Intercept 4B

Shepard heard Garrus' voice. It was far off, but she'd know those familiar dual-tones anywhere. He was annoyed, even without seeing him she could heard that much although she couldn't tell who he was annoyed with. Sucks to be them, she thought cheerfully as silence fell.

Curiosity overcame her and she slowly opened her eyes. Same hospital room, but curiously she couldn't see the turian anywhere close by.

"Lillie?" That wasn't Garrus. It was a voice that was even more familiar to her than his.

She felt something in her chest lurch. "Mom?" she whispered in disbelief as she finally focused on the woman sitting in a chair on her right side.

The older woman seemed to sag in relief herself and smiled. "Welcome back to the world, sweetheart. You've been sleeping a long time."

Lil just stared at her mother wide-eyed. "What are you doing here, Mom?"

"What, I'm not supposed to come visit my daughter when I find out she's been through hell and back?" her mother crossed her arms and leaned back. At least she looked amused.

"I'm not saying that," she said quickly trying to force herself to keep still and not betray how hard her heart was beating. "I just thought you would be busy. Hackett told me you got promoted to Rear Admiral. I didn't think they would let you just walk away with everything so messed up."

"I have been working to get things running again," her mother said and slowly uncrossed her arms. "That doesn't mean I'm above pulling rank and heading over to see my injured daughter. Not a lot of people seemed to really object to it either." She chuckled. "Hackett grumbled somewhat but he didn't try to stop me either. I think he knows better than to try."

Lil wasn't at all surprised by that. Anyone who knew her mother knew about that stubborn streak that ran a mile wide.. "I wonder why," she said dryly as she tried to stop herself from fidgeting. Moving still hurt and used energy she really didn't have. Silence fell between them and she didn't know what to say to fill it. Her mother seemed confused, and Lil felt bad about this. It wasn't as if anything that had happened was either of their fault, and it would make things so much easier if she could just explain. Except, she had no idea how you brought up the fact that you had been dead to your mother.

"Lillie?" her mother's voice split the silence. She leaned forward, reaching out toward her. "Are you okay? You spaced out for a second there."

Lil jerked away automatically. Even though there was barely any room to move and the sudden action hurt, her intent was obvious. The hurt look on her mother's face was worse than the physical pain. "Yeah, sorry," she said, trying to ignore it. "I was just thinking. Were you..talking with someone else before I woke up? I thought I heard a different voice." Try to keep it calm, try to keep it casual. Easier than facing emotions she didn't know how to deal with.

Her mother sighed, as if she had expected the question. "Garrus was here until a couple minutes ago," she said. "He was already here when I arrived, actually. Then someone pinged him on his omnitool, he answered, and I chased him out when they started arguing. I told him I would throw him out myself if he woke you up. Apparently I should have just done it anyway." Her mother smiled at her encouragingly and Lil tried her best to smile back.

She wasn't sure how to feel about it. If things weren't so tangled up, then she might have actually laughed, and wished she could have seen that. Instead she felt she was just waiting for something to crack, for her mother to notice something was off and say something about it.

"So you and Garrus have been talking?" she asked, trying to keep it casual. Distract her, maybe. Lil had to admit the thought of her mother and her boyfriend talking was almost enough to distract her personally. She had never brought up her relationships to her mother and if Garrus had let something slip...

"Yes, we have," her mother shook her head, "talking quite a bit actually. I think it was harder for him to stay quiet."
Lil chuckled nervously. "Yeah, sounds like him. He's like that." She didn't know what to say after that. No, she thought quietly to herself, more than that. If she kept talking, she might say something that she would regret. There were so many things that she didn't want her mother to know, but so many things she wanted to tell her. She couldn't risk something more than she wanted to say slipping out.

Her mother looked concerned, and Lil could hardly blame her. The older woman seemed to hesitate for a moment, then spoken gently. "Look, Lil...I get why you're nervous about me speaking with him, but I'm not going to say anything about your relationship. You've never been one to take the easy route, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by you dating a turian."

