Everyone immediately jumps up, at least those who aren't already standing, and they all try to rush the door at the same time, only to be stopped in their tracks by the stern looking dwarf dam.

"Hold it, all of you."She says, glaring at all of them."When I say she's awake, I mean she literally just woke up. Not only does she still need to be looked by Oin, but all she is currently wearing are underclothes and a blanket, and I'll be damned if all of you are just going to rush in with no thought to her privacy like a bunch of children. Now, once Oin has has cleared her, and we get some clothes on her, I'm sure she would love to see all of you, but for now give her a little bit of breathing room. Am I making myself clear?"

While Fili and Kili mutter a quiet,"Yes Amad.", while the rest of them shuffle around sheepishly, even the elves."Um, Amad?"Kili says before she can turn back to the room and close the doors behind her. When she pauses and looks at her youngest, he takes the pile of clothes he brought and hands it to her."I brought these for her from her old bag, I thought she could use them."

Dis smiles, taking the clothes from him."Thank you Kili, that was thoughtful of you. As soon as she is ready for company, I promise you can see her. Now just relax a bit, I'm sure it won't be long. Your wife has calmed down a little bit, by the way."She says, looking at Donald."I gave her some hot tea to calm her nerves, and she's doing a lot better."

"Thank you for that."Donald says gratefully."She doesn't always do well under pressure and A..Cricket isn't the type to get into trouble, so this is new for her."

"Understandable, only my children get into trouble all the time."She says, throwing the two of them a smirk."The tea I gave goes a long way to keeping me sane and relaxed."With that she turns around and closes the doors, leaving a silent group of males in her wake.

"Your Amad is a force of nature, lad."Dwalin says, shaking his head."I'm glad she's on our side."

"Your side of what?"Donald asks curiously."Are you in some sort of war?"

"You mean other than with the damn orcs that roam around? Aye, with almost every noble that came from the Iron hills when we took the mountain back, angry about how Thorin runs things. She's good about listening in to the meeting Thorin has with them, making sure she doesn't miss anything that might be useful, helping him make rational decisions once he gets back to his office, and is a member of the small council he confers with before making a decision about anything major that involves the mountain or its people. She's a much more level-headed version of him, but can be just as ruthless, and while the dwarves from the Blue Mountains know how she can be, those from the Iron Hills have no idea yet."

"She can be scary."Fili says with a nod.

"Even Uncle doesn't make her mad, and he's her twin."Kili adds in.

"Once, when he made her really, really mad back home, she got him drunk, and when he passed out she braided his beard and hair into the branches of a tree she hauled him up on, and when he woke up he fell off and hung there for 5 hours before she finally told Dwalin where he was so he could get him down."

"And that was just because he asked he if she needed help moving around some furniture because it looked a little heavy for her to move herself."

"She said next time that she would paste pink ribbons into his beard, and his cakes would start containing a surprising amount of crunchy bugs."
**************************

"Open up lass."Oin says, handing her a vial of clear liquid and watching as she downs it."Now, how many fingers am I holding up?"

"Are you counting the ones behind your back?"Conner says mischievously, causing Cricket to snort as Dis comes back into the room."Because that's cheating."

"Pretty sure he isn't."Cricket says, slowly stretching before taking a look at the hand in front of her."Three."

"Good, good. How badly do the injuries bother you at this moment? Are you feeling dizzy, nauseous, confused at all?"

"A bit dizzy, but that's probably normal. And yea, they sting a bit, but not as bad as I thought they would."

"That would be the paste I put on before I bandaged them up, it has a numbing agent. You will unfortunately feel them in a couple of hours, but I'll give you another vial to swallow before you sleep to help you heal more as you rest. The stomach wound will take the longest to heal, but it's a much more tender area and as long as I change the medicated bandages twice a day it should heal fine."

"I may actually be able to heal faster with Conners help."She says, lowering her feet slowly to the ground."I'm apparently supposed to heal faster, being a dragon knight and all."

