A/N: Congratulate me: I'm alive. Surprising considering that I hardly studied for exams. :P blah. Thank you all for being so patient (and demanding) with me for getting this chapter posted. If it weren't for the (numerous) reminders, it probably would have taken a lot longer to post. Also, yea, I realized that a horse unnamed by the Rohirrim was really strange. But, I plead innocent under the defense of using artistic license.

Specially thanks goes to Enna, for reviewing THREE TIMES for chapter 22, just to remind me to update. :) You would've had this chapter sooner if fanfiction.net hadn't shut down on Saturday night. But here it is, enjoy!

Milenn: Thanks for the paragraph, but I couldn't figure out any where it would fit. And believe me, I tried for about an hour. But your writing is really good. Do you have an account? You should write your own fanfics too. Somebody once said: a great story does not inspire you to read another story, it inspires you to write a story of your own. Keep that in mind! thanks for reading!

Naomi Maxwell: read on. There's one little daydreaming incident that's written just for you. *grins* I don't know WHERE you got the idea of Nicole being with Thranduil or Elrond, but I'd feel sorry for Leggy and Elladan and Elrohir. *grins again* Thanks for reviewing!

Disclaimer: Chapter Twenty Three, it should be obvious by now that I don't own Lord of the Rings. If I did, I would be richer and have a way cooler computer.

Home Sweet Home

Chapter Twenty-Three ~ Angelic Again, And Other Stuff

*C'mon, Fuchsia, it's just a bit farther!* Nicole urged her horse closer to the ever-growing column of smoke. They had ridden for about three-quarters of an hour, always heading for the site of last night's battle. That time had given Nicole an opportunity to name her horse. Her male horse. She chose a very manly name.

"Who do you speak to?" Aragorn asked, his horse, Hasufel, pulling along side hers.

"My horse."

"Fuchsia? That is the name you gave to your horse?" Legolas asked.

"Yes. Is there something wrong with that? I believe he was my horse to name. And besides, I really like the color fuchsia. It's a compliment to the horse."

"You named your horse after a color?" Legolas was still in shock. His voice dripped with disdain at her name-choosing.

She pinned him with a harsh glare. "What's wrong with being named after a color? I seem to remember somebody else who had a color in their name, Greenleaf." Legolas backed down a bit but still felt that her name choice was lacking in taste. It was, after all, a very feminine sounding name, and the horse was a stallion. Nicole spoke up again, but this time with less anger and more curiosity. "Why do you always introduce yourself as Legolas, anyway? Isn't that less useful for you?"

"What do you mean less useful?"

"Aren't you a royal? If you ever mentioned that, you would get a lot more respect, and you would probably scare people to death too. That's always an advantageous quality," Nicole explained as though talking to a five year old.

"What would be the point? Most humans are impressed enough by a simple Elf, much less a Prince."

Nicole pursed her lips. "That's not fair. You cheated. How come you managed to win?" She looked at him suspiciously. "You debate with yourself, don't you?" At his silence and ignorance of her, Nicole let the subject drop with a huff.

"We draw near!" Aragorn shouted, and the three horses sprinted over the final hill. They reined in beside the smoking heap of carcasses. The stench was horrible and Nicole had to struggle to overcome her gag reflex. The dismounted and dismally approached the mound, Nicole hanging to the back of their group.

"There's naught left to search," Gimli said softly, idly poking his axe amongst the tattered bodies. Suddenly he bent to pick up something he had found. Held up to the sunlight, they saw that it was one of the belts given to Pippin and Merry in Lorien, badly charred and damaged. Silence descended upon them, grief playing on each face. Aragorn let out a shout of frustration and failure, Gimli hung his head in reverence, and Legolas whispered a prayer.

