After a while the Normandy was finally able to dock with the Citadel, the moment it did Kaidan and Wrex came out of the airlock. They couldn't help but share a grin at the sight in front of them. The squad Shepard had taken with them, they were battered, bruised and in some cases a little bloody but they had all come back.

Garrus' left arm was in a small sling to keep it steady before Chakwas could examine him. Liara and Tali looked fine, they were covered in dust and at least Liara looked exhausted. They could only guess Tali was just as fatigued as she slumped next to a crate. Feral had blood stains on his chin and a hole protruding through his armour and clothing at his shoulder, they couldn't imagine what he'd gone through to look as tired as he did. Shepard also had an arm in a sling and a small cut on his forehead, blood stains adorning his cheek. All of their armour had scrapes and bullet glances on them, close calls that their shielding deflected.

They had obviously gone through hell and thanks to Shepard, they'd come back. Hurt, exhausted and wanting nothing but to shower, eat and sleep. The sight of their two team mates did bring smiles to their faces. "I guess we must've missed one hell of a show huh?" Kaidan could only smirk at his friends.

Feral just laughed and groaned at the feeling of every muscle in his body begging him not to move too much. "Ahhhh you have…..no idea" the man just sinking back onto the floor, refusing to move anymore "someone get me a stretcher….."

Wrex laughed loudly "What happened to him?" to Wrex watching one of the strongest creatures he knew, other than him, in such a state was hilarious.

"He stopped a huge piece of debris and then held it on his shoulders for about 10 minutes while Shepard was unconscious from hitting his head on a stone…plus the metal was about 5 times his own weight" Tali looked up at the Krogan "Oh and he had a piece of metal the length of a sniper rifle and about as thick as a bottle neck in his shoulder at the same time" she shrugged playfully before poking Feral in the back with her foot "It's kind of worn him out a little" she giggled as he squirmed pathetically at her poking.

Kaidan just whistled "That is something I wish I could've seen"

"Ask one of the officers over there….I'm pretty sure one of them took a picture" Feral groaned on the floor as he pointed off towards the small group by the elevator doors, snorting as he watched both Wrex and Kaidan look at each other before going off towards them

The group was about to go back to sitting in peace before a woman's voice rang out "Commander John Shepard! What have I told you about giving me this much work to do?" she sounded angry but it was obvious she was more than relieved to find the entire team alive. "Captain Anderson, it's good to see you but if you would excuse us. I need to get them all into the med bay" she smiled sweetly at the Captain before glaring at the Commander again. "All of you who can be bothered to walk get into the med bay now. You two put Feral on a stretcher"

Tali and Liara were the first to quickly step off towards the airlock, followed by Garrus and Shepard. The two men were sore and slightly broken but they could still move under their own steam. Feral more or less fell asleep the moment he was rolled onto the stretcher. Anderson just chuckled at the scene before starting to head back towards C-sec, the wrath of Chakwas was clearly still feared. He had some work to do now, Udina wanted to see him and he needed to help co-ordinate the C-sec and Alliance efforts around the citadel. Plus there was the idea Feral had posed to him before Ilos in the council chambers, and he knew exactly how to make it work.

Chakwas finally had her patients in the med bay. Tali and Liara were just sitting on one of the beds, talking to each other and the doctor could see they were both fine. She'd check them out just to be sure but other than fatigue the two women checked out. Feral was fine as well, he was just at a state of tiredness beyond exhausted and needed to rest. Garrus had a hairline fracture on his arm, it was easy enough to deal with but it'd still take a few weeks to fully heal. Shepard or 'Sleeping Beauty' as Feral had mumbled before he'd fallen asleep again had a slight concussion and his shoulder was beaten pretty badly but it wasn't broken, just bruised.

Chakwas sighed happily, all in all it was very good news. "Ok then. Tali, Liara and Garrus you can leave. Vakarian, don't take off the medi-gel cast and don't try to lift anything with that arm….in fact just….don't work at all. Shepard you stay here for the time being, I want to make sure your concussion isn't anything worse and Feral keep sleeping" she smiled at that last bit. She was just relieved that they had all come back.

