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House arrest has not been kind to Shepard. Sure, she looks fine. The cybernetic scars from her Cerberus implants and any injuries she took away from the Relay have healed completely and she spent most of her time training, so she is fitter than ever before, with a new biotically enhanced punch to boot.
But she has been cut off from all information about the Reapers, Cerberus and the dangers they pose. She hasn’t heard from Garrus or Tali or Liara and it didn’t take long for the fear of their deaths to set in. Would the Alliance tell her if anything happened to them? Or would she set free months later and find out everyone she loves has been killed and turned?
It takes her a lot to not bombard Anderson with questions about her crew the moment she is let out. She does however, give Liara a big hug on Mars. Liara immediately hugs her back. “Good to see you, Shepard.”
“Good to see you! Have you heard from anyone else?”
Liara looks at her, her mouth twitches as if to hide a smirk “Garrus?”
Of course she knows. Shepard nods.
“I haven’t. I’m sorry. News from Palaven are rare.”
“That’s...not good.”
“It really isn’t”, Liara agrees “But it doesn’t mean much. I’m sure he’s fine.”
Shepard wishes she could believe her.
-
There aren’t any news from Palaven, because Palaven is being attacked. Fear sits in Shepard stomach like a stone. Liara looks at her as they are approaching Menae and Shepard is sure her friend can hear the endless chant repeating in her thoughts. Don’t be dead don’t be dead don’t be dead please please don’t be dead.
Once the reach the planet surface, Shepard snaps into business mode. Land. Find the camp. Find the general. Fix the comm tower. Normal. Standard. The usual. The fears is still there, though. Whispering to her. Telling her that Garrus is on Palaven right now, in the middle of one of those big orange patches. Dying horribly.
But he isn’t dying. He’s here. She’s catches a glimpse of his familiar armour, then hears his voice and sees his face and all tensions drains from body. For a brief moment she forgets she is in the middle of a literal battlefield and she’s just happy to see Garrus. She smiles at him and he smiles at her and everything feels just right.
-
She has to do her best to not just run straight to the main battery. Shepard forces herself to talk to Victus first, put the professional before the personal. She makes her way to the crew deck quickly, cursing the elevator. She doesn’t sprint down the hallway, but walks as fast as possible, not even trying to containing her excitement. Garrus is already waiting for her.
Shepard barely waits for the sound of the door hissing shut behind her to pull him down and kiss him. He responds in kind, hooking his arms around her waist and hoisting her up with her back against the wall. Shepard laughs. “I’m happy to see you too.”
Garrus doesn’t respond, just hums and kisses her again. Shepard kisses him back and decides, for just a minute, to forget everything around her.