Had he expected to ever leave Erebor to ever visit his family? Bilbo Baggins hadn't really thought of leaving. He never really had time to visit his family, but now that he thought about it, he realized how selfish that seemed. The only family members he'd ever truly cared for were now all dead, and soon would be going to their graves. Even if he wanted to go see their bodies, and he knew he wouldn't be able to handle it emotionally, it'd be months before he got there, even if the roads were miraculously safe.

He wanted to eat, he wanted to be happy, but he felt that if he did anything it would be an offense against his dead family members. How could he enjoy life like this when they couldn't? Especially poor Frodo.

The last time he'd seen him had been on a visit. With him, Bilbo had brought pies that he'd asked for a neighbor to bake for him in exchange for some money. The young hobbit's eyes had grown as wide as saucers and he'd let out a happy cry. "Thank you, Uncle Bilbo!"

"It was nothing, Frodo." he'd replied.

His parents had thanked the hobbit greatly.

"You're so nice to the boy," Primula had said. "No wonder the little lad likes you."

He'd taken the little hobbit in his arms some time later and given him a hug, then let him sit on his shoulders. When he was done with that, he'd told him stories from books he'd read.

He would've loved to have been told the story of his quests. Inside his mind he imagined the whole thing. Bilbo sat in front of the fireplace next to Frodo, a map of Middle-Earth in his lap along with various dwarf trinkets. He could hear himself describing everything in detail, and Frodo sat in awe, asking him questions about it.

"Uncle," he imagined Frodo saying. "Can you tell me more about your traveling companions? Oh, and I want to hear more about the dragon."

Bilbo imagined himself smiling and explaining everything, from how the dwarves and Bilbo originally hated each other to where they were incredibly close, to meeting Smaug for the first time and trying his hardest to be confident. As he said each word, Frodo's eyes never left his, and inside Bilbo's imagination he was forever in awe at the older hobbit instead of being six feet under dirt.

"What was the dragon's lair liked?" Frodo asked. "Was it scary?"

"Frodo, scary was quite an understatement. I was terrified of Smaug, and with good reason, but I kept going because I knew my friends needed me. I was their burglar, and they needed me to steal from right under a dragon's nose. When I signed up for it, I knew that it'd eventually come to that point or something worse. I can't ever say that I regret my choice of leaving the Shire and going on my adventure with the dwarves."

"How did you kill Smaug?"

Bilbo imagined himself lying, saying that he himself killed the dragon. It wasn't to make himself seem heroic, it was merely to entertain the boy.

"You're amazing, uncle!" he imagined Frodo saying, jumping slightly when he said the words. "I can't believe you did that."

"But I did it anyway, my dear boy."

A smile spread across the boy's face, and he looked adorable, with his head cocked and the light reflecting off of his dark, curly hair, a dimple in his cheek sticking out. "When I grow up I want to be just like you!"

Bilbo didn't even notice the tears in his eyes. It was as if in only a short period of time they'd become second nature to him, and he was so used to their presence there that it was as though they'd always been there. As if he were always the crying little hobbit who couldn't even begin to comprehend how his own family members were dead.


Thorin knew his plan was idiotic (there was just no way for even him to deny it), that it'd probably seem completely wrong at this point, but it was the only plan he had, and he was sure that it would be better to do something idiotic than nothing at all. He dug through a room filled with treasure, looking for the one thing that would be right for the occasion. He wasn't satisfied with just any ring, no, he needed a beautiful matching set that spoke to Bilbo about why he truly cared for him.

He didn't want to but he needed to do it, and even if it seemed regrettable, he was sure that in the end it would be for the best.


Thorin could hear Bilbo whispering from outside their door, but he was too afraid to open it. Was it wrong to be doing this? He didn't know, but ultimately forced himself to do it.

"Frodo," he heard Bilbo whisper. It was hard to hear him, but he forced himself to do it the best that he could. "Thorin would've really liked you, and I'm sure that you would've gotten along fine with him. Fili and Kili surely would've kept you on your toes, and maybe made everyone else trip on theirs." He could hear the hobbit begin to cry, the sound causing him to cringe. Oh why did this have to happen to him? Hadn't he already faced enough troubles? When times had been hard on their journey, Bilbo had done his best to keep the dwarf prince happy, even given him extra food when the hobbit himself had turned into a stick. Bilbo had shown his feelings for him in so many ways, and it was high time that Thorin returned the favor.

Thorin felt that now was a good a time as any to finally open the door. He forced himself to do so, telling himself that it was for the best, for both himself and for Bilbo.

Bilbo turned to face him, then just as quickly turned away from him to quickly rub the tears from his eyes. "Oh, Thorin. . ." he said, trying to muster up another emotion other than sadness, but the hobbit failed miserably.

Thorin swallowed the lump in his throat, walked up to the hobbit, then got down on his knees. He didn't know when their relationship had truly started, but it needed to go a step further. He took the ring out of his pocket, pure gold with a bright blue sapphire on it. "Bilbo," he said. "Will you give me the honor of marrying you?"

Bilbo looked shocked, then said yes. "I'd be happy to."

Author's Note: So people were mad that I killed Frodo so to make up for it here's an extra chapter for the day. Seriously, I let three characters that canonically die live and everything's fine but the moment I kill another character I get outrage.

Yeah, and if you think it's a dumb idea for Thorin to get Bilbo too worked up about getting married to remember that he's grieving, then yes, you are right. But this is Thorin we're talking about.