Warnings: None. Maybe a little bit of heartbreak and a sunken ship. (do my readers ship people in fanfictions? 'Cause I always do with other people's fanfictions)

The fourth day of the journey, near midnight

Fíli

"Fíli."

I looked up as I heard my Uncle's voice.

It was somewhere in the middle of the night, and it was dark - obviously. Sam was lying in a tree next to me, fast asleep, and I had offered to stand quard in case the spiders came back.

I put my knife, which I had been absent-mindedly sharpening, away, and greeted the Dwarf King approaching me.

"Hello, Uncle. Is something wrong?"

I could not see his face well in the dark, but he seemed worried.

"I believe I am the one who should be asking you that question," he replied. "I can see how you look at Sam. It troubles you how close she was to getting seriously injured. Am I right?"

I nodded, although he probably could not see that.

Uncle Thorin went on.

"It could have been worse. We were lucky."

"I am aware of that."

"What I am trying to say is..." He sighed. "...perhaps it is better if you go home."

I looked up, startled. "What?"

"If Sam dies in our world, and something happens to you, there will be nobody to make it undone. Go back to Erebor. Take Kíli and your mother with you. Be safe."

"No," I protested. "I am here to protect the ones I love, and I do that by protecting Sam. I knew it would be dangerous when I came. I do not want to go home."

I hated myself in that moment. I was not supposed to talk like that to the man who had raised me. But I simply could not accept this.

Uncle Thorin sighed.

"I expected this," he said, sounding defeated. I hated myself a little bit more. "You have the right to make choices for yourself. I will not force you to do something I want you to do. Just... Just think about it."

I nodded, promised that I would think about it, although I knew my decision would not change. Uncle left after that, with a simple "Good night", and the silence returned.

I leaned against the tree trunk behind me. Gods, I felt bad about my behaviour. I felt worse than last year, when I had ignored Uncle Thorin's advice as well, but that had been different. Kíli had been dying then. I would have never forgiven myself if I had left him behind. Perhaps, I realised, that was why I wanted to keep Sam alive: because I knew something could happen to my brother, something that was worse than last time, and I wanted to have somebody to turn back time and make it undone.

But still, there was something deep down that told me that that was not entirely true, that I still wanted to have Sam around because she was Sam, and not a useful Tale-Changer.

I absent-mindedly grabbed one of my braids and started to pluck the sticky remains of the cobwebs out of it.

All those feelings confused me. I wanted them to go away.

I was sitting there, in the dark and surrounded by the other Dwarves' soft snoring, for about ten minutes or so, when I heard a rustling sound next to me. Sam sat up and stretched her arms.

"Hey," I softly said to her. "How are you feeling?"

She yawned.

"Fine, I guess, thanks," she replied. "Just... have been awake for over an hour."

Oh.

That means she has heard the conversation between me and Uncle Thorin.

I felt my face turn red in embarrassment; luckily, it was dark, and Sam could not see that.

I knew that she thought that I had only rescued her because I wanted to use her if something went wrong, not because I cared about her. I was not certain if that was true.

"It doesn't matter, you know," she said, as if she could read my thoughts. She sounded like it did matter to her. "It's not the first time. I've gotten used to the fact that it's hard to make people actually like you when they find out that you're useful."

I tried to protest, tell her that she was wrong, but I could not get any sound out of my throat.

I heard Sam sigh, and then she lied down again and turned her back on me.

Deep down, I knew that I had destroyed something from which I did not even know it was there.

And it hurt.

A/N:

I don't think I need to say anything about this chapter. I hope you're enjoying your feelings.