Disclaimer: The Lord of the Rings, its characters, and lands, are the property of Tolkien Estates and New Line Cinemas. This story was written for my enjoyment and the enjoyment of others, not for profit.

WARNINGS: This chapter contains material that may upset sensitive readers, including, but not limited to, descriptions of wounds and anxiety. Rated K+.

Chapter Twenty-one- Streams of Water

"Please, Faramir, you must drink. Only a little for now," Eowyn coaxed gently. she had been trying unsuccessfully to get her husband to drink for nearly half an hour, to no avail. Faramir seemed to shun all of her attempts, muttering about burning and fires.

Eowyn bit her lip. "If you drink, you will feel better," she raised the cup to his lips, and Faramir turned his head away, pushing it with his shaky left hand.

"Burns..." he whispered, his voice hoarse, "Throat... hurt..." He shivered.

Eowyn let a tear run down her cheek as she cradled his sweaty head in her arms. "You will only get better if you drink," she said. "Please, you must try."

Faramir shook his head slowly. "No..." his eyes opened, dull and bloodshot. "Please do not make me, Eowyn..."

"Faramir..." Eowyn began to sob quietly, "You must drink. If you do not, you will die!"

A shiver ran down Faramir's body. "Already..." he muttered, "Already burning..." He closed his eyes again against a shock of pain from his leg.

Eowyn shook her head firmly. "No, Faramir. You are not. You will pull through this, and you will come back to me," she said, her voice authouritative as she supported his head and poured some of the water into his mouth. Before he could cough it up, she clapped her hand firmly over his mouth, forcing him, though his eyes protested, to swallow it.

Though it was only water, it burned worse than the strongest ale as it went down Faramir's throat. Tears pricked his eyes. He did not want to drink, though he was thirsty. It hurt, oh, it hurt so badly. But Eowyn... she was forcing him to drink it.

He tried to push it away, but there was nothing he could do. Eventually, he submitted to Eowyn's hands. He was too weak to fight, and he knew that the water, no matter how badly it hurt, would do him good.

As Eowyn lowered his head to the pillow, relief and triumph washed over her. "There, Fara," she said, smiling, "It was not so bad."

Faramir met her eyes. "Not... too... bad..." he muttered, before closing his eyes and letting sleep take him.

Eowyn let herself relax. "Sleep well, min leof," she murmurred. "Sleep well."

She did not hear the near silent footsteps entering the room as she closed her eyes in relief and exhaustion.

"Lady Eowyn?"

She shot to her feet and whirled to face Aragorn. "What do you want?" she asked cooly.

Aragorn remained unflinching under her glare, knowing that he full well deserved it. "I offer my apologies for the way I behaved earlier. It was most unkind."

Eowyn met his eyes, and remained stock-still for a moment. Eventually, she softened, her shoulders relaxing. "It is alright," she said. "I had no right to speak to you that way either, my lord."

Aragorn sighed. "If you are able to forgive me, then I can most certainly forgive you," he replied. "And, lady, you need not use any formal titles. To say the truth, I have grown weary of them."

Eowyn managed a slight smile. "Very well, Aragorn. I am sure that it is easier for me than for Faramir, at any rate, for I knew you when you were a mere ranger."

Aragorn smiled. "I believe that is so," he told her. Then he turned to where Faramir lay asleep. "What of Faramir?" he asked, solemn again.

Eowyn sat down. "I managed to get a bit of water down his throat," she said. "It was difficult; it pains him greatly to drink."

Aragorn nodded. "Of course it would," he replied, "But at least you managed to accomplish what I could not." He sat down, placing the back of his hand on Faramir's forehead.

He shook his head. "It has not gone down; if anything, the fever has worsened."

Eowyn bit her lip. "Is there nothing we can do?" she asked, her brow knitting in concern as she knelt next to Aragorn.

The King sighed. "I do not know, Eowyn. I have tried nearly everything, save pouring icy water over his head and hoping to draw down the temperature."

Eowyn closed her eyes and murmurred something in Rohirric. Then they shot open again. "Perhaps that is the cure," she said, raising her head.

"What?" Aragorn asked, tilting his head slightly in confusion. "We cannot lug buckets of water from the river down here and pour it over him."

