Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings and I know I'm not nearly the writer Tolkien was. I also don't own certain incidents that Elrond remembers which are out of certain stories by Cassia and Siobhan.
Elrond was fed up to his pointy ears as he stared out the window of his room. With the keen sight of elves he was able to see his sons and their friend arrive, injured as usual by the look of things. Legolas appeared to be limping along painfully and Aragorn's arm was in a makeshift sling. This was most definitely not the first time he had witnessed such a scene and he doubted it would be the last. Amazingly enough, though, he found that he was not really as angry as he would have been several years ago. Well, not angry per se since back then he had mostly been full of concern for the two princes who were always getting into the worst of circumstances. Anyway, he was rather amused for some indiscernible reason.
As he went down to meet them, he put a look that was both stern and worried onto his face. He had had plenty of opportunity to practice over the millennia and looking out in the direction from which Legolas was approaching, he remembered one such time. Elves have very good memories along with their extreme longevity but this was one memory he would love to forget for good. Fortunately, it was not always with him but certain circumstances would bring it to mind, point in fact being the appearance of a wounded Legolas.
Unfortunately, such a sight had become a frequent event in the past few years since the Prince of Mirkwood had met Estel, or Aragorn as was his real name, though he seldom used it. Sometimes Elrond wished the two had never met. Somehow they always managed to get into trouble, with the predictable result being that one would rescue the other. And the predictable result of that was that the Lord of Rivendell had to patch them up before they went off to repeat the cycle.
The four friends were just coming into sight now, human sight that is, so Aragorn caught sight of his father standing there. His brothers, the twins Elladan and Elrohir, noticed where he was looking and dropped the animated conversation they were having about this latest scrape their little brother and his friend had gotten into. Really Aragorn was their foster brother and they had known Legolas much longer but did not spend nearly as much time with him. Elrond had to suppress a grin at the four guilty faces presented to him. Of course he could see right through them and did not believe for a moment that they were sorry.
He no longer bothered to ask what had happened; he already knew the gist of what their responses would be. Legolas would claim that he was fine while Aragorn stated (as usual) that it was his fault. Then the twins would jump in to defend him and accuse Legolas of trying to hide his injuries at which point they would all start shouting at once. So Elrond just glared at them all indiscriminately while allowing a twinkle to show in his eyes because judging by their expressions, none of them was likely want to face him.
He underestimated Aragorn in this though because having grown up among elves he had become adept at watching his surroundings without seeming to, especially since his brothers loved to play tricks on him. The skill had also come in handy on his many ventures into the wild. He was not fooled by the mask on his father's face and allowed a grin to grow on his own face. Legolas and the twins did notice that and stared at him in shock as he burst out laughing. "You aren't fooling me, Ada!" He exclaimed.
The others joined in the laughter, uncertainly at first but more wholeheartedly as the elven lord dropped his stern visage and chuckled too. "How long have you known, Estel?" He asked his foster son when he regained control over himself.
The young man grinned impishly. "That's for me to know and you to worry about!" Elrond tried to glare again but could not hold the expression convincingly.
The other three elves watched in confusion and tried to figure out what the two were talking about. "What…?" they all asked together. They all burst out laughing again.
"Later," Aragorn said. "So, are you going to patch me up this time or leave me to languish with a sore arm on my own?" He made a hurt face and almost lost in when his father hurried down to check on his arm. His grimace when his father took his arm, though, was real, and he hissed in pain.
His arm was really hurting now that he excitement was over and the adrenaline drained away. He had to grab Elrond's arm with his good hand and tried to steady himself unobtrusively but the healer was having nothing of that. He wrapped an arm around his son and silently told his other sons to grab Legolas, who was also showing signs of near collapse.
They nodded to each other without a word while Legolas ignored them, more worried about his friend than about himself. Then Elladan and Elrohir reached out to grab the other's wrists behind the unsuspecting prince's back and swept him up carefully between them. Legolas considered struggling but his leg was hurting too much so he relaxed in their arms. He was feeling kind of sleepy now too and so relaxed further. Half a minute later he was sound asleep.
Elrohir winked at his twin and Elladan grinned back, knowing he had used his healing powers to knock out the elf. Elrohir had been training with his father in recent times, mostly because of Estel's tendency to get seriously injured, beginning when the human he broken his arm at the age of eight. Elladan was also able to heal but he generally allowed someone to lead him in that area.
They got the elven prince to his room easily enough and carefully began to cut away his leggings around the wound in his leg which they easily distinguished by the blood stain in that area. Normally Aragorn would have insisted on caring for his friend himself but it's kind of hard to do such delicate work with only one working arm. Legolas winced a few times but did not wake up; Elrohir made sure of that.
Then he sent his twin to see how Estel was doing. He was experienced enough with Legolas to know that the prince would immediately wake up and look for his human friend if no one stayed with him. He had done so before, completely oblivious of his own wounded state. So Elrohir sat with his friend, knowing that despite his healing magic, Legolas would soon be awake and worried about Aragorn.
Moments later, Legolas moaned and his eyes cleared. He blinked quickly and then tried to sit up.
"Oh no you don't!" came an amused voice beside him. "Ada is taking care of him, and they will probably both be in here in a moment. Elladan when to see."
