A/N: Hullo all! Thank-you for the great reviews! It was really great to get all of them. I really appreciate them, and without you, I couldn't have written this!

Anyway, on to answering questions…or rather, question.

Samus: No, my romance is not out yet, and won't be until after WU is finished, maybe later depending on how soon I can get it finished. It's taken a lot of planning, as I'd rather write it all first and then post it. If you're interested, I'd be happy to e-mail you when it is posted. ^_^

If any of you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. My e-mail address can be found on my author's page. I'd love to hear from you!

As always, thanks for reading!

Enednilwen*

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Disclaimer: I only own Steph, the Ultimate Grievance of Boromir.

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Chapter 15- Thin

Steph was less than happy to see Edoras again, as her last experiences there were less than pleasant. She was in an ill mood, though she passed it off as PMS. Still, something told her it wasn't just PMS that made her feel different. She felt tired and drained, and it made her irritable to see Boromir acting so spunky and high spirited. "He must be happy to alive." She concluded as she stared into the distance.

Boromir was muttering to himself, making gestures to an invisible person. She raised an eyebrow. The 'Unseen One' was a mystery to her. It was beyond her understanding, and she liked it that way. It was horribly confusing every time Boromir tried to explain it to her, and it just made her feel even more tired to try and puzzle it out. After all, ignorance was bliss.

He was pacing now, his eyebrows pulled together in a deep scowl. Frankly, it was kind of weird to watch him argue with an invisible person, and it wasn't the first time Steph had questioned his sanity. Boromir stopped abruptly when he saw Steph watching him. Quickly, he walked over to her.

"How are you?" he asked, an anxious note in his voice.

Steph raised a brow. "Fine…" she said slowly, wondering what he was up to.

"You look tired."

"Wow, you're a smart one." Steph snorted, stretching her legs out in front of her. "Are we going to stay here long?"

He shrugged. "We shall stay here tonight and break our fast tomorrow."

She nodded slowly. Éowyn and the men had discussed their plans while they ate, but Steph had barely listened. Strangely, her appetite was gone, and she only ate when Boromir bullied her into it. She couldn't seem to concentrate, and only learned of the plans after Boromir explained them to her. Boromir had been fussing over her more than usual, and when she pecked at her meal, his meddling increased tenfold. Her nerves were already thin enough, and it was only a matter of time before she snapped. Restraining herself, she tried to get him to go away.

"Shouldn't you be hanging out with the Fellowship, Borry-mere?" she asked, examining her nails.

He shook his head, fighting the urge to tell her he despised nicknames. "I fear our path leads us another way."

Steph narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you talking about?" she demanded suspiciously, "You're not going to screw up for both of us or anything, are you?"

"No," he snapped back, irritated by her tone, "it is the right decision."

"That invisible person told you to do something and you're not going to do it, are you?"

Boromir frowned. "That is none of your concern."

"Like hell it is! It's my life too, you assclown, and I'm not going to get killed by Mr. Invisibility because you're a moron!"

"It is called the Unseen One, and you have no right to question my-"

She stood up, putting a hand on one hip. "First of all, you call it the Unseen One. I'll call it whatever the hell I want! Second, I do too have the right to question you, I'm an American citizen, damnit, and I-"

"Enough!" Boromir shouted, making several people look. "I do not care if you are a citizen of American, I am the future Steward of Gondor, and you are my prisoner and responsibility. You will do as I say!"

Steph glared at him. "It's America, you zombie, and I'm not your prisoner. I don't have to do anything you say if it's going to get me killed." She started to sit down, but he caught her by the elbow and pulled her upright, determined to make her listen.

"Don't touch me!" she cried, struggling to get out of his strong grip. He frowned, noticing for the first time how thin she had become.

"Stop writhing!" he commanded sharply, and she obeyed, surprised by his tone. He quickly rolled up the sleeve of her jacket to the elbow, examining her thin arm. "You've grown so thin…" he murmured, now inspected her thin fingers. "Why did you keep silent about this?" he demanded.

Steph wrenched her arm from his grasp. "You can't expect me to be chubby and roly poly when I'm in this world, can you? I lost weight last time I was here too, you know."

"You were not so thin." He studied her face, his grey eyes clouding with worry.

"You worry too much." Steph snapped, sitting down on the ground. "Go away. I'm going to sleep."

Boromir frowned. "You are always tired, are you not?"

"Go away." She grumbled, turning a bony shoulder to him.

Realizing he wasn't going to get an answer from her, he walked away, sitting where he could study her from afar. "Unseen One!" he thought, "I must speak with you!"

He called three times, but the Unseen One did not come. He supposed it was busy. It was indeed…

"Stephanie."

The voice was in her head. "Wassup Invisible Dude?" Steph said back, trying to keep the quaver of fear out of her voice. Humor had always been a defense mechanism for her.

"I see you are well."

"If you could call it that."

The Unseen One laughed. "You are tired, it seems. I suspect you could attribute that to the parasite."

Steph raised an eyebrow. "The parasite?"

"Boromir has told you nothing?"

She shook her head. "How odd." The Unseen One commented, "You should learn to control your temper, Stephanie. Givers can be very fragile."

Steph raised an eyebrow. This thing was absolutely crazy. "I have no idea what you just said. What are you talking about, parasites and Givers? Does this have anything to do-"

The Unseen One cut her off. "Farewell Stephanie." It said curtly, before removing its presence from her. She stared at the wall in disbelief, trying to collect her thoughts. A disembodied voice just talked to her. And she called it 'Dude'. It had also thoroughly confused her. Rolling her eyes at the insanity of it all, she tried to sleep.

"Damn." She muttered, "I forgot to beat it up."

Steph woke a few hours after she fell asleep. Boromir had moved to her side, watching her sleep. He was obviously plotting.

"That is so creepy." Steph whispered, hoping he could see her death glare in the pale moonlight.

He looked surprised to see her awake. "What?"

"You watching me sleep, and then muttering on top of that."

Boromir wrinkled his nose at her, a thing he did when he was irritated. Steph had seen it a lot. "I was planning."

"You're always planning. What is it this time?"

"I must follow Aragorn or Théoden. I am unsure of the best path."

Steph pulled her knees to her chest. "I can't help you there. Think it over, then pick the best."

He sighed. "I feared you would say that."

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Sorry for the cliffy, but I need to do a bit of planning. I know the chapters have been slow paced, and I apologize. I keep changing my mind about the inevitable journey to Gondor, so I've been putting it off. This week I'll come to a final conclusion. Thanks so much for reading!

Enednilwen*