A/N: To begin we humbly apologize for our somewhat moody exit to chapter 38. A lot of things contributed to our little rant that try to discourage us. We are NOT stopping this story at this time. It simply gets tiresome being challenged, or seemingly so, on insignificant points (Including moral points by purists on a variety of issues). As of now it was an empty threat. We are human and sometimes have all too human reactions to things. On the upside, it showed us how many loyal fans we have that you've taken the time to ask us not to pull this.

On a less personal note, everyone may want to read this. We just wish to warn y'all that this chapter will end on a cliffhanger that it very likely to…"upset" you, so to speak. We expect several death threats but it's just the way the chapter had to end. Very sorry.

Anyway, all that aside, welcome back to Minas Tirith…

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Chapter 39

TA 3019 March 25

(New Year – Gondor Reckoning)

Minas Tirith

Thranduil made his way through the crowd packed into the Merethrond. Gondor's nobility, from the lesser lords to the leaders of smaller settlements such as Lossarnach and Dol Amroth, were mingling, celebrating the long awaited return of their king. Aragorn also mingled, with Legolas by his side, leaving Thranduil to his own devices. So, left with only his own company, which didn't particularly interest him, he came upon the thought of getting to know his grandson.

Unfortunately, said grandson seemed to have disappeared as well. Good company was so hard to find in such times as these.

Giving up in his search he decided some fresh air would be beneficial so he turned for the hall doors leading outside. Once outside he sighed, happy to be away from the crush of bodies inside.

Hearing whispers off to his left he glanced over and cocked a brow. Hidden in a shadowed alcove stood his grandson with Aragorn's steward. The deep kiss they shared made Thranduil chuckle.

It seemed Legolas had left out the fact that his son, too, had chosen a mate.

The two lovers jumped apart when they heard the chuckle and spun to face the elf guiltily, telling Thranduil their relationship was a secret. He laughed again; it must be something in the blood of Mirkwood's royal family to have relationships that were secret.

Thranduil with Legolas' naneth, which to this day remained secret to all except her, her father and Thranduil…with the obvious exception of Legolas' birth. Legolas' relationship with Aragorn had only become public that morning. Now it was Farothen's relationship that apparently remained a secret.

Recognizing Thranduil on sight Boromir was the first to react with a half bow and a quick, "Greetings, King Thranduil."

Absently the Elven king returned the man's greeting but his gaze was locked on Farothen's, so much like Legolas, perhaps only a bit lighter. He'd caught glimpses of the half elf throughout the day and evening, and heard Legolas' description, but to see him up close was almost staggering. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the young man.

Farothen was just as shocked as he studied the elf in front of him. He knew he was facing his grandfather because, not only had he seen him from a distance that morning, but the similar facial features to Legolas' were unmistakable. Thranduil's features were just a bit sharper than his son's.

"Farothen." Thranduil whispered, "Do you know who I am?"

"The king of Mirkwood," Farothen replied without thought, wincing guiltily when Thranduil looked hurt, "And my grandfather."

Thranduil smiled, "I am."

Silence fell between them. What did one say in such a situation?

Boromir held out as long as he could before saying, "Would you two…hug or something? The silence is unnerving!"

Both elf and half elf jumped. Thranduil turned his gaze to the man with a mock scowl, "Be warned, mortal, only the fact that my grandson obviously loves you, making you part of my family, gives you the right to speak to me so…this once."

Before Boromir could reply Farothen burst out laughing, "Adar gets his sense of humor from you, doesn't he?"

Thranduil cocked a brow, "My son has a sense of humor? He's always seemed so serious at home."

For a moment Farothen wasn't sure if he was being teased or not. Then the elf smiled.

Boromir sighed, "And I thought I'd married into a family that was at least half sane." He shook his head, "Figures, you can never trust an elf to be the way they first seem."

"Relax, my jewel." Farothen replied, smiling at his husband, "You'd be bored if our lives were sane."

Boromir merely gave a small grunt in retort as Thranduil tilted his head and asked, "Do my son and…son-in-law…know you are wed?"

