Parading Garrus around Omega was not Shepard's first choice. She would have much rather left him on the Normandy, under the watchful eye of Dr. Chakwas, but Garrus wouldn't have it. She, Garrus, and Miranda were approaching the entrance to the slums and, as expected, they were turned away at the door. However, this is what Shepard wanted. Surely Garrus would go back to the ship when he learned there was a plague that killed Turians down in the slums. Instead he glared at her, as if he knew her tactic, and told her a "little cough" was not going to stop him. She argued that he took a rocket to the face yesterday. He countered that she was dead a few weeks ago. The pair had stared each other down for a moment before Shepard finally gave in.

Still, Shepard was pleased to see he was up and about and even little worse for wear. She was still somewhat mystified by their conversation yesterday in the battery. How had she never noticed the friction between Garrus and Kaidan that the Turian had described? The two hadn't always been like that. Something must have changed that she wasn't aware of.

Miranda had watched this exchange silently, either not caring or choosing not to comment. Based on her sour expression Shepard assumed it was the latter. Two Turians popped out of cover and danced their laser sights across the team. The Turian guarding the entrance raised his brow plates at Garrus before opening the door to them. They stepped inside and, once the door closed, were greeted with eerie silence. The streets were barren and fires raged over heaps of carelessly piled corpses. Shepard stifled a gag.

"Crude but effective. Burn the bodies and hope to contain the plague," Miranda mused.

A Batarian was curled against the wall and Shepard went to him. She reached out to feel for a pulse when the Batarian suddenly slapped her hand away. Miranda and Garrus drew weapons on him immediately. He snarled, "Get away from me human."

She sighed, "I'm looking for a Salarian doctor, Mordin Solus. Can you help me or not?"

The alien opened his mouth to say something but quickly descended into a coughing fit that became more violent by the second. Shepard leaned in to help him when he pulled a pistol from his jacket and pointed it at her face. She ducked before realizing that the Batarian was clearly not going to make it at this rate, much less shoot her. Shepard shoved the gun away and gave him a dose of medigel.

All four eyes blinked slowly at her before finally saying, "What do you want from me?"

"Tell me what's been going on here."

"Aliens started to get sick a week ago. At first we assumed it everyone. You humans were fine and then Aria sealed us in the district," He coughed, "She wants to wait for us all to die and then come in and clean up."

Shepard frowned. It was cold, but effective in making sure the plague didn't spread to all of Omega. "I'm hoping that won't be necessary. Dr. Solus has a clinic here?"

"Yes, further in. He isn't just a doctor."

"No?"

"STG."

She nodded, "The medigel should keep you alive for a little bit longer. I'll try to send to someone to help you."

The Batarian stared at her for a moment before nodding, "They say he has a cure."

Shepard stood and nodded to her companions. What the Batarian said made sense. Salarians weren't known for their strength and were oftentimes underestimated. If Solus was part of the STG then he would have the ability to keep his clinic safe while he treated people. Ever since working with Kirrahe, Shepard had admired the members of the STG. Brain and, albeit somewhat indirectly, brawn. They had just entered another doorway when Shepard noticed Garrus tugging at the cowl of his armor; she had seen him do it more than once since they entered the quarantine zone. She frowned and turned in time to see him cough into his fist. Oh shit. Miranda stopped too and Shepard walked back to him. Do Turians even run fevers? How do they get sick?

"Is it hot in here or is it just…" He tried to make a joke but trailed off when Shepard glared at him. Miranda scanned him with her omni-tool; "Standard Turian body temperature is 112 degrees in our set fahrenheit. I have him at 118 and counting."

The two women exchanged glances. Lawson's brow furrowed, "If the Salarian is working on a cure then we need to get there quickly. We don't know how fast it affects the body. We need more information."

Shepard bobbed her head towards the rest of the district and the trio pressed on with new urgency. She wouldn't have believed that Garrus was fallible, never seeing him take a serious hit until yesterday. Adrian glanced at him sideways and caught his profile and the stark, sterile bandage across his face. A shiver made its way up her spine and she blinked away the image of a pool of blue blood. She knew taking him here was a bad idea.

Miranda warped and shredded three Blue Sun mercenaries standing guard at another barricade. Maybe I could get some pointers from her... The barricade was erected before a central plaza and Shepard motioned for the squad to take to the balcony and funnel the mercenaries that way. That and Garrus could do the most damage there, while she and Lawson could pick off other enemies before they got too close. The first wave never made it past the entryway across the plaza. The second was dumb enough to send FENRIS mechs alongside themselves. It was easy enough to overload the mechs and catch other mercs in the resulting explosion. Shepard was careful to watch for enemies that went for Garrus. He was still using his sniper rifle, of course, but was much slower. Shepard peered down the stairs, trying to determine if it was safe. Instead she went ahead to investigated and then, when signaled, Miranda and Garrus followed suit.

