Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Authors Note(s): Wotcha! As this is the last chance I'll have to say it, a massive thank you to everyone who has read and/or reviewed this story. I'd again like to apologise for the lateness… So without further ado, I bid thee enjoy the final chapter of Carry On My Wayward Son.

Beta: The exceptional, unparalleled and indispensable Nietta.

Carry On My Wayward Son

Chapter 7

Welcome Home

It was dark and he ran. It was raining and he ran. It was cold and he ran. But as much as he ran… he wasn't moving forward. They were catching up with him. He didn't know whom 'they' were but he was sure he didn't want to find out. It was as though there was a huge stampede chasing him, and it was getting louder and louder and louder.

He gasped and stumbled; his legs felt like lead. He whimpered as he could feel their hot breath on the back of his neck. No! They were going to catch up any second. He didn't know what would happen if they did catch him but he knew whatever it was would be awful.

But no… there was a light ahead of him. If he could just make it there then maybe he would be all right. He forced his little legs to move faster. He wanted to look behind him to see what was chasing him but he didn't dare.

He was closing in on the light. Just a bit further and…

With a sob of relief, he leapt through the blinding entity of light and landed on the floor with a thud. He looked up with tears streaming down his face.

His heart skipped a beat; he was in his father's sitting room. Elrond sat with a book on his lap and Elladan and Elrohir both sat cross-legged on the floor, laughing and joking about something.

"We gave him the child's bed, father," Elrohir said with a smile.

Elrond, who didn't seem to be listening, made a distant 'Hmm' like noise.

"Ada?" Estel said, "It's me! Estel!"

Elrond didn't even look up. Estel glanced around the room puzzled; they didn't seem to be able to see him. In fact no one had even looked up when he unceremoniously fell down into the middle of the room.

Elrohir spoke again, "He seemed to like the room, though he thought it was a bit babyish. We threw out all of the boy's clothes, no need to keep them now."

"Ha, yes, we also threw out that ratty old teddy bear," Elladan said with a smirk.

They threw out his teddy bear and his clothes? Estel's stomach dropped. Were they talking about him? Why? Where had he gone?

The door behind him creaked open and Estel spun around to see who it was. Much to his abject horror, Morfran came strolling in the room with a twisted smile on his face.

Estel jumped up and backed himself up against the wall to get as far from the man as possible. This could not be happening.

"Ah, Morfran," Elrond said warmly, putting his book down, "Come in and sit down."

Estel cringed in fear as Morfran gave one of his bark-like laughs and instead drew his bloodied sword and waved it around in a threatening manner.

With a jolt of terror, Estel sat bolt upright in bed. He gasped for breath and looked around with bewilderment. He was back in the Imladris healing wards. How had that happened?

His eyes, still blurry from sleep, came to rest on a blond haired elf who appeared to be sleeping, and even though he wasn't facing him, Estel could immediately tell it was Glorfindel. His heart was still beating painfully as he blinked slowly so his eyes would adjust to his surroundings, before slowly swinging his legs around so he could sit up properly.

He ground his teeth together to stop himself from making a noise because of the pain. Elrond was good but he wasn't that good; Estel still had many injuries that could take weeks to heal. In fact, if Elrond saw Estel out of bed, he would probably have a minor heart attack himself. This Estel know from personal experience and from observing the reaction provoked in his Ada when he had caught Elladan out of bed two days after almost being eaten by wargs. Not a pretty sight.

Estel shivered as his feet landed softly on the cold ground, so he picked up the blanket that had been put over him and wrapped it around his shoulders. He was going to find Elrond and his brothers and explain everything. If they didn't forgive him then Estel didn't know what he would do. He would have to make them understand. Also, he didn't like the idea of lying in this room with an unconscious Glorfindel after his harrowing nightmare that he couldn't seem to get out of his head. The thought of Morfran taking Estel's place in his family terrified Estel even though he knew he was dead.

He shivered again and made his slow and painful way out of the door.

Surprisingly, there seemed to be no one around to stop him and demand that he go back to bed, so Estel paused for a moment before making his way to Elrond's office. That was where the twins and his ada were most likely to be.

Estel arrived outside the door and put his hand on the handle. He stopped. There were voices coming from inside, so he pressed his ear to the keyhole and strained to hear his father, the twins and someone else…

"…there was something else as well," the voice said, "He knew the boys name without being told."

With a pang, Estel realised it was Polinthor, Fenneth's right hand man.

"Yes, it is certainly very odd," Elrond agreed, "I must ask Estel about it when he wakes up."

"He kept disappearing off into the woods…I don't know where he was going. It's probably not important but I noticed he did it a lot."

Elrond said something quietly and Estel tried to press his ear even closer to the keyhole. This was all very odd, and Estel did wonder how the man had found out his name.

In his blind oblivion to the world around him, Estel didn't see a tall blonde elf walk up quietly behind him. It therefore came as a huge shock to him when said elf placed his hand lightly on Estel's shoulder, causing him to yelp and jump in alarm, aggravating his already injured body.

"Calm down, Estel," Glorfindel said softly, "It is just me. What are you doing out of bed?"

The door to the office swung open and Elrond looked at them with an irritated expression, "I could ask you the same question, Glorfindel!" he said.

