Maria's metal gloves clanked against the door frame as her feet dragged her through the portal, her head bowed to the ground as she made her way to the bed. The Commander threw herself ungracefully down onto the mattress; the furniture gave a squeak of protest to her added weight. Shepard remained that way for sometime, blindly staring at the floor, elbows on her knees and head in her hands. Her breathing came in quick, deep breaths, as if she was holding something back; and she was. The image of Thane being tossed like a rag doll across the room by the Shadow Broker kept playing in her mind and how after it was all over she had waited to go find him. That whole time that she had spoken to Liara and Feron, only watching as Liara took over as the new Shadow Broker, Thane had been dying behind her and she hadn't seen it. She should have gone to him immediately, or killed the bastard yhag quicker.
Maria felt her teeth clench almost to their braking point as she suddenly shot from the bed. Her breathing became more erratic as her eyes shifted widely around her, barely taking in her room. The mild destruction to it brought memories flooding back to her. The broken legs of her coffee table where Thane had held her legs apart as his lips and teeth ran themselves over her breast, stomach and thighs; everywhere but where she needed him. His hands had crushed the weak metal between them like paper when she had roamed her own lips over his shoulders and neck, biting down into his frills as punishment for teasing her. Bits of cloths and other items were thrown around the room, like the contents of her desk. She remembered how Thane had swept it all away as he slammed her hands down on the surface, kicking her legs apart roughly as he instructed her not to move as she faced the wall away from him. His lips had trailed light kisses down her entire body and stopped to finally tease at her center with his tongue. Every time she would attempt to move, his hands around her thighs would squeeze, hard enough that she now had two dark drell hand prints on either side of her thighs, but it had all added to the pleasure oddly enough. Once he had her on the brink of her climax, he stopped, backing away completely from her. Maria had given out a feral growl and did the first thing that came to mind, she swung at him, her whole body turning as her arm tried to reach him, but all it met was his own vise grip around her wrist. Thane wasted no time in jerking her completely to him and lifting her onto the surface of the desk, the cold metal causing her to arch her breast to his waiting mouth, still wet with her juices. He nipped at the erect flesh there, while freeing himself from the confines of his cotton pants. Again, her legs were spread wide, before he buried himself to the hilt inside her. She remembered hearing the loud bang of the desk repeatedly hitting the wall from the force of his thrust, he had given all he was worth, which resulted in a long dent the size of the side of her desk permanently etched into her wall. Last, and most noticeable had to be the thin crack down the side of her fish tank. Thane had lifted her from the bed, at this point she was just an incoherent mess of moans and whimpering with the occasional "Thane" or "Keep Going". The drell had scooped her around the waist from behind, her hands had slipped from their white knuckle grip on the head board easily, her clouded mind had barely been able to register the gnarled metal that had been next to her own hands, somewhere in her fog covered mind she knew Thane must have crushed the light metal as he thrusted behind. Maria shook her head at the memory, remembering clearly now the sound of the metal twisting and crunching under his powerful grip, the scratches both the bed and table had left were mended easily with medi gel after their escapades.
The crack in the glass of the tank had been made as his hand had come down on it when he himself had reached his peak and spilled himself inside her; the slam of his palm against the glass had been enough to split it. Maria had seen Thane take hits that would leave most immobilized and had even witnessed him take the head off one of the metal combat drones she had purchased for the crew, but she had never thought he would be capable of the kind of power he had unleashed on her room. If it wasn't for her cybernetics, she was she he might have actually broken something of hers, but the Commander was fine and only left with scrapes, bites and bruises and a satisfied memory. However, the satisfaction of that memory was now being tarnished as Maria's mind began to run wild with the possibility that it wasn't just the Shadow Broker that had triggered Thane's attack but the strain she had put on him before they stormed the base.
"It's my fault." Maria's full lips spoke softly, her eyes staring straight in a daze. I forced him to let go and I took him on the mission even after he must have been exhausted. He should have rested, I should have known . . . "It's my fault." Maria hung her head at the end, crying out her last thoughts as her fists balled at her side; the tears that she had been holding back spilled freely down her face, hidden by curtains of hair.
