Billa Baggins was a proper hobbit lass.

There were many things that a proper hobbit lass did and didn't do. These lists weren't written down in any book, but they were the unspoken rules of The Shire. Rules that are not meant to be broken.

And Bilba Baggins broke almost each and every single one of them.

She went on an adventure, and not just any adventure, but one that led her halfway across Middle Earth. She went to reclaim the dwarves' homeland. That's not something the typical lady hobbit does, or is supposed to do. But she did it anyways.

Everyone knows that a hobbit, be they male or female, is eventually going to settle down with a husband or wife, get a nice smile, and have lots and lots of little fauntilings to take care of. No matter how wild their tween years were, that is how it is.

Even the wildest of Tooks followed this rule, take her own mother for example.

Belladonna Took explored the entire shire, and even the surrounding lands. But, she ended up with the most respectable Bungo Baggins. Oddly enough, they only ever had one fauntling, but they raised her as any hobbit ought to be raised.

It's just that Billa took after her mother in certain areas, and one of which was her tendency to break the rules. To outsiders, it appeared that she grew out of that terrible habit, just as any hobbit lass should. But she didn't, not really.

On the adventure, that she wasn't really meant to go on, she befriended several of the dwarves. Appearances are often deceiving. The dwarves had harsh exteriors, this is true, but on the inside, many were just as soft as any hobbit. It's just that their appreciation was more for gold and jewels than flowers and crops.

She was excluded at first, but that really was to be expected. She was an outsider, what business did she really have going with them. They needed a burglar, but that was all she ever was to them.

But the multiple times she saved them on their quest changed their minds. They warmed up to her, and started to treat something akin to family. Bilba started to truly enjoy their time together. Despite their occasional run ins with danger, sporadic provisions, and much travel - it was a pleasant existence.

She felt comfortable with her dwarves, a way she never truly had in the Shire.

And they were her dwarves too, they may not realize it, but they were hers.

And little did she know that the dwarves thought of her as their hobbit.

It was the end of the quest that all of this finally came to light.

All of the original company had lived, some more severely injured than others, but none on their deathbed.

Well, not anymore.

For after the battle, the remaining members of the Line of Durin were put in a separate tent for healing. No words were spoken of their condition to any but a select few.

Bilba was not one of these few.

The other dwarves were under the impression that she was labeled as betrayer, and was to be banished from the kingdom of Erebor.

So, they sent her away with naught but a week's provisions and the clothes on her back.

The King was not to know of this until he was fully recovered.

He believed that she had left them once she saw that the quest was completed.

None could blame her.

But that didn't mean that they missed her any less.

It was a couple of years after the battle that last of the dwarves had finally resettled in the Lonely Mountain. Among those dwarves was a lone hobbit.

Every time a caravan arrived, a ceremony of sorts would be held in the throne room. Each and every dwarf would present themselves and their family to the king and his advisors, and officially welcomed to Erebor.

This ceremony was a particularly momentous occasion. For it meant that after years of wandering, all of their people finally had a home.

There was several rumors regarding the last caravan, after all many a dwarf were waiting for their loved ones, and would beg for any word to be had. There were the normal whisperings of course. The miner's had grown into herself wonderfully, and had many after her hand. A dwarf had stumbled across a vein of gold, and now the family was rather well off. But the most interesting rumor was that regarding a hobbit. Not only was it odd that a hobbit had chosen to accompany them, for what business did a hobbit have with dwarves - it was that she knew how to behave around them. They were quite used to being unknowingly insulted, staying in the villages of man had made it a necessity, but not once did such an event occur.

The most curious thing about the hobbit was that she wore a gold chain around her neck, and a rather thick one at that. Were she the daughter of man, it would have been shrugged off as being either stolen or of her coming from a rather wealthy family. But she was a hobbit, and hobbits didn't decorate themselves in that way. It was the only piece of jewellery she wore, and recognizable to the dwarves as a sign of a courting dwarf.

But she was obviously not a dwarf, so the only other option was that she was being courted by a dwarf.

But the dwarves had no idea who she was courting, and none were close enough to her to ask. So they ignored it, and subsequently her.

However, such rumors very rarely ever reached the royal family. The company's family had arrived long ago, and as such none were listening to such things. The ceremony was a mere formality at them for this point, as none of them had anyone to personally welcome.

They had long ago mastered the ability to appear as if they were paying attention when they weren't. It was a necessity.

The dwarves arriving in the caravans were ordered to present themselves by rank. The highest ranking dwarf would introduce himself and his family first, and the lowest would be introduced last.

In this case, the last member of the caravan was a hobbit.

Little did the guards know that she outranked even them.

And so, one by one the members of the caravan were introduced to King and Company.

By the end they were very nearly falling asleep. It had been a long day, and they wished for nothing more than a warm meal and their beds.

They all very nearly fell out of their chairs when a bored and hesitant voice announced, "Billa Baggins, of the Shire. Rank: Burglar"

They stood up just as quickly when they say their hobbit walk through the doors. Let it be known that Kings do not run while in their kingdom, but one moment Thorin was sitting in his thrown, and the next he had his arms tight around his hobbit.