Chapter 9: Swimming

Fili and Kili were most of the way to the stand of trees with the last of the ponies by the time Sara caught up with them. The clump of trees that sheltered the animals was on the riverbank, and Sara had to shout to be heard over the roar of the water.

“Fili, Kili!"

They stopped just shy of the trees and turned to her, their faces giving away nothing. There was no mischievous glint in their eyes, just flat slightly pained gazes.

“Ms. Miller,” said Fili. “What do you need?”

Not quite sure how to proceed she fidgeted with the zipper on her pants. Fili must have seen her discomfort for he tried again.

“Ms. Sara?” She looked up at him and the words seemed to spill from her mouth like water from a dam.

“Look, I know the last few days have been hard, and you must think I'm a freak, but if you all go on ignoring me I will go insane." They didn't reply, simply stared back at her in shock and surprise.

"It's hard enough being away from home, and not knowing if I'll ever get back. I have no idea why the Aule and Yavanna sent me or if they will ever send me home. I'm traveling with a company of dwarves who hate me. Not only that, we are going to face down a dragon which, quite frankly, terrifies me. I'm cold, wet, miserable, and no one will talk to me. Your uncle never wanted me here. He's been looking for a way to get rid of me ever since that first night. I heard him and Balin talking. Do you have any idea what it's like to travel under that pressure?"

Her eyes stung with the unshed tears of anger and frustration, but she stubbornly plowed on, not wanting to give in to the pressure threatening to burst in her chest.

"I was only allowed to come because the dwarf king didn't want to lose Gandalf's help. Most of you see me as no more than a burden. But I have nowhere else to go. Now to top it all off, two of the people who were making this whole ordeal remotely less miserable won't even talk to me. I just don’t…”

Kili lunged forward unexpectedly, startling her, but in a moment he had crushed her to his chest in a bone-breaking embrace. She stood stock-still as he held her to him but slowly her arms came around him and she gripped him back tightly. The sudden comfort broke the dam of resolve and the tears slipped slowly down her cheeks. He held her until she collected herself and then held her at arm's length examining her carefully.

“Ms. Miller?” he asked, his eyes searching her face as she wiped the last of the tears away. “Are you angry with us?” She shook her head.

“I never was mad at you, except maybe when you wanted to send me away because you thought I was pregnant. I guess I was pretty upset with you all. But, I’m not mad anymore. I just…. I don't want to be alone anymore. I…I have had enough people leave me."

“Are you sure you not angry Ms. Miller?” asked Kili.

“I will be if you ever call me Ms. Miller again. If I never hear someone call me that again it will be too soon." Kill seemed taken aback for a moment but then grinned.

"Very well, Mistress Miller it is." She jabbed him hard in the ribs and he jumped away smiling as he massaged his superficial wound.

“I actually missed you calling me that,” she confessed sheepishly.

“I knew you would warm to it,” he said cheekily. She turned to face Fili who had still not said anything. He was gazing at her, his expression unreadable.

“Fili I…"

"I'm sorry," said Fili cutting over her. "I never meant to make you feel like we didn't want you with us. We assumed you did not desire to not speak to us after the debacle the other night."

"Balin said as much," she said, absently rubbing her arm. "Look, can we just forget the last few days ever happened?” In reply he stepped forward and drew her into a hug, squeezing her much more gently than Kili had.

“Can you forgive us?” he asked, still holding her close. She nodded, hugging him back.

“So long as you never assume I'm pregnant again. Ever!" She said jabbing him in the shoulder. He chuckled and let her go.

“I promise,” he said. Someone cleared their throat, and the three of them jumped, turning to see Bilbo standing a ways off looking awkward.

“Durin's beard!" said Kili. "How long have you been there Mr. Buggins? Silent as the grave you are. We may have a burglar yet.” Bilbo flushed and stammered.

“Mr. Gandalf has returned. The others sent me to see what is keeping you. You have the baggage pony with the food, and the others wanted to see to dinner, such as it is.”

“I don't hold much hope for the food,” said Kili, wrinkling hai nose as he stepped around to the far side of the pony which stood on the bank of the river. “The rain probably spoiled much of it.”

“At least it looked as though the rain has stopped, and Mr. Gandalf got the fire going,” said Bilbo. “We can dry our clothes and beds and may have a warm supper yet."

