A very happy Journal/Written Word anniversary! The first chapter of The Journal was uploaded on this day five years ago. And I figured I had to mark the occasion in some way.

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 28

Family Visit AU Part 6: Date

1. a particular month, day, and year at which some event happened or will happen

2. the day of the month

3. an inscription on a writing, coin, etc., that shows the time, or time and place, of writing, casting, delivery, etc.

4. the time or period to which any event or thing belongs; period in general

5. the time during which anything lasts; duration

6. an appointment for a particular time

7. a social appointment or engagement arranged beforehand with another person, especially when a romantic relationship exists or may develop

Dictionary . com

Kate

In hindsight Kate could pinpoint the exact moment this whole thing had gotten horribly out of hand. They were all seated around the dinner table, plates already cleared away and the children released to go and play in the garden. Jacko and Jane were staying and Laura had dragged her very nice fiancé in to say hello. It was one of those quiet moments when there was just contentment with good company and light conversation. There were far too few moments like that in Kate's day-to-day life, so she treasured them when they happened.

And then Laura ruined it.

She'd been chatting about how she met her very soon-to-be husband and what they had done on their first dates when she turned to Kate. 'And how about you?'

Kate frowned. 'How about me what?'

'Dates,' Laura clarified. 'What does one do in Erebor when one goes on a date?'

She had to think about that, because truth be told, Thorin and she weren't much for romantic outings. They hardly ever had time for them between running the kingdom and raising their children. And before they married they had been on a quest. But even if they'd had the time, they would have gone the unconventional way, because neither of them was the textbook example of romantic. That wasn't to say that they lacked quality time together. They just didn't do it like most other people did.

Fortunately Thora and Ori had been good at the whole dating game. Not that anybody in Middle Earth called it dating. They still used words like wooing and courting, which sounded more romantic than dating in Kate's opinion anyway.

'Much the same things that are done here, actually,' she replied, feeling slightly relieved that she had an answer to give. 'Not the whole seeing a film thing, but going out for walks and dinner and a night at the theatre, that's all part of it as well.'

But Laura had known her for a long time. And that scrutinising look had never predicted anything good. 'You haven't done it, have you?'

Kate decided that pretending ignorance was the best way to go for now. 'Done what?'

'You two have never been on a proper date, have you?' Kate imagined this was the way a cat might look at a helpless little bird.

Well, that was that strategy discarded. 'It's not really our sort of thing,' she said. 'So please don't go meddling.'

Jane frowned. 'You liked going on dates with Marc, as I recall.' There was a hint of something in her voice. Kate couldn't put her finger on it, but she didn't like it. She wasn't missing out on something vital. And they should not go thinking that she did.

She grimaced. 'Marc is hardly a good example of who you should have dates with,' she reminded her. The lying little weasel had romanced her till he was almost blue in the face. It was just a shame that he hadn't been sincere. He was the reason she had started distrusting romantic gestures in the first place. 'Besides, I don't need dates.' They were meant to get to know a person and she knew Thorin inside out.

Her friends were not listening. 'You can't expect us to hear that and not do something about it,' Jacko declared, the little traitor.

Kate had protested until she was running out of air, but apparently her love life was – once again – at the centre of everyone's attention. In Erebor she had grown used to the constant low-level scrutiny. She was the Queen under the Mountain after all and she was not a dwarf. Her marriage was bound to attract attention. But at least here she had hoped for a little less interference, especially the active kind.

That this hope was quite in vain became apparent when two days after that conversation Laura announced that Thorin and she would be spending the weekend away so that they could do couple stuff.

'I can't believe her,' Kate muttered when she went over the arrangements her friend had made in the privacy of their bedroom. 'We came here to see them all and now they send us off to…' She checked the piece of paper in front of her. 'Oxford.' She couldn't stop an eyeroll. 'I'm suspecting ulterior motives.'

Thorin, who had been remarkably quiet up till then, at last asked a question. 'How so?'

