Faramir awakens to the sound of voices outside his room and the feel of sunlight against his face. He stretches and turns over, then jumps as he sees a face looking at his. He is up instantly, his hand going to his side where his sword would be. But he then hears the deep laugh and sighs, laying back down and pulling the pillow over his head. "Must you do that all the time, Gandalf." He groans and sighs. Then he turns onto his stomach and pulls the pillow back under his head. "Give me a few more minutes please." He hears the laugh again and then moments later he hears the door to his room close. He lifts his head from the pillow and looks to see if Gandalf actually left. When he sees he is finally alone he sighs and smiles to himself, laying his head back on the pillow and trying his best to go back to sleep. He had been having a good dream for once. One of his ladylove, Eowyn. It had been so real too. He could feel her lips on his and hear soft words from her and even her hands. It was truly amazing. Unknown to him but she had actually visited him during the night. If he had known he would not have been lounging in bed right now.

Eowyn had indeed gotten up during the night and come in to check on him. She hadn't fallen asleep, but Gandalf had, at least he seemed asleep when she came in. And he hadn't said a word the whole time she was there. So as far as she knew, she had been able to sneak in, check on Faramir, give him another kiss and then cover up Gandalf and left the room. It wasn't until the wee hours of the morning that she had finally gotten to sleep. However, she had gotten up early and already had her breakfast. It helped that her brother had woke her, reminding her that they needed to get going.

Some of the voices Faramir could hear outside his room was that of hers and Eomer. "I promise, I won't be long. But he needs to eat and he needs to get a fire lit under him. I am that fire." She looks at her brother tenderly when he tells her that he could get Faramir motivated a lot quicker. "I am sure that you could, but I think that I would much rather do that." She leans her back against the door, still holding the tray she had brought with her that had his breakfast on it. "Brother, Dear, please. I promised you before, and I meant it. I will not do anything to endanger our family or our family's name. Now if you would open the door for me, then I can take this tray in there and get back down to the men." She smiles when he finally relents and opens the door, telling her he would be waiting and to hurry. "Yes, Eomer. I will see you in the kitchens. You can wait there while you have your own breakfast." Then she is in the room and the door closed behind her. Her face brightens when she sees him laying there and for a moment she doesn't say anything. Then she heads for the table in the room, a bright smile on her face. "Faramir, time for breakfast. You need to get up and eat so that we can get everything packed up. Eomer would like to get underway well before noon though he is going to have to just deal with us leaving closer to noon. The rains have only just stopped," she says as she puts the tray on the table and turns to look at his body, "and the carts still have to be filled with our things. There are a few things we will be taking with us from Helm's Deep. And the most important thing that we will be hauling on those open carts will be you." This last is said very softly, her hands clasped loosely in front of her. She couldn't believe that she was standing there waiting for him to roll over so that she could catch a glimpse of his face, just a little glimpse that would make her morning.

Faramir hears the door open and close but feigns sleep as he waits for whoever it was to sleep. When she finally does he can't help but smile. But he doesn't move, not until she says he would be riding in the cart. That gets him turned over and he gives her a confused look as he sits up in the bed. "Why should I ride in a cart? I can ride my horse, Eowyn." He gets out of the bed and tucks his shirt into his pants, yawning as he walks over to the table and looks down at the food. He looked much better than he had the night before. Even a little color had returned to his skin. "Did Gandalf help prepare the food?" He looks at her, waiting for her answer as he walks over to a basin in his room filled with clean water. He splashes it over his face and hair and then dries off with the clean cloth left beside it. Finally he looks back at her. "You are looking particularly lovely this morning." He sits down and picks up a piece of bread, gesturing to the food. "Have you eaten?"

