AN: Thanks to everyone who has favourited, followed and double thanks to everyone who has reviewed.

Special thanks goes to my beta Spyke1985! You're the best!

Also, just wanted to say that I did warn you guys that this would have a slower update schedule than SYA but in return you guys get longer and (hopefully) better chapters so this is just a thank you for your patience and another thank you for reading and caring about the characters and their story.

Side note: Two Noah and the Whale songs this chapter because they rock. :D

Hope you enjoy!


Chapter Eight – The Worst Day of the Year

"Oh when I look to the shape of my heart,

It's separated only by scars,

That cut in and cut out,

Oh and leave me without,

Oh a heart that functions at all.

And when I look to the shape of the sky,

I give thanks for this hollow chest of mine;

That I no longer feel,

The great weight of ordeals,

That can make this life so unkind.

Oh and if there's any love in me,

Don't let it show.

Oh and if there's any love in me,

Don't let it gro-"

"I didn't know you could sing." Tia's voice startled Sarah, causing her to spin around, blushing. Lia smiled at the sight.

"Get used to it. Whenever she thinks no one's watching or she gets too caught up in her work, she starts to sing. It's actually really annoying." She told the asari, causing Sarah to pull a face.

"Thanks for that." She said, sarcastically.

"So, why are you so dressed up?" Tia asked, indicating to the fact that Sarah had been in the middle of trying to tame her crazy long, thick hair, and Lia grinned.

"She's got a lunch date today." She informed Tia who also began to grin.

"So, Tal actually asked her out?" She asked and the quarian nodded.

"Yep. The second day I stayed here with you guys. I thought she was going to turn him down, to be honest." She said, shrugging.

"Hello? I'm right here." Sarah pointed out as she ran a brush through her hair, just willing it to look reasonable.

"So, why didn't you turn him down?" Tia asked and Sarah shrugged. There was no way she was telling them that she had simply been too distracted by the fact that Tiberius had seemingly been avoiding her to really comprehend what the handsome quarian had been asking her. Although, it did seem like a good idea. She wasn't really interested in anything with any real feelings involved, but Tal would leave soon enough, so there was no chance of anything long-term anyway.

"Who knows with Sarah? I could never figure her out and I've been trying for as long as I can remember." Lia teased, causing Sarah to throw her a death glare.

"Do I look okay?" She asked them and they both shook their heads.

"No, you look terrible." Tia said, her tone completely deadpan.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to be seen in public with you." Lia joined in and Sarah shook her head.

"I hate both of you." She told them, before Lia headed out the door.

"I'd better not keep the guys waiting. See you later!" She said as she left the apartment. As soon as she was out of earshot, Sarah huffed with frustration as she inspected her hair in the mirror. It was too long and thick to do anything except tie it up which she did every day anyway. Tia gave her a sympathetic look, before taking the brush from her.

"Here, let me have a go." She volunteered and Sarah huffed in agreement.

"Thanks." She said, before looking down at her outfit. It was the one dress that she owned. It was light blue and floor-length, only kept from trailing across the carpet by her heeled boots. It was made of a light material that didn't cling to her skin and left a reasonable amount of room to maneuver. She hated it, but the only other clothes she owned were the jeans and tops that she wore every day. She had never really had a reason to dress up before, and she kept pulling at the fabric, worrying it endlessly in her discomfort.

"No problem, just stop fidgeting." The asari said as she pulled Sarah's hair away from her face, thankfully not disturbing her fringe.

"Lia's right, you know… With her teasing, I mean. I'm really bad at all of this girly stuff." Sarah admitted, as Tia frowned a little.

"Did your mom not teach you all of this stuff?" She asked and Sarah shrugged, earning her a whack from the asari.

"Sorry, I'll try to keep still. But no, not really. Neither of us are particularly girly. Don't get me wrong, she wouldn't let me go out looking less than decent; but neither of us are girly girls. We're both more comfortable in combat boots, I guess." She admitted and Tia frowned again as she grabbed a bobble and began to tie Sarah's hair loosely at her shoulders.

"Sarah, you never wear combat boots. You only ever wear heels. In fact, you wear them so much that you walk on your toes." She pointed out and Sarah had to stop herself from shaking her head as Tia grabbed a blue ribbon.

"These are combat boots. Kind of. I modified them so they blend in and have a bit of a heel. But they're super comfy and I can fight in them." She said, as Tia finished tying up her hair and placed the loose ponytail so that it fell down over her shoulder.

