An- After originally finishing the second story, in order to celebrate, I had a LOTR movie marathon (which was a weekend well spent). While watching it, a few things jumped out at me as to things we should have noticed/mentioned/done/talked about/etc. The main thing was that, despite being part of the race of men (you know, those guys who were the ones always having the most trouble resisting the Ring), none of the girls ever showed any sign of even remotely feeling the Ring's influence. I found there was something off about that- why didn't the Ring try? Especially concerning Erin, considering the amount of time she spent near it and the emotional turmoil she went through in its presence.

That got me to thinking, why hadn't the Ring caused any problem back in our world? It was surrounded by humans all over the place, and nothing happened? Even Boromir lost the Ring driving him crazy thing. So those two questions have come to head in this part- a theory as to why the Ring turned off in our world, why it didn't seem to affect the girls, and then, since Erin is around it so long, how it finally begins to tempt her. Enjoy

l.l.l

When it began, it was no more than a buzzing in the back of Erin's mind. She attributed it to exhaustion, fear and the stress of having a newborn baby in this situation. It was irritating and headache inducing, but it was nothing…but then it changed. It went slowly, so slow that she didn't even notice it.

It wasn't until it went from irritating buzzing to quiet whispers, that Erin even realized that it was there. Even when she knew that something was wrong, she didn't know what. She tried to figure it out but anytime an answer came close to her, it slipped away before it was a fully formed thought. It left her confused and irritated, and she didn't like it.

The meaning of the whispers came to her in her fitful dreams. It came to her in a nightmare. They were being chased by a shadow, and Erin knew that they would never outrun it. Elijah was screaming, and the fear of what would happen to her son when they were caught, was almost crippling to her. That's when the voice, clear for the first time, came to her.

"He's going to die…you all are…unless…"

Unless what! Erin almost screamed, but she couldn't waste the breath.

Whoever (whatever) spoke had no trouble hearing her thoughts, because it spoke again, "You take it…it'll save him."

That was when Erin woke up. And she knew exactly what was happening.

The One Ring was trying to tempt her.

After the original bolt of terror had passed and she had unfrozen, Erin couldn't help but wonder why it had taken so long. The hearts of Men were weak, and Erin fell into the race of Men. The Ring corrupted them- look at what had happened with Boromir and almost with Faramir. Besides Gollum, by nature, Erin was the weakest link. It should have been at her since the beginning.

So why had it taken so long? Erin was glad, because she didn't know if she could have held out. Out of every single person who had been tempted by the damn thing –many of them stronger than her- had fallen to it. She knew she would never be on the road to Ring Wraith, but she didn't know for certain if she could have resisted this long.

That made another question pop into Erin's mind; why hadn't the Ring worked its magic all those months that it had been in her world. Thinking about it, Erin couldn't remember a single moment of Ring induced crazy. That hadn't happened until they had returned to Middle Earth. With a surprised jolt, Erin realized that the Ring didn't have any power in her world. That was the only explanation. She couldn't explain how it was that it worked, only that it had to be the truth. Maybe it was because there was no magic in their world. How could an object inherently magical retain its power in a world where magic didn't exist?

Maybe that was why the Ring hadn't tried to get its claws into her before this. They had come from that non-magical world, and that meant that none of them were magical either. Maybe that had changed the longer they had been in Middle Earth. All she had were theories. The only thing Erin knew for sure was that, had it been able to, the Ring would have been at them. Erin was so glad that it hadn't.

Erin knew herself and she knew her friends. Carla and Niori would have gone for the Ring. They would have resisted, but the Ring would have taken them quicker than the others. Carla would have been like Boromir- tempted by the idea that it could be used as a weapon. Niori would because she would be convinced that she could use it for good. The two of them were strong, but they were both attracted to power.

She and Jane would have held out longer. Neither of them were inclined towards desiring power. It wouldn't have worked on them, not at first. In the end, when (because she knew it would have happened eventually) it happened, it would be about protecting someone they loved. Like it was happening now.

In hind sight, Erin wondered why they hadn't flushed the Ring down the nearest toilet when they had had the chance. Leaving it back in their world meant that Sauron would never get it. Then again, with their luck, it would have popped back with the Fellowship, and appeared right in Sauron's metaphorical hand.

