"Are you sure you can delay your return to Kirkwall Varric?" Skye asked as they walked along the road that led to Skyhold. After the bandit attack Captain Turner sent two of his guards to retrieve Skye and Cullen's horses but Skye didn't want to stand around and wait for them and so had decided to walk the rest of the way up to Skyhold. Cullen was carrying Lily, who despite all excitement she had showed on the journey at meeting her parent's friends, had suddenly become terribly shy and refused to leave the safety of Cullen's arms.
"Of course Skye, it won't be a problem. Besides I couldn't miss everyone's reactions, I'm assuming no one else knows?" Varric asked.
"No, no one knows…except Leliana."
"Of course Nightingale knows, is there anything she doesn't?" Varric laughed before turning his attention to Lily.
"Now, Lily is it?" Varric asked, who just nodded her head slightly at his question. "Do you like stories?" Lily nodded a lot more vigorously this time.
"Well if you come down here and walk with me I can tell you all about the heroic deeds your mother did as she saved the world! Would you like to hear them? I promise they're good." Varric said excitedly.
"Yes! Yes! Yes please!" Lily squealed trying to wriggle out of Cullen's hold. Cullen just chuckled slightly before stopping to set her down on her feet and instinctively taking one of her hands in his own.
"So let me set the scene. There we were, the frozen ruins of Emprise Du Lion as far as the eye could see. Shards of red lyrium ten feet tall towered over us. An legion of evil red Templars lay dead at Skye"s feet, when suddenly the unmistakable roar of a dragon rippled through the air." Varric started dramatically.
"My mum took on a dragon?!" Lily asked excitedly. Varric bent down lower to her level and holding up his fingers whispered.
"She took on three." Lily looked up at Varric in awe as he began telling his greatly exaggerated tale of Skye defeating three dragons. Skye came round to Cullen's other side and wrapped an arm around his waist as she listened to Varric's tale, occasionally interjecting when she thought the story was getting a bit too far fetched.
"…and then Skye climbed up the dragon's tail, ran across it's back and up it's neck. She grabbed the two horns atop it's head and rode it out of Sahrnia."
"Varric…" Skye said, "That's not exactly how it happened is it."
"No, of course you're right. I've forgotten about the two other dragons that Skye was taking on at the same time." Varric said to Lily who remained enraptured at his every world. Skye just shook her head and laughed but allowed Varric to continue. Some time later when Varric was telling the part about how Skye had apparently froze a dragon solid, Cullen was talking to Captain Turner about a new randomised patrol schedule to avoid bandits simply memorizing them, when he noticed that he could see Skyhold on the horizon. He ceased his walk and crouched down to get Lily's attention.
"Lily, look over there. Do you know what that is?" Cullen asked as he pointed at the castle in the distance." Lily followed the direction he was pointing in and saw the huge castle and her face lit up.
"Daddy, is that Skyhold?" She asked in wonder.
"Yep, that's your new home." Cullen said.
"It's like a fairy tale!" Lily squealed, completely forgetting that Varric was midway through telling her a story and grabbed her mother's hands and began tugging her forward as fast as he little legs would carry her. Cullen watched as Skye scooped Lily up in her arms and promised her that they would be their soon.
"So…daddy." Varric said with barely contained mirth. "How long have you know about this?" He indicated with his hand to Skye and Lily who we a little further ahead on them on the road.
"Not long, less than two months." Cullen said rubbing the back of his neck.
"Wow, that must have been a shock. But it looks like you're handling it well. I don't know what I'd do if I was in your situation curley."
"I won't lie, it was daunting for a while. Rather embarrassingly the whole time we spent looking for her, it never actually occurred to me what my life would be like after we did. I was so scared I'd mess up or do something wrong. But Skye and I had a talk about it which helped a lot. And then I think a bit of it comes naturally and then the rest is just trial and error." Varric laughed at that before falling silent.
"I know you're dying to ask," Cullen said, "so just ask."
"I don't know what your talking bout." Varric said.
"Fine then." Cullen said, silently counting in his head. Three, two, one.
"Who's the father?" Varric quickly asked and then immediately looked guilty for asking. "I mean, it's obviously not yours, right?"
"No Varric, I'm not her biological father, but I am for all intents and purposes her dad. Her father was a Templar Skye knew in the circle." Varric nodded his head in understanding. There was a rather tense and awkward silence between them before Varric spoke up.
"Well, Skye's definitely got a type." Varric laughed, which caused Cullen to burst out laughing as well. Just then they came across the first of Skyhold's watch towers, the guard on duty shouted down to them in greeting and Cullen rushed forward to catch you with Skye and Lily.
