I do not own any of the characters or the Hobbit (just the AU storyline and my OC) those are the work of the esteemed and brilliant John Ronald Reull Tolkien, and without his genius,this and many other fan fics would not be in existence.

Please review! I love getting them-they keep me encouraged J

Bilbo looked at the shadowy creature before him, before drawing his sword silently. He stepped up behind Gollum and held the sword at the creature's throat. He drew it back to the left, fully intending to swipe the creature's head clean off.

Then something happened that the hobbit did not expect- Gollum turned and looked back into the corridor. The creature's large blue eyes looked deep into his, though the creature did not see him. Bilbo again held up the sword right under Gollum's chin, but something stayed his hand.

Bilbo looked deep into the forlorn creature's eyes, seeing the shadow of what once was. This creature once had a name, a home. It might have even been a hobbit once-Bilbo was sure of it. The large feet and the short stature and his shriveled, pointed ears seemed to indicate as such.

He wondered if the former hobbit had had a family, maybe children even? What had come to pass that the angry, bitter creature became a half starved, shriveled hermit hiding in the deeps of the Misty Mountains? He had seemed to love riddles, at least the nice Gollum did. He was not a stupid creature, and the nice, childish and eager to please side of him seemed hungry, nay, starving for companionship.

He thought about his nice, cozy hobbit hole far away in the Shire. Did this creature once have a place he called home? A hobbit hole, or perhaps a free standing structure, as was the case with some hobbits near the borders of the Shire? Did he live near water, like the Stoors of old on the banks of the Anduin? The creature seemed to be adept with water, as Bilbo had seen it on an island in the middle of the underground lake when he had first entered the cavern.

But the one question that seemed to freeze in the hobbit's mind was- why did this creature care about the ring that granted invisibility so much?

He could see the echo of loss in Gollum's eyes. A tear slowly trickled down the weathered old face, and the pitiful creature swallowed heavily, clearly hurting inside. A slight whimper emitted from the slumped form, the sound coming across quite clear even in the strange, shadowed world of invisibility.

Gandalf's words of wisdom suddenly rang through the terrified hobbit's mind.

True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one.

Bilbo silently sighed, and lowered his sword. Pity filled the lost hobbit's gaze as he stared at the wretched creature before him.

A shadow of what once was good.

XXX

Cirashala looked deep into the dark brown eyes, and saw utter sincerity and seriousness. She thought back to that first moment in the cave two weeks ago, when Kili had first discovered her and could have killed her, yet he didn't.

He had had every right to kill her then. Despite the fact that he held the obviously superior weapon, the fact was she had attacked him. Though her weapon was merely a branch, it was still being used with the intent to inflict harm, making it a weapon by default. She had been armed, and he could have killed her without dishonor, but rather in self defense.

Yet not only did he not kill her, but offered to help her. She remembered him and his brother aiding her in the warg chase, making sure she wasn't left behind-even if her memory was a bit frayed at that point due to hunger and grief. She remembered what she now knew to have been him putting pressure on her wounds after the warg had bitten her, though that memory was vague as well.

She remembered how Bilbo had told her one night that it had been Kili who had chosen to lay aside his prejudice for the elves in favor of seeking the healing she needed, and had gone alone with the elves he despised in order to save her life, as per his blood debt.

She remembered Kili having come running into her room after she had fallen, and though she had ended up being the one helping him instead, the intent to aid her had been clear. She remembered him pulling her out of the stream near Rivendell after she had slipped on the bank trying to pull out that confounded arrow, and how he had defended her to his uncle.

She remembered how both he and Fili had been protective of her on their march, aiding her with the waterskin, waiting for her when she lagged behind, how Kili had offered to forego his pipe because it made her uncomfortable, and how the two of them had kept her warm in the freezing temperatures on top of the mountains.

She remembered how Kili had gone out into the blizzard to bring her back in, and had held her as the company had tried to restore warmth to both of them. She remembered how he and Fili had refused to allow her to defend them from the orc attack, and how he had gone out into the meadow during the thunderstorm to rescue her from the three vile creatures after she had wandered off in embarrassment.

