Disclaimer: Does anyone really read this? Tolkien's characters. My story.

SLASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SLASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A/N: It is very difficult to write a sad story during the happy season. Hehe.

Orophin watched as Haldir gently caressed Glorfindel's face. The eldar lay on the bed, silent and unmoving, at death's door.

Earlier that afternoon, when he and Rumil had realized that Haldir was not in his safe haven, the one that they knew of, they had quickly backtracked. Just as they were within Lothlorien again, they had heard their brother's heartwrenching scream. They had known it was from the direction of lover's cove, and they had rushed right over.

Celeborn, Erestor and Elrond were there before Rumil, the twins and Orophin arrived. They were not prepared for what they were met with.

Haldir held Glorfindel in his arms, the eldar bleeding and unconscious. Ecthelion stood over them in shock, before he knelt down to tell Haldir that they needed to get Glorfindel to be healed.

"Haldir, come on, we have to…we have to…" As Ecthelion glanced up helplessly, he spotted the newly arrived elves. After recovering from their surprise, the others moved to help Glorfindel.

"Don't touch him!" Haldir held on to Glorfindel possessively. More softly, they barely heard Haldir's next words. "I'll take him."

The March Warden then stood up, carrying his lover with him. Elladan and Elrohir volunteered to stay behind to take care of Rhyden, who though hurt, was still alive as well.

Haldir held Glorfindel's hand the entire time Elrond cleaned and closed up the wound, applying a medicinal lotion, as well as when the elf lord bandaged it. When everyone left, Haldir stayed behind. Ecthelion stayed for awhile. But he realized that Haldir needed to be alone for now, with Glorfindel.

When everyone had left, Haldir let the tears fall freely. He rested his head on the soft bed covers where his lover lay.

"I am so sorry, Glorfindel. I did not mean for you to get hurt." Haldir's voice broke as pain made his throat close up. "I never wanted you to get hurt."

And now he was the reason why Glorfindel lay on the bed, almost lifeless.

/Oh Glorfindel. Is this the result of me loving you?/

"I did not want you hurt, Glorfindel! Why didn't you listen to me?"

/Stop it! It's not his fault! It's…it's…Valar, it's my fault./

Suddenly Haldir felt that he should not be there, that he was not worthy.

/I keep hurting you! I don't mean to, but I do./

Thoughts, those that made Haldir feel worse, swirled in his head.

/This is a sign. It means we cannot be together. We only end up hurting each other!/

/Rhyden would not have hurt you if not for me. The only reason he hurt you was because of me!/

Haldir knew he should leave, now. He should not be here. He might hurt Glorfindel more, and he could not bear to do that.

A little irrational from all the pain and shock, he moved to stand, one bandaged hand, the other gripping Glorfindel's hand. As he moved to let go of his lover's hand, Glorfindel's fingers tightened around his.

The movement was small, and Glorfindel's grip was weak. But Haldir felt it, and it was enough to stop him from leaving.

He stared at their joined hands.

A single tear fell on them.

Haldir fell back on his seat.

"..haldir…" Glorfindel called out softly, as if sensing the turmoil within the March Warden, and reassuring him that Glorfindel wanted him there, right next to the eldar, together, for always.

Haldir swallowed the lump in his throat and moved closer.

"I am here, Glorfindel." He assured his lover. "I am here."

Haldir kissed the eldar's fingers, the ones he had been holding.

"…don't…leave…me…please…"

Haldir reached and buried his face on Glorfindel's neck, sobbing.

"No, no I won't! I…won't. I pr..promise." Haldir swore, past the constriction in his throat.

/I almost hurt him again. If he had woken up, and I had left, I would have hurt him again!/

Haldir had not thought how Glorfindel would have felt if he had woken up and Haldir was not there.

/I swear I will never do anything to hurt you Glorfindel. Ever again./

He continued to hold on to his lover, until finally, exhaustion took over and Haldir fell into reverie, right there, beside Glorfindel.

"Will Glorfindel be alright?" Erestor asked his lover, as he and the rest of them save for the twins, sat around the kitchens, preparing more healing brew for Glorfindel, as well as the healing balm for the wounds.

Elrond nodded. "He is out of danger. He only needs to recover his strength. The wound was not fatal." The Rivendell elf lord explained.

Erestor felt the relief at knowing his friend was out of danger.

"Ecthelion, are you alright?" He asked the other elf, whose distress clearly showed in his face.

Ecthelion had his head bowed, and he sat in the corner of the room.

He looked up at Erestor's inquiry.

"I…I am fine. Thank you." He replied.

"Glorfindel will be fine." Celeborn assured him. The Lorien elf sat by the table, grinding some herbs.

Just then, Elrohir and Elladan bound in.

Their ada looked up.

