A/N: This ship sort of punched me in the face and took over my life. But I'm glad that it's brought me back to writing! I hope to update every other week, but please don't murder me if I get a little lost on the way.
The welcoming chime of a bell overhead signaled Fíli's entrance into the gas station he frequented before and after (hell, sometimes during) many of his shifts. He was damn well sure that by this point in his career, he bled cheap general store coffee. He gave a quick nod to the young man behind the cash register, Ori. He frequented this place so much, he'd come to know the shifts of all of the cashiers and a bit too much of their back stories. Ori was a decent enough guy, working a few dead-end jobs to support his oldest brother's family, while the second brother did time in the slammer for multiple counts of varying degrees of theft. Most people with relatives, friends, or baby daddies in prison had a bone to pick with any and all cops. But not Ori. He always sported a goofy grin and even tipped him off if any Orcs or Goblins wandered into his store.
Out of habit, Fíli scanned the security mirrors in the corners of the stores while he walked to the cold drinks. The only other person was a guy who frequented the porno mags in the back of the store. Who even paid for porn these days? And from a gas station, no less.
As he reached the corner with the beer and spirits, he heard the bell at the front of the store chime again, immediately followed by two feminine voices.
"Gas station pizza, again?" Came a whiny, high-pitched voice that almost made him cringe.
"I'm sorry, Til. You know I've got a huge exam tomorrow, I just don't have time to cook anything tonight." Out of the corner of his eye, Fíli saw the two girls heading towards the opposite side of the same aisle, where hours-old pizza was bubbling and kept hot in a metal lazy susan. "What kind do you want?"
The older girl was pulling a few slices out of the rotating pizza display and placing them in a ready-made take home box next to the hot food station. She turned to the younger girl when she didn't answer. "Most kids love pizza."
From his spot, he didn't think the older girl could be more than 23, but the younger one had to be at least 7. It was a shame the stupid public school system didn't teach actual sex education. Maybe teen pregnancy wouldn't be so glorified and -
"Most kids have a mom and a sister, not one who does a shitty job at both," 'Til' muttered under her breath, though quite loud enough for even porn-mag-man in the corner to look over at them. Well, that answered that question.
"Tilda!" The older sister gasped, bending down so she could take a hold of the girl's arm and meet her eyes. Fíli had been so engrossed in this exchange that meant nothing to him, that when he shifted his vantage point to make sure no physical altercation occurred, the refrigerator door that had been resting against his shoulder slammed back against the frame. Both of the girls turned to look at him suddenly, and he turned back to the fridge to resume pretending to inspect which beer he would take home that night.
She loosened her grip on Tilda's arm until she was just loosely resting her hand on her charge's shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Sigrid," Tilda was explaining in a small voice. "I didn't mean that. I... I miss when it was all four of us getting pizza and staying up late. You're so busy lately with school, I'm afraid you'll disappear just like Da." The young girl started picking a few slices of pepperoni pizza out of the display and adding them to the box on the counter.
"I'm not leaving you, Tilda. Do you think Bain could sew up your jackets and bandage your scrapes? And cook something edible?" She made a face at which Tilda's giggled. "And Da hasn't disappeared. In fact, he said he would try and come home this weekend."
But Tilda's didn't seem as excited as her older sister expected. "I still don't understand why we can't go live with him." She added a few napkins to the box of pizza, which Sigrid closed soon after with a sigh.
"Laketown isn't a place for children, Til."
Fíli looked over at the two girls again, with a frown. Laketown? No, it certainly wasn't a town for children, teenagers, or consenting adults. He pulled a case of whatever beer was cheapest out of the fridge, and migrated down the aisle to pretend-contemplate some chips.
Laketown was a port city, and had once been a key means of transporting all sorts of goods across Rhovanion. Thanks to a few ill-meaning slum lords, the ports slowly began to introduce more lucrative trade - drugs, weapons, even human cargo crossed those waters, now. Fíli had more than a few cases that led him into the underbelly of Laketown, and each time he dreaded going back. If the father of these girls lived and worked on the Long Lake, the odds that he was an unsavory character were pretty high.
At least the guy thought enough to send his kids away, for what it was worth.
"I'm older now, Sig! I can take care of myself!" The small girl protested, who wasn't in the least bit even slightly intimidating.
Sigrid opened her mouth, undoubtedly to argue with the little girl, when the chime above the door sounded again, and heavy footfalls broke the temporary silence. He saw Sigrid glance towards the door and snap her mouth shut with an audible click.
