Author's note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and again a special thanks to Partheon for editing!

-o-o-o-

Days in Lothlorien – Chapter 8

Aragorn and Arwen were sitting together under one of the large mallorn trees near the centre of Caras Galadhon. They did not mind being seen spending time together, after all they were foster brother and sister, and had every right to catch up with each other. They simply enjoyed sitting in companionable silence when a very anxious looking elf arrived. They both recognised him as one of Galadriel's closer aids.

"I am very sorry to disturb you both, but Lord Elrond had sent for Aragorn. It is very urgent, your healing skills are needed."

"What has happened? Who is hurt?" Panic stood in both Aragorn and Arwen's eyes.

"It is Legolas Thranduilion. He is gravely injured and Lord Elrond needs to remove an arrow from his stomach. He needs your help with this. I was told to tell you to hurry."

Arwen and Aragorn looked at each other. Aragorn paled so much that for a moment Arwen thought he would faint, but the moment passed.

"We must hurry then." They followed Galadriel's aide at a rapid pace.

-o-o-o-

Aragorn was shocked by what he found at the halls of healing. There was Legolas, lying on a high bed, deathly pale and unmoving, and very definitely with a piece of an arrow sticking out of his stomach. He had been undressed, only a thin sheet had been placed across his legs.

Aragorn quickly looked around. Haldir laid on another bed nearby with his eyes closed, obviously unconscious. Elrond, Thranduil and Galadriel stood next to Legolas' bed, conferring urgently.

Aragorn took all of this in mere seconds, before he asked:

"What happened?" his voice breathless with concern. Seeing Legolas so close to death made his insides clench. He had seen Legolas wounded before, even unconscious, but not like this. Fear cursed through the young man.

Elrond turned. "Thank the Valar, you have arrived. You and I will remove this arrow. It has pierced his stomach, there is no doubt about it. We must be fast, there is no time to loose. Can you help me with this?"

For a second, Aragorn was tempted to say 'no, no, I cannot do this'. Not to Legolas, not to someone I love. And the moment the thought had entered his mind, he knew it was true. In this moment of emergency, it took only a split second for Aragorn to realise a long denied truth. He still loved Legolas and had done so all these years. And what about Arwen? Aragorn mentally shook his head. This was not the time nor the place to sort out his feelings.

"Yes, ada. I ... will try my best." Aragorn's hands had clenched into fists.

"Good. Get yourself ready."

The operation lasted several hours. First Elrond cut open the wound, then carefully, ever so carefully removed the wood. He then searched for splinters. The arrow had indeed pierced Legolas' stomach, and the fluids of the stomach had begun to leak into his abdomen. The young elf was very fortunate that he had not died already. Finally Elrond closed the wound, his sharp elven sight and nimble fingers allowing very precise work.

Aragorn assisted all the way along, providing tools, checking the pulse and breathing, holding the wound when Elrond was stitching. After the first two hours, Aragorn found himself exhausted. The high levels of concentration and worry had tired him to the point of swaying on his feet. Galadriel, who noticed his predicament, came near and laid her hands on his shoulders. She concentrated and a flood of warmth and strength ran through the young man. He gratefully smiled at Galadriel.

"You have great healing abilities, Aragorn. Use them well."

Galadriel did the same with Elrond, who was equally exhausted. Performing such an operation on anyone would have been draining, doing it to someone he cared for greatly was almost more than the elf-lord could cope with.

Whilst they were working, Aragorn could not help thinking back to the time when he and Legolas had been lovers. It appeared so long ago now, and yet, physically Legolas had only changed so little. Seeing him here in Lothlorien had made Aragorn aware of how much he had missed his former lover's smile and touch. Legolas must not die! He was too young, too beautiful, to die.

Finally, Elrond closed the last stitch. They carefully bound the wound with bandages, with healing herbs packed underneath, Then Elrond said: "We must move him very carefully to a proper bed, but he must not be jolted."

Aragorn and Elrond very carefully moved their patient to a nearby bed, already prepared for him.

"We must immobilise him. When he wakes up, he must not move his stomach." Elrond took a few more bandages and used them as restraints running across Legolas' thighs and upper arms. "For a few days, he must keep this wound completely still."

Aragorn looked at his father. "Will he make it?"

Elrond looked absolutely exhausted. "I do not know. The test will be what happens when we give him fluids. He will need to drink, a lot, to flush the poisons from his body. If the wound remains closed, he will recover. If it opens, he will die. I am surprised he has survived this far. He is young and strong, if anyone has a chance to survive such an ordeal it would be someone like him. But we will not know for several days whether he will survive. For now, either Thranduil or Haldir should be with him all the time so that one of them is with him when he wakes up. I need to speak to them."

Galadriel heard his words. "Thranduil is waiting outside. He is most anxious to see Legolas. Haldir has woken up. He has finally told me what happened. Tinarvel, the elf who went with them for their patrol apparently was so jealous of Legolas bonding to Haldir that they had an argument. They then encountered a group of orcs, and in the aftermath of the fight, Tinarvel shot Legolas. Haldir said that it was cold-blooded and deliberate. It was not an accident."

Both Aragorn and Elrond gasped with shock. Deliberate killings amongst elves outside of battles were extremely rare.

Galadriel continued. "Celeborn and I have sent messages to all elven settlements, as well as messengers to Rivendell and Lasgalen. Tinarvel must be found. He is unbalanced and dangerous."

Elrond sighed and said: "So now we know. I must speak to Thranduil, he needs to know what happened to his son."

Looking around, he asked: "Where is Haldir?"

"He was so exhausted that the healers forced him to drink some sleeping draught. He needs the rest."

Elrond nodded. "So do we. I will speak to Thranduil, and then I must rest as well. Although the knowledge of what happened will make that difficult."

