Back to the Elves. I don't own anything.

But first, a reply:

Fleetfoot-Thank you very much for your review, and I will definitely be using the idea of one of our heroes (or indeed, all of them) being described by an antagonist! Yes, Kim is incredibly out there, simply because she's kind of immature. She sort of counterbalances Cat's growing seriousness, although in time she'll get more understanding of things and so will swear less, as Cat has done over the chapters. After all, war changes people, and it'll change her too.

To everyone:

I'm glad that you understand now why I was annoyed. I'm not going to repeat myself, but I thank everyone for their reviews and the support that I really do need. This thing's a metaphorical marathon, not a sprint! So thank you all, very, very much.

Cat Jackson

I was still kind of shaky, but I fought on as my energy levels deteriorated, as so much went on around me. I could hear Aragorn's voice shouting battle commands, the scrape of abused metal down stone as Legolas invented shieldboarding, but louder than anything else was the sick, wet sound of the sharp metal of my blade and others cutting into Uruk-hai flesh over and over and over and over and over again. In fact, I didn't even register Théoden screaming for Aragorn to get everyone out of there, until I felt very familiar arms close around my waist as a flurry of movement rocked me. Legolas had been right in front of me, but I wasn't seeing much anymore. "Back to the Keep," he said urgently, and I was so worn down that all of my movements were slow and sluggish. "Cat! Come!"

"I think...I'll just stay here for a minute," I yawned. It was a nice place for a nap.

"Have you gone mad?!" he demanded. I blinked drowsily before he decided it wasn't a good idea to wait and slung me over his shoulder, giving me an impromptu piggyback into Helm's Deep's great hall.

I did register the fact that he threw a nearby glass of water all over me. I shrieked like a mad cat, excuse the pun! "What the fuck was that, Legolas?!"

"I thought that you needed to awaken," he replied wryly, starting to block up the door with the other soldiers. "Now, please, come and help us to barricade the door!" He knew exactly what I needed to hear to bring me back to the land of the living and, oh, I don't know, realise that if I didn't we could all die. I grabbed random bits of wooden furniture, frenziedly stacking them up against the double doors of the hall. Théoden himself didn't seem too positive about this plan, though, which was basically lengthy stalling.

"The fortress is taken. It is over," he sighed in defeat, deep, dark shadows beneath his eyes. Aragorn didn't agree as I helped him heft a table up against those doors.

"You said this fortress would never fall while your men defend it!" he pointed out angrily. "They still defend it! They have died defending it!" As he said that, a battering ram slammed hard against the obstacle separating them from busting in and slaughtering the remaining warriors. My heart started going double-time. There was so much I still wanted to do with my life! I didn't want to die here, and I sure as hell didn't want my friends to die! Calmer now, Aragorn spoke again. "Is there no other way for the women and children to get out of the caves?" Gamling and Théoden looked at each other, as if telepathically conferring about the best way not to die. "Is there no other way?"

"There is one passage," Gamling admitted eventually. "It leads into the mountains. But they will not get far, the Uruk-hai are too many." At their mention, our enemies started huffing and puffing to blow those doors down with renewed enthusiasm, banging like hell against the wood.

"Send word for the women and children to make for the mountain pass. And barricade the entrance!" commanded Aragorn.

"I'll go with you," I told Gamling. "Just one thing I have to do first, in case this all really does go to shit." I faced Legolas, who was bracing himself against the door. "Legolas, there's no other way to say this, so yeah-I love you. I really, really, really love you, and even though I know it's melodramatic and kind of over the top, I have to do this now because maybe I won't-oh, fuck it!" I think it was the crazy, 'we're all going to die' situation that brought my nerve to the exact heat it needed, but either way, I walked straight over to Legolas Greenleaf, Legolas freaking Greenleaf, grabbed his collar and kissed him so hard I thought that we had simultaneous heart attacks. He didn't get the chance to do anything other than kiss back for just a second, because I pulled away, running to where Gamling's back was disappearing through a door.

"I love you too, Cat!" I heard him yell, and as I passed Aragorn I could have sworn I saw the Ranger smile.

