The sun shone in through the curtains, and Katy's eyes slowly opened. For a second she wasn't sure where she was. She had gotten so used to sleeping on the ground that it felt strange waking up in a bed. What was even stranger was that she wasn't alone in the bed. Opening her eyes fully, Katy saw that she was curled up next to a sleeping Fili, and a couple of minutes passed before she could take her eyes off him. God, what is happening to me, am I really falling for a dwarf? She thought. She suddenly realised that neither of them was wearing any clothes, and blushed furiously when she replayed the events of last night in her head. Their first kiss… and then not wanting the kissing to end… and then when they started to remove each other's clothes…

She scanned the room, trying to locate the clothes she was wearing last night, but could only see her underwear. Carefully climbing out of bed so she didn't wake the sleeping dwarf, she tiptoed around the room, pulling on her underwear before settling on Fili's shirt. Taking one more look at the dwarf, she quietly opened the door, and went next door to her and Sarah's room. She was sure that some fresh clothes had been left for her there.

Katy pressed her ear to the bedroom door, but couldn't hear anything. She guessed that Kili was still in there with Sarah, as he hadn't come back to the room he shared with Fili, but it sounded like they were both asleep. The door creaked loudly as Katy pushed it open, and she tiptoed into the room. She had been right, Sarah and Kili were both fast asleep in the bed, and Katy tried to grab the clothes as quickly as she could without disturbing them.

'What are you wearing?'

Katy jumped at the noise, and twirled around to see Sarah smirking at her from the bed. Kili was still asleep.

'God you made me jump! I'm, erm, just getting some clothes,'

Sarah grinned some more.

'I see that. I was asking about the clothes your wearing right now. I don't remember you having a blue shirt,'

Katy glared at her. Sarah was enjoying this.

'It's Fili's. I, eh, couldn't find mine,' Katy said quietly.

Sarah laughed.

'Aww, don't be so shy. It suits you! Any sign of my clothes? I seem to have, er, lost them as well,'

This time it was Katy's turn to smirk.

'And that would have something to do with the naked dwarf next to you, I guess?'

Sarah had a quick glance at a topless Kili.

'Might have,' she said, grinning. 'Now take your clothes and get back to your own naked dwarf!'

Snorting with laughter, Katy quickly picked up her clothes and sneaked out of the room, just as Kili was waking up.

'Did I hear you talking to someone?' he said, sleepily.

Sarah smiled at him.

'Katy was just getting some clothes. It would seem like the pair of you swapped rooms last night.'

Kili just grinned at her.

'And all I did was come to your room to give you your pack!' he said, smirking.

'And apologise, don't forget that,' Sarah said, and Kili rolled his eyes.

'Yes, and apologise! And I'm glad I did say sorry!' he said, cheekily.

'Ha, I bet you are,' Sarah said, sitting up in bed.

'Do we have to get up right now?' Kili asked quietly.

Sarah sighed.

'I think we might have to. The other dwarves and Bilbo will probably be awake soon, and I doubt I want to make your uncle even angrier by keeping you in bed,' she said.

Kili frowned at her.

'Oi, don't pull that face, you know I think you're hot when your all moody,' she said, causing the dwarf to beam at her.

'On the other hand, Katy and I are leaving the company, so how angry can he really get? I say we can stay here a bit longer,' Sarah said, and KIli pulled her into his arms.

Still laughing from her conversation with Sarah, Katy opened the door to Fili and Kili's room, to find the dwarf she had left sleeping now awake and looking a bit confused. Also, he was still naked. Katy smiled at him shyly.

'Hey, I was just getting my clothes from my room. Couldn't seem to find mine in here.'

Fili grinned at her, and leant over the side of the bed and held up her dress.

'I was wondering where you had gone. This what you're looking for?'

Katy nodded, making her way back over to the bed.

'Yeah, thanks,' she said, taking the dress from him. 'I guess you'll want yours back?' She gestured to the shirt that she was wearing.

'As much as it suits you, I think it would raise some eyebrows if you were to go downstairs with it on. Thorin's face would be priceless!' Fili laughed.

Katy's face froze.

