Well, I'm glad so many people like this story! ^^You guys have no idea how great I feel getting your reviews. I am open to criticism and ideas to make my writing better, though. But I'm really glad you all like this.

And I'm sorry for not updating sooner. I kind of lost where I was going in this, but reread previous chapters and I think I got my inspiration back.

Disclaimer: I only own Riley, not Mass Effect.

Chapter Five Starts Here

Normandy- Cargo Hold

Riley watched his father curiously, and worried for the older turian. He was fussing over the console, but not because of a malfunction or because of the Mako. It was because of an alert. He said it was from a feeler he sent out a while back, though didn't say what for. Occasionally, he would mutter under his breath before going over the alert once more, like he was trying to make sure whatever he was searching for is what his feeler picked up.

When his mother came down, Riley couldn't stop the sigh of relief. She always spent time between missions to talk to everyone. And everyone is always so open with her. If anyone can get his father to talk about whatever was bothering him, it would be her.

She smiled at him, rubbing his fringe affectionately, before going over to his father. It took him a moment to realize she was there. When he did notice her, he was turning around and finally spotted her, making him jump just a little at her silent and sudden appearance. Riley snickered. His mother giggled.

"You must have been really distracted, Garrus," she noted with a smile.

"Just a bit," he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

Riley's mandible twitched slightly as he tilted his head. Tell her, tell her, he mentally chanted.

"By what?" Shepard asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Just something to do with a case when I was working with C-Sec, from before you told me about Riley," he stated, taking a quick glance to his son who sat on his crate, watching the pair with undivided attention.

The commander noticed his glance and looked over her shoulder to their son. As if reading the turian's mind, she spoke to the young hybrid. "Riley, I think this conversation may drift into dark territory. How about you go ask Wrex for some of his tall dark tales?"

"Aw, but I wanna know what's bugging Dad," Riley pouted, his body drooping. "He's been acting weird for a while."

"Uh-huh, and that is why you always watch what you do around children," she told Garrus, looking back at him with a smirk. "They pick up on everything and there goes their curiosity."

"Noted," Garrus chuckled. "But Riley, this is really something I don't want you to hear. It may give you nightmares."

"Worse than the story of when you took down a ring of batarians?" Riley innocently asked.

"Way worse, that one was light compared to this one," his father told him sternly. "Please, Riley. Your mother would kill me if I end up giving you nightmares."

The hybrid sighed heavily, shoving himself off his seat before heading towards engineering. "I'll go talk with Auntie Tali."

"Have fun," his mother called after him. As soon as the doors closed behind him, Shepard looked at Garrus. "We won't see him for a while if they start talking ships. So, wanna tell me what's bothering you so much?"

Riley entered engineering, glancing at the crew momentarily as the humming of the engine echoed into his ears, quiet when not next to the core. "Hey, Riley, what brings you to our neck of the woods?" Engineer Adams asked with a smile as Riley ran up to a console. Tali looked up at Adams curiously, unfamiliar to the human phrase.

"Mom and Dad are talking," he answered. "And apparently, the story is too 'dark' for me and will give me nightmares." He scoffed.

"I know it seems infuriating now, but Riley, your parents are just trying to protect you," Adams told him gently. "Even if it's from your own mind trying to comprehend their stories. The commander has her fair share of horror stories that would give grown men like me nightmares. I've heard the story of Akuze only once, and even though I wasn't there, the images my brain comes up with scare me."

"What did happen on Akuze?" Tali asked, coming next to Riley.

Adams shook his head. "It's not my story to tell, especially to young ones like you two. Shepard would have my head on a platter." Riley snickered as Tali looked at him in confusion.

"How long have you worked with the commander?" the quarian questioned as she leaned on the railing.

"I've worked with her since before Riley was born," the Head Engineer answered with a smile. "I remember seeing him for the first time. All I could think at the time was 'What the hell?' and 'Turians have strange looking kids'." He laughed softly. "Shepard wanted to keep him. But in the military, you would end up working on different ships with different crews. Anderson worked his butt off trying to keep this crew together, making Riley a crew secret. The only ones that know about him are on this ship, with the occasional out there. Like Garrus before he came with us and now Anderson. And now Udina knows, from what I've heard."