Eowyn sees him sleeping and can't help but smile. He looked so good like that. She wanted to run her hands over his shoulders and arms again. Oh she may not admit it to anyone, but she would admit it to herself that she had very thoroughly enjoyed the massages that she had been giving him last night. He was nothing but muscle under that shirt and she finds she is having a hard time keeping her eyes off of his back as he lay there. "Good morning, Faramir," she says very softly, not wanting to startle him awake. "I have your breakfast." She moves over to the table and puts the tray down, starting to empty it. "You have to eat so that we can get on our way. You will be riding in the cart this morning." He had remained so still and quiet that she jumps when he moves, a hand touching her chest from the shock. She shakes her head at him. "Don't do that to me, Faramir. You will end up scarring me to death! Now come eat." When he finally does sit down and asks her if she has eaten, she nods. "Yes, I was up a long time ago." She does however pull a cup towards her. "I do however have some tea, that I might join you for your morning meal." She sits there smiling at him a moment before she says anything more. "The reason that you have to ride in the cart is so that you can heal better. You pushed it too hard yesterday and I do not wish a half dead man at the next place we stop. She says it in a way as if to broke no argument.

Faramir looks up at her and frowns just a little. "No no. Honestly, Eowyn, I am feeling much better. I can ride my horse." He didn't want to be stuck in a cart, not if it meant looking weak to others. He was taught that weakness was bad, why else would he had had to be punished almost constantly by his father. Because he had always been a weak child, more prone to sickness, more prone to broken bones. But he learned to overcome his weaknesses, his father having always pushed him to be stronger. No. He wouldn't show weakness. "I can make it to Edoras, Eowyn."

Eowyn looks down at the cup, pouting slightly. She had expected this, and she wasn't one to not try something sneaky. "Oh," she looks up at him sadly. "I was hoping that I could read some of your book to you. Or you could read some more to me. I guess that I will have to be there by myself." She shrugs slightly, still looking sad as she brings the cup to her lips and takes a sip. "I can read it by myself can't I? I mean, I will be there alone. I promised to take it easy to Eomer today because I went and caught a cold waiting in the rain for all of you to return." She had indeed promised him, but the conversation hadn't totally gone that way. Basically she had told him she would ride in one of the carts with Faramir because he was sick and she wanted him not to tax himself any more then he had to. And Eomer had informed her that she would have a handmaiden with her if she was going to do that and keep the curtains on the sides open so that he could keep an eye on the two. He didn't trust Faramir.

Faramir looks up at her and frowns, listening to her. Then he looks back down at his food. He could ride in one of the carts with her. But he would still seem weak. But then again....he really shouldn't even BE on the trip. And he had served the ride through that storm. So....maybe it wouldn't be so bad to rest a little. He ignores the voice in his head, the one telling him it would just prove how weak he is and how it proved his father was the one making him strong. Looking up at Eowyn he nods. "If it is your wish that I ride with you then I shall ride with you. Even if it is in a cart. Though I wonder how you got your brother to allow you to ride with me." He eats some more of the breakfast she had brought for him, stopping only to take a drink from the cup by his plate.

She is so relieved when he says he will ride with her that she almost doesn't catch what he says next. She quickly looks up, realizing he still needed something, so she tries to help out. "Because I did not want to travel in the cart and so in order for him to get me to ride in it, I said he had to allow you in there." She reaches out and covers his hand with hers, leaning in close to him, she says softly. "You really don't mind keeping me company, do you? I know you don't really need to be there, but it will make my afternoon so much easier if you are. And we will be able to talk more." She leans in the rest of the way and kisses him ever so softly, pulling back to whisper against his lips, "Good morning."

He smiles at her kiss, nodding. "Good morning to you too, Sweet Eowyn." He stares at her for a moment, then smiles and shakes his head. "No. I will enjoy travelling with you just as much." He finishes off his food and then looks at her again. He notices something different about her so he studies her eyes. She seemed more.....understanding. It is then he remembers Gandalf. "What did he tell you?" He was suddenly nervous. Gandalf must have told her something of his past. More than what he told her.

