A Stranger In The Woods

Chapter 9:

They slowly made their way towards the Gap of Rohan. The days mixed together in a cloud of dust and exhaustion as the group marched on with little rest.

Katie began to get to know everyone better; everyone except Boromir was friendly and talked with her. Boromir was friendly enough to everyone else- just not her. Even Legolas had spoken with her a few times. Mostly she just asked him a question and he answered, but it was an obvious improvement.

Merry and Pippin continued to relentlessly bombard her with questions, making her explain every little thing from credit cards to microwaves. Frodo and Sam spoke to her rarely, but mostly stuck together, preferring to talk amongst themselves.

Aragorn was amazed at the fact that in 'her world' females worked for a living. An argument broke out when Katie told him she worked for a living. Miracle of all miracles, Legolas and Gimli had finally agreed on something: it was improper for a woman to work. That had been on day eleven.

Since then, Merry and Pippin had asked close to a million questions about her job. As they walked along on what marked the second week since the start of their journey, the hobbits were back at it.

"What do you do with the money?" Pippin asked curiously.

"I pay bills," she stated simply, starting to get fed up.

"What are bills?" Merry spoke up.

Katie explained them as simply as possible, feeling as if she was talking to two unruly children. She was suddenly aware that Legolas was listening in on their conversation.

"Most of my money goes towards rent- That's what you pay to live in a house," she added as Pippin opened his mouth.

Legolas walked up beside them. "I still say a woman shouldn't work," he muttered.

Katie shot him an annoyed look. "What am I supposed to do? Have my roommate pay all my bills?"

Legolas frowned. Hard. "You have a roommate?"

Katie felt like slapping herself upside the forehead. 'Why did I tell him that?'

"Yes," she admitted, a little grin creeping onto her face. "A guy."

The look of shock on Legolas' face was almost comical. "You live with a man?" he asked quietly. "Are you married?"

Katie laughed aloud, startling him. "Heavens no! Devin is my best friend." The scandalized look was still on his face, so she continued. "It's not like we share a room or anything. He sleeps clear on the other side of the house."

Legolas looked somewhat relieved. "Your world is very different from ours," he said quietly.

"You can say that again, Greenleaf..." she muttered.

Merry and Pippin overheard Legolas' nickname, and spent the next hour until they stopped for lunch questioning him about it. Katie walked behind them, grinning as she watched the elf's patience waning rapidly. He shot her a poisonous look, making her smile broader.

"So, if one calls you Legolas Greenleaf, what they are really saying is Greenleaf, Greenleaf," Pippin realized in fascination.

Legolas closed his eyes in frustration, and Katie could almost hear him gritting his teeth.

"Or Legolas, Legolas," Merry felt compelled to point out.

Both hobbits appeared to get a kick out of that, and Katie had to bite down on her lip to keep a laugh from emerging. Legolas looked precariously close to losing his calm.

'I guess even elves have a limit on how much they can tolerate,' Katie thought with a chuckle. She walked over to the two hobbits and shot Legolas a quick wink.

"I believe I heard Boromir mention something about more fighting lessons," she lied.

Merry and Pippin hurried off quickly to find the man, arguing over who would go first. Legolas took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Thanks," he grumbled, then walked over to find Gandalf.

Katie had to fight to contain another laugh. The relieved look on his face when the hobbits left was priceless. 'He always manages to look handsome and composed, even when he's annoyed,' she realized and walked over to help Sam with lunch.

The young hobbit looked up at her as she approached and smiled shyly. They cooked the portions over the fire and then sat down to eat.

"There is one thing I do not understand," Sam said quietly when they had finished.

Katie looked over at him curiously; he wasn't one for questions. "What's that?"

Sam frowned, taking a minute to find the nerve to ask, as if he was already regretting what he'd said. "Well, aren't people looking for you?" he blurted out finally. "I mean, don't you think people will wonder where you are?"

Katie studied the mountains in the distance. She didn't want to admit the truth, but felt compelled to be honest with the man. "I doubt it. I doubt anyone realizes I am gone."

She felt tears prick the corner of her eyes, and hurried to continue. "The only people that will care that I am gone are my coworkers, Devin, and my dad."

She let out a small, humorless laugh. "I am probably out of a job by now, Devin probably thinks I just took off like I occasionally do and my dad…" She looked down sadly and sighed, "I know he's not looking for me."

"I am sure he misses you." Sam said soothingly.

Katie shook her head. "He is very sick," she whispered. "After…after my mom died he had a stroke... That was three years ago. He's been steadily getting worse. Last year I had to put him in the hospital, and now," she took a deep breathe, not wanting to show how much this still hurt. "Now, he doesn't even know who I am most times I come to see him."

She glanced up and noticed Legolas was staring at her, an odd look on his face. She caught his gaze and he quickly looked away, walking towards where Gimli and Gandalf were talking.

'Was he listening to our conversation?' she wondered as she stared after the elf. He had leapt onto a bolder and appeared to be studying a small dark cloud.