Nicole's mind went blank and her breathing got shallow and quick. She stumbled backwards and tried to swallow around the lump in her throat. They... they... no. She sank to the ground and folded her legs close to her, wrapping her arms around herself. Her eyes were wide and glistening with unshed tears. Pippin? Merry? No... they can't be... be... dead. She shuddered lightly as she thought of it. But how can that be? This shouldn't happen... this isn't right. Her mind was refusing to accept the evidence as truth, firmly insisting that this wasn't right, this wasn't what was supposed to happen. But whereas before when she got that feeling, she understood why, now she drew a blank. They don't die, they can't. Hobbits are too clever. They do something, don't they? They don't die. Not Pippin, not Merry. And Pippin... her thoughts broke off, not making much sense to her in their fragmented forms. Slowly she stood up again and her horse, evidently feeling his mistress' pain, nuzzled her and let her lean on him. *Thanks Fuchsia,* she murmured softly into the warm mane of the horse. Nicole made her way to Aragorn who kneeled on the ground, still angry at his failure. To get his attention she touched his shoulder. "They're okay, they're safe," she assured him but as for what made her say those words: Nicole had no clue.

Aragorn stared at the ground dejectedly. A moment later, his eyes lit up, seeing something strange in the ground. He began running his hands over the grass and darted from one place to the next, his mind jumping to conclusions that nobody else understood.

"What is he doing?" Nicole asked no body in particular. Realization hit her. "Oh, duh. I'm such an idiot. His Ranger sense must be tingling. After him!" she led them after their leader, and now he began to speak to them as he scanned the ground for something.

"There are hobbit tracks here, and here," Aragorn said, pointing. "They could not move well-- their hands were bound!" he picked up a piece of cut rope as evidence. "But then it was cut off, and they ran. No one noticed them in the battle, so they managed to escape. But here, here one of them was caught by the foot. And then they ran free again though they were tracked, away from the battle ---then they may not be dead--- and into..." he trailed off as they reached the edge of a great and dark forest and stared into its depths. "Into Fangorn Forest."

"What madness drove them into those dangerous woods?" Gimli wondered, aghast at the thought of entering such a place.

"The same madness that's going to make us go in after them," Nicole replied coolly, still hurt at the Dwarf's distance from her. She turned away and didn't see the look of guilt that flickered on Gimli's face. She jumped onto a tree root and started weaving her way between the trees. Nicole disappeared from their sights and yelled back to them, "Are you coming, or do I have to find Pippin and Merry by myself?"

They left the horses free by the side of the forest. Aragorn and Legolas followed her, and Gimli came too, but reluctantly. "You are all mad, for going into such a place," he grumbled as he trundled over the protruding tree roots.

The boughs of the trees were heavy with moss, vines, and leaves. Little sunlight managed to seep through the thick canopy. For all the it was day outside the forest, it could have been night inside it. The air was thicker in here and the wind did not stir any branches. The trees were massive, ancient things that were in all likelihood as old as Middle Earth itself. Their sheer size created lots of uneven ground and protruding tree limbs and roots, causing much difficulty for Gimli. The other three travelers went easily enough through the forest, checking for any signs of Merry or Pippin as they went. At one point, Gimli found a sticky substance on a leaf. He poked one finger into the black inkiness and tasted it.

"Orc blood!" he spat and put his hand to his axe, holding it ready before himself.

Nicole grimaced. That's disgusting... I can't believe he just ate that. I'm surprised he isn't dead yet, that stuff could be poisonous. The trees seemed to shift at Gimli's actions and a low groan echoed through the forest. Nicole looked about her with round eyes, and then found that Gimli had his axe held dangerously high amongst the trees. She jumped lightly from tree root to tree root, placed herself in front of a tree that happened to be in Gimli's way. From the tree's point of view (if tree's could think, that is), it looked as though Gimli was approaching it with the intent of chopping it. Nicole gently placed one hand on the tree trunk behind her. The other hand she used to push down Gimli's axe while she scowled at him at the same time as Aragorn told him to lower his axe. How did we become so different so quickly? Nicole wondered, wandering around the trees again. She walked a distance away from the hunters, observing them. After her mini-confrontation with Gimli, Nicole decided she needed cheering up. Grinning evilly, she thought, Legolas is walking way too easily in these woods. She darted off into the trees, ignoring when Aragorn called for her once or twice in worry.

