Through A Nightingale's Eyes

Disclaimer I do not own any of Tolkien's creations. I only own my characters and some of the storyline

IMPORTANT

Please DO NOT flame my story, because you have been warned. By the way, I HAVE read the LOTR books. If you have some constructive criticism or tips for me, please e-mail me

Thank you for your consideration. Peace!

Jack-Sparrow-Lover

RATED "R" FOR LANGUAGE AND POSSIBLY OTHER STUFF

Author's Note: Hey! I finally got the next chapter out! ::dance:: Hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter 12: Lirimaer?

"That's the third time this month you've been late, Miss Sparrow!"

"I'm sorry, Dr. Henderson. I…had some business at home and-"

"I don't care for excuses! I expect you here and on time when you are required to work! Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes, but-"

"Listen," he replied as his dark eyes stared down at her, "If I have to fire you, I will. I don't want to, but if need be it can be done. I've given you the days off you needed for various reasons, but we're understaffed. Now…GET TO WORK!"

"Yes, sir," Kayla whispered timidly as she looked to the ground and her boss walked away. She felt so stupid and knew that all eyes were on her at the moment. Dr. Henderson was not the man to anger, but he yelled so often that it would eventually break someone down. "Not me," she muttered under her breath as she lifted her head and took a deep breath, "I will not be broken.

She straightened out her white uniform and walked over to the main desk. The secretary handed her a few folders and then went back to work, not even bothering to say hello. Figures Kayla thought. Everyone had become more solemn since the doctors had gotten more demanding of their employees at longer hours. Still, they were proud of what they had done. Kayla was proud of herself. Sure, she had not gone to college or medical school, but she was qualified enough to be a nurse. She had filed things and done minor work, but the doctors never thought highly of it. This was her life…a medical assistant when she knew she should be more.

As she walked over to the door of room 107 and placed the folder in the clear chart holder, she felt someone staring at her. As her dark eyes moved toward the hallway to her right, there stood Legolas. He was wearing his blue tunic and dark leggings, and his ears were sticking out. Yet it seemed he had just walked in unnoticed. No one had made any acknowledgment of him. Kayla felt her heart tearing in half. She knew this was going to be hard. The psychic had told her she would have to send him back, yet here he was…standing there. She quickly walked over to him and grabbed his hand. "What the hell are you doing here?" she as in a hushed whisper.

"I came to see you."

"How'd you get here?"

"Alana gave me a ride. I found her teleckphone number on your uh…refrigerator-thing and called her."

"It's a telephone, Legolas," Kayla said with a small laugh. She watched as the elf smiled and almost collapsed. Damn…he was hot. Still, even though he was there holding her hand, she knew that tonight he would know the truth. "But still, you came here dressed like an elf? What if someone sees you?"

"No one even looked at me when I walked in. They were running around this…house of healing."

"Now and days it's called a hospital." Kayla then looked down and noticed that she was still holding Legolas' hand as they were talking. When she tried to pull it away, she realized that he had a firm grip on it. "Uh…Legolas…"

"Yes, my Lady?" he replied smoothly.

"You can let go of my hand now."

"But what if I don't want to?" he asked, taking a step closer so their bodies were almost touching.

"Um…Legolas, I-"

"SPARROW!" a loud voice screamed from down the hall. Kayla reluctantly looked down the hallway and saw Dr. Henderson standing there. She knew this could only bring trouble. Her boss slowly walked toward her and eventually stopped about a foot away from her and Legolas, who had now moves slightly in front of her. "You should be filing things, not chatting it up with your friend here!"

"I…I'm sorry-"

"I particularly don't care. Now get to work or I'll fire you."

"Excuse me," Legolas interrupted, "It's not polite to speak to a lady in such a tone." Kayla wanted to slap the elf for that comment. He was only going to cause a fight trying to correct her boss.

"And who are you to tell me how to act?!" Dr. Henderson replied in a slight outrage, "You're not in charge of this hospital!"

"Dr. Henderson, I apologize for…Leslie's comment," Kayla lied as she grabbed onto Legolas' arm and pulled him behind her, "I'll get back to work."

"See to it that you actually finish it this time." With that, he walked off, leaving Kayla and Legolas alone again.

"Leslie?" the elf asked as he looked down at Kayla.

