"Hey, sorry, aren't you the kid from the elevator?"

I freeze. I mean, really? Who mingles with other people while standing in line at the pharmacy? But, I was raised to not be rude, so I turn. It's the guy from the hospital elevator. And he's smiling. Does this guy never stop smiling?

"Hey. Uh, yeah. It's me." I attempt a friendly smile. I know it doesn't work, but he seems to overlook that.

"How is your brother?" The man asks.

Again, he seems nice enough, but I normally don't just open up about my family to random acquaintances.

He catches my hesitation and tries to smooth things out. "I'm sorry, I don't think I really introduced myself last time. My name is Aragorn." He holds out his hand.

I return the gesture. "Fili Durin."

"Nice to meet you, again." Aragorn says with a small laugh. "You wouldn't happen to be related to Rimi Durin, would you?"

"Yeah... He was my father."

"I knew him well. We were good friends in high school! Now, about your brother?"

"Oh, wow. I had no idea. It's a small world." I say, completely stunned by this new revelation, but I continue with his previous question. I don't know why, but I trust this man. "He… he has a tumor. In his brain. It's not cancerous yet, but it is growing. They're going to be monitoring him for a while. He's home, but he will be having CT scans done once a week until further notice."

"Oh, my. I am so sorry. I had no idea," Aragorn's face falls. No more smile, just a very shocked and upset expression.

"Yeah, he's going to be ok though. He has a good support system. And, if anybody is a fighter, it's my little brother. He's fought his entire life. This isn't going to be easy, but I know he'll pull through." I say all this with confidence, and shock myself by how much I really mean it.

"He sounds like a wonderful young man."

"The best." I offer without a moment's hesitation. Because it's the truth.

Aragorn smiles. "I'm sure he is. I'll say a prayer for him… if you don't mind, that is."

"Uh, no. Thank you… I'm sure he would appreciate it. I mean, we all would."

"I hate that we had to meet under these circumstances, but I'll be at the hospital frequently. Maybe, we can meet up for lunch or something. I would like to meet this young man. Also, I bet you would enjoy hearing some interesting stories about your father. And, if you ever need to talk, I'd be more than happy to listen."

"Ok. I think Kili's appointments are on Wednesdays, so I guess I will probably be taking him. Um, how am I supposed to contact you?"

"Oh, I will be on the third floor, most likely in the waiting area. My wife's father has been having heart problems. And, he'll be in for a while."

"I'm sorry to hear that. But, thank you for the offer. I should be getting home now. Kili is probably wondering where I am." I say, and grab the prescription from the counter.

"Take care." Aragorn says, with a smile and a wave.

I wave goodbye and leave.

The entire ride home, I just thought about the conversation. I come from a family of lawyers, and am currently on my way to becoming one. I was trained to be a good judge of character. And this Aragorn guy seemed like the real deal. It's strange how one person that you don't even know can change your life.

He's going to play a bigger part in this whole situation than I originally thought. Thorin is my uncle and surrogate father. He is the man that raised me. I know I can talk to him and that he's always there, but sometimes, he just gets busy. And when life gets busy, it takes away time from family. I know he tries, but it's hard sometimes. Maybe, this guy can step in as a mentor while Thorin tries to keep his life together. Maybe.

"Hello, dear friends. I come bearing gifts."

I walk into the kitchen where Thorin and Kili are having lunch.

"Gee, thanks. So excited." Kili says sarcastically as I set the bag on the table in front of him.

"It was supposed to be a surprise, but I can't keep anything from you." I reply with just as much sarcasm. I guess the sarcasm was a family thing.

"Oh, I'm jealous. Care to share?" Thorin throws in.

Yep, definitely a family trait.

"So, what's for lunch?" I ask, opening the fridge.

"Sandwiches." Kili answers before taking another bite.

"Left over pizza it is," I say, grabbing two slices. I grab a plate from the cabinet and warm them up in the microwave. When the annoying beeping sound begins, I grab my plate and sit at the table.

"Did everything go ok at the pharmacy?" Thorin asks, getting up to refill his glass.

"Yeah, no problems." I answer. I don't know why, but I don't tell him about Aragorn yet.

