A/N: Thanks for your reviews!! Thanks also to Rosie26 who has been betaing this story for me.
Éomer
When it became apparent that Éowyn would survive her illness, though my nephew had not, I quietly slipped from her room and went to the stable to tend to Firefoot. I needed some time alone to think. What would Éowyn require when she awakened from her illness, especially when she found that she was not yet to be a mother? And I knew that Faramir would be crushed by the news, but I knew not what I might be able to do for him without offending his pride. Regardless of my ability to provide comfort to them, I knew that at least they could rely on one another for support.
When I had mastered my emotions, I returned to the steward's residence to look upon Éowyn again, hoping that she would be awake and aware of her surroundings now. But when I crept in, she yet slept, though I was rewarded with a weary smile from the Queen of Gondor, who was resting in a chair near Éowyn's bedside. She rose and led me to a pair of armchairs away from the bed, and we sat together. For once, Arwen dispensed with her usual formality and spoke to me as one concerned friend to another.
"Éomer, your sister needs you now."
"I have no intention of abandoning her," I said, uncertain of where this conversation was leading.
"That is well, for she refuses to see her husband for the nonce."
I knew not what might have brought this on. "Why?"
"I am uncertain, though it is not unheard of for someone who has suffered a miscarriage to be very temperamental, lashing out at anyone who comes close enough to hear her voice."
"I know naught of that, but I am certain she shall come to her senses soon, perhaps when she is feeling less weak."
"Perhaps," she granted, "but I would not have you far from her until then. She has need of strong support now, and I know that you can provide it until she allows Faramir to step back in."
I nodded, seeing the wisdom in her words. "And so I shall, my lady." If Éowyn would not allow her husband to stand with her during this time of grief, then the duty naturally fell to me, and I would support her in his stead, though I yet did not understand her reasoning.
Arwen
Lord Éomer obviously had received little rest in the past day, and so, it was not long before he was dozing in his chair as he awaited his sister to awaken. I, myself, was weary as well, but my self-appointed task of seeing to Éowyn and Faramir kept me from my bed. It was an undertaking that I had put upon myself from the moment that I met them when I had first arrived in Minas Tirith. Éowyn was so beautiful yet cheerless to the mere eye, and there lurked a fragility beneath her golden exterior that I knew stemmed from more than just the injuries she had suffered during her battle with the Witch-king upon the Pelennor Fields. And Faramir was so shy in my presence that I could barely get him to look me in the eye when first we were introduced. But he was unerringly polite, though he seemed lost, almost in shock from the sad and sometimes horrifying events of the past few months.
But when I at last witnessed the two of them together that same evening, there occurred an almost magical transformation. Suddenly, Éowyn was as strong as mithril, and she smiled at him, and her beauty was enhanced further by the glow of love upon her face. And when she smiled at Faramir, he smiled in return, and his face was wondrous to gaze upon. His awkwardness from before disappeared entirely, and he exuded happiness. They were as two halves of a single entity, something that I had not thought existed in the society of men, and I knew then that I must help in any way that I could to protect them both from harm, for they fiercely need one another.
As I mused upon the Steward of Gondor and his lady wife, the doorknob turned, and when the door opened, Faramir was peeking in at his wife before he entered and after a brief look to me, seated himself next to her, looking forlornly at her slumbering form. He remained so for quite awhile before Éowyn at last stirred. I rose and went to see to her, offering her some water before I brought her attention to her visitor.
Éowyn glared at her husband, though she said naught.
Faramir gazed upon her, his expression one of sadness, before he finally spoke. "My lady," he began, "what have I done?"
"Begone!" she rasped.
"Please, Éowyn, do not do this thing. I cannot bear to be apart from you when you so obviously need me, when we need one another."
"I need no one," she said stubbornly.
He could no longer hold his emotion in check. "Éowyn!" he exclaimed. "If you can give me a valid reason why you send me away, then I shall go, but until then, I will stand here and argue with you if necessary! You are being unreasonable!"
The King of Rohan stirred from his rest and sat up, looking blearily over at them. "Why all of the yelling?" he asked, standing.
