Anders did not like the look on Leigh's face. It was a cross between rage and horror. His eyebrow arched up in question and she mouthed the word Templar to him. His stomach fell to his feet, he pulled her close to him whispering in her ear his plan to get them out of this. Her eyes showed no hesitation only love and determination. He nearly forgot about the other Wardens til he felt a cloak fall on his shoulders and the hood pulled over his head to hide his face.

"Just stay still and quiet." Nathaniel's voice sounded from behind him. It did not take long for him to realize why they closed ranks around him. The Templar he knew well enough from his time after Raven left as their Commander. Addler a pathetic little shit of a man who followed Rolen around like a little lost Mabari. He idolized Rolen and took his oath as a hunter of mages very seriously.

"Well, well Nathaniel I thought I was the only one to survive. I guess I was wrong." His voice was like nails on a chalkboard to Leigh.

"Yes Addler you were wrong. I am surprised to see you here, I was led to believe you were transferred to Orlais after I became Commander in Ferleden." That news came as a surprise to Anders who was now squeezing Leigh's hand. Justice was fighting for control and it took everything in him not to let the spirit have it's way. Pash felt the struggle in the mage and sent calming waves to Justice. He still raged, but stopped pushing to be free.

"I am here on business for the Chantry."

"You are a Warden the Chantry has no claim to you now."

"I am a Templar and I have a obligation to find that monster you let loose on the world."

"And what monster would that be?" The steely voice of Raven made Addler jump.

"I..." The painted face she wore was unnerving at best to those who knew her, but to those who didn't Raven looked like she could be your worst nightmare. Addler found his barrings and continued. "The apostate Anders. There are rumors he is alive and well in Kirkwall. That he has the ear of the Champion and she is protecting him." A evil laugh escaped Raven's lips and she shook her head.

"Anders is dead. If he wasn't you would have found him by now with his phylactery right?"

"For some reason his phylactery is missing."

"Must have been all the moving around it did. The Chantry should keep better care of those things."

"We will find him if he is still alive and he will pay for what his did to Rolen. If you protect him so will you." In a blur a dagger was at his throat. Raven had a handful of his hair tipping his head back.

"You dare threaten me you little piss ant. I survived Ostagar and the bloody Archdemon. Do you think I fear you?" He stuttered and shook in her grasp. "You have no idea who I am or what I can do. You threaten my family I will end you and display your body were everyone can see. Now I suggest you leave and slink back under the Divine's skirts before I change my mind." She released him and he fell to his knees.

"You would protect a murder, an abomination?"

"I would protect a friend from over eager zealots, yes. I know full well that the Chantry waited til that dim wit took over when I left to send you and Rolen. I also know both of you made it clear to Anders you were there to find any excuse to kill him. So the way I see it you pushed him into killing Rolen, if that is what really happened. I think they ran afoul of darkspawn and were killed. I saw the bodies and it looked like something decided to use him as a chew toy. Darkspawn like to bite and claw, but you wouldn't know much about that would you? I doubt you have battled them much being that you prefer the cowards way." If looks could kill Addler would have been dead by now. Anders had missed seeing his old commander in action. A swell of gratefulness rose in him and Justice hearing her dress down the Templar. Addler's eyes fell on Leigh and a wicked smile came to his face.

"Then I will leave, but that apostate will be coming with me." A feral snarl came from Anders and he stepped between the woman he loves and Addler. "It is my right as a Templar."

"She is Grey Warden prospect you have no right to her." Nathaniel pushed the Templar back and drew his dagger. "I suggest you leave now or we will make good on the promise Raven made and leave you here to rot."

"This is not over."

"Yes I think it is Addler. You are very outnumbered and out classed. The Chantry needs to learn there are certain places their laws do not reach. The Deep Roads is one of those places." Addler opened his mouth then shut it and stalked away. Once Raven was sure he was out of earshot she began laughing. "I swear when the Maker was passing out common sense he must have been off taking a piss."

