Chapter 6

Laughter filled the large room as Christmas records played on an antique player in the corner. There was an unmistakable feeling of love in the air as a shrill squeal of laughter sounded by the Christmas tree. There were gifts everywhere, consisting of chocolate liquor bottles; regular chocolates; notebooks; little teddy bears; sweaters; books; and other things of the sort childish adults buy each other.

Another squeal of laughter was heard as Lissa tackled Emilie and tried to take her new book back from her friend.

"Give it back, or I'll..." Lissa let her playful threat hang in the air as she reached for the romance book given to her by Connor.

"Or what?" Emilie squirmed and giggled, trying to get away.

"Or this!" Lissa yelled and began to tickle Emilie's sides.

Laughter erupted throughout the room as the two women fought for the upper hand in the tickle war. Mischelle joined in, ganging with Emilie and tackling Lissa, and Jenny ganged with Lissa and attempted to topple Mischelle over. Emily and the guys sat watching with amusement. It wasn't until Emily tore her gaze away from the quartet ticklers on the floor as Delemir stood up and walked to the kitchen.

"Delemir?" Emily said as she caught up with him. "Why'd you leave?"

"I love her," he said suddenly. It felt good, he thought, go have it really out in the open.

"What? Who? Where'd that come from?" Emily wanted to know.

"Lissa. I love her," he repeated.

"Oh." Emily stared down at the bar, then went to the fridge and pulled a bottle of wine. She poured herself a glass, then one for Delemir. "Delemir, there are a few things about Melissa you need to know," she murmured, sitting down. The laughing had stopped only a moment before it started up again.

"Like what?" Delemir asked, sipping his wine.

"Well, I can't tell you everything because it's her business, but we'll just say she hasn't been on a real date with a guy since Thanksgiving and that hurt her a lot when everything ended." Emily watched Delemir as he met her gaze in slight shock.

"What-Who is he? What is his name?" he asked.

Emily thought a moment, then said, "His name is-"

"Emily! Delemir! Where'd you two-Oh, you broke into my liquor supply," Lissa said upon entering the kitchen.

"It was right in plain sight, love." Emily grinned in her familiar charming way. "It was right in front of me eyes," she added in a slight British accent.

"Pirate. Good thing I hid me rum."

"Rum?"

"Mm-hmm." She sat down on Delemir's lap in a way that was familiar and usual to Emily and Lissa, and Lissa took satisfaction in the look over his face. "Old habit," she told him. "An old one I'm just remembering from nine years ago."

"Oh."

"And, if I remember correctly," Emily continued for Lissa, "we had Uremir here, but he was mooning over Lassewen, secretly I might add, Rio and Findel were fighting over something, and Arion was flirting with Bob." Both women took on strange looks on their face, then Emily grinned wryly. "Hey baby!"

Lissa wrinkled her nose in distaste and said, "Hello, darling."

"You called me 'darling!'" Emily brought her hand to her heart and gasped. "You DO love me!"

"I do not, you pompous, arrogant-" Lissa stopped when Emily only grinned at her.

"What game are you two playing?" Delemir asked.

"Huh?" came Emily's blank reply.

"Bob, dear, this is Lissa now. Arion has left my mind momentarily, and I suggest you leave Emily's for awhile too," Lissa said. "And that, Delemir, was an example of schizophrenia."

"Was Bob just here?" Emily asked, looking at Lissa.

"Yes, so was Arion." Lissa grinned and leaned back on Delemir's shoulder. "Another habit," she told Delemir.

"Oh." Delemir turned his head slightly, and found Lissa's hair. He took in her scent and savored it. "Is this?" He slipped his arms around her waist and heard her giggle.

"Yep, it is," Lissa said through her fit of laughter. She looked up at Emily and saw her smiling too. "If only Rio and Findel were here."

"Yeah. Hey, speaking of which, how did Delemir get here?" Emily asked.

Lissa cleared her throat and leaned forward, slipping off of Delemir's lap. "We, ah, we don't know yet. We're still trying to figure it out," she said quietly. She looked at Delemir and sighed. 'We need to get to that,' she thought.

