A/N: I CAN EXPLAIN.

Okay, so my muse really seems to like taking vacations to who-knows-where for days on end. I have sit in front of writing prompts, unfinished works, and blank pages. Nothing. And then, bam! I get hit broadside by the Hobbit fandom. I was sure that it would be the stepping stone from writer's block to everything I'm supposed to be. (Then again, supposed to be is a loose term…) I was about out of it to, and then…

Fem!Bilbo hit me like a runaway train.

And then Fem!Bilbo/Thorin slammed into me. And took over my life. So…yeah. And school has been a pain in the tail, and a whole lot harder than it was supposed to be, so I've been swamped, distracted, and overwhelmed. But, at the begging of a friend of mine, I'm posting this cause she said it was good, and is considerably lacking in the Fem!Bilbo department. I take it upon myself to fix this (at least partially). Lemme know what y'all think!

Thorin Oakenshield didn't expect to find himself in the Shire ever again. Then again, there were a lot of things he hadn't expected concerning the Quest for Erebor, chief among them being falling in love with the burglar Gandalf had picked for them. No, he hadn't expected to fall so completely for Mariabella Baggins. Nor had he expected the dragon-sickness that took ahold of him. Long story short, he had a lot of apologizing to do, as well as a few confessions.

It had taken Balin, Fili, Kili, and Dis to convince him to just man up and go say something – despite his reservations about her demeanor toward him (because, whether he admitted it or not, he couldn't take seeing such heartbreak in the Hobbit-lass's eyes again). But he'd done it, so there he was.

With, somehow, the whole of the original Company backing him up. Or keeping him from losing his nerve, one or the other.

He figured it would be easy. Walk to her house, ring the doorbell, somehow convince her to let him in, and pour out his heart. Well, in hindsight, that hardly sounded easy, but he was here, so no turning back now. He'd not marched for months just walk away without a definite answer.

He wasn't counting on the party.

The whole Shire was there. He would swear on the Green Throne of Erebor that every single bleeding Hobbit in the land turned up for the party. And Bella was probably somewhere in that mess.

(He couldn't see Bag End from where they were on top of the hill, but there wasn't a single light on in any house, except for two or three near the field, but those were clearly for kitchens and ale.)

"Oh," Bofur said. Thorin let out a small, long-suffering sigh. 'Oh' didn't even begin to cover it. "Well, then." They spied the sign for why there was a party. '3rd Shire Return Reunion'. "Guess it's for Bella. She'll definitely be in there, then."

"How are we gonna find her in this mess?" Dwalin growled. Thorin noticed a couple of the Company looking out across the field, not for Bella, but at the celebrations.

"You have come this far with me; I would not ask you to go further," Thorin said. He turned back to them. They looked back at him, and he gave them a faint smile. "Go enjoy yourselves."

That was all Bombur, Glóin, and Nori needed. Dori followed Ori - probably to make sure he was safe and didn't get lost, like he always did. Dwalin gave him a firm pat on the shoulder, and then followed the group to make sure they didn't cause too much trouble. The rest of the group dispersed.

"We're staying with you, Uncle," Fili said. He turned to look at his nephews. Kili nodded, and Thorin gave them a warm smile. "Right! Up the tree with you, Kee," Fili addressed his brother, who nodded and started climbing the big, thick oak that they were standing next to. Thorin watched him ascend the branches with a bit of confusion and amusement.

Once Kili got to a height suitable enough to see well into the crowd, he began to search. Thorin could tell he'd found something, because Kili's jaw went slightly slack. "Um...you know the really good fiddler?"

"Aye?" Fili said.

"Well, that's Bella!" he exclaimed. "I can see her from here; she's in the center. And I can see Bofur from up here, too; how'd get that close to the center so fast?"

"Does it matter?" Fili asked. "You know where we're going?"

"Yes, but I think they're gonna start another song soon, so you better hurry," he replied. No sooner had he said that, the music stopped, and the Shire field filled with a cheer. Fili started to walk off, and Thorin followed him into the crowd. "Wait!" Kili exclaimed. "There's some commotion near the cent- Oh, my." He burst into laughter.

"Kili..." Fili said, impatience twinging his tone. Thorin was starting to get impatient too.

"She's just been led up onto the table! I think they want her to play the next song!" Kili informed. And sure, enough, there were a few notes played on a fiddle, and the party shouted with joy.

Then the singing started.

This just got a whole lot harder.

A/N: Musical setting: Flaming Red Hair (Bilbo's Party Music from FoTR)