Thank you so much to my lovely, lovely reviewers, followers and favouriters! This story is becoming so much more popular than I ever imagined and I thank you all!

I'm glad you all 'liked' my cliffhanger, and well done to those you got my Winnie the Pooh reference, it is a quote that means quite a lot to me ;)

I hope you forgive any mistakes I made in this chapter…

The title comes from the phrase 'the best made plans of mice and men often go astray' ;) foreshadowing, much?

Read. Enjoy. Review.

Chapter Twenty Nine # Of Mice and Men #

Fíli crouched in the shadows with his arm around Kíli's shoulder, holding him close as he glowered at Thorin's back, trying to pour as much of his fury as possible into his glare.

"Fee…" Kíli's little voice only served to fuel Fíli's anger even as his younger brother tried to comfort him. "Fee, it's alright, I agreed to this."

"It's not alright!" Fíli hissed back, pulling Kíli further back to the shadows behind the giant vats in the forges as the he heard the dragon rumbling closer. "You're not doing this!"

"I have to, Fíli." Kíli's pale and trembling face broke Fíli's final reserve of patience and he pulled Kíli into his arms, glaring at Thorin over his brother's shoulder and shaking his head.

"No, no, no, Kíli, not again!" he demanded, though his voice broke several times.

"Fíli!" Thorin ordered in a far quieter voice. "Control yourself or we will all die, Kíli included! This is a chance, Fíli, it's a chance! It is not your choice to decide if we all definitely perish or if some of us may survive – that is not your choice. It is my choice and it is Kíli's choice, and it is a choice we have both had the sense to make."

Fíli closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was being foolish, he was being selfish…

But oh, if he lost Kíli again…

"Alright…" he said slowly. "But I'm coming with you."

"No!" Thorin shook his head, taking a step towards the brothers. "Fíli, there is no way that you will be able to protect him if you do! All you will do is put yourself in more danger than is necessary."

"He's not going out there alone." Fíli swore quietly, keeping his arms wrapped around his brother who made no effort to move.

"I'll go." Bilbo offered the first words he had spoken since Nori had explained his ridiculous plan in the common tongue, and Fíli was unsurprised that the hobbit's words shook, though he spoke barely two syllables.

"No." Kíli choked, shaking his head. "I…I should go alone, n-no one else should…"

Fíli whirled around, grabbing his brother's shoulders and forcing Kíli to look at him. "Tell me the truth, Kíli."

"I don't want you to get hurt…" Kíli whispered and Fíli shook him gently.

"Truth, Kíli."

Kíli perked up enough to scowl at him. "That is the truth."

"Fine then, the whole truth!"

Kíli's head dipped and his eyes closed as he slowly mumbled the words he struggled so much to say.

"Come, Fee…please…"

Fíli nodded sharply and shifted his hold on his brother so that his arm was wrapped around Kíli's shoulders. "Always."

Thorin sighed, massaging his chin with a hand that Fíli swore was trembling. "So be it."

Within the next moment Fíli found himself engulfed in a bone-crushing hug from his uncle and he squeezed the king back for a moment as the dragon appeared on the other side of the enormous forge. For the moment they were still hidden, but it would not be long for the dragon to sniff them out.

"Be careful, both of you." Thorin demanded, stroking Fíli's hair with one hand and Kíli's with the other.

They both nodded and all of a sudden they were both being enveloped in a fierce hug again, this time by the hobbit, whose grasp unsurprisingly lingered on Kíli.

A small sliver of Sindarin left the hobbit's mouth and Kíli offered a weak smile to the hobbit.

"I promise."

Smaug roared, breaking the sensitive moment as Dwalin, Nori and Ori all ran towards the hiding place of the others, having been the ones to have finished the delicate task of leading the dragons to the forges.

"He's all yours, Kíli!" Nori panted as he shoved Ori out of sight. "Remember, you've got one shot!"

Kíli nodded breathlessly, looking to Fíli who swallowed and nodded one. "Let's go, nadadith."

Fíli could not look at Bilbo as they walked away, knowing that he would likely see his own fear and pain mirrored on the hobbit's face, but he glanced at Thorin, who was staring at him with a hard determination.

"Are you ready?" he whispered to Kíli as they hesitated in the last inch of shadow available behind the massive vat the dragon was already charging towards.

His brother nocked an arrow, nodding curtly. "Let's get this over with."

And then Kíli charged at the dragon.

