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Never Again	By : ArcadiaJones Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 5322 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or ideas of Mass Effect. They belong to Bioware, and I am making no money writing this story.

Chapter List
- 1-One
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
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Two

Garrus and Shepard sat in the backseat of the MAKO, holding on for dear life as Tali’Zorah nar Rayyha manipulated the controls in the driver’s seat. All around them, the geth rained death down on their truck, doing everything they could to stop the team from reaching the Conduit and finally confronting Saren. The Alliance had never thought to install seatbelts in their crafts, so it was inevitable that the pair in the back would jostle together.

Shepard had managed to stow her wounded pride away for the sake of the mission, but it was hard not to feel the bitterness from earlier churn in her stomach when Garrus’s leg pressed up against hers, or his arm. They were both gripping the little bars built into the ceiling for just such an occasion, doing their best not to look at one another.

“Hold on!” Tali cried, sharply turning the wheel.

Shepard cursed as she lost her grip and went crashing into Garrus. Acting purely on instinct, he released his own grip and put himself in between her and the side of the vehicle, grunting in pain as the hard metal of the MAKO’s interior bruised him through his armor. The car continued to rock around them, but all Shepard could think of was the way that his arms were wrapped so tightly around her, the way she seemed to just fit against him. She looked over her shoulder at him, and realized her mistake.

She had wasted so much time getting angry at him for denying her, that Shepard hadn’t noticed how much their confrontation in her cabin had hurt him, too. There was a desperation in his cool blue eyes tinged with pleading, begging her for forgiveness. Smiling, Shepard turned slightly so that she could better look him in the eye, reaching out to cup his face in her armored hand. As she had hoped, the action meant everything. There was no need for words.

“We’re almost at the Conduit!” Tali informed them in a shout. “Brace for impact!”

Garrus’s armed reluctantly released her as they straightened into their seats once more. Only this time, he gripped her hand in his. Shepard returned the grasp with equal intensity, wondering if her heart would explode in her chest from how hard it was beating.

Now, more than ever, there was something they both had to live for.

After their crash landing at the Citadel and a frantic fight to reach the Presidium where Saren was attempting to hack into the security systems of the station, Shepard was surprised she could still breathe. It had been a miracle for them to make it this far; it would take an even greater miracle for them to defeat this monster.

There was very little about Saren that looked organic anymore; his body was covered with glowing implants, the look in his eyes crazed. But at the same time, she could sense something in him that was fighting to free itself from Sovereign’s iron grip, and it was to that identity that she made her appeal. The crazy thing was that he was actually listening. Saren might have always been a cold-blooded individual, but Shepard was trying to engage his morality; she was appealing to his pride.

Saren taking that gun to his own head was the biggest shock of all—or so she thought. Shepard had never imagined that Sovereign’s control—its power—could be so complete. Watching Saren’s body float back up to life, changing…it was enough to make even her unflappable courage falter. But with Garrus’s firm presence at her back, she shook away her hesitation and charged in with a roar.

Fighting a reaper-controlled Spectre was no easy feat; Shepard was no biotic, and even though Garrus’s aim was as impeccable as ever, it just wasn’t enough. Every time she charged—the adrenaline pumping through her veins—Shepard found herself being thrown back as easily as one might throw a toy.

Sovereign-Saren was bearing down on her, its blue-glowing eyes hungry for her blood. Shepard tried to retreat, only to trip over a bit of debris. Cursing, she brought her assault rifle to bear, waiting for it to get close enough so that she could bury the barrel under its unprotected chin. Garrus shouted something before squeezing off a shot that connected solidly with the beast’s head, knocking the carapace-covered skull back.

Shepard took the opening without hesitation.

Pressing the barrel of her rifle against the soft flesh of his throat, she pulled the trigger, roaring as the bullets ripped through tendon and muscle. Blue blood splattered her face, but she ignored it. Just held down on the trigger until the bastard’s head was well and truly off. It wasn’t until the creature’s body had slumped to the ground and the adrenaline began to wear off that Shepard realized one of his taloned hands had reached her arm, the sharp claws still buried in her flesh. Wincing, she pulled the blade-tipped fingers free, praying that her armor had managed to absorb the worst of the strike.

