Chapter 04

Aria T'Loak was staring at the man, studying his features, trying to imagine what he would have looked like had he been asari. As a human, he was certainly closer to her species than any male of another was. Humans, in general, were closer in form to asari. There had been some speculation about that when they came to the galaxy with their guns ablaze and their need to squeeze every ounce of energy out of their short lives. Some had wandered whether they shared some root DNA somewhere, some basic ancestor that had somehow been seeded in their galaxy by those who had come before them.

Aria didn't concern herself with such matters, but they did intrigue her every now and again when she could spare the time to think about it.

It bothered her that she thought about a lot of things these days but refused to admit to herself that it was because she didn't want to think about Liselle. Still, the name of her daughter crept over her consciousness like a shroud. The pain it brought was so pronounced that it made her inhale sharply as her body seemed to wail at the very thought that she would never breathe in her daughter's scent again.

Stop it, Aria commanded herself. Stop it!

Mentally, she pulled herself towards herself and looked up, scanning the small clinic's reception. She had been here a few times and, if she had been so inclined, would have complimented Dr Gable on her progress. All such thoughts dissipated when she found Asura Dushkriti staring at her, her expression unreadable and calm.

It took a lot of effort not to show her the contempt that she felt for her in that moment, knowing that with their acute and unnatural perception any ardat yakshi would have been able to feel her pain. There was no use commenting on it though and she took a breath to gather herself, motioning to Anderson.

"Good call, keeping him alive. I heard that your team mates weren't so inclined." She might as well give credit where credit was due.

Asura shifted but her gaze never left Aria's face.

"I think the Alliance have cast enough attention on Omega for one human lifetime," she said simply. "I doubted you would have appreciated it."

No, Aria thought. I wouldn't have. Humans get strange ideas about their right to protect their own kind. She smiled at Asura in acknowledgement, but she knew there was no kindness in her expression.

"That's why I sent you along," she pointed out smoothly. "Kahlee Sanders?"

Asura motioned to the back but didn't move. "Abigail is still busy with her."

Raising her brow at Asura's tone, Aria simply started to head towards the back of the clinic, but the ardat yakshi stepped in her way very quickly.

"She's busy."

Aria ignored her and pushed past anyway. In her peripheral vision she could see Asura reach out to touch her and mentally prepared her biotics, but the younger asari never dared to make contact. Aria had forbidden her to.

"Aria, please." She heard but dismissed Asura's plea and slipped into the human's little surgery. She was working alone, her gaze focussed on a display above her patient's hands. Her features tightened when she noticed Aria but she said nothing and merely continued with her work. For the first few minutes, the matriarch said nothing, only watching the veterinarian work as she moved her slim fingers over the splints on the other woman's hands.

Kahlee Sanders was asleep and didn't look as if she was going to be awake any time soon.

It was irritating.

"What are you doing?" She directed the question towards Abby whose look of concentration didn't falter at all. "When will you be finished?"

The dark-haired woman never even blinked in her direction, but kept her gaze focused on the visuals in front of her. With her hair tied up and back, her featured were sharper and she looked… older. Aria was fascinated to see a few slips of silver by her temples, a sign she had learned, that humans were aging.

"When I am," Abby said simply and didn't volunteer anything else. Aria couldn't even see what she was doing nor would she have understood what she was busy with if she did. The matriarch had been many things in her life but a medic wasn't one of them.

"And can you work any faster? I have things I need to do."

This time, Abigail Gable did look at her.

"If you wanted a doctor you could bully, you should have sent them to another clinic," she spoke haughtily before she turned her attention back to her patient. "I am doing the best I can." Aria decided to ignore her tone, even though she had had people beaten for less. She glanced behind her to see Asura lingering in the doorway then sidled closer to the table. It was hardly a gurney suitable for a sentient's life. The doctor had to drop the examination table so that it could fit with a regular desk for the woman's feet. Aria made a mental note to deliver a gurney to the clinic, just in case she needed to make use of Dr Gable's services again.