"There you are." She said and Sarah grinned at her.

"Tia, you are a life saver." She told the asari, who smiled in response before frowning a little.

"Do you always think about that?" She asked, causing Sarah to give her a confused look.

"About what?" She asked and Tia sighed in response.

"Fighting. Do you always want to be prepared?" She asked and Sarah nodded.

"Yeah. Some habits are hard to break, I guess." She said and the asari nodded in understanding.

"I know what you mean. I don't like to leave the apartment without my gun." She admitted and Sarah gave her a questioning look.

"I thought tech was more your thing than weapons." She said and Tia shrugged, her gaze becoming distant.

"I wasn't always that way. I only really discovered my talent for tech after I joined C-Sec." She told Sarah, who frowned a little.

"You know, you keep telling me that I should just tell Philip about my past so that I'm not keeping things from my friends but you're not exactly open with your own." She told the asari, who sighed.

"I keep telling you that you should tell him your identity, not your past. Trust me, he understands wanting to distance yourself from your family to avoid judgment. It's different for me. I... I'm of the belief that the past doesn't define you. I've made some mistakes and I was lucky enough to be given a second chance. Is it so bad that I just want to leave my mistakes behind me?" She asked and Sarah sighed as she realized that her friend was looking for an honest answer.

"No, I understand. Trust me, I've done some things that I'm... Less than proud of. Hell, I was downright ruthless at times." Sarah admitted and Tia nodded in agreement.

"I'm making an effort to move on. We all are, I think." She told Sarah as the door beeped. "That'll be Philip." She said, moving away before Sarah could reply to her earlier statement.

"Hey gu- Well, hello there, Sarah. What are you all prettied up for?" He asked before blushing a little. "Not that you're not normally- I mean... Just that-" He stammered and she smiled at him kindly, taking pity.

"I get it, it's weird seeing me in a dress." She joked as they left the apartment. "Can we please just talk about something other than my date? It's making me nervous." She admitted and Philip frowned.

"Wait, 'date'? What date? With who?" He demanded and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Tal asked me out a few days back. I said yes. Hence the date." She told him and he folded his arms.

"I'm telling you, I don't like that guy. He's shifty." He said and Sarah shook her head.

"Well, you don't like Red either, and he and I get on just fine, so I think that I'll be ignoring your advice on this one. No offense." She joked and he sighed before frowning, looking around.

"Wait, didn't you used to walk to work with Smiley? How come you're not now?" He asked and Sarah shrugged.

"This place is out of his way. It makes more sense for me to meet him at work." She lied. In truth, it was out of his way, but she was sure that if he hadn't been avoiding her, he would have still made the trip.

"It's more than just that, isn't it?" Tia observed and Sarah sighed in response.

"I don't know. He's been keeping to himself more than usual." She admitted, knowing that if they could hear her sub-harmonics they would know exactly how much uncertainty and upset this was causing in her.

"Who the hell knows with that guy." Philip said, shaking his head before grinning at Sarah. "But don't worry, you've still got us." He told her and she grinned back. Looking on the bright side was not one of her skills, but Philip was right and Tiberius could fuck off for all she cared. She had other friends and could live without him.

Sarah was surprised when she was greeted at HQ by Tiberius. She hadn't really seen him while they had been finishing up the paperwork for their investigation.

"I've got our new assignment. Patrol work." He told her and her sub-harmonics trilled with disbelief and a little anger. He doesn't talk to her for almost a week and then he drops that on her? How was that fair?

"Are you forgetting something?" She asked him, hoping that he hadn't really been so insensitive.

"No, we're patrolling the catwalks." He told her and she frowned.

"The what? We have catwalks?" She asked and he let his sub-harmonics trill with a little impatience at her ignorance of the Citadel.

"Yes. There are catwalks above every ward. Those things that you climb over to get everywhere?" He reminded her and she realized what he meant.

"Oh right, I guess I never really thought about them..." She admitted and Philip chuckled a little.

"So is that how you appear like a ninja all the time?" He asked and she shrugged.

"I guess. It's just a good way to avoid the crowds." She admitted, though Tia was frowning.

"It's pretty boring work. Nothing ever happens on the catwalks." She pointed out and Tiberius fixed her with a glare before replying.

"I couldn't get another assignment." He said, his voice betraying no emotion, though his eyes were telling the asari that she should drop it.