"That's good then. Did you have to pay anything extra? I can reimburse you, if need be." Thorin sits back down.

"No, the insurance covered it all." Thank God for insurance. Medicine was expensive.

"All right, good."

We ate in silence for a few moments, when Kili abruptly stopped eating.

"What's wrong?" I ask in concern.

"Nothing. Just feeling a little queasy."

Kili has barely eaten half of his sandwich, which isn't much to begin with: just ham and cheese. I get up and pour him a glass of water.

"Here, take a sip."

"Thanks," Kili mumbles and takes a sip.

"Maybe you should go lie down for a bit." Thorin's voice rumbles in concern.

"Yeah, maybe I should." Kili grabs his plate and stands up. I notice his hands are shaking and take the plate from him.

"Leave it. I'll take care of it."

With a nod, Kili leaves.

"This is happening faster than I thought it would." Thorin admits.

"Yeah, me too." If this is only the beginning, I don't know how we will pull through to the end. But, we will. That's what the Oakenshield family does: fight.

Kili passed on dinner that evening. After Fili and I had eaten, Fili suggested we all watch a movie. Now, we sat in the living room: Fili in the recliner beside the couch, while Kili occupied one half of the couch, and I had the other. We were halfway through The Dark Knight. I must admit, movies usually bore me. But, this one always captured my utmost attention. And, it also meant spending time with my nephews, which was something that was rare with my time consuming career these days.

I look beside me when Kili makes a strange noise. "Hey, you ok?"

"Yeah, I just need to get a drink." Kili mutters through clenched teeth.

"I can-"

"No, I'll get it."

"Is he ok?" Fili asks when Kili leaves.

"No, he's not. I'll be right back."

I enter the kitchen and see Kili leaning against the counter, glass of water in hand. At first glance, he seems ok. But, then I notice the shaking glass and hear the heavy breathing.

I grab a chair from the table and place it behind Kili. "Sit."

Kili sinks gratefully into the chair, leaving the glass on the counter. He puts his head between his knees and breathes deeply a few times. I patiently wait until he's breathing normally again.

When he raises his head, and reaches for the glass, I give it to him. Kili takes a few sips and then speaks. "I don't know why that happens. I'm fine, and then I just lose it. I get all dizzy and then I panic because I start to lose my breath and I just… well, you know. I lose it."

"Your doctor said that dizziness was part of the package." I tell Kili as I rub gentle circles on his back.

"Yeah, well, it sucks and I want to return it."

"All in due time. Promise." I offer what little encouragement I can because I have the same thoughts about this as Kili. "C'mon, Fili's probably bouncing out of the chair by now."

"Fili left that chair long ago." Sure enough, he's right there in the doorway. "Sorry, I just couldn't stand it any longer. When you didn't come back…"

"It's ok. I'm fine. Can we go finish that movie? My favorite part's coming up." Kili says, sounding more cheerful than expected.

"The hospital scene?" Fili asks.

"As if you had to ask. It's genius!" Kili insists standing up. He's a little wobbly, but catches himself before I can offer my assistance.

"Lead the way, Joker," Fili says, throwing his arm out in a sweeping manner and giving a slight bow.

FRIDAY: THREE DAYS LATER

Thorin's at work, it's lunchtime, and I am a disaster in the making when it comes to kitchens. Kili and I might have to skip lunch today.

"Hey, Kee!" I call, "What do you want for lunch?"

"Don't care!" Kili answers back.

"Well, that helps," I grumble to myself.

Opening the freezer, I see a bag of pizza rolls. And they're microwavable. That device, I can use.

"Pizza rolls okay?"

"Yeah."

Two minutes later, the lovely smell of pepperoni pizza fills the kitchen. And the annoying beeping of the microwave. Really, such a wonderful invention, but could they have not made it so obnoxious?

"Food's ready!" I yell.

Kili walks in. "You want some ranch dressing?"

"Yes, please." That's one of the many things we have in common: we eat ranch dressing with everything.

I divide the pizza rolls onto two different plates and set them at the table. I grab the dressing from where Kili has set it, and pour a little onto each of the plates.

"What do you want to drink?" Kili asks.

"I think there's some tea in the fridge."

"I'm guessing that's what you want?" Kili asks grinning. I am a tea-aholic. For real.

