A/N Well, I think I can promise that you won't get anymore late updates this story. *knocks on wood*

Disclaimer: not mine.

Chapter Eleven

After giving Eldarion to his mother and quickly explaining to Arwen what had happened, Aragorn rushed to return to Legolas' side. The small boy had put up a fuss at first when he had learned that his father was going to leave him, but had settled down once he was snuggled safely in his mother's loving arms. It would be a while, Aragorn knew, before Eldarion would overcome the experience. The King proceeded back towards the healing halls and was nearing the door when someone, a guard according to his uniform, crashed through the door and straight into him, causing both to tumble back to the ground in a heap.

"My Lord!" came a shocked and rather appalled voice as the men disentangled themselves from each other. Jumping up, the solider offered a hand to the former ranger, who took it and pulled himself up. The guard stood straight, snapping to attention. "Forgive me, your highness. I was sent to find you as quickly as possible." Aragorn's heart dropped as his thoughts flashed to Legolas. "What is it, what has happened?" he asked in an undertone, stepping forward so that he and the other man where only a few feet apart.

"It's the elf, sir," the guard replied, confirming the king's fear, but before the king could do anything, the man continued, "He was awoken and isn't cooperating."To the soldier's great surprise, Aragorn smiled widely, shaking his head with fond disbelief.

"Some things never do change," he murmured, sliding past the man and turning back to a call a thank you over his shoulder. Of course Legolas would be giving the other healers trouble, he never cooperated with healers, Aragorn included, even after all these years.

Hurrying down the corridor, the smile slipped a little. Raised voices could be heard from the direction that he had left Legolas and sure enough, he was soon able to make out his friend's voice. The prince was shouting out in elvish and Aragorn frowned. Abruptly he realized that the solider had it all wrong. Legolas wasn't being difficult for the healers, he was panicking. Now running down the hallway, he pushed the door open and found that he was right.

The elf was weakly struggling on the floor, fighting against a healer that was holding him down with ease. His eyes flew around the room, desperately searching for something. Or someone, Aragorn realized as he noted that Legolas' crystal blue eyes only latched onto people before flicking away.

"Legolas!" Aragorn called firmly, pushing his way through to his friend's side and dropping to his knees. "Be calm, mellon-nin, there is nothing to worry about." Reaching out, he touched Legolas' cheek and instantly the elf's turned his head and locked his gaze on Aragorn's. The prince stilled his body relaxing against the hard wooden floor.

"You are alive?" Legolas whispered in shock, "Madoc was going to…and Eldarion…"

"We are both perfectly alright," Aragorn comforted, using the grey tongue to further calm the elf as he gently cupped the side of his face. "Both Dirhéal and Madoc, did you say his name was, are dead." Legolas began to shake his head fervently but stopped, remembrance entering into his eyes.

"Oh…oh yes," he said sheepishly, bushing lighting in embarrassment. Aragorn shrugged, knowing all too well the panic of awakening after something like this. The fear that coursed through one's veins like poison, the terror that everything had ended much more differently.

"Do you think you can walk?" the king asked, glancing around at the destroyed room. It was unfit for a pig to sleep in, never mind an injured elven prince. Legolas automatically nodded and attempted to slowly ease himself up right.

Aragorn cringed for the elf, wishing that the prince wouldn't tax himself so readily, and slipped his hands under the Legolas' armpits. He hoisted his still weak friend onto his feet with one strong, sure, movement. The Lord of Ithilien hissed sharply, swaying dangerously at the change in position, and his face blanched.

The king didn't let him fall, though, and heaved the frail being up against him.

"Are you well enough?" he asked hesitantly, knowing that the prince would refuse to be carried if offered. Legolas didn't answer right away as he stood there, eyes closed and face taught, trying to control his body into doing what he wanted it too. After Aragorn repeated the question with the amount of worry in his voice increasing, Legolas turned to him. He gave the man a faint smile, I'll be fine, it clearly read.

Aragorn didn't believe him, not for one moment, but wrapped his arm around his waist anyway and took a step forward. Legolas let out a barely hearable moan and flinched as the ache in his weary body protested sharply at the movement.

