Coyote Imagines

“The mess hall?” You asked. But your eyes went wide a split second later with realization. “Oh my god, what time is it?”

“Almost 2100.” Phlox said softly. The other crewmates around the bridge exchanged a few looks with sad smiles. You groaned, dropped your face into your hands, and massaged your temples for a few moments before looking up at the doctor with a sad smile of your own.

“Im sorry.” You said. You looked at you for another moment before his furrowed brows relaxed and he smiled.

“Good. I know how you can make it up. Come with me.” He unclasped his hands and took a step back from the chair.

“Phlox I can’t I’m-“

“You can. You got off duty almost three hours ago. I’m sure the next in line,” He gestured to a crewmember at the helm “Can handle things for the night.”

The crew number nodded. You made to argue but Phlox held up a hand.

“I will win this argument.” He stated, still smiling. You sighed and shook your head.

“Fine.” You said, putting your hands up in surrender. He offered you a hand and helped you stand. You followed him to the lift calling out to the helmsman.

“If anything happens, call me immediately ok?”

“Aye!” The crewmember responded as the door closed. You moved a hand to massage the back of your neck as the lift moved.

“Im sorry Phlox. I was looking forward to the movie night.”

“No need to apologize Captain.” The doctor playfully bumped his shoulder against yours.

“Acting captain.” You corrected.

“I couldn’t tell. You’ve been at the post for two weeks now and already you are working yourself to death just like any good Starfleet captain. Archer would be proud.”

“Oh come on. Im not that bad am I?” You groaned and turned to him, dropping your hand.

“Shall I give you my medical opinion or my opinion as your boyfriend?”

You smiled. That word was still new to you, but you liked it. And you felt immensely guilty for missing two dates in a row.

“You are not eating. You are not sleeping. You are definitely not recreating.” He reached down to take your hands in his. “And in the most loving and adoring way I can put this, you don’t look good.”

“Thanks” you said with a halfhearted chuckle. You knew it was true. The bags under your red rimmed eyes alone made you look like a zombie from the old Earth stories. And you knew your uniform was a little…rumpled… And your hair…

“I um…” God you WERE tired. “I didn’t expect it to be this hard. I’ve only had to take the chair once or twice before and even then only for a few hours at most. I wasn’t as prepared as I thought I was.”

“If it helps,” Phlox shrugged, “You are doing a wonderful job.”

“Doesn’t feel that way.” You took a deep sigh, feeling two weeks of exhaustion settle deeper into your bones with every moment you remained awake. You leaned forward and let your forehead rest on his shoulder.

“Well it’s true. Though I would imagine your ability to maintain order may be diminished if you lack the ability to even stand up on your own. Which is why as both your doctor and uh…lover, I am prescribing sleep.”

With that he finally waved a hand to open the lift door which had long since arrived on the crew quarters floor. With a hand at the small of your back, he guided you out and down the hallway. When you arrived at your room you opened your door and stepped in. You yawned almost immediately when you saw your bed, still neatly made from almost two days ago.

“When was the last time you slept, other than the nap I caught you in tonight?” He asked, gently pushing you towards the bed.

“Uh… I caught a few hours in the shuttle bay waiting for that ambassador…yesterday I think?”

“You slept in a shuttle?” He spun you around and sat you on the bed. He started to take off your boots but you shooed him away, insisting you could do it yourself.

“I slept near a shuttle.” You confessed. “I sat down on some crates and the next thing I knew I was waking up behind them.”

“That sounds healthy.” He mumbled. You smiled.

“Sarcasm doctor? You are spending too much time with me.”

At this he sat on the bed beside you, neatly clasping his hands in his lap.

“On the contrary my dear. I fear I am not spending enough time with you. Even in your current position, you must promise me to make better time for food, recreation, and sleep.”

You nodded and looked down at the floor.

“Im sorry Phlox. I know Ive made the start of this,” you motioned between the two of you. “a bit bumpy.”

