"You're in my shot. Move to the side."

Jane Shepard winced at the menace in Garrus' voice. She stood in the middle of the wards on the Citadel, in front of a turian who Garrus had every reason to hate. She was in her full gear, weapons and all, but the man in front of her was in civilian clothes, completely unarmed, just like most of the people in the wards. Usually she felt fine as she walked through the Citadel; hell, even on the presidium she didn't feel out of place.

But today was different. When Garrus asked her to help him kill Sidonis, she agreed because it would help him close the door on a section of his life that tormented him every day. She knew how Garrus felt because she had done the same thing with the things of her past. After Akuze, Shepard was haunted by all the things she could have done differently. She found ways to close those doors, and now she thought that's what she was doing for Garrus.

It felt wrong, though. She felt out of place, felt like she shouldn't be there. The turian looking through that scope in the overhang was too blinded by hatred and anger to see what he was really doing. She was beginning to wonder if agreeing to help Garrus to kill Sidonis was the right choice at all. Even though she knew how important this was to him, she also knew that if Garrus was thinking rationally he would not instantly jump to killing Sidonis as his only option for avenging his dead team. Garrus wanted justice, and that wasn't what this was: it was pure, cold-blooded revenge.

Shepard sighed and said a silent prayer that Garrus wouldn't hate her for her next move.

"Listen, Sidonis," she began, "I'm here to help you."

The casually dressed turian standing in front of her glanced around with fear-glazed eyes before his gaze focused back on her. "Please, don't ever say that name aloud..."

Shepard nodded slightly before continuing. "I'm a friend of Garrus'..." Shepard could instantly tell the moment she began talking to Sidonis that Garrus was furious. The comm line had gone eerily quiet compared to the barked orders that had filled the line before. It was too late now, though. "He wants you dead, but I'm hoping that's not necessary."

Sidonis shifted his weight around, and Shepard followed suit. She felt that the second she moved out of Garrus' scope he would take the shot, so the only way to keep Garrus from pulling the trigger was to keep her head and Sidonis' even. She had a terrible sensation inhabit in the pit of her stomach the second Garrus had stated that she was in his shot. She was certain that Garrus wouldn't shoot her... They had been friends for so long, not to mention she trusted him to watch her back on daily basis. And besides, it would be out of his character to betray a friend, especially after what had happened to his squad.

Then again, Garrus had not been himself at all lately, and that fact did not alleviate the knot in her stomach.

Garrus' mandibles clicked as Shepard blatantly ignored his request and began to try and reason with Sidonis. Was she blind to everything Garrus had told her? Could she not see what a terrible person Sidonis was, all of the things he had done? Garrus narrowed his eyes as Shepard moved with Sidonis as he fiddled; she was obviously blocking his shot and trying to settle the problem without bloodshed. Before the whole Cerberus nonsense Shephard would have stepped aside in a heartbeat, but she was different now: much more diplomatic than before. This diplomacy wouldn't resolve Garrus' hate for Sidonis, though; this was a matter of justice for his men and bringing their killer to his knees. Garrus tensed his finger on the trigger as he saw an opening but was thwarted yet again. His mandible's flared as he heard Sidonis' pathetic voice yet again through Shephard's comm.

"Garrus? Is this some kind of joke?"

Garrus felt his chest fill with rage as Sidonis' eyes seemed to pathetically stare him dead in the eye through the scope. Garrus knew it was impossible for Sidonis to see him but those eyes... They were different from the Sidonis he had known. Well, the one Garrus had seen before he lost his entire squad at least.

Garrus closed his eyes for a second before readjusting his position. "Damn it, Shepard," Garrus hissed through the comm line, "If he moves I'm taking the shot!"

His barked warning fell on deaf ears. Shepard persisted on talking to Sidonis, warning him and pleading with him to hold his position. As Sidonis rambled on about his "problems" Garrus barely heard anything above a soft buzz as he tried to decide what to do. He wanted this shot badly, but he didn't want to risk hurting Shepard. Garrus lifted his eye from his scope for a second, his hand leaving the trigger as he gazed across the Citadel that his most hated enemy would probably escape into, to live a life stained with the blood of old friends and comrades...

