Time To Work

Anders had returned to his clinic once Elizabeth had been put to bed in her shabby bassinet. He slept more soundly than he had since before joining the Wardens, dreaming of a future where he could simply be a man with a wife and daughter, living in some quaint and peaceful village. Justice woke him at dawn, as he always did, and he opened up the clinic.

It was late in the afternoon when he got an unexpected visit from Marian, followed by Carver, Varric, and a guardswoman. He tensed slightly at the presence of a guard, but she was following Marian the same as the others, and her expression was one of pity as she looked at the sick and injured lying on cots.

"Hello Marian. Something you need?" He asked, setting down the lyrium potion he was about to drink before they arrived.

"Yes, I've been going around the city talking to potential employers, and I have one that I'll need your help with."

"Oh really? So long as it isn't darkspawn I'm interested."

"I've been hired by some pompous merchant to find out why his mine isn't producing anymore. One of the workers who returned said there was dragons, but he believes the man is delirious or lying."

"I feel like your current group is better suited to fighting possible-dragons than I would be." He said with a small smirk.

"Yes, but you're an excellent healer. If there was dragons, any survivors will be wounded and in desperate need of your help. I'm bringing Aveline, Carver, and Varric for the fight. But I'm an elemental mage, not a healer. If there are survivors, or we have to fight a dragon, we'll need a good healer."

"Fair enough. Where is this mine?"

"Up on Sundermount. It's called the Bone Pit."

"It would take us the better part of a day to get out there, and we'd want to make camp rather than fight tired. Who will take care of Elizabeth?"

"My mother already agreed when I last went home to feed her. She approves of me making connections with Hightown merchants, rather than just doing Lowtown dirty work. I'm going to make an icebox and put a couple of bottles of milk in it that mother can heat by the fire. She'll be cranky, I'm certain, but she'll be fed and cared for while we're gone."

"You are so clever, love." He smiled at her, ignoring the angry look Carver shot him, Varric's smirk, and Aveline's shock.

"I try." Marian smiled back, then bridged the gap between them to kiss him softly.

"Hold on just a minute! Marian, last I knew this man was barely involved in your life, only visiting to see the baby, now you're kissing him?! What in the void did I miss? Are you controlling her somehow, you rat bastard?!" Carver interjected, pulling Marian away from Anders and putting his arm protectively in front of her.

"What?!" Anders and Marian replied in unison.

"Carver, you stupid, protective, jerk!" She shoved Carver away from her, glaring daggers at the taller Hawke, "Did it not occur to you that we could've rekindled our relationship? He is the father of my child, back in Lothering he gave himself up to the Templars to keep them from discovering me and Bethany, and he is a Grey Warden and a Healer who saves Ferelden refugees, like us, with no thought of reward! How could you possibly think that he would control me to make me care for him? He's a good man! I understand being skeptical at the beginning, but this is getting ridiculous! He'll officially be your brother-in-law someday, if I have anything to say about it, so you need to just shut up and learn to accept him as part of the family."

Anders felt a rush of blood to his cheeks and his groin as she berated her brother. No one had ever cared so much about him to passionately yell it in public. He looked to Varric and Aveline to gauge their opinions of this interaction. Varric had pulled out a small book and was writing notes. Aveline's brows were raised almost up to her headband, he couldn't tell whether she was surprised at the words or the anger, perhaps both. Returning his gaze to the Hawke siblings Carver was flushed to his ears, stammering some witless defense, and Marian stood confident, her arms crossed, watching him with that same piercing gaze.

"As much as I'm enjoying seeing Carver turn into a tomato, I think I should ask you to leave now, before another bout of arguing begins. I do have patients trying to rest and recuperate here, after all."

"Oh...Oh yes, I'm sorry." Marian's confidence faltered as she looked around to see people in various states of awareness staring at her group.

"It's fine, at least this argument didn't end in bloodshed, that can't always be said for Darktown. When do you plan to go to Sundermount?"

"We'll leave tomorrow morning."

"I'll be by tonight to visit after I've seen to everyone, perhaps I could simply sleep on the floor? Saves you a trip back down here."

Carver began to object when Marian put her hand over his mouth. "Yes, that sounds perfect. I'll see you later, then." She smiled and then shivered and jerked her hand away from Carver, who had just slobbered all over it.

"You are such a child!" She hissed at him as they turned to leave.