He reached and took your hand. He turned it over in his hand and began tracing the lines in your palm with a finger.

“Denobulans are renowned for their patience my darling. And even if they were not, you are worth being patient for. Just promise me you’ll take better care of yourself? The one place I do NOT want to see more of you is on the medical table. Which is where you will end up if you keep working like this.”

“I promise Ill try.”

“Good” He said, dropping your hand to push a feather light kiss against your temple before he stood.

“Then I shall let you get started on your self-care and then in the morning, we can share a morning meal if that is to your satisfaction.”

You nodded.

“Very well.” He smiled and bowed. “Good night.”

He should have expected it he supposed. The world loved you just as much, if not more than they loved him. You were fantastically more humble than he was, always allowing the Hansens to take the spotlight following a Kaiju encounter. Piloting Renegade Bounty, RB for short, an experimental jaeger class, built for speed and maneuverability instead of pure combat power. A jaeger built specifically to compliment and assist Striker Eureka in battle.

Chucks father would frequently joke that just as RB was built to compliment Striker, You were made to compliment Chuck. Calm to his chaotic. Humble to his pride. Warm to his cool. Facts that he would adamantly deny, tho it was hard to deny when his father was literally inside his head once or twice a week.

Chuck didn’t enjoy…deep feelings. He kept his romantic experiments as strict one night stands, often with those pretty reporters. Never allowing himself to get attached. Not that he had to try very hard, women tended to be…turned off by his callous behavior and could rarely stand more than one night. If he didn’t let anyone in then he couldn’t be hurt.

But then you worked your way in anyway. You sat with him in the mess hall, you stayed late when he needed a sparring partner. When he got a little tipsy from blackmarket booze, you covered for him. He’d listened to you defend him when J-Techs complained about him, when you didn’t know he was standing just around the corner. Even when he had been rude to you, you would plop down next to him the next day at breakfast and shrug, asking him if he was going to finish his hashbrowns.

But you were nice to everyone like that… and he knew the days you weren’t with his dad and your copilot at dinner that you were on a date. So he pushed those feelings way down deep.

He didn’t know that you had the same feelings. You saw through his hardened exterior, saw through the tough guy show he put on. When you needed something to ground you, he was there. He didn’t go easy on you in sparring matches. He didn’t treat you like the beloved celebrity the rest of the world did. He let you be real. And in the few moments where he let himself be real with you, you found yourself falling in love.

Your copilot knew of course. They begged you to ask him out and purposefully left you two alone as often as they could. But you knew Chuck liked one night stands with supermodel reporters. So you attempted to distract yourself with dinner dates. Thought just like Chuck, nothing ever worked out because he was always in the back of your mind, just like you were in the back of his.

Which is why you and your copilot, feeling your feelings through the drift, didn’t even hesitate to make the split second decision during a kaiju fight to make your jaeger leap in front of Striker, taking a blow that would have taken out Strikers core, very likely causing it to explode. Unfortunately, RB was much shorter that Striker and the blow that would have hit Strikers core, lined up directly with RB’s head where the pilots cockpit sat. You shared a meaningful glance with your copilot as the screech of metal being torn apart filled your ears. Sparks rained down around you before water began to rush in, and your world went black.

Chuck felt his heart drop through far past his stomach as an icy chill exploded through his veins. He let out a strangled cry when a flash of red and white painted metal filled the screens and he watched the kaiju plunge its blade into RBs head. The face shield shattered as the knife hand split the cabin nearly in half.

“no no no no” Chuck began chanting under his breath.

When the Kaiju attempted to withdraw its hand it seemed to be stuck. It was trapped in place by Its hand, lodged in the metal frame of your jaeger. Seizing the opportunity of its immobility a voice blared over Strikers comm system.

“NOW! While its trapped. Fire NOW!” The voice commanded.

“Sir we could hit Renegade!” Herc Hansen shouted back.

“NOW. That’s an order!”