For a few seconds, Lil thought she had been hit over the head. Although she had been slightly worried her mother could have picked up on something with her and Garrus in the same room for so long she hadn't thought it would be that accurate.
"Well, that's good to know. How they hell did you even found out about it anyway?" There had been rumors about who she was sleeping with; she knew that for a fact. She just didn't think her own mother would be the sort to believe them.

It just brought on a slight smile. "Vakarian told me himself."

"I am going to kill him," Lil said conversationally and tried to sink back deeper into her pillows.

"Does saying that I don't think he meant for me to overhear that make it a bit better?"

"A little," Lil admitted, plucking distractedly at the sheets. She swallowed, and hoped that she wasn't hooked up to anything reading her heart rate at the moment. "You really don't care?"

"I was a bit shocked at first," her mother admitted, "I wasn't sure what to think. I fought against the turians, remember." She shifted uncomfortably. "I'll admit, maybe I wasn't the most reasonable with him at first. But he's a good man Lillie, I can see that. He also cares for you, and he's made that very obvious." There was a pause, and her mother leaned forward. Lil drew back a little as the older woman studied her face for a moment. "But that's what he feels. I have no idea if you even feel the same about him."

The last words managed to shake Lil out of the feeling of stunned disbelief that had overridden everything else. "I thought you said you weren't going to say anything about my relationship with him?" She brought her hands up to rest on her lap. "Because really, why would you even be asking that if it were true?"

"I'm not trying to judge you, Lillie. I just want to hear things from your own mouth for once. I've had a hell of a lot of people talking to me about you, but I haven't had a chance to hear your own opinion for years. You know I prefer information straight from the source. Given everything else you've been though, can you really blame me for trying to make sure you're happy?"

Lil honestly wasn't sure what she was supposed to feel about that. Yeah, it was nice knowing someone still cared. She just never liked being question, especially by the woman who had raised her. "I'm an adult. I can make my own decisions."

"And I'm your mother. I worry. It's part of the job," her mother did draw back a little. "So, are you going to answer or leave me wondering?"

For a moment Lil did contemplate not answering but then she leaned back against her pillows and decided this was one fight she didn't want. "Whatever Garrus said, I'm echoing," she said as she closed her eyes for a moment, "I don't care what it was, and I have a pretty good idea what the words were anyway. He's been everything to me lately. No matter what's happened, what I've asked him to do, he's always been right there by my side. Imagining a life without him...that's not something I think I could do." She wasn't sure those words were right, or even if they made any sense, but they were the best she could come up with.

Her mother let out a breath of air. There was a creak for the chair, and Lil opened her eyes to find the older woman leaning back, watching her. "Then I'll keep my promise not to say anything else about it. I don't really understand the attraction but he obviously makes you happy. After everything you've been through I think that's the least you deserve."

"Thank you," Lil couldn't think of anything else to say beyond that and it drifted again into uncomfortable silence. She kept hoping something would happen. That Garrus would come back. That she would fall asleep. Even that the Alliance brass would come storming in demanding answers. Anything to get a distraction.

There was a sigh from the chair. "All right, Lillie, what's really going on here?"

Some part of her mouth went dry. She could feel adrenalin surge and her heart was bounding. Usually she felt like this at the beginning of a battle. "What do you mean? I think it's fairly obvious what's going on here. I'm trying to recover from being nearly blown up by a reaper."

"Not about that," her mother said patiently. "What's going on between the two of us? I don't need to be a psychologist to know that something's off, and has been since you got back." Lil felt herself freeze, barely breathing. Hannah Shepard did not appear to notice, but kept talking. "You used to at least shoot me a note every week or so to tell me how you were doing. Then I mourn you for two years, and you don't even have the courtesy to tell me you were back. Anderson had to tell me."

"I said I was sorry about that," Lil said shortly. "I was kind of busy killing Collectors."

