Enough was enough. It was the day after her epic fight with Boromir, Gimli, and Legolas, and Legolas still would not pay her any mind. When she saw him, she would try to approach him, but he would only turn away from her. He did not appear at dinner. He did not come to the field for practice. He had removed himself completely from Kari's life, and that was not what she had wanted.

She knocked on his chamber door firmly, and he opened it. When he saw that it was Kari, he shuffled uneasily at the door.

"Let me enter," she said firmly.

"I do not think that is wise," Legolas replied hollowly.

"I do not care," she said, pushing passed him and closing the door after her entrance to ensure that Legolas would not leave his rooms. "I do not want this distance between us," she added, looking at him carefully.

He looked distraught. He did not have a haggard appearance, but there was an air about him that was dull. Kari did not like it at all.

"You are the one responsible for the distance," Legolas said, anger seeping into his voice.

Kari was hurt by the tone of voice, but at least he was expressing emotion. It was a drastic improvement from the empty looks she had been receiving.

"My joining the fellowship was not supposed to put distance between us," Kari replied.

"Your selfishness and foolishness is what put distance between us," Legolas snapped, turning his back to Kari as he moved to stand by his parlor window.

Kari frowned. "And your actions were not foolish?" she retorted.

He did not reply.

"Please, explain this to me! I am tired of having you walk away from me. I no longer want to see you with this blank expression on your face," Kari said, clearly frustrated.

"Why do you think Lord Elrond allowed you to be part of the fellowship?" Legolas asked, his voice eerily calm.

"Because I am a strong fighter, I am a Healer…"

"It is because of your gift," Legolas said, cutting Kari off.

"He instructed me not to use it," Kari replied.

"And do you intend to follow those instructions? Do you truly believe Lord Elrond thinks you shall follow those instructions?" Legolas asked rhetorically, his voice becoming quite loud.

Kari did not reply, and Legolas already knew the answers.

"There are plenty of other healers and fighters who could go, but it is your healing gift that sets you apart from the rest."

"But Lord Elrond said not to use…" she started feebly, although she was beginning to see Legolas' point.

Legolas continued through her weak protestation. "And, if need be, Lord Elrond knows you would sacrifice your life to save someone, like Frodo. It is as though Frodo's life is more valuable than yours. And shall I be amenable to that idea? Shall I support your involvement in the fellowship if it means that you are being used as a last resort should something happen to the Ringbearer? Or perhaps Aragorn? He is the rightful King of Gondor after all. Perhaps his life is of more value than yours as well? An argument can be made for every one of the members of the fellowship. How can you expect me to be happy about this?" Legolas asked scathingly.

Kari had not thought about the situation from this perspective. Despite the morbidity of the topic, Legolas had a good point. If necessary, she would use her healing abilities to save another member of the fellowship. But the reason would not be solely because she thought her life held less value than perhaps Aragorn's, but because she wanted to save him. She loved Aragorn and wanted to do everything she could to help him - even if that meant putting herself in jeopardy.

And yes, when she got down to the heart of the matter, she did view herself as more expendable than someone like Aragorn or Frodo. In these dangerous times, the world needed their kings and heroes, and Kari was neither. She was the orphan girl who had this unique gift and some skill in battle. She did not expect her impact on the world to be as great as Aragorn's or Frodo's.

Legolas was quite right.

"You understand," Legolas said.

Kari's eyes flicked upward so that she looked at Legolas. She nodded silently.

Legolas strode toward her and held her tightly. It had been the first physical contact they had had in days. "You are invaluable to me. I was there, watching you as you lay almost lifeless after healing Frodo, and I was furious that Lord Elrond let you do something so dangerous. It angers me that Lord Elrond seems to place the lives of others above yours once again. It angers me that you seem to view your own life so frivolously," he whispered.

"I understand," she said, relishing the feeling of his arms around her.

"So you shall not be in the fellowship?" Legolas asked, his eyes locking onto hers.

Kari kept her eyes on his. "No Legolas. I still shall be part of the fellowship," she replied.

Legolas closed his eyes, unable to believe this was happening. After he explained himself, she was supposed to back down. She was supposed to withdraw from the fellowship. He released his hold on her and turned to face the window once again.

"Your arguments are good, but they can be made for your participation as well, for everyone's participation. The role of the fellowship is to escort Frodo to Mount Doom. Everyone's purpose is to protect Frodo, and if need be, die on his behalf. So when you leave as part of this fellowship, your life becomes less valuable than Frodo's. But that does not stop you from going," Kari reasoned.

