A/N: Just wanted to give a big thank you for all those that are reading and following the story. I realized the other day as I looked at the first published date, that this has been over a year now, and we're just barely into act 3, and I thought to myself how crazy! For someone who has always loved the Dragon Age games, it's been a complete blast to reimagine the story again. Thank you all!

Varric glanced over at Hawke, and decided once more to hold his tongue. Hawke was in one of the foulest moods he had ever seen the Champion have, and that was saying something. He could attest that Hawke could give Broody a run for his title every now and then, but in most cases, his anger was reserved for battle or when he was witness to a gross injustice.

Now, however, the dwarf could only make a mental note of how Hawke's mood had steadily decreased with each day that passed since he and the Little Dove had… spoken. Varric had tried worming some of the conversation out of Hawke, but had little success.

Obviously, things did not go as they all had pictured. Everyone had been congratulating each other with toasts, thinking that they had finally succeeded in having their friends involved in the romance of the century. He hadn't even minded when Rivaini had tried to spoil it by mentioning what they were probably doing- on his bed.

Then, Little Dove had run out of the tavern, crying, and Anders had chased after her. Hawke hadn't shown for several minutes afterward, and when he finally did, he was close lipped and upset.

Varric sighed, wanting to help make things better, but unsure of how to actually do that. Maybe I'll talk to Blondie, see what the issue is… he said to himself.

I wish Fenris were here, Anders thought. Eyes wide in shock, he realized what he had just thought, and found himself suddenly worried that he might be sick, or even dying. He rubbed his temple, blaming Cat for giving him enough grief that he would actually think such a thing.

"Just leave me alone, Anders!" she yelled again, though since she was under the covers of her bed, it came out muffled.

"No," he replied sternly, stepping over to the side of her bed. "I've let you hide here for several days, but enough is enough!" He reached over and pulled on the blankets, and found himself in a tug of war to get them off the bed.

"I'm a grown woman, I can do whatever I like!" she shouted, her voice much louder now that her face wasn't covered.

"Really? I don't see a woman, I see a child throwing a temper tantrum!" he knew he could wrest the blanket from her, but he was also tired of her antics, so he simply pulled hard enough to keep them in a stalemate, hoping she would tire herself out.

"So what? If I want to wallow, just let me!" she yelled petulantly. "Why do you care anyway? Go bother someone else!" Anders' eyes flashed brightly blue before returning to their normal color, and his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"No!" he yelled back, finally having enough. Day after day, with this same argument. Day after day, of her moping around, and I won't stand for it any longer. He yanked hard on the blankets, pulling them towards him, Cat tumbling head over feet as she fell out of the bed. She yelped, and sat up to glare at him.

"How dare you-!"

"Just shut up!" he roared, and surprised by his tone, she frowned at him, but stayed quiet. "You've hidden from the world for almost a week, Catarina. If you don't like what happened, then you must face it and fix it!"

"What do you know? Nothing!" she screamed, her frustration mounting. "You can't possibly understand!"

"Of course not!" he yelled back, his own frustration hitting the proverbial ceiling. "And I won't until you TALK to me!"

"Forget it!" she huffed.

"What the hell happened Cat?" he asked, throwing his hands in the air. "What did he say?"

"Nothing!"

"Did he pressure you to do something?"

"Of course not!"

"Then what, for the love of Andraste?!"

"I'm scared, okay?!"

They stared at each other, and as her words penetrated, he could see the fear in her eyes. The room seemed almost eerie now, in the silence. The only noise, their panting breaths as they calmed. Having finally gotten some sort of answer, he merely looked at her in question.

"I can't, Anders."

"Can't what?" He didn't mean to sound unfeeling, he was just so tired of going around in circles with her on this. She just shook her head, not wanting to answer.

"Cat, you know I love you, right?" he asked slowly. She looked up, bewildered, but she nodded. "Then know that I say this with absolute love… You're a fool."

