Don't own, not making any profit.

Bilbo smiled happily to himself the next morning as he puttered about quietly in the kitchen. He had shared Thorin's message with all the dwarfs last night, and they were all sleeping in this morning. The last night had been trying and he wasn't certain about this Dragon business, but it was certainly good to see his Aunt so happy. She was looking forward to this with a great deal of excitement, he knew.

He hadn't had the heart to refuse to go. He knew it had been her dream to explore the greater world since she was a little girl. He glanced over at the table he had left the contract on, neatly signed and folded. He didn't know if they would ask his Aunt to sign one. Considering the last night once again, he rather doubted it.

He whistled to himself as he fried some bacon. He had to admit it to himself. He was almost as excited as his Aunt, though he had a good bit of fear to go with it. He plated up the bacon and took it to the dining room, where he was almost done setting up breakfast. There were pancakes, syrups in three different kinds, links of sausage, platters of salted ham (from their pantry, this time), four different kinds of fruit, and plates of thin slices of the last of their cheese.

As he set down his burden, he pondered on whether or not to make a quick run to Gaffer Gamgee's for bread. His wife usually had several loaves baked by now. Making a quick decision, he knocked on his Aunts door. When he heard her sleepy reply, he said

"I've got breakfast on the table. I'm making a quick run to the Gamgee's for bread. I haven't heard any stirrings yet but if you could keep an eye on things and maybe find some butter and jam, I would appreciate it. I'll be back in just a bit."

Her door opened and she gave him a proud smile, then had to cover a yawn.

"I can do that quickly. Now that I'm up, I had better get our guests clothes ready too."

Thorin woke to a soft knock at his door, and the smell of something delicious. As his stomach grumbled happily he stretched, enjoying the feel of the soft bed beneath him. He could not remember the last time he'd slept so well. As he gazed around the room, he realized he needed to find his clothes. Hoping that they were nearby, he wrapped himself in a sheet and peered carefully out his door. The first thing he noticed was that several doors nearby had occupants peeking out of them.

The second thing he noticed was that there were chairs sitting outside each door, containing the promised items. He quickly gave a nod across the hall to Fili, then grabbed his clothes and headed back into his room to restore his dignity. There were still no boots, he noticed.

As the dwarfs gathered around the dining table, they were once again pleasantly surprised. Such a spread! Bilbo came through the door at the moment, his arms full of platters of sliced bread.

Seeing everyone looking at him, he gave them a grin.

"Go ahead and eat up everyone! My aunt and I have eaten already. It doesn't appear that you're missing anyone, so you don't need to save anything. Please, enjoy."

Not needing any more encouragement, they fell on the food with the youngsters and Bombur in the lead. Bilbo smiled again, then spoke to Thorin.

"I want to thank you for delaying your journey to allow us to set our affairs in order. My Aunt and I should have finished our business by noon. If you want to head out after lunch, we'll be ready. If you would rather take the rest of the day to rest and find anything you need, we would be happy to put you all up for another night." He paused, then addressed the entire group.

"Hobbiton does have a market if you wish to find anything, though I would be remiss if I didn't tell you my Aunt would like a list of anything you might need before hand. She wants to provide anything we can before you go looking."

Bilbo gave another smile that transformed into an outright grin at the stunned looks on the dwarves faces.

"She wasn't joking last night. If there is anything you need or anyone has forgotten, we'd be happy to help. We've already made certain that everyone has at least two blankets in their bedrolls. Which reminds me, we only put one change of clothes out for you this morning. If you want to gather the rest of your items, you'll find them in the laundry room. That's where we put your boots, too."

With a final cheeky grin, he left to find his Aunt so they could complete their errands. Their first stop: the law firm of Grubb, Grubb, and Burrows.

As the dwarves packed their gear together and made note of what they might need at Balin's insistence, Aster and Bilbo made certain that Bag End would be left alone for five years with the exception of maintenance and cleaning to be done by the Gamgees. If something happened to one of them, the other would receive all the other' s possessions. If something happened to both of them, they dictated who would receive what.

