Summary: A surprise in the night changes Eowyn and Aragorn's lives forever. Rated T by Savannah (Eowyn & Aragorn)

September 27 – October 8, 3018

(Words written in bold type are spoken in Elvish)

Eowyn sat on the bed, her long hair in a thick braid over her shoulder. She sat with her arms wrapped around her legs, staring out of the small window. Outside the small cottage that she and Aragorn called home, the horses grazed and the sun shone. She watched as Aragorn split wood for their fire, sweat trickling down his bare chest. She smiled, her hand moving to her stomach as she felt the baby move inside of her. She moved from the bed and stood in the door. "Aragorn!" she called, her hand still on her stomach, a smile on her face. "Aragorn, come here!" Aragorn lifted his face and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Hurry!" Aragorn walked over to where she stood in the doorway. "The baby is moving," she said, grabbing his hand and placing it on her stomach. "Can you feel it?" she asked excitedly.

Aragorn's face broke into a smile as he moved his hand around her waist, feeling the child inside of her move. He looked down at Eowyn, her face was bursting with happiness and hope. Aragorn's hand moved to cup her face, he brushed the hair away from her face affectionately then bent down and kissed her sweetly.

They stood in the doorway to the house, staring at each other. The wind blowing on them and the sun shining on them. Aragorn smiled, they were together, she tasted sweet and the world was good.

..::..

Aragorn lay on his side with Eowyn beside him wrapped in his arms. He head tucked under his chin, his hands stroking her growing stomach. "Will I have a son or daughter?" he asked, his hands moving to the back of her neck, pulling the hair away to expose her skin. He leaned down, pressing his lips onto her neck.

Eowyn smiled and rolled over to face him, her naked body tangled in the sheets. "I want you to guess," she said, her hand running over his rough cheek. "What do you want, a boy or a girl?"

Aragorn raised his eyebrows. "A daughter to make dolls for, or a son to teach how to use a sword and make him into a man?"

Eowyn smiled and kissed him. "I don't think I'm big enough for twins, Aragorn," she said. "Pick one, boy or girl?"

Aragorn chuckled and kissed her in return. "What will our child look like?" he asked.

"He will have your jaw, strong and manly." Aragorn smiled. "And that smile," Eowyn added.

"Then he will have your hair," he said, winding a strand around his finger.

"A little boy with a head of blond curls, they'll bounce when he runs." Eowyn laughed. "A boy then," she said. Aragorn smiled, their lips touching. "What should we name our son?" she asked, breathing the words into his mouth.

"You're the one who said it was a boy," he said. "What if it's a girl?"

"A Rohirrim name then," she said. "Or Gondorian?

Aragorn laughed. "There are no Gondorian names, their Numenorean."

Eowyn rolled her eyes. "Numenorean then," she said.

Aragorn shook his head. "No," he said. "Our daughter will end up being called Burthoc."

Eowyn burst out laughing. "Really?" hat

"Yes," Aragorn said laughing. "That was my great aunt's name."

Eowyn's eyebrows lifted. "Our daughter will never be named anything like…that."

Aragorn wiped tears away from the corners of his eyes from laughing so hard. He bent down and kissed the top of Eowyn's head. "Alright," he said. "I promise."

..::..

The moon had risen in the sky to replace the sun, its light filling the room almost as brightly as in the day. Aragorn lay in bed, unable to sleep. He watched Eowyn across from him, her lips were parted slightly, breathing deeply as she lay on her side, her head on the corner of her pillow, and her arms wrapped around the other end. Aragorn climbed from the bed and crossed to her side, pulling the quilt up from around her hips so that it wrapped around her shoulders almost up to her chin and tucked it in around her.

He walked through the cabin to the door. As he stepped out the door the cold fall wind hit his face. He breathed in the night air and walked through the yard, the stars gleaming in the sky above him. He walked to where the horses stood beside each other, running his hand over their backs. He looked up at the sky. "Please don't let this happiness end," Aragorn prayed to the stars. "For once, can our lives not have such tragedy?"

