A/N Helllllllllo all! As always, thanks to everyone who left incredibly kind reviews, you are seriously so awesome it's wonderful to have the opportunity to read your feedback :') I would like to extend a firm and slightly longer than socially acceptable internet hug to all of you :* Hope you enjoy!
Bilbo Baggins woke up the next day feeling incredibly sore. He had fallen asleep with his head resting against Kili's shoulder as they watched over Fili's unconscious form. Though the hobbit thought that it was probably after dawn, almost no sunlight came through the thick trees of Mirkwood.
Looking around as he tried to blink the sleep out of his eyes, Bilbo saw that Thorin was already up, hobbling around the camp rousing the other member's of the company, though his thick fur-lined coat still surrounded his and Kili's forms.
The hobbit attempted disentangled himself from his tightly wrapped blanket but in his growing frustration and irritated jostling, Bilbo accidentally placed a poorly timed flail right into Kili's still sleeping face.
"What the—" Kili looked incredibly confused and brought his hands up from his brother's face to hold his smarting nose, "Ow! Master Boggins! What was that for?" The dwarf glared at his companion who, in his defense, tried his very hardest not to chuckle at Kili's petulant stare.
"Sorry, sorry," the hobbit muttered as he finally disentangled himself from the blanket, "got a little, uh, enthusiastic there for a moment." Kili stuck his tongue out at Bilbo as he gave a great stretch and moaned in discomfort when seemingly every bone in his upper body creaked back into place.
Bilbo stood up to get some much needed blood flow back into his rather tingling legs when he heard Kili speak in a small voice, "Shouldn't he –" the dwarf stopped as Bilbo looked down, apprehensive at the tone of his friend's voice, "Shouldn't he be moving or something?"
The hobbit couldn't help the small spark of panic that flared in his chest as he looked wide-eyed from Kili's worried face to the still expression on the blonde dwarf. 'Please, please be alright!' Bilbo thought alarmed at Fili's lack of response even as his brother prodded him in the face. It would be his fault if anything happened to Fili! After all he had, for reasons that escaped him, been appointed as the makeshift healer of this blasted group.
Bilbo sank down quickly to examine the still unconscious dwarf. Putting his ear close to Fili's mouth and placing a hand on his chest, Bilbo remained utterly still for a few moments. Breath! Sweet, rhythmic breathing reached his ear and his hand rose and fell as the dwarf's chest moved steadily. The hobbit sunk back with a sigh of relief, "He's alive!"
Kili gave Bilbo a horrified look as his gaze moved rapidly between the hobbit and his brother, "You mean there was a chance he wasn't?" The dwarf practically shouted as his hand unconsciously gripped a blonde braid tightly.
"How am I supposed to know?" Bilbo shot back, feeling equal parts anxious and indignant that he was supposed to know all the answers when he had received a grand total of zero lessons in healing thus far.
The hobbit only needed to take one look at Kili's stricken face to see he had made a mistake. "I—I'm sorry, I know this is hard, I still shouldn't have snapped." Bilbo placed a hand he hoped wouldn't be slapped away on the dwarf's arm, "let's just… check his wounds, okay? Maybe if we work together we can figure out what's wrong."
Kili looked at the hobbit for several moments before stiffly nodding his assent, his eyebrows furrowing once more as he looked at Fili's face. Bilbo moved closed to the blonde dwarf's bandaged arm and slowly began unwrapping it. To his immense pleasure and surprise, the wound looked to be… well, almost completely healed! Except for four round scars where the monster's teeth had bit down, the arm itself looked to be perfectly healthy.
"Mister Beorn's balm is amazing," Bilbo let out a slow appreciative whistle as he lifted the arm to examine it closer. "Once you're finished drooling, Master Boggins, would you be so kind as to inform me if my brother is alright?" Kili snapped, forcing Bilbo from his reverent reverie. "I, uh… yes sorry," the hobbit flushed as he looked apologetically at his friend, "I don't think the problem is with the wound since it looks to be - well, healed."
They were quickly interrupted by Thorin's uneven pounding footsteps as their leader hurried his way over with a slight limp, "What happened? Why were you shouting, Kili?" The dwarf's face looked dark and worried as his glance shifted between his nephews.
