Note: Reviews and a nice white wine - who am I kidding, it's 2-buck Chuck - are the two things that inspire me the most. Seriously, sometimes your comments change the course of the story. I love to hear what you think is happening.

Seems like a lot of this story is confined to the Commander's bedroom, and there ain't even no sexin'.

...

"Tell me why I shouldn't set him on fire right now," Anders said, glaring at Wolf sleeping with the Commander under his arm, draped around her waist. He had knocked on the door for five minutes before giving up and finding Varel, with the spare key.

Varel sighed, he suspected Anders's antipathy toward Wolf had a undercurrent of jealousy. The Commander had been locked in her room most of the morning. They had tried to check on her but she was a heavy sleeper. Apparently Wolf was too. He sat down next to her on the bed and shook her gently. "Wake up, Commander."

Delia opened her eyes a crack and moaned. "Hm?" She felt like she had been asleep for months. Her brain was still half in the Fade.

"Anders was getting worried when you didn't wake up. It's time for more potions and healing," he said gently.

Delia blinked sleepily and noticed Wolf's arm draped over her. She smiled at him. He was still sound asleep. "All right, just be quiet. I don't want to wake Wolf."

Anders made a face to show his disapproval but helped her sit up. "Drink this," he said, handing her another cup of that foul smelling tonic.

Delia looked up at Anders with pleading eyes. "No, please. No."

His look was pitiless. "You need it, it'll rebuild all that blood you lost."

She sighed and tried not to look at the cup but took it and took a deep breath then bolted the foul smelling liquid. Her body shook with revulsion. "Please tell me that was the last time." Anders handed her a glass of water and she gulped it down.

"We will see. When the color comes back to your skin then you don't need to drink more."

Delia vowed to pinch her cheeks next time she saw Anders.

Anders sat next to her on the bed and put his hand on her back. "Your lung and muscles are still repairing but I think I can help it along a little more." His hand glowed with healing energy. When he finished Delia did feel better.

"Thanks Anders, I'm feeling better. Maybe a shot of rejuvenation would help?" she suggested.

Anders barked a short laugh. "No, you don't need that now. You need to stay in bed and rest. And by resting I mean no physical activity of any sort."

Delia gave him a warning look. "Don't worry, I'm not likely to jump up and start sparring today."

"Yeah, well, it wasn't sparring I was thinking of."

"Whatever you were thinking, Anders, just stop," Delia said.

Anders bit down another comment. "Look, if you take care of yourself you'll be up and about very soon, otherwise this could drag on awhile. That's all I'm saying."

Delia squeezed his hand. "I know. Thanks. I really appreciate this, even if I'm a grumpy patient."

Anders smiled at her. "I just don't like seeing my Commander hurt." He looked pointedly at Wolf when he said it.

His words touched her. She hadn't ever had a big brother but there was something very protective in the way he treated her that made her feel like a part of a family for the first time in a long time.

"He's okay, Anders. Actually, he's more than okay. I think you'll like him when you get to know him," she said softly, not wanting to wake him up. "Ask Varel, they know each other."

Varel nodded. "He was a good man when I knew him."

"Hmmm," Anders said dubiously. "Would you please leave your door unlocked so I can check on you again without having to call in someone to batter down the door?"

"All right, just promise you won't incinerate Wolf."

Anders cocked his head to the side. "Must I?"

Delia nodded.

"Fine then, I won't," he said, rising. "I'll leave you two to your napping."

"I'll have lunch sent up when it's ready, Commander," Varel said. "We should probably talk a little later about what to do about the Bann. If you're feeling strong enough."

Delia nodded. "After lunch," she said. "In the meantime, have Garavel recall some troops from the farmlands. We're going to need them to place her under arrest."

Varel nodded and the two men left. Delia discovered some of her pain had gone. She lifted Wolf's limp arm and snuggled into his chest, breathing his masculine scent. It was a shame their first time in bed together was so chaste. Perhaps it was the wound, or maybe something in Anders's tonic, but she had absolutely no desire for anything but to feel his warm, comforting bulk next to her. She prayed the state was only temporary. She drifted off to sleep again, feeling warm and contented.

...

