"Five, six, seven eight…Bifur, Bofur…that's ten…Fili, Kili, Kelsey…that's thirteen…and Bombur – that makes fourteen," sighed Gandalf, as they all raced down the mountainside, the sun dimming by the second. Kelsey was taking huge breaths as Kili placed her on a rock to examine her wound. Luckily it was shallow and the blood flow was slowing. "Where's Bilbo? Where is our Hobbit? Where is our hobbit?!"

Kelsey lost focus on her surroundings when Kili cupped her face in his big yet gentle hands, as he examined for any other injuries. The heat from his hands sent warmth through her body, of assurance and care. The pain subsided as she stared in his brown eyes framed by thick eyelashes. Suddenly Thorin's voice disrupted their staring match.

"I'll tell you what happened. Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since he stepped out of his door! We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone."

"No he hasn't!" shouted Kelsey, standing up quickly, ignoring Kili's protests. "Bilbo is our friend; he would never abandon us."

Wincing in pain and placing her hand on her wound, she almost missed the tiny figure, stepping from behind a tree.

"She is right," claimed Bilbo as he stepped out of the shadows in front of the astounded dwarves.

"Bilbo Baggins!" I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!" exclaimed Gandalf, a huge smile on his face.

"Bilbo, we'd given you up!"

"How on earth did you get past the Goblins?"

"How, indeed."

There was an awkward silence as Bilbo tried to think on what to say. With a nervous laugh, he fiddled with his waistcoat and slipped his found treasure into the pocket. Only Gandalf and Kelsey noticed this movement and gave each other a quick look of bewilderment.

"Well, what does it matter? He's back!" exclaimed Gandalf, to help Bilbo out of the awkwardness.

"It matters! I want to know: why did you come back?" questioned Thorin, confused why this hobbit would return to danger.

"Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you're right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books. And my armchair. And my garden. See that's where I belong. That's home. And that's why I came back, because you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can," said Bilbo, a newfound confidence filling his body. Silence once again fell upon the dwarves as they took in his words.

"Oh Bilbo," cried Kelsey as she launched herself onto him, pulling him into a hug. Bilbo affectionately patted her on her back, thrilled that he had at least one true friend in the group. Then he noticed her wincing as she took a step back from him.

"Alright lass, let's check on you," said Oin.

"I'm fine, Oin," assured Kelsey, feeling a strange warmth flowing down to her wound. The pain vanished and she was able to stand upright without wincing. It seems she can heal herself using her powers.

"Kelsey, please sit down and let Oin check your wound," said Kili, coming up next to her and placed a hand on her arm.

"Kili, I said I am fine," she said with annoyance, shrugging off his hand. She could feel the stares of everyone as she looked at him. Guilt washed over her as she saw a look of hurt flash over his face. Grabbing his hand and gripping it tight, she apologised. "I'm sorry Kili, I didn't mean for that come out so sternly. But seriously I am fine."

With a smile, she lifted up her corset, where the thorn had once been, to show that such wound was gone.

"Impossible," mumbled Kili, as he placed his fingers to brush over her skin. Shivers ran down her spine at his touch, before remembering that there were people watching. She pulled down her corset and step back; Kili scratching his head sheepishly as red filled their cheeks with embarrassment.

Suddenly, howling filled the mountainside, placing fear into everyone's hearts.

"Out of the frying pan…" shouted Thorin, his weapon in one hand.

"…and into the fire! Run! Run!" yelled Gandalf.

They all started to run down the mountain as fast as they can, the Wargs quickly catching up. The first few Wargs were easily defeated but the Company soon discovered that they were trapped as they had been rounded up onto a cliff, with a great fall down the mountain.

"Up into the trees, all of you! Come on, climb," barked Gandalf.

Climbing up the tree with ease as she loved climbing them back at home, Kelsey stood a branch above Kili. She felt a familiar presence of Fili next to her, who felt that it was also his job to protect her. Fili always had a strong connection with his brother so to see him fall in love with Kelsey, he vowed that he would keep them both safe.

The main body of Wargs and Warg riders approached and Kelsey swore she felt her heart skip a beat. There, perched on a White Warg, was a large, pale Orc she once saw in a flashback. Azog had arrived and he could smell their fear and a strong, pure power. A power that his Master had warned him about.

Taunting the dwarves, and screeching out the death sentence, the Wargs leaped forward and tried to climb the trees. They jumped as high as they can, scrabbling at the tree trunks and breaking apart branches in the jaws in their efforts. The trees shook violently at the assault and the dwarves struggled to hold on. With the weight of the Wargs attempting to climb the trees began to topple over like dominoes.

Kelsey managed to stick with Fili but was unfortunately separated from Kili by two branches. A fireball shot past her and into the faces of the snarling Wargs. Gandalf had begun to use pinecones as fiery missiles and the Wargs began to retreat in fear.

"Fili," shouted Gandalf, throwing a burning pinecone to help create more. Ignoring the blistering heat, Kelsey threw her pinecone into the eye of one Warg who scampered off with a howl. Azog roared in anger and frustration at the resistance. The dwarves cheered but was soon turn to cries of fear as the roots of the tree started to give way, tipping them precariously over the edge to a rest horizontally. Kelsey screamed in fear as she clutched onto the branch with her hands. Fili hung next to her, fear rushing through him. Separated by an empty branch, Kelsey and Kili stared at each other in fear that, that was going to be the last time. She heard a spelching sound and noticed the branch she and Fili was on, slowing breaking.

"Fili, this branch can't hold both of us!" she screamed, coming up with a plan. Fili glanced at her with confusion before his eye widening, taking her comment the wrong way.

"If anyone is going to let go, it will be me, because you need to be there for my brother. I vowed to never let anything happen to both of you," stated Fili.

"And here I thought Kili was the dim-witted one," she claimed which got a response of 'hey!' from Kili. "I'm going to swing myself to the next branch."

"Oh right," said Fili, realising what she actually meant.

Carefully swinging her legs for momentum, Kelsey launched herself onto the branch that separated her and Kili. Unfortunately, just as she grabbed onto it, she fell slightly as the branch was too thin to hold her weight. With one split second to decide, she quickly moved towards the trunk, managing to grab hold tightly to the stump of the branch just as it fell. She hung there, breathing heavily and tried not to move again. She could hear Kili and Fili shouting at her in desperation to see if she was okay.

"I hate being a damsel in distress," she muttered to herself, just as she watched Thorin pull himself up and advance onto Azog.