A/N Well, I needed something that is familiar. I wasn't all that excited about moving and well.*sigh* At least you guys aren't changing. Anyhoo! You get your August update early and you might not get another until things settle done a bit. Thank you!

Disclaimer: not mine.

The Strom's Rage

"Oh-ho!" Aragorn crowed, clasping his hands over his head as he rocked back, grinning from ear to ear. He and the twins where sitting on a plush maroon rug that rested by the bright, leaping fire. In between the three of them was a scattering of playing cards that were faded with time and use.

"Oh, shut up." Elladan smacked the man, almost toppling him over. He began to gather the cards, shuffling them expertly as he and Elrohir shared mock glares that quickly changed into bright smiles as the human turned his back on them. Going up onto his knees, the man leaned his elbows on the small table and looked over at the only other person in the room.

"Did you see that, Ada?" he celebrated. His infectious smile caught the Lord of Imladris in its snare and he smiled back. He was supposedly working on the small pile of papers in front of him, but was spending more of his time watching his sons' game instead.

"If I didn't see it, then I heard it," he teased lightly, making Aragorn throw back his head and laugh.

"Are you ready to be beaten this time," Elrohir asked, a grin lighting his face. Aragorn swiveled around, a dangerous grin of his own stretching his face.

"I am ready to see your face when you lose."

Elladan smirked, flexing the cards ominously before dealing the deck. Elrond attempted to turn back to his work, shaking his head with fondness as he picked his quill. The window next to his desk gave a worryingly rattle, and he glanced at it. Outside, the wind was howling at a severe speed, causing the thickly falling snow to whirl in all directions, connecting ever so often with window. Already, a large buildup of the substance lined the ledge, standing out starkly against the dark of the night. Imladris, and the lands around, were in the midst of the worst blizzard, as well as winter, that they had seen for many years and not even the elves dared to venture out too far tonight.

A loud cry of dismay followed by two uncontrollable pills of laughter filled the room, drowning out the sound of the storm.

"No, I got this! Elrohir, stop laughing!" Aragorn's own barely controlled laughter was clear, and Elrond once again found himself turning to see what was happening. "I can still win, this is only a minor setback."

"Whatever you say, oh dearest little brother of mine," Elrohir chortled, waving his cards at his brother's face. Elrond put down his quill, giving up at last. Moving to sit on the small table, Elrond studied the game.

"What ever happened?" he asked lightly as he did so. "You three came in to wish me a goodnight and ended up playing more than an hour worth of games." All three were indeed dressed down, their outer tunics and shoes gone. Elladan and Elrohir's long hair had been taken out of their braids and hung loosely over this shoulders.

"Don't look at me!" Elladan help up his hands in protest. "Strange things happen when Estel is around."

"Blame it on the—Ha! Beat that—poor human." Aragorn smiled triumphantly, smacking his cards down.

"Harsh play, brother, but I have something—" Elrohir stopped mid-sentence, looking up as a sharp knock sounded on the door.

"Who in the Valar is calling at this time of night?" Elladan asked, sitting up straighter as Elrond headed for the door. The knock came again, losing some of its firmness and sounded almost panicked. Pulling open the door, Elrond took a step back.

"Please come in." An elf stepped inside. He wore a dark cloak, but its true color was hardly discernable beneath the thick layer of snow that coated it. His hair was dyed white from the substance as well. The steady drip of the melting snow pattered lightly against the wooden floor boards, but the elf neither noticed or cared.

"My lord, you must come immediately," he said in rush.

"What has happened?" Elrond replied urgently, the light hearted tone from before gone. Aragorn and the twins scrambled to their feet, over hearing the words. The cards they had been holding fluttered forgotten to the ground.

"Walk with me, my lord, and I will explain." Elrond nodded and they set off briskly down the corridor. The brothers exchanged quick furtive glances, and then followed suit. The other elf looked their way, but didn't protest their coming. "An elf just collapsed on our doorsteps, or well, I guess at the gates. We had a few guards posted there just in case and they stumbled upon him."

"What—" Elrond exclaimed, in a hushed tone, looking through a nearby window at the flurry of snow. He picked up his pace.

