Chapter 28

All rights go to Peter Jackson and Tolkien respectively, I only own my OCs.

That next morning made Nina both ecstatic and depressed, and it gave her the weirdest feeling in her stomach. It all felt like a dream, an unreal experience that she never imagined. She got up in the morning very early, having only had about two hours of sleep the night before, and walked out of the room. She didn't even have to change her clothes, she had never bothered to take them off the night before. She wasn't sure what she would be greeted with in the morning or where she should go, so she just sighed and wandered. The wandering brought her to the great hall where the new stone wall was in the mountain's entrance. She took a long look at it. She hoped to god that Thorin would see reason and that the Durins would live. But deep down, she had a nagging feeling that once she left, nothing would save them from their fates. When she turned back around to continue her wandering, twelve dwarves and one rather sad-looking hobbit were standing there. She almost cried at the sight of them. Her family.

"I am beyond grateful for everything you all have done for me along our journey," She addressed them, trying to sound as dignified as she could. A part of her wished Thorin was there too, but she knew that if he had been, their goodbye would have been full of screaming and insults. That's not how she wanted to leave them all. "And I know you all understand how important family is. I never thought I would see mine again, but now I can. I have to take this opportunity."

Dwalin hung his head, a look of sadness, anger, and finally understanding crossing his tattooed face. She smiled a little at his gesture. The others were taking deep breaths and forcing themselves to meet her blue-eyed gaze, some having more difficulty than others.

"Well, we are all happy for you, Miss Nina," Bilbo finally broke the silence with his small voice and nervous habit of rocking back and forth. She would miss that hobbit.

"Thank you Bilbo," She nodded at him before tearing up. "I spent the whole night agonizing over this, and the bottom line is no matter what I decided I'd be saying goodbye to one of my families," She tried not to cry. This statement made Fili and Balin cry. Bilbo sniffled and fought hard not to, Dwalin kept his head low, and the others teared up and gave her an affectionate chuckle. Kili looked tired, not even having the energy to tear up at her words. He just stared at her, taking in everything about her while he still could.

"We will miss you, lass," Balin walked forward and held his arms out to her warmly for a hug. She gladly complied, and soon the others were doing the same. She hugged them all save Dwalin, Fili, and Kili. These three she looked at fondly.

"You three taught me so much," She barely whispered. "I'll never forget that. Thank you for reluctantly bringing me to the Shire," She said to Dwalin, earning a teary-eyed laugh from the burly dwarf. He heaved a sigh as he looked at her, a hint of pride in his expression. Then he utterly shocked her and reached forward, hugging her tightly. She returned the embrace and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember everything about Dwalin. She truly loved that dwarf.

"We'll never let him live that down," Fili winked at her as he moved to hug her once her and Dwalin had parted. She laughed with him, but her smile soon faded as she thought of how much longer Fili had to live. It made her feel sick. She held him a little tighter.

"Keep Kili safe," She whispered into his ear before releasing him. They fixed each other with meaningful looks as he grasped her hand. Kili had seen her speak but hadn't heard her and looked at them confusedly.

"Always." Fili stared into her blue eyes with his own and nodded. She knew that the brothers ultimately wouldn't be able to save each other, but she felt a small sense of security knowing that they would try to help each other. She turned to Kili, the goodbye she had been dreading the most. All he did was nod and hug her, holding her so tight she wasn't so sure he would ever let go. But too soon, he did. He remained only inches from her.

"Take it." He managed to say, holding out a runestone in his palm. She looked at it, frowned in confusion, and then realization dawned on her and she shook her head. It was the stone his mother had given him, making him promise to come back to her.

"No, Kili, I couldn't," She tried to push his hand away, but he just took hers' and set the stone in it, closing her hand. He never took his eyes off her once.

"I need you to take it, Nina," He insisted, though this time his voice was softer, more vulnerable. She nodded. Whatever his reasons were, she wouldn't disrespect them now. She tucked the stone into her pocket and turned to look at the company.

"You guys are my second family, I'll always remember you," Nina addressed them all, swallowing down her tears. They all returned their own similar words and, too soon, Galadriel walked around the corner with another man that Nina did not recognize.

"You have decided to return home." Galadriel stated rather than asked, and for the first time Nina saw imperfection in the woman. Her eyes were filled with tears, but she dared not shed them. Nina nodded.