Herc and Chuck shared a solemn glance of their own. Herc noted the true and absolute terror in his sons face and felt it grip his own chest like a vice through the drift. But it wasn’t fear for themselves. It was fear for you.

“NOW HANSEN!” The order was shouted again and with a roar of anger and despair the Hansens fulfilled the order, launching Strikers chest rockets at the Kaiju. Through the eruption of water, smoke, and green blood they couldn’t tell if they had hit Renegade or not.

“Confirmed kill. Kaiju signal is down.” A voice said through the comms. “No visual on Renegade Bounty.”

Panic began to flood Chucks senses as the smoke settled and there was no sign of RB.

“They’re underwater.” Chuck breathed, looking at his dad.

“We need rescue choppers NOW!” Herc practically screamed through his helmet mic. “RB is down and sinking. I repeat, RB is down and sinking. Striker attempting to locate”

Ten minutes later the rescue choppers, guided by Striker, had located and tethered to RB. They hauled its water logged frame out of the water and divers pulled the limp bodies of you and your copilot from the shattered cockpit. From his position aboard Striker Chuck could only watch as they began to hoist you into a chopper. His panic grew and grew as he and his father navigated Striker back into the jaeger bay. The second they had repositioned the jaeger into its maintenance area, he disconnected and sprinted from the cockpit. He slid down an exit ladder and nearly buckled to his knees as he caught sight of medics unloading you from one of the helicopters and onto a stretcher.

He watched as a medic ripped your helmet away and pressed his fingers to your neck. His heart hammered in his ears as the medic called out.

“I’ve got a pulse!” The man yelled as they began to wheel you away toward the medbay. Chuck lurched forward on shaky legs and followed them. He was stopped by a nurse at the door.

“We’ll take care of them. We’ll do our best.” She said, putting a firm hand on his chest, blocking his forward motion. Chuck looked at her with wide, scared eyes before turning back to watch helplessly as they wheeled you through a set of gray swinging doors. The nurse patted him on the shoulder sympathetically before going through the doors herself.

Chuck felt his throat constrict as he dropped his helmet he hadn’t realized he had been holding. It clattered to the floor and he brought a hand to cover his mouth. He stood there, numb with worry, for nearly fifteen minutes before his father stepped up behind him. He bent down and picked up Chucks helmet from the floor.

“That hit was meant for us.” Chuck said flatly, still staring at the doors.

“I know.” Herc said straightening. “I just reviewed the footage. They saved our skins.”

“Why?” Chuck asked hoarsely.

“We would have done the same for them. We’re soldiers. It’s what we do.” Herc responded. Chuck just nodded sadly.  Herc watched him. He hadn’t seen his son this emotional since the memorial service for his wife. It scared him.

“They said they were just unconscious but…there’s nothing you can do from out here. Go take off your suit and sign the report. Grab a shower. I’ll make sure you know the minute there’s news.” Herc gently pushed his sons helmet back into his hands.

“I can’t dad… I don’t…I..” Chuck stumbled over his words. Herc’s heart broke a little more, Chuck didn’t frequently refer to him as dad.

“I know kid. I know.” He said quietly, tugging his son gently by the elbow, guiding him back up the hall.

-------------------------

Chuck didn’t know when he dozed off after his shower, but he woke up late into the next morning. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and bolted up from his bed. He ran barefoot down the halls back to the medbay, this time going through the doors. The nurse from the night before looked up from a desk.

“Looking for your friends Ranger?” She asked with a smile. Chuck nodded.

“The impact knocked both of Renegades pilots out. They both suffered some bruises, a couple contact burns from the wiring in the suit. But they got lucky. They both demanded to be released as soon as they woke up.”

Chuck felt a hundred pounds of stress melt off of him and he visibly sagged as he sighed with relief.

“How long ago?” He asked.

“They went back to their rooms four or five hours ago I believe.” She shrugged, looking back down at her computer.

