That first evening when Gandalf had shown up in the camp that Aragorn had set up, the new father had been very seriously hesitant to feed his son the milk that Gandalf had brought back with him. Faramir did not seem to care if it was goat's milk, his point was that he was hungry and he made the fact known clearly. It broke Aragorn to hear his baby's cries... but was it really safe to feed him this?
"Estel," Gandalf began, sounding exasperated, "there is little choice that you have. For one, it is scarcely safe for any of us to have a crying infant in our midst. We have only been fortunate so far that no enemy has picked up the sound. More to the point, you can not think that i would ever endanger you or your child. If you do think that i see no reason to continue to accompany you. And from where i stand, the women of Dunland are absolutely no different from any Mortal women. When it was heard that there was a traveler who could not feed his child without their help, they were compassionate."
"And what if one of those women mentions to her husband that there is a traveler in the region? I doubt that they will be so compassionate," Aragorn said tersely, but feed Faramir of the milk knowing he had no choice.
As they moved on through the land at the best speeds they could manage, greatly thankful for the pair of horses gifted from Rohan, Aragorn found that the milk his son had been taking was not having any adverse effects on his little one. Still, he would not permit himself to grow comfortable. He knew for certain that the further they went toward Hollin, the more cautious they would need to be.
One night as they lay in camp, Aragorn keeping his little Faramir close to him as the babe slept peacefully, a waning moon caught his attention. Thinking back over the last few weeks, Aragorn realized that in another week Faramir would be two months old. He started to think about all the little things that his son could already do, things as simple as lifting his head and supporting himself on his arms. His grasp seemed to be getting stronger too. Only that morning had he taken a strong hold on his father's hair whilst being changed. Aragorn chuckled lightly to think that this little one was growing every day and now, in just two short months, he was beginning to feel at least some confidence about fatherhood. He knew without a doubt that life without his son would be utterly unimaginable. He also knew that the smile he wore was reflected in his eyes for the first time in years.
But that was not all that was reflecting in Aragorn's eyes. Glancing over at Gandalf who was asleep wide-eyed, a detail that still perturbed the Mortal slightly, he noticed a bluish glow from the Wizard's side. Shifting to sit up, Aragorn saw that Glamdring was glowing faintly, just enough to be a timely warning.
"Gandalf!" Aragorn hissed, swiftly but gently scooping up Faramir and holding him close. "Gandalf! Wake up!" he said, giving the Maia a forceful shove.
"What!" Gandalf grumbled sleepily, turning over as if to go back to sleep, but bolting upright when he too saw the blue glow from the Elven sword. This looked like a reason to be thankful for a meager camp which needed no breaking down for a quick escape. Gandalf listened intently to the surroundings. The orcs were moving at a fast pace, it seemed that they had crossed Hollin Ridge and were making for the Redhorn Pass. Aragorn, Faramir, and Gandalf had crossed the Sirannon two days ago, and just happened to be right in their path.
"Quickly, mount up and get out of here. They will be too many, there are at least 30 of them, by the sound of it," Gandalf said.
"What about you?" Aragorn asked, even while he complied without hesitation. Rarely did he ever travel with anyone, but when it came to a fight, he was not the sort of man to leave a companion behind.
"I will hold them off as long as i can. The least i can do is distract them for you. Do not double back if you can avoid it, keep heading north. I think they are trying to get to Caradhras. I will catch you up when it is safe. Go quietly but swiftly. Get going! Get out of here, now!" Gandalf ordered, riding in the direction he'd heard the orcs coming from.
Aragorn hastened off, making for the northwest in order to, hopefully, circumvent the fray. He guided the horse he was riding to move as soundlessly as possible while still not wasting time and he held Faramir as securely and steadily as he could manage. He begged the gods that his son would not wake up hungry until they were out of this situation.
The sound of his very heartbeat seemed much too loud when he peered out from behind a line of trees and saw what looked more like 40 or 50 orcs flat out running across a field. They were not a half a mile from them. Instinctively he drew his cloak a little closer as he held onto Faramir who was, mercifully, still resting soundly in the makeshift sling Aragorn had fashioned.
