she doesn't over work too much just because she is too excited about something." She gave the girl a wink, the Asari's eyes lit up and smiled at her in thankfulness. "And yes, I did take Garrus's name, but some still find it hard to remember that I did. I don't think Legion will ever get used to saying anything different. Normally Commander is just fine, but we are much too close for that, Liara. To you, I'm just Jane."

The two exchanged warm smiles before Liara dismissed her assistant. "Just close the door behind you and hold all my calls please, Nellina." The girl bowed again before retreating to her desk beyond the doorway.

"She is a very sweet girl, I'm very happy I was able to find someone so trustworthy and as determined as I am." Liara let her composure drop a little. She was obviously as tired as her assistant looked. "But you two aren't here for meet and greets. I have some information that I believe you will find very interesting. By the way, you look different somehow Jane. You skin is practically glowing, and not like it was during your wedding ceremony."

It must have been more than just slightly noticeable. Jane blushed. She still had over a month before she would even begin to show. "Uh… well, that's sort of why we contacted you. Not that we don't enjoy visiting, but it was important to try every contact we had that may have some sort of information and wouldn't raise any flags if we asked."

"Oh?" Liara crossed her arms and leaned back into her chair, waiting for the rest.

Garrus cleared his throat. "Jane is… pregnant," he paused for a moment not sure how Liara would react to the news, "with my child."

"Wait, what?" The Asari bolted straight up in her chair, eyes wide. "How?"

Jane giggled. "Geez, Liara. I'd figured that someone you're age would at least know some mechanics to sex."

The skin under Liara's cheeks darkened to a slight shade of purple. "H…Hey," Liara's voice almost stuttered with embarrassment. "That's… You know what I mean."

Garrus gave Jane a particular look out of the corner of his eye and coughed politely into his hand. It was a good thing Turians could not blush, because Garrus looked just as flustered as Liara did. _Hmm… perhaps the innocent little Asari we picked up on Therum really has grown up. Aside from the obvious things that is_

Liara shook herself and regained control over her composure. "When did this happen?"

"It is a bit of a long story," Garrus interjected. "About three weeks ago, Jane was kidnapped when we were on vacation and taken to Noveria were they did some sort of experiments on her. Those experiments are somehow connected with Jane's pregnancy. It wasn't until after we got her back that the um…pregnancy happened. What was strange is whoever took Jane was working out of the old Binary Helix lab out on Noveria. We still don't know exactly what they did to her since they kept Jane drugged up but, when we discovered that she was pregnant we found that Jane's implants were emanating some strange biologicals that gave her the ability to conceive with me."

Liara looked like she was about to fall out of her chair and both of them unconsciously edged themselves closer ready to leap out across the table if need be. "Are you ok?" Jane asked. "It looks like someone just hit you with a biotic punch and left you to bleed out."

"I… Oh this certainly puts certain things I found out in a different light. I assume you two have not informed the Council yet?"

"No, only the Normandy crew and you know." Jane knew that it would be disastrous if it got out right now, the fewer people who knew the better.

Liara absently reached out for a data pad before continuing. "I have finally made a big break trough in my research on the Shadow Broker. As I expected, it is one man who acts through many small agents to do his deeds. What is more compelling, aside from the Shadow Broker deals in selling information, I have found out that a few contacts of the Broker have been smuggling unmarked crates to and from Noveria recently." The room felt like the temperature had dropped a degree or two in the very second. "And Jane's implants were made by and put into place by Cerberus. That means…"

"Yes, it means that most likely Cerberus is behind not only my pregnancy but more than likely owns a significant share of Binary Helix. While they couldn't have had a hand in it when Saren was the main stock holder they could have bought Saren's shares when he died; and now they are in contact with the Shadow Broker." Jane confirmed.

"It is also possible that it is more than that. The Shadow Broker could be the Illusive Man." Garrus looked grimly at the two women. "It all fits."

Both women nodded in agreement. "There is more to it Liara. From the bits and pieces I was able to pick up when I was captive it wasn't just me they are doing this to. They are attempting to make human DNA act very similar to an Asari's and want to make it so that the whole human race can reproduce in the same way. They have succeeded with me, so who knows what the next step for them is."

Liara sank all the way back into her seat with a very frightened look on her face. "Jane. I must ask you something and I hope you will agree to it."

"Of course, you can ask me anything you know that, Liara."

"Jane, I want you to take me with you."

Jane blinked at her for a moment. "You know I will in a heartbeat but, don't you have duties here?"

Liara waved the thought to the side with her hand. "Now that my true goal has been achieved, there is not as much to do around here. Nellina is more than capable in handing the work. I hate having to leave her like this but this it is much too important for me to sit here and not help you. I have many contacts and I know that my presence on the Normandy will only make things go faster."

Jane and Garrus nodded their heads together. "Welcome back to the crew, Liara. When ever you are ready, we will leave Illium. I am sure you have a lot to do before then, so we will leave you to do so. The quicker we find out where to find the Illusive Man, the better." They stood up and all bowed their heads toward each other. As they left, Nellina had the most shocked look on her face as Liara began informing her of her new duties. _It is going to be a long day._

Jane was giving Liara a full tour of the new Normandy and introduced her to her whole crew. She even took her to see both Miranda and Jacob, who she was still angry at but that was starting to dissipate. Liara absolutely adored Mordin and told him she would be back later to discuses cell mutations and a few other things Jane did not understand. They finished their tour with a stop to the mess area to eat when Jack headed in their direction. Jack was the last crewmember she had yet to introduce to Liara. She had no idea what they would think of each other. _Well, I'm about to find out._

"Hey Commander. The crew just isn't complete without at least one blue skin Asari aboard is it?" Jack stopped in front of them and crossed her arms with a wide grin plastered on her face.

Samara has left them shortly after they had defeated the Reapers to return to the Asari home world. Jane had offered to escort her home, but told her that while she appreciated Jane's help with Morinth, she had already done enough for her and that she deserved a little vacation after having to save the galaxy three times in a row. When Samara left she did tell Jane that if she ever needed her help to let her know and she would be there.

"Jack…"

"It's ok, Jane. I can tell when someone is being sarcastic." Liara said calmly.

Jack's face grew hard for a moment and her hands formed little fists.

"You know, Jack. I have studied the Asari Commandos for a long time. I would love to have a biotic sparring with you sometime. It has been a while, so I may be a bit rusty, but I would enjoy it none the less."

Jack's harsh attitude faded and she looked at Liara thoughtfully. "You said you studied the Asari Commandos?"

"Yes, in fact, I have studied a good deal of biotics from many different species, along with Prothean technology and culture."

"Oh, I'd love to hear what you know. Damn Cerberus could care less about how to use the tools they made as long as they worked and fulfilled their purpose."

With that, the two women walked off to the side with their diners to discuses all things biotic. Jane shook her head and sigh as Chef handed her a bowl of jell-o like substance. Garrus suddenly appeared at her elbow almost causing her to drop her food.

"What did I miss?" Garrus looked confused as he eyed Jack and Liara talking over their food.

Jane sighed. "I'm not even entirely sure myself."

* * *

A/N: I hope a softer side of Jack isn't too much for most. I always found Jack to be such a hard-ass, but her conversations hilarious.


	8. No More Vids Please

**A/N:  
**It has been a very long time since I have gotten to this fic. That was when I realized that I have pretty much finished it long ago. . The only thing is that it has not been finished with a beta. So I am sorry for any errors that you may find. I just find myself not having enough time to contact my old beta again or the time to do that much work on it. I will fix things when I find them. I am sorry that it has taken so long, I know there are a few of you who have wanted to see this through to the end, thank you for you patience and support. Enjoy the latest chapters and R&R if you like. Just please, remember from this point on is without a beta!

BTW, I don't know about you, but if I was Garrus, I would be sick of the Vids by now too. :)

**Chapter 8**

**No More Vids Please**

The whole crew was silently watching Jack and Liara talk as though they were two lost friends who had just found each other. Maybe it was both of their unsettling backgrounds that made it easy for them to connect. Still, Jack had not made any real close friends on the Normandy. She kept them all at arms length even though she had softened up over the past year. None of the other crew members had been able to get her to sit and talk for more than ten minutes without an outburst or cruel remark of sorts.

Garrus had snuggled in close next to Jane at a table and poked at his food as he watched in amazement with the rest of the crew. Jane finished rather quickly and kissed him on his mandible before heading toward the elevator. She said she was going to check in with Mordin, then have a talk with Joker about where they should head to next. Garrus nuzzled her cheek softly and returned to mindlessly poking at his diner.

"Garrus?" He dropped is utensil at the sound of his name.

"Oh, yes Dr. Chakwas?" The doctor was standing next to the table watching him carefully.

"Hmm…" She mused for a moment, watching the commotion that had everyone else's attention. "When you have a moment, I'd like to talk to you in my office."

Garrus nodded his head and swallowed that last few bites and stood up to follow her into the medical bay. "I am free now, if that is ok."

Dr. Chakwas lead him into the room and offered him a seat as she set herself down in her own chair. She sat quietly for a moment before tapping a console.

"Garrus, if this was a normal situation, you would more than likely already know what you have gotten yourself into. Since it isn't I'm afraid that I have the unfortunate obligation to educate you in human reproduction."

She continued to tap on the screen, ignoring the horrified look on Garrus's face. _Oh no, she is going to sit here and explain human sex-ed to me._ When he did not say anything to her, she looked up and noticed the expression across his face. The doctor pursed her lips together to keep from laughing.