'Professor Tolkien, the one who wrote The Hobbit, lived and worked there,' she replied. If she remembered correctly, a lot of his work was also written there. And Laura had either known this or had done a quick search on Google to figure out where best to send her. Really, what's gotten into her?

It was hard to tell what Thorin was thinking. Kate hardly knew what to think herself. But if she didn't appreciate all this meddling, he was even less likely to like it.

'Listen, we don't have to go,' she said. 'We'll just tell Laura and George they should go and we'll just do whatever we like. It's not as if either of us have ever been romantics in the traditional sense of the word.' She looked over the paper again. 'I don't even know how she got half of this organised. Booking a hotel in the middle of the summer is practically impossible. There's dinner reservations, tickets for a Shakespeare play… Blimey.'

'Do you want to go?' Thorin asked.

If Kate was really honest, she wouldn't mind going. She loved to see her family again, but the house was so crowded all the time that she had begun to miss the silence, the chance to retreat behind closed doors and just talk with her husband. The irony was that she had seen more of him this past week than she normally would, but at the same time they'd interacted less. And she hated the distance between them, even more so because she was well aware that this world was still putting him very much on edge. So yes, it would be nice to have it be just the two of them for a day or two.

But it wasn't about what she wanted. Thorin had already made so many allowances for her that she couldn't ask it just for herself. That would be selfish and that would totally defeat the purpose of this whole romantic weekend away. This at least should be his choice as much as hers.

'Do you want to go?' she countered.

He considered it. She was glad he took the time, because it meant he was really properly thinking about it, weighing the pros and cons. She could tell that it was his aversion for this world and more new things pitted against the need to have some privacy. It was just a question of which would win.

The latter did. 'You came here to see your family,' he said. 'Would you not mind leaving them?'

How are we both still so bloody awkward about this? What's stopping us from saying that this is what we want? It frustrated her at times.

But at least she knew his mind now. And she could act accordingly. 'They'll manage without us for a few days,' she decided. 'And I'd quite like to have my husband all to myself for a change. So if he wouldn't mind accompanying me to Oxford… ' She smiled. 'I suppose we should be glad Laura didn't think of Paris.' And she wasn't going to put any more strange ideas in her head.

Thorin

Thorin could admit, at least to himself, that he found the idea of spending a few days away with Kate a little daunting. It was not his wife's company that he found difficult to bear, but rather the prospect of yet another one of these strange places. After a week he had barely begun to understand this place and the people who frequented it. He had no doubts whatsoever that this Oxford place had yet more to offer in the way of things he could not possibly comprehend.

At the same time he craved peace and quiet, or as much as there was to be had in this world at any rate. If anything, he found that Kate's world was a good deal noisier than his own. The machines and contraptions they used to make their lives easier without fail produced a wide variety of sounds and if it wasn't any of that, there were devices that produced music – if indeed it could be called that – that played non-stop.

'That's all,' Kate announced, closing the boot of the car. They had been given the use of Helen's car for their trip. It appeared to be in a better state than Jacko's car. It was only a small consolation, but it was better than nothing. 'I think we're all set.'

'You just remember to enjoy yourself,' Laura told her, making it sound more like a command than a well-meant suggestion. Thorin did not like her much, but he was grateful for the opportunity she had provided. Or he would be, once he had overcome his apprehension.

He did not particularly like leaving his children either, but they had all three taken to their grandmother quickly and Helen seemed like a responsible kind of woman. It would only be for a few days.

'I have no idea how you talked us into this,' Kate said, shaking her head at her friend. 'It's so extravagant.'

'Call it a belated wedding present,' Laura suggested. 'And the way I understand it, you haven't had a proper honeymoon. It's about time we fixed that. Now, if I were you I'd get out of here before the rush hour.'

Thorin was unsure what rush hour meant or what its consequences were, but judging by Kate's expression, it was not a pleasant time of day. 'Right, we'll be off then.'

Thorin would never stop being amazed and frightened in equal measures by the means of transport in this world. He had not been inside a car since they had come here from Cardiff and had no wish to do again. He'd sooner have walked to their destination. But that was not the way of this world.

