Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay. RL and writer's block got in the way.


The Company rose well before first light the following morning and packed up their bedrolls quickly and quietly. The sun hadn't even begun to peek over the horizon, the sky barely tinged grey with dawn, when the Company slipped away from Rivendell. Magnolia and Bilbo both looked back fondly at the Last Homely House, before they were urged on by the other members of the Company. The path out of the valley was steep and uneven, and almost everyone stumbled at least once, but whenever Magnolia's steps faltered, Fili was there to steady her with a warm hand on her back and a gentle smile.

Thorin pushed the Company hard that first day, wanting to put as much distance between them and Rivendell as possible before the elves found out the Company had gone. There was little cover from the midsummer sun, and the Company was grateful when the sun finally began to set behind the western horizon. They quickly found a suitable place to set up camp, near trees that offered protection and a small stream for water, and the Company dispersed to their appointed camp-making tasks. Since Fili and Magnolia were not to be unsupervised as a requirement of their courtship, Bilbo accompanied Magnolia and Fili when she went foraging for things to supplement their dinner.

After dinner was eaten and cleaned up, Magnolia rummaged through her pack and withdrew a sheaf of folded up papers, which she passed out to the men of the Company. Everyone except for Bilbo looked confused at the hobbit-woman's actions. Bilbo simply smiled softly at her when she handed him his paper.

"What's this, Lass?" Fili asked when she handed him his parchment.

"It is customary in the Shire to give gifts rather than receive them on one's birthday. As I haven't had a chance to buy anything for all of you, I made gifts instead. Please open them," Magnolia said quietly, waiting for the others' reactions. The dwarves were startled to unfold their parchments and see small portraits of each man doing something he enjoyed. Bofur's picture showed him smoking his pipe, a mischievous glint in his eyes; Kili's portrayed him with his bow, about to fire an arrow into a warg; Dwalin's picture showed him caring for his axes, Grasper and Keeper; Bifur was carving toys in his picture; Ori was shown drawing in his journal; Dori was making tea for everyone; Balin was obviously telling a story of dwarven history; Bilbo was shown looking wondrously at a vast landscape laid out at his feet; Bombur was cooking, a smile on his face as he tossed ingredients into a pot; Nori was slipping something into his pocket, a sharp grin on his face; Oin was pounding plants and roots to make one of his treatments; Gloin was shown starting a fire, a look of pride and concentration on his face as he coaxed a small flame into being; Thorin was portrayed sitting guard at night, separate from everyone, but obviously listening to their snores with a small smile on his face. Fili's portrait, though, just showed him smiling, eyes bright and happy. Everyone was stunned at the details in their portraits, and then on the back of each portrait was a poem written in beautiful calligraphy. Each poem was unique to the individual, and Magnolia heard more than a few sniffles from Dori and Ori, and even Dwalin's eyes looked a bit bright.

"Lass, these are beautiful. When did you find the time to make these?" Fili asked, reading his poem.

"I made them in Rivendell. I hope you like them," Magnolia answered, before she was immediately engulfed in a hug courtesy of no less than three of the dwarves and Bilbo. When the pile of dwarves and hobbits dispersed, Bofur and several others pulled their assorted musical instruments from their packs and began playing a lively tune. The Company members who were not occupied making music occupied themselves with enjoying it. Fili quickly grabbed Magnolia and led her into an impromptu dance, spinning and twirling her around the campfire.

Laughter rang loudly through the night, the Company celebrating Magnolia's birthday for long hours, ignoring the danger of the Wilderlands. Magnolia and Bilbo tried to teach the dwarves dances from the Shire, but the dwarves were ill-suited to the light-footed jigs. In turn, Fili and Kili tried to teach the hobbits dwarvish dances, but Magnolia and Bilbo lacked the strength to look anything but ridiculous. Finally, Thorin put an end to the revelry, though he did so kindly.

As the Company calmed themselves and prepared to bed down for the night everyone called out various birthday wishes for Magnolia. Bombur expressed his disappointment that he did not have access to a proper kitchen, nor foreknowledge of Magnolia's birthday, regretful that he could not bake a cake. Magnolia simply gave the large dwarf a hug, and thanked him for his kindness.

"Thank you all, this has truthfully been the best birthday party I have ever enjoyed!" Magnolia said with a smile, which the dwarves and Bilbo returned, though they were saddened that such a slapdash celebration was Magnolia's best birthday party. Fili quietly resolved that Magnolia's next birthday, hopefully in Erebor, would be the best birthday Middle Earth had ever seen. When Magnolia finally came to rest next to him, Fili drew her close and pressed a gentle kiss first to her forehead, then a second kiss to her lips.

