"But we have made it. And I want Bartrand's heart."

“I can’t say anything against that except save me a piece,” Anders says to Talia darkly. 

“Do you think he’s still in the city? Would we be so lucky?”

"I don't know. But I expect someone will know where he is."

“I’ll start putting out feelers, see what we can catch. You’ll want to see your families?”

That brings a soft smile to Anders’ face. He does want to see his family, he’s missed them terribly. Even Lirene. And maybe now that he’s back, he can find Karl and bring him home too. 

"Yeah. Mama and the twins are probably out of their minds. C'mon, Tal."

And the Hawke twins split off in the direction of their house.

Anders waves as they go. “This is me, coming up,” he says to Varric, nodding at the stairs to Darktown. 

“All right, Blondie. Thanks for all your help, I think we’d still be stuck down there if it wasn’t for your darkspawn sensing.”

“I’m glad my Warden training was useful,” Anders chuckles. “See you around, Varric.”

“No doubt,” says the dwarf, and he heads for the Hanged Man, a few streets over. 

Anders heads down, his smile growing as he gets closer to the clinic. He’s missed them, even missed Darktown. He gives a friendly smile to every person he passes. 

And then he can see the clinic.

Raeli is sat outside, fletching arrows.

Raeli, there, in front of his clinic. His heart swells. Karl is home, he must be! 

“Raeli!” He calls, waving. 

She looks up, and it's the look of someone who thinks she's hearing things. Then she spots Anders and the arrow in her hands falls from numb fingers. "Anders?!"

“The very same!” He calls back, grinning. That’s a nice welcome home, though she looks more shocked than happy. 

"We thought you were dead," Raeli says, tone sharp.

“You thought I was-“

Bartrand. 

“I bet you heard that from Varric’s brother, Bartrand. He came through the city?”

"'Through' might be an exaggeration of what he did."

“Rae?! I heard shouting are you-“ Karl comes out of the clinic, brow furrowed in worry for his friend, but his words (and nearly his heart) stops, the second he sees Anders. 

“No. No, you’re not real. I’m in the Fade, or...”

“It’s me, I swear it is. Bartrand locked us in the thaig, sorry, dwarven city, but we found a way around. It’s me, love, I’m here,” Anders says, holding his arms open. 

He wants to step into his arms, to hold Anders and breathe him in, but he can’t believe he’s truly there. 

“This is a demon, right Def? Rae?”

"Not as far as I can tell..." Defiance says.

Cia appears behind Karl. "Why are we all-"

Ey stops, breath catching, staring at Anders.

“Cia!” Anders says, and tears do start to form in his eyes. “Hey. I promise I’m not dead, I’m here. Varric, the twins and I only just got back into the city.”