A/N: Hello again everyone! So here we are, the last chapter for the story! I know, sob! Believe me it's been SO hard trying to write this last chapter, it's the first story I've written and knowing it's coming to an end has made it a mission to try and complete but I've slogged through and done it! Hopefully it's up to standard for you all, I'm happy with it and I don't think there was any part that I'd be able to drag out even if I tried.

I'd like to say my final welcome to the new followers/favouriters: Warrior128, Uebungsdummy, Misterida.

And to everyone whose stuck with the story: Thank you guys! You are absolutely amazing! I love you all and all your reviews and feedback has made doing this absolutely worthwhile, especially having over 100 reviews and followers, you guys are awesome!

Don't think this is the last you've heard from me though. I'm also in the process of writing two new (with more to come) stories, one is an Almighty Johnsons/Being Human story called "In My Silence" which I am posting the first chapter now, and the second one is another Hobbit story with the lads older, and much more darkness surrounding it. So check both those out! But for the mean time I'll be taking some down time and playing Lego Hobbit :D which if you haven't played, get it! Its SO GOOD! :D

Love you all!

As much as it breaks my heart I do not own the writings or the characters of The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, they are the wonderful and exclusive workings of J.R.R Tolkien

"Thorin's taking a while isn't he?" Dís asked finally. Elladan and Elrohir had returned to her room some time ago, and whilst they told her they were sure Fíli no longer had any intention on following them to Rivendell and Thorin was now in there with him, she couldn't help that think something had gone wrong and Fíli was refusing to listen to reason.

"I'm sure everything is fine. He knows how to handle the lad." Balin tried to soothe.

"I know I know... I just... Ah Mahal help me I'm going to check on them."

"Dís..." Balin groaned

"No Balin, I'm going to check on them and that's final. You can come with me if you like. Dwalin's definitely coming because I'm not leaving him here with Kíli whilst he's sleeping unless he wants an education in childcare." She said with finality ringing in her voice, and shooting Dwalin a look.

Dwalin raised his hands "I have no intention in looking after him whilst he's a newborn, I'll leave that to you." He said in his defence as he stood carefully and moved to the door.

Dwalin held the door open for Dís and Balin and together they headed for Fíli's room, leaving the twins momentarily with Kíli. Dís opened the door carefully and crept inside with the other two close behind. All three chuckled quietly when they spotted the pair in the bed. Fíli was fast asleep against Thorin's chest, a thumb in his mouth and his other hand curled tightly around Thorin's. Thorin himself was dozing, now waking when he heard them enter.

Dís moved to the side of the bed and placed a kiss on Fíli's forehead before planting one on Thorin's. "I was beginning to worry something had happened." She said quietly as she stroked Fíli's head.

Thorin laughed quietly, trying to avoid moving Fíli as much as possible. "He's ok, just tired and sore." He looked at Dís and felt a tear slip down his face. "He's back Dís, he's come home."

Dís felt her lip quiver. "You are the only one who would be able to convince him how much he means to us, you mean the world to him."

"You are the one who means the world to him Dís, and I know Kíli will become the centre of his world very quickly. No matter what he thinks of me I'm glad he wants me in his life, even as a pillow or a horse."

Thorin sighed as looked at the three dwarves. "I could kill for a book though. I promised him I'd be here when he woke up and have no intention of moving, but I'm not really tired at the moment and I'm starting to get bored."

Dís rolled her eyes and stepped back from the bed. "I'll send for one." She moved to the door quietly and Balin and Dwalin followed after giving Thorin a grin.

They waited until they were in Dís' room where the elves were talking quietly before saying anything.

"So any reason to stress?" Balin asked with a twinkle in his eye, well aware what the answer would be.

"Oh hush you. I'm allowed to worry." Dís responded, no bite in her tone.

"All is well then?" Elrohir asked from his seat, a smile on his face as he leaned against his brother. Both elves were sure they had convinced Fíli but felt they wanted to make sure.

"They're fine; Fíli's asleep again on Thorin's lap. Balin can you ask a healer to fetch him a book?" Dís answered, smiling at the elves. Once Balin left, who was followed by Dwalin who decided to get some sleep, she was finally able to talk to the elves privately. She sat on the bed and got herself comfortable before motioning for the two elves to join her. They eventually sat down, albeit hesitantly.