"Oh. I seemed to have hit a rough spot on the road, there," Emily said, standing. "Hey, where's that rum? We were talking about pirates earlier, weren't we?"

"Yes, you were," Connor said and walked to Emily. He tugged a lock of her boy-short hair.

Emily muttered an oath at him and the other Emilie came in. "Watch your mouth, please," she said and laid her hand on Lissa's shoulder. "What'd I miss?"

"Mmm, not much. Only a schizophrenic conversation between Bob and Arion," Lissa said, taking Delemir's wine and sipping it. She set it in front of him again with a grin on her face. "Oh, and I didn't see them go at their eternal war of name calling and flirting?" Emilie asked, poking out her bottom lip in a pout.

"Didn't see what?" Mischelle asked as she and Jenny came in.

"Schizo conversation," Lissa said once again. "Too many people." She shuddered and sat on Delemir's leg again. Suddenly, her eyes gleamed in their unmistakable way saying she had a mischievous idea.

"What?" Emily asked.

"Where's my super glue?" Lissa wanted to know. She grinned wryly and touched her ears. "Delemir, you're not the only one-" She suddenly cut herself off and glanced at Mischelle, Jenny, and Connor. "Who can glue their ears," she amended. She eyed him for a moment, then whispered, "Just play along and don't say anything weird."

"Here you go, Lissa," Mischelle said and handed her a little tube of super glue. "And some clips."

"Easy on the stuff, darling," Lissa said when Mischelle dropped the items on the countertop with a clatter. Lissa smiled charmingly as she picked them up, though, and stood. She walked to the mirror in a way that was familiar to everyone but Delemir.

"Captain, Captain Jack Sparrow," Emily murmured upon a spur of the moment memory Lissa's phrase had triggered.

"You will always remember this as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow," Emilie added with a grin.

"You stole my boat!" Lissa said, catching on.

"Borrowed! Borrowed without permission and every intention of giving it back to you!" Emily said.

"But you didn't!" Lissa hissed, pushing her hair behind her ear and rubbing glue on.

"You'll get another one!" Emily exclaimed.

"I will," Lissa hissed after a moment.

"A better one," Emilie put in.

"A better one!" Emily agreed.

"That one!" Emilie cried.

"What one?" Emily asked.

Emilie jerked her head towards the window and blinked blandly.

"That one?" Emily looked out the window at the newly falling snow with in a peculiar manner. Emilie nodded. Then Emily smiled and said, "Aye, that one! What say you?"

"Aye!" everyone but Delemir shouted.

Lissa turned, her hair clipped behind her ears and smiled. Her ears were pointed like an Elf's. She'd known how to do that since she was twelve and she was going to an All Hallows Eve party at her church. Her father had bobbed her ears together then, amending that for tape and make-up.

Delemir looked at Lissa in awe. She was letting her hair loose from its confines behind her now pointed ears and it cascaded down over her shoulders. The tips of her ears poked through her hair, and she was smiling happily. Then, her happy grin turned to wry amusement as she found his gaze set on her.

"May I introduce," Emilie said in her stage voice, "Lady Melissa, the only female Elf of Crystal City." Everyone laughed as she dipped in a low, awkward curtsy. Then, she laughed richly.

After a short time in the kitchen, Lissa and Emilie had occupied themselves in the kitchen by fixing eggnog with nutmeg on the top of it. They were both laughing about one thing or other when they brought the trays of drinks out to everyone else.

"Melissa, love, how many times did you have to refill the glasses in there before you and Emilie came out?" Connor asked.

Lissa looked up from putting a glass in front of Mischelle and beamed at him. "Once. And that was the first time I put any eggnog in them. I rinsed them out because you played the Cup Game with my eggnog glasses last night," she said blandly, resuming her task.

"Oh, yeah," he said reminiscently. "I remember now."

"Duh, genius," Emily said, grinning. "Hey, can we play that later?" She looked at Lissa with hope in her eyes.

"What? The Cup Game?" Emily nodded at Lissa's question. "Sure. We'll have to teach Delemir, though," she said, taking her place beside him at her table.

Mischelle gasped. "You don't know how to play the Cup Game?" she exclaimed.

