I do not own any of the characters or The Hobbit (just the AU storyline and my OC) Those are the work of the esteemed and brilliant John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, and without his genius, this and many other fan fics would not be in existence.

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Once the company had gotten dressed and gathered their weapons, Gandalf turned toward Thorin. The dwarf king had been relieved of his burden by Dwalin, finally having lost the argument after he nearly dropped the unconscious Fili due to his own injuries.

"We have lingered here long enough," Gandalf declared. "It's best we move on."

"What of this friend you spoke of?" Thorin asked, his distrust showing despite efforts to hide his expression. "Is his house far?"

The unspoken question lingered in the eyes of most of the company, and the wizard noted several concerned looks toward the injured heir.

Will he be able to make it?

"It is not terribly far- maybe half a day's walk," Gandalf replied cautiously, glancing at the slowly setting sun. "However, a ridge lies between us and that house. We may have to seek shelter on it for the night."

Thorin nodded, bringing his axe up to thump on the ground as he turned toward the company.

"Let's go."

XXX

The company followed Gandalf as they crossed the great river. The Anduin flowed around their legs peacefully, a sharp contrast to the waters on the western side of the Carrock, where the river flowed angrily and turbulent around the base of the great stone pillar.

Bilbo began to feel more and more uneasy as they marched on and began to climb the steep ridge. He wasn't quite sure, but it was as though the hairs on his neck kept rising on end, and he could not shake the feeling that they were being watched.

Glancing toward the wizard offered the hobbit no comfort, as Bilbo very quickly noticed Gandalf discreetly glancing around them as well, a worried frown on the wizard's face.

If this new host is a friend of Radagast's, then why does Gandalf seem so worried? The hobbit thought to himself. He remembered the giant stone steps on the Carrock, and how someone had to be very tall indeed to traverse them easily, and shuddered.

Stone giants in the mountains. Giant eagles. What…what if Gandalf's friend…is also a giant?

The worried hobbit didn't even notice how his right hand subconsciously trailed toward his waistcoat pocket.

XXX

The jagged teeth of the Misty Mountains loomed up on the western horizon, the light of day beginning to fade as the sun began its descent. The company continued on, growing more and more weary as the day drew to a close.

Several times they were forced to halt and aid each other up the ridge, large stone boulders and trees blocking their path more often than not. Dwalin managed as best he could to keep from dropping his charge, the burly dwarf relieved that he was one of the tallest dwarves in the company. As such, he found he could handle some of the larger natural steps along the trail that gave the others a bit more trouble.

The warrior's ears were also wide open, and he kept glancing from side to side as well when he was not forced to pay careful attention to his footing. He keenly remembered his words to Thorin back on the eyrie.

Wargs travel faster than you give them credit for.

The warrior was very surprised that they had not come across any wargs as of yet, or any orcs for that matter. He knew very well that orcs despised sunlight, but was growing more and more concerned that they hadn't encountered trouble. He could only hope that Thorin's words of reassurance to the company had been correct, and that Azog's wargs had lost their trail.

But Dwalin was a warrior first and foremost, and life had taught him some very harsh lessons-not the least of which was that nothing is ever as easy as it seems.

XXX

Cirashala was not sure what to do. They had no medicine what to speak of, the young prince was burning up, and she still could not remember what athelas looked like.

Out of all the things I can remember from the book and movies, THAT has to be the one thing I don't?! She thought angrily to herself. I'm sure it could help him. But what would it matter? Athelas only grew in places that the Numenorians have been, and I seriously doubt they have ever gone this far north out in the middle of nowhere.

Rapidly she went through the few natural healing remedies she knew of. She had some friends back in her world who were unable to take synthetic medications, and had learned bits here and there for how to help with various issues naturally.

Peppermint…digestion. Chamomile tea…helps with sleep, but never worked for me. Avocado…works as an antibiotic, but where in all of Arda would I find an avocado?

