I realized the other day that sometimes people take fanfiction and keeping to the story wayyy too seriously... myself included. So, I decided to take a break from all that worrying about how my writing fits in with the original stories - not like it's gonna get published anyway, after all - and just go ahead and write whatever the hell I want, thanks very much. So then, I was listening to "Broken" and... I got inspiration. At first, it was for a me/Jack one-shot, but then I abruptly changed my mind. It's nice to do something for a friend every now and then... and I do love writing about Aragorn... so this is what I ended up with. If you really truly need an explanation for the lack of Arwen-ness, just accept it that this is an alternate universe from LotR, kay? Oh yeah, and the characters Robin and Jack (mentioned somewhere in the story below) are me (Robin) and Jack Sparrow from PotC... if you know my writing, you'll understand. If you don't... sorry, mate. Anyway, read, review, and hopefully enjoy. :)

This songfic, by the way, is dedicated to my bestest friend in the world... Angela teh Punk Hippie Platypus. Love ya, mate! XD

Disclaimer: Erindi belongs to Angela teh Punk Hippie Platypus. Robin belongs to ME. Jack also belongs... (catches evil glares from Gore Verbinski and Jerry Bruckheimer)... to Disney. And Aragorn, Helm's Deep, and practically all else besides belongs to our hero, JRR Tolkien.

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Erindi sat on the top of the outer wall of Helm’s Deep, the remnants of the winds carrying the coming storm running through her sun-streaked hair. People passed by behind her, back and forth across the battlements, keeping themselves busy with supplies, children, or simply taking walks around the fortress, but none stopped to speak to her. They knew all too well the reason behind the sadness in her eyes and her lack of attention to her precarious position. By now, they had all heard about the loss of Aragorn.

Her legs dangled dangerously over the side of the impossibly high wall, and the distance stretching down below her was fatal, but she didn’t seem to care. Her hazel eyes shone with countless unshed tears, and were staring blankly into the distance as she thought of him, of all the times they’d shared… and all the times they’d never get the chance to share. Though he had always been rather grim and serious, the thing she remembered most about him was his smile, the sparkle he sometimes got in his eyes, and the way he laughed, when the rare occasion arose that he permitted himself to be amused. She wished she could hear that laugh and see that smile again, even if just for a fleeting moment. But it was too late, she knew. He was gone… and this time, her hero was not coming back to her.

I wanted you to know, I love the way you laugh
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away…

She closed her eyes; the memories of him in her heart were more real to her at the moment than anything else surrounding her in the rest of the world. More than anything, she wanted to hold onto them, keep them for her own and in her heart, always. It hurt, but she didn’t ever want to forget him. They say you never know how much something means to you until you lose it. Erindi knew now just how true it was. She had known before she cared for him, though she’d tried over and over again to tell herself it wasn’t so, but now that he was gone, she realized she hadn’t just cared for him… she’d loved him. She still loved him… and it hurt her worse than any blade or arrow ever could. She watched the memories of him flit across the backs of her eyelids like a slideshow, quick as lightning but as clear as photographs.

I keep your photograph; I know it serves me well
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain…

One of the things she’d always loved about him was how strong he was – not physically, but emotionally. He’d put up with more in a few years than she had in a lifetime, and he still hadn’t shown a hint of giving up. He’d faced danger after danger, hardship after hardship, and endured more pain and injury than she cared to imagine – but he had always kept on going, kept on trying, even if he no longer had hope for himself. He was the bravest man she’d ever known, and she wished she’d had just a speck of his courage. She sure as hell needed it now.

‘Cause I’m broken when I’m open,
And I don’t feel like I am strong enough…

But, whatever he or anyone else had ever told her, she had never felt brave. She did what Gandalf asked of her without complaint, and she always tried her best, but somehow it had never seemed good enough. She always felt like she was useless, like the others would be better off without her. Even when Aragorn had told her he was glad she had come, even when he said she was just as much help as the others – more, even – she hadn’t quite been able to believe him. And now that he was gone, it was worse. His death had left her feeling completely alone, and she could feel her heart breaking inside as she contemplated living life without him, knowing she would never hear his voice again or feel his hand on hers. She opened her eyes again to stare ahead of her, though her vision was blurred by the hot tears running down her face.

