No, we did not die.

Trust me, I've done it two times already and that's two times too many. Throwing in a third time would just be ridiculous and excessive.

When the bright red light had swept over us during that lull in the fighting, the endless night of smoke and flame had finally become quiet. Yet we had not been harmed from the shockwave – aside from the injuries we had already accumulated – and we realized almost immediately that we were still alive, much to our joy. Instinctively, I had known what had happened then. Shepard had activated the Crucible and destroyed the Reapers, ending the cycles and bringing peace to the galaxy.

The war was over. We had finally won.

At the time, Nya was struggling to believe that over a year of fighting, with death practically looming over the horizon, had all come to an end in our favor. The two of us – alive – and no longer separated from each other, now had nothing to worry about in the immediate future. We had our whole lives to figure out, now that one narrative had come to a close. That story was finished, but a new one was about to begin.

As we hobbled to the nearest forward operating base, it was plain to see that Shepard had chosen to destroy the Reapers rather than control them, or subjugate everyone to that odd synthesis concept that still did not make a lick of sense. I preferred my DNA the way it already was, thank you. The monstrous titans, once looming over the skyline, were now crumpled on their sides, no more light coming from their oculi. Their demonic foot soldiers had vanished, blasted into dust from the energy of the Crucible. They had all vanished without a trace, like we had been fighting shadows all along.

To be honest, we glossed over the whole first moments of celebrating the end of the war because we were simply too banged up to even consider the notion of rejoicing. Nya was nursing some injuries that her suit was doing a good job of hiding and I was sans a hand, although the bleeding had long been stabilized. To say that we were in a bad way was putting it mildly.

It took us fifteen minutes to even find a place full of living beings and they did a handy job in carting us over to the nearest medical station once they saw the states that we were in. Time was a blur after that as it felt like I was being settled in a bed in no time, with Nya reclining on a seat next to me, the wavy white fabric of a medical tent glowing from the morning sun all around us. Then there was a prick as a medic inserted an IV line into my arm and I went out like a light as the sedatives hit my bloodstream.

By the time I awoke, I was greeted by the sight of a smiling asari medic as well as Nya sitting in a chair next to the bench I had been resting on. We were still underneath the medical tent, but it was now bright outside – the middle of the day. I had apparently been out for six hours while a team of doctors worked to repair the damage done to my hand. Thankfully, it had been a clean cut and because I had had the foresight to schlep my severed limb along with me meant that a decent repair was pretty much guaranteed.

The hand had been expertly reattached to my body, the cut itself diminished from a laser scalpel to reduce scarring. When the nurse instructed me to make a fist with my hand, with an anxious Nya watching, I was able to twitch my fingers into a tight little ball after a few seconds of nothing happening. To my dismay, I was then told that there had been some irreparable nerve damage done when my hand had been severed that the doctors could not fix. My left hand would be more unwieldy than it was before and very stiff for the first couple years. The nurse mentioned that the side effects could be diminished to almost nothing through therapy, to my relief. Despite only having one hand for less than a day, I had begun to weep openly then and there because I knew that I did not want to know a life with one less limb. I was just grateful that I would not be handicapped for the rest of my life and all of my emotions started pouring out of me at the news.

Nya had not been as badly injured as I was, but she also had been running dire problems of her own that I had not been aware of. Apparently, throughout the fighting, she had managed to break three ribs, crack her tibia, gain a concussion, all while sporting a fever of over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit. When I was told the extent of her injuries, my mouth must have dropped about a meter. By all rights, she should have been dead, but thanks to the power of modern medicine (medi-gel and an enormous amount of medicine), she was sitting by my side, bright, chipper and alive. The only evidence that she was still ill of any sort was the slight congestion in her voice when she spoke. Bet I know how she got that.

Due to my injuries, I was exempt from helping out with the local reconstruction crew that had sprouted up from a cadre of volunteers in the area. This aggrieved me, because I did not want to sit around on my ass all day, I wanted to help! Unfortunately, the current range of motion in my hand meant that I could not help out with the crews cleaning up the streets, nor could I lend my services as a doctor. They needed people with steady and precise hands for that kind of job, and mine were not either of the sort.

Forced to remain bedridden for the first week, I sunk into a minor depression. I hated feeling like I was a burden or a leech siphoning off the services of the tireless people running this clinic. I could have gotten up and left if I wanted to, but I could not actually perform anything that I thought was helpful at all!

My state of mind would have worsened if it had not been for two things. The first was the appearance of Commander Shepard himself, visiting the wounded of his own volition. It was nice to see the famed war hero (and former character that I had controlled) walk amongst us and offer his sympathies and support. His new fiancée joined him (an event that had been televised yesterday depicting the commander's tearful yet joyful proposal) and she was also talking to various soldiers and socializing. A couple people were scratching their heads at the decision for Shepard to propose to a quarian, but I knew better out of all of them that Shepard deserved to be with anyone he wanted. Plus, I could understand the allure. For a hard-working soldier like him, it was something he had deserved for years now.

