Thessia

Zhira followed Liara and the physician into Liara's med-room. Zhira had known that the T'Soni family possessed wealth beyond reckoning, but she had not even conceived of the size of the estate. The deep part of her heart, the part that had ached for over three centuries, continued to pang inside her chest. She had dreamed of giving her daughter a life by the sea, a life on Thessia, the home planet of the asari, but that had never been possible, for reasons that she hated to remember.

It's not Li's fault though, Zhira thought, keeping a careful eye on her friend. I haven't seen her in this much pain since the war ended...I didn't think she'd survive that. And now, knowing that everything's so close to the surface...she must be damn near losing her mind. All the secrets. All the hidden things. I knew it couldn't last forever, but Liara tried. At the time, it was for the best. But times have changed.

Zhira entered the door, ignoring the state of the art technology that filled the entire room, most of it still unavailable on the market. Her eyes zeroed in on the one thing in the room that she cared about. The reason she had come. The reason that the old deal that she and Liara had made was now broken.

Probably for the best. Zhira allowed a soft smile to cross her face as her daughter's eyes opened. Maybe now everything can be like...well...like I've wanted it to be. How it's supposed to be.

Sen's eyes moved around the room, glazed over from the pain medication. They lit on Zhira and Sen smiled, moving a hand out from under the covers and extending it to her mother. Her lips moved but no sound emerged. It did not need to. Zhira recognized Sen's endearment, the word for "mother", even when it was mouthed in Old Thessian.

"I'm here, kiddo." Zhira whispered the words, moving closer, taking Sen's hand in her own, feeling a calm in the soul that had been jangled and distraught since Liara's call.

"Really, Zhira?" Liara smiled. "How much of Aethyta's personality did you absorb during your time with her?"

"Quite a bit. Your father was more like a parent to me than my mother…who shot me in the neck. And there are worse endearments in the galaxy." Zhira murmured, attempting to remain sober, but unable to refrain from teasing. "Little Wing?"

Liara frowned, but she understood Zhira's attempt at humor and let it go with nothing more than a nod. Sen turned her face from her mother and looked to Liara, reaching out with her other hand. Liara took it and somewhere, on some plane, a circle was closed that had been open for too long. Zhira felt an electric current through the slope of her crest and looked back at the door, feeling as though eyes were on her, as though someone had joined them…but the three of them were alone. The doctor had left the room.

Zhira glanced to Liara, wondering if she had felt anything, but the broker's hand was entwined with Sen's, her eyes filled with an emotion that Zhira knew, understood, but could never, being honest, claim. Yes. It was time. Past time.

"Liara," Sen attempted to lift her voice, but it still had the ragged edge and muted rasp left by anesthesia, "Liara, I…I know that you know…who did this. I…I don't what you to do anything to him."

Zhira chuckled under her breath as she watched Liara's eyes widen. But the broker soon controlled her reaction, schooled her face into impassivity, and turned her attention back to Sen.

"Sen, he hurt you." Liara's words and voice were tender, filled with caring and a fierce protectiveness.

"Only because…he's still hurting." Sen's eyelids fluttered with exhaustion, but Zhira knew her daughter, and knew that Sen would not succumb to sleep until she had said what she intended to. "You were…the same once, Liara." Sen said, and Zhira watched Liara's eyes fill with pain, though she fully acknowledged the truth.

"That does not mean that I remained unpunished, Sen." Liara gave her a gentle reminder.

"But…the person…you hurt most…" a slight shudder went through Sen's body and she winced, but before Zhira or Liara could say anything, Sen continued, "…forgave you. Let me…forgive Edward Dorsen…in that same way."

Zhira scrutinized Liara. She could see that Liara was trembling, but too strong to crumble. Even now, when Zhira could see the secrets and revelations locked behind Liara's lips, aching to be spoken aloud, Liara remained stoic and unmoved. Zhira closed her eyes and decided for herself. She needed resolution and closure, for the centuries of deceit to end, for the truth to come out.

It's about damn time, too. Zhira thought, looking on her child with pride, remembering the pain of giving birth, the sorrow of holding her tiny daughter, the joy and anguish that had pierced Zhira's heart when Sen first opened her eyes.

"If you are…" Liara's voice cracked. "…If you are certain that is what you desire, Sen."

