A/N - My special wholehearted thanks to all of you lurkers, reviewers, readers. Your support really helps motivate me on a daily basis. So thank you for taking your time to do that. Shout outs to those who put me on fav author, the story on favs, and alerts! Thank you for the wonderful reviews. They have really helped keep me on the straight and narrow.

I deeply and very sincerely apologize for not sending out review replies for the previous few chapters. In all honesty, your words touched me very deeply and I thank you for you support and friendship throughout this trying time. Now that the warm and fuzzy part of Frankie's tale is told, we can get back to the ritual dismemberments, shall we? I promise to start replying to all your awesome reviews once more. They and you mean the world to me.

;-)

BioWare owns Ali...

Chapter 13

As Alistair reached the bedroom, he couldn't help but chuckle at the situation he was in. He knew that Frankie had a towel that he could have wrapped around himself as he exited the bathroom, but if it meant that he could make her laugh just by acting like a fool every now and again, he would do it with a smile.

He got a towel to dry himself off with, and tried to decide what he wanted to wear. The variety of clothes and styles was still fascinating to him, even now. He reached into the closet to get his favorite black shirt and pants that Frankie loved to see him in, and jumped when he felt her warm hands wrapped around him, hugging him from behind. He still couldn't get used to how she could sneak up on him without him even knowing she was there. In Ferelden she would definitely have been a rogue.

"So you liked me running to the room in all of my naked glory, didn't you?" he asked as he turned around and pulled her close to him.

"Oh, yes. It was definitely glorious. I can't seem to keep my eyes off that delicious ass of yours." She beamed at him.

"My ass as well as the rest of me, are all yours." Before Alistair could capture her gorgeous lips with his own, the laptop beeped, interrupting what would have been another beautiful moment with the woman he loved. Alistair really wished that he could throw the blasted machine out the window.

Instead of letting Frankie go to check who the email was from, Alistair held her in place and smiled. "Oh, no you don't. You're not going anywhere until I get my kiss."

"A kiss? Is that all you want?" She replied with a mock pout.

"For the moment, yes. Why? What else would you give me?"

"Anything and everything. I'd give you the moon if you wanted it," she said sincerely.

"I don't want the moon, all I want is you. The whole world could go to the fade for all I care. As long as I have you," Alistair confessed.

"Well, you already have me, completely. You have my heart and my soul, and you always will." She lifted her head and looked him in the eyes before she planted a soft kiss on his lips. "I love you, Alistair, and that will never change. You complete me."

"I love you too, with everything I have in me," he said as he hugged her, then let her go to check her emails.

Alistair continued to get dressed. When he turned around he noticed that Frankie was looking at her screen, white as a sheet. It looked like she had seen a ghost.

"This joke is really getting old," Frankie said as she shook her head in annoyance.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"It seems like we got another email from Flemeth, and she's really getting creative this time 'cause she chose to include me too," she said as she got up and carried the laptop over to the bed so they could both look at it.

"What does it say? And is it really from her? I remember you said that Angie couldn't track it at all, like it came out of nowhere or something."

"Yes, that's true, Angie couldn't track it and I doubt she'll have any luck with this one either, but here is what our dear Flemeth has to say." She turned the laptop so that Alistair could get a better look at it as he started to read the email.

Foolish children, you never listen. No matter what goes on in your lives, it pales in comparison to what is to come if you fail to take heed. You diminish me by ignoring my words. By crossing over to your world once again, I am breaking more rules than you can possibly imagine! But who am I but a silly old woman who talks too much. You both stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for that moment... and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap. It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly. I cannot do this again, so for the sake of all the powers that be, HEED me.

"What the hell is she on about? If this really is Flemeth, she isn't making a lot of sense," Frankie said, shaking her head.

"As far as I can remember, Flemeth never really made sense. She always spoke in riddles. Abby was the only one I knew who could make sense of whatever she was saying."

"I get what she's saying, but she is just telling us to take heed and to leap without hesitation. Giving up no other indication on what we should be doing or what her ultimate goal is. I think someone is just trying to pull a prank on us, and it's getting really old."

"Are you sure you think it's a prank. I mean, you've already said that Angie couldn't track it. Could we try to send a message back, perhaps?" Alistair asked.

"I tried that already with the previous email we got. It's as if this email address never existed. We have absolutely nothing to go on."