At least Kate was in complete control over this contraption. Despite not having been near a car for eight years, she knew what she was doing. She skilfully reversed out of their parking spot and got them on the road.

'Well, we're off,' she said. There had been tension in the set of her shoulders since her friend had suggested this outing. Thorin reckoned he had not been much different. It had eased a little now, but it was not gone.

'So we are,' he agreed.

'It's odd, really,' Kate pondered. She had her eyes on the road, as she should, but they were closer to having a proper conversation than they had come in a few days. 'Around these parts, courting couples, and married ones too, do this sometimes. It's what ordinary people do. It's normal.'

He looked at her. 'As your life should have been?'

She gave that some thought. 'As I thought my life would have been,' she corrected. 'And I've had a taste of it, you know, with Marc.' The name prompted another grimace. 'But that's not my life now. And it doesn't really feel like the two – what was and what is – mix particularly well. Because they weren't really meant to mix in the first place.'

Thorin thought he understood the sentiment. If it had not been for Gandalf's interference, his world and hers would have remained separated forever. And he did not belong here. It was as though everything here had been designed for the single purpose of confounding him. He did not know how to simply be. Wherever he turned, he went wrong.

'I understand,' he said, and he did. 'I was not meant to come here.'

Kate smiled ruefully. 'And I was never meant to come back, I think. Don't get me wrong; I'm so very grateful for the opportunity, but it's made one thing very, very clear. I'm never really going to belong in Erebor because of where I grew up. But I can't belong here anymore either because of where I live now. Does that make sense?'

He could tell she had given this a great deal of thought. 'We are both out of place here,' he realised. It was not a conclusion he'd have thought to reach. There had never been any doubt in his mind that Kate fit here. It was evident in everything. Because she understood this world, could instinctively do what was required of her.

And at the same time she could not.

'We can't even use our own names, because everyone believes you're a fictional character and I am dead.' She snorted. 'Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke if you say it that way. Or a really elaborate fan fiction, come to think of it.'

She was right; the reservations that had been made for them had been made in the names of Thomas and Anne Murphy, names that Thorin could not help but feel were not ones that fit them. Laura had chosen them for the specific purpose that nothing would remind anyone of their real identities, which was why she immediately dismissed Kate's suggestion to use her own middle name, Sarah, for the time. 'For Durin's sake, Laura, we're a couple on a date, not a pair of spies undercover to rat out terrorists!' she'd exclaimed.

'I'm an alien in my own country,' she added softly. 'Just a tourist, passing through.'

'I am sorry,' Thorin replied, because he was. When he had married her, he had not spent much time thinking about the consequences. Or rather, he had, but not of these particular consequences. And he had never wanted this for her, but at the same time he was powerless to prevent it. And yet, the only way he could have saved her the heartache, was not to have married her. And even if he had gone that route, could it have prevented this?

'You shouldn't be,' Kate protested. 'This is Gandalf's doing. You didn't ask for my presence, as I recall. It's just not fair that he's the one who did it and I'm the one who's always paying for it in one way or another. And so here we are.'

And so they were. And for all intents and purposes they were going on an outing of a romantic nature. He had no clue how to go about that, but he was also determined not to make a mess of it. This was something she should have had, that much had been made very clear by Kate's chatty friend.

'You don't owe me anything,' Kate pointed out, leaving Thorin to wonder if he had spoken aloud or if she had merely guessed his thoughts correctly. 'I chose this. Us. I knew what I was getting myself into.'

'Yet you wanted this also,' he couldn't help but say.

Kate shook her head. 'I used to, but I think after what happened with Marc… Well, the best way to say it is that I started distrusting romantic gestures, because at the end of the day they are just that, only gestures. It's not really real. And you've always been real. I've never had to wonder for a single second if you had an ulterior motive for anything you've said or done, or if what you said was really what you meant. And that is what I signed up for. No regrets.' She looked sideways quickly before redirecting her attention to the road, but it was long enough for him to read the sincerity in her eyes.

