A/N Sorry for the wait, but I was trying to get back on schedule after the holidays. :) Just a disclaimer, I am not docotor, what happens in this story may not be possible or realastic. Thanks so much for all your wonderful reviews!

Disclaimer: not mine.

Chapter Three

So it was that Legolas remained sleeping. Days changed into weeks, which it turn become months and then stretched into more than a year. Thranduil had been told, and had rushed to Imladris to be near his son, only to return to Mirkwood a few months later when the ongoing battle against evil that waged there had required their king. Elrond, however, kept him updated every month, despite that the fact that there was very little to say. Aragorn spent several periods of time with the rangers, fulfilling his duty there and the twins often joined him.

Life continued as Legolas' slowly slipped further and further away. The hope that he would again awake began to become harder and harder to cling to, becoming a distant memory to many.

On this all, Aragorn reflected as he sat next to his sleeping friend after having been awoken from yet another nightmare.

Finally, though, he rose, yawning loudly. He really needed to return to bed, for he had only arrived back in Imladris yesterday from a trip with the rangers to Bree, but somehow he couldn't find it in himself to leave Legolas' side.

Spying a slim, wooden hairbrush on the dresser, Aragorn turned to pick it up, remembering the state his friend's hair was in. They did their best to keep Legolas presentable, but it had become difficult as life had become, not more important, but more prominent. Sitting back down, Aragorn began to run the brush through the unkempt blonde locks.

"You would skin us alive if —when— you wake up and your hair is this condition," The human said conversationally, "You always where a prissy elf when it came to looks!" he teased, tugging the teeth of the brush through a practically nasty knot. "How in Middle-earth did you keep your hair as you did? Because we can't keep it looking anything like you usually did and all you are doing is lying in bed."

In his head, Aragorn formed a reply, knowing that Legolas would have responding with a well-crafted insult, and he would have laughed, shooting back a similar reply. His hands slowly stopped the brushing and he stared off into nothing for a while, gently fingering the strands of hair he was holding between two fingers.

A soft noise in the door way made Aragorn look up, startled. Elrond was leaning against the doorframe, an unreadable expression on his face as he gazed in at the scene before him.

"Ada! How long have you been there?" Aragorn blurted out, flushing slightly at being caught visiting Legolas at this late hour.

"Not long." Elrond ensured with a gentle smile, moving to stand next to the ranger. "Could you not sleep?" he asked in concern, his parental instincts surging up as he brushed back a strand of unruly hair. "At dinner you seemed hardly able to keep your eyes open."

"I dreamed again…" Aragorn muttered, embarrassedly turning away and slowly letting the golden strands of hair he was still holding slip from his fingers with a sigh. Elrond placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder, watching sadly as the man instead picked up a slim, limp, hand.

"When Legolas wakes up he is going to be upset with the state of his appearance." Aragorn commented to break the silence. If Elrond noticed the direct use of 'when' instead of 'if' he didn't say anything.

Ever since that fateful declaration that Legolas might never waken, Aragorn had held firm in the idea that the elf would indeed open his eyes once more. Never had Aragorn wavered, no matter what the others said or how much time had lapsed past, not even Elrond could make him admit that his friend might not make it through. This worried the lord greatly because if Legolas really did fade, then the pain that the young man would go through would be so much worse than if he had thought about the possibility.

"Ada?" Aragorn asked, a frown creeping into his voice.

"Yes."

"His hands, they are cold. They were not cold like this before I left." The ranger stated as a fact, his worried grey eyes looking up to meet his father's.

"Ah, yes." Elrond said and the human detected a note of guilt. The elf moved to sit next to his son, gently freeing the slender hand from the human and taking it in his own. "I did hope to break it to you more softly." He whispered. Aragorn waited, his breath catching.

"While you were with the rangers, Legolas began to struggle, more than he has in the past. I have been trying to do what I can, but it is clear that he may not be long for this world." Elrond paused, opening his mouth as if to say more, than closed it again.

"He'll make it!" Aragorn said calmly and defiantly. His father sighed, lifting the hand he held.

"Look, Estel. His fingers tips are edging on blue, his oxygen flow is down. And as you said before, they are cold."Aragorn took the hand back and carefully examined the fingers, finding much to his dismay that his fingernails where indeed tinted blue. Elrond sighed once again, before finishing while watching his son out of the corner of his eye. "And if you take his pulse, you will notice the irregularilty of his heart."

A scared look momentarily flashed across Aragorn's face as his hand jumped to take the elf's pulse for himself, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"It doesn't matter. He will pull through." Aragorn said and Elrond felt sorrow building up in his heart.

