"Ut abb mornit, Kili."

"E naurv mi, amadnadad."

"E valdad ghelekhur. Dey gulman dhi."

"Ohr skilam. Catalina… miz azyung, amadnadad. E zirup mi."

"Come, Kili. Leave her family to watch over her."

Catalina's head throbbed. No; everything throbbed. The last few things she remembered were the impact of the arrow, the intrusion to her flesh, and her hot blood leaking out like a flood into her clothing. She had passed out when her head hit the bottom of the hole. The arrow had broken when she fell backwards from the impact of the arrow, lodging itself deeper into her flesh.

It was like slow motion to her. One moment her eyes had been trained on Kili's form as he sprinted over to Thorin, and the next moment he hesitated in his pace, his face marred by fear and shock. She thought perhaps he was looking at Thorin, so she dared a glance at him, but he was staring at her with a likeness that Kili was. It was then that she looked down, and it was then that she felt the pain.

Her eyes fluttered open tiredly. The room she was in was mostly dark, with a small candle illuminated beside her. She could see the room was made of pale blues and whites. A window to the right of her was open, letting the cool night air and moonlight in. There was a long bench in front of it, draped in light furs. She gave a gentle sigh as she rested her head back against the pillows, drawing the blankets in closer around her, already straining her neck. She felt like someone had swung her around like a rag doll and discarded her when they got bored.

"Catalina?" Bilbo's hushed voice came suddenly. She hadn't even noticed he sat to her left, a plush chair having been pulled up to her bedside. Bilbo looked bleary eyed and dreadfully exhausted.

"Bilbo." She croaked, her throat and mouth were so parched they hardly allowed her to force out his name. Bilbo quickly picked up a cup and held it to her lips. She opened her mouth gratefully, and swallowed the deliciously clear and cool water that had a small amount of honey in it. She let her eyes slip closed as she felt it spread throughout her body, helping her senses awaken.

"Everyone was so worried you would not make it." He spoke quietly. "I knew you would pull through, you have more courage than a Took."

"I must look terrible if you are complimenting me so." Catalina jested, a small smile spreading across her features. She licked her lips, and tasted blood. She must have split her lip open during her tumble.

"No no, my dear niece." Bilbo smiled, glad to see she still had her wits about her. The elves had warned them that many who had taken a fall like she did sometimes did not remember much of anything. "Beautiful as always."

"Where are we?" She murmured, feeling her weariness start to take hold of her.

"Rivendell, would you believe it? The home of the elves, Catalina." Bilbo's voice was whimsical. Catalina would have loved to hear that on any other given day, but right now, she was drifting off.

"I hope I wasn't too much... of a bother to our companions." She said softly, heaving a small sigh.

"Of course not. my dear. In fact, Kili carried you the entire way here. To this very bed, actually. After Ori wrapped your waist with bandages her refused to let anyone touch you until the healers got to you." Bilbo explained, nodding his head in agreement with his words.

"He did?" She asked, but never heard the answer. Whatever the elves had given her had taken over once again and sent her off into a blissful slumber.

She woke hours later to hushed whispers. She recognized Bilbo's voice and Kili's voice. She blinked her eyes open, and immediately regretted it. The window was still open and the sunlight flooded in. She groaned, clenching her eyes shut. "Good morning," she was able to grind out.

"Catalina!" Kili exclaimed, taking a few strides to her side, and kneeling down beside her. He was flooded with relief at seeing her conscious and talking again. "Bilbo, please close the curtains." Bilbo responded quickly, pulling the light blue fabric over the window. Catalina opened her eyes again.

"I suppose I'm not used to the sun yet." She ventured with a shy smile. Kili had taken her hand, and since he was no longer wearing the gloves he usually adorned, she felt his calloused skin that burned against her own.

"Zu bi miz zonn." Kili murmured with a smile. Catalina looked at him incredulously.

"Is that Khuzdul?" She questioned. She had heard many of the dwarves use it on the road. mostly when they needed to curse but didn't want to offend her. She also knew that Bifur was only able to communicate through Khuzdul and Iglishmêk.

"Aye, it is." Kili said with a cheeky smile, lazily rubbing his thumb back and forth over the back of her hand.

"What does zoo be mix zone mean?" She grilled intentively, the words jumbling together to form something incoherent in both languages. He didn't mind, however, and only laughed at her mispronunciation of every word, knowing she was only excited.