"You thought… Oh heavens no, Garrus. I may be a physician and while I care for the health and safety of the whole crew, I don't believe that I will have to go as far as to have to personally explain this to you." Garrus let out the breath he had been holding, but relief was only short lived, Dr. Chakwas was still talking. "I have sent you some information pamphlets and a few vids to your terminal." She stopped and placed her hands in her lap, looking very seriously at him. "Now, I want you to watch and read all of them. I know you can sometimes neglect certain research efforts, and while the vids I have sent you are purely educational and not as entertaining as what Mordin could find for you, I expect you to go through them. I'm not going to test you to make sure you did, but as it pertains to Jane's health and your child's, I sure hope you do. If I find out you have neglected to do so, I may have to sit you down and explain it all, or if I'm too busy, I will ask Mordin to help."

Garrus swallowed the lump in his throat. Anything was better than watching Mordin's vids, even more so than having to watch them _with_ the Salarian. He thanked her hastily and rushed for the elevator. The sooner he finished with them, the sooner he could delete them and less likely he would be subjugated to Mordin's torture vids.

Garrus started with the information pamphlets since they seemed to be the safe route before. He was not entirely sure what he would find when he opened them, but it had to be better than what Mordin and sent him. Dr. Chakwas's idea of information was much more clinical than the Salarian's. He started with the one on "Human female fertility cycles". It was almost like he was in school again, studying for a class. It started with when a female is able to become fertile and what to expect. It did not look too bad until, _Wait… they bleed for a few days every month?_ It was strange enough that Human females had a certain fertility cycle, Turian females were always fertile, but they bled when they failed to conceive. The pamphlet went further into detail of the reproductive cycle. He understood now what Dr. Chakwas had asked Jane the day they found out she has pregnant. What frightened him a little was how casually the article explained the side effects of menstruation, the mood swings, temperature sensitivity, and muscle tenderness; Garrus was not looking forward to that once their child was born. It did explain why Human females acted strangely sometimes, most of them at least, Miranda and Jack being very good exceptions, they were strange all the time.

After finishing all the pamphlets, there was two on the pregnancy cycles and one on early infant care. That one made him nervous. Human infants were so small and delicate, so easily breakable, he was afraid he would never be able to hold their child till it was older. Putting that one to the side to question Jane about later he started to watch the vids.

The vids were mostly recaps of the pamphlets but with diagrams and pictures that showed exactly what happened. The acting was still horrible but it added things the pamphlets didn't cover like: The pros and cons of gene therapy in utero, How to deal with her/your mood swings. The reason you're craving strange foods and what not to eat. Lactation and how does it work? It also described that breast tenderness and swelling is expected as the body readied itself to provide for the child. _Huh, they actually do have a purpose aside from that Jane enjoys it when I fondle them._ Garrus finally was able to understand why human men had a slight fascination with them. _Maybe it's built into their subconscious that the larger they are, the more they would be able to provide for their possible offspring._

On the whole, the vids from Dr. Chakwas were rather tame and informative, nothing to extreme, then he got to the birthing process. Garrus really could not fathom how the human race had reached the population size it had. Birthing not only was messy but look horribly painful, and the things that could go wrong!

Garrus was a hardened soldier, he had seen bodies in all states of dismemberment on the battle field, he had even eviscerated a few in hand to hand himself, but the thought of Dr. Chakwas, or even Mordin, slicing Jane open like the woman in the vid having a cesarean terrified him. The natural birth portion was almost worse, how something that large could fit through an opening that small mystified him. Just the fact that the infants head had plates that were not connected and allowed it to be squished through was…disturbing.

Thankfully the video didn't actually show a live natural birth but the pictures were enough to unease him. He erased the vids as soon as it was done and numbly walked over to the couch and just sat there. He was not sure how long he sat there, but the next thing he knew was the doors hissed open and Jane walked in.

"Garrus?" Jane cocked her head to the side. "God, what happened to you? You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you sick?"

Garrus shook his head. Even if he saw a spirit he would not be afraid of it, Turians believed they existed; human analogies were sometimes very confusing. He swallowed and somehow found his voice.

"No, Dr. Chakwas sent me some… information vids… on human reproduction."

Slowly Jane's expression went from confused to sympathetic. "Oh Garrus, you didn't watch the actual birthing process alone did you?"

"I thought… I… yes?" He did not know that he was supposed to watch it with her.

Jane sighed and sat next to him, taking his hands into her own. "You know, normally a husband and wife go through prenatal classes and watch those vids together. I am sure Dr. Chakwas sent you more than just that to help educate you so you would know what to expect, but you didn't have to do it alone."

Garrus buried his face into her hair and let her caress his fringe to sooth his coldness. "Does… it hurt? It looks like it is painful."

Jane considered how to answer him. "Well, this will be my first, but I have heard that it is the most painful thing a human can go through."

Garrus pulled his face away in shock. "Then why go through it?"

Jane laughed. "Aside from the fact that it is the only way we can reproduce, we do it for love."

Jane smiled at him as he thought about that. "Yeah, love. I guess that would make sense."

"Besides, I'm not sure anything can compare to my marking, giving birth will probably be a breeze for me." She grinned mischievously at him causing color to return to his carapace and his eyes brightened a little.


	9. The Little Things

**A/N:  
**Sorry about this, I just realized that I posted the chapters out of order. This is Chapter 9, not Sacrifice. Sorry for anyone who is confused.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**The Little Things**

Jane exited the elevator only to come face to face with Kelly. Yeoman was shifting her weight in a nervous fashion and almost started when Jane appeared in front of her.

"Oh, Commander." Kelly tried to straiten her composure into a more formal pose.

"Kelly, is there something wrong?" Jane eyed the young, but very plain woman.

"I hope not. I was on my way to find you I was hoping to have a few words with you in private."

Jane nodded her head and indicated for the empath to precede her. Making their way to the conference room Jane waited for the door to shut securely before turning to her personal assistant.

"What can I do for you, Kelly?"

"Actually, I was going to see if there was anything _I_ can do for you." Jane made a small sound of confusion. "You have been acting… different… ever since you found out about your pregnancy."

Jane gave Kelly a long considering look. "I'm not sure what I feel." Kelly did not say anything just sat there impassively waiting for Jane to continue. "I feel violated, used. Someone practically raped my body for some sort of sick terrorist experiment." Jane began to pace as she built up steam embracing her anger. "We don't even know what their true goal is; we can only speculate how they want to use this. This could not even be truly what they were after just a side affect." Jane curled her hands into fists, her nails biting into the palms of her hands.

"I hate not knowing what's going on with my own body. I resent that someone did this to me. They took something that would have been, should have been, a cause for happiness and cast this horrible shadow over it. Garrus and I should not have been able to conceive. I had accepted that, maybe in few years we would have adopted but now... " Jane trailed off seemingly lost her face a picture of grief.

Kelly gently reached out and uncurled one of her commander's fists gently smoothing over the indentions in her palm and leading her to sit down. "I can not tell you I understand because it has not happened to me but Commander you are looking at this completely in the negative. Whether this is what they meant to happen or not it really is an amazing advancement in medical technology. Think of what this could mean for other mixed couple out there that are not Asari. I mean, think of what this could mean for Tali's people specifically. If it could be adapted they would be able to breed outside the flotilla, maybe they would be able to strengthen their immune systems and be able to someday not have to wear biosuites."

"If we _actually_ had the data, maybe. I can see where you are coming from Kelly, really, it just was still a wrong way to use it. Cerberus, Binary Helix, or whoever wants to use this technology only on humans so that all life will one day be human only. The only other species that would match us would be the Asari, and they outlive us ten times over so this whole scheme seems mad. We don't even know _if_ it can be modified for other species it is just so dangerous."

"Yes I know. But that doesn't mean we have to destroy the data once we acquire it." Jane was surprised that Kelly had such a strong heart to stand up to her commanding officer.

"Kelly." The Yeoman almost looked at her defiantly. "I never said I was going to do that. I haven't decided yet; but you are correct, the medical advancements we could learn from the raw data would be extremely valuable."

Kelly smiled a little sheepishly at that. "Ah, yes. Well, it really wasn't my intention to seek you out to talk specifically about that. I am still worried about you. I don't want you to take out all this unpleasantness on the baby."

Jane looked a little startled. "I'm not doing that, am I?"

Kelly gave her a measuring look before shaking her head. "No, not currently, but you are carrying a large amount of resentment over this and no matter how this happened a baby is something to celebrate."

Jane gazed at her still flat abdomen a laid a hand lightly over it. "It was just so unexpected."

"Aren't most children conceived unexpectedly?"

"Yes but…" Kelly cut her off.

"Aren't you happy to be having a child with Garrus, the love of your life?"

"Of course, but…"

"Then why are you hesitant to embrace this pregnancy?"

"Because it happened without my consent!" Jane started to cry, her limbs shaking as Kelly pulled her into her arms. It all came back to that. Rape, Cerberus had taken something precious from her for their-own sick pleasure and Jane cried for that lost part of her soul.

Slowly she quieted down and Kelly held her at arms length. "Better?" Jane nodded and sniffled in response.

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok, that is what I am here for Commander."

Kelly gave Jane a handkerchief and she gratefully wiped at her face. "God, I must seem the most ungrateful bitch in space. I'm just so…"

"And that's understandable; we are _all_ just as upset."

Jane hugged the young woman tightly. "Thank you, Kelly. It has given me a lot to think about. In the meantime I think Mordin is wondering if we got trapped in the conference room so I better get to my check-up before he starts looking for me."

Kelly smiled at her warmly. "I'm here if you ever need to talk more."

A trip to the Citadel was something they all needed. There were certain supplies you could only get on the Citadel and it was a good place for Liara to start investigating for any information on Cerberus and Binary Helix. It also gave the crew and Jane some time for personal affairs.