‘Cause I’m broken when I’m lonesome,
And I don’t feel right when you’re gone away…

However, as the pale red light of dawn swept over the lands, it lit upon the forms of a horse and his rider trudging across the rocky landscape of Rohan, towards the tall grey fortress of Helm’s Deep. The horse’s name was Brego, and his rider – against all odds and beyond all beliefs – was none other than Aragorn himself, alive and breathing – if only just so. After he had fallen during the battle on the plains, he had drifted down the waters of the Anduin until he had finally come to rest on the sandy shores and had been rescued by the loyal Brego. Aragorn would never be able to thank that horse enough for what he’d done for him. When his loyal steed had shaken him from his dreamless slumber and he’d breathed his first real gulps of air since the fall over the cliff, his first thoughts had been that he had to get back to the others, back to his friends… back to Erindi. Despite all the other thoughts that were crowding in now on his mind – not the least of which being the company of Uruk-Hai he had passed not long ago – she was still foremost in his mind, just as she had always been, even from the moment he met her. He wished for her now; she comforted him, and gave him hope, as no one else ever had. Most of the strength he was getting by on now had come from her; she gave him strength when he felt weak, and courage when he felt fear. He could only hope she was all right and waiting for him at the fortress.

The worst is over now, and we can breathe again
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away…

The weight of the dark news he bore and what he knew was to come bore down on him heavily, but he kept going anyway, pushing himself to and beyond his physical limits. Though he had never seen himself as a hero, and probably never would, he knew that the others needed him, and he needed to warn them before the Uruk-Hai arrived. There was much left to do before they could end this war – if they could end this war – but at the moment he didn’t care. He kept his focus on simply returning to those he fought for, those he loved. Most of all, he concentrated on not giving up… for the sake of the one he loved the most. Erindi.

There’s so much left to learn, and no one left to fight
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain…

He felt the guilt rise like bile in his throat, choking him and threatening to suffocate him as he thought of her now, no doubt having heard that he was dead. He had seen it in her eyes how much she’d cared for him, how much she’d loved him… seen it, and done nothing. Now, he could see her in his mind, sitting alone on the battlements like an angel over a battlefield, mourning his death, not knowing that he was coming back to her even at that very moment. He had always been so afraid to tell her, so afraid to admit that he loved her. He knew war was neither the time nor place for the beautiful promises of love, and he feared giving her false hope. But now, as he pictured the look in her eyes the last time she’d seen him, he knew he’d done her a great wrong to stay silent. He vowed now that when he got back – if he got back in time – he would tell her, and to hell with the cost. A brief moment of pure love and happiness were more than worth it in times like these. He only hoped he had not learned this important lesson too late.

‘Cause I’m broken when I’m open,
And I don’t feel like I am strong enough…

Whispering yet another apology to Brego, he urged the horse on to a faster pace, and thanked him profusely as he grudgingly obliged. He was afraid, and he knew he had little enough time as it was to get back and warn Theoden and the others about the approaching army. His heart lurched as he imagined his friends, his loved ones, being taken by surprise by the horrifying Uruk-Hai, without having had the time to properly prepare themselves for battle. On top of it all, they were outnumbered vastly, and one Uruk-Hai was far stronger than one man. Without a warning, they didn’t stand a chance.

‘Cause I’m broken when I’m lonesome,
And I don’t feel right when you’re gone away…

Together, horse and rider crossed over the tallest of the hills on the plain… and when they reached the top, they found a more than welcome sight spread out below them: there, at last, lay the stone-gray walls of Helm’s Deep. Smiling a little and patting Brego’s neck gratefully, Aragorn rode down the hill and on to the gates, and nodded to the utterly shocked and overjoyed guards as they parted the doors to allow him inside. Once beyond the gate, he quickly (as quickly, that is, as his numerous injuries would allow) took Brego to the stables, and made sure he was in the good hands of a trusted stable-boy before going off in search of Erindi.

