The peace that had settled within the small household lasted until the early hours of the morning when a terrified scream rent the air.

Thorin leaped out of bed, throwing a tunic on as he burst through the door. Narrowly avoiding Dis who had toppled out of her own room, the pair hurried towards Kíli's chambers where the boys were sleeping, their worry increasing further when they could hear the younger dwarf's voice mixed into the yelling.

Throwing open the door Thorin and Dís barged inside to see Kíli trying to hold Fíli down who was thrashing desperately; eyes squeezed shut and face as pale as a sheet while he begged and pleaded for help.

"Fíli!" Kíli cried, dodging the flailing fists that struck out at him. "Fíli, calm down! It's okay! You're safe!"

The brunet looked up as his mother and uncle hurried towards him and sobbed in relief. "He was whimpering and tossing and turning in his sleep and then he suddenly started screaming-"

"HELP!" Fíli, screeched, head thrashing from side to side. Kíli jerked his head back, barely avoiding getting his nose broken.

"AMBER! KÍLI! HELP!"

Without a word passing between them Thorin and Dís leapt to the bedside, grabbing an arm each and putting all their weight behind them as they pinned the flailing limbs to the bed. The last thing Fíli needed was to tear open his wounds and set his recovery back even further.

With his elders holding his brother down Kíli shifted until he was sitting on Fíli's waist, hands cupping his sibling's face in a firm but gentle grip.

"Fíli! Nadad, hear my voice!" he pleaded, his voice soothing and gentle now that Fíli had quietened down to whimpers. "I'm here, I'm right here. You're home, you're safe and you're free." There were more whines and whimpers, as though Fíli desperately wanted to believe him but didn't know if he should. Using his thumbs Kíli stroked his brother's cheeks lightly, hushing him as he did so. "Come on Fee, come on. You're home nadad, you're home."

Minutes passed without any change. Kíli kept up his constant litany of hushes and petting while Dis and Thorin kept the wounded dwarf immobile. Eventually Fíli started to quieten down; his whimpers turning into soft pitiful cries and his hitched breathing slowly evening out.

Just as the trio were on the verge of releasing a sigh of relief there was a loud crash in the room next door. The noise, which had been unusually loud in the briefly silent household set Fíli off again, but this time it was louder,

And more terrified than before.

"Fee!" Kíli cried, throwing a look at his uncle that was clearly read as 'what was that?!' before trying to shush his brother again. "It's okay! It's okay! You're alright, I promise!"

It seemed that the peace Fíli had just found, however temporary, was too far out of reach this time. The blond shrieked and thrashed; curses in khuzdul, elvish and Man flying from his lips when he wasn't crying out for help.

Just when Kíli began to think they'd have to watch Fíli suffer through his nightmare until it ended with the constant risk of reopening his wounds and hurting himself further, a gentle touch to his shoulder had him jumping in fright. He whipped his head around and came face to face with a very pale and barely conscious elf.

"Please," she slurred, voice hoarse from disuse.

He moved aside without question, eyes watching like a hawk as she shifted to the head of the bed, edging past Dís as she did so until she could place her hand on Fíli's forehead.

"Sleep, gwinig," she murmured to the thrashing dwarf, "sleep and have pleasant dreams."

It was like watching a lever switch from on to off. The calm that settled over Fíli's features was instantaneous, and with his breathing once again evening out all three dwarves were able to release their hold on him.

"Thank you," Dís sighed in relief, wiping the unshed tears from her eyes. "Thank you for helping him." Watching her son suffer a dream of that severity was terrifying, and the sense of utter helplessness she felt in that moment even more so.

Amber inclined her head to the dwarrowdam, and nearly toppled off the bed as she did so.

Three sets of hands shot out to steady her, and Amber couldn't help the blush that coloured her cheeks. When she regained her balance she looked at them sheepishly. "Thank you-"

Dís cut her off with a chuckle. "With everything you have been through, and everything you have done for my son, I think stopping you from falling flat on your face is the least we could do."

Kíli and Thorin sniggered, only to snap their mouths shut when Dís levelled them with a look.

"Sorry mum."

"Sorry Dís."

"I should think so!" Although her tone was stern her eyes twinkled in amusement.

