Six thoughts at once I can't focus on one
Seven days a week but my life has just begun
So caught in emotion that I'm overcome
As I'm falling down I come undone.

Sometimes I feel like I'm alone
Sometimes I feel like I'm not that strong
Sometimes I feel so frail so small
Sometimes I feel vulnerable
Sometimes I feel a little fragile

Fragile By Delta Goodrem

They left the old lookout post and made for the Front Gate five hours away. The old raven had told them of the man Bard who shot the dragon out of the sky, and of how Smaug had landed on the town of Esgaroth. The Lake-men thought to find amends in the treasure, but they were not the only ones to know of the dragon's death; the elvenking and his men were also on their way to the Mountain. It was that news that sent the Company back to the Front Gate, and as they travelled they explored the caverns once more to find that the Gate was the only entrance. Thorin had also requested of the raven to send word to his cousin Dain that he and his men would come forth.

They reached the Front Gate and began making plans to fortify it; tools were to be found in plenty that the miners and builders of old had used; and at such work the dwarves were still very skilled. Though neither a hobbit or a woman knew such skills and so they sat together and watched the dwarves work. Bilbo noticed that Eleni's eyes would often stray to Fili, watching the way his muscles moved beneath his shirt as he lifted stone or used any of the other tools. A few times Fili would catch her looking at him and he'd smirk at her before continuing his work. Kili had noticed as well a few times and it made him smile to see that she did in fact care for his brother, for he had noticed that she no longer pushed Fili away and that he happier now that she wasn't.

As they worked the ravens brought them constant tiding. In this way they learned that the Elvenking, Thranduil, had turned aside to the Lake, and they still had a breathing space. Better still, they heard that three of their ponies had escaped and were wandering wild far down the banks of the Running River, not far from where the rest of their stores had been left.

"Fili, Kili" Thorin called after receiving this news. "They will lead you to where our ponies are. And bring back as much of our stores as you can." He waited for Eleni's refusal, he saw it in her eyes, but she remained quiet.

Fili walked to where Eleni sat and kissed her soundly on the lips, not caring that she did not want the others to see, not caring that he did not want the others to see. And they did see, all thirteen of them, though they quickly turned away when Eleni wrapped her arms around his shoulders and returned his kiss. But only Thorin realized the meaning behind it, it meant goodbye should anything happen while he was away, for she did not know when she was supposed to die. A few moments later Fili joined his brother and together they left the Mountain, Fili turned once to look at Eleni and he could not even offer her a smirk. Though Kili had turned to look at her as well, and upon seeing her sad face, he gave her a silly smile and waved emphatically causing her to bite back a smile of her own.

The hours passed, the days passed, and they all noticed the melancholy look in her eye and this time not even Thorin understood it. Eleni sat watching the stones the dwarves put in front of the Gate grow higher and higher feeling something clawing at her chest. It had taken a day to realize it was a sense of doom hanging over her like a cloud, and she wondered where it came from. A malicious foreboding was growing inside her heart, and she may have felt it sooner if Fili had left eariler; as it was, she started feeling it after he left. So she sat beside Bilbo while the others braced the Front Gate feeling something dark racing towards her. Without Fili she could hardly sleep, she barely ate, she felt as though she could not breathe; she needed him, to talk to, to hold her.

Thorin noticed she wasn't eating, he noticed she wasn't sleeping, what he did not know was why. And so one night when he was on watch after the others had fallen asleep he grabbed her arm and took her further into the Mountain.

"We will die soon," he said having figured it out a few hours previous. He sighed heavily when she nodded and leaned against the wall at his back. "Will you tell him?" She remained silent for a long while and he knew her well enough at that point to know she was thinking.

"I can't do that to him," she said finally.

"Why not? He loves you, he deserves to know," he said not understanding her reluctance. She looked at him in shock thinking he would understand, hoping he would for she needed someone who did. In the moonlight she looked so defeated and sad, and he knew; "You love him too." He knew he was right from the gathering of tears of her eyes.

"I shouldn't," she said miserably. "I should not have let him, I shouldn't have let me. I just," she broke off covering her face with her hands trying not to cry. He gave her silence, he gave her time to control her tears, he gave her the patience he did not have. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way."

"No, it wasn't," he agreed before pulling her to him. His hands were light on her back as he soothed her, though he could never take away her pain, just like she could never take away his no matter how hard he tried to believe she could. He had tried for days, weeks even, to stop himself from feeling the way he did, knowing she was not his to care for; knowing she did not care for him. Realizing their deaths would be upon them sooner than she had thought, he was scared and sad. He wanted someone he could say he loved and as the only woman he placed that on Eleni, and he knew it was unfair.

She felt so weak in his arms, knowing he was far stronger than the way in which he held her, but in that moment as she stood in his arms she felt fragile. She was lost and afraid and he was offering her comfort, so she took it. His hand cupped the back of her head and he pulled her mouth to his, and she let him kiss her, and she kissed him in return. He was even gentle in how hard he pressed against her, afraid to break her if his hands held her too tight.

They never knew who moved first, looking back on it it almost seemed as if they came to the conclusion together, for the next thing they knew he was sitting with her straddling his waist, her skirt hoisted to her hips his pants pulled down to his knees. Their every sounds were muffled beneath their desperate mouths, her tears warm on both their cheeks.