'Oh god, do you think everyone is going to know what, erm, happened?' she asked, trying to picture Thorin's face when he realised what she had been getting up to with the heir to the throne.

Fili laughed again.

'Don't worry about it, they know that I've been courting you. You should hear some of the things that they have gotten up to in the past!'

Katy looked a bit horrified.

'I didn't really need to hear that,' she muttered, causing even more laughter from the dwarf.

She was about to get dressed when she stopped suddenly, thinking of something.

'So they still think that your courting me? Even though my hair is no longer braided and Sarah and I are leaving the company?' she asked.

'Well, I guess that's up to you. I can stop courting you, if you like. I told you last night that I've been trying and failing to keep my distance, and I kind of got the impression you didn't want that anymore,' he explained.

'Yeah, we never really did finish the conversation properly, did we?' Katy laughed. 'As much as this might hurt in the long run, I don't want you to stop courting me. I want to spend as much time as possible with you before you need to leave. You could even put another braid in, if you want?'

Fili smiled brightly.

'I'd be honoured to,' he said, and Katy rested her head against his shoulder, feeling perfectly content as the dwarf braided her hair.

The rest of the dwarves and Bilbo were all preparing breakfast downstairs when Katy and Fili came downstairs, and the first thing Katy noticed was that Sarah and Kili were still missing. And I bet I know exactly what they are up to, she thought, shaking her head. None of the dwarves or the hobbit said anything to them as Fili and Katy sat down with them and started eating, though Katy could feel some eyes on her, and she was sure that the new braid would be spotted instantly. She didn't dare look at Fili, for fear of turning a bright shade of red, and instead tried to make conversation with some of the other dwarves around her.

'So, what are you going to do while you're in Laketown?' she asked Balin and Dwalin, who were sitting across the table from her.

'We'll need to consult some maps first, check what is the best route to take,' said Balin.

'And sharpen our blades,' said Dwalin loudly.

Katy nodded politely.

'I see, lots to be getting on with! If there's anything, erm, that I could do, I mean Sarah and I, we would be happy to help. Even though we aren't coming with you,' she said, hearing the touch of sadness in her voice at the last part.

Dwalin and Balin were silent for a minute.

'We'll try and find something for you do, lassie,' Balin said, smiling at the girl.

'Aye, there's lots to do. Now, where is that other girl? She usually doesn't like to miss breakfast!' said Dwalin, looking around the table.

'And Kili, he doesn't seem to be here either!' Dori said loudly, as Katy wished he would shut up.

'Oh yeah! I wonder where the pair of them could be?' Bofur said, joining in. 'Was Kili still in bed when you left your room, Fili?'

The dwarf grinned widely at Fili.

'Ehhhh…'

Before Fili could think of anything to say, Kili and Sarah came bounding down the stairs, trying to look as innocent as possible.

'There they are! And we thought the pair of you were still sleeping!' said Dori.

'Oh no, we've been up for hours!' said Kili, causing Sarah to dissolve into giggles and scurry into the kitchen. As the dwarves listened to Kili explain that he had been practicing sword fighting with Sarah ('In the morning?! In the bedroom?! That's a bit odd!' said Bilbo, innocently), Katy slipped away from the table and followed Sarah into the kitchen.

'Couldn't the pair of you have been a little more subtle than that?!' whispered Katy, fetching a glass of water as Sarah tried to control her giggles.

'I'm sorry! Told you they had all the right body parts,' she whispered, causing Katy to choke on her water.

'I can't believe you actually said that,' she spluttered.

Sarah grinned.

'So come on, was he gentle? Kili was a lot more feisty than I expected…'

'Sarah, stop it, I don't need to hear that,' Katy said.

Her friend laughed.

'But we've always done this. Is it because they're dwarves? Or brothers? Or, hmm, was he a bit disappointing?' Sarah asked.

Katy could feel her face turning red, but couldn't stop herself from smiling.

'Fine, if you must know, he was… perfect,' she said, searching for the right word. 'And I honestly did not want it to be morning, as it means we're one day closer to saying goodbye.'

'I know. Do you think we could have a chat to Thorin, see if he still wants to get rid of us. Maybe if we convinced him that we're carrying the future generations of the Durin family, he might change his mind?' Sarah thought aloud.

