Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect. This belongs to Bioware. Please enjoy.

Chapter 21: Finding the Reaper Killer.

Part 2.

Shepard groaned as she stared down at the lifeless, decaying body of Garneau. Tali knelt besides the body as she scanned over the remains looking for any clues of what happened. From the moment Shepard and the girls stepped into the facility, everything seemed to range from creepy to down right weird. The people who supposedly ran the facility acted like nothing more than dolls given some semblance of life. But the chill still ran through her body as she thought back to the low, hollow...deadly voice that emanated from the man that declared briefly to be Garneau, before running away into the very room they now stood.

"What have you found, Tali?" Shepard asked. Tali stood up before rolling her shoulders.

"He's been dead for a while" Tali spoke, exhaustion radiating off her. Shepard couldn't blame her. As they chased the imposter Garneau through an open area, Reapers took the chance to suddenly appear and attack. Tali seemed to be their favourite target as Banshees and Husks nearly overwhelmed her many times, luckily Shepard managed to be quick with releasing her Biotics and sniper bullets to keep most of the horde off her and give her time to find new cover. Even when the team had to protect and wait for a drone to fix the circuits for the door leading into the mine, the Reapers didn't let up.
Shepard looked over to the scorched remains of what was the orb that was similar to the one in Bryson's office. There to be a connection.

"So Leviathan can have Bryson kill, can take over this colony, and he can use them as puppets...Huh." Shepard spoke as she turned back to Tali. Tali nodded as she looked over the data pad in her hands while EDI checked the area for more husks.

"What else did you find?" Shepard asked, quickly glancing at the dead body of Garneau,

"Encrypted data, and a personal log with eight missed calls from a Dr. Ann Bryson" Tali spoke as she flicked through the data.

"Ann Bryson?" Shepard's mind flashed to a paper drawing that sat on one of Bryson's desks. A hiss of the doors caught Shepard's attention. Several workers dragged themselves through the doors, some still looked like they were coming out of a daze.

"Who...who are you? What are you doing here?" a human woman spoke, her word slurred like she was in a drunken stupor. A human man leant against the wall by the door behind her while an Asari rested against the door frame and looked at the smoking remains of the artifact. Shepard walked over to the people with EDI behind her, leaving Tali to decode some of the encrypted information still on the data pad.

"I'm Commander Shepard. Are you all right?" Shepard asked, her eyes glancing over each member. They seemed fine, just dazed. The woman, looking slightly relieved, ran her hand over forehead.

"I think so. I feel like...I feel strange but...all right." She managed to say without slurring her words. The other two miners came into the room and rested against the railing that bordered the perimeter of the area where the artifact once stood.

"Can you tell me anything about what happened to you" Shepard asked. For the whole station to be...indoctrinated like this was unique, if not strange. The miners looked to one another, as if seeing if it was right to trust Shepard.

"Not really" The woman spoke. Her eyes scrunching together as she tried to recall events. "I, uh, remember...It just seemed cold. I remember a feeling. Cold and dark."

"If dark was a feeling, that's exactly what I felt." The man spoke up, straightening his back. Shepard wondered what sort of treatment their bodies went through when they were indoctrinated, for it to have such an after effect. Shepard thought back to Garneau.

"Do you recognise this man?" Shepard stepped aside, letting the body of Garneau come into view. Tali was still looking over the body but it still wasn't enough to hide the slightly withered face of the corpse. The miners looked away from the body in shock, the man covering his mouth as if he was about to vomit. In truth, Shepard felt the same. The Asari miner took another glance, but even this was taking some effort.

"I've never seen him before in my life" The Asari spoke.

"Someone here killed him" Shepard spoke. The three miners looked shocked and looked to each other.

"Someone here? How is that possible? I'm so sorry..." The Asari spoke. Shepard wasn't surprised by the answer, really she expected it. If they were indoctrinated then the miners wouldn't have had any idea of what they were doing. It was exactly the same as Bryson's assistant.

