Sam

~~~

"Sam run and get Lord Elrond! Your mother needs his help," dad calls.

"AAAAAAHHHH IM GONNA KILL YOU BOTH!" mom screams from the living room.

"Daddy what's happening?" I ask nervously shooting a look past my father at my mother who is screaming and throwing things in the living room.

"Sam go now!" dad orders.

"But dad what about you?" I ask.

"Sam just-agh," dad coughs blood onto my face, a knife protruding from his chest.

Daddy? Daddy! Daddy!?!?" I scream as his body falls to the ground with a thud in front of me. What's happening? Why is this happening?

"You're next!" mom cackles. "Sam! Sam! SAM!"

"AAAAHHH MOM NO!" I wake up shrieking and waving my axe.

"Sam! Holy crap calm down!" Emily shouts. I face her and see she's on the floor knocked backwards in front of me. Shock and concern are etched across her face.

"What do you mean? I am calm," I lie and breathe deeply.

"Bullshit," Emily swears.

"Okay I'm not. Just had a nightmare that's all. I'm fine now really," I assure, lying through my teeth of course.

My eyes finally focus and scan my surroundings. Giant bees are buzzing around the house and tiny mice dash through the place. Beorn must love animals.

"Ye-"

"Guys come on breakfast is on the huge-hard-to-get-up too table," Allie calls from the kitchen of this huge barn-like cottage house.

"We'll talk about this later," Emily vows before getting up and walking to the kitchen.

"I don't doubt it," I mumble following after her.

In the kitchen everyone is sitting except Allie and Bilbo. They are desperately jumping to get up. A huge man stalks around the table pouring milk for everyone. I suppose that's Beorn. I go and sit in a chair pulling Emily up onto the one next to me before picking up Bilbo and helping him too.

"Here little bunny," Beorn coos and picks Allie up before setting her down gently on a chair.

"Why thank you," Allie giggles and Thorin glares. He's so odd. One second he is annoyed by Allie the next he's jealous of anybody talking to her.

"Uncle Beorn how are you?" Grace inquires and gingerly sits down in the chair next to Allie.

"Fine no thanks to you. You gave me quite the beating out there little wolf," Beorn states his eyes narrowing as he steps toward Grace in a threatening manner. "I am very proud of you!" Beorn suddenly breaks into a smile and pats Grace's head making Grace laugh. Everyone goes quiet and stares at Grace.

"Did you just laugh?" Bofur asks incredulously.

"Uh yes," Grace responds raising a curious eyebrow.

"I don't think I've ever heard you laugh before. It's always sly smiles and straight faces with you," Fili exclaims in surprise.

"You guys are idiots. Grace laughs and smiles all the time," Allie snorts.

"Yeah around you and your little trust group but not us," Kili points out.

"You may yet gain my full trust but it will take a long time," Grace explains nonchalantly.

"But we've been on the road together for months! And I bet you trust Sam," Fili points out.

"Woah leave me out if this," I butt in.

"Enough guys, let's discuss something else," Emily suggests. She's eating with one hand and so is Fili, I bet they are holding hands under the table.

"So you are the one they call Oakenshield. Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?" Beorn questions and raises an eyebrow.

"You know of Azog? How?" Thorin demands rather rudely and Allie elbows him sharply.

"My people were the first to live in the mountains, 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," Beorn tells us solemnly. Allie's gaze wanders to the cuff on his wrist and looks down at her own sadly.

"There are others like you?" Bilbo asks.

"Once there were many.." Beorn trails off as if he doesn't want to answer.

"And now?" Bilbo presses.

"Now there's only two."

No one talks after that for a few minutes.

"You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn."

"Before Durin's Day falls, yes," Gandalf replies and nods.

"You are running out of time," Beorn observes.

"Which is why we must go through Mirkwood," Gandalf says.

"Greenwood is the preferred name," Alex interjects. "I'll have you know that's fucking rude."

"A darkness lies upon that forest, foul things creep beneath those trees. There is an alliance between the Orcs of Moria and The Necromancer in Dol Guldur. I would not venture there, except in great need," Beorn warns and Thorin frowns. Going through Mirkwood is dangerous at dark times like these.

"Oh please you have two highly trained assassins who lived there!" Alex declares in exasperation.

"Exaclty Miss Blackheart. We will take the Elven Road, their path is still safe," Gandalf assures.

"Safe? The Wood Elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They're less wise and more dangerous..."

"Hell yeah we are," Alex mumbles.

"But it matters not," Beorn says flatly.

"What do you mean?" Thorin asks defensively. Beorn is speaking darkly and holds a threatening stance, he is making the dwarves scared and wary.

"These lands are crawling with orcs, their numbers are growing and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive..." Beorn trails off before speaking again. "I don't like dwarves, they're greedy and blind, blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own." Beorn picks up a mouse that Dwalin brushed off his arm and looks at it thoughtfully. For a second I think he's going to squish it. But then he puts it down and Allie places a little bit of cheese from her plate in front of it. "But orcs I hate more. What do you need?"

