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Elijah woke up on the wrong fucking side of the bed. It was 9:30, later than he had wanted to sleep – sleeping too late always made him feel groggy. He had nothing planned for the day, which was why he hadn't set the alarm, and that made him feel rootless and irritable.

Worst of all, he woke up alone.

He rolled to the other side of the bed and sniffed the pillow. Sean's indescribable, unmistakable scent clung there, deepening his rotten mood. They had argued last night and Lijah's heart was heavy with that peculiar leaden gloom that only an argument with Sean could produce.

What the fuck had they argued about anyway? Well, what the fuck else? Lij tried, he really really tried not to complain, but he was not any happier with the situation than Sean was. Sean was determined, was committed to staying in Chris's home until Elizabeth was . . . was what? It varied. Sleeping through the night. Not needing the 3AM feeding. Or, Elijah's personal favorite: "Well-established". Now just what the flying fuck did that mean? Graduated from college?

He was being totally unfair and he knew it and it made him feel worse. One of the countless things he adored about Sean was his devotion; his determination to do right by those he loved. His devotion to his daughters was something Elijah would never never never interfere with, question, resent. . . .

But… what about ME? Alone in his bed, Lij gave in to the temptation to wallow in whining. I love those girls too! In the 3 weeks since Lizzy's birth Elijah had seen her ONCE: Sean brought her by for an hour last week. And Lij hadn't seen Alexandra for weeks. He missed her! He couldn't see them more. Since Sean had talked with Chris about 'the Elijah Situation' (is that like 'the Bourne Identity'? thought Lij sourly), there was an unspoken agreement that Elijah would not go to their house. Chris was being amazing, she was making incredibly few demands and almost no complaints, but . . . . well, to tell the truth, Elijah would have preferred a weekend holiday in Barad Dur to visiting there anyway.

He rolled out of his (empty, lonely) bed and showered quickly. In the kitchen he made coffee and peered into the refrigerator. Various odds and ends of stuff were in there but he hadn't even a clue as to how they might be metamorphosed into anything resembling a meal. He finally found a poptart, and sat disconsolately at the kitchen table, glaring across the beautiful deck to the glorious beach.

SHIT. This would never do. Elijah grabbed the phone. A nice hobbit day at the beach, just the ticket. But Billy and Dom's phone rang on and on. Orli's answering machine had a really obnoxious computer-generated voice inviting him to leave a message. "Blow me," Lijah told it pleasantly and banged down the phone.

He dropped his head in his hands and pulled at his hair. He HATED feeling this way. He knew perfectly well that he was being absolutely unreasonable, but he just couldn't shake this rotten pissy mood. Tears welled up and he let them roll down his cheeks. Maybe a good cry would help.

The scrape of the front door and a clatter of rapid footsteps brought him to his feet, startled. Then a small projectile was launched at his chest, screaming "Uncle Lijah!" With an answering scream of delight, Lij scooped up Alexandra and swung her around and around.

"Ally! Oh I've missed you so! I haven't had a good bite of little girl in MUCH too long!" he growled, snuffling in the child's throat and making her shriek. Elijah dropped to the floor and set Alexandra in front of him. "Ally, how do you do it? You're even prettier than before!"

"Guess what! I'm going to stay ALL NIGHT with you, and Daddy TOO!" cried Ally, bouncing in excitement.

Lijah's eyes went wide and snapped to Sean's, which were brimming with fun. "What's this?" he gasped.

"Ally's been feeling a little put-upon lately," Sean explained. "It's not easy playing second fiddle to Sissy, is it punkin?" with a ruffle of Alexandra's hair. "And Lizzy was perfectly beastly last night, which means she'll sleep the next 24 hours, so Chris suggested I give Alexandra a little treat."

"CHRIS suggested?" Elijah said incredulously.

"Well, Chris suggested that Ally and I do something together, so I asked Ally what she wanted to do most. And she said. . . what did you say honey?" he prompted the little girl.

"I wanted to see Uncle Lijah!" said Alexandra. "You NEVER come to see me anymore, so I'm coming to see YOU!"

"So," continued Sean, "Chris and I sort of looked at each other, and I took a deep breath and said 'hey, Ally, you want to stay all night, like at Grandma's?'. And here we are." He finished triumphantly.

Then his smile faded as he got a good look at Elijah. His hand came up, brushing a tear stained cheek. "Honey? Are you alright? Would you rather we didn't. . ."

"JESUS! No, no no!" gasped Elijah. "No, I'm fine! I'm just fine. Just… being a brat. Feeling sorry for myself." His lips twitched and he turned to pout at Alexandra. "I didn't have anyone to play with," he mourned.

Sean grinned and beckoned Ally. "Listen, honey," he said in a deafening whisper, "Uncle Lij is feeling cranky today. And you know what THAT means, don't you?" He looked at Ally and the two nodded at each other. . . then, perfectly timed, lover and daughter pounced on Elijah, tickling and giggling, bearing him shrieking to the floor.

Gently he tugged at Sean. "C'mon, baby," he whispered. "Let's put US to bed now."

Grumbling like a bear disturbed in midwinter, Sean levered himself out of the chair and stumbled toward the bedroom, arm draped heavily around Elijah. Lij stripped off Sean's clothes quickly, ignored Sean's growl when he let them drop heedlessly to the floor, skinned off his own jeans and t-shirt and slid under the covers beside Sean. Sean's arms came around him, heavenly warm and comforting and loving and ogod he had missed this, and they both dropped seamlessly off the edge of consciousness.

"What's the matter sweetheart?" Elijah whispered.

"Had a bad dream," said Ally softly. Tears trembled behind the small voice, and it was the most natural thing in the world for Lij to hold out his arms, and the little girl ran into them and burrowed into them gratefully.

"Tell me about it," Elijah invited softly, and listened respectfully to a totally incoherent account involving a friend from Ally's preschool, sad-faced clowns, and (possibly) an oliphant.

"I'm afraid they'll get me," Alexandra confided.

Lij wasn't at all clear who 'they' were, but that didn't seem the most important thing right now. "Well, they won't, and do you know why?" he said. Ally's head shook against his chest and he smiled. "Because they're escared of hobbits, that's why," he explained.

Alexandra's head came up, eyes wide and trusting. "Really? Are they really?" she asked.

Elijah nodded solemnly. "Totally escared of hobbits. And you know I'm a hobbit, and Daddy's a hobbit. . . "

"And I'm a hobbit too!" said Ally in delight. "I'm the 'Lanor hobbit!"

"Right you are," said Elijah, "so we've got 'em coming and going here." He tucked the small fragrant bundle of child into his arms. "So you just stay right here, baby, and no one can get you. Ever."

On the pillow were two heads: one with tangled auburn curls, the other with unruly dark spikes. The smaller head was tucked under Lijah's chin, thumb in mouth, and both faces were soft, drowned in sleep.

The ache in Sean's throat was almost as great as the incredible rush of joy in his heart. Softly he took the two warm limp forms into his arms and closed his eyes in gratitude.