Survivor

Chapter 48

Garrus
  Garrus escorted Samantha into the ballroom of the hotel the Alliance Navy had reserved for the night, the room packed full of important personnel in all branches of the military and politicians of all species.
It would have been an amazing sight to see, if the woman on his arm hadn't been taking it in as if it were a battlefield instead of a simple night of politics and fake smiles.
He gave her arm a squeeze in the crook of his own arm as he glanced down at her.
Her worried gaze seemed to calm with the reassuring smile he gave her when he finally caught her gaze. It was a relief, considering he didn't know how much more he could do beyond that without getting them both into trouble.
  "How about we check out the buffet bar first before you dive into the social life here," Garrus suggested.
  Samantha nodded. "That sounds good. I'm actually kind of hungry despite..."
  She waved her hand to gesture to the room as an end to the sentence.
  Garrus chuckled. "Well, you have been burning a lot of calories trekking along for ten days."
  "It wasn't the full ten days," she corrected with an amused smile.
  "To me, it may as well have been. It may as well have been a walk across Earth with how long it was and how worried you had me."
  Samantha gave him a loving smile and shook her head. "You're so dramatic sometimes," she sighed.
  Garrus shrugged as they reached the buffet and he broke off to grab a plate for the Dextro foods. "I can't help I miss you sometimes. Apparently more than you miss me..."
  Samantha pointed a finger at him, trying to choke back a laugh that threatened to escape her. "Nuh-uh, you're not pulling that shit with me, Vakarian! You know I missed you! I just don't pull guilt trips on you!"
  "That's because I'm not the one constantly leaving you," Garrus shot back, the amusement clear in his sub-vocals.
  Samantha narrowed her eyes and spun around, plate in hand to toss foods onto her plate.
  He could hear her muttering, just not the words.
  Garrus knew that was the point, he knew that she intended to lure him over to blame him for starting another one of their play arguments.
  The question was whether he would give her the satisfaction.
  A grin grew on his face and he finished filling his plate before he walked away to go find a table.
  As expected, her jaw dropped as she saw him walk away and she hurried to finish grabbing her food and strode over to the table he chose.
  "Garrus! What the hell! You just left me there?"
  "It's better than leaving you here period," he replied with a smug smile before he forked some food into his mouth.
  "You'll be sleeping on the couch if you pull that shit," she said with narrowed eyes before she spooned some soup into her mouth.
  Garrus chuckled. "Come on, Sam. We've been over this too many times to count. Those couch threats don't work on me. I've slept in the main battery for months, as you seemingly have forgotten..."
  "Oh, I haven't forgotten. I'll just pull the cushions off the couch. You'll feel every single spring on that damn couch."
  His jaw dropped and mandibles fell limp in shock. "You wouldn't do that."
  The evil smirk on her lips said what her mouth wasn't as she put food in her mouth instead of answering.
  Garrus shook his head as he brought more food to his mouth. "That's cold, Sam. I didn't think even you could be that evil."
  "You just keep underestimating me is all," she said, laughter sparking in her eyes.
  Garrus was about to reply when a blonde haired, green eyed woman approached their table with a datapad. "Commander Samantha Shepard?"
  Samantha set her fork down and looked up at the woman. "Yes?"
  "I'm Katrina Elross with the Presidium Times," she started with a polished smile, extending her hand in greeting to Samantha before she turned to Garrus.
  "I assume you're her Turian lover and former squadmate?"
  "He's my fiancé," Samantha corrected through gritted teeth.
  "Oh! Even better! Do you mind answering some questions along with the Commander?"
  Garrus glanced at Samantha, who simply shrugged. "I guess not," he answered hesitantly.
  "Great. Let's get started then!" She pulled up a chair and took a seat to Garrus' left, between him and Samantha.
  Garrus sighed, deciding to continue to eat his food as Samantha nibbled on a dinner roll.
  "For the record, just to set off any disputes as to this rumor, who was the one to actually defeat the Reapers?"
  Samantha sighed. "It was an effort between Admiral Anderson and I. His sacrifice made will always be mourned but he allowed me to activate the Crucible and defeat the Reapers. Neither of us truly expected to make it out alive... But we both had reasons to hope we would..." She trailed off as she met Garrus' eyes.
  He gave her a small smile, though his stomach clenched at the thought of having actually lost her in that mission.
  "What exactly happened up there, Commander?"
  Samantha shook her head. "I'm not allowed to disclose the details. The most I could say is what was said. The rest is still to be shared only at the discretion of the Alliance Navy."
  "But Commander, the security tapes were released! Why are there no details being given but yet tapes released? Is there something the Alliance Navy doesn't want the public to know?"
  Samantha shook her head. "That's not the case. The Alliance Navy simply hasn't decided to release the detailed accounts yet."
  "What would the reason be for that?"
  "She already answered," Garrus growled, cutting in. "Next question, Miss Elross."
  She shot him a quick glare at the same time Samantha sent him a grateful smile.
  "So," Katrina began again. "What made you decide to lend the Alliance Navy your time and experience once again?"
  "Well, to start with, my original contract wasn't up yet. The Alliance was kind enough to offer me a break on it to show their gratitude for my service, but there was also the fact that they could still use my help. My loyalty has always been to the Alliance, save for when Spectre tasks required me to choose the Galaxy as a whole. Naturally, I wanted to offer my service again, but I also wanted to make sure Garrus would also support it. Fortunately, he knew from the start that I'm a military woman through and through and was understanding and supportive of whichever choice I made. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he helped me to make the choice he knew would make me happy and help the repair efforts back on Earth."
  "That sounds like a touching story," Katrina said, turning her eyes on Garrus. "I can't imagine what would have been going through your head at the time."
  Garrus shrugged. "Like she said, I knew she was a military woman from the start. I can't take that away from her, nor do I ever intend to try. As long as she's happy and safe, I'm happy."
  Katrina was driving him crazy, nodding with a sympathetic look like she knew all about what was going on and understood it all.
  "That reminds me," Garrus started, checking the time on his Omni-Tool. "We were supposed to go find Hackett before it gets too late. And what about your Lieutenant? Have you heard anything back from him yet? Shouldn't he be here by now?"
  Samantha sighed and stood, plate in hand. "I completely forgot. We barely even had time to eat. This is killing me, and it's only the start of the night. Alright, let's go find them. It was nice to meet you, Katrina!"
  Garrus stood and guided her away with a hand at the small of her back, leaving Katrina gaping at the table as if she couldn't believe what had just happened.
  It didn't take long for both him and Samantha to start snickering about the situation as they went and found a quiet place to finish their dinner, deep in conversation to keep anyone else away.

((A/N: Hey guys! So here's chapter 48! I can't believe it's Sunday again already, honestly lol work has kept me so busy but I love it. I hope everyone is doing well and still enjoying the fanfiction! I'm probably gonna look for a way to start closing it soon without rushing the ending. I have one in mind I think will work out and not piss y'all off lol anyways! If you liked this chapter, don't forget to give it a vote and let me know what you think in the comments! I would love to hear from you guys! Thank you for reading! Keelah Se'lai!))