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Thane closed his eyes and breathed in the hot, dry air. The sun beating down on his head was delicious; he would have liked to stop and simply lie down and bask in it. But Kolyat was already far ahead of him, anxious to reach the next stop on their day's journey. Thane took a moment to reflect on the urge of youth to go on and fill the time with as many memories as possible, and the urge of age to stop and truly savor the moment. He would certainly have far less time to live in this memory than Kolyat would.
It had startled him greatly when Kolyat—prodded, as Thane understood, by Captain Bailey, who had done much to earn the younger drell's trust and approbation—had suggested this trip to Earth's Chihuahuan Desert. Somewhat to Thane's surprise, it was a different experience than what he and Shepard had seen. The wildlife, the vistas, the occasional people, were all unique. Earth was a more diverse planet than he had imagined, it seemed, or perhaps seeing these things through his son's eyes made them seem new.
"Father!" The impatient voice carried in the stillness. "What are you doing?"
"Just resting." Thane had been wearied all day, despite the pleasures of the heat and the sand and the sun. "Wait there; I will catch up."
He could see Kolyat's eyes rolling from here. Well, he couldn't, but it was obvious anyway. His son reached into the pack he wore and took out a water bottle, taking a careful sip. The next watering hole was several hours' walk away. They would have to be careful.
Thane hadn't been thirsty today, so his water bottle was untouched. Kolyat could have it, if needed. His feet dug into the sand as he moved toward Kolyat. It was deeper and softer sand than he had thought, each step taking a bit more effort than the last. His head was suddenly pounding, his breath coming short, the world darkening before his eyes as though the sun had set without warning.
Dimly he heard his son calling out for him, but darkness was filling his ears, as well, and then there was nothing.
Until suddenly it all came rushing back—breath and sight and hearing and his heart racing almost painfully in his chest.
"Father! Father, please!" There was desperation in Kolyat's voice. and Thane realized that he was lying beneath a hastily rigged tent with a damp cloth across his forehead. How long had he been unconscious?
"Kolyat." His voice sounded harsh and rusty in his ears. He tried to sit up, but the world swam, and he sank back down, closing his eyes briefly.
"Are you awake?"
"Yes." He spoke without opening his eyes again.
"You scared me!" Anger was replacing the worry in Kolyat's voice. A natural response to the boy's panic, Thane thought, not that it would help to point that out.
"I am sorry."
"Are you— Is this it?"
Thane considered. He felt weak and dizzy, yes, but he didn't believe he was in any imminent danger of death. "No. Not yet. There is time still." He spoke with relief, thinking of Juniper, locked away by the Alliance. He had tried to reach her, but he didn't believe his messages had gone through. He would try again as soon as they were back on the Citadel, he told himself.
"Can you travel?" Kolyat demanded.
"Soon." This time Thane succeeded in sitting up, taking the cloth off his forehead and looking around him. His head ached and throbbed; he must have struck it against a rock when he fell.
"Good, because we're going back. I'm taking you back to the Citadel and you're going to the hospital."
The familiar panic squeezed at Thane's heart at the idea of dying in a hospital, caged by his own body. "That's not necessary."
"The hell it isn't!"
Thane smiled at the human turn of phrase, no doubt picked up from Bailey. "I appreciate your concern, but—"
"That's what you said the first time, and this keeps happening, and you haven't done anything! Look, you said you wanted to fix things, right?"
"I did."
"Then do this for me. Go get yourself taken care of. Stop traipsing around the galaxy like you're in the pink of health and actually be there for five minutes." There was more in Kolyat's voice, in his words, than he knew, a longing and a concern that he would never have admitted to.
Thane could not deny his son this request—Kolyat had more than deserved it for a long time now. And there was no question about it, a deep weariness had settled into Thane's bones. He was tired. His body was beginning to shut down. It was the long slow descent into darkness now, and the only way to alleviate that, to make the time worthwhile, would be to spend it with his son. "Yes. I will do as you ask."
Relieved, and trying not to show it, Kolyat at last settled down on the sand next to Thane. "We'll start back as soon as you feel up to it. I think we can make it back to the last camp, and from there it's only another day, day and a half, back to the town, taking it easy. We should be able to get you to the hospital on the Citadel within the week." He glanced sharply at his father. "Do you—can you afford it?"
Thane smiled. If only his son knew. The work he had done paid well, and what had not gone to care for Kolyat in the past ten years had been accruing interest in a volus bank. "Yes. Thank you for your consideration."
"Just didn't want to have to pay for it," Kolyat muttered, drawing patterns in the sand with his fingertips. "Should we try to see Commander Shepard while we're on Earth?"
A fierce, sharp longing for his siha filled Thane's heart. If only. But it was out of the question. "If the Alliance won't let her receive emails, certainly they will not allow her to receive visitors. I would not want to make things harder for her. When she can, she will find me."
"You sound very sure."
"I am. I could not be more so." He closed his eyes again, enjoying the heat, content in the presence of his son and the certainty of Shepard's love. He had, after all, been a very fortunate man.