"Your best." She meant for her tone to sting but it found no purchase on the doctor so she gave up immediately, feeling silly for her moment of weakness. "Talk me through it then, what are you doing? Have you been able to successfully treat both their injuries?"

The way Abby glanced at her made Aria wonder how well she could read her. Still, she didn't provide any argument as she sighed and motioned out of the door. She took no notice of Asura.

"Anderson was easy," her tone was even as she straightened herself and stretched. "Once I established that he didn't have a concussion. I've dealt with enough broken noses when I worked with Mordin. Human and otherwise." She sniffed and drove her fist into her back, knuckling out a muscle spasm. "Even his mother won't notice the difference." The doctor briefly tapped her nose then bend back over her other patient, her features becoming more critical as she looked at the scan again. Hands, as steady as Aria had ever seen them, gracefully moved through the air, magnifying the image of skeletal hands. Aria didn't have to have any medical experience to see the dark cracks along the bones' edges.

"She's been… more challenging," Abby kept her tone level. "I've never done a hand on my own. And ah… your assistant Orgun wouldn't let me get a message out to Daniel. I've fixed the fingers in a special splint but I'm making double sure that the bones are aligned before I allow it to settle in. If I get it right, she shouldn't be in discomfort for more than a week or two." The way she said it made her sound in awe of the process and Aria considered her perceived origins and how wonderful this world must have been for her.

Aria was still watching the good doctor's hands, but Abby didn't seem to notice. "I'll look at Orgun when I'm done here," she continued. "He's not at risk of dying or going into shock any time soon."

Allowing herself to chuckle, Aria waved away the idea. "Well, that depends on where I send him for the next few days," she explained with a touch of humour she could tell the woman didn't appreciate. "I'm not paying you for his treatment."

Abby raised a dark brow.

"You're paying me for theirs?"

Ah yes, Aria thought. The gentle touch.

"Of course, you are a business," she pointed out. "I expect the prices to be reasonable of course. Industry related, and all of that."

Seemingly not sure of what to do with the information, the veterinarian gave her a suspicious look.

"I don't have a benchmark for humans, but will send you the bill regardless." Her tone bordered on being sarcastic but she never quite dove that low. It made Aria smile with genuine mirth.

"Discount?"

Abby considered this, then seemed to give up. "Cost."

Aria waved away the notion immediately.

"Oh, you don't have to be like that. Twenty percent profit. Really, it's important for me that all business here thrive."

Abby sighed and, after fiddling with a few more areas on the hand splint, straightened up again, pressing her knuckles back into the muscles on her back. Her movements were flawless, almost graceful. It wasn't hard to imagine that she was aware of every movement she made, every slight adjustment. It made her seem more in focus and her eyes were sharper than Aria remembered when Abby finally met her gaze again.

"You're not going to kill them Aria?"

And what would you do if I said I would? Aria wondered as she looked at the human's resolute features. Attack me with a scalpel again? Threaten me? Refuse to release them to my custody? What are you going to do, Dr Gable? Instead of saying all of that, Aria smiled instead.

"After I've spent money on them? Of course not. That's just bad business."

Abby didn't seem to find comfort in that but she looked away from Aria to where Asura was standing in the doorway.

"Asura, can you please go and make us a cup of tea? Please?"

What a polite dismissal.

Words and a message unspoken passed between the two lovers as Asura first looked as if she wanted to object, then seemed to give in and nod. With a warning look in Aria's direction, she left the entrance and closed the door. Abby stared in her wake before she turned dark eyes back to Aria.

"What has this got to do with your daughter? Were they involved?"

A memory came to Aria's mind of this same woman sitting across from her, her eyes dark and full of sympathy.

I hurt for you.

"I don't think I have to answer that question, Dr Gable, it doesn't really have anything to do with you."

The woman's eyes became harder but she never moved, not even a twitch. It was strange seeing her like this.

"You made it my business," she said. "When you dragged my partner into it and then got your people to drag them here. You could have taken them anywhere else on Omega. Every area, every territory has at least one good doctor and I know that you have to have your own physician. But, you brought them here."

