Disclaimer: I don't own the Hobbit.

Chapter 31: Degenerate

For greed all nature is too little.

–Lucius Annaeus Seneca

The things Gemma felt couldn't even be put into words. She wanted to cry, whether out of joy or sadness, she didn't know. She wanted to hit something, preferably him. She wanted to scream out of pure anger and frustration. And she wanted to kiss him senseless. She wanted to do things that weren't mentionable in polite society.

The dwarves, even the ones that she had been with in Lake-town, were silently staring at her in amazement. Gemma descended the stairs slowly and picked her way across the mounds of treasure until she stood directly in front of Thorin. She stared into his eyes, long and hard, searching. There was sickness there, like liquid gold, but it seemed to drain away as he looked at her. His icy blue eyes became clearer, sparkling with recognition and… something that could only be called wonder. It made Gemma's heart soar.

She pulled back her arm and delivered Thorin a sound slap before anyone could say anything. The hollow sound rang out across the quiet chamber, and Thorin grunted as his head snapped to the side. As soon as he shook off the hit and faced her once more, Gemma tugged Thorin forward and crashed their lips together desperately.

He couldn't quite believe that Gemma was truly here. It didn't make sense. She had to be an illusion– but he'd been doing so well at keeping her off his mind. He couldn't move or think as she approached him slowly. Her hair was wild and at least half of it had fallen out from its tie, and she was pale and bleary-eyed, clear signs of exhaustion. Thorin didn't think he'd ever seen her more beautiful. She wore different clothes too, ones he had never seen before, and had a large bag slung over her shoulder. She stood right in front of him and looked down on him, as if searching for something. Thorin just stared right back, and let a wave of emotions wash over him. He felt like he was waking up for the first time in days.

Any ideas he had about her being a figment of his imagination were put to rest when she slapped him. It was a solid hit, and if her hand had been closed in a fist Thorin would have been knocked down. She could certainly pack a hit; that was his woman. Thorin snapped his head back in place and, suddenly clear-minded, started to ask how she could possibly be here, but he couldn't get the words past his lips, because Gemma, confounding creature that she was, pulled him into a kiss. Whatever clarity had come over his mind was immediately gone again. Thorin pulled her closer against him, running a hand up and down her back as their lips pressed together. When they pulled apart again, they both needed a moment to recover. Just as that question he'd wanted to ask her came back to him, he was interrupted again when Gemma gave him a second slap, just for good measure he supposed.

"I'm not quite sure I deserved that."

Gemma smirked. "Just making sure."

Thorin's throat felt raw. "Sure of what?"

Gemma folded her arms and gave him a don't-fuck-with-me look. "From what I've heard, you've been in here for days. And that little speech… Thorin you have to control yourself. It's the sickness, I can see it."

Thorin shook his head. "I'm fine, I'm fine now. You're here." He swallowed thickly. "Gemma I… felt you leave. You left, didn't you? Back to your own world? How can you be back here?" Gemma shrugged, and opened her mouth to speak, but Thorin could tell she was just going to brush it off. "No, do not make this out to be of no importance. You were gone."

Gemma hugged her arms closer, and bit her lip. "Yeah," she rasped. "I didn't want to go. I didn't just abandon you. I was just going to pop there and back, a couple hours max, I swear."

"You were gone for days." Thorin could feel just a little bit of anger welling up.

"Um, yeah," she rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. "It's the portal thingy. I was only gone a few hours, but I guess time in other universes is… I don't know, out of alignment, or something. All this interdimensional travel, it's… wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff," she smirked, as if laughing at some joke that he didn't understand. He didn't think any of this was very funny.

"But where did you go? Why did you go? You said you would be here, with us." He was finally getting to say all the things he'd wanted to say to her since she'd left. All the things that had troubled his mind, before he'd been able to block it out.

"She did it for me, uncle," Kili piped up. "She saved me with miracle medicine from her world."