Fíli was less than a step behind him, his eyes widening with horror as the beast pulled itself up to full height, its neck glowing with flames as it prepared to incinerate them both. He searched desperately for the missing scale promised by Bilbo but he saw nothing, and they were both going to die and –

"WAIT!" Kíli roared, surprising dwarf and dragon alike.

Smaug's moment of hesitance seemed insignificant to Fíli, but before he could wonder what on earth his brother was doing an arrow was shooting through the air, finding its mark in the weak spot Fíli could not even see.

"Yes!" Fíli cried in elated disbelief as Smaug roared in agony, crashing to the floor of the forge and shuddering with closed eyes.

"Well, that was easy." Kíli blinked. All of a sudden the beast's eyes opened once more and his head lurched for the brothers with a gaping jaw.

Kíli froze but Fíli did not and he shoved his brother away. "Run!"

The ground shuddered beneath them as Smaug struggled to his feet. It appeared that Kíli's arrow had injured, but not killed the dragon.

Well, that was just fantastic.

"Puny DWARVES!" Smaug roared, but to Fíli's confusion he did not seem to try to conjure up any flames. Instead he swiped out with hideous claws, aiming for the young archer.

"No!" Fíli bellowed, throwing Kíli out of the way once more and gasping terror when the dragon's talons ripped through his own shirt and hoisted him into the air, scraping his skin painfully as they did so. When Smaug next lifted up his leg Fíli fully expected to be eaten, but apparently the dragon had other ideas and he soon found himself hurtling towards the floor.

All thoughts of pride and honour left Fíli's head and he screamed like a little girl at the knowledge that he was going to be crushed beneath the foot of a dragon. His life did not flash before his eyes and he saw no tunnel of white light as the floor came flying up to meet him and Kíli's desperate screams of denial rang in his ears.

Fíli was going to die to the horrific soundtrack of his baby brother's torture.

A determined cry of exertion met his ears when the floor was but five feet away and a strong body connected with his, the sideways force just enough to tear Fíli's tunic away from the dragon's talons and send him rolling across the floor. His back smashed against a nearby earn with a low thunk and his limbs were tangled in those of his saviour, who was quick to scramble up, pulling Fíli with him.

"Bilbo?" Fíli did not have time to register his shock at the brave hobbit's appearance because Bilbo was pushing him out of the way of Smaug's lashing tail as the dragon limped in Kíli's direction.

"ARCHER!" The dragon's hiss was as loud as thunder and terror tightened its grip on Fíli's heart.

"Kíli!" Fíli screamed, unaware that Thorin had successfully thrown both himself and his nephew out of reach of the dragon's jaws behind one of the old vats.

"Come on!" the hobbit dragged Fíli forward and the pair chased aimlessly after the dragon, both of them senseless in their desperation to save Kíli.

Fíli's eyes scoured the dragon's side for the missing scale, readying his throwing knives as he charged forward.

As the dragon curled around the corner to pursue Fíli's uncle and brother he exposed the small patch of skin, Kíli's dark arrow marking the target for Fíli. Sprinting forward, Fíli realised that he and Bilbo were not the only one endeavouring to save his baby brother's life with little regard for their own lives. In attempt to distract the dragon from his resolute determination to incinerate Kíli, Dwalin, Nori and Ori were all pelting the beast's thick hide with whatever they could find, be it rocks, jewels or even shards of rubble.

Their missiles did nothing to slow the path of the dragon – in fact it only seemed to anger him further and he roared, lashing out with his tail as his claws ripped at the huge vats that were offering Kíli and Thorin their only protection.

A strangled scream from Kíli reached Fíli's ears and his heart stopped beating for a moment as he strained to listen.

"Move, Kíli, move!" Thorin's voice sounded terrified and Fíli swallowed, running closer.

As Smaug lunged forward Thorin let out a strangled cry and Kíli screamed, prompting Fíli to hurl the first of his throwing knives despite being too far away to guarantee a hit.

The deadly blade bounced off of Smaug's scales as harmlessly as the rouge missiles of Ori, Nori and Dwalin and Fíli cursed, forcing his legs to pound faster against the stone floor to get closer to his target, Kíli's cry of horror and Thorin's roar of pain fuelling every step.

Fíli flung his knife at the patch of exposed skin again, but this time the knife met its mark, and Smaug howled in pain, turning his head away from Thorin and Kíli to stare at the tiny blade that was doing less damage than the arrow. Nevertheless, the dragon curled around itself, turning its head away from Thorin and Kíli for a moment, and Fíli noted the chance to help his family.

"Hey!" he roared at the dragon, readying another knife. "You worthless worm, look at me!"

