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The small common room of the hospital was filled with people watching Emily Wong's broadcast from the Normandy. It was a carefully edited piece, giving away very little of what was going on aboard the ship—mostly, it focused on news from around the galaxy, what there was of it. But reading between the lines Kaidan could tell that negotiations with the krogan had not gone well so far. He was partially surprised because he remembered how easily Shepard could talk Wrex into things back on the original Normandy. That time on Virmire had been the closest they had ever come to not seeing eye to eye, and in the end, Wrex had agreed with Shepard.

But Wrex had been the leader of the krogan on Tuchanka for a while now. His priorities must have changed over time, and Kaidan had to think it was harder to make concessions when you knew an entire planet's—an entire civilization's—well-being rode on your word.

The man in the chair next to him, an elegant green-skinned drell, commented, almost to himself, "The krogan have always been difficult to negotiate with."

"More of the 'ram your head through the wall' style than delicate negotiations," Kaidan agreed cheerfully.

Startled, the drell looked him over. "Indeed," he said at last.

"I used to know Urdnot Wrex," Kaidan offered. "For a krogan, he's … not unreasonable."

The drell hesitated, then turned toward Kaidan. "I have met him, as well. He must be a remarkable personality to have brought the krogan together as he has."

"He is that. You ever play cards with him?" At the drell's shake of the head, Kaidan added, "I wouldn't recommend it, not if you want to get up from the table without losing your shirt. The only person I ever knew who could beat him regularly was—" He was on the verge of using Shepard's name, but decided against it. With the news vid over, the room was emptying, but the mention of Shepard always drew a crowd. "Our C.O.," he said instead. "She's pretty remarkable herself."

"Yes, she is," the drell said softly. Then, "I mean, she must be, to handle such an explosive character." Clearing his throat, he changed the subject. "You must be getting ready to return to active duty soon. I have seen you here for some time, and the improvement has been noticeable."

Kaidan was surprised. He hadn't noticed the drell, although he'd been fairly distracted between his injuries and his worries for Shepard and the visits from Udina, urging him to accept the Spectre assignment. "Thanks," he said to the drell, for lack of a better response. "I should be back in condition before too much longer." He gestured to his head. "The biotics take longer to get back in shape than the rest of me. What about you? Are the drell in the war yet?"

"I do not believe there is any formal mobilization of forces as of now, but I imagine it won't be much longer." The drell looked down at his hands. "I will not be among them, however. I … will never leave the hospital." A paroxysm of coughing shook him as if to underscore his statement.

Kaidan turned his head away, giving the other man some semblance of privacy. When the coughing had passed and the drell had settled back into his seat, his breathing back to normal, Kaidan turned back to him. "I'm sorry. Being temporarily out of commission has been—hard to bear. Being permanently sidelined would be— I'm very sorry," he repeated.

"Thank you. It is … I have had a long time to prepare for this time in my life, and I thought I was ready. I would be, even now, even given the chaos of war, if my—spouse were not out there in the midst of the fight."

"I understand. The woman I … care for is out there, too." He thought of Shepard, so capable. It would be nice to be at her side again, there to keep her safe. But that wasn't his right any longer, he reminded himself. She was with someone else. Married to him, unbelievably enough. The man at his side coughed again, and Kaidan was struck by the sound. Dying, she had said. Something to do with the lungs. Could this be—? He had a hard time picturing Shepard with another species, but … it wasn't impossible. "If your spouse is on duty, there must be some drell supporting the war effort."

The drell shook his head, still trying to get his breathing under control. "She is … not a drell."

Kaidan narrowed his eyes, wondering.

"This woman you care for," the drell said. "Does she return your affection?"

"She used to. Now … I guess we're friends again, but she's moved on. She's with someone else."

"Yet you still love her?"

"Always." Kaidan hadn't meant for so much of what he felt to be obvious in his response, but the word came out, heavy with his feelings, before he could stop to think. "I tried to care for someone else, I really did, but …" He shrugged. "I guess for some of us there really is only one person."

"And if she were—free again, would you—?" The drell didn't finish the sentence, but his meaning was obvious.

"I would be there for her, whatever she needed."

"Even if it meant she never returned your affection again?"

Kaidan nodded. It was odd to be talking with this stranger about Shepard, not sure if they were both talking about the same person or not. "Even if. It may sound corny, but all I want is her happiness." He looked into the drell's black eyes. "Your spouse—once you've … gone, would you want her to be happy again with someone else?"

"Of course." There was no hesitation in the response. "I would want her to be with someone who cared for her above all else."

In the doorway, Kaidan saw the occupational therapist who was helping him get his biotics on line, and he rose. "It's been nice talking with you."

The drell rose, reaching out a hand. "Yes. I hope you are back to active duty soon."

"I wish you—peace," Kaidan told him.

"Thank you."

As Kaidan left the room with the therapist, Thane sank back into the chair, his heart racing. As he waited for it to settle enough to return to his own quarters, he thought about the human who had left. There was no question about the genuine nature of his affection for Shepard. It had been written all over his expressive face. Whether he was as easily able to accept her love for another man as he indicated was more difficult to tell, but that was a difficult concept to master for anyone.

Leaning his head back against the chair, Thane closed his eyes. It would not be much longer for him, he could feel it. He was relieved to know that love waited for Shepard when he was gone—and from her looks and manner when she mentioned Kaidan Alenko, he imagined she would eventually find what she needed in that love. Thane felt the usual pang at the idea of leaving her, of not sharing in the joys and sorrows of her life to come himself, but such was the way the universe had arranged itself.

"Arashu," he whispered, the word little more than a breath, "care for her, watch over her, see her to a safe harbor. Amonkira …" He hesitated, feeling greedy even as he spoke. "Give me a task. Allow me to aid her once more before Kalahira takes me across the sea."

It was a foolish wish, he thought, getting slowly to his feet, but heartfelt. If he had to leave her to fight alone, if he had to be taken from her, all he wanted from what remained of his life was to be of use to her once more.