A.N. Well long time no see! Sorry for my ridiculously long absence. This particular story is one I've been working on for a couple of years now, but was never able to get to a point where I was happy enough to post it. Finally, I've just decided to do one last round of rewriting and editing and just post the darned thing. The first couple of chapters might be rough, but I hope it gets better as the chapters go on. Please take it easy on me, this is my first full story in nearly ten years. Per usual, I own nothing except my OCs. Everything else is property of the brilliant J.R.R. Tolkien. Enjoy!

It was unseasonably cold, even for the highest point of the South Downs. Snow flurried around, the flakes getting larger and more vigorous in their descent by the minute. Thorin pulled his cloak tighter around him, not sure if he should feel peaceful, or more agitated by the strange weather. He could have made it to Bree by nightfall, but now it appeared he would have to find someplace to try and bundle up until the storm passed. This whole errand had been a bloody nuisance, and a wild goose chase. The rumors of his father's appearance in Dunland turned out to be just that; rumors. So, trying to fight off disappointment, he made his way home.

Something in the air changed; a prickling sensation that had the hair on his neck standing on end. His steps slowed as he approached a bend in the road. A sudden, thunderous crack echoed across the hills. Fighter instinct kicked in, and had Thorin brandishing his ax in front of him in one, swift movement. The closer he got to the bend, the stronger the prickling got. Magic, he realized with distaste; and a lot of it. Though the logical side really wanted to believe the crack was just thunder, he knew it wasn't. Whatever it was seemed to have come from around the bend.

He wasn't quite sure what he was expecting, but it sure wasn't what met his eyes. A large crater broke the snow pack and directly in the middle was a spash of red. The closer he got, the stranger the sight. The snow hadn't been blown away as if by impact; it seemed to have just made way for whatever lay in it. Shock ran down his spine when a feminine groan accompanied movement from the red mass. Lowering his ax, he hastened forward, dropping to his knees and carefully turning the figure over. The red turned out to be a strangely fashioned coat that covered a mere slip of a woman. She couldn't be any taller than him, and was delicate in every aspect from her doll face to her too-thin body.

"Miss? Miss, are you alright?" her fair skin seemed just a bit too pale, and he feared for her well-being.

After another small groan, she brought gloved hands up and rubbed her face. When they lowered, her eyes opened and glanced uncomprehendingly around. The clear, silver color of them reflected the sky; devoid of all color.

"What happened?" a light voice was marred slightly by rasp.

"I was hoping you could tell me," Thorin said, trying to shake off a sudden and very strong sense of familiarity. He had seen this woman before.

The young woman finally locked gazes with him, confusion altering slightly to bemusement, then clearing to shock. She shot up to a sitting position, nearly smashing his head with hers.

"Where are we?" some of the rasp cleared as her voice rose in pitch.

"The South Downs, nearly a day's walk to Bree," his response was both automatic and wary. The way she looked around, then tensed when he mentioned Bree put him on edge. "Are you from around here? I did not think there were any settlements nearby,"

"No. No, I'm not from around here," her brow drew together in confusion and worry. "I was walking near my house…it was snowing there too…then there was a loud bang like thunder, and I woke up here,"

She looked so frail and vulnerable, but dwarves were naturally suspicious, and Thorin was no exception. There had, indeed been that loud sound, but could he truly believe she had nothing to do with it? He'd heard of witches before, but there were very few, if any human witches in the world. Still, her cloth was strange, from the leather boots on her feet to the black hat that covered her hair. No, she was not from around at all.

"Who are you?" he asked, voice low with his suspicion.

Sensing it, the girl leaned away. "My name is Danica MacKay," she continued to lean back, placing her hands on the ground and sliding her feet under her.

Recognizing someone about to bolt, Thorin wrapped a hand around her arm, keeping her in place. When she flinched, he had to push the guilt down. "And?"

"And nothing. My name is Danica MacKay, and I am no one," some of the panic turned into frustration as she pulled at his grip. "I had nothing to do with how I got here,"

"Do you use magic?"

"No! Magic doesn't exist where I come from," in an almost comical moment, she gasped and clapped her free hand to her mouth.

Something about her words stirred that familiarity again. However, he didn't know what to do with it, or her, but eventually decided that it wasn't really his problem. He could get her to Bree, and perhaps there would be someone there who could find her someone more qualified to either help her, or contain her.

"If I let go, will you promise not to run?"

"That depends," her eyes narrowed in suspicion, the same way his had moments ago.

"I promise not to hurt you," he allowed his expression to open and show her his sincerity.

She considered him for a moment, then nodded. He loosened his grip, allowing her to pull her arm back.

"What now?" she asked.