Slowly the pair shuffled towards the door, their seemingly every step punctuated with soft sounds of pain from the elf. It was with great relief for both the man and the prince that Aragorn steered them into a empty room not far down the hall.

It was slightly smaller than the previous one, and did not hold as many comforts, but for the moment it was fine. All Legolas cared about was having a bed on which to rest his aching body. Aragorn softly prattled on about everything and nothing as he tended to the elf's needs, putting his patient at ease. By time he had finished cleaning the shoulder wound, Legolas was once more asleep.

NOFINERFRIENDS

When Legolas awoke the next morning it was too an intensely sore and stiff body that ached without relenting. He could not get comfortable, no matter which way he turned, partly due to the sling that someone, Aragorn most likely, had placed his left arm into. His throat had also swelled up so much from his almost strangling the day before that he was having trouble breathing. It was a welcome distraction when the door was eased open and Aragorn stepped through, shutting it again just as carefully and silently.

"I'm awake…" Legolas rasped out, clearing his throat loudly.

Aragorn turned to him, a rueful grin on his face, "Did I wake you? And just nod or shake your head, don't worry about talking."

"No…" Legolas whispered, directly disobeying Aragorn as he attempted to get his voice above his whisper. The human turned a pointed glare on him and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"If you keep talking it is going to take twice as long for the swelling to go down," the healer reprimanded, lightly touching the hot skin at the base of Legolas' throat. As he did so, he noticed how stiff and tense friend was and glanced towards the window, checking the time, "You were sleeping so soundly I didn't want to wake you and give you medication," the man said softly, a light, slightly guilty smile touching his lips. "I can see know that that was probably a mistake."Legolas shrugged and winced at the thoughtless action and shifted again for what seemed the hundredth time, trying to get comfortable.

"I am sore all over," he breathed out in a croak, making Aragorn laugh out loud.

"You should be. If you weren't, I might suspect you for being more than elf. You did take quite a beating yesterday." The man stood up from the bed and crossed to the side of a table and began to sift through the herbs spread atop, his nimble fingers plucking up his choices with ease.

Legolas snorted and used his good arm to push himself upright, using the wall beside him as leverage. Aragorn turned around and cringed, lunging to help Legolas despite the look that elf laid on him that clearly said that he could do it himself.

"I didn't tell you that you could sit up yet, now did I?" the human said sternly, grabbing a couple of pillows and pushing them behind the prince's back. Legolas just smiled at the man, clutching his injured arm tightly as if it could stop the pain, and leaned heavily back. Shaking his head in disbelief, Aragorn went back to the table and returned with a steaming mug.

"Drink it, it will relieve your pain."

Legolas took it cautiously, sniffing it before he dared to take a sip. "It won't put me to sleep, will it?" he asked, looking up at Aragorn as he arched an eyebrow in question.

"I swear on my honor that it won't make you sleep," Aragorn insisted, rolling his eyes as the elf took the first sip apprehensively. When he was sure it wasn't drugged with sleeping herbs, the elf downed the rest of it. The hot liquid felt good on his sore throat and in a minute a fuzzy warmness crept across his mind and his nerves dulled their senses. The pain diminished to a bearable, dull, buzz in the background and the elf relaxed further into the comfort of the fluffy pillows.

"Hannon le, mellon-nin," he murmured, handing the cup back over. His voice was stronger and clearer before, thanks to the healing properties of the herbs. Aragorn still frowned, however, at the sound of the elf's voice. His healing instincts where screaming at him to force the elf to stop talking, to give his throat a chance to heal, but he doubted that he would be able to stop his friend. Legolas couldn't be shifted if he put his mind to something, that Aragorn had learned well in their years of friendship.

"How did you find me?" Legolas asked a moment later, opening his eyes and looking at Aragorn intently.

"Hmm?" Aragorn asked, turning his full attention back to the elf.

"How did you find me? I didn't even know where Dirhéal was keeping me."

"Oh!" Aragorn said, comprehension dawning in his eyes as the caught the train of the elf's thoughts. Sitting back down on the bed, he shifted himself until he was leaning up again the wall and launched into his tale. When he had finished, Legolas looked ready to leap from his bed and start pacing.

