Well, I went to see BOFA and set myself up for bear, only to find a teddy bear instead. So I tried to rewrite the death scenes for BOFA. It was too torturous. I may be the only author with the opinion that Kili needed a better death scene, but … well, there you go. Therefore, I shall not rewrite a disaster. I shall merely use a strategic point of the film to my advantage.

It was like Gandalf had said. Sometimes you could smell disaster. Pitch torches had a noxious odor and Fili didn't like the terrain. He sent Kili back.

He was certain he knew what lay ahead. A small Orc party, maybe fifteen. No lone warrior should take on so many alone, but Fili would not risk his brother. If the odds were too high he could still run back and warn Thorin. Kili, on the other hand…

It was better that Kili was safe.

The darkness seemed to breathe down Fili's neck. He tightened his grip on his sword, waiting for an Orc to lunge from the shadows. Four steps. Five. His senses warned him and he froze, listening to the faint tin of metal on stone.

Fili ran.

Pitch torches flared behind him and iron boots clattered. There were too many of them. He had to get out! He had to warn Thorin.

Orange glow flickered ahead and Fili skidded. No. He whipped around and saw Orcs cascading behind him. More stamping feet rattled ahead.

Trapped. Cornered. He tasted fear.

I'm sorry, Thorin.

They swarmed him like bats around a single shrew. Desperation threw him into a frenzy and he knew not which direction he was fighting; only that he was surrounded by grasping hands and shrieking howls. They evaded him. They wanted him alive. The thought of capture was worse than death.

Suddenly an arm whipped around his neck, burly and thick, and he could no longer breathe. A fist slammed into his temple and a club smashed his right arm. They brought him gasping to his knees. Iron gloves yanked his hair, exposing his throat.

Let it be quick, Fili prayed, And let Kili live.

"Nadal!"

His captors fell back quivering at the bellowed word. Fili raised his eyes and bit down a shiver. He had found Azog.

The Pale Orc loomed above him, satisfaction oozing from his sharp-toothed grin. Blue eyes glinted with mock compassion as he pushed Fili's golden locks from his face.

"Let Thorin Oakenshield hear his screams."

Panic surged through Fili as the Orcs convalesced once more. Rock scraped his cheek as he was flung down and then flipped over, gnarled hands pinning his wrists and ankles. He thrashed with all his strength, grunting as claws dug into his skin.

The leading captain snarled and drew a twisted knife from his belt. They clamped Fili's head still and chanted, goading their leader on. Fili's only thought through the haze was,

Thorin, don't come after me.

Something was wrong. Ever since they had split up in the corridor, Kili had known it was wrong. Fili was alone.

Fili was never coming back.

Certainty flooded Kili and he staggered, calling for his brother. You're fine, Fili. You're all right! Tell me where you are!

He retraced his steps, frantically scanning the ruins. No sheen of gold comforted him. No twinkling smile assured him he was panicking unnecessarily.

"Fili!"

"Kili?" It was Thorin's voice. Kili knew he should answer. Fili would have – he honored Thorin above everything, even his own life.

His own life… No, no, no, no, no. Kili shouted his brother's name and flung himself into the tunnels. Don't be dead. Whatever happens, don't be dead.

He heard his brother cry out in agony.

Screams ricocheted off stone. Thorin skidded to a halt as the snowy, innocent world plunged into despair. "Fili."

"No!"

He heard Kili scream and raced after him. "Kili! Stop!"

A trap. It had always been a trap. Mahal give him strength; he could not lose both his nephews.

"Kili!"

Thorin lashed out and grabbed Kili's sleeve, whipping the younger to a halt. Kili whirled and snarled. His rage was like a warg's hunger. He pushed Thorin back, kicking out at the one who had raised him. In an instant he had wriggled free, bolting for the far end of the corridor.

"Kili, don't!"

