Judgement Chapter Nine
That night was one of the hardest Gabby had ever forced herself to endure. The moon rose over her head giving her a dead sort of pale color to everything. Her hair, her skin, her lips, her eyes were all deathly pale. She blinked back the tears as the last of her friends drifted away. She was one of a kind in this land, everyone around her was changing but her and she hated herself for it. She glared balefully at the moon as a cloud drifted across it and she could almost hear Molly's voice singing out there somewhere. She buried her face in her arms and pulled her knees to her chin, securing all her feelings in a little ball. She fell into a familiar void and soon was back home in England.

"What the heck is going on?" she asked Virginia urgently. The absent look in her cousin's eyes was doubled in sadness.

"Molly." was all it said. Gabby looked ahead of her. A coffin lay in front of her with her cousin's body inside, eyes closed, lips colored so not to look dead. Gabriel let out a furious snarl and snapped her hand across the lid of the coffin, closing it with a bang. She approached the podium in the church rushing the elderly priest out of the way.

"All right! I don't really know what to say, after all, Molly was a cousin and a friend. No one will ever be able to fill her place, just as nothing will ever be able to take the space she has secured in my heart away." she said into the small, tinny microphone. Several sobs emitted from the church as she stepped down. Steve caught her as she fell into her seat clumsily. She blinked at him bluntly. "Thanks for coming." she said before her eyes dilated and she disappeared again.

"Gabriel! Are you okay?" Legolas was cradling her in his lap and shaking her frantically. His brow was knit and his knuckles were white.

"Fine, I'm fine. Just had to put my two cents in back home." Gabby said brushing Legolas's hands off her arms. Virginia smiled warily before seating herself in front of the fire and allowing Merry to comfort her. She shrank slowly to his size and remained there for a very long time.

"I feel like a part of me has just died." she whispered to her small friend. He nodded and continued to hold her hand tightly.

"You have! That was more than a part of you, that was your family!" he cried. She smiled as he glanced over at Pippin as he held his son in his hands while Diamond slept on the ground next to the fire.

"Not only that, she had a shard of the crystal! She took it with her when she died, a part of the crystal has died too." Gabby said. She glared at the moon as it began to appear through the clouds again. The light hurt, anything so pure surely could not shine on an evil thing such as her. Legolas watched her shudder when the moonlight hit her skin. She had agreed to wear some real leggings today and had already managed to get them to look like her "jeans" as she called them.

"Will you sing a song?" asked Merry quietly to Virginia. She nodded and elbowed Gabby to help her sing.

"What song should we sing?" Virginia asked Merry confusedly. His eyebrows rose into his mess of curls and then he grinned.

"That song Gabby told me of the night before that all those people sing at the 'hockey' games." he said plainly. Virginia smiled and hummed a low beginning note. "Isn't that a little low? I mean, you sound prettier up higher." Merry tried.

"Trust us, it'll get higher." Gabby said with a smirk. They sang the song proudly and loudly. In the end, the cousins swore that a third note was added to the harmony by a third female singer. Diamond was asleep so the logical conclusion was; Molly was looking out for them. Gabby smiled to her cousin in the sky. ~Molly save me! I need to know what to do. I feel so crazy inside. I want to scream! Tell me what to do!~ she pleaded silently. A voice whispered on the trees. Legolas tuned his ears, Molly's voice?

"Talk...listen...forgive...forget...love...family...friends...trust..." the voice whispered in Gabby's ear. In Virginia's ear the voice continued. "Don't be afraid...tell him...don't run...remember..." the advice was perfect. ~Thank you!~ both girls prayed to their cousin in the sky.

"Legolas, can I talk to you?" Gabby asked quietly. He nodded and followed the girl out to the ledge with a curious look. She took a deep breath and turned around. "Spill it, let's just talk and pray." she said, eyes closed. He sighed and began to talk.

"I think I love you." he began.

"Ah. Well, if it's any help, I am finally willing to forget my problems and not be so selfish! So-" she started.

"I want to show you that I am better than what you think all these guys you've 'dated' are like." he finished.

"I think I love you too." she ended. They smiled and kissed as the wind sighed and the moon beamed on the two.

Meanwhile back at the campfire Virginia was struggling not to fall asleep. It was not difficult the way Merry kept throwing her the overprotective boyfriend look. She scowled at him for good measure. He grinned back and inched closer. She couldn't help but smile at him as he wagged his eyebrows and continued to scoot ever closer. She was his size now, a hobbit in everyone's eyes.

"And what do you think your doing?" she asked him curiously. He stopped and thought hard for a moment.

"Making you laugh." he answered plainly. She rose one eyebrow in question, he hadn't made her laugh yet. Suddenly he lunged and began to tickle her mercilessly. She tried not to wake the baby but soon it was crying quietly in it's semi-awakeness. Virginia smacked Merry's hands away and wiggled over to the makeshift crib. She cradled the baby and sang softly, in the hands of the girl, it fell asleep for the rest of the night. Merry sat and watched her dreamily, she was so different. So perfect for him it seemed. Diamond picked her head up and saw her friend's cousin looking troubled. Virginia glared at the moon and swore she would do it tomorrow, it was impossible tonight.

