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Home to Erebor...and Flinn. The happy reunion...and 'talking'

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Chapter 42

~X~

All the way back to the mountain, Fili held Sier tightly, needing to prove to himself time and again that she was truly back within his arms. He recalled the time he and Kili had lost Flinn in the mines, how the fear and panic had nearly overtaken him, until his son had been found. Well, that had been nothing compared to the sheer terror that had engulfed him when he had come back to their room to find that both Sier and Flinn had been taken. He was not quite sure how he had survived the past several hour, but he knew he would never forget that feeling of dread. Well, he would not allow anyone to take his family from him again, that was for damn sure! For he knew he could not live through it a second time.

As the mountain gates came into view, Kili and Thorin rode up alongside Fili and Sier, the king and his little brother having agreed to give the two reunited lovers a bit of privacy on the way back.

"We will need to decide what is to be done with our prisoners rather quickly," Thorin warned. "It would not be wise to allow Bina and her father…or Ferny for that matter, to start shooting off their mouths about what they know. I was thinking that I might bring Dain in on all this. I have an idea or two on how best to keep a lid on things."

"Good," Fili nodded, knowing his cousin had little tolerance for traitors and was not the squeamish sort when it came to inventive forms of punishment. "I will leave the particulars to you, Uncle. Our first priority is to reunite with Flinn."

"Understandable," he nodded, turning his mind back to the judicial matters ahead of him.

"So, Nadad," Kili spoke up, pulling Fili's attention over to him. "I have to say, that sign you were supposed to be giving us to attack…it was rather vague. Was Bina throwing that dagger at your heart planned, or were you just winging it?"

"I knew that you would figure out my strategy just fine, little brother," Fili laughed, never once doubting Kili and his uncle's ability to come to the rescue. "And as for that dagger…nice shot."

"Couldn't let you end up full of holes, now could I?" Kili laughed, though Fili could hear the concern in his voice. The two bothers always looked out for each other, relying on the fact that they would always be there when needed. And Kili certainly came through for Fili this night. "I think Sier prefers you just the way you are; stubborn, surly…and only slightly less handsome than me," he joked, pulling a laugh from his older brother.

"I do indeed hope you are right," Fili nodded, looking down at his wife, who was now smiling up at him. "For she is stuck with me for all time. There is no way I could, or ever would, give her up now."

Sier reached up and stroked his cheek as she laid her head against his chest, resting it over his heart as she listened to its steady rhythm…a pulse that beat for her alone.

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When they arrived at the mountain, the sky still dark and the moon on the horizon, Fili halted his pony at the gate and helped Sier down. He gave Storm one last pat on the neck in appreciation before handing off the reigns to a waiting stable hand.

"See that he gets a good rubdown and an extra helping of oats," he instructed. "He has more than earned it."

Sier stepped forward and leaned her head against the grey's face, stroking his mane as she spoke.

"Thank you, Storm," she told the proud looking pony. "You have our internal gratitude and love. You will be the most honored steed in all of Erebor for your labors this night." And with a final kiss on his nose, she allowed him to be led back to the stables for a much deserved rest.

"Come, my love," Fili said, offering her his hand. "We have a son to find."

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Locating Dis and Flinn took no time at all, for when they opened the door to their chambers, there they sat. Dis was in a chair by the fireplace with a drowsy little dwarfling in her lap, though he had staunchly refused to close his eyes until his parents returned safely to the mountain. When he saw them in the doorway, Flinn let out a mixture of a shout and a sob, sliding off his N'anad's lap and rushing into their outstretched arms.

"Ama! Adad!" he cried, burying his face into Sier's shoulder as he let his tears fall freely. "You're back, you're both back!"

"Shhhh," Sier soothed him as she did her best not to break down as well. Oh she had been so frightened for him, sending him off all alone in the wild. Yet Fili had found him, just like she had prayed, and now, once more they were reunited as a family. "We are home now and everything is going to be just fine. You were so brave, my darling, so brave…just like your adad."

"I did like you said," he sniffled, pulling back and wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "I followed the river and headed for Erebor. I even 'tended that I was Adad in the barrels…but…but I was still scared."

"I know, my lamb," Sier told him, her heart breaking to see him in tears.