"Lily, watch this." Cullen said as he pointed up at the watch tower where the guard was raising the Inquisition flag on a pole. "Now look over there." He said pointing to where they could see the second watch tower in the distance. A few seconds later that tower rose the same flag. Cullen pointed out each watch tower to Lily as they all raised the Inquisition flag until he pointed to the watch tower next to Skyhold's main gate and the watched as the final flag rose.
"Why are they doing that?" Lily asked.
"Because we're coming home."
-x-
Leliana read through a report and then immediately signed an assassination order and handed it to a waiting agent. Alone at her desk she couldn't help but sigh at the stack of Inquisition reports and then the even larger pile of chantry reports next to it. Leliana knew that she couldn't carry on holding two such large and important positions in two organisations and had been delegating and grooming agents to take over her role in the inquisition but she was finding it had to completely let go of her role in the inquisition. Deciding that she needed a break she stood up from the desk and made her way onto the towers balcony. Closing her eyes and breathing in the fresh air she instantly felt better. However, when she opened her eyes she noticed something in the corner of her eye. Walking further round the balcony she saw what had caught her attention. The Inquisition flag was wafting gently in the breeze, Leliana stared at it in contemplation for a moment before the realisation of what it meant fully registered for her. Leliana ran back into the tower and rushed to inner balcony.
"Philips?!" Leliana shouted, hoping that the agent she had just dismissed hadn't gotten too far. Two seconds passed before the agent inquisition came into view at the bottom of the tower.
"Yes Sister Nightingale?"
"How long has the Inquisition flag being flying?" Leliana shouted, aware that everyone in the tower was starring up at her in confusion as to why she cared so much enough to shout down the tower. They all knew that it meant the Inquisitor was returning but it wasn't usually a big event.
"Um…about 30 minutes or so." Agent Philips replied, also wondering why this was important. However, as he said it, trumpets were heard outside indicating that a visitor was arriving. Leliana didn't reply, simply turning and running down the stairs. Leliana ran past her agent and burst through the door in the great hall, nearly running into Josephine on her way.
"Sorry Joise." Leliana shouted over her shoulder as she ran out the door. Josephine was left starring after her where she was joined by Dorian, Vivenne, Fiona and a few others who had followed Leliana down the tower.
"Do you know what's gotten her so worked up?" Dorain asked as he continued to follow after Leliana, Josephine falling into step with him.
"No idea, maybe she just really missed Skye." Walking out the door they saw Leliana looping down the stairs beneath them, leaving a confused Cassandra and Ironbull who were sparring outside the tavern, behind her.
"Don't ask, we don't know either." Dorian said as he walked past them.
"I haven't seen Leliana this excited in years." Cassandra said as the group of them walked down the last flight of stairs to see Leliana waiting at the gate. Past her they could just make out figures about to cross the main bridge into Skyhold.
"Leliana, what's going on?" Josephine asked, walking up behind her.
"Hopefully you'll understand soon." Leliana whispered, more to herself then in answer to Josephine's question. As the little assembled welcome party waited they were joined by Sera who had witnessed Leliana's mad dash and had come to investigate and Blackwall who had noticed the assembled group and was curious as to its purpose, along with some other people who had stopped for the same reason.
As the figures crossing the bridge came closer everyone recognised them as Skye, Cullen, Varric and some Inquisition patrolmen. However, Leliana scanned the approaching group and her heart sank when she couldn't see a particular person that she was looking for.
As Skye approached her expression remained stoically expressionless. When Skye stood before the assembled group, she didn't get a chance to ask why they were all standing around when Leliana suddenly stepped forward and clasped her hands.
"Oh Skye, I'm so sorry." Leliana said, and Skye could tell that she was really upset. Skye looked momentarily confused before she glanced behind her and realised what Leliana thought.
"It's fine Leliana, wonderful actually." Skye replied pulling her hands free and walking over to Cullen who Leliana only now realised was bent ever so slightly forward with his hands behind his back and if you looked very closely, tiny hands in the furry mane of his shoulders. To everyone else assembled, Skye and Leliana's exchange made no sense before Skye disappeared behind Cullen and seemed to pull something off his back. No one was prepared for when she reappeared holding a miniature version of her self in her arms. Skye could almost feel herself and Lily get sucked forward by the intake of breath from her assembled group of friends. Skye just laughed at the look of shock on their faces and Lily shyly tried to hide herself in her mums embrace as mush as she could. However, the silence was eventually shattered rather abruptly by Ironbull.
"You've got to be shi-" Lily didn't hear the rest of sentence as Cullen quickly used his hands to cover her ears.
Please Review
AN: My sister and I have decided to head cannon that Agent Philips is the same agent who interrupts Cullen and Skye on the battlements. No real reason we just thought it would be funny,