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What events happened after were like a blur to him.

They had buried his sister the next morning and after convincing Sada to stay behind for her own safety, they had completed their quest.

Before the death of that damn dragon, Bofur remembered, how heavily he'd wanted to beat Thorin when news came that the beast had attacked Lake Town and no one could say whether or not his niece, the Kings own child, was still alive.

Instead the longbeard had given himself to the throne room and admiring his vast treasure; all the while holding close, to his chest, an uncut stone of peridot.

Bul had done his job well; the death of Nola was the beginning of Thorin's own.

He would have gone and fetched the child himself had Bilbo not wisely made the decision, to barter for their lives; giving them the precious moments they needed to prepare for something far worse than the greedy demands of elves, men, and one shattered dwarf king.

In truth, when he realized his niece had survived the onslaught, he was glad he'd not made that decision to go to her as it would have meant she would have born witness to the final breaths of her kinsmen.

There was also the matter that before the battle, before all things were set in stone and all their hearts broken for different reasons, Bilbo had come to him unhindered and his heart open.

The Hobbit claimed him for all the rest of his years; Sealed with a passionate embrace before they were both called to the front lines.

Now, most of what he recalled or rather what he forced himself to, were the happy times.

It felt similar, these last few days when Nori and Sada, along with Dori had arrived; the botanist had made it safely with the aged wine and seasonal bouquet of flowers he'd requested months ago.

For the most part, for the past two weeks, their evening had been filled with laughter and long, hearty meals.

Tonight, however, in the study and aided only by fire light, Bofur sighed and slouched in the arm chair.

He had been overjoyed to see Sada; Close to coming of age and, by all appearances, dealing well with her deep grief of loosing Her father and cousins in the war that He and Bilbo had barely survived.

Upon this thought, Bofur recalled his last meeting with Bul upon the hellish battlefield.

He'd lost sight of Bilbo and in the malay, suddenly, he was there before him; grinning widely and spattered in blood. Orc or dwarf, Bofur could not recall given the darkness made it near impossible for him to tell.

"And so here it is!" Bul shouted gleefully as he and Bofur lunged at one another; Bofur swinging his mattock with a yell and Bul dodging his swing.

He had no time to react before He felt the blade slip into his knee and twist violently.

Shrieking, Bofur struggled to maintain his balance and ignore the white-hot pain that coursed from the wound and through the rest of his body.

Most of all He recalled now, how he had tried to ignore Bul's insane laughter.

He couldn't distribute the weight of the mattock correctly, and to his own horror, Bofur found himself tumbling to the ground; his weapon falling by his side.

"You should have learned long ago before that coward of a father of yours died!" Bul teased, "Only he could wield that thing, wounded or not!"

Bul proved quicker and was upon him, stabbing at his ribs and Bofur struggled savagely with his hands and unwounded leg to get out from under his life-long enemy.

"Don't struggle!" Bul laughed, "Yer only making it worse!"

How many times Bul had managed to stab at him, he wasn't sure, but the mad world around him was beginning to fade.

"You killed Nola and ye destroyed Thorin all fer a feckin' profit and yer insane revenge!"

Bofur managed to choke out and to his dismay Bul only erupted into jovial laughter.

"Me?" He asked, through the roar of chaos around them, "No dear Bo! Twas not I that ended that bitch whore of a sister of yours…it was someone else who did that dirty little deed! Someone who never broke their alliance to me!"

Bofur howled in rage and struggled violently, but his body was weakening and whatever strength he had didn't compare to Bul's.

"Will you hold still?!" Bul shouted, "Yer makin' this far harder than it has to be!"

Bofur struggled still but his body, betraying him from exhaustion and blood loss, started to go limp.

"That's it!" Bul continued to taunt, "Just give in! You've had this coming for a very long time!"

Through the fog, Bofur watched as Bul dropped his weapon, and brought his sticky hands to his throat and held him down in a vice like grip.

Crushing the air from his throat, Bul leaned close and whispered, "Don't worry…I'll look after that sweet niece of yours. I'll give her my special-GAH!"

His hands jerked away from Bofur's throat and through the haze, Bofur watched as, while Bul desperately clawed at an unseen force behind him, a glowing tip popped through his assailants shoulder with a spray of blood that drenched his own face.

"Get away from him!" Bilbo demanded, appearing from behind and wrenching sting free from Bul's wound; "I swear I'll kill you!"

.

"Ye miserable little ferret!" Bul roared and leapt up; facing off against the hobbit.

Bofur tried to sit up, to get up and finish the dwarf before he could harm Bilbo.

But darkness closed in around Bofur and, against his will, with only one word upon his lips, He was lost to the horrible sounds war.

