Well, I meant to have this one up last night, but the site wasn't cooperating. Anyway, here's the second part where Thorin is the one who gets sick and the boys have to take care of him :) I just realized that Dis seems to be going off quite a bit lol :P Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it. I kind of personally think this one turned out better than the last one.

Part Two

Thorin offers to babysit, but finds himself under the weather. Thus, Fili and Kili take it upon themselves to help their uncle feel better.

Thorin could never say no to Dis when she asked him to watch the boys. For one, he always tried to do his best to help her after her husband had died, but also, he loved the boys more than anything in the world, and never minded spending time with them, even if they could be rather exasperating at times. And Dis was only going to be gone for a couple of days so he knew he could at least manage to handle whatever came his way in that time.

However, he wasn't planning on the flu being the thing that hit him.

It had been particularly nasty this year, and Fili and Kili had already suffered from it a few weeks ago, as well as several of the dwarves Thorin worked with at the forge, causing him and Dwalin, who had been spared, to have to work long hours and come home late, too exhausted to even think of getting sick. He thought he had escaped it, but it seemed that finally, the long hours had taken their toll and when he finally took a rest, the sickness caught up with him when he was least expecting it.

It started when he began to feel a little over hot in the forge, even more than normal, and then was suddenly chilled when he stepped away from the flames to get a drink of water. He didn't think of it much then, however, and just put it down to the changing of spring temperatures. He did feel a little more sore than normal when he put his tools away and cleaned up for the night to head over to his sister's house, but again, he thought little of it.

Dis met him happily, though was in a rush to get off. She embraced him briefly, and frowned slightly looking at his face.

"Try to get some rest, Thorin, you look exhausted."

He smiled tiredly at her. "Oh, I'll be fine. I've just been putting in long hours at the forge. I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend with the boys." Dis smirked knowingly and Thorin huffed a laugh as Fili and Kili came running out of their room screaming for Uncle Thorin as they tackled him and nearly sent him to the floor.

"I wish you the best with your quiet weekend, brother," Dis said with a laugh as she kissed the boys and hurried out. "I'll see you soon, dears."

Thorin was accosted as soon as Dis left to go and see their toys which they had set up in battle formation and before he knew what was happening, he was sitting of the floor amidst the heated battle of goblins and dwarves, trying to keep up with the story line of heroic deeds the two boys and set up for their brave warriors.

"When's dinnertime, Unca?" Kili finally asked, his hands on Thorin's knees as he looked up into his eyes. "I hungry."

"Me too," Fili said, also turning an expectant look on Thorin.

"All right, I suppose we can start it. I'll make you journey cakes if you'll help me. We can have a real warrior's supper."

The boys seemed excited and ran out to the kitchen while Thorin just tried to get off the floor, his back aching. He grimaced with a frown. Certainly he wasn't feeling the effects of age quite yet? It must just be all the work in the forge of late.

With the boys' help, he showed them how to mix up simple journey cakes that he served with butter and honey, which was a luxury he had never had on the march. They seemed to eat more of them than he could, in fact, he really wasn't hungry at all, and felt rather ill to his stomach, despite the hard work he had done that day. Maybe he was just too tired to be hungry. He really wanted nothing more than to lie down and close his eyes; they were feeling so heavy.

After supper, he bathed the boys and then tucked them into bed while he read them a story from the book Kili proffered. He was surprised to find his throat hurt by the time he had finished and rubbed it ruefully as he left the sleeping boys with a kiss to their foreheads. He made himself a cup of tea as he sat by the fire, so exhausted, his body aching from the long day. He slumped in the chair and closed his eyes for just a moment…

The mug slid out of his hands and crashed to the floor, causing him to jerk upright. He shook his head clear and went to fetch a towel to clean the mess up with. Thankfully, it had been a metal tankard so it hadn't broken, but he had gotten the tea everywhere.

