Author's Note: A relatively quick update, yes!

Thanks a bunch to everyone that reviewed, as always it means the world to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter, its not seen a beta at all, so please excuse any grammar mistake, or mistakes of any other kind.

Oh, by the way. I past my stupid German language exam! Yes sir! So this is indeed a celebratory chapter.

Chapter 10

I may not have gone where I intended to go,
but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.

-Douglas Adams (1952-2001)

October 20th, 3018

Gandalf arrived two days before. Yesterday I dance with he and Legolas. Arwen makes a dress to me. It is not finish yet. Today I feel good. No bad dreams. I think this will a good day be.

They were screaming behind her, demanding that she stop, turn, and come back. But she would not, could not. It hurt her deeper that she could admit that they still did not trust her at this point. They would always think her weak and broken, unable to do anything without their help. Nothing she had done in the past three days, and nothing she would ever do, could change their minds.

Tears of anger and hurt streamed down her face as she ran out of the warm room. The air outside was cold, very cold, and the wind pierced through her thin dress like a knife, but she ignored it all. She flew down the first flights of stairs, stumbled over the next ones and held back a yelp of pain as her knees collided with marble, but she kept running.

Everything was so dark. The sky was starless, and the entire valley seemed to have muffled its lights. It was quiet as well, too quiet even for this time of night. If she did not know better, she might think that all life had forsaken the house of Elrond, everything but that island of light she had just left; where someone lay dying.

Death. How strange it was to see death in someone else's face again. To have someone under her care for the first time in a lifetime, literally. It had made her feel normal again, the simple act of knowing what to do, and how to do it. The feeling of not being helpless, of not requiring help, but giving it.

But it was not working. He was still leaving them, and in a stranger manner than she had ever seen. She would not give up though, and that was why she was now sprinting down the house, heading ever lower, towards the source of all life in the valley.

And when she reached its bank, she did not hesitate for one second. She tore off her slippers, slid down the muddy slope, and landed in the freezing water with a giant splash that soaked most of her dress from the get go. Then, fervently, she began to search for her salvation, the thing that would make the other see that she was not insane, that she knew what she was doing, that she could help...

She needed leeches.

Melina had woken up to a new world that morning. After a full night of dancing with almost everyone in the house, she had been brought to bed by Searien and had went to sleep happy. Actually happy.

The feeling had not receded one bit as she wrote in her journal, and even the slightly grey skies had done nothing to deter her new found emotion. It was strange to walk in for breakfast, everything seemed brighter somehow. The angels' auras appeared more blinding that before, as if a veil or shadow had been lifted from a picture. But brighter than the rest was Gandalf. He had joined them for breakfast once again, to Melina's delight, and she was the first one to arrive. Searien was running late for once.

"Good morning Gandalf."

"Good morning Melina, have you slept well?"

She nodded as she popped a grape in her mouth and grinned.

"Very, very goo...well. And you?"

"Quite well, thank you." his eyes twinkle and he sported a conspirational smile

Which led to many a question she refrained to ask. Instead she made small talk while spreading fruit jam over her bread.

"What you do today?"

"Same as yesterday." he said with a smile, and Melina glared at him, "I will spend the day with Elrond."

"Ah." that was not disappointment in her voice, no, nothing of the sort, it was a simple acknowledgement of the fact that he will not spend it with her...

"I will see you at dinner later though," he added for comfort, not that she needed it of course.

"That is good."

And then he left. She shivered as he placed a kiss on the top of her head, wondered if he noticed, hoped he did not, and watched him leave the hall. It was his familiarity that got the best of her, this strange place in her heart that was so attached to him. But she was certain she had never known a person like him, so where was the feeling coming from?

She was still pondering the strange quirks of her heart when Searien and her friends arrived to eat, giving her ample distractions.

She fell, again, and cursed loudly in the darkness as more of her delicate nightgown was drenched by the murky river waters. She reached up to wipe her brow of blood and sweat, but only manage to replace it with muck. Everything was so black, the sky, the water, herself; it was impossible to distinguish anything. Though she could not see it, she was certain her lips had turned blue minutes ago, and the only reason violent shaking was kept at bay was the adrenaline rush of the moment.

