9

Chapter

City of Dale, 23rd April 2942 T.A.

His mouth was so dry he couldn't swallow.

Bard heard faint voices, and rustling about his bed, and someone was holding his hand. As he slowly came to awareness, he noticed the hand was very smooth, with long, long fingers. He felt the cool smoothness of a ring. Eyes still closed, he tried to remember why he was so tired, why he was lying down. He couldn't quite piece it together, until an ache in his left leg made itself known to him.

"Bard? Can you hear me?" A silky, baritone voice called out to him softly. "It is Thranduil, Bard. Please, Meleth nîn, can you open your eyes? It is time to come back to us."

"His breathing has changed," a female voice could be heard. "Look at his chest!"

"Yes, I see that." Another male voice. "Keep talking to him, Thranduil."

Thranduil… Thranduil was here?

Bard tried to open his eyes, but he couldn't quite manage it yet.

"His eyes fluttered a bit." The female, again. Was that Tauriel?

"Bard?" He recognized Thranduil's deep, smooth voice. Something was grabbing at his right hand. "Can you squeeze my fingers, Meleth nîn? Please try."

It took a tremendous amount of effort, but he managed to make his fingers move a little.

"He did it! You did it, Bard!" He felt a cool hand stroke his brow. "I am here, Meleth. I am here, and I love you so much."

His eyes fluttered again, as he tried to blink awake. Why was he so tired?

"It will not be long, now, My Lord."

"Bard, I am so glad you are still with us." Tauriel again.

He felt so, so heavy…

Lips kissed Bard's hand, then his brow. "You need to wake up, so I can see your beautiful, warm eyes. Open your eyes for me. I am here, and I love you so much." His hand was kissed again.

He could move his eyelids now, and he flinched at the slivers of light that came through, as he tried to open his eyes.

"Excellent, Lord Bard. You are doing very well." The Chief Healer told him, gently. "Just keeping trying… That is it..."

Eventually, Bard was able to open his eyes, and, praise the Valar, the first thing he saw was Thranduil's beautiful face, as he hovered over him.

"You're here," he croaked, barely making any noise.

"Hello, Meleth nîn," the Elf whispered to him with a relieved smile. "I am so happy to see you."

Bard grimaced; his mouth felt like it was full of feathers, and he tried in vain to swallow.

Thranduil reached for something on the table, then a reed straw was held to his lips. "Suck on this," he said.

He did so, and his mouth was filled with water, and it felt wonderful. After a few mouthfuls, he lay his head back, and looked at his husband. "Hello, love..." he said, in a gravelly voice.

Thranduil grinned widely at him, and kissed his lips. "I love you."

"You look tired." Bard told him, and he did. He'd never seen Thranduil look so frail, with eyes that looked sunken, with dark circles, and skin that looked almost grey.

"I will be fine, Bard; do not worry about me. Just rest, and get well, and I will also recover."

Bard was confused. "What happened?"

"You had an accident, Bard. A block from the Eastern wall fell on you. Do you remember?"

He thought for several moments. There was a vague memory of Thangon barking, then knocking him down…

Then he was here, waking up in this room…

Bard shook his head. "Where's Thangon?" he asked, as he looked around.

Alun took him outside for a walk, while we woke you." Tauriel told him. "We didn't want him to startle you, but I am afraid he will insist upon seeing you, when he returns. He has barely left this room for eight days."

"Eight days?" Bard croaked.

"I am afraid so, Meleth nîn," Thranduil told him. "You were in bad shape, and there is a splint on your leg. There were so many pieces of broken bone…"

"And you came…" Bard said, looking at him.

The Elvenking looked into his face and tried to make light of things. "Of course, I did. I would be nowhere else, when my husband tries to catch pieces of stone that are much too large." It didn't work. Thranduil's eyes filled and brimmed over, and his voice trembled as he whispered, "I almost did not get to you in time." He stroked Bards hair from his face. "I almost lost you." He said again, so faintly, Bard could barely hear him.

"You are fortunate your husband sensed your injury, My Lord," Ermon told Bard. "If he had waited until we sent for him, you would not be here."

Thranduil nodded and put Bard's hand on his chest. "I was at the Palace and, I felt… something, so I came right away."

"So, you…" Bard looked at his husband closely. "You knew."