Part Two

"Bofur," Bilbo touched his cheek gently and Bofur's eyes fluttered open, "You were calling my name. You woke Sada."

Sada stood in the door way, a look of fear he recognized all too easily, upon her young features that reminded him so of Thorin Oakenshield.

"'s alright Lass," He offered through a yawn, "Just dreaming is all. Go back to bed."

Bilbo nodded and waved Sada away and stayed knelt at the dwarf's feet; holding his partner's hands in both of his he said: "You're having the dreams again aren't you?"

Looking around, Bofur saw that dawn had come and Bilbo was right; when not near his hobbit, snuggled close against him, the dreams often did occur.

Still sleep heavy, Bofur rose without answering.

He ignored the pain of the old wound in his knee, as he often did, and couldn't help but wince.

"You've been so distant recently," Bilbo sighed as he watched Bofur hobble slightly toward the door, "You've told me so little. All you seem to do is scuttle away with Nori and Dori lately."

"The less ye know the better off ye are," Bofur objected, knowing the hobbit was trying once more to pull more information out of him.

"No I am not!" Bilbo snapped so suddenly that Bofur startled and stared wide-eyed at his companion.

Bilbo tightened his robe before he continued. "You're doing again! You will not sleep in our bed, and when you're not off doing whatever it is your doing with Nori and Dori, ignoring poor Sada as you do, you're having nightmares again! No doubt about that damned dwarf you've told me so little about! Remember him? The one that almost killed you and I!"

Bofur clicked his tongue and steadied himself on the door frame; "I've told ye what I can," He mumbled, and Bilbo snorted.

"You have told me only what you want to," He retorted, "Why won't you trust me? After everything I've done for you! I swear Bofur! Getting the truth out of you is like trying to pull a nail out of a piece of wood with only your fingers."

Bofur sighed and shook his head.

"I do trust you; after all, ye waited for so long for me to come back to you. I will tell you everything. One day, I promise!"

Bilbo huffed and plopped into the chair Bofur had slept in during the night.

"The others will be awake soon," the hobbit explained, "I'll get breakfast started…like a good butler!"

"Bilbo," Bofur breathed trying to hide his exasperation, "Please, I've only just awoke and my knee…"

"Oh very well!" Bilbo quipped with a wave of his hand, "Do what you must!"

After Bofur had tended to his old wound, refusing to employ the cane he sometimes had to use when the weather was cold, he dressed and met Bilbo and the others in the dining room; what he beheld stopped him in his tracks and his heart leapt into his throat.

"I…found it in the mail box," Bilbo explained, "I think I better request a more astute mail man for future deliveries."

Nori was holding Sada, whom was pale and speechless, in his arms while Dori sat limply on the bench; refusing to look at the package.

The parcel, seeping blood from a corner, sat in the center of the table with its top open.

The remains lay rotting within, parts of both a raven and a sparrow and something else.

Something mammalian; a rodent of some kind; it was hard to tell as there was no head mixed in with the blood and gore that, upon the sight of it, made Bofur want to vomit.

"A ferret," Bilbo said after Bofur had stepped back and slumped against the wall, "At least I think it is. I suppose it's meant to mean me? I am after all…the one whom stopped him from taking his revenge. And I've been called a ferret only twice in my lifetime."

Bofur shut his eyes tight and though he did not want to, he found he could not help but nod. "I-it's him," He confessed, "He's…He's coming."

"You-told-me-he was DEAD!" Bilbo squealed and, to Bofur's shock, the box exploded over his head.

"Nori!" Bofur spat, after making sure no entrails had gotten on him, "Take 'er and Dori outta here!"

When the task was done Bofur had no time to react as Bilbo bounded over to him and, adding to his amazement, shoved the dwarf hard against the wall and pinned him.

"You lied to me! All you do is lie!" Bilbo barked frantically.

"I did not and do not!" Bofur protested, trying to speak calmly and wrestle, gently, free of Bilbo.

"You said there was no way he could've survived the wound I gave him! That more than likely he would have bled out somewhere!" Bilbo growled, "Why are you here?! Why did you come back!? What, did you think you could use my home as a safe haven?"

Bofur struggled to grasp Bilbo's wrists and when he had, he had to force the hobbit to sit on the bench before the dinner table and hold him till he calmed down.

"For you!" Bofur insisted, "Only for you Bilbo! Nothin' more I swear it. I thought…I-I swear I thought he was dead…But when I saw what was hanging from the tree I~"

"Tree?" Bilbo asked suddenly, "What tree? What was hanging?"

Bofur hesitated and, seeing Bilbo's eyes suddenly fill with tears, found he couldn't look at him. He kneeled down before the Hobbit, trying to find the right words.