Thorin's warning was unheard. Above him Azog's mocking laughter rang. He looked up and scowled at the Defiler, teeth bared in defiance. Fili. The screams tore into him and he forced himself not to imagine what had become of his nephew. Kili. He would soon join his brother's fate.

Thorin's hands trembled and he roared, launching himself up to the higher slopes. This battle was between him and Azog alone, and he would not falter.

He would avenge their deaths.

Some poor animal whimpered. Fili wished that Kili had struck the heart instead, so the creature would not have to suffer. He didn't like messy kills. It was kinder to slit the throat at once – little pain, no time to register the fading of life.

Torchlight flashed against his eyes and memories of hunting and peaceful woods fled.

"The Dwarf wakes."

Someone dragged him upright and he howled. The wretched, keening sound came again and Fili was ashamed to discover it was himself. His head was yanked back as his tormentors circled in, admiring their handiwork.

Fili tried not to think about it. He'd started screaming after the fifth nail was pulled. Twisted designs ribboned his skin, oozing with salt. The left side of his face raged from the twirling strokes of a heated knife, and he wondered if they had blinded that eye. His right leg was mercifully numb – the crunch of his knee had finally ended the nightmare.

Fili nearly fell back into that void when someone nudged the mangled bone. He was screaming again; a thready, ragged scrape of sound. The walls spun in blinding flashes and he yearned for blackness to return. He had tried, Mahal knew he had tried so hard, but he wasn't strong like Thorin. He just wanted the pain to end.

"Fili!"

Crippling pain gripped his heart and Fili shouted hoarsely, "Kili, no!"

Please, go back! I didn't give everything for you to die, too.

But the roar of fury resounded above Orc screams as a silver blade flashed in the torchlight. Dimly Fili could see the Orcs crawling over his brother, lashing and hissing as they tried to bring the warrior down. Kili's face was pure rage. Fili shivered at the maniacal look in his eyes. He should have been borne to the ground; crushed like a candle puddled underfoot. One Orc crumbled. Five. Ten. A crunching blow to the ribs. Kili stumbled to his feet and continued fighting.

Suddenly the tunnel was filled with Dwarvish war cries. Hazily Fili could make out the shapes of two others, defending Kili while advancing through the lines. Tears slid from his wounded eye and Fili struggled to close broken fingers around a knife. To his last breath he would fight alongside them. They were Durin's blood. They protected their own.

Solid arms wrapped around him and Fili jerked his head back with a cry. Satisfaction trickled through his fogged mind as he heard an answering yelp of pain. He twisted around, bearing the dagger to strike.

"Fili, stop!"

Thorin's voice.

Orc's hands morphed into Kili's arms and Fili's thrust halted inches from his brother's heart. He gasped in dismay, terrified of what had almost been. Trembling hands dropped the dagger and Fili buried his head in his brother's chest.

"Kee…" His voice was a whispered sob. He was a shorn lion; a helpless cub.

"You're safe, Fili." Kili's voice cracked and tears dripped down his brother's neck. "Hold on!"

Thorin's blurred hand rested on his shoulder, avoiding the raw wounds. Painfully Fili cleared his throat. "Azog?"

"Azog is dead," Thorin said. His face swam as he reached to cup Fili's uninjured cheek. "Stay with me, Fili."

"D'n go," Fili whispered, clutching his brother's coat. Don't die. Can't … can't go on if you die…

"I'm not going anywhere," Kili promised. The tightening in his limbs was the only warning before he scooped Fili up. The walls and torches whirled one last time.

He woke to the heady scent of ancient down pillows and the familiar rush of blood loss. Thirst had never seemed so torturous. One goblet split into three on the nightstand and Fili reached for them all, devastated when he grabbed the wrong one and the cup clattered to the floor.

A lump of armor and tangled dark hair startled awake. Kili jumped with a cry, lashing out to prod Fili's neck, his wrist, anywhere there was a heartbeat.

"Oin! He's awake!"