"Let's go home, hmm?" She offered the Tilda a thin smile, and reached down to take her hand. Fíli had a feeling that under normal circumstances, the younger sister would have argued, but she simply nodded solemnly and let Sigrid lead her to the cash register.
Fíli poked his head around the end of the aisle to see what had spooked them so badly.
Shit. A Goblin.
He hadn't even heard the bike pull up, but the guy was unmistakably part of the Goblin gang. He wore ripped, dirty jeans, and a black wife beater that did nothing to hide his rounded pot-belly. The spiked leather jacket he was wearing had the Goblin insignia stamped on the front and in large print on the back, in case anyone had their doubts and wanted to invite him over for tea. The nail in the coffin was the gold ring slung through the man's septum, a telltale characteristic many Goblin members adopted.
He was shorter than Fíli, which bode well if it came down to hand-to-hand combat, but likely the Goblin didn't play fair.
Sigrid quickly placed her purchases on the counter in front of Ori. She was trying to get herself and her sister out of the situation as quickly as possible, and rightfully so. However, things just couldn't work out on Fíli's night off.
"What are you doing tonight?" The Goblin leered at Sigrid, as he made a tight half-circle around her, leaning against the side of the counter with a predatory grin.
She tried to ignore him as she pulled a few crumpled bills out of her purse, and Fíli could tell her hand was shaking as she passed them over to Ori.
"Hey!" The man slammed his open palm against the countertop, causing Sigrid, Tilda, and Ori to jump at the noise. "I asked you a question." He ground out between gritted teeth, obviously not in the mood to be a decent human being.
"I-I have plans tonight." Sigrid answered truthfully, her hand tightening around Tilda's as the younger girl cowered behind her leg. Fíli would give the guy a chance to do the right thing and step off before he intervened, though he was conscious of the weight of his Sig Sauer pressed against his side in its holster. He silently lowered the six-pack of beer to the floor.
The Goblin barked out a laugh, but his good nature seemed to be short lived. He rounded on Sigrid again, and before she could react, she was looking down the barrel of a Glock. "Hand over your purse, and empty the register," the last part he directed over the counter to Ori, whose eyes wandered to the corner mirrors, undoubtedly looking for some help.
Fíli studied the angle in the mirrors as well, and silently cursed. The Goblin was on the other side of Sigrid now, with his back to the door. He couldn't get a clear shot or even get a lock on the guy from over here. Reaching under his coat, he pulled out his Sig Sauer and quickly switched the safety off, crouching lower to the ground and backing down the aisle towards the back of the store. If he could just inch around to porn-mag-man, he could come out from that aisle with a clear shot and the upper hand.
"Hurry up!" The assailant spat, pulling the purse from Sigrid's shoulder, where it got caught on the intertwined hands of the two sisters. Tilda let out a whimper as she was forced to relinquish her death grip to hand over the purse. The older sister maneuvered Tilda behind her, as if to protect her from the looming figure in front of them. She took a single step backwards, but stopped as the Goblin turned his sights back to her. He pulled some loose papers out of her purse and dropped them on the floor, obviously digging for something of more worth. When he didn't find anything that piqued his interest, he tossed the purse to the ground with a loud grunt. "What is this?" He demanded.
"I'm sorry sir, we don't have much," Sigrid mumbled in return, still keeping one of her hands wrapped tightly around Tilda's, the little girl cowering behind her older sister's legs.
Ori began pulling bills out of the cash register and setting them on the counter, though he continuously looked around the store, probably wondering where Fíli had disappeared to. He caught sight of the brown jacket Fíli was wearing sneaking across the back of the store to the closest aisle. The Goblin's back was turned, his attentions focused on the golden-haired woman in the store, so he had no idea his day was about to go to shit.
The Goblin took another step towards Sigrid, who took an answering step back, before he reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder to halt her backwards movement. "Well, how are you gonna make it up to me?" He sneered, running his hand up her shoulder until it rested against her throat. If he just squeezed, he could crush her windpipe. He could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and her nervous swallow as she tried to remain strong for her younger sister. His fingers twisted in a silver chain against her neck and he tugged it roughly. The clasp broke and he pulled it out from her shirt to assess his new prize.
Sigrid gasped, her hand flying to her throat as soon as it was free of his fingers. "Please, don't take that," she pleaded.
Tilda poked her head around Sigrid's waist, seeing the precious metal strand the Goblin held in his hand. "You can't take that! It belonged to our Ma!" For as strong as Sigrid was being, her younger sister couldn't keep the tears from her eyes. "It's all we have left!"
