Author's Note: I am working to finish this before the release of the final film. To think I once thought I wouldn't have enough material to stretch things out until the second film arrived. Goes to show you how little things work out the way you expect them to.

Date: TA 2941

Thorin: 195 years old

Lina: 192 years old

"Do you ever wish you'd chosen a different life?"

The question startled Lina. She looked up from the braid she was brushing out of her hair. Thorin was leaning against the bed post, his blue eyes watching her.

"What do you mean?" Thorin's question perplexed Lina. She had been born into this life. How could she choose any other?

"Do you ever wish you'd gone to the Iron Hills with most of our people when Erebor fell? Or that you'd chosen a simpler and easier life than this?"

Lina turned to look at her husband.

"No," she answered slowly, choosing her words carefully, "I do not regret the choice I made to follow your grandfather into exile. Nor do I regret following your father wherever he led."

"Are you unhappy with your life here?"

"What is on your mind, Thorin?" Lina set aside her brush and focused her full attention upon her husband. His face was blank and his gaze had focused directly in front of him. When he did not look at her, Lina rose and moved to stand before him. Her hands pressed against his chest at least brought his attention back to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

"You were so unhappy today. I've seen the sadness creeping into your eyes the last few weeks, but today was the worst." Thorin looked worried, almost afraid. Lina stayed silent as he thought about his next words. Her heart was heavy and she felt sick to her stomach. Did he believe that he was the reason for her unhappiness?

"Do I make you unhappy?" The words hung in the air between them. Lina stared at him, stunned.

"No! Of course not!"

"Then why this sadness?" he wondered.

"It is difficult to see Dis with Fili, knowing I can never have that," Lina whispered, her gaze dropping to her hands. She remembered the awe she'd felt as she held her nephew, the fierce love and desire to protect him that rose up within her. For fifty-seven years, Lina was content in her marriage to Thorin. Yet the arrival of Dis's son made Lina all the more conscious of the reasons many among the dwarves wished her replaced in Thorin's affections.

Thorin wrapped her protectively in his arms.

Lina woke, startled and disappointed, as a horn sounded to rouse the camp. Battle was upon them. As she pulled her gambeson over her head, she thought briefly of reaching for her husband through dreams. The memories she saw and felt in her dreams never could assuage the longing she felt for his presence. Yet she feared seeing the madness that had taken him, slowly destroying him.

"The orcs are on the move, Lady Firehammer. Nes is waiting with the rest of your armor." Kes stood less than an arm's length away, breaking Lina's train of thought. She nodded to show she understood, wondering fleetingly how he managed to slip around unnoticed like that. In an instant he was gone again.

The camp whirled about her as she stepped out from the relative quiet and calm of her little tent. Glancing about, she caught sight of Kira marching through the army.

"Commander Kira," Lina called over the clamor to the retreating figure ahead of her.

The old warrior turned to face her, a flicker of surprise crossing her features when she saw her old comrade standing there. Her gaze dropped to the hand extended to her.

"Give them hell," Lina told her as Kira hesitantly clasped her hand.

"You as well, Lady Firehammer," she replied. Taking a step back, she sketched a salute, two fingers to her right brow. A reminder of Azanulbizar.

Lina felt a pang of nostalgia as she watched Kira stride away. For a brief moment she could almost see the shape of Ira marching away beside her sister. The vision disappeared with the blink of her eyes, and, with it, Kira vanished into the milling army.

Once more, the moment of battle was upon them. Instead of Azog, the dwarves faced Bolg, and instead of the massed armies of their brothers and sisters at their backs, the line of Durin stood nearly alone. The Men and Elves were turned against the orcs and goblins only by grace of Gandalf's timely arrival in the siege camp outside Erebor. Else they would be pitted against the small, but tenacious dwarven armies.

Kira intended to drive her lines forward in an attempt to break through the thinnest part of the black army to reach Dain's larger force. Lina, on the other hand, would make a push for the gates of Erebor while her enemies were distracted in the fight. According to what news the dwarves could gather, none in the camp outside the citadel's gates had seen or heard from Thorin for nearly two days. Lina hoped this meant Thorin would not try anything rash.

Lina frowned as Nes cinched down the last strap on the leather breastplate the line breaker would wear into battle. It was not nearly as tight as it should be. If the armor slipped to the side, it would not be fulfilling its purpose.

"That needs to be tighter," Lina informed the younger female.

Nes ignored her, adjusting the opposite strap just the same. Her actions puzzled Lina. As a fellow warrior, Nes should be well aware that failure to properly secure the armor could lead to serious injury or death.

"The straps should be tighter," the old warrior repeated, reaching to fix them herself. The way the armor rested on her left her feeling insecure and vulnerable. The feeling was only made worse by how large she felt. Her joints ached in an unusual fashion and her body felt larger than it should.

"No, they don't," Nes answered, shocking her commander as she blocked Lina's attempts to adjust the straps.

"They protect exactly what they need to as they are now," she informed the other.

"Maybe now. In the heat of a battle, they won't," Lina pointed out.

"If there is a battle, you won't be in it."

The assassin continued adjusting Lina's armor, ignoring the shock that must have been apparent on Lina's face.

"I must fight for my home. If I don't, no one will."

"Your warriors will follow you to the ends of the earth, just as Thorin's follow him," Nes replied.

"I am Thorin's wife. To sit idly by while others fight my battles is not how I wish to be seen by the very dwarves my husband will one day rule over," Lina argued. Her frustration grew as her companion did not so much as twitch. Anger burned through her, far more powerfully than it should have. Her emotions roiled violently.

"You cannot fight, not today," Nes answered calmly, moving to face her charge. Her dark eyes connected with Lina's. An uncomfortable jolt ran through her body at the unexpected contact. It was all she could do to keep from shifting away. Yet it was Nes's next words that shocked her most.

"You are pregnant."