Shepard groaned as he laid back down onto the medical bed, he was about to argue but then he remembered that his doctor was Chakwas. Nothing to do but accept his fate and sleep. Garrus laughed slightly, his left arm being held in place but the see through block of solid medi-gel kept his arm still. "Have fun Shepard, tell Feral we'll all be waiting for him in the cargo bay when he finally wakes up"

Shepard glared at the turian as he walked out, it didn't change the fact Garrus was right. When Feral woke up he'd be as good as new and he'd be straight out of the room, he was on a night watch. He did smile when Liara kissed him on the cheek "Rest John, we'll save the celebrating until you're better. How could we celebrate when the man who lead us isn't there?" she smiled and gave him a quick hug, pecking him again quickly as she stood up and left before Chakwas told them to stop.

Chakwas was sitting back down at her desk when she saw Tali out of the corner of her eye, she was mid step and the doctor watched as she put her heel back down onto the floor before quickly stepping over to the sleeping Feral. 'Good for you Tali' she thought to herself as she engrossed herself in her own work.

Tali had picked her moment, she had waited for Garrus and Liara to leave, for Shepard to roll over and cover his head with a pillow and then Chakwas to sit back down. She had watched Liara say goodbye to Shepard and even though Feral was asleep she still wanted to do the same for him, as best as she could. He was on his side and turned away from the med bay door, so she scooted over to the side of the bed he was facing.

Bending down slightly and looking at his sleeping face, he looked so peaceful. It hadn't even been an hour since she'd been cutting him free from a piece of debris that weighed as much as 10 of her. Gently touching the spot where the piece of metal had been sticking out of his skin, his ability to heal still amazed her and the patch of skin was perfectly reformed. She kept gently stroking the skin until she saw a single eye open and look up at her.

"Hey Tali" he whispered quietly, he wasn't being discrete he was just in that stage between sleeping and being awake. Sighing as he nuzzled his head into his people before opening his right eye and looking back at her, a small content smile on his face.

Tali whispered back, she didn't want Chakwas to find out what she'd done "Keelah. Oh Feral I'm so sorry I didn't mean to wake you up I just wanted to say goodnight to you and I…you're doing that face again" she slowly stopped as she finally recognised Feral's 'Stop talking and being adorable' face.

Feral laughed quietly "I told you this morning, seeing you when I wake up is something I can get used to. If it had been Garrus I might have punched him but you? You I can handle being woken up by" smiling happily as he cupped the side of her helmet gently. "Plus now you get to say goodnight to me properly"

Blushing and smiling happily down at the man before she leant forward and put one arm under his right shoulder and pushed her head into his collar. "Sleep well Feral" she leant back and rubbed the top of her visor into his forehead. "You deserve it"

Nuzzling his skin gently into the smooth surface of her visor "You know if you ask Chakwas really nicely maybe she'll let you sleep with me" he stuck his tongue out playfully before closing his eye "You look tired as well, and I can't have my shotgun toting silver lining tired. Who knows what she'll end up shooting"

Tali giggled quietly "I'll put my shotgun away I promise, but if I do tote it I'll make sure Garrus is the only one in the room with me" pulling away from Feral and gently stroking his cheek "I'll see you when you're awake, goodnight Feral" smiling happily as she stepped back from the bed.

"Can't wait…..goodnight Tali" Feral sighed back as he pushed his face into the pillow, covering his eyes so his night vision would pick up on the light in the room through his eyelids. Smiling as he felt sleep overtake him again and Tali's soft voice resonating in his mind. He noticed the Normandy's lights dim; Pressley must have taken the initiative to put the ship into its sleep cycle. He'd have to thank the XO for that later on.

Hours passed Feral and Shepard both slept as throughout the Citadel people started to clean up the damage. The fleets docking whatever ships they could to provide assistance in the relief efforts. The worst areas hit where those directly around the central ring of the citadel, but some of the arms had been hit with debris from Sovereign. There were a lot of casualties across the station, many more missing and most levels of all command structures reeling to regain control.

The council were doing their best to try and push things in the right direction, as well as considering a new agenda. The possibility of admitting Humanity to the council, the actions of several individuals had brought about the possibility of Saren's defeat; John Shepard, Ashley Williams, Kaidan Alenko, 'Feral' and Captain Anderson. Along with the many human lives sacrificed in saving the councils after the relays around the citadel opened. These actions had shown the council that Humanity was willing to do what it took to protect all species not just their own. However they would wait to talk to Commander Shepard, their first human Spectre would aid them in their choice.