Legolas walked amongst the trees happy to be in a forest again. But he was wary of the trees, because they were old and unhappy and they began to stir at some thing that bothered them. If he had the choice, he could have spent a long time in here, studying the trees and learning of them. Being so enraptured by the woods surrounding him, he was slightly distracted, allowing for Nicole to go undetected by him.

This is so perfect... she thought as she slipped behind a tree trunk that was a few meters ahead of the Prince's current course. She held her breath and focused on being quiet. Nicole bit her lip hard when she heard his soft, barely detectable footfalls close by. When she finally decided to move, he was just on the other side of the tree trunk, in the perfect spot to execute her plan. Ready, Nicole, on three. One... Two.... THREE! Nicole jumped from behind the tree. "BOO!" she yelled and laughed at Legolas' startled expression. Before he could react and kill her, she scampered off into the trees and warned him, "Watch out for the flying tree monkeys!"

The Elven Prince glowered. "Aragorn," he said, voice dangerously low.

Aragorn chuckled. "You cannot blame her behavior on me any longer. She is of the Elf-kind now." Legolas was not happy with this news. Gimli, again, was struck by the change in the woman, and was uncertain how to proceed. His companions noted his expression. "Nicole is still a good person, Gimli. Give her a chance," Aragorn said to the Dwarf. Gimli didn't reply and they continued on through the dense forest.

"This forest is old. Old and full of memory," Legolas commented. "It almost makes me feel young again."

A short burst of laughter from the trees to the left of the group made them turn. Nicole appeared. "Sorry, really...," she sputtered, trying to control her laughter. She laughed more at their expressions. "I was just... daydreaming--" she laughed again and had to turn away and lean on a tree for support. Nicole sunk to the ground, shoulders shaking with barely contained mirth.

Legolas nudged Aragorn. "What is wrong with her?" he asked.

Aragorn shrugged helplessly. "I do not know. It could be an illness, although my father has never seen anything like this," he replied, referring to Lord Elrond.

Nicole burst out laughing again and clamped her hands over her mouth, tears springing to her eyes. "Aragonite, if you never say that word again, it will be too soon," she said around her giggles. For the benefit of the confused bystanders, Nicole's thoughts ought to be explained. Speaking them, would, of course be incredibly stupid because it would result in a severe beating by Legolas. Wandering through the woods had been rather boring, so she began to amuse herself by daydreaming. I'm twenty years old now... that's pretty old. Once this quest is over, I should probably settle down somewhere and actually be a normal person in Middle Earth. Getting a guy would probably be good too. Eomer isn't at all bad-looking. It's a shame he's a mortal... I guess that as an Elf, I should get a boyfriend that's an Elf too. Arwen and Aragorn only get exempted because he's the king. Hmm... who do I know that's a single Elf male? Lathanir... too uptight. Haldir is like a brother to me. Tarcalen... more uptight than Lathanir. Celeborn is married, plus he's like a grandfather figure to me. Who else is there? Think non-Lothlorien Elves, Nicole. Ok... well, there's Elrond. Ha.. NO, that would be like... dating Aragorn's foster father. Way too bizarre. Elladan or Elrohir? But I'd get confused between the two of them. Who else is there? Oh my god... Thranduil! If I ended up marrying him, Legolas would have to call me mommy! It was at this point that Nicole had to force her giggles down, but then Legolas made his comment about feeling young.

Nicole grinned stupidly at them. "I think I'm okay now... whew! Ha... haha... wow," she trailed off, trying to bring herself back to normal. She glanced at Legolas and sniggered. "I am SO sorry... I really am," she said, apologizing to him. Of course I'm sorry... can you imagine what would happen to him if I ended up being his mother? Poor Elf Prince. "Ok, let's get going again," she said still smiling, and they moved off.