He did not say thank you. It would have been the wrong response. But she had eased his worry. 'Perhaps we ought to resolve to enjoy ourselves then,' he proposed.

Kate nodded. 'We're just on a holiday. No pressure. We're just going to have a good time.' As always, she understood what he didn't know how to put into words.

'I believe we are to go to the theatre tonight,' Thorin recalled. At least that was something he was familiar with. He'd attended several plays in Erebor and had even liked some of them, though the last one he had been forced to sit through was one about the reclamation of Erebor. It had been riddled with errors and even though it had been written in his honour, he hadn't been able to think of a single compliment to give that would not be a falsehood.

'You might like this one,' Kate said, sounding enthusiastic about this venture for the first time. 'Much Ado About Nothing always was my favourite.' He knew from experience that their tastes in these matters were remarkably similar.

'Well then, we shall see.'

That they had somewhat cleared the air did not mean he was any less anxious about their activities for the coming days, but he could feel some of the tension drain away. Perhaps he was just uncertain because they had never really done something like it. But at least here they could go out and not be scrutinised by the people because of who they were. Kate checked them into their hotel under the names they did not belong to and nobody looked twice. It was the same when they found a pub to have their dinner in before the play.

'Forget Laura's dinner suggestions,' she said. 'Give me a pub any day.'

Thorin understood why. It was an informal sort of place, something dwarves could appreciate. And Kate appeared right at home. She made small talk with the waiter who brought them their food and exchanged pleasantries with a couple at a neighbouring table.

'It's not bad,' Thorin commented when the food was placed in front of them.

'Pretty good,' Kate agreed. 'So, there we are.' She sighed. 'Well, this was not what I would have pictured myself doing a year ago.'

'Nor I,' he agreed. Going out among men was always a trial, not in the least place because they all towered over him. And his experiences with that race had been largely been unpleasant and humiliating. They had always assumed their own superiority over him when it was honestly the other way around. And during his exile he had been unable to teach them the error of their ways. He had needed their coin too much.

But in this world he was not looked down on in that sense of the phrase. Folk looked and he misliked that, but that was as far as it went.

Kate smiled, one of those rare smiles that lit up her whole face. 'I'm starting to think Laura was on to something with this; I'm actually starting to enjoy myself.'

So, to his own surprise, was Thorin. It was rare for him not to have some pressing engagements or urgent duties. Time spent with family was precious because of it. And the conversation flowed smoother after. They had to take care not to say things folk could frown on, but the mistakes they made disappeared into the general background noise.

Of course, that was when it all went wrong.

'Kate? Kate Andrews?'

Kate stiffened, but she did not get the opportunity to explain what was happening before a man appeared next to their table.

'I don't believe this! I thought you were dead!' The shock seemed genuine enough; he looked at Kate as though he could barely believe his eyes.

'As you can see, I'm not.' Thorin knew that look in her eyes. She did not want to have this encounter and was hoping desperately this man, whoever he was, would clear out as quickly as possible. 'Now that you have ascertained that I am in fact very much alive, would you mind leaving? I was rather in the middle of something.'

If he heard her at all, he gave no indication of that. 'They said you'd died. Everyone did. You just disappeared, weren't heard from again…' He rubbed his forehead as though that would provide him with clarity. 'Good grief, Kate. We were all so worried, but here you are! I don't understand.'

Thorin hadn't missed the look of alarm on his wife's face. But she controlled it quickly. 'Has it ever occurred to you that you weren't exactly high on my list of people to tell that I'm quite all right?' she asked sarcastically. 'Come to think of it, I don't think you were on it at all. Now, I really don't want to ask a third time if you will please go and leave us alone.'

'That's harsh, Kate,' the man complained. 'I haven't seen you for eight years. And I believed that the worst had happened!' The confusion slowly made way for indignation.

'The way I see it, the worst has just happened.' Kate was heading in the general direction of annoyance. 'Go away, Marc.'

The name at last helped Thorin in placing this man. She had made mention of him, of course; he was the one who had failed to remain faithful to her when she had committed to that relationship. He could only feel contempt for him.