"That artifact. Do you know where it came from?" Shepard pointed over to the smouldering remains of the artifact and several husks. The three minors looked over, their eyes scrunching as they tried to lift the fog that was clouding their thoughts to give Shepard the information she sought.

"It came from the mine" the man spoke as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Right...head office was supposed to send someone. That's about all I can..." He spoke before shaking his head to clear the fog. Shepard determined that sometime after the artifact was uncovered, the miners must have been indoctrinated. So whoever was sent from head office might also have been indoctrinated or they ended up like Garneau. Either way, Shepard wasn't going to get much more information from the miners than that. Her guess now would be to go back to the lab and find out who and where Anne Bryson was. Shepard opened up her radio to Cortez.

"Cortez, what's your situation? Can you bring the shuttle?"

"Affirmative. Strangest thing. Couple of minutes ago, the Reaper forces broke off and left" Cortez spoke. Shepard glanced to the smouldering remains, could the Reapers have left because the artifact was destroyed? That could be the reason, if they were tracking it's energy signature (if it gave off one) then when it blew up the Reapers would have lost interest. Shepard's head began to swim, figuring out a Reaper's reason for anything was complicated at best.

"Reaper...What's a Reaper?" the male miner asked. Shepard's attention snapped back towards the minors. She and EDI shared a glance towards each other.

"What year do you think this is?" Shepard asked as she turned back to the minors. The feeling of unease settling in her bones as each of the minors looked at her like she was the one who was crazy.

"2176" the Asari stated. Shepard's eyes widened as mild shock took over her body.

"2176 was ten years ago" Shepard spoke. Each minor looked at each other in shock and surprise. No wonder they had no idea what a Reaper was and why it was taking so long for the minors to shake off the fog of indoctrination. They had been indoctrinated for ten years. Ten years being nothing more than a puppet on some invisible strings. Shepard turned and started walking away from the group, EDI not too far behind.

"Let's arrange for these people to be evacuated into temporary quarantine." Shepard ordered in a hushed tone. EDI's display lit up with scrolling text, already carrying out the orders given.

"These people are unaware of the past ten years. They will need time to adjust" EDI spoke. They'd need more than time. Shepard tried to sort things out in her mind. The Reapers, Leviathan, the artifact. What it was leading to. But instead of puzzles slotting into place, all Shepard was getting was a headache and a feeling of nausea. Shepard reached up and rubbed her temples.

"Shepard, you alright? You don't look to good" Tali asked as she walked over, the data pad still clutched in her hands.

"I'm fine, just feeling a bit woozy. I'll get something from Chakwas when I get back." Shepard smiled at her friend. Tali nodded before glancing at the minors. More people started to filter through the door, the same look of confusion and fear were across all their faces.

"So we know that Leviathan can take down a Reaper and indoctrinate people" Tali spoke, keep the conversation hushed as some of the Turian minors came in.

"We might have to assume that Leviathan could also be a Reaper" EDI added. Shepard sighed, since stepping into the lab and looking through the evidence and details Bryson had collected, Shepard knew that this was something big. It was the same feeling she had when she first stepped on to Eden Prime all those years ago. The mission for the beacon didn't turn out to be a simple pick up job. So Shepard was on pins a needles for this.

"If it is a Reaper, I want to know more. I want to know what its up to" Shepard ran her fingers through her hair to untangle some of the strands. Tali and EDI looked at Shepard.

"How long has it been out here, and, more importantly, why?" Shepard's Omni-tool blinked with a message. Cortez had landed the shuttle and was waiting for them. As they started to make their way through the throng of minors, giving assurances that help will be on the way, Shepard glance at the data pad that Tali was still holding.

"EDI, look at the data that Garneau left. Maybe some of that encrypted information can help us. " Tali handed over the pad to EDI. Hopefully, Garneau left them more than just his body. But if Shepard's gut instinct was right, those artifacts were the key to Leviathan taking control of people's minds. And they had one sitting right in the middle of the Citadel.

