It was a fortunate thing that the mountain was not so badly damaged nor was the weather nasty. 

In the days that followed the disaster, Kíli and others were able to recruit help from the dwarves of the nearby ranges to aid in clearing out the fire damage and cleaning out the sooty halls. The upper levels were not so scorched, though most rooms and homes were ruined and needed to be repainted and decorated. The lower levels, though, including the Feast Hall and Hall of Songs—not to mention the mines themselves were completely destroyed, little more than charred remains of the once beautifully tapestried halls. 

Rhonwen, Dís, and the other women helped as best as they could outside the mountain, containing the children from wandering off the mountainside, preparing food when game was available, and doing their best to make do with what natural materials were available to them. The trees on the mountainside slowly disappeared as furniture was made to replace that which was lost, though what wool and linen they had was reserved for making clothes other than they wore already; no more tapestries for now. 

It was hard for Dís, having to go through such swift and terrible loss again, and Thorin's dark eyes reflected the grief and bitter memories when fire had destroyed his home and inheritance before. As for Fíli and Kíli, they took it in their own stride. But Rhonwen, heavy with child and facing nights out beneath the stars, lacking blankets to keep warmer at night on the mountain, it was almost unbearable. 

"What's wrong?"

The voice was so low she almost thought she had imagined it. 

"Kíli? You're still awake?" she whispered back. 

"Aye, I am. You should be sleeping, you need your rest." 

Rhonwen stifled a laugh. "And you don't? You need your strength to help clear out the rubble in the mountain so we can have a roof above our heads."

"And you need to be healthy so I will have a wife and child to provide for," he replied without missing a beat. 

She turned to look at him, the moonlight shining in his dark eyes. Around them, people shifted and snored in their sleep, and somewhere, a child whimpered in fretful wakefulness. "I'm sorry... It's just... I wish I could wake up and find this all a dream. I'm tired of living again in the open like I did years ago. It's lonely and there's no certainty... And I want that certainty back." She closed her eyes, for though she could not sleep, she was still exhausted. 

Kíli wrapped his arms around her and held her close, his forehead gently pressed against hers. "You'll get it back, dearest. It will come, I promise you. Now rest. Tomorrow will dawn and you need your sleep—we all do—if we're going to succeed at rebuilding our home." He kissed her cheek and then spread his cloak over them both, shielding them from the cold mountain air. 

The dawn would come again for the dwarves in the Blue Mountains. Hope could not be so easily destroyed. 

And that hope arrived the next afternoon in the form of Coriann and her husband and child returning at long last. 

Rhonwen was helping Dís encourage the young boys who could not help their fathers and older brothers in the mountain to gather sticks for firewood that night. She straightened from bending over, her back screaming in agony from the strain, and sighed heavily, closing her eyes as she grimaced against the pain. 

Then she felt arms encircle around her tightly and a familiar voice whisper in her ear, "My, but that child is growing, isn't it?" 

"Coriann!" Rhonwen shrieked as her friend released her, laughing. "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't—"

"Kiliene presented 3 months ago that it might be time to return home, and I agreed. But what on earth happened here?"

Rhonwen sighed and rolled her eyes heavenward. "Tragedy. A fire broke loose in the forge and burned out the mountain. We've been cleaning it our for a week or so, but it's not ready yet to live in again, though we've been working on it as much as we can." 

Coriann was aghast. "A fire?! But- but those shouldn't happen anymore! Was anyone hurt? How long ago was this?"

"A week ago, possibly a few days more. No one was hurt badly. We managed to get out—it was dinner time when it happened—in time to prevent any serious injuries. 'Tis only the losses of everything else that we must face," she replied sadly. "But tell me, is all well with you?"

"Thank Aule! Aye, all is well. Though I do believe that there are those who would think me crazy for taking my child with me on my journey," Coriann answered with a smile. "And the little one you have coming?"

"I actually there may be two little ones," Rhonwen said shyly. "I might be wrong. But I have a feeling that I might be having twins." She bit her lip nervously. 

Coriann gaped. "Twins? Have you told Kíli?"

"Nay... He's been so busy with trying to rebuild—they all have been—and I didn't think to tell anyone because it's only a thought. Nothing more. There's a high chance I'm wrong. It is my first time, after all. And I don't want to give any false hopes." 

"Well I won't say a word then. Though if it is twins, Kíli will fall over," snickered Coriann.

Rhonwen laughed. "I hope he isn't holding one of them then. But aye, Dís does not know either, though she might suspect. In any case, I'm glad you and Hama and Kiliene are back now. Perhaps you can bring some order to this chaos." 

"I can try, though Kiliene may be better suited for that. But what of food and shelter?"

Rhonwen shrugged and gestured to those working on the mountainside beneath the warm summer sun. "We've been sleeping under the skies, which fortunately have not rained down on us. The younger lads go hunting daily and we've been rationing what we can. Still waiting on supplies from the dwarves near us. We've been trying to remake furniture and other things since everything was burned up. But that's it." 

Coriann nodded and looked off into the distance for a minute. Shaking herself she stated, "Right. Gather the women and the younger lads and meet me at the entrance to the stronghold in twenty minutes."

Rhonwen dipped her head in acknowledgement. "I shall do so. See you then!" 

Wow. This has been forever since I actually wrote this! My friend who wrote the companion story no longer on Wattpad and I wrote this chapter together so yay. Hopefully I can keep up with a new chapter a week until this is finished. We'll see how it goes. 

Lemme know if you enjoyed it or not! And thanks for all your support! <3