Her mouth dropped open slightly in shock. "What?" she asked.

"Probably one of the biggest I've ever known, come to think of it."

"Anders…" she said, a frown forming on her face. Why was he kicking me while I'm down? she thought.

"Now, I would have understood, if you didn't feel the same for Hawke, or if he was pressuring you to do things you felt uncomfortable with. But this?" he asked, gesturing down at her. "This… is pathetic."

He had to keep himself strong, even as the tears came. He knew he was hurting her, but she would be better for it.

"You are letting the possibility of getting hurt decide your actions," he explained, his tone more gentle now. "And honey, that's just foolish. Of course you feel like running away."

"Oh?" she lashed back. "And you're not? Mr. I-hate-commitments?"

"We're not talking about me right now," he grumbled, not liking the moniker. "The point is, you're doing this on the off chance that you'll get hurt in the future. Well done!" he said sarcastically. "Aren't you glad you've saved yourself from pain and misery?"

She looked down, obviously upset, but he could tell she was thinking on his words. He moved over and lowered himself to sit next to her. "You know how much I wanted us to be together at first?" he asked, and she looked up in deadpan. "Yes, now I understand that, but before? All I saw was a beautiful, intelligent woman who looked at me as a man, not a mage. No one had ever done that before. It seemed I had found a miracle, and I wasn't going to let her go."

She chuckled. "Oh really?"

"Indeed," he said, putting his arm around her. "I had it all figured out, from our courtship, to our secret wedding, how many kids we would have…"

"What, really?" she said, giggling. "And you didn't think to maybe include me in these plans?"

"Daydreams, really," he said with a smile. "Dreams of the future I had already had, and now I had the face to put in, and of course we know how that ended up." She nodded again, leaning into him, feeling better. "Those daydreams were gone, but recently they started up again. But instead of me, it was Hawke that I saw. This man I admire, not only as a mage, but for being a good man, no matter what life threw at him."

He cleared his throat, and she looked up at him, seeing his far away look. "I could see it so plainly, the two of you. So happy together. And of course, we all helped to keep him from acting stupid or getting into trouble. And we protected your family, and spoiled the kids rotten."

He looked down at her as well now. "Can you see it?" he asked. "There are two sides here Cat. Could things end poorly? Yes. It could happen that all your fears come to life. But… what about the other side? All your- or should I say my- dreams… could come true." He grinned at her now, and she could picture exactly what he was describing, and she wanted it, badly.

"Holy crap, I'm an idiot."

He sniffed at her, "and you smell pretty bad too."

"Hey," she said, offended, then leaned her head down to smell herself, and made a disgusted face. "Yeah, okay."

"That's what happens when you wallow in self loathing for days on end," he told her.

She gave him a look. "A real friend would help me get water for a bath," she said with a smile, batting her lashes at him.

He rolled his eyes, then stopped, looking at her in question. "Fenris gets you water, doesn't he?" he asked, and she grinned at him. "The things I do to keep up with him," he muttered as he stood up. Then found himself with his arms full of Cat.

"I wish I could say I wasn't scared anymore, but I am. I told him every fault I have, and he just stood there while I left. Maybe he's rethinking all this."

"Or maybe he was just letting you get all the asinine comments out in one go," he replied dryly. "You'll never know until you see him."

"You're right." She hugged him tightly. "Thank you Anders. I love you too."

Having a new determination to make things right didn't take away her anxiety. I don't remember when I started always looking for the ways things could go wrong… she thought. But, that ends today.

She spent far longer in the bath that she normally would, but then again, taking a bath was more of a luxury than an everyday happenstance. When she first arrived in Thedas, she thought she would die from being dirty all the time, but eventually she became used to cleaning with a bowl of water and a towel.

Now that the days were heading towards summer, she didn't worry overtly about going out with damp hair, something she would never do in the winter. But she wanted to get rid of the butterflies in her stomach, whether the end result was good or bad, she wanted to have it done, and drying her hair by the fire would take much longer than she was prepared to wait.