"Aye, well, until I see it for myself I'm going to treat you like any other stomach wound victim. I don't put much faith into that bloody magic when it comes to healing, and I'll be making sure you heal the old fashioned way."He says, scowling at her."Now, come to your feet please, and let's see how well you can stand on your own."Cricket complies, gingerly coming off of the table until she is barely holding on, light headed at first but closing her eyes until it dissipates, then opening them back up and letting go, swaying a bit but that's all."You're holding your weight well, but I'll probably have one of the lads keep close to you for a while just in case. Considering you don't know your way around the mountain it can kill two birds with one stone."

"Luckily she has several volunteers waiting right outside these doors to help with that."Dis says with a smile, watching as Cricket slowly puts one foot in front of the other, wincing slightly from her injuries as they stretch the skin, even with the numbing agent.

"So are you saying that she's good to go?"Dawn asks hopefully."I mean, she did lose a lot of blood after all, and she was hurt pretty bad."

"Before you got here, I actually transferred a small amount of blood to her."Dis says, showing the spot on her arm where Oin did the transfusion."And the vial he had her swallow will help encourage her blood to replenish itself a little faster than normal. She's going to be fine now that the poison is sucked out of her body."

"That's right, all I need to do at the moment is change your bandages again, then make sure you have an escort able to catch you in case you have a spell. I'll send you off with your other vial to take before bed, then you can come back tomorrow for me to check up on your wounds and change it again."

Dawn sighs heavily."That's such a relief. Thank you so much."

"That's all well and good, but I don't see me leaving the room any time soon, unless you expect me to walk out wrapped in a blanket."

"Oh, I've got you covered."Dis says with a smile, handing her the clothes Kili brought."Kili says he got these for you out of your old bag."

"Bless his goofy little heart."Cricket says, taking the clothes gratefully."At least I know they'll fit."

"Old bag?"Dawn asks curiously.

"Yea...from the last time I was here."Cricket replies softly, sitting back down as Oin starts changing the bandages, wincing from the blood sticking a bit."It's a long story."

"Your friend, Dwalin is it? He told us a good deal of it while he escorted us here, said you could fill in the blanks when you had a chance. Some of it was pretty unbelievable."

"Oh good, I trust him to tell you a pretty accurate version."She says as he slowly starts putting new bandages on her."I'll tell you the rest as soon as we get in a good comfortable place."

"And eat?"Conner asks hopefully."I only had breakfast this morning, and was gonna eat as soon as we got back. I'm very very hungry."As if to prove his point, his stomach gives off a very audible rumble.

"Yes, and eat silly dragon."She says, her stomach echoing the same way.

"Yay."Conner says, still sleepy, and the hat falls forward a tiny bit down his forehead. Cricket flinches seeing it, but doesn't react other than that, not wanting to draw attention to the fact she was uncomfortable seeing it, and the memories it brought up. Dis sees it but merely files it away for later, not wanting to cause the girl any added discomfort."Then I can tell you about everything Thranduil and Legolas taught me."

"That would be helpful."Cricket says, pulling on her dress gingerly, then slipping on the shoes, already feeling better now that she was wearing clean clothes."Katla said the sleep helped catch us up, but it would be nice to not have any surprises."

"Who is Katla?"Dis asks this time, confused as no one else had came in the room while the girl had been asleep. Curious as well, Dawn waits for an answer as well.

"Katla is.."

"She's a dragon."Conner says cheerfully, having found a piece of lembas bread in his pocket."She likes to talk to us when we're asleep."

"Um...what? Aren't all the other dragons dead?"

"They are as far as we know."Cricket says with a sigh, taking the small bit of lembas that Conner hands her with a smile."Katla is the spirit and...I guess memory of the dragon that was bonded to Legolases mother. When Smaug merged his bond with mine, I think she passed on with him. Whenever we sleep, her and Smaug like to interact with us, pass on helpful bits of information, comfort us when we need it, things like that. Katla appeared to me when I disappeared from the battle at the mountain, warned me everything wouldn't be quite right when I made it home.."At that she drifts off, noticing her mother going pale next to her.

"That's amazing."Dis says, eyes wide."I didn't know they could do that."

