**Authors Notes:
Reminder - This is done in RP form, so take it as such, that is how it is written, in a private chat room between Liam and myself, tossing back and forth the parts as needed, writing it up in story form though. This does cause some broken thoughts and sentances, as well as a few tense problems. Just remember...**


***************Chapter 2***************


He smiles and leans back against the pillows. He stays like that for a little while longer, thinking about her, about how beautiful she looked, and how much he was looking forward to her return. It isn't until he notices he is falling asleep that he settles down into the bed again, making himself as comfortable as he can without too much pain. Then he closes his eyes and falls into a deep sleep. It isn't until he feels a light hand touch his arm that he wakes up again. He blinks at the person who touched him and smiles as he sees Eowyn in the light from the candles in the room. Someone must have lit them when they came in to start the fire in the hearth. "Dinner time already?" He smiles as he sees her nod and then he manages, with a little help from her, to get out of his bed and over to the table by the window where there was a tray with their food on it.

She had made sure that his dinner would be ready on time along with hers, overseeing it after she got ready. She had found out from the little Hobbits that they would be busy that night and unable to attend dinner with her and Faramir. They were visiting with Master Frodo in fact, who was a few doors down from her sweet Faramir. Her? She had to stop thinking that way, she thinks as she quietly enters the room after knocking. He hadn't answered and when she poked her head in she saw why.

Setting the table and then sending the help away she had finally gone to his bedside and touched his arm. At his softly question she answered him just as softly. "Yes it is, Faramir. However I am sorry to say, but Master Pippin and Master Marry, were unable to attend. They were going to try to cheer up Master Frodo if at all possible. He is well, but just barely. That is one strong Hobbit, if I do say so myself." She busies herself getting their dinner ready, not wanting to seem so forward in her words or actions. She was having a hard enough time keeping her eyes off his chest since he had stood. Yes, his chest. He was without his shirt when he had gotten up and her eyes had taken that point in almost instantly. She didn't know if she should be offended and demand he put his shirt on or if she should just ignore the fact that he was sitting there without his shirt.

In the end she thought it best to not even mention it. If he felt comfortable enough to keep it off in her presence then she should take it as a compliment, for she knew that he didn't mean to put her down in any way by being so very informal in her presence. And those that knew of her being there would never doubt for a minute he had been nothing but the gentleman he was the whole time, nor find his actions improper. If that was so, then why did her eyes keep going to his chest, she asks herself silently finally getting her eyes under control and keeping them on the food she was dishing up before leaning slightly over the table to look at him questioningly. "Would you like some of these?" She meant the rolls she held out to him, not for a minute thinking her actions nor stature might imply something more personal.

He catches her looking at his chest once, though she doesn't notice, and he wasn't the type to bring it up, though he does remember his manners. Acting like he had merely forgotten about it, he asks her if she wouldn't mind passing him his shirt. When she does he smiles, thanking her, but giving no sign that he had seen her looking at him. He acted like it was just a common curtsy to her if he wasn't half naked. And it was getting a little colder in the room. He smiles when she helps him with his shirt, blushing slightly.

"My apologies, Eowyn. I did not intend for you to help me so much. Though I do appreciate it." He smiles at her, then nods when she offers him a roll. "Thank you." He takes one with his good hand, his other arm was in a sling thanks to his shoulder which had taken one of the Orc's arrows that had gotten through his armor in that fated battle his father sent him on. He could still hold things with his bad arm, as his hand was fine, but reaching and lifting was out of the question.

He glances at her and smiles, then looks back down at the food on his plate. He had great manners, only because his mother had insisted he and Boromir be the best at everything. He had a sneaking suspicion her motives had something to do with keeping father pleased. His father. Now there was a man that could have used some manners. He frowns slightly at his thoughts. No. His father was a good man once. He was just never good enough for his father. He always seemed to choose the paths that enraged his father. If not for Boromir, well he didn't want to think of that now.

He looks up and out the window, watching the sky before his eyes fall again on Osgiliath in the distance. His father was right there though. He had been the one who had lost the city to the enemy. It was his fault, even if his father had sent a league of rangers to fight an army of Mordor Orcs. His men had been outnumbered. And in the angry part of his mind, the part he didn't want to listen to, he couldn't help thinking that his father had meant to send him to the fight, hoping he would die, knowing Faramir and his men were outnumbered. If not for Boromir arriving with reinforcements.....He is brought out of his thoughts by his name and he blinks and looks at Eowyn, frowning slightly before giving her an apologetic smile. "My apologies again, Eowyn. My mind seems to like to wander from me lately. What was it you were saying?"

