Author Note

I'M ALIVE! Its been a little while but life got in the way of stuff.

Amadeusan- That was one of the harder chapters to write but things will get better! I've always pictured Haldir as being sweet to those he cares about.

princessnerra- Thank you! Recovery does come with its setbacks but Haldir is there to help her.

glassary- It will definitely take time to heal. We will get to Galadriel soon but not yet.

angel897- I was hoping to make this a bit of a slow burn without being too slow if that makes any sense? She deffintly needs the friendship first.

Story

Haldir woke slowly to the comforting weight of Mirwen in his arms. He had promised not to call her that but in his own thoughts he couldn't stop himself. He was glad the elleth was still sleeping she desperately needed it. Her long red hair fanned out over his arm in a shimmering waterfall and her face looked relaxed for the first time since he had met her. Perhaps after she woke he could persuade her to go for a walk. He smiled gently running his fingers through her soft hair. In a few days maybe she would be willing to meet with the Lady but for now he was happy to just have her here.

She started to stir slowly waking up. Sleep filled green eyes blinked slowly looking around until she finally looked at him. Haldir expected her to jump up and find some reason to distance herself from him again but she didn't. Instead, the elleth gave him a small smile and settled more comfortably into his lap and tucked her head under his chin. They sat in silence until a knock sounded from the front door. She jumped up then and placed a chair between herself and the door while he answered it.

"Brother!" Orophin followed by a smiling Rumil both walked into the main room of his Talan.

"We came to invite you and your very lovely guest to dine in the commons with us tonight!" The middle brother sent a flirtatious wink towards the extremely nervous looking elleth. She was slowly backing away.

"I do not think we will be joining you tonight brother. I much prefer the quiet of my own kitchen especially after the last few weeks on the fences."

"You can go if you like," Mirwen spoke softly. He could tell she didn't want to force him to stay here but here with her was exactly where he wanted to be.

"I would much rather stay here with you tonight my dear," Haldir told her, she nodded looking at him briefly. His brothers left just as jovially as they had come while the ellon made a light dinner for the two of them. They ate in peace before he bid Mirwen good night.

"I will be on the couch if you need anything."

"I cannot take your bed from you Marchwarden." she looked positively shocked that he would give up his bed.

"I have slept in far worse places than my own couch." She didn't look too convinced but he collected one of the pillows and an extra blanket from the chest in the corner not letting her argue anymore.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight Marchwarden."

"Haldir," she looked confused when he spoke. "Call me Haldir. I am your friend, not your commander or Lord so please call me Haldir."

"Goodnight Haldir," She fidgeted nervously for a moment before giving him a quick hug and retreating into the room. Haldir smiled happily to himself as he went to lay on the couch.

Dawn found the elleth on his balcony watching the sunrise. She was wrapped in a blanket looking out over the still sleeping city. He watched her from the doorway to the bedroom for a time before moving to the kitchen to make tea and prep breakfast. He wondered if she would eat eggs seeing she wouldn't touch meat. Though she ate the cheese he offered her so maybe eggs would be acceptable. He took the risk and fixed some to go with the toast, fruit, and tea. His pantry was starting to look bare so a trip to the market was in order.

Mirwen smiled shyly as he set the tray of food on the small table between the chairs. She took some of the fruit but he could see her eyeing the eggs so he pushed some towards her. She ate a small bite chewing slowly before taking a bigger bite. Her life alone had obviously been hard.

"I need to make a trip to the market today. You are welcome to come with me or stay here if you prefer. Though I hope you will come, I understand if you do not feel up to it."

"I… I cannot. I am sorry Mar- Haldir but I just…" Her voice trailed off as she looked down at her lap. He could see that she felt she was disappointing him.

"I understand. You have been alone a very long time and this is all new to you. I will not be gone long. Is there anything you need?"

"No, thank you. You have already been more generous then I could ever hope for."

"You saved my life when you didn't have to. Twice I believe, perhaps more than I do not know of. I owe you but it is more than that. I cannot explain it beyond I want to be here for you to help you heal and see how truly strong you are."

The Marchwarden reached out and took her hand gently running his thumb over her knuckles. It took her several moments but she finally looked up and met his eyes. There was a look of wonder in those green orbs. Like she hardly dared to believe him but desperately wanted to. He gave her an encouraging smile before going back to his breakfast.

