Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's the way it's gotta be.

Getting A Clue

As soon as Arthur's words registered Bilbo all but leapt to his feet, glad that Thorin had turned to face him as well so that he could wrap his arms around his husband's waist and hug him hard, relief and lingering fear and adrenaline all mixing together in his system. But Thorin was alright, as was Arthur and everyone else but the individual who'd just tried to assassinate Thorin. And he was very, very glad Arthur had shot him or her, even if that was a horrible thought to have. He didn't care. If he'd had the knowledge and skill he'd have shot the-the goblin like person himself.

"Thank all the creators that arrow didn't hit you." Nuzzling his face against Thorin's chest Bilbo didn't care that he was possibly embarrassing the dwarf, or that he probably looked a little ridiculous himself clinging to the man like a child. He wasn't like them, he wasn't used to being in situations where people he cared about were nearly murdered in front of him.

"I wasn't the one he was aiming for." A grim look on his face Thorin kept his sword in hand, though the other was wrapped around Bilbo's waist protectively, needing he contact just as much as Bilbo did at the moment. "He was aiming for you."

"But that's-he must have just had terrible aim if it would have hit me. Why would anyone want to shoot me?" Bilbo shook his head, not believing it for a second. After all, the only one he fought with somewhat regularly was Thorin, and he was pretty sure his husband wasn't trying to kill him. Or if he was Thorin would at least have done it himself, rather than hire someone.

"One doesn't hire someone that stupid to assassinate a king. Given your height and proximity to me, he should have waited until you were on your way back to the mountain, elevated by your mount and with less people around to see the attack coming." Arthur voice was cold as he returned his arrow to its quiver and then moved to where Thorin could see him. "Do you wish me to retrieve the body, or stay here and protect Bilbo while you and your men do so?"

Thorin's face made it clear he didn't like either of those two choices.

"What race was the shooter?" Bard asked, hoping like mad that it wasn't one of his people. But the elves would be more cunning and upfront given the target, and dwarves were rarely interested in archery. The halfling's own people depended on others for their protection, and it was unlikely a member of one of the dark races had managed to infiltrate his town without being noticed. Ergo, the most logical conclusion was-

"Of your race, I believe. He was wearing a hood though, which masked his features well."

Now Thorin's dark look was in Bard's direction.

"Harming your consort would lead to more bloodshed and destruction." Was the leader of Dale's response to this latest death glare. "My people have suffered enough. I give you my word that this was done without my knowledge, and I will gladly join you in hunting down anyone who was involved."

Getting a good grip on the back of Thorin's tunic Bilbo gave it a hard tug to get the dwarf's attention. "Let Arthur go and get the man, though sends some guards with him just in case someone else is there and tries to hurt him. There could be an ambush waiting. Not that I want anything to happen to you either, Arthur, but-" Bilbo didn't finish the sentence, his cheeks reddening as his eyes conveyed what he wasn't about to say in front of everyone else.

Not bothered in the least Arthur smiled in understanding, nodding his head ever so slightly.

Thorin didn't like any of the options available to him. He didn't want to leave his consort's side, but he also couldn't take Bilbo with him in case he would be walking into a dangerous situation. By the same token he wasn't about to stay behind while his men went to check out the would be assassin, but if they separated would Bilbo again be attacked, and if so would his men be sufficient to protect his halfling since he would have to take men with him as well. And what to do about the elf…

Wanting all the facts Thorin ordered the rest to give him a moment as he herded Bilbo off to the side where the pack horses still stood with their loads of goods, Thorin keeping his voice down as he asked how well the hobbit knew this Arthur.

"I've known him since I was a mere hobbitling, Thorin. I'd trust him with both our lives." And he would, Bilbo didn't doubt his friend's honor and skill for a moment.

"Would you trust him with Frodo's?" He knew the other hobbit was like a son to Bilbo.

"I would. Without hesitation."

Nodding, he would trust Bilbo's judgement and his own instincts where the elf was concerned, Thorin came to his decision, his eyes boring into Bard's when he turned his attention back to the leader of Dale. "I will leave my consort here with the elf, and some of my men while I retrieve the assassin's body and examine the scene. The elf is kin to the King of Mirkwood. If anything happens to the both of them you will not only have the people of Erebor ready to shed your people's blood, but the elves of Mirkwood as well. Not to mention the fact that my consort is a relative of the Shire's Thain, who you do regular business with. Am I making myself clear?"

Everyone understood. If anything happened to the consort and his protectors, Dale would be hated by all, if not destroyed by its more war inclined neighbors should lives be lost.

Ergo, nothing better happen to the hobbit.

