Chapter 4

Danielle cuddled into the warmth engulfed around her gently when she heard birds announcing morning. There were murmured voices outside of the tent as she began to stir helping her come to. Her eyes opened slowly and she found herself curled into Boromir perfectly. Her head was in the crook of his neck while both his arms were wrapped securely around her holding her close. For a moment Danielle lay there, reveling in the moment before she would let reality crash around her. Finally she removed herself from his grasp and pulled her jacket on before rising from the tent. Legolas, Gandalf, Gimli, the hobbits, Aragorn, and Rhiannan were all ready up and fixing breakfast.

Rhiannan gave her best friend a short smile before turning to talk to Gandalf. Danielle took the offered hot mug of coffee and sipped it down, burning her tongue and back of her throat at the same time. Honestly at the moment she didn't care. Finally she moved to sit at the picnic table next to Rhiannan. Shortly after Boromir arose from the tent looking terribly tired.

"He may not remember you," Rhiannan spoke gently once she was done talking to Gandalf, "but it is obvious he's all ready begun to care for you."

"What do you mean?"

Rhiannan glanced over to where Boromir was standing, speaking quietly with Aragorn, his eyes glancing over in Danielle's direction, "You were having a nightmare or something and called out for him. He instantly pulled you into his arms and whispered that he was there and that there was nothing to fear. It was so sweet I almost cried."

Danielle's cheeks reddened and she looked down at the hot mug in her hand, "It will just make things harder in the end."

The young woman tilted her head at her miserable friend and nudged her slightly, "It's not as bad as when Aragorn decided to wake up me and Legolas."

"What do you mean?"

"We were snuggling," she glared over at the elf who intentionally had his back facing her. "I woke up and wanted to start screaming. It was just weird. And even weirder that he looked like he was about to scream as well."

Danielle giggled gently and looked up at the sky, "If we get moving soon we'll make it to my parent's cabin before nightfall."

Rhiannan nodded and began to get the Fellowship to pitch the tent and put everything back into the vehicles. At once they were on the road again. Danielle had decided to finally put some music on when she found a radio station that worked for a little bit. She was getting sick of the silence. Boromir glanced back at the others. Merry and Pippin had managed to find a gameboy somewhere in the floor of her car and were fighting quietly over who got to play it. Gandalf was busy looking at a map he had found.

"Thank you," Danielle spoke finally after being unable to think of anything else to say.

Boromir frowned, "For what?"

"Rhiannan told me that you helped me last night, that I was having a bad dream and you helped me," it felt odd to say but Danielle had decided to say it anyway.

Boromir smiled slightly, "Anytime, if you ever have a dream where you need comfort, I'm always a set of open arms."

Danielle smiled and nodded. They drove, only stopping twice for gas, until they finally reached the snowy mountains. With great effort they managed to get both vehicles up the hill to the cabin the nested easily in a small clearing in a thick forest. It was beginning to snow gently so they quickly got everything inside before locking the vehicles and entering the cabin themselves.

It was a nice two-story cabin. There were four bedrooms up on the top floor along with two bathrooms. On the bottom there was one bathroom, a living room with a fireplace and two long couches, the kitchen, and a dining room, "Do we have enough fire wood?" Rhiannan asked as soon as they were in the house.

"I'll go check," Danielle walked out of the room and toward the backyard where the woodshed was.

Rhiannan glanced at the men as they stood around waiting, "So… How's everybody doing?"

There was a grumble of answers after her question and Rhiannan hit her forehead with her hand. She huffed and marched into the kitchen to start putting things away. Right behind her was Aragorn, "You never finished telling us your story," he commented. Rhiannan glanced over to see Legolas standing about the entrance to the kitchen looking around seeming uninterested.

"I can't finish telling you it," she insisted as she put milk into the fridge.

"What do you mean?"

She bit her bottom lip, "It's not that simple really. If I tell you more then I'll give away what you are meant to do it could ruin everything. I mean once you return is all. It's not that simple anyway."