"How is the other patient?" Elrond inquired.

"Alive, unfortunately." Elrohir answered.

"Elrohir, we do not kill our own kin, no matter how much they deserve it." Ecthelion said quietly.

The younger elf looked down. "I know. It's just…"

"I know." Ecthelion added even before Elrohir finished.

"Shouldn't somebody stay to guard him?" Rumil asked.

"Don't worry. We gave him some sleeping herbs. He won't wake for a few hours." Elladan assured Rumil. They knew that they could not let Rhyden escape. The elf needed to pay for his actions. The fact that he tried to kill a fellow elf, not to mention a seneschal, was a crime beyond atonement. Rhyden would not get away that easily.

"Still, I will watch him." Ecthelion said and stood up.

No one stopped him. They knew he was without doubt in a rage at what had happened to his former lover. But they also knew that Ecthelion would not kill a helpless elf in cold blood. He had only killed when he had been at war, during the kinslayings. But even then, he was fairly matched with his opponents.

"Ecthelion," Elrond called out. The other elf turned to look at the elf lord. "…are you sure you are alright?" Elrond was concerned. Sometimes,a wound was not physical. And if that was the case, it was worse.

Ecthelion's lips formed a small smile of reassurance. He nodded, then slipped off to guard the elf he had nearly killed for hurting the one elf he had ever loved.

Glorfindel opened his eyes slowly. He felt a warm presence by his bedside, and he turned to see Haldir asleep, his lover's head resting on the bed near him, while Haldir sat on a chair pulled very close to the bed. Glorfindel smiled when he felt, before he saw, the hand that held his.

"You are awake."

Glorfindel was slightly startled when a voice came from a dark corner of the room.

"Sorry." Erestor murmured, sensing that he had surprised Glorfindel. "I did not want to intrude, so I sat in the corner." Erestor explained.

Glorfindel smiled at his friend.

"It's fine. I was just a little surprised. I thought we were alone." He whispered, as he was still a little weak.

Erestor raised a brow. "And were you planning to do anything naughty?" He teased.

Glorfindel chuckled, his laughter making him wince as the move brought jarring pain.

Erestor rushed close. "I am sorry." He exclaimed.

Glorfindel, after recovering from the pain, smiled reassuringly.

"I am fine."

Then he saw that Haldir had not moved. He turned to look at Erestor, who now stood beside them.

"He is exhausted. He had not eaten since yesterday. He would not leave you." Erestor explained. Normally, the slightest noise would have woken up the March Warden. But Haldir had not yet even fully recovered from his ailment when the recent events occurred, and his tired and battered body was still recuperating.

Glorfindel sighed.

"could you…move him to the bed? Next to me?" The seneschal requested his friend.

Erestor nodded. "Of course."

Erestor carefully lifted Haldir as Glorfindel moved ever so slowly to provide space for his lover. He winced every now and then as his efforts brought pressure to his wound.

The advisor placed the tired March Warden next to Glorfindel. As soon as Haldir was placed on the bed, he turned, seeking out Glorfindel. As his arms closed around the seneschal, he sighed and snuggled closer, before settling down and going back to sleep.

Erestor smiled at the look of pleasure in Glorfindel's eyes.

"He knows that it's you." He said simply.

Glorfindel nodded in agreement, still slightly in awe.

/He knows it's me. He reached for me!/ The thought warmed Glorfindel, even as he felt honored that Haldir would trust him that much.

Erestor watched Glorfindel as the seneschal continued to stare at Haldir, gently brushing off the stray hair off of Haldir's face.

"Rest. Both of you. If you need anything, just call us." He said, then turned to leave. The rest of the little family had taken it upon themselves to take turns watching Glorfindel and Haldir. It was Elldadn's turn.

Erestor entered the talan he shared with Elrond. He saw his lover on the bed, eyes closed and breathing evenly. Erestor smiled. It had been a tiring day for everyone. Glorfindel was out of danger. They could finally rest.

He removed his outer robe, and his boots, then joined Elrond in bed. He snuggled up to his lover, arranging them so he now held Elrond against him, close. Erestor sighed and waited for sleep to claim him.

Elrond's arms closed around him, pulling him even closer. Erestor smiled once again.

"You done?" Elrond asked sleepily. Erestor knew he was asking about staying with Glorfindel.

"Yes." He replied. "Elladan is with them now."

"Good." The elf lord commented.

Then Elrond, still feigning sleepiness, gently reached down and unlaced his lover's breeches. Before Erestor knew what was happening, a warm hand closed around his elfhood, which jumped at the attention it was getting.

"…elrond.." It was a purr.

Elrond shifted until he was almost on top of Erestor.

"I believe, we have a long overdue unfinished business."