" A Mirkwood elf, by his clothes. He doesn't look good, I think he is more than half frozen. He was conscious, but all that we could get out of him was that he had an urgent message for you."

Aragorn speed up, his already peaked interest now riveted at the name of the great forest. His stomach dropped lightly and he and he had a sinking feeling that he knew who would have been stupid enough to dare winter's touch to bring them a mere message.

"I don't care about the message right now. Did they bring him to the healing halls?" Elrond made a sharp right, starting down a flight of stairs and the others followed. Tension crackled in the air with the same ferocity of the storm outside.

"They are. I was sent ahead to get you."

"Was he coherent?" was Elrond's next question, causing the other elf to frown.

"Not really. He knew he was with elves, and that he had a message, but that was it. He was going in and out of consciousness." Elrond nodded, and Aragorn heard him mutter under his breath,

"They must keep him awake."

"They rounded the bend and came squarely in contact with three snow covered warriors who were carrying a limp figure. Aragorn felt his breath stop in his throat as his mind instantly recognized who it was. Elrohir walked into him and they stumbled forward, but the man could not take his eyes off the still, white, face. Elrond had no such problem and took charge.

"Elladan, Elrohir, go ahead and prepare a room in the healing halls. Warm some water. Aragron—"

"Let me stay with Legolas." Aragorn turned pleading eyes on his father, not caring that he had just interrupted him.

"No, Estel, I need you to go have someone fill a tub and then go help the twins. Trust me, we will be right behind you." Elrond motioned the warriors forward, keeping an easy, but fast pace as he reached over and pressed one hand against Legolas' throat, feeling for a pulse. Aragorn didn't hesitate again, taking off at a dead sprint.

Seeing the twins vanish into one of the more private rooms, Aragorn continued on past only skidding to a stop when he found of the few other healers in Imladris. Giving brisk and loud directions, he didn't even wait to see if they had been followed before turning and dashing off the way he had come. He entered to the room just as Elrond, Legolas, and the warriors were.

"Lay him on the bed," Elrond directed, removing a hand form Legolas' throat and rolling up his sleeves. The twins had already stripped the bed of the blankets. Elrohir currently was busy stoking a fire into life as Elladan poured water into a kettle. The warriors carefully placed their burden on the bed and Aragorn was by Legolas' side in flash.

"Legolas!" he called urgently, framing the prince's still face in his hands. The surge of coldness against his skin momentarily stunned him and he jerked his hands back, only to replace them. "Legolas, you need to wake up. You need to open your eyes," he commanded loudly. He began to shake his far to still friend, but the prince didn't stir. "Legolas, listen to me!" Slapping him lightly, he received the same results. The blue eyes remained closed. Snowflakes were clinging lightly to his dark lashes, as well as his hair, and Aragorn hurried brushed at it.

"Help me remove his clothes," Elrond directed firmly and too the room at large. Elladan crossed to the other side of the bed and fumbled with the buckles that strapped Legolas' quiver and other weapons to his back. "Keep talking to him, Estel, we need to pull him back." Aragorn nodded, shaking the elf a little more vigorously.

"Legolas!" he almost bellowed, hoping for any response.

"Sit him up," Elladan ordered and waited until Aragorn had complied before easing the leather straps over the prince's head. He carefully laid the weapons down on the floor, Legolas would kill him if he tossed them carelessly aside, before beginning on the buttons of his soaked tunic. Aragorn allowed Legolas to lean against his chest, cradling him as close as he could in hopes of offering some heat to his friend. Legolas was like a cube of ice, and his worry heightened a notch. The elf's body was suddenly jerked in his arms and the man looked up, surprised. Elrohir was tugging on one of the prince's boots.

"They're stuck," he said shortly, seeing Aragorn look his way.

"What?" Elrond asked, stopping what he was doing and coming to stand next to the younger twin.

"They are not coming off," Elrohir repeated, rearranging his grip and giving another tug. Aragorn watched with curiosity, leaning Legolas away from him as he slid his left arm out of his tunics. Tossing the iced over and wet clothing over to Elladan, he exchanged them for a blanket. Wrapping the piece of material around the elf as best as he could, he tucked the edges in.

"Water's hot," Elladan called and Elrond looked up from where he was assisting Elrohir with the boots.