Alistair knew that something bigger was behind the Flemeth emails. He didn't know how, but he had an unmistakable feeling in his gut that something big was about to happen, and he couldn't help but wonder what it would mean for him and Frankie. They had been training together before the attack on her, it might be a good idea to continue it now that Frankie was almost fully healed. He wanted to learn from her as well as teach her more about sword fighting. Even though she was showing more rogue qualities than that of a warrior, he could teach her basic techniques, and she could learn more about rogue talents on the internet or with a trained instructor. He wished Zevran had been here. Besides Abby, the assassin was the best person who would be able to train Frankie. Still, he couldn't explain why he had such an urge to train her, it was this strong nagging feeling at the back of his mind that told him it was important. Whether it was just to protect herself better or something more, he couldn't tell. But a sudden urgency that took hold of him was something he couldn't ignore. He had to start taking action, and quickly.

"Whatever it is, we can figure it out together. In the meantime, do you think you are up to training again? I miss doing it with you. And since you're better now, I thought it would be the perfect time for you to teach me that spinning kick thing you do."

"You mean a roundhouse kick?" Frankie asked. When Alistair nodded, she continued, "Yes, I think with some time and effort I can teach you that and much more. I do need to vent some frustration at this whole Flemeth situation. Will you teach me more sword-play as well?"

"I'll teach you everything I know. I'd like to get started as soon as possible, but I don't want to push you into it if you're not ready," Alistair replied.

"Let's start tomorrow. I feel like having a laid back and lazy day today, how about you?"

"I was thinking that we might get a small training session in today. But seeing as you don't want to see me all hot and sweaty, I guess we can postpone it till tomorrow." He smiled before pulling her into a hug.

"Hot and sweaty huh? I think you're just looking for an excuse to see me all hot and sweaty. Especially if I wear that sports-bra you like so much." Frankie beamed.

"Ah, you got me. I am a weak, weak man. Put me out of my misery and come work up a sweat with me, please, you gorgeous goddess. I'm pleading at your feet," Alistair teased.

"Gorgeous goddess huh? Okay, we can work out a bit today, but only if you promise to help me wash off all my sweatiness afterwards." She grinned mischievously.

"It will be the greatest pleasure."

"I certainly hope so." She wiggled her brows at him.

Alistair found it strange that Frankie always trained with music playing in the background and would sing along with it as she moved. It distracted him at first but he quickly learned that if he set a tempo along with the music, it helped him to move faster and more effectively. Plus there was the added bonus of hearing her sing, even if it was soft and while she was punching and kicking a dummy, it filled his heart with endless joy.

When they first started training together, Alistair had made her two practice daggers out of wood, but it didn't take long before Frankie asked if she could practice with two longswords. She said that she could do more damage with two swords than she could with daggers, and she loved the way that the weight of the swords helped her stay more grounded. One thing Alistair knew for certain, she was a beautiful force of nature and a stunning sight to behold.

After a training session that lasted until they were both to tired to move, Frankie and Alistair spent the rest of the morning eating breakfast and chatting with Tess. He even got Frankie to play Dragon Age with him again. Alistair could admit that the game still bothered him. Although he disliked it, he felt maybe some answers would be found in it. He also wasn't happy with the thought that he had no control of his life, but he could make peace with it to a certain extent if it meant that he could see the smile on Frankie's face as she was killing some darkspawn with dual swords. It was curious to both Alistair and Frankie that they couldn't play further than the Landsmeet. Whenever they got to the part where Loghain was defeated, the game would just stop working. No matter how Frankie changed settings or looked for whatever was causing the problem, they could just not get past that stage.

"Every time I get to this critical point in the game, the damn thing keeps freezing," Frankie said in an aggravated tone.

"Freezing? How is that possible? It's not ever cold in here," Alistair asked which got Frankie giggling.

"No, not that kind of freezing. Freezing in the sense that the game stops responding at a certain point, and all I can do to get it running again is to restart the laptop and the game. But it won't let me past the Landsmeet. I can't explain why it happens but..." she said as Tess interrupted them from behind.

"Are the two of you glued to that thing? You haven't moved from that spot in over two hours. I can think of much better things to do than sit in front of that clever contraption all day," Tess said as she strolled into the room and sat on the couch opposite them.

"I bet you could Tess, although I will admit that I am afraid to ask what other things you had in mind," Alistair said with chuckle.

"I would tell you Ali'boy, but you might have a heart-attack." Tess grinned slyly at him.

"Don't even start joking about stuff like that Nonna. You still haven't told me why the doctors refused to tell us why they kept you in hospital so long. Don't think for one minute that I will just let it go. I want to know what happened and what you're hiding from me," Frankie stated.

"An old woman is entitled to her secrets, and if I thought that it was important, I would have told you already. So you can poke me all you want, young lady. You're not getting a peep out of me,"

Just as Frankie was about to retort, the doorbell rang. Alistair heard her mumble something about not being done with Tess yet as she got up and went to answer the door.

