A.N. On a roll with these. Partially because I think I'm going to rewrite some of the chapters I haven't posted yet, so I'm reading through all of these pretty carefully.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my original characters and plot points.

They stayed that way for a couple of hours, until it was past lunch time. Thorin offered to walk with Miss MacKay when they both got hungry, and after they grabbed some finger food, they kept walking. She asked about the Blue Mountains, and what it was like for a dwarf youngling as they grew up. He found it surprisingly easy to talk to her, and was pleased by the interest she had in what he said. The longer they walked, and the more they talked, the more they both opened up. Before long, they were swapping stories and laughing. He felt some regret when the sun began to dip low into the horizon. On their way to find some dinner, they ran across the other dwarves, already eating.

"Have you two been together all day?" Fili asked, voice loaded.

"The rest of you were too noisy for me to hear myself think," Thorin replied, going to sit beside Dwalin. Miss MacKay sat between Fili and Kili; her normal place. Their burglar was nowhere to be seen.

"I, for one, am glad to see the two of you acting pleasant to one another," Balin commented, bringing about a stream of chuckles from the others.

Thorin shook his head, and looked at Miss MacKay, who looked amused, though her cheeks flushed a little. She gave him a meek smile, then looked back to his nephews. Thankfully, Dwalin asked about their meeting with Gandalf and Elrond, and conversation turned to that. There were varying responses to each revelation, but nearly everyone was nervous about reaching the mountain by Durin's Day. Thorin considered telling them of the books on their ancient language, but paused. It would be better for them to be surprised when they had copies of the books in their hands. However, he did want to bring in their own scribe, Ori, to help with the books. He would speak with him after dinner.

As they all finished eating, Elrond came walking up, a smile on his face. "I hope you are all enjoying your stay," he said courteously. "Danica, if I could pull you away, there is someone I think you should meet,"

"Who is it?" Kili asked, not bothering to temper the rudeness in his tone. By the looks of the other dwarves, they didn't care either.

Miss MacKay cringed, and elbowed Kili, but the elf lord remained unperturbed.

"Someone else from her world, or so we believe. Perhaps you would all like to meet him? He did express that he wished to meet you,"

There was shock and uncertainty among them, and Thorin didn't like the idea of the person being a male. However, no one got a chance to respond. A tall, young man with golden hair walked out, a wide grin on his handsome face.

"Forgive me for the intrusion, but I just really wanted to meet y'all,"

The accent was strange, and like nothing Thorin had ever heard before. It wasn't altogether unpleasant, even if it was a little hard to understand. Miss MacKay's face positively lit up.

"Are you from Texas?"

Everyone turned, and the man's eyes widened for a moment, before the grin returned. "Yes Ma'am. Born and bred. You?"

"Born in Maine, raised in California,"

They shared a look of joy, then the man said, "Well, I'll be damned," and ran forward to sweep her off her feet in a hug. She let out a squeak of surprise, and all the dwarves, including Thorin, jumped to their feet.

"Sorry," the man laughed, setting her down. "Got carried away. But damn, are you a sight for sore eyes. Never thought I would see someone from our world again,"

"Me either. How long have you been here?" Miss MacKay asked.

"A couple of years now,"

Miss MacKay's eyes widened, and her smile dimmed a little. Balin looked around, and began ushering them out by clearing his throat.

"I don't think we are needed here, lads,"

"No, wait!" the man put his hands up, and hastened toward them. "Sorry about my poor manners. My mama always did say it was rude to ignore people. The truth of it is, I was mighty anxious to see y'all. I read your book as a kid, and couldn't believe it when I heard that the Company of Thorin Oakenshield was here. Name's John Dillinger. Like the gangster, though I'm sure ya have no idea who I'm talking about,"

All the introductions were made, and it was clear that John had won over most of the Company. They were curious about him, and charmed by his friendliness and easy humor. Thorin would have agreed, if not for the flirty looks John kept giving Miss MacKay. It made sense that they would share a bond, given that they were from the same world, but she had opened up so much faster with John than any of them. Even after spending the day with her, he couldn't get her to smile at him the way she smiled at the man. Despite that, it was hard to dislike him when John greeted each of them so enthusiastically, and said he was especially honored to meet Thorin.