"But that is what true bravery is…to do what needs to be done, even if you are scared," Fili informed him. "I was scared too, the whole time you were missing."

"You were?" this news seemed to shock and amaze Flinn.

"Yes, I was very much afraid," Fili nodded. "Yet I knew I had to go on, to find you both, no matter what. Just like you knew you had to get help for your ama. And that is what makes you so brave."

"Are…are the bad people all gone now?" he asked, looking very worried about this point.

"Yes…they will never hurt you or your ama again," Fili nodded, knowing he and Thorin would soon have to decide what was to be done with them.

"I hope you left enough of them for me to get a few good licks in," Dis stated, coming over to give both he and Sier a warm hug. "I have had plenty of time to sit here and dream up some very inventive punishments."

"Then perhaps you and Dwalin should put your heads together and see what you come up with," Fili laughed, knowing that if he allowed it, his mother's retribution would be swift and painful. "He has already made several suggestions that would suit me just fine."

"Yet, all that can wait," Dis informed them, noticing how Sier's legs seemed a bit shaky. "Come over here and sit down, you have had a long and harrowing night, my dears."

They did indeed accept her offer, the three of them taking up most of the sofa as Sier continued to hold Flinn, with the two of them leaning against Fili as he wrapped his arms around them both. It was this picture that Oin saw when he entered the room, not even bothering to knock.

"Thorin told me you were back and that I was needed," he looked the three of them over careful, checking for wounds. When his eyes fell upon Sier's wrists he quickly set to work, rubbing a healing balm over them and wrapping them up with thin white gauze. "Keep using this salve, and perhaps wear some long sleeve dresses for a while, and none will be the wiser. In no time at all, you will be as good as new."

"Thank you, Oin," she smiled, snuggling back into Fili's embrace.

"How about you, lad?" he asked, eyeing the prince for signs of injury.

"No, all the healing I need is right here in my arms," he said, nodding towards Sier and Flinn. And it was true, for there was nothing so comforting as the knowledge that his family was back where they belonged.

"I am told I will need to head down to the dungeons next and tend to the prisoners," Oin did not seem all that pleased about the idea. "However…I don't think I am in too much of a hurry. I am rather old now, and there are a lot of stairs between here and there."

Fili chuckled over this, but did not have time to speak before the door opened again and Thorin, Kili, Dwalin, Balin and Dain entered, all looking very stern and troubled.

"Couldn't wait until a decent hour in the morning to have a crisis, could you lad?" Dain asked Fili, all in good humor, though any could tell he was fighting mad about the whole thing. "Just had to get a tired old dwarrow out of his nice warm bed, did ya?"

"It was not our intention, cousin, though I find I cannot muster up much sympathy for your plight," Fili told him with a grim set of his jaw. "Since Sier, Flinn and I have yet to find any sleep at all."

"Aye, and I am sorry for that, truly," he nodded, looking at the exhausted little family on the sofa. "But I am glad to see that it all turned out well in the end. However I am a bit surprised that you didn't ask me to join in the fun of rounding up those villains."

"It was rather a spur of the moment thing," Thorin assured him.

"I can see that it must have been," Dain nodded, then looking at Thorin with a rather wicked gleam in his eye. "Or were you just worried that with you and the lads out of the mountain all at once, that I would have been left in charge? Were you afraid that if I knew about it, I might start sizing that crown of yours to fit my own head?"

"The thought had crossed my mind," Thorin admitted, his tone a mixture of humor and serious concern. "Yet we are all back, and quite alive, so you need not concern yourself any further. What I would like you to think about, however, is the proposal I made. Are you willing to do it?"

"To cart that vile lass and her father back with me to the Iron Hills to serve out their prison sentence?" Dain asked, reaching up and stroking his beard in thought. "Aye, it would by my pleasure to see them get what's coming to them. And I have no qualms about making sure if they ever see anything outside my dungeon walls, it will be to assign them both to the most distasteful and filthy jobs imaginable. That will teach them to mess with the sons of Durin!"

"Or a daughter of Durin!" Dwalin spoke up, giving Sier a wink of his eye.

"We would all be in your debt for this, Dain," Fili spoke up. "The idea of keeping them within the walls of Erebor, to serve their sentence, would cause me and my family great discomfort. I thank you for your offer."