"How he has survived this long is still a mystery to me. I was very happy not to find him on my roster when I was promoted."

"I bet Nate. Now to the other matter of a wayward Warden." Anders stiffened as Raven approached him. This time it was Leigh stepping in front of him and baring her teeth.

"I will not let you hurt him." A amused smile came to the painted woman's lips.

"I have no intentions of hurting him. We thought he was dead, killed by darkspawn." Anders put his hand on Leigh's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"It's alright love. I owe them an explanation." Leigh refused to move and even went as far as wrapping her arm around his waist possessively to keep him close.

"It looks like Sparklefingers has a girlfriend." The glare Anders shot Ogrhen would have killed a lesser man.

" Leave her out of this Ogrhen." The dwarf gave a hearty laugh and slapped Anders on the back.

"You always had a way with the ladies." Raven cleared her throat and unhooked her dagger belt letting it fall to the ground. Her hands went up in a sign of friendship.

"We thought you were dead Anders. What happened?" Anders drew in a ragged breath and tried to think of the words to explain what he had done, what Justice had done. He felt Leigh's lips touch his jaw before meeting his ear.

"I'm right here, tell them."

"I...Raven I never meant for this to happen. Justice was dying in Kristoff's body..."

"I don't understand Anders, we found Kristoff's body and returned it to his wife."

"I know, being stuck here in our world Justice would never be able to return to his unless he had a living host. I...Maker forgive me I couldn't let him die."

"You joined with Justice? That's why you ran?"

"No, I ran because what Addler said was true I killed Rolen and the other Wardens with him." A broken sob came from Anders as he fell to his knees. Leigh took his face in her hands kissing his forehead before holding him to her. The other Wardens looked appalled, but Raven had a sorrowful expression.

"Did Rolen attack you Anders?" His eyes lifted to his old commander's face.

"One of the new recruits followed me and Justice and saw what I did. They went and got Rolen who in turn brought a few of the others who seemed to be his friends. They surrounded me...and Justice came forth. He was trying to protect me, us, I had no control. Once it was done and we both calmed down I saw what we did and I couldn't face any of you after what I did. We were to ashamed." Raven knelt down next to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"If Rolen attacked you then it was his fault and the others that died are also his fault. He had it out for you from the beginning. I wish I had been there when he came to the Keep I would have had him thrown out on his arse. Being a Warden is not to be used to further the Chantry's laws. Wardens have always been outside the realm of normal law. You are one of us and Rolen broke his vow to maintain that brotherhood. You were helping a friend taking Justice into yourself."

"I..." Inside Anders' head he felt Justice's emotions, they matched his. Raven had risked a lot to conscript him and even more defending him against Rylock when she tried to take him away. She had excepted Justice for what he was and treated him with respect and dignity. The Commander was one of the few people in Thedas both of them respected. It hurt to think they disappointed her or worse lose her trust.

"I am not sure if Justice can hear me or not, but I am glad you both are alive."

"He can hear you Commander." Raven looked at Leigh and smiled. The way Anders held on to her and she to him reminded the commander of herself and Alistair.

"I am glad he found someone to take care of him. Anders was always a handful, but well worth it."

"He is still a handful, but that is one of the reasons why I love him." A memory flashed in Leigh's head as she looked at the other rogue's face. "I remember you from Ostagar, you and the other Warden stopped me and my brother from beating the piss out of a Templar."

"That was you? Maker I should have just let you kick is ass maybe it would have prevented him from causing all this trouble now."

"Wait...that was him?" Leigh's motioned to were Addler had slithered away to. The other woman nodded. "Now I wish I had. Carver wanted to tie him to a post and leave him for the darkspawn."

'After what he did to that mage I would not have blamed him. Alistair and I just did not want you two to have to fight the rest of the order stationed there."

"What did Addler do to a mage?" Anders could tell Leigh did not want to tell him.

