This story is based on an idea that corglacier and I were tossing around. It is the idea that both Bishop and my CE assassin Carianna could actually earn redemption and become better people.

I owe stickchick a ton for helping me with this; I couldn't have done it without her. It's totally alternate universe, and outside the OC, but it's just meant to be a good, emotional read. So, don't take it too seriously, alright?

This was going to be the hardest part of my life. I knew it; I knew it from the moment I'd made that stupid promise to everyone. But I was sick of everything. I was sick of the murders, I was sick of the blood on my hands. I was sick of…everything.

I wanted to be free from my past; I wanted to start anew. I'd made a promise to my comrades that if we were to make it out of the King of Shadow's lair alive, I would dedicate myself to the Morninglord and repent for my wrongdoings. I knew someone who wanted redemption as well, but he refused to budge; he thought he was too far gone to be saved. He claimed he was a "lost cause;" he called me a fool for pledging my life to Lathander. This was my twentieth attempt to convince him. We'd been going at this for weeks.

I was pacing back and forth, gesturing wildly as I looked at the ranger sitting on the log next to me. "Bishop, please, just listen to me…just…"

"Give up, Cari, you can't save me. I'm too far down that other path to turn back now."

"That's what I said, just, please…come with me. I…want you to be with me, to be with me while I do this…"

"Why me? Why not bring the paladin?"

"Bishop," I sat down next to him; taking his rough, calloused hands in mine, "please…I know you want this as much as I do. You're not as far gone as you think you are. You could have killed me so many times; how many times did I lie next to you, Bishop? How many times could you have slit my throat in my sleep?"

The ranger looked at the ground. "You know why I didn't, Cari. I still owed that debt to Duncan."

I stared at him; I was hesitant and nervous. "You know as well as I do that his debt was a façade, Bishop. Your debt was repaid the minute we returned with Shandra. You know why you didn't. I'm no churchgoer, but if Lathander is willing to…I don't know, he's the God of renewal, so if he's willing to give me another chance, don't you want those chains to come off, Bishop? Do you want to die for that to happen, or do you want an alternative?" I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. "Bishop, I don't want you to die. And after what you did at the Keep; please, come with me, repent with me. I've promised these priests that I'd try…I don't want to lose you, Bishop. Please." I pleaded with him as the tears spilled down my cheeks.

Bishop looked up at me, his amber eyes studying me closely. I felt the tears falling on our hands. "Bishop…whether you think you can or not, I know you're still capable of caring. Please…you know how we are together. Don't…just…I don't know…I want all those chains off of you, so you can be free, but I don't want it to come with your death. I already feel the weight of my past lifting just by talking to you, just by recognizing that I needed help, just…Bishop; I don't know what else I can say to you…"

I winced as he pulled his hands away; I knew this was hopeless. I turned away and made to stand up, but a strong hand grabbed my arm and held me down. I looked at him, his expression was unreadable. "Why do you care so much, Cari?"

I sighed. "I don't know…I just do. I have come to care for you. I know I shouldn't, and I know it's not your nature to get tied down, but I just…I care for you. There, I said it, now can we commence with your usual barrage of insults so I can leave and you can laugh at me?"

To my surprise, no insults came. Instead, I saw tears welling in the ranger's wolf-like eyes as he slid his hands back into mine. "Cari…why do you care? After I tried to kill you? And nearly succeeded?"

I sighed again. "Because, Bishop, we've spent so much time together, and we've lain together so many times…I can see a good man in there. I just want you to find your release from your past, as I am. And…" I said quietly, "I'd like to think you care about me too, because you didn't fight me in the mere. You left, and you found me when we emerged. You waited for me. I'd like to think you…care."

It was the ranger's turn to sigh. The tears welling in his eyes now threatened to spill over. "Cari, what do you want me to say?"

I shook my head. "I don't want you to say anything. I just want you to come with me; I want you to take the chance I'm giving you, the chance Lathander is giving you, to turn around and come back. If I can do it, and I was as bad as I was, there's no way you couldn't. Don't you want those chains off of you?"

Bishop stared at me; the light from the nearby fire flickering in his eyes. "He'd give me that chance, Cari?"