"You've never lied to me huh?" Bilbo continued to ask, "What would you call it then?"

Silence passed between them so strongly, Bofur could hear Nori trying to comfort Sada while ignoring Dori's characteristic grumbling that they were all going to die.

"So he is coming?" Bilbo asked, "he's coming back to finish it all isn't he? Us, I mean? Even Sada?"

Bofur looked up and what he saw then, he him self, could not help but begin to feel his own eyes burn.

Tears were streaking down Bilbo's cheeks and his chin quivered; He looked much the same way on the night he'd found him after Thorin had ordered him from the Lonely Mountain.

"I said," he began quietly; "I came back for you. To have a life with you…a-and yes, just in case, to protect you."

Bilbo choked on a sob and suddenly lashed out; back handing Bofur hard across his cheek. "Out!" He barked, leaping up and walking away, "I want you out of my house!"

Touching his cheek, meeting the wetness of his own tears, Bofur leapt up and hurried after Bilbo whom was still ranting.

"I thought it was over! No more worry no more fears and no more fucking death!" Bilbo ranted as Bofur followed him into the bedroom, catching nervous glances from their guests as he did.

In the bedroom, Bilbo was digging wildly in the closet.

"Bilbo," He started, watching the hobbit tossing and throwing various items from the closet, "Please…don't do this!"

Bilbo, finding the back pack, huffed and tossed the traveling gear at the dwarf's feet with an angry glare.

"You did this," He corrected, finally struggling to regain his composure, "You can stay at one of the Inn's. The green dragon maybe, honestly, I don't really care where as long as it's not here."

Bofur felt his heart sink and he bowed his head; hand on hips. "W-what about Sada and the other's? Are ye really goin' to throw them out too?"

Bilbo hesitated and rubbed his face with his hands before dropping them limply at his sides; "No," He said at last with a sigh, "I just...Bofur just pack and go! I don't want to look at you right now!"

The two of them looked at each other in silence again before Bilbo started to go.

"Wait!" Bofur protested, blocking the door and making Bilbo stop inches from him. Bilbo moved to speak but remained speechless; eyeing the dwarf warily.

Taking his hand to his ear, Bofur removed the ornament that had hung there since Bilbo had known him; it was now yellow with age but wholly undamaged and, Bilbo knew, it still was one of Bofur's prized possessions.

"Take this," He urged, taking Bilbo's resistant hand in his and shoving the item into his palm, "I want ye to have it! Just in case you…just in case I don't come back."

Stepping aside Bofur watched as Bilbo sneered at the earring before closing his fingers around it and dashing out of his sight.

Part Three

Sada had gone out with a group of young hobbits earlier.

Finally relaxing enough to become curious about the Shire and allowing other's to approach her.

Nori and Dori had gone out as well, though they didn't tell him where, Bilbo knew it was probably to see Bofur.

Thinking of Sada Bilbo couldn't help but smile; she was a wonderful young dwarf. Precocious and intelligent and there were times, Bilbo secretly observed, she was much like Thorin.

In the time she'd arrived, she'd clung mainly to Bofur and, curiously, just as strongly to Nori whom had been the one to convince Sada to stay at Bag end after she'd voiced her desire to leave with Bofur.

It helped temper his guilt for throwing out Bofur who, Bilbo confessed, he missed dearly.

From what Bofur had told him, He knew Bul was someone to be taken seriously at all times. In fact, Bilbo had known this since the battle of five armies.

When he'd struck Bul from behind, to his horror, the dwarf had spun around as though only startled; like the wound he'd received had done nothing.

Most of all, Bilbo recalled, the crazed glint in his eye as he began lurching forward with his hands outstretched and when Bilbo had raised his sword again, the dwarf easily disarmed him in a flash and with much ease.

Had Nori not appeared, smashing his mace into Bul's wounded shoulder; Bilbo knew that both he and Bofur would have died that night.

That's when the anger came. Ever since the awful parcel had come, Bilbo had felt guilty; as if the fact that they were all still in danger was wholly his fault. It was one of the reasons he so desperately wanted to go and retrieve Bofur from the Green Dragon.

From what Dori, who visited his partner daily, had told Bilbo, Bofur was in a depressed state.

He was not sleeping well and spent his evenings with nothing but ale and his clarinet to ease his mind.

The kettle whistled its completion, bringing Bilbo from his heavy thoughts and the hobbit set about preparing a cup of tea.

Hearing the door open, he called: "Sada? Back so soon?"

Filling a tea cup, hearing the foot steps, Bilbo turned and instantly gave a startled cry.

"Ah!" cried the dwarf, the same distinct and sadistic grin upon his mauled features, "Just in time for tea!"