"Eh heh. Well, I couldn't call you by your real name. It would be very odd…considering your attire wouldn't help much. You look like an elf."

"I am an elf." Kayla slightly laughed at Legolas' comment and then regained her composure.

"I'll call Alana and have her take you back to my house," Kayla said as she took out her cell phone and started dialing the number.

"I can't stay here with you?"

"It's against the rules and I'm in enough trouble as it is," she answered as she held the phone to her ear. As soon as she heard Alana's voice on the other end, she spoke again, "Hey, girl. I need a favor…"

Hours later, Aragorn was reading once again on the living room couch, trying to understand the concepts of one of Kayla's high school yearbooks. He was studying the pictures and reading the quotes made by many seniors. This was obviously her senior year because her picture was next to a quote: "There was no place for me, so I had to make one for myself," he read aloud. (A/N: Yes, an Inuyasha quote) He understood how she felt, since he knew the truth about her heritage and refused to tell her. She would have to figure this one out on her own.

The trouble was getting home. He knew of what was to happen if they stayed longer and he was going to inform his companions when Kayla returned. He knew that Gimli would be sad, for there would be no more cheeseburgers and such, but this was going to affect Legolas more than anything. It was quite obvious that he had become attached to Kayla, which was something unplanned. The ranger had noticed it many times, but thought nothing of it until now. How was he going to break it to them?

Within the next few minutes, Kayla stepped through the front door and shut it behind her. Aragorn looked at her carefully and noticed that she looked like she had been stabbed through the heart. "Kayla?" When she looked up and met his gaze, he knew for sure…she learned of it. "You know then…"

"Aragorn, why didn't you tell me?" she asked, tears beginning to prick her eyes as she walked over to him.

"It was something I could not tell you. It was not my place."

"Well, it sure would have saved me a lot of trouble."

"I apologize, Kayla."

"I know," she responded as she looked down, "…and now…I guess you all have to leave."

"LEAVE?" Gimli shouted as he ran into the room, having heard the front door open, "What's going on?!"

"Gimli…y-you, Aragorn, and Legolas have to…have to…"

"Have to what?" Legolas questioned as he walked into the room. Kayla looked up to meet the elf's gaze and held back her tears.

"L-Leave…" she whispered. Legolas looked over at Aragorn and when he saw the calm look in the ranger's eyes he knew it was true.

"Why?" the elf asked.

"Because you'll die if you don't!" Kayla screamed sadly.

"We best depart now," Aragorn stated.

"But, can't we just-?"

"No, Gimli. We have to leave," the ranger said as he walked upstairs, followed by the dwarf, who now wore a solemn expression. Kayla watched them leave the room and then looked at Legolas. He had changed back into his traveling ensemble while she had been at work and he still looked perfect.

"Kayla?"

"Legolas, I-" She didn't get to finish her sentence. The elf had somehow ended up right in front of her and was now capturing her lips in an intoxicating, passionate kiss. Kayla responded almost instantly and wrapped her arms around his neck, tears streaming down her face as she kissed him. They both knew that this would be their last real kiss, for there was no way they could see each other again.

"Ahem…" Kayla and Legolas broke the kiss and looked over at Aragorn and Gimli, who were both standing there in the clothes they arrived in. The ranger walked over and handed Legolas his weapons before stepping back. Kayla sadly walked over to the television and turned it on before pressing the play button on the VCR. Her bootleg DVD of the movie was stopped where it had been the day her new friends had arrived. The screen immediately turned white and then grew into a resilient glowing vortex. Aragorn walked over and took Kayla's hand, kissing it gently and then looking into her depressed eyes. "I thank you for your hospitality, Kayla."

"No p-problem, Aragorn," she replied shakily, "Please rule Gondor the best you can." The ranger smiled softly and then stepped into the white light, vanishing out of sight. Kayla then looked to Gimli and knelt down so she would be at his eye level. "I'll miss ya, Gimli," she said, forcing a smile.

"I wish we weren't leavin' either, lass. You've been so kind."

"Aw…come here you imp!" Kayla grabbed Gimli and hugged him, catching the dwarf slightly off guard. Still, he returned the hug and then walked into the light as well. "He's funny," she said to herself and then turned to the last person she had to say farewell to…Legolas. As he stood before her and looked down into her eyes, she felt as if she was losing more than just a guy. Legolas had awakened so many new feelings in her that this didn't seem possible. He was leaving her and never coming back.