It was a bit odd to see that Shepard was upright and walking not even two days after the war had ended, considering that I had my own preconceived notion of how the games actually concluded, but there was that little fact that I had knocked Harbinger over with a Thanix missile, thus sparing the commander from getting blasted from a giant laser and becoming physically impeded. Ostensibly, he had been in good enough health to make it to the Crucible with his crew and was able leave after activating it before things got too hairy up there. Him being alive and healthy would probably have major repercussions on the story going forth, but seeing as how I knew basically nothing about the narrative after this point, I could not care less. What was done was done, and trying to change the past was an exercise in futility.

The second thing that helped me out with my depression was simply the presence of Nya. Although she healed from her injuries in practically the blink of an eye, she would be near me whenever I seemed to be in the worst of moods. It was like she had a sixth sense for this sort of thing. Just one look at her and everything would calm down immensely for me. Nya helped out with the reconstruction crews for a few hours a day, but she was always there to watch me during my self-therapy, uttering encouraging words the entire time as I sweated to gain back my normal range of motion in my hand. Without her support, I will admit that I would just be a complete basket case. It would have been back to square one for me, yet her strengthening existence gave me the energy to look forward to each new day.

She was the reason I was still alive now.

The icing on the cake, however, was when I was finally allowed to leave the tent, having been healed just enough for them to discharge me and focus on other patients that were more wounded than I was. By that point, I had determined that I could help out in some fashion at the clinics after all by working as a consultant and advisor on how to treat various injuries to some of the less experienced staff on call. The pay was nonexistent but at least it would give me the sense that I was not wasting my life. I felt that I had to give back in some fashion and if my services were requested then I would happily answer. Good for the soul, my spiritual self would comment.

But before any of that could happen, on the day that I was released, the very moment in fact, Nya had led me back down to the Underground, whereupon after a cleansing shower and finding a suitable isolation tent, we promptly made love again. Despite the fact that our bodies were bloodied, bruised, and bandaged, we engaged in some of the most passionate intercourse that we ever had. Overcome with desire, we fell into an embrace practiced amongst multiple races over thousands of years, seeking comfort in the arms of another.

I will admit that about-to-die sex is good and all, but truthfully, nothing can beat so-glad-to-be-alive sex. The complete lack of pressure and contagious relief was a key factor in our enjoyment as well as the fact that the mood was much less dour. Our slow pace probably helped too, but it was out of necessity for if we had just gone at it, we probably would have just hurt ourselves even more due to our rather shocking injuries. Nya would get sick once again after doing this, but she was already starting to adapt to my germs that it was not so life-threatening anymore.

We fell into this routine for the next few weeks. Work on the weekdays, sex on the weekends, repeat. Nya would help out the crews, I would help out the doctors. Everyone was happy. People were beginning to find hope amongst the rubble. The spirits of the galaxy were running high. I guess we were the Greatest Generation now. Who woulda thunk?

The best part about it was, that once the debris had finally been cleared from the Citadel, I was allowed to return home, back to my apartment. Nya moved in with me like she said she would, bringing with her little in the way of possessions. Ever since then, I could nary recall a time when I was not unhappy.

I guess I had finally achieved that normalcy after all.

Months after the war ended across the galaxy, my life had once again fallen into a routine. Get up, eat breakfast, go to my medical consultant job at the hospital, and come back home again. It may have been back to the way things were for me, yet I was fine with this because the apartment was my man-cave no longer. Things had become a lot more social as of late.

Nya adjusted to living in the apartment very quickly, loving every aspect of her new home. No longer tied down to a crammed bunk bed on an aging ship, for the first few weeks she had been astounded at the luxuries that she had not been able to access before. Of course, when one considers a coffee maker to be a luxury, that is when you know that something is really wrong. It made me happy to see her so comfortable, which is what I was aiming for when I had asked her to live with me. If her fleet could not give Nya the amenities and respect she deserved, then someone had to step up to the plate and I was more than willing to do so. Besides, I wanted her company around. She made my life much less lonely that way.

Strangely enough, like Nya had said, she was able to find a job just like that, literally within the first month of the war ending. Due to a deficiency of able-bodied workers on the Citadel, no one was willing to discriminate against quarians, especially the security force, and Nya had been locked in to be a trainee pilot for C-Sec's year long course. Apparently she was one out of a dozen trainees that were slated to be C-Sec's first quarian officers over the station, which showed just how much racism had died down as of late. As far as the training was going, Nya was acing all her courses, bringing back passing grade after passing grade each night. She was trying so hard and it was terrific to see how her dedication was being rewarded. I was monumentally proud of her and I made sure to throw all of my support behind her new career decision. I just knew that she was going to do C-Sec justice in the future one day and become the best damn pilot they had.

