She picked up her sword and belt from the ground and hurried away. She didn't care if she still smelled like a campfire, she wasn't staying there to clean her face and hair now that the prince had just gotten an eyeful of her naked midriff.

The company ate quickly and followed behind Gandalf and Gimli towards the mines. Nicole was quiet, mostly out of embarrassment, and followed closely behind Gimli. She picked her way across the barren landscape. To Nicole it seemed like the site of nuclear fallout. There were no plants or trees living in their path. They had left the last few scraggily bushes behind them miles before they encountered the dammed waters of the Sirannon. Near the end of the day their path reached a slimy stream. Nicole stopped at its edge and wrinkled her nose in disgust. In morbid fascination she lifted a twig that was half in the water under her nose to sniff at it. 'Ugg!.' She let it fall with a plop, back into the green water. The others seemed not to notice her and traipsed across.

She wondered if their noses had stopped working. There were few smells that made her queasy. This apparently was one of them. She was usually pretty easy going but this was in the red of her gross-o-meter.

"I am not putting my feet in that nasty water!" she proclaimed, standing upright and crossing her arms, It smells like something died in it."

Boromir laughed from where he stood ankle deep in the weedy water, "Finally Nicole! You are behaving more like a normal woman."

"Yes well… women have more sense than men about these types of things" she answered sharply, still frowning at the water. She wouldn't be surprised if it was a cesspool of infectious organisms.

"I don't like it neither Miss Nicole" said Sam from the other side where he was shaking his feet to dry them. "But how do you suppose you'll be crossing?"

She cast her eyes about her for a long branch to use as a pole-vault over the wide stagnant stream, but there were none to be had in this barren land. She looked between Boromir and Legolas who were closest to her.

"Someone's going to carry me." She stated imperiously, looking expectantly at Boromir. He glanced over at the prince who stood beside her and nodded to him before turning his back and continuing on his way.

"Traitor" she muttered under her breath. She took a step forward to cross, dreading the smell that she knew would cling to her feet. Just before her foot touched the water both her legs were snatched out from beneath her at the knee.

"Eep!"

Legolas had scooped her up and was already crossing lightly over the tops of the stones jutting from the water. She looped an arm around his neck like a vice. "What do you think you are doing?" she demanded.

He smiled as he took another sure-footed step. "Carrying you as you asked my lady."

"But I didn't ask you." She argued.

He raised an eyebrow. "beggars cannot be choosers… and don't distract me or I might drop you."

Nicole narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't dare."

He laughed. She had heard his laugh many times, but up close it gained a new quality. The low notes of the musical sound amplified where their bodies touched and echoed through her. He set her onto her feet without preamble on the other side of the stream. "Now both of us have dry feet," he said cheerfully. She stared at his mischievous smile for a few shocked moments of silence before mumbling a quick thanks at the ground and moving hastily away. The remaining distance to the doors she stayed as far as she could from the water so that her fingers trailed along the cliff face.

She couldn't help but glance back at Legolas a few times. 'What just happened? He wasn't flirting surely…' Her mind went back over the past few days. His behavior was back as it was when they were in Rivendell. 'Get a grip girl, you're just over-analyzing the situation.' She shook her head, but a feeling of uneasiness remained. There were more important things to worry about, specifically the creepy monster she knew was lurking somewhere in the black lake.

Some time later, Gandalf had worn himself out guessing and sat frustrated on the ground pondering the doors in the cliff face. Nicole moved to stand close to him in the dim light of dusk. "Do you want to keep guessing?" she asked solemnly. "Or do you want me to tell you how to get inside?"

He looked up at her in surprise. "You know the password?" She crouched beside him. "Gandalf…really. You know what I told you back in Rivendell. You can get to the answer yourself, but I would really like to get away from that," she jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the lake. "Because I know what's in there. Though Moria isn't much better in the monster department."

"You can stop there Nicole." He said laughing "It's never good to know too much about your path, especially if it leads into great peril. You might choose wrongly when all that was needed was a bit of courage and wit."

"Well if that were true I wouldn't be here," she said with raised brows. "but I'll respect your wishes this time. You are far older than me after all."

Gandalf chuckled, "Thank You Nicole, for your faith in me,"

She shrugged with a small smile, "I've had faith in less reliable people before," She turned to look over at Pippin to make sure he wasn't getting into trouble. "It's not much of a password anyway." She said in parting to the wizard as she began walking towards the young hobbit. She frowned. He was too near the water's edge. She knew he liked to throw things just for fun, which would be a really bad idea right now. "Oy Pippin, I need to talk to you." She said as she approached.