"Nothing happened, that's the problem uncle," Kili met Thorin's gaze, his face the picture of anxiety, "Master Boggins said the wound looks fine but he's still not waking up!" Thorin's face grew thunderous as he scowl deepened, "I was afraid you'd say that."
"What?" Bilbo and Kili interjected in unison, "what do you know?" the hobbit surged forward his hands worrying at the edge jacket. Thorin gazed at the hobbit for a moment before letting out an angry sigh, "… Beorn, he… he warned me that the river could have adverse effects on anyone who fell in and strongly suggested that we should avoid doing so."
"Adverse effects?" Bilbo shot in angrily, placing his hand on his hips, "what does that even mean? And why didn't you tell us anything earlier?"
Thorin frowned at the hobbit's indignant glare; "It seemed pointless to worry you all since I had no intention of leading us through any rivers. I assumed he was referring to the creatures within it, not the waters themselves!"
Bilbo felt his face fall into a scowl of his own, "oh well, as long as you assumed. Did Beorn say anything else that might be, oh I don't know, useful while we're on the subject?" Thorin crossed his arms and glared right back at the hobbit, "No. He didn't, Master Baggins. And while I'm sure you didn't mean it, I must add that I find the implication that I would do anything to purposely endanger this company and my own nephew to be extremely offensive."
The hobbit's eyes narrowed even further as he took a few steps forward, his hand raised and ready to stick a cross finger into the dwarf's chest and tell him just what exactly he found offensive about the dwarf's stubborn unwillingness to share crucial information just because he thought it would save them some anxiety when Dwalin suddenly appeared and hauled Bilbo over his shoulder and started making his way to the opposite end of camp.
"What – what're you doing? Put me down you – you… great oaf! Oh I am going to give him a piece of my mind and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" Bilbo tried his best to wriggle out of the dwarf's iron grip but nothing, not even beating his much smaller fists against Dwalin's back could make the dwarf let go.
"Alright, that's enough lad." Dwalin hauled his companion down and placed the hobbit on the ground in front of him, now on the far end of camp. "Enough? Enough?" Bilbo spluttered, "Oh it is not nearly enough! I get that Thorin wants to protect us, I really do, but he had no right to keep something like that from us!"
"I'm going - I'm going to… Oh I don't know, but he will regret it I promise you that!" Bilbo made several attempts to move around Dwalin but found his path blocked no matter what angle he tried to take.
"Are you done?" Bilbo looked up at Dwalin from glaring daggers into Thorin's back as their leader conversed with Kili in hushed tones. "I… No! I'll be done when he apologizes to Kili for not warning him what might happen to his brother! Who knows that river water did to Fili once he swallowed it!"
Dwalin crossed his arms as he looked at Bilbo with an irritatingly calm expression on his face, "I think you know as well as me Thorin would never to anything to intentionally hurt the brats." Bilbo crossed his own arms disgruntled, though in comparison he would admit it looked rather less impressive.
"Yes, of course I know that. But even youcan't pretend like he's doing us any favors by not telling us things just because morale might go a little down!" Dwalin sighed like he was just about to go through the laborious and not doubt unpleasant experience of explaining something that Bilbo should already understand.
"Do you honestly think his only consideration was morale?" The hobbit felt his eyebrows furrow, "well that's what he said not more than about five minutes ago."
The large dwarf shook his head like Bilbo was being particularly obtuse, "Sometimes I forget you haven't known Thorin as long as the rest of us, lad. He has a… difficult time expressing what he means, particularly when worried. There are two cases in which I have seen this less than exemplary trait become even more exaggerated, one is when his family is in danger and the other is when he's talking to you."
"What? Me? This is hardly my fault!" The dwarf let out a grunt, "what Thorin was trying to achieve by not telling the rest of the company about what Beorn said was not to keep you blissfully ignorant. You may not know this about dwarves, lad, but most of us have some level of anxiety in dealing with water craft."
"Most of us can swim, at least passably enough so we don't drown, but put a dwarf in a boat as shoddy as that one and you'll be more likely to tip than make it to where you're going. We like the rock and earth solid against our feet."
Bilbo looked at his companion trying to remember if he had read any great tales of dwarves and ships so he could undermine this nonsensical argument and continue his righteous ranting; but, to his disappointment, the hobbit could recall just about nothing.
