The Company left that very night in secret. Bilbo was disappointed to leave the Elven company so soon, and indeed as he looked back upon Rivendell, he wished that he could have stayed there forever. Nothing was stopping him from abandoning the Company except for his word, which seemed weak in comparison to his desire to experience the many blessings and comforts of the Elven city.

But he couldn't do that. As many times as he commanded his large, hairy feet to turn and go the other way, they continued obstinately on with the Company.

They traveled for many days over hills, around mountains. Sometimes their paths were narrow: so narrow that he had to stand on his toes, other times they were broad and seemed to stretch on and on into the distance. He preferred the broader paths. He liked to imagine what lay beyond. Were there more lands like Rivendell or the Shire? The thought of passing by people in their comfortable homes made him feel comfortable in a way as if safety and joy were still possible in the world around him.

Soon they reached the Misty Mountains. They stood proud and indifferent before them, their faces grey and powdered thickly with snow. The Hobbit soon began to shiver beneath his thick layers of clothing. The chill was not just physical; the speckled flurries seemed to tear and scratch away at his will to go on.

Day turned to night and heavy winds pregnant with ice-cold rain began to whip at the Company. Their path along the Mountains had become even more narrow than before, and a single misstep was bound to send the unfortunate soul hurling to the yawning depths below. Bilbo found the passageway quite insane and vowed to never travel along a mountain again...if he survived the ordeal.

The sky turned bluish-black and a loud rumbling could be heard around them. At first, Bilbo thought that it was thunder but, as he watched in fear, a large boulder seemed to have dislodged itself from nowhere and crashed into the mountain face above them. He ducked and covered his head as shards of rock and flint came raining down upon them. Another boulder went flying from above them, and this time hit the opposite mountain. It all seemed very intentional and Bilbo was wondering what accursed and sentient bad luck had come their way when suddenly Bofur stood up tall and cried, "Well bless me!"

As Bilbo watched, a giant man-shaped tower of rocks dislodged itself from the mountain with many a thunderous crack. It released its sharp arms and hurled a large rock at the space above them.

"The legends are true! Giants! Stone giants!"

The ground beneath the Company's feet shook mightily as the rock met its target behind them: another Stone Giant that had awakened from the rubble. The Giant was shoved backward by the force of the blow and responded by heaving its own stone.

The rock before them quaked and lurched and they found, amongst many curses and cries, that they were standing upon the legs of a Giant. The Giant rose and separated its crumbling legs, subsequently sending Bilbo flying over the edge. Shocked by his sudden disadvantage, he hung simply by his pale fingers above the roaring abyss. It was Thorin who saved him by swinging down and leveraging him back up. But the force used to send Bilbo back onto the ledge knocked Thorin even lower. Quickly, Dwalin grabbed his king and hauled him up with a loud grunt.

"I thought we lost our Burglar," Dwalin said light-heartedly, and Bilbo sighed in agreement. Thorin glanced back at him with eyes full of rage and hissed, "he's been lost ever since he got here. He should never have come. He has no place amongst us."

But misery was soon to strike again as half of the Company was whisked backward, situated as they were on the legs of another Giant. Thorin's side of the Company watched with wide, disbelieving eyes as the other half was carried away.

"Kili!" Nadi screamed as she watched the raven-haired Dwarf disappear into the distance.

"Nadi!" He cried back. Then, just as quickly, the Stone Giant lost its balance and fell forward. Its leg swung forward and Thorin's side watched in helpless agony as their kin was crushed to smithereens against the rocks.

"NOOOO!" Thorin cried, sure that half of his bloodline as well as the Hobbit had just been brutally killed before his eyes. But as they watched, the Stone Giant fell backward and to their relief, they saw that the rest of the Company had been deposited safely, albeit shakily, upon their same ledge. Groaning, the Dwarves untangled themselves from each other and Bilbo grinned to see them all safe in one piece.

"We're alright!" Someone called, "We're alive!"

Laughing, Nadi moved past Bilbo to embrace her kin when suddenly another rumble rocked their platform and sent both Dwalin and Bombur hurdling over the edge. Bombur quickly grabbed Dwalin's leg as the two Dwarves tumbled down.

"Thorin!" Nadi called and, understanding her intent, Thorin grasped her about the waist. She threw herself forward on her belly and caught Dwalin's hand right as his finger slid off of the rock. A sickening crunch could be heard as she grabbed his wrist and Bilbo realized, with horror, that the bones in her arm had been snapped beneath the weight of the two large Dwarves.

"Aaaaagh! Aaaagh! Aaaagh!" She cried deliriously, her shoulder hanging awfully from her body. "My arm, AAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Thorin was quick to act. With one arm holding her waist, he reached down and grasped Dwalin by the shoulder. Together, he and Bifur heaved all three Dwarves away from the lip of their platform. Nadi threw herself back against the wall and, grasping her broken arm, thrashed and kicked and rolled about in pain.

"It hurts! Oh, please, Mahal, it hurts!"

"We have to set it," Bofur said urgently. Nadi bit her pale lip and shook her head furiously.

"No!" She cried, tears streaming down her face. "We must seek shelter now."

"Come on," Thorin called, tossing his head towards a gap between the rocks. The Dwarves hurriedly rose to their feet and ran after him. Whimpering, Nadi rose to her feet and followed them.