"What? I didn't do anything" he said mulishly.

She fought a smile. 'Someone has a guilty conscience.' "I don't want you getting any closer to the water" She stopped close to the hobbit "In fact if you could stay back there, I'd really appreciate it." She pointed at the cliff that towered above them. As she turned to look where she pointed she saw Boromir stoop and pick up a rock. He wound up his arm as if to throw.

"Boromir don't!" Panic filled her and she acted without thinking. The elleth sprinted towards him and leapt the last few steps to cling to his back. She clambered up him like a monkey all the while grabbing at his arm that held the stone. It was quite the comical picture really. She'd gotten high enough to throw one leg over his shoulder. The burly man twisted his surprised face around to look up at her. He let his arm fall and the stone drop to the ground. Unfortunately, it was of the round variety and rolled down the slope to gently plop into the black foreboding water, sending ripples out from the edge.

"Nicole… What on earth…" came his surprised mumble.

"WHY did you do that?" She hissed down at him. "Now the giant squid knows where we are." She angrily swung her other leg over his head, deliberately clipping him with her heel on the way over. She dropped to her feet. "Everyone get away from the water unless you want the squid to get you." She called, waving at Legolas and the hobbits, who blinked at her owlishly.

"The what?" said Pippin. Looking up at her from where he still stood a few feet from the water's edge.

"The squid, you know." She waved her arms frantically above her head and wiggled her fingers. "A giant tentacled monster that likes the taste of hobbits and dwarves."

Pippin's eyes grew wide in his head and he scampered away from the water. Nicole nodded once and tugged on Boromir's muscular arm. "Come on Babe Ruth, let's keep our back against the wall till Gandalf gets the password.

As she said the words, Gandalf let out a laugh. The doors began to swing open slowly. She released Boromir to run up to Bill

"Get out of here Bill!" she whispered furiously to the pony, whose ear swiveled towards her voice. She smacked him on the flank. With a knicker of displeasure, he took off down the rocky shoal at a canter.

"Nicole why'd you—" Sam cried as he jumped forward to chase after the pony.

"He'll be fine Sam," she interrupted hastily, grabbing his arm to stop him. "Stay close to Frodo. Come on." She spun them around and hurried at a fast walk towards the ring bearer. Sam had to jog to keep up with her long legs. He kept looking back to Bill's quickly retreating form with tears gathering in his brown eyes.

She saw Gandalf move into the darkness of the open doors. "Go, go!" she waved at the rest of the group. Of all them, Pippin was the quickest to follow her advice. She must have really scared him. They were nearly to the door when She heard dripping water and a swish. She turned to look over her shoulder, but before she could see what had made the noise, felt a painful blow connect to her right side. It took her clean off her feet and into the hard trunk of one of the sentinel holly trees that stood over the open doors. She slid down it and hissed when she caught herself on a bandaged forearm.

Then the smell hit her and she pressed a hand over her mouth. 'What is that god awful stench? Its worse than a gi-bleed and cdiff put togeth—' She didn't finish the thought as something tightened around her thigh lightning fast and yanked her hard along the uneven ground. She was too surprised to scream. But, oh! The smell. She looked down… or rather up, because now she was dangling upside down. Her face gained a green tinge. She hated slimy things and creepy crawlies. This was both. She finally found her voice, though it may have been a tad screechy.

"Oh my God! Get me down. It likes the taste of elves too!" She tried to reach her knife but it was trapped beneath the squeezing appendage. She pulled her sword free instead. She knew she needed to start cutting, but that was easier said than done. The creature wasn't exactly holding her still. 'watch me accidentally cut off my own leg.' She thought in a panic. At that exact moment Sam slashed at the tentacle holding Frodo and it released him, but it also shook Nicole like a baby rattle. Her sword dropped from her hand to clatter on the ground. With nothing else left she reached up and clawed at the thing with her nails. Desperation was filling her quickly. This was one of the worst ways she could die.

An arrow embedded itself into the hideous arm just a foot from her leg. It shook her again. She heard a scrape of metal and then she was falling. The world blurred out of focus and her vision grayed at the edges.