Bella walked in with a tall man that had a powerful build very similar to Alistair's, and very strong features. He had long blond hair and a goatee. Alistair could see that the man had a very charming way about him. He was the kind of man that could melt a woman just by grinning at her. Alistair could only venture a guess that the man was the infamous Tristen he has heard so much about. The man smiled at Frankie and pulled her into a bear hug.

"Hey Pookie, How are you feeling?" the man said as Frankie playfully slapped him on the shoulder.

"You know I hate it when you call me that, Mr. Ranger." Frankie smiled at him.

"Ouch! That hurt more than just my arm, Pookie. Why do you hate my little nickname for you so much? Would you prefer that I called you Jinx, like Carrie?"

"Oh, hell no! That's even worse. I've had enough bad luck already, I don't need a nickname to draw more my way." Frankie chuckled.

Frankie turned and put her arm around Alistair. "Tristen, I'd like to introduce you to Alistair. Alistair, this is Tristen."

Alistair reached out and shook Tristen's hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Tristen. I have heard a lot about you,"

"All lies, I can guarantee it. If either of these two temptresses told you anything about me, you can rest assured that whatever they accused me of doing, I was innocent on all counts."

"You weren't so innocent last night," Bella said with a sly grin.

"The bedroom doesn't count," Tristen countered.

"What about the kitchen, the dining room and the living room?" Bella counted on her fingers as she commented, "Ohhh, and let's not forget the..."

"Okay, okay, you win. Maybe I'm not so innocent." Tristen put his hands up in mock surrender.

"You can say that again. I'm surprised that my adopted granddaughter over here can still walk after that." Tess grinned at them.

"Wow, that's a lot of information considering I just met you Tristen, and the first time seeing you two together." Alistair chuckled, knowing he was going to really enjoy spending time with them.

Bella winked at him. "TMI?"

Alistair grinned back at Bella. "Never."

Bella and Tristen had come to ask them if they wanted to go ice-skating for a few hours. Alistair knew that Frankie was tired and not really in the mood to go anywhere. But because she knew he'd wanted to learn how to skate ever since Bella told him about Tristen being an ice hockey player for the New York Rangers, so she agreed to go along.

They got their gear together and left for the ice-skating rink. Alistair noticed that Frankie wasn't just close to Bella, but she and Tristen had a sort of brotherly-sisterly bond between them as well. Alistair was on the Ducati with Frankie while Tristen was driving Bella's Mercedes. They stopped at an intersection, and he wondered why Frankie stopped the bike right next to the drivers side of the Merc. As Tristen opened the window and challenged Frankie with a race to the ice-rink, Alistair started laughing. He didn't even have to see her face to know that she had a mischievous smile on it. He knew she loved a challenge. She accepted and did a spectacular job of winning the race. By the time Tristen and Bella got there, Frankie had already removed her helmet, turned herself around on the bike and wrapped her arms around Alistair in a victory hug. He loved the fact that simple things in life could bring her such joy.

"You are such a cheater. I want a rematch, but the next round I get to take the bike and you can drive the Merc," Tristen teased.

"I'm not a cheater, you're just a sore loser, but I accept. If it's okay with my sister that I drive her baby, then I will show you how it's done." Frankie looked at Bella with a questioning smile.

"Yes, it's fine with me, but if you scratch my baby, you and I will have a duel of another kind." Bella grinned.

"Ohh, Cat fight! Can I convince you to nick it just a little bit, sweetheart? I'm sure I'm not the only one who would pay to see you two duking it out," Alistair said as Frankie shook her head and giggled at him.

"Amen to that!" Tristen beamed.

Frankie surprised Alistair with his own pair of hockey skates. She helped him put them on and pulled him up to test his balance. His knees started to wobble and his ankles kept going in wonky directions as he tried to balance himself on the thin blades. He stumbled a little bit as this way of moving was a whole experience to him.

"Glad she got you real blades not those sissy figure skating skates," Tristen said as he skidded to a stop right in front of them.

Frankie showed him how to bend his knees slightly and move his feet to glide on the ice. She skated backwards, holding onto his arms to give him balance until he got used to the blades. To say that he fell on his ass a few times would be an understatement. He was just glad that Frankie was right there with him and was rolling in laughter as she fell with him a couple of times. After a while, Alistair got the hang of the whole skating thing and could manage to skate slowly from one end of the rink to the other.

Tristen motioned Alistair over to him, wanting to show him how to shoot a puck. Taking the ice hockey stick from Tristen, he looked at the weird shaped stick in his hand and smiled. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Well, you see this puck?" Alistair nodded as Tristen continued, "I need you to shoot this puck into those nets over there, like this." Tristen pulled his hockey stick back, and brought it forward onto the ice, slamming the puck into the nets.