..::..

Eowyn's eyes flickered open, panicked she flew up with a gasp. She threw the blankets back, her mouth opened in horror and she felt her heart stop beating. The bed around her waist was wet. She looked beside her, Aragorn was gone. Eowyn gasped, trying to fill her lungs with air again. "Aragorn!" she shouted, her voice broken. "Aragorn!" She screamed.

..::..

Aragorn's head shot up when he heard Eowyn cry out, his heart skipped a beat. "Aragorn!" Her voice pierced the night. Beside him the horses whinnied in fear but Aragorn was gone. He tore through the house, his calm demeanor shattered. When he reached their doorway he was hit with the sight that met his eyes. Eowyn knelt on the bed, the blankets that were wrapped around her earlier were thrown to the side, her nightdress tangled around her. But what made him feel sick with grief was the water that covered the bed around her.

Eowyn looked up at him, her eyes were filled with fear, tears streaming down her face. Aragorn was by her side in a second, holding her close, his big hands pressing her head against his chest; she began to sob. "It's too early," she kept saying.

Aragorn stroked her head, holding her tight. He kissed the top of her head then laid his head on hers, trying to comfort her. She gripped his shirt as a contraction started, she gasped and Aragorn released her. "Lie down," he said.

"Don't go," Eowyn said as her head hit the pillow.

Aragorn shook his head, he moved to her side and touched her cheek. "I will never leave you," he said.

The night wore on slowly, Aragorn built up a fire and sat with Eowyn, wiping her brow as she labored. From outside in the cool autumn night the windows of the cottage glowed orange and the air was filled with the sounds of Eowyn's cries. The horses whinnied nervously and pawed at the soft ground and the stars shone above them.

..::..

It was morning when Aragorn sat alone at the edge of the bed. The stars had receded back into the heavens and a grey twilight hung over the earth. Outside, mist covered the ground, and inside the cabin smoke hung heavy in the air. Behind him, Eowyn lay in the bed, her eyes closed and her body completely still. All around her sheets and blankets were stained with blood.

Aragorn sat in complete silence, staring down at the tiny baby in his hands. Dried tears lay on his cheeks. He stroked the child's head, remembering how only hours ago he had felt her moving and now his child was cold in his arms.

Slowly, he stood and ripped off a clean piece of sheet from the bed. He rested his daughter on top of it and gently wrapped her in the cloth. He turned to a table where a basket made of reeds sat. He picked it up and placed the body inside and walked out the door. He walked through the yard, taking a shovel with him to the edge of the forest. After putting the basket on the ground he lifted the shovel into the air then thrust it into the ground.

Aragorn dug until a clammy layer of sweat covered his body. The sun never fully rose but hid its face behind a grey sky that looked as if it were about to rain. When the hole in ground was deep and a mound of earth lay beside him Aragorn threw the shovel down. He picked up the basket and placed it into the rift in the earth then began to push the dirt back so that it fell into the darkness.

When he was finished Aragorn knelt, his shoulder bent and his head bowed. "Keep her safe, we pray," he began in Elvish. He lifted his face as rain began to fall, spitting on him and his prayers. He stood and threw the shovel down once more. "You never listen anyway," he growled, walking back to the house, anger and sadness taking turns ripping at his heart.

..::..

Eowyn's eyes opened and she looked around the room. Aragorn sat at the edge of the bed, his back to her. She tried to sit up but pain rippled through her. Her breath caught in her throat and she fell back onto her elbow.

Aragorn turned around at the noise and was at her side, easing her back down. "Stay down," he said. "You need rest."

Eowyn looked around the room once more, at the blood covering the bed and felt her head spin. "Where is she?" she asked. "Where is our child?"

Aragorn took her hand. "Sleep, Eowyn."

Eowyn sat up. "What have you down with our baby?" she screamed. She felt herself falling and her eyes grew dark but she fixed her gaze on his face and fought for consciousness.