Chuck turned and walked back out, heading for your room. He didn’t know what he was going to do or say when he got there. But he needed to see you, make sure you were really ok. He’d keep his cool, he told himself. Just check on you and then leave you be.

But when you answered his knock on your door, his plan changed.

“Chuck?” You asked sleepily, wiping at an eye, obviously woken up by him. He looked at you and tears sprung to his eyes and he sighed with relief.

“Are you…crying?” You asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re ok.” He said.

“What?” You asked, starting to smile.

“You’re ok.” He breathed. His hands snapped to cup your face before his brain even had time to process the decision. His lips collided with yours for a few moments before his arms stiffened and he pulled back.

“Im sorry. I shouldn’t have…” his voice trailed off as he lowered his gaze to the floor. He wanted to suddenly run but his legs wouldn’t move. You also stood frozen, all traces of sleep erased from your body as your mouth dropped open. You looked at him with wide eyes. For a few moments you both just stood there before he started to turn away. You stepped forward and grabbed his shirt, yanking him back to you. He hesitated a moment before his hands found their way back to your face, snaking around the back of your head to pull you deeper into him.

When he pulled back this time, your heads stayed close. You let your fists let go of his shirt and slide down to rest on his stomach.

“Ive uh…god you don’t know how long Ive wanted to do that.” He breathed.

“You have no idea how long Ive wanted you to do that.” You said, just as breathless.

“Really?” His eyes snapped to yours. You nodded.

“I didn’t think you were…interested.” You explained.

“I didn’t think YOU were interested.” He said as brought his hand tentatively back around to brush a thumb along your jaw. You let your eyes flutter closed at the touch and he bent back down, kissing you again. And then again.

“Do you wanna come in?” You mumbled against his lips. He only responded by pushing you gently back into your room. You reached around him and pushed your door closed.

-------------------------

Later Chuck propped himself up on an elbow above you, tracing his fingers up and down your arm when he suddenly paused.

“Why did you guys take that hit?” He asked. You shifted beneath him and sat up, he moved to sit in front of you.

“If you guys had taken the hit you would have been out of commission if not killed. We couldn’t take out the kaiju by ourselves but Striker could.” You smiled and shrugged. “The world needed you guys more than us at the time.”

“You could have died before…” He paused, looking away.

“Before what?” You asked. He was silent before he picked up one of your hands, pushing a kiss against your knuckles.

“Im going to tell you something. And its probably going to scare you away. But I have to get it off my chest” He said.

“Uh…ok?” You asked, a little worried.

“Ive been falling for you since the day I met you. You always seemed out of my reach and I never even dreamed that…we’d ever be like this. I still don’t know how this is real.” He gushed, obviously flustered.

You practically beamed under the heat growing on your face. He looked up at you, embarrassed.

“Im not good at this.” He mumbled.

“You’re telling me we could have been doing this for over a year?” You let out a breathy giggle.

“We could have?”

“Chuck Ive…IVE been falling for you since we met too. I just thought you liked….reporters…and one night stands. Please tell me this isn’t a one time thing.” You asked, suddenly worried. His eyes widened and he scooted closer, pulling you into his lap.

“Reporters were a distraction to try and get over how badly I wanted…you. I don’t…I don’t like to…let people in. Even when I don’t want to, I always seem to push them away. But you, you got in anyway and you stayed. And I swear to you I’ll do everything I can to always keep you. If you’ll have me.”

“Oh I’ll have you.” You said coyly, pulling him closer. “over and over and—“

He cut you off with another kiss, and another. And another.

“We could have been doing this for over a year” he echoed your earlier statement.

Star Trek Enterprise: 

Phlox x stressed reader

Star Trek TOS/AOS: 

Scotty secret relationship

Spock jealous

Pacific Rim: 

Newt Headcanons

Newt x lab assistant fluff

Dating Herc Hansen headcanons

LOTR:

Eomer delivers bad news

Aragorn x dunedain reader

The Expanse:

Jims little sister

Magnificent 7:

“Papa! Theo!” She babbled.

