"Thane...I love you. Please stay safe."
"I will Siha. And know that I love you as well."
A metallic rhythmic thud echoed with every step she took. Accompanied by her heavy breathing and pounding heart it was the only music she heard during the long trek. Just how long had she been running? Time seemed lost to her thanks to the panic. It'd set in only seconds after the entire ordeal with Udina. All that mattered was getting to the hospital.
Every other moment her mind flicked back to the image of Thane bleeding out. How could she just leave him like that! She was just so god damn stupid. Her lover should have been more important than tracking down one man. What...what if he had died waiting for medical attention? Such a notion caused her heart to skip a beat.
Something about that only drove her to run faster. Even in her damn armor she dared not slow down for one second. People either moved out of her way or found themselves shoved aside. Apologies could come later...maybe. Right now time was her enemy. But she would be damned if it beat her.
A fist bashed into the call button for the elevator firmly. While she dare not risk shattering it the time she spent waiting for it did not help her mental state. And when at long last the doors slid open Shepard squeezed herself out as quickly as possible. Almost there! Just had to run through those doors and then she could find his room. Or at least that's how it would have gone had security not interjected into her affairs.
"Stop right there! We need you to remove your armor and any weapons."
"I don't have time for this! Move out of my way!" Her order was snapped at the three men.
"Sorry but regulations come first ma'am."
"My mate is in there! He was stabbed and I NEED to know if he's alright."
"I understand that but we still need you to follow rules."
"Alright that's it." Her fist pulse with biotic power. "I'll make this very, VERY simple for you. My name is Shepard and I am a Specter. So move out of my way or I will NOT hesitate to start cutting men down in order to find my mate."
One of them rather wisely seemed to wise up to the situation. For he stepped back while his gun shook in his grasp. The situation was going to go in her favor or so help her they'd regret it.
"...Uh, who exactly are you looking for?"
"A male Drell. Green skin, came in with a stab wound. I just...I need to know if he's alive..." Her voice shook with emotion unable to hold back any longer. "Please I just need to see him. To know what happened to him."
"Alright, alright." The one clearly in charge sighed heavily before moving out of the way. "I saw him come in. They took him to room 208. Last I heard he was recovering. Said he'd been very lucky."
"Thank you! You have no idea how...thank you."
With such a short distance to go her helm was removed rather quickly. Room 208 as it was happened to be a little farther back than she had originally thought. But it happened to be one of the few with a view which over looked nothing but water. No doctors or nurses dared to stop her as she quickly advanced towards the door. Hell the only thing that stopped her – even then it was just for a split second – happened to be the sight of Kolyat. Though he greeted her with a respectful nod of the head which instantly made her feel more comfortable.
"It's been a while Commander Shepard."
"Yeah...it has. Kolyat is he – I mean did he-?" Her blue gaze caught onto the fact his eyes were closed.
"My father is resting. They say he will recover in time. Two days and they can start to apply some Medi-gel to help things speed up."
"And your certain he's resting?"
"Yes Commander. Though your worry is understandable. Why don't you rest? We won't be going any where for some time I believe."
Rest. Yeah, that sounded good. Now that all the adrenaline was leaving her body she felt rather exhausted. Pulling up a chair seemed to just be something she did automatically. As was slumping into it before taking Thane's hand into hers. Knowing he was safe, that he would recover, it placed her at ease.
It gave her the peace of mind to rest her head down on the bed and drift into a light slumber.
"You didn't ask if she wanted to remove her armor? She's going to get a cramp from lugging so much weight around."
"I asked. Given how she didn't answer and went right to sleep I feel she must not have heard me."
The voices conversed in a hushed tone. Thane did not want to awaken the woman next to him. From the sounds of all the news reports she had once again faced hell. The dried marks of blood splatter still lingered over her front. This told him she had not even bothered to clean up before coming to his side. It also made him a bit worried however.
"How long has she been like this Kolyat?"
"She came in about half an hour after you were admitted. And given the time now...it's been about four hours." He shook his head. "Must have been a stressful fight."
"Or a blind panic which gave her feet wings."
"What do you mean?"
"I think she stormed the entire way here."
"The entire way? In ARMOR? Please tell me your joking. That was at least a two mile run."
"When it comes to Shepard she has this knack for doing truly astounding things to get where she desires."
Her hair was still pulled into a ponytail. Made Thane smile a small bit as a small memory crossed his mind. Not strong enough to pull him into a trance thankfully. He didn't want to share such a thing with his son. It had been one of the few times he'd witnessed her as herself rather than the solider everyone expected her to be. Now he had to wonder if she still used the same smelling shampoo and body wash which reminded him of baked confections.
"Father I would like to...discuss something with you while it's just us."
"Is something wrong Kolyat?"
"No. I would rather look at it as something right in the universe. Here." A small pamphlet was passed to the older Dell. "I'm hoping that you will consider this. If you wish to talk it over with Shepard before hand however I understand."
"This is legitimate?"
"Yes. And they are willing to offer it to you father. It could cure your Kepral's Syndrome."
"And should it fail will I die?"
"No. But it might give you and your Siha a bit more time."
"Are you certain about this?"
"It's not my choice to make. But I would enjoy any extra time with you I'm given. Assuming you can convince her to share you with me." A small smile played over his face.
"Kolyat. When did you grow into a young man without me knowing?"
"I had a good roll model."
It was Thane's turn to smile this time.
"Tell them I accept. But let's not tell Shepard. Not just yet. If it fails I don't want her to have her hopes up."
"I understand father. Please just rest for now."
"Thank you Kolyat."
When he was finally alone with the woman he loved Thane felt himself feel a heavy burden lift from his shoulders. Gods know he had never wanted to leave her in the first place. That feeling was doubled – perhaps even tripled – upon realizing that she returned his love. And now he was being given a chance to have a life time of happiness with her. With ease he removed her gauntlets so he could take hold of her hands. For once things were starting to look up.