A/N: As always, thank-you for the wonderful reviews!
I commented on some of your reviews, you can find them at the bottom.
En*
-~-~-~-~-
Disclaimer: Boromir belongs to Tolkien, I only own Steph.
-~-~-~-~-
Chapter 19-Losing Hope
Boromir halted the horse, scanning the plains for any sign of the Rohirrim he was following. Trying to hide the look of annoyance on his face, he busied himself with tearing off a bit of cloth from his tunic and wrapping it around his hand. When he awoke from death, he found that his gauntlet was gone, and he had been forced to go without. Blisters had formed on his hand from the riding they had been doing, and it was becoming too painful to ignore.
"We're lost, aren't we?" Steph muttered, looking through him.
"We are not lost." Boromir snapped, "I am unsure of the way."
Steph snorted. "What's the difference?"
"Gondor is my home, Steph. I am not lost."
She rolled her eyes. "Then why are we following the Rohirrim?"
Not waiting for a response, she slid off the horse and sat on the ground. "I'm taking a break."
Boromir shot her an irritated look. "We do not have the time for this."
"Oh yes we do. You're lost."
Glaring at her, he dismounted. "Fine. We will rest."
The sky was still darkened by the cloud, but Boromir could make out Steph's face. It was drawn and haggard, with the look one carries when they have no hope.
She sighed, drawing her knees to her chest. "Why are we even following them? We're just going to end up dead. There's no point. It's suicide."
"We are following them," Boromir said tiredly, as he was tired of this question, "because it is the reason I was sent back here. I am here again to redeem myself, to help them win this war."
Steph frowned at him. "Then just kill me. Cause all I want to do is go home, and because that's totally impossible, it's pointless for me to go on this suicide mission."
Rolling his eyes, he tossed her a piece of bread. "I am not going to kill you. I already told you this."
Half-heartedly, Steph chewed the stale bread, occasionally glaring at Boromir. "Then just leave me here."
"I cannot do that either."
She finished the last bite. "Why not?"
He searched his brain for an excuse, still afraid of telling her the true reason. "That is not of your concern." he said brilliantly, "Now get up."
When she did not, he seized the back of her T-shirt and pulled her up, pushing her towards the horse.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going you stupid bastard."
"You should be thankful that I have kept my sword from connecting with your neck, Steph." Said Boromir, mounting the horse.
He extended a hand to the blonde, pulling her up as well.
She wrinkled her nose at him as they started to ride again. "Geez, what do you do every morning, wash yourself in Eau de Wet Dog?"
Snapping at her to be quiet, he noticed hoof prints on the ground. "You see?" he said, a smug look on his face, "I was not lost."
"Sure."
"Can we stop?"
Boromir sighed. It was the 14th time she had asked this. "No."
"Please?"
"No."
"But it's dark!"
"It has been dark for three days!"
"Well it's darker than usual, you assclown, which means it's night!"
Boromir couldn't argue with her. It was becoming too dark to see, and the last thing he needed was to have to retrace their steps.
"Thank God!" Steph exclaimed as he halted the horse, falling of the horse in her excitement.
Boromir laughed, something that he hadn't done in a while. Dismounting, he offered Steph a hand up, pleased to see a grin spread across her face.
"I really hope you're pleased with yourself, Boromir." She said, "Now my butt hurts even more than we I was riding that damn horse."
Stilling smiling, he busied himself with preparing for the next day while Steph sat down on the ground, making lines in the dirt.
"Question!" she said, not looking up.
"Yes?"
"You didn't answer me earlier, Borry-mere."
"And I refuse to answer now, if you continue to refer to me by such a detestable name."
Steph crossed her arms. "Fine. Why are we following the Rohirrim if Gondor is your home?"
Boromir stopped, giving her an irritated look. "I know my way in Gondor, though death seems to have slightly dulled my memory."
Steph smirked. "Do you remember my name?" she said slowly and loudly as if speaking to a deaf person.
"I did not say that it dulled my hearing, Steph." snapped Boromir.
"Yeah, sure. I suppose it also dulled your common sense too."
"What do you mean?"
