As the world falls down

Fili was surprised at how well everything was going for him. Or at least, how well it could go considering he had a boisterous and noisy little brother and sister to take care of.

Well, he wouldn't use the word 'little' to describe them since they were no longer children or even young teenagers.

But they were still noisy and tried his patience and now, he understood why his mother would huff in exasperation sometimes.

But after his mother had left him in charge for the night and left to care for a sick friend in the next village, Dru and Kili had...well, they'd actually cooperated with him.

To an extent.

They hadn't caused a mess and they hadn't broken the rules of leaving the house and going skinny dipping, but they had snuck some of the best ale into the meal AND refused to actually go to bed until they were almost passed out by the warm hearth.

But they had cleaned up and reluctantly clambered into their own beds, exhausted from that evening's shenanigans.

Even as the storm rolled in he felt things were going very well. But he didn't voice that opinion out loud, because he knew the morning was still not there.

He just shut his eyes and enjoyed the pull of sleep, listening to the sound of the rolling thunder above his head.

Xx Dru xX

Dru was NOT asleep. She had thought she could slip into a deeper state as the storm rolled ahead, but the thunder was so loud and the lightning so bright it made her shudder and even in her exhausted state, she just couldn't sleep.

The rain lashed against the windowpane and it roared outside like a great animal.

She never liked to admit being scared of thunder and lightning, but it had gotten better since she was a child.

She just had to remember to calm herself down when she was alone.

"You're never a babe anymore, it's just a storm," she shut her eyes tight and pulled her covers tightly around her, "you're not afraid. There's nothing to be scared of."

And yet, she was scared. Everything was so sudden and wild and the stories that her brothers had told her when she was younger had always stayed with her.

The monsters coming to gobble her up.

A loud burst of thunder had her eyes opening wide and hesitantly, she turned to look at the window at the storm.

She liked the rain when it was just that, the gentle fall of water against the glass.

It was soothing sometimes and tonight should have been the same.

But it was dark outside and she couldn't really see the rain. No stars or moon illuminated the night and the only thing that did was the sudden bolt of lightning that lasted for a few seconds.

The wind began to howl.

Suddenly, as the lightning struck again, Dru saw something dark lurch towards the window.

She didn't know what it was, but in her panic, she shrieked and pulled the blankets tightly over her head, only her hands out as she awaited what was about to happen.

The sound of glass shattering echoed around her room, followed by the much louder sound of the wind.

She felt the rain hit the fabric covering her and carefully, pushed it back down. She felt the strange weight shift over her and looked over in shock to see that a thick tree branch had broken clean through her window and was now hanging inside as though seeking shelter from the rain.

As she glanced down, another bolt of lightning illuminated her covers and amongst the shards of glass, she saw...a slight trickle of blood.

Her fear got the better of her.

"FILI! KILI!" She screamed and looked around her, afraid to move.

She heard the loud shuffling and bangs from the other side of her house and reassured that they were coming, slowly pushed the blankets down and off of herself, making sure the shards didn't get her.

A light suddenly appeared from her open doorway and she looked up to see Fili, holding a lantern and looking at her with great concern.

And that's when she saw the glass on the floor.

"Be careful! There's glass on the floor, watch your feet!" Despite her fear, she was still more concerned with her brother's wellbeing than with her own.

Fili looked inside the room and quickly assessed the situation and what had happened.

The wind began to blow harder and battered Dru's face and as she raised her hand to shield herself from the wind and rain, Fili noticed the trickle of blood down over her hand and wrist.

He sprung into action.

He placed the lantern by her door, ran to grab his boots and pulled them on, not bothering with the laces or buckles.

He strode in, carefully and bent low over her bed.

"Put your arms around me," his own arms slipped around her waist and legs and easily swung her up to safety.

He turned and carried her out of the room, meeting Kili who had obviously taken more time in lacing up his own shoes.

"Kili, light some candles and get the bandages."

"Why, did you hurt yourself?" Dru had obviously not noticed her hand and Fili just continued to walk her into the kitchen.

"You have," he put her down so she was actually seated on top of the kitchen table and moved about. As Kili did as his elder brother said and lit some candles, Dru finally caught sight of where exactly she had hurt herself.

A tiny piece of glass must have struck her hand, for as she held it up, she could barely make out the cut, nor feel any pain.

"Oh, I was wondering where all that blood came from," she let Fili take her hand as he stood in front of her and looked at it with her.

Kili deposited the bandages he had found on the table and looked down at the small cut.

"I'll go and clean up the glass into a pile so no one steps into it," he grimaced slightly at the blood, hoping his little sister wasn't hurt too much.

As he left them to it, Fili picked up a roll and began to clean up her blood.

"It's so small," Dru gave a nervous little laugh, "all that blood for such a small cut."

"It's only a slither, really," Fili pulled the cut closer and squinted in the abysmal light, "is there any glass in it?"

"Can't feel any. How do you tell?"

Fili paused for a moment before bringing her hand closer to his face. Just when she thought he was trying to get a better look, his lips suddenly enclosed her and gently began to suck at her wound.