"Not many people do. I would have talked about it with the others, but at the time most of them were...otherwise occupied."At that, Oin looks away, ashamed."But that's in the past, there's no war or gold sickness keeping me from talking to everyone this time. Or, at least that I know of."

"No war like there was last time, no."Oin says, going to his cabinets and grabbing a couple of things."Just roving orcs for the most part, though the nobles could beat them out from their whining alone."He walks over now that she has finished dressing and hands her mother a couple of things."This is for her to take tonight, right before sleep to enhance the healing process. If you take a bath, put this on right after, then cover with these fresh bandages. Other than that, don't let the lads run you ragged, lest you end up here a lot earlier. You can leave now, if you're feeling up to it."

"You're a lot nicer to her than you are my boys."Dis says with a smirk.

"Aye, well I don't expect to see her every other day with a new injury."Oin says, smirking back.

"Well, I'll keep them from overtaxing her. They know better than to mess with me when it comes to injuries, whether it's theirs or someone elses."

"I'll trust you can. Now, you better go show them you're ok, they're probably all driving each other crazy, and the last thing we need is a stress induced fight, especially with all the princes we have in the room."

"Thank you Oin."

"You're welcome lass. Now shoo."
*********************************************

When the door opened this time, there was already, in fact, quite a commotion in fact, but not due to her. Luckily, not due to stress induced fighting either, and the elf regiment was merely standing to the side and watching with amused smiles on their faces. Dawn, Oin, Dis, Cricket and Conner did the same once they fully exited the room to the sight of Dwalin chasing Nori around the room, Nori laughing while honey drips off the side of Dwalins face, Jace laughing in Donald's lap as he nibbles on a piece of cheese. The elves notice her first because of this, all of their eyes widening as they take in the less bloody sight of her, Legolases eyes crinkling in pleasure and relief as well.

"What's going on here?"Dis exclaims loudly, though with a smile on her face."I'm gone for 20 minutes and you turn into children? Here I though Cricket here was going to have responsible escorts to show her around the mountain! What if she has a misstep, or gets dizzy from her injuries, and you are too busy horsing around to catch her if she falls?"

All of the heads turn towards them as they hear this and stop laughing at the two, who stop in their tracks as well and stare blankly for a couple of seconds. It's finally broken when Jace gives an excited yell and jumps from Donald's lap, running to Cricket and hugging her legs tightly."Sissy! I was so scared, but you woke up! And you look so pretty!"

"Thank you Jace."Cricket says softly, lowering herself slowly and hugging him back. Seeing Conner peek curiously at Jace from around her arm, she gets an idea."Jace, I'd like to introduce you to someone. This is Conner. Conner, this is Jace. Conner, since Jace doesn't know much about the mountain, do you think you could be his friend and show him around?"

"Uh huh."Conner says shyly."Hi Jace. Momma Cricket is your sister?"

"No silly, she's my sissy! Is she your Momma?"

"No, she's my bond mate, but I've always called her Momma Cricket cuz my real momma is dead, and she took care of me instead."Conner says a bit sadly.

"I'm sorry your momma died. Would you like to share my sissy with me? I'm a good sharer, and then we could be bestest friends! Do you know the good hiding spots here?"The last part he whispers to the other child, which causes him to smile."I usually hide in the pantry when I sneak food and don't want my momma to know, but sometimes she finds me."

"I hide in Mister Thorins office sometimes."Conner admits with a giggle."He hides food in there that he shares sometimes."

Everyone watches this silently, glad the two children were getting along, considering how much time they were likely to spend together from this point on. Kili breaks off first, heading to her slowly."Cricket? Are you going to be ok?"

She gives him a gentle smile, noticing his nervousness."Hey, just a couple of flesh wounds Kee, nothing to worry too much about. Well, other than the slight bleeding still, and the dizziness, but that's what I'll have help from my brother for, right?"

Getting teary eyed, Kili rushes forward and hugs her tightly, trying to avoid her wounds the best he can."I missed you so much...we all did. Conner tries not to show it, but he was so sad when you left."

