Hey guys! So, for being loyal to this story, and patient with my slow self, here is an update! We'll go with Bilbo's (Bilba) point of view for part of this chapter, and in the second half...you'll see!

Go check out EasternWolf23! She's got an awesome Hobbit fanfic in progress!

Rated-T

Warnings

Abuse/torture

Some OOC-ness maybe

I might not get all of their talking entirely accurate so please bear with me

Things you need to know

"Lydia/other Ereborians speaking in Khuzdul"

Disclaimer-I don't own the Hobbit or How To Train Your Dragon.

Here We Stand United

Chapter 12

It was close to midnight by the time the rolling hills of the Shire came into view below them. While Bilba looked down at her home longingly, she did not ask that they stop. She would not endanger the Company nor the Shirelings by landing for a rest and a visit with her family. Thorin glanced towards her as the flew over several Shireling holes, but did not speak to her, knowing there was nothing he could do to comfort her at the moment, and not willing to stop and land either.

Sooner, rather than later, Bilba knew they would have to land, though. Bofur and the Deadly Nadder she had bonded with were quickly tiring, as Bifur and Bombur had both tried to squeeze onto the dragon with her. Bombur's weight alone strained the dragon. Nori had Dori and Ori with him, and Lydia had packed her brother, Fili, Kili, and Gimli onto her Scauldron.

The dragon riders from Berk had done something similar, carrying as many Ereborians as they could. Hiccup had managed to teach Balin and Bilba how to fly the day before the Outcasts had attacked Ered Luin, and Dwalin now rode tensely on an aggressive Nadder with Thorin sitting stiffly behind him. Despite their rush to flee Ered Luin, they'd done well getting organized.

So they flew through the skies the whole night, until the dawning sun peeked over the horizon and Hiccup called, "We need to stop! The dragons can't keep going like this!" The Ereborians shouted to each other in Khuzdul, before Thorin finally agreed they would land, though they had to remain on their guard. The dragons landed on the Great East Road, shortly outside of Elrond's territory, and Thorin decided they would make camp here. Bilba looked around at her subjects and friends. Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur were attempting to put together a quick soup for breakfast, and everyone else was setting up their stuff and laying out their bedrolls. Lydia was tending to her dragon, and Gimli hovered nearby, watching, but too wary to get much closer to the water-based dragon.

All of the Ereborians chose to ignore the skeleton of a shack that once belonged to an old farmer and his wife. They'd been at sea for seven years; things were bound to change. Likely the old couple had perished from old age. Hiccup, however, was worried by it.

"Uh, is it really safe to be camping here?" he asked, sitting down on a log next to Dwalin as the warrior sharpened his two axes, Grasper and Keeper.

"Aye, laddie, safest place you'll find in the Wilds. Sun's rising, and darker creatures haven't wandered this far south since the Dark Age anyway, when Sauron ruled the land," Dwalin replied, barely looking up from what he was doing, even as little Ori tentatively offered the warrior a soup bowl as Bombur had quickly whipped up some soup.

"Sauron? Who is that?" Astrid asked as she boldly sat down next to the Ereborian warrior. Dwalin eyed her, but chose not to shove her off the log they were perched on as he gently, lovingly, set his weapons aside and began to eat.

"Ah, I'm not so great a storyteller lass. Best to ask Bofur or Bilba. They're better at weaving fanciful tales," Dwalin snorted dismissively. Nori frowned as he overheard the warrior's words.

"Sauron was no fanciful tale, son of Fundin. You'd do well to remember that...and besides, I don't think Bilba or Bofur would take too kindly to what ye be implying," the star-haired thief snapped as he distractedly accepted a bowl from his little brother, who then wandered off to sit with Frodo as the Prince read by the dim light in the sky, carefully not spilling any soup on his book.

"Nori's right, Dwalin," Bilba said, and Dwalin jumped guiltily. She knew he'd not meant to imply anything, but she couldn't help but be slightly irritated that he'd be so quick to brush off the old tales, passed down from generation to generation to ensure that nothing like it happened ever again. Middle Earth would very likely not survive another Sauron incident.

"So...Sauron?" Astrid prodded, and Bilba hesitated. They were just children, children who had not grown up on Middle Earth, were not accustomed to the kind of dangers that resided on their lands, and the ghost story of the Dark Lord Sauron would surely scare them out of their wits, and on the Great East Road, you especially needed to keep your wits about you. Wargs could strike at any moment, and even if the sun was rising on the horizon, that didn't mean they were completely safe from the Runners either. Thorin had spoken to her, and they were to protect these teens like their own subjects. That did not include scaring them half out of their minds.