Glorfindel looked slightly sheepish for a moment but quickly recovered, "Why should I be in bed? I'm perfectly fine."

Estel was almost amused by his Ada's look of distain until he looked down into Estel's eyes. Estel flinched slightly and looked away, missing Elrond's look of concern. There was a short silence and none of them knew what to say, until Elrohir called from inside the room asking what was going on.

"Nothing, Elrohir," Elrond replied, "Estel and Glorfindel have just decided to get out of bed, despite their serious and no doubt painful injuries."

Glorfindel was unaffected but once again Estel couldn't help but flinch, yet he didn't know why. Glorfindel must have been hurt by the humans as well, Estel thought, shaking his head, why had he been so stupid and ran away? This was all his fault…

"Estel," Elrond said sharply, "Are you all right? I'm going to take you back to bed. Glorfindel, while I know I cannot make you do anything, I am going to strongly recommend you also go back to bed. You are still weak from the blood loss."

Estel nodded mutely but Glorfindel pursed his lips, "I will go back to bed after speaking with the twins, all right?"

"Perfect," Elrond said with a smile, he knew that was the best he was going to get from Glorfindel at the moment.

Seeing his ada beckon him away, Estel followed without protest back to the room he had woken up in. He then obediently sat down on the bed where Elrond pointed to and was not surprised when Elrond placed himself next to him.

"How are you feeling?"

Estel bit his lip, "I'm fine," he said unconvincingly.

"Come on now, Estel, I know you are not. Tell me what happened, from the beginning."

"I… I was just…" Estel was becoming upset, it all seemed so stupid now, "I went for a walk and…they got me."

Elrond raised an eyebrow, "So it was not because of what happened at dinner that night?"

He hesitated and then said slightly tearfully, "Well, yes."

Elrond sighed and reached out to hold Estel's hand gently, "No one blames you if that is what you are thinking, Estel. Granted, it was not one of your more ingenious ideas and when you are feeling better we will have to talk about it more. But for now you need not worry about it."

Tears began to spill slowly down Estel's cheeks, "But it's all my fault…Glorfindel is hurt…Elladan and Elrohir must hate me."

"The twins do not hate you!" Elrond exclaimed, "What ever gave you that idea?"

He sniffed, "And I lost my bag when I was running away from Fenneth…"

"That can easily be replaced, do not worry."

"Where is he?" Estel said looking down; he noted that Elrond didn't seem to need to ask whom he was talking about.

"He is dead," his ada replied shortly.

Estel let out a choking sob and hung his head. As much as Fenneth had made him miserable, he wasn't sure whether he wanted him dead. The image of Morfran's head being chopped off flooded his mind and he shuddered, causing Elrond to move closer to him and pull him into a gentle hug.

He didn't resist and allowed his father to cradle him even if it did make him look childish. At the moment the only thing he cared about was the warm comfort that was being offered. It didn't quite erase everything that had happened in the last few days, but it was definitely a start. Now all Estel needed to do was actually talk to his brothers. They had not spoken on the way back to Rivendell, mainly due to the fact that he had fallen unconscious after only a few moments.

Estel's eyes were slowly drifting shut, he hadn't realised how tired he was. He didn't try to stay awake though, because why bother? For the first time in a while he finally felt safe.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

It was now the afternoon of the next day and Estel still hadn't spoken to his brothers. Already the monotony of healing ward life was getting to him and the boredom was setting in. His ears pricked up as he head the sound of shuffling feet moving towards his door.

Estel sat up moodily and gave his father a wary look as he bustled in looking harassed with two reproachful looking elves in his wake.

"For goodness sake, talk to him," Elrond practically hissed at Elladan and Elrohir behind him, "I cannot cope with your moping."

"We don't mope!" Elladan replied looking outraged. Estel couldn't help but giggle at him.

Elrond made a disbelieving noise and left the room, leaving the three left in a slightly uncomfortable silence.

"Um…" Elrohir began.

"I'm sorry," Estel interrupted. He couldn't stand them being awkward like this; he just wanted things to get back to normal.

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Estel," Elladan said, hanging is head, "It was us who drove you to running away from home."

"It was just me overreacting," Estel said sadly, "You didn't really do anything wrong. I was just getting so angry… it seemed like a good idea at the time."

There was a pause and then suddenly Elladan let out an ungraceful snort of laughter.

"You know," he said, "I think those were the exact words Elrohir used after he thought it would be clever to leave home for a while."

Estel's interest peaked, "Really?"

"I don't think he needs to hear about that, Elladan," Elrohir said looking mortified.

"Oh I really think he does," Elladan replied gleefully, "Well you see back when we were little elflings…"

Estel's grin grew wider and wider through the entire story. It felt good to just sit here and listen to Elladan talk while watching Elrohir's face get redder by every passing second. All tensions vanished and Estel felt like part of the family again. He really had been awfully silly. But never mind, life goes on and he would recover. Much like Elrohir apparently had.

The End

So that's it. Done. Finished. Finito. Or is it…? Again a big thanks to everyone who supported me by reviewing and generally just reading. Do you thing you can find it in your heart to do it just one last time? It doesn't have to say much :P It would just be nice to know what people thought. So good-bye for now and I wish you all the very Merriest of Christmases!