"You all right?"

Sam sat in the copilot's seat of the shuttle. She looked up to Shepard, who was piloting the shuttle into the heart of the nebula that the Citadel occupied.

"I think so. Yes."

Shepard smirked. "No, you're not. But thank you for joining me on this mission, regardless."

Sam mirrored Shepard's smirk. "I was unaware I had a choice?"

Shepard barked laughter, shaking her head.

Sam shifted in her seat. She was in light armor borrowed from Liara, a sidearm on her thigh and a shield generator at her hip. A helmet sat on one of the seats behind them. She felt like she was in basic again. But at the same time, it was kind of nice. It was unfamiliar, but it was better than entering this unknown situation in her uniform with nothing but her omnitool and her penchant for talking too much to protect her.

"You are calmer than I would expect. You've never been in combat before, right? Outside the Normandy, I mean."

Sam shrugged. "Not as such. But I made it through Horizon, so I suppose that counts."

"Horizon?"

Sam froze. She'd forgotten that she hadn't told Shepard about that. Shit shit shit.

"Specialist?"

Sam hesitated. "I'm... from Horizon, ma'am. I was on leave, visiting family, when the Collectors attacked."

Shepard whistled low. "Damn," she said. Then she turned sharply to Samantha. "Wait. That's when you met Ash, isn't it?"

Ashley felt her face grow hot. "Um, yes. It is."

"Nice. Romance on shore leave," Shepard said with a grin. But then her face fell. "Hell of a combat experience."

"Not like it sounds. I never actually shot one of them, but Ashley was paralyzed. I was the only one in the house with weapons training, so I took her guns until it wore off. She was the only one to actually take down one of those things."

"Still," said Shepard. "You were ready to do it. That's half the battle, being willing to do what needs to be done." She waited a beat, then added, "I really do mean it, Traynor. Thank you for agreeing to this. I never get as much intel as when I've got you on comms with me."

Samantha's face flushed, and she nodded. "You're welcome, Commander. Thank you for going to take Omega in unmarked armor, outside the jurisdiction of the Alliance, so we can get our family back. I mean, it's for the Council, but-"

"Fuck the Council, Sam. I need to get 'em back for political reasons, but this isn't only about them. Cerberus took precious people as hostages. I want them all back."

Sam smiled. "Aye, ma'am."

Ashley stood with Tim.

They were in line at Reception at the hospital, hoping to see Thane and Kolyat. Getting through Security had taken forever; it was a lot tighter given the hospital president's office had been attacked. But they'd made it and now they just needed to find out where Thane was. Ashley knew her way around easily enough once she had his room number. She'd been a patient here long enough herself.

The receptionist recognized her as a Spectre and it got her Thane's room and blanket access to all parts of the hospital as she pleased. She led Tim wordlessly through the halls, letting her mind wander to her own recent stay here.

Ashley and Thane had become friends. She never would have thought she'd become such close friends with someone so alien. But he wasn't as alien as he seemed at first glance. He was a religious man, finding solace in the ancient words and wisdom of his people. And that was an incredible piece of common ground for Ashley. It wasn't the only way they had bonded, but it was what got them initially talking. She knew, no matter how her opinions on aliens in general had changed, that she would never have initiated a conversation with him.

Outside Thane's door, Ashley took a deep breath. She looked at Tim.

"You okay?" she asked him.

"Yes," he said, but didn't elaborate. He stood with his arm in a sling, his hair mussed, and one of his eyebrows singed off. He'd been near an explosion, as far as Ashley could get out of him, and it had thrown him into a wall, breaking his arm. Ashley assumed it also was responsible for the eyebrow.

"Your sister was very sad you were already so stoic after the attack on Horizon," Ashley said. "I remember her remarking on it."

Tim shrugged again. "I'm alive and so are you and her. I have nothing to complain about."

Ashley nodded. "Yeah. That's true."

"Besides. You went through some shit. You really want to hash it out right here, right now?"

Ashley saw her gun pointed at Shepard in her mind's eye. "Nope."

"There you have it."

"All right." Ashley took another deep breath and blew it out. The hair that had escaped her bun – probably half her hair at this point – was blown off her face by her breath. She pushed it behind her ears. "Let's go."

She touched the call button. "This is Ashley Williams and Timothy Traynor, hoping to visit Thane Krios," she announced.

The door opened a moment later, revealing Kolyat. Behind him was Thane, laid out bare-chested on a hospital bed. Tim moved around Ashley and walked right up to Kolyat. They shared a look, and then Tim was hugging his friend with his non-injured arm. Kolyat didn't look entirely comfortable with the embrace, but he did lean into it with eyes closed, so it wasn't unwelcome.

Ashley let them embrace, skirting around them to go to Thane's bedside.

"Ashley," Thane said, that one word sending him into a coughing fit.

"Whoa, Thane, it's okay," Ashley said, rushing the last two steps to his bed. She heard the door whoosh closed behind her.

"I'm sorry, I cannot get out of this bed," he said, a whisper this time.

"I don't need you to, Thane," Ashley said. "Can I help make you more comfortable?"

"I am as comfortable as I can be." He tried to breathe deeply, but it made him cough again. He settled after a moment.

