"You must watch out for them, lad. Objects are finely cursed to the point we cannot feel them any more." Old Mad Smallburrow ran knobby fingers over the shelf while looking for something. "While we hobbits are resistant the matter still stands. Knowledge, boy, knowledge can be our greatest asset and our most damnable feature."

I awoke for the third or maybe even sixth time for that day. I was becoming increasingly tired as the day stretched on. I found myself falling asleep regularly against Thorin, his arm around me the only thing keeping me from falling off of the pony.

"Would you like some water, Bilbo?" Thorin asked quietly as I adjusted in my seat, he stopped my hand before it could rub at the bandages that started to itch.

"I'm okay." Why was my mind so fogged up?

Keep awake! My mind hissed with a savagely dark memory. I jerked at the sudden sound of skin slapping skin with a vicious hit. It was a memory, the sound, but some memories come back harshly, over taking the senses and fooling one to believe them real.

"Are you alright?"

I rubbed my good eye, shaken. "Yes, quite alright." With my mind sharper I looked around. Where were we? The forest was so thick and dark that I could have sworn it was night.

"Thorin." Gloin called and Thorin slowed our pony to fall into step with his. "Fíli is requestin' for us to stop for the night."

Thorin nodded soundly, "Gloin, Oin, Bifur, Nori, search for a suitable place for us to lay our injured and make camp. Be extra cautious, it had rained considerably and the rocky terrain is covered with moss we do not need any more harmed."

They all agreed and steadily separating from the group and fanned out to find something we could use. Thorin lightly nudged our pony along to mix with the group to find his nephews settled together. No large surprise there. Fíli looked as tired as I felt but he kept his head up and smiled when we came near. The smile faltered though, twitching at the corner of his mouth.

"Don't fuss." I said out of the blue.

"I'll fuss as much as I like thank you." His smiled pulled wider, more true.

"Yeah," Kíli rested his chin on his brother's shoulder. "He nearly died, and according to the contract he gets to do what he likes, especially fussing."

I more of felt Thorin's rumbling laugh against my back than heard it. I had to choke down a bark of laughter as to not upset my ribs. "Then what do I get?"

The two brothers leaned their heads together with an all knowing smirk on both of their faces. The glint in their eyes made my heart flutter and I knew exactly what they were going to do. I held up a hand, "No, nooo, you are not to answer that."

"Ah but Bilbo after all that's happened the least you deserve is some douting on by a king." Kíli nuzzled his brother's cheek as if demonstrating what Thorin should be doing to me.

"Aye," Fíli licked his lips making me cover my face in embarrassment. Oh he was going to full out say it. Here it comes. "After all you've done how else is one supposed to show their affection besides with some physicalcontact? Though," He cleared his throat to say this next part extra loud which made most of the company here with us laugh. "I would have to advise the passion to be let to heat in the forge if you know what I mean, for your own health. Of course."

"Of course," was the reply that came out of Thorin! This caused Fíli and Kíli to burst out laughing, overly joyed that their uncle had joined in the game if only for a moment.

"Oh, you're a right lot, all of you." I groaned. I looked up at Thorin. "I'm not going to forget this."

He just smiled, such a nice, soft smile. It was definitely something he needed to wear more often.

Soon the others came back with a spot scouted out and we head over. A fire is set quickly and small area is sectioned out for Fíli and I, where bedrolls were laid down and cloaks strung up to create another shelter incase it started to rain once again. Gandalf helps Fíli down and into the support of Dwalin who guides him over to the prepared spot while Balin and Bifur help me down to my feet. They made sure I was steady before moving away. I took a step or two before a gentle hand was placed on my back. Thorin already off the pony and by my side. It was nice to walk, even if my body burned with every jostling movement my footsteps made.

A small skittering sound pulled at the edge of my senses. I looked over my shoulder and glared in the direction of what was out there.

"Is everything alright?"

I didn't look away from the darkness that crept in. A blackness settling over our camp as night approached. I didn't trust it.

"Tie up the ponies." I grabbed Thorin's arm and squeezed. "I have a feeling they may be startled tonight."

"...Like the feeling you had when F..." Thorin's throat stuck on the sentence. He couldn't admit that he nearly lost one of his precious boys and I understood. I gave his arm another squeeze more for reassurance this time and I looked up at him. I pulled on his jacket until his ear was level with my mouth. I dared not speak louder than a breath of this Shire secret.

"Feelings have nothing to do with this situation. We must be cautious and careful, things are among us."

"What would you have me do?" He asked as low.

"Tie the ponies tonight. Keep the fire large and bright well into dawn and..."

"And?"

"I would like have some iron shavings."

He pulled back looking at me completely bewildered. I did not blame him, it was a strange request. His lips pulled down into a stern frown as his eyebrows knitted high up. He was fighting with himself, confusion, anger, awareness of danger returning to us so soon and with such badly injured.

"What are we fighting?"

I shook my head. He took hold of my shoulders and said the one question I dreaded to have to answer my whole life. "What are you fighting?"

I gripped his forearms not flinching under the pressure Thorin was giving me. I wanted to smile to him, reassure him everything will be alright, but boggles were here... and that meant we had a very narrow window of escape from the others. It meant I had to tell him. I went to open my mouth, to tell him the rules that must be abided by when I heard a garbled laugh. The sound made me jump, twist around in a fast motion and back into Thorin pressing him closer to where the fire burned. One of the ponies gave a startled sound and trotted quickly to the side. Thorin grabbed me around my middle and pulled me away from the approaching beast with one arm the other reaching out quickly to snatch the reigns.