Captain Anderson was currently enjoying a riveting speech about how humanity could use this victory to their advantage. He was sitting in the ambassador's office as the man practically had his own private party. 'Bastard, the citadel is still in ruins and hundreds of lives have been lost and the first thing you think of is how to turn this to our advantage' he thought to himself, he was largely ignoring the politician and simply putting his thoughts towards Shepard's team.

John Shepard had done what he never could have, became the first human spectre and became a hero for more than just humanity. Every race had the commander to thank for their lives now, but not just the commander. More or less every species had a hero on board the Normandy; Turians, Asari, Krogan and even Quarians had a representative to be proud of. His achievements were completely unprecedented; the real hope of this event is a closer galactic community. Then there was the bridge building idea that Feral had presented him before Ilos.

Anderson sighed as he sat on the bench, the plan was good but he had no idea how he could help pull it off "Feral where did this idea even come from anyway?"

The super human laughed "Let's just say I have a vested interest." Grinning back towards the elder marine "Other than that my reasons are my own…..so can you help?"

Anderson sighed again before he thought about it more "I can present it to a few admirals and if they buy it then….we'd just need approval on their end. Just remind me why I'm going to do this for you at all"

Feral laughed again, sitting back into the bench "Don't worry about their approval I'm sure I can get that myself and as for why you'll help me…A, I'm kind of helping save the galaxy when I really didn't have to and B, you and Shepard snuck around behind my back…you sort of owe me"

Anderson smiled slightly at that "I guess I can't fault you there then….Ok I'll look into it. I can't promise I'll be able to do much before you head off to Ilos but I'm sure after this is all done you'll have weeks of shore leave anyway. I'll do what I can you have my word"

Feral smiled back at the commander before looking up towards the council "Shepard's coming back down…..I'd consider it a personal favour to me if you kept this on the down low" sitting up as he watched the Captain nod his head in understanding.

After that conversation with the mysterious human being he'd only been slightly distracted by freeing the Normandy and then dealing with Udina after he had punched the politician. A few hours of digging around the citadel to catch up to Shepard, only to find the mission was over when he'd arrived. Now he had time to think, while Udina was busy planning his next big political move he thought back to Feral's plan.

Back on the Normandy Feral was finally awake, it had only been around 6 hours but it had been more than enough for him to catch up. 'Perfect soldier material indeed' he snorting slightly. Feral was rarely tired and when he was 6 hours of sleep was plenty. Slipping out of bed he saw that Shepard was still asleep, the concussion was still healing and his body demanded sleep…that or Chakwas had caught him trying to sneak away and sedated him.

As he slowly started to step towards the door he saw Chakwas spin around in her chair and face him "Good morning Feral, feeling 100% again are we?" she smiled at him kindly

"…you're going to take my word for it? Normally you'd be strapping me back down and forcing a series of massive tests on me" he raised his eyebrow at the woman as he sat back on the desk opposite hers.

She laughed quietly at that "Feral you have been shot in the head twice and laid on one of my tables clinically dead before waking up. Considering I've seen the photo of your feat of strength and the series of tests I ran while you were asleep. I'd say I more or less trust you on your own health"

Feral shrugged before laughing again "Fair enough then, so I'm good to go?" he smiled as she just nodded at him "What about him?" pointing over to the still sleeping commander.

"Shepard? Oh don't worry I didn't have to sedate him. He's sleeping for now, the concussion and the fact he hasn't slept much in a few nights thanks to Liara" she sighed as she turned back to her chair "He'll be fine, give him a few more hours and he'll be up as good as new"

Feral was about to ask how she knew but then it occurred to him he probably didn't want to know. Laughing as he walked out of the med bay and into the mess hall. He was greeted by a collective groan and cheers, the marines and crew members exchanging money as he finally got it. "Placing bets on who wakes up first?" raising an eyebrow "I expect that from Garrus but…no you're Shepard's crew I expect it from the lot of you" laughing to himself as the crew members dispersed.

Garrus stayed sitting at the table, chuckling as Feral sat down opposite him "Good to see you moving again Feral. I have to admit I was certain after that little stunt of yours Shepard would be up first" he said before he started counting the credit chits he'd collected "But then I remembered about all those bullets to the head you took, you're cut by the way" holding out a couple of the chits.

