Thank you to silmarlfan1, Em, and Kae Richa for your reviews! And happy friendship day!

Important Note:Last month was kind of a bomb as far as getting the words out went, so chapters might be delayed by a week here or there. I'm sorry. Things just went kablooey on me. I promise to finish this! It'll just take a while longer than I thought.

Disclaimer: I own nothing under copyright.

Chapter Nine: Double Vision

"The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four people is suffering from a mental illness. Look at your 3 best friends. If they're ok, then it's you."

― Rita Mae Brown

Dawn broke to the sound of swords ringing in Meduseld. It could be heard clear from the gates, the clash of weapons and screams of dying men. But that wasn't Eowyn's current concern.

No, she was just trying to stay alive. Another swing of her blade lobbed a man's arm off and she took the opportunity to stab him through the chest before moving onto another opponent.

The cowards had attacked near dawn, when most of the town and hall were still asleep. It was admittedly a well timed ambush, but they hadn't expected such fierce resistance from the acting Queen or for her to not be alone. No, Tony Stark had been unable to sleep and given her company until they came out of nowhere. The noise of swords and knives clashing against each other woke the rest of the hall and that was that.

Desperately, Eowyn wished for her cousin to arrive right then. She needed his men and James; the men at her side in the hall were wearing down under numbers. For the first time she was in a battle and she found herself wishing to never encounter another so close to home.

Only Boromir and Tony were going as strong as before. As was told Boromir was a brick wall, giving up ground inch by bloody inch with as many men falling to his shield as his sword. On the other hand Tony almost seemed to dance around, spinning and ducking more than blocking, his movements fluid.

If only Eowyn had more than a scant few seconds between opponents to look at them. She was sure she would not be disappointed in their skills. It was all she could do to keep from being injured.

The doors banged open; Eowyn prayed that it was help and not more enemies.

It was those attacking her that fell, screaming. They seemed to realize that they were caught in a pincer, because their fighting only grew more savage and desperate.

A shout came from the side of the hall that led to the other rooms, "Bucky!" It was Steve's voice, he shouldn't have even been awake then.

Hama fell with a gurgle where he defended the Queen's side.

Rage encompassed Eowyn and she began to fight like a woman possessed. How dare they attack the throne! How dare they attack her guests! How dare they kill Hama! More and more men fell to her blade until there was only one left.

Eowyn paused. She could do nothing more than hold her sword steady and demand, "Release him this instant, Wormtongue!"

The counsellor was so white in the face that he was blue, one hand on Steve's shoulder and the other holding a knife to the young man's throat. "I do not think so, milady. The moment I do, you will kill me," he observed, panting with nervousness.

Looking at Steve's face, one would think that he was waiting in line rather than being held hostage by a mentally unstable man. Expression exasperated, he folded his arms over his chest with a sigh.

"Unhand our friend!" demanded the Dwarf who had arrived to help, pointing an axe at Wormtongue furiously.

Before Wormtongue had a chance to deny the Dwarf, there was a bang like nothing Eowyn had ever heard, loud and short and originating from the doors behind the craven counsellor. Almost before the noise came, his forehead was blown apart from the back and he dropped like a stone.

When Eowyn saw who was responsible, her face felt like it split open with her smile. James was back. His face was dead serious as he first looked down at the corpse, kicking it to the side, and then up at the rest of the room. "Sorry I'm late," he said unnecessarily.

"You are perfectly on time, James," Eowyn told him with a sigh of relief. Her legs shook with adrenaline and relief.

A man pulled a pistol like James's from his side and pointed it at her bodyguard. "How do you have my face?" he growled, and was it possible for them to have the same voice?

Eowyn refused to allow her friend to be threatened; she took the few steps forward that were necessary to put her blade to his throat. "Put your weapon down," she ordered calmly. That almost shattered when she looked at his face; it was exactly the same as James's, besides a slightly less crooked nose and the terrified confusion in his grey eyes.

Something poked at Eowyn's back, another sword. "Sorry, Eowyn, but I'm not afraid to kill a woman if she's threatening my friend," Tony said.

Betrayal wound its way up Eowyn's spine. Here she thought that they were allies. She was learning a great deal about the world today.

That did garner a reaction from James. He pointed his own pistol at Tony, face blank as usual but eyes stormy.