"Okay, so let's head out then." Sarah said, earning her a look from Tiberius.

"In that?" He asked her and she fixed him with a glare of her own. Two can play at this game, she thought.

"Yes. In this. Problem?" She asked curtly. He didn't move an inch.

"It's not very practical." He told her, his tone slightly reprimanding.

"If I couldn't fight in it, I wouldn't be wearing it." She told him tersely and he finally nodded.

"Fine. Just don't mess up, Sarah." He told her before heading out, leaving her feeling strangely empty except for a lump in her throat. She couldn't understand why he was pushing her away like that. Did he blame her for losing the investigation?

"What happened to 'Blue'?" Tia asked her and Sarah steeled her expression, clamping down hard on her sub-harmonics. She would be damned before she let on to anyone how much Tiberius' actions were hurting her.

"I don't know..." Sarah said, honestly, before leaving to follow Tiberius.


Tiberius didn't say more than two words to Sarah as they patrolled. There wasn't really anything to say, but she still sensed that this wasn't the companionable silence of two friends who hated to waste words. This was a tense silence of two people who had everything to say and the stubbornness to stay quiet about it. It was oppressive and distracting and it was doing nothing but stressing her out. So, she tried to distract herself by listening to music, but it wasn't really helping.

Finally, she decided that she couldn't stay silent any longer.

"Look, Red, I'm sorry. That we got pulled off the case." She told him and he shook his head.

"Sarah, I'm not mad." He told her, but she wasn't convinced. Tia was right; he had stopped calling her Blue.

"I... Look, it wasn't fair of the Executor to pull us off the case! We were so damn close!" She told him, allowing her frustration to show through her sub-harmonics but he remained stoic.

"It doesn't matter now." He told her simply and she wanted to hit something. How could he stay so damn calm?! She thought, before she made an effort to calm herself. Getting mad would accomplish nothing.

"It might, actually. I remember most of the intel. I have a good memory and I spent enough hours pouring over it for most of it to sink in. If I could just figure out what I missed, we could take it to the Executor and she might let us back on the case." She told him and he sighed with frustration.

"Did you not learn your lesson last time? We don't go against regulations. We got taken off the case. Just deal with it and move on." He told her, his tone unnecessarily harsh.

"Fine. I will." She said quietly, not trusting her voice to not crack if she spoke any louder. After that they returned to the oppressive silence that made her plates itch beneath her skin.

When they finally stopped for lunch, she could have cried with relief. She was extremely glad that it was her afternoon off and that she wouldn't have to return.

So, to say that she was distracted when she met Tal would be an understatement.

"You're here already? Am I late? I knew I was running late! We were patrolling on the other side of the ward and I didn't know that we would be and then I-" She was stopped by the sight of him smiling as he touched her shoulder. She bit down hard on her lip to stop herself from reacting badly to his touch, as he had caught her off-guard.

"Sarah, it's fine. I haven't been here long." He told her with a reassuring tone and she took a deep breath, trying to not feel so frazzled.

"I'm sorry. It's been a long day already and I haven't even had lunch." She told him and he smiled.

"Well then let's fix that, shall we?" He said as he took her arm, and she blushed a little. She wasn't used to this kind of contact with anyone, and wasn't sure how to proceed. But, she was determined to learn.


"-and then I guess she was too tired or something because she just... And, you're not listening, are you?" Tal asked, pulling Sarah out of her daze. She immediately felt guilty. He had taken her to a really nice place that served her favourite quarian dishes, but she had barely touched her food.

"I'm really sorry. Today's been a really bad day and I guess I'm just distracting..." She said before frowning, resting her head in her hands. "I was going for 'distracted'... I'm sorry." She said and he smiled softly, although she couldn't see it as she refused to look at him.

"So, what's got you so distracted?" He asked and she groaned internally. There was no way she was going to admit that she had been thinking about how Tiberius had been acting that morning. His weird behaviour had completely thrown her, and now she was having a tough time thinking about anything else. And even for the brief moments when she could focus on anything else, all that occupied her mind was the overwhelming feeling that she should be somewhere else.

"Just... A bad day at work. That's all." She told him, sighing as she finally lifted her head from her hands.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked and she shook her head, sighing.

"No, it's alright. I just..."

"Don't really want to be here?" He finished, his tone filled with understanding.

