A/N: HA! You really thought I'd just sit there and let my Legolas die? I'll have those tissues back, now, thank you very much. ;)

(I changed the name to this story, in case any of you were wondering. It used to be 'How Much Do You Love Me?" Enjoy!

Darkness.

That was all Legolas could see.

He felt as though he was walking through a black corridor, no lights in sight. Blinking, he tried to make out what was in front of him but could see nothing. He felt the wall next to him and slowly began walking forward.

Even though the black emptiness around him and the eerie silence was strange, Legolas felt almost… happy. He was no longer in pain.

Suddenly, a huge white light lit up the path ahead of him, and he paused, raising his hands to shield his eyes from it. He could hear somebody calling his name, almost like a whisper, but it felt welcoming, and he found his feet moving towards it.

The Prince almost stepped into the light before his ears picked up the sound of someone else calling his name. This voice sounded familiar, and he paused in his walking and turned, noticing a door built into the black wall beside him. Glancing back at the light, Legolas opened the door and stepped inside.

The room he walked into looked similar to a place he had once known. He stood by the door, confusion etched on his face, before jerking as something suddenly flew past him – more like through him – and jumped onto the bed in the room, grabbing hold of the stuffed horse sat on the pillow, a huge toothy grin on his face.

A bigger version of this figure followed after him, a smile on his fair features as he immediately walked over to the bookshelf in the corner of the room. "What will it be today, little leaf?"

Little leaf.

"Come back to me, little leaf, please!"

Legolas felt a pain in his head and his hand flew up to his temple, his eyes squeezing shut as he suddenly realised where he was and who he was looking at.

This was him, and his father, when he had been an elfling. The memory was one of his strongest and most precious, and he remembered it as if it had happened only yesterday.

"The one about the dog and the cat and the mouse!" little Legolas replied, and he bounced eagerly on his bed as Thranduil took a book off the shelf and walked over to his son, sitting in the chair beside the bed and beginning to read.

"There once was a dog…"

"Please, Legolas, I cannot lose you…"

There was that pain again.

"-and a cat-"

"Elrond, save him, I beg you!"

"-and a mouse-"

"Come back to me, Legolas. Come back to your ada."

The pain in his head intensified and Legolas felt like screaming, but suddenly it stopped, and he stood straight and tall, staring ahead of him. Little Legolas was buried under the covers, hugging his stuffed horse, and his father was reading the story to him. It was such a precious moment, and the Prince felt tears sting his eyes.

He could not leave his father.

Not now.

Not ever.

He had to go back.

Turning, Legolas bolted out of the door. The bright light was still there, calling his name, but he no longer felt the desirable pull of it like before. He no longer wanted to go into the light. He wanted to go back.

"Please!" he shouted at the light, his voice sounding hoarse as if he hadn't spoken for days, "I want to go back! How do I go back?"

The light didn't answer, but it slowly started to fade.

"Please!" Legolas cried, tears falling from his blue eyes. "I can't stay here… I need- I need to get back to my ada… please…"

He broke down, falling to his knees and crying his dying heart out.

His heart.

Legolas wasn't dead yet, but he was dying, and he knew that his heart would not hold out for much longer. He didn't have enough time to sit and cry. He needed to think.

Standing up and consoling himself, he turned and ran back into the room. Thranduil had finished the story and was leaning down to gently kiss his son on the forehead. "I love you. Sweet dreams," he whispered before placing the book on the bedside table and standing up, walking quietly out of the room.

Dream.

Of course.

This wasn't real.

The scene that had played out in front of him had happened hundreds of years ago, when he had been a small elfling. It was a memory. And Legolas was living in it.

He was in his head.

And he had to get out.

Cautiously, he walked over to where Thranduil had been and sat on the chair, looking at the sleeping form of his smaller self. Slowly, he closed his eyes and grasped his hands together.

"I love you, Ada," he said to himself. "I want to come back. I want to see you again. I love you, Ada, so much. I love you, Ada. More than anything in this world. You are precious to me beyond measure and I would give my life for you. More than a thousand times over."

Suddenly, another light lit up the room, and Legolas's eyes flew open. The light disappeared, and in its place was a door. He stood up and immediately made his way over to it. He glanced back at the child, still sleeping soundly in his bed, and without hesitation opened the door and walked out.

Pain.

That was the first thing Legolas registered as his eyes flew open and he broke into a coughing fit.

"Legolas!"

He felt terrible, but he moved his head all the same, ignoring the pounding, and looked into the eyes of his father. He was still held in his arms, and Elrond was stood next to him, holding a bowl of herbs and wearing quite a shocked expression on his face.

"Ada," the Prince breathed, and a smile appeared on his face. He leaned forward into his father's chest and cried, the Elvenking bowing his head and holding onto his son with all he had in him as he, too, sobbed.

"Legolas?" Elrond asked, looking at the ellon with concern lacing his eyes. "You need to sit back so I can re-stitch your wounds. They are bleeding heavily and if they do not get closed up soon then you will die… again."

Legolas obeyed and, with help from his father, lay back on the bed. He still felt terrible, but at least he wasn't dead.

"Legolas, what happened?" Thranduil asked suddenly, his voice raspy from his crying.

"What do you mean?" Legolas winced as Elrond pierced his skin with the needle and began stitching, more healers gathering around them to attend to his other wounds and injuries.

"Your aura…" Elrond started. "You were dead, Legolas. Well, as good as. But suddenly your aura flared. A huge bright light emanated from you and then you opened your eyes."

Legolas shook his head and shut his eyes, gripping Thranduil's hand. "I must confess, I was ready to go. I was happy to be free of the pain… but then I stumbled upon something, and it made me realise that I am not ready to die yet. I have family and friends, and I could not leave them behind. And so… I came back."

Elrond understood, though he was fairly surprised. He had heard of the Valar themselves giving elves they believed too young to die the choice of staying or leaving with them, and it seemed as though they weren't ready for the Prince of Mirkwood just yet.

Elrond and his healers finished with Legolas and left once making sure that he was definitely alright.

"I thought of you, Ada," the blond said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Thranduil asked, his blue eyes shining with such happiness.

"That is what helped me come back… thinking of you. I could not leave you just yet."

The Elvenking smiled. "No, you cannot. Which is why I am banning you from ever leaving Mirkwood again."

The Prince let out a laugh, flinching as his aching body protested. "That is fine with me," he said.

"I love you, Legolas."

"How much?"

"More than anything in this world."

Legolas smiled. "I am afraid you are wrong, there," he told him, "for you will never love me as much as I love you."

Oh, you want the tissues back? Sorry, I used them all up writing this chapter.

Hope this makes you all a bit happier! Thank you for reading, and please review to tell me what you think. :D ~ Gre3nleaf