Chapter Text
"Morrigan needs me!"
"What, right now?"
"Yes!"
"Well, you go off and help her then, and I shall stay here and sleep. Give her my best greetings."
"Who's Morrigan?" asked Isabella.
"You remember, the woman who was with us when you met Dane at the Pearl. Thin, evil looking, clothes made out of belts and string. She stood glaring at Dane the whole time we were there."
"Oh, her. Well, how do you know she's in trouble?"
"She gave me this magical ring, it gives us a connection to each other."
"A ring? Dane, please tell me you're not married. Not that I'd object on moral principles, but I do prefer to know these things in advance."
Zevran snorted. "Worse, she's his ex." Dane scowled.
"Stay here then, if you insist. But I am going to go help her. And if I die, and you are forced to spend the rest of your lonely life with nobody but feisty pirate wenches to comfort you, know that it was within your power to stop it."
"Fine, fine." said Zevran "Just let me put some clothes on."
Dane had never used the ring's locating function from his end, and could only hope that when it said "Go north" it did not mean "Sail to the Tevinter Imperium". The feeling was not entirely unlike the pull he felt whenever he was around darkspawn.
It was only after they had been traveling for a few days that Dane realised that another reason it felt like he was being pulled towards a clutch of darkspawn was that he was being pulled towards a clutch of darkspawn. In other circumstances he might have welcomed the battle, since life post the Blight had been a little dull, but as it was he could not help but feel it was a very bad sign.
And sure enough, when they eventually found Morrigan in some woods by the Drakon River, she was in the middle of a pitched battle. Five or six genlocks had her surrounded, with the corpses of several more lying broken and bloody on the ground around her camp. She was not doing too badly, but the strain of fighting them all by herself was definitely beginning to show. Luckily, with Zevran and Dane's help it was short work to clear the field, and the three of them soon sat on an empty patch of grass catching their breath.
"Morrigan" said Zevran "It is good to see you again. But I cannot help but notice that you are pregnant."
"How observant of you." she replied.
"Are you alright?" asked Dane "I'm glad we got here when we did!"
"I could have managed." said Morrigan.
He held up his hand. "That's not what the ring said."
"Ah." she said "A mistake on my part, a momentary weakness to let it work both ways. But the reason I..it called you here was not because of this single paltry gaggle of genlocks. I have taken out much worse and more as you well know. No, the problem is this." Morrigan patted her belly, which stuck out visibly from underneath the rags she wore as clothing, now covering even less of her than usual.
"You need help with the baby? I suppose it must be due soon." asked Dane with a mix of hope and worry. "I must admit I don't know much about children, but..."
"Yes, I thought to myself 'Who shall I have help me birth this child. Perhaps a midwife, or some local villager? No, wait, I know, I'll call for the man I vowed to never see again, a mage who has no knowledge of children, and is many miles from here. He's the perfect choice'. Do not be a fool. While I knew that bringing up such a child would have it's difficulties what I was not prepared for was the effect it would have on the darkspawn. They seem drawn to it, and the effect grows daily. I can kill them without too much trouble now while I am upright, but there will come a time soon when I am too..incapacitated for battle. That is what I need you for." She paused and added awkwardly "And you did promise that if I ever needed help.."
"Yes, of course! We will defend you, won't we Zevran."
"Far be it for me to ignore a damsel in distress." he replied. "I must ask, though, Morrigan, since certain people have apparently been keeping me in the dark, what is so special about this child? And dare I ask who the father is?"
Zevran took it surprisingly well. Not that Dane had expected him to be jealous exactly, but it had still been a big secret for Dane to keep to himself, and a pretty intense situation to drag Zevran into unaware. He did ask Dane if the child felt like darkspawn to him, which prompted a laugh from Morrigan.
"Indeed, t'would be better to know that before the birth, were it true. In fact, I am curious to know what your grey warden senses tell you about her myself."
"Her?" Morrigan smiled at Dane and his heart lurched. Oh he was doomed.
He put his hands on Morrigan's stomach. He definitely did not feel the presence of darkspawn. Mostly he felt...warmth. Life. "Power" he said. He felt an irresistible wave of affection for this child, his child. "I feel no taint here. Not even the taint I can sense in other grey wardens. " He held his hands there a moment longer then let go and stood back.
"Morrigan, I..."
"You what? Want this child? Now that it comes to it you are not willing to let me, to let her go? Do not make me regret asking for your help."
"Morrigan, please. When have I ever tried to control you? You said love was a trap and so I let you go. Until you called for me I respected your wish that we never see each other again, though it cut me deeply to agree to it. But I love you, and I will love this child, and if there is any way that I can be a part of your lives then yes, that is what I want. But why is that so bad?"
"You love me? And what of Zevran?"
"I love him too."
"You are impossible. Do you envision some happy little family, the three of us in some cottage raising chickens, our daughter laughing in pigtails as she plays with dolls and then grows up to get married and have babies of her own? She is a god Dane. Bringing her up will not be like being a parent to any mortal child. I have no reason to think she will be childlike at all, or will even be able to recognise human concepts like 'mother' and 'father'. Do you really want that, to see your child become such a being?"
"If it must happen, then let me be here for it. And while, yes, there is some appeal to your little vision of cottages and chickens, you know me, I would be as bored as you would. Father to a god however, that sounds like quite an adventure."
Morrigan looked dubious, but this was a step up from outright negativity. "We shall see." she said. "But if I let you stay, do not expect to come back into my bed."
"Understood." Dane grinned "Though if you ever decide you feel like some male companionship..."
"I think I will manage to resist somehow."
"We are rejected, Zevran!"
"Ah, my heart. Come Dane, let us console each other in our loss, finding what comfort we can together in these last few hours before we are devoured by your demon child."
"I should have left myself to the mercy of the darkspawn." muttered Morrigan.