"What about Danielle and Boromir?" he asked even quieter this time.

Her head snapped to look at him, "What?"

"You have to be a fool to not see that attraction there," Legolas commented from where he stood.

"I…" Rhiannan closed her eyes, wishing Aragorn hadn't pried in the first place.

A scream sounded from outback where Danielle was and in a moment Aragorn was on the move out the door. She was running through the snow and pointing back toward the gully that lay beyond the house. Aragorn ran out to meet her and quickly scanned over her to see if she was hurt, "What? What happened?!"

"Uruk-hai!" she wheezed. "and—and-and—and oh Rhiannan is going to be so confused. I'm so confused!"

Aragorn looked past her to where she was pointing. The sound of clanking metal sounded and he instantly turned to see the rest of the fellowship, even Merry and Pippin, running out of the house, weapons in hand. Aragorn turned and stood in front of Danielle as he watched as a small army of Uruk-hai approached. Their breaths were ragged making mist billow in the air.

Danielle felt an arm instantly pull her back. She glanced to see Boromir looking at the small group, his face stern, "Stay behind us," he told her gruffly. Danielle looked back at Rhiannan and instantly shot off as the rest of the Fellowship charged at the small group.

"Rhiannan," she wheezed, "Hal—hal—hall-hlllllalllalala…" she sucked in a breath. "Just follow me! And be quick!"

Rhiannan frowned and ran after her friend. The two darted around the battle and toward the gully just next to the woodshed. Rhiannan froze in her steps, "NO! No way!"

"Rhiannan, freak out later!" she snapped at her. "We have to get him in the house now! Elves never close their eyes! You know that!"

The girl's quickly, and awkwardly, picked up a body of a male Elf. To be exact, it was a specific male elf who Rhiannan didn't think would show up, "Haldir," she muttered as the two began to drag the elf toward the house. The howls of dieing Uruk-hai met their ears as they passed the battle.

Rhiannan pushed the longer part of her brown hair out of her face as soon as they got the elf into the living room and onto the couch. Her brown eyes examined every part of him to make sure he wasn't hurt. His breathing was even and his heart sounded normal when she put her ear to his chest.

Danielle swallowed and pushed her own dark blond hair out of her face before turning away from them. This was Rhiannan's mess to deal with, and hopefully she wouldn't get all mopey like Danielle had in the first place. Danielle's hazel green eyes looked back toward the backdoor when she heard heavy breathing and stomping boots, "Take off your shoes!" she called quickly as she headed back to where they were coming in. "Please don't track Uruk-hai blood all over the house!"

The men stared at her and quickly began to removing their shoes. Danielle's eyes traveled over each member and they stopped at Boromir, "You're hurt."

"I'll be fine," he insisted, wincing at the wound in his shoulder.

"Uh-huh and I'm the princess of the underworld," she muttered grabbing the arm the arm that wasn't hurt. "Hey Legolas Aragorn," the two looked up, "go help Rhiannan. We apparently have a surprise guest."

Danielle dragged the Gondorian up the stairs to the master bedroom that connected to one of the bathrooms. This was where her parents kept the med kit, "Danielle, this isn't necessary. I can tend to it myself."

She nearly rounded on him but stopped herself. Not the Boromir you knew, just as stubborn, but still not the one you knew. Just…be calm. Danielle smiled slightly, "I just… Look please sit on the bed, take your shirt off and keep the wound clogged while I get the med kit please?"

Boromir nodded and did as she asked. Danielle grabbed the med kit and walked back in. Her face flushed at the sight of him without his shirt on. Quietly she sat down next to him but just slightly behind, and began to clean the wound. He winced with each dab she made, "You're not making this easier," she sang gently.

"What are you using?" he asked. "It feels like lava!"

