EDI's station in Shepard's room was nearly blown to bits when the A.I. suddenly appeared in her quarters. The emergency gun that she kept in her bed side table was pointed at the blue glowing orb in the strong grip of one quick turian hand.

"Pardon my intrusion," EDI said with mild amusement at the threat of gun, "But the sensors are no longer picking up any sign of Reapers in the area. Joker is preparing the ship to disembark from the astroid. I am returning environmental conditions to normal."

"Thank you, EDI." Shepard groaned.

She'd never been so sore or so tired. Beside her Garrus returned the pistol to the dewar and cuddled next to her, hugging her hips. He refrained from nuzzling her. He was once more a friend and not a mate, even if the two of them were the only ones who knew it. Sonya knew as soon as she tried to move the raw flesh of her thighs would simply scream at her. At the time her mind was on other things, but the aftermath was brutal. When she mentioned something about the cream, Garrus retrieved the tube from the dewar of the bed side table and offered it to thanked him and took the tube with her to the shower. Garrus watched her leave. It was the last time he would ever see her nude form move freely in front of him.

The warm water stung, but it was a cleansing feeling. The droplets ran in rivets over her skin, tickling the places he'd touched her. She wondered if it would be strange to have Nihlus back. She and Garrus had been bonded almost as long as she had known Nihlus. But not being with him and seeing him everyday was worse than any adjustments she may have to make. She smiled happily to her self as she washed and applied the cream. It was a joy she realized had been missing since his death. Maybe Garrus was right. They did belong together.

Garrus stiffened a little when he spotted Nihlus exiting the elevator onto the command deck. I would take time to get used to seeing the dead rise, again. For whatever reason it wasn't as easy to accept him back as it had been to accept Shepard. Maybe it was because it meant he was loosing something. The former Spectre made his way across the deck to the helm, though nothing about the way the turian went about his duties spoke of being a former anything. In the heart of the turian outsider he was still a Spectre, and would remain so as long as his body would tolerate it. As wholly as Garrus had believed that to be who Nihlus Kryik was to the core, recent events had shown him otherwise. Nihlus was a complicated man. The Spectre, as intense as he was, had been only the surface of him. Deeper than that was the man that only Sonya had known. The softer, sensitive persona that held a place in his heart for a human that no one else could ever fill. It impressed Garrus that two extremes of hard and soft existed within a single being. As Nihlus neared him behind the cockpit he could clearly see the steel glint had returned to his eyes. Private life was just that. This was work. There was a very definitive line in the life of the Spectre.

"When will we be ready to make the jump?" Kryik asked.

He didn't care who answered. He wasn't about to bow to any command other than Shepard's, maybe. He'd decided that on the way down. It didn't matter if she was with Garrus. He was here on his own for the galaxy, just as if he were a Spectre. He'd functioned in that manner for too long to submit now.

"In about fifteen minutes, uh... sir." Joker told him, unsure of how to address the turian.

"Good, keep me informed."

He walked away to examine the Galaxy Map.

"I hate that guy." Joker said. "I don't see what the Captain ever saw in him."

"He's not as bad as you might think." Garrus told him.

"I think I liked you better when you had a stick up your ass. Shouldn't you two be at each other's throats for some kind of primal mating rights or something?"

"I'd rather not be frozen again. That isn't fun. Especially while you're de-thawing and Shepard is yelling at you."

"No. But it would be fun to watch. Ya know? Entertainment! Something that has been put on the back burner since the shit hit the fan." Joker grumbled.

"Don't get pissy just because you didn't think to place betting rounds the last time." Garrus jested and left the helm.

He passed by Shepard on the way. She nodded and proceeded as professionally as ever. She was a little like Nihlus that way, but more willing to laugh and make playful banter. She would stay at the helm until after the jump. One more stop to hide before meeting the ship that would escort them to the base. The Reapers were closer this time. Too close. They would have to use a different route out and a new one when they returned. The Council, as much as he hated them, was the only thing holding all the species together. If they were lost then the galaxy would be no better off than when the Protheans tried to cling to exitance.

Garrus never really was one for standing around and looking over the shoulders of those doing the work, so he kept busy doing what repairs he could and assisting with regular maintenance in engineering. Kryik and Shepard organized, ordered, and planed. That's what they were good at, even better at implementation. He could plan, but his tended to lean to heavily on one point or another. That mistake on Omega would haunt him for the rest of his life. His men were avenged, but that didn't make it right. Nothing would make it right. Everyone had their demons. That was one of his.

