It was a restless night for Garrus and Shepard. They felt comfortable being together but their nightmares wouldn't leave them be. Shepard's fear of being a clone haunted her dreams and she woke up screaming a couple of times with Garrus holding her tighter in his arms each time. Garrus couldn't stop thinking about the children that were being tortured. Neither got much sleep and the next day was worse for them.

After collecting data about what the doctor was up to, Shepard received intel from a turian on Palaven. Shepard plotted a course to Palaven with a cup of coffee in her hands. She stood there looking at the galaxy map, her mind wandering. Kelly Chambers noticed how sick the Commander looked. She frowned, looking down at her console trying to think of words to say to the commander. Kelly couldn't imagine the stress she must have been going through; her friends dying from a choice that she had made, the war that was brewing, and now finding out that turian and human children were becoming science experiments... it made Kelly sick to her stomach.

"Commander," Kelly put on a brave face, standing at attention. Shepard looked away from the map towards Kelly's direction. She straightened her posture, the look of sorrow and dread was gone. She was serious now and it made Kelly's heart ache.

"You have a message waiting for you."

Kelly swore to herself.

Shepard smiled at her, excusing herself.

"I'll check the message in my cabin," Shepard gave her a half-hearted smile, attempting to hide the pain in her eyes but to no avail. Shepard went to the elevator and called it to the second floor. She took another sip of her coffee as she stood there. It was going to take them a while to get to Palaven, so she decided that she would take a quick shower before slipping into her armor and gathering Garrus and Thane for the mission. Once the elevator opened its doors, she stepped inside and hit the button for the top floor of the ship where her cabin was.

Garrus had left her room when she did, claiming that he needed to make sure the weapon systems were calibrated. Shepard knew he had a lot on his mind as well and that the mission that they were on was more stressful than other missions before. She couldn't understand why it was so important that turians and humans biologically needed to reproduce as their military training could easily be taught to humans; we could adapt to their ways.

The stone on their bodies was protection from their planet and it could deflect bullets. Humans had nothing to offer to turians. Besides, having a hybrid could spell disaster for the galaxy. With it being the first hybrid in the Milky Way, it could cause another war between the turians and humans. Even if there was one already happening.

When Shepard made it to her cabin it took everything inside of her not to start screaming. She felt like she had given false hope to everyone on the ship. The children that were suffering from this died by her hands, or at least it felt like they had and it hurt not knowing where this doctor was. What didn't make sense to her, or Garrus, was the fact that they killed the sick bastard; Garrus killed him himself. Shepard walked inside, her body trembling. She grabbed the datapad from her counter and went to the couch in her room, scrolling through the information they had gathered.

There were many notes from the doctor. There were names of children on the list. First names only, followed by dash marks and their new given names. Numbers. He named them numbers. Shepard's stomach twisted as her eyes watered.

She found the most recent note from the doctor and hesitated a moment before opening it. She didn't want to see what else the man had to say but to save these children... she sighed, opening the note. As she began to read, the hand that had been holding her coffee cup was starting to grip the handle harder. Her knuckles were white and her heart was slamming so loud in her chest that she could hear it in her ears.

"I have done it," The doctor said through the datapad, "It's successful. 0045 and 0055 have bonded. The turian is pregnant with a human/turian hybrid. Subjects 0067 and 0032 have successfully mated, and the human is now pregnant with a turian/human hybrid. They will be tested further as the children continue to grow and to track the changes of the mothers as well."

"Fuck..." Shepard whispered. Garrus flashed into her mind; she couldn't imagine being pregnant with his child. Of course, she had thought about it, they both have. She knew she had feelings for him but she accepted the fact that they couldn't have children. Shepard started to wonder if the man had loved a turian. Either that or he is just a sick, sadistic, creep who would rather create a new race.

Shepard dropped the datapad on the way to the bathroom. She fell to her knees and threw up in the toilet. Her hands shook when she placed them on either side of the bowl, her stomach tightened as she heaved another time. She found herself crying, snot dripping down her face as she sobbed.

