A/N: The bulk of this story is meant to take place when Laereth and Haldir are both much older, but all of this set up is needed to gain insight into later actions. This is why between this chapter and the next, there is a huge year difference.

Also, about reviews… I would like to thank Heartless for pointing out to me that I had the part in my settings ticked to only accept reviews from members of this site. I did not know that it was ticked, so if you have not been able to review because of this setting, please review now as you need not be a member or sign in every time you leave a review. I think everyone should have the ability to participate, so I hope those of you who are not members and following this story will review this time! Thank you!

Chapter 5- Closing One Wound, But Opening A Larger One

Laereth sat in front of the large fire, running her fingers through the sleeping Cuileth's fine hair as she watched the flames dance about. The sounds of Haldir in the other room, placing Rúmil into his bed was the only other noise in the room besides Cuileth's soft breathing and the crackle of the firewood. It has been a lovely night for all of them, she had assumed anyway. After the meal, Haldir had insisted on cleaning up the mess, to which she thought rather odd. It was usually a rule that whoever made the meal, did not have to tidy up afterwards. However, she did not complain, and went to the sitting area of the room and was pulled into a rather exciting game of marbles that had Rúmil running around collecting the smooth, round stones. And shortly thereafter, they had all talked her into telling them of faerie tales she had written or read.

Haldir stayed away, working with Orophin, to show him how to properly thread a bowstring because Orophin had broken his earlier in the day. Both Cuileth and Rúmil soon fell asleep as she told the stories, and Orophin had gone to his chamber to write in the journal she had given him as a begetting day gift only a few years ago, so that he could write out all of his problems, rather than bottling it up, only to unleash it on an unsuspecting Haldir.

Orophin came out of his chamber then, and replaced the loose ink into the wooden desk to the far side of the room with his quill. Laereth watched him for a moment and sighed, "Are you off to rest now?"

"Aye. Haldir is taking me out to practice in the morn." the slightly more matured Orophin replied quietly. A walked to her and leaned over to place a kiss upon her cheek, "Good night."

"Sleep soundly and dream well," she smiled as he walked away. Haldir returned then and walked into the room, bidding his own goodnights to Orophin.

She watched as Haldir walked over and sat down on the table in front of her. He smiled slightly, "I have made up a cot in Rúmil's room for Cuileth."

"We should be going back, Haldir," Laereth replied.

Haldir's grey eyes met hers, and held her gaze for a long moment. "Why should you be going back? You have slept here many times before."

"I know, but I would wish to sleep in my own comfortable bed this eve, not this lounge," she said. "You were relentless with your attacks during our practice today."

He frowned slightly, and he diverted his gaze toward the ground for a moment, "I am sorry. I did not mean to cause you pain, but perhaps while I practice my healing skills, it would be best to put Cuileth in with Rúmil to rest."

Laereth blushed deeply, thinking of the locations of her injuries that would require a removal of nearly all of her clothing. "While having you heal them would be wonderful, I do not think it would be wise for us."

"I can be respectful, even though you think I cannot," he replied dryly, meeting her eyes.

"It is not you I worry about, Haldir," she said. "It is I, being in the company of an Elf like yourself with nothing covering me. I would be very bashful."

Haldir chuckled, "But I have seen you like that many times before, mellon."

"Aye, you have, but that was before…" she paused, looking into his eyes and finding a certain flicker there that she had not noticed before.

"Before what?" he asked.

"Before we matured," she found herself barely able to reply to his question, but miraculously, she had been allowed to. His eyes were so intense now that she had no comprehension of the world around her, except for the world in the grey eyes in front of her.

Haldir was silent then, but never took his eyes from hers. After a moment, he sighed, "Please, let me help you, Laereth. Elves are usually never this bashful about their bodies."

"But… Haldir…" she began, although paused. "You know that it would be different between us… things are different between us, and not once like they were before our parents left. The last thing I would want to do is jeopardize the family we have made or our friendship for the sake of something that could happen. It would hurt me very much if we were to end up at each other's throats after disagreeing on a trivial issue of our relationship not having to do with the wellbeing of our siblings, and never speak to each other again. I rely on you for support as you do me."

"I suppose that is all true," he said. "And I have thought of those things many times, but then I must wonder what will happen if we continue to deny that attraction which is there. Would that not be the same as acting upon it?"

Laereth shrugged her shoulders, "I know not, Haldir. I have never had to deal with this problem in my life."

Haldir nodded his head and gazed down at Cuileth. "Let me take her and lay her on the cot. I will tend to your injuries, and for now we will not think of anything else coalescing between us."

She grumbled to herself and hung her head, "I am in quite a deal of pain."

He smiled, jumping up from his seat and carefully picking up Cuileth. Haldir disappeared back into Rúmil's room, and she glanced toward the door. She could escape now, and not have to deal with this tonight, but then again, she desperately needed to be healed of her problems, much less was curious to see what could happen between them. Soon he returned, looked at her, "We may do this out here if you think it would get out of hand in the bed chamber."

"Out here, please?" she asked.

Haldir nodded his head and went to side cupboard to extract a few glass vials of what looked to be massage oil, but she said nothing. As though remembering something, he went back into his chamber and came out with a robe, "You probably wish to put this on."

Without replying, she took the robe and went into the room to quickly change out of her gown and place the robe around her. She really did not know how this was going to help, considering that her worst bruises were around her ribcage, but she still held it tightly to her as she stepped from the room. He looked up from his concentration while working with the oils, and met her eyes. And she blushed from his glance.

Haldir nodded toward the chaise, "So tell me where you are hurt the most."

"My upper ribcage," she said, meeting his eyes as he blushed, thinking about the area that would entail. "My, my, is the perfect, unemotional Haldir embarrassed? May I be the one to also point out that you are the one to suggest this healing?"