Kelly had given her a lot to think about. She was still torn between those two feelings, but she no longer questioned her happiness for the child growing inside her. She loved Garrus. When she had gone trough the Clan Rites and Marking she had shown her full affection toward him. This child was just a physical manifestation of that love.

Jane giggled to herself; she couldn't believe that Garrus had watched those vids on his own. She did promise him that if he had to watch anymore vids that she would watch them with him. Of course Jane had already gone trough human reproduction in school, but it just seemed wrong to make Garrus go through that all by himself. She could not help but burst out in laughter as she remembered the look on his face after he had watched the birthing video.

The crewmembers in the mess area gave her weird looks from her sudden outburst as she set down the data pad that contained a half written, and very choppy, letter to her parents. Garrus was even preparing one for his father as well. She was going to have to have Legion send the messages with modified Geth encryptions so that it would be more difficult for someone to intercept and decode. The messages needed the utmost secrecy; it was not something that needed to be leaked out right now. She let out a heavy sigh of content and continued on with her letter. The sooner she finished it, the better she would feel.

Jacob was fidgeting with the weapon parts as Jane entered the armory. He jumped to attention and saluted her when he heard the hiss of the door.

"Commander." He said in a very formal voice.

"Kelly told me you wished to speak with me." Jane was still a little agitated at Miranda and Jacob, but they were still a part of her crew.

"Yes. I never got to really tell you how both Miranda and I are very sorry about the predicament you are in. Honestly, neither of us really knew exactly what they were doing to you."

"Yeah, I know, Jacob. Miranda has already said that." Jane crossed her arms and stared blankly at him.

"But, you still don't trust us." It was a statement, not a question. _At least I was able to make it obvious._ "I understand why you don't. If I was you, I wouldn't either. If there is anything I can do, please tell me."

Jane sighed; there was not much they could do to win her trust again, except time. "I guess if the two of you really want to contribute something, I want a detailed report of the two years that you two were part of Project Lazarus."

"The whole two years?" There was a hint of slight shock in Jacobs's voice.

"Yes, everything that may seem even of the slightest bit of importance while you were with Cerberus, I don't expect you to remember everything, but I want to know all that you remember, no matter how insignificant."

Jacob gulped visibly, but still managed to keep his trained stance. "Yes, ma'am." He saluted her again. "Oh and, uh, do you think it would be possible if I could have some leave on the Citadel? There is something I'd like to attend to."

Jane's gaze turned a little cold. "One of the crew will escort you. You are not to leave his sight at any time." Jacob's face looked a little sad. "But I will give your escort the use of his own discretion on whether or not to tell me what you do. I assure you…any suspicious behavior _will_ be reported."

"Ah, yes of course. Thank you, Commander." Jacob understood the silent dismissal as she turned to leave the armory and turned back to the weapons table.


	10. Sacrifice

**A/N:  
**After re-reading this after I wrote this two years ago I found it kinda funny how I got some of the things right in the actual story line. While the Illusive Man's base sounds more like the Shadow Brokers base tho (and different locations). Oh well, I find it ironic enough to keep this way.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Sacrifice**

Jane leaned on the table of the com. room rereading the two reports Miranda and Jacob had given her. She had spent all night reading them and despite her current distrust in the two, they had been very throughout. Even in things she was sure she really did not want to know.

It was slightly irritating to read how Jacob had nervously admitted that he had a small obsession with her during the two years she was in a coma and for a few months after she had regained consciousness. A small headache had formed between here eyes and she pinched the bridge of her nose hoping it would go away. She was very grateful he had chosen not to act on those feelings. It was true that she was always very nice and cordial with every member of her crew but in her whole commanding career she had never initiated anything other than friendship except for two: Kaidan and Garrus.

Kaidan was long since history in Jane's book. Even when she had flirted, and later taken him to her bed, it was no-where near what she had with Garrus. _At least those feelings Jacob had subsided over time._ It was probably true that Jacob was not the only one to have some sort of "crush" on their beloved Commander. It was not like there were very many female crewmembers that were desirable. However, sometimes logic did not dictate their choices. They had more chances for shore leave and romance with those outside of their work. Jane did not have such a luxury, she was lucky that she had found her love inside of her work and now, she was carrying his child. Jane sighed and tried to refocus. She was paying too much attention to the parts that did not really pertain to the subject at hand. _Well, it is my fault. I did tell them not to leave anything out._ The door hissed open, interrupting her thoughts, as Garrus and Liara entered the room.

"Please tell me you found something." Jane had an uneasy feeling that time was running short, much shorter than any other mission she had ever been on.

Liara gave her a skeptical look. "I did, but I don't know if we have time to check them all."

That was not a good sign, she checked over the reports again before continuing. "It doesn't help that Miranda reported that even though the Illusive Man stays on a massive space station that can move anywhere in the galaxy and has a IFF drive."

Liara handed her a data pad with all the possible places she had found while investigating on the Citadel. "So, we are right back where we started."

"Not necessarily, Dr. T'Soni." EDI's blue orb formed in the middle of the com table.

Garrus gave EDI a doubtful glare. "There isn't anything to cross check, EDI. And it's not like the Illusive Man is just going to sit in the last place we knew he was. He's bound to know that Jane is going to come for him and that she won't be happy."

EDI's glow flashed its eye lines a few times. "On the contrary, it does mean we can rule out one possible place, and there is another option on how to find where the Illusive Man is."

Jane lifted and eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Go on EDI."

EDI remained quite for a moment as though preparing to answer her question. "When you disconnected our link with Cerberus a year ago, the Illusive man was unable to continue his surveillance to this ship and that limited my ability to access classified files." They already knew that and EDI was well aware of it, but Jane let her continue. "If we reactivate the link, I should be able to find where the Illusive Man is located."

Garrus's mandibles twitched unsteadily as he growled loudly at the AI. "And so would he! He could take over your system in a matter of seconds and have control of the whole ship! It's too dangerous!"

Jane placed a calming hand on top of Garrus's. She could feel the blazing heat of him even through his armor. "Garrus is right EDI. It's too big of a risk. You are part of our family too; I won't risk the possibility of him damaging your systems. Who knows, maybe he has a safeguard already up waiting for you to try so he can take over the ship, or worse: delete you."

EDI's light pulsed as if she was in deep thought. All three of them stood watching her, waiting for her to say something when there was a loud crunching noise followed by a distraught murmur on the other side of the door. Their eyes all fixed on the door as it slid open and a Geth marched into the room and a grumbling Quarian not far behind. Tali was carrying what looked like a squished piece of metal that was no longer identifiable, which must have been the source of the crunching noise they had just heard.

Legion stopped in front of EDI's orb as his glowing eye twitched around in silent conversation. Tali just shrugged and shook her head as she joined them next to the table. After a long moment, it must have been an extremely long conversation considering how fast the AI's could "talk", Legion turned and faced Jane and the rest.

"Shepard-Commander." Legion acknowledged her. "I have come at EDI's request."

_I, not we. Very strange_. Lately Legion had been having what seemed like little slip-ups with his conversations. Or at least it seemed like it. The way the Geth terminal had said "I" just now _did not_ feel like a mistake.

"Legion… you said 'I'. Why?" Jane asked slowly.

Legion's eye flaps flared up in consideration. "Insignificant data. We have not reached a consensus."

"But you did say 'I'" She persisted.

"Yes."

"Then you must know why." Legion did not answer, only flicked and flared its eye and flaps in confusion like it was unsure in how to answer.

EDI's light brightened, catching their attention. "I asked Legion to come here to assist me."

"Assist you in what?" Tali asked in a confused tone.

"In finding a way to locate the Illusive Man through me in a way to so there will be no harm done to the ship or me."

Everyone gasped. "EDI," Jane was shaking. "Just because we don't want anything to happen to you, doesn't make it right to ask Legion to do it for you."

"All 1,183 processes acknowledge that EDI's request is reasonable." Legion's eye turned its glow onto the group.

"But…" Tali sputtered. She had grown very close to Legion over the year.

Legion eyed her thoughtfully. "It is a logical risk for EDI to ask. You can order her not to proceed, but you can not order me."

"How is it logical? We don't even know how to accomplish such a thing!" Tali was nearly screaming through her helmet. Legion did not answer, only flicked its eye at her.

"It is simple." EDI interjected. Jane was really starting to get very irritated at both AI's. "Legion will act as the main conduit for the link. The Geth encryptions should keep the Illusive Man from noticing Legion's presence long enough to find out his location and sever the link."

Jane shook her head. "I don't like it at all. If I can't order Legion to not do this, at least I can restrict it. Only go as far to find out what system he is in. We can do the rest from there."

A few seconds passed as EDI and Legion conversed. "We find this acceptable." Legion answered.

"Fine. Tali, go gather as many of the crew with electronics skills and have them wait in the AI core." Tali whimpered softly but ran out the door quickly to complete the task.

A long time passed as the two AI's worked. Tali arrived with two of the strongest crewmembers in case of emergency. They all felt uneasy. Tali, gripped the railing tightly as she watched Legion. Jane was just as scared to loose Legion. The Geth had become a friend. It had been able to reconnect all the other Geth and convinced them to help the Quarians rebuild their home world and were learning to co-exist. It was slow work, but everyone had high hopes, even those more skeptical on the Quarian side.

An hour passed by before there was a weird gurgling like sound that came from Legion right before it collapsed on the floor. Tali gasped and launched herself at the Geth as she fussed over its body. The light from Legion's eye was faint and flickering very lightly. Jane waved the two crewmen waiting to rush the Geth to the AI core with Tali in hot pursuit. Turning angrily at EDI Jane crossed her arms and waited for her to tell her what they all wanted to know.