"So, that meant no time for a note even?" her mother's voice was dry, although there was worry laced underneath it. "But that's why I went to see you when the Alliance dragged you in for trial. I wanted to see if you were all right. You acted like you would rather have been anywhere but there with me."

There was nothing Lil could think to say to that. She just looked down at her hands that were gripping sheets to keep from trembling. That...she remembered that. She hadn't been thinking about her mother until the older woman had walked into the apartment she was on lock down in. Then suddenly terror had gripped her. Few things scared her, but right now her mother was one of the things that could.

"Lil," her mother was saying gently. "I thought you freaked out because you didn't want me to know you were sleeping with a turian, but you're still acting like I'm going to take your head off. What's going on?"

Lil felt her mouth go dry again. She didn't want to drive her mother away. She just didn't want to talk to her either. Honestly, she wasn't sure what she wanted. Her stomach was twisting and she was just so close to saying she was exhausted and wanted to be left alone. "Nothing. I'm fine, Mom. Just tired."

That got a snort and the older woman crossed her arms. "Please Lilliana," her mother said in a warning voice she hadn't heard since she was a teenager. "I'm a bit insulted. Have you ever been able to successfully lie to me?" Then she hesitated. "Look if it's something I did, if something happened...just tell me. I'll listen. I promise."

There so many memories that called up. She swallowed around a lump in her thought. "It's nothing to do with you," she said quietly. "Not really. It's just...one of those things that's really complicated. I'm not sure how to explain it."

"I don't want to push you when you're like this," her mother sighed. "We can wait if you want. I'm just worried about you Lillie. I know how much pressure you were under. Just...you know I trust you, right? Whatever happened with Cerberus, or out there with the Reapers, I know you did the right thing."

Even without those words, Lil would have known that. Even the note she had gotten while chasing Collectors had said as much. Hannah Shepard had never doubted what her daughter was doing. That's why doubting her now made Lil feel as if she were the lowest. "Cerberus is a big part of the complication, yeah," she found herself saying. She felt her breath catch. She knew she should have shut up, she hadn't meant to say that. Shit, she must have been hanging around Garrus too much .

"I figured," was the unexpected reply. "I heard a lot about them. I knew they put you through hell before the Alliance dragged you back."

"Kind of the opposite actually," she said after a pause. The words were forced past a lump in her throat. Part of her brain was screaming that this was a bad idea. She should just stop and do something else...but she had never let her fears rule her before. This was different, yeah, but she didn't see the point in avoiding it now that they were this close. She was already at the edge. Might as well take the fall so she didn't have to worry about what could happen anymore. It couldn't be any worse than what the reapers had thrown at her...right? She felt light headed, and she knew she was trembling slightly. At least, if this went south the way she feared it would, Garrus was still be there.  She hoped.

"Yeah, I heard that too."

That reply shocked her to the core and she froze. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I asked Vakarian where you were while you were gone. He actually decided to tell me the truth." Her mother reached forward to touch the back of her hand. "I can't say much good about those Cerberus bastards, but at least they brought my daughter back to me."

It felt like the bottom of her stomach had dropped out. Suddenly she felt very light. Not dizzy exactly but something odd. "He told you? So you already knew?" For some reason that was once scenario she hadn't considered. Well, she had, but all the ones she had thought of hadn't been as nonchalant as this.

"I just said that, didn't I?" her mother smiled. "I guess that would be a little complicated to explain to your mother."

"That I'm a cyborg zombie now? Yeah, a bit." Lil could feel her voice shaking. She swallowed and tried to get some control back.

"Not exactly the words I would use to describe it,"  her mother cocked her head slightly.  "Is that what this has been about?  You not wanting me to know about Cerberus?"

"Yes," Lil admitted.

"Now I'm going to admit to being more than a little confused by that," her mother abandoned the chair to sit careful on the edge of the bed.  "Someone tossed me a miracle and brought my daughter back to life. Maybe I would find it hard to believe at first, but I'm not sure why you would be scared of me."