X

The cave that Thorin had found was warm and offered a much welcome reprieve from the storm. Thorin would allow no fire that night and suggested they all got some sleep as they would be leaving at first light.

"But the plan was to wait for Gandalf," Balin had implored. But Thorin would hear of no such thing.

"Plans change. Bofur! Take the first watch. Nadi!"

Quickly, Bofur and Dori went to work setting Nadi's arm with a makeshift sling. Little did they know that, farther away, the Pale Orc had already picked up their scent.

"Aie, aie, aie. Oh, help me, please, save me from this pain," Nadi whispered monotonously with every move of her limp arm. The sight of it and her pale face made Bilbo sick to his stomach and he rushed to the opening of the cave to rid himself of that day's lunch. Bofur and Dori whispered comforting words to her but when it came time to secure the sling with a tight knot about her arm, she screamed in pure agony and fell faint upon the floor.

That night, Bilbo decided that he had had enough of the Company and their journey. Contract and promises be damned, he was just not fit for such an excursion. Seeing Nadi's arm break before his very eyes had been the final straw. So gruesome an image - and the sound of it - would stay with him for the rest of his long life. Quietly, he packed his bags, his mind set on returning to Rivendell. He remembered the way - it was a relatively straight path from the Misty Mountains to the Elven city. As he moved quietly about the sleeping Dwarves, Thorin's word echoed in his head. He's been lost ever since he got here, he had said. He should never have come. He has no place amongst us.

Well! If that's what he believed.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Bilbo was startled and turned to face Bofur. He and Nadi were sitting side-by-side in an alcove cut into the rocks. She was surrounded by slivers of the translucent green gems that ran through the cave walls. Her face was tinged slightly greenish as she bit the skin on the fingers of her left hand and stared blankly up at Bilbo.

Back to Rivendell," he admitted sternly.

"No...no. You can't turn back now," Bofur said as he stood up, "You're part of the Company. You're one of us."

"Agreed," Nadi said weakly.

"I'm not, though, am I," Bilbo spat back, "Thorin said I should never have come and he was right. I'm a Baggins, I don't know what I was thinking. Should never have run out my door."

"You're homesick," Bofur said gently, "I understand."

"No, you don't!" Bilbo hissed back, "You're Dwarves. You're used to living on the road, not belonging anywhere." He saw the hurt look on Bofur's face and he apologized quickly, embarrassed to have been caught so clumsy with his words.

"No, you're right," Bofur said, glancing back at Nadi, "we don't belong anywhere. I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do. " Bofur clapped him on the shoulder and he nodded in appreciation. He turned and was on the verge of leaving for good when a single voice rang out.

"Bilbo. You'd really leave without saying goodbye to an old friend?"

"Nadi…"

"Come. I want to get one last look at you."

Bilbo sighed and quietly trudged towards Nadi. He hoped that she would make it quick, for the thought of parting with the Dwarves had begun to make his eyes smart. He knelt down and faced her. Smiling softly, she took his features in with appreciation.

"So handsome, for a Hobbit," she said. He blushed at her words. "Do you remember the day that Kili was attacked by a Sthrusa while I stood there and did nothing?"

"Yes." How could he forget?

"Thorin was...exceedingly disappointed in me. You all were, I know. And believe you me: The disappointment of a King is quite a terrible thing. Especially that of my King," she looked over at Thorin who was faced the other way. She didn't know that he was wide awake, listening to her every word. "I was the one who led the pack towards us with my screaming. I almost killed Kili. I don't sing the songs of my kin and I shaved my beard. And now my arm is broken and I am beyond useless. I am possibly the worst Dwarve that ever lived. I should leave with you." She raised herself lightly from the floor and Bilbo thought for a brief, happy moment that she was coming with him. But she was simply readjusting and she settled back down with a sigh. "But I won't."

"Why not?"

"Because even if both my arms were broken and I was blind as a bat in both eyes, I would not leave the Company. They'd have to drag me away kicking and screaming. Thing is, Bilbo, every single one of these Dwarves is my family. They watched me grow from an insolent young Dwarf to an older, but still insolent one. And I pledged my allegiance to them. And when I pledged my allegiance, I pledged the totality of my being."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

She gulped dryly, winced in pain, and adjusted her broken arm. "It means that I pledged all that I am: the good and the bad, for I can not separate the two. The part of me that is weak and frightened and bound to make terrible mistakes is one with the part of me that is strong and driven and capable of reclaiming my home. There is no perfect Warrior. Even the greatest of us carries his world upon his back," she pressed her cold hand to his warm, ruddy cheek, "Yes, you are homesick. And you are uncomfortable. And sometimes you trip over your big feet. But all that comes with the territory of being who you are. And you are an invaluable member of this quest." She coughed and said in a softer voice. "You're invaluable to me."

What she said made sense and struck a chord in his weary heart. For he understood what she meant. His grandfather had taught him much the same thing. He grabbed her hand and kissed it gently, every single ringed finger. "Goodbye, Nadi."

"Goodbye, Grocer."

He stood up and turned to leave when suddenly, spotting something glowing on his hip, Bofur pointed and said, "what's that?" Bilbo looked down and his heart seemed to drop.

His Elven Dagger had turned blue, signaling the presence of Goblins.