Braiding her hair into a thick tail, she noted that it was a few inches shy of her waist, and she was probably due for a trim. While she enjoyed the length, pretty soon she would start sitting on her hair when she took a seat, and it was easier to simply trim it then to remember to move it out of the way first.

Smiling to herself at her own attempts at distraction, she called out to Anders, and they left the mansion. Grabbing his arm, and asking about what his plans for the clinic were in the future, they made their way to Lowtown, enjoying each others' company.

Stepping inside the Hanged Man, Cat's mouth went dry as her nerves returned. Anders must have felt her stiffen, for he patted the arm that was threaded through his own. "You can do this," he said, leaning over to speak in her ear, so she would hear him.

They moved over to the table, and Cat noted with a small amount of relief that it was only Varric and Isabela seated there.

"Blondie, Little Dove," Varric greeted them as they sat down. "Nice of you to come out again," he smirked at Cat.

"Kitty, I swear, you're becoming more like the girl I first met than the woman I've spent the last few years with," Isabela stated with exasperation. "Where did all this self-doubt come from anyway?" she asked. She leaned her elbow on the table and gave Cat a wink. "I think I need to contact a certain elf to get you back in line."

"Oh come on Rivaini, we can help just as well as Broody can," Varric said, misunderstanding whom Isabela was referring to.

"I don't know Issy," Cat replied to Isabela. "I guess all this has me thinking about the future, and I freak myself out." She saw all three of them give her varying degrees of exasperated looks, and she shrugged. "I didn't say it was a good thing," she muttered.

"You're entitled to your feelings Little dove," Varric replied, "Did you and Hawke fight?" he asked curiously.

"Not exactly," she answered.

"It doesn't matter," Anders said to Varric, trying to stop the prying. "She'll fix it."

"Oh?" Isabela asked, intrigued. "How will you do that?"

It wasn't that she wanted to share… it was more of putting off being strong for just a little longer. "Well, before…"

"Yes?" Varric and Isabela asked, leaning forward.

She gave a self depreciating chuckle, and shrugged. "I may have given him all the reasons why he shouldn't want me."

They looked puzzled for a moment. "Ah, I see," Isabela said, sitting back.

"As if there were such reasons," Varric stated loyally. "He couldn't possibly do better anywhere else."

"That's sweet Varric," Isabela smirked. "But we all know how stubborn Kitty can be." Cat nodded at Varric, glad that Isabela wasn't seeing through rose colored glasses like the others were.

"You say that like Hawke isn't," he countered.

"True, but that only makes it worse, seeing as Kitty won't let him have his way. It could lead to fighting over ridiculous things." She glanced at Cat before continuing. "Not to mention Kitty's D.I.D. issues."

"Hey!" Cat broke in. "That's not fair!"

"D.I.D.?" Varric asked, bewildered. He looked over at Anders, who was laughing. "Did I miss something?"

"Stands for damsel in distress," he replied, still chuckling. He toasted his friend with the glass he was given by the server. "Cat can't stand having to be rescued."

"I just think I've had my fair share, thank you very much," she snipped back. "You'd hate it too if you were constantly being saved by everyone you traveled with! Even the dog was coming to my rescue!"

"It was one of the big, motivating factors for her to learn to fight, back on the ship," Isabela reminisced with a laugh. "She kept refusing help for anything, even to the point of hurting herself."

"Interesting," Varric said with a grin, making a note on the paper in front of him.

"I've gotten better," she muttered, taking Anders' wine and drinking half of it.

"Yes, you have," Isabela relented. "But you're still a prude. Maybe you were right to scare Hawke off."

Cat glared at her friend. "Not cool, Issy…" she said, noting the men were trying to keep from laughing.

"What else would you call it?" Isabela immediately replied. "You've been with one man your entire life, and because he couldn't give you any pleasure, you've decided that you don't deserve any. I can't think of a better word, except perhaps fool."