"Yes." Thranduil sat down again, and sighed. "I had to save you, Bard. For Dale, for the children, but mostly," his voice became hoarse, "I saved you for myself, for I cannot be without you, Meleth nîn." The Elf lowered his head, kissed Bard's hand, and whispered, again. "I cannot be without you."

"Hey, hey…" Bard reached his hand out, and stroked his long silky hair. "Don't cry... I'm here."

Thranduil brought his face closer, and smiled through his tears. "Yes, you are."

He reached up and touched that beautiful face, with its red-rimmed eyes. "I'm so glad to see your face," he whispered.

Thranduil shushed him, gently. "You must lie still, Bard. You are still very weak, and your leg needs to heal. You mustn't move it at all. We have set the bones, but I did not have the strength to fully knit all the pieces. I am sorry. You have also lost a great deal of blood, and your body needs time to come back from that."

"But the children –"

"Are back in the Woodland Realm, safe and warm." Thranduil assured them. "I could not bring them when I rushed here, and it is much too cold for them travel. They have received word of your condition and your recovery."

Bard relaxed back into the mattress a bit. "I don't want them to see me like this. They've been through enough."

"They're just fine," Percy assured him. "Dáin's been sending messages back and forth constantly, and there's a stack of letters and drawings for you to look at when you've gotten some more rest."

Bard turned his head, and saw the box on the side table, "I'll bet they were worried out of their minds." He felt guilt wash over him. "I'm sorry…"

"Stop it, you." Percy shook his head. "Hilda wrote they didn't even know anything until we were sure you were going to pull through. She and Galion have been taking good care of them, and Daeron's been doing his part, too. In fact," Percy smiled. "Tilda's instructions were to read the letters aloud, while you were sleeping, so you'd dream about them."

Bard laid his head down on the pillow and smiled. "And did you?"

"You bet. Those kids weren't about to let you forget about them."

"I wish I could say I remember, but I don't; sorry." Bard looked over at his stepdaughter. "How are you, love?" He reached to take her hand. "This must have been horrible for you."

The red-haired Elf smiled and squeezed his fingers. "Please do not worry about that; you and Ada need to just get better."

Tauriel leaned down and kissed Bard's cheek. "I will go get your lunch, Ada." She walked around the narrow bed, to kiss him. "Ermon says you can have real food today." Tauriel smiled and walked out.

"Praise the Stars, Thranduil muttered. "There is only so much excitement to be found with broth, bread and willow bark tea."

"I thought you might say that," said Ermon. "But as for you, Lord Bard, it will be broth, water and willow bark tea, until further notice. Your system is still recovering from the shock, so we need to ease your body back to life."

Bard reached down and felt the hard cast, around his waist. "I can't sit up."

"No, you cannot and you will not for several weeks. You must keep perfectly still, so that puzzle we call your thigh will heal properly. Otherwise you will have a lifetime of problems, despite Elven medicine. The good news is, the circulation in your lower leg is fine." Ermon was grave. "If you had not lost so much blood, My Lord, I was going to cut off your leg to save you, but…"

"Cut it off?" Bard's heart started to pound. "Oh, gods… But… Aren't I supposed to heal faster now?" Bard asked. "I… changed when I married Thranduil, so…"

"I have never encountered a patient such as you, so I am going to be conservative in my predictions. Until I know what your body is capable of, I cannot tell you how long this will take, My Lord. Of course, we hope to be pleasantly surprised, but it is best to be prepared." The Healer went to the door, "I will see about something for you."

"You're the boss." Bard smiled. "Besides, I'm so tired, I couldn't move around if I tried."

"You think it is easy now, but wait until you are feeling better." Ermon warned, "I guarantee you will despise it, and me." Ermon grinned, then he walked out, leaving Bard and alone with his Elf.

He looked around. "Why are there two beds in here? What happened to our bed?"

"When they first brought you in, you bled all over the mattress, and ruined it."

"Really? But why two of them?"

"You needed to be kept still, so your bones would stay put. They were shattered, Bard. We worked to reassemble them, but there was only so much even I could do."

"Was it that bad?"

"You lost a great deal of blood, and that alone was enough to kill you; a piece of bone nicked your artery, and it took nearly everything I had to repair it, and keep your heart going." Thranduil sighed. "You had mere minutes left, Bard; if I had waited for a message from Dale, you would be dead."

"But you said you 'knew,' somehow."

"I felt a pressure here," he pointed to his chest, "then my leg buckled."

"Then you came."

"Then I came. As fast as I could." Thranduil stroked his cheek. "As if I would be anywhere else, when my Bowman needed me."

