"So random women have disappeared over the last three years and they just now made the connection to one guy?" Alistair grumbled.

Cullen shrugged, looking through the files that were sitting on his desk that morning.

Cullen and Alistair were partners and they usually were given the cases involving magic, since they both had Templar experience. If they had a case involving missing people, that usually meant blood magic.

An involuntary shiver ran through Cullen as he read the reports in the file. Only finger bones of one victim found at one dump site. Only a foot at another. Maker, what were they dealing with?

"They dump this on us because they don't know what's happening and they think it's a blood mage. Of course."

"Should we contact the Templars at their Embassy? They could help if it actually is a blood mage," Cullen suggested.

"No, they'll start terrorizing every mage in Haven and suddenly everyone will be a blood mage. Let's wait until we're absolutely sure that magic is even involved."

Cullen's stomach curdled at the thought of Tessa being questioned by the Templars and being accused of being a blood mage. "You're right. So what leads do we have?"

"Nothing. None of the women are alike when it comes to economic status or appearance. All of their backgrounds have nothing that would cause them to have enemies. There's only one connection."

Cullen furrowed his brow. "And that is…"

"They all receive a lovely bouquet of white lilies from an unknown prince charming before they disappear."

"How did they miss that?!"

"The families didn't tell them until they were interviewed the second time. They didn't think much of it. I don't know about you, but if Eryn started receiving bouquets from unknown people I would be getting more than worried."

"Really? You would let a bouquet worry you?"

Alistair smirked and tossed his pen at Cullen. Cullen fumbled with it a little before slapping it back down on the desk with a small huff.

"What if someone was sending flowers to your wife with no note? I would be asking questions. And you can't tell me that any of these women's husbands wouldn't have thought their wives were caboodling with someone."

Cullen found his blood boiling at the thought of a random freak targeting Tessa like that. Alright, Alistair had a point. He wiped a hand down his face. "And why do they think a mage is involved?"

"Apparently there were traces of lyrium on the latest victim's finger bones. And the mage in the lab said they were magically tampered. Ninette was only missing for a month," Alistair's mouth pinched before he tossed the file he was holding on the table, "definitely not long enough for the bones to be that clean from breakdown only."

"Let's pray it's not blood magic," Cullen grumbled, looking at the pictures. What Alistair said was true, the finger bones in the picture almost looked bleached, not the yellow one would expect when looking at bones. They were too clean. Nothing natural happened to make them that way.

"So we have a man who is picks women, watches them, sends them flowers, and then takes them. He's methodical about this," Cullen grumbled, pinching his brow.

"He might even have a partner. He might not be the mage but he could be blackmailing a mage to help him."

Blackmailing a mage wasn't hard if the mage wasn't where they were assigned to be. Cullen's stomach curdled again when he thought about how the Templars checked in on Tessa at least once a month. And there was always one at the hospital, watching all of the mages there. And Tessa had to fill out paperwork at the beginning of each month to ensure she could stay where she was.

Cullen knew about this process, and he couldn't believe he had once wanted to make it harder for a mage to work outside of the Circle.

"Well, if we're dealing with a mage, I think we should get Hawke in on this. She would be our best help."

Marian Hawke was one of the very few mages in the police force in all of Thedas. She was in Kirkwall, investigating the same things he was investigating when everything was going downhill. She was the one he handed his evidence to give to the Seekers.

"I think you're right," Cullen picked up the phone and punched in Hawke's number.

"Why would he only take pieces? Blood magic usually involves draining all of the blood from the body or using a person's energy until they can't keep themselves alive. Not body parts in general. Just what are we dealing with here?" Alistair mused.

Cullen didn't know, and he was hesitant to find out.

The rest of the day consisted of calling the victims' family members, working with Hawke, and harassing the mages in the lab to find out how the bones were exactly tampered with.

Before both he and Alistair knew it, it was 9 'o clock and they had been working nonstop.

"Alright, I say we sleep on it and continue this in the morning. You should go out with Hawke tomorrow to investigate the dumpsites. You both might see something they missed before. You both being experts on all things magic and all," Alistair said, standing.

"Just how am I an expert?"

