A redo story with a twist, my first forray into Middle Earth as an author I hope I do it justice.

Prologue

Shire rumour has it that there is fairy blood in the Took family. This rumour is true, and every once in a while a Took child is born with fairy physical traits. The last and most notable time that this happened was Bulroarer took, a hobbit so large that he could ride a full sized horse. That was until the Mrs Belladonna Baggins (nee Took) gave birth for the second time. Rhosyn Baggins looked, on the most part, like any other Hobbit girl with her chubby little body, bright eyes and rosy cheeks; that is, if you ignored her feet. Rhosyn's feet, while perfectly formed hobbit feet with leathery sole and soft covering of curly hair on top, were tiny. The healers took one look at the baby and declared that she would never walk, for how could such small feet support anyone? However, those healers were left to eat their words when, little over a year after her birth, Rhosyn pulled herself up into a standing position and took the same first shaky steps that every other child takes when learning to walk. After that there was no stopping our little Miss Baggins.

Rhosyn had a Tookish streak a mile wide that ran all the way through her. Her childhood was a neverending succession of imaginary adventures, with her big brother Bilbo; and their neighbour, Misha Proudfoot as her companions. Bilbo and Rhosyn were as close as any brother and sister could be; until they began to grow up. Bilbo settled into the quiet homeliness of Shire life, with Misha as his quiet shire wife. Rhosyn however, left the Shire as soon as she could; hungry for real adventures to replace the imagined ones of childhood. The Shire wasn't the only thing she left behind- she also left her name. Rhosyn Baggins was a member of a respectable Shire family, Tookish streak or no, but Rose Littlefoot was free to go off on the adventures that Miss Baggins was not.

Bilbo and Misha did not see a lot of Rose; she visited as often as she could but never stayed long for the two Baggins women did not see eye to eye. Rose would leave graciously, but not without asking her brother to accompany her, even as far as the edge of the Shire, but he never did. Then one day, not long after Bilbo's fiftieth birthday, Misha left to visit her mother in Bree. After this; quite by chance, and the will of a wizard, Bilbo ended up having a grand adventure.

Rose returned to the Shire accompanied by thirteen dwarves, one of whom it was revealed, was her fiance. With all of this company's talk of dragons and lost treasure, something Tookish awoke in Bilbo and somehow he found himself travelling to the distant kingdom of Erebor and helping the dwarves to liberate it from the terrible fire drake Smaug. Along the way Rose and Thorin married, and Bilbo became rather more Tookish. He also found a small magic ring which rendered its wearer completely invisible.

Tragically, Thorin on the battlefield, along with his two nephews, Fili and Kili. After her husband's death Rose faded; herself living only long enough to bring her only son into the world and bestow the name Frodo upon him. Bilbo took Frodo home and he and and Misha raised him together. It saddened Bilbo that his nephew, who should have been a prince among the dwarves, had been raised to be a respectable hobbit.

The years passed as they always do, and Misha passed away at the ripe old age of one hundred and six. Bilbo lived on in the Shire until the day of his eleventy first birthday; where upon the elderly widower left the Shire for the last time and returned to Rivendell, where his beloved sister lay buried. Frodo meanwhile was off having an adventure of his own- a perilous quest to destroy the ring that Bilbo had kept safe those many years, in the fires of Mount Doom in which it had been created centuries ago.

The destruction of this ring spelled the end of the age of Elves, and the dawn of the age of Men. Bilbo and Frodo were afforded a place on the last Elven ship out of Middle Earth. Bilbo sat on the deck of this ship watching Middle Earth disappear into the distance and thought back on his long life. He did not, he decided, have many regrets- that he and Misha had never had children of their own was one; and that he had never been able to give Frodo the life he should have had was the other.

Had Thorin and Rose lived, then Frodo would have been raised as the prince that he was, in Erebor. He would likely have had brothers and sisters to play with- Rose, always so full of life would have been a fantastic mother; and having seen the way Thorin had been with his nephews, the last of the line of Durin would have been an excellent father.

"Sleep Uncle," Frodo murmured, having realized that he was awake. "We've a long way to go yet and you should save your strength."

"You're a good boy, Frodo m'lad." Bilbo told him, already succumbing to sleep- Aule he was so very tired. "Your parents would be… so prou..."

~V~