"I was too."She said, hugging him back."I couldn't remember who he was, but I could tell something was missing. I had all these faces and names, but had no idea what they meant to me, why I was so sad every time I looked at them. I don't plan on ever forgetting again."She looks at the rest of the dwarves standing around her and smiles broadly."Are all of you gonna stand there gaping, or come over here and give me a hug?"This causes the floodgates to open, all all of her dwarves rush forward for one massive group hug, some of them more insistent than others to get close to her, all of them just as happy to see her ok. Dis and Dawn inch around to stand next to Donald, watching with a bemused look on his face, the same as the elves.

"I should tell you, my youngest apparently adopted her into our family the last time she was here."Dis says to the watching mother."I found out a couple of hours myself. The night before the battle started, he made her his sister, and she made it so Conner could stay with him when she left."

"Oh...is that good, or bad?"

"Depends who you ask, I suppose. I personally have no problem with it, she seems like a fine young woman, and I've always wanted a daughter, even if not my own blood. It doesn't mean that you aren't considered her mother anymore, just consider us her extended family. Some of the nobles might take an exception to it, however, considering she would be a lesser sort of princess now, and would have authority over them to an extent."

"You know, my father will just try and use that as another reason why she should marry me."Legolas says thoughtfully, walking over to the two mothers."Bad enough he asked her while they were all trapped in our dungeons, but now that she's back? He will likely want to use her as a bargaining chip as well to try and make a stronger alliance between us."

"That sort of thing will obviously be up to her."Dis says with an air of waving it off."Though I must say, you don't seem too upset about it."

"Not exactly, no."Legolas says with a small grin."I told her before, I'd rather my father not play matchmaker with me, and if I was to marry her, I would want to make the offer myself, after an appropriate courting session, going through all the right channels, that sort of thing. I was just warning you what to expect once father finds out that she's back, considering how badly he wants her bloodline and power in our family."

Dis sighs heavily as the hug starts to break apart, giving the woman some air."That sounds like him. Thank you for the warning, I appreciate it. Why don't you break in to welcome her back now that the crowd has died down?"

"I think I will, Lady Dis. Thank you."He says with a small bow, then gracefully winds his ways through the dwarves until he makes his way to Crickets side, giving his own greeting. Conner and Jace run around the large group with smiles on their faces, stopping in front of the two women.

"Are we going to get food soon?"Conner asks, looking up at Dis."Jace is really hungry, and I'm really hungry, and if we don't get food soon I don't know what we're gonna do!"

"Conner said he'll show me all the good stuff I need to try, and then said he wants to show me all his toys, and I asked him if he could show me some more magic tricks! He said he had to ask permission first though."

Conner looks up a bit guiltily at Dis."Is it ok to show him some of what I can do? Please? He already saw me change when me and Momma Cricket got back together, so it's not like I have to keep things a secret from him. It would be nice to have a friend I don't have to hide from."

"I..uh...have you asked Cricket yet? I don't see how it could be a problem as long as you do it in private."

"Asked me what?"Cricket says, finally making her way back to her family and Dis, the other dwarves giving her space but still close by. Dis explains the situation and Cricket smiles, eyes twinkling."Of course, I don't have a problem at all, as long as you do like Lady Dis said and keep it to the privacy of your room. "Speaking of that, where exactly are we sleeping? I have a feeling I won't be able to stay on my feet very long, and would rather eat where I can enjoy your company and speak freely...and sit comfortably. And I'm not sure my family really needs to be around the rest of the mountain until they kind of get used more to all of you. I trust all of you to kind of prepare them for the more...extreme dwarves."She says, getting nods of understanding from the rest of the group, and chuckles from the visiting elves.

"Aye, we'll help get em sorted out."Dwalin says, finally wiping the honey off off his face."Not only that, but I can make sure they have some sort of guard with them whenever they roam around the mountain, a guard or one of us."

"Thank you."Cricket says to the normally gruff dwarf gratefully."That would be wonderful."

"No problem lass."

