Author's Note: Because I love you people so much you get another chapter today. Aren't I generous? I have a few more stories in the line up that are almost finished but I seem to having some issues with endings. Hopefully that'll resolve itself soon.

Thank you all again for the reviews, favorites, and watches! You really know how to make a girl feel special!

ChaiGrl: Hope your vacation was fun! I'm glad chapter 7 was a good surprise ending to it!

LiL PriNCeSs Me: Secret of NIMH is one of my favorite movies. I can re-watch it constantly.

chestry007: I always enjoying scaring people! I made a career out of it! I love the story idea! Hopefully I'll be able to come up with something that will do it justice!

I'm glad everyone enjoyed that little bonus feature. I had fun writing it.

So this chapter isn't exactly the happiest but my test subject (one NeePanda by pen name) said she really enjoyed it. Hopefully you all feel the same!

ENJOY!

Fili would be just under 3 and Kili would be heading to one. Generally speaking of course.

Thorin sat in his chair and stared into the fire, eyes not really seeing. In his mind he saw flashes of the Battle of Azanulbizar. His grandfather's head rolling toward him. Sprays of black blood across his face. His sister's husband's pleas to keep his family safe in his wake. Frerin lying dead in his arms. His own father driven to madness. Dis's sobs on learning of the death of her family. The flames from the pyres. The sheer amount of dead. The shrieks of orcs and cries of the wounded. Each image replayed itself over and over in his head as he sat, wide awake even though his remaining family had gone to bed hours ago...or so he thought.

From the doorway of their bedroom both Fili and Kili watched their uncle. Fili knew they should both be sleeping and knew that if they were caught they'd be in big trouble. Yet the sight of their uncle, sitting in front of the fire alone, kept Fili from insisting they both go to bed. Just as he was pondering what he could do for Thorin, Fili felt something brush his legs and looked down, only to see Kili crawling away toward the living quarters. Fili made a grab for his brother's shirt but missed. Inwardly he groaned, they were in huge trouble now.

Thorin saw his wife's husband laying in a pool of his own blood, body mangled beyond repair. Distantly he heard Sagnus ask about his own health as he called, desperately, for a healer. He watched as Sagnus coughed up blood, asking Thorin to care for his son and the child he would never see. Just as Thorin was about to swear that he would protect them with his life, he was jolted out of his memories by a small hand on his knee. Thorin looked down and saw Kili standing in front of him, using Thorin's legs to keep himself up. When he connected eyes with his younger nephew Kili let go and plopped down onto his bottom again. Kili looked up at his uncle and raised his arms to be lifted. Just as Thorin bent to oblige him he heard a hushed voice, "Kili?"

Turning to his right he saw Fili, crawling on the ground in an attempt to go unnoticed, toward his brother. Apparently both of his nephews felt bedtime didn't apply to them, "What are you doing awake?"

Fili froze, his only movement being his eyes that rolled up and stared at his uncle in mild panic. Thorin and Fili looked at each other for a long minute before Thorin spoke again, "Fili? Why are you and your brother out of bed?"

Fili got to his feet slowly but stayed silent, staring at the ground. Thorin waited patiently for a response but soon realized he wasn't going to get one. Thorin sighed, "Fili. Come here."

Fili crept forward at a snail's pace, halting in front of his uncle, eyes still staring at his bare feet. Thorin ran a gentle hand over Fili's head. He didn't have the heart to get mad at him. Not tonight, "Fili, I'm not angry. Why are you out of bed?"

Fili's eyes looked up hesitantly, head still hanging, "I saw the light from the fire from the crack in the door. I went to see who it was...you looked sad Uncle."

Thorin looked at his eldest nephew and didn't see Fili but Sagnus staring back at him. Thorin squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and when they opened it was once again his nephew staring at him. Thorin patted his lap, "Come here."

Fili scrambled up onto his uncle's lap, Thorin shifting Kili over a bit so his brother had room. They sat in silence for a bit, Thorin rocking them gently, Kili playing with a strand of his uncle's long hair, and Fili slowly drifting off from a mixture of the gentle movement and his uncle's hand rubbing his back soothingly. The silence was broken by Thorin's gruff voice, "How did you get Kili out of his crib?"

Kili had been sharing a room with his brother for a few months now. He currently slept in an ornately carved wooden crib that was filled with warm blankets. It was too tall for Fili to reach in and too steep for Kili to climb out...or so they had thought.

"Kili was climbing out of it and I helped him get down the other side. He climbs out of his crib almost every night," Fili explained with a yawn.