TFE TFE TFE TFE TFE TFE

I followed the emerald green cloak through jagged, rugged walkways, my thankfully keen eyes picking out my course in the dim light that threw sinister shadows onto the path. I couldn't hear anything behind us but the drip of stagnant water, so I figured the others were either holding the Uruks off or they were a long way back.

When we entered the huge cavern where the women and children were taking refuge, most of them instantly stood up; their faces wet with tears already, and I felt my heart sink just thinking about telling them. Nonetheless, I took control-surprisingly enough. "THE BATTLE ISN'T OVER!" I shouted. Murmurs of concern and fright began to spread. Okay, no. No panic allowed. Even if I was freaking out internally. "WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE AND GET TO THE MOUNTAIN PASS! GET YOUR CHILDREN AND MOVE-WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!"

I tried to get them as organized and not panicking as was humanly possible, but let's face it-controlling a general populace of frightened women and children may not be rocket science, but it's pretty damn hard. They tried to run out of there as quickly as they could, which created a blockage, but with mine and Gamling's help and a bit of common sense, we made it into a dark tunnel that seemed to have no end as we felt our way along.

So many women asked me in petrified whispers, what exactly was going on, that I lost count. They were terrified, their stomachs empty and growling, exhausted, and probably starting to give up just a little. To be honest, even I couldn't keep going forever, and the light at the end of the tunnel just wasn't coming. "Milady-"

"I'm not a lady," I muttered for the billionth time. "I'm just a soldier doing my job." I regretted snapping instantly, but I set my jaw. "What is it? Are you okay?"

"Do you know how far we are from the end of the passage?" the woman asked fearfully, walking beside me. I sighed. Great. Another person I had to disappoint.

"No, I don't. I'm sorry. We just have to keep moving."

And keep moving we did, through those winding, rocky corridors that dripped and wept in the thin light. It felt like years before we came to the conclusion of our mountain passage adventure, but as we were spewed out into the sunlight and we gulped in lungfuls of sweet, pure oxygen, I wished that we hadn't. It was even worse than the sight of my last battle. So many bodies littered the ground. Thousands upon thousands, Elves and Men and Uruk-hai alike. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. So many people had died, just like that...

It was so wrong, but it was a fact of life in this world. It was a fact of life back on Earth. But any innocence left in me was wiped away like a speck of dust when I saw the total and utter destruction and chaos left in the wake of the Battle of Helm's Deep. All the blood, all the bodies. So many corpses carpeting the battlefield…that did it. I pressed a hand against my heaving stomach and leaned against the wall of the opening, as a mixture of bile and a little water was retched out, my eyes stinging and my throat constricting painfully for the second time in a few hours. Suddenly, just as I finished, I felt a little hand rub my shoulder hesitantly, soft hair tickling my cheek. A sweet, shy voice whispered to me. "You were the one who sat with me and Éothain last week, weren't you?" Freda said, in hushed tones, her big blue eyes heartbreakingly reminding me of my cousin Izzy's. I swallowed the stuff coating my teeth and tongue, wincing and nodding at the same time. She stood there for a moment, before quickly jumping into my arms and hugging me tight. I couldn't have smelled that great, but hey, hugs from kids are great. They're too tight, and full of a desperate, spontaneous love that only they know about, and you can't help but smile and hug them back just as tightly.

I followed the others back to Helm's Deep. They knew the way better than I did. But despite all the carnage and despair, I had a small, secret smile on my face that wouldn't go away, no matter how I tried.

TFE TFE TFE TFE TFE TFE

It was only after I'd reached the colossal hole in the fortress wall that I remembered something very important that the past couple of crazy hours had made me forget.

I'd kissed Legolas.

I'd also told him I loved him.

He'd also said it back.

I groaned, rubbing a hand over my forehead. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!" I huffed. "Why? Why would you do it, Cat? Oh yeah. Because you're in love with him, and you're stupid. You've ruined a perfectly good friendship with a great guy, and now you're going to have to tell him you were being a stupid person, as per usual, and you didn't mean it. But you did mean it! Oh, for the love of Jesus Christ, did you mean it, and-why am I talking to myself? Oh yeah. Because I'm STUPID!"