"Oh no," Gemma said, humbly, "Not really. Tauriel saved him with her elf voodoo. I just brought him some nice pain drugs. Couldn't just let him go on like that, in pain."

"My Gemma," Thorin said, silencing her by reaching out to caress her cheek. "You brought my nephews back to me. What did I ever do to deserve you?"

Gemma twisted and kissed his palm. "That's a very good question," She chuckled, but then became serious again. "Maybe the better question is: what can you do? You can fight the sickness, Thorin. Fight the dragon sickness for me."

Thorin let go of her. "I told you, I am fine." He spread his arms. "More than fine. Now I have my kingdom, my treasure, and all my family. Come, let us catch up over some food before we get back to work."

The Company made their way out of the treasure chamber and towards the old kitchens, where they had found some very old preserves that were still usable. Most of it was gone, but the ale was still fine and they had rations from Lake-town left. Thorin flung his arms around the shoulders of his nephews and led them along, while Gemma dropped back, only slightly, to walk beside Bilbo.

When they all were situated around a table with beer in their hands, the dwarves who had entered the mountain with him launched into their account of what had happened in their battle with the dragon. Thorin was content to listen, only adding in his thoughts occasionally, as he sat with his nephews on either side, and Gemma across from him. It didn't even occur to him that this was the first time in days that he had left the treasure chamber; the first time in days that he had not been under the spell of the gold. He couldn't hear its whispers.

"Oh, nothing really happened. For me, I was only gone a few hours." The entire company had insisted on hearing what had happened not only during the dragon attack, but also during the time she'd spent in her own world. She'd tried to get out of it, brush it off, but they were adamant. "Let's see. I materialized in an alleyway and had to break into my sixth story apartment— my home, that is— through the window. I found out that everyone there thinks I'm dead and they had a funeral for me." Some of the dwarves frowned at this, and Bilbo covered his mouth is a gesture of sympathy. "I grabbed the pills for Kili and a few other things. I met up with an idiot I used to know, threatened and robbed him. Then I went to the cemetery where the headstone marking my empty grave was, crushed the moonstone, and poof, portalled back to Middle Earth. Easy peasy."

Gemma tried to say it nonchalantly, so that it wouldn't seem like such a big deal. There were bigger things to worry about, and she was starting to regret leaving. Not that she regretted helping Kili, not one bit, but things had gone to the shitter during her absence and separation from Thorin.

Next, Fili and Bofur launched into the story of Gemma's return, the orc attack, and Kili's healing. Then they recounted what happened to their group during the dragon attack, which really wasn't all that exciting. Their boat had nearly caught fire, but they'd managed to escape the burning town intact, and led several others to safety.

When they finished, Gemma was once more prompted to speak, this time about her involvement with the dragon attack. As she told her story, this one considerably more exciting than the other, she watched a scowl slip on and off Thorin's face, appearing whenever she mentioned Bard or Legolas. Honestly, jealousy was to be expected to a certain point, but this was damn near possessive.

The dwarves all seemed thoroughly impressed with this story. They all sighed in relief when she described how the water shocked her out of her flashbacks, and oohed and ahhed when she talked about the dragon's ultimate demise. Gemma didn't tell them of what she had seen in her flashbacks, nor did she mention her theory or her correspondence with Bard and the two elves. Her priority at the moment was to control whatever was going on here in Erebor, or else the rest of the plan was void. When she concluded the story the dwarves broke into conversation, clapping her on the back hard, the way they always did. Gemma tried to stress the fact that the people of Lake-town were now homeless and needed help, but the dwarves continued their raucous conversation, drowning her out.

Soon she was being pulled along on a quick tour of Erebor, or at least, the areas of Erebor which were safe to venture into. The kingdom truly was awe-inspiring, its beauty and extravagance growing with each new room she was shown. As wonderful as it was, she felt woefully out of place. But Thorin never let go of her hand as he pulled her along from room to room, talking about this and that with more enthusiasm than she'd ever heard from him. It made her so happy, and hopeful that he would be alright.

