The entire hobbit hole smelled of pies baking and spices, along with a few other things that Belladonna couldn't identify. She took off her small jacket and hung it by the mantle, sniffing the air as she did so. When still unable to identify the other smells, she finally decided to walk into the kitchen.

Bilbo and Bungo stood side by side, dressed in aprons and staring at the stove. Bilbo looked over to her, blue eyes wide.

"Mama!" the small boy called, waving his arms frantically. "You can't be in here."

Belladonna raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

She couldn't see past either her husband or son, and she still had yet to see what the other foods were.

"You just can't!" Bilbo looked up to his father. "Right, Papa?"

He nodded, turning to face Belladonna. "Bilbo wanted to help make a surprise for you, and I just didn't know how to say no."

Belladonna chuckled. Her little boy had quickly learned how to manipulate others with both his smile and frown, even Gandalf on one of his visits.

"We just didn't expect you to get home so quickly, dear." He clutched a cloth napkin tightly in his hands. The edges of his lips and parts of his cheek were covered in flour. "But you don't want to ruin the surprise now, do you?"

"I suppose not." She turned away. "Just don't make a mess of the kitchen."

She entered the living room and picked up the book that she had been reading earlier from the coffee table. Sitting down in her husband's armchair, she pulled out her bookmark and continued reading from where she left off. If she had to wait, then she might as well do something in the mean time.

Thirty or so pages later, she heard the sound of small hobbit feet running through the house. Placing her bookmark back in, she looked up to see Bilbo at the doorway.

"Mama, it's ready!"

She smiled and stood up. "That's good."

Entering the kitchen, she found the whole place covered in food. Her mouth watered at the sight.

"What's the occasion?"

"Oh," Bungo responded, "Bilbo just wanted to do something nice for you."

Belladonna looked down to her grinning little boy. "That was quite sweet of you, Bilbo." She leaned down and pulled the boy into a hug, which he quickly returned.

"I love you, Mama!"

"I love you more."

They released the hug, and Belladonna looked back to the food.

"What's that?" She pointed to a food that she had not ever seen before.

"Oh, I just wanted to try out a new recipe." Bungo held up a spoon. "Would you mind trying it for us?"

She took the spoon, and then put it into the dish as carefully as she could. It smelled good enough, and if her family did not eat it then surely one of Belladonna's cats would. Those felines would eat anything without question.

"Why, this is delicious!" She grinned. "I'll take a whole plateful!"

Bilbo's grin now reached from ear to ear. "Me too, Mama!"

Dis had never seen her two boys so filthy in their lives, not even when they would go play in mud.

"Mother!" Fili grinned, stepping forward past his brother. "Uncle Thorin taught us so much!"

"I want to be a smith, too!" Kili grinned.

She smiled. "So how were your uncle's lessons?" She had at first been unsure of if they could handle their own uncle giving them apprenticeships, but they had been more than happy about the idea.

"Great, Mother!" Fili said.

It was only then that Dis noticed that both her boys had their hands behind their backs.

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you two boys hiding something?"

The two looked to each other and winked.

"Fili? Kili?"

"We made you things today!" Kili burst out. He pulled a piece of metal from behind his back. "I made you a new plate."

"I made you a new bead for your braids!" Fili pulled it out.

Both were rather messy, but Dis could hardly mind. She had started out making the same things when she started out as a smith.

"Those are beautiful." She walked forward and pulled the two boys into a hug, hardly caring if she got dirty herself.