Well since I've finished my other story, Love's Mysteries, I figured that I might as well finish this one off before I start on anything and go nuts over writing it again. I mean, we can't leave poor Gollum hanging around forever!

Patrick paced up and down the room, throwing glances at Kathy and Sméagol, both poring over the newspaper. "You two are crazy! A job! A job for him! That's just insane. Who wants to employ him? What can he do?"

"I don't know yet, that's why we're looking, aren't we? He could always do something simple. It would help the house, you know. If you haven't noticed, I haven't been working for a while. My savings are getting pretty depleted. Unless, of course, you intend to provide for the two of us?"

"I didn't say that," Patrick muttered. "But what can he work as?"

Kathy looked up with a satisfied smile. "I got it."

"Come on, what's wrong with you? Too afraid to try?" Nat teased.

Deon's face was flushed full red now. "I am not too afraid!" he exclaimed.

Nat grinned. "Then give it a try. Come on, it's easy. I just ask you a question and you either answer it, telling only the truth, or else you just do something that I will specify. It's really simple. It's called Truth or Dare, how bad does that sound?"

"I have no idea how bad that sounds… you can make anything bad," Deon muttered. "All right, all right, I'll give it a try."

"All righty then, truth or dare?"

Deon glanced at Nat suspiciously. "Truth."

"Have you ever been in love?"

Deon raised his hands defensively. "No! I am not answering that question!"

"You have to," Nat protested. "It's the rules, and you agreed to play the game! Look, you can ask me any question you want later, and I'll have to answer it too, it's just how it goes!"

"You're not supposed to ask such personal questions!"

"Am too!" Nat insisted. "That's the point of the whole game! What did you think I was going to ask you, your favourite colour? The point of the game is to learn things that you'll never learn otherwise. Now, out with it. Have you ever been in love?"

Deon sighed, defeated. He slumped against the rock (he was so tired of rocks, he wanted to go back to Rohan, but Nat couldn't leave and there was no way he could leave her, since he'd promised he'd stay). "Well… I suppose… yes, yes I have. But it's all over now."

"What happened?" Nat leaned in closer, wondering if he would tell her at all.

He shook his head, closing his eyes. "She married someone else, that's what happened. And then it was just… over."

"Why would she want to marry someone else? Didn't she love you as well?"

"I don't know. I wasn't good enough, I suppose. After she got married, I entered the service of the King Théoden, serving him till his death. Now I serve King Éomer. But I'll still never be good enough for her."

Nat shook her head, and reached for his hand. "Nah, I don't believe that at all. No one's ever not good enough. My mum told me that every day when I was a child, and she believed in it, and so do I. Perhaps she had her reasons, or perhaps there's something else planned for you."

Deon stared at their linked hands for a moment, then laughed. "I never expected that you would actually touch me without hurting me."

Nat started, not noticing that she had actually reached for his hand, and then she began laughing too. "Well, what else could I do? I was afraid that you would start crying," she said, embarrassed.

"I suppose it's my turn, then, to ask a question?" Deon smiled. "How about you, ever been in love?"

Nat thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I haven't. I thought I was, a few times, but it all ended up as an illusion. I've never been in love. Never met the right person to fall in love with."

Deon nodded, accepting her answer. It was Nat's turn to ask a question, but she said nothing, thinking about this man sitting next to her, finally seeing his other side.

"LIFEGUARD?" Patrick half-shrieked. "YOU WANT HIM TO BE A LIFEGUARD???!!!"

"Shhh! Are you going to scream the house down?" Kathy looked down at TWG's grinning face. "Why not? He's a good swimmer."

Patrick put his head in his hands. Great. Just great. "Did you ever stop to think that the people might be more afraid of him than of drowning?"

TWG frowned. "Why? Nice Sméagol's friendly."