Author's Note: Next chapter. Sorry this took so long to update. But I do have the rest of this written, so I hope to get more of it posted soon.

Amy: Thank you so much. :) Again, sorry about the delay, but I hope you'll enjoy this latest chapter.

Chapter Ten

Tristan stared at Siegfried's still, unconscious form for several moments before finally realizing that he was worried.

Of course, he'd been worried for his elder brother for a while now. Ever since he'd found him injured and trapped by the debris in the barn. However, his worry had increased dramatically while Siegfried was talking to him a couple moments ago. Although he couldn't put his finger on why. It had taken almost all of his concentration just to focus on what Siegfried was telling him, leaving no room for working out why he was feeling anxious about it.

Tristan's eyebrows knit together. Maybe it was because Siegfried was upset. Even with the ceaseless pounding in his brain, it hadn't been difficult to figure out that Siegfried had been angry at him again. Probably because he hadn't done what his elder brother had told him to do. Siegfried was rather tyrannical that way. Tristan knew he could have tried explaining that he had fully intended on getting out of this barn and had only changed his mind at the very last second.

That second when fears for Siegfried's safety had triggered a change of heart.

Then again, what was the point of explaining? Siegfried would still be furious anyway. Not that that bothered Tristan all that much. He was certain that he would make the same decision again if given the opportunity no matter how angry Siegfried would get at him.

The pounding in Tristan's head increased, causing him to close his eyes in an effort to blot out the pain. Siegfried did have a point though. It would have been nice to avoid that blow to the head. Or any of the other blows he received elsewhere. Right now, Tristan felt like a giant, throbbing bruise and was still unsure if he had any broken bones or not. Yes, it really would have been nice to not ache in just about every part of his body.

Thankfully, Siegfried hadn't remained enraged for long. In fact, he had calmed down rather quickly. He'd been kind with his words, gentle even. Encouraging. It wasn't the sort of talk he heard from Siegfried often these days. Of course, Siegfried couldn't stop himself from adding in a lecture about listening to James and not upsetting Mrs. Hall and such. That still rankled Tristan as he knew he did that stuff already. Well, most of the time he did.

"…take care…little brother…."

Tristan's eyes snapped open, a movement he immediately regretted as it sent more pain shooting into his skull. However, that ache wasn't enough to cloud his realization that that was what had been bothering him. Why did Siegfried say that? It wasn't like either of them was going anywhere now. Not with all the ways out blocked. Tristan wasn't going to leave him, and Siegfried…he was just resting now.

So why had Siegfried made a point of wishing him well? And why did his words have so much…finality to them?

Unless…unless…Siegfried was….

Suddenly, Tristan's throat was tight, like it was being squeezed, and his heart sped up. He scrambled even closer to Siegfried and grabbed his arm, giving it a firm shake.

"Siegfried?" Tristan choked out. There was no response, and his panic rose up even more. "Siegfried! Siegfried, wake up. Come on, wake up. Please, Siegfried…."

When shaking didn't work, Tristan tried patting Siegfried's cheek several times and then rubbing the back of his hand. However, none of it had any effect. His brother did not stir at all. There wasn't even a twitch of movement from the inert body lying beside him.

Tristan felt nauseous again, but fought the urge to vomit so he could continue to search for any signs of life. Breathing? Maybe. Tristan was almost sure that he had felt a slight movement in Siegfried's chest, but he couldn't be certain with the way his own hands were shaking.

A pulse. That would tell him for sure. Tristan frantically pushed his fingers onto Siegfried's wrist, but couldn't find one. Not that that meant anything. The neck was always better anyway. Tristan fumbled with his brother's shirt collar, moving it out of the way so he could check again for a heartbeat.

He tried over and over again, his anxiety causing the shaking to migrate from his hands to the rest of his body, until, suddenly; he caught a trace of something. It was faint and uneven, but it was there. An unsteady heartbeat.

It only comforted Tristan for a moment though because Siegfried's pulse also seemed to be getting weaker by the second. Yes, Siegfried was alive, but only just. That heartbeat wouldn't last. His brother was dying.

And now, there was nothing he could do to stop it from happening.

