Hello all! My thanks and all the interwebs to everyone who reviewed, favorites, and followed; you guys are awesome. This is my interpretation/rewrite of the infamous cave bit (also known as Bilbo's "I'm an arse" and Bofur's ridiculously lovely kicked puppy scene). I did my best to pin down their personalities, so any pointers or opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Without any further blathering, here's the next installation of my little drabble collection, unbeta-ed and written at two a.m. once more. Enjoy. :)


The deep snores of the exhausted echoed through the small cave. Two pair of bright blues eyes flicked open to dart around warily. A hobbit raised it's- his- head then sat up quietly. He wrapped up his worn bedroll hastily and stuffed it into his rucksack. When a small hand wrapped around his wrist he jumped, inhaling sharply.

The hand was attached to another hobbit, who was glaring up at him from her makeshift bed. "What are you doing," she mouthed silently.

"Going home. I don't belong here, Elsa," he mouthed back miserably.

"Maybe so, but we can't leave now! It's storming, in case you hadn't noticed, and the path back to Rivendell was destroyed. Go back to sleep."

"No. If I wait 'til morning the boys will try to stop me. I don't want to... Don't want to see them..." He coughed uncomfortably and she patted his arm.

"Are you sure about this, Bilbo?" He nodded. "Then let's go. What? I'm not letting you go on your own."*

He started to protest. "Er, what? I thought you wanted adventure. This trip was for you, never me."

"No, this trip was for you to prove to yourself that you're a Took as well as a Baggins. Besides, d'you really think that wandering through the mountains and getting chewed on by orcs is more important to me than you are? Twit." She smacked a finger against his nose affectionately and packed up her things quietly. "Ready?"

"Thank you," he whispered, barely audible.

The two hobbits padded noiselessly towards the cave entrance, stepping over their sleeping companions. Frigid mist gusted in to splatter on Elsa's face and she moved a little to the side to shelter Bilbo (a pointless effort, since she was no larger than he was and therefore a rather unimpressive shield). His teeth had already started to chatter. They had almost reached the cavern's threshold when a voice hissed to their left, and Elsa squeaked in a rather un-Tookish way as Bilbo grabbed her wrist.

"Where do yeh think you're goin'?" Bofur scrambled to his feet from where he'd sat whittling against the wall.

"Damn. Forgot about the watch," Elsa muttered. Her brother's fingers twitched around her arm. He slid his hand down into hers and squeezed quickly, signaling her to let him do the talking. "Back to Rivendell," he answered the dwarf truthfully.

"No, no, yeh can't turn back now, you're part of the Company. You're one of us, both of ye" Bofur pleaded. His brown eyes shone with earnesty in the low light.

"I'm not though, am I? Thorin said I should never have come, and he was right. I'm not a Took, I'm a Baggins, I don't know what I was thinking. I should never have run out my door." Bilbo's voiced was strained; he glanced at his sister and sighed unhappily.

Bofur turned to Elsa but she shook her head. "Wherever he goes, I go. I'm sorry."

Understanding flickered across the dwarf's face. "You're homesick; I understand." The female hobbit felt Bilbo stiffen beside her.

"No, no, you don't, you don't understand!" Her brother snapped. "None of you do - you're dwarves. You used to - to this life, to living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere." Bofur's face fell mournfully. His expression was something of longing and heartbreak, and betrayal. "I- I am sorry, I don't-" Bilbo apologized.

Elsa elbowed him roughly- the universal signal meaning 'shut up you ninny'- and when he looked beseechingly at her she sighed. "D'you want me to translate?" Without waiting for an answer she met the dwarf's gaze.

"What he means to say," she began slowly, face screwed up in thought, "is that we aren't like you. We're hobbits from the Shire. We've lived in Bag End all our lives; we have a place to call home. You, well, you don't. But more importantly... This quest means something more to you than I think we can understand. Against all hope your company is fighting for something more precious than gold: a home. from what I understand some of you have never even seen Erebor, but it means more than life to all of you. You have a purpose, a drive to your lives, and I don't. We don't." She sighed unhappily.

Looking like he'd been struck Bofur opened his mouth to- To what? To protest? To mutter some well-meant but hollow platitude? Or worse, to agree with her and tell them to leave? Elsa honestly didn't know what the miner would say, and it terrified her. Her hand shot up to stop him from speaking, almost striking his face and they both flinched; in the dark she hadn't realized how close they were all standing.

Bilbo grasped her wrist again, and she took the strength he was silently offering. "I wanted to help- I still do- but all we've done so far is been burdens to you. Thorin may be an arse, but he's just doing what's best for his people. And... he's right."

"We shouldn't be here," Bilbo said softly.

A tense moment passed. "You're right about one thing at least. We don't belong anywhere," Bofur replied softly. Brother and sister tried to disagree but he continued. "This is our quest, and we cannot ask ye to risk your lives for us. The dwarf smiled sadly but fondly at the two hobbits. "I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do." He rested his large hands on their shoulders in farewell. Elsa's breath hitched in her throat. Before she could stop herself she'd stepped forward and thrown her arms around Bofur's middle. Bilbo was pulled along and crashed into them.

"Thank you," Elsa whispered into the other's jacket, the only one of the Company who had fully accepted the Bagginses. He said nothing but enveloped both hobbits in a warm hug.

A long moment passed. Bilbo and Elsa drew as much comfort from their friend as they could. Finally Bilbo patted Bofur's arm and pulled away. "Elsa. The watch will change soon. It's time to go."

She took a step back and nodded. "Right." All of a sudden it was hard to breathe. She didn't want to leave. This rag-tag group of wanderers had invaded her house, demolished her pantry, terrorized her brother (though unintentionally), and caused her nothing but grief, but she loved them. Both of the hobbits did. They'd become family, and Elsa couldn't shake the feeling that she and Bilbo were abandoning them in a time of need.

Just moments before she'd been the strong one, the older sister that kept control of the situation for her little brother; right now she couldn't even think straight. She needed to keep her head. For Bilbo, she told herself.

Elsa swiped at stinging eyes and straightened up, steeling herself for goodbyes, but they never came. Bilbo and Bofur were staring down at her brother's sword, which had begun to glow a vivid blue through its scabbard.

"What's that?" Bilbo's face went slack with horror and cold fear stabbed through Elsa. Then everything was falling and she knew no more.


Okey dokey lokey! Please review. :)