~~~

After breakfast everyone branches off into separate groups. Thorin, Balin, and Beorn stay at the table to talk supplies while Allie sits on Beorns knee frequently interjecting in on the conversation. Emily and Fili decide to play hide and kiss, a game they made up. One player hides and when the other player finds them they kiss. They are stupidly romantic. Kili and Alex simply sit on the hay and make bitchy comments about everything together. Grace walks around the house limping and sharpening her knife in a trance like memory state. Bofur sits with Bifur while he carves. Bombur is reading through one of Beorn's recipe books. Dwalin is teaching Ori how to wield an axe in the yard. Dori and Nori are discussing ethics. Oin is mixing herbs while Gloin practices his arithmetic at the table. I wander into the garden just past the wall to think.

"Sam?" Bilbo asks pearing past the gate.

"Yes Bilbo?" I turn to face him.

"You look upset. Is something wrong?" Bilbo questions.

"No not now. Just a memory really," I sigh. I really thought I got past what happened.

"Oh well I have a few bad memories too," Bilbo offers. "I find it best to try not to suppress them but also not try and remember them too hard. Just let them be."

"That is wise advice Bilbo."

"It is way wiser than what I was babbling about when I was drunk," Bilbo jokes and I chuckle.

"Well I wasn't making much sense either but what you said wasn't all nonsense."

"Oh really what did I say that made sense?" Bilbo asks a cheeky grin in his face.

"Something about me being a very pretty elf seemed to make quite a bit of sense," I tease.

"Well I seem to remember you saying I was handsome and polite," Bilbo counters and I giggle blushing.

"Well I was only speaking truth."

"So was I."

~~~

Grace

~~~

Uncle Beorn loaned us horses and gave us supplies to help us get through Mi-Greenwood. We stayed another night and started getting ready early the next morning.

~~~

"Here little wolf." Beorn hands me a small dagger made of sharpened bone. In skin changer culture it is a high honor to receive a bone dagger.

"Thank you Uncle Beorn," I gasp and marvel the weapon.

"You have earned it," Beorn replies and picks me up for a hug. I gasp and scream silently when my wounds are jostled but grin through the pain. I can't let uncle Beorn know the true measure of the damage he did. He'd feel awful.

"Bye Mister Beorn you a pretty cool guy for being related to Grace," Allie teases playfully.

"And you are a pretty fierce creature for something so small," Beorn retorts and picks Allie up to give her a hug.

"Alright put the halfing down we have to go," Thorin orders and Allie glares at him.

"Don't be rude Thorin!" Allie scolds. "Beorn can you set me on my pony?"

"Sure little hobbit," Beorn agrees and places Allie down on the pony leading the line. Everyone else mounts their ponies (horses for the elves and Gandalf) but we appear to be three ponies short.

"I'll share with Fili!" Emily volunteers enthusiastically and lets Fili pull her up in front of him.

"I got Bilbo," Sam calls and picks Bilbo up and sets him in front of her on the horse. Thorin is left and none of the dwarves want to share with him.

"Thorin can share with me but I call being in the front to steer," Allie relents and Thorin hauls himself up behind her.

"Hands on the waist dwarf not north and not south," I hiss in his ear and Thorin nods.

"Go now, while you have the light. Your hunters are not far behind," Beorn warns and we set off.