In October, Fran married Evelyn.

Mom had insisted a summer wedding would be so much nicer, because who got married in October?

"Everyone in our family has got married in summer. I don't see why they can't do so either", she had said firmly. Loreena was lucky enough not to be around for the conversations handling the matter, but apparently the bride had insisted it was October they'd marry, not sooner or later.

Mom grumbled of course, but Dad said it wasn't her wedding, and seeing Fran was perfectly content with the date others may as well be so as well.

Secretly, Loreena cheered Evelyn. Anyone who dared to oppose her mom deserved admiration.

She didn't know her cousin's wife-to-be very well, though. What she did know was the two had met in the college and been friends, but they had truly bonded when Fran's dad and brother had suddenly died. Eventually Fran had proposed to her and she had said yes; now had come the day she would join the family.

Loreena had met Evelyn only a couple of times, when Fran had brought her to attend to family dinners at her parents' estate. Evelyn was a lovely woman, if a bit sharp-tongued. Even so, she didn't often talk about herself or her family. Apparently she didn't have much of a family, not beyond her uncle and brother, who ran business together.

Dad liked Evelyn, but then again far as Loreena knew he liked just about everything Fran did and had in his life. The two had always got along very well – probably because Fran reminded Dad so much of his late sister Fiona. Mom disapproved of Evelyn however, but Loreena had never asked why; her mother disapproved of a lot of things and people, and she wasn't so interested in questioning each case separately.

When they arrived at the church on the day of Fran's wedding, they briefly met him before the ceremony. Poor guy was more nervous than Loreena had ever thought a former cop could be.

"Glad to see you made it", he greeted them as he offered trembling one-armed hugs. "I wish Erwin had been able to come too."

"He was really sorry about that. But you know how it is, when you work for the Navy. They are at sea for months sometimes", Dad said. Due to that very reason, Loreena had last seen her second-oldest brother back during her last Christmas vacation.

Her turn to hug him came then, and she smiled at him, "You look great, cousin."

"Thanks, Lori. You look amazing as well – Elliot and Tony will have to guard you well today. It's going to be quite a party, as soon as Evelyn's guests arrive", Fran said and gave her a smile she didn't understand, and she wasn't left with a chance to ask about it, because Mom was already ushering them inside.

Seeing Fran's own family was gone, the seats at the front row had been reserved for his uncle's. Elliot and his wife Alice claimed the very far edge to the right, and then Tony and Mom. Loreena was left to sit between her parents close to the aisle. Some guests were already sitting behind them and more were gathering – there were cousins close and far, and family friends and other acquaintances mostly from the wealthy side of the society. Loreena wasn't entirely happy to see Dan had claimed his invitation as well: he was giving her a sappy look of longing from few benches away. Since they had broken up a month ago he had been sending her flowers and "accidentally" happening to the places she went. But she remembered the night at Bob's like yesterday. Something had changed in that parking lot and she was not regretting taking off the expensive ring from her ring finger.

Mom noticed her glance of course. She for one regretted the absence of the ring very much. After all, the wedding plans had already been in full swing.

"Isn't Daniel looking very handsome today?" Mom asked, her tone appealing.

"I guess", Loreena muttered. Well, her ex-fiancé did look pretty nice in his designer suit and perfectly styled hair, but the sight of him barely moved her beyond the concern of how she'd avoid him for the entire day. She'd never have believed how quickly she'd get over him.

"It would be a great chance to make up with him, Lori", Mom tried. "You know, I haven't yet cancelled the bookings we made."

Loreena glared at her mother but did not say anything, as she knew words would have little to no effect. But sooner or later – especially when the date of wedding would start to get closer – Mom would have to accept the truth.

Fortunately this time, a lengthy conversation did not follow. Both of them fell silent instead and Loreena turned to regard the bride's side of the church. It was glaringly empty as of yet, except for one guest here and there. She guessed they were Evelyn's friends from school and college. However, there were no one who might have been the bride's family, and the front part of the bench section remained unoccupied. It was surprising to say the very least; Evelyn might have told them she didn't have a lot of family, but this was just another thing entirely.

But then, even as Loreena sat there wondering if anyone would appear on Evelyn's side...

