Alright, here you go. This is technically the second last chapter (but I am including an epilogue at Tweetzone86's request). In any case, I have no idea whether this is good or bad and whether this fic will end well (quality wise), so I just hope you enjoy it. (chapter title's will be, like always, a bit random).

Chapter 19: Afraid

Bilbo twiddled his thumbs, looking over towards where Fili and Kili were situated, both sleeping somewhat fitfully, but peacefully enough for the time being. The day had quickly passed into night again, with Bilbo and Bofur both being set up for the first watch. The toymaker was stationed at the front of the cave, his hat slipped down his face, but very much awake no matter what his appearance might suggest.

The hobbit, like the rest of the company, was worried about what continuing on with the journey would mean for the two brothers, neither of whom were yet fully healed. He, like the rest, had heard the argument between Fili and his uncle and had chosen to remain neutral. Whatever happened, it would not fall upon his head, the hobbit would make sure of it. He would bear no responsibility for the outcome of whatever decision was made, especially since he himself did not hold a particularly high standing in the group.

The company burglar would be lying if he said that it wasn't daunting and a bit off-putting being stuck in a group of thirteen dwarves of whom he had not even known existed until they turned up on his doorstep. To be frank, he agreed with Fili. He did not want to die reclaiming some lost city that he had never set foot in. He looked towards where the blonde lay sleeping with his brother and nodded to himself. Maybe the young dwarf would be able to convince Thorin to stop this quest so they could all survive.

Bilbo frowned as he glanced at the brunette, the youth thrashing slightly in his sleep, holding up his good hand as if to ward off an attack. A quick look to his right showed that Bofur seemed not to have noticed, so it was left to the hobbit to deal with the issue before it escalated and woke the whole company.

The company burglar moved closer to the distressed dwarf, making sure to remain at a far enough distance in case a or foot suddenly came his way. The archer would mean to hurt him, Bilbo knew that much, but while trapped in a nightmare about who knew what, the small being decided it was best not to take any chances. Stretching out one arm, the hobbit proceeded to poke the young dwarf awake.

"Kili," he whispered in a sharp voice, "Kili, wake up!"

This, however, did no good and the prince remained captive within his own mind. Bilbo almost growled in frustration, edging a bit closer in order to properly shake the archer back into consciousness.

"Wake up," he urged, taking a hold of the brunette's shoulder and shaking firmly. Kili just swatted away his hand weakly, beginning to mumble a stream of indecipherable words as a flash of fear crossed his face.

The hobbit swallowed his frustration, knowing that the next phase would probably include some kind of screaming.

"Kili, come on," Bilbo said loudly, though not loudly enough to wake the others. He shook the dwarf again and this time it worked, Kili's eyes flying open as he let out a short cry.

The brunette regained control of his breathing for a few moments before taking in the round face next to him. He offered a small smile to the being beside him, though his brown eyes were somewhat distant.

"I'm fine," he said automatically, his gaze still lock on something visible to his eyes and his eyes alone. Bilbo regarded him with a sympathetic look.

"Do you want to talk about it?" the hobbit asked softly, Kili readjusting his eyes to focus upon the being whose last words hung in the air. For a moment Bilbo thought his question was going to go unanswered, but then the dwarf opened his mouth to reply.

"And what good would that do?" the brunette said, his voice both sad and serious, bearing none of the mockery he would have used in the past. Bilbo looked the youth in the eye, trying to see beneath the flinty brown surface.

"Maybe it could help to make the nightmares go away, or lessen them in any case," Bilbo suggested.

"I doubt anything could do that," Kili said bitterly, his face so uncharacteristically broody, "Not even time. Not after what I have witnessed."

"You could try. There would be no harm in it," the hobbit answered. Kili looked at him before sighing.

"I suppose you are right," he said softly, his hands clenching the fabric of his blanket. He shivered unconsciously, but whether it was from the memory of his nightmare or the cold breeze that had just drifted through the cave Bilbo did not know.

