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Title: Consequences of the Heart (#3631)
Author: Eden
Chapters: 3

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Archive: Tolkien
Category: Crossovers
Description: BtVSxLOTR Every action has consequences and when Buffy Summers gave up her life to save everyone, it was fully knowing she would never return. Gratefully she accepts a new chance for happiness, rescued by her friends can she give her new life up?new life up?
Published: 02 Nov 2007
Updated: 10 Feb 2008
Warnings:
Type: Drama
Characters: Buffy;Legolas; Aragorn; Dawn


Chapter 1 - Chapter 1

LEGEND: indicates telepathic speech /indicates dialogue in Elven/ (indicates translation of dialogue)/ ‘…’ thoughts / -----indicates memories, letters, dreams, character POV-----

x0x0x0x0x0x0

Middle Earth – Third Age - Fellowship’s Journey

The Fellowship erupted out of the mouth of Moria onto the rocky hillside. The friends drew in the welcome fresh air they had sorely missed on the four-day trek through the mines. Each collapsed into a heap amongst the bleak landscape seeking out the sun to dispel the cold grief that now held their hearts in its chilling grasp. But Gandalf’s loss would not be healed by mere sunlight.

The last to emerge were Legolas and Buffy, who embraced each other, trying to gain some consolation in each other’s arms.

Although Buffy had only known the Fellowship for a few months, seeing Gandalf fall had reminded her of how she had jumped into the portal to save her world. She recognized the look of resignation Gandalf had worn before he let go. She was sure that she herself had worn that same look as she jumped into the portal that night. That terrible, but at the same time wonderful night, when she was released from duty to her world and came to this one. This world, which brought her the one thing, she never had before; somewhere she fitted in. Eventually it had brought her the love of her life.

Aragorn was looking back up the slope calling, “We must be on our way, these slopes will be crawling with orcs by nightfall. We cannot be caught here. Boromir, Gimli get the hobbits up. Buffy, Legolas, we will share our grief together later. We must move on NOW.”

Just as he finished speaking however, this horrible day got a lot worse. Without warning Buffy became rigid screaming, “ Legolas!” The blonde archer caught her as she started to topple and gently laid her on the ground in front of him. He worriedly knelt down beside her reaching out to try and ascertain what was wrong. Suddenly and shockingly she vanished.

“BUFFY…NO… Mas bennich?” ( Where did you go? )as he called out the rest of the Fellowship froze with horror at Buffy’s disappearance. Legolas had now fallen prone to the ground frantically tearing at the earth and rocks in front of him, where once his soul mate had lain. Tears cascading down his pale cheeks while his hands and fingers became covered with blood and dirt from the sharp rocks, he wept, “ Do not leave me, Meleth-nin(my love)! Buffy, where are you, for my eyes see nothing but your sweet face before me!”

The elf’s companions started to scramble towards their distraught friend. It was Aragorn who reached the elf’s side first and seized the flailing hands, restraining them from their harmful clawing. Desperately Legolas tried to break free of his grasp. Meanwhile Boromir came up behind Legolas, knelt down and lifted the elf’s struggling body out of the dirt into a sitting position resting against his own body. Never had they seen their ever calm and collected elven friend break down like this.

Aragorn yelled over his shoulder as with some difficulty he held fast to Legolas’ still flailing hands, “ Sam bring me my pack and get out some water and bandages. We will only have time to bandage his hands for now; I will treat him properly when we stop later. Gimli can you hold his hands still while I tend them?”

As soon as Aragorn let go of one of Legolas’ hands it flew out in a blur and latched in a tight grasp onto his wrist. The elf’s cracked terrified voice implored, “Estel, do not abandon me too, for my eyes see nothing but darkness.”

Then the voice turned to quiet pleading, “ Please, please do not leave me alone while my soul is torn asunder. For I fear I shall never again behold the light of day or the magnificence of the stars and moon, lest it be Buffy who wills it so. I will never feel again lest it be Buffy’s soft caresses upon my trembling form.”