Categorically, we very well fit the mold of a working pair. We departed in the mornings for work and reunited in the evenings, describing our days over meals. There was a certain serenity to all of this, probably because the working life was much more preferable to getting shot at or having any limbs cut off. Less painful, too. This was the life that I had been chasing all this time, always out of reach but now I could finally grasp it. It was odd, feeling this content. Never before have I felt so relaxed.

Speaking of feeling content, that was definitely the mindset that I was in at this point in time. Right now, I was lying in my bed, the burgeoning hours of the morning approaching. Based on the glow of my clock that I could discern through my blurry eyes, it was still very early, in fact. Well, at least I was comfortable. Never again was I going to complain about the quality of a mattress ever again. Spend months on end stuffed into a sleeping bag on the cold and dusty ground and even the sofa of a red sand den would start to look like a fluffy cloud.

Oddly enough, I had not been roused purely because my natural sleep cycle decided it was time for me to wake, but it was from the soft sensations that occurred when the quarian lying next me would kiss my chest, unable to resist the action.

I guess I would consider that to be a perk, obviously.

Nya sleepily lay against me, her entire body pressed up against my side, one leg thrown over mine while her arm loosely wrapped around my front. She was naked, as was I, but that was to be expected after a night of rambunctious shenanigans. Her hair was falling down the side of her face, silky in the light. The dim illumination made it hard for me to discern Nya's gray skin against my pinkish flesh, but the three-fingered hands combined with her odd body contours gave her alienness away. Her eyes were closed, but she was definitely awake as she would intermittently press her lips against any of my skin within reach and kiss it, making soft noises as she did so.

This was simply adorable and too good for me to ruin, so I did what any man would do in that situation and simply faked being asleep, keeping one eye cracked open to watch. She was so passionate, so sweet, that she simply loved to impart affection onto me when we were together, especially when she was out of her suit. On nights like these, when we lay in bed together, she would always wrap herself around me, mentioning that she loved the feeling of hugging a warm body. This was understandable, seeing as if the same action was performed with her enviro-suit on, it would feel more impersonal, more sterile. This way, she got to really feel for herself what skin was like and how good it felt to be touching another person this way.

I liked being her gateway to all of these new sensations for Nya. It made me feel like I was making a significant difference for the better in this woman's life. Witnessing her reactions to the unfamiliar was a journey that I would have given anything to replicate. In any case, I was not going to say no to naked cuddling. Who doesn't love naked cuddling?

Nya's quiet kisses lasted for a few more minutes, never noticing that I was, in fact, secretly awake. Eventually, she succumbed to sleep once more and passed out, resting her head on my chest. That was a thing with quarians, I learned. Their sleep cycles are drastically different than a humans; whereas a human would sleep for one sitting on average, a quarian tended to take several periods during the night when they would wake suddenly and then fall asleep. Sort of like how cats nap, but on a more intense scale.

Too cozy to even think about moving, I just lay there in my twilight state while Nya dozed right next to me. Her warm breath fluttered on my ear and her mouth was slight agape in the cutest expression of peacefulness that I had seen on her thus far. I cherished moments like these when I could look upon her face, knowing the dangers she was exhibiting herself to in order to do this. The good thing was that, after installing a more sophisticated air filtration system and with a few months of patience, Nya's immune system had adapted to the apartment enough that her reaction to being outside her suit here was nonexistent at best and a head cold at worst. There was still the danger of a severe allergic reaction on her end, but we pulled out all the stops to be as careful as possible, only taking risks when Nya was absolutely sure that they were worth the effort. She certainly did not waste any time in acclimating herself here, let me tell you.

The minutes zipped by until it reached the point where I figured that it was time to start getting ready. I still had a few hours left until I had to leave for the hospital but I liked to get a head start in the mornings. The only problem was getting untangled from Nya. It pained me to leave her in this state, knowing that she loved to sleep like this but I had to start getting myself prepared for work this morning.

Decisions, decisions.

With some difficulty, I managed to slide myself from Nya's body embrace. She did not wake, still too deep into REM sleep, but curled into a fetal position as all the warmth suddenly left her, uttering a whimper as she did so. That faint noise almost caused me to leap back into bed with her, but I restrained myself as I had another idea. Tiptoeing over to the bathroom, I closed the door so that I would not disturb her.

As I started to brush my teeth and arrange out my prescribed medications for the day, antirejection pills and antihistamines, I began to mull on a few things. It occurred to me that whenever Nya was outside her suit for a short period of time, she would invariably get extremely lustful, turned on from all the enhanced sensations on her hypersensitive skin. The stimulation would cause her hormones to start flowing, ultimately overpowering her to act on one of the most basic of animal needs. The empirical evidence would support this theory, because every single time she would shed her suit, things would quickly become hot and heavy for the two of us, with Nya seemingly unable to resist her inhibitions of passion. It was like a kind of high for her, this realm of sensitivity, teasing at all of the pleasures that had been locked away from her for years that she now had access to. In her mind, she might as well be subjugated to the most intense sensations that she could possibly have, which would lead us to our moments of coitus.