It was Thorin's turn to consider her while she rubbed her arm. Had he really held her that hard? When she thought he wasn't looking, she would grimace in pain, then compose herself the second he looked back. Perhaps there was some strength beneath that fragile body. Either way, he couldn't leave a vulnerable woman in the wild to freeze to death.

"I was on my way to Bree. I can take you with me, then you can find someone who will help you,"

"Thank you," her eyes went wide with shock. "That's-"

"Do not thank me just yet," Thorin warned. "I still do not trust you, and if you give me one reason, I will leave you in the snow,"

"I hope to prove my innocence to you," there was sincerity in her eyes and voice, and was enough for now.

"We shall see,"
~~~~~

Danica never had been able to keep her mouth shut when flustered. Here she was, playing out one of the biggest clichés in geekdom, and she spilled the beans at the first chance. Waking up in Middle Earth, with Thorin Oakenshield looking down at her had done nothing good for her nerves, and left her wide open for interrogation. She could only be thankful he hadn't decided to ask more. Even after having a chance to calm down, she wasn't sure just how much she'd be able to hide. There was something about the way he had looked at her, when he wasn't glaring in suspicion. He was confused by her; inspecting her as if waiting for her to answer a question she hadn't heard.

The snow had stopped, but had turned into a freezing rain that penetrated deep into her bones. Her coat was 100% wool, but that only saved her for the first hour. It had been dark when she arrived, but the oncoming blackness told her the sun was quickly setting, which only made the air colder. How had this happened? Why had this happened? One minute, she was taking a walk on the trails near her parent's home, the next she was living out a fantasy.

A sudden fatigue washed over her, making her stumble. She tried to right herself before Thorin could notice, but failed.

"Are you alright?" he reached a hand out to steady her.

"Yeah, sorry. Just tripped," she smiled and straightened up, putting on her best poker face. The moment he turned back to the front, her shoulders slumped and she shook her head to clear the fog.

"There's a cave up here. If it is unoccupied, we can rest for the night before making the rest of the journey tomorrow,"

Though she merely nodded, Danica nearly wept with relief. Her body was weak, and she wasn't sure how much further she could have gone before collapsing. Some of her relief dissipated when they had to climb up a hill on the side of the road to get to the cave. By the time they reached the top, she was once again ready to collapse. Her vision hazed around the edges, and Thorin was a mere blur as he went ahead to check out the cave. Pain radiated in deep aches throughout her limbs: she had to grind her teeth to keep from whimpering.

Thorin said something, but she couldn't make out the words. Assuming he was talking about the cave either being occupied or empty, she nodded her head. That would work no matter which one he had said.

"Miss MacKay! What happened?"

Danica's eyes fluttered open to see Thorin looking down at her. The nod must have sent her into a faint. "Oops,"

She took the flask of water he offered, as well as a couple bites of some kind of dried meat. They were still outside, and Thorin had apparently caught her before she hit the ground. She had to give him points for quick reflexes.

"Thank you," she said, referring to both the sustenance and the save. With the food and water in her system, some of her strength began to return.

Thorin nodded. "We should get in the cave for shelter. I can start a fire while you eat some more,"

Danica had gotten a tighter hold on said food and had begun to rise when Thorin lifted her effortlessly in his arms.

"You don't have to do that. I can-"

"You barely made it up the hill, and your skin is snow white,"

Her mouth opened to retort, then snapped shut, her brain unable to think of one. The fact was, she knew how thin and pale she'd gotten in the past few months.

"Whatever got you here seemed to drain you," by his tone, he still wasn't sure that she was completely innocent of it.

"I've actually had this problem for a few years, thank you," normally she was more polite, but the whole situation had her on edge.

Thorin raised a brow at her. "Forgive me for my assumptions," he said. Once he set her down, he immediately went back out to find wood dry enough to use for a fire.

While he was out, Danica munched a bit more, trying to ignore the anxiety building in her core. She didn't like conflict, or being at odds with someone. It made her nervous and desperate to mend whatever was wrong. When Thorin came back in and began to build the fire, Danica put the food down and readied herself.

"You can ask me any question, and I will answer you fully and honestly," it was probably a mistake, but she doubted he would believe her.

"How can I trust that?" there was speculation and curiosity in his eyes.

How could he? How could she prove her sincerity? Her eyes flitted down to her hand. Knowing hesitating would change her mind, she whipped her glove off and grabbed the ring from her finger.

"Here. This is my wedding ring. It is the most precious possession I have in this world or any other. If you doubt the truth of any of my words, you can keep it," she held it out, her hand shaking slightly.

Thorin looked at it, then her. "I appreciate the gesture, but I do not think it necessary,"

"I have nothing else to show you that I'm telling the truth,"

"I believe you just did," one corner of his mouth lifted slightly, softening his entire countenance. "Keep the ring lass,"

"Thank you," grateful beyond measure, she slipped the ring back on, taking comfort in its familiar weight.
~~~~~~

"We'll start simple; how old are you?" Thorin took out a match and started a feeble fire in the damp material he'd brought in.