He knew as he moved within her he never should have taken her away from the others, that he never would have been able to control himself. He knew they were hurting Fili in an unforgivable way, yet no thoughts of actually stopping ever crossed his mind. Her voice was a breath, a whisper, but it held the knowledge that she was not with him; it was not his name that fell from her lips, it was not him she was seeing behind her closed lids. He felt her tighten around him bringing him over the edge with her, reality crashing around them as pleasure faded. She laid her head on his shoulder and he felt her tears through his shirt as she realized what they'd done. He ran his hand up and down her back, realizing if given the chance he would have her again. There were still so many things he wanted to do with her, so much of her body his hands and mouth wanted to explore; but she would never let him. It was a moment of weakness she would never give in to again, though they did not have the time to see.

She stood, and he closed his eyes at the feel of sliding out of her, stiffening slightly once more, but when he opened his eyes again she was gone. He went back to the others seeing they were all still asleep, though Eleni was curled in a ball next to Bilbo. He sat and kept watch the remainder of the night thinking of what had just happened, of how he enjoyed it and how he regretted it. It had never been his intention to feel anything for Eleni, and sometimes if he thought about it hard enough he did not think he truly did. But he was scared in the knowledge that his end was coming soon, and if not for her he would be completely alone. And even though Fili knew she was to die, Thorin knew Eleni felt the same.

The next day the dwarves continued working, and the day after that. Eleni hardly spoke, and if she did no kind word fell from her lips. Fili and Kili were gone four days, and in those days the ravens came and went with messages; the joined armies of the Lake-men and the Elves were hurrying toward the Mountain. The gate was blocked with a wall of squared stones laid dry across the opening. There were holes in the wall through which they could see, or shoot, but no entrance. They climbed in or out with ladders, and hauled stuff up with ropes. Fili's feet landed with a thud and he immediately looked for Eleni, but his joy at seeing her was short lived when he saw her face; there was no smile, no kindness, not even to him. She recoiled from his touch, her eyes would not meet his, she would not speak to him. It took a long while for him to understand, and it wasn't until night fell that he thought perhaps her death was coming soon. He rolled over to face her and met her eyes, seeing such pain within them he could not keep himself from reaching for her. She flinched when he cupped her face and she shook her head when he moved his face closer, and so he pulled back. He laid running his thumb along her cheek, until she finally succumbed to exhaustion, and even after he laid awake staring at her.

The next night the glow of torches could be seen from Dale. "They have come!" called Balin. "And their camp is great. They must have come into the valley under the cover of dusk along the banks of the river."

That night they slept little. They saw a company approaching in the pale light of the next morning. Before long they could see that both men of the lake and elves were armed for war. Great was the newcomer's surprise to see the Gate blocked with a wall of new-hewn stone. As they stood pointing and speaking to one another Thorin hailed them: "Who are you that come as if in war to the gates of Thorin son of Thrain, King under the Mountain, and what do you desire?"
But they answered nothing. That day the camp was moved to the east of the river, right between the arms of the Mountain.

The next morning a company of spearmen was seen crossing the river, and marching up the valley. They bore with them the green banner of the Elvenking and the blue banner of the Lake, and they advanced until they stood right before the wall at the Gate.

Again Thorin hailed them in a loud voice: "Who are you that come armed for war to the gates of Thorin son of Thrain, King under the Mountain?"

This time he was answered by Bard, a man Eleni recognized from the town. Bard requested a piece of the treasure, a request that was not unreasonable for it was Bard who had slain the dragon, but Thorin refused. Eleni heard the arrogance in his voice, the lust the treasure had placed in his heart. Thorin would wage war before he agreed to give any portion away, all he needed to do was wait for his cousin Dain to arrive.

Now the days passed slowly and wearily. Many of the dwarves spent their time piling and ordering the treasure; and now Thorin spoke of the Arkenstone of Thrain, and bade them eagerly to look for it in every corner.
"For the Arkenstone of my father," he said, "is worth more than a river of gold in itself, and to me it is beyond price. That stone of all the treasure I name unto myself, and I will be avenged on anyone who finds it and withholds it."
Bilbo heard these words and grew very afraid, wondering what would happen if the stone was found – wrapped in an old bundle of tattered oddments that he used as a pillow. All the same Bilbo did not speak of it, for as the weariness of the days grew heavier, the beginnings of a plan had come into his little head.

Eleni sat beside Bilbo, not knowing it was he who had the Arkenstone though she would not have been surprised to learn that the hobbit did. She hardly even looked at the treasure, at anything really. She sat feeling dread weigh on her heart as well as guilt. She did not notice when others spoke to her, when they touched her, she was consumed by the pain that came with each heartbeat; knowing her end was coming closer. Though she did notice when Bilbo left, and she stayed awake for hours waiting for him to return and met him when he did.

"You had the Arkenstone all along," she whispered realizing what he had done, and she was rewarded by a look of scared guilt as it filled his eyes.

"The Elvenking wished me to apologize for him. He said you only needed to have told him Gandalf had asked and he would never have imprisoned you. He regrets his actions, and should you forgive him he would like to have you as a friend once more."
Eleni looked down at the hobbit and nodded before laying back down. Bilbo stared down at her wondering what had upset her so greatly, and if anything could be done to help her. Her sad gray eyes haunted his dreams as he slept, more so than thoughts of his betrayal being discovered; for it was unnatural to see Eleni look anything but strong, to see her weak and sad was almost as terrifying as Throin's wrath. But still he slept, somehow forgetting all worries until the morning.

So I don't get too many upset reviews, what happened will be resolved peacefully. And Fili won't find out until after Thorin is dead, and all the reviews said Fili should live so I will have him live. Thank you all for reviewing.