"Happy birthday Lass. I wish you the sweetest of dreams," he said quietly.

"Thank you dear heart. Good night," Magnolia replied, and she quickly dropped off to sleep, Fili following not long after a smile on his face at Magnolia's endearment.


The next day the Company rose early and began their trek for the day. The terrain was rough, but occasionally dotted with groves of trees like they had camped in the night before. Fili and Magnolia walked together, hand in hand, enjoying the other's presence.

The Company stopped to rest at midday in another small grove that shaded them from the blazing midsummer sun. Fili noticed small clusters of little blue flowers growing here and there, and while Magnolia rested he asked Bilbo what the flowers were, thinking to give them to Magnolia.

"Why those are forget-me-nots! They're traditionally given as part of hobbit courting," the older hobbit explained.

"Why are they used in hobbit courting?" Fili asked, already beginning to gather a small bouquet of the flowers.

"Because of what they stand for," Bilbo said. Fili looked at him strangely, and Bilbo continued, "forget-me-nots symbolize true love, in the language of flowers that all hobbits are taught as faunts. To hobbits, courtship is usually just a formality, undertaken only when hobbits are sure of their feelings toward the one they wish to court. Forget-me-nots are usually paired with heliotrope for devotion, and white heather for protection, if it's a hobbit lad gifting the bouquet to a lass."

"Are any of those other flowers nearby, do you know?" Fili asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did see some heliotrope and white heather growing close to that stream we saw a bit earlier," Bilbo said. The Company had encountered the stream about half of a league's walk before deciding to take their rest, so Fili sought his uncle's permission to backtrack with Bilbo to fetch the flowers. Thorin was unsure about the delay, but when Balin pointed out that the Company would make better time if they were not trekking through the very hottest part of the day, Thorin conceded, and Fili and Bilbo set off to find the heliotrope and white heather.

Bilbo and Fili talked more about hobbit customs on their way to find the other flowers for Magnolia's bouquet. Fili listened attentively while Bilbo explained the same hobbit courtship customs that Magnolia had explained to Ori, occasionally asking a question for clarification. When Bilbo started to explain the language of flowers, Fili was quick to draw a comparison to the language of gemstones that all dwarves learned as dwarflings. When they finally reached the stream where Bilbo had spotted the heliotrope and white heather they also found gorse, which symbolized love in all seasons, according to Bilbo, who said that it would make a fine addition to Magnolia's bouquet.

When Bilbo and Fili made their return to the rest of the Company, it was with a small bouquet of heliotrope, gorse flowers (which Fili had cut the thorns from), white heather, and forget-me-nots. Bilbo had even managed to use his cravat as a ribbon to tie the stems of the flowers together. Before they reached the Company though, Bilbo stopped Fili with a hand on the dwarf's shoulder. Fili looked at Bilbo questioningly, but Bilbo answered with a stern look.

"By giving Magnolia this bouquet, you are promising to protect, be devoted to, and love Magnolia, no matter what. If I find out you've hurt her in any way, or behaved contrary to the message of these flowers, you will have me to answer to. Is that clear?" the hobbit said, arms akimbo.

"As clear as a diamond, Master Baggins, but I would never do anything to hurt her," Fili answered sincerely.

"Then, my boy, you have nothing to fear," Bilbo said, cracking a wry smile and walking into the glade the Company had settled in for their midday's rest. Fili followed him and made his way toward the spot that Magnolia had claimed, nestled between the roots of a tree. With the bouquet hidden behind his back, Fili approached her, drawing the attention of the rest of the Company. Bilbo was quick to silence the various lines of inquiry from the others.

"Be quiet and watch!" he hissed. Almost as one, the thirteen men all turned to watch Fili give Magnolia the flowers he had gathered. Magnolia was occupied with her knitting, so she didn't hear Fili's approach until he stood in front of her and cleared his throat. She looked up, startled, and was greeted by Fili's bright smile.

"I've a treat for you, Lass," he said, drawing his bouquet from behind his back to pass it to Magnolia. Her eyes widened to see the forget-me-nots, gorse, white heather, and heliotrope, all tied together with a bit of Bilbo's cravat. She took the flowers from Fili with shaking hands, and tenderly touched the silky petals. When she looked back up at Fili, her smile was broad, bright, and perhaps a touch watery.