He shook his head. 'The least you owe me is an explanation,' he insisted. 'Did you know they dragged me in as a suspect at one point? They even arrested me for a day or two. And now you are perfectly fine!'

'I think that after everything that's happened between us, I don't owe you anything, least of all any more of my time.' It was telling that Marc's demands for answers only elicited anger rather than the guilt she had felt when others had done the same. She cared nothing for him. It should not feel so reassuring, but it was. 'As you might have noticed if you paid the slightest bit of attention, I'm on a date.'

Marc spared Thorin only the briefest of glances. 'Does he know then, where you've been, what you've done, this boyfriend of yours?'

He didn't think he had ever been given the dubious honour of that title.

'Husband,' Kate corrected pointedly. 'Marc, meet Thomas. Thomas, this fine gentleman is Marc, who has some issues with faithfulness and common decency.'

Her eyes begged him to just follow her lead. As it was, it was very easy to do so. 'Aye, the one who strayed, isn't he? After which you broke his nose, I believe.' Thorin was full well prepared to do worse if the need arose.

'The very one,' Kate nodded. 'But I think he was just leaving.'

'She mentioned she dropped off the face of the earth and had us all worry over her, apparently for nothing?' Marc sneered, addressing his displeasure to Thorin.

It did not take Thorin long to establish that Marc was a vengeful, spiteful man who delighted in causing strife. But he would find Thorin a very unwilling participant in that game. 'My wife has asked you to take your leave,' he said. 'I suggest you oblige her before I see fit to aid her in that endeavour.'

This only caused a snort. 'Mate, nobody talks like that anymore. Where the hell did you come from?'

He was well aware that his speech was different from that of the people of this land. But he had no wish to be like them, so the accusation did not hurt him.

'Leave,' he repeated.

Marc turned back to Kate. 'Looks like a hippie and talks like Shakespeare. You call that an improvement?' Thorin did not know what a hippie was, but he doubted it had been intended as a compliment.

Either way, Kate failed to be impressed. 'Well, some of us have the brainpower to understand Shakespeare's masterpieces. Marc, get out of here, or I swear I'll drag you out by the collar myself.'

Thorin was seconds away from beating her to it, but fortunately one of the waiters stepped in and saved Marc from an unfortunate sort of accident. 'He bothering you, love?' he asked Kate.

She smiled apologetically. 'Sort of,' she replied. 'He's the ex. Can't stand it I've found somebody else. And I think he's had one drink too many. You know how that goes, I suspect.'

Thorin had caught a whiff of something on the man's breath, so it appeared Kate's observation of Marc's drinking was not far off. At the same time it was the sort of devious little plan she'd use from time to time when folk were making a nuisance of themselves. It was entirely mannish. It would have made him uncomfortable if not for the fact that the intended victim of her scheme was entirely deserving of it.

Understanding dawned on the waiter's face. He put a hand on Marc's shoulder. 'Time to go,' he announced.

Marc tried to shake the hand off, but the waiter's grip was tighter than it looked, for it never moved. 'You don't understand!' he exclaimed. 'She left! Wouldn't even let me know she was alive, the little bitch.'

Thorin was up on his feet before Marc had even finished speaking. Of course the man towered over him, but something in Thorin's facial expression must have succeeded in alarming him somewhat. He did a step back.

'You will not speak about my wife in that way.' It took considerable effort not to break the nose a second time.

The waiter clearly agreed. 'Listen, mate, I don't want to have to call the cops, but if you don't get out of here now, I will.'

Marc contemplated this for a moment and then seemed to realise that it was altogether a much wiser course of action to depart. Not a moment too soon either; Thorin was convinced that no matter what his next words would have been, he would have responded in violence.

He sat back down as the waiter escorted Marc from the pub.

Kate took a deep breath. 'That did not go according to plan,' she remarked. Thorin could tell she was shaken even though she tried not to show it. 'I just hope he doesn't go around telling people things.'

He did not quite understand the way things were done in this world, but he understood enough to know that if it were to become widely known that Kate was still alive after all this time, there would be consequences of some sort, and not necessarily pleasant ones.