When he asks for his shirt she can't help but feel relieved. Not so much because of the manners in the situation but because she knew then she wouldn't keep staring at it. For it had been a well muscled chest, the scars from battle making her want to reach out and touch them, her curiosity so bad she almost had to sit on her hands. Indeed she almost ignored her own manners to make sure that all his injuries where taken care of. Instead she made do with a closer look at it when she helped him get his shirt on. In the process she accidentally touches one scar, murmuring her sorry before she finishes, one last time her fingers ran over his side at one particularly red bandage and she almost makes him stop to put on a new one. But she shouldn't be so personal with him and so she quickly retreats within herself over the matter.

Taking her heat again, she looks at him sideways when she finally does settle into her seat, telling him of the hobbits and the afternoon she had had with them. When she notices he seemed off in another world she frowns. Had he heard anything that she had been saying? Apparently not. She nods, though there is a slight hurt look to her eyes, a look that calls her a liar when she says it was okay. "No, really, it is okay." It was, the man had been through so much, he had a right to his evening in peace. She probably shouldn't have come anyway, she had been the one intruding, and for reasons she didn't even know yet. "It is to be a given that your mind may not be here completely. You have been through a tremendous ordeal. It is I who should be apologizing for intruding on your evening. I was only telling of my afternoon while you slept. I spent it with Master Pippin and Master Marry once they had returned from visiting Master Frodo." She takes a roll and tears it open, spreading butter on it before taking a bite. The food always did seem so much better after the end of a journey. And that is what she felt like she was at. The end of a journey. Yet somehow she was beginning to think it was the beginning of one when she looked into Faramir's eyes.

He smiles at her, listening to her as he begins to eat, nodding. "And how is Frodo, and Sam? I forgot to ask before. But I would like to know. I have yet to see either of them and no one has told me anything, save that their journey was a success." He listens to her tell him what she knew and smiles, nodding. "And to think I was almost our downfall." He shakes his head and laughs, then winces, then smiles and shakes his head again. When asked why he said that he shrugs, winces, and then looks down at his food. "I say that because, if not for Sam, the ring would have been a gift from me to my father. A terrible mistake on my part. I am glad that I did forfeit my life to let those two hobbits continue on their journey."

She tells him of Frodo and Samwise, at least the things that they had filled them in on. Frodo had since spoken to her privately about some things and she informs Faramir of them, like the book Frodo wanted to write. Then when he starts talking about himself in such a manner her face falls, a storm brewing clearly on it. When he finishes it takes all the training of her Uncle's to keep her in her seat. "It is there that you are wrong, because you do not give yourself the credit you deserve. Who is to tell what would have happened if the task had been brought before you. You put yourself down with every word, and if I am truthful with us both, it is to say that you are wrong, Faramir. And it angers me to hear such terrible things come from your lips."

Aye, lips as sweet as his, yet spouting foul things when he doubts himself to her. Was he merely trying to be modest or did he believe these things? She hoped he did not, for it would point to him being weak in character. Not because he wouldn't take credit for the good, but because he took all the credit for the bad. It was not all his fault and he should see that. Or was he not whom she had once thought him to be?

He looks up at her and listens to her, nodding when she finishes. "My apologies. I didn't mean any harm by my words. I was simply stating that is what almost happened. My will to please my father blinded me to what I was doing." He looks down at his food again, then slowly back up at her, a strange look on his face. "It is only the truth I speak, Eowyn. I never lied, even to my father and knowing how the truth would bring him to anger."

She reaches out and covers his hand with hers, her voice soft when she speaks. "You are far too hard on yourself, Faramir. Please, do not belittle yourself in such a way in my presence." She withdraws her hand from over his, picking up her spoon and digging into the bowl of soup she had had them bring.

He looks at her hand, then hears her words and smiles at her, nodding again. "As you wish, Eowyn." He liked this woman. She seemed to care about what he though of himself. The only one who ever did that before was Boromir. True his men probably didn't like hearing him talk badly about himself, but they never worded it. If not for Boromir, he would be nothing now. He smiles and goes back to eating.

"Thank you, Faramir. I appreciate it." She too goes back to eating, settling down to their meal in silence, not knowing what was going on behind his silence. "On pleasanter things, like say you're getting out of here. Maybe if you feel up to it, you should go for a walk in the gardens. The sun might do you some good," she says with a soft smile. "Don't you think?"

He looks up at her and smiles, nodding. "I would enjoy a walk in the gardens. I always did love the gardens. Such a nice place to read." He watches her a moment, then asks. "Maybe you would like to accompany me on my walk tomorrow? If the healers allow me to."

