Thorin woke up in a soft and warm bed. Slowly, he opened his eyes and took a deep breath. His body did not hurt anymore and he could smell fresh linen below his face. He also smelled a familiar smell, one of sweet herbs and honey. Brann. Thorin quickly sat up and stared at his wife, who was siting by his side, clad in her nightgown and smiling at him lovingly. Brann looked about the age when they had lived in Bree. Long brown curls fell over her shoulders and the nightgown had slipped down her right shoulder, revealing smooth skin. Thorin looked around and realised that he was in their bedroom in Bree. He felt the mattress move and turned to see Brann crawl towards him. A warm hand cupped his cheek and played with his beard, as Brann had always done during their marriage. Thorin was sure that he was dreaming. He closed his eyes, but then he realised that even if he was dreaming, closing his eyes would keep him from looking at his wife. His wife, Brann, who he still loved more than anything, and who had died so many years ago. Thorin quickly opened his eyes again and sighed in relief as he saw that Brann was still there. He could hear her chuckle and held his breath as she nuzzled his long nose with her small one.

'I will not go anywhere. I promise.' she spoke softly and sat down between Thorins legs.

'You are so beautiful like the day when I lost you...am I dreaming?' Thorin looked at her in amazement. But then he realised that something was wrong. 'Or am I dead?'

Brann shook her head and cupped his face in both her hands. 'You are floating between the worlds. You are neither dead nor alive.'

'How?' Thorin whispered, but could not help but hold his wife close. He had missed her so much and this felt so real. He did not want to let her go.

'This...orc filth hurt you pretty badly.' Branns usually soft voice was trembling with fury. 'Belladonna and Bilbo came to your aide and our nephews, Balin and Dwalin charged the rest of the orcs. Dis can be very proud of her sons, they are great warriors and brave dwarves. They attacked the wargs surrounding the white orc, but they could not reach him. The great eagles came and rescued you. They will bring you to the Carrock, north of here. They could bring you straight to Erebor, but for some reason, Gandalf did not ask that from them. This foolish old wizard.'

'This foolish old wizard saved your soul, my love.' Thorin scolded her softly. 'Nothing he will decide will let me lose my faith in him.'

Brann nodded in understanding and sighed. 'We owe him so much. But sometimes I think that he follows his own goals and only sees Erebor as the first step towards a bigger goal. A goal he does not share with any of us.'

'He will help us reclaim our homeland. And he will assure us to be back together after I shall die. That is all I need to know.' Thorin sighed and gently laid his forehead against Branns.

Brann closed her eyes at the familiar gesture. 'I missed you so much. Every day I longed for this, Thorin. For your touch, for your voice near my ear, your breath on my skin. For your warmth against me...but as selfishly as I wish you to stay, you cannot.'

Thorin looked at his wife and took her chin into his fingers, forcing her to look at him. All of this seemed so real. Brann looked at him with all the love she felt for him and Thorin could feel the stone around his heart melt. It was the same stone under which Brann had been burried in the Blue Mountains.

'Where am I, my love?' Thorin asked Brann and smiled. 'Are these the halls of Mandos? They look a lot like our bedroom in Bree. The things we did in that bed...'

Brann chuckled and pressed her fingers over Thorins lips. Thorin kissed his wife's fingertips and smirked as he saw her blush. 'Look out of the window, Thorin.'

Thorin reluctantly stood up and opened the window. What he saw took his breath away. He had never seen Middle Earth from that perspective. He looked down at the lush green hills and the grey mountain tops rising up towards him. The sun was setting behind a beautiful valley and the wind moved through his hair. He felt as if he was free...like a bird.

'The eagles...is that what I am seing?' Thorin asked and felt Brann move her arms around his waist from behind.

'The king of the eagles carries you himself. You will soon reach your destination.' Branns voice sounded sad.

'I do not want to leave you again.' Thorin stated and his pain made his voice shiver.

'I will not leave you.' Brann tried to stay merry, but she could not.

'Its not the same.' Thorin shook his head. He hardened his grip on his wife's arms around his waist and leaned back. 'How much time do we have left?'

'Not much.' Brann sounded as sad as he felt.

'Then we should make these few moments count.' Thorin smirked and turned around to face his wife, who laughed wholeheartly.

'Thank Mahal you did not use any of these cheesy lines when we met!' Brann chuckled and smiled as she saw Thorin grin. 'But Thorin...we have to talk about the hobbit.'

With a loud groan, Thorin fell down onto the bed.

########

Belladonna did not take her eyes of her father during the whole flight, neither did Fili and Kili. The sun was about to set as the eagles dropped them on a huge rock and the dwarven princess immediately rushed to her fathers side. He had not gained consciousness again, but he looked peaceful. His face was relaxed and he breathed normally.

'Gandalf!' Belladonna cried out for the wizard and hoped that he could help her father.