"Faramir," said Éowyn. "After the conversation that we had, you think that I did not want this child. You think that I did this thing on purpose!"
"I have said no such thing nor have I thought it!"
"What is going on?" roared Éomer. I went to him and tried to explain the situation while Faramir and Éowyn continued to argue behind me.
"You did not need to say it, husband. I can see it in your eyes!"
"You see no such thing, for I do not feel that way! The only thing that I feel is sadness and disappointment that our son shall not be born now, and I know that it pains you terribly. It pains me as well, Éowyn."
"You are disappointed in me then?"
"Nay, Éowyn! I feel disappointment but not in you. This was not your fault!"
I turned to see her finally look at him again, though it was not a pleasant expression. "No, it was not my fault. It was yours! Had you not ridden off to the River Poros and gotten yourself injured, perhaps this babe might yet be alive! With all of the worrying that I did, it is a wonder that this did not happen sooner," she hissed.
His expression was one of pure shock, but it evolved into frustration and then utter fury. "I remind you that I should not have been injured in the first place had you not followed me there, my lady!"
"Enough!" thundered Éomer. "Faramir, can you not see that she needs her rest? You should not stand here shouting at her!"
Faramir turned a cold gaze upon the King of Rohan and said in a deadly calm voice, "This is not your concern, Éomer. I think that you should wait outside."
"I shall not, for she is my sister, and you are keeping her from her rest. Can you not see that your presence disturbs her, Faramir? Allow her to sleep, and resume this foolishness later!"
"You may be king in Rohan, but here you hold no power over me, Éomer," Faramir said in a quiet tone.
"Faramir, is it so difficult for you to respect my sister's wishes? Perhaps I misjudged you," said Éomer.
"Enough!" I said at last, forced to step into the middle of this row. "Both of you begone now! You are both disturbing Éowyn!" I ushered them both into the corridor and shut the door firmly behind them.
It is beyond my comprehension why mortals waste time being angry with one another. Their time upon this world is so brief at the start that to be parted from one another in anger, especially when the anger is misplaced, seems utterly ridiculous to me. For two people like Faramir and Éowyn who so obviously require each other so desperately, it is particularly maddening. But it was not my place to interfere further, so I simply asked Éowyn if she required aught. She shook her head but did not acknowledge me in any other manner, so I returned to my chair to resume my watch over her, hoping that Faramir and Éomer would be able to amend their disagreement quickly.
Éomer
Though Faramir is often solemn to the point of annoyance, as I followed him down the corridor, I quickly learned that his wrath, something that I had not faced before, is a strong force as well. I had barely stepped over the threshold into the garden when he whirled with the speed of a cat, and despite his still-healing injuries and seeming weakness, he punched me in the jaw hard enough to make me wish that I had not followed him.
"You do not interfere in matters between my wife and me, brother or no," he said quietly as he glared at me.
Though I realized that what he spoke was valid, my anger rose to meet his, and I, in turn, punched him in the face. To his credit, he did not fall, though I thought that he might as he staggered back. "As long as you continue to treat her well, I shall not interfere further."
"See that you do not."
As he retreated into his house, I sat down upon the bench near the door and rubbed my sore jaw and chuckled mirthlessly to think that I had forgotten for even a moment what a formidable warrior he had been during the War. The tales of the prowess of Faramir of Gondor had been told across the lands, but I had forgotten them since he had married my sister. I am glad that I never had to meet him in close combat for he has a punch that could flatten a mule, I deem.
Lothíriel
"Fara?" I questioned him as he staggered into the great hall where I had been dozing in a chair near the fire. "Are you well, Cousin?"
He did not answer me as he sank onto one of the couches and covered his face with his right hand. I stood from my chair, approached him quietly, and then sat next to him uncertain of what I might do for him. I looked to Daddy, but he had fallen asleep some time ago and had not again wakened. We sat motionlessly for a bit before Fara finally removed his hand from his face, leaned forward, his arms crossed before him, his head hanging. He looked completely defeated.
