DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.

Thranduil's POV

The stars rose in the evening sky. Its colors a beautiful marriage of orange and pink, slowly being devoured by the looming darkness of night. The moon showed itself proudly, claiming its territory as the sun's setting marked the last of yet another day. Two days had passed since Legolas lead the raid to the western border of my kingdom, which would one day be his. For two days, I carried this heavy weight in my heart, though its source remained hidden. Call it a father's intuition, but ever since the captain had come to the great hall bearing ill news, I felt a pit of worry grow in my belly. It was as if I knew nothing good would come of this excursion.

Yet when Legolas pleaded with me to put aside my fear, I did without question. How could I deny him anything? He is my son, the one thing that had kept me from fading after the horrid loss of my mate. Even now I could remember her beautiful face, one that Legolas at times so resembled. His inquisitive expression, so identical to hers, that it caused me wrenching pain for many a year before I had learned to come to terms with her passing. Now for some unknown reason, I felt the same boding fear as when I watched my wife leave the palace gates for the last time.

I sat down on my chaise in my royal chambers reminiscing on the day I found out we were expecting our own elfling. She had been feeling strange for some days and I, being the serious one in our relationship, immediately assumed the worst, that some evil power had begun to take her. After insisting she be visited by the best healer in all of the Greenwood, we sat on this very same chaise, with joy overflowing our hearts.

"Thranduil," she whispered in my ear, "there was no need to call for the healer, you know."

I still remember how I gaped at her like some foolish peasant after she told me sporting a proud grin on her regal face, "I've known for a week already, meleth nin (my love)."

The little vixen had been torturing me on purpose! I smiled at the memory, thinking of where Legolas had inherited his mirth. It was definitely not from me. No, my son was a spitting image of myself, the same flaxen hair, ice blue eyes and strong presence. And still as times, I could not help knowing how much of his mother I saw in him. His smile, his laugh, his curious expression, all of them gifted to him by her, but most importantly his gentle heart. My son could be fiercely proud and the most lethal of opponents on the battle field, skilled in both blades and a bow, but his soul was kind an affectionate. I knew he would make some elleth very happy one day.

I was ripped from my reverie by the light rapping on the outer door of my chambers. I rose to my full height, preparing to receive any news with regal dignity, "Enter."

In came the very same captain who had dragged my son from his royal seat. His face wore an expression of grim sadness. All at once I felt my stomach drop.

"Hir vuin, we have eliminated the nest, down to its very source. All of the creatures are dead."

"Very good, Captain Brannon, agroreg vae (You've done well). However I had hoped to receive this news from my son. Where is Prince Legolas?"

As I feared, I watched the captain's face fall, his head bowing in defeat, "Goheno nin(Forgive me), My King, I must express my guilt in this travesty. The Prince had been defending me from many beasts before his topple down the hills. He was taken unawares by one of our foes, he is lost. We have searched everywhere but there is no sign of him. We found only one of his knives. It was embedded in the body of the his last kill."

With his head still bowed, the captain kneeled before me as he held out the last thing my son had probably touched before his strange disappearance. I took it, gripping the blade, embracing its bite to fight the grief from overtaking me,

Cora's POV

For being the end of November, I couldn't believe was a beautiful day it was. With the warm winter sun high in the sky and not a single cloud in sight, I could not sit in the house for a second longer. Funny how my husband use to badger me about getting out more instead of just spending my days wrapped up in my books. If only he could see me now, marking 3 months of my 'a walk every day' regiment, and not only that but jogging of all things! I stopped for a brief moment to admire the Tyrrhenian sea, its calm waves soothing any grief that memories of my lost loved one brought on, wondering why I am still here. I had no ties to Italy anymore, not that I had any back home either. I was startled from my reverie by a small gurgling sound and thought, 'Oh wait…there's my tie to this place.'

I looked down upon the smiling face of my one and a half year old son, his blue eyes and unruly red hair enamoring me more every day. My lips quirked into a one-sided smile as I was reminded of how similarly he resembled my husband, the father he never had the chance to meet and never would. Before I could allow the tears to start welling up in my eyes, I reached down to my baby boy, pulling him out of the stroller and turned him out towards the sea. He giggled at a pair a dogs playing on the beach below us, "Cane!"

