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In all the days that she has laid here I have not left her side. Slowly our bond has re-emerged and the babes are faring well. They are all recovering swiftly. It has been four nights since her collapse and only twice has she woken.

I have sent word to my father and Haldir, although I am sure that Haldir already knew.

Despite his reluctance to leave his daughter, Glorfindel has journeyed out of Imladris with Katlin, thinking that it would be best to separate the two women for a time.

The twins have stayed with me for most of the time, their concern not allowing them to even sleep.

Rest has not come to me yet. The days have been long and both night and day have merged into one. The only broken silence being the presence of Elrond or the twins. Elrohir had taken it upon himself to oversee the plans for a small house, a retreat, for myself and Thalia until the babes are born. And even then I have a suspicion that we will be staying there to save the ears and nerves of those around.

I shifted in my seat, it had been long since I had felt comfortable and I doubt that I will be until she wakes. I felt one of our children stir and almost chuckled. They had become more adventurous in greeting me. They were missing the attention of one parent and were reaching out to me for care. It was strange. My mother had told me about elflings and how they behaved when they were still in the womb when I was small. Yet somehow, I never fully believed her. The idea of babes communicating with their parents was a concept that I could not grasp or understand until now. Elrond has informed me that closer to their birth they will demand time from us. It strikes me as odd, that humans, if they took the time and patience they too could hear their unborn children, not as strongly, but it was possible to hear something.

A jolt of hope ran through me when she moaned in her sleep. I waited on the edge of my seat, clinging to something.

Despite my weariness of the situation, I have found that within it there is a trust developing that will last for eternity.

I gave up hope and returned to brooding.

"Legolas go and rest"

The firm voice of lord Elrond took me from my thoughts. I shook my head and received smile from him.

"Do not worry. She will wake with a few hours"

"Then why must I leave?"

"Because while you stay, part of her is quite willing to stay where she is. She is frightened of your reaction to what happened"

I nodded and rose from my seat. After kissing her I left. I barely noticed the route back and I must have been seen as ignorant to some. Within a few minutes I was back in our room. The exhaustion caught up with me and I fell onto the bed and into sleep.

~

I watched the retreating back of the prince of Mirkwood until I could be sure that he had gone. Sitting beside Thalia, I placed my hands on her forehead and ventured into her dreams. It was time that she came back.

I was in a meadow. Buttercups grew among the grass and butterflies fluttered around. I could hear the soothing singing of birds. The sun beat down from a pale blue sky.

I looked around to see her dressed in a long dress of lilac and sitting on a flower covered swing.

"Hello Elrond" she said happily.

I smiled before approaching her.

"It is time. You must return"

Her face fell slightly

"No. I do not wish to" she said, shaking her head.

I sat down on the lush grass as she sat at rest on the swing.

"Why not? He has sat by you while you have been here"

"I do not wish to see him angry at me"

"Why would he be angry?"

"Because I endangered our children. I did not mean to"

"No. you did not intend for it to happen and nobody blames you. Your mother is the one who is being blamed by some"

Her eyes widened and tears gleamed in them.

"She is not my mother"

"Yes she is. She raised you did she not? She was there for you when hard times fell upon you was she not?"

"Yes she was, but that doesn't give me a reason to forgive her. She betrayed me. She let me believe that I was someone else, that she was someone else"

There was a pleading tone in her voice, but Elrond knew that it was not directed at anybody.

"Do you truly believe that?"

She stopped what she was doing and furrowed her brow. Her face became serene and she sighed heavily. Getting off of the swing she came and sat beside me.

"No, I don't"

I smiled.

"I did not think that was so. What do you believe? What does your heart tell you?"

"I don't know. My mind tells me that I should be angry with her. But my heart is just sad and begs me to forgive her. But I don't know if I could"

"Whether you do or you don't you must remember that your heart is the most precious thing, and you would do well to follow it. Do not dismiss a solution just because you do not approve"

She smiled and raised her head. Her eyes matched the startling blue of the sky above us and she laughed.

"Thank you for coming Elrond"

"You are most welcome"

She fell silent for a moment.

"So tell me. How does everybody fare? Are they well?"

I knew about the retreat that was being built, but I felt that it was Legolas surprise to give.

"Everyone is well, but there is something that I must tell you"

She sat up straight and waited. I did not wish to tell her for I knew the turmoil in her heart. Everybody had done what they had deemed necessary and I could only hope that she would be alright with their decision.