"Oh, shit!" She cried out, jumping quickly to her feet. She had forgotten all about the birds.

"Quick! Hide!" She yelled at the men, quickly grabbing her bag pack off the ground and attempting to smother the fire.

The entire group turned and stared at her dumbly.

"The birds," she cried in frustration. 'Why aren't they doing anything?' she wondered frantically. Aragorn frowned at her.

"The birds!" she tried again. "The damn….Oh, what the hell are they called!"

"Crebain from Dunland!" Legolas cried out from his perch on the bolder.

Suddenly, everyone around her sprang into action. "Hide!" Aragorn shouted.

"Oh, now they hide," Katie muttered to herself, shoving her pack under a large rock.

She was searching for a place to hide herself when someone grabbed her and roughly pulled her under a bush. Her head collided with the corner of a rock as Legolas shoved her to the ground. His hard body covered hers, effectively pinning her against the earth.

A small gasp escaped her lips as she lay there motionless- startled by his sudden closeness.

'He's so light,' she thought, amazed, swallowing another gasp as his arm pressed against her chest as he twisted to watch the birds fly over. In the back of her mind she was aware of their loud screeches and cries, but for now, all her energy and attention was focused on Legolas and his body lying on hers. She shifted slightly, and his already tight body tensed even more at her movement.

He spun back around and looked down at her sharply. Katie was aware of every movement of his body. His lips curled down in a frown, his eyes narrow as he studied her. A hot bolt of electricity slid through her body as their gazes met.

"You knew about the birds?" Spoken in a deadly whisper, disbelief and anger clouding his once light eyes. He jumped up and pulled her from under the bushes before she had a chance to reply.

"Did you know?" He asked again, not even bothering to help her up as she sat there in the dirt.

Katie nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"If you knew, why did you not warn us sooner?" Legolas demanded, glaring down at her.

"I forgot," she whispered, feeling like a child who has just been soundly scolded.

"Be sure it does not happen again." Legolas snapped, and then abruptly walked away.

Katie buried her head in her knees, angry with herself for forgetting such a key event. 'That's the entire reason I'm here,' she thought with a sigh. 'I'm supposed to make the trip easier and instead I am adding to the problems.'

She took a deep breath to calm herself; but her heart was still racing from having Legolas pressed up against her.

'I can handle admiring him from afar,' she thought as she stood and dusted herself off. 'But to have him so close to me- touching me- that's torture.'

She glanced around, wondering what everyone else was doing. The hobbits were eating again, chatting as if nothing had happened. Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli stood huddled together talking quietly. She saw the men glance up at the mountain behind them and knew they were talking about the Pass of Caradahas.

Katie walked away from the group, hoping to get a few minutes to compose herself. She rounded a group of rocks and collided directly with Boromir.

"Just the person I wanted to see," he leered, grabbing her arms tightly. "Why didn't you warn us sooner about the birds?" he growled, moving his faces within inches of hers.

"I-I-I forgot," she stammered, petrified of the hateful look in his eyes.

"You are a spy!" he hissed, pressing her back firmly against the rocks.

"No" she whimpered, "I promise."

"If I find out you are," He shook her hard. "I will not hesitate to slit your throat."

Katie let out a little moan of fear, knowing in her heart he was serious.

"Release her, Boromir," came a wonderfully familiar voice from her left.

She looked over and breathed a huge sigh of relief as she saw Legolas standing there, his face impassive. She never thought she'd be so glad to see the elf.

"Can you not see she is a spy, Legolas?" Boromir asked, loosening his grip slightly.

"Spy or not, she is my responsibility. Now, release her." Legolas replied calmly.

Boromir grudgingly let her go and Katie immediately ran to Legolas' side. She was shaking, and for once was glad he had been forced to protect her.

"You speak with your heart, not your head Prince," Boromir said softly.

Katie saw him stiffen. "She is not your responsibility," he repeated evenly.

"If anything happens, I will make her my responsibility," Boromir promised, stomping off.

Once he was out of sight, Legolas turned towards her, looking her up and down for injuries.

"Are you hurt?" he asked softly, reaching up and lightly brushing the small cut on her head.

"No," she whispered, flinching away from his touch. She was shaky and felt like throwing up, but overall she was fine.

"It is not a deep cut," he assured her, leaning closer to inspect it.

"I said I am fine," she snapped, her head beginning to throb in pain. "Sorry..." she muttered, seeing the befuddled look on his face. "We'd better get back to the group."

Legolas just gave her a curt nod and both were silent as they walked back.

"Let us hope the Pass of Caradahas is an easy one," Gandalf said as they set out toward the mountains.

Katie sighed, knowing it wouldn't be.

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A/N: Well, here is a long chapter for all you readers. I hope you liked it. I am still sorry to make Boromir my bad guy, but you know how it is…

My thanks to my benevolent beta The Hobbit Ivy for all her work. I, do not, use, to many, commas!

I hope everyone is enjoying the story thus far. Please review and let me know.

Katie-sue