“ Shhhsh …my friend, you have not been completely abandoned, take comfort knowing that we are still here to help you. Doubtless your blindness is only a result of shock and your sight will return once you calm down.” Aragorn replied in a soft low tone trying to soothe his best friend.

Legolas didn’t hear him for he was now muttering to himself distractedly obviously lost in his own world of pain. Frodo, looking very pale, spoke with a sob as he asked fearfully, “ Strider, Bilbo said that elves can die from grief. It’s true isn’t it; we could lose Legolas as well as Gandalf and Buffy?”

The rest of the Fellowship looked towards the ranger hoping against hope that he would shake his head, but Aragorn’s shoulders slumped and his eyes were filled with deep sorrow as he looked over to his companions and nodded. “There may still be hope if we can get him to Lothlorien; the Lady of the Golden Wood may be able to help him. We will not let him go without a fight, that I swear to you.”

Visibly trying to steady himself he continued. “Gimli can you clean Legolas hands and bandage them, I do not believe that he will let go of me anytime soon. The rest of you collect our belongings and prepare to leave as soon as we are finished.”

Once they were ready Aragorn stood and turned to Boromir, speaking in a calm voice, “Please set Legolas on his feet then step away.”

As soon as Legolas was on his feet it became apparent he could not stand unaided. Aragorn turned to Legolas and whispered something in his ear receiving first a vehement shake then a hesitant nod of the head. The elf let go of Aragorn’s wrist slowly and then held his own arms apart in front of him but slightly circled and to the side, the ranger swept Legolas into his arms to cradle him against his chest. Quickly Legolas settled his arms around the ranger’s neck and placed his head against Aragorn’s shoulder where he finally seemed to find some comfort.

Aragorn then turned his attention to the rest of the Fellowship who were now gathered in front of him. “My friends I know that we are all grieving for those who are lost to us, but we must stay strong for each other. There is nothing that can be done for Gandalf or Buffy right now, but there is still something that we can do for Legolas to save him from the same fate. For now our own sorrow must be put aside.”

“Pippin, Frodo I need your sure feet to pick a safe path down this hill for me, ere I fall and cause Legolas and myself injuries that we can ill afford. Sam and Merry, I need you to become our eyes and ears since we cannot rely on Legolas for that at the moment. Gimli, Boromir you will have to take on all the protection duties for the party. Sam you walk with Gimli, Merry you with Boromir, Gimli to the front and Boromir to the back of us. Now let us start to Lothlorien with as much speed as we can make.”

With that Aragorn turned and waited for Frodo and Pippin to lead before carefully making his way down the hill, the rest of the group taking up their positions in resolved silence.


0x0x0x0x0

Sunnydale California 3 months after Buffy leapt from the tower

As Willow continued with the ritual, pain and exhaustion laced her voice making it almost croak as she chanted. Tara tried to reassure Xander and Anya that it was proceeding as it should, but all three knew that the words were hollow.

Suddenly, without warning, the Urn of Osiris disintegrated and the ground in front of them began to quake, while the soil began flying off the top of the grave covering them all in dirt. Tara reached out for Willow and pulled her behind the gravestone, while Xander had grabbed Anya and struggled through the quaking and flying earth to join them. The soil flew from the grave, sounding like a mini tornado. However it looked as though it was being dug up by a very large and over enthusiastic dog looking for its favourite bone. The phenomenon seemed to continue for what seemed forever,
then stopped just as abruptly as it started.

Peering around the gravestone they were amazed to see Buffy’s coffin hovering level just above the grave and as they watched in awe the coffin’s lid flew open. It then tilted forward expelling its contents onto the earth, before the lid slammed closed and the coffin fell back into the grave.

“Oh Goddess, I think it worked,” Willow whispered in stunned awe. Tara squeezed her arm for support before running towards Buffy, Xander right behind.

“Um, Willow, are you sure this is Buffy? Do you notice anything, oh I don’t know. NOT QUITE RIGHT?“ Xander pointed to the young woman face down in front of them.

