Chapter 4:

Recoiling backwards, Kili scrambled away from the now coughing elf, his hand clutching his throbbing face. At first, confusion swirled round Kili's head. He had been trying to help the ungrateful elf and if this was how she thanked him then Kili was resolved not to make the same mistake again. But Kili's resolve melted as he watched Tauriel curl up and wrap her arms around her knees, shaking from shock and cold. 'She must have thought I was assaulting her, she's not being ungrateful she's trying to protect herself' Kili quickly realised. Cautiously stepping towards her, making sure she could see what he was doing, Kili took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry; I was just trying to help. Oin thought it would force you to breathe again… I know how it must have seemed but I honestly would never have taken advantage like that…"

Fili raised an eyebrow at his brother, impressed that he had thought about why the she-elf had reacted like that instead of petulantly sulking. He smiled at he realised just how grown up his brother was now, he was a long way from the boy who had followed Thorin around like a lost puppy, and indeed the adolescent who had joked so carelessly about orc attacks at the beginning of their journey. Fili opened his mouth to say something but he realised instantly he was so cold his teeth were chattering and he couldn't quite get his words out. Groaning, Fili clutched Bofur's jacket round him and tried to hug some life back into his frozen limbs.

He wasn't the only one impressed as Tauriel gazed at Kili, evidently trying to work out how sincere he was. Nodding at him, Tauriel rubbed her legs in an attempt to get herself warm. Oin busied himself with checking Fili over whilst Bofur glanced up the beach towards Laketown where the townspeople were valiantly fighting the flaming remnants of Smaug's final attack.

"We need to get back to Bard's." Oin stated flatly, making sure Fili was once again wrapped up in his clothes. "We need to warm the two of you up or you'll freeze to death. Or catch something." Grunting, he pulled Fili onto his feet and gestured at Bofur. "You help the lad with her."

Nodding, Bofur hurried to Tauriel and carefully offered her his hand, cautious of her reaction to the last dwarf who had touched her. Grabbing his hand, Tauriel managed to drag herself up, leaning on him heavily for support. Kili took off his coat and wrapped it round her shoulders, supporting her from the other side. Together, the strange group slowly made its way back to the warm light of Laketown and the final remnants of Smaug's destruction.

When the group reached Bard's house he was still out helping the townspeople combat the last of the dragon fire but Tilda and Sigrid were there, cleaning and straightening up after the fight with the orcs. They'd managed to move most of the furniture back but there was still a gaping hole in the roof and scratches along the floor. Supporting Tauriel as best he could despite the screaming agony from his leg, Kili pulled her through the door. As he glanced anxiously at her, Kili noticed Tauriel's head was hung forward, lolling slightly side to side as they manoeuvred her through the door.

"What happened?" Sigrid asked, her eyes widening with horror as she saw the once vibrant Tauriel barely conscious, hanging between Bofur and Kili like a lifeless doll.

"Fell in the lake." Bofur grunted, struggling with carrying most of the elf's weight as Kili barely had the strength to stand himself let alone help hold the sodden, unconscious she-elf up as well.

The girls gasped and looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Squaring her shoulders, Sigrid took charge. "Put her in da's bed, it's the biggest." She commanded, leading the way to Bard's bedroom and holding the door open for the dwarves so they could drag their burden through as easily as possible. Sigrid helped Bofur and Kili to carefully lower Tauriel onto the bed before she told them to leave. Confused, they did as she asked and went to help Oin, who was settling Fili in front of the fire. As the others attempted to warm Fili up, Tilda and Sigrid started a fire in the grate in Bard's room and undressed Tauriel, wrapping her up in some of their mother's old clothes. Tucking her into bed, the girls surrounded her with pillows and piled all the blankets they could spare on top of her. But Tauriel was still shaking and Sigrid was worried, she felt like ice and she wasn't waking up.

Leaving Tauriel, the girls walked back into the living room where the dwarves were sitting by the fire, eating some sausages Bofur had found in one of the cupboards that they'd cooked in the hopes of warming themselves up even more.

"We've done everything but she's not waking up and she's still freezing. What do we do?" Sigrid asked desperately as Tilda sat on the floor, looking at the dwarves with innocence and hope.

At this Bain ran into the room, sweating and breathing heavily. "Da needs help, the fires spreading to the town hall where the wounded are. He needs volunteers." Looking wildly around the room, Bain's eyes settled on the dwarves. "Please." He pleaded, his wild eyes showing just how bad the situation was. Bofur stood up and looked at Fili nervously, checking to see if he was needed there more.

"Go help." Fili grunted. "I need to sleep anyway, I'm exhausted."

"They also need people to help with the wounded." Bain said, his gaze focusing on his sisters who both stepped forward before glancing back at their father's bedroom, where Tauriel's condition was no doubt deteriorating.