"Shepard, are you ok? Do you need me to call anyone up for assistance?" EDI's concerned voice sounded above, the emotion in the AI's voice no longer startling the Commander.
The AI did not receive an answer, only heavy breathing greeted EDI.
"Shepard?" EDI questioned in a softer tone then usual.
"How is he?" Shepard finally spoke in a dead mono tone.
"Thane Krios?" EDI verified.
"How is he?" Shepard repeated, finally lifting her head all the way to the ceiling, her bright green eyes were now rimmed red and dried trails of tears ran down her face.
"I am not sure you are in the right state to -" EDI was cut off suddenly by the angry growl of the Commander.
"This is my ship EDI and I will not be questioned by anyone one on it! When I asking you something you fucking tell me." Maria had taken three steps forward, not taking her eyes of the ceiling and her voice had ripped from her throat in a powerful roar before dying down to a breathless snarl, as if she was having a problem breathing.
EDI ran a scan of the rooms and assessed that the Commander's heart rate was reaching dangerous speeds and through her emergency cameras she could now see that Shepard was visibly shaking and sweating. The woman looked on the verge of collapsing but her anger and sorrow were keeping her from doing what her body needed, and that was rest. EDI made a decision that went against all her programming and beyond what she would have normally done. The AI ignored the Commander and instead "left" the woman in her cabin in order to alert Officer Vakarian on the status of the Commander.
"EDI tell me how he is!" Shepard repeated for the third time to again receive no answer. At this point the demand in the Commander's voice was waning and she had begun to cry once more. With one final push to see if the AI would comply with her wish Shepard lifter head, "Please EDI, tell me how Thane is doing? I need to know." The Commander's voice sounded so small and the fear in it was painfully obvious.
Again, she received no answer. Maria began to feel herself shacking violently and she felt the powerful urge to move and do something, anything. Her legs pushed herself quickly from her kneeled position on the floor; when she had kneeled she had no idea, but now she was on her feet again and her anger was beginning to take control once more. Her breathing was labored as she staggered around her room, turning in circles, trying to focus on something as her vision swam; the welcoming blue glow of her fish tank was like a beacon, calling for her to come closer. Maria marched over to the cool surface of the tank, her eyes following the many fish that had been added to the tank over the couple months since Kolyat had given her the three colorful fish to first call the tank their home. As her eyes wondered, she began to feel a sense of calm washing over her, her still gloved hand reached out to the glass, able to fill the coolness of the tank even through the metal covering her hand. Shepard's lips slowly gave a smile as the three fish her lover's son had gifted to her swam past, winding their way through the others as if playing. Her head turned as she watched them play down the whole length of the tank, her smile only growing wider at the image. As Maria began to feel herself again, she let her head turn forward and allowed it to rest against the cold surface of the tank for a moment, clearing her senses a bit more. She took a deep breath as she let her hand slip from the glass and her eyes, which she had let close, opened, only to be greeted with the sight of the jagged crack in the glass that Thane had made not four hours ago. Just like that, all the calm and control that Shepard had regained, was lost and the anger, fear and hurt all came flooding back with a vengeance. Without thinking, Maria cocked her hand back and punched the glass, the split in it grew larger with the impact. Maria wasn't satisfied, and with a battle cry she threw a left at it, and still the crack grew wider, but the all it did was remind her of Thane, how strong he was and how powerful and yet a bacterial disease was killing him right now. Maria let loose, throwing punch after punch trying to get rid of the crack by braking the glass, even after her own knuckles were bloody and broken she did not stop.
"Maria!" The Commander faintly heard behind her, but not caring to look until the crack was gone.
Garrus had opened the door to find his friend punching fiercely at her fish tank, looking like she was trying to break it and from the looks of it almost succeeding. Garrus rushed down the steps of the room and quickly grabbed the woman around the waist, pulling her from the tank as her left hand weakly taped the dangerous break in the glass.
"Let me go! Let me go god dammit!" Maria pulled and thrashed in his arms, trying to tear his grip from her waist, but he wasn't having it.
