Dalish looked at Rush curiously the moment she walked back to the table. "So? Finished with Krem already?" She offered Rush a drink, barely managing not to slosh it all over her.

Rush smiled and took it from her hands, "Yes, and with Bull too."

"With Bull?" Dalish suddenly looked much more sober. "What about him?"

"Krem asked me to bring him all the Adlebrent items." She took a sip and went to sit down next to the elf. "Bull's already asleep, so I just left them in his room."

Dalish jumped up as if she sat on a hedgehog and stared at her, shocked, "What, already?"

Rush only lifted a confused eyebrow, "Well, it is pretty late…" Then she noticed Dalish fidgeting and narrowed her eyes at her, "But that's not what you're talking about, is it?"

Dalish looked away. Now Rush was almost completely certain that she was hiding something from her. "Dalish…"

"Look, Bull will explain, alright?" she fidgeted in her seat some more.

"Explain what?" Rush narrowed her eyes further.

Before she could press further, Krem appeared at her side and put a calming hand on her shoulder. "It's fine, Rush. You'll find out soon."

"You're in on it, too?" She stared at him in disbelief. Looking around the tavern, she realized that all the patrons aside from the Chargers were leaving or have already left. Even the bartender was on his way out, giving Krem one last look over his shoulder. The only people around were the Chargers… and they were all watching her. "All of you?"

Krem turned his face towards the stairs, "He'll be down any moment now."

"But he's…" a horrible suspicion entered her mind, "Does that mean he only pretended to sleep? And you all knew?" She asked them quietly.

The silence that fell over the group spoke volumes.

Rush felt betrayed. And embarrassed. It looked like Bull had been wide awake, and probably watched her move around the room, too. That meant he felt her cover him with that stupid blanket… and the way she caressed his arm.

She wanted to fall through the floor.

Bull's heavy steps as he walked down the stairs echoed through the silent tavern, the only sound aside from the distant noises of the city beyond the tavern's walls. Raising her eyes to look at him was the last thing she wanted to do, but it was better than to stand there looking at the ground like a child.

Surprisingly, it was Bull who winced and looked away the moment their eyes met. So he didn't think what he did was right either, then. That… actually made this a little bit easier.

"So," she began as calmly and rationally as she could, "What was the point of all… that?" She waved her hand in the direction of his room. Patiently waiting for an explanation. Well, as patiently as she could.

"The Charger's admittance test, you could say. The real one." Bull, but the way he blinked betrayed that he wasn't as calm as he pretended. It was comforting to know that even this man had tells. It calmed something in her, and allowed her to honestly listen to what he had to say.

"Explain, please."

The rest of the Chargers stayed quiet, unintentionally adding to the tension in the room.

"It's something I do with every new member of the Chargers." Bull sat down at the closest chair, crossing arms over his chest. "I wait for the moment when the new Charger is angry with me, then have them come to my room when I'm vulnerable, carrying a weapon. They have a choice to make: take the coin on my desk, satisfy their curiosity by poking around in my things or use the weapon to try and kill me."

Rush suddenly had a feeling several potential members took the last option. He certainly had enough scars on his back to support that theory.

Bull continued in a tired voice, eye fixed on the floor, "Or they can accept me as their Chief, do the thing they were told to do and become a true Charger."

Rush tensed up. She truly hoped Bull won't mention her little indiscretion in front of all their team. 'Let it stay between us. Please,' she silently begged him with her eyes.

Bull held her gaze for a moment, then continued simply, "You passed, Rush."

Well, that was something. At least it seemed he was willing to let that… thing between them stay secret.

When she remained silent, Bull continued, "I usually do the test only once our new Charger spent a while among us. A month or two, at least, to let them get used to us. Testing you so soon after you joined was wrong. I… apologize."

Several Chargers startled at that, and Rush was surprised to see Krem step from foot to foot in an almost nervous gesture. She had a feeling Bull didn't apologize too often. Or at all. That made the gesture mean more than it should have.

Rush closed her eyes and released the breath she unconsciously held. Then she looked back at him and asked quietly, "All Chargers go through the test?"

Krem couldn't keep quiet any longer. He stepped up to her to lay a hand on her shoulder, "Yes. We all did. And we all passed, just like you." He smiled at her; a cute, boyish grin and she felt herself start to relax. "Why do you think aren't there more of us? Chargers must be special people, to be willing to put up with our chief's Bullshit."

She made a noise somewhere between chuckle and a snort and shook her head, accepting Bull's apology and the explanation from Krem. Rush looked Bull in the eye and said, "Alright. I guess I can put up with it too …Chief."

He smiled, briefly. For a second, Rush saw honest emotion enter his eyes. 'So warm', she thought. She returned the smile and felt the last of the tension leave her.

Then Bull all but jumped up from his chair and shouted, "Great! We have a new Charger, so you know what that means, men!" He grinned at them and Rush knew what he was going to shout.

"Let's drink!"

A/N: I admit, I'm not perfectly happy with how quickly Rush forgave Bull for the test. But… it fits her profile. She's not only quick to anger, quick to change or quick to… pretty much do anything; she is also quick to forgive. I guess I'm not as forgiving and would need a bit more time to cool down.

But then, I write about Rush, not myself ;)

The next chapter will be longer, I promise.