She had to find some. Tomorrow might be too late. There had to be some of the nasty things in this river, there just had to!

Melina bent down and grabbed a handful of mud in both hands and felt around with her thumb. Rocks, dirt, pebbles...no, no no! Nothing slimy or squishy! One more time, just one more time...

After the fifth dip in the frozen river, she felt something...something soft, round, and securely attached to her palm.

"I have one...I HAVE ONE!"

She scrambled out of the water, falling over the bank as she tried to climb back up with only one hand. It was hard, she was so drench. Her dress weighted a ton. She clenched her teeth, filled herself with determination, and tried again; breaking her nails as she grabbed for handholds, and ruining her toes as she shoved them into the soft, freezing earth. But after a few minutes, she managed to squirm on dry ground, breathing hard and shaking like a leaf.

Turning on her back and looking up at the black sky, Melina became immobile. She should hurry, there was something important she needed to do with this leech...this leech wich was having a belly full of her hand at the moment...but it was becoming harder to concentrate. To remember why she was there in the first place. Why it was so cold, and wet. There was a strange murky stench all around her too, very strange.

Maybe if she just, closed her eyes for a bit. Took a second to recuperate, things would make sense again...Just, one moment of shut eye...

Gods. She had seen Gods.

It should have occurred to her that in a world populated by demons, angels and a Devil, Gods would also be present. But it certainly did not cross her mind while she sat in her Luthien garden, reading a book with Searien in the late afternoon sunlight. Nevertheless, this is when the Gods appeared.

Though Searien's attention seemed fully dedicated to the book, Melina's mind had been wandering. She was thinking of Gandalf, of the strange emotions she felt when he was around, of the aura he cast, of the yearning he gave her. Because she did yearn, not for him, not in a hormonal teenager kind of way, but she yearned for something.

"Melina, you do not listen."

She blushed. She could not lie to Searien, and so kept her mouth closed. The beautiful woman gave her the bad eye for a moment before she sighed with a soft smile. She seemed to be about to say something, but stopped in mid-word. Her eyes grew wide and in one fluid movement, she was on her feet, running towards the edge of the garden. Melina was about to ask what had her so riled up when she felt it.

Felt it. Long before she heard it.

A low rumbling. Something that seemed to emanate from the earth itself, like the roar of a terrible lion. Melina stood more slowly, but still rapidly and she approached Searien. From this grown over balcony they could see most of the valley below them, but while her friend seemed to be staring at something specific, Melina could see nothing amiss.

The shaking did not stop though, in became stronger and stronger until, with a whispered cuss, Melina finally saw it. The river. It was moving in the most unnatural of manner. It was bubbling, roiling, swelling and swirling. In a matter a minutes it had overflowed its bed and still did not stop.

"Searien, what happens?"

Her friend turned to her with a serious, pale face and answered:

"Bad people have come. The river is angry."

Melina would have taken a step back had she not been shocked immobile. The anger, the pure fury, in Searien's eyes took her breath away. It seemed that all pretence of a gentile woman had disappeared and left behind a cold shell. While Searien returned her gaze to the river below, Melina looked up at the house.

There was something, a strange feeling at the back of her neck, which told her something was off. Not just the river, but behind her, somewhere. Something she should understand, something that felt so familiar...

But what she saw was neither familiar, nor understandable. On the balcony of Elrond's office stood two figures. So terrible and mighty they seemed that she took a step back in fright, but their wrath was not directed at her. She recognized both men, though they appeared so changed that she could not have possibly known them by their appearance. They stood taller than any man should, so tall they seemed to reach the sky itself, yet their size was unchanged. Their extended arms appeared to be able to destroy everything under them, so large and long they were, yet they too had not been altered.

They were both bathed in the brightest of lights, and behind them seemed to extend the very fields of gold Melina had dreamt of. She could smell the sea as she watched as the figures chanted strange words, and could feel a gentle breeze on her skin that made her heart ache. Only the firm grip of Searien prevented Melina from running towards the scene. She tried to shrug the hand away, but it would not budge.