"Nah, just stating facts." I say, earning a slight shove to my back.

"Get your own drink with that attitude," Kili says seriously, but I know he's teasing.

I laugh. "Isn't that the whole point of little brothers? Being the older brother's slave?"

"Not in this house." Kili laughs, as he sets my glass of tea on the table. He has a water bottle for himself.

Kili sits and looks at his plate. "Wow, you made lunch and didn't cause a fire. I am so proud." He wipes a pretend tear from his eyes.

"Keep it up, and you can eat ice cubes next time."

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

Kili and I stare each other down, until finally, Kili caves.

"I don't know why you do that. You know I always win." I say, taking a bite of a pizza roll.

"Yeah, well, I don't give up," Kili pauses. "On anything. Ever."

I look up. Kili is no longer joking. He's serious. "I know, and that's why we keep you around." I say with a smile.

"I thought it was because of my dazzling smile, incredibly good looks, and infectious personality."

"Those are some big words. Have you been reading the dictionary?" I ask with a smirk.

"Shut up," Kili laughs.

We eat the rest of our meal in a comfortable silence.

"You feel like going down to the park for a while?" I ask as we put our dishes into the dishwasher.

"Yeah, that sounds nice, actually. Fresh air would do us both some good," Kili admits.

"All right. I'll just text Thorin and tell him what we're doing."

"I'm going to grab my phone and a sweatshirt. Need anything from upstairs?"

I think for a moment. "Yeah, can you grab a hoodie? The football is buried under my bed if you want to grab it."

Kili laughs. "You sure that's a safe idea?"

"What? Reaching under my bed or me playing football?"

"Both," Kili says laughing even harder and dodges away from my hand.

"Little brothers need to learn some respect," I mumble.

"Heard that!" Kili calls back. He has supersonic hearing abilities when he want to.

I text Thorin. "Going to the park for a while."

Almost immediately after the message sends, my phone dings. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ever the overprotective uncle.

"Yeah, it's fine. Kili is bundling up and we're taking the football. Fresh air will be nice for us both."

"Ok, have fun. And don't do anything stupid."

I know that's meant specifically for Kili, but a smidge of that warning is meant for me, as well.

"Will do. Later."

I grab my keys from beside the door and walk out to the garage, pressing the button on the keychain to open the garage door.

I open the car door and sit down in the driver's seat, putting on my seatbelt. "Safety first" was always my number one rule when it came to cars. Thirty seconds later, the passenger door opens and Kili slips in, tossing the football and my sweatshirt into the back.

"I nearly lost my hand. You're lucky I'm alive," Kili deadpans as he buckles his seatbelt.

"Oh, I'm sure," I roll my eyes and pull out of the garage.

Once we're out, Kili reaches up and presses the garage door button located on the bottom of the rearview mirror. When the door is securely closed, we pull out of the driveway and continue on our way.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Kili says, trying to hide the humor from his voice.

For what seemed like the hundredth time, the football refused to spiral and dove toward the ground once it had left my grasp. He was right, I just wasn't made for this type of thing. Kili had offered all of the hints and tips that he could, but none of them were working out for me.

"Ya know, I don't think I will ever get the hang of this. You wanna just go for a walk around the lake or something?"

"Whatever you say, Romo," Kili says with a smirk as he walks toward me.

"Start walking, Polamalu." I shake the back of Kili's neck, ruffling his chocolate curls, as he walks up beside me.

We walk around the lake in a companionable silence. I can't help but take in the picture surrounding me: the leaves have mostly fallen from the trees and are now littering the ground, resulting in a beautiful golden display as the sun shines in the clear, autumn sky. The air is crisp, cool, and a slight breeze brings in the fresh scent of pine and dirt from the forest along the edge of the lake. Autumn was my favorite, always had been. The array of colors and the cool temperature with the clear blue skies made me feel exhilarated and in complete awe of this wonderful world I live in.

I am startled out of my reverie by a Frisbee flying by my head.

"Whoa!" I gasp, taking a step back.

Then a black mass of fur flies by me and before I know what is happening, Kili is on the ground giggling as he holds the Frisbee in one hand and is trying to stop the excessive licking of his face with the other hand.

