It's been nearly a year since the Battle of the Five Armies ended. Thorin had been preparing things for when his sister and his kin arrived from Ered Luin; which would be any day now. The king has also been traveling to Dale, attending meeting, discussion matters with Bard, Lord of Dale. Thorin remember when his grandfather ruled, Erebor and Dale had a strong alliance. He would see those days return. Maura was still making the odd trip to the city, still attending to those who had been affected in battle.
It was a warm summer morning. Thorin was walking along side Maura out the gate. The healer was on her way over to Dale, to attend to her few patients that still needed care. She leaned over and kissed her Dwarf on the cheek and told him she would be back in the evening. Maura was about to begin walking across the bridge when the king grabbed her hand, pulling her back towards him until their lips touched, his hand resting on the side of her growing belly and the woman smirked and pulled away.
"Thorin, I really should be going." She told him with a smile.
"What? Am I not allowed to kiss my wife before she goes off to save lives?" He teased, leaning down to kiss her lips once again and she giggled.
"Seriously. Must you keep my patients waiting?" Maura smirked, smacking his chest playfully. The Dwarf king nodded, not wishing to keep her from her duties any longer.
"I have a meeting later on this afternoon, to discuss things with Bard, but I was thinking after we could enjoy a nice evening walk." He suggested, waiting for her response.
"I would like that." Maura agreed. Thorin kissed her one last time and her hand slowly slid out of his and she began the walk across the bridge, making her way through the crowd of people going to and from Dale.
"Brother?" Thorin turned at the sound of the familiar voice. He did a quick glance at Maura, who was still making her way through the crowd and then back at the Dwarf woman. Realizing she must of saw them.
"Dis. You made it." Thorin said hugging his little sister.
"Who was that?" Dis asked, turning back to the crowd, searching for the young woman who was being affectionate with her brother.
"Oh, that was Maura. She's my wife." Thorin told her, and Dis looked at him with wide eyes.
"Wife? When did this happen?"
"5 months ago." Thorin replied, still watching his sister take all this in.
"And I see she's going to be a first time mother as well." she added.
Thorin smiled proudly at that. " A mother yes, but it's not her first time"
"Oh? Are you trying to tell me I already have a nephew or niece running around here?"
The king shook his head. "Dis, why don't we go inside. I'm sure you must be exhausted from you're long journey." The Dwarf woman nodded and the two Durin's went inside. Thorin led his sister to a more private room where they could talk and sit down. " You're journey with our people was good I take it? Nothing went wrong?"
"No everything was good." She replied back. Thorin muttered something under his breath too quiet for his sister to hear and nodded his head at the same time.
"By the way. How did you know she was going to be a mother? We haven't even told the others yet. Only Oin knows."
"Thorin, I am a mother of two boys. It's a lot more easier for me to spot the signs." Dis declared. "You said: this wasn't her first time becoming a mother. What did you mean by that?"
"Before I met Maura, she was married and had a son." Thorin began.
"What happened to them?"
"They were killed by a warg pack on the road. " Dis felt a sting in her eyes, at the painful memory of the loss of her husband to a similar event, though the only difference was, she still had her sons.
"Dis, i'm sorry I didn't tell you about Maura. I was going to tell you when you made it here safely, but you saw us instead,-"
"Thorin, it's okay. I understand. I'm just surprised. You barely bat an eye towards any of the women in Ered Luin. What made this one so special? She's a bit scrawny looking then most Dwarf Women."
"Dis." Thorin scolded. " Don't start."
"Start what?"
"What you always do. You're being incredibly unfair about this. You don't even know her yet and your already judging her. I'm starting to think not telling you about her sooner was a good thing. I can't even begin to imagine the things you would accuse her of then." Thorin growled.
"I'm just concerned for you brother. You said she was married once before. That kind of love just doesn't go away. What makes you think this woman truly loves you?"
"I did some horrible things to her when I was under the dragon sickness. Things I can never take back. I gave Maura every reason to leave and after everything, she still stayed by my side. I'm alive because of her. If it wasn't for her knowledge as a healer. I would be dead right now. I know Maura loves me as much as I love her. She wouldn't have agreed to marry me otherwise." The Dwarf king stated.
Thorin saw Dis still looking at him like she wasn't believing any of this and he got up from the table. "Where are you going?" His sister asked.
"I'm late for a meeting with the lord of Dale. You're sons are around here somewhere, I'm sure they'll be thrilled to see you." Thorin said leaving the room, before stopping at the door and turning to face his little sister. " Before you start judging her Dis. Why don't you try to get to know her first." With no more said, Thorin left down the long corridor, leaving the Dwarf woman in thought about all this. The king left to Dale for his meeting. Dis wandered her old home, looking for her two boys and asking the others about this woman her brother had married.
