AN: Another chapter! Yay! One more to come later. ^^

Thanks to everyone who has favourited, followed and double thanks to everyone who has reviewed.

Special thanks goes to my beta Spyke1985! You're the best!

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Fifteen – From Another Point of View

"So, what about you? What have you been up to these past three years?" She asked and he sighed.

"Are you sure you want to hear this from me?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yeah. I'm sure." She said softly and he nodded.

"I must warn you, it's not been all sunshine and rainbows." He told her and she gave him a weak

smile.

"I know."

"Okay then…"

Three Years Ago – The Citadel

"How many more of these are there?" Tia asked in the brief break in the movie marathon.

"A lot." Philip admitted and she shook her head. "What? You said that you wanted to see a film."

"Yes, Philip, a film. Not… I don't even know how many this is. But it's a lot." She said but she was smiling.

"You have to admit that they're good, though." He pointed out and her smile widened.

"Yeah. And thanks." She said. He knew all too well what she was thanking him for. She was worried about Sarah and he had been trying to take her mind off of it.

"No problem." He told her, holding her hand over the armrest of the chair.

Of course, right at that moment her omni-tool flashed at her and they both simultaneously rolled their eyes.

"Who is it?" He asked and she sighed.

"Who else?" She replied, causing him to groan.

"Another bar?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yep. I can handle this myself if you want to stay." She told him but he shook his head.

"Nah, I've seen them all a thousand times anyway. I just hope that he realizes that he tore you away just before the really good ones." He said and Tia rolled her eyes.

"Philip, once I've seen one film about one cool, British spy, haven't I seen them all?" She asked and he laughed a little as they headed out of the cinema and towards the shadier parts of the ward.

"Not at all. So, where is he?" He asked and she sighed again.

"Around the corner." She said and, sure enough, when they rounded the corner they found a very drunk turian lying on the floor. "Great. Just great."

"Do you think we should lock him in his apartment until he sobers up? This is getting ridiculous." Philip asked and Tia shook her head.

"Don't tempt me. What's ridiculous is that he hasn't realized that alcohol doesn't work yet. If it did, you'd see a lot more drunk turians." She pointed out and Philip frowned.

"But alcohol cures everything." He countered and she rolled her eyes again as they moved to pick him up.

"Come on, Smiley." She said and he groaned, getting up with a little help from the other two.

"Blue?" He asked groggily and Tia sighed.

"No, Smiley. Sarah's gone, remember? It's me. Tia." She told him as they moved him to a transport and keyed in his apartment.

"Yeah, and her annoying boyfriend. Philip. Who you can't stand." Philip added jokingly and Tia grinned sheepishly at him. "What?" He asked.

"Boyfriend?" She asked and he blushed a little.

"Yeah, I mean, we have been going out for a few weeks so…" He started and she silenced him with a kiss.

"I like the sound of that." She said as she pulled away and he frowned.

"Me being your boyfriend or me shutting up?" He asked and she grinned at him.

"Both." She clarified and Tiberius gave a groan.

"Now I remember why I got drunk in the first place…" He muttered and Tia sighed before glaring at him.

"Yes, we get it. Your bondmate left. But it was either that or die for real. And when she comes back, I refuse to be blamed for the man she loves becoming a drunk in her absence." Tia told him and Philip tried his hardest not to smile at her.

"Yeah, thanks mom." Tiberius answered sarcastically and Tia just gave him a disappointed look.

"If I recall, this kind of destructive behaviour is exactly what killed your mother." She said harshly. Her words had obviously shocked Tiberius and Philip had to wonder what had prompted such a harsh attitude.

"That was uncalled for…" Tiberius muttered and Tia sighed.

"No, it wasn't. You're giving up. Don't. Keep fighting. She's coming back and you need to believe that." Tia told him and he shook his head.

"Tia, what if she doesn't?" He asked and Philip flinched. His voice sounded small and broken and so unlike the Tiberius he knew.