-o-o-o-

Outside, Thranduil had waited. He paced up and down the hallway but finally decided to settle near the door of Legolas' room. A thousand thoughts churned through his mind. He was desperately worried, and it was still unclear what had happened. Haldir's statement had not exactly been coherent. The king once more became acutely aware of how much he loved his son and how much joy he had found in him.

After what seemed like an unending period of time, Elrond and Aragorn emerged from the room. They both looked ready to drop.

"We have done what we can. The next few days are critical. If he makes it through these days, he will live and heal. It will be very slow; it will take many weeks before he will be able to take up his normal life. But first he must survive the critical period. I would like you or Haldir to be with him all the time, so that one of you is with him when he wakes."

Thranduil looked hard at Elrond, and then at Aragorn. It was clear that both had done and given everything in their might.

"Thank you both", the king said and forced a smile.

"Do not yet thank us, we do not yet know what the outcome will be."

Elrond then proceeded to tell Thranduil what he had just heard from Galadriel. At first, Thranduil was unable to take in the words he had just heard. Another elf had deliberately shot his son! This was so utterly implausible that Thranduil would have not believed the message, had it not come from Galadriel and Elrond. And then anger set in. How could have an imbalanced elf have been allowed to go on patrol? Why had no one noticed? How could Haldir let this happen?

Despite his exhaustion, Elrond was perceptive enough to at least guess at what Thranduil was going through. He was a father as well, and if something like this had happened to one of his children ... Elrond did not want to think about that possibility.

Thranduil stood absolutely still, his fists clenched and his mind racing. But when he spoke, it was not so much in anger but in anguish. "Why, Elrond, why did no one notice that he was imbalanced? How could Haldir not notice?"

Elrond looked at Thranduil with compassion. "I do not know. What I do know is that some people who are mentally imbalanced are very, very good at hiding the fact that they are, until a trigger causes their problems to surface. I think this is what happened here. There were probably signs, but neither Haldir nor Legolas would have been able to read them correctly."

Thranduil sighed deeply. Elrond closed the distance between them, and in a supportive gesture, embraced the elven king. Thranduil was startled, but then leaned into the embrace. In this time of desperate worry, he needed the physical contact Elrond offered. They stood like this for a long time, the Lord of Rivendell holding the King of Lasgalen, providing what little comfort he could.

-o-o-o-

Haldir's consciousness slowly returned as the drug-induced sleep wore off. With a start, he sat up, remembering Legolas. Legolas! Without being fully awake, he tried to stand up. He was surprised when a pair of hands gently pressed him back onto the bed. As his eyes focused, Haldir realised that he was laying in a bed in the Halls of Healing and that the hands belonged to Aragorn.

A thousand questions rushed through Haldir's mind. "How is Legolas?"

Aragorn sighed. "Elrond and I took out the wood and sewed up the wound. It is a grievous injury and the next few days will show whether he can survive this." Haldir was shocked by the frankness of the young men, and yet he appreciated it. Haldir was a warrior, and knew enough about wounds to know that Legolas would have to be very lucky to survive.

"Can I see him?"

"I thought that was what you would ask. After this sleeping draught you will be unsteady. Come, I will help you."

Haldir looked at the young man. He could see that Aragorn was utterly exhausted himself. "Why are you doing this?"

Aragorn's silver-grey eyes sought and found Haldir's eyes. "You know Legolas' and my history; I do not need to tell you. Seeing him again, and then during these long hours of the operation, I realised that I have never really stopped caring fro him."

Haldir stared at Aragorn. He was shocked by his honesty and perhaps even more shocked by what Aragorn had just said.

The young man continued. "I have hurt Legolas badly, and I do not wish to hurt him again. I have seen how happy you are together – you are good for him, and he is probably good for you. I will do everything in my power to ensure that you two can be happy together." He smiled a sad little smile that did not reach his eyes.

Haldir stared at Aragorn in complete surprise. The remorse and self-denial evident in the young man's words touched him, even though he had always felt angry towards Aragorn for what he had done to Legolas.

"... But what about you?" he found himself asking.

"I have had my chance and I have wasted it. I was too young and immature to fully appreciate what Legolas offered me freely. He has found great happiness with you. You will have many long years together – Legolas would have not had that opportunity with me."

Haldir looked at Aragorn. After what he head just heard and knowing that Aragorn had helped to save Legolas life, he could not help feeling a mixture of pity and respect for the young man. This was not how Haldir had expected to feel towards Legolas' former lover.

"Could you still be a friend?"

Aragorn smiled that sad little smile again. "I do not know. I do not wish Legolas to know how I feel for him; perhaps time will dull my feelings as it has done before. Legolas has been through enough, he deserves to be happy with you without having to think about me. I think he would like to be friends again, but I am not certain I will be able to. I would like to be his, and your friend, if you would have me as such, but Legolas must never know what we have just talked about."

One pair of silvery-grey and one pair of grey-blue eyes locked. Haldir nodded. This conversation would remain between Aragorn and himself.

Then Aragorn surprised Haldir again. Without warning, he came up to Haldir and embraced him tightly. "Thank you, Haldir."

As he moved away, Haldir caught his wrist. "Aragorn? Thank you for being honest with me." Haldir had never touched a mortal before, and part of him was surprised that Aragorn's wrist did not feel much different to that of an elf's. The skin was a slightly different texture but that was all. Somehow, Haldir had always thought that all men were hairy and their skin coarse. Within a few moments, Aragorn had unwittingly shattered many of Haldir's notions of men.

"Come, let us see how Legolas is doing." Aragorn slipped his arm underneath Haldir's arm and shoulder. "Lean on me, or you might fall. The effect of the drugs has not yet worn of."

TBC. Please review