A/N: Felling a bit better now. Though, work is not making it any easier, that's for damn sure. :P Oh well! I'm sorry if you didn't like the last chapter. I did rate the story M for a reason. I'll admit that I don't plan on putting much more of that though. On with the story!

The air was warm and the sun shone brightly down on the streets of Kirkwall. The city was alive with the beginnings of summer. Noble ladies fanned themselves and complained of the heat, while their servants bustled around them, glad of the warmth again. Mina smiled and swung her arms a little as she walked. Despite the dull ache in her stomach, she felt rather good that day. If she could quit almost dying, maybe she could actually enjoy the place she lived. It was a garbage town to be sure, but it had a certain charm to it. There were plenty of diseases, poor people, thugs, and crooked politicians, but that was everywhere even back on earth. Anyone who claimed otherwise was a liar or delusional.

She knocked on Fenris' door, but got no answer. She pulled out her key and let herself in, thinking he'd gotten in a drunken stupor again and was still asleep somewhere. He ended up in the weirdest places sometimes. Once he'd been on top of the canopy to the bed, once in the fireplace- luckily it hadn't been lit- and once he'd been asleep between a wall and a stack of old paintings in a hallway. He beat himself up about what had happened in his past. Especially about with Denarius and his sister. Hawke had stopped him from killing her, but Fenris refused to talk to her or acknowledge that they were family.

She walked around the house, looking for him, but didn't see any of the usual signs of him. No new holes in any of the walls, no broken wine bottles, and no new sword marks anywhere. She took a deep breath.

"FENRIS! Where are you big brother?" che called. Still, the mansion was silent. She remembered that he was going with Ceras, but she hadn't thought about it. Ceras certainly didn't mention anything about it. And, she'd thought that Izzy was making something up just to gossip about. A thought struck her then.

"Oh fuck! Andraste's ass, I'm stupid! What if he found out about Anders and went to kill him?!" she thought aloud. Keter looked at her a moment and shook his head. Mina figured he was thinking that she was crazy just then. She didn't care, she had to get to the clinic before it was too late. She wanted revenge, sure, but that didn't mean she wanted to kill the moron. She'd think of some way to hurt him back for shoving a fucking ice spike through her!

She took off running towards the front of the house, but stumbled down the stairs, her wound hindering her from moving very fast at all. She landed with a huff at the bottom of the staircase, sore and regretting trying to run. Keter butted his head against her arm and growled softly at her.

"I know, I know. I shouldn't have tried, but I've gotta find Fenris," she said. He snorted and shook his head quickly. Mina didn't understand wolf. Maybe she'd ask Fen'Harel to teach her... or maybe she'd just ask Ceras.

"Um... We're going to Anders' clinic," she said, trying in vain to get up. Keter growled again and pawed at the ground. He didn't want her to get up.

"I can't stay here, Keter. I've gotta- Owowowowow!" she said trying to stand, "For fuck's sake this needs to stop!"

Keter helped her stand and she gratefully leaned on him. She was glad he was so big, despite her uneasiness at first. He was a gentle, smart animal. She could see why Ceras would keep him around. He reminded her of the Dire wolves from 'Game of Thrones'. She'd read it once at the library in Dallas.

She tried to make her way to the door, but each step sent a needle of pain shooting through her. She cried out and fell back to the floor. Keter seemed to be growing impatient. He paced in front of her and growled softly. He whined as he looked between her and the door that was several feet from her. She doubled over and held her stomach in pain. It felt like she was going to split in two. Keter bumped his nose against her head and licked her cheek before running out of the door. She wondered how he even got it open. He may have been smart, but he didn't have hands to open it with. She laughed at the thought as she fell over onto the floor, trying to block out the pain.

She was going to kill Anders for this.

She forced herself to stay conscious. She thought about how she wanted to learn how to ride a horse properly, about how she wished she'd gotten to ice skate on a frozen pond back in Texas. She tried her hardest to remember more about her mother. She remembered a kind smile and dark auburn hair. It was the color of wine or red velvet cake. And, it was only down to her shoulders. Other than that, she couldn't really think of anything else. It was like everything had been erased.

It felt like days before she heard Keter's feet scrambling on the tile. Someone was rushing after him. Mina's breathing was becoming more ragged as she fought to stay awake. It was getting harder to do. She didn't want to be so helpless! It made her mad that she was hurt again. Right after she'd just got her leg back to normal.

The wolf rolled her over, the light from the door almost blinding her. Still, she patted his head. "Thank you, Keter," she whispered. Once again, her hero was above her.

"Damn it, Mina! You've gotta stop getting yourself hurt. You shouldn't even be walking around!" Garrett yelled. He was clearly pissed off. Mina furrowed her brows and wondered what had happened with the mages. Surely it wasn't just her.

He kissed her forehead and picked her up. "C'mon, let's get you back to the Hanged Man," he said in a much softer voice. She nuzzled his neck and sighed. The pain was still pulsing through her, but it was lessened now that he was holding her. She didn't know if he dulled the pain, or if it was the way he carried her.

