Three Years Later...
Bilbo loved it when Thorin let him go down the human villages at the foot of the mountain. He knew the heir or Erebor hated working as a simple blacksmith but humans paid handsomely for Dwarf made weapons and thy could always use the money.
Usually he took Fili or Kili with him to help work but today, for the first time in months it was Bilbo's turn. He loved being outside in the sunlight, seeing all the flowers and trees, of course he never voiced these opinions. Little did he know Thorin could see it all in his eyes but said nothing.
When the reached the village Bilbo knew something was wrong, the markets were quiet for once. The town seemed almost lifeless save one or two people hurriedly crossing the square.
"I'm going to the forge, you see if you can find out where everybody is." Thorin ordered, Bilbo nodded.
He quickly ran up the closest house and knocked but nobody answered. Odd.
He knocked on a few doors but nobody answered, a few even yelled at him to go away through the wood. Lacking any better ideas he quickly ran after a woman, grabbing her by the hand and forcing her to stop.
"Where is everybody, what's going on?"
"Do not touch me!" she hissed, "You could have it!"
"Have what?" Bilbo blinked.
"The sickness!" She replied hastily with a rough cough, "It's taken half the village already."
Then she sped off to her home, coughing all the way, making Bilbo regret touching her at all.
'Dwarfs are mighty creatures, they hardly ever get sick' he reminded himself, ignoring the other small voice that told he he wasn't actually a dwarf.
Still, he felt nerves creeping up on him and suddenly he wanted nothing but to be home.
"Father!" He yelled, looking for Thorin in the forge.
Even though he was technically Bilbo Thorinson he didn't often call Thorin father. Usually opting to call him by name like his brothers. So it was understandable when Thorin practically flew around the corner look more than just 'slightly concerned'.
"What's wrong? Are you alright?" He asked hurriedly.
"Yes, but there is a plague here!" Bilbo informed him, "I don't think we will get any work today."
Thorin cursed and nodded his head.
"We should go home."
-oOo-
For the next day Bilbo felt nervous, constantly worried that he would catch the disease from the village but after a second day had passed he began to feel safer. After all, perhaps Hobbits were just as hardy as Dwarfs.
He'd seen Thorin looking at him with the same concern but he too was beginning to relax now and Bilbo, foolishly, thought himself safe.
-oOo-
For years all three of the youngest Durin's had shared a bed but for the last few had been separated. They didn't mind too much but they missed sleeping together, it made them feel safe.
Bilbo was sleeping late, that in itself was strange but they had all assumed he was just tired. Thorin had left to go to council meetings with their cousin, Dis went down to the market, leaving Fili and Kili to clean up. By the time they had finished it was mid morning and there was still no sign of their Hobbit brother.
"I think we should go wake him up." Fili said finally, getting up and opening the door to their shared room.
"Rise and shine Bili!" Kili grinned, jumping on the end of the bed.
Bilbo groaned and curled up into a tight ball.
"Go 'way." He mumbled with a harsh cough.
"Come on Bili." Flil sighed, grabbing his little brothers shoulder to shake him but stopped when he realized his palm was damp.
"Bilbo?" He called gently, turning the hobbit on his back and gasping.
Bilbo was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, even through his night shirt Fili could feel the fever raging.
"Bilbo! You're burning up!" He exclaimed, suddenly filled with panic.
While they had doctors, they actually knew little about diseases. Dwarfs hardly ever became ill. They had tough immune systems meaning hardly any diseases could effect them at all, which of course meant that Bilbo as a hobbit living among them, was not exposed to any germs himself. The only time Dwarfs ever got fevers was from an infected wound, but Bilbo had not ben injured.
"Thorin said the village had a plague," Kili cried, "What if Bilbo caught the sickness!"
At that the hobbit began to cough roughly, curling up on his side as his body shuddered in a desperate attempt to breathe. Quickly Fili helped his brother to sit and clear his airways but it didn't seem to help. In fact after only a few seconds Bilbo was covering his mouth with his hands and blood was seeping through them.
The only time Fili or Kili had heard of that happening was when somebody had been stabbed and their lungs filled with blood. How could it be happening now with no wound? Kili was shaking, still sitting frozen on the end of the bed, he'd never been so scared in his entire life.
"Kili, I'll stay with him, you need to go find Thorin or mother." Fili ordered harshly.
"But-"
"Kili we don't have time!" Fili barked, "Bilbo needs a doctor! Get Oin! Get somebody!"
Suddenly Kili was on his feet and running, he'd never moved so fast in his entire life. He made it all the way down to the healing halls without stopping until he'd run into Oin, very literally. The old Dwarf looked as if he was going to scold him but then he saw the blind panic that was so obviously etched on Kili's face.
"Bilbo...sick...blood...fever." Kili gasped out trying to catch his breath.
Luckily it seems that's all Oin needed because he was gone in seconds, medical bag under his arm heading back up to their chambers.
Kili desperately wanted to take off again after him but he knew he had to find Thorin and tell him what was happening. So with a few deep breaths to get ready he began to run again, silently cursing the person who decided the forges should be so far down the mountain and the sleeping chambers so far up.
Finally, after what seemed like an age, he reached his uncles forge. Leaning against the door frame trying to catch his breath once again.
"Kili-?"
"Bilbo's sick." Kili choked out, "Really sick, uncle."
Thorin didn't reply but Kili could see the panic in his eyes as he threw down whatever weapon he'd been working on and ran towards their home. Kili groaned and took off after him, his legs would feel like lead tomorrow.
-oOo-
Thorin burst into the boys room so quickly it made Oin jump in shock, however, Thorin paid him no heed. His eyes were immediately on Bilbo, who was leaning up against Fili breathing raggedly as Oin wiped blood from his lips.
