Forget Me Not Chapter 10: Not as bad, a hobbit fanfic

Beta Reader: Madame Cross Marian

Her childhood had been based on running.

Down the hill, up it. Across flower fields, through the woods that were behind her house. Through farms, away from said farm's dogs and its owner because of the mushrooms she may or may not have taken with her. Away from Lobelia, and that could have been the most important aspect of running in her life, because only Valar knew what that woman would have said or done if she had caught up with Bilbo, but that had never ever happened. The hobbit lass had ran and ran –Running away from anything really, including scary dreams and meaningless fragments in her mind of a life that surely was not hers-, until she realized her father's health was not going to get any better while waiting for her back at their house, and that skirts for young lasses like her were not meant for running anymore.

Now she was glad she had so much experience running away from threating things, just like Lobelia had been. She was glad her legs and feet remembered so well what it was to run down a hill without ending up rolling the rest of the way down, and she was glad her eyes recalled where to look in order to not fall flat on her face. But she was not glad to see Kili or Fili's worried faces as they ran besides her, or Dori's grip on Ori's wrist as the older brother dragged the younger brother after him, or Thorin's hand gripping his sword as he ran just in front of her. And you can be sure she was not glad for the Wargs chasing after them.

The howling had been first. There was no moment of silence in which to think about it, there was no moment to discuss what had been said, there was just a moment to look at their back and see wargs running down the side of the mountain towards them, and it didn't take to be a genius to know it wouldn't take them much time reach the company. But it didn't take them much time to start running again either, a thing they seemed to be doing quite a lot lately.

"Bilbo, I have your bow!" Somewhere among the noises there was Fili, yelling at her from… somewhere. She turned around, finally being able of taking her sword out of the damned warg, her neck almost twisting and cracking from all the turns she did, looking for the blonde and dark haired dwarves. They were a few feet away from her, at least Fili, but to her surprise Kili was just by her side. The older of the two indeed carried her bow and her quiver on his shoulder, but she did not find the time to feel happy or at least relieved for it.

"There is no time!" There was Gandalf, most probably making a mental count of all of them as he looked around. The wizard met her eyes for a moment, worry clear on his eyes, before he shouted to all of them, "Up to the trees! Quickly! Climb as far as you possibly can!" And there really was absolutely no time, not even to look properly at the trees they were supposed to climb. This is madness, she thought the same moment she took her first step towards the closest tree, gulping and praying as she began to climb. She saw Kili, just above her, reaching higher and higher and Bilbo wondered if someone as young as he was knew what he would be facing on that quest. She wondered if she knew about it at all.

-They both tripped over some root their eyes had not noticed before, sending them flying to the ground, arms holding the small girl tightly against her mother's chest. To Bilbo's ears, there was only a twisted version of silence for a second or two, as they didn't stay long on the ground. After that same second or two, they were running again, helped to their feet by the hands of those who accompanied them-.

Out of the blue, she did not like running so much anymore.

"Up, Master Baggins, keep going"

That deep voice was recognizable in every single situation. More or less because it was the one they all had to follow no matter what, the one that ordered them around the camp, and the one that could be both cold as ice, or surprisingly pleasant. Looking down, she found Thorin's eyes looking straight at her, his hand on her ankle and just then she realized he was the one helping her reaching for the branches with her feet. If she had been anybody else Bilbo would have cursed herself for being so small, the tree for being so tall, and Thorin for probably taking pity on her.

"Bilbo?" There was a small pause for her as she looked up, right to Kili's eyes. Again, she had seen those eyes somewhere, that slight sparkle of fear but great determination; oh yes, on those same eyes, when Kili had charged against the trolls in a kind of interesting attempt of protecting her.

"Straight to the top Kili, don't mind me." If he had the time Thorin most probably would have said something about how she had smiled reassuringly at his nephew, like she, out of all of them, could somehow guarantee his safety. The young dwarf nodded, continuing climbing. Thorin did not comment on it, and she did not do such a thing as cursing herself, the tree, or him. Instead she looked down at the leader, nodding with her head and reaching as far as she could for the next branch, the hand on her ankle leaving her just when she had started a steady rhythm.

She had not been called Mad Baggins by her cousins for anything.

