Hi everyone, sorry about the slight delay in the update, I was away from a computer all weekend. Hopefully I'll have the next one up tomorrow, it will probably be the last chapter of this story (there might be one after it, we'll see)

Chapter 4: Healing

Aragorn's eyes slowly grew wider and wider as he trailed after the elf lord through the vast halls of Imladris. Never had he seen a building so immense. Distracted, he drifted slightly away from Elrond's side, nearly crashing into another elf. Slender hands reached out grabbed him, pulling him close to the elf's body.

"What's this, Elrond? I didn't know that there were elflings this young left in Arda." A deep voice vibrated through the chest that Aragorn was held against. Amusement could be clearly heard, although it was clear that this elf was normally very serious.

"Well, Erestor, I didn't realize that there were elves as unobservant as you in Arda either, but obviously I was wrong. Not only did you not notice the child, but that is no elfling. This is Aragorn…" Elrond had turned around at the voice of his advisor, is voice matching that of Erestor's.

"Arathorn's son? Where is Arathorn, if his child is here?" Erestor's eyebrows were quickly climbing, unconsciously imitating Elrond's typical look of disbelief, a disbelief that caused him to forget propriety and interrupt his lord.

"That, mellon nin, is a question for another time. For now, I have two injured and one hungry child on my hands, and I would like to remedy both situations. If you'll excuse us…" Elrond scooped Aragorn out of Erestor's arms, somehow managing to juggling two children at once, and continued briskly down the hall. Elrond didn't realize that for the second time that afternoon he left a rather bewildered elf in his path.

The Halls of Healing were bustling with activity. Glorfindel had alerted the healers to the condition of the ranger patrol that they would be bringing in, and the entire staff had begun prepping to accommodate so many injuries. A few apprentice healers stopped to watch in amazement as their lord swept into the hall, two edain children in his arms, however, they were quickly pulled back into the work at hand.

Elrond strode to a bed in the corner of the Hall, trying to stay away from the bustling healers. While he would be helping them later, for now he wanted to be out of their way as he tended to his small charges. Depositing both edain on a pristine bed, he went over a nearby workbench, grabbing clean cloths, a bowl of water, a few leaves of athelas. Crushing the leaves into the water, he set it down on a table next to the bed; the freshening aroma of the plant filled the room quickly, causing some of the tension to ease. Even on the bed, Arrowlan, who had been shifting from dreams induced by such high fever, calmed and lay more peacefully, while next to her, Aragorn's face relaxed, pewter eyes drifting half closed.

"Aragorn," Elrond kept his voice soft, not wanting to scare the boy, "I need you to do something while I get you something to eat and drink."

Aragorn eyes opened a little more at his name; although he didn't seem completely alert, somehow, he managed to grunt out an affirmative answer, indicating he was listening.

"I need you to take this cloth and gently brush it across Arrowlan's face like this, it will make her feel better, until I can return to take care of her," As he spoke, the tall elf wrung out a cloth, and wiped it gently across Arrowlan's face. Reaching over, Aragorn took the cloth from the elf lord, and very, very, gently began to bathe his sister's face. Satisfied that Aragorn would do fine, Elrond turned and spoke briefly with one of the master healers, before disappearing to find some food for the youngster to eat.

Aragorn barely noticed the dark haired elf disappear; he was so intent on his 'little' sister. When the cloth no matter felt wet, he carefully dipped it back in the bowl, then tried to squeeze it out the way he'd seen Lord Elrond do it. With only a few wet drips to mark the passage of the cloth back over the bed to his sister's forehead, Aragorn again began to bathe her face. Already, she looked calmer than she had, the sweet smell of athelas helping to calm her, although once in awhile she still shifted and moaned as the fever fought to keep a hold of her body. Remembering what Elrohir had said about talking to her, he quietly began to tell her all about Imladris and what he'd seen just walking through the halls.

"It's so pwetty. 'Weally, 'weally big, and you can see t'a twees, no matta' what! T'ere a' lots and lots o' elves, too. Just like E'adan and E'woha." Elrond reappeared with a tray of food, just in time to hear the last part of Aragorn's litany. Nodding to the healer he'd spoken to earlier, he leaned forward to take the cloth from Aragorn's hand.

"You did very well, little one. Now here is some food and Lessien here has made you something to drink." The aforementioned elf stepped forward, to cups of cooled, sweetened tea in hand. Lessien had apprenticed under Elrond before she had reached the level of master, and she was known for being a kindly healer, doing especially well with children and those who'd had severe trauma. She smiled down at the boy who was now watching her intently, if his touch with his sister was any indication, he could be a very talented healer. Even within just a few minutes, he had soothed the worst of the delirium, all this by a two year old.