He made to stand back up but suddenly felt so dizzy he had to lean against the chair for a moment until the room stopped spinning. Okay, it was really time to go to bed now. He quickly rinsed out the towel and then shuffled off to his bed. He knew he should bathe, but he was too tired, and just washed quickly in the basin, feeling a bit warm and uncomfortable. All his clothes felt binding and he stripped down to his trousers to sleep in, but then found he was shivering. He groaned and huddled on the bed, his mind too muddled to recognize what was wrong with him, and pulled a blanket up over his shoulders, shivering as he curled into a ball—a very unnatural position for him to sleep in. He didn't spend much time in caring though, for he was soon asleep, unable to help himself a moment longer.

He woke later to a pain in his stomach. He groaned and shifted to try and alleviate it, but that only seemed to make it worse. He didn't want to get up, but it was too uncomfortable, and he was feeling a strange warning in the back of his throat that he thought he should know…oh, that's what it was.

He surged out of bed and ran to the window, which was closer than the bathroom. He had left it open, being too tired to realize it was, and was glad of it, as he leaned out and emptied his stomach on the ground outside. When he had finished, he lay limply over the window frame, half in, half out, wondering whether he even had the strength to move.

He spat one last time and crawled back to his bed. He normally would have been ashamed of such weakness, but he was beyond caring at the moment. He hauled himself into the bed and curled up again, shivering even though he was soaked in sweat. He knew he should clean himself up, but he was just too tired to move. All he could think about was who would look after the boys if he was sick? Maybe he could call Bofur or Balin, but he didn't seem to be able to get out of bed, let alone out of the house, and he couldn't send the boys out into town by themselves. Hopefully, whatever this was would pass by morning. But if it was the flu that had been going around—and he highly suspected that was the case—then he wouldn't be so lucky. Instead, he just groaned and buried his face in a pillow, falling into a stupor again.

He came to to the sound of voices. He was frightened at first, his fevered dreams causing him to wonder if he was surrounded by enemies. He started awake, and the voices abruptly stopped with startled gasps. He frowned and blinked to clear his vision before two little figures came into focus in front of him, one blond and one dark. The dark haired one smiled broadly as he saw Thorin's eyes open. He poked his cheek.

"Unca Forin, you fin'ly 'wake! Can you makes us breakfast?"

Thorin looked out to the window and saw the sunlight pouring through. "Wh-wha' time's it?" he asked in a slurred voice.

"Already midmorning," Fili said as Thorin turned back to his elder nephew who held a worried look on his face. "Are you all right, Uncle? You look sick."

Thorin groaned and tried to sit up, utterly failing. Fili instantly crawled up onto the bed and helped his uncle sit up against the pillows. He mimicked what his mother had done when he and Kili were sick and placed a small hand on Thorin's forehead.

"Uncle, you have a fever," he said professionally. "You should stay in bed. Kili and I will have to take care of you."

"Unca Forin's sicked?" Kili asked, his smile replaced by a look of knowing sympathy, remembering when he had been sick not long ago. He reached up and patted Thorin's knee. "It's okay Unca, we'll make you feel all better."

"I'm sorry boys, you really shouldn't have to do this. I'm sure I can get up…" Thorin tried to prove the point by climbing to his feet, but he barely slid off the edge of the bed before he wobbled and collapsed to his knees, dizzy, and as weak as a drowned kitten. Fili and Kili had their arms around him and were helping him back into his bed in an instant. Fili looked at him sternly.

"You stay in bed, Uncle," he said. "We can take care of ourselves, don't worry. We'll make you breakfast."

Just the mention of breakfast make Thorin's stomach twist again and he swallowed hard to keep the nausea away. "Thank you, Fili, but I don't think I can eat anything right now."

"Are you gonna frow up?" Kili asked with interest. "I did lots of that when I was sicked."

"Please Kili, don't…" Thorin tried, but just the mention of it sent his stomach heaving and he threw himself over to the window just in time. He felt small hands pulling his hair back and rubbing his back as his stomach emptied again and he sank to the ground, sitting against the wall, gasping for breath.