"He...hurt her, badly. She was not much older than Bethany." The blue cracks started to form on his body. Leigh heard gasps from some of the other Wardens at the sight of him. Anders shook with rage and stood up.

"He will pay for what he did!" Justice's voice boomed through the cavern, he turned to storm after the Templar. Leigh ran and stood in his way pushing back on his shoulders.

"You can't Justice what if he wasn't alone? I will not lose both of you to the Templars. Please don't." Blue glowing eyes glared at her as he pushed her out of the way roughly. Leigh landed hard on her backside yelping in pain.

"Justice that is no way to treat a woman. I order you to stand down now!" Raven was right in front of him now her expression one of authority.

"He must pay for what he did Commander that girl deserves justice for his unspeakable act of cruelty."

"He will my friend, but not by you. I swear he will and you know full well I keep my promises, but as long as he works for the Chantry it has to be done cleanly. You do Anders and yourself no favors or the people you call friends."

"I...yes Commander." Nathaniel helped Leigh to her feet and Justice gave her a apologetic look. "I am sorry Hawke. I let our anger to get the better of me."

"It's fine, I understand believe me. I want him gone too, but your Commander is right, if he dies now they will continue to hunt us."

"Hawke? Your thee Hawke, Champion of Kirkwall?"

"It's just Hawke or Leigh if you prefer."

"If the tales are true then you deserve your title. You have done well despite the odds against you. Qunari are tough your lucky to be alive."

"It was close, but I had a good healer taking care of me." A ghost of a smile came to Anders face with Justice still in control. Sigrun walked up slowly to Justice giving him a quick hug.

"I missed you my friend." He smiled down at his friend realizing he had missed them more than he had thought possible. Sigrun and he had always got along.

"And I you Sigrun. I have missed all of you, as has Anders."

"Both of you will always have a place with us Justice." The blue began to fade and brown eyes returned. Anders took Leigh in his arms apologizing in hushed whispers. Leigh answered them with a loving kiss. Nathaniel and Raven shared a look both smiling. Someone had done what none of them had thought possible, tame Anders' heart.

"I am going to go check to see how Merrill is doing with Fenris. You need some time to talk with your friends."

"Thank you love, I will be along shortly." The other Wardens surrounded him as he watched her walk away toward Merrill and the others. "Maker I almost lost her today." A shiver of fear ran through him and he felt a hand on his shoulder. Nathaniel had a smirk on his face as he shook his head.

"You are one lucky son of a bitch you know that right? When we came up to that massacre we all thought you were dead. You really are like a cat with nine lives."

"If it had not been for Justice I would be dead. Rolen decided to use me as a new sheath for his sword. I should have come back and found at least one of you to let you know I was alive. All of you were the closest thing I had to family since I was taken to the circle."

"We are you family Anders and no matter what you have done we will be here for you."

"I do have a wonder Commander, why are you here?" Nathaniel crossed his arms over his chest while looking at his former commander.

"Well when I get a frantic visit from your wife and her grandmother saying you are over due to return home, I thought I better come get you. Shyira is due in less than a month and she would like the baby to at least get to know his father." Anders looked at Nathaniel in shock.

"You're going to be a father? Andraste's tits man what the hell are you doing down here risking your life?"

"It was a order from the First Warden believe me I had no planned to be here this long. As it is I will miss the birth since it will take me at least three weeks to get back to Denerim."

"Shy is here in Kirkwall."

"What? How?"

"She came with the King who is here to bring our countrymen home."

"Who is with your son them back home if you are both here?"

"Wynne and Eamon are watching over our son and probably spoiling him rotten."

"Maker I am gone for six years and you all have gone a reproduced. I guess congratulations are in order for both of you."

"It took a while for Alistair and I to be blessed with our son, but he was well worth the wait."

"At least you were in good hands with Wynne there." Raven nodded and watched the blue glow return to Anders' eyes and skin. "Commander I need to make a request of you. I have suppressed Anders conciseness so he does not hear what I have to ask. He is planning something that will set a war in motion to free the mages, but it will cost him everything. I know of the plan and I think it should be carried out, but there are somethings that can be prevented. You are the only ones I know that can pull this off."