"It…it is." Sen affirmed. "He…nearly lost his daughter. They're all the family each other has left. Mira…decided that she didn't need me. She still…needs family. Needs her father. He's a…broken man but…a good dad. Please, Liara…please do this…for me."

Zhira could see the wars behind Liara's eyes, but, as she had known they would, the battles ended, Liara chose her side, and she sighed.

"I will do as you ask, Sen." Liara promised. "You have my word."

"Thank you." Sen gave a tired smile, but she winced again as the expression aggravated the deep bruising that spread across her cheeks and around her eyes from the broken nose.

Zhira ran her hand along Sen's crest in a gentle, soothing motion. It had put the child Sen to sleep, and it now appeared that, even though she had nearly entered her matron stage, the caress was still a soporific. Sen's eyes fluttered closed and her breathing became slow, deep, and rhythmic. Liara tucked the hand she held back under the covers, went to one of the cabinets, and withdrew another blanket, spreading it across Sen's body with great care.

The door opened and Zhira glanced back to see the young physician that had attended to Sen. The doctor glanced at Sen, then to Liara.

"She's sleeping, I hope?" Treya asked, and Liara nodded. "Good. That's where she needs to be, but she swore at me and told me she absolutely would not close her eyes until she'd spoken to you."

Zhira turned what wished to be a barking laugh into a soft chuckle as she saw yet more consternation cross Liara's features. The two of them needed to have words and come to a decision. Sooner, rather than the alternative.

"Thank you, Doctor Valen." Liara murmured around her deep thoughts, attempting to remain in the present time, though her mind had clearly ventured elsewhere, and Zhira knew exactly where it had gone.

It's like those three centuries never happened. Zhira mused. I can still read her every expression and gauge her response. We are not the same as we were back then, maybe a little wiser for our age, but she is still the same Liara T'Soni. I've missed her so damn much. Hopefully now we can start changing things.

"Call me Treya, please." the doctor spoke. "And I want you to know I called the hospital and asked to take some personal time. I'm tired as hell and I want…" Treya paused and Zhira scrutinized her, shaking her head the slightest bit as she caught a glimpse of what her eyes had always been gifted with seeing. "…I want to stay and help Sen. She'll probably wake up in a few hours in a terrible amount of pain, and, knowing her, she won't complain about it until she passes out. Then, when she comes to, she'll insist it wasn't that bad."

"Thank you, Treya." Liara nodded her head, too quickly, then all but fled from the room, leaving a very confused Treya Valen and an unsurprised Zhira T'Aryn.

Treya looked n the direction of Liara's departure and turned to Zhira. "Did I…did I say something wrong?" she wondered. "I know she is under a great deal of strain but…"

"You're fine, doc." Zhira reassured the doctor. "You don't know it, but some of the things that were said were kind of an emotional gut-punch."

Bewilderment crossed Treya's face. "I was simply describing Sen's typical behavior…"

"I know." Zhira grinned, confusing Treya even further. "I'm sure you'll know too, in good time."

Zhira turned her attention to Sen, content in her soul as she saw the peace of slumber etched on her daughter's features. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to Sen's crest, making wishes in her mind for the daughter that she loved. Zhira turned to follow Liara's exit and find the broker, but she stopped and rested her hand on Treya's shoulder.

"Thank you for taking good care of my daughter, Treya." Zhira spoke low, gentle, but with truth and passion in her voice. "But, a word of warning." Treya's eyes widened. "Don't just carry that torch, doc. Sen is her mother's daughter when it comes to those sorts of things. You might wind up having to hit her over the head with that torch you're carrying."

Even in the low light of the room, Zhira could see the flush of color spreading across Treya's cheeks. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, Matron T'Aryn."

"The void you don't." Zhira grinned, patted Treya's shoulder, and followed Liara's exit.

Though she did not know the layout of the T'Soni estate, Zhira did know Liara. She knew that she would find the asari out of doors, under the light of the moon, and her belief proved true as she found her way outside. She spied Liara's silhouette down by the beach and walked to her. Liara stood there, staring at the bright and glimmering stars, letting the surf lap at her bare feet.

"Li?" Zhira asked, not certain if she should jar Liara from her thoughts.