"That's the spirit," Bilbo encouraged, more than a little surprised that the archer had taken to the idea.

The hobbit waited for Kili to speak again, not wanting to push him into anything, but also not wanting to rush him so that he became overwhelmed. If he was to guess how long the brunette needed, he would have guessed a while, for something as terrible as what he had been dreaming would surely not be easy to summon back voluntarily let alone talk about it to someone who probably had no hope of understanding how bad the dream actually was.

"It was about…them," Kili finally said in a shaky voice, unable to bring himself to say the name of those that had tortured him, or just unwilling to. Bilbo would not judge him for it. He had a hard enough time saying their names himself without the icy chill of fear rolling down his spine.

"What happened?" the hobbit prompted, offering a reassuring smile as Kili looked to him with ill-disguised fear.

"They…well, they…"

"Look, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Bilbo said, the sincerity in his face contemplating his statement.

"No, I want to," Kili urged, "Like you said, it could help." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, but Bilbo let it pass.

"You could take it slowly," Bilbo said, "One thing at a time. I don't need to hear everything." Kili shot him a grateful smile before taking a deep breath, closing his eyes for a few moments before reopening them.

"Th…they were there," he said, a slight tremor to his words, "And so was Fili. They were laughing at us, surrounding us in a circle." His breathing picked up pace, but he continued anyway. "We were in the cave, but surrounded on all sides by rock. There was no exit, no escape. They…they made Fili and I…"

"What?" Bilbo asked, "What did they make you do?"

"We…we had to fight each other, and we couldn't back out or else they would kill us both," Kili said in a tortured voice, "One after the other…and…and…"

His words cut out there, chocked off by a large lump that had welled up inside of the brunette's throat. Bilbo watched as Kili began to rock back and forth, his hands twisting the fabric they were clenching again and again as if that action alone could ward off whatever thoughts were running through his mind. This was not what shocked the hobbit however, Kili's words had done that.

So, the two brothers had been forced to hurt each other, just as several members of the company had feared. No wonder why they were so…broken.

A hitch in the breathing of the dwarf beside him snapped Bilbo back to the scene unfolding before his eyes.

"You've got to calm down," the hobbit cried, hands pulling at his hair as he tried to think.

"How?" Kili panted, struggling to draw in any real amount of air. At the entrance to the cave, Bofur had tensed, like he wanted to intervene but wasn't sure how.

"Take a deep breath," Bilbo said hastily, eyes wide in alarm at the erratic way the dwarf in front of him was breathing.

"I'm trying," Kili gasped, hunched over as he fought the breath.

"Think happy thoughts," the company burglar suggested, "Like the face Dwalin pulls when you pull a prank on him." This obviously did not help, the idea only serving to further speed up Kili's breathing, sending him into an almost full out panic attack.

"Kili," Bofur suddenly said, materialising in front of the dwarf and taking the youth's face in his hands, "Think about the first time you shot a bow. Think about how good that felt." The archer blinked several times before his breathing began to calm. Bilbo let out a sigh of relief.

"I do not want to continue on," Kili said after a short while, his head bowed, hair hanging in a curtain across his face. His shoulders shook, but neither Bilbo nor Bofur mentioned it.

"No one is going to force you to do anything," Bofur said gently before rising and drifting back to his previous position, "You should sleep if you can."

Kili nodded, head still bowed, before hesitating for a moment, something obviously on his mind that he wanted to say.

"Please don't tell anyone else of this, especially not Thorin."

Bilbo looked at the young dwarf and an intense feeling of empathy gripped his heart.

"I will not tell anyone," he answered, glancing quickly at Bofur who was watching them carefully, or at least the youngest of the company in any case. After a moment, the toymaker gave a brief nod.

"Aye, I will keep this a secret for you laddie," he answered.

"Thank you," Kili replied in a small voice.

Bilbo turned back to Kili, placing his hands upon the dwarf's own clasped ones. He smiled warmly.

"You do not need to thank us," he said gently, "For we are your friends after all."

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