Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing, zilch, zippo, nada (though I wish I owned Aragorn).

A/N: I am writing this in school because I am totally bored in this extra class I'm taking which thankfully ends on Friday. Here is another chapter that I finished. Tell me what you think because I would really appreciate it. Thank you to my one reviewer for giving me some feedback. It means a lot. Here we go again:

Pain. The sensation completely enveloped Aragorn as his eyes came into focus. Though slightly blurry, he could make out a large opening in the ceiling. 'What happened?' When he tried to move, pain lance up and down his body. 'That wasn't such a good idea.' He was so absorbed with his new surroundings that he barely realized that someone was calling his name.

"Legolas?" His voice came out in a whisper. He was surprised to find how weak his voice had become.

"Aragorn, are you alright? Can you move your legs?"

"Yes, I think so…but I seem to have some sharp objects sticking out of me," Aragorn replied with a note of sarcasm in his voice. Legolas sighed in relief as his friend made a joke.

"I guess if you can make light of the situation, then you cannot be hurt too bad. I am going to make my way down to you. Don't go anywhere."

"I do not think I'll be going anywhere anytime soon," Aragorn murmured to himself.

Legolas looked around the hole in the floor and found a large rock jutting out from the cave wall. After checking it's sturdiness, he tied the rope he had in his pack to the end of the rock. He let the excess rope fall to the ground by Aragorn, and then with one breath, he took hold of the rope and proceeded slowly to the ground by his friend. Careful to avoid landing on any spikes, he landed with Elvin grace on the ground and made his way over to his friend.

There were bloody spikes sticking out of different parts of his friend's body. One protruded from his right shoulder while another just nicked the side of Aragorn's left thigh, though it was enough to create a bloody gash in the leg. The one that worried him most was the on that projected from his left side. It looked like it had miraculously missed any vital organs but it was enough to cause a great deal of blood loss and create a very painful wound.

"You could not just use a rope like normal people. You had to dive in head first," Legolas said to help lighten the mood and draw his friend's attention from the pain.

"First of all…I did not really have much of a choice. Second…If I dove in headfirst, my head would have been cracked open," Aragorn retorted.

"That may be, but because of the hardness of your head, you would have been less injured than you are now."

"Very funny. Now, please…get these things out of me."

Aragorn did not want to make his pain known to his friend though he knew it was a losing battle because Legolas always seemed to know when something was wrong or his friend was lying. Aragorn focused on the opening in the ceiling as his friend attempted to free him of the wooden spikes.

Legolas took a closer look at the injuries and tried to come up with the least painful way to remove the stakes from his friend's body. The fact that they went all the way through his body made his attempts more difficult. He couldn't just pull them out, as they were mounted into the ground, and his friend was too heavy to life completely off of the spikes. They protruded about six inches out of Aragorn's body. 'This will not be easy.' Finally, Legolas came to a decision.

"Estel." Legolas resorted to using his childhood name to help keep the man calm. "Estel, I am going to have to cut the spikes down smaller so that I can lift you off of them.You need to stay awake. Do you understand me?" He asked, emphasizingthose last words.

"I am not that dense. I can understand what you say unless there is something wrong with your mouth," Aragorn said to reassure his friend that he was not going to die any minute.

"I guess since your mouth is still working and your able to mock me, that you are just fine. Maybe I should leave you here, and let you take care of this yourself…"

"You would…not dare," Aragorn's voice became weaker, but it still held a tone that suggested a challenge.

"Oh, I would, but seeing as how you are stuck and bleeding all over the ground, I guess I will assist you.

"You are too kind."

Legolas took out one of his knives and began thinking about which one to start with. He decided the worst one would be the spike in his left side. He murmured 'forgive me' to Aragorn and began to cut away at the 4-inch thick spike. Aragorn gritted his teeth, but did not cry out. He closed his eyes tightly as his breathing began to quicken. His consciousness was threatening to abandon him, but he knew that with all the blood loss, he would have to stay awake as long as possible.

"Aragorn, stay with me. I'm almost through."

Finally, the top was removed from the spike. Legolas sighed in relief and put his hand to his friend's head.

"You still with me?" Legolas asked

"I…never left," Aragorn forced out.

"I am going to work on your shoulder now. Once that one is broken, I can lift you off of these stakes and bind your wounds. I know the pain must be unbearable, but I will try to make it quick."

Aragorn nodded in understanding and braced himself. Legolas did the same again as he did with the other spike, and finally, after what seemed like hours to Aragorn, the spike was removed as well. Aragorn's strength was waning and his hold on his consciousness was breaking. He started blacking out and, finally, he succumbed to the darkness.

Legolas looked down at his friend and noticed that he was no longer conscious. 'Thank the Valar for small blessings' Legolas thought to himself. Now that the spikes had been removed it was actually better that Aragorn was not awake to feel the pain when Legolas lifted him off of the spikes.

Focusing on his work, he lifted his friend's body up and removed him from the clutches of the wooden masses that had invaded his body. After checking to make sure that the stake protruding from Aragorn's leg was not attached to his leg between the skin, he pulled his friend away from the spikes and against the far wall where the ground was flat and devoid of the cruel spikes. He laid Aragorn down and then proceeded to tear pieces of his cloak that he had been wearing. He took the torn pieces and applied them to his friend's wounds. He tied a tourniquet to Aragorn's leg, and then put as much pressure as he could on the shoulder and side wounds. He made sure to take extra pieces of cloth and place them on the underside of his friend since the spikes had gone straight through. With time the shoulder wound seemed to stop bleeding, but he was having trouble with his side. The blood kept coming despite the pressure. Legolas had to tear a second piece of cloth to apply to the wound. Finally, the blood seemed to slow. Legolas gave a sigh of relief when it finally stopped enough for him to bind the wound. 'What I wouldn't give for herbs right now,' Legolas said to himself. In their rush to leave the camp, they had left the bag of herbs and general necessities behind. 'The only good thing is that orcs would not be foolish enough to come down here'…or so he thought.

A/N: I will update later this week. I promise. I hope you like it.