"Now that we are alone, I just wanted to say thank you. You saved Fíli's life, and in a way you saved my brother as well. If Fíli had died, Thorin would never have recovered from it. I'm am forever in your debt, and I don't know how I can repay you." She said, reaching forward and holding their hands gently.

"Lady Dís, you have a beautiful and loving boy who we were lucky to meet. We've been around a long time and met many a person, but very rarely do we find someone who becomes special to us. Even if we were to live for another thousand years, neither of us would forget him or your family as you have all made a home in our hearts." Elladan and Elrohir both squeezed Dís' hand gently as a stray tear tracked down her face.

"And you owe us nothing. He was a child who was lost and upset and just needed a friend. And we don't regret taking him in, he's become an honorary brother to us, and we wouldn't trade him for anything."

Dís smiled, tears now streaming from her eyes as she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads. The twins for their part looked slightly embarrassed but they accepted Dís' thanks happily.

She took a deep breath to calm herself and wiped at her eyes. "If you don't mind my asking, why did you come to Ered Luin in the first place? I have to admit I'm curious as to what elves would find of interest here."

Elrohir snorted and Elladan shook his head in amusement. "Would you believe us," Elrohir said looking at his twin with a grin "if we said that our father sent us here to meet with Thorin to negotiate more freedom of movement for Rangers in these parts?"

Now it was Dís' turn to snort in amusement. "If I had met you before Fíli left, then I would've said you were most likely spies trying to cause chaos, now after everything that's happened I know you are telling the truth."

"Well as you can see our plans were delayed somewhat, but no matter. We're hoping to talk with him or perhaps one of his advisors before we leave. We need something politically positive to tell Ada."

"I can't speak for Thorin when it comes to political negotiations, but I will tell you that deep down you are now considered his allies. You protected his family which he values above all else, and he will listen to what you say, perhaps reluctantly as our people haven't had the greatest experience with elves." Dís said kindly, in an attempt to avoid offense.

Elladan smiled at her. "We are well aware of how Thorin views our kind, especially after what Thranduil did, it was always our hope to show Thorin that our father is not like him, and that we only want peace between us. The best we were hoping for was a meeting with one of his advisors to plead our case, hopefully we'll be able to talk to him about it better tomorrow or when Fíli's better. But for now seeing as all the excitement has died down we might go have a look around town. It's our first time here and we're curious as to what is offered."

"Well," Dís said as she scratched her chin in thought, "I'm not sure what you'd find here that would be of interest to you, but if you stop by the toyshop can you tell Bofur that Fíli woke and he's ok now?"

"It would be our pleasure. Rest well Lady Dís; and we shall see you this evening to check on Fíli before we turn in." Elrohir said, dipping his head before he and his brother stood and left the room.

Sunset rolled around quickly, Elladan and Elrohir had been out all day browsing the town. They brought several knick knacks to take home with them, and brought two toys to give to Fíli and Kíli. Kíli was busy lying against Dís' chest with his new bear at his side, whilst Elladan and Elrohir told Dís, Balin and Dwalin some more stories about their upbringing at Dís insistence, her reason being she didn't see her brothers grow up and she wanted advanced warning of what to expect with two young children, however they all knew she secretly wanted to know more about them.

There was a knock at the door before it opened and Thorin walked in. Dís looked at her brother and smiled. "So you managed to extract yourself from his grasp did you?" She asked jokingly.

Thorin rolled his eyes as he sat down on the bed and gently scratched Kíli's stomach. "He woke up complaining about being hungry, so I said I'd fetch some food for him, means I was able to relieve myself as well."

Dwalin snorted at that and Dís and Balin laughed.

Thorin shook his head exasperated. "He's been asking for you and Kíli too. He's excited to see you and finally meet his little brother."

Dís smiled as finally everything seemed to be getting back to normal. She handed Kíli to Thorin and put his bear in his cot. "We'll come get you four soon, but make yourselves comfortable in the meantime, Oin should be bringing some food in shortly."

She followed Thorin to Fíli's room, nervousness washing through her. What if Fíli blamed her for what happened? Or what if he changed his mind and wanted to leave again?

