Disclaimer: Not mine.

Legolas sat Elladan, Elrohir, Glorfindel and Erestor down in the lounge, pointing to the seats for the elves to place themselves in. He spoke little and did not smile, and, like a strict schoolteacher, waited for them to fall to silence.

"This seems serious," Glorfindel observed, coming in late from settling Sinclair in bed, and sank down into the seat next to his husband.

"Are we in trouble, Legolas?" Elladan asked, cautiously. Next to him, Elrohir leaned back into the seat, not particularly concerned. He had not done anything wrong.

"No, no. But we are. I am," Legolas said, glancing down at his lap in misery. "Aragorn, Cariad and I need to ask you for further help. I know we are pushing the boundaries of our friendships further than we ought, but… I need you to carry on caring for Rilluin and Liana. Just for a little while longer."

Erestor raised his eyebrows, sceptically. "Is that all?" Next to him, Glorfindel gave an easy laugh, slinging an arm around his husband's shoulders, pulling the dark haired elf closer to him.

"You are a foolish elf," agreed Elladan, "For one we know to be so intelligent."

"You will do it then?" asked Legolas, surprised at the ease with which he had managed to convince them.

"Legolas we are your friends and your family. You are in trouble, we know that, so we help you. Aragorn is so caught up in work that he barely emerges from his office. When the council session broke yesterday for lunch, we saw that he went straight back to the office and carried on with what he had to," Elrohir pointed out.

"And you are trying so hard with Cariad," Erestor coined in, "Yet he can not stand too much of his siblings' company in the condition that he is in; you can not keep them together for as long as you like to care for them both. We know you are doing your best, and that you can not do everything."

"Even Lady Éowyn does what she can, in her condition. We have all watched that. She takes Rilluin to play with Théo, and Liana to play with Boromir," Elladan added. "Whilst we know that you try to do everything, we actually like to help our family, when they are in trouble. You would do the same for us."

Gratefulness and love of his friends swelled inside Legolas, like warm heat spreading up from his chest. "Thank you, thank you so much mellon nin."

Standing, Erestor moved to his friend and ordered, "Do not thank us for that which we are glad to do." He clasped Legolas' arm. "Foolish one."

"I know," Legolas sighed, wrapping his hand around the other's forearm.

"Besides," Glorfindel said, getting to his feet with his husband. "We now also have a child, and we will call on your service to look after him one day, I am sure."

"Hopefully not in such evil circumstances as these," Legolas prayed, releasing the dark haired elf's arm, surrendering him to his husband.

Glorfindel gave a soft chuckle, amused by the words more than the action, Legolas hoped. "Not at all. Indeed, I suspect it will in aid of very positive circumstances." As if to illustrate his point, he placed a kiss to Erestor's neck, and slung one arm around his waist, allowing it to slide down past his hip. Erestor's hand shot down to grab the hand and intertwined his fingers with it, rather than let it go further. The more conservative elf flushed at the attentions.

"If I can, I will help Aragorn with what work he has," Erestor offered with a slightly distracted stutter. "I know that he is not willing to let many scribes help him without the help of Faramir, but I am sure he would allow me to help."

However, Elladan was more suspicious, frowning to himself. "Why would you ask this of us now? We were doing this already, without prompting."

Legolas turned, and, with a deep intake of breath, reluctantly told him, "I am taking Cariad to Ithilien. Somehow. Hopefully it will break him from the darkness which surrounds him. It was my Atar's idea."

"It is a foolish idea," spat Elladan, immediately, rising not to comfort the elf as his friends had, but from anger. "He will suffer all the way there. It pains him to see any one of us step into that room. He is pained with such fear every time someone steps in - even you - because he no longer thinks you tell him the truth!"

"I omitted the information that a guard gave him away, because it would only lessen the already small number of people he trusts," exclaimed Legolas.

"Perhaps then you ought to have told the rest of us," Elladan snapped. Behind Legolas, Glorfindel possessively and protectively drew Erestor away from the anger of Elladan. Elrohir reluctantly stood and held out a hand to restrain his twin, but Elladan hit it away. "Taking him away from the place he finds familiar will do him absolutely no good, at all. The only person I have seen allowed to touch him has been Éowyn, probably because she is a woman. What made you think in the first place that adopting a child who is terrified of men would be a good idea? All your friends are male!"