"Oh," she let out a small gasp at the feeling and wasn't quite sure what to do with herself.

Before she could get used to it however, Fili pulled away and wiped his mouth, removing the traces of blood on his lips.

"No glass. It's a clean cut. And you're lucky," he finally met her gaze and smiled, "won't even need a bandage. It's stopped bleeding."

Dru felt a little hot all over. She was sure she was blushing but just nodded.

"Thanks," she gently slipped her hand from his and looked at him, wondering if she could get him to kiss it better like her mother used to.

"Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm just tired. I suppose I should go back to bed," Dru went to hop off the table, but Kili walked back in with the broom he'd absconded from the hallway.

"No such luck, Toad. Your bed is a little sodden from the rain and I can't tell if there's still glass in there."

"Oh," Dru bit her lip and looked back at Fili, "well...I do need a bed for the night, it seems."

Fili chuckled and nodded.

"You can sleep with me. Come on," he bent low again and picked her up, though Dru was a little hesitant.

"Urm...Fili? You don't have to carry me anymore."

Fili still held her in his arms and thought quickly as his heart began to race.

"Well, yes, but we might have trailed glass through the house and you've not got anything on your feet."

"Oh. Right."

Truthfully, he just liked carrying her again.

Carrying her through the house, he was glad when Kili went around and extinguished the candles again so he didn't have to do it.

He walked into their joint room, placed her in front of his bed and sat down to remove his boots.

"Do you need me to get you anything from your room before I take these off?"

"No thanks," she watched him shove off his boots and smirked at the state of his undress, "though you might need new night trousers. Your hems are all frayed."

Fili liked those trousers.

Dru had actually got them for a birthday present for him years ago but she'd obviously forgotten.

He laid back in his bed and waited for Dru to join him before pulling his blankets back over them.

He expected her to roll over onto her back and sleep, but she automatically rolled over him and slung her arm around him instead.

"We haven't slept like this in years," she laid her head under his arm as he got comfortable and laid it around her shoulders.

"No...no, we haven't," he knew that was because he'd always felt a strange feeling in his chest and stomach when she slept close to him.

Kili, just before he rolled himself over, called out from across the darkened room.

"Do you two need anything?"

"Urm...do you want to bring your bed back in here and we can push it together and make a big one?" Dru asked hopefully, but Kili just snorted.

"Fat chance, Toad. Fili can be the one to put up with your snoring tonight."

A few minutes passed as the silence stretched between them all. Kili seemed to actually have fallen straight back asleep, a 'gift' he'd always prided himself on.

Fili's bed wasn't exactly made for two, but he didn't mind sharing it with her.

The ironic thing was, no one had bothered to point out that there was, in fact, a spare bed for Dru to sleep in upstairs.

Kili might have forgotten it...but neither Dru or Fili really wanted to be apart. The storm had riled her nerves and he wanted to keep her safe.

As if on cue, the thunder outside roared again and Dru jumped slightly in his arms.

"Still scared of thunder and lightning?"

"A bit," she admitted reluctantly, her fingers fiddling with the laces on the front of his nightshirt.

"It's alright," he lowered his voice playfully and tugged her closer, "no monsters in the storm to gobble you up tonight."

Dru punched his arm in retaliation.

"Pack it in!"

"Ow, you little troll-"

"Shh," she clung tightly onto him and shut her eyes, "some of us are trying to get some sleep."

Fili, despite wanting to get back at her for the pinching, merely grumbled and settled back down.

He wasn't about to dislodge her anyway, he was far too comfy and he appreciated the extra body warmth.

And as the storm raved on outside, he knew it was going to be ok. Dru would sleep well and safe tonight.

He'd make sure of it.

Xx Present day, Erebor xX

With a loud gasp, Dru shot bolt upright in her bed and shook at the familiar fear creeping over her.

The sound of thunder outside the mountain was so loud, it reverberated all the way through.

No matter how deep they dug or how well they built it, they still could not keep out the sound that still slightly terrified her.

A familiar, soothing hand reached out and smoothed over the skin of her back.

"Hey, it's alright," Fili kissed her naked shoulder and soothed her the best he could, "It's just a storm."

"Aye'...sorry, it startled me," she finally managed to get herself calm again and turned her head to look at him, "let's go back to sleep. Sorry."

Fili laid back down and waited for her to get comfy against him, finding the only way she could so that was to press her back against his front, considering her stomach was now swelling to a considerable size with the child she had within.

His hand came to rest protectively over her belly and he sighed.

"Do you want me to get you anything? Pickled herring and banana pudding?"

Dru couldn't help but giggle. He hated making that dish for her during her time.

"No, just...stay here with me. That's all I need," she placed her hand over his own and shut her eyes, feeling warm and safe.

Despite the loud roll of thunder outside that sounded like the very mountain was falling apart, Dru didn't feel scared anymore. Fili was there and regardless of what was going to happen, he'd protect her. He'd be there, even if the world fell down. She knew he would.