They only walked a short distance before Legolas held up a hand to halt them. *There is something out here,* he whispered.

*What is it? What do you see?* Aragorn asked, drawing their group close together.

"The White Wizard approaches," Legolas replied, glancing furtively around them.

Aragorn drew his sword silently, Legolas fitted an arrow to his bow, and Gimli hefted his axe. "Do not let him speak," Aragorn cautioned them. "He may put a spell on us." His eyes met Nicole's for a moment. "Keep to the back. If you get a chance, run."

Nicole opened her mouth to protest, but a rustle from ahead of them alerted her. Something about the situation struck her as odd, but she followed Aragorn's instructions. She did not run, however, and instead loosely held one of her knives.

Between the trees a hooded and bent old man walked. Letting loose a battle cry, Aragorn lifted his sword as if to charge. Legolas raised his bow and fired. Gimli threw his axe at the intruder. But Anduril burned in Aragorn's hand and he dropped it, Legolas' arrow went wild, and Gimli's axe spun off course, knocked harmlessly to the ground. Nicole had only halfway lifted her knife, unsure of what to do: run or stay. The old man straightened himself and threw off his grey cloak. His raiment was white and he shone fiercely, blinding them with the light. He held a mighty staff in his hand and his hair and beard were pure white. Their eyes were recovering from the light and they couldn't see clearly.

"You are tracking the footsteps of two young hobbits," he said in a deep and booming voice. "They met somebody they did not expect. Does that comfort you?" Then he stepped forward, and it seemed that although he was still clothed in white, the brightness of the light had diminished and became bearable. At once he was recognizable as Gandalf, their long-departed friend and guide. All three of them fell to their knees, except for Nicole who was too shocked to move.

"Mithrandir," Legolas said happily.

"Gandalf," said Aragorn.

Gandalf turned to him. "Yes, that was my name. But I am not Gandalf the Grey. I am Gandalf the White. I am Saruman as he should have been."

Gimli hung his head in shame. "Gandalf, Gandalf, forgive me. I should not have been so suspicious."

"That is a good thing in these dangerous times, Gimli Gloin's son," the White Wizard comforted. "But do not worry. For you errand is not as urgent as it was, and there are matters more urgent. I have come back to you, when all seems lost in the turbulent waters of war. The tides are turning now, and I come to give what aid I can." He smiled at them and gently nudged the three hunters to get them to start walking back out of Fangorn Forest. That was when Gandalf finally noticed Nicole. "Nicole, my dear girl. So you have survived this far, have you?" he said.

Nicole grinned and smushed him in a huge hug. "Oh you're alive, you're alive, you're alive, Gandalf! And you're here!" she exclaimed happily, taking a step back from him. "Though you could have gone a little easy on the bleach. You are WHITE, it's so.... white," she finished lamely and laughed.

"Yes, yes, I am here. And I see Pippin was correct," he said with a mysterious smile.

"What do you mean? Is he ok? How's Merry?"

"Both hobbits are fine, I assure you. I only refer to a comment Pippin made a long, long time ago, when we were still descending from Caradhras," he chuckled softly and continued as they walked at a slow pace through the trees. "He said you were an angel. And the similarities are incredible. Light, grace, elegance."

"I still don't get it."

"Surely you have noticed by now! You are an Elf, Nicole. Though I cannot understand how it happened, I guess it to be the work of the Valar, so that you would be accustomed more to Middle Earth."

Nicole sighed wearily. "Yeah, I'm an Elf. That seems to be giving me a bit of a problem lately." She and Gandalf hung back a bit, letting the others walk ahead of them. Gandalf patiently waited for her to elaborate. "Aragorn and Legolas knew since LothLorien. But Gimli only found out a little while ago. He... he's not taking it very well. He won't talk to me at all. I don't understand why. He seems chummy with Legolas. But he hasn't spoken to me at all. It's not like I asked for this. Is that what he thinks? I didn't want to be an Elf!" Her words were whispered furiously, to keep Legolas from overhearing and telling Aragorn and Gimli. Nicole pressed one hand against her eyes while the other arm was linked with Gandalf's.

