I listened to the Greg Ellis Cullen phone thing, and one had him saying he had fallen, and oh dear goodness I couldn't help myself. This is really goofy and I amused myself too much. Don't hate me... I'll show myself out...

She walked into the empty office and stopped short.

The commander should have been there, if the officer she had just spoken to was telling the truth, but he was nowhere in sight.

Thinking he might be in the loft overhead, she took a few steps back to get a better view and pitched her voice up. "Cullen?"

She heard a noise, some muffled scrap from near the desk that had her tilted her head to peer around it.

What was going on?

She jerked back in surprise as the Commander's head popped into view.

"Inquisitor!" His voice was high pitched and slightly breathless, and he was suddenly standing, his hands fumbling at a bundle of papers that appeared to come with him from the floor. "W-was there… that is… yes?"

She watched him drop the scrolls onto his desk then chase after them when they rolled haphazardly away. "Are you alright?"

"Of course! Why, um, why wouldn't I be?" He wasn't looking at her, his eyes hard on the desk, but she could see the pink tinge his skin had taken and the sheen of sweat on his forehead.

"Are you sick?"

He focused on her then, his eyes wide and confused. "What? No. No, of course not, why would you think that?"

Instead of answering she stepped closer, finally noticing the knocked over chair and scatter of books and papers. "What in the world…" She looked back up at him as she trailed off, and saw that his face had gone from pink to a bright, brilliant red and his hands were clinching a scroll so tightly that it was crumpled between his palms.

"I-I… that is… I might have… uh… I may have fallen down." The last was said in a rush and with his gaze firmly fixed on the wall behind her.

"You fell?"

"Not fell…" He dropped the crumpled missive and reached up a hand to rub at his neck, his face still blazing. "T-That wasn't the right word… tripped. I tripped."

She glanced around again then back to him as she pieced together what must have happened. When the mental image came to her a laugh burst out before she could stop it. When he only groaned and closed his eyes at the noise, more spilled out.

He groaned again and covered his face with his hands, his words muffled behind them when he spoke. "It's not funny."

She wanted to agree with him, really she did, but all she could see was the very large and very exaggerated fall that would have had to take place to cause the riot of a mess that was behind his desk.

So she laughed harder, her hand coming up to cover her mouth in some vain attempt to repress it.

It didn't help.

Before she knew it she was doubled over, tears leaking from her eyes, as Cullen stood looking on with the most bland expression she had ever seen on his face.

At least he wasn't blushing or stammering any more.

When she had finally quieted and managed to stand with at least a semblance of seriousness, he spoke again. "Better?"

"Yes."

"It wasn't that funny."

She highly doubted that, but she simply nodded in agreement.

"Was there a reason you were looking for me?"

She opened her mouth to reply then shut it again when her mind drew a blank. "You know… I don't remember."

He sighed and moved to straighten his chair. "Of course not."

"Want help picking things up?"

He looked over to her and the far too friendly grin she was wearing. "Are you going to laugh again?"

She thought about lying, but it had never really been her style. "Probably."

He rolled his eyes and moved to the papers. "Of course."

Repressing an already forming giggle, she moved to help him.