1. Darkly Dreaming is a wicked woman who continually challenges and pushes me into writing stories.
2. I freely admit to having an obsession with the Lord of the Rings.
3. Especially Elrond.
4. When I left this fandom months ago, I was certain I had nothing left to write about. It appears that I was wrong.
5. Not about Elrond, though. He's one damn fine elf.
She sat in the corner of the room, deep in the shadows. She watched the four of them huddle around a table. Two were stupid, drawing attention to themselves as they sang and drank. One was afraid, his eyes darting around the room as if waiting for someone to attack him. The fourth one was ogling every female in the bar. She smoked her pipe and waited. She wasn't ready to make herself known yet. She would wait until they retired to their room. She didn't need an audience when she spoke with them.
She cringed as the scared one suddenly vanished. Great! What ignorant creatures these Hobbits were! She stood and the crowd seemed to just part for her. They knew her reputation here. No man in this dark pub was foolish enough to test her. She jerked the Hobbit to his feet as soon as he reappeared and pulled him swiftly up the stairs. She ignored his struggles and cries of alarm as she threw him into a small room.
"I'm not sure whether you are stupid or just incredibly unlucky," she growled harshly, "but when a wizard tells you to remain out of sight, he doesn't mean for you to literally vanish in front of fifty drunken ruffians. I know what you carry, and more importantly, I know who hunts for it."
She heard rapid footsteps and placed her back to the wall, drawing her sword. The door burst open and the three other Hobbits rushed in brandishing dinner knives and a candlestick. She grabbed the collar of the nearest one, ignoring their demands and threats. She shoved the three to their friend and shut the door quickly.
"Give me your names," she hissed.
"Give us yours first," demanded the nearest one.
"I am Pendel," she said calmly. "A ranger from the North."
All four looked at her with stunned expressions. "I am Raj Baggins," said the one with the ring. "These are my kinsmen, Howard Took, Bernie Brandybuck, and Leonard Gamgee. We are friends of the Gray Wizard. He sent us here."
Pendel shook her head. "The Gray One is a week late. It is no longer safe to stay here. You are hunted and we leave tonight."
She let them rest for an hour before secreting them out of Bree. The terrain was rough and the sun hot, but she kept them moving. She ignored whining from Gamgee, complaints from Brandybuck and flirting from Took. Baggins was surprisingly quiet and at times, she had to look back to make sure he was even still there. She drove them all day long, making camp only when it was too dark to continue safely.
After a week of travel they reached a high plateau. She left them to make camp while she scouted around. She was on her way back when she heard screams. She drew her weapons and raced through the trees. She burst into the clearing and found five wraiths surrounding the halflings.
It was a short but intense skirmish. When the last creature disappeared back into the dark she checked on the others. Minor scratches and bruising for the first three, but Raj had not been so lucky. A wraith had stabbed him in the shoulder. She knew she had to get him to a healer quick or he would be lost forever.
She bundled him tightly and rushed the Hobbits onto the road. "Quickly," she shouted. "Only elvish magic can save him now!"
The moon was fading when they finally paused to catch their breath. She sent Gamgee to look for some herbs to the west while she searched east. She was desperate to slow the poison in the wound, hoping to buy enough time to reach Rivendale.
As a ranger, she was always on guard. Her only excuse was that her worry for Raj had her distracted. She stiffened as a blade pressed to the side of her neck.
"What's this? A ranger without sword drawn?"
Pendel spun, knowing that voice. "Sheldor! Am I ever glad to see you!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck.
His own arms, like corded steel, wrapped around her tightly. His sapphire eyes twinkled down at her from under long locks the color of fresh-turned earth. His hands caressed her back as he dipped his head and captured her lips. All thought left her mind. Love and excitement bubbled up inside her as she gave herself over to him. Sheldon explored her mouth with his tongue and her body with his hands.
Faintly she heard someone calling her name, but she tried to ignore it. She tried to stay focused on Sheldor, but the voice grew louder. She cried out as he faded away, leaving her cold and alone.
"Penny?"
She cringed away from the intruding voice, but it didn't stop.
"Penny?"
She shot up straight and looked around the room with confusion. Raj was on her left and Sheldon was on her right. Howard and Bernadette were on the floor and Leonard and Amy were sitting on chairs.
