Hi guys, sorry it's taken me so long to update this story! I've had a lot of work to do for Uni, translating Ancient Egyptian into English among other things, but here is the newest chapter, slightly shorter than some of the others ones but not the shortest. After this there should be at least two more chapters after this one before it's finished, the next chapter will be the reunion of them all and then perhaps a little extra about Kili in Rivendell during the events of the Hobbit. Don't worry, I won't be changing the story too much.

Anyway, this chapter is more Fili/Thorin/Dis!centric than Kili!centric because I'm kind of bad at writing journeys. When Fili has his first 'fit' is the night before Kili and co. leave Rivendell. Hopefully all loose ends will be tied up in the next chapter, but at least Kili got the statue back.

Also as a second thought from me! Thank you so much to everybody who has reviewed this story and given me so many compliments and love for the story, I really am grateful.

Enjoy guys!.

Saying goodbye to Rivendell was harder than Kili had imagined it would be. Once they were out of the beautiful valley and Elladan and Elrohir had left them Kili thought that his thoughts would be occupied with finding the way back to Kili but the first time the dwarves stopped to make camp he found that he missed the elven valley. Normally when the sun started to set Kili would curl up in a chair in the dining room next to the warm fire with Glorfindel and the elf would tell him stories about the elder days that he had seen and the time he had spent in Gondolin. Kili had always wanted his stories to be full of action and adventure, like the story of Erebor and the battle of Azanulbizar but he had found he was content to listen to peaceful stories, even if they were of days spent under the shadow of the evil Valar, Morgoth. Glorfindel seemed happy enough to speak of these days, although he sometimes ended up trailing off and staring into the distance with a rather sad smile on his lips, a thoughtful expression in his eyes. Kili had learnt to leave him be when he was in this state, for the elf had a lot of painful memories as well as happy ones and sometimes he liked to dwell on them. Erestor had even stopped by Kili's chair and explained that this had started happening more often ever since Kili had arrived and the young dwarf had spent part of his week wondering why Glorfindel would dwell on the sad parts of his life more in Kili's presence. As he stood staring at the place he knew Rivendell to be hidden Kili reflected sadly that he had never gotten an answer to that question.

"Come on lad," Dwalin barked as Kili stood staring backwards with a blank expression on his face, "Settle down for the night. I'll take first watch."

Kili did as he was told and laid out his bedroll, not realising that Bofur and Oin laid out their own rolls on either side of him, as if to protect him. When he closed his eyes and slept for the night Kili dreamed of both Rivendell and Fili and he slept peacefully with a smile on his lips.

/

Thorin stood at the mouth of the path that led down to the plains below Ered Luin, watching for Dwalin, Bofur and Oin's return, hopefully dragging his youngest nephew with them. He had lost count of the days since Kili had gone, though Dis informed him regularly that Kili had been gone for almost a month and Fili had gotten worse during that time, as if he knew his little brother had disappeared. Thorin found he could not wrap his mind around the fact that Kili had been gone for so long because he could not accept the fact that Kili could have survived for that long alone, out in the wilderness. The boy had no concept of the world, he would not know where to start looking for a cure, he did not know anything. Thorin regretted allowing himself to be convinced to return to Ered Luin. He should be out there looking for Kili, making sure his nephew was safe and sound. Then again, if he had watched Kili more closely, instead of being preoccupied with Fili, perhaps he would have noticed what Kili was planning.

"Thoughts like that won't help you laddie."

Thorin jumped as Balin's voice broke through his thoughts and brought him back to reality. Turning he found the old dwarf stood by his side looking down the path that wound down the mountainside, though he could hardly see anything as the sun had set.

"How do you know what I was thinking?" Thorin challenged, the words coming out in a ruder way than he had intended. Balin did not seem offended, shrugging his shoulders and turning to Thorin with his usual warm smile on his lips.

"It's written all over your face Thorin," He explained, "You paid attention to Kili these twenty years. You taught him how to fight, how to forge, you indulged in his dream to learn archery and you made sure he was well fed and fit, the image of the heir of Durin. Kili did not run away because he was being mistreated or ignored, he left to find a cure for his brother and he will return."

"We don't know that Balin." Thorin whispered, his eyes downcast as tears came to them. He had not cried, he would not allow himself to but talking about Kili with Balin made him feel vulnerable and alone, though he knew he was not.
"How do we know that Kili will return to us alive? How do we know that Dwalin, Bofur and Oin are not carrying his body back to us right now?"

"Do you remember when you promised to make a wooden sword for Fili?" Balin asked. Thorin blinked and looked up, taken unawares by the sudden change in subject. "Kili was incredibly jealous about it and when you gave the sword to Fili he managed to break it in his anger and jealousy? Fili swore never to speak to him again."