"Maria calm down. You need to calm down." Garrus yelled over her screams, struggling to keep her from getting away.
"No I need to get rid of it! It needs to be gone!" She screamed. Maria could see the destroyed glass in front of her and she needed it gone. Garrus had her arms pinned and was trying to drag her away, but she couldn't let the crack stay there, she could still see the original mark Thane left. With one last wild effort, Maria kicked out with both legs, her feet punching clear through the glass before Garrus and her fell backwards to the floor. The floor quickly flooded with water and a few fish from her tank before EDI activated an emergency barrier that patched the hole in the tank.
"What the hell Shepard?" Garrus spit water from his mouth and batted away the dying fish that head been tail wiping him in the face. Maria was laying still in his arms now, covered in water herself. "Spirits be damned! Shepard! Are you ok?" Garrus scrambled to his knees, flipping Maria over to find that she was out cold, a small cut at the top her head bleeding freely. Garrus wasted no time in scooping her up and leaving the room to rush her down to the medbay; the dying fish on the floor flopped helplessly behind them as the surviving few in the tank swam along, three luck blue, red and green fish still played along the length of the tank, oblivious to the turmoil around them.
"Doctor Chakwas! Mordin! Shepard needs help." Garrus came yelling into the medbay, not caring if he was being a disturbance or not.
Lucky, Mordin was just putting the final bandage over Thane's ribs where a bit of the Broker's desk had cut him. The drell himself was sleeping peacefully, his breathing brought under control. However, a strange purple fluid was being pumped through his chest by a tube sticking from his naked upper body, but other then that, the assassin seemed fine.
"What happened Garrus?" The concerned voice of Doctor Chakwas sounded out from her desk to the turians left. The medic was already standing and striding towards him with a scanner in hand.
"I'm not sure. EDI called me up to Shepard's rooms, said that she needed my help. When I walked in she was trying to beat her fish tank to death. When I pulled her away she struggled to get free like her life depended on braking the glass." Garrus explained as he walked with Chakwas to the bed next to Thane's and laid the Commander on top. The worried turian placed both his clawed hands on the side of Shepard's bed as he watched the doctor take scans of his friend, numbers and lines began to speed across the surface, rising and falling in ways that only the doctor could understand. Garrus decided to continue while Chakwas worked, "She succeeded. Soaked us both and killed a few of her fish before the barrier to her tank came up. She kept screaming something about needing to get rid of it. Do either of you know what that means?" Garrus looked between Chakwas and Mordin, receiving grim shakes of their heads as his answer. Garrus sighed tiredly, looking back down at his friend, worried that her panic attack might have caused long term damage.
"Well all the readings are fine. Her implants are slightly over heated but they are quickly coming back to normal. All we can do now is patch up her wounds and let her rest. I believe that is what she needs most of all. This wave of panic must have been brought on by stress and fear over Thane's condition." Chakwas gave a sad look to the peaceful looking drell that had been suffocating to death not thirty minutes ago.
"If you say so doc." Garrus mumbled, pushing off lightly from Shepard bed, "I'm going to let Tali know what is going on, she would want to be informed." And with one last lingering stare at the beat up Commander, he was gone, leaving the doctors to work on her.
Chakwas went about removing the rest of the Commander's armor as Mordin injected her with a liquid that would insure she would sleep calmly for the next few hours. The next task the two set on was healing the broken bones and ripped flesh in her hands, the glass and force of her punches had ripped them to pieces and not even her cybernetics were able to mend all the damage as quickly due to the extent of the injuries. Her head had stopped bleeding shortly after Garrus had entered, and the cut there was not too deep and the glob of medi gel Mordin applied there took care of it in minutes.
"I think I can take it from here Mordin. Just need to get her into some fresh cloths and clean her up now." Chakwas informed the salarian, receiving a nod in return.
"Will be back to switch out Thane's serum and to check on progress of lung health. Should return within the hour." Mordin left as quickly as he always did, returning to his lab to run more tests on what exactly he had given Thane. He had not been lying to Shepard when he said it was not ready but he was confident it could not hurt the drell and if watched carefully he was convinced he could make it work.