She thought she heard thunder somewhere far. However, the noise was too steady and it was approaching too fast to be a storm. The rumbling grew louder, until it was just outside the church. Then there was a roar of what she recognised as numerous engines.

Mom made a small sound of disdain beside her but kept her eyes forward. As for Loreena, she along with the most of the bridegroom's side were glancing in varying levels of curiosity towards the doorway of the church.

Soon the bride's side began to fill. It looked like all the male guests had at least found themselves a dress coat and a button-up shirt, but many of them had combined those with jeans and biker boots, clinking against the stone floor of the church. Some of them came alone, others brought entire families. Perhaps it was just indicative of her own prejudices, but Loreena was slightly surprised to see how normal most of those biker brides and their families seemed. Granted, there were girls she'd rather expect to see on the cover of a pin-up calendar than her cousin's wedding, but they chatted as normally as anyone with women she'd have taken for soccer moms in any other place.

She was just thinking of her own judgement of these people, and she hadn't yet made the inevitable jump to a conclusion, when suddenly another guest's arrival caught her attention and brought her considerations to an abrupt halt.

He was one of those who had made more effort to blend in a wedding crowd than the others. His black three-piece suit looked new, as did his dark green button-up shirt. His concession did not extend far beyond that, though: his hair was on a simple ponytail and he had not removed any of his piercings. Tattoos on his knuckles were even more impossible to hide. Elijah was looking ahead and so he didn't see her, though she was trying to catch his gaze. Mom made a displeased snort and turned again to look forward, as though her feigned indifference might make the newly-arrived guest disappear.

"There's Evey's older brother", Dad whispered to Loreena.

She had to bite back a surprised little gasp. What were the odds? Instantly she began to hope she had paid more attention to Fran's relationships, because then she'd probably have realised Evelyn was one of those Knights... then again, Elijah had always been just Elijah to her, and his family name she had not even remembered until now. Thinking of the tall woman, singularly ordinary when compared to her brother, bikers were about the last thing to pop in mind in the same context. But then, hadn't she just got proof she might not have a best idea of what kind of people they actually were? Evelyn's brother might be long-haired and covered in tattoos, but that didn't necessarily mean anything... and the few times she had met Fran's fiancée, they had never talked about her family.

And then there was Mom. Though she made it clear when she disapproved, she never talked of things she disliked – not to her children at least. In that they usually followed her lead, for better or for worse. Mom must have known from the beginning just who Evelyn was, but Loreena suspected in her vocabulary biker was a cursing word, a taboo not to be mentioned.

She had been caught up in her own life and her own little concerns. As a result, she had gone completely ignorant of what was actually happening in the life of her extended family. The realisation made her feel like an idiot.

"Are you alright, Lori?" Dad asked then, when the time she didn't respond grew longer.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking", she said quickly. She glanced at him, "Elijah Knight was that boy who helped me when I got lost in the park as a kid. Do you remember?"

Dad blinked and looked surprised. It seemed she wasn't the only one who did not notice everything.

"Yes, he was. I had forgotten completely", he said quietly and glanced at the bride's brother, who had comfortably settled on the front row bench and spread one arm on the back of it. Dad spoke again, "Perhaps it is understandable. It's easy to get distracted when you look at him... I didn't know you still remembered him."

It was then Fran arrived, tailed by his bestman Brett. He smiled nervously at his uncle and cousin, which Loreena returned encouragingly and whispered: "you'll be fine."

Even as she spoke those words she could feel someone watching her, and turning slightly she met a pair of dark eyes from the other side of the aisle. Elijah had noticed her and was regarding her solemnly, but when he saw she had noticed him, the sober look left his features. His crooked smile was far more charming than it had any right to be, and he had the cheek to wink at her.

Fast she looked away, hoping her cheeks were not flaming red. Why was it this biker was so good at making her feel like she was sixteen again?

Thankfully, that was the moment the wedding march began to play and the crowd stood up to honour the bride.

