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The next morning, Kili woke up at first light- the early morning sun had hardly peeped into the forest before he was stirring. The wind was now cold on his skin; he felt goose-bumps erupt on his exposed flesh.

He winced as his unused muscles in his shoulders and back protested against the movement of him trying to sit up.

He growled and sucked in breath as pain flared in his back- he felt stiff, tired.

Sitting as well as he could, fixed awkwardly on his forearms, he looked around; Fili was on his front, facing away from him. Kili smiled as he heard him snoring lightly.

He looked around at the other dwarves- they were huddled in a group, snoring and groaning in sleep. Bilbo was lying on his mat away from them, and with a thrill in his heart he saw Gandalf was also here- when had he arrived?

Frowning, he looked for his Uncle- where was Thorin?

Suddenly, he felt a presence on his other side. 'You should be resting, don't want you getting overtired.' His Uncle muttered, his thick travelling cloak in hand; he draped it over Kili like a blanket before sitting down next to him.

He leaned in close, his breath fogging into white smoke between them as he breathed out deeply. 'How- how are you?' he asked quietly, not looking at his nephew.

Kili tried to shrug, but found it too painful- he settled for raising his eyebrows. 'I'll live. Can't ask for more than that.' He muttered. He dropped his gaze as Thorin shot him a look. 'I'm fine….it hurts still…' he whispered, dropping the bravado.

Thorin nodded, muttering under his breath. 'Shouldn't have come to that….' Kili heard him whisper to himself.

He frowned, and hoisted himself to sit a little more. 'This wasn't your fault- you didn't tell that Goblin-King to do this.' He said, prodding his uncle in the shoulder. 'You put too much pressure on yourself….'

Thorin shook his head, feeling emotion in his throat as his beaten-back worries and fears threatened to tumble from his mouth. 'Perhaps, but I should have been there for you- and your brother.' He said, looking across Kili to his brother; Fili was still sound asleep, oblivious.

'You were.' Kili didn't remember much; he knew he had blacked out for some of the whippings, but what he did remember was his Uncle's voice, strong above the others. 'You fought for us, you saved us.'

'Barely- look at you, you can barely move. Fili hates me, and I don't blame him…..I worried too much about the quest, about Erebor…'

'He doesn't hate you! He never could, and neither could I.' Kili said, voice high. 'No matter what you thought- you still came through…..that makes you a better dwarf than you believe you are.' He smiled at his Uncle. Thorin looked into his eyes, feeling the emotions of doubt and worry slowly slip away, but only a little.

'Aye, you never did have any doubt about me, did you Kili?' he asked, smiling slightly.

'Never.' Kili replied.

They both turned as Fili groaned and stretched. 'Someone's awake!' Kili quipped, before he smiled- the cuts on his face still pained him, even beneath the bandages.

He watched as his brother rose methodically; scratching his head, his back, and finally sitting up, wiping his face. The same every morning.

Fili's eyes fell onto their uncle on the other side of Kili. 'Morning.' He muttered, before resting a hand on Kili's leg. 'You ok?' he whispered, stretching.

'I'll live.' Kili replied, moving his shoulder blades and wincing. He blew breath from clenched teeth; felt beads of sweat appear on his head as he tried to manoeuvre himself to get ready to stand.

'Whoa, where are you going?' Thorin muttered, jumping up and grabbing his arm, Fili already up on his other side.

'Well, I'm not laying there like some sort of stuck animal today- We still have to move on soon, and it's going to be hard if I can't move…' Kili muttered, eyes shut against the pain as his muscles started to work; he could almost feel his skin ripping.

'Maybe you should just rest a little more?' Fili ventured, giving his brother a worried look. 'We'll try after breakfast, ok?'

'….ughhh…fine….' Kili slowly moved back down, defeated by the agony that was his back.

'If I ever see a goblin again, it's dead.' He grimaced, heart racing.

'Join the queue lad….' Thorin muttered; he still had a hand on Kili's forearm. He hated seeing his youngest nephew like this, it tore him apart.

Fili nodded in agreement; Kili looked up at him, a frown dancing on his face. He noticed his brother was very pale, and he was also shaking ever so slightly.

