Thirty-five minutes after initially leaving, Jane and Garrus arrived back at the Normandy. Kaidan heard the airlock open, so he went to wait for the scanning to be over so he could greet them. Jane was the first one in, so she could say hello to her old crew.

"Shepard! It's been so long," Kaidan said.

"Kaidan! Man, am I glad to see you," Jane said, and gave him a hug. Kaidan backed out awkwardly after a few seconds after noticing Jane felt warm and sweaty.

"Commander, what happened? Your hair, too."

"Sorry, I had to do something before this."

"Yeah, we saw, Shepard. Half an hour ago, you dragged that Garrus guy somewhere. You sure it was a something, and not a someone?" Joker butt in, after slowly walking into the room from the cockpit.

"You.. saw that?" Jane asked.

"We were watching from the cockpit. Kaidan owes me 200 credits."

"What? Why does he owe you credits?"

"I joked around, making fun of the fact that you disappeared for thirty minutes. Said if you came back with sweat drenched hair he'd owe me 200 credits."

"Joker, I'm not giving you 200 credits," Kaidan said.

"Fine. Cheapskate," Joker added, as he went back to his pilot's chair. Garrus walked out of the airlock and into the room. He stood next to Jane.

"Sorry for the hold up, Kaidan. It's not my fault," Garrus stated.

"It's fine. Not like we were doing anything useful. What now?" Kaidan asked, kindly.

"I have many ideas, but I don't know where to start. Let's start with the simpler of them."

"What's that?"

"Are you aware that once the Normandy was forced to stay here for as long as it did, the Alliance stated your entire crew as discharged and you are all no longer part of it."

"How come?"

"Once humans become a slave, the Alliance doesn't expect them to come back. From what I've heard, if they do return, they'll get a rank back."

"'A rank'? Are you saying, if Shepard returned, and got rehired, she wouldn't be made a commander?"

"Hell if I know. Most likely, she would be given a lower rank."

"Why the fuck is that a rule?" Jane interjected.

"I have no idea. On to the next idea on what to do," Garrus said. He stood in thought for a moment. "Your previous captain of the ship, Anderson, was able to make it back to Earth. That's how I got this information. He's now an Admiral, because his knowledge."

"If Admiral Anderson is on Earth, how come he hasn't sent some sort of help to the Normandy?" Kaidan asked.

"Good question. The Alliance made it specifically clear that he does not interfere with any action on the Citadel, as leaving Earth or any of the few allowed colonies could lead to slavery. With such a scattered crew as the Normandy, there was no chance unless there was help from an 'alien' species on the Citadel."

"How are you going to help us?"

"Well, I'm going to have the Normandy go to Earth, and I'll attempt to negotiate with Alliance high ranks into letting me work with this ship."

"No way in hell we'll be able to fly there with just four people, including you Garrus," Jane said.

"Five, Dr. Chakwas is here," Kaidan corrected.

"I'm going to make a copy of the Normandy's list of former crew members, and dig through more of C-Sec's residential files to find where they went. So far, I already know where a few are," Garrus said. He used his visor to look at the list of former crew members he wrote. "Greg Adams, Charles Pressly, Requisitions Officer Brent, Richard L. Jenkins, and four more. Two engineers, one CIC Officer, and a Command Deck Technician. They were easy to find, because they were directly linked to the Normandy."

"Wow," Jane said. She was genuinely shocked. Garrus was really going to help them. She started feeling guilty for doubting him and hating him. They were going to have to have a talk later.

"Honestly, wow," Kaidan said.

"Yep. Shepard, since I'm going to be working for the next few days to work on this, you should stay here on the Normandy. I asked the crew, and none of them went to the captain's quarters, so you can stay there."

"Oh. Okay, Garrus," Jane said, sounding slightly disappointed.

"You can all do what you want now, I have to work overtime. Any questions before I leave?"

"No, not at the moment," Kaidan said. Jane agreed. Garrus didn't say goodbye to anyone, and he left.

It was very late in the night. Almost morning. Garrus worked his ass off, but hardly made any more progress. He decided, fuck it, and he'd just go with the list he currently had.

His apartment was closer, but he wouldn't feel guilty if he went to the Normandy. Guilty for what? He couldn't tell. Well, time to go to the Normandy, Garrus thought.

He eventually entered the Normandy, and no surprise, nobody was up. He went up to the captain's quarters, and stopped out infront of the door. Should he go in? She could be sleeping and want her privacy.

He went in anyway. Jane looked like she was sleeping, so Garrus walked over to the bed. She startled Garrus by speaking. "Garrus? Please, come lay with me," she begged.

