It was a warm sunny day in Kirkwall, the flowers in the gardens and balconies of Hightown were in full bloom, the birds were singing and the streets were filled with people headed to the markets to shop or to the docks to fish.
Since there were no urgent quests in desperate need of doing and Having just returned from the wounded coast two days ago, Hawke decided to go visit Merrill in Lowtown.
Merrill had been up most of the night with a bad cough, sore throat and fever and had just fallen asleep moments before Hawke walked in the door.
Hawke entered the little shack to notice the previous night's dishes had not been washed, the bedding was in shambles with a very sickly Merrill laying curled up in a ball under them and an assortment of herbs and elixirs were set up on a nearby table.
Merrill was out cold so Hawke carefully cleaned the dishes and made some soup over the fireplace. The unit smelled of chicken soup by the time Hawke was finished and Merrill wakes to find her place spotless.
As she sits up in bed to see what is going on, the cool cloth that was on her head falls towards the straw mattress.
A bowl of what seems to be chicken broth and a cup of tea laced with honey are thrust towards her in a loving fashion and Hawke is fussing over her.
As the soup is slowly eaten and the tea has been drunk, Merrill realises that it's about time for another dose of medication.
She grabs the prepared elixir and takes a spoonful and washes it down with a nearby glass of water.
Hawke turns around to see her lover getting comfortable under the covers, Merrill's body trembling with chills from the fever.
Hawke sits next to Merrill on the bed and gently runs circles on her back until she drifts off to sleep.
When Merrill finally drifts off to sleep Hawke quietly sneaks out of the unit to go get Anders.
When Hawke arrived back at the unit with Anders in tow, Merrill was still fast asleep.
Merrill wakes up to find Anders in her unit with Hawke boiling water over the stove.
Anders checks Merrill over only to tell both Hawke and Merrill that she had a really bad cold and there wasn't much he could do for her other than advise that the treatments Merrill was already taking were the correct treatment.
He bid them a good day and headed back to his clinic.
Cringing at the sound of her voice Merrill thanked Hawke and curled back under the covers.
Hawke not wanting to leave her lover alone and sick in her unit decide to stay for a few days and nurse Merrill back to health.