Author's Note: Again, thank you all for your patience and support! :D I can't tell you how much it means to me. Special thanks to DetectiveTective for all the lovely reviews and the comment on Deviantart!

I awoke to warmth, and pain. Coursing from my skull along my jaw, tingling down my spine to the tips of my toes in a dull ache. Familiar scents - smoke, tea, burnt bread. The sensations were muddled, and I tried to make sense of them as I wrenched open my fever glued eyes.

Where…? I squinted, blurred shapes sharpening. Wood - logs, a ceiling. A blazing fire at my side. Heavy, warm wool and fur layered over my body. I groaned, testing out my voice, wondering for a moment if it had really been me making that inhuman sound.

"Dusty?" The scrape of a chair and a face came into view, eyes dark, face drawn with worry. "Darling, can you hear me?"

I nodded weakly, parting my lips, unable to force more than a croak from my throat. Mum sighed and dragged a hand over her face. "Thank the Night Mother." I watched dumbly as she poured a mug of tea, pressing it into my hand. "Here, drink. Are you hungry?"

Hungry. Another ache joined the others, a low grumble in my belly. I nodded again before sipping, finally able to speak with my throat wetted. "What h-happened?"

"The wolves." Mum glanced at me, pursing her lips before busying herself behind me, returning with a hunk of bread. "Careful, it's hot. You were chased by wolves, and from what we saw you were chased onto a lake. The ice must have been too thin to hold the weight…"

"Oh - ouch!" I cursed, shrinking slightly at mum's raised brow before blowing on the bread to cool it off, fingers still smarting. "Sorry."

"I've heard far worse from you." Mum smiled softly, a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as she watched me hungrily devour the bread. "Not too quickly, or you'll make yourself ill."

I slowed down, despite the ache of protest from my stomach. I'd never felt so hungry, and never before had burnt bread tasted so good. I sucked a crumb off my finger before sipping again, remembering. Travelling - to Applewatch, to hide. Being chased, the bitter cold and blackness. I shivered, moving my gaze to the mug. "How long was I out?"

"About a day. You woke up before, but you didn't seem to recognize Lucien or I." She sighed, laying the back of her cool hand on my brow. "Good. The fever's gone down, too. I think that's enough for now." Mum took the mug and what little I hadn't devoured of the bread. "You should rest, sweet. We made it." Another of those small, sad smiles. "We're safe here, for a time."

"Okay." I hadn't realized how tense I'd been until I relaxed, sinking into the bed, feeling the heavy warmth of the blankets settle on me. I turned my head, frowning. Applewatch. Quaint, warm, a simple cottage. A table nearby, with the bread and a kettle, two empty chairs, one occupied. Lucien - sleeping, it seemed. He sat slumped, a hand on his cheek, the other dangling just above his sword. Mum followed my gaze, then smiled, warmth at last in her eyes.

"He hasn't left that spot since I arrived." A gentle laugh, creases deepening around her eyes and curved lips. "Ever vigilant, I suppose. He rode ahead with you, on Shadowmere, while I covered our tracks until he came back. You were already by the fire and in bed. And I suspect the burnt bread was his doing." Mum chuckled. "Try not to tease him about that."

"He…" I blinked, her words sinking in. "…So he was the one who got me out of the water?"

"And got you here, yes, and I owe him everything for that." Mum approached again, brushing a curl of hair from my face, smile falling. "… If I'd lost you…"

Lucien saved my life. I tried to understand this, to imagine it. I remembered - hearing my name, strong arms pulling me, but after that, nothing. I shook my head, searching for something else to bring up. "What happened to your horse?"

"Ah. Poor thing." Mum bit her lip. "She got out of the ice and ran, the wolves after her. I suspect - I suspect she's long dead now."

I winced. "I'm sorry, maman."

"Don't be. You're safe, and we made it. That's all that matters." I closed my eyes as mum kissed my forehead and pressed a fresh mug in my hands again. "I'm going to check on Shadowmere, see that she's warm enough. Drink a bit more, then rest."

