Author's Note: So, basically, I suck for not updating for so long. No excuses. I'm really sorry to anyone who was waiting! I'm going to try doing longer updates a little less frequently (More weekly, less daily) and hopefully I'll be able to stick to that. I hope that you all enjoy, and I thank everyone who's reviewed!
Three days went by. Each day, one or more members of Shepard's team would come by the Andrelia, and Thane would join them as though there was nothing strange about his presence, despite never being on the shuttle over from the Normandy. Of course, they knew exactly what was going on, and he often found himself being handed a package of food from Tali, or a book from Liara, or just a knowing smile and unspoken thanks from Garrus. He was fortunate that being Drell meant he didn't sweat like a human, or the lack of showering or bathing facilities available to him would have been a problem. As it was, the only real problem that he faced was lack of sleep. This problem had been solved by an unlikely person on the fourth day.
Thane hadn't had much interaction with James Vega, as the young man had joined the Normandy's crew only after Thane had left. From what he could tell, however, the big man had a proportionally large heart, and his propensity for nicknames amused Thane to no end. It had been confusing, hearing Shepard called "Lola" by the human, but he understood that there was warmth behind the silly moniker, and had taken a near-instant liking to the human man. This liking had been affirmed when Vega came by to visit on the fourth day of Thane's vigil.
"Thane, hey," Vega said, by way of greeting. His voice then dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, "I brought you some food. I cooked for the crew last night, saved you some leftovers." He passed over a large reusable container. Thane smiled in appreciation,
"Thank you, lieutenant," he said, and the larger man grinned.
"Hey, no problemo. Can't have you dyin' of hunger while you're… ah… on mission." Thane smiled at the inept attempt at deception.
"Don't worry. There are no listening devices in this room." Vega looked relieved.
"Good, good. Don't want to let your secret out! How're you holding up here? Been getting any sleep?" Thane must have looked guilty for a moment, because the lieutenant shook his head. "That's not good. Why aren't you sleeping when the rest of the crew is here? Use the vents or something!" Thane mentally kicked himself for his stupidity. The vents, of course! There was one in Shepard's room, and he could easily fit into the hole behind the grating.
"Thank you again, lieutenant," he said, smiling, and the man clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Happy to help, Thane." Thane nodded, and then turned to leave and give the larger man privacy. He paused at the threshold, and turned back for a moment.
"I don't get a nickname?" he asked, amusement evident in his voice.
"Course ya do, Shadow," the human quipped, mischievous light in his eyes, and Thane left him alone, shaking his head. Shadow, how apropos, considering what he did, and how he felt these days. He was indeed a shadow, of himself, in the dark, belonging to Shepard. He slipped into an unused room, and climbed up onto a chair next to the vent grating. Now, at least, he could get some sleep.
Several more days passed, and Thane watched silently as Shepard was wheeled out of the room for surgery after surgery. Each time she was gone, his heart clenched. The crew didn't come on the days she went in for procedures, they weren't permitted, so he was alone with the anxiety, waiting to see if she'd come back out of the operating room on a bed or in a bag. Each time, she came back, wheeled in by orderlies, blood dripping down from her IV bag, and she was re-hooked up to the machines, which maintained their steady pinging. On the fifth day, the breathing tube was removed, and Thane spent three hours just listening to Shepard breath, thanking every god he knew of. On the sixth day since he had come, Thane managed to sneak into a decontamination room for a quick cleaning while an amused and conspiratorial James Vega stood watch, promising to run interference if anyone tried to find out what he was doing. Thane found himself smiling at the human man. He was so honest, and his affection for the commander was endearing. He was like a large Varren pup, paws too big for the rest of him, deadly if he wanted to be, but all heart. Shepard had been lucky to find him.
Following the brief decontamination, Thane returned to Shepard's room, where EDI and Liara were seated, talking in hushed tones,
"What'd we miss?" James asked. Liara looked worried, and while Thane found EDI's synthetic face more difficult to read, she was obviously concerned as well.
"I was reading some of the doctor's reports," Liara said. No one even batted an eyelash at the idea, of course the Shadow Broker had access to Shepard's medical reports.
"Is there something wrong?" Thane asked, and Liara and EDI exchanged a look that did nothing to make him feel better.
"It's just…" Liara began, "Physically, Shepard is doing remarkably. She's healing well, and every surgery has been a success, but…" Once again, she trailed off, leaving Thane and Vega hanging on the edge of what was starting to look like a very painful cliff.
"Shepard's brain activity is… minimal," EDI finished, looking uncomfortable. "She's breathing on her own now, all of her autonomic systems are functioning, but it's as though she's just… gone."
"What do you mean, gone?" Vega asked, an edge of horror creeping into his tone.
"Her doctors are worried about the lack of brain activity. It's like… she's like a ship with all systems running, but no crew." Even though she wasn't saying anything that Thane hadn't already been dreading himself, hearing the words was painful.
"Is she brain dead?" he asked. He was beyond tiptoeing around by this point. If his heart was being ripped out of his chest, he might as well just get it over with.
"No," EDI said emphatically, "The fact that she is breathing means she is not brain dead. If it weren't for the lack of brain activity on her monitors this would be a deep coma, a three on the Glasgow Scale, but she isn't dreaming. The doctors are puzzled."
"As are we," Liara added.
"Maybe she's just… really, really tired?" James asked, earning a sigh from the Asari.
"No, this isn't normal. It's… not natural. We don't have any idea what happened in the Crucible, what Shepard had to do…" All eyes turned back to the still figure tucked into the bed. Her bruises had subsided somewhat, and the new skin was less angry and swollen, but she was still a long way from being his Siha again. If only he could see, could know what was going on inside her mind. Inspiration struck, and he turned back to EDI.
"Perhaps someone should investigate," he said. Liara opened her mouth to question what he meant, but EDI held up a hand, and Thane could see the puzzlement in her eyes shifting swiftly to understanding.
"Of course, that might work! I should have thought of it sooner!" James and Liara still looked confused, and Vega spoke,
"Someone mind filling me in?"
"With a human, or any organic being, it's not as though someone can enter their mind and see what's going on," Thane began, and then EDI picked up where he left off,
"With a synthetic, however, if there is a problem, if something isn't working properly, diagnostics can be run, to see what is causing the error, and repair it." Liara had a look on her face that Thane had seen mostly when the young woman had discovered something remarkable about Protheans.
"Of course!" she exclaimed, "We may not be able to run a diagnostic on Shepard, but she's part synthetic now, we all are, and we already know that person-to-person interfacing is possible! Theoretically, at least, someone should be able to interface with Shepard, to see what's happening in her brain." By this point even James was caught up in the excitement.
"So, that's it? We just plug someone into the Commander's brain, and they go in and… fix whatever's wrong?" EDI nodded hesitantly,
"In essence, yes, though it will likely be considerably more complicated than that." Vega shrugged,
"Whatever, complicated's nothing. If it helps Shepard, I'm game. So, who's going to go all Vulcan mind meld on Lola?" There was a brief moment of silence before Thane spoke.
"I will."