A/N: Thank you all so much for the feedback and the support you've been giving me! I appreciate it a lot, I really do. And if Dwalin's accent was off, like a lot, I apologize for that. I'm horrible at writing languages and accents into my stories, but I'll try to clean it up and do better. So, here's the next chapter. R&R. Enjoy!

~…~

XX

~…~

"Do you think I'm doing the right thing? Allowing the boys to go out on patrol," Thorin asked Bilbo a few minutes after entering his husband's bed chamber, sitting in his usual chair. It was early morning and Fili and Kili would be going out on their first patrol in a few hours. Bilbo, who had been changing clothes in the wash room, came out and gave him a small smile that made Thorin's stomach toss and turn.

"They need to leave the nest at some point, so to speak," Bilbo responded. "And besides, you did say that there would be enough warriors with them to protect them should danger arise. I'm sure they'll be fine."

"But was it the right thing to do? The right punishment for them?" Thorin pressed. Bilbo made his way over to him, his bare hobbit feet padding softly on the carpet of his chamber, and knelt down beside him, his smaller hand gently grasping Thorin's larger one.

"If sending them out on patrol wasn't the right thing or the right punishment for them, then you would have never even entertained the idea," Bilbo answered him, his eyes shining brightly with honesty and concern and love. Thorin squeezed his hand and gave his hobbit a small, tired smile.

"No matter what the issue is, you always find the right words to say to make things seem better. You do know that, don't you?" Thorin asked him softly. Bilbo smiled a little wider and the tips of his ears turned pink. He looked spectacular and Thorin suddenly felt the insistent urge to pull the Halfling to him and claim him as his and his alone.

Instead, he pulled Bilbo up onto his lap before he could answer and kissed him. Bilbo's lips were soft and warm and parted slightly in surprise. His body went stiff when he was first pulled onto Thorin's lap, but now he relaxed and returned the kiss with just as much fervor as Thorin had. Humming in satisfaction, Thorin's tongue darted out and caressed Bilbo's slightly parted lips, asking permission to enter. A soft moan came from his hobbit as his tongue prodded his moist cavern. Bilbo tasted like tea and honey; it was different and unique and suited him perfectly. He prodded Bilbo's soft tongue with his own and Thorin almost smirked when he felt more than heard Bilbo's squeak of surprise. But then the hobbit, hesitantly and shyly, pressed his tongue back and that made Thorin pull him closer.

A warmth that he was becoming quite familiar with was starting to pool in his stomach and Thorin knew that if he didn't stop kissing Bilbo right then and there, that it would be most difficult for him to stop before things went too far. He found, however, that he didn't want to stop. As much as he'd rather take Bilbo, Thorin, more than anything, wanted his Halfling to desire it just as much as he did. Bilbo's words on their wedding night rang loud and clear in his mind and they caused him to, very reluctantly, pull away from Bilbo's tempting and delicious mouth. His heart was pounding and arousal had him throbbing and aching in his breeches. Thorin would wait though, until Bilbo was ready.

Much to his amusement, Bilbo's face was flushed red all the way up to the tips of his ears. He looked stunning and Thorin was starting to second guess respecting his husband's wishes. Giving Thorin a shy smile, Bilbo straightened out his waist coat and, hesitantly, slid off of Thorin's lap.

"I must say, I do like the way you greet me in the morning," Bilbo said, turning even redder as he said those words. Thorin smirked a little at that and stood up from his chair.

"What plans do you have for today?" he asked.

"Ori asked me to help him catalog a few of the more ancient scrolls in the library. They're quite fragile, he told me, and he's afraid that having some of the other dwarves in the library help him would damage them further than what they already are," Bilbo answered him. "And what about you, my King?"

"I had planned on overseeing the inspection of some of the mines. From what I was informed of early this morning, one of the tunnels is threatening to cave in," Thorin said. "However, Balin has received replies from both Thranduil and Bard about the increase in orc and warg attacks. I will be discussing their responses with the Council today. That will most likely take quite awhile."

"A Council meeting? Shouldn't I be there as your Consort?" Bilbo asked, looking startled and surprised. Thorin gave him a small smile and placed his larger hands on Bilbo's shoulders. They seemed so small underneath his grasp, but then again, hobbits were smaller than dwarves.

"There's no need to worry yourself, my hobbit," Thorin quickly reassured him. "You need a break from the meetings. Besides, you gave Ori your word before you even knew about this meeting."

