Jenna's POV

Jenna sat on the steps of the front porch of Beorn's home staring out at the surrounding gardens. It was late, the sun had almost set and a cold breeze had picked up. Hearing the front door open she looked back to see Thorin standing behind her. Rolling her eyes at him she turned back to watch the last of the sunset as she steadfastly ignored him. The dwarf king didn't seem to take the hint however, taking a seat on the steps beside her.

"Are you ok?" He asked quietly.

She raised an eyebrow at him. Did he honestly think that she would be feeling ok after everything that happened today?

"Am I ok? Well let's recap shall we? I was almost killed by a goblin a few days ago, spent the next few days unconscious, woke up to find out you lot were trying to leave me behind and to top it all off my best friend has completely lost her mind! I don't see any reason for me not to be ok in all of that, do you!?"

Thorin smiled at her in response and she bristled immediately. His smile honestly was the most irritating thing in this entire world.

"Sarcasm is very unbecoming of you." He stated flatly. "Nobody wanted to leave you behind. We just don't want any more harm to come to you or Esmeralda. These lands aren't safe, surely you can see that?"

Jenna frowned immediately at the dwarf king's tone. "I know they aren't safe but I'm not staying here. I don't know how things work in this world but where I'm from a woman's decisions are her own to make! I won't let anyone tell me what I can and can't do."

"Very well, though I do wish you would reconsider. And as for Esmeralda losing her mind? I do not see it as so. They love each other deeply..."

Jenna had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "They barely even know each other!" She snapped.

Thorin frowned slightly at her response. "Esmeralda seems content. I thought that as her friend you would be happy for her. I imagine she hoped you would have been too."

Sighing, she went back to looking at the sunset. He was right and she knew it. She should be happy for Esme. Even if she thought they had rushed things, getting married so soon, she had to admit that she had never seen Esme as happy as she was with Dwalin. But that just meant it would hurt her friend more if it all fell apart and surely it would. These things always fell apart.

"What if it doesn't work out?" she asked quietly. "I don't want her to get hurt."

Thorin nodded and gave her a small smile. "I understand that. I would hate to see Dwalin hurt either but I do not believe it will come to that. Dwalin wouldn't have asked her to marry him if he did not care deeply for her. I believe she is his one."

Jenna turned to face the dwarf king again. "What do you mean? Like a soul mate?"

Thorin contemplated her words for a moment before answering. "I've never heard that term before but it sounds fairly accurate. Our ones are our exact match, made by Mahal our maker to fit us exactly, simply put, they complete us. If something were to happen to their one then a dwarf would never love anyone again."

"Two halves to a whole." Jenna muttered.

"You don't sound as though you believe in it." Thorin stated, eyeing her quizzically.

Sighing Jenna lay back against the step behind her. "Do you? I've seen enough to know that soul mates are a load of old rubbish, in our world anyway. They just pretend to be everything you've ever wanted until they suck the entire life out of you. By the time you see them for what they really are it is too late. In the end it always falls apart."

Thorin's forehead creased into its usual frown. Jenna felt like kicking herself, was he thinking of Cadence now and everything that had happened between them? Had he thought of her as his one? Jenna certainly hoped not. As annoying as Thorin could be he certainly deserved better than that, he deserved someone who at least would return his feelings. She wondered if Cadence was his one, did that mean that Thorin would never love again?

"Is that what happened to you?" Thorin asked suddenly. "Is that why you choose not to be in a relationship?"

"That's none of your business." There was no real heat in her reply; it was simply an automatic response at this stage. "But no, it didn't happen to me. I've never let it get far enough to get hurt like that. Can you really never love again if things go wrong with your one?"

Thorin sighed heavily. "Not that I've ever heard of anyway. My father never looked at another after my mother died. Some of the company have already lost their ones and have never gotten over it. Balin's one died in Erebor, when the dragon came, along with Dori's and Bifur's. Oin's died in childbirth not long afterwards. My sister lost her husband in the battle of Azanulbizar and she still lives with the grief of it to this day."

"And you?" Jenna questioned.

Thorin was staring out across the lands in front of him with his trademark scowl in place and she thought at first he wasn't going to answer. Suddenly though he looked at her again and smiled.

"Cadence was not my one if that's what you're asking." He said bluntly. "I was infatuated with her but I never really knew the real her. I fell in love with someone that never existed."

Jenna was surprised at how glad she felt that Cadence wasn't Thorin's one. "Have you met her then? Your one I mean?"

Thorin pushed himself up to a standing position and smiled down at her. "I have a kingdom to reclaim and that is my priority right now. Goodnight Miss Jenna."