The heat from Kili's fever radiated off of him, and she forced herself to take a calm, deep breath, realizing that she was panicking. As she let it out, a few stray hairs tickled her cheek. Glancing down, the young woman suddenly realized that he still had his thick fur coat on, and her eyes widened.

His coat- no wonder he's so warm!

Taking another deep breath, Cirashala slowly moved herself out from behind him, biting back a cry of pain as the movement jostled her broken hand slightly. Laying him down on her blanket as gently as she could in order to keep his head slightly elevated, she moved to take his coat off.

"Come on," she whispered, having a great deal of difficulty accomplishing the task with one hand. It took several minutes, but she finally got his left arm out of the coat. As she moved toward the right, a slight moan sounded from the young dwarf.

Kili's eyes fluttered slightly, before he began shivering.

"No," he whimpered, "N'p-please…c-cold…"

"Shh," she replied, reaching up to brush his bangs aside and frowning at the heat still emanating from his forehead. "You have a fever, Kili."

She watched as his head followed her hand, pulling it away as his eyes began to flutter. Dark eyes met hers, the orbs somewhat glassy.

"P-please," he whispered, before closing his eyes and coughing again. Cirashala laid her hand on his shoulder, her brow furrowing with worry even as she readied herself to sit him up and smack his back again if necessary.

"Kili, I have to take your coat off," she said gently once the cough had subsided, "You're too hot." The young prince shook his head.

"No," he whispered, his breathing still somewhat labored as he shivered violently. "T-too cold—"

"You have chills," she interrupted, locking her gaze with his. "You feel cold, but your forehead is still very hot."

Brown eyes looked up at her hesitantly, the young dwarf's cheeks bright red with fever even as the rest of his face was very pale. He could feel the heat radiating off his face, despite feeling like the rest of his body was encased in ice, and couldn't deny the truth in her words. He closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them again, the glassy look in the dark orbs somewhat lessened.

"W-we have t-to go on," he gasped. "The company…w-we have to-to reach them." Cirashala's frown deepened, and she shook her head.

"Any exertion you do will likely make your fever rise," she warned. "And you're awfully hot already."

"B-but we can-cannot stay here," he replied, his brow furrowing with worry. "Orcs…w-we have to keep going." Cirashala sighed heavily, her eyes landing on the water skin next to Kili's pack.

"Water will help," she muttered to herself. "But we don't have enough to drink and lower a fever too…and willows grow where there's more water…" Blue eyes came back to rest on his, and he nodded.

"Oin…he has m-medicine," the young dwarf pointed out. "We c-catch up to them…m-maybe he could h-help." Cirashala's eyes widened slightly, that thought not having occurred to her.

"Aye," she replied after a moment, hearing the congestion in Kili's lungs very clearly. "But we must go slowly." Kili closed his eyes and nodded.

The young woman glanced at their pack, then back at the young dwarf hesitantly, feeling the worry settle in the pit of her stomach as her eyes landed on his extremely pale face and dark circles under his eyes.

I really hope we find some help, and soon.

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MAJOR APOLOGIES to my readers! Life has been absolutely crazy, I've had writer's block, family got sick, garden needed to be cleared some more, sewing had to be done, and I tried to slice through my thumb several days ago while cutting meat and realized what I had already suspected- my eyes need to be checked again (depth perception is off) and finally managed to figure out how to type without using it…thanks for your patience, and apologize for the really short chapter (almost waited til tomorrow to finish it, but I had promised not to go to bed til it was done- it's almost 1 am now, but it's posted), but I will do whatever I can to write tomorrow to make up for it :D

A response to guest reviewer redhouseclan: Thank you! :) Well, the next chapter had just been posted when I got your review ;) But as this is the only way I can respond to guest reviews, I suppose you know that by now ;) You are very welcome- I'm glad you like it so much :D

A response to guest reviewer Ri-chan: Good :) Sorry if it was confusing. Yeah, he doesn't feel very well at the moment :(

Thanks to all who review, favorite, and follow- you guys are AMAZING! :D :D :D