Danica smiled. "Isn't that normally considered a rude question?" when he crossed his arms, she coughed. "Right. Uh, 27. My birthday is in May,"

"Your husband?"

"He was 29," he caught the "was" and waited for her to elaborate. "He was a soldier for our country's army. He died eight months ago," the grief showed plainly on her face.

"I am sorry for your loss," even after she nodded, he waited a spell to let her gain her composure. He wanted to ask about children, but feared her answer. If she had them, it would pain her to be reminded that she was away from them, if not…that was a different pain altogether. "Where are you from?"

"A world called Earth," the words came out quick enough, but she looked away shyly.

"A world?"

"Yes. Similar to Middle Earth, but at the same time very different," she took a deep breath, then launched in. "It's basically what this world would be like in maybe five to seven hundred years. However, we have no elves, dwarves, wizards, or magic of any kind. There's also the fact that Middle Earth is about the size of one of the smallest countries in my world,"

Her words barely made sense, and he had a hard time keeping up with her story, let alone imagining it. Judging from her face and actions, she was either out of her mind, or telling the truth.

"Alright. Say I believe you," her eyes came up hesitantly, "how did you know about Gandalf? How do you know about this world?"

The look on her face was one he'd seen many times from his nephews when they accidentally let important information slip.

"Ah. Right. About that," she rubbed a hand over her face, then looked him in the eye. "There are tales of this world in mine. Not like history though. More like stories. Fiction,"

"How much do the tales tell?" against his better judgment, curiosity was beginning to peak.

"Most, if not all of this world's history. A lot of the wars and mythology,"

"How much do you know?"

At this, she smiled. "Pitifully little. Right now I'm wishing I had learned some more,"

"We always wish we could do more looking back," he responded with complete understanding.

"Hindsight is 20/20," she mused. He wondered how much of her speech would be like this gibberish. "Any more questions?"

He studied her for a moment. Three questions came to mind, but he wondered about the wisdom of asking two of them. However, she did promise to be truthful, and as far as she was concerned, she had been.

"How far do those tales go? Into the present?"

Danica paused, her eyes suddenly guarded.

"You swore the truth," Thorin reminded her.

She sighed, then nodded. "Yes, I did. The tales stretch 60 plus years into the future from where we are now,"

Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't that. "Can you prove your words to be true?"

"I'd rather-" she started, then an idea struck. "You will have a meeting with Gandalf in Bree,"

"A meeting pertaining to what?"

"Your future," her face closed off, telling him quite plainly that he would get no more information.

"Alright. I suppose we shall see if you are right or not tomorrow,"

"I suppose so," the shrug she gave held too much confidence to be nonchalant.

Thorin shook his head. "If Gandalf cannot get you home, what will you do?"

"I've been trying not to put too much thought into that. I suppose I would try to hide out somewhere where I couldn't affect history,"

"Seems logical enough," though he wondered where she could possibly go and fit in. "One more question for now; if your arrival here did not bring on the fainting spell, what did? You said you have had this problem for years,"

"Well, not so much the fainting spells. That is very recent. However, I've had a weak body since I was about 15. A doctor diagnosed me with a disease that causes pain and fatigue as well other complications. It's an autoimmune disease, and don't worry, it's not contagious," the smile she gave was one of a person who was used to people cringing away from her.

"I have never heard of such a thing," true, he'd seen plenty of diseases that weakened someone, but this was different.

"It's something that's becoming more and more common in my world due to...um...how do I explain this...modifying the way food is made. It's really complicated. Let's just say that a lot of the food that's made in my world can have dangerous side effects,"

Unable to form an appropriate response at first, Thorin frowned. "Why would you eat it then?"

To his surprise, she laughed. "A good question. For a while, we didn't know just how bad it was for us. After that, it was a matter of addiction. Some of us were lucky enough to be able to break the habit, but for me it was too late,"

"I'm sorry,"

"Eh," she shrugged it off with a smile. "Lessons learned. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?"

This woman was unlike any he had ever met before, and he couldn't help but chuckle. "You certainly are a curiosity, whatever else you may be,"

"I suppose that's the same in any world,"

Silence fell then, broken only by the crackling of flames. Thorin split some more rations, letting the silence remain so he could ponder on everything this strange woman had said.

A.N. Ha! First chapter finished! I'm still not completely happy with it, but I need to put my typing fingers to rest and just send this out there. (So if there are typos, please let me know so I can fix them). More chapters to come! Reviews would be much appreciated, including ideas of where you think this should go. I already have around half of this story written, but am constantly rewriting and editing, so there is plenty of room for improvement and slight alteration. Thank you!