"I'll stay with her, you go. They need you more." Kili said, grabbing hold of the wall and dragging himself up. "I'm no use to anyone else anyway. Just tell me what to do." Looking at Oin, Kili wondered if there was anything he could do at all. Perhaps there wasn't, and he would be forced to watch both his brother and Tauriel slowly die, all because of him.

"Just make them both warm and comfortable lad, sit close, your body heat will help." Oin smiled encouragingly then turned and followed the girls out. Bofur checked on Fili once more before patting Kili on the shoulder. "Be careful of that leg, don't exhaust yourself, this isn't your fault." Turning, Bofur ran after Bain, leaving Kili speechless. Bofur had always been one of his favourite people growing up; he'd often babysat Kili and Fili and had taught them lots of games and tricks to play on and with others, usually Bombur when it came to pranks. Kili couldn't help but be touched that Bofur had known him well enough to know that he'd blame himself, and he felt comforted by his friend's confidence in him. Smiling to himself, Kili glanced down to where his brother had been sat.

Fili was leant against the leg of the table, snoring peacefully. If it wasn't for the slight shivering, Kili would have been reminded of when he'd watched his brother sleep as a small child. He'd often had bad dreams and it had comforted Kili to sit by his big brother, he had felt sure if any monster had come to get him Fili would have kept him safe. Tucking another blanket round Fili, Kili checked his temperature. He was a little cold, but he seemed much better. Kili sighed tiredly and pulled off his huge wet boots, groaning as he saw all the sand that came out. He knew he would have a lot of sand in his socks as well. Remembering his mother's expression every time he used to get sand in his shoes as a child, Kili couldn't help but laugh fondly at the memories. He promised himself to give her a big hug when they got back home to her. Smiling, Kili rubbed his sore leg and poked the fire, making sure it kept burning.

Kili then heard a low groan coming from the room behind him and he remembered Tauriel. Hurrying as quickly and quietly as he could on his bad leg, careful not to wake Fili, Kili went to see Tauriel. She was led where Sigrid and Tilda had left her, lying in Bard's bed with layers of blankets on her and rows of pillows surrounding her. Her eyes were barely open, but it was instantly clear to Kili that she was attempting to mouth something. Returning to the other room, Kili fetched some of the water they'd been warming and went back to Tauriel. Stroking some of her limp hair out of the way, Kili dribbled some of the water on her lips. She opened them slightly more and Kili took that as a sign she could drink. He slowly poured some water in her mouth, stopping frequently to allow her to swallow.

Her eyes flicked open and she silently surveyed her surroundings.

"You're in Bard's room. Tilda and Sigrid helped you in and tried to warm you up, but they had to go with Oin to help the people who got hurt in the fires. Bofur went to help Bain and Bard control the fire…" He trailed off; worried that Tauriel might not even be conscious enough to fully understand what he was saying or that he might be making her worse by worrying her.

"You saved me…?" She trailed off. Her voice was low and husky with exhaustion and Kili couldn't help but think even as fragile and ill as she looked there, she still had a fierce strength visible in the gleam of her eyes. He found himself admiring her courage.

"No, my brother Fili did. I couldn't… my leg…" He stopped, angrily looking down. If he had been strong enough to save her himself, Fili would be healthy and safe. It was all his fault, Thorin was right, he should never have come, his inexperience was putting his brother in danger. It had only been Fili's confidence and assurances of Kili's abilities that had led Thorin to allowing him to join them and Kili was furious that he had once again let his family down.

"Why? I don't…" She stopped, noticing Kili's mood.

"He couldn't let you die after you saved me." Kili said miserably, sitting down on the bed, as far away from Tauriel as he could without falling.

"You wish he had let me die…" Tauriel said cautiously, confused by Kili's words.

"No!" He exclaimed loudly, concern flooding his features and desperation taking hold. "Of course not! I would never, ever, want you to get hurt. I'm just angry that I wasn't strong enough, and now he's…" Kili stopped. Sighing, he put his head in his hands and tried to order his thoughts. It was a struggle as his feelings were running rampant in his head like a hurricane, throwing any attempt at a coherent sentence and scattering his thoughts. He didn't understand why he was reacting like this, or how he even felt. It was difficult to even understand what he was trying to say.

"He did it for you." Tauriel said softly, realising the depth of feeling Kili must have for her to drive Fili to do such a drastic act. "Is he…?" She couldn't finish the question, dreading the answer. She vaguely remembered seeing Fili on the beach, but she couldn't be sure.

"He's warming up by the fire, asleep. I've never seen him so tired." Kili frowned, gazing at the wall, as if observing a perplexing scene far beyond.

Sighing with relief, Tauriel found herself thanking the heavens for saving the dwarf. Struggling to sit up, Tauriel winced with pain. Seeing her struggle, Kili's eyes widened.

"It's alright." He assured her calmly, "everything's ok. Just go to sleep and get better ok?"

Seeing the wisdom in his words, Tauriel lay back down and rested her head against the pillows for a brief moment, before raising it again to look at Kili.