Thalion and Varric were in her room when they returned. She was scolded by her father, whom she tuned out and let him clean her wound and change her bandages. Of course, he shooed the other men out for that.

She was now laying in bed beside Hawke, listening to Varric scold her... until Thalion left. The dwarf sighed and rubbed his temple.

"It was stupid of you to think you could leave your room, you know. I don't blame you. It would be mind-numbing to sit in bed all day," he said with a smirk.

"I had to make sure Fenris hadn't murdered Anders!" she shouted. As soon as it came out of her mouth, she wished she'd just kept it to herself. Her cheeks were aflame and she stared at her feet.

Hawke stiffened and she could feel him holding his breath. Varric coughed and looked around the room.

"It's... it's not like Fenris could get away with killing someone with everyone watching. I mean... I know he's not the only one who wants to kill the friggin idiot..." she mumbled, trying to save herself.

Varric pushed his chair back to the little table and walked to the door. "I'll be back later. Try not to get up to anything too exhausting for Kitten's sake, Hawke."

He left the couple in an awkward silence. Mina distracted herself by stroking Keter's soft fur. He'd stayed by her side since they'd gotten back to the Hanged Man. She was grateful for him. He was calming. It was like he was her's. She knew he was ever loyal to Ceras, but she wanted to keep him. Maybe she'd get a wolf like him.

Garrett let out a deep breath and ended the silence that seemed to speak volumes.

"I know you still care about him. I don't see how, but I know you do. Maybe this isn't a good time for us to try to do anything, cutie," he started. Mina turned her head and stared at him in dismay.

"Garrett, don't you even! I do care for Anders. So what? He was my first... well, my first boyfriend and my first love, so to speak. He'll always hold a spot in my heart. And as much as I hate it, I can't just make it go away. I want to hurt him. I want to kill the son of a bitch! He hurt me twice now!" she argued, "But don't you dare think that you don't mean anything to me. don't you dare try to push me away like that. Damn you, Garrett Hawke!" Tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't stand the thought of him going away. She liked having him close to her. She liked knowing he had eyes for her. And if she was truthful with herself, she'd had eyes for him since she'd found herself in Kirkwall. No matter how much she'd told herself it was just a silly infatuation and that it was only because he was such a flirt, she wanted him to keep flirting with her.

The look on Hawke's face was incredulous. His breath started coming faster and faster, and before Mina knew it, the dark haired man was crying. She held him and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Shh... Shh, my love. I'm sorry for shouting. What's got you so upset?" she soothed.

Hawke roughly wiped his eyes and looked at her, almost broken.

"They took Bethany. I had to go save her. Those damned mages never know when to quit! It was Grace and the others that we tried to help. She was pissed that they'd got caught and blamed me," he explained.

Mina's eyes widened. Sure, they'd hardly had a chance, but it wasn't Garrett's fault. She couldn't believe they'd take Bethany. She was one of their own.

"I rushed to the wounded coast not but a few hours after you fell asleep. I found them with Ser Thrask. Bethany was laying on the ground in the middle of them... I thought she was...! I thought she was dead!" he went on. Mina kept on trying to soothe him. No wonder he was so angry when he'd found her.

"I tried to talk them out of it, but she wouldn't listen to me. She killed Thrask and I had to kill them all. Merrill didn't like it, but she understood why we had to. But... I got Bethany back. Maker, I thought for sure they'd killed her! I-I don't know what I would've done if they had."

Mina shivered at the mental image of what would've happened if her lover had lost the last of his family. She knew it'd break him. No one in Kirkwall would be safe from the Champion's wrath if it'd come to that.

"Knight-Captain Cullen showed up then; Samson was leading him. Of course, the bloody Templars showed up late! They're never around when you need them. At least I was able to save some of the mages."

He paused and looked at Mina for a second.

"I asked Cullen to let me have some time with Bethany before she returned to the circle. And that's when that wolf of yours showed up."

"His name is Keter. He's Ceras' wolf. I'm just taking care of him... no, he's taking care of me. Anyway, is he going to let you spend some time with Bethany?" she asked hopefully. She knew he needed it.

"Yeah. She's in with Varric. Wanna go see her?" he asked, perking up a little.

Mina giggled and nodded, "Of course. Let's go see your sister. I'm afraid of the tales Varric is filling her head with."

Hawke smiled weakly and picked her up, cradling her so that he knew she couldn't escape and try to walk by herself again. Mina could tell that he was still shaken from the whole day; she expected no less. He'd been through a lot. She didn't think it was fair that he'd almost lost everything. This Maker of theirs sure was cruel. If she ever got to see him face to face, she'd have some words for him and maybe a fist for his face. She'd never picked a fight with a god before, but she was willing if it meant making life better for the people she cared about.

Keter followed them to Varric's room and laid in front of the fireplace, earning looks from the two people that were waiting.

Bethany quickly forgot about the wolf and rushed over to Mina and Garrett.