"Always happy to be of service," Dain smiled, giving the crown prince a slight bow. "What about the third fellow…the man?"

"Him I will turn over to King Bard," Thorin informed him, matter of factly. "For just as he does not interfere in the judicial matters of dwarves…I will allow him to pass sentence on the prisoner of his own race as well. However, I will be offering several inventive suggestions on what I feel should be done."

"I have a few of my own to offer as well," Dis spoke up, still rather hot under the collar at the actions of the three wretched villains.

"I believe we could all weigh in on that subject," Balin nodded, his usually kind hearted face hardened by rage over what he had been told they had done. "We should hold the trial tomorrow, a private one, I think would be best."

"Will I need to be there?" Sier asked, her voice demonstrating her dislike over the idea.

"Nay, lass," Thorin told her kindly. "You and Fili will be exempt from appearing. There are enough of us in the company who can swear to the severity of the crimes they committed. There will be plenty of eye witnesses willing to testify against them. Then Dain will haul them off to the Iron Hills, never to darken our lives again. This will be their one and only night spent within the walls of Erebor."

"Well, I think between Storm biting Ferny and giving him a few broken ribs," Kili spoke up with a wide grin of satisfaction. "As well as the split lip and bruises Sier bestowed upon Bina, I would imagine that none of them will be sleeping comfortably tonight."

"Thankfully, I see there is one among us who will be," Dis smiled, nodding her head to the little dwarfling, sound asleep in his mother's arms. "I imagine that he will not awaken before noon."

Fili looked down at his son, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss upon his temple, swearing never to take such small pleasures for granted again. And while he hated to be parted from him, even for a moment, he knew that he and Sier still needed to have a very important discussion. They had both obtained information vital to their relationship this evening, and Fili, for one, wished for everything to be brought out into the open. No more secrets…no more misunderstandings.

"Mother," he started, looking up at her with pleading eyes. "Would you still be willing to take Flinn back to your room tonight…or what is left of it?"

Dis, understanding her son's reasons behind his request, nodded happily, coming over to ease the sleeping dwarfling out of Sier's arms and into her own.

"It would be my pleasure," she told him, then looking over at Sier she added in a reassuring voice. "I will not let him out of my sight, not for a moment. I promise."

Sier was grateful for Dis' assurance, fearing that Flinn might have nightmares after all that transpired. Yet she was grateful that Fili had asked his mother to take him, for she too felt an overwhelming need to speak with her husband alone.

"I will stay with Flinn as well," Kili spoke up. "Maybe he will let me help him get undressed and into his night clothes, since apparently he won't allow Amad to assist with that." He gave a slight laugh as Dis rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Oh, then allow me go get his night things," Sier offered, hurrying into Flinn's room and returning with some clothes and his blanket.

"Don't you two worry about a thing," Dis told them as she and Kili left with Flinn, giving both a warm and encouraging smile as she did.

As if recognizing his cue, Oin spoke up.

"Well, I suppose I have stalled long enough, and I should be making my way down to the dungeons, just to make sure those three are travel worthy and all," the salt and pepper bearded dwarf said, heading for the door. "But you know…I think I might stop for a pint of ale before I go, I am feeling a bit parched and it is a very long walk down there." He then looked over at Balin and Dwalin. "Care to join me?" The two dwarrow nodded heartily, liking the sound of that immensely. Yet before leaving, Dwalin came over and gave Sier a warm hug, surprising just about everyone there.

"I would still happily gut all three of them for you, if you but ask it of me, lassie," the gruff warrior told her. "My axes are still at your disposal."

"I know, and I thank you for it," she smiled, placing a chaste kiss upon his cheek. "Yet I will leave the manner of their punishment in the capable hands of Thorin and Dain."

"Aye, if that is what you wish," he reluctantly agreed, giving Fili a slight nod of his head before following Oin and Balin out the door.

This left Thorin and Dain, standing there looking quite out of place, with the crown prince eyeing them expectantly. When the king under the mountain finally got the hint, he turned to his red bearded cousin with a rather humorous look.

"So…are you up for a drink as well before I take to my chambers?" he asked, gesturing towards the door. "I am bone weary, but a mug of strong ale will insure that I sleep like stone."

