A/N: So very sorry for the lack of updates. A lot of crap going on in my life right now. And, to be honest, I didn't know where to go from here. I hope you guys really enjoy the story so far! Ya'll are fantastic. Remember that, darlings. :D
The fire was warm, but Mina was cold and clammy. She paced back and forth in front of her desk, trying to figure out the right words to say to Hawke. Morrigan sat there quietly watching.
"If he loves you as much as everyone seems so inclined to think, then he should be very happy. I know men are strange creatures, but the few that I have known and that are now fathers have been happy to hear the news. Even that idiot, Alistair makes a good father, I must admit," she said earnestly.
Mina stopped and gave her a small smile. She was talking about the Warden in particular. Mina wondered if the witch loved him. That, she figured, would be answered in the days that he stayed at Skyhold. But, that was not for her to worry about. Her mind was finally starting to put the pieces together.
"Thank you, Morrigan. I really appreciate your counsel. Would you… would you send him back in? I'm ten thousand percent sure that he's standing out there in the hallway angrily," Mina said with a chuckle.
"I will. And, good luck," Morrigan said as she walked out of the room.
Mina took a deep breath and sat at the foot of her bed. Her face was neutral so she wouldn't give anything away. That, and she did not yet know how she felt about the whole situation. Her Champion walked in a few seconds later, eyebrows furrowed. That expression on his face seemed almost permanent when she was around. He was always anxious or worried. She hated that she caused him so much worry and stress. She patted the spot on the bed beside her. He gladly took it and studied her face for clues. She put a hand on his cheek and kissed him gently.
"Garrett," she whispered with her forehead on his, "I don't know what words are the perfect words to say for this."
He took her other hand in his and kissed her nose, "Just say what you need to, Mina. I'm with you no matter what."
Mina took another steadying breath and pulled away from him so that she could look him in the eyes.
"You're gonna… I'm... Oh, Andraste's ass! This is so hard to say," she said with a smile, "Garrett Hawke, you're going to be the father of my child."
Garrett's face was incredulous. His eyes were wide and his jaw went slack for all of thirty seconds before it turned into a grin. He jumped up and twirled Mina around, laughing the entire time. He showered her face in kisses.
"I can't believe this! I was so worried that you were really sick! This is wonderful news! Mina, a-are you sure?" he cried with joy.
Mina nodded with a meek smile, "That's what Morrigan says. She said I was little more than a month and that I could know what it was soon if I so wished.
Hawke embraced her, still laughing. She was filled with such relief at his reaction. When he pulled away, she could see his eyes watering up. Mina kissed him again and sighed.
"You're really happy about this, then?" she asked.
"Of course I am! I'm going to be a father! I'm going to have my own family again, and what's better is that it's with you. Why wouldn't I be happy? Sure, the timing is awful, but there's no better time than the present," he assured her.
"I suppose we should tell everyone then," Mina said making a face.
Hawke smiled and shook his head, "Not until you want to. They can wait. It's enough that I know." A sparkle accompanied his grin. He was like a pup that was getting a treat for doing a trick.
"You know… we have to think of names now. Oooh! I can't wait to send a letter to Bethany. Isabela will be ecstatic as will Merrill!"
"What will Fenris say?" Mina wondered aloud.
Hawke stopped and grimaced, "He's going to try and hit me. He doesn't do well with changes like this."
Mina chuckled, "Yes, I know. I don't think he'll be as upset as you imagine. Um… What names were you thinking?"
Garrett sat down on her desk and searched for a pen and paper, "I'm not sure. Let's think of some together. I would love to have a son, but… a daughter would be great. She'd be so cute. I'd be afraid to hold her. Hmmm… How about Riona for a girl?"
Mina gave him a look, "Go ahead and write it down, but I'm not set on that. How about Dietrich for a boy?" She sat down in her chair and watched him write.
"Alright. What about Bran for a boy?"
"That could work. And another for a girl… I like Gwenivere. Gwen for short."
Garrett raised an eyebrow, "That's different. We've got plenty of time to decide on a name. We don't even know what it is yet."
Mina smiled and leaned her head back against her chair, "You know… I'm kind of hungry now. Wanna go get something to eat? I've been wanting roast nug with some honey."
The Champion tried to hide a smile but failed earning him a scowl from his lover, "Sure. Let's go get something to eat."
Mina had convinced Hawke to put off telling everyone until it was blatantly obvious. He was very against her going on dangerous missions, but they were at war and they needed their Inquisitor. She'd gone to the Exalted Plains with Bull, Cole, and Vivienne and ended up spending two weeks there. It was a pain in the ass to try and stop the Civil war since neither side had heard about what had happened at the Winter Palace. As it turned out, there was undead and demons plaguing the soldiers as well. While they were venturing around, Mina had also stumbled upon a Clan of Dalish. They were happy to see another of their people and welcomed her, albeit warily due to the various kinds of people she travelled with. She gained their alliance through various tasks. The strangest of which was herding a golden Halla back to their camp. It had been much easier than she'd anticipated.