I did, Aria thought. Because I know that you owe me. Still, Dr Gable didn't know it, but she needed more from her, so she decided to indulge in her questioning.

"I was told by a friend that she knows Grayson and how to contact him, I didn't know that ex-Councilman Anderson would be there…" That's still a problem. "But, sending Asura paid off because she was able to read the situation and not kill him. That's why I involve her you know, she can evaluate a situation much faster than anybody I know." She smiled sweetly. "Probably comes from being a predator."

Abby didn't rise to the bait and acted dumb, which didn't suit her at all.

"I thought it was Johnson."

"Hmm," Aria murmured and found herself wondering what it would take to phase the good doctor. When did her self-control leave her? "Paul Johnson was a false identity, which is nothing new to Omega. What was surprising to learn, considering how quickly and comfortably he worked here, was that he was a Cerberus agent in the life he had before he came here to betray me. And, it seems he betrayed the Illusive Man as well."

There was some light in Abby's comprehension now as she finished Aria's sentence for her.

"And he gave you the information on where to find her."

Aria smiled indulgingly. "Full marks." She said and waited for the woman to process the information. The silence seemed to make her uncomfortable for she shifted, her hands moving to her patient before she drew them back.

"Do you know him?" she asked.

"Grayson?"

"The Illusive Man."

Dr Gable, pay attention.

"We've communicated in the past," Aria said. "I've mentioned this to you before. Do you know him?"

Abby went quiet and studied the diagrams and data in front of her.

"Dr Gable."

Aria could tell her instincts had been correct when the doctor finally looked away from her and studied the floor.

"He doesn't know me."

Shifting forward, Aria put her hands on the examination table. It made the doctor look up at her again, her dark eyes searching Aria's as she tried to figure out where the asari was going with her line of thought. Aria was going to inform her soon enough.

"But you encountered him in this life you had before," she pressed. "You might be a stranger to him, but he is no stranger to you."

The veterinarian went quiet as she considered Aria and quite possibly her chances of getting to deny her any knowledge. Aria made sure never to break eye contact with her and now, she wasn't smiling anymore. She could sense when the woman became uncomfortable before she shifted and looked to the ceiling, a look of dismay in her eyes.

"I know as much as Shepard knows about him," Abby spoke softly. "What he did for her, to her…" She shrugged uncomfortably. "I've seen conversations between them. Maybe one or two others when Miranda was present. He was the one who felt that Shepard was important to saving humanity from the Collectors and the Reapers."

"I wonder how that worked out for him. Do you know who he is? Where he is?"

Abby shook her head and Aria could tell she wasn't trying to deceive her. "You have to ask him how it worked out," she said, sounding exhausted. It had to be hard, thinking about a life that didn't exist. Aria tapped her lips in thought and then leaned over Kahlee Sanders so that she could be a little closer to the veterinarian.

"Hmm, yes, I do have to ask him. Are you clairvoyant, Dr Gable?"

Abby's back straightened immediately. "Don't be ridiculous." She snapped but Aria moved her hand from her lips to that of the woman's, silencing her or any other objections that she might utter.

"I still don't believe that you came from the past or an alternative universe. I really don't, Dr Gable. And maybe when you stop believing that nonsense too, you'll come to realise your full potential. What you were placed here for. Or, what you were created for."

The woman's lip trembled under her touch and it was anger, not fear that Aria found in Abby's eyes when she withdrew her hand. The doctor had balled her fists and were staring at her, the tremble in her shoulders definitively not from her disease.

"My past is real."

Aria wondered whether she was trying to convince others, or herself and it made her smile as she crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one leg.

"It really isn't, you know."

Abby made no comment but looked down to the sleeping woman's features, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"I'm done here," she announced and abruptly took a step away from the table, turning her back on Aria as she went to a wash basin and stripped off her gloves. Aria watched her and decided that that, that fear was the woman's weakness, the idea that she wasn't real.

Aria smiled.

