Lina Skye: alas! It's not soon, but here it is finally! Hope you like it! Would you _please_ update your story again? Pretty please?

Sue: nah… don't worry about Elrond, he's as calm as a new born kitten… really!

Nili: surprise! Just for you because of the favour you did me. It's a REAL chapter! LOL And no… I have not forgotten about the orcs, it'll just be awhile before we see them again… Hope you like this CHAPTER!

Disclaimer: I don't own them, just wish that I did… sigh. They belong to the wonderful professor named J.R.R Tolkien…

A/N: I have no idea if Glorfindel knew Elrond when Elros was still around, but for this story, just assume that he did.

*** indicates dreaming

~~~

Chapter 5

When Legolas saw the Last Homely House, his spirits lifted; help was near!

Estel lay against him, still cold to the touch and clammy. Whereas he had been sleeping peacefully nearly the entire ride, the young man started to twitch every now and then; whatever he was dreaming, it wasn't pleasant…

*** "Careful of those rocks now, Estel, they're slippery. You don't want to get all wet if you fall in the lake, now do you?" Elladan said to a six year old Estel.

The child giggled. "Ow, come on Eldan. Catch me if you can!" And the boy ran off as fast as he could, though careful of the small and slippery stones.

The elf chased after the human boy, making sure to slow his usual fast pace to keep some distance between them so that Estel would think he was winning.

"When I get my hands on you, I will tickle you until you are blue in the face!" Threatened the elf, trying to keep his smile hidden from the boy.

"You have to catch me first, Eldan!"

Just when Elladan was preparing to fasten his pace and catch his human brother, a strange thing happened. The ground trembled for a short moment and both elf and human halted, trying to keep their balance on the stones. When it was finished, a questioning look was on the boy's face.

"I'm not sure little one. Perhaps…" He never finished the sentence as he was interrupted by another tremble, this one more forceful and lasting longer as well.

Estel tried to keep his balance on the slippery stones, but this time, it was no use. With the second tremble, being too powerful for the small human, he slipped and fell backwards… ***

With a gasp, the young ranger awoke, looking frantically around himself and only calming when he felt the reassuring presence of his elven friend behind him. He tensed slightly as he heard the sound of the waterfalls – the nightmare still fresh in his mind.  He released a somewhat relieved sigh once he recognized the sounds they made. He had noticed from an early age on that waterfalls and rivers all have their own specific sounds and the rumble he could hear now was the one that only the waterfalls of Rivendell made. Was he home?

Straining his tired eyes, Estel looked around. The blurry shape of his childhood home greeted him and that's when he realized that he was indeed home. He forced himself to relax, resting his full weight on the elf behind him again. Ada will make sure it won't hurt me again…

When Legolas felt his friend tense, he started singing softly to him with his beautiful voice – a song about love and hope. And whether the human heard him or not, it seemed to have a calming effect.

It was only a few minutes later when they rode through the gates of the Last Homely House.

~~~

Talei trotted to the front doors of the house and stopped. Legolas made sure that Aragorn was balanced before first hopping off himself. Then he waited for Talei to bend through his knees so he could easily take the young ranger in his arms.

"Thank you, my friend. You have done well." He said softly to Talei, nodding to the horse before turning the other way – towards the house.

He walked up the stairs and was wondering how he was going to open the heavy doors without releasing his precious charge, when all of a sudden, they opened. Startled, Legolas took a step back. However, he misjudged the distance between the steps and he feared he would fall down the stairs – his foot was already slipping! – when he managed to recover his balance. And it was a good thing that he did, but it was unfortunate that he jostled the human in his arms in the process. Estel pressed his face into the elf's tunic and whimpered softly.

