A/N: Thanks so much DreamingGalaxies as always for looking over this and catching my mistakes. Thanks for the new favs and follows too I really appreciate it. Sorry this chapter is a bit short but the next one is longer.

Misunderstandings

Jenna's POV

Jenna sat on a branch, deep in contemplation of her talk with Fili. Her brows furrowed when she spotted Nori storming off into the trees beside the camp. She rose to her feet and made her way into the trees behind him. He stood in a small clearing with his shoulders sagging and a defeated look etched on his face.

"Why did you follow me?"

Shrugging, Jenna took a step toward him. "I saw you arguing with Ori. You seemed annoyed so I wanted to check on you. I don't want to see you upset. Is everything ok?"

Nori made to turn away from her, but she reached out and caught him by the arm. He froze momentarily before pulling his arm out of her grasp and stepping away from her.

"I'm fine lass. Leave me be," he grumbled.

It was the first time that Jenna had seen Nori as closed off as the others seemed to find him and she wondered what had caused this change in him. It hurt more than she cared to admit, seeing him push her away like this.

"You can talk to me, you know, about anything," she said quietly. "I care about you."

Turning back towards camp, Jenna made to walk away from him. If Nori wanted to be alone then she would let him have his privacy, even if she wished he would talk to her. Whatever had upset him was clearly something he didn't want to share with her though. She was surprised when he caught her by the wrist and turned her back to face him. Suddenly she found herself pulled into his arms as the dwarf hugged her tightly. She smiled as she wrapped her arms around him. He had become so important to her in the short time that they had known each other. He reminded her a lot of herself.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he held her tightly, "It isn't you. It's just how I cope with things, that's all."

Smiling slightly, Jenna nodded. She of all people understood that. Opening up to people wasn't something that she was good at, it never had been. It appeared it wasn't something that Nori was good at either. He was clearly used to dealing with his problems alone and didn't like anyone pushing him to share how he was feeling. She knew all too well what that was like.

"It's ok. I'm here if you need to talk to me about anything though, you're the best friend I could ever have hoped to meet here."

Nori said nothing in reply but instead held her a little tighter. She sighed, leaning into his hug and burying her head in his neck. Whatever he was going through right now she didn't know but he clearly needed the hug and she was happy to oblige. A snapping twig alerted them to the fact that they were no longer alone and without a second's hesitation, Nori had pulled her behind him and quickly drawn his dagger. Luckily it wasn't a Goblin or warg but a startled dwarf King that stood before them.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to disturb you both. I didn't know there was anyone out here," he mumbled as he turned and quickly walked away. Great! Now he would rightly think there was something going on between her and Nori. She wasn't entirely sure why that bothered her as much as it did. She frowned at his retreating form wondering if she should approach him later and try to explain what he had just seen.

"We should probably get back to camp," Nori suggested as he sheathed his dagger once again.

Jenna nodded but made no move to go back. She wanted to make sure Nori was ok and that she hadn't upset him earlier. "I wanted to say, erm, just that, erm, earlier…"

Nori raised an eyebrow and grinned at her amusedly. "Spit it out, lass!"

Jenna shuffled her feet; this wasn't a conversation she was comfortable having. "Well, it's just, when I touched your shoulder earlier I… it wasn't meant in a coming on to you, kind of way. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable or think that I was hitting on you or anything. I'm sorry if you did."

Nori rolled his eyes at her. "Oh, woe is me! There I was writing our wedding vows and everything!" he joked, "I know that you idiot!"

Jenna grinned at him sheepishly. "Sorry I just wanted to make sure you didn't get the wrong idea is all."

"You're worried I'd get the wrong idea from you touching my shoulder but not about the hugs?" Nori asked amusedly.

"Well, when you say it like that it sounds stupid," Jenna admitted. She could feel her cheeks turning red from embarrassment as Nori smirked at her.

"It certainly does. Now come on, let's get back to camp so I can tell Dori the wedding is off." He grinned.

Laughing, Jenna fell into step beside him as they made their way back to the others. Maybe it really was just her imagination earlier. Nori probably hadn't given her a funny look at all. She hadn't been sleeping well lately and it was easy to overthink things when she was tired. Thorin more than likely hadn't looked at her funny either, she reassured herself. She was simply reading too much into the situation.

