Laurel

This was one crazy dream. It would make sense, especially if there were trolls. I didn't want to dream of Kili any longer none the less!

"When have I ever hurt you," he laughed quietly, offering his hand still yet and taking another step forward.

"Doesn't matter," I quickly picked up my knife and tossing it only to catch it again. In this position I could hold the blade the opposite way, pointing away from me. I have never hurt him either, but I was prepared to do so. "You just go your own way, with them," I muttered, "and I'll go wonder off until I wake up. I am not going through this shit again."

He stopped, dropping his hand. Looking around us, he pointed to the trolls with one hand and then to the other men with another. "None of our dreams involved anyone else but ourselves," he whispered, "have they?"

There wasn't anyone else… that was true. It still didn't mean this was real. I had to have died or something for me to just pop up in his land, Middle Earth.

"Remember when we climbed the pine," he murmured, finally closing the distance between us and pushing my hand aside, "you fell from the top to the bottom?"

"Yeah," I furrowed my brows, "what does that have to do with anything?"

Delicately he grabbed my left arm, fingers tracing the already purple bruise from when the string of the bow grazed me on my first shot. I hissed, trying to pull away. He was quick to hold on tight, "When you fell from the pine you did not feel pain. You feel this pain though. It is not a dream, I promise you this."

Silence filled the clearing around us. The only thing I could hear was the beating of my heart in my ears. Kili's face was just as I remembered, devilishly handsome. His lips tweaked into a satisfied smirk, the scruff on his face was molding around it. A gasp started in the back of my throat just remembering how it felt to have his beard scratch against my cheeks as he kissed me earnestly the last time I slept peacefully.

"How did I get here," I asked.

"I do not understand myself," he slowly released my arm but kept his other around me, "you quite literally fell from the sky into my lap. I dreamt you fell into a lightning bolt and when I awoke you were dropping through the night."

I was so busy getting lost in the sight of him, I forgot there were other people with us. Someone cleared their throat.

"I am Gandalf," the tallest man stated, bending to offer me his hand. Quickly I detangled myself from Kili to approach him and shake it. "You are Laurel?"

"Yes," I whispered, "Laurel Took."

A small exclamation of surprise erupted from the man who I released first. He came upon me and started to walk in circles, bending down and inspecting my feet. At one point he pushed my hair aside and pulled on the shell of my ear. "Ow," I muttered swatting his hands away, "what are you doing?"

"Well there is no doubt about it, she is partially a Hobbit," he muttered, fingers tapping his head in confusion. "You're a Took? Father was mostly Hobbit I suppose. I am Bilbo Baggins, my mother was Belladonna Took. I suspect we are of family!"

Hobbit? I looked at his feet, noticing the largeness and hairiness of them. In comparison mine were smaller, but still large for my person, they were not as hairy or thick in sole. Our ears were nothing alike either, his were pointed slightly at the top and very huge. "Family," I whispered, "Interesting."

One by one everyone came forward and introduced themselves. Each and every one except Gandalf and Bilbo was a dwarf. Maybe in my world was smaller than this one, making everyone in it smaller. We still did not have monsters and dwarves and hobbits or wizards. Instead we only had men and women and animals.

The bow across my shoulders was being tugged off, Kili handling it and then grabbing the quiver to sling across his shoulders. "You did very well with my bow," he smirked, "no one even noticed you took it or what happened when the trolls fell."

I always knew in the back of my mind Kili smirked when we hunted, because I suspected he was an archer as well. He never confirmed or denied the fact. With such a beautiful bow I hoped he was an excellent one.

"I'm sorry miss," the dwarf who introduced himself as Ori, "but what happened to your clothing. Are you not cold?"

I had forgotten that I was in just a thin tank top with spaghetti straps. My once long somewhat warm jeans were now shorts that got cut off at the knee, and cold. "Oh yes," I shivered, "I am very cold. I have to find where I left my boots."

In the light it was easier to find the tan canvas tough boots, and the ground was just as cold when I plopped down to lace them up. Everyone else started down the hill that I first climbed up almost an hour ago. At the clearing there were more horses I hadn't noticed before. Kili approached one and dug through the saddle bag, walking up to me with a bundle of cloth in his hands.

"Might be bigger," he ushered for me to take them, "but they will keep you warm enough for now until we can find you something more suitable."

The pants were brown and thick, almost itchy and I pulled them on over my newly acquired shorts. Since they were longer I had to roll them up and try to stuff them into my boots. A soft green shirt draped me, landing past my knees. The outfit oddly familiar. Even on Kili I felt it would have ended mid-thigh. Most of it got shoved into the pants. My sweater was pulled on over that making me all the warmer.