Finally she settled in watching them, the Gods of this house, casting their judgement on their subject below.

In the background she was aware of the river's booming voice, and behind that, the muffled screech of something more evil even than her Devil...and had she not been looking into the Gods' light, she might have felt cold and broken all over again.

A sudden intake of breath, cold and painful, and her eyes snapped open. She was still lying on the ground, the darkness above her unchanged, a throb in her hand reminding her of her duty, and she groaned. She slowly brought her hand in front of her face and tried to examine the creature feeding on it, but everything was too dark.

She was shaking visibly now, and it hindered her movement as she attempted to get up. Her dress was even heavier than before, pulling her down before she even got to her feet. She fell on her knees, hard, and cried out. But she knew no one would hear her, she had come here against their wishes and they were too busy to chaperon an idiot. She was on her own, just as she had been most of her life.

At one point, when she had been younger, that had not scared her. She had been, not stronger, but harder. She had built a fortress around her heart, filled with arrogance and hate, and it had allowed her to get through what had defeated many a woman. She had been a nurse, a war nurse, and it had ruined her life; but she had gotten through it. In comparison, this should be easy.

Melina closed her eyes, on her knees as if in prayer she reached inside of her for the strength of this woman. This person she had once been, over eight decades before, she needed her tough shell now. Just as she had needed her expertise over the past three days.

But nothing came. Images of screaming young men, severed body parts and guts filled her mind, drew tears in her eyes, but hardness was gone. Perhaps forever.

She had followed Searien. However much she had wanted to follow Gandalf and Elrond, along with a handful of men, she had followed Searien. She was certain the men were going to meet someone, and she was equally certain that that someone was Glorfindel, but she had been barred from going along.

At first she had thought Searien did not want her to try and go because she believed Melina weak, a burden maybe. But as she had watched the horsemen line up together to leave the valley, she had realized her mistake. She was not allowed to go because she was a woman. It was both a comforting and frustrating knowledge.

She would be damned if she was prevented from helping though, and so she had followed her maid into an empty bedroom where they had busied themselves. They were preparing the room for someone it seemed, and though Searien spoke very little, she had accepted Melina's help. She sent her to fetch water, employed her to help with the bedsheets, allowed her to dust the room and change the curtains.

They prepared three such rooms. Two with only one bed, and one with two. By the time they were finished, the sun had set, and as they headed back to the first room again, a company met them along the way.

Melina recognised Gandalf and Elrond, along with two other angels from the house. There were three very short people she had never seen before and one tall bearded man who as carrying another short person.

"Searien, bring some hot water please. And towels. I also need light. As many lanterns as you can find!"

The orders were barked by Elrond in a manner she had never before heard and Melina was not surprised to see Searien jump into action immediately, leaving Melina to stand alone. The company filed into the room, and she followed, curious. She watched as the body of the...ah, a Hobbit!...was laid on the soft bed and gasped. He was hurt!

Her fears forgotten, Melina made her way to the other side of the bed, across from Elrond who was busying himself with the patient. She looked up to the crowd at the door, frowned when she noticed that no one seemed to be ordering for a doctor, and looked down again. Elrond was removing the shirt, but was having some trouble...her fingers itched to help...her heart pounded hard in her chest....but she remained still.

When Searien came into the room with candles and lanterns, Melina sprung into action.

"On the bed." she said as she rolled up her sleeve. If Searien thought it strange to be ordered to do anything by her, she did not show it. She had other tasks to accomplish and was probably thankful to have someone else take this one over.

Melina cleared the bedside table of everything except the large water bowl, and put up four candles. She then moved to the other side with more agility than anyone could have thought her capable of, and expertly put up another 5 sticks on the table next to Elrond; without ever touching the man. It was now obvious that no other doctor was coming, so this man had to be it. He was still struggling with the clothes though, by the time she returned to the other side, and she watched until she could not take it any more. This was a nurse's work...and she was the nurse.

"Move back...please..."she said with a bit more snap than intended and carefully began to unclad the boy...man...