The older girl hushed her, gesturing her to remain behind her body. The Goblin grinned, the back story making his prize all the more worthy to him. He made up his mind, turning to the counter and grabbing the piles of bills that Ori had stacked for him. He shoved them into his coat, with his gun still trained on the blonde sisters. Ori looked like he was shaking in his boots, so he doubted the cashier was going to try and be a hero. As soon as he was done taking all of the cash on the counter, he turned his attention back to Sigrid.
He waved the gun towards the exit. "Leave the girl and come with me," he demanded, reveling in the fear that showed on her face as Sigrid realized his intentions. "I said, move!" He barked, reaching out and tugging her arm to him.
The Goblin heard a gun cock, and immediately pulled Sigrid in front of him, pressing the barrel of his Glock against her back and pointing her in the direction he'd heard the noise come from.
Fíli stood blocking the entrance with his Sig Sauer raised in his right hand, supporting it with his left. "Dale PD, let her go and drop your weapon," he ordered. If he had been only a few seconds earlier, he would have had a clear shot on the Goblin, but using Sigrid as a human shield posed some additional problems he didn't want to deal with. Tilda stood a few feet away, tears streaming down her face, hands fisted in the front of her skirt, aching to defend her sister, but knowing she couldn't do anything.
As the Goblin laughed at Fíli, he took the moment of distraction to meet Sigrid's gaze and nod his head in Tilda's direction. She seemed to understand, and licked her lips, turning her head to her younger sister.
"Tilda, don't cry, you'll be okay." This drew her younger sister's attention up to her, and out of the Goblin's line of sight, she slowly pointed to the leg of the Goblin behind her. They just needed a distraction, and hopefully the Goblin didn't already have his finger on the trigger, or her spine would likely be shattered.
"Quiet," He growled in her ear, pressing the barrel further into her back and she straightened her spine in an attempt to get as far away as her captor would allow her.
"I'm warning you, let her go and we can end this peacefully," Fíli knew that reasoning with the Goblin was madness, but he had to make another effort before blowing out the monster's knee cap. He rested his finger against the trigger, waiting for his chance.
Tilda picked the perfect time, launching herself at the Goblin and delivering a helluva kick into his shin, just like her big brother had taught her. The man cursed, his attention brought away from Fíli momentarily as he looked down at the little girl. Simultaneously, Sigrid twisted away from him as much as his grip allowed. He didn't release her, but she was able to turn to the side and duck, making her body mass as small as possible and allowing Fíli a larger target.
He pulled the trigger on his gun, hitting the Goblin in the arm and effectively causing him to drop his Glock to the floor. The robber abandoned his grip on Sigrid, who crawled a few feet away and out of his reach. Tilda quickly moved behind the brute of a man and launched herself at her older sister, wrapping her arms around Sigrid's neck and burying her face in her shoulder, her small body wracked with silent sobs.
The Goblin reached into his jacket, either to draw another gun or a knife, but Fíli didn't wait to find out. He pulled the trigger again, lodging a bullet in the Goblin's gut. Neither of the shots were fatal, which meant the bastard would be alive to answer for his crimes, and that was just fine with Fíli. The Goblin dropped to his knees, pressing his uninjured hand against his stomach with a groan. The blond detective pulled a spare pair of hand cuffs from where they had been tucked behind his back. "Call 911 and report what happened," he told Ori, who obliged immediately.
Fíli hauled the Goblin to his feet, the gang member nearly whimpering at the movement. With a quick glance around the store, Fíli found a good sturdy pole near the back exit around which to handcuff the idiot. "Alright, dumbass, wait here until your ride shows up." He tucked his Sig Sauer back into the holster at his side. "Don't move," he added for good humor.
"You shot me!"
"Oh, fuck off," Fíli muttered under his breath, turning back to assess the two sisters who were still crouched below the counter with wide eyes. He crouched beside them, resting on the balls of his feet. "Let's go outside, yeah?" He directed to the older one, 'Sigrid', as he had learned. She nodded, wrapping an arm around Tilda's back and rising to her feet, bringing the younger girl with her. Though she was too old to be carried, Tilda didn't protest as Fíli lead the both of them outside to sit on the curb.
"Are you okay?" He asked the both of them, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket.
"Smoking is bad for you," Tilda told him before he could even pull a cigarette from the package. He took one look at her tear-stained face and heaved a sigh.