"Dís, relax. Everything will be fine, I think he just wants his ma to hug and kiss him and tell him everything's alright." Thorin said soothingly as he went to hand Kíli over.

Dís shook her head and wouldn't take Kíli. "No he needs to see me without Kíli first. Wait here until I call you and then you can hand him over once I'm sitting with him so we can introduce them, but not before."

Thorin looked confused by this but shrugged, children were not his area of expertise.

Dis opened the door to find Fíli leaning against some pillows, nibbling on a piece of bread. When he looked up and saw her his face lit up with a huge smile "Mama!" He cried joyfully.

"Hello sweetheart!" Dís said hurrying forwards to scoop her son up into her lap on the bed. She wrapped her arms around her eldest son and pressed kisses all over his face, causing him to giggle and squirm in her hold.

"Mama stop! Eww mama!" He said, breathless once he got free, only to face her and grab at her hair so he could do the same back for several moments before he wrapped his small arms around her and nuzzled into her neck.

Dís sighed and rocked the pair of them gently, stroking his hair contently. After several moments she moved her head so she could look at her son. "Oh my lion, you gave us such a fright. I was so scared I was going to lose you."

"I'm sowwy mama." Fíli said quietly, looking up at her from under his eyelashes.

She rubbed her nose against his before placing a kiss on it. "It's ok now Fíli, your home now and that's what matters." She hugged him tightly before looking at him again. "Would you like to meet your brother?"

Fíli suddenly looked nervous. He tilted his head forward so his hair covered his face. "What's wrong sweetheart?" DIs asked gently.

"What if I can't be a good bwother? I don't know what to do." Fíli mumbled from behind his curtain of hair.

"Oh my lion, it is something you will learn as you go. The only thing you have to remember is love him with all your heart, look after him and never be mean to him, and he will do the same in return. And we will be there to help you both out when you need it." Dís said softly, gently tucking Fíli's hair behind his ears with one hand and tilting his face up with her other.

Fíli nodded. "Ok mama."

Dís kissed his forehead before moving to the head of the bed. She got herself comfortable and patted next to her for Fíli to join her. He moved across, mindful of his wound that he'd managed to avoid aggravating so far and snuggled into her side. When he was comfortable she called out to Thorin to enter.

Thorin entered and smiled at the sight on the bed. He moved around to Dís' side and gently handed Kíli over. Dis kissed Kíli's head before looking at Fíli with a smile. "This is Kíli, you're baby brother."

Thorin and Dís watched with fondness as Fíli''s eyes widened in awe, taking in Kíli's tiny face as they stared at each other. He lifted a hand and gently touched Kíli's forehead, running his fingers through the chocolate wisps on his head. Fíli looked up at the adults, awe and love on his face. "Can I hold him mama?" He whispered looking back to his brother, determined to memorise everything.

With Thorin's help Dís placed Kíli in Fíli's arms. Both boys stared at each other until Fíli broke the silence. "Hi Kíli, I'm Fíli and I'm your big bwother." He kissed Kíli on the nose, just like his mama did to him, and gasped before giggling when Kíli's tiny fingers latched onto a stray lock of hair.

Dis and Thorin watched with amusement as Fíli made cooing noises at his brother and pulled faces as Kíli tugged his hair. Thorin quietly excused himself to fetch the others. Upon entering he found only Balin and Dwalin in the room talking. "Where are the elves?" He asked with a frown.

"They said that they didn't want to impose on your time with Fíli, however they will stop by tomorrow as they've asked to meet with us to discuss the reason for their visit."

"And that would be...?"

"Their father would like to look at an agreement of sorts between us. Apparently there has been an increase in Orc movement on the roads and as their home is a home base for many Rangers they want permission to grant access to the Rangers to patrol this area, or for us to arrange for Dwarven patrols to venture out further to cover more land. Lord Elrond is also open to a potential trade route for supplies but is leaving that up to you, the security is his main priority."

