Dating Elijah felt a bit like she was sixteen again, riding the high surf of first love. Soon as she thought why that was she knew it was because she had never done anything like this before. What boyfriends there had been were all of her own society, all very proper and single-minded with their lives already planned out for them. With Dan it had been like following some intricate recipe, and Mom at least had always made it clear there was no room for missteps.

She was taking a lot of those missteps these days. One of them was getting a job at the local independent book store, and finding she rather loved it. Though Mom wasn't happy, Dad was on her side: "We all have to start from something."

And she certainly had started to live.

Compared to her previous experiences, Elijah was a foreign country altogether. There was a thrill to seeing him, because he was wild and free and there was no plan to follow, and each date could go from seeing a movie and picking up some pizza to eat while they watched sunset to a passionate make out session. He was blunt and forward and always said what he thought, and though his honesty could sometimes be cutting it was never ill-intentioned. And towards her he was always fiercely protective and caring. Indeed, there was a strange contradiction between her former experiences and the new: even the planned-out life of Dan had never made her feel really secure.

Part of the thrill was of course because she hadn't told any of her family members about this – it was clear they would not understand or approve. Dating a biker was a forbidden fruit, but having a small taste of it she knew how sweet it could be, and just what was the fuss about the desire you knew could be dangerous.

As for the future... well, Loreena did not know where any of this was going. But right now she didn't need to. This moment she was content with what they had – it was light and carefree, and most they did was just hang around. The relationship had yet to take that step to the next level. For the time being Elijah had not made such move but she felt it was more about waiting for the right moment than it being something he didn't want.

Then in November, about two weeks after she had started to date Elijah, came the time she had been half dreading, half expecting. Thanksgiving was upon them and with it the occasion brought a rather heated argument between Loreena's parents.

The tradition had been for several years to invite extended family over for a dinner. In addition to Dad, Mom and her brothers, Alice's brother and his family would attend, as would Mom's sister Layla with her husband Jonathan and their daughter Marie. This year Tony had his own guest as well – turned out he had bonded with Vera at the wedding and the two were now dating.

Aunt Fiona's family had been an essential part of Thanksgiving, though now only Fran remained. However his new wife brought some "extra baggage", like Mom called them. Dad, however, insisted.

"How do you think it would make Evey feel like if we don't invite her uncle and brother as well? She is part of the family now, for better or for worse", Loreena heard him ranting at Mom. She didn't quite catch Mom's answer and she didn't really need to. In the end Dad won the argument and invitations would be sent to Mr King and Elijah as well.

When she reported this to her boyfriend (it was thrilling to think of that word and him in the same context), he wasn't insulted at all. He merely laughed in the phone.

"You know, I feel like one of these days we're gonna give your mom a proper stroke. How does she deal with anything?" he asked. Despite herself she had to snigger at his choice of words.

"Displeasure is her way of life, I would say", Loreena told him, and again Elijah laughed. "It's nice to have you over, though. I've wanted to show you around in here."

"Yeah. I look forward to it. God knows we're going to stand out like a sore thumb, but I don't think Evey would agree to spend the holiday without us. We'll have to thank your dad for standing up for us", he said, his voice turning more serious now.

"You're a part of the family now", she merely said, and then the conversation moved to other routes, until Elijah apologised and said he had to go. Some nights the club business had him pretty busy.

The holiday weekend came at last, and Loreena did not think she had ever seen her family quite as agitated as they were before the guests began to arrive. For her part she tried to act normal as ever, though she had seen some special effort dressing up – her dark blue dress was contrasted by a red silk belt on her waist, and she deemed it had been worth seeing the effort of braiding her hair from the forehead, across one side, and then to rest on her shoulder. Elijah had commented she was probably the most well-dressed woman he had ever dated – when he had said that, there had been this incredulous look on his face like he didn't quite believe it himself.

Most of the guests had already arrived by the time Evey and Fran came with Elijah and Mr King. Apparently the four had come together, driving with Fran who had picked up the biker duo. Loreena had indeed wondered (and a part of her had hoped) if Mr King and Elijah might arrive riding their motorcycles, but maybe they were trying to appease to Mom by riding with Fran and Evey. She was quite lovely of course (she rarely was anything else), and both her and Fran sported tans after their honeymoon trip to the Mediterranean. Mr King was again appearing the flawless gentleman, but Elijah retained his relaxed aura in his jeans, and the sizeable bronze-coloured buckle of his belt was something her brothers would never have flaunted in the front of Mom, but he had picked up a button up shirt and the vest he probably had worn at the wedding. Mom pursed her lips at the sight of him, as did Aunt Layla, and Alice's nephews and niece just stared. Cousin Marie stared as well, but in her gaze there was more admiration than wonder. Undaunted by all reactions, Elijah was his own charming self as he introduced himself to those he had not met before.

So was Mr King, for as he shook Loreena's hand, he smilingly spoke, "You are quite lovely today, Miss Delaney."