There was a tense standoff as the newcomers appeared to not know what to say.

"You wondered who put Steve in the hospital," Tony said, goading on the man who looked like James, "You're looking right at him."

There was a click as the look-alike's finger moved something on the gun.

Eowyn pressed her sword closer to his neck and felt Tony's sword jab her more sharply in the back as James clicked something on his own pistol.

"STAND DOWN!"

Before any of them knew they were doing so, they dropped their weapons. James and his copy put their guns away, heads snapping to the source of the order. Eowyn jerked her arm down to her side and she felt Tony's blade leave her back.

In the middle of the circle, Steve glared at the look-alike and then Tony. "Stop it, all of you," he told them angrily, "We've got more important things to think about than who hospitalized me last year and whose face it was first. Like the cavalry." He looked to the newcomers with a brilliant grin.

The dark haired man of the company, heart stoppingly handsome, stepped forward. "When Lady Galadriel told me that we would need our captain, that is not what I thought she meant," he said with a smile that made him glow.

"Good to see you too, Aragorn. Gimli, Legolas," Steve listed out, naming each of them, before he stopped, unable to form words.

Eowyn too was near incoherent, staring in wonder at the man she knew and yet was so different from how she remembered. Last she saw Gandalf, he was clad entirely in grey and looked older than anyone she had ever seen, a severe burden on his stooped shoulders. That same burden was still on him but he seemed better able to bear it now on his white-clad back, eyes sparkling as he looked from one of the living to the next.

"Wait wait wait, I thought resurrection wasn't a thing here?" Tony asked, disbelief in every fiber of his voice.

"I fell, through fire and water," Gandalf stated, and even his voice was the same but not, "But now is not the time for my tale. It appears that we stumbled upon something bigger than we knew."

Eowyn drew herself up as best she could. "Gandalf, it is a wonderful surprise to see you," she said in the understatement of the ages, "You and your friends were a great help. Without you all, we might not be standing." She gestured to the few remaining defenders of the hall, more than half beginning to tend to their wounds.

"Tell me, what news of your uncle?" Gandalf asked briskly, stepping further into the hall.

"He died three days hence," Eowyn answered in an overly composed voice. Combined with the shock of the surprise attack, all her weak emotional points were being hit.

There was suddenly grief on Gandalf's face. "He was a good man, and a good king," he said with sympathy.

Unable to stand it, Eowyn asked for a proper introduction to her saviors and was formally told which was which. The man with James's face was called Bucky. She blanched when she heard that, remembering Steve's words in the infirmary.

The two were still glaring at each other, or rather Bucky was glaring at James and James was busy checking Steve for signs of harm. With a satisfied nod Eowyn's bodyguard moved on to stand beside her.

It felt like having a hand back that had been chopped off. Weakly, Eowyn smiled up at him.

The response was for his metal arm to come up around her shoulders and squeeze her carefully to his side.

"Ah Valar, what is this mess?" Theodred's voice could not have been more welcome, or dismayed.

Immediately the tension in the room disappeared as he and his men entered, most of them injured as well. Even Theodred had a bandage wrapped around his arm, visible under his armor as he raised his arms to embrace Eowyn. The room was quickly starting to get set to rights, healers coming out of the wings to help the wounded and servants to clean up the blood and drag away the corpses.

Eowyn gratefully accepted her cousin's hold, in disbelief that they had both been so close to death in the past few days. "Wormtongue made his move. James killed him," she explained shortly, gesturing to the man, who was now smiling shyly down at Steve.

"Another thing I owe you," Theodred said, breaking away to clap James on the shoulder.

James shrugged. "It's my job," he mumbled, just loudly enough to be heard.

With an understanding nod, Theodred moved on to greet their guests. "Gandalf, you and your companions are most welcome to Edoras and Meduseld. I simply apologize for its current state," he told them, chagrined.

The Dwarf spoke up, then. "We were right in time. The lass was holding up, but Tony and Boromir were lagging!" he exclaimed, his voice teasing toward the men.

"Yeah, well the kill competition didn't start yet and if it did, I totally would have won," Tony boasted with a suave smile.

"Theodred King, what do we do with the bodies?" asked a servant sensibly.

It visibly startled him to be referred to as such. Once Theodred realized it was him being spoken to, he answered, "Bury the loyal. Burn the traitors." His mouth was in a hard line as he contemplated the idea.

