Curiosity drove Thane up to Kat's cabin and to her terminal. He typed in her password and frowned when it was denied. He recalled his perfect memory to one where she had signed into her terminal and mimicked the keys she pressed. drellsRsexy. He smirked at this, she was probably hoping that he would figure it out, just to make him smile, she was always doing little things like that to see him smile.

The terminal loaded and he opened up her pictures, going to a folder that was titled Family. He didn't have to scan far to know it was of her crew, her teammates. They were family to her. He clicked out of it and pulled up the specter database and ran a search on her. Finding it was easy, but again it only went back to when she joined the military. Everything beforehand was just… gone. His eyes narrowed, she couldn't of had just appeared. There was something that someone was hiding, but he didn't think it was Shepard, she would never hide something from him.

He used her clearance through her terminal to search deeper into her past. It took him over an hour, but he finally came up with something.

Name: Katida Skye Shepard

Date of Birth: October 17, 2156

Location: New York City, New York, United States of America, Earth

Sex: Female

Hair: Blonde

Eyes: Green

Just as he went to scroll down the page EDI's face appeared on the screen. "Mr. Krios, I must warn you, those files are highly classified, reading them is a crime in human government." she warned and paused. "Also, Commander Shepard has returned and is down in the med-bay, she was injured on the mission."

Thane was up in an instant and got down to the crew deck as fast as he could. When the elevator opened he was greeted with a scream. He ran into the med-bay and his breath caught with what he saw.

Shepard was on one of the examination tables, being held down by Garrus, Kolyat, James, and Kaiden, each one on a limb. Her torso was clad only in her bra so Dr. Chakwas could tend to her wound.

The skin from the beginning of her pants up to her bra was torn apart in blood and burnt flesh.

"What happened?" Thane asked as he moved up beside his son and helped retain the strong woman.

"She got shot by a prime, ripped right through her armor." James answered and winced as Shepard screamed again as Chakwas ran water over the wound.

Thane looked down at the woman he loved, feeling helpless. "I should have gone with her." he said firmly, feeling anger towards James for not protecting her.

"Bite on this," Chakwas snapped at the commander and shoved a rag into her mouth. "This is going to hurt a bit." she warned before sticking in a long needle into the wound and injected a purple liquid.

Shepard arched off the table in pain and screamed against the rag, tears brimming in her eyes.

"What was that?" Kolyat asked.

"A clotting agent, it should slow her from bleeding out, some of her organs got damaged from the shot." Chakwas said and pulled out a pair of forceps. Slowly she started to peel back the dead burn flesh.

Shepard had stopped screaming now, forcing herself not to utter a sound as the dead flesh was snipped away.

Chakwas injected her with another liquid, this one green, and explained to Kolyat that it was to help with her broken ribs, coating them and helping them merge back together. Finally Chakwas rubbed a salve onto the wound to help promote skin regrowth and then declared her stable. The five men gladly let go of Shepard's limbs. "Siha," Thane said and brushed his love's face.

She reached one hand up and pulled out the rag. "Hey… told ya I'd come back." she said with a slight smile.

He shook his head and kissed her forehead. "Next time, come back unharmed." he said against her skin.

"I'll try." she muttered and slipped into sleep.

"What happened?" he asked Tali.

Tali looked at James for a second before she answered. "Well we here at the gun, working on disabling it, and geth showed up. I was trying to hack the gun's security systems while James and Shepard kept the geth at bay and she got shot by a prime."

Thane nodded, thinking of this thoughtfully. "And what about the part you aren't telling me?" he asked calmly.

"Well…" Tali said, not wanting to say.

"Before the geth showed up I asked Shepard why she was with you, tried to get her to see reason that she deserves better. She deserves someone who can relate to her, someone who is her own species, hell, someone who can at least give her a child." James stepped in.

Thane looked at him for a long moment. "I see, and that distracted her and she was shot?" he asked.

"No, then she started yelling at me, and the geth showed up, and a prime shot at me, and she jumped in the way." James corrected.

Thane nodded and looked down at Shepard. "Doctor, could I take her up to her room? It is more comfortable than in here." he asked.

