"You have to talk to him, Shepard."

"I know," Hermia groaned, "I know, I know, I know."

For a woman with so much to do in the near future, she sure is spending a lot of time around my terminal, Kelly thought to herself as she skimmed over her own inbox. She knew what it was about, though, and knowing this made her smile the tiniest of smiles. After this last mission on the Citadel, Shepard called off the debriefing, claiming that she'd file the reports herself on her own time. Something had gone down. That much was obvious.

And that something had to do with Thane. After one of her usual casual conversations with him - she made a point to talk to the crew as often as possible, she'd found him in lighter spirits. This made Kelly glad. Thane was a solemn man. He wasn't overt with it or even depressed, but he was certainly solemn. Or, at least, he had been. Whatever happened down on the Citadel most certainly wasn't a bad thing. "Last time I talked to him, he mentioned you."

Shepard perked up at that. No more slouching. "Did he really?" Not a second later, she felt her cheeks burning and she turned away from Kelly. What a ridiculous reaction to something as small as that.

"No, but look what just happened," the yeoman grinned, triumphant. "Go talk to him. It's been days."

Shepard glanced back at her. "Another request?"

"You betcha, commander."

She really didn't understand Kelly's stance on the situation. If she wasn't such a bright girl with such a serious resume, she'd have thought the yeoman was trying to play matchmaker. Sure that wasn't the case, Shepard made her way over to the elevator and punched in her destination. Crew's quarters.

Kelly was under the Illusive Man's employment. She wouldn't risk doing something that would distract her, would she? Humanity was at stake. Even a bored pseudo-secretary wouldn't take that time to throw a wrench into everything. Unless that was her idea of getting Shepard relaxed… If it was, she could've chosen a different target. Taylor, perhaps. He didn't have a son. He wasn't dying. She wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't even looking for a serious thing.

Then again, Shepard never showed any interest in Jacob Taylor. Kelly would have recognized this and altered her plans accordingly. "Great," Hermia murmured to herself as the elevator door slid open. She was being sabotaged by the girl who kept a watch on her mail.

Crossing the hallway towards Life Support, she paused for a moment near the door. What would she talk to him about? Every time she'd come in here, she had something vaguely resembling a plan. A detail or a topic that she wanted to talk about - drell religion, their homeland, his skills or his memory. When nothing immediately came to mind, she stood there, wracking her brain to think of something.

She was standing in front of the door for so long that it slid open on its own. Sitting at his usual spot overlooking the drive core, Thane turned around in his chair. Hermia tried her best to muster a smile. "I just thought I should check in," she began as she made her way over to the table. Sitting down on the chair in front of him, the curl on her lips spread just a little more, morphing an unsure smile into a genuine one. "How are you doing?"

"I am well," he replied, "I find myself wishing I had more to tell Kolyat. The fear that he may return to crime keeps me from sharing tales of my assassinations." Thane paused, and Shepard watched as he drew absent circles on the table. "I do not have much to tell him otherwise. It troubles me."

"You can tell him about how his father's helping save the galaxy," Shepard said with a feeble laugh.

Thane glanced up from the table, his lips twisting in amusement. He was not the one saving the galaxy. That was Shepard. Any "help" he offered could have easily been found elsewhere - hardly an inspirational story to share with one's son. "I believe Captain Bailey will use his gravitas and experience to better Kolyat in ways I could not."

"There are shadows of doubt. Confusion, even, that I did not feel before I found him again. I find myself speculating on choices I have never questioned in all my years. How things would have changed if I had not gone after Irikah's murderers. If I stayed with Kolyat, raised him as a father should raise his son."

There was a waver in Thane's voice that was almost painful to hear. The man who she'd initially seen as confidence personified was filled with uncertainty. He was pleased, but he was in pain. When the twitch returned to her palm, she reached forward without a second thought and placed her hand on his wrist.

His eyes went to hers, but they did not force them away. Black caught grey. Doubt mixed with consolation. Warmth was shared on both sides. She didn't understand the feeling that unfurled itself in her gut when she looked at him. It wasn't friendship. Attraction, maybe, but slight. Curiosity? Respect?

"That's all in the past, Thane," Hermia said softly, "You can't change it, but you can fix it. You will fix it."

The drell's eyebrow ridges pulled inwards, and he nodded. "You are right." His eyes fell to her hand as she drew it away. His skin was warmer where she'd laid her fingers. The sensation was odd. "What of you, Shepard? Do you have family?"

"I… do," she said, leaning back slightly in her chair. "But it's not a typical family. I consider Joker family. Tali and Garrus are like sister and brother to me. Kelly is like a distant cousin." She could see Thane's expression shift to one of confusion. "I lost my family when I was a teenager. Sixteen." Confusion bled into concern, but she shook her head. "Don't worry about me. I'm okay. The Alliance is my family now. My crew is my family."

