Disclaimer: I don't own The Hobbit!

A/N: It's been two years…oh well! Here's an update.

Chapter 7

A cheery fire popped beneath a black pot of squirrel and herb stew, the smell of food filling the small house. Fili sat on the floor next to the fireplace with one of his swords across his legs. With a stone he had borrowed from Mim, he was honing the edge of the sword that had become dull after his encounter with the goblins.

He and Kili were planning to leave the vale in the morning right after the sun rose. His crutch was no longer needed, and all of their wounds were almost completely healed. They needed to find the rest of the company and show their uncle that they were, in fact, still alive. Fili hated the quick lick of shame that nipped at in him whenever he thought about how they had become separated from the others. Yes, they had survived the goblins, but only barely. They could have easily died if it hadn't been for Camy finding them and she and Mim deciding to heal them. Balin had said that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken but that had been before a few goblins had almost done them in.

Fili had to believe that the rest of the group was all right and that they had made it out of the mountain alive as well. Finding them might prove challenging since they had a head start of three weeks, but he and his brother were decent at tracking.

Sliding the stone down the blade, he looked over at Kili. His brother was glaring at his yarn-entrapped hands. Mim had enlisted him to hold the strands of yarn that she had handspun over the last few days so she could wrap them into large balls. He grumbled as he held out his hands, the yarn pulling away slowly as Mim worked.

"Camy, don't you want to do this?" Kili fussed, looking over his shoulder.

"I would, but I'm trying to make sure your traveling biscuits don't burn." She peeked over the kitchen table at Kili and grinned. "Besides, you're doing a very good job. I'm very proud of you."

"Aw, don't tease," Kili said. He growled when Mim gave the yarn a sharp tug.

"Pay attention. I don't want it getting tangled."

"He's actually had practice at this before," Fili said, turning his attention back to his blades. "Our mother enjoys knitting, and Kili likes watching."

"That doesn't mean I like joining in," Kili said. A few more loops of yarn came off his hands as he fidgeted and moved around.

"You could do with more practice at sitting still," Mim said, "Everyone should have the ability to sit still for five minutes straight."

Kili gave her a dark look and glowered at the yarn around his hands. Fili tried not to smile as he drew the stone down the length of the sword, the edge shining in the firelight. Sitting still for any length of time was not his brother's strong suit. There had been plenty of council meetings and other events that required long increments of sitting, and his brother almost always found a way out of them, usually through hunting. Honestly, Fili wasn't fond of inactivity either, but he tolerated it better than Kili.

"Those biscuits smell great, Camy," he said, diverting the conversation before Kili could begin complaining again.

"Thank you." Camy walked around the table and picked up the step stool that she had used to reach the tabletop. Her honey-colored curls were pulled back in a massive bun except for a few curls that refused to be tamed. Bits of flour were smudged over her cheeks, and her apron was covered in stains from a day's worth of cooking and preparation.

There were packages of food set up on the table, ready to go into the two travel packs that were sitting near the door. She had been busy all day gathering food for them while Mim readied vials and powders for the journey. The old woman might not have agreed with their company's goal, but she apparently wasn't going to send them out with nothing against the world. The woman and the hobbit were kind folk, and Fili would make sure that he and Kili came back later to thank them properly after they reclaimed the mountain.

"These should last for a week or so," Camy said, opening the oven. The heavenly smell of biscuits competed with the scent of the stew.

"Can we sample a couple?" Kili asked. He sniffed at the air appreciatively. "To inspect them?"

"Worried she'd poison you?" Mim huffed.

"Seems counterproductive after all that work she did healing us," Fili said.

Camy appeared at the corner of the table again, her cheeks pink, though that was probably from the heat of the oven. "It wasn't that much work…"

"Ah, so you think sleepless nights aren't much work, good to know for the future," Mim said, "And you've worked hard all day today."

"They helped," she said with a small shrug of her shoulders. It had been a long day of preparing for all of them, but Fili knew that Mim and Camy had done most of the work. He needed a few more lessons in baking before he was any real good in the kitchen, though he was good at fixing stews like the one that was bubbling over the fire. He had insisted on cooking after Kili had snagged a couple squirrels with a makeshift sling; it was the least he could do after Mim and Camy had done so much for the two of them.

After a while, Camy walked over to the living area, a platter of biscuits in her hands. Kili's dark eyes followed the platter as she moved past him, and he leaned after her, led by his appetite. Mim pulled the last bit of yarn off his hands, and a second later, he was up and trying to steal a biscuit.

"Ah, ah, stop that," Camy said, twisting away from him.

"Just one," Kili said. He moved with her, darting to the side, but she pulled back, skipping on top of a footstool.

"I'm going to give you one, but I won't let you just take it. That's bad manners," Camy scolded.