)_)

When the team got back to the Normandy, Shepard told Joker to wait for Alliance ships to arrive before heading off to the Citadel. On the shuttle, EDI had confirmed Shepard's gut feeling. Garneau did have more information in the encrypted data about the artifact. It somehow was giving off a weak signal that fluctuated every now and then. Tali assumed that the fluctuations would have been caused when Leviathan was controlling a 'puppet body'. While the steady rate would keep control of the minors that were on the base. Garneau also managed to create a barrier that could block out the artifacts signals, EDI assured them that with some adjustments that she would be able to implement the barrier around the one on the Citadel.
The artifact kept coming back to Shepard's mind. Why would Leviathan feel the need to indoctrinate people, even now? Was it just being over cautious? Why did the Reapers want the artifact? To increase their range of indoctrination? There were too many questions about what was going on and very few answers. But one thing Shepard was still asking since she met Bryson. If Leviathan was a Reaper. Why did it turn rogue? And why did it not join with its fellow Reapers in the war?

Shepard entered the elevator, biting on her thumb nail as the questions and previous events swirled in her mind. But as the questions swirled around, instead of connections and answers coming to her, she instead felt a horrible feeling of nausea washing over her. She bite down on her nail as the pain in her head ebbed away.

"Ouch" Shepard hissed out when her nail dug into the roof of her mouth. Shepard glared at the offending nail, noticing how pointed it was.

"Time to cut the nails I think" Shepard spoke softly before the doors opened up. Shepard stepped out and walked round towards the mess and med bay. The level was its usual quiet self, everyone was working or took their meals to their work station. Shepard didn't mind it when the crew did that. If she could do it, then they could do it. As long as they got the work done.

The bright lights and the smell of antiseptic in the air hit Shepard's senses as the doors of the Med bay opened. Shepard was quiet surprised every time she walked into this room of how bright it was compared to the rest of the ship. Chakwas and Sidonis were knelt over the computer screens, quietly mumbling and pointing towards segments of data.

"Chakwas? Is this a bad time?" Shepard asked as she slowly walked into the room, her senses still adjusting to the sudden assault. Chakwas and Sidonis spun round, the expression of surprise on there faces. Shepard smiled as she heard Sidonis' sub-vocals quiver from the sudden shock.

"Shepard. I didn't hear you come in" Chakwas breathed out masking her surprise better than Sidonis.

"Sorry about that, I'll try to be a little louder next time" Shepard grinned. Chakwas smirked as she turned off the computer.

"Sidonis, not on your rounds today?" Shepard asked the Turian as he started to sort through some of the data pads that were laid across the desk.

"No one has been reported sick, so you could say I got the day off" Sidonis spoke, his mandibles twitching into a small smile. Sidonis had slowly been adjusting to life on the Normandy and the crew really welcomed him on board. Shepard was glad to see him working well with Chakwas and in a way he was a big help to Chakwas. Even if Chakwas didn't want to admit it.

"Not even Donnelly?" Shepard asked. Sidonis let out a grown, his shoulders slouching as if the mere thought of Donnelly made a massive weight fall onto his shoulders with a sudden weight. Shepard felt slightly bad for asking.

"Donnelly is fine, Commander. Adam's says that it's not anything to worry about. No matter how much he is complaining." Chakwas chimed in. Shepard nodded while Sidonis moved to put away the data pads.

"So. What can I help you with, Commander? Or are you just coming to check up on us?" Chakwas spoke up, her professional mask back in place.

"Just came by to ask if you have any nausea pills, Chakwas. I was feeling a bit woozy on the last mission" Shepard answered. As she did, the headache made itself known again as it washed over her head like a wave of pain. The nausea also making a come back in a bad way. Chakwas was at her side in an instant and helped Shepard to the bed wish Shepard rested against. Sidonis also appeared by her side.