Tristan gasped, the fear making him feel as if he was underwater, struggling to draw breath. He crawled over to the nearest gap in the wreckage of one of the barn walls and started yelling again.

"Help! Someone? Anyone? Please, we're trapped in here. My brother needs help. Please!"

Tristan shouted over and over, his cries growing less and less articulate as he continued. He didn't know how long he kept at it. It felt like hours, but it also could have been just a few minutes. His head hurt far too much to work it out.

What he was able to figure out eventually was that it was no use. No one answered him. No one appeared. All that was there was the same quiet, sloping hills with only the rustle of the wind weaving through bushes and tall grass. The only movement was the sun slowly sinking and fading in the late afternoon.

Tristan finally gave up, falling forward and propping himself up with his hands spread along the ground. It wouldn't be long before it got dark again. The chances of anyone finding them in this barn would drop to almost nothing.

In fact, he was starting to wonder if anyone would find them in the near future. Hadn't anyone missed them by now? Didn't anyone realize or even care that something dreadful had happened to them? None of it made sense.

The only thing that was clear to Tristan was that Siegfried would not survive another night here.

Tristan shuddered and moved back to sit beside Siegfried. He still didn't regret staying behind to protect his brother, but he couldn't ignore the doubts that were starting to creep in. Doubts over whether or not he had done the right thing after all. Doubts which were starting to convince him that he had made another mistake, the latest in a series of them.

Mistakes that were going to cost Siegfried his life.

He reached for his brother's hand, curling his fingers around Siegfried's. Tristan flinched at how limp and cold Siegfried's fingers were. For a moment, Tristan didn't know what else he could do. His head was aching too much to think of any sort of plan.

Then Tristan startled himself by starting to cry.

He clenched his free hand tight against his thigh, bowing his head and squeezing his eyes shut. He tried to put a stop to his tears, but once they started, Tristan lost control. He was too tired, sore, cold, and miserable to put in the needed effort to stop it.

Most of all, he was scared. Of losing Siegfried. Of what his own fate would be. Normally, when he was this anxious, Tristan knew he could go to Siegfried for advice or even just for security. The thought that he was going to lose that stable, caring presence in his life compounded his grief.

A fresh wave of pain made Tristan cover his face with his hands. He was starting to feel sick again. That blow to the head must have been bad. It hurt worse than any hangover he could remember. Well…almost all of them. There were the really bad ones that were made worse by Siegfried yelling at him.

Eventually, Tristan lifted his head and swiped at his eyes. If only someone would help. Like James. Surely, James would help if he was here. But why wasn't he here?

"Tris?"

Tristan started and blinked hard. Odd. It was almost like he heard James' voice a second ago. It probably was just in his head, but it really had sounded so real.

"Tris? Siegfried? Are you all right?"

Tristan rubbed his eyes. There it was again. No, no that wasn't quite the same. It hadn't been James that time. It almost sounded like Helen. Yes, it could have been her. It was perfectly natural that she'd be wherever James was.

He sniffed hard. It would be nice to see James and Helen again. He loved both of them. They'd become part of the family he had with Siegfried. How he wished they really were here and weren't just inside his head.

"Siegfried? Where are you?"

Tristan furrowed his brow. Those voices were getting louder. Almost like they were moving toward him. But that couldn't be unless…unless it actually was them. James and Helen looking for them.

He scrambled back to the hole in the wall. "James? James, over here! James, please."

For a few breathless seconds, there was no reply. Tristan felt his despair rise up again. Then, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to see figures running toward him. Then, in what seemed like less than a minute, James' face appeared right outside the gap.

"Tris? My god, Tris, are you all right?"

Tristan grinned even as fresh tears welled up in his eyes. "James….um, yes, I mean, no, I…James, it's Siegfried. He's been hurt. Badly. And now he won't wake up. And I don't know if, if he's…."

"Tristan, listen, it will be all right," James replied in a remarkably calm voice. "We're going to get you out of there. Hold on."

Tristan nodded, his smile vanishing when James disappeared from view. Panic tightened his throat and he was about to call out for James again when Helen showed up in front of him.

"Oh Tris, thank goodness," she said. "What happened?"