"Tell me what he is planning and if it is in my power I swear I will help." Justice leaned in closer to the other Wardens to fill them in on their friend's plan.

Leigh made it to where the others were still holed up. Varric looked jumpy, but relieved to see her. His view had been blocked by the pile of darkspawn bodies that covered the cavern floor. Merrill was holding Fenris in her lap as she tried to bring him around. She had a relieved expression when she saw Leigh round the pillar.

"Thank the Creators your alright. Where is Anders?"

"He is talking to the Wardens. They needed to catch up. How is Fenris?"

"He is coming around albeit slowly. Are the darkspawn gone?"

"Their all dead Merrill. Here you need this back." Leigh handed the elf back her staff and sat down next to her. She was covered in blood and ash, her body ached from fighting for what seemed to be days. "I am never , ever coming back here again. Now I know why Anders hates the Deep Roads."

"Hawke can I ask how it is you can use magic?" Varric collapsed Bianca and slung her on his back.

"It is a very long story Varric which I will tell you, but not here. I am not ready for Fenris to know or anyone else for that matter."

"I understand Hawke, Broody would throw a fit if he knew since we all know how he feels about mages. I don't fancy having to stop him from putting a fist through your chest or Blondie's"

"I appreciate that Varric." A low groan came from Fenris as Merrill helped him sit up. "Welcome back, did you have a nice nap?"

"Did I miss all the fighting?" His voice sounded almost disappointed.

"Yeah you did, but we are all still alive that is the good news." Leigh hopped up to her feet and held out her hand to both the elves and helped them up. "Let's head over to the Wardens just in case there are more of those things down here."

"Sounds like a good idea." As they headed to meet up with the others Fenirs stopped dead. "What is Anders doing here?"

"He came looking for us, since he is a Grey Warden he knew what we would be up against and did not want to lose any of us. He was the one who got trampled by those two ogres."

"That should have killed him."

"The Warden healer is good at what she does. Come on you can give him dirty looks later when we are far from here."

"I do not give him dirty looks." Leigh tilted her head toward Fenris and barked a laugh. "Alright I do, but I know what he means to you. I might not like him , but I don't want him dead. I don't want to see you hurt Hawke." Her arm wrapped around and hugged his shoulder bring a rare smile to Fenris' face. The conversation they walked into was strange at best.

"Well at least you aren't wearing those girlie robes anymore."

"Mages wear robes Ogrhen. We really don't have much choice when we are in the Circle." Leigh's voice came from behind them and it sounded amused.

"What kind of robes did he use to wear?" Anders gave a warning glare to the dwarf, but it only helped spur him on.

"He wore this awful frilly thing with fur shoulders and bare arms. It was purple I think." Varric nearly fell over from laughter. Merrill tittered and covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing outloud. Ever Fenris had a amused look.

"Maker don't you know that archon robes just screams "I'm a mage come and get me". At least I never saw you in those things or I might not have been able to keep a straight face the first time I met you."

"Ogrhen I am going to kill you." The dwarf laughed as Anders chased after him yelling the entire time. Raven came up to Leigh's side shaking her head.

"Those two are worse than children sometimes, but it is nice to see a bit of the old Anders shining through. He looks so tired and worried."

"It has gotten worse these past few months. I had almost gotten him out of his self destructive phase, but recently he has thrown himself back into trying to free ever mage in Thedas. It is something I support since my sister is a mage and so was my father. I don't want to lose him to this. I love him too much."

"He is lucky to have you. Please know that if you ever want to come back to Ferelden you will be welcomed with open arms as will your friends."

"Thank you Warden Commander."

"Please call me Raven. I was asked to send this to you, but since you are here now here you go." Leigh took a letter from Raven and read it. She looked up with a quizzical expression.

