"Absolutely not!" Elrond thundered. Glad as he was to see his son and his friend walk into Imladris on their own steam, he was furious with Aragorn for bringing the Orc into his house. These sentiments were shared by the twins who had vociferously joined the opposition to all Aragorn's entreaties. "Aragorn, that thing is evil, corrupt. It is the spawn of Melkor himself. There is no good in it to be discovered, no matter how deep you may dig. You know I have always allowed you to make your own mistakes, but this is one time I cannot do that. There are other lives at stake. Perhaps not the adults as yet, but the children in Rivendell will not be safe, and they are my responsibility."
Aragorn sighed and hung his head. He knew his father was right. Even if he was prepared to take the risk, he could not expose the other residents of Rivendell to the same. Particularly not the little ones.
"You are right, Ada, but having brought him this far, I cannot simply kill him, and leaving him to fend for himself in the wilds will be tantamount to doing that. I will take him to the bat caves. No one ever really goes there, and I can take care of him there."
Elrond still looked angry, but seeing the determination in his son's eyes he relented. "Do so then, but make sure that creature does not stray. I don't want him anywhere near the valley."
Legolas stood listening in silence as the family spoke, but now touched Aragorn's arm and pointed to where the little Orc was lying on a sofa. "He is beginning to wake. If you are thinking of taking him to the caves today, I suggest we leave immediately or we might have exactly the sort of scene your father wants to avoid." Aragorn nodded and picked up the restless child.
No more than two miles from Imladris the Orcling sleepily opened his eyes and raised his head. Realising that he was being carried by Aragorn, he stiffened, but he did not start screaming and struggling as Aragorn full well expected. Instead he contemplated him curiously for a while and then started tugging at Aragorn's beard. When Aragorn protested the child laughed and tried again. The game went on for a while until Legolas could hear Aragorn's protests become more urgent. He took a spare bowstring from his pack and cut a bit off. He added a few leaves, bark chips and seed pods to the string and then tied it off. Before the child could object, he hung it around his neck. The distraction immediately worked. Aragorn gave Legolas a thankful look, and for the rest of the way he was spared further assault, as the little Orc touched the various bits in fascination.
Before the child had time to turn into a monster again, they reached the caves. The reason why no one came there anymore was immediately apparent to Legolas. The bats had not so much made the caves their home as their privy.
"Eh, I think I'll wait for you outside while you make our little friend comfortable," Legolas said as he retreated to a safe distance.
"Sissy," Aragorn shouted at him, but secretly agreed as he entered. The stench had certainly increased somewhat since he was there last. However, his next problem had already presented itself. It was clear from the way the little Orc was clinging to him when he tried to put him down, that he had no intention of being left there. Trying to ignore the smell, he found a spot that was slightly cleaner than the rest of the cave floor, and sat down with the child on his lap. The little Orc nestled against him and rested his head against Aragorn's chest while he continued to play with his necklace. At first he was too surprised to say or do anything, but then he started rubbing the little one's back carefully, and when he was not answered with a bite, he continued in a bolder fashion. He started talking, softly telling the child that he would have to remain here. That he would receive food and that Aragorn would spend time with him as often as he can. To be good and not run away, not follow them home. The whole while the Orc continued to play with the necklace as if he was not hearing a word, but when Aragorn tried to rise, he grabbed his coat and began to whimper.
By this time Legolas was slightly worried, and called into the cave "Aragorn, everything in order?"
"Yes and no," Aragorn called back. "Our little friend here has decided to become affectionate. He doesn't want me to leave. Frankly I don't want to leave him either, but I don't cherish the idea of spending the night in this cave. If you think it stinks out there, come in a little."
"Ah, no, thank you. If it's all the same to you I'd rather stay out here. Why don't we try to erect a sort of shelter out here where the two of you can stay for the night, and then we can build something stronger in the morning. Something that will keep him indoors while you are not here. You will have to leave him at some stage, unless you are planning on spend your life holed up with him out here until he comes of age or whatever is that Orcs do."
"Sounds good. Why don't you start and I will see whether I can convince my limpet to let go so I can help."
It took a lot of back rubbing and talking before Bronwe finally let go. Even afterwards he followed Aragorn and Legolas around the whole time. By the time the sun went down they had a serviceable shelter. They all spent the night there, but the following morning Legolas returned to Imladris to report to Lord Elrond, and explain the situation. It took some convincing, but in the end Legolas persuaded the twins to help him put building materials on a couple of packhorses and accompany him back to the caves.
The distrust seemed to be mutual, and while the twins avoided coming close to the Orc, Bronwe never strayed more than five feet from Aragorn. It took them four days to build a sturdy hut that could be locked up. It had no windows, only slits for air and light. When they were done, Legolas and the twins departed. For the next few weeks Aragorn stayed with the little Orc while he got used to his new home. He showed him how to gather food and even managed to get him to taste some of it. Most got spat out, but after a while he did swallow some.
He tried to play a few games with Bronwe, but it seemed as if he only understood the ones involving violence of some kind. Wrestling was certainly his favourite, but Orc-wrestling, it turned out, included nails and teeth. It was a while before Aragorn could convince him otherwise.
Legolas visited on a regular basis, and to his astonishment it was clear to him that Aragorn was making some progress, even if it was somewhat haphazardly. At times it seemed if Bronwe simply forgot everything he had been taught, but then, just as suddenly, he would surprise them all by doing something completely contrary to what they had always believed of Orcs.
Aragorn had given up on teaching him to make daisy chains since Bronwe just ripped the flowers all to pieces. Yet, without Aragorn's knowledge, he fashioned a bracelet of wild flowers, which he shyly presented to Legolas one morning. As soon as they got over their shock, they praised him effusively. After that no flower was safe in the area and Legolas had to accept copious amounts of floral jewelry.
The weeks turned into months. Legolas relieved Aragorn of his paternal duties at times, but the time came when he had to return to Mirkwood. Aragorn remained behind with Bronwe and only occasionally returned to Rivendell to report and to replenish supplies. Lord Elrond remained unconvinced, despite Aragorn's good reports, but he said nothing. The seasons turned and it was almost a full year since they went to the bat caves when Aragorn returned to Rivendell with Bronwe at his side.