"Well, Legolas does." Boromir answered."

"But Aragorn does not." Thranduil guessed, "Can I be there when he finds out?"

Both Boromir and Farothen groaned at the now familiar question.

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After that scene Boromir decided he should leave Farothen to get to know his grandfather. Add to that the fact that Legolas had wandered up in an extremely and deliriously giddy mood and the steward needed no further incentive to make himself scarce.

Not wanting to return to the party, and left with no where else he needed…or really wanted…to be, he found himself in his old office. It was a bit dusty and bare since he hadn't used it in a few years, always being out on the battlefield or on military circuits around Gondor but it really didn't matter much since he simply sat at the desk considering the enormous task still before them.

Even with the war over there was still much to be done before Minas Tirith was back to the Queen of the South she was meant to be. The repair of the White City alone would take the better part of a year. But the people…

"I would have a word with you, Lord Boromir."

Boromir looked up in surprise to see a very nervous looking Eomer hovering in the doorway.

"Already tired of partying?"

Eomer chuckled, "No, the party is still in full swing. Except for Gimli, who went cross-eyed and passed out from the ale about five minutes ago. And Merry and Pippin have been smoking and drinking so much I don't expect them to be far behind the dwarf."

"That sounds like Merry and Pippin," Boromir replied absent-mindedly, "What can I do for you, Eomer?"

"I've…kind of come to ask…that is if it's okay…I mean, I obviously want your approval…however I don't need it but…"

"Eomer, get to the point!"

The young horse lord took a deep breath, "I'd like to marry Faramir."

Boromir started at Eomer with a completely unreadable expression on his face. The new king of Rohan took it as long as he could before he started squirming.

"Okay, say something because this is…"

"You're asking for my permission?"

"Well…yes."

"Eomer," Boromir started, getting a silly grin on his face, "Faramir is no innocent young maiden, nor am I his father. I've walked in on the two of you in bed together. I've sat back and chuckled while the two of you thought you were keeping the relationship a secret from everyone. Bloody hell, I was even amused when I learned it was possible for Faramir to get pregnant. Do you really think you need my permission to marry?"

Eomer stood there gaping for a moment before stammering, "But…Faramir's your 'little one'."

"That he is, I practically raised him after Mama died and Father lost interest in us as children," Boromir said with a small smile, "Do you really think I would have let things get so far between the two of you if I hadn't thought you were an honorable man?"

Eomer visibly relaxed at Boromir's words, "I appreciate that, Boromir…because Faramir wants you to marry us."

"But as king that's now Aragorn's responsibility." Boromir protested.

"Not anymore," Aragorn replied, suddenly appearing at the door behind Eomer, "I've officially made it one of your duties."

As Boromir opened his mouth to protest Aragorn pointed at him and added, "That's an order."

Boromir closed his mouth and narrowed his gaze at Aragorn, "You just don't want to do it yourself."

"Yeah." Aragorn replied with a small 'you should know this' head shake, "I don't know how to perform a wedding."

Gondor's steward sighed, before turning back to Eomer, "When would you like the ceremony to be?"

"This evening."

'This evening?' Boromir though, 'But it's already nearing mid-eve…'

He groaned as he stood up and stalked past the two startled kings, "Great. No problem. That gives me a whole three hours to prepare for a ceremony I didn't even know I was going to give."

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"So, tell me how you met Boromir."

The request was aimed at Farothen considering he was the one married to the man. Also, Legolas' mouth was currently full of the strawberries he'd sent a page after about 20 minutes earlier.

Farothen searched for the perfect strawberry as he answered his grandfather, "Well, I'd just met Adar for the first time in the stables in Lorien and he was a little upset at Ada, as you can imagine. Anyway, I followed him toward the clearing the Fellowship was staying in, hoping to keep him from harming Ada too much. By the time I got there, though, he and Ada were yelling at each other and Boromir was sprawled at their feet."

Thranduil turned to his son with a small grin, "And why was he sprawled at your feet, Greenleaf?"

