Bring Me With Her

Coming Back

Her body was tired when she could feel herself coming back from unconsciousness. Talia could feel the sore sting in her left shoulder, along with the movement of her eyes as she found the strength to open them. She immediately shut her eyes once she caught a glimpse of the light. The atmosphere was so bright that it felt like it would blind her. Where was she? The young woman could hardly even recall what happened. She remembered a dark figure with a sword...and the ring...and Gandalf. Wait...Gandalf was taking her back, back to Middle Earth. With that memory, the young woman found the will to open her eyes slowly, trying to accustom to the light.

"Where the heck am I?" she mumbled, her voice soft and somewhat hoarse.

"You are in the House of Elrond. It is ten o'clock in the morning on October 24th, if you want to know." said a deep voice. At the recognition of his voice, Talia blinked.

"Gandalf!" However, her smile faded quickly as she narrowed her eyes and took in her surroundings. She smiled when she saw Siggy sleeping by her side, but then furrowed her brows when she looked down at herself. "How the hell did I get in a nightgown?"

The Wizard smirked. "Yes, I am here. And it is nice to see that you have not lost any of your spike in the healing process."

Talia furrowed her brows. "Well thank you. Anyways, what happened?" she asked.

"What do you remember?" The young woman furrowed her brows and began explaining, her memories coming back as she told the story. Gandalf nodded in confirmation of the correction of her memory, and Talia widened her eyes when she finished.

"Oh my God where's Thorin?" she asked, her heart beginning to pound. The Wizard chuckled at her question.

"Relax, dear girl. He's sitting right next to you." The young woman furrowed her brows and looked to her other side. There he was. Thorin was sitting right by her side, with her hand encased in his, and his head resting on her bedside. "He hasn't left your side ever since Lord Elrond allowed him in. I couldn't convince him to get some sleep, the stubborn Dwarf." Gandalf smirked.

Talia gave a slight smile. "Well, I can't say that doesn't sound like him."

Gandalf smiled. "I'll leave the two of you alone. Don't do anything too strenuous." he said firmly, and with that, the Wizard made his way out and closed the door behind him.

The young woman sighed and turned over to her left, ignoring the strain in her shoulder. Talia held up her Dwarf's hand and pressed his knuckles to her lips. He began to stir when she ran her long nails through his black hair, coaxing him awake. "Wake up, sleepy head, before you get a crick in your neck." she whispered. Thorin let out a sleepy groan before lifting his head and sweeping his hair out of his face.

He blinked tiredly before widening his eyes as his vision came into focus. Thorin squeezed her hand tighter and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Mahal, you're awake." Talia smiled as he cupped her cheek and pressed his forehead against hers.

"Yeah...I was starting to think that I'd teased you for the last time." she chuckled.

Thorin pulled away at that, his smile fading. "That's not funny." he said lowly, a glare beginning to form on his face.

Talia sighed at that. Too soon. "Ok, I'm sorry." she apologized, reaching out to stroke his beard with her thumb. Thorin only shook his head.

"You were out for four days, I was beginning to think..." He paused before he could meet her eyes. "Don't ever scare me like that again." Talia looked at him with empathy and wrapped her arm around his tense shoulders and pulled him closer. She could tell that he was holding back from saying more by the way he hid his face in her neck.