"Here they come!" Someone, most probably Bofur, yelled from somewhere high on the trees. On cue a dozen or so of wargs ran around their trees, one or two trying to jump as if to catch them. When most stayed in line, the company cheered, but that was not something Bilbo did. Now, they were climbing onto trees, surrounded by wargs and too close to a cliff, was there really something to be happy about? She doubted it. Because then, of course, came the orcs that mounted more wargs, each one as displeasing to the eye as the next one, grinning horribly and disgustingly at them.

And then, among the Orcs, there came a figure she had not seen chasing them before; a pale orc, on top of a white warg, a metal claw instead of a left arm. That one, she thought for a moment before her mind could make connections, must be their leader.

"That's impossible" She heard Thorin breathe in, and she could only imagine his stunned face. The air around them became heavy, and by that moment, Bilbo found it hard to breathe as her heart beat picked up, her eyes going wide and her ideas clashing among them, a new image rising from the very back of her brain. "Azog."

-Bilbo was stuck inbetween her mother's back and a tree, but, as always, because her body continued to grow as her mother's stayed the same, it was not enough to hide most of her face. Her eye was there to receive the image of a horrible creature riding what was not quite a dog, not quite a wolf, bigger than both, a sword in-his, its- hand, a cruel smile on his deformed face. There was a spark of maybe amusement in those blank eyes of his when her mother took out her sword, the one that was shining with the blue glow ever so slightly-

We are going to die.

Maybe Bilbo didn't completely realize that was her actual thought, and not a part of the small portion of –should be- meaningless images on her head, or maybe she did and that's exactly why she held that tightly to the branch she was holding. Her nightmares had long been gone, and she couldn't quite remember the exact figure that had caused her so many sleepless nights, but why could she remember blank eyes? Why did that Orc- Azog look so familiar to it? The monster had had both arms, but that was not reassuring enough, that's not reassuring enough. But still there he was, on top of the white Warg that compared to his pale skin, laughing at them, pointing at Thorin, commanding the other Wargs to attack them, and here she was, clinging to the tree because her life did depend on it.

-There was blood, from her own head, but there was blood in her hands too, on her dress, in her face. The scariest thing was to realize the blood came as well from the body lying in front of her-

For the first time since she had left The Shire, Bilbo was terrified.

"Bilbo!" Her eyes were still shut when she heard Gandalf calling for her, but the hobbit couldn't bring herself to snap out of it, to make her heart beat again or to make her arms move as she felt how the tree was being attacked wargs. There was absolutely no way she was going to accept that image inside her head, and there was no way she was going to look again at that orc; the nightmares had been horrible, they had lasted so much time, she had fought against them long enough. But she had been stronger when she was a kid, when she was fiery and stubborn as hell, when she had her father. She couldn't do it anymore, there was no one there anymore. Not again, she couldn't do it again.

"Bilbo!"

Thorin.

Her eyes snapped open, and she looked down.

The dwarf was not looking at her, but it had been his voice. He was trying to kick the wargs on the face, his hand holding her ankle –and that hand had not been there before the wargs came- his face not at all like she had imagined before- had he not been shocked? Had him not been afraid? Looking at him she recalled Balin telling that story in front of the fire that night, a beheaded king, a crazy father, a heartbroken grandson. How many people had Thorin lost that one night besides the many, many soldiers that died? A grandfather, a father, those who had always been there for him.

Azog had pointed at Thorin.

That was not her story's monster, she realized as she pressed her lips into a thin line.

It was Thorin's.

"Fili!" Her scream was kind of muted by all the barking, screaming, cursing and more around her, but she called out for the prince anyway. He was on other tree, kicking a Warg on the face, her bow hanging from his shoulder "Fili!" Bilbo cursed under her breathe when he didn't hear her. The hobbit knew she could take Azog down with an arrow, he wouldn't be expecting an archer, or at least someone who could shoot him from their situation, but she had nothing to shoot with. She opened her mouth again, ready to call for him one more time, but instead of his name she let out a terrified scream.

The tree was falling to one side.

Right. Into. The. Other. Tree.

Never in her life had she been so close to Dwalin at that moment when she most literally landed on top of him, losing her grip on the branch and falling against his shoulder quite fast and quite heavily. The hobbit swore she had seen Thorin's eyes on her, almost narrowed at her situation, before being lifted by the collar of her coat by Dwalin, who unceremoniously threw her into Bifur's arm on the other tree as they fell again. Never mind the fact that she had been treated like luggage, a thing that she tried to ignore, it just wasn't a good idea to have thirteen dwarves, one wizard and one hobbit on the same tree. Not that her weight mattered much, but still.