Gemma should have known that the gold sickness was worse than that. As soon as the tour concluded, Thorin ordered the dwarves back into the treasure chamber, where they continued to search for the Arkenstone. "No one rests until it is found!" He announced before he went to continue his own search, leaving Gemma standing alone in surprise.

Her eyebrows knitted together in worry at his abrupt and rather rude departure. She'd thought they would spend a little more time together, possibly alone, seeing as Thorin had apparently been so cut up about their separation, which he seemed to have forgotten about now. The Thorin she knew, although not sentimental, would have kept an eye on her for hours after, just as he had each times she'd been in trouble, even back when she had been assaulted by bandits shortly after they first met. Yet now, he had turned his back to her and was staring down at the treasure without a thought for her. She huffed, but it turned into a sigh. This wasn't Thorin. Things were worse than she'd thought.

Gemma was certainly not going to help Thorin find that blasted stone. She would be quite content if he never found it. So she wandered around the balconies that overlooked the treasure chamber, until she came to an area that had been damaged by the dragon, providing a doorway to outside. She squeezed through and stood on the ledge, breathing in deeply. The air inside the mountain was stale and saturated with dust, so it was nice to breathe in the fresh winter air, and the view was beautiful, though from her vantage point she could see the ruins of Lake-town, still smouldering on the water.

Only the complete silence on her little balcony allowed her to notice the quiet pad of approaching footsteps, which could only belong to one Company member. Bilbo came to stand at her elbow, looking out over the lake as well. He sighed heavily, and Gemma glanced over at him. Bilbo looked as worried as she felt. She sat down on a chunk of rubble, and patted a spot beside her. Bilbo joined her and they sat in silence, she with her head in her hands and he with a furrowed brow.

Finally, Bilbo looked at her and, slowly, reached into his jacket. From within he pulled out…

"Oh Bilbo," she whispered, covering her mouth in shock. The Arkenstone.

"I… I found it when I faced the dragon. I was going to give it to Thorin but… the way he's acting… I'm afraid. Not just of what he'll do, but for him. I know I should give it to him but he…"

"No."

"Gemma?"

She grabbed the wrist holding the gem and guided it back into his inner coat pocket, where she made him tuck it back in place. "You can't give it to Thorin. Bilbo, you mustn't. He's… sick."

"Yes but… maybe if I return the stone…"

"It will make it worse. You need to keep that. Keep it safe but keep it away from Thorin."

"Perhaps you should keep it, then. It will be much safer with you."

Gemma smiled and squeezed his hand. "I can't think of anyone more suited to protect it than you, Bilbo." He smiled sheepishly and patted his pocket.

"Well then, I will do my best. But what will we do with it?"

Gemma bit her lip and drew her eyebrows together. "I don't know yet. For now, we just have to keep it away from Thorin."

Days passed with little change. Thorin grew progressively distant, turning colder and near tyrannous. His search for the Arkenstone was driving him mad, and he forced the others to continue searching day and night. With each passing hour he seemed to fall further into the gold sickness. Gemma could sense it, like some sort of aura or horrid stench that had wrapped itself around him.

Gemma tried her best to bring him back to his senses, but her best wasn't good enough. At first she'd tried romance, as their kiss when they'd reunited had seemed to banish the sickness for a while. But these tactics proved fruitless and the results were more than a little terrifying. Thorin no longer looked at her like he used to, with admiration, and understanding, and care. Instead, his eyes filled with a hazy lust, shallow and without connection. It was similar to the haze that consumed him the rest of the time. Well, Gemma certainly wasn't going to be intimate with that. As far as she was concerned, this was not her Thorin; he was a shadow of the person she knew. And perhaps, she'd thought, withholding sex might produce better results than her first course of action. But this too made little difference. Yelling and attempting to reason with him were equally futile, and if anything, made matters worse.