"Your mother has left Imladris, along with Glorfindel. You Adar has asked me to watch over you in his absence. He does not mean to take sides or come between you or your mother. He merely wishes to allow you to recover in peace"

She screwed up her nose and rubbed her temples. Her eyes darkened and I could not read her emotions.

"Ok, well…let's just get back. I can't deal with this right now"

~

Her head ached and to top it off she didn't have a clue how to make it all alright. She took Elrond's outstretched hands without even looking at him.

They were engulfed in a bright light and were returned to their bodies.

Elrond opened his eyes and sat looked at Thalia. Her face was waxen and had taken on a pained look.

The last rays of the sun shone through the partings of the room, warming him. His grey eyes watched as Thalia's eyes unclouded and she returned from her sleep.

~

Elrond opened his mouth to speak but I waved a hand to stop him.

"If you don't mind, could we talk later? I have to go and talk to that husband of mine"

He smiled gently, and there was twinkle in his eyes insinuating something.

I stepped back, my hand on my chest.

"Elrond of Rivendell, are you insinuating that I, a sweet and innocent girl would do something wrong?"

He raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Oh, of course not, a sweet and innocent girl would never do anything like that would she? I have complete faith in you"

I rolled her eyes and tried to get out of bed. Unfortunately my legs were refusing to co-operate with me and I nearly fell over. Elrond held my waist until my legs would hold me and then helped me to my room.

We walked in silence for most of the way, ignoring the scenery, or at least I was. I was too busy thinking about the mess that I was in.

"What's up Elrond?"

He shook his head and smiled.

"In complete honesty Thalia. I am worried, about everything. My sons have not been the same this past week, they have been all of two places, the dining hall and your bedside. Although that is more than I can say for Legolas, who had taken up permanent residence next to you"

He stopped and put his hand on my shoulder.

"I am glad to see you well. I shall leave you now. Look after yourself and eat something"

He stepped forward and hugged me tightly, it wasn't the same as a hug from Adar but a hug from Elrond was always welcome. After all he was like a father to me anyway.

I turned round and knocked on our door. I didn't hear a reply so I walked straight in…to find my husband asleep on the bed, his tunic had been thrown onto the floor and his boots had been thrown onto the floor beside the bed. It was a far cry from the usually clean and organised elf that I lived with.

I walked over and sat on the bed. He looked adorable. His face was tranquil and his eyes clouded over. His hair was spread over a pillow.

Laughing to myself I stood up and walked over to the couch. Intending to do some light reading.

I opened my eyes and it was dark. I didn't even know I'd been asleep. Wow I must've been tired…despite my previous few days of sleep. I closed the book that was still open on my lap and placed in on the table in front of me. A note stood in front of the vase of flowers.

' Thalia, we did not wish to wake you. But you have not eaten so we brought you some food, it's over on the desk…'

I looked behind me and sure enough there was a large tray on it. I turned my attention back to the note.

'…we are glad to know that you are well and awake once more. We will be sure to see you tomorrow,

love Elladan, Elrohir'

I smiled. That was nice of them, I immediately felt guilty for not being awake when they came, but they understood, and I'll see them tomorrow.

I stood and looked to the bed where Legolas was still sleeping. I couldn't help but run my hands over his bare back and bend down and kiss his shoulder.

Oh boy…we were going to have one looooooooong conversation tomorrow. I had fully intended to talk tonight, but I didn't want to wake him. After all, from what I've heard, he's watched over me all week.

A flutter in my stomach caught me off guard and I jumped. It was only the babies saying hello.

"Hello to you too my darlings"

I whispered with a huge smile on my face. It was at that moment that I understood what Katlin had been saying. Unconditional love…oh no I had made a huge mistake. Or had I? My mind was confused. But first thing in the morning I was going to write everything down and see if I could make any sense of…well everything.

Smiling to my self, I undressed and slipped into bed. My head fell flat and for a minute I though I'd gone slightly mad. Then I realised that my pillow had disappeared. 

I looked over the side of the bed to see if it had fallen off but it wasn't there.

I turned and saw something silky and blue poking out from beneath Legolas arms. It was my pillow. Aww, that's kinda sweet, he must really have missed me.

I shuffled down so that I was level with him and gently kissed his lips, making sure that I didn't wake him.

I reached for his hand and held it as I started to fall asleep.

As sleep was about to take over, Legolas pulled me closer to him and whispered,

"I love you Thalia"