She was aware of Elrond's head snapping up, of his mouth moving, but she heard no vocal protest, so she continued. She unbuttoned the shirt in seconds, slid one arm out easily, but had to be careful with the second one. It was hard...and very, very cold. The source of the man's injury suddenly became clear; he wore a white vest under his shirt, and Melina could see a bulge on the left side of his chest, where his heart would be...her heart skipped a beat, her breath caught in her throat....it could not already be too late, could it?

She quickly finished with the shirt, folded it in a second and placed it at the end of the bed. Elrond was standing up, watching her critically as he took of his heavy surcoat and rolled the sleeve of his robes. He washed his hands in one bowl of hot water that Searien filled for him, and placed another steaming bowl next to the candles. Before moving to the rest of his clothing, Melina quickly placed a hand on the man's forehead...he was hot, very hot.

"Searien!" Melina called out before the woman could leave again, "Need also cold water," she said, pointing to the empty bowl on her side.

Searien nodded after Elrond inclined his head, and she disappeared with the bowl. Melina then watched, and approved with a nod, as Elrond unfolded a large array of medical instruments on the bed. The Lord, now turned doctor, picked out a pair of scissors and began to gently cut the vest. When done, he pulled apart both pieces of reveal a large, putrid looking bandage, which had been the cause of the bulge. Melina placed a hand on the man's face again. This time not only to more thoroughly determine his temperature, but also to feel his pulse.

It was incredibly weak. She looked up, alarmed, at Elrond who stared back at her. She froze. She could not pretend that no one was looking at her now, could not ignore the strangeness of her actions to these people, could not hope that they would all pretend that this was all just normal. But she did not see disapproval in his eyes, only worry; not for herself, but for his patient. She took a deep breath, steadied her shaking hands, and looked down at the dying man again.

"His name?" she asked in a whisper.

To her surprise it was not Elrond who answered, but the bearded man. However gruff his looks, his voice was sweet and gentle.

"His name is Frodo, my lady."

"Frodo..." her whisper was barely audible, even to herself, but the image it conjured was stronger than any bloody soldier's face.

With a deep breath and a loud cry, Melina stood up again. This time she ripped at her ruined dress with her usable hand, and quickly dropped it to the ground. Now thirty pounds lighter, though colder than before, she trudged on.

The house was still dark, the only light visible coming from one room way up high where she knew the man was still dying. Three days they had worked on him, and still he was not getting better. The fool's errand she had sent herself on would do him no good if they did not find the source of the problem, but at least she felt like she was doing something productive.

Climbing the stairs took much longer than it had descending them. After the third flight, she was out of breath. Dirty, half naked and carrying a blood sucking slime around, she wondered if they would even let her back into the room. She felt like a darn fool, and knew she looked the part.

This was not how it was supposed to go. She would only prove them right, looking like this. They would think her mad, crazy and out to do more harm then good. They had been nice, tolerating even, but she was certain this would be the last straw.

Another few more stairs. She was falling more often than not now, hanging on the railing for dear life. But her body was on auto drive, while her mind wandered around. She should not go back to the room; she should return to her own quarters, disposed of the bug, wash and go to sleep. It had been a while since she had slept...she had gotten a few hours shut eye, but never really slept since Frodo had arrived. She had not wanted to abandon the doctor; any good nurse knew to keep around as long as the doctor had the energy to do so.

But Elrond was a well of inexhaustible energy. The man had not slept, ate of drank since that night. He had stayed by his patient's bedside the entire time, only pausing his care taking and chanting to tell Melina to get sustenance. He was truly a god. She had witnessed the same phenomena in Gandalf when they had ridden out of the Horse Castle. How strange these people were.

The Hobbits made more sense to her. Sam, Bilbo, Pippin and Merry; they had also been around the room, some more often than others, but they ate, drank and slept quite a bit. It saddened her that she could not communicate with them unless Bilbo or Gandalf was there to translate; not that any of them, including her, had been in a particularly chatty mood, but still...

Another two flights of stairs; the room was getting ever closer. She would have to choose to turn back soon, for turn back she must. There was no way she could enter that room looking the way she did. She would die of humiliation. Still she did not stop, one more step, another after that...on and on, driven by a force she did not know she had.