Sheldon was watching her warily, knowing how unpredictable his neighbor could be when woken up. "Penny, you were moaning in your sleep. Although, how you could fall asleep during The Fellowship Of The Ring is a mystery to me."
Penny stared at him for a moment before blushing deeply and jumping up from the couch. She gave a mumbled apology and hurriedly left 4A, entered her own home and leaned heavily against the door. "Dammit," she whispered as she ran a hand down her face. Ever since she and Sheldon had shared a spaghetti and hot dog dinner, she had felt a growing attraction to her tall, neurotic neighbor.
This wasn't exactly new, either. She had felt this when she first met him, but quickly shoved it away once he opened his mouth about his spot. Now it was back and stronger than ever. She was afraid that she was going to have to cut ties with the guys for a while. At least until she worked this out of her system. Loving Sheldon wouldn't just devastate Leonard and Amy. It would end their friendship.
Knock. Knock. Knock. "Penny?"
Knock. Knock. Knock. "Penny?"
Knock. Knock. Knock. "Penny?"
She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from answering. With her libido jumping up and down at the sound of his voice, she knew it wasn't a good idea to open the door. She would likely do something that she would regret. Like break him.
"Penny, I can hear you breathing," he pointed out.
She held her breath.
"Now you're just being childish," he said crossly. "Please open the door, Penny. Explain to me why you were whispering my name while you slept."
She gasped and spun to throw open the door. "What?!"
He stepped around her and closed the door quietly. He stared down at her for a moment before speaking softly. "Two weeks ago I walked into the laundry room, positive you would be along shortly. Instead, I did my laundry alone for the first time in over a year. The next day, Leonard and I ran into you on our way home from paintball. You rushed past us with only a mumbled greeting. For the last three Tuesdays you have stood by Raj's chair while taking our order, as opposed to all the other Tuesdays when you would stand beside me."
Penny opened her mouth but he held up a hand to silence her. "You have been absent from two Halo nights, and you did not join me for Anything Can Happen Thursday for the first time since it's inception. It took both Amy and Bernadette to convince you to come over tonight.
Penny, I have spent the last week reviewing everything from the last month of our friendship to determine why you have begun to withdraw from the group in general, and me in particular. Tonight I think I may have figured it out, but I need to test my hypothesis."
She looked up at him with confusion. "What hypothesis? And how can you test..."
Sheldon cut off her words when he bent and pressed his lips to hers lightly. She moaned as he pulled away. He studied her flushed skin and dilated eyes carefully. He was correct. She was attracted to him. He could barely contain his hope. He reached out and cupped her nape, drawing her to him.
It took little effort to bring her to him. Gently he kissed her again, his arms wrapping around her instinctively. How often had he dreamed of this? From the moment he had met her, he had been attracted to Penny. He had ignored it out of friendship for Leonard. However, Leonard had had his chance to be with Penny, to be loved by Penny. Now Sheldon wanted his chance. He felt her arms wrap around his neck and as they gave in to the desire between them.
When they finally separated they were both breathless. Sheldon pressed his forehead to hers gently. "I am right, aren't I? You care for me as I care for you."
Penny stared to nod, but instead pulled back to look up at him. "What about Amy and Leonard?" she asked softly.
He had asked himself the same question several times. His expression became firm. "If they are truly our friends, they will want us to be happy."
"And if they don't?" she questioned.
"Then they were never really our friends," he whispered into her hair.
The next few weeks were strained. Sheldon was right. After a lot of anger and hurt feelings, Leonard and Amy came around. They loved Penny and Sheldon enough to want them to be happy. Leonard met a girl at Stuart's shop who liked comic books. Within three months they were living together. Amy ran into Zack at the grocery store and had the courage to ask him out. He said yes, and before long they were practically inseparable.
Dating Sheldon was a whole new experience for Penny. He set up a timetable for them, since she refused to sign a contract. Every Sunday was date night, along with every Anything Can Happen Thursday. He laid out a plan to work towards acclimating him to coitus. Penny agreed to follow it on one condition. He could never again refer to it as 'coitus'. Sheldon settled for 'sexual congress' instead.
They still argued. They still pranked one another. She still touched his food and he still made her get out of his spot. But they also knew they could always depend on one another. On their one year anniversary Penny finally told him about the dream she had. The next day he woke her with a passionate kiss and a brand new copy of The Two Towers.