"It's just alcohol used to clean wounds. It will keep you from getting an infection. This is a pretty deep cut you know," Danielle insisted as she pressed one more time on the wound making him wince again. "Just hold still please."

Finally she began to wrap up the wound with a thick gauze and taped it off when she was done. Finally she walked back to the bathroom and began to wash her hands, "Just throw the shirt away!" she called out to him.

"I-" Danielle jumped when she heard him just a foot away from her. "Thank you."

"Yeah," Danielle's face flushed even more as she took a step back and grabbed a towel to dry her hands off. "Of course…"

Boromir looked down at the bloody shirt in his hands and smirked, "Sorry about the shirt."

She nodded, her eyes set on his face. Was it younger? No, he's just younger then the last time you saw him, remember Danielle? Danielle looked around for a trashcan, "If you need to wash up just let me know. I'll get a bath ready and help you since we'll need to keep that wound dry."

Boromir's eyes were fixed on her as she moved to put the medical kit away. The fact he wasn't wearing a shirt didn't seem to faze him, but that's all Danielle could concentrate on. If she didn't get out of the room soon she wouldn't be able to control what she was trying to not do. Finally she looked at him to speak but Boromir spoke first, "I can't help but feel pulled to you," he told her abruptly.

Her eyes widened and she nodded again, "Right… I need to go…check on Rhiannan…" and she squeezed her way around the shirtless Gondorian and zoomed downstairs.

Haldir was still unconscious on the couch but other then that seemed fine, "How's the wounded soldier?"

"Shirtless," Danielle muttered as she took a seat on the other couch. Aragorn was at the fireplace slowly starting the fire. He smirked at her response. "Anything out of the sleeping beauty?"

"He's not a woman," Rhiannan muttered as she touched his face ever so gently. "He's just…I dunno what he's doing. Maybe he's been knocked out. Aragorn can elves get knocked out?"

He shrugged.

"Well…you're not much help!"

He smirked over at her and stood, "I may have grown up with elves, dear Rhiannan, but I do not know that much about them. I have never seen one get knocked out before."

Rhiannan rolled her eyes and looked back at the elf on her couch, "We should move him," she spoke quickly, "to one of the rooms. I'll stay with him till we wakes up."

Danielle raised an eyebrow, "You'll stay with him?" she questioned. "What if he doesn't remember you?"

"I'll make him remember," Rhiannan insisted with a smile. "I have my ways."

Her friend closed her eyes, "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Aragorn would you mind getting Legolas so you can get Haldir upstairs?"

Aragorn nodded and Legolas walked into the room, obviously he had heard everything, "As long as I don't have to sleep with her tonight, I don't care where she sleeps," the elf commented before helping Aragorn lift Haldir and take him up the stairs. Rhiannan followed close behind them.

"Danielle?" Merry tugged at Danielle's shirt. "We're hungry."

"Don't you guys know how to cook?"

"Of course we do!" Sam spoke up. "It's just that we don't know how to use your fancy stoves."

She smiled, "All right, let's get dinner started. I'll try to explain how to use it while I'm making it as well."

Then the girl proceeded to start cooking chicken.

Up in one of the smaller bedrooms Rhiannan was lying on the bed looking at the man she had thought she lost. Her eyes began to close while she laid next to him and fell asleep.

Back downstairs Danielle had finished making chicken fettuccini and proceeded to dish it out to each member of the fellowship. Once the dining room table was full the others went into the living room, "Danielle?" It was Gandalf.

"Yes big nose?"

He raised an eyebrow at her but didn't comment on her reaction, "What do you think our next move should be?"

"Find a way back I suppose."

Gandalf nodded, "I've been studying the maps you have of this area, and a long distance from here, but in the mountains, is a place where I think we can be transported back to where we belong."

Danielle glanced at the wizard, "Will it make the Nazgul and the Uruk-hai leave our world as well when you return?"

"Maybe," Gandalf sighed, "I honestly couldn't say."

"Of course," she huffed now making her own dish of food.