Evelyn was breathtakingly beautiful of course, and perhaps in some other situation Loreena might have paid more attention to her dress. Now, however, she was too busy inspecting the bride's face in an attempt to find the family resemblance between her and her brother. She was tall like him and had blonde hair, though its shade was lighter than his. Where Elijah's eyes were nearly black hers were sky blue. Closer scrutiny revealed there was something about her cheekbones that reminded her of Elijah.

Beside the bride strode an elderly man. He had to be in his sixties but his back was straight and he looked as vital as any man twenty years younger. He too had blond hair, which was neatly combed back, sporting a beard like most of the men at the bride's side, and he was dressed similarly as Elijah. He could only be Thomas King – a founding member of Sons of Eorl and a local legend.

They reached the altar then, and Mr King's eyes briefly met Dad's – he nodded at the old biker stiffly but politely. What moved on the face of the leader of Sons of Eorl, Loreena couldn't tell... but then the moment was over, and the two were face to face with Fran. The only thing his features expressed was pride and happiness. Beside Loreena, Mom was muttering – "lowlife thrash in the family, I can't believe it" - but whatever the overall feelings of the crowd may be... that was indeed the day Fran married Evey.


The wedding reception took place at the local hotel. When Mom began to mutter something about how the place was far nicer than she had expected and obviously the bride's side of guests was going to attack it like pigs, Loreena sped up to the side of her brother Anthony. He was only a couple years older than her and so to her he had always been the closest of her brothers.

"Well, that was interesting", Tony commented quietly. Whether he was referring to the wedding ceremony back at the church, or the escort of bikers following the Just Married car clogging the local traffic, or when they had met Thomas King and Elijah Knight back at the church, or the abundance of long hair and long beards, she couldn't tell. Meeting Mr King had felt a bit like being introduced to some foreign monarch, but Elijah had smiled brightly at her even though there hadn't been an opportunity to talk.

"Fran is happy", she simply said. "That's important."

"Yeah. I don't think I've seen him looking so glad since Uncle Dexter and Brian died", said her brother. They were both quiet for a while, thinking of the tragic time couple of years back when they had in a short period of time lost the two. As their mood threatened to turn too heavy, Tony grinned, "The family Christmases are going to be very interesting in the future."

Loreena couldn't but return that grin, "I don't think Mom has been thinking of anything else ever since she realised what it means Evelyn's family consists of bikers."

"It's pretty overwhelming, though", her brother mused. "I used to be so afraid of Elijah Knight back in school. Not sure why, because although he was always in trouble he was never a bully. I think even some teachers were scared of him."

She made a soft sound in agreement. Back then, she had of course been too young to go to school, so she hadn't seen Elijah during his heyday. Well, if you could say his heyday had ended in the first place.

They received glasses of sparkling wine from a waiter, and both were meaning to seek the crowd for friends when suddenly Tony leaned closer towards Loreena and hissed, "Dan is coming this way."

"Can you distract him for me until I can get away?" she whispered back hastily. It was doubtful she'd be able to avoid him endlessly, but she could try. Fortunately, her brother was entirely sympathetic towards her in the matter. According to him, he had never liked the guy ("and when you told me you two were getting married, I honestly wondered what kind of hypnosis he had used on you", he had said after she had broken up with Dan).

"Of course. Get you gone, before he reaches us!" Tony urged her, and she began to make way through the crowd in lobby, pretending she was completely unaware of Dan.

She found refuge behind an enormous flower arrangement, from behind which she just about dared to peek. A quick glance confirmed Tony was currently engaging Dan in a conversation, air-headed as only he could manage. Hopefully that might go on long enough for her to slip into the hall unnoticed.

Loreena wasn't left to hide alone for long, however. As she considered the way to the double doors and evaluated her chances of getting there unbothered by Dan, she suddenly heard a voice behind herself.

"Hope it's not me you're trying to hide from", was the jovial call to startle her. She jumped around and just about managed to hold back a shriek. How Elijah had been able to sneak up behind her she didn't know, nor was she sure where he had even come from. Even in a crowd like this he wasn't really a man to blend in very well.

"Did you have to startle me like that!" she hissed and cast another anxious look about the flower arrangement. "And of course I wasn't trying to avoid you. Just my ex-fiancé."