"We actually have rooms set up for you, as well as your family."Balin says gently to her."Thorin had me set up the guest suites built for our larger visitors. Your room has a smaller adjoining room with a child sized bed."He says to her mother and stepdad."And for now, yours is right down the hall from theirs, in the royal wing."

"What do you mean for now?"Cricket asks, a bit confused."And royal wing? Really?"

"Really."Balin says smiling, knowing her concerns.

"And the reason you might not be staying their long,"Fili says, gaining her attention."Is because once you heal more and won't get tired walking around, you could take over the Dragon Knight quarters."

There is silence from her for about ten seconds."You mean...he finished them?"She finally says, a bit in shock."I had kinda forgotten about asking for that."

"He did."Kili says proudly."We didn't even have to remind him too ofton about it, or badger him into it."

"Not only that, but the rest of the apartments were finished as well."Fili continues."He finished them off, had quite a bit left over, then went to both Rohan and Gondor and rebuilt them there as well, not explaining why, only saying he wanted to do his part to clean up a piece of history now that he had his own home back."

"That's amazing."She says, eyes wide."I never would have thought he would do something like that, considering how he was the last couple of times we...interacted. I know most of it was the gold sickness, but that kind of thing is still hard to forget. So Conner and I have apartments everywhere?"

"You do. I've only see the ones here and at Thanduils palace, but they're all really nice looking, and made so Conner can stay in it in his real form if he wanted to."Kili says with a large smile, which falters once Cricket sways a little bit, Fili and Nori both grabbing an arm gently and helping her stay upright."Are you ok?"

"Yea, just a little dizzy all of a sudden."She says, grateful for the strong arms keeping her upright."Might be best if we go ahead and head to those rooms now. Is there any way we can have food brought up to them? The kids do need to eat, and I'm pretty sure I need to before I pass out."

"Of course."Dis says immediately, falling into her Mother Bear mode, Dawn and Donald watching on silently as they assume she knows best in this situation."Kili, Fili, you two stay on either side of her and make sure she doesn't fall over. Balin, you lead the way and show us what rooms you had set up, go ahead and take us to hers first. Dwalin, do you mind going to the kitchens and bringing up some food for everyone?"

"Not at all lady."Dwalin says, looking over at Nori with a smirk."Come on sneak thief, you're coming down with me and helping carry the food." Nori has no chance to argue, as Dwalin grabs him by the arm and drags him along bodily. The rest of the group separates soon after, merely glad to see that she's ok after worrying for so long in the waiting room. After saying their goodbyes, they all head off to their respective directions except for the five Dis gave instructions to and the elves, who walk up to Cricket as one and give little bows to her.

"We're going to be heading back to the Greenwood."Legolas says to her when they finish bowing."Father would have expected us back by now, and we need to let him know what's going on. I will be back very soon though, not only to check on your health, but for much more merry reasons."He says with a soft smile and a wink. Before she can ask what he means, he leans back over and kisses her hand gently, then lets it back down and exits the room with his honor guard, Fili glaring at him as he leaves, still not happy with the elf prince.
***********************************************

They get her to her...rather large room without much trouble, though they do get quite a few stares from the dwarves that they pass, curious as to the strangers being escorted by the Durins, Conner and Jace holding one of Dis's hands each and talking animatedly to one another the entire time, already planning some sort of adventure from the bits that Cricket catches from her spot behind them.

They make it to the room none too soon, as the brothers are practically holding her up by the time they enter, and gently deposit her on a large cushy chair in what looks like the sitting room area of her quarters, Dawn and Donald sitting on a love seat next to her and looking at her in concern. All the others take seats as well after checking that Cricket was ok, the children taking spot on the princes laps as they wait for the food to arrive. After assuring Dis that she was more than welcome to stay, Cricket took the chance to finally fill in all the spots Dwalin couldn't, wanting to do it while she was still awake and it was fresh on her mind, only skipping the more..intimate spots in her adventures, for which Fili look extremely grateful. Balin had excused himself once they had made it to her room, showing the her families on the way to hers, saying he needed to meet with Thorin and let him know her progress, since he hadn't had a chance to make it back since she had arrived.