Chakwas dressed the Commander quickly and sponged the dried up sweat, blood and salt water from her skin. With a rest well to the two patience in their beds, Chakwas left the med bay to dinner, taking on the task of informing the crew on the status of the two lovers. Mordin popped into the med bay three times that night, twice to switch out the purple liquid with two different colored ones and the final time to seal off the entry cut he had fed the tube through Thane's chest. The drell had not awaken once during the night and oblivious to what was going on around him or to him. It wasn't until morning came and the crew were hours into their shift that Thane began to stir.
The drell's eyelids began to flutter open, left to right and up and down, as his obsidian eyes came into view and took in his surroundings, quickly realizing that he was in the med bay. The events of the other day began to flood back to him and his mind immediately jumped to Maria.
"Ss - Siha." Thane's throaty voice groaned as he attempted to sit up, ignoring the pain in his chest. He was mildly surprised that the throb of pain wasn't coming from his lungs and lack of breath but his muscles themselves. The assassin didn't dwell on it, his only goal was to find his Siha to insure she was ok. Thane had only managed to sit up before a human hand pushed him lightly back on the cool wall behind his bed. Thane's head shot up in hopes that the hand belonged to Maria, but instead found the kind steel colored eyes of Doctor Chakwas.
"You need to take it easy . You have been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours and -" Chakwas was cut off by the over eager drell.
"Maria? Where is Maria? How is she?" Thane questioned, his eyes wide and showing more emotion than Chakwas was use to.
The medic's eyes drifted slowly to someone on the cot next to him, and Thane's eyes grew even larger as his mouth opened in shock at the sight of Shepard laying in the bed; the top of her head bruised and her hands bandaged to the tops of her wrists. Chakwas was no match for the drell as he swatted her hand carefully way from him and shot out of his own bed, stumbling only slightly from the after effects of the sedative that was given to him.
"Maria?" Thane's scaled hand cupped her face as his other grasped her wrapped hand gently. Thane scanned his memory of the battle on the Shadow Broker's base and even the moments after when he had been rushed on the Normandy, not once had Maria been injured. The drell turned his head to the doctor behind him, his voice deep and colored with vibrations as he spoke, "What happened?"
"She suffered a panic attack in your rooms. She tore them apart." Chakwas spoke lightly. "I believe her response was due to the condition they brought you back in yesterday."
Thane turned back to his Siha laying on the cot, she looked peaceful now in her sleep, but the bruising to her head and damaged to her hands told a story he wasn't keen to hear.
"Doctor, would it be ok if I carried her back to our rooms? I know she wouldn't want to be in here when she awakens." Thane didn't take his eyes off Maria as he spoke.
"Thane I'm not sure you should be leaving at all. Your vital signs are normal but Mordin was giving you a new treatment for your lungs and I'm sure he would prefer to follow up with you before - -" Again Chakwas was cut off by the drell.
"I think Mordin can wait doctor. I will come down for his test once I have changed and seen to Maria and our room." Thane didn't wait for any response or ok from Chakwas, instead he lifted Shepard easily into his arms despite the muscles of his chest protesting in pain. The tall drell nodded to the medic as he walked past her and out into the crew deck, nothing but skin tight shorts covering his lower half.
The unconscious Commander and the assassin made an odd sight indeed, but no one dared to ay anything, not even Garrus, who was eating along side Joker. The turian only gave Thane a nod as they passed and watched as the elevator took them to the Commander's cabin.
"You think she is going to be ok." Joker whispered, having witnessed everything on his bridge camera once EDI had informed him of the trouble going on upstairs.
"So long as he is with her. She'll be fine." Garrus reassured him, returning his attention back to his food.
"Thank you EDI. Can you be sure no one but Mordin and Chakwas are allowed to view this?" Thane asked the AI after pushing back from the terminal that he had just watched Maria's brake down on.
"I have already locked this footage way from view from anyone besides the medical doctors on board Mr. Krios. Even the Illusive Man." With that last shocking statement, EDI beeped out.