"I must admit," Thane began after she finished speaking. "You are nothing like the woman I imagined, Shepard."

Hermia arched a brow. "Really? It's that 'planets go nuclear when Shepard's around' thing, isn't it?" She gave a little laugh, shaking her head again. "I'm never going to live that down. Even the Council is eager to jump on mentioning Virmire when something goes wrong. Pistol overheats and is rendered unusable? Probably Shepard's fault. Small kitchen fire in the mess? Must be Shepard!"

She was forced to bite down on her lip to keep from rambling on.

Thane found himself chuckling. "You are not exactly subtle, Shepard." His eyes lingered on her face. She was looking away from him, her own gaze settled upon the illuminated shelves on the far side of the room. Her skin was a pale, almost milky white, a stark contrast to her dark hair. Her eyes were large. Her lips, full. Her nose was strong and straight. If her looks were paired with another voice, another personality, he would not have found her attractive.

But she wasn't different. He knew he was a fool to be intrigued by the commander; he was not hesitant to admit that to himself. With death upon him, now was not the time to become entangled. Not with Shepard. Not with anyone.

When she stayed silent, Thane continued, "I did not mean any offense."

He saw a smile tug at the corner of her mouth. She turned her face towards his, shoulder hitched up in a shrug. "I know." He didn't seem like the sort of man who'd offend someone on purpose. Plus, subtlety was overrated - the first thing she learned in the Systems Alliance. Subtlety was for salarians. Well, most salarians. "I've just always been so absorbed in my own work that I never really…" she stopped, brows creasing as she tried to bring the word forth, "understood how to go about things delicately. Not when there's so much pressure. It's like trying to disarm a bomb with a dozen people shouting at you."

"I have always used meditation to sharpen my focus. A calm can be found there that words cannot describe." Thane tilted his head forward, "You should try it."

"Meditation, hm? You know, I think someone mentioned that to me once or twice. There's this human discipline called yoga. Some of the Marines I knew back in training used it to calm their nerves. I never even thought about trying it since I'm used to just wearing myself out until I'm bone tired and then sleeping for a few hours." Her words trailed off, and she laughed at herself. "Which is probably why I have trouble remaining serene."

Thane wondered for a moment if his encouraging meditation was even a good idea. It was Shepard's bravado that often kept them out of trouble or stopped them before they did something morally wrong. He'd seen her step up and slap Zaeed in the face - a thirty-one year old woman stepping up to a much older man with much more experience killing. He'd seen the fire in her eyes when they left to find the hostages, and those flames weren't only mirroring the burning refinery. They were internal. Her passion was what intrigued him. Her passion while she was under fire and her nervous energy while she was not, like two vastly different beings simultaneously inhabiting the same body.

He glanced away when he realized he was staring. "You should try it," he said quietly. "But do not let yourself become too serene. You may forget why we are out here in the first place."

"Big, ugly once-Protheans," Shepard breathed a laugh, "Yeah, I don't think I'll be forgetting about them any time soon."

"I only wish that you be careful, siha."

Hermia's mind skipped right over the sentiment and instead focused on the final word to part from his lips. She quirked a brow, shifting forward on her chair. "I'm not sure if I heard you right. A problem with my translator, maybe." She tilted her head to the side and peered at him, curious. "You just called me something."

Thane only smiled that same ghost of a smile she was now so used to seeing. "I called you siha. It is something I will explain at a later time, I think. For now, I should return to my own meditations."

"Oh, uh… okay," Shepard murmured. "I won't keep you then." She began to get up, but stopped beside his chair before she left the room. "It was nice talking with you."

"And with you."

Shepard's mind was a jumbled mess by the time she reached the elevator. What the hell was going on? What did that… word mean? She absently punched in her destination as she leaned against the cool metallic wall. And why did she feel so flushed? She reached a hand to her cheek, brushing her fingers over her skin. This wasn't happening. Not again. Why did high risk missions always end up with her sharing the same ship with interesting men? First Alenko, now Thane? It was as if her superiors - or, in this case, the man funding the outfit - did it on purpose to see if she'd be able to work under even more pressure than was already heaped upon her.

When the elevator slid open, Shepard released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in a sigh. She'd never been so happy to see Kelly. She went to stand by her terminal and was awarded a hint of a smile from the yeoman. That was followed by a full-on grin when Kelly saw the look on her face coupled with the flush of her cheeks.

"You're blushing, commander."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Hermia shook her head. "How much do you know about the drell…?