Nori and Dwalin arrived halfway through the story with the food, and after taking a brief interlude to get it all put out, Nori and Dwalin taking seats themselves(really, how many seats did one room need?), she finished up the story, every once in a while pausing to take a bite or a drink herself. By the time she's done, everyone has finished their food and is lounging in their seats thoughtfully, all except for the boys who made a cot on the floor while they were eating and had fallen asleep on it once they had finished, much to the amusement of everyone there.

"I must admit, it sounds different coming from you, a bit more believable."Dis says after Cricket finally ends her story at the point she literally disappeared from the middle earth.

"It's a good thing I know you're not the type to tell tall tales."Donald says, face a bit pale."Otherwise I'm not sure how I would react to all that, even with us actually being here. You just...put yourself in so much danger. What would have happened if you had died? Would you come back a corpse?"

"I don't know."She says quietly, lowering her eyes."I didn't have much of a choice though, did I? And I wasn't going to let them down, not when I was told they couldn't make it without me. I have no regrets, and I'm sticking to that."

"And we're proud of you for what you did."Donald replies, Dawn nodding in reply."Your momma raised you right for you to risk your neck to help people and not think twice about it."

"We just wish you didn't have to do it alone."Dawn adds in.

"She wasn't alone."Kili says, Fili agreeing with him."We made sure she was never alone, tried to keep her safe and happy as long as we were around her."

"And if they weren't with her, one of us was."Nori says."To the very end, she was never alone."

"Though I will say, she got pretty good at protecting herself."Dwalin adds with a smile."There were several times we didn't even attempt to interfere, just watched her make her move. I for one was never disappointing."

"You were a good teacher."She says, smiling at the gruff dwarf.

"So, I have a question."Dawn says out of the blue."What happened to Bilbo?"She knew what happened in the book, but considering what had changed from what she knew, it had been bugging her what had happened to the little hobbit.

The four companions faces fall, and they look back and forth at one another before Fili finally speaks." was found a day later by Beorn and Gandalf, having gotten knocked out during the battle and somehow wasn't seen while they were searching the battlegrounds. He stayed with the elves for a couple of days recovering, then was escorted home by Beorn and Gandalf. He wrote us a note, which he sent via the elf prince, saying he was very glad to have helped us recover our home, but that it was time for him to return to his own. He told us to stop by anytime, and that tea was at four if we did, but the only one that has gotten the chance to go by is Balin. He said that other than having to buy back a great deal of his furniture and loosing his reputation, Mr. Baggins was doing quite well. He seemed sad whenever Thorin was mentioned though."

"He misses him."Cricket says softly, causing Dis to look at her in surprise.

"He won't show it, but Thorin misses him as well."Dwalin says back at her, causing everyone to go quiet once more, listening to the two children snoring.

After a while, Dis speaks up once more."So. I don't know if anyone has done it yet, most likely not due to the events that preceded it, but I would like to formally welcome you into our family."She says, causing Cricket, Fili and Kili to look up at her in surprise."I know Thorin was less than pleased that you did it without his permission, Kili, but I'm quite proud of you for it, and think it was the right decision to make. In fact, after you take a chance to finally bathe in the hot springs here, I would be extremely pleased if you would allow me to braid the family bead into your hair."

Her boys look speechlessly at her."I would consider it an honor, Lady Dis."

"Please, call me Dis."

"Dis then. Thank you."

"It's my pleasure. Of course, that means I now have to introduce you as my adopted daughter at the Treaty Renewal Feast next month, but you should have no problem with that."She says, a grin lighting up her face as the princes groan.

"Um, the what?"

"Every three years we agreed to renew our treaties with our various allies all at the same time, hosting a celebration for it in a different realm each time. We offered to have it here first to show off the work that has gone into bringing the mountain back to its original splendor, and all of the Durins will be announced at the beginning of the celebration, as well as the rest of the main parties, before the feasting and dancing that will proceed the signing the next day. As a member of our family, not to mention an integral reason the treaties were allowed to be created in the first place, you will be introduced along with us."

