THESSIA

Mia did not sleep well. Her night was filled with nightmares of Shadow, of Dava, of pain. Pain she wants to forget, pain she thought she was over. Was Dava right? They never talk about it? Why rehash everything? Look what happened? A restless night afraid of turning off the damn light. No thank you.

Since she cannot sleep Mia decides to busy her body and not let her mind wander to what Dava said yesterday. She is out running. The morning air is crisp on her bare arms and legs. Fall is definitely coming and it feels like rain. Her usual route takes her from Raina's house to the main house through the woods and loops back. On autopilot she runs this route not thinking about the place she and Dava always visited. The sun is just peaking over the horizon as Mia reaches the woods.

Her run is going well. She was tired at first but her body has taken over, pure muscle memory as she runs and tries to focus on her upcoming season. The coach is a pretty good guy. He can be funny and serious and obviously compassionate. She was surprised he allowed her to come home for a week so soon before the season starts. She figures it's because she is one if not the best skyball player on the team. Being exceptional has its advantages. As she thinks of her team and her first game she hears something.

Mia slows her pace. It's a voice. At first she wondered if it was a wounded animal or something but no, it is definitely a person who is cussing like there is no tomorrow. In fact, the voice sounds oddly familiar. For the first time Mia realizes where her body on autopilot took her. She is coming to the clearing where she and Dava spent a lot of time together. She always figured their first time being intimate with each other would be at this place. She hears the moaning again and sees someone lying on the path up ahead. She gets a weird feeling in her stomach as she jogs toward the person. "Goddess, Dad!"

Mia sprints to her father when she realizes it is her father lying there. "Dad are you okay?" Mia squats down ready to help.

"Mia? What the hell are you doing here?"

"What happened?" Her father is clutching at her right hip.

Shepard tries to hide the pain she is in but Mia sees the tears in her eyes, this must be bad. "Can you help me onto that log?"

Mia hears how her father struggles to even talk. By the look of her Dad she was running and something happened. Mia bends down and grabs her father's arm around her neck and slowly stands. She hears Shepard hiss in pain. "Easy," Mia slowly sets her down on the log. "What happened?"

Shepard takes a few breaths but Mia sees that she cannot really sit still. "My hip," she gasps, "something's wrong."

"Want me to call emergency services?"

Shepard shakes her head no.

"Dad you're hurt."

"Oh God….please…help me off, help me off."

Mia quickly grabs her Dad and eases her back to the ground where Shepard curls onto her left side still clutching her hip. "Get….Mom."

Mia pauses for a minute wondering if she should leave her father alone.

"Please." Shepard turns her face away from Mia and into the ground. She wonders if the cool surface feels good on her face. Mia suspects she is trying to hide her pain.

"I'll be back, you hang on." Mia tries not to sound too panicked but doubts she succeeded. She sprints to the house as fast as her legs will take her. She barrels into the house and yells for her mother. "Mom! Mom!"

Mia pauses when she sees an unknown asari in the kitchen. She readies her biotics, "Who are you?"

She sees the unknown asari's eyes go double their size in fright.

"Whoa whoa whoa! I'm a guest."

"Mia?"

Mia sees her mother but keeps her eyes on the asari in the kitchen. "Do you know this person?"

"Yes honey, what…what are you doing here?"

Mia does not make her biotics fade. She is breathing hard and fast and wonders what the hell is going on.

"Mia," Liara steps between Mia and Svaari. "This is Svaari, she is our guest. She is the one we went to see on Earth. It's okay."

Liara's voice is so soothing. Mia misses it. It is a tone of voice that says everything is going to be okay. Mia lets her biotics fade. She looks at her mother.

"What are you doing here honey? Did something happen?"

"There's no time for that now." Since Mia does not know who this 'Svaari' person is she pulls her mother closer to the front door to be out of ear shot. "It's Dad, she's really hurt."

"What? Where?"

"In the woods at the clearing. It's her hip Mom, she is in a lot of pain."

"Hang on."

Mia sees Liara tell Svaari something, and then hurries off to her bedroom. When she reemerges she has a small bag with her. "Take me to her now."

Heading back Mia did not sprint as fast as when she ran to the house, but they made good time. Her mother kept pace with her very well.

"Oh Goddess, Elly?" Liara kneels to the side of Shepard.

The retired Captain is still clutching her hip but she is not constantly moving like she was before. Mia sees a much calmer person now but she figures her Dad is somehow biting back the pain better than before either that or has moved beyond it. A feeling she knows, it makes her shiver.

Liara opens the small bag and produces a syringe. She grabs a small bottle, places the needle in the small bottle then pulls out some liquid.

"What is that?" asks Mia.

"It's for her pain."

Mia is shocked to see her mother stick the needle directly into the hip her father is clutching at. Her father lets out a small scream as her mother sticks her. Mia's eyes burn for her father, she has never seen her in such pain. She watches her mother hold her father's hand and caress her forehead.

"Is…is it helping?"

"Shhh, it's okay now," Mia hears Liara tell Shepard. Her mother looks at her. "We need to get her back to the house."

"But we can't move her."

