Missing and extended scenes of Wheel of Time - TV series

2x02 (Story A - What now?) Part 1 - Argument

Moiraine and Lan awake in the morning but have to deal with the aftermath of their injuries and the poison. The Cairhien woman continues to push her Warder away, though it gets harder, and they both use words they don't mean.

Quote: "You sure you don't need more healing?" (Adeleas)

When Moiraine awoke in the morning, she immediately noticed the warm body beside her and Lan's scent surrounding her. Smiling, she snuggled closer against him. Her Warder was still asleep, yet he reacted to her movement. His arm – which he had wrapped protectively around her – tightened its grip and pulled her closer. Moiraine could have laid like this forever.

Usually, she was an early bird – leaving bed as soon as she was thinking – but today, her body felt heavy and ached, and she had no desire to get up. Lan's embrace filled her with love. Although she always acted like she didn't need any help and could do everything on her own, the Aes Sedai secretly loved Lan's protective behavior.

His strong arms always had the right pressure, and she loved the little kisses Lan pressed against her temple or hair when no one was watching. All those little things warmed her like nothing else in the world. Well, except for Siuan's kisses and when she touched her. Those were incredible, too, and the Cairhien woman never wanted to miss them. Siuan made her body ache with one simple...

Moiraine took a deep breath to fill her nose with Lan's scent. It wasn't a good idea to think about her lover and her talented fingers. It only made her body tingle and left her longing, and she didn't want Lan to wake up to that. The poor man didn't deserve that.

No, the Cairhien woman enjoyed lying there with the Malkieri, listening to his calm breathing. They rarely had many peaceful moments in their life and had learned to cherish them whenever they happened. Way too soon, they would be back on their horses, continuing with their mission. There was never enough time to breathe.

But sometimes, the two of them allowed themselves to sleep in. It wasn't much but a small luxury they both needed – especially when they shared the same bed.

Moiraine smiled when she remembered how shocked she had been the first time she had found Lan in her bed. It hadn't been on purpose. The night before, they had fought against a small group of Whitecloaks and barely escaped them. They had found a little tavern in a small village, but Lan had been too worried to sleep. He had insisted on staying awake, protecting her from any possible danger coming through the door of their room.

The Aes Sedai remembered her Warder sitting down beside her, his eyes never leaving the door, and he hadn't touched her at all. But when she awoke in the morning, Lan had fallen asleep – the poor man had been exhausted after the fight with their enemies – and their bodies had automatically searched for each other in their sleep.

After realizing what had happened, Moiraine had thrown Lan out of the room in shock. He had apologized a thousand times, but the Aes Sedai had been too shocked to accept it. The funny thing was, she hadn't been angry about Lan's action. It had been her body's reaction that shocked her the most. Before that night, the Cairhien woman had never shared the bed with a man – not in a romantic nor platonic way – and she never had longed for that experience. Yet, her hands had grabbed Lan's tunic like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.

I was such a fool.

Moiraine had needed two hours of feeling Lan's guilt over his inappropriate behavior before she let him back into the room, apologizing for her overreaction. Yet, the Malkieri had still believed that it had been his fault and not hers and vowed never to touch her again without asking.

The following months had been strange because the Warder always ensured that there was a certain distance between them. It got better after a cold winter night, which they had spent in a barn with no fire to warm them. The blankets hadn't been enough to keep them warm, so Moiraine had moved to Lan's shivering form and proposed an arrangement to survive the night. Since then, the ice had been broken, and whenever one of them needed the close contact, they communicated through the bond.