"Eowyn, listen to me," he said, his voice full of emotion. "She was too young." He held her shoulders as she almost fell. "Eowyn, lay back down. The child is dead."

Eowyn's face contorted in pain and she choked on a sob. "No," she yelled, trying to push him away, but he was too strong and she was too weak. Eowyn's eyes closed and she fought for breath.

Aragorn caught her in his arms, her head falling limply onto his chest. He felt tears stinging his eyes as he lay her on the bed and watched her chest rise and fall. Aragorn fell to his knees beside the bed, staring at Eowyn. He looked at the blood and her white face and let out a shaking breath before closing his eyes. He let his head rest on the edge of the bed and tried to banish the images of his child from his mind and the pain from his heart.

..::..

Two days had passed and the stench of blood had finally abandoned the cottage, and yet Eowyn had not left her bed. She lay on her side, the blankets thrown carelessly over her as she stared out the window. Her eyes were fixed on the edge of the forest and the mound of earth that was her child's grave. Often, she would see Aragorn kneeling in front of it, his shoulder's bent with some unbearable weight. Tears took their overused path down her face, a miniature of the rain on her window.

Eowyn heard Aragorn's steps coming through the door into the house. She tore her eyes away from the never ending rain and looked at him standing there, dripping wet, and taking up the doorway. His eyes were on the plate of food that sat untouched by the bed. "The horses need hay," he said. Eowyn nodded, unable to rise. He walked to her bedside and sat facing her, his fingers brushed the side of her face lovingly. He smiled down at her but she only turned away. "Eowyn," Aragorn breathed, moving her hair, but she would not look at him.

"You should have saved her," she said coldly.

Aragorn felt her words drive into him like a dagger. He stood. "It's late, he said. "I'm going to stay the night in Bree." And with that he left.

..::..

Aragorn walked his horse toward the path that lead away from their small home and onto the main road. All he could think of or hear in his head were Eowyn's words, they cut into him over and over. He mounted his horse and looked back at the cottage, he stared at their small home, imagining Eowyn lying on the bed, tears on her cheeks. He felt torn in two directions. He heard her words in his ears and felt anger and hurt rise up inside of him. She acted as if he had left her to deliver the dead child alone, and could miraculously raise a child to life that had never drawn a breath. But he was leaving her now and so his heart was ripped the other way as well. He saw her in his mind's eye as he ran into the bedroom, how scared and heartbroken she had looked. All he wanted to do was touch her, and to make her understand that his heart had been broken as well, but she wouldn't even look at him. "It's only a night," he told himself.

He turned his back and rode off into the growing dusk. Half an hour later he was at the gates of Bree. He pulled his hood up over his head as the drops of water grew into a downpour. The haggard gatekeeper slid the small peephole open and peered into the night. "Who's there?" he crackled. When he saw Aragorn on his dark horse with his cloak pulled up hiding his face the man cowered.

"Let me in," Aragorn said, in no mood for opposition. "I need to rest my horse and stay the night. I will do no harm to your precious town." The gatekeeper nodded slowly and opened the gate. Aragorn's horse walked through of its own accord and into the town. He left the animal in the stables of the Prancing Pony Inn and throwing a coin at the stable boy walked through the door.

Inside, the air was warm and men stumbled around in the firelight. Aragorn strode through them to the bar, tapping a coin on the counter, his head down and his hood still covering his face. "Strider?" the innkeeper asked, approaching him with caution.

Aragorn nodded. "A drink, if you please," he said dryly, his teeth clenched.

"Beer?" the innkeeper asked.

"Something harder," Aragorn answered.

"Some of the rye brew then?" the innkeeper offered.

Aragorn nodded. When the drink was set in front of him Aragorn stared at the amber liquid for a minute then opened his mouth and drank the glass in a single gulp. The innkeeper's eyes widened and poured him another glass. Aragorn nodded and laid the gold coin on the counter. "See that it doesn't go empty," he said, lifting the glass. The man took the coin greedily and watched as Aragorn walked to the back of the big room.