The blonde elf first calmed his friend before looking up, a cold fire burning in his eyes – annoyed that he had been startled so and looking for who was the cause of this. When his eyes found the person, his expression turned into relief while the other's expression turned into worry.

~~~

Elrohir had been arguing with Elladan; one of their playful arguments that seemed to spring up out of thin air and seemed to be about nothing important at all. If their mood was like it, this kind of argument could last for several days and drive their poor father mad along with anyone else coming in their path. Where they got this bickering from was a mystery to the ancient elf. But there was one elf, who saw familiar behaviour from times long ago.

Glorfindel had known Elrond for a very long time – when Elros, his twin brother, had still been alive. Long before the choice of a mortal or an immortal life had lain before them, they too had had arguments like the young Noldor elves; going on without the end in sight and driving poor Gil-Galad to the brink of insanity. The stunts they had pulled made those of the younger twins seem insignificant.

But, as Elrond and Elros had their times of argument and mischief making, so did they have times when they were serious – real leaders of their people as they became more mature in spirit as time passed. This would be the same for the younger twins; they would grow up but all too soon and their merry making would dwindle as the time came that their father sailed West.

And so it was that as the twins were arguing, Elrohir roughly opened the door, seemingly unaware of much else besides his brother and their bickering.

When Elrohir saw Legolas – and the one he was carrying home – he turned around as fast as he could and ran to his father's chambers.

Legolas, who had been about to say something to Elrohir, was left behind; stupefied. Then a confused Elladan walked out, looking for the cause of his brother's odd behaviour.

Like his brother; when he spotted the two in front of him, his gaze turned worried. He looked down at his human brother, who seemed unaware of his surroundings. "Estel?" He queried softly. When there was no response, he looked at the prince. "Legolas? What happened?"

Legolas started walking towards his friend's room – knowing his way around from the other times he had visited. "Orcs…" Was all he said.

Elladan, who had been following them anxiously, stopped dead in his tracks for a moment – a pained look crossing his face as older memories surfaced…

Legolas, oblivious to the fact that he had lost the other elf, continued on walking; up the stairs and down the hall to his friend's room and there he gently laid him down on his bed. He was surprised when glazed eyes tried to focus on him.

"You're safe now, my friend. You're back home in Rivendell." The elf said, watching as the eyes slowly drifted shut.

~~~

Elladan finally managed to pull himself out of his memories and continued after his old friend. When he entered Estel's room, he smiled wryly, seeing the blonde elf speaking softly to his brother as he removed the many layers that covered him.

Slowly, he walked to just behind Legolas, only now noticing the small shivers going through the human. He let his eyes roam over the trembling form, a frown appearing on his face as he saw the state of Estel's legs. It was obvious because of the splints that they were broken. But why was the material of his leggings damp? It hadn't rained for days!

"What happened to him, how did his leggings get this damp?" He asked in a low tone.

Legolas gave a small jump – not having heard the older of the twins entering.

What would my father say about this? He wondered. Aloud he said, too soft for his human friend to hear: "I'll explain later, my friend."

Elladan nodded and started helping Legolas with taking off Estel's clothes. With every piece of skin that was revealed, he bit his lip tighter and tighter; angry at the injuries that the clothes had hidden.

Before he had a chance to break the skin of his lip, Elrohir and Elrond entered the room carrying small pots and chests containing herbs and potions. His father looked calm and composed, but Elladan knew him well enough to know that he suffered inside when he saw his youngest like this.

Elladan and Legolas had now only to remove the make shift splints and the leggings. They carefully began to remove one splint, taking their time and being as careful as they could to minimize the jostling.

Elrond set the pots and chests on Estel's bureau and walked to his foster-son. His eyes roamed over the exposed body and a sigh escaped his lips.

"Oh Estel…" he said sadly. When he saw his youngest struggling to open his eyes, he gently laid a hand on the human's forehead, using some of his healing abilities to urge Estel into a deep sleep.

He then walked to where Elrohir had finished setting down the rest of the potions and hurriedly he started making the needed remedies. Elrohir put some wooden logs in the fireplace and started a fire to keep his brother from getting any more chilled.

