It was sunny. That was the first thing she noticed as she stood there in her hoodie and cargo pants and beat up tac boots. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen the sun. The worlds she'd visited - and fought on - for the past several months had been choked with ash and smoke, blackened by the fires of war. But not here. Here, the sun shone down, heating the cool ocean air to just the right temperature. The breeze tugged at the bun tucked against her neck, played with what hair it could tug free. She shifted her feet and felt the sand slide beneath her boots. The sound of the ocean came at her from all directions, and when she turned in a slow circle, she could see she was on an island surrounded by a perfect circle of mist-enshrouded sea.

As she completed her circuit, she became aware that there was someone standing before her. Although she felt a vague surprise, the emotion was distant, as if it belonged to someone else. Dark green eyes met black, and her voice was curiously normal as she said "Thane."

"Siha." The drell's gravelly voice was quiet, with a hint of affection as he gazed down at her across the intervening inches. "I am surprised to see you here." He lifted his head, looking around, and she saw the subtle shift of expression that she knew to be a frown for the drell. "I wonder why here, of all places. Why did it not bring you all the way to me?"

She gazed over Thane's shoulder at the fog shrouded ocean. "Is there more land beyond the fog?" she wondered, curiosity echoing dully through the shroud over her feelings. At his sharp look, she felt a tiny prickle of doubt worm its way down her spine. "Thane?" Her voice took on a hint of edge.

"I see no fog," he replied reluctantly, reaching out to touch the back of her hand with his fingers. "On the horizon, I see the land beyond the sea, where Irikah awaits my return." He nodded at her intake of breath. "Yes, Siha. Your soul no longer inhabits your body. Yet..." Again he frowned as he studied her, and she took clinical note that his own emotions seemed unaffected by whatever held hers in thrall. "I wonder if they are completely separate. It seems something holds you back. Or," he said suddenly, giving her a piercing look with his dark eyes, "someone."

"Kaidan," she breathed, with a burst of pain that defied the dampening. As she raised a hand to her heart, Thane nodded, his fingertips still lightly pressed to the backs of hers.

"I suspect that it is your love for him - with him - that holds you between worlds," the assassin said somberly. "This place, I think, is that which you humans call Limbo. The Drell and the Hanar have no equivalent, but you are human. I think..." Trailing off, he stared into her eyes. "I think you are here, in this place, because of me. On your... death... your soul found its way to me, but... I don't think it is ready to die, and I think your ties to Kaidan Alenko bind you to him in ways that even our… connection… cannot overcome."

"I love you, Thane," she said quietly, green eyes unwavering on his own. "I love you, but... Nothing compares to how I feel about Kaidan. I'm sorry. He's..."

"Your soulmate," Thane finished with a hint of satisfaction. "Yes, I suspected as much in the hospital, when he and I spoke. You are much alike, you and he, and I had no doubts that your soul and his were connected." At her expression, he gave one of his heart-breaking half-smiles and took his hand from hers to touch her cheek. "Do not give me that look, Siha. I know that you believe in an afterlife, and that you believe in a higher power. We have discussed such things before, and you are, after all, here." He lifted his hand from her cheek to gesture vaguely in the air.

"Great, wonderful," she muttered, shifting uncomfortably. "Kaidan and I are soulmates. Right. So, uh, what now? If I'm not quite dead, and not quite alive, what am I? And can I be… alive?... again? If so, how?" As she spoke, she became more agitated, her emotions growing strong enough to pierce the veil, and took a step back to pace. Her boot splashed in water. Looking down hurriedly, she noticed that the tiny island was nearly engulfed in shallow water, and the fog had drawn in until it nearly shrouded the entire sea. Thane himself stood above the water, his feet not quite touching the soft whitecaps that raced beneath them as the tide rushed up to swallow her perch.

"I suspect, Siha, you have a choice to make." The fog had nearly enveloped Thane, and his form was indistinct in the cool white mist. It had formed a dome over her, blotting out the sun and leaving the only illumination a faint luminescence from the waves. "Will you go quietly into the night, or will you fight for your life?"

"Is this real?" she called, straining to see Thane, as the fog wound around her legs, curving through them like a cat welcoming her home. The waves tugged at her boots, sucking the sand from beneath them and trying to draw her into their embrace.

From somewhere in the distance, Thane's grave response echoed. "What is real, Siha? Is your soul standing on a sinking island in the middle of a great sea somewhere, or is this simply how your mind envisions the struggle between life and death? Am I here, or am I a memory of one beloved to steady and guide you? More importantly… does it truly matter?" She could hear the amusement, the affection, in his raspy voice. "I love you, Siha. I will see you again, beyond the sea." His voice trailed off, and as the last of his words echoed in her ears, she knew he was gone.

"I love you too, Thane," she whispered, before she pulled one foot up out of the sucking sand, struggling to keep her balance. Her gaze flickered from fog to sea and back again, and she wondered which lead where. If she managed to stay atop the island, afloat in the sea, and let the fog come in, would she live? Or would that be too easy - would it count as going quietly? As she studied the water, now lapping at her knees and threatening to overbalance her at every turn, she noted that what she had thought was a simple bioluminescence common to many oceans was rather an internal illumination, spearing up through the water from the depths. She watched that distant light, imagined the struggle it would take to reach it…

"I really hope I'm right about this," she muttered, and, as the water lapped at her thighs and the waves threatened to shove her over, she arched forward into the water, spearing downwards towards the light.

She could feel the ocean tearing at her, could feel the weight of her hoodie and boots encumbering her, and took precious moments to unstrap the tac boots and leave them to drift downwards, followed by the hoodie, and, for good measure, her pants. Clad in underwear and tank top, she once again resumed her dive. Her breath burned in her chest and she could feel the pressure of the water as she struggled deeper and deeper into the ocean. Although she knew she was gaining ground on the light, the distance never seemed to change.

Farther and farther she swam down, spots dancing before her eyes as she delved deeper into the ocean. One minute passed, two… another… and her lungs ached for oxygen. Lassitude swept through her body and she knew then that she'd been wrong. Perhaps if she'd stayed above, let the fog take her, it would have taken her home. Instead, she would die here, in this cold sea, far from home and love.

Her lips parted. She inhaled, water rushing into her lungs. As she drowned in the lifeless sea, her hand stretched forth towards the light. One last thought crossed her mind. Kaidan...