Note: Unrevised and scarcely edited.
Bofur reached out for Bilbo, pulling him up into the cavern. Below, a door creaked open and shut, but no other sounds were heard. Bofur, Bilbo, and the dwarves behind didn't dare move for some long minutes after that.
"Alright, Bilbo?" Bofur asked. Little could be seen, as the only light in the tight little cave was what came from the hole behind Bilbo.
Bilbo, who had been trying to hold back his shaking, finally caved and latched himself onto the dwarf, pulling him down into an embrace. Bofur went without a fight, petting the back of the hobbit's head as he buried his face into Bofur's neck.
The dwarves who could not see what was happening whispered questions, only to be shushed by the witnesses. Eventually, Bilbo pulled back and took in a deep and stuttering breath.
"Excuse me," he whispered.
Bofur kept on with his petting. "What is there to excuse? What happened, Bilbo?"
"That may be a tale better shared at a later time," Balin said from behind Bofur. "Can you make it across that gap, laddie?"
Bilbo looked around for the gap in question before he realized it was the one through which he was pulled up by Bofur. He cleared his throat softly. "Oh—oh yes."
He shuffled around to face away from his company and, planting his hands on the other side of the hole, he pushed across. He could barely see behind him, but he saw the light from the outside block out, and heard Bofur shuffle across.
Bilbo led the climb-crawl parade through the dark for a long ways. If it were not for the grunts and whispers of the dwarves behind him, and the reassurances given by Bofur, he might have gone mad from the experience. Nevertheless, when they came to the end of the tunnel his palms were scraped and his fingertips were bright red, and his knees and toes were smashed. He didn't notice for a good while yet, however, as they came out onto an outcropping of stone along the outside of the mountain. The sunlight stung their eyes, but there were no obvious doorways back into the maze inside the mountain, so they believed themselves to be in a safe place to stop.
As soon as Bilbo was free of the cave, he sat himself against the mountain and breathed in the fresh air. Bofur came out behind him, panting, for surely his layers did him no favors in there. He did not bask in his freedom, though. Instead he went to sit before Bilbo and check him over in the light of day.
"Are you alright, Bilbo?"
The hobbit took a minute for himself and mulled over the answer. He eventually nodded his head.
Bofur didn't look very reassured. He reached to pet Bilbo's hair again, and stopped short at what he realized was missing.
"What happened to your braid?" He asked.
Bilbo reached up to feel for it, though he remembered seeing it hang from the goblin's hand after it was cut. The goblin knew the significance of the braid, and set out to remove it first in an attempt to break Bilbo's spirits. He shared this with Bofur.
"Out with the old, eh?" Bofur said at last and plucked up a lock of hair on the other side of the hobbit's head.
Bilbo found a smile for that.