“Someday you will be able to run as well my dear. But I fear you are much too little still.” You said with a smile, pushing a kiss onto the top of her head as she continued to wiggle. You were grateful she wasn’t any bigger or else keeping her on the saddle would be nearly impossible. She seemed especially restless this evening tho.

You glanced around the scenery. You were still two days ride from Edoras, in a caravan returning from Gondor where your family had attended a wedding of the high court. It had been the first trip you had been on with both children in tow and though you appreciated the chance for them to finally see the world outside of the city walls, you knew Eomer had a hard time relaxing.

“How long until nightfall?” You called out to the Caravan leader, riding just in front of you.

“Only a few hours.” He called back.

“Then we shall stop here for the night. I tire of riding.” You called out, pulling your horse to a stop. The man simply nodded and called for the rest of the guards and few wagons to stop. You swung down and lifted Lisbet down onto your hip. A man came up and took your reigns and handed you a water skin. You took a few gulps before holding it up to your daughter’s lips. She gulped down several loud swallows before pushing it away.

“Alright alright. Shall we help set up the tent?” You asked, moving to the men pulling bundles of canvas out of a wagon.

---------------

Eomer stepped quietly around the edge of a boulder, eyes peeled for the flash of dark green fabric that would reveal his sons hiding place. He didn’t know whether to be proud or frustrated at his sons skill in the art of stealth. He decided…frustrated.

“Theomer. Please, I am hungry.” He called out. “Let us go back to the horses and eat.”

He stood still and listened for an answer but heard nothing. He sighed and was about to take a step forward when he heard a boot slip on hard rock and a small yelp followed by a solid sounding thud.

“Theo!” He said under his breath, dashing over a few small rocks toward the sound. He found his son laying at the base of a particularly large boulder. Theo was sitting, trying desperately hard not to sob as he held his left arm. Eomer dropped to his knees in front of him an gingerly lifted Theos arm to inspect it.

“Let me see.” He said softly. “What happened.”

“I fell. I landed on it.” Theos word came out shakily as his bottom lip quivered. Eomer started at his wrist and probed the flesh gently with his thumbs, following the bone within up toward his sons elbow. He winced when he felt the unmistakable break in the outer bone. His son let out a strangled cry when he made contact.

“It is broken.” Eomer said, looking up at him. “Hold it like this against your chest until we get back to camp.”

“Papa please.” His son choked out, voice shaking as tears begin to roll down his cheeks. “Before we go back may I please cry here? I don’t want mama to see.”

Eomer felt his heart split into two with those words. He reached around his son and gathered him up into his arms, pulling him gently against his chest, careful to not jostle his arm. He cradled Theos head with one arm, fingers running soothingly through his hair.

“Of course my little warrior.” He whispered into his sons hair, rocking him gently. “Tho you should know your mama would never think you anything less than the bravest boy in all of Rohan. Even if you cry in front of her. Warriors are allowed to mourn their wounds.”

Theomer sobbed quitly for a few moments, tears dampening the front of Eomers tunic. When he finally calmed down a smidge he leaned away from his father, wincing as he moved his arm.

“Would you cry in front of mama?” Theo asked, using the sleeve of his unharmed arm to wipe at his nose. Eomer smiled and lifted his own hand to wipe away the tears on his sons cheeks.

“Theo, your mama is just about the only person I have ever cried in front of. Your mama, and my own mama...maybe my sister” Eomer explained.

“When?” Theo asked.

“When what?”

“When did you cry in front of mama?” Theo asked. Eomer sighed and stood, pulling his son to his feet. He began to walk and motioned for Theo to follow.

“Plenty of times. I cried the night we buried King Theoden. I cried when my horse died. I cried when Lisbet got the fever and we were scared she would not make it. Ive cried as your mother bandaged injuried. Gods, I ever cried in front of them that time I got sick and could not eat for three days.” Eomer looked down and smiled. Theo sniffed and let out a soft giggle before sighing himself.

