What if Bilbo saved Thorin from Azog in the final battle? An alternative ending for Botfa. Thilbo Bagginshiel one-shot.
Silence. It was everywhere and it was like an infinity that anyone couldn't overcome.
First it was only a small hint of pain and it was bearable, it felt like he had been staying a little too long under the warm sunlight while gardening in the last summer and it had made his head ache. He could have stayed there for a little longer because lying felt good, it felt calming. Anything he had been doing could wait. But the longer he stayed there, the harder the pain was getting and slowly he started to notice that it wasn't his bed where he was lying and he wasn't at home. Something cold and hard was pressing both of his sides and Bilbo Baggins opened his left eye carefully, the pain of realization and the wound on his head making him whimper in a low voice. The place definitely wasn't Bag End and this wasn't his bed. No, he was surrounded by the dead bodies of orcs and after opening the other eye, it didn't take long to understand what had happened.
Fili and Kili both had died.
The dwarves probably were losing the battle against the orcs.
Thorin needed him. He remembered all the bad things Thorin had said to him and how he had treated him in Erebor while the treasure had captured his mind, but Bilbo had already forgiven him. If there was one thing he had learned during their time together, it was a lesson that life was too short to live in bitterness. And most of all it was too short to live without the people you loved with all of your heart.
He stood up slowly, keeping a hand against his pounding head and shut his eyes again when the whole field of vision turned black from the dizziness. He leaned against the hard wall of rock and took a deep breath. Something warm made his hand wet. Blood.
"Do something." Bilbo commanded himself with a whisper and nodded to himself. The wound was nothing compared to the other things what had happened today, he wasn't this weak. The hobbit stepped over the muddy legs of an orc and looked around for the Sting, finding it near one corpse as it was shining brightly the blue color he had grown to hate during their journey. Now he had to gather himself and in a moment he had picked up the sword, walked quietly past the orcs and tried his best to forget the nasty pain in his head. What could he do anymore? He had warned the dwarves about Azog's trap, but it had been too late. Could he still help them in some way even the battle up here seemed to be lost? He swallowed slowly and his eyes looked around the area very cautiously. Nothing moved, every single one of the orcs had died. Thorin was out there and he was sure that the King under the Mountain was fighting alone. The question was that where had he gone? Had he already killed the vicious orc who had done more damage than any of them could have ever imagined? The only way to find out was to take steps forward and so Bilbo did. He needed to do anything to save Thorin, no matter what would happen to him. One last time, he had promised.
After a few moments of directionless wandering the hobbit arrived to the frozen area that had been a river in the summer. His feet were slipping and he had to look down to not fall and right when he looked up to check if he could see something, an angry shout stopped him in his place. Then Bilbo saw them and his heart started to race wildly in his chest, his whole body tensing. Before that moment he had been glad to wear the mithril shirt by himself, but when seeing Thorin next to the tall and incredibly strong Azog, he wished that the dwarf was the one who could wear it.
"Is that the best you can do?" Thorin's voice was like a thunder even from the distance and Bilbo watched the pale orc raise his heavy iron ball on his arm and when the ball dropped down, it made a hole in the ice. And the worst part was that it had nearly hit Thorin's arm, the next attempt could possibly strike his shoulder. That made Bilbo run, this time not focused on his feet anymore but Azog's scarred back, his sword raised straight up. The iron ball on Azog's arms split the air again and when hitting down, the dark water splashed up from between the pieces of ice. Thorin stumbled back to avoid falling into the water and the orc stepped even closer, Thorin trying to defend himself by lifting the Orchist up to point Azog. The orc was faster than expected when the sharp blade on his left arm clashed against Thorin's sword, sending a little golden spark in the air between them.
Bilbo had reached them just in time and the sudden movement behind the orc's back captured Thorin's eyes, his struggling against Azog's blade getting distracted for a while. Within those few seconds of looking at Thorin the hobbit had seen that Thorin looked somehow like he had already lost the battle, like there was no hope anymore, but now a new spark had lit up his eyes. Bilbo stopped running when Azog turned around - he had seen that the dwarf was looking at someone. Azog's laugh had a mocking tone under the hate and Bilbo knew this was almost insulting the creature's pride that such a small hobbit tried to rise against him. One gaze from the orc made everything inside of Bilbo turn around, his hands were sweating even the air was cold and he wanted to take a step back, but instead of moving backwards, his Sting penetrated the orc's arm without a warning. Thorin gave him a respectful look and Azog let out a terribly loud scream what made the whole area echo the same scream all over again. The blood streamed out of the slit and the chain of the iron ball in his hand slammed against the ice, the ball itself drowning in the water. The hobbit couldn't believe that he had just hit the orc. Then it was Thorin's time to act and he almost managed to bury the Orcrist inside of his antagonist's other arm, but Azog was faster by taking a step aside. Bilbo focused his eyes on Thorin, all of him ready to move forward because his previous hit had given him more courage. "No!" Thorin's voice was scared, his eyes full of fear. Bilbo hardly noticed that the rusty blade was now coming on his way.