I nodded. "It's all I want, Bishop." He bent his head down and pulled my hands to his lips. I could feel his warm tears on my skin. His shoulders started to tremble as the tears fell freely; he let go of my hands and threw his arms around my waist, pulling me close to him. I slid my arms around his shoulders, one hand sliding up his neck to stroke his hair as I held him; tears falling down my cheeks.

We sat like that for a long time, his head resting on my shoulder as I gently ran my fingers through his reddish-brown hair. After what felt like an eternity, his tears slowed. He pulled away and sat up; I looked in his bloodshot eyes and saw a light that hadn't been there before; it probably hadn't been there in years. "Cari?" he whispered.

"Yes, Bishop?"

"I'm scared. For the first time in my life, I'm truly scared. I don't know what I'm going to do…I've done so many horrible things in my past…"

I pressed a finger to his lips and silenced him. "Bishop, for every horrible thing you've done, I have one to match. And if they're willing to give me a chance for a new life…"

For the first time in the years I'd known him, he smiled. Not his usual smirk or sneer, but a warm, genuine smile. He reached out and caressed my cheek. "Cari…you'll be with me through all of this, right?"

I nodded. "I'll be there for every step. We'll be there for each other." He closed his eyes and leaned in, kissing me softly. Every kiss I'd gotten from him was usually hungry, or needy, or aggressive; never had he kissed me as gently as he did right then.

He pulled away, his forehead resting against mine as he looked down at my hands. "Will you lay with me tonight, Cari? I just want you to be with me, nothing has to happen."

I smiled back at him. "That would be wonderful. Let's set up our bedrolls, eh?"

Bishop and I proceeded to lay out our bedding next to each other; we stripped down and climbed in. I snuggled my back up against his chest as he wrapped his arm around me and held me close. This was to be the first time we would lie together without anything sexual happening. He asked Karnwyr to keep watch as we drifted off to sleep; the dawn, and Lathander, was to bring a new day, and a new beginning.

I awoke the next morning to Bishop stroking my hair. I opened my eyes and looked up at him; he was smiling as he played with my long, dark hair. He had changed, I could tell before we even made it back to the temple. "You're beautiful, Cari," he murmured, leaning in to kiss my forehead. I giggled, reaching up to caress his unshaven cheek. "You're quite handsome yourself there, ranger."

The smile slowly faded from his face. "We're really going to do this then, right?" I nodded. "Right, there's a temple of Lathander not too far away, I know the priest, and I think he'd be happy to meet you." Bishop sighed. "I'm nervous, Cari. I don't know what I'm going to do…"

I smiled at him. "That's why we're going to the temple. The priest there can point you in the right direction." The smile returned to his face; he had a beautiful smile that touched his amber-brown eyes. I saw it so rarely that I cherished each one. "Then we should set out, eh?"

"Yeah, let's get the camp torn down." We dressed and packed up camp; Bishop threw Karnwyr a strip of dried meat from his pack as he loaded up. I reached out and squeezed his hand, and we set of for the temple.

If someone had told me six months ago, that six months into the future, I'd be sitting in a temple to Lathander, listening to Brother Talman tell me about the Morninglord, redemption, rebirth, and the renewal of the soul, and I'd be sitting there with of all people Bishop, the faithless himself…well, I'd have laughed in their face.

Despite that, here we were, in a small temple devoted to the Morninglord, Bishop's hand in mine as we listened to Brother Talman tell us what needed to be done to begin anew. The ranger's head was bowed; his brow furrowed in concentration as he took in the priest's words.

"Now, you two, we usually don't take in such…extreme cases unless you really want to change. Are you prepared for what may be a long, arduous journey?"

"Yes, sir," Bishop said quietly; his grip on my hand tightened.

"We are, sir," I said, nodding.

"Alright, now, to start out, I want you to go and try and right some of the more egregious wrongs you have both committed. Now, I know that you will not be able to correct them all; I just want you to try your hardest. Now, Cari, I know some of your sins are dreadful; you may have a long road ahead of you to correct those. You, boy…"

"Bishop, sir," he said softly.

"Bishop, I do not know your sins, but judging by the company you keep…and the fact that you had to be convinced to come here speaks volumes. What have you done, boy?"