Between my head swimming from my sudden turn and the white hot pain of having Thorin squeeze me close to his side I tried to scream only to throw up a mixture of bile and water. The retching sound was awful and that alone made me want to vomit more but the pain was doing a good enough job on its own. My senses were blocked by everything and I could barely hear Thorin cursing and several pairs of hands taking me away from him as more ponies started to sound startled. Dwarves rushed to help Thorin secure the beasts as Ori and Óin held me up while I emptied my stomach completely. Ori's blessed hand soothed on my back as he murmured comforting things to me. Then I was stumbled over and deposited next to Fíli who, this time took my hand and held it while I trembled in agony.

I had to lay still while Óin opened up my waistcoat and shirt. He shook his head and cursed under his breath. "Stoke the fire!" He bellowed. There were shouts suddenly all around us, feet thundering over the ground.

I looked over to Fíli who's face was ashen. He squeezed my hand tight. "D-don't worry Bilbo." Don't worry? But the pain was going away. Fíli suddenly shook me, "Stay awake!" I had dozed off? But when did I-... It dawned on me. My body was in shock and it was trying to shut down. The rest I didn't understand until Dwalin and Bombur were crouched down at my head and feet. The grabbed the edges of the bed roll and hefted me up into the air carried on the fabric that they tried to keep from bending under my weight. Fíli's hand left mine and I saw him sitting up, watching me go closer to the fire and I suddenly understood the closeness that Kíli had for his brother. He was strength and surety that everything will be alright. Being away from him, with that expression on his face, it made fear tear through my whole soul.

Now by the fire I was surrounded by the strongest and senior members of our company. Balin sighed softly at my expression. I had no idea what is going on. He touched my head, soothing like a grandfather. As if knowing what I needed to hear he explained. "You were throwing up blood laddy." He continued to sooth as dwarrow followed Óin's instructions, placing their hands on me and keeping my clothing open.

Balin continued. "One of your broken ribs must of lanced something and you're bleeding internally." He held out a stick with leather wrapped around it and slid it into my mouth. "But don't you worry. We have yah, laddy. We have yah."

Then I was cut into.

Thorin pinned the writhing hips under his hands down as Dwalin struggled to keep Bilbo as steady as possible. He couldn't handle the screams that were coming from the one he had fallen in love with. He couldn't handle it when he had first heard Bilbo when Nori had pulled that horrible stick out of Bilbo's eye covered in blood and the jelly of the insides of an eye. He had bit almost through his bracer as to not make a sound when that happened. Now... Now all he could do was place pressure as Óin tried his damnedest to repair the damage that Thorin, unknowingly, had put there himself.

He stared straight ahead feeling cold inside wrapped in a blanket of pain. He had a perfect view of seeing Fíli and Kíli with Ori. They were holding onto each other. Kíli trying to drown out the sounds for Ori by holding his hands over the ginger's ears. Fíli stared straight back as he had an arm wrapped around the two youngest as best as he could with them huddling together, close to his side trying to take comfort from his presence.

Eventually the struggle had stopped, the screams dead in the silence of the forest. Thorin could hear his own heartbeat as it slowed. Was Bilbo dead? Did he just kill his One by accident? He had only tried to take Bilbo away from the danger of the unpredictable pony. He- He did not mean for-

"He's still alive." Balin's voice soothed out as he held a mirror over Bilbo's mouth, the stick removed. He kept an eye on how the hobbit's breath fogged up the mirror.

Óin picked up a hot needle, heedless as to how it hissed against his calloused fingers. He was quick and the stitches were neat as a tailor's own work. When he was done he gently cleaned the stitched up wound.

"I don't believe it was you that caused it." He said in his rolling tone knowing full well that Thorin was blaming himself. "The rib was free floating it would have gotten him eventually. Better now than with no doctor around."

Thorin remained quiet, his hands off of Bilbo but his fingers mindlessly playing with the hem of the red jacket Bilbo still had on. It took him a moment to blink and get his still mind to move forward, pushing at the heavy boulder that were his thoughts. "In the morning we make for Lothering, we do not stop." He said slowly.

"No."

"What?" The leader's voice bit out harshly.

"We cannot risk moving him." Óin said simply. "If we do the wound will reopen and I don't think I can stitch him back up again."

"What would you have me do?"

"We keep him warm and dry. Feed him broth for a week or more and then see if we can move him."

"We do not have enough supplies to keep the infections and pain at bay, you said this yourself."

"Aye, I did. Does not change our situation."

"What if you send someone out to Lothering to get what he needs?" Gandalf spoke up bringing attention back to his forgotten presence. "The ponies may be anxious now but in the morning I have full confidence I can take my horse and be there and back again within a few days."

Thorin looked down to Bilbo, the pool of red around him, the bits crusting. "Please do." He said softly reaching up trying to wipe awake the trail of red that was on white lips.

"Bofur?" He called out getting the brunette's attention.

"Yes?"

"Find things we do not need that are made of iron."

"Uh... how much do you need?"

That was a good question. Bilbo didn't say how much he needed, but it was what he had asked for before... before this happened. "As much as we can spare."