As the sun rose higher in the morning, Lindsey got up quite early. Her fingers played gently with her braid while a happy smile flashed over her face. She and Fili had decided to keep it as a secret that Thorin and Kate seemed to be in some kind of relationship. Though it was hard for her not to go and talk with her sister about it, but she was simply too curious how long they would pretend it.

She dressed in dark-brown pants and a dark-green tunic and her boots and left her room. Silently she headed down the hallway towards the balcony, but as she reached it she stopped and frowned. No one was there which was strange. It was their normal time for breakfast and it was highly unlikely that the dwarves would skip it.
She decided to go and look for her sister. As she entered her room, there was also no sign of Kate.

'Where are they?'

She checked the room of Kili and Fili just to find it empty as well. She left the main building and stepped outside into the garden.

"Lindsey!" a voice called and made her wince. She turned around and saw Bilbo who was approaching her.

"Bilbo! I thought you're all gone!" she breathed relieved and smiled at him.

"I can't find the others—"he said as he stopped in front of her. Lindsey's eyes grew wide as she asked,

"So, you have no idea where they could be?"

The Hobbit shook his head and had a hard time not to smile. "I was on my way down to the waterfall. Would you accompany me?" he asked and she nodded. Together they walked side by side down towards the meadow.

"They're not here—"Lindsey said and felt panic building up in her as suddenly the whole Company popped up behind a boulder. Bofur began to play on his flute while some of them started to sing a dwarvish birthday song.

Bilbo laughed merrily as he saw the confused face of the girl. Kate approached her with a broad smile on her face and embraced her tightly. "Happy birthday, sis!"

Lindsey stared at her. "Gandalf knew the date, right?"

Kate laughed and pressed a soft kiss on her cheek. "He did, indeed and I planned this surprise party for you."

"And you knew about this?"Lindsey turned to look at Bilbo. He shrugged and smiled broadly at her.
Fili approached her slowly and Kate backed away a bit to give them a little privacy.

"Happy Birthday, Lindsey," he stroked her cheek and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"I hope you're not too sad that we have no presents for you, deary," Balin called and made her smile.

"I am more than happy to be with you on this day," she replied and saw Kate stepping closer again. She slowly reached into her pocket and revealed a small box.

"It's not entirely true—I have a gift for you, sis," she offered Lindsey the small box. The young one opened it just to find a beautiful ring made of white-gold with a sparkling round brilliant-cut diamond which was accented by two genuine round rubies.

"Kate—that—that—," she was unable to speak as her eyes became teary-wet. Kate took the ring and put it on her sister's finger. Now she could feel a single tear rolling down her cheek as well and they embraced each other again.

"She wanted you to have it," Kate whispered and they both looked down at the ring again. It was their mother's old engagement ring.

"That's a fine piece of jewelry," Thorin said as he stepped up behind Kate and examined the ring with an impressed nod. Lindsey's gaze drifted to Fili and exchanged a knowing smile with him.

And so the Company spent their last day in Rivendell together at the waterfall with merry music, lots of songs and some fine delicacies.

With the first light of day they hiked along the path leading away from Rivendell. Lindsey walked between Kili and Fili while Kate was a bit behind with Balin and Bilbo.

"Be on your guard; we're about to step over the edge of the wild. Balin, you know these paths—lead on," Thorin turned to cast a glance back at the group. Balin nodded and walked on to the head of them while Kate saw how Bilbo cast a longing glance back over his shoulder down into the valley. She placed a hand on his shoulder as she whispered,

"I'm certain you'll be able to come back one day."

He looked up at her with a smile. Thorin stood a bit apart and watched them. Bilbo walked past him to the middle of the Company and so Kate and Thorin followed them as the last. His hand brushed hers gently as he said,

"That was a very emotional moment between Lindsey and you yesterday. That ring was from your mother, did I get that correct?"

She smiled at him and nodded. "Yes, it's the old engagement ring of our mother. She—she wrote in a letter that she would like to give it to Lindsey on her eighteenth birthday."

"Why not to you?"

Kate chuckled. "My mother knew that I'm not that much into rings. I'm more into necklaces or bracelets. Though I would consider putting a ring on if the right man asks me to marry him."

He nodded with a small smile on his face but frowned as he asked, "You told me that your parents died in an accident. How come your mother wrote a letter about giving her ring away?"