"I cannot do this, Zhira." Liara admitted. "I thought that I could, but I cannot. What Sen said to me…you know…it just…"

"Yeah." Zhira nodded and came closer, letting the waves wash over her boots, not caring about the damage. She wrapped her arm around Liara's waist. "Sen is so much like her father sometimes that it scares the shit out of me."

Liara nodded, her lips quivering as she attempted to be strong.

"Don't you dare fucking go hermit on me, Liara T'Soni." Zhira whispered. "I'm here now, and I know you too well and love you too well to let you do that to yourself."

Abrupt, Liara turned and buried herself in Zhira's embrace. Zhira felt tears soak into her shirt and she rubbed Liara's back, offering the comfort of physical touch, something that Liara had been without for a very, very long time.

"I thought that I could…" Liara shook her head, "…I do not know what I thought I could do. This is not it. I never intended, I never meant to infringe, but somehow it seems that what began as coincidence is now fate, but I…I have no idea how to begin to…how to dig through the quagmire and attempt to…she is going to hate me."

"She's not going to hate you, Li." Zhira promised, knowing that, in this, she could speak for her daughter. "It might take some time to understand, but you're handling this better than I would. Now, I need you to look at me."

Liara lifted her head and gazed into Zhira's amethyst eyes. Those eyes had been her comfort and her rock on more than one occasion, and Zhira hoped that they could once again offer that security to Liara. It seemed that they did, because the terror and anguish in Liara's countenance faded the longer she held Zhira's gaze.

"This is your call, Li." Zhira told her. "It's your life, and your choice. If this is what you want, if you think it's safe, then tell me, and I can open that door you're so scared of."

"I cannot…I want to but…but Zhira…" Liara shook her head and her entire body shivered. "You've sacrificed so much for me…"

"You gave me a gift, Liara T'Soni." Zhira countered. "But I can see it in your tears, and feel it in your words. It's time to set history straight, isn't it?"

"Yes." Liara said, a galaxy of emotion contained in that singular word

It told Zhira all that she needed to know, and she breathed an inward sigh of relief. The time had come for history to be set right, for the things that were lost to be returned. She knew that Liara was terrified, and rightly so. She had intended to keep her silence for the rest of her life, but that had all changed. Zhira had never been afraid of change, but Liara, in spite of all that she had learned, in spite of her worldly wisdom, had ever approached change with caution and trepidation. Zhira did not blame her; had she been in Liara's position, she, too, might very well be afraid.

"But all of that can wait until tomorrow. You need to get some rest, Li. The doctor you found is competent and confident, and she'll take good care of Sen. Come on inside, take a shower, and get to bed."

Keeping her arm around Liara's waist, smiling when the shorter asari rested her head on Zhira's shoulder, they walked back to the estate. Zhira remained with Liara until the broker reached her rooms. At the door, Liara turned to Zhira. Her hand reached up, tentative, and traced the contours of Zhira's features, as though the touch might help cement the reality of Zhira being there, beside her.

"Sweet dreams, Li." Zhira made her wish aloud and, gathering courage and following instinct, leaned down and pressed the lightest of kisses against Liara's cheek.

"Good night, Zhira." Liara murmured, then she entered her room, leaving Zhira in the hall.

Zhira reached out and touched the closed door, willing her friend strength and comfort and peace and true, healing rest. After a moment, she removed her hand, turned, and walked down the hall. She passed the med-room to look in on Sen. Her daughter slept still, a good sign, and Treya Valen and her bright, burning, metaphorical torch were resting on a cot in the med-room.

"I wish you luck, Doctor Valen." Zhira whispered to the sleeping physician. "My girl's got a broken heart, but I'm sure you know how to be careful with it. Maybe even fix it."

Something flashed in Zhira's peripheral vision and she glanced up at the bed, but nothing was there. Just Sen. Zhira shook her head, wondering why she was so paranoid. Why she seemed to be sensing things that were not there. She sighed and found the empty bedroom Glyph had directed her to earlier. She collapsed on the bed, and before she could draw the covers over her body, sleep claimed her.

The next morning saw Zhira rising with the sun high in the sky. She felt a weight on her shoulders, the burden that she had offered to bear, for Liara's sake. The sun streaming through the window cast beams of light across the smooth, red-stone flooring. Zhira swung her legs over the bed and prepared to face the ending of the day.

