The progress on the house continued at an advanced rate after the accident. Thorin seemed eager to move into the place.

"If we're living there we might catch the sicko who tried to kill us," he said, "I'll bet it was a drug addict who'd been using the house to go on his benders and was trying to send a warning."

"That still doesn't explain how they got inside," Billie reminded him. Thorin frowned.

"No, it doesn't, does it?" They had checked the whole property, there were no broken windows or secret doors they hadn't known about before. Whoever had cut the beams had gotten in there using a key.

As Alice said as she strolled through Wonderland, "Curiouser and curiouser."

"I'll bet it was that Iradessa," Lizzy said, when Billie told her what had happened.

"She's crazy, but she's not a killer," Billie said, shaking her head, "and even if she was she wouldn't have chosen that way to do it. Sawing through things must be hell on the nails."

Lizzy had laughingly agreed.

Whoever it was they were persistent, a week or so later the brake line to the car Billie shared with the twins was found cut, after Billie tried to pause at the stop sign at the end of Balin's street and realized she couldn't. Luckily there were no other cars coming and she just rolled the car until it stopped on its own. A few days after that, a poisonous snake was found in the shower by a terrified Dori, who, fortunately had heard the hissing before she stepped into the tub.

After the snake thing Thorin made a fruitless report to the police, after hanging up he insisted that from then on none of them would go anywhere alone.

Billie was only too happy to comply with this order, it meant she got to spend even more time with him. Since her dream she had been having a harder and harder time shoving her feelings down. She had started making up reasons to be in the same room as Thorin, she rode with him whenever he had to go somewhere, Lizzy said she was entering "Billie's creepy stalker phase part two," but Billie wasn't about to let it go that far, she just, well…. She just liked him, there was no point in denying it. If she had thought that she had a shot in hell of being with him she would have opened that door. Stepped across that line, said something at least, but as it was. As it was she was just glad Thorin seemed to find her amusing. Iradessa was right about one thing, he was never going to want a little nobody like her.

Billie tried her damnedest not to let this fact bother her.

As the weeks went on they finished the floors in the house, then installed the plumbing and got the electricity to work. Next thing Billie knew it was their first night sleeping there. Granted they were going to be sleeping on camping cots in the empty dining room, but it was still really exciting.

Thorin's family of friends were coming together to celebrate, Lizzy and Fili's Elann promised to come too, Iradessa surprisingly couldn't make it. Thorin said she had to work.

"Work," Kili snorted, "More like she didn't want to get dusty."

"Speaking of weren't you supposed to sweep in here?" Fili asked him.

"I did," Kili said. He waited until his twin had walked away to mutter, "Three weeks ago." Billie who was dumping ice into a cooler full of beer laughed.

"I'll get the broom," she said, standing up. Kili gave her a smile and went back to murdering zombies on his phone. The broom was in the living room where they had taken to storing the tools, Billie couldn't walk under the patched over hole in the ceiling without looking up. She reached out for the broom without looking at it.

"AH!" she cried, pulling her hand back, a large nail came with it, a strand of glue connecting it to the broomstick.

"What is it?!" Thorin asked worriedly, poking his head in from where he was prepping the barbeque on the porch.

"There was a nail on the broom," Billie said, holding out her hand. Fili hearing her cry had come inside and Kili sidled out of the kitchen, they gathered around as Thorin took the nail out of Billie's hand, thankfully it wasn't very deep.

"Our would be assassin?" Kili asked.

"Tame for them," Fili commented.

"Indeed," Thorin frowned, pulling a tube of Neosporin out of his pocket and smearing it into the hole in Billie's palm. Maybe it was a doctor thing but Thorin always seemed to have some sort of medical supplies on him.

"You don't think it was poisoned do you?" Kili asked.

"No," Thorin laughed, pressing a band-aid to the wound.

"Are you sure?" Kili asked, "what if we just don't realize it and she's dying." Thorin rolled his eyes.

"Billie, if you suddenly start foaming at the mouth let one of us know." He instructed, Billie laughed. Kili sighed.

"No one ever takes my suggestions seriously." He pouted. Thorin clapped him on the shoulder, winked at Billie and went back outside. Fili went back to arranging the vegetable trays and Billie followed Thorin outside to fetch the chips.

"Well fine," Kili grumped, leaning up against the wall and pulling out his phone, "I didn't want to talk to you guys anyways."