"Tomorrow...too late." came that erie voice again. Virginia leaped up and began to pull her hair.

"Dang it all!" she cried softly. She glanced at Merry as his eyebrows once again nested into his hair. "Don't look at me like that!" she snarled. He raised his hands as if saying ~No harm meant!~ She sat down and sighed heavily. The moon was shining too brightly tonight, the ring around it was not helping. The pale glow made everyone appear old and feeble, helpless. She took in another breath to sigh when Merry crept over to her and took her hand again. She squeezed it and smiled, letting her breath out slowly. He looked at her funny and tried not to sigh himself. He felt he didn't deserve her, at least not now, yet. She rested her head on his shoulder and fell asleep. Merry leaned over and kissed her forehead. She smiled in her sleep and snuggled in closer. Merry's heart raced, he tried not to wake her as she buried her face under his chin. His whole body was trembling as she dug into his warm body. The fire was dying, he better light it again. He couldn't move while she slept like that, so peaceful.

"Virginia, I have to fix the fire," he whispered, his voice cracking. She groaned and tried to pull herself up but her head fell into his lap. Merry almost died on the spot. He hastily picked her head up and laid it on his folded cloak. He began to pace the fire and fill the pit with sticks and other kindling. His hands began to wring together as he thought of her. Virginia let out a small snore and sat upright looking around wildly.

"Where's Gabby?" she spat out dangerously. Merry cleared his throat.

"Legolas is walking with her int he woods, she'll be fine." he tried to stop his voice from shaking, but it didn't. She looked at him with a hint of suspicion in her brown eyes. He blinked and continued to pace the circle around the fire. Virginia frowned as he threw her a nervous look. ~Oh my God! Molly is right!~ she thought, horrified. She stood up and gulped as she neared the area he was sitting. He looked up at her with such a look of hate, she felt a pang of guilt. She had to stop flirting, and just hang out and be herself for a while.

"Wanna go for a walk too? It's Pippin's watch." she asked hopefully. Merry's head jerked up and down as Virginia rose to wake Pippin for his sentry duty. Wargs were not taken lightly just outside the forest. Merry shook his head vigorously, trying to think about anything but what he had been a moment before.

"Ready?" he asked. Finally his voice stopped quaking. She nodded and sighed again, he rolled his eyes. She was a very depressed Drama Queen today. The Aarondiel Stone shard glittered in the moonlight as she bounced up to his side. She took his arm as they walked, his breath beginning to quicken again. She walked with a sort of air of confidence, she was very sure-footed. He smiled as she bent to pick up a rock in the woods and threw it into the nearest stream. A cliff was in front of them but Virginia's ear twitched and she steered him away. ~I think Gabby and Legolas are having a talk.~ she mentally thought herself telling Merry.

She plopped down on the ground and began to fiddle around in the grass, uprooting several plants until coming across a very small blossom. She shook the plant of the dirt still clinging to it's roots and held it under her neck. A yellow glow shone on her neck as she looked at him. "Well? Is it yellow?" she asked him impaciently. He nodded and frowned.

"What does that mean?" he knew the plant, the Yellow Piper. She sighed and smelled the flower longingly.

"Well, it's supposed to mean that you like butter back home, this is a Buttercup." she explianed dubiously. She didn't think he'd understand it. "If your neck turns yellow, you like butter."

"What? Plain?" he scrunched his face in disgust. She laughed and pulled him down next to her.

"No, on anything, that's why it always works." she said with a grin. He laughed and shook his head, his breath returning to normal again.

"Try me." he commanded softly. She held the fragrant plant under his chin and observed, her face coming closer to his every second.

"Yup." she said. She glanced away uninterestedly and discarded the flower. Merry breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the plant. He pulled the roots and stems fromt the flower. Once all the excess greenage was discarded he placed the flower behind Virginia's ear. The yellow blossom glowed in the moonlight as she observed their surroundings. "Blue Moon." she said softly.

"What?" he asked, glad she continued to give him reasons to stay distracted.

"It's just a song." she said. Her head rested on her knees and she sighed again. ~Molly. What have you gotten me into?~ she thought angrily.

"There must be a lot of songs back where you are from to know so many." he commented. She snorted and shook her head.

"You have no idea. Just ask Gabby, she could go on for hours about music, she loves it!" she shook her head again. Then her eyes settled on Merry. He was looking at the moon thoughtfully and holding onto another plant. "What's that called?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Land Creeper, a weed." he said. She craned her neck to see if the fire had gone out yet. When she turned back Merry kissed her lightly. She almost gasped out loud as he held her face to his. She melted into his arms and sighed once more.