Legolas stopped mid-motion, a strawberry inches from his mouth, and hesitantly replied, "I…may have…possibly…given him a slight push."

Farothen smirked, "Boromir said you pushed pretty hard."

The younger full elf gave a somewhat delicate sniff, "Boromir has a big mouth. One should not believe everything he says."

More apt to believe Farothen since he knew his Leafling's temper well, Thranduil chuckled, "Of course, my elfling, it was only a tiny push."

Legolas gave jerky nod, putting his strawberry into his mouth. Thranduil turned back to Farothen just in time to see the half elf dip a strawberry in a small cup of honey the page had also brought.

Smiling he tilted his head, "I thought one only got those cravings when one was pregnant."

Both Farothen and Legolas froze at the innocently voiced comment. Thranduil cocked a brow, studying both in turn.

"Am I missing something?"

"Well, we…that is, I…"Farothen's stammering cut off on a nervous laugh as he looked to Legolas for help.

"Farothen is pregnant as well." Legolas said softly, "But there are only six of us, including Farothen, of course, who know about it. Well, seven including you."

A small chuckle escaped Farothen, "At least we can keep something a secret."

A moment passed before he added as an afterthought, "Sort of."

Before anyone could continue Boromir walked up looking a bit rushed, saying, "Sorry to interrupt, but we've got a wedding to go to."

Momentary panic welled in Farothen as he shot to his feet, thinking Aragorn had figured everything out and was demanding…

"Whose!"

"Eomer and Fara." Boromir replied, pulling his husband into a comforting embrace as he continued, "I will be giving the ceremony since Aragorn has ordered it…claiming he doesn't know how to. Personally, I…"

The man cut off sharply as the trumpets on the first level rang out, announcing a visitor. He sighed, grumbling, "Where's a silver thief when you need one? Aragorn and I must really have a serious conversation about those bloody horns. Who's coming this late anyway?"

Thranduil leaned toward his son, watching the man walk away complaining, Farothen following, "Is he always this moody?"

Legolas stopped mid-bite and gave his father an innocently confused look before looking after Boromir and Farothen.

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Boromir stalked to the edge of the sixth level wall, refusing to go any further down to see who was coming. Besides, there was no need. The banners of the royalty of Lorien, Celeborn and Galadriel, and of Rivendell, marking the arrival of Elrond, were clearly visible, even from so high up.

"Well, at least we'll have a little more support," Boromir commented as his husband stooped beside him, "I mean, Celeborn and Galadriel can't be against us considering they married us."

However, Farothen seemed to not have heard him as he paled at the sight of the arriving party. Boromir turned to him worried.

Putting his arm around Farothen's waist he asked, "What's wrong, little elf?"

"Grandfather won't react much better to our marriage than Ada will." Farothen responded, looking at Elrond the entire time.

Boromir sucked in a breath. In truth, he hadn't really considered Elrond's reaction. He'd simply been happy to see some more back up.

"Are you sure Lord Elrond will take news of our marriage badly?"

"Oh, Ada will have a fit," a voice spoke up behind them, "First he'll be angry about his underage grandson being married. Then, when he gets over that, he'll be angry that he wasn't at the wedding. And when all is said and done he still won't accept the marriage because he was hoping Farothen would choose immortality rather than go the way of Elros."

Boromir and Farothen stared in shock as Elladan stepped around a corner, pushing a very guilty Frodo and Sam in front of him. The elf shrugged, "They were spying on you."

Farothen raised a brow, "And you weren't, Uncle?"

"How…how long were you…that is, the three of you…um…listening?" Boromir stammered at the same time.

"Long enough to hear that the two of you are married," Sam admitted.

"And apparently Aragorn doesn't know, correct?" Frodo asked.

The twin guilty looks on Boromir and Farothen's faces answered the question without any words.

"Can we…" Sam started.

"Be there when we tell Aragorn," Farothen and Boromir said together, finishing Sam's question.

Elladan smirked as Frodo chuckled and commented, "You've been asked that before."

