All right, let me apologize for how long it took to get this chapter up. Far too long. Real life got in the way, but I have returned with fluff and adorableness! It's in Leliana's POV again... My muse has basically turned into her, so I'm not sure when I'll put up an Aedan chapter again, but it seems Leliana is the favored POV anyway...? Oh, and this chapter will feature lots of breaks. It spans a certain nine months I have been very eager to write for a while now!

I didn't think Aedan would be so...ecstatic. I had hoped, yes, and spent hours wondering how I would tell him...but not once did I think he'd be so happy. Though...I suppose he's taken what excitement I might have had. I'm not feeling much of anything but terror. I don't know what to do with myself. It's not like I have much experience with family. My mother died when I was four, and I ended up as little more than a glorified ward of an Orlesian noblewoman. She was kind and loving, yes, but often had more important things to worry about than myself.

How am I supposed to be a mother when I don't know what mothers do, let alone how they act?

Aedan doesn't seem to be as worried. He seems more excited than anything, following me around like a lost puppy as he is. I don't even have to ask for something; he just does everything for me without being told to or asked. He's up first every morning, bringing up the tonic Josie has to keep me from getting sick all day. He hardly lets me leave the rookery, and the worst part is, Arin doesn't seem to mind my absence from the war room when he calls a meeting. He'll come check on me every few days, and every time I demand to know why he allows Aedan to trap me in here, he shrugs it off and laughs his way into another subject.

I feel smothered, truth be told. I don't get to do much aside from reading and writing reports, and I hate it. I've always been independent, but the way Aedan spends his time hovering around me is getting overwhelming. He asks me if there's anything I need so many times a day that I want to scream.

"Leliana..."

I cringe when I hear him say my name in his teasing tone. He knows the attention gets on my nerves, and sometimes, I swear he only does it to amuse himself. He's not a member of the Inquisition, and he's not a Warden any longer, so he has nothing to be in Skyhold for. I don't understand why he stays here when he could go be with his sister. She needs him more than I do, though I won't complain. He was gone for so long; I don't think I could stand it if he left again.

Aedan kicks his feet up on my desk and leans back in his chair, raising a brow. "Leliana...?"

I let out a sigh and toss my report aside before looking up at him. "What is it now?"

He shrugs. "Oh nothing. I was just wondering if you needed anything."

My temper flares, but I bite it back and return to reading the slip of paper. He laughs at the expression plastered to my face, reaching over to push the report aside. "I'm serious. This is usually when you get hungry, so I was curious. Are you?"

"Can I get my own food if I say yes?"

"No, you have work to do," he taunts. "So get to it. I'll be back with our supper shortly."

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I could throw a shoe," I snap, burrowing further under the covers. Aedan laughs as he runs his hand up and down my arm as soothingly as he can. I've been in a sour mood all week, and after getting violently sick in the middle of the night, I haven't exactly been happy, let alone pleasant to be around. Still, Aedan sticks to my side, hovering like he has been since I told him that I was pregnant. A month ago, I think? So...I suppose I'm three months along now. My armor is more difficult to get into each morning. I haven't even tried to put it on today; I don't have the energy, or the willpower, to even get up.

"In a good way? Or a bad way?"

"Both?"

He cracks a smile and brushes my hair from my face. "I hate seeing you sick like this, love."

"I'll be fine...eventually."

Aedan's smile broadens. "Well, it'll all be worth it in the end, I think."

My brows furrow and I catch his hand. "You think?"

"Don't worry about it," he says, shaking his head. "I'm just thinking about you."

And then I understand. He's afraid something is going to happen to me or the baby. For all his excitement...he's scared. All that does is scare me more, and I tug on him. "Lay with me." The words feel stuck in my throat, taking several tries to get out. "Please?"

"It's not like I want to leave," he teases, kicking off his boots before rolling under the blankets with me. "I just got back."

I feel small when I fidget my way into my usual place between his arm and his side. Small and weak, and I hate it. If something goes wrong... I don't want to think about it. I just want to enjoy his warmth and make up for the sleep I've missed.