That definitely didn't answer her question but with that he nodded and made his way back into Beorn's house, leaving her alone with her thoughts again. Or so she thought.

"So why do you choose not to be in a relationship then?"

Jenna jumped with fright. Looking around frantically to find the source of the voice, she saw Nori step out from the shadows beside the house.

"Bloody hell Nori, how long have you been standing there!? You almost made me wet myself!" She huffed.

The star haired dwarf chuckled. "Sorry about that. No deflecting the question though. What gives with the no relationships thing?"

Jenna simply scowled at him and the thief rolled his eyes at her.

"I got you the tea and made you better so you could yell at everyone, remember? You owe me one!" he teased.

"Trust me; if you had a mother like mine then you wouldn't want any relationships either. Let's just say she didn't exactly pick them well. Can we leave it at that?" She eventually sighed. Nori said nothing, just took a seat beside her on the steps and took out his pipe. Lighting it he took a puff and then handed it to Jenna. "Thanks."

"I figured you could use a smoke. You were a little crazy in there earlier. Some of them may never recover from the shock. Time of the month?" Nori managed to duck before her hand had a chance to collide with the back of his head.

"So what if it is!?" She snapped at him as the dwarf started laughing.

"I thought as much." Nori sniggered, throwing an arm around her and pulling her into a hug. She didn't fight it, instead she settled herself with her head on his shoulder and handed him back his pipe.

"Do you always spy on your friends?" she asked.

Nori shrugged the shoulder she wasn't lying on. "It's hard to quit the habit of a lifetime. It can come in handy though, you never know what you'll find out just by standing quietly in the shadows."

"I guess so." Jenna sighed. Nori tightened his hold around her. "Do you believe in all that stuff about ones?"

Nori was quiet for a moment as if he was contemplating his answer. "I do, though it isn't as black and white as Thorin makes it sound. Some dwarves don't have a one, or at least they never find them if they do. They still love and marry but it's not the same bond. Others find their one only to be denied by them. One thing that is certainly true though is that once a dwarf is bonded with his one he will never love again."

"Do you think Esme is Dwalin's one?" she questioned.

"Absolutely." Nori nodded, handing her the pipe again.

Taking another puff of the pipe she handed it back to him again. "What about you Nori? Have you met your one?"

Nori looked down at her and smiled sadly. "Aye I believe so. But my one is... unobtainable."

Jenna straightened up at that. "Unobtainable? How come?"

Nori shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm a thief, not exactly an upstanding citizen; most people are unobtainable to me. But this conversation wasn't meant to be about me, remember? It was meant to be about you and your inability to love."

"I can love!" She elbowed the dwarf lightly for his comment. "I just don't do relationships. But I really do love my friends fiercely, you know."

Nori pulled her back into a tight hug. "I know."

The two of them stayed like that for a while in silence before Jenna straightened up again.

"I guess I better go find Esme and apologise for losing it with her earlier." She sighed.

"Oh I wouldn't if I were you." Nori winked at her. "Wedding night and all that, I'd imagine she's very busy."

"Well that is a lovely mental picture. Thanks for that, Nori." She grimaced.

Nori chuckled and offered her his pipe once more.

"You're welcome." He grinned.

Thorin's POV

Thorin stood looking out through the front window of Beorn's house at Nori holding Jenna. She had told him before that they weren't in a relationship but clearly that must have changed at some point. Suddenly it was clear to him why the thief hadn't wanted to leave her behind. Nori was in love with her. Thorin did his best to ignore the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach at that thought. It wasn't jealousy he convinced himself. He was simply worried for the lass, the thief was not the most reliable and it would no doubt end in tears.

As Jenna slipped her arms around the thief and snuggled closer to him Thorin's jaw clenched. What did she even see in the thief anyway? Surely she would want more for herself. Wouldn't she be better off with someone else? She should be with someone more reliable, someone with the means to look after her. Nori didn't deserve her. Not that Thorin cared, it was simply an observation he told himself.

Jenna had been so quick to judge Dwalin and Esmeralda but at least Esmeralda had made a good choice. Dwalin was captain of the guard back in Ered Luin, he was highly thought of and with good reason. Nori on the other hand was a low life. He had spent his life living off of the misfortune of others and Thorin was sure he had only agreed to come on this quest because young Ori had agreed to sign up for it. Why couldn't Jenna see that? What was it about the thief that attracted her to him? Thorin shook his head. Why did he even care? If she was making a mistake then it was hers to make just like she had told him, her decisions were hers to make. It had nothing to do with him. He had no idea why that annoyed him so much. Probably because she clearly made bad decisions and would no doubt end up getting hurt. Why couldn't she just agree to stay behind where he knew she would be safe? Thinking back to Rivendell he wondered, not for the first time, what had possessed him to allow her to come with them in the first place. He should have left her there with the elves. She would never have been injured and she would never have fallen for Nori.

