Thorin froze. His eyes threatened to bulge out of his face as his mouth hung partially open. Some small noises emerged from his throat, but no words. Billa closed her eyes, the tears overflowing as she grimaced.

"You know what," she said, voice shaking slightly, "why don't you… think about that for a while? You're good at that."

"But- when? How?" Thorin was too stunned to process the information completely. Billa lifted a finger.

"No. You… think. I'm going to… sit in that corner and try not to die of shame."

The silence that fell over the room was thicker than stone and harder to break. Thorin settled into pacing from the door to the bed and back again. Occasionally, he glanced at the huddled form of Billa. He would wait until she was done crying. He could do her that courtesy at least. In the meantime, his brain was overloaded. A baby? Billa was pregnant? By whom? For how long? When had she found out, and why in the world hadn't she told him? Was it one of the others? Kili? Fili? No, that was ridiculous. Gloin? Even more ridiculous. Certainly not Gandalf. Thorin ran through all the times in the past few weeks they'd been separated.

Better make that months. He slanted a nervous glance at her, curled up in the corner. No telling how long she's been hiding this. Goblins. Gollum. Orcs. Wargs. Battle. Thorin stopped his pacing and his blood ran cold at the thought. When they'd fought before the Battle of the Five Armies, he'd sent her away, but later, Balin said she'd been found on the battlefield. What if… no, they wouldn't. Would they? It could have been anyone. That thought was pure anguish, and he twisted to face Billa.

"Whose is it?" he asked, his voice harsher than he'd intended it to be. The hobbit's curly auburn head popped up off her knees and Thorin was oddly relieved by the offended look on her face.

"Yours. Who else do you think- Thorin, are you seriously implying that I would-?" She was moving toward him, her expression dark with fury, but Thorin met her halfway, trapping her against his chest and holding her tightly.

"Thank Durin," he whispered into her hair. Billa was stiff with confusion.

"Thorin, what are you- are you alright?"

"I thought… and you… but you're not." His grip on her tightened momentarily, then he pulled away, holding her at arm's length as he inspected her face. "When?" There was a slight pause as she looked back at him, her brown eyes bewildered, but softening as the anger left her.

"Laketown."

"Ah. When we-"

"Agreed never to speak of it again," she interrupted warningly, then sighed. "Yeah. Then."

The door burst open and Fili and Kili fell through the opening, expressions of rapture on their young faces. Billa lurched into Thorin's chest with a faint squeak. She'd been under the impression that they were alone. Kili hit them first, making Thorin stagger. Fili was next, bowling them over as the younger dwarves hugged them very tightly.

"Baby cousin!" yelled Kili ecstatically.

"So you're staying, right, Billa?" Fili grinned at her. "You can't take the heir to the Carven Throne all the way to the Shire!"

Billa dissolved into helpless laughter and tried to hide her tears in Thorin's fur. It was as soft and warm as she'd always imagined it was, and now it was hers. And so was the dwarf wearing it.

"I suppose I'll have to. I doubt your uncle would let me travel alone now anyway." Thorin's arm tightened around her and she sighed, deciding that she could deal with the whole 'secret marriage' bit later. For now, everything was right with the world.

The End