If Gandalf were here, he'd know what to do, surely. But Gemma had little hope that he was alright, especially after talking with Bard, Legolas, and Tauriel. If this all was part of a bigger plot, the puppet master had probably been wise enough to remove Gandalf from the picture. At this point Gemma was just counting the days until her meeting with the others. She needed help if she was going to prevent whatever evil was coming to Erebor. There was enough evil here as it was.

No help would come from the others dwarves, even though they were just as concerned about Thorin, because they were too loyal, and probably a little afraid of him. They didn't used to be. The Company used to be a family.

Just the other day Gemma had observed a conversation between Bilbo and Balin about the sickness. She'd just come from another frustratingly one-sided conversation with Thorin, and was wandering rather aimlessly though the dusty rooms of the mountain, looking for a distraction so that she didn't end up punching something (which would inevitably break her hand because everything in Erebor was made of stone). Voices from a storage cellar had caught her attention, and she'd popped her head around the door, wanting to listen but not join in. She wasn't really in the right mindset to deal with people at that moment.

Balin and Bilbo had been on the other side, talking in low voices. "I've seen this before," Balin had said. "That look, that fierce and jealous love, it sent his grandfather mad." The old dwarf had been on the brink of tears.

"Balin… if Thorin had the arkenstone, if it was found, would it help?" Bilbo was fishing for information, which was wise of him, but Gemma had tensed when she saw the hint of suspicion in Balin's gaze, fearing that their secret had been found out.

"That stone," the old dwarf had said slowly, "is the summit of this great wealth, bestowing power upon he who bears it. Would it stay his madness? No, I fear it would make it worse. Perhaps it would be best if the stone was never found."

Balin's confirmation of their suspicions was reassuring. Gemma had been tempted, once or twice over the past week, to tell Bilbo that they should just give it to Thorin. She knew Bilbo had been tempted as well, but they were in this together and they kept each other strong. Bilbo's nerves were beginning to show whenever the Arkenstone was mentioned, so Gemma had become a permanent fixture at his side, ensuring his facade didn't slip when confronted. But Bilbo was the right person to keep the stone, despite his protests to the contrary. Gemma was certain she would have smashed the evil thing by now, or given it back to Thorin in one of those fits of desperation. No, she was too emotionally invested to be the stone's keeper. Bilbo would keep it safe and away from Thorin, and she would keep Bilbo safe.

Beyond that, she had no idea what to do. With each passing day she grew more desperate. Legolas will help, she told herself, but it felt like a gross betrayal to talk to the elf about this. She was just so... she squeezed her hands into tight fists as she walked towards the throne chamber, nails leaving crescent moon cuts on her palms. Thorin had called a meeting there.

Gemma pushed through the heavy stone doors to the throne chamber, which was situated high above the treasure hoard, and walked along one of the narrow bridges to the island-like base in the centre, boots clunk-clunk-clunking along at her brisk gait. Thorin, Balin, Dwalin, and Bilbo were already there, but no words had been exchanged. Instead, the others were watching Thorin pace back and forth in front of the massive stone throne.

"You're going to wear a hole through the floor if you keep pacing," Gemma said, with a bit more snark than she meant. She reined it in and, as she always did when she tried to engage Thorin in conversation lately, spoke gently to him. "Thorin, you must calm down. And eat something, please. I'm sure you'd feel better if you had some food in you." I'm sure he'd feel even better if he took a Xanax or two, her mind supplied. Shut up brain, she thought.

Thorin, as he often did now, acted as if he hadn't heard her. Gemma clenched her fists in thinly-veiled fury, and tried to remind herself that he wasn't really a jackass, he just wasn't in his right mind. "It is here in these halls, I know it," Thorin growled, continuing his pacing.

"We have searched relentlessly," Dwalin replied through gritted teeth.

"Not well enough," Thorin spat back.

"Thorin," Balin pacified, "we all would see the Arkenstone returned…"

"And yet it's still not found!" Thorin stopped pacing as his words echoed in the hall.

