Thane, Garrus, and Shepard sat together at the conference table staring at one another. Once they boarded the Normandy, Shepard had to excuse herself. She got up from the conference table in a hurry, pacing the room with her hands shaking.  Thane and Garrus to share a look. Garrus was worried about Shepherd; she was stronger than this, but something was bugging her. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Thane looked towards the door where Shepard paced and then looked back to Garrus, struggling with his emotions as he did so. He wanted to obey his Commander but he also wanted to destroy what he had found.

"Thane." Commander Shepard crossed her arms in front of her chest and leaned back. Garrus looked at Thane, giving him a slight nod. Thane reached into his leather cloak and grabbed the datapad. He slid it across the table to Shepard and folded his hands together in front of him, nervously rubbing his thumb on his other thumb in an attempt to calm himself.

Shepard grabbed the datapad and took a deep breath; she knew that whatever was on this datapad was going to be godawful. The way that Thane was acting was starting to make her feel uneasy. Shepard's gut twisted and her body was starting to shake again. She wanted to turn and run away from this mission, but she owed it to Garrus. She thought that this Doctor had been dealt with. She helped Garrus end his work, and with his reappearance, she feels like she lied to him. The information on the datapad was in front of her now. Images of both humans and turians were displayed in horrific detail; there were different notes attached to them.

"Turian, Age 6."

"Human, Age 12."

Shepard went past the images while biting the inside of her lip, biting hard enough to taste copper. Shepard eventually found the audio logs and began to play them. The doctor boasted about his research, declaring it to be "revolutionary". Garrus had formed his hands into fists, and he too was trembling. He wasn't blind, he saw the children and he blamed himself for what was happening. They could have destroyed that lab but instead, they left it there for the world to see.

But he remembers killing Dr. Hart, he's the one who shot him in the head.

"Fuck!" Garrus slammed his hands on the table, jerking up from his seat. He needed to be professional. All the training from home and c-sec was running through his mind but he couldn't stop the anger from coursing through his veins. Shepard looked up at her friend, wanting to comfort him. Instead, she just sat there, at a loss for words. The words that the doctor spoke sent shivers down her spine. She knew it was the doctor and she knew that he was alive with a bullet in his skull.

"Humans and Turians have much more potential than we realize," he spoke, "I have cured the plague that is overtaking the lower section of Omega, but there is so much more going on here. Thanks to the lovely orphans that have given their bodies to science..." a hollow chuckle rang through the speaker. Shepard felt warm tears fall down her cheeks while Garrus paced the room and Thane prayed silently to his god.

The doctor continued to speak through the datapad, "not only did humans have the cure all along, but I have also found a way to bring turians and humans together. If this happens, humans could finally bond and mate with turians and eventually with other species..."

He trailed on and on about humans becoming more dominant over the galaxy. Shepard rubbed her temples; this could not be happening. All of this was so utterly wrong. Not only that but Dr. Hart sounded as if he was pro-human which didn't quite make sense to her. There could be more to this than they know. The audio clips finally stopped and the only sound that could be heard in the room was a whisper from Thane.

"I don't understand," Garrus muttered, "I seriously don't get this."

"Maybe that bullet caused him brain damage," Shepard muttered.

Garrus huffed.

Garrus slammed his hands down on the table, at a loss for words. What else could he do? He had killed the man and now he was using children for some sick cross-breeding experiment. Garrus nor Shepard thought that someone this sick could exist; growing organs in a body and selling it on the black market was one thing, but this was despicable. Thane raised his head, looking at his two teammates. He wanted to apologize but he wasn't sure what for. He felt guilty; he brought this to them even if it was his mission to do so.

"We need to find this asshole's location. It's obvious he left Omega probably left when it was being torn apart." Shepard shoves the datapad away from her, feeling disgusted from handling it.

"I can look through the datapad and see if I can find anything," Thane said gently. Shepard didn't mind the idea of Thane looking through the datapad. She gives Thane the okay and stands to her feet.

"If anyone needs me, I will be in my room. Dismissed."

She wanted to throw up and perhaps then she would feel better. She just wanted to clear her head. A hot shower might help do just that. She made her way to the elevator, pushed the button, and waited for it to get to her floor. She soon felt Garrus' presence next to her. She wanted to hug him; to be held by him. But she kept her professionalism and stood there. Besides, she wasn't quite sure how he felt about her.

Garrus stood there in silence. Being next to the Commander was enough to keep him calm. He was going to go to the shared dorms and sleep on his bunk bed. Either that or hang out in the weapons room and listen to the soft hum of the ship. He also wanted to join Shepard in her cabin; this affected them both and he wanted her at his side. He wanted to hold her, kiss her even. He cleared his throat to stop his mind from wandering much longer.

"We'll find the sick bastard," Shepard muttered to which Garrus nods. The elevator doors opened and Shepard stepped inside the elevator followed by Garrus. Garrus pushed the button to head to the third floor of the ship. When the elevator started to move, Garrus quickly hit the stop button. The elevator came to a sudden jerk and stopped. Shepard turned to him with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I don't understand—"

"Look..." Garrus sighed, he didn't know how to say this. His heart was slamming into his chest. He didn't want to leave her alone. He wasn't sure of her feelings towards him or how she felt about human/species relationships. He wanted to tell her that he was there for her. His body craved her, to hold and protect her.

"I just want to get to my room," Shepard looked away from Garrus.

"I understand. I just... I just don't want you to be alone, Shepard."

"Why?"

"This mission is fucked up, to say the least," Garrus rubbed the back of his neck, "I..."

His voice trailed off.

"I'll call you if I need you. Besides," Shepard leaned forward and pushed the emergency stop button again, "you'd be the first one I'd call anyways."

"I like you." Garrus suddenly blurted, "I-I know the timing is bad, but—"

"Don't worry." The elevator door opened, revealing the third floor of the Normandy, "I like you too, Garrus."

Garrus stepped out of the elevator and turned to Shepard. She gave a small smile before the doors closed again. Garrus felt his heart do a flip. Everything that happened today was finally catching up with him. He felt drained, but happy to know that the Commander, his comrade, and friend, liked him back.