Notes: This carries on directly from where Chapter 3 left off, so they're still on the road on the first trip since everything happened. I didn't plan to update today, but I was organising my fics and trying to get some sort of action plan organised and I realised I have six stories on the go at the moment... I need to get this finished! I'm not going to rush it, I won't upload until I'm happy, but I need to get a bit of a move on if I can. So, we've dealt with a lot of the emotional things; now we have a few physical issues to deal with, and a silly argument. Bonus points to anyone who spots the X-Files quote!

The evening's camp was horribly awkward. That effortless, practised ease that Broad Foot had commented on was gone; neither of them were entirely sure how to act now. This was the first time they had been truly alone together for any real length of time since learning one another's feelings, and for all his supposed experience, Numair was no more certain of what to do than Daine. In some ways it was similar to when they had first started working together; in other ways far different. And despite their discussion that morning, there was an acute physical awareness between them that was making him nervous.

They had cared for the horses and eaten in more or less total silence; neither of them had moved to unpack their bedrolls yet. Now it was growing later, both of them were tired, and yet neither wanted to make the first move. Eventually he laughed softly at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. "This is stupid."

She looked up quickly, then nodded, looking embarrassed. "It is. It's... awkward."

He nodded rueful agreement. "It shouldn't be." Hesitating, he finally stood and moved to the pile of bedding near the fire, not entirely certain of what he was going to do but knowing that he had to do something. Apparently reaching the same conclusion, she joined him and they began sorting out the blankets. He wasn't sure who started laughing first, himself or her, but it set the other one off and the tension had eased noticeably by the time they both caught their breath.

At length he decided to break the silence, giving her a quick smile. "I promise to behave myself. For tonight, at least," he added, deliberately teasing; it made her blush, but she smiled a little before she ducked her head, knowing that he wasn't being serious.

"It's not that. I just... What will folks think?"

"I don't care what they think," he said practically. "I care what you think." He grinned ruefully. "I think we've got enough to sort out between the two of us without factoring everyone else into it, don't you? Besides, nobody needs to know yet, except us."

Daine nodded slowly, conceding the point, but she still hesitated. Leaving her to make up her own mind, he made up his own bed near the fire and settled down, outwardly calm as he looked up at her; inwardly his heart was racing and his mind a mess of so many different emotions he wasn't sure what he was thinking at this point. She stared down at him, but her eyes weren't focused on his face; he had a feeling she might well be asking the horses for advice, a theory supported by a snort from Cloud that sounded suspiciously like a snigger.

In the end she settled down nearby, not quite within easy touching distance yet close enough for him to hear her breathing; a compromise of sorts, he supposed. He should have left it alone, but something made him ask in a pitiful voice, "Don't I even get a goodnight kiss?"

She laughed softly and blew him a kiss, making no attempt to move. "Good night, Numair."

Laughing with her, he rolled over, grinning wryly at her before closing his eyes. "Good night."

He woke some hours later, and for a confused moment wasn't sure why. The horses were silent; the fire had died to glowing embers. After a moment he was more awake, aware of warmth against him; at some point in the night he had rolled over to face the fire and Daine was now curled against his back, one arm around his waist. He could tell from the sound of her breathing – and, indeed, the feel of her breath stirring his shirt – that she was still deeply asleep.

It should have felt awkward; he wasn't sure why it didn't. He'd never really been much for physical contact except in times of stress; certainly he preferred to sleep alone without anything – or anyone – touching him, or always had until now. Possibly it should have been sexual, too; that was there, somewhere, but it wasn't really important. Instead it felt... almost unremarkable, as though it was perfectly normal. He relaxed, closing his eyes once more and drifting quite happily back towards sleep.

When she woke, he was still awake, although only just. He heard her draw in a sharp breath, then felt her begin pulling away, and heard himself make a sleepy sound of protest; she froze. "Numair?" she whispered.

"You don't have to move," he mumbled drowsily.

There was a long pause; he almost fell asleep again before she replied uncertainly, "Are you sure?"

"I promised to behave, remember?" he answered sleepily. "Anyway, you're warm."

He heard laughter in her voice. "It's not even close to autumn yet; you can't possibly be cold." He didn't answer, and after another long pause she hesitantly settled against his back once more.