"One second," Garrus said. He took his armor off. Under his armor he was wearing a gray t-shirt and casual pants. He climbed into the bed, and laid in the bed. Jane grabbed him and made him move as close as possible. Garrus was lying on his side, and Jane was lying on her opposite side, facing him. "You okay?"

"No. I need to apologize."

"Apologize for what, Jane?"

"I'm sorry for doubting you and hating you. You're really amazing," she said. She looked him in the eyes. He had a look of slight concern. His eyes a lovely, comforting blue. His markings on his face matched the colors of his eyes. Garrus said something, but she wasn't listening. He placed his hand on her side. Jane couldn't focus on what to say. She was too busy looking at his face. She has a strong disliking for turians, but there's one she finds really hot. "Uh.. sorry, did you say something?"

"You've been staring at me for half a minute. I said it's okay. It's not your fault you were set to hate me, you can blame any other turian that you've been around. I'm here for you," Garrus assured her. She felt his hand move from her side to her hip, to her behind. Garrus lightly felt her ass.

"Woah, Garrus, are you trying to feel my ass? I'm trying to be honest with my feelings here."

"Sorry, I'm tired, I don't know where my hand is going. But, I'll be honest, it's got a nice feel and shape to it."

"Ha ha ha ha... Garrus, I have a confession to make.. though it might be a little early to be honest about it.."

"Hope it's not that you're planning to kick me out once you're back in the Alliance."

"No.. Garrus, no way in hell I'd do that.. it's something else," Jane said. She paused for a few seconds.

"Something else.. like what?"

"I... Garrus.. I've known you for the shortest time.. but.. I can't say it."

"You can be honest with me about anything. I'll always be there if you need someone to talk to," he told her. He put his arms around her, and held her tightly. "Now, if you're able to, please tell me."

"I... I-I love you, Garrus Vakarian. I need you.."

"Oh! Uhm... you're.. sure? There's nobody else you.. love? You... don't want someone.. closer to home?"

"I'm.. mostly sure. I don't need anyone else. I don't care that you're a turian, your personality is amazing. But, I mean.. if you're already with someone, I.. fuck.. I'm sorry."

"Might surprise you, but I'm single.. and I need someone who loves me and I love them. I don't know if I'm the right person for you.. but if we can make it work.."

"I understand you needing someone.. but do you love me back?"

"I.. of course I do, Jane. I love you, too," Garrus said. He put his hand on the back of her head, and put his forehead against hers. After a few seconds of having their foreheads together, Garrus moved his head back, and then brought her into a tight as possible hug. "Oh, if you don't know what that forehead thing was, it was a turian kiss."

"Speaking of kiss.. we've done it before, and it's my fault, but here's the human version," Jane seductively said. She brought her face closer to his, and put her tongue in his mouth, and kissed him. She kept bringing him into a constant, deep kiss.

Jane moaned and turned her head, trying to get more out of the kiss. She moved herself on top of him and kissed more intensely. She finally backed out, and used her right hand to carress the right side of his face. They both were breathing heavily.

"So, if kissing is an expression of love, why have you kissed me before?" Garrus asked her, still catching his breath.

"Damn it, your mouth just looked like something I wanted to put my tongue in," Jane answered.

"Mmm. I know of some place I'd like to put my tongue."

"Ooh.. Garrus, it's the middle of the night. Maybe some other time, okay?"

"Okay. So, just a question, you and I are.. in love, right? In human terms, does that make me your boyfriend?"

"I'd certainly like to be your girlfriend, but I can't tell if you're comfortable with it. Garrus, do you want to be my boyfriend?"

"I'd love to, Jane. How about we cuddle and go to bed?" Garrus asked. Jane got off of Garrus and laid next to him. She rested her head on his chest, and hugged Garrus. "Goodnight, Jane. I love you."

"I love you too, Garrus." Jane said. She got really comfortable with saying that. She liked saying it. Truth is, she didn't know if she felt love or not, but she really needed someone she could depend on.

Garrus was different. He was sure about his feelings. He felt bad for Jane, and he knew the moment he first saw her it was someone he needed to protect. He would feel better for helping change someone's life, when they were going through a bad time. While helping her, he's felt closer to her. While feeling closer, he noticed he felt attracted to her, personality and all. It was a very short time to get close, but he was very desperate for someone, and the last time he was in a relationship, he was cheated on.

Garrus didn't have many friends in the first place. The more people he met, the better. Jane loving him made him feel better about himself. She didn't know how much it meant to him that she even wanted to be friends. Being more than friends? Garrus couldn't imagine something like that for him, but it happened.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. I carefully read over this, but if there are any errors, maybe next time I should wear my somewhat unnecessary glasses!