"Far too much, sir." Bishop's eyes were fixed on a spot on the floor that I'm sure he couldn't find that interesting.

The priest sighed. "Alright, boy, I want you to accompany this young woman as she travels; I want you to support each other as you go; confronting your past and facing the horrors you have committed is a harsh and unforgiving trial. Therefore, you should not do this alone."

I nodded to Brother Talman. "Thank you, sir, for this chance to repent. We shall return when our deed is done…no matter how long it takes."

Bishop squeezed my hand tighter. "Aye, sir, we will be back."

Brother Talman smiled. "Then take this blessing of Lathander, and good luck with your journey." I felt Bishop shiver as Lathander's blessing flowed over us; we stood up and bowed to Brother Talman; we set off to begin our journey of redemption.

"You're kidding me, Bishop. How many more of these do we have to visit?"

"This is the last one, I promise."

Eight months; fifteen families and six brothels later, Bishop and I stood in front of our seventh. We'd agreed to let me complete mine first; I visited most of the families of those I had murdered and begged for forgiveness. I recognized that my repentance couldn't bring their murdered loved ones back, but I hope that they at least gained closure.

Bishop's sins were much more…interesting. Fourteen taverns for random thefts, brawls and the occasional groping; seventeen different merchant's stores for again-random thefts, brawls and the occasional groping. This was our seventh brothel; these apologies and contritions usually involved groping.

These last eight months have proven to be the best eight months of my life. Granted, I've been chased from a few people's homes with some random farm implements, but it felt amazing to get all the weight off my chest; to be able to start a new life for myself.

I'd never seen Bishop happier, but we also hadn't started on his final three destinations. He smiled with more ease than ever; he laughed more and danced more…his usual outward sarcasm was now a wry wit, much like that of my old companion Sand. His sharp tongue was now pointed only to himself or at me in a good-natured joke.

It wasn't easy for Bishop at first; his habit of seeing everyone as weak hindered us the first couple months, seeing as half the time he'd just sarcastically reply, "Do it yourself," or "Leave us alone," or my personal favorite, "Shove off, half-wit." Slowly, however, that part of him faded, to be replaced by one who actually enjoyed helping others.

I remember how hard he laughed when I climbed the oak tree in Old Lady Jenkins' backyard to rescue her cat, Cuddles. We had drawn straws to see who would do it; I lost. Bishop laughed as I scampered up the branches; he laughed even harder when the cat jumped down out of its own accord as I crawled nearer. Luckily, he stopped laughing long enough to catch me as I fell from the branch. Normally, he'd have grumbled at the payment for our actions (an apple a piece), but the new Bishop took it and ate it happily.

I couldn't help it; I was falling for him. I loved his smile, the brightness in his eyes as we journeyed together. I loved him. I didn't know if he loved me in return, but for my heart to feel love once more was amazing.

And even now, as we stood outside the door of our seventh brothel, this one called "Madame Simone's," I couldn't help but smile and shake my head as Bishop blushed. "Bishop, what did you do in this one, skip out without paying?"

He smiled sadly. "I wish it were that easy. This one is much more…complicated." I frowned. "Complicated, how?"

The ranger sighed. "I lost control, Cari, I wasn't even a…umm…customer, I had just stepped in for a drink when one of the…err…less attractive women came over and wouldn't leave me alone. I was tired, and angry…and mildly drunk by this point…and I killed her, Cari," he finished nervously.

I stared at him. "You killed her?"

He nodded sadly. "I didn't mean to, she just…she wouldn't leave me alone, even though I told her to. I regret it now. I just want to make this right."

I smiled; patting him on the arm as I rested my other hand on the hilt of my katana. "Bishop, don't worry, this is the last one. If they try anything, I'm here, remember?"

Bishop smiled. "Thank you, Cari. I know you are; it means a lot to me," he murmured, leaning in to kiss my cheek. I blushed; our newfound selves were suddenly quite shy around each other. We hadn't lain together since that night in the woods, the one when I'd convinced him to come with me. I occasionally missed his animalistic passion, but the new, shy Bishop was much sweeter.

I nodded to him and we stepped inside. Everything went quiet.