"Oh," Farothen started as if it was nothing, "Only by Gandalf, Thranduil, Merry, Pippin, Gimli, Faramir, Eomer, Celeborn, Galadriel, Haldir…"

"Anyone who doesn't know besides Aragorn?" Sam asked, figuring it would be the easier question, interrupting Farothen in the process.

"Yeah." Farothen answered, "Grandfather and Uncle Ro."

"Good luck with that." Frodo said as he and Sam turned to leave.

"Speaking of which," Elladan added as the hobbits disappeared around a corner, "We should probably make our way down and greet Ada, Grandmother and Grandfather."

Farothen sighed, "Since Ada will get suspicious if I'm not there you're right."

At that, the half elf started down toward the main gate on the first level with his husband and uncle following. Boromir, however, hung back and Elladan, sensing the man wished to talk, slowed as well.

"You wish to speak to me, Lord Boromir?"

Boromir nodded, "I know it's a lot to hope for, but…do we have your blessing?"

Elladan sighed, "I helped raise Farothen. I think it will be difficult for me to see him married, but he's happy and he's loved. So yes, for whatever it's worth, you have my blessing."

Boromir smiled, "Thank you. It's worth a lot."

"But if you hurt him…" the elf warned.

"I swear I won't." Boromir interrupted, "And once I make a vow, I don't break it."

"I'll hold you to that, adan." Elladan said starting to slowly walk again, "I was beginning to suspect there was something between you two anyway."

"What do you mean?" Boromir asked worriedly.

"The looks between the two of you…it was obvious there was something there." Elladan explained.

"Did anyone else notice?"

"I doubt it." Elladan replied, "Aragorn had too much else to worry about and…well, everybody else knew."

"What about your brother?"

"Elrohir!" Elladan asked, shaking his head as if it was obvious, "Idiot."

Boromir burst out laughing and Elladan joined him. They only managed to calm down as they reached the first level courtyard in time to see Farothen and Elrond embracing.

Boromir smiled warmly at the sight of his husband, "I love him very much, you know."

Elladan nodded, "I do know."

As Farothen and Aragorn, who'd arrived in the courtyard before Farothen, were still greeting the party from Rivendell Galadriel made her way over to Boromir and Elladan with Celeborn following. She raised an eyebrow at Elladan as she approached the pair.

"You can speak freely, Lady, Elladan knows." Boromir said, answering her unspoken question.

"I take it that Aragorn, and obviously Elrond, still do not know," she replied, speaking quietly.

Boromir winced, "No, they don't."

"Well, Elrohir does not know either." Elladan added with a grin and a shrug.

"I'm not surprised." Celeborn snorted, raising his voice slightly, "Elrohir's an idiot."

While the others hadn't heard the beginning of the conversation, they'd certainly heard that last part. As Elrohir squeaked in protest, everyone else burst out laughing. It was an ongoing family joke between all of them…except possibly Elrohir.

"Why would you call me an idiot!" Elrohir exclaimed.

Elladan laughed, "Come on, Ro. You hardly notice anything that goes on right in front of you."

Boromir glared at the elf, knowing all too well what he was implying, and hissed, "Perhaps he is simply not as nosey as the rest of you!"

Aragorn looked back and forth between Boromir and Elladan, sensing that there was something implied behind their statements. His tone was highly suspicious when he asked, "Am I missing something here, Boromir?"

Boromir sucked in a breath before replying as smoothly innocent as possible, "Why of course not my, king."

Then, before Aragorn could question him further, he turned and started making his way back up to the seventh level.

"Where are you going?" Aragorn asked.

"I'm doing what you ordered me to," Boromir called over his shoulder, "Planning a wedding."

"Shouldn't you ask Faramir what he wants first?" Aragorn asked, laughing at the younger man's uneasiness.

"Why?" Boromir returned absently, "If I know my little one, and I do, he'll want to get married in the gardens behind the palace."

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Aragorn should have counted on Boromir being right about Faramir. In fact, Faramir hadn't had to tell Boromir anything in regards to the ceremony.

