Fire on the Horizon

Chapter 1: Promises Promises

"It won't be long Garrus. It's not like I'm being court martialed." Shepard took her regulation hair down out of it's bun allowing it to flow past her shoulders. The conversation had been going on during dinner, two hours before that, and another half hour session prior to that. She didn't like it anymore than he did, but what could she do.

Garrus walked into the Commander's quarters letting the door slightly shut behind him. He made his way to the sofa and sat, facing Jane, back against the arm of the sofa.

"No, a court martial would at least mean you would be booted out and could leave freely with me." The frustration and anger was apparent in his voice, not that he was trying to hide it. He knew that if the Alliance wanted to press matters they could. He wasn't blind to it. As far as some members of the Alliance were concerned, and outside the Alliance for that matter, she was a traitor.

He couldn't help the image of the day on Horizon come to the front of his mind. As awful and cruel as the response from Kaidan was to Jane's new found existence, unfortunately it was a tune that would be sung by many. Cerberus was just not well liked, and for good reason.

Jane sat down across from Garrus on the sofa. She didn't know what to say, so she tried smoothing things over with a good old shot of optimism. "I spoke to Anderson. Unofficially. He said that this is more or less to a horse and pony show. They put me up at Alliance base headquarters in Canada. I sit pretty, have an armed guard, and it keeps me safe. It looks as though I am being punished for my crimes and allows me to be safe from anyone seeking any kind of revenge on me. A few months tops."

Garrus had been looking down at his lap with a scowl on his face. He lifted his eyes up to her at the mention of months. "Months?!? Well, this just gets better and better doesn't it?"

He stood and walked to a well hidden built-in cabinet next to her bed. His back was blocking the view, but she knew what he was doing. The clink of a glass and the sound of pouring liquid confirmed it.

He turned taking a strong pull on the drink he had made himself. The purple liquid disappearing quickly. He swallowed, turned, and poured another. He walked back over to the sofa and took his former seat back.

"Garrus they can keep me safe." She leaned in to touch his arm, but quickly pulled back when she heard a growl from deep in his chest.

"I can keep you safe! Archangel can keep you safe. Shit Joker could keep you safer than those fools can." He took a sip of the drink and shook his head.

All he had wanted was for one thing, just one, to go right. It had too. For awhile. They had their night before they went on their suicide mission. Two things happened that night that he never expected. The first was everything going perfectly. Every step, every kiss, every touch, and every sigh was perfection. A romantic evening straight out of one of Tali's fairytale videos. They woke up, went into the relay, and surprise...they came back alive. All of them.

They were still working with Cerberus for a bit. Shepard had given the Illusive Man the tech they found and in return he had given her all the room she needed to help humanity. That's when the second thing happened that Garrus had never expected. Falling in love. Oh, he didn't tell her of course. Why ruin a good thing right? It didn't mean it wasn't true. Any chance he had he was with her. He spent the majority of his downtime with her.

In honesty, the only difference between now and before was the sex and sleeping in the same bed. Still, a large difference. Especially to him. He had no idea if she felt the same way, and now was damn sure not the time to ask. Instead, he took a deep breath and looked at her.

"What do you want me to do Jane?"

His words shocked her. She and Garrus had never really had discussions where he asked what she wanted him to do. That sort of thing was saved more for orders on the battlefield. She shook her head. Her first response was to tell him to wrap his arms around her, hold her, and let her feel the peace that she had only found in the arms of a Turian. In his arms. She didn't want to seem needy, weak, or scare him off though. She knew how she felt about him. She had known since the moment he told her that she would never make him uncomfortable.

She sighed and held back what she really wanted him to do. "Get help. Find supporters. See what we can do to prepare Garrus. After that fiasco that Hacket sent me on, well... we all know what is going to happen. We don't have much time. I need you to get us some help. A foothold."

Garrus nodded. He knew it made sense. He could go to Palaven. Talk with his dad. They had become slightly closer since his mother had passed. Maybe the stubborn man would listen to him.

Garrus finished his drink and kept his back to her as he put the glass on her desk next to the pile of datapads. His voice was so soft and low that she barely heard him when he spoke next.

"Promise me something Shepard." He stood with his back to her. The words coming out almost like a question.

She waited. When she said nothing, he continued.

"Promise me you'll stay in touch. You are about the only friend I have left in this damn galaxy. I can't lose that. Promise me."
He had said friend. Her heart sank to her knees. She shook it off. A friend. A good friend. One of the only ones he had left. A friend with benefits. She would take it. The truth was, she couldn't lose him either.

She stood and stepped barefoot on the cold floor towards the tall Turian. Wrapping her arms around him from behind she simply whispered, "I promise."