Author's Note: A second part! Not sure how many parts there will be, but we'll see. Also, I know next to nothing about emergency room protocol, so please don't be offended if I've totally butchered it.

The Durin brothers came into the diner most mornings. Sigrid didn't mind, if she were honest. They tipped well, were friendly, and she had not yet felt the urge to hit Fili over the head with a frying pan. (Kili was a different story, but that was because he flirted with her on his brother's behalf and Sigrid found it a bit weird.)

She didn't really notice herself noticeably cheering as the weeks went by and they kept coming. She still hated her job, but for about half an hour every morning while she chatted with the brothers, it became a little more bearable. Fili only ever got coffee, but Kili tried every pastry and baked good they had to offer, and looked thoroughly impressed when she confessed that she helped make most of them.

"What luck! Fili loves muffins!"

Sigrid wasn't sure if that was supposed to be innuendo or if Kili was that clueless (she doubted it) but in either case Fili slapped him across the back of the head, which made Sigrid laugh as she topped off Fili's mug of coffee.

"I suppose I'll just have to take your word for it, since all he's ever had is coffee," Sigrid said diplomatically before moving off to take care of other tables.

The next morning, Fili ordered a blueberry turnover, and Sigrid had to fight very hard to hide a triumphant smirk.

OoOoOoO

"You're happier lately, Sig," Tilda said cheerfully one night while helping Sigrid make a pie. It was their mother's recipe, and Sigrid has been making it since she was tall enough to reach the counter. It never failed to make her father smile, even if that smile was tempered with sadness.

"Are you saying I wasn't happy before?" Sigrid asked, one eyebrow raised.

"I'm saying that you're happier. And I like when you're happy. You make more pies."

"Is that all I'm good for then? Making pie?" Sigrid said, feigning insult. Tilda giggled and Sigrid bopped her on the nose with one flour covered finger, turning the giggle into a shriek. Watching from the small adjoining dining room, Bard had a soft smile on his face as the two girls tussled in the kitchen.

Later, when the pie was finished and Tilda was in bed, Sigrid sat at the table with her da and they went over the family's bills. Sigrid had inherited her mother's head for numbers, and she knew her da appreciated the second pair of eyes.

"She's right you know," Bard said quietly, causing Sigrid to look up in surprise.

"What?"

"Tilda. She's right; you are happier lately. Anything in particular?"

"Why does it have to be something particular?" Sigrid asked evasively. She wasn't exactly eager to tell her da that she had a very friendly acquaintanceship with the Durin brothers; the one boy who'd shown interest in her in high school had been scared off very quickly by Bard's semi-permanent grim expression. (Not that she thought about Fili being interested in her, or anything of that sort.)

"Well, I know Alfrid is still your manager, which is enough misery for anyone, and I've not yet heard of him visiting the emergency room for a concussion, so I know it's not that." Bard was grim-faced, but as a life-long study of her da's expressions, Sigrid knew he was amused. She blushed.

"There's just… a couple of people who come into the diner every morning. They're nice to talk to," Sigrid replied without looking up from the receipts she was going over.

"People…?" Bard trailed off. Sigrid snuck a look and saw that he was looking at her with a mixture of doubt and expectation. She sighed.

"Two men. Fili and Kili Durin. I met them when I ran into them – literally – a few months ago."

"Durin…" her da mused. "Work for their uncle Thorin, I believe. I ferried them across when they first arrived. And they've been coming into the diner?" His voice turned hard and Sigrid rolled her eyes.

"Yes Da. And unlike several other patrons and my manager, neither of them have ever tried to cop a feel, or disrespected me in any way. Well, Kili flirts, but I think he's doing it on Fili's behalf, which is a kind of odd I'll admit." Sigrid realized she was rambling and shut her mouth with a click. Bard sighed.

"Well, so long as you're careful, Sig."

"What?" Sigrid asked, unsure what had just happened.

"I'll not interfere in your life too much, Sigrid. If you trust them, that's good enough for me. But the second one of them hurts you, they're all mine."

"Deal," Sigrid said. "Though don't mind if I actually do borrow Maria's frying pan should that day come."

