Thessia
No. Liara reached out and gripped the wheel of the skycar, even though the auto-pilot had driven it to Thessia Medical and was now setting it down on the top level of the parking deck. This is not the time to dwell on those memories. This is not a time of loss, simply a time of worry. Sen needs support, and care. If I know her as I believe I do…she will neither rest nor care for herself. And that simply cannot be allowed.
Liara took the time in the elevator to regain control over her emotions. She had her reasons for never revisiting that day above Alchera, her reasons for pushing it to the back of her mind even after centuries had dulled the full force of the pain. It was not simply the horror of having Shepard torn away from her…but of what had come afterward.
Two years is nothing in the lifetime of an asari…or so we think. Most of us cannot see ourselves changing in so short a time, no matter the state of the galaxy or the chaos in our own life. Somewhere, along the way, my people have come to believe in the face we present to the galaxy. And I, of all of us, know well that it is false.
The doors of Thessia Medical opened and Liara bristled at the harsh scent of sterility. It reminded her of yet another dark time…when the galaxy had rejoiced in its safety, but a small group, whom all admired but few truly knew, had grieved as though the world had, indeed, ended.
This is not then. Liara gave herself a stern reminder as she entered the waiting area.
Sharp blue eyes scanned the room. It had been built into a shrine of peace and beauty. A tree grew in the center on a small hill covered with verdant grass. An asari-made river flowed around it, filled with brightly colored fish imported from Earth. But Liara knew, no matter the atmosphere…this place was far from peaceful. She could see it in those gathered there, the slumped shoulders, the tight lines around their eyes. Her muscles shivered with the memory of her body in those exact same positions. Defeat. Despondence. Loss.
At last, her eyes landed on the tense, huddled figure of Sen T'Aryn. The cardiologist had drawn her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Her head rested against the wall and her eyes were closed, though the expression on her face was one of absolute pain. Liara's heart broke as she crossed the little footbridge above the false river and walked towards her friend…her friend who was all alone in the world, whose mind was racing with thoughts and images that no one should have to endure.
She knelt down in front of Sen and rested a hand on her leg, not wishing to frighten her. "Sen," she spoke, soft, "I'm here."
The asari's eyes flew open and she looked around the room as though startled, fixing her gaze on Liara after a long moment of exhausted surprise. Some of the tension in her body eased and her eyes filled with tears once more. Sen moved off the chair, joining Liara on the floor and wrapping her arms around the older asari.
Liara held her for a long moment, feeling guilt wash over her at the comfort she took from their embrace, the sense that somehow the proper stars had aligned and that wrongs had been righted. She rubbed her hand along Sen's back as the asari wept against her shoulder, at last feeling safe to release her pain and anxiety in the arms of someone she trusted.
"Thank the goddess you're here." Sen breathed, attempting to regain her composure. She pulled out of the embrace, stood, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I don't…I don't have anyone else."
Zhira T'Aryn is not one to be unsympathetic, Liara thought, a slight smile crossing her mind at the name of her old friend, and Sen's mother. But perhaps Sen has not spoken to her, considering the time difference between Illium and Thessia. Besides…Liara examined the cardiologist, her heart cracking all over again as she read the all too familiar expression on Sen's countenance, …Sen is one to suffer in silence.
"Have you heard anything?" Liara asked, the corners of her eyes tightening as she waged an internal war over whether or not to reveal what she knew of Mira's condition.
"No." Sen shook her head. "I…I called Mira's father. He is catching the next transport from Earth. It should arrive in two days but by then…Liara, I can't do this. I am a doctor. Not knowing is driving me to the limit of insanity, and I am stonewalled at every turn. It's taken hiding in a corner to keep security from throwing me off the premises. By Chief T'Vari's orders, I'm not even allowed on the grounds but I can't…I can't leave her."
"I know." Liara replied. Oh, Sen, how I know.
The Shadow Broker drew herself up, the internal war decided. "Sen, I need you to sit down." she spoke, and the asari sank into the chair.
Liara joined her and pulled up her omni-tool. "I need an…allowance…from you, Sen." she stated, looking directly into the cardiologist's eyes.
"Of course." Sen nodded.
"I do not want you to ask how I came by this information, simply accept the fact that I possess it." Liara said. "I also want you to prepare yourself for what you find."
"Oh goddess." Sen breathed, and her hands curled into tremoring fists.
"This is the report from the paramedics on scene." Liara said, extending her arm and allowing Sen to read over the report.
