I apologize for the inconsistent length of my chapters.

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I do not own...

Ch. 3 The Uncomfortable Truth

Thorin stroked Fíli's cheek as he forced himself to look at the left side of Fíli's face as it was the least injured part of his nephew. The blond had been unconscious for several hours now and though he stirred every now and again, he had yet to fully wake. Thorin would never forget the evening before. Fíli hadn't been at home when Thorin returned from work. At first, Thorin hadn't been concerned, Fíli had his own life; if he felt like being out late, that was fine with Thorin. However, as the hours ticked by without Fíli returning home, Thorin began to grow concerned. It was unusual for Fíli to disappear off into the night. Kíli, sure, but not Fíli.

Finally, he had rounded up a few other Dwarfs to help him look for his wayward nephew. They had eventually found Fíli in an alleyway, barely conscious, horrifically beaten and stark naked with clear signs of assault written all over his body. They had taken Fíli to Oin's where the healer had confirmed what had befallen the blond Dwarf. Thorin was horrified and furious, he wanted to know who would dare lay hands on his heir in such a manner.

As the first soft rays of light peaked into the room, Fíli began to stir once more. Fíli's return to the waking world was far from pleasant. His face screwed up in pain and he moaned softly.

"Fíli? You with me?" Thorin took one of Fíli's bandaged hands in his own, gently stroking the smaller knuckles with his callused thumb. Fíli moaned again before his eyes slowly fluttered open.

"There you are," Thorin cooed softly. Fíli's brow wrinkled in confusion and his body tensed up as he came to terms with the pain.

"Nunca Thor'n?" Fíli sounded like he had swallowed a mouthful of gravel. Thorin winced at the sound.

"Yes, Fíli, it's me."

"Not dead?" Fíli blinked a few times. There was a note in his voice that Thorin couldn't identify if it was relief or disappointment.

"No, little one, you're still alive, thank Mahal. You're safe now."

At those words, Fíli's body relaxed back onto the bed and his eyes started drooping closed again.

"Fíli, lad, who did this to you?" Thorin felt cruel for asking Fíli about what happened so soon, but he needed to know. Fíli pressed his lips together and mutely shook his head as best he could. His bandaged hands were clenching and unclenching in agitation. Thorin once again took them in his own. This action did little to calm the blond Dwarf.

"Don't protect the scum, sister-son. They don't deserve it. Name, I want their names."

"N-no, please. I can't tell you," Fíli whimpered frantically, tears were quickly beginning to pool in his blue eyes.

"Why not?" As Thorin looked hard into Fíli's frightened face, a though struck him, "They threaten you, didn't they?"

"Kíli…" was all Fíli eventually whispered.

"They can't hurt either of you, I promise," Thorin pleaded, "Just tell me who it was."

Fíli hesitated clearly wanting to tell his uncle, but still terrified of his attackers.

"Dakren and his friends."

"His friends?"

"Theris, Hâlnith and Garnak."

"Thank you Fíli. Sleep now," Thorin fondly petted the golden head. Before the young dwarf fully drifted off, he murmured his uncle's name once more.

"Uncle Thorin?"

"Yes?"

" 'M sorry, should've been stronger. I'll try better next time," Fíli snuggled closer to Thorin's caressing hand as he fell back asleep. Thorin stilled at his nephew's words.

"No, I'm sorry Little One. You never should have been forced to go through that in the first place," Thorin murmured.

As soon as Fíli was asleep again, Thorin left quietly. The anger that had simmered under the surface was finally to a boiling point now that he knew who was responsible. After gathering a handful of other warriors, Thorin went searching for those whom Fíli had named. It didn't take them long to track down the Dwarfs at fault. They were quiet confident that they had left Fíli too terrified and hurt to spill their identities. However, they were sorely mistaken. Upon being caught, the juveniles were marched to the jail where they were kept under guard while their punishment was decided upon. Hâlnith and Garnak seemed truly sorry for what they had done, though maybe it was simply out fear of Thorin's wrath. Neither Dakren nor Theris seemed to carry any remorse, thought they did quail a bit in front of Thorin.

As both Fíli's next-of-kin and as ruler of the town, Thorin would be the one to decide on the punishment. He couldn't technically execute them. Only the King was allowed to order executions and Thorin refused to fully take that title while he was in exile. After thinking for a while, he did the next best thing in his opinion: humiliation and exile. The young Dwarfs would have their beards and heads publicly shaved after which they would be stripped and marched to the edge of the village where they would be told under no uncertain terms that if they came near any of the settlements of Erebor survivors, they would be killed without hesitation. Thorin's sentencing was met with mixed reactions.

Dwalin wanted them executed, laws be damned. Thorin had finally sent him home to prevent bloodshed. On the other hand, Kernik, Garnak's father, felt the punishment was too severe. After all, Kernik argued, Garnak hadn't wanted to be part of Fíli's violation, but he had been bullied into taking part. In his reasoning, Garnak was just as much a victim. By the time the miner was done pleading on his son's behalf, Thorin was fairly sure that his ears were bleeding. Thorin's face was grim and set, but he didn't not waver in his judgement. He was rather ashamed to feel a sick sort of satisfaction as the bully's punishment was met out.

With that taken care of and out of his mind for the time being, Thorin returned to Fíli's bedside. By that time, the young Dwarf was awake again. The news of his attcker's punishment and exile did little to soothe Fíli.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm here," Thorin said. Fíli gave a noncommittal shrug. While he looked calm on the outside, his blue eyes were full of fear. Seeing his nephew so fearful broke Thorin's heart. He vowed to be there when Fíli finally decided to open up.