Sorry this update is a bit later than the others. I had hoped to have it up yesterday or the day before, but I got busy/lazy. And then my brain wanted to work better for my other fic than this one and - well late update.

Anyway, here's chapter 7. I think you know what to expect in this chapter :)

Hope you enjoy, even if it was - yet again - another pain of a chapter to write.


THE SHOW MUST GO ON

0:7

"Baby you know that
maybe it's time for miracles;
because I'm not giving up on love"

-

The room was quite, apart from the sound of the fireplace crackling.

It had been a week since the archdemon had been defeated, a nightmarish week for Alistair, who had eaten and slept very little. He barley left the room of where his beloved lay, still resting after everything she'd been through.

Wynne had worked on healing Elissa for what felt like forever to the group, using a mixture of spells and bandages to fix her wounds. Alistair had been told by the mage that it was lucky she was even alive in the state she was in, but he didn't believe it. He wouldn't believe it until Elissa opened her eyes herself and awoke. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel he'd failed her in some way, and that it should have been him to take the final blow on the archdemon, not her. Not at the cost that they both had to pay.

There was another thing he found he had been kept in the dark about, one that annoyed him more than the whole plan of the archdemon attack. A little while after Wynne had started healing; he'd been pushed out the room, being told that he'd only get in the way of what was happening. Alistair knew that something wasn't right, and he was being pushed away so that Wynne could concentrate. But never would he have expected the mage to walk out of the room informing him of Elissa having a miscarriage. The shock had hit him as ice, both at the fact that Elissa was even pregnant to begin with, and that that their child had died. He felt like crying again in that instance, but then was told by Wynne that – if it wasn't for the child, Elissa wouldn't be alive now. Confused, the young templar had sat and listened to Wynne's story, learning of how it had been the child itself that had saved Elissa from the archdemon.

"The child was already battling with the taint that her mother was carrying; it was a miracle that she had even survived this long. When the archdemon's soul came into the equation however, the babe had no chance of survival. The archdemon's soul must have – sensed the child's own developing soul and decided to reside in that instead, only for the both of them to be destroyed by one another and – thus leaving Elissa's intact somewhat."

"So will she live? Now that the- the child has been removed from her? Now she's been healed?"

Alistair was desperate for answers, wanting to both mourn the loss of his daughter and to pray for the wellbeing of the woman he loved. His voice came out small, and hurt, almost as if he was ready to give up if the answer he received was the wrong one. The mage however, just sighed in exhaustion, and shook her head.

"I don't know Alistair, I honestly don't know. She is still alive now, and I have done all I can to help her live but – the rest is up to her. She is very weak my child, not just her body, but her spirit too. For her to heal properly, she'll need to rest."

Alistair only nodded, not looking at Wynne's gaze. He knew what the mage was implying. Elissa was strong – but now her strength was to be tested more than ever. He sniffed, feeling tears slide down his face. Silently, he prayed to the maker- for both Elissa and their daughter.

Exhausted, Alistair laid his head on the side of the bed that Elissa was residing in. The only sign that she was still with him was the slow rise and fall of her chest. Seeing her like this made her seem peaceful, but it didn't stop his heart from aching. Alistair needed her, and it was hurting him seeing her so weak and vulnerable. He didn't want to sleep, because he didn't want to wake up to find she wasn't there. Yet at the same time, he knew he needed to sleep – no matter how hard he fought it.

He watched her face, still perfect as it ever was – only a bit paler than usual. Hero of Ferelden or not, she was still human, and even as she lay in her bed, it was evident she had over exhausted herself in their last battle. Alistair's eyes became heavy, and before he knew it, he had given into sleep.

Her eyes opened, and then closed almost instantly afterwards. She needed to adjust to where she was, and wherever it was, she was lying on some very comfortable cushions.

Elissa stayed where she was for a while, not even attempting to open her eyes again just yet. She could feel a slight numbing of pain in her body, but it was nothing compared to what she had felt before. It was then that she realised: she was alive.

She tried to open her eyes again, and this time – they remained open, although still heavy with the sleep that she had just awoken from. She shuffled in her bed slightly to sit up, not moving too much so as to not risking opening any of her wounds that had been bandaged. It was then when her hand brushed against another lightly, and Elissa turned to her side. There, she saw Alistair – leaning his head on the edge of the bed, asleep himself. By the looks of him he hadn't moved much since he'd arrived, whenever that was.

Alistair stirred slightly in his sleep, his brow furrowed as he began to wake. Elissa moved her hand back, and found she couldn't stop staring at him, the fire behind him outlining his features. She watched him yawn slightly, then open his eyes to look at her –

And she saw the surprise and happiness begin to shine in them.

For a moment the two only stared at one another, as if it was the first time they had met in a while. Well, Elissa guessed it could have been – she had no concept of how much time had passed during her sleep.

Alistair reached up to touch her cheek with his hand, as if to reassure himself she were real, and that he wasn't still dreaming. When coming to the conclusion that she was real, he smiled slightly.