"Holy Andraste! What happened to you, Mina?" Bethany cried, clearly worried. Varric choked on his ale, waiting for Mina to tell Bethany. He knew the sweet girl would let her temper loose. Garrett sat Mina down in a plush chair and sat on the bench next to her.

"Uh... It's kind of a long story, but basically, Anders lost control of Justice and put an ice spike through me," she explained trying to skip telling her about how things were between her and the Champion. Garrett and Varric both caught on and tried not to laugh.

Bethany scowled and smacked her brother, "This is no time to laugh, brother. Anders could've killed her! I knew he couldn't handle that spirit. Maker, I'm going to shove his staff so far up his rear...!" The little mage paused and looked down, embarrassed at her outburst. Mina giggled. It was nothing compared to Isabela, Varric, Fenris, or Garrett, but it was pretty badly mannered for Bethany.

"So, ahem," Bethany went on, "What made him get all... Justice-y?"

Mina could feel her face getting warm. Hawke couldn't help himself and started laughing. Varric hid a smile behind his mug. Bethany looked at them confused, then returned her attention back to the silver-haired Elf.

"IwaskissingGarrett," she said in a rush. Bethany squealed and bounced up and down, eyes darting between her brother and Mina.

"You did what now?! But I thought you and Anders were together?" she gushed.

Mina sighed and settled back into her chair to explain what had happened. It was a weird story, and to ease her own guilt, she left out the part where it'd all happened in a matter of days. Thankfully Garrett and Varric didn't correct her or add anything of their own in. No doubt Varric would later.

Bethany was angry that Anders had the gall to do such a thing to Mina. She couldn't quite wrap her head around how stupid she thought he was being.

"Let me get this straight. He broke up with you and then just walked away?"

Mina nodded.

"And then, you kiss my idiot of a brother, trying to fix your broken heart, and the fool sees this and almost kills you for it?!" She said again, trying to make sure she heard things correctly.

Mina nodded as a voice protested, "That's not exactly how it happened."

Everyone's eyes snapped to the man in the doorway. Keter stood and started growling. It was like he could feel Mina bristling. Varric pointed Bianca at him, and Hawke got up right in his face.

"Yeah? What part did I leave out, Anders?" Mina hissed. She could hardly believe it was Anders or that he was ballsy enough to walk into the Hanged Man. He looked awful; like he hadn't slept in days. Or washed. He looked completely unkempt and almost savage. They could all see the blue faintly glowing behind his eyes. It sent shivers down Mina's spine. For the first time, she was slightly afraid of him.

"The part where I told you that I was trying to protect you. The part where you could hardly wait to jump into Hawke's arms once I was gone!" he snapped back, peering around Hawke. His eyes flashed with hurt, but went blank a split second after.

"You were protecting her? I would've never guessed by the giant stab wound in her fucking stomach!" yelled Hawke, "And, believe me, mate, everyone would know if she'd jumped into my arms. Everyone. In. Thedas."

Anders' eyes glowed bright blue and he looked like he was about to hit Hawke. Mina tensed, ready to jump up and stop them.

"ENOUGH!" yelled Bethany, pushing them apart and hitting each of them in the head lightly, "Anders, you broke up with her. It doesn't matter why. She's not yours to get jealous over any more. Garrett, you're being a dick."

The men backed away from each other and stood angrily eyeing the other. Mina called Keter over to her and started stroking his fur to calm him, but mostly for her own nerves.

Varric put Bianca away and studied the male mage, "Why are you here, Blondie? Not that I want to kick you out, but you seem like you have a reason for coming."

Anders looked at the Dwarf and sighed, "I just wanted to see how Mina was doing. I would never forgive myself if I'd killed her. She's stronger than that, but... I know it was a close call."

He looked at Mina and smiled softly, "You know, despite Hawke's protests, your Thalion insisted that I stay and help him for a while. After we stabilized you, he asked that I leave."

Mina's eyes widened. She didn't know that Anders had helped. She'd been so out of it when she'd woken up. In fact, she hadn't given a second thought to why he wasn't there. But, her thoughts of saving him from Fenris earlier crossed her mind.

"Thalion's my father. I'm surprised he didn't throw you out himself," she started. Anders frowned and looked away.

"But... Hawke had to bring me back here earlier because I had run off, terrified that Fenris had killed you," she admitted. His eyes darted back to her and a genuine smile spread across his face.

"You... you were really worried about me?" he asked. She didn't know if he remembered what she'd said before she passed out after he'd impaled her. She kind of hoped not.

"Uh-huh. Couldn't let someone do my work for me," she said with a smirk. She was half serious. She was going to get the asshole back for what he did. And there was Ceras... no doubt he'd suffer plenty by the time her sister was done with him.

"Ah, well... I should get back to the clinic. I haven't been there for two days. I'm sure people are in a panic," he said and left.

Mina sighed and squeezed the bridge of her nose. She wasn't quite sure what to do with him. He was such a dumbass. He tried too hard to make things better by himself. The way things were going, he'd end up just screwing himself even more.