Eowyn smiled. "Yes, but there is nothing keeping us from taking him to the river."

Aragorn nodded slowly, a smile spreading on his own face. "That just may work. I think you are onto something, lady Eowyn."

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Aragorn stepped backwards into the swiftly flowing stream, holding one end of Faramir's litter.

"Good, now you come in," he instructed Damrod, who was at the other end.

The ranger did so, and slowly they lowered Faramir into the chill flow. The clear water lapped at his clothes and tugged at his damp raven hair. Faramir twitched slightly as his subconscious mind registered the feeling of the cold water hitting him.

Eowyn stood on the bank, watching. After the men had lodged Faramir's litter firmly between two rocks so that the flow could not pull the helpless Steward downstream, she waded into the knee-high water until she reached the middle, where there was a sandbar that made it only ankle-height. She knelt next to Faramir, uncaring that her tunic was now soaking wet, and placed a hand on his forehead.

The water from her hand seemed to bead up like sweat. He was still hot. She took a handful of water and poured it down his face.

Then she leaned back against a rock with Damrod, allowing Aragorn to try to help Faramir.

The King was speaking to his friend in quiet Sindarin, which was unheard by the others because of his intonation, as well as the rushing of the water.

Faramir's eyes flickered open as he returned to his senses. He felt the cold water, shocking, yet relieving and so good at the same time. This alone had quenched the burning in his flesh that he'd felt since regaining his senses for the first time several days ago. He closed his eyes again with a shuddering sigh of relief as the water passed over his aching throat, cooling it.

He looked up, and for the first time since his rescue he looked Aragorn in the eye. "You... you are safe..." he murmurred, his voice hoarse.

Aragorn smiled, touching his forehead again and overjoyed to find that the fever was going down. "Yes, Faramir. I am safe," he said, "Safe and well. And I owe you my life."

Faramir shook his head. "You owe me nothing, my lord..." he whispered. "I did my duty..."

Aragorn's heart sank as he thought that Faramir mayhaps had simply obeyed his oath, not making his sacrifice to Aragorn as a person and friend.

But Faramir had not finished. "My duty to the one who has treated me like a son," he said quietly, "And been a friend to me when I had none left."

A faint smile showed on the Steward's lips, as he once again drifted off into sleep.

Aragorn felt a few tears roll down his cheeks as he kissed Faramir gently on the forehead. "Thank you, Faramir," he whispered, "I have tried to be that. Sleep in peace, mellon-nin."

It seemed that at last, Faramir had taken a turn for the better.

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To Be Continued...

Author's note:

Early update! One day above schedule! I'm getting more into this story, and I'm writing it every time I can get a hand on my computer, which isn't very often...

Also, just a note, starting June 12, I won't be home during the week for the majority of the summer, except for the week of the Fourth of July, so expect the updates to be much slower. I'm going to be working at a camp. I'm so excited about that!

Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed A Time to Mourn. There should be more like that; I'm going to try to write ficlets for different holidays, and birthdays. Speaking of which, if you'd like a Faramir and Aragorn ficlet for your birthday, just tell me the date and the plot bunny and I'll try to write it for you!

Okay, now I'll get to one of my favorite parts, the...

REVIEW RESPONSES

Mrs. King Aragorn- Well, I guess you didn't have to wait any extra days for this one! And I am exactly the same way. Pretty much all my friends have seen it, and most have read the books, though it's easier to convince them to watch the movies...

hystericalselcouth- Thanks! It'll be quite some time until Aragorn will be able to get home, though, sadly...

Brightpath2- Aww... I'm sorry. Hey, you didn't hope, and this chappie turned out well! Interesting...

lindahoyland- You're welcome! They seriously are the some of the best on , by the way. Keep writing!

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That's it for this time!

I'm running out of questions! *gasp* But here's one, anyway.

What character in Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, or The Silmarillion can you relate to the most?

I'm thinking about putting a themed Bible verse with each chapter. What do you think about that idea?

And, if you have any ideas for more questions, please tell me!

And... well, it's 2 a.m. here, so I'd better get to bed.

Aduial ma! Or at least, I think that's goodnight in Sindarin. Tell me if I'm wrong!

Namaarie,

Luthien