He saw her gaze drifted to the ground before she whispered, "She was ill—very ill. Wouldn't she have died in that accident she nevertheless might have died soon."

"What sickness did she have?"

"Cancer. Malicious brain tumor. The doctors were not able to help her anymore."

He had no idea what 'cancer' was but he sensed that it seemed to be something malicious. "Did Lindsey know about this?"

"Yes—but she had always ignored the fact that our mother might die."

He sighed and she felt his hand taking hers to hold it tight for several moments. They walked like this at the back of the Company so none of the others noticed it and enjoyed that short moment of touching each other now that they had to face the dangers of the wild again. They had to cross open plains, ranges and mountains until they finally reached the path leading up towards the Misty Mountains.

A fierce storm began to rage in the air, lighting and thunder boomed up and the heavy rain made the narrow trail even more dangerous. They had a cliff on one side and a sheer drop on the other.

"Lindsey, stay close to me!" Fili called and took her hand.

"Hold on!" Thorin called from the front while Kate was safe between Balin and Dwalin. As Bilbo tried to move on he felt the stone beneath his feet giving away. He was just about to fall into the dark chasm but Dwalin managed to pull him back in time.

"We must find shelter!"

"Watch out!"

They all looked up in shock and saw a massive boulder hurtling through the air, hitting the mountainside above and caused rocks falling all around them as they pressed their bodies against the mountain.

"This is no thunderstorm! It's a thunder battle! Look!" Balin called and pointed up into the air.

"Well bless me, the legends are true! Giants! Stone Giants!" Bofur added in wonderment as they saw a stone giant rearing up from a nearby mountain. It ripped off a massive boulder from the top of the mountain.

"Take cover!" Thorin called and Kate felt the beat of her heart quicken as her eyes grew wide while she watched what happened right in front of them. One of the giants threw a boulder far in the air as another stone giant appeared from behind them and got hit against its head. The company yelled at each other to brace and hold on when suddenly the rock beneath their feet began to give away from all the vibrations and the impact of the falling rocks. The ground between them split and parted the company.

"Kili! Grab my hand! Kee—," Fili called in panic and tried to reach for his brother who stared at his elder brother in shock.

"Kate!" Lindsey called and tried the same. As the two giants fought with their fists, the dwarves tried to hold on tight as they flung around. Kate grabbed Kili in an attempt not to fall. He placed his arm protectively around her to keep her tight against his body.

A third stone giant appeared and threw a boulder at the head of the one on which Kate, Kili and some of the others were trying to hold on. Slowly the giant began to fall over and Lindsey and the rest of the company watched in horror for it appeared to them that the others had been smashed to bits. The rest of the giant lost its footing and fell down into the chasm.

"Nooo! Nooooooo! Kili! Kate!" Thorin felt his heard sink and rushed to the spot where the others appeared to have been crushed. With a relieved breath he found them all safe and sound.

"We're all right! We're alive!" Balin reassured and Thorin's gaze drifted to Kate. She assured him that she was fine by simply smiling at him. They all could see the immense relief in their leader's eyes, but suddenly Bofur called,

"Where's Bilbo? Where's the Hobbit?"

They all began to search frantically around as Ori called, "There he is!"

"Get him!" Dwalin yelled as they saw Bilbo hanging onto the edge of the cliff with just his fingertips. Ori dived onto the ground and tried to grab Bilbo's arm, but the Hobbit slipped and fell a few feet before he caught another handhold.

While the dwarves desperately tried to pull him up, Thorin growled and swung down on the cliff. Kate cried out and felt Lindsey taking her hand and squeezing it softly. They watched while Thorin boosted Bilbo up and allowed them to pull him into safety. Dwalin tried to lift Thorin up as well, but the dwarf King lost his grip and began to fall.

"No!" Kate cried again but Dwalin, with much effort, was able to pull him back up. Thorin slowly staggered to his feet and cast a glance at Kate.

"I thought we'd lost our burglar," Dwalin mumbled which caused Thorin to turn around with anger clearly shown on his face as he snapped,

"He's been lost ever since he left home. He should never have come. He has no place amongst us!" And with that he walked past the others into the cave nearby.

Kate could not believe what he had just said. She felt anger creeping up in her again, but she knew that this was not the time for making a scene. They followed him into the cave which seemed to be safe.

"It looks safe enough," Dwalin called.