"Gandalf, if I don't die today, I'm going to strangle you with your own beard!" There was dry laugh somewhere on the tree, but as an answer, instead of a pissed wizard she got a burning sphere into her hands fallen from the branch above her head. What the- It did not burn her palms, but she was pretty sure it was real fire.

"Throw it at them my friend, you might find some kind of release for your anger!"

He had been the one saying they didn't have time, and he was the one to use it for a joke. A wizard he had to be.

Turned out to be a rather brilliant way to keep the wargs away from their tree. A small part of her felt pity towards the creatures as they ran around, catching fire on their way, but the biggest part was too focused on throwing more spheres to care. Survival mode was something she didn't particularly like, but since she did like to live, there was no other way but to fully embrace it. There were loud cheers when the last of the wargs stepped out of the fire circle, but it did not last long; true to her worries, the tree almost too quickly gave in to their combined weight and started to fall to one side. Why did they have to choose the one next to the cliff, huh?

"Don't do it, Thorin." Balin's voice was close, so close she was surprised when she opened her eyes and found him on the branch next to his. Her ears could pick up Azog's dark laugh, probably laughing at them, but her eyes were focused on the dwarf standing on the tree, looking at the orc. Thorin was frowning, his hand wrapped around the hilt of Orcrist, and his eyes were narrowed on the orc's direction. It was the moment she started to panic a little, because it was the moment she knew exactly what he intended to do.

"Tho-"

He charged.

Why did he never listen to anyone? Bilbo groaned quite loudly, and not exactly because she was hanging from a branch over a cliff, but because no matter how much time she stayed in the company of dwarves, she would never understand them. A pair of hands brought her up, two pairs actually- Gloin and Bifur, surprisingly enough, were the ones to bring her up to sit on the trunk, making sure she was not going to fall. The hobbit took the opportunity to look around, and almost had a heart attack when she saw Ori hanging from Dori's feet and Dori hanging from Gandalf's staff. Closer to her, Kili struggled to bring himself up to the trunk, Fili almost on the same situation; she leaned and began to extend her hand to help them at the same time Fili's eyes shot up to meet her own, and then what was behind her, and Bilbo could have sworn he had never looked as scared as he had looked at that moment.

"Uncle!"

The hobbit froze. Well, not really, she was quick to turn around and see what had given the prince such a reaction. It shouldn't have been a surprise to see Thorin trying to block, almost in vain, Azog's attack with that single piece of oak as a shield. To her horror, the shield was knocked out of his hands and onto the ground, followed by his body and his sword. Unlike his nephews, her eyes didn't stay on him to see how another orc dismounted his warg in order to bring a sword to Thorin's neck. Instead, she looked down at her own little sword.

He was mean.

He needed an actual reason to like someone.

He did not have the best manners.

His ego was as big as her Smial was, maybe bigger than Lobelia's.

He was self-absorbed most of the times.

Her body collided with the orc, sending both of them flying to the ground to his right. Bilbo gritted her teeth when her side landed on the hard ground, most probably bruising her ribs, if they weren't already that is, but she didn't close her eyes for even a second. Her hand and sword were up in less than she had expected, keeping the Orc's arm away from her, her body already turning around her own body as she brought the bigger body down using gravity and adrenaline. Once on top, all there was left to do was to bring her sword down and onto his chest, time after time until there was no more breathing and struggling. But that didn't mean there was no threat.

The steps she took towards Thorin when she took her sword out were shaky, but it was forgotten when she stood in front of him, facing the much bigger, much stronger beings just a couple of feet in front of her. Her sword most probably was the size of their feet, but she could still hold it up in front of her anyway, breathing heavily.

But not everything about him was bad.

"Stay away!"

Many years after that, Bilbo would look back and think that it was the moment she started to behave like a dwarf. Of course, that did not mean she had lost her sense of property –If she had had any left, to start with- or her table manners, but it was the moment that most definitely changed her, and yes, it changed her for the better. It was not silent when the pale Orc looked over at her, his face surprised for just a mere second at her not at all scary threat, and then he let out what most probably was the closest to a chuckle that he could muster. Somehow she knew he was not laughing at her words but at her as a whole, taking in her small sword and hairy feet, her pointy ears and her curly hair, taking in her features like it amused him to no end.