No, Garrus wouldn't let that happen. Shepard would understand; she had to understand. She knew what this meant to him, and she knew there were risks involved. She knew what he had come there to do. And she full well knew that he would do anything to accomplish the job. Garrus closed his eyes as he reached for his ammo belt, pulling out a lone concussive round and loading it into his sniper rifle. He resettled himself into his former position and scoping in on the middle of Shepard's back, he took the shot.

Shepard almost instantly hit the floor; though she was tough, Garrus knew the combination of the pain and shock that Garrus had shot her would keep her down long enough to finish the job. Garrus couldn't think of that now, though, as he saw Sidonis' terrified eyes dart up to Garrus' position before he quickly turned on his heel, poised to run. Too late to run, Sidonis. Garrus took one shot and Sidonis dropped dead in his spot.

Screams echoed through the level as Shepard fell to the ground, her back instantly arching up as she collided with the cool metallic floor. Her eyes instantly started watering as she cried out, instantly pulling air in through clenched teeth. Normally a hit wouldn't hurt her this much, but an old injury from a mission in her rookie days made this unbearable. Her ears rang and her eyesight became spotty as she pain very slowly subsided. She gasped as she flipped herself over, looking for red blood but finding none; all that covered her hands was a warm dark blue substance that Shepard knew all too well to be turian blood. She looked through watery eyes to see Sidonis' lifeless body splayed out across the floor a mere meter from her. She tossed her head around, ignoring the running people around her and glaring at the outline of Garrus moving quickly out of the scaffolding.

Garrus not only completely disregarded Shepard's attempts to solve the situation peacefully, but the bastard had to shoot her in the process. Feeling the pain subside enough for her to move, she rose tenderly to her feet, her eyes scanning for the nearest bathroom to disappear into. She started moving, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in the middle of her back as she fumed about Garrus' blatant disregard for her safety. She knew she had been putting herself in harm's way, but never did she expect Garrus... of all people...

He wasn't thinking. He couldn't have been. She shook her head as she rounded a corner, almost knocking over an asari as she did. Ignoring the glare from the blue skinned alien Shepard spotted a bathroom only meters away and launched herself inside, shutting the door behind her. The room was surprisingly empty, though Shepard certainly wasn't complaining. She darted to the sink, turning the faucet on quickly and beginning to scrub the blue blood off of her exposed hands.

Of course Garrus hadn't been thinking. He was being outrageously stupid, and it made Shepard worry, not only as his commander but as his friend. She slowly stopped rubbing her hands together and simply let the water flow over her hands, the warm stream acting as a subtle form of comfort. She shook her head as she looked at the bottom of the white sink which was now stained with a deep blue. ...He knew full well what he was doing, didn't he? Shepard felt an uneasy feeling come back to her stomach, and after turning off the water still flowing out of the faucet she quickly moved to lean herself up against the bathroom wall. Her back was still searing with pain, but surprisingly that hurt barely bothered her compared to the other emotions that were swirling in her.

Shepard sighed, burying her face in her hands and bending over. She knew she had to make it back to the Normandy, but once she got back she didn't know what she would do. She didn't know if Garrus would be there or, if he was, if he would even want to talk to her. And was that even what Shepard wanted? To talk to someone who had just willingly shot at her and ran off without coming to see if she was alright?

Rubbing her face, Shepard straightened up and took her hands down from her face, staring at the wall. Of course she needed to talk to Garrus. He was her friend. He had been there in her times of need, and now it was her turn to be there for him. Sure, she was angry. Hell, she was pissed off. If this had been any other person, she'd have been tempted to space them the second she was close enough to an airlock to push them out of. But this wasn't just some dumb trigger-happy private: this was Garrus. She pushed off of the wall, feeling a pang course up her back as she did. After checking the rest of her person for blood, she looked at herself in the mirror, saying a silent prayer that Garrus would be smart and not run off. Hopefully he just goes back to the Normandy, Shepard thought as she walked out of the bathroom and back in the the busy Citadel. And hopefully he'll talk.