Fan Fiction ❯ Wild Blue Yonder ❯ Confessions of Love ( Chapter 21 )

**REVISIED**

Disclaimer: Well, I don't own Lord of the Rings, that's for sure. Just own my portion of the story and my characters.

Wild Blue Yonder

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Chapter 21 - Confessions of Love

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The sun had passed its halfway mark and was quickly making its way to the far horizon when Legolas finally regained consciousness. Struggling to sit up, he moaned heavily as he brought his hand to his pounding head. Feeling the bandage on his left temple, he winced as he closed his eyes against the pain. Hearing a sharp whine, Legolas opened his eyes to see Nanook sitting stiffly next to a fallen body.

Panic spread through him as he recognized the body to be Rain and forgetting the pain that was lancing through his head, he quickly bolted across the clearing and knelt down next to her. He saw that she had somehow removed the arrow from her shoulder, since it was clutched in her outstretched hand. Taking the arrow from her hand, he found that she had chopped off the tail to remove it. Marveling at her inner strength to accomplish such a feat, he dropped the offending object before reaching out to roll her over gently.

The front of her shirt was stained liberally with her blood, which had pooled beneath her as she had lain on the ground. He carefully unbuttoned the front of her BDU shirt and gently pushed it off her injured shoulder. Seeing that her tee shirt was soaked with blood, he grimly set to the task of cutting if off. He winced at the sight of the ugly wound marring her soft skin, but he knew that he needed to clean and bandage it quickly. Hopefully he was in time to stop any infection from spreading.

Laying her back down carefully, he sprinted over to his pack and grabbed it before returning to her side. He saw her medical kit lying next to her feet and reach over to snag it. Worried by her pale cool skin, he quickly cleaned the wound and bandaged it with the material he found in her kit. Impersonally, he stripped the rest of her blood soaked clothing off and slid one of his shirts carefully over her head. Wrapping her in the soft cloth of his shirt, he also added his blanket.

She had yet to regain consciousness and had begun to shake, as if extremely cold. He knew that blood loss and shock could cause such symptoms. He needed to get fluid into her and to warm her body. Picking her up, he stood and walked hurriedly across the clearing. He knelt next to the dead fire and laid her gently down. Adjusting the blanket that had slipped of her shoulder, he stood and quickly gathered wood for a fire.

After he had built the fire, he made a thick broth from the dried meat in their packs. Sitting it next to the fire to keep warm, he turned to see that she had thrown off her blanket. Scooting closer to her, he could see that a sheen of sweat had broken out across her forehead. Reaching out, he was startled by the heat radiating from her body.

"Oh, Rain." he murmured dismayed. He knew that he had not been in time and her body was beginning to fight against the infection building in her flesh. All he could do now was try to keep her warm and pray that she made it through the night. He decided that once light had risen, he would take her to Lady Galdadriel with all haste.

Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes praying that she could survive the trip. He couldn't lose her now.

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Rain was barely aware of the passage of time. She felt a rhythmic movement beneath her and was aware of a warmth that was holding her tightly. Of murmured words and pleas, she heard a voice continuously calling to her, asking her to come back. She heard a whimpering whine next to her head as a warmth was pressed to both sides of her body.

The light kept calling her, pleading for her to walk within the beauty. But she could not reach it, it was too far away. She struggled within the darkness of her captivity, hearing over and over again that voice, so filled with sorrow that she wanted to reach out and ease the soul wrenching pain in its depths. She cried out, her hand outstretched to grasp a hold of the voice, before darkness faded back in around her world.

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A soft gentle hand stroking her brow was what finally awakened Rain. The light caress felt so cool and lovely, soothing away the darkness and bringing light. Rain struggled to open her eyes, moaning when she couldn't.

"Shh, my dear. Its alright." came a wonderfully sweet voice. Rain frowned since the voice wasn't the one that had been calling to her.

"Elrohir, would you please go get Legolas. She appears to be waking up." came the sweet voice again.

"Yes grandmother." Elrohir replied as he bolted quickly out the door.

Rain frowned again. 'Why can't I seem to wake up completely?' her tired mind asked as she continued to struggle against the darkness. Hearing a commotion, she turned her head instinctively in that direction her hand coming up from the covers. She heard a sharp gasp, before her hand was enclosed within another, which squeezed hers gently.

"Rain, please wake up." came the voice that had been calling her. She knew that she had to wake up for him, she had to calm him. The pain she heard in his voice, went straight to her heart causing her to gasp raggedly.

"No, Rain. Everything is all right, my love. Please just open your eyes." came his voice again. She struggled hard and finally managed to open her eyes to stare up at the face lingering close to hers. Blue eyes, filled with tears, stared tiredly down into hers. She reached up her free hand to gently wipe away the trail that had crept down him cheek, reveling in the feel of his warm skin beneath her fingers. His eyes closed as he leaned into her touch, a soft smile gracing his lips.

"Legolas." she croaked hoarsely, her voice rusty from disuse.

"Shh, my love. You're going to be fine now. We are in Lothlórien where you can rest and get better." he said as he opened his eyes to stare back down at her. He felt her hand come up to touch the small bandage at his temple.

"I. . . I'm sorry that I hurt you." she whispered. He reached up and took her hand, pulling it to his lips. Kissing her knuckles, he grinned lightly back down at her.

"I'm all right, because of you I am still alive." he said. He wanted nothing more right at that minute but to pull her into his arms and never let her go but a soft chuckle from behind him stopped him from doing so. Turning he found that Lady Galdadriel and Elrohir had moved closer to the bed.

"Legolas, we are going to leave you with Lady Rain's care now. Elrohir will come back later and bring you both dinner. Please see that she eats everything that I send." Galdadriel said gently as she laid her hand on his shoulder. He nodded, unable to express his gratitude for her assistance. He watched as the two left, leaving him alone with his beloved.

He turned to find that her eyes had closed again. Sighing, he gently laid her hand down and moved away to pull a chair up next to the bed. Hearing a soft whimper, he turned to find her staring up again at him, pain filled in her eyes. Kneeling next to the bed, he took her hand in his again.

"I thought you left me." she said, her eyes full of pain and misery.

"I would never leave you." he said, his free hand coming up to gently stroke her face. "You are my light, Rain. Without you my life would be nothing but darkness. Please don't go away like this again."

"Stay with me, please." she pleaded, her eyes drifting shut, exhaustion taking its toll on her body. He moved to stand, but her grip on his hand tightened. "Stay. . ." her voice trailed off.

Looking down, he carefully lifted the blankets and slid in next to her. He gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest, cradling her head on his shoulder. Resting his head on hers he closed his eyes, glad that she had awakened and was on her way to recovery.

"Ah, Rain, I love you." he murmured against her hair as he fell into the first restful sleep he had, since she had been wounded almost a week ago.

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"I will never forgive myself," Elrohir murmured, his gaze straying back to his injured friends before Lady Galadriel closed the door softly.

"Do not judge yourself so harshly," she said, frowning gently.

"If I had stayed, done what I was supposed to, this would never have happened!"

"That may be so, but then they would have arrived here, still angry, arguing. The flesh wounds will heal quickly, but the scars on their hearts they would have given each other, would never have. Be thankful they are alive, and glad they have found each other again."

"I'll never leave them again!" Lady Galadriel smiled at his vehemence as he turned and left. She had no doubt he would be true to his word.

"That, they may not appreciate," she chuckled as she walked away.

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A/N: Rain's going to be alright and Legolas has decided finally to declare his love, but was Rain even awake to hear him? Well, time will tell. . . Let me know what do you think?

Happy Reading ~ DBZ Vegeta