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Slowly, you opened your eyes to see Smaug's looking back at you. They were the color of gold this time but shone twice as bright. It always astounded you how drastically they could change.

"The battle? What happened?" you asked.

"We won," he replied. Stroking your cheek, he added, "You need to rest. We can discuss the specifics later."

Since both your head and body were still aching from the impact, you simply nodded and quickly fell back into a dreamless sleep.

Smaug was not by your side the next time you awoke. Your body felt sore and bruised, but you were able to sit up. Nothing was broken as far as you could tell and for that you considered yourself lucky.

When you went to stand up, you let out a slight groan from the pain. Suddenly, a pair of strong arms wrapped around you and a deep, silky voice purred in your ear, "Here, let me help you."

Once you were standing, Smaug moved so that he could face you. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got blown up," you said with a small laugh.

He smiled back at you, but you could tell from his eyes that it wasn't genuine. Before you could ask him what was wrong, he said, "The wizard is here. He and the rest of your friends are going to collect Merry and Pippin." This time the smile was real. "I thought it safe to assume that you would want to join them, so I came to assist you." He reached out his arms and wore an expectant look on his face.

"What? You don't think you're going to carry me, do you? I'm capable of walking."

As you limped away from him, you heard him say, "Such a stubborn woman." In a moment, he was lifting you up from behind with only one arm. Then he brought his other arm up to support your legs. The smirk on his lips was beyond devilish. He carried you to where Buttercup was waiting and gently put you on her back.

When you looked at him to thank him, he appeared troubled again. "Hey Smaug, do you want to come with me?"

Suddenly he was back to his normal, sassy self and said, "Just try to stop me."

"Well hop aboard then."

"You mean, on the horse?"

"Yeah."

He hesitated.

"You aren't scared, are you?" you said in a mocking tone.

"Of course not. I have just never ridden a horse before, obviously. I would prefer to fly."

Laughing you said, "Well I would prefer for you to ride. Just get behind me, hold on, and don't fall off. You'll be fine."

Once he was situated, the two of your rode off to meet everyone else.

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Throughout the course of the day, there were multiple instances of him seemingly getting lost in his own thoughts. In these moments, he looked as if he was wrestling with the biggest problem in all of Middle-Earth. It wasn't until the festivities in Rohan began that you were able to get a moment alone to talk to him.

He had snuck away sometime after the king's toast and you found him lying outside the city's gates, back in his dragon form.

"I thought you would be celebrating," Smaug said, lifting his head to look at you.

"From what I was hearing inside, it sounds like you are the one who should be celebrating. They are calling you a hero."

He averted his gaze from you before saying, "A hero would have been able to protect you from harm. Instead, I failed you."

So that's what was bothering him.

"Listen to me, you did what I wanted you to do, and saved a whole bunch of innocent lives in the process. I don't call that a failure."

"And what about the next time? I lost you once, and I almost let it happen again today. I will not make that mistake a third time."

You hesitated, trying to think of a response. There were a lot of things about Smaug that you hadn't worked out yet, but there was no denying that you loved him, at least in some capacity. You felt safe and comfortable with him, like you were back home again.

"Next time," you said, "I'll be right up there with you...where I belong."

Smaug could tell from your emotions that your words were indeed sincere.

"It is getting late and it is cold out," he said. "You should be inside."

"I'll go in later," you said, moving over to sit beside him on the grass. Resting your back against his neck you added, "This is the only place I want to be right now." The warmth of his smooth scales combined with his peaceful breathing lulled you to sleep.

When he saw that you had drifted off, he moved his wing in order to shield you from the cold night wind. Whispering as quietly as he could he said, "Goodnight, my pet."

And there you slept until morning. As safe and warm as if you were at home in your own bed.