"Please, she's way too stubborn not to." She said confidently, almost dismissively. "Smiles, when you left she got through all of Mordin's ryncol. If she hadn't had her impressive metabolism, she would most likely be dead. But the next day she told me that it hadn't helped so she didn't touch it again. Trust me when I say that she loves you as much as you love her." She said and he sighed, shaking his head.

"I just… It doesn't seem real. One minute we're best friends and dancing around our feelings and the next, I realize that, not only have I fallen for her hard, but that she feels the same way. And then she's ripped away from me in what is perhaps the cruelest way. If she was dead then it'd be easy…" He said and Tia pretended not to know what he meant.

"But she's not. She's still alive and probably as messed up as you are, right now. And she is going to come back to you." She told him and he gave a hollow laugh as they reached his apartment. Tia walked him to bed before she and Philip moved around his apartment and, thankfully, found it empty of booze.

"I'm locking him in." Tia said and Philip frowned a little.

"I was joking, you know." He said and she sighed, nodding.

"I know. But he needs to sober up and realize that the booze isn't helping. Maybe then he'll come back to work and help us to get Cerberus. He hasn't seemed to have twigged that getting them is the quickest way to get her back." She said and Philip folded his arms.

"You'd think he'd be after vengeance." He commented and Tia gently put her hand on his arm.

"I don't think he knows how to make the fight personal." She told him and he nodded.

"I'd be more than happy to give him some pointers…"

Two and a Half Years Ago – C-Sec Training Rooms

"Damn it!" Philip yelled as he ran into cover. "Remind me again why we're using live ammo?" He asked as Tiberius sniped down the three mechs chasing him.

"Because that's the kind of hardcore shit you have to deal with if you want specialist training." Tia told him over the radio as she hacked into the door.

"But why am I always the distraction?" He asked as he ran from cover to cover, keeping the attention away from his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry, when you can hack a door as well as I can, we'll switch places." Tia told him.

"Same goes for sniping." Tiberius offered and Philip groaned, ignoring the fact that his arm was bleeding. The wound wasn't bad and the medigel would take care of it. He knew that six months ago he would have been whining about it but now he couldn't afford to. For once, he felt a sense of responsibility. As much as Tia told him that the actions of his father weren't his fault, Philip couldn't help but feel that it was up to him to stop the man. He felt nothing but hatred for him after the way he had acted.

"Got it!" Tia cried and the mechs deactivated as the door opened and the test was over. Philip sighed with relief as he moved towards Tia and pulled her close.

"Philip, we're still at work." She told him, slightly warningly, but he ignored her, giving her a quick kiss before pulling away. She would have probably been mad if she hadn't been blushing a deep shade of blue.

"You two are sickening. You know that, right?" Tiberius told them and Tia rolled her eyes at him.

"Sorry, Smiley. We'll try to keep PDA to a minimum." She told him and Philip snorted.

"Says you." He countered and she sighed.

"Yeah, says me. And I have the final say." She told him and he frowned.

"Wait, why?" He asked and she smirked.

"You know why." She said and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"You wouldn't."

"Oh, I so would."

"And I'm going to pretend that I don't know what you two are talking about…" Tiberius groaned and Tia rolled her eyes.

"Uh-huh. Just like I pretend those aren't talon marks on the wall in the spare room of my apartment." She said and Philip frowned.

"How can you still afford that place without a roommate?" He asked and Tia shrugged.

"When I got sent the last rent money from Sarah, it was more than enough for several months. It was sent just before she left." She told him.

"But you'll run out soon?" Philip asked and she nodded.

"Well, yeah. Which is why the talon marks are a problem." She said and Philip tried to look nonchalant as he said the next thing.

"If your roommate didn't sleep in the spare room, you wouldn't have that problem." He told her and she folded her arms, grinning at him.

"Look at you trying to be subtle. If you want to move in, just ask." She said and he shook his head, grinning.

"Fine. I'm asking. I practically live there anyway." He said and she grinned.