"These are lovely. Thank you, truly," she said. Fili sat himself down next to her and moved to take her hands in his, but then Magnolia saw the cuts and scratches that littered his hands from the gorse.

"Oh my! Your poor hands! Please, allow me to tend to them. It wouldn't do for one of those cuts to get infected," she said. Bilbo, having anticipated Magnolia's reaction to the cuts, had already gathered a salve and clean, soft cloths from Oin, which he passed to her, before chivvying the others back to whatever they had been doing prior to his and Fili's return.

"Thank you, again, for picking those flowers for me, you really didn't need to go to all of that trouble on my account," Magnolia murmured, eyes downcast, as she dampened one of the cloths Bilbo had handed her, and gently wiping the blood from Fili's hands.

"That's where you're wrong, Lass. I absolutely needed to get those flowers for you, because I wanted to," Fili said, tipping her chin up to look in Magnolia's eyes. "I braved the thorns on the gorse bushes to see your smile, Lass, and such a smile it was. And Bilbo told me the meanings of those flowers and I would have you know that I stand by that message. Dwarves don't particularly care for things that grow and die in a season, preferring the permanent beauty of a well-cut gem, but I would pick you a garden every day, just to see your smile." And Fili pressed a soft kiss to Magnolia's forehead, and followed that with a gentle kiss to the corner of her mouth, which left her blushing rosy pink.


While Magnolia was tending to Fili's hands, the rest of the dwarves cornered Bilbo to ask about the flowers that Fili had given Magnolia.

"Why did she look like she was about to cry when she saw those flowers?" Kili asked.

"Because those flowers have special meanings in hobbit courtship, right Mister Baggins?" Ori answered.

"Indeed. And how many times have I said to call me Bilbo? The flowers that Fili gave Magnolia make up a traditional hobbit courting bouquet. It's how hobbits declare an intent to court one another. Those flowers were heliotrope, gorse, white heather, and forget-me-nots, and each one of those flowers means something. Forget-me-nots, the little blue flowers, symbolize true love. Gorse, the yellow, means love in all seasons. The purple flowers are heliotrope, and that means devotion. The white flowers are white heather, and they symbolize protection," Bilbo explained patiently.

"That's so romantic," Ori sighed. A few of the other dwarves, Dwalin and Nori in particular, rolled their eyes at the scribe, but Bombur and Gloin, being married dwarves, thought that Fili was doing especially well to be romantic on a dangerous quest. Thorin stood apart from the cluster, discreetly listening to Bilbo's explanations and he felt a swell of pride for his heir to behave so thoughtfully as to honor Magnolia's heritage.


Thorin allowed the Company to rest a bit longer in the shade of the trees sheltering the grove.

"Pack up everyone, there are still many more leagues to cross before we stop for the night," Thorin ordered. Once the Company had gotten themselves sorted, they set out again. Magnolia clutched the flowers Fili had given her in one hand, and Fili held her other hand. They walked like that for many hours, and when Thorin finally called a halt and ordered everyone to set up their camp the sun was sinking below the western horizon, and the Misty Mountains were looming ahead.

Magnolia grabbed her basket and a torch, and set out with Bilbo to forage for additions to their dinner. When the two hobbits had scrounged as much as they could, only filling Magnolia's basket one third full, they returned to the camp, and gave their prizes to Bombur. When dinner was served, the Company ate quietly, for although they had enjoyed a rather long break at midday, walking through the late afternoon heat had left many of the Company feeling exhausted.

After the dinner dishes were cleaned and stored away until breakfast, Magnolia took one of each kind of flower in the bouquet Fili had given her and carefully wrapped them in a clean handkerchief.

"What're you doing, Lass?" Fili asked, watching her place the carefully wrapped bundle in a small carved cedar box from the bottom of her pack.

"It's custom to preserve one bloom of each kind of flower in your courtship bouquet as a reminder of what was promised. I don't have a plant press with me to do so, so I'm putting the flowers in my mother's old jewelry box. This way, they should retain their shapes and colors as they dry," she answered, carefully tucking the small box back into her pack. While she was putting the box away, Magnolia withdrew her knitting, and she sat back, snuggled against Fili's side to ward off the chill, and knitted while she listened to the dwarves tell campfire stories. Soon though, the various members of the Company began dropping off into sleep, their snores punctuating the night. When Magnolia herself yawned widely for the third time in as many minutes, she deemed it time for bed, and packed away her knitting. As she arranged herself in her bedroll, she felt Fili do the same, and they fell asleep, his arm wrapped around her waist, and her head tucked underneath his chin.