He said something that she couldn't understand, but she didn't want to, not only because it probably wasn't good or nice, she could get that much from how a warg slowly made her way to her at his command, but because that tongue had her head spinning and the ring in her pocket weighting a ton more. The whispers were soon to appear, crawling up her spine and into her hears, making her dizzy and annoyingly annoyed.

Revenge.

Take it. Kill it. Blood.

"Even if I wanted to, I doubt I could do it"

Kili and Fili followed her steps, charging against the wargs that were going near her and their uncle. Dwalin was next, his hammer quick to appear, and it was her cue to charge as well. She was small enough to dodge the swords and warg's teeth, but not strong enough to completely block their attacks; a scratch at a wargs face and an injury to its leg, something that brought it down with its owner. Bofur took care of said Orc as she turned around, only to notice that Azog himself was going for her head, his white wargs head too close to her own for Bilbo to feel happy about it.

He said something that, again, she did not understand but made the whispers louder, stronger, but that was not the reason she was pushed to the ground. His sword was the reason for that. She cursed, bringing her sword up at the same time his came down, expecting a painful experience.

Just to be witness when a giant eagle took Azog down from his warg.

Bilbo blinked. Once, twice, but that did not make the eagle disappear, in fact, as time went by it made more of them appear and take down more orcs. She saw as they took the wargs and threw them off the cliff, a small smile on her lips when she realized Gandalf was laughing- A friend of eagles in deed. Giant Eagles at that! Bilbo would have laughed if she hadn't remembered who was behind her, in terrible condition.

"Thorin!" With her sword in its place and the eagles taking care of the wargs, she had the time to kneel besides the king. His eyes were closed as she gathered his sword, a hand on his chest. Bilbo frowned as she noticed there was almost no rising or falling in that particular place, and that his face was far too pale for her liking. "Thorin!" She called again, hoping that he would at least order her to not call him with such familiarity. But there was nothing, not even the slightest movement. And it made her panic.

"Gandalf! Oin!" Bilbo looked around almost frantically, looking for said wizard or dwarf- It was not okay, Thorin was not okay, and it was out of her knowledge how to help him. When no one answered, she screamed again. "GANDALF!"

Then she saw the eagle coming. Bilbo was small enough to fit in between the eagles claws and the dwarf's body as they were lifted off the ground. Surely, she would blush about it later on in her life, but right now the fact that she was closer to him that she had been to any male before, excluding her family, was not something her mind was able to give importance to at the moment. She glanced over his shoulder to see the cliff and the rest of the company being thrown off it- She couldn't even gasp before they were caught by other eagles. Her heart beat fast as she glanced back to the place they had been, looking at the fire and the silhouette of the pale orc she did not want to see again in her life, consciously moving Orcrist so it wouldn't wound either of them.

The wind caressed her face and her head, and it was something she should have been glad about. Physically, it was the most peaceful moment they had had in all their journey- Up there in the air, being carried by the eagles, there was little that could harm them in some way. But it was not peaceful for her, it was not peaceful at all, and all because of the stupid dwarf she was crushed against at that very moment. He was stupid for many things: one, he was stupid for facing an enemy alone while wounded; two, he was stupid for facing an enemy much bigger than him out of revenge while his company was threatened with falling off a cliff; three, he was stupid because his breathing was so low she could barely felt it.

"I will hate you forever and ever if you die on me," she whispered against his shoulder. "That's a promise."

Bilbo thanked the Valar and the eagle for a soft landing on top of that high rock, sitting on it and looking as it flew away from them. She quickly turned her head towards Thorin and his sword away from them, not knowing how she managed not to stab either of them in the journey. She checked for his pulse again, but it was weak, just like before. She could only breathe in relief when the other eagles deposited the company on the rock by her side, and when Oin hurried to the King's side. She just stood back to give him all the space he needed. Bilbo looked over her shoulder as everyone hovered by, looking at him with worry, because Thorin was always the one to be fine, always the one to order Oin to attend to the injured. It was not right nor natural to stand by his side as he was the one being treated.

"A fool, just like his grandfather," Muttered Gandalf as he walked pass her, kneeling beside his kin. Oin, looking stressed and worried, gave the wizard his place. Gandalf placed a hand on top of Thorin's eyes, and Bilbo could barely hear him whispering something in a different tongue. She was so busy looking for a reaction to his words that she didn't even try to translate them. And thank the Valar there was a reaction. Never in her life had Bilbo been so happy to see his eyes open and looking at the wizard's face.