Boromir conducted the wedding from the gardens like he said he would with the Fellowship, a few Gondorian soldiers and some of the Rohirrim as guests. Although the ceremony was simple, it was still nearly midnight by the time Boromir, Faramir and Eomer were ready.

Aragorn had commented to Boromir as they'd made their way to the garden that the lateness of the hour would cause Faramir to fall asleep on his own wedding night. Boromir's response to that had been to laugh and declare that his little one would draw on all his reserves of strength as a warrior of Gondor before missing his wedding night.

Boromir kept the ceremony short, most likely because he was as anxious as his brother was to join his own mate in bed. He mainly led the two through their vows so that Eomer accepted Faramir as his consort in front of Rohan's advisors, as was the law in both Gondor and Rohan.

Eomer seemed vastly amused at the word 'consort'. He even went so far as to smile in a highly amused fashion and occasionally chuckle every time Boromir voiced the title.

At one point Boromir even stopped the ceremony mid-word, threw up his hands in exasperation and glared at the Rohirrim king, "What! I can't very well call him 'queen'! He's not nearly as pretty as Legolas…and his nose is too big."

Eomer's men burst out laughing; Gandalf and Gimli started chuckling as only men with long, bushy beards seemed able to. Even the hobbits had tell-tale smirks on their faces. However, Farothen and Aragorn glanced over at Legolas nervously, not knowing how he would react to Boromir dubbing him 'pretty'. To their surprise Legolas was giggling uncontrollably. Thranduil glanced over at his son as well, eyebrow raised and clearly thinking, 'Since when does my son giggle?'

Meanwhile, Faramir was glaring at his brother with a look of mild irritation, well used to this from the elder Hurin, and mouthed, 'Get on with it.'

Shrugging Boromir finished the ceremony with no more mishaps. At least, not until, to Faramir's mortification and everyone else's vast amusement, he declared, "You many kiss the bride."

Everyone burst out laughing, with the exception of Eomer, who listened to Boromir and pulled a very shocked Faramir into a kiss. After the two broke apart the still chuckling guests started offering congratulations to the couple.

Boromir, on the other hand, noting the temptation in Faramir's eyes to deck him, pulled his little brother into a hug and whispered gruffly, "Don't worry, little one, your nose suits you."

Faramir felt tears start to fill his eyes, hearing the underlying meaning. Of course, Boromir would refuse to actually say 'good bye'.

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March 26 – Morning

Considering Elrond knew neither Faramir, nor Eomer, he'd foregone attending the wedding the night before. Instead, he'd settled in a guestroom and relaxed after the long trip from Imladris. As a consequence, he'd remained unaware that Thranduil was also in the White City.

So he was a little uneasy as he sat down at the breakfast table that morning and found himself facing the king of Mirkwood.

Giving the younger elf a small nod he tried to ignore the cool look he was getting, "Good morning, Thranduil."

For a moment Thranduil debated ignoring the Peredhil but the warning look Celeborn shot him changed his mind. He stiffly returned Elrond's nod and forced a smile on his face. They were technically family now, he should at least try to be civil.

"And to you, Elrond. It's been a while."

Elrond sighed, sensing the direct hostility from Thranduil. He honestly had no idea what he'd ever done to make the younger elf hate him so. Thranduil had just always been cold toward him.

It wasn't just him, though. Thranduil didn't seem all that fond of Galadriel either. Yet, oddly, he got along with Celeborn perfectly.

The lord of Imladris shook his head and turned his attention to the dining hall door as Aragorn and Legolas walked in side by side. He cocked a brow when he noticed the prominent curve to the young prince's stomach. It seemed Aragorn had failed to inform him of the changes of the last three months upon his arrival.

Standing up he approached Gondor's ruling couple, aware of Thranduil's gaze on his back the whole time. With a healer's instinct he let his gaze slide over the young elf, looking for any sign of pain or stress, seeing only a touch of expected weariness.

Stopping in front of the prince he smiled, "It seems Aragorn forgot to mention congratulations were in order. Is there a wedding in the near future as well?"