"Why does the King want to see me?"

"You have a reputation here in Kirkwall. I am not sure how much you know about his rise to the throne, but he was a commoner too whose father just happened to be the late King Maric. He and you are not that dissimilar."

"I have heard that he is the common man's king. The refugees here have nothing but good things to say about him. I would be honored to meet him as would my friend Aveline. She also survived Ostagar."

"I will let him know that you will be coming to meet him."

"I guess we should stop them from killing each other huh?"

"Yes we should. I will get mine if you tackle yours."

"Deal." Both rogues ran to stop the mage and the warrior from killing each other. The cavern rang with laughter, taunts and annoyed yells. The group made their way back to the surface and parted ways. The Wardens headed a different way to Kirkwall. They had much to discuss and plan.

OoO

"Do you really think he is capable of doing what Justice said, Raven?"

"I am not willing to chance it Nate, we have to help him whether or not he knows we are. He is our brother, our friend and I will not lose him to this."

"I use to think he was a selfish prick, but the years have changed him, that woman has changed him."

"Yes she has. You and I both know what love can do to you and I honestly think he loves her with ever fiber of his being."

"So what are we going to do to pull this off?" Raven turned to her party and looked them all in the eye. They all knew that look and were prepared to do what ever it took to save their friend.

"Nate you are going back to Kirkwall with me so you can be with Shyira. I will let Alistair know what is going on. Sigrun I need you to find our friends from the assassin's guild they should be hiding out in Lowtown as well as finding the pirate Isabela. Tell her I sent you and that I need a favor. Have her meet me at the Viscount's Keep at night."

"Got it, what do you want me to tell the guild?"

"Tell Asha to find Nate and he will fill her in. None of you can be seen talking to these people. I don't want word getting out not with that sniveling idiot Addler lurking about. He most likely is allying himself with that fool Meredith."

"What about me and elf girl here? Are we just suppose to sit here with our thumbs up are arses?"

"No Ogrhen I have a task for you two as well. I have heard rumors a friend of ours is holed up on Sundermount. I need you two to go enlist his help as well. I know you and Zevran never truly got along, but his skills will be needed for this."

"Great we get to go drag back the knife happy fairy. Alright, come on Ve lets go take a stroll up the mountain."

"Be careful and take care of each other out there." Velanna pushed the dwarf in the direction they need to head and waved him along.

Yeah, yeah we'll behave ourselves. She never let's me have any fun anymore." Raven heard Ogrhen grumble til he disappeared around the bend of the road.

"We need to get back before Alistair has kittens."

"Then let's be off and pray we can do this before it is too late."

"Have some faith Nate. We have been in tighter spots before and came out alright."

"Yes, but this time it might be something we can't get ourselves out of once it happens." She could not argue with his logic since deep down she knew there was a chance this would not work, but ever the leader she was not about to let one of her friends down. She prayed to the Maker to give them the time they would need to put all the pieces into place, for Anders' sake as well as the sake of all who were now involved. She had seen enough carnage in her life to fill ten lifetimes and most of that was in her first year as a Warden. The thought of more made her blood run cold.

OoO

Kirkwall loomed ahead of them, it had taken nearly a week to get back. It would have been sooner, but they ran into some problems on the way. First of which was a raging storm that kept they holed up in a cave for a day, second a group of slavers who decided it would be a good idea to fight them. The last time Leigh had been this happy to see the City of Chains was after their last little trip to the Deep Roads six years prior.

"I need a stiff drink and to crawl into my bed in the Hanged Man for a week after all that. I can walk you home Daisy."

"That would be lovely Varric thank you."

"I will see you two tomorrow and yes Varric I will give you a blow by blow description of the fight since you could not see it where you were holed up." The dwarf smiled before taking Merrill's hand and walking her home. "Fenris do you need us to walk you back to your place?"

"I should be fine Hawke." He gave a small bow leaving Anders and Leigh to walk alone.

"I can't wait to get home and take a bath."

