Thessia

Silence reigned for the drive back to Sen's apartment. Liara could feel the young doctor's need for the quiet, even though her heart ached at the sight of tears streaking down Sen's cheeks. Liara had not needed an explanation. She had seen the expression Sen wore more times than she would like to count…more times than it should have existed in the galaxy.

The pain of being asked to step outside of someone else's life…someone held dear, cared for, worried over. It was a hurt, an ache unlike any other in the mortal experience. It could drive the strongest minds to madness, but, by the same turn, could also grant a weaker mind strength and resolve. However, it was still too soon for Sen to understand, to see where this path might lead her. All she knew, in this moment, was the pain.

She will do as Mira asked her, Liara thought, piecing together what she knew of Sen and how the asari would react. She might attempt once more to reach out, but if Mira denies her then, Sen will go no further. She has Zhira's sense of honor. I hope…I hope that Sen is prepared for the pain that will greet her when she finds herself alone. I hope that she realizes I am here for her, whenever she might have need of me…for I have never known this pain, but I have inflicted it.

Liara's lips tightened at the corners as she remembered the bright silver of her Shepard's eyes going dull and listless when Liara demanded that Serena no longer speak of love. Liara had wanted to cause Shepard pain, then…believing that the woman who loved her would accept her demands.

And she did…until she could not any longer. Liara's mind drifted from past to present and back again. Then, she spoke to me of love. What would I not give to be able to return to that time as I am now, knowing what I now do of love and of the heart? I would...I would sacrifice all that I now have in order to do so. I could spare the both of us so much pain, so much time, so much agonized waiting.

Liara landed the skycar on the roof of Sen's apartment complex. She opened her door and walked to the passenger side. She understood the cardiologist's request for solitude, but Liara would not leave her be until she was certain that Sen was safely home. Liara opened Sen's door and offered a hand. Sen took it in a weak grasp; Liara noticed her unfocused eyes and distant energy. The young asari was experiencing heartbreak, perhaps even for the first time…if not that, then for the first time in a great while.

And the first is always the most difficult, Liara remembered as she laced her arm around Sen's waist and walked her towards the elevator. Because your heart has not yet proven itself in the battlefield arena that is accepting, acknowledging, and living in love. You are stronger than you know, Sen, but trust me when I say that it is best to let this break you. So that you know what it is to break…if you attempt to resist, you will damage yourself with bitterness and endless questions. I would know…do not walk the ground that I have walked, Sen.

Let my life stand as a warning.

They entered the elevator and Sen fumbled at the controls, keying in her floor number. She leaned heavily against Liara on the way down, distant, lost, questioning all that her life had comprised, running through the endless lists of "what-if" wonderings that dominated moments such as these. Liara held her friend close, listening to the quiet whispers of all that Sen let be in the silence.

She does not even realize that she wears her heart on her sleeve, Liara thought, smiling at the human idiom that she had learned long ago and adored the meaning of. Open, honest, projecting all that she is to a world that might never understand and accept. How fitting, Sen, that you became a mender of hearts. But this is not a physical injury, not an illness or a disease. This is the malady of love that afflicts you, and it is more insidious than any other enemy.

Liara guided Sen to the door of her apartment and helped her over the threshold. Sen closed her eyes, a pathetic moan of anguish leaving her lips as her eyes lit on the holo-display attached to the wall…an asari physician and a human woman dressed in exquisite colors and fabrics, sitting at an elegant table. In the image, Mira's lips were parted with laughter as Sen whispered something in her ear.

Liara wrapped her arms around Sen in a fierce embrace, reminding the younger asari that she was cared for. That the memories would be painful for a while, but that the pain would dull. It would become bittersweet, then, given time, the sweet would outweigh the bitter.

"It will not always be this way." Liara promised, speaking from experience, from the difficult roads she had walked, from the scars striped across her heart. "Feel all that you are feeling, and let there be no shame and no hiding."

Sen nodded, but said nothing, and Liara felt the warmth of tears soak into her shirt. Her heart ached for her friend, for the woman who had been with her since the accident, worrying over the lover who had now rejected her. Liara led Sen into the bedroom, helped her sit on the edge of the bed, then drew the curtains closed, shutting out the bright lights of the city.

Liara looked around the room, collecting mementos of Sen and Mira's relationship and tucking them out of immediate sight. She glanced at Sen, feeling as though she were at last able to repay a long-standing debt. Zhira had been there for her through the worst moments of her life. She had helped Liara heal, and remained steadfast without being asked. She had turned down the offer of Liara's body and broken affection, knowing that it would only damage them both.

Hopefully, Zhira, I can care for your daughter and begin to repay your many, many kindnesses to me.

After making sure that the room was clean of things that might worsen the immediate, present pain, Liara returned to Sen. She took the cardiologist's skilled, life-saving hand in her own and squeezed it, drawing Sen's eyes to hers.

"You need to rest." Liara advised. "Whatever things you feel need done can wait until you awaken. Your heart is tired, your soul is tired, and you need to allow your subconscious mind to process all that has happened."

Sen nodded. "I'll try." she whispered.

On impulse, Liara leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to Sen's forehead. "Sleep well, Sen, and sweetly dream."

Sen's eyes cleared and met Liara's. "My…my mother always used to say that." she murmured.

Liara nodded. "I remember."

The elder asari watched as Sen fell onto the pillows and drew the covers over her fatigued body and battered heart. Liara prayed for restful sleep to find Sen, that she would dream of better days and sweeter times. Not of the patients she had lost, not of the accident that had not taken Mira's life…but that had taken Mira from Sen nonetheless.

Liara left the apartment and took the elevator back to the roof. She opened the door of the car, slipped into the seat and rested her head against the dashboard.

"T'Soni estate." she ordered the vehicle, listening to the engine flare to life and feeling the anti-grav engage.

The technology would drive the skycar to its destination, leaving Liara's mind free to wander back to the memories of her own heartbreak. To having everything she ever wanted, everything that she desired and despised, laying naked beneath her. Oh, these memories were still…not painful…but bittersweet…and not yet more sweet than bitter.