"Zu bi miz zonn, mim ze." Kili said slowly and gently this time. "And I'm sorry, Catalina, but I cannot tell you. Only my people know our language."

"Oh." She responded, deflating back into her plush bed. "Well, that's quite alright, I understand. I wouldn't expect you to tell a child these secrets anyway."

It was low blow, and she immediately regretted it. Kili's face visibly fell, but he didn't get angry like she expected him to. His expression was something akin to shame. She didn't want to make him feel bad, it just slipped, and… "Oh, Kili, I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call you a child, I was just frustrated, I really didn't mean it. You are the farthest thing from a child in my eyes." Kili apologized, his grip on her hand tightening. He was almost pleading with her. He wanted to her to understand how he really felt about her.

Something had changed in Kili when he witnessed the arrow embed itself in her body. It was as if he felt the pain, only his was in his chest. His heart constricted, and he could have fallen to his knees if it weren't for the fact he needed to be there for her. It was like someone shot him instead. He couldn't breath. He couldn't process what had happened until he reached the entrance and saw her laying at the bottom of it.

He hadn't let anyone touch her after Ori, that was sure. After Ori had wrapped the bandages tightly around her waist after they pulled the arrow, Kili gathered her in his arms and followed Dwalin down the narrow passage. At times he had to walk sideways, but he was determined to get her somewhere safe. When they arrived at Imladris, he was shouldered into the middle of their company in order to protect Catalina from the elves. He grew frustrated quickly, making his way out of the center and past the apparent Lord Elrond to call for a healer.

They had led him to this bed, and when he laid her down upon it the elves swarmed around her, murmuring together in their strange language and calling for different salves. He stood with his back against the wall, looking on helplessly. They had doted over her for nothing short of many hours, before they filed out. Kili had stayed by her bedside even after they told him she would not be conscious for days. And true to their word, she had slept three days.

After the first day, in the middle of the night, his uncle had come to him. He tried reasoning with him. promising Kili that the elves had taken care of her, something he knew killed his uncle to say. Kili had stubbornly refused, until the next night. He had had only broken hours of sleep in his time by her side, holding her hand. He thought back to the conversation they had.

"We have to rest, Kili." Thorin said in Khuzdul. Kili sat up, his shoulders and back aching with the strain of hunching over for so long.

"She needs me, uncle." He had said back, not looking away from his azyung.

"She will be well. They healed her." Thorin assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I understand. Catalina… she is my love, uncle. She completes me." It was the first time he had put his feelings into words. When he realized he could lose her, he also realized he couldn't lose her. It wasn't an option. He hadn't known it the moment he had looked at her in the hobbit hole, but he knew now. Catalina was his One, his only love. He had found his azyung, and he refused to let go.

"So we're both forgiven, then?" Catalina prompted with a smile on her face. He blinked a few times, shaking off the memory. He wished his could tell her. He wished his uncle would accept it. After he told him he had found his One, Thorin had adamantly rejected it, claiming it was a passing crush and that he had better get over it. He didn't want any distractions.

"We're both forgiven." He affirmed with a smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling up slightly. She returned it, the apprehension leaving her body with the knowledge that her and Kili's mini fight was over. And it was a pointless fight at that.

A few elleth came in a moment later to check her wound, and she thanked them. They smiled, murmuring together in their language before asking Kili and Bilbo to leave. Catalina smiled and told him she would be fine, so he reluctantly let go of her hand and left the room with her uncle.

"We have new clothes for you." A beautiful blond elleth said, her pearly white teeth showing from behind her pale lips with her smile. They were all beautiful, in truth. Catalina tugged at a portion of her hair gently, wondering how frightful she looked in comparison.

The beautiful elves helped her up, making sure she didn't pop any stitches. The salve they had smeared across her wound was already working its magic, draining her midsection of any pain she might have felt if they hadn't slathered it on. They aided her over to a door she hadn't noticed before, and inside was large, round bathing area that was step in ready. They asked her to remove her robes, and she complied after a hesitant moment with a shy smile.

The water felt heavenly. It was the perfect temperature as she slid into it. The salve washed away but the pain didn't come back, and the elleth set to washing her hair for her and handing her body scrubs to try. Catalina sat back and enjoyed it, wishing it would never end. But it eventually did. They handed her a towel and she gently dried herself. The elves changed her bandages. Her wound was stitched up, and looked to be healing well enough.