"Because Cerberus didn't just bring me back to life Mom, they rebuilt me.  Put me back together, and I wasn't sure how much of it was really me anymore.  They might have told me I wasn't a clone, or that it would have been easier to make a clone, but it was Cerberus. I wasn't sure I trusted that for a long, long, time. Sometimes I'm still not sure if I trust it."  She tried not to look at her mother.  Tried to keep from show exhausting this was.  It would have been better for her to wait until she was feeling better, maybe.  At least this way it could be over and she could actually rest, not worry about what she was going to do later on.

"You don't seem like a clone to me," her mother said quietly. "Although I don't think anyone could blame you for worrying about it."

Lil shut her eyes.  She could feel tears at the corner of her eyes, and that was stupid. She had saved the galaxy. Why would this break her so much?   It was just an irrational fear that had grabbed her first when she had seen her mother's note.  She hadn't trusted, Miranda, the Illusive Man, or any member of Cerberus to be telling her the truth.  If they were lying, then her mother was one of the few people that would be able to tell.  As much as she loved Garrus and had a hard time imagining life without him, they had only known each other for a few years.  Her mother had raised her, and helped shape what she would become.  If anyone would be the one to know she was different than who she said she was, it would be her.

For a while, Lil had thought she had managed to get ride of her doubts but then her mother had walked in during her stay with the Alliance and all of them had been rushing back.  She had been so terrified that her mother wouldn't know her, or she would be acting weird, or something else would be off.  She has been more than half certain she was going to hear that she wasn't Hannah Shepard's daughter.   Now, hearing her mother say almost the opposite was getting to her in ways she hadn't thought possible.  A weight she hadn't even known was there had disappeared.

"Lillie?"

Slowly Lil opened her eyes. "..Thanks.  Maybe now I'll start to believe it.  Still not sure what else Cerberus did to me though."

"If they did anything, no matter what it might be, you're still going to be my daughter," there was absolute conviction in her mother's voice. "And believe me, nothing can make me change my mind about that."  

Lil gave up trying to keep her tears back and just smiled. "Thanks, Mom."  

Her mother leaned over, and gave her a careful hug. "Just make sure you're okay, Lillie."  

Even though her arms still felt like lead, and it took almost every bit of strength she had left, Lil reached up to return the embrace.  The pulled apart after half a second.  "Still, glad you're here."  The words took actually effort to form.  Now that she wasn't running on adrenaline and not shaking, her body was letting her know that she had pushed things way too far.   She settled back against the pillows, feeling amazingly heavy.  Still, she tried to keep her eyes open.  

She felt, more than heard, her mothers sigh and there was a creak as her weight left the bed.  "Go to sleep Lillie," she heard her order. "People have waited this long to see you. Anyone who's worth your time can wait a little longer."

Lil tried to mutter an agreement, but exhaustion was pulling at her and she slipped into sleep before she could even complete the thought.

*~*~*~*~*

"I don't care what the council wants," Garrus growled not even bothering to keep his voice down anymore. "I still don't see the point of me talking with them.  You're the Primarch, Victus.  You're the one they should be dealing with."

"Primarch, yes," Victus' voice came from the omni-tool, "But not one of the biggest heroes the galaxy has at the moment. And, unless you forgot, you happen to be one of the most senior advisors we have."  

"I didn't forget," Garrus said, pacing back and forth along the narrow stretch of corridor, "I just don't see the point in calling me one anymore. The only reason I was allowed that responsibility at all was because of the Reapers. You might not have noticed, but they're gone now. I doubt the Senate is going to be jumping with joy at keeping me as an advisor." He glanced back down the corridor he was in. There was the guarded double door at the end that led to Shepard's private hallway.  This was the area that was near the official checkpoint, and he was close enough that he was able to hear the hum of activity from the main hospital area.  This was not anywhere near where he wanted to be.