"No!" She quickly replied before resting her head in her hands again. What was wrong with her? Here was this perfectly handsome, caring guy, and she just couldn't bring herself to think of him as anything more than a friend. "I... I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me." She told him and he gave her a reassuring smile.

"Nothing is wrong with you." He said and she laughed hollowly.

"Apart from a few loose screws." She joked before shaking her head. "Actually, scratch that. I don't think I have one screw fully tightened." She told him and his lips quirked upwards into a smile.

"It's fine. Really." He told her. "Do you need a lift anywhere?" He asked, sensing that the date was over. She shook her head.

"I think I'm just going to walk home, go to bed and pretend today never happened." She told him honestly, ignoring the fact that by Citadel time, it was still early afternoon. "I really am sorry." She told him and he shook his head again.

"Sarah, it's fine. Really." He told her, seemingly sincere. Which only made her feel worse. Why was she incapable of liking this perfectly... Well, perfect guy? "I'll see you around." He said and she nodded. Although she figured that she would be perfectly happy to never see him again and just forget that it had ever happened. Whatever it was...

She needed a drink, she decided as she walked home. She was still distracted, her mind refusing to focus on where she was going, so it wasn't all that surprising when she walked into a huge, hulking, wall of krogan.

"Oh, sorry I- Mordin! Boy, am I glad to see you!" She cried and the krogan looked at her, a little confused.

"Pix? What the hell is wrong with you? And what are you wearing?" He asked and she laughed.

"I'll tell you over some ryncol." She promised him, hoping that copious amounts of alcohol would wash away the incessant feeling of something just beyond her comprehension, desperately crying out for her attention.


"So, long story short, I ran out of there and I have no idea why… I just… I had this overwhelming feeling that I was meant to be somewhere else… Does that make any sense, or have I finally lost it?" Sarah asked the krogan as they sat on the roof of her apartment. She was feeling suffocated by her dress and they were already through half of the small bottle of ryncol. She didn't want to get blitzed off her face... Well, she might. She hadn't really decided on the best course of action to rid herself of the memories of the day. The classic was to drink enough ethanol to cleanse her memory engrams, but she knew that that course would only end in a really shitty hangover. But no other ideas were coming to mind.

"What do you mean finally?" Mordin joked and she threw him a glare as she took another swig of booze. She figured her robust metabolism could handle it.

"Har har. Seriously, Mordin. I have no idea what happened…" She told him, feeling a little lost.

"Really? It's kind of obvious." He said and she fixed him with a glare.

"Well then enlighten me because I have no fucking clue." She demanded, her sub-harmonics trilling with anger and frustration directed at herself.

"You've bonded to someone." He told her simply, causing her to do a spit-take, something she had been certain only happened in bad sit-coms.

"What?! That's bullshit!" She exclaimed, as she wiped her mouth, as he simply shrugged.

"How else do you explain it?" He asked and she shook her head.

"No, no, no, nononono. No." She said and he laughed a little. "Mordin, this isn't funny! I don't... I can't... I mean... There's no way I wouldn't have noticed this. I mean, how does something like this slip by?" She asked and he shook his head.

"You really are oblivious, aren't you?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Well, yeah, but this is ridiculous even by my standards… I mean, there's no way. I would have..." Except she had. She had noticed her strange reactions and... Her stomach seemed to fall away as she suddenly felt gripped with the shock of her realization. "Red..." She whispered and her heart tugged at her, confirming what she already knew. Somewhere along the way, the quiet turian had become closer to her than anyone outside of her family ever had. And then, without her realizing it, those feelings of friendship had evolved into something much, much more. Somehow, unbeknown to her, she had fallen for him. And she had fallen hard.

"So, what are you going to do?" Mordin asked her as she shook her head.

"Nothing. I'm going to ignore him. I'll keep my distance and hope that this goes away." She reasoned stubbornly, folding her arms across her chest.

"This isn't going to go away, Pix. We both know that you're more turian than human. If you've bonded, then you've bonded." He told her and she shook her head, refusing to believe the truth that was staring her in the face.

"No." She said, unyielding. "Fifty percent of my DNA is human. I will just keep away until my feelings go away and I move on." She reasoned, her tone resolute.

"You know, for a reasonably intelligent person, you're really dumb sometimes. Even humans fall in love." He told her and she fixed him with another glare.

"Shut up. This is just because I spend all of my time with him. If I don't then I'll stop feeling this way." Her logic sounded flawed even to her ears, but she kept on, determined to ignore what was plainly in front of her.