"Your Ambassador did not know about Riley?"

"As far as I am aware, no. Udina would have busted a blood vessel if he knew, probably done whatever he could to get rid of Riley, despite all of us fighting to keep him. He's all about advancing humanity, gaining more power for us."

"Udina never knew about me," Riley noted, looking up at Tali. "That would explain why he was so shocked to see me when Mom brought us back to the ship after Saren's hearing. He had never seen me before and didn't notice me until I said something."

"That man couldn't see past his nose or find his ass with both hands," Adams scowled, typing away on the console. Both Tali and Riley giggled at the comment and how nonchalantly he stated it. "But yeah, that about sums it all up." Then he looked down at the young hybrid with a quirked eyebrow. "You know, I never did hear about what happened on the Citadel when your mother went to Saren's hearing and came back with three aliens, including your father."

"I snuck out," Riley explained easily with a shrug of his shoulders. "Then I went looking for Dad, but found Auntie Tali here first. She didn't know her way around the Citadel and I kind of knew where things were."

"Wait, Auntie Tali?" the quarian repeated, placing a hand on her chest. "You think of me as an aunt?"

Not even taking a second to think, Riley nodded his head. "Yeah," he said. "I mean, I could call you big sister, but I think I confuse enough people calling a human my mom and a turian my dad. Besides, I'm pretty sure Mom already has claim of calling you her little sister."

A soft gasp escaped Tali before she suddenly wrapped her arms around the child. "Oh, thank you! I'm so glad to be considered part of your family!"

"Auntie? I need to breathe," he laughed, coaxing her to release him. "Anyway, we went to Flux, she talked to Fist, and then we went to a dark alley and met a fang faced turian and a few salarians. They were sent to assassinate Auntie Tali. Mom and Dad showed up pretty soon after that with Uncle Wrex."

"Good thing, too," Adams said with a small smile and a nod of his head. "I can't imagine how the Commander would handle losing you, Riley."

"Let's hope she never has to find out," Tali agreed, holding Riley close to her. "I don't know how any of us will cope with that." She looked down at the young hybrid, who tilted his head up to look at her. "I know you most likely already promised this to your parents, Riley, but promise us. Promise us that you will be more careful for now on and not get into dangerous situations."

Riley nodded. "I promise, Auntie," he replied, earning a rub on his fringe from Tali and a pat on the shoulder from Adams.

Normandy - Mess Hall

Riley watched Kaidan work at his station, trying to figure out what he was doing. Sometimes, the young hybrid believed that Kaidan only worked at that station because the Commander's room is right there. The man probably stays so close in case he gets a sudden burst of courage and confesses his undying love to Riley's mother.

His mandibles twitched in irritation. He doubted this human could say one thing about his mother beyond her service record and how good of a woman she is. He most likely doesn't know her favorite color, vids, or even her favorite liquor.

It wasn't that Riley didn't like Kaidan. He does like him as the person he is, he just doesn't appreciate Kaidan trying to woo his mother. And the bad part is that Kaidan actually believes that she likes him back. He has better luck getting with Ashley.

The biotic looked up from his work, feeling the eyes on him, before spotting Riley sitting at a table, watching him work. "Everything alright, Riley?" he asked.

The hybrid nodded. "Yeah," he answered, biting into his fruit. His mother always made sure that there was plenty of fruit and vegetables for the young boy to eat, not to mention plenty of meat since turians are mainly carnivores. She, of course, always tried to get good food for the crew as well, not wanting to exclude anyone from a decent meal. She even bought dextro food for Tali and his father. Sterilized food for his quarian aunt, of course.

"Something on your mind?" the human kept talking.

Riley looked up to the ceiling for a moment, as if in thought, before shaking his head. "No, not really," he replied. "I'm just wondering when Mom and Dad are going to get back home from that ship."

And there it was, the slight flinch Kaidan always tried to hide whenever it was mentioned that Shepard is his mother and Garrus is his father. Those two already know each other and are comfortable with each other to an extent. They could laugh and joke one minute and argue the next as though it was the most natural thing in the galaxy. Which it kind of is, but that was beside the point.

"They're probably finishing up right now," Kaidan assured him with a strained smile. "They're supposed to be looking for a salarian criminal to take in."