Personally, I was not surprised that she was having these kinds of reactions. After all, when she would take off her suit during the first few weeks, it was purely just to have sex. Then she started taking it off simply to spend more time outside it, taking advantage of her immune system as it steadily strengthened with each session. However, her intentions would predictably fall astray because eventually, being outside of her suit made Nya horny and that always led to us making love in whatever room we happened to inhabit at the time.

The thing was, it was hard to resist Nya when she was in such a state, because it was not like I got to see her unmasked all the time. It would be a week in between when her immune system would be recovered and I could see my girlfriend's face once more. Not so similar from dating a human, as it turned out. I'm pretty sure that the wait in between each period when Nya would remove her mask only deepened my desire for her because I wanted to look upon her gorgeous features that had been covered up for days, thus making the both of us amenable to powerful intimacy.

I mean…to see her features light up as she slowly pulled that blood-red visor off her helmet…to see that smile that had been invisible to me for a week… That kind of isolation could drive someone mad. I wanted to see her more. That's something you could never replicate with a human relationship; the sheer hunger between two individuals yearning to be together for even a fleeting moment – to look at each other with unclouded eyes.

When Nya could reign in her raging emotions, which admittedly was no easy feat, we would attempt to do something outside of sex that could take advantage of Nya's suit-less state. We would cuddle on the couch watch a lot of programs on the vidscreen together, hang out around the apartment, and even munch on pizza (dextro-pizza for Nya) in the myriad post-coital moments. Basically attempt to do cute stuff that normal human couples did.

If we weren't having sex, we had to be clothed otherwise one of us was going to jump the other in mere moments. Somewhat thankfully, Nya had developed a penchant for pilfering my shirts and sweatpants (she refused to wear any tight clothing as it reminded her too much of her enviro-suit) to walk around the apartment in. I have to say that it's an odd sight to see an alien wear a shirt with your alma mater stamped across the front, but endearing nonetheless. My, how the times have changed.

Anyway, seeing Nya lying in the bed – so vulnerable looking without her suit – already made me start longing to be with her again. I walked over to the bed, but lifted up the cover on the other side, sliding my body underneath the sheets. Crawling up over her feet, I gently parted her legs, giving myself room to lower my head in between them, my mouth touching hot flesh in greeting.

I was slow, careful not to go too fast. My feet were sticking out on the other end of the bed and Nya's upper torso was on the opposite side. Covered by the sheets, it was starting to get a little hot under here for me, but that was entirely the point. The heat meant that I was doing a good job.

I played with Nya's body using my tongue, occasionally kissing where she was most sensitive. She had been quietly moaning for the first few minutes when I started, but now her legs were starting to undulate, her breathing gradually deepening. She was most definitely awake by now. The sheets were covering her expression from my gaze, but I could easily imagine the bliss on her face. It reminded me why I was down here in the first place: to make Nya happy.

To be honest, this kind of sexual activity brought on an increased risk to me from the ingestion of items not containing amino acids familiar to my digestive system. Which was fine as long as I medicated myself daily. Besides, doing this was a way for me to bring about those intense sensations of sexual pleasure to Nya, sensations that I wanted to impart because I thought that she should have the chance to experience moments like this more often, especially now that she was out of her suit as of late. Altruism on my end, in a sense, because I felt good in helping her to get off. They say a good partnership needs some selflessness every once in a while, so one could say that I'm simply adhering to the script.

Nya's hands began to beat on the mattress and her toes were starting to curl. Signs that she was getting close and my cue to cease. Drawing away with a gasp, I started to move my mouth up on her body, kissing her toned abdomen to her quivering, soft belly, lingering there like a predator about to rip open its prey. My quick pecks were much less violent than the tearing of teeth, of course, and Nya's stomach vibrated as she giggled.

The heat was now starting to get a bit unbearable, so I got on my knees and unceremoniously grabbed at the sheets, throwing them off me and allowing much cooler air to assault my body. It had been a lot stuffier than I had expected in that bed. Now free, I finally got a good look at Nya's joyful face, as well as her bed-hair that lay in a tangled bunch on her pillow. Grinning like a nutcase, I resumed kissing her body, gently turning over so that she was lying on her stomach, my hands sliding up from the cheeks of her rear, to the sides of her breasts, and up to her shoulders, Nya shivering with every inch that I proceeded.

Eventually, I had made it to where I was at the same height as her head. Positioning her so that I was spooning her – she was the little spoon – my hands started to explore her taut and slim body now that we were practically so close we were melding together. If I had come from a family of traditionalists, they would have been appalled at this non-Christian behavior. Living in sin with an alien is something I don't think was covered in the Bible though, so I guess I can count that as a loophole.

My right hand – the one that was not as stiff - reached around and slid down between Nya's legs, making her mewl when it made contact. I began to work my fingers down there, causing the quarian in my arms to break out into heavy pants of lust.

