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Might want to grab a tissue, depending on your level of weepiness.

I still own nothing.

"I know that she's still sick Leli, but dammit this is important!" Alistair's frustrated growls snap me out of the Fade completely for the first time in who knows how long, "She's practically done nothing but sleep for two days as a result of the poison-not that I'm counting or anything-but she needs to know what's happened! Do you think I would be doing this if we had more time?"

"What the hell is all the racket about Ali?" I grumble, after wiping the last vestiges of sleep from my eyes then forcing my aching body into an upright position, "Did you burn down the palace or something?"

"No my love, I'm sorry to say that this is much, much worse than me accidentally setting a building on fire," he ominously admits, pushing passed the lanky bard to seat himself at the end of the bed, "We had to rescue the queen from Rendon Howe's dungeon of nightmares, save the alienage from slavers, dispose of a demon, narrowly avoid being sent to Fort Drakon, and Eamon told me just before I came up here that Loghain's had the Landsmeet pushed up. But I did happen find an Orlesian Grey Warden named Riordan along the way, so it's not all bad news."

"Thunderhumper," I snort one of Oghren's favored curses and push back the thick layer of blankets covering me, "Help me to the lavatory, then you will be starting from the beginning."

He carefully executes my commands, even keeping his voice under control when he elaborates on the atrocities he'd witnessed in Howe's miniature house of horrors. "I just want you to know that I was going to kill him, for you," my husband drops his head and takes my hand in his, pressing a kiss into the palm before picking back up on his thought, "But I didn't get the pleasure. Sodding bastard had some kind of poison capsule that he shoved in his mouth before anyone could stop him."

"So Rendon Howe is dead, by his own hand no less?" I feel surprisingly calm as the question rolls off my tongue, "Perhaps things are better off this way, since I am positive that no justice would have been served had he been brought before the magistrate."

"What? You can't honestly tell me that you're happy with this!" Alistair howls, making Havoc rumble a whine of concern from his spot in front of the fireplace, "He deserved to be drawn and quartered for what he did to those people, for what he did to your family!"

I blankly stare at him for a long minute until he calms enough to hear my next words. "At one time, I would have agreed with you whole heartedly, but so many things have changed Ali. I've changed. I'm much better at being Grey Warden Lex than I ever was at being rebellious noble Alexa Cousland, no matter how much I loved my family."

"But-" he tries to interrupt but I forge on, "What Rendon Howe did was unmistakably evil, but the Blight and the archdemon are infinitely more important than something as callow as revenge. Would I have enjoyed seeing him hang from the gallows for his crimes? Bet your perfectly toned arse I would; but it is not something imperative to my duty as a Warden."

His soulful orbs scan my face for any signs of dishonesty, then his broad shoulders slump when he finds none, "Once again you prove exactly why you're in charge I'm not, other than the fact that I'd have gotten us lost somewhere in Tevinter and would have eventually woken up one morning alone-and with no pants."

"Maker, I do love you," I snicker the endearment as my husband slithers up the bed and collapses, his head dropping into my lap, "But you still haven't told me how all of this started."

"Erm, remember after our little palaver with Loghain, when Eamon said he wanted to talk to me? Hhmm, that feels goods," he purrs when I begin massaging his scalp, "Anyways, one of the queen's servants had come to him right before Loghain showed himself and told Eamon that Anora was being held prisoner at Howe's estate here in the capitol. I thought it was a trap at first-but then I couldn't wake you to see what you thought and I knew I had to make the call on my own-I corralled Sten, Zevran, and Morrigan to go check things out with me. It was a good thing I did go, especially since Howe had Riordan and those other poor sods imprisoned as well."

I lean down and press my lips to his forehead, "That is almost exactly what I would have done, though I would have taken Leliana instead of Sten on account that Howe's prejudice against nonhumans is no state secret and she would have blended in better than the Qunari giant."

He cranes his neck back to give me his sad puppy eyes, "You wouldn't have taken me with you?"

"No, largely on the basis that it could have been a trap and nothing good could of come of it if Howe had managed to capture all of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden. One of us would have needed to stay unfettered in order to speak at the Landsmeet...and stage a rescue operation afterwards."

"Damn, how can I argue with that?" he chortles, capturing a stray lock of crimson and twirling it around this thick fingers, "Maybe I ought to take the crown, just so I can make you my queen. After the coronation I could just sit back and gleefully watch the havoc that you would cause."

