Set before "Crucible" - how Sarah got her nanites.
Sickness
"She's got what?"
Crassus was bewildered by all the information given to him by the doctor.
He'd been recommended to him the moment Sarah had first coughed up blood to their joint horror and his overwhelming panic when she subsequently collapsed in a heap.
His lover now rested peacefully in the medical bed only an hour after the collapse.
The doctor anyway seemed nice enough for a salarian. He was called Mordin and, if the rumors were true, had a rich and varied history which was unusual for an individual of a short-lived species.
Mordin spotted his confusion and tempered the next set of information accordingly.
"It's a human cancer. Very aggressive. Used to be kill over 90% of those it affected. Luckily times have changed. It's very treatable."
"Oh... oh. Okay. So she's gonna be fine now, right?"
Mordin blinked at him. "For now," he replied before going back over his scans.
"Hold up there, doc! What do ya mean by that?" Crassus barked.
"Cancers return. You must be vigilant. Both of you. Guard against finding it too late, making treatment hard or impossible. Must not take for granted your health."
Crassus leaned back against the nearest bed, feeling suddenly lightheaded.
"So... this isn't the end of this."
"Possibly. But it is over for now."
Vitius glanced over at Sarah, pale and with slightly hallow cheeks, fast asleep in the bed.
"Is there any way of making her cure permanent?"
Mordin pondered. "Medical nanites have potential. Very costly but a permanent solution to your problem. They'd manage any further cellular discrepancies."
"So no cancer?"
"No cancer."
Crassus swallowed. "Alright. How much?"
The salarian motioned to his assistant, taking the data-pad the human brought and handing it to the turian merc.
"Best available on the market too expensive. These would be adequate for the task. Standard recommendation for all patients if they have the funds."
Crassus's heart sank when he saw the cost. He didn't have the credits on hand for this.
Maybe after a few big jobs but even then...
Crassus growled. He knew what he needed to do even if he really didn't want to take that step.
"Can you order them?" he mumbled.
"Of course. Payment?"
"You'll get your payment, doc. Just keep an eye on her for me. When she wakes up, tell her I won't be long."
Crassus strode angrily through the busy streets of Omega.
Now, more than ever, people jumped out of his way at the sight of his face with its scars set into angry glare.
A few of his mercenary comrades waved but kept their distance. You knew when it was safe and when it wasn't to talk to Crassus and this was one of those times it was best to keep out of the line of fire.
He arrived at the apartment he owned and practically shared with Sarah although she still refused to officially move in.
Vitius poured himself a short of brandy, knocked it back before he finally took a moment to really think.
Bits and pieces of Sarah's things loitered in random areas of the living room.
Crassus picked up the long soft scarf she'd worn just that day.
He lifted it carefully, touching the soft fabric to his mouth-plates while he took a deep lungful of her scent that lingered to it.
He set the glass back down on the table and, scarf in hand, went to the comm terminal.
Crassus placed a call to someone he'd hadn't talked to in years. Their last words to each other had not been polite in anyway, certainly not for how he'd been raised.
For a moment, he thought they wouldn't answer until at last the terminal screen flickered and his father, still as astere looking as he was the last time Vitius saw him, appeared.
"Hey Dad."
"Vitius? When I took this call, I wasn't expecting you of all people."
"Yeah, well. Its not like the last time we talked left a lot of room for me to call regularly."
His father seemed sad. "I know. You seem healthy at least. Some new scars there."
"Nothing I couldn't handle. Child's play. Look Dad, this isn't exactly a social call. I need a favor."
Sarah woke up hazily and slowly edged herself upright.
As her brain kicked back into gear, Sarah remembered the blood that had spilled from her mouth in a cough.
She'd caught as much of it as she could in her hand, marveling at the thick vicious liquid of the deepest red.
Obviously she'd didn't last too long after that considering she now found herself strapped into machines in a room that looked and smelled like a clinic.
"Mornin'."
Sarah gave a lazy smile as Vitius got off the seat he used at the side of her bed.
"Morning you. Have I been asleep that long? How long have I been out?"
"Only a couple of hours. Doc's been and gone. But you have to stay here for a few days more. At least until the doc can give you the last treatment which you'll be glad to know is being shipped express from the Citadel."
"Is it serious?" Sarah asked quietly.
Crassus stared into her bright blue eyes that still shone in spite of how pale she was.
"Nope. All gone. For good."
"Do I want to know what it was?"
"Depends. You trust me?"
"A little."
Crassus smiled warmly at her. "Well, it's gone. Forever. But I've got to go away for a few days once you're on your feet. And you're coming with me by the way."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I've, ah, done a deal with the devil. I've gotta go home for a visit and my dad insists on you coming too."
