Summary: She's lost so much already. But could this be the last straw? F!Hawke/Fenris

Disclaimer: Phaedra and the young'uns are all mine, but I have nothing else.

Queen's Quornor: So we come to the end. I don't know what Bioware has in store for us with DA3 (please don't keep us in suspense, guys!), although I have my theories, so this is kind of a neutral ending for Phaedra. I may write a follow-up fic to this, where I put forth an idea as to what happened to both Hawke and the Warden; haven't decided yet. But for now, she and Fenris have their peace.

Peace

Fenris did not stir as she slipped from the bed. It had been a very long day for him, splitting fallen logs for their winter woodpile, and Phaedra was loathe to disturb him. He would have another early start in the morning.

She drew her robe about her body and shivered lightly. Her magic could keep the house warm, but they preferred more mundane means. She wanted to be ready at a moment's notice, in case the templars ever found them.

Security over comfort. That had been Fenris' motto, and she had adapted as her own since leaving Kirkwall.

Phaedra padded down the little hall to the children's room, peeking inside with a smile. Rai'eena and Leda had opened their bed to little Malcolm again, the boy snuggling between the twins as though he too had shared the womb with them.

The moonlight sheeted across their tousled heads, two white and one scarlet. The girls were not identical, despite the similarity in their faces. Rai'eena had taken to stealing her mother's dwindling supply of kohl, loving the contrast between her outlined eyes and her bright hair. She had spirit, and attitude enough for them all.

It had been nine years since the flight from Kirkwall. Phaedra and Fenris would have run beyond Ferelden, had they not been slowed by her pregnancy. The Brecilian Forest had been as good a place as any to settle, particularly with the Dalish clans wandering through, offering trade of goods and services. It had been with their help that Fenris had managed to build a home large enough for a growing family, and only just in time for the twins' birth.

Yet now the house was almost too big. Fenris had anticipated many children, but Malcolm's birth had been so difficult that, were it not for the healer Aneirin, Phaedra would have died. As it was, her childbearing days were finished.

It was yet another loss in a difficult life. But this time, Kirkwall's former finest had not grieved so much. She had Fenris and three active children to fill her arms, and no templars threatened their solace. Carver had gone his own way when they reached Ferelden; he had not made himself known to his sister since. Aveline, Donnic, and Anders had accompanied them, and upon reaching the crossroads that led to Denerim the ex-guardsmen departed for their new life, anticipating a child much sooner than their counterparts. Anders had only stayed until the house was built and the twins born; despite Phaedra's forgiveness, her brother-in-spirit remained tormented by his actions and Justice's growing hold on him. Once assured that she and the girls were healthy, Anders had left the forest. She had heard nothing since then, and she prayed daily for his peace. As for the others, they had remained on Isabela's new ship to try and draw whatever pursuit remained after the voyage to Amaranthine.

Phaedra regretted that she could do nothing to help her friends now, but a part of her was glad for her helplessness. She had a family of her own now, and if Malcolm was like Leda in displaying magical talent, anonymity was their best chance to survive in these troubled times. She planned to raise her children in much the same fashion she and her siblings had been, and pass her father's teachings on to them.

Even better, she mused with a smile, Fenris was with her.

As if summoned by her thoughts, his long hands smoothed down her sides and encircled her waist, drawing her back against the heat of his body. "Why aren't you in bed?" he murmured against her ear.

Phaedra stretched and looped her arms around his neck, threading her fingers into his hair. "I was just thinking about the others, and our children."

"Shouldn't you be more concerned with your husband?"

She smiled. Their union would never be recognized by the Chantry, because Merril had been talked into marrying them in the Dalish tradition, or at least as close to it as could be managed on a rocking ship. Aside from the vows, one of the only wedding rituals they had been able to perform had been the firing of the marriage bow; Phaedra had held the bow steady, and Fenris had drawn back the string so they released the arrow together, sending it in a soaring arc high above the waves. Merril said it was good fortune for the missile to have flown so far. Her prediction had yet to be proven untrue.

"I kept you warm until you fell asleep. What more do you want?" she asked, relaxing against him with a languid sigh.

"That you allow me to return the favor. Come back to bed, Phaedra."

"Can we keep you and Mother warm, too?" came an unexpected query from the children's room.

"How long have you all been awake?" Fenris asked with a frown.

"Since this morning," Leda replied, giggling.

"You stayed up talking again, didn't you?" Phaedra shook her head in disbelief. Sometimes she was convinced that her children were nocturnal.

"No, Mommy. We played." Malcolm squealed as one of his sisters gave him a pinch.

"Can we sleep with you and Mother, Father? Please?" the twins asked in concert.

Phaedra couldn't help feeling smug as the tables were turned. She had never been able to deny her husband anything, and now he was in a similar position with their children. She mouthed the words along with him as he begrudgingly gave his permission.

They hurried back to their room as the twins let out delighted shrieks and began urging their brother out of bed, slipping beneath the covers after Phaedra doffed her robe. Soon enough the children came pelting down the hall, the girls eagerly shucking their nightclothes and tugging Malcolm out of his.

"You know the rule," Rai'eena admonished him when he protested the night's chill. "You have to be naked in order to sleep in the big bed!"

Phaedra and Fenris shared secret smile at their daughter's words. The girls had caught them in the aftermath of making love once, and when they had asked about their parents' nudity, their father had blurted out what quickly became an accepted family rule.

Fenris pulled his wife across the bed and wrapped his arms about her as the children bounced onto the tick, a necessary precaution against kicking feet. The first few times they had done this, they had kept the children between them. Phaedra had offered to sleep in the middle after being awakened by her husband's sharp inhales and quiet growls of masculine pain.

Their offspring didn't seem to care one way or the other, as long as they could sleep with them. They slid beneath the covers eagerly, jostling and tickling until Phaedra finally ordered them to sleep, her command laced with a thread of magical suggestion.

Shortly thereafter, the children were lost to the Fade. Satisfied, she turned to face her husband and wrapped her arms around him, happy to note that he was smiling.

"Funny how your opinion of magic's use changed after we had children," she teased, knowing her eyes were dancing.

"I value my sleep enough to put some of my aversion aside. Besides, if you weren't such a gifted healer, the twins would have made me completely incapable of giving you Malcolm."

She sighed and nestled close to him, mindful of their son against her back. It was good that he didn't mind her barren womb, although she would have loved to give him a house full of children. His fingers raked softly through her long hair, making her groan quietly. "Fenris, the children."

"They're asleep, and the rest of the house is empty," he replied, his voice pitched deep. "Shall we continue this in another room?"

She was his drug; he had long since admited that he could never get enough of her touch and his hands upon her skin. Phaedra was more than happy to feed his addiction. "Do you think they would mind if we borrowed their room for awhile?"

Fenris laid a kiss against her mouth, a simple caress of his lips. "I think they wouldn't care unless you somehow woke them." Another kiss was given, and he rolled his hips against hers, letting her feel his hardening length. "The question is, can you remain silent?"

Phaedra returned his kiss with urgent hunger, tracing her fingers along the lyrium-gilded line of his spine so he growled low in his chest. "You're on."

Quickly, Fenris rolled out of bed and swept his smirking wife into his arms. She had to stifle her laughter as he practically ran down the hall to the children's room, his jade eyes dark with need.

Maybe she wasn't the Champion of Kirkwall anymore. Maybe half of Thedas would turn her in to the Chantry if they ever caught her. but at least she had a new family with the man she loved, who had made it quite clear he did not blame her for what had been lost.

She smiled and opened her arms to him as he laid her on the twins' bed, wrapping herself around his body while he began to claim her anew.