Disclaimer - I don't own LOTR

Lauren walked around the hallway munching on an apple. She had to say that apples in Middle Earth were definitely better than apples back home. Maybe they were even better than the Fuji apples, which were Lauren's favorite. The redhead walked around a corner and saw a dwarf walking with a heavy looking box in his hands.

"Hey-ho Gimli, what's that you have there? It seems rather heavy; do you need help carrying it?"

Gimli smiled as he set the box down on the floor and unlatched the lock, opening the lid to show the weapon it held.

"This is for you actually! I told you I'd make the weapon you asked. What was the name of it, koketu-siga?"

Lauren laughed as she knelt down next to Gimli and grazed her fingers across the beautiful weapon.

"Kyoketsu-shoge which, according to my sources, means to run about in the fields and mountains. I can't believe that you actually made this so quickly! It's so cool!"

The old dwarf chuckled, took the weapon out of the case, and handed it to Lauren. Her eyes lit up as she gripped the handle.

"Will you go to the training room with me?"

Gimli nodded as he closed the case and held it under his arm.

"Of course, Lass!"

The two friends entered the room and Lauren began to warm up as Gimli took a seat in the corner. The weapon had a long reach and he didn't want to be anywhere near its blade. Lauren began with a few sweeps, getting the feel for the weapon. Gimli really out did himself with this weapon. A few more hours of practicing and Lauren could finally swing the weapon around with some minimal skill; there is a lot to be said for watching obscene amounts of TV and movies.

"So do you think I could use this in the upcoming battle?"

Gimli coughed on the beer he had a servant bring him when Lauren began practicing.

"In the battle; do you honestly think Legolas or Aragorn will let you fight, Lass?"

Lauren's face became dejected as she gathered up the long 12 feet of chain-rope and wrapped it around her shoulder like she saw the ninja do in the movies.

"I suppose not, but why can't I help? I'm pretty good with a bow. I could position myself on the top of the keep and shoot from there."

Gimli clapped his hand on her shoulder and gave her a look that begged to differ.

"Do you really believe that Legolas will even let youin sight of the orcs? He cares for you too much, even if he won't admit it. It's plain as day, it is."

Lauren blushed and rubbed her arm to calm her nerves. She didn't really like where this conversation was going. Talking about relationships always made her fidgety, especially if it involved a guy she liked. As per her usual way out, Lauren resorted to a lame joke.

"Right… and I'm a giant shapeshifting red dragon from another world that likes to kill her fellow dragons, create massive armies full of nasty hobgoblins, barbarians and Dragonspawn that plans on world domination."

Gimli looked at Lauren like she was insane. Where in the name of the gods did she get all that? Well, when it came to Lauren anything was bound to happen really.

"Dragonspawn?"

Lauren laughed as they headed for the kitchen for something to eat and drink.

"They're dragons that are corrupted before they hatch and are forced to do the bidding of their Dragon overlords; nasty little sods. Some explode after they've been killed causing more damage, others turn to stone trapping the killing weapon in them if not removed quickly. But that's all fiction… then again I thought this was fiction so maybe that's real too?"

Lauren didn't realize that Aragorn, Boromir and Legolas caught up with them. She kept walking through the halls and she seemed to be in a daze as she maneuvered around objects and people. When she reached the kitchen, she found an empty table and sat. The men had just sat down when Lauren burst out of her reverie.

"But that would mean there were thousands of alternate universes! Oh this is too complex to even contemplate at a time like this."

Legolas looked at Lauren with a worried look in his eye.

"Lauren, are you alright?"

Lauren smiled at Legolas then grabbed an apple from the bowl on the table and took a bite from it.

"Why wouldn't I be fine? I'm peachy! Just because I know that the wall is going to explode and rain cats and dogs doesn't mean I'm not going to be fine. Why would you think otherwise?"

Aragorn blinked a few times trying to figure out what Lauren said behind the odd phrasing.

"What do you mean by explode?"

Lauren laughed and took another bite of her apple.

"KABOOM!"

Her hands came together and burst apart in the imitation of an explosion. Lauren didn't think that they would understand the concept of explosives, she didn't even understand how they worked, but she saw a way that they might let her into the battle.

"Let me see if I can explain. The mage… sorry, the wizard, figured out how to create a bomb. Granted, it's a primitive bomb but its lethality is still potent."

The men's interest about the upcoming battle was peaked, as well as other men that were in the dining hall eating. One of them voice what they all were thinking.

"What's a bomb?"