"It can't be just that you spend all of your time together." Mordin said, causing her to frown. "You must be attracted to him."

"Well, yeah." She admitted. It wasn't her fault that she found the tall, dark, and mysterious thing downright sexy.

"And he likes you for you." Mordin continued and she shifted her gaze to the floor.

"That's why he's my best friend." She reasoned, not wanting her feelings to extend past that point.

"And you're comfortable enough around him to voluntarily tell him all of your secrets." He kept going, but she shook her head at that point, finding one, small thing in the favor of her bullheadedness.

"Not all of my secrets…" She told him. How could she tell him her last secret? Even now, when he thought that she was human... He probably wouldn't like her like that. It was impossible to think that he would like her if he knew what she really was. Impossible that he could be attracted to her... It had been different with Rael. He had known her secret his entire life. Plus, he had been at that age where teenage boys would screw anyone willing. Despite Lia's assertions, Sarah was sure that he had never actually liked her... How could he?

"Face it Pix, this won't just go away." He told her and she shook her head.

"Just… Shut up…" She said as she took another drink. "Talk about something else. Anything else..." She said and he nodded, seeing how upset she was.

"Is this why you're sticking around here?" He asked and she frowned.

"No, I'm sticking around because I like it here." She told him and he snorted.

"Come on, Pix. We both know that you're meant for more than this." He told her and she shook her head.

"Not this shit again, Mordin." She groaned and he laughed a little.

"You can't run from destiny, Shepard." He said and she fixed him with a glare.

"Don't call me that." She hissed at him, which only made him laugh more. "You know that I hate that." She told him, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"Pix, I thought that you had finally decided to accept it." He reasoned, but she shook her head.

"Mordin, I was upset and running from my problems. It was a coping mechanism for me, not a decision to embrace my... Destiny." She spat the last word as if it were cursed and he shook his head, giving her a confused look.

"I know that you don't believe in the old krogan legends, even if you have seen them for yourself-"

"No, Mordin. I haven't seen shit. My parents have corresponding brainwave patterns that allowed a limited, short-range telepathic bond to form when they were both under stress. That's it. All of this 'Blood Tied' stuff is just superstitious nonsense." She told him, a little bitterly. She had heard enough about her 'destiny' to last a lifetime and she wanted no more of it.

"I know, you think it's all a load of bull. Especially the part about the children of Blood Tied couples becoming the greatest war-"

"Mordin! Just leave it alone! I'm not a great warrior, okay? Hell, I am naturally shit. What skills I have are the result of three years of fear and trauma ruling my life. I don't have that natural ability my parents do. I can't enter a battle and calculate every detail into a strategy. I rely on pure instinct and it's not enough." She told him but he shook his head.

"It's more than enough, Pix. Your instincts are good. Just because you rely on them more than most, doesn't make you a bad soldier. It makes you a better one." He tried to explain, but she shook her head.

"No. I am not a soldier, Mordin. Never have been. My inability to think before I act under stress does nothing but hurt those I'm supposed to protect. But, you know what? I'm okay with that. Because what I am is a damn good scientist. That may not be impressive or worthy in the eyes of the krogan, but it's who I am. I... I don't think that I'm sticking around here, even." She admitted and he frowned.

"Sarah, I've never known you to run from anything. Why this?" He asked and she shook her head.

"But I did run, Mordin. You might not see it that way, but I sure as hell do. I ran from Harry, didn't I? The people closest to me tend to get hurt. I... I couldn't bear it if that happened to Red. He deserves better than a freak anyway..." She muttered into her drink and the krogan sighed.

"Ah." He said, knowingly and she threw him a glare.

"Don't. Just don't, okay?" She said and he nodded, suddenly understanding why she was so upset. "You're off by a day." She told him, sensing what he was thinking.

"By Citadel Time, maybe, but not by Earth Standard Time, I think." He told her and she frowned.

"Just don't..." She repeated and he paused for several moments before saying it anyway.

"Happy birthday, Pixie."

"Fuck you."


"She can't still be out with Tal, can she?" Tiala asked the quarian who was currently sat in her kitchen.

"No, Tal messaged and said that it hadn't gone so well." Lia told her and the asari frowned.

"You don't seem too concerned about her disappearing act." She observed and Lia shrugged.