"Good morning to you too," I whispered in her ear with a grin.

Nya laughed in between moans. "I think…that I could get used…to this kind of greeting."

"All entirely the point, dear. You comfortable?"

"Comfortable? Do…" Nya tried to croak out, "…is it normal for humans to torture their partners like this?" She was referring to the way my hand was moving against her, of course, but she was obviously quite happy.

"Just the ones we love," I answered in a very mild-mannered way. "Why? You want me to truncate the foreplay in the future?"

"Oh no, I…Keelah," Nya gasped, her fingers bunching up the sheets. "It's just that…quarians are more direct with their lovemaking. You humans like to take your time. All this kissing and groping and touching. Nothing could compare. It's…it's unbelievable."

"Well, I'd imagine that quarian men are so eager to get it on that they can't hold back. Their lack of self-control makes things short, I guess. With humans, it's a little different."

To demonstrate, I increased the pressure that my hand was making on Nya, lovingly caressing her but making sure not to take her all the way. The quarian was writhing against me, mouth wide open in an expression of joy.

"I still think it's torture," she gritted out from her pleasure. "Why do you tease me so?"

I bumped my eyebrows up. "Because you look gorgeous when I do things like this to you, that's why."

"What? Does me being naked have something to do with it?"

"Perhaps. I can't deny that you have a very nice butt."

"Just the butt?" Nya looked unimpressed through her haze.

I shrugged, my fingers continuing to rub Nya at their current tempo. She was grinding her hips into my palm, wanting the ecstasy that my digits could unlock for her.

"Make no mistake, you have more features that are pleasing to the eye," I continued with a wink.

Nya caught the tic and gave a sly grin, not so easy when I was working on getting her off. "This, without a doubt, has to be the worst start to our pillow talk that we've ever had."

"That's insulting, as I've always considered myself to be a cunning linguist," I joked.

Nya rolled her eyes at the pun and covered her face with her hands, her arousal plummeting. "Really?" she sighed, exasperated. "That's the best you can do?"

"What? Cunning linguist? I could have sworn that I just proved that not five minutes ago."

"That joke was terrible, Sam," Nya's eyes offered no sympathy.

I laughed. "You just have no sense of humor."

"Punning is not equivalent to possessing what you consider to be a good sense of humor," Nya shook her head ever so slightly. "And with that, I don't think you deserve to be on this bed anymore."

"Wha-?" I only had time to utter out before Nya repositioned herself on the bed in the perfect position to plant a three-toed foot on my chest and pushed me off with a powerful leg. I toppled to the ground, baffled at what happened as well as from the sound of Nya's laughing. Well, two could play at this game.

I stood up from the ground, pretending to brush myself off, scowling at Nya, who was blushing fiercely and trying to hide her smiling face. Her body was tense, coiled as if about to strike in a bout of naked tussling. It would be a hot and erotic bout, sure, but it was something that guaranteed another loss for me, seeing as she was the more capable of the two of us, considering the physical condition she was in. Even with two good hands, there was no way I would be emerging the victor.

"If that's the way it's going to be…" I said lowly, keeping my voice husky.

"Yeah?" Nya beamed, ready to leap and join in a locked and passionate combat.

"…then I think…" I made every syllable count, "…that I'm going to take a shower."

Nya's face fell several inches. "Wh-What?" she pathetically whimpered out, not expecting that answer.

Cackling, I dashed into the bathroom, fleeing from Nya's presence. I then hurried over to the shower and turned it on, waiting outside the glass box for the water to get up to the perfect temperature. I knew that Nya would be disappointed from this course of action. I had made her all hot and bothered from the foreplay earlier and pulling away would probably emphasize the empty feeling inside her tenfold due to her being a quarian. Oh, I could sense the sheer disappointment radiating from her in the other room.

Yet, I had a pretty good feeling of what was about to occur in the next few seconds. She was not going to take this lying down, no way. She had been denied her finish and she would not stop until it had been achieved. It was obvious that if I turned around in the next ten seconds, she would be standing in the doorway, desperate to continue. In three…two…one.

Sure enough, as I turned around, there was Nya standing in the doorway. Her knees were shaking something fierce and her face held a combination of lust and anger all perfectly combined on her features. She lowered herself lower to the ground like she was preparing to pounce and in spite of the danger, I chuckled.

"Well, well, well. I didn't think-,"

I didn't get to finish that sentence either, because Nya charged me right when I was in the middle of speaking. With a desirous growl, she crashed her lips against mine in a hard kiss, her hands grabbing the sides of my face before her arms slid around my neck lovingly. Her momentum caused us both to stumble into the running shower, and Nya shrieked with delight as the warm water splashed against her bare back.

We collapsed onto the onyx bench and Nya held my head for but a moment, allowing us just the right amount of time for our gazes to lock and see the desire and love we held for each other in them. Breathing through clenched teeth, Nya looked wild and I admit that I was very turned on from her forcefulness. My hands that were now sliding on the quarian's chest were not helping her self-control much, to be honest.

