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Drumming his talons against the battery console, Garrus attempted to focus and found himself at a loss. Shepard was acting strange. Ever since returning from the big ‘We Survived’ party at Afterlife, she had been hiding something and was determined to elude his questioning on the subject. It couldn’t be too serious, or he, Tali or Chakwas would know about it, maybe even Joker. But no, none of them knew what was wrong.
It started when Miranda mentioned that it had been almost a year since they ‘woke her up’ from the Lazarus project. At first, he thought it was because it reminded her of how she had died. Shepard had been an emotional wreck on the inside for a long while until he and Chakwas were able to help her work through the fallout from her resurrection.
Honestly, he was surprised she wasn't more of an outward mess during their fight against the Collectors. Not many people could say they came back from the dead. No psychology handbook covered how to handle a situation like that. They did what they could, and Chakwas was the one to guide him on how to help Shepard. And then the Commander turned around and helped him with Sidonis.
Now, Shepard was sneaking off the ship, doing who knew what, while they were stuck on Omega for major repairs. EDI wouldn't tell them where she went nor why. He was sure the newly unshackled AI was in on it, but she assured him all was well.
Garrus leaned forward on his elbows, resting his weight into his hands. She should be fine. He blew out a harsh breath, he wasn’t even kidding himself, he was worried about her. Yes, she was the great Commander Shepard, but he knew how often he needed to cover her six. He wasn't sure how he should act. Was he still just her best friend after that night of stress relief and that was it? Or had they now started moving into the ‘something more’ range? Was it appropriate for him to be concerned for her on a human vessel or should everything be kept strictly professional when not behind closed doors? Shepard wasn't as strict as her old Alliance code, commanding loyalty through trust and earning it. But what would she say about this?
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The uncertainty kept Garrus from acting outright, and he resorted to trying to sneak after her the next time she left the ship. He was fine until they reached the market district and then she vanished. He knew Omega better than anyone, but she wasn't an N7 infiltrator for nothing. After walking around, backtracking and even asking one of Aria’s lackeys if he'd seen her, Garrus had to give up and return to the ship before Shepard did, else he’d risk getting caught. It wouldn't do if she knew he was following her.
Defeated, he returned to a questioning Tali, who, like him, was worried about her friend. She wasn't going to like this one bit.
“You lost her? How could you lose her? I thought you knew Omega like the back of your talons?” came the modulated admonishment from his upset, purple-suited friend once they were alone in the main battery.
Garrus grit his teeth. “Of course I know Omega, but she's an infiltrator! Just in case you forgot?” he stopped for a moment, rubbing his hands over his face. “I lost her in the markets where she could have gone in any number of directions. I checked the most obvious routes, but if I was to check all of them, I'd be there all day and she would be long gone by then.” he rumbled defensively. He knew Tali was just worried for their friend, but that didn't mean she had to take it out on him.
Seeming to realise that this was getting them nowhere, she exhaled a big breath and slumped onto the crate by his door. “I'm sorry Garrus. I know. It's just…. Shepard has never hidden anything from us. Never!” she wrung her hands in her lap. “Now I'm worried. What if she's in trouble?” Tali got back up and started to pace the short distance between the crate and the console on the opposite wall.
Garrus deflated somewhat as well, there was no need to fight amongst themselves. They were both worried about Shepard. He leaned back onto his console, crossing his arms over his keel, head lowered and thinking.
“I know Tali, I know. Do you think we should ask Chakwas about this? There is no one else on this ship, besides us, that Shepard would trust more than her when it comes to these things.”
“Garrus, we already asked Chakwas if she knew what was going on and she was just as baffled as we were. Don't you think she would at least have told us all was well if the Commander did go to her?” she asked incredulous, facing him with hands on her hips, bent forward slightly.
Bringing up his hands defensively in front of him, Garrus tried to divert the potential explosion of worry in front of him. “Sorry, you’re right, you’re right. She would have told us. It's just-” he was cut off by EDI’s blue sphere appearing at her station.