She looks at him with a frown as she settles back in her seat, picking up her tea. "What who told me?" She takes a sip of tea, glad he had finally relented, but now confused about why he suddenly looked like he wished he wasn't there at all.

"What Gandalf told you. Whatever it was it is not true." He frowns, unable to lie to her anymore than he could to his brother or Gandalf. With a sigh he shakes his head. "No. It was probably true. I have never known Gandalf to lie. But you must understand, Eowyn. He wasn't always a bad man. Not totally. Not until after Mother died. Then he helped me be strong. If not for Father I would probably not be the man I am now."

Before she can stop herself she speaks. "No, you would probably be a much better man." She frowns, glancing at him sadly. "I am sorry, I should not speak of your father that way." She moves over so that she is sitting right next to him and she takes one of his hands in hers, holding it in her lap as she sits sideways in her chair so as to be closer to him. "Faramir, he didn't say anything bad, he didn't need to. You have to remember, I was there when your father sent you into a useless battle. I saw the end result. I have watched you suffer for that fact. I spent hours here last night and then again in the middle of the night, just holding you, trying to massage away some of the pain. I have seen and I have felt the result. Gandalf didn't need to say anything." She didn't care if she had just admitted to her little early morning trip into his bed, she just wanted to make him realize that she knew without others telling her. She cared about him, a care and love that was currently written all over her face as she gazes at him.

He looks over at her, holding her hand and frowning. He felt like crying at the look on her face and her words. But no. He was not going to start crying in front of her. Instead he puts a confused look on his face. "Why.....why do you risk your own health for me, Eowyn? I do not wish for you to become ill because you are looking after me."

She leans in more, taking his face in her hands, her eyes searching his. Could she tell him? Should she tell him? She had told Gandalf and he wasn't the one that she loved. "Because I love you, Faramir. And coming to you in the middle of the night did not risk my health. You were not going to make me sick, but I knew that I could help make you better. So I got into that bed with you and I held you and I kept you warm for awhile, massaging the kinks and knots that the cold has caused in your arms and then when I was certain you would sleep better, I returned to my own bed. Because I love you, Faramir. That is why." She holds her breath, having laid it all out there like that, knowing with a single word he could crush her heart and her soul, she can't help but just sit there, her hands trembling as they hold his head, holding her breath and waiting.

He looks at her as she speaks, wondering how she could love a man like him. He was a failure to his father, someone who should have died where Boromir did. But that was his father. Boromir never once regretted having him as a brother. Even when mad at him he never once said the words. Oh he would call him names but he would always apologize afterwards. And now here before him sat the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and she said she loved him. And he had looked into her eyes and seen nothing but truth there. Truth and love. He can't help it, he lets out a soft little sob as he goes to speak, his eyes brimming with tears. Who cared if he was showing weakness. She loved him. He reaches up and lightly caresses her cheek, looking at her with awe. "Oh my dear Eowyn. I do not understand why a woman like you would fall for me. You are far more than I could ever hope to deserve. But I do understand that you do love me. I can see no lie in your words." He smiles and takes hold of her face gently, looking into her eyes. "And you will see no lie in mine. I love you, Eowyn of Rohan." And with that said he leans in and kisses her like he had always wanted to, with love and passion.

She moves out of her chair and into his lap, never once parting from his kiss, her arms going around him to hold him close to her. She pours her love into the kiss, feeling her heart pounding in her chest, her body responding to him, matching his passion with her own as she melts against him. When she finally does pull from the kiss it is only for a moment, leaning her forehead against his. "You have no idea how long I have waited to hear you say that, Faramir," she says breathlessly, her cheeks flushed from the kiss, her eyes damp with tears of her own. "I have waited a lifetime for you, Faramir of Gondor. You will forever own my heart." Then she closes the mere breath of space between their lips and kisses him deeply, passionately, leaving him no doubt that she loved him with all her heart.