"Ahhh, but you will not remain that way for long, if my old eyes are reading things between you and that pretty little hobbit lass correctly," Dain chuckled, enjoying the look of shock that flew to Thorin's face.

"What?" he gasped.

"Oh, come now, cousin," the king of the Iron Hills laughed, throwing his arm around Thorin's shoulders as he led him out of the room. "Why don't you and I have a nice long chat about all the things a lovely lass can do to us old warriors?" And amid some continued sputtering and protests from the dark haired monarch, the two of them exited the room, leaving Fili and Sier at last alone.

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After shutting the door and bolting it securely, Fili turned around and stared at his wife. Oh, how perfect she appeared, standing there with an expectant and hopeful look in her eyes. Just the fact that she was there…with him…was enough to send his heart racing. At first Fili did not know what to say, he had so many words in his mind, yet none of them would assemble in formation or come out in any sort of coherency. Yet a frown furrowed his brow as he watched her turn and walk to the nearby table, her hand reaching out to touch the loose gems and beads that had once been the necklace Fili had gifted her. Dis must have picked them up, bundling them in a piece of cloth, hopefully to be restrung soon.

Fili approached her from behind, brushing back her hair a bit as he leaned in to kiss her between her neck and shoulder. She did not turn, yet neither did she pull away.

"Tell me what you are thinking my love, for your silence offends," he urged, not liking this feeling between them.

"I just can't believe…that she…she," here she spun around and buried her face in Fili's chest, her tears flowing freely. "Bina wanted to kill our son! That hag wanted to harm our little Flinn."

"Yet we stopped her," he pointed out. "You got him to safety, and together we stopped her from ever harming another soul again."

"I…I wanted to kill her, Fili," she confessed, looking up at him with terror in her eyes. "It frightens me to think that given the opportunity, I might have done just that. It makes me feel…evil inside."

"Nay, you are not evil for thinking such things," he insisted, reaching up to smooth down her hair, loving the feel of it beneath his calloused palm. "I harbored the same feelings…I still do. It is what every parent would experience when protecting their young. It is instinct, yet you did not follow through on such urges…you showed mercy and proven yourself mightier than them in the process. You are strong, you are brave, and you pack a wicked punch…but you could never be evil."

Sier was quiet for a long while, laying her head against his chest as she drew strength from his words.

"Thank you for coming after us," she told him, never doubting that he would have, yet wishing to express her gratitude nonetheless.

"Did you ever imagine that I wouldn't?" he questioned, reaching down to cup her face between his palms, turning her eyes to him. "You and Flinn are my life's blood now. And you, dear, sweet Sier, you are my one." Here he reached into his pocket and pulled out the little clasp that Flinn had given him...the one that went at the end of Sier's marriage braid. Most of it had come undone in the struggle, and though her hair was still a bit disheveled and need of combing, Fili ignored it all and quickly rewove the intricate braid. When the clasp was once again set in place, where it rightfully belonged, he leaned in and kissed her gently. "There…that is much better."

"And…and you truly believe that I am your one?" she asked hopefully, wishing to have it reconfirmed.

"Do you not?" he questioned, worried that he would further have to convince her of this. "Without a doubt, you are my one…and only. I love you beyond reason, Sier, and I could not live without you now even if I wanted to…which I do not."

"I love you too, Fili," she smiled, leaning up to kiss him on the lips, feeling his mustache braids brush against her skin. "I can hardly believe it is true, but I know in my heart that you too are my one. That of all the dwarrow on Middle Earth…you alone are my other half. And what a fortunate dam I am because of it."

"And you will forgive me?" he asked, averting his eyes in a downcast manner.

"Forgive you?" Sier almost gasped. "Why would I ever need to forgive you?"

"For what I did five years ago," he lamented. "Bina herself revealed that I had never been given any elixir to awaken me from stone…that what took place that night was not its doing, but because…" here he paused and Sier supplied the final words.

"…because we were meant to be together." The smile on her face doing much to soothe his worry. "You were still drugged…and I know you well enough to understand that in your right mind, you would never have dared such a thing. Yet it was fated to be so, whether it happened then or later. You are the one that Mahal created just for me, and I am not sorry one little bit that we came together that night, for just look at what that union has brought us. We are together at last, and we have the most perfect little dwarrow to call our own. How could I ever be upset or angry about that? You have nothing to apologize for, Fili. So don't you ever try."