"Now I'm sure most of our company normally would have been fine if not for this forsaken wood, lad, but just imagine if Bombur had panicked and fallen in, what then? Anyone heavier than Fili or Kili and I doubt you'd have been able to pull them out of the current."
"You should consider that while you may not understand all his reasoning – even with he gives it – Thorin wants to see us all to Erebor alive and unhurt. I hadn't seen him so worried since Kili fell off that ledge."
Bilbo started to feel his angry bluster fade the more Dwalin spoke. Perhaps he had lashed out a bit too quickly at Thorin… After all, no one cared more for Fili than his brother and uncle. The hobbit started to regret his words as a gnawing sense of guilt began to rather uncomfortably seep into his chest.
"He calmed down quite a bit once he spoke to you last night, lad." Dwalin placed a strong hand on Bilbo's shoulder with a squeeze, "Don't underestimate the power your words have on him, Master Baggins. Thorin rarely trusts or truly respects anymore, but you proved him wrong lad, you saved his life. You have more influence on him than you know, don't forget that."
And with that Dwalin walked back where Thorin and Kili were still talking. Bilbo let out a groan and hung his head feeling ashamed that his temper had gotten the better of him again and hoped that he hadn't angered Thorin enough to make the dwarf regret their tentative and growing friendship.
Bilbo wasn't sure if he should go back in case Thorin was still cross with him, but seeing as how all his things were there, he could hardly avoid it for long. Sighing, Bilbo started back to where the three dwarves stood. He walked as slow as he could, dreading Thorin looking at him with his fearsome glare, or worse, looking hurt.
The hobbit had made it about halfway back when he spotted something lying on the ground. The light was so poor that he couldn't quite make it out, but as Bilbo reached down to grasp it, he realized it was a relatively small, square metal locket with what appeared to be intricate carvings its front.
Opening it curiously, Bilbo angled the two inner stone faces towards the embers of the fire. On each of the slates there was a carving. But where the front was covered in sharp, angled lines, these had a face each. The hobbit couldn't help but marvel that such delicate detail could be carved into stone and felt is eyes widen in awe as his finger traced the portraits.
One appeared to be a dwarf maiden, her beard braided with many beads, hair piled atop her head in countless twists, and a warm smile on her face. The opposite stone had what he thought must be a very young dwarf. Unruly hair shot out from the dwarf's head, but the face emanated strength and humor. Bilbo glance up, trying to figure out who this could belong to, but before he had time to give it much thought, he heard Thorin growl at his companions.
"I will carry him, he is my nephew. And it is… It is my fault he's still unconscious." Kili shot in quickly, his face sporting a irked frown, "And he's my brother. I want to look after him!"
Dwalin rolled his eyes before grunting a loud, "enough." The large dwarf straightened up to his full and bulky height, "Thorin, you are still injured, don't be an idiot. Kili, you can barely carry your own supplies, how do you expect to lift your brother on top of all of that?"
The two Durins' made matching scowls of displeasure as they sent twin glares at Dwalin who merely shrugged, looking not at all impressed. "I will carry him, and that's final." Thorin looked like he wanted to debate the issue but seemed to realize quickly the wisdom in Dwalin's words, "Fine. We move out as soon as we're packed."
Their leader gathered his coat and made his way back to the center of camp where his supplies were still sitting. Bilbo gripped the locket tight in his hard, preparing to apologize or grovel or something as the dwarf was level with him. "Thorin, I—" Bilbo started nervously but was quickly cut off as the dwarf passed him with a stiff, "you better get moving, Master Baggins, we're leaving."
Bilbo felt his stomach sink at the dwarf's face. He was used to the glares and the frowns, what the hobbit wasn't prepared for was the blank face and complete lack of emotion in the quick look Thorin gave him.
'Well this is…' Bilbo thought dejectedly, feeling his hand tighten on the cold metal in his hand almost unconsciously, 'not good. Not good at all…'
They had been walking for hours down the narrow and sometimes almost invisible path that ran through the forest. The deeper into the forest the company went, the harder and harder it became for even the youngest of their company to make out much more than a few feet in front of them.
Kili had insisted that he and Bilbo stay tied together as they trailed closely behind Dwalin who had a limp and still unconscious Fili slung over his shoulder. Thorin led at the front of the group and, much to the hobbit's dismay, hadn't said a word to him since they had packed up camp.
