I truly intended to update this sooner but had a writer's block. The next chapter is complete except for being only half typed, so if I get any reviews for this chapter, I'll put the third chapter up soon. The fourth chapter, which is also the last, is only half done, and I'm trying to get past writers' block on that one too so bear with me.

Arwen felt a deep joy bubble within her. She was reunited with her family, including the daughter she had mourned for so long. She had joined in the "game" of hobbit tossing and was just beginning to relax in the arms of a tree when a beautiful elf woman dropped down onto her branch. Arwen stared at the elf, whom she had immediately recognized, not just she had met her before but because her parents had both described this particular ancestress of hers-whom they said she resembled. Luthien smiled at her shocked expression. "Welcome, granddaughter." She said. Arwen immediately began to stammer but was cut off by a loving embrace. "Come, we have much to talk about."

Arwen followed her in silence, though her mind gibbered in shock. She couldn't even begin to compare in beauty to her grandmother though she could see that they had similar features. Eventually Luthien led her up into a tree and sat down, motioning for Arwen to make herself comfortable-which was not difficult to do when the trees smelled right and looked right but felt more cushiony than the softest bed she had ever been on in middle earth.

Luthien began, "I'm proud of you dear, for following your heart. I know you hated to hurt your father but deep inside he always did understand why you stayed with Aragorn. He was like a son to Elrond for many years after all. My father was the same when I fell for Beren, or maybe worse. He wouldn't even make conditions with us. Instead, as I'm sure you remember, we had to run away together. Of course Adar was appalled but he couldn't do much about it. He still gets in a huff about it sometimes remembering. But Iluvatar makes him very uncomfortable when he does so he's slowly reconciling himself." She grinned at the shocked expression on Arwen's face. "Yes, some people are uncomfortable here for a time. It depends on their life in middle earth."

Arwen took a deep breath and composed her features again. Then she blurted out so as not to lose her courage, "Did you ever regret it?"

Luthien smiled gently and said, "Yes." Arwen stared again but her grandmother continued. "As he lay there dead, I did deeply regret my choice for a moment. Up until that time, I had always believed I could handle it. Or rather I didn't truly believe in his mortality. When I thought about it though, I realized how much joy he had brought into my life and that if I had the choice I would do it all over again. And in a way, Eru did allow me to. Both of us ended up back at Middle Earth again and you know the story from there."

Arwen thought it over for a moment and then said, "Thank you for answering my extremely rude question. I did not lose my beloved but I did fear it for two centuries before finding out that we were both going to be able to sail away together."

"I'm sure he felt even worse believing he would be the cause of your death," Luthien said, before she was interrupted by a snort from below.

"Why would you ever have thought such a thing, Grandmother?" Aragorn said with a hint of sarcastic humor. Arwen laughed and hugged him before noticing the other man with Aragorn. Her eyes widened a bit as she realized who he was—Beren One-Hand, although he now had both hands again. Aragorn's search for Arwen had brought him into contact with Beren, who had told him with an acidic sense of humor a few stories about his life and adventures. Now Aragorn turned from his wife and greeted Luthien properly, gently teasing Arwen that he had come out second best. Fortunately, she took his gibes in good humor and said she had only accepted him in order to be queen. That one didn't hold any water but he pretended shock and they all laughed. "So, how's life here? Or should I say afterlife?" Aragorn asked with a grin.

"Absolutely marvelous," said Luthien, and then added, "but this is true life like everyone should have had if Morgoth hadn't screwed everything up. But anyway, did you ever tell your children how convoluted their ancestry was?" She had a mischievous look in her eyes, though her face was straight.

Aragorn shook with laughter at a memory and said, " We had to, they overheard Merry and Pippin on one of their visits explaining to Bergil how they were related for the fifth time. He never tired of it, though my head always spun trying to understand. I'd probably be fine if I dared ask them now but then they'd likely go on to explain their relation to every other hobbit here and I'd never escape!" They all laughed. Aragorn went on, "But I did do my best to explain that it would be easier to count the greats if they did so from Arwen's side of the family."

Arwen mimed a blow at him. "Yes, he left it to me to explain how many generations back his family got its elven blood."

Her husband chimed in. "I overheard her trying to explain how many cousins removed she was from each of descendant of Elros."

Now Luthien and Beren were howling with laughter, as were all the other people who had bothered to listen to that conversation, mostly relatives of the four, but also Merry, Pippin, Frodo, Sam, and Gandalf. The hobbits had had many genealogical discussions over the course of the journey from Rivendell. Gandalf of course had known many successive generations of hobbits and so had marginally less difficulty over the course of the journey, mainly because he had long since conditioned himself to tune out any hobbit conversation that involved how they were related. The one relation he had no difficulty with was Sam's to Frodo—a gardener with no blood relation to any of the other three.

Pippin now winked at his cousins and Sam and said, "Now Aragorn, Isumbras I was my great-great-great-great…" He broke off then because Aragorn had come running across the tree branches at his name and then jumped off to land beside Pippin, pushing him to the ground with a hand over his mouth. Now even those who had not been paying the conversation any mind were rolling on the ground laughing. Those who had never dealt with hobbits contented themselves to grins at the antics of those around them. Aragorn slowly took his hand off Pippin's mouth. "Great-great…" Aragorn clapped back down again and glared at the irrepressible Took who rolled his eyes in return.

"Sir Peregrin Took, as a knight sworn to my command, you must obey me, and I tell you, I do not feel the need to discover your relationship to every hobbit here. If you wish, however, you may draw up the entire family tree for me in case I am actually struck by some odd obsession that would give me cause to wonder your exact relationship to Isumbras I."

Pippin nodded with a glint in his eye that worried Aragorn, though he did release the hobbit. "Great!" exclaimed Pippin, causing everyone to laugh again, including Aragorn, though he groaned at the pun. Rising to his feet, the king gave a last grin at the hobbits before jumping back into the trees to rejoin Arwen. She had been watching with great amusement at their antics and now gave her husband a long kiss before teasing him about 'conquering someone half his size'.

Everyone returned to their prior conversations then, including the ones about ancestry. Aragorn made up his mind to stop wondering what was bothering Boromir. He would find out soon enough. For now it was enough just to be here with his family.