You guys are all so wonderful…wipes eyes The reviews are so lovely. Though, I did notice… I didn't get as many for the 5th chapter… hmmm… What shall I do about this profound discovery? Probably… I'll end up doing nothing. Lol. For all those who were hoping, lots of Elrond angst in this chappie! Anyway, I left it at a cliffhanger last time, so I won't waste time. Enjoy!

Two Left Feet

By: BabeyRachey

Chapter 6

Elrond rushed out of the room and down the steps, meeting the twins as he was halfway down them. He barely even noticed their slightly disheveled appearance as his gaze fixed on his youngest.

"What happened?" he asked sharply, wrenching his eyes away from the matted blood and pale skin.

"Wolf." Elrohir said, slightly out of breath from the run. "We did what we could… but we ran out of bandages."

Without waiting to hear another word, Elrond turned and started up the stairs, Elladan; still clutching Estel to him, and Elrohir followed.

"Elrohir, run ahead and prepare Estel's room with a fire and hot water. Elladan, take Estel to his room, take all the old bandages off." Elrond barked out the orders as they walked.

"I will go and get my supplies from my study." He said, even as they dashed past him.

As soon as they were out of his sight, Elrond felt a sudden weariness and guilt overtake him. With one hand he steadied himself against the wall.

Ah, Elbereth, this was his entire fault. If only he had listened… if only he had been a good father and listened to Estel when he said he didn't do anything…

He had been unreasonable and he knew it.

"I'm so sorry, Estel." He whispered, blinking back the impending tears.

Drawing in a breath, Elrond pushed himself up and headed toward his study. There was no time to wallow in his emotions; he had a little boy to save.

Even as he gathered his belongings, the little voice reappeared.

'If it wasn't for you, the little boy wouldn't need saving.'

Elladan entered the room just after his twin, placing the bleeding boy on the bed after Elrohir pulled down the covers. As Elrohir continued around the room, Elladan quickly, but gently, began removing the boy's shirt.

The elf grimaced at the harsh looking lacerations, and started to pull the shirt off when he froze.

How could he get it off Estel's arm? The limb was obviously broken, the hand a mangled mess and coated with blood. He would just have to leave it until Ada came to deal with it.

He looked down at the boy's leg and for a moment felt as though he'd be physically sick.

The pant leg was basically torn away, and it revealed torn flesh and broken bones.

Elladan didn't move until his brother came up next to him.

"It's bad, isn't it?" Elrohir whispered softly, gazing at the bloodstained child in front of them.

"Aye." Elladan said in a choked voice. "It's bad."

Without another word, they began unraveling the soiled bandages. Though it was only a matter of seconds, to them it seemed to take hours.

Elrond came in as they finished, and felt his heart break at the sight that was in front of him.

Two elflings, in his eyes at least, standing protectively around the small, wounded form, as if to field him from the rest of the world.

The elf lord cleared his throat gently, making the twins start slightly.

Without another word, Elrond went to the other side of the bed and quickly analyzed the situation. The leg and arm, along with the direct blows to the chest were the most imperative to deal with.

"Elrohir, get me the hot water and rags to clean his wounds with. Elladan, help me get this tunic off." He ordered, setting down the herbs in his hands on the bedside table.

Elladan took a deep breath as he crossed to Estel's other side.

Elrond, forcing himself to think coolly, took a small scalpel and ever so gently started cutting the sleeve around the mangled arm.

He felt his heart ache as Estel unconsciously flinched away from his touch.

Elladan peeled off the shirt as Elrond cut it, all the while whispering soothingly in elvish to the small boy.

When the article of clothing had been removed, Elrohir, who was standing nearby, couldn't quite hold back a gasp.

Elrond closed his eyes briefly and tried to envision Estel's youthful chest without the long, merciless lacerations that covered it.

Opening his eyes once more, Elrond began the dreaded task of cleaning and stitching the wounds.

For over three hours, the elves labored over the small, but precious body, desperately working to put it back together again.

Elrond sighed deeply as he tied the last stitch, barely keeping his straining emotions in check.

"Ada?"

Elrond turned tired eyes onto his twin sons.

"Will he be ok?" Elrohir said softly, biting his lip fretfully.

"He will live, yes." The elf lord said after a brief pause. "However, he will have a limp for a long time, and will need physical therapy for it. His hand and arm," Elrond took a deep breath, "His hand and arm have extensive damage, and he will have problems using it for a while. Hopefully, with therapy, we can get it to be almost normal again."

The twins stared at their father with a combination of relief and dismay. Elladan took in the heavily bandaged arm and leg before looking back at his father.

"Ada, his hand. It is his writing hand, and his sword hand. How will he fight and do his lessons?"

Elladan thought he saw a flash of sorrow in his father's eyes as they met his once more.

"He may not be able to for a while. He will have to learn to use his left hand for most basic actions. Things like eating and grooming."

Elrohir grinned ever so slightly at this.

"Estel? Grooming? I do not know if he knows the word." He said, making the others chuckle faintly. Estel never did like to bother combing his hair or washing his face very much…

Elladan took the boy's good hand in his own, frowning when he felt something tickle his palm. Turning it over, Elladan smiled sadly at the sight of the stitched together finger. Compared to the newer, garish wounds it seemed small and insignificant.

"I forgot he had that." He murmured, mostly to himself. Elrond glanced over and saw what he was looking at.

"He was so scared of getting stitches." Elrohir said fondly, brushing the boy's hair out of his face. "And now he has many more scars he can show off."

They fell into silence, each lost in his own memories.

After several minutes, Elrond stretched and sent his sons a pointed look

"You two go to bed, you're exhausted. Estel will still be here in the morning."

Elladan sent his father a reproachful look while Elrohir quickly sat down in an available chair.

"We will stay here." They both said at once. "You go rest Ada, we'll watch out for him." Elrohir continued, as Elladan pulled up a chair for himself.

Elrond sighed, knowing he wouldn't get them to move. He was tired too, not just physically but emotionally.

"All right, but wake me up if anything happens, Anything." He emphasized, meeting their eyes evenly.

"Yes, Adar." They coursed, sending their father innocent looks.

Elrond nearly sighed again, but contained it as he turned to go.

"Ada?" He heard Elrohir call softly. He turned his head and met his son's troubled eyes.

"It's not your fault, Ada."

Elrond's eyes clouded with pain and guilt. Without another word, he hurried out of the room.

There ya go! Lots of angst and good stuff like that. Hehe. I hope you guys liked it. PLEASE REVIEW! Please please please please please?! With a cherry on top? Hehe. Thanks again to all my reviewers, you are so great. And special thinks to those who took the time to email me about my story or other things I've mentioned. Keep up the reading and I promise the next chapter will be up soon! Toodles!

BabeyRachey