Looking amused as opposed to remotely worried like everyone else, Arthur nodded at the king in recognition of the fact that should he fail to protect Bilbo, the King Under the Mountain would demonstrate his dislike of elves a lot more strongly than normal, if it that threat had gone unspoken.

Bilbo didn't like the idea, but he also wasn't about to argue with Thorin in front of all these people. Family was one thing, but this wasn't something he knew enough about to warrant him questioning his husband's authority in front of other high ranking officials. Keeping Thorin with him would make him feel better, but he had to have faith that all the stories he'd heard about his dwarf's prowess on the battlefield were true.

So Bilbo didn't argue, agreeing to head into the meeting hall Thorin and the others had vacated and wait for his husband there with the guards he'd had earlier, Arthur, and some of Bard's guards as an extra security measure. He did give Thorin's hand a hard squeeze before they separated though, and ordered him to be careful in a voice meant only for his husband's ears.

Thorin promised to do so, and ordered him to do the same.

)

Allowing Arthur to escort him over to the large chairs situated in front of the meeting hall's fireplace, which was currently unlit, Bilbo was too lost in his own thoughts and worries to care about the fact that he had to struggle a little to get into one of the seats, where he curled up while Arthur took the one beside him and the guards covered their backs. It was gloomy in the room, the windows providing little light, but it suited his mood so Bilbo wasn't about to complain about that either.

"You really think he was aiming for me?" He asked in Elvish, not wanting the others to understand.

"Yes."

"To harm Thorin?"

"Possibly." Arthur's face softened a little. "I was worried when I received word of your marriage, I'd heard nothing to suggest the two of you could know each other well enough to enter such a union. But I will rest easier now, seeing how much he cares for you."

Blinking in surprise, and aware that he sounded pathetically hopefully, Bilbo asked if Arthur really thought that.

Raising a dark eyebrow Arthur asked what he was missing in a parental tone that reminded Bilbo of the long history they had together.

Well long for him, Bilbo thought as he squirmed under Arthur's knowing, penetrating stare. Arthur had been an occasional visitor to the Shire since he'd resided in his mother's womb, a friend of hers and then his as the years went by. It was from Arthur that he'd learned to speak the other man's language, and to him that he'd come to with questions when he'd realized that he had no interest in the lovely female hobbits everyone expected him to want to court. Arthur had mourned with him when he'd lost his parents, and had stayed with him for over a month when he'd come by and learned of Bilbo's broken heart when his first love had deserted him. In all of Middle Earth there was probably no one he felt more comfortable with, when it came to discussing his most private thoughts and feelings.

So he didn't last long under that stare before he was blurting the whole story out, including his reason for marrying Thorin, the fact that their marriage was unconsummated, and the fact that he was finding it twenty times more difficult than he'd expected to figure out the way the minds of dwarves worked. Which was really, really frustrating.

Arthur listened without interrupting, and when Bilbo was done asked what to him was the most logical question. "Is he aware you desire him?"

Bilbo's expression said it all, and had the elf forcing himself not to roll his eyes. How silly and short-sighted the short lived could be at times. His friend was usually more aware than most of his kind, but when it came to affairs of the heart…

"Bilbo, it is widely believed by the other races, the ones that are even aware of your existence, that hobbits don't desire those of the same sex, and your people have reinforced that belief to the best of their abilities. It's entirely possible that he offered you an unconsummated marriage because he thought it was the only way you would accept his proposal. Therefore it stands to reason he has not, nor will he make any sexual interest in you known without some indication on your part that you would welcome his advances. I haven't heard anything in the past few decades, but in his youth he took only other males to his bed, and moments ago he held you as though you were precious to him. I believe you would not be rash to request a true marriage."

"And if he says no we'll both be miserable and awkward around each other. Even more so on the latter."

There was a time and place for subtly, but rarely with dwarves. They were far from the most observant people when it came to romance, Arthur knew, and could be painfully blunt at times. Throw in a hobbit's natural politeness and hesitation to assert himself, and this could end very badly.

Allowing himself a brief sigh Arthur shook his head and then leaned over to gently grasp Bilbo chin so that the hobbit would have no choice but to meet his gaze. "I will help you get your dwarf."

A long pause. "How?"

The grin that broke over Arthur's face was both knowing and alluring enough to have a couple of the other occupants in the room blinking and squirming a little in surprised appreciation.