"Maybe you should get me a bucket," he said miserably, feeling worse for the fact that his nephews had to look after him. He just seemed so helpless right now.

Fili ran to get the bucket and also brought a cold cloth that he mercifully washed Thorin's face with. The older dwarf sighed in relief, as the coolness alleviated some of the heat from the fever.

"Thank you, Fili," he said, placing his hand gently on the blonde's cheek. "Can you maybe help me back to the bed?"

Fili nodded and pulled Thorin's arm over his shoulder, stoically bearing his weight as he helped tuck Thorin back into bed. Thorin lay back with a deep sigh, closing his eyes. He felt so hot and uncomfortable, his body aching in the throws of the fever, and his mind muddled. He found it profoundly hard to put more than two thoughts together. He opened his eyes and turned his head slightly to see two pairs of eyes, one dark, one light, staring at him with a worried expression.

"I'm sorry boys," he whispered, reaching out to stroke their heads. Kili rested his chin on the edge of the bed, reaching out to pat him arm.

"We make you feel better Unca Forin," he said sternly. "You jus' rest."

Thorin couldn't help a smile at the dwarfling's determination. "Thank you, Kili."

Fili took his brother's hand and led him out of the room. "Come on, Ki, let's see if we can find something to make Uncle Thorin feel better. Call if you need anything, Uncle, I'll be back later!"

Thorin watched the door close and then couldn't seem to keep his eyes open any longer, drifting off even though he could clearly hear the clattering of dwarflings in the kitchen and knew he should be doing something about it. He had a thought of Dis killing him if those boys got into trouble while he just lay there, but he was too sick to consider it more fully at that moment, and against his will, he surrendered to his fevered dreams.

"What's we doin', Fi?" Kili asked his older brother as they stood in the kitchen.

"We should make Uncle Thorin some soup like mummy made us when we were sick," Fili told him decidedly, filling a pot with water. "She says broth is good for fever."

"What can I do?" Kili asked eagerly, bouncing up and down on his heels.

"You can peel the onions," Fili told him, knowing he couldn't let his little brother use a knife. "I'll cut the vegetables."

Kili sat on the floor and began to peel the skin off the onions while Fili took the cutting board and set it down beside his brother, being too short to reach the counter and get a good angle on his cutting. He started with the carrots and then moved onto the potatoes and was rather proud of himself that he hadn't cut himself yet.

But then, as he was peeling the last potatoe, his knife slipped and the blade sliced across his palm. He sat looking at it in more shock than pain, afraid he would get in trouble. Mummy had always told him and Kili not to play with the knives.

"Fi?" Kili asked, noticing his brother's anxiousness and then scrambled across the floor as he saw the blood dripping from Fili's hand. "Ooh, you has a boo boo!" he squealed.

"Shh, Kili, don't say anything to Uncle Thorin, please!" Fili told him, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. "He's too sick to worry about this right now. Just get me some bandages."

Kili scrambled off and Fili stood shakily to rinse his hand off in the sink before Kili came back and gave him a pile of bandages that Dis always kept ready, knowing the price of having two little boys to take care of. Fili grabbed some and held them to his wound to stop it bleeding as Kili watched with wide eyes.

"I want to tie it up, Fi, Mummy showed me how!" he said eagerly and Fili sat down and let his little brother clumsily wrap the bandage around his hand, his tongue peeking out from between his lips in concentration. When he was done he pressed a gentle kiss to his big brother's hand and grinned up at Fili. "There! All better!"

Fili couldn't help but smile and didn't have the heart to tell Kili that it hurt much worse now than when he had gotten the wound. "Thank you, Ki. Now I think we have enough vegetables. Let's put them in the pot."

Kili helped him throw the things into the pot and Fili lifted it onto the stove and stirred it around.

"Mummy says ginger is good for tummy bugs," Fili said, suddenly remembering. "Can you find it, Kili?"