"You…" she growled, "…are not…going…anywhere."

And with that, our lips met once more, our tongues gliding out to dance while the shower rained all around us. Our gasps and grunts were drowned out by the noise of the water and the minutes slipped by like grains of sand in a clenched fist.

The glass windows of the shower began to fog up quicker than usual.

By the time we were done with the shower, we were so out of breath that we were sprawled out on the stone floor in a soaked mess. Getting ready for the day was not a quick endeavor either, as we kept interrupting the other in the middle of our respective chores to steal kisses from the other. It was bittersweet for the both of us because I knew that Nya was going to have to go back into her suit for at least another week. Perhaps one day, she might never need it anymore but until then, this was the way things simply had to be.

Putting on Nya's suit was something of a cherished ritual for the both of us. I helped apply the various layers very carefully to her body, holding them like they were as fragile and brittle as glass. Once she had slipped back into her suit, with all the odd straps and fabrics applied, I handed her back her visor, whereupon we shared one final kiss before she sealed herself away from me. After that, we hugged, which helped her mindset immensely because I knew that she got depressed whenever this moment arrived. The more physical contact she had, the better she felt. Seemed like a no-brainer to encourage this behavior of physical intimacy, from my point of view.

Finally, once we had finished with everything around the apartment, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways towards our jobs. Nya only had to walk for a few minutes to get to her local C-Sec office while I took the racing ship out to the other arm where the hospital was.

It was a slow day at the office. My hand was still not fully healed so I could still not do any actual surgeries, but I knew enough to be considered invaluable to the building and so I was given the job of being one of the head trainers and supervisors for the entire hospital. It also came with a pay raise too.

Today though, nothing of interest was going on with the group that I was overseeing, so it was pretty much a day of me filling out paperwork, playing a little table tennis with coworkers, and surfing the extranet in my spare time – of which I had plenty. Eventually, my eight hours were up and I left the office rather curtly, determined on getting back home as quickly as possible.

Racing back to the arm, I docked at a bay near the complex and picked up Nya, who had been waiting for me. Exchanging the usual greetings and anecdotes about how our day went, I angled the ship away from the Citadel and accelerated, causing it to dart downward towards the bright surface of Earth just a few ten thousand miles away. A ten minute flight, give or take.

Our idle conversations quickly peeled off as we descended to the planet's surface and they did not resume even after we touched boots on the ground. We walked away from the grounded ship, hand in hand, a bundle of white carnations in my free appendage, purchased beforehand on the Citadel.

It was both relieving and agonizing to be back on Earth so soon after the war ended, even more so now that the two of us were in the sunny town of Carmel again, my old home. It still felt like yesterday that I had been in this very area, talking to my sister, but I knew that I had not been to California physically in years. Yet how could I rationalize that little breach in reality – the whole conversation and the revelation of the separate timelines? It was enough to make one's head spin.

Nya sensed that something was wrong and squeezed my hand in assurance. My lips curved upward in a small smile, grateful for the gesture, and I returned the squeeze. Out of my peripheral vision, I could see that Nya was looking in all directions, curious to see the place that I had once called home. It was much better looking now that there was not a war tearing everything apart and I was glad that she had gotten the chance to see the human homeworld in all its glory.

Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the lush green park on the hill that overlooked the ocean, the surrounding mountains furry with pines, their sweet smell mixing with the salt of the sea. The oak tree in the center of the place was still standing, as was the marble headstone resting beneath it. As we approached, Nya's fingers gradually slipped from my grip. I stopped and looked at her but she just shook her head. She wanted me to do this by myself.

Tightly clutching the flowers now, I hesitantly approached the grave, but calmed myself by taking a few deep breaths. "TAYLOR MCLEOD," it still read, unmarred by any of the conflict that had cropped up, if it even had tarnished this place at all. I knelt down respectfully and laid the carnations at the base, patting the smooth headstone and finding it warm where the stray rays of sunlight had been hitting it.

"I know I said that I wouldn't be back here again," I whispered somewhat sheepishly. "I guess that makes me a liar. Somehow, I got proven wrong in the best way possible."

Chuckling to myself, I hung my head. "You would have been thirty years old today, Taylor. Thirty. Damn, knowing that I'm only a few years off just blows my mind. Next thing you know I'll be a curmudgeonly old fart in a wheelchair, snapping at anyone who tries to change the channel from my game shows. I mean, can you imagine me in a nursing home, Taylor? I'd be a renter's goddamn nightmare, I'd-,"

Realizing that my voice had raised higher than I would have liked, I stopped midsentence and bristled in embarrassment. "But that's not important right now. What's important at this moment is you. You were the best sister anyone could ask for. I would have given anything to spend more time with you. As far as I'm concerned, our little tête-à-tête a few months back doesn't count. That wasn't really you, but a projection of what I imagined you'd be like. Hell, I'd like to think that you would have been more sympathetic and less…expositional."

