Somewhere in the wee hours, a sudden movement had Anders instantly alert. Abbie was in the throes of a nightmare, her back ramrod straight against his chest, and her arms were raised as if wielding daggers. "Carver!" she cried.

Sighing softly, he leaned in to kiss her shoulder, but then jerked back. "Maker's balls, Justice!"

The spirit was seated on her other side, face screwed up in concentration. "She is reliving her brother's death. She blames herself, believes she could have saved him had she only been faster. I thought perhaps I could reach her, but it seems I cannot. Perhaps it is because she is not a mage, or perhaps I can no longer reach across the Veil at all."

He looked up at Anders then, and seemed surprised by what he saw. "You are… uncomfortable. Should I not have attempted to help? Abigail is punishing herself unjustly. I only…"

"No, I understand," Anders cut in, still uncomfortable to find Justice encroaching on their space, but trying to hide it. "All the same, would you mind letting me try?"

"Oh… Yes. Of course," Justice replied haltingly. He cast Abbie one last concerned look and then stood, returning to his own spot.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Anders curled his body protectively around Abbie's, raising a hand to stroke her arm as he whispered that she was all right, that he was there, and that she needed to wake up.

Abbie awoke with a start, groping blindly for a weapon before Anders' voice registered, and then she went limp. "Thank you," she whispered, her breath hitching once. "Fluffy usually wakes me up. This is much better than having my face licked," she added lightly.

He smiled against her back. "Are you all right?"

"I am," she replied, reaching up to squeeze his hand. "This is perfect."

"I noticed you always rush ogres and distract them from everyone else," Anders said, and cursed himself silently when she tensed again. "I'm sorry. Forget I said anything."

"No, you're right, but I don't want to talk about it… or anything, really," she whispered, turning around in his arms. "It's… This is our last night together. Elissa said the return trip to Vigil's Keep will be via Amaranthine for the remaining horses, and she thinks we can make it by late afternoon if we push hard. She also said that she'll see to it that I'm on the first ship back to Kirkwall."

NO. Their time couldn't be that short. It just… NO. "Tomorrow? You're leaving tomorrow?"

"I'm sorry. I was going to tell you when we got back from our wash, but then you hurried off and I was so tired." She raised a hand to stroke his face. "But I'm not so tired now. Do you… think we could be quiet?"

"I was in the Circle. I can be quiet as a mouse," Anders said, shifting to move over her. While he knew Justice was awake and that their actions would make the spirit uncomfortable, he was also spiteful enough to consider such turnabout fair play. "Whether you can be quiet is another matter entirely."

Threading her fingers through his hair, Abbie tugged him closer, rising up to kiss his chin. "Can and will. I'll just pretend my mother's in the next room."

From across the camp, a solitary figure watched the pair, feeling familiar pangs of envy and longing. The Warden-Commander had told him there was no harm in wanting something beautiful, but this felt sharper than his feelings for Aura, perhaps because they were brought on by more than a dead man's memories. Looking away, he focused on the campfire, willing the light and crackle of the flames to distract him from such unwelcome, uncomfortable feelings.

It didn't work, but at least it gave him something else to look at as the night wore on and on and ON. "At some point their stamina will give out. It simply must," he muttered at last.

Far too soon, a new day dawned, as it wa

s wont to do, and a band of four set out for Amaranthine. As Elissa had predicted, they reached the city gates in time for an early dinner, and for her to handle Abbie's lodging and travel arrangements.

Elissa considered spending a night at the Crown and Lion, but as news from Vigil's Keep was sketchy at best, she decided they should ride back at once. And so, all too soon, the time came for goodbyes.

"Write to me?" Abbie asked Anders softly.

"All the time," he promised, drawing her close. "Well, all the time when we're above ground."

"So will I, though I hope to always be above ground." She reached up to trace a finger along one eyebrow and then down his cheek. " I'll want to hear from Justice, too. Ask him for me?"

"Hm, I don't know quite how to feel about this," Anders teased. That wasn't true, of course, as he knew quite well how he felt about it. "Perhaps I should be jealous?"

"I am not into necrophilia, thank you," Abbie muttered, punching his arm lightly. "Seriously, though. Elissa will be going back to Court soon, so I hope the two of you will look out for each other."

Sighing, Anders closed his eyes. He wanted to ask how she'd feel if Justice wasn't in a corpse, if he should be jealous then. Instead, he reminded himself of what had, since the previous evening, become his silent mantra. Don't do it. That way lies madness. "Take me with you," he blurted.

"They're your friends and they need you, Anders. Please don't turn your back on them," she replied gently, turning to kiss his cheek. "See them safely to Vigil's Keep and help clean up this mess. After that… write to me. Maybe we'll figure something out."

"Sure you won't marry me first?" Anders sort of joked. "The Chantry is just down the street there."

Abbie drew back, her expression an odd mix of exasperation and longing. "Ask again. When. You. Write. To. Me." She punctuated each word with a poke to his chest.

"So, what I'm hearing is that I should write?" He teased, finally reaching out to capture her hand. "No. I get it. Prove I mean what I've been saying."

"See? I knew you were a smart man," she replied, letting him pull her back in, though she did glance over his shoulder. "They're waiting for you, love," she whispered, her breath hitching once. "Now… kiss me and go."

I love you, Anders wanted to say; in fact, the words kept repeating in his head as he kissed her goodbye. "I'll miss you," he said instead, reminding himself that, while this felt like love, there was still a possibility that it was no more than an infatuation.

"Then perhaps your aim needs work," she joked lamely, and pulled away with a smile. "I'll be seeing you."

Returning her smile, he finally turned to go. "Yes, you will." With every step Anders took away from her, he hated being beholden to the Wardens a little bit more.