"Hey, Shepard," Grunt announced, regarding her from the display panel of her omnitool.

"Hey, Grunt. Staying out of trouble?" Shepard asked, concealing her surprise. Grunt wasn't one to call or write. Not usually.

"Me? Are you kidding?"

Shepard chuckled at the indignation. "Of course, what could I have been thinking?"

"You can tell your bosses they're making you soft, keeping you on the Citadel like they are. Maybe you should—you don't want to lose your edge."

No, she certainly didn't. However, an hour or so in the combat sim down the street everyday helped her feel like she was keeping her edge just fine. Sometimes, she even brought a friend. It was a sport, but it was a little like combat, and she felt better for getting the exercise and for knowing that she was keeping her skills sharp.

"So, to what to I owe this very unusual call?"

Grunt frowned. Then he looked shifty.

"Grunt?"

"I'm thinking, hang on," he grumbled, trying to look surly and only partially succeeding. "Alright. Shepard, you're female." He flung the words at her like a rock.

"Yes." She spared him any cute responses, mostly because he began to exhibit signs of agitation. "Have you met someone, Grunt?"

Grunt's agitation increased, as did the shiftiness. It wasn't something he wanted to talk about, because it wasn't 'the krogan way.' On the other hand, ways were changing now that the Genophage was cured. "You're like a krogan," he mumbled, some of the cockiness in his posture subsiding.

Like a boy coming to mom for advice, Shepard thought benignly. Well, she wouldn't argue it. After all, hadn't she heard that Grunt openly claimed her as his mother (or mother-figure)? That had come as a surprise to her, since he'd never given the impression he thought of her that way. She was simply the authority figure, the teacher, the disciplinarian…which was, now that she thought about it, much of a mother's role.

She made a mental note to tell Alenko, eventually, that she was the surrogate mother for a young buck of a krogan, as well as sister to one. Damn, her family was strange. Still. It was a good one.

"What's her name?" Shepard asked patiently, settling into the couch.

"Shar."

Shepard wanted to cheer—good for Shar! The young krogan had been quite taken with Grunt.

"So. I'm heading to the…well. It's not really the female camp anymore. The Female Clans are all moving into the City of the Ancients, you know. I think Shar said it was because they'd have the numbers to tell anyone who wanted to stick to the old ways to go hump a klixxen."

"Good thought to have. People don't like change when the galaxy's in upheaval."

"Aw, Shepard! Spare me the philosophy and help me out here!" Grunt almost bellowed.

"I'm still not totally sure what you want help with." She had a few ideas. This was delicate, not the least because she was quite font of Shar, who wrote occasionally.

"How do I talk to her?! With krogan, you go in the tent, she shows up, you say hi, you do your business and she leaves!"

"Well don't expect to get any on a first date. Unless she's pushing you, in which case I can call her and tell her to back off, if you'd like."

Grunt scowled as if this wasn't remotely helpful. "Look. Shar is…special." It cost him something to come out and say it. "And-and with things fixed, you know…"

"You want to go steady."

"Whatever the hell that means!"

"It means that rather than your basic hookup, you're becoming a team of two," Shepard answered, rather bemused by Grunt's wish for simple answers about complex subjects. "If you want to go exclusive with her, then you need to tell her that. And then the two of you sit down and define what exactly exclusive means, now and in the future, so each understands what the other is thinking."

"More talking…?" Grunt groaned.

"Afraid so. There's no social norm in krogan society for—"

"Shepard! Less philosophy!"

"—long-term relationships, and you called me for help."

"Then help!"

"I am helping: I think she'd wait for you."

Grunt stopped grimacing and cocked his head. "You think?"

"Yeah, I do. Have you two hooked up yet?"

Grunt shrugged. "Not really. We just kind of…hung out…last time. I think I broke four or five arms trying to get the guys to stop laughing about it afterwards. Guess they thought I didn't know what to do, and that was funny."

"Well, it means you're ahead of the power curve, so don't listen to those dumbasses."

Grunt nodded. "So…talk some more?"

"Or do something you both enjoy. It's called dating. It lets her get to know what kind of guy you are—and what kind of father you might be." Ideally, anyway. Still, better to start him off on ideals.

"Yeah, I heard the Rite of Parenthood might be going away since things have changed. The females seem excited about it."

"Well, no one wants to feel like a public toilet—a string of people show up, stay a few minutes, make their deposit and go," Shepard said flatly.

Grunt frowned thoughtfully. She wondered if he was thinking about Shar as the subject of that simile. If he was, it explained the grimace that followed. "Okay. It's a place to start."

"Glad to be of help."

"I don't know about that. We'll see." And, just like that, he was back to his surly, 'I don't need anyone' mask of total self-sufficiency.

"Oh, and Grunt? I'm going to give a similar talk to Shar in the next couple of days, but while you're here…if you break that little girl's heart, I'll break every bone in your body. And if you ever hurt her, you'll be on the list for quad replacement surgery." She meant it, too,

Grunt looked surprised, then chuckled. "I love it when you talk krogan, Shepard."