"I hope so," said Sara, suppressing a shiver.

There was a loud squelching sound at the riverbank and a cry of surprise from Kili. They turned to him but froze.

Neither Kili nor the pony were where they had been moments before, instead, it was empty space that greeted them. The bank they had been occupying, undercut by the rapid water as it was, had collapsed into the river taking dwarf and pony with it.

“Kili!” cried Fili, rushing to the river's edge. Their eyes raked the river but the rushing water gave no sign or hint of Kili. Sara peered over the edge hoping Kili had somehow managed to catch himself on a root, but all that met her eyes was dark damp earth.

“There!” shouted Bilbo, pointing. Kili’s boot broke the surface not ten yards away. Before anyone could react, Fili dove into the water after his younger brother.

“Fili!” cried Bilbo and Sara together, but he was already gone, lost in the churning swell.

“Bilbo! Go get the others while I will stay here and do what I can.”

Bilbo hesitated only a moment and then was gone, running toward the cave.

Sara searched the water as she stripped off her rain slicker, coat, and boots. Where were they? After many staggered heartbeats, Fili’s head broke the surface. There! But where was Kili? Fili made for the middle of the river where they had last seen Kili. Something was wrong with Fili. He was trying desperately to stay above the surface but being weighed down by his clothes and weapons. Where was Kili?

There! He was clinging to the branches of an uprooted tree that had been caught on a cluster of jutting rocks about a hundred yards downstream. Kili struggled to keep his head above the surface of the roiling water and for a heart-stopping moment, she saw him lose his grip. He slipped under for a few seconds but then snagged another branch, this one larger.

Fili was still trying to find Kili and Sara shouted, pointing to where Kili was stranded. Still struggling to stay afloat, Fili began to make his way to the tree. Sara seized a long slim rope from one of the ponies and followed the two brothers further downstream. Fili had just about made it to Kili when Sara’s blood ran cold. An enormous log was sweeping downriver toward him.

“Fili watch out!” she screamed, her voice ringing in her ears.

Fili jerked his head up just in time for the log to strike him full in the face and sweep him beneath the surface, rolling him under its weight. Kili screamed, clambering along his branch trying to make his way closer to his brother. Once at the end of the snapped limb he searched the dark water for Fili. The log that had struck Fili rolled once again closer to Kili and his arm darted into the water and miraculously came back with a handful of Fili’s tunic fisted in his hand. The log swept by as Kili pulled his brother out of harm's way. Sara gasped in relief, her grimy hands held over her mouth, but then she saw Kilis panic. Fili was limp and it was all Kili could do to wrestle his brother and keep his grip on the tree.

“Sara! The rope!” shrieked Kili, frantically. Sara tied one of the ends of the rope around a nearby tree and leaving about twenty feet of rope on the other end, fastened it around her waist. She wrapped the excess around her middle and tucked the end under her belt. Looking upstream to see that there were no logs she took three running steps and lept out over the dark water. Just before she hit the surface she heard Kili yell out her name.

The water was glacial and it took all her willpower not to gasp and draw it into her lungs as she fought her way back to the surface. She had jumped in upriver of the two princes knowing that the swift current would carry her quickly. She kicked and swam through the water, fighting the current all the while thanking her grandmother for insisting that she take swimming lessons at a young age. Even so she only just reached Kili before the water could sweep her past. She latched onto the tree branch and began to unwind the extra rope from her midriff.

“When I asked for the rope, this is not what I meant,” shouted Kili, as he struggled to pin his unconscious brother to the branch.

“I can't throw a rope that far, and even if I could, you can’t catch a rope while holding Fili. Here tie this around yours and Fili’s waists. I will hold him." She hugged Fili to branch as Kili tied them both onto the rope.

“What do we do now?” asked Kili.

----------------------------------------

"It simply can't go on," chided Gandalf. "I won't have you ignoring her anymore."

"I told you at the start that I intended to ignore her," said Thorin, trying to tamp down his frustration. He shifted uncomfortably, his muscles stiff under his wet clinging clothes. The pinch of hunger had been in his belly since early morning and was unlikely to be filled anytime soon. His furred coat was hung over a rock in the cave dripping dry. He pulled impatiently at the front of his tunic, the fabric sucking to his skin.

