Polyandry; (Greek: poly- many, andros- man) refers to a form of marriage in which a woman has two or more husbands at the same time.

A few hours later Nihlus appeared in her doorway with a bottle in hand. Shepard sat up on the bed where she was still reading reports and writing them. She looked at the turian inquisitively with one brow raised. She had a pretty good idea what the bottle was and where this might be going. She had to wonder where and when he got the wine, but she supposed it didn't really matter. A lot of things like that didn't matter since the Reapers started harvesting life. The turian set the frosted glass cone on the low table by the stairs and sat next to her on the bed as if their time apart had never happened. She appreciated it, but at the same time it was strange and hard for her to jump right into a relationship with him. She wasn't exactly the same person she was five years ago. People change. That's life. War and genocide changes people too. Of course, so does death and resurrection. It was an equal game of tug-o-...well... war.

Nihlus ran the back of his talons down her arm from her shoulder to her elbow and gazed up at her longingly. She didn't flinch or tense up and she offered him a grin. He didn't care if it was weeks before she was willing to bed him again. He just wanted to spend time with her, maybe even hold her. Though he'd been dead or asleep or whatever he'd been for the last five years, all the changes made him feel as though he'd only been a prisoner on some far off land. He missed her as if the time had worn on him as well. In a way it had, only in a few days instead of a few years.

"Nihlus... I don't think now is a good time to..."

"I just want to be near you." He interrupted before she could shut him down. "I can wait for anything else. Just talk to me. Tell me what I've missed or about the quality of the food. Tell me why your uniform is flattering or how much you hate TIM. Anything. I just want to hear your voice."

"I could request the same of you!"

She teased and tossed the data pad to the desk. She lay down beside him propped up on one elbow. She smiled up at him, welcoming the casual distraction. He relaxed and mirrored her posture.

"Well my life has been pretty dead lately." He replied.

He realized how bad of a joke it was as soon as it left his mouth. Sonya smirked at him and dropped a brow. At least she kept a since of humor about it. He was thankful for that.

"Well, merc activity has dropped off the charts. That's one nice thing the Reapers have done. Either scared them off, strait or killed them. Pirates and slavers too. At first the slavers tried to make a deal with them. You know, bring them bodies in exchange for whatever. Didn't turn out the way they'd hoped. I guess the Reapers are done talkin'."

"Did you tell the Council off when the Reapers showed up?" Nihlus asked, mandibles spread in a grin.

"I didn't have to. Anderson had rubbed their noses in it so hard, by the time I got there you would have thought I was the unbeliever." She smiled.

Nihlus chuckled. Anderson always did have a bit of a fire in him. It was something he admired in humans. Something he admired in her. Something he loved about her.

"But by then it was too late. That was one of the reasons they voted to destroy the Citadel, to prevent them from finding a way to activate the station. If we loose this war, they will probably rebuild it."

"We're not going to loose, Sonya." Nihlus said.

He looked at her sternly as if she'd commented blasphemy.

"Everyone else has so far. Sure we had a heads up from the Protheans, but it doesn't due anyone any good if nobody listens before it's too late." Sonya pointed out.

"I understand, though I really doubt that anyone before us destroyed the Citadel. That has to count for something." Nihlus shrugged.

"Does it? I wonder."

Nihlus sighed with frustration. He hadn't been there to see the destruction and the death and chaos. He hand't lived it. She had. There was nothing he could say or do that was going to make much of a difference in the conversation, but he tried anyway.

"The Prothean could have survived if they had more power or more bases like the one on Ilos. A hidden population. Their leaders died. Ours still live. We stopped Sovereign. There must be a way to stop Harbinger and the others as well."

"The last time I spoke with TIM, he alluded to the possibility that the Collector base may hold technology that could adapt our weapons and shields to be more formidable, but there are no guarantees. They need to run a few tests, but no one is willing to die if they don't work. I can't risk the Normandy. She's too important."

"Wait, what?" Nihlus stopped her from continuing with a shake of his head and a hard stair.

"The Collector base was destroyed. You said you defeated them. What are you talking about?"

Sonya looked at him with wide eyes, realizing what she foolishly let slip out of her mouth. His bright green eyes bored holes into her from within the white mask. She wondered how she was ever going to explain this without incurring anger and disappointment.

