A/N: Here is a sequel to the last fic (the one set in Helm's Deep where Aragorn gets injured). It felt a bit unfinished, so here's a second part which hopefully wraps things up!

Aragorn sighed, once more waving away the attention of the woman who was trying to tend to the wound on his head. It was the third time of the hour that she had checked up on him, and he had no doubt that she would continue to do so despite his protests. He was perfectly competent at healing himself.

While the blast had knocked him out, it, to all appearances, had not actually done that much damage to him. The initial blow to his head had knocked him out, and the fall had caused injuries up his leg, but as far as the ranger could tell it was nothing to worry about. Had he not received treatment almost immediately, it would most definitely have escalated. But at the hands of the few healers left in Rohan, he'd made it out. Not unscathed, but as close to it as anyone could have hoped.

And he knew that it was because of his own stubbornness that they were in this mess. He had got so caught up in his emotions, so determined to prove himself to everyone, that he had forgotten to look at genuine reason. He had been told numerous times by the same person that he was likely to be more of a liability than an aide, what with his exhaustion, yet he had ignored it. Now they were all suffering from it.

They could hear the battle even now they were situated in the caves. As far as Aragorn could make out from the conversations he had overheard, they had been brought in a few hours ago, escorted in by Théoden himself. He had quickly left them however, returning to the main siege.

Aragorn had enquired as to how it was going, but none of the women knew any better than him. They were almost completely cut off from those who were fighting above, as a safeguard in case the fighting went sour and the caves needed to be evacuated with haste.

Éowyn had been trying to organise everyone, and keep their spirits up. Aragorn had watched her from the corner, where he had been sitting propped up for a little over two hours. He admired her efforts. Despite being told that she was unable to be helpful beyond it, which Aragorn knew very well was not true, she still performed her duties to the best of her ability.

Even busy, she had come over to talk with Aragorn for a while. And though he could not deny that he would have preferred silence to stew in his guilt, she did manage to raise his spirits a little. She remained stoic even in the face of doom. It was heartening.

But after she left, Aragorn descended back into his thoughts, blocking out the nervous whispering and occasional shouts from far off.

If only he had seen the intelligence in Legolas's words. Then instead of being a burden, he would now be well rested, and ready to join the fighting. Instead he had done nothing except make a mess of things. Getting someone injured, and another killed, in the process.

Though, he supposed, looking down at the elf sleeping beside him, if he had not been a part of the first assaults, it would be quite possible that something worse could have happened to Legolas. But somehow he doubted that, the elf's competence far outmatched his own. It was because of him that Legolas had not been as confident as normal, or at least it was his fault as far as he could see.

If he had but listened to him, then it would probably have worked out fine. But Aragorn had decided not to, and then ignored Legolas's feelings even when they were quite obviously paining him. He was not as good at hiding them as he thought he was. Even Haldir had picked up on it, and he was one Aragorn would least expect to understand.

A stab of pain shot through him, not from his injuries but in the sudden remembrance.

To think that Haldir was dead. Aragorn would have never believed it. He had seemed far too strong for that, the thousands of years of his life spent training and bettering himself for the exact purpose of being able to survive. And it was partly Aragorn's fault that he had lost the gift of immortality.

He had not an idea of what it would be like to think that you had countless years, only for them to be stripped away in an instant. He grieved not only for the loss of life, but for the part he had played in it. If only he had managed to stay on his feet for just a little longer. Théoden had been watching the death of the elf from above, so although Aragorn could not remember it himself he knew well enough from the stories encircling the caves that the death had been in protection of him.

Or, to be more accurate, in protection of Legolas. Who had in turn been protecting him.

Aragorn looked down at Legolas again as he shuffled unconsciously. When Aragorn had first awoken he had been surprised to find out what had happened, but had been even more surprised when told that Legolas was yet to wake up. Elves tended to heal faster, so the fact that he was awake first only added to his worry.

Aragorn, once he had heard an account of the events from Éowyn, had checked over him as best he could without disturbing him. He did not want to wake him when he so clearly needed it.

The bruising on his fingers was worrying, and Aragorn hoped that they were not fractured because that would cause a lot more problems. As was the blow on his head. But there was little he could do to help with absolutely no supplies, so he had to give up. He did think to wrap his jacket around Legolas though, who was still soaked from the rain. The caves were freezing, but Aragorn could bear it. All of the blankets had gone to other families.

