Nerys woke early. The bed had been so comfortable after three days on the road. She had slept in complete peace and without fear for the first time in years. She smiled. She had Fili and Kili to thank for that. She would prepare them a meal before they left, but when she went out, the floor was empty of them or their belongings. All there was left of their visit were two rabbits, hanging on a hook near the fireplace.
Nerys wept. Tears of sorrow that her friends had gone. Tears of laughter at how they had said their goodbyes like Thorin had, with two rabbits. And then there were the tears that came with every other emotion. Fili and Kili had saved her life, they had helped her, they had laughed with her, they had protected her, they reminded her of her childhood life saver.
Her hands rested on her belly. She felt the baby squirm. "Oh little one," she whispered, "I can't wait to meet you and if you are a son, your name will be Thorin."
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Thorin watched as his company bedded down for the night in the hobbit's home. Some of them had found spare beds and some of them found soft spaces of carpet to lay on. He needed to talk to his nephews, but had been unable to get a moment with them. He stepped his way through the bodies of his company until he found Fili and Kili, sitting close together, whispering.
"Fili, Kili," Thorin's deep voice rumbled quietly. He went to the round front door, opened it and stepped out into the warm night air. His nephews were right behind him. The found places to sit and all of them lit their pipes.
"Tell me about your journey here," Thorin said.
Fili and Kili grinned. Thorin was surprised by the looks on their face.
"Uncle, you wouldn't guess who we met on the road yesterday," Kili said.
Thorin shrugged his shoulders. He didn't feel like playing guessing games.
"Nerys, the little girl from your story. The girl you taught how to cook rabbit," Fili told him.
"The little girl with the kitchen knives?" Thorin asked, utterly surprised.
"That's her."
"How did you come to meet her?" Thorin asked.
"We saw a young human female on the road to Bree, all alone. She was heavy with child and almost lost her balance. We helped her," Kili explained.
Fili continued the story, "She said she had only met one other dwarf and that Kili looked like him. Then she told us her story - how she had to get her kitchen knives sharpened and the kind dwarf blacksmith who accepted her two pennies when he should have taken more."
"She told us how she made him bread and he brought her rabbits when she couldn't hunt or have the money to purchase her own food. She told us how that dwarf taught her to skin and cook a rabbit, and helped her care for her siblings," Kili continued.
"And how, as a parting gift, he left her two more rabbits so her family could eat well in the days to come," Fili finished.
"You met Nerys," Thorin smiled at his nephews. "Is she well? Why was she alone on the road?"
"Well, it seems her husband would beat her and she was running away before he could hurt the baby," Fili told him. Thorin's eyes flashed red with anger. He could not tolerate abuse to a female.
"We made sure she arrived in Bree to her aunt's house safely," Kili said.
"That was good of you, boys. You know how much I liked that little girl. Thank you for watching out for her." Thorin laid a hand on Fili's shoulder.
"There's just one more thing, Thorin," Fili spoke quietly. He looked to Kili for his support. Kili nodded. Uncle had to know about their fight.
Thorin's blue eyes bore into Fili's. "Yes?"
Nerys's husband showed up before we reached Bree," Fili spoke carefully.
Kili jumped in, "She was terrified of him. He spoke very hateful at her. We couldn't let him take her."
"We had a bit of a fight, but they drew their swords first, " Fili said. "No one was injured, except for the two men's pride. We told him he was never to go near her again. They ran after that."
"I promise, Uncle, we didn't start it," Kili was practically pleading.
Thorin smiled and laid an hand on each of his nephew's shoulders. "Boys," he spoke firmly, "it sounds like you were much kinder to those men than I would have been."
His nephews stared at him in surprise.
"You were right to defend Nerys against one who has harmed her and would do it again. I would have been angry if you had done nothing. Well done. I am proud of you both."
They grinned at him, relief in their eyes. They were young, they could be impulsive and lacked experience, but Thorin knew now they were ready. Honor and loyalty. Helping those who needed protection, even when they feared their actions would ban them from the quest. They knew right from wrong. He had raised them to be princes and a good prince never turned his back on the helpless.
"Uncle?" Fili started, "Nerys asked us for permission to name her son after you, if she were to have a son, and we said yes."
"She did?" Thorin was shocked by the tears that threatened to fill his eyes.
"She thought a great deal of you," Kili said, his voice hardly more than a whisper. "I believe you showed her kindness when no one else would. It must have made a huge impression on her young life."
Thorin was quiet. He didn't trust his voice to speak. His nephews knew him well enough not to bother him any longer.
"Night Uncle Thorin," Fili said. He and Kili went into the house.
When Thorin was sure he was alone, he reached into his shirt and pulled on a small silver chain that hung around his neck. Hanging from the chain were two small silver pennies. The very ones Nerys had given him as payment for sharpening her kitchen knives. They very last of her money in a tough time. He had kept them. They were worth so much more to him than their monetary value. He clasped his hand around the pennies and held them to his heart.
Funny how life has a way of putting people in your path or put you in their path. He had save her life and then his own nephews had been placed into her life to save her again. He didn't know on his nephew's behalf, but Nerys had done Thorin good, too. A little girl from the race of man who had shown him kindness when so many of her race did not. Had had spent a good part of his adult life, on the road, working in the forges and blacksmith shops of men to earn himself some money to keep his sister and nephews fed and clothed. During those months when he was away, he would miss his family more than words could say. For a few short days, Nerys had filled that emptiness he felt when he was away from his family. He had enjoyed being her and her siblings uncle, even if it had been for a short time.
Thorin tucked the chain back into his shirt and chuckled. His little Nerys, all grown up and ready to have a child of her own. Had that much time really passed?
He wondered as he settle down for the night in one of the hobbit's spare beds, if there would be an infant bearing his name soon. It was an honor, although strange to think of a human with his name when there was no blood relation. Well, the child would live in Bree and Thorin would eventually be in Erebor, a half a world away.