Thorin nodded, he didn't like to think about an agreement with elves on any day, but after what had happened with Fíli, well it just proved that perhaps their lands weren't as secure as he had believed. "Meet with them tomorrow. If the Orc pack that was on the outskirts is part of this increase they're referring to then we need to know what we're looking at and be prepared. I won't go to the meeting as I don't think I can remain fair in opinion, they may not be Thranduil's kin but they are elves and I don't know if I will be able to look past that. Make the right decision Balin and I will listen to the final agreement."

Balin nodded as Thorin's reply was of no surprise to him. "How did it go with Fíli?"

"Perfectly, I think I'm going to dread when they're older and can start thinking up plans themselves. Mahal have mercy they won't be terrors, but I feel my pleas are falling on deaf ears." Thorin replied with a grin. "You can come see him now if you like."

The three made their way back to Fíli and spent several hours talking and laughing amongst themselves whilst Fíli kept hold of his brother for as long as he could.

The next day came by swiftly, Thorin helped collect Dís' belongings and shifted them back to their home as Oin had given her and Kíli the all clear to leave, but he insisted Fíli remain behind one more night. Thorin had told Fíli that he would stay with him that night and promised to bring him a treat.

Currently he was sitting outside with Fíli on his lap who was playing with the toy he had painted, and Kíli was asleep in a basket on the chair next to him when Balin hailed them. He looked over and saw Dwalin, Elladan and Elrohir following along behind and he nodded in greeting to the four.

Fíli looked up and when he saw the elves he scrambled off Thorin's lap, wincing when he pulled at his stitches and raced over, both elves kneeling to envelop him in a hug. Balin chuckled as they went to Thorin, Dwalin stayed standing keeping an eye on Fíli whilst Balin sat and handed over a piece of paper.

"How did the meeting go?" Thorin asked, looking at his advisor rather than the paper.

"Good, I had Dwalin and the head of the human guard section sit in as well to discuss current patrols and what we would need if we were to increase the distance they cover. We also had to look at supplies for weapons, food and cloth to get those on patrol through. Elladan and Elrohir had quite a few suggestions from about what they've done and other Rangers they've met. The lads are heading home today before joining up with a Ranger group for the next 5 years. They've promised to stop by when they're in the area to find out how the patrols are going and share information they've picked up on the road."

Thorin nodded as he read through the agreement that Balin had written up. "I'm happy with this; it doesn't take too many soldiers far from home which would leave us vulnerable, and it will give all our soldiers valuable training and practise. Let's get these signed so they can be on their way, I'm sure they're missing their home."

Balin nodded and he and Dwalin followed Thorin into the Healing House to sign the contract so the elves could take a copy back with them.

"Hello Mellon! You're looking much better today! How do you feel?" Elrohir asked, poking Fíli's nose gently making the dwarfling giggle.

"Good!" Fíli explained proudly, pulling the front of his shirt down to show his battle scar, Oin had unwrapped the bandages to let it breathe a bit, the stitches showing clearly against the warm skin.
Elladan and Elrohir grinned at their friend, whose personality was the complete opposite to what it had been when they first met him. Before either of them could say anything however, a whimper from the basket had Fíli turning in surprise before grabbing the twins' hands with a grin and pulling them towards the bench.

"You have ta meet my bwover!" the small dwarfling said excitedly as they got closer. Once he was at the bench he let go of their hands and scrambled up so he could lean into the basket and place a kiss on Kíli's head.

He looked at the elves excitedly. "This is my baby bwover. His names Kili, like my name!"

"Hello Kíli, I'm Elladan"

"and I'm Elrohir"

"at your service" they said in unison with a bow, making Fíli giggle and setting them off too.

"So Fíli" Elladan said as he sat on the ground in front of the dwarfling whose head was currently in the basket as Kíli had grabbed onto his hair again, "Is being a brother as horrible as you thought?"

Fíli blushed as he shook his head "No, Kíli's my bestest fwend. I wuves him loads and…" Whatever Fíli was about to say was cut short as he wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Eww Kíli! Unca Thowin!" Fíli whined loudly to Thorin's approaching form "Kíli's pooped AGAIN! He doesn't stop!"

Elladan and Elrohir burst out laughing at the disgruntled dwarflings face as he tried and failed to get his face out of the basket thanks to his brothers' already strong grip.