"Aragorn, help your brother," he ordered, crossing over to Elladan. Aragorn reluctantly laid the elf flat, cushioning his head on the white pillow that only showed how pale the frozen elf was. Moving back to Elrohir, he missed the subtle twitch that Legolas gave.

Elrond strode over to Legolas with a large bowl that had steam wafting lightly up from it. Just as he was bending over to to place the bowl on the table, Legolas' hand shot out. It fisted firmly in the cloth of Elrond's robes and with surprising strength yanked Elrond towards him. The hot water splashed over the rim at the sudden movement and Legolas flinched as it doused his face. Nevertheless, his lips parted, making one word.

"Message."

"I understand, young one, but you must let me go," Elrond said carefully and gently. He couldn't free himself while holding the bowl, but he had been pulled down into such a position that he couldn't put it down. All three of his sons looked over, startled by the words. As soon as Aragorn saw what was happening, he vaulted the bed, coming towards the pair.

"Legolas, please let go," Elrond said, but Legolas response was only to pull him closer, causing another deluge of water over his face. "Estel, take the bowl," he grunted as Aragorn tried to pry the wood elf's fingers open. Aragorn quickly grabbed it, setting it hurriedly aside with a careless clatter.

Elrond turned to sit next to Legolas, freeing himself out of his grip and messaging his cold hands in his warm ones.

"Can you feel anything?" he asked softly, pressing his thumb into the elf's palm.

"Message, urgent," was all Legolas managed to get out. His tongue and lips were having trouble working together, and his words came out slurred and choppy.

"I understand, but this is more important at the moment." Elrond repeated his question, but a sharp gasp followed by a crash indicated that Elrohir had managed to pull the boot free at last. Aragorn looked up as Elrohir dragged himself up from the floor, the brown boot clutched in his hand, but Elrond remained focused on Legolas. That was until a sharp exclamation forced his attention.

"Grab some bandages! Elrohir, what on earth did you manage to do?"

"Nothing!" Elrohir protested as Elrond quickly stood to see what the commotion was about. Aragorn used the distraction to quickly slide into his father's place.

"Hey, Legolas," he said softly as he clasped his hand in both of his.

"Elrond, message," was all Legolas would say and Aragorn frowned. "Hey…hey, Legolas, I need you to concentrate on me, not the message." He cut off Legolas feeble "message" and laid a hand on his cheek, turning his face back towards him. The prince moaned at the movement, turning hazy eyes in his direction.

"Estel?" he asked, squinting up.

"Yes, Legolas, it is me." Aragorn quickly dunked a cloth in the warm water, but Legolas next words stalled his motions.

"Message. Bag," he whispered, finding the strength to grip the man's tunic. He met the man's eyes for a long second, before they slipped close.

"The message is in his pack!" Aragorn called out, seeing that Legolas wasn't going to rest until he had done his part. He cast a questioning look over at the warriors standing silently in the background and they shrugged.

"I think we left his pack outside in the snow after we found him. We weren't really worried about much else," the leader softly, and Elrond nodded.

"Would you please retrieve it, and then you may go back to your families for the night," he said. They nodded and disappeared out the door.

"Legolas, we have the message," Aragorn said loudly, turning back to his friend. "You need to listen to us, now, and help us out, alright?" Legolas jerked, having drifted off at the moments of inattention.

"I can't…can't move my body," he whispered after a moment, his voice strained.

"That is alright," Aragorn comforted, folding a cloth and dunking it in the warm water, before laying it against the prince's neck. "Your body temperature is far too low. Though, you might be grateful for the moment that you can't feel anything." He picked up another cloth, this time laying it against a patch of ice that had frozen onto the elf's skin.

"Why?" Legolas asked drowsily. He willingly let Aragorn do as he please, and it bothered the human that he wasn't even putting up a small fuss.

"Because it is the warming up that hurts. It isn't a fun experience."

Legolas smiled wanly, but even that effort seemed to cost him and he became still once more.

"No, Leoglas, you must not sleep," Aragorn immediately stated, shaking the elf. Legolas mumbled something he couldn't quite catch and Aragorn shook him again. Elladan brushed past briskly past him, grabbing the water. His hands were stained red with blood.

