There were new scars, old and new criss crossing in a framework that told of the front lines of battles, each time he found a new one he kissed it in apology for not being able to stand between her and her attacker. He skin was as smooth as he remembered, but firmer, her battles here longer and more wearying. The muscle tissue reknitting ever stronger, there was so little fat on her now that, by dwarves standards at least, she was worryingly thin. On a human she probably would still have been called stout. Yet he didn't care, being with her again, able to touch her and look into her eyes meant more than the criticisms of anyone else.

He did not know how he had managed to compare having sex with Morrigan to making love to her. Because that's what it was, an extension of his love for her that he could give himself up to her. There was no guard between them, just smiles and gentle giggles in the semi darkness as he found his way around her body again, renewing the familiarity of his love. His heart felt full, almost painful to bursting as he had found her again. She lay in his arms and looked up at him as though she had been lost and he had rescued her, it was possible she felt that way too, even though he felt like scum about causing her to come here in the first place.

'So what happened here.' He asked as he ran a finger down a scar that cross her collar bone.

She smiled faintly. 'Hurlock in Ortan Thaig.' She shrugged. 'Crushed his brain with the shield and fed him to the spiders.' Alistair chuckled softly at the image.

'You shouldn't encourage them.' He said with a smile.

'Actually, you can train them.' She said after a moment. 'With time, patience and a seemingly endless supply of darkspawn.' He laughed and kissed her.

'Still seemingly endless?' He asked as he looked down into her warm brown eyes. The flashes of pain in her eyes he caught were enough to make him feel regret for the rest of his life.

She considered, it was a habit he had seen from the very beginning, she would consider all angles of a decision before choosing the response she thought most appropriate. 'There are fewer than before, they have retreated from the surface and back to their homes here. There are still armies of them, bands, after a blight there will always be fewer, even in the dark roads.' She closed her eyes. 'Living down here, you get the sense of them more, from miles around sometimes.' She opened her eyes and he tilted his head.

'So you knew I wasn't a darkspawn when you hit me?' He asked her and she smiled a moment before drawing her face together seriously.

'Anyone who breaks into my home down in the deep roads probably deserved it.' He laughed softly and bent to kiss the tip of her nose.

'My dwarven terror.' He said affectionately.

'Everyone's I think.' She said with a smirk.

'Possibly. What about…' He looked for another new scar, spying the burn mark across her stomach. She gripped his wrist before he touched it, he looked up at her face, startled by the sudden fear and anguish he saw there.

'Not that one, not right now.' The sorrow was intense and he reached out to hold her to him tenderly.

'It's okay.' He said softly. 'Whatever happened, whatever you did or felt you had to do. I understand.' He also took responsibility for it, it was his fault she was here in the first place, he should have developed a spine earlier. He stroked her hair softly as she clung to him, he had promised her he wouldn't leave her again and even if he had to change all the laws of society, he would keep that promise. 'Sleep, I will be here when you wake up.'

He listened to her as she relaxed into his arms, her breathing slow and steady in the light of the fire. She was a comforting warmth against his side and he looked down at her as she slept, her round, youthful face as beautiful as he remembered. He considered her. She was a hero, maybe he could… find a way to let the court decide she could stay with him, he hated the idea that she would only be a mistress because she was a dwarf. Maybe he could find a way to link nobility below the surface with nobility above, she was almost a queen and she was certainly a princess even if her family had lost the throne. It was a strange concept, one that made his head hurt.

The thing was, he'd never heard of any dwarf, human relationships, not even with the surface dwarves. They stayed to their own kind after all. He understood the human prejudice against non humans, he had tried to deal with the alienages and with Zevran's help he had made some inroads. He didn't even know if they were biologically compatible. He looked down at her and considered. Elves bore human children, something to do with their genetics changing, but he had no evidence to believe the same thing happening with dwarves. Maybe he could ask the shaperate, if anyone would know it was them.

He moved a lock of her hair from her forehead and smiled. He had promised he would make it work and he would, this was far to precious to let go. He curled on his side, laying his cheek against the top of her head as he held her. Maybe he would just marry her and let the nobles scream about it afterwards, line be damned.