Shepard lie strapped to a steel table in the middle of the room, a harsh white light glaring down onto his chest. Equipment surrounded the head of the table, bearing different physiological readings from the various leads attached to his body. An IV in his arm delivered some kind of sedative. He breathed evenly; Liara watched his chest rise and fall carefully.

"We have to get him out of there!" She reached for the door, but it was locked. "Stand back!"

Miranda and Feron backpedaled quickly as Liara's blue-white corona surged, and a massive wave of biotic energy shattered the glass window. She climbed through into the room quickly, glass crunching under heel. Miranda and Feron turned to cover each end of the corridor.

"Liara, we need to move. Get him unhooked and let's get out of here," Feron cautioned.

Wordlessly, she nodded, and began removing leads. Her fingers traced over the bruises on his ribs, and the ragged cuts running across his chest. She held up his hand for inspection, noting the burn marks on the fingertips.

"Goddess. He's been tortured. Beaten, cut, electrocuted…" Liara let out a single sob. "Shepard, I'm so sorry."

"Now, Liara! We need to go!"

Again, she nodded, pulling off the rest of the wires. Quickly she wiped away her tears as she pulled out the IV line.

"Shepard," She whispered, her voice trembling. "Shepard, we need to go, please." Liara moved around the table, bringing her lips to his ear. "Please, Shepard. Get up." A shuddering breath escaped her lips as she watched him stir. "He's coming around!"

Miranda spared a quick look back from her place at the broken window. "We need to move him out, before we get pinned down-"

Shepard sat bolt upright on the table, snatching Liara's arm and taking a deep, gasping breath. He turned to her, the whites of his eyes much too large. "…Liara?"

She nodded, sobbing. "Yes, Shepard."

"I… was starting to remember. What you were doing…" He released her, gripping his head in both hands, writhing in pain. "Argh! Damnit!"

Liara grabbed his legs and swung him around, sitting him up on the edge of the table.

"We have to finish!"

"We can't possibly stay here that long!" Miranda shouted from the window.

Liara shook her head. "He can't travel like this- he's clearly in pain."

Shepard raised his head slowly. "Liara, help me."

She gasped. It was Shepard. Not the man she'd been talking to, not the confusion-riddled cargo worker, but Shepard the N7 soldier, Alliance Commander, and the man she loved.

Blinking through the tears, she nodded quickly. Liara reached forward, placing her palms on his. She closed her eyes, and worked furiously to slow her breathing. She reached deep inside herself, searching for that quiet amongst the chaos. Shepard's pulse against her skin felt wild, thudding from the tips of his fingers down to his feet. She exhaled, and he did the same. They began to breathe as one, and his pulse slowed to match hers.

Liara opened her eyes, unveiling never-ending darkness.

"Embrace eternity."

Liara opened her eyes slowly, surveying the room. Behind her were six tables, the body of an Alliance soldier lying on each. The light was poor, flickering in and out, making the cracked tiles beneath her feet a treacherous walkway. A noise on her right drew her attention.

Shepard stood in the doorway, wearing his N7 armor. Her breath caught in her throat as he walked into the room slowly, looking around. "You gave me a gift here, as I recall."

Liara nodded quickly, suppressing a sob. "You remember?"

The corner of his mouth flicked upward briefly. "How could I forget? It was beautiful."

She shuddered. "It's really you."

Shepard nodded. "It's me."

Liara looked around in confusion. "Where's the… other you?" Liara glanced at the doorway from where Shepard had entered, but it was dark.

"He probably got lost around here somewhere," Shepard mused, looking around. He took her hand, pulling her close. "I missed you." He caressed her face slowly with his free hand, and she leaned into his touch, a tear streaming down her face.

"I thought I'd lost you- really lost you this time, Shepard."

He closed the last distance between them, wrapping his arms around her waist. "It'll take more than a few Reapers and a doomsday device to keep me from fulfilling the promise of our little blue children."

Liara let out a laugh, all the tension going out of her body in a shudder.

Finally.

She sighed deeply. "We need to find a way to make sure that when I leave here, you are the… version of Shepard that follows me out."