"I have a duty," Legolas replied, his back still to her.

"True. You may go somewhat reluctantly. As do I. I am not eager to go and face unforeseeable dangers. But I would rather do that than stay behind and simply wait. Wait for what? Shall I escape to the Undying Lands where I will die anyway?"

Legolas was silent for a while as he shifted his weight from one foot and then the other while continuing to stare out the window. "I do not want you to die," he whispered. "If something happens to you, and I see it, and I do not stop it, how do you think that would make me feel? How could I live with myself?"

The desperateness in his tone almost made Kari fling her arms around him and say she would not be in the fellowship if only to give him peace of mind. Almost.

Instead, she walked over to him and faced him, holding his hands in hers. "The only reason you would see something and not do anything is because you simply could not. It will not be your fault," she said as her thumbs made slow circles on the outside of his hands.

Legolas exhaled and rested his forehead on her shoulder, relaxing against Kari. "There is nothing I can say to dissuade you, is there?" he whispered.

"No, meleth-nin," Kari replied.

Legolas inhaled and then exhaled. Upon the exhale, his shoulders straightened and he looked resolved. "Alright then," he said. "Alright."

Kari gave a small smile as she stroked Legolas' cheek. "Good."

"You shall not die in this expedition," Legolas said. "I will see to it."

"Nor shall you," Kari said quietly.

"Kari…" Legolas began.

"No, Legolas. I remember what happened when I got sick after healing Frodo. I realize that my actions affect you. But yours affect me too. If something were to happen to you while I sit here idly, I would be devastated. We shall look out for each other. You have watched over me, making sure I stay safe, for so long. Allow me to watch over you now too," she explained.

Legolas nodded slowly, understanding where she was coming from. She felt the same way he did, and he would be unwise to expect her to act differently than he would in this situation. Had the roles been reversed, had Kari been the one to go on the fellowship, Legolas would have done everything in his power to stop her or accompany her. Was it fair for him to expect something different from her now? No, it wasn't fair, but it didn't change the fact that he did not like the idea of her participation. But, he would accept it.

Legolas leaned down and kissed her then, trying to block out the dreary thoughts he was feeling.

"I have not done that in four days," Legolas whispered against her lips.

"I know. Four days too many," Kari said.

"Forgive me," Legolas said.

"No, Legolas, you are justified. I should have told you about my participation in the fellowship immediately instead of waiting. It was irresponsible of me. In the future, when there is news I should tell you, I shall not linger."

"I promise to not act so rash again. I was being terribly stubborn. It took too much wasted energy to avoid you," Legolas replied with a smile.

Kari chuckled and winced when the cut on her lip opened from her laughter.

Legolas touched her lip gently, appraising her injury. "They were rather thorough in their onslaught," he said quietly, alluding to her battle with Gimli and Boromir the day before. He looked over her face, which also sported a bruised cheekbone and jaw.

"Yes, but I do not blame them. You were quite thorough as well," Kari said.

Legolas looked away. "I am sorry. I was angry, I wanted you to stay…"

Kari's fingertips brushed along the side of Legolas' neck soothingly. "I know."

He did not try to explain himself further, for Kari understood already. "Is the rest of your body as bruised?" he asked as he touched her cheek.

Kari shrugged. "I heal quickly."

Legolas knew that was a 'yes.' He lightly kissed her cheek and her jaw, and her collarbone, which also had a bruise. He intended on kissing all her bruises.

"Shall we try to communicate better with each other from now on?" Legolas asked quietly.

Kari nodded. "I do not want this to happen again."

Legolas smirked. "Is the rest of your body as bruised?" he repeated his question, trying to lighten the mood.

Kari smiled sheepishly, understanding that she needed to be frank with Legolas just like he needed to be frank with her.

"Yes," she replied.

Legolas looked quite satisfied with getting that straight answer from her.

"Are we truly alright?" she asked, alluding to their fight and reconciliation.

Legolas nodded and kissed her once more. "Yes."

"Why aren't we leaving already? We've got the whole group now," Merry asked two weeks later as he and Pippin watched Kari and Legolas practice archery.

Kari smiled amusedly. "Eager to encounter unknown dangers, Merry?" she asked, pulling back her arrow and firing it at the target with flawless precision.

"No, but, it just doesn't see logical is all," Merry replied. Though he liked Rivendell and the change of scenery, the hobbit could not understand why they were not starting their journey. It would be long and arduous and they needed all the time they could get, wouldn't they?

