A/N: This episode begins as Shepard leaves Liara, and in this case, Garrus, on the Normandy, and continues parallel to Shepard's actions through and just past the end of ME3. Personally, I found Liara's actions in the endgame to be inconsistent with her history of dedication to Shepard and out of keeping with her character in general. This is my attempt to address that and to set up another little adventure I am in the midst of writing. I plan to update every couple of days until the story is complete. Thank you for reading. Feel free to PM/Review anytime!

Chapter One: Something

Time ceased to be of any consequence as Liara leaned into Garrus and watched Shepard rushing toward the Citadel beam through blurry, red-rimmed eyes. She was detached from her surroundings, all motion and sound seemed to be trapped in a simmering, oily bubble. Until that moment she hadn't known that she could even produce the mournful sounds that rang through her brain. But, she heard them, her own voice distant and disembodied, desperately crying Shepard's name.

Every step bearing the the Commander closer to the beam detonated in her heart, shattering it like hot glass, every footfall was a razor sharp shard cutting her off from her life, her future. As the Normandy's cargo hatch slowly closed, she was determined to drink in every fleeting glimpse of her lover and add its brightness to the vault of her soul. She continued to stare as the door closed, finally obscuring the sight of her bondmate's lurching form and the cratered, war torn streets below. As the heavy door seal echoed, she shivered from the shock of Shepard's last words resounding through her thoughts, "You mean everything to me Liara. You always will."

Each breath she drew in those horrible moments made her chest a fiery mass of grief. Every shuddering exhalation made her throat burn. She could feel the stream of overheated blood pulsing past her knee and pooling in her boot from the deep slash in her thigh and grimaced at the relentless pounding in her head. But those were small things compared to the searing trail of each molten tear scalding her blood flecked cheeks and every tortured cry from her constricted throat. "She's gone."

Pulling in a ragged breath she tried to stand on her own but her legs betrayed her. Garrus snaked his arm around her waist, trying vainly but valiantly to keep her upright, then they began a staggered march through the cargo hold to the elevator. She weakly latched onto him, feeling the tremors in his body from the effort he was making to follow Shepard's orders. They made it as far as the work area, but they were both too badly wounded to continue to support each other. As they collapsed to the deck, Liara's empty stomach rebelled and she swallowed the bile in her throat, wincing at the caustic taste while struggling to regain her orientation. The sounds in the cargo hold amplified as she lay tangled with her turian companion on the deck.

Absently she looked up, her hazy mind noting that the Normandy must have picked up stragglers and casualties on its way through London. Through a fog, she heard voices she'd never heard before and she began to see the faces of crew and soldiers she'd never met. There was activity all around her but none of it meant anything. At that moment, the only person that mattered was nowhere near. Too weak to get up, she battled to remain lucid, hoping to see a familiar face or hear a familiar voice. Just as she felt her senses begin to drain away, her hope was realized.

"Dios, Doc!" She felt a cool application of medigel to her leg and then Vega's breath against her cheek as he carefully cradled her to his chest. "I'm taking you to the med bay now!" She felt him balance her in his muscular arms and rise with ease. As he began scuttling rapidly to the elevator she heard him shout over his back, "Somebody get over here, pick up Vakarian and follow me!"

Liara heard boots scramble to obey. Sighing deeply, she managed to lock eyes with those of the burly marine. He smelled of smoke and heavy gunplay, but he was alive. He was here. She took in his concerned, grimy face. She could see the tension in his broad jaw and the bruising under his assessing eyes as he gauged her current, sorry state. James' voice was hoarse. "Where's Lola?"

"She's gone on...trying to get to the beam." Part statement, part question she whimpered in a choked, trembling whisper. "She - had to leave me behind."

She saw her own sorrow in his misty eyes and drawn brow. Gently, reverently, he quietly declared, "She did."

Liara knew the truth of it. She'd acted as medic on more ground missions than she could count - before and during this wretched war. She knew it would have only held her Commander back or possibly gotten her killed if she'd tried to make that last push by her side. Her eyes leeched hot droplets at the thought, stinging as they rolled down her temples. As James settled her on a gurney, pain lanced through her leg and her brain felt like it was bursting. The sun bright exam light overhead assaulted her, burning away the haze, making everything suddenly real. Biting her lip, she brushed at the flow of tears and covered her burning eyes with her filthy arm, seeking respite from the intrusive light.

"I'm going to take these off so the doctor can take a look at you." She heard a strange voice nearby speaking to her, its owner's unknown hands efficiently removing her gear. Peeking between her fingers she glimpsed a young, blonde medic working to deftly unfasten the array of buckles and fasteners on her armor. Making quick work of loosening the armor and exposing her compression suit, she realized the medic would have her stripped naked in short order.

So did Vega. Through the grime Liara could see the red tinge to his ears and cheeks. James cleared his throat. "Uh -I better...um, I'm gonna go check on Vakarian."

Memories of all the times Shepard and Vega had spent trying to make each other blush brought a weak smile to her lips. "Thank you James."

As Vega turned away, she grasped his thick wrist. Catching his eye, she murmured, "Will you be back?"

Composing himself, for her sake she was sure, he playfully leered at her state of undress and jauntily winked at her, "You can count on it." Then he strode off in search of Garrus. Though she was glad that James had given her some privacy, she immediately missed his solid presence.

The medic rapidly completed her task and tucking a light sheet over Liara, prepared to leave. "One of the doctors will be here soon". Taking notice of the glaring exam light overhead, she dimmed it and left.

"Doctors?" Liara thought. "There's only one doctor on the Normandy". Somehow the idea of a stranger taking care of her was disquieting, threatening a new wave of nausea. But, she calmed as she heard a familiar, elegant, distinctly English voice moving toward her then entering her curtained cubicle.