Feral laughed as he took the chits "I can't believe they bought the betting idea" the two sharing a laugh together as they sat at the table counting up their profits. Sighing slightly after he pocketed the chits "I can't believe this over….4 years in a box and here I am about a month later after taking down one of the biggest threats to the galaxy since the Rachni…."

Garrus snorted "While I didn't quite spend 4 years in a box I can understand what you mean...C-sec and now this…"

"Are you seriously comparing C-Sec to being tortured and experimented on?" Feral smirked at the Turian.

"Hah….I get your point but still….never thought I'd be doing anything like this with a team like this. I mean come on Humans, a Turian, an Asari, a Krogan, a Quarian and then…you" the two men were sitting forward with their forearms on the table "Going back to C-sec after all this is going to take some getting used to"

"You're going back? Why? You just compared it to what I went through" Feral laughed slightly

Garrus shrugged his shoulders "Shepard showed me that having power doesn't give you the right to use it….I can do good in C-sec"

"Good for you Garrus" Feral smiled at his friend, it was a worthy goal "So if you're going back to C-sec….and I have to assume Kaidan will be staying here because he's a marine. What's everyone else doing?"

"Wrex is going to head back to Tuchunka, I'd rather not know why. Liara is staying as well and I think we both know why that is. I assume Tali will be heading back to the Migrant Fleet." Feral just nodded as he listened before looking back up at Garrus "What about you?"

Feral breathed deeply "I have a plan, whether it'll work or not is yet to be seen but who knows…..don't worry I'm not going to become a mercenary or anything. I'd hate to have to run into you at C-sec" sticking his tongue out playfully at Garrus before they shared another laugh. "It's weird….the first team I've had in 4 years and…we're already splitting up"

"Are you ok?" Garrus asked, pulling Feral out of his train of thought.

Feral nodded "Yeah I am…just nostalgia from a past life. My platoons or squads would always take two photos. Before and after a mission…I missed the before but I'd like to get the after." Smiling gently as he remembered all the photos he had on the chip sitting in one of Tali's pockets.

"I'd like that as well…..one of the good things I've managed to do and I'd like something to remember it by. I'll run it by Shepard when he wakes up, he'll probably love it too" Garrus laughed slightly before looking back at Feral "If you're feeling nostalgic maybe divulging some past information would help. Come one give me something even if it's just the first letter of your name"

Feral laughed loudly before slowly moving to stand up "I like you Garrus but sorry not today" watching the Turian groan and chuckle to himself as he sat at the table "But…..maybe if you ask Tali really nicely she'll tell you" Feral spoke as he turned around and walked off towards the cargo bay, he really needed to get his armour off and shower.

Garrus just stared at the back of Feral in surprise as he processed what he had heard. Tali knew his name and probably a whole lot more about the super human. He sighed and just held out his previous winnings "Damn it Kaidan" counting out the bet he'd have to pay the human biotic later on. Although he had to wonder if Feral had known about the bet….he was walking off with more money than he had now…"Damn it Feral…."

Tali was in the cargo bay, sorting through her things in her locker slightly absent mindedly. She was sure most of the crew was feeling the same, this whole mission had been their lives and now it was over. Of course all of the Normandy crew including Shepard and Kaidan would stay behind, Liara had told her that she planned to stick around as well. She sighed to herself, in a week or so she'd be back on her way to the Flotilla and away from the Normandy. It was a bitter sweet feeling, this ship was so amazing and the people on board were exceptional.

She was so engrossed by her own thoughts that she never even heard Feral walk up behind her. "Hey Tali" his arms coiled around her stomach as he squeezed his chest into her back. "Don't worry no one else is down here, I get the feeling they are all out celebrating" he purred slightly as he rubbed his cheek into the side of the cloth that covered her helmet, squeezing her more as he felt her relax.

Tali smiled inside her helmet "Keelah Feral did you have to be so quiet?" she laid her head back onto his shoulder. One of the things she was starting to love about the man was his height compared to her; she wasn't that much smaller than him but the difference made it easier for her to cuddle under his chin when they stood. "Good morning handsome" she couldn't help it, after not seeing him for 6 hours and having him sneak up behind her. The warmth of his naturally higher body temperature must have added to the effect of his deep red eyes looking down at her.

