Ok this is my very first fanfic ever, please review! Flames welcome :)

lemon in later chapters.

~unlikely~

Garrus popped the heat sink on his sniper rifle. He knew his ammo wasn't as endless as the waves of mercs seemed to be. He lined up another head shot and felt the kick back push against his shoulder. Looking over the makeshift wall at the other end of the bridge, he saw the mechanic working on the gunship he took down the other day. He cursed inwardly that it was almost finished.

Garrus sighed as he watched another group of freelancers walk behind the wall. He counted three, one salarian, one tall dark human male, and a woman with reddish brown hair pulled into a ponytail. He didn't have a clear shot at any of them, but he couldn't help but study the woman who appeared to lead the group. There was something about her that seemed familiar.

She stood with such an air of authority, a confidence that he hadn't seen… for two years. Had it only been that long? He felt like it had been much longer than two measly years since the Normandy. His stomach grew cold as he remembered that day.

Garrus had been repairing the mako when they were hit. He rushed to the escape pods and helped any crew members he saw along the way. After being launched in an escape pod with miscellaneous crew whose names he couldn't remember, he contacted the other pods via the built in radio. He learned that most of the crew got out, but after talking to Kaiden in the other pod; he discovered that Sheppard had stayed behind to get Joker. After a few tense moments another escape pod was launched, and the Normandy's wreckage was pulled into the planet's atmosphere. Joker's voice came crackling over the radio from the last pod. He said the he and Sheppard got separated and she didn't make it.

Everything had gone downhill from there. The crew split up, everyone going their separate ways. The council spitting on Sheppard's memory, and denouncing her claims about the Reapers. It had been hell. Garrus had taken her death really hard; he always had a huge amount of respect for the commander and a certain affection towards her. One that was probably inappropriate to feel for a colleague. With her gone, he had felt cold and empty. Like there was a huge black hole in his chest, compressing and tearing him apart from the inside out.

A bullet glancing off the window ledge tore him out of his musings. He killed five more mercs before popping the heat sink again. He looked for the new group again, and the woman who had sparked his memory.

She was talking to the mechanic over by the gun ship, and Garrus still couldn't see her face. The mechanic set down a tool of some kind and turned to tend to the ship; Garrus saw her pick up the tool and shove it into the mechanic's back knocking him unconscious. Why did she do that? It made no sense-

Garrus never finished his thought because the women had turned around. His breath caught as he looked at her fierce green eyes. Eyes that had haunted his dreams for months after the attack on the Normandy.

She still had the same determined expression, that same face, same eyes, same hair. It was Sheppard.

Why was she here? Or more importantly how was she alive? His thought his heart would hammer out of his chest as he watched her start to make her way across the bridge. Mercs were leading the way and it didn't take Garrus long to figure out she was posing as a freelancer to get past the gangs. He shot a few concussive rounds near her group, careful not to do anymore than take down her shields.

As Jane Sheppard reached the other side of the bridge, she started firing at the mercs ahead of her. She didn't blame Archangel for firing at her. He hadn't done any damage and she knew he probably thought she was just another person sent to kill him. She hoped that he would give her a chance to talk before trying to kill her. From what information the Illusive Man could give her, this "Archangel" was pretty impressive, taking on all of Omega's worst and assembling a team of his own to help fight crime.

She couldn't wait to meet him.

Garrus watched her enter the building and focused back on the mercs still trying to get across the bridge. He heard her come down the hall and enter the room behind him. He took off his helmet and turned to face her, unsure of what her reaction might be. She looked shocked for a second and then a slow smile spread across her face.

"Garrus!" she said, stepping forward and opening her arms wide. "What are you doing here?"

She watched him sit on the crates, propping the sniper rifle up against his leg. "Just keeping my skills sharp, a little target practice." He replied, in that wonderfully deep voice of his that she missed. She was surprised to realize just how much she missed him. Even though, in her mind they hadn't even been separated that long. When the Illusive man told her that his whereabouts were unknown, she had been worried. She knew there was nothing she could do about it at the time but that didn't stop her from thinking about him.

"Are you ok?" she asked. He seemed tired, or lost.

"Been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face." He said meeting her eyes. "Killing mercs is hard work… especially on my own."

She wanted to tell him that he wasn't on his own anymore, but she didn't think it was the time. "Well, we got here," she said "But I don't think it'll be as easy getting out."

Garrus stood. "No it won't, that bridge has saved my life. Funneling all those witless idiots into scope, but… it works both ways. They'll slaughter us if we try to get out that way." He picked up his rifle and moved towards the window. "But it's not all that bad, this place has held them off so far… and the three of you," looking at each of her companions, "I suggest we hold this location, wait for a crack in their defenses, take our chances." He looked at her standing next to him, her bright green eyes connecting with his. "It's not a perfect plan… but it's a plan." She nodded, her eyes flicking to the bridge.