"Oh, I don't think now is really the time for ghost stories, considering we're about to rest for the night, or should I say morning...maybe later," Bilba dismissed, and then urged the Viking teens and the younger Ereborians to curl up into their bedrolls for some decent shut eye.

"Bofur, Dwalin, Gloin, you've got first watch," Thorin stated, before he retreated to his own bedroll. Bilba sighed and went to hers as well, knowing it would be on her to convince Thorin that the others could keep their eyes open for a few hours and that he should rest...Mahal and Yavanna, give her strength.

*BREAK*

Gloin was purposely sitting as far from her and Dwalin as possibly, Bofur was sure of it. He was not very discreet. Well, whatever Dwalin was up to, she was not going to listen to it. Dwalin and Nori had suddenly started acting like idiots around her, growling at each other and treating her as less than them, or going out of their way to appear stronger. It was, quite frankly, pissing her off.

"Bofur..." Dwalin began, and his hand gently touched her shoulder. Bofur dutifully ignored him. "Okay, you don't have to speak. Just listen. I know I've been...an idiot recently," he explained, and Bofur couldn't help but snort at the understatement. Dwalin ignored it and continued on, "And for that I am truly sorry. Please know I care deeply for you...and if we happen to survive this quest to reclaim Erebor, I would very much like to court you." Bofur immediately stiffened, even as Dwalin walked away to the other corner of camp (it was required that they form a triangle around their sleeping friends), and she coughed as a bug flew into her mouth because her jaw had dropped in her shock.

Dwalin was her friend, and an excellent warrior, an honorable man of the line of Durin, but she had never had a romantic thought of him before, nor had she even suspected he might harbor some kind of affection for her...now his behavior towards Nori made so much more sense. Indeed, it even gave light to his sudden urge to appear as the most masculine of the Company. But wait...if he'd been acting like that because he liked her, and felt threatened by Nori, then that could mean...did Nori have feelings for her as well? Mahal save her. She wanted to chase this thought pattern more, but knew this was a foolish thing while she was on watch, so she forced herself to stay alert.

And so, as the sun slowly rose on the horizon, gradually climbing towards what Bilba fondly referred to as "Double Breakfast Time," she was relieved to be able to rise from her seat perched upon a rock and shake Dori awake for him to take over the watch for her. With that done, Bofur crawled to her bedroll, which was safely situated between her brother and cousin, but found that sleep stubbornly eluded her. For what felt like hours, she tossed and turned, until finally she settled into an uneasy sleep. Then, what felt like moments later, but was actually close to five hours, someone was shaking her shoulder. Bofur didn't even bother to open her eyes, she simply rolled onto her stomach with a groan and buried her face in the bundle of tunics that acted as her pillow.

"Up, cousin. We're leaving," Bifur grunted. Bofur groaned, but didn't move. She heard Bifur heave a loud sigh, and then suddenly she was lifted out of her bedroll and gently set on her feet. Finally prying her eyes open, she glared at her axe-ridden cousin, who simply smiled gently at her and ruffled her hair, which only irritated her further.

"Ah, best leave her alone, Bif. Have you not been counting the days?" Bofur's face flushed with either anger or embarrassment that Bombur implied she was becoming moody because of her cycle. Bifur let out a rumbling life, and Bofur was very tempted to smack him, but refrained from doing so as it would not help her case.

"Come on, then, Bo. Only a little farther to Imladris and then you'll get a proper rest," Bifur encouraged, and reluctantly Bofur shuffled over to her purple Nadder, heaving herself up onto its back as her cousin climbed up behind her. Bombur had been given a Gronckle as it was the only dragon sturdy enough to hold his weight.

"Say, Lydia, your Scauldron ain't looking too good," Nori commented as Lydia helped her family onto her dragon.

"Aye, I'd imagine not. His scales are getting dried out. Good thing we're almost to Imladris. Elrond would be willing to let him use the fountain, aye?" Lydia asked, though no one responded, as they suspected it was a rhetorical question. The dragons took to the air for a final time, the pace slightly more relaxed than it had been last night. It was smooth flying right to Rivendell, and they quickly landed in the courtyard.

Lindir greeted them, "Ah, Thorin Oakenshield. Welcome to the Valley of Imladris. With...dragons. Hm. Well then. You must all be tired, and hungry. Come, eat, rest, I will fetch Lord Elrond."

And just like that, they were safe.

This chapter didn't want to end. Also, Bofur finally gets a clue! Sorry, no Snotlout/Ruffnut interactions yet, and I'm just basically ignoring Tuffnut and Fishlegs right now. Don't worry, they'll get more time later! This story is far from over! Oh Lindir, it's so fun to mess with you! Lol. Anyway, since I felt so loved with all my reviews from last time I updated, I decided to give you guys chapter twelve!

So, don't let me down!

Review!