"Yes, Alistair, doggies. Can you say 'dog'?" , I whispered into his little ear.

"Man!", he loudly cried.

" No, sweetheart, dog. Those are dogs.", I laughed at his antics, but being only one, his vocabulary wasn't quite there yet. It didn't help that his recently deceased grandmother only spoke to him in Italian. God bless her soul.

I felt him start to wiggle in my arms as he jabbed his chubby little finger in the other direction, "No, Mamma! Man!"

I turned to the direction he was indicating, and indeed there was a pair of legs in funny looking boots peeking out of the bushes. How did I not see them before, I had just walked right by there. I calmly tucked Alistair into his stroller and cautiously moved towards the unmoving body. I found myself studying the man in front of me from the boots up, taking in his… BREECHES?! Who wore those anymore? The sight got even stranger as I moved up to his TUNIC! The man appeared to be unconscious and I was not about to start digging in his pockets (or lack thereof) for some identification. After ensuring Al was alright in his seat, I kneeled down next to the stranger's head and listened for any signs of breathing, remembering my life-guard training. I let out a sigh of relief when I felt the soft puff of air on my cheek and saw the slight rise and fall of his chest.

"Funny Man!", I turned to the sight of my son giggling, "con cappelli come Mamma!" (hair like Mommy)

Once again I looked down at the unmoving person to see that he did have flowing blonde hair with thin braids on the side of his head. It wasn't fair, his hair was almost longer than mine and definitely more radiant. However what got me the most were his ears. They were pointed! I could not tear myself away from studying the being in front of me now. His face was quite striking, complete with high cheekbones, a strong jaw line and aristocratic looking eyebrows. While his face was the epitome of beauty, his body screamed male. His shoulders were broad, his arms appeared muscular and seemed rather strong, not like a body builder strong but that of a swimmer. Where his shoulders and chest were broad, his hips tapered slimly leading onto long, lithe legs…wait, was he wearing body armor?

I don't know how long I sat there studying him before I realized he probably needed medical attention. I pulled out my cell phone and called for an ambulance, giving them all the necessary information and not before long I heard the sirens blaring. Alistair clapped his hands together in joy at the sound. The boy, like his 'Babbo (Daddy)', was quite fond of motor vehicles.

Soon I was approached by a paramedic, "Salve Signora, cos'è successo?" (Good day, Ma'am. What happened?)

I explained that I had found him and knew of no ID nor of how he received his injuries. The man regarded the unconscious figure strangely before asking me, "Le dispiace di accompagnarlo all'ospedale?" (Would you mind coming with him to the hospital?)

"Certo!"(of course), my response was immediate, somehow feeling responsible for what was to become of this beautiful man. I waited for them to test his vitals and load him into the ambulance before I hopped on in the front with Al in my lap, his ecstatic peals of laughter grounding me to reality.

"Signora McKanny?"

I looked up to see a nurse before me, 'He must be alright, since her face showed no signs of dour news.' I turned my gaze to my friend, Elisa, who I had called in anticipation of things getting out of hand here at the hospital or in case my son needed to go home for his afternoon nap, "Lisa, ti dispiace a portare Alistair a casa tua per un po'?" (Lisa, would you mind taking Alistair to you place for a while?)

Her eyes lit up, wrapping my baby in her arms, she nodded. I knew her and her husband had been trying for a child for some time now and she always offered to babysit in preparation of her own bundle of joy. I watched them walk out of the hospital before turning my attention back to the nurse, "Come sta?"(How is he?)

She explained that his vitals were stable and he only appeared to have a slight concussion, "Vogliamo fare un po' di esami per sicurezza."(We want to do some more tests just to be sure)

I nodded my head in agreement, "Posso vederlo?" (Can I see him?)