Katy gave her a look.

'If you want to be the one to tell him that you and Kili got all feisty last night, be my guest. I'd rather not tell him the details of what we got up to,'

'Please, I'm sure he knows fine well what went on last night. Fili has got a permanent smile on his face, and you've seen Kili's grin.'

Katy groaned.

'Maybe it's just as well we're leaving this company. We'd only have to put up with the teasing for a day,'

'Look, you don't mean that. You've got absolutely no reason to be embarrassed. He's a hot dwarf, you're a hot girl, why shouldn't you have some fun?' laughed Sarah.

'You're really enjoying this, aren't you?' Katy asked.

'Oh, come on, relax. Let's talk to Thorin about staying. We've got nothing to lose,' Sarah said.

'I guess you're right. Let's do it know, before I chicken out,' said Katy.

The girls made their way back to the dining table, and Katy was relieved the hear that the conversation had moved on from swordfighting to their plans for the day. Both Kili and Fili were both still wearing stupidly large grins on their faces though. Despite herself, Katy couldn't help but smile back at Fili when he caught her eye.

When the dwarves started to clear away the breakfast dishes, the girls took that as their chance to speak to Thorin. Katy told Sarah to let her do the talking.

'Excuse me, Thorin? Could we have a quick chat with you? If that's ok?' Katy said politely, and the dwarf king nodded ever so slightly at them.

The three of them went over to a quiet corner of the room and sat down.

'We just wanted to start by saying thank you for letting us come this far with you on your quest. We know it hasn't always been easy,' Katy started, and Sarah glared at her, not quite believing what her friend was saying. Why is she being so freaking polite to the jerk? Though Sarah.

Thorin grunted.

'You're welcome. I guess you have helped us out in some situations,' he said.

'However, we do feel that you haven't always treated us with the respect that we deserve. I mean, when Thranduil had us locked up, he basically offered us a luxurious stay with the elves until we could go home, in exchange for information about what you and the company were doing. But we refused point blank, and didn't say a word about the quest, and we are both hurt and angry that you would think we would,' Katy said, rushing through her words before Thorin had the chance to interrupt her.

The dwarf just looked at her, mildly surprised. He was silent for a minute or two.

'Well, then. I guess I owe you an apology. I'm sorry I doubted you in the first place. And I have to admit that you'll be sorely missed from the company,' he said finally, and went to turn away.

Sarah spoke up before he had the chance to leave.

'Yeah, about that? We've given it some thought, and we'd actually like to stay with you, until you reclaim your home and all that. I was angry earlier, that's all,' said Sarah.

'You'd like to stay? And what makes you think that I'd let you?' said Thorin.

'Uh, you said that had been quite useful in some situations?' said Sarah, and Katy nodded along.

'I was being polite. I said that your place in the company had come to an end, and I meant it.' The dwarf said firmly.

Sarah looked speechless, and before she thought what she was doing, Katy spoke up.

'But what about Kili and Fili? They'd be heartbroken if we didn't come with you. Their minds wouldn't be on the quest, and you wouldn't want your two best fighters distracted if you were attacked, would you?' she said quickly.

'My nephews are part of the line of Durin. Fili is my heir. His place is in this company, focussed on reclaiming our home. What makes you think that he would be distracted?' said Thorin quietly. The girls could see he was growing angry.

'Because he told me he loved me last night. That's why!' said Katy loudly, and even Sarah was shocked.

'Is that so. Then I think I need to speak to my nephews,' said Thorin, and he walked away.

'Oh crap, what have I done! That's it, we're getting chucked off this quest this instant!' said Katy.

'He said that he loved you? Did that actually happen, or did you make it up?' asked Sarah.

'He kind of half-said it. He was in the middle of saying it, then I stopped him, then he kissed me, and then we, erm…' Katy trailed off.

'Oh say no more, I get what you mean,' Sarah smirked.

'God, why did I have to say that! Fili's going to be so embarrassed. And angry! What if he didn't mean it, what if he regrets almost saying it, and is glad he didn't actually say it…' Katy said, panicked.