'He has indulged in strong drinks,' he pointed out. 'He may not remember this encounter on the morrow.'

'He doesn't need to wait till tomorrow to run to the police and tell them what he knows,' Kate countered.

'Would they believe the word of a drunk?' Thorin wondered. It could be that they did, though it did not seem likely.

Kate relaxed a little. 'You're right,' she said. 'They wouldn't.' She appeared to come to a decision. 'And I'm not about to let him spoil things any more than he's already done.'

Thorin was more of the opinion that Marc deserved a few broken bones for his behaviour, but for Kate's sake he would let it slide. He'd believed, based on what he had seen so far, that the men of this land treated their womenfolk differently from how the men in Middle Earth treated theirs. Marc had been a very unpleasant exception to that rule. And Thorin had never liked such men. He had suffered their presence for far too long because he'd had to, but there was no need for such reluctance now. Given that his own wife had been on the receiving end of such disrespectful words, he was even more inclined to put a stop to them with his fists.

'Very well,' he agreed.

Kate

The bed she woke in was unfamiliar. That was starting to become something of a habit lately, Kate observed. But at least it was comfortable and rather large. Apparently Laura had booked the bridal suite, given that they were now apparently on a very belated honeymoon. And, she'd added with a cheeky grin when Thorin wasn't around to hear, she clearly knew how to put a bed to good use, given the fact that she had three children. Kate had blushed scarlet, but had enough wits to retort that she was a happily married woman in a world with no birth control. What else had her friend expected exactly? She'd taken immense pleasure in seeing Laura rendered speechless for once.

That didn't mean Laura hadn't been right. And well, when you intentionally gave the bridal suite to a married couple…

Next to her Thorin was still asleep, even though there was enough light flooding in through the windows to suggest early morning was some hours in the past. She'd had half a mind to join him in slumber, but now that she was awake and aware of the time, sleep would not grace her with its presence again.

I've spent too much of my time hanging around dwarves, she reflected. And it was entirely undwarvish to sleep the day away.

It made the fact that Thorin was still asleep even more remarkable. Granted, they had arrived back at the hotel rather late and they certainly hadn't gone to sleep the moment they did. Kate could spy items of clothing leading from the door to the bed like a breadcrumb trail. It didn't take Sherlock Holmes to deduce what had happened here last night.

She turned onto her side and looked at her husband's face. He was relaxed, more relaxed than she'd seen him since they had arrived in England. He'd slept poorly over the last week and even when he had drifted off, there was tension in his face and shoulders. And much as she wanted to, Kate could never entirely understand just how bewildering and frightening the transition between Erebor and England would have been for him.

But it seemed as though at last he was beginning to feel more at ease. Being away from her family certainly helped with that. At least there's no need for guilt when it's just the two of us.

It had been notably absent in her confrontation with Marc last night. How she'd hated to see him there! She had long since moved on, had gotten over what he'd done to her. That didn't mean she did not still hate his guts. If he'd been less of a bastard, or if she'd never gotten involved with him at all, she would never have been so horribly awkward and wary of all things romance. Her marriage might be easier sometimes.

He hurt me, and the hurt shaped me. That she could understand what the whole affair had done to her did not undo it. It was an ongoing process. She was still learning. It became easier with time, but it was a long road, filled with ups and downs.

Thorin won't hurt me in that way, not ever. That knowledge alone was enough. Dwarves were not like men in that respect. When they loved, they loved for life. Nothing could ever change that. To be in a romantic relationship with two different people at the same time was unheard of, a disgusting mannish practise they wanted nothing to do with. Even if one's spouse was deceased, the remaining partner never remarried. Not because it wasn't allowed, but because they wouldn't want it.

Perhaps I am more of a dwarf at heart than I am on the outside. The thought made her smile. Now that she had Thorin, it was hard to even imagine ever wanting somebody else. We fit so well together. I'll never have that sort of connection with another.

And wasn't that a strange thought.