"I, uhm... We didn't destroy the base, only the Collectors. TIM suggested that there might be information hidden within it that could help us. Turned out he was right! Ha ha!"

She smiled and laughed nervously.

"I can't believe you agreed to that. Maybe a good choice in hindsight, but..."

He shook his head again, then a light seemed to go off in his mind and the expression on his face changed to an amalgamation of so many things, she wasn't sure whether to run and hide or shoot him, or hold him.

"You traded the base for my life, so they would bring me back... didn't you?"

It wasn't a question. All she could do was nod. After a moment his face softened and his piercing stair eased into a gentle gaze.

"You didn't deserve this." He said and looked at her dark eyes and pale face with a furrowed brow.

"None of us did." She said back.

Nihlus looked away to the empty fish tank. His mandibles flexed a few times, then he chuckled.

"I meant to get you some fish for that thing on Illium." He grinned in his turian way. "It was one of my last laments before..."

He trailed off and looked down at his talons he didn't realize were playing with the sheets and stopped immediately. Embarrassed he cleared his throat and started to get up to fetch two glasses for the wine. He knew he needed some after the last few days. Then a soft warmth from a gentle touch on his arm gave him cause to hesitate and glance back at her. In the dim light and blue casts of dancing shadows from the tanks, she looked as lovely as ever in his eyes despite what time and immense stress had done to her. She looked back at him with a glint in her eye that he hadn't expected to see so soon.

"Nihlus... " She spoke low, "Leave the wine for now. I don't want my senses to be dulled when I make love you."

Nihlus didn't say a word. He simply complied to his loves desire, meeting her half way as her lips touched his mouth and pressed their delicate tenderness against him. How he missed the feel of them. Their absence from his physical sent sparks to his mind that remembered her touch more vividly than his skin. He could feel his body responding to her touch, her nearness and the scent of her pheromones. The protective folds moistened to allow his erection. The mingling of new and familiar set a fire in his gut and a hardness that was already forcing through the folds wet enough to stain a patch on his pants.

"I love it when you get all wet for me." She purred.

Nihlus would have turned blue with embarrassment if he could have. Even more so when her nimble fingers messaged the folds beneath the wetness to further arouse him. He purred without intent at her touch.

"Oh, does kitty like that?" She asked in a low, sultry tone.

This side of her was entirely new. He had to admit he liked it, but it made him feel dirty wondering if it was something she had learned from Garrus. The thought would have softened him and killed the moment, but her urging fingers had already goaded him from within himself enough that she had a firm grip on him. Only the wet fabric kept her skin from touching him. He found himself surrendering to her advances without complaint or will to do anything but. The pillow she stuffed under his neck was soft and smooth, unlike the one in the med-bay. She tucked another under his knees for the comfort of his spurs. How thoughtful she was as she sought to pleasure him. She'd even removed his pants and shirt without much help from him.

"You have me at a disadvantage." He rumbled low in his chest. "I am exposed and vulnerable, but you are still fully clothed!"

He tugged playfully at her formfitting uniform. Not as tight or revealing as Miranda's, leaving a little more to the imagination, but much sexier than her other uniforms had been.

"Alas, but I am!" She exclaimed in playful banter. "Perhaps it is to taunt you, or perhaps it is for this..."

She rose from the bed and went to the clock by the bed. A few buttons later and a soft, rhythmic beat filled the room with erotic vibrations. She didn't sway her hips or dance like a girl in a bar, but as the her fingers trailed down her body un-zipping the suit and standing completely still with her eyes held steady on him... He thought it was the damn sexist thing he'd ever seen. When the light caught on the 'N' shaped scar on her chest and she traced over it with a finger glistening with her saliva, she one upped herself. His mandibles fluttered. His erection was blue with carnal rage. His talon dug into the mattress, ripping holes in the sheets with desire. If she didn't get out of that uniform soon, she might not get the opportunity.

"Spirits...!" He breathed.

He was ready for her, but she did not give in all at once. Her hands were on him once more, gliding over his plates and skin until she took him in her grip and abused his natural lubrication. He moaned and purred. His eyes closed as he enjoyed her. Then he felt her lips and the heat of her mouth on him. The sensation built intensity and a fire within him. He arched as he neared completion, then she would back off and wait for him to relax before building up the heat again. Over and over she teased him until evidence that climax was near revealed itself. Then she hovered over him, positioning her hips and let the unique anatomy tickle the swollen bud of her arousal. Nihlus could hardly stand it. He could feel her dripping lower lips and her quivering swell. He thought he would go mad before she gave him the gratification of filling her up with himself and his seed.

