"Any change?" Elijah's foot tapped restlessly as he sat at Gavin's bedside. He shook his head in response to Chloe's question. A worried sigh slipped his lips as he felt her hand on his shoulder and reached up to hold it. How long had he been sitting in that chair? He felt absolutely drained, not from the sitting, but from everything before that. The searching. The riding. Being pelted by rain. Trying to hold Gavin's weight. "Your hands are like ice!" Chloe quickly took his hand and rubbed it between her own. He gave her a weak smile of thanks. He'd washed and changed upon his return, but little else. It wasn't clear how long Gavin had been passed out by the time he'd eventually found him.

Gavin often went riding, and that day had been no different. Elijah didn't know when he left, and he hadn't much cared. Gavin loved to ride, and he was a grown man. He could do as he pleased. He'd taken the pretty chestnut mare as usual. His brow pinched at the thought. Gavin would be devastated when he found out. He'd clearly taken the mare and headed out at some point. Elijah had been busy working, as usual. Seeing patients, tinkering with his inventions, updating Lord Alderton on the state current of his home. He'd paused briefly to check in on Chloe. She hadn't been herself the past few days. She was wretchedly ill. Though she insisted she felt better, he was beginning to think he'd overworked her.

It had been late afternoon by the time Chloe had come to his office to deliver some papers and ask if he'd seen Gavin. She couldn't find him, and was sure he must have returned. It was raining heavily, and had been for at least an hour by then. Elijah had barely stopped to thank her and shake his head, and she'd been off. It must have been an hour later that she'd returned dripping wet from the stables to tell him that Gavin was missing. He'd ridden out earlier that afternoon as usual, but he hadn't come back. Elijah had done his best to brush it off at first. He'd probably been caught in the rain and sheltered beneath a tree somewhere, or found an old barn house to hole up in.

Despite his comforting words and sending Chloe off to change, he'd been worried. Looking outside, he'd see the rain bucketing down. If he hadn't found shelter, he could have slipped and fallen somewhere. He assumed he'd taken his cane, but even then, if he fell from his horse, it may be too hard for him to get up. It had been rapidly darkening outside at that point, which he knew would make it more difficult for Gavin to find his way back. I don't even know where he's gone...It was with this in mind that Elijah headed down to the stables. He'd done little riding over the years, but the stable hand was willing to tack a horse for him. A great black beast called Goliath.

"This was the horse Mr Anderson took when they went out together...I reckon he'll steer you right." Elijah had hesitantly climbed up and let Goliath carry him. The first crack of thunder sounded before they'd even left the yard. He nudged Goliath on, despite his reluctance to head out in the storm. Although he was reluctant to head out, Goliath seemed to have a direction in mind. It had taken a while, but the beast finally stopped. With his limited night vision, Elijah saw it was a tree. A patch of trees. He'd lurched a little as Goliath leaned down and a crunching sound soon followed. It didn't take long to find the reason. Apples...Was this where Gavin had come? Or had the horse merely walked there out of habit? Perhaps both...

"Gavin!" Elijah had gripped the reins tightly as Goliath huffed and padded from foot to foot. He was restless. The storm had gotten louder about then, with flashes of lightning flaring overhead. "Easy-easy!" He'd laid a hand on Goliath's neck, soothing him as he looked around helplessly. His head jerked up as he heard it. A distant cry. "Gavin!" It was almost like Goliath understood. The moment Elijah knocked his sides, he lurched into action. It didn't take long for him to hear a second set of hooves and a distressed whinny.

Elijah had felt his heart lurch, a sick feeling welling in his chest, as the smaller mare bolted past. Her appearance was so sudden that Goliath almost reared in alarm. Elijah stood in the saddle and held on, calming and soothing him as the pounding hooves faded in the distance. That was the mare, but she'd been riderless. That meant Gavin was still out there. Elijah had shivered in the icy rain, hopping down to grip the reins. He didn't want to risk riding over Gavin's body if he was on the ground. He walked on, calling Gavin's name and peering through the darkness.

"Gavin!" He'd finally spotted a shivering ball on the ground. He hurriedly led Goliath to the nearest tree and tied him before rushing to Gavin's side. "Gavin! Can you hear me? Gav!" He was gentle as he shook his shoulder, trying to nudge him into a more wakeful state. Gavin remained unresponsive, not even stirring at the light shake. Elijah tapped his cold cheek a few times, tugging and pulling his shoulder. Small whimpers escaped, but he didn't seem lucid at all. Elijah had raised a hand and struck harder, finally getting an answer.

"Nines?" Elijah had almost sighed in relief. He was alive and well enough to speak.

