Prologue:

An Empty Home

TA 2941, Bag End, The Hill, Hobbiton, The Shire

Frodo Baggins was very firm in the belief that he was very mature for his age-which was a very respectable thirteen, practical an adult really-and as such he didn't understand why Grandfather Gorbadoc had suddenly decided it wasn't fitting for him to visit his Uncle Bilbo at Bag End. When confronted with Frodo's questions after his initial dismissal his Grandfather had gotten rather shifted eyed and muttered something vaguely about "not being respectable", while ushering Frodo off. All the while talking under his breathe, saying things like "what's gotten into that boy" and "must be the Took in him". Bilbo being a very respectable hobbit, Frodo had known instantly something was wrong and had wanted to demand more from his grandfather, but after realizing his other relatives were watching him curiously (and somewhat shocked by the normally quiet hobbitling causing a stir) he'd wilted and quickly went to find the most private place he could in the always lively Brandy Hall.

Frodo hated it when others stared at him and sometimes he wished he could be all alone and hidden some place. A wish that was quite impossible with his bustling new 'home'. Brandy Hall was not his home, no matter how often his relatives tried to correct him when he referred to it as 'Grandfather Gorbadoc's house', all the time wearing pitying looks that made him want to crawl up some place and cry. Not that Frodo would. He hadn't cried in weeks. Not since he'd first met Bilbo who'd made an unexpected visit to Grandmother Mirabella and found Frodo alone in her rooms instead.

Bilbo had been the first one who'd looked at Frodo and told him on no uncertain terms that it was perfectly alright to cry and scream and be angry about what had happened to him, no matter what the proper form of hobbit mourning said about how one was supposed to act in public. Frodo hadn't believed the stranger at first until Bilbo had been watching him at the market, Grandmother Mirabella had needed to run an errand and Bilbo had volunteered to finish her shopping and take care of Frodo.

Frodo had found a ring, of Dwarf make the shop owner had proudly informed him, with small primroses engraved all around it, with twisting vines looking lovely and whimsical. Before he'd been able to consider it he'd thought to himself That's lovely. I should get it for Mother. Frodo's throat had instantly tightened as he'd remembered, the realization of his parents death hitting him almost as hard as it had when he first realized, once and for all, that they were dead and he hadn't been able to stop himself from starting to cry.

Frodo had bent his head down and bit his lip, trying his best to stop the silent tears that were falling down his cheeks, warm and plentiful, but he couldn't. Then something in Frodo just broke and he had taken off running, not caring what anyone thought, but unable to bear the thought of getting told how his parents wouldn't like his behavior. He hadn't wanted to be told to be a good little hobbitling. He'd wanted his Mother. What he'd gotten instead was Bilbo.

The older hobbit had taken one look at Frodo's tear stained face and his body shaking from physically forcing back sobs and wrapped him in a war, gentle hug that was almost exactly like the one his mother had given to him as she'd tucked him in before her and Father had gone boating. Frodo had frozen in shock for a few minutes before realizing Bilbo with his motherly hugs and soft mutterings of "There sweetling let it out, let it all out." was serious. That moment Frodo had begun to cry.

A hard shocking sobbing that he'd been holding back for weeks. He'd buried his face into Bilbo's waistcoat and soaked it with salty tears. Snooting and ugly tears that made him choke and hiccup. And as he cried, Bilbo never once releasing him and in fact gripping him tighter pulling the small hobbit into his lap, he'd told Bilbo all about what had happened in the market and then about how Brandy Hall wasn't the same without being able to return home and even about the night his parents had died, which he'd never told anyone. Bilbo had listened quietly nodding and soothing Frodo with gentle hands and soft senseless humming that was somehow just what he needed. When Frodo had been unable to cry any longer and simply sat curled into Bilbo arms wrapped tightly around his cousin's neck Bilbo had begun to talk telling Frodo all about how he'd lost his parents, what they'd been like, and how he'd see something that reminded him of them and start crying to that very day. Frodo had found himself listening to every word not really noticing that Bilbo had cleaned his face and scooped him up, making a slow way back.

It had only been halfway through the smooth transition from Bilbo's story to a silly song Bilbo had begun singing that made Frodo laugh that he'd realized they were back at the market and even more surprisingly that Frodo had laughed. For a moment it had felt like Frodo had betrayed his parents, but then Bilbo had done something even more amazing. He'd bought the primrose ring and left directions with the remaining shop keepers on Grandmother Mirabella's list to deliver her items to Brandy Hall, only to turn and take Frodo to his own home!