Thane remained in his seat, lacing his hands together as his elbows rested themselves on his knees. The room was completely renewed thanks to Thane spending the last hour placing everything back were it belonged and cleaning up the dead fish, glass and water that had covered the floor when he entered. The damaged coffee table had been sent down to the cargo bay and a new one, wherever it had come from, replaced it. The glass to the fish tank would need to be replaced when they docked, and the head board still remained dented from his hands. Thane had not been surprised at all by the damage he had done to the furniture, knowing full well the natural strength of his people was almost mutant to other species like the humans, asari or salarians. However, it had only seemed to fan the flames of his Siha's passion and lust. Thane's lips turning in a small grin at the memory as his eyes landed on the still sleeping woman across the room. After a moment Thane decided to go down to the crew deck to bring them both lunch before he would wake her, knowing she must have been asleep for over twelve hours by now.
"How is the Commander doing up there?" Gardner questioned Thane as the cook prepared two separate trays of lunch.
"Still sleeping for now. I wanted to have food for her before waking her." Thane answered lightly, his hands clasped gently behind his back as he waited patiently.
"Real thoughtful. You're a good guy Thane, treat the Commander well." Gardner gave an over exaggerated nod as he finished with the trays and turned to hand them to Thane, giving the drell a smile, "Seeing you two together reminds me of my wife and I when we were young."
Thane's brow ridges drooped in understanding sorrow, knowing the cook lost his whole family to batarians; something Thane could relate to.
Gardner saw the gesture and just gave a tight lipped smile and nod to let Thane know he was ok and nothing needed to be said. "You go take care of your woman, I'll be here if you need anything.
"Thank you Gardner." Thane gave a lower bow then he usually would, a sign of thanks, respect and empathy for were his thoughts must have carried him.
As Thane turned, the drell had to side step quickly in order to avoid colliding with Mordin, who had swiftly come up behind him as soon as the salarian noticed he was finished speaking with Gardner.
"Thane. Glad I caught you. Need to speak to you about change in treatment for your Kepral Syndrome. Suggest we go to lab." Mordin looked excited and spoke more quickly then normal; if that was possible.
Thane just gave the man a puzzled look as he walked to the elevators, the salarian was practically bouncing on his feet as he followed. As Thane rounded the corner to the elevator, pushing the button to call it down, he turned to Mordin, "Not to today I think. I need to speak with Shepard and see to her health. Perhaps tomorrow." Thane turned as the ding for the elevator gave out and the doors swished open. The assassin couldn't understand why the doctor would be so excited to speak to him about his quickly failing lungs. Even if Mordin had developed another treatment that some how worked better, the spreading of the disease never slowed down for long and regardless, he was still a dying man and the sickness would claim him sooner then his years would. Thane did not want to dwell on this or hear about his disease, each day with his Siha the thought of his looming death ate away at him and fear that had never been there before seeped it's way into his mind and gnawed at his thoughts; for the first time in a long time, Thane feared his own death.
"Do not understand Thane. Treatment is working better then expected. However, there is a minor problem, but can be fixed! Need you to come with me to -" Mordin was stopped by Thane's voice.
"Mordin you are not the first doctor to give false hope. But that is all it ever will be, false hope. The disease can not be stopped, only slowed for short periods of time. I am dying and -" This time Thane was cut off, quite suddenly as Mordin jumped in his face to stop him, backing him further into the elevator.
"Not dying! Not anymore! Degeneration of lung tissue in stasis for now, but will continue soon. However, will continue much slower. Between one twentieth and one thirtieth of it's original strength. Life expectancy much longer then once was. Three to five year expectancy while sustaining current strength, endurance and health." Mordin spoke with excitement and with his hands, waving them around wildly, his feet carrying him back and forth in the small space of the elevator; he seemed to almost forget that he was speak to Thane and not to just himself.