"Fíli, babies are going to do that sort of stuff a lot. You were just as bad when you were a baby." Thorin said with a sigh, untangling Fíli's hair from his brothers' hand, sparing his nephew the smelly torture. He scooped Kíli out of the basket looking slightly green, he was a warrior who had killed vile creatures and had seen some of the worst injuries around, yet give him a soiled nappy and he looked like he was ready to be sick. To his utter relief Dís appeared around the corner to save him.

"Mama! Kíli pooped again!" Fíli said, holding his nose to exaggerate his point.

"Well it's a good thing I arrived then isn't it, your Uncle isn't the brave dwarf he claims to be." Dís said teasingly as she took Kíli off Thorin and kissed her baby on the forehead.

"Unca Thowins the bwavest!" Fíli said indignantly, raising his arms to Thorin to be picked up which the older dwarf did obligingly, settling Fíli on his hip. "Him and Mista Dwawin says so cause he wives with us." Fíli said proudly, grabbing Thorin's face and planting a kiss on his cheek, because clearly living with them was a good thing.

Balin, Elladan and Elrohir burst out laughing at Dís' glare at her brother and his best friend, whilst said brother and friend looked horrified.

"Is that so?" Dís asked, looking pointedly at the two dwarves.

"Dunno what yer lads talkin' bout Dís." Dwalin said shaking his head rapidly.

Fíli swivelled in Thorin's arms so he could look at Dwalin "But you said Unca was bwave cause he could…" The rest of Fíli's sentence was drowned out as Thorin clamped a hand over his nephew's mouth, earning a muffled squeak from the dwarfling.

"I'm sure your mother doesn't need to know everything little lion."

"Mmhm. I'll remember that Thorin." Dís said with pursed lips and a raised brow. Thorin sighed in defeat, he knew Dís would go out of her way now to make his and Dwalin's lives a misery until she was happy.

"Here are the contracts we agreed upon." Balin said still chuckling, handing the paper to the grinning elves who split the pile in half and double checked them.

After a brief discussion together the twins looked at the gathered dwarves. "Everything appears to be in order, our father and the rangers who pass through Rivendell will be most thrilled to learn about your agreement to patrol increases. Hopefully with more land in friendly hands we'll be able to stop this spread of evil." Elladan said with a small smile.

"One last thing about Rangers, anyone who is going on extended trips that is likely to take them near a tavern and want information on any activity on the road, make sure they know to present one of these," Elrohir said as he pulled a gold coin out of his pocket and handed it to Dwalin "to the barkeep and he'll point them to the nearest Ranger. Keep that and make replicas of it, that way all your patrols will have one."

Dwalin, Thorin and Balin looked at the coin curiously. It was small, about the size of an egg, and perfectly circular and golden. On the inside on each side was an inscription of a bow and arrow, sword and axe in the middle, with the words peace, justice and protector written in the tongues of Elves, Men and Dwarves around the edge on both sides.

"To own one of these shows that you belong to a greater cause, hopefully together we can thwart this evil for good. Too many have died so far because this evil has been allowed to roam freely across the land, let us hope we can end that." Elladan said fiercely.

"Let us hope." Balin agreed.

Elrohir let out a whistle and their two horses appeared from around the corner, looking well rested with their packs and weapons already secured.

"In the meantime, it is time we took our leave. As much as we would like to stay we unfortunately need to report to our father before the month is out, we're meant to join up with a Ranger group the day after our return in order to train new recruits. Thank you for your hospitality, we know we got off to a bumpy start, but your kindness and trust has not been lost on us and for that we are grateful." Elrohir said, inclining his head to the dwarves in front of him.

Elladan smiled at his brother before addressing the group himself. "Perhaps, somewhere down the road we will meet again. I'm rather looking forward to returning and seeing Fíli again when he's a little older, and getting to see Kíli also would be a great treat, the same as seeing what their relationship will be like."

"You're weaving!?" Fíli sobbed out, squirming in Thorin's arms until he was put down before running to the elves and launching himself at their legs.

"I'm sorry Mellon, but it is something that has to happen, we cannot stay forever." Elladan said gently as he stroked Fíli's head.

"How would you like to come with us to the front gate to see us off?" Elrohir asked with a kind smile at the devastated dwarfling.

Fíli's bottom lip quivered as he looked up and between the two elves before nodding.