"Must have been a real bad guy," Riley commented before taking another bite of the fruit, the juice slipping down his chin before he wiped it away with his hand. "Years later and Dad is still hunting the guy. Do you know anything about him?"

The biotic shook his head. "Can't say I do," he said, turning back to his work. "So, Riley, what things do you and Shepard do during your downtime?"

Blue eyes narrowed. "We play some board games," he started. "Watch a few vids. She'll teach me new words and their meanings, let me practice spelling and things like that. Every night, she'll read me a story. We do lots of stuff."

"Really?" the man asked, interested. "Huh. What kind of vids do you guys watch?"

Riley shrugged. "Blasto, mostly. I like them." He wasn't going to give this man any information as to what his mother likes, which are dramatic action vids with a hint of romance, the kind that made her sit on the edge of her seat waiting for the kiss that she knew should come but never does. His father knows that. Kaidan can earn that information from her just like Garrus did. If the biotic would stop talking about himself and his experiences at Jump Zero and let her talk about herself for a change, he may learn some things.

When Kaidan looked ready to ask something else, the elevator started humming, signaling someone's use of it. It stopped then Ashley stepped into view. "Hey, that looks good," she commented, spotting the apple in Riley's hand. "There any more, Junior?"

"Junior?" Riley repeated in confusion, his eyes blinking a couple times.

"Well, you look a lot like Garrus," she told him with a chuckle, patting his shoulder as she passed him. "So I'm calling you Junior."

Riley laughed lightly before pointing her in the direction of the apples. She grabbed one happily, biting into it before she closed the compartment they were in. "Mm, that's sweet!" Ashley moaned as she took the seat in front of the young hybrid. "So I noticed Garrus teaching you some advanced hand-to-hand lately. You're looking better at it."

"Thank you," he said, his mandibles open in a smile. "Dad says I still have a lot to learn, but what I know now will help me in some situations."

"You're learning combat already?" Kaidan asked incredulously. "Aren't you a little young?"

"He's not learning combat, he's learning self-defense," Ashley clarified. "And you're never too young to learn that. All my sisters and I were taught at a young age how to defend ourselves. Good thing, too. I actually just told Shepard a story about my sister, Sarah."

"What was it?" Riley asked, leaning in eagerly.

"Well, when she was in school, she was dating this boy named Mike," she started telling. "After a while, he decided it was time for them to go all the way."

"What do you mean 'all the way'?" the hybrid asked in confusion, his head tilting slightly.

"Crap, sometimes I forget you're just a kid," she scolded herself, taking another bite of her fruit while ignoring Kaidan's snickering. "Don't worry about it. In fact, don't mention it to Shepard either. Anyway, she refused and left, he got mad and things went bad. Told everyone she knew in school what happened and he got mad. I was worried so I took leave to walk her to and from school. On my last day there, Mike acted. He started yelling at her, all angry. She didn't react at all. So he took a swing at her, but she just wasn't there."

"Wasn't there?" Kaidan interrupted this time with a scoff.

"That was how she moved," Ashley defended. "She didn't just jump to the side or anything. It was like she flowed around him. He fell to the ground, busted his nose. We waited for medics to show up and take care of him when he grabbed her hand. I thought she was going to hit him for it, but he just looked up at her and apologized."

"He learned a good lesson, then," Riley stated with a sharp nod.

"That he did," Ashley chuckled, pointing at the young hybrid. "And I hope you learn one from this story now than learn it on your own later."

"Be nice to girls," he said confidently.

The two soldiers laughed. "Exactly," she agreed, nodding at him. "Be nice to girls and don't push them when they're not ready."

"Ready for what?"

"Ready for whatever you want to do, but they don't. And they generally don't because they're…?"

"Not ready for it," the hybrid finished, offering another smile and nod.

"Exactly." She looked to Kaidan. "Ever do anything like that, Alenko?"

"Can't say I have," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Spent a lot of my time on Jump Zero. I liked a girl there, but I think I scared her off when I accidentally killed the instructor."

"Yikes, tough break," the woman sympathized. "What happened?"

Kaidan shook his head. "Biotic kick to the head," he answered. "Broke his neck. I just got really angry that he broke the girl's arm because she reached for some water instead of using biotics."