Kili has always loved dogs, but Thorin is highly allergic, so we never had the opportunity to get one. One time when we were still little kids, Kili had sneaked one into his bedroom. Kili thought the dog had been a stray when he had found it under the fence in the backyard. So, Kili being Kili, decided to take it and hide it in his room. Thorin caught on after the first two days because he had caught Kili sneaking into the kitchen and grabbing spare food.

When Thorin walked into Kili's room that night, the sight of the dog curled up beside Kili on his bed was almost more than he could take. But, the massive sneeze that had followed soon after, was enough to change his mind. Three days later, a couple from down the street came by and claimed their dog, Scruffy- how original?- had disappeared. Anyway, Kili had cried for hours after the dog had left. Even I had grown fond of having a pet, but Thorin was relentless and refused to get a dog, no matter how much and how loud Kili pleaded. Finally, Kili had accepted that he wasn't going to get a dog anytime soon and moved on.

"Sorry, about that. Beorn, stop that!"

I look toward the sound of the appraoching voice and see a beautiful, blonde girl walking toward us. She looks to be about my age, and I can't help but stare at her delicate features and pale skin.

"It's fine, really," I insist. "I'm Fili." I smile and reach out my hand.

"Éowyn," she offers with a smile and shakes my hand.

Wow. She's gorgeous. "Do you come here often?" Below me, Kili snorts, trying to disguise his laughing as a cough.

"Actually, I'm just visiting some family for a few days. I live in Rohan. Beorn, which you have already met, is my uncle's. I decided to take him out for a few hours, and, well, you can see how that's going." She says with a laugh.

"Oh, so, how long are you in?" Yes, I know. I sound like an eager, desperate guy. But, she's gorgeous and opportunities like this do not happen every day.

She catches this, too. But, she seems to be strangely okay with it. "I'm leaving Monday," she pauses, but then quickly adds, "I'll be back for the holidays though, Thanksgiving and Christmas both."

A small smile slowly begins to form on my face. "Ok, that's, um, great."

"Yes," she agrees, smiling. "I should be going though."

"Oh, right, yeah. We should, too." I ramble out.

"I'm Kili, by the way," Kili stands and offers his hand.

"Nice to meet you," Éowyn says as she shakes Kili's hand.

"Well, looks like this is goodbye, Beorn. Behave, ok?" As if in understanding, Beorn gives Kili one last lick on his cheek before walking back over to Éowyn, Frisbee held firmly in his mouth.

"Maybe we can all meet up again or something when I come back for break," Éowyn offers.

"Yes! I mean, uh, yeah, sounds like a good plan." I don't even need to look at Kili to know he is dying to laugh right now.

"Ok, um, here's my number," Éowyn says, pulling out a pen and a piece of paper from her purse.

"Ok, thank you." I say, blushing like an idiot.

"Feel free to call me whenever." Éowyn blushes. "Well, I guess I should be going. It was nice meeting you both. Have a nice day!"

And with that, the most beautiful girl I have ever seen walks away, dog in tow.

"Awww, Fili's in loooooove!" Kili squeals dramatically and bats his eyelashes.

"Shut up," I growl, trying to be angry, but I can feel my face warming and can't stop the smile that forms.

"Feel free to call me," Kili says in the girliest voice he can manage.

"All right. That's it. You're walking home."

Kili just continues to laugh and makes comments the ride home. I try to get annoyed and a little angry, but I can't. Kili's laughter is too contagious, and, what can I say? She was beautiful.

"How long do you think I should wait to text her?" I finally cave and ask.

"I don't know. Normally, I'd say wait a day. But, she seemed pretty interested. Go for it tonight." Kili offers his true opinion.

"All right. I'll do it." And I'm already nervous.

"Kee, are you awake?" I ask, pushing open Kili's door. It's only 8:30, but Kili was feeling tired and had come up to his room a while ago. Exhaustion and fatigue- just a couple of factors that come along with the tumor.

"Yeah." Kili is sprawled on his bed, one arm laying across his forehead.

"You ok?" I ask concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a headache."

"Have you taken any of your pills? If it's bad, you should." Whenever Kili is hurting, my overprotective big brother instincts are in full force.