"How bad is the nausea?" Chakwas asked, the cold professionalism in her voice apparent as she walked over to a cupboard of tablets. Shepard shook off the nausea and stood straighter, giving Sidonis a smile in thanks.

"Headaches mostly. Felt like I was going to throw up on some occasions while on the mission" Shepard explained. Chakwas nodded, pulling out different containers of pills, checking the labels before putting them back. Shepard's eyes wondered over to the computer, the Alliance symbol slowly spinning on the screen.

"What were you looking over when I came in" Shepard asked openly.

"We were looking at the brainwaves of some of the workers from the mining facility. EDI sent the scans over so that I could have a look at them for any abnormalities. We were looking at a Turian brain scan when you walked in, Sidonis was helping me." Chakwas explained, pulling out the container she was looking for. Shepard nodded, EDI was always one step ahead.

"Have you found anything?" Shepard watched as Chakwas measured out the correct number of pills.

"We've found some unusual beta waves in all of the workers, they have a similar pattern to the signal the Reapers use for their indoctrination" Sidonis chirped up.

"Similar? Not exact?" Shepard narrowed her eyes as the oddity buzzed through her mind. Chakwas walked over, handing Shepard a small bottle of pills. Shepard smiled in thanks at the doctor. Sidonis walked back over to the computer and pulled up a hologram of both the signal wave length of the Reapers indoctrination signal and the beta waves that caused. While another scan of the beta waves in the workers from the mines below that.

"Indeed, Shepard. It's not noticeable to those who aren't looking but the signal is defiantly different." Chakwas pointed out the various numbers and slight differences in both sets of beta waves. Shepard bit her lip as she thought, not wanting to chew her nails again.

"Do you think this could have something to do with the artifact?" Shepard asked. Chakwas and Sidonis looked at each other briefly, like Shepard had just given them the last part of the puzzle they needed.

"If this artifact is similar to that of a relay, able to pass signals from one location to another using a secondary devise. Yes, that might answer for the differences" Chakwas considered, her eyes scanning over the data before her. Shepard had never really seen her in work mode before. Usually Shepard was knocked out or just as dazed. But now as Shepard saw the wrinkled lines around her eyes deepen and the way her lips thinned into a hard line, Shepard saw how much thought she must have put into every life threatening situation in the medical field. Chakwas suddenly noticed Shepard's smiling face and brushed off the blush that threatened to show itself. Turning off the hologram, Chakwas turned to Shepard as she lent against the bed.
But, Chakwas had basically confirmed Garneau's notes he left on the data pad. The artifact was transmitting a signal but the question was, from where?

"Take those pills with water, but the pills might make you hungry so have some food nearby just in case" Chakwas instructed.

"Understood" Shepard nodded.

"Before you go, let me scan your cybernetics. Something might be going wrong with them and that's why you're feeling nauseous" Chakwas pulled out her Omni-tool. Shepard stood still as the small line of light slowly went over her body. As Shepard followed the scanning beam with her eyes, a soft click and rumble caught her ears. Shepard looked out of the corner of her eyes, using her hair to cover her line of sight. Sidonis was keenly staring at her stomach. Why was he staring at her stomach? The memory of Garrus' comments about her weight appeared in her mind. Had she gained weight? Was it that obvious?

"All done, Shepard. You're free to go" Chakwas broke Shepard out of her thoughts making Shepard go bright scarlet. Shepard shook the thoughts from her head and smiled towards the two doctors.

"Well I'd better go check on Garrus. I think he might be mad at me for leaving him behind" And with that, Shepard was out of the door and back into the dimly lit mess. After letting her eyes adjust to the dim lighting and getting a small drink to take the pills she made her way along the gang plank to the main battery.
As soon as Shepard had stepped through the doors, Garrus was on her before the doors could close. His eyes whipped across her face, scanning every detail of her features. His hands held her in a tight grip making it seem like he was making sure she was solid. She felt the soft bursts of air on her skin as his nose took in her scent. Shepard felt her hart rate speed up and her skin felt hot. She forced her body not to melt in his hands.