Steph shrugged, now drawing a person in the sand. "That conversation we had a few days ago." She waited for his reaction; the conversation had not been spoken of.
"Are you saying that I was wrong?"
She shrugged, avoiding his eyes. "I'm saying that you're being stupid to start thinking like that again. It's what got you killed, isn't it?"
"Dying was not the consequence of attempting to take the Ring from Frodo." He said quietly. Steph thought she caught a glimpse of the vein in his forehead.
"Well, if you hadn't been with Frodo, the hobbits wouldn't have run off to find him, and you wouldn't have had to protect them! Aragorn could have died instead, or Legolas!"
"I was destined to die, Steph!" Boromir shouted, "Because I was the only one who had a suitable life support that I could draw energy from when I was reborn! I have come back to help them, and if I had not died, I would have been in the way. It was all meant to be!"
Steph was quiet for a minute, thinking. "Why am I your life support? Why not Faramir?"
Boromir snorted. "Faramir does not need me the way you do. He would have left my side much too soon."
"Left your side…" Steph gave him a suspicious look. "There's a reason you came back for me after you left me in Eddy's Rash, wasn't there?"
"It's Edoras, Steph, and I-"
"Something happens when I'm not with you, doesn't it?" She jumped to her feet. "Tell me!"
Boromir looked away from her. "Go to sleep. Gondor is near, and we will have to ride hard to get there."
Steph continued, unphased. "Tell me!"
"Get something to eat, then go to sleep."
"Tell me!!"
"Fine!" Boromir roared, jumping to his feet, "I begin to die! The arrows reappear in my body and I begin to die! That is why you are the life support, because you are dependent, and because you will not leave me!"
Steph looked shocked. "You begin to die? Without me?"
"Yes." Said Boromir, searching for something to eat in his bag.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
He sighed. "I feared you would use it against me."
She snorted. "Come on. I may be Steph, but I'm not that evil and sadistic." She paused. "Am I?"
Smirking, he shrugged. "One can never be sure."
A/N: Yay, we're almost to Gondor! Anyway, leafgirl's review made me think. I never really had a favorite LOTR character (except maybe Éowyn), but after writing these fics, Boromir has become it. By being my favorite char, it makes me notice things that he does throughout the book. I always thought that his death was part of his predetermined destiny, because if he hadn't died, I can think of quite a few complications that would have arisen throughout the story. Of course, my views on why he died are different for Why Us, because he is alive again. I know that was a little confusing, but I just thought I'd mention it.
I got quite a few reviews that I felt I should answer or comment on. If I didn't comment on yours, please don't be offended, I just didn't feel that anything needed to be said about it. Thanks for the reviews, all of you!
KittleKat798- I speak very little Elvish. I do 45 minutes a day, but obviously, I haven't improved much. I've been studying with the book The Languages of Tolkien's Middle Earth, by Ruth S. Noel. It breaks everything down, so it's easy to learn. ^___^ Thanks for the compliment, I'm a stickler for the facts, and even though WY was slightly AU, I strove to make WU perfect. It takes me about 3 hours to write a chapter, because I stop between pages to read a chapter in the books. My Enya CD will play three times before I through...
leafgirl- Thanks for your review, I hadn't thought of that. I didn't mean to portray it like that, and I hope that this chapter will clear it up a bit. I thought Boromir should still be angry, because as I read through FOTR, I thought that Boromir had done a lot for the Fellowship (the movie really doesn't do him justice!) and even though he was slightly obsessed, he was obsessed with saving Gondor, and wanted to do all he could for it. *grin* I am such a Boromir fangirl.
Samus- It was known as the Dawnless Day. I would cite the page for you, but I seem to have misplaced my copy of ROTK, and the last time anyone saw it, I had left it outside...
Ginniliel- Yay! I was glad that someone noticed that!
Crimson Starlight- Yeah, I wouldn't either. I'm glad you recognized the Dawnless Day, by the way.
Merrlyn- Ai, I love your reviews, and your e-mails! Oh, and please don't attack any Enednilwen look-a-likes, I don't plan on vacationing outside of Georgia anytime soon. ^____^