"You go too far," snarled Legolas, restraining the urge to recoil and forcing himself to surge forwards. "Do not try and make me regret my choice of a child! He chose me if anything. He feels more comfortable with those of elvish blood than he does with humans, and I believe that has made a huge difference to his life. He was happy here."

"He is not happy here now!"

"Not through want of trying. I would do anything to make him happy again," Legolas hissed, "You would understand that if you had a child yourself. And as neither I nor you – oh great Healer – has had any idea about how to fix him, we might go with the idea of one who has saved himself from darkness twice over, without the support of a partner or a parent."

Both males were panting, blood pounding fast with an unfamiliarly harsh violent intentions for the other. Elrohir stepped forwards, before his twin could say anything to reply, placed his hand on Elladan's hot, cheek, the furthest, and forcibly turned the elder twin's face towards him. In a stern voice, ordered, "Stop now. You made your point." A long moment passed between the brothers, each glaring at each other. Silent words passed between them. To the surprise of Legolas, Elladan was the first to break away and hung his head a little. There was a shadow of a small triumphant smile on Elrohir's lips, as he let his hand slowly fall away.

After a moment of tense silence, Elladan snapped his head back towards Legolas, and growled, "I am coming with you to Ithilien."

Legolas' jaw fell open. "But… a moment ago I was not allowed to go."

With a resentful glance at his son, Elladan replied, "Elrohir agrees with you. And he understands the mind far better than I do. Besides that, I am not leaving my nephew and you to the hands of Ithilien Healers."

Legolas smirked at that, and Elrohir said, "Elladan and I have agreed that I will remain here, and I will keep an eye on Aragorn and the other children. I may resume teaching Rilluin lessons, to restore some normality, though I know that he enjoys spending time with Aragorn and helping him, so I will leave the choice to him." Legolas knew not to question the fact that Elladan and Elrohir had not even spoken to each other – the bond between the twins was as strong – maybe even stronger for the depth of time – than the bond between Aragorn and Legolas.

"Your family here will be cared for," Glorfindel surmised. "We will not leave, and you are not to worry for them."

"Thank you," was all Legolas could say.

000

"No!" Rilluin exclaimed, darting forwards in his chair. "No Atar, do not go again! You only just left."

"I have to," Legolas wearily informed his son. He averted his eyes from his son's anguished face, gazing instead down at the top of Liana's head, where she sat in his lap. She held on tightly to her father's thumbs, as if that could make him stay, yet Legolas knew there was no way for him to make his peace with the infant, not through words. There was no way for her to understand. She would only comprehend his leaving when she saw him riding away into the nothing, as she stood on the battlements, increasingly far from her elvish father. Legolas continued his explanation to the one child that he hoped could appreciate his situation. "I do not think I have a choice in this at all, ion nin. It is what is best for Cariad."

"You do not know that!" shouted Rilluin, rising furiously to his feet, like a dust storm from the deserts. "You are guessing, playing with my brother's fears."

"This is no game to me," Legolas replied, warningly.

Ignoring the darkness in his father's countenance, Rilluin continued, "Why is it always about Cariad? The world does not revolve around him! Yet it seems to since you brought him home."

"It is not always about Cariad," sighed Legolas. Both parents had spoken to the oldest boy on this matter before, yet jealousy was quick to arise between siblings. "Just for a little while, I must concern myself solely with Cariad, but the quicker we help him get better, the quicker Ada and my attentions can be split fairly again."

They had gone through a few days of trying to shift ordinary life to Cariad's room; then the world really had revolved around the small blonde child. Dinner had been served there, Rilluin and Liana both played there, work Legolas had to do to assist his husband had been completed there... All in that musty, hot, far too bright room. But there had been too many people for Cariad to handle all the time, and so that idea began to lose favour. It was Thranduil's word which had cut it off completely, when he pointed out how it was just allowing Cariad to do whatever he wanted. It provided absolutely no incentive for him to leave. Not ever. The other children had been made to suffer in that situation as well, confined like invalids, and that had not been fair.

The volume of Rilluin's voice made Legolas wince; his sensitive ears too close to the noise. "It is not fair! You spend so much time trying to make him better! You have other children too!"

In Legolas' lap, Liana squirmed and whimpered, "Lil win!"