The rest of the company gathered around their king as Gandalf kneeled down beside Thorin. The king looked battered and there was a bloody and deep cut on his nose. Bilbo stood at the edge of the huge rock and glanced at the company in worry. The king was still not moving, but Gandalf was moving his hand over Thorins face, murmuring enchantements in a language Bilbo did not know. Slowly, Thorin opened his eyes and Belladonna sobbed quietly in relief. Bilbo was about to rush to her side to comfort her, but then Thorin asked for him. The hobbit froze, but he smiled as Thorin stood up on shaking legs and turned towards him. But he could not smile for long.

'You!' Thorins voice was hoarse with rage. 'What did you do? How could you?'

Bilbo swallowed down his bitterness and his disappointment and looked at his feet. He had launched at the orc who had attacked Belladonna and he had killed the filthy creature. Belladonna and him had protected Thorins lifeless body from the orcs until the company came to their aid. He had at least hoped for some gratitude.

'Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would be lost in the wild? That you do not belong with our company?' Thorin moved closer to the hobbit.

Fili and Kili looked at their uncle in surprise. While Fili only frowned, Kili was close to give his uncle a piece of his mind. For a short moment, Thorin was not the loving and responsible uncle they knew. They looked at their cousin, but Belladonna was too shocked to speak and she hoped that her mother would hit her father over the head really hard this time. But Brann already knew what Thorin would say next and smiled lovingly. She loved his stubborn piece of dwarf so much.

'I have never been so wrong, in my entire life.' Thorin sighed and pulled Bilbo into his arms for a bear hug. Bilbo felt relief flow through his heart like a warm stream and smiled as Belladonna and the company joined their embrace. Fili and Kili cheered the loudest and Dwalin nearly crushed the Ri brothers in his strong arms. Gandalf smiled at the big ball of dwarves and one hobbit. Unknown to them all, the company had faced its first test. And this test had not been the orcs.

Bilbo felt his breath hitch as strong arms pulled him into an embrace. These were not Thorins arms, though, this touch was more soft. He looked up and looked right into Belladonnas face.

'Thank you for coming to my aid, Bilbo.' Belladonna whispered and smiled at him warmly.

The hobbit´s gaze became clouded and the king of the dwarves rolled his eyes. The hobbit had saved his life and the life of his daughter, but he was far from accepting him near his family. Near Belladonna. Belladonna was his little gem, his and not Bilbos.

Our little gem, Thorin. Ours. Thorin could hear Brann smirk. How do you plan of getting of this rock?

Thorin walked to the edge of the rock and looked down. Great, perfect, fabulous. This was the most steep descent he had ever seen.

'Master Burglar.' Thorin called out for the hobbit and grabbed his coat as Bilbo walked near. 'Care to make the first steps down?'

Thorin could not fight a smug expression as Bilbo paled and looked as if he was near to faint again.

#

The company made it down in one piece and even Bilbo made it down without stumbling. Even Brann had been silent during the descent and Thorin smirked as he heard her take a deep breath as his feet touched the ground. Now that they were safe, she started to speak up again.

You should let Oin take care of the wounds.

Thorin shook his head and winced as even this movement made his sore body twitch.

Listen you stubborn piece of dwarf, I will yell at you for the whole way to Erebor if you do not...

'Oin!' Thorin called out louder than he had meant to. He knew that Brann would actually make his life miserable if he did not show some reason. As the old healer came to him, Thorin continued a bit more quiet. 'We will rest near the river. Please take a look at the wounded.'

Thorin rolled his eyes as he heard his nephews whisper. Filis eyes were gleaming in amusement and Kili blinked at him. 'I bet aunt Brann blackmailed him. No way uncle would have asked Oin to look at his wounds. Maybe she yelled at him until he did?'

'Sweet Mahal...if amad dies one day...will she yell at us from the beyond, too?' suddenly Kili looked scared and scanned the vicinity around Thorin. Fili laughed and slapped his brother's shoulder.

'Nonsense, brother. Amad will not yell at us, she would simply slap us over the head even before we could do something stupid. Imagine, she will know what we are up to even faster than today.'

Thorin smirked at these words, but he quickly frowned as he looked at his nephews. He had promised Dis that he would keep an eyes on them and keep them safe. Today, they had risked their lives to protect him. Thorins stomach clenched and he had to sit down. He could not bear the though of losing his nephews. He could not bear to take another family member from Dis, who had already lost so many loved ones.

'Please let me now take a look at you, your majesty.' Oin was ready and Thorin stood up with a sigh.

'Fine. But please also take a look at my daughter and the hobbit.' Thorin ordered the old healer and sighed. He wanted to keep an eye on his daughter and the cheeky hobbit.

Oin nodded and smirked into his beard. Of course he knew that the king wanted to keep an eye on the youngsters. The company made camp by the river and Oin started to tend on Thorins wounds. Belladonna rushed to his side and helped him. She gasped as she saw her fathers wounds.

'Its not that bad, my gem.' Thorin tried to assure his daughter.

'But it is. Zial told me a few things about...' Belladonna paused and sighed. She had not seen her sisters for so long. She had even missed her sisters wedding because travelling had been too dangerous. 'How is Zial? Is she happy with Thror?'

