A/N: Hello everyone! It has been a long time, for which I apologize. I was focusing on another fic, but fear not! I have not abandoned you. This chapter will unfortunately be short as the events after this chapter didn't really fit in with this one. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Kolya watched his angry wife storm off, taken aback by what she had just said to him. He hadn't expected her to express a desire to walk out on their marriage. She had done it before when he had let his anger consume him after his failure in Atlantis, so he should have seen it coming this time. He sighed and walked in the direction of his office, where he could be alone. When he reached the small room, he slammed the door behind him in frustration.

"How did things get so screwed up?" he muttered to himself as he settled into his chair.

Kolya looked at the photo he had sitting on his desk. It had been taken at a gathering a short time before he left for Dagan. Thali had taken it and given it to him without her sister's knowledge. Mina stood beside him, a smile on her face as she looked up at him. While he never looked particularly happy in photos, he could see a different side of himself in this one. His smile was almost invisible, but he knew it was there.

He had never really admitted it to himself, but Mina made him happy. Her presence warmed his heart, even when she was yelling at him. Today had been different. He saw the pain that his thoughtless words had caused her, and the anger that had been her response. This time, her words chilled him to the bone. She made it very clear that the future of their marriage was in his hands, but if he pushed her too far, he wouldn't be able to stop her from leaving him for good.

A knock on his office door brought him out of his thoughts. He called out for the person to enter. When he saw who entered, he wished he had asked who it was first. Nikomi Lunn entered his office, closing the door behind her. She stood before his desk with her hands on her hips, giving him a scolding look.

"What do you want Nikomi? I've been yelled at enough for today, so if you've come to scold me, please don't," he said in a tired tone.

"I have not come to scold necessarily, but to bring some things to your attention. While Mina may be your wife, she is also under my command. I feel a sort of responsibility to her as her Commander, so the scene that I saw unfold before me today has brought some concerns to my mind."

"You mean as a mother, not a commander. She isn't one of your daughters Nikomi, just a student," Kolya said.

"That may be true, but I care about her happiness as much a mother would. Since her mother is not here to fill that role, I am stepping up in her place. Also as your colleague, I feel the need to bring information to your attention that you may not be aware of," Nikomi said, placing her hands on the front of his desk. "We are equals Acastus, whether you think so or not."

Kolya snorted at her words. "We may be equal in rank Nikomi, but I am still her husband. What happens in our marriage is frankly none of your business."

"Mina asked me to stay out of it, but after you proceeded to humiliate her and make her feel like a failure after she has trained harder than any other initiate I have ever trained, my vow of silence requires breaking."

Kolya was surprised by Nikomi's accusation that he had humiliated Mina. That hadn't truly been his intention. He only wanted to show her that her current path was dangerous.

"She lied to me Nikomi. She made the decision to join the military without even bothering to discuss it with me."

Nikomi raised her eyebrow in surprise. "And I'm sure you tell her everything. Did you tell her that you were planning on taking the city of Atlantis when you left on a simple retrieval mission? Did you tell her the truth about your past deeds before she came into your life?"

Kolya pointed his finger at Nikomi, anger boiling up inside him. "She does not need to know the details of my past. What's done is done, there's nothing that can be done to change it. As for the Atlantis mission, she knew it was going to be dangerous when I left. I told her that there was a possibility I wouldn't return."

"So you're honest when it's convenient. Have you bothered to ask her why she did what she did? Why she went behind your back?" Nikomi asked.

"Considering our last two conversations have been shouting matches, there hasn't really been an opportunity," Kolya said, settling back into his chair.

"She felt the need to fix your mistakes. Since she was 16, she's been making up for her father's mistakes. She even married you, a man significantly older than her. Now the union that was supposed to help her is dragging her down further."

"Why don't you tell me how you really feel about me Nikomi?" Kolya said with a scowl.

"I do not mean to offend you Acastus, but your decisions of late have not been the most. Your failures have cost her the security that she acquired by marrying you. But, because she has come to care for you, she has tried to make up for it rather than leaving you. She found a way to protect not only herself, but also you," Nikomi said, pointing at him as she spoke.

"How has she protected me? How does her endangering her life protect me?"

Nikomi stood up from her leaning position and shook her head in disappointment.

"Are you blind to the things around you? Your mistakes have cost you Cowen's favor, and with it, the protection it gave you both. Mina has made herself valuable to both Cowen and the Genii. While Corric is a great medic, he's no soldier. Mina has the potential to be a good soldier alongside being a good medic. She can be useful, which makes her an asset in Cowen's eyes."

"Or someone he can use and discard when it suits him," Kolya pointed out.

"Good medics are hard to come by in a people of farmers, soldiers, and scientists. Mina has inserted herself into a valuable position that secures her future, with or without you."

"You still haven't told me how it protects me."

"If Cowen wants Mina's loyalty, you won't find a gun to your head. If anything happens to you, he loses her, because despite her intelligence, I'm pretty sure that girl loves you."

Kolya was surprised by what Nikomi said. Of all the words he could have used to describe his and Mina's relationship, love was not one he would have thought of.

"I'm not sure how accurate that is now. Her opinion of me is pretty low at the moment," he said quietly.

"Well then you need to fix that before you lose her," Nikomi said with finality before turning and leaving his office.

Kolya glanced back to the picture he had been observing earlier and focused on Mina's face. Did she love him? Did he love her? He wasn't sure of either answer.

A/N: I figured that the Genii were capable of having photos since Ladon distributed pictures of the Atlantis team in season 2. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review! Reviews are writer fuel.