"Eowyn? Eowyn, wake up."

The voice was becoming clearer with every second. The darkness that blocked her vision faded slowly, and the room around her was coming back into focus. She was in her bed, in her room, still in her dress from the morning. Her head ached incredibly, and she had never felt so extremely weak in her life. At her side, seated on the edge of the bed was Aragorn, and beside him stood Eomer. They both looked worried and she frowned a little at the pain her eyes experienced when the sunlight flew into them.

"Wh-what happened?" She asked, suprised to hear that even her voice sounded broken. "Faramir, where is Faramir?"

"I am here, Eowyn." Faramir said softly, and she felt a pair of lips press to her forehead. She turned her head a little and found that she was lying back against Faramir's chest between his legs. It explained why despite feeling weak, she felt so comfortable. He had his arms wrapped around her stomach, holding her against him, and his lips felt refreshingly cool against her heated skin. She lifted one hand, surprise at the effort it seemed to take, and placed it on his own, and he moved his to grip hers with a strong, yet gentle hold.

"How do you feel?" Eomer asked quietly, worry obvious in his voice as he crouched on the floor, bringing his head to be level with her own.

She closed her eyes slowly, before opening them once again. There was no point in lying to them. "Terrible." She muttered. Eomer gave her a sad smile.

"You gave us all quite a scare, Eowyn." Aragorn told her. "Why did you not mention you were sick?"

"I did not feel so bad this morning." She admitted. She would not tell them that she forced herself to remain out and about so she could see Faramir sooner, that would make Faramir blame himself for this. "It came upon me so quickly." She said softly, tightening her hold on Faramir's hand for comfort. His thumb stroked the top of her hand, gliding easily over her soft skin.

"You should remain in bed for a day or two in the least." Aragorn instructed. Eowyn looked up at him in disbelief, a day! She was glad of his healing powers, they had saved both her and Faramir, yet she hated the fact that his diagnosis always confined her to her bed. "I'm sorry Eowyn. It is necessary, otherwise it shall get worse, and then we shall have to call in the healers."

Healers were worse than staying in bed, Eowyn decided, as she leaned sideways against Faramir, feeling his arms adjust to her movement. Eomer rested a hand on her shoulder. "Sleep now, sister," He said, "I shall have the cook make you some soup and have her bring it up to you in a few hours."

As Aragorn and Eomer stood, she felt Faramir shift beneath her. "Eowyn..." He began, but she held him tighter.

"No, please don't go." She begged.

"I am not going anywhere, love." He assured her. "I was simply going to suggest that we move into a more comfortable position for the both of us." He smiled.

The door shut behind the older men, leaving them alone in the room. Eowyn shifted with Faramir's help so she was laying at his side, with her upper body draped over his. He remained half-sitting in the bed, and pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, setting them gently before kissing her head once again. "Sleep, my love." He whispered. "I shall not leave you."

She shook her head, and looked up at him. "I just got you back, Faramir. I want to stay awake longer."

"Eowyn," He said, slightly amused at her stubborness, yet not showing it except in his eyes. "It is almost nightfall, rest now, and we shall talk in the morning."

Nightfall? Had she really been asleep that long? No wonder they had all been so worried! She did indeed feel tired still, and sleep beckoned her into a realm of her own where pain could not be felt. She gave in, curling closer to Faramir and closed her eyes.

"Besides," Faramir added. "Was this not what you wrote of? To be in my arms that night of the storm and the nightmares?" She nodded, and he began to trail his fingers up and down her arm softly. "I may not be able to stop the nightmares, but I shall do my best, and I will be there to hold you should they wake you." She relaxed fully, letting sleep take her, and the last she heard was three words from Faramir's lips she had wanted to hear since she had left Gondor all those months ago.

"I love you."

Faramir stayed awake for many hours, watching her sleep. Her fever did not lessen, and the skin upon her forehead remained too warm for his liking. She would often frown, and he guessed that a nightmare was forming in her mind, and he would hold her closer, leaving a kiss on her forehead once again, and the frown would disappear for a while. How long he had lain awake at night, wishing he could hold her like this, with nothing between them, just being together. Yet now they were back in each other's arms, he found that sleep would not come, and he would rather remain awake, watching the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, listening to the sound of her gentle sighs as she instinctively moved closer to him, should there be a gap between them.

Soon, he thought, they could wake up like this every morning. Suprisingly, spending the night alone with Eowyn in her bed was not something that worried Faramir. She had asked him to, and more importantly so, she needed him.

As the sunrise filtered in through the window, Faramir sighed. He knew from the deep sleep Eowyn was in that she would not wake for another few hours, and he decided that he, too, should rest. Shifting a little, he closed his eyes, and found that now, having gazed upon his love's face for many an hour and seen no trace of fear from them in the past few, sleep came easily to him.

Aragorn and Eomer were walking towards Eowyn's rooms. The sun was high in the sky now, and at mid-morning, they had still seen nothing of neither Faramir nor of Eowyn. Assuming that they had not eaten due to the fact that no one in the Golden Hall had seen them since they took Eowyn to her bed the previous day, Eomer carried with him a tray of food.

"I must admit, Eomer, you have certainly changed your ideas about Eowyn and Faramir's marraige." Aragorn observed upon their walk. "What brought on this change of mind?"

"It was more a change of heart." Eomer said with a sigh. "When we returned from the Black Gate, and I saw her standing beside him, I could tell instantly that they loved each other simply from the way that they looked at one another. The look in her eyes she had at that moment, I had never seen in her before, it had reached the point that I feared I would never see her eyes hold such compassion for another. Yet he returned these gazes with as much love as she gave. It scared me at first, that my little sister was intending to marry, after all, I had promised my father and mother that I would always look out for her and protect her. I could not see how I could protect her if she intended to reside in Ithilien with Faramir. However, one night, I overheard them having a conversation on the very peak of Minas Tirith, and from that moment on, I knew that they were going to get married whether or not I gave my approval. I realised that out parents did not intend for me to care for her for all our lives, only long enough to see her cared for by another."

Aragorn chuckled when Eomer told him of them marrying without his approval. "They are both as stubborn as each other." He mused aloud. "A deadly combination."

"Maybe for us." Eomer said in reply.

As they reached the door of Eowyn's chambers, Eomer knocked before pushing the door open. "Eowyn, I brought..."

He was stopped midsentance by the sight before him. There, bathed in sunlight from the exposed window, Eowyn lay peacefully in Faramir's embrace. They were both sleeping, looking at ease, adknowledging nothing except the presence of their love. He set the tray down on the table by the door, and then turned to Aragorn. "That explained their absense at breakfast." He whispered, not wanting to wake them.

Aragorn nodded. "He needs her as much as she needs him." He said aloud. They closed the door, leaving Eowyn and Faramir to their dreams, which, for once, were not haunted by lightening or fire.