A.N: This was written for the hobbit-kink meme on Lj. It had to do with miscarriage, so you have been forewarned that this story contains the description of a mpreg miscarriage.
Bilbo wandered the great halls of Erebor in a daze. His mind was swirling with a mix of bitter and of sweet memories.
"So this is the hobbit?" A question followed by ice blue eyes tracing him head to hairy, hobbit feet seemingly appraising his worth.
That same voice once again directed at him, wraught with worry and anger, "He's been lost the moment he set foot outside his door, he doesn't belong here!"
"I have never been so wrong...in all my life. I am sorry I doubted you." Comforting words followed by warm arms encircling him, making his heart skip a beat.
Those same arms holding him, those same hands caressing him and igniting his flesh on fire with passion.
The voice that had once whispered in his ear of that same passion, that groaned of want, once again screamed in outrage at him. "You! You miserable hobbit! You undersized..burglar. I am betrayed! I will throw you to the rocks below!"
Bilbo sighed brokenly, swiping at the trail of fresh tears tracing his cheeks. He knew that taking the Arkenstone and giving it to Elfking Thranduil was risky, but he did it to save him, to save Thorin, to save all his dwarf friends. All it cost him was the one person he had come to care about more than life, even more than the Shire, as unbelievable as that sounds.
'Oh, if only Thorin would wake up, so I could explain, so I could tell him the real reason I did it.' He thought as he rubbed a hand over the small, soft extended curve of his belly.
A sharp, stabbing pain suddenly hit him hard in the abdomen causing him to bend over with a gasp.
His eyes widened in fear, "No, oh no. Please no."
Bilbo stumbled forward, catching himself on the cold stone wall with one hand and clutching the soft curve with the other, his body trembling as the pain continued to rack his body.
/ ~ / ~ / ~ /
Thorin groaned as consciousness came back to him. His eyes fluttered, opened and shut again at the bright light flooding them.
"Slowly, Thorin, son of Thrain, open your eyes slowly." A familiar voice to his right whispered.
The dwarf prince did as he was told and slowly opened his eyes to allow them to get used to the light.
"Gandalf. What happened? Fili, Kili?" He struggled to push his upper body up off the bed.
"The line of Durin stands unbroken, my friend. The battle has been won."
Thorin breathed an audible sigh of relief, but the tension was still set into his shoulders.
Gandalf just sat there and looked at him until finally he nodded and spoke, "Well, are you going to ask about our burglar?"
"Your burglar, not mine."
"Thorin Oakenshield! You barely survived that battle, with no 'thank yous' of any sort to one Bilbo Baggins, master burglar. Use that head of yours; Bilbo had the great sense to use his." He emphasized the statement with a gentle tap of his staff to Thorin's forehead.
"Think. Had Bilbo not take the Arkenstone to Elfking Thranduil, I fear both armies, comprising of your company, and of Dain's, would have been sorely outnumbered. He did it to save Erebor. To save you."
Thorin nodded in agreement, "I will admit that the goldlust had taken hold of me fiercely and I had uttered things I now regret. By Durin's beard, Gandalf, I threatened to throw him off the mountain! Not one day after we-"he abruptly closed his mouth and turned away from the wizard.
Gandalf smiled slyly. "Yes?"
Thorin did not speak, he could only look at the great tapestry covering the stone wall across from his bed.
The wizard stood, "So I have reason to believe that you return our burglar's feelings, Thorin, son of Thrain?"
"What of it?"
Gandalf shook his head, "What of it? Thorin, Bilbo has not been seen since the battle's end. I do not know where he is or even if he is still alive."
It was as if ice was flowing through his veins, the news chilled him so. He scrambled off the bed and with a groan, he pressed a hand to his side, his ribs screaming in protest at the sudden movement.
"Ho there, my friend! You must not move so quickly!"
Thorin growled through his gritted teeth, "I will move however quickly or slowly I want to, wizardfriend!"
He grabbed the tunic beside his bed and tossed it on as he pushed at the door leading out into the halls. Once he set sight on Balin and Dwalin, he yelled at them.
"Balin! Dwalin! Make haste!"
Balin spoke first, "What is it, my king?"
"The hobbit is missing! Gandalf has not seen him since the battle ended. Gather the other members of the company. Split into groups of two. Send out guards too, if need be. We will search the whole of Erebor for the halfling if we have too. Leave no hole or alcove untouched. Go!"