The rest of the evening had been a blur of startling laughter, guilt, and tiredness as Bilbo had settled Frodo into a guest room in his large smial (though nowhere as large as Brandy Hall). The only other thing Frodo remembered vividly was that Bilbo had wordlessly crawled into bed and sung him back to sleep when he'd woken up from a nightmare about his parents. When Grandmother Mirabella had came the next morning to collect him and Bilbo had told him to come for a visit anytime he succeeded in forever securing his place as Frodo's Uncle Bilbo.

Ever since then Frodo had made sure to visit Bilbo as much as possible and when he wasn't at Bag End, Bilbo was visiting him at Brandy Hall. Thus Bag End, not Brandy Hall became his new home. It had barely been six months since Frodo had first moved in with his grandparents and it was well known to everyone from Buckland to Hobbiton that the quiet, shy little hobbit who would barely speak a word to anyone save a few of his younger cousins and the Gamgee boy, loved Master Baggins of Bag End the most of all his relatives. So when Frodo realized that something was wrong he didn't hesitate to do something about it, with or without his grandfather's permission.

Frodo made it to Bag End easily. He'd been there enough to know the way, but what he found was beyond strange. The smial was empty and cold, cleaned dish set out, but never put up gathering dust. All the fire places dead and unused for days it seemed. Bilbo's bed empty the sheets thrown open and left that way. The pantry devastated of all food, even Bilbo's prize winning tomatoes. Altogether it looked as if the owner had left one morning and never returned.

It looked like Frodo's home when he'd managed to sneak back after his parents' shared funeral.

Frodo ran out of the smial as fast as he could heart pounding so hard he felt like it would burst and ran straight into a rather round belly. Landing on his feet the stunned little hobbit looked up to find Hamfast 'Gaffer' Gamgee look down at him confused until he seemed to place him and smiled.

"Young Master Frodo! What brings you here today?" Gaffer questioned helping the shell shocked Frodo to his feet. Frodo didn't answer, unable to find his voice and simply looked at Gaffer and back towards the frighteningly empty smial behind him. Gaffer seemed to understand instantly and nodded facing softening into something very sympathetic.

"Ah, lad, I was wondering when those queer relatives of yours would get around to telling you. I told Old Gorbadoc to let me tell you myself, soften the blow and such, but he refused." At this Gaffer gave the fiercest expression Frodo had ever seen on the kind round hobbit. "Said to leave you be and hadn't you been through enough already. Foolish I'd say, but its good he at least saw sense to tell you. Even if he took his time doing it."

Gaffer reached down to give Frodo's black curls a gentle tweak.

"I knew you'd come to see for yourself lad, I'm just sorry I wasn't here to catch before you looked in there."

Finally Frodo found his voice, heart twisting and a cold fierce fear filling his stomach, images of a similar conversation when his grandparents had broken the news of his parents to him.

"Where's Uncle Bilbo, Mister Gamgee?" Frodo asked desperately, voice high pitched and his blue eyes watching Gaffer for any sign that his worst nightmare might come to pass.

"Didn't Gorbadoc tell you?" Gaffer questioned confused. Frodo shook his head causing the older hobbit to say a word Bilbo would have made Frodo lick soap for saying.

"You poor foundling." Gaffer said and looked suddenly stricken and not a little mournful. "I'm so sorry to be the one to tell you Young Master Frodo, but Master Bilbo has gone off."

The crushing relief almost made Frodo fall over. Bilbo was alive, not here, but alive.

"Off where?"

"On a trip."

Frodo nodded not surprised. His adopted uncle did love visiting as much as any hobbit and he would occasionally visit more distant relatives. Frodo was rather proud to admit that he was in fact the most visited of Bilbo's relatives and therefore didn't begrudge others Bilbo's presence. At least not very much. It didn't quite explain why he'd left his smial in such disorder, but Frodo was willing to let it go for now.

"When will he be back?"

Gaffer looked uncomfortable.

"Lad, nobody knows. It's been a month already. All we know that it's outside the Shire. No doubt the Took in him acting up."

It was then that Frodo realized what had really happened. Bilbo, his beloved Bilbo, had left. Left Frodo just like his parents. Without a single word or good-bye.

For the first time in a good while. Frodo began to cry.

AN: As you can see this is clearly a changed timeline, quite a few births were moved up and its a mixture of bookverse and movieverse, but really AU. I was just wondering what would happen if Frodo was born before Bilbo left and then I wondered what would happen if the Fellowship met the Company, which connected with little Frodo to make me wonder what if the mini!Fellowship met the Company during the quest to Erebor. And I know poor baby Frodo, but fear not things will get better. Also Frodo is soon to be seven by my calculations.