Disclaimer: LOTR  was created by JRR Tolkien, and all the characters and names you recognize belong to him. Debora and Claudia are just two internet girls having some fun with their favorite characters. No copyright infringement was intended. This was made just for fun.
And yes, we ARE nuts, so don't bother emailing us just to tell us that. Reviews are ALWAYS welcome! :)

Author's note: This is a Sequel to Nuts in Middle Earth, which can be found here at fanfiction.net (storyid=810737). If you haven't read that, you won't understand this fic.

For those of you who HAVE read our first fic, sorry for the delay, folks! Darth Real Life got in the way of both Nuts, and Gondor Girl found her very own and REAL Gondor Boy in the meantime...enjoy!

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Nuts in Middle Earth 2: Attack of the Nuts
Chapter 1
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Debora was happy. She had spent the last months enjoying her Gondor Boy's company, and today she was going to the Airport to pick up Claudia, who was coming to Brazil for the first time.

She smiled, remembering all the craziness that had followed her visit to Claudia in order to watch Episode II. They had ended up watching Lord of the Rings, instead. Or rather, JOINING the Fellowship. Claudia and her hadn't quite figured out yet how they had managed to end up in Middle Earth, and even less so how Boromir had come back with them, unharmed.

But Debora hadn't complained. The few days she had scheduled to spend in Bolivia had been quite enjoyable, even though when it was time for her to leave, she had been ashamed when she told Claudia goodbye, since Boromir had claimed all her attention to him. Of course, they hadn't been able to watch Episode II, and Debora only watched it weeks later, when it finally arrived at her country. But still, she hadn't complained. Much.

So, they had decided that when both of them had time again, Claudia would visit Debora. But to their chagrin, such time only arrived a year later, because Debora suddenly got very catch up in college stuff. And Boromir, of course.

Debora shook her head. She was just leaving college after her last exam of the semester to pick Claudia up, and she had to pay attention where she was going if she didn't want to crash her car.

When she arrived at the airport, she didn't have to wait long, because she was, as always, late. Claudia's plane was scheduled to arrival one hour before, so, Debora ran towards the disembarking gate.

When she got there, Claudia was already there, sitting on a chair near the gate, her face weary with tiredness.

"Claudia! I'm SOOOO sorry for being late, I got caught up..."

She never finished her explanation though. When Claudia saw her, her face lit up, and she stood up to give her friend a big hug.

"NUT! How are you?"

And they began to chat very excitedly, catching up on each other's news during the trip home.

When they arrived at Debora's place, Claudia had a surprise. The moment they entered the apartment, she saw a gorgeous man wearing dark blue jeans and a white T-shirt that didn't hide his muscular chest. His light brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, his beard was nicely trimmed, and he smelled incredibly good. Claudia only recognized him when she saw his sky-blue eyes.

"Boromir! It's nice to see you again!" She let the strong man hug her, but not for long. She looked up at his eyes, and couldn't help herself.

"I see Debora introduced you to a daily bath routine and modern clothing!"

Debora scowled, but the laugher in her eyes told Claudia she hadn't been offended. 

A bit later, as they all sat around empty dinner plates, Claudia retrieved a small parcel from her handbag and turned to Debora and Boromir. "I need to ask you about this, B." 

She unfolded the parcel. There was the crystal from Gandalf's staff, the one that had broken apart on the bridge of Khazad-Dum, in Moria.

Boromir's eyes widened. "By all the Gods, Claudia! You brought this back from Middle Earth?"

"It was still in my pocket as we came back. And it has begun to glow again for some time now. I thought you might know what to do with it. It was hell to get THIS through airport customs!" Claudia said. 

Boromir looked at the crystal and was reluctant to touch it. The memories of Moria came back to him. He shook his head as if to chase the images away, and then said, "It seems that its magic is still working, Claudia. But I can't help you. I am very sorry."

Claudia looked at Debora, who also shook her head, and wrapped the parcel again, putting it back in her handbag. "So my last hope is to find a friend of mine here in Brazil, in Ouro Preto. He is a specialist in Geology and rocks and he might tell us what the crystal is."

The three friends spend the rest of the evening chatting, but soon Claudia couldn't hold her eyes open anymore, tired and sore from her travel, and Debora showed her the guest bedroom.

The following day, however, they got up very early, both very excited about the day ahead of them. After washing up, Claudia found Debora at the kitchen, preparing B's breakfast.