Feral smiled down at her, his hands gently rubbing at her sides as she laid her hands over his "I wasn't that quiet you were just deep in thought" he pushed his tongue out at her playfully "but good morning to you too beautiful, I guess the end of the world being averted followed by a sneaky hug makes you especially happy"

Tali giggled as she pretty much let the man hold her up, resting against his body "Being hugged by my bosh'tet of a boyfriend makes me especially happy" she wiggled back playfully "And being called beautiful when he has no idea what I actually look like is just a bonus" sighing gently as she closed her eyes.

"I know roughly what you look like, most people can't pick up on it but as you know my eyes are special. I can see a rough outline of your face, I know you have eyes, a nose and lips which are roughly the same as human physiology" Feral smiled playfully as he moved his head closer to her helmet, looking into her eyes when the glowing orbs opened again "but I can't really see the details. That being said I don't need to know any of that to know you're beautiful Tali."

Tali was just listening intently to his words, blushing more and more as he spoke and tapped her visor "Like I said, what you are has never mattered to me. You being a Quarian, the suit and the visor. None of that matters because of who you are and….you're the best friend I've ever had and you make me feel so happy. Everything you've done for me and everything about you that makes you, you." Her jaw was slightly dropping as she just stared up at him "How could you be anything but beautiful to me?"

She just spun around in his arms and wrapped hers back around his chest, pushing the side of her head into the crook of his neck. She'd just been joking and he knew that but he said all that anyway, yet again she couldn't stop herself from beaming behind her visor. Her smile came crashing down when she remembered why she had been at her locker.

As if he had read her mind Feral spoke up "When will you be heading back to the Migrant Fleet?" they parted slightly, hands still lingering on each other's arms as they looked at each other.

She sighed "I have to find transport and make my own way back so it'll take about a week or so for me to get back their…" she looked down at his chest "….I don't know what I'm going to do without you Feral"

A finger on the bottom of her helmet made her look up into his eyes and her sadness was replaced by confusion "I told you Tali, I'll think of something and if the something I have thought of doesn't work and I'm pretty sure it will" he was grinning at her

"Do you think a Quarian captain would accept a super soldier as a pilgrimage gift?" he raised an eyebrow as that infectious smile of his grew even more, Tali couldn't stop herself. She practically squealed as she clung back onto him as tightly as she could. She had no idea how he was going to be able to do it but Feral intended to come with her. This man just couldn't stop making her happy could he?

"Hey Feral" she purred out gently as she kept her arms around him "Shepard should be asleep for a few more hours right?" looking up at him as she wiggled slightly.

"Yeah I should say so…why?" Feral leant forward and looked through her helmet "What's brewing inside that pretty head of yours?"

"Well~" letting the word roll off her tongue as she tilted her head to the side "You could keep your armour on and we could….start adapting to each other"

Feral just blinked as he looked into her eyes "I've spent the last four years adapting to so many things Tali….but it's never sounded that good before" he purred playfully as they swayed in each other's arms. "is the engine room empty?" grinning as she just nodded "Do we need anything specific to link the environments?" he laughed as he saw her shake her head, through her visor he could vaguely make the outlines of her biting her lip.

"Well then" he suddenly leant down and picked her up bridal style, making the woman squeak slightly "what are we waiting for?" they just held onto each other as much as they could, Feral encrypting the door to the engine room as it shut behind them.

- Normandy Medical Bay -

A few more hours passed before Shepard woke up, he had a headache and the edges of objects were a little blurry but he was over the worst of his concussion. The meds had had a drastic improvement and the second dose would help even more. Chakwas would want him to keep coming back until she cleared him completely but for now he was cleared to leave the med bay.

He had asked her what the status of the crew was and Chakwas told him the only injury other than him was Garrus, he smiled at the fact that Feral had walked away from yet another impossible situation unscathed after a few hours of sleep.

Shepard finally made his way out of the med bay after talking to Chakwas for a while, stepping out into the mess hall where he found Garrus and Captain Anderson sitting at the table. Apparently Garrus was retelling some of the stories of their exploits on the Normandy. The sound of the door opening and closing drew their attention and Anderson stood up.

"Ah Shepard, good to finally see you up and about" he smiled at the slightly battered N7 "I saw Feral earlier and he looks a lot better off than you"

Shepard laughed and shook his head "Yeah despite what he had to go through to get those enhancements I'd say it was pretty worth it. The guy takes a bullet to the head and 5 minutes later he's complaining of a headache" he shrugged as Garrus snickered slightly in the background.