"I must say, none of you look like you were described in the book," John said after shaking Thorin's hand last.

"Really?" Nori nudged Miss MacKay lightly. "Dani didn't mention that. How were we described?"

"Kind of like garden gnomes. You all had long beard like Gandalf's, and wore colored hoods. Most of you were described as being much older,"

"I am not sure I like this author," Kili said, his nose wrinkling in distaste.

John laughed. "He was a brilliant writer, but I can assure you that reality is far better than what was on the page. As a soldier, I'd feel pretty comfortable with y'all at my side,"

Most of the others focused on his being a soldier, but Ori, in a rare moment of gumption, stepped closer.

"You said was. Did the author die?" he inquired softly.

"Yeah. Just a few years ago, in fact,"

Conversation went back to John being a soldier, but Thorin saw a concerned look cross Miss MacKay's features. While the others were still talking, he walked over and touched her arm.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently.

She nodded, her eyes lingering on John for a moment. "Yes. It's just…we may be from the same world, but I don't think we're from the same time,"

Thorin frowned. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know,"

They went quiet, then John asked if he could take a walk with "Miss Dani." The suggestion didn't sit well with Thorin, but he kept silent as she agreed. Before leaving, she turned and gave him a smile, touching his arm the way he'd touched hers. The others began to disperse, except for him, Fili, and Dwalin.

"She looks so tiny next to him," Fili commented, once the pair was out of earshot. "Do you think she'll be alright?"

"The lass has learned how to handle herself," Dwalin replied. "Besides, we're not the only ones watching,"

Following Dwalin's eye, they could see Estellia in a tree, slinking after the two humans.

"Come on," Thorin finally said. "There is no point in us standing here,"

Most of the others had congregated in their courtyard, singing some soft songs from home. It wasn't long before they all went to bed, lulled by music and wine. Thorin paced his room, unable to even think of relaxing until he heard Miss MacKay return to her room. The next few weeks were going to be excruciating.

Danica stood beside one of the arches in her room that looked out over the valley. Her bed lay untouched behind her, for she'd been too troubled to sleep. Her walk with John had been mostly questions and answers, with many of the questions initially asked by her. As she had said to Thorin, she feared John was from another time. So, that was the first question she'd asked. At first, he had been confused, unsure if she was serious or not. When he saw that she was, he answered.

"1975. I had just gotten back from 'Nam, and was on vacation,"

Her knees nearly buckled, and she had to grab on to a nearby pillar for support. The end of the Vietnam War. Almost 20 years before she'd been born.

"Are you alright, Dani?" John asked, concern evident in his hazel eyes.

For some reason, she flashed back to Thorin asking her the same question, and the way he had touched her arm. "Yeah, sorry. We're, uh, not from the same time,"

John raised an eyebrow, and then chuckled. "That probably would have surprised me more if we were back home. So, when are you from?"

"2019,"

He may have handled her first statement well, but now his eyes seemed to pop out of his head. Heaving a breath, he leaned on the pillar opposite her. "Now there's something I didn't expect,"

They spent a moment trying to wrap their minds around the impossibility of their situation.

"Do we have flying cars?"

John's comment had Danica letting out a surprised guffaw, which turned into a peel of laughter. To make it worse, he kept up with one-liners, until her ribs ached, and tears leaked from her eyes.

"Your grandfather is probably the same age I would be," John lamented at one point.

"Close. My father was actually the one who fought in Vietnam," she responded managing to catch a breath.

"Now I feel incredibly strange about being attracted to you; like I'm a creepy old man,"

Normally she would have felt embarrassed about such a declaration, but now all she could do was continue laughing. When she regained herself again, a thought struck her.

"Where were you vacationing?"

"St. Lucia. Probably strange since I'd already been somewhere warm and humid, but I wanted to enjoy sandy beaches without being shot at,"

His comment had her feeling sympathy, but it was overridden by another wave of cold realization.

