AN: Time for my regularly scheduled upload. Next one should be up next Monday.

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Super special thanks to 2kinds from DA for betaing for me!

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Chapter Thirty - Don't Go...

The Citadel - Chora's Den

2253 - 57 Years After the End of the Reaper War

Riina couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Hilary as she sat down next to her, observing as the older woman quickly made inroads into the bottle of spiced rum placed in front of her.

"Gonna leave any for me?" she joked.

Hilary gave a frustrated sigh at Riina's tone. "Do you think it's easy to talk about this shit? Jesus Christ, if it were anyone else asking… And what are you even looking for, anyway? What could possibly be worth dredging up all of this shit? And don't try to give me any more bullshit."

Riina looked down at her own glass, deciding to down the contents before answering. "I honestly don't exactly know. But I will when I hear it…"

"Well, whatever it is, you'd better be sure it's worth it."

"I know…"

The Normandy

2220 - 24 Years After the End of the Reaper War

Sarah groaned at her blaring alarm before sending a shockwave towards it, causing it to shatter.

"Remind me, how much do you spend on those things?" Red asked her with a smile, propping himself up on an elbow as she rolled over to face him.

"Not that much. There are benefits to buying in bulk." She sat up, making an attempt to get up but she found herself pulled back down into her bondmate's arms.

"Not so fast, Birthday Girl," he said before leaning in to kiss her.

"I had almost forgotten," she mused.

"Does that mean that you don't have any special plans?"

"I never have any special plans, Red. I usually ignore my birthday, remember?"

He frowned a little. "Even still?"

"I… I don't know. It's been so long since I've celebrated my birthday… I don't think that I even really remember how…"

"Well, I might not know much about how humans usually celebrate birthdays, but I do know how you usually like to celebrate." She didn't miss the distinct rumble of his subharmonics as he nipped down her neck and on towards one of her breasts. "We've got some time before anyone expects us anywhere…"

"Time that I was going to use for a shower," she pointed out, though there was no real conviction behind her words.

"No reason why we can't do both."

"I knew there was a reason I fell for you."

"Sorry I'm late," Sarah said as she entered the medbay.

It's okay, Esme told her, sitting crosslegged on her bed, messing around on an old omni-tool Sarah had given her. Alice said that you might take the day off because it's your birthday.

"Nah. I'm not really one for birthdays."

Sarah paused for a moment to regard the young girl in front of her. It had taken time but she was finally happy enough around a handful of people on the ship. She was now used to Chakwas and Alice, and was even happy enough to talk to them through Sarah from time to time, or, occasionally, to communicate non-verbally with them without Sarah there - which involved a lot of pointing and hand gestures. She had never had an issue with Tiberius to start with, which Sarah figured was down to her sensing Sarah's own implicit trust of him. She had even stopped hiding whenever she saw Tia.

After a few moments, Sarah came to a decision.

"How about we take a walk around the ship? Get you some exercise."

Esme frowned a little at that, seeming more than a little scared, but finally nodded her head determinedly. Okay. Sounds like fun.

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

No. I… I want to. I'm sick of rooms like this.

"Even if I take you out now, you still have to stay here while the cure finishes taking effect."

I know. I'd just like to have a little more freedom. I figured if I go with you now, I might not be so scared to leave here on my own.

"Alright then, let's go." Sarah held out her hand to help Esme up. The young girl had been borrowing Sarah's old clothes ever since she had come aboard, since they were the only things that fit her, but she was growing quickly and the current dress she was wearing only just fit her still. "We should get you some newer clothes," Sarah said as they made their way out of the medbay.

They'd probably only fit me for a week before I grew out of them again…

"Maybe. Gotta stop growing sometime, though."

Esme nodded, keeping her focus on Sarah as opposed to the others milling around the mess. The chatter eventually ground to a halt as more and more of them noticed Esme out of the medbay but Sarah did her best to ignore them as she gave the young hybrid a reassuring smile.

You're okay, she told her silently and Esme nodded once more.

I know.

"Hey guys," Philip said, calling them over to where he and Hilary were sitting. "S'up?"

Sarah felt Esme's urge to hide behind her but was impressed when she, instead, stood her ground, just holding Sarah's hand tighter.

"Not much. Just thought that we should take a walk and let Esme see the rest of the ship."

Philip responded with a smirk. "Lies. I know why you're here and you're early."

"What are you talking about?" Sarah asked as she heard the lift arrive on the crew deck, her parents rounding the corner a few moments later.