"That you do. I propose we go out to celebrate." She said and Philip grinned.

"This is why I love you." He told her and she blushed once more before turning to Tiberius.

"You in, Smiles?" She asked and he shook his head.

"No. I've got another shift." He said and Philip frowned at him.

"Back to back shifts, again? Smiley, when do you sleep?" He asked and Tiberius shrugged.

"I… I'm having trouble sleeping." He admitted and Tia nodded understandingly.

"Bad dreams?" She asked and he frowned at her. "Sarah used to get them when you left. It didn't help that she talks in her sleep. Used to keep me up half the night."

"Well, I'm just trying to tire myself out to avoid them." He said and Tia nodded.

"Alright then. But next time you save someone when you're out patrolling, be nicer about it. People have taken to calling you The Demon." She told him and Philip frowned.

"How come I don't get a cool nickname?" He asked and Tia shook her head, smiling.

"Come on, you."

Two Years Ago - The Citadel

"Do you want me to lock you in your apartment until you sober up?" Tiberius asked as he sat down next to Philip.

"She's gone." He said simply and Tiberius sighed.

"I didn't think she'd actually go." He said and Philip barked out a laugh, shaking his head.

"Of course she did. It's my fault." He said and Tiberius frowned at him.

"How so?" He asked and Philip responded by draining the end of his drink.

"When she got the chance to go, to work with the Spectres as a tech expert, I wasn't... happy for her. I got upset that she would even consider leaving for so long. As if I didn't matter." Tiberius gave him a look and Philip suspected that his sub-harmonics were giving voice to sympathy.

"I'm guessing that pissed her off?" He asked and Philip nodded.

"Yeah, no shit. I just... The stupid thing is that I don't think she was ever really thinking about going." He said and Tiberius raised a brow plate.

"You think she left just to spite you?" He asked and Philip shook his head.

"No. I think that she wanted to go, but had never really thought of it as an option. And then I start acting as if I honestly think she's going to go and she started to wonder if we were as close as she thought. Which is ridiculous. I was just... I didn't want to lose her, you know? And now I have anyway. But, I just... After all the shit she has about being left by people, she's the one to leave me." He said and Tiberius shakes his head at the obvious.

"She left you before you could leave her." He said and Philip shook his head.

"I was never going to leave her." He said and Tiberius sighed.

"She's an asari and not a particularly old one at that. Everyone leaves." He told him and Philip frowned.

"I was never going to leave her." He repeated before pulling a small box out of his pocket.

"I feel like that's significant but I don't know the first thing about human mating." Tiberius said and Philip sighed.

"It's a ring." He explained but Tiberius kept giving him a confused look. "Like bondmarks except not as... primitive."

"Okay, no need to insult me. So, she didn't know, you pissed her off and she left."

"Yep."

"Sucks, doesn't it?"

"Yep."

One and a Half Years Ago - Huerta Memorial Hospital

"Hey Tia. It's me. Philip. Look, I'm not calling for me. I must assume that that's what you think since you haven't responded to the other dozen messages I've sent. Look, this isn't some kind of effort to win you back. Trust me, if it was, it would be a hell of a lot more impressive than a few messages. Look, Smiley's in the hospital. It's not bad but it shouldn't have happened. He's getting reckless, Tia. And it's got me worried. I'm no good with this shit but you are so I need you back here..."

"You can stop recording. I'm here." A voice came from behind him and he turned to face her, forcibly stopping his heart from leaping to his throat as he caught sight of her. She was wearing a dark combat suit and he could swear that she looked leaner, as if she had been regularly putting her combat skills to use. Skills she hated using.

"Tia. You could have called." He said and she shrugged.

"You said it was urgent so I was on the first transport here." She told him and he nodded, not wanting to address the elcor in the room.

"He's down the hall getting checked out. He... He's doubting the fact that she's still alive. It's been a few months since she last left one of her little notes. Everyone is refusing to acknowledge that she's still alive and it's driving him crazy. Nothing I say is having any effect." He told her and she sighed, shaking her head.

