Disclaimer: Middle Earth and everything in it are not mine. They are Tolkien's.

Note: All Elvish is in italics, and will be explained at the end of the chapter.

Sorry, I know it's been awhile, but I was fighting the 'make-up' work battle. Shows what you get for going on vacation a week early. Geez.

Aragorn didn't look at any of them.

"Leave everything that can be spared," he said over his shoulder. "We make for Lothlorien."

"Aragorn, we cannot go there, we will lose precious time!"

"Legolas will DIE if I do not get him there. We would not have lost time if not for you, son of Denethor!" Aragorn snapped, turning murderous gray eyes on Boromir.

"Aragorn, Gandalf would have-"

"Gandalf is not here!" Aragorn shouted, rising to his feet. "And I am NOT Gandalf!"

The hobbits were silent; Gimli stared at Aragorn as though he had never seen him before.

"I would not go back if I had a choice, I know what we risk. But I will not let Legolas die, Boromir!"

"We cannot risk the fate of the Ring-"

"Oh, yes, the Ring! Who will you hurt trying to take it for your own next time, Boromir?"

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" Boromir yelled.

"I want you to go home, Boromir! We are returning to Lorien to provide you with a horse to go back to Gondor. If you wish to aid your people, go and do it yourself!" Aragorn roared.

There was a moment of stunned silence; Boromir looked shocked.

"Aragorn..." Boromir began in a quiet voice, reaching for the ranger's arm.

"Gwanno erib nin," Aragorn hissed, jerking away from Boromir. He bent over Legolas again, grabbing his pack and pulling an old cloak out.

Aragorn examined Legolas's wound. There was no poison, Legolas never poisoned his arrows, having had too many experiences with it himself in the past. The problem would be removing the arrow. Aragorn knew that elves were fair enough archers to expect never to shoot themselves with their arrows. In that case, they made them to draw maximum damage from their unfortunate victims. Aragorn didn't dare remove it here, he would leave that to the elves. Aragorn ripped his old cloak, the one he had used before the Lorien elves gave him a new one, into pieces. He folded two pieces into soft pads, then used his elvish hunting knife to cut longer strips out of his cloak. Aragorn tied the cloths around the wound-more specifically, the arrow-using the strips, careful not to bind them too tightly.

"Aragorn?" It was one of the hobbits. Aragorn looked around; it was Frodo.

"Yes?" he said wearily.

"Will he be alright?"

"I hope so, Frodo."

"I can't believe...that Boromir would...Legolas never did anything to..."

"I know, Frodo," Aragorn sighed. "None of us expected this. We were fools not to see this coming."

"Aragorn, I have to leave," the hobbit said sadly.

"Leave?"

"Legolas, Boromir could have killed him. What would happen if someone else...I can't let anyone..." The hobbit was at a loss for words again.

"You will not leave. Not yet, Frodo. When we return to Lorien we will decide what to do about the Ring."

"Back to Lorien...that's very far."

Aragorn did not need reminding. "It is," he agreed. "But we have no other choice."

"We do," Frodo said slowly. "Though it's not a choice any of us would make if we could avoid it."

"What is it?" Aragorn asked impatiently, looking back at Legolas.

"We could-I'm not saying...I mean-"

"Say IT!"

Frodo flinched. "We could let him die," he said in a very small voice.

Gwanno ereb nin- Leave me alone

So now that Aragorn's thrown a bit of a well deserved tantrum...whaddaya think? Please review! Oh, and tell me if you want Legolas to die or not. If I get enough votes in (or not in) favor of his death, I'll write whatever bit for him the votes require of me.

P.S. This story is on temporary hold until the wave of inspiration ebbs for my other story.