"Hmm, I might just have to join you."

"Well I do owe you for coming to my rescue and almost getting yourself killed by ogres, I guess I could spare some room in the tub." Anders rolled his eyes at her, but could not help the grin that had planted itself on his face. They had not had much time to really talk about what had happened down in the Deep Roads. Leigh had so many questions running through her head about his old life before she met him. Now was as good a time as any to start. "The other Wardens seemed more like a family than a group of soldiers. All the stories I had ever heard were they are all stoic."

"We were a very unique group. At first most of us hated each other, but none of us ever crossed Raven. She was the center for all of us. She knew how to get the most out of us without being a bitch about it. She saved my life more than once, I owe her a lot."

"I caught a little bit of her fighting when we were down there. She makes me look like a child with wooden daggers." Anders snickered seeing the deflated look on Leigh's face as she thought about his commander's fighting ability.

"She was assassin trained, your not so don't beat yourself up love." She sighed and leaned into him as they walked home.

"Why don't you talk about your time with the Wardens?" He stopped dead not knowing how to answer her. "It seemed liked they all were very happy to see you. I don't know if I would be able to just walk away from my friends like that."

"You heard what I did to that Templar, well what Justice and I did. I couldn't face them. I was afraid I would hurt them like I..." Her hand went to his cheek and he covered it with his own. "There is no way around it Leigh, I killed Rolen, not only killed him I ripped him apart and enjoyed it. He was a sodding bastard, but he did not deserve that." Leigh opened her mouth then closed it. Her normally bright eyes darkened and she stared at the ground.

"As someone who has personally killed a whole group of Templars, I am not one to judge. If it had been me in your shoes, I would have done what you and Justice did."

"But you killed yours with blades not magic and your bare hands." Her face flushed then went pale. She had never told him how she killed them, just that she did. "Leigh?"

"It's nothing. Just thinking." Horror spread across his face thinking she was upset about what he had done all those years ago. Leigh noticed and mentally kicked herself. "You did what you did to survive. He attacked you first Anders, as far as I am concerned you did nothing wrong so please stop beating yourself up about it." This brought a sigh of relief from him. "We need to go get cleaned up."

"Why the rush other than getting the grime off of us?"

"We have a audience with the King of Ferelden and I don't want to make a poor showing."

"He wants to see us, why?"

"I don't know, your commander gave me the letter that he wanted to see me."

"Then we best get cleaned up and make our way to wherever he wants to meet us." He looked down at his free hand and winced. It held the remnants of her old cloak. It was torn and half burnt, the dark ichor from the darkspawn stained it also. "I think you old cloak is a loss. I'm sorry." She took it from his hands and stared at it. He could see her eyes glass over with tears, but she did not let them fall. "This meant more than just being your favorite cloak didn't it?"

"Carver gave this to me right before we went to Ostagar."

"If I had known...I never would have use it. Leigh I am so sorry."

"It kept you safe while you were coming to get us. It is just a thing Anders, I have my memories and they can not be destroyed. Carver and I were always butting heads, but we always looked after one another."

"I wish I had been able to meet him and your father."

"Carver would have given you a hard time and my father...he would have made you work to prove you were worthy of me."

"So do I live up to what he would call worthy?"

"Yes you do and even if he did not approve I would still love you."

"Good to know." His lips brushed her forehead as they entered their estate. Tovis greeted them by jumping on both, a large paw on each of their shoulders. "Did you miss us?" A happy bark echoed in the main room as Anders scratched behind the hound's ear.

"Am I turning you into a dog person?"

"Not really, but he did endear himself to me when he defended me against Sebastian. I still prefer cats, no offense boy." The hound barked again and got down from his standing position. "See we have an understanding." Leigh walked up the stairs shaking her head and laughing. Anders followed after her ready to help her get their bath ready. As tired as he was he wanted to see what the King of Ferelden wanted from Leigh. He prayed it had nothing to do with him and what he did or was planning to do.