Chapter 105

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Two days later, Lea and Sméagol left for Ireland. This was the very first time Sméagol had ever flown in an airplane, but he really enjoyed it. Lea, on the other hand, was a little nervous, but Sméagol held her hand whenever she needed him to calm her down. He was also very helpful when they were going through airport security and customs. He knew exactly what to do, thanks to Bri, Damian, and Aini.

When they finally arrived in Dublin, they took a cab to their hotel. The cab driver was very friendly and welcoming. He told Sméagol some great stories, and explained some interesting traditions to him.

When they arrived at the hotel, Sméagol helped Lea unpack her belongings, and then, unpacked his. Then, theye both showered and changed into clean clothes before leaving the hotel room to explore Dublin.

They walked around Grafton Street, and Sméagol was absolutely enthralled by the amazing buskers—Irish dancers, harpists, fiddlers, acrobats, singers, and bands. He couldn't help but dance and sing along with the music, which made Lea laugh and smile. They walked around St. Stephen's Green, a nearby park, admiring the beauty of Irish nature and history. Then, they stopped at a fast food restaurant to pick up some lunch, and took it back to the park for a nice, romantic picnic.

Throughout their trip, they visited many beautiful places in Dublin—the different pubs and shops in Temple Bar and on Grafton Street, Dublin Castle, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Lea found herself getting very emotional again as she and Sméagol explored the church, and so did he.

They also ate at restaurants and pubs, such as the Hairy Lemon, Harry's, and Alfie's, and sometimes picked up lunch at a pie shop. Sméagol found he really loved cornish pasties.

One of the highlights of their trip was going to the Brazen Head for dinner, Irish folklore, and beautiful music. Lea remembered each story being told from the last two times she visited, but still enjoyed them as if they were brand new to her. Sméagol and Gollum, who hadn't heard any of the stories before, laughed and cried through it all. Many of the traditional Irish songs moved him to tears, especially "Molly Malone."

One night, Lea and Sméagol were lying in bed together with the window open, allowing a nice, cool breeze in, along with the joyful sounds of Dubliners and tourests laughing and having fun. Sméagol wore his bunny onesie. Lea wore her sweater nightdress, and the two of them were snuggled up under both of Lea's sweater blankets.

Sméagol caressed Lea's head, playing with the short hair that was growing back. "Precious..." he whispered softly. "Is it having fun?"

"Yeah," Lea replied, "a lot of fun. What about you?"

"We're having a wonderful time."

"Oh, yes," Gollum agreed, "we loves Ireland."

"Can I ask you something?" said Lea.

"Of course, my love," Gollum said sweetly. "Ask us."

"I only told you about some of my dreams. I didn't tell you that one of them was to marry you, or that I always wanted to sing with Celtic Woman. So, how did you know?"

"They were our dreams, too, Precious," Sméagol replied. "We knows how much you loves Celtic Woman, and you sings just like them. We wanted to see you sing with them. And..." He pulled her closer, and kissed her softly. "We wanted to marry you, too. My precious, we falls in love with you the first day we meets you."

"Your beautiful voice," said Gollum, "your kind heart, how you accepts us, even after finding out everything we did, and how you stayed by our side through all our struggles. Even after I shouted at you over the stupid ring, you still forgave."

"Totally," said Lea. "I was never mad at you. I was just really worried that... if you found the ring, I would never see you again, or that it would end our relationship."

Gollum caressed Lea's head. "Oh, my love, nothing will ever, ever come between us. We loves you more than you will ever knows, and I will never, ever hurt you like that again. The look on your face when we walked out... it broke our heart... and knowing how much it hurt you is what stopped us. So, we went to Aini's house instead."

"You proved you're much stronger than the ring when you destroyed it."

"No," said Sméagol. "Our love for you is much stronger, not us."

"Yes, you are."

Sméagol grinned. "If it says so," he teased.

Lea laughed. "So... marrying me was your dream?"

"Yes, Precious," said Gollum, "from the moment we first heard you sing, we knew we wanted to spend the rest of our life with this beautiful angel." He kissed her cheek.

"You know... I didn't realize it at the time," said Lea, "or maybe I did, but... I was too preoccupied with the Ivan drama. But... I fell for you when I first heard you sing, too, and then, when you came over to comfort me, I felt something no guy had ever made me feel before. I felt like everything was gonna be okay, like I was being held by an angel. As long as you were holding me, I was gonna be okay... and I was right. Thing is, though, I didn't think I was good enough for you, and I was still in love with the idea of being in love with Ivan. In other words, I couldn't let him go, because... he never used to be that way, so... I was holding onto the hope that the old Ivan would come back. But, there I was, in the presence of this incredibly loving and sweet and caring man whose first encounter with me was a major emotional breakdown, and he didn't judge me. Instead, he held me, and told me that everything would be okay, and that he accepted me. Even the old Ivan never did anything like that, but the belief that I wasn't good enough was ingrained in my head, not just from Ivan, but from so many others. But, you showed me that I am good enough, and that I do deserve love. You were, still are, and always will be, my angel."

"And, you are ours, Precious," said Sméagol. "You saved our life."

"You saved mine, too." Lea kissed him. "I love you so much."

"We loves you, too, Baby."

"Very, very much, our sweetest Lea," added Gollum.

"Will you please sing to me?" asked Lea.

"Awww, of course, we will, Baby," Sméagol said sweetly. "We sing you a special song we heard Sam and Frodo singing once."

"So beautiful it was," said Gollum. "So deeply it touches us."

Lea smiled. "I can't wait to hear it."

Sméagol held Lea close, as always, with his arms, legs, and bunny tail wrapped around her, and gently caressed her body as he began to sing a beautiful song, "Now and for Always." Gollum also sang some parts, and he sang so beautifully. Eventually, even Lea joined in singing the chorus with him, which made it an even more special moment for them.

When the song was over, Sméagol kissed Lea one more time. "Our precious," he whispered sweetly, "we loves you so, so much."

"You are the true Precious," added Gollum, "and we will always love you."

Lea smiled as she drifted off to sleep in his warm embrace. He stayed awake for a few more minutes, watching his love sleep so peacefully. "Awwww, so precious you are." He gently caressed her body as he, too, drifted off to sleep.

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The song Sméagol sings at the end is from The Lord of the Rings Musical. Check it out below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odazGzmf_7w

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