'Are you alright?' he whispered so only he could hear him.

'Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?'

Kili raised his eyebrows, as if the answer was obvious. Fili shrugged, smiling down at his little brother. 'I'm just a bit tired is all, been up watching over you all night haven't I?' he said, prodding Kili in the cheek, smiling.

'Oh. Thanks….' He muttered, settling back down with a groan.

'What have I told you about thanking me?'

'Sorry.'

Thorin smiled at his nephew's conversation. It made him feel just that little bit better to hear them talking like normal again. He looked across to his oldest, giving him a pointed look.

'Can I have a word?' he said, before giving Kili a comforting smile. 'We won't be long….'

'Pft, be as long as you like- I'm not going anywhere!' Kili chuckled, watching as Fili and his uncle walked over to a glade of trees.

He settled back against his sleeping blanket; however he was all done with sleep for the day. His back burned, like tiny needles were dancing on the skin.

Fili didn't look at his uncle as they stopped beneath a large oak tree; the forest was eerily quiet in the early mornings, like it had just awoken from death; it barely stirred, before life started to come out of hiding.

'Yeah?' he muttered. He desperately wanted to talk, but at the same time, in the same breath, he wanted to shout, to yell and scream and holler- he wanted someone to understand, and it didn't feel like to him that Thorin did.

Thorin bristled at the tone, but took a deep breath and carried on. 'You spoke out of turn yesterday.' He started. 'You should have let Balin tend to Kili, you gambled with his life by doing it yourself.'

Fili opened and close his mouth, incredulous. 'I did what I deemed best at the time. Kili is fine- although I'm sorry for disrespecting Balin; I'll apologise later….' He averted his eyes, shame in his mind as he thought back to the conversation.

Thorin nodded. He looked at his nephew- Since when did he look so mature? Was it really the last couple of days that had turned him into this grown dwarf; he felt his heart skip a little at that. They were still children to him, still too young to understand the world and its suffering.

Now, he realised- they did know.

He would have given anything in the world to keep them innocent.

Fili looked up, frowning as his uncle swallowed and turned his head away. 'Thorin? Uncle….' He muttered, stepping forwards. 'Yesterday, I was wrong- so wrong. I have never spoken to you as I did then, and I bitterly regret it. You do care, I see it now- I just felt overwhelmed. Alone. I could have lost the only person that makes me me, and that scared me. It scared me so much I don't even-'

Fili couldn't speak any more, for Thorin had crossed the gap between them and bundled him into an embrace.

He put his arms around his uncle, grateful for the human, comforting contact. He buried his head into his uncle's shoulder, feeling tears erupt again.

Thorin squeezed tightly, not wanting to let go. 'I know Lad….I know….' He muttered, voice thick.

'But he's here, he's fine, and he's not going anywhere- I promise.' He whispered into his blonde hair.

'Do you trust me?' he muttered, heart aching for the answer.

Without missing a beat, without even thinking about it, Fili nodded. 'Of course I do, Uncle…'

Thorin closed his eyes; his nephews did trust him after all. Now they could start again.

He released Fili, the both of them grinning dopily as they looked at each other's teary faces. 'Not a word to the Hobbit.' Thorin warned, finger raised at Fili.

Fili held his hands up, smiling. 'My lips are sealed.' He grinned.

'They better be! Come; let's go see what Bofur is doing for breakfast.'

'If he's even up…'

'Aye- if not, you can jump on him.' Thorin chuckled, feeling a hundred times better than he ever remembered feeling.

Together they walked back to the others; Kili smiled crookedly at them, waving slowly.

'Thought you two were never coming back….' He said, before trying to stretch. 'I wish the cook would hurry up, I'm starving!'

Fili grinned and looked around; everyone was still asleep, or just stirring. Bofur's head was buried in a pile of leaves, and he was snoring for Middle-Earth.

'I guess this makes me cook!' he smiled, before looking between his uncle and his brother. 'Sausages and Eggs for three then? We'll get the best stuff first!' he grinned, before diving for the food pack.