Liara watched the quiet change, as anxiety became outright fear. Sen's lips parted and began quivering, her hands trembled as they scrolled down the list. Her eyes filled with a desperate terror and tears flooded them anew. Her hand went to her open lips and a strangled sob, half a cry of anguish, half a scream of rage, broke the quiet of the room.
From the corner of her eye, Liara saw a security guard stiffen and turn her eyes toward them at the sound. Liara moved quickly, rising from her seat, taking Sen's hand, assisting her from her chair. Liara wrapped her arm around Sen's waist and the doctor leaned heavily on her as they left the waiting room and went outside.
The crisp, cool air washed over them and a light dusting of snow began to fall from the sky, re-coating the layer of it already on the ground. Sen abruptly left Liara's support and sagged, falling to her knees in the snow, lifting her face to the sky. Liara's eyes filled with tears as she saw the despondent grief and knew in her heart that Sen believed Mira would not survive.
"I cannot do this." Sen whispered, and Liara did not know if the physician spoke to her or to the sky. "We reconnected. It's tenuous, but I know we were going to be happy again. This can't be happening. I…I…This! Can't! Be! Happening!"
The pure, ragged emotion echoed off of the buildings and the streets and Liara fell to her knees beside Sen, holding the asari as her body bucked with the anguished cries tearing from her throat.
"There is still hope." Liara whispered. "Humans are strong, Sen, so very, impossibly strong. And your love of her will give her the strength to survive. Do not let this worry defeat you. Do not borrow tomorrow's grief."
Sen's body began to tremble and Liara knew she hovered on the delicate edge of exhaustion and collapse. "I want you to come home with me." Liara said. "You need to rest, and you do not need to be alone, and I can provide both company and comfort."
Sen struggled to rein in her frantic breathing, shaking her head. "I cannot ask you to do that." she said. "I…I'll call a transport and go home. You…you must be exhausted."
"Do not be foolish." Liara counseled, though her heart warmed. "I knew someone once who would have said those exact words to me, and been just as foolish in saying them. Come. You are over-wrought and over tired, and if you stay outside in this freezing weather much longer, you will make yourself ill."
Liara opened her omni-tool and issued a command, smiling as she saw her skycar rise from the parking deck and descend to their location. She pulled Sen to her feet and got her into the car, moving to the driver's seat and ordering the vehicle to take them to the T'Soni estate.
They drove in silence, not speaking, though Liara's heart ached with every one of Sen's sniffles, quiet gasps, and the tears that seemed never to cease rolling down her cheeks. The sun began to rise as they reached the T'Soni estate, and Liara all but had to carry Sen into the house. She took her into one of the guest rooms on the lower floor, recognizing the signs of emotional shock and exhaustion.
She whispered an order to Glyph and guided Sen to the bed, removing her coat and helping her undress, providing the cardiologist with sleep-wear from her own bureau. She turned down the bed-covers and helped Sen beneath them as the housekeeper VI appeared in the doorway with a tray of tea. Liara took the cup, ordered the VI to leave, and pressed the tea into Sen's hands.
"Drink." she said, watching as Sen obeyed and took a sip.
A tiny thread of guilt tugged at Liara's heart, but she ignored it. Lacing the tea with a mild sedative might have been underhanded, but Sen needed the peace that only true rest could bring. After a few more sips, Sen's eyelids began to flutter, and Liara took the tea and set it aside on the dresser. She helped Sen lie down and pulled the covers over her.
Sen's eyes opened and the tension in her expression eased as Liara offered a comforting smile.
"Thank you." Sen whispered, her voice rough with grief. "Please…"
"I will obtain as much information as I am able." Liara promised, and Sen's eyes closed as she slipped into slumber.
Liara watched her for a moment more, then leaned down and pressed a brief kiss to the asari's brow. Her heart heavy, she left the room, assaulted by the specters of tragedy that swarmed around her. Her feet traced the path to another room. The low lighting was never extinguished in this place. It was full of display cases, filled with memories of the past. Liara smiled as she gazed at the Prothean artifacts she had acquired through the years. Her weapons from the Reaper War had also been enshrined, as well as the suits of armor that she had worn through the most hectic and fraught years of her life.
But it was to the case at the back that she went. Her fingers reached up, touching the glass that held the battered, charred husk of armor. The blazing red stripe of the N7 suit stood out, as proud and fierce and strong as the blood in human veins.
"Serena." Liara whispered, pressing her forehead to the case. "I need you now. I cannot do this alone. Please, my love, help me now. Lend me your courage. Lend me your kindness. Lend me your strength, so that I might give it to another, who so desperately requires it."