It had been a long trying day and the last thing he desired was a wizard’s chastisement, least of all about that woman. His pride still smacked from the outcome of the argument from three days prior. He had been so sure that he’d found a way to be rid of her but the situation had backfired spectacularly. The resulting three days of silence had been promising however. He had pushed the company harder than he might have otherwise in the hopes that the combination of silence and inclement weather would work together to drive her away. But that had not been the case. She was nothing if not detrmined.

Dwalin and even Balin had been oddly cool towards him of late. Dwalin in particular, and Thorin could not help but notice his friends frequent glances back toward the woman as they traveled. Fili and Kili had been downright marrose, bahaving as if someone had died. In general an atitude of misery had settled over the company. And now he and Gandalf stood some distance from the cave entrance. The girl was not in camp and of course the wizard laid the blame at his feet.

It's not as if she were in any danger or even truly missing. He had seen her following after his nephews, trailed by the halfling not long after. They had been gone some fifteen minutes but knowing his sister's sons that was not so unusual. They were young and prone to distraction and delay. It was just his luck that Gandalf had returned to the party at that moment to find the girl missing. He had senced this converstion was a few days in coming.

"You know as well as I do that this is excessive, even for your kind. Why do you despise her so? What has she ever done to you?"

Thorin looked at the wizard blankly. While she was irksome at times and entirely too free with her words and opinions it was not accurate to say he felt contempt for her. Perhaps her presence in his company, but not her personally. She had many admirable qualities and he would have been a poor leader to not have noticed them. He wished her no harm, in fact if given the power he would gladly return her to her home just as she so adamently desired, making them both happy. That was not to say that he had not been truley angry with her at times. Her obstinat words and attitude could be maddening. But in a bizarre way he also thrilled at the fight with her. Few had that gumption. He enjoyed a challenge, and she was certainly that.

"I don't despise her."

"And dragons are house pets," said Gandalf tonelessly. Thorin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It is the home of my forefathers we strive to reclaim, our people who have been wronged by the dragon. It is the business of dwarves. What could she, a young human female, possibly understand of that? Durin's beard Gandalf, she isn't even from our world. What use is she? What use are we to her? It was enough to include your burglar. He at least has a purpose and can make his own decisions, however misguided by you they are. But she is a different case altogether. She had no choice but to follow you in hopes you will help her return home."

"I wish I were able," said Gandalf. “It’s not been easy for her.”

"I am aware of that. Nevertheless, I can't afford to bring someone who has nothing to offer, least of all someone like her. I would not bring a woman of my own kind, fierce as they may be, so why should I bring a human female, especially one as frail as this Ms. Miller? We both know that the wilds are dangerous, let alone the dragon Smaug. I have lost countless people over the years and I'm not eager to include her needlessly in that tally. She is better off safe with her own kind." He was silent for a moment, the wizard watching him with an odd expression.

"You truly don't despise her do you?"

"Not personally, no. How could I? I know nothing of her."

"But that is my point dear friend," said the wizard patiently. "You don't know anything about her. She is entirely different from anyone else you have ever known precisely because she is from another world. She was shaped by circumstances and experiences you yourself will never understand. Who is to say that she will be of no use to your quest or you to hers."

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"What would you have me do, Gandalf?" asked Thorin, sighing and tugging once again at his wet collar.

"She is still a woman, treat her as such."

"I have done nothing to her. I apologized for my erroneous assumptions three days past. I can't force the others to speak to her."

"You are the king are you not? Perhaps you can't force the others but you can stop ignoring her yourself. You as well as I know there is more than one way to harm someone. I tell you, if she leaves, for any reason, I go with her."

"You would truly abandon our quest?"

"I would. You seem to forget she was not sent to torment you. Aule and Yavanna will have had their reasons for including her. She has more to offer than you or I imagine. Trust the Valar."

Thorin snorted. The Valar. When had they ever taken an interest in him or his people? How many hardships had they endured in his lifetime alone and the Valar had done nothing? Not even Mahal himself. Trust the Valar indeed. He trusted in the steal of his blade and his own will and strenght.

He opened his mouth to argue but at that moment the halfling came racing back into camp. Thorin frowned. Something was wrong. The hobbit was alone and there was fear, panic, and desperation in his wide eyes. He rushed to the little fellow.