EDI flickered. "You were right, Commander." _Aren't I always_. Jane rolled her eyes. "The Illusive Man did place a few safeguards. Furthermore, we were able to identify the nebula that the signal came from. It is the Minos Wasteland."

Liara picked up her data pad and tapped it hurriedly. "I have here that there have been both Cerberus and Binary Helix activity in the Ceastus system."

Garrus's head perked up. "Ceastus system?"

"You know it?" Jane asked curiously.

"Yes, there are only two planets in that system. One is a Turian mining colony, but it's also an unofficial refuge for criminals."

"And the other?"

"An uninhabited rock planet."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "Well, we can probably guess where the Illusive Man has chosen to hide out and do his research. Having a Turian colony close by doesn't sit well either." She turned a glared at EDI. "Have Joker plot a course for the Ceastus system."

EDI disappeared quickly. Garrus slowly put his arms around her middle. Jane was shaking uncontrollably. She did not know if she could loose another member of her crew. It was just too painful.


	11. It is Ok to Feel

**A/N:  
** Ok, reading this again almost makes me as sad as the day I wrote this. Although after completely ME3, I have to say I cried for almost 15 minutes *Spoiler* after my Legion died *Spoiler*. Although I hope I bring enough humanity and change in his character I do say he is still my second favorite character even without it.

Also, I noticed some awkwardness in the letter from Garrus's father. If it still seems off I am sorry. I also would like to comment that you can read a small conversation between Garrus and his father on the Shadow Broker's ship in ME2 about his mother but in ME3 he does not mention her at all when you ask about his family that is still on Palaven. Just his father and sister. I am not sure what I had originally planed for this fic but I believe it is safe to assume that either the treatments she was reviving failed or she is in no place to be able to have full contact with everyone else.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**It is Ok to Feel**

Garrus stared at the screen that displayed a letter from his father. He knew he had time to read it slowly. There were still some crewmembers on the Citadel who were hurrying to get back to the ship. Jane was upset enough at EDI and Legion that she barely noticed the small laps in procedures. They had promptly gone up to their room where Jane shook wildly in his arms until she fell asleep. He had almost expected tears; instead she had not said a word after ordering EDI to set a course toward Ceastus. Maybe she knew it was too early to know what was going to happen, but she was still frightened. Garrus was not even sure how he would feel if the Geth did not make it.

He did not want to think about such unhappy thoughts so he had checked his messages instead. Legion had been able to let them send messages to their parents with Geth encryptions so that it would not be intercepted and decoded as easily. So they were able to tell them what was going on in some detail. That did not mean that they would be able to do so on their side.

Garrus's father seemed genuinely happy enough about the unexpected news and letter, telling him that they needed to visit Palaven again. This time without the whole trek in the marshes for two and a half days. Garrus smiled, he remembered how frightening the whole ordeal was at first. Then when Jane had practically pranced out of that marsh arm in arm with her Rite partner looking very much like they were going to burst into a Turian war song, he felt like he was the luckiest Turian alive. Sure the procedure was painful, but the reward was overwhelming for him and no words could ever describe his feelings in full. The memories brought back those strong emotions to the surface, but Garrus welcomed the distraction. His father may have been a hard ass, but he was still his father and he loved him. Garrus read further into the letter hoping his father would know something about the questions he had about his behavior though. It had been bothering him and he really wanted to know.

"I know what you speak of, son." One part started. "I don't quite understand it myself. Nobody knows exactly what happens during the Binding. Even with many religious and scientific groups becoming so interested in it due to your wedding event. I was very surprised myself to see it. However, it seem to like the normal bonds between two Turians regardless of the difference in Jane's DNA." It seemed like his father had finally gotten over the part of Jane being Human to begin with. _That's good._ "I must tell you though, it took your mother and me three years before we could stand to be apart from each other for more than a few days. The longer we were apart, the harder it was to be stable. If it is the same for you, be careful. I know what this woman means to you and it is good that you finally found someone to add to our family. I only wish that you're mother was here to see it." Garrus blinked. His father rarely talked about his mother in such a way. "She would be very proud of you. It may seem like it gets easier to be apart but in truth the bond only grows stronger. Take care of your family. I love you, son. Come see me soon."

Garrus did not notice he was crying until his hand started to feel wet. He blinked rapidly and wiped his face. Something had finally changed his father from the by-the-book C-Sec officer he knew for all those years to someone who wanted to show he did care. Maybe it was Jane's courage and admiration. Or when he saw their binding. Who knows, but something had finally chipped at the hard shell and weakened it. He was not sure whether he liked it or not yet.

Jane bent over the silent Geth, her eyes dark and heavy. The few hours of sleep she had did not make her feel any better than before her rest. It did not look like anyone else looked any better than her, especially Tali. They had all done what they could do for Legion and there was nothing more to do than wait. Jane had sent Tali to Dr. Chakwas for a check up then ordered her to bed. As much as she knew Tali wanted to stay by Legion's side, Jane knew that if she did not rest and there was an emergency, the young girl might not have the full reflexes needed. A small noise caught Jane's attention. Slowly, she sat next to the Geth lying on its alcove.

A very dim light shined on her face as a weak voice barely echoed in the small room. "Shepard-Commander?"

Jane tried to smile as she rested a hand on the N7 armor plate in Legion's arm. "I'm here Legion."

"Is EDI unharmed?" A Geth had never shown any sort of actual interest in this way before. It would have made Jane more curious if the circumstances were different.

"Yes. Thanks to you." _I wish you didn't do it at all._

Legion made a sighing like sound and moved its head back to facing the ceiling. It must have taken all its strength to move for its movements were slow and lethargic. After a few moments of silence Legion made another babbling like sound.

"Shepard-Commander?" It asked.

"Yes, Legion?"

"Can I ask you a personal inquiry?"

"Of course, you can ask me anything."

"Is… death frightening."

Jane almost fell out of her seat. She had heard that Geth had asked some unusual questions when they were still working for the Quarians, but this was much more different. More personal than she would have thought was capable.

"I… No. Not really, I guess. For me, it was an insufferable pain as the oxygen in my body boiled; and then there was nothing. No pain, no thoughts, nothing. It's probably different for every person, but it's not like people come back to life every day." Jane pondered for a moment. "But weren't you deactivated when we brought you abroad over a year ago? Wouldn't it feel the same as that for you?"

Legion's eye moved slightly toward her. "Deactivation and termination are not the same."

Jane could not help but chuckle a little. "Yeah I guess it isn't."

After another moment of silence Legion finally spoke again. "We have finally made a consensus on individuality."

Jane cocked her head curiously. "Hmm. Really? What do you conclude?"

"After reviewing a significant amount of data, we have decided that individuality is sometimes needed. Even among Geth."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow at that statement.

"While, decisions still need mutual consent, it is concluded that each terminal has its own 'voice' when conversing."

"Are you saying that when you say 'I', you are speaking as 'Legion' and not as 'Geth'?"

Legion's eye moved slightly. "Yes."

"Huh… Who'd a thought…" Jane said quietly to herself.

"Commander-Shepard?" Legion interrupted her thought.

"Yes, Legion?"

"I am afraid to die."

Jane felt a tear escape her eye and trail down her cheek. Her heart tightened in pain as she squeezed Legion's shoulder in a futile attempt to comfort the synthetic machine. Legion was more than just your average Geth; it had grown beyond the simplicity of just being sentient. It was a person to everyone on the Normandy. It was their friend.

Suddenly, all the pain, sadness, and fear turned into hate. Unbelievable, menacing hate for the Illusive Man and his manipulative ways. She wanted to crush his skull with her bare hands and watch him bleed as the life drained from those deceiving eyes. Jane clenched her jaw and ground her teeth until she thought she was going to break her jawbone as she thought of all the wrongs that man had brought upon the galaxy. His time was up, and Jane was going to make sure that justice was delivered.

"It's ok, Legion. We won't let you die."

Legion made a strange noise as it tried to move a little too fast to look at her. She placed a hand on it and softly moved it back to its original position. "For now, just rest. We are with you always. Remember that."

Legion's eye opened and closed as it considered Jane's choice of words. _Perhaps next time, it will ask what friendship means._ Slowly, she rose from her spot and left the Geth terminal to ponder in its own thoughts as she headed out of the AI core and across the mess area. Jane punched in the code on the door and entered Miranda's room to find her reading an old hardbound book in her chair that faced the window. Crossing her arms, she looked down at Miranda with a very serious look on her face.

"We need to talk."

Garrus rapped a fist on the metal as he inspected the new addition to their ship. The Hammerhead was nothing like the Mako and he had spent hours fiddling around with that thing on the original Normandy. He was rather anxious about having its maiden voyage be on this particular mission. They had picked up the craft from a dock on the Citadel only a few days earlier and nobody had really any time to become familiar with it, not even Garrus.

Regardless that the vehicle was new, he checked every section, inside and out, for any weaknesses in the plating. They were going to be flying though some of the most dangerous dust storms they had ever encountered. How the Illusive Man was able to make any sort of base, movable or not, on Temerarus was beyond him. Not only was the air plagued with carbon dioxide, the hot temperatures and constant bombardment of small asteroids made it all but impossible to explore the planets surface for long periods of time. It was a planet good for launching probes to gather samples, not real people on a mission to correct the problems of a madman.

Several pairs of footsteps interrupted his inspection as Jane and a few other crewmembers approached the vehicle. Grunt was suited up ready for action and trailed closely behind Jane. The bloodthirsty Krogan reminded him a little of Wrex every now and then even though Garrus would have preferred Wrex over any other Krogan any day. There was just something different that set Wrex apart from the rest of his kind. The group of crewmembers readied the vehicle as Jane walked up to him and handed him his helmet.