"Get inside! Hurry!" Came Gandalf's voice. Nicole felt like she was floating. The world went black and a tearing sound unlike anything she'd heard thundered and echoed all around. Her ears were ringing. She laid limp, stunned, and unable to see anything. Arms tightened around her and lips moved against her ear, "Nicole open your eyes, please!" it begged.

"Mmmf, Legolas get your mouth off my ear" she muttered weakly from where she laid in his arms. This position was happening way too often for comfort. She opened her eyes. A weak glow emanated from Gandalf's staff, etching the worry on the hobbit's faces in shadow.

A relieved laugh escaped Legolas. He leaned back to examine her face.

"Legolas sit still. It makes me dizzy when you sway like that." She glanced over at the hobbits with a squint. "Hey I thought there were only four of you."

'Why are they looking at me like that?'

Her brain was still foggy. She moved to sit up and winced when her leg throbbed and tingled like it had been asleep. She looked down to see her upper leg and the bottom part of her long tunic were dark with water. She still felt like her head was spinning. Her hand flew to her mouth.

"Let me go, I'm gonna—" She scrabbled off him just in time to heave the contents of her stomach onto the dusty stone floor. When she finished a pale hand held out a water skin to her. She splashed some onto her face and then took a long drink. "Sorry" she gasped out miserably, still bent forward on all fours. "Oooh, that was horrible. I'm never gonna eat calamari again." Though the creature was nowhere in sight, she still smelled a faint trace of it on her clothes. Her stomach roiled. 'No, no. Think happy thoughts Nicole.'

Aragorn's voice washed over her. "Are you injured?"

She shook her head and then moaned at the wave of nausea that swept through her at the motion. She took a slow breath "I think you'll need to rebandage my arms… just a bruise on my leg... Nothing feels broken." She wiggled her toes experimentally. Yep, she could feel all of them. She pushed herself slowly back so she was sitting on her rump and poked at her thigh where the thing had held her. It was sore. She'd probably be black and blue under her pants.

"Nicole" Legolas knelt beside her. "Here." He held out her sword. She took it gratefully. "Thanks for grabbing it. "What happened out there? I kind of blacked out after it shook me the second time."

A look she was becoming familiar wrinkled his brow and shadowed his eyes. 'Guilt' Nicole waited patiently for him to speak.

"It grabbed you so fast, before I could…" he shook his head looking down.

"Hey" she laid a hand on his cheek. "You saved me right? I saw the arrow." She gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine"

He looked up to meet her eyes. She wanted to erase the sadness there.

"It would have spit me back out."

He blinked, "What?"

She smiled, "I'm sure I'd taste bad. I'd be sure to give it indigestion in any case. I still had my dagger. I'd cut myself out if I had too."

He took the hand still resting against his cheek and turned it over to look at it. Instead of laughing at her joke he stared at her hand. "I doubt that very much."

"Doubt what? That I taste bad?" she said with a laugh.

"Yes" He said absently as he brushed his thumb across the back of her hand.

She should have tugged her hand free, but she was frozen. "ah… what.. I'm sorry I think I misunderstood something-" she began. She knew he didn't mean what her mind was conjuring up.

He pressed his lips against her knuckles. It was a simple gesture of affection and gallantry… and she'd seen it done lots of times around here, but the melting heat that spread through her was most definitely not innocent. ' Her face flushed.

She jumped up, ignoring the pain the motion sent through her leg and up her side. "Alright then!" she said in a too high pitched voice. "I'm just going to... my side hurts so... I'll just..." she took a few steps backwards. "... see Aragorn... and he's going to, uh, help me."

Legolas blinked up at her. Surprise and amusement on his face in equal measure. He stood slowly. "Yes, you'd better." he agreed softly.

She scurried over to Aragorn. 'What is wrong with you!' she yelled at herself internally. 'Why don't you just swoon next time and skip the part where you blather like an idiot!'

She gathered her wits somewhat as they climbed the rest of the steps. The group rested up at the top of the high staircase where Aragorn replaced her bandages. He shook his head at her. "You broke some of the blisters, but it could be worse. How's your leg. I should probably have a look."

"Its fine."

He looked doubtful, "If you are sure."

She rolled her eyes, knowing he couldn't see the expression in the minimal light from Gandalf's staff. "Yes Aragorn I'm sure. I am not taking off my pants. I can walk on it, so its fine."

He laughed. "Alright I see your point. Though if I was a female healer, I think you'd change your mind."