"I will return shortly. Feel free to look around or even go for a walk. We will work on clearing out Rumil's old bedroom later so that you have a space that belongs to you. It will take a few days I'm afraid. I turned it into storage after he found his own place but you can take the time to think about how you would like to decorate it."

"I do not want to be a bother. I would be happy to take the couch."

"My home is open to you as long as you wish to stay and I would be a poor host to make you sleep on the couch or have you sharing a wardrobe with me when there is more than enough space for you to have your own."

He gave her a gentle hug marveling at her trust in him for just a moment. She returned his embrace for a brief minute and then he was out the door on his way to the busy market. Word of his new guest had spread quickly it seemed. Many had heard snippets of how he had been saved and her part in the battle the day before was spreading far more rapidly then he had thought it would. Everyone had questions for him but Haldir was able to use the chill air of winter as an excuse to hurry along. It wasn't his place to tell her story beyond what others knew of her part in his survival nor would he accept any offer of anything for her though he did promise to let her know of each one he received. He wanted her to know she was fully in charge of her life.

A twinkling at one stall did make him pause. It was a necklace of a tiny jeweled butterfly. He bought it more on a whim then anything else since he didn't know if she would even wear it but the little purple pendant seemed perfect for her. As Haldir was on his way home a messenger approached him with a message from The Lady. A message had been sent to Lord Elrond informing him of Mirwen's rescue it was expected that he would travel to the Golden Wood instead of sending back a message. Haldir wasn't sure how Mirwen would react to this but he wouldn't make her face the Lord of Imladris until she was ready. He was surprised to discover that her well-being had become his first priority after knowing her for such a short time. She was very capable of taking care of herself, after all, however, he still felt the need to shield her from anything that could send her back to the way she had been when he first awoke in her little cave.

When he came in the door he was pleased to find the fire crackling merrily and some hot tea next to his favorite armchair. Mirwen was nowhere to be seen but judging by the humming and clinking coming from his kitchen she was in there doing dishes.

"I can put the food away while you warm up." The elleth offered while he set the box down.

"I would hate to interrupt you while you do my least favorite chore. I enjoy cooking but I cannot stand the mess that I have to clean up afterword."

"Well, then I suppose I will just have to clean up after meals if you agree to do the cooking."

She was teasing him! The ellon couldn't stop the chuckle that slipped out as he set about putting away the shopping.

"You have a deal." He said with a bow causing her to giggle.

That evening after dinner he presented her with the necklace. She had a look of wonder as she examined it and had even allowed him to put it on her.

"Oh, Haldir." She hugged him before settling beside him on the couch content to be held. She fell asleep there. Haldir thought about moving her to the bed but he knew the room was probably cold so instead settled back and draped a blanket over them both before also drifting to sleep.

The next morning the two started cleaning out Rumil's old room. Haldir watched her laugh at some of the clothes she found in the wardrobe.

"My youngest brother did not have much sense, thankfully he has matured."

They spent lunch talking about how to redecorate the room.

"I do not need much," She was blushing faintly. "I am not a charity case either."

"No one is offering you these things out of pity," He motioned to the list he had made for her to look over. "Many are people that I know who thought me lost. They are trying to show their gratitude, nothing more."

After a brief pause, she took the list and started looking it over. The rest of the day was spent packing up the spare bedroom. He took the last of Rumil's things to him and even dropped off a few of Orophin's that he hadn't remembered having. When he arrived home he was greeted by Mirwen handing him a list of the items she was willing to accept.

"You will accept the new bedroom set?" He was pleased if a bit surprised.

"I was trying to rearrange the room and it didn't go as planned." She motioned towards the bedroom.

Haldir started laughing when he opened the door. Rumil had not been gentle on the furniture and the collapsed bed showed that. It looked as if his youngest brother had used it for combat training at some point.

"I will order the bed tomorrow and until then we will keep our current sleeping arraignment until it arrives."

It was several days before the new bedroom set arrived and in that time Mirwen agreed to have his brothers over for dinner. She even joined in on teasing Rumil about the broken bed. Haldir was pleased to see her relaxing more as time went on.