Without controlling herself, she collapsed into his arms. "It's okay," He whispered fiercely into her ear, kissing her hair and holding her tightly against his chest. "I'm here."
There was no trace of doubt that this man was her Thane. It was crazy, lunacy, sure. But definitely right, and she didn't care why or how it happened. Only that she never felt safer than here in his arms, right at this very second.
"Let us talk somewhere more private," he added after a few moments of the embrace. She couldn't have agreed more.
Her heart fluttered and her heart soared as he held her hand through the Normandy airlock. Human flesh against human flesh; it felt right.
The crew of the Normandy watched with suspicion and curiosity as she led the new Thane past security and up the elevator. For a moment, she wondered what Garrus would think of this, but the thought had passed as quick as it came. All that mattered was the man standing next to her, smiling down at her with a mixture of adoration and joy.
All of her worries, all of her fears, melted away when she gazed into that face. It felt like she had known him for years, like this was the true Thane.
Within the privacy of her cabin, he reached his free hand and gently caressed her face, lingering there to enjoy the sweetness of the instance.
"You came back to me," she whispered, her throat tight, the tears streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes fell to the floor, ashamed. "I - I was starting to put this all behind me."
His finger found his way under her chin to lift her eyes back up to his, where she became lost in their magnificent blue depths. I will meet you in the place beyond the sea. "As you should have, Siha. You had other, more pressing concerns."
"Explain to me everything." She pleaded, desperate for answers.
And he did not disappoint her. Thane told her exactly what happened from when he drew in his last breath, to this very moment. He had been dead, but he believed that his gods had given him a second life, and let him return to the living. Then, he had awoken on Omega as an Alliance operative, and in the process of escaping took down the Cerberus force there. He had saved countless of lives, and no doubt Aria would be pleased to have her station back. When he got to the Citadel, he immediately sent out a message, and now here he was.
"Do you still have a perfect memory?" Shepard asked curiously. "Do you remember everything from before?"
He hesitated. "Yes, to some extent. When I was in this . . . 'purgatory' I believe is the correct human term, they - the gods, I believe - had renewed me of my sins, my assassinations, all the wrongs I did in my life. I no longer can remember them clearly. Which is, in my opinion, a blessing." He closed his eyes. "I can remember everything with perfect clarity from the time I awoke on Omega. . .
"Her large brown eyes looked up into mine, telling me thank you even without speaking. She rubbed her stomach affectionately, determined to name her child after me. Her husband then takes her hand, and they hold each other, grateful and humble for their safety."
She remained quiet until she knew he had come back into reality from his memory. Then, shyly, she leaned up and kissed him softly at first, then more forcefully as his arms tightened around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Her fingers wove through his short hair on the nape of his neck, causing him to break away from the kiss and moan aloud.
Giggling, she teased him. "This can be one of your more. . . pleasurable memories."
Thane chuckled darkly. "I look forward to remembering this over and over again." He then delved into her neck, touching his lips to her skin in the softest of manners.
A haze colored her vision, putting her into an almost drunken love stupor. She wondered if it was another mind power he possessed. "How's it like being human?" Shepard murmured.
"Interesting." He said, softly stroking his fingertips across her collarbone. "Such sensitivity to the slightest of touches. Unfortunately, drell could not experience this indulgence so intimately."
"I guess it's good that you were given this opportunity."
His eyes darted away from hers. "Until I make it uncomfortable with my lack of experience being human. I have no idea how to please you. . . in that sort of way."
She placed her hand on his cheek, making it hard for him to not look at her. "You could never make me uncomfortable, Thane. And besides, you were doing just fine so far."
"Is that so?" he said, almost like a purr. It made her stomach fill with a fluttering sensation.
Never had she wished for something more than for that night to never end.
She awoke in her bed alone; still could feel the gentle touch of Thane on her skin. Was it all just some incredible dream, or was this just a crazy reality that hasn't sunken in yet?
From the far end of her cabin, she heard the shower running. Instinctively, she investigated to find Thane under the showerhead, examining a bottle of shampoo, and muttering to himself. "This sticky goo goes in your hair? How odd."
Shepard laughed hysterically. "Oh, my Thane, what am I to do with you?"
He jumped slightly at her voice, then smiled sheepishly at her. "I believe I require your assistance, siha."
She was already in the shower before he finished his sentence, taking the bottle from his hand and pouring a small amount into the palm of her own. "When you mix it with your wet hair, it becomes soapy," she said, demonstrating by lathering the suds into her own soaked hair. It was her favorite scent of strawberry. "Then you rinse it out like so."
As she finished, she stopped him from taking a handful of the strawberry shampoo. "Um, Thane? I don't think you want to be smelling like a strawberry. . . It's not very, um, manly."
They both laughed loudly.
"I think I might have some Axe from when I let Lieutenant Cortez use my shower." She said, grabbing the other bottle from the lower shelf.
A mixture of jealousy and shock flared up in Thane. "You let him shower up here?"
"Oh, no, no, no." Shepard back petaled. "You don't understand, Lieutenant Cortez is. . . not interested in women."
His eyebrows mashed together in confusion. "What do you mean 'not interested'?"
"He used to have a husband."
Thane's cheeks and neck reddened like the color of the strawberry shampoo bottle. "Is that why he asked me to the lounge for drinks tonight? Siha, I only agreed because I thought he was just being friendly!"
Shepard was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. She dropped the shampoo bottle and keeled over against the tile of the shower. All the while Thane at first glowered at her, but then lightened up and then joined in the laughter.
"Oh Thane, I think he was being really friendly."
"But this," He said between laughs, "is not funny! What am I supposed to do?"
She bent to grab the Axe shampoo bottle and proceeded to wash his hair for him. She had to stand on her tippy-toes to just reach. "If you feel uncomfortable, I'll just come with you."
"Thank you-" but he stopped mid sentence when she started to massage his scalp. "Oh, siha, that feels. . . wonderful."
She kissed him lightly on the lips. "Anything for you."
Thane observed the way Shepard analyzed information at the war terminal. The crease between her eyebrows would become more prominent as she concentrated. Occasionally, she would jut out her full lips, in ponderment, then nod to herself. He would give anything to peer into her mind at this very second.
There was a lot of weight on her shoulders right now. And from what he heard, she had already done what was said to be the impossible. He couldn't believe it when the crew were talking about Turian and Krogan alliances. And the genophage? Thane would have to ask her about that personally on their next shore leave.
"Siha, you look troubled." He said to her as he approached. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
Her eyes looked upon his heavily, as if they carried the weight of a thousand galaxies. "I -no matter what I do Thane, there will always be lives lost. Maybe I need to try harder, maybe I -"
He shook his head and interrupted her. "Where there is life, there also comes sacrifices. It's what pushes us forward to the greater whole. It shapes us, changes us, sometimes for the good and the bad." Thane resisted the urge to touch her with the little privacy they had in the war room. "You are doing the impossible. What you have done no one else would have ever dreamed to accomplish. Don't doubt yourself for one moment, Jane."
Either it was the fierceness his voice, or the fact that he had called her by her first name, he did not know, but her eyes were wide with shock. "No one has called me by my first name in a long time."
"Maybe they should more often," he said, smiling at her. "It's beautiful, suits you well."
She shied away from him, and back to the terminal. "Get your gear on, Lieutenant," she whispered softly. "I need you by me on this next mission.