Wehhhh!
I'm so sorry for the wait guys. I have no excuse this time. I've literally just spent too much time reading fan fiction and not enough time writing it!

Only two more chapters after this, and one of them is the epilogue! :) Sorry that this one is kind of lame, but I am almost done with the next chapter, so it'll be up very shortly. Also, this one is completely unedited, so I apologize for any typos.


Chapter 25

Kicked

Fili

As Fili stumbled down the driveway, and out onto the street, blinded by self-hatred, he hoped that everything would turn out to be okay.

He'd seriously fucked up back there, and as much as he wished he could take his words back, he knew he couldn't. Kili was safer this way, and that was what truly mattered; his feelings, nor even Kili's feelings, mattered as much as the brunette's life.

The evening was warm, which Fili was thankful for, since he hadn't prepared at all before storming out of the house. Dusk was falling, and the sky was beginning to turn into a mirage of oranges, pinks and reds, as if the clouds were blushing. Well, Fili honestly thought it would be a lot more fitting if a storm rolled in, considering that was the sort of day he'd had.

For how long he walked, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that at one point, his feet began to hurt and a strong exhaustion swept over him, causing him to turn around and begin to trek home, feeling a lot more calm than he'd been before he left. Facing Kili was still going to be hard, and sleeping in the guest room for the next few nights was going to be a terribly lonely experience, after having the younger boy at his side every night for so long, but it was something he was just going to have to endure.

He was only a couple minutes away from home when it happened. There was a slow crunching of tires over asphalt behind him, and headlights shined brightly, so that when he glanced at the vehicle he was momentarily blinded, unable to tell who was following him. For a few seconds he tried to ignore them, thinking that maybe they were just waiting to see if he would ask for a ride and would drive away if he ignored them. What he hadn't expected was the sudden blow to the head he felt, and a swift and deadly darkness to swallow him whole.

When Fili woke up, it was to find himself in a very unfamiliar place. It was a huge room, the floor made of nothing but concrete and the walls a solid white, similar to a warehouse. There wasn't much in the room, either, except for the old, dirty mattress that he was laying on, a van, and heaps upon heaps of empty crates. Fili couldn't guess what had been there before, but he didn't really care. Waking up alone in a warehouse, after being knocked out on the side of the street, wasn't exactly a comforting situation.

He reached a hand up, clutching at his throbbing head, and squinted through watery eyes, searching for any way out. There was a door across from him, probably forty or fifty feet away from where he sat. Seeing no other option, he stood up, a deep groan sounding from his chest as his world tilted before him, and began moving towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The blonde swung to his left so quickly that it sent him to his knees, clutching his head with both hands now. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he looked up at the person who had spoken.

She was a short woman, barely five feet tall, and had her long, ratty, blonde hair pulled back in a low ponytail. She looked better than the last time he had seen her, and her clothes looked practically new, but she still reeked of dirt, sweat and something distinctly filthy. Memories rose to Fili's mind and bile rose in his throat, burning as he tried to back away from her on the dirty ground.

"Thought you could get away, did you?" Sabina asked, her smile sickly-sweet.

Fili shook his head and his chin trembled in fear. She was moving with him, towards him, and he didn't know what he would do if she touched him.

She grinned wider and suddenly his back hit something solid. He looked up to see Jared Martell, who didn't look nearly as cleaned-up as his wife. His dark hair was poorly cut and very messy, sticking out every which-way, and his clothes were so dirty that Fili couldn't have been able to make out what they'd originally looked like, even if he had cared, not that he did.

A whimper escaped his lips, and he tried to dodge the hands that suddenly came towards him, but it was futile, and soon he was back on his feet, an iron grip at the back of his neck the only thing holding him up.

"Oh, baby," Sabine spoke softly, stepping forward to place a hand on his cheek, caressing the skin softly. "Don't do anything stupid. It won't end well for you."

Fili struggled to get away, but the hand on him stayed firm, not even allowing him to flinch away from her offending touch. He wished so badly he'd never stepped foot out of his home. Now he was captured and more terrified than he had ever been, all because of his stupid emotions. All he had wanted was to keep Kili safe, only resulting in his own life-threatening situation.

At least it's not Kili. Thank god it's not him, he thought to himself. It was his only peace of mind; that Kili wasn't the one in his place.

"What do you want?" He finally muttered, dropping his head and giving up on his struggle. There was no point, and he knew they wouldn't ever take pity on him. No, it was better to just do what they wanted.

"We don't want anything," she replied with a shrug. "We are taking back what is ours. You," she moved her hand, to push her index finger firmly against his chest, "belong to us."

Fili shook his head, blonde locks swaying in his face. "I don't. I was taken away from you a long time ago. I don't even remember living with you! You are literally nothing to me."

He should have anticipated the slap that came next, harsh and powerful, leaving his cheek stinging. Even though he knew she was stronger than she looked, he still hadn't expected it to hurt quite that bad, but his already throbbing headache probably wasn't helping. His body had already taken so much abuse.

"You're ours," she hissed, yanking him from her husband's grip to bring Fili face to face with her. "And once we are done with you, you won't forget it."

He turned his head to look away from her, swallowing heavily. "How were you watching us? How did you get into my house and do all those things?"