"Aye I was, and aye I am embarrassed, but it should soon pass," he said. "I suppose the robe was a wasted idea then."

"It was," she giggled, trying to forget what she was about to do. "This is your last chance to back out and save us both a little bit of embarrassment, Haldir."

"I think I can handle it, Laereth," he replied, reaching out to place his hand on her shoulder, pushing her back against the cushioned lounge. Carefully, he untied the sash from about her waist, and slipped his hands beneath the soft fabric to push it away from her chest. As he did so, it was apparent to her that he was trying to remain as decorous as he could manage, trying to reveal as little of her skin as he possibly could, but it was useless.

"You will not see them if you keep it like this," Laereth sat up slightly and removed her arms from the robe, revealing herself to him. He paled when he saw her now, and swallowed harshly. For a moment he closed his eyes to collect himself, and then opened them, looking at her again. With a deep breath, he again positioned her on the chaise and took a vial of oil from his collection.

"I should not go so hard on you," he replied, pouring some of the scented oil into the palm of his hand. "Why do you not tell me to stop if I am hurting you?"

Laereth watched him as he focused on the bruises on her torso, "I can take what you give Haldir. Trust me, if there was a time I could not deal with the roughness in which you teach me, I would tell you. I am no frail elleth… my brother made sure to toughen me up before I came here with my parents."

Haldir chuckled, "Speaking of which, when is he supposed to arrive?"

"Any day now," she replied, delighting in the feel of his hands on her abdomen now, massaging the oil and whispering lowly in a tongue she did not understand. Soon there was a feeling of warmth in her body, that was focused on the areas his hands were laying.

He removed his hands from her, and sighed, "That should be enough to take away the pain."

Laereth did not say anything and watched him as he placed the cork in the vial of lavender scented oil. "Bainon will ask me to go back to Eryn Galen with him, Haldir."

Haldir clenched his jaw. He had thought of this possibility many times since he heard of the visit from her much older brother, but she had never once vocalized that this was a very real thing, and that she was seriously thinking about leaving with him. Truthfully, he had hoped it would never come up for discussion. She had vowed to stay with him, and he with her until the children were grown enough that he did not have to worry too much about being away at the borders. And he had also hoped that would be for a lot longer than the ten years she had been more than a help to him.

"Will you say something?" she asked.

"And what if he does?" Haldir asked, standing up and walking away from her. Laereth sat up and replaced the robe on her shoulders. "What do you intend to say to him?"

"I know not," Laereth replied.

Haldir could not reply to that. What was she saying? That she was seriously thinking about going to Eryn Galen and leaving him here alone, without anyone else in the world who cared about him like she did? It was just like his father passing into the Halls, and his mother fading, only to decide to leave him to deal with raising two young Elflings. He would never say as much to her, but he thought it. She was no better than his mother when she deserted him here in Lórien.

"It is your choice," he said.

"It is not only my choice. If you truly think you cannot make it without me, tell me now." Laereth was silent for a moment, and stood from her seat to walk over to him. She placed her hands on his shoulders from behind as he turned away from her coming to him. "Haldir, even though I may go, it does not mean I will be gone forever. I do intend to come back, and I have no intention of ever forgetting you and your brothers."

Haldir turned to her, catching her soft, small hands in his. "I am selfish, Laereth. I do not want to be without you."

"For now, Haldir," she said. "Until you find another elleth that could suit your fancies and you decide to bind… it's like the Passionate Shepherd, Haldir. You would give me everything to keep me here until the fun wore off… We both know there is nothing more between us besides an abiding, deeply rooted, friendly love. We may feel the urge for other things, but in the end, both you and I know it would go nowhere. You will find another elleth whom you love more than anything, and then you will not need me to help with your brothers. If anything, I hinder you finding that elleth because others think there is more between us than there really is. And the ellon around here dare not do anything with me because they fear you."

"That is not it…" he said. Haldir turned his eyes from her. He was responsible for that. It was not once, but many times he had warned many an ellon to stay away from Laereth, both from his selfish need to have her help, but also in worry that she could be hurt by any of them. He would not stand for that… hurting Laereth. And the ellon about the city had taken his wishes to heart, an had done nothing to court her recently.

"Then what is it?" she questioned. "If you are any kind of friend, or love me in any way, you will understand that it is better for me to take this opportunity now than regret that I did not take it later because of your wishes."

Haldir met her eye, "You are right, Laereth, like you are always right. But a promise between friends is binding whether you sign something or not, and you promised to help me if I helped you. Orophin and Rúmil would be devastated if you were to leave… you are like their mother. Think how selfish you are being."

"Only Orophin and Rúmil would be devastated?" she questioned, not moving her eyes from his.

"Aye," he said, but did not know why he said it, or the logic behind it. He would be more than devastated… but he could never, ever let her know this. She would think him weak if he admitted it, besides the fact that his pride would never allow him to admit it.

Laereth nodded her head and stepped back, "Then there is your answer, Haldir. If you will not miss me, then I see no reason not to go with my brother if he should ask."

He watched her move to his chambers, come out with her gown, and then walked into Rúmil's room to extract Cuileth. She left the talan then, and he hung his head and felt tears sting his eyes. He tried to hold them back, but they would not stay at bay. Now not only had he lost his father and mother, but he had also lost his best friend because of his foolish pride and selfishness.

And he had absolutely no idea how he was going to survive, or how he was going to tell Orophin and Rúmil, though he imagined that they were already awake and knew of the rather loud argument that had just occurred in the talan. Haldir grumbled and closed his eyes for a moment… and this would assuredly be the first of many horrible fights to come if she chose to leave Lórien when her brother came.

mellon- friend