"Your ex-fiancé?" Elijah echoed with some surprise. "Thought you loved the guy."

"I thought so too. Then I began to wonder. Let's not talk about him, though", she said, shaking her head. She gave him a smile then, "I have to confess, I was pretty surprised to see you today. I hadn't realised Evelyn is your sister."

"Yeah. As much as she loves her family, I guess we aren't a good topic for conversations among the proper folks. She says she's not ashamed of anything and I know that's true, but there are some who seem to think she should be", he replied at length, with a tiny crease on his brow. He looked up then and even smiled, "But we knew to expect it when she decided to go to college. Sooner or later people will try to put us back to our place."

"Well, I don't think she should be ashamed", Loreena said and sipped her drink. It was very good, though perhaps a bit too sweet for her tastes.

One corner of Elijah's mouth lifted in something of a smile, but it didn't really reach his eyes.

"That's because you don't really know me or my family. Evelyn is a bright exception, but an exception anyway", he said darkly.

"I think I do have some idea, though", she said steadily. She reached to pat his arm and she offered him a smile, "Don't look so moody. You might end up scaring some elderly relative of mine, and we don't want a case of heart attack in our hands."

Those words made him chuckle and he toasted his glass of champagne with hers. It looked so delicate in his large hand she wouldn't have been surprised to see it break into pieces.

"Bottoms up, Little Loriel", he said, sounding cheerful again. She gave him a look of feigned disdain.

"That is not how you drink champagne!" she scolded him, but finished her glass in one go anyway. The bubbling of the liquid tickled her nose as the sweet taste rolled over her tongue.

"It's not?" he asked, although she could see the glint of humour in his eyes, "Damn. Unless you sit beside me through the reception, I'm gonna embarrass myself."

That statement moved the bubbling into her belly, but she managed him a smile, "You'll do just fine, I'm sure."


What happened next was either a sign the universe had a sense of humour, or maybe whoever was in charge of planning who to seat in which table just had a thing for trying thin ice. This Loreena thought of when she finally got into the hall and thought to check where her seat was before heading to see if she could find Tony in the buffet. For the moment she had lost Elijah, because he had seen some friend of his and gone to say hi, but had promised to meet her again later.

That second meeting turned out to be much sooner though, because when she found her seat... she also found his.

A quick look about the table gave more light: it was apparently the table reserved for the families of the newly-wed couple. Even so, when she inquired about the seating from one of the bridesmaids, she was helpfully told it was a last minute change, and her original neighbour in the table had been none else than Dan. As for the seat reserved for the otherwise occupied Erwin, his place had been given to Thomas King.

Loreena shook her head helplessly. This meal was definitely going to be something else.

She was able to find Tony in the buffet, and when they both got plates of food, they made to where their table was. Most of the family was there already, except for Elliot and Alice. So were Mr King and his nephew, who got up at the arrival of Loreena and Tony; like the perfect gentleman he pulled back her chair for her.

"Miss Delaney", he said smoothly and she had to bite back a grin – otherwise Mom would be commenting for the rest of the night how familiar she had been with him.

"Thank you, Mr Knight", Loreena said, perfectly proper and delicate, and sat down beside him. She had time to wonder how unconstrained she was feeling with him, but then that thought fell next to the uneasy atmosphere at the table. Mom kept her eyes solely concentrated on her plate, and Dad was trying to smile but it wasn't entirely honest. As for Tony, he was obviously trying not to stare at the tattoos on Elijah's knuckles andedges of those peeking from under his sleeves.

Thomas King, however, sat serene opposite her. When Loreena sat down, he even gave her a small smile. Though he was aged now, he looked like he had been pretty handsome back in his day. Clothed in similar three-piece suit as his nephew, he didn't look exactly like what one might expect from the leader of a biker club. Rather, Loreena felt he should be the chairman of some gentlemen's society.

Then Elliot and Alice arrived too, and while her brother guarded his expression masterfully, Loreena didn't miss the surprised look on her sister-in-law's face.

The silence grew longer, until Thomas King at last spoke up. His voice wasn't quite as low as his nephew's, but it held the same strength and authority that had nothing to do with their position in life, but rather the force of their personalities. There was something about these two that made one want to listen to them.