"I…I suppose so. But isn't the Royal Consort expected to be at every meeting regardless of when they were notified?" Bilbo asked, clearly uncertain.

"Should any members of the Council inquire as to why you are absent, I will tell them that you had other promises to fulfill," Thorin told him. "And I've yet to discussion Foin's treatment of you during the last meeting."

"Oh, there's no need to do that, Thorin. As I said before, everyone is entitled to their own opinion," Bilbo said.

"That is true, but he should take care with how he speaks to my consort and husband. I'll not have you insulted in any manner," Thorin said, not budging on matter. He was pleased to see Bilbo nod.

"All right, then. I suppose that there's no use arguing with you. You're quite stubborn, even for a dwarf," he told Thorin with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face. At that, Thorin chuckled and allowed his hands to caress Bilbo's arms before they fell down back at his sides.

"You can be stubborn yourself, my little one. Don't forget that," Thorin said.

"I shall take pride in that statement, my husband," Bilbo replied, smiling up at him. "I suppose we ought to take our leave. Things to do and whatnot."

"I will walk you to the library," Thorin said.

Together, they left Bilbo's bed chamber and started for Erebor's library. After leaving Bilbo in the hands of Ori – who looked oddly put off and was rather quiet, even for him – Thorin began his trek to the Council chamber, trying to focus on the meeting ahead and failing miserably. And who could really blame him when Bilbo was so very enticing?

~…~

Fili sighed as he and his brother scoped out the surrounding area. It was only their third day out on patrol and, honestly, he would've rather been with Dwalin, training and sparing like a mad man instead of being bored out of his mind. On their first day on patrol, both he and his brother were nervous – not frightened because they weren't afraid of anything – and had no idea what to expect aside from being ambushed every five minutes by orc packs. But all they had to endure on their very first day on patrol was the other dwarves on patrol with them, some of whom they had known since birth and knew them well enough not to put up with their antics. Actually, none of them put up with their antics as they had found out when Kili thought it'd be a good idea to put a pincher bug down the back of one of the older dwarves' shirt. That had definitely not been a bright idea, not at all.

On the second day, they had found a trail of warg prints in the ground, but aside from that, nothing else happened. Fili and Kili had been keeping to themselves since the Bug Incident and the others left them well enough alone. But it was dreadfully boring and Fili knew that he'd be having a better time with Dwalin, even though his uncle's best friend was a maniacal slave driver of a training instructor. Kili had been difficult to manage and control up until the Bug Incident, but now he kept to himself and spoke only to Fili unless he was spoken to. However, they both had enough sense in them to do what they were told, especially since Uncle was still quite furious with them and hadn't spoken to either of them more than what was needed. Of course, Fili couldn't blame him; they had greatly disappointed him and they deserved any ill treatment their uncle directed towards them.

And Uncle had been right; their mother was probably turning in her grave, disappointed and outraged at how badly they had been behaving here of late. In all honesty, Fili wasn't even sure why he and Kili were so out of control. Maybe it was because they were kind of at a loss now that their mother had passed on; it seemed that illnesses of all kinds favored the Line of Durin. Uncle was King and had little time for them due to meetings and issues that needed resolved and Uncle Bilbo had duties of his own. That left him and Kili alone to do whatever they wanted and usually that resulted in trouble. To be fair though, placing that black powdery concoction in the suit of armor was Kili's idea and had Fili known how much damage such a blast could cause, he would have never agreed to it.

But being on patrol wasn't so bad; just boring, really, and being told what to do. Like climbing trees to scout the terrain since they were the youngest of the group and the most agile and nimble on their feet. Kili's eyesight was far superior to Fili's, but he wasn't about to leave his brother alone, not for a minute. He may have been a git, but he had enough sense to know that the dangers that they could face while on patrol were very much real, and Fili wasn't about to lose his brother, not after he had lost his father and mother.

"Do ya see anythin'?" Fili asked his brother as they balanced themselves on the tree branches.

"Land, sky, and trees, but that's it," Kili responded. "Oh, and Uncle Bilbo and his picnic."

"Picnic?" Fili perked up. He would've loved to go and spend some time with Uncle Bilbo. It had been so long since either of them had the chance to actually sit down and spend some time with their one and only Hobbit under the Mountain and he missed that.

"Yeah. Didn't you hear Uncle Thorin and Uncle Bilbo talking about it last night?" Kili asked him as he maneuvered himself into a better position on his branch.