"Yes, James! Garrus will be fine. They just have to remove the scrapyard collection from his leg. I'll let you know when he's out of surgery. Get a cup of coffee or, better yet, go feed that giant body of yours. Now shoo, I have a patient to see." Pulling back the flimsy curtain around Liara's gurney, Dr. Chakwas swept to the maiden's side. "Liara...I'm glad to see you're alive. I was worried sick."

The sight of her friend's face caused Liara to choke back a sob of anguished relief. Leaning up she started, "But Shepard, she's..."

"I know Liara." Chakwas interrupted her, then finished with quiet confidence, "Garrus told me all about it. She's doing what Commander Shepard does best." Her hand was gentle as she pushed Liara back to rest on the incline of the bed. Opening her omnitool she wasted no time in examining her patient. "Let me get a good look at you."

Liara tried to relax. Closing her eyes, she forced herself to focus and let her mind work. Despite the tremendous pain she felt, she desperately needed to do – something. Her rational thoughts were jumbled, tangled with her fear for Shepard, her fear for the galaxy and the needle-like fire in her brain. A deep sense of urgency rose within as she sought to bring order to her mind. Finally, a jot of her scientific training surfaced. "The facts. What are the facts?"

As she began to get a grip on her faculties, she clumsily forced herself to try to sit up and began questioning the silver-haired woman attending her. "Dr. Chakwas, do you know what's happening? Did Shepard make it? Have the arms opened? "

"Easy...easy. Rest, Liara." the doctor gently cupped her face, her maternal touch encouraging the asari's gaze into her own, and her exposed body back onto the gurney. Settling the sheet over Liara she reassured her, "First things first. Let's get you treated, then we'll consider the state of the known galaxy, alright?"

Liara blinked and dropped her head onto the pillow with a sigh. "Y-yes. You are right, of course."

Not one to waste time, the doctor started an IV filled with blood the maiden had banked in the medical bay stores after rejoining Shepard and the Normandy. She began to feel somewhat stronger almost immediately.

"This is not a sedative but it will help relieve the pain and allow me to work on your leg." Karin turned with a hypoinjector at the ready. "You have a head injury and I need to keep you awake for the time being. I'm also assuming you would prefer to be awake and aware. Am I right?"

"Yes-ss," Liara hissed, clamping her teeth as the doctor administered the drug to her upper thigh. She felt the chemical race through her body like icy fire, but she soon felt relief, even the throbbing in her head stopped.

Dr. Chakwas' tone was serious as she offered Liara her assessment. "You have a severe laceration to the fascia in your leg. You're very lucky that you didn't bleed out before James could get you here. I'll need to repair the artery, suture the wound closed and secure your leg with a brace so that you don't re-injure it." Her brows drew together as she continued, "Also, you have a significant concussion. The scan doesn't show any fracture to your skull and there are no signs of continued intercranial bleeding, but I'm going to have to keep a close eye on you to be certain."

That last bit of news didn't sit well with Liara, but she knew her leg needed to be tended. She couldn't do anything useful or help anyone until she was back on her feet. So, she forced herself to take a deep breath and turned her thoughts to that something that needed doing. Shepard was out there, very likely alone...somewhere.

Karin pulled a stool to the bedside and began repairing the damaged artery. As she worked she responded to the maiden's earlier query, "There has been no word about the Citadel or the Commander up to this point."

Liara winced as the doctor pulled her wounded flesh into place. Chakwas quickly dosed the wound with a numbing agent and skillfully returned to her ministrations. Picking up where she left off she continued. "Ashley and Specialist Traynor have been monitoring the feeds waiting for any bit of news. They promised they would inform me immediately if they got any new word regarding the Commander. Up to now, Joker and EDI have been using our stealth drive to pick up any survivors from the base and from Hammer that we could find. You and Garrus were the last."

Faces from the FOB flashed through the asari's inner vision, especially those of her old friends and crewmates. "Goddess. How many?"

Finishing with the sutures, Karin closed her eyes and rubbed her neck. "In total we aren't certain of how many survived. The Normandy has picked up sixty-two. Of our own crew, we've got Tali, James, Ashley, EDI, Samara, Garrus and yourself."

The catch in her throat returned with a vengeance as she thought of the names left off of the list. Liara fought to keep her voice from breaking. "What about the rest?"

"We simply don't know." The doctor meticulously, but gently washed Liara's face and throat clean of blood, dirt and tears and disinfected the patchwork of scrapes and minor cuts on them, her touch light, comforting. "It is entirely possible that they are still fighting somewhere...and that they're very much alive."

"Shepard," the asari maiden heard herself say, as she wondered where in that hell on Earth her lover was at that very moment.

"Yes, Liara. The Commander as well." Dr. Chakwas' eyes latched onto the asari's as she finished her work by wiping the grime from Liara's arms with a cool cloth.

The maiden caught herself studying the doctor's face as she accepted a drink of electrolytes that seemed to mysteriously appear from nowhere. Peering into the doctor's eyes she realized for the first time that she saw the same kind of strength and compassion she saw when she gazed into Shepard's eyes. Somehow the connection spoke to her, reinvigorated her. In the time it took for her heart to beat once, she knew what the something was, had fully embraced it and started formulating a plan to achieve it.

Arching her brow, Chakwas appeared to be studying her in return. "I know that look, Dr. T'Soni. The last time I saw it, you mysteriously disappeared. Are you making a similar plan? Because I cannot, in good conscience allow -"

"No, Dr. Chakwas," she retorted a bit more vehemently than she meant to, cutting the doctor short. "I have no intention of disappearing." Gathering her wits, she decided to trust this woman with her agenda.

"I am going after Shepard." Liara's voice rang with determination. Delicately touching the dogtags around her neck, she blew out a deep breath. "She is everything."