"Sure, just make sure she gets some rest this time." Chakwas said and moved to sit by her terminal.

Thane picked Shepard up and left the med-bay to the elevator. James was right, she did deserve someone better than him, someone who was her species and could give her a child, but he was selfish and could not let her go.

He set her down in her bed and pulled the blankets up over her, then sat down beside her. He watched her sleep as he let himself slip into memories.

"Does Thane not want a child with you?"Tali's voice can be heard over the com.

"N-no… he does…" Siha stuttered. Something was wrong.

"But you don't want his children?"

I tense slightly, leaning towards the speaker relaying their voices to us on the bridge. My heart quickens a beat, worried about her answer. Images of my dreams fill my mind, the two of us in a small house, sitting on the front porch, her large with my child while Kolyat played with his younger siblings in the yard. It would be perfect, we would be a family.

It was several moments before Shepard replied. "Tali… I…" her voice shook. "I can't have his child…" my heart feels like it has stopped "there has never been a record of a human and a drell having a child," I'm not listening anymore. We couldn't have a child? The dream of the little house, with the front porch, the children running around in the front yard, all of it just crumbled before my eyes.

My breath hitched for the slightest second, the only physical recognition I wasn't able to hold back. We couldn't have children. Her words from before made sense now. I had asked her if we should be using protection when we first started having sex together, but she had told me not to worry about it. I assumed she was on some sort of birth control, not that I could never give her a child.

He closed his eyes and a tear slid down his cheek. Maybe she had been right when she had tried to break it off. Maybe she had wanted to be with someone that was human, to have a family with them. Maybe James was correct.

"Th-Thane…" she muttered sleepily and sat up. She cringed as her mid-section bent from the moment.

"Siha," he said and pushed her shoulders back down. "Lay still, you are hurt." he told her gently.

She rested up and wiped a tear from his cheek. "You were speaking your memories out loud." she told him.

He closed his eyes, "Sorry," he muttered before looking at her again.

She shook her head. "Don't be, if something in on your mind then you should tell me."

He nodded and laid down beside her so she would stop trying to get up. "We can't have a child." he stated.

She nodded, "I didn't know you were listening." she said softly and snuggled up against him.

"Is that why you left? Because you wanted someone who could give you a family?"

Shepard looked up at him. "No, of course not," she assured him. "I left because all I do is draw attention to those I love and they get hurt… I thought it would be better if we weren't together and then you'd be safer. But I'm selfish, I can't be without you."

He nodded and held her close.

"Besides, I do have a family, I have you and Kolyat, that's all I need." she said and kissed the drell's red cheek.

He smiled, "You see Kolyat as your son?"

"Of course, I would do anything for him, just like I'd do anything for you." she nuzzled his red neck, making him growl lowly in pleasure. "And just because there isn't a record of a half drell-half human, doesn't mean we can't try." she kissed his neck. "And try." she kissed a bit lower, heading down to where the red went back to green. "And try." she bit him right before the edge of the red and he groaned. She knew that he loved when she did that. "We have to get it right sooner or later." she breathed against the wet scales.

"Siha… you need to rest," he purred, unable to keep the lust out of his voice. This woman was going to be the death of him. "And you are hurt."

She rolled onto her side with a wince wrapped her legs around his possessively. "Then I will seduce you when I wake up, okay? Before the next mission. Legion has pinpointed the geth fighter ship thing… I don't know, I'm too tired to think." she slurred and went to kiss his cheek again, but he turned his head and caught her lips with his.

"Sleep, I'll be here when you awaken." he told her and she smiled as sleep consumed her again. Maybe this time she could sleep more than a few hours.

Shepard rolled away from her lover and slowly opened her eyes. She jumped when she saw Legion standing directly over her. "Shepard Commander, we are ready to take out the server for the geth fighters." he said and she punched him in the… um… face.

"Damn it, Legion, you don't sneak up on people when they are sleeping." she snapped at him and sat up, wincing slightly from the wound. It was healed for the most part, but would be sore for a few days.

Legion was sent back a few feet from the blow. "We apologize." he said after a moment.