"I do think I remember something about the Reaper's falling, yes," was the dry response from his omni-tool. "That they are dead doesn't matter anymore.  You proved that you could make capable final decisions.  That made an impression on a lot of people, Vakarian. Couple that with how many we lost during the war, and you have more people than you think supporting you."  

"Well, nice to know.  Not that it really makes that much off a difference right now," Garrus glanced back toward the doors again. He should be back there, waiting with Shepard.  He had promised her that. Getting dragged away because of politics hadn't been part of the plan.  The only reason he even had answered his omni-tool was because it was Victus.  If he had known it would end in an argument that would get him banished all the way here he would have just let his friend suffer in silence. "Do we even have a Council anymore, really? The Citadel is kind of, you know, destroyed."

"Damaged, not destroyed," Victus said, sounding like he was repeating something. "Sparatus and Tevos are both alive, although wounded.  Both of them are trying their best to keep things organized and under control despite that.  That's probably half the reason why Sparatus wanted you to come to the Citadel.  He needs some sort of symbol to hold up.  You were in C-sec at one point.  He's trying to appeal to your sense of duty."

"Yeah, well, you can tell Sparatus to look for another puppet. I am not going up there.  There are more important things for me to do down here."  He had gone out into the corridor in front of Shepard's room, but when his subvocals had started raising enough that even humans could hear it one of the guards outside her door had coughed and suggested he was 'making a disturbance' with a glance at Shepard's room of course, to remind him the walls weren't that thick.  He didn't know whether to be happy that they had found a set of soldiers that actually seemed to like Shepard or just feel annoyed at being scolded like a raw cadet.  

He had listened to their advice, only for Shepard's sake, and gone into this hallway after that.  At least he could agree about them warning him. He would rather shoot himself in the foot than wake up Shepard when she was still so fragile.  

"All I promised Sparatus was that I would pass along his message and suggest you contact him," Victus didn't even sound surprised by his refusal. "I'll try to keep him off your back for as long as I can, but eventually he's going to get through himself.  I understand why you want some time to yourself, but keep in mind that the galaxy is still spinning.  People are going to want things from you, and I suggest you think about how you want to deal with them."

"I know, I know," Garrus sighed. "Just…not right now.  I have things to do."

"If that's how you want to play it.  Be careful, Vakarian.  People are already spreading rumors about where Shepard is.  Half the media already has a good idea where to look.  I suggest you keep an eye out."

For some reason it didn't really surprise him that Victus knew the truth. "I will…and thanks for the warning," Garrus cut the connection after that and stood silent.  He had been aware that they couldn't keep Shepard's state and whereabouts secret forever.  Alliance Command was probably already planning an interrogation.  The thought made him growl softly.  Another reason to stay near her.  He was sure he could make it very clear to any of them that he wasn't going to allow them to question Sheaprd for hours and hours.  They could probably match any number of reports in sheer annoyance and persistence.  Actually, they were probably worse because they felt they had a right to be so intrusive.  He would just have to make sure they understood how wrong they were.

The comment Victus had made about paparazzi already knowing where Shepard was, that worried him a little.  He wandered forward a little, just until he could see towards where the main lobby of the hospital was. The guards on duty where probably keeping an eye on who came through the doors as well but he felt just a little better checking for himself.   There was no one immediately in sight that he thought might be part of the media.  No cameras at least, although he was pretty sure the hospital staff would chase out anyone that obvious about what they were doing.  The guards should be able to stop anyone else, or at least he hoped they were competent enough to do that.

Enough, Vakarian, he told himself, you'd better get back to Shepard before someone else decides to call you for something stupid.  Well, stupid-er.   He turned to walk away, but something out of the corner of his eye stopped him.  It wasn't even so much a thing as the sense of a color.  A very familiar shade of grey that stopped him his tracks.  His head snapped over and he caught sight of turian talking to a nurse.

He knew that coloration and that build.  That was impossible though, he knew she wasn't on earth at the moment.  Or, at least she hadn't been the last time he had checked.  There were plenty of turians here, it must just be someone similar looking to her.  Then she turned, and he caught sight of her markings.  He hurried though the checkpoint without even thinking about it.  