Too much noise. Fili turned his head away, wishing the lights would stop spinning. His throat cracked and he opened his mouth to ask for water, but no sound came forth.

"Fili? What's wrong? Are you hurting?" Kili whirled around and shouted, "Where's Oin?"

Fili cringed and reached out, splinted fingers brushing feebly against the pitcher on the table. Kili's eyes widened in recognition. He scooped the goblet from the floor and filled it clumsily, spilling the water in his rush. Fili's eyes sparked as precious droplets streamed to the floor, far beyond his reach.

"No, no, Fili, it's okay! Here!" Kili's eyes shone with unshed tears. He slid behind his brother and lifted him gently, babbling apologies when Fili grunted in pain.

Fili cared little. Water trickled down his parched throat and he greedily gulped it down, clawing for the cup when it was dragged away.

"Fili, wait – stop! You'll hurt yourself again. Oin!"

The water cleared Fili's senses and slowly reason filtered back. He could sense the terror in Kili's posture. The fear in his voice. You almost died, his brother practically screamed.

He forced himself to calm. Gently Fili laid a hand on Kili's wrist, cracking a smile to reassure him. I'm okay, he tried to say. You're safe. That's all that matters.

"Fili, just hold on a moment," Kili implored. "Here, you can have some more – just don't drink so fast!"

The water returned and Fili drank slowly, cool droplets easing his sore throat. "Thorin?" he rasped once his voice returned.

"He's fine," Kili blustered. "We're all fine. Well, Bilbo isn't – he hit his head pretty bad and he's been sick for days – but everyone survived." He paused. "We got the mountain back. Thorin and Dain are making a treaty with Laketown now." Another pause. "The Eagles came. No one would have survived otherwise."

It was an old survival tactic for Kili: filling in the time with meaningless drabble. Fili had an inkling of how worried his brother had been.

"Where's Oin?" Kili muttered. He shifted behind Fili and winced.

Anxious, Fili tapped his leg. "Hurt?"

"What? No, that's fine."

Fili sighed. "K'li." Don't hide it from me.

Kili wriggled uncomfortably. "Broken ribs. I'm supposed to be resting."

Laughter bubbled up in Fili's throat and he hacked a cough. How very like his brother, to ignore himself while his family needed assistance.

"Go sleep," Fili mumbled thickly. He smiled and some of the anguish left Kili's gaze. "M'fine."

"You almost died," Kili whispered.

Fili blinked slowly and wrapped stiff fingers around his brother's hand. I'm okay. We made it. It's going to be all right.

"What are you doing here, Kili? You're supposed to be resting!"

Kili shrank down guiltily as Oin hustled inside, laying out herbs and bandages and medicines that would taste awful.

"Off you go now," Oin commanded, "Or shall I tell your mother you've been stressing that leg?"

Fili glanced up in furous concern and Kili's eyes flew wide.

"No, really!" Kili assured, "It's fine." Sullenly he muttered, "Mum just found out, that's all. She's been haranguing me all day."

"Bed. Now, Kili," Oin said. "You may be prince, but you're still a young'un and I shall report your misconduct to Thorin if I must."

Reluctantly Kili slid free. "You will tell me if anything happens," he implored.

"You'll be the first to hear it. Now, off you go."

Kili fidgeted unwillingly, until Fili snorted and tapped his hand.

"Go," he ordered softly. "Rest."

"I'll be right next door if you need me," Kili mumbled. He edged to the door and then paused. Running back, he knelt by Fili and gently wrapped his arms around his brother. "Don't ever do that again!"

Ignoring the pain, Fili leaned on one elbow and returned the hug. Kili dipped his head forward and cried softly, the younger seeking comfort as was meant to be. Oin tutted and fretted, but his muttered protests were ignored.

All that mattered to Fili was that his brother was alive. They were going to be whole again. They were going to survive.

The world was right once more.

Have some happiness.