"What happened?" Aragorn exclaimed, looking away from Legolas to stare at the redness. Elladan paused.

"His foot was frozen in his boot with a great big lump of ice. Don't ask me, I don't know, but when we pulled his boot off, skin remained attached to the ice, if you get what I mean," he explained briefly, before moving to the end of the bed.

"Had…had to cross a river." The soft, hardly hearable words caught Aragorn's attention and he began again to rub the elf's icy fingers.

"Just keep talking to me, Legolas. Why did you have to cross a river?"

"Water got…in my boots…froze." Legolas' voice stumbled to a halt.

"Legolas?" Aragorn asked, leaning hurriedly forward. Legolas moaned, but didn't answer. "Legolas? You have to stay awake, remember?" His cry was not headed and he could almost feel the elf slipping further and further from him. "Ada!" Elrond came running at the sound and his name.

Legolas rolled his head to the sides, his lips parting.

"Message," he whispered once more as Aragorn bent low to hear the words. "Have…message."

"We must warm his body temperature as soon as possible." Elrond ignored the elf's plea as he moved to scoop the now unresponsive elf into his arms, but Aragorn beat him too it. Cradling Legolas' cold form against his chest, the human waited only for his father to pull the blanket more firmly around the half-naked prince before starting off at a quick trot.

"Don't you dare die on me, Legolas," he whispered as he walked, pressing his cheek against the top of Legolas' iced hair. Elrohir stepped in front of him, pulling doors open for him, and Aragorn nodded his thanks.

They reached the tub that the slightly flustered healer was preparing and Elrond helped Aragorn to lower Legolas into the water. For several minute the small family of four stat in silence, watching as Elrond bathed down the still prince. Faint waves of steam glided through the air, misting up the window and creating a faint haze in the room itself. Aragorn sat leaning against the wall directly opposite the tub, watching Legolas' face and listening to the wind still roaring outside. After a while, Elrohir came and sat next to him.

When Elrond broke the long standing silence, Aragorn jumped, refocusing his attention on the others in the room.

"Elladan, try his other boot now. Hopefully the ice will have melted." Elladan obediently did as directed and with much less effort than before managed to yank the boot off. Aragorn got to his knees, coming to kneel next to his father.

"He is going to be alright, isn't he?" he asked earnestly.

Elrond smiled softly, always a good sign, and lighted leaned his head against Aragorn's. "If we avoid throwing him back out into the snow for the next few days, then yes, he should be." A grin split his youngest son's face and he reached out, clasping his father shoulder.

"Elladan or Elrohir, I want you to go fetch some of your nightclothes. It doesn't appear as if Legolas brought much with him, and if he did it will be soaked." The twins nodded as one and strode out of the room, light grins filling their young faces. "Aragorn, please go find some warmer blankets then what we have for him right now. We will take him out of the water once everything is ready." Aragorn nodded, but paused for a moment before getting up. His eyes lingered on Legolas' still dreadfully pale face.

"Estel, he will be fine," Elrond assured. "I am watching him, I won't let anything happen."

"I know." Still it was with effort that he turned and headed off down the hallway and onto his mission.

By early the next morning, they had Legolas dressed in some of the twin's clothes and warmly nestled into bed. More than one of the heaviest blankets they owned was spread across his still cool to the touch body. Outside, the snow was pelting the windows and the wind continued to howl in such a way that it would have put a pack of wolves to shame, but inside it was cozy and warm. The twins and Elrond were talking in the corner by the leaping fire, discussing the contents of Thranduil's letter in serious tones. Aragorn, however, remained firmly rooted to his spot next to Legolas. He was lightly gripping the elf's hand in his own, waiting.

Suddenly, he leaned forward, an excited expression crossing his face.

"Hey," he said softly as he reached out, cupping the prince's face lightly. "Hey, come back to me, mellon-nin." Legolas stirred beneath his touch, is face contorting into a grimace. And then his dark eyelashes fluttered open to reveal blue eyes.

THE END

Next time! Some Aragorn h/c for a change.

Review Replies:

Elven Princess: I'm glad you thought so! :) Of course I can! The poor cat... I am a cat person sort of. I like cats better than most animals. And I hope your finger is healing well! Surgery is never a fun experience.