"I do not forget it. But please keep your voice to an acceptable level," Legolas said, gently raising his hands from around Liana's waist to smooth down her hair. "We do not need the whole of the castle knowing our business. And may I remind you that you are the one who would not speak to me for days after I agreed that Cariad would be found with more ease if we let the trackers chase him down by themselves."

"You deserved that," muttered Rilluin. He looked away, and his hair swung into his eyes. "You gave up."

"But you wanted Cariad back as much as we did," pointed out Legolas, perceptive as he ever was. "You missed him too. So you are not unwilling to let us spend the time on him." For a moment, the elf coolly regarded his son, and then the coldness faded as he murmured, "If you do not want to be separated from me, or from him, you can tell me. I will not mind if you come with me. Neither will Ada be offended."

Rilluin spat as he said, "So Ada does not care if I am present or not." Suddenly, Rilluin's eyes widened in realisation. "You and Ada are arguing again! Like that time you told us we were going on holiday to visit Grandfather, and you were so upset. Some days you could not bear to hear Ada's name mentioned, and some days you would speak of nothing but him. That is what this is!"

A short laugh escaped Legolas' lips, and even Liana looked up at her father in surprise. That noise had not been heard in days, yet its bitterness was inescapably obvious. That time held so much hurt for him still, and he had been the cause of too much of it himself. "You speak nonsense Rilluin. Your father and I are more in love than we ever have been. Nothing can break us apart again. Not ever. You can visit me at Ithilien whenever you want, and I will write you letters all the time. Do not worry yourself so badly, please."

Suddenly, the anger drained from Rilluin, and he dropped so fast onto Legolas' knees that the elf only just managed to tear Liana away before she was squashed. The boy pressed himself into his father's body, and Legolas put Liana on the floor, carefully. They were in the same room as the cats, and immediately she toddled over to them. Gently, Legolas wrapped his arms around his eldest son, the one who had been with them the longest, the one who would soon enough begin to take on responsibility of the Kingdom. It was so difficult not to think of him as the tiny baby taken from Aragorn's belly in the wake of the Victory of the War or the Ring. Legolas remembered too well how much pain Aragorn had gone through to bring Rilluin into the world; in the end the agonies had been too much to bear with the amount of exhaustion the human had had to struggle through. Eventually, he had buckled. The life of the tiny individual relied upon the speed with which the twins could pull him out. Now however, that minuscule baby was not defenceless. He did not depend on Legolas' ability to find a wet nurse and keep him alive. He was capable of independent thought – too much so sometimes, in Legolas' estimation – he stood his ground in arguments and his own strong opinions. He had flourished into an individual, soon to become a man. Too soon.

Before long, Rilluin would not accept the hold of his father. He would not care for it for a time. Legolas dreaded the day that his son would refuse his comfort. Yet there was time still, and his son needed him now. "Do not fret so, my boy. Do you want our brother to get better?"

"Of course," Rilluin mumbled.

"Then you will let us go."

"Must I?"

"Yes ion nin. And whilst I am gone, can I trust you to look after Ada?" Legolas asked, knowing that feeding his son some responsibility would make him feel a little better about himself and give him something to focus on. "Make sure that he eats and that he gets enough sleep, to make sure he does not get ill? You know that he tends to forget if there is too much on his mind." Legolas paused, tantalisingly, then carried on, "Or is that too much to ask of you?"

Like a swimmer, throwing their head out of the water after a dive to gulp at air, Rilluin sat bolt upright, emerging out of his misery, at once and gasped, "Of course not! I will make sure he is alright."

"Look at me," Legolas ordered. He scrutinised his son's face and then nodded seriously, "Yes, I think you are old enough that I can trust you. Very well. That is what you shall do." Rilluin beamed. "Perhaps when I return, if you have looked after Ada well, we can look for a dog for you. I know how much you have wanted to own one, and I will know then if you can handle the responsibility." Legolas was not above a little bribery, not to make his son smile as he ought.

"A puppy?" Rilluin asked, excitedly.

With another short laugh, Legolas said, "No. We can not have a puppy up here. The kittens have already torn this room apart." His hand stroked down the side of the chair, where claws being sharpened had torn the velvet at the bottom to tatters already. "A puppy you can not keep in one room as you can with these cats."

"I have been trying to make hem behave," Rilluin said earnestly.

