Infiltration - Part 9

Emi sat up slowly.
"Emi, are you alright?" Thomson asked, his voice full of worry.
"... I... I'm not sure..." she responded. He wrapped his arms around her and embraced her as tight as he could, "That was... so... keelah... What happened?"
"Renswick indoctrinated you. When he caused you pain he must have released the energy into your suit. You're lucky to be alive."
"What do you remember?" Epsilon asked.
"... I'm... not sure... There... There was a huge pressure in my mind and it was like... willing myself not to think certain things... and there were whispers... from the Reapers... and then there was white flashes... then that's it... that's all that happened..."
"How do you feel?" Thomson asked, cradling her in his arms, "Are you ok?"
"... I feel really tired... I want to go to the Falcon and sleep... I don't feel well... Like... My brain... I killed someone... I was tortured and..."
Thomson held her, "I know... Look, we'll get you some help, ok? We'll go back to the Citadel and Get you help."
"... But... our children..."
"I can look after them. I said I was quitting, remember?"
"... I'm not sure... I think so... It's... hard to think of anything but pain... And you..."
"Shit," said Thomson, "I just remembered the other fleet. We have to go up there. It isn't over yet."

The two hundred and fifty one ships left from the battle on Sur'Kesh. Renswick had forgotten to mention the fact that the other fleet of ships was also down to half. In one decisive strike, all the ships Thomson had managed to rally counterattacked and destroyed the entire fleet of ships in a matter of hours.
Then they went to the Citadel. Back to their children.

Magnetic clamps closed shut around the wing of the Falcon as they entered the Citadel's docking bay. The airlock hissed open a moment later and Thomson and Emi stepped out, holding hands. Bei was behind them.
"... Thomson..." Emi said, "... There's something you should know..."
"What's that?" he asked, squeezing her hand, "Are you ok?"
She shrugged, "... I guess... But... When you weren't with us on Omega... Bei and I we... kissed... Just kissed... Bei hadn't kissed anyone before so I let her feel what it was like... That's all..."
"... What?" Thomson said, "I didn't know you were-"
"... I'm really not... I just did it for her... I'd never cheat on you... I hope you're not angry..."
Thomson shook his head, "I'm not angry... I just... I wasn't expecting it."
"... Sorry... I won't do it again..."
He kissed her helmet, "Look. I love you infinitely, Emi. You're amazing. This is only relatively small. If you'd have slept with her I wouldn't have been happy. But you only kissed."
"... You love me infinitely?"
"Of course I do. You're beautiful and kind and amazing-"
"... And a killer..."
"To me you're a saviour. He was going to shoot me. You saved my life."
"... I love you infinitely too... I never want to be without you..."
"You'll never have to be. When is your appointment with the psychologist?"
Thomson had booked Emi in to make sure she was alright. She kept saying she was but he couldn't shake the feeling she had changed somehow. She hadn't stopped shaking since they had gone back to the Falcon, and when she thought he wasn't looking he heard her whispering to herself. She wasn't well. He knew it.
"... In an hour..." she said, "... I don't think I need an appointment though..."
"Emi," said Bei, "You do. You really do."