"If we fight as a team, we'll hold them off." She said. Garrus almost smiled, she hadn't changed at all. "You're right." He said. "Their numbers won't help them in here anyway." He moved towards the window, "Let's see what they're up to…"he said looking through the scope.

"Hmm… looks like they know they're infiltration team failed… Take a look." He handed the sniper rifle to Sheppard and watched her look through the scope. "Scouts," he explained "eclipse I think."

He looked out the window at the MECs starting to cross the bridge. Suddenly, the rifle fired and one of the MECs head exploded. Garrus watched her as she cocked the rifle again then handed it to him. "Looks like more than scouts," she said "One less now though." She smirked at him, almost a playful challenge. He thought his heart would stop. They were in a life or death situation and she was playing, making it a game. But then again, she was always like that, always a bright light in the darkest of places. "Indeed" he managed. "We better get ready."

And with that they took out mercs as they tried to cross the bridge. Garrus sniped from his position by the window, and whenever there was a lull in the battle he would steal glances at her. He studied her profile, watching the recoil from her gun cause her ponytail to sway. He wanted to run his hand through it, he still remembered how soft it was.

It had been just before the mission to Ferros, and after a mission on an unexplored planet on which Sheppard had completely trashed the Mako yet again. She was leaning against it while Garrus was working on the wheel.

"I said I was sorry…" she said crouching next to him as he picked up another tool. He glared at her sideways.

"I still don't understand WHY you couldn't just find another route AROUND the mountains." He growled as he managed to pry more debris from the undercarriage. She sighed and sat down on the floor leaning her back against one of the already fixed wheels, and resting her arms on her knees. "That takes too long… besides its so much more fun just to go over," she leaned past him to look closer at the damage, her ponytail near his face. Garrus looked at it, curious to see what it would feel like. It looked soft and shiny… maybe it was as soft as it looked or maybe it was course and stiff.

It was several seconds before he realized that she had stopped looking at the Mako and was now watching him stare at her ponytail. He noticed her lips were pressed tightly together.

She was trying not to laugh.

"You can touch it Garrus."

If he could blush he would have been ten shades of red. "Ah… no that's alright commander."

She rolled her eyes. "Just touch it. It's not like it's going to bite you or anything."

He went back to work. "No really, it's fine." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sheppard reach behind her head and take out her ponytail. Her red-brown hair flowed around her shoulders.

"Seriously, if you're curious about it, it's not like it's a big deal or anything." She took the tool out of his hands and set it on the garage floor. Grabbing his wrist, she gently moved his hand into her hair just above her shoulder.

He paused in surprise then moved his hand from its current position all the way down to the ends of her hair then repeated the process. The silky strands slid around his talons like water and he wrapped his hand in it. It was even softer than it looked, he didn't want to let go.

She laughed. "Is your curiosity satisfied then?"

He looked into her sparkling green eyes and slowly slid his hand out of her hair. Something passed over her face that he didn't quite recognize.

She smiled and put her hair back again. "I should get back to the bridge, and again I'm really REALLY sorry about the Mako."

Garrus watched as she made her way to the elevator and smiled at him before the doors closed. He looked at his hand and he knew that he would never forget that feeling.

An explosion rocked the building and brought him back to reality.

"What the hell was that?"Sheppard asked.

Garrus started typing in his Omni tool "Damn it. They've breached the lower levels… well they had to use their brains eventually." He glanced at Sheppard. "You'd better get down there, I'll keep the bridge clear."

"Let's split up two and two. Keep one of my team here." There was no way she was leaving him to fend for himself.

"You sure?" he asked "who knows what you'll find down there." He didn't like the idea of her going down there without enough back up.

She turned to the Salarian. "Mordin, stay with Garrus, keep him alive."

"Thanks Sheppard, you better get going." Garrus knew they were running out of time if they were going to get through this.

Sheppard and Jacob made their way through the basement closing the shutters and decimating the mercs. She wanted to hurry and get back to Garrus to make sure he was ok. As she ascended the stairs she heard the familiar hum of an engine.

Garrus felt his stomach drop as the gunship rose into view. He started firing at its weak spots, trying desperately to do as much damage as possible. Suddenly the ship open fired, ripping through his shields and decimating his armor. As he fell into a pool of his own blood he couldn't help but think how ironic it was that as soon as Sheppard had come back from the dead, it looked like he was going to die. A fierce wave of determination swept through him. There was no way he was going to just die after reuniting with Sheppard...no… Jane. After finally getting to see Jane again, he refused to die.

He opened his eyes slowly; he didn't remember closing them… Garrus saw Sheppard above him looking scared and angry. She was yelling into her radio but he couldn't understand what she was saying. He vaguely realized that his translator must have been damaged. She had her hands on him and she looked like she was going to cry. Something in him didn't understand, why was she so upset? She seemed desperate… was it possible that she felt the same way he did? No, he thought, she was just concerned for her friend. For her to feel as strongly as he did would be very unlikely.

The last sight he saw was her panicked face as he faded into blackness.