“I am going to be in trouble…” Theo said with another exasperated sigh.

“Probably not as much trouble as I am going to be in.” Eomer looked genuinely worried. He had faced down orcs that were less intimidating than you were when your children were involved.

“Can we run away?” Theo asked. This elicited a chuckle from his father.

“I am afraid not. We need to set and splint your arm.”

“Its going to hurt isn’t it?” Theo said, looking downward.

“It will. But pain is temporary and I promise I will be there the entire time.”

--------------------------

You were sitting in the newly erected royal tent watching Lisbet play with several small wooden horses when you heard someone outside shout that the King had returned. You stood and made your way to the tent flap and motioned for your handmaided to watch Lisbet. As you stepped outside you saw Eomer walking slowly toward your tent, hand resting on your sons shoulder. Your son briefly met your gaze before looking quickly at the ground. It was obvious to you that he had been crying and he clutched one of his arms tightly across his chest.

You walked swiftly toward them and knelt down in front of Theo.

“Careful love, it is broken.” Eomer cautioned.

“Broken?” You said in confusion, reaching out to touch Theo’s arm. “What happened?”

“I fell.” Theo said softly.

“It was an accident, it needs to be set.” Eomer explained. You looked up at your husband who gave you an apologetic smile. You sighed and motioned for him to go.

“Fetch Olufar then. I fear my skills when it comes to broken bones are lacking.” You shooed your husband. Eomer moved his hand to ruffle Theo’s hair before trotting off to look for the healer. You stood and guided Theo back to your tent and had him sit on a wooden crate that contained Eomers battle armor. Eomer and Olufar came shortly and the healer sat beside your son.

“This will hurt.” The healer explained.

“I know.” Theo said in a shaky voice. “I am brave.”

Eomer smiled and knelt in front of his son, letting the little boy press his face against his chest once again as the healer took his arm. Your husband held your son tightly as you sat on the other side, holding his little hand in yours.

“Alright. I shall count to three.”

--------------------

Later that night you lay on your bedroll, Theo laying beside you. His little splinted arm still held carefully against his chest even in sleep. You watched your sons chest rise and fall slowly with soft snuffles of slumber. Eomer paced back and forth inside the tent, gently rocking Lisbet who grew quieter and quieter in his arms until finally he set her down next to Theomer. Eomer quickly kicked off his boots and laid down himself, propping himself up on one arm to look at you and your children that now lay between you both.

“You are not going to drink with your men?” You teased, nodding to the tent flap where the muted laughter of the guards around a campfire could be heard.

“I am far too tired.” He smiled at you. “Besides. My place is here, with my greatest riches.”

He smiled and pulled a blanket up, tucking Lisbet in tightly. You smiled back and reached your hand out over Theo to hold Eomers hand for a moment before bringing it back to brush a lock of hair from Theos forehead.

“You are a very rich King my love.” You said softly, closing your eyes as sleep came to you as well. Eomer watched as firelight from outside flickered across the faces of him family and smiled.

You remembered your father telling you marvelous stories of the ancient men of Númenor who built what was now a crumbling stone city. He would sit on one of the ancient stone docks fishing while you and your brother ran amongst the ruins, playing archers and goblins. Returning to the ramshackled camps amongst the hills you called home was never as appealing to you as the towers overlooking the bay at Lond Daer.

It was the destiny of a Dunlending to live and die in one of those camps. Tho with the ominous summoning of the warchiefs by the white wizard, it seemed the destiny of the men and women of Dunland to perish in battle against Rohan all in the name of Saruman.

It was a destiny your father refused to allow you and your brother to live. As the rest of the tribe gathered weapons, he hurried you away into the night with nothing but the clothes on your back, your hunting bow, a sword for your brother, and this ring for you.

