Lex curled into Fili, nuzzling her nose into the crook of his neck. He tightened his arms and sighed softly. Lex inhaled deeply then began to cough hard. She struggled to sit up quickly, which in turn woke Fili up.

"Lex!?" he yelped. She waved him off, sucking in deep breaths. Bofur had been sitting in the chair in the corner of the room, dozed up, a pipe hanging from his lips, however, at Fili's exclamation he had shot up, pipe forgotten and thumping hard on the floor.

A scratchy voice was pulled from Lex's throat. "I'm ok. Just waking up." She cleared her throat again and reached for the glass of water that sat on the bed next to them. Fili ran his hand over his face stopping a moment to scratch his beard. The day before had been filled with soup, sleep and lots of tea. Lex slept most of the day and stayed curled around Fili's body because of the warmth he produced. Fili hadn't minded, the conversation floated around the room softly, so as to not wake Lex. He rarely left her side, except to use the bathroom.

"How ya feelin' lass? Better?" Bofur cast a worried glance her way. He had picked up his pipe and begun to puff on it once again. Lex cleared her throat and croaked out a simple "yes".

"I sound like shit…" she grunted and pulled the blankets up around her again. She looked up into Fili's cobalt eyes. "Did you stay here all night?" she croaked out. Fili just smiled and shook his head. "Oh good…that would have been uncomfortable." Fili chuckled and tucked a loose strand of hair off her face.

"I stayed here all day and night." Her eyes widened.

"Why?" she questioned. He shrugged.

"You wouldn't let me go. Besides, I was comfortable. You know you cling in your sleep?" Lex's blush covered her cheeks and began reaching her hair line. It was at that moment Kili decided to make his appearance. He carried with him a mug of tea and a bowl of broth.

"Ah, she's awake. Feelin' better? You slept like the dead…when you weren't barking with that cough." Lex's blush covered her entire face now. She reached for the mug of tea as he set it down.

"Yeah…um…" laughter erupted throughout the room. She sipped her tea and a content sigh left her lips.

"Don't worry kurdu, it's not that bad." He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. She lifted an eyebrow and coughed into her hand.

"Well, when I get sick I tend to get very sick…" She shrugged and held the mug close. Kili tilted his head to the side, crossing his arms over his chest. Bofur emptied his pipe and sat it on the dresser next to him.

"Sounds like a story." Kili grinned. "Sure hand me the phone and I'll show you. It's in my backpack, front pocket." Kili pulled her phone out and handed it to her. She had found that if you used, salt, water and watermelon she would be able to charge her phone. She didn't worry about the hows and whys, just that it worked and she was happy. She took the phone he handed her, turned it on and scrolled through it. It was funny how at times she brought out her phone now that their eyes would glaze over at the speed in which she would scroll through the pictures. She stopped the rolling screen and clicked on a picture and handed it back to Kili before Fili would got a look at what she was showing Kili.

Kili's face scrunched up his face, his eyes lost the glazed look from before and anger replaced it. He sat at the foot of the bed and stared at the picture harder, almost as if he could bring it to life if he stared at it long enough. Fili watched his brother's face slowly drain of color, the spark of anger flash in his eyes; he frowned. Bofur stood and walked over to Kili, looking over his shoulder. His jaw hung low and he closed it with a snap, his jaw tightened. They didn't know what they were looking at, however they knew it wasn't good. Fili's eyes filled with worry; Lex put the mug down.

"You can slide to the next one. It's not as bad as you think. Though my friends thought it was pretty funny." Lex smiled, sitting up, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and tried to stretch without coughing. Kili's head shot up and he glared at Lex. It actually kind of startled her.

"How is this funny? I'm not even sure what we're looking at but it can't be good." His voice was heated. Fili reached for the phone, plucking it from his brothers hand. Lex grabbed at the phone, missing it completely.

"Fili…I don't think you'll want to see that." She coughed loudly into her hand again, Kili rubbed her back. She looked back at Fili as she coughed.

Fili's eyes were glued to the screen. He wasn't sure exactly what it was he was looking at. He knew it was Lex and she was in a bright white, soft blue room and lying on what looked like a bed, though uncomfortable. White boxes with black screens and yellow green digits, were on either side of her; long tubes were on her face and arms and she was giving a thumbs up the camera. She wore a white gown and square was sitting on her finger.

"Lex…"He searched her face for an answer. She cleared her throat again and sighed. She looked at Bofur, his caramel eyes searching and Kili's deep chocolate eyes. She groaned and looked at the picture.

"I was sick…just…stomach pains. I hadn't eaten or drank in four days. When I did eat or drink my stomach would cramp up…"she continued the story and watched Fili's face drop as it got worse and worse. "So they plugged an IV into me, gave me oxygen and I ended up having surgery a few days later. Turns out I had to have…"the story continued, Fili climbed over Lex and sat next to her.

"So the surgery helped?" Kili questioned. Lex nodded.

"Yeah. Helps me keep slim too" she grinned. The corner of Kili's lips tugged upwards.

"I don't understand. What is this picture?" It was like Fili was struggling to grasp that she had been sick before, or the fact that she had even had surgery. Bofur sighed and tugged at Kili's arm, removing him from the room quickly. When Kili had begun to protest Bofur whispered something in his ear and was able to move him from the room faster than before.

"Fili it's not a big deal, well not where I'm from. I've been healthy ever since, well, a few mishaps here and there…"she was silenced as he squeezed her hand. His eyes were glued to the picture like it was a life line. She sighed.

Slowly she pointed out each item as she was explaining it to him. "The IV gave me fluids and nutrients that I was desperate for." She pointed at the long tube in her arm, she moved her finger to the top of her hand and giggled. "That's where it was supposed to be, but the guy couldn't get it working…something about the plunger not working? I'm not sure." He stared at her. A large purple bruise was on the back of her hand and yet she was laughing? It had been a while ago, but it still shocked him. She pointed at the tube that was under her nose. "That helped me breathe, but when they took me into the room they covered my whole mouth and face and told me to breathe deep. And this…"she explained the square on her finger was an oximeter.

"Are you alright now?" He shuffled closer to her. She gave him a soft smile.

"Yes. I had my gallbladder taken out, nothing horrible. Gives you an idea why I don't eat as fast or as much as ya'll." He nodded slowly. Suddenly his arms were around her. She huffed out for air.

"Uh…Fili…?" she coughed again.

"Yes kurdu?" he mumbled into her hair.

"Can't breathe…" he chuckled and released her. "Sorry."

"Remind me not to show you my old cheerleading photos…" she laughed and his eyebrow quirked up.