"Mr. Baggins, what…"

“The river!" spluttered the hobbit, the words tumbling from his mouth. "Fili and Kili fell in the river!”

Panic lanced through Thorin's chest. He had seen the state of the river and knew that if his nephews had fallen in there was little chance… He shook himself and seized the hobbit by the arms.

“Where? Where are they?”

“They fell in by the ponies. Sara is watching from th...”

Thorin was gone before he could hear Bilbo finish the sentence, calling for the others to follow. He tore along the riverbank, searching for any sign of Fili or Kili. He followed their footprints to a place where the riverbank had shorn away into the river. Where were Fili and Kili? Where was Ms. Miller? Nori caught up with him and quickly spotted smaller footprints that had to be the girls, judging by the odd tread. They followed them downriver to just past the ponies until they found her boots in the mud next to her coat. There was no sign of the woman or Fili and Kili.

“Where are they?” roared Thorin in frustration, searching the river for a trace of his nephews.

“There!” Dwalin pointed to a tree caught in the middle of the raging water. Thorin’s heart froze as he searched for them. He could see the three of them midriver clinging to an enormous tree. What in all the forges was the woman doing out there? Was it not enough to have Fili and Kili at risk. If they managed to pull them from the river...

“How do we get to them?” asked Nori.

“She's a right smart lass, that one,” said Bofur, holding a rope in his hands. “Look! She tied one end to the tree and took the other to the lads.” The rope indeed trailed off through the water in the direction of the tree. Gandalf came tearing down the riverbank, the hobbit trailing after him.

“You must get them out now!” urged the wizard. “The dam of branches caught under the bridge is deteriorating rapidly and will be washed downriver any moment.”

Dwalin looked to Thorin, his face white. “If that reaches them before we pull them out, we’ll lose them for sure!”

Dread settled over Thorin and his breath hitched in his lungs, his fingertips numb. No, no no! He could not lose them, not when they were still alive against all odds.

“Pull them out!” he bellowed.

The company jumped into motion, pulling the rope in hand-over-hand. The trio was jerked from the tree and out into open water but the strain on the rope increased exponentially as the current wrenched its captives further downstream with a relentless fervor. The rope was gripped firmly in Thorin's hands but the ground near the water was slick with mud providing little to no traction. He looked up to see the three disappear under the surface of the water.

“Faster!” thundered Dwalin behind him. “They will drown! Mr. Baggins yer needed here. Leave those ponies be!”

“One moment,” came the hobbits' shaky reply. “I’m almost done.” Thorin glared over his shoulder. The burglar was mucking about with the animals and a length of rope. What was he...

“There they are,” called Nori, drawing his attention back to the river. Three heads broke the surface for a brief moment before vanishing yet again. Thorin strained all the more but his feet only dug deeper ruts in the mucky earth. The bank crumbled into the water in front of him and he ground his teeth as he was dragged further forward, his feet nearing the edge of the bank. The water rushed closer and closer trying to suck him in.

“The dam has broken,” called Gandalf. Upriver a mass of dark water and limbs roared toward Fili, Kili, and the woman.

“Pull for all your worth!” growled Dwalin to the others.

Thorin heaved yet again but it was no use. His feet slipped out from under him and he found himself pulled over the edge. The river sucked as his boots, trying to drag him into a watery grave. He clung to the rope trying to scramble back up the sheer muddy bank, but his added weight only dragged the others further forward.

“Thorin,” cried Dwalin, lunging forward to grab his wrist. Thorin released the rope as Dwalin swung him back onto the bank and in an instant, they were both at the line again plying all their strength to the task.

“It must be now, the swell is upon us,” cried the wizard.

No! He would not allow this. He would not lose his nephews to this river. He could not!

“Haw!” cried the hobbit somewhere behind them. “Pull!”

The rope suddenly jerked backward in Thorin’s hands and he and several others found themselves on their backsides in the muck. Three of the closest ponies had been tied together and attached to the end of the rope.