"Sol?" he called out once he was close enough.  She whipped around, her eyes wide.

"Garrus!" she limped over to him.  He embraced his sister, a soft trill of relief escaping his subvocals for a moment before they separated.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, "I thought you were still with the fleet! And why are you on your feet? Dad said your leg was broken, and I know you don't heal that fast."  He glanced down at the reinforced cast that decorated the lower half of her right leg from the knee down.

She waved his concerns away. "I'm not a child anymore, Garrus.  It's healed enough to walk on now, or else I wouldn't even be down here.  Do you really think anyone would have let me on a shuttle if I hadn't been cleared by a doctor?"  She gave him a stubborn look, as if daring for him to call her out on it.  The only reason he didn't was because their father had been the last person he remembered her being with, and he would have tried to haul her back himself if she hadn't been cleared.  Anyone else Sol probably would have been able to charm into doing what she wanted.

"Okay, fine, you're walking now," he said as evenly as he could.  It hadn't escaped his noticed that there were several people giving them looks.  Ones that had more to do with annoyance at them taking up part of the hallway than anything else.  Reunions, happy or otherwise, weren't uncommon here where the wounded were and one look at them probably told enough of the story that no one was curious.  Happy, maybe, but not curious.  Sol's plates might be half a shade lighter than his were, and her eyes might tend more towards grey than blue, but they had the same markings (which even humans noticed) and the same mandible shape (which only other turians seem to realize) to mark them as family.  He gently grabbed her arm and steered her towards a corner, out of the way of traffic.  "That still doesn't tell me what you're doing here."

"On Earth or here specifically? I have answers to both." Sol leaned back against the wall and flared her mandibles in a smirk. She was obviously trying to make the move look causal, but it didn't escape Garrus' notice that her position took some of the weight of her injured leg.  His eyes flickered towards an empty chair that was a few feet away, but he knew better than to offer it to her or ask if she wanted crutches. It would just make her even more determined to prove she didn't need any help. His sister was too stubborn for her own good sometimes.

"Then why don't' you give me both answers?" he demanded. "I didn't even know you were coming!"  

"Not my fault," she shot back, "I sent you a message and everything. I even got confirmation that it went through. If you didn't see it then it's all on you."

He couldn't find any fault in that statement and fought to keep his face blank.  Okay, so he had been ignoring his omni-tool messages all morning, but if he had known that one was Sol's he would have….well, done what, really?  Gone to meet her? That would mean leaving Shepard.  It was his sister though, one of the few family members he had left.  Could he have chosen between them?

He gave himself a mental shake and vowed to not worry about a situation that was already past.  "Okay, I missed a message. You are here because…?"

"Because it was either come here or stay stuck up there and help Dad with organizational and political maneuvering," Sol snorted. "I was stuck on bed rest and missed what's probably the biggest battle this galaxy is ever going to see.  I wanted to do something physical and at least see the battlefield.  Besides," she added, "someone needed to come down here and check on you.  It's not like you've been in regular contact or anything."

"I sent a note!" he protested, "I told Dad I was fine and asked him to tell you that! I don't need to be 'checked on' Sol. It's not like I'm that irresponsible."

"Oh, I know that," Sol crossed her arms and settled back with her mandibles flared in annoyance. "But the thing is, I keep remembering the first time I heard you say 'I'm fine'.   It was that time when you broke you arm, were freaked and looked like you were going to pass out any second but kept insisting you were fine.. "

"That was when we were kids!" he protested, "and I was trying to keep you from freaking out!"

"Exactly," Sol said calmly. "So forgive me if I doubt every 'fine' that comes out of you.  Turns out that's probably a good thing.  I went to the command center thinking that's where a big shot like you would be.."

"I'm not a big shot, Sol,"

"And," she raised her voice slightly and entirely ignored his protest, "I found out you weren't there.  When I started asking around, someone there told me that you had been running off to the hospital at every spare opportunity."  She reached out and poked his chest armor.  "Fine my ass Garrus.  What's the matter with you?"