"But..."

"No buts, if Kili and Fili can't get out of it, neither can you."

"It's best not to argue with her when she sets her mind on something lass."Dwalin says, leaning over with a grin."She's a lot like her twin in that respect."

"Yea, we've tried to talk her out of it several times."Fili adds.

"Fili, you're Thorins heir, of course you can't skip it."Dis says with a snort."And it's only fair that Kili goes if you go. I'll be there as well, and you don't hear me complaining."

Both the boys sulk a bit but don't say anything else, causing Dis to smile in victory."Now, I think since everyone has eaten and relaxed, I think we should follow the boys example and get some rest. It's been a trying day for us all, and tomorrow we can start fresh, maybe try to figure out why you were brought here again."

"That would be nice, seeing as we can actually stay in one place this time and do research. Mom, are you and Donald going to be ok in your room?"

"As long as we don't have any chance of being attacked for some random reason, we should be fine, especially if our room is even half this size."

"It is half this size, but still very comfortable."Dis assures them."We have some clothes for you to sleep in tonight, and tomorrow we can take you to get some clothes fit to you from our tailors, so you fit in a bit better."

"Not only that, but this entire floor is being constantly patrolled by both my guards, and Nori's spy network."Dwalin adds in, Nori nodding next to him.

"I assume it's ok to go ahead and leave Conner in here tonight?"Dis asks Cricket as Donald lifts Jace up from the floor, still snoring."He doesn't move around that much in his sleep, so you shouldn't have to worry about him accidentally knocking into one of your injuries while tossing and turning. Not only that, I think waking up with you still here will make him very happy."

"Yea, that's fine."Cricket says as Kili takes Conner to her bed and places him in it."The beds definitely big enough."

"Perfect. Would you and your mother like to go ahead and take a bath in the hot springs in the morning? That way we can clean your wounds and put the new bandages on before you greet the rest of the mountain for breakfast, and Conner, Jace and your stepfather can go do the same with Kili. I need to go down myself, and that way we can kill two birds with one stone."

"Sure, that sounds great."

"Then can we show her the mountain?"Kili asks excitedly.

"If you like, as long as one of the members of the company is with her at all times, as well as her family."

"Just don't take too long."Dwalin says with a frown."I have something I'd like to show her as well, and we need to fill her in on what all has happened since she left."

"There will be time for all of that."Dis says sternly, shooing them from the room."Right now she needs her rest. I know all of you are happy to see her, but she won't disappear if you take your eyes off of her."

"You don't actually know that."Nori mutters, and Dis throws a glare his way."Just saying, we had no warning last time either."

"Be that as it is, none of us have any control over what happens, so all we can do is take it a step at a time. Will you allow Dwalin to escort you to your rooms?"She directs at Crickets family, and Dawn nods.

"Yes, thank you."Dawn turns to Cricket, still seated, and leans over to give her a gentle hug, then kisses her forehead."Goodnight honey, I love you. I still don't really know if I understand everything that's going on, but I'm so glad you're ok. We'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight mom."She replies, watching as they exit the room followed by Dwalin, who had to pull Nori from the room.

"Boys, you need to leave as well."Dis says gently, and the princes surge forward and both give her hugs as well, kissing her on either side of her cheeks before rising back up with grins.

"We'll see you in the morning Cricket."Fili says with a soft smile."Then we can finally show you the apartments that were rebuilt for you and Conner."

"As long as they aren't up too many stairs."She says jokingly."Otherwise I might not make it."

"Oh, we can always carry you."Kili says with a grin, before being pushed out of the room by Dis, who shuts the door behind them before turning to face the rapidly drifting off woman.

"Come on, Balin had a sleeping gown brought for you."She says, helping Cricket up and leading her to the bedroom."I'll help you get it on before leaving you to sleep."