“Follow the river Isen east.” Your father had commanded. “When you reach the foothills tread carefully through them. In three days time you will be in the lands of the horse lords. You both know the common tongue well enough to blend in among them. Make a new life for yourselves. Don’t come back to suffer here.”

And so at the wishes of your father, you had left. That had been over a week ago. You now stood, hands on your hips, staring at your brother as he paced in front of you.

“This is a stupid plan.” You said.

“It is only stupid if it does not work.” He grumbled.

“When father said make a new life, I am fairly certain he meant for something involving a plow or something. Not…this is too ambitious brother.”

“You have heard how they live. Do you not want that? Fine clothes and baths? Beds and beef and—“

“Yes yes. It is a lovely fantasy.”

“A fantasy that is within our reach. I didn’t come all this way to spend the rest of my life farming in the dirt. Now. Hit me.” He stopped in front of you and scrunched his eyes closed in anticipation. You sighed and shrugged before leveling your fist at his jaw. He stumbled backward with a yelp.

“Was that hard enough?” You asked with a smile, flexing your fingers to rid them of the ache.

“How does it look?” He asked, straightening up. You inspected your handwork and shrugged.

“Needs more blood.”

“Fetch my sword then.”

-------------------

An hour later, your brother had stripped to his small clothes and looked as though he had been jumped by bandits and left for dead…just how you intended. You had also been stripped and the scrapes and bruises you had received through a week of journeying through the westfold played rather well into your scheme.

Your clothes, bow, and sword had been buried in case this didn’t work and you needed them later. You had both had walked along the Snowbourne river until you came to a bridge you knew from a few days of spying, the Rohirrim patrolled regularly.

There you waited…and waited. You felt the sun burning your bare back as you sat on a stone, arms curled protectively across your chest. You had just about dozed off when you heard the faint sound of approaching horses. You looked up at your brother.

“Ready?” He asked, smearing a bit more mud over his arms.

“As ready as Ill ever be.” You groaned and curled even tighter on your rock. Your brother grinned and then began walking down the path with a fake limp. When the horses came closer, you could see the green flag that marked them as riders of Rohan. Your brother began frantically waving his arms over his head as he yelled.

“HELP! HELP US!!!!” He bellowed at the riders. They slowed as they approached him. Your brother fell to his knees in feigned exhaustion.

“Please help…my lady…” He gestured back to where you sat on the side of the road. The leader of the group urged his horse a few steps forward.

“What happened? Who are you?” The man asked from his saddle.

“We was attacked.” Your brother cried. “By wildings. We made it all the way through their lands only to be attacked by them now. Please sir. The white wizard sends them here. They are still coming. They are still coming.”

Your brother put his face in his hands and sobbed.

“You come from beyond the Dunland? Who are you.” The man asked again.

“Im just nobody sir. But my lady. She be the last of the high houses of Lond Daer.”

The mans eyes narrowed as he looked between your brother and you.

“Bring them.” He commanded to his men behind you as he urged his horse to trot towards you. He swung down from his saddle and unclasped his cloak.

“May I?” He asked, tentatively stepping forward. You nodded and stood slowly from your rock, still holding your chest. The man draped his cloak over your arms and you pulled it tightly around you, making sure the man noticed the ring you still had on your finger. You looked up as the man removed his helmet to reveal a strong, handsome face beneath.

“I am Éomer. Will you ride with me back to the city?”

You nodded, offering him your hand to help you up.

--------------------------

Sometime later you found yourself sitting on a stool while a woman brushed out your hair. You had been given a real bath for the first time in your life, given a dress made out of linen and not leather. You barely even recognized the woman in the candlelit reflection on the polished plate you had been delivered the best food of your life on.

“Forgive me, but I had thought Lond Daer was long abandoned.” The woman brushing your hair said. Eowyn she said her name was early.

