Chapter Text
Thessia
The sun broke over the hills of the city, washing the world in pale light, signaling the end of another long night. The doctor walked through the white and blue, sterile hallways of Thessia Medical, pinching the bridge of her nose, each step leading her closer to the sliding doors, the kiss of air, and the sweet taste of freedom after a day-long shift.
Her hands shook faintly, trembling with exhaustion and the over-abundance of caffeine running through her system. Though she tried to deny that the stress of coping with her hyper-critical colleagues affected her in any sort of way, she could not lie. It had been difficult, defying the social norms of her culture, finishing standard schooling, biotic training, and entering thence immediately into the most difficult medical program offered by Thessia's oldest and most renowned university.
She was still a maiden, and instead of spending those first three-hundred years branching out and stepping into every part of the galaxy she could, she'd chosen a different path. But the high and mighty surgeons at Thessia Medical still tended to judge her work harshly, double and triple check her fastidious work, and abuse each and every chance to take her to task over the very few mistakes they'd ever found. As much as she tried to deny it, outside of the operating room, she stood on shaky ground in her own thoughts, having let the doubts of others seep in and corrode her once pervasive confidence. Only in surgery could she drown out the harsh whispers over the intercom in the overhead observatory. When a beating heart lay splayed open on her table, then there was calm, validation, belonging. All else faded.
The doors were before her now, the promise of freedom steps away, when a voice shattered the calm and the doctor's steps.
"Doctor T'Aryn!" A nurse ran up to her, almost frantic, a chart flashing on her omni-tool. "Doctor T'Aryn! One moment, please!"
Dr. Sen T'Aryn's heart pounded as she looked between the nurse and the door, debating, as usual, between freedom and duty. She groaned inwardly and turned, attempting to school her expression into something other than ire. Her appearance was off-putting enough to her fellow asari. They did not heed her glaring at them to further damage her already much-abused reputation.
"What can I do for you?" She asked, cringing as her voice emerged too rough, far cry from the melodious, soothing tones attributed to her race by the galaxy at large.
"You've been asked to consult in the ER." The nurse held up her omni-tool in a universal gesture, requesting a sync.
Sen reluctantly brought up her own wrist and watched as the nurse transmitted the information in a matter of microseconds. The chart flashed up on her display, but Sen ignored it, preferring instead to get the information firsthand.
"Is this patient being admitted to the cardiac floor?" She asked, wondering which ward doctor she could pawn this off on, so she could get through those doors...so close...to home, to freedom, to Mira's smile, embrace, and pot of coffee.
"The patient says that she's fine, but her EKG is abnormal, and we're trying to convince her to stay for observation."
"And the ER doctors aren't qualified to persuade her?" Sen frowned as the nurse caught her eyes for only a brief second, before ripping them away.
"I don't know. The chief of emergency services specifically requested a cardiac specialist for this patient." The nurse explained, tugging on Sen's elbow, impatient, knowing it would be her career on the line if the chief's orders were not followed promptly. "You're the only one not in the OR right now, and I know it's the end of shift, but..."
"I'm coming." Sen sighed, closing the chart and opening a message screen, typing a quick, frustrated note to Mira, explaining, as brief as she could, the current situation.
Even though Chief Sere was not the head of Sen's department, the doctor knew it would not benefit her already tumultous career by ignoring one of the head staff members of Thessia Medical. Perhaps, if she could complete this insane, surely simple persuasion, get her patient admitted to the cardiac floor and under observation, Chief Sere would put in a good word for her with Dr. Ela T'Vari, Sen's own chief and harshest critic.
It is not standard practice to emply a "surgeon" still within her maiden years, Sen remembered Doctor T'Vari's greeting, no matter test scores or reports from your supervisors during your residency. One's maiden years are about learning and understanding the galaxy as a whole, and thereby gaining competency in a chosen profession and in living and coping with the stressors of this line of work. However, given galactic strides made by other maidens in this galaxy, I have no option but to give you this opportunity, if you consider yourself able to perform under the scrutiny of your fellows.
Sen had left that office on that day with ice in her veins and a fury in her heart that did injustice to the galactic stereotype of the asari being calm, gentle, learned beings. She'd clenched her fists to contain her rage, concentrating instead on what her mother would say, what Mira would say, should she lose her dignity and temper in front of her administrator.
She followed the nurse into the elevator, staring with longing through the glass at brief peeks of the world revealed as the car traveled down from the twelfth floor to the first. The nurse led her through the maddening maze of shift change, the mass entrance and exodus of each day. Sen rubbed the grit from her eyes and stumbled as she tripped on the fresh-mopped floor.
"I am truly sorry, Dr. T'Aryn." The nurse apologized again. "But you were the last resort. The chief insisted."
"It's all right." Sen assured the nurse, who couldn't have been much older than herself. She idly ran her fingers over her omni-tool, having forgotten to bring up the patient's chart after sending Mira the message.
This is not a good idea, she warned herself. I am tired, cranky, and already under the microscope. Not to mention that my bedside manner suffers at the best of times, and this case already seems like more trouble than it should be. A cardiac specialist to persuade a patient to stay for observation because of an abnormal EKG? Really?
Sen gathered her composure and attempted to plaster a smile on her face. She followed the nurse down an obscure hall, to a very private room, strange for an emergency patient, opened the door, and immediately felt punched in the gut. The asari sitting on the bed was breathtaking. Obviously into her matron years, she rested with a composed grace, ankles crossed, hands folded into her lap, eyes closed. At the sound of the opening door, Sen's patient looked up, a smile crossing her cobalt lips, a smile that reached her very blue eyes...until she looked at Sen. Then, her expression faltered, her breath caught audibly in the quiet room, and she raised a hand to her chest.
Sen immediately keyed in her omni-tool and ran a scan of the asari's heart. It beat at a furious pace, but with no abnormal or erratic beats. She moved close, rested her hand on the asari's shoulder, and maintained eye contact. "Are you all right, Matron?" She asked, cursing under her breath as she finally remembered to bring up the patient's chart.
Sen's face drained of blood and her own heart began hammering so loud she didn't hear the response. Her career was over, done with, license stripped and tossed away like it never existed, never been fought for. She bit her lip and examined the chart, attempting desperately to ignore the name at the top.
Dr. Liara T'Soni