"I left Tali in charge of the ship while we are away. I also asked her to check up with the colonies on Invictus to make sure they haven't had any problems that we need to know about." She paused and eyed him with sad eyes. He reached out with his empty hand and squeezed her armored arm lightly to comfort her. "Are you ready?"

"Hell yeah, I'm ready to rip the fucking bastard limb from limb." Garrus never cared for the Illusive Man and this just added to his distrust.

A small smile rose up on one side of her mouth before fading just as quickly. "I love you, Garrus."

She stood on her toes as she pressed her lips against his hard mouth in a light quick kiss, and then one on his torn mandible. Garrus had gotten used to it over the year and had admirable control on his reflexes. He was no longer afraid that he would flare his mandibles wildly and tear her flesh. Bending forward, he nuzzled Jane's neck, letting his fringe burying into her loosely bound hair.

"I love you too, Jane."


	12. Firestorm

**A/N:  
**One thing I enjoyed most about being an Infiltrator was the ability to pop those annoying mechs in that little slot between their oval eye. That and I hate elevators in each and every game. Kind of my way to hashing at it. Another interesting note, original art actually had the Illusive man in some weird half formed reaper form but was scrapped from the game to make him seem more powerful in words and deception and not physically. I am with Charlie Sheen, I just plain don't trust or like the man... I guess somethings are just meant to be.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**Firestorm**

Dust swarmed around the Hammerhead making it difficult to see more than a few meters in either direction. Luckily this vehicle was equipped with radar. Not as efficient as actually using the Normandy's probes and scanners, but it would alert the Illusive Man of their presence. They were just going to have to settle with doing it the old fashion way and Jane was hoping they would find something soon. The heat from the planet and never ending dust storms were making the Hammerhead warm up considerably since they had left the Normandy. Beads of sweat were forming along her hairline and the air was getting a little hard to breath.

A light blip caught the attention of all three passengers. "What is it?" Jane asked anxiously.

Grunt huffed. "Not sure yet." As they flew closer toward the anomaly the blip got louder. "What ever it is, it's massive."

"Good, it might be just what we've been looking for." Garrus glanced out the window out of habit. Jane was sure that he would have enjoyed taking their new vehicle out for a spin if it had been under different circumstances.

"Let's hope so. The weather of the planet should disguise us from any thermal readings. Bring us in as closer." Garrus tapped the consol as he followed her command.

The shape of the anomaly started to form on the screen. It was circular and very large. _Just like Miranda described. _Jane pointed at a section that would possibly have a docking port.

"Try here."

Garrus nodded and turned the vehicle in the direction she suggested. The shape enlarged on the screen and suddenly they could see metal plating just outside the window. Garrus cursed and struggled with the controls as he fought to keep from running into the object. The Hammerhead jerked to a stop five meters from the bulkhead of the other ship. Jane's heart had sped up a little from the excitement and she was clenching the sides of her chair.

"Look." Grunt pointed bringing her back down to regular speed. He was pointing at what looked like a small alcove in the hull just barely visible from their location.

"Take us in, nice and slow."

Garrus fragilely touched the controls and the vehicle lurched slightly. "Sorry."

As they entered the alcove, a group of mechs came into view through the window all facing the outside toward them. "Well, so much for a stealthy entrance." Jane sighed.

Grunt grinned and Garrus's mandible flared lightly. "At least this won't be a battles-less trip." Grunt's voice rumbled with happiness. Jane rolled her eyes as the two males started up the weapons and laid into the un-expecting mechs. _Boys and their toys._

Once the Hammerhead was parked in the midst of a sea of disemboweled mechs, the three of them donned their helmets and exited the vehicle in hopes of finding a door that would lead them to inside the ship. While the alcove provided protection from the dust storm, it was still littered with bits of dirt and tiny rocks. The litter started to bounce and move as the ship came to life and started moving. _He must have to constantly move his ship so that it won't get bombarded with the small meteors that plague this planet._ Jane thought as they all staggered toward what she hoped was a door.

It was a door. A very badly beaten up door in fact, but the encryptions was still intact and required Garrus's hacking techniques for a few minutes. She could hear Grunt mumbling to himself that it would have been easier if she had let him smash the door in instead as the locking mechanism clicked and the door creaked open.

The inside was dark and much cooler to their relief. Jane clicked on her visors night vision as she checked the calibrations to her Widow and M-6 Carnifex. She heard Grunt and Garrus doing the same as she holstered her pistol.

"We need to find a way to the top of this thing." Jane informed her squad-mates as they trekked quietly through the hallway.

"Perhaps we should just follow the line of mechs." Grunt huffed.

Jane gave a small chuckle. "Just because you want to shoot a few more things doesn't mean we will run into any more."

She could hear Garrus suppress a laugh as Grunt growled. "You humans can be so boring when you aren't going up something that isn't suicidal or dangerous."

"Hey, this _is_ going to be dangerous." She was half joking, half serious with the Krogan.

"Huh." Garrus's voice interrupting their play argument and the two turned their attention toward the opposite side of the room. "What do you know."

Jane ducked behind a crate and set her Widow up to look through the scope._ Yeah, what do you know…_ There was a group of mechs working on a few panels, maintenance drones probably.

"Well," Jane said through the com-link as she adjusted her sighting to get a better shot. "Looks like it's your lucky day, Grunt."

The disruptor round zipped through the air and landed in the middle of one of the eyes of a mech, causing it to franticly spas as the electrical shock raged through its body. She could hear the roar of joy from Grunt's com as he charged out after the mechs and slamming his armor against them, knocking a few to the floor before unloading a whole clip into the nearest mech. Jane continued to scope out the mechs before sending a round into the head of a mech. Garrus was knelt behind another crate doing the same.

Slowly, they pushed through the line of maintenance mechs toward what appeared to be an elevator. _Uhg, I get enough of those on my own ship._ Jane felt her aim waver with the thought and the round hit the mech in the shoulder. She cursed herself and loaded another round and fired, hitting it in the neck. Jane growled to herself and aimed at another mech, this time hitting it in the chest. Holstering her Widow on her back she pulled out her pistol and fired three good rounds into the mechs shields, giving Garrus the opportune moment to take it down.

Garrus turned his head toward her. Even through the dark helmet, she could feel his eyes on her. "I've always logged in more headshots then you, Jane; but damn." He was not trying to be sarcastic or mean, but she could tell he was worried.

"Yeah, yeah. You've always been the best, but hell… a girl can dream." She shrugged it off.

"All clear." Grunt's voice rang through her headpiece.

They walked over the piles of mechs still sparking from the disruptor rounds. Grunt had already called the elevator and was waiting for them to catch up. Turning on her omni tool, Jane checked the elevator configuration.

"This elevator only goes up halfway. We will have to find another one once it reaches its height." _Great, more elevator rides._ She could hear Garrus sighing in dismay as they pressed the button and the door slid shut.

_If I never had to ride in another elevator in my life, I'd be happy forever._ Unfortunately, it was an impossible wish. The second elevator ride was somehow twice as long as the first even though it was relatively the same distance that they both traveled. _Maybe the Illusive Man just programmed this one to go extra slow; figures._ Jane popped in a new heat sink into her pistol. Hopefully they will not have much further to go or many more mechs to go through. While a few of the mechs had ammo, they were running low on specific types.

The door finally hissed open to reveal a highly raised platform that held the chair that Jane knew very well. She crouched and pounced into the cover of the platform, hearing the light metallic scrapes on the ground as Grunt and Garrus followed her lead. The fresh smell of cigarette stench clung to the air telling them that there was indeed a person sitting in the loan chair.

"I was wondering when you'd join me again, Shepard."

A chuckle and a puff like sound rang clear even through her helmet. It was too hot in her suit now and she yanked it off and set in on the ground, letting her loosely tied hair fall down on her shoulders. Garrus removed his as well and have her a very confused look that said: "What are you doing?" Jane ignored the look and clenched her jaw.

"I will never work for you again." She growled through her grinding teeth.

"Oh?" Jane could hear the cockiness in his voice. "Is that so? Now, I'd think you'd come looking for a little help to get yourself back to normal. Isn't that what you want? To go back to the way you were before?"

Jane could not help but laugh hysterically, which caused Garrus to give her a strange look. "You have some weird thought that I would want that? I may be fucking pissed off that you did this to me, but I can't deny that some part of me is happy for it."

The creaking of metal told her that the Illusive Man had stood up from his chair. Slowly she turned her back away from the small wall and took a defensive stance in case he made any more sudden movements.

"You really are a special one aren't you? Miranda was right." He said to himself. "Then you must see how important it is to let all of humanity be offered my grace."

"Piss off." Jane spat. "You knew you were going to do this to me in the beginning, and you're not doing this to help humanity."

"Oh but I am."

"Like hell you are. You just want Humans to be the only dominate species in the galaxy. You plan on slowly eliminating the rest of the species before they realize it and it's too late to do anything."

The Illusive Man laughed. "Humanity is the only rightful species to rule the galaxy and it is sad that you don't see that. It looks like my first project has failed. That's alright, I have another one in mind that will surpass you in everyway."

Jane had moved around enough to where she could see him. Grunt and Garrus were inching around for better positions themselves. "No, I will stop you."

Another cruel laugh cascaded from the Illusive Man's mouth. "I don't see how. Even if you manage to kill me, there is no way you can find the data now."

"Oh, I beg to differ." A sleek female voice answered.

