A/N: Sorry I've been away, I really have little excuse besides stress. Lots of stuff going on. But right now I'm in the early stages of a cold, and I'm a huge baby when I'm sick, so I'm not doing shit. I'm just gonna sit here and write. Bleh.
Oh, and I'm inflicting my pain on Hawke to make myself feel better. Hah.
Varric didn't often come to Hawke's mansion – if he needed to see her it was pretty much a given that she would be at the Hanged Man that night. On rare occasion that it was urgent he had enough favors to call in that there was always someone he could use as a messenger to find her and tell her she was needed. He'd come by when she'd first gotten the place, and after Leandra had passed, but beyond that, he didn't see the need to invade her personal space.
However, after a week with no word from her, he and her other companions were growing worried.
So it was that he found himself knocking on her front door one late morning, shuffling impatiently as he waited for Bodahn to appear.
"Messere Tethras!" the dwarf greeted as he opened the door, sounding relieved. "Oh, thank the Maker you're here," he said, ushering Varric inside.
"What's wrong, Bodahn? We haven't heard from Hawke in a while…" he trailed off, growing increasingly concerned at the manservant's reaction to his presence.
"Neither have I messere! She's been in her room for days, and won't come out! Orana leaves food by her door, and the tray always turns up empty later, but she still hasn't said a word to us!"
Varric's eyes sharpened as his apprehension skyrocketed. "And you didn't think to tell anyone?!" he barked. With that he made quick dash up the stairs, not listening to Bodahn's stammered apologies.
The dwarf pounded on Hawke's bedroom door, barely noticing when her dog, who was stationed next to it, gave a low growl of warning. "Hawke! It's me, what's going on?" Silence. "Talk to me woman, or I'm coming in there!"
Finally, he heard a weak, gravelly voice. "Go away…"
Varric's brow furrowed. "Hawke are you alright? What's happened to you?"
Once again there was no response.
Bodahn by now was standing behind Varric, nervously wringing his hands. "Messere, maybe you should -"
Whatever he was going to say was cut off by his surprise when Varric deftly picked the lock on Hawke's door and strolled in, uncaring of her or her servant's opinion on the matter.
The room was dark, only a few dim embers from the fireplace providing any light. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw that there was a large pile of blankets and pillows on the bed, and though he couldn't see her, he could only assume Hawke was among them. He glanced down when he felt the wet nose of Hercules, her mabari, nudge his arm with a low whine. He absentmindedly patted the dog on the head and walked forward.
"Hawke? You in there?" he asked warily.
"I said go away," her voice grunted out from somewhere amid the pile.
"Not happening, sweetheart," he only used the term of endearment when he was particularly worried about her, though neither of them had ever mentioned it. He glanced around the room, hoping to figure out what had her hiding out in here. With some surprise, he noted the pile of tissues by her nightstand, the multiple empty mugs that rested atop it, and heard a little sniffle come from the pile of blankets and pillows.
With a quiet chuckle, he asked "Are you sick?"
"No," she replied too quickly. "…Maybe."
Her petulant response had him break into full-blown laughter, partly from relief he was sure.
The pile of blankets squirmed around and finally her face popped out, black hair mussed and sticking up, her mouth turned downward in a frown. "Don't laugh, this isn't funny. I think I'm dying."
Varric just chuckled and shook his head. He then stepped over to her nightstand and began gathering mugs in his arms.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm gonna get this mess out of here, get that fire going again and have Bodahn bring you some soup. Then Blondie's gonna come over and have a look at you."
Hawke groaned and re-submerged herself in her blanket pile. "Varric, I don't want to get anyone else sick."
"Blondie's never had so much as a headache. And you need to get better, so no arguments."
An annoyed grunt sounded from inside the blankets, but Hawke was apparently too miserable or tired to fight him. Varric chuckled again.
"Don't worry sweetheart. We'll take care of you."
Over the next few days, each of Hawke's companions came to see her in turn, taking shifts to care for her. Anders was first to visit, and after checking her over, he proclaimed she simply had a bad cold, which there was unfortunately no cure for, even with magic. He told her to stay in bed, drink copious amounts of water, and rest. She grumbled at the inflicted house arrest, but seemed all too happy to be allowed to sleep as much as she wanted. The mage puttered about the room, setting it up to help her heal quicker, opening up the windows to let in fresh air, keeping her fire going strong (and setting many logs beside it so others could feed it,) and arranging her more sensibly in her bedding, under straightened blankets and leaning back against many pillows. She'd complained that laying down flat stuffed up her nose too much and made her head ache.