As Aragorn began to eat, Elrond began to inspect Arrowlan closer than he had before. He found the hand wound, which was bound by a strip of bandage which had become soiled during the day of travel. Carefully unwinding it, he could barely conceal a wince. The wound had been expertly drained and stitched; however, the skin around it was beginning to taint black, a sure sign of poison. He would have to cut the stitches, re-drain the wound, place a poultice on it, and then rebind it. An antidote was also in order to purge her system of the poison; all in all, it was not going to be a pleasant experience. Elrond was thankful that he'd thought to have Lessien make two cups of the sedating tea, Aragorn would be impossible to handle if he saw his sister in so much pain.

Looking to one side, Elrond saw that the little boy had already finished the tray of food, and was slowly sipping the cooling tea. Lessien had added enough honey that even such a young child wouldn't mind it. Turning back to the work bench, Elrond began preparing what he would need, waiting for the edain to drift off to sleep before beginning the procedure.

Aragorn's head had just drooped as the doors to the Halls of Healing swung open again, admitting Elladan and Elrohir, both of them looking much cleaner and happier than they had in the courtyard. Looking over the crowd of healers, the two found their father and wove their way through the elves.

"I thought I told you two to rest," Elrond's voice was a half growl, the last thing he needed was for the two overtly worried twins to be hovering the whole time he was trying to heal the girl.

"Well ada, you see, I don't believe that you actually told us to rest. I think being clean was the item that made the top of the list of things to do," Elrohir's impish nature had been restored with the cleansing bath he'd taken.

"Yes, well, one of you can hold Arrowlan down, as for the other, go wait in the courtyard. A scout should be returning any time to tell us how the rangers are coming," Elrond had turned back to slowly dripping tea into Arrowlan's mouth, not paying attention to the decision that the twins made. Only when the bed that the edain lay on dipped slightly and two hands wrapped around her body, drawing her close to a blue clad chest, did Elrond glance up again, assuming it was Elrohir. 'Ro had always been more of a healer than his brother and preferred to help in the Halls of Healing when they weren't on patrol. The twin that met his eyes caused him to stop for a moment, it wasn't the younger of the two that calmly sat there, but rather Elladan, face set and hands steady.

Elrond nodded to his son, before taking the knife from the table and beginning to break the stitches. Arrowlan tried to squirm, but Elladan held her more firmly, singing quietly into her hair. As soon as the last stitch broke, Elrond grabbed an empty bowl and pressed the flat of the blade against the young girl's hand. Even sedated, tiny feet began to lash out trying to kick at whatever was causing her pain. Expecting such a reaction, the elf lord had moved around her, dodging the flying legs, but keeping the blade against her hand. Once the wound was flowing with clear red blood, Elrond sewed up the wound with sure, even stitches, before applying a poultice and wrapping her whole hand in clean linen bandages.

As he finished tucking the bandages, he looked up at his son. Elladan's face was buried in Arrowlan's long reddish hair, his blue eyes bright with unshed tears, although his hands were tender as they brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. Elrond squeezed his son's shoulder briefly, before picking up the antidote that Lessien had prepared and delivered during the procedure, and began giving it to Arrowlan the same way he had given the tea; drop by drop, then rubbing her throat to make her swallow. Once he was satisfied with how much had gone down, he set it aside and took her from Elladan's arms. 'Dan looked at his father, but continued to sit on the bed, looking slightly lost and much younger than his nearly 3,000 years. Resettling Arrowlan next to her still sleeping twin, Elrond drew a blanket over them both, before extending a hand to his son.

"Come, ion nin, we have much to talk about before the rangers come, for they will need all of our help. Until then, you need to tell me why my eldest looks so lost and how it is that the heir of Isildur is now dead." A soft sob tried to escape Elladan at his father's words, although he forced it back and schooled his face into a more serious expression. He'd known that kindness would be extended, but he had hoped for a father's compassion. If only his father would still extend that feeling to him or his brother, instead of just treating them like any other captain of the forces of Imladris.

Elladan bent down and brushed a light kiss across Arrowlan's brow and touched a hand to Aragorn's cheek before standing and following his father out of the Halls of Healing and down the vast corridors toward Elrond's study. Once inside the large library, he closed the heavy door and sagged into a chair.

Elrond stepped around his desk and poured a two glasses of miruvor that sat there, handing one to his son before settling into his own chair behind the large oak desk. Even as he moved to sit, with much more grace than his son had, he studied the younger elf before him. He no longer knew his son, either of them actually. After Celebräin left, he'd had no interest in seeing anyone who reminded her of him, and both sons had such a loving heart, reminiscent of their mother. Elrond hadn't thought he could stand the reminder. Even after they had practically gone insane trying to extract revenge, he'd still been distant, only getting close enough to help their spirits heal. Except now, here sat his son, sad and desolate, and he was unsure why or what to do. Elrond truly hated such helplessness.