Aragorn sat at the farthest table, he could find then pulled his pipe from his belt and lit it, holding it in his mouth and pulling his hood up once more. He blew out the candle and leaned back into the darkness.

..::..

Eowyn flew up out of the bed, her feet hitting the floor with a thud. She gasped, breathing hard. "It was only a dream," she told herself. "Only a dream." She stood up and walked to the window, her body numb to the cold. Her hand moved to her stomach, it had been almost a week since the night she lost the baby and five days since Aragorn had left. "One night," she said. "He said he would be gone for one night." Eowyn sighed and ran her hands over her face. She tried to stop the tears from coming but they streamed down her face uncaringly. She looked up out the window and choked on a sob. She fell to her knees then slumped to the ground until she was lying on her back in the box of light coming in through the window. Eowyn felt her lungs clench and she thought her heart was going to stop. She had never known sadness like this could be possible, that a person could feel so alone and forsaken. She closed her eyes and fell back to sleep.

..::..

"Eowyn," a voice said. "Eowyn," it insisted.

A hand grabbed her shoulder but she didn't want wake up, to return to the room, to the smell of death that she thought hung in the air. The nightmares had turned to pleasant dreams where she had walked the fields of Rohan with Aragorn and her daughter. She felt the hand let go and she almost smiled, they must have given up. But cold fingers pressed into her neck, feeling for a heartbeat. Her blue eyes opened and she looked up at one of Arwen's brothers. "I'm not dead," she said dryly.

Elladan jumped and looked down at her face. "Thank the Valar," he said. "I didn't want to have to tell Arwen that, we would have had a double grave."

Eowyn snorted. "Forgive me for not wanting to spend eternity with you." Elladan smiled and stood up from where he crouched, he gave Eowyn his hand and pulled her to her feet. "What are you doing here?" she asked, not unkindly.

"Aragorn has come to Rivendell with four Hobbits, one near dead by a Nazgul blade. My father thinks there is something about this Hobbit. Something that he carries is powerful."

Eowyn lifted her eyebrows. "A powerful Hobbit?" she asked. "They're half my height, maybe a third of yours; what could be powerful about that?"

Elladan shrugged. "You know my father, for him to say that anything other than an Elf is of any significance is amazing."

Eowyn nodded. "So you've come to bring me to Aragorn then," she said. "He couldn't come himself, or is it that he would not see me."

Elladan shook his head. "My father demanded that he stay until the council along with the Hobbits. It was Aragorn who bid me to come." Elladan smiled. "And I couldn't give up the chance to escort you myself."

Eowyn rolled her eyes and walked to the door of the cottage. "There is something I must do before we go," she said.

..::..

Eowyn knelt beside the small grave and for the first time now she could not cry. She simply sat staring down at the fresh earth. Elladan waited behind her, leaning on the wet bark of a tree, his face sad. "I'm sorry," he said. Eowyn turned to look at him in the moonlight. "I'm sorry this life had to end." Eowyn looked at his Elven face glowing in the moonlight, understanding. "Aragorn is a king," he said. "He may not have any desire to sit upon the throne of Gondor but it was what he was born to do, he cannot run forever."

Eowyn stood and walked back to the house without a word, she pulled the hood of her cloak up over her head and walked through the front door. Elladan watched, confused as she disappeared then reemerged with a lit torch in her hand. She walked a few paces then threw the torch into the small house with all her might.

Elladan had moved to stand just behind her, for a few seconds nothing happened then with a burst of heat and light the house caught flames. Fire rolled from the doors and broke the windows, sending glass and bits of wood flying forward. Elladan's arms flew to his face, but Eowyn turned and walked to the horses, putting a few small things into the pockets of her clothes. She pulled herself up and sat on the horses' back. "Are you coming?" she asked. Elladan looked at her then back to the house, his face filled with shock.