49. Fallout

Jowan meets my comment with the only proper response-an extremely sarcastic 'Uh-huh' paired with an impressive eyeroll. He then gently tugs on my uninjured arm. "Come on, let's get back to the farmhouse so I can at least sort of patch you lot up."

I give him a quick once-over as we walk. "You're okay?"

He nods, raking loose hair out of his face. "Yes. For once I managed to avoid almost getting myself killed. And I was being careful with my spells, so I still have plenty of mana left to use for healing."

"You're still taking care of Nate first," I mutter, kicking at a pebble. I don't know if I'll ever get that image out of my head.

"I figured you were gonna say that," Jowan smiles, sliding his hand down my arm to link his fingers with mine and gently squeeze.

I don't let go.

oOo

We arrive back at the farmhouse just as an older man and woman pull up in a small wagon pull up in a small wagon, the back full of bundles and the horse pulling it not looking particularly worn out.

"Can I... help you folks with anything?" the man asks, frowning as he scans the bloody mess that is three quarters of our party.

"Would be nice if we could borrow your front porch while we patch ourselves up," I reply. "We're Grey Wardens. Ewan contacted us about your, um, animal problem. Which shouldn't be a problem anymore."

His face brightens noticeably. "Oh, well, thank you all. You sure ya don't need anything? Th' tall one looks 'bout ready to drop."

I slant a glance toward Nathaniel and see that he's right. Nate's not looking too good. Just stubborn enough to try and tough his way through it until he passes out. "Just the temporary use of your porch, like I said. Our healer's got everything he needs."

"Nonsense," the woman declares, hopping lightly down from the wagon. "If you took care of those beasts, you've been a bigger help than we can put into words. You can use the front room while I see how Ewan's comin' with dinner. And then you'll stay and eat with us."

I smile. "Ma'am, I appreciate the offer, but I can't ask you to feed us. Grey Wardens are, um, surprisingly big eaters."

She waves me off with a grin, taking a couple of the bundles from the wagon. "Please, darlin', I've raised seven boys, an' two girls with appetites t' match. The four of you don't scare me any. And it's the least I can do. C'mon, follow me."

Not really having a suitable argument, I shrug and do as she says, catching the amused grin Jowan sends me. I just roll my eyes at him.

"Front room's in there-" she gestures to a doorway- "but one more thing: m'name's not ma'am, it's Allison. Husband's Daniel, and hopefully dinner will be ready soon." And with that she's off toward the kitchen, leaving me at least a little breathless.

"Meet your match, Rahna?" Jowan teases, leaning his staff against the wall.

"Is that how I come off?" I ask, mildly surprised.

"A whirlin' dervish a' energy an' goodwill? Yeah. More often'n not," Declan grins as he drops into a chair. It quickly turns into a wince as he jostles probably-cracked ribs. "Mm... But don't worry; that's a compliment, boss."

I'm too tired to remind him of my feelings on that title-plus, from his grin, he used it on purpose-and so I just plunk onto the sofa, twisting sideways so I don't get blood on anything and start trying to work off my armor. "Nate, here, come sit by me, so we risk as few pieces of their furniture as possible."

He doesn't give any indication he heard me, feeling gingerly at the gashes down the side of his head with bloody fingers.

So I increase the volume and try again. "Nathaniel." This time I wait until he looks at me. "If you're out of it enough t' not hear me, 'specially from this close, that's too much blood loss for you to be remotely okay. Sit."

Nate half-smiles as he obeys. "Don't tell me you're feeling guilty, Rahna."

I don't answer, slightly surprised he was able to pick up on that. But, then again, the manis one of my best friends and an expert at reading nuance. Surprised is the one thing I shouldn't be.

His smile drops, replaced by a look of concern that flickers every so briefly into a wince as Jowan starts to work on healing his injuries. "Maker, Rahna, don't. It's not your fault-"

"Isn't it?" I cut him off, raking my hand through my hair and biting back a yelp because that's the clawed up arm. "I am the reason you were here in the first place."

"I came because I wanted to," he corrects. "If you hadn't asked me, I would have found out and probably requested to join you."

"Nate, I... I almost got you killed less than two months out from your wedding," I protest.