Legolas' grin was decidedly giddy as he replied, "Of course not. We were wed in Lorien, my lord."

"Wha…" Elrond shook his head, "Well, a lot has changed since last I saw you."

Legolas' grin settled into a highly suspicious smile but before Elrond could inquire about it Aragorn asked, "Farothen and Boromir have not arrived yet Faramir and Eomer have?"

A moment of silence greeted that as those sitting at the table were caught at a loss for words. Aragorn's gaze narrowed, his tone a warning growl when he spoke.

"Where are they?"

Faramir thought fast, momentarily forgetting Aragorn had spent three months on a quest with Boromir, and said, "Well, you know Boromir, never a morning person."

At the same time Legolas tightly gripped Aragorn's arm, "Farothen is…"

Aragorn held up a hand to stop his husband, "I'll just go find them."

Before anyone could reply the man was gone…leaving Legolas standing in the doorway alone, momentarily frozen in place. As his husband's words registered Legolas spun as quickly as he could and rushed after the departing king.

"Estel, wait!"

Confused, Elrond turned back to the table to ask what he was missing. He gave an uncharacteristic yelp of surprise when Faramir, Eomer, Thranduil, Haldir, Gandalf, Gimli, Elladan and the hobbits suddenly jumped up and rushed toward the door. There they gathered, looking down the hall at Aragorn and Legolas, much like children expecting a good show.

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Aragorn ignored Legolas' call for him to wait as he turned down the hall Farothen's temporary bed chamber was in. He was tired of the secrets. Something was up and he was going to find out what it was once and for all.

He was vaguely aware of Legolas following him as he reached Farothen's door and raised his hand to knock. He froze when he heard a muffled, familiar voice too deep to be his son's.

Abruptly his gaze went several degrees cooler and he burst into the room just as Legolas reached him, gasping, "Don't!"

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"Wakey, wakey, Little Elf," Boromir murmured against Farothen's sensitive ear, giving a small puff of air, knowing it drove the half elf crazy.

He wasn't disappointed as his husband gave a low growl and brought their mouths together in a hard kiss. A small moan escaped Boromir as he lost himself in the kiss, linking the way things were going as Farothen rolled them so he was on top of the man.

Neither of them was expecting things to come to an abrupt stop when the door flew open and Aragorn's furious voice yelled, "Farothen!"

The lovers in the bed shot into a sitting position, their panicked gazes colliding with the king of Gondor's blazing silver-blue one. Boromir sat frozen, barely daring to breathe.

"Ada!" Farothen gasped, "Please, it's not…"

"Farothen," Aragorn started in a deathly quiet growl that was somehow worse than his raging, "Get dressed."

The hostile silver-blue gaze turned to Boromir and the steward of Gondor saw his king's temper snap. He was expecting the roar when it came.

Aragorn snagged Boromir's leggings from the floor and threw them at the younger man before yelling, "Boromir, put your pants on and follow me!"

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Replies to reviews…

Artemis1000: Ah, welcome. Glad you like this. As for your questions, this chapter pretty much answers all of them. Hope you continued to like where we go from here.

The Stopper: "Please don't stop this story." Sorry, but I found this humorous given your name. No worries though, if you've read our author note. No stopping. Glad you like it though, and Farothen. We still can't believe he's won so many hearts as most OCs are ill-received…especially when paired with a major character like Boromir.

Tabera Blanc: Thank you for the site. We'll maybe check that out if we get the chance. As for not knowing LOTR slash could be so good…well…we write instinctively you could say. The pen moves itself across the page. And since neither of us are what we would call completely sane, not sure how it can be so many people love this story. I guess after 8 years of writing together we've developed a bit of a routine. As for the love scenes, neither of us has a real problem with them, it's just, we prefer to keep it PG-13 so more people can read it without feeling…traumatized, I guess.

spanishgoddess86: Very soon, I promise. In the next chapter even. As you've learned at the end of this one, Aragorn has finally found out just how far things have gone physically between the 'boys'. Just keep in mind that he's had a lot on his mind the last several chapters and things have only just calmed down enough for him to take notice of his surroundings. Plus, they've had several people helping to keep the marriage a secret. Anyway, thanks for the review and I hope you continue to like where we go from here.