"That's my girl," Bard said proudly. "Now, to bed with the both of us; the lake calls my name, and the diner calls yours."

"I'd rather the lake," Sigrid muttered.

OoOoOoO

The next day dawned Laketown as usual: overcast, cold, and rainy. There was something about the clouds that put Sigrid on edge, however, and she made sure to hug her da extra tight when he dropped her off at work. She tried to rally a smile for him, but feared she only managed to look as grim as he usually did.

"Be safe," she whispered to his retreating back, headed towards the docks. She tried to comfort herself with the knowledge that his barge was sturdy and well-built, despite its age, but somehow knowing that didn't help as much as it usually did.

Sigrid went through the motions at work, as she always did, but she was distracted and looked out the window towards the lake far more than she usually would have. Maria could see that she was worried and tried to keep her occupied, to varying degrees of success. Sigrid's only real reprieve came from the Durin brothers, who entered the diner at 7:30, as they did every morning. She managed to force a somewhat genuine smile onto her face, hoping they would not see how she really felt.

But of course they did. Fili kept looking at her curiously, blue eyes narrowed as he tried to determine what was making the usually more cheerful Sigrid so withdrawn. Kili appeared to have given up on that route, and was determinedly trying to make her laugh, or at the very least smile. He mostly succeeded, and Sigrid sincerely appreciated his efforts. She was sorry to see them go.

But she knew before she even got home that there was something wrong. She'd been soaked by the torrential rain during the walk, and a look toward the lake had confirmed that there were some sizable waves. Once she was inside she hurriedly dried her hair off and got something going for supper. Her da hadn't left any messages saying when he would be home and she bit her lip, making eye-contact with Bain. They silently agreed not to say anything to Tilda and to try and conceal how they were really feeling.

"What do we do if he's not back when we go to bed?" Bain whispered urgently while Tilda was in the other room.

"Let me do the worrying, Bain," Sigrid replied. "You focus on keeping Tilda busy."

Bain looked frustrated, but did as she told him.

At ten o'clock at night, Sigrid got a call that made her go weak in the knees. Her da was at the hospital. They wouldn't tell her anymore than that over the phone. Tilda was already in bed, but Bain was still sitting in the kitchen with her. He saw the way her face crumpled and guessed that it was bad.

"They wouldn't tell me anything over the phone," Sigrid said, grabbing her coat. "I have to go." Bain moved to get ready as well. "No, no, Tilda's already in bed; stay with her."

"But Sig-"

"I said to stay with Tilda!" Sigrid snapped, regretting it immediately when Bain went hard-faced, looking for all the world like their da. "I'm sorry, Bain. Please, just stay with Tilda."

"You'll keep me updated?"

"Aye."

"Go then."

Hugging him swiftly, Sigrid headed out into the rain again. It had lessened to a drizzle, but it was still cold. The hospital was perhaps a mile's walk away, and had Sigrid not been so worried she might have noticed the cold.

The emergency room was fairly quiet and Sigrid headed right over to the desk.

"I'm looking for Bard Girion," she asked.

"You'll have to wait," the receptionist, whose nametag read "Debbie", said. "A doctor's with him now."

"But-"

"I'm sorry, ma'am."

Finding herself on the receiving end of being shut down, Sigrid gave up and went to sit in one of the chairs, burying her head in her hands. The deep breathing she employed so as not to murder anyone at work wasn't doing much for her, but she figured she should at least try.

"Sigrid?" an inquiring voice asked. She raised her head and separated her fingers enough that she could see Fili and Kili, the latter with a large bandage around his hand, looking at her in concern. "Are you alright?"

Sigrid couldn't help it. She burst into tears.

OoOoOoO

Fili was only so comfortable around crying people. The Durin clan – and the word 'clan' didn't seem quite strong enough to describe the odd mess of people that was his immediate and extended family – were not often emotional, but when they were it was a terrifying thing. So he should have been more prepared to deal with a crying Sigrid than he was.

But seeing her crying, when she had always been so strong and unmovable, made something twist in his stomach. (He tried not to dwell on what that might mean.) Sigrid mastered herself fairly quickly, though, and the twist in his stomach was replaced with a pang of pride.

