This meeting had been as awkward as it had been time after time for the past few weeks. Cullen had soon stopped trying to get Trevelyan to talk about what had happened between them, and it wasn't long before they had stopped talking to each other all together (unless absolutely forced to do so). The few times Trevelyan would look at Cullen, she would catch him looking at her, the expression on his face becoming a little darker each time.

"Cullen, are you all right?" Josephine asked as they were all walking out of the war room together. Leliana immediately flew off, leaving the other three behind.

"What?" Cullen replied.

"I asked if you're all right," Josephine repeated.

"Ah yes, thank you Lady Ambassador," he paused, "I am sorry if I seemed distracted in there, I haven't slept."

"Nightmares again?" Trevelyan asked before she could stop herself, her concern had trumped her awkwardness around the Commander. Her concern was genuine, but now Trevelyan felt awkward because the only reason she knew about the nightmares was because Cullen had confided in her during the last night the potion worked on him.

The look on Cullen's face betrayed his surprise at her speaking to him. "Yes," he said eventually.

"I have some things to attend to," Josephine said as they entered the small hallway that functioned as her office.

"Of course," Cullen said as Josephine walked towards her desk.

Trevelyan felt an awkward tension growing between Cullen and herself from the second Josephine left their side. "Are they getting worse?" Trevelyan asked, partly to fill the silence but mainly because she felt Cullen had truly looked more worn out lately.

"It is to be expected," he said.

"Expected?" she asked.

"I…," he paused, his hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck, "you must have troubles of your own." He changed the subject, Trevelyan felt unhappy because he clearly wasn't mentioning something and she felt that this meant he no longer felt he could confide in her, and she had done this herself. "I'm… fine, I suppose," she eventually answered.

Their eyes met for a moment before they both looked away awkwardly. What had she done, why had she created this horrible, awkward situation between the two of them?

Trevelyan and Cullen walked in silence, through the grand doors, down the stairs, until both stopping in the middle of the courtyard as each on their own realised this was either where they parted or continue to walk without a clear direction.

The silence between them was finally broken by Cullen. "Trevelyan," he looked at her and she looked up as well. "You can talk to me if there is something on your mind."

She wondered if this was a response to her silence at him mentioning her problems, and whether he realised he had just stopped himself from discussing his problems with her, whatever they were.

"Thank you," she said, faintly smiling at him. Cullen looked so tired, he had always pushed himself too hard. "I could make something, to help you sleep," Trevelyan said.

"Oh… thank you," he seemed surprised at the suggestion.

She nodded. "I'll ask one of the messengers to bring it to you when it's done."

"Or," Cullen said, "you could come bring it in person. I… would like to speak to you in private."

His voice was soft and low and she just wanted give in. "I… maybe," she said before she could help herself, it was not a yes, but it wasn't a no either. The faintest smile appeared on his face.

"How bad are they?" she asked, mainly to have something to ask.

Cullen frowned, "I can suffer them."

"Comma… Cullen, I wasn't suggesting that I thought… I just want to know if you're getting any kind of sleep."

Cullen chuckled softly. "I have never been known as a sound sleeper."

Trevelyan smiled. "I didn't notice anything odd," she said. Her face flushed red as she mentally flogged herself for slipping back into the old, familiar, almost flirtatious, rapport with him. She'd spoken before thinking.

Again Cullen looked so surprised to see her behaving towards him as she once had. "I didn't have any nightmares when – " he stopped himself and for a moment Trevelyan wondered if he too had said more than he wanted to. "…under the influence of that potion," Cullen said eventually, "not even the last night it worked."

And that was her cue to go, if there was one thing Trevelyan couldn't discuss any more, it was that night. That conversation was best avoided .

"I'll have the potion to you tonight," she suddenly said, walking backwards back to the hall. Trevelyan didn't think about how it would look if she went back to where they had just come from, she just needed to leave him.

"Trevelyan?" Cullen frowned at her.

"Tonight!" she blurted out, hoping to drown out whatever he planned to say next. She was already turning around when she added: "So you will at least have a good night's rest for once." She briskly walked away.