"Thank you."Cricket says gratefully as Dis helps her remove the elven gown, her forearm not wanting to comply when she tries to remove it herself. It was strange, needing to have someone to help her do simple things like change clothes just because of an injury, but she was glad that the lady was willing, as there was no way she would be able to alone at the moment. Once the dress is off and the sleeping gown on, Dis helps Cricket to the large opulent bed, watches as she swallows the vial that Oin gave to her to take before she sleeps, then blows out all the candles, leaving only a strange glowing stone as the only light in the room.

"To your right is a chamber to relieve yourself in if you have the need."Dis says, pointing to the room closest to the stone."The waste is sent straight into the lava beneath the mountain. If you need anything at all, my chamber is right next to yours, the boys a little farther down, though I do suggest coming to me first. Other than that, is there anything you need before I head to bed myself?"

"No not at all."Cricket says sleepily."Thank you so much for your help today, keeping them from overexerting me. You've been so nice to me, and I haven't done anything to deserve it. Not only that, but I have a good feeling that you've been helping Kili with Conner, and I can't express my thanks enough for that."

"Cricket, the way I see it, you not only saved my sons lives, but you kept my hard headed brother from making a a mistake he would regret the rest of his life."Dis says softly to the young woman."You deserve every bit of help you get. Now get some rest, because I have a feeling that my boys plan on trying to keep you to themselves for as long as they can tomorrow, and you know how they can be."

"That I do."Cricket says, closing her eyes as Dis heads to the door."Goodnight Dis."

"Goodnight Cricket."

The last thought that Cricket has before drifting off to sleep, is that she needs to try and go visit Bilbo, maybe even convince him to come back with her and visit the mountain.
*****************************

"Honey, I just had a thought."Dawn says softly to her husband as they both settle down in the large soft bed, all the lights out.

"What is it?"

"She had her miscarriage right after when she would have returned here from the first time, right?"

"Right.."

"But she didn't remember even having sex in the first place to have gotten pregnant."

"What are you thinking?"

"Is it possible she got pregnant here? And if so..who was it? Did they know she was pregnant?"

They both go silent as the thought goes through both of their minds.
*******************************

"Is she ok?"Thorin asks from his armchair, glass of whiskey in his hand.

"She is. Tired and healing, but ok."Dis says, having stopped by his office before heading to bed."The boys are excited to show her the mountain tomorrow, and her nephew and Conner have already became fast friends."

"That's good."

"I'm also braiding the family bead into her hair tomorrow."

Thorin raises his eyebrow at that."Is that so?"

"Yes. I approve of her being let into the family, and once she's healed I'm going to have a dress made for her for the Treaty Feast."

"Are you not worried about how the nobles will treat her?"

"Not really. I've heard how she handled you and the boys on your little quest, and think she will do just fine with them once she has healed up. They try anything, they won't know what hit them, maybe even literally."

Thorin snorts at the thought, taking a sip of the amber colored liquid, knowing she's right.

She usually is.

"The elf prince also had a little warning for me."She adds in, watching her twins face."About his father."

"Oh? And what was it this time?"

"That he most likely will try and compromise for her hand in marriage to Legolas again to try and solidify an alliance with us, or at least that will be the reasons he gives us."

"What did you tell him?"

"That anything like that will be completely up to her."Dis says with a smirk."I'm pretty sure the last thing on her mind is marriage, but the prince did assure me that if he did want to marry her, he would go about it the right way, and not let his father call the shots."

"Please, I've been reliably informed that anyone who wants to court her would have to go through the entire company for approval."Thorin says, finishing off his glass."It will be very hard to gain approval from Dwalin alone, much less any of the others."

"Are you going to hide from her forever?"

"No..I just assumed she would want to see the rest of the company, connect back with them, before I would see her. They were much closer to her after all."

"Of course."Dis says, eyebrows raised."Well, she will be at breakfast in the morning, if you feel like finally letting her see you, as well as the rest of her family. It might be the only chance you get, as the boys plan on hogging most of her attention tomorrow, though Dwalin insisted he needed to show her something."

Thorins eyes darken."I know what he wants to show her. She may end up a lot worse tomorrow night than she was today, if he's taking her where I think he is."

Dis looks at him curiously."Where is he taking her?"

"The Tombs of those lost in the battle for the mountain."