Epilogue: Fade Into Oceans

When Quinn saw the rider coming down the road, she jumped down from the high wall where she'd been perched and jogged to meet him.

Toven waved to her and dismounted once he'd reached the gates of the city. "Am I late?"

"No, you're right on time, actually. I think the ship is set to sail later today."

She fell into stride next to him as they walked along the main road. This was her first time in the Gray Havens, the port city the elves called Mithlond. It would have reminded her of Rivendell if there had been more people. Since arriving the previous day, she'd only seen a handful of elves, though there was enough space to house twenty times that amount. She guessed this place was now primarily used to send off people who were sailing west—though she still didn't know exactly what that meant.

"How was Ered Luin?" she asked. "You have a good time?"

Toven nodded, his expression brightening. "Bofur and his family send their regards."

She raised her eyebrows. "They moved back?"

"Apparently they wanted to settle down somewhere quieter than Erebor." He shrugged. "Though I still would like to visit the Lonely Mountain, if I ever get the chance."

"I'm sure you will." The only reason he was so far north in the first place was because Aragorn had asked him to make the trip. Apparently his kingship included a good portion of the lands north of Bree and Rivendell, and he'd needed someone familiar with the land and people to start off the transition of power.

"I want to do it soon, while I'm still able." Toven looked around at the gray, silent buildings on either side. "This place makes me feel…I don't know how to describe it. Like a reminder of old age."

Quinn nodded. It felt sort of like a retirement home, a last stop for most people who came here. She scratched the back of her head. "I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I still don't know what 'sailing west' actually means. Is there somewhere they actually go, or is it just a nice way of saying they die…?"

The corner of his mouth twitched. "What, do you think they sail to the edge of the world and fall right off?"

She blinked. "I don't think Middle-earth is flat. It's round, right? I mean, there's a horizon and everything."

"Both of you are correct, in a way."

They spun around at the sound of a new voice. Coming towards them was an elf with gray hair. He looked typical for his race, with smooth features and timeless wisdom in his eyes, but her eyes were immediately drawn to the well-groomed beard hanging down to his chest.

"Oh, Lord Círdan. Didn't see you there." She turned to Toven. "He's in charge of the Gray Havens. Círdan, this is Toven."

Toven inclined his head in greeting. "You were saying we were both correct?"

Círdan nodded elegantly and joined them on their walk to the docks. "For mortals, the sea to the west is impassable. It has been that way for more than three thousand years. But for the Eldar, and a select few individuals, the ships of the Gray Havens will bear them to the Undying Lands."

Quinn nodded slowly, completely lost, but Toven was listening with interest.

"And there is no returning from the Undying Lands, is there?" he asked.

"No."

"Do you have any idea what it's like?"

A glimmer of age-old longing shone in Círdan's eyes. "I have never seen it myself. But I know there is peace there, and music, uninterrupted by war and strife."

"That sounds nice," Toven said softly.

Quinn turned her gaze to the patch of ocean visible from their position. The reflection of the sun turned the water a dazzling white. Eternal peace did sound nice, but she felt like she'd probably get bored.

They finally reached the docks where the others were gathered, and were immediately accosted by two hobbits.

"Glad to see you could make it!" Merry wrapped his arms around Toven's waist.

"Well?" Pippin demanded. "It's been two years since we left Gondor. Tell us what we've missed!"

Quinn left them for the moment and looked around at the others. Círdan had joined Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, and Celeborn by the water, probably to discuss really wise and important stuff. She turned her attention to the pair sitting on a stone bench a little ways away, and walked towards them with a smile.

Bilbo had aged considerably in the past three years, his face lined with wrinkles and his hair balding on top of his head. Weirdly, he hadn't been surprised to see her when she'd returned to Rivendell, and she secretly wondered if he'd straight up forgotten that she wasn't supposed to come back.

Thorin was sitting next to him, looking much less changed. The two of them had lived a long, happy life together, and that thought made it a little easier to handle the fact that this was the last time she would see them.

"You ready to go?" she asked Bilbo.