Thorin's POV

As Thorin trudged back to camp he found himself in an exceedingly bad mood. He tried to tell himself that it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact he had stumbled upon Nori and Jenna but found it hard to think of another reason for it. Why would Jenna have lied about courting Nori? Did she think he would have left her behind if he knew about their relationship? He couldn't understand why she would lie to him. Not that it really mattered. It wasn't anything to do with him, he reminded himself.

"Are you all right laddie?" Balin questioned as Thorin took a seat beside him near the campfire.

"I'm fine Balin," he muttered in reply. He really didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment, afraid he would take his foul mood out on somebody who didn't deserve it. It wouldn't be the first time he'd done it.

The white-haired dwarf raised an eyebrow at him. "I know you better than that, lad. Something is bothering you."

Of course, Balin would notice. Balin noticed everything and he knew Thorin better than anyone else in the company did, even Dwalin. Sighing heavily, he watched as Jenna and Nori made their way out of the trees and took a seat together on the other side of the camp. His frown deepened as she laughed loudly at some joke the thief had told her and wrapped an arm around his waist. She always seemed so happy and carefree when she was with Nori, and he found himself feeling jealous that she was never that way with him. Not that she would be, he told himself, he was far from approachable. Then again neither was the thief usually. Maybe talking to Balin about it all would help. If anyone knew how to give good advice, then it was Balin.

"Jenna told me that she and Nori weren't courting but they clearly are," he eventually mumbled, "I don't know why it bothers me…but it does."

Balin smiled at him knowingly. "I think you know exactly why it bothers you."

Thorin thought about that for a minute before he put his head in his hands and sighed again. Was Balin right? Did he know exactly why it bothered him so much? As he looked up again his eyes met Jenna's for a moment, and he instantly felt his heart speed up. She smiled at him and then looked away quickly as she resumed her conversation with Nori. Yes, Balin was right as usual, he did in fact know exactly why it bothered him.

"What am I going to do, Balin?" he questioned.

His friend patted him on the back reassuringly. "Is there any way you could have gotten the wrong idea about those two? She isn't wearing a courting braid. You could talk to her…"

"And get a knife in my back from Nori? No thank you! There is no way I got the wrong idea anyway, I stumbled upon them embracing in the woods. She's Nori's… but even if she wasn't it wouldn't matter. She could never be..." Thorin sighed, "When we reclaim Erebor I will be king. Our people will expect me to marry a dwarrowdam of high standing, you know that."

Balin nodded sagely, he knew well the demands that would be laid on Thorin if they were successful in reclaiming the lonely mountain. "It's not too late to turn back, laddie. You've done honorably by our people; nobody expects this of you. You could…"

"I cannot turn back Balin. There is no choice, not for me."

With that Thorin rose from his seat and made his way over to his bedroll. He could feel a headache coming on and he needed to try to sleep it off. He had made his decision, now all he had to do was find a way to get that blasted woman out of his head for good. A task he was sure would be easier said than done.

Dwalin's POV

Dwalin watched as Esme chatted animatedly with Fili and Kili. This was definitely not going to end well. Thorin hated anyone interfering in his business and the boys knew that not that it ever stopped them. Esme however had no idea what she was getting herself into. An angry Thorin was a force to be reckoned with. If Esme got on his wrong side, then she would learn quickly not to do it again, but Dwalin didn't like the thoughts of Thorin taking his anger out on his wife regardless of whether it was warranted or not. He decided to get the three of them to abandon whatever foolish plan they were devising before any of that happened when he heard someone approach.

"Hello, Dwalin."

Dwalin looked up to find Dori standing beside him. The eldest Ri brother was looking extremely uncomfortable, wringing his hands and looking anywhere but at Dwalin.

"Evening Dori, what can I do for you?" he asked, already having an idea of what the older dwarf wanted to talk about.

"Oh, well you see I… that is…I wondered if I might talk to you about a rather sensitive topic?" the silver-haired dwarf enquired politely.

"If it's about what I think it's about then I'm staying out of it and so should you," Dwalin mumbled.

"It's just I don't want Nori getting into any sort of trouble, that's all. He's been in enough over the years as you know, I'm sure. I wondered if Miss Jenna and Thorin were…well…if they might be…" Dori trailed off but Dwalin understood what he was asking him, nonetheless.