Garrus was silent the entire way to clinic. There was no cocky comments about his rifle, no snaps at Shepard to get back into cover, nothing. It was disquieting. He was slower as they walked. Stupid Turian. She was used to the sound of his gait behind her and now she could hear his feet dragging. Shepard was surprised to see fully armed mechs at the door to the clinic and even more armed guards inside. There was an array of aliens spread across the health center in different stages of sickness. She turned to ask a human at the desk for the location of Solus when she heard a long string of uninterrupted dialogue in a distinct Salarian voice.

"….seems Batarian also experienced swelling. Give Plubuterol, no Plubuterol toxic to Batarians. Ruptures stomach. Provide Roxtryrine in drip."

It was all medical jargon to Shepard but she noticed Miranda raise her eyebrows, clearly interested. Shepard followed the disembodied voice into the small operating room. The Salarian turned immediately and his hand went to his jacket. Shepard suspected he was reaching for a gun. Instead he injected a small vial into his omni-tool and administered it to Garrus before saying, "Turian cure simple. Physiology resilient. Should be fine now."

She blinked, astonished at how simple it had been to cure him. Mordin ducked between two cots and continued, "Now, human. Immune. Don't recognize you from area. Too well armed to be refugees. No uniform, not mercenary. Quarantine still in effect. Here for something else. Vorcha? Crew to clean them up? The plague, investigating possible use as bioweapon—"

Shepard held up her hand to stop the fast talking Salarian, "I'm Commander Shepard and I'm here to recruit you for a critical mission." Come on, I know you are STG, bite. Solus popped back up, hand to his chin, and said, "What mission? No, can't leave with plague. Who sent you?"

She saw Miranda glance at her from her left. If the Batarian was right and Mordin had been with the STG, he likely already recognized the logo that was emblazoned across Lawson's suit. So Shepard simply said, "Cerberus. We're going to stop the Collectors. They are abducting humans."

At this Solus stood, surprise on his face as he glanced at Garrus, "Cerberus working with Turians? Surprised. Illusive Man branching out?"

"This is a problem that affects everyone, Doctor. We need to work together."

The Salarian continued to eye Garrus before his gaze swiveled back to Shepard, "Personal involvement then," He opened his mouth to speak again when the lights flickered and an overhead fan shut off.

Miranda spoke first, "That didn't sound good."

Mordin shook his head, "Vorcha trying to cut air from district. Hm, Vorcha. Plague created and Vorcha also immune. Take this, already made a cure. Inject into fans and turn power on," He paused before tossing Shepard a gun, "Take this. Will need it."

She turned to Garrus, "Are you ready for action or do you want to stay-"

He interrupted her with an offended click, "I'm ready for duty, Commander."

The environmental section wasn't far from the clinic. The area seemed awfully quiet and, glancing at her squadmates, she know the others felt it too. This felt like an ambush waiting to happen. Shepard handed the cure to Miranda and she began the sequence to distribute it across the entire sector. It was then that Blue Suns began firing from the surrounding balconies. Shepard and Miranda lifted the mercenaries and Garrus took them out. Lawson glanced her way from across a crate and shouted, "We have to get to the fans!"

They took the left side first and encountered little resistance until several Vorcha appeared with a flamethrowers and fuel strapped to their backs. The flames did little to Shepard or Garrus, their heavy armor deflecting most of the damage if they got into cover quick enough, but Miranda was not so lucky. Adrian heard her cursing and charged into a Vorcha, sending him to the ground, and firing into the fuel canister. Let's see how you like it. She kneeled next to Miranda, who was slumped behind a wall, and administered medi-gel. The entire right side of her suit was black and burnt and her neck and face had gotten some too. The skin was red, raw, and starting to flake. Shit, she's pretty burnt up.

"Stay behind me, ok?"

Lawson ducked her head, clearly embarrassed, but nodded. The first fan powered on and they fought their way across the room to the right fan. Miranda followed Shepard's command and provided biotic support. With the second fan on and the cure airborne, the crew returned to Mordin's clinic.

He greeted them with a serene smile, "Environmental systems engaged, airborne viral levels dropping, patients improving, Vorcha retreating...Well done, Shepard. Thank you for my assistant. Letting him take over the clinic."

Adrian nodded, "We cured the plague. Can you help us fight the Collectors?"

"Yes. Unexpected to be working with Cerberus. Just need to finish up at clinic, won't take long. Will meet you at your ship," Solus turned his head towards Lawson, "Needs medical attention."

Shepard motioned to Miranda, "Heading there now. We're docked at C-57, The Normandy SR-2. See you onboard, professor."

Adrian bounced on her toes in the medbay. She was trying to ignore Miranda's increasingly irate glare. Adrian's suggestion that she get Cerberus to invest in some "real armor" did not go over well. Shepard fled the medbay with Miranda's shrill retort following her. She's getting real armor, she'll just have to suck it up. Adrian made a mental note to requisition it when she got back to her cabin.

It didn't matter, the timing was right as the coffee maker in the mess was dinging, signaling it was finished brewing. Shepard was rounding the corner of the mess hall tables when she heard the angry snarl from the main battery. She swiveled her head in the direction and, feeling sheepish for what was probably going to be an intrusion, went to check on Garrus. Adrian paused outside of the door. It wasn't locked.

