Blame my hubby and little brother on the delay, they've got me hooked on an online game called Jade Dynasty.

I still don't own.

"I was going to send the dogs to come look for you soon," Alistair grins after Fergus and I hug then part ways, "Although Gavin did use to opportunity to catch me up on everything that I've missed, so that's one less thing that you have to do now."

"Oh yes, you missed all the fun. Darkspawn invading the keep, annoying nobles all wanting personal protection-or wanting to use us to kill their only child-while others are already conspiring to kill me," I snort while finally using the moment of peace to assess his false eye, "Alistair, is that thing modeled after a bird's eye?"

"A griffon's eye, actually," he replies a bit defensively while his fingers trace the eyebrow above the organ in question, "I thought it was fitting-using a griffon's eye-with being a Grey Warden and all. The color of the pupil matches mine though, because the gold eyes that the books said they had reminded me of she-who-shall-remain-nameless a bit too much."

"Her eyes were more orange than gold," I counter just as one of the king's men calls for the army to march, "Though Zev's eyes turn a dark gold color when he's had too much to drink."

He scans the courtyard, then looks at me with a curious expression written on his features, "Speaking of our bird brained brother, I must say that I'm kind of disappointed he hasn't popped out of some dark corner and scared the pants off of me yet."

"You haven't heard from him either then, I take it?" I give him a sidelong glance, then try to continue, but a laugh comes out instead when Cheddar comes barreling out of nowhere and tackles Havoc just as we reach the entrance to the castle.

"Well, it seems that you two are not the only lovers who have been reunited today," Mischa quips cheerily as she saunters by, "Anders wishes to speak with you when you have a minute Commander."

"I bet he's regretting his choice to stay and lend a helping hand now," I murmur to my husband before turning and waving to the apostate, "Anders, inside please, if you would?"

The pale haired man tears his eyes from the retreating army and gives me a cocky salute, "Aye-aye Commander! Right away!"

"Cheeky little bastard, isn't he?" Alistair chortles in a low voice as we make our way to my sparsely furnished office and try to avoid knocking over the boxes that contain our belongings in the process.

"He reminds me of you a little actually, back when we first met," I retort with an impish grin and wind my hands around his neck, "Except he's all sparkly and magic flinging rather than insanely strong and obsessed with cheese."

"You're making fun of me again," he pouts, but gives me a kiss nevertheless, "Am I going to have to start getting all jealous and possessive when the pretty boy with the earring is in the vicinity?"

"He's cute and all Ali, but I prefer my men with scars and tattoos rather than robes and a general ability to sparkle," I purr, my hands trailing up his left arm, which had been etched with a black dragon nearly two years ago, "I would be too afraid that they'd break while I rode them, and that is something I have no worries about when I ride you."

The former Templar growls, then grabs my hips and roughly pulls me to him, "You are the mos-"

"As wonderful of a show that I'm almost positive you two would give, I'm doing my good deed for the day and warning you that you have an audience," Anders declares from the doorway, his arms and ankles crossed lazily as he smirks at us, "But honestly, there's no need for you to stop on my account."

I wriggle out of my husband's grasp and motion for the mage to take a seat after I remove a couple of small crates from it, "We don't do public shows anymore. People start requesting strange positions, become infatuated, then want you to come to their place for private parties...it's really more of a hassle than it's worth."

Anders starts to say something else, but Alistair puts a hand on the other man's shoulder and shakes his head in warning, "I wouldn't even try, were I you. Her best friend was raised in an Antivan whorehouse and she verbally spars with a dwarven berserker on a regular basis, so you really stand no chance of winning."

The mage shifts his gaze over to me as I drop into my chair and I answer his unspoken question with a shrug and a smile before directing the conversation back towards less humorous territory, "Anders, before we go any further, I want you to know that I will not force you to become a Grey Warden. If the Blight was still hanging over our heads, I'd do it without a second thought, but we're not and I won't use the Right of Conscription as long as I have another way to do things."

"What would you tell the Templars goons if they came back here looking for me?" his posture seems to curl inward despite the defiant timbre in his voice, "Surely they wouldn't believe that I escaped again, not with your reputation."

"We could tell them that you didn't survive the Joining," my husband proclaims in a matter-of-fact tone, "But to make this believable, you would have to leave Ferelden and never return. You're not the first runaway mage we've done something like this for, and I'm certain that you will not be the last."

