Hawke groaned, vomiting into the chamber pot once again. 'That damned ale must have been bad. Not that it's ever good, but I didn't even drink that much!' She thought, angrily. She shook her head and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, standing and stumbling over to the tall silver washbasin, cupping water into her hands and bringing it to her mouth.
Hawke swished the cool water around her mouth and between her teeth before turning and spitting into the pot. She plunged her hands into the water and scrubbed them together before she dabbed water onto her face and the back of her neck. The nausea had passed, thankfully, but it annoyed her. She detested being sick. Sick meant staying indoors and laying around, listening to Sandal and her mabari, Daki playing. Loudly.
She was tempted to use the cellar for a trip to Darktown. Having Anders around to get rid of the nausea sounded wonderful, not that his presence alone wouldn't help, but the magic would certainly be a plus.
The other option was to lay around feeling sorry for herself, so she settled on the Darktown idea, untying the sash of her red house robes and pulling on a pair of cloth trousers. Opening her wardrobe, she found a clean linen tunic with three-quarter sleeves that she pulled over her head. It smelled ever so faintly of lilacs, and she reminded herself to discreetly increase Orana's wages. The elf hadn't been joking when she said she could cook and clean. She was the best damned cook Hawke knew, not mentioning how ridiculously detailed she was in cleaning the house and the laundry.
Smiling at the thought of the elf woman's face when Hawke told her she would be receiving more coin, she sat down on her plush bed and tugged on her boots, slipping a small black handled dagger into the hidden sheath within the leather of the shoe. She then picked up the other small knife she kept with her, an ornate red-handled beauty, and hid it in the belt at her waist. She forewent her normal daggers. Being obviously armed basically meant that you were challenging the thieves who lived in the undercity. Not that she couldn't take them, but getting vomit all over the Coterie would absolutely ruin her reputation. Besides, people were generally more wary if they couldn't see where your weapons were hidden.
Hawke stood and strode out of her room, descending the stairs to the main hall where she whistled for her mabari before going through the kitchen and cellar, out into Darktown, the giant war dog at her heels, excitedly wagging his tail. She exited the mansion and stepped into Darktown, immediately taking a left to enter the rough-hewn doors of Anders' clinic, where it smelled more like blood than sewer; something she was oddly grateful for.
Hawke closed the door behind herself and Daki snuffled at the floor, then turned to bark happily at the child sitting on the only occupied cot in the clinic. The young boy's face lit up and Hawke smiled. "You can pet him, but I can't guarantee he won't lick you to death. Go on, Daki, I bet he'll even scratch behind your ears!" The mabari barked once, his stubby tail wagging so hard his hindquarters were being pulled into the swaying. He bounded over to the young boy who he promptly greeted with a sloppy wet kiss to the cheek.
The boy fell into giggles as Anders emerged from the back room. "I thought I recognized that bark. Hello, Hawke. I'll be done in just a moment."
The mage walked over to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You know the drill by now. Just promise me you'll be more careful around ledges and stairs." The boy nodded enthusiastically and scratched the giant dog behind the ears, "I'll be careful, healer, I promise!" he said excitedly, scratching behind the mabari's ears until one giant back paw started to pound the floor.
Hawke walked over to meet Anders as he stepped away from the cot. "You know, he can walk you home," she told the boy casually, "He will make sure you don't get into any trouble on the way there," The boy's eyes widened until Hawke wasn't sure they would fit in his skull for much longer. "Really?!" She nodded and whistled to get Daki's attention, "Make sure this boy gets home okay. Oh, and if you find any sticks on the way, throw one. This giant mountain of a dog loves to play fetch," she added, patting the dog's shoulder playfully.
The boy jumped up and ran to the door, only looking back to make sure the dog was following before he sprinted out of the clinic, Daki following close behind, dust clouds springing up from his enormous paws as the door to the clinic closed. Anders looked at her and gave her a half smile. "You'd think you had just given him a hundred sovereigns. I haven't seen him that happy in a while. He's a good kid, if a little clumsy; comes in here with more broken bones than anyone else in Darktown. I'd be worried about the possibility of abuse if I hadn't seen him fall over nothing with my own eyes. Right after I heal him, usually."
"A clumsy kid after my own heart. Or my dog." She laughed and took a seat on the dingy cot, sighing. "I still don't know how you put up with all the drool…" He commented.
"The more he drools, the more he loves you! It's sweet, really."
Anders shook his head, "That's why I'm a cat person. So, did you come down here for company or to help the children?"
Hawke considered lying down for a moment before thinking better of it. The cot had a curious stain of unknown origins and she didn't want to chance it. "I think I got bad ale at the hanged man last night. Not that all the ale isn't bad, but it usually doesn't make me sick."
Anders pressed a palm to her forehead, "You're not running a fever, so that's good."
"No magic for that one? I am in capable hands," she teased.
Anders suppressed an eye roll, but not a smile. "The sarcasm is a good sign, at least." He ran a hand under the hem of her tunic, lifting it slightly to press his palm to the skin underneath where her ribcage met her abdomen.