He nodded. "To lose thee were to lose myself." When Liara simply regarded him strangely, Shepard smiled, slightly embarrassed. "It's from Paradise Lost. 'Our state cannot be severed, we are one, One flesh; to lose thee were to lose myself'."

Liara felt her cheeks warm. "Flatterer." And then it hit her.

To lose thee were to lose myself… Goddess…

"I think I know how to bring you back."

Liara grabbed Shepard's hand and pulled him out to the street, explaining as they ran. "I think we have to find a way to… reconcile the two versions of you. They're both you now; we can't just eliminate one, or suppress the other. You have to be whole."

Shepard grunted. "I don't even know this other part of me. All I know is I've been trapped in my own mind for ages."

Liara turned a corner, running down a familiar street. As the roadway began to pitch up, she knew exactly what she would find on the other side. Together, hand in hand, they crested the hill. The Reaper screamed in the distance, its eye bathing the broken road in harsh red light. Liara went to step forward, but Shepard pulled her back.

"I'll go first."

Liara nodded, and dropped into step behind him. She watched as he approached the overturned APC. And then, the other Shepard was there, coming around the far side of the vehicle. He wore the same clothing Liara remembered: his stained trousers and greasy shirt. His expression, she noted, was one that was familiar only to that particular incarnation of Shepard. Fear.

"What's happening? Are you the one she's been searching for?" He asked.

Shepard nodded. "Yeah."

The other Shepard looked around. "So much destruction and death here. How do you live like this?"

Shepard stepped forward, stopping only a few paces from his alter ego. "I do what I have to in order to protect as many lives as I can."

"Even…" The other Shepard looked around again. "Even if it means giving your own life?"

Shepard nodded. "Even if it costs my life."

The other Shepard trembled in fear as the Reaper called across the battlefield again. When it was over, he turned back to Shepard. "I don't know what it is to live like that."

Liara watched in awe as Shepard held out his hand. "Come with me, and I'll show you."

A blinding flash.

Liara found herself running, running down the hill. Shepard was just ahead of her on her right side. The Reaper blared its death knell again, and fire lanced across the sky, cutting the ground. An APC roared past her on the left. All around her, Alliance personnel were running at full tilt down the hill toward the Conduit.

What's going on…? It's like I'm… re-living this with Shepard… Oh Goddess…!

The Reaper horn sounded again, and this time, the laser hit home. Liara watched in horror as an APC caught in the blast was launched into the sky, flipping end over end. The APC was coming down- on Shepard. To her surprise, he ran forward, and slid under the APC as it crashed to the ground.

Liara moved toward Shepard, catching his eye as he looked back to check on her. The Reaper fired again, sending another APC over top of the first- and it was coming down on top of her.

Liara dove to the side as the APC exploded, peppering her with shrapnel, the flames licking at her heels. She felt the hot wash of blood everywhere on her skin; her armor was slick with it. Every move she tried to make was a battle her body fought with everything it had left. She grunted, trying to rise up on her elbow. Shepard was over the wreck in an instant, dropping down beside her. He pulled her arm over his shoulder and lifted Liara to her feet, limping over to cover behind yet another Alliance vehicle on its side.

Why are we reliving this in particular?

And then her own words came back to her.

Do you remember what you said to me?

The Normandy swooped down from the sky, and Liara was hauled to her feet again. She limped forward onto the cargo bay ramp, and Shepard unloaded her weight to another member of the crew.

"Shepard!" She heard herself say.

"You've gotta get outta here."

Liara shook her head. "I'm all right, Shepard…"

His face was a mask of determination. "Don't argue with me, Liara."

Liara limped back up the ramp, leaning heavily on the shoulder that was supporting her. "You're not… ugh… leaving me behind," she replied.

"No matter what happens," Shepard said, taking slow, deliberate steps up the ramp toward her, "you mean everything to me, Liara. You always will." He caressed his hand down her cheek softly, before backing down the ramp quickly.

"I am yours," she heard herself whisper. Liara looked up, and found herself back in the Nova Hammer lab, staring into Shepard's blue eyes for only a moment before he leaned into her lips, kissing her passionately.

When he finally broke from her lips, he rested his forehead against hers, and whispered, "To lose thee were to lose myself."