'Ok, calm down. Of course he means it, the dwarf's besotted with you. And he'll know that you only told Thorin so we could stay with the company. It'll be fine!' Sarah said, trying to be reassuring.

'Oh well, guess we'll soon find out,' muttered Katy, as the two girls saw Thorin go upstairs with his two nephews.

The dwarf king seemed to be talking to Kili and Fili for ages, and it was an agonising wait for the girls. Rather than just sit and wait, they both asked some of the dwarves if they could go anything to help them prepare for the next stage of the journey.

'You could help Dwalin sharpen the swords, if you like? He's outside with Nori and Bifur,' said Balin, who was hunched over some maps with Dori.

'Ehm, yeah, sure!' said Sarah, not sounding convinced. She and Katy made their way outside, and followed the sound of metal against metal.

Dwalin didn't look all that pleased that the girls we offering their assistance, and with a grunt, showed them how to sharpen swords. There was an awkward silence as the three dwarves and two girls worked alongside one another, before Katy decided it was time to say something. She gave a little cough, and Nori looked at her.

'Hi! Em, it looks like Sarah and I wont be joining you when you leave here, and I just wanted to thank you for making us feel welcome in the company,' said Katy quietly, and Sarah smiled at the two dwarves.

'It's been a pleasure to have you with us,' replied Dwalin, and Nori nodded in agreement.

'I remember that I was terrified of you when you first arrived at Bilbo's!' giggled Katy, and Dwalin smiled slightly.

'And we didn't know what to make of you pair!' the dwarf chuckled.

'But Thorin's nephews took a shine to you straight away, and we trust their judgement,' Nori added, and both of the girls blushed slightly.

The dwarves and girls continued to sharpen the swords until their hands ached. When they returned to the living area inside, they saw that Thorin, Kili and Fili were nowhere to be seen. Surely they still aren't discussing my relationship with Fili? Thought Katy, horrifed at the thought.

'Emm, do you know where Thorin, Kili and Fili are?' Katy asked Balin, quietly. The dwarf hesitated slightly befre answering.

'They will be discussing the quest, no doubt. Kili and Fili mean a great deal to Thorin, and he is very proud that they are by his side when we retake Erebor,' said Balin.

'Yeah, that makes sense,' muttered Katy, and Sarah could see the worry on her face.

'Is there anything else we can do? I don't think either of us can just sit hear until you lot leave,' said Sarah, and Katy looked at her gratefully.

Ori spoke up from the corner of the room.

'If it's not too much trouble, perhaps you can both help me to record our journey so far?' he asked quietly.

The girls glanced at one another before grinning at Ori.

'That sounds like a lovely idea, thanks Ori!' said Katy. She and Sarah went over to the dwarf, who had spread out in front of him his collection of papers documenting the quest. As the other dwarves and Bilbo continued their own preparations, the girls and Ori spent the afternoon sorting through the dwarf's scribbles, and adding their own notes to them. Every once and a while, they would glance to the stairs leading to the bedrooms – neither of them had seen Thorin or his nephews since this morning.

As evening drew in, Bombur and Bofur began preparing dinner, and suddenly Thorin was back in room, making sure that everything was ready for their departure in the morning. Katy, Sarah and Ori finshed up their writing, and joined the rest of the dwarves and Bilbo at the table. Fili and Kili were at the other end of the table to the girls, and they seemed a bit subdued. On seeing their expressions, both Sarah and Katy thought the same thing – Thorin has told them that they are no longer part of the company. Their hearts sank.

Dinner was a quiet meal that evening, and it was clear that everyone was thinking about tomorrow, and leaving Laketown. Just as they were finishing eating, the Master of Laketown came by the house, and asked to speak with Thorin. The girls thought that this would be their chance to speak to Kili and Fili, but Thorin gestured for his nephews to follow him outside to speak with the Master.

'Ok, I think Thorin no longer wants us anywhere near those two. Maybe he found out what we got up to with them last night. I mean it wouldn't have taken a genius to work it out!' whispered Sarah.

'You could be right. I think we just have to resign ourselves to the fact that they'll be leaving tomorrow without us. Thorin might be telling the Master that we'll be staying on longer,' replied Katy.