“Pull, pull,” urged the hobbit once again, smacking the ponies’ rumps, causing the animals to jolt forward. Further from the riverbank, the ground offered greater traction and with the added strength of the ponies, the rope began to recede steadily from the river. Thorin leapt to his feet, pulling at the rope. Even with the added traction of the ponies, it was still a close thing. As first Sara, Kili, and finally Fili were pulled coughing and spluttering from the river a tremendous wave of water and branches roared past.

Thorin pulled a muddy Kili into his tight embrace before his nephew had a chance to free himself from the rope. Relief washed through him. Not today. He would not lose kin this day. His consolation was short-lived.

“He's not breathing!” shouted Balin, he and Oin bent over Fili. “He has no heartbeat!”

Thorin froze. No! Not now! He released Kili and lunged toward Fili, but the girl beat him there. Before anyone could say or do anything she had pushed the others out of the way and clamped her mouth over Fili’s. Thorin's mind screeched to a halt. She was kissing him, kissing Fili. Dwalin jerked forward, pulling her away.

“Here now lass! What are ya trying to do? Now is hardly…” but he never finished his sentence. The girl twisted in his arms and in an instant Dwalin lay flat on his back in the mud. Almost at once, the woman was at it once more, her lips fastened over Fili’s. Thorin lunged toward her, intent on removing this waif from his nephew.

“Stay back. I’ll flip you too!” she warned, breaking from the kiss, instead pumping Fili’s chest with her fists. He was so taken aback by the threat from this spit of a girl that he hesitated. She bent to kiss Fili once again. This was too much. He lunged for her but she saw him coming. One moment she was in his grip and the next he was on his back beside Dwalin. How had she done that? She was so small yet she had put him on his back effortlessly. Rising he could see that once again her lips were on Fili’s.

“Lass?” said Balin, approaching her slowly, his hands raised. “What are you doing?” She moved to pump Fili’s chest a second time.

“C...P...R,” she said between presses.

“And what is that?” asked Balin.

“A rescue technique... to save someone... who's not breathing… or whose heart… has stopped.” She stopped and pressed an ear to Fili’s chest. “But it’s not working.”

“What do you need?” asked Balin, moving closer. Thorin drew near, wary of the distance between him and the woman. What was this technique she spoke of?

“I don't think I'm pressing hard enough. I can’t seem to reach his heart.”

“How is it done?” asked Balin.

“Assuming your anatomy is not different from mine, put your hands together on top of one another and center them on his sternum. You have to press hard enough to reach his heart,” she instructed. Balin moved forward but Thorin was their first.

“Like this?” he asked, his hands already on Fili’s chest. She nodded.

“Now push in time to your own heart.” He pushed, easily keeping time with the pulse pounding in his ears. “He may have cracked ribs but that's better than the alternative.” He didn't respond, concentrating on his heartbeat.

“Gandalf?” she called. The wizard appeared at their side. “If this doesn't work, can you give him a small shock?”

“I can.” She turned back to him.

“Good now stop” she instructed. He did as told and she lowered her mouth to Fili’s. This time he could see Fili’s chest rise and expand. She was not kissing him at all but filling his lungs with air. Why had he assumed... She did this once more and then nodded to him. “Again!”

He pumped in time with his heart, but nothing was happening. His frustration grew with each ineffective compression and he was tempted to quit but the earnest fervor on the woman's face spurred him forward. They swapped roles three times more, each time his hope diminishing further. Just as it was almost her turn again water and vomit spewed from Fili’s mouth. He coughed and sputtered as he rolled onto his side, gasping for air.

Thorin’s heart leapt into his throat. It had worked! The crazy woman's technique had worked. Fili was alive once again. He would not lose a sister son this day. The woman, Ms. Miller, heaved a sigh of relief and backed away, letting Oin and the others forward to tend to Fili. Kili leapt for his brother who winced in his rough embrace.

“What… what happened?” asked Fili between coughs from over his brother's shoulder.

“You jumped in to save me but got yourself knocked unconscious you muttonhead,” said Kili. “I caught you but we were stranded on that tree.” He pointed to the tree which was no longer there. “Well, there was a tree.” Kili let go of his brother and seized the woman's arm dragging her forward again. “Sara jumped in after us with a rope, and just as we all got tied on uncle and the company showed up and pulled us out.” Fili stifled another cough.

“Let it all up lad,” said Oin.