Bilbo had been so distressed at the thought of offending the dwarf past the point of forgiveness that all thought of the metal locket slipped his mind in a flurry of anxiety. The hobbit had tried to make some small conversation with Kili as they walked through the dark murkiness of the wood, but the young dwarf seemed too absorbed in thoughts of his brother to do anything but frown at the bobbing blonde head in front of them.
And so, as he was wont to do in situations such as these, Bilbo felt his mind begin to spiral into a whirling torrent of worry. He was worried that Fili would never wake up, he was worried what Kili would do without his brother, but the gnawing thoughts that surfaced most frequently in his mind were those concerning Thorin.
He hadn't wanted to offend the dwarf; it was just so – so frustrating being kept in the dark while one of dear friends was hurt! Bilbo felt guilt once again curl its way into what seemed to be a now permanent residence deep in his stomach. He hadn't meant Thorin to think Bilbo thought him capable of hurting his nephews! Or anyone for that matter! Maybe if he just… explained that to Thorin, the dwarf would forgive him…
The hobbit wrung his hands nervously; he couldn't just do nothing, not after what Dwalin had said, not after all they had been though… Bilbo was about to pluck up some courage and plan an apology to Thorin when the dwarf in question called for a halt.
"We'll make camp here, no point continuing when we can't see." Kili let out a small sigh of relief and followed Dwalin to what appeared to be a relatively smooth patch of earth. Setting Fili down as gently as he could, Dwalin placed the dwarf's lolling head onto his pack for support.
Kili quickly knelt down next to his brother and began to cover him with all the blankets at his disposal. Bilbo placed his own pack down next to Fili and let the sounds of camp being made wash over him. Bofur had built a small fire and the rest of the dwarves set their supplies down encircling the flame. Thorin was deep in conversation with Dwalin on the opposite end of camp and Bilbo couldn't help but feel that he just might have missed his chance at apologizing for the day.
Shoving his hands into his pockets with frustration, the hobbit felt his fingers come in contact with a something small and cold, 'what –' Bilbo thought confused as he pulled out the object, 'oh! The locket!' He had completely forgotten it! The hobbit pulled it out and tapped his friend on the shoulder, "Say Mister Kili, do you happen to know who this belongs to? I found it at camp earlier and it slipped my mind."
Kili looked up from Fili and took the locket in both hands before opening it to examine the contents. "Oh! This would be Master Gloin's! You should probably give it back soon, he'd be really cross if he knew this was missing." Bilbo's eyes widened, he hadn't meant to keep something so valuable! Not for the first time, the hobbit cursed his absent-mindedness as he made his way over to where Gloin was sitting on his bedroll, absently chewing on one of Beorn's honey cakes.
Bilbo Baggins hadn't had much cause to speak to the red haired dwarf before, but since Gloin hadn't been anything but gruffly polite, the hobbit hoped he wasn't overstepping any sort of boundaries.
"Uh, Mister Gloin?" Bilbo began slowly as he approached the dwarf who looked up at him curiously, "What do you need lad?"
Bilbo stuck out his open palm with the locket resting on it, "I, uh, found this earlier today on the ground. Kili said it was yours so I was just making sure you got it back." The dwarf's eyes widened as he quickly palmed his shirt as if searching for the familiar lump of a now missing object. "I… yes that is mine! I must've dropped it in all the confusion of last night."
Gloin reached out and took the locket from Bilbo's hand before granting the hobbit a warm smile, "I must thank you lad. If I'd of lost this… well let's just say when I return I don't think my beard would've remained uncut long in the presence of an angry wife!"
Bilbo smiled back, happy to have done at least one good thing today, "Is that… Is that your wife?" Gloin gave what the hobbit thought might have been a beaming smile, but to be fair it was rather hard to tell underneath the sheer amount of beard that rested on the dwarf's face.
"Aye, that she is!" Gloin scooted over a tad and patted the ground with enthusiasm, clearly pleased at the opportunity to sing the praises of his family. Bilbo stared for a moment, not sure if he was interpreting the motion correctly or if dwarves were prone to pounding the ground with their hands when eager.