"Helen." Tristan gulped and took a shaky breath. "There was this horse, and it ran in here. Then the barn fell apart and…." His voice cracked, and Tristan swallowed a couple of times.

"Helen, please, Siegfried…he needs help. I, I tried, but I couldn't…."

He tried to say more, but by this point, his voice trembled and squeaked, his words coming out in jumbled blubbering. It didn't help that it hurt too much to think his words through before saying them.

Tristan gasped in surprise when he suddenly felt fingers brush his cheek. It took him several seconds to realize that Helen had managed to reach her hand in and touch his face.

"Shh, it will be all right, Tristan," she soothed. "We'll get both of you out of there soon."

Helen gently stroked his cheek a couple of more times before starting to pull her hand back. Tristan reached up for it before she could draw it out.

"Helen, please hurry. Siegfried, he…."

"I know. We'll get help for him too. Don't worry."

Tristan sniffed hard and let her go. His tears were finally drying up, but now he was able to notice how much he was shivering again. And there was the nausea he had tried to suppress earlier.

"Tris? Tris, are you all right?"

Tristan gulped, but that wasn't enough to get rid of the bile in his throat. "Helen, I…no…."

He ducked down and leaned to the side. He gagged and heaved multiple times, but by this point, he had nothing left to vomit other than dribbles of thick saliva. It only took a minute for the gagging to stop, but the shivering continued.

When he was finished, Tristan sat back up, placing his fingers around the edges of the hole in the wall.

"Helen, please don't go."

"I won't," Helen said firmly. "I promise, James and I are staying right here."

Thirty minutes later, Blenkiron showed up with Michael Kemp, a farmer who had a fairly large place only about a mile away from the wreck of the barn. Kemp had come with several of his men in a pair of trucks which were loaded with equipment James assumed would be used to get the Farnons out.

James stared at the ruins, his face locked in a grim expression. He couldn't see a safe way to get Tristan out of there and couldn't even imagine how they were going to rescue Siegfried. His worry increased as Tristan continued to be highly agitated and emotional while not a sound came from Siegfried.

However, as Kemp and his men inspected the barn, James felt as if there was a gleam of confidence in the farmers' eyes.

"Aye, it won't be an easy job, but we can manage it," Kemp finally said. "Mind, there'll be nawt left of this barn when it's over."

"But can you get them out safely?" James asked. "Tristan said that Siegfried is trapped under a pair of ceiling beams."

"Aye, that is summat to be sure," Kemp said, scratching his head. "We'll just need to be quick about it. Come on, lads."

The farmers nodded and went over to clear the loose debris from around what was probably the entrance of the barn. As soon as a path was open, they propped up what was left of the walls with logs and spare boards and then tied rope to them so the men could hold the supports fast.

"Here now," Kemp said, waving James over. "Ye go in and get young Farnon out first. It'd be best if he were out of the way when we go in for his brother."

"Right," James nodded. He hesitated for a second as the walls creaked again, but then ducked down and rushed in through the opening that had been made for him.

Once he was inside, he found Tristan sitting close to Siegfried who was lying still on the ground. Tris had his legs folded close to him, his face pressed up against his knees and his hands clasped onto his legs. There were shivers coursing through his body, and James heard muffled sounds of distress.

Meanwhile, Siegfried was deathly still, partially covered by Tristan's jacket. His face was ashen and slack. James could only detect a very slight movement in his chest. When he moved closer, he swallowed hard upon seeing the edges of bandages covering a wound in Siegfried's side.

James placed a hand onto Tristan's shoulder. "Come on, Tris. Let's get you out of here. I'll get your bags."

Tristan looked up at him, confused, before backing away.

"James? No, no, I can't. Siegfried, I can't leave him."

"We'll get him out too, I promise. Now come on, Tris."

James grabbed the two vet bags with one hand and then wrapped his arm around Tristan's waist as he helped him to stand up. He had already noticed the way that Tris was slurring his words on and off. Now that he was in the barn, James got a better look at Tristan's waxy pallor and the gash on his temple. He was certain that Tris had a concussion. Thus, he didn't take it personally when Tristan squirmed to get away from him and had elbowed him a few times in the process.