"I know, that's why I'm throwing them away," he told her, twisting at the waist and tossing the nearly-full pack into the trash can. Goddamnit, he was going to need to stop at another gas station on his way home to pick up some more.
The younger girl smiled, untangling herself from Sigrid's neck and launching herself at Fíli.
"Tilda!" Sigrid tried to catch her, but was a beat too late as her younger sister flung her arms around his neck and planted a wet kiss on his cheek. "That's not polite, stop that!" Her face was bright crimson as she tried to pry Tilda's arms off of Fíli, who actually chuckled. It wasn't that he normally disliked children, but he found himself uncomfortable around them most of the time. They were curious and strangely sticky and had no concept of a mental filter. But Tilda had been brave and headstrong, and reminded him of Kíli when they had been younger.
"It's okay," he waved a hand at Sigrid's prying hands, allowing Tilda to squeeze the life out of him, before relinquishing her grip and plopping down on the sidewalk in-between her sister and her new best friend. "Tilda, why don't you go inside and grab that pizza you two were going to buy. Don't worry, that Goblin isn't going anywhere. You sure showed him who was boss." The younger girl beamed, perhaps not understanding the gravity of the situation. Had Fíli not been there at that exact moment... Sigrid could have become his next case.
As Tilda took the retrieval of the pizza as her personal mission, he turned to her older sister. "Sigrid, right? Are you alright?" He reached out and brushed his fingers over her arm, where the Goblin had grabbed her. The skin was still red, and he didn't doubt that it would bruise. Her strong demeanor crumbled, and she buried her face in her hands as the reality of the situation slammed into her. He heard her take a shaky breath, and worried for a moment that she was getting weepy. He consoled a lot of grieving mothers, daughters, and wives, but it was definitely one of the hardest parts of his job.
When she lifted her head, he was relieved to see that she wasn't crying. She covered her mouth with a trembling hand. "Oh my God."
Fíli placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. "You did everything right, given the situation. You should be proud, protecting your sister like that."
"I just don't understand," she propped her elbows on her bent knees, rubbing the back of her neck. Her fingers brushed against his, and he pulled his hand away. "We came to Dale to be safe. I can't always be around to protect Tilda... What if something happens to her and I'm not around?" He thought back to the conversation the two sisters had in the store, and how school was taking Sigrid away from her family.
"Your father is in Laketown, I gathered." He didn't mention her mother, as he also gathered that she was no longer around. "Are you Tilda's sole caregiver?"
Sigrid's spine straightened, and she looked at him as if she'd been struck. "I love my siblings, and I would do anything for them. Da provides for them financially, I just take care of them." She nearly wilted right before his eyes. "Please, don't take them away from me."
Fíli held his hands up, palms out to show he had not intended to offend her. "That's not my job, Sigrid. I was merely curious. You seem to be doing a good job raising Tilda, at least." The aforementioned younger sibling came out of the store, the pizza box in one hand and a pop in the other hand.
"Mr. Ori gave me a soda!" She showed the both of them, squeezing in-between the two adults, where she could resume being the center of attention. When her older sister opened her mouth, Tilda gave her a knowing look. "Yes, I told him thank you, and yes, I know I can't have soda before dinner, and I will have to share with Bain. Anything else?"
Fíli couldn't help the laugh that escaped his mouth, and he shrugged his shoulders as Sigrid glared at him. At that moment, they heard the woop of a police siren as the black and white cop car pulled into the gas station parking lot. He stood, dusting off his jeans and looking down at the two girls. "The beat cop will take your statement."
"Wait!" Sigrid stood, though he hadn't moved yet. "How can we thank you, Officer...?"
"Detective," he corrected. "Durinson." He held out hid hand for her to shake.
"Sigrid Bowman."
"And Tilda Bowman!" The young girl still seated on the sidewalk chirped.
He felt like he couldn't leave them empty-handed after such an event, but he did his job because he wanted to better the community, bring answers to people, and serve justice. He didn't do it for whatever type of thanks Sigrid was offering, be it dinner or drinks or money. "There's no need to thank me, I'm just doing my job." He felt a strange pang in her chest at the crestfallen look on her face, and tried to think of some way to make her smile again.
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He could see her start to protest, but he produced a card from his wallet and handed it to her. "This has my office and my cell number on it, if you run into any trouble." Sigrid took it with a quiet thank you, looking over to the officer that was quickly approaching.
"I'll leave this mess to you," he told the cop and wished the two girls goodbye. As he walked back to his car, he thought about how he'd likely never see them again.