Lauren drummed her fingers on the table, gaining back her sobriety after letting her inner fangirl out.

"How to explain, how to explain… I don't know if I can but fire causes this thing to create an outward push that can knock even a troll off his feet. If the orcs succeed, the stones of the wall will be thrown apart and they will overrun the Keep."

Lauren turned to Legolas and Aragorn at this point and tried not to give them the puppy-dog look; not with so many people around. She still had some sense of dignity after all.

"Which is why I propose that I place myself on the top of the keep; this way I will be able to spot the orcs that carry the bombs. Hopefully, I can detonate them before they reach the wall. Although my aim has improved, it is nowhere near the skill of the elves."

Aragorn sighed; he was hoping that Lauren would just go down into the caves with all the other women. Then again, this was Lauren they were talking about. She probably had another hidden agenda that she would refuse to tell them. Maybe Legolas could get it out of her. No, that would be backhanded and Legolas would not resort to that.

"Lauren I need to speak to you in private."

Many of the men that gathered around them knew a dismissal when they heard one and departed back to their tables. Aragorn guided Lauren to a back table where there weren't many people.

"Look Lauren. I know that you want to fight in this battle but we can't risk it. Besides the fact that you've become like a daughter to most of us, none of us want to see you hurt."

Lauren's face became blank.

"I understand. I will go to the caves with Éowyn. What did you mean by most of us, Aragorn?"

Aragorn rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't want to be obvious because this wasn't his affair but he still wanted to help.

"Um… well you see, Legolas, he… may not think of you as a daughter. Yes, that's it. To him you are not like a daughter."

The red head narrowed her eyes at Aragorn. Now he was talking in riddles, it seems Gandalf was affecting more and more people… even if he isn't present.

"Oh because that isn't vague at all, Aragorn! He obviously doesn't think of me as a daughter if he is excluded from the majority group. You've been around Gandalf for too long."

They rested that night with lighter hearts, all except for Lauren. She was determined to find a way to fool the men. She then had an idea of grabbing some men's clothes and stashing them in the caves before everyone was sent in. When she went into the caves she would put them on so that when the men came to take those that could fight she would be called to battle. Then all she would have to do is slip away so no one saw her and make sure she had a good view of the area that was going to be blown up. It gave Lauren a headache thinking about it but now that she had a plan in action she was able to sleep soundly.

When morning came, Lauren set out finding baggy clothes to put into a sac. Once that was complete, she made sure that her friends saw her go into the cave. As she went through the doors, she nodded her head to them in a farewell. Lauren's sac of ragtag clothing was stashed in a little niche in the cave and she changed as quickly as she could and pulled back her hair into a loose braid. As soon as she was finished, she walked to the main group and a man grabbed her arm.

"How old are you lad?"

Lauren stuttered for a moment, time to act!

"I'm 15, Sir."

"Good, you will fight, go back up to the armory and get weapons."

"Aye, Sir."

Lauren hurried back up and quickly snuck back to her room where she had the light armor that was given to her back in Edoras. Thank goodness she and Éowyn were about the same size. Saezuri chirped and fluttered about the room as Lauren was rushing about. Apparently, the little finch didn't like the idea of her leaving him in the room but it was in the back of the keep so she knew he would be safe.

"Don't give me that Saezuri. I have a lot on my mind right now. I don't want to have to worry about your safety when I'm on the battlefield OK? It's bad enough that Sundance is probably having a fit with all the commotion going on."

The finch seemed to understand and he settled down on the top of the changing partition. She finished getting ready and strapped her new weapons onto her belt. As she passed the armory, she heard Legolas and Aragorn shout. She wanted to go in and comfort her friends, to tell them that they would succeed but she had to ignore the argument and find a good place to take her stance.

The bow on her arm was the only comfort that she had as more men began to take up their positions. No one seemed to bother her, which was good. Point advantage, little people. Lauren found a place by the stairs that ended at the grate. She still had to remember about Haldir; she would not let the elf die.

A horn sounded in the dark air. A horn that made Lauren's heart jump for joy; the elves were here. Oh how she wanted to be there when they were greeted by the King. More than that, she wanted to be beside Legolas when the King was proven wrong and to give him a hug. Lauren realized then that she might have serious feelings for Legolas. She shook her head. These thoughts at a time like this would not help, but they still plagued her mind.

