Fenris and Hawke stood together in front of the slowly dying fire wrapped in each other arms, for what seemed like hours. Fenris gently rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet while he buried one hand in her hair, his other arm around her waist. Hawke clung tightly to him, her hands fisted in the cloth of his tunic and her head buried in the crook of his neck.

"I am here, Andrea. Te secrum."

She knew what the words meant, you are safe, but the fear that raged inside her couldn't listen. She wanted to believe that she was safe, wanted to believe that he would keep her that way, but just yesterday she had felt nigh invincible. Today, she felt herself slipping towards madness. Just when she thought the fear was growing silent, it would suddenly roar back to life. A flash of light and she was back in that room. The sound of the log in the fireplace breaking apart reminded her of footsteps at her back and she was in the street facing down Templars with no staff, no Fenris, no magic. It was late and the house nearly silent, except for the familiar sounds it made in the small hours of the morning. The sounds all houses made that any other day she hardly heard. Today, those noises made her cringe.

Fenris' arms around her and the gentle rocking motion, however, began to calm her. Gripping his shirt and breathing in his scent helped her focus. His arms around her waist and the tender hand at the back of her head spoke of love and caring, The low rumble of his voice against her ear drowned out the other sounds until finally she relaxed.

Fenris felt the death grip at his back loosen and let loose a shaky breath. He pulled back his head and pressed a soft kiss on Andrea's forehead.

"You need to rest. Perhaps, we should return to bed"

Andrea shook her head. "No. I'm not sleepy."

"Still, you need to rest. The…Abomination…said you would need rest. He left something for you to take."

Andrea noticed the tensing in Fenris' entire body when he spat his pet name for Anders. There was no love lost between the two men but she could have sworn she'd seen the slightest flash of blue race across Fenris' markings. She frowned, wondering just what had caused this most recent increase in ire.

"I don't want to sleep."

"Then at least take the elfroot. You lost a good deal of blood. You may be weak for a few days."

"Fine," she shuddered, mind skittering away from the reason behind the blood loss.

Fenris let go and started to step away only to find Andrea's hands still holding onto him. He ran his hands softly up and down her arms, slowly dislodging her hold, before sliding them down to grip her hands. Walking backwards and never taking his eyes from hers, he guided them both to the bedside table. He let go of one hand and gathered up a draught and held it out to her.

"I believe there may be a lyrium potion left as well, if you need it."

Andrea scrunched her nose up in disgust as she pried the cap off the elfroot potion Fenris held for her. Tossing the cap aside, she pulled the flask from his hand and tossed off its contents in one quick swallow.

"As nasty as these things are, lyrium is ten times worse. I'll be fine."

"Perhaps something to eat?"

"If we can do so without waking Bodhan or Orana," she said, glancing at the window. "It's late. Or maybe early. At any rate, it's no time for either of them to be about."

"I think we can manage. If you insist on staying awake, there are things we need to discuss."

Andrea frowned. "Things?"

Pulling her by the hand, he guided her towards the door. "You need to know what to expect when the others awaken."

"All right. Though sneaking downstairs to eat cold leftovers is all about avoiding these others, you know."

"I know."

Fenris opened the door to find Andrea's mabari hound blocking his path. The large black dog picked her head up and looked at both of them, her stubby tail wagging frantically. He could tell the moment the dog caught sight of Andrea. She jumped to her feet and her whole body vibrated, her tongue lolling out of her mouth.

"Hey, girl." Andrea placed a hand on the giant hound's head and gently stroked her soft ears. The dog leaned into her caress and whined softly. Dropping to her knees, Andrea wrapped her arms around the dog's massive neck and buried her face in her fur.

Fenris watched as the dog and her mistress got reacquainted. Aibhne lifted her head from Andrea's shoulder and looked at him. Once again, he was struck by how well this animal could communicate without speech. Her worry and concern for Andrea's well-being was obvious. He laid a hand on her head and nodded before he bent to grasp Andrea's elbow.

"Come."

Wiping her eyes, Andrea nodded and stood. She kept one hand on Aibhne's head as they negotiated the stairs and darkened house to the kitchen. Fenris guided her to a stool and left her side to rummage through the cold storage. Sitting next to her, Aibhne laid her head on Andrea's knee and watched her mistress. For her part, Andrea was content to rub the dog's ears and watch Fenris in his moment of domesticity. A wheel of cheese, a leg of ham and a loaf of bread made it to the table. Aibhne's nose perked up at the scent of cheese and she shifted her eyes to Fenris as he sliced cheese, ham and bread. Without looking, he tossed her a sliver of cheese, which disappeared with a soft snap. Next a trimmed piece of fat flew through the air and vanished just as quickly. After each tidbit, Aibhne returned her head to Andrea's knee. If not for the momentary loss of the dog's heat, she could have easily believed nothing had happened.

"You're spoiling my dog."

"I have no idea what you mean," he said, as another sliver of cheese arced through the air. A small smile turned up his lips, however. That same smile that still caused butterflies to take up residence in her stomach.

She took the proffered sandwich and together they ate in silence. When it was obvious that no further treats where headed her way, Aibhne turned her attention to Andrea. The dog sighed and looked up at her, big brown eyes gazing lovingly, and longingly, in the direction of Andrea's hands.

"Mine," Andrea said, tapping the dog on the nose.

Fenris finished first and took the opportunity to clean the evidence of their nocturnal visit. Andrea watched him, nibbling on her meal, as he worked. The softest of whines escaped Aibhne as she continued to follow the movement of the sandwich with each bite. Andrea ignored the dog, choosing to follow Fenris' every movement. With food put away and the table wiped clean, he pulled down two glasses from the cupboard and filled them with water. He set a glass in front of Andrea and she smiled as she gathered it up and took a sip.