"Are they going to require aftercare?" The veterinarian didn't turn to her at the question but kept her back towards her as she scrubbed her hands.

"Yes, I will have to speak to her about physical therapy," she said. "Though I have to confess I am going to have to do some research on it first. And, some pain management, if you don't want to leave them anything. How long will they be your guests?"

Aria's reply was swift.

"Till I have my answers." Till I have my revenge.

The vet must have picked up something in her tone because she turned around and frowned at Aria.

"The Alliance might come looking for Anderson," she pointed out. "I don't think you should extent your hospitality for too long." Her mouth thinned into an unexpected smile. "Hell, too long and they might just open up a business here."

Unable to help herself, Aria smiled at the remark and shook her head at the woman.

"He has fallen out of favour with his friends," Aria was happy to say. "So I am not that concerned with retaliation." Not unless the turians catch whiff of what transpired on that base where we extracted them from. "I will send people for them, have them removed to my… guest quarters. Don't look like that, it is quite nice. I expect you to follow through on treatment, it's only fair considering that I am paying you. And, I might ask a few other things of you. I have very little… personal dealings with your kind. You are good at reading people?"

This made Abby laugh.

"I really am not," her tone was rather dry. "Despite what you all seem to think I am capable of, I have only worked with animals. People never interested me."

Giving the doctor a little humouring smile, Aria shook her head as a mother would when telling her child that she was wrong.

"You'll allow me to disagree with you," she corrected the woman. "You have spent your life reading nonverbal cues from those not of your kind. You and your partner have learned to communicate without a single word. If I call on you to assist now or in the future, Dr Gable, I expect you to be there."

The woman didn't agree with her but stared at her in silence. It was accentuated by the fact that her body was so still, so devoid of motion. The change continued to fascinate Aria, who made sure to make her next few words harder.

"You don't have a choice in the matter, Dr Gable. But, if it is going to keep you up at night, let me give you some consolation. I have plenty of people who can kill for me and do the unpleasant business, your partner being one of them. I will never ask that of you, I will simply use you where you are most valuable to me. And will be most helpful."

The human woman, looking pained, said nothing which Aria took as her cue to leave.

"I'll leave you to it, Dr Gable. Get them ready for transport if there is something special that you need to do. My people will be around within the hour to pick them up."

Watching the asari leave the room, hearing Asura talk to Aria in a hushed tone, Abby was reminded that she was completely out of her depth with the matriarch. No experience that she had ever had could have prepared her for the sheer force of will it took to deal with the queen of Omega. Aria had a way of catching her off guard and, Abby had to confess that it was mostly her own fault. She always forgot who she was. She saw her simply as a person, for lack of a better way of putting it, a mother who had lost her daughter. Sometimes a particularly fickle land lord.

But… that wasn't what Aria was. She hadn't gotten where she was in life by being nice.

Running a hand over her face, Abby took a deep breath as she looked up at the ceiling and tried to steady herself. She felt Asura's presence before she heard her come through the door. Abby took another deep breath and thought of faking a smile for her partner but realised it would be a wasted effort. Instead, when she felt Asura's hand touch her shoulder, she allowed herself to lean into her and accept the hug of comfort. They had not been able to greet each other properly since Asura left on Aria's business.

"Are you alright?" Asura whispered, her hand finding Abby's hair as they embraced.

Breathing in the scent of her, Abby was struck by how easy it would have been to lose herself in Asura. To simply surrender her will and allow the ardat yakshi to dictate what she felt and experienced. She felt guilty for snapping at Asura earlier when she was trying to calm down the initial surprise Abby had felt for seeing everybody storm into her clinic. There were times the ardat yakshi couldn't help herself.

"You know what it is like to deal with Aria," she answered Asura's previous question. "How are you?" The image of the blood splattered krogan came to mind. "Are you alright? Were you injured?" She wanted to step away from Asura so that she could look at her but the asari wrapped her arms around her and held her close.

"Not a scratch," she murmured into her hair, unwilling to lose the closeness they shared. "I'm fine. I am so sorry, Abigail, I didn't know she would involve you as well."

