A/N: I have had such an amazing response to this story. It's the first fanfic I've ever written and all your reviews, follows, and faves have been so fantastic and supportive... it has really encouraged me to keep writing and I hope that I have done this story justice. Thank you for reading this and staying with me the whole way, you have all been great, and here is your reward... :)

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit in it's film(s)/book form, I simply wanted to write about it a little. I have not made a profit.

The scene left behind after the orcs had either been killed or chased out was one of utter destruction: jagged glass and pottery littered the floor; what remained of the fish stew had been tipped over; tables and chairs had been overturned. Blood was splattered all over the place, and the dead bodies of several orcs remained on the floor, crowding Bard's house even more.

Without even speaking, Bombur began to lug the dead bodies out of the house, pulling them to the window and pushing them out into the canal. The splashing sound as they hit the water below reached the ears of the remaining dwarves and they began to assist in the effort.

Bilbo brushed his clothes down and approached the two girls that hid in the corner of the room.

'It's alright now,' he said. 'They're gone.'

Tilda hid in her sister's skirts, but Sigrid straightened her shoulders and nodded brusquely.

'We're fine,' Sigrid said defiantly, shaking off her fear, just before Bard wrapped both the girls into a fierce hug. Fili brought Bain over, and the entire family engulfed one another. Fili watched them with tears in his eyes, and then glanced over to his brother's body, where he still rested on Bard's bed.

'I'm sorry,' Fili said quietly, before turning back to Bard. 'I'm sorry for the pain we've brought upon your family. It is not fair.'

Bard turned and glanced up at the dwarf from where he was crouching, Tilda's hair tangled in front of his face.

'And I'm sorry you lost your brother,' Bard said. 'Let what is done be done with… no apology is needed for this.'

Fili nodded and then wandered over to his brother, stepping over an orcs dead body, an elven arrow protruding from his neck.

Kili was lying, almost undisturbed but for a fresh splatter of blood on his clothing and the bedding rumpled. Staring at his brother's serene face, Fili became oblivious to all that was happening around him until a smooth hand with long, delicate-looking fingers gently reached for his brother.

Fili turned sharply and blocked the she-elf, Tauriel, from touching his brother.

'Don't,' Fili said sharply. 'It's because of you and your kind that he's dead. We would never have got caught up in the orc's ambush if you hadn't taken us prisoner.'

'I am sorry young dwarf,' Tauriel replied sadly. 'But I grieve for his loss also; I spoke with him while you were in Mirkwood and he had… a way about him.' She smiled softly as she reminisced, and then gently moved around Fili to take Kili's hand in her own.

Her smooth hand grasped his calloused one, and she could feel the groove where his bow would have rested. And then she felt something else. He eyes narrowed and she frowned as she pushed closer. Fili tried to pull her back, but could not move her and she clenched Kili's hand all the more tightly and leaned in, resting her head just above his chest.

'He does not breath,' Fili said sullenly, as Oin joined them, watching the elf cautiously.

'No…' Tauriel agreed, 'but… it breathes for him.'

'What?' Fili finally grabbed Tauriel away from his brother and almost shook her. 'What does that mean? What do you mean?'

'The poison,' Tauriel said. 'The poison is still alive… it's still moving. The poison is breathing inside of his body.'

Fili stared at the elf and then back at his brother.

'But he'd dead…' Fili said. 'I thought… I thought he was…'

'He is,' Tauriel said bluntly. 'But we can bring him back. We have to work quickly.'

Tauriel swept her gaze across the room and settled on what was left of the kingsfoil; it had been knocked from the table during the dwarfs' fight with the orcs and had been trampled on, but it was still mainly intact.

'Athelas,' Tauriel whispered. She reached down for it and scooped it up tenderly, holding it securely in her hands as she examined the plant.

'What are you going to do?' Fili asked desperately as Tauriel pulled away the bindings on Kili's leg, to reveal the black blood still oozing from the wound. 'Can you bring him back?'

Oin put a gentle hand on Fili and pulled him away.

'Let the elf work,' Oin said. 'Her race has great healing magic. We should be honoured for her presence here with us now.'

Around the room the other dwarves had stopped their work and had begun to watch what was happening beside Kili.

'The poison is black and it lives within in,' Tauriel explained. 'It still flows inside of him, and I can use it… I can change it into… into light.' She smiled reassuringly and then crushed the athelas in her hands before pressing it against the still oozing wound.

Her voice took on a quality that Fili had only ever heard before in dreams. It was both soft and powerful at the same time, calm and loud, harsh and bright. He did not understand the words she chanted and it sounded almost as if she were praying. Oin lifted his ear-piece so that he could hear more clearly, but Fili's mind was drowned and as he watched, the words echoed into a buzzing pressure that lingered, somewhere in the back of his mind.