She looks up slightly in shock at his question. "Walk with you tomorrow? Me? I? Uh.... Okay, if you would like me to accompany you on your walk, I would be pleased to come along." She smiles softly at him., really liking the idea of going along with him.

He smiles more and nods. "Then tomorrow, in the afternoon, and if the healers allow me to go." He would make SURE they allowed him to go. There was no way he would miss out on a chance at spending time with her.

She returns the smile, eating in silence for a little while. It isn't until she is almost done that she speaks again. "The Hobbits will be leaving soon. We should throw them a party of some kind." She wipes her mouth with the linen napkin then settles back in her chair, her half-filled goblet of wine in her hand. "I am sure something with food is all that they would care for." She smiles at him, a thought coming to mind that causes the smile to falter. She would have to go home herself soon. Her Uncle's body needed to be buried and his Kingdom given to the next in line. She would need to return with his body and she didn't know how to say this to him. Oh she could just say that she was leaving, but there was something between them that she had started to notice that caused this to be difficult for her.

She takes a sip of her wine, looking at the stem as she places it on the table, twirling it between her fingers. "I will have to leave soon to return my Uncle's body to his Kingdom," she finally says softly, unable to look at him and she didn't know why. She suddenly wants to ask him to come with her, make up some excuse for him to be there. She doesn't know where this comes from, but it is there and won't go away. She knew it had to be her growing feelings for him that she had. She stops playing with the goblet, bringing it to her lips to drink the rest, her eyes meeting his over the rim with a smile before putting it down.

He looks at her as she speaks of the hobbits, smiling and nodding, as he usually did. "There will have to be plenty of food." He winces and reaches up to hold his shoulder a moment then rubs it before going back to eating his food. He is almost finished when she speaks of going home. He can't help the slight frown that appears on his face, though he knew she was right. It was what she had to do. And who was he to ask her to stay? He nods, looking at her. "Will you return again?"

"I don't know," she says softly. "I will have to be there for my Uncle's funeral as well as my brother's coronation. It may be some time before I could make a return trip here. And even then, I would have to find a reason." You, you are a very good reason. The thought catches her off guard the moment she thinks it, but it was a good enough one for her. Then another thought comes to mind and she speaks it before she thinks. "You know, we will need some to accompany us back. Most are staying here for the time being, until things are more in order. But some of us have to go back." And she would need an accompaniment back there, it gave him the perfect opportunity to spend more time with her. Yet she didn't dare voice this, it would be far too forward. Why she cared, she didn't know. There was something about this man, something that drew her to him. She wanted to spend time with him.

He looks up as he finishes off his soup, smiling for a second before he tries a more diplomatic look. He didn't want to seem too eager, though he had a sneaking suspicion his quick smile had given that away. "I should come. I knew your Uncle...well I met him before things went sour between our two countries." He shakes his head, he had never agreed with his father's actions towards Rohan. It just wasn't right to abandon that friendship like he had. He can't help but grin as a thought hits him. Oh how his father would hate to know he was in love with a woman from Rohan.

She notices the smile and wonders at it. It made her think just what he thought of her. After all, they had only up to this point talked a little. Yet something kept drawing her to him. Maybe he felt that too. She didn't know. A trip with him would certainly help them sort those feelings out. "I think that my Uncle would have loved to known you were there. It would be a pleasure if you would accompany us back there." She takes sips at the goblet, her wine almost gone as well. Then she would have to leave. So she drug it out just a little. "You will hopefully be able to travel by then."

He smiles and nods, sipping his own wine before looking out the window. After a moment he looks back at her. "It should not be more than a three day ride? And when were you to leave? The day after tomorrow? Or after our walk in the garden tomorrow?" He too didn't want her to leave. He was enjoying her company far too much. And if her want to be with him was any indication, perhaps she had some sort of feelings for him.

"We should be leaving soon. They had planned on leaving tomorrow afternoon. However, if you can get the okay to leave the morning following, then I could put it off till then, so that we are sure you are well enough to travel."

He smiles at her, again, nodding. "I am sure that I can. Now that I am not stricken with fever I should be able to travel. All that is wrong with me are the wounds where the arrows pierced me." He sees her frown. "My apologies, Eowyn, I seem to have once again said something that upset you. I am fine. I assure you. The poison from the Orc's arrows has run it's course."

She shakes her head. "It isn't that you have upset me, Faramir, at least in that way. More that you seem so at ease with it, were as I am more concerned that you are still in danger of a relapse." She then smiles a bit shyly. "I know it isn't my place to worry about your heath." And she wasn't about ready to say why she was so worried, not even to herself.

He smiles at her, watching her carefully as she spoke. "But it eases my heart to know you do worry, Eowyn, though it is not my intention to make you worry. But I can assure you, I will not have a relapse. I feel much better already."

