I had to delete and re-upload the chapter due to an editing error….my apologies!

So, here we go again! I do not own Dragonlance or Raistlin. I wish I did, but I don't. I do own Valerie, so hands off!


In the early hours of the morning, Valerie lay awake next to a peacefully sleeping Raistlin. She had slept for a little while, but had been unable to get back to sleep once she had awoken. She didn't go anywhere, since she didn't want to wake up Raistlin (and she was pretty comfortable), so she lay there thinking. She had avoided any serious thoughts about the cousin's explanation of her book, since the whole idea of thinking about it left an anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach. However, she knew she'd have to think about it sometime, and while she was feeling safe and comfortable seemed the best time.

It was true that she missed her family. Who wouldn't, after disappearing from them without warning (unless their family was a bunch of freakish jerks). However, she was twenty-one now, and she was going to be off on her own very soon. She had in fact been ready to go to finish up her education once the summer was over.

But she would still have been able to see her family whenever she wanted too.

Valerie sighed softly, causing Raistlin to unconsciously tighten his grip around her even in sleep. She looked up into his sleeping face, feeling a slight pain in her chest. If there was no way for her to come and go between the worlds, how could she choose? She was happy here, happier than she could have ever thought possible. And Raistlin seemed really pretty happy as well (based on the fact that he had probably laughed more since she arrived than in his whole life). She would hate to feel responsible for making him happy just to make him miserable by leaving him forever.

She felt a few tears starting and squeezed her eyes shut to try and stop them. This seemed like one of those really horrible jokes that would thrill Nuitari to no end. He's just jealous he doesn't have a girlfriend. A tear managed to escape from under her closed lid and slid down to land on Raistlin's arm. Not going to cry. If I cry I'll wake him up. He's a powerful mage, so he needs sleep. She grit her teeth and thought about Dalamar falling into the lake. It would have made her laugh if she hadn't kept her mouth closed so tightly.

"That may be the strangest face I've ever seen anyone make." Raistlin's drowsy voice made her open her eyes and look up at him. His eyes were half-lidded and still a bit sleep-glazed. Valerie tried to smile at him and another tear managed to escape. Raistlin woke up more and moved so that he was looking straight down at her. "You're thinking about whether or not to go home." No question at all, just a statement.

Valerie sighed and looked toward the wall. Finally, "This most definitely falls under the category of stuck between a rock and a really hard place."

He stared at her for a moment. "Which do you want most?"

"Both!" Blurted out of her mouth before she had a chance to think about it as she turned to look at him again. Raistlin raised an eyebrow at her. "Alright, so that's really selfish. I have been around you, after all."

"True."

"The thing is...I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to anyone. My family, they're probably worried sick about me. They might even think I'm dead, and I don't want them to mourn me if I'm perfectly alright." She blinked at him a few times. "Better than alright even." Raistlin snorted which made Valerie smile for real. In another moment the smile turned a bit sad. "I don't know what to do."

He tilted his head to the side. "Since when do you ever know what to do? From what I've seen, you improvise a great deal."

Valerie made a face at him. "Improvise? Since when do I improvise?"

Raistlin looked like he was thinking hard. "Well, there was dropping Dalamar into a lake." Valerie made a small noise but he continued on as if he hadn't heard. "Then there was the night you transported into my room in your sleep. Then-" Valerie covered his mouth with her hand.

"Alright, so I'm good at thinking on my feet." She removed her hand from his mouth while she spoke.

"Even when you're not on your feet." Valerie gave him a look that plainly said 'watch it buster, don't forget where my knee is right now'. Raistlin really didn't look too concerned though (not surprising). "So, we'll think of something." He smirked at her. "Or I'll think of something and you'll ignore it and do something completely different."

"Hey! I haven't done that yet!" She pushed lightly against his chest.