(…And Then)

"To your new home!" Balin toasted, everyone clinked their beer bottles together, except for pregnant Dori who held a cup of water, she mashed it against everyone's drinks with just as much enthusiasm as the beer drinkers.

Billie collapsed back down onto the porch steps with a happy sigh, watching everybody as they crowded around the impromptu fire pit Bombor had built. Life was good today.

"You sure you should be drinking that?" Thorin stood over her, casting a long shadow over her head, "last time I saw you drink it turned you mean."

"You said I was forgiven!" Billie looked alarmed until Thorin started laughing.

"Relax I'm kidding," he sat down next to her, raising his bottle for a toast, "to new beginnings."

"New beginnings," Billie touched her beer to his, they both took a sip.

"So I've been thinking," Thorin said, turning towards her, "I know you living with us was supposed to be a temporary-ish thing but we've really enjoyed having you these last couple of months, and well… with whoever keeps trying to kill us I know I'd feel better if…" He trailed off.

"What are you saying?" Billie asked.

"I'm saying, I'm asking, would you like to stay? Here, with us, for the foreseeable future."

"You mean keep living with you guys even after I can afford my own place?" Billie couldn't keep the smile off her face. Stay near Thorin? Not to have to leave Fili and Kili who were becoming more like little brothers to her by the day?

"Of course I do!" she said, "How much would you charge me for rent?"

"Rent?" Thorin laughed, "I'm not going to charge you rent."

"Oh," that took the wind out of Billie's sails a little. She wanted to stay, more than anything but, what about her whole independence/grown up journey she was supposed to be embarking on? Thorin saw her face and let out a sigh.

"If it will make you feel better you can…" he wracked his brain for a suitable compromise, "Be in charge of laundry."

"And cleaning," Billie extended her hand, "I'll be in charge of the housework," she smirked, batting her eyelashes in a helpless damsel impersonation, "like a good woman should be." Thorin burst out laughing.

"We'll get you an apron," he grasped her hand. Billie winced, she'd given him the one the nail had pierced. "Oh. Here." Thorin turned her injured palm up and planted a kiss on top of her band-aid. "All better." Seeing her look of delighted-confusion he grinned.

"My mom always did that," he explained.

"Mine too," Billie took another swig of beer to distract herself from his lips. God, she wanted to kiss him. Maybe doing his laundry would make her like him less? Somehow she doubted it. She'd helped Dori fold his clothes before and even the sight of his hole riddled gym socks hadn't made her feelings diminish. In fact it had made them worse, though what was hot about a gym sock was beyond her.

(…And then)

"Last one," Thorin announced, handing her another beer bottle. Everyone else had long since gone home, Fili and Kili were inside, snoring away on their camp beds, the fire had burned down to nothing but Thorin and Billie hadn't moved from the stairs.

"Aw," Billie moaned, "I thought we had more."

"We did," Thorin reminded her, "We just drank them all." Billie looked at all the empty bottles that surrounded them.

"Damn, we're…we're drunk," she giggled.

"You're drunk, I'm fine," Thorin insisted. Billie shook her head, the breeze ruffling her hair felt good, so she kept doing it.

"Nuh uh," she said, between head shakes, "you had more than I did." Thorin caught her head between his hands.

"But, I'm bigger than you," he reminded her. Billie pulled away laughing.

"Everyone is bigger than me," she said. Thorin's phone buzzed in his pocket, he pulled it out and frowned at the screen, pressing the accept button for the video call.

"What?" he asked, holding the phone away from his face.

"Thorin!" Iradessa's horrible voice rent the night, Billie stuck out her tongue involuntarily, "Where are you? You said you'd pick me up for dinner over an hour ago!"

"I'm at my house," Thorin told her thickly, "everyone else was here, you should have been here too. It was a party 'Dessa."

"I told you I had to work -"

"I'm talking to Billie," Thorin interrupted, flashing the screen her way so Iradessa could see her. Ms. Priss looked pissed, Billie waved, "Bye."

"Thorin! Thorin!" Thorin hung up and shoved the phone back into his pocket.

"You're gonna pay for that in the morning," Billie told him. Thorin just shrugged.

"She's always pissed about something."

"Why- ." Billie started, but Thorin's phone rang again cutting her off. He smiled apologetically and took it out, the contact number said Durin, Thorin answered before the first ring had even finished

"Dad?"

Billie straightened her spine, Dad? Why was his Dad calling?

"Grandfather?" Thorin stood up pacing down the gravel drive, "slow down, what happened?"