A.N. Chapter 3 already? What? On a roll. 😊 Not really. Lol. Since most of this was already written, I can just go through and decide what stays and what goes. In these early chapters, most of what I wrote stays, even if it's from an earlier draft, so I'm able to get a bunch done quickly. Thanks for reading, and let me know how you like it!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my original characters and plot points.

She knew these woods; she had grown up in these woods. There were trails here that she had found while wandering with her sister when she was 10 years old. It wasn't far from their house, and they had walked through here a lot, pretending to be witches, or fairies, or elves. Sometimes they would play out "The Lord of the Rings." It was a place one could believe in magic, and Danica could believe now more than ever. She smiled, feeling a weightless happiness as she looked around. Here, she knew who she was. Here, she was a stubborn, independent California girl, who spent endless hours daydreaming and romanticizing. Even the older, somehow magic-wielding Danica could fit in with the carefree child. Curious, she closed her eyes, wishing, and found herself in the front yard of her old house, surrounded by trees. Letting out a startled, delighted laugh, she wished for her parent's new house in Maine, and she was there, the sound of the surf softly brushing the air.

Running in the way you only can in dreams, she sprinted through their yard, down the street, and to the beach. In the summer, you could come out and sunbathe before daring the cold Atlantic water, while in winter you would walk through deep snow to see the salted ice on the shore. From coast to coast, she could now remember her homes, though she wasn't ready to visit the one that had been hers. The one she had lived in while married. She could remember being married now, but didn't want to open those wounds. There was too much peace and happiness here to ruin.

"Is this where you grew up?"

Thorin's voice drifted across the sand almost immediately after she had thought about him. Turning, she smiled. Seeing him brought her a warmth she couldn't yet understand, but knew she would be able to unravel soon enough.

"No. I was born here, and my parents moved here after I turned 18," she looked at the shore, the waves moving in to high tide. "This is actually on the complete opposite side of the country from where I grew up,"

"You are starting to remember," it wasn't a question, and he seemed genuinely pleased by the fact.

"Yes. It seems, in these dreams anyway, that the memories flow more easily. I was able to see the house I grew up in, as well as this place,"

Here, he seemed a little hesitant. "You were able to choose where to go?"

"Does that bother you?" it seemed strange, but she could see him struggling with it.

"We have had shared dreams before," he finally said. "Then, it seemed you were just as much a victim of their whims as I. If you are able to control it more now, I wonder how much you controlled it then, even if you didn't know you were,"

She felt a stab of hurt and anger at his words, but didn't know what to say. As of that moment, she didn't remember those dreams, and so she couldn't fully defend herself. Also, she wondered if her thinking of him had brought him into the dream, which only made her feel guilty. She didn't want to drag him along whatever path her dreams were going to take, especially if she had already done so in the past.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"What for?"

"If I have caused you any problems with my dreams,"

He looked at her for a moment, then sighed. "You certainly turned my life upside-down, but you also saved it. Your dreams also caused you a lot of harm. Do not worry about me,"

But she did, and she worried about his opinion of her. Sure, they may be married, but he still seemed unsure about her. It made her wary, but more than that, it stung. Frustrated, she turned back to the surf, but it quickly disappeared. Before she could fully panic, the scene materialized into a beautiful courtyard, lit by moonlight. The recognition was instant; this was where she had stayed when she was in Rivendell. It hurt her head a little, but she thought perhaps this was when Thorin was there as well. By the look on his face, he thought so too.

"Do you remember this?" he asked.

"Yes. I didn't until I saw it, though. My room is through that door," she walked toward it, but didn't open it.

"The last thing I remember is having dinner after we arrived here," his gaze was far away, even as he looked at her, as if he were seeing something else. "You were wearing a white gown, and your hair was up,"

She could see it, and almost feel the soft material. "Lady Galadriel gave it to me. Lord Elrond had said I should wear it,"

They were speaking to each other, yet not. Each was drawn into their own memories like a spell.

"I was nervous seeing you again," she admitted, feeling those same butterflies now.

One corner of his mouth lifted. "Truth be told, so was I. You looked so beautiful, I almost couldn't breathe,"

A blush rose to her cheeks, and she smiled. Some of the haze lifted from her eyes, and she looked at him. "Really?"

When he looked at her again, his eyes were clear as well. He hesitated, but then nodded. "Yes,"

It was almost silly how pleased that made her, but anything else they may have said was interrupted by two doors opening suddenly. Both she and Thorin were standing in their doorways, looking scared and winded. As the scene played out, Danica remembered the dream that caused the fear, and reckless embrace. They had died in the battle. It was the first moment that she truly realized she couldn't live without him. After their past selves were back in her room, she looked to the Thorin next to her. She could see that he remembered the dream as well, possibly more. She wanted to tell him what had suddenly taken over her heart, but a small bit of fear still held her back.