If only he had not been so stubborn. If only they both had not been so stubborn. Then it would have worked out better. Communication was never something they had been very successful at. Aragorn knew that Legolas tended to bottle up a bit more, and usually he would do his best to help with that. But he had been too tired and stressed to care. It had escaped his mind that Legolas probably was as well.

Instead of talking it out and settling their argument, they had both decided to pretend it was all okay. Not unusual for Legolas, but definitely for Aragorn. And to say he was ashamed of it would have been an understatement. He had sworn to himself that he would do his best to uphold the openness between them. Failing at it had caused more damage than he could have imagined.

Aragorn remembered, in his last moment of consciousness, watching Legolas take aim. Reassurance flooded through him. Legolas did not miss. He would be able to prevent whatever Saruman had planned.

But no, he had watched Legolas falter, fear clouding his face. The arrow had strayed from it's previously steady course, hitting not the weak point Aragorn knew he had been aiming for, but the armour. Then there had been a searing light, and heat. Then nothing else, not until he had woken up in the caves.

He did not even want to think about how many others had suffered from this. It was a wonder that he was alive, others would not have been so lucky. And if he was feeling guilty, he realized, feeling his heart drop, if he was feeling guilty then Legolas would feel a lot worse when he finally woke.

Aragorn sat contemplating for a while, the occasional noises from above causing everyone in the cave to jump and disturb him every so often. He had been away for a few hours before Legolas finally started to stir. Aragorn noticed him beginning to turn, and put a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes, then quickly sat up looking around.

It was not a wild panic, like sometimes happened, but a quick analysis of the situation, so Aragorn let him take it in. It was important that he knew where he was and that he was safe. Or as safe as could be given the situation.

After a minute, Legolas slowed his breathing and groaned, rubbing his head. Aragorn went to say words of comfort, but before he could Legolas interrupted him.

"Are you all right? Are you sure you should be up already?" He said, his voice hoarse.

Aragorn raised his eyebrows.

"I am not the one you should be worrying about."

Legolas looked up at him.

"Aragorn you almost died! If you had not been so stubborn as to still partake in the battle then you would have been safe. I would have been able to focus on protecting the wall instead of protecting you. You could have died from your injuries. I thought you died. I thought you were dead. Again!"

Aragorn could feel that they were beginning to attract stares, but though it was best to let Legolas talk. It always was, on the rare occasions that he actually opened up.

"- you should have been looking after yourself. You needed time to heal. You should still be healing!"

Aragorn began to marvel at how little breath Legolas was taking in-between his sentences.

"- not sitting awake! Are you not cold? Where is your jacket. Wait. Why am I wearing your jacket?"

Aragorn held up his hands and placed them on Legolas's shoulders, worried that soon he really would start to suffer from a lack of breath.

"You were frozen."

"And you were not?"

"I may have been, but I'm perfectly warm now. Éowyn made sure of it."

So the last part was a lie. But Aragorn could not think of any other justification except that he put Legolas's wellbeing above his own.

They were definitely now the center of attention, and both of them picked up on the eyes looking in their direction. So, wordlessly, they ceased the conversation, waiting for the quiet talking to resume.

Legolas, despite what he wanted Aragorn to think, was shivering slightly. And Aragorn, also hiding it, was freezing. The caves were cool, especially at night, and both of them were still damp. So they rested against each other, letting people forget them as they blended with the dark stone.

"What of Haldir?" Legolas asked when he deemed it loud enough for their conversation to go unnoticed.

"I know little of what happened. But for the words of Théoden through Éowyn, I feel that it is not good news."

"I did not think it would be." Legolas answered softly. "I watched him fall. It did not seem an wound to be taken lightly. Yet, I'd hoped..."

He let his words drift off, sadness clouding his features again. Aragorn could only just see his face in the half-light.

"He would not have wanted you to blame yourself."

"He would not have wanted you to blame yourself either." Legolas added knowingly.

There conversation was a lot more even now that they had cooled off. Legolas had settled, and was not annoyed anymore, but still melancholy.

"If we both agree that it was not a fault of our own, but a combination of events, then I think we could rest easy."

