A/N: Just a little something I wrote up last night that arose from talk of pregnancy and children. There are really no spoilers in this, as I do not intend to have any harm befall Finola and Bran's children, and I've already alluded to certain future happenings in Release from the Chains. This takes place after they have left Kirkwall for reasons yet unexplained in RftC.

A New Horizon

Bran and Lianna waited for Finola to bring in the assorted canapés, the delicate and special treats she had made every week for their daughter's tea parties. Surrounded by Lianna's dolls, the chatting and tea sipping was already in full swing as Bran dabbed his mouth with a linen napkin. They were both very prim and proper, drinking with their pinkies out, their noses turned up, and their napkins draped in the right places. Bran had missed these precious moments the last few weeks. Now he basked in the joy Lianna's presence brought him.

He picked up the miniature teakettle and poured some water into Lianna's teacup. "For you, my lady."

"Thank you, kind ser." As she sipped her drink, her face grew solemn, her eyes soft with a faraway gaze so reminiscent of Finola's.

"What are you thinking about, Lianna?"

"Mama said I shouldn't have lied to you about the puppy." The little girl looked away from her father's unyielding gaze, twisting her fingers.

"She's right. You should have told me the puppy had a home already. But I think you have already learned a clear lesson about dishonesty." He reached out and touched her chin, turning her eyes up into his own. "I regret being away these last weeks, but your mother and I love you very much. No matter what, never question that."

"I won't." Bran thought his daughter had somehow felt unloved due to his sudden absence, but then petulance broke through her wistful stare. "Rebecca has four puppies, and I don't even have one. It's not fair!" she protested with a tremendous pout.

"Life is not fair, Lianna dear." He stroked her cheek and smiled. She reminded him so much of Finola sometimes. It didn't help that the older she grew the more she looked like her mother. She had inherited but a tiny fraction of his features, as her strawberry-blond hair indicated, but she had the pale skin, the pointed nose and thin lips, and of course, the blue eyes that knew almost instinctively how to manipulate him. "Had you asked me if we could buy the puppy, I would have said yes. Stealing is worse than lying."

"I'm sorry, Papa. I just really wanted him. Mama always says you hurt the ones you love the most when you lie. So I won't ever lie again. Or steal." Loose curls fell over her long-lashed eyes as she hugged him tightly. "She told me that when she lied to you before you were married, she always felt really bad. She still feels sad about it sometimes."

Bran sighed. "Your mother does tend to dwell on the past." Curiosity piqued, he wanted to know all about Finola's conversations with Lianna, hoping to assess his wife's mood while he was gone. "What else did she tell you while I was away?"

"She told me you fell in love with her before she fell in love with you, and you waited for her a long time. Is that true?"

"Your mother never lies to you, Lianna. I did wait for her." Bran tickled his daughter's ear with a feather as he whispered to her. "You know your father is the most patient man in all of Thedas."

"She said that, too." He smiled, a long forgotten memory blooming in his mind. "She talked about how you worked together before we had to leave Kirkwall and that you made her job hard sometimes, that you were always sticking your nose where it didn't belong."

He chuckled to himself remembering those days fondly. "Did she also mention that her stubborn and argumentative nature was usually the cause of my nose being stuck where it didn't belong?"

"No, but she did say you bought her truffles whenever she was mad at you." Lianna picked up a doll and placed a teacup to its lips for a drink. "Mama loves truffles more than anyone I know!"

"That is undeniably true, my dear. And I introduced her to those blasted confections." With a small smile on his lips, he contemplated a significant moment in time, a memory after Finola's mother had died. "Did you know I fell in love with your mother while she was eating a truffle? The first one she had ever eaten in her life."

"You did?" she asked, wide-eyed. "Did you give her the truffle to try and make her love you?"

His face grew suddenly humorless. "It is 'to try to make her love you'." Lianna nodded, rolling her eyes and sighing dramatically. Just like her mother…. "The truffle was meant to be comforting for her that day, although I did try to woo her with truffles on many other occasions."

Lianna's eyes shifted about the room as she whispered. "Do you want to know a secret, Papa?"

"I'd love to know a secret," he said, assuming it was some minor tidbit of information.

"Mama ate seven truffles in a row this morning while you were gone. Then she threw them all up right on the kitchen floor. It was so disgusting." Her face twisted with a tortured mixture of amusement and horror.

His brows rose, a sharp chill running through him. "Did she feel better afterward?"

"Oh yes, much better," she nodded, focusing right back on her dolls' lack of tea.

"And how did you know she felt better?"

"Because she stood at the window waiting for you and talking to herself while she ate four more!"

"I see," he laughed. "And I assume those truffles did not come back up."

She shook her head. "She owes you five coppers for saying bad words, too."

"Only five while I was gone? That is surprising."

"Oh no! The grand total is twenty-two coppers. She was very cranky without you here. I think she should be grounded, Papa."

A low chuckle rumbled from the bottom of his chest. "Perhaps you're right. I shall reprimand her later."