I listened, only opening my eyes once again when I heard the sound of the door creaking shut. The room was still, then, the only sounds the rustle of blankets and the rise and fall of his breath as he slept. I gazed at him under a furrowed brow. It seemed to strange, to see him like that. At rest, not quite at peace but limp and silent in slumber. I felt as though I was witnessing something terribly intimate, terribly raw. I shook my head, struggling to keep myself sitting upright as I sipped. He's only a man, I reminded myself. A man, who'd saved my life.

Why?

I groaned at a throb of pain in my skull, a wave of dizziness making my body go weak, the mug seem to jump out of my hands. I swore as it fell to the floor with a crash. "Dammit!" Just as quickly as the mug broke, Lucien was upright, sword half-drawn, looking ready to pounce. I shrunk back, voice meek. "…Sorry."

"Hah. You're forgiven, pet." Lucien snorted, sheathing his sword casually and striding over to the bedside. I shivered as the bed creaked beneath his weight when he sat on the edge, gazing at me. "Where's Abelle?"

"She's with Shadowmere. Making sure the stable's warm." Beneath the idle conversation something lingered, something deeper. I took a breath, stroking my hands down the fur of the blanket. "…Thank you."

A wolfish grin. "For saving your life, or for my forgiveness? Do tell."

I scowled half-heartedly, almost pouting as he pulled off his hood. "You're never going to let me forget this, are you?" A grin was my only answer, and I shook my head, murmuring. "Of course not." I couldn't quite move my gaze from his face - though pale, his jaw dark with muzzle and eyes dark from exhaustion, the smirk remained. He raised a brow, tilting his head in question.

"Just…" I tried to think of something to say before trailing off, moving my gaze as my cheeks burned. "You burnt the bread."

"And you broke a mug, pet. With any luck, we'll have this place destroyed before Abelle returns." I couldn't quite stop a giggle at the ridiculousness of it. Joking, even now, and somehow what normally would have made me only roll my eyes almost made me double over. I caught my breath, gazing up at him as both brows raised.

"I just - it's funny. And laughing - helps." I felt stupid, my words childish and meaningless. He only nodded, and I searched for a distraction, my gaze settling on a rip on the arm of his robe. "What happened?"

"What?" A sudden frown and Lucien grunted, shifting the rip away. "Nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing." The healer in me perked in curiosity. I pursed my lips, taking his arm. "Let me see."

"It's nothing," he repeated, but let me look with a withering glare. I only glanced back before examining the wound - a bite, an attempt to take the flesh of his arm that had almost succeeded. The tooth marks sank deep, tendons ripped. I winced, giving a sound of sympathy that only made him scowl.

"This needs to be healed. Let me…"

"I was under the impression you are an alchemist, not a healer." Lucien scowled, then grunted. "Fine. Do it quickly, then. It's your own bloody fault if you faint from the exertion."

"I'm not that delicate," I retorted, ignoring the ache of my body that said otherwise. I traced around the wound, eyes half-closed, the words of a spell moving coolly and sweetly from my throat. My body and magicka panged in protest, but I continued, watching as his wound began to heal - muscle knitting, tendon sewing, flesh waving as one again until all that was left was a painful scar. Not quite healed, but close. I closed my eyes for a moment, weak and empty, a wave of dizziness moving through me before I could speak. "Is that better?"

Critically Lucien watched, flexing his arm as though to test my work. "…It's good enough." He frowned as I lay back, closing my eyes. "Go to sleep. Abelle will have your hide for exerting yourself." A snort. "And no doubt she'll try to take mine." I nodded, already feeling myself sink into a soothing, warm darkness. "And, pet?"

I gave a contented sound. "Mm?"

A snicker. I could imagine his face, smirking, eyes gleaming in satisfaction. As I fell to sleep, his words rang clear.

"You're welcome."