"No, I didn't." Fili carefully made his way over to where his brother was looking and immediately spotted Bilbo sitting on a large blanket with Balin, Ori, Bofur, and Bombur, enjoying a nice picnic lunch. The sun was shining brightly and it was warm enough still that they could go out without fear of getting cold. Truly, it was a nice day to have a picnic. Only…

"Where's Uncle Thorin?" Fili said.

"And you say I'm hard of hearing," Kili grumbled. Fili smacked his brother on the back of his head and Kili hissed, one hand immediately flying to his throbbing head. "What'd you do that for?"

"For implying that I'm deaf. Now, why isn't Uncle Thorin with Uncle Bilbo? Didn't our hobbit ask him to join them?" Fili pressed as he watched Bilbo talk to Ori and Bofur while Balin, eyes closed, leaned back against a boulder enjoying the sunlight and while Bombur ate the rest of the food they had brought with them.

"Of course Uncle Bilbo asked Uncle Thorin to join him! Why wouldn't he?" Kili retorted. "And Thorin said that if he could make it, he would."

"Then I guess Uncle Thorin couldn't make it," Fili mumbled more to himself than to his younger brother.

"Looks that way. It's a shame, really, because Uncle Thorin looked very excited about the idea of picnicking with Uncle Bilbo," Kili added.

"I don't blame him. He doesn't get a lot of time to relax, after all," Fili said.

"Whatever meeting he's in right now must be taking longer than usual." Kili shifted on his branch again and Fili watched him for a moment, making sure that he was okay before turning back to the picnic.

"From what Balin told me, Thorin is having a difficult time convincing the Council that we need help from Dale and Mirkwood to solve the problems the orcs and wargs are causing," Fili told him. Kili looked at him, confused.

"Why?"

"Because most of the Council members don't like men or elves and would rather fix the problem themselves," Fili explained.

"But if the elves and men can help us with stopping the attacks, wouldn't it make sense to just go with it?" Kili asked him. Fili almost sighed. As much as he loved his brother, he did tire of explaining practically everything to him.

"Yes, it would, but you know how a lot of the older dwarves are. They think that Erebor can and should solve its problem on its own," Fili answered him.

"Oh. I get it now, I think," Kili said softly.

"Oi! What's takin' so long up there?" one of the older dwarves in their patrol party yelled up at them.

"Nothin'! We'll be down in a minute," Fili yelled back. He turned to his brother, who was still watching the picnic, and gently tugged on a strand of Kili's dark hair.

"C'mon, Kili. Let's get down before the others get too impatient," he said and started climbing down. Reluctantly, Kili followed him and Fili couldn't blame him. Picnicking with Uncle Bilbo would've been more exciting than being on patrol.

~…~

"You're going to Mirkwood?" Bilbo asked Thorin as they sat together on one of the terraces that the Lonely Mountain provided. He was enjoying the soft breeze that was blowing and the cool night air as the stars came out to play and shine.

Bilbo had followed Thorin out there for some privacy before dinner, as the King had told him that he needed to speak with him. Apparently, Thorin traveling to Mirkwood was what he wanted to talk about, which surprised him since the Council was against receiving aid from Dale and Mirkwood. He couldn't understand why. Wasn't the safety of Erebor and its people far more important than pride? Thorin certainly thought so and, from what Bilbo had been told by both the King and Balin, he had spent the past three days arguing with the Council over that very matter. Now, the arguing was over and action was finally being taken.

Thorin was going to Mirkwood. He would be leaving the Lonely Mountain and traveling for days to Thranduil's kingdom along with Bard from Dale to, hopefully, figure out a way to resolve the crisis of the attacks on the patrols. While Bilbo was thankful that something was going to be done at last, he wasn't sure how he felt about Thorin leaving. Deep down inside, he knew that it was necessary; he knew that Thorin would do whatever it took to ensure the protection and safety of his people and his kingdom. But he couldn't help but feel a stab of fear at the thought of Thorin leaving. If anything were to happen to his husband…Bilbo wasn't sure what he'd do. However, he had to push his fear and his feelings aside. It was part of a king's duty to protect his people and who was Bilbo to keep him from doing so?

"I must. If we are to solve this matter, then we must come together," Thorin explained. "And as Erebor has hosted both Thranduil and Bard many times, the elves thought it would only be fair to play host this time around."

"Well, that was…very nice of them," Bilbo said, trying to be supportive even though he was dreading Thorin leaving. Thorin's blue eyes met his own and the hobbit noticed a heaviness inside of them that made Bilbo want to pull him into an embrace.

