Fate

By Donna and Abby

Over a week had passed since the night of the Winter Solstice. Boromir had shown no sign of wanting to leave Gideon's cottage. He spent most of the time following Shannon around, flirting with her shamelessly, much to her amusement. 

Andrew watched all of this from a distance, not really sure he liked what he was seeing. One day, while Shannon and her new friend had gone to meet some more of her fae relatives, Andrew went to town to talk to his own friends, Tess and Monica.  

Monica was happy, as usual, and did not understand Andrew's puzzled expression.  But Tess understood, and clucked her tongue at him with annoyance. 

"Andy, sometimes I worry about you," she fussed. "It's as plain as the nose on your face that you like the girl! If you continue to sit on your cute little butt and do nothing, you are going to lose her!" 

Andrew looked offended, and sputtered something about impossible relationships, making Tess shake her head in disgust.  

"That human may not have taken much notice of women in his world," she said, "but he's no babe in the woods.  Now that he's put his mind to it, he means to breed some heirs!" 

Andrew sighed. "At least he can give her children," he whispered, turning to walk away. As he walked past the hotel, he met Gideon coming out of it and offered to ride home with him.  

Gideon of course agreed, though he was somewhat oblivious to his friend's dark mood.  At least, his own smile never wavered. 

They picked up their horses at the livery, and then rode out of Edan towards Katherine's farm where they would leave them. Glen was there, helping Trapper Connor, who was staying at the place until Kat and the other returned from Camelot, do some of the chores around the farm. "Hello!" the boy called out, waving with one hand as he carried a feed bucket with the other.  

The two men had just said hello back, when Andrew realized this would mean Shannon was in the cottage *alone* with Boromir! 

"Where is your mother?" he asked Glenn. The boy just shrugged, and told him she and Uncle Borry had gone for a walk.  

Andrew hesitated for a moment, and then turned to Gideon. "Will you stay here with Glenn?" he asked his friend. 

"Yes, Andrew, I will," Gideon said with a bright smile. "Are you going to go kiss Shannon now? She has been wanting you to do so for a long time now."  

Andrew was surprised at the suggestion.  Glenn giggled at it, and waggled his eyebrows at his guardian, as if teasing him.  The angel walked away, pondering this. Did she want him to kiss her?  Gideon was rarely wrong about such things.  But Boromir was such a well raised man - with all the airs and graces of a noble upbringing!  He might have been as old as the ages, but in this he was inexperienced. 

He walked to the cottage, and to his surprise, found Boromir sitting there with Ivy and a couple other of the fae sisters. "Where is Shannon?" he asked.  

Ivy giggled and told Andrew that she had gone to bathe in the river, and had told them to keep Boromir *occupied* while she was gone.  

"She seemed uneasy," he said. "I wonder if I made her thus?  She certainly seemed to be torn . . . I plan to leave tonight, Andrew. Ivy has told me of a castle not far from here.  I will go there hence.  I will be of more use there, I know." 

"It is a wonderful place," Andrew told Boromir. "Let me go find Shannon, and talk with her." Inside, Andrew had a sinking feeling. What if Shannon was going to go with him?  

But she never even contemplated such a thing. She was part of the River.  If anything, Boromir was leaving because of her attachment to it.  And Andrew. 

The sun had set by the time Andrew found her, the light of the full moon illuminating her lovely form as she swam in her beloved river. It was helping to calm her, to somehow soothe the raging emotions that were flowing through her. 

"Shannon?" Andrew called out softly.  

She turned quickly, as if afraid of the sound of his voice, but then seemed to relax when she saw who it was. "Andrew," she said, coming out of the water. 

Her angel friend was glowing softly as he watched her. "You are so beautiful," he whispered, holding out his arms in welcome.  

"Then it was not a dream?" she asked.  "What we shared, bringing Boromir back . . . you felt it, too?" 

"Yes," he said as she moved into his arms. "I did."  

The minute they came together, both felt something else.  It was like they were meant to be together.  Was it something about the full moon? Or was it just that they were meant to be? 

The light from above seemed to rival the inner light emanating from Andrew. "Gideon said you have been wanting me to kiss you for a long time," he said with a soft smile as he tipped her chin upwards. "Is that true?"  

"I've thought about it," she said honestly.  "But I did not think you able, until the other night.  Then I had hope. But I was confused." 

"I can kiss you," he admitted, his eyes sparkling. "But I am not human. This body that I am wearing is not what I am. I can make love to you, but it will be nothing like you could ever experience with a man like Boromir. I can not give you a child, like Gideon gave you, but in our joining, something beautiful may come about of it, the Good Lord willing."  

"I know nothing of your Lord," she admitted, "but I am willing to join with you." 

"To join with me is to know Him as I know Him. For you will be a part of me from this time on." His body, even though firm under her hands, seemed to shimmer and expand as his presence started to flow over her. "Tell me you want this as much as I do."  

"I do," she said fervently.  "Just tell me what to do!" 

"Come dance with me. For sweet Edan's sake," he laughed as a whirlwind of light surrounded them both, lifting them up from the ground and into the sky. Andrew now had a glorious pair of wings, and as they rose into the night sky, they wrapped around them both.  

Unlike most of her sisters, Shannon rarely flew. So the feeling was exhilarating!  And being with him was the most exciting thing of all! 

Andrew was right. Their joining transcended physical intimacy as she knew it. As they danced amongst the moonbeams high above the trees, she was joined completely to him, body and spirit, and their union lit up the sky more brightly than any fireworks ever could. 

When they came down, she was exhausted, but in a good way, much the same as she would have been if they had had sex.  So he held her in his arms and they after glowed, quite literally! 

"Shannon," he whispered as he tenderly kissed her head. "Look!" Next to them, a column of light was started to spiral. As they watched the lights started to join together, forming the faint outline of a small body.  

Shannon gasped as the outline continued to form. It seemed to her to be a small bird, but with human features, as well.  This was not uncommon of her kind, of course, but she was not an aviary fae, so it startled her. 

A dove like creature appeared from the light and flew into Shannon's arms, where it changed into that of a small child, her chubby arms encircling her mother's neck, a bright smile on her almost elfin features.  

"I thought you said you could not give me a child." 

He laughed. "I couldn't. The Father of Lights did. A gift to us both to show us that He approves of our union. Unlike Glenn, who is almost totally fae, she is mostly of my kind. At least at first. Now I do believe she looks just like her mother,” he said as he ran his fingers through the child’s wavy red hair. “You are both so beautiful!”  

"Then we should call her Angel?" 

"Yes," he said, kissing them both. 

And so, the population of Edan was again added to, to the sum of one.