She blushes slightly, putting her goblet on the table, finally empty. "I am sure you do not do anything intentional in my concerns. " She gets up and goes to the window, looking out over the lands. "It is a lovely night tonight." She didn't know why she was trying to draw it out, at least any reason she was ready to admit to herself.

He smiles and rubs his arm as he watches her, and after a moment he gets up and limps over to stand beside her. "Yes it is. I have not seen such a lovely night in a long time."

She glances at him sideways. "You look in pain. I should let you be for the night, to rest." But she doesn't move from where she stood, her features outlined from the candles in the room and the moonlight that filtered through the window.

He turns and looks down at her, a smile on his lips. She looked beautiful standing there like she was, in the soft light. He wanted to kiss her. He did but he was brought up to be not so forward. He could ask her if she'd let him kiss her but he didn't want to offend her.

She wonders why he is looking at her like that when she turns enough to catch him staring. She gives him a soft, questioning smile. "What about me has brought that look to your face, Faramir?" she says softly, finding his close proximity to her causing her breath to stutter a little.

He smiles, still staring down at her. "I was just taken by your beauty. You are quite beautiful, Eowyn. If not for the fact I know I am awake I would think I was dreaming."

That does cause her to blush, bringing the redness to her cheeks in a nice way. "Thank you, Faramir, that is kind of you to say.." She looks out the window, pleased that he had been looking at her in such a manner. "You are quite charmer too," she says as she glances at him sideways.

He smiles, laughing softly. "What I see before me has nothing to do with charm. And as I said before, I speak only the truth." He smiles and looks out the window again, but only for a moment, as his eyes stray back to her and his mind once again settles on the fact that he wanted to kiss her. And badly.

She smiles again at him, reaching up and tucking the stray tendril that kept falling free behind her ear again. "Some would say that that was charm. It all depends on how one feels about oneself. I don't feel beautiful." She looks back out the window. "I am plain, not beautiful. And you are a charmer. And a handsome one at that." The last is said softly, almost too softly.

He smiles more, having caught what she said. "Then we are made for each other, Eowyn. I do not think myself handsome and you do not think yourself beautiful but it seems we both believe that to be wrong about the other. I do think you are beautiful. If I were blind I would still think so, merely from your actions and voice."

She looks at him sideways, her voice soft when she speaks. "Maybe we are made for each other, only time will tell." She looks quickly back out the window. "I should go now. It is getting late." She takes a step back from the window, not wanting to go.

He frowns a little. "Must you? I was enjoying our time together." He smiles at her, staring at her for a moment, aching to lean down and kiss her. He wasn't too sure but the look in her eyes told him she might not mind if he kissed her. And before he notices he is leaning down close to her. But he suddenly pulls back as the door is opened to his room. He looks over at the healer that walks in and curses quietly. He had been so close.

She sees him leaning towards her and she knows he is about ready to kiss her. But she doesn't pull back, even though every sense in her is screaming for her to pull back she doesn't. Instead her eyes start to droop slightly, her lips part ever so slightly as she waits for the kiss. So it is with a surprise she hears him cuss. She hadn't heard the healer enter her mind totally on that kiss. She looks to the door and makes a few very quick steps back, as if caught doing something that she shouldn't. She smile at Faramir, slightly embarrassed. "Till tomorrow."

She goes to the table and starts putting the dishes on the tray, glad that it caused her to have her back to him, so he couldn't see the embarrassed red in her cheeks. She couldn't believe that she had been going to do that, kiss him, nor let him be so brazen as to kiss her on such a short time.

He watches her leave, sighing softly and not listening to the healer until she is gone. Then he turns tortured eyes on the older woman, who just laughs and pats his good shoulder while helping him to sit on a bench in the room so she can clean his wounds and give him medicine. He sits in a daze and just thinks about Eowyn and what he had been about to do. He had noticed the look on her face when she turned away. Though he wasn't one to hide affection from the public, he needed to be sure Eowyn would be ok with it as well.

When the healer is finished cleaning his wounds and re-bandaging them he moves over and gets into bed at her request. "I have a question." He waits for her to look at him. "Would I be well enough to go for a walk in the gardens tomorrow? And if so....could I not travel as well?" He sees the healers worried look and sighs when she tells him she'll ask the Warden. He nods and settles down into the bed, shivering when the woman blows out the candles and gets the fire roaring again. He didn't like fire, but he was trying to tolerate it. But thankfully the medicine starts to work and he soon is asleep, breathing lightly and for once not dreaming of death, Orcs, and fire, but of a beautiful young woman, so fair and delicate, yet strong and confident. He would sleep well tonight.