The servant scurried away to fulfill her lord's bidding.

The few men able to stand knelt down, swords in front of them. "Hail, Theodred King!" one called, and was echoed throughout. Even the newcomers, plus Boromir and Steve dipped their heads in respect.

When Eowyn looked up through her eyelashes at her cousin, he seemed overwhelmed. "Rise and do your duties," he told them, voice choked.

Everything went back to normal so fast that it felt like time skipped.

Suddenly the floor was clean of blood; Theodred was in talks with Gandalf, Aragorn, and Steve; Bucky, James, and Tony were all in a staring contest with each other at Eowyn's side. To keep from doing something silly like passing out or screaming, she distracted herself with a question she had been wondering the answer to since she heard it. "What do you mean, about Steve being hospitalized?" she asked, sure that this was why they were fighting. Or at least Tony was.

It was Bucky who answered, and this time Eowyn was able to pick out small differences in his voice. His accent was exactly like Steve's and his voice was louder, pronunciation rougher. "You said in Moria that when you were from, Steve got his ass handed to him. Shot, stabbed, beat unconscious and nearly drowned," he said to Tony, dawning horror in his voice.

James looked more ashamed with each word.

"Yep," Tony agreed, voice almost as hard as his eyes. He stared, unblinking, at James.

"You said he did it," Bucky said, jerking his head at James.

"I did," the bodyguard admitted. His expression was just like when Eowyn first saw him awake, self conscious and desperate, as he glanced at Steve before lowering his gaze to the floor.

When Eowyn realized that they meant the same person she thought, she felt a sudden need to be sick. Even as Steve- little more than a boy in her eyes- was fussed over by the Elf, it was far too easy to see it in her mind's eye. Bruises and blood tarnishing pale flesh, bones as delicate as a bird's broken, eyes brighter than her own swollen shut as he weakly coughed up river water. The image was horrifying, and she turned to her bodyguard with a silent plea to tell her it was someone else.

The shame in James's eyes was debilitating. This was most definitely the same Steve.

"I should get beds ready," Eowyn excused herself hurriedly. No one said a word as she swept from the main hall.

The moment she was out of sight, Eowyn had to take a shuddering breath. Everything smelled of blood and the urge to retch only intensified. In a handy basin she did, coughing up the little that she had eaten that day.

Calloused hands rubbed her back and eased up another mouthful of bile.

"Thank you," Eowyn said, face burning with humiliation.

"I owe you an explanation," Tony said quietly.

Eowyn froze up, even as she wiped her mouth. The memory of a sword poking her in the back wasn't difficult to bring up. "Yes you do," she agreed coolly, spinning around to face the man.

While he didn't have any kind of shame visible, his face was dark and hands shoved into his pockets uncomfortably. "We're all from different times. Bucky is from seventy years behind, Steve and James from a year ahead of me," he said bluntly, "James must have gotten separated from Steve when they fell through their portal, ended up here." His eyes darted this way and that, mumbling words that must have been a foreign language, words like astrophysics and bifrost.

"And James?" Eowyn asked, cutting to the heart of what really concerned her. What her friend was capable of. What he had done to the man he loved.

The discomfort Tony showed only got more intense. He shuffled his feet, talked faster. "He and Bucky were the same person, but Bucky fell. No one should have survived what he did, but because he's enhanced he did. The enemy found him and... it wasn't pretty," he said abruptly, eyes far away, "It's not my place to tell you everything. I don't even know everything that went on, and I don't want to. When the big reveal finally happened, he didn't know who he was. All he knew was death and pain." He sounded like he was in agony just describing it.

"For seventy years?" Eowyn asked, unable to imagine. It was no wonder that James was more a hunted beast than a man when they first met.

"Seventy years of pain, humiliation, and being treated like a particularly naughty dog," Tony agreed, "They made him kill in their name. They made him torture. But there's still something of Bucky left in his head. When he didn't even know who he was, he knew that Steve was important to him. He saved Steve from drowning. I'm from just a couple weeks after that." The finish of his explanation was terse, like there was more to be said but he didn't want to.

It was almost too much to take in, combined with the other events of the day. "There is a great deal to ask James about," Eowyn acknowledged with a tight smile, "Thank you for your explanation." She made as if to go ready the rooms, like she had said.