When, finally, she reached the correct level, she stopped. Her body was both freezing and burning, and she had a creeping feeling that she would be punished for her escapade by pneumonia. Her room was some ways away, on the other side of the house, that is where she should go. She needed to catch her breath though, so she stumbled to a bench close by and sat down. She hardly notice the freezing wood under her naked thighs.

She lifted her wounded hand, where her leechy friend was still attached, and glared at it. She was tempted to smash the thing there and then in order to remove the choice of going back entirely, but could not bring herself to do it. She had worked hard for the bug, and with good intent. She was certain it could help, and she so desperately wanted to help. If only she had something to clad herself in first and foremost...maybe she could sneak into a room and...no, no! This was the men's section of the house to begin with, plus she knew no one here aside from the Hobbits and Glorfindel...

The patient had not woken up. Dawn was breaking and, after a full night of care, he looked exactly the same as before. She had assisted Elrond throughout his attempted to find a foreign object in the wound, but to no avail. They were all certain that some piece of the sword had lodge itself in the wound, but they could not find it.

Melina had been ordered to find food and rest. Food she had agreed to find, but rest she was certain she could not. She had stopped by her quarters to change and freshen up before heading to the dinning hall. She was certain to find it empty, it was very early after all, and many people had been up quite late. She was certain that all of the Hobbits would be out for the day, considering the hour they had left the room last night.

Aragorn had left even later, and Gandalf not at all. So she was surprised, in more ways than one, to enter the dinning hall and spot one single occupant. The golden haired man sat with his back to her, eating his breakfast slowly. From where she stood he looked like many an angel that inhabited the house, but she knew who he was immediately. No one had an aura like Glorfindel.

She had no first reaction. No initial turmoil of emotion or desire to leave him in peace. She walked over to him with a smile on her face, pulled up a chair and sat down. He turned to her with a weak grin, he looked as tired as she, and offered her a strawberry.

"You are here."

"I am." he replied and waved the berry when she did not take it immediately.

"Thank you." she took it, ate it and contemplated her next words while trying to stop grinning, "When did you arrive?"

"Last night. With Frodo."

The name brought a momentary gloom to both their hearts, and though it could not pass, it was put aside for the happy reunion. Melina, though she had been as broken hearted by his departure as Gandalf's, felt much less troubled by his return than the man in grey's. She was only filled with a feeling of "right", and deep satisfaction. Like someone who finally finds a long lost sock.

"Are you good?"

He sighed, played with a grape before shoving the fruit in his mouth and lied:

"I am good. And yourself? I heard you have been doing better."

"Ah, yes...a bit" she blushed, reached out for some nuts and ate them one by one, slowly. She wondered what the odds were of making a fool of herself by speaking further, and decided to keep eating instead.

Just like their time together in his office, they sat in silence. She found it amazingly comfortable and had to wipe away tears of joy that threatened to fall in her plate. They ate in silence, cleaned their table in silence, and parted in silence.

The sucker was still sucking. Melina wondered if it would get too full and not be able to help out any more...if so, she needed to hurry.

Aside from the leech, no one was going to come and take her hand. She was going to have to do this herself, and as insecure as she felt, as much as she wanted to run and hide; Melina realized something else:

She had done worse.

Hell, one of them had already seen her naked.

She'd been tortured...

...raped...

Reborn...

And now she feared to go in a room because of lack of clothing?

"Fuck this."

In one fluid movement, against protesting limbs and joints, she stood and headed to the room. She was vaguely aware of a silhouette outside, which moved in her direction as she approached and called her name, but she walked past him and entered the room.

They all, which is to say both of them, turned their head in shock as she entered. She stopped, held up her hand to show the blood sucking monster, and said proudly:

"I got one."

There was a heavy silent pause. Neither Gandalf nor Elrond seemed to be able to come up with anything to say. And so it was Glorfindel, who had entered only a step behind her, who spoke up:

"I believe you have captured a few more than that, my lady."

Melina turned to him, followed his gaze to her legs, and realized she was sporting at least five more leeches. She snapped back up, eyes round, and swallowed hard.