"I am concerned. Or, rather, I was. I thought that we'd have until tomorrow, at least. But I also thought she might be a bit more stupid than usual so I had Mordin keep an eye on her. He met up with her after her date went south and he's making sure she's okay." She told Tia who folded her arms.

"Wait, I'm missing something here. What is it?" She asked and the quarian sighed.

"Sarah... She doesn't do well on-" They were interrupted by the door beeping. Tia went to answer it and found Mordin standing on the other side with a passed out Sarah in his arms.

"Keelah, what happened?" Lia asked, as the krogan dumped the sleeping girl on the sofa.

"She..." He started but stopped, unsure of how much he should tell the other two. He was certain that Sarah would not like the fact that she had fallen in love with her best friend to become public knowledge. "She's had a bad day." He finished and Tia narrowed her eyes at him.

"This bad day wouldn't have anything to do with a certain turian, would it?" She asked and the krogan's body language told her everything she needed to know.

"Excuse me, I have to go and kill someone..." She muttered as she grabbed her coat and left the apartment.


Tiberius paused as he was packing his things, his gaze resting on a wrapped up box beside his other belongings. He briefly let himself be pulled into his memories.

"Did you always want to join C-Sec?" The girl next to him asked, having grown bored now that she had finished reading whatever had been so fascinating on her data-pad.

"No. I didn't really know what I wanted to do when I was younger. Then we got told that after Basic we could be transferred to C-Sec instead of serving in the military. They were still having trouble building up the ranks." He explained and she nodded.

"After three large-scale attacks, one resulting in the complete destruction of the station, you can see why people wouldn't want to work security here." She said and he nodded.

"Indeed. But it seemed safer than the military and I thought that it would worry my mom less. She seemed to spend all of her time worrying about me." He said softly and she placed a hand on his arm. She wasn't a very tactile person, and neither was he, but lately they had both been less bothered about physical contact with the other.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." She said and he shook his head.

"Not bad memories. Just old and forgotten ones." He clarified before continuing. "What about you? I know that you didn't always want to join C-Sec."

"No. I was always fascinated by xeno-biology. Specifically, genetics. That's what I had planned on going to university to study." She said, indicating to the data-pad.

"Is that what you were reading?" He asked and she nodded.

"I... It's a genetics textbook. University level." She explained, smiling a little.

"You still want to leave, then?" He asked and she shrugged.

"I guess. Eventually. I don't know. Being here has reminded me that I didn't lose everything. I guess this is something that wasn't lost." She explained and he nodded, hating it when she talked about leaving. As if it were inevitable.

"So why did you want to become a geneticist in the first place? It seems like a weird thing for a kid to want to do. Although I guess some of the obvious ones like 'Spectre' were always out of the equation." He said and she froze for a second, something he noticed she did when she was hiding something. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He said, his sub-harmonics trilling with reassurance.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to keep secrets." She told him. She was lying and he knew it, but he also knew that she wished it was the truth so he let it slide.

"I just meant that if you're good at biology, the obvious choice would be 'doctor'. Isn't that always the case?" He asked and she laughed a little.

"Me? A doctor?" She asked, incredulously. "I think that that would require some semblance of bedside manner." She pointed out before sobering up. "You want to know the real reason?" She asked softly and he placed his hand on her shoulder in a gesture of reassurance and comfort.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He said but she shook her head.

"It's okay. The truth is, I hate hospitals." She said after pausing for a few moments.

"Blue, if you don-" He started but she cut him off.

"No... It's just not something I've ever told anyone." She admitted. "They've always freaked me out. I never liked the idea of being locked in one. That was a big fear for me when I was little."

"Being locked in a hospital?" He asked, a little confused. It was certainly one of the strangest childhood phobias he had ever heard, simply because it was so unlikely. Why would she ever be locked in a hospital?

"Yeah, I know. But it really terrified me. Still does, I guess. You remember what I told you about my friend Harry?" She asked and he nodded.

"Of course."

"We... We did visit Earth three times before I went to hunt down the people who hurt him. I just... I wasn't ready. I wasn't strong enough." She told him and he placed a comforting hand on her arm before she continued. "I... I would go to the hospital and I wouldn't be able to go inside. Hell, I even used to climb up to the window of his room -there was a little balcony on that floor and it wasn't that high up- and not be able to go set foot inside the walls of the hospital, but not able to leave because, if I left, it would have felt like I was failing him. I guess I failed him anyway..."