“Officer Vakarian. You’re vitals appear distressed, should I notify Doctor Chakwas?” Came her smooth synthetic voice.
He sighed, silently thanking the AI for the break in the tension. “No, EDI. I don’t need Chakwas. But I'm not fine…” an idea hit him out of the blue, and he grabbed at it. “It would help to know where the Commander is going….”
There was a silence, longer than what he expected EDI would need to contemplate a response. Something was up. “The Commander is visiting a friend.”
“A friend?” now it was his turn to sound incredulous. “On Omega?”
“Yes.” Was her flat reply.
“Hmmh? Last time I checked, most of her friends were here, on the Normandy, except for Councilor Anderson, Wrex and Liara.” Tali now jumped into the interrogation, glad to have somewhere to point her worry and mounting anger at the situation.
“Shepard classified them as a friend.” Was EDI’s even more evasive reply.
“Ok EDI, we now know you know something of what Shepard is doing, spill it, what is Shepard doing with this new friend of theirs?” Tali let her wrath loose on the AI, and the sniper was glad for the redirection.
Another silence. “I was requested not to share that information.”
“Aha! So you are in on it!” Tali crowd triumphantly, pointing a gloved finger at the blue orb.
“If, by, ‘I am in on it’, you mean that Shepard has told me where she goes, you are mistaken, Miss Tali’Zorah.”
“Really? You normally keep tabs on everyone that leaves the ship, EDI. Why would now be any different?“ her silver eyes narrowed through her mask, suspicious of the AI. Not that that was anything new between a quarian and any AI, but he thought they were starting to get along even before the whole abduction of the crew.
“While I do note whenever anyone leaves or enters the ship, Miss Zorah, I cannot track their movements once they depart.” There was an almost apologetic tone to her voice. It was something he noted she was doing more often, adding emotional inflections to her communication with the crew.
“But you could hack into local security feeds and track their movements, couldn't you? Or follow the tracker in her omnitool, right?” Garrus perked up at this, having not yet considered this route since Omega didn't have very many security cameras to hack. Shepard’s tool, however, had a tracker for emergency situations. He wasn't sure if this called for such a case or not. Clearly, Tali thought it did.
“I could, if it were an emergency.” EDI was probably calculating what would be asked next, and if this is a good idea or not.
“Would you do that if I said Sheppard might be having a mental breakdown?” Tali sounded hopeful now. Her eyes gleaming through her mask, body bent forward slightly and hands held in front of her chest like this was the cliffhanger to her favourite vid.
“ Yes .”
“So can you please tell us where Shepard is right now? We are worried she might be.” Tali was practically standing on her toes by now.
“I am sorry, Miss Zorah, but I cannot. Shepard asked me not to disclose her whereabouts.” They both slumped at the shoulders, their best lead shattered. Tali seemed more angry than defeated, tossing her hands into the air.
“Aarrgghh! Why doesn't she want us to know?! Is she at least alright??!!”
“ She is fine, Miss Zorah.” EDI finally answered, probably hoping they would stop questioning her about Shepard with that reassurance.
They both breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you! Why didn't you just say that in the first place?”
“ I was unsure if the limited information would satisfy your inquiry. Shepard has asked for it to remain a surprise,” the AI answered almost shyly
“Wait, a surprise? What kind of surprise could she possibly be planning on Omega?” Garrus sprung to life, having been content to let Tali do the questioning up until now. But Shepard planning a surprise on Omega? It didn't bode well. Somewhere something was bound to end in explosions and gunfire. The two went together like… what did Gardner call it? Butter and roast? Regardless, he was glad Shepard was all right, but now worried for how long that would last.
“I cannot disclose that information at this time, Officer Vakarian.”
“Garrus, maybe we need to let Shepard do this. If anything happens, I'm sure EDI will notify us right away, won't you EDI?” Tali said, almost threateningly, narrowing her eyes at the disembodied voice.
“You shall be the first to know, Miss Zorah,” the AI reassured them.
