It's been a few days now. The Durin's had been moved to the Royal wing, placed in separate rooms to recover. Both Fili and Kili were healing nicely, but they would still have to take it easy for the next weeks to come. Thorin on the other hand, hadn't woken up. Maura had yet to leave the King's side, clutching his hand in hers. Her head gently resting on his chest that continued to rise up and down normally. The healer was trying so hard to stay strong, that this was just a normal part of the healing process, but she was beginning to think he may never wake up. What if he was stuck in this comatose state for a long time?
The door into Thorin's private quarters opened. Maura hadn't moved from her position, even when she heard the footsteps coming closer.
"Maura. Lass, what are you doing?" Balin sighed with concern.
"What does it look like I am doing. " She muttered.
" Maura. Hovering over Thorin's body isn't going to wake him any faster. You've done all you can do, to help him. The rest is up to him and if he were awake right now, he wouldn't want you sitting around doing nothing. When was the last time you ate something? Or got some sleep?" Balin pressed.
The healer sat up, rubbing the tears and sleep out of her eyes. Part of her knew Balin was right. But she didn't want to be away from his side when he did wake up. The elder Dwarf placed a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed it. "Lass come on. You should get something to eat and get some air. It will do you some good. "
"Okay. I'll be out in a minute." She told him. Balin nodded and the healer was alone. Maura stood up from the chair she was in, still holding Thorin's hand in hers. She leaned over to whisper something in his ears. " Please come back to me." She moved her lips away from his ears and kissed his lips and pulled away. Maura laid his hand over his chest and left the room.
The healer wandered down the quiet hall until she heard familiar voices coming from the great hall. She rounded the corner and found her companions and Bilbo. The wounded were still coming into the mountain. The Dwarves had built a temporary bridge where the original walkway had been before Thorin had ordered it to be broken so no one could enter the kingdom. She saw Oin attending to a solider, bandaging his arm, as more wounded Dwarves were carried in.
"Lass, there you are. I could use some assistance." Oin declared coming up to her. " This group needs attending to first." he informed, and the two healers got to work, doing what they do best. While they were doing that, the others went back to clearing more of the chunks of stone to the side to make room for the injured. Maura had some pretty interesting conversations that had her laughing with the solider's she attended to. Dwalin and Balin both smirked and rolled there eyes, when noticing less and less of the Dwarves were going to Oin and over to the female healer.
Both Balin and Dwalin turned to the side when they heard chuckling coming beside them. " That lass has got her hands full now. Those lads will keep her busy. She bandaged me up real good." Dáin said holding out his arm for them to see.
Evening rolled around. Maura and Oin did a once-over of all the wounded that were now lying on the makeshift beds in the great hall. Fires going all around. Maura wandered back down the hall to check on the two brothers. Fili was happy to see her, and asked if the state of their uncle had changed, but Kili just grunted his responses to her questions when she asked them if anywhere else hurt. Or if they needed anything. The young woman was just leaving out the door when she heard Fili asked Kili why he was treating her this way. Maura left before she could hear more as she made her way down to Thorin's quarters to check on him. She sat on the edge of his bed and placed the back of her hand on the king's forehead. His feverish temperature had come down lots since this morning when she checked it. It was just about back to normal. Getting up from the bed, Maura went over to the hearth and threw in more pieces of wood to feed the fire and left the king's room and headed back down the hall to join the others for something warm to eat.
Bilbo came over, carrying two bowls of soup and gave one to his aunt. Maura felt so guilty that she hadn't had a chance to see him since he came back. Everything had happened so fast. " How are you feeling, Bilbo?"
"I'm good. Still a little sore. Actually looking forward to be going back home...aren't you?" The question came to her a bit of a shock. Maura had grown so comfortable with these Dwarves on this journey that she forget this place wasn't actually her home. She also had Thorin in her life now and it never really occurred to her that she would have to choose where home really was for her. Was it going back with Bilbo to the Shire? Or here with Thorin? Of course she was told she would be dead if she continued on this quest and here she was - alive. She still didn't know what all this meant. What had caused her future event to change? The healer also knew what Thorin did to her, wasn't something she could just easily forget. She knew it wasn't really him and because of that she was willing to give him a second chance. Being with him, she finally felt like she could breath for the first time in years and she wasn't sure if she was ready to lose that again, if she should leave.
Maura finally exhaled the shaky breath she held in and looked at the Hobbit. " Bilbo... I'm not sure i'll be returning back with you to the Shire."
"What do you mean?" Bilbo pressed, his brows furrowed.
"I'm still trying to figure that out for myself still." She said, giving him a small smile. It was quiet between them for awhile as they ate their soup.
"You will tell me right?" The hobbit finally asked.
"Of course I will." She promised, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
It was the next morning. Maura decided she was going to go to Dale and offer her assistance to the injured. She had just left Thorin's room and informed Lord Dáin where she was going and asked him to send for her if the king should wake while she was in the ruin city. He nodded at that, but asked that she let someone accompany her to the city. She agreed and was now walking towards the city with Bofur and Bifur.
Back in Thorin's quarters. The king began coughing and blinked his eyes open. He glanced around in confusion, wondering where he was at first and natural tried to sit up when he grunted in pain. The king's head turned when he heard the door open. He had to admit that he was disappointed when he saw it was Oin, and not the one person he was hoping to see.
"You're awake laddie. How are you feeling?" Oin asked.
"How do you think, Oin." Thorin retorted. " Where's Maura?"
"She left to Dale to assist the other healers." Oin informed.
"I have to see her." Thorin said, and he tried to move himself off the bed when he was shoved right back down harshly.