"No, they aren't. Esme seems to be under the impression that Miss Jenna has no interest in pursuing a relationship with anyone." Dwalin shrugged.

Dori sighed heavily and took a seat beside Dwalin. "Well, I certainly hope Miss Esme is right. Nori says he isn't interested either, that they are only friends, but I've never seen him so open with anyone. Perhaps I'm simply reading too much into it, but I wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be getting on the wrong side of the King if it was more. That's all."

"You aren't too happy about the prospect of them being together, are you?" Dwalin asked.

Dori sighed. "You know Nori as well as I do, the one thing he's good at is making bad decisions."

"And you think she's a bad decision?" Dwalin questioned.

The older dwarf looked across the camp to where Nori and Jenna had made their way into the trees earlier and shook his head. "I think she's more trouble than she's worth. Even more so if Thorin has feelings for her too. Nori doesn't need to be getting messed up in that."

"Aye, I have to agree with you on that. The last thing we need is the two of them fighting over her. We have enough to deal with as it is. Hopefully, Esme is right, and she isn't interested in either of them. It'll be easier all round that way. Like I said though, I'm staying out of it and if you have any sense, you will too." Dwalin grumbled.

Dori nodded as they watched Thorin stomp moodily back into camp. "Aye, you're probably right. With any luck we're all thinking it's more than it actually is."

Dwalin nodded. If only Esme and the boys would listen to reason as readily as Dori did, it would make his life an awful lot easier. He'd have to try to talk them out of whatever it was they were planning.

Esme's POV

Kili looked up as Esme shouted his name from across the camp. Judging by the look on his face he was clearly used to being caught doing what he shouldn't. She grinned widely as she took a seat beside him and Fili.

"Ok spill! What's this I hear about Thorin liking Jenna!?" she questioned.

Kili and Fili exchanged a look but didn't answer her. These two were definitely well used to getting up to mischief together, she decided. They looked like they were used to shutting up and playing dumb when they got found out too.

"It's ok, you aren't in trouble! I just want to know if it's true. They'd make a cute couple, don't you think?" She smiled sweetly at the boys.

"He does like her, not that it matters," Fili eventually answered sullenly. "Jenna already told me she isn't interested in having a relationship with anyone."

"You asked her!? She was never going to say, 'yes Fili I'd love to date your uncle!' Jenna always says she doesn't want a relationship with anyone. It takes a lot to break down her walls, but I was kind of hoping Thorin might be able to do it. She deserves to be happy, and I think Thorin would be good for her. Well once they don't kill each other that is." She grinned.

Kili's eyes widened in shock. "Do you think they might?"

Laughing, Esme shook her head. "No, it's just a figure of speech Kili. I'm sure they'll both manage to stay alive. Well, hopefully anyway. We just have to figure out how to push the two of them together."

The boys exchanged another glance before smiling widely at Esme and beginning to speak in unison. "Well, we were thinking…"

"NO!"

Looking up from where she was seated with the boys, Esme was surprised to find her husband glaring down at them with his arms crossed and a deep frown creasing his brow. Fili and Kili deflated immediately upon seeing him. Clearly, they were used to Dwalin pulling them into line.

"But Dwalin…" she began before he interrupted her.

"No buts! The three of you will stay out of this, do you understand me?" he all but growled.

"But I think Jenna likes uncle too!" Kili stated matter of factly as if it would immediately change Dwalin's mind.

Dwalin rolled his eyes. "Even if she does, that is her business and nothing to do with any of you, understood!? Do not interfere! We have enough at stake on this quest we don't need any sort of animosity within the company and that is exactly what will happen if either of those two gets wind of what you are planning. Not to mention what will happen if you have the wrong idea entirely and the lass likes Nori, not Thorin! I won't hear another word about it so just drop the subject! NOW!"

"We were just going to give them a gentle nudge in the right direction." Esme insisted innocently.

Again, though her husband rolled his eyes. "I said drop it Esme and I meant it! This conversation is over. You will all stay out of it! Understood!?"

The three of them nodded defeatedly which seemed to appease Dwalin, and he turned and made his way back to the other side of the camp.

Esme waited until he was out of earshot and then looked up at the two princes and grinned. "We aren't actually going to do what he says are we?"

Fili and Kili smiled widely in response.

"Not a chance!"

TBC