That was the point where Caramon came into the room without knocking. Admittedly, he had heard an unusual amount of noise and was worried something was wrong. Needless to say, he hadn't expected to find his naked brother leaning over the naked insane woman named Valerie. He stopped just inside the door, hand on the knob, and starred at the two of them while they looked back at him in some confusion. That didn't last long though.

Valerie shrieked and grabbed the pillow under her head. "Get out you freaking pervert!" And she threw the pillow with excellent aim, hitting the stunned man right in the face. He was out the door and off down the hall even before the pillow hit the floor.

Raistlin, of course, started laughing immediately.


"That wasn't very nice, you know." Valerie was mostly dressed by this point, while Raistlin was still trying to stop chuckling. He was sitting on the bed while she paced a bit about the room while getting her clothes on. "You were the one who made all the noise that made him come to investigate."

"He should learn how to knock before entering a room. What if you had some really big evil demon in here?" Valerie was not mollified.

"I would have warded the room. Caramon knows that." He laughed a bit more again. "The look on his face was priceless though, you have to admit."

"I don't have to admit anything." Valerie crossed her arms over her chest and thought. "Except that he's a pervert and I can call him that all I want to now."

Raistlin pictured Valerie in a room with his brother while she repeatedly called him 'Pervert!' and fell back into laughter, holding his side from the pain. This time it was Valerie's turn to look at him like he had lost his mind. Raistlin saw the look and laughed harder, which finally caused Valerie to start laughing. She came over to the bed and sat down next to him.

"You know, I think I may have finally driven you mad." That didn't really seem to bother her (can't imagine why).

Raistlin finally managed to get himself under control. "I think it's the stress and bizarre situations." He looked at her wryly. "Both seem to go hand in hand with you."

She stuck out her tongue at him, which he rolled his eyes at. The sun was up by this time, peeking through the open window in the room. A sudden breeze came through the window, causing Valerie to turn toward the window while she tried to tie her hair up. When the light hit her, it illuminated the different colors in her hair; red, rich honey, and everything in between. It wasn't as dark a red as Tika's hair, but was more varied in shades. For a moment, Raistlin stopped breathing, surprised that he hadn't looked at her so closely since she had arrived. Her eyes were a very deep blue, with an odd ring of green around both the edge of the iris, as well as the edge of the pupil. When she turned and smiled at him, his breathing resumed.

"Why are you with me?" He barely breathed the words, looking at her in confusion. The question had circled in his mind before now, usually in the late hours of the night when he'd watch her sleep.

Valerie looked at him and smiled softly. "Haven't we covered this already?"

Raistlin shook his head slightly. "You said I was your favorite 'character', that you loved me, even. But that was before you actually knew me." He brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I can't possibly be what you imagined. Either in actions or…appearance."

She leaned her head against his hand a moment. "No. You aren't what I imagined, but no one is." She sighed when his eyes shifted away. "Raistlin, I've seen you naked." He hunched his shoulders a bit and blushed, but looked back at her sullenly. "I. Have. Seen. You. Naked. And I have not seen anything that has been in any way, anyway, unpleasing to me." His eyes had widened while she talked (and blushed, wow did she blush), and he unhunched his shoulders, which she leaned against. "You are skinny, but you're not skeletal, or emaciated, and there is muscle under the skin. Really, you need to stop comparing yourself to muscly guys like your brother." She turned her face to look up at him. "As to your actions," now her smile became more of a smirk, "in actual fact, you're a lot more fun than I imagined! Letting me freak people out…" her eyes widened happily, "and wiggle!" She sort of wiggled while she sat on the bed next to him. He kind of watched her funny for a moment while she did that.

"We should really…" He began as she cocked her head to the side as she looked at him, "go and annoy Caramon."

Valerie smiled widely. "Really? Oh that is fun." She grabbed his hand and he let her pull him to his feet. She kept a hold of his hand as they made their way to the main room of the inn.

Caramon sat in the room, facing the doorway. When he saw both of them he turned a dark shade of red (not far off from the color of his wife's hair). He opened his mouth a few times without making any noise. "I'm…sorry…ahm…"

"Pervert!" Nice sharp reply from Valerie.