"I can't pass up the chance to be with my family again," She reasoned, not missing the way her words bothered Galadriel. Galadriel supposed that was it then, there was no more to be said. Nina was not willing to accept her mother or her destiny, and so she would return home.

"Nina this is Saruman the White, a great and powerful wizard who is going to create the breach for you to return home," Galadriel gestured to the man beside her. Something about him rubbed Nina the wrong way, but she decided not to dwell on it. He was going to get her home and that was all that mattered.

"A pleasure, my lady," He nodded respectfully and bowed his head at Nina. Then he began his chanting and Nina felt a very odd sensation. Soon though, everything was black.

It was a familiar sight to a formerly blind girl, except she could still hear the wizard. She felt sick, like she was being pulled further and further into the darkness by some invisible force, and she grew afraid. What if something went wrong? If she didn't make it to her world? What if the wizard was tricking her? The whole nightmare felt like death, and Nina screamed for the dwarves even though she had a feeling no one could hear her anymore. At some point, though, like all nightmares, this one ended and she landed on her butt in a small clearing. She was alone, and nothing looked familiar. However, something in her gut told her this place was familiar. So, after throwing up from the whole experience, she wiped her mouth and did what she had always had to do.

Nina closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself. She focused on what she could hear, feel, and smell, and the place slowly became more familiar. She recognized the sounds of the birds in the trees of the woods surrounding her clearing, and she smelled the distinct smoke of someone barbequing next door. She felt the grass under her fingers and that too felt familiar, and so different from Middle Earth. Yes now, for sure, Nina knew where she was. She was just outside the mini woods at the end of her backyard. She was home.

Nina let out a choked sob as she flew open her eyes and wriggled happily in the grass around her, giggling like an idiot. She had never been so happy to feel grass in her entire life. She got up once she had gained her bearings and set off into the woods, hoping that she had picked the right direction. Although, she thought, it wouldn't be very hard to ask someone for help. Everyone knew everyone in this neighborhood. She didn't have to wonder very long if she had made the right choice before she looked up to see the remains of her treehouse. The tree it had been in was still standing, albeit very crookedly, but the treehouse her father had built was on the ground. Boards were scattered all over the ground and only the shell of what the house used to be was left over. She knew this was no doubt from the hurricane. She looked around the wreckage and saw how permanent everything seemed—how long had it been since the hurricane?

She kept walking through the woods, knowing she wasn't too far from her house now. That's when the nerves started to hit her. Would they believe it was her back from the dead? Would they believe that she was really in Middle Earth? Did they even live in this house anymore?

"Nina…?" The choked voice of her sister Madison hit her like a truck. Nina looked over to the source and saw her sister, her beautiful sister, stopped in her tracks with red, puffy eyes and a small bouquet of wildflowers in her hands.

"Madison!" Nina rushed to her with indescribable joy and tackled her with a hug. Madison returned the hug enthusiastically and they laughed together for a moment before finally breaking.

"How are you here? Oh god, I must be dreaming," Madison exclaimed with a hint of fear in her voice. Nina shook her head quickly, then it dawned on her. She didn't know if Madison remembered being in Middle Earth with Erich or not.

"No, no, this is real Madison," She smiled gently. "I'm here. What are you doing out here?" She gestured to the flowers, hoping to find out what Madison thought happened to Nina and what she remembered.

"I…" She stammered, trying not to cry. Nina grabbed her hand to support her. "I always bring flowers to the treehouse everyday for you. I used to bring them to the grave in the backyard but ever since…Middle Earth, I knew you weren't dead, so I couldn't bring myself to visit that meaningless headstone anymore." She explained, causing a wave of relief to wash over Nina. She remembered it all.

"God, you don't know how worried I was when I found out Erich was such a monster, I thought he'd done something to you!"

"No, strangely enough he didn't," Madison frowned thoughtfully. "He simply said that I had fulfilled my role and sent me home. Asked me never to speak of my involvement or else he would come back, and I would pay the price."

"I'll kill him," Nina started to mutter, balling up her fists. Madison set a hand to her shoulder to calm her.

"You don't have to worry about this stuff now, you're home. That's all that matters to me," She smiled and started to bring her younger sister back to the house. "Just, don't mention Erich at all to Dad, I didn't tell him."