As if to help clear her mind, the skies let loose its rain. In her mind, Lauren was shouting curses in any languages she knew, real and fiction. The orcs and Uruk-hai came over the hill and she could feel the desperation of the men and elves surrounding her. If Lauren couldn't help before she would help now. The fangirl in Lauren made her download and learn a few songs from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack; namely the main theme song that almost everyone knew and Enya's May It Be. Although the second song wasn't used during the battle of Helm's Deep Lauren felt it was very appropriate, so she began to sing as best she could.

Her voice was carried by the surrounding rock and it seemed to amplify her voice and give it a sort of otherworldly quality, although it was still off key. The men around her looked at her in shock at first but when they listened to the words, they began to gain strength from them. By the end of the song, the despair seemed to wash away with the unrelenting rain.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Legolas, who was still a distance from her but too close for comfort. The elf prince looked at her and she could see his face scrunch up in thought. Thankfully, Lauren's hair was a lot darker than it normally was, being wet and all, and one of the soldiers had placed a small helm on her head, which helped disguise her. Lauren was sure that her features were obscured enough that the elf couldn't make a positive identification. It was hard not to face him and stick out her tongue in defiance; she just loved teasing the elf way too much.

Shortly after the battle commenced, it went almost exactly as it she imagined it to be from reading the book. Lauren thought it would have been hard to try to ignore the blood but she was so fixed on not being killed by the Orcs she noticed little else. Well, she did notice the Orcs beginning to pile their makeshift bombs inside the hole of the wall.

Jumping down there would be suicide for sure, so that was out. Maybe if she was on the other side of the wall looking through the hole? Now that was an idea. She could use her arrow to try to stop the Orc. Legolas would also be shooting but maybe with her vantage point of being on the ground she could get in a good shot at his legs to stop him? It was better than nothing.

Lauren flew down the stairs and rushed to the grate just as the orc baring the torch was running around a group of fellow orcs. Maybe with two archers aiming at the orc, things would go better but their chances would be assured with four. She turned and beckoned toward the elves that were behind her, calling out to them in their own tongue.

"We must stop him!"

Her elvish was a bit broken but the elves that came with her got the message and they all began firing at the orc. Up above Lauren could hear Aragorn telling Legolas to bring him down. With so many archers trained on one orc the poor bloke didn't stand a chance. The orc fell and the orcs surrounding him roared as the fire went out in the mud.

"Quick, hold this. Cover me."

Thinking on the spot Lauren gave her bow and quiver to the elf next to her. Lauren then slipped through the bottom part of the grate, coating her backside with mud. She stuck low to the ground and used her mud-covered cloak as a cover. Slowly, she began to roll the one bomb off the other. It landed with a thud and Lauren peaked around it, with all the commotion going about the orcs didn't even take note that the bombs were being emptied of their powder.

The elves that were by the grate didn't quite understand what was going on or how this strange human knew what to. The elf that Lauren handed her stuff to was looking at Lauren with a bewildered look as his fellows shot down the orcs that got too close to the opening. It was then that he saw the human that gave them orders was a female.

"It's a woman!"

Lauren, who was now closer to the grate to get more water, scoffed at the elf.

"It's because of this woman that this wall didn't fall apart a few moments ago."

Certain that her work was done, Lauren crawled back out onto the safer side of the wall. All muddy and cover blown, Lauren didn't think she was going to need the helmet. She smiled as she unlatched her weapons from their sides.

"Time for some fun, boys."

With the elves back in their place, and her cover blown, Lauren ran up the stairs and started swinging her weapon, using them as two separate weapons of course. She called out to the elves that would be in the way and told them to duck as she threw the metal ball like a shot-put into an orc chest. The orcs looked around before spotting Lauren.

"Howdy."

She smirked at the slightly confused orcs before she swung the blade towards them. Within a few seconds, the orcs were down, dead or stunned. Lauren worked her way over to Haldir and smiled to herself when she got to him. So, he didn't die yet that was good news at least.

The battle continued and more men and elves fell than Lauren could have imagined. The orcs breached the main gate and everyone was called back into the main part of the keep. That's when she was spotted by her friends. Boromir was the first one to spot her features, namely her shortness.

"Lauren? Lauren! My Lord, were you out there fighting?"

Hearing his comrade Aragorn turned around and there was a fury in his eyes.

"You said you were going to the caves Lauren!"

Lauren smiled as she was surrounded by her friends in a protective stance.

"Ah, but I did go to the caves. However, I put boys clothes over mine and went back out. Now, now, don't give me those looks, guys. I had a very important mission to do."

