A/N Last chapter... :( You should be happy, though, you are getting a slighltly early update.

This has indeed been an adventure with all of you. :) Thank you so much, your support means everything!

Disclaimer: not mine.

Epilogue

Legolas slept on and off for the next several days. Sometimes he woke to Aragorn's prodding and strong doses of medication and other times he woke on his own, though Aragorn was there most of the time.

A week or so after Dirhéal and Madoc's deaths, Legolas was pried back to wakefulness by the feeling of pudgy, tender hands touching his face and a high pitched voice calling his name.

"I'm awake…" he moaned, rolling over onto his other side and digging his face further into the pillow. He was still not fully healed, in fact he was a long ways from it, and it took more effort than usually to free his mind of the fog of sleep. The voice sighed dramatically and Legolas felt the child's irritation sharply as he was poked in the side.

"Ada says you have to get up!" the child, who could only be Eldarion, insisted. Legolas smiled into the pillows, still not turning to face Aragorn's son. He couldn't hear the man himself, but guessed that he wasn't far behind.

"Uncle Legolas!" Eldarion wailed in exasperation, beginning to bounce up and down on the bed. "Ada said that you have to wake up and eat." Each word was punctuated by a jump and the bed began to squeak and shake. Legolas fought hard not to laugh, biting his lower lips to also hide the wince that was threatening to cross his face as his still healing body was jerked roughly.

Legolas just caught sound of the door opening behind them before a sharp exclamation was heard throughout the room.

"Eldarion!" Aragorn reprimanded in a loud tone, setting the trey he was caring down with a sharp smack. The boy toppled over with a shrill shriek of surprise and landed atop the elf, making Legolas give a small "umph" of pain and jerk slightly. He was fully awake now if he hadn't been before.

Aragorn sighed, shaking his head lightly as he came forward, scooping his small son up off the elf and holding him on his hip. "I asked you to wake Uncle Legolas, not use his bed for jumping on like a toad," he said reproachfully, but warmly. He ruffled the boy's hair playful and grinned widely as his son giggled.

"It was fine, Aragorn," Legolas spoke up, waving his hand lightly as if to wash it all away. He rolled over and eased himself gingerly up into a sitting position, smiling secretively at Eldarion. "And he was right, young one, you did look rather like a toad," he teased, eyes glinting playfully. Eldarion giggled again and wriggled free of his father's grip, dropping to all fours with his knees bunched up under his body and his arms held slightly away from his side.

"Rib-bit!" he croaked, leaping away. He proceeded to go around the room is such a fashion, and both the elf and the ranger watched his antics with wide grins.

"Your son takes after you!" Legolas stated, eyes glittering happily, "In fact, he may have gotten the even better deal as he ended up with Arwen looks."

Aragorn spluttered indigently, feigning horror as his smiling eyes traced his offspring around the room. "Are you suggesting that Arwen is the only good looking one?" he questioned lightly, turning back to face his friend as Eldarion continued to hop and croak. Legolas laughed in response

"You'd be better looking if you would wash sometimes, though, admittedly, that has improved a great deal since you married Arwen. Thank goodness."

"Well, you are just a prissy elf! Arwen thinks I'm handsome, even with a little bit of mud every now and then. And her opinion matters much more than yours, as she is a woman." Aragorn gently removed the efl's sling and parted the bandages still wrapped around his shoulder, examining the healing wound. It was greatly improved from the last time he had seen it and couldn't help but smiling, Legolas was on the mend.

"Ah, but love can be blind. She is your wife, after all. What else could she say!" Legolas pointed out, grinning as Aragorn shot a glare at him. The man carefully placed his arm back in the sling and moved away towards the table were the tray was sitting.

"Be grateful you are still injured," he warned playfully, moving back and placing the trey of food of on Legolas' lap. Eldarion, who had stopped leaping across the floor, clambered back up onto the bed with a hungry look in his eyes. He nestled down against the elf's side and grinned up at him with enough happiness to light the world.

"Did I make a good toad?" he asked, shaking his hair out of his eyes. Despite Legolas' early jibe, Eldarion took after Aragorn in looks as well as personality, though he was certainly his mother's child as well.

"Turn green and you would fit right in with the toads down at the river," Legolas assured, making the young boy laugh at the thought.

"That would be silly, Uncle Legolas! I couldn't turn green!" he said, turning so serious that Aragorn had to hide his snorts of laughter as coughs, sharing an amused look with Legolas as he do so.

"Yes, Uncle Legolas," Aragorn mimicked after he got under control, "Where do you get these crazy ideas! One might think that you have been hit over the head a few too many times."

Legolas chortled, picking up his fork and picking disdainfully through the food, "It has never been my fault, you know, it's you who does the leading…well, maybe six out of ten times it is your fault." Eldarion frowned, trying to keep up with the conversation but being unable to really follow it. Instead, he eyed the food, looking for something sweet to eat. This gained his full attention and he lost track of what was going on around him and what the two adults where talking about.

"Are you counting all the times before you meet me and rubbed off on me? Because I am pretty sure that would make a difference in your figures," Aragorn teased, perching easily on the corner of the bed by Legolas' feet. Legolas snorted indigently.

"Of course I am not! It wouldn't be fair considering how much longer I have lived. Plus, it would not make that large of a difference. You where the one always getting me into trouble," he stated as a fact, pointing his fork full of food at the human. "I've been injured more in the past hundred years than my Ada thought was possible."

"I think it was a combination of both of us that created most of the problems…" Aragorn comprised, "I'm surprised that neither of our fathers forbade us from going anywhere together." As he said this, a light smile touched his lips, remembering fondly back on all the times that exact threat had been used against them.

"That's because they wouldn't have been able to keep us apart." Legolas exclaimed, before wincing lightly as he shifted. Aragorn nodded, even as he gave his friend a pointed glare that told the elf to remain still.

"No, mellon-nin, nothing ever could. Not our fathers, not orcs, not men or elves. No matter how hard some of them tried our friendship has survived it all. Circumstances, people, and places may change, but that never will."

THE END

Nope, it never will. :) In fact... next week! A new story will come and with it a new conflict to test our two friends! Look for "The Hands of a Healer" on Friday!

Review Reply:

Guest: This one was early too! Can't promise anything for the next story, however, this was kind of a unique last few weeks. :) Yes, that is indeed that is always a fantastic moment. My favorite for sure. Thanks!

Idon'tliketoast: Fridays are always my favorite because I get to post. :) Haha... well, he is getting ok, and he going to continue to heal, so all is well that ends well. Thanks!