Chapter 31

Wincing at his cousin's predicament, Kíli dodged a thrust that would have impaled him. Fíli cursed and lopped off the head of a particularly antagonistic Orc. "Do Orcs and Goblins breed like rabbits or something?" They just kept coming!

Dwalin made a noise of disgust. "Why are you even thinking about that?!"

Before Fíli could explain himself, they all saw Azog lift Bilbo by the jacket and move to decapitate him. Thorin screamed and launched himself at the Orc, pushing two Orcs aside to get at the pair. Fíli and Kíli and Dwalin tried to cover them as best as they could.

Kíli pulled Fíli away from the edge and stabbed the Orc that was cornering his brother. "Don't want you falling, Brother Dear!"

Fíli nodded his thanks and then blocked an attack from an Orc against Kíli. Dwalin was snarling in Khuzdul as he hacked the Orcs to pieces. He was bleeding from multiple wounds, but he wasn't stopping. He would never stop, not when Thorin needed him to stay alive.

Thorin and Bilbo were fighting against Azog together. Bilbo had learned how to fight like a Dwarf, brute strength and stabbing with his sword, but he much preferred to fight like an Elf, balance and speed and slicing. Thorin noticed.

"Remind me to brainwash you into becoming more of a Dwarf. You're far too Elf-like for my taste!"

Bilbo snorted and slashed at Azog's leg. "Oh shush, Father! I don't see how it could harm me! After all, this style of fighting suits me more. Can you see me lifting Grasper or Keeper?"

"No." Thorin grunted and moved to intercept Azog's swipe at Bilbo's neck. He block the mace and groaned out, "But I'm sure I can put some muscle on those bones of yours!" He roared and pushed the Orc back.

Bilbo huffed. "I am not weak!" As if to prove his point, Bilbo did a particularly Elf-like jump, using Thorin as a springboard. He flipped over Azog and landed behind the Orc, successfully stabbing Azog in the small of his back. The Orc, hesitant on turning his back to Thorin, roared in agony. Thorin stabbed Azog's chest. Both blades sticking out from opposite sides.

Azog stared down at Thorin in disbelief as the mace slipped from his dead fingers and the light faded from his eyes. Bilbo pulled out Sting at the same time Thorin pulled Orcrist out. Bilbo smiled at his father as the dead Orc fell to the side. Thorin pulled his son away from Azog's body and into an embrace, trusting the others to keep the Orcs from them for a moment.

"How can I earn your love? How can I gain your forgiveness? I lost you in exchange for gold! I forced you to risk your life to do something that I should have done long before! Oh Bilbo, I am sorry! I am so sorry!" He rested his forehead against Bilbo's.

Bilbo smiled tentatively. "I forgive you, Father. How could I not? I love you."

Those words lifted Thorin and made his world brighter and far more tolerable. His son loved him?! He had never heard Bilbo say it to him. Thorin blinked and then smiled hesitantly back at his son. Bilbo was his son. Sometimes it was hard for Thorin to even acknowledge that he had a son.

"I love you too, Bilbo, with all my heart. I love you too." Thorin had never been good with words, so he tried to let his eyes convey just how much he loved Bilbo. His son.

Suddenly, there came two lithe figures. Tauriel laughed and pointed at them. She smiled. "As touching as your reunion is, we really should be focusing on killing the thousands of other Orcs out there." She threw a wink at Kíli. "And then we can have another type of touching scene." Kíli flushed and then winked back.

Legolas snickered and smirked at Thorin. "But first we need to kill those Orcs!" He raised an eyebrow at the Dwarf-King. "That is…if you can keep up. I've already killed eighty-seven, and Tauriel's killed seventy-nine."

Kíli gave a shout. "I killed…fifty-six!"

Fíli smirked. "Little Brother, I've done in sixty-three." He stabbed another Orc. "Sixty-four!"

Dwalin started laughing. "Ninety-seven!"

Legolas frowned and shook his head. "No. I will not have a Dwarf best me."

Bilbo huffed. "This competition is silly, but…" He smirked. "If it's a competition then my father and I killed Azog. That counts for Big Game."

Thorin nodded solemnly, a rare twinkle in his eyes. "At least twenty points for that, plus my seventy other kills." He sliced an Orc's chest open when it randomly charged Bilbo. "That makes it ninety-one."

Bilbo started laughing at Legolas' face. He moved to go, but Thorin grabbed him.

"No. You are not moving from this spot until you put this on." He pushed the shirt into Bilbo's hand. Legolas gaped at the amount of mithril right before his eyes. Tauriel wasn't exactly sure why he was so stunned, but then she was far younger than he was.

Bilbo flushed slightly and slipped it on. He had left it in the mountain for two reasons, the first was that he had been angry at Thorin, the second was that he didn't put it past Thranduil to steal it as recompense for some wrong. The Elf was tricky.

They moved out of Ravenhill and started making the climb down, killing as many Orcs as they could, all the while keeping count.

Bilbo filched some of Fíli's daggers off of his cousin. Fíli gave him a dirty look.

Thorin merely shook his head and then a roar caught their attention. They looked down at the battle and saw a new army coming. It was an army of animals.

An Eagle's screech made them look up and they saw the Eagles dropping stones on the Orc army and grabbing them only to drop them at a dizzying height.

Bilbo gave a cheer. "Roac delivered my message to Beorn!"

Thorin blinked and then smiled. "You will make a very good King." He nodded.

Legolas laughed and spoke in Sindarin. "Father can hardly wait for you to sit upon the throne. He won't mind trading with a creature who is only half Dwarf."

Bilbo snorted. "Yes, I won't mind trading with him either, but he will have to formally and publically apologize for kidnapping me and holding me for ransom." Legolas blinked.

"HE DID WHAT?!"

Bilbo nodded. "Thranduil held me for ransom. I understand his desire, but I'm sure that there was another way to go about getting the gold for the people of Dale."

Legolas growled slightly. "I cannot believe that my father kidnapped one who is named Elf-Friend."

Thorin froze in his descent of the hill. "What?!" His eyes were dark, his voice darker.

Tauriel winced and moved closer to Kíli. The younger Dwarf was slightly confused at why his uncle was angry…again. He took the opportunity to sneak a kiss to surprised Tauriel, winking at her roguishly. She rolled her eyes and kissed him back.

Bilbo groaned. "Ah…yes, Lord Elrond named me 'Elf-Friend' when I saved his life during an Orc raid. The sword would have stabbed him the back. He was busy fighting three other Orcs at the time." It was when they were trying to rescue his mother, but Bilbo didn't mention that.

Thorin looked confused. He didn't know what to think about his son being an Elf-Friend.

He shrugged. "I'll process that when I have a chance."

They dove into the battle that was slowly but surely turning to their side.

Thank you guys so much for your support and comments and encouragement! I've greatly enjoyed writing this story. I am currently writing the sequel now.

Again, thank you all so much!

InkStainedHands1177