The entire day after all of the terrible commotion in the house Faramir seemed to be very restless. Undoubtedly he was very worried about his ada and daerada. When one of his uncles, he could not tell which one, laid him down beside Aragorn he immediately grasped onto his father's shirt and would not let go. Faramir was not used to his ada being unwell and he wanted to stay by him, making his displeasure obvious when anyone else tried to hold him for any reason other than feeding.

Elrond had been fussing about in Estel's chambers for about two hours before he finally left. Even after Aragorn woke and was determined to be all right, Elrond remained, as if he was unwilling to face whatever situation might lay ahead. He kept assuring his son that he would deal with Denethor in an appropriate manner and insisting that he not get upset or attempt anything rash himself. Taking revenge on the man who had just made an attempt on his life was not even a consideration for Aragorn, the only concern he had was that his son was safe. In fact, he was more than willing to let his father handle the situation, all Aragorn wanted was peace and as everyone kept fretting and bustling around him he wondered if it was a curse laid on him that he would never find peace, even in Imladris.

After a while the twins finally left their brother to get some rest and only Arwen remained. "I will go now also," she said softly. "Rest, my loves." She granted both Aragorn and sleeping Faramir a kiss and turned to go.

Aragorn caught her hand gently though. "Can you stay?" he asked.

She smiled warmly and resumed her place, whispering, "For you i can."

"I can not rest until i talk to you. I need to tell you what happened," Aragorn said. The uncritical questioning look in his beloved's eyes only served to remind him what weakness he had displayed. "Arwen, for you to forgive me so unconditionally... i still do not feel as though i am forgiven."

She gently took his hands in hers, kissing him again. "I love you and i trust you, Estel-nín. What you call indiscretion can not make this love diminish. It seems to me that you need to forgive yourself, and you must do so, for you have Faramir to look after now and he can not have his father forever feeling blameworthy around him."

"Nothing has ever made my love for you diminish, Arwen," Aragorn said in frustration, "and that is what plagues me so. Not for a moment did i forget you, but i was so weak that night! I know that you trust me, but I do not trust myself."

"Estel, you faltered but once in many long years, and that is much more than most could say." It concerned Arwen that her beloved suddenly bore so much self-doubt.

"But I should not have faltered at all," he said grimly. "You have not, after all. Nor has ada, and has it not been nearly 500 years since your naneth sailed West?"

"You can not compare this so," Arwen said sincerely. "Estel, I can not say that it is so much easier, but 30 years for me or 500 years for ada is not what it is for you. I know that your heart lies in truth and loyalty, and I would not see you so distressed of this."

"My heart may lie in loyalty, but I failed to follow my heart. If I fell so easily once, at such a small trial, what will happen to me should I be faced with stronger forces? The weakness is in my very blood. I know the price of my love for you, but how can I ever hope to be fit for the crown of Gondor, but by the shedding of my weak blood? And yet to think that Anarion's line is weaker yet than Isildur's. They say that the age of the Eldar is ending, but it looks as though the age of Men will fall before it begins. If I am supposed to be the finest of my race, if I am all my people have left, then they have no hope."

Aragorn's despondency utterly stung Arwen's heart, but she knew that there were times when words were of no use. Carefully she lay down beside Aragorn and his sleeping baby boy and stretched an arm around her beloved. Pressing her lips to his forehead, she whispered, "estelin. Esto, mela-nín."

ooo

For the first time in years Finduilas sat on the beach, watching the sun sink down into the sea. The orange glow reflected off the rolling waves, catching the highlights in her hair and making her look as if she glowed in the simple white beach dress she wore. The hem of the dress clung to her shins, still wet and sandy from the solitary seaside walk she had taken after dinner. As the last of the sun disappeared over the horizon she laid back, closed her eyes and just listened to the rush of the waves. None of her troubles were able to haunt her here.

Her son and brother had taken to each other even more than she'd hoped and her best friend had lost no time in just happening to chance upon her lover who was Imrahil's standard bearer and herald. She was able to go off all by her self without anyone trailing along for the first time in years. She felt a kind of freedom that she had been sure she'd seen the last of.

She heard someone walking along further down the beach, but she decided to try to ignore the intruder, surely he would only walk right by anyhow. She did straighten her dress a little, not wanting to look unseemly, though there was little she could do about her windswept hair.

As the man walked along the shoreline as he did every evening, he saw up ahead a woman lying in the sand. Certain his mind was playing tricks on him he decided to keep his eyes on the setting sun and the dolphins that played out by the horizon. His days were spent fetching and currying horses for the lords who lived in the grand house of the Prince of Dol Amroth, but his evenings belonged to only one. He walked along the shore at sundown, always with the vague hope that maybe he would see her if he just walked a little further on down the coast. When it grew too dark to walk he would lie down in the sand, staring up at the stars and ask the Valar why he still felt this way about a woman he knew was gone. Oh, but that woman up ahead reminded him so much of her that it made his heart clench with a bittersweet pain.

He tried so not to look her way, but she was just so noticeable in that delicate white gown that seemed to make her glow in the setting sun. For a few moments he allowed himself to indulge his fantasy, knowing all the while that it would only hurt more in the end, though it would ease his heart for the present.

Finduilas opened her eyes, looking up at the night sky as Elbereth's stars were kindled one by one in the twilight. She glanced up the beach to where she'd heard someone walking and had to look twice. She sat up, straining her eyes to get a better look. Somewhere in her heart a vault that she had not opened in years was unlocked and her heart beat wildly. She rose and started to walk toward the man, moving on blind hope alone. There was no one else it could possibly be she thought as she broke into a run on the wet sand. He, too, had sped up and in seconds that felt more like hours they were in each other's arms for the first time in seven years. No words of greeting were necessary, both of them were so choked with tears that speech would have been impossible anyhow.

"Finduilas!" he whispered as he held her tightly, fearing that if he let go she would disappear into thin air.

"Eldor...," was the only reply should could manage in a tear-strained voice. She held onto him as if drinking in all the time that they had been apart. "Only in my dearest dreams...," she started to say, but found it hopeless, all she wanted to do was hold him and know that he was still real.

ooo

steelelf: Isn't Bori dear? I hope i shall be able to work more of him as a kid in, Fara' too.

Elenhin: I have been thinking about how Boromir and Faramir are going to react to one another when they meet, too. I have a few different scenarios in mind, just have to see which plays out. Of course, right now little Boromir is too busy fighting sea-monsters and Faramir is too busy sleeping and learning how to tug on things.

AM: I most certainly hope i can get more of Boromir and Imrahil into this. They really are great together and their scene partically wrote itself. That's what i like!

linda: Sometimes even in these days unions and reunions do not happen as frequently as we would like. And yet, that is not really a bad thing, absence truly does make the heart grown fonder.