When Sepha awoke, she found both Fili and Kili sitting on either side of her, watching her protectively.

"Hey nerds," she whispered.

"You're awake!" they cried happily.

Sepha smiled and gripped their hands, "Can you help me sit up?"

Both at once jumped forward and gently helped her to a sitting position. She groaned but when she was up straight, she felt better, "How long was I out?"

"You came in and out in bursts," Kili replied. "You were out till Eagle Rock and then you woke up when Oin put stuff on your side, then you were out for a good full day till we got here, then after the stitchings you have been out for almost nine hours."

"Where is everyone else?" Sepha inquired, slowly rising to her feet.

Fili wrapped an arm around her shoulders to steady her, "They're greeting Beorn."

"Uh oh," Sepha sighed, "I should go help Gandalf before he gets them all eaten."

Before the two could object, the girl had limped towards the door. Beorn had been taking in the sight of the dwarves and was glaring, not looking very friendly.

"Why should I let dwarves here?" he spat.

"It's alright, they're friends," Sepha said weakly.

All eyes snapped around to look at her and all the dwarves gasped her name. Sepha realized that THorin was the closest to her, about three feet away and his blue eyes were staring at her with a look she had never seen before but it made her heart flutter.

"Persephone," Beorn said happily, dropping his axe and approaching her, "What happened to you?"

"Oh just a little scratch," Sepha assured him.

The large man knelt down in front of her so that he was eye level with her, "A little scratch? Your screams last night spoke otherwise. I'm glad you're here. I will not let you leave till you're healed."

"And we're not planning on leaving till she heals," Oin said.

Sepha smiled at him as the other dwarves nodded in agreement.

Beorn sighed and looked at the girls, "They're your friends?"

Sepha nodded and smiled. Beorn didn't seem to believe her, "All of them?"

Sepha's eyes lifted and green met blue as she looked at THorin. She could see the hurt in his eyes and she knew he was upset. She could see the fear, concern and sorrow for what had happened. She smiled sweetly and nodded.

"All of them."

Beorn nodded and led the girl inside, the dwarves following. She completely missed the shocked face cross THorin's face while Balin and Dwalin exchanged knowing smirks.

LATER

"So you are the one they call Oakenshield?" BEorn asked. "Tell me. Why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?"

"You know of Azog?" THorin asked. "how?"

"My people were the first to live in the mountains," Beorn replied. "Before the orcs came down from the north. the Defiler killed most of my family. But some he enslaved. Not for work you understand but for sport. Caging skin changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him."

Thorin felt a cold hand clutch his heart as he saw Sepha's eyes pool with tears at those words. He saw Fili wrap an arm around her shoulders and he was glad his nephew was brave enough to comfort her when he was too cowardly to even talk to her.

"There are others like you?" Bilbo asked. "I mean... other than Sepha?"

"Once there were many," Beorn replied.

"And now?" Bilbo asked.

"Now there are only two," Beorn replied.

There was a dreadful silence during which all eyes turned to Sepha. The girl couldn't take it anymore and getting up from her chair, she left the room. Fili and Kili called her name but she ignored them, stepping outside.

"What did I say?" Bilbo whispered.

"It wasn't you halfling," Beorn replied. "I would have still been a prisoner of Azog if Persephone hadn't rescued me. But while she saved me, she watched a skin changer killed.... the last... except for the two of us. Persephone has many scars, very few of them are scars of the body. She has carried them for a long time and no one has helped her lift them yet."

After coming to an agreement with Beorn (they would leave once Persephone was healed and he would give them ponies), Thorin left the house to go in search of the girl.

He found her in the back, standing near the fence, petting the ponies. The horses seemed glad to see her and he could tell she looked happy but her shoulders were slumped.

"Hey," he whispered, coming to stand next to her.

Sepha didn't turn her head, her face shielded by her hair, "Hey."

"Are you feeling better?" he asked softly.

The girl nodded.

There was a long silence between the two and for a moment Thorin thought he would never manage to get anything out before the girl spoke for him.

"Thank you for... being there.... last night."

Thorin smiled, "Don't mention it. It hurt to see you in such pain...I had already inflicted enough on you... I didn't want you to have to endure more."

Sepha bowed her head slightly and Thorin knew he had to say it.

"Persephone.... I want to apologize."

The girl turned her face to him and Thorin gasped. Her beautiful face was washed and there was a slight pink mark on her cheek from the cut but her face was glowing beautiful and her eyes were red and puffy from crying, making her even more beautiful.

"You don't have to," the girl said.

THorin shook his head, "no I do. I really need to. You have gone through so much... some of it beyond anything I have ever imagined. I thought it was hard enough having my people slaughtered by Smaug and then my father disappearing and my grandfather being killed but... you were just a child and you saw your whole family die... you witnessed death and cruelty time and time again. You were treated unfairly, whipped... wounded... you deserved nothing of what I said to you. It was unjust of me and I apologize."

"it wasn't what you said that hurt me Thorin," Persephone told him, "It wasn't that you said it that hurt.... it hurt because I knew it to be true."

"Sepha, nothing I said to you was true," Thorin started but Persephone shook her head.

"No it is. I am a good for nothing wretch. I am afraid of everything.... afraid to fall asleep at night for fear I will wake up to find that another person I love was killed when I was not on watch. I am afraid to turn my back on someone for a split second because I fear that when I turn around they will be dead. I am afraid to get too close to someone I cannot protect because I fear I will lose them.I have a thousand people hunting me down because of stupid, foolish things I did because I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to make a difference and now, people are suffering for it."

Thorin couldn't stand it anymore. Reaching over, he grasped the girl's face in his huge hands gently and turned it up to look at him. "Persephone. Listen to me. You are not good for nothing. You are the bravest, strongest, kindest... most stubborn person I have ever met. Whoever comes in contact with you is blessed just to be in your presence. Fear is not a weakness. It is a strength. It shows that you are not arrogant or proud. It shows that you are a human and not a spirit. We all have our fears but many of us hide them because we are ashamed of them. You should never be ashamed of your fears. You have every right to be afraid of those things considering what people have done to you... me being one of them. I have played a part in those fears and I want to fix that. I want to help you overcome those fears.... You're too perfect to have fears like that."

"No one is perfect," Persephone whispered, gently moving her face from Thorin's hands.

There was a pause during which they just looked at each other before a gentle smile appeared on Thorin's face, "You are."