Shepard left the helm with few words spoken between herself and Joker. He'd seemed more distracted and less jovial since the Reapers entered the milky way. She had an idea that he and Kelly were seeing each other, but it hadn't improved his mood much. It had to be difficult for him His condition was better with improved treatments, but he still had to be careful.

Her eyes fell on Kryik standing over one of the consoles mounted to the wall. He was checking on ship stats, repairs, needed supplies, making a list of everything that needed to be done before they left port. She had no doubts he would be extremely thorough. She elected to send him a message instead of bothering him while he worked. She went over to her private terminal next to the galaxy map ramp and typed up a quick note.

Kryik,

Please come speak to me at your convince.

Shepard.

Nihlus' omni-tool alerted him of a new message seconds later. Shepard wasn't even in the elevator yet when he read it. He let her sweat it out for two hours before responding.

Shepard

Drinks in the observatory 1900 hours

Sonya washed vigorously in attempt to make herself a clean slate, so to speak. She wanted him to smell her and nothing and no one else. She saved to be smooth and lathered up with lotion to be soft. She conditioned her hair and blow dried it so it would be feathery and light to draw his hand. A bit of shimmering moisturizer so that she might be more appealing to his turian senses, and a softening balm on her lips to make them more supple. Most of it was her human impression of what made her attractive. She had no idea what particular features he found alluring in her. The only think he seemed fixated on was her hair and that was because humans were the only ones that had it. He'd never pointed out an individual feature, so she hoped her simplicity was the diamond he sought. She put on a clean uniform, she didn't want to seem to obvious, and headed out the door.

She was a few minutes late, so she was surprised when no sign of him was in the room. She patiently took a seat on the sofa by the window and tried to relax. She hoped he hadn't shown up and left when she was not there. The thought worried her and she got up to pour herself a drink. If he didn't show her plan was to get trashed and spend the night with her terrifying dreams staring out at the rock wall of the astroid. She had just finished her first martini staring out into space when Nihlus walked in. He had left the uniform behind in favor of a dark casual suit of black and deep red. The colors made the white paint and his green eyes shine even brighter in the dim room. She moved to get up, but he stopped with a raised hand.

"Don't. What were you drinking? I'll get you another." He offered.

She licked her lips trying to remember.

"Basil Martini." She answered.

She had chosen the oddity because the smell reminded her of him. Now that he was her it seemed redundant, but it would be best if she didn't start mixing it up just yet.

Nihlus nodded and headed over to the bar. He had no idea what basil was or how to make a martini, so he hoped to the spirits that she'd left the ingredients on the counter. He found a couple bottles of clear liquid and a small canister that contained long, narrow leaves. They were each labeled vermouth, vodka and basil accordingly. He put two leaves in a clean glass and poured equal portions over them and added two balls of ice. He hoped she didn't spit it out. He took her the glass and exchanged it for the empty one. She didn't hold back her dislike of the concoction. He preferred her honesty to a polite lie.

"Nihlus, what did you do? This is awful!"

He chuckled.

"I guessed." He admitted.

"Here..." She got up and took her old glass from him. She mixed a bit of the old and added more vodka, showing him his mistake.

"Like that, see?"

He nodded and she sat back down. He made something similar for himself, but it was blue and in a tall slender glass. He took the cushion next to her.

"So, what did you want to see me about?" He asked.

He was uncertain of what her answer might be, but he also noted the lack of any scent but her own on her. It gave him an idea, so he was not surprised when she told him.

"Garrus and I... we decided that we were better off remaining friends." She told him. It wasn't the entire truth, but it was all she really needed to tell him. "I thought you might like to know."

"After you left me in the cargo bay?" He said calmly.

Sonya's cheeks turned pink and she turned her gaze away from his.

"It was wrong of me to temp you then run away. I should have faced my decision to be with you." She said softly.

"And here we are. You're available and wanting me to take my place at your side, right?"

His mandibles flexed then snapped tight against his jaw line, hiding his teeth. She met his sharp eyes with her own.

"No. I never considered you to be anything less than myself. If you don't want me back, then I'll wait for you until you do. I won't give up this time. I want my partner in the SDA back."

"The Sepectres don't exist anymore, Sonya."

He was still calling her by her first name. He was at least considering forgiving her.

