And a short little thing to bring it all full circle. My sincerest thanks to all of you for reading, and hopefully for understanding. If I've taught just one of you some of the signs that suggest something is wrong then this has all been worth it.

Epilogue: Beorn's house

From outside the door Thorin can hear the cries echoing, and for a moment he hesitates as to whether to go in. But really he has no choice. He is their uncle, after all.

Kíli is curled up in the corner of the bed, wrapped tight in the sheets and shaking. Thorin sits down beside him carefully, but does not reach out to comfort him, as he wants to.

"Kíli? Kíli? Shush, it's just a dream, just a dream…" Fíli is crouched beside his brother, who flinches away when he touches him. "Kíli? It's me."

"Fí?" The dark pair of eyes are halfway between sleep and wakefulness. "I dreamt… Da was an orc… he, he… Fí?"

"I'm here." Fíli wraps his arms around his younger brother. "He's gone. We're safe."

Kíli tucks his head under his brother's chin, curling back into him as Fíli runs his fingers through his hair, whispering something that Thorin cannot hear, and does not want to.

Thorin watches them fade back into sleep together, and finds himself once again humming the old lullaby under his breath.

"Far over the Misty Mountains cold…"

They'll get there in the end.