Wolf awoke when lunch was brought in. He had slept soundly but his sleep had been disturbed by uneasiness. He gently disentangled himself from Delia and got up once the servants left. He dressed in his leathers again and reached into the pocket where he had stashed the things he had stolen from Bann Esmerelle. The large ring had been his father's official seal. It had an intricately carved d'Alboquerque crest. It was the only reminder he had of his father. Then he had his mother's engagement and wedding rings. He used to wear them on a chain around his neck until Esmerelle had arrested him and taken them.

Last of all, was the contract. Wolf had lied to Delia about Varel having the document. He didn't want her to know, not in her fragile state. He would have to tell her, this was not something he could protect her from. Wolf could not understand why her former lover would accept a new contract on her life. Could her refusal to go with him to Antiva have caused him to do this? Perhaps in some twisted way, it was an attempt for him to get her to come to Antiva. Granted, if she did it would be to hunt him down and kill him, but perhaps he thought he could win her over again? There was no angle he could get on the question that made sense to him. Perhaps in the end he was just a hardened professional and took the job to prove he could kill her. What would it mean that he failed? Would he send more assassins against her? Maybe it was a matter of honor to succeed and he would come personally to do the job.

That would not happen. He could protect her. She could protect herself too. He would make certain she was more cautious and wary. A disturbing vision of a sniper hiding on a rooftop sending an arrow into Delia alarmed him. How could he possibly know everywhere they could hide or every trick they could use? How could he defend against poison in her tea? Or a servant recruited to kill her with a poisoned pin? Perhaps he should flee with her to some remote spot on Thedas. He clenched his teeth and refused to think about it any more. They would figure this out together.

He sat down next to Delia and kissed her cheek. "Wake up, wolfling," he said, his lips hovering above her delicate ear. He wanted to trace the outline of her ear with his tongue, nibble on her earlobe and gently bite the spot on her neck where her sharply defined jaw met her tender throat but it would be unfair to inflame her when she was incapacitated.

Delia rolled onto her back and her eyes opened. She smiled up at Wolf.

"They brought lunch and..." he began to say.

"... and I should eat?" she said cutting him off.

"Can you sit up?" he asked.

Delia sat up in bed with little trouble. "Maybe I can sit on the sofa. I'm sick of being in bed." She threw her legs to the side of the bed and tentatively stood. "A little dizzy," she said and grabbed onto Wolf. He helped her walk the few steps to the sofa. She was wheezing slightly by the time she reached the sofa. When she sat down she coughed a chesty, rattling cough.

"We'd better get Anders," Wolf said.

"Oh Maker no! He'll make me drink that nasty stuff again," she said, shivering at the thought.

"But you're feeling better, aren't you?"

"I suppose." She pouted. "Wait until after I eat before getting him. I couldn't eat after taking that horrible potion."

Wolf fussed over her, giving her things to eat and encouraging her to eat more. She complained about having no appetite but she did manage to eat a lot.

"I'm going to get Anders," he told her and went to find him. A part of him knew he was postponing the inevitable but he reasoned that she needed to be strong.

Wolf found Anders and brought him back to Delia. Anders seemed a little less prickly this time and even tried to make conversation.

"So, is Wolf really your name?" he asked.

"No, it's a nickname. My real name sounds a little funny to Fereldans."

"What is it?" Anders asked.

"Melchor d'Alboquerque," he said, shrugging.

"Maker! Did your parents not like you?" Anders shivered in mock horror.

Wolf laughed. "It's a good Rivaini name. One passed down through my family for many generations. However, that tradition will end with me."

"I'm sure your offspring will be grateful to you," Anders said. He pushed through the door to the Commander's room just as she was coughing her rattling cough again.

"Ordinarily I would yell at you for sitting up when I told you to stay in bed," Anders scowled at her, "but it turns out you have fluid in your lungs and it needs to come up. Sitting up will make it drain better, and make it easier to cough up." He told her to lean forward and he put his ear to her back and ordered her to take some deep breaths. It made her cough more when she did.

"Can't you do something to just remove it?" she asked. "I feel like I can't get a good breath."

"Well, yes, but you'd really wouldn't like it. I'd have to insert a needle through your back, into your lung and drain it out that way. It hurts like hell and it has risks."

"Ew. No magic?"

"Unfortunately not. This just depends on the body disposing of the fluid in its own way. But sitting up is necessary. In fact, until the coughing stops you shouldn't lay down again. You might need to sleep sitting up. Get up and walk around a little too."