The rest of the evening past simply. At a certain hour Danielle had to go back out to get more firewood. In an instant Boromir was on his feet, offering to go with her to keep her protected. They walked out into the cold weather, the wind had picked up, "So…how does Rhiannan know this elf?"

"In a different life they were married," Danielle answered simply.

Boromir frowned in confusion, "Oh… Where shall you sleep since they are in one room?"

"I hadn't given it much thought," she admitted as she began to gather firewood. Boromir began to get an armload as well. "I'll crash wherever I find space I guess."

"You could stay with me tonight," he offered gently. Danielle paused and looked over at him. "I'm not trying to…seduce you. I just… I feel anxious when I am away from you. When I heard you scream I nearly threw one of the hobbits out of my way to get outside to you."

She smiled gently at him and they turned to head in, "I'll think about it. I'll need to make sure everyone else has a place to sleep first."

"Of course," he nodded. "I just… I enjoyed your company last night."

Danielle nodded and the two of them set the firewood in the proper place in the living room. The hobbits were all ready curled up on the couches in the living room and Gimli had passed out in the reclining chair. Legolas was heading upstairs with Aragorn right behind him, "Bed time you two," Aragorn called down.

"Thanks dad!" she glared at him.

Aragorn chuckled and disappeared form view, "I suppose…" Boromir looked down at me hopefully.

"All right," she sighed, "I need to redress your wound, and it might be a good idea if I took a shower."

Boromir nodded and they went back up the master bedroom. Danielle stayed in the hallway for a moment looking for towels in the hallway closet while also moving her backpack into the room. When she walked back in she noticed Boromir had all ready removed his shirt and was waiting patiently for her.

The young woman bit her bottom lip gently and grabbed the gauze from the bathroom before sitting down next to him. She silently removed the bloodied gauze and then wrapped his shoulder up with the new gauze. Boromir remained motionless but he kept his eyes on her. Danielle gave a meek smile when she finished and threw the dirty gauze away, "Do you… I…" Boromir huffed, rubbing his temples in confusion. "Do you ever have the feeling that something is missing? I mean… no that isn't what I mean… That feeling that I should be…"

Danielle frowned, "I'm not following you."

"I need to think about it," he whispered with a great sigh.

She smiled slightly, "Of course. Well, maybe you'll be able to say it in the right words once I'm done with my shower."

Boromir watched her leave and he silently began to pace back and forth in the bedroom. His ears listened as the shower door opened, the shower turned on, and then when she stepped in. He continued to pace, his thoughts whirling around. This all at times felt like a dream, but the feelings that flared up in him when she touched him. The Gondorian sighed and rubbed his hands along his face in irritation. There was no point in hiding these emotions. If she didn't felt uncomfortable with them then he would go find another place to sleep, or even sleep on the floor.

After a while the water from the shower turned off and the young woman came walking in from the bathroom. A towel was wrapped snugly around her, her hair pulled to one side of her shoulder, still wet. Boromir swallowed, his mouth suddenly very dry. It would be better if he waited for her to dress. His eyes watched her, roaming over what could be underneath. Quickly he stood and turned away from her. Danielle glanced over at the Gondorian before grabbing her clothes and walking quickly back to the bathroom to change.

She pulled a tank top and a pair of long pants on before re-entering the room. Boromir was now sitting on the bed in silence, "So…you figure out what you were trying to say?"

He nodded slowly and his grey eyes met her hazel-green ones, "I feel this pull toward you, and each time I've looked at you I feel like I've forgotten something terribly important. Something that is much larger then the both of you us. Danielle," he slowly took her hand, the warm tingle ran up her arm. She couldn't help but smile just slightly. Boromir did not miss this and he felt a sudden gust of confidence, "when ever I am near you I wish to hold you. I wish to be able to keep you in my arms forever as if I am afraid to lose you. It seems so odd; I have only known you for barely two days if not more. I have lost count things have been so different and wild. Yet… My heart tugs for you, yearns for you…"

"Almost like a dream that felt so real it seems a memory," Danielle muttered.

