Dawn had broken a few hours ago, and yet Fili did not stir- Kili watched him from his seat next to the table, a worried crease between his eyes. 'Why is he not awake?' he asked out loud, unaware that Beorn was walking up behind him, plate of food in hand.

'He will wake when he is ready- he has been in a great deal of pain; his body needs to rest,' he replied, making Kili start in the process. 'Here, eat this…' he continued, pushing the plate of bread, cheese and meat into his hands. 'You also need to keep up your strength.' Kili nodded his thanks as Beorn walked away, back into another part of the house.

Thorin and the others were making preparations to leave again, to go back into the forest once more. Kili shuddered at the thought, but he knew it had to be done. He looked back down at his brother, relief flooding through him once more, glad beyond measure that Fili was going to be ok.

'Come on…..' he whispered, desperate to see his brother wake up- he knew it was selfish of him, but he just wanted to make sure he was really alright. 'Wake up for me….' He finished, sitting back with a sigh when Fili didn't move. He wiped a hand down his face, before his ears pricked up as he heard familiar boots walk up to him. 'He's not waking up.' He said, voice high.

'Give him time, boy,' Thorin muttered, looking down at Fili as well. 'He'll wake up when he wants- come, finish your food and you can help the others with their packing; Beorn has been good enough to replenish our food and water rations, as well as more medical supplies.'

'That's good- but I'd like to be here when he wakes up, just in case he doesn't know where he is.' Kili replied, giving his uncle a smile. Thorin did not return it straight away- 'He's a dwarf almost grown, and you are still part of the company- you made that clear last night. You must still help- you are no use to Fili when he's asleep.' He smiled down, ruffling Kili's hair. 'And I need help controlling this rowdy lot!' he chuckled- Kili listened, and he could now hear laughs and chatter from outside from the rest of the dwarves. He smiled too, nodding. 'Alright- let me eat this and I will come out.'

'Alright, but don't be too long!' Thorin warned, before turning on his heel and walking away, leaving Kili alone once more with his brother.

He thought about taking an age eating, just to make sure he wasn't outside when Fili woke, but he knew Thorin was right- he was still a member of the company, and as such he still had jobs to do. Once he finished his bread he licked his fingers and put the plate on the kitchen side, before walking back to Fili and looking down at him. 'Now will you wake up?' he muttered, now smiling- trust Fili to sleep through all the packing stages. He just hoped he would be strong enough to continue on their journey. He gave a good- natured sigh, shaking his head, when Fili still did not stir.

'I'll be just outside,' he whispered at his brother. 'Just in case…' he added, before walking away and out of the door, where the cool morning sun was just beginning to peep out from a large mound of white cloud.

'You'd be better putting the bowls into the bag first, laddie!' Bofur admonished, looking at Ori in wonder as he tried to stuff water rations in his pack with a selection of cooking bowls on top. 'You'd want to reach your water before your bowls!'

'Oh, yes, I suppose you're right!' Ori conceded, putting the bowls in first and laying his water neatly in the spaces that they made. The rest of the group laughed, not unkindly, before continuing with their own work. Kili grinned, wiping his face of sweat- as a favour for helping them when they were in need, Beorn had asked for someone to chop firewood for him; naturally this had been Kili's job. He had now spent a good deal of the morning fetching logs from the pile behind his house, before chopping them with an axe he had borrowed off Bifur- Beorn had offered him his own axe, but it was bigger than two dwarves put together, with the blade longer than Kili's arm. He occasionally popped to the kitchen window, peering in at his brother as he walked to and fro to the log pile- he was still asleep.

He took a long drink, standing back a while as he watched the others with their preparations; Thorin had gone back to sharpening his blade with the whetstone, while the others packed food and medical supplies into their bags.

Bilbo was helping Beorn do something in his house, but he did come out with a flagon of mead for them when the sun did start getting hot.

'We will have to leave well before nightfall.' Thorin announced to the group. He looked up at the sky, at the position of the sun. 'It is not yet past midday- we have plenty of time to navigate the forest and make it out the other side before it gets dark.'

'That is if we don't lose the path again!' Bofur quipped.

'We will have to be more vigilant this time, yes.' Thorin nodded. He stood up, looking back to the forest beyond the fields once more. 'We have no more time to spare for wrong turns…' he muttered, voice and eyes dark. The group nodded their agreements, low muttering filling the air.

Kili felt dread fill his chest, but pushed it down- surely nothing else could go wrong this time? He turned and went back to his chopping, glad of the monotony, the sameness of the task.

The group went back to their respective tasks, too, and for a while there was a quiet between them as they worked, before- 'Kili?' Kili looked up as soon as he heard his voice, a grin already on his face. He looked round to see Fili in the doorway, face still pale, but at least he looked better than when he was last awake. 'Fili!' he shouted, causing the others to look round in alarm- he ran to his brother, hugging him as gently as he could. He stepped back, conscious of the way Fili had tensed as he embraced him. 'How do you feel?' he asked, eyes wide.

'Sore, but I'm sure I'll survive…' Fili replied, blue eyes more alive than Kili had seen in days. He smiled at his brother, eyes roving for injuries. 'And you?' he asked.