From the corner of his eye he noticed Thorin dragging Kíli away from their previous hiding place with a hand clamped over his nephew's mouth to stop the youngest heir of Durin from screaming for his brother.

The rest of Fíli's attention, however, was fixed on the dragon now glaring at him, and he started to backtrack quickly.

"You think yourself brave, dwarf-scum?" Smaug thundered, his eyes burning with murderous rage. "You are a fool!"

Fíli threw his arms over his head in a futile attempt to protect himself from the dragon's wrath, but even as he flinched away the dragon changed his direction gracefully mid lunge to strike at Thorin and Kíli, only to thunder with fury when he realised that the dwarves were no longer there.

The worm's momentary distraction was enough for Fíli to flee behind the nearest vat of once molten gold, and though he dared not lean around to gain a better glimpse he could just about make out Thorin and Kíli sheltering behind another on the other side of the room. He thought he saw Kíli nocking another arrow but then the thunderous footsteps of the met Fíli's ears, coupled with the crashing sound of its stomach colliding with the floor.

Despite his wounds, Smaug had enough strength to crawl across the floor in the direction of Thorin and both of his nephews, and Fíli made the mistake of leaning out to see what was going on, giving Smaug a target to dive at.

Fíli ducked back behind the vat, but the heirs of Durin were not alone in the hopeless fight and Nori chose that moment to hurl a diamond the size of his fist at Smaug's eye. The dragon flinched, yet another cry of pain escaping his lips, but Fíli doubted any real damage was done.

The young dwarf watched in utter horror as Smaug snarled at Nori, who turned tail and fled, but the thief's quick legs were not quite fast enough, and Fíli cried out in horrified denial as Nori was snatched up between the jaws of the dragon.

No, no, no! He thought as he pressed his back against the vat. Of all the company Nori was not one he was closer to, but by Durin all the company were as precious to Fíli as blood kin and seeing the feisty trickster fall in such a terrible way… No, no, no!

"No!" Dwalin yelled, putting Fíli's thoughts to words, and the young dwarf wondered numbly where Ori was and if he had seen.

By the heart-wrenching scream that followed, Fíli would wager that he had. "NORI!"

As Smaug threw his head back several times as if to make as big a spectacle of devouring Nori as possible, Fíli felt as though he was about to throw up. No dwarf should have to see their friend – let alone their brother - murdered in such a way.

All of a sudden a piercing shriek filled the clearing and Smaug's eyes widened in shock, his final keen of pure agony somehow less chilling than the silence that followed the crash of the dragon's head against the floor.

Fíli panted as he peered around the corner of the vat cautiously, staring at the beast sprawled across the floor. Smaug's eyes were open and completely empty, devoid of any flicker of emotion or life and that was when Fíli knew for certain that they had succeeded.

Smaug was dead.

Fíli looked to the dragon's weak spot to see what had ultimately caused his demise, but what he did see shocked him.

A single figure stained in blood was still clinging to the long spear he had thrust into Smaug's weak spot, the innocent body trembling as blood drenched his arms and anguish conquered his face.

Ori?

The first noise to break the silence was the sound of Dwalin's iron step against the floor as he cautiously approached the dead dragon, reaching its mouth and placing a hand on the beast's snout as if to confirm to himself that Smaug was truly dead. Fíli thought he heard another muffled sound but it was interrupted by Dwalin's shout for Thorin, the sound echoing uncomfortably loudly in the silent space.

Fíli craned his neck and watched Thorin and Kíli stagger out from behind a collapsed vat of solid gold. His brother was shaking like a leaf, as pale as a corpse and looked like he had fallen down several sets of stairs, but he was walking and he was alive…

As Fíli soaked in the glorious news of his brother's survival, Thorin aided Dwalin in grabbing the other side of the beast's great jaw. Distracted, Fíli frowned, wondering why on earth they wanted to open Smaug's mouth again until something slithered out from between the enormous, razor sharp teeth.

Fíli's eyes widened so much that they hurt when he recognised Nori falling to his hands and knees on the floor, drenched in blood and saliva and vomiting violently.

He survived? Fíli's baffled mind tried to make sense of things even as his heart leapt. But he was eaten! I know he was eaten!

Ori's wretched cry of pain and relief as he saw his brother fuelled Fíli's movements and he staggered over to the others in time to catch Nori's panted explanation.

"Held on…" the older dwarf retched, his face pinched into a grimace. "T'the tooth…"

Fíli laughed breathlessly, the sheer absurdity of the situation mingling badly with the shock coursing unrecognised through his veins. "The tooth… He held onto a tooth! Ha! That's ridiculous!"