The dream changed again, and they were now in a house. It was the house she hadn't wanted to visit, and she desperately tried to get them somewhere, anywhere else. This time, it wouldn't work. Memories were coming, memories she didn't want to have.

"Where are we?"

"My house. The house I lived in with my husband," her voice was quiet, though her heart was screaming at her to run. As it pounded, she walked through the living room, and stopped in front of the front door. A figure was bent in front of it, shoulders quaking with silent sobs.

"Danica?" Thorin's voice was also soft, as were his footsteps as he came to stand behind her. "Is everything alright?"

"The soldiers just left. They told me my husband had died, stayed with me until they thought I was alright, and left once they knew I had called my parents to come see me," the figure began taking deep breaths, and Danica knew what was coming. "I only acted alright so they would leave," she backed away slightly, giving the figure room.

Without much warning, the figure let out a blood-curdling scream. It was the scream of a broken heart, and complete hopelessness. Danica cringed, and backed away some more. She didn't want this. Wasn't living through it once bad enough? She began shaking her head, trying to wake up. The sounds of glass and ceramic breaking still reached her ears as her past self threw whatever she could get her hands on. Thorin took her by the shoulders and turned her until her face was pressed against his shoulder. She grabbed on to him, holding on as tightly as she could.

"Make it go away. Make it go away," she repeated, tears soaking into his shirt. She kept repeating it until the dream finally faded away.


They woke up at the same time, and he could hear her trying to control the sobs. All drowsiness gone, he got up, and sat beside her, pulling her up into his arms.

"It's alright," he murmured. "It was just a dream,"

Except he knew it wasn't. That had really happened to her. All that pain had happened, and she had dealt with it alone. It made his chest ache to think of it.

"I'll be ok," but her voice was still weak and shaky.

Feeling helpless, he just cradled her closer, and breathed with her until the quaking began to subside. There was so much the dream had shown him, and helped him remember on his own. With all the revelations she'd had, he had really only had one; he would die for her. He could recall, now, how he'd been forced to face his feelings for her in Rivendell, and how those feelings had grown through their journey. It had been Beorn's house where he'd first kissed her, but then there'd been their passionate encounter in Mirkwood. Everything after that was still a bit of a blur, but Bilbo's tale now made complete sense to him.

"Is it all going to be like that?" Danica asked, finally lifting her head. "My memories coming back by reliving them?"

The thought obviously scared her, and while he wanted to comfort and reassure her, he could make no guarantees. Sighing, he brushed away the remaining tears with his thumbs. Just yesterday, he wouldn't have thought of doing such a thing, but now it was as natural to him as breathing.

"I hope not," then, to distract her, "What do you remember now?"

She sat back, pushing the stray hairs out of her face. "Most of my life on earth, and what we saw together. There are bits and pieces from after we met, but so much of it is still blank. Especially after Rivendell,"

"What of the tales you knew of this world?"

"I remember knowing them, I just can't remember what they are,"

Though he nodded, Thorin knew how serious that was. Her knowledge had been part of what made her so valuable to others, and could have explained their current predicament. It was something he would have to mention to Gandalf when they saw him. In the meantime, the light was beginning to get brighter as the sun rose past dawn.

"I suppose we should get up, shouldn't we?" Danica asked before he could suggest it himself.

"Are you alright?" he found himself reluctant to let her go.

She took a breath, then smiled. "I will be. Thank you. For being here, I mean,"

"Always,"

Bilbo and Frodo were both up and cooking breakfast when they came out. They smiled, andoffered what looked to be enough food to feed Danica for a week. After they finished eating, the hobbits were going to finish some last-minute party details, and would not hear of having their guests lifting a finger for work. So Thorin and Danica decided to take a walk before they would have to go to the seamstress. As before, the hobbits were all curious about the new visitors, but didn't do much besides whisper to each other. Danica looked uncomfortable with all the attention, but Thorin was used to such looks and whispers.

As they passed a field, they could see a large group of hobbits setting up tents and benches for Bilbo's party. A few of them were also trying to get a large sign up, but were struggling with it. After sharing a glance with Danica, Thorin shook his head, and made his way down the hill. The hobbits were startled at first, but gratefully accepted his help. Once the sign was up, they cheered, and clapped each other on the back, having to reach a bit higher to clap Thorin. One of the women grabbed a nearby bunch of flowers, and handed them to him.

"For your lady," she smiled, and nodded to Danica, who was standing to the side.

"Thank you," Thorin took the bundle and returned her smile.

Danica's face lit up when he presented them to her, and kept her in a cheerful mood the whole way to the seamstress. Thorin never really had understood how such small gestures could mean so much to a woman, but was glad to see the last bits of darkness from their dream fade away.

P.S. Didn't actually change too much from what I had. I did want to move the memories along faster so we can get to the rest of the story. 😊