"I'm sorry, Estel, I really am," he insisted taking his son's shoulders and turning him so that they were facing each other, "But I would prepare yourself for the worse. Don't keep your hopes up like this; it will only hurt more in the end."

"Estel– that is my name! I'm not giving up hope." Aragorn snarled, suddenly aggressive as he turned back to face his friend, his breathing heavy. Legolas was a touchy subject with the human, or at least mentioning that he was dying was, and they had learned to avoid it. "I'm sorry, ada." Aragorn muttered ashamedly a moment later, the fight going out of him

Elrond nodded lightly, accepting the apology easily, "Why don't you go back to bed? Everything will seem much clearer in the morning." Getting to his feet, Elrond crossed over to the door, holding it open for his son. Aragorn nodded slowly and got to his feet. After drawing the blanket closer around his friend and fussing for a minute, he reluctantly left, whispering a good-night to his father as he passed him.

Elrond watched him go with pained filled eyes. Pain for the agony his son was going through and pain for what was to come.

The morning dawned bright and cheerful, the late summer day truly beautiful with the greenness of the plants and the flowers that where in full bloom.

Aragorn noticed all this as he hurried along the corridor to breakfast, briefly thinking that this was a day Legolas would have loved. He pulled open the door and sat down at the table. His father and older brother who had been in deep conversation quickly broke off, giving Aragorn guilty looks.

"What are you talking about?" the human asked suspiciously, pulling the butter towards him. Something was wrong, something that they were not going to tell him. Narrowing his eyes, he looked closer at the three of them. They looked tired, and sad, he decided as he buttered his toast.

"Nothing, or at least nothing that a scruffy ranger would care about." Elrohir replied, smirking a little though it was different than his usually, light hearted one. It seemed forced, Aragorn decided, frowning once more.

"Right, you expect me to believe that —" Aragorn began, but was cut off as Elrond and Elladan began to loudly discuss the weather, in which Elrohir joined in. The man sighed, taking a bit of his food. They had probably been discussing something about the ever increasing dark forces and right at the moment, Aragorn didn't feel like hearing any more about it.

The conversation died and the rest of the meal was spent in gloomy silence, the morning sunlight only able to touch their flesh and not their souls.

Elrond made a brave stab at conversation, though, as the twins got up to leave, their plates still mostly full, "What are you planning to do today?" he asked putting his knife and fork down with a tinkle. The twins glanced at each other, and then shrugged.

"We'll be around." Elladan said vaguely, before his twin grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out the door. Normally, when the twins said something like that, it could cause a reaction of highest terror and caution to some of Imladris residents who where regular victims to the elves' pranks. Aragorn was sure that was not the case today. There was no spark of mischievous in their eyes or the sly smiles that would crease their faces. No, today there had only been sadness lining their faces as if something had upset them.

Aragorn also put down his silverware, pushing back his chair and getting to his feet. Before he could take a step away, however, Elrond's voice stopped him.

"Wait a moment, please, Estel. I would like to have a word."

The man turned back and nodded, through apprehension was gripping his stomach and forming it into tight knots. He had the sinking feeling he was about to learn what had bothered his brothers so. Tugging his chair back out he was about to sit down, but his father once again stopped him.

"Let us talk a walk, the gardens are especially nice this year." Aragorn agreed and let his father lead the way out the last homely house and into the bright sunlight.

They walked along together for a while, making small talk about this and that, until at last Elrond started the true conversation.

"Last evening I finished the latest update on Legolas to Thranduil." He stated quietly, staring ahead at the path they were taking.

'Hmm…" Aragorn replied, his stomach clenching. He did not want to talk about either Legolas or Thranduil. If they did, the man would once again have his determined belief that Legolas would wake doubted, though no one dared shout it down directly. Someone almost always cautioned that the unthinkable would happen and Aragorn was exhausted of it.

Again silence fell and the man welcomed it, though Elrond did not share his feelings.

"Estel, listen." He began again, reaching out and gently pulling his son to a stop. Aragorn however cut him off.

"Look, Ada, if it is about Legolas than I don't want to hear it." He said curtly, beginning to walk again, taking deliberately longer strides then what was needed. Elrond caught up with him in a matter of seconds and once again slowed him to a stop.

"Please, Estel, this is not easy for me to say." The lord pleaded, shaking his head lightly.

"Then you don't have to. I already know what you are going to say anyway." Aragorn declared with a hard edge to his voice as he gazed at his father with something akin to fear in his eyes.