"I wonder why Mama fell in love with you. Do you know why she did or when she did, Papa? Was it a great romance?"

He knew precisely why Finola had fallen in love with him, and he knew the approximate time period, but not the exact moment. And there were far too many moments to think about just then. "Good questions to ask her when she brings us the snacks to go with our tea."

"Did somebody say snacks?" Finola swept into the room with a tray full of bite size treats. Gazing at her family adoringly, she couldn't have loved Bran more than she did watching him sit with their daughter in an absurdly small chair. His natural tenderness warmed her inside and out.

"Perfect timing, Finola dear. Your daughter has some questions for you."

"And what would you like to ask me, my beauty?" Finola placed the tray down on the table, snatching a tartlet and popping it into her mouth.

Lianna looked up at her mother, a curious expression on her face. "Why did you fall in love with Papa?"

"Because your father accepted me for just being me," she said with alacrity. "And he made me laugh all the time."

"When did you know you really loved him?" There was a stretch of silence while her question seemed to hang in the air.

It took Finola a second or two before she spoke. "I think I fell in love with your father the first time he brought me a truffle."

"Papa said the he fell in love with you on the same day!"

"When I came to see you after your mother died?" Bran asked. "You never told me that, Fin."

"I never thought about it before." The same regretful gaze he'd received so many times over the years made another appearance. "I was in denial then, about a lot of things. But you've had my heart ever since," she said. "More or less."

Finola laughed at his shocked but pleased expression as he drew her down beside him on a larger chair. She looked at the hand maintaining a gentle hold on her own, then stared into his eyes.

They came together in a kiss that spoke of caring and compassion, of sharing and understanding. A kiss that meant to heal a thousand wounds, a kiss that would last for all time.

"Ewww! You're kissing again!" Shrieking like a frightened goose, Lianna fled from the room, but not before casting a pretend sleeping spell on her doll family. "Naptime!"

Bran heard his wife's sharp intake of breath, and he struggled to keep his face unreadable until Lianna closed the door. "You handled her little mock display well, Fin."

Finola shrugged, but the glint of fear in her eyes was unmistakable. He swooped in to astound her with another searing kiss. Then his gaze dropped to the immense swell of her belly, and he went still. She held her breath, wondering if the moment was too raw, even now. But to her surprise, he laid his cheek on her and turned his mouth just enough to press a kiss against her, and then another.

"One for you, and one for our son."

She let out the breath. "The little stallion has been kicking me all day long. I think he'll be here before the week is over."

"Maker's breath, we still have to finish the nursery." He laid down his teacup and regarded her with mingled concern and devotion. "We'll be out of harm's way here for years to come, so don't worry. I love you."

"Damn right you do. And don't leave me for weeks on end again." A lump had formed in her throat, surprising her with a sudden surge of emotion. She looked away, hearing her own voice tremble as she spoke. "And I love you, too."

She needed something to distract her thoughts from sinking into despair. "Did you acquire the surprise?"

"Of course I did. Who would deny a woman as swollen with child as I am?" A smile spread on her face, her shoulders relaxing. "I wonder what Lianna will name him."

"After herself, no doubt. As you did with your mabari."

"Oh, she's your daughter through and through, Bran. I expect her to name him something like Ser Cabernet Wyndham of the Evergreen Valley."

"'Cab' for short then," he said with a wink. "When do we pick him up?"

"He's already here," she whispered excitedly. "Downstairs, in a crate in the pantry. Let's give him to her now."

"You're worse than she is, you know. Lianna could find herself vying with you for the puppy's affections if you don't have the baby soon."

"Maker, Bran, I've been walking around and staying on my feet all day to get the damned labor to start. Not to mention the dozens of spicy peppers I've eaten this week."

"I do have a recommendation," he said with a particular twinkle in his eye. "Do you remember the night I made love to you in the hot spring? Lianna was born the next day."

"I remember." She hung her head, her hand unconsciously rubbing her belly. "But there are no hot springs here, and I'm even bigger than last time. Logistically, I can't see how we can do it without someone getting hurt."

"I know that look, Fin." He stood and pulled her up with him. Holding her face in his hands, he kissed every inch of it before reclaiming the softness of her lips. "You are as lovely as ever, and I want you as much as I ever have."

"I'm supposed to be glowing and beautiful. Instead, I'm enormous. And grouchy."

"You are not." Bran wrapped his arms around her and she sighed, putting her head on his shoulder. For a few blessed minutes, every worry seemed to disappear.

He shifted himself so she couldn't ignore the strength of his desire. "I've missed you, Fin. And I want to make love to you. Right now."

"But—"

"No buts," he said firmly. "Come with me, little duckling."

Finola growled. "You must really be frustrated after all these weeks."

Grabbing her hand, he said, "Come with me to our chambers, and I'll show you."

Perhaps their new life would be peaceful and fulfilling now, Finola thought. They had come too far for her to regret the last years' trials anyway. This was more freedom than they had ever known. It was paradise, and paradise was always warm and sunny. It was always perfect.

Just like my family.