"It is alright, my dear," he said soothingly, patting her arm. "Have you tried telling him that you did not want the change? Perhaps he would be more sympathetic. And... why did you not tell him sooner? The two of you used to be very close friends, did you not? You thought of him as a brother, and yet you would not tell him of such an important thing. Have you considered that Gimli might feel betrayed?"

Nicole was silent. Dammit, why do the older people always have to be right? Or maybe it's just because everybody is older than me, and I'm always acting stupid. I guess it's time to go talk with Gimli, then. She made up her mind that on their next bit of free time, she would try to fix the mess. That time came closer than she thought, for they broke out from under the cover of trees and stood at the edge of the plains again. Gandalf whistled strangely and they waited in silent anticipation. A magnificent grey horse appeared, riding towards them. With the steed came three other horses: the horses of Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Nicole.

"Our horses have returned! We believed them to have left us when we entered into Fangorn," Aragorn said.

"They return because their master calls them," Gandalf explained with pride in his voice. "For this is Shadowfax, last of the Mearas, lord of all horses." He stroked the nose of the grey stallion gently as the other horses approached the rest of them. "He has been a good friend through many journeys." He mounted and gestured for the others to do the same. "Come, we must ride now swiftly to the aid of Theoden King in Edoras. With some luck, Rohan may yet recover from this pillaging."

Nicole mounted Fuchsia easily and they started to gallop after Gandalf. When she glanced to the side, she dismally noted that Gimli and Legolas still rode on one horse. Dammit... there's no getting around it now, I guess. But why Legolas? Couldn't Gimli have ridden with Aragorn? I can't ask him to switch seats. I can't ask him to ride with me, either. That's no way to lead a proper conversation. So do I let it be, and talk with Gimli the next chance I get? Or do I risk being the victim of endless torment from Legolas, and talk to Gimli now? As Nicole debated silently, Gandalf explained how he came to be back on Middle Earth. Somehow, he had some role to play yet, and the Valar had sent him back to help in what was left of the Quest. Ok, if Gandalf can come back from... wherever he was, you can have a simple conversation. It can't be that hard. Nicole took a steady breath and maneuvered Fuchsia next to Arod.

"Gimli?" she asked nervously. The Dwarf was silent and would not look at her. She spared a second to glare threateningly at Legolas, then turned her attention back to Gimli. "Since you've been avoiding me for a while, I thought that we should talk before things got from bad to worse."

Silence.

"Fine, you don't have to say anything, just listen to me, please. I am... an Elf now. And, I don't know how or why it happened. But it did, and I've changed physically. I'm still the same Nicole on the inside. Jeez, just look at how I behave. I'm definitely still insane old Nicole." She paused, hoping he would finally say something. With a sigh, she continued. "I didn't ask for this, Gimli. I was happy to be a mortal and if you had seen my reaction to this change... Gimli, I didn't mean for this to happen. Do you understand?" Nicole bit her lip and struggled to keep her face neutral and not on the verge of tears. "I don't want to be an Elf," she whispered quietly, not knowing if the words would reach the Dwarf's ears or not. "Do you know why, Gimli? Because being an Elf would mean trouble. Men and Dwarves have not been on the best of terms with Elves lately. And my two best friends in Middle Earth were a Man and a Dwarf. One of these brothers I left behind at Parth Galen, where he was slain in battle. The other brother I am losing now, because he refuses to acknowledge me." Nicole reached out to touch Gimli's shoulder. "Gimli, I didn't tell you because I thought you would freak out, and you did, and that you wouldn't want to be friends anymore, which you don't."

Silence.

"So that's my story. Go ahead and kill me now," she ended sourly. And that would be the result of your brilliant advice, Gandalf. Thank you, Oh Wise One. She waited patiently for either physical or verbal assault from Gimli.