Aedan squirms a little until he's comfortable before pulling me into his arms, sighing contently as he presses his lips to my temple. It's soothing almost, some sort of reassurance. His embrace is what calms me though, knowing he's here again. That's all I've wanted since he left, and now that I have it again, I don't want him to leave and take it away. I've been beyond lonely in his years away. I thought he was dead...and yet here he is, and here I am, expecting a child.

It doesn't feel real.

"I missed you," I whisper into his shirt.

"So you've said," Aedan replies, chuckling. "I missed you too. But I've got you now, for however long we have left."

"Years and years," I say, yawning. I shift so my head is on his shoulder, wrapping my arm around his torso as my eyes drift shut. "Mmm. You're a good pillow..."

He gives a soft laugh. "Tired still? You slept like a rock until...well, that incident."

I open one eye and fix him with a stare, raising a brow. "Carrying a kid around is exhausting."

"Oh please. I don't think you've even started showing yet."

"Then you're not paying close enough attention," I grumble, burrowing further into his arms. "I know I am. I can barely get into my armor anymore."

He scoffs. "Are we going to start with that already?"

"With what?"

"Thinking you look fat. That thing."

"I'm going to get fat and we both know it," I snap. "You did this to me."

Aedan raises a brow. "Not once have I pressured you into doing anything you didn't want to do."

"I was seduced by a madman."

"Seduced? Pfft. I'll show you seducing."

My other eye snaps open when he shifts around just enough that he can lean over me. His lips brush over my neck, my jaw, anywhere he knows will make me twitch. He keeps at it long enough that my hand snakes into his hair and holds him against me. This is just...it's not fair. He's just teasing me at this point.

"Stop that," I manage.

A laugh rumbles out of him as he moves his lips just beneath my ear. "And why would I do that?"

"W-we can't..."

"I know that," he says, nipping at my skin. I squeeze my eyes shut and let out a whine, tightening my grip on him. "I can still touch you, though, can't I?"

"Maker's b-breath, Aedan... You're going to drive me...insane."

He responds with a pleased hum, trailing his kisses down the side of my neck until he reaches that same spot he always hunts down. My skin turns to fire under his attention even as I feel that ache for him start building. Every part of me wants to be with him, but I'm not sure how safe that is, and neither is he. We'll just have to settle for the touching.

"Of all the people in Thedas to get pregnant, you were honestly the last person I expected."

I pause halfway through taking a drink of my tea to narrow my eyes at the Warden sitting across from me. Her arms are crossed over her chest and one brow is raised in her typical challenge. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounded like," Elissa says, cracking a smirk. "You don't seem like the motherly type is all."

"Thank you for confirming my fears," I retort sarcastically.

She laughs. "Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine. It was just a joke."

I huff at her as I swallow a mouthful of rather bland Fereldan tea, grimacing in disgust. "I have no idea how you drank this for so long without getting sick."

"Easy. I just didn't drink tea," she replies, kicking her feet up on my desk. "Unless it was Orlesian, anyway. Which it usually wasn't, considering my father's dislike of anything Orlesian."

"I can't imagine he'd be very happy with your brother."

Elissa shrugs and leans back in her chair, staring up through the rafters. I haven't been up there to clean anything in...weeks now. I should probably get someone to do that now that I think about it... "For an accent? Pfft. He'd get over himself, and if he didn't, then who knows? I doubt Aedan would've cared. Our mother wasn't happy about Alistair and I, and you see how well that worked out for her."

Rolling my eyes, I say, "Clearly."

"What? Aedan and I are more alike than you realize."

"He's also not a mage," I retort.

"No, that's my curse," she says, laughing. "A possessed mage, at that."

"Leading a heretical army against the weakened Chantry."

She blinks as her eyes narrow, frowning. "You sound bitter about it."

"No, I'm just worried Cassandra won't give up easily," I say. "She never agreed with me on this, and she's far more stubborn than you can be. I fear she'll wait to surrender until all of Orlais has fallen around her and you're standing at the doors of the Grand Cathedral itself."

"The Chantry has no army left," Elissa says.

"Some people are faithful to the end. Change scares them."

