Thanks again to everyone for their support!

And please remember to review!

KillerKadoogan: I was giggling when I wrote the part with the cloak and I'm glad you like Thorin's scent...Just wish I could be shrouded in it too :P

Just4Me: Well, you're going to really enjoy this chapter if you like jealous Thorin! Hehehe. And I have a very specific scene in mind for when he does find out about Vanya. I just hope you like it!

Thorin dropped his belongings and ran as fast as his legs could take him to where Vanya lay, not moving and unconscious.

He could hear his heart pounding in his chest and barely heard the yells coming from the rest of his company as they saw what was happening.

All he could focus on was her.

Dropping to his knees beside the girl, he brushed the sopping hair out of her face and frantically called her name.

Her porcelain skin was pale and cold as he cradled her face with his hands, and it nearly caused him pain to think that he had spent the last four days depriving himself of her beauty and her warm smile.

The dwarf saw then as Vanya's chest began to rise and fall jaggedly as she drew breath.

Thorin caressed her cheeks before tilting his head back and breathing an enormous sigh of relief, thanking Mahal for keeping her safe.

Just then he heard footsteps running behind him and didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

Thorin would be damned if he let the Halfling lay a hand on her, so scooping her up in both his arms, he stood up. He marveled at how she weighed next to nothing and how she seemed to drown in his cloak. She was so small, so vulnerable and so young.

Staring at her, Thorin turned and made his way to Gandalf, completely ignoring Bilbo who was asking panicked questions at his side. He noticed both of his nephews and Dwalin had run out behind the Hobbit but he paid none of them any attention either.

His eyes never left her pale face, and the dwarf prince found that he wanted nothing more than to keep her in his arms for as long as possible, to protect her from danger and hurt, perhaps even...

Love her? A small voice in the back of Thorin's mind sneered at him. Lover her so she can break your heart? So she can leave you like an empty shell just as the first one did?

The dwarf frowned and chased the thought out of his mind just as he reached Gandalf, who had a worried look on his wrinkled face.

"Lay her down here." The wizard instructed, pointing to a dry patch of grass that was well under the protection of the trees.

Thorin was almost reluctant to let her go, but he knew he had to. Laying her down gently in his cloak, he stood up as Gandalf swooped down beside the girl.

"What is wrong with her?" The dwarf asked anxiously as he watched the wizard examine her.

Thorin had seen her double over in pain before being thrown off her pony, so he knew it wasn't from the fall. He recalled the discomfort she had been in when she first arrived at Bag End and demanded to be told the whole truth.

Except the wizard wasn't answering, he kept mumbling to himself as he felt the girl's face.

And so, the leader of their company was forced to pace back and forth, watching helplessly along with the rest of the dwarves who sat with sombre looks on their faces as Gandalf began looking in his satchel for something.

"Let me over there," Bilbo said finally losing his patience. He had been standing behind Thorin and Balin and now bustled his way through them before the tall dwarf grabbed a hold of the Halfling's collar with a firm grasp.

"Stay away from her." Thorin had intended for this to come out in a non-threatening way, only to remind Bilbo to give Vanya some space, but he was practically growling as he said it.

"What, you own her now, do you?" The Hobbit asked in irritation trying to shake Thorin off.

This made the dwarf prince's nostrils flare with anger as he tightened his grip on the Halfling's coat, easily dragging Bilbo back so that they were facing each other. Thorin moved his grip from the back of the Hobbit's collar to the front, pulling him in so that they were a foot apart from each other.

"Do not make the mistake in assuming you're the only one here who cares about Vanya." The leader of the company snarled as the Halfling glared daggers at him.

"Let him go, laddie." Balin said suddenly in a gentle voice as he placed a hand on his King's shoulder.

Thorin all but threw Bilbo from his grasp and the Hobbit huffed as he straightened out his coat and fixed his collar.

"She's afraid of you, you know." The Halfling spoke just as Thorin was about to walk away. Bilbo's words made the dwarf freeze before he turned to acknowledge the Hobbit again.

"I've heard her, talking in her sleep." Bilbo continued, the dwarf's heart sinking lower and lower with each word. "She begs you not to hurt her, and I can hear the terror in her voice."

Thorin's anger had disappeared and he now stood, rooted to the spot, looking at the green grass beneath his feet, a weary look coming to settle upon his handsome face. He heard the silence that surrounded him, knowing full well that his kin were listening and watching intently, but his mind was blank.

Until the Hobbit spoke again.

"You may care for her, but she does not feel the same way about you."

The next moment was a blur to Thorin, one minute he felt the heat as blood rushed to his face and the next, Dwalin, Fili, Kili and Bofur were restraining him.

Bilbo's eyes were wide with shock and fear as he took a few steps away from the livid dwarf.

"Over here, you fools!" Gandalf's voice broke through Thorin's angry haze, and he took a deep breath before shaking his friends and nephews off.

The dwarf didn't even spare a glance in the Hobbit's direction, and instead made his way to the wizard who was kneeling beside Vanya.

He could already see the colour starting to come back into her cheeks and that her breathing had evened out.

Then he saw as her eyelids began to flutter, and a wave of relief washed over him and the rest of the company who all stood huddled close behind their leader. He could hear the collective sigh they breathed and as Dwalin clapped his brother on the back in happiness.

Her eyes were still closed but she opened her mouth ever so slightly to speak;

"Thorin?"