"Are you ok Uncle?"

Thorin turned quickly to where Kili had been watching from the shadows unbeknownst to him. "All is well Kili, why do you ask?"

Kili stepped closer and shrugged. "You looked sad, that's all."

Thorin smiled at his nephew. "I just have a lot on my mind."

Kili nodded as he came to stand beside Thorin. Looking out the window his eyes fell on Nori and Jenna where they sat on the steps. His face creased into a frown that Thorin very rarely saw on him.

"Are they courting?" he questioned.

Thorin again pushed down the sick feeling in his stomach at the thought of it.

"I neither know, nor do I care." He snapped, ignoring the voice in his head that called him a liar. Kili looked surprised by his tone but he said nothing. Thorin shook his head, he really had no idea why he was letting that lass get under his skin yet again. All he knew was that he couldn't stand there looking at her in Nori's arms any longer. "I'm off to bed, make sure you get some rest, we will be leaving tomorrow."

With that Thorin stomped away to find his room, missing the look of pity on his nephew's face. As soon as he made it to his bedroom he closed the door and collapsed onto the bed. He had slept most of the day and was nowhere near tired but he needed to be alone for a while. He had much to think about and plan for if they were to make it through Mirkwood to the lonely mountain in time for Durin's day. The quest; that was what was important right now, not some silly lass who insisted on making bad decisions. What difference did it make to him anyway if she was making a mistake? If she got hurt again then it wasn't his problem. If Nori hurt her then it also wasn't his problem. Out of all the dwarves she had to pick Nori! Why was he even thinking about her again? The quest! He was meant to be concentrating on the quest. Groaning, he rolled over and hid his face in his pillow. Why couldn't he get her out of his head? Again he ignored the voice that told him he knew exactly why he couldn't stop thinking about her.

At some point Thorin must have finally drifted off to sleep as when he opened his eyes next he could see the first rays of sun peeking in through the window above his bed. Disentangling himself from the bed sheets he made his way out into Beorn's kitchen. It was early yet and all the others were still sleeping. Thorin helped himself to some coffee and some bread, seating himself at the oversized table.

"If looks could kill I definitely wouldn't like to be that piece of bread."

Thorin looked up from his breakfast to scowl at Jenna where she leaned against the doorway to the large room.

"Ok, go back to glaring at the bread! It's better than glaring at me." She grinned.

Thorin rolled his eyes and went back to drinking his coffee. Jenna was the last person he wanted to see right now. Even after a good night's sleep he found himself irrationally angry with her. He would never understand why she wanted to waste her life with a thief.

"Are you ok?" Looking up at her once again, Thorin could see she was frowning now.

"Fine." He muttered and went back to staring at his plate. Why couldn't she just go away and bother somebody else. He could already feel a headache coming on. "Don't you have somewhere else to be? I'm sure Nori would be glad of the company!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" Jenna's voice rose as she spoke to him. "I don't know what is wrong with you this morning!"

"YOU are what is wrong with me!" Thorin all but shouted, regretting it instantly when a look of hurt flashed across her face. Why couldn't she just have left him alone? "I'm sor..."

"Don't even bother! You know I thought we had got past all of this nonsense but if you want to continue on hating each other then go ahead! I'm in no mood to listen to you."

With that she turned on her heel and left the room leaving Thorin alone. He didn't hate her, he should have told her that before she stormed off but it was too late now. Even if he didn't hate her she clearly hated him. It was best to just leave her alone and let her cool off. Pouring himself another cup of coffee he made his way back to his room to nurse his ever growing headache. This was going to be a long day.

Dwalin's POV

Dwalin couldn't remember a morning where he had woken up happier. Pulling Esme closer to him he smiled as she wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into his neck. He let his hand trace over the marriage braid she now wore proudly in her hair and smiled. For once in his life everything was perfect. Leaning down he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and he was rewarded with a beautiful smile as she opened her eyes to look up at him.

"Morning." She mumbled her voice still thick with sleep.

Dwalin brushed her hair away from her face. "Good morning my love. Coffee?" he asked, smiling down at her.

"Oh yes please!" she answered him with a yawn.