“Why do I feel like you danced a jig on my chest?” Fili winced, rubbing his chest as he moved to stand. Thorin reached out to steady him and grasped his nephew behind the head, touched his forehead to Fili’s gently.

“When we pulled you from the river there was no life in you. Ms. Miller brought you back to us.” Fili looked to the woman who flushed.

“She kissed you,” said Kili in a mock whisper.

“That was not a kiss!” she said, her ears pink.

“Aye lad, she did. Multiple times,” said Bofur. The toymaker dodged as a handful of mud sailed past his ear and hit Bilbo square in the face. The hobbit spluttered and spit muck from his mouth.

“I did not kiss him!” She lobbed another handful of mud but Bofur just ducked.

“Never thought I would see the day that Snow White kissed a dwarf prince back to life. Ya lucky scamp.” Bofur winked at Fili who was also pink in the cheeks. His nephew's eyes flitted between Ms. Miller, Bofur, and himself.

“It was not a kiss,” assured Thorin.

“She was very insistent though,” said Kili, glancing at him with a mischievous glint in his eye. “She laid both Dwalin and uncle out in the mud on their backs when they tried to stop her,” said Kili. Thorin cuffed him.

“Enough.”

“Seems there is more to our Ms. Sara than any of you suspected,” said Gandalf, watching Thorin with a piercing gaze.”

Thorin groaned internally, taking the wizard's point. But as he swung to face her he reconsidered. There she sat, sopping wet, covered head to toe in muck and grime. She was small for a human, short and slight of frame, especially when compared to present company. She shivered in the cold air. Her left sock was missing and there was a gash on her leg, red blood oozing down to mix with the mud at her feet. She winced as she straightened, holding her stomach with an arm. She had been injured while saving Fili and Kili. Yet she had. This woman had recklessly jumped into the river and...

“Ms. Miller,” he called. She looked at him wrinkling her nose.

Kili whispered in his ear, “She doesn't like being called that.” Thorin sighed.

“Ms. Sara then.”

“Yes?” she asked apprehensively, looking up at him. He extended a hand to her. After a moment's hesitation she took it and he gently helped her to her feet not yet releasing her hand.

“I find myself in the unenviable position of needing to apologize, something I am not often forced to do and I seek your forgiveness. I have made many false assumptions and said things that have wounded you. Yet despite all, you have made no complaint even when I made every effort to place obstacles in your way. You have borne all with grace and patience, only seeking to help those around you. You have set your life as not, as you restored my sister's son's to me, Fili twice over.” He reached out to grasp Fili’s shoulder. “I make no excuse for my behavior up to this point. I only beg your forgiveness, for me, and for my company.” He forced himself to one knee, his head bowed, his forehead touching the back of her hand waiting for her reply. She didn't speak, frozen for the longest moment.

“On two conditions,” she said. He looked into her weary face releasing her hand though he did not stand. “No one calls me Ms. Miller ever again. I prefer just Sara, Ms. Sara if you must.”

He nodded. “Ms. Sara from now on. And your second condition?”

She grimaced. “No one assumes I’m pregnant ever again.”

He couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped him. “Agreed.”

“Then get off your knee,” she said, gripping his elbow and pulling him up. “It not natural to see you from that angle.”

“It's not one I prefer.” She stuck out her hand to him as if asking for something.

“Truce? Are we good?” He didn't move.

“I still think your interests would be better served elsewhere. You would be safer with you own kind, but I will no longer seek to be rid of you.”

“Good enough,” she said seizing his hand and shaking it.

“This is all very well and good, but can we now return to the fire now please?” piped up Bilbo, who was shaking like a leaf where he stood, mud still smeared across his face.

“Yes please!” said Ms. Sara, through chattering teeth.

“Let's go,” called Thorin. “Bifur and Bofur take the ponies back.” The others began to stomp back toward the cave.

“I found your boots and coat, Ms. Sara,” said Ori, stepping forward and offering them to her. “But I'm afraid they are quite dirty and wet.”

“That’s okay, I’m pretty dirty and missing a sock anyways.” She looked down at the gash running from her heel to the back of her calf as if only just noticing it. “Looks like a tree branch wanted my sock and was willing to fight for it.”

She transferred her weight to one foot, grimacing. Thorin stepped forward to steady her but before he could reach her Dwalin scooped her up in his arms.