Her long golden hair was in a braid that stretched half way down her back. She was wearing a silky white shirt and a sleeveless tunic in dark green that was covered in an intricate leafy design embroidered in gold thread, although it seemed to be torn in a few places as if from a battle. Her legs were clad in brown leggings and on her feet she wore boots of the softest leather and finest workmanship they had ever seen. Around her neck was attached a grey-green cloak which had fallen to the side to reveal a magnificently carved bow and a quiver of fine arrows slung across her back. A beautifully crafted sword and scabbard hung at Buffy’s side.

Tara, always the maternal one, had been checking her neck for a pulse and finally found one, “She’s breathing but the pulse is very weak”. Xander gently turned Buffy over.

It was then that they finally got a good look at the face they had all been grieving for and longing to see again. But this was Buffy as none of them had ever seen her before. She was beautiful; she seemed to radiate a glow from within. While they stared at this miracle in front of them, Buffy’s eyes flew open and without warning she sat up and grabbed onto the front of Xander’s shirt. As though she expected someone to be there she let out a strangled cry “LEGOLAS…NO… WAIT…I DON’T’WANT TO LEAVE.” Then she muttered sadly, “ Our Baby” before collapsing back to the ground.

Xander looked over at Willow and Tara shocked, his initial doubts about this scheme of theirs were now running around in his head with happy taunts of ‘I told you so.’

“ Um guys, we got what we came for, can we go now? I really would like to get out of these dirty clothes and wash my hair, so could we continue this at Buffy’s place?” Anya turned and stalked off without waiting for an answer.

“Way to go Ahn, see I knew you really did care,” Xander answered with a sad sigh. “But you’re right we should get the Buffster home and then we can find out what’s the what.” With that Xander carefully lifted Buffy into his arms very much aware of all her weapons. Willow had moved beside Buffy by now so Tara placed an arm around the redhead’s shoulder then gently led her away behind Xander.

0x0x0x0x0


Chapter 2 - Chapter 2.

LEGEND / indicates telepathic speech / “indicates dialogue in Elven”/ (indicates translation of dialogue)/ ‘…’ thoughts / indicates memories, letters or dreams



Back in Middle Earth


Aragorn reached the level land where Frodo, Pippin, Gimli and Sam were waiting anxiously ready to steady him if need be. Without warning Legolas implored between gasps of air, “Can’t breathe, help me” before he started clawing and striking out at Aragorn. “BUFFY! D…d…dark, t…t. trapped box. Let us out!”


Aragorn just managed to balance with the help of Boromir who had put both his hands on the ranger’s shoulders before helping him lay Legolas on the ground. As soon as the elf was on the ground he reached out and dug his hands into it. “Ground shaking all around us, must hold onto Buffy,” he panted.


Aragorn felt a hand on his elbow and looked down into the concerned eyes of Gimli. “Aragorn, laddie isn’t there anything we can do for him?” he asked quietly as he watched the elf’s obvious distress.


“Nay, Master Dwarf, we can’t stop this, it is in someone else’s control. I believe that he and Buffy are somehow linked and he is feeling what she is feeling.” Aragorn turned helpless eyes upon his friend acutely aware that despite his powerful healing abilities there was still nothing he could do to help.


Thankfully the companions didn’t have to endure the elf’s torment much longer, as he unexpectedly ceased clutching the ground and began to breathe normally. As he became quieter Legolas suddenly frowned before whispering in a surprised voice, “Baby!” before slipping once more into unconsciousness.


“Hey, did he just say ‘baby’?” Pippin looked at the other’s around him, his eyes wide as saucers as though challenging them to confirm he had heard wrong. “Did anyone know they were married and, if they are, why didn’t they tell us?”