“Ok, ok. I can see it's pointless to continue down this path.” Garrus conceded, rubbing his eyes and then pinching his nasal plates with his gloved talons. At least Shepard was ok for the moment, that should be enough for them. She was probably fine without them, right? “Thanks EDI, call us if she needs us, ok?”
“I will, Officer Vakarian. Logging you out.” Her orb disappeared from its console.
“Satisfied now Tali?” he asked his purple suited friend after several minutes of them standing in silence. But to his surprise, she just slumped onto the crate behind her instead of a snappy, ‘no, it doesn't ‘ comeback he was expecting.
“No, I'm not, but what else can we do about it without invading Shepard’s privacy? She's our friend and we need to give her, her space to do as she pleases even if it worries us.” Her helmet landed in both palms, almost a pout he would guess.
Leaning against his console again, Garrus joined her in grousing about the situation. He didn’t want to push the issue either. “I get it, Tali. But what else could we-” he cut off for a moment, his eyes narrowing as an idea popped into his head. Garrus turned around and started typing furiously on his console.
His Quarian friend stood up slowly to have a look at what he was doing, now probably starting to worry if his mental health wasn't affected by this.
“Garrus? What are you doing?”
“I still have some contacts that owe me favours here on Omega. I need to hack what little security feeds there are available and ask them to inform me whenever they see Shepard, maybe we can track her without using her omnitool.”
Yes, yes! This just might work.
His furious typing was paused by a black-gloved, three-fingered hand on his. The grey turian looked up, slightly bewildered as to why Tali would want to stop him now, mandibles flicking in a questioning manner.
“Garrus, maybe we really do need to drop this? Let Shepard do what she needs to do and trust that she or EDI would call us if anything goes wrong?” she was looking up at him now with sad eyes, and he was even more confused, subvocals saying as much even if she didn't understand them.
His face must have portrayed enough of his confusion because she sighed and let go of his talons, standing in front of him. “As her friends, we need to respect her wishes, even if we don't always like it. This isn't life threatening, we should drop it and let Shepard have her surprise. What could be so bad about it?”
“You know you just jinxed it, right?” They both jolted at the sudden intrusion of Joker over the loudspeakers.
“Joker! Why are you spying on us?!” Tali’s speaker lit up like those human holiday decorations as his sometimes temperamental Quarian friend flew into the nosey helmsman. Leaning back with a soft chuckle at seeing the two squabble, he was reminded that he thought they'd all die on this mission. Maybe he should just back off and let Shepard have her surprise. If they can survive going where no ship has gone before, destroy the creatures of myth and legend on their home turf and come back with only minor scrapes and bruises? Sure, Shepard could survive whatever Omega threw her way.
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A few days have passed with Amelia Shepard still leaving the ship for a few hours every day. Sometimes she came back with supplies for their repairs, but not always. He made it a point not to ask her what she was doing anymore. He saw that she was expecting it, and now confused as to why he didn't, especially after his previous friendly interrogations.
But she didn't ask either. No words were shared on the topic, instead just supply requisitions, repair reports, and juggling which had the highest priority, and what should be left for the Alliance to do once she returned the ship. It seemed like they went right back to being friends like before, and he was happy to keep it at that if that's what she wanted.
It was 04:30 ship time and Garrus was up early to re-calibrate the guns after the external damage they took with the crash landing. Not needing as much sleep as the human crew he tended to be up before anyone else. He headed to the galley for an early snack and some kava when he saw Shepard busy behind the counter. Her plump, muscular rear was in the air as she was fiddling with something in the oven, a white powder covered some of it.
Since when did she cook? At least she never talked about it. Mandibles twitching in curiosity, he quietly moved up to behind the counter to try and see what she was doing, when she closed the oven door and stood up. Turning, the sniper was sure he only just escaped a punch to the mandible.
“Garrus! Don't do that!” she exclaimed in a harsh whisper, clearly trying not to wake anyone at this hour.