She remembered how he had fought to try and keep her from getting beaten in Ori's place in Goblintown, and how he had tried to keep her gender secret from the goblins.

And finally, she remembered how he had protected her when they fell, taking the hits on the rock with his own body and keeping her above water when she had been utterly terrified of the darkness within it.

She looked into the deep brown eyes, and reached the knife out to the confused young dwarf, hilt first.

"No," she whispered, fighting to keep from gritting her teeth so her sincerity would be recognized for what it was. "You can tend my wounds. I do not think you will violate me." Kili looked at the knife, then back at her, uncertainty in his gaze.

"A-are you sure?" he whispered, his voice hesitant, dark eyes searching her face. It was quite evident in his tone that he did not wish to force her to allow him to tend her wounds. She nodded, biting back her pain as best she could, before locking eyes with his.

"I trust you," she whispered.

XXX

Bilbo took a deep breath, before backing up slowly. He sheathed his sword, bracing himself. Even in the shadow world, as he began to call the grey distortion that occurred when he wore the ring, he could see the daylight shining through the tunnel the company had gone through.

The hobbit's foot bumped a tiny stone on the tunnel floor, but Gollum's ears were keen as well, and his expression turned from utter despair to exceedingly angry. The creature's eyes flashed as his mouth curled into a snarl. He coiled to spring at where he now knew the hobbit was, and Bilbo realized that he had been discovered, and it was now or never.

The hobbit ran as hard as he could toward the furious creature, before jumping up and over him, using the boulder beside him for leverage. Bilbo's hairy foot smacked Gollum in the face, knocking the wiry creature over.

The second the hobbit's feet hit solid stone, he ran for his life.

"NO!" Gollum cried, spinning around in a circle on the stone floor in a frenzy. "Thief! Baggins!" He darted towards the inside of the mountain slightly, before turning and looking toward the sunlight, squinting. He looked back, sheer hate in the large blue orbs.

"Curse it and crush it! We hates it forever!" the creature growled, and vowed that if he ever came across Bagginses again, he would strangle the life out of the hobbit.

No one took his precious away from him. No one.

XXX

The company kept running down the mountainside as the sun sank toward the west. The pines on the mountainside shone in golds and reds, but their minds were not on the scenery surrounding them.

Their minds were on the goblins amassed behind them, and their hearts were heavy with grief at the loss of the two youngest members of their company. For, though the hobbit was in years younger than Kili, he was older in physical maturity due to hobbits aging more quickly than dwarves, and could hardly be counted a lad.

They continued running, wishing to get as much distance between them and the goblin tunnels as they could before nightfall. Their injuries were slight, the warriors of the group having sustained far worse in their battles, but come morning they would be feeling them keenly.

Thorin was most worried about Fili. The lad had yet to wake, and Thorin honestly wasn't sure the lad wished to wake at all. He had bumped his head in the fall, but Thorin knew that, with Kili gone, Fili could easily perish from grief alone. Unfortunately, having seen his sister nearly succumb to grief over the death of her husband, and Thrain going mad with grief and end up missing, Thorin knew that there was a possibility that Fili could succumb as well.

Thorin had been too preoccupied with his own grief and memories of the battle of Azanulbizar that he hadn't noticed his sister's descent into grief as well as he should have until it was almost too late. He looked at the pale face of his eldest nephew in his arms, and vowed that he would not let it happen again. He would be there for Fili as his nephew grieved for the brother he had been so close to, or else die trying.

For he also knew the heart shattering pain of losing a younger brother, and didn't wish such overwhelming grief on anyone.

XXX

Kili looked at the young woman, wide eyed. He glanced down at the knife in his hand, then back at her, eyes searching her face.

"Y-you trust me?" he whispered, and she nodded, her jaw clenching as her face twisted in pain. Her eyes scrunched shut, and her breaths came quickly as she fought the pain.

"Y-yes," she gasped, before a whimper escaped her. She looked up at him, blue eyes filled with pain. "D-do what you must, b-but, please….don't look." He looked away from her, flushing a deep red, before looking down at her and nodding.