Boromir chuckled, "Yes, something like that."

She looked up at him, tears welling up in here yes. Danielle quickly pulled away from him and turned her head, "I'm sorry…"

His eyes widened, "No Danielle, I should be apologizing! I have been too forward and have upset you!"

Before he could say anything else Danielle, in quick movement, pressed her lips to his and the Gondorian froze in confusion. Finally she pulled away, keeping her forehead pressed against his, "It isn't anything you said," she whispered just gently. "I've been holding back these tears for quite some time. I do not know how explain it…" she began to cry again, and her next few words made no sense to either of them. Boromir quickly put his good arm around her and held her closer. "Look at me. I a-an utter mess. Kissing you then crying my eyes out. One would think I had lost my mind. It's too hard to explain, I just… When I spoke of being married… In a different reality then you know…he was you."

Boromir stared at her quietly, his lips parted slightly in shock, "How?"

Danielle stood up quickly and hugged her arms, as she looked at him, deciding how to tell the tale, "I know it seems impossible but…" she bit her bottom lip and eyes looked around the room as if the words would pop right out at her. "I…five years ago was somehow transported to Middle-earth and we joined the fellowship with you. After everything was over we married, we had children. We lived together until you passed away…" A frown appeared on her lips. "Then somehow Rhiannan and I work up back where we left earth as if nothing happened," he opened his mouth to talk but she put up her hand to stop him before moving to her backpack and pulling out her silver ring. She handed it to him. "This was the only proof I had been there. Aragorn had given it to me on my eighteenth birthday."

Boromir frowned and looked at the tiny ring, "You were with Aragorn as well then?"

"No!" she nearly burst out in laughter, remembering when Boromir had thought she and Aragorn were lovers. "No… Aragorn is…or was my brother."

His eyes lightened, "Oh…oh! He wears the same ring, except the color of the stone in his ring…correct," she nodded. "You… The emotions in your voice say this is true but my memory. I feel as if it has fogged over, even now I do not know what to say…how to react… It seems so impossible."

"I know…" she sat down next to him again and gave an aggravated sigh. "I wish there was a way I could convince you, show you that what I speak is true, at least in the reality I knew. Then you would know I was barking mad. Horrible pillow talk if you ask me."

"Pillow's do not talk," he muttered.

Danielle smiled, "It's an expression."

Boromir chuckled, "It is an odd expression."

"If one thinks about I literally it really is," she smiled and moved to lay down on the bed. Boromir followed suit. "But this is the reason why I have been…so sad as you put it."

The Gondorian pulled her into him, letting her rest her head on his good shoulder "If what you speak is true it explains this undeniable pull I feel for you. Perhaps time will tell. I do hope that if it is, I can remember, or something that will help me understand all this."

Danielle looked up at him and stared into his grey eyes, "This may be one of the only peaceful nights we get," she sighed. "Despite what is true and what isn't, I am going to enjoy what time I have to remember what was and that you are here now."

Boromir snuggled his face into her hair, taking in the scent and gave a great sigh, "Good night sweet girl."

"Good night my might rock," she muttered just before she dropped off into sleep.

Note: And ta-da! So Christmas is coming, in real life and in this fanfic so hopefully I will have time to write on occasion. If I do not get an update soon I am of course sorry if I do not. Hopefully it is a good understand to why if I am not able to update for the rest of the week. Also thanks to: iHedge and Doll-Fin-Chick for reviewing! Also in the next chapter there will be more explanations and all that fun stuff. The members of the Fellowship will probably begin to remember things that haven't happened yet, or didn't occur from what they have gone through. Also: Does Haldir remember? Why are his eyes closed? Will Rhiannan get her happy ending? Soon! Maybe hopefully…

And of course, Review! They make my muse go: OOOO!!!