"No," Delemir said solemnly.

"Blasphemy!" she yelled, pointing at him.

"Be quiet, Chelly. You couldn't play until Emily and I taught you at my birthday once upon a time," Lissa said.

"I still want to see those pictures," Emilie murmured then sipped her drink.

"They're in my room, and I look like a little whelp. No," Lissa said simply. "I refuse to let anyone see me in that costume my mom and I made once upon a time. I doubt it fits anymore."

"Why? You haven't grown much between then," Connor murmured and dodged a little plastic snowman aimed at his head from the table.

"Yeah, so I supposed I'm going to be short all my life?" she murmured.

"No," Emily said, setting her glass down. "I'm going to be short my entire life."

Everyone laughed and looked down at Emily, who was about six or more inches shorter than most of them, especially the two guys.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lissa sighed as she fell down on her couch. It was pulled out in a bed right now, since both of the Emilys had stayed over Christmas night. It was about noon, and they had just left. She was exhausted. And a bit hung over from the eggnog and wine the previous day. When she heard Delemir coming down the stairs with Connor, she sat up. She decided she had to tell Connor about Delemir and what he was. But she'd clear it with Delemir, first.

"Delemir," she said when he reached the living room. She was still sprawled out on the bed, but was making an effort to move up from it. Delemir offered his hand to help her, and she gratefully took it. "Thanks. I need to talk with you. In the kitchen."

"All right," he said and walked after her when she took off towards the kitchen. She sat down and he sat down across from her.

"Okay, something Emily said yesterday got me thinking. She knows about you and being an Elf, if you haven't gathered that," she began, "and we need to work on figuring out why you're here. We can't just let you sit here and not know why you're living in my house. We can't just-"

"Lissa. Calm down. I was talking to Connor upstairs, about my dream, and I told him that I'm an Elf. He is still a little skeptical, but we can let it set for a while. But in the meantime, what did you have in mind for figuring out why I am here?" he asked her.

"You told him? Okay. Good. Let's see...I still need to have a look at your drea-" She stopped when he handed her a copy of it. It was in a handwriting she didn't recognize, so she assumed it was his. She didn't think a guy could have such good handwriting. Skimming over the paper, Lissa was entranced by the description and how vivid it was. She could almost feel everything. "Wow. Even reading it has the same affect as it did when you told me," she said and set it down on the bar.

"What affect is that?" Delemir asked her, laying his hand over hers.

"Astonishment, shock at it's vividness, a feeling of déjà vu that I've had this dream before, or something like it," she murmured, looking down at their joined hands.

"Have you?" Delemir kept his gaze set on her face, which had a frown on it.

"I might have. You'd have to ask Connor. He keeps a record of my dreams. He's the analyst," Lissa said quietly. She finally looked up and saw Delemir's gaze on her face. "What? What are you staring at?"

"You." His answer was simple. And, Lissa found quite disconcerting, sincere.

"It's-" She cleared her throat. "It's rude to stare," she said when she was able to speak again.

"So? You stared at me when I first arrived here, I'm only returning the favor," he said, but he broke his gaze away, and the physical contact they shared. "What was your idea about figuring everything out?"

"Huh? Oh," she murmured, feeling slightly stupid. "Well, any dreams you have should be written down as soon as you wake up from them and have all your thoughts of it in the correct place. Then, you should tell either Connor or myself. Then, hopefully, any dreams you have will help us unlock the meaning of them all."

"All right," he said shortly. "Is that all?"

"Uh, yeah. Hey, I'm going to go for a walk, do you want to come with me?" she asked, standing. She had her boots on, and was reaching for her jacket by the hooks on the wall near the stove.

"Can I...what's that word for another day?" he said, mild irritation aimed at himself.

"Rain check?" Lissa amended quietly.

"Yes. Can I take a rain check for another day? I was going to do some thinking," he said, standing as well.

"Sure." Lissa cursed herself silently for the hurt she felt right then. "I guess I'll, ah, see you when I get in, then? Tell Connor I went to the park to think as well."

"Of course." Delemir stepped behind her and helped her on with her coat. When she had fastened it, she smiled at him.