Erin was terrified. She saw what the Ring had done to Gollum, turning him into a multi personality having mutant. She saw what it was doing to Frodo, how with each passing day, he slipped further and further away from her. What would happen to her? If she was affected as badly, or if she physically tried to take the fucking thing, what would happen to Elijah?

The terror didn't stop the nightmares. It didn't stop the voice from telling her she needed to take the Ring to save Elijah.

Not even three days after it had begun, Sam began to notice that something was going on. She was jittery and desperate, unwilling to look at Frodo in fear of seeing the Ring and losing it. Sam saw that something was wrong, even if he could never guess what.

"Erin, what's wrong?"

She wanted to tell him. She wanted to cry and have someone give her a hug and tell her that everything was going to be okay. She wanted someone to lie to her. She couldn't, because it wouldn't be fair. They were all carrying burdens. Frodo the Ring, Gollum his psychotic half and Erin her new born son. But Sam? Sam's burden was carrying them all. He saw the pain that Frodo and Erin were going through, and was doing all that he could to support them. Sam had the weight of a quickly deteriorating Frodo, a woman carrying a newborn and a volatile, potentially hostile and dangerous guide, on his shoulders. Erin wouldn't add this, not unless it became completely necessary.

"I'm fine Sam," Erin tried to give a reassuring smile, but it probably fell short, "I'm just tired, and still weak from giving birth." It was a perfect excuse, and Erin was glad she had it.

Sam frowned, "We should be stopping more, and resting longer."

That sounded absolutely heavenly. Erin wanted to say 'yes' to that, and demand that they do it. The old her would have, and not thought twice about it. Before the Fellowship, Middle Earth and Elijah, Erin would have been determined to have her away, and ignored half the consequences of her demands. It threw her to realize that her 'old self' was only nine months ago. So much had changed in such a short time. She wondered if the other girls had changed this much. When –if- she saw them again, would Jane, Niori and Carla be as different as she was now?

"No," Erin replied, declining despite the fact that half of her was screaming to agree, "we can't stop now. It's all falling apart too quickly. We…I need this to be done."

Sam looked torn, but finally nodded. He understood the stakes and where they stood just as well as she did.

"Just…" Sam sounded upset that he couldn't do anything to truly help her, "tell me if it gets to be too much. I'll do something."

Again, Erin almost told him. She almost let the terrible truth out, but bit her tongue at the last second. Having Sam know what was going on would screw everything up. It would throw them into limbo, and they couldn't afford to change anything in this already fucked up situation.

"I know, and I will."

It was a lie, but she didn't let it show on her face. Sam believed her, and after giving her hand a tight and quick squeeze, he returned to climbing.

A headache, brought on by the buzzing in the back of her mind, was beginning to throb behind her temples. She pushed the pain and exhaustion away, doing her damndest to ignore it. She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. She had no choice. She had to ignore the temptation. She just had to.

l.l.l

An- So there you have it! We have just made Erin that much more awesome- not only is she trudging around Cirith Ungol and Mordor with a new born baby, she's also doing it while resisting the call of the Ring. Now how is that for badass?

Also, since I couldn't really fit the whole explanation into the part, since it was only Erin's theories on the matter (which were right), and I have no idea if the idea will be covered anywhere else, here is a fuller explanation of the whole Ring and the girls thing (I should probably figure out a way to write this into a part, but whatever). So, the Ring had no power in our world because out world is non-magical. Even when it came back to Middle Earth and it got its magic back, it couldn't touch the girls because, in Middle Earth or not, they still belonged in that non-magical world. The longer they spent in Middle Earth, the more they shifted- by the end, they belonged in Middle Earth, and at that point, the Ring's power could effect them. They were no longer creatures of their own world, born there or not. The transition is also why the girls felt so out of place when they returned to their world and why they ultimately returned to Middle Earth to stay. It's also why, when the decision came, Carla chose for her body to be returned to Middle Earth- that was home, because that's where they belonged now.

There you have it! Explanation time over! Don't forget to leave a review!