Clank.
It felt the same as hitting the rocks earlier when his head touched the ground and the thick ice welcomed him down so hard that all the air disappeared from his lungs. He slid back and the ice scratched his knuckles, but the sword still stayed in his grip, ready to prevent the next strike. The pain around his body was unbearable, but one look at his side told that he had stayed unharmed even the hit he had just gotten was very hard. The mithril shirt had saved him.
The clinking sound of the blades hitting against each other made the hobbit stood up as fast as he could. Now Thorin was holding Azog away from him with the length of Orcrist, but that wasn't enough and in a second the dwarf was pushed down to face the ground with a dark red cut on his arm, the blood from the wound dripping over the ice. Suddenly the fear wasn't squeezing Bilbo's heart anymore because the pure anger had replaced it. How the orc dared to do this for Thorin?
Azog heard the hobbit coming from the back but the orc's attempt to hit him was useless, Bilbo's movement was faster than ever from the power of the fierce anger and he let out a cry when the Sting made a deep cut on both of Azog's legs. The orc fell down, the blood staining the ice under him. Bilbo couldn't hear anything anymore, he just watched Thorin rebound up with the features of pain on his face. The eyes of the hobbit and the dwarf met for a second. Then their swords raised up at the same time and they were buried under the skin of the horrible creature on the ground. For a moment the air was full of shouts and the sound of the soul leaving a body made Bilbo shiver. Could it really be over now?
Silence.
After the relief of seeing the orc die, Thorin dropped down to his feet and Bilbo ran the few steps forward to catch his shoulders. "Let me help you." Bilbo's voice was shaking and he abandoned the sword next to them. Thorin closed his eyes, letting the halfling to support him from the back when he leaned down. Bilbo sat on the ice and landed Thorin's head over his legs. "We did it." The dwarf said quietly with a small smile on his lips. Bilbo looked at his pained expressions and tried to see how bad the wound on his arm was. "We make a good team, I never thought we couldn't do it." Bilbo answered without a smile, he was too worried about Thorin's condition. "How much does it hurt? Is there anything I could do?" Thorin opened his eyes when hearing Bilbo's question and looked aside at his arm that was bleeding slowly through his jacket. "I have faced my Hell already, that is nothing. I can handle this. Just let me rest for a moment." Thorin said with a clear voice and Bilbo knew what he meant – the dragon sickness had been his personal Hell. The hobbit felt himself useless when he couldn't do a thing for the man who was lying against him, for the man he was willing to do anything. Bilbo wanted to suggest that he could bind the wound, but didn't dare to talk about the same subject again. Thorin looked up at Bilbo, like his eyes were searching something from the halfling's face. The hobbit understood that Thorin wanted to talk about something to get a distraction from the reality where the battle was still going on and he had lost at least two parts of his family. "Tell me one thing, Bilbo. What are you going to do when you go back home? "
Home. The meaning of that word had changed a lot during their journey and he couldn't say what it was anymore. Where did he really belong?
"I will… I'm going to…" The hobbit tried to find the right words, but nothing came out. His hand moved from Thorin's shoulder into his pocket and pulled out a small acorn. It had stayed unharmed and looked like it was still new. Bilbo bent forward to take Thorin's hand hesitantly and placed the acorn between their fingers, his palm staying against the other. "Before anything else, I will plant this acorn with you. I want it to grow strong and then be a symbol of our journey. And when the time is right, you can make a new shield of it. I… I think the tree would fit on the grounds of Erebor." Bilbo spoke the words softly, both of his eyes looking at their intertwined fingers. For a moment Thorin didn't say anything, he just smiled peacefully. "It indeed will fit there. You have a good eye, Master Burglar." The hobbit felt the happiness fill his heart for the first time in a long time. They would plant the acorn together. Could he stay here to watch it grow?
Suddenly there was something in the air, the wind brought the voices to them. They both listened carefully and then it hit them - the familiar sound could mean only one thing. "Look!" Bilbo's excited tone got Thorin's eyes widen and he laughed quietly. Now they could go back home safely and they could finally win this mindless battle. Thorin squeezed Bilbo's hand and when they smiled to each other, Bilbo's heart skipped a beat.
"The eagles are coming."