Garrus and Tali were next to her in a moment, and together the trio stared down at Saren’s headless corpse. It was hard to imagine that it was all finally over…perhaps because it wasn’t. Shepard raised her head, trying to get a glance of Sovereign’s real body as it bared down on the station. She had given the order to protect the Council at any cost in spite of Garrus’s protests and her own misgivings. The Council might not be worth even one human life, but she knew that things would go badly from here on out if she let them die. And thus logic had won out over emotion again, and they watched as the Alliance fleet surrounded the Destiny Ascension, protecting it from the swarming geth fleet.

They didn’t notice their danger until it was almost too late. Tali was the first to realize that Sovereign was right above them, and as the Normandy swooped in to deliver yet another damaging blow, she knew that the glass ceiling of the Council Chambers would not protect them from what was to come.

“Um, guys?” she said, nervously taking a step backwards. “I think we should get out of here.”

Shepard and Garrus realized what she had a moment later, and the trio quickly began their retreat. Mere moments later, large chunks of Sovereign began raining down through the ceiling, showering them with a downpour of fire and metal and alien technology. Shepard hung back to make sure that her team made it out alive, Tali especially struggling to move quickly as the ground shook beneath their feet.

“C’mon, Tali!” Shepard shouted, gripped the quarian’s arm and shoved her forward. “No falling behind now!”

“SHEPARD!”

She looked up at Garrus’s cry just as an enormous mass of reaper hurtled towards them. Moving quickly, Shepard shoved Tali towards the turian before trying to move her own self out of the way. The last thing Garrus saw was the slab of metal coming in between him and his Commander before the shockwave of the impact sent him and Tali flying across the room. His head struck a concrete wall, and all went black.

When he next opened his eyes, Garrus found himself looking at Liara T’Soni, their asari archaeologist. Scientist. He couldn’t seem to remember right now…

Her full blue lips parted in a strained smile when she noticed his cognition returning. “Welcome back,” she greeted simply, as if he had merely been on vacation, not fighting Saren—

That thought brought him to full attention. Liara quickly moved out of the way when the turian’s head snapped forward, muscles tense. Wildly, he looked around, searching for one face. When his eyes returned to Liara, he felt his heart sink at the way she could not meet his gaze.

“Where is she?” he asked hoarsely.

Liara shook her head. “We’re not sure. The others are still sifting through the debris…but…”

Garrus shot forward, gripping her shoulders painfully in his talons. He shook her once. “She’s not dead! Shepard cannot be dead!”

Tears shone in the asari’s eyes, and he instantly let her go, ashamed. But he couldn’t apologize, not yet. Not until he could behold Shepard once more, see her smile, hear her say something like…like…

“I’m not dead yet…you bastards…”

All heads turned to where Shepard stood, leaning against the chunk of Sovereign that had nearly ended her life. She was gripping at her side and there was a pronounced limp in the way she walked, but dear spirits, she was alive.

“Shepard!” Liara squealed, and was the first to reach her. Tali and Kaidan followed quickly after; even Wrex moved so that he could be close to the Commander, though he would never lower himself to physical shows of affection like the others who kept touching her as if making sure she was alive. Garrus wanted nothing more than to run to her like the others and to wrap her up in his arms, but he held back. There would be time enough later.

Shepard was laughing weakly at something Tali had said, though her eyes peered through the crowd quickly amassing around her to find his face. She smiled at him, and then winked. Garrus chuckled beneath his breath.

To the rest of the world, she would go down into the annals of history as a “Hero of the Citadel.” But to him, she would always be the wise-ass human who knew the best ways to get under his skin. Mandibles flaring in a grin, he winked back.

The team returned to the Normandy after suffering through some political bullshit with the Council. Shepard shocked them all by endorsing David Anderson for the newly gained human Council seat instead of the career politician Udina, leaving the Council to bicker as she limped home.