"Good morning, Nut!" they exclaimed at the same time, which led them to fits of laughter.

When they were beginning to catch their breath, Boromir strode into the kitchen, wearing nothing but boxer shorts.

"What are you two laughing about so early in the morning?"

"Nothing, B, just Nut stuff," said Debora, who was wearing a long T-shirt that went to her knees with the line 'I'm with Gondor Boy 'imprinted on her chest.

She stood on tiptoes to kiss B lightly on the lips, and when he tried to deepen the kiss, she shoved him lightly, and muttered, "B, not today, we have a guest!"

Claudia had to laugh. "Well, you two didn't mind much when you were at my house, did you?"

Debora's face turned a shade of deep red. "Claudia, I...I..."

Claudia waved her friend off. "No need for it, Nut. You were happy because you got to keep Boromir."

A shade of sadness passed over Claudia's eyes. Debora opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't know what to say. She knew how close Claudia and Legolas had become, but ...

After a rather uncomfortable moment, Debora broke the silence by asking Boromir to tell Claudia what he was doing these days.

"Well, I'm working with horses! I'm not a Rohirrim, but I sure know how to deal with horses."

Debora gave her friend a lopsided smile.

"Boromir couldn't stand the mere THOUGHT of doing nothing to help me pay the bills - once he learned about them, of course - so, he ended up finding himself a job as a Horse Trainer in a Jockey Club here. We can go there later today if you want."

A while later, Boromir excused himself to get properly dressed.

"Are you both happy, nut?" asked Claudia, after a moment's hesitation.

Debora looked at her hands for a moment before answering.

"Yes. We love each other, and we have a great time being together but...but sometimes I think B gets homesick. He misses his family, even though he doesn't say so. And when I ask, he pointedly refuses it and changes the subject. I don't know how to make it up for him."

Debora looked up at her friend and gave her a small smile. "But we are happy."

At that moment, B came back to the kitchen to ask both friends what they were planning to do that day, and the subject was dropped.

Debora looked at Claudia with a smile on her eyes, and asked, "What do you think we celebrate your visit by watching The Two Towers AGAIN? We can always show you around Rio later this week!"

Claudia immediately agreed, and while Boromir shook his head at both nuts, Debora knew he wouldn't pass on a chance to see his brother, his home again. So, without further ado, both girls went to get ready for their very busy day.

They arrived at the shopping mall where The Two Towers was still being showed a few hours before the first session and spend their free time looking at the shops and stopping at every bookstore Debora encountered. Claudia almost had a fit when they entered the 4th bookstore of the day, because by that time they had less than an hour to eat lunch before the movie started.

They arrived at the Movie Theater after gulping down their lunch, and dashed to buy tickets and enter the room. Thankfully, the room was almost empty, since The Two Towers had been showing for a couple of months already.

Debora sat down with her eyes full of glee. Boromir sat on her right and Claudia on her left. "This is only the 4th time I'm watching this. I would have watched it more times, but Darth Real Life got in the way, you know? Besides, I wanted to save my last viewing to watch the movie with preview scenes from Return of the King, like they did last year with Fellowship for The Two Towers, but they decided not to give us that special treat this time."

"Yeah, I was sad about too. And for me it's the 5th time, dear. I am kind of overworked these days. But the best part is that I get to see it with YOU this time," said Claudia, patting gently her friend's hand.

Debora was also happy to have Claudia close. Since their adventure in Middle Earth they had become very close, but they lived much too far away from each other – not to mention when Darth Real Life got in the way – to be able to keep up their closeness. And they both missed it.

***

Though Boromir had adjusted pretty well to modern life, seeing his home on the big screen felt still much too strange to him. Strange and unreal. He had ridden through the death marshes and he had seen Mount Doom.

The opening scenes reminded him of Gandalf's fall from the bridge of Khazad-Dhum and the flight from Moria…then Frodo and Sam threading hopelessly towards Mordor… the beginning of the movie had the same effect on him every time he watched the movie.  He knew that in that reality he was dead, and he wouldn't trade Middle Earth for the joy he found in Debora's love or anything. But still, he felt out of place in this world.

He caught Debora's small hand in his and tried to concentrate on the movie, reminding himself that what he saw wasn't part of reality anymore. At least his reality. But it was nevertheless heartbreaking to him, and he didn't dare to tell this to his love.

