By the following night, tension in the camp had grown much worse.

Though initially he had been content to be by our side while we slept, sometime after the first light came over the camp, Kili woke and took his bedroll over to Thorin, where he remained until the camp woke. The activity of the entire affair woke me from my own restful slumber and I looked up just in time to see Kili moving over to Thorin's side. They didn't sleep close enough for me to consider it an intimate gesture but for Kili to break away from our pile was enough for me to think of it as a bad sign.

On my front, Fili still slept unaware of what happened and because worry gnawed at me like a dog would a bone, I gently woke him and waited until his bleary eyes did their best to focus on me.

"What's wrong?"

His voice was lethargic on my backside, barely even attempting before it vanished entirely. I moved closer out of habit and because without Kili at my back, the chill of the night was starting to creep in.

"Kili's gone."

Fili blinked awake even more from my words and adjusted so that he could look behind me; he frowned at the missing presence and lifted his head so that he could look over to the other side of camp where he last saw Thorin. From my own spot, there was nothing really telling about where Kili now slept but Fili made a noise of disbelief before he settled back down.

"Come on, switch with me so the wind isn't at your back."

We adjusted in our bedrolls, bodies brushing up against one another until I was settled where Fili previously slept. He opened his fur lined jacket and ushered me inside, pulling our blankets over us both so that we shared more of our body warmth than before. Now impossibly close, Fili laid back down with a contented sigh, his fingers offhandedly stroking along the ridges of the braid that held despite the long day of travel we had earlier.

"Warm?"

I grinned at the feel of his possessive voice, "Very."

We were only silent for a few minutes before the worry came to mind again and I twisted my fingers around one of Fili's braids. "Is Kili mad about something?"

"He's being insecure, is all. Never you mind."

"...and Thorin? The two of you fighting; should I not mind that too?"

Fili looked at me seriously before he sighed, moving to kiss my forehead only to stop himself as he remembered my words from last night.

"He's just being overprotective."

"He is your Uncle."

Fili grinned, then shook his head, "He's being protective of us both," He paused, a nervous glance in the direction of the two Durin's, "Thorin... he's not all that he appears to be. He tries so hard to make us believe that he can take down any enemy by himself. That he's content with that solitary life. Kili and I, we can't leave him to that fate. He pushed me yesterday but I know he's scared he went too far."

"Thorin scared? I hardly believe that."

Fili looked at me then, quite serious even as his fingers stayed on the braid, "Bilbo, Thorin is afraid. The bravest and greatest of men and dwarf can be afraid and yet find their courage in the smallest of things."

There was something profound in those words that Fili spoke, something so very sincere that I believed in them wholeheartedly.

In a way, it reminded me of how we Hobbits always tried to find the simplest of things to keep us happy. How we believed in the scent of fresh bread, and baked treats instead of the misery of one's grief from a lost loved one. So many times I had been sad after my Mum passed and Dad came to my bedroom with a fresh plate of cookies that seemed to keep away all the sadness of the world.

I snuggled against Fili's strong chest, wishing to trust in his words that he spoke so confidently. I hoped by the time the morning truly came that his words would help me find the patience that I needed to deal with Thorin, and help me become wiser in the face of the newfound knowledge given to me.

Fili's hand went away from the braid he put in my hair and to my cheek, tilting my face up so that he could look at me, his eyes a serious gaze into my own, "One day, I hope that you'll find your courage with us too. Strength to stand alone on your own two feet so that when we worry, we do so only out of love and not fear."

Fili's kiss made me melt into his arms and how I wished we could have embraced each other more intimately underneath the blankets, however, given that we were out in the open it was only a nice thought.

Nevertheless, it was a wonderful image to fall asleep to.

That morning in the camp everything was normal by the recent standards of what was normal in our company. The mood was still as tense as ever and now it seemed Kili himself was undecided about who was right in this entire mess. Despite Fili trying to engage him back over to us, he remained by Thorin's side where he kept himself busy grooming his Uncle like some sort of strange animal custom. As much as I wanted to sort of laugh at the image of Kili trying to work some semblance of control back to Thorin's wild mane, I knew that there was something important being done in front of me.

I remembered the fact that Thorin hadn't allowed me to braid his hair back in Rivendell, thinking it to be him being picky. Now with Kili of all people doing it, I knew that not to be the case. Kili was terrible at braiding if his attempts to help Fili were anything to go by. Watching the two darker haired dwarves groom one another made me want to ask Fili about braiding and why he felt the need to put the one in my hair.

Accepting the bowl of food from the messy haired Bofur, I found myself staring at the two dwarves, watching them as they whispered closely with one another, almost willing my large hobbit ears to hear their conversation, even if it meant being improper and eavesdropping. I was rather deliberately staring, food quite honestly forgotten, as Thorin would nod or shake his head in Kili's direction in reply to whatever was said.

When Fili came over a moment later to sit with me and eat, he turned a curious eye on me before following my line of sight. He could no more hear them than I could but whatever the two spoke about, Fili didn't care too much as he didn't move or show concern over it other than a casual shrug. Whatever it was, he wasn't going to interrupt them.

Alas, it seemed that he didn't even want me to pry into it, for as soon as he saw me finish my food, he was directing me over closer and holding out something for me to take.