"Do you doubt the loyalty of anyone here?" Gemma saw Bilbo tense ever so slightly at Balin's words. Thankfully, only her trained eyes could have seen this tell, but she still shot him a warning look. He was afraid of Thorin, and it made Gemma angry. She gave the hobbit the tiniest of reassuring nods, before focusing back on Thorin.

The silence in the chamber was only broken by the distant howls of the mountain wind, as Thorin stepped down from the throne pedestal and towards Balin and Dwalin, drawing level with Gemma.

"The Arkenstone is the birthright of our people," Balin continued.

"It is the king's jewel." Thorin enunciated every word. "Am I not the king?!"

No, Gemma thought, her blood running cold, and you're not Thorin either. Not my Thorin. There was a warm, wet feeling in her hands, and she looked down at them to find that her nails had pierced her palms deep enough to draw blood.

Balin and Bilbo looked away from Thorin. Dwalin's eyes remained locked on him, but his jaw clenched in a way that indicated he felt the same anger that Gemma did.

"Know this," Thorin continued venomously. "If anyone should find it, and withhold it from me… I will be avenged."

Bilbo had grown white as a sheet, and looked like he might throw up. He fingered his pocket, and Gemma sent him another pointed look, and then shot her eyes to the door, signalling that he should leave. The two dwarves followed him out, so that Gemma was left alone with Thorin.

Thorin: the root of all these worries emotions swirling around in her gut at the moment. As much as she hated him right now, she still couldn't truly hate him. He was her… well, he was Thorin, and she… what? God, she didn't need to add more things to this vortex of trouble. The fact of the matter was that Thorin wasn't himself anymore, so she couldn't really hold him accountable for his actions. At least, not entirely accountable. That didn't mean she wasn't completely pissed off at him.

"Thorin," she said, stepping close to him and reaching out to caress his cheek. He impatiently waved off Gemma's hand without looking at her, and turned away. Gemma growled, actually growled (something she must have picked up from him), in anger. She stepped forward once more and grabbed his chin. This wasn't the gentle caress from before; this was a hard, demanding grip, fingernails digging into his skin like they'd dug into her palms. She forced him to look at her, to stare into her eyes. Gemma steadily held his gaze and looked into his soul. She could practically see the sickness in his eyes; swirling gold, a corruptive evil that had turned Thorin into something villainous. All at once, Gemma felt like she might burst into tears.

Thorin broke their gaze, looking away from Gemma, and all her anger came flooding back. She let go of his face with a bit of a shove, and turned to leave. She paused before she did so, and pulled out an apple she had snagged from the kitchen for him earlier. He hadn't eaten all day. Gemma slammed the apple down on the table beside the throne before spinning sharply on her heels and marching out of the chamber, slamming the heavy stone door on her way out. The sound reverberated throughout the kingdom.

Gemma found Bilbo on that little balcony where they'd met almost a week earlier. He was staring out into the distance, his hands gripping the edge of his seat hard enough to turn his knuckles white. "Alright," Gemma said determinedly as she drew beside him, following his gaze to the ruins of Dale. "New plan…"

AN:

I'm alive, and back with a new chapter finally! Thank you all for being so patient and concerned. I love you guys, really. My culminating projects and exams were quite stressful, but they turned out well in the end, and I'm officially out of school as of yesterday! However, I was recently hired last minute for that camp job I mentioned ages ago, which a originally didn't get, and so I had tons and tons of training all over the city during exam time, and still have more to do, which increased the stress tenfold. I've been running on a maximum of five hours of sleep for the past two weeks, and needless to say I didn't get much writing done.

But that is going to change! Despite my long camp hours, I am determined to put in some solid writing hours. You guys deserve it for being so awesome. I hope this chapter has made up for my terribly long absence. Believe me, I would have much preferred writing for you over studying, but some things can't be helped.

Review?