The meeting went for a few hours and Thorin ended it with shaking Bard's hand and they both parted ways. The Dwarf king wandered down towards the healing quarters, where Maura was attending to the ones still injured from the battle and the day to day patients that came in. The woman had also been teaching other young women the traits of becoming a healer. Bard's eldest daughter, Sigrid was one of Maura's apprentices. She wanted to be able to help people and she was enjoying the work.
Thorin leaned against the wood of the door. watching the woman he loved as she was changing the old bandage around a young boy's leg that had taken fight in the battle. Maura looked up and looked towards the door to see her Dwarf standing there and she smiled. "There." Maura said as she finished tying the knot of the new binding on the boys leg. " I'll be here tomorrow to check back up on you." She told him, covering him back up with a blanket. The healer got up and told Sigrid that she was done for the evening. The young girl left and Maura walked up to her husband.
"Ready to go home?" Thorin asked her. She nodded and he wrapped an arm around her back and escorted her out of the healing quarters to begin their walk back to the mountain. On there walk back Maura noticed Thorin seemed to be quieter then usual and more tense then ever and she knew something had to be on his mind.
"Thorin what's wrong?" Maura ask, stopping. The Dwarf king stopped and looked at her.
"It's nothing you need to worry about. I'm fine." He told her stroking her cheek. Maura reached up and grabbed her Dwarf's hand and pulled it away from her face.
"Thorin. I know you well enough to know when something is bothering you. Please talk to me."
Thorin let out a sigh. "My sister arrived today." Thorin began.
"I would think you'd be happy your sister arrived safely." Maura stated, looking at him.
" I am happy she are people got here safely. She saw us this morning and she said some things..."
"How were you expecting your sister to react to all this? Your married, with a child on the way. She hasn't seen you, her sons or the others for almost 2 years." Maura pressed. " Don't be too hard on her." She said, giving him a smile and she looped her arm around her Dwarf's.
They were back inside the mountain. The Dwarves were seen heading into the feasting area to celebrate the safe arrival of the rest of their kin. Maura went to her to change into something more nicer to wear as oppose to her rags she normally had on for work. The healer greeted her friends on the way into the room. Thorin was sitting at the far end of the table and she took her spot beside him. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on her soft cheek. Dis was sitting near the other end of the long table with her two sons. The Dwarves wasted no time in digging into the food in front of them and putting it on their plates, (if it ever made it that far). The Dwarf princess would ever so often glance in direction of her brother and the young woman, watching them curiously. Her brother was actually smiling, and even laughing. Something she hadn't seen him do in a very long time.
It hadn't gone unnoticed to Maura, that Thorin had purposely kept her from being anywhere near his sister, so the two of them could finally meet. He was still quite angry at Dis for what she said since she arrived. The healer looked up to see some of the Dwarves beginning to clear out of the room.
"Hey." Maura said, gaining Thorin's attention. " Are you planning keeping me away from meeting your sister forever? I would very much like to meet her."
" I just don't want her asking you questions that will upset you. I know my sister, she'll push and push until she gets what she wants." He stated, turning to look in the direction of his sister and giving a slight glare.
Maura placed a hand on the side of his, making him look at her and his face went less tense. " Thorin, I'm a big girl. I don't always need you to protect me from my past, i'm okay to talk about it. I have you in my life now and it would mean a lot to me if you came as well." She told him, and she leaned forward to kiss him on the lips. Thorin finally nodded and got up from the table and approached his sister.
"Dis, would you care to join Maura and I in the sitting room? Fili, Kili, your welcomed as well." Thorin offered before walking back over to the healer and the two of them walked out of the feasting room down the hall to another room. Maura sat down on the chair as Thorin went over to grabs some firewood to get the fire going. A few minutes went by and Dis and her two sons walked in. Fili and Kili sat on the floor closer to the hearth as the Dwarf princess took a seat across from her brother and the young woman.
The healer took in the woman's appearance. She had never seen a Dwarf woman before, mostly because they were so few and far between. Like Thorin, she wore very distinct beads, braided in her long dark hair. It wasn't the only thing she noticed the two of them had in common, they both seemed to bare similar expressions, though hers wasn't nearly as hard as Thorin's could be. The king took a seat beside Maura, wrapping an arm around her, his fingers stroking her bare arm.
The room felt tense as the fire crackled. Maura could feel her Dwarf's tense form against her which made her believe he was still made at his sister for their conversation they had earlier or he was waiting for her to say something, and the healer couldn't take the silence anymore.
"My name is Maura. It's wonderful to finally met you Dis." Maura greeted, causing Dis to look at her in surprise.
"It's great to finally meet you as well. I thought my brother would never give me the chance." Dis stated. It took her a moment to notice the familiar looking beads in Maura's hair. They were her mothers, she was surprised Thorin still carried those old things with him.
