Anders clasped Rain's cheek in his hand, watching the rise ragged and fall of her chest. Unconscious, but alive. The Templars had partially healed her wounds from the crossbow bolts, so she was in no immediate danger. He breathed a sigh of relief and glanced over his shoulder at Miriel. Once the blast of energy had dissipated, Miriel had fallen to the ground in a bloody, sweaty heap. That sword was still through her. She stirred slightly, fingers clawing at the dirt. She let out a whimper. Anders rose and walked over to where she lay, stepping over the burnt and broken bodies of the Templars and avoiding the splattering of entrails of Riva's remains. He knelt beside Miriel and touched her shoulder. She feebly fought him off.

"D-don't," she spluttered through blood. There was so much, it was impossible to tell if it was hers or the Templars'. Anders ignored her and drew on what little mana that had been restored to summon some healing magic. Removing the sword would be painful and with Miriel fighting him every step of the way, not having her writhing in agony made things easier.

Anders took the hilt of the sword and pulled it free. It exited her flesh with a sickening squelch. Despite his best efforts to make it painless, Miriel still let out a scream. Flecks of blood flew from her lips. Weakly, she beat at him with her fists, as the blood that the sword had been holding back forced its way out her throat and spilling from her mouth.

"Miri, I'm trying to help you!" he told her, exasperated as he held her wrists down. She simply began kicking, the movements pushing more blood up her mouth and nose, choking her. With a frustrated growl, Anders climbed on top of her, pinning her legs down. Miriel gave up trying to resist and just lay there, looking up at the sky, crying and gurgling.

He began healing her from the inside out, repairing the important parts first so that he didn't waste any mana. He felt Justice stirring, disapproving of him helping this creature. The Fade spirit's disapproval was something Anders was used to now. Miriel's stomach mended, Anders moved on to heal the first layers of muscle.

"Why?" Miriel asked, turning her head to one side to spit out blood. "Why do you want to help me, Anders?"

"Would you rather I let to bleed to death?" he replied, wiping away the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead.

"You did before," she said, her head still to one side as she stared off into the air.

Anders sighed. "You saved Rain," he said, "This is my way of thanking you."

"…Is she alright?" her voice was barely a whisper and she coughed up the last of the blood in her throat. "I… couldn't see what was happening."

"She's… hurt. Which is better than what she could have been," he glanced over to the still-unconscious Rain lying a few feet away. "What do you mean by you couldn't see?"

"I can't see when… when it takes over," she explained, "I can only hear and feel. And even then, it's all muted, like a dream you can only half remember."

Moving off Miriel, Anders inwardly cringed at how similar her experience was to his. He felt weak; having pushed himself further than he normally would have whilst healing.

"Try sitting up," he said to her. She struggled and grimaced; the holes weren't fully closed and were still weeping blood.

"You understand, don't you?" her words sounded closer to a declaration than a question. "Having something inside you that you can't control; that no matter how hard you try you can never quite grasp how it thinks."

"I…" he trailed off before he could even begin his sentence. She was right. He hated to admit it, but his situation wasn't far from hers. Justice balked at the thought of being compared to a demon.

"I know what happened," Miriel said, her eyes burning through him from under the sweaty, unclean tresses sticking to her face. "I know what happened. Under the Gallows. That mage girl."

Anders gave her an alarmed look, "How do you know about that?"

"I've been watching. Watching you. Watching Hawke. Watching you together. I've seen the way you look at her, when you think she can't see you." Her voice was sad, regretful almost. "You looked at me like that. Once."

"Miriel…" what could he say? He felt as if she had just reached into his chest and ripped his heart out. Justice was quiet.

"It doesn't matter," she wiped away the dirt and the blood form her face, "That's ancient history now. We're both different people. And Hawke…" she looked across at Rain, then at Anders. "You have the chance to have something that many people go their whole lives looking for. A lot of people find it, but don't hold on tightly enough and it slips away. I should know."

She leaned forward, biting back pain, her face so close he could see the remorse in her eyes.

"Anders, if you keep on pushing her away, she'll give up. She'll be gone. And you will hate yourself for it. Tell her. Show her how you feel. And once you do, don't you ever let her go."

Miriel forced herself on to her feet, clutching at the hole in her stomach. She took a few shaky steps away and looked at him. He looked back, conflicted, confused.

"What do you mean 'I should know'?" he asked, getting up, resisting the urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. She couldn't mean…?

Miriel smiled a sorrowful smile, "He was gone before I met you."

A white light began to wrap around her body as she looked up at the grey sky. Anders made a move to grab her arm, but he was too late. She had already shape-shifted into a crow and fluttered away. He had heard her say something as she changed. A name. Beginning with 'A'. But it wasn't his.

Sighing, Anders rubbed his face. He went over to where rain was lying, just as she began to move. She sluggishly opened her eyes.

"Hey," he said softly, touching her cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"Head hurts," she winced, "And stomach…and back." She tried to sit up, only to be pushed down gently by Anders.

"I think the bolts went right through you," he told her, touching the still-wet blood stains on the cotton shirt she wore; the bolts had gone right through one of the gaps between the strips of drake scales she had sewn into her over-shirt.

"Where's Miriel?" she asked, trying to look around.

"Gone," he replied flatly.

"Gone? She had a sword right through her. You can't just get up and walk away from that."

"She didn't. I healed what I could, and then she flew off."

"…flew?"

"She turned into a bird," Anders explained, before suddenly scooping her up into his arms and standing up. "Let's get you back to my clinic so I can finish healing you."

Rain wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her up the path and out of the ruins.

As they grew further and further away from the ruins, Rain took her arms from around Anders' neck and pressed her hands to her face.

"Oh Maker, they almost…" her voice was muffled, but Anders could tell that she was crying. "I was nearly…"

Anders stopped walking and let her slide to the ground. He knelt beside her as she buried her face into his scruffy feathered pauldrons. He said nothing, just held Rain tightly as she clung to his coat. He held her for as long as she needed him; even when she had no tears left to cry and simply let out dry sobs. Don't you ever let her go; Miriel's words echoed inside his head. Rain was quiet now, her breaths ragged as she pushed her head under his jaw.

"Anders, please," she said, her voice hoarse, "Just… take me away from here. P-please…"

He gave her a small smiled and picked her up again. She rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed and her breath tickling his throat as he carried her up the trail that led into Kirkwall.

Rain reluctantly let go of Anders' coat as he sat her down on the edge of one of the cots in his clinic. His touch had been comforting, and now that he was gone she suddenly felt cold, as the memories still fresh in her mind rushed into the foreground. Her arms were still held out, reaching for him so she could pull him back. He was suddenly sitting right next her, saying,

"I need you to take off that armour, Rain. So I can get at what I need to heal."

She obliged, unbuckling her belt and pulling the scale and leather jacket over her head. Anders gently rolled up the end of her bloody, sweaty shirt and touched the skin on her back. A shiver went up her spine as his fingers moved over her skin, the restorative magic flowing from them and into her wounds. His hands moved carefully, gently to her stomach and she closed her eyes, sighing softly.

She wanted him to touch her like that all over. She wanted him- needed him- to make the pain of her injuries, her memories fade away. He finished healing her and let her rest her head on her shoulder. She felt sleepy all of a sudden, but she knew it was because he had just pushed a sleeping spell into her mind. Smiling, Rain nuzzled her face into his coat, knowing that she would have no nightmares as long as Anders was near.