Anderson rolled his eyes, he'd seen the man survive a bomb and lift something heavier than 5 C-sec officers couldn't even budge an inch and yet the idea of him surviving a bullet wound still sounded so farfetched. "Anyway Shepard I'm not here just for a social call. The council wants to see Ambassador Udina, You and I. I offered to come here and wait for you….Udina was driving me insane."

"What does the council want at a time like this?" Shepard they'd be too busy trying to fix everything at this point to bother seeing him.

"Beats me, but after what you've done it could only be something good. Whenever you're ready suit up and we'll head straight there." Shepard just nodded at Anderson before walking towards his office, unlike Feral he'd had his armour taken off him and it was waiting back in his room. Shepard patted Garrus on the shoulder as he walked past, silent approval for his actions across this whole campaign. He turned around when Garrus spoke up.

"Oh! By the way Shepard" he chirped his mandible's flaring "Feral had the idea to take a team photo before everyone splits up. Figured you'd love the idea and I told him I'd pass it along"

Smiling as he looked over his shoulder he just nodded before walking into his office. 'Definitely a marine' he thought to himself as he looked at the back of his dog tags, the paint chipped slightly on the back of one revealing the small circuit board underneath. 'Good to know they still taught this when Feral was in boot camp'.

- The Citadel Presidium –

"Well that was slightly unexpected…." Feral commented as he sat on one of the seats back from the bridge the council had decided to meet Shepard, the now Councillor Anderson and Udina. Shepard was walking towards him with a big smile on his face as he approached the man.

"Ok how long have you been there and I'm pretty sure eavesdropping on a council meeting like that is a bad thing" Shepard grinned down at him as Feral played innocent.

"I have no idea what you mean Commander…there's no way I could've heard any of that from all the way over here" grinning back playfully at the Spectre "Anderson was the right choice….in my mind anyway….mainly just because I hate Udina to be fair but….I'm sure that's what went through your head too"

Shepard sat down on the bench as Feral scooted over to the side. "I'm sure you've been asked this question a lot so I'll just avoid it. You're more than welcome to stay on the Normandy Feral" he looked across at him "You'd be a welcome addition to the crew roster"

Feral laughed before sighing "You have been good to me Shepard and I appreciate the offer but….I have some ideas I'm trying to bring to fruition. But if they don't work I might just have to hunt you down and ask for your help again though" flashing another toothy grin at the commander.

Shepard raised an eyebrow "Ideas? Anything I should be worried about?"

"No don't worry I'm not going to be doing anything illegal like starting a mercenary group" he rolled his eyes as he sat back "I'll try and do some good, build bridges blah, blah and etcetera."

"Fair enough then, so what are you doing here anyway?" he moved on, when Feral didn't want to talk about something it was near impossible to loosen his tongue.

"Capt….Councillor" he corrected himself quickly and ignored the look Shepard gave him "Anderson sent me a message when you were getting your armour on. I was down in the cargo bay….going through personal effects…." Turning away from Shepard as he told a half lie "and I just tracked you over here, sat down and waited for you all to be down"

"Personal effects?...you don't have any…oh…." Shepard coughed slightly before moving on, the two eventually laughing through the awkward silence. The laughing starting out as quiet chuckles before the two were visibly shaking. Sighing finally before he eventually spoke up again "By the way, Garrus mentioned something about a photo. Where'd you get that idea?"

Feral was still smiling as he looked over "Same place you did Shepard….but you already knew that. A handful of drill sergeants still teach it so don't think you can figure any more about me. The idea was purely nostalgic though…..first team after getting free and I wanted something to remember it by."

Shepard sat in silence for a second "That's what you collected on Nepheron wasn't it? Your dog tags?"

Feral sighed before smiling slightly "You are far too smart for your own good" snorting as he looked down on the floor "Yeah that's what I collected but I don't have them anymore, I got rid of them after the identity incident" he glared slightly at Shepard, letting him know that he was done with this line of questioning.

"I get it, I get it" he raised his hands defensively "not dwelling on the past is something I can understand" he thought back to Elysium, sure he was called the hero but the truth was he still saw so many die. Several friends and very brave men who tried and failed to help hold the line, the real heroes never survived the battle. The two sat in silence before a voice redirected their attention.