The Illusive Man swirled around, "Mira…" but he was too late. Biotic shields wrapped around him as Miranda and Jack joined together to hold him in place. Jane could see the death in Jack's eyes all the way across the room. Mordin was even grinning behind the two women like they had just stole a good piece of candy right out from under his nose. Well, technically… they did.

"Did you get it?" Jane asked across the room. Mordin nodded and tapped the arm that held his omni tool. "You see, _Illusive Man_, I already have retrieved your 'data'. Actually, all of your data to be precise."

The Illusive Man struggled for a moment before murmuring a sound of distain. "No." His body looked like it was shredding something. It shook and withered. She could tell it was become difficult for the two women to hold their shields. Jane shouted an order at them as the Illusive Man's body started making a loud tearing sound. Jack and Miranda lowered their shields holding him and watched with wide eyes as the body before them transformed into… Jane was not sure what exactly, but it looked like some form of synthetic. _That son of a bitch._ Somehow, the Illusive Man had integrated Reaper technology into his genome, making him transform into some sort of Human synthetic creature.

"Fuck!" Someone yelled.

The Human synthetic threw a shockwave at her group knocking her back a few steps. Her body started to scream with pain. "Jane!" She could hear Garrus calling out at her. The rest of their team did not hesitate. Jack and Miranda threw every biotic power they had at the creature, slowly beating down its barrier and shields.

Jane pulled out the heavy artillery and fired a shot. The electric bolt hit the shields, rendering them useless. This encouraged the rest of the group of lay in with their weapons, emptying them as quickly as possible. Heat sinks clicking as they popped out and clanging metallically on the ground where they were thrown carelessly as they dodged the biotics being thrown at them.

Jane fired another shot and watched as the Illusive Man's body convulsed as the electricity filled his body, shorting out the synthetic material throughout his body. She switched to her pistol again and fired it directly at his heart. The body collapsed where it stood and everyone slowly lowered their weapons and approached with caution. She could almost hear Jack complaining about not getting the last shot as she stood over the Illusive Man's body.

"I always hated the way your eyes looked." She commented at the dead thing beneath her. Firing one last round into the man's head just to make sure he was really dead.

"Burn it, Jack." Jane turned away and headed back toward the elevator with Garrus hot on her heals.

"With pleasure." She could hear the young woman grin through her words.


	13. Forgiving is hard to do

**A/N:  
**Someday, we will all have to forgive Miranda for being a slinking cheerleader as Jack would probably put it.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**Forgiving is Hard to do**

The two doctors fussed over Jane as Dr. Chakwas tried to scan her and keep her still as Mordin downloaded and skimmed through the data they had retrieved from the Illusive Man.

"Sit still, Jane." Dr. Chakwas commanded sternly. "That biotic hit that you took has me a little worried, I don't want you getting into any more physically demanding activities until you have this baby."

Jane gave her a pleading look and Dr. Chakwas sighed in a way that said: _fine, you can still do that, but nothing else_. Garrus and Miranda both stood off to the side waiting to be called upon.

"Alright," Dr. Chakwas turned her scanner off and waved Garrus over to allow him to comfort his beloved. "I'm done. There wasn't any damage done to your child. He might have had a little jarring around, but nothing that caused any harm."

Garrus looked up surprised. "It's a boy?"

The doctor laughed. "It's still too early to say, I just have a feeling."

Dr. Chakwas turned and started helping Mordin with the data leaving them to their own demise. Jane looked over at Miranda who was leaning against another medical bed with her arms crossed.

"Thank you for the help." Jane finally admitted.

Miranda smiled weakly. "I know it was hard for you to trust me. Maybe it will still take you a while before you fully trust Jacob and me again."

Jane really did feel bad that she still had a small part of her that did not want to forgive her. "I'm sorry, I really am."

"It's ok, Commander. I understand. That just means we have to work twice as hard at it. Nothing we can't handle." Miranda seemed genuinely happy about it.

Jane cocked her head in slight confusion. _Well, at least I can try on my side._ "Well, I guess you'll have a hard time doing so if I'm always watching you. I'll tell EDI to stop monitoring you two. I still don't want either of you off the ship by yourselves yet, but I don't care who you take along as long as it's ok with whoever you ask."

Miranda smiled and uncrossed her arms. "Thank you, Commander. I'll let Jacob know, if you don't mind."

Jane nodded a dismissal and Miranda said her good-byes to the doctors before exiting the med lab. Garrus placed a hand on her shoulder as she slumped over a little.

"Am I too hard on them, Garrus?" She asked.

"Hmm… Maybe. Maybe not. I would do the same if it was me." Garrus answered.

Jane chuckled. "You know you can't lie to me, Garrus."

Garrus gave his best "shocked" look. "I would never do such a thing." His features softened a little. "Besides, it does not really matter too much for me. I am upset just as much as you, but it doesn't really seem like their fault. Maybe guilty by association isn't applicable here."

Jane sighed. "Maybe you're right, but that still doesn't change how I feel."

Garrus nuzzled her neck affectionately. "Interesting." Mordin said aloud.

"I don't like how that 'interesting' sounded." Jane said as Dr. Chakwas gave the Salarian a hard look.

"Jane, it seems like the Illusive Man was working with more than just Binary Helix."

_What?_ "Does that mean there are others who may know about… us?" Garrus's voice sounded strained.

Mordin turned toward them. "Very possible. No way of telling for sure. Even so, probabilities of coming after you are… slim."

"You're sure." Jane did not feel sure herself.

"There is always a possibility. But I don't think they will do so now, especially if you go ahead and present this data to the Council now." Dr. Chakwas replied.

Jane gave it some thought before she said anything else. "While it is a good idea to do so, I don't want them to have everything. I want you two to go through it with a fine comb and collect the data _only_ pertaining to the experiments they did to me and any other raw data that may be helpful. Everything else needs to be secured here on the Normandy. I don't want anything falling into the wrong hands. Also keep backup files on the data and it may be a good idea to also send the initial 'medical' data to other researchers who may benefit from this discovery."

Both doctors nodded and went to work. Jane turned to Garrus and planted a kiss on his mandible. "Go tell Joker to head for the Citadel, I need to talk to EDI." Garrus hugged her tightly before heading for the elevator.

Jane turned to enter the AI core to find Legion sitting up in his alcove. Its head swiveled to look at her; the light much brighter than it had been a few hours ago. She smiled and went to go sit with it.

"How are you?" She could not help that she was still upset with both AI's, but she was grateful at the same time and she was worried.

"We are repairing at optimal speed, Commander. All programs will be fully functional within a hour." It flared its eye flaps more fluidly, which was a good sign.

"Good." Jane nodded. "I am going to need your help along with EDI's."

At her name, the AI's bright orb of light filled the room. "I am ready for what ever you need from me."

Jane sighed. She had gotten used to EDI popping in and out everywhere, but sometimes the AI's lack of the understanding of privacy eluded her. _Oh well, might as well get started._

"Alright, EDI. We need to access your restricted files and add some new encryptions. I'm going to want you to store the backup data from what we retrieved from the Illusive Man."

Together they worked until Legion was functioning well enough to take over the task. Once the two AI's were at it, Jane left them to get some rest before she was going to have to go before the Council. _Tomorrow is going to be a long day._

The scene was actually quite funny. At least to Jane it was. It very much reminded her of the day she announced to the Council that Garrus and her were getting married. She had to keep telling herself it would be very impolite to laugh at the moment and clenched her hand on Garrus's to keep from doing so.

All four Council members were speechless and extremely surprised when they informed them of her pregnancy. They even brought Dr. Chakwas _and_ Mordin to help confirm it and to bring along the data they intended to give them.

"This… is remarkable." The Turian councilman stuttered as he looked over the data.

"And very disturbing that someone had the knowledge to do so." The Asari added, looking very worriedly at them. "You are sure that you were able to stop the Illusive Man from continue his work?"

"Yes. We brought back his ashes if you wish to see them." All four shook their heads. "It may also interest you that the Illusive Man was also known as the Shadow Broker." Ambassador Anderson nearly dropped his data pad and Jane had to refrain from laughing again. "Dr. T'Soni has all the information on this and she has told me to tell you all she would be happy to have a meeting to discuses this development."

"Ah, yes of course. We will send her a summons in the next few days." The Salarian tapped his consol.

"May I ask what you all plan to do with this data?" There was not much she could do now but ask. If they decided to not use it, she could always give it to other medical groups, but she rather not have to.

The council members exchanged a few looks amongst themselves. "We will have to discuses this between ourselves for some time. However, it would be a remarkable addition to our medical sciences." The Turian councilman answered.

Jane sighed, she would just have to wait and see then. "I would feel wrong if others did not get the chance like I did. Even if it was without my initial choice."

"You have show us that humanity as more to offer than what we first thought." The Asari waved her hands animatedly as she talked. "Just because a few of your kind are still holding back does not mean that there aren't some things you can give. This just adds to the admiration to your species, quite a few will thank you for it."

Jane did blush a little. "I… uh, thank you. I would like to ask that we put a hold on announcing it if possible."

Anderson coughed. "You know, eventually you _will_ show, and people will begin to talk."

"I know; but until then, I'd like to walk down the Presidium without being bombarded by people who want to ask me constant questions. I'll have plenty of time to do that when I can barely walk thirty meters before having to sit down."

The Council members nodded in agreement. "We will announce your pregnancy and what we plan to do with these findings within a three weeks. Also, until you wish to find a permanent residence, please enjoy the apartments here on the Citadel."

They bowed their heads and wished, a still stunned, Anderson farewell and left to head back to the Normandy. A few more nights on the ship should not be too much of a problem, but it was probably a good idea not to be traveling as much until the child was born.