"He broke her arm?!" Riley gasped, nearly dropping his half-eaten apple.

"Yeah, he was one those really tough instructors," the biotic human explained. "Had a real hard time adjusting to turian company after that."

"Is that why you avoided Dad when he first came on the Normandy?" the young hybrid asked, placing his chin on his empty palm before taking another bite of the juicy red fruit.

"No," Kaidan answered, shaking his head. "Garrus seems like a good guy. And he's a fine soldier. It's just my first impression of him was that he's a wild card and I wasn't sure how to handle him." He shrugged his shoulders a little bit. "I mean, he shot a merc while the guy was holding onto his hostage. He could have hit her, yet Shepard praised him for that reckless behavior."

"Dad wouldn't have shot if he didn't have a clear opening," Riley told him sternly, having heard the story from both his parents already. "The visor he wears helps him with that. If he thought for a moment that he was going to hit Dr. Michel, he wouldn't have taken it. And Mom knows that."

"But how can we know that?" Kaidan went on. "What if one of us is behind held hostage? Or even you, Riley? If he takes risky shots like that at the drop of a hat, how can we trust him not to hit us?"

Riley glared at him. "You just have to trust him," he nearly snarled, throwing his apple into the bin. "I trust Dad. Mom trusts him to watch her six every time she takes him on a ground mission. You're the only one I know of that has a hard time with that."

"He's kind of got you there, LT," Ashley chimed in. "He saved my life plenty of times in the field. Like when we went to investigate that distress signal and the soldiers were having a hard time because of rachni? I didn't see that one bug coming up behind me, but he shot it dead before it could get me."

"Yeah, I know he can watch our backs out there," the biotic went on. "But there is a difference between watching our backs and handling a hostage situation."

"And Garrus will handle it if no one else is able to," the woman pointed out. "He's the best damn sniper I've ever seen. Beat me when we had a contest. He didn't want to because he didn't like not being able to watch the Commander's back, but I kind of pushed him into it. Boy was he pissed when she got hit by the batarian that I missed. Chewed me out for not watching my surroundings. Let him be the sniper since then."

"I really don't think you're getting my point, Chief," Kaidan sighed heavily, rubbing his temple. A migraine was coming on and he wasn't sure if it was because of the argument or his biotics.

Riley growled, nearly jumping to his feet. "And I thought Auntie Ash would be the hardest to convince since she doesn't even like aliens," he muttered, earning a raised eyebrow from Ashley at the endearment and stunning Kaidan from the comment. With a huff, he went into Med Bay, it was time for his lesson anyway.

The door closed behind him before he let out a deep growl, glaring through the wall if he could. Both Chakwas and Liara looked up at him in surprise. He hardly noticed them until Chakwas called.

"Riley, is something wrong?" she softly asked him.

"Alenko," he replied, crossing his arms. "He just said some things about Dad that I didn't like."

"What manner of things?" Liara spoke this time.

Riley shook his head. "Don't worry about it, I'll just tell Mom later," the hybrid said with a shake of his head. "She'll talk to him about the importance of trusting your teammates not to shoot you in any kind of situation."

Liara blinked, but Chakwas let out a soft chuckle. "Alright, I think I understand," the doctor said calmly, waving Riley over to her. "Now I've written up this test for you. Let's see how much you remember this month's lessons."

He nodded, taking the datapad and stylus from his adopted Grandmother and sitting on a bed.

Captain's Quarter's

"You okay with what happened down there, Garrus?" she asked, pouring him a small glass of turian brandy and herself some wine.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered, taking the offered drink before his blue eyes landed on a lump on the other bed. "Riley's asleep at this time?"

Shepard smiled and nodded. "Yeah, he's a growing boy and despite living on a ship, he gets rid of a lot of energy," she pointed out with a chuckle. "I'm sure when he's older, his sleeping patterns will be regulated." Sighing softly, she looked back to the turian. "I know you really wanted to take Saleon down yourself, Garrus, and I tried to take that from you…"

Garrus shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he told her then downed his glass. "You were right, after all. If we took him in alive, we could have questioned him about his other victims, found any survivors and help them recover from their experience properly. Or if we found any that were messed up because of him, then we could have really helped them. Even help give closure to the families of the deceased." A scoff slipped out. "Killing him would have been too easy of an out for his crimes, and I didn't see that. He deserved to be put in prison for the things he's done. So thank you, Shepard, for at least trying. For showing me that killing isn't always the answer."

