Lili Shepard paced in the mess hall, her armor still on. She could see into the medbay, each glance she stole both scared her and calmed her.
"I should have said something, I should have." she whispered. Her hands her held tense behind her back.
"Shep, are you alright?" Kasumi asked,walking over to the commander. "From what I figured, you guys are good friends. He was one who helped you stop Saren, right?" the thief continued. Lili stopped and looked at the hooded woman, then she nodded.
"Yeah," she managed. "I'm working with a organization who did horrible things, and I need some old, trusted friends. When I saw him, I don't know." she sighed. "Two years dead, I missed two damn years of my life and come back to find they all moved on. I finally find an old friend, one who I trust more then anybody else, and he's so close to dead."
"I see." Kasumi said. "You know, when I lost Keiji, I wanted to die. He meant a lot to me, more then anything else. Then Hock kills him and...I didn't know what to do. I buried myself in work, in stealing things. Then I knew I had to get over it. I knew he would want to see me like I was."
"Kasumi, I had no idea..." Lili trailed off.
"No, don't worry, I'm fine. As long as I get his gray-box back, I can be able to call my revenge repaid." Kasumi assured her. It was silent between them for a while.
"Kasumi," she began. The thief turned to look at her. "If you liked somebody for a while, would you say something? Even if it meant ruining the friendship that you had with that person. Would you regret not saying something sooner if you knew you felt that way toward them, then years later they're close to death?" she asked, eye shimmering with sadness.
"I would say something, even if it did ruin what I had with that person. I would regret it, yes, but only if they die. If they manage to pull through, I'd tell them when I thought best." she paused. "I see what you mean, Shep, and I think you should say how you feel."
Lili blushed and looked down at her white armor, now stained blue with blood, Garrus' blood.
"Thank you, Kasumi." Lili murmured. "I will."
"Good," Kasumi responded. "Shep, why don't you go clean up and rest. If anything happens, I'll tell you myself. The others are busy, and I have nothing else to do." she continued. "No worries, Garrus will be fine. I mean, you were smart getting the Professor first. Plus, him and Chakwas are the best, from what I hear."
"Alright, again, thank you." she agreed. She had a headache and her mind was reeling, she felt her face burn with scrapes and her whole body just plainly ached.
Lili walked off when she and Kasumi nodded at one another. The thief was turning out as a good ally, and a good friend.
She stole one last glance at the medbay, then the thief and kept walking. He couldn't die, she had just found him again, her friend. She still had to say what she wanted, but she'd wait, she'd wait as long as she had to, until she knew it was the right time to say it.