When the three dwarves returned from outside, they didn't give anything away about what the Master had to say to them.

'I suggest we all get a good night's sleep tonight. We'll be up at first light to leave this place. The Master has been kind enough to supply us with boats,' said Thorin, and the other dwarves and Bilbo started making their way to their bedrooms. Katy and Sarah lingered, and Thorin turned his attention to them.

'Come on, you better get some sleep. You'll need to be ready to leave with the rest of us,' he said, and without another word made his way upstairs. He passed by Kili and Fili, who once again wore massive grins on their faces.

'What the hell? We're now part of the company again? Make up your mind, mister!' yelled Sarah at Thorin's back, but the dwarf didn't respond.

'Hey, don't make him angry. We got what we want, let's not make him change his mind again,' said Katy, nudging her friend in the side.

'I guess maybe Fili did profess his undying love for you!' said Sarah quietly, as she and Katy made their way up stairs.

'So that uncle of yours, any idea why he changed his mind about us leaving the company?' asked Sarah.

Kili and Fili shared a glance.

'The Master, erm, wasn't too keen on the idea of you staying here. He said he's heard some things about you, from the elves, and he doesn't trust you.' Kili said.

'Oh,'

Both girls were a bit lost for words. After all the times that they had been offered the chance to stay somewhere, this was the first time they had been told that they weren't welcome. On top of that, it seemed that Thorin didn't really want them to stay with the company either, just that he had no where to leave them.

'Don't you just love to feel wanted, Katy?' Sarah said, jokingly.

'Yep!' replied Katy.

The two dwarves looked at each other again.

'But we do want you to stay with us. Before the Master told us you couldn't stay here, we were trying our best to persuade our uncle that you should stay with the company, and it seemed to be working,' Kili said, and he beamed at Fili.

'And what could you have possibly have said that would persuade him?' asked Sarah loudly, looking between Katy and Fili.

Before either of the dwarves had a chance to reply, Katy quickly spoke up.

'You know what, it doesn't matter why he was persuaded. We're just glad that we don't have to stay here.'

'As are we,' said Fili.

'I guess we should, er, get some sleep,' said Kili, and all four of them walked to the top of the stairs. They all hesitated a moment, before Sarah, rolling her eyes, took Kili by the arm and pulled him into her and Katy's room.

'Night Katy! Night Fili!' she said, closing the door behind them.

'I guess you're sharing with me again,' said Fili, smirking slightly.

'I guess so,' Katy said, laughing slightly.

They both walked into Fili's room.

'Kili was right, you know. We did try our best to persuade Thorin to let you come with us, and it was working. I was telling him how you and Sarah have played an important role in the company,' Fili said, to which Katy justed raised her eyebrows at.

'Really? An important role?' she said.

'Yeah. But it wasn't just that. I needed him to know how close we've become, and that I –'

Katy interrupted him.

'You don't need to say that. Honestly. It's enough that we're coming with you,' Katy said, not wanting the dwarf to say anything he didn't mean.

Fili gave her a soft smile.

'Come on then, pick a side!' he said, and began removing his many layers of clothes, causing Katy to blush slightly.

Minutes later they were both lying next to each other in bed, with Fili's arms wrapped around Katy.

'I'm really glad you're coming with us. I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to you just yet,' whispered Fili. Katy smiled at him.

'I'm not sure I'll ever be ready to say goodbye to you. Sarah and I still haven't worked out what our purpose here is, so we might be hear for sometime more,' she said.

'Well you can stay with us as long as you need to,' replied the dwarf.

'Thanks, Fili,' said Katy. He leaned in to kiss her when they suddenly heard a long bang from through the wall to where Sarah and Kili were.

Katy groaned.

'I don't even want to know what those two are up to!' she said, and Fili laughed.

'Just say the word and we can start wrecking the place as well…' he said, and started to kiss her neck.

'Ok, stop teasing me, you know we have an early start tomorrow. I don't really want to give Thorin one more reason to be annoyed at me,' Katy said, as Fili continued kissing her.

'You know what, one more thing for him to moan about can't hurt, can it?' she said, as she pulled Fili's lips up to meet hers.