Grinning, Dwalin reluctantly tore himself out of bed and pulled on his trousers and tunic. Leaving the room, he made his way towards the kitchen just in time to see Thorin disappearing back into his room with a steaming mug in his hand.

"Greedy buggar didn't even leave a drop for anyone else." He muttered, eyeing the empty coffee pot. He began to whistle as he set about making another pot.

"Someone's very happy this morning!" Turning, Dwalin found Kili beaming at him from the doorway.

"How could I be anything but happy lad!" he grinned widely at the prince.

Kili returned his smile. "Very true, I'm really happy for you. Fancy a smoke while you wait for that to brew? Looks like a nice morning out there. May as well take advantage of it, who knows when we'll be able to enjoy a smoke in comfort next."

Dwalin nodded and followed Kili out through the front door. He immediately regretted his decision when the two of them stumbled upon a very tearful Jenna sitting on the front steps. Dwalin was never good with these kinds of things. He didn't cope well with public displays of emotion and he felt he really didn't know the lass well enough to talk to her about whatever it was that was clearly bothering her so much. He looked over at Kili hoping that the young prince would be better able to handle the situation but judging by the look of horror on Kili's face that was not the case. Instead he whispered to the prince. "Go get Esme."

The younger dwarf didn't need to be told twice; he nodded and quickly disappeared back inside the house. The noise of the door closing behind him alerted Jenna to Dwalin's presence and she glared up at him through teary eyes.

"What do you want?" she grumbled, angrily scrubbing at the tears that were still falling down her cheeks.

Normally that would have been enough to cause Dwalin to walk away and ignore her but he reminded himself that she was Esme's friend and instead he cleared his throat and took a step closer to her.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to disturb you. I was simply coming out here for a smoke." He gestured towards the pipe he still had in his hand as he spoke to her. "Is everything alright?"

Her forehead creased into a frown and she shook her head, once more trying to brush away the tears that kept falling. "No, nothing is alright." She admitted.

Dwalin sighed and awkwardly took a seat beside her on the steps as he lit his pipe. He hoped Kili wouldn't be too long about fetching Esme; he wasn't at all sure what he was meant to do in a situation like this. He felt bad that the lass was crying, he genuinely hadn't thought she would be this upset about their decision to leave her behind. Actually if he was honest he hadn't really thought about how she would feel at all, his only concern had been keeping Esme safe. Balin would have known exactly what to say to make everything better but Dwalin was a dwarf of action not words. Taking a deep pull of his pipe he stared out at the garden before them.

"I'm not good at this kind of thing but I don't like to see you upset. I wanted Esme to stay here because I cannot stand the thought of anything happening to her. I almost lost her and I don't want a repeat of it. It wasn't because I didn't want you continuing on with us. Honestly I don't know why you are so insistent on continuing in the first place. Is it because of Thorin?"

Jenna looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean? Why would it be because of Thorin?"

Dwalin shrugged, deciding honestly was the best policy. "Just you two seemed to be getting closer is all."

Jenna frowned again but at least the tears had stopped for now. "Thorin hates me."

Dwalin was taken aback. Thorin had carried her out of the goblin tunnels, saved her from the wargs and sat with her in the healing house until she had finally woken. He wasn't sure what part of that had made the lass think that Thorin could possibly hate her.

"Why would you think he hates you?" he asked.

"Maybe the fact that he's absolutely horrid to me 90% of the time? Or the fact that he literally told me that I'm what is wrong with him? How am I meant to take that any other way than him hating me exactly?" she said sullenly.

Dwalin was just about to answer her when the front door burst open and Esme came running out onto the porch with a worried look on her face. Kili followed close behind but he didn't come any closer than the front door.

"Jen, what's going on, are you ok?" Esme asked, clearly evident in her voice.

Jenna shrugged at her friend. "I'm fine Ez. Just been a tough couple of days, that's all and a sullen, ignorant Dwarf King thinking it is fine to snap at people really doesn't help matters."

Esme rolled her eyes as she sat down beside her friend and threw an arm around her. "What did he do now?" Looking back up at Dwalin she smiled sweetly. "Would you mind getting me that coffee? I think Jenna could probably use some too."

"Of course amrâlimê." Dwalin replied as he stood up and made his way back into the house, glad for the excuse to get away from the situation. Kili quickly followed him back into the kitchen.

"I wonder what he said to the lass that had her crying like that." Kili wondered out loud.

"Oh you should know your uncle by now lad; he can be harsh even when he doesn't mean it. I'm sure it wasn't as big a deal as it looks. She reckons he hates her, though I'm not sure how she got that idea." Dwalin shrugged as he continued getting the coffee ready. "Do you want a cup?"