"Do you want me to beg?" He moaned, listening to her soft pants and whimpers.

"No..." She whispered and closed her eyes to concentrate of feeling him feel her. "I'm waiting..."

"For..uhg...spirits... what?" He gasped.

He could feel himself throbbing, aching to be within her and release the flood. His own wetness was clear and sticky and over produced, glazing her and himself with it's shine. He arched into her in an attempt to penetrate her redded sex. When she let him and settled over him with a long moan of her own, the relief sent a shudder through him. Everything was so intense. He could feel every texture inside her, every movement, even her pulse, as she rode him moaning and breathing his name. Her orgasms were dynamic and powerful. Her back arched, fully exposing her lonely breasts. He eagerly eased their solitude with his hands and his tongue. Moments later he allowed himself the release he so desperately needed to be relieved of with a growling purr. He dug his talons into her hips, thrusting hard up into her quivering tightness and she cried out with great ecstasy. As she lay over him while they both panted in the dark, he ran his fingers through her damp hair and slowly receded from her hot, sticky body. She sat up before he had completely left her and pressed her lips to his mouth.

"I love you." She breathed.

Nihlus tipped his head forward and nuzzled his forehead to hers. Both cherished the moment with eyes closed, breathing each others air. Bonding for the second time. When he felt satisfied of his scent on her, he opened his eyes once more to gazed lovingly into hers. He couldn't have been happier than he was in that moment to have her in his arms once again, loving him.

Sonya smiled and settled over him again with a contented sigh, finding that groove that, if she lay just so, was the most perfect place to sleep. He didn't have to say it. She knew he loved her. For no other reason would a man open himself to a polyandrous relationship than that.

His plates were hard, but comfortable. Her thighs burned from the chaffing, but she had cream for that. The new scratches, bites and nicks hurt, but it soothed her to feel them there and know they were from him. The sound of his satisfied purrs was a long forgotten music as it rumbled through her. She fought sleep until it over powered her, living the moment for as long as possible while he ran his talons carefully over her scalp.

She did love him. More than anything. Even more than Garrus... Well, not more, but differently. Garrus had been her friend, her best friend. Then something more when they started... no gentle word for it... fucking. But that too had changed as their feelings for each other evolved. Quickly the casual sex had more emotion than stress behind it. The night they bonded it hand't even even a thought. He held her in his arms and she was smiling up at him, both of them lost in the afterglow of their passion. He simply nuzzled her and she nuzzled back. It wasn't a question. Just pure emotion and longing. He was dedicated to her well being. They shared a life, a bed, mutual respect and care for the other. They understood each other. It had felt natural, right, until the message of hope for Nihlus' return to life.

The awkwardness of the following week before she finally decided to leave, had been gut wrenching. He never asked her who she would choose or if she loved him. He had been beyond understanding. Volunteered his leave from her bed. But she could see the conflict in him. The worry and fear of loosing what they had together. It was special. And he made her laugh. Nihlus would always be her center, her bastion against her demons. But they were both her shelter from the storms of life... and excellent lovers in an arena all their own. Nihlus had always been gently aggressive, full of emotion that was otherwise bottled up and hidden. Garrus hid nothing. So when it came to his love making, it was just as much about the pleasure of sex as it was how he felt for her. Neither ever grew tired of their obsession with her hair. Though Garrus was more attentive to her breasts than Nihlus. Some of what she and Garrus did with each other had become habit for her, but Nihlus had't seemed to have minded the bit of naughty foreplay. Though he rarely needed it or she from him. Something about his sharp green eyes and white tattooed face had her always ready. Garrus had to try a little harder. It wasn't entirely about attraction. Garrus had simply been a friend for too long for her to instantly 'go there' with him. He seemed to enjoy the build up, so she didn't feel any real guilt about it. The reward was almost always explosive. The few calm interludes they had shared were very sweet and slow to end. Gladiators in their own amphitheaters. She was never disappointed and always satisfied.

Sorry, I know I broke a promise to the readers who didn't enjoy that 'edition', but I did keep it mild, so I hope you will forgive me. ^_^

A special shout out to nuttex who gave me the nifty word!