"Sorry about earlier," Tony said unexpectedly, "You know, the whole Mexican standoff thing. I don't apologize often, but you deserve that one. You're a good woman."

Though Eowyn wasn't sure what a Mexican standoff was, she thought he meant the incident in the hall. "Thank you for your apology," she said, and with a dip of her head went on her way. There was much to be done and not enough time to do it, and she had a lot to think about.

It wasn't until she was laying out new bedlinens in the guest rooms that everything came together in Eowyn's head. Of course Tony would threaten her if she put a sword to Bucky's neck. He and Steve love each other, Bucky loves Steve, James loves Steve, and he might love them back. It would only make sense for Tony and Bucky to be just as mad about each other as about Steve.

Now just to see if she was correct.

Two children had been brought in with terrible news: wild men attacking villages. Theirs was gone.

The battle was over, but the war was just beginning, Steve thought as he looked at the map laid on the table before him. King Theodred was a man after his own heart, a cunning strategist but plainspoken and affectionate man. They had easily picked apart their enemies' plan: to catch Rohan and Gondor in a pincer and if possible destroy the ruling houses, destroy hope.

With James's help (and didn't his heart beat ever more wildly at the sight of him) that last one had been averted, at least as far as Rohan. There was no keeping Boromir out of a fight, so they'd just have to keep an eye on him. On the plus side, both countries had an heir and a spare (two spares in Rohan's case) so politically they were probably fine on that.

It seemed that King Theodred was amazed at his battlefield acumen, looking from his small stature to his points on the map and back again with an ever widening smile. "You have much knowledge of tactics for your age," he complimented.

Behind them, James and Bucky snorted in unison. There was a startled silence before Bucky went on to say, "Don't let that face fool you. He's only a year younger than I am, and an evil mastermind to boot."

In response, Steve shot a sunny smile over his shoulder. It would only make them more incredulous and that was one of the best games to play. He'd messed with oh so many people's minds that way…

"I can attest to that," Tony put in from where he leaned on a nearby pillar. His smirk sent evil thoughts into Steve's head.

The Fellowship members' lips twitched, but they restrained themselves. The hand that Legolas placed on Steve's shoulder, almost covering it, indicated that he still saw the smaller blonde as a child.

"Anyway, it looks like you have two options. You can ride out and meet Isengard's army, which you don't have the men for, or you can send out a rider for Eomer and wait in one of these fortresses for him to relieve you. Either way, you'll need to send the civilians to safety. Edoras doesn't seem secure enough for them to wait it out here," Steve said with a flourish at the place-names he had noticed in the mountains, Helm's Deep and Dunharrow.

"I agree with that assessment. There are few options available to you, with Eomer's forces riding north as we speak," Aragorn put in from around his pipe.

"Either, way, I am recalling my cousin," King Theodred decided with a grim smile. "Someone get me a rider!" he called to the hall at large.

"I will go," Gandalf said abruptly, "There are other things that I need to see to in that direction, as well." What he could possibly want to know that he could find in that blank space on the map, Steve wasn't sure.

King Theodred's eyes were bright as he scrutinized the old wizard. "Always coming and going as you will," he said, as if to himself, "Yes, that will do nicely. Take what you need and please leave as soon as you may, Gandalf." It was an order, but he took great care to make it not so obvious.

The twinkle in Gandalf's eyes said that he knew exactly what was happening. "Look for me by the first light of the fifth day. At dawn, look to the east," he advised them sagely. With a nod of respect, he took his leave.

Though he was sad to see Gandalf go after such a short time, Steve only called, "Be safe! No more dying and coming back!" Another round of that would surely give him a minor heart attack. Third time's the charm, as they always say.

There was no sign that the old wizard heard him. He simply left the hall, likely headed toward the stables.

"Alright, now we're down one wizard. Any decisions?" Tony snarked from the sidelines.

The look Steve gave him screamed that he needed to shut up right now.

King Theodred raised an eyebrow at the brunette, but went back to the map quickly. "The better move is one of the fortresses," he decided, eyes darting around the depiction of Rohan, "Helm's Deep has the better defenses and more space available behind the Deeping Wall for refugees, as well as the caves and escape routes into the mountains." He nodded to himself, thin-lipped but determined.

Steve disliked the idea of cornering themselves just as much, but didn't see an alternative.