Cat's face became stormy, hearing herself being called a fool for the second time that day. "There's more to life than seeking pleasure," she shot back, only for Isabela to grin.

"That's true for some," she conceded. "It's good to see you haven't smothered all your fire," she commented, and turned to Varric. "I miss the girl who would go swimming everyday without her clothes."

Varric looked like he had been given a present, and starting scribbling, Anders looked scandalized, and Cat quickly defended herself. "I was wearing smalls!" she said loudly, not noticing that others in the room turned to look. "I didn't have any other clothes!"

"And the time that you answered the door wearing only a shirt?" Isabela continued, not listening to Cat's protests.

"I had just gotten out of bed!"

"Or seducing three men at once?"

"I was providing a distraction to get you out of trouble, if you'll recall!" Cat replied, though she now was laughing.

"Show's over," Isabela called out, much to the dismay of the room. She leaned back in, speaking more softly. "You've got it in you Kitty," she said with a kind and sincere smile. "You can be anything you want, get anything you want. You just have to try."

Cat returned the smile, not having realized she needed another pep talk, but boy, had she needed it. "I can do that, Issy," she replied.

"Good," came the response. "Quit trying to go back to being Rina. Be Cat. She's much better."

Cat nodded and grinned at the three of them.

"I'm going to have to have someone explain all this later," Varric said with a smirk. "All I can say is, can you get Hawke back to his normal self? I'm tired of seeing him upset."

Cat grabbed Anders' cup again, though he didn't protest. "You bet I can," she replied, and took another swallow before returning it. "I can't promise it won't ever happen again though. I can be pretty… what was the word? Foolish?"

"Can't we all?" Anders replied. "Now go find him."

"Kitty?" Isabela said as Cat stood up. "Don't bother talking, just jump him, eh?" She gave Cat a wink.

"We'll see…" Cat replied with a secretive smile, and headed out the door.

"Well! That was a lucrative conversation," Varric said as he looked down at his notes. He decided he needed to start keeping blank pages with his paperwork. The contract he had drawn up earlier would now have to be redone. "Why haven't you told any of these stories before?" he demanded of Isabela.

"She wasn't ready," she said vaguely, calling for another round.

Her pep talk brought her all the way to Hawke's door, and she raised her hand to knock, only hesitating slightly before steeling herself to get it done. She rapped harder than she might normally have, but she knew she was nervous… and if she was honest, a little excited.

If it was anything like that last time, she might just drown in Hawke's kiss, as she had been tempted to do before.

The door opened, and Bodahn showed her in to the foyer. "Hello Miss Cat, what can we do for you this evening?" he asked cheerily.

"I came to see Hawke," she replied, her fingers clenching together to keep herself grounded.

"Ah," he replied, looking behind them. "Master Hawke is working I'm afraid. I'm happy to announce you… just… don't be upset if he… ignores us."

Cat smiled at the dwarf. "No need to announce me, Bodahn, I've been helping with all the letters, so I'll just take my place and get to work."

"Oh, well, that's good then," he answered with a smile in return. "If you can get him to take a break, I'll have Orana put out food. He's been working for a very long while this time."

"I'll do my best," Cat promised, following Bodahn into the living room. She stepped into the room, but hung back, watching as Bodahn continued on. Looking around, she noted the soft glow from the embers of the fire, a large cushion in front of it, where Hafter had undoubtedly been at some point.

She looked for the mabari, but didn't see him anywhere, and her gaze landed on Hawke. She took in the state of his hair, wondering at how it got to be stuck up in all directions. His hand came up, ruffling through it, and she smiled as she now understood.

She began moving towards him, her nerves coming back to life as she did. Did I wear the right thing? What if he's angry? What if-

She stopped, seeing his head come up, as if he sensed her. He looked left then right before turning to look behind him. His eyes rested on her, and he just stared.