"It appears safe to enter, Shepard."

Adrian started at EDI's voice filtered over her head. She was somewhat disturbed by the AI watching her, disturbed that the AI seemed to know that she was debating going into the battery. Still, she entered and was greeted with Vakarian's back. She realized with a jolt that he wasn't wearing his armor, or even a shirt. Garrus whipped around to snap at whoever had entered but softened when he saw Shepard. Relief quickly changed to irritation though and he turned away. He wasn't fast enough. Adrian saw what was in his hands; a fresh bandage. When he finally spoke his voice was wary,

"Shepard, I'm in the middle of something. Can it wait?"

She ignored him, "Do you need help with that?"

Another pause and a slow drawl, "With what?"

Adrian sighed. She reached out and grabbed onto his bicep, raising her eyebrows when the corded muscles flexed under her hand, and turned him around. He didn't protest. Shepard knew what Turians looked like without their armor. She suspected he knew what she looked like without hers. Part of her training was to identify the quickest way to disable or kill alien species, the parts of the body that were most vulnerable. But this was Garrus and she found herself staring. He was smaller than she expected. His wide plated shoulders tapered down to a pointed carapace, where his collarbones would be if he was human, and then down a lightly armored belly to a slim naked waist that sat above his jutting hips. She was surprised to feel heat rise to her face. Turian bodies had never affected her before but in the tiny room she was slightly overwhelmed by just how masculine he really was. Shepard gave herself a mental slap. This is your best friend, idiot. He was male and she hadn't been this close to one in two years. It was that simple. She nodded to herself. Yup, obviously I need some...personal time. With myself.

She snapped back to reality when Garrus shook his arm and her hand dropped back to her side.

"Well?" He prompted snappishly.

Much maleness indeed.

"Do you need help changing that bandage?"

He opened his mouth, obviously to tell her that he could do it himself, but winced and shut it quickly. With a resigned sigh he handed her the bandage and then turned his face and shoulders to her. She tried to hide her grimace but the damage was worse than she thought. Raw, destroyed skin covered part of his right mandible and cheek before taking over majority of his neck on the right side. The ruined skin was still tinged blue and part of his wound was slowly beginning to seep blood around a cybernetic, near the joint of his face and neck, without the pressure of the dressing.

"Shit." Shepard promptly gave Garrus a shove towards a nearby crate. He protested in a low, reverberating sound but she quickly leaned over him. Adrian pressed the bandage against his cheek and tried to ignore his pained hiss. She peeled the steri-strip adhesive and adhered it to his face and neck. Shepard straightened and wiped her hands on her pants.

"Done, I think. Better?"

Garrus opened his mandibles experimentally and then nodded. A silence stretched between them before he saw her frowning at her blue stained hands. He didn't know how to interpret that small knit between her eyebrows. He cautiously asked, "What's wrong?" She gave him a small smile before saying something about cold coffee and scurrying back to the mess.

He sank back against the console, gingerly fingering the bandage. She was surprisingly good at changing bandages. Garrus had half expected her to slap it on and tell him to man up. She had...stared. He thought of her fleeting smile. Shepard was flighty these days; she seemed likely to bolt at any given time, especially when his gaze found her wide eyed and staring off into an unknown time and an unknown place. He found her even more ferocious in battle and, in truth, it scared him a bit. Clearly Cerberus had upgraded her biotic implant; she constantly smelled of ozone and he's pretty certain her eyes were never so biotically blue when they were chasing Saren. And she had new moves; the first time she had blasted past him in a biotic charge, he had stopped and stared. Shepard clearly didn't need as much time to recharge and she never seemed to need to stop and take a break.

Garrus glanced at the door. The Turian had been so certain she wasn't real, that she was a mirage and that he was dying and that she was there to bring him the afterlife. He had felt a surge of anger when he first saw her topple under his concussive shot. How dare she let everyone think she was dead? But anger had turned to relief when it looked she was going to save his life and get him away from Omega. Only to take a rocket to the face. Was it possible though? She said Cerberus had..."rebuilt" her. Rebuilt her from what, exactly? Would he know if she was clone? A clone with the same gimpy shoulder?

His thoughts were becoming disjointed and hazy. The medication Chakwas had him on made him sleepy and he had just enough energy to pull himself off the crate and onto his cot to fall into a dreamless sleep.

I've been up in the air, out of my head,
Stuck in a moment of emotion I destroyed.
Is this the end I feel?
Up in the air, fucked up on life,
All of the laws I've broken, loves that I've sacrificed.
Is this the end, end, end, end?

Up In the Air - 30 Seconds to Mars

A/N:Apologies for such a looooooong time between updates. I actually had to boot up the game and play thru Mordin's level on Omega annnnnd its probably my least favorite part of the game. Bleh. Glad its over with! Also, ask and you shall receive – Adrian Shepard in the flesh. Replace the DOT with a period. orworsexpelledDOTtumblrDOTcom/tagged/adrian-shepar d