"We wait because Ringwraiths may be in the area still. They and their horses were swept away by the water when chasing after Frodo and Glorfindel, but we must wait until the scouts return and tell us it is safe. We do not want to encounter them on our journey," Legolas explained.

"Also, we do not want to get lost along the way. We must know paths to take. That takes time and research, which Aragorn and Gandalf are doing in the library," Kari said.

"Makes sense," Pippin said, looking at his kinsman.

Merry nodded and leaned back on his elbows, looking around with a bored expression on his face.

"Shall we fight?" Legolas asked Kari after they had use their last arrow.

Kari hesitated ever so slightly. "Alright."

For the past two weeks, after their reconciliation, the practice fights with Legolas were more and more rigorous. He was becoming more aggressive in his attacks and in turn she was too. She had gotten caught up in the heightened aggression the day before and had accidentally cut Legolas' torso. It was a very superficial wound that she healed using traditional healing methods easily enough, but still, she had wounded him because she was not being careful. And what was strange to her was that Legolas practically encouraged her to fight more like that, using more aggression and force. She did not like the idea of fighting like that against the one she loved so dearly.

"Do not worry about what happened yesterday," Legolas said.

Was what she was thinking about that obvious? "I cannot help it. For a while it felt like I was fighting a true enemy," Kari explained.

"That is the intention," Legolas said, setting down his bow.

"You are not my enemy."

"For the sake of practice fights I am, and you should treat me as such. We've gone over this before," Legolas said, becoming a bit peeved.

Kari became defensive at Legolas' tone. "But if it results in injury, it is not worth it."

"People are injured in battle," Legolas said dismissively.

Kari frowned and touched his arm. "Legolas, there is a difference between true battle and practice fights. You taught me how to strike with caution during practice and unleash everything during battle. When we fought the orcs, I did not hold anything back, and I will not in the future when we encounter other enemies. But with you, I will hold back and I do not want you to push me to do otherwise," Kari said forcefully.

"You said you never hold back in our practices," Legolas accused.

"That was before I could beat you. That was before I hurt you." Her hand on his arm slid down to link with his hand. She squeezed it as she smiled, trying to relieve some of the tension that had sprung up between them. It seemed arguing with Legolas was becoming easier and more frequent, and she did not like that at all.

Legolas looked very grave. "I just want you prepared," he said quietly.

"I know. I am as prepared as possible," Kari said.

Legolas nodded as he stepped closer to her. They looked at each other then - a stare in which the rest of the world seemed inconsequential to the words of reassurance both of them wanted to say but did not quite believe enough to voice.

An awkward clearing of a throat broke them out of their gaze. Realizing that they were on the verge of displaying their affection in front of an audience, they pulled apart, putting a wide space between them. None of the fellowship members besides Aragorn knew about their relationship, and Legolas and Kari wanted to keep it that way. Their relationship was something private and cherished, just for the two of them.

Kari looked down to see Pippin staring up at her, looking a bit sheepish.

"I don't like long silences too much," he explained awkwardly.

Kari laughed. "My apologies. We were communicating with our minds," she replied jokingly.

"More like your eyes," Merry teased, raising an eyebrow.

Kari laughed a bit harder but did not reply to him. "Let's practice, shall we? It's high time for me to beat you again," she said to Legolas, her eyes sparkling with the challenge.

Merry and Pippin laughed heartily as well.

Legolas smiled, the first smile of the day. Lately it seemed harder to see him laugh or smile. "You shall try, and fail, but that is alright," he said teasingly, wrapping his arm affectionately around her neck and disheveling her hair with his hand. It was quite reminiscent of how they used to act around each other before everything had become so serious.

She let out a very unladylike grunt as she tried to remove herself from his grasp. When she finally did, he was running away, taunting her to try to catch him. She chased after him and turned around to look at the two hobbits. "Come on, I need your help," she said as she beckoned to them.

The two hobbits got up happily and ran after Legolas with Kari. For the afternoon, practice, along with everything else, was forgotten.

That night, as Kari and Legolas were getting ready for bed in her chambers in companionable silence, Kari finally spoke.

"I had fun today. Playing chase with the hobbits," she said as she put on her oversized tunic she wore to bed.

Legolas smiled at the memory. "Yes, me too."

"Everything has become so serious lately. It was nice to just…"

"…Let it all go," Legolas said.

"Yes."

Legolas walked over to her and stroked her shoulders and arms soothingly. "I admit that I have been…"

"…Brooding?" Kari supplied with a smile.

