Author's Note: Hello all. First of all, as usual, thank you all for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing this story. I know everything looks a little chaotic right now, and that's because the plot is following the author. As some of you may know, I'm in the armed forces, and I just lost another brother in arms to suicide, and sang at his memorial service, which catapulted me back to when I did the same for my first fiancé after they died. My bondmate has been diagnosed with chronic PTSD, fibromyalgia, and stress-induced tachycardia. If everything seems chaotic in the story right now, it's because my life is chaotic, and writing is exceedingly cathartic for me. So thank you for understanding, for continuing to read my work and offer your thoughts. A little encouragement goes a long way; thanks for offering yours.

Bright Blessings,

~Raven

Thessia

Sen sat in the ominous not-silence that was a TCU room. She could hear the beeping of the monitors, the hiss of the oxygen flowing into Mira's nose via a cannula. Sen felt immense relief at the sight of the slender tubing, knowing that it had replaced the ventilator. That Mira was now breathing under her own power relieved the cardiologist beyond words.

Her hand trembled as she opened Mira's chart, watching the words scrolling across the screen, translating them within her mind. The report of the osteo-fusion showed that Mira's femur would be mended in another seven hours…that rate seemed almost impossible until Sen remembered a terrifying key factor.

I am thinking of asari healing averages, Sen thought. Humans are…more frail. More easily injured, but also faster healed.

Sen glanced out the windows of Mira's room, watching as Liara sat down with another asari, holding her close, whispering quiet words. Sen's heart lurched as she read Liara's body language, realizing that the nurse her friend held in an almost intimate embrace was a complete stranger to her.

But that is the sort of asari that Liara is. Kind. Understanding. It is as though she can sense another's pain and she will reach out to a stranger simply to…help them bear it. This is so rare in this world. I see those suffering from disease, or those involved in a traumatic accident and their loved ones…their loved ones simply do not know what to do. They are so caught up in their own reaction to it that they cannot fathom taking on another burden and Liara…Liara has learned to be different…in the most difficult of ways.

Sen averted her eyes from the scene, giving Liara what privacy she could, knowing that the grieving nurse that Liara held was in the best of care.

"Can I say the same for you?" Sen asked her unconscious once-lover. "Are you…are you in the best of care with me, Mira? Look at where we are…where we stand. You left because I…because even after over three hundred years of living, I am still ignorant of what it means to hold someone else's heart." Sen sat down, struck by a cruel epiphany of her race.

"We live longer." she breathed the thoughts aloud. "But heal slower from physical wounds. Do we heal slower from emotional injuries as well? Or is it simply that we have so much time afforded to us as asari that we use the world as a test bed for our own emotions...I do not know what it is to trust someone else with my heart because I know the likelihood of outliving my lover. How must Liara have felt…seeing the very physical evidence of the one she loved torn away from her? She must have been so afraid…and fear can do terrible things."

How would I feel if you died, Sen thought towards Mira. How would I have felt when the peacekeepers came to my door…if they had come to tell me of your death, and not your injury? I might well have broken at the cruelty of the world that would tear you away and see me living for…for centuries on.

"Hnnnn…wha?" a cracked, raspy voice jarred Sen from her internal questioning and she looked down, joy overwhelming her spirit as she saw warm, dark eyes flutter open.

"Mira?" she whispered, daring to touch the woman's cheek, finding a patch of unbruised skin to trail a gentle fingertip across. "Mira, darling, are you awake?"

Mira's eyelids fluttered once more and Sen swallowed, hard, reconciling herself to the short burst of consciousness from the human woman, well aware that even that second had been miraculous, given Mira's injuries.

However, instead of falling closed, Mira's eyes remained open and a hint of recognition filtered into them as she looked into Sen's gaze.

"You're…here." Mira slurred and her hand twitched beneath the covers, attempting to rise, attempting to touch.

Sen rested her hand over Mira's and shook her head. "Stay still, sweetheart." the human term of endearment pulsed in Sen's throat with a bittersweet pang. "I'm right here."

"How?" Mira rasped.

"Your doctor, Treya Valen, called me." Sen replied, keeping her tones low, even, and comforting. "She said you were asking for me."

"Yeah." Mira attempted a smile, but stopped with a grimace as her split lips pulled. "…did."

"What do you need, Mira?" Sen asked, feeling her heart grow full of the tender emotions that once, she believed governed her. Until she had sacrificed Mira to her career.

"Dad's…here." Mira murmured. "He's…mad at you."

Sen nodded, having expected that would be the case. "I know he is. He thinks it's my fault you got hurt."

"Not…your fault." Mira actually did smile and Sen's heart kicked in her chest. "But…Sen…you can't…can't be here anymore."

"No, no." Sen attempted to calm the voice she heard rising. "Liara took care of that for us. Nothing bad is going to happen to me for being here."

Sorrow pooled into Mira's eyes and Sen's heart fell as she realized that she had misinterpreted Mira's words and their intent. Sen's vision blurred and her heart pounded in her chest. The fact that her lover was seriously injured and her mind dulled by narcotics meant nothing. Because Sen could hear the truth in her words, feel the tension in the air, the tide of pain readying to wash over her.

"Going back…to Earth." Mira spoke, every word a scalpel incising Sen's heart and psyche. "With dad. He…asked and I…need to go. Family is…important."

Am I not important too? Sen questioned, screaming inside her mind. Were the years we spent together nothing? We were…we were on the path of reconciliation and you…you've already chosen a future that does not include me.

Inside, rage and hurt warred for Sen's heart. She wanted nothing more than to be like Liara, to greet heartbreak with understanding and calm but she hurt. The few words Mira had spoken devastated Sen. She could feel herself crumbling.

All the waiting. All the hoping. All the worrying. If I had truly given her my heart, perhaps we would not be here. Perhaps we would never have moved apart; she would never have been in this accident.

"Yes it is." were the words that left Sen's lips. "Mira, if you need…if you need anything..."

"Doctor T'Aryn." Mira whispered Sen's name and title as only she could, a breathy whisper that bordered on seduction itself. "I'll…miss you."

Sen's fingers brushed through Mira's hair, tears filling her eyes. "I'll miss you too." she breathed.

Mira's eyes fluttered closed. She had said all she needed to say. Sen understood. She hurt, but she understood. She knew the pain beginning to burn in her chest would be harsher later. She had become like the ones that angered her. The one who could not see beyond themselves to help another in pain. And this was why she suffered.

Sen leaned down and pressed her lips gently to Mira's forehead, a final kiss. If Mira wished to recant, or did not remember this moment later, Sen would listen. But, for now, she would respect her once lover's wishes.

I need to call Mira's father. Sen thought, numb. She still has some things at our…at the apartment. I do not want a confrontation with Edward Dorsen.

Liara looked up at the sound of the door opening. Her eyes met Sen's, and the cardiologist knew that her friend could read everything that had just happened. Liara rose from her seat with a murmured encouragement for the nurse and walked to Sen.

"What can…"

"I need to go home." Sen replied. "I need to be alone."

"Of course." Liara nodded, asking no questions for she needed no answer.

Liara is no stranger to heartbreak…and no stranger to the mistakes we can make in love. Sen glanced at Liara as they left the hospital. But her story ended well. Perhaps…perhaps mine will too.