"What are you doing here?" Feral looked up to see Udina, the man already hated the super soldier and clearly not being elected to Councillor due to Shepard's recommendation had put him in an even lousier mood.

Feral just pointed behind the Ambassador and grinned sadistically, of all the guilty pleasures in life. Watching Udina squirm was pretty much a universal joy. The politician turned around to see Anderson step up. "I called him here Udina, I needed to pass along something." His omni-tool lit up and shortly afterwards so did Feral's.

Feral sat back and watched the information scan onto the small holographic screen, smiling before looking up at Anderson. "Good work Anderson…..sorry…Councillor Anderson" he shut off his omni-tool as both Udina and Shepard looked confused at the interaction.

"What was that about?" Shepard looked between the two men.

"Building bridges Shepard….building bridges" Feral smirked as he jumped up onto his feet. "Councillor Anderson, thank you for your help" he shook the man's hand quickly but firmly. "Shepard….thank you for everything. Good luck with the rest of this mission, the war of Eden Prime rages on" laughing quietly to himself as he walked off, completely ignoring Udina.

He stepped a few paces before stopping and spinning around 180 degrees on the spot. "Oh I will need somewhere to stay for a week or so."

Anderson laughed "Ambassador Udina can figure something out for you" raising his hand to silence Udina's protests before he even had a chance to voice them.

"Thank you very much" Feral laughed as he saw Udina's face contort into that hilarious glare before spinning around again and walking off happily humming to himself.

Shepard sat on the bench and shook his head at the fact Feral's immature nature was slightly rubbing off on Anderson as well, though the possibility that the old marine just loved pissing off Udina was possible as well. He shouted over to Feral's back "Before you leave the ship later today! We're going to gather in the cargo bay for that photo!" he smiled as Feral just gave the lazy two fingered salute as he walked away.

Feral lit up his omni-tool as he walked along the presidium, looking over the information Anderson had passed onto him. Stepping into the elevator as he scrolled over the files, several Admirals and a couple of very high up politicians had ok'd his plan. Apparently Anderson's name still carried weight. He just really hoped Tali wasn't feeling too sick, it'd probably but a serious downer on this. That being said it was Tali.

Eventually he made it back to the Normandy and worked his way down to the cargo bay. Wrex and Garrus was in a corner by the Mako playing cards but they'd have to wait, he had no idea where Kaidan was and he figured Liara was probably in her office or sleeping in Shepard's quarters. But his target was Ms nar Rayya, he walked into the engine room and saw her sitting on one of the cots. She was looking through his chip again, walking up before sitting down beside her and looking at her omni-tool.

"I'm glad you're enjoying my memories" smirking and then laughing as a photo he probably wished wasn't on that chip "How are you feeling?" he laid his head on her shoulder and smiled up into her eyes as she looked back down at him.

Tali giggled and spoke, her voice sounded a little rough "Your memories are a lot of fun and they're helping take my mind of my headache, the slight fever, a sore throat and the fact my sinuses are blocking" she sat back as she shut off the omni-tool and sat back, Feral sliding down and laying his head in her lap "Although you're much better at taking my mind off all of that…..you and the antibiotics I took" she smiled as she stroked her fingers through Feral's hair gently.

"Yeah sorry about that….my bad?" he shrugged playfully as they laid there together "Any regrets?" raising an eyebrow as he looked up into her shining eyes.

"Well~" she purred as best as she could "Now that I'm feeling a little sick I am having second thoughts" she smiled playfully "Feral I knew this would happen when we linked our environments, I have no regrets" twirling a little tuft of hair in her fingers happily.

Feral pouted playfully before rubbing his head up into her hand "Glad to hear it but….I do have some bad news" the toothy grin appeared on his face again "You may get the chance to be sick again" he lit up his omni-tool and shortly afterwards Tali's lit up too. The quarian raising her arm to look at what he was sending her, her smile dropping and the grip on his hair loosening.

"Feral this is….how did you?" she was stunned. She was looking at a detailed plan to begin building bridges between the Quarians and Humanity. Possible ships for trading, programs for pilgrims looking to develop certain expertise. There was more but eventually she just scanned the information, her eyes were starting to water as she finally realised what Feral had meant by figuring something out.