They had not been noticed and slowly, very slowly Aragorn began to move away again. It seemed that the Valar had seen fit to preserve them for yet another day. All he had to worry about now was when, or if, Gandalf would find them again. He knew his way home from here well enough, but it would not be easy to get there would his friend's support. Having Gandalf to run off and search for someone willing to feed Faramir was invaluable, though Aragorn was truly beginning to wonder how he was actually doing it since they'd passed out of Dunland days ago. Still, he did not care to question at the moment, only to be thankful and keep moving away, his mind trained only on protecting his son at all costs.
It was ten minutes after the orcs had passed the range of his hearing that he heard the sound of riders following the orcs. They were riding hard and fierce, but it did not sound like a sizable party. Who would be fool enough to chase after a troop of orcs in small numbers? Again Aragorn stopped and waited, keeping out of sight. This time, though, Faramir began to squirm and fuss, though his father pleaded with him to be still for just a while longer. If these riders were not friendly... well, Aragorn did not want to dwell on that option, hoping instead that they might turn out to be Dunedain kin who could provide them help.
It was beyond Aragorn's hope that he might have the aid of the Eldar just yet, but when it just so happened that two Elves came charging into view across the field, Aragorn could not stop himself from calling out to them. It was as Gandalf had said when he found him so desperate near the mouths of the Entwash, "that which is beyond hope may truly be near at hand."
"Well, well, well... look who we have here!" Elladan said, riding toward the Ranger.
"What are you doing here?" Elrohir asked, his horse's stride matching his brother's exactly.
"You did have the sense to hide from those orcs it seems," Elladan said.
"You should get yourself home. We will catch up to you once we have them taken care of," Elrohir said. The twins turned to continue their pursuit.
"Wait!" Aragorn shouted, finally getting a word in edgewise. It was not easy conversing, let alone communicating, with those two.
"No, Estel, you wait. Right here. This will not take long if we have anything to do with it," Elladan said, sounding rather commanding.
"I need your help," Aragorn pleaded, though highly annoyed at his brother's tone.
"Are you hurt?" Elladan asked.
"No," was the reply.
"Then wait here," Elrohir said sharply. "I have no intention of resting until every one of those miscreations are dead."
They were off again before Aragorn could say anything. He should have known it would be so. Nothing in all Middle-earth could ever stand between those two and a quarry of orc. For as fun-loving and, how to put it politely... mischievous, as they were usually, the mere hint of orcs turned them into two of fiercest warriors ever encountered.
"Those two madmen were your uncles, if you can believe that," Aragorn told Faramir.
Faramir started to cry in earnest. This was not the kind of night he was used to and he did not like it one bit. Aragorn decided to settled back down for a while until someone, hopefully three someones, came through this way. Dismounting behind that protective line of trees and taking out what was left of the milk supply, Aragorn held the bottle to his son's mouth, marveling at the tiny hands that grasped either side of the bottle as if to hold it for himself. Independent, intelligent, strong, but polite enough to be quite when others were talking... for the most part, anyway - this was his own son and he loved him with every fiber of his being.
They were probably about a week from Rivendell, if they held pace, Aragorn guessed. Now concern began to gnaw at him though. For as much as he loved his child, there was no guarantee that everyone else would. He could think of at least two people, maybe four, who could actually be very unhappy about this situation. It broke his heart completely to think of any of his family not accepting Faramir, or rejecting himself, but as far as Aragorn was concerned, his first responsibility was now and forever would be to his son, and nothing could make him resent that. For all they had been through in the last couple of months, their bond was far too strong to ever let anything come between them.
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Luthien: Thanks for the review! Glad you're enjoying the story.
sidhe: Next chapter will either be the continuation of this one, or i might get devious and head back to Minas Tirith and leave this hanging a bit. I don't supposei am very good at doing truly evil cliffhangers, and anyway, this story is a little too much on the fluffy side for cliffhangers. I could never really put innocent baby Faramir into real danger... or could i?
Elenhin: I would definitely like to read your "Mouse Army". Send it over when you get the chance!
Rosie: I know it's AU, but i still try to keep it as canon and in-character as possible. To me, just because you are setting up a different situation doesn't mean you have to change everything. One little bit of change goes a very long way in fanfic.
linda: I think it can be safely said that most people hope Gandalf knows what he's doing, because rather frequently it seems as if he does not.