Thessia

The door buzzer chimed and Sen collected her strength. The sooner she did this, the sooner it was done. Her heart sank as she moved from her bedroom through the living room, and into the entryway. Her eyes fell to the box that was full of the remnants of her and Mira's life together. But it seemed necessary, even best, to let this happen, to let it go. She had learned that by listening to Liara. Her friend had not been able to let go, had not been able to accept what had happened, and it had poisoned her spirit.

Sen did not want that to happen. She wanted her and Mira both to be happy, and so she would let the human woman, her first love, return to her home planet with her father and attempt to find what she needed in her life. If it happened to be Sen, then…she would jump through that relay when she reached it. Until then, the current crisis awaited.

She opened the door to her guest, and scathing black eyes pierced her through as the towering frame of Edward Dorsen, retired Gunnery Sergeant, Alliance Marine Corps, filled her doorway. Sen bit the inside of her cheek as she stepped aside, holding the door open to allow him to enter. Mira's father had never approved of his daughter being in a relationship with an alien…he seemed to harbor an especial disdain for the asari.

Mira had attempted to explain the man's aversion (hatred, Sen considered it) to the asari, but the explanations she had given always fell short. It had something to do with a joint task operation that Sergeant Dorsen had been a part of…a lack of follow-through by the asari commandos that had forever embittered the man against every single asari. Sen did not need to know the entirety of the story to know that the man disliked her, disapproved of her, and that this would not be a pleasant encounter.

"Doctor T'Aryn." he greeted her, his deep baritone voice clipped and professional. "You have Mira's things?"

"Yes, sir." Sen replied, knowing that she was centuries older than the man, older than he would ever live to be, but according him respect nonetheless.

Though he was no longer in the military, Edward carried himself as a soldier did. He had retained the physique, his body a mountain of finely toned muscle even though his close cropped hair was more grey than its original black. He did not keep a beard or moustache, instead remaining clean-shaven, and he walked with a sense of urgency. His demeanor set Sen on edge, which made her chafe, for she knew that was the man's intent.

Edward made to move, but his eyes fell to the picture of Sen and Mira hanging on the wall, and his upper lip curled in a sneer of disgust. The expression was fleeting, but Sen saw it, and her heart began to beat faster. She needed this to be done, soon. Edward moved into the living room and saw the box. His brow furrowed and his lips turned down at the corners.

"You're a doctor." he said, a bland statement that, for some reason, chilled Sen to the bone. "So you know exactly how badly my daughter got hurt."

"I do, yes." Sen winced, remembering reading the paramedics report on Mira's injuries, the chart in the TCU room, and seeing the pictures of the accident that Liara had procured.

Why are you bringing this up, Edward? She wondered. What could you possibly want from me? I am respecting you. I am respecting your daughter's decision to go with you back to Earth. This is painful for me, too.

Edward nodded, his lips pursed into a thin line. "I thought so." his eyes were riveted to the box, full of Sen's memories, full of the remnants of a love once rich and binding. "I was happy when she moved to Thessia." his tone was conversational, and Sen did not want to admit that it worried her. Edward Dorsen barely spoke more than two sentences to her…when he spoke to her at all. "It was good for her career. Good for her personal growth. My daughter never lied to me. Never once. Until the day she moved. I thought it was for her job, and then I found out it was for you."

Sen swallowed a lump in her throat, remembering her past. She recalled meeting Mira on Earth at a conference between doctors of all species and Mira's company, that developed medical equipment, biotic implants, and conducted research into advanced cloning processes. Mira had been one of the lead developers in the company's equipment division and, during a seminar, Sen, a trauma surgeon at the time, had asked a few questions. After the first few responses, Sen began asking more questions, just to hear Mira speak.

When the seminar ended, Mira sought Sen out. They had drinks, which led to dinner, which led into the sunrise. Simply talking. Enjoying each other's company. The next day, when the conference ended, Sen returned to Thessia, but she and Mira remained in contact. Two months later, Mira's company contracted with Thessia Medical, and offered Mira a position as department chief in the Thessia office. She had accepted, and Sen had been overjoyed. It had not taken long before the surgeon and the engineer had fallen into bed, then into a relationship, then into love.

That's all over now. Sen thought, watching Mira's father, wondering where his words would lead. And that is okay. Love is not always permanent. Love is not always eternal. Sometimes, it fades. It hurts, then is bittersweet…then more sweet than bitter. I will believe this.

"I don't think…" Sen began, but a glare from Edward silenced her.

"You broke my baby girl's heart, asari." Edward spat the last word as though it were a slur. "She called me in tears. Said she was leaving you. I asked her to come home and she wouldn't. Said she was going to try to fix it. I told her it wasn't worth it to fix."

But it was! Sen screamed inside herself. I love her…but she wants to go.

Edward sneered once again at Sen's silence. "Got nothing to say about that?" he said, his tone dark.

I want to speak in anger. I want to lash out, but I cannot. This man is hurting. He nearly lost his daughter, and they are the only family that each other has. Mira's mother is dead and Edward has not remarried. Human lives are short…and at times, I know they can endure only one love and one loss within that lifetime.

"Will what I say change your mind, Edward?" Sen asked, her tone without anger, without malice, without any of the emotion Edward sought to provoke in her.

It did provoke emotion in him, however. Edward's nostrils flared and the muscle in his jaw jumped as he looked down at his daughter's once-lover.

"Probably not. She was happy." Edward spoke, his words sliced off at the edges. "The night of the accident, she was happy. She was walking home, talking to me, telling me that she'd had a wonderful night." Edward's eyes filled with horror. "Then I heard the explosion. The link went dark. I didn't know what had happened. All I knew was that my daughter might be dead."