Legolas looked at him. Both were far too stubborn for that.

"I just wish I had managed to help somehow. I was useless for most of the fight."

"You were useless?" Aragorn asked incredulously. "How do you think I feel?"

Legolas smiled, and Aragorn was glad that he had managed to bring some light-heartedness back.

"I suppose you are right that we cannot blame ourselves. He would not have wanted that."

"No. He would not. Though I am not really sure what he would have preferred."

They grew silent again. Éowyn noticed them but did not approach. Aragorn asked Legolas if he felt okay, but did not receive more than a scathing look. He made a mental note to check his injuries carefully later.

"Aragorn? I- I am sorry I did not manage to stop the walls being brought down. I faltered, I should not have and I did not mean to cause harm."

"I know you did not mean it, of course you did not. I assign you no blame. If anything I should have been more present for you. I expected you to perform to your best ability when your mind was focused on what I had said to you." Aragorn tried to reassure him.

"I should have put aside my own misgivings though. My self doubt has cost lives. It almost cost your life."

He paused. "How many do you think were standing on the wall when- when I- "

"It is not worth thinking about. What has happened has happened. And I refuse to let you take the blame for it. I should have tried harder to understand you, instead of putting you down. And I should have listened to you."

It was Legolas's turn to raise his eyebrows.

"Now you wish to agree with me?"

Aragorn sighed.

"I will admit that the fight may have turned out better had I not been a part of it. I would have joined later on, of course."

"I still feel that it may have been better had I not let my feelings get in the way. If I had not pestered you so- "

"Legolas, I take back what I said before. You were not pestering me. You were not being useless in the slightest. I misinterpreted you in my anger and I should have listened to you."

"It seems we really should work on understanding each other before we get into fights." Legolas said with a small smile. Aragorn smiled back through the darkness, but it faded.

"Promise to me that you do not blame yourself for this. You should not have to face the coming hours believing that you are at fault for what has happened."

Legolas winced.

"I do not know if I can do that now. But maybe at some point I will be able to accept it."

"In which case I shall ask you later but let it rest now"

"Have you seen Gimli? Or King Théoden?"

"Nay, I have not seen anyone but you and Éowyn since I awoke."

"I hope they are well."

The unspoken words hug between them. 'I hope they are still alive.'

"I thought I'd lost you again today. For a minute I thought you had perished by my hand." Legolas whispered.

"It would not have been by your hand. But even so, I am alive and I am breathing and I am here. What can I say that will bring you to believe that?" Aragorn replied, taking Legolas's hand in his own.

"I doubt you could say anything, for that is what you said when you first arrived this morning, and you have proved that you cannot be trusted."

Aragorn felt his heart sink even lower, be it possible.

"I am sorry for what I have brought upon you today mellon. You are suffering and I should have tried harder to protect you and listen to you. Yet once more you ended up being the one looking after me."

"It was not your fault. But I shall not press you, because at this point we are going in a cycle of self-blame. We should try to distract ourselves."

"That is a wonderful plan. But remember that it was not your fault."

Legolas hit him incredibly lightly with his free hand, the other still holding Aragorn's.

"You always must have the last word mustn't you? Well I shall be the better person and not take the bait." He said proudly.

Legolas shivered again, and Aragorn winced. They were both cold now, and both did not want to admit it. It was even more worrying given that Legolas should have started to feel better given his elvish qualities, yet he was still frozen and his head was already drooping from tiredness.

"I have a feeling that neither of us will be able to participate in the next part of the defence." Aragorn said softly.

"I thought that you would say that. And, as much as I hate the idea, you are probably right."

"You hate the idea of me being right or of you having to sit out the battle?"

"Both."

The conversation ceased, and by the time Aragorn thought to speak again Legolas was already asleep. Instead he wrapped him in his jacket again, not minding the cold when knowing that Legolas, at least, would not feel it.

He would have to work on healing later. If they even lasted the night. As much as he wanted to help with the fighting, he would not leave Legolas without him knowing. It would shatter their trust for good. So he too, decided that sleep was the best option.

As that was how they were found, hours later when the fighting had ceased, by Gimli, both asleep and drained, but their relationship in a much better condition than it had ever been.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed! Have a lovely day/night!