"No-no. It's Eli...You took a fall from your horse...Are you hurt anywhere?" The broken, shivering sobs clawed at his heart and wrenched his gut. Hushing and soothing, he'd leaned down and felt around his head. Gavin could move his neck without issue, so that was the first plus. He hadn't flinched too much as he'd pressed around his skull, and nothing felt broken. Elijah paused as a desperate hand fisted in his shirt and pulled him down as another crack of thunder cut the air.

"What the phck are you doing here? You're going to get yourself killed!" He was delirious. Clearly, he was suffering another traumatic episode. Elijah couldn't blame him. The cold, the rain, the mud, the thunder and lightning. It must have been a cruel reminder of life on the front. Elijah had gripped the hand in his shirt and cradled Gavin's cheek with the other. He was freezing. He must have spent hours out in the rain.

"Gavin! Listen to me...You're in England. You went riding this afternoon and got caught in a storm. You're safe! You're not back there!" It had taken time and a lot of repetition for it to sink in. Despite his panicked delirium, he'd allowed Elijah to continue his examination. His right arm and wrist hurt, making him flinch and whine. That's as much as Elijah had been able to tell in the darkness. He thanked whatever Gods there were that Gavin's right leg had come out of it unscathed. His left side was tender as he pressed. Possibly a fractured rib...All things considered, it could have been a lot worse.

He'd finally managed to heave him up. Despite being completely out of it, Gavin somehow worked with him enough to reach the saddle. His prosthetic had cracked in the fall, useless as he tried to stand on it. Elijah had done most of the work, huffing and hefting until Gavin was lying over the saddle. He'd held the reins and walked, mostly relying on Goliath's memory to lead them back. He was truly grateful for the help as he returned. Two stable hands had rushed out to take Gavin from the saddle and carried him into the house. A third took Goliath.

Elijah had no focus for anything besides getting to the house by then. He'd followed the men upstairs and had them help to strip Gavin and get him in the bath. They'd been good enough to stay and help remove him as well. Two nurses had come to dress him and see that he was comfortable. While they'd handled that, Elijah had returned to his own room in a daze to change his own soaked, filthy clothes and wash up. He didn't want Gavin to get dirty. Upon returning, he'd rolled up his sleeves and examined his arm and side more closely. His bones felt fine. He'd probably sprained his wrist in the fall. There were no noticeable breaks in his ribs, either. It was likely a minor fracture.

He'd felt relieved as he rubbed ointment into Gavin's sore hands. They were red from the burn of leather on his skin. He'd then slowly bound his wrist and rested it across his chest. Gavin hadn't stirred once. He'd been sleeping almost the whole way back, but he hadn't stopped shivering. Elijah sighed and filled a basin, soothing and cleaning his forehead. He was suffering severe shock from his latest episode, and the cold from the rain had seeped in to the core. His skin was getting hot. The beginnings of a fever.

Elijah hadn't left his side all night and hadn't found out until after daybreak what had happened to the mare. Chloe had come to see him and check on Gavin. Somewhere along the way back, the mare had been lamed. She'd turned up before him and Gavin, neighing and limping. They'd cleaned her off and kept her comfortable for the vet to look at in the morning, but it wasn't looking good. Horses were delicate creatures. Elijah had sighed at the news. Gavin would take it hard. He knew he was fond of her. He'd also consider it his fault.

Elijah felt himself nodding as he sat in the chair at Gavin's bedside. He barely noticed as Chloe entered. It was heading for evening, and Gavin hadn't woken up all day. The shivering hadn't let up either. He jerked upright at the feeling of her hand on his shoulder, rubbing his eyes in apology for startling her. Chloe looked ashen as she stared down at Gavin. He looked pale and clammy. His skin glistened and his teeth chattered. Elijah would be no better if he didn't take care of himself. She ran a hand over his head, tugging the untidy tail free to let his unkempt hair spill over his shoulders. She knew it was considered ungentlemanly, but she enjoyed the feeling of the long strands between her fingers.

"You need to bathe and rest...You'll be no good to anyone like this." He knew she was right, but the thought of leaving his brother's side made him ache. They'd only patched things up within the past two months! He couldn't risk losing him now! Not like this! "I'll stay and take care of him for now. Bathe and sleep. If anything happens, I'll call for you." He nodded reluctantly, kissing her cheek as she sat on the edge of the bed. She was right, of course. Burning out wouldn't be good for anyone. He watched as she stroked her fingers through Gavin's hair. Gavin didn't even twitch at the warm touch. "I'll send a message...Nines should know..."

"I'm not sure that's wise...Life out there is dangerous enough as it is..." The smallest distraction could get a man killed. Sometimes it didn't even take a distraction.

"Regardless, he'll want to know."