"I won't look, I swear," he replied, before looking around. The spring appeared to be the head of a tiny stream that bubbled away toward the north, before curving east a few yards past it's source. But what the archer noticed was that at the base of the waterfall was a few rocks that had been eroded by the water for many decades. On the top of the large, polished stones was one with a decent hollow on the top, and though he would have to refill it frequently, it would make do as a bowl.

He picked it up and filled it with water, before returning to the fire. He placed the rock right on the edge of the fire so that half the rock was in the fire itself, in order to allow the water to warm quickly. Turning toward Cirashala, he crouched down, looking at her.

"I need you to sit up," he said quietly, reaching for her shoulder. He slid his hand underneath it, and with a strangled cry from her, he helped her sit up. He placed both his hands on her shoulders to steady her as she nearly slumped back, face paling.

"Are you all right?" he asked her, searching her face. She nodded.

"J-just a bit….dizzy," she replied, taking a few slow breaths. Kili waited til a little color returned to her cheeks, then spoke.

"Face away from me with your back to the fire," he instructed gently, aiding her in turning around.

It was a slow process, as twisting tugged on her lashes and knife wounds, and blood began to seep through the slight cracks in the forming scabs, trailing down her back. She cried out in pain with every twist, but Kili could tell she was attempting to stifle them as best she could.

By the time she had her back to the fire, sweat was on her brow and she was panting and gasping in pain. Kili looked down at the discarded pain tea herbs, the twisted mass sodden from its trip in the mountain tributary, wishing he knew just what herbs it had contained. But they were unrecognizable, and he sighed in frustration.

I wish we had something for the pain, he thought to himself. No matter how gentle I try to be, this is REALLY going to hurt.

The water was warm by the time she had gotten turned around, and Kili reached for the knots on her tunic that Thorin had tied, hesitating. His hands shook with nervousness, and the young dwarf couldn't decide whether his heart was in his throat or his stomach.

"A-are you sure about this?" he asked quietly behind her, and she could hear the nervousness in his tone. "If you wish it, I will stop. I….I do not want to force you." She looked down for a moment, before shaking her head.

"They n-need….to be cleaned," she whispered, shivering as she hugged herself tightly, her own eyes scrunched shut as she tried to focus on anything besides the burning pain and her own fear. "T-that water….it was awful. P-please…I….I'm s-sure." Kili nodded, taking a deep breath.

"A-all right," he whispered, his shaking hands moving to untie the first knot.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX

READERS: My apologies for this being a shorter than usual chapter, but it is getting quite late, and I am getting tired. My husband had to close the store tonight, and so I had to put two sick little ones to bed by myself….and I need to go to bed too. I hope you like it anyway :D

A response to guest reviewer Guest- I am glad you are liking it! I hope the first 3 chapters weren't too shabby- this was only my 3rd fic (the other two still WIPs) and I found out quickly I cannot focus on more than one story at a time, so the other two are sidelined til I am done with this one (if I don't start writing my own novel very loosely based on my FF, which I am seriously considering). I was still getting back into the writing "mode" and I am sure I was rusty. Yes, the company is having a tough time of it, and I don't know if it's because I do not wish to be nice to my characters or what, but this IS a dangerous journey-something they began to forget during that 'quiet' time pre-goblintown. As far as completion-well, I am sorry that I will not be completing it anytime soon. I enjoy books I can sink my teeth into, and since it's not like this is truly going to be published, I don't have to worry about too much word count ;P I wish to be quite descriptive, and I know it can make things quite long. Plus, I do not wish to have too long of a hiatus for my readers as I reach the end of AUJ (though hopefully my subplot that lasts for 3 weeks story time will help close that gap) because I wish to utilize the storylines/visuals from the upcoming Desolation of Smaug to aid in my descriptions of settings/characters/events, etc. I do not believe I will need to wait for TABA in order to finish my fic by that point, because they will already have reached Erebor in DOS, and that covers all the ground between here and there, and introduced most if not all the main characters, from what I can tell :) So, sorry it won't be finished anytime soon, but hopefully that means that you will just get to enjoy it for longer ;p

Thanks to all who review, favorite, and follow- without you, I get very discouraged :D :D :D