He smiled, and in his eyes there was a spark of the same clever hobbit she'd met all those years ago. "I'm quite ready for another adventure."

Thorin adjusted the shawl draped over Bilbo's shoulders. "Let us hope it will be an easier journey than our last one."

Quinn raised an eyebrow at him. "First time on a ship?" When he nodded, she said, "Don't worry. Things get rough, I recommend getting in your hammock and sleeping it off. Dwarves can't get seasick, can they?"

"We usually don't take the opportunity to find out," he grumbled.

Bilbo patted his arm as he looked around. "We're missing someone."

Thorin followed his gaze. "Frodo and Sam are not here."

"Weird." She searched the docks, but they were nowhere to be seen. "I would have pegged Merry and Pippin as they ones to go running off at inappropriate times. I'll go check the guest quarters. Be back in a minute." She waved to them as she jogged away.

The hobbits had been given a row of rooms overlooking the sea, and at night the air swelled with the crashing of the waves. Quinn didn't need to sleep anymore, but it was still nice to sit outside and watch the water hit the rocks.

She noticed the door to Frodo's room was slightly ajar, and on the other side she could hear what sounded like an argument. She moved closer.

"…I don't care about Bag End! It doesn't mean a thing if you're not in it," Sam was saying. He sounded tearful. "You still have years and years left of your life."

Gently, Quinn nudged open the door. Frodo was sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands clasped tightly in his lap, and Sam was standing across from him, his cheeks wet with tears. She briefly considered ducking out, but they'd both noticed her already.

"Hi," she said softly. "Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt. But I think everyone is, uh…" She pointed in the direction of the docks.

"Tell him, Quinn," Sam said. "Tell him he can't leave."

"Leave?" She turned to Frodo, who seemed to be having trouble meeting her eyes. "What's going on?"

"I'm going to be sailing with the others," Frodo said quietly.

"What?"

"I am tired." He touched his shoulder, where he'd been stabbed by the Morgul blade. There was weariness in his eyes, the same that had been there every day he'd had to carry the Ring. Maybe it had never left. "I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. The wounds I carry are too deep."

Quinn opened her mouth to argue, but Sam beat her to it.

"W-We could go back to Rivendell. Lord Elrond might be leaving, but I'm sure there's another healer that could take care of you." He wiped away the tears clinging to his chin with the heel of his hand. "Why don't you get to be happy too, after all you've given up?"

Frodo swallowed with some difficulty and managed a sad smile. "It will be enough to know you still have a life ahead of you, Sam. After all you've given up. You have a chance to get married and have children, to—"

"I won't," Sam said, a sudden fire in his voice. "I won't get married. Don't you understand?"

Uncertainty wrinkled his expression. "I…"

"I won't fall in love again, because the one person I love is about to leave forever." Sam moved closer. "I made a promise that I wouldn't leave you, and I still mean to keep it. I would stay with you forever, until the end of our days, and I would try my best to make you happy, because you deserve all that and more." He broke off into a sob.

"Oh, Sam." Frodo's composure finally crumpled, and he stood up and wrapped his arms around the other hobbit. A tear slid down his cheek. "I'll stay, then. I'll stay. I love you."

Quinn could feel her own eyes welling up, and she closed the door as gently as she could to give them a moment of privacy. She'd always figured there had been something more going on between them, but it seemed like that was the first time they'd admitted it to each other.

Man, that was a close one.

She made sure her eyes were dry by the time she returned to the others, though most of them greeted her with concern.

"Did you find them?" Pippin asked.

"Yeah. They should be down in a minute."

Toven shot her a questioning glance, and she gestured that she would tell him later.

After a few minutes, Frodo and Sam joined them. Their eyes were red-rimmed but their hands were joined, and Quinn felt a rush of relief and gladness.

And then it was time for goodbyes—teasing Gandalf one last time, stumbling over her words with Galadriel, exchanging fond words with Thorin and Bilbo. Frodo spent a long moment hugging his uncles farewell, and the two of them were the last to board the ship.