"The Halfling?" To her surprise those were the first words that crossed his lips. She heard Gandalf chuckle at that.

"Bilbo is here, we have nothing to fear, is quite safe" He said, and the others laughed little at that. They helped their leader to his feet, and as soon as he was up, Thorin looked straight at her. The smile that had been on Bilbo's face immediately disappeared at the look he was giving her, or more like the glare. Here we go again.

"You," He muttered, almost growling, taking a step towards her. Then another, and another. Was it a good idea to just stand there? "What were you doing? You could have gotten yourself killed!" It was a quite familiar conversation, that one. And just like before Thorin looked positively mad, like he had insulted him instead of saved his life. "You have always been secretive around us, since the very beginning. You go and do things that you are not meant to do, and you put your life on the line unnecessarily. Did I not say it at the very beginning, back in your beloved house. You would be best staying there, because then, you wouldn't be able to do inconvenient things." He almost, almost, snarled into her face and Bilbo closed her eyes tightly. Why did it seem that she couldn't do anything right with him? Why was it so hard to make him happy? Before, she had been angry, but now there was nothing but sadness. "I've never been so wrong in all my life."

If you ask Bilbo what made her open her eyes, if it was the hug or those last words, she wouldn't be able to answer. Maybe it had been both. But the truth was that she was left frozen on her place when Thorin's strong arms wrapped themselves around her, holding Bilbo close to his chest, the place she had been just a few moments ago. This time, there was a strong heartbeat against her cheek, and that alone made the hobbit smile a little, still shocked by his actions. Her arms were so small she couldn't quite return the hug or at least not properly, but somehow she thought that it did not matter and did it anyway.

"I'm sorry I doubted you," he mumbled into her hair before releasing her slowly, looking down at her face. And she was so going to remember those words and that expression for the rest of her life, because most probably it was the only one she was going to get. Hopefully enough there wouldn't be a need for another apology. Though she doubted it.

"Actually, I was already doubting myself. As you can see, I'm not a hero, and I can't say I've been trying to be one," she shook her head, placing a hand on the side of her head. It was spinning around, and around, and around. Oh dear.

"Thorin?" He looked down at her, that shadow of that grateful smile still somewhere on his lips. Bilbo admired the view for a few moments. Then she grimaced because she realized it was too late, her legs were already giving up. "I'm glad you are alive."

And then it was dark.

Next time she opened her eyes, it was to see the sky turning orange.

And two pairs of eyes looking straight at her face, each face at the side of hers, like they were expecting her to do something amusing or worrying, or both. Blinking a few times, she took in the color of hair and the style of the braids, but over everything else, the bright smiles that actually made her close her eyes for a moment and wince ever so slightly. They are actually bright, too bright, let me look at the sky again, please.

"Bilbo! You are awake!"

"Yes, thank you for announcing it, Kili." She mumbled, smiling at them and cracking open one eye then the other one. Ori was sitting at her left while Kili sat on her right, both apparently unharmed, thanks the Valar. Of course, unharmed if she tried to forget about the small but many scratches on their faces and fingers, most probably from hanging from that tree- She probably had them too. Her own war scars, that's a somehow amusingly worrying fact, those two at the same time, she chuckled silently.

"Are you feeling okay, Master Bilbo?" Ori blinked at her, worry in his eyes as he tilted his head "Does your head hurt? Maybe your ribs? Somewhere?" The young dwarf did not seem as worried anymore, not like he had been inside the mountain, and that gave her certainty that they were, in fact, safe wherever they were. Opening her mouth to answer, she was interrupted even before she could speak.

"That's what I should be asking, lad, and I'm not planning on giving up on my job anytime soon," Oin came into view, and his answer was so accurate that she wondered if his problem of hearing only applied in certain cases or when he chose it to. Most of the time he seemed terribly aware of what was being said around him. "Do Master Bilbo a favor and go fetch some water so he can drink, aye? Off you go!" He basically shooed the two dwarves, making Kili pout and Ori nodded, before they both actually stood and walked over their bags, starting to dig for their water skins "You have a tight leash on those two lad, didn't leave your side since we put you down." The healer commented as he sat beside her, smashing something, most likely herbs, with two small rocks.

"Leash you say," Bilbo chuckled, feeling light headed for a moment. The hobbit blinked again, trying to clear her view before everything became clear again. Tilting her head, she looked up at Oin "I… I fainted?" He snorted.