"Oh, you know, over a decade in service to the Templars, married to a mage. You are an expert." Alistair wiggled his eyebrows.

Cullen rolled his eyes and stood as well. Wait. He was late. Tessa was probably wondering where he was. "Balls," he grumbled, frantically searching his pockets for his cell phone.

"Uh oh, forgot to text the wife?"

"Shut it."

Both men walked out of the station and Cullen quickly shot a text to Tessa before focusing on his partner again. "What if it's a Warden thing?"

Alistair frowned. The Grey Wardens was the group that handled everything the Templars and normal forces couldn't handle. Alistair used to be a member of the group, until both he and Eryn quit after Duncan's death. They tracked down his killer and then moved on to the police.

"Why else would they put both of us on the case if they didn't think a Grey Warden went rogue?" Cullen asked. He wasn't trying to say anything bad about the Wardens. He knew they were needed, and he also knew anyone in any group could do horrible things.

"I don't know. We'll have to see. If we see any hints of the taint or darkspawn, we know what kind of problem we have."

The sinking feeling in Cullen's chest didn't go away until he got home. Cullen opened his front door and he found the feeling slowly disappearing as he took in the sight before him in the living room.

Tessa was sitting on the floor next to the coffee table and papers were spread out all around her. She was slumped over the table and Cullen could hear her soft snores from where he stood. He dropped his messenger bag on the floor and slowly closed the door so he wouldn't wake her. He tip toed closer to her and he couldn't help but smile. She looked adorable. Her cheek was squished against her arms and she mumbled a little in her sleep before snoring again.

He momentarily thought about his case and his heart dropped in his chest. He wondered how those husbands felt. One day their wives were there, next thing they knew, gone. He stopped thinking about it before he could get upset. Cullen slowly crouched down to her level and pushed some hair from her face. Ever since Alana two weeks ago, Cullen had been reevaluating how he felt for his mage.

Before, he saw her as a potential close friend and companion, someone who could help him not be so lonely. But he didn't expect to be forming these types of feelings for her so quickly. Yes, he developed a crush at first sight. She was gorgeous, kind, and adorable, who could blame him? But now…the very thought of her not being there was unthinkable. She knew everything bad about him now and she was still here and accepting and kind to him.

And then his nieces asked the dreaded question, were they falling in love?

Of course that little encounter ended up on the show. A cameraman followed them all the way to Southreach and it was a running joke at the station to ask him that now.

Cullen wasn't sure of his answer at first, but he knew it now.

He was.

He was falling in love with her.

She was becoming a constant part of his thoughts, and he wasn't scared of what that meant for once. He was becoming addicted to watching her when they were home. She was always playing music and he relished the times he caught her dancing along with it when she thought he wasn't there.

She never sat still. She was always doing something to preoccupy her time and he supposed that came from being on the go all day as a nurse.

At first, he thought her constant cleaning and moving around was slightly annoying, but now he knew he couldn't go without it.

Tessa was just…cute. There was no other way to describe her personality. She was easy to tease, but wasn't hesitant to tease back. And even when she had a bad day at work, she saw the positive side of things and tried to think of ways to make tomorrow better. Her kind nature showed in everything she did. And she got annoyed by the same things that annoyed him. They both never beat around the bush with each other and there were no games from her end.

Even when they argued, she managed to make him feel a little guilty because she would always end up apologizing at the end…and then they would both start apologizing for something silly.

Cullen finally understood how Alistair and Eryn could get in a fight about socks.

He and Tessa got in a fight about a spoon of all things once. Their fights weren't even fights, really, not like their first one.

But he didn't feel like those arguments drove them apart, he found himself learning something about her every time they settled an argument. He was starting to teach himself to clean up after himself. Bachelorhood didn't do well for his house cleaning skills, after all. And he did it because it made her happy.

Cullen realized he was doing something he hadn't done since he lived with his family. He was starting to do things specifically for her.

He just wanted her to be happy.

So he started to clean up after himself. He found himself buying a book or something of that sort whenever he saw them because he thought she would like it. They went on more dates and he even went to her book club once. It was all to make her smile and he wasn't regretting a single moment of all of this.