"We picked out a dress for you, my lady." The blond one spoke again, holding up an elegant pale pink dress with a white sash going around the waist. It was obviously a child's gown, since the elves were so much taller than hobbits. Catalina herself was four feet and two inches, taller than almost all of the hobbits because of her part-human mother.

She let the elleth help her into the gown, and was amazed at the result. Her hair hung limply down her shoulders, but the dress accentuated her small waist and curves and even helped highlight her bosom. She stepped into the flat white shoes they offered her, before they started on brushing her hair back.

"That young dwarf will be speechless when he sees you," a brown haired elleth giggled, her laughter sounding like chimes.

"Kili?" Catalina spluttered out, wringing her hands. "Oh, no, Kili is just my friend." That only made the elleth laugh more.

"We have seen the way you look at each other, young one." The last elleth spoke. "But, we are finished. Le thir vanya, neth perian."

"I am not familiar with the elvish language." She admitted with a sheepish smile. These women were more than likely hundreds of years older than her, and miles wiser than her. They only let out a peal of laughter, before bidding her goodbye. She glanced at herself once more in the mirror, and saw that they had put in a braid at each side of her head to frame her face and finished it off with a silver circlet.

"Kili?" She said, popping her head out of the room's doorway. The hallway was empty except for Bilbo, with no sign of the dwarven prince. "Oh, hi Bilbo! Where is everyone?"

"They're having breakfast outside. Come along, Thorin wishes to speak to you soon." Bilbo smiled kindly. The elves made her look much more mature than he was used to seeing her as. It was like his little niece had grown up in the hour he had not seen her.

"Yes, of course." She said brightly, taking Bilbo's arm. "So how long was I unconscious for?"

"Oh, only… three days." Bilbo said, shrugging. "It passed by very slowly, I'll have you know. Though I think Kili took it rougher than I did while we stayed with you-I knew you would be fine, the elves are amazing healers."

Catalina nodded, not knowing exactly what to say. Three days was a long time, but she was more surprised by Kili staying with her. It was like a floodgate had opened with him. She was used to his fun and playful side, but not his overbearing protective side. She wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Catalina!" Bofur exclaimed when Bilbo had opened the doors to the terrace the dwarves were eating at. He was the first who got up and went over to hug her, followed by Ori with a radiant smile. The rest of the company filed after him, each giving her hugs, except for Dwalin, who gave her a brief nod and a ghost of a smile, and Thorin, who wasn't present. Kili was the only other one who remained sitting, nearly slack-jawed at the transformation.

He was used to the Catalina whose clothes were stained with grass and skin was smeared with dirt on occasion, just like the rest of the company. If he thought she was beautiful then, there were no words to describe his feelings now. He'd never seen her look so… feminine, even at Bilbo's home. She looked akin to the beauty of the elves. Mahal, he thought she surpassed the elves. Why had it taken him so long to notice?

"Are you hungry?" He blurted, not knowing what else to say. She blinked in surprise, but nodded with a shy smile, sitting across from him. She fished the untouched salad from a large bowl in the center of the table onto her plate. The others were roasting sausages over a fire. Catalina hadn't noticed how famished she was until Kili had mentioned it. She did go three days without eating.

Across the table, Fili elbowed his brother. Kili elbowed him back, refusing to look up from his plate in fear of saying something stupid. Fili elbowed him again.

"Is everything alright, boys?" Catalina questioned curiously, seeing the exchange.

"Kili wanted to tell you something." Fili interjected before Kili could answer.

"Zu sakhab vaen." Kili praised. "You look beautiful. As always."

A fierce blush took over Catalina's cheeks. "Well thank you, Kili. Do you two want to go on a walk in a little bit? Not standing for three days has made me appreciative of my legs."

"You know, I promised Gloin I would spar with him today. But Kili is free." Fili answered in a nonchalant voice.

"I would love to join you." Kili smiled. Though his outward display was cool and calm, his insides were churning with the thoughts of what he could do when they would be alone.

Updates are going to slow a bit. My mom was admitted into the hospital a few days ago and went through surgery yesterday, so I'm going to be otherwise detained from writing.

As always, reviews are appreciated, and usually make me write faster. Thank you to Nessie1029 and my Guest for leaving reviews, and thank you to StarlightWolf15 for stroking my ego! This one is for you three who have been my only reviews of the last few chapters, and thank you to all who have favorited/folllowed, it means a lot.