"Wait, you're here already?" her mother asked. "I thought Tiberius could keep you occupied for longer than that."

Her father smirked. "You really didn't think that sentence through before you said it, did you?"

"Smart-ass," she replied with a smile, elbowing him just above the exposed skin of his waist.

"Ow!"

"Baka. That did not hurt."

"Okay, seriously guys, what's going on?" Sarah asked.

"They're baking you a cake," her bondmate told her as he entered the mess. "They were going to surprise you and sing 'happy birthday'."

Esme waved at Tiberius, giving him her non-verbal version of 'hello'.

"Hey, Kiddo," he replied, earning him a smile from her as he tousled her hair.

Sarah narrowed her eyes a little at the obvious happiness radiating from the other hybrid, wondering just how much of her own feelings were imparted onto Esme through their bond.

Unless she sees him as a father figure, her mind prompted, startling her a little. But then, she had already admitted to seeing Sarah as a mother figure and the more she focused on the other hybrid's feelings, the more she realised that they felt familial, towards both her and Tiberius.

"Wait, there was no way you couldn't have kept me distracted longer if you wanted to," Sarah said to her bondmate, rolling her eyes at the round of snorting her comment generated.

"I know how much you hate surprises," Tiberius reasoned, shrugging.

Sarah replied with a kiss that earned them a round of catcalls. "You're all the worst," Sarah said to everyone as she pulled away. "Apart from you," she told her bondmate. "You're the best."

"Damn right," he agreed.

Sarah grinned at that before turning back to her parents. "Well, now that the surprise isn't happening, cake for breakfast sounds like a plan."

"It's still in the oven," her mother told her.

"Wanna help ice it?" Sarah asked Esme. "And, by that, I mean, do you want to eat most of the icing out of the bowl?"

Esme nodded enthusiastically in response just as they heard the lift arrive on the Crew Deck once more.

Sarah initially didn't put much thought into who might have arrived, instead focusing on her bondmate and Esme as they sat down next to her.

"Morning, Auntie Jane."

Sarah's head shot up at the familiar voice. She had been sure that Rael had been avoiding her ever since she had come aboard. She couldn't quite figure out how else she hadn't seen him since first coming aboard, given how long ago that was. Though, it wasn't as if she had made any effort to find or talk to him. She figured that it was just best to let sleeping dogs lie.

As soon as Rael's gaze met hers, it hardened. "Sarah? I… I thought that you weren't…" he trailed off but she got the gist. He had known that she wasn't supposed to be anywhere near the mess until later and had deliberately scheduled his morning around that.

So he is avoiding me, she figured, making every effort to hide how upset that made her. She hated to see the hardness in his eyes and to know that she had caused it.

"Never mind," he muttered before stalking away again.

"Blue…" Tiberius started, his tone saturated with concern, but Sarah shook her head at him, giving a reassuring smile that he didn't quite believe.

"I'm fine," she told him quickly, turning her attention back to Esme, who had, seemingly, hidden behind her at Rael's sudden appearance.

Sarah frowned a little, wondering once more if her own feelings were influencing the hybrid. She wondered if her own fears about facing Rael had caused Esme to be more scared of him than of anyone else. Except, when she actually focused on Esme, it wasn't fear of a stranger she found fuelling her actions. It was embarrassment. She wasn't mistrustful of Rael, she thought he was attractive.

Sarah laughed aloud a little, earning her a glare from Esme.

It's not funny, Esme defended, her face turning a furious shade of purple.

Wait, this is full-blown crush… How long has this been going on for?

He… I… I've seen him a couple of times through the medbay window. He even waved once. But I haven't… I haven't talked to him ever…

You know that he's, like, ten years older than you, right?

Shut up! Of course I know… I just… Just…

Sarah's grin widened. You're adorable, you know that, right?

Sarah!

"Why can't Sarah celebrate her birthday in normal ways like having a day off?" Philip grumbled as he helped Tiberius to get his equipment together.

"Actually, this is pretty normal for a turian."

"So, are you over your whole thing of freaking out every time she leaves the ship on a mission?"

"Are you kidding? Ever since she's started actually working on improving her telepathic powers, her skill in battle has improved tenfold. And it wasn't exactly bad to begin with…"

"Think she might throw in the lab coat for good? Switch it for armour full-time?"

"Are you kidding? She might be good at it but she hates fighting. The sooner Cerberus is dealt with, the happier she'll be."

