One morning when Elrohir awoke, he found Estel sitting across the room, looking out the window. He turned when he heard Elrohir shift.

"Ah. Good morning, muindor-nín," he said, standing up and coming over. "How do you feel?"

Elrohir pushed himself gingerly up into a sitting position. "Very sore," he answered honestly, "but much better, for all that."

Estel took a good look at his brother. The cuts on his face were nearly healed now, and the bruises had mostly faded to yellowish and greenish patches. The bruises on his chest and stomach, visible through his open tunic, were a darker and more foreboding color, but they also looked better than they had. Elrohir still wore a wide bandage bound tightly about his lower chest to take the pressure off of his ribs as they began to heal.

As Estel watched, the twin reached up to scratch his head, and a strange expression flitted across his face as he touched his shorn hair. But all he said was, "I could certainly use a bath."

Estel laughed, and began making arrangements to procure him one. When he returned to the room afterward, he discovered Elrohir sitting up in a chair, clean and dressed and looking relatively cheerful. Estel carried in a tray bearing two breakfasts and set it down on the dresser next to him. He pulled up a chair, and the two of them fell to.

"Katie has been asking about you," he said during a lull in the conversation.

Elrohir moved a bit of egg around his plate aimlessly.

"Has she," he finally said.

"Yes," Estel said firmly. "She wants to see you."

"You didn't—" Elrohir began.

"I told her you did not want any but the family to see you," Estel assured him. He watched the twin from under his brows.

"Well, I don't," Elrohir repeated, then turned the subject.

000

"Katie!" Erestor said abruptly. Katie jumped.

"Oh. What?"

Erestor smiled and shook his head. "I can see you are preoccupied. Care to share?"

Katie grinned. "You sound like my old teachers." Erestor continued to watch her, waiting for an explanation. Katie's grin faded. "I want to see Elrohir," she said, "and they won't let me. I haven't seen him for several days, now."

"Lord Elrohir has not seen anyone but his family," Erestor reminded her gently.

"I know," Katie said miserably. "But why?"

"Do you remember what I told you about elves and how we feel about our hair? The bandits cut off all of Elrohir's."

"Oh, I know," Katie said. "Remember? I've already seen his hair. And I know he's embarrassed about it. But that doesn't mean he can just shut himself off in his room until it grows out!"

Erestor regarded her thoughtfully. "Come with me," he said, rising.

000

Elrohir sat on the couch, nearly dozing as he lazily watched the flames in the fireplace. He put forth a little more effort to stay awake, as he knew Arwen would be in to see him soon.

There was a gentle rap at the door. That would be her.

"Come in," he called.

A face he did not expect to see peeked in. She was around the door and had it shut behind her before he could say anything.

"Katie! What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," she said calmly. "I must say, you do look better."

He rose and took a couple steps toward her, angrily. "I do not want to see anyone at present. I ask you to leave."

Katie's face took on a hard look. "No," she said stubbornly, crossing her arms. She looked a bit like a petulant child. "You can't just hide in here until your hair grows back."

The words burned in him, and he turned away from her, pacing over to the window. He felt a twinge in his side, and leaned on the sill. With his hair short, he felt strangely naked. It was not a comfortable feeling. "What do you know about it?"

"Erestor told me how elves feel about their hair a month ago," Katie declared. "And I know I'd be really embarrassed if somebody shaved my head. But I wouldn't just sit in my room all day and throw a tantrum if someone came to see me!"

He wheeled around to reply, but she cut him off. "No one is going to think any less of you because some jerkwad cut off your hair!" she exclaimed, exasperated, then paused. "They care about you. They love you, gwador-nín."

They locked eyes for a second, his grey ones angry and confused, her green ones annoyed but compassionate. He broke contact first and sank down onto the couch, putting his face in his hands.

He felt the next cushion depress as Katie sat down beside him. She didn't touch him. "Elrohir?" she asked quietly.

With a sigh, he looked up. "You are right. Forgive me. I just… felt so helpless in their hands…" He closed his eyes and shuddered at the thought. "And my hair was a symbol of that helplessness. And when people see me without it—I just feel like I am stripped of everything before them."

Katie put her hand on his shoulder. "You're not stripped of everything," she said, with a little catch in her voice between a laugh and a sob. "You're blanketed in love."

He turned and looked at her in wonder. There were tears in her eyes. "I don't know where that came from," she admitted, wiping them away.

