Yay, this story has received over 100 reviews! Thanks to for being reviewer number 100! Sorry for the delay, a lot of work and real life got in the way. And now, time for the new chapter!

Chapter 19

Fíli wasn't sure what it was that finally roused him from his slumber.

Perhaps it was the orange tint of the sun as it lit up the room he slept in. Or maybe it was the soft cotton that he laid upon. More than likely it was the sense of worry about his brother for when he finally opened his eyes he nearly shot up, looking around and calling out, "Kíli!"

The moment Fíli sat upright, he felt a sudden pain shoot up through his abdomen. Of course, he had broken a few of his ribs. He wouldn't be able to move as quickly as before.

His sudden waking had caught the attention of Bilbo, who sat by his bedside smoking his pipe. "Fíli, you're awake!"

Bilbo was up out of his seat in an instant, reaching out to Fíli to help him lay back down so as to ease the pain in his ribs. "You should be resting. You were near death when Elladan and Elrohir found us."

"Where's Kíli?" Fíli asked as he grimaced in pain.

"He is alive, if that's what you mean. Elrond took him to the Healing Rooms after we arrived."

"Then why aren't we there?"

Fíli tried to sit up again when he felt Bilbo gently push him back onto the bed. "Oh no, you're not going anywhere. You need your rest just as Kíli does. Elrond said you're lucky that fall didn't kill you and that you hadn't passed out sooner from that wound on your arm. You lost a lot of blood and that water we fell in wasn't exactly clean."

"I am fine. Kíli needs me."

"Kíli needs you to get better."

"I need to see Kíli!"

There was a hint of anger in Fíli's voice which caused Bilbo to back off just a little. When Fíli saw him flinch, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry."

Bilbo wasn't sure how to respond. In all honesty, if Bilbo was in Fíli's position he too would try to go to his brother but nowadays it was difficult to tell whether the anger Fíli expressed was from his sense of duty to his brother or the influence of the ring.

Bilbo gently laid his hand on Fíli's shoulder. "If Kíli were here he would tell you to stop being stubborn and to worry about yourself for once."

Fíli smirked. "Aye, he would."

A slight irritation became evident in Fíli's throat and to relieve it he coughed. However instead of the cough being brief it turned into a fit.

"Oh dear, are you alright? Is it your chest because Elrond said you had quite a few injuries there?"

"It's nothing, Bilbo, just a dry throat."

"Oh, do you need some water? I'll go fetch you some."

Bilbo was out of the room in a flash, wondering where he could find some water for the poor prince.

He must have checked several rooms before he ran into two elves who were enjoying a peaceful conversation. "Excuse me, do you know where I could find a pitcher of water? My friend needs it."

"The prince Fíli?"

Bilbo nodded. One of the elves turned and walked down the hall before entering the last room on the left. Rather quickly he returned carrying a pitcher. Bilbo thanked him before rushing back towards Fíli's room, struggling to hold onto the pitcher that was meant to be carried by people with bigger hands and statures. As he rushed in, he said, "Here we are, let me just grab you a…"

But when Bilbo turned to the bed he saw that Fíli was gone. Bilbo froze to the spot, simply staring at the bed for a few moments before turning his head and looking around the room. When he was fully aware that Fíli was no longer in the room at all, he turned back to the bed and simply stated, "Ah."

It had taken some doing and a lot of will to not succumb to the pain he felt as he wound his way through Rivendell towards the Healing Rooms.

Eventually he made it and found the room where his brother was resting.

Kíli looked so peaceful in the bed. His torn and bloodied garments had been discarded and he now lay in light blue and brown trousers that seemed to have been tailored to his size. It was then that Fíli noticed that he, too, was no longer in his normal clothes and was now in an off white tunic and brown trousers made of soft cotton. Walking barefoot had been interesting and he wondered how Bilbo managed the entire quest with his Hobbit feet. He recalled Kíli asking Bilbo about his feet and remembered how Bilbo explained that Hobbit feet were hardened and used to it by now.

Fíli smiled at the memory. Kíli had only asked because he had been caught poking Bilbo's foot with a stick after their encounter with the trolls. Life had been so much simpler then.

Fíli could feel his legs beginning to struggle to hold him upright so he scrambled into a chair that sat beside his brother's bed. Once comfortable, he cupped his brother's hands in his, running his thumb along his brother's knuckles.

"It's alright Kee, I'm here," he whispered.

Even though Kíli looked peaceful in his slumber, Fíli could tell that his brother could still feel the pain of his injuries. Fíli's eyes ran up and down his brother's body, finally landing on the bandages wrapped around his brother's forearms.

"It's all my fault, isn't it? It's my fault you are laying here. I should have been there to protect you. I shouldn't have let those goblins take you in the mountains. I know you told me that it wasn't back in the forest but... Mahal, Kíli, look at you. I promised you that I would keep you safe. I promised you I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you and now look. You nearly died and I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry, Kíli. I'm so, so sorry."

Fíli wasn't sure when the tears began to form during his apology but by the end of it, small droplets stained the sheets of Kíli's bed.

Fíli didn't go to wipe them away; he let them fall. For the first time since he was a Dwarfling, he allowed himself to cry.

There was a soft knock on the door. At first, Fíli thought it was Bilbo but when he turned around he saw a young boy, no more than eleven, standing in the door holding a pitcher of water.

"Why are you crying?" the boy asked as he set the pitcher down on the table.

Quickly Fíli wiped the tears away. "Because I am worried."

"But Lord Elrond healed him, didn't he?" the boy questioned, coming so he was standing next to Fíli.

With a nod, Fíli replied, "Aye, he did."

It was then that he noticed the boy did not have the pointy ears of the Elves. "You're human, aren't you?"

The boy nodded.

"What's your name?" Fíli asked.

"Estel."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Estel. I'm…"

"I know who you are. I saw you when they brought you here. Is it true? Did you really kill a dragon?"

Fíli smiled. "Actually, that was a brave man by the name of Bard. You see Estel, a dragon can only be killed by a Black Arrow fired from a windlass because a Black Arrow is the only thing hard enough to pierce the hide of a dragon. But between you and me, the dragon wasn't the scariest thing I saw. You see, there was this journey, and it all started in a hole in the ground where a poor little Hobbit lived in peace before thirteen dwarves showed up on his doorstep..."

And soon Fíli found himself telling young Estel a story. A story of a journey that thirteen dwarves, one wizard and one Hobbit took to reclaim a homeland that had long been lost to a dragon.

TBC...

Okay, I couldn't resist...I just had to have a cute little moment with Fili somewhere in this story! And plus Estel is just a cutie, isn't he? And now, a preview!

Bifur quickly raced back to the camp. It seemed that the others hadn't noticed his disappearance. When he burst back into the camp his words were so frantic and quick that they jumbled together and not even he could understand what he was saying. Bofur looked at him quizzically as Nori asked, "Wait what are you saying?"

"I think he just told us there is a group of Elf-eating squirrels heading this way."

"If that's the case I say we lead them straight to Mirkwood. Let them deal with the Elven King."

Instead of repeating himself he grabbed Bofur by his scarf and pulled him away, Nori following close behind so that he wasn't left alone by himself. When they got near Bifur simply pointed. Bofur and Nori looked in that direction and their faces paled.

Hmm, what did Bifur find? I wonder...;) Please read and review!