Along the way, he met with Eowyn, Legolas, Robin, and Jack, and to each he gave his full attention and affection as they embraced him, overjoyed with his unforeseen return from (as they saw it) the dead. But at length, he ended each encounter, smiling wearily and apologizing, saying he had to go to Theoden now and would see them again later. It was all true, of course; he would never lie to them. But he had left out one important fact – it was not to Theoden that he was going first. Before he delivered his news, important though it was, there was someone else he had to see… and a matter just as important to settle with her. It was not long before he found her, sitting on the wall just as beautiful and sad as he’d imagined her, and he paused a moment as he watched her there, feeling a mixture of love, guilt, pain, and joy course through his soul as he prepared himself to speak to her, to tell her the words he’d been longing to say for what seemed like an eternity. He only hoped he would be strong enough now to go through with it, and not leave her heart in the dark any longer.

‘Cause I’m broken when I’m open,
And I don’t feel like I am strong enough…

Erindi’s tears had finally dried when a voice behind her whispered her name, and it was all she could do not to cry again when she heard it. It was the voice she had been longing for all through the long, lonely night, and it hurt her to think that it was only a figment of her imagination, the remnants of a strong memory… and nothing more. She would not turn around to face it, for she feared above all else that, when she did, there would be no one there. The disappointment, she knew, would kill her.

But then she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she felt a chill go up her spine as the sensation registered with her mind. She was afraid, so afraid that it was all just in her mind… but it felt so real. Steeling herself against what she believed was going to be a fatal wound, she turned… and found herself staring into a pair of cloudy gray eyes. His eyes.

With a cry, she turned to face him and slid off the wall and into his arms, throwing her arms around him and hugging him for dear life. Though the pressure caused his bruised and broken ribs to crack and ache, he hugged her to him, deciding it was worth it to trade his comfort for hers. And then, caught in the moment, Erindi looked up at him, and Aragorn looked down at her… and they kissed.

‘Cause I’m broken when I’m lonesome…

A moment came and went, and then another, and then at last the two lovers pulled away, embarrassed and surprised at themselves. “I’m sorry,” Erindi whispered at length, horrified to have let so much of her feelings show, but Aragorn was already shaking his head.

“Don’t be sorry,” he murmured, touching her cheek in a tender, loving way that nearly brought the tears back to her eyes. “Don’t ever be sorry. Erindi, I…” He paused, and for a moment considered keeping his secret after all. But one long look into her eyes, and he saw it there again: the love he felt for her reflecting in her eyes with all the passion, all the need he felt in his own heart. In that one look, she gave him his courage back, and he cleared his throat, and did not falter again. “I love you,” he said.

For a long, terrible moment that seemed to stretch into eternity for Aragorn, Erindi said nothing. It was not, however, hesitation out of pity or awkwardness, as Aragorn feared it to be. It was silent shock, for she had never in a million years believed that he could ever love her. For a moment, she even doubted him, thought he was lying. Perhaps he’d seen through her after all, and was telling her this so she would have some hope for the future – he had always been the self-sacrificing type. Maybe he was willing to give up his freedom for the chance to give her courage, strength to go on.

But then, just as she was opening her mouth to voice her thoughts, she realized something that would change her mind altogether. This was not just anyone; this was Aragorn. And Aragorn, whatever else he might be capable of, never ever lied to his friends. Though she had lack of faith in herself, she was not blind enough to not understand that he counted her among his close friends. Yes, he was the self-sacrificing type, but he was also the honest type. And, looking up into his eyes once more, she knew at last that he was telling the truth. “I love you, too,” she whispered back, and for the first time in a long time, they both smiled – really smiled. Thanking fate and the stars above, Aragorn swept her off her feet and kissed her once more, with all the passion of a hero in love, and they cared not for the taunts of others as they embraced in the middle of Helm’s Deep. Whatever else might happen, whatever fate might have in store for them, they knew this much at least: they had each other now, and that was something worth fighting for.

And I don’t feel right when you’re gone away…