Debora was oblivious to this, following the movie and commenting on almost every scene.

"Well, Peregrin Took, leaving the leaf for the others to find you was the least you could do, really. After the trouble you gave them in Moria...If I were Aragorn and the others, I probably wouldn't go after you."

"You don't like Pippin?" Claudia asked surprised.

"Actually, I do, but he DID messed up in Moria. The young fool of a Took!" She smiled.

Boromir had almost managed to focus on the film again as he heard the soft sigh from the other side of Debora's seat and caught Claudia's melancholic expression as the three hunters appeared on screen.

No matter what Debora had told him about their friend, he could almost touch the longing the woman felt for her lover in Middle Earth. Maybe coming to the movie hadn't been such a good idea after all.

This time Debora was observing both people sitting at her sides and watched the emotions crossing their faces. She tried to lighten up the mood.

"Well, if Aragorn and the others had taken some time to bath, the orcs wouldn't smell them, right?" Debora said, laughing a bit too forcefully.

When neither Claudia nor Boromir answered, she sighed. She always failed to make funny jokes.

Debora fell into silence, but not for long. She was never in silence for too long.

"I LOVED what they did with the Rohirrim, you know? Not only the actors are SUPERB, but Peter Jackson also managed to enrich their storyline even MORE by showing Theodred's death! It showed how strong a hold Saruman had on Theoden!

"Plus, it gave the actor an opportunity to show his talent." Boromir said

Claudia looked at him with an eyebrow quirked up. Boromir smiled. "Well, you can only watch a movie so many times with Debora before knowing what she will say about it or the actors on it."

Debora pouted. "Well, Bernard Hill IS an amazing actor. And have I told you, Claudia, how much I LOVED his character in the movie? Boromir had the best lines in Fellowship, but Theoden has the best ones in Two Towers."

But her attention was soon caught up by the movie again.

"Eomer is great too. And to think I was afraid of the actor they had chosen! I should have trusted PJ more. But the best-translated character from the book to screen was Eowyn. Miranda Otto is SO GREAT!"

Claudia felt she had to get a grip of the overwhelming sadness that overtook over whenever she watched either Lord of the Rings movies. She missed the elf so much...but didn't dare to tell anybody, not even Deb. So she picked up Debora's cue.

"Absolutely, I think all of Rohan is masterfully depicted. Though I was upset by the way they turned the events of the book around. I mean Eomer was supposed to be with them at Helm's Deep and there weren't any other elves there and the warg attack... I wonder why PJ changed that part..."

"Oh, I know what you mean about Eomer. But it didn't bother me much, since the King that had helped them at Helm's Deep wouldn't appear again in the story. Besides, it was a way to develop his character."

"I think the elves being in Helm's Deep was worst, because it took away a bit of the Rohirrim's glory for winning that battle"

"Ladies, don't you think you are a bit ahead? We haven't got to the battle yet. Besides, all this talk about the books versus the movies leave me confused," Boromir said.

Claudia was surprised. "You haven't showed Boromir the books, Debora?"

Debora glanced at Claudia with a worried look, as if to tell her not to tread on that path. "No. I had lent them to a friend."

The real reason Debora hadn't let Boromir read the books, though, was because she was afraid of what he would do when he find out about his father's destiny...not that Claudia knew that. However, she got the hint to drop the subject and turned to Boromir.

"Hey B, have you ever been to Rohan yourself?"

But Boromir didn't answer. He was engrossed in watching the scenes of the Uruk Hai's slaughter.

He turned to Debora. "Are we… I mean were we this violent in Middle Earth? Things are so much different here. How did you manage to adjust to my… to Middle Earth?" 

Both women eyed each other. Debora replied. "It wasn't easy, but we managed. Once we figured out we had no other choice, we adjusted. And we kind of…we were busy trying to survive, remember?"

Boromir nodded but still looked from the quite harmless looking women to his side to the crude scenes of the movie in awe. He had to admit that they had held their ground when they had been in Middle Earth. And that seemed to have happened a whole lifetime ago.

Claudia focused on the screen once more. The three hunters again. To hear his soft, melodious voice again…

Debora was now absolutely sure it had been a mistake to go see the movie. They had actually been there, seen the places with their own eyes, and known the characters as living, breathing people.  And now, seeing it with Claudia at her side, her eyes a bit glazed over when Legolas came on screen, she was aware of her friend's pain.