Aveline came to visit shortly after, as Anders couldn't stay away from his clinic. She brought with her some surprisingly spicy tea which did wonders for Hawke's throat, and acted rather like a mother hen, fluffing up her pillows and tucking her blankets more firmly around her. She'd then ordered the woman to sleep the way she might order one of her guards to carry out an order – firmly, not allowing reproach, but not unkindly. Hawke had woken a few times, hazily seeing Aveline sitting in a chair next to her bed, idly turning the pages of a book, but never once leaving her side.
Isabela arrived after her, taking the time to make a couple of snide remarks to the guard-captain, and then plopped herself backwards in the chair next to Hawke, and promptly began telling her raunchy jokes until she laughed. She'd chuckled and apologized when this sent her into a coughing fit, and stuck to what she'd proclaimed "the latest juicy gossip" for the remainder of her visit.
Merril came by after that, spoon feeding Hawke some tasty soup she'd made, and happily chattering to her about ancient elven stories. Though she didn't get much chance to respond to the elf's cheerful prattling, Hawke smiled at the woman's care, and only interrupted to ask her to translate when she slipped into elven. Merril had been delighted when she'd discovered Hawke's interest in the language, seeing as so few humans cared at all, and was always eager to teach her what little the people knew.
Though Bethany was unable to visit, Varric brought a letter from her the next day, which he read to her while she sipped on tea. Bethany was as kind as always, with the little bit of bossiness she'd always possessed, telling her sister to be more careful and get better soon, and threatening to break out of the gallows just to come and visit some violence upon her if she didn't. Hawke had chuckled at that, and she and the dwarf had shared a bittersweet smile at her sister's absence.
Sebastian came next, with a pouch of herbs he told her would clear her sinuses when ingested with food or drink. She thanked him profusely, as just the smell of them permeating from the bag seemed to make breathing easier. He passed on the revered mother's well wishes and chatted amiably with her about the few events among the city that she had missed. He was quick to bring her anything she asked for, and patted her hand fondly when she made any sounds of discomfort. She found his presence soothing and was surprised when she woke later, not realizing she'd fallen asleep.
Fenris was there then, sitting beside her and looking very uncomfortable. Despite their renewed relationship, he always seemed unsure of how to show her his affection, and it showed now. Hawke tactfully mentioned that she'd like it if he read one of the books on her shelves to her, as she wanted to know how his reading skills were coming along. They both knew he had little to no trouble now, but he appreciated the proposal, as it was a simple way to keep her company. She listened with drooping eyes to the deep cadence of his voice for a long while, always pleased to her him speak. She eventually complained of feeling a bit warm, and he touched his forehead to hers, setting her cheeks aflame. He grinned at that, as she wasn't prone to blushing normally, kissed her knuckles, and told her he was pretty sure her fever was breaking, which she breathed out a relieved sigh at. He then told her to get some more sleep, and she smiled when she noticed he still held her hand, and didn't let go as she slipped back into slumber.
He was still there when she next woke, his head lolled to one side as he slept as well in the chair beside her. Hawke took a slow deep breath, the first easy one she'd had in days. Her cold was finally gone.
"Hawke!"
The woman was greeted with the sound of her name from the majority of her companions as she entered Varric's private rooms in the bar, everyone sitting around the table playing Wicked Grace. Merril rose to give her a tight hug, which Hawke returned (carefully, as she was always afraid of breaking the thin woman.)
Varric patted her on the back as she passed, and Isabela tried to pinch her bum, though Hawke sidestepped her with a mock glare. She finally sat between Aveline and Fenris, the guard-captian giving her shoulder a squeeze with an easy smile. Fenris casually draped his arm over the back of her chair, and Hawke bumped his knee gently with hers.
They were all talking over each other, filling her in on all she'd missed while sick, Isabela dealing out cards, Anders laughing at something Varric had said, Aveline rolling her eyes and the pirate purposely leaning too far over so her cleavage was on display, making Sebastian blush profusely and Fenris steadfastly ignore her.
Hawke leaned back and smiled at the sight of her friends acting the same way they always had, over the top and warm, and was glad she had this extended family to care for her when she needed them.
A/N: I guess the end is cheesy, but I still think it's kinda cute. :) This partly came from me being sick right now, and partly from wanting to write some Daddy Varric stuff cause it's so damn cute. I hope he wasn't too out of character, I had a little trouble capturing his voice.
All comments are very much appreciated! You guys are awesome!
Happy reading! :)