Fire on the Horizon

Chapter 15: Friendships, a Few Beers, and Moving

Shepard was tidying up her quarters and clearing off data pads while she waited on Garrus to show up. She had to admit she was a bit nervous. She had never lived with someone full-time. Well, at least not someone she was in a relationship with. James had lived in the same apartment with her while she was on house arrest with the Alliance, but that was different. They had separate spaces and James had other things to do besides just sit and watch her.

When she was with Kaidan, they only bunked together a few times during the week. She had wanted him to move in with her and offered it several times, but he always said no and cited some regulation or another. It was a bit annoying she had to admit. But now, this was different. She and Garrus were in a relationship. She wasn't sure where that relationship stood since the war. They hadn't really discussed it.

She heard the beep of the door alarm and was a little perplexed why Garrus was ringing the doorbell. Maybe his hands were full. She went to the door and as it slid open she was surprised to see Joker standing there.

"Joker? Is something wrong with the coms? I didn't hear you..."

Jeff waved his hand and shook his head no as he walked in the room. It wasn't the first time he had visited her. They were actually close friends outside of their duties. They just didn't vocalize it as much. He moved over to the sofa and sat down, one of his legs stretched out. The door closed and Shepard made her way to the sitting area, taking a seat across from him.

Joker spoke first.

"So, the big guy is moving in huh?" He took a drink from her as she leaned forward offering it. Leaning back she took her drink and popped the top nodding with the first sip.

"Yeah, Karen put him on guard duty. He has to make sure I am doing what I should be doing. Resting a bit, taking a break, staying mentally and physically aware for this nightmare." She took another sip of the beer and leaned back.

Joker nodded and laughed. "You really think that's all there is to it don't you? My God, what kind of bullshit number did Major Asshat do on you anyway?"

Shepard rolled her eyes. "I get it. You don't and never liked Kaidan, but Joker..."

He shook his head, swallowing the sip of beer in his mouth. He looked at Jane, but kept fiddling with the wrapper on the bottle as he spoke. He knew she needed to hear what he was about to say, but he was still nervous about it.

"Jane, look. It's not about liking or disliking the guy. You are like a sister to me. What Kaidan did was over the top. Everyone gets him being hurt. No one is faulting him for that. But, beyond that is what we are faulting him for. He treats you like he can run you through the ringer, leave you in a heap, and then just iron it out later. He didn't even take the engagement seriously. I mean shit, he acted like everything with you was expected. Like he was going by some manual and that eventually you two would either die old and unhappy on a porch in some part of god forsaken Canada together or you would move on and he would end up sad and alone until the next by the book came along."

Jane nodded. She had to agree with him. She and Kaidan meshed fine before, but outside of uniforms and regulations they didn't really click.

"Now, you and Garrus. That's another story. He isn't just doing this out of some sense of duty Jane. I'm going to tell you something I shouldn't. A few somethings I shouldn't. Take it any way you want, but I need to tell you."

Jane nodded and braced herself for the onslaught of things she was doing wrong and how she needed to fix her shit or she would lose Garrus. What she got was unexpected.

"He couldn't stay sober when you died. He made Oraka look like a lightweight. He tried talking to the council. When they wanted to denounce you he was done. More so than the rest of us. The last time I saw him was the day he boarded a shuttle for Omega. He was in casual clothes. You know until then, I didn't know turians knew how to do casual."

They both laughed a little. Jane smiled. "Yeah, the first time I realized they had relaxed outfits I was a bit in shock myself."

Joker nodded and continued.

"He told me he needed to do something to make a difference. That everything was turned upside down and he couldn't keep living like he was. Jane, he had a picture of you on top of his bag. I saw it when he unzipped the thing. I asked him about it. He said he had loved you since the first moment he saw you. He just didn't have the balls do to anything about it. I think he told me because, why the hell not at that point. Who was I going to tell right?"

He took another sip of his beer and sat quiet for a moment.

"I'm going to ask something I shouldn't. How do you feel about him Jane? Really. I won't judge you. I just want to know."

Jane sat for a moment. She had never truly thought about it. Garrus was in her life. She was happy. She had found peace. Beyond that, what was there.

"There's no Shepard without Vakarian." Was all she could say. She let the words hang as she drank the last of her beer.

Joker's eyes got wide for a moment. He was about to say something when the door slid open and a huge thud sound filled the area.

"Oh, no I'm fine. Just let the big burly turian fumble around until he gets in the door. No big deal."

Garrus came in and saw Joker and Jane sitting with their arms crossed smirking at him.

He shook his head. "No, spirits Joker don't get up. You'll break half your body. I got it."

Joker watched as Garrus and Shepard interacted. No prying eyes to stop them. Just them relaxed around each other. He had seen Shepard once or twice around Kaidan, but there was no real change in how they interacted in or out of uniform. This was different.

He watched as Shepard walked over and began putting some of Garrus' stuff away. There was no awkwardness or rules of don't touch that. She emptied his bags as if she had done it a thousand time. Garrus let her too. He walked by her and they spoke to each other laughing or joking. There were some jokes made about how much product turians had. Joker even laughed when Garrus explained why he had so much and Jane made a quip about the difference being that his was scented.

He watched as Garrus moved to the other side of the large bed in the quarters. He began setting some things down on and in the empty nightstand. He even took off his visor and placed it on the nightstand. When he finished he moved and grabbed a turian beer. He turned on the vidscreen and began flipping through until he landed on a station. Muting it he turned and looked at Joker.

"So, how's the new super sexy robot body in the cockpit?" Joker almost spit out his beer.

Shepard laughed a bit. "What's wrong Jeff? Not used to a relaxed turian?"

Joker laughed it off and began chatting with them. He headed back a few hours later after watching a game, drinking some more, and making sure that the woman he looked up to as a big sister was happy.