Thorin could not breathe. He could not move. He did not feel the rain slashing his face or the wind tearing at his clothes. For him, time had stopped.

Numbly, he watched the rest of the company hurtling towards the side of the mountain, facing certain death. He desperately willed it to stop, but as he heard the sound of rock upon rock, Thorin broke.

"No!" he roared, suddenly uncaring at the amount of raw emotion in his voice. He couldn't think of the others just smashed to death. Not of Bofur, not even of Dwalin.

He could only think of Fili.

Somewhere behind him, he heard Kili scream his brother's name as well.
"No! No, Fili!" Thorin yelled again, unable to keep his emotions inside, unable even to move at his realization.

Fili-the golden child. The Lionhearted prince. Heir to the throne. And more importantly, Fee. His nephew, like a son.

He had promised Dis that he would protect them. And he had failed. Her golden child would not be coming back and Thorin had lost one of those dearest to him.

The tumult of emotions that poured out of him was clearly visible and completely unlike the Thorin Oakenshield most of those in the company had come to know. Only a few recognized that this was a front. A front to hide his emotions because it was easier than showing them.

Since the quest had started, Thorin had not been able to be the uncle to his nephews. He had to be the leader, the king, strong, stoic and emotionless. He could not remember the last time he had hugged Fili or Kili, let alone spoken to them more than necessary. And now he never would.

In the blink of an eye, he had lost his Fili. It had been mere seconds since the crash, but to Thorin it felt like years as the guilt descended on him. His heart pounded, and tears welled up in his eyes and mixed with the rain on his face. He heard Kili screaming for his brother, the other dwarves holding the hysterical dwarf back so he wouldn't fall off the narrow trek. "Fili, no!" he cried, and the sound of Kili's overwhelming grief jolted Thorin into action. The pain he was feeling for the loss of his nephew could not even touch what Kili was no doubt feeling for his brother.

Thorin pushed forward, around the bend in a desperate, too late attempt to save his nephew.

He turned the corner and nearly fell to his knees in relief. They were alive.

Thorin ignored the other dwarves and Bilbo as soon as he saw they were all fine except for being a little shaken. He ran straight to Fili, not caring about his image as the leader anymore. He just ran to his nephew and threw his arms around him, pulling Fili close. He hugged him tightly, feeling Fili's arms steal around him as he shook with silent sobs of fear.

"You're safe now, Fili. The danger's gone. I've got you." Thorin whispered, realizing that Fili probably couldn't hear him but needing to say it nonetheless. For him, Fili was suddenly a little child again, scared of a thunderstorm and only wanting his uncle for comfort.

"Uncle, I t-thought we were going to die." Fili said, his eyes wide and glassy with unshed tears in a rare moment of vulnerability.

Before Thorin could answer, Kili had seen his brother alive and reached him, tears pouring down his face. No longer in grief, but in utter happiness and relief that his brother was alive.

"Fee!" he whimpered, unable to say anything else but not needing to. Fili understood everything his little brother needed to say in just a look and a single word. He hugged Kili, his earlier vulnerability gone as he assumed the role of big brother once again.

Thorin hoped that they would never be untimely ripped from each other. Frerin had been taken prematurely from him, and he had never gotten over it. He could not bear it if one of his precious nephews were taken from him too soon. He pulled them both into his embrace, ignoring the other dwarves. For now, he hugged his nephew close, content to be their uncle and nothing else.

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