"No, it just started a few minutes ago. It's fine. Really. If it gets much worse, I'll take one, mom."

Brat. "Good, or I'll force it down your throat."

"Did you want something? Or did you just come in here to annoy me?" Kili snaps. "Sorry, I didn't mean it…" Kili sits up and his face tells me how sorry he really is. The mood swings are beginning to set in, too.

"No, it's ok. I know. But, if you're up to it, I need some help."

"Help? You're coming to me for help? Whatever for?" When I don't answer and my cheeks begin to redden, Kili smiles. "You don't know what to say to her, do you?"

I don't answer because it's embarrassingly true.

"Just say, 'Hi, it's Fili. You know? The boy who's madly in love with you?'"

I glare at him. "Cut it out."

"If you don't want my expertise, I can have Thorin help you." Kili begins to climb out of his bed.

"Don't you dare! Sit back down. Now." I stand in front of the doorway blocking the exit, just in case.

Kili laughs. "Please, I'm not that evil." He winces as the loudness and brightness of the room once again begins to hurt his head. "Can you turn the light off?" Kili reaches over to turn on his bedside lamp.

I flip the light switch beside the door down, turning the light off. Kili scoots over and lays down, on his back once again. I lean my back against the headboard and pull my knees up to my chest.

"Here it goes." I open the messages app on my phone and tap the 'New Message' option. I type in Éowyn's name, because I have already added it into my contacts… the minute she walked away from me at the park, and type. "Hi, it's Fili. From the park today." And then I hit send.

"Breathe, Fee!" Kili hits my arm alarmed.

I release the breath I had been holding. "I'm ok. It's just a text. To a girl." I repeatedly tell myself.

"You need some serious help," Kili mumbles.

One minute and twelve seconds later, my phone buzzes. "It's her!" I exclaim in excitement.

"Yeah, I got that. Stop yelling, would ya?" Kili squeezes his eyes shut tightly, and moves his hand to his head.

"Sorry," I say with honest concern. "She said hi… with a smiley face."

"Yeah, that's the normal response. Now, you ask her, 'What's up?' or 'How are you?'"

"How are you?" I type out.

A few seconds later, "I'm well, thank you. How are you doing tonight?"

"Now what?" I ask my brother.

Kili sighs. "Am I going to have to coach you through this entire relationship?"

"Maybe a little." I really don't know how to talk to girls. Especially one I really like. Kili on the other hand was a flirt.

"Ok then. Just ask her something simple to get to know her better. Play twenty questions. Anything like that. You can start by asking her about college and what she's studying."

"That's good. So, what are you studying in college?" And from then on, we talked for another two hours. Just learning about each other. Kili realized I had stopped asking him for advice about forty minutes into the conversation. He promptly asked if everything was ok, and when I assured him it was, he rolled over and shut his eyes. But, he didn't sleep.

"Kee, take a pill." It's not a request, it's a demand.

To my surprise, Kili gets up and walks downstairs. A few minutes later, he comes back with two bottles of water in his hands. He tosses me one and opens his. Kili grabs the bottle of pills from his table and shakes one out. Then he swallows and coughs a few times. "Gahh."

"You ok?" I ask.

"Yeah, just didn't realize how big those pills really are." Kili says as he resumes his previous position on his bed.

Éowyn and I continue to ask each other questions. When I finally tell her good night, I lay my phone on Kili's table and lay down beside him.

"You're done for the night?" Kili inquires.

"Yep."

"Since you didn't ask for any more help, I can only assume you didn't dig yourself into too deep of a hole." Kili laughs lightly.

"For your information, I handled everything pretty well after the first bit. I've learned her college major, and her favorite things like, color, flower, and vacation spot. I've learned about her family and how much she loves animals. Her passions and her goals. All of her hobbies. Her favorite musical group. Everything. She's perfect, Kee. She is perfect." I finish with a smile on my face as I stare at the ceiling of Kili's bedroom.

"You did well, grasshopper." Kili says with a yawn.

"Thank you, sensei." I look at Kili. He looks exhausted.

"Well, I'm going to bed. Good night."

"Good night, handsome." Kili says with a girly voice.

HELLO, EOWYN! What a nice surprise, right!? I can't help but think they would be a cute couple.