"If you gave me a stamina potion I think that would help," she said.

Anders tsked. "No, that would be a bit much for you in your condition. You shouldn't be trying to rev yourself up artificially. However, it would be a good idea for you to drink another tonic."

Delia's face fell and she looked at Wolf pleadingly. "Make him go," she begged.

Wolf shook his head. "He's your physician, Del, you have to do what he says."

Anders produced a vial and poured it into a glass and handed it to her. She looked reproachfully at both men. "I hate you both," she said sullenly. She choked down the vile liquid and washed it down with a glass of water.

"Good girl," Anders said.

"Commander," she reminded him tartly.

He laughed at her. "I'll be back in a couple hours and we'll see how you're doing."

"Sadistic torturer," she called after him as he left.

Wolf sat down next to her. "Are you comfortable?" he asked solicitously.

She nodded. "The pain is mostly gone."

Wolf pulled her close to him and she leaned against his chest. He bent down to kiss her forehead. "I have to tell you something disturbing, wolfling. I wasn't entirely truthful with you earlier."

She looked up at him, wondering at what prompted the sudden solemn tone. "What is it?" she asked.

"I told you Varel had the contract, he didn't. I had it. I didn't want you to see it until you were better." He tightened his grip on her, afraid perhaps she would slip away.

"Why? I'm not exactly unacquainted with assassination attempts. What could ..." her voice trailed off. She sat up straighter and pulled away from him. "Let me see it," she demanded, her voice suddenly cold.

Wolf pulled the folded paper from his pocket and handed it to her. "I am sorry, my love," he said.

Delia unfolded the parchment slowly. She slowly read over the terms of the contract. Three assassins... kill Commander Delia Tabris... terms of payment... She dragged her eyes reluctantly to the bottom of the page. Bann Esmerelle and Master Zevran Arainai had signed the document.

The contract shook for a moment in her hand until Wolf took it from her. She felt as if she had been shot in the lung again. Her breath didn't want to come. How could he? she thought. Her mind refused to work except for the one word that reverberated through the empty, cold marble hallway of her mind: why?

Wolf watched her, his eyes creasing with concern. She seemed to be in shock. He pulled her back into his chest and she didn't resist. She simply didn't react at all. "Del, I am sorry, mi corazón," he murmured to her and stroked her hair.

Her breath finally rushed into her and she began coughing wretchedly. The deep cough racked her body and tears squeezed out of her eyes. When the fit finally subsided she sagged against Wolf. "Why didn't he just kill me when we were together? Why now after all this time? After everything we had together. Is nothing ever as it seems?"

"Some things are, my love. I am exactly as I seem. I promise you," he kissed her forehead. He thought she would cry. Her body shook in his arms, but when he looked at her face he saw rage, not tears.

"I will kill him. I will go to Antiva and kill him," she said, the words ripping from her throat in hoarse fury. "How could he betray me like that? We ended the blight together. I thought he loved me."

"Then I will go with you," he said quietly. He wondered if she even heard him.

She pushed away from him and stood up, her legs wobbled under her. "No. This is my matter to resolve. I won't risk anyone else." She walked over to her armoire, using the furniture along the way as a crutch, and pulled out her leather armor.

"What are you doing, my love?" he asked.

"I'm going to kill him," she replied.

A coughing fit gripped her and she nearly fell to the ground with the fury of the coughing spell. Wolf jumped up and crossed the floor to her. He caught her in his arms and carried her back to the sofa. She struggled against him weakly.

"Stop, Delia. Stop. You're in no shape to do anything. And you have a duty to Amaranthine to fulfill. After that, you can think about this, if you must. But until then, put it out of your mind." He held her tightly against him until she stopped struggling. He tipped her face up to look into his eyes. "Please, promise me. Put this aside for now." Finally lucidity came back to her eyes. The madness that had gripped her let go of her and she seemed to see him again.

Finally tears began slipping from her eyes, slowly. "Don't be him," she whispered. The fear in her heart now was that anyone was capable of epic betrayal.

Wolf wiped her tears away and kissed her eyes. "I am not him, my love. I am nothing like him. I will show you that everyday. I promise."

He held her and murmured to her until the tears stopped. She finally dozed off in his arms.