Kili chuckled, and then winced as his face lanced with pain. He couldn't even put a hand to his cheek as the movement made his back hurt. 'He's such an idiot…' he muttered, before sitting back.

'Yes, but he's an idiot that will do anything for his family- that makes him a special idiot.' Thorin chuckled, before standing.

'A special idiot….I'll tell him you said that!' Kili replied, looking up with renewed shine in his eyes. He looked more like himself with every passing minute.

Thorin put a hand on his head. 'I'm going to speak to Gandalf, get an idea of where we will go next- I'll be back soon.' He promised, before walking off.

'Sure.' Kili replied, watching as he went. Pretty soon his brother was back with the food, and the two of them tucked in to their eggs and sausages; Thorin's plate was getting cold.

After breakfast, Kili finally felt like he had enough energy to try and stand. Thorin had come back from talking to Gandalf and the other dwarves, and was now standing beside him, holding out his arms. 'Steady….don't go too fast all at once.' He muttered, looking at his every move with his teeth set on edge.

'Uncle, I'm fine, it's just standing….' Kili smiled, but he was grateful for the help from him and his brother- standing up felt like he had been doused in flames; his back had erupted in agony, and it too all his strength not to cry out. Fili had taken his other hand, and was squeezing gently, but not speaking-Kili saw a thin sheen of sweat on his face, as well as a red tinge to his skin.

He felt sweat on his own face once more as he finally managed to get into a standing position. His back felt raw; he could feel liquid pooling into his bandages on both his head and his back- he hoped they had a good supply.

Bilbo walked slowly towards them; Kili was grateful to see a familiar face. 'I'm up!' he smiled, feeling absurdly proud. He heard Fili snort beside him, and would have elbowed him in the side if he didn't know it would hurt so much- but he did, so he didn't.

Bilbo grinned and clapped a few times, trying to make the dwarf feel better. He caught Thorin's eye and stopped. 'That's great, that really is- do you think you might be able to walk now then?' he asked, trying to say something helpful.

'Oh, I don't know about that- it hurts just to stay still.' Kili muttered, before pain made its point and he winced.

'Ah. I'm sorry I wasn't with you when they- when they….'

'Where were you?' Thorin asked sharply, not taking his eyes off his nephew.

'I, I fell….and, found another way out.' Bilbo said carefully, hand making his way to his pocket.

'What could you have done had you been there? Taken the whip off them?' Fili chuckled, putting a supporting hand on the small of his brother's back to steady him as he started to sway.

'Well, quite….' Bilbo scrabbled for words. He suddenly moved his head, ears pricked up. 'Was- was that Gandalf calling me?'

'Don't think so….' Kili replied. He hadn't heard a thing.

'Yes, I think it was…..I think I'll go and see what he wants….' Bilbo muttered, and he ran off, thanking his excellent escaping skills.

'Strange creature.' Thorin growled, before looking his nephew up and down. 'Do you want to try to stand, or you want to try that later?'

'Later, I think…..I think my back wants a rest.' Kili knew dwarves were meant to be hardy, strong creatures- but his body was killing him, and he was only too happy to play along.

Thorin helped him sit down, while Fili still stood still.

As he sat, Kili looked up with wide eyes. Fili still hadn't moved- he reached up and grabbed his hand, squeezing lightly. He hand was cold. 'Fili? Fili?' he muttered.

Suddenly Fili started to shake even more, before he fell to his knees, eyes closed in pain.

'FILI!' Kili shouted; Thorin was to his side in an instant. His eyes widened and he yelped as he turned Fili over- his eyes were rolling, his mouth opening and closing with silent screams.

'Fili? What-'he didn't understand what was going on…..

'What's happening? What's happening to him?' Kili asked, voice high and cracking. He couldn't lose him. Not now. Not after everything….

To be continued…

Uh oh, what's happening to Fili? Find out in the next chapter!

A/N- I was intending for this story to be finished in the next chapter or so, but, after getting some requests from people, I have thought about how to incorporate those ideas into my plan for this fic- so it's going to take a little longer to finish! More chapters on their way for you all! ^^

Please review!

Thanks for reading!

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