"I know you have, and you have been doing well keeping an eye on them, though they are young yet," Legolas nodded. "But a puppy is more difficult. And you have not completed your mission yet."

"Can I do anything now?" Rilluin asked, true in his earnestness.

Legolas smiled, "Yes you can. You can distract Cariad for a while, whilst I speak to Auntie Éowyn." Abruptly, he remembered to add, "Do not tell him about going to Ithilien, or on any journey. He does not know about it yet. I do not want him to spooked."

Jumping off Legolas' lap, sniggering, Rilluin said, "You are going to be in so much trouble with him. I am glad to not be you."

000

Éowyn leant back into the sofa, and rolled her neck back onto the top of the sofa. Legolas sat at her feet, rubbing them gently. She had traded her help and her secrecy for a foot rub. She was the first to admit that she was easily bought. "You are doing a very good job," she told him.

"I feel like you have me cheating on my husband," muttered Legolas, digging his thumbs in just above the arches of the aching woman. He would not go higher than her ankles, refusing on principle.

"He will not mind. He would not deprive a pregnant woman of some small pleasures, or disrupt the payment in a deal that benefits him as well. No, he would not mind," Éowyn said, her pleasure reaching her eyes and making them bright.

"Your husband might," Legolas pointed out, "And though Aragorn could do me far more damage emotionally, I am not as concerned about him as I am Faramir. I have duelled with your husband before, for play admittedly, not out of anger, yet he possesses vast human strength and brawn built of years defending his country."

"Just carry on with it," growled Éowyn. "Do not pretend you could not best him or almost any human in this Kingdom at any sport they chose." Legolas knew better than to challenge a pregnant woman, from his experiences with a man in the same condition.

"So how am I to get my child out of that room?" he asked instead. "Have you any ideas?"

"I do indeed. Though you may not be happy with them."

000

Legolas poked his head around the door to Cariad's room. The boy sat, shrouded in a blanket, in front of the fire, watching the flames crackle and spit. Éowyn reclined in the huge, comfy chair Legolas had pushed into the room for her, her hands busy sewing. Taking a few steps in, Legolas announced, "Well Éowyn – I am going. I will see you in a few weeks?"

With a heavy exhalation, that was almost too false, Éowyn put her sewing down and asked, "Do you promise that you will return before my time comes?"

"I will," Legolas said. He leant down and kissed Éowyn's hand. They both knew that Legolas could not bind himself to that promise; not if Cariad came with him. "Do you promise me that you will stop all this visiting after I leave, and rest?"

"Of course I do. I was thinking this morning that I could not carry on with the amount of walking. It is enough that I have three children of my own and the energy they draw from me is substantial enough. I can not look after those inside me and yours as well." Éowyn avoided Legolas' eyes, afraid that the blatant lying would have her laughing. She was proud of being a woman of strength, and would not normally admit to weakness like she did now. One of the best things about Faramir being with the children was that she could come to the King's house, and Legolas could make her laugh away her cares and feel free again. She knew though that the elf himself did not find many of the things he said amusing. He just tried to keep her happy. "Take care on your journey, Legolas."

"What are you saying?" Cariad asked, sitting up slightly in front of the flames, confusion marring his features.

"We were saying that I will not longer be here to keep you company after tomorrow," Éowyn said, with false regret. "And neither will your Atar. He is escorting your grandfather home to Ithilien."

"I can not stay in here anymore," Legolas added. "You barely speak to me, so you can not really want me here."

"When?" demanded Cariad, curiosity challenging fear.

Legolas took a deep breath as he said, "Now." Now was the moment that would decide it all. Whether their ploy would pay off. Whether Cariad would come or not.

"You can not go!" gasped Cariad.

"You did not seem to care before," Legolas shrugged. "It did not matter who was in this room with you. You would not talk or respond." The boy had said more in the five minutes past than in days, but Legolas did not like lying to him to produce that reaction.

Seeing this, Éowyn said, "What with Aragorn doing as much as he is.. and you not allowing guards into the room… and Elladan and Elrohir looking after your siblings…"

Legolas latched onto the thread of the conversation and carried on, sewing in an embellishment, "And Glorfindel and Erestor heading home…."

"You will be all alone, Cariad," Éowyn observed.

"No!" Cariad exclaimed.

