Chapter Fifteen: Like Mother, Like Son

Liara thought she would never, ever see those eyes again. It took her a moment to realize that the features surrounding the eyes were distinctly feminine. The familiar eyes were also bloodshot, something she had never seen on Colt.

"You must be Doctor T'Soni," the woman's voice was hoarse, "I was told that you may be able to help me."

Liara didn't respond for awhile. She tried to, she really did, but her jaw just moved uselessly. After a long moment, she managed, "Please come in."

Liara and the woman shuffled into the apartment together. Both walked as if they were stuck in slow motion.

"Liara, who was at the door?" Doctor Chakwas yelled from some other room in the apartment. The asari found herself unable to respond through the lump in her throat. Maybe silence would draw Chakwas to their position and save her from this cruel twist of events.

The pair approached the couch and sat down, not looking at each other, and not speaking.

"Jesus, Liara, are you okay?" Doctor Chakwas flew out of the bedroom next to the door. She came up next to Liara and was about to say something until she noticed the other woman sitting on the opposite side of the couch. "Umm… hello there. Can we help you?" When the woman turned her head; Chakwas inhaled quickly and stared at her. Liara figured that she had seen the eyes.

"My name is Captain Hannah Shepard. Admiral Hackett sent me here," she murmured. The poor lady still had that feral look about her, but Chakwas was quick to recover.

"Are you related to Commander Shepard? If I may ask?" Doctor Chakwas was remarkably good at regaining her composure; her moment of disbelief long forgotten.

"I am-was his mother," she replied, her eyes were looking at something far in the distance. The asari wondered if she looked as bad as Hannah...probably. Shepard had the effect of making people care a lot about him. Sometimes even Doctor Chakwas looked that disheveled.

"I trust that you've heard then," Chakwas' voice was gentle.

"Hackett just told me. For the past twelve years, I've been either undercover or in a Batarian prison," she replied back to Chakwas. Her voice then continued at a whisper and silent tears ran down her cheeks, "I just learned that my whole family is dead." The room was quiet; not even the sound of traffic could be heard. Liara had absolutely no idea what to say. On one hand she was kind of in the same boat. Her mom and boyfriend were dead, while her dad was probably dead, plus she didn't have siblings. That was different though, she'd had years to adjust to the idea of no dad and while she didn't want to kill her mom, it was a necessary evil. "I didn't have any information about Shepard's…passing, so he told me to come here."

"I'll try to tell you what I can," Liara said, surprising even herself by talking.

"How did he… you know?" Hannah was obviously having a very hard time keeping her tears at bay.

"He suffocated," Liara mumbled, this comment pulling her back to Colt's final moments.

"Were you two close?" The Captain's voice pulled Liara from her poisonous memories.

"Yes. Yes, we were," Liara said nothing more, but she could tell that Hannah understood the romantic nature of their relationship. Before Liara could read into Hannah's personality, a knock came at the door. Chakwas stood up and walked to the front of the apartment, probably relieved to get away from a conversation that left her as the third wheel.

"It's a package," Chakwas said when she walked back towards the group. A small box rested in her hands. "Should we open it?"

"Yes," Hannah told Chakwas, while handing her a small knife that hadn't been there a moment ago. Karin took it and ripped through the tape quite easily. She reached in and pulled out a small piece of paper. "It says: 'Meet me at the Dark Rose. I have something you might be interested in."'

Liara sprung up from the filthy couch and hurried to put on a jacket. If nothing else, it was an opportunity to take her mind off things.

"Wait a minute, what if this is a trap?" Chakwas was watching Liara with a worried expression.

"But what if it's about Shepard? We can't just ignore it. Besides, I'm fully capable of taking care of myself," Liara would not be stopped by the good doctor, even if her concern made a lot of sense.

"I'll go, too. You may need help," Hannah was starting to stand and already her eyes were clearing up. In a few minutes, it would be like she had never even cried.

…

The Dark Rose was nasty. Not that Liara really cared, but it was noticeable. Sticky countertops and a crunchy floor were just the beginning. There was a puddle of something horrible in one of the corners and she was almost positive that someone's appetizer twitched. The lights were dimmed slightly, which gave the whole place a gloomy atmosphere. The actual bar was circular and stationed in the center of the establishment - it too was grubby and cracked. Normally, the asari would have never, ever come to a place like this. Maybe that needed to change.

Doctor Chakwas had opted out, stating that she wouldn't be very helpful if things went sideways. She understood Chakwas's reasoning, but she still wanted the good doctor to come along. Being alone with Colt's mother was awkward at best.

Liara couldn't get over how similar Colt and Hannah looked. They had the same eyes, a similar nose, and she was pretty sure that they had the same hair color. She was still trying to decide if she welcomed the reminder or not.

"Over there," Hannah nodded to an open spot at the bar. They approached the bar and sat heavily into the grungy stools.

"What can I get'cha?" A Krogan bartender rumbled.

"Something that burns like hell," the Captain answered.

"Can do," he said. He poured some sort of foul smelling concoction into a cloudy glass and set in front of the woman. "What about you, sweetheart?" He turned towards the asari.

"Thessian Temple, please," she said. The Krogan nodded before mixing a few liquids together and handing it over.

"Thessian Temple? We gotta toughen you up," Hannah laughed.

"What's your order, ladies?" A human female walked up besides them and gestured to the bartender to get her something.

"We're going pretty light; we're waiting for someone. You wouldn't happen to know who that is, would you?" Hannah replied, calmly sipping at her drink and looking absentmindedly around.

"I do. I hear she has information on someone named Colt. I also overheard her talking about the Shadow Broker sending agents to get his body on Alchera," the woman stopped to take a swig of her drink. "She also left this," the lady slid a piece of paper over to Hannah, "She said she might be able to help you." With that, the human woman stood and walked out of the Dark Rose, only to be swallowed by the Citadel.

"So… what's the next step?" Liara asked Hannah, who seemed to be an entirely new person from the one she had met only a couple hours ago.

Hannah took a long drink from her glass and set it down hard. "How well do you handle cold weather?"

…

Author's Note: If I don't post before Christmas I would like to wish everyone Happy Holidays! I also owe a thank you to everyone that has reviewed, followed, and favorited.