"I'll give you credit, it was not because of any fright- I knew you were tougher than that the moment you read the contract and didn't faint, mind ya'. Looks it was because of exhaustion, if you want to know. Those two made sure we knew all you had done inside that mountain, and if I were you, I would be prepared to face Dori's crushing gratitude until the day you die." As he spoke he motioned towards Ori and Kili with his head, wincing when he mentioned Dori's name and his gratitude. If it involved hugging then Bilbo would have to consider wincing too- She had seen Dori fighting and knew how damn strong he was.

"Isn't that nice to know." Behind Ori, Bombur was gathering some things alongside Bifur, but besides that, they were the only ones she could see. With her hands at her side, she slowly pushed most part of her body up, going for a sitting position with shaky arms "Where are w- ouch!" She fell back to the bedroll, a hand on her forehead where she had been attacked by one of Oin's fingers. Suddenly, she felt like a kid all over again. "Why did you do that? Was that actually necessary?"

"It is my job as a healer to make my patients rest until they are well enough to walk, or to do certain things depending on their case. You most literally threw yourself against an orc four times your size, get the idea?" This time he didn't snort. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at her "You won't be sitting until I say you can."

"No need to get physical about it," Bilbo quietly complained, really feeling like a child. That was something her grandfather, the Thain, had done just once in her lifetime when she was like twenty and said that she was going to have tea with Otto. Thank the Valar he snapped some sense into her. Resting her head down, she tried to look around as much as she could, frowning a little when she had a perfectly clear view of the sunset and no trees nearby "Where are we? I can see the woods, so we are quite far from the ground. Are we still on top of the rock?"

"Yes, we need to tend to the injured and rest. We have faced enough for today."

It was not Oin who answered her question. Looking to one side, Bilbo saw Thorin walking towards her, standing a feet or two from her bedroll. The hobbit blinked- Wasn't he a little bit too close? Oh well, she was not as focused on that as she was on his calm expression. When was the last time she saw him like that? Back at her house? Maybe it was not even like that back then. There wasn't a smile like it had been before she fainted –she still couldn't believe she did, and just in front of him- but it was a friendly expression. It made her relax and smile.

"I've never thought I lived to see the day you would say something like 'enough for today'. But tell me then, your majesty, did you let Oin treat you as well?" This time Oin snorted and laughed. Thorin rolled her eyes, and Bilbo grimaced. So she had been right with her sarcasm.

"You say it to him, lad, maybe he'll finally listen," the healer still laughed, and she was tempted to do so too when the leader of the company crossed his arms over his chest. Just like a child is bond to do, when he has been caught.

"I don't need such a thing."

"Right."

Thorin narrowed his eyes at her.

"I was not the one to faint."

Bilbo smirked at him.

"I happen to think you actually were."

"Bilbo has a point Uncle, you should listen to us and to him and get treatment," Fili walked by his uncle's side, a water skin in his hand and Kili storming behind him, obviously pissed his brother had been the one to find the water skin first. "He thinks we are all plotting against him." He informed the Hobbit as he helped her drink. No water tasted better, of that Bilbo was sure, welcoming the sensation inside her dry throat. Once she was done Fili handed the water to Oin, who mixed the herbs he had been crushing with the water inside a smaller water skin.

"Which you are." Bilbo actually laughed when Thorin threw the comment with his arms crossed over his shoulder. It was nice, really, this relaxed atmosphere. But then her head started to trouble her, a small headache become a quite big one at the side of her head. She brought a hand to her head, sighing. This was starting to annoy her. To her surprise –she had been getting many these days- Thorin kneeled by her said, looking straight into her eyes. "Rest, Bilbo." The leader said before standing to his feet and nodding at her, walking towards Balin and Gandalf, who suspiciously enough had not talked to her yet. "Our path can wait a little bit longer."

Now that was something she didn't expect to hear either.

"For once, he is right about something regarding health. You do need to sleep, it will help your body to heal quicker," Oin passed the water skin to Fili, who helped her once more to drink from it. It tasted awful, so she figured it was great for her health. "Master Baggins?"

"Yes?"

"Next time you wake up, I want to talk with you about something." The hobbit looked surprised at that, and even more so when Oin and Fili looked at each other, nodding before looking at her. For all that mattered, it looked like they had been plotting, or something similar to it. Was it her imagination or they were looking too seriously at her? "Lass, I think is time we talk about that head wound of yours."

Lass.

Oh dear Valar.

I am going to kill Fili.