Meanwhile, Legolas and Elladan had had a hard struggle in first removing the splints and then cutting the leggings off without jostling the young ranger all too much. When they were finally done, Elrond was there – ready to apply poultices and set the broken bones.

~~~

When at last they were finished, the young ranger was covered up warmly. Extra care was taken on how his legs were covered so that the layers would put no pressure on the damaged limbs.

The boy coughed in his sleep and Elrond frowned. If this seemingly innocent cough turned into something worse, it could be a great risk to Estel in his current condition. He mixed up some other herbs and walked back to his son. He carefully raised Estel's head and held the cup against his lips; however, the human did not accept it and unconsciously turned his head away.

"Please, Estel. Drink this for me." Pleaded the elf lord quietly as he held the cup to his lips again.

Getting more and more agitated, Estel violently jerked his head away – whimpering and gasping in pain as other parts of his body were jostled by his own movement. The restful sleep that he had been given by his father had ended and his limbs started to twitch and move as if he was trying to get away from some unseen enemy.

Elladan and Elrohir rushed to his side and very carefully pinned his arms and legs to the bed – preventing him from moving them anymore and thus hurting himself further.

"Shh, it's all right Estel. Calm down…" They spoke to him softly, trying to get through to the young man.

Their words had no effect however. Sighing, Elrond gently laid Estel's head back on the pillows, pondering what to do.

"Lord Elrond?"

Elrond looked up into the concerned face of Legolas. The prince had just returned from a quick check on Talei after making sure that Estel would be all right for awhile, ensuring that the animal had not been neglected. (In fact, he stood now comfortably in the stables with some special treats.) When the younger elf saw the scene before him, he rushed to Estel's side and started stroking through his hair, murmuring softly in elvish to him until the boy quieted down again. Inwardly, he cursed himself for leaving the human. The twins hesitantly released their hold on their brother and silently stepped back, ready in case they needed to hold him down again.

Elrond, seeing the effect the prince had on his son, had an idea. "Thank the Valar you returned when you did. We couldn't get him to calm down… I was trying to get him to drink this –" the older elf held up the cup "– but he doesn't accept it from me. I fear this cold he has will turn into something much worse unless he drinks it. You two have a strong connection; perhaps you will be able to get him to drink?"

Legolas took the cup from the older elf. "No need to ask, my Lord. I will try… " He lifted his friend's head with one hand and the cup was pressed once more against his lips. "Come on, little one, swallow this for us and then you can rest." He cajoled.

The human's breathing accelerated a little and the three Noldor elves feared he would reject Legolas' attempts, but then to their surprise, he opened his mouth and allowed the liquid to be tipped in.

"That's good, little one. Now you can rest, my friend." Legolas gently kissed his friend's forehead as he lowered the ranger's head to the pillow.

Elrond smiled, observing the interaction between the two. Sometimes the young elf acted fatherly towards his foster-son and yet at other times he seemed the same reckless age. It amused the elf lord…

"You would be a good father, prince of Mirkwood."

Legolas smiled in return. "Perhaps so, my Lord, but this one already has a father and I would not think to take his place. Though he's human, I don't feel that old! I feel more… like an older brother." A twinkle appeared in his eyes as he said this.

"Yes, one that constantly draws my son into mischief and other things…"

Legolas closed his eyes as the words inadvertently reminded him of the situation his friend was in now.

Elladan noticed this and thought it was time for the prince to tell them what had happened. "Now will you tell us?"

Legolas looked as if he was being torn in two. He did not want to leave his friend, but he needed to inform his family about what had happened – without Estel there to possibly overhear him and experience it again. Legolas shivered; Estel's strange behaviour had frightened him and he did not want a repeat of that.

Elrohir solved his inner dilemma. "I'll stay with him. Go…"

Legolas sighed and stroked his friend's hair one last time. He bent down until his mouth was close to the human's ear. "You behave yourself while I am gone, all right? Don't give Elrohir any trouble." He said softly.

Straightening up, he cast one last glance at the unmoving form and walked out of the room; towards Elrond's study. 

Elrohir sat down beside his younger brother and watched as his twin and his father followed the Silvan elf.

~~~

TBC