A cold laugh escaped her mouth and she grasped his jaw, turning his head towards her again. "It was easy. We followed you to the beach when you went on your little date, and we took the spare key from your car. You really should pay more attention, little Fee, and not let pretty boys distract you into making such a mistake as not locking your car. Jared of course kept an eye on you while I stole the thing - we didn't need one of you spotting us and calling the police."

Fili could've kicked himself. He'd known something about the man at the beach had been familiar, but he hadn't been able to place it. What a stupid mistake.

"After that, it was easy enough to wait until the house was empty to go in and place what we needed to. And my, I must say, we were quite surprised by what a wanton little thing you turned out to be. We'd expected your pretty brunette to be the bitch."

Fili lashed out, adrenaline coursing through him in his anger, and his fist connected with the left side of her face, causing her to release him. Without hesitation, he turned around and swung at the man, who still looked shocked at the sudden turn of events and didn't see it coming. The power behind the hit sent him to the ground, a wail of agony coming from both of them as Fili clutched his fist to his chest in pain.

Sabine wasn't about to give up that easily. She was up before Fili could even turn back to her, and she sent a well-aimed kick to the back of his knees.

Fili fell on his back with a shout of pain, and seconds later a boot met his face, and again in his stomach, causing him to curl in on himself, moaning and sobbing.

"I told you not to do anything stupid," she spat, before turning to walk away.

For a moment he thought it was over. He thought that maybe she would leave him be for a while, to wallow in self pity, but instead she came back with a crow bar clutched in her white-knuckled grip.

"Goodnight, sweet one," was all he heard, before darkness swallowed him again.


Kili

"You have to find him," Kili pressed, eyes huge and worried as he pleaded with his uncle.

Thorin placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder, trying to make him understand that he was doing all that he could. "Kili, I want to find him just as much as you do. Trust me. I've called Balin, and he and Dwalin are doing everything they can to try and figure out where he could be. In the meantime, there's not a ton we can do. You got ahold of Tauriel?"

The younger boy nodded. He had called her right after he'd told Bilbo and Thorin what was happening. She, of course, had been worried as all hell, but told him that her and Legolas would drive around and look for him.

"Good," Thorin grumbled, giving Kili's shoulder a squeeze. "And you have no clue as to where he might be? You're sure that he's not just off at a party somewhere."

"I'm almost one-hundred percent sure, uncle. He just said he was going for a walk, and I trust him. He wouldn't lie to me like that. He knows it would hurt me, and that's clearly the last thing he wants. He should be back by now!"

Kili couldn't keep the rise from his voice, nor the heavy breaths that were trying to suffocate him. Panic had set in, and it was driving him mad. He wanted to be out looking for the blonde, but Thorin had insisted they stay at the house and wait for news, while Bilbo had gone down to the sheriff's office to try and help Balin and his brother.

"Kili, calm yourself." Thorin spoke in the most soothing voice he could muster, even though he was clearly panicking too. It still worked wonders on the boy, and he felt some of his tension ebb, leaving his shoulders to sag in defeat.

"Go sit down," Thorin continued, urging the younger boy towards the armchair sat closest to the fire. "Relax. I'm sure they will call us with some information before too long."

Kili nodded and sat, staring at the crackling flames, trying to focus on anything other than Fili. He knew he was fooling himself - he'd never relax until he had the blonde safely back in his arms - but it was better than worrying himself sick.

They had to find him. They had to.


What was probably only moments felt like eons to Kili as he sat quietly. Try as he may, thoughts of Fili simply wouldn't stop pestering him, and though it was natural, considering how worried he was, he truly wished his mind would stop summoning up gruesome images of the blonde's dead and mangled body. It wasn't doing a single thing for his nerves.

When the phone finally did ring, Kili was up and out of his chair, hurrying towards the device, before Thorin even had the chance to press the green 'answer' button.

"Give it to me," Kili demanded, snatching the device out of his uncle's hand.

"Hello?"

"Kili! We've found them," came Balin's urgent and serious voice through the phone. "You and your uncle need to make your way down to the station immediately. By the time you get here we should have directions to their hideout, and we will be able to get him back."

"Balin, where are they?" Kili questioned, giving Thorin wild eyes. The older man was already up and searching for his car keys, gesturing for Kili to get off the phone and follow him.

"Just get down here," Balin replied, just before hanging up.

Kili raced after Thorin, without saying a word, and within thirty seconds the two of them were on the road, pushing far past the speed limit, uncaring of the law at the moment. Luckily there didn't seem to be many cops out that night, for it wouldn't have done them much good to get pulled over. They really didn't have the time to spare.

They pulled into the parking lot of sheriff's department in record timing, and the other three met them halfway to the building, panting, and Bilbo held up a piece of paper in triumph.

"Directions!" he gasped. "To the warehouse owned by Sabine and Jared Braxton! They changed their names a few after they were released from prison, and they did a pretty good job of hiding their tracks but not good enough."

"We can talk about it later!" Kili exclaimed. "Let's go."

The five of them climbed into a huge, black SUV, which served as an undercover cop car. Thorin ended up in the driver's seat, the piece of paper clutched in his hand, and Kili sat passenger, while everyone else clambered into the back. Just like before, they were off within seconds, Bilbo having barely closed his car door, and swung out onto the interstate, heading towards the ocean and the outskirts of town.


Hmmm.
Not sorry.
Hope you liked it!