After taking a sip of the cordial, Elladan took a breath and started telling his father everything, almost. He carefully reported as if he were any other captain, no mention was made of the near emotional break down he'd had as he realized that the children were injured because of him, instead the whole story was told in a flat tone that nothing could be read into. After finishing, the two elves sat in silence for a few moments.

"You are sure that the orcs did not know that you bore the two children of Arathorn?" Elrond's voice sounded skeptical. Elladan supposed that the mad dash into the valley was probably the cause of the question.

"Yes, ada, the edain were well hidden in our cloaks, and orcs are nearly blind during the day. They could not have known that the children lived. I'm not even sure that they knew there were children."

Before Elrond could respond, the sound of quickly approaching footsteps echoed through the library. Standing, Elrond walked over to the large picturesque window that overlooked the courtyard and cliffside that led to the Last Homely House. Dusk was falling as the patrol rode in, rangers tied onto saddles and many horses bearing double to support all of the injured.

"They have arrived, ion nin. The healers could use our help, and Arrowlan and Aragorn must be awake by now."

"Wait, ada." Elladan's voice stopped Elrond before he could leave the room and close the discussion, "What will become of the twins? Surely they must be kept safe."

"They are edain, and will live as such, with one of the ranger families," Elrond's voice was hard, his blue eyes almost icy in color as he turned back toward his son, "They will be safe enough there. Now put those worries behind you, there is work to do." With a rush of dark robes, Elrond was gone.

Elves and rangers blocked every hall between the entrance and the healing wing, and the corridors were tame compared to the uproar in the infirmary. Every bed had a patient, and a few of the least injured sat on benches along the walls. Rangers who had not collapsed from exhaustion were putting the extra healing supplies found in the elven refuge to good use. Elrond immediately stepped up to one of the men who appeared to have a deep gut wound and set to work. Near another bed, he could hear Elrohir voice as he worked hard to save another man whose wound had reopened during the ride to Imladris.

Elrond had dealt with several patients; he and his two sons even saving a man who had a splinter of arrow stuck his shoulder, when a sob was heard from the corner of the room.

'Oh Valar, the children, I forgot about them in the commotion,' Elrond had started moving toward the sound before he even stopped to think about the number of men who could use his help. He was half way there when he saw a tall, blond elf sitting on the bed with the twins. Glorfindel looked like he had a twin in both arms, although Aragorn was trying to climb up to his shoulder to get a better view of the room. Arrowlan looked around the room, slightly terrified at the carnage she saw done to some of the men that she had known her whole life.

"Well, Elrond, your two imps are awake. Lessien said that Arrowlan's fever broke about a candlemark ago, so she is fine now, if weak." The smile in the warrior's voice was unmistakable. He had always loved younglings, spending hours tutoring them when there were any around.

"They aren't mine. Either way, if they are awake, they shouldn't be here. Put them in the twins' old nursery. I'll be up when I can, or I'll send one of my sons." Elrond was getting tired of people insinuating that he would keep these two edain, first Elladan and now Glorfindel.

The blond warrior nodded, and went to move past Elrond, pausing to lay a hand on his shoulder. "It's been to long, hir nin. You should consider having happiness again." Not waiting to hear his friend's reply, Glorfindel quickly exited the Halls of Healing.

Arrowlan looked around her, eyes wide as she absorbed the beauty of the valley. She could hear a waterfall in the distance, and the sun glowed off of everything as it slowly sank below the mountains in the distance. Her twin was perched on Glorfindel's shoulder, happily telling his sister everything he'd seen coming in. When the warrior kicked open a door to reveal a large bedroom, Arrowlan gasped.

The room was beautiful, large windows overlooked the stables, not an ideal view, but good for little children, since it was one of the few rooms without a balcony. The center was dominated by a large bed draped in a forest green duvet. It had been made so that two elflings could fit in it without being in danger of falling of the edge. At the foot of the bed was a chest, engraved with beautiful elvish script, Arrowlan's eyes grew large at the sight of it.

"Wha's t'at?"

Grinning, Glorfindel deposited both edain in the center of the bed.

"That, youngling, is a toy chest. Inside are all the wonders that Elladan and Elrohir once played with." At the word 'toy,' Aragorn stopped crawling around the bed and joined his sisters intense stare at the warrior.

"Pway?" Two chubby faces looked at Glorfindel expectantly.