The nurse seemed to be deciding against allowing me in but in the end she admitted me to the patient ward. She led me into a sterile white room, where the only color in there was represented by the clothes I had found him in. Forest green and brown stood out against the light grey chair next to his hospital bed. I took in his appearance, everything seemed in order aside from the slight bruise on his left temple. He must have had it for days as it was a yellowish tinge as if it were already healing. He looked to be sleeping peacefully so I sat down in the chair before him and prepared to wait. For how long, I did not know.

Legolas' POV

Beep… Beep…Beep…

What a bothersome sound? Slowly I could feel my senses returning to me. My nose burned with the strong smell of sterility, 'I must be in the House of Healing,' I thought. I tried to open my eyes and was blinded by a bright light. I quickly squeezed them shut to cut out the light before attempting to adapt my eye to opening again. I fluttered the lids slowly turning my head to the side, hoping to find some reprieve in a darker spot. Soon my sight adjusted and I took in the overall brightness of the room. It was all white, definitely not the calming grays and blues of the House of Healing.

Beep…Beep…Beep…

There was that confounded noise again… but from where was it coming? I started to twist my body to find the source when I heard movement to my right. My neck snapped towards the sounds and before me was woman! We both froze, appraising each other. She was quite tall for a human female, with pale skin, like marble. She had curly auburn hair down to her biceps, all assuming she did not seem dangerous. I looked up to her face and was startled by the large green eyes, like jewels, staring back at me.

"Hey…how are you feeling?" , the woman inquired. 'Ah! She speaks the common tongue, at least I can communicate with her," he thought, 'even if her accent is quite strange.' He couldn't help but wonder from where she hailed.

"Who are you…where am I?", I asked, as I just now noticing the strange beeping monster behind her as realized I was no longer in the Greenwood.

"You're in the hospital of Livorno. My name's Cora."

'Livorno? Where in Middle-Earth is Livorno?' I wondered, 'And how did I get here?'

Beep…Beep…Beep…

"What is that bothersome monster?", I cried, becoming rather perturbed by its incessant beeping.

Cora raised her perfectly arch eyebrow at me, "That machine is what tells us you are still among the living. It's measuring your heartbeat."

I looked again at the machine dubiously. A machine to measure heartbeats? I now realized I was not even in Middle Earth, let alone in my woods . No such things existed in any realm of Elves, Men or Dwarves, I must have travelled to some distant land but how?

"Ah! È sveglio! Come si sente, signore?" (Ah! He's awake! How do you feel, Sir?)

My head whipped around at the presence of another woman, this one was short with cropped black hair, like that of a boy and tanned skin, similar to those from the South, dressed in a strange bright green cloth. I had never seen a woman dressed in such a manner before.

" I apologize, my lady. I do not understand, " I tried to place her tongue, it was most certainly not the one used by most common men. How could I communicate with Cora and not this woman?

"Mi scusi, Infermiera, ma mi sa che lui non parla l'italiano. Però capisce l'inglese. Posso tradurre per lui." (Excuse me, nurse, but I don't think he speaks Italian thug he understands English. I can translate.)

For the third time today my neck snapped in the other direction. I could already feel the muscles there getting sore, most likely due to the injury but these constant surprises would not help either. I felt as though there would be many more to come as well. 'She speaks both tongues!', I marveled, "What did she ask of me?"

"She wants to know how you feel and if you think you can walk."

"I have had worse in my years of service, I can manage," I felt my pride puff up at the idea that this woman assumed me weak.

She once again lifted that infernal eyebrow at me and sighed, "Alright…" before returning to the healer and speaking to her in their own tongue. The healer came to my bedside and put her steady hand on my left arm. She looked into my eyes and said something I could not understand before pulling on a tube that I had noticed was embedded in my arm. I winced at the twinge of pain, "What was that?"

"That was some fluid to rehydrate you. When you came in you were in need of fluids, but you don't need it anymore. Come on, I'll help you get out of bed, " Cora said softly as if speaking to a child.

"I can manage," I repeated, my voice tight. I was no elfling and had not been for many years and I certainly did not need a woman's help.