"Well, Lady Kayla…"

"Y-Yes, Legolas?" she asked hesitantly. The elf only smiled to the sound of his name on her lips and took her hand in his. They could just stare into each other's eyes as if time had stopped and they were the only ones left. "I guess this is…"

"Goodbye," he said, finishing her sentence.

"I don't want you to leave!" she cried as she threw her arms around his torso and rested her head on his chest. Legolas gently wrapped his arms around her as well and held her close, nuzzling his nose in her hair. "Please don't go…" she managed to whisper.

"If you think I want to leave, you're sadly mistaken…but it seems I have no choice." With that, Legolas pulled back gently and looked down into her deep eyes. "Come with me…?"

"W-What?" she stuttered.

"You can come back with me to Middle Earth. We can be together forever."

"You know I can't. No matter how much I want to…my place is here." It was a regretful statement for both of them to hear, and even harder for one to say. Kayla and Legolas knew how much they cared for one another, but somehow they knew it would never happen. He was an elf and she was a human from another time entirely. They knew this was goodbye…forever. "Legolas…"

"Yes, lirimaer?"

"I want you…to have this," Kayla responded as she calmly unclasped the pentacle her mother had given to her and wrapped it around his neck, hooking it as well. When she stepped back and looked into his eyes, sadness was all that was erupting from their depths. The bright blue that was once there had faded to a dull grey. It was so hard to look at him like this. "That necklace was given to me by my mother before she died. It means so much to me…and I want you to have it."

"You know I can't accept such a gift without giving you something in return," the elf whispered as he looked at his clothes. Quickly, he reached under his outer layer and fingered the silver decorative clasp of his blue tunic. He then unhooked it and took Kayla's hand, placing the clasp in her palm and closing it. "I know it isn't much, but just think of me whenever you admire it."

Kayla slowly looked down at the stunning clasp and felt tears prick her eyes. The fact that he even wanted her to remember him was touching. As she lifted her head and met his eyes again, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his gently and soothingly, trying to imprint the feeling of his silken lips on her own. She felt him kiss her back in the same way, keeping it slow and passionate all at once. There was no way that this one kiss could ever be topped. It was so sweet and innocent that both of their hearts lifted to the sky at the first contact.

"Legolas!" a voice screamed from beyond the light. The elf ignored it and kept kissing Kayla until he heard it once again, breaking his mindset. He slowly broke the kiss and leaned back, looking into her dark depths once again. "LEGOLAS!" the voice screamed. It was Aragorn.

Kayla knew this was as good a time as any. She had to tell Legolas how she truly felt about him. Yet when she opened her mouth to speak, all that came out was his name, just above a whisper. That did her no good. "Legolas…" she said again.

"I will miss you, lirimaer. I will never forget your face," the elf murmured as he gently touched his fingertips to her cheek and kissed her so lightly that she barely felt it. Kayla lifted her hand to the one on her face and opened her eyes to see the elf back into the light. She felt his hand leave her face and watched as he began to fade into the luminous glow that surrounded him. Just then it hit her. He had called her an Elvish name that she couldn't recall. Lirimaer…

"Wait…LEGOLAS! What did that mean?!" she screamed as she reached out to touch his hand. However, hers gently slipped through his like it would through a ghost and she looked up to find only his glorious face and bright blue eyes staring at her. "What does it mean?!" He did not answer, for he could no longer hear her and faded away completely. Kayla was then pushed back by a strong force and fell into her armchair, except she didn't fall this time. "LEGOLAS!" she yelled again as she pushed through the wind and managed to make it to the television.

The screen went black as Kayla touched the screen delicately and then it once again became the movie. She saw Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli all fighting with the Army of the Dead by their side again. Tears filled her eyes as she turned the television off and backed away, pulling her knees to her chest and staring at it aimlessly. He had called her lirimaer…whatever it meant…and didn't say more. He was gone…Legolas, the one man…the one elf…she ever truly loved was gone.

Author's Note: ::loud banging of drums:: No…this is NOT the end! There is so much more to be said and done. I'm making you all wait though. I'm not telling what will happen. ::grin::