Another voice interrupted, "And here we are now." Elrond smiled in the doorway and then stepped through to reveal that one arm was around his foster son's shoulder on his bad side while Elladan carefully supported him on his good arm. Estel was looking better, though his arm was once more in a sling. He tried to rush forward but was stopped and forced to walk slowly so as not to jar his arm.
"Are you alright?" Legolas and Aragorn said at the same time. Everyone laughed and Legolas relaxed against the pillows.
"Well enough," Legolas said when he had caught his breath, "though once your father gets his hands on me…"
Elrond chuckled and said mock-severely, "Legolas, such manners! I should have Elladan work on your leg."
"Ai! Anything but that!" Legolas pretended to cringe back. Aragorn carefully seated himself on the edge of his friend's bed while the healer went around to the other side, which was the one where Legolas's leg was injured. After examining it carefully, he gave the twins a look of silent gratitude for cleaning the wound and then closed his eyes and concentrated. Everyone remained as quiet and still as possible, watching the wound begin to close before their eyes. It wasn't completely healed but had been given a good start since any poison had been removed and the elf's own natural healing abilities would finish the healing within a few days without a trace being left. Legolas breathed a sigh of relief as the pain left him. "Thank you, my lord," Legolas said sincerely.
Elrond opened his eyes and smiled at the young (relatively speaking) elf. "Well, it isn't exactly a pleasure young one but don't worry. I've not given up on you yet. Perhaps someday you will learn to dodge arrows!" He slumped for a moment and his sons exchanged a look of concern. Without a word, the twins reached out to grab their father to carry him to his room. "Oh no you don't!" he snapped without looking up.
They ignored him, though, and picked him up anyway. He was actually too weak to resist though he wanted to. They carried him the way they had Legolas and laid him on his bed. "Really, Ada, you should take better care of yourself," Elrohir scolded his father while Elladan rushed off to the kitchen to grab some food since it was near suppertime.
"I'm fine!" Elrond protested, not sounding at all fine. He hated being a patient more than any of his patients ever had, as had been revealed the time the Bruinen River had overflowed because of the earthquake that had injured him. He didn't regret that injury at all because it had saved Estel's life but he had not been happy to wake up with Mithrandir being his healer and Aragorn leaning over his bedside rather than vice versa. By the expression on Elrohir's face now he was not getting up any time soon. His son was an active warrior and so had the strength to enforce the bedrest, while Elrond lacked the strength even to sit up.
He allowed his son to feed him and then drifted off to sleep suspiciously fast. He was alone when he woke up but from the indention in the chair beside his bed and the warmth of his seat, he figured someone had anticipated his waking. At that moment Aragorn entered with a tray of food balanced carefully on his good hand. "Elrohir was right on the dot!" he exclaimed, and smiled at his father brightly.
"He was, was he?" Elrond growled. "So you measured the sleeping potion, son?" He directed his comment toward the open doorway and was rewarded with a snicker before three elves walked in. Elrond glared for a moment and then openly smiled. "Well, you did an excellent job. I didn't suspect a thing until I woke up. How long have I been asleep anyway?"
"Fifteen hours."
The elf lord jumped but said, "I suppose I needed it. I don't sleep much when Aragorn and Legolas are away. I'm always anticipating their return and spend my nights going through my medicines, making sure I have enough and every known antidotes to every poison. My days I spend trying to find new antidotes when I'm not doing my other duties." He hadn't meant to say so much but it had come out anyway.
Aragorn set down the tray on the bedside table and leaned forward to give his father a hug. "Thank you for everything." He said softly, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.
Legolas too came forward and hugged the elf that had saved his life so many times. Elrond was surprised and touched by the affection, especially from the young elf who had always shown him the deepest respect dating back to Dorolyn, but never anything more personal. He had come so far… Elrond shoved the thought back for a moment and shooed them all out of the room with an affectionate smile. "Go on, all of you. I can eat by myself now. I'm perfectly fine, go get your own breakfast."
When he was alone again, he took the plate on his lap but didn't pick up the silverware. He had a lump in his throat remembering again Legolas's reaction to him so many centuries ago as he had entered the youngster's cell disguised as Esgal. 'Go on and do what you came to do but don't toy with me.' The younger elf had finally grown to trust him once Elrond had revealed is identity but Legolas had always distanced himself from Elrond a bit because the Peredhil had rescued him from such an awful fate. Until now he had never shown any deeper emotions, probably because it was hard enough holding such memories, much less speaking of them to someone who had been there and seen a great deal of it. He was healed completely now, though. The emotional healing had begun when Legolas met and gradually befriended Aragorn. The worst of it ended when the dark elf Hebrilith had fought with Legolas, trying to kill him because he had befriended a human and was trying to defend him. The corrupted elf had tried to psyche him out by saying that he hadn't truly put the events at Dorolyn behind him. Aragorn, though severely wounded had supported his friend and saved him by convincing him that he was not like his opponent. Now it would seem that he was finally beyond it and was again whole of spirit.
Elrond finally relaxed and began to eat. As he did so, his thoughts settled on what wonderful adults his sons and their friend (who was like a son to him) had turned into. With that, them memories of the past dimmed behind him as they finally became the past and forgotten. Now he was truly free.
The End.