Thomson walked with Emi to the Wards on the Citadel, where the therapy sessions were being held. She walked into the room whilst he collected their children from the nursery.
"Come in," said the psychologist, who was a Turian. The room that greeted her was warm and homely. The walls were a cream colour. There was a fire blazing in the far wall, and the furniture was mainly based on arm chairs and desks with a rustic aesthetic.
She guessed it was something to do with the therapy. Something warm and comforting.
The Turian gestured her towards a beautiful red armchair with wooden legs. She sat down on it, smiling at the sensation as the soft material brushed against the groove of her back as she sat down.
"So," said the psychologist, "My name's Ordric and I'm one of the therapists on the Citadel. I hear you've been having quite the adventure."
"... I guess..." Emi responded.
"When your partner booked you the appointment he wasn't doing it in much detail. He mentioned something about you murdering someone? How did it happen? Start from the very beginning. How did you end up on Sur'Kesh?"
"... I'm not sure I want to start from the beginning... It's a long story..."
"It will help, Emi'Derik. Trust me. Some of the problems may be rooted on things that happened in your childhood, or before the event. If you tell me I can get a better picture on how your mind works, and then help you recover from what happened. It will take time, of course, but it will help."
"... Ok..." she sighed, "... Where shall I start from?"
"From the very beginning. As far back as you can remember."
"... Well... I guess my childhood was lonely... I didn't have many friends, but I didn't actively seek them either... I read a lot..."
"What book did you read? What was your favourite?"
"... A Child's Dream... I read nothing but that over and over again for most of my life..."
"Interesting. Please continue."
"... I read instead of learning about technology which didn't help either... No one treated me with any respect because I was a Quarian who knew nothing about any kind of machine... My friend Bei was one of the only people who would talk to me..."
"Did you ever try and fit in by learning?"
She nodded, "... I went to a school for four year olds when I was sixteen... I managed to blow a hole in the floor and was kicked out of that..."
"That must have been hard. What did other people say?"
"... They made jokes about me being stupid... I relied on my book for survival... Like, without it, I'd have killed myself... I just read and read and read... But... The more I read, the more I wanted someone to fall in love with me... A human to fall in love with me... So when it came to my Pilgrimage I chose to go to Earth..."
"Not the best idea considering what happened a few years ago."
"I guess... But as I was leaving they said I could never return and I'd be an ambassador... What they meant was they had arranged for me to join a discussion club... Most of what we did was having parties and stuff... It was fun... But then a Cerberus agent revealed himself and... Then the Reapers hit Earth..."
"So what did you do? Did you hide?"
Emi nodded, "... Of course I did... I climbed into a kitchen cupboard and hid... When I thought it was safe to come out, all of my friends had gone..." she began crying slightly, a single tear running down her cheek, "... I think I miss them too... They were nice people..."
"You don't know what happened to them. They could have escaped."
"... But I haven't got any messages... But... As I was trying to run to the landing pad to get away... I ran into two Alliance soldiers... Thomson and Renswick... Thomson was really nice to me... Renswick wasn't, but Thomson kind of outweighed him... They said I could come with them and I did... They protected me..."
And so she continued.

When the session had come to the end, she was in tears. Since Tuchanka and Sur'Kesh she felt... Unstable... Like anything could set her crying.
As she walked out of the room, Thomson was waiting for her with a smile on his face, with their children holding one of his hands each.
"Mother!" cried Tiol, running to her and tackling her into a hug, "We've missed you."
Bia did likewise, and what formed after seemed to be some sort of pile-on. Thomson couldn't help laughing.
When Emi sat up again, she cradled Tiol and Bia, her body movements soft, sensitive and in good spirits. She no longer acted broken. In fact, she seemed rather happy to be back with their children.
So was he, though. He had missed them too.
"Emi," he said to her, "I've already handed in my resignation. I am no longer Lieutenant Thomson. I'm just plain old me. They're letting me keep the Falcon and a few of my guns, just in case we ever need them. Other than that, my Alliance uniform has gone, my N7 status has been revoked, my Spectre status has been taken away. I don't own much, but I guess we can just buy more. I didn't realise how much money I had."
She moved Tiol and Bia to the side, and embraced him, "... Thank you... I hope you know, though... Plain old you does have one possession... My heart..."
He kissed her helmet, "And you own mine. I've set a date for our wedding. It'll be in two weeks. Also, the representatives of the Migrant Fleet want to speak with us."

They entered the Quarian's relatively new office in the Embassies on the Citadel. Representatives met them and thanked them for preventing the destruction of their kind. They also gave them passwords so they could come and go as they pleased, which Emi was rather pleased with since she could go and see her parents again.
Thomson received a large reward of credits, but declined. He told them that they had more use for the money than he did. He already had enough to last them a lifetime.
He was also titled Thomson vas Falcon, and became an honorary member of the Quarian race.
Then came the wedding plans.