A/N: Hi! I'm back. Thanks for all your reviews. There will be one more chapter after this one. Assuming no trouble with fanfiction.net, I will probably post it Saturday (10-5-02). Please continue to review! Enjoy!

Ch. 6: Goodbyes

For several weeks, I spent much of my waking time with Gimli. It seemed every day we fell more deeply in love. The inhabitants of Rivendell caught on pretty soon, and they gave us space. I got homesick from time to time, but it grew less and less frequent as time passed, and Gimli was there whenever to comfort me whenever I was feeling down.
The time soon approached for the Fellowship to depart, and Gimli grew moody. The night before they were to leave, we went walking after supper. Neither of us knew what to say, and we walked, hand in hand, for a long time, both lost in our own thoughts. We came to the terrace where we'd spoken that first night I was here.
I finally broke the silence. "What do you think you'll do when this is all over?" I wasn't willing to admit the if.
"If I survive, that is."
"I wasn't going to say it."
"It's something you need to consider, because I may not survive this mission."
"I know, but I have to hope. Anyway, you haven't answered my question."
"I haven't thought that far ahead. Whatever it is, though, I would like to face it with you by my side."
"What are you saying?"
"When this war is over, will you marry me, Amy LaCroix?"
I was too overwhelmed to speak, and I just nodded. He kissed me, then we held each other for a long time. The Fellowship would leave Rivendell tomorrow evening and travel by night, so he would sleep as late as he could in the morning. Because of that, he was in no hurry to go to bed, so we just stood there. I don't know how long it was, but I must have fallen asleep on his shoulder. He nudged me awake, and took me back inside.
When I laid down on to try to sleep, I found sleep was the farthest thing from my mind. What a surprise. I kept reliving the evening in my mind, but then I started crying. There was a very real possibility he would never come back. He had asked me to marry him, but he might not survive that long. He had to survive this Quest. I found myself hating the Ring because of it. Eventually, I dropped off.
Arwen woke me mid-morning. I wasn't the only one who had been crying. I could see it in her face. We sat on my bed and cried together. She finally admitted to me that she and Aragorn were engaged, and I told her about Gimli's proposal. She gave me a weak smile and congratulations, but neither of us was feeling very celebratory. Around 11:30, my stomach started to growl, and we both laughed at it. We started giggling, and found it hard to stop. I did my best to keep it up. It was a distraction. We washed our faces and tried to cover the tears as best we could before heading off to lunch. None of the Fellowship was there—they were all sleeping, or at least trying to sleep, so they would be refreshed when they left that evening.
After lunch, Arwen and I slipped off before we could add to the problem. We wandered around Rivendell, pretty much aimlessly, for about an hour, before wandering into the library. I asked her to teach me a little of her language, and so I started learning Sindarin. It was a distraction. We worked on that for a while, then traded stories until supper.
We managed to keep up a brave front through supper. I sat with Gimli, but neither of us said much of anything. Glóin kept looking over at us. I had no idea how much Gimli had told him, but I was having a hard time caring, either. The hobbits looked very depressed, too. Aragorn was keeping up a brave face, and Boromir and Legolas seemed to be faring at least moderately well, but I think even that was an act.
After supper, the Fellowship saw to the final preparations, and we saw them off at dusk. Their pony, the one I had ridden almost two months ago, was the only one who wasn't depressed. Both Arwen and I were trying not to cry and make it harder on the men, but we were only partly successful. I settled for a few sniffles, and she kept dabbing her eyes. Gimli kissed me goodbye, and we clung to each other for what must have been several minutes, but it felt like the blink of an eye. Arwen and I hurried inside and watched them leave from a balcony above the courtyard. I know if I had stayed, I would have started bawling and made leaving even harder on Gimli than it was.