	14. Never Ending Surprises

**A/n:** I am in love with the idea of a Human/Turian restaurant that would be a quaint little piece of Eden in any time. Also, if you are wonder what the name of the song Shepard is playing, it is "Fly me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra. Also, I guess there will never be a break from vids for poor Garrus. ;)

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**Never Ending Surprises**

Kelly ambushed Garrus on his way to the main battery to do a quick look over on the weapons to make sure they were working correctly. She had practically marched right up to him and dragged him off to the side just off next to the elevator.

"Hey, ouch! Damn, Kelly, what is it?"

Kelly looked around to make sure no one could see them. "You _have_ to make sure Jane is off the ship for at _least_ two hours this afternoon."

"Um, what? Why?"

"It's… a surprise. Don't tell her I asked you to do this. Just take her out somewhere nice, diner, vid, anything really. She just needs to not be here for a few hours."

Garrus sighed. There was a nice little restaurant that had been started up after they had gotten married and served both human and Turian food. It may be a little busy, the place was doing very well, but seeing as who they were, it would not be too hard to get seats in a reasonable amount of time. Plus, Mordin was able to concoction a remedy for Jane's sensitive stomach and had yet to really get to try any real food. She was still eating the weird jell-o type food chef had been preparing for her. _Well, I guess it would be a good idea before it will be too hard for her to walk around in large distances._

"Ok, sure. Why not. I'll take her out to eat around 16:00, if that suites your purpose."

Kelly's eyes shined and a large mischievous grin swept across her face. "That would be perfect."

Jane was still able to fit into a good majority of her clothing. She smoothed the front of her dress. It curved and moved with her body, showing off her generous body parts. The neckline crossed and haltered up behind her neck, flowing tightly on her upper body and ending just slightly above her knees. She wore moderately flat heels that matched the midnight black color of her dress. It was all topped with sparkling jewelry and scrunched her hair into the wavy effect Garrus liked so much.

To tell the truth, Jane was ecstatic that Garrus was taking her out to eat and when he told her it was a human/Turian restaurant called "Little Eden" she was even more intrigued. The place was modeled after the tropical settings that both Earth and Palaven both shared and was doing very well in their business. _Well, I guess we will just add to the publicity for them to say that we actually ate at their restaurant. _She smiled happily as Garrus led her through the Wards toward the restaurant.

The entrance was framed with lush vines that formed a trellis around the door. There was a long line of people waiting to be seated, but nobody looked unhappy to be waiting. A petite human girl with blond hair tied up into a ponytail stood behind a pedestal that held what looked like a large old-style book. The inside was obviously two large data pads and the book design was only for show.

"Do you have a reservation?" The girl asked without looking up from the data pads.

"Uh, no. We were actually hoping to just grab a small table if possible." Garrus cocked his head to the side. He had somehow managed to find a suitable civic outfit that complimented Jane's dress making them a very striking pair.

"I'm sorry, the wait is about an hour. If you wish I can take your inf…" The girl had finally looked up from the pedestal and noticed who was standing before her. "Your… Your…" Her face paled as she fumbled with her hand to press a button on the pedestal that obviously connected with the manager's office.

"What?" A slightly annoyed voice came from a tiny speaker next to the button.

"Sir, you will never guess who is standing here asking for a table." The girl's voice squeaked and was almost inaudible.

"Huh? Who?"

"Commander Shepard and Officer Vakarian." The girl was trying to whisper softly enough without sounding rude.

"Are you sure?" The voice sounded doubtful.

"Oh I'm sure alright, nobody can fake their facial markings." Jane suppressed the need to laugh hysterically.

Their diner was exquisite. The manager of "Little Eden", who happened to be a Turian, came out to personally greet them and show them to a table, where they were swarmed by spectators to catch a glimpse at the two legendary heroes. The manager had shooed them all back to their tables and promised them that there would be no more unwanted interruptions by other customers.

It didn't stop the serving girls, and the few Turian bus boys, from coming by their table to ask for autographs. Jane had found it funny how all the men wanted her autograph and the women wanted Garrus's. When they had finally signed all the employee nametags, which Jane was sure to be conversation pieces later, their server cleared the others out of the away to take their order.

Jane found the smells of the food at the restaurant tantalizing. She had not eaten real food for a couple of weeks and it all smelled good, even the Turian food. Which Garrus eyed her suspiciously and made sure to keep his plate out of reach of Jane's fork. One thing that Jane found she could not resist was a little fruit like ball that originated from Earth. She had remembered her martial arts Master ate them whenever he could get them, she had never really cared for them then; but now, the little fruit smelled intoxicating and made her mouth water profusely when the flavor hit her tongue. Garrus even commented that they looked similar to a nut that was a big favorite among Turians, except they did not peal the outside skin and the inside was hard, not soft and chewy.

He even bought her extras to take back with them. The employees all thanked them and waved them farewell, and the manager offered them a table any time they wished to drop by. It was a delightful night for the both of them as they headed back to the Normandy. As soon as they stepped onto the ship, EDI informed them that Dr. Chakwas wanted them to see her, to make sure that Jane was digesting her food correctly and did not eat anything that might upset her stomach.

Jane continued to eat the remaining fruit from the small bag as they rode the elevator down to see the doctor.

"I wonder why she… oh, hello what's this?" The lights were dimmed so low it took them almost a minute for their eyes to adjust.

"I'm not sure. It's not late enough for Chef to close up the mess."

They rounded the corner and headed for Dr. Chakwas office when the lights came on suddenly, almost blinding the two.

"Surprise!"

The whole crew had jumped out at them yelling. Garrus was not sure what was going on, his eyes were still dilated to take in the lower light levels when they had turned them on almost to full illumination. He had to cover his eyes with a hand and felt Jane squeeze the other.

"Wha..?"

His eyes finally adjusted to the new lighting as he noticed everyone smiling at the two of them, the mess table covered in strange colored boxes. A sudden realization came to him. _Oh no. It's not Jane's birthday already is it? Humans celebrate their births like this and I haven't even gotten her anything._ Terror and shame built up inside him as he frantically tried to remember the exact date as the crew drew the two closer and sat them down at the present filled table.

Jack was standing closet to him and grinned at his expression. "This is your first 'surprise' party isn't it?"

"I… uh, Turians don't have 'surprise' parties."

Jane had forgotten all about her little fruits for they now sat discarded on the table as she started thanking everyone. "Oh, you all didn't have to do this!" Everyone had his or her own little excuse to contradict her.

"Uh, what's going on?" Garrus could not take it anymore; the confusion was just too much.

"It's a baby shower." Jane replied calmly. _A baby what?_

Liara giggled at Garrus's. "It is a human tradition to present a to-be mother with gifts."

"Normally it's just for the women, but it only seems right to have you here too." Kelly grinned at him mischievously. _So that's why…_

Garrus did not have any time to say anything in return for the crew started picking up the gifts and placing them in their hands. The colorful paper felt strange to his touch, he was not sure what to do with it exactly. Jane was tearing it apart reveling a small package of tiny clothing.

"Oh, it's boy clothing. Kelly, we aren't even sure what it will be yet." Jane rubbed a tiny shirt between her fingers as she looked up at the Yeoman.

Kelly smiled. "Well, I just have a feeling, that's all." _Yeah, you and Dr. Chakwas both._

A deep snort next to him made Garrus nearly jump out of his skin and drop the package in his hands. "Are you going to open it already?" Grunt crossed his arms.

Garrus fumbled with the package, ripping through the paper with one quick swipe from a talon. The paper fell revealing a scaled model M-3 Predator. The detail was so exquisite that Garrus would have thought it to be a working model if not for the fact that the heat sink did not pop out.

"Um, thank you."

Grunt looked at him sideways. "It is a gift from Urdnot."

"Tell Wrex that it is a wonderful gift from the clan." Jane had saved him from having to think of something to say.

It was like every single crewmember had bought them something, even Miranda and Jacob. There was a small collection of clothing, odd colorful toys, scaled model ships, and a few other items Garrus could not identify. Even Legion presented them with a set of soft Geth models. He told them he had preferred to give them models that were much more realistic, but Tali explained to him that it would be a better if the toys were much softer; and when the child got older, Legion could help the child construct more complex models. Garrus finally thought they were done, every gift was open and the wrappings littered the floor when Dr. Chakwas exited her office caring a heavy looking package.

"This one is from me and Jeff." She set it on the table, which vibrated from the impact. "I know how women can get a little bored when they get further along in their pregnancy. This should give you something to do."

Jane ripped the paper away from the slick metallic device that folded out to almost half the length of the table.

"What is it?" Garrus asked curiously.

"Oh…" Jane touched it gingerly with a finger turning on the holos to form odd-looking lines that ran the length of the device.

"It's a holo-piano, Garrus." Dr. Chakwas answered.

"I… didn't know you knew I played." Jane was caressing the metal and studying the different buttons.

"Last time we shared a bottle of iced brandy you mentioned it. I was surprised myself that I remembered."

Jane giggled at the remark; she touched a key and squinted an eye closed for half a second. "It's no full grand, but it is lovely none the less. Not to mention mobile."

"You can also download music files to it directly from your omni tool." Jeff inputted as he held onto the doctor's arm for leverage.

"Play us something, please?" Liara asked intriguingly.

"Ah, do you know 'The Major General Song'?" Mordin looked almost beside himself.

The whole crew stepped away from him, horror stuck. Jane just chuckled. "No, I'm sorry, Mordin. I never learned to play any musicals." Everyone lest out a sigh of relief, including Garrus.