"I am the younger brother, there has to be at least one perk." Carver teased.

-

Marian was laying on the floor with Elizabeth as she tried to push herself up off of her tummy when Anders arrived. Leandra let him in with a smile and a quick hug, and ushered him over to where the they were.

"Ah, the dreaded tummy time. How is she taking it today?"

"She's finally figured out that she can use her arms to push up. She's pretty good at rolling over, and as far as I can tell she'll probably figure out crawling in next month or two."

"A very sound assessment. She's right on track, if not a little ahead." He laid down next to Elizabeth, who could now finally see him and squealed happily as she tried to lurch towards him, just ending up flat on her tummy again. Anders smiled and sat up, then pulled her into his arms, peppering her face with kisses as she squealed more and grabbed for his hair.

"She could've kept going, you know."

"Oh, I know, but how can I resist when she literally tries to throw herself at me? I'm so proud of you, Elizabeth! Yes I am! Yes I am!" He cooed at her. She babbled a little in response, still smiling in delight at having her Dada home.

"Bet you 10 silver that her first word is Dada."

"I'm not going to take you up on that bet, because I completely agree with you." Anders smiled at Marian, who shook her head with a small smile on her face.

"Well, if you wouldn't mind taking over for a while, I've got to milk myself again. I'd rather make sure she has more milk than she needs, just in case she decides to have a growth spurt and be extra hungry while we're gone."

"I hardly think Elizabeth would choose to be so inconsiderate. Would you, Liz?"

"Liz?"

"It's a nickname. She won't be able to say 'Elizabeth' until she's at least two, but Liz is much easier."

"I get that it's just, I kinda figured she'd be Beth or Bethy. After Bethany."

"She can choose what nickname she likes for herself when she's older. I understand the sentiment but having another black-haired, brown-eyed Bethy running around the house might make your grief worse, rather than helping to heal it."

"I...hadn't thought of it that way."

"That's me, always ready with another point of view. Now go, do what you need to do, Liz and I will be just fine."

-

Anders leaned against the wall and played peek-a-boo with Elizabeth sat up on his stomach, his knees bent up to give her a back rest to support her. Every time he reappeared from behind his hands she squealed and reached for his face. After a while of playing Marian returned to the room, and once she was in the baby's line of sight she reached for her and started moving her lips in the tell-tale sign of hunger.

"Thank the Maker I only did the one side, or she'd have nothing to eat." Marian sighed as she scooped up her babe and moved the fabric of her robes so Elizabeth could feed.

As she stood there, feeding their daughter, Anders couldn't help but silently thank the Maker as well. A lot of terrible things had happened in his life, and he was born in a world that would always treat him as lesser, but at least he had this. He could have these moments of happiness, and he would never let anyone take them away from him, or put them through the kind of agony he went through.

"What are you thinking about down there?" Marian smiled down at him.

"You, sweetheart. You and Liz. I love you both, I hope you know that."

"Maybe you missed it earlier but I did say, in front of a whole audience, that I would marry you one day."

"I know I just...Never in my wildest dreams did I think this kind of happiness could be part of my life. I don't deserve you."

"Says who? The Templars? The Chantry? They can all rot, as far as I care. You're a good man, and a wonderful father. You deserve happiness."

He chuckled softly, "Whatever you say, love."

Once Elizabeth was fed and put to bed Marian dragged Anders onto her cot with her.

"Leandra is right there, and Carver sleeps in here too, doesn't he?" He asked in a hushed whisper.

"Yes, I'm not planning anything sordid, I just don't want you sleeping on the floor or in the chair. Besides, I enjoyed cuddling with you before, I'd like to do it again."

"Oh... Alright, but if I wake up crying you're not allowed to tease me. The taint causes a lot of bad dreams, and I never know when one is going to strike."

"I would never tease you for something like that. If you wake up from a nightmare wake me up so I can help you feel better. We're in this together, through good and bad Anders."

He smiled softly then leaned in to kiss her tenderly. She returned his kiss in kind, gently petting his hair as she did.

"While we're camping you and I should sneak off. Seeing you defend my honor stirred something in me today." He whispered huskily in her ear. He felt her shiver against him.

"As tempting as that is, I can't afford another baby right now."

"You don't need to worry about that, but we can discuss that later. For now, we should get some sleep." He kissed her forehead, ignoring her questioning look as he settled in and closed his eyes. At least they had Elizabeth.