"None of this explains why you would do this, you barely even know me," the apostate counters, disbelieving that the idea came from one trained to hunt his kind, "I highly doubt that I'm worth the Grey Wardens risking further ire from the Chantry."

"Because I believe that everyone has the right to be free to make their own choices," I deadpan, to which my fellow Warden nods in agreement, "Why don't you take the day to think about all of this? We can talk again tomorrow morning."

"Really? Not many people would be so adamant about freedom, especially when it concerns mages," he immediately retaliates, then his expression turns thoughtful, "Would the Templars be able to do anything to me if I was a member of the Grey Wardens? Would I have to go back to the Tower and check in or anything like that?"

"No and no," I give him an encouraging smile, which he returns, "The only people you would really have to answer to is the First Warden in Weisshaupt or the Commander of the Grey here in Ferelden."

"Wow, not being made Tranquil...or executed. This is insane, but still sounding better and better, the more I think about it," Anders chuckles, then bobs his head, "Alright, I'll do it. Make me a Grey Warden Commander."

"We can have things ready in an hour," I qualify, while grasping his hand and shaking it, "Though I wouldn't suggest eating anything beforehand."

"Wow, me, a Grey Warden?" he mumbles to himself as he rises and makes his way to the door, "I think I like the sound of that."

"Dress comfortably, you might be spending some time on the floor," Alistair calls out to the man-who gives him a perplexed look-before closing the door and resting his head against it, "Hopefully that will be the least of his worries."

"And ours," I add, feeling a sting at the memory of losing Mhairi. Was that only this morning? "I have to gather more ingredients from the vault, are you coming?"

"I will never make you do this alone, not if I can help it," he takes my hand and kisses the palm before we begin our solemn journey, retrieving the chalice from Mischa along the way. Once inside the vault, we silently begin mixing the concoction that will either give produce a new Grey Warden-or another corpse.

"Are we going to explain the dangers to him?" my fellow Warden inquires as we lock the vault and begin navigating our way back to the main hall, "I know we're not supposed to, but he is kind of a special case."

"If I know Mischa, she's already found a way to make him understand," I admit, pausing as he opens the big doors for me since my hands are currently busy trying not to drop the ostentatious silver goblet, "She's very protective of all the Warden mages."

"Not any more than you, but then again, you're protective of all the Wardens in Ferelden," he gently taunts, but falls quiet as we spot the others standing in a semi circle around a now very nervous looking Anders.

I take a deep breath to steady myself before peering at the man, "Has Mischa explained everything?" He nods. "Any questions?" A shake of the head. "Good. Now we will speak the words that have been passed down at each Joining since the first."

My husband's velvet tenor rings out in the stone hall as he begins, with the rest of us soon accompanying him, but all fall away for the last words, which I speak alone once again. To his credit, Anders does not hesitate to take the cup when I offer it, nor does he panic when he realizes the he will be imbibing blood. I get I simply get a raised eyebrow and a grimace aimed in my direction before he drinks. I get a bit worried when he makes no sound, other than a gasp, then collapses, but keep my expression blank. Since it is my turn, I kneel beside his prone form and put two fingers against his pulse point.

Thump thump.

"He's alive."

"Finally, I'm not the only mage at the Vigil!" Mischa crows as she hurls herself into her husband's arms and gives him an enthusiastic kiss.

"Ali, Jayden, could you carry our new brother over to one of the cots please? I need to fill his pendant before he wakes up," I pull the piece of symbolic jewelry out of its pouch and get to work-all the while thanking the Maker, Andraste, the Creators, and my ancestors that I didn't lose another one today.

That night-after passing on the Warden secrets and the pendant to Anders-Alistair and I lay tangled in the blankets, glistening with sweat and curled around one another so tightly that it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.

"Four new Wardens in one day, you must be pleased, my Commander," my beloved surmises as the calloused tips of his fingers trail over the Dalish script inked onto my right shoulder.

I shift around so that I can look at him while continuing to rest my head on his chest, "I am. Though it's kind of crazy, since I told Mischa this morning that three was better than zero, but four would have been ideal. It's like something stepped in and put Anders in my path."

"Maybe all the time we spend saving the world is finally paying off," he snickers, then hefts me up his torso and kisses me, "But I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not done with you yet," he growls, then coerces a gasp out of me as our bodies become one again.

Yay! Anders if finally a Warden!