"Of course," Nina nodded, eager to see her father again. They walked together hand in hand for a few more minutes before they reached the edge of the backyard. Nina hesitated to cross into the yard, too busy staring at her house. It looked exactly the same, and yet completely different. Or maybe she was the one that was different now. Madison gave her hand an encouraging squeeze and they walked on, reaching the back door. Madison opened it without hesitation, eager to see their father's reaction.

"Dad, I've got something I think you should see," She called from the kitchen. The girls heard footsteps thundering down the stairs as their father James started coming down.

"What's up, Maddie?" He replied just before entering the kitchen. Nina almost cried at the sound of his voice, though she had remembered it to be less exhausted than it sounded now. He froze when he entered the kitchen, the glass in his hand plummeting to the ground and shattering. Madison jumped at the crash.

"Hi Dad," Nina gave him an awkward wave as he stared at her. She became painfully aware of the out-of-place clothes she was wearing as he examined her. In her own world, she looked like an ill-dressed cosplayer.

"How can this be…?" He whispered in shock. She walked over to him, careful to avoid the glass, and took his hands in hers'.

"It's me, Dad, it's me," She repeated a few times before he was able to move. He nodded after a moment, as if he had mentally confirmed that yes, it was her. "I missed you so much," She choked out as he crushed her in a hug. Madison was crying behind them, so they opened their arms and kidnapped her into their hug. Soon the three of them were enveloped in the warm embrace, hugging and kissing foreheads and filling the room with teary-eyed laughter. When they broke, James couldn't take his eyes off Nina.

"How are you here?"

"It's a very long story," Nina chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "But I'll tell you." She smiled, mentally preparing herself to recount her adventures with the dwarves so soon after leaving them. She still felt an ache in her heart at the thought of them.

"Sit down," James offered, moving them all to the living room. He and Madison sat on the couch together, while Nina sat in the sofa chair next to them as she thought of where to begin.

"It all started when I woke up in Middle Earth."

Kili sat very still, actively trying not to move a muscle as he sat perched on top of the stone wall they had built. Elves were in Dale, also perched on their own walls with bows ready to fire if he moved. An alarmingly large part of him wanted to move for that very reason. He hadn't cried in some hours, he thought, but that was mostly because he had used up all the tears. He remembered again the runestone he had given Nina. He hadn't thought she would agree to letting him braid her hair, especially because he would've made it a courtship braid, so he had decided to give her the stone, something just as important, if not more, to him than a braid. His mother would understand.

"Uncle is coming," Fili interrupted his thoughts abruptly. Kili hadn't even heard him approach. "I just thought I would tell you, in case you still wanted to be alone." Fili continued. Kili could tell Fili wanted him to go back to normal. He was sad to lose Nina, but he hadn't lost her the way Kili had.

"The Elves are going to marching on us," Kili frowned, though he couldn't bring himself to show any more concern than that. Fili nodded and moved to sit beside him.

"Yes, they are," He sighed. That was why Thorin was coming to the wall, and that was why the Elvish bowmen were watching the dwarves' wall like hawks. Kili kept watching as the hustle and bustle of Dale continued. They were preparing for battle. Nina was right, he thought vaguely, they weren't out of the woods just yet. "How are you doing, brother?"

"How should I be doing?" Kili snapped before he could think better of it. He had lost the woman he loves, and he hadn't gotten past the stage of feeling sorry for himself yet. Fili only sighed and threw an arm around his younger brother. He had seen Kili's feelings for Nina before Kili had, and Fili understood his pain.

"I don't know, to be honest," Fili shook his head. That surprised Kili, considering his brother always knew the right answer to everything. Until now. They heard the commotion of the company coming, Thorin sounding angry as he no doubt had heard that the Elves looked to be preparing for battle. He stormed up onto the stone wall with the two brothers before they could move. A raven crowed and landed near them.

"That filth thinks he can instill fear in us," Thorin growled. Fili stood up slowly as his uncle stared furiously at Dale. Kili just wanted to hit his uncle. Hard.

"You really cannot go to war, Thorin," Bilbo piped up from the bottom of the wall. Kili was vaguely surprised to hear the hobbit sticking up to Thorin. The only person that had been willing enough to do so was Nina.

"This does not concern you," Thorin warned, albeit not as harshly as he usually was. Bilbo rocked back and forth on his feet nervously.