"I can see what Fíli meant," Amber laughed tiredly and drawing their attention, "by Kíli being the bigger troublemaker out of the two of you."

It was Dís' turn to snicker, and despite the lingering exhaustion even Amber looked quietly amused.

"That is totally untrue," Kíli huffed. "Fíli is just as bad as me, if not more so. Only reason he gets away with it is because he's too clever to get caught."

Thorin ruffled his nephew's hair fondly. "Is that so, Nûlukhel? Perhaps we should give you additional lessons in strategy if that's the case."

Kíli blinked. "What- WAIT!" He cried in horror, "I didn't mean it like that!"

Dís shook her head fondly as Kíli and Thorin continued their quiet discussion about the brunet's cleverness, or lack thereof in this case, before turning to Amber. "If you don't mind my saying my dear, you look terrible."

"I feel terrible," Amber replied with a weak laugh, "but better than I have in a long time. The rest has done me well, and I thank you for that."

"You do not need to thank me -"

"And yet I shall all the same. I will however take my leave if I may, my body still needs some time to recover and sleep is the only way it shall do that."

Dís stood and offered her hand which Amber took gratefully. "You don't even have to ask. Do you need some help getting back to Fíli's room or will you be alright?"

Taking mental stock of her body Amber shook her head. "I should be fine," she said after a moment, "but if I need your help I'll be sure to ask."

Happy with the response she moved aside, hands shooting out to steady the elf as she rose.

"Oh and I realise you wish to know what happened during Fíli's capture," Amber addressed the three dwarves now that Kíli and Thorin had turned their attention back to her. "So I am more than happy to fill you in in the morning. In fact I think its best, it will spare him from having to relive it for the immediate future."

Thorin inclined his head to her, relief clear in his voice when he next spoke. "Thank you. For everything really, but especially for being there for Fíli when we could not." He turned to look at the other two. "And I think it's time we turned in also, I've had enough drama for one night."

With a nod Dís ushered Thorin and Amber out of the room, pressing a kiss to each of her sons' brow's before following the pair out of the room. "Sleep well inúdoy's," she whispered as she closed the door over.

"Sleep well."

The light of the mid-morning sun shining on his face and birdsong was what woke him.

Fíli blinked sleepily, turning his head slightly toward the window and luxuriated in the feeling of the warmth on his skin.

After several minutes of utter silence, and the peace that accompanied it he shifted carefully, deciding that it was probably a good idea to move his limbs from the dead attachments they currently were and into something a bit more lively.

It was when he was in the process of shifting his back that he realised there was a heavy weight behind him. Turning his head Fíli found his brother curled up behind him; one arm that he had somehow failed to notice thrown across his hip and his forehead resting against the back of his neck.

It was then that he noticed the third presence in the room; Thorin sitting in the chair beside the bed and reading a book.

Hearing the sheets rustle Thorin looked up and smiled at the sight of sleepy but alert blue eyes staring at him.

"Good morning little lion," he greeted, depositing his book onto the bedside table, "how do you feel?"

"Better," he rasped, coughing a little at the dry ache in his throat. "Water?"

Thorin nodded and stood, moving to the pitcher of water he'd left on Kíli's desk and poured a glass. Placing it on the bedside table he helped his nephew into a sitting position and handed the glass over when Fíli gave him a nod.

"Is there any for me?" A groggy Kíli asked, rubbing his eyes after being woken by his brother's movement.

"There is," Thorin told him, reaching out to help steady Fíli's hand, "it's on the desk."

"Cruel, uncle," he muttered as he rolled out of bed, groaning when he hit the floor unceremoniously. "Just cruel."

Finishing his mouthful Fíli chuckled tiredly at his brother's antics. "I'm glad to see nothing has changed in some respects."

Kíli rolled his eyes in fond exasperation as he crawled across the floor towards the aforementioned water, legs still somewhat unresponsive and uncaring he looked like a toddler.

With a put upon sigh Thorin turned back to the blond, smoothing golden hair back as he took the cup from him. "Now, how do you feel?"

"Much better, definitely," he answered honestly. "Weak, still a little tired and my body aches, but I'm more alert than I have been in a long time."