"Thank you," I murmured, finger idly playing with the braid in my hair. He must have put it there, but when?

"If I fell from the sky, how long was I asleep," I asked.

"About two days," he responded, fingers fingering the braid as well and tugging softly, "sorry about that, I could not help myself." Just like that, he pulled the braid out and untangled my hair.

Disappointment filled me. From what he told me, braids were important to dwarves. Wouldn't it mean that this braid was a signal of something, and he was just taking it out? At the thought I shook my head. It didn't matter, I told myself that I would not allow for this to happen. They are on a quest to try and defeat a dragon, some people will probably die, he could die.

I didn't want to be my mother.

Gandalf and some of the dwarves searched a cave, emerging with swords and gold that the trolls had saved. Evidently, that cave was their home. Thorin announced it was time to leave, Kili ushered me onto his horse and saddled it behind me. Throughout all the times in my dreams Kili and I never did more than hold hands if anything. We hugged on a couple of occasions, but I never let him hold me until the last one. This positioning while riding a horse was very intimate because I could feel him pressed up against me, arms on either side to hold the reins, and his breath hot in my hair. Not to mention his smell encased me since I was in his clothes.

Even at the back of the line, we could hear what all the others were saying. His brother Fili was riding beside us, occasionally glancing our way. Thorin had decided that when we came across another town we would see about what to do with me. The statement had me reeling and feeling offended. It wasn't as if I tried to come here and get into all their business.

Kili promised that he would buy me warmer boots and clothing, no matter how many times I told him I was fine with what I was in.

Some of the dwarves asked me questions, about where I learned to shoot a bow or about my world. Most of the questions were hard to explain, like that there were cars and trains where in Middle Earth they had horses and carriages. Other things amazed them, such as my odd clothing and the fact that I was independent as a female.

None the less they spoke of how I killed two—almost three trolls—very fondly. Fili fought with his uncle about how I wouldn't be a problem as much as he had originally assumed. From what I had gathered, this dwarf, Kili and Fili's uncle, was not keen on anyone; unless they were dwarves.

"So are you disappointed that I am here," I whispered softly, hoping that Fili would not hear the conversation I was going to try and have with his brother. I do not want to get attached to Kili, even though I am afraid I am in already too deep, but it was still nice to know if he cared about me like I knew I cared about him.

"Never," he replied, breath brushing my hair aside. One hand took the reins while another wrapped around my middle as he sniffed at my hair, "I am very happy that you are here. Uncle is not pleased at my attachment to you, but I do not care at this point."

Shivers ran up and down my spine at his words, even with all the layers of clothing. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as they were next to my ear, nose running along my neck. The feelings he was starting to stir within me had me straining forward to get away.

"Thorin is your uncle, right," I asked, trying to change the subject. Fili coughed to our left, adorning a smirk of sorts. Great, he just saw the whole encounter. How much did Kili tell everyone of our…friendship?

"Yes," Fili cleared his throat, embarrassed to have be caught staring, "though after that display with the trolls, he may be thinking otherwise."

The day seemed to drag on, but it didn't stop the easy flow of conversation between the brothers and I. Fili told many stories of them as they were younger. I especially liked the ones he told of Kili having embarrassing moments. "There is something with him and Elves," Fili chuckled, "he's always had a thing for them. The day he turned seventy—"

"Seventy," I exclaimed turning to look at him behind me.

He laughed, "Yes Seventy."

"How old are you now," I wondered aloud.

"Seventy-seven," he stated as almost proud.

Seventy-seven. My jaw dropped in awe. Yes he had told me that dwarves could live to be at least two-hundred, but he still looked so young. "I am only twenty-four," I muttered.

"Anyway," Fili laughed once more, "he snuck one home, and it was the time that uncle was visiting. He took her to his room—"

"Do not finish that story," Kili growled out.

"—he was down to his trousers when Uncle burst through the door and bellowed. Never seen little Kili turn so red in my entire life. I swear!"

It caused a little twinge of my heart, knowing that he was with some other woman—elf—and she was probably prettier. Of course she was, she was an elf! I remained silent the rest of the ride, stacking up reason after reason about why it was a horrible idea to have feelings for this dwarf. Thorin rode ahead of the rest, dripping with leadership. I believed Kili when he said that Thorin does not care for his attachment to me. At least elves were of this world, Thorin probably hated the fact more since I was from another world.

Almost suddenly a man just a smidge shorter than Gandalf ran up to us, looking as if he lived out in the woods. The rat's nest of his hair was thick and tangled, and something white and mucky stuck to the side of his face and hair. Everyone started to dismount the horses, pulling weapons left and right. The staff that he carried reminded me of the one that Gandalf was carrying as well.

"Gandalf," he urged. "Something is amiss."