"It's okay, Blue." He told her softly and she nodded.

"I guess by most definitions, standing outside the hospital room of your comatose friend is a pretty crappy way to spend your birthday, huh?" She joked, humorlessly.

"Is that why you were on Earth?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yeah. We'd always go to visit my grandparents on my birthday. And I would always slip away to visit him. I kept thinking that it wasn't fair. That if I hadn't been there, he wouldn't have been hurt. I know that there is no point in thinking like that but on a day that's meant to celebrate my birth... Well, it's hard not to." She admitted before smiling. "Anyway, let's talk about something else..." She said and he nodded, silently promising to himself that he wouldn't let her next birthday be as bad as those that had come before it.

He was pulled from his thoughts by what sounded like a kakliosaur was trying to batter his door down. He opened it to see a small asari standing on the other side, her features flooded with fury.

"What the hell, Tiberius?" She hissed at him as she barged past him and into his apartment.

"Tia? What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night. You know, relatively..." He stopped talking as she gave him the death glare.

"Don't even start with me!" She warned. "What the hell was with you today? You were nothing short of an asshole to Sarah. I know that you don't like making friends Smiley but, Goddess, what on Thessia did she do to deserve that?" She asked and he shook his head.

"She didn't do anything..." He muttered and Tia gave him an incredulous look.

"Then why the hell are you pushi- Oh, Smiley..." Her voice suddenly became full of sympathy as he sat down on the sofa and she sat opposite him.

"Don't, Tia. Just don't." He said and she sighed, shaking her head.

"You've fallen for her, haven't you?" She asked gently and he groaned in response.

"No. That's not... Look, I just can't have..." He said lamely, earning him another sympathetic look from the asari.

"Keep telling yourself that and I'm sure it'll just go away." She said sarcastically and he growled with frustration in response.

"I just... Dammit, Tia. I do not like Sarah like that!" He protested and Tia just gave him a disbelieving look.

"If you're going to lie, at least do it convincingly." She told him and he shook his head.

"Look, How could I... I mean, she's stubborn and hot-headed and has no ability to think before she acts!" He exclaimed and Tia just smiled at him, knowingly.

"And you love her anyway, don't you?" She asked and he sighed, shaking his head.

"Tia, please just leave it alone." He pleaded, wishing that he could just erase his feelings for Sarah. He wished that his heart didn't leap to his throat every time she touched him and that her scent didn't linger when she brushed past him. But it did, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to pretend that that wasn't the case.

"Wow, you've full-on bonded, haven't you?" She asked, still smiling as if amused.

"I'm glad you're finding this so funny, but this is serious, Tia." He groaned and she nodded.

"I know. It's just that... Whenever anyone talks about love, you and Sarah say that neither of you want anything to do with it. That it's 'too dangerous' or that it's 'nothing but trouble'. And yet, here you are. I just find it ironic, is all." She reasoned and he shook his head.

"But that's exactly my point! Neither of us... Spirits, this is such a mess..." He muttered and Tia folded her arms.

"I hate to be the one to point out the obvious but you could just, you know, tell her." She said, rolling her eyes as Tiberius narrowed his.

"Look, Tia, if you're going to delve into hypocrisy, you might as well leave." He told her and she glared at him.

"I'm not the one alienating my best friend." She pointed out and he sighed.

"I just... If there's one thing that she and I both agree on, it's that we don't want this kind of relationship. Plus, she's hum-"

"Oh, don't start with that bullshit, Tiberius. You know as well as I do that that wouldn't bother her. It probably wouldn't even cross her mind as a problem." She said and he shook his head.

"I didn't mean it like that. I may have bonded to her, but we both know that humans -or, hell, even asari or any other species- can be more... Fickle with their emotions for each other. If she doesn't want this, then she's in a much better position to ignore it." He said and Tia folded her arms, thinking of how to phrase what she was going to say next.

"She's not telling you everything." She finally said and he gave her a questioning look, his sub-harmonics chiming in, despite the fact that she couldn't hear them. "She's not telling me everything either, but there's only so much you can keep from the person you live with. Let's just say, I don't think that will be a problem with her."

"Am I allowed to cite her keeping secrets as a reason why this wouldn't work?" He asked, attempting to lace his voice with humor but it simply came out as hollow.

"No. We both know that, despite her secrets, you trust her." She said, before regarding him for a few moments. "So, what are you going to do?"

