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Anemosi had been inconsolable. In the aftermath of the battle with her father, every last defense had broken down, and only Sam could comfort her. Even in his own weakened state, he had insisted upon carrying her back to her rooms and staying with her there.

This time, he was the one who bathed her, his rough hands washing away the blood and sweat from her battle, and his heart nearly broke as he saw the devastation wreaked upon her body; the torn flesh of her belly, her bruised and gouged breasts, the cuts on her face and neck. When the last of the grime was cleaned away, his tears still fell upon her skin, and she came around from her own grief long enough to see his own. She cried beautifully, with tears dropping from her eyes without any trace of redness or swelling, and they clung together in the warm water of her bath, weeping into each other's arms.

"Sam," she whispered after a time. He drew away slowly, kissing away the tears that clung to edge of her jawline.

"I love you." She smiled bravely, and kissed him long and hard. she never would have survived the nightmare weeks without him, and her place was by his side, nowhere else.

He felt like weeping anew as he caught the feeling in her voice. He would have died if someone had tried to take her away from him now, he was sure of it. They needed each other to live; she pulsed too freely in his veins for him to survive away from her.

"Anemosi, I...I have a question for you." She waited patiently for him to speak, her arms looped about his neck.

"Your father told me before...he told me...to take you with us, when we go. And I was just thinking, see, when this whole Quest is over, if we make it--"

"Sam," she interrupted, her eyes reflecting the water. "What are you trying to say?"

He took a deep breath. "Anemosi, what I'm trying to say is, when it's all over, if you'll want to come back to the Shire and be...and be my wife."

Her face contracted, and as she turned away he felt his heart shatter. What had he been thinking? His life fell apart in the space of a few seconds.

"I'm sorry, Anemosi," he said as he pulled away from her, the water feeling cold against his skin. "I should've known you wouldn't have wanted to be just the wife of a gardener." He rose out of the water, trying to hold together long enough to get away from her.

"Sam." Her voice stopped him, and he crushed all hope as he turned slowly to face her. She nervously splashed in the water as she raised her eyes to meet his.

"You didn't let me answer you." She smiled slightly, and as the moonlight caught her eyes he thought his heart would burst as she went on. She heaved herself out of the water, not heeding the pain in her body, and threw herself into his arms.

"There is nothing," Kiss. "That I want more," Kiss. "Than to be," Kiss. "Your wife." Kiss.

He made an inarticulate cry of joy. He had not known it was possible to be so happy. They were both laughing and kissing happily when the contact of skin against skin became noticeable, and then irresistible. She broke away from his mouth long to leave a slow trail of kisses down his throat and chest, ending at one nipple with a swirl of tongue. He moaned, driving his hands into her hair as she traveled lower, tracing the light, damp trail of hair that moved down his stomach and lower. She stopped just before she reached the part of him that cried out most for her touch, and he lifted her bodily in his arms and carried her to the bed with barely controlled urgency.

It was his turn to torment her with his mouth, and he took his time even as her breathing turned to soft moans of pleasure as he sought out new areas to explore. He kissed every wound on her delicate body, and her moans turned to cries that made him nearly lose control. It was more than just the physical act, beautiful as it was; this act was a promise of devotion that cemented the bond long ago begun in the woods, when a simple gardener had saved the life of a princess, and so lodged her in his heart forever.

Two hearts twined together as two bodies joined in ecstasy. Their lovemaking was comforting, life-affirming, and wildly pleasurable, but beyond any of that, it was sweet beyond longing, and just one way they could express their love. The end, when it came, was swift and passed too quickly, but those moments lived on in the delicious feelings that filled the pair as they cuddled together in the moonlight. They may have been afraid of what lay ahead, but they would face it together, and somehow, that made everything better.