“Don't do what? I just came to have a look at what you're doing at-” he looked down to his omnitool, all smug teasing as he leaned on the counter- “0432, here in the kitchen you’ve never stepped foot into before?” Being in his casual clothing, he didn't come across as intimidating or imposing as he might have liked, but with Shepard, armour was always a moot point anyway.
“Shhshhshhh shush! You'll wake everyone and spoil the surprise!” The dark-skinned human seemed earnest to get him to lower his volume, and he would have teased her some more if she didn't mention ‘surprise’.
His mouth was ready with the comeback before his brain caught up to what she said. Was this the surprise EDI mentioned that Shepard was working on? “Wait, what surprise?”
A sly grin passed over her face now, the kind she normally used when she knew she’d won the battle before her opponent even figured it out.”You want to tell me mister calibrations and tech expertise hasn't figured it out yet? I'm surprised you didn't hack Aria’s terminal to find out what I was up to.”
He almost did, when his curiosity and concern would war with his will to respect her wish to keep this a surprise, but she didn't need to know that. “What? Me? Why would I do such a thing? Your free to do as you please, Amelia,” giving her his best convincing smile.
“Uhu? You almost did, didn't you?” she leaned back on one hip, arms crossing over her chest with that smile still on her face. She knew him too well. It could be creepy sometimes, that smile, depending on when she used it. Like right now, as if she already knew what he had and hadn't done to follow her. The white powder he now figured was flour handprints on her black-clad hips, it made her less intimidating, and he found his crystal blue eyes drawn to them as she shifted slightly on her feet.
Garrus cleared his throat and his mind of wandering thoughts. “I might have… considered it?” he answered sheepishly, not sure how Shepard would take him admitting to worrying so much over her.
“Riigght. And that's why you followed me to the markets the other day?” she asked with a skeptically raised eyebrow.
Shit, she knew. Of course, she knew.
“I, uh, actually tried to follow you before I thought of hacking anything.” Like any good Turian, he would admit his wrongdoing if asked. He looked down at his shuffling feet, feeling very unsure of where this was going.
Without having noticed her moving, she stood in front of him, soft hand cupping his mandible and guiding him to look up at her. “Garrus, were you worried about me?”
The concern and softness of her eyes made him believe that he wasn't in trouble for worrying. Garrus pressed his uninjured mandible into her hold, relishing in the contact of these quiet, vulnerable moments that were just with him, a soft purr starting up in his chest. “Yes, I was. But then EDI assured us that you were fine.”
Her smile, soft and gentle this time, spread across her face. “I flattered that you would worry about me, but I was just getting everything I needed for the party. Now help me prepare before everyone gets up?”
And just like that, his worries were settled. Nodding in return to her question, she got up on her toes and placed a chaste kiss on his stiff lips. Garrus reciprocated as much as he could, and this seemed to please her. Pulling apart, she handed him a datapad. At his questioning look, she explained. “List of things you need to get from the cargo hold. I stashed everything next to the Hammerhead.”
“Aha,” He mumbled in return, heading to the lift as asked, starting to go over the list, while she returned to whatever it was she was making in the kitchen. Garrus was still curious about that part but knew all will be revealed soon.
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By the time they were done decorating the mess hall for the party, Gardner had shown up to make the usual breakfast, only to be roped into making party food instead. Shepard had been baking a cake in the oven when he walked in on her, and now she was decorating it with tons of whipped cream around the edges, a giant ‘1’ candle and the words ‘Happy Tankday Grunt’ written on it.
He took mental notes where he could about human birthday habits and traditions, for future reference. On the SR1 there hadn't been time for such mundane things as birthday celebrations. Rushing after Saren but always being one step behind, the Alliance missions, and Shepard being under both Council and Alliance scrutiny for being the first human Spectre hadn’t left room for things like parties.
Now though, Shepard was going all out. A big banner hung over the stairs to the battery with ‘Happy Tankday!’ in big colourful letters. There were party hats and strange whistles for every crewmember to use, colourful plastic plates, streamers and balloons hung on every protrusion of the hull around the mess. In different coloured bowls sweets from all the species aboard (dextro ones in blue for him and Tali) … really she was making sure this was a party to be remembered.