Sighing, Abby leaned into Asura for a few seconds longer before she had to remind herself that she still had another patient to deal with.

"I don't even know what we are involved in," she said. "But I guess you'll have to tell me when we are alone. Did you tell Grom to stay at the apartment?" Her vorcha had not been in the clinic when the spectacle arrived as Asura used him to clean their own apartment once a week. It had been pure chance that he had decided to take Abby's clinic varren along with him as well. Because she had been recovering from melding, she had not taken him out in a while and he had been frisky.

"I did," Asura confirmed. "Though it took some convincing. You know him."

Abby nodded, but felt grateful for the vorcha's presence in her life. He was loyal to her almost to a fault.

"Okay," Abby said. "Then, I need you to tell the krogan to take his armour off. I'll deal with his wounds in a moment." She could tell that Asura didn't mind the krogan by the way she spoke of him.

"His wounds have healed," Asura said. "Despite his best effort to try and keep them open. It's going to be grisly, digging out the shrapnel and ammo." Abby hadn't imagined that it would be anything else but it was also something she had done often in the clinic as krogan's were pretty synonymous with bullets.

"I'll sort him out as soon as I've looked at the two humans again," Abby said. "Have you made some tea?"

Looking embarrassed, Asura shook her head. "I thought it was code for giving you some time alone with Aria."

Gasping in mock horror, Abby slapped her hands on the side of her face in an exasperated expression of shock.

"How do you know me?" She said, trying to lighten the mood. "There is always an opportunity for tea." She reached out to give Asura's hand a squeeze. "Can you make us some? There might even be some lemon drizzle cake in one of the cupboards. Might be a bit stale but…" She shrugged. "Nothing that a good cup of tea can't mask." When Asura met her gaze her stomach turned a little with anticipation and her mouth went dry when the asari raised her hand to her lips and kissed it lightly.

"I'll take care of it," Asura murmured, as her expression turned from sultry to earnest love. "You are very brave, Abigail. I know this isn't your speciality or what you expected you'll do here, but you did a good job."

Unable to take the compliment, Abby smiled at her partner and pulled away from her.

"I have to take care of my patients," she murmured. "I'll take the tea in front, Asura. Thank you."

She could tell that it was difficult for the ardat yakshi to leave her side, but Asura nodded and stepped out of the room. Abby found her eyes lingering on the spot where her lover had kissed her hand before she shook away the starting fantasy of what might come later when they were alone. It was hard sometimes because every moment with Asura was like a promise of more to come. She had gotten used to the feeling over the past months but it was still tempting.

Abby turned back to the table and felt herself go cold when the lightest blue eyes she had ever seen fixed themselves on her.

Kahlee Sanders was awake.

The two women stared at each other in silence. Abby found that she was holding her breath, her arms crossed over her chest. She had not thought the woman would wake up and didn't know what to say.

"Where am I?"

The words were a whisper and they brought Abby back to that day she found herself on a dust filled planet with death and destruction all around her. That day when her life ended, only to begin again. Where am I? She remembered waking up on the Normandy, the relief she felt because she knew that the people she saw would not hurt her.

"Where am I?"

Abby breathed out and shook herself. She took a step forward and put a hand on the woman's arm, silently urging her to remain down.

"Safe," Abby whispered, keeping her voice low as not to alert Asura. "You are… at my clinic."

The older woman's light eyes turned away from hers and scanned the room, her breathing just as tight as Abby's as she struggled with her own fear.

"And this is?" Kahlee trailed off, clearly not knowing how to finish.

"Omega," Abby supplied and felt inadequate to deal with the situation. "You're safe."

Those striking eyes turned back to hers.

"David? What have you done with him?" There was accusation there and it struck Abby hard when she realised that she was on the wrong side. That she was with the party of people who had done these two so much harm.