"I remember the day clearly Balin but I don't see-." Thorin began but the look in Balin's eyes made his snap his mouth shut and wait for Balin to continue.

"Kili swore that he would make Fili a new sword but both you and Dis said that he could not because he was too small to wield the tools that were needed to carve it." Balin did continue after Thorin had accepted that the story was going to be told in Balin's way. "And when he heard this little Kili was devastated but it did not stop him. For three months he would sneak out of the house and nobody knew where he was going until he turned up with the most misshapen piece of wood anyone in the house had ever seen. It turned out that for the last three months Kili had been using the tools he had been forbidden to go near to make a replacement sword for Fili and even though he knew that it was misshapen and would not do as a sword he did not stop, no matter what injuries he received and had to lie about. Fili was ecstatic when Kili presented it to him and neither you nor Dis could bring yourselves to be angry with little Kili because of his thoughtfulness and determination."

If Thorin had been confused as to why Balin had chosen this particular story at the beginning it became clear to him as Balin continued why his friend had chosen to speak of this mishap in the boy's lives.

"What I want to say laddie is that when it comes to Fili no matter how many times he feels like he's going to fail and no matter what obstacle stands in his way Kili will not give up, he will succeed for his brother." Balin added as an afterthought, just in case Thorin was too grieved to realise what the dwarf was trying to say.

"I think carving a sword and surviving in the wilderness are completely different, Balin, though what you are saying is true. Fili would have done the same if he were in Kili's position." Thorin said after a moment, his voice flat but his eyes still teary.

"Do not worry Thorin, soon enough Kili will return with my brother, Oin and Bofur. They will not stop until they find him." Balin reassured Thorin simply, putting his hand gently on Thorin's arm. Thorin did not reply, he had no words left to say. He knew Balin meant well with his words but until Kili came walking up this path he would not believe them.
"You should head back to Dis and Fili, it will not help you or them if you continue to stand here watching. Kili will come straight home when he returns." Balin said after a moment of silence. Thorin nodded numbly and allowed Balin to turn him around and led him back to Dis' house.

Dis was sat in the kitchen sipping a glass of water. Her eyes were red and bloodshot; she had not slept properly since Kili had left the house, crying until she was exhausted at night and spending perhaps a few hours tossing and turning in fitful sleep. It was obvious to both Balin and Thorin that she had been crying recently. Thorin's heart started beating faster, his mind automatically deciding that something had happened to Fili.

"Is Fili okay?" He asked.

Dis looked up and smiled weakly. "He's sleeping. He was awake before and was crying for Kili, it was distressing."

Taking a deep breath Thorin sat down beside his sister and took her hand in his, stroking her knuckles in a comforting way. It was something that Dis' husband had done for her when she had learnt of all the tragedies that had hit the line of Durin and Thorin knew that it relaxed her, though only if Thorin did it; if anybody else did it she was reminded of her husband and it brought her to tears. Balin left the house silently as he watched the interactions between the brother and sister, a soft smile on his lips. He knew once Kili returned, which he strongly believed the boy would, this family would be stronger than ever before, once Kili was punished for running away after.

"Where did you go?" Dis inquired softly.

Thorin looked up to meet her eyes and tried to smile for her. "I went to watch for Kili's return." He admitted. It was hard for him to be strong with for Dis, he loved both Fili and Kili as his own sons, for their father had died just after Kili's birth and he was the only father that Kili knew. He worried for both of them. If something happened to Kili then Fili would never recover, and if Fili died before Kili returned the younger brother would never forgive himself and would likely end up fading away to nothing. The brothers were utterly dependent on each other, and though Thorin would not change the way they were he knew there were many dangers in this.

"When he comes home then he will," Dis murmured, "There is not point watching for him Thorin, it will only make it hurt worse."

Thorin opened his mouth to reply but the sound of smashing glass echoed through the house, originating in Fili's room, and both Thorin and Dis jumped to their feet and ran to see what had happened. Dis ran straight into the room but Thorin stopped at the doorway, a little shocked at what he saw. Fili was sitting up straight in bed, his blue eyes wide open but glazed over, as if he were still sleeping. One of his hands was bleeding and the remnants of a glass was scattered over the floor and the bedspread. Dis reached for Fili's hand but he shrank back from her and screamed. Thorin jumped forward to restrain Fili as his eyes burned suddenly with anger and he looked at his mother, apparently not recognising her.

"KILI!" Fili screamed as Thorin wrapped his arms around him, "KILI!" The second scream, by no means quieter than the first, was muffled against Thorin's chest as the young heir of Durin fought against him, struggling as best he could in his weakened state. He screamed again and again for his brother, tears soaking into Thorin's shirt, hands scrabbling at the rough material as Thorin hugged him tightly, rocking slightly to try and calm him down. Dis left the room for a mere moment before returning with a brush and a small pan, kneeling on the floor next to the shards of glass and sweeping them into the pan.