Sen remembered the horror that spiraled through her when the asari peacekeepers arrived at her door. The sickness of waiting at the hospital and being denied information. But Sen had Liara…Liara to care of her, Liara to find out information, Liara to tell her that all would be well. Edward Dorsen had been given nothing…he had not known about Mira, whether she lived or died…for well over a day.

Sen's heart ached for the man, because she could see where he had stood. She would endure his misplaced anger, because he was also grieving. Grieving that he had not been there for his child. Grieving that she had gone to a new place, another planet, and left him behind. Grieving that Mira had chosen to love someone who would seem not to age while the Mira herself grew old and died. Grieving that he had almost had to bury his last remaining family, the child of his body and heart.

"I am sorry that you had to endure that." Sen spoke, attempting to offer commiseration, attempting to help shoulder his sorrow.

"Is that all you're sorry for?" Edward asked, the tone of his voice making Sen back up a step.

"I don't…"

"You left her." Edward growled, his deep baritone vibrating through Sen's chest. "If you'd had the damn courtesy to walk her home you could have protected her from that blast. I've seen asari biotics in action. You could have saved my girl, but you let her leave by herself. You left her alone. That's why she left you, you know."

"I'm well aware." Sen's heart felt bruised as she remembered entering her apartment, feeling the emptiness, seeing the note left on the pillow in Mira's elegant handwriting.

"No, you're not." Edward's upper lip curled again and it seemed that, somehow, his mighty shoulders broadened. "You asari make it seem like you're so damn far above us, like you've got the whole goddamn galaxy figured out. But you don't get it. I would die for my daughter, doctor. Because I love her. But you…all you do is talk pretty, condescend, and when push comes to shove, you let the people who do real work, who have less time to get all they can out of a life, to die."

Sen's anger kindled, but she did not give into it. She slowed her breathing, unclenched her fists, and spoke in a cool, calm tone. "Edward, I know that you are hurting. That is all I know. I do not know the breadth and scope of your pain. But you cannot blame an entire race for the misdeeds committed against you. That is a thing that I will not stand for. I can endure your anger, Edward. I can forgive you for it, because I did wrong your daughter, and did not care for her heart as I should have. She has chosen you, and Earth, and I have made my peace with that."

"There you go again." Edward spat, and his eyes flashed, lighting with a terrifying gleam. He no longer looked like he stood in this room, looking at Sen. He looked like a man apart, and an old anger shimmered in his gaze. "Making the same excuses as they did. Talking pretty. You're disregarding the fact that every life matters! It's your fucking fault they died!"

His last words came out in a rush and Sen did not have the time to put up a shield before the steel fist rocketed into her jaw. Pain bloomed across her face and she staggered backwards. She attempted to reach her biotics, but her thoughts were chaotic, her vision blurred. The fist struck again and pain speared into her skull as a hot wash of blood rushed from her nose and fountained over her lips.

Sen crashed to her knees, struggling to breathe through the flow of blood. "Ed…ward…" she gasped, but he was no longer Edward Dorsen, her lover's father.

He was Gunnery Sergeant Dorsen, a man who had lost good men and women on his squad while waiting for their asari backup to arrive. He was a man who had borne a grudge against the asari for twenty-seven years, and now, after almost losing his daughter, his daughter who had chosen to love an asari, his reality had snapped. He did not see Sen T'Aryn…he saw the asari commando who had brushed off his anger and disregarded his pain.

A steel-toed boot slammed into Sen's chest and she would have screamed, but she could not gather the breath. She struggled to stay upright on her knees, tried to cover her chest with her arms, but they would not obey her commands. The boot struck again, fueled by rage and grief. A ragged gasp tore out of Sen's throat. She collapsed to the ground, trying to curl into herself as the vicious kicking continued for what seemed an eternity.

Sen felt it a mercy when Edward reached down and grabbed her by the shirt, hoisting her into the air. Patches of Sen's vision cleared and she saw the rage and distance in his eyes. She saw the soldier and his passion, his dedication, and his love. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she realized that he was beating the shit out of her and yet…she understood.

"Lance Corporal Adrienne Winters!" Edward shouted, shaking Sen's body as though she were a rag doll. "Private Yunyi Chen! Second Lieutenant Damian Bell!"

Pain dominated Sen's world, but inside of that pain was a physician's complete clarity in time of crisis. The man brutalizing her was reciting the names of people he had lost, people he had cared for. All that happened had been too much for him and snapped his fragile psyche.

"Se…Sergeant…" Sen spluttered, flecks of blood flying from her lips. "…Sergeant Dorsen…come…come back…soldier."

A scream of unsettled rage and unremedied grievance screamed through the air and Sen felt weightless for a moment until glass shattered and more pain pierced her consciousness. Her right thigh felt as though it had caught fire, something in her left arm tore and a hot wash of blood flooded down her side. Tiny pinpricks of glass pierced her shirt and slipped into her skin as she shuddered beneath her broken coffee table.

White spots danced before her eyes and black encroached on her vision. Edward Dorsen stood over her, his chest heaving, his eyes on fire, sweat beading on his forehead and running down his cheeks like tears. Sen rolled onto her right side, pushing against the ground in an attempt to rise, slicing the palm of her hand open on the broken glass.

Searing, white hot pain exploded across Sen's back and she fell back to the ground, unable to move, unable to think…struggling to breathe. She attempted to speak, but all that emerged was a whimper. The box of her memories, of her life with Mira, disappeared from view and Sen heard the slam of a door. He was gone, and the doctor knew that she was in trouble.

Need…help…Sen struggled to lift her arm and active her omni-tool. The screen popped up and Sen reached out to Liara's frequency, but the movement or her arm made her back shift. The pain struck, instant, blinding, nauseating...carrying unconsciousness in its wake.