"It's my da," she confessed. "I don't know what happened, and they won't tell me, and I don't know what to do."

Fili looked at his brother, communicating wordlessly as they had since they'd been young, and Kili nodded subtly.

"What do you need?" Fili asked. Sigrid looked at him in confusion.

"I… What?"

"I find that when something bad happens, I always need something," Fili said. "A coffee, someone to yell at, throwing knives. I'm asking if there's something that you need."

"Um… It'd be nice to be in two places at once," Sigrid said with a watery half smile.

"Well, I don't know that we can manage that," Fili said, his crooked smile beginning to make its appearance. "But Kili and I are very good. Where else do you need to be?"

"My brother and sister are still at home. I thought it would be better to just let Tilda sleep, but now I'm thinking she and Bain should be here."

"Do you want us to drive you to go get them?" Fili asked.

"Could you?" Sigrid sounded so hopeful and grateful that Fili thought he would do a lot more than drive her home if she asked.

"Aye, I could. Kili, you stay here in case something changes."

"As you wish, brother Fili," Kili said, sweeping his arms and bowing in an exaggerated fashion. When Sigrid stood, he took her vacated seat and pulled a parenting magazine from the stack before perusing it as though it were the most interesting thing he'd ever seen.

Fili didn't have much time to appreciate the scene, as he and Sigrid were already headed out to the parking lot. She was still sniffing a bit, but the rain had stopped and streetlamps were glistening off the puddles.

They climbed into his pickup truck, "Oakenshield Construction" written on the side, and Sigrid took a deep breath.

"Thank you," she said.

"No problem," he replied honestly.

"So what were you doing at the hospital?" Sigrid asked, changing the subject. Fili didn't blame her, but admitting why he had to take his little brother to the emergency room at ten o'clock at night on a Wednesday was a bit embarrassing. Mostly for Kili, but to an extent Fili as well.

"Uh…" he started, chuckling uncomfortably. "You might have noticed that I mentioned throwing knives earlier? Well, Kili was showing off and sliced his hand open. Needed stitches."

"Ah," Sigrid said, looking as though she regretted asking. "I'd think you'd want to tell that story."

"Well, ordinarily I would," he said. "It's just that I might have been the one who messed him up. And he might have nearly castrated me when the knife went flying."

Sigrid looked at him in shock before laughing. It was half relief, half hysterical, but Fili was just glad she wasn't crying anymore.

"And does that often happen?"

"Us screwing around with throwing knives, or us hurting ourselves?"

"Either. Or both."

"The knife thing, yeah, because what else is there to do. Hurting ourselves? Only every other day." He looked at her sidelong, hoping to make her at least smile, and was relieved when she did.

"It's just here," Sigrid said quietly a moment later, and Fili pulled into the drive. "Do you mind waiting?"

"Take as much time as you need."

"Thank you," Sigrid whispered.

OoOoOoO

Inside the house, Sigrid found Bain still sitting on the couch. He jumped to his feet when she came in.

"Where's Da?" he asked before she could say anything.

"Still at the hospital. I'll wake Tilda, you go get ready."

"Are we all going? 'Cause I don't think Tilda can walk that far right now."

"Someone's driving us."

"Who?"

"A friend, Bain, now go get ready!"

His questions thankfully at an end, the middle child hurried to do as Sigrid asked, and she in turn headed into the room she and Tilda shared. Sigrid gently shook her little sister awake, putting on a smile when Tilda's eyes opened and she looked up blearily.

"Sig? 'S it morning already?"

"Nope, but you need to get up anyway."

"Where're we going?"

"Da's at the hospital; we're meeting him. Come on Tilda; you can go back to sleep when we get there."

It took far less time to get everyone ready than Sigrid might have thought, but soon enough they were piled into the pickup truck again. Sigrid was pressed flush against Fili's side and she couldn't help but think that it felt embarrassingly good. She snuck glances at him every so often, wondering if Kili had simply been trying to embarrass his older brother by flirting with her, or if the younger Durin knew something she didn't. At one point, she looked at Fili at the same moment he looked at her, and they both turned away quickly, blushing furiously.

Kili was still reading the same parenting magazine when they got back. Sigrid told Tilda to sit down before turning to the dark-haired man.