Due to his changing feelings, Cullen knew another thing was changing between him and Tessa.

He found himself wanting to be close to her physically. He wanted to show her how his feelings were changing for her. He wanted to show her how he could make her happy in more ways than one.

At least, he assumed she was happy now, she never gave him any other impression.

They had been getting closer to that line, but Cullen wondered if she would be willing to cross it with him. He knew she was inexperienced in that arena, and she expressed her nervousness about it before. They were taking it one step at a time, and Cullen was beginning to know what she liked.

A loud snore brought him back to the present and Cullen realized he was staring at her…again. He glanced up at the clock with wide eyes.

Maker, it wasn't even 9:30, how was she this tired already?

He knew he couldn't let her sleep here. Reaching out, he gently shook her shoulder. "Tess."

She grumbled and tried pushing him away.

"Tess," he laughed, shaking a little harder.

She jerked awake and bolted upright. "Whazzit?"

The papers flew right off the coffee table.

"Long day?" he asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, he reached down to pick up the papers.

"Yeah, one of the other mage nurses made a mistake today, so I've been filling out paperwork on it for hours," she grumbled, scratching her head.

Cullen saw the Templar seal on one paper and the Circle of Magi seal on another. Shit, they were investigating all of the mages. He picked up the paper with the Templar symbol and he grimaced. They were asking invasive, personal questions on the paper.

"It's funny. I never actually have seen what an inquiry looked like," he mused, tossing it back on the table.

Tessa leaned back against the couch with a sigh. "Probably because you were always in the Circle and never out of it. I had to fill out crap like this in college all the time because of people like Marian." She shook her head in amusement at the memory. "She would always use her magic for pranks and the Templars at the university hated her."

Cullen hummed in thought as he looked at the questions. He never truly asked how Tessa dealt with the risk of possession. Or how she felt about anything regarding the Circles in general.

"How do you deal with it?" he asked, gesturing to the questions.

Tessa shrugged, running her fingers through her hair. She grumbled when they got caught in little knots at the end and he couldn't help but grin at the sight. She really was just cute.

He settled down on the floor beside her. Squatting was great and all, but his knees weren't what they used to be.

"I just don't talk to spirits at all if they visit my dreams. Sometimes demons disguise themselves as nicer things to trick you, so I just don't talk to them at all. The only spirit I ever talked to was a spirit of Compassion during my Harrowing. It made me wish the Templars would let us talk to the benevolent spirits. I never felt more at peace when I was talking to her." She scrunched her face, "They made me face a Desire demon during my Harrowing. It really wasn't a good experience."

Cullen's gut clenched at the mention of a Desire demon, but it made him respect her ability as a mage. Usually, the Knight-Commander and First Enchanter only summoned that demon for the mages they believed were exceptionally talented.

"What happened?"

Tessa gave him a teasing look, nudging him with her shoulder. "Don't you know? We're forbidden to talk about it."

"Yet here we are."

Tessa giggled a little before her expression turned solemn. "I had a really big crush on the Knight-Captain at Ostwick. He was just so nice and he always asked how we all were doing and…well, a nice Templar was hard to find. He had the prettiest brown eyes."

Cullen frowned. He could see where this was going.

"So, of course, the desire demon took his shape. It was kind of stupid, I knew I was in the Fade and I knew he couldn't possibly be there."

Cullen suddenly had a need to know about every other romantic encounter in her life. So, she had a crush when she was 16?

"Tell me more about him."

"Who?"

"The Knight-Captain," he chuckled, throwing an arm over her shoulders. The case was still itching at the back of his mind and he just needed reassurance that she was there.

Tessa's cheeks turned a fetching shade of pink and she cleared her throat as she snuggled into his side. "There isn't much. I was too young and too shy to do anything. Like I said, he was nice and he always stood up for us. He was one of the officers that made sure the other Templars stayed in line when it came to harassment and stuff."

She smirked and poked his stomach before wrapping her arm around him. "What about you? Who was your first crush?"

Cullen cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head. "It was a mage at Kinloch. I was a green recruit and she was one of the prettiest and talented ones there. Everyone loved her."