It took several seconds for what she was worried about to make sense to him. "What do you…oh, spirits," he groaned. "Sol, it's nor for me, I swear."  She just kept glaring at him and he sighed.  "Look, I did take a few hits during the final battle, I'll admit that.  Those are healed though, and if you ask anyone here they'll tell you I've never been a patient.  I'm just here visiting a friend.  That's it, I promise you."

Sol still had that disbelieving look on her face.  "Visiting a friend.  Every single day, every spare moment you have?"

"It's complicated," he started to say.

"Garrus!" his name interrupted his train of thought.  He turned to find Tali trotting towards him. "What are you doing out here?  Did something happen?"  She stopped as she reached his side and finally seemed to realize he was talking with someone. "Oh. Sorry, am I interrupting something?"

Sol was giving Tali a curious look, and Garrus decided it was better if she didn't get the chance to ask questions.  "Tali, this is my sister, Solana.  Sol, this is Tali'Zorah.  She's an old friend that served on the Normandy with me."

"It's nice to finally meet you," Sol said, "Garrus has mentioned you a few times, and I heard the reports.  You have a pretty impressive reputation."  

Garrus wondered just what reports Sol had been reading to make her say that.

"Thank you," Tali replied, relaxing a little. "I wish I could say the same, but for some reason Garrus doesn't seem to talk about his family much."   Even though he couldn't see past her helmet, Garrus got the feeling that Tali was giving him a glare of her own.

"Sounds like him," Sol agreed.

"It's a little thing called privacy," he said after half a second. "I'm not required to share my life story with the whole world."

"No," Tali said, "you just babble about everything else.  Constantly."

"I'm not that bad," he protested, and Sol snorted in amusement.  "Well, maybe sometimes."

"Or constantly," Sol cut in. "he's been that way since we were kids."

"Why am I not surprised?" Tali sounded amused.

"Did no one inform me that it's 'Pick on Garrus' day? Because that would have been a good thing to know."

"Sorry," Tali covered the speaker on her mask with a hand. "But I think your ego can handle it."

"Oh, it can, believe me," Sol chuckled.

"Look, can we stop with the mocking already?  I think that's enough mocking for today," Garrus said pleasantly. "Is there something you needed Tali?"

"Not really," the quarian admitted, "I was just going to visit Shep.."   She looked over at Sol then and seemed to freeze.

"Shep?" Sol glanced back and forth between them and Garrus could just feel the gears turning in her head.  She had always been far too good at reading between the lines and putting facts together. This wasn't exactly the hardest puzzle if you knew what to look for either. "This has something to do with Commander Shepard, doesn't it?"

Tali gave an outright squeak at that. "N..no, of course not!" she stammered, twisting her fingers together and glancing at him frantically.  Garrus just sighed.  

"It's all right," he said motioning to Tali to calm down.  "We can trust her.  I think Shepard would understand."

"So Shepard is here," Sol said settling back with a slightly smug  look on her face.  "There was a group of reporters outside that seemed to think she was, and you've got rumors flying saying that Shepard is secretly alive. I just hadn't found any confirmation.  I should have figured things out when Garrus said he was visiting someone here.  Shepard is the only one I've ever seen him that devoted to."

"Yes, she's here," Garrus said quickly.  He didn't want Sol to think anymore closely than that.  His relationship with Shepard was one thing he hadn't really opened up to his family about yet, and he wasn't sure what Sol's reaction to it was going to be.  He would rather be somewhere a little more private than the middle of a hospital when she figured it out.  "Alliance Command just thought things would be a little safer if we kept her location secret."

"Great job they're doing with that," Sol said. "She's the big hero.  You think people would be able to keep quiet about it?"

"They did for a while," Tali pointed out. "It's just that lately, people have gotten a bit sloppy I guess.  We just wanted to make sure she was going to be okay."  The quarian was twisting her hands around each other again, and glanced off the side, towards the checkpoint.