"Not tonight. You two need baths, then bed." So saying, Glorfindel began rustling around in the corner wardrobe, hoping to find some towels and sleepcloths that would fit the edain.

"No bath!"

"Not ti'ed"

Both twins made their opinion known, rather loudly, of the night's activities. Glorfindel turned around, triumphantly holding both items he had been in search of. With a mock stern expression, he placed both hands on his hips before leveling a frown at both twins.

"How will you, Aragorn, show Arrowlan everything you saw today, if you smell so bad that she runs and hides from you? And Arrowlan, how will you be able to see the house if you are too tired to keep your eyes open?"

Both twins pouted slightly, but they obediently scooted to the end the bed, arms outstretched. Tugging off their bloodstained, torn clothes, Glorfindel carried them to the bathing chamber.

Years of caring for the twin sons of Elrond made it easy for the warrior to clean, dry, dress and re-bandage the young children. Both sets of eyes had drooped as he set them back on the bed. With a slightly nostalgic smile, he tucked them in before blowing out the candles and leaving.

As the heavy door closed, Arrowlan snuggled closer to her twin, resting her head on his shoulder. Before either drifted off, whispered words drifted past Aragorn's ears.

"I wanna live he'e foreva.'"

Glorfindel sighed as the door silently shut behind him. Thankfully, both the twins were too tired for the shock to truly have set in. As soon as both of them realized that their parents were dead, live would become much rougher for those in the Last Homely House. Turning, he started for Elrond's study. The elves would normally be in the Hall of Fire, but with all the commotion of the day, many would retire early, all except for the close friends and family of Elrond.

Entering the library, Glorfindel found the twins, Elrond, and Erestor sitting in the various couches around the room, all of them had glasses of wine in hand and were nibbling on cheeses and fruit that had been brought from the kitchens.

"They're both in bed?" Elrond had glanced up at the blonde's entrance, nodding slightly to the refreshments.

"With very few problems. You do know that you need to decide what you want to do with them? They are too precious to send back into the Wild, they would only be lost, and then the throne of Gondor will never be claimed." Glorfindel was tired and did not want to dance around the issue of the edain children with Elrond. Personally, he felt that both would do the family a world of good, if only his friend would stop being stubborn.

"I've thought of that. I think the best idea would be to send them to Gondor to be raised by someone of the noble class. I'm sure that some of the side lines of Elros' decent are still in the White City."

"Ada, you can't send them so far! They've lost both parents, and then to move them half way across the map, that is too much." Elladan balked violently at the idea of the two young twins enduring anymore upsets during their young lives.

"It is not up for discussion right now, ion nin. In any case, I will do what I think is best, and you are speaking emotionally, not rationally. That is most unlike you, Elladan." One eyebrow was raised as Elrond looked at his son. It was rare that calm, composed Elladan lost his cool in such a way, unless it was to anger. However, he had sounded more disbelieving than angered, causing Elrond to wonder at his son's behavior.

Taking their cue from Elrond, the small gathering of elves moved on to new topics. All present had relaxed with the conversation and wine, studiously ignoring all serious topics. Elladan and Elrohir had retired early, tired from the long day. The quiet of the evening was abruptly interrupted by a shrill scream that was followed by the sounds of crying and frantic footsteps. Glorfindel and Erestor sat down their wine glasses as Elrond opened the door. A tiny dark haired figure ran headlong into Elrond's legs, causing him to stumble slightly. Steadying the figure, he looked down into a pair of terrified midnight eyes. In the background, new sobs could be heard, as Aragorn awoke to find his sister gone. Glorfindel stepped past Arrowlan and Elrond, heading toward the room that he had left the twins.

Elrond gently picked the young girl up and walked over to a couch, settling her in his lap. Her sobs had quieted slightly, but large teardrops still rolled down her cheeks. Trying to soothe her, Elrond rubbed her back in small circles, the whole time speaking softly in elvish.

"I wan' mama!" The tearful demand caused the elf lord to close his eyes in pain.

"You will see her again, someday." He tried to speak hopefully, but the knowledge that it would not be enough for her pained him greatly.

"I wanna see her now!" Elrond gathered her even closer as her sobs started again, this time not from terror, but from heart-wrenching sadness. While she didn't understand completely what happened, she knew that she would never see her mother or father until she joined them in the Halls of Mandos.

"I know, child, I know." Elrond spoke quietly, letting the words wash over the child. When she had calmed slightly, Elrond began to sing. Softly he sang the Lay of Luthien as the young edain in his arms drifted off. He was so lost in watching her little face smooth out into sleep, all the worries of the day washing away, that he'd forgotten Erestor was even in the room until his advisor handed him a blanket to wrap Arrowlan in. Absently, he tucked the proffered item around the child, careful not to disturb her; she stirred slightly, one hand stretching out and latching on to Elrond's robes before settling back to sleep.