Her arm was still draped over him; he tentatively linked his fingers with hers, and when she didn't pull away he relaxed against her, stifling a yawn. "Good night." She echoed him softly, and he was asleep within moments.

Over the next few days, they settled into a routine, of sorts; during the day they journeyed as though it was just another day's work, settling back into the old familiar patterns as they searched for signs of 'trouble' – keeping alert for unusual levels of immortal activity, mostly, with Daine asking the local wildlife and Numair watching for magical signs. There wasn't much to find at the moment; whatever the gods had done seemed to have frightened everything into hiding, at least temporarily, although that certainly wouldn't last.

The evenings were the time he liked best, when they'd set up camp and looked after the horses and eaten and cleaned up and done all the countless little chores; once all that was done, they just sat and talked quietly. Not about anything important, not really; just... talking. It was something he had sorely missed over the last few months – even if he hadn't been trying to keep his distance, they'd simply been too busy and too tired to just enjoy one another's company. And it was better now, because they could touch as they talked; she would lean against his shoulder, or he'd catch himself playing with her hair, and it didn't need to mean anything. He didn't have to fret about whether or not it was 'appropriate' any more, and she didn't need to feel awkward and wonder what other people might think.

At night they had attempted to stick to the original plan of sleeping close to one another, but still maintaining that last little distance; after the third night in a row waking up to find her curled against his back or his side, Numair had smiled and told her that it clearly wasn't working. After making sure that he really didn't mind – as if he would object – she had given in on that score, and since then they had been sharing the same blankets. It had taken him a few nights to adjust; travelling with Daine meant that occasionally he did get curious animals invading his bedroll, but he wasn't used to it happening quite so frequently. He also hadn't realised how much Kitten fidgeted in her sleep; her claws were sharp if you weren't expecting it.

Catching him tending a small scratch on his arm one morning, Daine looked awkward. "Sorry."

He blinked at her, not quite awake yet. "Why? I'm reasonably certain it wasn't you. I'm sure I would have noticed," he replied dryly, suppressing a smile. He had no intention of telling her, but Kitten wasn't the only restless sleeper; over the past couple of nights he had observed that Daine tended to twitch in her sleep sometimes, almost exactly like a dreaming puppy. That had been funny enough all by itself, but Numair had been further amused by his own reaction; frankly, he thought it was adorable.

"Well, no, but... seems a bit unfair to expect you to share with half the woods at night," she said nervously. It hadn't occurred to him to think of this as a potential issue, but apparently it had been bothering her, if the worried expression in her eyes was anything to go by. Raking his hair back with his fingers and tying it into its usual tail, he smiled at her.

"Don't be ridiculous, magelet. If I objected, I'd still be on the other side of the fire. I likeknowing that your friends don't mind my being so close to you." Reaching out, he cupped her cheek gently, running his thumb along her lower lip as he met her eyes. "Daine, I've accepted what your magic means for years. I'm aware that you come with an insane baby dragon and a vicious pony attached. I'd never ask you to try and discourage the People from visiting you; it's part of who you are." When she relaxed, he grinned mischievously at her as he turned away. "Although I would hope they won't always be around. Privacy would be nice sometimes."

"Don't you ever get tired of embarrassing me?" she complained, trying not to smile even as she flushed red. She caught a flicker of thought from the horses; Cloud was actually pleased to be described as vicious, and Spots found the whole exchange hilarious.

"No," Numair replied cheerfully. "You even look lovely when you're blushing." She scowled at him, and his grin broadened. "And when you're glaring at me, I'm afraid."

"You're impossible," she groused.

"But you love me anyway, right?" he asked innocently, and felt something jump inside his chest when she smiled at him.

"I must be mad, but yes."

"I prefer to think that you have excellent taste," he replied loftily, collecting their half-empty water flasks and turning towards the stream to try and hide the fact that he was grinning like an idiot again. "In fact, you can prove it – it's your turn to make breakfast."

Daine had to admit that she felt better now that they had started to talk about things. It was good to know that Numair didn't seem to be expecting anything – although she hadn't really imagined that he would try and talk her into bedding him, the way a few of her erstwhile suitors had done (and she really didn't want to imagine his reaction had he known just how much pressure one or two of them had put on her). The slow pace they were setting gave them both time to grow used to things; it was nice to know that Numair was almost as uncertain as she was.

