A/N: Another chapter, this time all Gemma's POV. It's mostly filler, but I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: The Hobbit does not belong to me.

Chapter 7: Different, But the Same

We're the same, you and me. We're the same, don't you see?

–Falling Down (1993)

After the situation with the muggers, the tension between Gemma and Thorin eased up slightly. They no longer got into colossal arguments; instead, they bickered, constantly. Thankfully the terrain they were travelling had begun to flatten out, so the Company was able to ride longer and farther, keeping the two separated for the most part. It was during one of these long riding stretches that Gandalf brought up a rather unexpected topic of conversation.

Gemma was still huffing over a particularly infuriating comment Thorin had just made. Gandalf couldn't hold in his chuckle. From her place behind him on his horse (for all the other mounts were ponies that were much too small to carry Gemma for any length of time) Gemma indignantly asked, "Just what is it that you find so amusing?"

This just made Gandalf's grin grow wider, and he was glad the woman was behind him and could not see it. They had become fast friends, and he was not above goading her. "Just the fact that you and Master Oakenshield are so similar, my dear," he replied cheekily.

If she had been drinking, Gemma would have done a spit-take. As it was, she opened and closed her mouth several times and sputtered, so that she ended up looking like a rather surprised goldfish.

"I... have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, old man. Grumpy and I couldn't be further opposites."

Gandalf just shook his head. Gemma always brought out the nicknames when she was scrambling for a defense. "Are you sure? To me it seems quite obvious. You may have very different points of view, but you are certainly alike. Perhaps that is why you do not get on well?" he pondered.

"Bofur!" Gemma called to the dwarf riding behind them. He pulled his horse up alongside them. "Dumbledore here thinks that Oaky and I are really similar. I told him he's losing his marbles. What do you think?"

Bofur worked his jaw, pondering the question. "Well," he began slowly, "you are both incredibly stubborn, aren't yah?"

Gemma almost argued, but that would have just proven his point.

"And, you're both fighters. And leaders. Um... oh and you're proud, and opinionated, and brave..."

"Alright, fine, so we're sort of alike. But he's also a bit of an arrogant bastard," Gemma tried to argue.

"And you're much more dramatic than he is," Gandalf supplied with a smirk. Gemma threw her hands up in exasperation, before realising she was, in fact, being dramatic.

Lucky for her, she was saved the embarrassment of continuing the conversation when there was a commotion up ahead.

"Stick together! Hurry now, arm yourselves!" Gandalf called. The Company tensed, preparing for attack, when out of the wood burst the most peculiar little man Gemma had ever seen. He wore brown robes and a matching hat, with wild eyes and a beard full of twigs, plus what appeared to be a large smear of bird droppings on the side of his head. Not to mention the fact that he was riding a sled pulled by rabbits. Gemma thought he resembled a crazy half-brother of Santa Claus.

"Thieves! Liars! Murderers!" the man screeched, a feral light in his eyes. In Gemma's experience, that look generally meant the person was, to put it in technical terms, bat-shit crazy.

Her eyes unconsciously drifted to Thorin's and she sent him a look that said let's get the heck out of here before this guy tries to murder us all with a spoon. Thorin sent back a look of his own that clearly said he agreed, though he probably hadn't discerned the spoon part. Gandalf, on the other hand, had different plans.

"Radagast? Radagast the Brown, what are you doing here?" he asked with a slight smile.

At that, the man seemed to focus then, and became relieved upon noticing Gandalf. "I've been looking for you, Gandalf! Something is terribly wrong!" he proclaimed.

The Company all waited expectantly for him to continue, but he did not. After a lapse of silence Gandalf uncertainly asked, "Yes...?"

Radagast seemed to become frustrated and scrunched his nose in thoughtful concentration. "Oh...Just give me a minute. I had the thought and now I've lost it! It was right there on the tip of my tongue." He opened his mouth as if to demonstrate exactly where that thought was, only to exclaim, "Oh!" and reach into his mouth. "It wasn't a thought at all. It's a little old stick insect!" He pulled the bug out and held it up, like a proud little toddler showing a brand new toy to his friends. The Company wrinkled their noses in synchronization. At least this Radagast wasn't the madman he had first appeared.

Gandalf shook his head in amusement, and gestured for the Company to dismount. "Radagast, let's continue our conversation in private, shall we?" The brown wizard nodded and they moved off to the side, where Radagast began whispering harshly and making wild hand gestures.

The rest of the Company secured their horses quickly and unload some of their things to set about having a quick midday meal. Gemma grabbed her whole bag and lugged it over to a stump, where she rooted through it for a lighter sweater, as it had grown warmer. Despite being autumn, likely the Middle-Earth equivalent of September or early October, the weather was particularly mild. Turning her back to the others, she quickly pulled off her F.B.I windbreaker and the thick hoodie and button-up shirt underneath, replacing them with a light gray thin-knit sweater, over which she donned her bullet proof vest. It would keep her warm enough and still protected without making her sweat like a dog. Then she pulled out her gun, and, having nothing better to do while she waited for the food to be ready and Gandalf to return, began to clean it. As she was using the bore brush on the inside of the barrel, she heard the quiet pad of approaching footsteps. She didn't need to look up to know who it was; no dwarf was that light on their feet.

"How goes it, Bilbo?" Gemma asked as he sat down beside her. When he didn't reply, she finally looked up. Everything about his body language screamed nervousness and discomfort. Gemma carefully reassembled her half cleaned gun and holstered it before placing a hand on his shoulder. "What's up?" she asked quietly.