"If you were a female healer I think a lot of women would cry themselves to sleep at night." she retorted automatically.

He blinked at her and then understanding lit his face. He blushed and Nicole gave a chagrinned laugh. She hadn't really meant for him to hear that. Her brain to mouth filter must have been scrambled by her ride with Squidward's evil doppelganger. Plus from… She rubbed the knuckles on her hand absently... She looked back at Aragorn where he quickly packed away his healing supplies, still smiling to himself. It was a rare moment when she caught the ranger off guard. He was always so proper and aloof.

After a brief rest they continued on into the dark. Nicole took a sip of the miruvor when it was offered this time. Despite her joking around with Aragorn, she still felt a bit queasy and couldn't quite get the fine tremors in her hands to stop. The drink did the trick and she was glad Elrond had the foresight to send it along. She felt so much better, in fact, that she hummed quietly to herself as she walked.

"It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark. Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart."

She loved Thriller. It was a bit morbid to sing it after she'd almost been a snack for an evil sea creature, but it amused her and kept her from thinking about things... or people that confused her. She made sure to sing it in English out of respect for her companions. It wasn't quite as funny to sing about monsters when they actually were lurking in the dark. Plus, she didn't want the fellowship to question her sanity. They already thought she was strange. The darkness felt oppressive to her, and the quiet songs and humming brought her a semblance of normalcy, or what passed as normal in the past few months.

They stopped at a set of three arches. Nicole recalled this part of the book, but not the direction they ended up picking. When Gandalf sent her a questioning look, she shook her head with a shrug. He heaved a sigh.

"I have no memory of this place at all!" He said in irritation. Nicole looked around them into the gloom for where she knew they would rest, but couldn't see much on either side. The pale light of Gandalf's staff was not sufficient to penetrate very far into the dark. When it became apparent that no decision would be made any time soon the company began searching too. They discovered a door to one side of the three arches. Nicole moved cautiously at the front of the group and pushed the door open. Merry and Pippin crowded close behind. She glanced down just in time to see Pippin slip around her and take a few hurried steps forward. She hooked the back of his collar with a finger.

"Hold up," she said in amusement. "I can't see what's in there, so I know you can't"

"My thoughts exactly," said Gandalf as he walked up behind them and held his staff aloft.

"Look there" said Aragorn, Pointing to a large ominous hole in the floor.

"Well that's not safe at all" muttered Nicole. "Where's the railing?"

The ranger shook his head. "Pippin, you may have fallen in and still be wondering when you would hit the bottom."

"That's a bit morbid." Replied Nicole as she tugged Pippin back and then edged forward to look down into the dark hole. "It's a well right?" Warm air blew up and lifted the small wisps of hair that had escaped her braid.

"That's what it looks like." said Gimli from beside her.

"I think we should cover it," she said after a few moments of staring into the dark hole.

"Why?" said Aragorn. She could hear the others scuffling about the room and the rustling of them setting their things on the ground.

"To remove the temptation," she glanced behind her where Pippin was again moving closer to the well. She wondered briefly if the storyline here was like Final Destination. If she stopped Pippin from messing with the well, would the hammers tap signals in the dark anyway? She supposed she would find out if she could stay awake long enough.

81818

Nicole was so excited. She drove home from the OBGYN's office faster than she should have. She burst through the door to see Josh look up at her in surprise from the kitchen where he was preparing one of his health shakes.

She laughed. "Guess what!" She kicked off her shoes.

His eyebrows pushed together and a small smile curved his lips. "What." He pressed a button that turned on the blender. She knew he was trying to annoy her. It was a favorite pastime they shared with one another. She shouted her news over the loud sound.

He cut the blender off immediately and stared at her wide eyed. "What!?"

"I'm pregnant." She repeated with a grin.

He scoffed "Okay, right" He lifted the lid of the blender and stirred it once.

Nicole narrowed her eyes. "Yes I am. Look!" she lifted her t-shirt and pointed to her slightly rounded stomach. "See!"

Josh placed his palms on the counter and leaned forward to look over the chest high breakfast bar.

"No…you're just getting fat." He picked up the blender and took a sip. "I told you not to eat so much chocolate.

Nicole's jaw dropped open. He was being really obtuse about this. Josh was definitely not the most sensitive man. She'd never seen him cry… ever, but honestly, this was getting ridiculous. Her eyes narrowed. "Well aren't you prince charming. The doctor just told me. It's official."

