Disclaimer: I don't own the twins, sadly.
A/N: Okay, to the point. Sorry for the delay, sorry for how short it is, and in theory you should be getting more updates soon. Onward with the story!
Lightening flashed through the sky as another rumble of thunder sounded in the distance. Elrohir sighed and pulled back from the window. Elladan was out in that storm somewhere and instead of helping to look for him Elrohir could do nothing but sit idly by the fire and wait for the Dúnedain to return.
After finding Elladan's note nearly a week earlier, Elrohir had set out immediately for the Rangers' camp. Unfortunately, after only about a day away, the rain had begun. In a moment of distraction Elrohir slipped and broke his arm. He made it to the Rangers' without any other problems and the bone was quickly and efficiently set, but he was in no condition to go out and look for Elladan, especially since he would only be a liability if they had to fight the orcs.
The Chieftain had sent out some of the Rangers to look for Elladan, but that did little to help ease Elrohir's guilt and worry. He should've gone after his brother. He knew that by the time he got help it might have been too late, but he had been upset and wasn't thinking clearly. Now Elladan was going to be the one to pay the price, while he couldn't do anything but sit around and wait.
The door to the hall creaked open and Elrohir quickly turned around, hoping to see the group of Rangers that had been sent out. Instead it was just the young boy who had been sent to deliver a message to a nearby house. Elrohir sighed again and turned back to face the window, straining his eyes for some sight of the returning Rangers.
A flash of lightening illuminated the area and Elrohir just managed to catch a glimpse of a large group of people before the light faded again. He ran over to the large door and pulled it open with his one good arm, ignoring the questions of the others as he raced outside. There, just around the corner of the building, was the group he had seen. They were the Rangers sent out to look for Elladan.
"Where is he?" he demanded. "Did you find him? Is he alright?"
The rangers in the front moved to the side, allowing Elrohir a clear view of his brother being carried on a makeshift litter. His heart skipped a beat as he saw Elladan lying there. He wasn't moving and he looked so pale. He quickly stepped closer and felt for a pulse. It was weak and erratic, but it was still there. Elladan was alive.
"Bring him inside!" Elrohir commanded. "Hurry!"
The hall quieted down as Elrohir led the group of Rangers inside, directing them over towards the fire where they carefully set down Elladan. Others were already bringing over blankets, herbs, and bandages. Elrohir began to inspect his brother's injuries while one of the Rangers explained how they had found him.
"He was in the middle of a battle when we got there," the Ranger said. "Not a moment too soon, I should say. He was badly outnumbered by the orcs, but had managed to kill many of them already, despite at least one nasty injury on his leg. He went down at some point during the battle, but we managed to fight our way over to him and keep him safe until the orcs were killed. He hasn't shown any signs of being poisoned and we treated his wounds as best as we could before returning here."
True to the Ranger's word, Elladan's wounds had been cleaned and hurriedly bandaged, but during the course of the travel back the bandages had gotten dirty and the wounds had some dirt and dust in them. Elrohir cleaned them out before carefully spreading some of their father's medicine over them that they had brought from Rivendell. He bandaged them up with strips of clean linen and pulled a couple of dry blankets over Elladan. Although the wounds themselves weren't fatal, Elrohir was worried that Elladan hadn't awoken yet. He tried to push away thoughts of blood loss and unknown poisons. He had down all he could do for his brother. Now, he could only wait.
Elrohir kept watch over his brother during the night, refusing food and drink, his eyes never leaving Elladan's still form. He refused to even think that the Rangers might have brought him back too late. Elladan was going to be alright- he had to be.
"When we make it through this, I swear I will never leave your side again," Elrohir vowed softly.
"Not your fault," a quiet voice murmured.
Elrohir started slightly and quickly looked down. Sure enough Elladan was finally awake, blinking his eyes against the bright light from the fire. Elrohir pulled him into a tight hug, being careful of his brother's wounds. "It is my fault," he said quietly as he pulled back. "I was the one who left you."
"And I was the one who was foolish enough to go running after the orcs when I knew I couldn't fight them all," Elladan pointed out.
Elrohir shook his head, but didn't say anything. He knew that they would always disagree on who was at fault, but right now he was simply glad that his brother was alive and well.
"One more thing," Elladan said, interrupting Elrohir's thoughts. "Don't tell Ada."