"You know they just gave us the title so we could stay together. The turian Councillor knows. I saw the look on his face when he detected your scent on me for the first time. He may not have told the others about us, but the SDA was his doing. He didn't like the idea, but he couldn't deny what a good team we were. He did what was best for the galaxy not what he agreed with. He still hates me, I'm sure."

"You know he and the asari Councillor have a secret life together." He returned the favor of revelation. "He talks as though turians should mate with there own kind, but he is a hypocrite behind closed doors."

"How do you know this?" Sonya asked with peaked curiosity.

"I could smell him on her. It was faint, but it was there. Didn't you ever wonder why they glance at each other so often? She doesn't turn to the salarian that often."

"I guess I never really cared." She admitted. She took a sip of her corrected martini.

"Do you forgive me?" She asked, referring to the cargo bay insolent.

"I can't say I regret coming back for the wrench."

He grinned at her. She blushed lightly and averted her eyes.

"I forgive you, but that doesn't mean I'm ready to jump into this again."

She looked back at him, her shock evident on her pale face.

"I think you should make sure this is what you want before you toss Garrus aside. He's done a lot for you... and me. He kept his promise, and I couldn't have asked for someone better to be your mate after I was gone. I'm grateful that Cerberus brought you back, but perhaps the dead should remain dead in the future."

"Nihlus, I..."

She turned away and finished off the martini. It took her several moments to decided what to say. How could she explain to him that he kept her nightmares at bay by simply lying next to her? How could she tell him that, as much as she appreciated what Garrus had done and as much as she loved him, it wasn't the same? That he was the one she longed for when the nights were colder and the days bleak. He was the one she wanted to open her eyes and see every morning since his death. How could she tell him that when Garrus would hold her in the darkness she would sometimes try to imagine it was he who was holding her? Was there a way she could say any of that and not sound like a selfish bitch who'd used her best friend for her own comfort? She couldn't. That wasn't how it felt, but that's how it would sound.

"What can I say?" She shook her head. "I could tell you how I feel, what it's been like to live without you... that the others were to distract me from missing you. What can I say?"

He wanted to hold her, to take her in his arms and tell her everything would be fine and nuzzle his forehead to hers, bond with her. But he couldn't. They both needed time. What if Garrus lamented his decision and wanted her back in a few days, a week, a month... how long could he wait to take back his mate without fear of losing her again? He wondered if she had felt so much turmoil after her resurrection.

He tentatively put a taloned hand on her shoulder to try and console her without being to near her. It seemed close proximity to her was his undoing. He caught the glimpse of a tear before she turned her face from him to hide it. So he left. At the door he half turned. He meant to tell her he was sorry, to say he wished it could be different. But seeing her curled up on the sofa and staring out at the ruddy walls that hid them from the searching Reapers he realized no apology from him was going to ease anyone's pain or loneliness. His gaze fell to the floor and he left her alone in the darkness of the observatory with only his glass of untouched blue liquor precariously balanced on his cushion for company

Garrus exited the elevator in time to see Nihlus leaving the observatory. He did not look happy and neither did Sonya, the little he saw of her before the doors closed. He followed Nihlus into the opposite observatory. His friend stood with his arms crossed in front of the large window.

"Hey, how are you?" He asked as he came up beside him.

"Garrus, now is not a good time." Nihlus told him without taking his eyes from the view of the rock wall.

"I think now is a perfect time. You should be in there taking back your mate. Instead you're in here staring at the guts of a rock."

"I'm not taking her back."

"Why?" Garrus narrowed his eyes.

"I need time."

"There may not be any time. She's been waiting for you for the last five years, Nihlus. Did you expect her to suffer alone? She's human. They need emotional connection. Would it have been better if she fucked anything that would have her like you did?"

That had been the wrong thing to say, but it did snap him out of his mood. Unfortunately for Garrus, it also brought his fist up under the jaw of the turian who was the voice of reason. Garrus was quick to retaliate, but his attack was painfully blocked and countered, putting him under Nihlus in a rather awkward position. He was pined and Nihlus' angry face was centimeters from his.

"I abide no judgment from you, vigilante. I have been forgiven of my sins. Who will forgive you of yours?"

Nihlus growled and bared his teeth then abruptly left the room. Clearly the situation bothered him more than Garrus had thought if it pushed him to loose his temper so quickly. He got up off the floor and followed Nihlus out so see him return to Sonya on the sofa. In the seconds the doors remained open he saw Nihlus take her face in his hands and nuzzle her. He saw joy and relief on her face and, though is unsettle him to loose that part of his relationship with her, he was happy for her happiness.