"So now it's a challenge!" Kili lunged toward her, and she sprang back, light on her feet in a way that Kili just couldn't match.

She spun around and ducked as he swiped at her, laughing as she evaded him yet again. "You didn't even say please."

"Nimble, aren't you?" Kili tried to use his longer reach to catch the platter but Camy dipped and stepped around him, somehow managing to toss a biscuit to Mim.

Fili rolled his eyes. "Kili, just ask for one like a gentleman. Like this." He looked at Camy and smiled. "May I have one, please?"

"He's a spoiled little prince, he isn't used to asking," Mim said.

"That's not fair, I ask a lot," Kili said, reaching for the platter. Camy swirled away and bent down to offer a biscuit to Fili. "That's also not fair!"

"Here you go," Camy said.

"Thank you," Fili said warmly. "See, Kili?" He took a bite out of the hot biscuit, reveling in the sweet honey that she had put in the recipe and drizzled on top of it.

Kili sighed and dropped to the floor. "Can I please have a biscuit, Camy?"

Camy grinned and tossed him before sitting on the floor next to Fili. "Of course."

"Where'd you learn to move like that?" Kili asked before he stuffed the entire biscuit into his mouth.

"Not sure," Camy said, "I think I just do it."

"Hobbits are good on their feet, very quick and very quiet," Mim said. Leaning over, she put the last ball of yarn on top of the large pile in a wicker basket.

"Mr. Baggins isn't as quick," Kili said and then frowned, "Or maybe he was? Never really tested him except with the trolls."

"He got caught by the trolls," Fili said.

"But he was trying to save the ponies, which I think says a great deal about his quality," Camy said. They had talked a lot about the various members of the company while Fili and Kili had stayed in the vale, and she did seem to like the stories about Bilbo quite a bit.

"Though it doesn't bode well for his abilities as a burglar," Fili said. Even though he came highly recommended by Gandalf, Bilbo didn't seem like a very good thief. He hadn't even been able to steal back the ponies…then again, horse thieving was different from burglaring. Right?

"Perhaps he's a gentleman thief," Camy said and then tossed a mischievous smirk Kili's way. "Unlike some."

"I said please eventually," Kili said. He licked the honey off his fingers and brushed the sticky crumbs out of his barely-there beard. "And while we're on the topic, may I please have another?"

"Only because you're being so polite," Camy said. She nudged the platter in his direction, and he grabbed a medium-sized biscuit.

"Not because you're going to miss me?" teased Kili.

Camy smiled, but Fili could see it didn't quite reach her eyes. It faltered quickly, and she looked down at the plate of biscuits. "I hope I made enough for your trip."

Fili reached out and put a hand on her arm. "Everything you've done has been enough," he said firmly, "Without you, we'd both be dead by now."

She looked at him, her brown eyes sad. Her hand covered his for a moment. "I'm glad I found you."

"We'll always be in your debt," Fili said seriously.

A shadow descended on them, and Kili dropped his arms across their shoulders, pulling them both toward him for side-hugs. "Let's save the tears for tomorrow and enjoy this night. It's going to be hard enough in the morning, so I want to smile at the moment." He squeezed both of them again and then dropped away so he could bump Camy's chin very gently with his fist. "Don't look so down, buttercup."

That got a laugh out of her, and she stared at him. "Buttercup?"

"Yeah, the pretty, cheerful flower! It fits you," he said with a grin.

"She's already a flower," Fili said, remembering their first harried conversation.

"If her mother wanted her to be a daffodil, she would've been named that," Mim said, "Now, dwarves, how are you going to entertain us? I've heard you sing some, and it was somewhat better than frogs croaking."

Kili frowned. "Hey…"

"You have nice voices," Camy said, soothing their egos, "And a little music would be grand before dinner."

"If you had a fiddle around here somewhere, we could really play you a tune," Kili said, grinning. "Or I could. Fili could pick along."

Fili rolled his eyes. "He's just jealous that I'm better than him at that as well."

"In all honesty, we play best together," Kili said, holding up his hands, "But since we don't have our fiddles, I guess we could sing." He glanced at Fili. "You start."

Fili laughed but obliged, picking a rousing tune that had been a favorite of their mother's. It was an old song about a dwarf warrior that tried to court a girl but kept doing the wrong thing. Kili joined in when he got to the chorus, their voices mixing in harmony.

"And Beva the Beauty of Boxton Hill,

she said she'd rather wait for another still,

than kiss the warrior Davin, second son of Dil,

who waited for her til midnight outside of the mill!"

The song blazed on until Camy was laughing at the silly lyrics and even Mim looked somewhat amused. Their smiles made the upcoming parting easier, and Fili was glad that his brother lightened the mood. Although he knew they needed to get going and he wanted to see the others, it would be difficult to leave the vale and its inhabitants behind.