Nothing of the Lord of the Rings is my property. I don't own them and I'm not making any profit on this. I just like playing with them a little. Any original characters are my own.



A/N: I've only seen the movie (FOTR) and I'm very nearly done TTT, so if there are some inconsistencies, chalk it up to ignorance. I am also not a medical expert, so excuse a few faux pas's. Feedback and constructive criticism are always welcomed.



*****



Time and Space

Chapter 2



I slowly blinked, unable to comprehend what stood before her. This man appeared so foreign, yet was oddly familiar. Something about his face, his features, struck me like deja vu. I lightly shook her head. This was not the time to be worrying about that. This man needs my help.

He resumed his viewing of the window, letting the tear drop to the floor. It stained the tile silver. I gazed at that tile a moment before looking back at him. Who he was seemed the wrong question. What he was appeared more appropriate.

I made a move towards him, to move him towards a nearby table and chair, and quickly discovered that was the wrong thing to try. He immediately grabbed my wrist extremely tightly. His face, once sad, was now contorted into anger and hostility. My first reaction was to yell out, but I bit my tongue. He didn't need further aggrivation by large men in white coats. My arm went limp, trying to tell him that I submitted to him. He needed to feel some sense of control, something apparently lost to him.



He looked at her, their eyes locked. And in her, he could see a small light, a known light to him. He released his grasp, held the gaze another moment, then resumed his stare out the window.



"Okay," I breathed, "guess touching is out of the question." Stupid! How would you like a stranger trying to grab you?

I put the gauntlets on the table and went back to Doreen. "Can I have his file?"

"You sure you don't want some extra help with him?" She eyed the man warily.

I shook her head. "No, I just made a mistake."

The nurse remained unconvinced, but said nothing. She handed over the file and I went back to the window.

"Says here that your name is John Doe." I pulled a pen out of her jeans pocket. "Somehow you don't look like a John. Mind telling me what your real name is?"

No response.

"Well, what's in a name?" I scanned the rest of the file and found very little else. I filled in a little of my own thoughts at the bottom, mostly that he didn't like to be touched and enjoyed staring out the window. Closing the file, I looked back at him. "See, the thing is that if we don't find out who you are or what your problem is, you're going back out there." I pointed out the window. "And I'm not convinced that's a good place for you." Not that here seems much better, I thought. "So why not help me out. Just give me something, anything, that tells me you have some idea what's going on."

He continued to stare.

"Okay," I sighed. And then a thought occured. "When the police tried to bring you into the car, you mentioned something. What was it..." I opened the file. "Yeah. Valar. You said it a few times. What does it mean?"

He blinked, several times.

"You know that word, don't you? Valar."

He bowed his head a little, his eyes unable to focus on anything. He then quickly looked up and grabbed the cage on the window. "Valar, thaed nin!"

A smile spread across my lips. "So you haven't lost the power of speech. That's good. Now what else..." I stopped. He began shaking the cage, as though trying to rip it off, or at least get it out of his way. "Valar!" he repeated louder than before.

"Hey, easy. No one's going to hurt you." I almost moved to hold his arms.

He continued his assault on the cage, now with both hands. I could most certainly sense the fear in him. He was terrified of what was happening.

"You want some help?" Doreen offered, the phone already dialing security.

"No!" I held out my arm towards the nurse. "Doreen, please don't call security." I turned back to my patient. "He doesn't need anymore terror."

And then the doctor heard the sounds of other patients grabbing the windows' cages and rattling them around. Some began moaning, others were screaming.

Oh, God, what have you gotten yourself into? I thought. "Please, please just let go."

"That's right, buddy, do what the nice doctor tells ya," a deep voice came from behind. I peered over her shoulder and found two very large, very menacing looking men making their move on the young man. One grabbed his shoulders and the other went for his hands. This about set him over the edge. He now screamed, but held fast to his grip of the cage. The guard then shifted to grab his waist. This allowed the patient to give a few swift kicks to the cage. And I damn near fell over when I saw the bow in the cage. This guy was strong.

"Harry, get his legs!" the guard yelled.

Harry did as instructed.

"Please don't hurt him. He doesn't understand what's going on!" I begged them to try to take it easy with him, but I knew that wouldn't happen.

He continued to scream. His grip on the cage was loosened enough for the two men to pull him off. He squirmed and wriggled, trying anything to get out of the force overpowering him. His maneuverings forced the guards off balance several times, where he was able to knock over a small table. The entire room was now chaos as other patients began to throw and break things. I stayed a step behind, vainly trying to calm the situation. I felt completely and utterly useless.

A few minutes later, they had him on the bed and were attempting to strap his arms and legs. He kept fighting, but his screams were now words. "Valar!" he kept repeating, "Valar varya nin!"

"Nick! Get that arm down!" Harry grunted. He looked at the man with hatred. "You're quite the fighter, eh. Well, you're starting to piss me off." He pointed a menacing finger at him. "Now shut it or I'll shut it for ya!"

The man was oblivious and kept yelling and trying to get out of the restrains.

"They're too tight," I told both of them.

"The ain't too tight," Nick said. "Gotta keep him down somehow."

Doreen was now present with a needle, of which I guess the contents. Before I could stop her, his screams reached a higher intensity.

"I told ya, don't..." He punched him squarely on the jaw. "...piss me off." The scream stopped and was replaced with absolute fear. Doreen took the momentary quiet and jabbed the needle into his thigh.

"No!" I yelled too late. "God..." I sighed. I glared at the nurse. "He's been through enough."

"He needed to be sedated, Doctor. You and I both know that."

Truth was, I did.



Twenty minutes later, the room was finally quieted. Some patients also had to be restrained, but most just had to be threatened by Harry or Nick and immediately went quiet.

I stood at the foot of the bed the man now rested in. A large welt was showing on his chin. I breathed in deeply and rubbed my forehead. "How did this happen?" I whispered. I looked again at the form and shook my head. The bindings forced his legs and arms apart in a spread eagle fashion, humiliating and very uncomfortable. The hospital dressing gown did little to improve his appearance. His hair was a tangled mess. But even still, I could see that it continued to shimmer. With a brush and a little shampoo, it would be beautiful. Now though, it just further added to confusion that was this man.

A confusion that was compounded when I looked more closely at him. Hidden before, his ears now stood in plain view. Kneeling next to his head, I brushed away a few tendrils of hair, marvelling in their silkiness, and was surprised. His delicate ears had fine points to them. Points that suited his facial features perfectly. I reached to touch them, but hesitated. Checking that he was indeed still unconscious, I gently caressed them. They were very real, soft and warm. I pulled back when a tiny moan escaped him. Must be sensitive, I thought. I then dared another touch, this time of his cheek and brow.

His skin was smooth and silken. I pulled back quickly, worried that my own rough hands would somehow hurt him. Silly, I know, but there was something about him that made me feel protective. No, more than that. I felt a strange kinship with this man, this stranger. I knew him, not in a real sense, but more subconsciously.

"Help me," I whispered into that wondrous ear. "Do not be afraid."

He began to stir. "Aragorn," he whispered oh so gently. "I have failed you..."

I stood bolt upright. So you do know English! But why would you not use...

"Gimli. Elessar. La varya...." He continued a little in that strange tongue.

My hand carefully cupped his cheek. "You are a mystery. Help me unlock it."





To be continued...