"It is quite the extraordinary day for our families. I knew our Evey had it in her to go far in her life, but I never expected to sit in such a company on her wedding day", he said, lifting his glass of wine in something of a toast to the other occupants of the table.

"Yes, we have indeed come together in unexpected ways", Dad said. He had always been the more diplomatic one of Loreena's parents. "Back at the church, myself and my daughter were just recalling an incident years ago, when your nephew found her lost in the park."

Mr King looked over the table at his nephew and did not even try to hide the pride shining on his face – something that went beyond finding lost little girls in parks.

"One might not believe it looking at him, but my nephew is a big heart", he said. Loreena was watching Elijah from the corner of her eye briefly he seemed embarrassed by those words, and perhaps it was a surprising thing to hear in relation to a bold biker... even if she knew it to be true.

Mom took that moment to join the conversation, though Loreena had already expected she might stay silent until it was polite for her to leave the table.

"May I ask, Mr Knight, what do you do for living?" she asked as she lifted her glass of wine to her lips. She regarded Elijah closely, without a hint of anything that might be considered disdainful, but Loreena knew her mother well enough to sense her true emotions.

"I'm a mechanic, ma'am. Not doing much of the dirty job these days though. Apparently that's what happens when you become the business-partner", he answered smoothly, glancing at his uncle.

"It's just right, sonny. I founded that company with your old man, and he always meant you to have his half", Mr King said firmly. "Although it's a pity you don't get to do so much work in the garage these days."

He glanced at the table company, "He knows cars and motorcycles, this one does – he was helping around with jobs about as soon as he learned to walk. I never had such talent for it as he does."

"Delightful. One always appreciates those who work with their hands", Mom commented; the faintest twitch of her lips was telling to Loreena at least. She deemed Dad noticed it as well, because then he engaged Mr King in a conversation about some recent events, which lead into them talking about politics (and it turned out Elijah's uncle was very knowledgeable in those). Elliot joined too, and Alice distracted Mom with a sufficiently proper discussion about the wedding's menu and arrangements.

As for Loreena, she spied a look of her neighbour's face. That his dark eyes were without their usual glimmer was the sign he knew an insult when he got one.

"Don't care about her", Loreena whispered from the corner of her mouth to him. "She is something of a priss."

"It's okay. Got thick enough skin not to care", he said and offered her a smile. She returned it, relaxing on her seat now that the conversations in the table had taken less awkward courses.

"You should know she's expecting the very worst of the bride's side. So this would be a great chance to prove her wrong", she told him, keeping quiet her voice so that only he could hear her. Elijah gave a quiet snort.

"Expected something like that. That's why Uncle told us all we will have to be on our best behaviour. And we mean to be. Evey deserves that at least", he said solemnly. Then he grinned, "Make no mistake though. The real party will take place afterwards."

"I'm almost tempted to ask to come along", she said, grinning as well.

"That's no place for you, babe", he said, shaking his head. Seeing her expression, he quickly continued, "It's not like that. You'd be safe with me, but some of the guys got no manners when they're drunk. You shouldn't have to listen to their bullshit."

"Maybe I've got thick skin too. Thicker at least than you think", she pointed out.

"Yeah. Could be I don't give you enough credit", he allowed and emptied his glass. He looked at her inquisitively, "Gonna fetch another drink. Want me to bring some for you too?"

"Yes please", she said, and with a smile he exited the table. Tony leaned closer when Elijah had gone.

"You're getting along with him pretty well. I'm rather surprised", said her brother. Loreena lifted her eyebrows.

"Why is that? The man is not some ogre, no matter what Mom thinks", she said nonchalantly.

"Hmm. Maybe you're right", Tony agreed. He chuckled then, "To be honest you look so amazing today that I can't imagine a guy who wouldn't want to get along with you."

"I wish some guys wouldn't try to at least", she muttered and glanced about herself. Dan sat in a table with couple of girls she remembered sitting in the bride's side of the church, but he wasn't making most of that arrangement. Rather, he looked unhappy, and it even wasn't for the show. Loreena just about had time to turn away her gaze before he noticed she was watching him – she didn't want to give him any ideas. Though Dan seemed genuinely upset, she knew she couldn't give in this time.