"My king, perhaps you should-"
"GO!" Thorin yelled. Blain and his brother needed no more incentive than that.
He turned and began to run down the hall, tossing words back over his shoulder, "You will search with me, wizard!"
The grey one nodded and took off at a run behind Thorin.
/ ~ / ~ / ~ /
As Bilbo stumbled blindly forward through the hall, until his stomach clenched painfully, like a knife twisting inside, and he could feel warmth spreading throughout his lower half.
"No! Nonono!" Bilbo screamed, clutching at his belly in pure agony.
"It's too early! It's too damned early!" But still the pain would not lessen and he could feel the warmth spreading down his legs. The dripping of the warm wetness sounded like thunder in his ears.
He slid to the floor, still clutching his stomach, a sob ripping from his throat as the wetness continued to fall.
"THORIN!"
/ ~ / ~ / ~ /
They had just came upon a hall hidden away from the main pathway when a tortured scream tore through the air.
"THORIN!"
The dwarf-king looked in shock to the wizard and before Gandalf could speak, he was off down the small passage.
The rest of the company was close behind, their paths bringing them to the same spot.
/ ~ / ~ / ~ /
The site that greated Thorin was heart-wrenching.
Blood.
All he could see was blood and Bilbo was sitting in the middle of it sobbing, pulling at his hair and mumbling.
Gandalf stopped close behind him and could only gasp in horror. "By the Valar...Bilbo! You've been wounded!"
"Bilbo?" Thorin spoke then.
Bilbo shook his head, sobbing even harder, clutching his stomach and rocking back and forth.
"No! Don't, just don't!"
Kili and Fili skidded to a stop as they entered the room, shocked to see Bilbo in the middle of all that blood.
"Halfling, what happened?" Thorin asked softly, taking another step closer.
"No! Please no!" Bilbo slapped the crimson-stained floor.
Thorin reached him and grabbed his shoulders, causing Bilbo to jerk and kick at him. He broke free and slumped back onto the floor in the middle of the blood.
Kili was the next to speak, "Bilbo!" He started forward but was stopped by his brother.
"No Kili, let Uncle handle this. Too many people crowding him will only cause him to injure himself further."
Kili nodded reluctantly, looking on in worry at the halfling.
The dwarf-king was shocked at Bilbo's actions. 'What could cause such a gentle and usually cheerful being to become like this.'
Again he tried to get closer to Bilbo, only to receive his answer when a strangled sob tore from the hobbit's throat.
"No! The baby! The baby! Please don't!"
Thorin stood stock still at those words. The feeling of loss cut through his body like a rusted blade and he blinked back tears.
'A baby? Our baby?'
Gandalf gasped the loudest, shaking his head in sorrow as tears formed in his eyes.
He handed the torch he held to Fili, "Keep the light close by. Kili, go back and get Ori and Balin. They are skilled healers, they will be able to help. Be mindful of what details you tell them. Go."
Kili turned with a sob and ran as fast as he could to the others.
Fili covered his face with his free hand and choked back his cries. He had to be strong for his uncle, and for Bilbo. He had to be strong for the both of them. He kept repeating that over and over in his head, even as the tears trailed down his cheeks.
Thorin moved closer to Bilbo, and when he did not jerk away from him, he gently touched his shoulder, "Bilbo, look at me."
The hobbit shook his head and kept turned away from him.
"Bilbo, look at me."
Bilbo stilled and slowly looked up, tears and blood staining his face. Thorin softly traced his features with his fingers, gently petting his cheeks, and wiping the tears away.
"T-Thorin. I-i'm so, so so-sorry. Th-the ba-baby. I-I tried to te-tell you, but the battle...I-I was hit in the st-stomach, but I-I didn't feel any dif-different, so I-I-"
"Hush, halfling. Do not apologize. It is not your fault and do not for one minute think it is."
Bilbo let out a quiet whine, "But t-the b-baby?"
Thorin leaned his head forward to touch foreheads with the hobbit. "The brief flicker of life that we created...that you held within you; that flicker will become the brightest diamond to shine in all the history of the Halls of Aule."
With those words, Bilbo fell into Thorin's chest and their arms wrapped around each other.
None of the company disturbed them as they both wept openly for the little one lost.
The little life that had brought them together once again.