His hand began to emit tendrils of warmth that worked their way around her stomach and further down her abdomen, the mage's eyes closed in concentration. The warm, almost tingling sensation continued to move down to the junction of her thighs and she saw his lips quiver to fight a smirk. She snorted and punched him lightly in the shoulder, breaking the skin to skin contact.
She was about to make some unimaginably clever comment, but his face suddenly looked genuinely worried. "Hawke, it's not your stomach that's causing you problems. I-I'll have to check again." He unclasped the black feathered part of his robes and laid it on the unused half of the cot. "Can you lie down?"
She nodded, suddenly very worried, and did as he asked, his smell filling her nose as the raven's feathers tickled the back of her neck. He lifted her tunic slightly and pressed his hand against her taut abdomen below her navel and the warmth began again, almost… tentatively. Moments after the feeling began it withdrew, and she looked at the mage's face, his jaw was clenched and he stood abruptly, turning away from her.
"Who else?" He hissed, "I knew it was too good to be true." Hawke sat up abruptly, "Anders, what are you talking about?"
"Hawke, you… I can't because of the taint…" He turned, the look on his face one of a broken man. "Who else did you sleep with? I know about Isabella, but… Who else was there?"
Hawke shook her head, and reached a hand out to him, jerking it back when he flinched and held his hand to his temple. Blue lines began etching themselves on his skin and she racked her brain, "Anders, there hasn't been anyone since the night we spent together, I swear!"
The blue glow intensified, but he shook his head violently and the lines nearly disappeared. "Then how…"
"Anders, you aren't making any sense!"
He stared past her for a minute before he began speaking again, his skin having returned to normal. "Justice… He says the night he gave us… He was hiding in my memories of the wardens. He sealed himself in them so he wouldn't see what was happening and I wouldn't notice him… He somehow sealed the taint with him..." Anders fell to his knees, eyes wide, on the packed earth.
She slid off of the cot to sit on her knees in front of him. Tentatively, she reached out to grab his shoulder, struggling to make sense of what he was saying. "Anders- ,"
He cut her off by grabbing her shoulders and pulling her into a hug, his cheek pressed against hers. She felt him sob and tighten his grip on her, and then felt the wetness of tears against her face. She put her arms around him and pulled him closer. "I love you, and I'll listen when you're ready to talk to me," she whispered into the strands of his hair, inhaling to feel the complete comfort of Ander's arms around her. He smelled like he always did, like summer and fresh herbs, and… some sort of food. He ate like an army and was always munching on some snack or another.
She paled, the nausea returning. 'Not again' she thought before she pushed him away and dumped a bucket of dirty water before righting the wooden container and unceremoniously retching into it.
It took Anders a moment to catch up, but when he realized what was happening, he brushed her hair back and placed his fingertips on the back of her neck, magic sparking into her skin to settle her stomach.
He stood and walked away as Hawke sat back on her hindquarters, leaning against the frail cot for support, the wooden supports creaking in protest. "And here I thought my stomach had already gotten rid of everything I've ever eaten." She spit into the bucket, grimacing at the taste in her mouth.
Anders returned with a surprisingly clean rag and a tankard of… milk? "Here," He started, as he knelt to dab at her face with the rag and then hand her the tankard. His eyes still rimmed with a pinkish tint. "I was saving it for the cats, but it will get the taste out of your mouth faster than water will."
"I'd kill for some of Fenris' fancy wine right now…" she groaned, taking a swig of the milk which was, surprisingly cold. "What was that all about, Anders? Are you okay? I didn't mean to ruin whatever was happening but my stomach had other ideas…" He shook his head, and held his hands up. "No, I'm sorry, Hawke. I was so upset, but I could tell that you were telling the truth when you said there hadn't been anyone but me since that night, and I was so relieved. I have no right to be, but I'm so shocked, and elated."
She raised an eyebrow and put the tankard aside, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "I figured I had some horrible disease when you started crying. That was just… happiness? I mean, I'm glad you're happy but, what is this all about?" She questioned, moving to stand.
He helped her up and then guided her to sit back on the cot, "You're going to be fine. Unfortunately, though, I can't do anything about the vomiting. Hawke, you're suffering from morning sickness."
She threw her head back and gave a loud, fake laugh. "Hilarious. Did Isabella put you up to this? So was it the female pirate, or the sterile grey warden? Or perhaps the man I bedded years ages ago, before that Deep Roads expedition because he had the same color hair as you? Maker, I hope it's not. He was boring. And I don't think I could handle a small Isabella!"
His look stole all joking from her as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "That's what I was trying to tell you. The first night we spent together, when Justice sealed himself in the back of my mind, he was in my memories of the Grey Wardens. He somehow took everything concerning the order and locked it away with him for the time that he was gone. Somehow the taint was locked away as well. That's what makes Grey Wardens sterile; the taint. We had the whole night and it was sealed the entire time…"
"You're completely serious, aren't you? That's why you asked if I had been with someone else… Oh Andraste's flaming ass, I'm pregnant!?"
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! All reviews are welcome and appreciated!