The Company started their ascent into the Misty Mountains by noon of the next day, and as they got higher into the mountains the weather grew colder. Magnolia was very grateful to Lord Elrond for her coat and cloak, both of which she had wrapped tightly around herself. When the Company stopped for the night, Magnolia made certain that she thanked Thorin for his kindness in asking Lord Elrond for her new clothes. He answered gruffly, before walking away to consult with Balin.

After two days of climbing toward the Misty Mountains, the Company finally started crossing the High Pass. The weather had deteriorated into a fierce thunderstorm, with winds buffeting the Company, and rain falling so thickly the dwarves and hobbits could scarcely see two people in front of them. Fili kept Magnolia close behind him, shielding her as best he could from the elements.

"We must find shelter!" Thorin called back to the rest of the Company. Just as he finished speaking, a bolt of lightning struck the mountain above them, and brought debris raining down on their heads, and breaking away parts of the ledge the Company was walking on. Just then, there was vague movement in the darkness, and a boulder crashed into the mountain the Company was on.

"This is no thunderstorm! 'Tis a thunder-battle!" Balin shouted, as the huge forms of two giants materialized through the rain.

"Well, bless me! The legends are true! Giants, stone giants!" Bofur said, sounding awestruck, before he was roughly pulled away from the edge of the path by Dwalin. Fili turned to check on Magnolia, and he saw her wide, frightened eyes. He took one of her hands and gave it a quick, reassuring squeeze and flashed her a quick grin, before the mountain beneath them revealed itself to be a third stone giant and joined the battle against the other two.

The Company was split, half on the knees of the stone giant, the other on the actual mountain. There were shouts of surprise from everyone but Magnolia, who was too terrified to do more than squeak. She pressed herself close to Fili's back, needing to feel safe. He turned again to look at her, and the stone giant they were on was decapitated by a boulder thrown by its fellows. The giant began falling, tipping toward the mountain ahead of the rest of the Company. Thinking quickly, the dwarves braced themselves to jump to safety, Fili moved himself behind Magnolia, to protect her and to tell her what to do. He wrapped his arms around her, and was able to get both of them safely onto the mountain, rocks falling around them as the giant crashed into the mountain.

The other members of the Company had watched in fear as the stone giant bearing their friends and kin crashed into the mountain ahead. Thorin led the others around a corner to the site of the collision, and there were relieved shouts when they saw that the others were alright, besides a few minor scrapes and bruises.

"Where's Bilbo?" Bofur asked, looking around. When he was spotted, hanging by his fingertips to a small ledge, Magnolia's heart leapt into her throat. When Bofur couldn't reach Bilbo to pull him up, Thorin swung himself down and gave the hobbit a boost, before he was helped up himself by Dwalin.

"Thought we'd lost our burglar," Dwalin said, clapping Bilbo on the shoulder.

"He's been lost since he walked out his door. He should never have come," Thorin growled. Bilbo's shoulders slumped and Magnolia had never seen him look so dejected.

"Now you see here! Mister Bilbo and I have both been trying our absolute hardest to help this quest, but right now you are making that terribly difficult. You have always been kind to me, and for that I thank you, but you've never shown anything but scorn for Mister Bilbo, even after he received you and the others with hospitality back at Bag-End! He's here to help you, so you should start treating Mister Bilbo better! Now, I am tired, cold, and wet, and I think we should find shelter," Magnolia shouted, her temper finally making itself known. The men all gawked at the little hobbit-lass who had, at first, seemed so meek as she gave their leader a dressing down.

"Magnolia's right, we need to find shelter before the storm gets worse," Fili said.

The Company soon found a cave, and they piled in and began setting up their camp. Gloin gleefully set about preparing a fire, but Thorin stopped him.

"No fire, not tonight. Caves in these mountains are seldom unoccupied, and we don't want to attract attention to ourselves," he said. To compensate for the lack of fire-warmth, the Company huddled together, more closely than usual. Magnolia found herself sandwiched between Fili and Kili, and as the adrenaline left her, her eyes began to droop.


The Company was startled awake some time later by shouts from Bilbo, Bofur, and Thorin. As the dwarves and Magnolia were rousing themselves, bracing for an attack, the floor fell out from underneath them, and they tumbled down, down, down, into Goblin Town.