"Thanks. I'll see you later," she said and leaned up on her toes. She kissed his cheek gently and began to walk out of the kitchen. "Bye," she called over her shoulder again. When she walked through the living room, Connor was gone already. She assumed he was in his room again, working on this or that. She grinned and stepped out into the crisp, winter air. It would be New Years in a few days, she thought with a grin and stepped off of her porch and off towards the park. And she would be ready with her New Years resolution to figure out what had put Delemir there in her world, and to figure out her feelings. She began to mentally tick off things on a little list for what she would vow to do next year.

Get rid of Connor, she thought with a sly smile that crept over her features involuntarily. Commit more time to family and friends, rather than sit there and work on my stories; improve my artwork so maybe I can do my own illustrations. She laughed at herself then as the park came into view. Figure out why I feel so at home around this area and nowhere else, she added when she rounded the gate.

Cleaning off one of the seats on a swing, she sat and leaned forward and backward, rocking gently. She sighed, content to live there forever if she never needed to eat, drink, or sleep again. Then, an idea hit her for a child's faerie tale. She took mental notes on it.

A princess one day stumbles upon an enchanted forest. There was a spell there, which whoever stepped into the enchantment would be bound to live there forever until someone rescued them. She would be there for a few hours before trying to leave and realizing the spell cast upon her. She's stuck there for hundreds of years until a young prince comes along. He saw her there, sitting on a swing she had built on a low tree branch. He falls in love with her in an instant, and tries to go to her. She stops him and explains the curse and the only way to break it is true loves first kiss. The rest is self explanatory, Lissa thought with a grin. They live happily ever after.

"Hello, little girl," a familiar voice said from behind her.

"Hello," she replied, staying her seat.

"Do your parents know you're outside by yourself?" the man asked her. Lissa stood and turned around to face the rugged man. "You're not a little girl. You're a beautiful, grown-up woman."

"Yes, I am. Hello, daddy," she said and fell into her father's embrace. "Where's Mama?" She drew away from her father and rounded the swing, slipping her arm through his.

"In the car right there." He pointed to the blue Pontiac Fiero. "I stopped by your house first, and there's two men there," he added sternly.

"You remembered Connor, right?" she asked sheepishly.

"Yes. But I didn't remember the other guy," her father said. "Who is he?"

"Someone I met at the beginning of the month. His name is Del," she said quietly. She wasn't really lying. His nickname was Del, she remembered. "I met him by the house. He might be moving here, and needed a place to stay in the meantime and I offered my home to him."

"You have too much Irish in you," he informed her.

"I know. Are you two staying?" Lissa asked, veering away from the subject of the two men in her house.

"No. We just figured we'd come see you for a few hours. But it seems you have enough company," he murmured. "Come say hello to your mother before we head to see your brother further up north."

Her mother was already out, leaning on the hood of the car. The, oh, so familiar smile on her face warmed Lissa's heart as she embraced her mother.

"How're you, sweetie?" her mother asked, sitting back against the car.

"Charlene, don't scratch my car," Lissa's dad said.

"I'm not, Kenny. Get back in and heat it up," Charlene said in a way wives could. "Who were those two men at your house, Melissa?" That was a voice Lissa knew all too well that only mothers could make. Lissa's dad cranked the car up now, and the engine revved maliciously.

"Friends. Connor and Del. Dad will tell you about Del, and hopefully you remember Connor. I met him in high school," Lissa murmured.

"Yes, I remember him. I always remember your friends," Charlene said.

"No, you don't. You didn't remember a lot of them for a while," Lissa said with a wry grin that she'd always had, even in her youth.

"That was when you first met them, smart butt. We'll be stopping by on our way back, if that's all right with you," her mother said.

"Sure. How's the B&B?" Lissa asked, knowing that they were almost ready to go.

"Good."

After a quick explanation of why she was still in a cast, and swift goodbyes a few minutes later, Lissa watched her parents drive off to go and visit her brother in New York. She figured her sister was staying with friends while her parents were gone. Sighing out a breath in the cold, she warmed her arms and started back to the house again.