"What is it?" I whispered. Though his face was shrouded in darkness, I realized that he was weeping. I felt panic rising in me, but strove to keep my voice calm. "Éowyn?" I asked, thinking the worst.
He seemed about to say something but did not as he hurriedly wiped the tears from his cheeks and sat up straighter. "She is well," he murmured, allowing himself a slight smile. "She is much too stubborn to let this keep her down for long."
"Praise the Valar!" I moaned. "I thought something else horrible had happened."
He sighed shakily and turned his face toward me. Immediately my eyes were drawn to the swelling near his left eye and the bruise that was darkening there. "Fara! What in Varda's name happened to you?"
"It is naught," he said as I reached forward and turned his head so I might better see this new injury of his.
"Who did this?" I asked.
"It is unimportant," he said, gently pushing my hands away. "What is important is that Éowyn has chosen to blame me for what has happened."
"What!? That is ridiculous!"
"Quiet! You shall awaken Uncle," he whispered before replying, "I know, but she is unreasonable right now. She has banished me from her room."
I frowned in consternation. "Why would she do such a thing?"
"As I said, she is being unreasonable. Her grief is overwhelming her, but she will not let me near her. And I thought her brother might physically force me from the room."
"Éomer! Was it he who did this to your poor face, Fara?"
He said, "I told you that it is naught." But it was too late; I was wroth. I stood abruptly.
"Where is he?"
"I left him in the garden, but Thíri. . . ." I did not hear any words past that for I was on my way to the garden to deal with Éomer.
When I burst through the doorway, he was sitting upon the bench that I had first nervously perched upon when I had asked him if he would like to go riding with me. He looked up at me, hope blooming in his features when he saw that it was I. I noticed that it appeared that Faramir had evened the score a bit by leaving a similar bruised swelling upon the King of Rohan's face, but it did little to quell my anger.
"How dare you!?" I shouted at him, and the hope upon his face died to be replaced with resolved weariness.
"Why are you yelling at me, my lady? He struck me first."
I must admit that his words shocked me, but I did not back down. "You should not have hit him, Lord Èomer!"
"He struck me first," he repeated in the same tone of voice, but then his words quieted as he looked away from me. "She means for him to leave her."
"What?"
"She means for him to leave her alone because she cannot find anyone else but herself to blame for what has happened. She is accusing him falsely for the loss of their babe, and I fear for what it shall do to them both."
I sat heavily upon the opposite end of the bench, my anger toward him almost forgotten. "How can this be happening? I know of no two other people save perhaps Aragorn and Arwen who are more in love than Fara and Éowyn. Is there nothing that can be done?"
He shook his head slowly. "Your cousin has forbidden me to interfere, and the Queen of Gondor has set me as Éowyn's protector. If she was not so ill, I would wait until Faramir was off somewhere, turn her over my knee, and give her a good spanking."
I was shocked. "Lord Éomer, how can you say such a thing?"
He glanced at me with a rueful expression. "It would not be the first time, Lady Lothíriel."
I frowned at him. "You are a bully," I said, and he had the audacity to look wounded. I stood, gaining courage from his expression. "I should have paid heed to my first instincts about you, Lord Éomer." Before he could reply to my comment, I had whirled away from him and departed the garden.
Faramir
Without knocking, I crept back into Éowyn's sickroom a little after dawn. The queen was yet awake, her Elven constitution allowing her to function with little sleep, and she smiled softly at me as I came to sit in the chair next to hers.
"Faramir," she murmured in greeting.
"Has she said aught else?"
"Nay, she has only slept since you and Lord Èomer departed." She took note of my new bruise. "I see that you and he had further words."
"They were quite succinct, I assure you, my lady."
She nodded, and we both turned our attention back toward Éowyn.
"She is a stubborn woman, Faramir. Think you that you might change her mind when she again awakens?"
"I shall try my best."
"If you do not, remember that she shall eventually come to her senses."
I nodded, unwilling to consider that she might send me from her yet again. The queen and I sat in companionable silence for at least an hour before my wife finally stirred, and Arwen went to her, offering her some water. She sipped at it for a moment before she noticed me.