"I think Kíli and I will join you, it's not every day one can say they made interesting friends." Dís said with a smile, silently giving the elves permission which they both looked grateful for. Elladan carefully picked Fíli up and placed him on his horse, showing him how to hold the reigns for safety much to Fíli's delight. The elves placed themselves on either side of Fíli, Elrohir holding the other horses reigns and together with the group of dwarves they made their way to the gate. On the trip over Fíli chatted animatedly about all the things he was going to do with Kíli when he was older, both elves smiling whenever Fíli looked behind him to check on his brother, or when Fíli whispered loudly about all the trouble they might be able to cause and made to promise not to tell a soul. The older dwarves followed behind, Dís closer to the elves than the others in order to keep an eye on her son and ask the elves questions before they left.

Much too soon for Fíli's liking they reached the gate, and Fíli quietened down every step closer. Once they were in the courtyard Elrohir made to help Fíli down but Thorin stopped him.

"Leave him be for a moment. A word with you both if I may?"

Elladan and Elrohir looked at each other briefly in surprise but followed Thorin away from the group, not failing to notice the curious looks the others were giving them. When Thorin was satisfied with the distance between Dís, Dwalin and Balin he stopped and turned to face the elves.

"Is everything alright?" Elladan asked with concern clear on his face.

"There is something I need to ask you, however I'm not sure how to ask it." Thorin said slowly, face furrowed in thought as he tried to find the right words.

Both elves waited patiently for Thorin to speak again. "When you healed Fíli," he began slowly as he recounted the events, "just after you collapsed there was a moment where I thought you had failed. He didn't move or show any sign of breathing, he just lay there as though he was gone. And then Kíli…" He looked up with confusion written all over his face at the elves who were listening with interest. "Kíli… he, clapped at Fíli, made a gurgling noise at him and suddenly he started breathing again. Was this just coincidence or something more?" Thorin knew he probably sounded like a right dolt when he asked, after all how were they supposed to know? But there was no one else in Ered Luin who had travelled as far or lived as long as they had, so to him they were likely to be the ones with the answers, no matter how much his stomach was churning and causing bile to rise in his throat when he asked them.

The elves spoke to each other rapidly in their own language, nods and shakes of their heads thrown in for good measure, making Thorin clutch at his own as the speed in which they were talking was making his head spin.

The elves looked back at Thorin apologetically when they realised the discomfort they were causing. "We cannot say for certain what it was. Like you said it is possible it was just coincidence, however we have heard of similar things happening before, in fact we've got one ourselves, it's very rare but it's not unheard of. The closest name we can give to describe it is a soul-bond, it's like…" Elladan trailed off, struggling to find the right words to describe it.

"It's like you are two halves of a whole, like your souls are connected. It forms the closest of bonds between siblings, from the way we understand it normally it's only twins such as ourselves that it happens to, but perhaps with your nephews being so close in age it works in a similar way. It won't connect them in any other way, they will live their lives as they see fit, get married to whom they wish, have children, move away, but they will always have a love for each other that no one else can break, an absolute trust in each other that no one could question or challenge. Fíli will always be working to make sure his brother is safe and is always protected, Kíli will be the exact same however he may be less obvious about it than his brother. They will work better together than alone and will always know if the other is hurt." Elrohir said quietly for his brother, aiming a look at his twin which showed Thorin they were indeed speaking the truth.

"A word of caution however, when they begin their training you must remain firm on what you view to be the more important rather than what they want. They are likely to want to start training at the same time, however they need to be aware of the need to be able to fight alone as their paths in the future may take them in separate directions and I'm sure you wouldn't want either to be at a disadvantage."

Thorin nodded thoughtfully. He knew that training the boys would likely be difficult, especially if they were adamant about doing it together. However there was one thing he was grateful for and it was knowing that they would grow up with a strong relationship, there were likely to be rough patches along the way, but at the end of the day they would be there for one another and they would love each other unquestionably, and that was all he could really ask for. "Thank you, you've helped put my mind at ease for the time being about their future. It's a relief to know that when all is said and done they will always be there for each other."

The elves inclined their heads to Thorin before heading back towards the others, Thorin following behind feeling as though an invisible weight had been lifted from his shoulders making him feel light for the first time since all this began.