When she reached it, she smiled at its familiarity that she'd known since she was twenty. She stepped inside and heard some type of music from Connor's room, and the quiet breathing of someone asleep. Lissa walked into the living room and saw Delemir asleep on the couchbed. She smiled and turned on her radio. John Denver slipped easily through the speakers, and she turned the volume down lower.

In a manner that was familiar to only her and no one else, she began to pick up the things on the floor. She sighed quietly, still content, and picked up the wrapping paper the little cleaning elves had missed the previous morning. She laughed at herself and went to her desk when she finished cleaning that area. Before she could keep herself from it, she looked at Delemir and felt a wave of emotions go through her. She got a warm, fuzzy feeling in her stomach that both soothed her and unnerved her.

Sighing and trying to push those thoughts away, she turned the TV on and muted it, then began to write down that idea she'd had at the park earlier. Soon, she zoned out in writing the story and was completely unaware of everything around her, only the things in her mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lissa sighed dramatically as the song on her radio changed. It was about three hours later, and John Denver was playing again. When she zoned in, that song after Sunshine on My Shoulders was playing. The song that was one of those, she remembered from telling her mother one day, a boo-hooey song you would listen to while thinking of the person you loved while an old movie flickered on the screen of your TV. The song that, she remembered distinctly, would make her cry if she let herself become that involved in it. The song that would forever have her heart.

Near laughing at her irony, she looked up and saw an old movie flickering on her TV that had been on mute for the past three hours. It was strange, she thought, that part of her fantasy was coming true. Now, if only she was thinking of the man she loved.

She smiled as Delemir drifted into her mind automatically. He lay asleep on the couch-bed in front of her still, his hand draped over his chest and a blanket at his waist. He was sprawled-romantically was the word that popped into Lissa's mind then-in the middle of the bed. He had learned to sleep with his eyes closed, finally.

Did she love him? Did she love an Elf of Lothlórien, a place that was neither here, nor there, but in his mind? In another realm no one had ever traveled to before? What did she feel for him? She couldn't tell herself the truth, nor did she want to at that moment in time. She just wanted to savor the moment.

Lissa stood up slowly from her desk and walked over to the other couch. She grabbed the hem of the blanket, her finger just brushing Delemir's bare flesh between the blanket and his shirt, and began to draw it upward to his chin. Then his arm reached out, in dead sleep, and snaked around her waist, pulling Lissa down onto the bed with him. He pulled her close, her back against his chest. So close she could feel his heart beating steadily.

Struggling for only a moment, she stopped suddenly and melted against him in a way as old as time itself. She didn't know why she was doing this, what compelled her to, but she wanted to and did. She didn't know why she felt this sudden intimacy with Delemir, one that had never been there before, but she did. It was a good feeling, she thought, that one could be so comfortable around another. So you didn't have to worry about what you said or did, about what you didn't say or do.

Another sigh and Lissa closed her eyes, going completely lax in Delemir's loose grasp around her waist.

He didn't know what was happening or why he felt Lissa against him. He didn't know why he felt so content with her there, his arms wrapped around her gently. All Delemir knew was that he was enjoying the moment while he still could. He leaned forward and took in the soft scent of Lissa's hair, the feminine fragrance only she seemed to possess. Her scent was like a drug, almost, causing Delemir's head to spin. But in a good way. He was perfectly happy to lay there with her, feeling as he was, thinking as he was.

He tightened his arm around her waist and felt her muscles become taut, but then relax again when he buried his face against the long fall of hair in front of him. He heard her murmur something quietly, as if in sleep. He wondered what she had said, but soon found he couldn't when he felt her shift slightly in his arms. How she brushed against him was a so natural, yet was hard to conquer and be able to have. Yet this came in an easy manner that was thoughtless.

Delemir rested his cheek on Lissa's hair and sighed quietly. He felt her hands go around his at her waist. He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles gently and traced lazy patterns on the top of her hand. All of this seemed so natural, so right. All of this seemed so right that they were thinking the very same thing at the very same moment.

"You're awake." Lissa said it more as a statement than a question. She was staring at the television without actually seeing it. Her vision had long ago clouded into stars and black puffs of "clouds" in front of her.