"Thank you, Mr King", she said. "I'm glad you could come."

"It is an honour to be invited", he replied, glancing about in the hall, "though I don't think I will be daring enough to go anywhere alone here. It looks like a place one can easily get lost in."

"I must give you and your nephew a tour afterwards", she promised him, glancing at Elijah; her boyfriend gave her a brief and unabashedly sly smile. She had to quickly look away in the hopes she wouldn't blush.

Loreena couldn't remember the last time she had seen the long table in the dining hall so crowded as it was once they at last sat down for the dinner. A lot of planning had gone into it, and Mom had insisted she and Alice take part in it. For once Loreena had not secretly rolled her eyes about the task of planning the seating beforehand – this time, she had gleefully taken over it and placed herself not so innocently beside Elijah. That Mom had not commented on it was either because she didn't know to suspect anything, or she had been just too busy with the rest of preparations to notice. As for her biker boyfriend, he didn't seem one bit surprised when she took seat next to him.

"Perhaps we could begin with saying the grace?" Dad suggested; Loreena spied a glance of Elijah's face, but his expression did not reveal what he might think of it. They had never really talked about things like that, but it was pretty clear someone so free-spirited did not sit his nights at home reading the Bible.

Be it as may he glanced at her and she realised it was to ask for her lead – saying graces wasn't probably what they did at his club – and helpfully she offered him her hand. Elijah picked up the clue fast, taking her hand and that of Evey, who sat on his other side.

Loreena was vaguely aware of Dad's voice, but most concentrated she was on regarding her hand in Elijah's from the corner of her eye, though her head was bowed. She squeezed his fingers just slightly tighter and he returned the gesture – she had to bite the inside of her lip in order not to smile. When the crowd echoed "amen" after Dad, she hastily hurried to join the others.

Then began the filling of plates with the steaming hot food, straight from the stoves of the great kitchen of the house. Elijah looked about with a slightly disbelieving expression on his face.

"Man", he muttered to her under his breath, "I don't think I've ever seen this much food in one table."

"Mom goes a bit mad while ordering food for the dinner", she whispered back to him. As a reply he smiled at her but only so briefly. He too knew they were on the enemy territory now.

When everyone had food on their plates, Dad spoke up again, "It has been our tradition to share in this table the things we are thankful for. Perhaps we might do so again this year?"

Mostly it was things she had heard many times over – success in business, good grades, Aunt Layla had won yet another prize in some gardening contest... then Alice dropped the bomb and gave the news she was expecting, and Elliot beamed like only a proud father would. Congratulations went on for a while, and Loreena was nearly done with her portion when at last came her turn.

She knew very well what she would have liked to say, but those words she kept to herself.

Instead, she said: "I'm thankful for the self-discovery this year has given me."

That statement did earn her some odd looks, and Mom's eyebrows made the acquaintance of her hairline. But Tony seemed he understood (half of it at least) and Elijah's hand on her knee under the table was telling as well.

She looked at him then and he picked up the clue it was his turn.

"This year I am thankful for finding something I had thought lost", he said and lifted his glass of wine. Loreena had to bite the inside of her cheek in order not to smile, but under the table she was returning the favour by gently running her fingers over his knee and up his thigh. He jolted in a way that almost had her believing he might leap from the chair, but he was able to hide his reaction by taking a long sip of his drink.

Thankfully the round soon came to an end and a slightly more relaxed atmosphere returned to the table. Well, at least until Aunt Layla spoke up. Loreena wasn't terribly surprised about her choice of topic.

"Loreena, I was sad to notice Dan is not attending this year", she said and there was nothing pointed about her tone or her expression. Loreena managed to give her a pained little smile.

"It didn't really make sense to invite him, seeing we're not engaged anymore", she stated curtly.

"I had wondered why that is. I seem to recall him such a pleasant young man", said her Aunt. Before she could think of anything to say, the man beside her spoke up.

"This pleasant young man manhandled, shouted abuse and hit your niece at my sister's wedding. I believe there is a very good reason he does not sit in this table today", Elijah said, his voice firm and cool. Aunt Layla lifted her eyebrows, undaunted by this new challenger.

"Oh? I was told that yourself, Mr Knight, were taken from the scene by the police", she commented.

"Yeah, I was. Mostly because that same pleasant young man also happens to be a liar", he replied. In his voice there was just the barest hint of steel.

"And it was all cleared out very quickly", Loreena put in. "Even so I haven't spoken with Dan since then. Nor do I want to."

"It's a pity it turned that way", Aunt sighed and shook her head.

"On the contrary. I am glad I saw his true colours at last", Loreena retorted. At that moment Tony cleared his throat and asked Fran about the places he and Evey had seen during their honeymoon, which thankfully eased the mood again and distracted the company from the unpleasant topic. All the same Aunt Layla did not look pleased; she was eyeing Elijah like one might eye their foe on a battlefield. He met the gaze calmly, and not a single muscle in his face stirred.