"I…" she wanted to apologise but realised it would sound wrong. "I mean… He's here as well, in the next room. I have treated him to. He… just has a broken nose. Ahm…" She couldn't keep eye contact. "You… You were a bit worse off. You came here in shock. I ah… You… I mean." Damn it Abby, pull yourself together. "I've had to treat multiple fractures to your hands. Your left wrist is broken as were several of your fingers. I have… I have splinted and treated them all. You ahm… You'll be okay. With rest and, well, the best modern medicine has to offer."

The accusation was still there as Kahlee fixed her with a stare. Abby saw her hands twitch but the pain that followed washed over her face like a wave. The older woman closed her eyes and breathed deeply, her mouth thin as she pressed her lips together. It pushed Abby to action, who quickly went to the medicine she had set out.

"I'm going to give you something for the pain," she said as she prepared a hypodermic. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were… awake."

Kahlee's voice was tight when she replied, not accepting Abby's apology. "What do you want from us?"

Almost laughing, but realising that it wasn't the proper course of action under the circumstances, Abby shook her head.

"Me? Nothing. I don't know about any of that," she said. "I'm just a veterinarian…" The words slipped out and she blushed as she turned back to her patient. "I mean, I have my multi-species licence. But ahm, I just…" The woman was looking at her strangely.

"A veterinarian?" She asked, her cheeks pale. "What is your name?"

Abby wasn't sure whether she should say. She looked to the door, wondering if she should call Asura before she grimaced.

"I'm Abby," she said. "This is my practice."

Kahlee was frowning slightly, till her features softened. "Jack's Abby?"

The words felt like a slap through her face.

Abby froze and stared at the woman who was frowning now as she tried to raise herself slightly.

"I am First Lieutenant Kahlee Sanders," she said, her eyes darting across the clinic. "I work with Jack. She's told me of you. You are Abigail Gable right? A veterinarian? You were with Shepard…" Her tone was desperate. "Please, you have to help us."

The name hit hard and later, Abby wondered how she had been so stupid to not connect the dots. Anderson had taken Jack to an Alliance institution called Grissom Academy. Jack often spoke of working with a woman called Kahlee Sanders. Only, she referred to her as Sanders more often than not and Abby…

Abby had never been good at remembering names.

"I…"

"Abigail?" Asura was calling from the hallway. "Tea's ready."

The two humans looked at each other in panic.

"Please, Dr Gable," Sanders said again. "Please, you have to help us."

Feeling as if she had been thrown into ice, Abby struggled to imagine what she could do.

"Aria's sending people for you," she breathed. "Within the hour. And I… I can't go against her. I… She's not going to kill you."

"You don't know that! They slaughtered all of those turians!" Sanders interrupted her with a hiss, her features had gone paler and she was starting to sweat again. Abby looked down to see the muscles of her arms spasm in pain as she over exerted herself in trying to move.

"Abigail?" Asura again.

And Orgun, Abby realised suddenly. She still had to see to the krogan.

She quickly stepped up to the examination table again and put a firm had on Kahlee's shoulder.

"I can't help you now," she said in a hurried tone. "But Aria said that I can come and see you again. I have to. Please, settle back and don't make this difficult for me. There are two of her people outside if they come in here and see you… I don't know what to do. Please let me give you this shot."

Sanders wanted to reach out and take a hold of her but the pain in her arms stopped her. She hissed and settled back, closing her eyes against a spasm of pain. Seeing it as some sort of surrender, Abby quickly administered the pain killer that she had laced with a light sedative.

Kahlee did seem to surrender as she blew out a deep breath and blinked against tears that now welled in the corner of her eyes. Abby reached for some medical gauze she had beside the bed and wiped at the woman's tears, struggling to contain her own.

What more does Aria expect me to do?!

"Dr Gable, do me one favour," Kahlee Sanders whispered as her body relaxed a little. "Will you call Jack for me? Can you do that at least? Tell her where we are."

Knowing that she couldn't deny her, Abby nodded as she put what she hoped was a comforting hand on the woman's cheek, watching her fade from consciousness.

"I'll… I'll do that," she whispered and the relief in Sanders' eyes nearly broke her.

"I promise."

The End of Chapter 04