"That looks easy enough," Alistair said as he pulled the stick back and brought it forward, only to miss the puck, lose his balance and fall to his knees.

"Easy enough huh?" Tristen chuckled as he helped him to his feet. "Here, let me show you again. Use a little more wrist, and just put a bit more snap into it, the key thing to remember is balance, and just follow through, hitting the puck dead center, like this." Tristen demonstrated once more, before placing another puck in front of Alistair. "There, let her rip."

Alistair grinned at him. "Show-off," he mumbled before trying to slam the puck once more.

After a few unsuccessful tries, Alistair got his eye and balance in, and shot a puck into the nets every time. Tristen then showed him how to skate and shoot at the same time, and before he knew it, they were playing a game one on one. Alistair was still a bit wobbly but Tristen was a good sport throughout most of the mock game until the very end when his competitive nature took over. Alistair couldn't help but chuckle as he heard Bella and Frankie cheering and commenting from the sidelines.

"He ducks pass the defender moving swiftly up the ice, passes the puck off to Alistair who doesn't have a shot, passes it back!" Frankie shouted.

Tristen circled back around, came up behind. Through Alistair's open legs, Tristen shot the puck, skated past Alistair and retrieved it again as he headed for the net. "Wow! What an amazing pass. Did you see that Frankie? Get in the fastlane Grandma, the bingo game is ready to roll... Tristen grabs the puck on the other side, strikes for the net and he shooooots and scores. Tristen is smiling like the butcher's dog," Bella commented.

"Ladies and gentleman, you would have to be here to believe it. The crowd is going crazy."

The girls made quite a spectacle as they clapped and cheered loudly. Frankie skated over to Alistair and put her arms around him. "My Hero! I better keep a close eye on you, or else some adoring fan might try to steal you away from me."

"They could try, but they would be sorely disappointed. I already have the woman of my dreams, right here in my arms," Alistair said as he kissed her softly.

"Hey Ali, How about playing a round against me? I promise not to beat your butt too badly." Bella grinned at him.

"I'd think twice if I were you, Alistair. My Ells is a terror on the ice. She beats my butt on a regular basis," Tristen said.

"I bet she does, on more than just the ice, I think. But it doesn't mean she'll be able to beat me." Alistair smiled.

"Oh, this I gotta see." Frankie giggled.

Alistair nodded and grinned. "Just don't start crying when you lose,"

They started playing as Tristen and Frankie watched, and Alistair soon discovered that Bella was quite a good hockey player herself. She skated circles around him. Alistair glanced over to Frankie and saw that she was holding on to Tristen's hockey stick as he was pulling her around on the ice.

Suddenly, there was a smack. Alistair collapsed on his knees as a rush of emotions took hold and a memory overwhelmed him. He remembered camping close to the Frostback Mountains just outside of Orzammar. There had been a frozen lake where Zevran had pulled Abby around on the frozen surface. Alistair had been unable to join in because he had gotten injured in a fight against some highwaymen, but he enjoyed seeing Abby have some fun after all they had been through. He remembered her laughter and the joy that radiated off her as she slid on the ice. There had been only a few times when he had seen her so happy and carefree.

"Alistair? Are you okay?" He looked up and saw Frankie hovering over him.

"Uhm, yes I'm fine. At least, I think I'm fine. What happened?"

"I'm so sorry, Ali. I took a shot, the puck rebounded off the post and hit you in the head. Are you sure you're okay?" Bella confessed.

"Yes, I'll live. Don't worry about it," he said as he sat up and shook his head.

"See, I told you she's a terror on the ice. She smoked you like a bad cigar and beat you like a rented mule. You should heed my warning next time." Tristen grinned.

Heed me. Those words. Flemeth. The emails. Ferelden. Alistair struggled with his thoughts as he tried to make sense of them. Was this warning a sign of some kind? Was he supposed to go back to Ferelden? The memory of Abby returned along with the meeting he'd had with her in the Fade. He was supposed to prepare himself to be King. But how could he? Was there even a way for him to go back? Would Frankie be able to go back with him if it were possible? Would she want to? All these questions kept spinning in his mind, unrelenting in their endless assault on him.

"You don't look fine, Alistair. You're as white as a sheet. Let's get you to a doctor," Frankie said as she cupped his cheek and looked at him with worry etched on her features.

"No, I don't need a doctor. I'm fine really," Alistair protested.

He had to talk to Frankie, but he had to get her alone. So Alistair did his best to convince all of them that he was fine and nothing was wrong with him. He did notice that Frankie kept looking at him as if she knew he was hiding something, but he managed to get her convinced that everything was okay.