I looked back at Nya and saw her sitting on a bench, amiably looking up at the sky and the wildlife around her, intrigued by her surroundings. "I'm seeing someone now, Taylor," I spoke softly. "She's someone very special to me. I think that I'd like to stick with her for a while. Her name's Nyareth. You would definitely like her. I would have wanted you to meet her, if you had still been around." I then squinted my eyes mischievously at the headstone, imagining my sister's jubilant response. "You don't have to say 'I told you so,' but I just want you to know that I'm much happier than I was when I had been here the last time. Guess there was some good to be had out of this whole mess, eh?"

I blinked as my consciousness formulated words in my head akin to what my sister might say considering the circumstances. "Yes, definitely. Definitely," I nodded in agreement before I looked out to sea with a longing sigh. "You know, there's not a day that goes by that I don't miss you. The past few years have had a funny effect on me dealing with that, you know. I thought that no one could replace the hole you left in me, but I was dead wrong. As wrong as anyone could ever be, considering the state I was in, and I'm so glad that this happened to me."

With a knowing smile I stood and walked next to the headstone, looking at it appreciatively. "I just wanted you to know that things are looking up for me. Your little brother finally got his act together."

Looking out to the ocean, I took a deep breath, imagining the salty spray on my face. "I'll be back for your next birthday, Taylor. All this macho bullshit, it's over for me. I'm going to stay in this universe for as long as I can. It's something that I think you would have wanted. Besides…why would I waste a second chance like this?"

Nodding, I gave the headstone a final pat and departed from the shade of the oak tree. The sun beat down on me as the leaves ceased offering their protection and I held up a hand to protect my eyes. The warmth shed the chill that I had accumulated and I basked in the light, already feeling ten times better. Nya met me midway between the grave and the bench, her eyes glowing in my direction expectantly.

"You all right?" she asked.

"Huh?" I mumbled. "Oh yeah, I'm fine."

"How old would she have been today?"

"Thirty years. Almost twice as old as when she died."

Nya brushed my cheek with her hand, most likely giving me a smile under her visor. "I wish I had known her. Your sister, I mean. It seemed like you loved her a lot."

"I did. I really did."

"May I…" Nya fumbled. "May I say some words to her?"

I blinked, caught off guard. "Of course you can say something," I blurted out. "Please. Go right ahead."

"I'll just be a minute," she said as she briskly walked over to where I had previously stood before.

I went on ahead to the park bench, knowing the need to give others privacy for moments like these. Nya had granted me this, so it was only fair that I return the favor. I have to admit, I was intrigued as to what she was saying, but I knew that such a conversation was never going to reach my ears. That was all up to Nya if she wanted me to be privy to this and I would not press her for it otherwise.

Still, it was extremely nice of her to pay her respects like this, especially since she had never met my sister in person before. I wondered if quarians treated their dead like we do, with the same reverence and solemnness. We had prayers for the dead, did the quarians have the same?

It just illustrated just how much I still had to learn about quarians, despite the amount of time I had spent around one. Their rituals, beliefs, and ceremonies were still so foreign to me. Did I fully grasp what I was getting into or could I count on myself to go forward with my eyes wide open? The answer was obvious: I was ready to go all in on this for there was nothing that I did not know that I was not afraid to learn.

Besides, with Nya as my guide to her world, I knew that I would be in good hands.

A shadow fell across me; it was Nya, having finished speaking. Without a word, I stood up and offered my hand, noting the tensed posture of the quarian in front of me. She accepted the appendage and we both proceeded to walk out of the graveyard together, our moods not exactly brightened but lifted spiritually. Our walk slowed to almost a crawl as we gravitated towards putting our arms around the other as we headed back to the ship, uttering a sigh that felt like it took ten pounds off our chests.

Our errand finished, we left the planet with our thoughts extending to realms beyond our existence. Perhaps, in another universe, we might have all had the chance to meet. How nice that would have been.

The evening rush hour had died down by the time we got back to the Citadel, which meant that there was no time wasted in getting the ship docked and powered down. Five minutes later, we were stepping back into the apartment silently, too drowsy to speak.

As I began to put away my jacket in the closet, Nya gave me a hug before she walked into the bedroom. I was about to follow her, but I then remembered that I was craving a drink as my throat was a bit parched. The doors of the kitchen cabinet flew open and I took out a bottle of vodka, coffee liqueur, and some heavy cream from the fridge. Preparing a bowler glass full of ice, I began to measure the ingredients carefully before I mixed them up in a shaker.

Pouring the chilling cocktail into the glass, I looked out towards the bedroom, where Nya ostensibly was. I sipped at the drink, the sweet taste of the cream managing to drown out the bite of the vodka. Perfectly portioned, just the way I liked it.

"Hey Nya?" I called out as I began rummaging around in one of the drawers. "I'm having a drink right now, did you want one?"

