A/N: Two chapters in one night! I was so pleased with where my story is taking me that I couldn't stop.
"I'm right here, Kee. I just fell asleep," Fili said, patting Kili's leg. While Kili had slept, Thorin, Dis, and Fili had discussed how best to tell Kili what the plan was. They decided that Dis would be the one to tell him, which Fili was incredibly grateful for.
They also decided that the sooner they told Kili, the better. It would give him more time to process it. When Dis saw that Kili was awake, she stood from the chair she had been sitting in across the room.
"Hi, Kili," she said, touching his cheek. She turned to Fili and Thorin and motioned for them to leave. She wanted to talk to Kili alone to break the news. Fili and Thorin left to join the company for dinner.
The conversation had apparently gone well. Fili had a nagging fear that Kili didn't actually understand, even though he nodded to indicate that he did. He didn't dwell on that. He and Dis spent the rest of the day practicing signs with Kili and getting him to eat his dinner. Dis had to threaten Kili to get him to eat enough. She wanted him to eat enough to get his strength up, and threatened to brush his hair and put it in braids if he did not cooperate.
That night, they all slept well.
In the three days that followed, Kili improved in leaps and bounds. He was sitting up higher and supporting his head more and more. Dis was pushing him to use the few signs he'd mastered.
One afternoon, Kili seemed to notice his left hand for the first time. His brow furrowed and he glared down at the crippled limb. He slowly extended his elbow and uncurled his fist, pressing his now flat hand against the bed to keep the fingers from curling again. Fili was relieved that he could move the hand somewhat purposefully, but Kili seemed exhausted just from those two slight movements and his limb shook with the effort. Kili let the hand curl back into a fist, but wedged his fist under his leg to keep the arm somewhat straight. "That's good, brother. That's very good," Fili said, almost to himself.
It was decided that the company would stay in Rivendell for one more week before continuing onto the mountain. Fili wasn't sure if Kili grasped what that meant, so he tried to prepare his brother by explaining it frequently.
"Do you remember what is going to happen next week?" Fili asked Kili, who was sitting up almost completely. His head would drop forwards every once in a while, but for the most part, he was able to keep his head up on his own. His bad hand was wedged under his thigh. Ever since he remembered that that limb was attached to him, he'd tucked it as tightly as he could under or against his body. Fili thought it may have been out of frustration at his inability to make that limb cooperate.
Kili looked at his brother. He nodded, the weakness making the nod somewhat clumsy.
"Would you mind telling me? Just so I know you've got the right idea in that head of yours?" Fili pressed. He watched Kili's hand. Fili and Dis had helped come up with a small repertoire of Igleshmek signs modified that relied mostly on one cooperative hand. After a moment, Kili made the sign for 'go'.
"Okay, and who is going?" Another moment passed. Kili signed 'brother', using his shoulder in place of the second hand that the sign usually required. Kili looked up at Fili, who nodded. "And who else?" Kili signed 'uncle', looking again at Fili for approval. "You've got it! Uncle and I, and the rest of the company, are leaving in a few days. And who is staying here?" he asked, signing the word 'stay' hoping to drive the message home. Kili bit his lip before signing 'mother' and then pointing to himself. "That's right. You and mother will stay here until it is safe. Do you remember where uncle and I are going?" he asked, unsure. He hadn't drilled Kili as much with this question.
Kili looked at Fili, shaking his head. "We're going to reclaim our homeland. Then we will be in our rightful home, uncle will be king, and we will be princes. Got it?" Kili didn't respond. He was grimacing, and Fili unconsciously prepared for the seizure he knew was coming. He quickly pulled some pillows from behind Kili, lowering him back down slowly. When the seizure started, he brushed hair away from Kili's gaping mouth and waited.
Kili gasped when the seizure abated. Fili pulled the blanket up around Kili's chest. "Hi, brother," he said smiling. Kili looked blankly at him, already drifting. "Sleep," Fili encouraged, waiting until Kili fell asleep before backing away from the bed.
Dis had watched all of this transpire from the doorway. She quietly approached and put her hand on Fili's back. "He's doing quite well, isn't he?" Fili asked his mother. "He's made more progress in the week you've been here than I thought he would make in months. And Lord Elrond agrees with that sentiment," he continued.
"I credit that to the ancient power called motherhood. I have always expected a lot out of my boys, and now is no different," she said.
They sat and talked for a while more. Kili woke up after having slept for a quarter of an hour. Sometimes he slept for hours after a seizure, and other times a short nap was enough.
He looked at his brother and then his mother, furrowing his brow in concentration. He signed 'go' and looked expectantly up at his mother, repeating it a few times for good measure.
Fili patted his brother's arm. "Yes. Uncle and I are going to go. Not today, though," he said. Kili huffed, shaking his head. He pointed to himself and then signed 'go' again. Fili froze. He had been afraid this would happen. "No, brother. You can't go yet. You will go when we come back for you. It is not safe for you," he tried to explain.
Kili shook his head. He pointed to himself, signed 'go', and then pointed outside, raising his eyebrows in question. "You want to go outside?" he asked. Kili nodded vigorously, making Dis laugh her musical laugh. Kili had inherited that laugh, and Fili longed to hear it again.
They had been seeing less and less of Elrond, as Kili's condition stabilized and his kin settled into their roles in caring for him. Fili thought that maybe they should run this by the elf, but then decided it was not necessary.
"Mum, will you grab some blankets? And maybe a pillow? I'll carry Kili and we can find a spot of grass. Have a picnic like we used to!" Fili said. He was giddy. Dis gathered what he had listed and waited at the door while Fili carefully picked up his brother.
Kili was far lighter in Fili's arms than he had expected, and it was then that he noticed how much weight Kili had lost. He made a mental note to have Bofur sneak in more sweets than he normally did during his daily visits. Bofur was the most consistent visitor Kili had. Fili had one arm under Kili's shoulders and the other under his knees.
His head hung back off of Fili's arm, and Dis tutted. "Kili, pick up that head. You will get a crook if you let it hang so," she said, gently pressing up on the back of Kili's head. He got the message and instead leaned his head on Fili's shoulder. They walked down the path a ways until they found a patch of green grass near an intricate fountain.
Dis spread out a blanket and set down the rest of the borrowed bedding. She sat on the blanket and instructed Fili to set Kili in her lap. Fili gently deposited Kili so he was leaning against Dis' chest, supported on both sides by her strong arms. His head lolled onto her upper arm and she smiled down at him.
Fili sat next to them. Kili's eyes were wide and he was grinning. He had only left his bed for several agonizingly embarrassing baths.
They sat for a while, Kili constantly looking around at all of the new sights. Fili scooted over to the fountain. He dipped his hands in and splashed Kili's face lightly. Kili made a high pitched noise of surprise and grinned even wider. What happened next caused Fili's world to stop for a moment. Kili laughed. It was not a long laugh, or even a very loud one, but it was definitely a laugh. Fili was thrilled beyond belief, and his eyes welled up with tears.
Dis was also crying. Kili looked at his mother and then his brother and looked upset. He reached towards Fili's face, which was now within arms reach, and touched the tears that were now streaming down his face.
"Happy tears, brother. We are so happy," Fili assured him. Dis took Kili's hand and helped him form 'happy' a few times.
A/N: Just a heads up, Kili may seem okay about the whole 'fili leaving' thing, but I'm not sure it's really sunk in for him. Angst to come. :/