He smiles against her lips and holds her tighter, returning her kiss. When finally he pulls back it is rather reluctantly. He smiles and reaches up to caress her cheek gently again, then leans in and kisses her again, though more softly this time. He pulls back and then looks at her, a strange smile on his face, though it was a happy one. "Now I understand why you wanted me in the cart with you. You wanted to be alone with me again. Though I do not think your brother wants you alone with me." He laughs at her look, knowing he was right. "Yes. I assumed as much."

She sees that she can't hide it from him, but at least he was going to be on the cart with her and he wouldn't be taxing himself by riding. Though right now all she could think about was that he said he loved her. He really loved her. "The curtains have to be up on both sides," she says, looking down a little, then back up through her lashes at him as she gives him a lopsided smile. "You have no idea what it took for me to convince him to let you be there with me. So please, since I did get him to agree, spend the afternoon with me there." She was absently rubbing her thumb over his cheek, her own feeling flushed, her lips swollen from his kisses. But none of that mattered, all that mattered was that he loved her and she loved him. "He will have to get used to the idea, Faramir. I do not throw my heart around." Indeed the only other person who had come close to having her heart was Aragorn. But compared to Faramir, her love was that of a brother to Aragorn. No, this love was so much more.

He smiles at her, amused but not surprised at Eomer's actions. "He is a good brother. I would have hoped to be like him if ever I had a sister." He kisses her once more, then sighs. "You will need to get up." At her questioning look he smiles. "You want me to ride in the cart with you, well I will need to change my bandages and finish packing my things. And I dare ask if you are ready to go yet. Ah but you do have people to help you." He smiles, kissing her again. "I am looking forward to our ride together more and more."

She kisses him softly once more, unable to help herself. Then dropping her hands from his face, she gets up, straightening her skirts. "Yes, I have help, but I do not like to use it if I do not have to. Ah, sweet Faramir," she sighs, putting her empty tea cup on the tray and starting to put the rest of the stuff on the tray as well, at least that which he was done with. "I am sure that you would have made a great brother to a younger sister. Because you are a great man."

He stands and helps her clear the empty dishes off the table and back onto the tray. "Ah but it was Boromir who made me that way." He smiles sadly, then he sighs and looks at her. "He would have liked you. Here. I will take that to the kitchens. You probably should go find your brother." He smiles at her. "Before he assumes I have stolen your virtue." He picks up the tray, noticing he was finally getting his strength back. Good. He didn't like feeling weak. He'd spent enough of his childhood feeling weak. "Shall I meet you outside then?"

She moves over to him and once more reaches up to hold his head in her hands, the tray between them. "Once again you keep getting things all confused. Who ever said I would let you steal anything?" She grins mischievously at him, then leans in and kisses him passionately. Pulling away, she nods and heads to the door. "I will meet you outside. I need to finish getting ready. Don't forget to bring your book. This time I will read to YOU." She opens the door for him, waiting.

"A promise I shall hold you to, M'Lady." He grins and moves out through the door, waiting for her to follow before he asks. "Now....since I have never been here before....where is the kitchen?" He gives her a sheepish smile, waiting for her to tell him before he moves in that direction, nodding to the men he passes in hallway. After delivering the dishes he returns to his room and begins getting ready. In no time at all he is bringing his equipment out and to the stables. He would saddle his horse, just in case. It wouldn't hurt the horse any to carry the saddle.

She smiles as she watches him leave to take the tray to the kitchens, finally turning and heading to her room. It was definitely going to be a good day, definitely. Nothing could ruin the day for her now. He loved her, and he had told her so. She believed him because she had seen it in his eyes, the truth there. As he had seen the truth of her words. It gives her a lighter step, and she whistles softly, unable to stop herself, while getting ready. Finally she takes her things, along with some help, down to the carriage that her brother had ready for her. She gets some of the things up into it, the rest would go on another. She sees that Eomer even had her horse ready, tied to the back of the cart so that it could follow them. She gets on with Monica, smiling at the men nearby, and looking around for any sign of Faramir.