There was no answer, but I did not focus on that tidbit for now as I was now taking timid glances into the cutlery drawer where I was currently searching. Buried underneath the measuring cups I could spy a little box covered in blue velvet with a gold clasp adorning it. Nervously, I adjusted the box so that one of the cups was covering it completely before I slid the drawer shut, breath heavy in my throat.

Carrying my drink, I walked slowly over to the bedroom, taking quick sips as I proceeded. "You know, Nya," I continued to speak out, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm thankful that you wanted to come with me today. It really meant a lot to me and…and it helped. You have no idea how much it helped. Taylor would have really liked you. I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you for joining me."

I rounded the corner, allowing me access to the room. "Nya? Nya are you-….oh."

Nya lay on her stomach atop the bed, snoring noises coming from her mouthpiece. Her eyes were closed behind the visor and I could see that her torso was moving from her lungs puffing in and out as she breathed, completely tuckered out.

For the longest time, I did not move, simply watching Nya sleep soundly and comfortably. I gave a quiet chuckle as I devoted this moment to memory. Seeing someone you love dozing and at their most peaceful is perhaps one of the best things a relationship has to offer. Whenever that happens, you get to see them when they have reached the limits of contentment, knowing that they put all their trust in you to sleep in your presence. I don't know why, but the thought almost made me tear up. And to think that I had been called a heartless bastard once.

I set my drink down on the nightstand, the little blue box already forgotten in my mind, and pulled the sheets and covers over Nya's still form. She uttered out a noise that sounded like a combination between a whimper and a sigh, one of her hands balling up into a limp fist. I patted the back of her head and backed out of the room after making sure that she was all tucked in, making sure to grab my drink.

Flicking off the lights to the room, I took one final glance backward, watching the quarian sleep some more. "Goodnight, Nya," I whispered softly into the room before I touched the door control, causing it to slide shut and let her rest continue undisturbed for the remainder of the night.

My friend…today has come to an end. But there will always be tomorrow. The strange thing is that I'm looking forward to it. We'll see each other soon.

A/N: And that, as they say, is that.

Half a year ago (to the day, in fact) I started this fic with the intention for it to be a light deviation from my usual fare. Like I had mentioned before, The Quantum Error was meant to be an experiment for me, to see if I could produce a story in a first-person perspective and to see if I could create an original character that I would not end up despising like some of my other works in the past. I figured that it would attract a niche audience, like my other stuff, and figured that it would be forgotten in the sea of submissions that grace this community.

From the moment I posted the first chapter, I have to say, I was baffled at just how enthusiastic the reception has been. Today, it is now my most reviewed, most favorited, and most viewed story I've ever written. That's something that I was definitely not expecting to happen when I planned this out. I'm just so thankful to everyone who read the story and offered some insight on what I wrote. The feedback helped out a lot.

Special thanks go to the individuals whose feedback helped me out immensely. Apologies to those that I forget to mention. These individuals include: XRaiderV1, pyrojack25, TheRangerBoy (the enthusiasm was infectious), Spiritstrike (the elaborate reviews were appreciated), The Blocked Writer (for providing me with a few ideas that I had not thought of yet), Squadpunk 2.0, and 5 Coloured Walker (for the constructive criticism).

For most of the time when I was writing this, I had a comfortable schedule going on. However, when I started working full time midway through production, I realized that all the time that I started to set aside for writing took away time for me to do anything else. If you think that it's easy to balance work and a hobby like this, I'm just going to say that it is most certainly not and I have a newfound respect for the people that do this on a day to day basis. It's also helped me come to terms with an unfortunate fact.

I've never intended to write for the next few years as I've been dreading this moment for a long time. I now realize that I cannot balance my work life and write without missing out on other aspects. I want more free time to do other projects and honestly, I think it's time for writing to take a back seat for a while. I've always enjoyed doing this as it's been quite a cathartic experience for me, but I can't keep this up forever. I'm just glad I held out to the point where I was able to finish this story, but I think that it's time for me to put myself in a state of semi-retirement. It's disappointing because I still have a few ideas that I would like to put to paper, but I don't know where I will be able to find the time to do so. I honestly believe that this is going to be the last story that I submit to the Mass Effect section, and if, for whatever reason, I do return it will be in a different section or perhaps I will write something in a more original format. But all that is quite a ways off.

Besides, in all honesty, after the reception The Quantum Error has received, I'm quite content with leaving on a high note. I'm happy that I was able to deliver a complete story and that a lot of people were able to enjoy it. You all were a wonderful audience to write for and I'm thankful that you read this story. It was a pleasure doing this.

If you have any questions for me, I always respond to PMs. I would very much like to hear your thoughts regarding the story.

Thank you all once again, and I hope you enjoyed The Quantum Error.

-Rob Sears

P.S. The Quantum Error has sequels! That's right, this story is now a trilogy! You can read installments Progeny and Patriarch right now, as a matter of fact, and continue to explore the exploits of Sam and Nya!