Philip frowned as he regarded his friend carefully. "So, if you're not upset about her going on a mission, what is bothering you? And don't say 'nothing'."

Tiberius sighed, realising that he had been caught out. "I… The way Rael reacted towards Sarah before… It upset her more than she'd ever let anyone know. I hate knowing that she's so upset and not being able to do anything about it…"

"Dude, people get upset by things and there's nothing you can do about it. Just, you know, be there for her and shit."

"'Be there for her and shit'? You are truly the zen master of romance."

"Hey, dude, fuck you. I'm trying to be helpful."

"Says the guy who hasn't talked to his wife now in how long?"

Philip was about to make an angry retort back when he, instead, just sighed, shaking his head. "Touché…"

"Sorry… that was a low blow…"

"Not as low as the one I was about to make…"

"Okay now I have to know what you were going to say."

"I was going to ask if you were so out of it because Sarah was upset or because she puts so much stock in what Rael thinks of her…"

"I just wish that he would get over his issues with her," Tiberius said, ignoring the question. "Can't he see how much he's hurting her?"

"Smiley… I know that you don't want to see any real fault in the woman you love but… Lia and Mordin pretty much told me and Tia everything when they were on the Citadel. Or, at least, Lia told Tia, who told me. The point is, before Sarah came to the Citadel, she was fucked up. The particularly nasty kind of fucked up where you manipulate other people with absolutely zero remorse. And Rael got the worst of it."

"But she's not that person anymore…"

"It doesn't matter. If he's determined to be angry with her, he will be."

"And I should just let him?"

"There's not much you can do about it, dude."

Tiberius sighed, nodding. "I know, I know… Doesn't make it any easier, though." He paused for a moment, the both of them continuing their work in silence, before deciding that he had let Philip ignore his own issues for too long. "So, why haven't you and Tia sorted out your issue yet? You've made plenty of fuck-ups before but none of them have gone on for this long."

"I know, I know… I should talk to her but… I don't know. I mean, I'm pretty sure she's the one overreacting. I'm not exactly sure how to approach this…"

"Well, that's easy. Just 'be there for her and shit'."

"You're such a dick…"

Their conversation was interrupted by Sarah and Esme entering the Shuttle Bay. Sarah was already all decked out in her gear, frowning a little as she approached.

"I didn't know you were coming with, Philip."

"I'm not. I just thought I'd help Smiley get his stuff together."

"Okay, well, we'd better get going," Sarah said, turning her attention to her bondmate. However, her attention was pulled back to Esme by her pulling on Sarah's sleeve.

Sarah frowned at her as Esme communicated silently to her, leaving the other two wondering just what was being said.

"Why not?" Sarah asked the other hybrid.

After another round of silent communication, Sarah gave her a reassuring smile. "Hey, I won't be gone long. I promise, okay?"

The look Esme gave her clearly sent the message that she didn't quite believe the older hybrid, continuing to communicate silently with her.

Sarah responded by pulling the young girl into a tight hug. "Because I always keep my promises," she said, answering the girl's silent question.

That seemed to reassure Esme but not by much. However, they really needed to get going so it would have to do, Sarah decided as she moved away.

"She's right, you know?" Tiberius told Esme as he made his way over. "She does always keep her promises."

The young hybrid simply responded by hugging him, just as she had done with Sarah, and he couldn't help but note how desperate her grip felt.

"It'll be okay, Kiddo. I promise."

Esme nodded with a weak smile as she pulled away, allowing Tiberius to tousle her hair a little before he went to join Sarah in the shuttle.

"What was up with her?" he asked his bondmate worriedly.

Sarah shrugged, a slightly concerned frown marring her features. "I don't know. She just got really scared and begged me not to go, which is weird since she was doing so well this morning. I kind of wish I could have stayed…"

"You know, you could have…"

"No. We need this data and I'm one of the few people who knows exactly what we're looking for," she replied, her jaw set with determination.

Tiberius didn't really have a response to that so he simply let his subharmonics trill with affection and reassurance - mostly just that he was there - as he briefly nuzzled against her temple. To his relief, she returned the gesture, her subharmonics trilling with thanks.

Philip took a deep breath as he approached the medbay, knowing that he had to speak with Tia but not being quite sure of how. But, still, he pressed on, finding Tia playing an omnitool game with Esme.

"What are you two up to?" he asked as he approached.

"Playing Maths Blaster," Tia answered distractedly before pausing the game, realising that this was the first time she and Philip had talked since she had run away.