He swore… profusely, and slammed down his drink. Bits of the shake splashed up into the air before landing on the counter top.

Nicole recoiled. He had a temper, but it was rare for him to become this angry, "What… what's wrong? I know you don't want kids as much as me, but—"

"Whose is it" anger twisted his face. As pissed as they gotten at each other in the past, she'd never seen that look directed at her before. Indignation filled her.

"What are you talking about?" she returned with venom. "How could you even ask a question like that? You're the only one I've ever—"

"That" He pointed at her stomach, "Is not mine. When would I have knocked you up! You've been gone for the past 7 months!"

Tears jumped to her eyes, "Gone… I… I…" Memories swam before her eyes suddenly. Immediately, she began looking around the apartment in desperation for someone to save her from this insane situation. "Leg—"

"Legolas! That's what I thought." He stormed around the counter. "You little whore!"

She backed up against the door in surprise, her hand clutching at the knob.

He stopped a few feet from her. "You think that just because you've got pointy ears now that you're better than me!" Then he did something she'd never seen. He spat at her. The spittle landed at her feet. "Get out! You disgust me."

"No… It's yours please." Her eyes blurred with tears. She reached out. This wasn't happening.

"Don't you dare touch me" he smacked her hand away.

She shook… no… someone was shaking her, arms wrapped around her "Nicole! Shhh, You are safe. Wake up, Wake up. It's a dream."

She opened her eyes, but it was very dark. All she could see were blurry shapes through the tears.

"I'm so sorry Josh. I don't know who. I don't remember" She clutched at his shirt. "Forgive me! Please! I would never cheat… You are the father I swear!"

"Nicole" a gentle tenor repeated. An arm scooped under her knees and settled her into a warm embrace A soft cloth brushed across her face, soaking up the tears. She blinked and looked up into eyes that contained their own light, a set of softly glowing blue embers.

"Legolas?" she whispered brokenly.

"Yes" He placed a warm hand against her cold cheek.

"Where…"

"In Moria." He answered with a frown. "You were having a nightmare."

Embarrassment filled her. "Did I…say anything?"

"Just in your language" He watched her carefully.

She took a shaky breath, "The others… did they?"

"Gandalf is the only one awake."

She relaxed against him in relief.

He brushed a stray wisp of hair behind her ear. "Are you alright?"

The motion was meant to comfort, but Nicole stiffened suddenly and her stricken eyes found his. He saw the exact moment that shutters went over her emotions, but she wasn't good at hiding them. It just wasn't something she'd practiced enough and it went against her natural inclination.

"I'm fine now Legolas. You can let me go." She pushed against his encircling arms and he let her slide off his lap without protest.

Once she'd scooted back several feet, she drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them. The elleth glanced up briefly. "Thank you... for waking me up. It would be embarrassing for everyone to hear that."

"Do you wish to speak of it?" His perceptive gaze hadn't wavered from her form.

Nicole rested her forehead on her knees in a feign of fatigue. If he saw her face he would know she was lying. "No… I don't remember." Tears pressed against her closed eyelids.

Gandalf's rustling robes caught his ear. He stood and looked towards the wizard. Gandalf beckoned him with a small nod of his head. The elf moved towards him slowly, lost in thought.

'The look in her eyes... She is afraid, and ashamed' The first emotion he understood well. It made sense to fear this place. Even before entering the mine, all knew it contained monsters from the darkest imaginings of Morgoth. He glanced back at the elleth. 'Nicole knows better than any other what is here with us in the dark ' He shivered. That must be what it was. The dread had settled over them all, even Nicole. She was more resilient than the rest and it had only been able to reach her as she slept.

'But I don't understand.' He continued to watch her form, made small by her curling in on herself. Gandalf was speaking to him, asking him to wake the others. He had figured out their next direction. The news should have pleased him, but he found he could not stop worrying. He moved about, gently shaking the others or uttering a quiet word to wake them. When he reached the dwarf he nudged him with his toe instead of a gentle shake of his shoulder, ready to jump back if need be. The dwarf slept with his ax in his arms and was prone to swinging it when he woke. In addition Gimli was a notoriously heavy sleeper. The dwarf continued snoring. Legolas sighed in irritation. Dwarves were rather annoying creatures. He shook his head and tried to remain patient. That was his prejudice speaking. Gandalf had asked them to be friends. He looked balefully down at his traveling companion trying to think of a way to wake him that wouldn't result in the loss of a limb. 'Not that he's quick enough to catch me, but caution is usually prudent.' Circling the dwarf he looked for a part of him that wasn't covered in armor. An idea struck him. Normally he wouldn't do this, but a glance back at Nicole settled the matter. He removed a feather he used to fletch arrows from a pouch at his side and crouched beside Gimli. Staying as far back as possible he stretched out an arm, stuck the feather up the dwarf's nose, and twirled it between his fingers. The redhead let out a snort and batted the feather away, but didn't wake. Undeterred Legolas tried again, this time going further up the nostril. He'd have to throw away the feather after this.