Thorin scoffed at that. " Well forgive me for taken your earlier words as something else." Maura elbowed Thorin gently in the chest for him to relax and he muttered under his breath and she rolled her eyes. The young woman turned her head to look at her husband, she wasn't going to get anywhere with the princess if her pestering brother wouldn't give her the chance.
"Would you mind giving me and your sister some time alone." She asked him. Thorin gave her an unsure look about this, but she nodded that she was fine.
"Okay. I have papers to go over anyways. " Thorin admitted, getting up from the chair and he walked around behind it, he leaned down and kissed her on the lips and gave his sister a warning look before exiting the room.
"Boys, would you mind giving you're mother and I some time to talk in private."
"Sure thing Aunt Maura." Kili said and Fili nodded. The young brothers got up from the ground and walked over to the same door their uncle went out.
"Thanks boys."
It was just the two women now. " I'm sorry, Thorin can be so stubborn sometimes, as i'm sure you know." Maura stated.
"To well, but I can't say that I blame him. I did say some things to him, about you. And I mean no offense, I just want to make sure my brother is making the right choice here."
"Dis, it's okay you don't have to explain. I understand, you're brother means a lot to you. He's told me a lot about you, as well as your sons. Thorin didn't exactly tell me what you two talked about, only that you saw us. I want you to know that I love your brother very much. And I would never do anything to hurt him."
" I have to say, I don't think I've ever seen anyone make Thorin smile and laugh as much as you have, even after everything he has been through in his life. It's nice to know that something good could happen to my brother. So how long did it take until someone had to convince him he was in love?" Dis asked with a smirk.
Maura smirked back awkwardly. " It was actually me that had to be convinced that I was in love with him. " Dis was surprised hearing this. "I don't know if Thorin ever mentioned to you that I lost my first husband a long time ago...and my son."
"He did, briefly. I am sorry for your lose. I couldn't even imagine how I'd feel if Fili or Kili were taking from me." Maura nodded at the older woman's sentiments.
"For a long time on this quest i denied the feelings I felt for Thorin. I thought if I gave into my feelings then It would mean I would forget about my son and his father. Like it would mean I didn't love them anymore. Even after I told you're brother of my past, he still never gave up. Part of what I love about him. " Maura pulled out her locket she still wore around her neck and handed it to Dis. " I was ready to take this off and put it away in safe place when Thorin asked me to marry him, but he begged me not to. But the truth is, that part of my life is over. It's time I let them go." Maura admitted, she took the locket back from Dis and walked over to black chest that was sitting on a shelf, she opened the box and placed the locket in it and closed it.
The two women continued to talk for hours, laughing about stories they both shared about Thorin. Most of Dis' stories were involving her sons and their terrible pranks on their uncle. Dis also learned now that Maura was only half Dwarf, which explained the no beard and her slightly smaller form came from being half Hobbit. Maura did the oddest thing next she reached to pull out one of her beads.
"What are you doing?" Dis questioned.
"I was curious to know, if you knew what this engraving meant on the beads. I'm ashamed to admit that I don't know the language of my kin and Thorin will not tell me." Maura admitted handing the bead to the Dwarf princess.
Dis took the bead and looked it over. She never remembered their being an inscription on them, which lead her to believe that he must of carved it in himself. "Men lananubukhs me" It means 'I love you' Maura couldn't help but smile at hearing that as she took the bead back from Dis, and realized she would have have to get Thorin to re-braid it into her hair again.
Maura let out a yawn, and quickly covered it. " Looks to me, like you've had a long day. You should probably get some rest." Dis said, letting out a yawn herself. " As should I." The two of them stood up from their chairs, the healer walked over and held out her hand for Dis to shake it. The other woman looked down at it and shook it. " Thank you for letting my brother into your heart. I'm glad he has you in his life now and congratulations."
"Thank you." Maura smiled. The two women went there separate ways. Maura wandered down the hall to check up on Thorin to see if he was ready to come to bed, but when she got to his study he wasn't there. The healer went to their room next but he wasn't there either. There was only one place left that she could think of checking and she headed down the long corridor and sure enough their was Thorin standing by the ledge where she had confessed her feelings for him. It was also the place Thorin had gotten down on one knee to ask her to marry him. Maura walked up behind him and placed a hand on his back, rubbing it as she came beside him.
"Hey." He greeted, smiling down at her. "I hope my sister wasn't too hard on you."
"Your sister and I got along just fine. You have nothing to worry about." She assured him with a tired smile.
"I guess i'll remember next time to listen to you." He teased, turning to face her fully. Maura reached up to cup her Dwarf's face in her hands.
"Men lananubukhs me." She whispered. Thorin felt his insides flutter hearing her use his endearment in his native language.
"I love you too." He whispered back. The king pulled her towards him, holding her close as their lips mingled for a few minutes. Both pulled away, Maura rested her head on her Dwarf's shoulder, his arm wrapped securely around her waist as they both stared into the night sky at the new beginning that laid before them.