"Is he...?"

"No. But he's getting reckless. It's like he's forgotten how to duck." He said and she sighed again, shaking her head. He could tell what she was thinking as clearly as if she had said it aloud. "Don't do that, Tia. Don't blame yourself." He told her and she smiled weakly at him.

"I forgot how well you know me." She said softly before frowning. "Anyway, I'd better go and talk to him before he leaves and picks a fight with a krogan or something."

"Yeah." He replied simply and she nodded, the tension between them clearly making her uneasy.

She left for a few moments before returning, frowning a little.

"He's already gone." She told him and he shrugged.

"He'll have gone back to the office. He never goes home. What trouble can he get into?" He asked and Tia sighed, shaking her head.

"Well, now you've said that, he really will get into trouble. Come on, I'll hack his omni-tool. I should be able to get a location."

"Just like old times?" He asked and she gave him a quick smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Don't push it." She told him and he suspected that she had meant it jokingly. He followed her out of the room as she started the trace.

"So... How've you been?" He asked and she rolled her eyes.

"You never could just be silent, could you?" She asked and he shrugged.

"As I recall, you figured out a way to shut me up." He said cockily and she stopped where she stood, turning to face him.

"You don't sound mad." She said, almost accusingly.

"Why would I be mad?" He asked and she frowned.

"I walked out on you. I pulled a Sarah and I ran away." She said and he shrugged.

"Tia, you deserve better than me. I've always known that. I'm just some kid who ran away from home and managed to scrape together a mediocre existence. Everything good I've ever had came from you. And I screwed that up. So, no. I'm not mad. And, I know I should have said this at the time, but I'm happy for you and proud of you for landing that job." He said, repeating the speech that he had rehearsed a hundred times in his head. His closure speech.

"I... No. I don't deserve anything." She said quietly before her omni-tool beeped. "I've got a location." She told him and he nodded.

"Lead the way." He said and she nodded before leading him towards C-Sec, although not via the quickest route to the building. "Where is he?"

"He should be just down here..." She trailed off as she saw Tiberius facing off with a rather large krogan.

"Hey! Back down!" Philip shouted as he stood between the two of them. "I said, back down."

To his relief they both gave a growling noise before standing down.

"When did you grow a quad, human?" The krogan asked and Tia folded her arms.

"Mordin, when did you get here?" She asked.

"Yesterday. I'm still running errands for the Council." He replied and Tiberius growled.

"I need answers and he's the only person I've come across capable of giving them to me." He said and Mordin shook his head.

"Pix sure does know how to pick 'em." He muttered and Tiberius seemed to calm down. His shoulders slumped a little as he prepared to ask his question.

"Is she... Did she really die in that explosion? Have I just been living on blind hope?" He asked and the krogan sighed.

"I can see why you'd be having doubts about her death. That was kind of a small explosion and Sarah was a tough one... I can't answer your question but I will tell you one thing; blind hope isn't so bad. It's a lot more than a lot of people have. Even if she were still alive, we wouldn't be able to talk to her. At least, not in any great depth. But, if she were alive, and I had to guess, I'd say she'd probably be doing about as well as you are right now." The krogan said, pointedly, and Tiberius nodded. "So, don't worry about it. You'll see her again, whether it's in this life or the next." He said, quickly losing his serious tone. "Now, if you'll excuse me, the Council needs to see me."

At that he took off, leaving the three friends more than a little confused.

"So, that was helpful." Philip said, sarcastically, but Tia kept frowning.

"Actually, it was..." She muttered before turning to Tiberius. "Read between the lines, Smiles. She's alive and well but you're going to have to hold off on seeing her just a little while longer. It's still too dangerous." She said and he took a deep breath before nodding.

"Yeah. Thanks, Tia. I think I'm just gonna head home. The doc said I needed some rest." He said and she nodded, letting him leave.

"Okay, he never goes home and he never listens to doctors." Philip said and Tia shrugged.