"You're awake," He finally spoke, quietly as if speaking out loud would ruin the dreamlike moment.

Elissa smiled back at him slightly, as happy to see his face as he was to see hers.

"How long was I asleep for?"

"About a week," Alistair replied, and then frowned slightly. "We we're really worried you know? At one point, we thought we'd lost you – I, thought I'd lost you." He paused, and looked away from her. He sniffed, and a tear fell down his face. "I missed you."

He then looked down at the blanket beneath him, trying to avert his gaze away from her in any way. Elissa however, moved slightly, and brought her hand to wipe away his tears.

"I'm sorry I worried you," She whispered, bringing the man into her lap so she could embrace him somewhat. Alistair held her gently, not wanting to open up any of her many wounds.

"You better be. Do me a favour and don't ever leave me in the dark about your suicidal plans again."

Elissa couldn't help but chuckle slightly at that. She knew she shouldn't but – Alistair had sounded like such a stubborn child then. She held him tighter and ran her hands through his hair, thankful to be with him once again.

They remained like that for a while, until Elissa asked the question that had been burning in her mind ever since she'd awoken.

"Alistair," she began, and paused. Alistair moved from her lap to meet her eyes again, not letting go of his hold on her. "Not to sound ungrateful but – how am I still alive?"

She watched Alistair's reactions, and noticed his face began to show pain. She knew she shouldn't have asked him, that he properly wouldn't want to think about what had happened. Quickly, Elissa tried to take the question back.

"I'm sorry – you don't have to answer if you don't want to-"

"No. You deserve to know. And – I suppose I'm the best person to tell you. Although I'm sure if you asked Wynne she'd answer for you as well." He looked away into the fire, obviously trying to hide his pain. Elissa reached out to try and reach his arm, to comfort him.

"Your soul – was protected." He began, still looking into the fire. Elissa frowned slightly. Protected? How? As far as she knew, she didn't have a guardian angel around her all the time. Well, she did have Alistair who acted as her protector a lot of the time, but she was sure that's not what he meant.

"Protected? How?"

"By your- our; child." He said.

Elissa felt her stomach fall. So it was true. She'd lost her child to the archdemon. Her own daughter. What small hope she had that there may have been a possibility that their child had lived had been extinguished by the reality of the truth.

Without noticing it, Elissa had retracted the hand she had used to reach out and comfort Alistair, and it was now floating just above her blankets. Alistair put his hands over hers, this time trying to reassure her.

"I – don't know how much you knew about it but –"

"No. I knew enough. I knew I was pregnant, and – I had expected as much. I just-" This time it was her turn to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. "I just hoped that a miracle could have happened."

They sat like that for a while, both sitting in the silence of sadness. Alistair was trying his hardest to support Elissa, having had his opportunity to mourn earlier. Elissa however, was trying to hold back her tears, but failing. They rolled down her cheeks as she considered what the both of them had lost.

After what felt like a lifetime, Alistair answered her again, carefully choosing his words.

"In a way... a miracle did happen. Elissa, Grey Wardens aren't known to have children. It's rare enough for one to have one but – for two? It's – never been known. Until now. For us to have a child in the first place, that in its own is a miracle. I know we'll never replace this child we've lost but – we can always try again, knowing now that it's not completely impossible for us to conceive one."

Elissa thought about what Alistair had said. Of course, she had heard about the odds of a Grey Warden having children before, but Alistair was right. Once again, they'd gone against them. There was nothing to say that they couldn't do it again. It might be hard, and the odds may not be in their favour – but at least they could never be blamed for trying. Considering that, she nodded.

"Your right. We've gone against the odds so many times before."

"I think your living prove of that, my dear." Alistair said, forcing a smile.

He pulled her in for another embrace, and Elissa felt content, giving the circumstances. The blight was over, and there was nothing left to threaten them. Although she'd miss camping beneath the starlight, she didn't mind. As long as Alistair was there with her, she didn't care nor mind where she was in the world. She knew he would never let anything bad happen to her in the future, and she would be damned if she let anything happen to him. Even in her darkest hours, light would shine as long as he was beside her; and she knew he felt the same way.

"Err, Alistair."

"What is it?"

"Well, I didn't want to say it before but – I really am starving..."

Alistair merely chuckled, and pulled her out of the embrace again.

"I'll go get some stew. Wynne will kill me anyway if I don't inform her that you're awake. Actually – they all properly will to be honest."

He got up, and walked to the door. Before walking out, he stopped and turned around to face where she was in her bed.

"You, don't move. Wynne won't be happy if you screw up the job she made of healing you."

Elissa laughed from where she was.

"As if I could move if I even wanted to. I promise, I'll be good and stay in bed."

Alistair smiled warmly again, and walked turned to walk out the room. Seeing that smile, Elissa knew that she was lucky to have him by her side.

D'aww, and you finally have our Alistair & Elissa together again :')

Next chapter should be ... the last chapter D: (I'd like to consider telling their story after this story perhaps but ... that could be in the future yes?).

You know the drill, review if you liked. It makes me happy to read them ~