Insomnia (Mass Effect)

Chapter 2

A/N Hey Guys! Soooo since I thought this worked out pretty well I'm deciding to post it.... At 10:00 PM! I hope you enjoy and I hope I didn't ruin it... Add/Vote/Comment :) I would very much like your opinion on this story especially. All rights to Bioware!

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Shepard sits beside Thane, it was almost time. Almost near the end. It would be the end either way, Thane would live and be safe or die and -hopefully- be at peace. Shepard draws closer to him, unintentionally and unknowingly. He seems to sense her doubt and depression and pulls her into yet another hug. It felt so... Original, so safe. He made her feel safe. He kept her sane. What would she do when he was gone? That was the one questions that she always found herself coming back to. What would she do when he was gone? Almost every night that question had found a way to crawl back into her head, even when she tried so hard to forget. She didn't want to think about it, she didn't want to think about herself falling apart, think about herself crumbling, every last bit of sanity she held within her grasp.... Failing. That's what would ultimately happen. If Thane died, she wouldn't have the will to go on. This wasn't one of those crew morale things, a feeling that she could keep bottled up inside. She, Commander Shepard, would literally fall apart. The war would be lost even before it had officially begun.

Shepard had been so lost in thought that she had forgotten that Thane was with her, next to her, and alive. She scolded herself once again, for thinking about what would happen when he died. He wasn't dead yet, and he might not be for a long time. She would take things as they came at her, every horrible, suspenseful, breath-taking thing. As much as it hurt, she would be patient, as much as it made her gut turn in anticipation she would wait. She could be patient, she could do it.

Thane starts stroking her soft, brown hair, as if knowing that she had spaced out again, it was always a telltale sign when she stared out into oblivion. They both remain silent. Shepard's not sure why. She could safely assume that any other couple would be talking, trying to grasp onto what was happening and make sense of it, but Shepard knew perfectly well what was happening or what was going to happen.

Thane was going to go into surgery, and Dr. Chakwas, and various other Normandy medical staff, were going to attempt to give him synthetic lungs that would hopefully kill off the Keprals virus completely, and he would hopefully wake up. Dear God, let him wake up. On the opposite side, Thane's body would reject the lungs and without lungs... He would die.

She could almost not stand it. Not stand facing the inevitable, not knowing what would happen... Not even knowing the odds, was killing her. Was she, herself, even sure that she wanted to do this. She knew that she was the one who had been begging Thane, the one pleading to him. Now that the time was almost here... Did she really want this. Did Thane want this?

"Thane," She says, her tone barely audible. She looks upward, her eyes soft, but sad at the same time.

Thane looks down at her, his eyes portraying sadness as well. Her heart is in a jumble of knots and she starts feeling anxious, her stomach keeps fluttering and her palms get sweaty.

"Do...'' She falters and feels a embaressing blush blossom on her cheeks. ''Do you want to do this?'' She finally manages to sputter out.

''Yes,'' Thane nods slowly, his answer sounding definite. ''There is so many reasons why, Siha,'' He says looking back upward. ''But...'' He freezes and his eyes flick upwards as he slips into another memory, or what he refers to as solipsism. ''Brown hair flies in the warm summer breeze. The smell of salt water in the air. 'Thane!' She laughs, a smile spreading on her scarred face. She reaches towards me, arms outstretched. I grab her and lift her into the air in a spin. 'You're a lot stronger than you let on.' She says, impressed. She kisses my cheek and laughs again. 'Thanks for coming with me.' She smiles. We settle down on the sand, her head in the crook of my neck. 'I could stay here forever.' She says dreamily.''