"Uh-hu," Sol gave Tali a measuring glance. "And I guess that she's 'all right'?  Or at least the rumors seem to think she is."

Garrus weighed his options before answering. "She was out of it for a while, but she's been awake and talking the last couple of days.  Tired though, but the doctors say that will pass."  Sol was going to be curious, and she rarely ever let go of an idea once she got it in to her head.  If he answered her questions now, it would save having to deal with them later.

"If she only just woke up, I can think of a couple other reasons that the Alliance wanted her condition kept quiet," Sol mused. "It would be a hard blow to morale if they announced the galaxy's biggest hero was alive, and then she turned out to be a vegetable or something."

Tali tensed fingers tightened together as Garrus growled. "Sol!" in warning tones that seeped into his subvocals.  

"Sorry," Sol had the grace to wince a little and duck her head. "I know she's a friend of yours.  But hey, at least that didn't happen, right?"

"Right," Tali said, letting out a breath, " I've been trying to avoid thinking about it. They mentioned it to us too, but…."

"Tali," Garrus interrupted. "Could you go check on Shepard for me?  She wasn't awake when I left her, but she's been out for a while and might be soon.  She would probably appreciate having a friend around, and she hasn't had a chance to see you yet.."

"Sure," Tali looked grateful for a chance to get away for a bit. "I think she'll understand talking with family."

"Her mother's with her," he called after Tali as she set off, "watch out for that."   Tali just waved at him before disappearing down the checkpoint corridor.

"So," Sol said as soon as Tali was gone. "Commander Shepard, huh?  You're here everyday just for her."

"She's the closest friend I have, Sol," he said.  Complete and utter truth even if it wasn't all of it. "Can you really blame me for being worried after everything that's happened?"

"Not really," Sol shifted a little trying to get more comfortable.  Garrus fought the urge to reach out and help her.  She wouldn't appreciate it.  "You always seemed like you were close with her."  Sol was studying him now, as if she were trying to come up with a theory.  "Still, you're going to have to rip yourself away from her side at some point.  I doubt Dad would be pleased at having to come all the way here."

Garrus felt any explanations he had been going to make about why he was staying so close to Shepard vanish from his mind.  "Dad?  Wait, is dad here?" He glanced around, half expecting his father to pop out of the ground at any moment.  His heart was already speeding up, he could feel it.   If there was anyone aside from Sol he didn't want finding out about his relationship with Shepard, it was his father.   They might have made a sort of truce in their relationship and were slowly starting to repair things, but he didn't trust the tradition bound elder Vakarian to be anything less than displeased about his only son dating a human.

"Oh, he's not here right now," Sol said, snapping him back to what was in front of him and letting himself  relax a little. "He'll be catching a shuttle down soon, though.  Things have calmed down enough with the fleet that he feels he can afford to come down here and check on you.  You did make it pretty obvious that you weren't going to go up there to see us.  At least not right away."

"Wait, didn't Dad just send you down to check on me? Why is he coming himself?"

"He didn't send me to check on you," Sol said patiently. "I came down on my own because I was bored. Then I decided to check on you."  She shook her head slightly. "Not that it really matters.  I could try to send him messages saying that you really were okay for once, but he would probably still insist on coming to see for himself."

"I don't need him checking on me," Garrus found himself growling and tried to force his subvocals to behave.  

"Garrus, it's not about that and you know it" Sol said sharply. "After everything that happened; Mom, the war, me getting hurt, he's just worried.  He does care about you, you know.  You're his son."

"I know," Garrus rumbled and went to lean against the wall beside her.  "It's just complicated."

"The two of you are both rock-headed and stubborn, but you're still family.  You can at least try to get along with him for a bit, right?"

"Riiight," Garrus wasn't entirely sure about that himself, but at least he would try.  He owed his Dad that much at least. "I'll deal with him.  It'll be fine."  I hope.