A/N: There is a long talk and some long awaited explanations. Sorry this took so long, real life got kinda busy and I got sidetracked by the Avengers and WoW. Whoops?

It was the rustle of parchment and the silent whoosh of the tent flap that eventually woke her.

The pounding in her head had settled down somewhat, but her thoughts still felt muddled and cloudy, her eyes gritty as she worked them laboriously open.

She was greeted by the sight of Thorin sitting on the ground by her feet, parchments spread out around him and his hands ink-stained, a look of weary concentration on his face. By the looks of it, he had been there a while.

Bella blinked at him, trying to make sense of why he was there, when she remembered his vow to not let her out of his sight before she had explained to him what was going on. She hurriedly moved on from that thought.

"Did you meet with the other leaders, then?" the hobbit blurted out in an attempt to distract herself from her own thoughts.

Thorin raised his head to look at her, a slightly startled look on his face. "Yes, I did. Good morning," he added wryly.

Bella tried not to blush. "My apologies, good morning. I seem to have left my manners behind somewhere today." Thorin hummed noncommittally by way of answer, lowering his head back to the parchments.

The hobbit tried again. "So, how did it go?"

"Well enough," Thorin answered shortly, reaching for a parchment a bit further away than the rest. He seemed to be cross-referencing it with the parchment directly in front of him. Bella watched with narrowed eyes, pushing herself up on her elbows to try to peek at them and trying not to worry too much about the fact that, with Thorin, 'well enough' could mean anything between 'we reached an agreement' and 'nobody died'.

"What are those, then, that you seem to be so focused on?"

"They are reports on food stocks, healing supplies, lists of wounded and so forth," he answered absent-mindedly.

"And… why are you looking at them in my tent while I sleep?" Bella asked, knowing the answer but wanting to confirm it anyway. The tent seemed suddenly smaller than it had been when she entered.

"Because I am waiting for an explanation," the dwarf king said, finally meeting her gaze directly.

Bella sighed and sat up. "Would you be content with the short version of the tale now and the long version once we are all gathered? The full story really is a very long story." She chewed on her lip and fingered the edge of her shirt, uncomfortable.

"That is agreeable." He stacked the parchments away and settled himself comfortably, then met her gaze expectantly.

"All right." She pulled in a deep breath and fussed slightly with her clothing, trying to buy time. "The short version is that there has been an ability in my family line for thousands of years, an ability to heal and renew. I used that ability last night to heal you and the princes. The reason why I like to keep it secret is because members of my family have been persecuted and killed because of this ability before, and I really would prefer not to be. I do not use it often because it is rather extravagant, and the risks of being discovered using it are great." She met his gaze head on as she added heavily, "As a matter of fact, last night was the first time I ever used that ability."

Thorin considered her a moment, brows furrowed, then asked, "If you have never used it before, then how did you know that you had the ability? Do all the members of your family have it?"

"No," Bella answered with a sigh, "but everyone who was born with this ability was born with hair the colour of golden sunlight. The first time it is cut, it turns another colour, the natural colour we should have been born with. And I was born with golden hair."

"Ah," he answered quietly. There were several moments of thoughtful silence where Thorin regarded her silently and Bella tried not to fidget under his heavy gaze.

"You do not seem very surprised," the hobbit noted, trying to break the silence.

"I am not," Thorin admitted. "I have had many hours to think it over while you slept, and the conclusion I arrived at was very similar to the truth." He hesitated slightly, then added quietly, "Dwalin tells me my nephews died before you healed them."

Bella nodded, throat tight.

"…You can heal even people who have died."

"This is starting to seem like the sort of thing we should be discussing while the entire Company is here," she groused. "You know they are going to ask much the same questions." As Thorin just kept looking at her, she steeled herself and nodded. "Only for a certain time. An hour after death is too much. I do not know more precisely than that, but I know from my mother's stories that an hour is too much. Perhaps even half an hour."

Thorin looked slightly disappointed at this, but he nodded nonetheless. "I see. Are there any repercussions when you use this ability? A price to be paid?"

Bella shook her head. "No, none. In that aspect, at least, it is safe to use."

There was yet more silence, then the dwarf king shook his head, apparently physically shaking himself out of his heavy thoughts, and said, "Enough about that for now. Gandalf tells me you wish to stay in Erebor a while longer?" he asked, meeting her gaze with purpose. Bella tried not to question his evident pleasure in her reported wish to stay too much.

"If there is anything I can do to be of use," she nodded. "Gandalf said the library needs restoring?"

"Indeed it does," Thorin smiled. "There are also some terrace gardens in the upper levels, if memory serves, which will need quite a bit of work. You talk so fondly of your own garden; I thought it might bring you some pleasure to have soil under your hands again."

The hobbit perked up at this. "Yes, well, I grow mostly vegetables in my own garden, but I am certain there is something I can do to help! If they are terrace gardens, then I suppose mostly vines, peas and other such climbers are in question?" she asked eagerly.

Thorin chuckled lightly. "I am afraid my knowledge in this area is negligible at best. As a prince, I was mostly expected to inspect the mines and the workshops, my days rarely led me to the gardens."

"Oh, of course." She bit her lip, trying to reign in her eagerness. She was itching to start, to have the satisfaction of dirt under her fingernails and plants blooming under her efforts. Patience, Bella, she told herself. Winter is starting, which means library and book restoration during the winter and the terrace gardens in the spring… Then she realized with a jolt that she was planning for a very long stay indeed. Her eyes flew to Thorin's as she blurted without much thought, "You mean for me to stay for a rather long time."

His eyebrows rose.

"I can only truly start restoration on the terrace gardens in spring, I mean, I can work on the soil and plant the seeds now, leeks if I can get them but I would likely have to grow them myself over the winter in that case, which means I can only plant them in spring, and the work on the gardens will likely last at least one summer through. There is also the fact that travelling during winter is never a good idea, particularly not over the Misty Mountains, which means that I would have to stay for eighteen months, at the least, following this plan," she finished, looking at him expectantly.

Thorin looked rather abashed. "Well, there is no danger of you running out of things to do. I prefer to think of it as you being able to stay as long as you like."

Bella stilled at this, trying to decide whether to jump for joy or dread the possibility of being trapped. Still, she could see no signs of him trying to force her to stay, so she chose to be optimistic and think the dragon sickness well and truly passed.

"Thank you," she murmured, touched.

What his wish for her to stay would mean if it truly was not dragon sickness, she could not dwell on. It would cause her to hope too much.

He nodded to her, then clambered to his feet and picked up the stack of parchments. "The rest of the Company are eager to see you," he told her neutrally. "They are spread out with their tasks, but I suggest finding some of them and assisting with their tasks if you wish to make yourself useful."

The hobbit nodded, climbing to her feet as well at the very obvious hint that the conversation was over. "I will."

Thorin looked her over from head to toe, parchments clasped against his chest, then added, "Dori is not far away, to the south, creating bandages out of scraps of cloth others bring him. I would suggest finding him, as you may stay off that injured ankle of yours, then."

Bella grinned sheepishly. Her attempts to mask her pain while getting to her feet had clearly not been successful.

A/N: Yes, it's going to take Bella a while to completely trust Thorin again. It can't be helped.

And I finally remembered to mention that I've posted a few preludes to this one as sort of side stories (you'll have to go via my profile to find them, they are posted as other works), so check those out if you want! There will be at least one more of those, too, possibly more. They are fun to write. :)

Merry Christmas to you all!