"Garrus" Shepard mewled softly as his nose pressed deep against her neck.

"You've been in the med-bay. Are you hurt?" Garrus' voice was rough and demanding, his eyes pleading for information when he looked into her own.

"I went to get some nausea pills from Chakwas" Shepard told him, fighting off the heat that no doubt was already showing on her cheeks. She tried to show him the bottle of pills but Garrus' grip on her arms had pinned them to her sides.

"Nausea pills?" a flash of worry went through Garrus' eyes and his gripped tightened on her arms slightly. His head bowed slightly, as if it was a Turian version of hiding their eyes when they were punishing themselves or embarrassment. "I knew I should have come with you"

"Garrus, you needed rest. I've been dragging you out on every mission with me since you boarded the Normandy." Shepard pressed her forehead on his. She knew he worried, she did the same back on Mars and Earth all those months ago. But, this seemed different. If Shepard had to guess, it was like his hackles were up with persistent worry. Like he was backed into a corner and forcing information out of Garrus was like trying to get blood from a stone. Shepard knew that she would have to be patient.

After a while, Garrus' grip on her arms lessen until he brought her to his chest and held her close to him. Shepard wrapped her arms round his waist, her forehead still pressed against his. The hum of the Thanix cannon rolled round them room as they stood in their embrace. How often did they steal moments like this? They were both so busy these days, the war with the Reapers and the actions of Cerberus, it all seemed to be drowning them.
Garrus suddenly let out a deep breath, his body seeming to relax as he did. He placed his lips plates on Shepard's forehead before slowly letting her go. Shepard, while missing his embrace already, watched him turn back to the console. Shepard stepped over to the table that was full of rifle parts and upgrades. Shepard smiled slightly as she neatly cleared the table before sitting on top.

"Even if you drag me out on every mission, Shepard. I'm fine, I can take it." Garrus spoke up after a few moments. Shepard smiled as she brushed her hair behind her ear, her feet swaying just above the floor.

"Even you need rest, Garrus" Shepard said softly. Garrus huffed, his mandibles closing tight against his mouth.

"Besides, your second love has been missing you terribly" Shepard smiled as she used her toes to poke his hips. Garrus shifted his weight until he was just out of reach of Shepard toes.

"Oh. Don't worry, I've been making up for my absence. Treating her to a candle lit dinner and making sure that everything is calibrated properly" Garrus spoke as his mandibles flicked into a grin. Shepard chuckled as she imagined the candle lit dinner between Garrus and the Thanix cannon, the conversation might have been enlightening. Garrus tapped away on the console in front of him but as Shepard watched him, she noticed that he...wasn't fully there. His eyes were distant, thinking of something. His mandibles lay flat against his face, his fingers were slower than usual as he calibrated the cannon.
Shepard hopped down off the table and slowly walked towards him until she reached his side. His eyes were clouded, thoughts were flying through his head. Shepard placed her hand over his, feeling the sudden jump run through his body when he realised she was there. Garrus turned and looked to her.

"Sorry, I must have spaced out for a moment" Garrus chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck with his other hand. But Shepard could see it, his smile was false. Putting on a brave face for her. Shepard reached up and gently cupped his scared mandible in her small hand, feeling the rough plates worn smooth from the rocket blast against her calloused hands. Garrus stilled as she did, his breath was caught in his throat. She felt his body shaking slightly. Then his sub-harmonics started to wail and scream. Shepard grabbed his shoulders and brought him as close to her as she could, wrapping him in her warmth as Garrus cried. This wasn't because she had left on a mission without him, something else had happened. Garrus clung to her, his gloved talons digging into her clothing as he buried his face into her shoulder. Shepard held him, purring, trying to offer what comfort she could give.

"I'm sorry, Shepard." Garrus warbled softly.

"No need to be sorry, what happened?" Shepard asked.