'I'm ok, just a few cuts and bruises,' Kili shrugged. 'Been more worried about you.'

'Did you get one of the others to check your wounds?' His brother asked, looking seriously across at Kili.

'Yes, I'm really alright!' Kili smiled, knowing some things would never change- Fili could be on the brink of death and all his thoughts would always be concerned with his wellbeing.

'Good, as long as you're sure.' Fili beamed, shaking his head.

'Ah, I see you're up now,' Beorn muttered from behind Fili, looking down at the dwarf. 'I told you it wouldn't be long before he awoke, didn't I?' he said to Kili, who nodded, eyes full of thanks.

Fili turned round, wincing slightly- he too looked up at the shapeshifter, a smile on his face. 'You helped me?' he asked.

'As much as I could- you should be fine now; I have made some herbal draughts for you to take for the next couple of days, to combat fever or reinfection.'

Fili nodded, before holding out his hand. 'Thank you.' He said, meaning every word. 'Without your help I would be dead by now- I owe you my life.'

Beorn smiled, taking his hand and shaking it. 'As I said to your Uncle, you owe me nothing- I know what it is to live without kin; I also don't think your brother would forgive me if I did not help!' he joked, looking beyond Fili to his brother- Kili grinned, rubbing the back of his head. Fili smiled as well, giving his brother a fond look before walking gingerly into the garden where the other dwarves were now stood, smiles on their faces.

'Glad you're ok.' Said Bilbo, smiling up at the dwarf as he passed.

'Aye, me too!' Fili chuckled, putting a hand on his shoulder. Each dwarf smiled and nodded at him as he passed, each of them happy that Fili was ok, and on the mend.

He reached Thorin who walked over to meet him, a smile on his face- he put a hand on both his shoulders and squeezed gently. 'I thought I'd lost you.' He muttered, voice suddenly thick.

'You can't be rid of me that easily, amadnadad!' Fili grinned, beginning to laugh before his breath got caught in his throat and he stepped back, wincing. 'Probably shouldn't do that quite yet….' He muttered, putting a hand to his chest.

'We are planning to take our leave soon, before nightfall- will you be ready in time?' Thorin asked, nerves for his nephew blooming.

'Yes, I may be a little slow at times but I will keep up- we do need to move soon. I know what time my injuries have wasted…' he finished, looking absurdly guiltily at his Uncle.

'Fili, I would stop this journey entirely if it meant you could be saved!' Thorin barked, eyes flashing. He softened as Fili smiled at him reproachfully, nodding. 'Besides, I think we all needed the rest, and some better food.' He smiled.

'Aye, I think so too…' Fili replied, looking behind him as Kili resumed his cutting of the logs. He thought about going to offer his help, but he knew Kili's answer would probably be a stern one. He settled for gingerly sitting down on a rock beside his uncle, resting and watching the others in their tasks- pretty soon they would be moving again, and he needed all the strength he could gather.

'Well lads, this is it…again…' Bofur muttered, standing with the others at the entrance to Mirkwood once more. The trees cast a shadow on their faces, and already- despite the sun's strong heat- the company felt cold, worry creasing their features.

'Aye, it is.' Thorin replied, voice strong and confident. 'We need to be strong- think of our goal, of the task at hand…'

'And to follow the path…' Bilbo muttered, hoping no one heard him.

Beorn stood behind them, arms crossed. 'Good luck- you may still need it.' he muttered, before turning and walking back down the field to his home.

'Well, he was cheery!' Kili muttered, looking across at his brother and quirking an eyebrow. Fili smiled back, shaking his head. 'We'll be ok….' He muttered, breathing in, trying not to wince- he was much better after his rest, and the herbs that Beorn had treated him with really did wonders to the pain. It was ebbing away now, and he was certain in a day or two he would almost forget it was even there. Kili caught his sleeve, a smile on his face. 'You take as long as you need; I will be right here beside you.' He promised.

'That sounds comforting.' Fili smiled, nodding.

'Come,' Thorin finally said, pushing his sword behind him in a more comfortable way. 'Let us go.' He walked forwards and into the darkening swell of the trees. The others followed, voices hushed as they crept after their leader, until only Fili and Kili were left.

'Shall we?' Fili asked, giving his brother a look.

'After you, of course…' Kili grinned, moving his hand to motion the forest.

'Why thank you- I am much obliged!' Fili chuckled, and he too stepped onto the path, and together the two of them followed the others deeper into the forest. As Kili looked about him, at the gloom of the trees, he just hoped this journey would not be as eventful- or as painful- as when they had last been here….

The End.

Well, there you have it! The film story happens from here ^^.

A/N- I'm pretty sure that amadnadad means 'uncle' in Khuzdul, but I could be wrong :)

Well it has once again been so much fun writing this, and I really hope you enjoyed reading it! I know I was a bit iffy with my updating, and I am sorry about that!

As always, can I please ask you to review one last time, just to tell me what you thought of this chapter and the fic in general- it helps me improve and I really do love hearing your comments!

Thank you to everyone who read this, as well as put it on alert and onto their favourite story lists, each one of you mean the world to me!

Until next time….

Happyday Girl x