"What's wrong with him?" Thorin asked feeling panic well up in his chest.
"I've not seen this illness before, not here, only in humans." Oin replied, "It's a sort of plague, fever burns up the body and capillaries burst causing bleeding under the skin and in the lungs."
"But he'll be alright wont he?" Fili asked, "You'll be fine Bili, you wait and see."
"H-hurts to breathe..." Bilbo choked, a little more blood spill over his lips.
"Shh, don't speak just yet lad." Oin hushed, handing him a vile, "This will help you sleep."
"Surely you can do more for him than that!" Thorin yelled, "He's in pain!"
Bilbo flinched at the loud noise and rubbed at his head but Fili hushed him, gently tipping the tincture Oin had given them down his throat.
"Just go to sleep." he mumbled, "You'll feel better when you wake up."
-oOo-
Oin went to work, looking for any sort of medicine that could help the ailing Bilbo while Thorin, Dis, Fili and Kili took turns staying by his bedside. Helping him when he began to cough up blood and trying to tame his fever.
After the first day Bilbo slipped into delirium, moaning and muttering words that made no sense and screaming at invisible threats. The screaming was the worst, he would always end up coughing up a lungful of blood by the end of it, but nobody could calm him down.
"Come on Bilbo you have to eat." Thorin urged trying to get some of the broth into the hobbit's mouth but Bilbo turned away yet again.
"No...leave me 'lone."
"It's Thorin, Bilbo. I'm not trying to hurt you." The prince tried, Bilbo hadn't recognized anybody in days, Oin didn't even think he was properly conscious. Gently he placed a hand over Bilbo's damp forehead, the fever was rising again.
"I'm just going to get some cool water. I'll be back soon."
-oOo-
Bilbo was so confused. He couldn't think, everything hurt and burned so much he couldn't hold onto any one strain of thought. The whole world was shifting and moving like it was made of water and colours seemed to flash in front of his eyes making his head throb with the intensity.
Distorted voices would try and talk to him but he couldn't make any sense of the words, he just wanted to be home...
Somehow he ended up on his feet, but standing was hard, the world kept shifting and moving beneath him causing him to lurch forward and almost fall. With a few fumbling steps he tired to move forwards but ended up loosing his balance and slamming into the hard rock floor with a cry. Suddenly there was a loud booming voice above him, lacking the strength to do anything he curled up into a ball and whimpered. Then strong arms were hoisting him into the air and back onto something soft.
"Bilbo..."
Finally, a word he understood, his name! And that voice...
-oOo-
"Tho...rin..."
"Easy, Bilbo." Thorin whispered helping him to sit up and placing the cool cloth over his forehead, "Are you with us?"
"I think so..." He croaked.
"You've contracted the illness from the human village, but you'll be okay." Thorin supplied, "Oin is working on medicine to make you better, you've just got to hold out till then."
Bilbo tried to speak again but all that came out was a rasping breathe, each day his breathing got worse and Thorin was beginning to fear they'd loose him. Shushing him Thorin managed to get the small boy to drink some of the broth.
"There, now try and get some sleep." He smiled, lowering Bilbo back down onto the mattress.
"Father...can you...tell me about...Erebor?" Bilbo choked out.
That was surprising.
Of course Thorin and Dis had told the boys about Smaug, Erebor and even the Arkenstone but it didn't seem like the sort of thing to weigh on Bilbo's mind. So for a short while Thorin described the amazing halls and walls of Erebor and the huge rives of gold and silver than ran through the rock and of the beauty of the Arkenstone until finally the hobbit fell asleep.
-oOo-
Despite Oin's best efforts Bilbo began to decline once more. He no longer woke in any sense of the word, nor did he move or speak. He laid prone and still on the bed, his breathe coming in shallow rasps.
Thorin threw himself into work, he didn't cry or beg like Dis but anybody who saw him could see the pain he was feeling.
Fili and Kili took up posts at Bilbo's bedside, making sure to give him the medicine Oin had given them in the correct doses at the correct times. They had become so somber at the thought of little Bilbo dying, nobody could blame them.
One night, when Thorin came home he could hear Kili crying on his brothers shoulder. Normally he'd of made some comment about how warriors do not cry but he made an exception this time.
Then, by some miracle, Oin's potions began to work.
Bilbo's breathing became clearer, deeper and stronger with every day that past. He was lucid and conscious for short periods throughout the day and night, which they all took advantage on to ensure he ate and drank enough.
For days he was weak but well enough to talk and sit up in bed to read. Slowly the cough disappeared and the colour returned to his face and a week later Dis determined he was well enough to get out of bed and move around once more.
Fili and Kili accompanied him everywhere, which would have been annoying any other time but Bilbo understood how much he had scared them. Kili was especially quiet in the following weeks; if Bilbo so much as tripped he seemed to panic.
"Kili, really I'm fine." Bilbo sighed as he caught his brother watching him from the corner of his eye as they walked through the forest in search of rabbits.
"I know." He replied tersely, "I'm just making sure you don't fall down any rabbit holes. You are almost tiny enough, Bili."
Bilbo huffed, making Kili pick him up and noogie at his head in apology. This of course turned into an all out play fight with the two of them rolling down the hill until Kili pinned Bilbo and tickled him till he screamed for mercy.
"Honestly, do I have to do everything around here?" Fili yelled exasperated, holding up the only two rabbits any of them had found.
"Coming!"
Bilbo grinned, it was nice for things to finally be back to normal.
Coming up next: Bilbo enters his early teens and Gandalf discovers a Hobbit living among Dwarfs. What will happen when he tries to convince Thorin to let him take Bilbo back to the Shire?