“It was. The ancestors of my people left. They travelled south and settled in Gondor. Some went to Bree. Yet some still remained. My family has been sheltered north of Lond Daer, in the greyhavens, hoping one day to return to our ancestral home.” You tried to explain, hoping your lie didn’t sound too rehearsed.

When you arrived the man Eomer had taken your ring and your brother to deliver news of Saruman and the Dunlending attack to the king of this place. Scouts had been sent to confirm your story and as for your ancestry, no one here seemed to question it. The ring seemed proof enough. You had been whisked away to be cared for by this women whom you first though was Eomers wife, tho had since learned was actually his sister.

She brushed your hair while you told her of the lands west of Rohan. Tho your story was a lie, you had been to enough of the places to describe them accurately. You were just telling her of the sunsets seen from the shores of the great sea when a commotion outside the door caused you both to jump. You stood as Eomer stepped into the room.

“Eomer? What is happening?” Eowyn asked. The man was fuming, and clenched his jaw as he spoke.

“Grima has poisoned the mind of our uncle. He has signed a banishment order on me.”

“What!?”

“Eowyn listen, there is no time. I will take my men and ride out to seek allies. I will return with an army if needed. But if this invasion of the Dunlendings is true than you are the only hope of leading our people to safety. Stay.” He said, stepping forward to push a kiss to his sisters forehead. “And you.”

He stepped toward you and caught your wrist.

“I don’t know who you are, but I know a warrior when I see one. Protect my sister and I shall ensure you live out your days in all the comforts this hall has to offer.” His grip on your wrist was tight but as he looked at you, you saw the pleading of a kind man. “Please?” He asked.

“I will.” You said suddenly, shocking even yourself. It was as if an unearthly force had taken hold of you. Something about him, and her made you feel as tho your destiny WAS here. With these strangers. And so you agreed to protect a woman you had met not only a few hours previously.

Eomer nodded at you, pulled his sister into a hug, and left as quickly as he had come.

-----------------

And protect Eowyn you did. Your own brother disappeared. You would later learn he made off with whatever he could carry during the confusion of Eomers banishment. Alone, in a foreign land during war time…Staying with Eowyn was the best option you had.

You grew close in the next weeks, close enough for you to confess your lies, and close enough for her to forgive them. You sat with her as she grieved for Theodred. When Eomer returned with the other wizard, man, elf, and dwarf to cleanse the king of Sarumans possession, she told them all you were her handmaiden. Eomer accepted this.

You walked beside her as she led her people to helms deep. You stood over her as the women and children hid in the caves, bow and arrow trained at the entrance, ready to fire if anything should make it through. You stole armor from the armory for her and yourself. You rode next to her during the battle for Minas Tirith. When she fell, you took an arrow meant for her, diving in front of her. With your last bit of conscious strength you threw her your sword as she faced down the witch king.

When you awoke sometime later, you sat with Eomer at her bedside. The two of you spent many long hours talking. Feelings between you both arose and when you confessed your true identity he simply told you that any woman who saved his sister could be whoever she wanted to be.

“Who do you want to be?” He asked.

“Y/N…I just want to be y/n.”

“Then just y/n you shall be.” He said, drawing your hands up into his.

--------------------

When Eomer was crowned king of Rohan, he wasted little time in naming you queen. When you told him you were worried because of your low birth status he teased.

“But my love, you are of the high house of Lond Daer.”

And on your wedding day he presented you with a ring, that ring he had taken from you so long ago. That night as you lay bundled in his arms, in the soft bed you had always wanted, in a home that was definitely not a tent, you spun that ring around your finger.

“How did you know?” You asked.

“Know what?”

“That I was lying, all that while ago. Everyone else believed it.”

He rolled and propped him self above you on his elbows, taking one of your hands up to his lips, pressing a kiss against your knuckles.

“When I wrapped you in my cloak, and you gave me your hand. I saw the callouses of an archer. Your body bore the scars of someone who had to fight most of their life to stay alive. You were not a woman of high birth.”

“Then why did you help us?”