Disclaimer: Same as always - I own nothing and my job is the epitome of boredom. Thankfully today I am home because of the foot of snow that was dumped on us last night.

Here we go. Read. Enjoy. Review.

Carrie sat in the caves and sulked. That was not how she had expected their little reunion to play out. She had been going over it the whole time she was cleaning up and changing. She kept stewing about it while she was being escorted with all the rest of the women and children to the caves.

She didn't know what she had expected. She certainly didn't expect him to kiss her again. She knew he was lying about his feelings. At least she thought he was. She hoped he was. Did elves lie? She sat there, mulling over her feelings for him, trying to sort them out. On the one hand, she was immensely pissed off at him. Here she was in a strange place and he didn't seem to care. He must know what it was like for her. He must have felt something similar when he and the others found themselves in her world. On the other, more logical, hand, she knew that she had fallen into what was probably the worst time she could have. He was occupied with other things. Would he have reacted to her differently if she came in a time of peace? Maybe she should cut him a little slack.

Suddenly the door to the cave opened. She looked up. There was the object of her thoughts, standing at the entrance to the cave. She certainly didn't expect to see him again so soon. Why was he here? What was he looking for?

She got her answer soon enough when he saw her and motioned for her to come over to him. She got up, curious as to what he wanted. He pulled her outside the cave and shut the door. As soon as he made sure it was securely closed he turned on her.

"How did you know?" he demanded.

"What?" She looked at him, confused.

"How did you know he would return?" Oh, he was talking about Aragorn. He was there?

"He's here! I must speak with him!" She tried to run past Legolas. He blocked her path.

"He is busy." Carrie frowned at him. "If we survive, he will come for you after the battle. There are 10,000 Uruk-hai heading our way, intent on destroying everything here."

Carrie nodded. "Yes, I know," she said calmly.

Legolas glared at her. "How do you know? How did you know about Aragorn?" He grabbed her by the shoulders and stared into her eyes. "What else do you know?"

Still not entirely over their last encounter, she wasn't about to offer him any kind of comfort. She decided, instead, to needle him a little more. "I know that you're lying about your feelings for me."

He released her from his grip so forcibly that she staggered back until she was up against the wall. He glared angrily at her. "What importance is that now?" She saw anger in his eyes, but also – fear? "We are all possibly facing our deaths and you talk of feelings?"

"You're not going to die." The words were out, again, before she could stop them. She wasn't sure how much information was safe to give them. But the words didn't seem to comfort him anyway, only make him angrier.

"We may not, in whatever history you know, have died in this battle. But," and with this he glared at her. "it is different now. You are here. You have changed history and now everything is uncertain."

She looked at him for a moment, realizing that he was right. She shook her head. He couldn't be right. She was still right about Aragorn not dying. Ah, but that had happened before she decided to come here. She sunk down against the hard stone, feeling the floor come up below her. Up until this point, she realized, she had been treating this as if it were a dream. She was far bolder than she would have been in her real life.

"Oh my God, you're right." It apparently wasn't the reaction he had expected. She looked up at him. "I could never forgive myself if something happened to you now. Knowing that it was my fault."

She sat there; terrified that she may have caused his, Aragorn's and possibly her own death. She had experienced the death of someone close to her before. She had been devastated when she lost her grandmother. But never had she had to face her own mortality. She stared down at the floor and decided to come clean with him, lest the last words they spoke to each other be angry. She knew what it felt like to not have the opportunity to say all the things you want to say to someone. This time she was given the chance and she would not pass it up.

"What I said before was partly true. I did come here to see you. An elf named Estella in Rivendell convinced me that it was the right thing to do. I have not stopped thinking about you since the day I first met you. Estella convinced me that how you spoke to Calenes meant you felt the same. I also came to speak to Aragorn, who, I just recently found out, is related to me." She took a deep breath. She dared a glance at him and saw what could only be shock on his face. Did he not know she was related to Aragorn? No, he must have. Aragorn would have told him. It didn't cross her mind that he could be surprised at how perceptive Calenes had been and at the fact that another elf had told Carrie about his feelings.

"Look, I'm not stupid," she continued, giving up on ever figuring him out. "I know what's going on here with the battle and all. I just wanted to be near people I care about. Who I thought cared about me. I didn't want to distract you. I didn't want to change anything. I just wanted to be here...with you." The last two words were no more than a breath.

Legolas kneeled down on the floor next to her and spoke more gently than she expected. "You know nothing can ever happen between us." Carrie nodded without looking at him. He paused for a moment. He brought his hand up to her face and cupped her cheek, causing her to look at him. "For that, I am sorry." She looked into his eyes and understood. It didn't matter what either of them wanted, it couldn't be. She put her hand over his and gave him as brave a smile as she could. They held each other's gaze for a moment longer until she spoke.

"You have to go." She looked down at the floor and then back up at him. "Please be careful."

Thank you again to my reviewers, XxgemxX, WhIPpeD CrEaM 0, Shadowfax04, Miriellar, nap-003, Jack-Sparrow-Lover, PsychoPixie, LtSonya, reading addict, Juniper, Ikhny87 and Gina.

Because of your reviews and your feedback about Legolas, the past few chapters have been thoroughly revised. If you are inclined to re-read them, I hope that things make more sense. I never wanted my dear elf to come across as an ass. He's really a nice guy; just gets his temper from his father, I guess.

The next chapter is one of my favorites...not to tease you or anything...