"Fili it's okay," Thorin murmured softly when Fili had screamed himself hoarse and had began coughing violently into his chest, pulling at Thorin's shirt as he convulsed.
"Hush Fili, it's alright." Thorin continued to whisper soothing words to Fili, rubbing his back as he coughed. Dis appeared at his elbow with a cup, wooden this time, full of fresh water. Thorin pulled back from Fili and held him up carefully as Dis knelt next to her son and helped him to sip the water to quell his coughing and soothe his throat.

"What could have brought this on Thorin?" Dis asked, her voice laced with worry.

"He could have had a bad dream about Kili." Thorin speculated.

"What if-?" Dis began but Thorin cut her off with a finger to her lips.

"Do not entertain the idea Dis," He whispered, "Yes the boys have a special bond and they usually know when the other is in trouble, but Fili is ill and Kili is fine. It was a bad dream, that's it."

Dis did not look convinced but she fell silent and watched Fili's face carefully for any signs of further distress. Fili's eyes were slipping closed and he lurched forward suddenly, nearly knocking the cup out of Dis' hands, but she managed to keep hold of it and moved back from her son to secure it on the bedside table. Thorin wrapped an arm around Fili's shoulders and pulled his sister-son into his chest. Fili fell into him and relaxed against him, relaxed, his breathing even now.

"Uncle," He whispered, so quiet that Thorin nearly missed it. Dis sat on Fili's other side and gently ran her fingers through her son's tangled hair as Thorin looked down on him. Fili had his eyes closed and to an outsider it would have seemed that he was sleeping but Thorin knew different.

"What is it Fili?" Thorin asked with a gruff voice as he murmured.

"Did Kili really leave me?" Fili inquired.

Thorin looked across him to Dis and met an uneasy expression on her face. He felt that he probably mirrored her expression. They could not lie to Fili, it was evident that Kili was not here and had not been for a while, but they were unsure how Fili would react if they confirmed it. Neither of them was aware that Fili had indeed spoken with Kili before the younger brother had left and knew where Kili had gone, but Fili himself had forgotten this because of the illness induced fever he had been caught in.

"He's gone looking for something for you Fili, he'll be back soon." Dis replied smoothly, still stroking her eldest son's hair. Fili was silent and both Thorin and Dis took this as sorrow. Thorin stood and made to leave the room. Dis watched him with a said expression on her face.
"Thorin do not go back outside." She ordered. Thorin did not speak and while Dis soothed Fili and helped him get back to sleep Thorin exited their house and went back to the mouth of the path where he had been standing earlier.

/

For three more weeks Thorin stood at the mouth at that path. It had been around two months now since Kili had gone and he knew that with each passing day it was growing more likely that he was not going to return home. Every night for the last three weeks Fili had woken screaming for his brother and every night he had asked where Kili was. He did not seem to be getting any better, despite Dis trying every different medicine she could think of that she hadn't tried yet. Thorin did not see the point in her doing this, it had been twenty years since Fili had fallen ill and no other cure had helped, they needed a more talented healer than they had access to. With a frown on his face Thorin wondered if an elven healer could have helped his nephew, but he would never had allowed an elf anywhere near Fili.

"Back again hmm?" Balin asked. Every time Thorin had stood at the mouth of the path he had been joined after an hour by Balin, who had stood silently beside him and refused to return home whenever Thorin had requested that he get rest.

"I want to be here when he returns so I can be the first to yell at him. I know when Dis sees him she'll cry before she gets angry, especially if he has found a cure for Fili." Thorin replied quietly to Balin.

Balin smiled but knew better than to try and reason with Thorin, he had tried for the first couple of nights when he had found Thorin had returned to watch the path despite Balin and Dis' best efforts to keep him in the house. He stayed until Fili woke screaming and then left to watch for Kili, almost as if he felt he could force Kili to come back quicker if he stood there waiting for him. Balin was worried about Kili and the other dwarves that had gone looking for him. He knew his little brother Dwalin would not stop until he found Kili, dead or alive, captive or free, with or without a cure and he would bring the boy back and that alone worried him. Dwalin was completely loyal to Thorin and Dis and loved both Fili and Kili, although Kili had been afraid of Dwalin when he had been younger because of how strong Dwalin looked, and Balin was worried about not seeing his brother for a very long time. The two of them helped each other get through the day due to all that they had lost still resting heavily on them, and Balin did not look forward to spending months alone with his brother.

Thorin seemed to sense that Balin was thinking about his brother and was worried because the exiled King wrapped an arm around Balin's shoulders as a sign of comfort. Balin was a lot older than Thorin and sometimes he forgot that the dwarven prince was so mature.

