By requests I tried to get this out as quick as I could. I hope you like it.
Everybody exploded at once. Panick rippled through everyone as one of their own suddenly appeared to be choking on his own blood.
Thorin regained ordered with practiced ease, commanding the dead orc to be moved as far as possible and for Oin to come forward. His calm tone hid the fear in his heart for his heir. What had happened to Fili?
Neither of his boys had travelled on a quest like this before (1). Fili was far from the little boy tearing up from a skinned knee, but gentle words could not make this better.
Kili got his hands on the other's dirty tunic, lifting up to reveal the black and bloody skin beneath.
"By Mahal, Fili" He whispered, gripping his brother's hand tightly as if trying will his pain away.
Fili didn't respond. He was in his own dark prison. His head pounding in tune with his heart, slow, sluggish beat. It was blinding fear, drowning without water into the abyss.
"Fili, FILI," Kili cried, slapping his brother's cheek trying to bring back to wakefulness as he held his elder in his arms.
Oin kneeled down beside the two. Kili had yanked his brother's shirt up to the shoulders. The healer had a clear view of the misshapen ribcage. A light touch had the bones grating under his fingers, electing a weak cough from the stricken dwarf.
"He's barely breathing," Kili cried, looking to his uncle for a sign of what to do. Oin put his trumpet to Fili's chest. The watery noise that he heard told him instantly what was wrong. And it wasn't good.
"There is nothing I can do." Oin looked up to Thorin, despair in his eyes.
"What is it," the leader forced out.
"A rib has punctured a lung with the amount of blood here. He is drowning in it.
Kili let out a heartbroken wail at the news. No, they were supposed to take Erebor. They couldn't be separated now; they were still on the wrong side of the Misty Mountains for Mahal's sake.
"There may yet be time," the resident wizard said, pushing his way to the front.
"Do what you will," Thorin asked, he did not care what Gandalf did, so long as Fili lived.
"Oin, I will need your help. Move over my boy," the grey pilgrim said to Kili. The youngest only shifted a little, refusing to be parted from his best friend.
Silence carried over the company as they collectively held their breath. So much had happened in such a short amount of time, how could everything go wrong so early in their quest.
Muttering of the wizards was the only thing that was apparent. He and Oin worked quickly over the blond.
A large crack bounced off the narrow walls of the cave. Fili took a shuddering breath and his blue eyes flicked open as the wizard's wrinkled hand passed over him.
Kili let out a nervous laugh, when his brother's eyes locked with his own. He had never been more scared in his life than in the past few moments. A little of that fear came back when he saw Fili wince.
"He is still hurt," Kili looked up to Gandalf.
"Yes, I could help the worst of it. But our young Fili will still be sore as he heals completely."
Oin cut him off before Kili could respond, "Come on, lad. Let's get these ribs wrapped before anything else happens" Kili's attention was drawn back to his brother. Helping him sit up and hold his shirt up so Oin could bind his chest.
Fili was silent as the other's fussed about, still trying to catch up with what had transpired. His chest was still a mosaic of bruises and the pain was still there. However, the grinding feeling in his chest was no longer present and he could draw breathe much easier than before.
Slowly his motley skin disappeared under Oin's hands. The wrapping would hold the dwarf's ribs in place and allow them to heal in the correctly.
"You'll be right as rain soon enough, my boy."
"What were you thinking," Thorin yelled, snapping Fili's dazed look to him
"I. . "
"Obviously, you weren't." the king continued, ignoring Balin quietly saying his name. Taking a breath with more control he asked, "Can you stand?"
Kili opened his mouth to respond, but again Fili stopped him with a touch. Fili pretended not to see his look of disapproval; he was surely going to hear about it later.
"Aye," Fili managed to say, leaning into his brother to help him upright.
When Thorin assured himself that the Fili could move, he ordered the rest of the company onward.
Slowly the company shuffled down the skinny passageway. Looking back to Fili, completely wrung out from the intense episode. More than one felt incredibly useless. At Thorin's prompting all continued to move on.
Fili walked just behind Kili, chewing on some herbs Oin had given him for the pain. His brother was angry with him, he noticed. Kili was close to him, but not on top of him the way he was before.
Although Fili was thankful he wasn't being mothered. It worried him as to what his baby brother was thinking. Fili couldn't look at his face as the passage being too narrow to walk wider than single file or else he might have been able to tell.
Kili had always worn his heart on his sleeve. But Fili could do more than stare at the back of his head and wonder what he and Thorin were thinking.
Fili had made a right mess of everything. Hopefully it wasn't too late to try and fix it.
Thorin brushed past Balin as his advisor tried to speak to him. The king was more shaken than he wanted to deal with, just want would this quest cost him. If it had been similar from what had just been adverted, could he pay that price?
(1): in the book, Thorin is described having helped raised his two nephews. And neither had been so far from their home before. Both are barely considered adults in dwarf years.
I hope this wasn't too anti-climactic for anyone. I wanted this to be an extra tidbit to the story that PJ interpreted, not to deviate from it. Though this chapter did a Slight AU detour. Now I could either leave it here or finish out a couple more things. I don't know what I want to do yet.