Nathaniel shakes his head, then bites his lip and holds still when Jowan makes a tsk sound at him. "Rahna, I'm a grown man. If I didn't want to come-if I thought it was too much of a risk-I would have said no. You were very clear that that was an option and I chose not to take it. This is not your fault. In any way, shape, or form. Stop blaming yourself, or I'll be forced to sic my fiancee on you when we get back."

I manage a wobbly grin at his light-hearted threat. "Okay, I'll give you that one. But my concentration slipping is-"

"Something that just as easily could have happened in the reverse, had the bereskarn come after me. In which case I would be the one engaging in self-flagellation and you would tell me not to because it wasn't my fault and you'd be fine and what's one more scar; they're sexy anyway, or something like that."

I laugh and slouch against the back of the sofa. "Maker damn it all, Nathaniel Howe, you know me entirely too well. I will also concede that point."

I've been watching Jowan throughout the conversation, as his expression shifts through concentration to relief to something I can't quite read. He mutters something under his breath as Nate shows just how well he knows me. When whatever it was doesn't get a reaction out of the archer, Jowan catches my eye as he raises one hand and snaps his fingers right next to Nathaniel's ear.

He doesn't so much as flinch.

Oh, balls. "Nate?"

"Hmm?" He looks at me expectantly and raises an eyebrow.

"I need you to trust me for a second, because this might seem weird at first." And I'm desperately hoping I'm wrong, in which case it'll seem even weirder. I shift so I'm kneeling on the sofa.

"Of course," he says slowly. He's kind enough to leave unspoken that I do seemingly weird stuff a lot and he's used to it.

I lean forward and cover his right ear with with my good hand. "Can you hear me?"

Nathaniel frowns. "Barely. Why are you whispering?"

Not wrong. Dammit. I take my hand away. "I wasn't."

I see the exact second the pieces click. "Ah."

"We... We can prob'ly at least sort of fix it, right?" I look at Jowan hopefully.

He shrugs. "Maybe? Over time? I've done all I can for tonight, especially if you want me to be able to take care of you and Declan as well."

"Do that," Nathaniel nods, pushing off the sofa. "I'll go ask Allison if there's somewhere to wash up." He flashes a dry smile. "I doubt she wants me at the dinner table looking like this." With that, he leaves the room.

"Rahna first," Declan says, breaking the spell of silence as he settles back into his chair, hand pressed against his side.

"No, Dec, you-"

"I'm not bleedin'," he points out. "B'sides, there's only so much magic can do for broken bones, anyway. Better he takes care a' you first, boss."

"Fine, I sigh, scooting forward to perch on the edge of the sofa as Jowan helps me with the last couple straps on my armor I couldn't manage one-handed. "I think they look-ow-worse than they-OW--are."

"Liar," Jowan mutters, curving one hand gently under my arm as he starts summoning a healing spell. "Fortunately, however, I share your opinion on scars."

"At least they're sexy?" I whisper, and he nods.

"Much as I don't like the reminder of how close you come to dying with alarming frequency, physical manifestations of how tough you are are rather attractive."

"Flatter," I tease, tickling his elbow with my fingertips.

"Rahna, unless you want the spell to go wrong, I would suggest not doing that," he chastises, arm reflexively jerking away.

"Aye, and I"d not mind it ya stowed the flirtin'," Declan pipes up.

"You heard the man," Jowan grins. "Behave. At least through dinner."

"Heh, no promises," I snort as he finishes. "I think I'll go find Nate, see about cleanin' myself up."

Jowan shoot me a knowing look. "Make sure he's okay?"

"Maybe something like that," I hedge. "He's my friend and I'm... concerned."

"He's also a more private person than you," he points out. "If he doesn't want to talk about it, don't push too hard." He grins. "You might get yourself uninvited to the wedding."

"Well, we can't have that. I know you were lookin' forward to seein' me in a dress again," I deadpan. "In all seriousness, I promise not to push too hard. See you at dinner."

"Mm-hm." He nods as he moves to help Declan.

I tug him back to steal a quick kiss and then go to find Nate, dearly hoping he found the washroom. I really want to get clean.

A/N: I am a mean mama. Honestly, though, this is better than what I was originally planning to do. And like Jowan said, they might be able to fix it, at least some. Or Nathaniel will be mostly deaf in one ear. It'll probably slow him down about as much as being blind in one eye has hampered Rahna(in other words; not much at all).