Legolas was trying his best to keep his elf-demeanor straight.

"And what mission would that be?"

"Well for one I had to stop that orc from blowing up the wall and secondly I couldn't let a great elf captain die now could I? Haldir was going to be hewn down and I wasn't going to stand for it."

The guys made a bigger fuss than she thought they would've. After they all said their piece they walked off to attend to matters at hand, like barricading the door.

Legolas stayed behind, he was the only one that didn't really berate her. His presence started to make Lauren fidget.

"So you're not going to yell at me?"

Legolas sighed and pulled her close to him.

"I could never do that. You did what you thought you had to do."

She could feel Legolas slightly laugh.

"When we heard the song before I had a feeling it was you and when I was aiming for the orc I noticed that there were a lot more arrows in him than I shot. I figured that it was you too."

Lauren smiled as she relaxed in Legolas's arms.

"In all fairness that was the work of the elves. I told them to aim for the orc as I disabled the bomb."

The elf pulled her away from him to get a good look at her muddy self.

"How did you know what to do anyway?"

Her face contorted into one of thought as she tried to figure out a way to describe gunpowder.

"It was made with something my people call gunpowder because it is usually made for guns, a deadly weapon that I hope this world never sees. The powder, when wet, is useless until it is fully dry again. With this rain, all I had to do was open the tops and spill out the contents. The mud worked just as well so I just kept pouring mud into it so they would be useless or near useless."

Legolas nodded, he understood the basic nature of it even though he didn't know was this gunpowder or gun really was.

"Just promise me that next time you will tell us what you are planning so we can help? I don't know what I would do if something happened to you."

They both could feel the topic of the conversation changing and now, unfortunately, was not the time to get into that. Lauren smiled and nodded as they both went over to their friends to help with what they were doing.

Aragorn and the King of Rohan had decided that they would ride out just as the sun rose. Lauren knew that Gandalf was not far behind the sunrise and hope was renewed in her heart. Holding their horses reigns the men of the fellowship confronted her.

"Now this time we want you to stay inside the keep and do not come out until it is safe. Is that clear?"

Aragorn used the sternest voice he could muster with the girl he considered to be his daughter.

"Aye, you saved my skin so now it's time for me to return the favor. Stay inside."

Boromir put a firm hand on Lauren as he spoke to her. Lauren smiled at the two men and chuckled.

"As my Lords wish; I do believe I busy myself by cleaning up the mess that y'all made over there."

The men were slightly confused as Lauren walked over to the spilled contents of the table that was being used as a barricade. She kneeled down and began cleaning up the floor. Aragorn looked at the usually steadfast girl and knew that she wouldn't have given up so easily unless she knew something.

Legolas walked over to her once he saw the two men turn their backs and Gimli on his way to the Horn.

"You seem much happier with the coming of the sun."

A smile lighted upon Lauren's face and Legolas wondered how she could be so happy when they were surrounded by hundred of orcs and Uruk-hai.

"The light has come and with it hope and victory."

She placed her hand on Legolas face and cleared away the little bit of dirt that managed to find its way to his otherwise clean face.

"We will prevail this morning I am certain of it."

Legolas took the meaning and smiled. If there weren't so many people around he would kiss the girl right now. It took a moment for what Legolas thought to register. He wasn't one to be promiscuous or let his emotions get the best of him, his father's numerous lectures saw to that. Right now, he had the enemy to face; these thoughts could wait until a later time.

"If you're sure then I will believe you. You have given us no reason to doubt you."

His hand grasped hers and he gave it a light squeeze before mounting his horse. None of this went unnoticed by Aragorn and Boromir.

The men rode out with the horn of Helm Hammer Hand to usher their coming. The Uruk-hai stood no chance as the horse plowed through the lines. As they came down to the end of the path, Gandalf rode up to the top of the hill and was silhouetted against the rising sun with the Rohirrim behind him. Legolas smiled as he realized why Lauren was so happy. Gandalf's coming signified their victory. The Rohirrim charged down the hill with Gandalf and together they slew many Uruk-hai. Those that tried to flew through the new, living forest were killed as they passed through it. The men would ask Lauren about the forest when they got back but for now the reveled in the glory of victory.

*Author's Note*

Thank you all for reading and thank you Hope and love and Emzy2k11 for reviewing

~side note~ the dragon comment mentioned near the beginning is a reference to the DragonLance books

Don't forget to leave a comment!

Next up on SIME: With another person saved what else has been changed? When will Legolas and Lauren finally do something?