Raistlin was expecting this, so he did manage to keep a straight face. "Now, now, he was only coming to see if everything was alright. Isn't that right, brother?"

"Of course! If I had even guessed-" Caramon was quick to take the offered reason.

"Pervert!" So this time Raistlin cracked a smile. "Freaking pervert!" Poor Caramon looked terribly stricken by this point. Valerie blinked a few times, then smiled and shrugged. "Okay! Got that out of my system now. So, what's for breakfast?" Caramon let his head slip down and hit the table. Then bounced it off the table a few times for good measure. Valerie looked at the still smirking Raistlin in mock confusion. "Was it something I said?"

"Of course not. He's always like this in the morning."

Valerie smiled back at him. "Oh good!"

"You know Raist," Caramon's muffled voice came from the table top, "I've come to accept that you're evil, but isn't it a bit overly cruel to inflict her on people?"

Raistlin nodded his head slowly while Valerie looked indignantly between the two of them. "It is a bit, but my usual method of torture isn't nearly as amusing."

Valerie opened her mouth to say something, then stopped and nodded as well. "I suppose you have a point." The two of them walked over to the table where Caramon's head was still resting. "Oh come on Caramon, it's not that bad, is it?" Valerie sat down beside Raistlin. Caramon raised his head from the table to look at her sullenly. "Hey, it's not like you've ever been the model of discretion, after all." Caramon's face turned red again.

Raistlin looked at her with interest. "They included that in the books?"

She nodded. "Yes. I always got the impression that if it had boobs he'd roll around with it in the hay."

Caramon's face had gotten, if possible, redder. "I should go and start breakfast." He muttered while practically running from the table and disappearing into the kitchen.

Valerie giggled after he had gone (actually she started when he had bolted from the table). Raistlin leaned over to her. "Did they really include that in the books?" She nodded with a smile on her face. "How much of the books did it take up?" He was picturing a massive tomb to encompass all of Caramon's 'conquests'.

Valerie seemed to guess what he was thinking. "No, no, there was only a time or two occasionally, and plenty of mention. Usually about you having to wait around while he played 'ladies' man'." Valerie rolled her eyes and sounded so thrilled about that. "But, then again, I always guessed it was because they needed someone in the group with an active sex-life." She gave him a lopsided smile. "Gotta keep the male readers happy, after all." Raistlin snorted.

Tika came into the room then, finishing tying on her apron. She was surprised to see them, but smiled a greeting. "You two are up early. I mean, I know Raistlin has always been an early riser, but what got you up this early Valerie?"

Valerie smiled back at the older woman. "Well, when you sleep together, getting up at the same time is pretty regular as an occurrence." She was very matter-of-fact when she said this. "I would have thought that you'd know that since you sleep with Caramon." Tika's eyes had begun bugging out of her head at the mention of the mage sleeping together with the crazy woman.

Raistlin looked over at said crazy woman in some irritation. "Whatever happened to 'discretion'?"

"What? It's not like Caramon isn't going to tell her as soon as he sees her." She looked back toward Tika. "He's a pervert, by the way." She then turned back to Raistlin, who was looking at the wall to hide the smirk on his face from Tika. "And even if they were to say 'Hey, our brother – you know, the really evil one – is sleeping with a crazy woman from another world', who's going to believe them?"

Raistlin risked a peek at Tika, who was opening and closing her mouth much like a fish out of water, and decided it really wasn't that big a risk. And their reactions were almost surprisingly amusing, making it almost a temptation to remain in Solace a little longer. Almost.

"Tika, if you're taking orders already," it did take a bit of an effort to keep his straight face when addressing the speechless woman, but he managed quite well, "we have an interest in leaving after breakfast, and I would rather much enjoy some spiced potatoes." He smiled slightly at the end of the sentence, a hint of nostalgia creeping into his voice.