Gabby started to hum as she and Legolas headed back towards their campsite. Merry and Virginia were gone when they got there. Pippin was bleary eyed, holding little Meriadoc and trying to shush him. The baby held a small ring in it's hand while it wailed. Gabby pried the small circle of silver from the child's hands and examined it. Four emeralds were arranged in a mesmerizing design. A sort of never-ending spiral with small chips of diamond in the emerald's centers.

"Dwarven craft." commented Legolas. She couldn't argue, she knew nothing of jewelry here.

"Ah, I see." she said. Merry was stifling laughter and carrying Virginia in his arms when they returned moments after the finding of the strange ring. Gabby threw the couple an odd look and tried not to laugh as Merry kissed her on the cheek and walked off into the woods for more firewood.

"I see Molly gave you some advice too." Gabby stated uninterestedly. Virginia giggled and nodded.

"LOOK!" she cried, making Pippin jump in his seat. She was holding a beautiful flower in her hand, gold and silver leaves. "Merry found it near a tree in the clearing." she smiled and giggled again.

"I see the Ents are still aware of Meriadoc the Magnificent, and Peregrin the Great." Legolas said with a smile. "First that Dwarven ring, now an Elven Amin Bloom. Someone is smiling on you tonight!" he laughed and sat down. Merry returned with a good deal of wood and from the way it looked, a very old looking hubcap.

~Hubcap? This is Middle-Earth!~ Gabby's head told her in an irritated voice. She took the wood and hubcap for lack of better word from Merry and restocked the fire. She rubbed the hubcap hard.

"Chrysler?" asked Diamond over her shoulder. "Isn't that a brand of car?" she said in a terrified voice.

"Yup." Gabby answered, she was so confused!

"Who are you?" asked Merry. An elf was standing before the small circle of people.

"I am a servent of Lord Elrond, you are a few miles from Rivendell. Elrond must speak with the one called Gabriel immediately. I have some horses for you to use." the elf said curtly. He ducked out of sight and brought back some horses and a rolled piece of paper. He disappeared into the night with a loud swooshing noise.

"Okay. That was weird." Virginia said with a crazy look in her eye. She blinked and grew to her normal size to mount the horse. Gabby read the paper and frowned. They packed up and decided who was riding what horse.

"NO! I am not riding with the baby alone!" Diamond argued with her husband. He tried to shuch her but she continued to yell. "NO!" she cried. Suddenly she stopped and began to bat her eyelashes. Pippin blinked and shuffled his feet. She blushed and wrung her hands. Then she looked up into Pippin's big green eyes. "Please?" she tried once more. She gave him her famous Puppy-dog face to which, Pippin almost immediately succumbed.

"Okay, I'll go with you." he said, looking defeated. She clapped her hands and kissed him noisily on the lips. His eyes grew wide and he blushed, steering them away from the rest of the group.

"Awwwwwwwwwwww!" Virginia and Gabby chorused. They hefted the hobbits onto the various horses and settled into their's. Legolas and Gabby; Merry, Virginia and the Baby; and Diamond and Pippin on another. Virginia had insisted on carrying the sleeping child, it was too cute!

They arrived in Rivendell inside an hour only to be rushed out to another spot just outside the city's walls. Elrond pointed a finger out towards the woods with a shake of his head. Gabby squinted and jogged out towards the edge of the forest. She stopped and fell to her knees and began to beckon something they couldn't see into the clearing. She rushed forward and picked up the small child running towards her. It sobbed into her shoulder and rubbed it's face on her cloak.

"Guys, this is my niece, Maureen." she introduced the shocked child to the group. Maureen dove into Virginia's arms then back into Gabby's over and over again. She had blonde hair and baby blue eyes, very cute, but also very sad at the moment.

"Which one of your brother's is this one?" asked Diamond. She was looking almost straight up to her friend's eyes.

"Pierce." was all she said. She carried her inside where she bathed, fed, and sang to it. When Maureen finally fell asleep Gabby was tired beyond hope.

"We cannot continue to have various family members appear in our forests, Gabriel." warned Elrond. He was growing weary of all of these relatives showing up. "Also, they are bringing machines." he said thoughtfully. Gabby's thought flew back towards the hubcap Merry had found. She shrieked and headed out to the forest. They found a wreck of twisted metal in the forest, an old Chrysler. Gabby flung open the door only to find no one inside. Either they had gotten out alive, or weren't in the car when it crashed. Either way, she was terrified, she was going to raise a child by herself. She had a sudden urge to be hugged. She searched for Legolas, he was looking around the foot of the door to the car.

"They weren't in the machine when it came." he assured Gabby. She burst into tears and threw herself into Legolas's arms.

"Now I have to raise this kid all alone!" she wailed. He pat her back and tried not to do anything stupid. ~Not if I have anything to do about it.~ he mused.
Author's Note: No one's reviewing! Please don't hurt my feelings and tell me that you don't like my story enough to review! Wahh!