Eventually, he managed to haul Tristan out of the barn and guided him to where Helen was sitting on the edge of the back of one of the trucks. As soon as she saw Tris, she rushed over to James' car and got out a quilt she had brought from Skeldale. Helen draped it around Tristan's shoulders and wrapped it close as she sat down beside him.

James placed his hands on Tristan's shoulders. "Tris, stay here. We're going to get Siegfried out now. So wait here with Helen."

Tristan nodded, his eyes staring blankly at nothing as he continued to tremble. James patted his arms and trotted back over to where the men were working. Every once in a while, he'd glance back to see Helen stroking Tristan's arm and talking to him softly. However, it was clear that Tristan was only partially aware of what was going on around him.

"Mr. Herriot, ye better get ready," Kemp called out. "We're getting ready to get Mr. Farnon out and I don't know how much longer this old barn is going stand."

James nodded and readied himself for the sprint inside. He knew that, even if they worked quickly, this was going to be dangerous. Still, there was no question of whether or not he would do everything he could to get Siegfried to safety as well.

Nevertheless, his nerves crackled as the groans from what was left of the barn grew louder. It certainly didn't help that the look on Kemp's face suddenly became much more troubled.

"All right lads, ye got it steady," Kemp shouted. "Now get in there."

James rushed back inside with three of Kemp's workers close behind him. They gathered around Siegfried, and two of larger men worked together to haul the beams over Siegfried away. Once they were cleared, James and the third farmer grabbed Siegfried by his arms and legs so they could drag him out of the barn.

As he pulled, James gasped for air, sweat streaming down his forehead from the desperate scramble for that opening. The walls were reverberating with a snapping sound, as if they were falling to pieces as they moved.

"It'll not hold much longer!" Kemp yelled.

James took a deep breath and summoned up one last burst of effort as he and the farmer lifted Siegfried up and yanked him out of the barn. The other two farmers hustled out second behind them. Once they were all clear, James fell to his knees and watched the barn sway.

A moment later, the remains completely gave way. The roof appeared to shatter into an explosion of wood and shingles as it snapped in half. The supports that had been put in place by Kemp's men fell apart and crashed inward. What had been a smashed wreck of a barn had turned into an unrecognizable heap of debris.

James felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Blenkiron crouched down beside him, a makeshift gurney that was made out of a flat square of wood having suddenly appeared.

"I'll get Mr. Farnon to the hospital," Blenkiron said, motioning for one of the men to help him ease Siegfried onto the gurney. "You take care of young Farnon. He probably could stand a going over from a quack too."

James nodded, placing a hand on Siegfried's arm before Siegfried was taken away toward Blenkiron's car. He'd been unnerved by how cold Siegfried was and silently prayed that they weren't too late already.

"Siegfried! Siegfried!"

James leapt to his feet and dashed over toward the trucks. There, he saw Tristan trying to pull off Helen's hold on his arm so he could run over to the wreck. James moved in front of Tristan and grabbed his upper arms.

"Tris! Tris, listen to me. It's all right," he insisted. "We got Siegfried out of there. Blenkiron is taking him to the hospital now."

Tristan stopped struggling and stared at him, his mouth slightly open. James was certain that he could actually see Tristan try to comprehend what he had just been told.

"Hospital?"

James patted his shoulder. "Yes, Tris. Blenkiron is taking Siegfried there. The doctors will take care of him."

He spoke slowly and as calmly as he could so as to not upset Tristan any more. A few seconds later, he was relieved to see Tristan settle down.

"And speaking of which, we should get you to the hospital too, Tris," he continued. "You look ghastly."

"Come on, Tris," Helen said, giving his arm a gentle squeeze. "You can ride with James and I'll follow in Siegfried's car."

Tristan turned toward him. "James? Oh right, I'll…we should…." He took a step and stumbled. He would have fallen down if James and Helen hadn't held him upright.

James' brow furrowed. "Tris?"

Tristan turned dull, vacant eyes toward him. "James…sorry. I, I don't know if I can…."

Tristan's eyes rolled back as he legs gave way, and he sank to the ground unconscious.