"You just want to see someone besides you get bossed around," I accuse, then clutch my stomach when it suddenly lets out an angry growl, "Maker, I'm starving!"

"Ask and you shall receive my love," Alistair gracefully rolls to his feet and pulls me up after him, "Get dressed, then we can head down for dinner. I'm sure the others will be glad to see you up and about."

My body, still sore from the fight with Taliesin and the proceeding days of immobility, protests as I pull the cotton shift off and don one of my husband's tunics-which I belt-and a pair of soft linen trousers. I contemplate plaiting my hair in its usual braid, but discard the thought when I spot Alistair and Havoc giving the door the same forlorn look.

Hand in hand we stroll down to the dining hall, the clicking of my war hound's nails echoing after us, and find the room teeming with the estate's occupants. Leliana is the first to see us, standing as she gestures for us to join them.

"You are looking much better Lex," she chatters in her normal bubbly tone as everyone makes room for us to sit, "Did Alistair catch you up on everything you missed?"

I thank a servant as they set a heaping plate before me, then nod my affirmation, "I am out of action for two days and my lug of a husband decided to run off and turn Denerim on its ear. From what I understand, he's also still a bit peeved that he didn't get to kill Howe himself."

"He omitted one of the best parts sorella," Zevran quips between sips of wine, "Neither Sten nor Morrigan complained once after we discovered the extent of that man's depravity. It was something I didn't think to be possible."

"No murder talk at the dinner table for once children," Wynne chastises then smacks the Antivan, "And get your pretty boots off of the table, this isn't a brothel. How are you feeling Alexa?"

I swallow my bite of mutton and shrug a shoulder, "Fine actually. A bit stiff from not moving for so long, but that will pass soon enough."

"Forgin' the moaning statue ought to help with that lass," Oghren belches over his mug before shaking his head, "Sod it all, I knew I shoulda brought Felsi with me this trip..."

"That is not the visual I wanted Oghren," I grimace at the mental image of the stout dwarf and his girl being intimate as I shift my attention towards the others, "So when is the meeting going to happen now?"

"Tomorrow," Alistair mutters in a flat timbre before chugging the contents of his tankard.

I look to the rest for an explanation, but they are all staring at something behind me.

"I would know that bloody mane of hair anywhere," a voice from another life interrupts, making me freeze in my seat, "They told me that you were dead."

I slowly swivel around to face the man who I'd nearly given up any hope of ever finding.

"Hello pup," the man man shifts uneasily in his chain mail and offers a watery smile, "Long time no see."

"Fergus?" I whisper, then throw myself at him when he bobs his head in confirmation, "Oh Maker, it's really you!"

Fergus stumbles under the the force of my embrace, but his grasp doesn't falter as we cling to one another for dear life. "I thought I'd lost all of you Lex. I tried searching, but after you were listed among the dead a second time I...I'm so sorry, I should have tried harder..."

"I tried to save them Fergus," I blubber into his chest, all illusions of strength stripped away in his presence, leaving only a scared and lost little girl in its wake, "Mother, father, Oren and Oriana...I wasn't strong enough to protect them...not fast enough..."

"Shh, it's not your fault baby girl," the elder Cousland soothes, his hand stroking the length of my wavy tresses, "I know you did everything you could..."

"Why don't we take this somewhere a bit more private?" Alistair murmurs quietly and I lift my head to see that the entire hall has fallen silent as they watch our tearful reunion.

As Fergus leads me out of the room, our arms wound tightly around one another and faces streaked with wetness, I snake my hand out and grab Zevran, "I want the whole family to come."

Thankfully he doesn't question the directive, but simply motions for the rest of our rag tag group to join us. "Of course sorella, anything you need."

"Who is he?" my blood brother inquires after Zevran falls back to walk alongside my spouse.

"He is my other brother, adopted me after he found out what happened at Highever," I explain in a low voice that warms as I unveil the odd familial dynamics, "Leliana—the other ginger-and Morrigan—the dark haired mage-have also taken me under their wing. Wynne is the slightly snooty grandmother to us all, the dwarven berserker is the hilarious alcoholic uncle, while Sten and Shale are the disapproving cousins. Not ideal to normal people, but they're perfect for me."

"Interesting family indeed," he muses aloud as we enter our shared common area.

After we get the mandatory introductions out of the way, I find myself situated between my brothers, with a hand being held by each of them. "Tell me what happened to you at Ostagar Ferg. King Cailan said that you'd been sent out with a scouting group, but you never came back."

