Erin's POV

"Rohan will come. For now we have to focus on getting ready for the battle- Order the women and children to leave the city, for their own protection. Get as many weapons as possible stockpiled. We will need to arm every able man in Minas Tirith."

I watched Boromir give orders to a few soldiers and was struck by how utterly at home he seemed. He just looked comfortable standing there, ready for whatever was coming. I wasn't feeling quite so confident. I couldn't tell how much Cat and I had messed up the timeline here. Hopefully she wouldn't decide to do anything stupid while I was gone.

Faramir strode into the hall, ready to head to Osgiliath. I was torn between telling Boromir what was about to happen to his brother and letting everything go as it should- Isn't that what anyone else would do? I've read so many fanfics that have been about preserving the plot and keeping everything right but I could think of a million things I could change within a heartbeat. But then again, Faramir's injury was a fairly major plot point…

I was jerked out of my reverie by Gandalf slamming the doors of the hall shut and saying something along the lines of "You fool, Faramir! You fool!" It was nice to hear someone other than Pippin being picked on by the old wizard. Faramir turned to Gandalf, a look of bitterness on his face.

"You know I have no choice, Mithrandir. Father has asked me to go, and go I will, for the good of Gondor."

I stayed silent. Boromir eyed me suspiciously but I refused to make eye-contact, glaring at the ground like it was a personal enemy of mine.

As Gandalf and Faramir duked it out, I wandered over to the door, intending to slip away while I could. Sadly, Boromir wasn't quite as interested in the argument as I had thought, and caught me pretty much straight away.

"Erin, where are you going? Do you know something about this?" He asked sharply and I sighed, turning to him.

"Boromir, I'm not your endless source of info you know. Just let it happen bro, it'll be fine in the end. I need to go and check on Fram."

"…Fram?"

"Uh, yeah. I've decided that saying two names is too much effort so I'll just call Frodo and Sam 'Fram'. Makes things so much easier!"

There was a long silence and then a snort of laughter from Boromir. "Well, I'm sure 'Fram' are fine. Can't you at least give us a hint of information?"

"No Boromir, I can't! I'm busy, did you even see Fram yesterday? They're practically skeletons! I have to make sure that they're alright; They haven't go long to rest before they have to go again."

"Erin, what do you mean by this?" Gandalf asked concernedly, and Faramir began to edge slowly towards the door.

"They have a few hours to rest, maybe the rest of the day. They need to be well on their way at nightfall though."

Gandalf looked stricken. Boromir groaned, putting his head in his hands. Faramir good this distraction as a blessing and ran for it, bolting throughout the doors as quick as possible.

"Well, that's one plot point going ahead anyway… That's good!" I said happily.

"I will find a way for Frodo and Sam to get back to Ithilien, but that is as far as I can get them. They will have to make haste if they are to get the Ring to Mordor on time."

"It's gonna take more than haste, Gandalf. A hell of a lot more than haste."

Cat's POV

"Goooin' to the city and we're… gooona kill Sa-a-auron…"

"Sometimes I worry about your sanity", said Éomer, "And then I realize that there's no point. You'll never have any."

I scowled at him, and then swerved sideways to avoid a tree.

"Brony, if we're both gonna survive this trip you're going to have to shut up."

Éomer looked at me with a smile and I rolled my eyes before looking around at the area.

"It is getting dark", Aragorn said grimly. "We must stop soon, there is no point in riding in the dark."

I agreed heartily and as soon as we stopped, I threw myself onto the ground.

"Mwah! I missed you, sweet ground!"

Éomer looked at me with a smirk and I glared up at him.

"I can tell that you're about to do something stupid, and I embrace that. You're too serious."

I gave him a crooked grin and then stood up, wandering off to a little area that looked strangely like a tunnel. It had high walls of rock, but the top was open to the sky. Funky.

"Don't go in there!" Éomer called, dismounting and jogging over to me. "That leads to the Paths of the Dead."

Aragorn looked up curiously and Gimli and Legolas walked in our direction. I could see Merry chilling with someone I knew as Éowyn… Huh.

"The Paths of the Dead…" Legolas murmured. "None but the dead may enter."

"Yeah, thanks Captain Obvious. That was pretty clear by the name."

Some random guy tried to lead his horse over but the animal went a little bit crazy. I yelled that he should stop trying, and he glared at the wierdo girl telling a guy from Rohan what to do with his horse! Stuck-up me, then. Screw you too.

Erin's POV

"Right… What's on my pre-battle to-do list? Let Faramir go, check. Light the beacons, check. Make sure Pippin becomes a member of the guard, check. Get Fram on their way, in progress. Kill off Denethor…" I looked around. Gandalf was glaring at me and Boromir looked as if he was about to either laugh or cry, I honestly couldn't tell.

"Trust me, it's nothing personal. Well- maybe a little bit!" I attempted to mend the situation, but Boromir was having none of it. Thankfully, Pippin decided to waltz on in at that moment and saved my sorry ass.

"Woah, Pippin! You look boss!" I squealed.

I saw a small smile settle on Boromir's face, and knew what he was thinking. The clothes Pippin was wearing had belonged to Faramir as a child. I could practically see it… A small, light-haired boy laughing as he wore his new uniform, chased by his older brother…

Cute.

I shook myself out of my girly haze- hate it when that happens- and headed over to Boromir's side. Pippin took one look at us before winking at me and practically sprinting out of there. Silly hobbitses…

"Look. The whole 'I'm-gonna-kill-your-dad' thing is… Not how it seems, I promise. It's necessary and if I don;t do it everyone would die, all of us. Do you see why I have to do this?"

He looked down at me and shook his head sadly.

"Why? My father has not made the best choices but he is a good man, a wise man. I-"

"It's not who he is, Boromir! It's… it's what is happening to him. He'll ruin everything if he lives! He's too attached to the Ring, to power. He can't stay. I'm sorry, Boromir."

"Is this about his position as Steward? We can change something, I can snap him out of it and he will be the just ruler he has always been… Please, Erin. Help me to understand."

One of his hands found its way to my cheek. Unconsciously I grasped his other hand and squeezed, wishing I could change something.

"I truly am sorry, Boromir. Maybe when it's done, I can explain, but for now you'll only try to stop me."

He just leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead before pulling away and leaving the room.