Thorin's breast rose and fell with his breathing. Usually he woke not long after she did, if she was the first to wake, which didn't happen very often. He'd say that it was because she stopped moving about so much and that was like a wake-up call all on its own. But today he slept right through it.

And whatever dreams he had, they must be good. Kate had missed his smile lately. She'd seen a good deal of it last night – as she'd expected, he'd rather enjoyed the play – and it was still here now. It made him seem younger, less careworn, friendlier. Kate knew he had a good heart, but most people wouldn't generally know it from looking at his face. But she was better informed than they were, and she knew every inch of him.

It was as if he felt her eyes on him, because he opened them. 'Good morning.'

'I suspect it's closer to good afternoon,' she corrected.

For once, he seemed entirely unconcerned by it. 'Is it indeed?'

'I'd say so, judging by the position of the sun,' she nodded.

He gave her a smile that was nine parts amused and one part more or less flirtatious. 'It was not the sun you were looking at,' he pointed out.

It had taken a while for this side of him to emerge and it had taken even longer for Kate to stop being so startled by it. Then again, they'd met on the quest and they hadn't gotten off to a great start. By the time Thorin had started to thaw out and she had started to cool off, they'd been in Mirkwood. And it had been even longer still before she realised that Thorin apparently had learned how to flirt. He only did it with her and in private and he certainly never dialled up the charm the way Marc had done, but it was there.

'You're my husband,' she reminded him. 'And we're on our honeymoon. I'm allowed to stare.'

He gave as good as he got. 'Aye, I remember a good deal of staring last night.'

Kate had never been one not to have the last word. 'On both sides.'

That was the strangest thing as well. There had never been any physical attraction to begin with. Thorin really wasn't her type, not the sort of fellow that she'd take a second look at if he passed her in the street. But because they'd been thrown together and had been forced to spend time together, she'd gotten to know him. And she had learned to see beyond what some might call physical imperfections and the hard front he put on. And she had admired him and liked him even before she loved him. And because she loved him, the exterior didn't really matter. It was part of him. She couldn't imagine him looking any different and nor would she want him to.

So yes, she did her fair bit of staring. It was hard not to, honestly.

'Can't argue with that.' He had that smile on his face, the one that was so rare, but so precious. It lit up his entire face. He reached out and brushed her hair away from her face. She'd forgotten to braid it for bed – she'd been rather occupied – and it probably looked like a bird's nest.

'Been staring at the mess I try to pass of as hair, have you?' she laughed. She knew he liked her hair, whether it was well-looked after or an unruly mess.

He responded by kissing her, an action that Kate did not object against in the slightest. Of course one thing led to another and it was quite a while later before there was such a thing again as coherent conversation.

'We should probably go and find breakfast,' Kate said. Her stomach was telling her it was about time she put something in it, but she was so comfortable that the idea of getting up only made her want to hide her head under the pillow.

'I think you'll find that it would be lunch rather than breakfast,' Thorin replied. 'Or even dinner.'

'Nah, it can't be that late yet.' At least, she was fairly sure it was not that late yet. 'We should probably get up.' Again, it wasn't followed by immediate action. She was lying in his arms and there was nobody around who could need them at the drop of a hat. It was a novelty and Kate revelled in it.

'We should,' Thorin agreed, but he wasn't moving either.

'Hm, we might walk along the river for a bit,' Kate suggested. 'You know, if we manage to get out of bed and all.'

He chuckled, but didn't reply. Kate could almost hear him think, so she turned around and propped herself up on her elbows so that she could look at him. As expected, there was a pensive look on his face.

'What's the matter?' she asked, quickly analysing their conversation in search of the thing that had prompted this change in mood. She came up empty.

Fortunately he explained. 'You said your friend Laura had sent us to this city with ulterior motives, because the man who wrote your book lived here.'

Kate nodded. 'He did.'

'I believed you would want to make good use of the opportunity to investigate.'

And Kate had suggested a stroll along the river instead. 'I thought about it.' She might as well be honest about that. 'But we're here on a date, not an investigation.'