"It's okay, what are you doing here anyways, how did you get in, and without Thane waking up." she asked as she rubbed her eyes. The drell was a very light sleeper.

"Oh he woke me up," Thane's voice muffled from the pillow. "I just don't care."

"Fuck you." she spat at him and stood up to get dressed for the day, unbothered by Legion watching her change.

"I believe humans have a saying for that… 'Don't threaten me with a good time.' Did I get that correct?" Thane said and the sleepy drell looked at her from under the pillow, watching as she slipped her pants and panties off and pulled on a pair of black lace bikini cut ones. He let out a low purr, too low for her to hear. Those were his favorite and she knew it.

"Yes," she told him as she pulled on her black pants and matching long sleeve shirt. She also grabbed a thick bullet proof vest and pulled it over her chest. "Look, Thane, I'm being safe, that way tonight it won't be a threat." She moved and sat down beside him and removed the pillow. "It will be a promise." she said lustfully and leaned down to give him a kiss.

Their lips moved together, their teeth nipping at the tender flesh, tongues just starting to slide into each other's mouths when Legion grabbed the commander and carried her out of the room. "We will return the commander after the mission." he told Thane before disappearing into the elevator.

He smirked at the annoyed look on her face. "Later, love, I promise." he promised, which made her smile and wink at him. He looked down at the tent under the sheet. Yep, that woman was going to be the death of him.

The mission went well, no one injured, no one killed, and Shepard was in a lot better of a mood because of it. "Finally I come back without bullet wounds." she said to her teammates, who gave a short laugh. "Garder, you got anything to eat? I'm starving." she asked the cook as she went into the kitchen area. She was so glad that the cook had rejoined her grew after the collectors.

"Not unless you want to plunge the toilet in the men's bathroom." he said and pointed the plunger at her.

"Sure," she said and grabbed it. "Kolyat, go plunge the toilet." she said and threw it at him, hitting him in the head.

He rubbed the side of his temple. "Why?" he whined, not really wanting to deal with the bathroom. He used it as rarely as he could, mostly by going upstairs and using Shepard's.

"Because you aren't on missions so you have to pull your weight in another way." Shepard told him, not looking at him, but at the food Garder was dishing out onto her plate. It was a simple yellow rice with a meat that tasted close to pork.

"Just go do it, boy, Shepard hasn't eaten in two days." Garder waved him off and the drell sulked towards the bathroom, defeated.

"I win," Shepard said as she took the large helping to the table and started devouring it. "Mmm, I missed food." she said as the warmth reached her stomach.

"Why haven't you eaten?" Thane asked as he sat down beside her.

She pulled out the bottle of energy boosters. "Side effect is they stop you from being hungry, it actually helps in the battle field, but living off of them makes it a pain in the ass." she said as Thane took the bottle and read the label.

"Side effects may include: disrupted sleeping patterns, mood swings, loss of appetite, sudden drowsiness, mild vomiting, dizziness upon standing, loss of memory, hair loss, brittle fingernails, sore joints, mouth sores…" he stopped, though the list went on. "Why are you taking these?" he asked.

She took the bottle back and slipped it into her pocket. "I need to be awake more often then I normally would be able to handle, so they help give me the boost I need to do what's needed to save the galaxy." she told him.

He frowned. Chakwas was correct, this wasn't fair to her, but she was the only one who could do this, if she couldn't, who could? Who would? She was giving up everything from her health to her friends for this flicker of hope that they might make it through this. While everyone was with their families, spending time together at the end, she was off, pushing herself beyond mortal limits, to save all of their lives so they could live till tomorrow.

He leaned close to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. "You are strong, siha." he told her. Whoever this woman had been, whoever Katida Skye Shepard had been, she was Commander Shepard now, savior of the galaxy, and his siha. He would follow this woman into hell if he must.

A/N: This chapter is quiet touching… Now all that is left on Rannoch is to save the admiral, then kill the reaper, then off to the next helpless case. Will Shepard's mental health last? Will Thane ever see that promised fulfilled? Will Legion sell the video recording of Shepard changing to Fornax?

To be continued…