A/N: This takes place in my headcanon alternate reality, where Thane survives. This drabble is a companion to my oneshot, "Ebbtide".
"Familiar Shore"
o.O.o
Drums… No, a heartbeat… Not that either. Too shrill. It sounded like a heartbeat… Machines beeping, yes. A heartbeat, but not a heartbeat.
Shepard stirred. The sound was soft, but still too loud for her ears. She tried to get away from it, but every muscle in her body ached, binding her to the bed where she lay.
A warm hand, tentative and gentle, touched her fingertips. She reached for it, knowing without seeing that this touch was something she needed.
"…Siha?"
The voice, too, was tentative, gentle. In the haze of her mind, Shepard had difficulty placing the foreign word. She held onto it, turning it over and over in her head, the sibilant sound calming her. The beeping noise slowed into an easy rhythm.
She spoke without thinking, her dry lips parting in a breath. "Thane."
A single breath, not her own, hitched in a chest beside her. A moment, then the voice again. It spoke in an urgent undertone. "Nurse? Nurse? Please come quickly. I believe she is waking."
Shepard knew that voice. She felt her heart pull toward it, as if literal strings tied her to the sound. She wanted to see. She did not yet understand why, but it was important to see this person with the warm hands and rumbling voice. Opening her eyes was a struggle. Her eyelids were heavy, sealed shut by the weight of them. Yet, slowly, slowly, her eyes opened.
The room was bright. The light hurt her eyes, but she was determined to keep them open. Everything was blurry, her eyes unfocused from so long without seeing. She opened and closed her eyes a few times to clear her vision.
The face beside her was green with red underneath. Wide, black eyes watched her under a bright sheen of tears. The haze in her mind still kept her from comprehending fully. Her heart told her in its rhythm, I know this face, I know this face! She smiled.
He let out a shuddering breath. "Merciful Kalahira…" he whispered. "She did not take you."
I know this face, I know this face! Shepard pushed at the haze, fought to break through it. The name she spoke earlier came back to her. "Thane…" she breathed again.
Thane wiped at his eyes before enveloping her hand in both of his. "Be still, my siha. A nurse will be here soon."
She was still, if only on the outside. Inside, she raged against the wall of confusion. I know this face, I know this face! She knew: this person was important. There had never been anyone more important. Not for her.
Thane sighed and brought her hand up to his face. The ridges tickled her fingertips. "I thought I had lost you…" he said, pressing a kiss into her palm.
Images of red sand and sweeping arches of rock emerged unbidden from her memory. A lingering kiss under a sky streaked with orange and purple. A soft gasp passed between her lips. Her eyes widened and filled with tears. "I know you…" she murmured, her voice too weak when she wanted to shout. I know you!
Thane's face turned anxious for just a moment before she smiled to reassure him. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. He lingered, resting his head against hers.
Her mind still struggled to right itself, but the hole in the haze was enough. Enough to know that she was loved and cherished by this drell whom she loved and cherished in turn. Enough that they were both so very alive, and together once more. Thane. Mine. Home.