Legolas chuckled and kissed her. "I was trying to think of a more flattering word. But yes, 'brooding' is appropriate."

"I understand why, and you are not the only one. Everyone has been more depressed and the tension is often tangible."

"Everything now seems so dire. I sense such strong darkness constantly," Legolas admitted.

"It is putting a terrible strain on you, meleth-nin. And I worry. Remember when I failed my apprenticeship test, and I was so disappointed in myself and needed to just step back from it all? That is why I liked today. It was a much-needed step back from all of these awful things," Kari replied, wrapping her arms affectionately around Legolas' neck.

"Yes. Was it not just over two months ago that we revealed our feelings for each other? So much as changed since then, for the worse," Legolas said.

"Not all for the worse. We are stronger," Kari said.

Legolas smirked. "No, you are stronger. I think one of the reasons I have been brooding so much is the knowledge that I no longer take care of you," Legolas said.

Kari looked at him curiously. "Of course you still take care of me."

"Not like before," he said, trying to find the words to explain himself. "It has finally become apparent to me that I cannot watch over you. I told you that you would not die in this expedition because I believed that I could protect you at all costs. But everything is so unknown…" his voice broke off scratchily.

"Legolas…" Kari whispered soothing.

Legolas leaned down and rested his head on Kari's shoulder, inhaling deeply to try and calm his emotions. "Before I could protect you," he said, unable to hide his anguish from his tone.

"Everything is out of our control. All we have is faith in our abilities and in ourselves," Kari said, stroking Legolas's back soothingly.

"I do not seem to have faith in myself," Legolas admitted.

"That is because you expect too much," Kari replied.

"No."

"Yes. You expect yourself to protect the Ringbearer, protect me, and save Middle Earth from the grasps of Mordor so that we may have a future," Kari said bluntly, pushing Legolas away from her shoulder so that she would look at his eyes. "Can you not hear how unrealistic that sounds?"

Legolas remained silent and broke eye contact with Kari. He sat down on the bed and pulled Kari with him. She sat on his lap and kissed him gently, trying to sooth him and the conflict within him.

"Do you remember when you asked me about our future? And I told you about how I saw us exploring Middle Earth together and having children, one boy and one girl at least?" Legolas asked.

Kari smiled widely. "Yes."

"I really did see it in my mind. So clearly. I do not want to lose you. I do not want to lose our future," Legolas explained.

Kari realized this was the heart of the pain within Legolas. He saw something that was so real, and the possibility of losing it was not an option for him. Yet, outside forces made him question the fruition of this future, and he was trying so hard to hold onto it. But the more he tried to control everything, the more frustrating it was when everything was spiraling out of his control. He could not control the Ring being found, nor Kari healing Frodo, nor Kari joining the fellowship, nor what would happen to the fellowship, nor…anything.

Hence the brooding.

"If you spend all your time in fear of losing something, there is no time to enjoy it," Kari said.

Legolas smiled wryly. "When did you become so wise?"

Kari blushed and shrugged. "It comes in small, occasional bursts," she replied.

Legolas laughed lightly.

Kari continued, "But do you not see? We have not lost our future. We are living it. We will be exploring Middle Earth together. Granted, there will be eight others with us, but regardless, it is happening…"

Legolas' light laughter became very strong. Kari enjoyed hearing the sound and feeling his chest rumble in front of her.

"You have such optimism…" he said, his eyes glowing with love and appreciation as he looked up at her.

She smiled and brushed her fingertips along his cheek. "Someone must balance out your brooding. And I never flee from a challenge," Kari replied. She hugged him, her lips coming close to his ear. "And I love you. So much."

Legolas hugged her tightly to him. "I love you too, Kari."

Legolas could feel her lips curl up in a smile against his neck.

"I know."

Author's Note: Yay, they aren't fighting anymore! I wanted to try and finish this story before the New Year, but I still have one chapter left. I'll be honest – I haven't written it yet. The reason is because I will be leaving to study abroad in Australia and I will be visiting New Zealand before that I tried really hard but just couldn't finish, and I don't want to rush through writing something and have it be bad. I don't know. (Yes, I'll be seeing a bit of the LOTR sets, particularly Hobbiton). I'm leaving tomorrow, so I don't know when I will have time to write. I don't know when the next update will be. After the next update, there WILL be a sequel chronicling the journey of Kari from the fellowship to the end, but I haven't started writing that, and since I want it to be close to the books, and I need to re-read the books. All this will take time, but I promise it will be done. Thanks for all the support, and please review!