"I am sorry for this Balin," Thorin whispered after a moment, "I know how much you and Dwalin need each other for support during your daily lives."

"Do not worry about it Thorin," Balin replied softly, "Kili and Fili are both extremely important to myself and Dwalin, we'll do whatever we can to make sure they are safe and sound. We know the bond between brothers is extremely strong and that some brothers need each other in their daily lives, so we will assist the boys where we can." He continued and Thorin smiled grimly before trying, and failing, to hide a yawn behind his hand.

Balin eyed him with a knowing look. Thorin blushed a little under the stare in embarrassment. He had known Balin since he was a young dwarf and had always admired him and he knew exactly what Balin wanted to say to him, even though he would not actually say it.

"It seems young Kili may return to find you asleep in this spot rather than awake and alert waiting to yell at him." Balin said after a moment and Thorin started, he had not been expecting the older dwarf to tease him.

"Nonsense," He dismissed it but he felt the urge to laugh rising inside of him. He fought it down regardless of how strong it was and sighed deeply instead. "I will watch every night and would watch all day if I could but I have to work. I will be here when Kili comes home." He said gruffly and Balin nodded.

"I know you will laddie, I know you will." He agreed.

/

After three weeks of travelling Ered Luin the dwarves crossed the river Lhûn and were on track to be home the next day and Kili felt bubbling excitement in his chest as they traipsed towards it. Dwalin, Bofur and Oin had not said much after the two week mark of travelling and Kili assumed that this was Dwalin's personal punishment that Bofur and Oin were going along with it. During the third week they had met quite a few orc scouts and had yet to meet a full group of them and Dwalin had ordered that Kili stayed out of the fighting at all costs. The young dwarf had done as ordered but with a pout on his face, his famous pout that made it hard to say not to him, but it did not affect Dwalin at all.

Dwalin had decided that they would pass through the markets at the base of Ered Luin and camp a little way up the mountain, as the sun was starting to set and the sky was dyed many different colours. The four dwarves would make the home stretch early the next morning and Kili couldn't wait.

As they walked through the markets Kili recognised the men that he had bartered the statue to and gulped, he hoped they did not notice him, he was in enough trouble as it was and he was sure that Dwalin did not know he had given a statue from Erebor away. Luck did not seem to be with him as one of the men recognised him and hurried over, not seeming to realise that Dwalin, who was a very intimidating dwarf, was with him.

"Hey, Thorin's lad!" One of them called, stopping in front of him with a lopsided, gap-toothed grin. "Got anymore things like this?" He asked, pulling the statue out of his bag and shoving it in Kili's face. It was not the man that Kili had given the statue to and Kili was shocked that the statue was still in any of their possession, but it wouldn't have made sense to sell it around Ered Luin.

"I…umm…" He was a little lost for words when he felt Dwalin appear behind him and he saw the grin on the man's face turn into a grimace. The man was taller than Dwalin but he was scrawny and used to dirty fighting and he would not stand a chance against the warrior dwarf.

"Forget it kid, here, take it." He cried, throwing the statue back to Kili who caught it with numb hands and turned to see that Bofur and Oin had come up as well and Bofur was carrying his mattock in front of him. The man had obviously seen this as a threat but Bofur had to carry his mattock because it was too big for him to carry at his waist and Bofur was one of the most charming and happy looking person that could be found around Ered Luin, and was known in all the markets, but obviously not by this man. Before Dwalin, Bofur or Oin could say anything the man had taken off and Dwalin pushed Kili forward without a word.

When they found a good place to settle for the night before continuing on the next day Dwalin drew Kili aside and ushered for him to sit down. Kili was sure that Dwalin was going to angrily chastise him for giving away something from Erebor so easily so he was once again lost for words when the dwarf hugged him, rather awkwardly.

"I know how hard that must have been for you to do." Dwalin muttered, "You were taught from a young age how important the few things that we have from Erebor are to those of us living here and you must have been willing to face the consequences when you returned." He continued.

Kili nodded. "I was sure Uncle Thorin and my ma was going to be so angry when they knew it was gone, but I wanted to help Fili and I needed supplies. And I've got it back now." He laughed a little and Dwalin smiled.

"I am sure they will be angry for other reasons apart from the statue lad," Dwalin admitted, "But I want you to know that I'm proud of you for the maturity you have shown." With that said Dwalin stood and asked Bofur to take the first watch, even though they were so close to home. Kili settled down where he sat, cuddling up around the statue despite how cold and hard it was, wondering if he would actually sleep that night because of how excited he was to see Fili again and administer the cure. As he fell asleep at the base of the moment Thorin looked out from the top of the mountain, desperate for his nephew's safe return.