His words broke her out of her seeming coma, and she closed her mouth. She did, however, smile slightly at them again. Valerie smiled back widely, but there was no teasing evident in her face.

"I'll bring that right out. And some fresh hot water."

Raistlin watched her leave with a contemplative look on his face. Finally he turned to Valerie. "I've been meaning to ask you something for a little while now." Valerie raised her eyebrow at him. "Since you've arrived, I have been coughing a great deal less. Do you know why?"

Valerie looked surprised. "Noooo. Maybe it's the better sleep?" It was a valid point, since Raistlin had been sleeping about eight hours a night.

Raistlin shook his head. "Things started to change before you," he coughed softly, "moved into my room." Valerie may have blushed slightly, but she did think he looked cute as hell when he blushed a bit, too.

"I'm sorry Raistlin; I haven't done anything that I'm aware of." She smiled slightly. "But we both know I can caste stuff when asleep." Her eyes sparkled while he pursed his lips at her. The purse disappeared after a minute while he continued to stare at her. "What?"

"Where are your spectacles?"

Valerie blinked at him a few times, and then her hand flew up to her face to feel for her missing glasses. "Wait, what the hell?" Valerie looked all around the room, then stood and looked out the window. "Dude! I can see clearly!" She looked back at Raistlin, who had been surprised by the volume, and sound, of the word 'dude'. "This is better than Lasik!"

"Should I ask what 'lay-sick' is?" Raistlin sounded less than enthused at the idea.

Valerie plopped back into her seat. "It's a kind of eye surgery. I was thinking about getting it, but now I don't have to!" She looked around the room again, a wide smile on her face. "I think I may actually have 20/15 vision now." Raistlin opted not to ask about that, since he was still picturing people doing surgery on a person's eyes. After the person had gone to get it done willingly. "Do you suppose the book could affect us like this?"

Raistlin shook his head. "The Gods didn't mention it, but even they may not know all the ways it can affect its master, or other people around them." Valerie huffed slightly. "You needn't worry; they seem interested in speaking to you again." He looked at her levelly. "Just make sure you don't try and irritate, annoy, or anger any of them, all right?" Her answer was an eye roll, but Raistlin took it as good enough.

Caramon came out from the kitchen then, carrying a platter of potatoes and a pot of, it seemed, hot water. Tika chose to remain in the kitchen, likely to make food for patrons waking later than them. Caramon did choose to stay at the table with his brother and Valerie, although he did sit away from Valerie. For her part, she was kind enough not to call him a pervert…for now.

Valerie greatly enjoyed the famous potatoes. She wasn't surprised Raistlin had asked to eat them…but then was when he had eaten them all! She actually looked back and forth from his empty plate to his face. Raistlin finally noticed and narrowed his eyes at her, making her roll her eyes at him again. When Tika came out from the kitchen to clear the table, Raistlin stood and motioned for Valerie to do the same.

"You're leaving already?" It was hard to tell if Caramon was disappointed or happy. Probably both.

Raistlin's face clouded briefly. "There are things we need to discuss and…think about." At Caramon's concerned look, his mouth twisted into a smirk, of sorts. "No need to worry, dear brother. No ones lives are in peril, at the moment." Caramon flushed slightly, but nodded.

Tika (even after all the teasing and, no doubt, the addition of a few more grey hairs) came forward and gave a warm hug to Valerie. "Don't let him bully you. Any man can be put to rights with a good hit to the noggin." Valerie's eyes widened at her, and the older woman winked. Raistlin looked sort of horrified when he heard the 'hit to the noggin' part, and pulled Valerie from Tika's arms (hoping she ignored the advice).

"Just let us know if we can help in any way, alright?" Caramon put his arm around his wife's shoulders as he said this. Raistlin pursed his lips, but nodded all the same, before he and Valerie vanished from the Inn.

Before he and Valerie vanished from the Inn, Valerie had just a few parting words. "Try to be good, freaking pervert!"