From their troubled expressions, neither did Aragorn and Boromir.

"Garulf, if you'll spread the word?" King Theodred requested of his second in command.

"Yes, my lord," the older soldier said, and with a bow left the hall through the main doors.

"I apologize for not being a good host right now, but we have less than adequate time for the usual formalities. It's time to pack the essentials for our journey," King Theodred said briskly, looking from one person to the next. When his eyes lighted on Boromir he grinned, and clapped the other man's shoulder before he left the room. They must have history together.

The hall was suddenly a flurry of motion. Servants got to work taking down everything of value (to put in the cellars for safe keeping, they said) and packing the rest into trunks and carts. Eowyn was at the head of it all, James's ferocious glare only enforcing her own commanding presence.

No matter that Steve wanted to help, he was relegated to being checked over by Aragorn. "I have every faith in the healers of Meduseld, but I would prefer to see your injuries for myself," the dark haired man said kindly, but firmly. He wouldn't accept no for an answer.

From how they were coincidentally busy with other things at the moment, Tony and Bucky were unlikely to give him backup. Steve sighed and lifted off his borrowed shirt.

A hiss of sympathy came from the rest of the party. He must have looked fairly terrible.

"Sit," Aragorn ordered, pointing at a nearby stool. He then went to get his pack and all the foul medicines within.

With a grimace, Steve did as he was told. In this state, he couldn't afford to not follow the doctor's (healer's) orders. He winced several times as the bandages were cut away; they pulled at his scabs.

"Jesus, Stevie, what happened to you?" Bucky asked, horrified, once his friend's back was bare.

"He was whipped, and badly," Aragorn answered grimly, "Some of these go the whole way down to the muscle." He was gentle as he prodded the cuts, but the touch still stung.

When he tried to focus on anything besides the checkup he was receiving, Steve found himself watching James. The taller man stood slightly behind Eowyn and off to the side in a typical guard position, eyeing everything that moved for a threat. There must be a story behind that. Their eyes met, and Steve gave a weak smile.

It was returned hesitantly.

Eowyn turned around and whispered something to him. They spoke for a few moments in tones too low to catch anything of, and they were awfully close (no, Steve wasn't jealous) but after a few moments James nodded curtly and moved away. She was probably telling him to stop scaring the servants away.

Instead of slinking off to a corner, James took a few steps closer. He stopped in his tracks however, a deer in the headlights.

When Steve looked over his shoulder to see why, he was able to see a multitude of death glares before Aragorn reprimanded him for moving. Chief among them was Legolas, whose eyes were admittedly scary-intense in the first place. They were closing ranks, trying to protect him. It was appreciated.

It was also annoying and unnecessary. "Stop it, that was a year ago and those were special circumstances," Steve told them, though his attempt at being stern was ruined by the flinch that he gave at cool goop being applied to his back.

"Special circumstances?" Bucky asked hopefully.

"I'd say that seventy years of brainwashing, torture, forced medical experimentation, and mental reprogramming would count as special circumstances," Tony put in dryly. He was playing the devil's advocate, rooting for the other side just because he could.

The look in James's eyes was that of a kicked puppy as he looked from one person to the next.

"You saved me when it mattered," Steve said, straight to James but also meaning Bucky as well, "I think that's the most important thing." In his book, it was an open and shut case. There was very little he wouldn't forgive his best friend, including this.

"You trust him?" Gimli rumbled, thumbing his axe affectionately.

This time, Steve smiled even as his chest was being bound. "With everything," he declared.

The sheer amazement on James's face was only seconded by the tears welling up in his eyes. He smiled too, shy and so unlike his younger self.

"Welcome to the group, laddie," Gimli said with a shrug of his broad shoulders. As far as he was concerned, that was that.

Steve appreciated the trust that the dwarf showed in his choices, more than he could say.

"If you hurt him again, you will die painfully, at our hands," Legolas stated without heat.

Both James and Bucky gulped, at that. Determination soon overtook that, and each gave a steely nod. The similarities in their mannerisms visibly startled them, despite that logically they knew that they were the same person.

That, Steve had to laugh at. This was going to be so much fun.

And so terrible on his control. Tony and two versions of Bucky under the same roof as him for the foreseeable future? This was going to be torture.

Already, Steve adored it.