She couldn't breathe. Her chest was tight as she struggled, falling away into the deep blackness of space. Medigel pumped into her system, suspending time, the searing pain of the icy cold that enveloped her seeming to last for hours, when it was only moments. The rush of oxygen as it fled her suit, her hands clawing in futility at her helmet, a blossom of fire blinding her for a moment as she tumbled, a steady descent into burning atmosphere. Seconds were hours, a shrill scream in her ears that she didn't recognize, but the screams were hers.
"Shepard! Wake up, please!" A soft voice pleaded with her, the tone panicked, warm hands wrapping around her trembling shoulders, shaking her gently. Terror rose in her throat and she pushed against the warmth, a blue shimmer surrounding her hands as she tried to fight off the hands that tried to hold her down, an electric tingle running down her spine, the hairs of her skin rising in goosebumps in reaction to the biotic fields she was creating.
A blue crackle from the warm hands that held her, and she was startled, wide eyes staring in panicked fear into worried storm colored eyes. A chill settled in her gut as the blue glow abruptly flickered out. Nausea churned her stomach, guilt chilling her to the bone. "Liara," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "I..." Her voice was hoarse. "I hurt you," she whispered, eyebrows drawing tightly together.
Stormy eyes softened, a smile pulling at soft lips as the other shook her head. "No, love...I was not harmed." Slender eyebrows drew tightly together. "You were screaming...I...I was worried for you."
Shepard wrapped her arms tightly around her knees, drawing herself into a compact form as she tried to force herself to calm down. Her heart was still pounding, and her chest still felt tight. She still couldn't breathe.
Warm, soft hands rubbed her shoulders, the blue skin a stark contrast to Shepard's own earthy tones. "I could have hurt you," Shepard whispered, her voice tight in her throat. It would have been easy. All too easy for the blue glow to flicker around her hands, and for the slender digits to wrap around Liara's delicate throat. Shepard's hands tightened. She didn't want to think of it...of how easy it would be to feel the bones crack beneath her touch, for the pulse that beat at her throat to flicker and fade. Sickened by her own thoughts, she squeezed her eyes shut, her hands burying in her hair, holding tightly.
A warm body pressed against her back, arms wrapping around her still-trembling frame, delicate hands covering her own as soft lips pressed against her neck. "I was in no danger," Liara whispered, her breath warm against Shepard's skin. "I am all right...just as you are all right."
But I'm not all right. I was dead.
She didn't reply. Liara didn't need to know of the terrors that plagued her...dreams of fire and death. The warmth at her back shifted, a chill replacing where warmth had once been. Soft, blue hands pulled Shepard's hands down. Soft, storm colored eyes searched Shepard's face, eyes that seemed to see right into her soul.
Don't look at me like that. I am broken...
"Shepard..." she whispered, blue hands touching tear-streaked cheeks. A warm forehead pressed against hers, those soft hands stroking Shepard's hair. "Love...it's all right. I'm here. You're here. Everything will be okay." Liara's lips kissed hers as she whispered words of comfort.
And for a while...everything was all right.