Around 0530 the crew started to trickle in from the bunks and showers. They were excited once explained what was going on. Tali was elated that this was what had had them worried and jumped right in to help with the food. Chakwas only gave that motherly smile of hers and helped set all the plates. Garrus did wonder though when the guest of honour would arrive, since his oversized bowl and a box of his favourite BlastO’s were already set for him. Shepard, missing nothing, saw him eyeing the setup and seemed to read his mind.
“I asked EDI to turn off his alarm and let him sleep in till we were ready.”
Garrus wondered about that, thinking Grunt might have woken up out of habit, but it seemed to not be the case. Everything was nearly ready.
“What do we still need Commander? It looks like we have everything.” Tali asked in a joyful tone, nearly skipping from table to table.
Shepard's brown eyes unfocused as she went over a mental checklist. Her extra curly hair bobbing with her head as she listed mumbles on her fingers when her face lit up. “We need Boo!” and she rushed off to the loft to retrieve her beloved hamster.
Garrus just shook his head with a soft chuckle. She really liked that furry critter and her fish too much to be healthy. A few minutes later she arrived with the little beast in her hands with a tiny party hat of its own. Boo was not too thrilled at the strange contraption, but quickly forgot about it when he was set in a tray on the table next to some sweet potato chips and his own miniature cake.
“Ok, everybody ready?” Shepard asked the entire crew. A chorus of ‘Aye aye, ma'am’ and ‘Yes Commander’ filled the air and Shepard was beaming a smile at all of them.
“All right then. EDI?”
“ Yes, Shepard?”
“Wake Grunt and tell him breakfast is ready.”
“ Very well, Commander.”
“ Ok, places everyone! He'll be here in a few minutes!” And they all scrambled to stand by a seat, some strange party popping things held ready in their hands. The alien crew members were either confused, intrigued or neutral, in Samara’s case; but all were happy to share in the festivities.
A few tense minutes passed as they waited when the elevator began moving. Garrus swore the mess had never been this quiet when the day cycle of the ship started, as everyone was waiting with bated breath. They could hear the doors open, lumbering heavy footfalls exit and coming around from the elevator on the medbay’s side. His bulky form moved around the dividing wall, one arm in front of his face, yawning, the other stretched out in the air, eyes closed.
When his eyes opened, he froze in place, eyes going wide in surprise, but before he could ask what was going on, Shepard stepped up to him with the biggest smile Garrus had ever seen on her face “Happy Tank Day Grunt!” The crew followed her lead, popping the streamers they held in their hands with a chorus of ‘happy birthday ‘ doing the rounds.
The young Krogan was stunned into silence, taking it all in for a moment before he opened his mouth. “Happy what day? Shepard, have you lost your mind? Need me to hit some sense into it?”
The mess erupted in laughter, and Shepard explained while leading him to the head of the table. “No, I'm perfectly fine. Today is the day I opened your tank exactly one Earth year ago or a solar cycle. It's customary for humans to celebrate this day we came into the world every year, and you are no exception.”
"You humans have strange rituals." Grunt mumbled.
Garrus watched fondly from his corner, leaning against the bulkhead, a glass of something bubbly and dexto in his hand. He had no idea where Shepard found it, but it was tasty. Meanwhile, Shepard and the human crew went about their tradition, putting a similar pointed, shiny hat on Grunt’s head while party food was being dished up by Gardner. A smile tilted his mandibles at the scene playing out, laughter and joy seem to permeate through all of them. EveGrunt seemed to be getting into the Spirit of the evening.
For this one day, this one moment, there was no Reaper war coming, no Collectors to go and defeat, no pirates or mercenary gangs to take out; just friends celebrating the passing of another solar cycle, and Shepard doting on her adopted son while handing him a badly wrapped shotgun. For this short time, all was well with the world.