"Aye." Kili nodded. "Thorin thinks she's in love with Nori."

Dwalin looked up at the younger dwarf in confusion. "Why would he think that? And what would it have to do with anything?"

Kili shrugged and gave Dwalin a knowing smile. "I caught him watching them last night. Nori was hugging her. It didn't seem to sit well with him. I think uncle likes her."

Dwalin grunted and rolled his eyes. "Don't you go trying to get yourself involved in that lad. It'll only get you into bother."

"So you've noticed too?" the prince asked excitedly.

"Aye, but your uncle has a kingdom to reclaim. He won't let anything get in the way of that. Just leave it be." He left a steaming mug of coffee in front of Kili and made his way back out to the two girls with theirs, hoping that the young prince would heed his warning.

Esme's POV

"What did he do now?" Esme asked, pulling her friend into a hug. Looking up she caught her husband's eye. He looked more awkward than she had ever seen him. He was probably waiting for any opportunity to get away from this situation. Taking pity on him she smiled sweetly at him. "Would you mind getting me that coffee? I think Jenna could probably use some too."

"Of course amrâlimê." He agreed easily, obviously glad of the errand which would take him away from the front porch and the awkward situation he'd found himself in.

Esme smiled at his retreating form and then looked back at her friend once more. Jenna's cheeks were streaked from tears and her eyes were red and puffy. Still she grinned at Esme and rolled her eyes.

"He couldn't get out of here quick enough." She laughed. "Who knew you could scare off a mighty dwarf warrior with a few little tears."

Esme smiled in response. "Well you aren't really one for tears normally, gave me a bit of a fright too to be honest. So what did King Jackass do then?"

Jenna deflated at her question. "He's just so horrible all the time. I thought we had turned a corner, thought that maybe we could be friends but no apparently I'm everything that's wrong in his world." She huffed. "King Jackass definitely has a nice ring to it though, doesn't it?"

"Is he all that's bothering you?" Esme asked quietly. "You don't really seem like yourself."

Jenna cringed and for a second she thought she wouldn't answer her but after a moment she spoke quietly. "I didn't sleep last night. I couldn't, every time I closed my eyes I was back there in that cave with that disgusting thing leaning down over me, trying to kill me." She shuddered as she continued speaking. "Then the cave would change and I was back home, back in that room and instead of that thing it was him. I spent so long blocking it all out Ez. So long and now I can't get it out of my head, I can't close my eyes without seeing him. It just won't stop. I just want to forget about it again."

Her friend broke off into sobs and Esme pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh Jen, I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say."

Jenna continued to sob as she held onto Esme tightly. It was the first time she had ever seen her friend like this. It just wasn't like her to get emotional and for the first time she didn't really know what to do to help her. Eventually Jenna stopped crying and straightened herself up, rubbing angrily at her eyes to get the tears to stop falling.

"Sorry." She mumbled. "Being on my period is not exactly helping matters. Talk about being a blubbering mess."

Esme looked up at the sound of a horrified gasp coming from behind them and realised her husband had picked that exact time to walk out onto the porch with their coffees and was now busy turning a lovely shade of red. Shoving the cups into their hands he all but ran back into the house. Jenna and Esme both looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Ok there's apparently two ways to get rid of a big mighty warrior." Jenna laughed.

Esme grinned at her friend. At least that seemed to have snapped her out of her breakdown for now. "I don't think we're meant to mention things like that out loud around them. I just finished mine. I asked Dori if he thought Beorn would have anything I could use here as I lost my pack in the mountains and he nearly had a heart attack. I've never seen anyone get as flustered before."

Jenna laughed out loud at her friend. "Of all the dwarves, why on earth would you ask Dori?"

"I have no idea but I certainly won't make that mistake again." Esme laughed. "It's not like I could ask you when you were busy impersonating Sleeping Beauty, could I?"

Jenna smiled. "Guess not."

They slipped into companionable silence as they drank their coffees and watched the sun climbing higher in the sky. Eventually Esme turned to her friend again. "I guess we best get back inside if you still want to continue on. They're leaving today and there is a lot to do beforehand I presume."

Standing, she offered her hand to Jenna to help her up off of the step. "Thanks Ez and I'm sorry about last night. I really am happy for you. I was going to come find you to apologise but Nori pointed out that you were probably busy. And NO I do not want any details, thank you very much."

Laughing at Jenna, Esme made her way towards the door and back into the house to prepare for the next part of their journey.

TBC