Debora racked her brain for something to tell her friend, something to comfort her, but she couldn't think of nothing. She couldn't think of anything to ease her friend's pain. All she could do was reach out for Claudia's hand and give it a squeeze.

Claudia looked quickly at Debora and gave her friend a small smile.

"What business does an elf, a man, and a dwarf have in the Riddermark? Speak quickly!" was Eomer saying in the screen.

"Give me your name, horsemaster, and I shall give you mine," was Gimli's remark.

Debora giggled a bit, and Claudia's smile grew a bit wider.

Boromir commented. "One has to know Gimli to realize that he is really brave, not foolhardy."

"With Legolas and Aragorn watching your back, it's easy to be that cocky," said Debora.

"Indeed it is. I should be there with them. I know Eomer…" started to say Boromir, but went silent again as he noticed Debora watching him intently. He had been so very careful before, as to not let her know of his secret longing for home…

"You would have saved the hobbits, B. You would have changed history," said Claudia, who noticed the strained silence between her friends.

"No, not alone. No one would be able to face that many orcs alone and live to tell the story. Only if Aragorn or one of the others had been there to help me," replied Boromir. "But it wasn't my fate. And I will not complain, for I found love instead," he smiled genuinely at Debora.

Debora gave Boromir a huge smile, and they continued to watch the movie.

When they reached the part were Pippin was perched on top of what he thought was a tree but was in fact Treebeard and he blinked his yellow eyes, Debora smiled and said, "I LOVE this scene, it's so funny! The fact that they didn't notice it was Treebeard...and it was also the very first scene we saw of him, back at the end of last year, with that preview after Fellowship."

Claudia commented. "It wasn't exactly how I imagined an Ent ... but it is very well done. I'd love to go to Fangorn Forest. Did I mention I love forests? Not one single real forest – except for tropical jungle – back home. "

As the three friends fell silently once more, they watched as Treebeard thought Pippin and Merry to be Orcs, and then the couple of hobbits making their way towards Mordor, led by Gollum.

Then, a screech was heard. Gollum started to panic, and told the hobbits to hide. "They will see us! They will see us. Wraiths! Wraiths on wings!" the creature said.

Sam replied, "I thought they were dead!"

"Dead, No, you cannot kill them. No."

Claudia heard a small chuckle from beside her, and since she didn't remember anyone sitting there, she looked over.

She gasped. Gandalf was sitting right there, next to her!

"Only Master Samwise Gamgi to be so naïve as to think that the Wraiths can be killed," he muttered, amused.

Claudia reached her hand out to Debora, and tugged at her sleeve, without turning her head back. "Why...How...What are you doing here?" Claudia asked Gandalf, at the same time that Debora gasped from her other side.

"Well, darkness *did* take me, you know..."

Claudia rolled her eyes. "No, seriously. What are you doing here?"

"Well, you see, you two have in your hands something that belongs to me. Something that shouldn't have left Middle Earth."

Debora gave a small cry. "Boromir?" And then, rather loudly for a movie theater, "You are NOT taking him back there!"

There was shushing from all sides, as the other viewers in the theater were annoyed by Debora's outburst.

Gandalf looked like that was not it.

"No, nut. It's not B, it's the crystal," whispered Claudia.

Gandalf smiled. "Yes. Could you please give it to me?"

"We didn't bring it with us to the theater...Did we?" Debora asked, but Claudia was already opening her backpack to take a small parcel out of it. A parcel Debora recognized at once.

"Thank you," Gandalf said, taking the parcel in his hands and uncovering the crystal.

The voice of Legolas echoed from the screen. "Aragorn, nad no ennas!"

Aragorn's followed suit. "Man cenich?"

"The White Wizard approaches." Legolas answered.


"Do not let him speak. He will put a spell on us! We must be quick."

At that, Debora felt like she had been pulled into darkness. She knew she could not have fainted, because she still was conscious, but she was very deeply in the dark.

And then, a blinding bright light made her cover her eyes with her arm.

Next thing she knew, she was hearing an old man's booming voice, as if he was speaking next to her. "You are tracking the footsteps of two young hobbits."

And it sounded very very real.

***

A/N: Hehehe. Sorry to stop here, but you guys KNEW this would happen (well, this fic IS called Nuts in Middle Earth 2), and we have to at least give you some suspense about what's going to happen, right? :)