Aragorn sank down next to the elf, his face showing the awful hurt he felt at his friend keeping such a secret from him. He gazed sadly down at Legolas, now seeing first hand what the consequence of his friend’s choice was. He placed his hand on the now quiet form in front of him. “No, I didn’t know. I cannot believe I didn’t realize before. No wonder the grief set in so quickly. Goheno Nin! Henion si. Nae, gerich naergon nín, gwador nin. Saes, Lasta enni. Car u anno am! Im sí an le. (Forgive me! I understand now. Alas, you have my expression of deep regret, my brother. Please, listen to me. Don’t give up! I am here for you)

0x0x0x0x0x0


Buffy’s House Sunnydale

I

It had been 6 hours since they had brought Buffy back and still she had not woken. Her friends and family were situated around the couch where they had gently placed her. The only changes they observed in that time were that her breathing seemed to become normal and deep almost as though she was keeping pace with someone else. The other was that the radiant glow that they had noticed earlier was beginning to fade.


Dawn was sitting on the couch with Buffy’s head in her lap and was stroking her sister’s hair gently as though she might disappear again if she stopped. Spike was behind Dawn with his hand on her shoulder trying to offer what support he could. The others were seated or standing around the room with cups of hot chocolate or tea and worried expressions on their faces. Willow was sitting in a chair with a blanket around her while being embraced by Tara, while Xander was sitting at the dining room table with Anya and Giles, who was again cleaning his glasses and muttering about foolhardy witches under his breath for the umpteenth time.


It was Dawn who finally broke the stupor that seemed to have settled on the room. “Shouldn’t she be awake by now, why hasn’t she woken? I have a feeling that the fact that she isn’t glowing as much is not a good thing.”


There was the sound of clapping coming from the doorway to the entrance hall and then a voice that sent chills down the spine of most of the assembled group, although the words that followed were friendly enough.


“Oh I wouldn’t worry about Buffy yet, she probably won’t wake up for at least another six hours. She will be fine till then. Still, rather you than me here when she wakes up, because she is going to be one very unhappy Buffy in more ways than one.” The demon in front of them then chuckled.


Willow sprung to her feet and raced towards Buffy yelling as she went, “Get out Whistler! You are not taking her away again. You can tell the Powers that be they can take a running jump into the nearest hell dimension!”


As the others looked around hurriedly for weapons to defend Willow and Buffy, the Balance Demon smirked. He held his hands up in defeat before his face became deadly serious. “Calm down; Witch, before you do something else very stupid.”


“ Jeez, I don’t know why people are never pleased to see me although this time at least I do think Buffy will be,” he muttered to himself as he walked over to stand in front of Willow.


“You, Kiddo, are in heap big trouble so if I were you, I would shut up, sit down and listen for a change.” With this he pulled her towards the armchair in which she had been seated before and pushed her back into it none too gently.


“Now, first, I am not exactly here for Buffy, I am here for all of you but especially our fiery little witch there. Secondly the Powers of this world did not send me because they no longer have any interest in Buffy. I was sent by the Valar who are the powers who control Middle Earth, that’s the world that you snatched your friend from.”

Xander finally found his voice as Whistler took a breath, “What do you mean you’re here for us especially Willow? Are you taking us away instead?”


“What do you mean Powers of this world and why aren’t they interested in Buffy any more?” This came from a confused looking Dawn.


“QUIET!” Whistler yelled at them.


Giles looked around the room before his dour gaze fell on Whistler and said quietly, “I believe that Whistler will answer our questions but as always it is complicated and lengthy. The sooner we let him explain the sooner we will know what we are dealing with.”


“Thanks professor, now if there are no more interruptions.” He waited a minute but when none came he went on.


“Now as I was saying before, I was sent by the Valar to explain the consequences of your actions to you and to Buffy and those that she left behind in Middle Earth. Although I suspect you may have already come across the biggest one. Your actions today put two worlds in great danger. If Buffy returned to this world as the Slayer then the balance would have been destroyed and a great evil could have been unleashed.


However the balance in Middle Earth is still endangered as the loved one she left behind is important to two others who have great destinies to fulfill which, if not carried out will plunge their world into an evil darkness.” He watched as they took this in and especially the distraught look on Willow’s face as she remembered what Buffy had said at the graveside.