Bilbo knew his cousin Fosco's son Drogo was marrying a sweet girl soon, and determined that Bag End would go to them, along with his personal possessions. The rest of his land would go to his tenants. Aster only had to worry about her personal possessions, and stated that anything in her room would go to whoever was Thain at the time. Once they were both done, they grinned at each other. It was a little freeing, this business. The look on the other Baggins faces, particularly Lobelia's, when they realized they weren't getting anything also gave them a few naughty feelings of satisfaction.

Moving on, they knew they were unlikely to find a proper mount for her in the Shire. Thus their next stop was to find Bilbo a proper pony for riding, with another to carry their supplies. Making sure they got enough tack, they made a quick stop at the market for some fresh food. They returned to their smial by way of the Gamgees. Letting the Gaffer know what they were up to, Aster hired his wife to go up to the smial and make sure everything was in order when they left. All perishables eaten, dishes cleaned, laundry done and floors cleaned. She wasn't sure she would be able to get to everything, so better safe than sorry.

They also asked them to keep an eye out to make sure no one entered except for them while they were gone, and to check the filters for the stream every week. Satisfied that their home would be well taken care of while they were gone and that the Gamgee's had been paid fairly for it, they once again headed up the hill. They entered to a surprise.

Everything was spotless. As they followed the sounds of the dwarves, they found several in the kitchen preparing lunch. (Bilbo had enjoyed second breakfast with the Grubbs, and they'd been to busy for elevensies). They were quickly relieved of their burdens. The large dwarf, Bombur, appeared to be in his element and informed them that lunch would be on the table as soon as he finished with these new additions.

Rather bemused as they were herded out of their own kitchen, they continued to the laundry room where the rest of the noise was from. There they found the Ri brothers just finishing up hanging the bedroom linens and the robes everyone had been wearing. Expressing their gratitude, they asked where the rest of the dwarves were. There were three in here, and there had been three in the kitchen, so they were missing about seven by their count. Not to mention the wizard.

When they discovered that they were all outside getting their animals ready and preparing the packs for the ponies, they hurried out their back door. They had added it to the backside of the hill when they'd expanded the smial and put the orchard in. There they found a bustle of activity. When the elderly dwarf, Balin, saw them he immediately came over with a smile.

"We thank ye for your hospitality. It has surely been a treat to stay here, but we need to get a move on. It's a long way to the Lonely Mountain. I've made a list after talking to the lads. If you don't have everything on it, it's alright. I'm sure we can make do."

Aster cut him off with a laugh. "Now, don't go selling us short before we even get a chance to look at your list and defend ourselves, Master Balin!"

He smiled as she glanced over the list, nodding her head in places. "Well, I think we can manage all of this, though we'll have to ask Master Nori to look at what wire we have and decide if it suits his purposes. Let's see, tinder boxes, spare cloaks, a very small carving knife for wood? Yes, those should be no problem, though we may have to hem up some cloaks...the largest we have are Man sized and I doubt the hobbit sized ones will work...why Master Balin, there's no food on here! Don't you need any supplies for that? I admit we're a little limited for pony fodder, as we usually only have one or two visitors in a season that bring such animals, but we've plenty of the rest."

Balin's eyebrows rose. "I apologize if I've offended ye, lassie, but I saw the state of your pantry. We seem to have cleared you out." She smiled at him brilliantly.

"No, Master Balin. That was just the storage for perishables and things that will be used soon. We have several other rooms for things that are well preserved and will last the winter, or a long journey. If you'll let Bilbo show you, I'll get right on the rest of this list." She flitted away with one last smile.

By the time everyone had eaten and the dishes had been done, she had the cloaks and other items ready. She called the Company in to find their items, and she slipped each a purse. Thorin raised his eyebrows when he received his, but didn't comment. He had learned by now that these hobbits took their hosting duties very seriously. He almost choked when he checked it later, though. There were ten gold pieces inside! Not silver, gold!