"You found my horse!" he cried excitedly, making Aragorn inwardly cringe, but Legolas seemed hardly able to feel the pain from speaking.

"Yes, he is down in the stables," Aragorn replied patiently, hardly able to keep the smile off his face at the elf's reaction. He had so missed this in the past week. "And no, Legolas you can't get up yet and see him. You are still weak," he said, preguessing the elf's next words. Reaching out he gently pushed the elf back to a sitting position.

"You are no fun," Legolas pouted, making Aragorn snort. "So I was in the dungeons, the whole time?" he clarified. The new information was racing through his mind with the speed of a bee in the spring.

"Yup." Aragorn smirked as Legolas yawned widely through his next question.

"And I was missing for a month?"

"More than a month, actually, it was more of month when we finally discovered that you where even missing." The human stood from the bed with a small groan, stretching his arms over his head. "The next two weeks where ones that I would like to forget. Don't ever go missing again without any clues, alright?"

"I'll attempt," Legolas said sarcastically. He was still brimming to the top with questions, but his body was beginning to betray him and it was with great effort that he resisted the urge to close his eyes.

"So…" Aragorn asked, redirected the elf's attention. "Do you mind telling me your part of the story? Or do you want to sleep instead."Legolas shook his head vigorously and shifted positions gingerly. It didn't take overly long to tell his side of the story and when he finished Aragorn only smiled at him, clearly shaken.

"I guess I owe you my life once again, and once again I seem to be responsible for getting you involved in matters that didn't involve you, which once again lead you to getting injured like this."

Legolas shook his head, replying almost immediately, "First off, you saved me from a long torturous death that was planned for me and second, it was my choice therefore my fault." Aragorn sighed, glaring out the window and reliving the horror he had felt upon finding his greatest friend down in his own dungeons. Legolas saw the look on the man's face and reached out, gently touching his shoulder.

"It is over now. Don't dwell on the past," he urged, clearing his throat roughly as his voice began to falter and rasp once more. Aragorn noticed this and suppressed an I-told-you-so, instead saying with a sigh,

"I think we really have been through far too much in our lives together, mellon…"

"Our fathers would more than agree." Legolas commented with a sly grin, remembering a few of the more dramatic times when his father had lost his temper with him for being 'careless'. He nestled further into the pillows and closed his eyes, "Forgive me, my friend, but I must sleep now," he told Aragorn in a begrudging tone, his hatred for the weakness showing in his face.

"Yes, yes you do. Forgive me for keeping you talking," Aragorn said, patting the elf's arm softly as he stood to leave. "I want to go check on Eldarion and make sure that he is copping alright, but then I will come back here."

"I'll be fine. You don't need to be constantly checking on me," Legolas assured in a sleepy tone, rolling over tentatively and pulling the blanket higher up around him with his good hand.

"Right," Aragorn said sarcastically accompanied by an eye roll that did not fit his royal status, "I don't doubt that I will come back to here to find you dancing around and undoing all my hard work. Stay put and stay in bed," he ordered, shaking his finger at the elf's back, who he could hear chuckling softly.

"You worry too much, Estel. I wouldn't 'dance' around!" Legolas called back, waiting for the door to slide shut before letting out a soft moan of pain and relief. He hurt much more then he had let on. His throat was practically on fire and his shoulder stung with a constant vengeance, as if to reprimand him for using it to block the piece of steel that had been aiming for his heart.

Moaning lightly again, Legolas turned his face into the pillow to drown the noise and closed his heavy eyelids, trying to will the pain away long enough to slip into a dreamless sleep. Only minutes later, his wish was granted.

TO BE CONCLUDED...

Well...it is for sure wrapping up. One last one, my friends! But then another story, so...

Review replies:

Idon'tliketoast: aW, I am glad that you like it so much! I promise to always update on Fridays unless something pops up, but that rarely happens. :) Thank so much!

Cat: I don't really like moving, it takes to much energy. I didn't realize how much crap I had till I had to put it all in boxes. Thank you for understanding, though, and thank you for the review!