"Come here, love."

Thranduil stood up and leaned over Bard, and they held each other for several minutes. Stars, it felt so good to be with him, again! The ache he felt from his Elf's absence was slipping away, to be replaced with a sense of completeness. His heart felt whole, again.

"I hate feeling so lost, when you're not around," he whispered in to his husband's neck. "When will that stop, so I can bear it?"

"Hopefully never, because that is how I feel, when you are far away." Thranduil whispered, and kissed his temple.

The Elvenking lifted his head, and looked into his eyes, from the blue-grey depths, so like the water he grew up on. He watches, as Thranduil's gaze traveled all over Bard's face, then at his lips. He leaned in to kiss him, slow and easy at first, but then their mouths opened and soon they were caught up in a deep, life-affirming caress of tongues. Despite his weakness, Bard moaned softly and lost himself in it.

Until Bard's body began to stir, but not from desire.

He pulled his head back. "I'm sorry, love." He whispered. "I need to…"

Thranduil rubbed their noses together. "What do you need?"

"As much as I love kissing you, I've got to pee."

Thranduil stood up. "Ah. They have been feeding you liquids while you were under; this is a good sign, actually."

"It would be, if I could get up and go to the necessary. What am I supposed to do?"

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news…" and Thranduil reached under the bed and held up the pitcher. "Do you need help?" he offered.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"I wish I could say I was, but this is going to be your best friend, along with a privy pan, for as long as it takes."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Bard said again, only this time he really meant it. "Oh, shit…"

"Precisely." Thranduil couldn't resist a smirk.

"Well, I can't take a piss with you… holding it… It would be too…"

"Strange? How so? I am quite familiar with your cock, Meleth nîn."

"But… not that way!" Bard was agitated. "Just… get Ermon or his helper in here, please."

Thranduil regarded him for a moment. "I see what you mean. I will be right back."

"And hurry!"

Thank the stars the Healer came quickly, and locked the door behind him, so Bard could have some privacy. Once things were taken care of, Thranduil came back in, followed by Percy and Thangon, who was surprisingly gentle when he walked over to him and put his head on the mattress beside him.

"Did you miss me, boy?" Bard scratched behind his ears, enjoying the dog's moan.

"Didn't I tell you that dog would save your life one day?" Percy said. "Next time you'll listen when he tells you to move." He moved in beside Thangon and reached down to give Bard a hug. "You scared us half to death, my boy." He whispered, and held him for a minute. "Glad you're still with us."

"I am, too, Pers." Bard closed his eyes and hugged him back. "I'm sorry to worry you."

Percy stood up straight and looked at the two Kings, with an agitated look. "I would appreciate it, if the people in this family would stop trying to die on us; Hilda and I are getting way too old for this shit."

"Hear, hear!" Dáin's booming voice could be heard from the doorway. The Dwarf King walked in and stood at the foot of the bed. "Do ye have any idea wha' ye pu' us through?" He had his hands on his hips. "Between the two o' yous an' wee Tilda… Hello, laddie!"

"What are you doing here?" Bard asked.

"Only frettin' o'er ye both till I couldn't see straight!" He walked over to stand beside Percy. "Good te see ye, Lad. An' don' worry. I've been lookin' after Dale, with yon Elf's help. Thin's are still on schedule, and we've double the guards all o'er the place. All ye need to do is rest an' get strong, and remember: when yer hound give ye an order, by Durin, ye listen!" Dáin did his best to look severe, but he wouldn't have even scared Tilda.

Bard blinked at the Dwarven King. "Thank you for taking care of things. When did you come?"

"Soon as I could, an' I been here sin' the accident. I've been sleepin' in Percy's room, while he bunked wi' Alun. Someone had te keep things running, ye ken." The Dwarf became serious. "We had te get ready to look after yer son, in case thin's took a turn for the worse."

Bard blinked. "It was really that bad?" he still couldn't wrap his head around the fact he'd been out for over a week.

"It was. Yer Elf nearly died, tryin' te save ye. He only woke up three days ago."

Bard looked sharply at Thranduil. "You did?"

Thranduil looked down and didn't say anything.

"He wanted to make sure you lived, Bard. Even if it meant…" Percy couldn't finish the sentence. "You both were hanging between life and death for a while there."

"Oh…" Bard looked at Thranduil. "No wonder you look so exhausted!"