"I am sorry about your face."

Kili laughed and shook his head. "Don't worry, it's not like it could have gotten any worse so don't worry."

"I like your face." Tauriel commented casually, glancing back at Kili who was now blushing.

"Well I like you, so I suppose this means we're… friends?" Tauriel couldn't help but smile at his hopeful tone. But it wasn't just that, she felt a glow of pride inside her. He liked her, not her looks, her. Tauriel realised this was possibly the first time a male had ever actually liked her for who she was, not just impressed by her looks or fighting.

"If you think elves and dwarves can be friends, then yes, I'd like that." She smiled at him, almost forgetting her icy coldness and aching head as she realised just how cute he was. Elf males did not grow facial hair and Tauriel did not appreciate the dwarfish love of braided beards and whatnot. But, looking at Kili smiling in the candlelight, Tauriel realised his stubble was growing on her and wondered what it felt like. Frowning at her thoughts, Tauriel turned her head and stared at the ceiling as she tried to control herself.

"What?" Kili asked, his amusement clear in his voice. He carefully slid closer towards her, not so close as to encroach on her space, but close enough to, hopefully, be warming her up with his body heat.

"What do beards feel like?" She blurted out, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Itchy, but they do help keep your face warm. Although sometimes they can get in the way. I'm not altogether sure, I only really have stubble." He blushed and looked down, a sad look in his eye.

"I'm sorry." Tauriel said softly, realising that this may not have been a good subject to talk about. She remembered Thranduil telling her and Legolas years ago, in the middle of a rant of the selfish nature of dwarves, that their beards were a matter of pride, showing maturity. Even among the females facial hair was important and was actually considered a sign of beauty. The better or more facial hair you had, the more beautiful you were considered. Perhaps this was just elves simplifying it, Tauriel thought, but clearly they were important and Kili's lack of a beard was obviously a matter of some embarrassment to him. Frowning, Tauriel tried to rectify the situation.

"Elves don't have beards." She stated simply, watching Kili glance up from his contemplation at her words. "I find it strange when I look upon dwarves, the facial hair just looks so odd." She waited, noting his reaction. "Yours is nice!" She said quickly, realising he might be offended. "But long beards with braids… they just look so extraordinary to me."

Kili grinned, realising she was trying to comfort him, but was failing on unfamiliar ground.

"You must be cold." He said, glancing at the fire to check it was still going. "You should rest, I can sit here if you'd like? Oin said my body heat might help warm you up." He groaned internally, realising once again she may take his words in a perverted way. Readying his face for the burning force of a slap, Kili closed his eyes and waited. But the blow never fell and he snuck a peek at Tauriel, who was smiling fondly at him, clearly amused by his reaction.

"You're not much use there Kili." She said, moving to the side so he could sit at the head of the bed next to her. Kili moved quickly, happiness bubbling in his breast. It was a drastic change from earlier when she had slapped him for what she may have assumed at first was a kiss to now inviting him into a bed with her, even allowing him under the quilt with her. This act of trust on Tauriel's part meant a lot to him, and he was determined not to let her down. Tentatively putting his arm around her, Kili grinned as she rested her head against his stomach, curling into his side. Leaning his head back, Kili realised something.

Looking down, Kili checked to see if Tauriel was comfortable. "That's the first time you've used my name and not just called me dwarf." He said cheerfully. "I like it."

Rolling her eyes at his happy tone, Tauriel snuggled closer to him, putting her head on his shoulder, pressing her cold face up against his warm neck. Curling up as much as she could, Tauriel pulled herself so that her legs were over his and her feet rubbing his for warmth. She realised she was practically lying on him and made sure she was in such a position that she wasn't putting any weight on his injured leg. Looking up at him to check he was comfortable with how close they were lying, Tauriel giggled at his huge grin. She felt strange, and not just because of the cold. She had never been this intimate with someone and Tauriel had to acknowledge how right it felt.

In a moment of madness, Tauriel reached up and stroked Kili's face where earlier she had slapped him. There was a large red mark and she knew it would probably bruise. Enjoying the sensation of the stubble against her hand, Tauriel leant up and kissed the red mark softly, before snuggling down against him and falling into a deep sleep. Her last thought was how tickly his stubble had been against her lips, and how much she wondered whether it would tickle her face if she kissed him properly.

Kili watched her sleep for a while. She looked happy but she was shivering slightly so he put his arms around her to keep her warm. He knew she had kissed him because she was practically delirious in her fragile state, and warned himself not to expect any repetitions in the future. But that didn't stop him from enjoying the memory of the kiss then. Kili smiled to himself, and looked to his right out of a window. The town was quiet and he could no longer see the glow of dragon fire. The night was dark and eerily silent, the only light coming from the calming stars above. Yawning, Kili rested his head back and allowed sleep to carry him off. His last thought was of Thorin and the others still in Erebor, a fervent wish of 'Let them be alive'.