He grated some ginger into the pot and then also remembered that his mother had always put some of the herbs from her window box into her soup as well. Fili picked some and sprinkled it into the pot, seeing that it smelled more like his mother's soup now. He stirred it, until it started boiling and then turned back to Kili.

"We should make cakes to go along with it. Do you remember how Uncle showed us how to make journey cakes last night?"

"Yes!" Kili exclaimed excitedly. "Only free 'gredients!" He got the things with Fili's help and then sat on the floor with a bowl and started to pour the things into it, getting flour everywhere as he mixed; all over the floor and in his hair.

"You need to add some water, now," Fili told him, turning back from the soup. "Oh, Kili, you've made a huge mess!"

"We'll cleans it up later," Kili told him and poured some water into the bowl, stirring it so vigorously the bowl tipped and some of the batter ended up on the floor. Fili put a pan next to Kili and the dwarfling made odd-shaped patties with his hands and placed them haphazardly onto the pan, which Fili then set in the oven to cook.

"Unca Forin's going to love these!" Kili said excitedly, hopping up and down and sending flour everywhere. "They'll makes him feel better."

"Yes, they will," Fili told him. He kept stirring the soup, trying to keep his mind off of his cut hand, which was hurting, and bleeding through the bandage already. He was afraid that Thorin would find out, and he didn't want him to worry. Not until he was feeling better anyway.

Fili set Kili to make up a tray for Uncle Thorin, with some flowers and a picture Kili drew that he said was a dragon, but looked more like a blobby cow to Fili. He wrapped some more bandages around his hand to hide the blood and decided it was time to take the soup off the stove. He did it carefully and set it gently on the table, straining to lift it. Some sloshed over the side and onto his wrist and he gasped in pain as it burned him.

"Fiwi!" Kili cried out, worried at his brother's distress. Fili ran to run the burn under the water and Kili hovered anxiously behind him.

"Don' cry, Fiwi," he said, hugging his brother's waist. "It will be 'kay."

Fili nodded reassuringly to his little brother, but he looked down at the red spot on his wrist with wet eyes. It hurt much worse than the cut and was on the same hand. He hag gotten the bandages wet and had to take them all off and get Kili to help him bind both hurts up again, feeling a bit like a martyr for the cause of making Uncle Thorin better. That made him feel better about it.

Just then, he smelled something burning and suddenly, Kili gasped.

"My cakeses!" he screamed and Fili ran to the oven and just remembered to grab the pot holders—not wanting to make another mistake, before he grabbed the tray and pulled it out, revealing the rather burned cakes.

"My cakes are burneded," Kili said, threatening tears, but Fili was quick to reassure him.

"It's okay, Kili, they're not too bad, just around the edges. They will still be good to dip in the soup. Why don't you pick one for Uncle Thorin?"

Kili picked out one that was nearly in a circular shape and Fili dished up some soup, only making a slight mess on the way. He smiled at his little brother. "There, now let's take this to Uncle Thorin."

Thorin was sleeping restlessly due to the fever and he was vaguely aware of the noises of Fili and Kili in the kitchen, and the smell of something burning, but he didn't really wake up fully until the door was opened and he pulled himself from his fevered sleep to see who was coming in. He tried to sit up as he saw Fili and Kili maneuvering a laden tray into the room and smiled at the sight.

"What is this, boys?" he asked weakly as they came over to the bed and set the tray down on his side table.

"We made you soup to make you feel better," Fili told him and Thorin noticed he tried to hide his left hand which had an inconspicuous bandage wrapped around it. Normally, he should have been worried, but he decided to let it slide for now, knowing the boy's pride was likely at stake.

"I made journey cakes for you, Unca!" Kili squealed. "But they burnded a little bit."

"That's okay, Kili, I'm sure they are still good." Thorin didn't feel much like eating, worried his stomach might not like the idea, but he couldn't pass up the meal his nephews had worked so hard on. Besides it had been a couple hours since he had last had to throw up, so he hoped he might be able to at least manage some soup.