Ceyxa: 'War' is probably a fairly accurate term for what is coming with the whole Boromir-Farothen-baby thing. As far as dialog and banter, our personalities come out in the way we write and that's just what comes of it, I guess. We can find humor in…well…anything almost. It keeps us sane in the strange world we live in.

Enelya Aldarion: THANK YOU! You're the first person to say you feel Boromir's anger is justified. We write Boromir based upon the little glimpses of his personality that you get in the movies…In Moria when he puts his hand on Gimli's shoulder at Balin's tomb, outside Moria when he holds Gimli back, in Lorien when he takes the time to attempt to ease Frodo's guilt at Gandalf's 'death'…or even when he takes the time to teach Merry and Pippin how to fight with their swords. Even the fight with Aragorn along the river gives you an insight to inner Bori…so to speak. There are so many little glimpses you get of a big, sweet teddy bear, yet one with claws and teeth he won't hesitate to use if the need arises. We can only hope we've managed to capture all the facets you see in Boromir's personality with the way we've written him.

QueenCria: Thank you as well. It's good to know not everyone is upset about the strained relationship between Boromir/Faramir and Gandalf.

Arch-Nemesis: We had Boromir crown Aragorn for a couple reasons. 1.) We never liked the fact that Gandalf did it in the book or the movie. 2.) It just seems to us that it really wasn't his place since he technically had no real…rank, or whatever, in Gondor. Besides, we both believe the citizen's of Minas Tirith would have felt honored, and more accepting, had a Hurin crowned Aragorn. That way it was more like the stewards were relinquishing their rule to the king willingly, rather than being robbed of it. Personal opinions here, but it's just the way we see it. As for Boromir and Gandalf making up…it will happen, I promise. It just won't happen over the span of one or two chapters. They have a long way to go before they reach pre-pyre status.

Adara: Thanks for such great praise, it means a lot.

princess-sunshine2003: I promise we won't kill you, though surely no court could possibly convict us on such…long shot evidence. As for the babies being boys or girls…that would ruin our surprise. Just a small hint, though, neither of our characters' guesses…Legolas, Boromir, Faramir…are wholly wrong. That's all I can say, sorry.

The Great and Powerful Oz: Apology accepted and I'll extend my own. I in no way meant to be rude with my reply, but looking back it does come off that way and I'm sorry. I wasn't having a bad day, nor was I trying to be immature and childish. We simply find it tiresome being told we're wrong with translations (when more often than not we've had it right to begin with), and on so many other fronts for many different reasons. We, too, have admitted when we were wrong and we will do so again if we are, in actuality, wrong. Now, without sounding like I'm placing blame, because I'm not, perhaps you could try wording corrections differently next time. Leaving just the translation came off more like pure criticism and nobody takes that well from a complete stranger, no matter the reason behind it.

As for pulling the story, we have no intention of following through. It's just tempting when we've received several blatantly rude reviews and emails telling us we're in the wrong that we've promptly deleted. Realistically, right or wrong, we are more apt to continue writing just to piss those people off. That's who we are and who we will always be. Very sorry though if you believe that make us rude; that's your choice. To each their own. We aren't trying to be so. Some personalities just don't click. Please take this all in the light it was meant. I honestly don't know how I can be nicer.

On the other hand, thank you for your compliments to both the story in general and the latest chapter more specifically. They meant a lot to us.

Okay, so, all that done with, in pre-response to all your 'NO! You can't leave it there!' we can, we must, we have. Please forgive. Personal circumstances as they are we just can't continue this right now. But I promise a big scene with Aragorn finding out and reacting…as well as a bit more. Probably one whole chapter for the 'fight' so we can get everything in that we need to and not lose any of the emotion from the fight by adding other scenes that would take away from the scene EVERYONE (including us, truthfully) has been waiting for.

Becky and Brina