A few soldiers were staring at me by the time I'd finished my fun-size rant. Apparently it'd gotten kind of loud. …Oops.

However, after breaking the Guinness World Record for saying the word 'stupid' in two minutes, seriously considering punching myself and leaning against the edge of the broken wall, a flash of gold in the sunlight caught my attention and kept it, as Legolas moved towards me-or rather, Gimli. In my general direction then. Whatever!

Legolas Greenleaf

I walked down to where Gimli sat, smoking, feeling very pleased. He and Aragorn were alive, and I was sure to have won our game. "Final count," I announced grandly, examining my bow, "Forty-two." He sat back, nonplussed.

"Oh! That's not bad for a pointy-eared Elvish princeling," he jested. I looked up from my bow. What did he mean, 'pointy-eared Elvish princeling'?! "I myself am sitting pretty on forty-three."

Suddenly, the Uruk beneath him twitched. It was still living! I drew my bow as fast as thought, sending an arrow into the beast and surely killing it. There. Now we were at an even score, if nothing else. "Forty-three." Gimli frowned.

"He was already dead!"

"He was twitching!"

"He was twitching, because he's got my axe embedded in his nervous system!"

Our bickering was interrupted by an amused voice. "Now, now, boys. No need for arguing." Cat moved out from behind the broken wall, her eyes sparkling wickedly. "Just whip 'em out. I'll measure." I had a feeling that she was mocking us, and I raised an eyebrow disapprovingly, shaking my head despite the elation at seeing her alive and well. Gimli stood up.

"Oh yes, lassie? Just how many Uruk-hai did you fell, then?" he asked, folding his arms. She shrugged carelessly ere he did so, a light shift of the shoulders that made me smile.

"Fifty-six. But that's not the point I was trying to make, Gimli." Gimli choked on his pipe, and even I could not contain my surprise. "Though I did beat both of you, so…" She cleared her throat, building suspense for a moment, and then pointed at both of us. "LOSERS!" she laughed. "And because I won, you both have to admit that guys suck and girls are awesome." It was an outburst of childishness that I had not seen for a while in her, and a grin tugged at my lips, because with this outburst came a light in her countenance I had never seen before. It was impossible to stifle! I had far too many reasons to be joyful to be serious now! My friends were alive, we had won the battle, and Catherine and I had finally, finally shared a kiss.

I was startled from my reverie ere her voice addressed me. "Watson, I did kiss you, right?"

I folded my arms. "Now would not be the time to deny it, mellon-nîn," I replied, pointedly. I truly hoped that she would not avoid me, yet again, in the aftermath of the abrupt advance in our relationship. She shook her head, at once nervous and filled with a queer bravery. I could have sworn that she even shook slightly.

"No, I'm afraid you're wrong there, pethron," she corrected. I frowned. What did she mean? "You're better at speaking Elvish than I am-obviously-so correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the term is meleth-nîn; or just meleth, Legolas."

Wonder and joy filled my heart ere she spoke those words, and I could not help but step forward and fold her in my arms, aching from the lack of her! "Yes, that is right," I whispered. "Meleth."

I kissed her fiercely then, holding her body to mine and never wanting to let go-I just could not help myself. Her arms wound around my neck. A kiss was a very strange thing...who had first realised that lips could join together in such a way? It was dizzying, terrifying, how simple yet how sweet it could be, how full of passion and excitement. It made my heart cease to beat yet beat harder and faster at the same time! This, surely, was what it felt like to truly love a woman. I felt her lips open, and her grip on my hair tighten slightly, and our tongues met, battling as hard as we had fought the Uruk-hai in the night. As we broke away, Catherine blushed as dark a red as her hair, looking for all the world like she was loathe for our lips to part, and I knew that we both were. I kissed her once more, lightly, on the very tip of her nose. "Gi melin," I murmured softly, stroking my thumb over her cheek, a feeling of elation stirring in my chest. It did not matter who had won the game-I had won her heart.

Translations:

Mellon-nîn-My friend.

Pethron-Roughly translated, it means teacher. Its exact translation is word-man, or narrator. In this case, I mean the former.

Meleth-nîn/meleth-My love/love.

Gi melin-I love you.