"Well don't just stand there lad, sit down!" Bilbo quickly folded onto his legs next to the dwarf who opened up the locket so he could once again see the carvings that rested lovingly on the stone.
Gloin grinned at him, "the rest of our esteemed company have grown tired of what Oin tell's me is 'constant and incessant prattling' about my family, but you, lad, you don't have any such excuses!" Bilbo chuckled at the dwarf's face, feeling small swell of happiness that at least one of the dwarves appeared to have something to go back to, a home.
"She's a very handsome dwarf, Mister Gloin, I'm sure they're just envious of your fortune." The red-bearded dwarf threw back his head and let out a great guffaw as he slapped Bilbo on the back, "That they are, lad! That they are."
The dwarf suddenly narrowed his eyes at Bilbo, "Though I won't be havin' to worry about a hobbit pining after her too, will I?" Said hobbit in question's eyes widened, "What? No – no of course not! I would – I would never dream of anything like that!"
There was a tense second in which Bilbo thought he might die in a rather undignified manner on the end of one of Gloin's axes in a fit of jealous rage when the dwarf's face broke out another wide smile, "Hah! You're as red as a ruby! I was only teasing you Master Baggins, no need to worry."
Bilbo let out a giant sigh of relief, thankful to be alive another minute but his pounding heart was not so eager to forgive or forget this most recent exercise in panic. "Not that'd I blame you, she is stoutest dwarf maiden in all the Blue Mountain, thousands have journeyed to have but a mere glance at her beauty!"
The hobbit felt his eyes widen curiously, "What? Really?" Gloin simply laughed again, "Well, perhaps not thousands, lad, but there certainly should be! Her beard is like a river of the deepest red waters, her eyes like the finest shimmering amber!" Bilbo let out a laugh, the sight of any dwarf waxing poetic was something the hobbit would cherish for many years to come.
"And, she bore me my son, my greatest treasure," Gloin gestured to the second portrait. "That's him?" Bilbo peered closer, the young dwarf looked like he could pass for a miniature version of his father. "Aye, his name's Gimli," Gloin's face was the picture of pride, "Tough he takes less after his mother in appearance, my boy has just the same fierce determination as my wife. He'll be a great leader amongst my people one day, Master Baggins, I can just about feel it."
Bilbo smiled at Gloin who was fondly tracing the outline of his son's face, "he looks to be very capable, Mister Gloin, you should be proud." The dwarf nodded enthusiastically, "Oh yes, my boy is already a master with both axes and swords, though he much prefers the axe." Gloin's chest puffed out a bit, "just like his father."
The hobbit could tell that the dwarf obviously loved his family more than anything and suddenly felt the question of why he would leave all that he held dear to go on some adventure bubble up. "Why…" Bilbo began before he could stop himself. Gloin looked at his companion, an eyebrow raised curiously. 'Well too late to stop now,' the hobbit thought to himself, "Why did you come on this quest? If you don't mind me asking…"
"Ah," the dwarf nodded his head sagely, "why would I leave my family behind, do you mean?" Bilbo shrunk back into himself slightly with a small nod, hoping he hadn't offended the dwarf. "Well… I suppose I felt that I had to come. I am related to Thorin rather distantly, but that is not why I left my wife and son. I left, lad, because someone has to watch out for my brother."
"Oin is… well, he's as sharp as he ever was, but there's no denying that he is getting on in years and after his accident..." Bilbo looked over to the older dwarf who was snoring softly on a sleeping roll nearby. "My brother makes his fortune by… investing in ventures he deems profitable around the Blue Mountains. He's a dab hand at knowing where and when to put the gold, but he becomes so obsessed with monitoring those investments he can't let anything happen not under his watchful eyes."
Gloin glanced over at his brother with a slightly irritated fondness, "he put a large amount of gold into one of the mining ventures a while back. They were going to dig up a new portion of the mountain and Oin was sure there would be a veritable kingdom of gold inside, though I don't think he trusted the dwarves working for him much."
"The fool went to go survey the opening operations but one of the explosives went off unexpectedly. Took out a good deal of the company minin' and my brother lost most of his hearing from the blast."
Bilbo had been curious why the older dwarf always held that absurd horn up to his ear, but the hobbit had always thought it was due to age. "But he was otherwise unhurt, yes?"