"He's been running on a very exhaustible supply of hope for a very long time now. I just hope that Sarah's doing better than he is." She said and Philip nodded.

"Wanna get a drink? As friends, I mean." He said and she shook her head.

"No. I'm sorry." She said and he frowned.

"Tia, you were my best friend for three years. My only friend. I don't wanna think that I screwed that up." He told her and she shook her head again.

"No, Philip, you haven't screwed anything up. I have. I can't go back to being your friend because I never stopped being in love with you which, I know, is something that I really have no right to say any more..." She said and he sighed.

"Then let's not go as friends." He said and she frowned.

"Philip, I don't... Don't do this just because you don't want to lose me as a friend." She told him and he shook his head.

"Tia, I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. And neither should you. We both made mistakes. But that doesn't mean that I ever stopped caring about you." He said and she frowned.

"When did you become so... sensible?" She asked and he shrugged.

"Don't get used to it. I've had six months to analyze everything that went wrong with us. The conclusion that I came to is that we're both idiots. But, hey, I figure being idiots together is better than being idiots alone. And in my entire life, I've never had anyone that I've been close to, like I've had you. I don't want to lose that. I don't want to lose you." He admitted and she stood sheepishly, her body language telling him that she was desperate to kiss him but was holding herself back.

"I don't want to lose you either." She said and he nodded.

"So, how about that drink?"

"Suffice to say, I swept her off her feet (again), we started dating again, Smiles was relatively happy - or, you know, sane, at least - and I finally got around to giving her that ring. And then we got a call about Cerberus attacking you guys and here we are. Now, I still want to know what your real reason is for not immediately running into Smiley's arms." He said and she sighed, shaking her head, knees clutched tighter to her chest.

"Your timing sucks." She said and he frowned.

"How so?" He asked and she sighed.

"Cerberus attacked because I made a breakthrough in my research. You'll hear about it tomorrow when we brief you guys but, for now, let's just say that in a few weeks I should have something we can use." She said and he frowned.

"Like what?" He asked and she suddenly froze a little, becoming very small and quiet and so unlike the woman he knew. This was the side of her he had seen fleetingly the day before everything had gone to hell. The side that he suspected the separation from Tiberius had only fed and made grow.

"What's the longest time we've managed to keep a captured Cerberus hybrid alive?" She asked quietly and he was caught off guard by the question that he knew she knew the answer to.

"About six months. I don't exactly know why, it's all very technical, but we simply can't keep them stable." He told her and she nodded.

"That's because they're not. Like you said, it's all very technical and, no offense, but I doubt you'd understand it. Basically, their bodies slowly poison themselves from the inside out." She told him, her voice still quiet.

"Rookie, what are you saying? All hybrids? You can't possibly mean..." He trailed off and she sighed.

"I am not so poorly designed. Clearly, I am capable of lasting much longer than my lab-born brethren. But I'm not perfect. Comparable to first-gen technology, there are always bugs. Not like the Cerberus hybrids, they're more like cheap knock-offs. But I am far from perfect, and my life span is doubly so." She said and he frowned.

"Rookie-" He started but she cut him off.

"I'm working on it. But there's no guarantee that this line of research will lead to a solution. I'll know in a few weeks but until then... I can't watch him watch me die, Philip. If this doesn't work... I'm like an open flame and the last thing I want is for him to get burnt." She said and he frowned.

"There you go getting all poetic. It's like the fucking dandelions all over again. Look, I get it. I mean, you're talking to the guy marrying an asari, I get it. But he's going to get hurt anyway. Just don't spend so much time worrying about it that you miss what time you have with him." He said and she sighed, nodding.

"I... I just need some time to think. To figure out what to do. We'll hold a briefing tomorrow morning. 0600. I need to tell everyone where Nat and I are now, anyway. Why we were attacked in the first place..."

"Okay then. I'll tell the others."

"Philip?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. And I'm glad things worked out with you two. You're good together."

"Thanks."