And there was a lot to get used to, really, especially now that they slept so close – sharing a bed with her animal friends wasn't the same as waking up curled around another person, and it definitely hadn't prepared her for the first time she woke up to find him spooned against her with his face buried in her neck. She could feel every inch of his body, and didn't quite dare to even breathe until she registered that he was actually still asleep and clearly had no idea of the state he was in. When she finally risked waking him, unsure of how he was going to react, he only chuckled drowsily, mumbled a vague apology and shifted his hips back and away from her before going back to sleep; apparently it wasn't going to be a problem. He had told her years ago that it was an involuntary male reaction – she still smiled at the memory of how embarrassed they had both been during that particular conversation; she blushed almost as much the next morning, when he admitted that this time it hadn't been entirely involuntary.

It wasn't the first time she had been uncomfortably aware of male arousal – although under very different circumstances – but she had to admit that it was different now. She trusted Numair, and she had never trusted any of those boys at all, but it was more than that – somehow, knowing that Numair wanted her made her feel good, rather than uncomfortable or nervous. He wasn't a teenager lusting after anything vaguely female, and whatever he might say she was pretty sure he could have any woman he wanted; so the fact that he had chosen her was reason enough to feel good about herself, even if she wasn't entirely sure why he had. And a small part of her found it curiously exciting to know that he did want her; he was being so careful not to put any pressure on her that she could start to think about what might come next without fear.

On that first trip, they found nothing much to report – the towns and villages they passed were recovering well enough from the war; only the larger cities such as Port Caynn, Port Legann and Corus itself had been seriously damaged, at least in this part of the country. Along the coast and the Scanran border the problems were no doubt worse; they would probably be travelling that way soon enough. There wasn't much immortal activity to report either; a few sightings, but nothing excessive.

"It feels like... like a rabbit warren when an eagle flies over," Daine explained to Jonathan when they reported to him on their return to the palace. "The war ending like that has scared everything into hiding. Once they realise it's all clear, things will start returning to normal, I think."

"Whatever 'normal' means," Numair murmured absently; he was in one of his introspective moods and seemed to be thinking about something else entirely.

"Well, at least we've got some breathing space," Jon said, seeming relieved. "We need it. The Own, the army and the Riders are scattered all over the country helping to rebuild; if there was any kind of organised threat still remaining, we could be in trouble. For now, then, if you both could continue scouting for trouble? George is sifting through rumours; when we know the worst areas, I'll send you off to investigate."

"We don't have to go out again straight away, do we?" Daine asked plaintively, giving Jon a pleading look. She preferred the peace and quiet of being out on the road with just Numair, Kitten and the horses, and their work was important, but it would still be nice to have a chance to rest for a day or two first. Neither of them were fully recovered from the months of constantly travelling and fighting.

The king smiled a little sadly. "I know you're both tired. I'm trying, but we're stretched thin at the moment, and the two of you are the best team I have as far as immortals are concerned."

"Oh, isn't it nice to be suddenly so highly regarded," Numair muttered in a rueful tone, abandoning his contemplative staring into space and smiling at Daine. "I think this means we'd be better off if we were less amazing and talented, magelet." She grinned back at him as Jon snorted.

"Speaking of high regard," the king said thoughtfully, "have you given it any more thought, Numair?"

The mage looked blank for a moment before giving his monarch an exasperated glare. "Not this again, Jon. I told you, I'm not interested in any kind of reward."

"And what about you, Daine?"

"Numair's right," she said with a shrug, "we don't need anything, or want anything." Numair had told her about his conversation with Jon when they had returned from Legann; his description of Jon's expression had sent her into helpless giggles, and the memory made her smile.

"You're both impossible."

"No," Numair corrected softly, "we just don't want that kind of attention. How would you justify giving us some kind of reward, Jon? Most people have no idea what really happened; we'd like to keep it that way."

Daine nodded emphatically. "There's enough strange rumours about us already, and I don't really want folk knowing about – about my parents, or anything else." Numair was the only one who knew the full story, and that was how it was going to stay.

"It doesn't have to be public," the king argued. "Come on, Numair. There must be something."