"Get them off..." the whisper was the only thing standing between sanity and hysteria, but Glorfindel must have seen the threat for he pulled her to the other side of the room.

After a quick, and humiliating, inspection of her rear, he sat her down and went on one knee. He was about to begin removing the leeches, but Melina stopped him.

"Wait...careful. Do not..." she made a squeezing motion with her fingers, "I need them."

He nodded, reached out for a bowl of water, and began to carefully pluck out the disgusting beasts. She watched, half in amazement, half in terror, as he found not five, but a total of eleven leeches. When he finished, he spent a minute checking her scalp, then chuckled.

"You should wash...and find clothing."

She waved a hand in the air dismissively, but smiled her agreement. First though, she wanted to use the leeches. Taking the bowl, in which she finally dumped the one from her hand, Melina approached the bed. Elrond, she now saw, had re-opened the wood once more. As usual Gandalf looked on, but touched nothing.

"How is he?"

Elrond shook his head, but did not answer. Melina bit her lip, she could see that the Hobbit was not doing any better than before. Gently, she picked up Frodo's cold hand and examined the finger tips once again. The dark blueish tinge had not dissipated, it had now spread beyond the finger nails. Though not good news in the least, Melina felt relief. This was the confirmation she needed. She had not gone through all this trouble for nothing after all, he needed these leeches.

Carefully, both for her sake and the bugs', Melina scrub the gelatinous bodies of the leeches to free them of dirt. She could not disinfect them of course, but at this point she doubted that it would be an infection that would kill the patient. She then picked up, one by one, five of the bugs and placed them at the tip of each finger. She was aware of Glorfindel watching her actions over her shoulder, and of Elrond eyeing her curiously, so she explained.

"To take out bad blood. If not, he maybe loose fingers." it made sense to her, she just hoped it made sense to them too.

Elrond nodded, a tight smile indicating that he was impress on some level, she heard Glorfindel grunt, and Gandalf only grinned. A little too proud of herself for her own good, Melina sighed and leaned back. She hit something soft and warm, realized it must be Glorfindel's knees, and jerked away in shame. She was still covered in muck.

"Sor...."she began, but just then Elrond let out a loud cry.

Melina turned to him in shock, and felt tears tickle her eyes when she saw that he was holding a piece of metal in his hands.

"You did it..." she whispered, a nervous laugh escaping her muddy lips, "you really did it."

"Now, he only needs rest." Elrond replied as he wrapped the piece of metal in a cloth and handed it to Gandalf, giving the man some instructions or others. Then he turned to Melina with a warm smile, "and so do you. Thank you, for the help."

"You are welcome, Lord Elrond." she replied, not tired at all, but more than ready to take a hot bath. As she stood and was escorted out by Glorfindel, Melina turned back, "Take them off soon. Too long is no good."

Elrond nodded before turning to his patient again, a soft chanting on his lips. Melina sighed again, and another time after that. She could finally allow herself to succumb to her bodily need after three days of caring for another's. It felt so normal to have Glorfindel by her side, that she hardly notice him entering her quarters without permission, or the fact that he helped her fill her bath. In fact, it was only when she was ready to undress and wash that she noticed him really. By this time he was readying to leave, biding her a good night with a low bow. She almost told him to stay...realized how inappropriate that was, blushed furiously as strange, explicit, thoughts filled her mind, and mumbled a reply as he left.

The images of Glorfindel's supple fingers, which she had been able to examine at her leisure while he de-leeched her, would not go away. She found herself trying to imagine what his arms looked like. She knew how strong he was, so there would be quite some muscle. She wondered at his chest; hairless she was certain. She had never had the pleasure of feeling a man's chest in that way. She had seen plenty naked, but they were always either dead or dying.

The images led to a strange feeling. A feeling modern women recognised and took care of...but for Melina, the feeling was associated only with guilt. She should not...but then again...Everything she had ever believed before, had been proved wrong by her rebirth here. She had met the Devil...and she had also met Gods. Nothing was how the bible had said it would be, or at least, nothing so literal.

With that in mind, Melina abandoned herself to her sexual fantasies and did something she had only done three times in her entire life.