'If you wanted to…' he began.

Kate knew how that sentence was going to end and cut him off: 'I don't.'

That shut him up.

'Don't get me wrong, I am curious how it's all possible. And if you had asked me eight years ago if I wanted the chance to find out more I would have given all my savings and my right arm for the privilege.'

'But not anymore?' Thorin was clearly puzzled by this change of heart.

Kate shrugged. 'Even if the answers are somewhere in this city, which I doubt, it doesn't matter. We already know Tolkien must have known something. But does it really matter how he knew it? It wouldn't change anything. And even on the quest that knowledge couldn't have helped us.' No matter how much she had liked to believe differently at the time.

I was clutching straws then. She'd sought for guidance and when it was not available and things went horribly wrong, she liked to think there would have been guidance in places she couldn't reach. It wasn't necessarily true. But it had kept her going. Well, more or less.

'And I'd much rather spend the day, what's left of it, with you,' she concluded. 'Far more productive than going on a wild goose chase all over town. I know of better ways to spend my time.'

'Is that so?' He was back at ease. If he hadn't been, he wouldn't have teased her. 'Productive, are we?'

'Very.'

Needless to say, it was still another few hours before they left the room.

Thorin

It was a new experience for Thorin to have done very little at all for a few days and yet not feel as though he had neglected his duties. Neither was he feeling any sudden urges to run off to the nearest forge – and he had discovered that those weren't easily available in this land – and make amends for his idleness.

Perhaps this had something to do with the fact that he had not really been idle, he reflected on the way back in the car, a day later. It had been some time since he'd really spent some time with Kate. They had talked much and had come closer together as a result. It had eased the tension he still felt in this world and had reassured him that she would come home with him at the end of their visit. Not that he had doubted it, not with his mind, but now his heart was calm as well.

And it had done Kate good as well. The tension had left her shoulders. She was behind the wheel, singing along to a song she knew. 'Here comes the sun and I say: it's all right…'

Thorin frowned at her. The weather had been fine when they set off, but now the rain was pouring down and whatever sunshine there was surely existed in her mind alone.

She saw his incredulous look and laughed. 'Wishful thinking,' she announced.

He nodded. 'Ah.'

'It's old, the song. Which makes it one of the few songs on the radio now that I can actually sing along with,' she added.

'It's also one of the few songs that has a recognisable melody,' Thorin said. He was glad he generally shared his taste in music with her. That way he did not have to pretend he tolerated the music of this world that was barely worthy of the name.

She laughed at that. They had both laughed these past two days. And Thorin liked the sound of it. The sounds spoke of happiness and the good things of life. 'I know. I used to think it couldn't get any worse than it was when I left. But they've managed to reach new lows in the meantime. Quite the achievement, really.' She looked sideways long enough to meet his eyes and wink. 'Give me a harp any day.'

He'd tried to teach her, but they had soon discovered that Kate's musical talents, such as they were, were not suited to that instrument. But she enjoyed listening to him. And, though she refused to acknowledge it herself, she had a fine singing voice that she employed not nearly often enough.

They'd had a good few days. The day before they had eventually spent the remainder of the day walking along the river, after which they had made good use of Miss Porter's dinner reservations. Kate had been quick to call the restaurant a little posh for her tastes, but the food was good and there had been good, real music playing in the background. And he could wish for no better company. Nobody had interrupted them and Marc had not made another appearance.

'We should do this again,' he said. He had missed his children, but he knew they were in safe hands. And it was well worth his time to spend more time with his wife. Quite to his own surprise, this little venture had turned out much better than he had expected.

Kate had grown used to the way his mind worked and so had no trouble following his line of thought now. 'We should,' she said softly. 'We really should.'

They both smiled.

Someone – I've forgotten who – once requested a chapter in which Thorin and Kate would do couple stuff. Well, here it is. It seemed appropriate on this date.

Do let me know what you thought of this chapter, the series as a whole, if there are things you'd still like to see, questions you want answered… Reviews would be very much appreciated.

Thank you all very much for reading and for sticking with these stories!