Jane shut her eyes and went into deep thought. A smile crossed her face as she slowly ran her fingers across the holo-keys swiftly. It was absolutely the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. Garrus watched in amazement as her little fingers danced, producing a clear and memorizing sound that filled the room. He did not realize how entranced he was until a few of the crewmates started singing. Garrus blinked as he saw half the crew laughing and singing while Joker's face turned very red. He started to grin to himself once he realized what the song was. She must have been halfway through the song when her fingers slipped and the room filled with laughter and applause.

"Oh… sorry. It's been a long time, I've forgotten a little." Jane blushed.

Dr. Chakwas smiled and placed a hand over her shoulder in reassurance. "It was very lovely none the less."

Jane smiled and promised that she would play for everyone again once she had practiced and gave Joker a wink as she explained there was no need to go to the Moon tonight. The crew eventually dispersed and they managed to fit all the gifts into a small crate.

"Where did you learn to play?" Garrus asked eagerly.

"Oh, didn't I tell you my grandfather played jazz piano? He gave me lessons during my visits in the evenings when it was too dark to go outside."

Actually, she had not told him the exact instrument he played. Garrus opened his mouth to ask something else when Miranda bumped right into them, almost causing him to loose his hold on the crate.

"S-Sorry, Commander." Miranda looked a bit preoccupied and a little shocked.

"Is there something wrong, Miranda?" Jane cocked her head to the side.

"Uh… no, not really. It's just…" Miranda paused for a moment as they patiently waited for her to continue. "Jacob just asked me to marry him."

Jane's eyebrows lifted and Garrus's mouth dropped in surprise. "And?" All Miranda did was nod.

"Well, congratulations." Jane tilted her head in a dismissal like way.

"Thank you, Commander." Still with the blank look on her face, Miranda continued on her way back to her room and Garrus and Jane entered the elevator.

"That's it? Just congratulations?" Garrus asked as he set the crate down.

"Well, what else was I suppose to say? I'm still a little upset with the two of them." Garrus sighed, there was no use in arguing with her.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Their room was well lit, thanks to EDI's anticipation, and Garrus set the crate down next to the bathroom door and heard the light beeping noise from the terminal.

"Looks like you've got a message, Jane."

Jane gently placed the holo-piano down and clicked the terminal on. "It's from mother. She wants to congratulate us and…" Jane groaned and sank her head into her hands.

"And what, Jane?" Garrus looked over her shoulder to read the message. His mandibles fluttered with laughter. At least he was going to enjoy watching these vids.


	15. All in Good Time

**A/N:  
**First off, I would like to thank everyone (new and old fans) for reading my fic. :) It has taken me way to long to finish this but I think I got it finished enough to be happy with this ending. Maybe a little too sweet for some but I think at least in one lifetime Shepard and Garrus are owed a sweet ending to their days. Regardless, I think Shepard naming her children after the first Turain you ever meet in Mass Effect and Ashley who is her sister in arms is fitting. I hope you have enjoyed this fic. I am planing another alternate fic that I am going to take my time on so please no slanders for ending this! Also I know I uploaded the last few chapters quite quickly but they were already done and I thought, why the hell not. Thank you and enjoy! Please leave any reviews you may have. They are always welcome.

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**All in Good Time**

Garrus continued to watch the vids, even when Jane was asleep or sometimes when she was not even home. Their current "home" for the time being was a small, but luxurious apartment on the Presidium that over looked the gardens and walkways. It was actually the same apartment they had stayed in just a few months ago before adventure had found them again.

It was not really too bad really. He was starting to get used to the idea of settling down and becoming a father. The vids that Jane's parents had sent them were extremely interesting. Seeing a tiny little Jane hanging from her father's arms like a… _monkey? Was that the correct phrase?_ made him laugh every time. He enjoyed how he was able to watch her progress into the woman she was now. There was even a few vids of her on Earth with a fairly old man who was her grandfather.

Garrus sighed and his mandible flared accordingly as he clicked on a particular vid where Jane was playing the piano with her grandfather. The elderly man was acting frustrated as he tried to get a very young Jane to play a certain song but only got miss-played notes. Clearly she was very mischievous as a child and was almost a little frightened that their child would be even worse.

Wait, he was supposed to think of the child as a he now. Jane had just had a check-up with Dr. Chakwas a few days prior and was able to confirm the sex of their child. This caused another surge of gifts, this time the packages arrived at their apartment rather than all at once in a huge party. Garrus was much more happier with it like that. He hoped his first "surprise" party was his last. It was all rather strange how Humans celebrated certain things. He could not keep up with all of them, it was a lot just to remember Jane's birthday. Funny though that he would never forget their wedding anniversary regardless of what time of year it was. Garrus chuckled to himself, the vid was still playing and the two laughing voices cut off as it ended.

He stood and stretched his limbs animatedly; something he was starting to become accustomed to from his workouts with Jane. Clicking off the console, Garrus turned to pick up the few things that littered the apartment. An empty cup that he placed in the kitchen, a stray sock that had probably fallen from when Jane did the laundry a few hours prior, and gathered up the few data pads and stacked them neatly on the desk.

He toyed with the oddly shaped sock that belonged to Jane. It was light green and had small little designs all over it. The fabric was flexible and stretched while he pulled it gently between his covered talons. Garrus sighed and stopped at the extra bedroom that would be their son's room. All of the baby things that where given to them, plus a few that Jane had ordered over the extranet, sat in their distinct little places; waiting to be used and played with.

Everything looked even tinier than he really liked. It had been a very long time since he had been around children, and frankly, he was a little worried. Their child was not going to be physically like a Turian, he was going to soft and _very_ fragile, like his mother. He loved Jane and was extremely excited about being able to have children with her, but he was scared that he would end up accidentally hurting the baby. Sure he had figured out how to work certain things around with Jane, but she was a full-grown adult; and sometimes, she liked it a little rough.

He walked around the room, looking at all the curious items that had accumulated in such a small space. Clothing that looked even smaller than should be possible, the tons of colorful toys and models. There was even a crib completely furnished with a tiny mattress and blankets that had little spaceships all over it. Even the small plush Geth toys were waiting for the little guy to come join them in playing "Spectres and Geth". Garrus continued to toy with Jane's sock as he left the room, still musing in his own thoughts. It was still a few months away and he was racked with joy and fright. If only the time was already here, it may be easier.

* * *

Jane closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath of fresh clean air. Her ears filled with the sound of crashing waves on a beach in a far distance. The child like screech of laughter and the sound of tiny footsteps being perused by much larger and predator like interrupted her serenity.

"Hey!" She shouted and shifted the box in her arms to keep it from being knocked away as the two figures came running through the doorway.

Setting down the box and watched as her husband and son chased each other around the large open room of their new home. The large rooms were all mostly empty at the moment, but the moving crews were slowly bringing in their furnishings and other boxed items. The entry room was bathed in the early afternoon's light that came through the house's many large windows that gave them a beautiful view around them. After all those years in space, she had finally found a place that felt like home. Maybe it was because for both her and Garrus, Virmire reminded them both of their home worlds.

It was amazing enough that within three years the Council had finally decided to officially colonize Virmire, making it the very first Human/Turian colonial base. They had even given them first picks at the homes and areas, not to mention it was all out of courtesy for being the ones who had saved their asses countless times. Garrus was even able to convince those who were going to be colonizing in the same area to let him open up a special training school for older children and young adults. Of course, he threw in the parents could come in for lesson for free if they had a child who was attending. Jane smiled; Garrus was really taking being a husband and a father very well in hand. Perhaps they had finally gotten enough adventure and making a difference out of their systems. Well, they could still make a difference, just in a different way.

"I swear I must have given birth to two kids instead of one." Jane smirked and placed her hands on her hips as the two still ran around the room. "Nihlus, start getting you're things."

Her son frowned. "Awe, can't I play a little longer, mommy?"

Jane bent down and smiled at him. She brushed a lock of dark red hair out of his face. _He's going to need a haircut soon._ "Well, the sooner you get your stuff to your room, the sooner you can play. Plus, don't you want to explore the house too?"

Nihlus bounced in place, his smile revealed a row of white, sharp teeth. He giggled with joy and took off out the door and toward the small cargo ship in their front yard. Garrus looked out the door at his son before crossing his arms and giving her a curious look.

"Two, eh?" There was a hint of teasing mixed with seriousness.

Jane swayed her hips a little more than necessary as she closed the distance between them. "Hmmm," She gave him a sensual look and traced a finger down his chest. "Haven't even gotten me alone in our new house and you are already thinking about things to do in the bedroom."

Garrus's eyes narrowed; lowering his head toward her, he nipped playfully at her neck. Jane chuckled and shivered as his mandible grazed gently over her skin. His hot breath waved over her, promising many things to come later that night.

"Could never fool you, could I?"

Jane laughed. "Nope. Besides, you're probably right. I've always kind of wanted a girl named Ashley."

Garrus's eyes widened making Jane laugh a little harder. The group of people helping with the larger items started poring into the house, causing them to have to move out of the way.

"Oh!" Jane's attention was broken away temporarily. "Grandfather's piano!"

Jane gave Garrus a sad look. Garrus chuckled and embraced her, nuzzling her cheek for a moment. "You can 'tease' me later, love. I'll go help with bringing in our things, and you make sure they don't put something in the wrong place."

She smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss. "Mmm. You know how much I love you?"

"Not as much as I do you." It was a small joke they had grown into over the years. The two split off to their own tasks before disaster swept the things into all the wrong places. _Well, at least I can look forward to tonight._ Regular "teasing" was going to be something Garrus was going to be least worried about tonight, she had something a little extra special in mind.

**The End.**


End file.

Mass Effect, Adventure, Romance