After she showered and dressed, Glyph appeared at the door and told her that a meal had been prepared. Zhira ate, but the food had no taste, no flavor, and the fear she had seen in Liara last night began to niggle at her. But fear had never stopped Zhira T'Aryn from following through on the choices she made. It had always been that way…it had once saved a dear and precious life.

Zhira finished her meal and made her way to the med-room. A slight knock and Treya opened the door, stepping aside to allow Zhira entrance. Zhira scrutinized the doctor, noting the worry lines etched in her brow and the violet circles beneath her eyes.

"How…"

"She had a bad night." Treya anticipated the question. "Sen, apparently, has a high tolerance for pain medication. Keeping her comfortable without risking overdose is a bit tricky."

"Is she awake?" Zhira asked.

"Yes." Treya nodded. "I'm trying a different drug, and it seems to be working well. She's conscious and coherent. Call if you need me, but you look like you want some private time."

"Your intuition and bedside manner are impeccable." Zhira grinned, letting Treya slip past her and pull the door closed.

"Good morning." Sen greeted her mother with the sloppy smile of the heavily and happily medicated.

"Good morning, Heartlight." Zhira watched her daughter grin at the old nickname, a name that Zhira had given when Sen was a small, toddling child, running through the world, questioning and learning everything she could.

Zhira walked to the bed and kissed her daughter once more on the forehead, pleased to see that the heavy bruising around Sen's eyes had faded somewhat. She pulled up a chair and sat down, uncertain of where to start. She had so much to say, and did not know how she should begin.

"I'm glad you came." Sen broke the silence that had descended. "I had so many dreams last night, mother, and I woke up with so many questions."

"I might have answers." Zhira smiled into her daughter's beautiful, vibrant eyes.

"Why me?" Sen wondered. "I dreamed of the day I met Liara…and I've been thinking about it since I woke up. It doesn't make any sense. She's...she is the Shadow Broker, mother. She has more secrets and knows more about the galaxy than anyone. Why would she choose me to tell her story to? She's never written a book, never done a press interview…she's hidden from the rest of the galaxy and for some reason, chose to confide everything to a complete stranger. Can you…can you tell me why?"

Zhira sighed and prepared herself, because Sen had given her the opening she needed to tell the truth.

"Liara has her reasons, Sen." Zhira began. "I need you to know that, right now. And while it may not make sense to you…"

"She is telling me her love story, mother." Sen interrupted. "No one knows the truth about that. Every portrayal of it is largely speculation, or extrapolated by other's accounts of the Reaper War, but…but she is truly telling me everything. I've learned so much about Commander Shepard…details of the events and the things that happened to them that are not anywhere in history. I just…I need to know why."

"Heartlight, look at me." Zhira spoke, calm, calculated. "You are going to let her finish that story while you recover. Because the ending is very, very important. And the end of that story is going to hurt. It's going to hurt all three of us, because that is what the truth most often does. Serena Shepard touched the world in so very many ways. You can still see that woman's influence on the galaxy after the centuries since the war's end. Liara is one of the last people keeping Shepard alive in her memory. She's giving you the story of that memory, the story of that life…"

"But why?" Sen stressed.

With that question, Zhira knew the time had come. "Because, Sen." Zhira spoke. "Liara wants you to know Shepard as she knew her. She wants you to understand the love that they shared. She wants and is giving you that, my daughter, because Liara T'Soni wants you to know the truth...she wants you to know your father."

Author's Note: We have reached the end of this portion of the "This Side" series. If you all want, there will be a third and final installment in this series, but that is on down the line, because Dragon Age is calling my name, and I can't wait to get started writing a new fic for Inquisition. After a little break of course. My muse is rather cantankerous, and is demanding some time off.

I want to thank all of you for reading this story and for bearing with its author. I've had a lot of ups and downs in my life since beginning this tale, and all of your reviews and encouragements have really helped make a stressful life better. I'm indebted to each and every one of you, and I'm so grateful. Once again, thank you all for coming with me on this journey, for offering your support and critique, and I hope that you have enjoyed this portion of Liara, Serena, and Sen's journey. "This Side" will be back, I don't know when, but I will finish the story, tie up my loose ends, and hopefully provide another decent tale for you all. You guys are awesome.

Bright Blessings,

~Raven Sinead