"Search to the back; caves in mountains are seldom unoccupied," Thorin replied and caught an angry look from Kate.

'I know, Kate—'he thought for he already began to regret his words to the Hobbit. Not fully, but still a little bit. He knew he should stop being too harsh with Bilbo.

Dwalin searched the cave with a lantern. "There's nothing here," he finally called and returned to them.
Gloin dropped a bundle of wood on the floor and rubbed his hands. "Right then! Let's get a fire started!"

Thorin turned around. "No! No fires, not in this place. Get some sleep. We'll start at first light. Bofur, take the first watch!"

"Are you all right?" Fili whispered as Lindsey lowered down and cuddled up to him.

"Yes—I'm just exhausted and tired."

He placed a soft kiss on her neck and pulled her closer. She saw Kate lowering down next to Thorin. The rest of the Company was already asleep except Bofur who was sitting at the entrance facing them all with his back.

"Was that necessary?" Kate whispered while they both leaned with their backs against the wall of the cave. He sighed heavily as he replied,

"I know that I was too harsh with him. It's just—I thought I lost my men. Kili, Fili—you."

Her face softened a little as his hand reached for hers and gently stroked the back of it. "You should sleep now," he whispered. Her gaze drifted along the sleeping company and Lindsey closed her eyes as she saw Kate looking around.
Once she was certain that Kate wasn't looking anymore she opened them again and saw Kate shifting closer to him.

Her lips captured his in a soft and tender kiss to which he responded deeply. A smile curled Lindsey's lips as she closed her eyes again and finally drifted off to sleep.

Kate pulled away from him and whispered, "Sleep well."

She lowered down with him close by and both fell asleep quite soon.

Bilbo stealthily opened his eyes and cast a glance around. He saw that none of the others were awake and so he quietly rolled up his blankets and packed his bag. Carefully he grabbed his walking stick and made for the entrance of the cave, tiptoeing over the sleeping dwarves and girls.

Bofur looked up and saw Bilbo on his way outside. He jumped up and stopped him,

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Back to Rivendell."

"No, no, you can't turn back now. You're part of the Company. You're one of us."

"I am not though, am I? Thorin said I should never have come, and he was right. I'm not a Took, I'm a Baggins, I don't know what I was thinking. I should never have run out of my door."

Thorin, who was awake again, stared thoughtfully at the wall as he listened intently.

"You're homesick. I understand," Bofur whispered softly.

"No, you don't! You don't understand! None of you do—you're dwarves. You're used to—to this life, to living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere!"

Bofur watched him quite startled and Bilbo immediately regretted what he had just said, "I am sorry. I didn't—"

Thorin's gaze drifted to the sleeping figure of Kate next to him. His blue eyes sparkled sadly in the dark.

"No, you're right. We don't belong anywhere. I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do," Bofur smiled and placed his hand on Bilbo's shoulder. Bilbo turned and began to walk on as Bofur suddenly asked,

"What's that?"

Bilbo pulled his sword partway out of its sheath and saw it glowing bright blue and he knew Orcs or Goblins must be nearby. Thorin raised his head as he heard strange machinery noises and saw cracks form in the sand on the floor of the cave.

"Wake up! Wake up!" he called loudly. Before anyone could react, the floor of the cave collapsed downwards. It was, in fact, a giant trap door. Thorin grabbed Kate, pressed her close against his body as the entire Company fell down a chute, slid through a tunnel and landed in a giant wooden cage.

They struggled to get back on their feet as a horde of Goblins hurried towards them. The creatures took their weapons and dragged them away from the cage.

"Kate!"

"Lindsey!"

The sisters called as they got separated. Kate could see Lindsey somewhere nearby Bilbo. Thorin was still holding her hand while they were pushed forward. Bats flew above their heads in the darkness.

"Lindsey—"Bilbo whispered and caused her to crawl towards him. They hid behind a railing and the Hobbit drew his sword, which was still glowing in its bright blue color. He grabbed Lindsey's hand and whispered,

"Stay close to me."

The girl simply nodded, afraid to speak up and so they moved on following the Goblins. Suddenly one Goblin jumped out in front of them and rushed at them with its sword drawn. Bilbo barely managed to keep Lindsey and himself alive.

Finally the Goblin, Bilbo and the girl fell over the edge of a platform down into the dark chasm below.