Like every time he thought of Solona, the image of the perverted version the Desire demon showed him always accompanied the thought. "The…desire demon used that against me," he mumbled, pulling Tessa closer.

"Oh…" her hand started to rub soothing circles and he focused on that feeling before his anxiety could get a grip. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I need to focus on the good things that happened there. Like when she kissed me," he continued, grinning stupidly at the thought. He was so happy at the time. The Solona Amell kissed him, Cullen Rutherford. His 18 year old self couldn't think of anything better at the time.

"Goodness, and here I thought you were the Templar that followed the rules," Tessa teased.

Cullen shrugged. "I was good at following them…most of the time." He suddenly started wondering about her first kiss. "What about you? First kiss?"

Tessa rolled her eyes. "I was 14 and it was with a boy named Andrew. He was a terrible kisser. Too much spit."

Cullen couldn't stop his laughter. The laughs kept coming and eventually, she joined him.

"So was the mage the only one? Who else have you snogged with?" Tessa asked after they both calmed down.

"No, there was a woman who worked at Kirkwall's Circle office. We were together until I became Knight-Captain. We both decided it would be best to end it." He gave her an expectant look.

"No real relationships. We weren't allowed in the Circle and I was always more focused on school when I went to college. There was that girl from the soccer team though…" she trailed off and gave him a shy look.

"What?"

"You don't…care? I guess that's the word I'm looking for."

Cullen shrugged. He honestly didn't mind. Most Templars were men and things happened. And since the Circles were split up according to gender, he walking in on too many things and he wasn't surprised by anything anymore. "No, I don't."

Her shoulders sagged with relief and Cullen didn't realize she had tensed up until she was relaxing against him again. "Good…she was the only other good kisser I ever met." She bit her lip and looked up at him through her eyelashes and his gut clenched. Oh Maker, he loved it when she tried to be coy.

"You win first place in that arena," she added on huskily, sitting up to give him a tender peck.

Cullen couldn't help but smirk. He was first place in the kissing department, huh? Maybe he could show her what else he could be first place in. He held her close and pressed another kiss to her lips, gently nipping at her bottom lip.

She surprised him. She moved to where she was straddling his hips and she pressed a deep kiss to his lips, cradling his face in her palms. Usually, he initiated things like this and went as far as she wanted. He liked seeing this side of her. The slide of her palms along his cheeks sent another wave of heat through him and he held back a groan at the feeling of her fingers scraping along his scalp as she moved her hands.

His hands settled on her waist and he held her closer to him as he tilted his head. Maker, he couldn't get enough of her now. They parted to breathe for a moment and Cullen pressed open mouthed kisses down her neck toward the collar of her shirt. He nipped at the edge and he groaned when she pressed up against him. He had no reason to be embarrassed. He wanted her to know how this made him feel.

The soft swell of her breasts and the feel of her soft curves against him was overwhelming. Tessa slowly lowered her hips against his and he had to break the kiss and rest his forehead against her shoulder when she rolled her hips. He sucked in a deep breath when she rolled her hips again and he shuddered when she nibbled on his earlobe.

"Tess," he rumbled, pressing kisses against her neck. Maker, her skin was soft. And she always smelled like flowers and he couldn't get enough of it.

He rolled his hips to meet her own and she gasped. Her fingers curled into his hair and she held him close to her as they rocked against each other. Cullen's heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest. Electricity was pulsing through his veins and his body was strung higher and higher with every roll of her hips.

He moved his hands down to her arse and he waited a moment to see if she would protest. He was delighted when she let out a small moan and pressed against him harder. Cullen pulled her down against him and he claimed her lips again.

The delicious slide of her tongue and the puff of her breaths against him was almost too much. He kept repeating her name against her lips when her rocking became almost frantic. She was close. Cullen could feel it in the way her thighs were gripping him and her grip in his hair was almost painful, but he didn't care.

Her head dropped back and Cullen thanked the Maker for the sight in front of him. She was glorious. Her hair spilled down behind her and swayed with every movement. Her lips were plump and reddened from his kisses and were parted as she gasped.