Erestor laughed, remembering what they had been doing before they went in search of Haldir.

"It is not funny." Elrond growled. He had never felt so frustrated in his life. Amidst the chaos when they found Haldir, with Glorfindel wounded and in need of a healer, Elrond had grown hard every time his lover brushed him. Erestor was not even trying to seduce him at the time.

Erestor stopped laughing, but mirth still danced in his eyes. He reached for his lover's burgeoning arousal. It was already dripping wet.

As soon as he touched Elrond's elfhood, the elf lord growled then climbed on top of him, sealing their lips in a kiss.

Erestor stopped thinking.

Ecthelion shifted from his position. He had been sitting there for hours, guarding Rhyden. He had not accepted offers to be replaced, instead instructing them to either go watch Glorfindel instead, or rest. For some reason, he did not want to be relieved of the duty of watching Rhyden. He could not rest if the other elf was out of his sight. He knew it was irrational, knowing that the others were capable soldiers, but he feared that if he left, Rhyden would somehow escape.

If he was willing to admit it, Rhyden was only an excuse. A more pressing fear lurked in the depths of his heart, but he did not wish to think about it.

Because he knew what it was. Ecthelion had felt it before. And at the time, his fears became reality.

/No!/

He would not think about such things.

He concentrated his efforts on watching the sleeping elf, intent on making sure that Rhyden did not escape.

Not that the elf was going anywhere. Rhyden had not even awakened. The arrow had missed his heart by only a fraction of an inch.

But Ecthelion was not taking any chances.

"Ecthelion."

The Gondolin warrior looked up to see Celeborn in the doorway, holding a tray full of food. "I brought you something to eat."

Celeborn placed the tray next to the table where Ecthelion sat. Then he pulled up another chair.

"Thank you. You did not have to." Ecthelion said. He picked up a piece of fruit. He did not realized he was hungry until he saw the food.

"Well, somebody had to." Celeborn commented, smiling at the other elf. He reached for some fruit as well.

"How is Glorfindel?" Ecthelion asked quietly, like he was afraid of the answer, although he already knew that the eldar was out of danger.

"He is doing well. He woke up this morning, according to Erestor, though only for a brief moment." Celeborn answered, then "Why don't you go see him. I can stay and watch Rhyden." He suggested.

Ecthelion looked at him. He looked like he wanted to say yes, but couldn't. "Uh…no. I…maybe later. I'll visit him later. Like you said, he is fine." He knew it sounded…shallow. But Ecthelion could not explain.

Celeborn looked at him thoughtfully.

"What do you fear?"

Ecthelion looked at him in surprise. He considered denying it, but he knew the elf lord already saw through him. Hesitantly, he told the other elf what he was going through.

"Before…years ago…During the battle, I had…been afraid. I had never feared a battle in my life. But that one… I felt…that something was going to happen, but I did not know what. That was the first time I have ever…felt it. It was the day…the day Glorfindel and I…the day we…we both died. I mean…"

"I know what you mean. I understand." Celeborn said. "you feel it again?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. It's different, but…similar." Ecthelion was a little confused.

Celeborn smiled reassuringly. "Maybe you are just worried about him. He had been in danger. Maybe you are just responding to the events that had happened."

"Maybe." Ecthelion shrugged. He knew that Glorfindel was out of danger, but the fear, the fear gripped him and would not let go. The fear that came upon him when he had seen Rhyden lift the sword. The fear that nearly stopped his heart when the sword came down. The fear that came to him when he realized he could be too late. The fear that had made his hands shake, just before they released the arrow, so that he had missed Rhyden's heart….

"Maybe."

It was all he said, before he lapsed into silence. Celeborn watched him eat quietly, knowing, yet not knowing what was going through the other elf's head.

/Ah, Galadriel. If only you were here./

/You could read his mind./

Glorfindel woke up from his sleep, and found Haldir watching him, as his lover stroked his hair.

"Hello." The eldar said quietly. Haldir smiled, emotions making his hands shake, but he continued to caress his lover's hair.

"Hi." The March Warden replied.

Glorfindel reached up and placed a hand against Haldir's cheek. The younger elf closed his eyes and leaned in to the touch.

"Please don't leave me again." Glorfindel asked, in a voice thick with emotion.

Haldir hugged him, though not tightly since he knew that Glorfindel's wound still hurt. "Never." He vowed.

/Never again./

Glorfindel closed his arms around Haldir, keeping him close.

"I love you, Haldir."

The words made Haldir's control break, and he sobbed against Glorfindel.

"Oh gods, I love you!" He cried against the eldar.

They held each other. They had been through the worst times. Only the best could follow…right?

TBC…

A/N: Advisory: WILL BE ON VACATION UNTIL MAYBE THE FOURTH OF JANUARY. Thanks.

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