"Change is coming whether they like it or not. I'm not giving up at this point. Too many good people have died in the pursuit of an accepting Chantry."

I shake my head and decide for a change of topic. Not much of a pleasant one, but a happier one, I suppose. "Has Orlais surrendered yet?"

"No, of course not," Elissa says. She seems more annoyed by that than I thought she would be. "Empress Celene refuses to 'surrender to a Fereldan dog lord.' She's above that, it seems."

"I was hoping she'd be the one who would."

"Gaspard wouldn't have either. Briala...I don't even want to wonder about. I'm just glad Celene is smart enough to stop with the raids into Ferelden."

"That leaves her Chevaliers in the cities, though," I point out. "Places they know they can defend and fortify."

She gives a sad sigh. "Where we camp, supplies stop coming. All we would have to do is park it outside the Winter Palace and starve Celene out." She takes a drink of her wine, and for a half a second, I'm jealous I can't have any for another six months. "It looks like that's what we're going to have to do. It'll cost less lives, and without Aedan's help, I'm not sure how responsive the east flank will be."

I cough awkwardly, whispering, "Take him. Please. Free me."

Elissa blinks once before bursting out in laughter. "I remember when you'd look all sad and mopey because he was gone."

"Yes, but now he breathes down my neck! I can't do anything without him there and I haven't left this blasted tower in weeks!"

"You could ask him for some space," she says, shrugging. "Or, you know, you could just let him be. He's only doing it because he loves you."

"It's overwhelming!" I hiss.

"Would you rather I left?"

I nearly fall out of my chair from jumping so badly. This...this is what I get for sitting with my back to the steps. And for getting so distracted by my conversation with Elissa, who is presently holding her sides from laughing so hard. "You scared me half to death!"

"Oops?" Aedan gives me a quick kiss on the cheek before walking around to my sister and handing her a scrap of paper. "Looks like you're needed in the Emprise."

She sighs. "Now what? Did Dworkin blow something up again?"

"Probably," Aedan replies.

With a quick scan of the report, she nods and grunts. "I'll be back in a few weeks. The Agents have found something they want me to look into. Brant says it's got 'Wardens' written all over it."

"Oh. Well...be careful," I say.

"When am I not?" she asks, scoffing.

"You don't want either of us to answer that," Aedan says.

She laughs once before grabbing her things and heading out of the rookery. It's annoying, how every time she tries to come see me she gets called away for something or other. She's like a sister, is a sister in every sense of the word, and I hardly get to see her anymore. As a matter of fact, I think I see her even less now that Corypheus is dead. Elissa used to act like Cullen's shadow, but in the field, and would relay his orders out to camps while keeping her Agents up to speed with the Inquisition. But she'd find a way to come back and make stupid jokes with me more often than not. Now...now there's just no time anymore when there should be.

"What's wrong?" Aedan asks, crouching beside me.

I shake my head and inhale deeply, blinking back the dry feeling in my eyes. "Nothing, I'm just...tired is all."

He hops to his feet and helps me up without another word. "Feeling all right?"

"I don't feel sick if that's what you're asking," I say.

"That's good to hear," he replies, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "I hate seeing you so sick all the time."

"It'll pass."

He gives an exasperated huff. "Yes, I know. I just don't like being unable to help you."

"I'll be fine," I insist. "It's normal."

I think the most annoying part of this is the lack of sleep. No, not even that. The inability to find a comfortable position to sleep in. That's what annoys me the most. I spend hours tossing and turning—or whatever you want to call my fidgeting—in vain attempts to get comfortable, and only end up falling asleep because I get so exhausted from all the moving. It's so ridiculous I hardly ever want to go lay down, no matter how sick, or how achy I feel.

So, of course, Aedan fights me every night to go to bed, and when he inevitably wins, he usually falls asleep on my shoulder with an arm thrown over my stomach. It seems to be his favorite position, considering I can't fall asleep unless I'm on my back anyway. I end up burrowing into his chest while he holds me and staring at him until the restlessness starts.