"Uh… hi," she said, a timid smile on her face. His eyebrow rose in question, but he remained silent, and she took a deep breath, releasing it. Seems he won't make this easy for me.

Deciding to lead with her feelings, instead of her head, she walked closer, trying to gauge his reactions. He gave her nothing, but turned his chair to face her, and sat back down, watching her walk to him.

Hawke thought he could stay angry, but really all he felt was raw, like a large gaping wound that hadn't begun to heal. He was surprised that she was here, he thought he would have to chase after her again, and in fact had been ready to do so days ago when his mother stopped him.

He knew he was reckless, and she pointed out that he wasn't taking her feelings into consideration, only his own. She had finally told him to let Cat make the choice, but after days of waiting, he had given her an ultimatum. One more night, and then he'd find her.

Had she somehow known? he asked himself. I hadn't spoken of it to anyone, so it wasn't as if she were told to come. He continued to puzzle through his thoughts as she drew nearer. He feared he was about to break down and beg, so he held on tightly to the frustration he was feeling.

He felt he had done what he could, but even he couldn't break through self hatred. What in Andraste's pyre had happened, that she couldn't see what a treasure she was? And how can I possibly make her see?

He was still, even as she came to his side, and looked down at him, smiling slightly, and he could see she was staring at his head. He rolled his eyes as he imagined just what his hair looked like, and reached up to smooth it down.

"I like it," she said, reaching out to brush through it, batting his hand away. "Not everyday maybe, but it gives you a somewhat wild look."

He groaned inwardly at her touch, and winced at how rough his voice came out. "Why are you here Cat?"

She flinched back, and he almost apologized, but he needed to know. It felt imperative that he understood what had brought her here, to him.

Cat looked down, realizing that she was biting her lip, and immediately stopped. She didn't want to try to seduce him, that wasn't what this was. This was about apologizing, and seeing if perhaps she wasn't too late.

"I discovered something today," she said, moving away to pace in front of him, seeing the question on his face. "Being called a fool is something I despise," she continued. "But even worse than that, is actually acting like one."

She stopped and looked up defiantly. "I can't apologize for what I said, because it was the truth. But I can apologize for not believing in myself, or you."

She could see he was trying to follow her, but didn't quite get it, so she searched for a way to word what she was feeling.

"My friend Steven, courted me for over a year, and eventually I loved him. We were married, and after that, he hurt me. Constantly. I didn't want to ever put myself in that position again."

She looked away, his lack of expressions making it difficult to continue. "I acted like a fool before, because I was scared, Garrett." She looked back to him, seeing him gazing at her, though she couldn't quite tell what he was feeling. Taking a leap into the unknown she continued. "I'm scared… because what I felt for him pales in comparison… to what I feel for you."

She saw him jolt, as if he had been struck, and her head tilted as she looked at him. "I'm sorry that I've compared you with him, but he's all I've known, I haven't had other relationships."

He held his hand up, and she stopped, deflating. I am too late… she thought miserably.

"This man," he said slowly, rising to his feet. "is the only one you've ever been with?" he asked.

She sighed. "Yes."

"He hurt you?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"It was a long time ago, but yes, at the time, it hurt."

"If I ever meet the cursed whorespawn, I will end him."

She frowned. "He doesn't deserve death, you know..." she shook her head. "Off topic. The point is… you were right." She moved closer, keeping her eyes on him. He looked down, his eyebrow raising again in question.

Perhaps Issy had the right idea after all, she thought. "I do want you," she explained as she reached for him, bringing her lips to his, and her arms around his neck.

She had thought that he might pull away, but he simply reached around to pull her closer. Her hands roamed up into his hair, gripping as she felt herself being moved.

It was as if he had been starving, and she was his meal. He took over the moment her lips touched his, turning to get a better angle. He pulled her closer, and still felt as if she were too far away. Her nails scraped at his skin as she moved her hands into his hair, and he had to remind himself to breathe- to let her breathe, as he devoured her.