What he saw, however, he would never forget.

A bright light, so white and pure he doubted he would ever see anything so beautiful again, pressed itself against his vision, and his eyes were pulled back to his brother. The veins on Kili's neck had darkened as the poison had taken a hold of him, but now they pulsed with bright light as Tauriel's voice flowed across the room, her hands pressed against the wound.

It wasn't dramatic. It was loud. It was just… there.

The quiet breath, a whistling gasp as air forced its way back into Kili's lungs. His chest rose and then fell, and then lifted once more and dropped again, and it continued to do so in a steady rhythm. A gentle passage of air entering the young dwarf's body as the light in his veins slowly dimmed to normal.

Tauriel lifted her hands from Kili's wound and they can away red; fresh, clean blood leaked from the injury, but the black poison was gone, as was the fever; Kili didn't shiver or tremble, he merely lay, his face as serene as it had been in his death, as the clean air entered his lungs and he breathed.

Tauriel quickly went about binding Kili's wound and the dwarf's face screwed up into a grimace as she pulled the bandages tight. His head tilted a little and his eyes fluttered open; he had dark circles under his eyes but his dark brown orbs shifted lazily from Tauriel to his brother. His eyes shimmered with liveliness and Fili let out a kind of half-sob that stuck in his throat, before his knees finally gave out from under him and he dropped to the floor.

Kili's eyes drifted shut once more and he slept, but it was a peaceful sleep. His breathing was even and smooth; he was alive.

Between them, Bofur and Bifur helped Kili to stand, and they helped him to his brother's bedside where he then collapsed beside him, and grabbed onto Kili's hand, and cupped his face, feeling the warmth against the palm of his hand, feeling and hearing his breathing.

Fili cried out in joy and wrapped his brother up in his arms as Tauriel looked down at the pair. She smiled, almost with a hint of sadness, and checked the dwarf's wound one more time before stepping away and letting the other dwarfs descend on the pair. Oin pushed his way to the front and examined the elf's handiwork before turning to look at her with awe and appreciation.

Tauriel simply smiled and bowed her head a little before she turned to leave.

'Wait!' called Fili from where he still clutched his sleeping brother. She turned and looked at the dwarf questioningly. 'Thank you,' he said.

'It was my pleasure,' said Tauriel and then she left before Fili could say another word. He watched after her for a moment and then turned back to his brother, whose eyes had drifted back open again.

'I saw…' he petered off in confusion as he looked up at his brother's joyous face.

'Shush now brother,' Fili soothed, you're okay now. 'You are going to be just fine.'

Kili looked at Fili and then around at the rest of the dwarves.

'Where are we?' Kili asked, trying to sit up. He grimaced as he moved his leg, but pushed past the pain. He had a mild headache and the overwhelming sense that he should be in a lot more pain, or that he had been… but it was all pretty distant and vague in his mind now.

'We're at Lake-town,' Fili said.

'Lake-town…' Kili sounded the word out. 'Is everyone okay?'

Fili laughed at this and hugged his brother just as tightly.

'Yes brother,' Fili said, still laughing, as Kili looked even more confused. 'We are all okay. Everyone is okay.'

Kili carefully returned the hug, looking around with confusion at the many faces that watched him with eager and excited expressions.

'I don't really remember…'

'It's okay brother, you're alright now.'

A shadow loomed in the doorway, and Gloin and Dori entered the room. Their eyes fell on the two brothers and looked at the pair with shock.

'Keep moving,' Dwalin growled. 'You're blocking the way.'

Gloin and Dori shuffled forward and Dwalin entered, followed by Thorin. Thorin's eyes were on the ground but Dwalin quickly spotted the reason for the other dwarf's sudden stop.

'By Mahal…' Dwalin intoned as Kili looked at his and the other dwarf's reaction curiously.

Thorin then looked up at Dwalin and followed his gaze to see Kili sitting, alive and well, at the edge of the bed, with Fili's arms wrapped around him.

'Kili…' Thorin whispered faintly. 'How…'

He couldn't take his eyes off his nephew as he approached slowly.

'Magic,' Oin supplied. 'Elven magic. And a marvellous sight it was at that.'

But Thorin barely heard Oin's explanation as he wrapped his nephews up in a fierce hug.

'Don't you ever… you stupid… reckless… By Mahal I should send you home right now!' Thorin yelled, his voice muffled as he pressed his head into Kili's shoulder and Kili remained staring at the strange room and the happy dwarfs with a look of utter confusion.

'What did I do?' he asked.

Bofur snorted and then there was laughter, like nothing Bilbo had ever heard since they had left the Shire. For the first time in a long time the entire company were happy, and it had nothing to do with gold.

The End...