They left the rink an hour later, and as promised, Frankie and Tristen had their race back to the apartment. Tristen and Bella took Frankie's bike, while he and Frankie got into Bella's car. Alistair sank into the low lush leather seat. The temperature had dropped a lot and Frankie hit the seat warmers.

"Oh, that's nice," Alistair purred.

Frankie laughed. "Yeah I'm sure Bella is pissed at Tristen now that she's riding on the back of the bike freezing her ass off."

Alistair laughed as Frankie peeled off the line at the light. She floored it, popped the clutch, slammed it into second as the sports car shot forward. The car was fast, but it was no match for the Ducati as Tristen masterfully weaved the bike through the traffic.

It was a tough race for Frankie because she couldn't move in and out of traffic as she could with her bike. So she tried the quiet side streets to catch up with them. She got onto a main road and started speeding up. Alistair couldn't judge how fast she was going but he knew that it was fast.

Out of nowhere, a police siren went off behind them and Frankie swore under her breath as she pulled over to the side. A police-woman got off her bike and approached Frankie's side of the car. She knocked on the window as Frankie looked at her and started grinning. Alistair recognized the woman as Carrie, Frankie's friend at the station.

"So, Russo. Do you know why I pulled you over?" Carrie smiled.

"Uhm, because of the dead bodies in the trunk?" Frankie joked.

"No, because your wit is a concealed weapon!" Carrie grinned. "I could write you a ticket for speeding like the devil was on your tail. But lucky for you, I had another reason for pulling you over."

"And what might that be? Did you start to miss me too much?"

"Yes, that too. But Tristen gave me a call and told me that you two were having a race around the city and he would appreciate it if I stalled you a bit."

"Motherfu..." Frankie shook her head laughing as Alistair interrupted.

"I gotta hand it to him. He is quite crafty," Alistair said.

"He's a dead man," Frankie teased.

"Hey! Don't start with the death threats, you're in enough trouble as it is," Carrie said.

"You can say that again. The love of my life has an unique skill for picking up trouble." Alistair beamed.

"Well lucky for you, you get to be her knight in shining armor, or a hunky outfit in this case."

The three of them talked about Frankie's upcoming trial. Frankie told Carrie that she was planning on quitting the force even if they didn't fire her. She said she was tired of always being the one who got blamed for everything, and with Tess getting older, she thought of helping out more at home and at the Bistro.

They headed back to the apartment where Alistair laughed as Frankie stormed up to Tristen, punched him in the arm and told him that she was going to kick his ass if he ever pulled a stunt like that again. After a few giggles and witty comments, they went into the apartment. Alistair saw Frankie stop dead in her tracks as she looked at a man sitting on the couch in the living room.

The man had an average build from what Alistair could see, and his facial features were very similar to Frankie's. Apart from being more masculine of course. Complete with blue eyes and dark hair. He got up, out of his seat and stalked over to Frankie with an angry look on his face.

"It's about time you showed up," the man said.

"Nicky?"

Hidey Blankets and Endless Blushes.

*It is a very rare thing in this day and age to find true friends we can completely rely on and trust. Yet, when we do find such true friends, it is also so easy to take them for granted. But I would like to thank you for being my friends and making that special difference in my life. I appreciate your support and guidance, which was really needed. My life was in a hopeless situation until you swooped in and rescued me. It was my ray of hope. Your enormous faith and trust in me, gave me the strength to continue. And therefor I would thank you endlessly. You are my life, my love and most of all, my family.

*An Outrageously Huge and Spectacular Thanks to my daft bat and my guardian angel with the perfectly awesome set of wings and halo that might be a little tarnished but they still work brilliantly ;-), RandomWittering and Isabella Monroe. I really appreciate your awesome skills and putting up with a little smartass like me. For always being ready to smack me when I'm being stupid. Or yelling at me to go to bed and get some sleep. You are amazing, and the bestest friends this smutty minx could ever ask for. Thank you my nearest and absolute dearest. I love ya lots and you will always be my family.

*I can't possibly go without saying a special thanks to Pinoko K for being an awesomelicious guest-beta for me on this chapter. You rock, spectacularly! Thanks for everything, I really appreciate it greatly.

HUGE Hugs to All the Cheeky, Spanky and Smutty Monkeys.
;-)

Feel free to join us on the Cheeky Monkeys of Dragon Age site. ht tp :/ / www .darkstorm. co .uk/cmda (Remove the spaces). Please use the same Pen-name as you do here on FF .net , otherwise we won't know who you are..and would most likely not let you come and play with us. Thanks for reading.