'Ghilan'nain, Mother of the Halla, I feel your presence and thank you for your help,' Mina had thought as she stared at the beautiful creature, 'Thank you for watching over this Clan and be at peace.'
From there, it was a week back to Skyhold. As soon as she got back, she found that she was needed in Emprise du Lion. It never ended. She didn't want to prepare for her journey out the same night she got back, so she decided that she'd wait a couple of days. Mina went to the tavern to catch up with whoever was there. She found Garrett and the Hero of Ferelden talking animatedly.
"Hello there," she said giving her champion a kiss on the cheek.
"Welcome back! I didn't know you were arriving today. I would've met you at the gates," he said with a half pout.
The Warden Commander watched them with an amused smile.
"Hello, Inquisitor. Welcome back," he greeted her.
"You can call me Mina if you want. Thank you. It's good to be back. I'm sorry I haven't gotten to talk to you hardly at all since you've been here. How are you liking it Warden Cousland?" she replied.
"If I am to call you Mina, you should call me Pan. We're friends here! My stay has been… well, it has been as expected. Although, I didn't expect Elena to take such a liking to that Krem. It's strange to see her act so affectionate," he said.
Mina took a seat beside them and ordered a cup of apple juice. The Warden watched her a moment with a sly look in his eyes.
"Congratulations by the way, you two," he started.
Mina glared at Hawke who looked really confused.
"What? I don't know what you mean," Hawke said.
Pan chuckled and shook his head, "Don't try and hide it from me. I know a pregnant woman when I see one. Despite what Morrigan may say, I was around a short time while she was pregnant with Kieran. She was the happiest while… Ah, well… Anyway, it's obvious to me."
Hawke smiled and put an arm around Mina who was almost pouting. She didn't think it was that obvious. She hadn't started showing quite yet. It would be another two months before it was blatantly obvious that she wasn't just gaining weight.
"By the way…" he said sipping on his ale, "There's something of a surprise in your gardens. I'm pretty sure you'll want to go see. Garrett, you should stay here."
The Inquisitor tilted her head curiously, "A surprise? I'm a little worried by the way you said that, Pan."
The Warden Commander smiled into his stein, "Oh, don't be."
Mina looked over at Hawke who looked clueless about what was awaiting the Elf in her gardens. She shrugged and waved goodbye to them both. She'd catch up with her lover later on. On her way there, she ran into, quite literally, the two slobbering Mabari hounds that Pan had brought with him. They stopped and helped Mina steady herself before nuzzling her hands apologetically.
"Heehee~ It's ok. Just don't go knocking down too many people. I might have a mess on my hands. If you behave, I'll make sure to sneak you guys some extra meat for dinner tonight," she said earning happy barks. They wiggled their stumpy tails happily before running off to find something to play with. Mina laughed and went on her way to the garden.
At first, she didn't see anything unusual. It was the same thing as always; people walking around, enjoying the sunshine, praying to Andraste, quoting the Chant of Light, and Cullen was playing chess with Dorian. They did that as often as they could. Mina smirked at the thought of Dorian and Cullen becoming good friends.
A voice struck her heart like a hammer to stone, "Mina? I didn't know you were back already. I've been waiting because I wanted to see you."
Mina turned around slowly and tried her best not to start bawling. Somehow, Ceras was standing before her. She'd felt the moment of her sister's death, but Ceras stood there in Skyhold. In the back of her mind, she scolded herself for never investigating the key that Ceras had sent her in the letter that still sat in her desk drawer.
"What… when… I-I mean…" Mina whispered, tears of joy falling down her face. She just couldn't get the words out.
Ceras smiled and hugged her little sister and offered an explanation, "I came here with the Warden Commander. How I still live is a story best left for another time. I promise to tell you, but not today."
Mina deadpanned, "That was you in the armor? Why didn't you say anything?! I'm going to knock Pan on his arse for not telling me! Where's Keter?!"
The older Elf chuckled and attempted to calm her sister, "Aye, it was me in the armor, but I didn't say anything because I figured you wouldn't want all your guests seeing you cry and then you left. To be fair, Warden Cousland didn't know until after you left. I hadn't let him see me without my helm until we'd been at Skyhold for a day or two. I have to say, I confused several people. Keter is out hunting right now. He'll be happy to see you."
Mina smirked at that. She and Ceras did look an awful lot alike. Their eyes were a different color, Ceras' hair was more white than silver, and she was a bit taller than Mina, but they had the same build, structure and mannerisms. Mostly. Mina was more crude and unrefined than her older sister. That was due to the difference in how they grew up.