When the elves reached the others Elladan moved to Fíli and lifted the dwarfling off the horse. He placed Fíli on the ground and he and Elrohir knelt in front of him. "Don't forget us little one, no matter how many years pass, injuries or battles you go through, remember you always be considered our brother mellon."

"And we will never forget you, that is a promise." Elrohir added. Fíli looked at both elves, nodding shyly before throwing his arms around their necks and hugging them tightly. The elves squeezed him back, before pulling away to address the others.

"Again, thank you for everything you have done for us, your kindness means much to us. May the light of the Valar protect you." Elladan said, and he and Elrohir crossed their right arm over their chests, touching their hearts before extending their arms outwards with a bow of their heads.

Dís bowed to the twins. "And thank you, for everything that you have done for my family, it will never be forgotten nor your kindness and willingness to help. May Mahal's hammer defend you and watch over you on your journeys." She clasped their hands gently in her own with a kind smile.

The twins bowed their heads in acknowledgement before bowing to the other dwarves with her. Thorin and Dwalin inclined their heads whilst Balin gave them a bow. The elves turned back to Fíli gave him one last hug each before mounting their horses.

"Farewell friends and may luck and good fortune bless you." Elladan said as he turned his horse.

"Ourselves and Rivendell will offer you aid any time, you need only ask." Elrohir added, and together they turned their horses towards the gate and set off for their long journey home.

"Goodbye Mewon-nin's." Fíli whispered, watching his two friends disappear from the town.

And if Elladan and Elrohir heard the quiet farewell from a certain dwarfling then that was only for them and the wild to know.

Thorin sighed as he looked up at the clouds. Getting breaks like these had been few and far between in the weeks since the elves had left the town, and just having the chance to lie back on a blanket and stare up at the clouds with Fíli and Kíli by his side was a welcome peace, at least until Kíli could start talking. Thorin turned his head and looked to his two nephews who were lying between him and Dís who was on the other side of the blanket. Kíli was wrapped up warmly and was slowly falling asleep as Fíli was pointing at the clouds telling him what he could see and occasionally looking to his mother if he couldn't say the name. Moments later Kíli's eyes had shut and Fíli, noticing this as the ever observant brother he had become, wrapped an arm around his baby brother and curled into his side, closing his own eyes with a content sigh.

As Fíli moved his arm to wrap around his brother the top of his loose shirt shifted enough to show Thorin the pink scar on his chest, the only indication of the horrors his family had gone through not too long ago. He thought about how Balin had taken over organising the patrols for the roads, many Dwarven warriors excited to further their skills with the assistance of a group of Rangers that had been sent to them courtesy of two certain elves. He thought about going home every night and relearning what it was like to have a newborn in the house as well as an eager five year old who wanted to help in every way possible.

He also thought about the trip that he and Dwalin had taken to the human part of town, to visit a certain child and his family. There were surprises for both parties that day; Drégo's mother learning about what her son had been doing to innocent children and the consequences of his actions, Thorin about who the boy's father had been, but more disturbingly the kind of man he was, the one who fed lies to his child about loving his family yet every night was spent at the tavern in the arms of alcohol and a wench only to return and beat his wife nearly unconscious in his drunken stupor whilst their son slept.

Despite the damage the boy had almost caused, Thorin found he couldn't remain angry at the lad after what he learnt, the boy had been lashing out due to poisonous lies his father had been whispering in his ear for years. He offered to set the boy up with a trade, help him pick the right path, but instead Drégo's mother had told Thorin that it was time to rejoin her parents in Rohan, make a new start for both her and her son where anger and grief were no longer present. Thorin had promised to send a letter to the horse Lord explaining their situation and asking him to assist them with settling down, which the King had done happily with open arms. According to the letter he had received that morning, both mother and son were doing well in their new home, Drégo was learning to be a stable hand and horse trainer, whilst his mother was now a healer. Everyone had come away happy with the situation and few tears were shed, which in Thorin's mind was a victory.

He rolled onto his side and shuffled closer to his nephews, wrapping a protective arm around his sleeping boys giving Dís a small smile before closing his own eyes, because for now, life was good.