The Dwarf hung his head. In his usual gruff tone, he said, "I was under the impression that you trusted me, and trusted in our friendship as well. Aye, even a bond of friendship as strong as family, perhaps. But your deceit... lass, that is not easily forgiven."

"I know, so that's why you can kill me, but--" Nicole began.

"But just as grace and speed comes easily to Elves, some things come easily for me." Gimli interrupted her and finally looked up. "You are forgiven, Nicole, and I hope that I am forgiven as well. I should not have judged you because you were different." Though it was hard to tell because of his beard, Gimli grinned. "Although you are different now, indeed you seem a more serious person. Maybe your ... transformation... is not as bad as I had thought."

Nicole grinned madly and leaned across the distance between the two horses, urging Fuchsia a little closer to Arod. She threw her arms around Gimli, nearly falling off her horse, and hugged him tightly. She couldn't find anything to say that would tell him how much she appreciated his forgiveness.

Gimli grunted softly. "Lass? Nicole?" His hands tugged at my arms. His words sounded... broken. "Nicole, could you-- not squeeze so-- tightly?"

Feeling embarassed, Nicole pulled away. No wonder Gimli sounded strangled. I didn't know I was that strong... hehe, Nicole, Bear-Hugging Champion of the World. Yup, that's me. "Sorry," she muttered but kept on grinning. "Gimli..." she searched her vocabulary for praise worthy of the Dwarf. She settled for, "you rock," and a wicked grin. Her task now completed, she threw Gimli another grin and directed Fuchsia away from Arod. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to pieces that Gimli and me are pals again, but I haven't forgotten who else is sitting on that horse. Ugh, no more time with Legolas than absolutely necessary. It's a shame that Gimli and Legolas are friends, or else I would have had an ally. Besides, I have to go talk with Gandalf. Hang on, let's try being 'serious' as Gimli put it. I have need of conversing with my eldest companion. Huh, not bad. Nicole snapped herself out of her thoughts and urged her horse to ride faster so that she could keep pace with Gandalf.

He smiled at her with twinkling eyes. "I take it things went well with Gimli," he said confidently.

"Yeah Gandalf, things went very well," she replied. "I just wanted to say thanks for helping me out." She smirked and tried to repeat the phrase she had used frequently in the past. "You're admirable moral of supporting," Nicole frowned. "No, that's not right at all. Your morable admiring of support? No." She groaned in frustration. "Your moraling support of admire? What the hell!? Why can't I say it right anymore? Your support of admirable morals. NO. Damn, what was it?" Gandalf eyed her warily, either amused or horrified by her language and outburst. He probably thought that being an Elf would civilize her. Nicole could've snorted in laughter. Yeah right. Me, civilized. Not now, not ever. She still tried to remember the phrase. Silence fell on the swiftly moving riders. The wind whipped past them and suddenly Nicole shouted. "YOUR MORAL SUPPORT IS ADMIRABLE!!! Ha, beat that, you stupid memory! I remembered," she said smugly. The Company gave her strange glances. "It's true, Gandalf's moral support was admirable."

"Thank you, Nicole," he said absently. "We must ride on ever swiftly. Let us hope that Theoden's rule is not yet failing."

"And if it is?" Nicole asked.

"Then we have work to do."

A/N: is it me, or is this chapter really short? O.o *hangs head in shame* I suck at writing touching-reunion type scenes. Oh well, I tried. And at least Nic and Gimli are friends again. It was weird to write them as non-friends. *shudders* I Hope I never have to do that again. *grins* Actually, there will be something similar in the future. The far-distant future, but it's an idea that's already been flying about in my head for a while. But that will probably only happen in... maybe some 15 chapters or so. Wow... this story is getting long. *grins* I feel semi-accomplished. Now all I have to do is ignore my school work (very easy to do) and keep writing this fic. Thanks to all my reviewers! Please keep reviewing, and if you think it's been too long since I've updated, e-mail me and yell at me to type faster! Thanks again! ~MoI~