"I got a call. From my Dad...Spirits, Shepard...He sounded awful" His voice was on the edge of cracking. Shepard gently ran her fingers along his neck, she knew that him and his father had had a bad relationship in the past. But over the six months she was trapped on Earth, him and his father were mending bridges. Without his father, Garrus might not have been head of the Reaper Task Force or even been on Palaven's moon when she arrived.

"What did he say?" Shepard asked, her sub-vocals still purring comfort.

"Sol has a broken leg...The Reapers are hitting Palaven hard and there aren't many places where shuttles can take off" Garrus slowly brought himself away from Shepard, looking into her eyes. Shepard knew that his was hard for Garrus, she had never seen him break down before but the worry and fear he was feeling right now she could see plain as day on his face. She untangled her arms from around Garrus' neck and gently took his hands in her own. Wrapping their fingers together, she stood in front of him.

"I know it's bad news, but at least you've heard his voice. You know he's alive and you know your sister is alive too. They'll find a way to the Citadel." Shepard told him. Garrus clicked his mandible as he tilted his head to the side. His gaze confused and questioning.

"How do you know that, Shepard? I know you're good at fighting but I didn't know you were a physic" Garrus tried humour, trying to cover his fear and worry.

"I'm not. But I know you and if they are anything like you, then they'll find a way to the Citadel" Shepard smiled. Garrus shook his head but his smile had returned. He brought Shepard close again and wrapped his arms round her. Shepard wrapped her arms round his waist as he nuzzled his face back into her neck.

"That will the only time I'll like being compared to my Dad" Garrus mumbled against her skin. Shepard laughed softly. The hum of the main battery filled the silence again as they held each other, Shepard giving comfort to Garrus as best she could. But still one question was going through her mind...Had she really put on weight?

)_)

"You, Doctor Chakwas, are a sneaky human" Sidonis spoke as he put away the last of the data pads.

"My dear Lantar, I thought you knew that about me by now" Chakwas smiled coyly. Sidonis shook his head and walked over to the doctor as she sat at her desk in front of her computer.

"So, how is everything looking?" Sidonis asked as he looked over the scan on Shepard. From what he could tell, everything was looking fine. Garrus' blood wasn't rejecting her body and even the cybernetics that she had been implanted with were functioning properly.

"Everything looks fine, and growing nicely" Chakwas spoke as she zoomed in on the part of Shepard they were concerned with most. Sidonis hummed before stepping back and leaning on the bed behind him, Chakwas still staring at the image.

"Then why was she feeling sick?" Sidonis asked as he rubbed his neck. He didn't know that much about humans, most of his knowledge came from patching up members of Garrus' group back on Omega and reading whatever data pad or Omni-tool data he could find.

"Morning sickness" Chakwas spoke, breaking his train of thought. Sidonis jumped slightly as he looked at the elderly doctor.

"What is morning sickness? I've never heard of that" Sidonis chirped. Panic started to flow through his system.

"Calm down, Lantar. It's perfectly normal for human females to get morning sickness...in the right circumstances" Chakwas smiled. Sidonis looked at the doctor agape, if she was calm about it then it must be nothing to worry about. But still Sidonis felt uneasy.

"Please could you explain, Doctor. I'm still not sure I understand" He asked. Chakwas turned in her chair to face him. Sidonis was suddenly brought back to his school days when his school teacher would look down on the class with such a stern gaze as the one he face right now.

"Morning sickness is a pregnancy discomfort that usually appears round the six week mark. Morning sickness is something that protects the fetus against toxins ingested by the mother, so any plants of meats that could have harmful propertises for the fetus are not ingested fully. Most women get it and Shepard is one of these women" Chakwas explained. Sidonis felt like she had not explained the full describtion of this 'morning sickness' and somehow he felt glad that she didn't. While at the same time feeling sorry for Garrus.

"I wonder..." a thought drifted into Sidonis' mind.

"What is it?" Chakwas leant forward, her chin resting on her hands as her elbow dug into her thighs.