"Stop trying to make a nest in my beard, you blasted birds!" Gimli jumped up swinging his axe in an arc. Legolas sprang back with a smirk.

"No birds in Moria I'm afraid" he said in amusement. "It's time to wake up."

Frodo and Gandalf, who had been watching started laughing.

Gimli sneezed and then rubbed at his nose, all the while glaring at the elf in suspicion. He still held the heavy axe in his other hand.

"Did you sleep?" asked Legolas innocently, hiding the feather behind his back.

"I did.. until a devious elf harassed me into waking."

"Glad to hear it." he responded.

Gimli nodded curtly and then narrowed his gaze. "What's behind yer back?"

"Just this." Legolas held out the feather. "I got it from the bird making a nest in your hair."

Gimli muttered some unintelligible words in Dwarvish that sounded suspiciously like insults.

Legolas grinned. He glanced over at Nicole to see if she was amused. The only reason he'd given into the temptation to tease Gimli was because he'd wanted to make her smile, but she seemed not to notice. She was looking down at herself. He saw her lips moving and his ears perked up to catch the end of her whispering.

"felt so real" Her hand was laid on her lower abdomen.

The smile dropped from his face. Legolas did not understand much about the intricacies of female behavior, but he'd seen that particular pose before. A strange feeling came over him. The feather fell from his fingers.

The usual cheerful silliness that characterized Nicole seemed to have gone out like a candle in a stiff breeze. She followed along behind Gandalf silently, responding sharply to anyone who tried to engage her in conversation. Even more disconcerting, she cast her gaze towards Boromir quite a bit with a strange look in her eyes. Legolas had seen it before a few times. A frown twisted his lips.

"What's wrong with her?" Merry asked him quietly as they passed through the endless corridors, "Why doesn't she sing. She always sings. Even when she's sleeping sometimes."

Legolas looked down at the hobbit. "She will not tell me…all I can say is that the darkness under a mountain is no place for an elf." He laid a hand on the Hobbit's shoulder as they walked. "Do not question her about it. She will be herself again when we leave this cursed place." He looked ahead of him to where the elleth walked with distracted steps and slumped posture. 'I hope I am right'

Once they stopped, exhausted, at the edge of a grand column lined hall, Nicole sat a few yards away from the rest of the group. She stared morosely at the oblivious Gondorian man. The dream replayed itself in her mind for the thousandth time. She knew what it meant. She was feeling guilty for her attachment to this place… and her attraction to Legolas. Being pregnant with his child was a huge jump, but that was how her mind worked. She'd had extreme stress dreams for her entire life. Once she'd given a larger dose of Ativan to a patient than was ordered by the doctor, that night she dreamt she was dealing cocaine and the cops were after her. 'Ridiculous!' she thought in frustration. But she couldn't stop the replay. Boromir glanced up at her and she looked away quickly. It wouldn't do to scare him with her staring just because she couldn't control herself. The ache of her injuries was no comparison to the one in her chest. She leaned forward and buried her face in her hands. The worst part was, she thought Josh might actually behave the way he had in her dream if she did end up cheating on him. Was it so wrong that she loved this place? Even with all the danger… there was so much beauty. She felt… like she belonged somehow. She'd always been a bit of an outsider back home. Did her brothers feel that way? They were all so much alike. Oh, she missed them. They'd know what to say to help her feel better.

"Miss Nicole?" came Sam's hesitant voice. "I thought you might be hungry." He handed her a small bundle of dried meat, cheese, and a piece of what Nicole called a 'medieval granola bar' because that's what it tasted like to her. She sat up and took it. "Thanks Sam." She said tiredly. "I'm sorry for being a bitc… er… for being so short with everyone."