"Yes." Delemir's breath was warm and sweet as it brushed against her ear. His lips were soft and gentle against the curve of her neck, on the sensitive skin just under her ear lobe. His grasp was easy around her waist as he squeezed her middle slightly.

"I thought you were asleep," Lissa murmured quietly, fighting back the moan caught in her throat. His touch was making her crazy. He was so gentle, so kind, that he gave her more than he took from her.

"I was." He kissed her nape, oh, so gently that it was hardly a feeling, yet it sent tingles down Lissa's spine. "I was until an angel laid down with me."

Lissa smiled and thought of correcting him, but thought better of it. "I would have been asleep at that desk over there had I not heard this song." She gestured to her radio. "I'm in love with it."

And what of me? Delemir thought to himself. He shook the thought away, feeling foolish, and listened. He could see why she enjoyed the song so. The words were full of emotion and feeling that seemed so impossible to merely say.

"It makes me cry sometimes," she said quietly. "It nearly did the first time I took the time to listen to it."

"When was that?" Delemir spoke as softly as she. He felt a mood there, an atmosphere that would better off be left alone and dealt with later. For now, he would go with the strongest flow there was at that moment.

"When I was thirteen. It was the day before Thanksgiving-wow, a little more than eight years-when my mom and I were in the kitchen. It came on and I said-" She laughed quietly. "I said that this was a song you would listen to and just lay somewhere, an old movie flickering on the screen, and think of the person you love."

"Lissa?"

"Hmm?" She cuddled closer discretely and sighed.

"Is that an old movie flickering on the screen?" Delemir asked, inclining his head to the television.

Lissa blinked twice to clear her vision then waited a moment before recollection came to her. "Yes. It's called 'It's a Wonderful Life.'"

Then she felt him shifting positions rapidly, yet with as much ease as one would in a ballet dance. Lissa was suddenly on her back and Delemir was nearly laying over her. Their eyes met, locked, for a moment before Delemir's lips were on hers. He was gentle, careful of his actions and what he did. Careful of what he thought. And much more careful of what he murmured sweetly and softly to her as his lips blazed a trail over her skin, feather-light.

"Delemir." Her voice was more of a gasp as Lissa tried to regain a little sanity, a little practicality. She couldn't help it as her blood ran hot in her veins and pounded in her ears. She couldn't help it as she felt color seep into her cheeks quickly. She couldn't help it if she loved him.

She reached out and framed his face in her hands, suddenly trembling from the realization of her feelings. She had to stop, had to stop him and had to get away. He stopped when she told him to silently. She slipped away from him and disappeared into her room in the back of the house.

Delemir sighed as he heard her door shut. Then he heard the familiar clicking of keys on a computer, then heard the rapid fire of computer shooting. She was angry. Why? he wanted to know. Why was she angry? Who was she angry at? Was she angry with him? With herself? Who?

He sighed and stood up, thinking of the way she had gone pliant in his arms. Had that only been a dream and he was only now waking up? Was all of this a dream that was so real that he felt everything in it? If it was, when would he wake up? Why hadn't he woken up already?

No, he thought, it isn't a dream. He didn't know why, but it just wasn't a dream. All of it was too believable.

A shrill ringing from the phone drew him from his thoughts. He heard Lissa's faint reply, then the swift slam of the phone returning to its cradle. He wondered why Lissa was so furious. Sighing, he began to walk to her room, then stopped in his tracks right before he knocked on the door. He remembered something-a dream from his sleep.

"Lissa!" he cried loudly, bursting in her room. She was lying on her bed now, reading a book. She looked up with an amused light in her eyes.

"Yes?" she inquired, immediately dousing the light in her eyes and replacing it with anger.

"I remember something, a dream that I had earlier!" he exclaimed happily, sitting on her bed and folding his knees under him.

"Well?" Lissa's features changed from one to the other so quickly; Delemir could hardly process what she was feeling then. When she stared at him blandly, he thought he saw a trace of reluctance to hear.