“The Valar couldn’t stop Buffy from returning but, in order to avert your disaster, they had to take her slayer abilities from her. However they couldn’t harm an innocent child so they left just enough of her healing abilities to protect her child during the transition to this world. But they didn’t leave enough power to help Buffy, so she will have to heal naturally and that will take some time and a bit of rest. And before you all start babbling, yes; Buffy is pregnant so just get over it.”


“Buffy will receive her powers back if and when she returns to Middle Earth, hence she will no longer be able to protect you or herself as easily in your world.”


“Now Willow, if you have a large mirror handy I will show you the reason why Middle Earth is now in danger as a result of your interference.”


Willow apprehensively conjured up a large square mirror, which was placed against the backs of two dining room chairs. Everyone found seats in front of it dreading what he or she would see, as Whistler took out a vial of oil and smeared the glass with it. He then whispered something and the mirror clouded over before clearing again, this time showing a rock-strewn hillside. Standing in front of what looked like the entrance to a large cave was Buffy in the arms of a tall, ethereal, athletic male dressed in similar type of clothes as Buffy.


The females in the room caught their breath at the sight of the long blond hair glinting in the sun. At that moment the wind lifted his hair away from his face to reveal his delicately pointed ears. His blue eyes were the colour of the sky above, while his skin seemed to glow like Buffy’s. His face looked pained, but the tenderness he had for their slayer was obvious, as it seemed he was trying to comfort her. Although he didn’t look much older than Buffy, his face had a regal yet timeless air.


Whistler then spoke again. “Just before you ‘rescued’ Buffy, she and the rest of the Fellowship she was travelling with were fighting for their lives in the mines under the mountain behind them. One of their number fell in that battle so they are all grieving. The young man who is holding Buffy is an Elf named Legolas Greenleaf, he is Prince of the elven kingdom of Mirkwood, and he is also Buffy’s husband. They have only been married a couple of months and it is his child she carries.”


Willow looked horrified as Tara and Dawn tears running down their faces, stared down at the still unconscious Buffy. Spike was not helping both sneering and muttering, “She sure knows how to pick ‘em, Ooh Boy! Peaches is really gonna be pissed.” Referring to his fellow vampire, Angel, by his nickname for him, it was Angel who had been Buffy’s first boyfriend and had left her saying it was for her own good.


Whistler gave them no reprieve, plunging on with his task. “The Valar have made it possible for you to see and hear what has happened so you will understand the seriousness of the situation. Watch and learn, kiddies.”


They watched spellbound at the drama being played out in front of them. They saw and heard, Legolas as he showed the depth of his despair at losing his wife. They gasped when Frodo asked his question and heard its answer. They could certainly identify with Legolas and Buffy’s friends as they rallied around Legolas. Willow’s stomach dropped almost into her boots and she began to rock backwards and forwards whispering “No…No…I didn’t know…”as Legolas described trying to escape the coffin. Finally the scene froze with the Elf once more unconscious being carried in the arms of the man called Aragorn.


At last the picture ceased to move, the sound of Whistler’s voice in the silence that followed made all the watchers jump. “Aragorn is Legolas’ best friend and looked upon Buffy as a sister and fellow warrior. He is also destined to reunite and become King of the people of Gondor and Arnor and to lead the fight for Middle Earth in the war that has just started. He is betrothed to the daughter of Lord Elrond who is the ruler of the Elven kingdom at Rivendell. Aragorn and Legolas are as close to blood brothers as you can get. The Valar fear what will happen to Aragorn should he lose Legolas, that he will be too heartbroken over the loss to fulfill his destiny.”


“The other one with a great destiny is the small one called Frodo. The Ring Bearer and the one whose shoulders it falls on to destroy the ring that would bring darkness to Middle Earth forever. He has nearly died once already on this quest and, Gandalf, the one who fell in the Mines, was his friend and mentor. His loss hit Frodo hard. Now he has also lost Buffy and possibly Legolas as well, and they fear that his grief will overwhelm him and he will not be able to carry on with his task.”


