A/N: Thanks for reading and following! It has come to my attention that I'm spending more time on this than I am on my homework...oh well. This is more fun. Hope you're enjoying it! Bioware owns the ME universe.


"The doctor said to rest, Siha."

"Yeah, I know. I don't think I'll be able to now."

He looked down at her, "Why not?"

"A lot on my mind."

"Are you worried for tomorrow?"

"The exact opposite, actually. I'm excited for it. Are you worried?"

"Only for you."

"I will be fine. I always am."

"It is because of me that you are putting yourself through what sounds to be a significant amount of pain."

"Once again, you say that like I should care."

"Because you should."

"It means nothing to me compared to what it will accomplish." He was once again struck speechless by her. He tried to turn away from her; he didn't deserve her. She lightly caught his face with her fingers, "Hey, don't dwell on it, love. It's not important. What's important is the time we have now. Let's not waste it."

"Yes, you are right. I will leave you to rest, then, Siha."

"No, don't go. Please."

"You wish for me to stay?"

"Yes. After that nightmare, I don't like to be alone."

"You've had it before?"

"Yeah, but not for many years. It always leaves me shaken. Damn batarian."

He raised a brow ridge, "Batarian?"

"Mindior."

"I see."

"Yeah, let's not revisit it. So you'll stay with me tonight?"

"If that is what you want, Siha."

"Loosen up a bit, Thane. I don't bite. Much."

He couldn't stop the smile her teasing brought. He opened his mouth to respond and instead a laugh broke free. Once he started, he couldn't stop. He brought his hand to his face, covering his eyes first then moving it to his mouth. He could feel his chest tightening from lack of air, but he still couldn't control himself. He doubled over holding his sides.

"Oh shit, I broke him!" Shepard was laughing now. This made him laugh harder. They laughed together, lost in the moment. Shepard finally regained some composure, "Come on, breathe, Thane." She was breathless and beaming.

He took as deep of breaths as he could without inducing a coughing fit. He straightened up, "Is this what it feels like?"

"What?"

"Hope. Blind hope that there's a way to make something better."

Shepard laughed again, "Pretty much, yeah."

"Gods, it feels good."

"Yeah, the let down from it doesn't though."

Thane picked her up and spun her around, "I could care less right now." She giggled-Commander Shepard actually giggled. He set her lightly back on the ground, "Is this what you fight for?"

"Hope? Yes, that's part of it."

"What else, Siha?"

"Faith and love."

"Why faith, hope and love?"

"Those are what people need to see a fight through. Faith, something to believe in, be it the cause you're fighting for or something else. Hope that you're making a difference and that it's all worth it. Love, well, you fight for it, to find it, to protect it, to come home to it."

"They seem intertwined."

"They often are. Fighting for those reminds me of what's important, keeps me who I am. And, I guess, leads to answers every now and then."

"You are a remarkable person, Siha."

"A remarkable person who is still afraid of nightmares."

"Everyone needs a weakness."

"I think I have more than one." Her voice was soft as she looked into his eyes. He stared back as her meaning sunk in.

"Siha-"

"Don't. The more we search for words, the fewer we find. I've exhausted my voice tonight. Let's just be together."

"Mine is well rested after years of limited use."

"Have something to say?"

"If you want to listen."

"Always." She pulled him to the bed. He offered little resistance. Thane leaned back into the pillows. Shepard leapt over him, landing with a bounce next to him. He raised a brow ridge. "What?"

"Was that necessary?"

"Don't you ever do anything spontaneous?"

"I am an assassin. Doing so could compromise my mission."

"And what mission would that be?"

"Tonight? I don't believe I have any pressing concerns."

"Good. They would have to wait."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Tonight you are mine."

"I am always yours, Siha."

She smiled and fell gracefully into his arms. He caught her and pulled her close. She curled into him, fitting perfectly against his drellish frame. "Tell me about you."

"What do you wish to know?"

"Anything."

He ran his fingers through her short hair and told her of his training. He started at age six and his first kill had been laid out as a test six years later; he had no idea the rounds were live. He told her of his teacher and his hanar family, his parents and friends before and after starting the training. He kept talking until her breathing slowed and her body relaxed. She was asleep. He continued playing with her hair. He was secretly fascinated by it. He had never really thought about it before befriending her. To him, it was just another alien feature, like the turian frill or the asari crest. When he joined her crew and began to grow fond of her, he often found himself wondering about the auburn locks that hung loose around her face. They moved easily and were flexible. Shepard's was soft, like silk. He twirled it around his finger, careful not to pull too hard. He had watched the consequences of that at many a bar fight and knew it was painful. He marveled at the contrast of the light brown-red color against his green scales. She was so alien to him in so many ways, yet as familiar as his own breathing. It was disconcerting when he really thought about it. The way they just fell together and fit, like missing pieces of a puzzle, stronger for their bond, was comforting to him on a level he had never felt before, not even with his beloved departed. This human woman had the rare ability to draw out the best in people and confront them with their own potential and then give them the means to reach it. Thane let the tendril of hair slip from his finger. He thought about what had led him here. With startling clarity, he realized that every mistake he ever made, every life he had ever taken, every action he'd preformed had been preparing him for this, whatever this was. Her words echoed in his head: No one else should ever go through all the pain because no one else was meant to. We are shaped by what we experience and my life has built me up and led me here. No one else could be here because no one else was meant to be. He looked down to the woman sleeping in his arms. His entire world boiled down to her. He cared for nothing if she was not there. This was a dangerous attraction he was forming given both of their work and the mission they were on, but it mattered little to him. What did matter was that she was pressed against him, sound asleep, and she was his.