"Darkspawn happened, that's where I got this thing," he admits, touching a long jagged scar on his cheek, "A Chaisnd and his wife found me and healed me, then led me to a group of people all claiming to be Grey Warden recruits—the Chaisnd and his bride included. We searched damn near every inch of Ostagar after we found the still warm embers of a single funeral pyre, but couldn't find anyone alive."

"You missed us by mere hours then," Alistair frowns from his place at my feet next to Havoc, "We were the ones who set the pyre, it was for the king. Which direction did you go after leaving there? We had veered off towards Lothering, before it was overrun."

Fergus' visage grows dark for a moment, but shakes it off almost immediately, "We were chased into the Brecillian forest-and lost a few good people along the way-but doubled back to Redcliffe as soon as we thought the danger had passed. We saw the fires from a mile away though and thought it lost, so I led them north to Highever...It had been sacked and half was razed to the ground..." he trails off to stare blankly at the wall until I shake his arm, "Sorry pup, where was I? Oh yes. After surmising what had happened, I thought it prudent to come to Denerim and plead to Anora for aid. It wasn't until a few days after we'd arrived that I learned of Howe's treachery and that we'd been stripped of our titles."

"And no one recognized one of the missing Cousland heirs that whole time? How novel," Zevran wryly comments, his thumb tracing slow circles on the back of my hand.

"Oh, I was recognized eventually," my human sibling laughs, but the sound lacks any semblance of humor, "I was lucky in the fact that it was Anora who realized who I was and not some viper like Howe."

"Is that why you are dressed in the uniform of her personal guard? Has she been protecting you?"

"Yes, but there is more to it than that," his soft cerulean orbs meet mine and hold them, "We'd both lost people we loved more than life itself. Anora understands what I've endured over the past year, the pain, the loss, the hopelessness. She has been there for me when no one else could be, just as I have for her. I—I love her Lex."

"Alistair and I got married!" the untimely declaration is out of my mouth before I can stop myself.

"Well, I suppose a congratulations are in order then," Fergus beams me a genuinely pleased smile, "Though it means that he and I-along with the rest of your adoptive family-need to have a talk later on. You're not upset about this, are you?"

"It's not every day that one of your last living relatives comes back from the dead to announce that he is in love with the sovereign ruler of your country," I respond, nudging his shoulder to show that I am only joking, "But no, I'm not upset. You have helped one another through the darkest time of each other's lives, so that alone makes me indebted to her. I know that you will always love Oren and Oriana, but I'm smart enough to also know that you need to live your life the best way you know how. Like Zevran says, take your pleasures where you can because you never know when your time will come."

"Your newest brother sounds like a smart man," Fergus grins approvingly and draws me in for a hug, "And the rest of your surrogate family is just as commendable, if I may say."

Somehow I know that he is also referring to my bond with Alistair, and I rest my head against the crook of his neck with a relieved sigh, "Thank you Fergus."

He answers with a peck on the top of my head and my family proceeds to spend the evening conversing-mostly embarrassing stories from my childhood-until Fergus begs his leave to go check on his beloved, with promises to be back in the morning when I finally get my chance to speak to the queen myself.

"I think he's adorable!" Leliana squeals after returning from the kitchens with a pilfered basket of snacks for everyone.

"You said the same thing about the mutant pig," Morrigan remarks, throwing the beast a dirty look as she gathers her things for bed.

"You are such a prude sometimes," the bard sticks her tongue out at the wild woman, "Fergus is much more appealing than Schmooples, and in a completely beddable way too."

"Would that be considered incest, if you took Fergus to your bed and had your way with him?" our former Crow questions with a devious smirk, "I'm only asking because most of us claim a familial tie to our ravishing leader and would hate to draw her ire."

"I'd entirely avoid the subject of bedding him then, to be on the safe side," Wynne sagely advises, shuffling towards her own room, "But that is merely my opinion."

"Ah, the wisdom of our Nonna and her magical bosoms must never be disregarded," the elf sighs in mock resignation, "I must concede defeat in light of your infinite knowledge."

"I swear you will be the death of me one day boy, if Alistair doesn't beat you to it," the elder mage groans before slipping into her quarters and shutting the door.

"But what a sweet death it could be!" he calls after her and is promptly smacked in the face with a pillow by the bard.

Safely snuggled in the arms of my husband, I must be more tired that I thought, because the ensuing laughter is the last thing I hear.

I wanted to have something happy go on before the bottom drops out. Tell me what you think?