"Can we… can we talk?" he asked her, a little nervously.

"Yeah," she agreed before turning back to Esme. "You okay if I go?"

The young hybrid girl nodded in response, still absorbed in her omnitool game.

Tia moved away, following Philip out of the medbay before heading towards their quarters. She stopped abruptly once their door closed behind them, turning to face her husband.

"So, I've been meaning to talk to you for a while now but… I guess I just kept on getting caught up in things and…"

"Tia," he sighed, cutting her off. "You know, you could have just said something along the lines of 'I don't want to think about having children yet'..."

She shrugged sheepishly. "It… It seemed important to you."

He sighed, shaking his head. "I'm not going to lie and say that it isn't but, Tia, I don't ever want you to think that you can't be honest with me. I just can't figure out why it took you so long to say anything."

"Because I… I thought that I was over this… The paranoia and stuff…"

Philip raised an eyebrow at that. "Tia, you freak if you wake up at night and I've gone to the loo."

"I don't freak…"

"Okay, but you don't just roll over and assume I just needed a piss, either."

Tia sighed at that, folding her arms. "I guess I didn't realise how bad I still was…"

"Until what happened on the Citadel, right?"

Tia nodded. "Yeah. I just… Philip, if I'm still this bad with just you… I would never stop being freaked out if we had kids. I mean, I have been getting better but… I wish that I could say that I'll probably get over it in the next few years but…"

Philip nodded with understanding as he realised what she was trying to say. "But you're an asari and the improvement is so gradual that it could easily take the rest of my life, right?"

"Yeah… I'm sorry…"

Philip responded by pulling her into his arms. "Hey, you never have to be sorry about stuff like this."

"But I am, though. This is something important to you and being with me stops you from having it."

"Tia, I don't just want kids. I want them with you. But if that's not going to happen then that's okay."

"It's 'okay'?"

"Well… maybe not 'okay'... but not the end of the world, you know?"

Tia responded by holding him tighter. "You know, you're the best thing to ever happen to me, right?"

"That's probably a little bit sad," he joked.

"Not at all," Tia replied before pulling away. "We should probably get back. Esme's been freaking out a little ever since Sarah and Tiberius left."

"How come?"

"No idea. She's been fine every other time they've left…" Tia trailed off as they approached the medbay, only to hear a round of coughing coming from within, prompting her to hurry a little. "Esme?"

She entered to see the hybrid hunched over, coughing in a way that seemed to wrack her whole body.

"Are you okay?" Tia asked as she hurried over.

Esme shook her head between coughs just as Tia's gaze landed on the young hybrid's hands, which were covered in blood.

"Philip, go get the doctors. Now."

"Ow!"

Sarah rolled her eyes at her bondmate as she finished applying medi-gel to his wounds. "Oh, please. It doesn't hurt that much."

He responded by pulling her close. "Oh yeah? Let's see how tough you are," he said as he picked up the medi-gel.

"I'm not quite the bullet magnet you are. I'm fine."

He narrowed his eyes a little before moving his hand up her side gently, until she flinched, hissing with pain.

"You're such a bad liar," he told her as he carefully applied the medi-gel.

"Yeah, because, you know, the fact that you have a direct link into my brain has nothing to do with it."

"Surprisingly little," he responded with a smirk.

She opened her mouth to responded but he stopped her with a kiss, pulling her even closer. She moved her hands down to the sensitive skin of his waist, earning her a low growl as he moved his hand up under her top and towards her breast. However, they were stopped by the sound of the shuttle docking with the Normandy.

Sarah pulled away reluctantly. "Race you to our quarters?"

"Don't you have to give Tia the data? Wasn't that the whole reason for going on this mission in the first place?"

"Fine. Tia first, then our quarters," Sarah reluctantly agreed before disembarking from the shuttle. "Hey, Auntie EDI," she called, "do you know where Tia is?"

"She is currently in the medbay. I would advise that you proceed there immediately."

Sarah frowned at that. "Why?"

"There is a problem that requires your attention."

That seemed to be enough for Sarah as she responded by running towards the lift so that Tiberius could only just keep up with her.

"What happened?" Sarah demanded as soon as they entered the medbay, confronted by the sight of Esme hooked back up to all of the medical monitoring equipment.

"We're not sure," Alice told her. "She started coughing up blood a few hours ago and has been getting worse rapidly. We can't figure out what's causing it…"

"Shit…"