"Fíli?" Kíli frowned, but Fíli was swooning by now.

"A tooth!" Fíli's legs fell out from underneath him and he collided with the floor with a bang and a groan, but in seconds there was someone there demanding to know where he was hurt and why was he fainting and don't you dare leave me, you promised, Fee! Recognising his brother's arms around him, Fíli snorted, his voice slurring as if he were drunk. "I had a tooth once!"

Kíli stared down incredulously as his brother's eyes rolled back into his head. "Fíli! Fíli!"

Instantly Thorin was there, kneeling down before the brothers and pressing a hand to Fíli's forehead. His soft smile and calm voice did a little to help Kíli's poor nerves. "Don't worry, Kíli."

"Don't worry? Don't worry? He's-"

"Fainted." Thorin finished, putting a hand on Kíli's shoulder and smiling gently. "I believe that he has only fainted…"

"Fainted? Fíli?" Kíli frowned, unable to compute the idea of his brother swooning without being seriously harmed.

To his surprise, Thorin's smile strengthened and Dwalin snorted, replying with a chuckle. "He used to faint all the time, and by Durin did he complain about it! He'll be embarrassed more than anything else when he comes to."

Kíli allowed relief to flood his heart as he chuckled softly; shifting his brother slightly into what he hoped would be a more comfortable position.

"Nori, you are wounded…" Thorin noted, his voice tinged with concern.

"Seems so…" Nori winced, studying his own legs, chest and arms, all of which had been scraped by the dragon's teeth as he slipped in and out of the dragon's mouth. "I'll be fine…"

"Are you sure?" Thorin fixed the thief in a friendly but piercing stare that told everyone that the king would take no downplaying of any injuries.

Nori nodded. "Aye, I'll be fine… Look, the bleeding's already stopping!"

"Good…" Thorin nodded, glancing over the entire company. "Is anyone else hurt?"

Kíli looked up quickly but to his relief Bilbo, Dwalin and Ori all shook their heads, though Bilbo did step up to Kíli and put his hands on the young dwarf's hair. Smiling, Kíli leant into Bilbo's touch like a puppy, revelling in the comfort that his father could give him with such a seemingly insignificant gesture.

When no one responded, Nori groaned, pulling himself into a more upright position. "Well, I say that could have gone a lot worse…"

Kíli snorted. The plan had been quite simple really – get to the forges where there would be a way out and where Smaug would have to be above them (which would give Kíli a cleaner target), send Kíli out, have Kíli shoot the dragon. Suicidal, but simple.

Remembering the plan reminded Kíli of something very important…

"Ori!" he cried, the immense magnitude of the timid scholar's actions hitting him for the first time. "You killed Smaug!"

The young dwarf blushed bright red and stammered. "I…well…no…I just-"

"Dealt the final blow and killed the dragon!" Kíli repeated, a huge grin spreading across his face. "Well done!"

"Indeed, well done Ori." Thorin agreed, bowing a little to the scholar, who blushed even further.

"You did what?" Nori all but shrieked in a manner far more reminiscent of Dori, pushing away his brother to hold him at an arm's length.

"He stabbed the worm with a spear right in the weak spot, that's what he did!" Dwalin goaded, pride shining on his face for the youngest member of the company.

"Ha ha! Ori, that's incredible!" the scribe's older brother laughed, reaching out with a shaky, bloodied hand and ruffling Ori's hair.

Judging by the look on his face, Kíli did not think that Nori could have given Ori the world and produced a more brilliant smile from his brother in response.

His own brother moaned and Kíli looked down quickly. "Fee?"

Fíli grunted, his eyes slowly blinking open. "Kee? Kíli?"

"I'm here." Kíli smiled. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I've been better…" Fíli assured him, though a faint smile played across the blonde's lips.

"You're going to be fine." Kíli informed his brother. "You have no choice in the matter."

Fíli laughed quietly. "Fair enough… Help me up, brother?"

"Careful, you did just faint." Kíli reminded him as he helped Fíli sit up. The colour drained from Fíli's face and for a moment Kíli was worried that his brother would swoon again. "Fíli?"

"I… fainted?" the blond looked absolutely horrified.

"Yes…"

"Me? Fíli? I just fainted?"

"Yes…" Kíli frowned.

"Like a little girl?"

"One minute you were up, the next you were laughing about teeth and swooning in my arms." Kíli confirmed.

Fíli groaned, dropping his head between his knees. "I can't believe it… oh, no, no, no! I'm never going to live that down."