His hands were already on her hips, pulling her into him, and he bent lower to reach her thighs, lifting her up, even as he backed up to his seat. He almost missed it in his haste, but he adjusted easily and with Cat on his lap, went back to concentrating on her.

He let her breathe again, his mouth searching for skin. The taste of wine on her tongue was nothing compared to the headiness of her neck, and he took his time, savoring the sensation.

He couldn't decide which thrilled him more, the sound of her moaning, or of his name coming from her. He was eager, that he could admit without hesitation, however he reminded himself of two things. One- they were in the main room of the house, hardly in private, and two- it had become painfully clear that night, that she was basically, innocent.

No, she wasn't a virgin- technically, but she had never been loved thoroughly either, and as much as he wanted to just bury himself in her, he knew he needed to wait.

And… she's not making that easy… he thought, as her hips began rocking slightly. And then, she spoke, and his control shattered.

"Garrett, please."

Without further thought, he grabbed her and stood, making his way blindly to the stairs. She wasn't making that easy either, as once his lips were gone from her, she put hers on him, in the closest place she could reach, which happened to be his earlobe.

Suckling and nibbling at it, he stumbled a few times, trying to navigate his way upstairs. He was sure that his mother would come out of her room and ask what was happening, and he hoped that he was wrong as he moaned himself.

She'll be the death of me, he thought, gritting his teeth and trying to concentrate on walking. Reaching the top of the stairs, he moved quicker now to his room, desperate to reach it before he exploded. He felt triumphant as he made it over the threshold, and using his foot, closed the door behind him.

He and Cat both stopped, frozen, hearing the growling and snarling. Putting Cat down was a challenge, but the haze of lust was quickly dispelled, and she put her feet down, and turned to see what the commotion was.

Hawke stepped in front of her, looking over to his mabari. "Hafter? You okay?" he asked calmly, uncertain of what had gotten into the dog.

"Um…" Cat whispered. "I think there's something in the wardrobe," she said, and he looked at his dog again, noting that he wasn't stopping them, he was shielding them.

"What have you found boy?" he asked. If it's a rat or something, he's sleeping in the kitchen for a week.

"Please don't open the door," a voice called from his wardrobe, and Hawke became much more alert.

"You caught a burglar?!" Hawke asked, astonished… and angry. "Who would dare?!"

The wardrobe opened, and a simple looking man exited. "I can't stay in there any longer, my legs are cramping! Please Champion, just let me go!" He looked equally terrified of Hawke as Hafter, and Hawke glared at him.

He could feel Cat shaking behind him, and he turned his head to look at her. She buried her face in his back, but he could hear her muffled chuckles. She finds this funny?!

"You can't seriously expect me to just let you walk out of here," Hawke replied angrily.

"I was seduced by crime from a very young age serah," he said, hanging his head, and cowering away from Hafter. "but your guard monster has scared me towards the path of honest work!"

Hawke glowered. No burglar could be this idiotic. "I should sic my mabari on you, is what should happen."

"But-"

"I could count to five, give you a sporting chance," he said, enjoying tormenting the guy for interrupting them.

"One…"

"Wait, but-"

"Two…"

"Ahhh!" the burglar yelled, running from the room.

"Three four five!" Hawke called out, and Hafter ran after him. Cat looked on with pride, seeing Hafter loping after the man, without trouble.

"He looks so much better," she commented, and Hawke turned, grabbing her again.

"You look even better," he said, and she smiled ruefully.

"Come on, we've got to take him to the guard, otherwise there will be others that try again."

He frowned at her. "Are you saying we're not doing what we were about to do?" he demanded.

"It won't take very long, come on, let's go," she said, moving away before he could grab her again. "It's a nice evening, it'll be fun!"

"Fun…" he grumbled, following after her.

"This is your idea of fun?" he growled at her, and she grinned.