Cora held up her hands in defeat, "Well go on then,…um…"

I lifted myself into a sitting position with my bare feet hanging over the edge of the bed, 'When had they removed my clothing?'. My head felt slightly heavy, but I was an elf, our bodies healed quickly from injury. I stood to my full height, my feet touching the cold tile floor before introducing myself, "Legolas Thrandullion of the Greenwood."

I half expected her to raise her eyebrow again but her expression seemed perplexed, "Okay, Legolas, you're clothes are hanging over the chair. You can get dressed and I'll go sign your discharge papers. Then you're free to go."

"Go? Go where, my lady?", I inquired having no clue as to where here was and how to get back home from this place.

Cora turned back to me, her face showing the internal battle she was probably fighting over whether or not to house a complete stranger, "You have no where you can go?" , she closed her eyes tightly for a split second, her head in her left hand. I was afraid, she would abandon me here, so much for my proud façade. She let out a long sigh before answering, "Alright, you can come with me and we'll figure something out."

"Thank you, my lady. It is quite generous of you."

She nodded in acknowledgement and left me the privacy to dress myself.

Cora's POV

'What was I thinking? Inviting some stranger into my house? Good thing the guest room is on the other side of the house, ' I mentally hit myself for being such a softy. I had not invited anyone, let alone a man, to stay in my home since losing my husband, either out of sadness or precaution, I didn't know.

I looked up at the man next to me as we walked out of the hospital, wondering how I would explain this to my friend and neighbor, Elisa. Hopefully she won't care. If anything I could just say, he was renting the room until he found a place to stay. Good thing my son would be too little to question our temporary house guest.

I pulled my keys out of my purse, thanking Elisa for bringing my car to the hospital. This guy didn't seem like the type to adjust well to taking the bus, after his episode with the heart monitor. I stopped before my jeep and clicked the open button, satisfied with the opening beep of the vehicle. I mechanically walked to the driver's side, throwing my bag in the rear. I looked up, having completely forgotten about my "guest", to find him standing stock still staring at my car as if it were about to attack him. His posture rigid, ready to just into action a one slight move, his eyes glared at the vehicle warily, "What is this creature?"

My eyebrows shot up into my hairline crossing my arms over my chest, "Creature? It's a car. It's how we're getting to my home."

"You mean you have no horse? " ,he asked, his voice a bit shaken at the prospect of getting into the automobile.

My attitude softened as I thought of how new al of this was to him. Maybe he had really hit his head and had amnesia or something. I came back over to his side, staying calm for his benefit before softly stating, "This is my noble steed and it's completely safe. Here," I assured him as I opened the passenger side of the car, "climb in."

He eyed it suspiciously before melting out of his rigid stance taking a few steps forward and peering into the carriage, "If my lady assures me that it is safe, then I must trust her. After all, she did rescue me. "

'After all that macho-man show in the hospital, he can admit to me saving him? Man, someone's fickle,' I chuckled to myself. I patiently watched as he moved to sit in the seat, waiting until he was comfortable to reach for the seatbelt. His eyes questioned what I was doing but he didn't vocalize it, as I stretched over his legs. I couldn't help but notice how firm they were and wondered what exactly this guy did to keep in such great shape. Clicked the belt into place, I looked up at him with what I hoped was a reassuring smile, only then noticing our proximity. We were nose to nose. It seemed he noticed as well as his breathing stilled. He whispered softly, " Are these restraints absolutely necessary?"

I couldn't answer, not with him so closed. I had internally shivered at the sound of his voice. It was smooth like the richest chocolate and his speech was always so eloquent. Having been an English teacher for years, there was nothing more appealing than a beautiful speaker. It did something to me, made me feel something I had not felt in a long time…longing. I gulped.

Panicking, I quickly disengaged from my position and closed the door, purposely walking around the back of the car to calm myself out of his sight. Before moving to my place on the driver's side, I took ten deep breaths allowing the city air and familiar sounds of traffic to eradicate any feelings of desire that had arisen from the encounter. After feeling sufficiently calm, I got in, turned the key and started the engine. This caused my "guest" to just in his seat, who threw me a playful glare as I chuckled at his dispense. Finding my own seatbelt, I made a show of putting mine on before saying, "Yes, it's the law."