Elrohir chuckled. "You have been around elves for so long, I think we are rubbing off on you," he said, drawing her into a hug. "Thank you, gwathel-nín."

They were silent for a minute. Then Katie stood up. "Well, dinner is in a few minutes; shall we?"

Elrohir stood as well, and they headed for the door. He felt a twinge of apprehension as they stepped out into the corridor, but he repressed it and concentrated on his companion.

"Katie," he asked solemnly, "what is a jerkwad?"

Katie's laugh rang down the hall.

000

Everyone was indeed very pleased to see Elrohir again. There was a flurry of joyful greetings when he stepped into the dining hall. Some of the elves even cheered.

"It is good to see you out of your room, young one," Mithrandir said as he took his seat at the head table.

"It is good not to be staring at the same four walls," Elrohir replied wryly. Katie glanced over at Erestor, who startled her by winking. She answered with a brilliant smile.

After dinner, the people at the head table remained awhile to chat—Elrond, Arwen, the twins, Estel, Glorfindel, Erestor, Mithrandir and Katie. Katie was curious to learn more about Mithrandir; she hadn't spent any time in his vicinity yet except during meals.

Mithrandir seemed almost equally curious about her, and the conversation eventually turned to her unorthodox arrivals in Middle-earth and the Middle-earthlings' own travels in her world. Mithrandir asked Katie a multitude of questions about her world, and she answered them as best she could, the twins and Estel occasionally offering their own insights into the matter.

"It is most curious," Mithrandir finally said, leaning back in his chair and fiddling with his beard. "I have never heard of such a thing occurring before. To travel from one Ëa to another!—most of the wise would deem it impossible."

"And yet it happened," Elladan added. He gave a little laugh. "I witnessed it the first time."

Katie's face went red and she and Elladan laughed, although no one else at the table understood what was funny.

"I wonder if it ever happened to anyone else, and it just never got into the history books?" Katie offered.

"I do not see how it could avoid being in the… history books," Erestor said, using her own term.

Katie's eyes narrowed. "You're not writing about me, are you?"

Erestor laughed. "Not yet."

Katie shot him a bit of a look, and the others laughed. They were all in a very merry mood, thanks to their escape from danger and Elrohir's joining them.

Mithrandir pulled them back to the original subject. "So you say that you simply heard a sound like bells, and then suddenly you were someplace entirely different?" Katie nodded. "I would like to see that," he said.

Katie smiled knowingly. "Be careful what you wish for; you—"

She stopped as she heard a funny sound. She barely had time to think, Here we go! and expected any moment to find herself sitting on the road on the way to the soccer field. But the moment passed, and she remained in her seat. There was a collective intake of breath from the other side of the table. They were all staring past her. She turned in her seat to gaze in shock at the figure that had just appeared in Elrond's dining hall.

She stared, then stared again. "Grandma?"

The End

…or not.

AN: Hee hee. I enjoyed writing that ending. It seems this particular sequel has ended up the same length as the first, 19 chapters. The next sequel will be "A Mysterious Way" and will pick up right where this one leaves off. I think the end came a little sooner than I expected, but I'm not displeased with it.

Darkened Dreams: Yes, the captivity was short, but it was longer than last time by at least a couple of days. I'm improving! Sorry, you won't find out the exact reason for her not going home for awhile, yet. It's a bit of a plot point.

crazycatluver: I lost my mind a long time ago. That's why I write. :)

IwishChan: I know! I totally agree. My brother can be nice, but he's never that cool. And he's not an elf. lol

Laer4572: lol Oh, once in awhile you get a straight answer. It's just generally not when you ask for it. :) Good observation on the hair thing! You know, I went to see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" last night, and they talked about a candy that would make your hair grow, and all I could think of was, I bet Elrohir would want some of that! So you're definitely not the only person who acts as if they live next door. :)

theycallmemary: Nobody knows exactly how long Katie will be in Middle-earth, as usual. What Elladan was saying was, Katie can't just think she can do one thing and then be done forever with Ilúvatar's plans. She's always carrying them out, whether she realizes it or not. And the only guide she has on what to do is her conscience. Yes, I was thinking about the fact that Elrohir's hair is not too far off men's hair in our world right now, but at present it's much too short for Katie to cut it in any kind of style!

Fallen Truth: You get another hug, just for that! Thank you!

Thanks also to Fk306 and werewolflemming! Hope to see everybody at the sequel! (Replies to reviews of this chapter will be at the bottom of the first chapter of "A Mysterious Way".)

Please review, my pretties!