Standing gracefully, Elrond made his way to the door. Moving to step into the hall, Erestor's soft voice stopped him for a moment.

"Would it be so bad to have little ones around again to hear their laughter, to treasure their hearts? Don't be so hasty to push that away my friend."

Elrond bowed his head, nodding slightly, before exiting the room. He walked slowly down the hall contemplating the child in his arms. It had been many years since young ones had graced the valley. His own sons were among the last and they were nearing 3,000.

His contemplation was interrupted as he arrived at the room he had assigned the two edain. Inside, Glorfindel sat in a blue armchair, watching Aragorn, who now slept peacefully in the bed. He too had awakened from nightmare of his parents' death, and had responded in much the same way his sister had. The blond straightened slightly as his friend entered with the younger twin in his arms.

"So, you managed to find fatherly instinct long enough to comfort her?" The question held a hint of humor, but Elrond felt the implication greatly.

"I really haven't been that great of a father recently, have I?" Arrowlan was tenderly tucked into bed next to her brother, and Elrond stepped back to grab another chair and settle next to Glorfindel.

"Elrond, you gave up all hope when Celebräin left, you thought you'd never love, you turned away what love you had. Your sons tried so hard to get to you, and you only responded when they were in danger of joining their mother. No, mellon nin, you have not been doing so great." The blunt words caused Elrond to grimace, even as he reached out to smooth locks of hair off of both twins' foreheads.

"I think it is time for me to change that, and maybe try again." Making his decision, Elrond stood and left the room without a backward glance. In his wake, Glorfindel raised one eyebrow in surprise, before glancing at the bed.

"Well, how is it you two can fix something in less than a day that I have spent centuries trying to figure out? If you have done this much already, you will go very far, younglings, very far indeed."

Elrond wasted no time; he walked purposefully through the halls of Imladris. His sons had requested rooms in a separate wing shortly after their mother departed and they began riding with the rangers. At the time, he had thought nothing of the change of rooms away from the family quarters, now he knew that it was due to his own negligence that the twins were no longer sure of their place in the family.

Tapping the door open to Elladan's room, his breathe caught at the sight before him. Both twins lay in the enormous bed, curled together and clinging to the other's thin sleep shirts. Elladan's face was streaked with dried tear tracks, while Elrohir's azure blue eyes were puffy from crying. Entering the room, Elrond felt his heart break it had been so long since he had stopped to watch his sons sleep. As he watched his sons, he accidentally bumped into a bedside table. Elrohir's focused instantly, looking confused as he found his father standing before him, tears in his age-old eyes.

"Ada?" Elladan had also focused, although sleep still slurred his speech.

"Oh, ionath nin, I'm sorry," Elrond sat on the edge of the bed, gathering both sons close to him, burying his face in their hair. Just sitting there made him feel like he was righting something that had been wrong for so long. "I should have been there, listened to you, anything. I'm sorry, forgive me, I love you."

Both twins twisted in the embrace, tears streaming down their cheeks as they embraced their father. It had been too long since they had felt that Elrond was a father, not just a leader.

"Of course, we forgive you, ada," Elrohir answered for both twins.

Within a few moments, the small family felt the weariness of the day call, and they slowly drifted into the realm of elvish dreams. Shortly after they succumbed to the call of sleep, Glorfindel came in search of his missing lord. Wanting to know the outcome of the evening, he had checked Elrond's sleeping chambers only to find them empty. Traipsing across the house, he had entered Elladan's room without so much of a knock. He stopped dead in the door at the sight before him. Three dark heads lay together, almost indiscernible. Even more amazing, all three faces were smooth of all worries and cares, the lines that had so often graced Elrond's face of late were gone, and the twins showed no sign of the restlessness that plagued them.

Lightly draping a blanket over the family and stepping back, Glorfindel softly spoke to the slumbering lord of the valley.

"Hebo estel, mellon nin, a na serethiel."

TBC

Elvish Translations:

Mellon ninmy friend

Ionath ninmy sons

Ion ninmy son

Edainhuman

Adadad

Hebo estel, mellon nin, a na serethielHave hope, my friend, and be at peace

Reviews:

insanity-is-my-friend: Don't worry, they won't suddenly grow up. This will turn into a series, so you'll be able to read about all their escapades

fanforlife: I'm glad! Thank you

HannahCimsGwendolyn: Yea, I'm glad I got that right, thanks for letting me know!