"Excuse me? But just in case you haven't noticed, there is an army of Elves preparing to kill us, not to mention several hundred angry fishermen. We-wew are in fact outnumbered," Bilbo ranted. Kili thought Bilbo made a good point. By the looks on their faces, he believed the whole company thought Bilbo had a good point.

"Not for much longer," Thorin smiled at the hobbit. They all watched him cautiously. Bilbo's voice was unsure when he spoke.

"What does that mean?"

"It means Master Baggins," Thorin began, taking hold of the raven bird and whispering something to it before sending it off. The dwarves knew what he meant to do. "You should never underestimate dwarves," He turned to them all, a new excitement in his eyes. "We have reclaimed Erebor—now we defend it!"

Back in Dale, Bard was still in shock at Thranduil's words. He had informed the Elf King that his meeting with Thorin had gone unfavorably, and Thranduil had given the order. The Elves were attacking that mountain at dawn, and the men of Dale were preparing to do the same. Bard sighed, gazing at the massive mountain. There would be war, there was no mistaking it now.

"So, you mean to tell me that you had powers?" James asked in disbelief. He and his eldest daughter were listening intently to Nina's tale of her adventures in Middle Earth.

"I guess so," Nina chuckled at their excitement. "I healed Kili and I helped keep us all from dying at the hands of Azog, so I suppose I did. But that's over now," She sighed, feeling a little weird at being looked at like some superhero the way they were looking.

"Kili, Azog, Thorin, Bilbo…you met them all!" James exclaimed. He had always been a huge fan of Tolkien's world, and Nina understood how exciting this all must be for him. "What were they all like?"

"The dwarves, well they were…stubborn," Nina laughed fondly at the memories. "Dwalin is protective beyond belief, even though he likes to seem like he isn't, and Thorin is the most stubborn man I've ever met. Bilbo is…awkward but sweet, and I'd have to say so is Ori. Fili is strong and selfless, he would make a great king, and Kili," She paused. They noticed the way she stopped for him. "Kili is bright and hopeful, funny and sweet, he's…so different than the others, like it feels like we've known each other our whole lives. Kili, there's really no words to do it justice how amazing he is," She sighed, forgetting her family was right there. James saw the look on her face, and there was no mistaking it. Something more had happened between her and Kili than she was letting on. He didn't quite know how to feel about that.

"He sounds wonderful," Madison smiled kindly at her sister, also noticing Nina's odd behavior concerning the dwarf. Madison hadn't missed the way Kili was so protective of Nina when Erich had first come for her, and she hadn't missed the fact that he was the one Nina called for when she had felt scared. Nina cleared her throat awkwardly as she started to think about Kili.

"Um, can I change my clothes?" She stammered as her family stared at her.

"Yes of course, Nina, I'm sorry," James snapped out of his thoughts and stood. He guided her to her room and suddenly got quiet. "It's a little dusty, but you'll find everything is how you left it."

"You left the room the same after I…left?" Nina peeped, looking in and actually seeing her room for the first time. It was perfectly organized and neat, just covered in a layer of dust. She doubted that she had kept the room that organized when she lived here.

"We cleaned it up a bit, put a few things away," He admitted, as if he had read her thoughts. She chuckled at that and walked into the room.

She gave him a small thank you and shut the door softly, so she could change. Oddly enough, she didn't much feel like changing out of her Middle Earth clothes. She took off her shirt and tunic and they landed on her floor with a loud thump. She frowned at that, knowing her clothes shouldn't be that loud. She dug through the pockets and pulled out a stone, small and cool against her skin. Kili's stone.

Nina quickly finished changing into a t-shirt and sweatpants before sitting on her bed, holding the stone to her chest. A tear fell down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. She missed him, and she missed the company, and she missed Middle Earth. She was horrified to find that she felt less at home here than she did in Erebor. But she was born here! She didn't want to think about that anymore, so she decided to do something else. She got up and went over to her desk where all her painting tools were. There was a leather-bound pack of paper on her desk, filled with sketches, and she took the long leather strap off the pack. She held it out and tied it around the runestone, then tied that around her neck. Now it was a necklace runestone, and she hoped that would settle her feelings a little. She laid back on the bed and held her necklace, staring up at the ceiling. She was going to have to adjust to life back in her world. The dwarves could make any place feel like home when she was with them, and now her own house didn't feel like home without them.

Author's Note:

Only one more day for the dwarves until the big battle! Don't forget to review, until next chapter :)