“Let's get ya cleaned up and warm lass,” said Dwalin to the girl in his arms. She struggled at first, her face screwed up in pain.

“Dwalin,” he chided, watching them out of the corner of his eye as he turned to help Fili to camp. “Be gentle with her. Her ribs are likely injured from the rope.”

“Sorry lass,” said Dwalin softly, readjusting his grip on her. Her face eased and she relaxed into his arms more readily.

“It’s alright.” She peaked over Dwalin’s shoulder, her eyes sliding over Thorin and then to Fili.

“Are you really okay?” she asked. Fili waved a hand as he coughed again.

“I’ll be fine,” he assured.

“Let’s get ya to Oin,” said Dwalin. “The faster ya are recovered, the faster ya can show me that fancy trick of yers for laying dwarves out on their back.” She grinned.

“Alright, Mr. Dwalin.”

“Dwalin lass. No one who has thrown me like that calls me Mr.”

Sometime later Thorin sat in the shadow of the rock, watching Ms. Sara as he nursed his bowl of tepid stew. She sat between Fili and Kili, the firelight dancing over her face as they talked and laughed. Oin had looked over the three properly upon their return to camp. Kili as it turned out was no worse for the wear, if not a little cleaner for his dip in the water. Fili would be tender in the chest for a few days and had a dark bruise on his cheekbone where the branch had struck him, but was well enough, save his occasional cough. Ms. Sara was not so lucky. Thorin had glimpsed the angry bruising around her middle where the rope had dug into her skin as Oin tended to her. The gash down her left calf was not especially deep but while she would recover, wearing a boot for the next few days would be unpleasant and Oin advised against it where possible. Thorin stirred his stew absently as he listened in to their conversation.

“How is it that you two got off without any bruising, while I'm going to look like a patchwork quilt?” she complained, rubbing at her ribs.

“I guess dwarves are just made denser than humans, Mistress Miller,” said Kili gloating. She snickered. Thorin shook his head at his nephew’s inept word choice. To think he had a hand in raising such a lackwit.

“You said it, not me,” quipped Sara.

Dwalin and Balan who were sitting close by chuckled. Kili scowled, understanding breaking over him too late like an egg on his forehead.

“Hey! That’s not what I meant.”

Sara laughed harder, then winced. “Ow.”

“Just shut up before you make it worse,” said Fili, smacking the back of Kili’s head. The hobbit made his way over to them and sat nearby, fidgeting with the buttons on his vest.

“Are you sure you are ok Ms. Sara?” asked the hobbit.

“Yes Bilbo,” she assured patiently. “I told you, I will be just fine. Don’t worry.”

“I can’t help but feel it’s my fault you were injured.” The hobbit’s eyes were on his toes.

“Don't be silly. Thorin told us if it weren't for your quick thinking we would have been lost. You are a hero.” Thorin’s eyes slid to her. When had he said that?

“He did?” asked the hobbit looking up, his eyes a bit brighter.

“He did.”

They talked for a few more minutes before Mr. Baggins returned to help Bombur clean up from dinner. Fili eyed the women beside him, an eyebrow raised.

“When did uncle say that about Bilbo?” Ms. Sara flushed in the firelight.

“Ok, so maybe he didn’t say it exactly that, but he did say it was Bilbo’s idea. I just figured Bilbo could use a boost. He looked so glum.” Thorin shook his head, but somewhere in the back of his mind he couldn't help but agree. The hobbit had been rather quick-witted.

Later that night Thorin found the trio leaning against each other, asleep, a large rock at their backs. Fili and Kili each held one of Ms. Sara’s arms wrapped in theirs. Kili’s head drooped onto her shoulder, her head resting atop his. Fili’s head rested against the rock but his face was turned toward her as well. Thorin sighed. He supposed it was only right that Fili and Kili show their appreciation, but still... Despite the princes at either side of her, Ms. Sara shivered in her sleep. There were bumps on her arms and her lips pulled down into a frown. Thorin glanced around him before shucking off his coat which had finally dried near the fire. Trying not to think about it too much he draped it over the trio. As he passed Dwalin, who was on watch, the warrior raised an eyebrow, a smirk smeared across his lips. Thorin ignored him.