"We can Mia."

Mia's eyes dart from her mother to her father. Her Dad is not moving. "Is she?"

"She's sleeping. Now please help me Mia and then you can tell me what you are doing here."

The trek to the house using biotics with her mother to carry her father was quite the workout for Mia. She was surprised at how composed her mother was during this whole thing. Mia is waiting in the family room now while she waits for her mother to come out of the bedroom. Svaari is sitting on the couch trying to say nice things like everything will be fine. Mia doesn't know this person she certainly isn't about to take comfort from her.

Finally, finally the bedroom door opens and Liara comes out closing the door behind her.

"Well?"

"She will be asleep for a few hours."

"What is going on? Why is she in so much pain? What happened?"

"I am not sure honey."

Mia sees Liara look at Svaari.

"Ah, let me give you some privacy," she says and heads upstairs.

"Who is that again?" asks Mia.

Liara takes a deep breath and lets it out. "Her name is Svaari. Do you remember Feron and Bria?"

"Yeah, a little."

"That is their granddaughter."

"Okay, but why is she here?"

"Why are you here?"

Mia wonders why her mother won't answer her. "Dava got hurt. I asked my coach if I could come and see if she was okay."

"And is she?"

"Yeah, she's fine. A bit banged up but….why is she here?"

Liara sits on the couch and pats the cushion next to her.

Her mother explains why Svaari is here. That Liara is taking over the reins once again of being the Shadow Broker. That Svaari is here to figure out what she wants to do with her life. Liara then waited for an update from Mia. So Mia told her about the Batarian attack and how Dava was hurt, but is home and is fine now. Her father called her to let her know what happened but she needed to see Dava for herself.

"That was very nice of your coach to let you come home."

"Yeah."

Mia feels her mother's hand on her shoulder. "Your father will be fine. She has episodes like this from time to time."

"That bad?"

Liara is quiet.

"I…shouldn't we do something?"

"I did do something honey. And I will do something, I will take care of it."

"What is with all this secrecy?" Mia stands and crosses her arms. "I..I have never seen her like that before Mom and you sit there hardly fazed at all."

Liara is up off the couch fast, "Now you listen to me young lady."

Mia takes a step back from the force of her words.

"This is something your father and I live with and I do not need you thinking that I do not CARE! Do you understand me?"

Mia's eyes burn for the second time this morning. She didn't mean to upset her mother so badly. "I'm…I'm sorry Mom."

"You should be! Now if you will excuse me, I have calls to make on behalf of your father. You can show yourself out." Liara leaves the family room and goes into the secure room without so much as looking back at Mia.

Mia is shell shocked. Her mother has been angry in the past but not like this. She knows she must have struck a nerve.

"What the hell is with all of the yelling?"

Mia looks over and sees her Grandfather coming out of her room. She is stooped over a little as if the Matriarch cannot fully stand up straight. Mia walks over to her, "Do you need help Grandpa?" She extends her hand.

Aethyta takes it and leans on it heavily. Mia helps her to her favorite chair in the family room and then covers her legs with a blanket. Aethyta lets out a long sigh when she sits down. "What are you doing here kid?"

"I asked the coach to give me a week off. Dava was hurt while working and I wanted to see for myself that she was okay."

"And?"

"She is banged up but she's fine."

She can feel her grandfather's eyes on her. She looks up, "What?"

"That it?"

"I was running and I found Dad in the woods in pain. I ran here to get Mom to help her. She gave her some kind of shot and we carried her here. She's sleeping now."

"And the yelling?"

Mia looks down. "I'm worried about Dad."

"Uh huh. Sounds more to me like you accused your mother of something."

Mia's head snaps up, "No …no I didn't….well I didn't mean to accuse her." And just like that the flood of tears come. Mia cries into her hands, wails almost. "I…I can't do anything right."

Aethyta opens her arms, "Come here."

Mia tries to compose herself a little but is having a hard time. She gently hugs her grandfather.

"You can hold me tighter than that kid, I'm not breaking today."

So Mia did. She sat on the arm of her grandfather's favorite chair and wept in her arms.

A few hours have passed. Mia left for Raina's house, Aethyta is down for an afternoon nap, Svaari is checking out Armali and Little A is spending the day with Kaya while Liara nervously paces the kitchen. She called Miranda. When the woman asked when Liara gave her the shot, she said she would be over in a few hours. She wants Shepard awake when she examines her, something Liara had a hard time accepting.

The asari feels a little bad being short with her daughter but she was and is just as nervous as Mia was. It has been a very long time since she has seen Shepard in such pain. Her mind keeps seeing images of Shepard in the Med Bay on the Normandy, or spaced, or on the table dying after that man tortured her. She was calm for her daughter's behalf; Liara certainly didn't want to come across as uncaring. She will have to have a word with Mia later; right now she needs to know what is going on. Her heart skips a beat when the doorbell rings. She opens the door.

Miranda Lawson is standing there with a brown leather bag in hand. She is still a stunning woman. After all these years she looks the same, same shoulder length black hair, same air of arrogance, but that has softened somewhat. "How is she? Is she awake?"