"Do you?" Elrond challenged, though his voice remained soft and loving.

"Yes!" Aragorn returned, crossing his arms defensively, "You are going to tell me that I should stop believing in Legolas. That I should start doubting his strength." He almost growled, allowing his feud up emotions to take control of his tongue, "But tell me this! Who is going to believe in Legolas if I don't, because all the rest of you seem pretty determined to let doubt in! Legolas needs support not discouragement."

Turning away, the man began to walk away from a slightly stunned Elrond, but the elf grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop once more.

"Aragorn, that was uncalled for. You know very well that a healer must be open to all options and outcomes, I taught you that." He snapped, his own emotions stretched to a breaking point. First the letter to Thranduil, then talking to the twins and now Aragorn was proving to be more taxing then he thought it would be. "Do you think I enjoy being the one to always remind people that there is a chance that their loved one might not pull through?"

Aragorn was sufficiently cowed for the moment and settled for staring at the ground as they walked. Taking a deep breath, the elf closed his eyes, and then started once again.

"Estel, I am sure that you are aware of how long Legolas has been sleeping?"

"One year, two months, and 24 days." Aragorn replied dully, residing to the fact that they were going to have this conversation whether he wanted to or not.

"That is a long time, my son, longer than I have ever seen anyone in his condition survive. It is a miracle that he is still with us." Elrond reminded.

"And a lot of hard work." Aragorn stated firmly, though his voice shook lightly. He was suddenly terrified of what he was going to hear. He would take a pack of orcs over this any day. "I've spent countless hours feeding him, taking care of him of in any way that is required and I know that you have spent even more time with him than I have. It is more than luck that he is still here."

"But is he really still here?" Elrond posed, holding his son's gaze and smiling sadly when Aragorn gave a loud, verbal, response. Exhaling slowly, Elrond decided to approach this in a different manner. This conversation was not turning out as he had hoped.

"As I told you last night, Legolas is struggling greatly to keep life going." The elf lord began anew. Aragorn opened his mouth, but Elrond forestalled him, pressing a finger against the man's lips. "Aragorn, it may be time to let him fade."

The human let out a soft gasp, taking one horrified step away as his eyes fill with utter and complete betrayal.

"No! I don't understand!" he whispered, though he did, as he searched is father's face for some sign that this was all some terribly cruel joke.

"It would be quick and painless. Estel, it would be a mercy." Elrond pleaded as his own heart breaking for the pain in his son's eyes, "He is suffering." Aragorn, however, refused to listen to reason, his eyes becoming hard and filling with anger.

"How can you even think it?!" he yelled taking another step away from his father. "After —after all we have done for him?" He continued, his fingers shaking with fury as he held his hands up to emphasis his words. "He is like a third brother to me and you would, you would just let him go like that when he is still there. I know so; I know that he will return to us! I won't let you take him!" He shouted, not having noticed how loud his voice had gotten or how nature had gone unnaturally quite.

Elrond sighed raggedly, having expected a reaction like this but it still hurt. Moving closer to his son, he reached out, wanting to take him and held him close, comforting him as he had done when the human had been just a little boy.

"Aragorn, this is not a decision I get to make, it is not one you get to make either. This is one for Thranduil to make, Legolas is his son." This did not calm the human at all.

"But you are going to suggest it, or have already suggested it to him!" Aragorn spat, bating away his father's arms when the elf tried to enfold him into a comforting embrace. "I — I," the human tried to say, but was to furious to even speak. His mouth opened and shut several times as his face screwed up and turned a fairly purple color.

"This isn't easy for any of us, Aragorn. But I don't believe that Legolas is truly with us anymore. It is not like we are killing Legolas, we are setting his spirit free of the body." Elrond finished, the heart ache he felt reflected so keenly in his darks eyes that no one could deny how much time and energy the elf had spent pondering what to do.

Aragorn didn't listen, his throat seemingly swollen shut with emotion as he glanced around looking for support from an unknown source. His grey eyes where magnified by unshed tears that he was blinking back without mercy, his heart now pounding so hard it hurt. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out and an instant later Aragorn turned and fled.

Elrond was left alone and he let out a troubled sigh, his heart aching as it hadn't for a long time. Ever so slowly, he began to retrace his steps back, fighting his own emotion.

Estel ran, ran like he could leave all he had heard behind him and all the pain that was coursing throughh is heart, ran as if he could escape from it all. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't care.

TBC...

Poor Estel...I really just kinda want to hug him. The dude has been through a hard year. I wanna say that this chapter ended better than the last one did, but I am not sure that is true...