Loreena was not the only one to see the lightnings flying between the two. Evey had noticed it too and now she turned towards her brother and engaged him in a conversation about some mutual acquaintance of theirs.

But Aunt Layla wasn't done yet. Lifting up her glass daintily she regarded her niece, "Your mother tells me you have a new job at the book store."

"Yes, I do", Loreena replied warily. She got the sense Aunt didn't think that was something to be proud of.

"Don't you think that is lacking in ambition? Surely Ian Delaney's daughter could aim for something better", Aunt stated. The way Loreena felt her boyfriend tensing beside her proved he was not quite so distracted as Evey might have hoped.

"Well, I like the job. It's at an independent store, and they are better stocked than many other places I could name. And my colleagues are really nice", Loreena said firmly.

"Lori, your Aunt is not entirely wrong", Mom spoke up. "Speaking of which, Layla, maybe at your office there might be something -"

"She did say she likes the job", said Evey suddenly, her voice clear and strong. Loreena's eyes flashed towards her cousin's wife; she saw Elijah opening his mouth and thought he might speak sharply as well, but suddenly he flinched. She realised it was because Evey had kicked him under the table.

Mom and Aunt Layla stared at Evey. The blonde woman met their gazes like an Amazon.

"Sarah, dear, we have talked about this. Loreena has all her life ahead of her. If she wants to have this job, then we should support her. The important thing is she does have a job. The same can't be said many rich kids partying and spending their funds irresponsibly", Dad pointed out. In his voice there was a strong edge, which was not at all covert about the suggestion to move from the topic. Fortunately, Mom and Aunt Layla seemed to finally get the message.

The dinner rolled to an end without any more unpleasant conversations and Loreena breathed in relief. Of course, there would still be coffee and more socialising, but in the mean time she had other plans. Soon as they had exited the table, she looked inquisitively at Elijah, Evey and their uncle.

"I was thinking maybe you would like to stretch your legs a bit? I'd be happy to give you a tour of the house", she offered. Mr King smiled slightly.

"That would be delightful, but I'm afraid I am quite stuffed at the moment. But perhaps my nephew and niece would like to join you?" he said and glanced at the two offspring of his late sister.

"Yeah, I'd like that", Elijah said right away. He stood up straighter and offered his arm to Loreena – a perfect image of a gentleman, albeit rugged. She smiled and placed her hand on his arm.

"I think we'll going to tag along too", Tony retorted.

"You need to be shown around in your own home?" Vera asked playfully. "Not that I don't want to come. You know I love this house."

"It is extremely handful for a couple of kids playing hide and seek", Loreena told Elijah, who chuckled as a reply and his eyes glimmered like he was thinking of some dirty joke.

"I'll come too!" Marie said hurriedly. She quickly grabbed Elijah's other arm. Loreena saw him blink in surprise but did not try to free himself.

"Very well then", she said, already thinking of a plan to sneak out at some convenient point, "shall we go?"

"Lead on, Miss", he said and one corner of his mouth lifted. Marie giggled like he had just said the funniest thing she had ever heard.

Well, Loreena thought to herself as she lead the company into the entrance hall, this was going to be interesting.


A/N: Here's a long overdue new chapter! I hope the story continues to entertain you. :)

I don't suppose our lovebirds have yet given much to the reality or the demands it will have on them if they take this thing any further. But seeing it's still on this kind of a cutesy state (and because for Loreena it's a lot about finding her personal freedom), real problems and issues have yet to make an appearance.

I got some messages pleading me not to abandon the story, and for the record I don't mean to do that. However I do want to finish up ALTE and I've got Flickers in the works as well, so I haven't got too much time to work on this one.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!


Borys68 – I don't see what is the point of posting this in some original works category, especially when such deed would in my opinion show creative dishonesty in my part. Plus, a great deal of this story plays around with tropes you often see in fanfics about this couple. And considering I'm writing this with Éomer/Lothíriel -fans in mind specifically I don't see how they're supposed to find the story in some obscure section they might not visit or even know about. Moreover far as I know modern AU stories, however in variance from the original product, aren't explicitly forbidden in 's ToS and this is hardly the first or the last AU story (not to mention you see a bunch of them taking even more freedom than I do and that doesn't to seem to bother the target audience), so I fail to understand what's the problem here?

Talia119 - They definitely are in dating-ish kind of arrangement for the moment, but it's very carefree and I don't think either of them has really thought about what they want out of this and, most importantly, if it can truly work out. So it's still just fun and games so to speak.

1607hannah - Charming he is indeed, but whether it can sustain their relationship will remain to be seen. :)

MairaElleth - *rubs hands together gleefully* Hooked readers are my favourite thing. And I'm glad to hear I've managed to translate Éomer into a modern setting! :)

almythea - I'm definitely not going to abandon this, but I'm afraid I will have to beg for patience and some nerves!

HogwartsDwarfKat - Here comes! Hope you like this update. :)