The Commander sat on the bed next to him, flicking his mandible. "A lesson often learned the hard way, but hopefully one you'll always remember, despite whatever rage you feel," she stated. "That whole situation was kind of sad, actually."

"Why's that?" the turian asked, tilting his head a little as he looked at her.

"Well, it seems to be a universal thing," she started, sipping her wine. "When people commit crimes, they either feel so bad about it that they are punishing themselves over it. Or they just don't care until they're caught. Then they either put themselves in a situation that leaves you no choice but to kill them or they don't feel sorry about their crimes until they're in front of a court. May start once in a prison cell. And some just never really get over it, constantly haunted by the things they've done."

Garrus let out a hum before nodded in agreement. "I've seen that plenty of times," he admitted. "What about you? You were in a gang when you were younger, right?"

Shepard nodded slightly. "I wasn't very proud of it," she stated. "A lot of stuff I did, I still regret to this day. Drug dealing, smuggling…I had my limits. The Reds knew that. And they still tried to push me."

"Did you ever kill anyone while you were with them?"

"One," she replied lowly. "And the only one. New guy on the block beating the younger kids. I thought that was it, so I told him off and threw a few punches. Then I found him trying to rape a girl. I blacked out and when I came to, he was dead. I didn't even recognize his face, I messed him up so bad. But despite him doing something so terrible, his death still haunts me. He was the first person I ever killed. I protected that girl, but I couldn't wash that blood from my hands."

Garrus hummed, gently bumping her shoulder with his own. "I remember when I saw my first battle," he started. "Turians go into the military at fifteen. In training, we're taught how to handle killing the enemy, how to handle killing another living being. My first battle was against a group of rebel turians, all bare faced. They were constantly attacking a base for what we believed to be weapons and ammunition. I was already a damn good sniper at that time, so I was told to hang back and pick off anyone who tried to escape. When I killed the first one, I didn't feel anything until I saw what she was holding."

Seeing the look on the commander's face, he shook his head. "No, she wasn't holding a baby," he reassured. "She was holding supplies, medical supplies. Another one ran up to her, checking to see if she was alive. If turians could cry, I'm sure he would have been. He was younger, probably her brother. He was holding food." He looked to her. "They weren't raiding weapons, they were raiding supplies. Things they needed and couldn't get because they were from a bare-faced colony that my people basically abandoned." A small hum slipped out. "You know, that is probably when I realized I'm not really much of a good turian."

"Why do you say that?" she asked him.

"When a good turian hears a bad order, he follows it," Garrus answered, a slight growl in his voice. "He may complain about it, but he'll do it. Me? Not so much."

"You follow my bad orders all the time, Garrus," the Commander pointed out with a smirk.

"It isn't that I'm following your orders. I'm following you to make sure you keep out of trouble and make it out alive. I don't think Riley would want to spend too much time with me anymore if I let anything happen to you."

"Aw, so you're keeping me alive more for yourself than me?" Shepard chuckled.

Garrus offered her a shrug in response. "Purely selfish," he joked back.

Her lip quirked a corner before leaning her head on his shoulder. The turian stiffened in surprise, not expecting the action. "I don't talk about being in the Reds much. I hardly talk about my past at all to anyone. Guess what I'm trying to say is…Thanks, Garrus. It means a lot to finally have someone listen without judging."

His mandibles flickered before he leaned his head on hers. "You're welcome," he said. "And thank you, Shepard. For going after Saleon for me. Being there when we found him. Talking me down. And listening to me go on about my own ghosts."

On the other bed, unseen by the two adults, Riley's mandibles flared out a little bit in a content smile.

Chapter Five Ends Here

Garrus and Shepard bonding time! Yay! And now we have a bit more insight of Riley's perspective of Kaidan. Can't say I really liked the guy that much. Besides, I like ME3 with Ashley more than Kaidan anyway.

Review, please! Tell me what you think!