Before he knew it, two dwarflings had joined him on the bed, Kili still tracking flour with him, and Fili was propping him up against the pillows before he put the tray into Thorin's lap, taking up the spoon himself.

"Here, Uncle," he said, offering Thorin a spoonful of the soup.

Normally, Thorin would have refused anyone feeding him, but Fili and Kili might have been the only beings in the entire world who could get away with it without verbal—or even physical—abuse thrown their way. It was actually rather endearing how they had taken to caring for him. Thorin sipped the soup dutifully and found it not entirely terrible, even if it mostly tasted like hot water with vegetables boiled in it.

"That's very good," he complimented anyway. "I wish I was feeling better so I could enjoy it more."

"Try the cake!" Kili said excitedly and Thorin took a bite of the somewhat hard and burnt biscuit. He nearly choked on it, but he forced a smile for Kili's benefit, that made the dwarfling beam.

"That's wonderful, Kili, you should help your mother in the kitchen more often."

They got him to eat at least half of the food before he had to stop, knowing that much more would do him poorly. "Thank you so much, boys. I think I'm feeling better already."

"We'll let you sleep now, Uncle," Fili told him, taking Kili's hand and dragging him off the bed. "But we'll come and see you later."

Thorin watched them go and sank back onto the bed, still horribly achy and wishing the fever would subside. He didn't know what to take for a fever, and wasn't sure he could even get to the kitchen to search for something that might work. He hadn't even been able to stand earlier. He supposed the only thing he could really do was try to sleep it off as much as he could until Dis got back.

"Oh no, Ki this is a mess!" Fili moaned as they came back out from the kitchen and saw the vast disaster that they had left cooking. There was flour and dough everywhere from Kili's efforts, as well as onion and potato skins and the soup that Fili had accidently sloshed on the floor.

"We have to clean this up, we can't leave it like this!" he said determinedly and set about finding the mop and bucket to clean the mess up. Kili tried to help, but mostly he was having fun sliding around on the wet floor and chasing the elusive onion skins around. The floor was fast becoming a paste of flour and Fili soon realized that it wasn't going to get them anywhere.

And then a knock came on the door and the two froze.

"Stay here, Kili, I'll go see who it is," Fili said bravely and went to open the door cautiously, peeking out the crack to see who it was.

"Hello, Fili, how are you doing?"

"Mister Dwalin!" Fili said with relief, throwing the door open and hugging the big dwarf tightly. "Oh, I'm so glad you came!"

He pulled the bemused dwarf into the house before Dwalin stopped and stared with an open mouth at the mess in the kitchen and Kili, giggling and slipping in the paste on the floor.

"Mista Dwalin!" he screeched happily and made to run to the big dwarf but slipped and skidded over to rest against Dwalin's boots instead. Dwalin reached down to pick up the messy dwarfling, sitting him on the table as he frowned at the mess.

"By my beard, lads, what have you done? Where's Thorin?"

"Unca Forin's sick. He's gotted a fever, and he frewed up everywhere," Kili explained eagerly. "We's been taking care of him."

Dwalin finally realized what had happened and decided that he should stay and help. "Well, that is awfully kind of you boys, I'm sure your uncle has really appreciated your help. But let's get this all cleaned up, shall we? I'll help you do it."
He took over the mopping as Fili tidied up the rest of the kitchen and washed the dishes and Kili mostly just stayed out of the way. After they were done, and the kitchen looked much more clean, Dwalin took Kili into the bathroom and cleaned him up and changed him into clothes that weren't caked with flour paste. Once he was done, he picked up Kili who was yawning from the hard work and carried him back out to the kitchen, catching sight of Fili applying a new bandage to his hand. The blond dwarfling, tried to hide it quickly, but Dwalin frowned at him.