“There are a couple of other things you should know. Buffy was rescued from the portal by the Valar. They recognized and respected what she had done and decided to reward her by bringing her to their realm. You see she was not brought there to fight the Big Bad as you call it, she was brought there to find a sanctuary. Legolas and their child were the gifts they blessed her with. Legolas and Buffy’s souls were bonded on their wedding night by their love for each other. They will never stop loving each other no matter how far apart they are.”


“One last thing, Buffy has been given the choice to remain here as long as she wants without her slayer abilities or return to Middle Earth, Legolas and her slayer abilities. I will return in seven days to find out what she has decided. Oh yeah, one other thing; another slayer has been called and will be here in a week.” With this Whistler vanished leaving a group of shell-shocked people. Dawn and Tara clutched each other sobbing noisily as their hearts continued to break.

0x0x0x0x0x0


Chapter 3 - Chapter 3

LEGEND / indicates telepathic speech / “indicates dialogue in Elven”/ (indicates translation of dialogue)/ ‘…’ thoughts/ ‘bold’ indicates memories or letters/ ‘bold’ for dreams


Buffy and Legolas’ Dream


The first sensation that Buffy became aware of was the warmth and scent of a familiar body lying with his arms around her. She felt the wave of comfort and happiness wash over her the way it always did when she was in his arms. She didn’t dare open her eyes afraid that he and this feeling would dissolve into the same despair she had sunk into when she first arrived. After all, last night had been the most magical night of her life.


She turned over in his arms and as she did she kept thinking, ‘I can’t believe I am married and to someone I have only known for a few weeks.’ But as she slowly opened her eyes and looked at his smiling face above her all doubt was banished.


“Good morning my wife,” Legolas said quietly as he gazed in reverence at the beautiful woman who had completely stolen his heart.


Buffy grinned back, “Good morning my husband. You know how good that sounds, Elf!”


Legolas laughed then hugged her tight and kissed her on the forehead. “I will be your Elf forever, my golden princess.”


“Hey I like the way you’re thinking there Elf, I am a princess now that we are married right?” She pushed away a little bit to look at him with her head cocked to one side.


“Yes, my love, you are Princess Buffy of the Mirkwood Realm and I have no doubt that you will cause chaos as soon as you arrive there. Ow!” He rubbed his ear where she had bitten it a bit more forcefully than she had intended.


“Is that any way to treat me on my first morning as your husband,” he pouted at her.


Buffy moved up against the many pillows pulling up the sheet with her. Legolas, sensing she wanted to talk moved alongside her.


As the sounds of Rivendell’s denizens beginning their day filtered through her consciousness , she looked around in deep thought at their bridal chamber, which Lord Elrond had secretly provided, after reassuring them that few knew about this room and they would not be disturbed.


She took in the white walls with the embossed green leaves and golden flowers, while more golden flowers had been strewn across the huge bed last night and their sweet scent now wafted from the floor at their feet where they had fallen. The remains of the fruit and wine that had been their supper stood on a lavishly decorated table near the window. The many candles had now burned out.


On the two ornate chairs in front of the fire lay their clothes, and she sighed as she remembered how she looked in the ice blue and gold embroidered gown with matching slippers. Then she dreamily sighed again as she remembered first seeing Legolas in his fine silver tunic and leggings.


“What could possibly cause you to sigh so, beloved? Are you not happy to be wed?” he asked hesitantly.


Buffy reached over and kissed him tenderly on the lips before gently stroking his cheek. “Oh Legolas if I was any happier I think I would burst, I was just remembering last night and how zero cool you looked in your wedding clothes. You looked like an angel the way you glowed.”


“Oh I see, well I thought you were so radiant that I know the moon was jealous that you were able to outshine her, I believed I was floating among the stars in heaven,” he replied in a breathless voice, his eyes fixed on her face in rapt adoration. Then a cloud passed over his face as he remembered what they had been talking about before.