Kíli let out a distressed noise from his place somewhere on the floor and Thorin looked at his oldest nephew sympathetically. "I'm not surprised. Amber filled us in on most of what happened and-" he took a few deep breaths, the events that the elf had filled them in about over steaming mugs of tea and early morning light still clear in his mind.

Part of him wished he'd been left in blissful ignorance.

"Fíli, I am so sorry," he sighed, shaking his head to silence him when the blond tried to protest. "Listen to me, inúdoy. I am not apologising for my failure to ensure your safety, although I will regret it until the day I return to the stone, I am saying sorry for what you were put through. No one should have gone through what you did, I wouldn't have wished a fraction of it on my greatest enemies and yet you suffered through it and survived."

Fíli blinked, biting his bottom lip to keep it from trembling as the memories flooded back in flashes. "I-I survived," he sobbed, raising a hand to his mouth as though trying to fight back against the swell of emotion. "I-I s-ur-vived."

Two sets of arms enveloped him as he started to cry.

And cry he did.

It was a much needed catharsis; all the fear, all the anger and horror and pain, all the times he'd wished for death and struggled to survive another night, all the times he'd screamed in terror and screamed for his family to save him…

Every pent up emotion he had hoarded over the last year came tumbling out, and Thorin and Kíli could do little more than hold on and weather his internal storm with him.

Dís took a deep breath and let it out slowly, readjusting her grip on the tray before pushing the door to Kíli's chambers open.

It had been twenty minutes or so since Amber's ears had pricked to the sound of her older son crying, and another ten since he had stopped. At the elf's suggestion she had waited to go in to see him, to give him a chance to compose himself as much as he could. When she had reminded Amber that she was his mother and he would need her she had shaken her head.

"He will need you, that is true, and there will be plenty of times in the future where you can be there for him and help him through it. But he also needs support, not coddling, for if he is to heal and grow stronger then he needs to be able to do so without constant pity."

While frustrating, she knew it was true. Fíli, her dear Fíli, had never been keen on people fussing over him. He'd had more than enough of it when he was training for his role as heir, and the last thing he ever wanted was everyone treating him like he was made of glass whenever something happened.

With her smile in place she entered the room, chuckling at the look of delight that appeared on Fíli's face when he spotted her and the tray she carried.

"Hello Gimlith, are you hungry?"

The blond nodded, a little bit of colour on his cheeks lessening his haggard appearance. "Definitely."

Pleased with his answer she moved further inside, waiting for Thorin to vacate from his spot so she could sit beside her son and hand him his food. "Here you go sweetheart," she said as she handed over a glass of milk and some porridge, sweetened with honey and berries. "Amber said it would be best to start you off with something light for your stomach. If you can keep that down, and you have room for more I'll bring you in a honey cake."

"Thanks mama," Fíli whispered gratefully as he balanced his bowl on his lap and took a small sip of his milk, Kíli there beside him ready to catch the glass should it fall. The rich and creamy texture of the milk hit his tongue and he moaned at the taste, all thought of eating slowly floating out the open window.

When he drained the cup he handed it back to his mother. "You mentioned Amber," he said tentatively. "Is she okay?"

Dís nodded, giving the glass to Thorin to put on the desk as she rubbed her son's shoulder gently. "She was in pretty bad shape when she got here, but she's slept the entire week away to recover. In fact, helping you through your nightmare last night was the first time she'd left that bed."

"I had a nightmare?"

At his family's hum of affirmation he sighed, running his fingers through his hair and tugging on a strand. "I'm not surprised," he admitted after a moment. "I don't remember it, but it's not hard to guess what it was about. Where is she now?"

"Out in the garden. She said something about missing the sunshine and needing to breathe."

His lip twitched into a fond smile. During their capture the sun was something Amber had admitted to missing under the cover of darkness when the orcs had discarded them for the evening. "I need to speak with her," he told them. "I need to thank her for getting us out of there, and for being there for me."

Dís bopped him on the nose lightly. "Finish your porridge Gimlith, and then you can go see her."

Thorin waited for the door to be opened before he walked outside with his precious burden; a disgruntled but resigned Fíli who accepted his uncle carrying him to the garden with only a smallest amount of grumbling.

He had his pride to protect after all.

Dís was over by the apple tree not too far from the kitchen window, placing a blanket and some pillows on the ground and checking Amber, who had a small pile of apples beside her, didn't want anything else.