"The way I figure it, if I keep my distance then everything will go back to normal." He said and she couldn't help but snort in response.

"Sorry Smiles, but that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." She said and he shrugged.

"Maybe. But it's all I've got." He said and they lapsed into silence. She glanced around the room before frowning.

"You're leaving?" She asked as she noticed his suitcase.

"Just for a few weeks. Thought I might visit my grandparents. I haven't really seen them since... Well, I just figured that it was about time." He told her and she frowned at him.

"You're running away." It wasn't a question. He sighed, picking up his things.

"I'm going to be late." He told her and she nodded, realizing that he had ended the conversation.

"What's this?" She asked as he headed out of the door, her hand resting on a small, wrapped-up box that she had spotted.

"It's... A promise I made. A promise I broke." He told Tia, before clarifying. "It's a birthday present for Blue. I bought it a few weeks back. Before I realized... Hell, I should have probably realized when I saw it and thought of her but... Just, do me a favor? Make sure she gets it." He told her and she nodded, picking it up.

"You're going to leave without saying goodbye, aren't you?" She asked and he sighed.

"I... I just can't. I'll be back soon." He told her as he left.

"You better be." She said to his back, wishing that she had someway of getting them both to just stop running.


"Oh place your hands,

On my heart,

Oh I do believe it's beating,

At the same pulse as yours,

We're two atoms in a molecule,

Inseparably combined,

Oh like a piece of rope,

Made out of two pieces of vine.

Oh I feel the bond,

Oh between your heart and mine,

And it's the bond that won't break,

With the displacement of time.

Cos we're just,

Two Bodies with just one Heart,

We're just,

One body that one day fell apart..."

Tia returned to the apartment in the early hours of the morning (after many hours of wandering around aimlessly in an attempt to think of a way to help her friend) to find Sarah sitting in the kitchen listening to music and cradling a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Hey." She said tentatively, silently impressed that Sarah was already up and seemed to have her wits about her. She even had her visor on, although Tia was pretty sure that she hadn't seen her without it for more than a few moments at a time.

"Hey." She replied. "Mordin tell you what happened last night?" She asked as the asari sat down next to her.

"I guessed. And then I decided to give Tiberius a talking to." She admitted and Sarah gave her a look that suggested that she wasn't sure if she should be thanking her friend or reprimanding her.

"What did you say?" She asked, finally.

"Nothing much." The asari lied. "But he did give me this to pass on." She said, handing Sarah the box.

Sarah opened the box carefully, in a sort of daze. She hadn't told anyone that it had been her birthday. She had hoped to avoid it. In all honesty, she had forgotten about it until she had glanced at the date on her omni-tool while waiting for Mordin to pick up the booze the night before. It wasn't as if she had anything to look forward to.

And, yet, she did. Red had remembered, and not only that, but he'd gone out of his way to get her a gift. She'd thought that being pulled from the investigation had ruined their friendship, but now it suddenly looked a hell of a lot more salvageable.

Inside the box she found a charm bracelet with two charms attached. Two half hearts. One red and one blue.

Her heart had seemed to lodge itself in her throat and her sub-harmonics trilled in a way that was all too familiar. It was the way her parents sounded when they were together, or thinking about each other. She had fallen in love with Tiberius and she had fallen hard, but in that moment, it suddenly didn't seem like a bad thing.

She had to see him.

"Tia, I have to-" She managed but the way the asari's face became downcast stopped her from continuing.

"He left, Sarah." She told her.

"What do you mean, he left?" She asked, her voice not coming out as more than a whisper.

"Just that. He's gone to visit his grandparents and he doesn't know when he'll be back."

And just like that, it was a bad thing again.

"He's still mad at me, isn't he?" She asked softly and the asari moved over to pull her into her arms.

"No, Sarah. He's mad at himself." She told her but Sarah didn't believe her. "You two deserve each other, you know that, right?" Tia joked before Sarah gave her a questioning look. "Every time either of you realizes just how close you let the other get, you run away from it. You ran into the arms of another man and he ran off to visit his family. But he will pull his head out of his ass, just as you seem to have done. And then he will come back. I promise." Tia told her, but Sarah shook her head, placing the bracelet back in the box.

"Tia... I just can't, okay? I'm not waiting around for him like he's the only guy in the world. If he wants to act like this, let him. It's not my problem." She said, closing the box.

She didn't mean it.

But she wanted to.