"I remember that I was sailing through the air freely. The wind was rushing towards me and blowing my hair back away from my face. Then, I landed on the ground suddenly. I stood up and saw something that I knew my heart had always longed for." He paused for a moment. "I saw myself with a family. We were in my home, enjoying a meal over the New Year. I had a wife, sitting at my side, and we spoke with our children of fanciful things that we all wished to do. And, it was strange..." he trailed off.

"What was?" Lissa asked after a moment, the intrigue growing.

Before Delemir could answer, a deep, gruff voice said, "What're ye doing, ye scabbard's dogs?" from the doorway.

Lissa looked up and laughed. "Hold that thought, Delemir," she told him and ran over to the door. Delemir saw her swing her arms around a tall, dark man and he swung her around. "What're you doing here, ye old pirate?" she exclaimed.

"I couldn't wait to see me favorite girl!" the man exclaimed. He set Lissa down and ruffled her hair. "How've ye been doing, aye?"

"I'm fine." Lissa rose on her toes and kissed his cheek. "You need a shave, Ben," she added, patting the spot she had kissed.

"And ye be needing a haircut. Women shouldn't have such long hair. It's easy to pull. See?" He demonstrated by tugging a lock of it. She laughed and hugged him again.

"Lissa?" Delemir asked, standing.

"Oh, it seems I might've interrupted something here," Ben said. He slung his arm around Lissa's shoulders and thrust out it his other hand. "Me name's Ben. And you'd be?"

"Delemir," he answered, shaking Ben's hand warily. "You're a pirate?" He had a faint memory of seeing Lissa watching a movie with pirates on it the other night.

"Ye could say that." Ben rubbed the stubble on his chin with a good deal of thought. "I own a ship that's in the bay right now. I should take ye two for a ride soon." His gaze swept of Lissa finally and noticed the cast still on her arm and leg. "What on earth happened to ye, Lissa?" he asked.

"Car accident. Totaled my Mustang," she said woefully and wiped an imaginary tear from her cheek. "It's in a junkyard right now, but I'm getting some cash from the parts."

"Ah!" Ben embraced her once more and let out a pirate-like growl. "Always knew ye had some of me pirate in ye! Any payments for anything yet?"

"No. But I'm expecting about twenty-five dollars by next week, or before, then I'll be sending off the gauge thingy. You know that thing that has the gas and oil gauges on it?" she added at Ben's blank expression. "Yeah, that thing."

Ben nodded and threw his head back, laughing. "Ye always were a bright star with cars," he joked sarcastically. "Could hardly tell this from that."

"I could change the oil, which was good enough for-Hey, Connor," she said as he entered her room. "Wow, family gathering."

"Howdy, Ben," Connor said. "How're you?"

The two exchanged the type of hugs that only men could comprehend the correct meaning of as Ben said, "I'm fine, and yourself, Con?"

"Same here as it always goes," Connor said with a shrug.

As those two men exchanged this and that about what had gone in since they'd last seen each other, Lissa walked over to Delemir and, his phrase before Ben arrived completely forgotten, slipped her arm at his waist. Unconsciously, she laid her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"So, you're friends with a pirate?" he asked her.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Ben's great. Pirate, sort of as he is, he's also a good man. Can't help but love him," she said wistfully. "I've known him for a year now, but it seems like I have forever."

Delemir made a quiet noise of acknowledgement as he saw the sun setting, that dream still in his mind. He remembered it as if it had happened, but he knew he hadn't had a family in Lothlórien. He had had many chances, but had taken a battle warrior as a choice instead. He had always been like that. It had been his country first, and his life second. It had always been like that, he thought quietly. But not anymore.

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me. Gee, how specific? AKA, Lord of the Rings, of which my entire story is sort of based on, any lines or anything from Pirates of the Caribbean. I own Lissa, Connor, Jenny, and Ben. I own the dream that Delemir had, and you'll find out what he meant by saying something was strange. I don't own Mustangs, but I do have a GT Concept! Whoo! Actually, it's a remote control car. I wish it were real. I'm gonna go play with it later :D Wow, this is a short note, hehe. Next chapter is New Years, lol. I'll talk to y'all then!

Blessed be, Lissa