"I guess... well I didn't think this was what an adventure would be like. All this travelling, constantly moving in case we're followed; it's making me paranoid. And when you were attacked... well, nothing so awful has ever happened to anyone in the Shire. You must have been dreadfully frightened. Though I guess you wouldn't be. You and Thorin and the rest are all so fearless. I would be scared half to death. But then... I'm frightened by nearly everything. I suppose the others are right: I'm just not cut out for this adventuring business." He ranted, ending with a shameful shake of his head.

"I was frightened. Anyone in their right mind would be. And I'm certainly not fearless, not by a long shot. I just have more… experience, I suppose. Courage isn't about not being afraid of anything; it's about how you act in spite of being afraid. And from what I heard, you took on those mountain trolls single-handedly and outsmarted them all. That took guts for sure. You have just as much right to be part of this Company as I do. Probably more, actually," Gemma told him firmly.

Bilbo gave her a shy smile. "Well... it wasn't exactly hard to outsmart those trolls. They didn't have much going on up there." He gestured to his head, and the two of them chuckled.

"May I interrupt?" Gemma and Bilbo looked up to see Thorin standing over them.

"Um yes, I should...um... I was just going to get some food." Bilbo stuttered. "Right, um, goodbye Miss LaRoche... I mean Gemma." Gemma shot him a wry smile and wink as he hastily left.

"I brought you some food," Thorin said, handing Gemma a plate with dried meat and bread as he took the spot beside her that Bilbo occupied.

Gemma eyed him suspiciously. "Uh, thanks?" she said, assembling the food into a sandwich and taking a bite. Thorin just watched her as she chewed slowly, and she watched him. She swallowed and said, "Okay, I'll bite, what do you want?"

Thorin actually smiled, just barely. Gemma decided he should do it more often. "Was I that transparent?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Well you brought me a sandwich, asked politely to sit down, and you just smiled, sort of. You must want something big if you're actually being nice to me. I'm just telling you now; you're not getting my first-born."

"Why on earth would I want your first-born child?" Thorin asked, utterly baffled.

"Nothing, never mind, it was just a joke. Besides, I don't plan on having any kids. Anyway, what did you need?"

"I merely want to talk." Thorin looked off towards the two wizards, still in deep conversation. "What do you think of this newcomer, Radagast?" He asked without looking at her.

"Oh, is that all? Jeez, I thought it would be something really important. I mean, you brought me a sandwich. It's no Schwartz's, but it isn't half bad." She took another bite of her sandwich, taking her time to ponder his question before saying, "Um, I don't know, he seems harmless enough. He's got a slight limp in his left leg, a weak knee I think. Not sure if he's all there, if you know what I mean, but looks can be deceiving. Not to mention he's a wizard. But Gandalf trusts him, and I doubt he would remember the details of your quest even if you were to tell him. Seems like he's been hitting the mushrooms a bit too hard." She cocked her head and looked Thorin square in the eye. "Why do you care what I think anyway?" Gemma was slightly shocked that he would want her opinion.

"Isn't this what you said you do? Investigate, figure people out. I'm sure the rest of my company would simply pass him off as strange, or only size him up on physicality. I can tell that you are a good judge of character; you have that look in your eyes." Thorin said all this with the utmost sincerity.

Gemma was a bit shocked. "Wow, Thorin Oakenshield giving me a compliment."

"Don't let it go to your head, woman," he growled back, but with less malice than normal.

"Are you sick? Have you been hearing voices? Are you feeling feverish?"

"Mahal, forgot I said anything!"

"Wait, if I'm a good judge of character, what does that say about you, considering I called you a jackass?"

Thorin didn't reply, but he didn't leave. Gemma looked back to the two wizards. Radagast was waving his hands vigorously in the air, like he was trying to hail a cab in New York. A slightly terrifying thought crossed Gemma's mind. "Oh God, you don't think Radagast is the "friend" Gandalf wanted me to see? I mean, not to be judgmental or anything, but that wouldn't exactly get my hopes up."

Thorin shook his head. "No, I believe I know who this friend is, if my suspicions are correct," he replied. He said the word friend with an air of disgust.

Gemma was just about to ask who this friend way when, for the second time in a matter of minutes, something large, brown, and furry surprised the company. A massive wolf-like animal jumped down on them from the ridge above. Thorin brought his sword up in a flash, skewering the beast as it fell on them, knocking them both to the ground.

With a heave, Gemma managed to roll the beast off. Turning around, she came nose to nose, quite literally, with Thorin, as she was lying on top of him.

A/N: So this update is coming a bit later, but I'm surprised I got it out this week at all. The whole week has been hell. Winter's finally hit hard here; there's an Arctic air mass moving in, and it's currently -22 degrees Celsius with wind chill here (that's colder than it is on Mars!). Plus, I'm up to my eyeballs in school projects, work, and personal issues. I've been stress-eating like crazy, thank God I have an overactive metabolism.

Speaking of which, a note on the reference to Schwartz's: this is a real deli/diner in Montreal (Canada, in case you didn't know). It doesn't look like much, but it makes the best smoked meat sandwiches you'll ever taste. If you ever travel there, make sure you check it out.

In other matters, you guys are the best! Thanks so much for the lovely reviews, I had a bunch for last chapter. I'm glad you guys like Gemma swearing, there's a lot more to come. I had a few more guesses about what Gemma is hiding, one somewhat close, but not quite there. More hints will come soon. The next few chapters will be more exciting, I promise.