And despite how annoying I find this entire experience, I find myself running a hand over the bump without even meaning to, or resting my hands there almost protectively when a stranger comes up to discuss meetings with Arin. Aedan is there during those, armed, and while he keeps his distance, he's always close enough to intervene if something happens. I'm grateful for that; I doubt I could use the dagger I keep hidden in my shirt sleeve even if I wanted to.

I never wanted children, never even stopped to consider having a family. Aedan was a Warden, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I made a note to never bring it up, or think about it. I didn't want to put myself or a child through the pain of not knowing when he'd not come back. And when I joined the Wardens...by then, I barely had the chance to stop and think about anything except where I could buy more arrows. The last ten years have been a blur of "shoot first, ask questions later," and now that it's over, I don't know what to do with myself. Not that I have much time to do anything, anyway. Now all I do is work, or deal with the side effects of being pregnant.

Still, laying here as bored as I am, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Elissa hasn't called Aedan away to help her manage the Agents, so I don't have to worry about him, and I'm pregnant. The idea of it still blows my mind, and it has already been five months. I can't come to grips with it. But no matter how shocking I find it, or how ridiculously annoying it can be, I love the baby. There's no way I can't.

When Aedan isn't laying on my chest and rambling on about the day to my stomach, he's off helping me do something or other while I lay here and read aloud, or recite a story from memory, or just talk about whatever comes to mind. He tends to talk about me, telling the bump about how wonderful of a mother they're going to have, and I'll just huff and roll my eyes. Sometimes he'll come back from getting me something, or running off to tell Josie or Arin or Cullen some important tidbit of information I have for them, and I'll be here, whispering about him and how goofy he is to my stomach.

A week or so ago, Aedan was talking about one of his escapades through Highever with Fergus and Elissa while I dozed, and the baby kicked against his hand. It scared me half to death, scared me awake, and after he stopped laughing—and I recovered from my near heart attack—he plopped back down on my chest and continued telling his story. I couldn't fall back asleep even if I had wanted to, so I listened with half an ear while running my fingers through his hair.

But that was the beginning of the end. Now all the baby does is kick at my hand, or Aedan's, sometimes even Josie's, and feeling it move...it's frightening, but fascinating all at once. I can't help the smile that cracks my face when they kick while I talk to them, or the one when Aedan grins because he talks to them and gets a response. It's endearing, those grins. He seems so happy and excited just by listening to me read out of a book for the child. He'll smile at me for absolutely no reason whatsoever sometimes, and I'll return the gesture.

The fear I felt a few months ago...it's still there, but I wouldn't give any of this up. I remember the last year, always fearing who could be lurking in the shadows, wondering who was going to try to assassinate myself or any of the other three who run the Inquisition. It made me bitter and cold, but since Aedan came back...

I've been so much happier than I have in a long time. The excitement he has, his enthusiasm, has worn off on me, and I'm just as excited as he is, if not more. Thinking about finally being able to hold the little person growing inside of me...it brings a ridiculously large smile to my face, and it helps calm me down when I get worked up about something. I remind myself it'll all be worth it in the end, and then I'll sit in bed, or at my desk, and grin at nothing for hours afterwards.

I'm so ridiculously happy sometimes that I don't know what to do with myself, and for the first time in my entire life, I'm fine with that. What happens will happen regardless of what Aedan or I wish for. And oddly enough...I'm not afraid of what that may be.

Aedan fidgets nervously as he squirms into bed with me. "Can I...?" His eyes flick down to my stomach like they always do when he wants to talk to our child. Our child. The very thought of it brings a smile to my face.

"You don't have to ask."

His face breaks out in a large grin as he leans down and presses his lips to mine. I return his kiss tiredly; it was a long day, and I'm sore all over. "It's only polite," he says before shifting around to rest his head on my chest. "I was raised to treat women properly, you know."

I smile faintly at the back of his head, starting my usual fingering of his hair. I know he enjoys the feeling; I can see him relax the instant my fingers start combing through. "I know, but you don't have to."

