Disclaimer: I do not own anything. The characters in this story are those of J.R.R Tolkien. All rights reserved. I am merely inserting a character of my own into the story. Please note that while this story will follow the lines of the movieverse, several things will be changed to suit my needs of this fanfiction. Once more, this is a fanfiction. I own nothing but Miss Aydan. I just decided to play with them a bit.

A/N: Sorry for the delay! Real life has been getting in the way recently and it has taken a lot longer to write this chapter out than I thought. It's not the best chapter in the world, but it's here. I hope you enjoy this chapter...

Chapter Twenty-Five
Armor Clad Heart

It took us four long days before we finally reached the ruins of Dale. I could feel my shoulder beginning to heal, the pain was lessening with each day, but climbing over boulders and keeping up with the fast pace set by the others was still hard for me. Kili stayed by my side most of the time, assisting me if I fell and helping me over the boulders. It was sweet and I appreciated him for it. I was still a long way off from a full recovery. The arrow had done considerable damage to the ligaments in my arm. To be honest, I was simply glad it hadn't been infected.

We sat in the shadow of the mountains, hidden amongst the ruins of Dale. The sky had long since darkened and a crackling fire danced happily atop the blackened logs. Searching for the rest of our company in the dark would be pointless. If they were still alive finding them in the bright light of the sun would fare better than in the dark. The men of the lake were surely still several days behind them. She seriously doubted the weary and injured men would be able to round up troops and make it to where they were as fast as they had. I, in fact, wouldn't have been able to do it myself without my companions.

A hiss of pain left my lips as Kili checked my wound. He'd insisted on taking care of me instead of Oin. I'd been surprised, but let him do it. The blood soaked strip of cloth pulled at my skin from where it dried and I looked away, unable to look at the wound. For a supposed big bad mercenary, I was really a coward when it came to open wounds. The sound of a rip caught my attention and I turned my gaze back to the silent Kili. He'd torn off part of his tunic, like he'd done before when I'd injured my leg. My gaze moved from his smiling face down to my wound. The edges were pink with the new skin that was forming and scarring. Just another battle scar I would have to hide.

"Did you mean it?" His voice floated to me and I looked up, brows drawn together with confusion as he finished covering my wound with his blue strip of tunic. If he continued tearing off bits like that he'd be out a tunic. A small smirk quirked at the corners of my lips before I focused on the dark haired archer next to me. Silence fell between us and I listened to Bofur, Oin and Fili chattering happily. They had always been good at keeping their spirits up.

"Mean what?" I replied after several moments, looking to the mountain that loomed over us.

"When you said you loved me?"

I stiffened, my cheeks coloring almost immediately. He remembered that? I'd thought he'd see it as a dream, that the conversation would wash away with his awakening, but I'd been wrong. As much as I did love him I wasn't ready to put my heart on a silver platter for someone, especially with a battle still ahead of us. The fifteen of us against the men of the lake wouldn't exactly be an easy thing and we still had no idea if there was even fifteen of us left. For all we knew, only the five of us remained.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about." Finally I spoke, though I'd still not relaxed. A chilled breeze wrapped around us and a shiver ran down my spine. Warmth spread down my left side as Kili scooted closer. My heart rate accelerated as he brushed against my bared arm. Goosebumps rose on the pale flesh as I kept my emerald gaze firmly on the mountain before us. If I even looked at his face, saw the roguish smile, the mischievous glint in his dark eyes, I'd crumble and offer him my soul. With the immediate future so unpredictable I just couldn't do that. If a battle broke out the chances I'd survive were slim with my injuries and the thought of giving him my heart only to be torn away from him... I simply couldn't bear it.

Silence. For once my comforting silence was suffocating. I shifted and finally glanced to the dark haired dwarf's face. His usual smile was gone and a look of contemplation plagued his features. I frowned and gripped at the black trousers that clung to my legs, biting my lip to try and keep the words in my mouth.

A frown marred my lips as Kili stood and looked down to me, his usual smile in place. I blinked and looked up to him, the words on the tip of my tongue, threatening to fall from my lips.

"Don't worry about it." His words stopped me from spilling my heart to him and he turned and walked over to his brother, their loud rambunctious filling the quiet air as he joined in on the conversation. I smiled and pushed back the long locks of my hair. Most of it had fallen from the binding the two human girls had helped me put it in. I wonder if they had gotten out OK. I'd been so focused on Kili that I'd not taken the time to make sure those girls were alright. I pulled the small leather strip from my hair and let it fall loose around me, the ends just brushing the ground. I'd need to cut it soon.

Glancing up, I found dark eyes staring into mine. My heart skipped a beat and I quickly turned my gaze away, to the glowing embers that kept the fire lit. Turning my gaze down, I allowed my hair to curtain my face. Kili had no idea the effect he had on me and it was something I feared. The way he'd captured my heart and made me feel as though everything would be fine. He made me reckless, like he was. A small smile pulled at my lips as I chanced a glance up. He was talking animatedly with his brother about finding the others. Always so positive.

A presence dropped next to me and I glanced over to see Bofur. He had no smile on his lips and a somber expression. The smile that had been on my lips dropped as I turned my attention to Bofur.

"I wish I had their optimism." Bofur said, nodding his head toward Kili and Fili. They'd really not had much life experience. It was endearing the way he could always see the upside, even in the midst of battle.

"As do I. I hope they never lose it." I replied, another small smile gracing my lips as my dark haired archer turned to look at me. His roguish smile caused my heart to flutter and my smile to grow before sorrow crept into my heart. What would happen if we found his uncle and the others struck down? "Do you think they survived?"

Bofur looked up to the mountain before them and sighed heavily not speaking. Neither of us wanted to accept the possibility that they hadn't survived the malicious Smaug. We wanted to have the optimism of Kili and the unwavering belief of Fili. The dark thoughts of the possibilities that would await us in the mountain come first light.