Gloin nodded, "Aye, lad. Got off better than the miners at least. I've always admired my brother for not letting anything hold him back, but when he told me he had invested a large sum of gold into Thorin's expedition I just knew he meant to come along."
The red-haired dwarf shook his head with a sigh, "He told me it was to reclaim our birthright, that Thorin was our cousin and we had a duty to join him, but I know some small part of him had to make sure he could monitor his assets."
"So you came along to… help him?" Bilbo questioned his companion. "I came along for all the reasons Oin said, but yes, lad. Mostly I came to make sure my fool of a brother doesn't get killed by some orc that he couldn't hear coming."
"And your wife was fine with you leaving?" Bilbo's eyebrows furrowed as Gloin let out booming laugh, "I wouldn't say she was fine with it, lad, but she knows that family is worth more to me than all the gold and fine gems in the world. I think that's why she accepted my courting in the first place."
"I would have stayed if she had asked," the dwarf shrugged as he grinned at the portrait of his wife in his hand, "I wanted to stay, but she knows me better than I even know myself, lad. She knew I couldn't have lived with myself if Oin got injured or killed on this quest…"
Bilbo gave the Gloin's arm a small pat with a smile on his face, "she sounds like an amazing woman, Mister Gloin." The dwarf beamed back at him, "aye, that she is lad, that she is. And I know my boy would keep her safe if anything ever happened to me. The only thing Gimli loves more than hittin' things with those axes of his is his mother."
"Maybe," Gloin began as he put the locket back into the safety of his shirts, "when this is all over and Erebor is safe enough to visit you'll get a chance to meet them, lad. My wife is always reading about the other folks of this world in all her books, I'm sure she'd love to meet a hobbit such as yourself."
Bilbo chuckled as he grinned at the dwarf, "I am always looking for another opportunity to educate dwarves on the respectable and admirable ways of hobbits, Mister Gloin. I'd be honored to meet your family should I ever get the chance."
Gloin patted him once more on the back with a grin of his own, "better get goin' back to Master Kili, over there. I don't think he can sleep without you there anymore." Bilbo stood up to make his way back to where Fili and Kili were as Gloin spoke up once more, "And thank you, lad. For returning this."
The hobbit nodded, "Of course, Mister Gloin, rest well, I'm sure we'll be needing it in the morning." And with that Bilbo walked quietly back to where the Durin brothers were.
The younger dwarf looked up as Bilbo approached, a relieved smile on his face, "He made a noise, Master Boggins!" Kili began excitedly, his words rushing together in his eagerness to get them out, "Fili made this odd sort of groan and fell right back asleep but at least it was something!"
Bilbo couldn't help but let out a relieved laugh, "that's wonderful, Mister Kili! I'm sure he'll be fine soon." Kili nodded with a small smile, "I – I hope you're right, Master Boggins. It is… strange not to have heard his voice for so long."
Kili set up his roll on one side of Fili as Bilbo unfolded his own on the opposite one. "I can't imagine how hard this is for you and Thorin, but Fili is strong. One of the strongest people I know, he wouldn't let some water keep him down for long," Bilbo winked at his companion, "especially if that meant losing so many opportunities to tease his brother."
The young dwarf chuckled as he looked at his brother fondly, "I suppose you're right, Master Boggins, I guess all we can do is wait for him to wake up." Bilbo gave Kili a warm smile, "Which I'm sure will be soon now if he's making noises, let's try and get some sleep."
Kili and Bilbo both edged in closer to where Fili lay in the middle and each placed part of their blankets on the blonde dwarf as they huddled together, making sure Fili would be warm once he woke up.
"Good night, Master Boggins."
"Good night, Mister Kili." Bilbo Baggins discretely wrapped his arms around one of Fili's, willing the dwarf to wake up soon. The hobbit missed Fili's quick laugh, steadfast friendship, and sound advice, especially in regards to one Durin in particular. At that moment, Bilbo couldn't think of anyone's advice he could have used more and it dawned on him just how much he had grown to depend on the friendships he had formed in the company.
Thorin, he decided, would have to wait until tomorrow for Bilbo to apologize. Right now it was Fili who needed him to be as steady a friend to him as he had been to Bilbo. The hobbit focused in on the blonde dwarf's rhythmic breathing and hoped with all his might that his companion, his friend, would recover soon.