"It's alright, Miss Nicole" Sam gave her a small reassuring smile. "None of us like it here either."

Nicole sat straighter despite the weight in her chest. "Yes. It's rather dreary isn't it."

"That ain't the words I would use." Sam turned to look at the group.

Nicole stood and began moving back towards the others. "What would you say then?"

"Wonderful, terrible… words like that" said Sam from beside her.

"Ah, I suppose so." Nicole looked about her distractedly "It is impressive workmanship."

Sam looked up at her. "You don't sound much affected Miss Nicole."

She smiled down at him. "I've seen many grand things in my life, this is just one more. Plus, I've been in my own thoughts lately. I haven't had much time to do any sight-seeing."

"What kind of Grand things? If you don't mind my asking."

"I don't mind Sam." Nicole sat down next to him at the edge of the group. "I am grateful for the distraction." She leaned back against the smooth wall behind her. "I've seen buildings taller than the tallest trees made of metal and glass…" she smiled down at the hobbit. "exotic animals."

"Like Oiliphants?" said Sam with a hint of excitement.

"Yes, and lions and tigers and bears too."

"What's so exotic about a bear." Chimed Merry. He and Pippin had drawn up close.

"These ones are white" she said. "They only live in ice cold temperatures, where they can blend with the snow.

"What's a tiger?" questioned Pippin.

Nicole smiled for real now. "Imagine a housecat with orange and black stripes."

Pippin and Merry looked at each other. "So what's so special about a cat with stripes?"

"Now imagine that you are a little mouse looking for seeds. The cat's stripes blend it in with the tall grass around you." She leaned closer. "You don't see it until it pounces and bites your neck with fangs the size of small daggers."

"Nicole" warned Aragorn.

"This housecat weighs at least 400 pounds and is over 8 feet long from head to tail."

The hobbits stared with wide eyes.

"Come now Nicole." Said Gandalf. "You're scaring them."

"Sorry Gandalf." She said, still smiling. She looked at Pippin. "Don't worry. They live in very hot places far south, like plains and jungles. Not under mountains, so you're safe from them. They prefer creatures with more meat on them anyway." She waved a hand at them. "Well you guys must be tired." She yawned and stretched her arms over her head. "Sweet dreams!" she said cheerfully as she unfurled her blanket on the hard ground. Nicole should have felt bad about scaring the hobbits, but she was the youngest in her family and never got the chance to tell scary stories to any siblings. This was kind of like paying it forward. Tigers were a pleasant daydream compared to the monsters in Moria anyway.

The group rested, but Nicole found she couldn't sleep. She stared into the dark laid on her side, pretending for the sake of the group to be relaxing.

"You are awake," stated Legolas from close behind her.

Nicole tried not to startle, but couldn't quite suppress it. "Yeah," she said tiredly after a moment of silence.

"Why?"

Nicole rolled over to look up at Legolas where he stood looking down at her. "You aren't going to let it rest are you?" she said quietly.

"No." he gave her a small half smile.

She sighed and rolled back to look into the dark.

"I'm afraid that I will dream again." She answered.

She felt a small movement of cool air and heard a gentle rustling of clothing behind her. "The dream from yesterday?" His voice sounded closer.

She cast a look back at him. He was sitting beside her with one leg drawn up to his chest and the other stretched out.

"Yes" she said simply.

"It was about Josh."

At Nicole's sharp glance he continued, "You said his name"

She squeezed her eyes shut. "I dreamt…that I had done something… unforgiveable."

A warm hand brushed some hair from her face. "You have done nothing wrong. It was only a dream."

Nicole let herself relax against her blanket on the ground. "Hmm" she replied noncommittally. 'No…not yet,' she thought as her mind drifted out into the darkness.

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Hope you enjoyed the chapter. The following are some definitions of the medical speech I used. Warning! they're kinda gross. Don't read them if you're eating.

Ativan= a sedative medication used very often in the hospital as a treatment for alcohol withdrawal, anxiety, or extreme agitation. Basically people end up sleeping instead of hurting themselves or others.

GI bleed = bleeding somewhere in between the esophagus and colon. Usually results in either vomiting blood, or it coming out the other side. It smells REALLY bad when that happens.

CDIFF = clostridium difficile, a super bacteria that grows in intestines when all the natural flora are killed. It is generally believed to be a hospital spread infection. It produces copious amounts of watery green diarrhea that smell awful.