"Not yet." Liara steps aside to let Miranda in. She is surprised when Miranda grabs her hand.

"We will figure this out Liara."

Liara nods and leads her into the master bedroom.

Shepard is lying on her back. Her mouth is a little open, her eyelids are not moving. Liara is grateful for that; it means she is not dreaming therefore there is no chance of nightmares. Shepard hates drugs because of how they make her feel when she wakes up. It was a very strong pain medication Liara injected; Shepard will feel sluggish probably into day after tomorrow.

"When did her pain start do you know?" asks Miranda as she sets down her bag on the corner of the bed away from Shepard's sleeping body. She grabs her omni-tool and puts it on her arm.

"Remember when we returned from Earth and I asked you to look into that tranquilizer?"

"The one that stops asari biotics? Yes I remember. I am still running tests on the substances."

"Shepard was hit with it."

Miranda furrows her brow. "Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"She didn't complain much about her pain. I noticed she was limping when we got home. I figured it was because of the trip."

Miranda runs a scan.

"She has flare ups Miranda. I thought this was just another one of those."

"I understand. And I am guessing Shepard didn't really tell you just how uncomfortable she was."

"No."

"See here," Miranda punches a few buttons. A pop up display shows a picture of Shepard. "This is a picture of her muscles. See all of the red? They are inflamed."

"All of them?"

"Looks like it. The highest concentration is in her hip which suggests to me that anywhere there is scar tissue there is more pain. Did she complain about her stomach?"

"No." Liara covers her mouth with her hand.

"The reason why I wanted to wait for her to be awake is because I typically like to gauge her pain level. But in this case after seeing the scan I don't need to do that. I am going to take some blood as well Liara. I want to make sure her nanites are okay."

"Oh Goddess."

"It's just a precaution. If this tranquilizer did some damage I think my initial scans would show that and they don't."

"You think? So you think there is a chance?"

"I don't want to jump to conclusions without seeing the data."

"Of course."

Liara watches Miranda do her work. She is grateful that the ex-Cerberus operative is here.

Shepard stirs a little.

"Elly?" Liara sits on the bed and grabs Shepard's hand. "You are home Elly in bed. I am here with Miranda."

Miranda takes another sample. Punches a few more buttons on her omni-tool.

Shepard's eyes flitter open. "Liara?"

"I'm right here."

"You gave us quite a scare Shepard," says Miranda. "We hope to have you feeling good in no time." She places her samples into her bag.

"Elly?" Liara looks at Miranda.

Miranda walks over and checks Shepard. "Sleeping."

Liara closes her eyes and sighs.

"I should know more tomorrow Liara. In the meantime, I brought you another bottle of the medication just in case and here are some needles." Miranda sets them both down on the dresser.

Liara gets off the bed. "Will she sleep most of the day?"

"She might." Miranda pulls out a needle and prepares it. "In the meantime I am going to give her this. It will bring down the inflammation in her body and should alleviate her pain. I am leaving you two more needles. The medicine is already in them you just have to administer the shot. Give her one tonight and tomorrow at lunch time."

"I will thank you Miranda."

"You're welcome."

"How are Arelia and the kids?" Liara walks her to the front door.

"Good, except Arelia is still working long hours. She can't tell me much, but she did give me a hint that she hopes to be back to normal working hours in the next week or two. That can't come soon enough for me. I miss her."

"I do too."

They share a smile.

"Thank you again for coming over Miranda."

"Anytime Liara. Try not to worry until there is something to worry about, okay?"

Liara nods. Yeah right.

She waves as Miranda's sky car takes off.

"What's the verdict?"

"Dad, you scared me. I thought you were sleeping."

"I was, now I'm not. Is she okay?"

Liara helps her Dad to the kitchen chair and sits down next to her. "I hope so. Miranda will know more in the morning. Elly is sleeping now and probably will most of the day."

"How are you holding up?"

Liara lets out a long breath. "I'm worried. I …I haven't seen her in pain like that…," she pauses, "well not for a long time."

"Mia was pretty upset earlier."

"As she should be." Liara already regrets the words. She looks at her father who is not saying anything. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh no you don't."

"What?"

"I'm not gonna let you change the subject. What are you going to do about Mia?"

"I'll sleep on it."

"You were pretty harsh."

"As was she Father."

"Yeah but who is the more mature one between the two of you?"

Liara sighs. "Fine. Yes I will talk to her, but not until Elly wakes up."

"I don't like it when this family fights."

"Since when?" Liara smiles but it fades quickly when she sees the sadness in her father's eyes.

"I don't have many days left Liara."

"Don't talk like that."

"Liara." Aethyta takes her hand. "I mean it. Patch things up before she goes back to Earth."

"When does she leave?" Liara is suddenly nervous that Mia may leave as early as tomorrow.

"Does it matter?"

Liara looks at the kitchen wall; on the other side of it is the master bedroom.

"I can check in on her. You said she would be sleeping the rest of the day anyways. Go talk to your daughter. Don't put it off. If I need you I will call you."

"Are you sure?"

"Go. Mia is hurting Liara. She needs her mother."