"You are hesitant," the King said softly. Bilbo sighed mentally and put his book down on the bench he was sitting on.

"I am…concerned, is all," Bilbo admitted.

"What for?" Thorin asked him.

Bilbo hesitated for a minute. How could he burden Thorin with such selfish feelings? With everything that needed to be done, doing such a thing would only put more stress on the already stressed King Under the Mountain. He couldn't do that.

"Bilbo," Thorin spoke to him softly, "you can tell me anything." This time, Bilbo really did sigh.

"I'm concerned that...should you leave, your party will be attacked. I'm afraid that you might not come back and I fear what losing you would do to me," Bilbo told him, his voice soft and heavy. And, truthfully, Bilbo didn't know what he would do if he lost Thorin. They had come so far and still had so far yet to go…their love was still so new and so young…

"Oh, my dear Bilbo," Thorin said, gently grasping Bilbo's chin in his hand and forcing the hobbit to look at him. "I will not tell you that you have nothing to fear. It's very possible that my company and I could be attacked. But you need to know that I can handle a sword as well as Dwalin." That didn't convince Bilbo, but he did feel just a little bit better.

"I suppose…" he said.

"Dwalin will be accompanying me, as well. And my party will consist of his most skilled and trusted warriors. And Bard and his men will be joining our party, which will increase our numbers greatly. Should our company be attacked, we stand a great chance," Thorin added before placing a kiss to Bilbo's lips. The Halfling scooted closer to him and wrapped his arms around his king's neck, pulling him closer and deepening their kiss.

Everything he couldn't and didn't say was expressed in their kiss. His fear. His panic. The sadness he felt at the very thought of Thorin being injured. The anger he'd feel toward Thranduil and Bard and Dwalin and anyone else should they fail the Dwarf King in his time of need. And his love for Thorin and how much the dwarf meant to him was thrown in, surpassing everything and all else. Because it was out of love that Bilbo worried and fretted and panicked. Should Thorin be gravelly injured or…or killed…well, he wasn't sure what he would do.

Their kiss ended when they heard footsteps approach the terrace. Reluctantly, Bilbo pulled away from Thorin, who tucked the hobbit aside his side where he fitted quite comfortably. And then, an idea came to mind: perhaps Bilbo could go with Thorin. If he did, then he wouldn't worry as much as he was now. Although he had no experience with weapons or fighting, he was quick and quiet enough on his feet and he could pass unseen by any orc or warg if need be. He could create a diversion or think of a way out of whatever nasty situation might arise. Before he could mention it, however, Balin entered the terrace.

"Dinner is ready, my King, Master Baggins," he said, the twinkle in his eye indicating that he knew exactly what they had been doing before he interrupted. Thorin stood up and held out a hand to help Bilbo up.

"Thank you, Balin. We will meet you in the dining hall shortly," Thorin replied, nodding his thanks to his old friend. Balin gave a bow and left, leaving the two of them alone.

"I could go with you," Bilbo said, looking up into Thorin's eyes. He saw uncertainty and fear in those bright, blue orbs before determination set in.

"No. Absolutely not," Thorin said, shaking his head, his mane of long, dark hair moving with him. "Should anything happen to you… No. Besides, I need you here to look after things while I am meeting with Thranduil and Bard. And I need you to keep an eye out for my nephews."

Bilbo hated to admit it, but Thorin had made many valid points. He nodded slightly, a frown gracing his features. Thorin leaned down and kissed him again, softly, chastely and Bilbo felt himself melt despite the fact that he had been trying to remain angry at his husband. When Thorin pulled away, Bilbo huffed, annoyed at himself for not being able to stay angry at the King for too long.

"Very well. But should you get into a sticky situation, I will say, "I told you so" and won't let you forget it for a week. After all, it's very rude to make your husband worry," Bilbo told him. Thorin chuckled and gave him a smile that turned his heart into a pool of goo.

"Whatever you wish, my Halfling, so long as you are safe and sound," Thorin answered.

Humming in satisfaction, Bilbo walked beside Thorin as they exited the terrace. He had meant what he had said. If Thorin did get into a nasty situation, one that Bilbo could have possibly gotten him out of, he would tell him so every day for a week. And then he would realize that one ought to never mess with a hobbit.

A/N: Hopefully the extra long chapter made up for my lack of updates. I have a four day weekend so…yeah!