"Any news?" she asked. Kili shook his head.

"Nothing so far. Care to introduce us to your people, Sig?"

Sigrid belatedly realized that Bain and Tilda didn't actually know Fili and Kili.

"Oh, yeah. Tilda, Bain, these are my… friends Fili and Kili. Fili's the one who drove us." She gestured at the two before plopping down next to Tilda.

"At your service," Fili and Kili said in unison, touching two fingers to their right temples in a casual salute, almost as if they'd practiced. It made Tilda giggle, and then she and Kili began conversing, beginning with Tilda inquiring about his hand. Bain refused to sit down, preferring instead to pace, so Fili took up the seat on Sigrid's other side.

Without any ideas of what to say, Sigrid chose to remain silent, and was relieved to find that she was comfortable. Next to her, Fili had pulled out a Rubik's Cube and was absentmindedly solving it. He seemed to sense Sigrid's look of "what the hell", because he turned his head to smile cheekily at her.

"I hate this thing, but it's good in a pinch. It was pretty busy when we first got here, so I had a lot of time to ignore Kili complaining about his hand."

"Oh, you don't have to stay!" Sigrid exclaimed, realizing that he'd probably been there for hours. "You've already done more than enough."

"Eh, Kili and I have the day off tomorrow. 'Sides, you look like you could use some company. Unless you want us to leave…"

"No, no, that's not what I meant," Sigrid said, shaking her head. "I just meant that you didn't have to stay if you didn't want to. It's late, after all."

"I don't mind," Fili said honestly. Sigrid smiled at him gratefully before her face fell.

"Shit, I'll have to call the schools to tell them Bain and Tilda won't be there. And I've got work in…" She checked her watch. "5 hours."

"Call in sick," Fili said simply. Sigrid grimaced.

"My boss is a total prick," she grumbled.

"We can take care of your boss if you need. Kili may have ruined our image, but we both really are very good with knives."

"My hero," Sigrid said, rolling her eyes. "And tempting, but if he needs taking care of, Maria's going to loan me a frying pan."

"Is that a threat of violence from Sigrid Girion? I've never been prouder."

The conversation was interrupted when a doctor finally entered the room.

"Sigrid Girion? You father is able to take visitors now."

Sigrid jumped to her feet and pulled Tilda with her, a relieved look going across her face.

"Is he alright?"

"He will be," the doctor assured her. "I'll explain more when we're with him."

"Tilda, Bain, you head on in," she instructed. "I'll be there in a moment." Her younger siblings trailing after the doctor, Sigrid turned towards Fili and Kili. "Thank you. Both of you. I don't know what I would have done without your help tonight."

"We're very happy to help," Kili said cheerfully. "Especially Fili."

"He's high on pain meds still," Fili said, giving his brother a dirty look. Kili nodded happily, and Sigrid laughed.

"Well, no matter that. Really though, I couldn't be more grateful."

"Grateful enough to go on a date with Fili?" Kili asked with a shit-eating grin. Fili let his head fall back to hit the wall, and Sigrid went red as a tomato.

"Kili, next time you slice your hand open you can walk to the emergency room," Fili said. "Now go get me some coffee before I kill you."

Kili walked away laughing, leaving Sigrid and Fili more or less alone in the waiting room. Sigrid bit her lip nervously before thinking 'screw it' and leaning forward to press a quick kiss to Fili's lips. It sent a thrill all the way down to her toes, though it only lasted a moment before she pulled away.

"You know, if you asked me out instead of Kili asking for you, I might actually say yes," she said archly. Fili leaned forward, eyebrow raised and a smirk adorning his face.

"Well then, my lady Sigrid, would you care to accompany me on a date at some point in the near to relative future?"

"I would at that," she replied with a blush. "You know where to find me. Excuse me though, I should probably go see to my da."

As she walked away, she could just hear Fili whisper 'yes!' to himself. She thought that she couldn't be blamed if she added a little extra sway to her hips.

Author's Note: I have it so that Sigrid is nineteen (but much closer to twenty) where Fili is 24. Yeah, age difference, but she's had to grow up a lot so she's really only younger than him in years she's been alive, not maturity.