"I told you, I have everything I want already," he replied with a lopsided smile that made Daine feel warm as she realised that he was genuinely serious. After a moment the mage added, "Why are you offering me a reward, anyway? I didn't do anything."

"What?" Daine asked sharply, turning to stare at him.

"Well, I didn't. You're the one who ended the war, not me." He smiled ruefully. "About all I did was get in the way and infuriate your parents."

"Don't be stupid," she told him bluntly.

"I'm not. You're the one the gods chose, magelet. I wasn't even supposed to be there, and I was no help at all. You're the one who killed Uusoae's pawn; I had nothing to do with it."

Daine stared at him, stunned to realise that he actually meant it. "For such an intelligent man, you're fair blind sometimes," she said finally.

He snorted. "We both know that."

"I'm not talking about that," she snapped, annoyed. "I'd never have made it if you hadn't been there."

"Nonsense."

"It's not nonsense. What about the Dragonlands?"

"Diamondflame wouldn't have let anything happen to Skysong's guardian, and Rainbow was on your side. And I didn't really do anything much anyway."

"Then what about the spidrens?"

Numair grimaced, his eyes darkening. "That was hardly my finest hour, Daine. It's a miracle I didn't kill myself trying to get to you, and I wasn't needed there either. You'd have found a way to get free on your own, and even if you didn't, do you really imagine that we weren't being watched? If I hadn't shown up, I imagine that at least half a dozen of the People's gods would have stepped in to help you – like the skink did at the Chaos vent that you told me about." He shrugged and smiled at her. "You'd have been just fine if I hadn't been there, magelet. You always are."

How had he managed to so completely miss the point? When he said things like this, she wasn't sure if she wanted to kiss him or hit him. "You blind, stubborn idiot of a man!" she started, when a quiet voice interrupted her, sounding amused.

"Entertaining though this fight promises to be, I feel I should point out that I'm still in the room," Jon remarked, trying unsuccessfully not to grin.

"Sorry," she muttered, feeling her face growing hot; she heard Numair mumble an apology of his own.

"It seems you may have a few things to discuss," Jon observed. "We'll continue this conversation another time. I'll try and give you some time to rest before you go out again, but I can't promise anything. Now scat – and play nicely, children," he added ironically, failing to hide his amusement.

Once outside, Daine rounded on him. "What was all that about?"

Numair gave her a bewildered look. "I was about to ask you the same thing."

"Making out that it was all down to me, like that!"

"Well, it was," he protested, frowning.

"No, it wasn't! You know damned well you saved my life, more than once! And I was telling the truth – I couldn't've done it if you hadn't been there."

"Yes, you could." He shook his head and smiled at her, cocking his head to one side. "I was telling the truth, too, sweet. You've always managed to look after yourself perfectly well without my help, and you're the gods' chosen champion as well. I wasn't supposed to be there with you, I didn't do anything you couldn't have done yourself, I caused more problems than I solved, and the end of the war and Ozorne's death had nothing to do with me."

"That's not why I needed you there," Daine said quietly.

He looked utterly stunned for a moment, before his eyes grew soft and warm and he smiled, reaching out to touch her cheek gently. "Well, that's good to know."

"You should've known it already," she grumbled, shaking her head ruefully. "Idiot."

Numair grinned at her. "Sorry." After a moment he said reflectively, "This is probably the stupidest argument we've ever had, isn't it?"

"Probably," she agreed, looking at him, and after a moment they both started laughing.

Sharing a bed with the Wildmage must take some getting used to, I would think. Also, don't you love the idea of Daine twitching in her sleep like a dog dreaming about rabbits? Numair thinks it's cute now, but I shouldn't think it'll be too long before he starts teasing. And I had a lot of fun writing their little dispute - it's one of those odd arguments where they're actually both right, and both wrong. Technically, Daine's the heroine and could have done it without Numair being there; at the same time, he's needed. You never know, one day he might stop finding it so surprising.

Next time: we know about Daine's family and what they think of these two, but... what about Numair's? I don't know when I'll be updating it, though - I have a job interview tomorrow, and I'll be staying with my best friend overnight, and I'm busy over the next few days after that. I shouldn't keep you waiting too long, I hope. Wish me luck!

Loten.