"Fine. I guess I won't punch his lights out," Mina said getting a strange look. Ceras didn't understand the phrase. She'd never seen electric lights.
"Ah, uhm… It's a phrase we used back… ya know what, never mind it. Let's go see the horses. Or do something fun," she said. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out a way to tell Ceras about her and Hawke's little one.
They spent some time helping Dennett groom the horses while they caught up on what had been going on in the past several months. Ceras hadn't known about the Clan and honored them with a moment of silent prayer. They both wondered if their father had made it out by some miracle. Or the Keeper.
They ended up going for a walk around Skyhold. Mina introduced Ceras to her new friends… a motley crew. Sera didn't believe them and thought it was a magic trick at first. Bull was happy to meet someone else that liked to hit things and offered to buy Ceras a drink sometime. Blackwall greeted them warmly, happy that Mina got her sister back. Dorian was absolutely ecstatic. He demanded that they had tea together sometime soon. Cole made Ceras nervous, but he smiled at her and told her that it wasn't her fault. There was nothing she could have done to calm the wrath. Mina raised an eyebrow at Ceras, but she waved it off and thanked Cole.
Cassandra was courteous and polite, as was Vivienne. Mina led Ceras to Solas' chamber excitedly. The weird Elf had a lot in common with Ceras and the way they viewed the Dalish.
"Solas!" Mina called happily, "There's someone I'd like you to meet!"
He called back to her, sounding a bit preoccupied, "Inquisitor, if you've brought in another animal, you need to take it back. Druffalo and foxes are not pets. Neither are dragonlings."
Mina grinned at Ceras sheepishly before turning her attention to the man before her. He was hunched over a book studying. Mina looked around the circular room, noticing he'd added more paintings. A wave of joy washed over her. He always painted a mural of her accomplishments. It was his way of telling her that she'd done well, no matter what happened.
"Solas, this is my sister, Ceras," she said.
His head shot up. Surprise and disbelief flashed in his eyes for a second. Ceras' eyes narrowed as she looked at him. She could sense something… Mina was too excited to notice the tension between them.
"Hello Dr—" Ceras started.
"I am Solas. Nice to meet you. I wasn't aware that Mina had a sister. Welcome to Skyhold," he said.
Ceras snorted in amusement, "She almost didn't. I am Ceras… nice to meet you too, Solas. It's a wonder the Inquisition found this place. It is very beautiful."
Mina narrowed her eyes at the peculiar exchange. She had a feeling that they had met before… But, before she could say anything, Solas tried to excuse himself.
"Sorry, Inquisitor, I have some magical glyphs to decode for sister Leliana. Perhaps I'll talk to you later," he said with a faint smile.
"Actually, I had something I wanted to tell the both of you, since I'm here. I don't really want everyone to know, but I figured you would be able to help, Solas, and Ceras, you're my sister, so I was going to tell you anyway."
Both of the Elves looked at the Inquisitor with curiosity. Solas had more intrigue in his eyes and Ceras had more of an 'Oh Maker. What now?' look. Unfortunately, Ceras' was more appropriate. Mina only hoped that Hawke would survive the ire of those she called her family.
She took a deep breath and folded her hands tightly together in front of her chest as if to keep her heart from bursting out and running away. "I—er… You see..." she stumbled, unable to get her mouth to work with her brain. Solas sighed impatiently.
"S-sorry. I just wanted you both to know that I, uh, Hawke and I are going to have a baby," she finished at last.
Mina thought that she'd killed them both. They were wide-eyed and paler than Cole. She stood there smiling sheepishly, rocking back and forth on her heels. There was no response for a good couple of minutes.
"Banal! Dirth mir na len din dar!" cursed Solas. He had been teaching Mina more Elven words that she had not picked up on while with her Keeper. She was hurt by what he had said. She'd thought for sure he would be happy for her. Ceras was the one to turn on him.
"How dare you! Why should she tell you 'her child is not to be'?! Why would you care?! If you were her friend, you would be happy! Sure, Hawke is kind of an idiot at times, but he's a good man!" Ceras yelled at him. Mina was almost ready to kill them both. She was sure Leliana had already known, but Ceras yelling it confirmed it. And informed others. She shut her eyes tight and clenched her jaw. There was static in the air, gathering closer to her hands the more irritated she got. One of the currents she felt sparked which created a snap of lightning.
Her voice was low, but Ceras and Solas stopped bickering once they heard the venom dripping from her words, "If you two are going to cause me problems and argue, leave me alone. I suggest you shut your mouths right now before I sew them closed like a Saarebas. Whether anyone likes it or not, I'm going to have a child, and the father is Garrett Hawke."