'She better be, I will rip that boy into pieces if he makes my daughter unhappy.' Thorin grumbled. 'Last time I saw them they were happily in love.'

Thorin almost chocked on his last words and made his daughter chuckle. His daughters next words nearly made Thorin tumble down the rock on which he was sitting.

'I hope that I will find love like Zial and you and amad.' Belladonna sighed and gazed over the river onto the other side. 'How will I know that I am in love?'

Thorin opened and closed his mouth like a fish on land. He tried to remember how he had felt when he had fallen in love with Brann.

'All I remember feeling when I fell in love with your mother was...I felt confused and sick.' Thorin had to grin as he heard himself say that.

Thank you, dear. Brann stated dryly, but Thorin could hear the amusement in her voice.

'You felt sick and confused?' Belladonna cocked an eyebrow at her father. 'That is...romantic.'

'I loved your mother that much that it scared me. I would have done anything to please her, I would have done anything to make her happy. That really scared me.' Thorin admitted.

'And I thought that you were never scared.' Belladonna smiled at her father.

'I was today.' Thorin looked at his daughter. 'I was scared to death that I could lose you. You, Fili and Kili. Brann told me that they rushed into battle to protect me.'

Belladonna could see the worry in her fathers eyes and sighed. She had been scared, too. About losing her father after she had already lost her mother. She was afraid that one day, she might be the only one left. Of course, she had her aunt and her sisters, and she had Fili and Kili, but they all had their own lives. The Iron Hills had been her resort for many years, but she had never felt at home there. Not even with Dwana, Nain and Dain and his family. She hoped that Erebor would be a home to her. To her and her father. The princess of the Blue Mountain embraced her father, careful not to touch the newly tended wounds.

Bilbo watched the king and his daughter with big eyes as Oin took a look at the scratches and bruises he had received. Most of his wounds were mostly from the fall into the deep mining shaft where he had met Gollum and had found the ring. The ring...Bilbo wanted to tell the company about it, but for some reason he could not. Something, some strong force, kept him from saying anything. But he knew that he had to tell them at some point. Maybe he would not tell Thorin, but he would tell Belladonna. He would tell her when her father let her out of his reach. He would talk to her when Thorin would let her out of his bearlike embrace.

#

Speaking of bears, Bilbo cursed as he ran down the lookout on which he was scouting for the orcs who followed them. The company had barely gotten a night of sleep as they had been awoken by warg howling. The orc pack under Azog had not rested and had followed them through the Misty Mountains and the snow covered Mountains reaching north. Bilbo was sent out by Gandalf to look for them and he spotted them on the other side of the mountains, gaining up on them quickly. As he was about to return to the company, Bilbo had nearly run into a massive beast. It looked like a bear and it scared the hobbit out of Bilbo. The company´s burglar rushed back towards the dwarves and was panting heavily as he reached them. Belladonna was at his side instantly and laid a hand on his shoulder, while the others started asking questions. Gandalf was no help either. After the wizard made sure that no one had seen Bilbo, he began to praise the hobbit for his light-footedness. The company began to clap Bilbos shoulder and talk in a mess, up until Belladonna started yelling.

'Would you just be quiet!' Belladonna roared and the company fell silent instantly.

'You definetly have your father´s voice, my dear.' Oin muttered and pressed a fingertip against his deaf ear. 'Even I heard that.'

Belladonna could not hold back a smirk as she saw her father´s smug expression, but she knew that Bilbo had not been finished with his report. 'Bilbo has something to say. Tell us, Bilbo.'

Bilbo nodded gratefully and pointed up into the forest. 'There is something else out there. It looks like...'

'A bear?' Gandalf interrupted and looked worried.

'Yes.' Bilbo answered and looked up at the wizard in concern. What was the wizard keeping from them?

'Did you know of that beast?' Bofur asked and the wizard nodded.

'And why did you not tell us?' Belladonna demanded to know. Thorin looked at his usually gentle daughter in surprise. He was not used to her being to direct, that was usually his speciality. 'How shall my father lead this company and keep us safe until we reach Erebor, when he has none of the information? This whole quest was your idea wizard, now get cracking!'

'Donna.' Thorin felt torn between pride, amusement and shock for his daughters behaviour. On one hand she should treat the wizard with respect, but on the other hand Gandalf had indeed kept something vital from them and Thorin did not like it.

But Gandalf smiled at the young princess and nodded. 'I had hoped that an encounter with this character could have been avoided. There is a house not far from here...his house - there we may seek shelter.'

'The bear lives in a house? Why? Is he someone's pet?' Fili popped in and the other dwarves looked similarly confused.

'I wish I had a pet like that.' Kili muttered and earned a nudge from his brother. But he soon changed his mind.

In this moment a mighty roar sounded through the night. Apparently the bear had tracked the company down and the group of dwarves, a wizard and a hobbit did what they had been doing all the past days. They ran.