"I think we're going to put him back in bed, now. He's looking a bit peaked."

Thranduil gave Percy a look that wanted to argue, but Dáin stepped over and said, "He's right, lad. You're gettin' more tired by the minute. Tell you what," he said. "Come wi' me." He helped Thranduil up and urged him to sit by the fireplace. Then the Dwarf went out and waved down a couple of the guards to come in.

Under Dáin's supervision, the nightstand between the beds was removed, and the beds were pushed together. "Ermon tells me ye'll both do better like this, and asked me to arrange it, before the food came."

Percy helped Thranduil get back into bed, just in time for the trays to arrive with their lunch. Then he spoon-fed Bard the broth and made sure he finished his tea, as Thranduil sat against his pillows and made quick work of his meal.

Once the empty dishes were taken away, the Chief Healer ordered everyone out, so they could rest. Thranduil smiled, and turned on his left side, to snuggled against his Bowman.

"This is nice," Bard said, sleepily.

"You had said you wanted us to take some time for each other. Do you not remember? Just to lie in bed naked…" Thranduil grinned with his eyes closed, and lay his head on Bard's shoulder.

"Yep. Just how I pictured it, love: you, and me and my body cast." Bard rolled his eyes, when Thranduil laughed. "But, all things considered, I'll take it."

"Hmm…"

"Thranduil?" Bard said, sleepily. "Did you mean to give your life to save mine?"

Thranduil ran his hands over Bard's chest, in slow circles. "You had to live, if only for your children. They needed their Da, more than they need me."

"Our children, love," he corrected. "They need us both." Bard sighed. "I remember… Gandalf was here, wasn't he?"

"I do not know," Thranduil yawned. "Percy and Dáin never said. Perhaps it was a dream."

"Could be."

"I had a dream as well, although Gandalf wasn't there."

"Oh? Dream of anyone special?"

"When we are more rested, I want to tell you about it." Thranduil closed his eyes and pulled the blankets up. "I am very tired, and so are you."

"I love you," Bard said, faintly.

"And I you. Always." Thranduil said, as he drifted off.

.

A few hours later, Thranduil woke up. He must have rolled over in his sleep, as his back was against Bard, and he sighed and enjoyed the warmth of his husband. He opened his eyes, he realized night had fallen, as he observed the reflection of the lamp burning in the window. Behind him, he felt Bard shift in his sleep, which was fine, but his snoring was obnoxious!

He groaned, turned back to face Bard, only to be met with the sight of Thangon, who had wedged himself between them, on his back, with this tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. Despite the awful racket the dog was making, Thranduil couldn't help but laugh; the sight of all that loose skin hanging upside down from the dog's muzzle was one of the funniest things he had ever seen!

Thranduil lifted his head to look over the dog at Bard. Regardless of his fatigue, his husband was obviously used to the dog's noise, as he was still fast asleep. One hand was tucked under his head, and the other was on top of the blankets over his stomach, and he faced away from him toward the fireplace.

Thranduil sat up, and pushed the dog over to his belly to wake him up. "I am sorry, but when I am here, this is my place, and you must stay on the hearth."

Thangon pouted and whined at him, but the Elvenking was firm. "We might as well establish this now, mellon. I sleep next to my husband; not you. Undu, Thangon!"

Thangon huffed and made a big show of dragging himself off the bed and flopped onto the hearth rug with a dramatic groan. He put his head between his paws and sulked, giving the Elvenking a filthy look and a low grunt. Thranduil rolled his eyes, put his arm around his husband, and went back to sleep.

But Thangon was not a dog to easily admit defeat. He waited and listened, and as soon as he was sure the Elvenking was asleep, he quietly slithered over to Thranduil's side of the bed, jumped up and settled himself against the Elvenking's back. After settling in to his favorite position, the dog heaved a huge sigh, and soon began to snore, again.

An hour later, Percy came into Tauriel's room, where she was reading and snuggling with Farien. "You've got to see this!" The Steward whispered, motioning for her to come with him, and holding his fingers against his lips. They tiptoed to Bard's room and Percy slowly opened the door, to show Tauriel what he'd been smiling at.

Tauriel had to put both hands over her mouth to stifle her giggles. There was Bard in his usual position, of course: flat on his back, but Thranduil was not cuddled up against his husband, but had his arms around the Thangon, who was still snoring away.

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ELVEN TRANSLATIONS:

Undu, Thangon! – Down, Thangon!