"Braid my hair for me. I know you can do it."

Immediately, I was reluctant considering how quickly Thorin jumped on Fili two days previous over braiding my hair. If my suspicions were true as well about it being more important than just a routine grooming idea, then it would definitely be something to be murmured about in the camp if I braided Fili's hair. What was the blonde dwarf up to?

"Please, Miss Hobbit? Do you want me to look disheveled?"

His voice pinched at my behind playfully and seductively all at once and I knew that he was being cheeky and possessive in spite of Thorin's rather interesting temper. Not wanting him to whine to me though, I grabbed the comb from him and stood up behind him since there was nothing for me to sit on that would give me the height advantage that I needed to properly braid his thick golden mane of hair.

Already it was knotted up something awful, the braids barely coming undone even after I removed the silver beads and clasp and put them in Fili's offered palm. As I worked to undo the braids, trying my best to be gentle to the dwarf below me, I noticed eyes on me and sparing a quick glance up, I was not surprised to see a collection of rather curious eyes.

From across the camp, Thorin's stared at me before looking away, strangely enough not looking so upset anymore.

When finally all of Fili's braids were undone, I started the work of combing out the many knots that formed since setting out from Rivendell. A few paces from us, Bifur expertly braided Bofur's hair back into the usual style.

"Honestly, my Mum would have fun for days with your hair. So long, thick and full-"

"You'll make me blush, Miss Hobbit."

"Oh, stop it, you."

I tugged gently at the locks, earning a chuckle from him, "No, I'm serious. It is a big compliment for one's hair to be thick and long. Would your Mum like my mustache as well?"

"I think she would have wanted to shave it off, actually."

I felt Fili shiver at that. So shaving one's facial hair was a bad thing?

"Your Ma sounds fierce."

I nodded, not even really registering that he wouldn't be able to see my expression. It wasn't lost on me though how easily we had started to talk about my Mum. It was interesting considering that I had not spoken of her the entire trip and just out of no where, there I went and mentioned her. Now Fili was talking about her as if he could meet her and I found that my heart started to hammer in my chest at just that mental image.

"Yeah, she was fierce."

Fili opened his eyes, careful not to move from where I was starting to braid his hair back into the normal style. It wouldn't be as good as it normally looked but I was at least a better braider than Kili was.

"I'm sorry about your Ma."

I shook off the thought that he unwittingly brought up in me, trying my best to smile happily at the fact that we were talking about something so very personal to me. I was happy to talk about my Mum to one I considered a lover and I almost felt bad that I hadn't mentioned her more.

"She would have liked you. Would have tried to feed you and Kili until you were two times your normal sizes."

Fili laughed at that, his voice pinching at me like it normally did, "Ha! A dwarf friend, indeed."

"She would have liked Thorin too. Dark, mysterious type most likely hiding a wounded heart underneath a broody exterior."

I had been joking, hardly even believing the words I spoke so casually but when I felt Fili tense underneath my fingers, I paused and looked down at him in concern. He was still, his eyes open but not even really seeing anything that he was staring at. Finally, after a long minute, he turned his blue eyes up at me.

"If your Ma was anything like you, then he would have liked her too."

It was the casualness of his words, the utter unfaltering ease with which he spoke them and believed in them.

Thorin would have liked my Mum. Thorin would have liked her because she would have been like me .

I started to cry because I missed her terribly all of a sudden and I was no where even close to where I could see some of her mementos like I was apt to do when I missed her most. I was away from home, away from hobbits who so easily loved me and treated me with respect because I was respectable and proper. I missed home desperately.

Quicker than I could register, Fili was pulling me down and holding me close with a hand cupped to the back of my head. He didn't need to say anything because he understood what set me off but I tried to pull myself together just because I didn't want to be seen crying about something so silly. My parents had been long dead by the time this quest started and feeling homesick for the Shire was not going to make my life any easier either.

"Anything wrong?"

Thorin's voice trembled down my spine as it always did when he was nervous around me. My first thought was how he had crossed the camp so quickly?

I tried to bottle up my crying long enough to try and save face, even as Fili's hand pulled me closer so that I could hide.

"Yeah, just a little homesick, is all."

"Hm... well-"

"Your hair looks terrible. Sit down so I can fix it, Uncle."

By the time I opened my eyes, sniffled up the last of my tears, and looked up, Thorin had grumbled something and sat down in front of his oldest nephew. I was instantly made envious of how easily Fili could win someone over to his side when it came time to reconcile arguments. How easily Thorin and I bickered silently at each other the entire time since we left Rivendell and how fiercely Fili and Thorin fought the other day. Now here was Thorin being doted on by both his nephews in one morning.

I was envious of how well Fili knew Thorin.

"Miss Hobbit? If you'll continue? I don't want to look unkempt."

Fili turned that smile back onto me and I chuckled because of how much Fili knew me. I shook the last of my sadness off and stood, eager to continue braiding Fili's hair.

As I went back to the task that Fili asked of me, I found my eyes every so often finding Thorin, who sat quietly with his eyes closed as Fili expertly undid the messy braids that Kili weaved and used his comb to straighten out the mess that was still Thorin's hair.

I smiled because yes, my Mom would have liked Thorin, if only because his hair was as wild as her's.