"I am sorry, ion nin," Legolas said, crouching down next to his son, truly regretful. He could see the boy trembling at the fearful prospect. "There is noting I can do." That much was true. There was a long pause of Cariad shaking his head, which Legolas dragged out for as long as he could bear before he played his trump card, "Unless, of course, you come with me."

Immediately, Cariad whispered, "I can not. No."

"The outside is not as scary as you think it is," murmured Legolas. "You have been unlucky, that is all. It will not happen again." He reached out a hand towards the boy, not quite touching him. "Can you try to trust me Cariad? I did not tell you one thing because I did not want you to be scared without reason. Forgive me for that, for I know now I was wrong, and let me take you to Ithilien. We will be in a covered carriage on the way there. No one will even look at you but me and Grandfather. Then at Ithilien, you will be so safe. It is so full of elves, no harm befalls anyone there. You will be safe."

"Safe?"

"Yes, ion nin," Legolas placed his hand on Cariad's knee and, when he did not draw away, asked, "Do you think you could do that with me? Do you think you could at least try?"

000

Legolas walked slowly with Cariad shrouded in the edge of his cloak, clinging onto it and Legolas' arm with desperate tightness, yet the elf walked with purpose. He would not stop for anything, as then Cariad's faltering steps would stop too, and he would never head forwards again. They had to walk through the city, all the way down to the lower levels to reach the carriage, and the longer they walked for, the higher the chances of Cariad halting and heading back, so Legolas kept up a fast paced conversation over the top of the boy's head. To prevent the boy from falling into contemplation, he mentioned his son's name every few sentences.

"Yes Aragorn, I think so too. What about you, Cariad?" "Naolo is a beautiful name for a boy, is it not, Cariad?" "Cariad, do you think Rilluin should practice his bow or his lance more whilst we are way?"

Admittedly, it did not entice many answer from Cariad, but at the same time, it stopped him from saying that he was turning back. It had been Éowyn's idea initially, and she too used the boy's name as they walked down the steps. Though Aragorn had not been told, he cottoned on quickly enough, as did Rilluin, walking alongside his human father. Once or twice, even Liana set up a chant of "Car, Car, Car, Car Rad. Ca Rad." Frantically, Aragorn had to hush her.

Éowyn walked on Legolas' right hand, Legolas' hand on the small of her back. She had become like a sister to him again in the past few weeks. They had been close before the journey, yet now were even closer and both enjoyed the companionship very much. Whilst Legolas was unsure he would be able to keep his promise to be with her when the babies came, he wanted to. She had done so much for him, and he hoped he could pay her back at some time. Éowyn smiled at him gratefully, thankful for the support of his hand as she walked. She would miss his company; the way he did small generous things like that for her, without even thinking consciously of it.

When the carriage came into view, Thranduil emerged from its depths, making Cariad jump.

"You are not to worry, Cariad," Aragorn soothed. "Your grandfather was just making sure your supplies were ready." Aragorn held Cariad's hurriedly packed case in the hand not holding Liana. It had needed a feat of genius to gather everything needed in time, yet he had done it. "Now he is going to the top with Elladan, as he is going to drive the horses. It will just be you and Atar in the carriage."

"We will see you soon, Cariad." Rilluin moved around as if going to bestow a rare hug upon his brother, but before he could do so, suddenly, Cariad darted out of his father's hold. Legolas' heart froze in fear. Then he realised that Cariad had in fact headed forwards, into the carriage. He threw himself in, out of the open, and was swallowed by the darkness.

He peered out a moment later only to beg, "Please Atar. Come on."

Legolas shot an anxious look at Aragorn, but the human pushed the elf's back. "Go on. Go now or he will never go."

"Farewell Atar!"

"Bye Tar!"

"Good luck," Éowyn said.

"You too." With a little reluctance, Legolas tripped into the carriage. Cariad positioned himself in Legolas' arms at once. There was nothing else to cling onto. Legolas watched Aragorn's figure retreat from the carriage, miserably. He had wanted at least to hold him before they left. He had wanted to say goodbye.

A/N: Ah regard my speed. I promised didn't I? Well I hope I haven't taken up too much of your time via reading that you can not review ;) And if you not done the last one, well... I'm not going to say no.

Seriously though, they are very greatly appreciated – you do not know how much they make me smile and encourage me to write more.

Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR PEOPLES! If this is when you celebrate new year. Hope it's a good one x