"Your not going anywhere laddie. You need to rest." Oin ordered. " As soon as the lass returns from Dale I'll tell her you're awake." He told him, handing him a cup of water. Thorin grumbled trying to shift his position but he didn't get very far. His body ached. Oin told him he would have to remain on bed rest for a couple of weeks before he could start walking around again. Oin soon left after he took the cup from the king. Thorin stared at the ceiling as his eyes started to feel heavy and he realized too late that Oin must have mixed a sleeping herb in his water to put him back to sleep. No wonder it tasted funny to him.
Maura returned hours later with Bofur and Bifur, where she was told by Balin that Thorin had woken up. Though she was a little mad no one had come to get her when he first woke, she was needed in Dale. Laketown people were limited on healers as it was. The healer opened the door quietly and saw her Dwarf sound asleep. She didn't want to disturb his rest, but she didn't want to wait till morning. Maura walked up to Thorin's side of the bed and sat on the edge, placing a hand on his and his eyes jolted open at the cold touch.
"Maura." He breathed, relief filling his face to see that she was alright and here in his sights.
"Thorin... I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake-" she was stopped when the Dwarf took her hand.
"Don't be sorry. I'm glad your here." He told her. The two just looked at each other in silence. Both had so much to say to one another, but neither knew where to begin.
"Thorin..I thought. I thought I lost you." Her voice broke.
Thorin squeezed her hand, looking at her. " Maura, I'm alive, because of you." Maura couldn't help but give a laugh through her tears as she put her other hand on top of his. Thorin narrowed his eyes when he saw the giant laceration on her forehead. "Maura, what happened? Your hurt." He pointed out, seeing the dry blood around the deep gash she received on her forehead.
"I'm okay..I was lucky that's all I got..." she said, her voice trailing off.
"Maura? What is it?"
She sniffled and looked at her hand before looking back at Thorin. " An Orc knocked me out when I tried to save Ori. But it was him that saved me, and I couldn't even do the same for him. Dori and Nori are gone too."
"Maura, this isn't your fault-" Thorin went to sit up so he could comfort her and tell her not to blame herself for what had happen, but he jerked back in pain.
"Thorin, are you alright?" The woman panicked.
"I'm fine...I'm okay." He assured her. " Maura I know if Ori was here, he wouldn't want you to blame yourself for what happened to him. He did a brave thing." Maura smiled sadly at that, but she still blamed herself for not trying harder. "What about my nephew? Is Kili alright?"
Maura furrowed her brows at that. Why was he only concerned about one of his nephews? Did he think Fili was already dead?" Thorin looked at the woman and he grew tense. " No, no please tell me Kili isn't dead too." He cried.
Maura placed her hands on either side of his face. "Shh, shh. Thorin they are both okay. There just down the hall resting." She insisted.
"Both? Fili's alive too?" He questioned. " How is that possible? I watched my eldest nephew being dropped from up high on the towers by Azog. Their is no way he could have survived the fall." Maura still had her Dwarf's face in her hands, trying to keep him calm and stroked his face.
"Fili told me, when the she Elf struck Azog in the arm with an arrow and dropped him. He managed to grab hold of the platform below to break his fall. He's got a few broken ribs and a broken arm. But he's going to be alright. I promise."
"And Kili? What's his condition?" He asked next.
"He's got some broken ribs as well. But he's fine." Thorin finally relaxed now that he knew both brothers were alright.
Thorin still had her hand in his, stroking it as he gathered his nerves to ask her this one question. He didn't condone what he did to her, but he still had to know. "Maura the last thing I want to do right now is put you in a difficult position. I've hurt you in so many ways I never thought I was capable of. I don't expect you to forgive me easily or at all even. But I have to ask you this. I need to know. Is there-, is there still a chance for you and me? Or have I lost you for good?"
For the last few days Maura has had nothing but time to think and she had been wrestling with the same questions, wondering herself. She would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't scared. Scared of what could happen all over again. "The curse. Can it take you over again?" She asked.
"Balin has assured me, once a curse is broken, it can't come back." Thorin stated, but that wasn't the assurance she was looking for.
"Thorin, i'm asking, if you can promise me that this won't happen again? Tell me now, because my heart can't take this much pain again. I have lost so much already in my life. I can't lose anymore."
Thorin forced himself to sit up straighter, ignoring the pain he felt and held her hand to his heart. " Maura, I promise you: I will never hurt you like this again. You have my word. And I'm going to do everything I can for the rest of my life to earn you're forgiveness." Maura could tell he was being sincere. And that was enough for her, to give him a second chance. They both deserved that much after everything. Their eyes locked and Maura closed off the few inches between them as their lips connected. Thorin still held her hand to his heart, their kiss only lasting a few seconds before the healer pulled away.
"Thorin you should get some rest. You still have a lot of recovering to do." She told him. Maura climbed off the bed about to leave to do the same when the Dwarf caught her by the the arm.
"Stay with me please." He asked her.
"Okay." The healer climbed onto the bed, getting under the covers. Thorin was lying right in the middle, so she had plenty of room on either side of him. Maura, gently laid her head against Thorin's chest as he wrapped a protective arm around her, his fingers interlocking with hers.
" Am I hurting you?" Maura asked him. Knowing his chest was pretty bruised already.
"No. Your perfectly fine, where you are." He said. Maura closed her eyes, her form curling up against him, when something hit her cheek.
"Why are you crying?" She asked quietly.
"Because I never want to lose you like this ever again." Thorin admitted.
"Neither do I." She whispered back. The king kissed the top of the healer's head and both fell asleep peacefully.
***Can you believe it! Only 2 more chapters left!***