The more Hawke grumbled, the happier Cat became. The moment had passed, and they both knew it, but he just continued to complain about his misfortune. He had tried blaming Hafter, but she had squashed that immediately, saying how grateful she was that they didn't have an audience, and he couldn't disagree.

He might not have thought so, but for her, it was fun. The man didn't put up a fight as Hafter corralled him to the Keep, while she and Hawke followed along behind them. It was a warm night, and she had grabbed Hawke's hand.

She still had random thoughts of things that could go wrong, but she shoved them away each and every time. Even the thought of things ending badly made her heart ache, but she had been hurting for the past while anyway, and if there was no way to escape the pain, then she'd take as much joy as she could along the way.

She watched as Hawke spoke to the guard, handing over custody of the burglar, and she marveled at what an amazing man he was.

"What?" he asked, as he came back to her, and they turned to leave.

"You're pretty impressive, that's all," she said happily.

"Hmm, I'll have to find more burglars, if this is the reaction I get," he teased.

"Oh please," she smirked. "If you had found him any other time, you probably would have let him go."

He frowned, but then shrugged. "Yeah, probably, though I still would have had Hafter chase him around a bit first," he said, and they laughed.

She pulled closer to him, and smiled up at him. "So, should we continue where we left off?" she asked.

"I think…" he replied, "that I'll walk you home."

She knew her face showed her confusion, but thinking it over, decided it was probably better. After all, she had the house to herself, unlike him. And Anders was most likely still in Lowtown. "All right," she finally replied.

They walked through the streets, people greeting their champion as they went. "Is it always like this?" she asked him.

"Usually," he replied. "Everyone knows who I am now. It's much harder to be inconspicuous."

"Maybe for you," she teased, "but I'm still a nobody."

"You were never a nobody," he replied, and she smiled. "But, I'm fairly certain the rumors I've been hearing mean that you're already noticed."

"You heard them too?" she asked with a laugh. "Can you believe what people come up with?"

"We can't help that we're so interesting…" he drawled, and she chuckled, as she moved to open the door. She went to walk in, but was pulled back. Looking over, she noted Hawke wasn't moving toward the door.

"Aren't you coming in?" she asked, puzzled.

"Not tonight," he replied, lifting her hand with his, to kiss her knuckles. "I think the wiser course would be to take our time."

"Take our time?" she asked, perplexed. "That wasn't exactly what I was getting from you earlier."

"I'm not going to say I wasn't disappointed," he said, smirking at her. "But thinking on it, I'm glad we were interrupted."

"Oh really?" she said, moving closer to him, even as he backed up a step.

"I'm a man, not a priest," he said. "But I want to do right by you Cat."

"Well then, come in and show me," she said with a smile.

"And while I would absolutely love to… I want to wait."

"You… you do?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yes," he replied. "After tonight, I'm certain you want me, but I want more than that."

"More?" she asked, eyes wide. What could that be? she thought.

He smiled, bringing her hand up to his lips again. "Yes. I want your trust, with everything. I want to know that when you and I are together, there won't be old ghosts lingering."

"Hawke, I don't feel that way for him anymore," she said. "I don't understand."

"When I have you," he answered, kissing her hand, "you won't think about how it had been before." He kissed her hand again. "You won't compare me with him," he kissed her again, "in fact you won't think about him at all."

"I promise," she replied huskily, "when you touch me, I don't think about anything."

He grinned, but it wasn't quite enough. He didn't want her to think of him afterward either.

"We'll take it slow," he said, leaning forward to kiss her properly, though quickly. "Will you come to me tomorrow?" he asked. "I'd like to finish those letters, and plan a day away from being Champion, for all of us."

"Of course," she replied, still unsure of how everything had flipped on its head.

"Then I'll see you in the morning. Good night, darling."

"Good night," she said, moving toward the door after he nudged her along. She turned back as she went to close it, noting that he was still watching her, waiting to leave until she was inside. Closing the door with a smile, she turned to lean against it, doubting she would get any sleep that night.