The Normandy’s crew cheered their Commander on as she boarded, hailing her as a hero. Shepard accepted their accolades calmly, though it was clear that she was not only overwhelmed but exhausted. It took a frightening roar from Wrex for everyone to finally back off and allow her to venture down to the medbay where Dr. Chakwas waited to inspect her.

Garrus paced the floor of his small cabin for a long time, mulling over all that had occurred. He assumed—hoped—that their moment in the back of the MAKO had given him another chance to get back in her good graces after his complete fuck-up barely a day ago. He didn’t want her to think that he was still bitter or afraid, but neither did he want her to think that he was being pushy. Garrus was literally driving himself insane.

It was “nighttime” on the ship, and Garrus finally made up his mind. Clad in a more casual bodysuit, he exited his cabin and headed for the elevator. There was the sound of music and loud voices coming from the mess hall, and he made sure to avoid it completely. It was possible that Shepard was with them, celebrating; but he doubted it. Social functions of that sort had never really excited the more conserved woman, and if Garrus knew her like he thought he did, chances were good she was relaxing in her cabin.

The elevator reached her floor and he stepped out, nervousness making him clumsy. In his right hand, he grasped a tiny flower—one of the beautiful blue bells that grew in the Presidium. The place had been in ruins, but as they left the area to return to the ship, the little flower had caught his eye and Garrus picked it, thinking of Shepard. She wasn’t exactly a soft woman, but he still hoped that she would like it.

Garrus knocked on the door to her cabin, and from within there was a muffled, “It’s open!”

The door swished open and closed behind him, and Garrus found himself experiencing a slight déjà vu. Here he was, standing just inside her cabin, and there she sat in the same loose pants and tank top. Only this time, it wasn’t lust that rolled through him, but worry. Bandages hugged her upper right arm and he could tell from the extra padding on her chest that more bandages hid beneath the black fabric of her top. There were dark circles under her eyes as she smiled up at him, though she did not stand. Vaguely, Garrus wondered if she even could right now.

“Hey,” she greeted simply, ignoring the reports on her desk for the moment.

“Hey.” He took a few steps closer, hiding the flower in the curve of his hand. “Are you all right?”

Shepard shrugged, wincing. “Just a few bumps and bruises. Dr. Chakwas gave me some vile thing to drink and says I’ll be fine in a few days. What about you? Liara said you hit your head pretty hard.”

Unconsciously he raised his empty hand up to feel the back of his head where a large bruise was forming. It was tender, but definitely not life-threatening. But that was just like Shepard, thinking of everyone else before herself.

“I’ll live,” he replied with a turian version of a smirk.

An awkward silence descended on them then, Garrus looking at his feet while Shepard fiddled with some papers on her desk. She assumed why he was here, but rather than have a repeat of their last meeting, Shepard waited for him to make the first move. Tender feelings weren’t Garrus’s strong suit, and the only way they were going to get anywhere was for her to practice patience.

Finally, he spoke. “Shepard…I want to apologize, for…the last time. I didn’t mean for things to go the way they did, but…damn it!”

Garrus threw his hands up in frustration as he began pacing the floor. Shepard continued to watch him, and then her eye caught on something small fluttering to the ground. Moving slowly, she knelt down and picked up a tiny blue flower. The bell-shaped petals were half-crushed, but the sentimentality of the simple thing struck her hard. Garrus hadn’t even noticed her move, so busy was he ranting beneath his breath and pacing. Shepard held the little token close to her heart as she straightened and stood before the flustered turian. As he passed close to her, she reached out and grabbed his elbow, forcing him to stop and look at her.

His eyes noticed her opposite hand holding the flower next to her chest, and he paled. But before Garrus could begin giving some excuse or another, Shepard stood on her toes and placed a gentle, feather-light kiss on his mouth. A moment later, she pulled back, moving her hand from his elbow to his cheek.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “It’s beautiful.”
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Never Again