Ashley just stood by his side, looking him over. He wasn't a large man by human standards, but he had always seemed powerful, with a quiet, self-assured air that was intimidating. Ashley had always appreciate and respected that about him. She was pretty confident, too, but she had never been quiet about it. She had shouted and pushed and demanded every single way in which she could claim respect among her peers. She was herself and she was not going to let anyone fucking forget it: the definition of a boisterous marine.

She wasn't loud now, however. She felt completely impotent, but knew the only thing she could do was be here.

"That assassin should ashamed," Thane whispered. "I'm terminally-ill and can't process oxygen in my blood, and I stopped him from reaching his target."

"I'll make sure to let him know when we separate his head from his shoulders," Ashley said, meaning it. She had only heard a little about this assassin but she definitely didn't like him. "In the meantime, you're a hero with Valern. Gotta count for something, right?"

"Yes. He visited and said he would lean on his people for further research into Keprel's Syndrome. It is..." He trailed off into a coughing fit.

"It is good," Kolyat said, coming up next to Ashley. Tim was on his other side. "Though it is too late for my father. I donated blood, but..."

"This is goodbye," Thane finished. "There is something I must do, I must-" He coughed, and this time Ashley had to help him sit up so he could spit up blood. It was green and shiny, bubbled with his saliva. She was hit with a sudden realization that she was glad she never had to watch her father get weak and sick and injured like this.

As she lay Thane back down, she finally noticed the massive bandage over his stomach. Miriam said he'd been stabbed. Must've been a seriously sharp sword to get through his skin. No wonder the donated blood isn't helping. That's a hell of a thing to recover from.

Ashley tucked the sheet up over his bandaging to preserve his dignity in whatever way she could. She wondered again if he was warm- or cold-blooded, if the sheet served to keep him warm at all.

Thane took his first deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Kalahira," he began, just above a whisper, "mistress of inscrutable depths."

Kolyat pressed his hands together and bowed his head, eyes closed. Ashley followed suit, recognizing a prayer in Thane's words and silently marveling that their body positioning while praying would be so similar.

"I ask forgiveness," Thane intoned. "Kalahira, whose waves wear down stone and sand..." He could not finish, his breath sounding wet, like he had to swallow his words.

Kolyat took up the prayer. "Kalahira, wash the sins from this one and set him on the distant shore of the Infinite Spirit."

"Kolyat," Thane gasped. Ashley opened her eyes to see something like a look of surprise on his face. "You speak as the priests do. You- you have been spending time with them?"

Kolyat merely inclined his head, then produced a small, worn book. "Commander Williams-"

"Ashley," she said.

"Ashley. I know it would please my father if you joined me in prayer. There is peace to be found in the voices of those you love as you depart the mortal world. Would you say something from your faith?"

Ashley immediately found tears on her cheeks, but nodded, not wiping them away.

"It pleases me," Thane whispered, looking out the window on the foliage of the Presidium in the distance. "My friend, and my son, and his friend. You all have each other."

The tears traced their way down Ashley's cheek to her chin, where they fell and soaked into her ruined uniform shirt.

"Kalahira, this one's heart is pure," Kolyat read from his book, "but beset by wickedness and contention. Guide this one to where the traveler never tires, the lover never leaves, the hungry never starve. Guide this one, Kalahira, and she will be a companion to you as she was to me."

He closed the book and looked upon his father.

Ashley took a deep breath. She could not actually perform a sacrament for this man, no matter how she would like him to receive the Anointing of the Sick. But she could speak to the higher power that she was sure in her heart was out there, waiting for him in whatever form he would take when he died.

She bowed her head, made the sign of the cross, and spoke.

"Almighty, Eternal Father," she said. "It is said your House has many rooms. Take this man into your House and ease his ailments. Make him warm and comforted, and take away his pain. Comfort those he leaves behind, for he is in Your embrace. His fight is over; let us remember him with joy and gladness in our hearts. We pray this in your name, Heavenly Father. Amen."

There was a collective pause. Ashley opened her eyes, and she knew immediately Thane no longer occupied the body upon the hospital bed. The tears flowed heavily down her cheeks, though still she did not cry. Tim moved next to her and put a hand on her shoulder, Kolyat doing the same for Tim.

Ashley knew she shouldn't be so sad. She had not known this man long, and he had not been a good man for much of his life. She knew that others more deserving of a relatively comfortable death in a hospital bed had instead died at the hands of the reapers, with no warning or sense. But she was sad, and in the end this man was trying to do and be better. He had helped her, more than he might ever know. And she could not thank him.

"Kolyat," she said after many minutes standing together. "The prayer you read. You said 'she.'"

"The prayer was not for him, Comm- Ashley," Kolyat said. "He has already asked forgiveness for the lives he has taken. His wish was for you. For warmth. For peace. For forgiveness."

Ashley felt the knife finally twist in her gut. The tears burst forth before she could even take a breath. She put her head in her hands and finally let everything that had happened that day wash over her. She'd lost her family, stared down a gun at her best friend, sent her fiancee on a suicide mission, and lost a true friend.

She stood next to Thane's bed and the sobs came and came, and Ashley Williams wept until she had no more tears to weep.