"I made the point to Anderson that we should be dealing with your species more. You're the best engineers in the galaxy and some grateful migrants could teach us a lot. The Alliance improved the rough edges of the idea but you get the jist. I also made the point that the only reason most races don't deal with you like this is because of the Geth and….well I don't think you're going to do that again" Feral talked slowly, letting it all sink in for Tali.

"All it needs now is to be accepted by the Admiralty board on the Flotilla. It's technically a trial and so the Alliance wanted someone to make sure it goes smoothly if it gets accepted. While I'm not Alliance they figured the guy who came up with this was the best one to send" he smiled as Tali looked down from her omni-tool, her arm dropping down onto his stomach.

"You know…just in case a super soldier isn't a good enough pilgrimage gift" he wiggled playfully as he shrugged his shoulders. He blinked as he watched her wide eyes shut "Tali…" he sat up slowly, sitting up to her level and looking into her visor "Are you ok?"

Tali just blinked as she was brought out of her train of thought, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. Taking him by surprise slightly as she clung onto him with every ounce of strength she had "Keelah Feral…." she sniffed, a few tears running down her cheeks. "Of course I'm ok" she smiled through her tears "I'm just so happy"

Feral laughed as he pulled her into his arms, picking her up and then sitting back down with her on his lap. "Told you I could do it" he purred playfully as they cuddled up again. "I'm just glad I don't have to stow away on the ship you choose to give your gift too" they both laughed gently as they sat in the shimmering blue light. "I only got out of one box a month ago"

Tali leaned into him and cuddled in as much as she could "Hey, at least this time I'd have been taking care of you" coughing slightly before getting squeezed in his arms. "Keelah I'm glad we have a week until I…..hopefully, we get to the migrant fleet. I really don't need rumours starting the day I arrive"

Feral laughed, his chest bouncing very slightly as Tali laid on him. "On that note I've gotten a place to stay in case the Normandy disappears before then. It just wouldn't feel like home without you there so you're more than welcome to join me. I'd take the drive core with me but somehow I think people will frown on that…..plus you're easier to carry" sticking his tongue out again as she looked up at him.

The two sat there smiling happily as they cuddled up, Tali didn't even have to respond. It was obvious that she'd follow the one man who'd follow her across the galaxy. Eventually the blue light was replaced by the orange light of both of their omni-tools. Shepard wanted everyone to meet up in the cargo bay, he was in his office and he'd be there soon. "What's this about?" Tali read the message but she didn't understand why he'd sent it to all of the team.

Feral just smiled "Team photo and knowing Shepard he'll probably want to give us a speech. You enjoy seeing my old memories so let's start making new ones together" pushing himself up onto his feet he slowly let her back down. "Come on, we better get out there. One last thing we get to do before this is over"

Tali sniffed before giggling "Oh come on you really think this is over?" the two walking towards the doors to the before she leant back and waited for Feral to unlock the door.

Tapping at the holographic door panel until it finally turned orange "With Shepard?...I highly doubt it" the door hissing open as the two stepped out laughing. Leaving the engine room silent as the blue light shined over the 2 cots sitting by the edge of the wall.

Author's Note: First and foremost I do plan on carrying this story on into both ME2 and ME3. I'm not sure whether I'll add it straight onto this or make it a completely separate story. Either way I will make sure it is very obvious so if you have enjoyed this story you can find the sequel. I also have a slight idea to make an intermediary story that occurs between ME1 and ME2 but I'm unsure about that. It may become a small project after I finish following along the main story lines.

I would just like to say that this was the first story I have ever written and I can't believe anyone began to like this let alone several people. So thank you all for enjoying and thank you for reviewing. The comments and critique have been more than welcome and I hope it's helped me become a better writer. I truly cannot thank you all enough for reading and enjoying and all I have to ask now is that you be patient. This will continue into ME2 and I will write as much as I can whenever I can but at the moment I am currently a few weeks away from my university exams.

So don't worry there will be more to come, I just have no idea how quickly it will come X'D

Thank you all again for reading and enjoying, it really did help me spur on and write as fast as I could. I hope you join me for the stories to come and I will just say this. Don't expect Feral to be on Freedom's Progress with Tali, if there's one thing we can expect for the characters of Mass Effect. It's that nothing ever goes to plan.

Update: Prologue of the sequel is now up, check my profile for the story that follows the events of ME2