Thane couldn't let himself hope that what Mordin was saying was true, so he remained skeptical, "You said that there was a problem. As I said, it is only false hope Mordin and I doubt your numbers are correct. I suggest running them again." The doors of the elevator opened behind the salarian, "Now if you excuse me. I need to wake Maria." Thane side stepped the silent doctor, attempting to enter the room and assuming that Mordin would return to his labs.
"Maria is the one who pushed me to find cure." Mordin's words stopped Thane before he could reach the door.
The assassin sighed heavily, his heart growing heavy at the thought of his Siha searching for something that would not be found in time to save her the pain of losing him. Thane could not allow Mordin to tell Shepard about his theory on his health, it would only give her hope that would later be crushed when his time came.
Thane turned slowly around and placed the food on the ground. His eyes seemed to turn darker as his moved carefully towards Mordin, his tall frame standing slightly taller as he same closer. His voice was as empty as the first time he had boarded the ship, before he had grown close to the crew, "You will not tell Shepard what you have told me. You will not feed her lies that will give her the idea that I will remain with my body longer then we both know I will." Thane was now in Mordin's face, for the second time in forty eight hours Mordin was preparing himself to be hit or manhandle at least like Maria had done. "When I am gone . . ." Thane stumbled on his words, his eyelids fluttering rapidly as he fought against the icy touch of fear that gripped him, " When I leave my Siha, she will hurt enough. This, what you tell me. Hearing it, then finding it to not be true, it will devastate her. We need her to save this galaxy, and I need her to live, even without me. She must live on."
"But I have a solution Thane. I can cure you." Mordin spoke carefully, attempting to work past the shield of doubt that Thane had built around him concerning his illness.
The drell, who had taken on a more far off, thoughtful look, refocused his eyes on Mordin, and was now glaring at the man. Thane's hands shot out towards him, lifting him by his coat and growling as he spoke, "Stop it!"
"Thane! Put him down." Maria's voice behind him startled him, causing him to drop Mordin immediately in order to turn towards Shepard.
"Siha." Thane practically ran to her, cupping her face and drawing her close to him. She was slightly pale and her eyes only crinkled a fraction as he took one of her damaged hands in his, but other then that she seemed perfectly fine.
Maria placed her bandaged hand on his arm as her other rested gently on his naked chest where the cut out of his leather shirt opened up. Her green eyes scanned his face and body, not seeing a scratch on. He looked like the picture of heath. She let her eyes linger on her hand against his chest, watching the rise and fall of his breathing, comforted by the simple action.
After a few moments of taking in the other and enjoying the feeling of knowing Thane was safe and alive in her arms, Maria moved to the side, not completely out of Thane's embrace but enough to wear she could address Mordin properly, "How did it go?" A warning growl began in Thane's chest as he turned cold eyes on Mordin, but he was silenced immediately by the light jab of Maria's elbow to his side. "Go ahead Mordin, I want to know."
Mordin gave one last suspicious glace to Thane before he stepped away from the wall Thane had had him against, " Switch in treatment went well. There was some complication with his heart stopping but was dealt with quickly." Mordin reassured, holding up his hands when he saw the wide eye look of fear that had crossed Maria's face, Thane only gave him another glare as he rubbed the Commander's shoulders for support. "As treatment continued, and more tests on tissue samples were done, patient began to show signs of real progress. But I had warned you that the serum was not ready, was taking great risk by give Thane it early. However, was able to work with chemical changes, and make serum work in time with injections. But, there is one problem."
"What is it?" Maria asked eagerly. It seemed like everything went well and Mordin was acting like this problem was only a small bump in their plans.
Mordin's eyes flicked to Thane's still angry expression for only a moment before continuing, know the hardest battle against his Kepral Syndrome was going to be to convince him to comply with what he was about to tell them. "Thane must get a lung transplant in order for cure to take effect as it should. His lungs are too corrupted, and the serum is too weak to work against the illness once it has spread this far. But, if he were to receive a transplant, lungs would be coated and strengthened to fight off disease indefinitely. Essentially, Thane would live with the disease the rest of his life, but it would remain dormant inside his body forever, never able to harm newly adapted lung tissue."
THERE'S HOPE! Please Review!