"I was in St. Lucia too," she murmured. "I was on vacation, visiting a cousin,"

"Huh. Curiouser and curiouser," John said, not seeming too bothered by the whole situation. "But I thought Elrond said you were summoned here,"

"Yes. There's a theory that there are Palantir in our world that connect it to middle earth. If there's a Palantir in St. Lucia, it would explain how you were taken, but also how Gandalf was able to summon me a little easier,"

They stopped at a bench that sat in front of a small pool that housed a few dozen little fish. By now, the sun was long gone, but there were some lamps lit, and the moon was bright in the sky.

"If I may ask," John began, "why did he summon you here?"

It was a long story, and she didn't want to give him too much information, to risk compromising the quest and Company.

"To summarize; another person from our world arrived here, probably the same way you did. She has extensive knowledge of this world, and the events that are to come, and is giving that information to the orcs. Gandalf summoned me as a guide, to try and lead the Company to the mountain without encountering the same events as in the book,"

John let out a low whistle. "What a mess. Do you know the other person? The one who's causing the trouble?"

Danica shook her head. "She arrived a few months before I did,"

In a move that she knew was so natural in their world, but hadn't experienced in a while, John put an arm around her shoulders in a half hug. At first, it took her off guard, but then she let her head rest on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for you," he said. "That is a huge weight to bear on your own. I would say that I could help, but the fact is, since I never read 'The Lord of the Rings,' I don't know exactly how these events would affect the future. But, seeing as how you are so tiny, I imagine you may need some help with fighting,"

She looked up into his face at his wry tone, wanting to argue, but knowing she couldn't. "The dwarves have been teaching me some hand-to-hand, and sword-fighting, but I'm pretty useless with their swords,"

"You'd be more effective as a speed fighter, versus strength. We can look at some different weapons, and I can teach you some mixed martial arts while you're here. How long will that be?"

Excitement was growing within her at the thought of his proposition. She'd always wanted to learn some martial arts, and felt it would make her more confident with fighting, since she definitely did not have the brute strength.

"We'll stay here close to two months. Do you think that would be enough time to make me better?"

He grinned widely and, not for the first time, she noticed how handsome he was. Square jaw, warm blue eyes, and a cleft chin. Skin that was tanned a golden color with a few freckles across his nose, which had obviously been broken before, but only added to his overall charm.

"Two months would give you plenty of the basics, so long as you're not completely hopeless,"

"I'm not. At least…not when it comes to the hand-to-hand,"

He let out a bark of laughter at her meek response. "Well, I'll be the judge of that. We can start tomorrow, if you'd like,"

"I would, but we'll have to be careful with whatever we do. I have a dislocated rib that's still healing," which suddenly irritated her to no end.

"I can work with that," his eyes turned tender as he offered to walk her back to her room.

They continued walking, speaking about her father's time in the war. Then, they reminisced about home, and she told him of the future. She couldn't remember the last time she'd spoken so much in one day. More than that, there was so much information that she'd had to absorb. Never before had her mind been so exhausted, yet buzzing and restless. A headache pounded from her neck all the way to her brows. Some of the pain ebbed when John gave her a hug as they said goodnight, but it returned the moment she went into her room.

She wanted to sleep, but couldn't seem to quiet her mind. So, she had gone to look out at the view, and digest some of what had happened that day. Elrond had left some lavender balm that she kept in her bedside table to use when she struggled to sleep. Just as she thought about reaching for it, she heard music drifting through the air. It was a harp, but had a different touch than the elven music she'd heard over the past couple of days. Thorin had played a couple of times during the journey, and she recognized this as his doing. Padding as quietly as she could, she looked out to see if anyone was in the courtyard. Confirming that it was empty, she grabbed a blanket to guard against the breeze, and leaned outside the wall of his room.

Each note eased the ache in her head and neck, especially once he began to hum. Her eyes closed, and she sat down, promising herself that she would get up when he finished. Instead, his music followed her into her dreams.