"What did you do there, laddie?" he asked, setting Kili down and crouching to see Fili's hand. Fili reluctantly let Dwalin see it and the big dwarf hissed in sympathy as he saw the cut.

"That's a nasty one. It should be fine though. Let me help you bandage it tighter so it will stop bleeding." He bound up the hand and Fili's burned wrist and then patted the lad's head kindly. "There, good as new. Now let's see if we can find something for Thorin's fever."

He searched the cupboards and noticed the same herb that Balin had taken when he had been sick with fever. Dwalin made some tea and stirred the mixture in and then handed Fili the mug and picked Kili up again to go see Thorin.

Thorin tossed restlessly on the bed and started awake as Dwalin placed Kili down next to him and the sleepy dwarfling just curled up against Thorin's chest. The sick dwarf's eyes fluttered open but he relaxed as he saw his friend standing above him with an amused smile on his face.

"Well, well well, slacking off at the forge and in your babysitting duties. Dis will have your head."

"Whatever is left of this after the headache," Thorin replied grimly and Dwalin patted his shoulder gently before letting Fili come forward with the tea.

"This is for your fever," Fili told him as Dwalin helped Thorin sit up to drink. "You have to drink it all too, because it will make you feel better."

"If you say so," Thorin replied with a smile and took the cup, drinking the warm tea that soothed his throat and seemed to make his head feel better already. He lay back contentedly when it was gone and Dwalin fetched a wet cloth to wash his face and chest with, showing Fili what to do before allowing the dwarfling to take over the administrations of his uncle with a determined face. Dwalin gave his friend one last grin.

"I'll stay and help look after the boys, Thorin," he said, patting the other dwarf's knee. "I'll just go and get some more medicine from Oin first. Do you want him to come and take a look at you?"

"No," Thorin said firmly. "I'll be perfectly fine. The medicine will be enough."

Dwalin winked. "All right then. When I come back I'll see what I can do for the boys' supper too."

"Thank you, Dwalin," Thorin told him with a small smile.

"Anytime," the big dwarf said as he left the room.

Fili continued to bathe Thorin's fevered body before the older dwarf stopped him with a gentle smile. "I'm feeling much better now, Fili, thank you. Why don't you try to rest a little?" Kili was already fast asleep, curled up under Thorin's arm. Fili needed little bidding as he put the cloth aside and sunk down against Thorin's other side and cuddled up against him. Thorin stroked the blond hair then found the little bandaged hand and stroked it gently. Fili tensed, looking up at Thorin as if frightened he would be angry at him, but Thorin only smiled sympathetically.

"My brave little Fili," he said and kissed it gently, putting Fili at ease. He snuggled closer to his uncle and closed his eyes, finally falling asleep.

Thorin too was actually beginning to feel better, maybe because he had his nephews beside him now, but he too closed his eyes and slept more peacefully than before.

When Dis came back a couple days later she found Thorin sitting up in his bed while Fili red to him and Kili sprawled in his lap. He was still slightly flushed from lingering fever, and looked like he had been through a battle, but he looked much better than he had and he turned to smile at his sister as she stood leaning in the doorway with her arms crossed, waiting for the boys to realize she was there. When Fili finally looked up to see what Uncle Thorin was looking at, he grinned and ran across the room with Kili close on his heels.

"Mummy!" they cried and fell into her arms.

"How are my boys?" she asked, hugging them tightly.

"Unca Forin gotted sick, but we took care of him," Kili said excitedly.

"They took good care of me," Thorin said with a smile as his sister came over and sat on the bed, pressing her hand to his forehead.

"You always manage to get into the worst trouble when I leave you," she scolded, but put her head against her brother's. "I'm sorry I left when you were sick, Thorin."

He smiled and shook his head, taking her hand in his. "No, it's all right, Dis. I survived, and the boys make very good healers. Now, are we going to finish this story?" he asked, smiling at the boys who shouted in the affirmative and pulled Dis onto the bed with them, leaving the Durin family content and simply enjoying each other's company.