"Stop pestering her Dís," Thorin laughed as he approached. "I'm sure if she had wanted something, she would have asked for it by now."

Amber and Fíli grinned at each other, both in amusement and greeting, while Dís clucked her tongue.

"Bite me. I just want them to be comfortable, is all."

"And we shall be," Amber assured her as she drew her blanket around her shoulders tighter. "You've given us more than enough, I swear."

"If we need you mama, we'll yell," Fíli promised.

With a sigh Dís fiddled with the last of the cushions and moved so Thorin could place her son onto them, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders and pressing a kiss to his head before taking her leave.

"Anything," Thorin repeated as he also kissed his nephew's head before following his sister into the house.

And finally, they were alone.

Fíli sighed deeply, rearranging pillows until he could lie back on the blanket comfortably. After draping one of the other ones over his legs to keep him warm he turned his head, smiling softly at Amber who was watching him with an equally fond look in her eyes.

"We made it," he chuckled quietly in relief. "We made it."

Amber smiled, taking his hand and linking their fingers together. "We did indeed."

They lay there in silence for quite some time, allowing the rustling leaves and birdsong to fill the air around them and simply enjoyed the feeling of being free.

Their fingers remained entwined.

"I'm scared," he whispered eventually, keeping his voice low to avoid startling the birds from their chatter.

Amber turned her head and looked at him, eyes searching his face. "What are you scared of?"

"Everything?" He shrugged as he thought, "nothing?" He opened his mouth several times, trying to figure out what he wanted to say but each time he thought he knew he'd close his mouth again. No matter how he phrased it, it didn't seem right.

Amber gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Tell me what bothers you, mellon."

"I just- I'm scared to talk to my family, I suppose. I'm scared to remember and I know they'll want me to talk about what happened, but how can I when every time I close my eyes, even for a second, I see fire and blood and pain. How can I when every time I see him?"

He didn't realise his eyes had started to sting until Amber had pulled him into her arms.

"It's okay mellon," she whispered, "it's okay. Let it out, I'm here."

He didn't cry, for he had run out of tears to shed. But he did tremble in her arms for a long time, the pain that his body and mind had suffered for so long flooding out of him.

Eventually it stopped, and Fíli raised wet eyes to look at the elf. "Sorry," he chuckled, "that was rather unexpected."

Amber grinned. "But you feel better?"

"Much. Thank you."

She winked at him. "Now, let us solve this dilemma of yours. The sooner it is done, the sooner you can heal."

"I worry about what they'll think of me when they find out what happened. That they'll think me weak."

"First of all you must remember that I filled them in on what happened. Not everything, but the things I thought were important to mention. Including where that Kuu`Datto is holed up. Hopefully, your uncle and your kin will see to him swiftly. Secondly, they are your family, Fíli. They will never see your suffering as a sign of weakness. You are strong, you are brave, and your heart is filled with a love so great for those close to you that anyone lucky enough to know you should feel humble."

"You're just saying that to be nice," he laughed weakly.

Amber tutted. "I am not," she huffed, her words laced with amusement, "I don't say things to be nice, I thought you knew that by now." The smile that Fíli gave her, which was more amusement than sadness, was enough to make her cuff him lightly. "As I was saying. Your family love you Fíli, and they want to help you work through this. But you have to find a way to let them in. They want their golden dwarf back, but you have to help them do that, yes?"

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, rolling so he was once again lying beside her. Her words were honest, and truthful, and it was up to him to do what needed to be done.

He had to try and open up to his family.

"Yeah."

"What do you think they're talking about?"

Dís looked up at the interruption. Kíli was standing by the sink, rolling his mug in his hands absentmindedly and staring out the window to where he could see his brother and the elf talking.

"Whatever it is, it is only for them to know, Gimlith," she said fondly. There was no way she would admit to her own burning curiosity.

"But still," Kíli huffed, turning away and placing his half-drunk tea on the counter. "What if what she's telling him is important for us to help him recover? What if-"

"If it's that important than either Fíli or Amber will tell us," Thorin interrupted. "I know you worry Kíli, but I don't think you have to worry about this."

Kíli hummed his displeasure, glancing out the window again.

"I just want my brother back," he murmured quietly,

"That's all."