"I choose to," Aedan says softly. His hand comes up over my stomach and he starts tracing soothing patterns on it through my shirt. I allow my eyes to drift shut; this is usually the easiest time for me to fall asleep. "So what should I tell you about first? My sparring match with the Iron Bull or lunch with him and his Chargers?" I don't pay much attention to what he says after that. I doze off, slowly stopping with my brushing while he talks. I hear him laugh, mutter something about me being tired all the time "because you exhaust your mother." The statement brings a half-asleep smile to my face. He gets a kick out of the baby for that remark, and I crack an eye open.

"Well, it's true," he says, laughing. "She barely gets anything done because you're such an important responsibility for her. You know she complains about how heavy you are all the time? You're going to be such a little terror that she won't know what to do with you half the time." He pauses to yawn, shifting a little to get more comfortable. "She's stern, you know. Big and bossy when she has to be, but she's probably the kindest person I know. I love her more than I've ever loved anything or anyone...but now we have you, and I love you so much that I can't describe it." My smile broadens. "She loves you too despite her complaining. That's just what babies do to women. Make them angry and tired all the time, with little else to do but complain."

"And eat," I mumble halfheartedly.

He laughs. "She eats more now than she did as a Warden."

"See? He calls me fat. This is what I put up with."

Aedan sits up and looks back at me with a brow raised. "I'm not calling you fat, love." He presses his lips to my forehead as he settles next to my side. "You're the most beautiful woman I know, pregnant or not, and I love you."

I smile up at him. Those words used to scare me so long ago, but now they just make me smile, and make my heart beat a little faster. "I love you too, Aedan."

He had already been smiling faintly, but now it turns into one of his lopsided grins as he lies down beside me. I wiggle into his arms, sighing contently when he hugs me to his chest. "I love you both more than anyone has ever loved someone." He sits up again, but this time to press a kiss to my belly, and then resumes his original position.

That gesture is so heartwarming that it turns my cheeks red.

So...so exhausted... I don't ever remember being so tired in my entire life. My chest is heaving, and somewhere far away, there's crying. I just...just need to sleep...

My head rolls to the side as I gasp for air, eyes drifting shut. Faintly...my name, and then someone telling someone else to let me rest. Thank the Maker for sleep. I need it. I feel like I could sleep forever...

I don't know how much time passes before I wake, but there's something—or rather, someone—warm pressed into my side. They're whispering to someone else, someone making soft noises back at them. The sound of that voice...it's familiar, comforting even, and it pulls me out of my sleep. I must shift or do something to alert them, because not a moment after inhaling, I hear them saying something new, different.

"Shh, she's waking up." Aedan...? Yes, that has to be him. He whispers my name a few times, but I just give him a sleepy moan. "Leliana..."

"J-just...let me sleep."

"I think there's someone you need to say hello to. He's been waiting."

He?

My thoughts race as I try to remember why I'm so tired. It takes a moment, but it clicks. The baby... I remember panicking when I felt it—him—coming. Panicking, terror, and so much pain it wasn't even funny. It was there so abruptly, and gone just as quickly as it came. And then...so much exhaustion that I ache everywhere...

I crack my eyes open and squirm so I can see Aedan, holding a bundle of towels in his arms, with the biggest grin I've ever seen plastered firmly to his face. "Here," he says, offering the bundle. "You've only been asleep for an hour or so, but...well, the healer made me let you sleep. I would've woken you up sooner otherwise."

No matter how tired I am, the thought of finally being able to hold the child I've been carrying for nine months, of holding me and Aedan's child, our son, is so exciting that I make my arms move even though they want to hang limply at my sides. Aedan passes the baby off to me, and the instant my eyes hit his, I can't stop the huge smile I feel creep onto my face. There's a rush of warmth in my chest, much like the one I feel when Aedan tells me he loves me. I don't have words to describe the feeling, or how much I love this little boy just by seeing his blue eyes staring back up at me.

"So adorable," I whisper, letting out a breathless laugh. "I've waited so long to see you." I brush a kiss over his forehead and linger there for a few moments just so I can collect my thoughts. It's been too long, so much time waiting and wondering about the baby in my arms, and now that he's finally here...

"Maker's breath, but I love you already."