Cullen heard a musical tone, but he ignored it. He surged forward and captured her lips again as he dragged her against him. Shit, he was going to come at this rate.

A high keening moan suddenly left her and she held him close as she rode out her high. Her hips were still rocking and Cullen couldn't take it. He buried his face into her neck and his arms wrapped around her as he met his own end.

They both panted against each other and Cullen felt like he was floating. He couldn't remember the last time he came that hard. The fact they both were completely clothed blew his mind.

Tessa slowly pulled away and she gave him a shy grin. "I didn't know that could happen," she whispered, biting her lip.

Cullen ran his hands up and down her back. "Me neither," he agreed, giving her a soft peck.

She suddenly looked away and she squirmed a little. "Was it…good?"

Cullen almost laughed. She was doubting herself? He couldn't imagine why. She was wonderful and he wished he wasn't as tired as he was so he could worship her the way he wanted to. "Tess, it was amazing," he reassured, pulling her close again.

She buried her face into his shoulder and started to giggle. "Good."

Cullen couldn't help but grin and he basked in the feeling surrounding them.

The moment was ruined when he glanced at the camera in the corner of the ceiling. He swore it would be smirking at him if machines could do that. "Shit."

"What?"

"We just did that in our living room."

Tessa bolted upright and glanced over her shoulder up at the camera. She finally shrugged and tried to act nonchalant. "Well, I suppose we're entertaining after all."

Mirth bubbled up in Cullen and he couldn't stop the string of giggles from escaping him. He couldn't remember a time he was this relaxed and happy, despite his embarrassment.

He started to outright laugh and he nuzzled against her neck. "I suppose we are."

She giggled and squirmed against him. "Stop that!"

"Why?"

"Your beard is tickling me!"

Cullen smirked and started to rub his cheeks against her skin, making her laugh and squirm harder against him. "Cullen!"

Cullen started to wiggle his fingers against her sides, making her shriek with laughter. He didn't expect her to retaliate. She reached under his armpits and started to tickle herself. He yelped and jerked, forcing his hands and face away from her.

She smirked playfully down at him and he smiled back.

Maker, he wished this moment could last forever.

The musical tone he heard earlier rang out again, forcing Tessa to look away from him. Her brow pinched a little. "That's Jon's ringtone…why would he be calling?"

She untangled herself from him and went to the kitchen, where her phone was sitting on the counter.

"5 missed calls?!"

Cullen now was worried. Why would her brother be trying so hard?

He stood up, squirming in discomfort at the damp feeling in his pants and he quickly stepped into their room to change.

He stepped out again, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt.

Cullen froze when he saw Tessa leaning against the counter. Her hand was covering her mouth and tears were pooling in her eyes. Her other hand was trembling as it held the phone to her ear.

He hurried to her side and rested a hand on her back. What was going on?

"Yes, I'll be there. Will you tell Mum and Dad for me? Thanks. Love you too."

Tessa tossed her phone down and buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders were shaking and a whimper escaped from her.

Cullen found out Tessa was a quiet crier. She never wailed or sobbed. Her tears always fell silently and he didn't know if that was better or worse. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she turned into him, burying her face into the front of his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing circles into her back until she calmed down.

She finally pulled away, wiping tears from her eyes. "My grandfather is in the hospital…they don't think he has long."

Cullen's heart dropped. Tessa frequently talked about her grandfather and he knew she was close to him. He was easily one of the most important people in her life.

"I'll have to go to Ostwick. Shit, I need to call Wynne and ask people to cover me and get a plane ticket and-" she cut herself off and rubbed at her forehead.

"You call Wynne. I'll look for tickets."

Tessa's head jerked up and her eyes became wide as saucers. "Tickets?"

"I'm coming with you."

"Cullen, you don't have to-"

Cullen rested his hands on her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "No, I do. I'm your husband and you need me. End of discussion. Now call Wynne and I'll look for tickets and let Cassandra know."

Tessa's mouth dropped in shock for a moment before she gave him a grateful smile. She reached up on the tips of her toes and gave him a peck before picking up her cell phone.

He grabbed his own phone and went to get his laptop.