"Here is what you must do…"

)

As the elf had assured him, the would be assassin was very dead, the man's arrow having gone through his left eye, killing him immediately. Bard recognized the filthy, thin man as a former ranger who'd been thrown out of the ranks a few years ago. The why had been kept quiet, but Bard knew the man now made his living by selling his 'services' to whoever would pay. He'd been in Dale for three weeks, and had spent most of that time gambling and drinking his money away. There was nothing on the body or in the room the former ranger has died in to indicate who had paid him for this particular job, but when they arrived at the room the bastard had been renting one of Thorin's men discovered a pouch that gave Thorin a very good idea where to begin his search.

The coins were his people's, engraved with their markings and still carrying the faint smell of dragon on their surfaces. If he could have crushed the coins he held Thorin would have, squeezing them so tightly against his flesh in a silent show of his fury while the others continued to toss the room, wisely not commenting on the discovery.

When the room had nothing else to reveal they left, Bard falling into step beside Thorin.

"I'll put out feelers, ask around. I'll find out who he talked to, who he's been seen with since he got here. I'll keep an eye out for rangers as well, see what they can tell me about him."

Nodding, Thorin stated the amount of gold he'd pay for information, then the amount he'd pay for the person or persons responsible.

Eyes wide Bard just nodded, imagining how much easier the information gathering was going to be, being able to offer that sort of incentive. It also went unsaid that his people were likely to remember seeing a dwarf in town looking to speak with the dead man, but even with a description it would still be near to impossible unless every possible dwarf was trotted out to be looked over by any witnesses.

Though the King Under the Mountain was possible angry enough at the moment to do precisely that.

Truth be told he'd felt sorry for the dwarf when he'd heard about the deal the man had been tricked into making with the Shire's Thain. Leading people was hard enough without coming home to a spouse you hadn't wanted to marry in the first place. Marriage was bad enough when you loved the one you'd married, Bard mentally acknowledged with a small smile. But it would seem that Erebor's king had chosen wisely when it came to his hobbit, in that the dwarf was at least bound to someone who mattered to him. And who cared for the dwarf in return judging from the way the hobbit had fretted before they'd left.

As they neared the meeting hall one of the guards watching the doors opened one of them and called in to alert the others to their return. In short order the building's occupants walked out to meet them, the elf still at the hobbit's side, eyes scanning and watching everything and everyone.

Both Thorin and Bard were willing to admit, at least to themselves, that they were glad the elf was on their side. If not for the pointy eared know-it-all odds were a great deal of blood would have been shed over the hobbit's corpse as it was unlikely any of them would have been able to reach the halfling in time. The former ranger had had a full quiver of arrows, and would have likely drawn another if the first had failed to hit its mark.

It pleased and lessened Thorin's fury a little when his hobbit came straight to him, the relief on Bilbo's face a clear testament to the fact that his consort had been worrying for his safety. Cared enough to worry.

And because he'd worried too, in the back of his mind that something might happen to his hobbit while he was gone despite the guards, Thorin allowed himself a brief brush of his fingers through Bilbo's curls before straightening the hobbit's crown and then dropping his hand to his side as he confirmed that nothing had happened in their absence.

"No, nothing happened. You found the Man?"

"Yes. Bard recognized him as a former ranger who went by the name Seether." For now he'd leave out the fact that they'd found dwarvish gold in the man's room, there was no need to have the hobbit jumping at shadows until they had a better idea where the threat was coming from. He'd make sure the guards he'd assigned to watch over Bilbo knew to be on their guard, and that their lives would be forfeit if anything happened to his consort.

"Rangers often come by the Shire, but I don't know one by that name. I could send a letter, ask Hamish to ask around and see if anyone knows him." The more they knew about this man the better, and people often didn't notice hobbits and therefore didn't know to censor their words.

"We found evidence to suggest that he was paid to harm you. I'll find out who and deal with them."

Reading between the lines, not to mention the fact that he'd had plenty of time to think about who might want him harmed even with Arthur's distracting suggestions on how to get Thorin, Bilbo figured that he was right to guess that his would be assassin had been hired by a dwarf, or a group of dwarves that didn't approve of him because he wasn't one. Thorin had warned him that there were those in the mountain who didn't want him married to Thorin, and he'd seen with his own eyes the way some of them looked at him…but it was a terrifying thing to know that he was wanted dead.

Cupping Bilbo's chin Thorin gently made his consort look at him. "I will let no harm come to you."

Working up a smile Bilbo nodded to reassure him. "I know you will." Pause. "Thorin, can we go home now?"

Warmed that much more to hear his halfling refer to the mountain as home, Thorin swore to himself yet again that he would personally hunt down whoever had tried to take Bilbo from him and gut anyone involved. He didn't care who they were, one of his or not. They'd sealed their fates.