I would have you smile again

Faramir cringed as they walked towards the garden. Èowyn put her hand on his arm.

"What were you thinking? You were nearly killed and alive burned. Why aren't you lying down and resting?" she asked.

He chuckled, put a hand to his side. "Perhaps, you're right. I suppose I got a bit eager."

She shook her head. "Here, give me your hand."

Their hands met and she helped him maintain his balance. She started to head back towards the halls, but he pulled her back.

"No, I'm alright. You needn't worry." Faramir said.

She raised an eyebrow buy he insisted. "I'm alright. Truly."

With a sigh, she let go of his hand and walked into the garden ahead of him. He put a hand to his side and quietly hissed from the pain. An arrow had struck his side and the pain increased whenever he moved.

Yet, he did not let the pain stop him. Not now. His eyes looked up and were entranced by the wheat-like color of Èowyn's hair. Her face was light but he saw small evidence of freckles on her nose.

He stared at her until he realized she was talking to him.

"What?" he asked, suddenly.

"Well, are you coming? You've left me standing here and I cannot hope to go on without a proper escort." Èowyn replied.

He inhaled deeply and stepped towards her, trying to ignore the pain in his side. She took his offered arm and they continued on together.

The garden itself wasn't much. Much of it was covered in bits of rubble from the battle.

"Men appears to have shown their greatness. Sauron sees that we are not as weak as he thought." Èowyn said as she bent down to pick of a trampled rose.

Faramir stared at the rose in her hand. "We are not perfect, however."

"Indeed. We all have flaws. Even the elves."

They shared an amused smile as she continued staring at the rose.

"I should've joined the host that left for Mordor. I feel as if I have not done as much as I could for my people." Èowyn sighed.

"You fought for this city. That's something." Faramir commented.

She smiled but it quickly faded away. "I have many regrets. I could save a city but not my own uncle."

Faramir lowered his eyes and couldn't think of any words of comfort. It was never his greatest skill. He took the trampled rose from Èowyn and stared at it.

He side-smiled. "This small thing survived a great battle."

Èowyn smiled. "It did. Still got a bit trampled. Most of its petals have fallen."

"I'll bet, before this great war, it started out as the most beautiful rose in the garden when it bloomed. Now, after all this chaos, it is bent and would seem to have lost most of its beauty and purpose."

He placed it back in her hands and wrapped his own hands around hers, holding the rose's stem.

"But, it takes ones person, to see that the rose's beauty has not yet ceased to be. It has not vanished. It still has a purpose." Faramir said, quietly.

His eyes slowly went from the rose to Èowyn's eyes. She looked up at him as he spoke, not wanting to break the eye contact. She let the rose fall to the ground and slowly wrapped her arms around Faramir's waist. Before he could return the hug, his side began to sting once more.

He groaned aloud and Eowyn pulled away. "I'm sorry! What's the matter?"

Faramir shook his head. "Nothing. It's nothing."

She frowned, not believing him. She noticed him place his hand on his side and grimaced. "You're hurt, aren't you?"

"It's nothing."

Her hand shot to his side and moved his hand away to reveal blood. The injury wasn't bleeding much, but Eowyn knew it had to be cleaned and properly bandaged again. She took his hand, which was covered in blood, and led him through the garden, back inside.

"It's really nothing." Faramir insisted.

"Don't talk. That arrow was buried into you, so any movement could be harmful. Why did I let you do this?" Eowyn groaned.

Faramir had his wound cleaned and bandaged once more. He was ordered to remain in bed until further notice. Staring at the ceiling, he sighed. Although he hated to be lying in a bed all day, the small moment he had with Eowyn was worth it. He smiled to himself and hummed a small song to himself.

"Feeling any better?"

He turned his head and saw Eowyn come into the room. "Much better, thank you."

She sat down by his bed and shook her head. "Why didn't you just rest? Was that small trip to the garden really worth it?"

Her lips stretched into a smile. Her mouth opened revealing her teeth, and Faramir admired them. She had the most innocent and beautiful smile.

"It was worth every second." Faramir replied, softly.

Eowyn's smile slowly faded, and she stared at him. His hand reached out and held hers. She did not pull away. She didn't want to. He gave hers a squeeze and she felt her cheeks warm up.

"Eowyn..." he breathed.

"Yes?"

He pondered on his words before speaking. "Would you stay with me? Here?"

"Do you fear being alone?"

"Yes. But, I mostly fear it because if I'm alone...that means you're not there with me."

Eowyn lowered her eyes and held back a smile. She raised them back to his and nodded. "I will."

"Forever?"

She paused and squeezed his hand. "Yes."

A/N: So, I got some feedback on the first chapter, and it appears that most people liked it! Don't hesitate to send more feedback. FYI, let me apologize in advance if the grammar in this isn't very good. I use the Notes app to write my stories and then I email them to myself. And, spell check on that app is a pain. Just letting you know...So, I will be continuing to update this story and I hope it meets your liking. However, I believe and I am sad to say, this will be my last update...at least until the holidays are over! I don't own a computer (presently) and I've been using computers at my college to update. With the holidays coming along, I won't be able to update since school won't be in session and such. I tried to make this one a bit long, so sorry if it's not. I tried! Also, I'll be able to read reviews and see who follows this story. So, you know, don't hesitate to do either ;)

Anywho, I hope this chapter was enough to give you an idea of what'll happen in the next one! Sorry if it was a bit fluffy, but I think these two deserve a little fluff. Thanks for reading and Happy Christmas! :D AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! ^-^