"What is he doing here again?" she asked the queen, and Arwen tried to explain to her that I was worried about her health and had only wished to make certain that she was comfortable. "I want him out of this room," she groaned, and my heart sank. I had to try.
I stood. "My lady, please, would you not allow me to speak once more with you?"
"I do not wish to speak with you, my lord."
I quickly formed a plan, hoping that I might force her to reconsider her perspective. "You would not speak with me even to say goodbye?" Arwen glanced to me once and then quietly excused herself, silently departing the room.
"Goodbye?" queried Éowyn with an indifference that I prayed was feigned.
"Aye, Éowyn. You said that you wished me from your presence, and I do not wish to upset you further with my close proximity, so I have decided that I should leave the city until you are feeling better."
"You will depart Minas Tirith?"
"For you, yes."
She hesitated before speaking again. "And where will you go?"
"I know not yet, my lady." I shrugged. "Away from here. I shall send word to you as soon as I am settled."
"When do you depart?"
"I need to make arrangements for an escort, but as soon as that is finished, I shall go."
She looked at me almost blankly for a few moments before she said, "It is well that you do this thing, my lord."
I tried not to show how sad her words made me as I nodded, swallowing my emotion. "I do it only to please you, Éowyn, as it has always been, though I hope that you would not keep me away for very long, for a man cannot live for long without his heart."
She seemed about to say something before she changed her mind and instead said, "I wish you a safe journey, Lord Faramir."
Her formality crushed my soul. I bowed deeply before her. "Thank you. I wish you a rapid and complete recovery, my lady."
She turned her face away from me again, and I decided that was her dismissal of me, and so I departed her room, passing Arwen in the corridor. She spoke, I think, but I did not pause as I sought solitude, suddenly feeling unable to bear anyone's company.
Arwen
"What have you done?" I asked Éowyn as I reentered the room after passing a very distraught Faramir in the hallway, and she turned her head to glare at me.
"I can no longer bear the look in his eyes," she said tonelessly.
"But he looks at you only with love, Éowyn."
"He looks at me with pity, but worst of all, he thinks that the loss of his son is my fault."
"Did he say that?"
"He does not need to. I can see it."
"In spite of what you think that you read within his eyes, you are mistaken. Faramir is not like that, and he feels every bit as much worry over your well-being as he does pain over the loss of your son as you do. Besides, this was no one's fault. These things happen."
It was as if I had not spoken. "If I had not been required to go chasing halfway to Harad after him, perhaps this might not have happened. He should have stayed at home where he belongs instead of running off, trying to prove that he remains a Ranger of Ithilien. If he had, I should not have had to run to him when he nearly died."
I barely held my anger at her injustice in check. "Hear your own words! Only a few weeks ago, he lay closer to death than ever he has, and I know that you would have killed any who stood in your way so you might reach his side regardless of the reason behind his condition. Your conjecture about what might have happened holds no purpose, my lady. And your actions serve to alienate the one man who would never hurt you purposely, for I believe that he is incapable of it. Do you not know that your pain is his as well? Do you not realize how helplessly he holds himself before you, Éowyn? After what his father did to him, it is simply amazing that he is capable of baring his soul to anyone, showing his vulnerabilities to you, trusting you not to harm him. You alone in this world hold the power to crush him with a single word, much as Lord Denethor used to do to him. And because your pain blinds you to all else but yourself, you have hurt him more certainly than had he been a lonely flower in a field that you carelessly trod upon in your haste to accuse."
"How dare you?" she hissed at me. "Do not compare me to that monster that was his father, for I have done naught but love Faramir until now! You know not how I hurt inside! You know not what I feel! It would be well if you were gone from my presence as well!"
"Well for whom? You hold no power over me, Lady Éowyn. I am the Queen of Gondor, and though you can injure the Steward of Gondor with a word or a look, I am not so easily affected by your fits of mood. And though you are being intolerable for the nonce, I am your friend, and I will not so easily abandon you. Now, sleep." Before she could argue further, I set my fingers upon her brow and sent her into oblivion, hoping that she would awaken with more sense in her head than she seemed to have right now.