Andrea opened her palm holding the last bite of her sandwich and held it down for the dog. A warm tongue scooped the morsel up and then proceeded to clean her fingers. Shaking her hand, Andrea wiped it across Aibhne's head before a soft sigh escaped her.

"It was enough?"

Andrea smiled, "Perfect. So, what is it you wanted to tell me?

Fenris settled onto the stool next to Andrea and faced her, one knee just touching her empty one. He looked down, the fringe of his white hair hiding his eyes. He rested one hand on Aibhne's head while he gathered his thoughts.

"You are aware that Varric has eyes all over the city."

"Yes. He has quite the little information network."

"It is a good thing." He looked up and caught Andrea's eyes. "A very good thing that he does."

Andrea swallowed as her throat tightened and she found herself clutching the glass of water tightly in her hand. Fenris reached over and silently pulled it from her grip before it shattered. He set it on the table and took her hand, cold and damp, in his.

"Without them, we might never have found you."

Andrea closed her eyes and nodded. Aibhne whined and lifted her head before dropping it back down on Andrea's knee. Absently, Andrea let her free hand drift to the dog's head. Her hand slid down and gripped the loose flesh at the back of her neck and gently massaged.

"Their names are Cormac and Durstan. They're asleep in the servant's quarters. Varric has promised them employment. With you."

Andrea's eyes popped open. "He what?"

"He believes that they deserve some reward. Something more than a few coins. I agreed."

"Well…I can understand that…but what I am supposed to do with them?"

"That is up to you."

"Surely the wise and sneaky Varric has some plan."

"They were eyes for Varric. Now they are eyes for you."

"You do realize this means we are going to be outnumbered. I hardly think the two of us. Well, the three of us," she amended, looking at the Mabari. "We hardly need Bodahn and Orana. What will we do with two more mouths to feed?"

"They are Fereldan, if that helps."

"Joy."

"Someone of your stature…"

"Stop right there," Andrea interrupted. "I didn't ask to be named Champion."

"But you are."

"Bollocks."

"If you prefer, we can send them back to the Undercity with coin."

Andrea sighed. "No, of course not. Cormac and Durstan you say?"

"That is correct."

"Do they have any skills?"

"I do not know."

Andrea closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Shaking her head, she sighed. "Is there anything else the great puppet master has planned?"

"Yes."

"Thrilling. Do tell."

"I think it can wait until the morning."

"No time like the present."

"It is a good plan. As far as Varric's plans go. He believes it would best if you left Kirkwall for a time. Perhaps a month. Nothing permanent."

"And what am I supposed to be doing for this month?"

"Another Deep Roads expedition."

"What! Andraste's knicker weasels, why would I do that?"

"It is a convenient excuse. Nothing more."

Andrea clenched her eyes shut and took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Images of her stubborn brother dying by her hand flooded through her mind. She'd sworn that she would never return to the blighted Deep Roads. How could Varric think this was a plan?

She struggled a few moments more, tears sliding down her cheeks. Fenris wiped them away with a thumb and rested his hand on her face. Her hand left Aibhne's ruff and covered his as she took a deep breath.

"I will not go underground again, Fenris."

"I understand. There is nothing to say you must. It gives us time, Andrea. Time for you to heal. Time for the hunt for certain missing people to die down. Time to train Cormac and Durstan."

"I swear, I will kill that nug humping bastard one day."

"He means well."

Andrea chuckled, "Oh, that so doesn't help. They all mean well." Andrea jumped off her stool and began to pace. "Oh, Hawke, can you find my missing son? Oh Hawke, I've lost some priceless heirloom, can you find it for me? Oh Hawke, there's a dragon in our mine. And what do I do? I go looking for their people, their trinkets, their beasties and then WHAM! I'm surrounded by blood mages or Carta or Coterie or just run-of-the-mill-I-have-a-death-wish-and-wouldn't-it-be-great-if-we-took-out-the-all-powerful-Hawke-type bandits and I end up killing someone or lots of someones or somethings and then when I drag my tired ass back to Kirkwall with their people or their heirloom or the hide of the damn dragon, they pat me on the head and offer me a few coins for my trouble."

Fenris watched her rant. This particular diatribe was one he'd heard before. Usually after they'd ventured out to the Wounded Coast and gotten sidetracked by bandits or Tal-Vashoth. He tried before to tell her there was simple solution – stop helping everyone with a sob story – but that had gotten his head nearly bitten off and a continuation of the ranting that lasted for another 15 minutes. Now, he just watched and waited. As unsettled as Andrea might be about the very idea of the Deep Roads, as angry as she seemed to be with Varric, she'd go along with this plan.

She had little real choice.


A/N: Sorry this has taken so long. No good reason, cause once I sat down to write it came out pretty easily. Could be that Zevran (and remarkably in the last day the Dog) have been throwing plot bunnies at me and hijacking my train of thought. Could be I was just being lazy. Eh. And I promise we'll move on to some action here soon. As always, a big thank you to all of you following, reviewing and favoriting - EroSlackerMicha (even if there is only one of you this time.) Some how or another this little story hear made it to over 4600 hits in November. Still not entirely sure why, but keep it up!

Apologies for the multiple alerts, but I keep finding typos that my beta and I missed. And I thought I would include a pronunciation of Aibhne - It is Ev-knee. I know this because we have a dog name Aibhe. She's a Black Lab/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. We call her our toy Mabari.

:Hides face in shame: How did I screw that up. Is fixed now.