Thorin looked down at his youngest nephew who smiled back up at him and let out a stream of baby talk. For a brief moment Thorin saw Frerin smiling back at him and swallowed hard. When he looked down again Frerin was once again Kili who was now sucking on his two middle fingers. Thorin plucked them from his mouth and Kili protested with a whine. The complaints died as soon as Kili discovered his uncle's hand. The babe was soon fully occupied with his uncle's signet ring, babbling happily. Thorin tuned him out, mind once again delving into memories of battle. Thorin watched as Balin told him of Frerin's death. He felt himself holding his baby brother's lifeless body, felt the emotional anguish once again when he was jerked out of his memories once again by Fili. Glancing down to see exactly why his mind had brought him back to the present, he heard Fili sniffling quietly and could see the glistening trail of tears going down his cheeks.

"Fili," Thorin said gently.

Fili looked up, lip quivering. The child dashed away his tears in an attempt to hide the fact that he was crying. Thorin frowned slightly, that simply would not do. If Fili was upset about something he needed to find out what, "What's wrong?"

Fili just shook his head sadly, staring down at his tiny bare feet. Thorin put Kili back down on the floor and turned Fili so the attention was fully on him, "What's wrong?"

Fili's voice quivered as he explained, "I miss Papa."

Sagnus's bodied face briefly flashed before Thorin's eyes. Thorin pushed some of Fili's blonde hair out of his face with a sigh, "You know something Fili?"

Fili looked up at him questioningly, eyes still filled with tears, "What?"

"I miss him too."

Fili's nose scrunched up in mild surprise, "Really?"

"Yes," Thorin nodded, "And I miss Uncle Frerin, Grandfather, and Thror too."

Fili's head dropped onto his uncle's chest and he cried silently. If Uncle could miss them, Fili certainly could too. Thorin kept rubbing Fili back comfortingly, rocking them both gently. His mind wandered to the battle again, this time seeing his grandfather's head roll past his feet. He watched himself take on Azog, feeling the same fear, distress, and anger he felt that day. He felt the heat of flames on his face as they burned their dead. The sheer amount of death that caused them to be unable to bury even the king. He was overwhelmed with memories, utterly overwhelmed. Suddenly he was drawn out of everything when he once again felt a tiny hand on his knee. Looking down he saw Kili beaming up at him. Fili's cries had died down to the occasional sniffle so Thorin lifted Kili onto his lap again.

Safe on his uncle's lap Kili examined his brother. Fili was crying and seemed very unhappy. Kili crawled to his big brother the best he could and reached for him. Fili hugged his little brother and felt his tears come anew as Kili hugged back tightly. Eventually Fili calmed himself once again and pulled back, "Thank Kili."

Kili's face screwed up in thought before he beamed at his brother, "Fi-wi."

Fili's mouth fell opened, "What?"

Clearly happy that he had gotten a reaction, Kili repeated himself, "Fi-wi."

Fili looked at his uncle with a massive smile, "Uncle Thorin! He said Fili...kind of."

Looking up at his uncle Kili repeated his brother as best he could, "For-in."

Dark memories instantly forgotten Thorin stared at his youngest nephew in shock. Kili looked from his brother to his uncle and repeated his two new words, "Fi-wi. For-in."

Thorin felt his dark mood lighten slightly as he looked at his nephews. Fili was desperately trying to get Kili to repeat his name as many times as he could and Kili was clearly getting tired of this game. In a rare show of affection Thorin hugged the boys to him, both of them immediately hugging back. Once they were released Fili made himself comfortable, head on his uncle's chest while Kili put his two middle fingers back in his mouth, fighting to keep his eyes opened. Thorin started up the rocking again, hoping to put the boys to sleep. Kili had just started with tiny baby snores when Thorin realized that his mind wasn't plagued with memories of death but instead was running through a list of things he needed to do the next day. Looking down at his nephews he felt a surge of gratefulness toward them for drawing him out of his rather dark mood that had been plaguing him for days.

Dis walked out of her bedroom as quietly as she could. She had been hoping to check on her brother who she knew was once again sitting in front of the fire, not sleeping. His thoughts had been excessively dark of late and had led to an insomnia that was concerning her. Noticing the fire going Dis felt her hopes sink and she approached to ask if Thorin needed anything. What she saw was not what she expected and was better than she could have hoped. Thorin was asleep in the rocking chair, Fili and Kili snoring softly on his lap. Dis watched them for a few long minutes before she shook herself back into functionality. After stoking the fire to assure it wouldn't go out, Dis grabbed one of the quilts from the sofa and draped it over them. Giving them one last fond smile, she returned to her room for the night.