All thoughts of Dan vanished with the return of Elijah. He offered her a full glass of white wine, and as she accepted it she thought to herself she'd have to slow down before she got drunk. He took the seat next to her and returned to his half-eaten portion.

"Looks like you were lying when you said you'd embarrass yourself here", she commented after a moment. Indeed, he wielded the delicate fork and knife like any gentleman – had even spread a napkin in his lap.

The humorous glint was back in Elijah's eyes, in full force this time.

"It's only because Evey insisted to cook for me and Uncle for the entire last week and had us sitting through three courses each night, to make sure we'd know how to behave", he whispered to her. Fortunately she was just patting her mouth with a napkin, so she could muffle her giggles in it. Imagining the event was very entertaining.

"You must care about her a lot, to learn these things for her sake", Loreena observed then.

"Yeah. Got to hold on to one's own. After all, she and Uncle are some of the pretty few people in the world willing to put up with me", he answered.

Loreena smiled and lifted up her glass, "To the people who put up with us."

He returned the smile and the gesture, and she thought this wedding was turning out to be far nicer than the setting might have implied.


A/N: I tried so hard. I tried and I failed and so I wrote this little continuation to the one-shot, and to be honest I don't think there's a single person following me who is surprised I couldn't just leave it at that. :D

The aim of this story is to be some light entertainment, and what is more entertaining than to throw two groups of people from vastly different worlds into one room and watch what happens? To me, bringing Loreena and Elijah together again in Fran and Evelyn's (who are of course equivalent to Faramir and Éowyn) wedding seemed like the natural way to continue the story. Still, I got to be honest: I watched some Sons of Anarchy to get inspiration for the chapter. That was because when I decided to continue I knew I'd also have to get some ideas on what the biker world is like (however based in fiction). Of course, the whole idea about the garage is borrowed straight from SoA, but I guess I wanted to go the easy route there. If this story was supposed to be more serious I'd probably have thought of something more original.

Not sure how soon and if I'll update this again, but I can say I'm pretty inspired to continue!

Thanks for reading and reviewing!


Fran = Faramir

Evelyn = Éowyn

Brett = Beregond

Tony = Amrothos

Elliot = Elphir

Alice = Elphir's wife

Erwin = Erchirion

Thomas King = Théoden


Anonymous - Of course, no other name really fits the character than the original ones. I suppose no modern name would be perfect in everyone's eyes.

annafan - I thought so too! Fanfiction is indeed a perfect place for fantasy of the sort. :)

cCeret - Glad to hear you liked the first chapter! Hope you enjoy this as well.

It's really not so smart for me to start and continue new stories with ALTE and Flickers still incomplete, but well... I can't help myself.

Muscarie - Thank you!

gginsc - Yeah, I eventually thought so too. :D I rather like modern Éomer as well!

Kiiimberly - Hopefully that is a good thing!

Tali - I'm not denying the situation is problematic from the point of view of a romance. But I don't think this chapter at any moment pretends to be something more than it is, and I think it's not wrong to explore such situations in fanfiction. From a writer's point of view, the problems you raise are simply fascinating challenges if I choose to bring this further. Still, I would think biker world might be a bit more diverse than that. Criminal gangs are always another thing.

Tess - I'm glad you liked it! And yes, I fully agree Biker!Éomer is a cause for some heart-throbbing! :D

Eve - And here goes!

noli cullen 26 - Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm always glad to hear people have enjoyed my stories. :) Makes me feel it's worth the effort to write and upload these things I come up with. And I think Biker!Éomer/Elijah is pretty easy to love! :)

EugeniaVictoria - I had watched couple of episodes of Sons of Anarchy couple of years ago, and I guess that did influence my writing. I watched more of it for this new chapter.

Talia119 - Well, I must say I've certainly watched too much of it now! Had to get inspiration somewhere, since so many people were saying they wanted me to write more of this.

I hope it's a good thing this is different at least. I want to give my readers stuff like that and not just the thing we've seen hundred times over. Not to mention I just can't help coming up with new scenarios for É/L. :D