Hours of tests after Shepard left him to the science team assigned to his resurrection and well being, Nihlus emerged a little stronger, sorer, and feeling a bit violated. The rehabilitation lab doctors released him to Shepard's charge with a smile and an all clear. He found her waiting for him just outside the doors with Miranda, who had also not avoided the stresses of Armageddon and time.

"It's good to have you back, Kryik." Miranda said.

"Thank you for making it possible." He offered her a half bow.

"You're welcome." Miranda nodded.

"I'll just leave you two alone." She said, glancing over to Shepard then back to the turian before leaving the room.

"Sorry about the tests. We want to make sure you're not going to fall apart. How are you feeling?" Shepard offered a smile.

"Sore, tired... even though I've been asleep for five years." He teased.

"I'm glad to see you're since of humor was recovered." Shepard replied. "What puts you in such good spirits?"

"I'm alive and with my life mate." He responded. "What is there to not be happy about? There's no time to lament what cannot be changed. A morose spirit makes easier prey for the Reapers."

"I suppose you're right." She shrugged.

He took her hand in his as they walked down the hall. She curled her fingers over his palm, but did not return the smile. It only seemed to sadden her. He waited until they reached her quarters to speak again. He knew they were her's because of the scent in the air. No one smelled quite as she did.

She retired to the shower room that made up one corner of the space. He was as sterilized as he'd ever been, so he climbed under the sheets of their bed. To him, it was still their bed. When Sonya reappeared in a tank and boxers, she hesitated when she saw him laying there. For a few moments she busied herself with medial tasks, such as setting out a clean uniform for the next day and tidying up un-necessarily. He had to remind himself that it had been five years for her since anyone else was in her bed. Then the thought occurred to him that perhaps it hadn't. This worried him. Eventually she turned off the main light, leaving only the low glow of a lamp on the bed side table. She crawled in next to him, leaving several inches of space. It made him uncomfortable that she did not want to be near him, but he tried to be understanding.

"I love you." He purred, tentatively caressing her face.

She smiled faintly at him. Her eyes seemed to search him for something he couldn't get a feel for.

"I love you too, but..."

She adverted her eyes to the pillow. He withdrew his hand. Worry and fear tickled at his mind with paranoia. He tried to push the thoughts away, but the 'but...' at the end of her sentence that trailed off to silence was a needle in his heart and in his mind. Then he took her hand in his. He could not be angry with her if she had sought comfort from time to time with another. He had done so when she had died. Her time of loneliness and need were much greater than the stresses he had endured.

"I will not hold anything against you for which I have been forgiven." He told her, his mandibles spread in a loving grin.

"There is only room for one lover in my bed." She told him.

She looked at him with all sincerity and love he remembered from a time that was only hours ago for him. He moved in closer to nuzzle her forehead, but she turned away. He was taken aback by this and his brow plates furrowed. He smelled no other scent on her but her own.

"What is wrong?" He voiced his concern. "If you still love me... I will always love you, Sonya. There is nothing you could have done to change that. You are my life mate."

"Nihlus... you should rest."

She rolled over and put him to her back. In the dim light he saw the subtle scars on her body that were not from battle or from him. She had bonded with another turian! The realization angered him and he turned his back to her and glared at the wall.

"How could she?" He thought. "She was mine! She is mine! But I was dead. I might not have come back. Can I really expect her to have remained alone and deny herself love and happiness if she found it? Where..."

"Are you still bound to him?" He asked in a low tone that was almost a whisper.

His heart beat hard in his chest as he waited for her answer. Waiting to learn if he had been replaced.

"I have not seen him since I left him in charge of the Normandy to come here. It has been many months." She answered with a sigh.

He rolled over quickly then, his peridot eyes blazing in the dark.

"Who did you leave in charge of the Normandy, Shepard?" He asked, unable to hide the anger from his voice.

Sonya rolled over to face him, fear and pain in her eyes. He knew the answer before she told him.

"Garrus Vakarian."