Kíli raised an eyebrow. "You do have a fairly good excuse. Dragons and shock and all…"

"Do you think so?" Fíli asked half-hopefully.

"Kíli?" Nori called with an evil grin from where he was hugging Ori tightly. "Kittens."

Kíli's face darkened. "No, I most certainly do not. You fainted like a damsel in distress for as long as I am afraid of kittens."

Fíli's eyes widened. "You're not afraid of kittens! You laugh in the face of a tabby!"

"Actually, I think I'm rather disturbed by their adorable little eyes…" Kíli sighed wistfully and Thorin, Nori and Dwalin laughed.

"We should go and inform the others that we are alive and that Smaug is not." Thorin decided. "I think a little food, drink and medicine would not go amiss either."

A general hum of agreement arose from the exhausted companions and Kíli rose to his feet, turning around to squeeze the living daylights out of Bilbo, who returned the hug with just as much force.

"That was far too close far too many times!" Bilbo declared. "We are never doing that again!"

Kíli laughed breathlessly. "That is fine by me."

Following Thorin out of Erebor took less time than Kíli imagined, mainly because it passed in a daze. They passed several treasure filled rooms on the way but for the moment Kíli was glad that Thorin was just leading them out. He was exhausted, he was starving and he ached all over.

When they did exit the mountain, they were immediately bombarded by their thankful companions who demanded to know exactly what was going on. Fíli and Nori began speedy but exciting and largely accurate account of the action, with the others being content to sit back and listen without being able to get a word in edgeways. The moment Nori proudly announced that Ori had been the one to land the final blow to the beast, there was a moment of stunned, proud silence. And then –

"You let him near enough to the dragon to stab him with a spear!?" Dori shrieked, and Ori winced.

"I was in the mouth of said dragon, I didn't have much of a choice!" Nori scowled back

The look on Dori's face would have been comical if there had not been so much agony among the shock and confusion creating his expression. "What?"

"Nori was almost eaten." Ori confirmed with a shiver, his hand tightening around his brother's arm.

"Apparently he held onto the thing's tooth?" Kíli questioned and Nori nodded.

"The most awful, disgusting, insane thing I've ever done in my life..." he shuddered, raising his torn, bloodied palms for the others to see. "It hurt, too."

Predictably Dori began fussing, joined instantly by Óin, who tried to work with a disgruntled grin as Dori grabbed his brother's into a hug, alternating between telling them how proud and happy he was and chiding them for being foolish and reckless.

When he finally got to look at Nori properly, Óin shook his head slowly from side to side, hoisting his healing bag off of the floor and rummaging through it. "It's a miracle none of you have broken bones or more serious injuries, you reckless fools!"

"Fíli's hurt too, though not quite as bad as Nori…" Kíli informed the healer, drawing a sigh of exasperation from his brother. "He got dragged into the air by Smaug's claws and I thought he was going to get stepped on, and then all of a sudden Bilbo was there flying through the air and tackling him away and-"

"You're making that sound far more dramatic than it actually was, Kíli." Bilbo shuffled, blushing slightly.

"Actually I think it was rather accurate." Thorin's sincerity was doubted by none, and impressed murmurs rippled across the company.

Bilbo smiled slightly. "Well, I couldn't just go letting him die now, could I?"

Kíli sank down against the side of the mountain, holding his hands out like a toddler wanting to be carried, and to his delight Fíli and Bilbo both responded exactly how he wanted them to, sitting down either side of him.

Taking comfort in the way the company laughed and joked tiredly around him, Kíli yawned, nestling his head on Fíli's shoulder and smiling at Bilbo, murmuring the same words Bilbo had after the tree incident all those long years ago.

""Well that's quite enough excitement for a decade or two, don't you think?"

Well, I hope that was alright for you. It was quite fun to write but I was a little unsure about bits of it and quite want to explain two things.

One - Nori getting almost eaten came from a very realistic nightmare that I had and I felt that it worked well here, especially as it gave Ori that final push to kill Smaug once and for all. I did run it past a few friends, both of whom said that it worked so I hope it wasn't too unrealistic. It's something I was a little wary of posting so I hope its okay.

Two – I am well aware that there was some OOCness in this chapter, especially with Fíli fainting, but some of it comes from the different character development (eg Bilbo and Kíli) and some of it (inc. Fíli's fainting) will be of significance later on :)

I hope you enjoyed that overall, I really wanted to explore the confrontation with Smaug in a new way, I hope I succeeded well enough for all you lovely people!