“Then tell me, my love, what shadow hangs over your happiness, and if it is within my power I will banish it here and now. For I will allow nothing to spoil this precious time we have together.”


“It’s just bothering me that we got married in secret although I would still have married you no matter what the circumstances, and why didn’t you at least tell Aragorn. Isn’t he supposed to be your best friend? Legolas you know I have been in this position before with keeping important secrets from my friends and it only ends up hurting those you are trying to protect.” The last was said with a hint of sadness in her voice.


“Will you allow me to explain?” he replied softly then waited for her to nod before going on.


“It is really Aragorn that motivates me to secrecy. You know of course of the Lady Arwen who is daughter to Lord Elrond. Well, she and Aragorn are betrothed but her father will not allow him to marry her until Aragorn becomes King, a destiny that he has been running from for a long time. Like us, one is mortal and the other immortal. You remember I took great pains to explain the problems with this before we married, what it meant to our future together.”


“Yes I remember that you wouldn’t marry me until I finally convinced you that I understood and accepted what we were both letting ourselves in for,” Buffy replied softly. She searched her new husband’s face for any sign of regret, but saw nothing but his undying love for her.


“Well Arwen’s situation is slightly different from mine because she is half-elven where I am full elf. You see because of this she has the choice of being immortal or mortal. Do you recall I told you that elves could sail into the West to the Undying Lands before they die and be reunited with family and friends who have gone before?


That choice means leaving Middle-Earth forever. But she has already chosen the mortal life, which means that when her family sails into the West she will never see them, again. It will also force her to outlive Aragorn and probably any children they have. This means she will almost certainly die alone, sundered from all close family. Aragorn is torn because he does not wish to take Arwen from her people, even if that means she will be lost to him forever. He would rather lose her than condemn her to that solitary fate.”


He sighed, Buffy gave his hand an encouraging squeeze, so he continued, “And I fear how Aragorn will react when he knows that you and I have already made a similar choice. I do not think he will approve when he already believes he knows what heartache my choice may bring me later. Now you will be travelling with the Fellowship, if Aragorn realizes what we are to each other, then it would hurt him deeply to see us together when he is separated from his own love. So you see it is just my concern to protect my best friend from hurt. Still, I would not want to cause you any pain by this decision either. Would you do any less if you were in my position?”


In her mind Buffy couldn’t fault his reasoning, it showed yet again why she loved him so much, she took a calming breath, “No, but you can’t protect him forever or make his choices for him. In fact, given my previous history in love I can so relate, I may be able to help Aragorn see things more clearly. If he is your best friend I want to help and I could at least try giving him a female point of view. You know how persuasive I can be. Besides if this has been going on for some time then he is due to explode like a firecracker and that won’t be a nice scene, believe me I know.”


She suddenly smirked. “Hey I’ve always wanted a big brother can I adopt him or get him to adopt me, I am sure he could do with a little sister to fuss over and talk to. What do you think?”


He laughed as he hugged her once more. “I think having you around will certainly prevent life from being dull if it had ever been and, yes, I heartily approve of your plan for Aragorn. I don’t think he will know what hit him. Just remember your husband will be there and watching you, so don’t give me cause to get jealous.”


“Whoa! That gives me another idea, why don’t you and I spend some of our travelling time getting our companions, especially Aragorn, used to us being together. I would love to see you all coy and embarrassed around me and I could be all embarrassed as well as though we were courting. I could even flirt with the others a bit to throw them off the track a little. We can start out slow then perhaps stage a disagreement of a jealous nature a little later down the track due to my flirting. I think it could be quite fun.” Her genuine mischievous grin was back as she looked at him, “Think you could handle that, Elf?”


“I believe I can handle anything you can think of My Lady, I am at your service as always.” He laughed as he rolled on top of her, and then kissed her mercilessly.


0x0x0x0x0x0

In two different worlds each of the lovers surprised their friends as they suddenly laughed then smiled a faraway smile before once more resuming their slumber. The sleepers, of course, were unaware of how this simple act brought a little hope to those keeping watch over them.
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