Flashes of dead children went through her mind.

Her dead comrades.

The floodgates of panic had finally broken free.

Garrus had heard the commotion outside of her door. He had come up to her cabin to see if she was ready for the next mission on his home planet. He panicked hearing her sobs and quickly entered the room, not bothering to knock. Garrus turned the corner and saw Shepherd hunched over the toilet. He knelt beside her, combing his two taloned fingers through her hair. Shepard straightened her posture, attempting to contain herself. Her body was weak from the sudden sickness that washed over her and her head ached from the sobs; she hadn't cried like that in quite some time. She needed to be strong, for Garrus and the rest of the crew.

Garrus stayed knelt beside her silently.

His calming presence was all that Shepard needed at a time like this. She took a few deep breaths, getting to her feet. Garrus had a hand on her lower back and helped her up. She glanced at him, saying, "I'm okay. Thanks."

Garrus gives her a nod, "I'll wait for you—"

"Please just stay. I can't..." She shook her head and Garrus understood. He wouldn't want to be alone either with the demons that lived in her head. She shook her head and walked to the sink that was just beside the door. She quickly brushed her teeth while Garrus went to the side of her bed, seeing the datapad on the floor. Garrus didn't believe much in ghosts or demons but this datapad contained information about something similar to the latter. The doctor was sick; he couldn't possibly endure what Shepard just did after she read the information that made her so sick.

"When this mission is done, I am taking Bianca and shooting that damn thing."

Garrus chuckled, "Sounds like a plan. Do you—"

"You can read it on your own time. The toilet is right there." She said, pointing behind her. Now that her teeth were brushed, she went to her closet to get a clean shirt. Even though they were leaving for Palaven soon, she wanted to look presentable and not smell like vomit.

"I'll take your word on it." Garrus chuckled, tossing the datapad onto the bed. Shepard took off her shirt and changed into her new one. Even with Garrus sitting on her bed, she didn't feel the least bit concerned if he had seen her topless; she kind of liked the fact that he could turn away any moment now.

"Has Joker given an ETA yet?"

"About twenty minutes."

"Good." Shepard closed the closet door and turned towards Garrus who had his back towards her. She started to tuck her shirt into the waist of her pants.

"We need to have a mission debriefing soon with Thane."

"Right," Garrus stood up, turning to Shepard, "but before we go..." Garrus sighed. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "are you sure your okay?" he asked.

Shepard gave herself a moment to think about his question. She knew that she wasn't okay mentally and that she needed a break. This mission was tearing her apart inside and she knew she needed to talk to someone. She knew she could confide in Garrus.

"If I am being honest," She looked down, "I'm a Commander in the Alliance Navy who is struggling to save these children who are being used and—"

"Hey," Shepard saw that Garrus was in front of her now. She kept her eyes down, her vision starting to blur again. She bit her lip, cursing at herself mentally. Garrus put his finger under her chin to have her look up at him; his crystal-blue eyes stared back into her red ones and his heart skipped a beat.

"We'll save the children. It's just a matter of time. And when we find this sick fuck, I'll let you pull the trigger."

"Thanks." Shepard grinned. Garrus wanted to kiss her but he knew it wasn't the appropriate time for it. He had been thinking about her quite a bit. About the moments they shared, and the discussions they had. He wanted to be with her even if she was human. He had made that choice a long time ago. He wanted to tell her he loved her, but he cupped her cheek in place of his words. Shepard put her hand on top of his, leaning into his touch. For just a moment, her body relaxed.

"Commander Shepard?" Joker's voice rang through her cabin.

They both jumped, causing Garrus to quickly take a step back and put his hands on his sides. He wasn't sure why he felt like he had just gotten caught sneaking around.

"Yes, Joker?" Shepard called back.

"You have a vid-call from a Doctor Heart. He wants to talk to you. Privately."

It felt like the world had just fallen apart and Shepard stood there frozen. It took her a few moments to process what was happening. And with a deep, calming breath, Shepard tightened her fists.

"Patch him through."