"Yet I will spend the rest of my life making sure that you do not regret it in any way," Fili vowed. "But looking back, even before that night…when I first looked into your eyes in Bina's apartment, I knew there was something special about you."

"Just as I did when I watched you go about your duties around the mountain," she revealed, looking a bit embarrassed by the confession.

"Then what you told Flinn that night was true? You had noticed me before that day?" Fili asked, a wide grin spreading over his face.

"Many times," she nodded. "Of course I did not realize what it meant at the time…I mean, with you being a prince, and I a lowly servant, no such wild thoughts ever crossed my mind."

"You have never been a lowly anything," Fili stated firmly. "You have always been just who you are now…my perfect mate. The one I was born to be with. And even when I was drugged, and half unconscious, my body recognized you as such, and acted not because of any elixir, but from that primal need within all dwarves. The desire to reunite with what had been lost at our creation…our other half." Here he leaned down and scooped her up, his arms supporting her back and beneath her legs as he held her to him possessively. She had given a gasp of surprise at his unexpected actions, but she did not protest, instead wrapping her own arms around his neck as she gazed at him with loving eyes. "But even if you were not my one…and I was given the gift of choice, I would still choose you. For I have fallen in love with all your amazing qualities over the past two months, and because of that, I could never imagine being with anyone else but you."

"I feel the same way," she assured him, as they met each other halfway, their lips now far too busy for speech.

It was a slow and meaningful kiss, one that promised a lifetime of passion, should they now choose to explore it. And as they pulled back, allowing each to take a shaky breath, Fili's eyes were filled with a silent, yet desperate, request. Understanding him perfectly, Sier nodded, making her acceptance clear.

"Are you sure?" Fili asked, needing to hear the words from her own lips. "I took such liberties before without your permission…I will never do so again."

"You have it, my love," she told him shyly. "And you always will. Although…" there she paused, her face becoming a bit concerned.

"Yes?" Fili pressed, becoming worried now himself.

"I…I do not know what to do," she confessed, her face turning red at the idea. "I don't have any memories from our first time…and I…I don't wish to disappoint you."

"Sier, you could never disappoint me…never!" he insisted, making his way towards the door to their bedchamber. "And we will make new memories. Ones we will both share, and add to, for the rest of our lives."

"And perhaps make new dwarflings as well?" Sier asked in a hopeful tone, as her husband pushing open the door with his foot and stepped inside.

Fili grinned, recalling the dream he had of her carrying his second child. Of Flinn pressing his ear to her stomach as he listened to his mysterious sibling's heartbeat. He desperately wanted that vision to come true, and it warmed him to the core that Sier wished for the same thing.

"I have no doubt that we will," Fili grinned, kicking the door closed and making his way towards their bed. "No doubt at all, my love."

Shhhhh, I think they need some private time! We won't bother them, shall we?

So, did the punishment sound acceptable. They will not remain in Erebor and Dain will make sure they are duly punished in the Iron Hills. We like Dain.

How did you like Dain knowing what was up with Thorin?

Was Oin funny about not hurrying down to help the three wretches?

Do you think Fili and Sier are finally in a good place?

One more chapter folks, and it is NOT an epilogue...just the following morning.

Guest Reviews:

Mjean: Thanks so much for enjoying it and all your wonderful reviews. Yep, they will be punished to the proper degree...and who says that Dis is not done with them...but it might have to wait till "part 2" since I did not have any more room in this part. ha ha.

nursenan: Oh yes, don't mess with Dis when she is protecting her cubs. And Flinn was very brave indeed. The Durins have honor...but don't cross them in battle, they will cut you down! Did you see what Dwalin did to Gorg? Maybe Dain can put Bina in the laundry room and make sure SHE has to wash out all the dirty diapers from his new baby. ha ha. Give that child lots of fiber and split pea soup! ha ha. Storm saved the day! And enjoyed doing it. ha ha. Tonight I am tossing you not only a squeaky mouse...but a bonus chapter as well. Now who is the best writer girl ever?