They watched in silence as the sail unfurled and the winds nudged the ship out of the inlet and towards the open water. The sky turned gold with the setting sun, and the small white shape retreated from their sight, until it was swallowed up by the gleaming lights reflected in the water.

That night, Quinn went with Toven to the cliffs outside the city. She needed a walk to clear her head, and she guessed he was feeling similarly. The night was cool, an autumn breeze sweeping over the grass, and the waves churned below them.

"Do you think Frodo would have stayed if you hadn't found them?" Toven asked after she explained what had happened earlier.

"Probably." She let out a small laugh. "I barely got to say anything when I found out what he was planning to do. Convincing him to stay was all Sam."

"I'm happy for them." His gaze grew distant. "It's not easy, healing from everything that happened. But it's not as bad when you have someone you love with you."

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "You miss them?"

"Every day." He sighed. "Another month and I'll be heading back to Gondor. After that, I don't think I'll leave again for a long time."

"Good." She nudged him with her elbow. "Are you happy?"

"I am. In ways I wasn't before." He glanced at her. "Why do you ask?"

"Just checking." Her footsteps slowed, and she kicked a loose pebble off the cliff. "I think I'm going to be leaving soon."

He stopped walking. "Leaving the Gray Havens or leaving…Middle-earth?"

"Middle-earth." She'd told him briefly about her plans, but not the details. "I'm going back to Belekur's world."

"Can I ask why?"

That was something they hadn't discussed, and something she hadn't fully understood until recently.

Quinn brushed her hand over the burn on her right hand. "It's been great being here. It's been great meeting you and all the others. I got to actually do some good in my life. But I don't think I'm meant to stay here. I'm dead. I'll never grow old, even though you will. All the elves are leaving now, and I think I get why." She turned her gaze to the sea, the rippling current crescendoing into starbursts of ocean spray. "This place isn't meant for immortals anymore." She shrugged. "Maybe surviving that final battle was a curse, in a way."

Toven's brow furrowed. "I don't understand."

"That's fine. I usually don't. But I think my next step is to go back to where this all began, for me. I've talked it over with Belekur, and we both want to find out why the war is happening, and if there's any way to stop it."

"Have you found a way back?"

"Not yet. I guess I could ask Gandalf." She paused. "Wait, Gandalf just left. Whatever, I'll find another wizard. I guess I might be around for longer than I expected."

Toven huffed out a laugh. "I can't say I'm surprised."

"The point is, once I leave…" She met his eyes. "I'll probably be gone for good."

"I know. And I'll be all right." He smiled. "I know you always make the right choice."

"Thanks, T." She stepped forward and hugged him. This wasn't a goodbye just yet. But she'd be okay leaving this world, knowing that he was happy and whole. "I just have one question for you."

"What is it?"

She pulled back. "Do you want to go to the beach tomorrow?"

Toven smiled. "I'd like that."

And that brings our story to an end. I really had a blast writing this, it was fun to go back to Quinn's story and to expand into the LOTR universe. And it was so nice getting to know Toven, he is definitely a favorite on my (admittedly small) list of OCs. I know I said this last year, but 2020 was a really hard year for me (for some global some personal reasons) and this story was a relief to come back to. I hope it provided a good distraction for some of you as well.

Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, or read along silently, including Katia 0203 and ElflingoftheShire. Thank you to drwatsonn for always indulging my nonsense and threatening me into keeping my characters alive. And thank you to themuse123 for being such a huge cheerleader of this series, it really means a lot to me.

I sort of left the end of this story open to possible spin-offs/mini stories. I think there is potential for perhaps a THIRD installment, I have been toying with the idea of a Dagor Dagorath storyline, but that would take a bit of work and research to outline. For now, I'm probably going to work on some other projects, so keep an eye out for those.

And as a final note, this story wouldn't be complete without a heartfelt, schlocky end credits song that I've started to unironically enjoy. So… "Hero" by Chad Kroeger (yes the one from the Spiderman 2002 end credits lol). Give it a listen and think of Quinn being an idiot. Much love and see you next time xx