"Turian women don't get this morning sickness. They'd loose valuble fluids and energy if they did. I think they mostly get headaches from a rush of hormones, if I remember my class lectures correctly. But I was wondering, Shepard is half Turian thanks to the supplements she had been taking. It's most likely that she might get both symtoms or one is overriding the other" Sidonis thought out. Chakwas hummed as this new information collected in her mind.

"It's possible. If there aren't too many toxins in her body that the fetus cannot handle, it's possible that she might vomit. While at other times she's feeling neasous and has headaches. Good thinking, Lantar" Chakwas smiled. Sidonis blushed slightly but smiled. But his heart felt heavy. Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck. His mandibles flicking as his sub-vocals hummed sadly. Chakwas, who had turned back towards the computer to look over the scans again, turned back towards Sidonis.

"What's the matter, Lantar?" Her motherly voice low and comfeting. Sidonis' eyes flicked up to meet her's before sighing heavily and moving away from the bed he was using as a leaning post.

"Are you sure we're doing the right thing...by not telling her?" Sidonis asked. Chakwas stood up from the chair and walked over to the worried Turian before placing a hand on his arm.

"We are" Chakwas said simply.

"How can you be sure? Wouldn't she want to know this?" Sidonis almost growled out. To him it seemed like they were keeping this secret away from Shepard for their own gain. She needed to know the full reason she was feeling ill, why her body was feeling strange to her.

"Most likely she would, but think about the situation" Chakwas spoke firmly. Sidonis looked to his mentor.

"Shepard is fighting a war. She has to think of not just her crew or a handful of strangers from a colony. She has to think of the whole galaxy. She has eyes on her from everywhere, watching her, seeing her as a symbol of hope for all races in this war." Chakwas gently squeezed Sidonis' arm as the realisation of what Shepard really was hit him.

"If we told Shepard about this, I have no doubt that she and Garrus would be happy...over joyed even, by this news. But then her focus would be directed inward. She would focus on keeping herself safe. No only she but Garrus as well, you saw how protective he got during that operation to transfer his blood to her." Sidonis didn't need reminding. His jaw and arm still ached from the punches he recieved from Garrus for merely trying to inject a pain killer into Shepard's system. Plus when Shepard had come into the med bay for the neasia pills, Sidonis could smell the pheremones coming off Shepard telling him to stay away.

"We have to keep this secret from Shepard so that she can be what this galaxy needs her to be. Someone who had kick the Reapers in their bloody ass and blow them to high heaven" Chakwas finished. Sidonis burst out into laughter, to hear Chakwas speak with such vulgur was rare but certainly a delight. But Sidonis understood, by not telling Shepard they were helping Shepard.

"I get it, Chakwas. I won't tell the Commander" Sidonis smiled. Chakwas nodded but then her eyes drifted to behind Sidonis, he wondered what she was looking at.

"And you EDI?" Chakwas eaised an eyebrow. Sidonis' eyes went wide as he spun round to see the familiar blue holographic ball shining on the far wall.

"Your reasoning is sound, Doctor. I shall not tell Shepard of this discovery" EDI's voice rang in the room. Sidonis felt the air rush out ofhis lungs as his palm connected with his face. When had the A.I easedropped on their conversation?

"Thank you, EDI. At least it is a secret between the three of us" Chakwas sighed. Sidonis could tell she wasn't impressed that the A.I had heard the conversation either.

"The four of us, Doctor" EDI voice rang out again. Sidonis' body stiffened as he looked over towards the blue ball again.

"What do you mean, EDI" Sidonis growled out.

"Uhhh...yeah...I'm here too..." The Normandy's pilot's voice boomed over the radio. Sidonis' palm connected with his face again as he groaned. Chakwas even shook her head. Spirits, this was going to be hard to explain.

Hey Guys.
Sorry for the long wait, I've had so many things going on that I haven't really had time to just sit down and write. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you to all my readers who have stuck with me! I love you all!