Erebor was flourishing.

Hundreds of Dwarfs were arriving each week with new supplies, food, materials, tools. Everybody set to work restoring the great city and starting up business. Bombur soon had the kitchens running smoothly enough, the food was plain as they couldn't afford to waste any, but it was good and nobody was left hungry.

Dwalin was running the guard along with several other members of the company and the brother's Ri were set about chronicling their adventure. Thorin was of course King now and ruling his kingdom as well, if not better, than his grandfather ever had. Assigning home to the new arrivals, dividing up jobs and creating schedules for the guard. Even the young princes of Durin had found their place.

Fili, as Thorin's heir, was taking up the important role of diplomat, negotiating trade between Mirkwood and Dale. He spent most of his time meeting with Bard and writing notes and letters to the Elves but also negotiating with Dain in the Iron Hills for supplies.

Kili spent most of his time with the miners inspecting tunnels to see which ones were still safe and fixing those that weren't. Making supports and allocating areas to various mining groups so that they had a steady increase in all metals from iron to gold.

Bilbo was perhaps the most surprising of all, having a natural skill for gardening he spent most of his time outside the mountain in the fields of Dale. He made an excellent coordinator, helping design irrigation fields and figuring out what food would grow best where and how long it would be until their first harvest.

Of course, the part of this that truly stuck with Thorin was 'outside the mountain'. It seemed as if Bilbo was avoiding being inside Erebor at all costs, he left as the sun rose and returned only to eat and sleep. Which of course he did alone, occasionally he'd join his brothers or another member of the company for meals but never Thorin and more often that not ate alone.

Thorin tried to speak with him but his duties always interfered and when they didn't Bilbo always made an excuse to get as far away as possible as quickly as possible.

The guilt grew.

Father and son passed each other like ghosts, not really acknowledging each other, everybody saw but nobody knew what to say.

-oOo-

It was almost a month since he'd awoken when Bilbo was forced to go and see Thorin about giving some more money to the people of Dale to buy food for the winter. The king had been both surprised and concerned when he opened his chamber door to see Bilbo standing there.

"Bilbo I-"

"I'm here on business." He cut in cooly, "The crops wont be ready for harvesting till next season, Dale is going to need support through the colder months."

"Right." Thorin muttered, ushering him inside.

The two spent a few tense moments before Bilbo finally broke.

"I'm tired of just avoiding each other." he said finally, "One of us has to say it and it may as well be me. I think I should leave Erebor after the winter has passed."

Thorin felt like he'd been punched in the gut.

His first reaction was to argue but he stopped himself, if it would make Bilbo happy then he shouldn't stop him.

"Where will you go?" He asked instead with a heavy sigh.

Bilbo wrung his hands together nervously.

"I...I'm not really sure, the Shire maybe. I've been playing at being a Dwarf too long anyway, maybe it's time I started thinking of myself as a Hobbit."

"If that's what you want I'll give you the supplies you need for the journey and of course Fili or Kili can go with you to make sure you arrive safely." Thorin choked out trying not to look too distraught.

Bilbo nodded.

"Right, well I suppose I should, go then." He muttered, heading for the door.

When he reached it he froze, eyes on the floor.

"I'm sorry." Bilbo murmured, "I'm really sorry that I ruined things between us but I wouldn't change my actions if I could, we'd all be dead if I hadn't taken the Arkenstone. But I am sorry that ruined our trust in me."

"What?" Thorin coughed, what on earth was he talking about?

"I know, after stealing the stone you don't trust me anymore." Bilbo replied sadly, "To be honest I thought'd you'd have kicked me out of Erebor by now."

"You thought I was going to banish you?" Thorin blanched.

Bilbo nodded miserably.

"I thought I should go on my own will, it would look better to the people..."

Thorin couldn't take it anymore, Bilbo flinched when he surged forward, obviously expecting some sort of attack, not the bruising hug.

"But b-but I though you hated me!" The Hobbit cried in shock.

"Of course I don't hate you." Thorin insisted, "I thought you were the one furious with me, you have every right to be."

Bilbo hugged Thorin back tightly.

"I am so, so sorry for how I treated you." Thorin muttered, "I will never forgive myself."

"So you still...want me?" Bilbo asked tentatively.

"Of course I do!" Thorin insisted, looking him straight in the eye, "You are family Bilbo, you will always be family."

-oOo-

Finally, it seemed that all was well in the world. Bilbo began to smile again, Erebor was returned to the Dwarfs and peace reigned. And yet, Bilbo felt uneasy, as if something was coming to shatter their perfect world again.

He couldn't put his finger on it but there was always doubt in the back of his mind. And sometimes, he swore he could hear whispers from the ring sitting on his mantel.

I am planning a sequel to this story that follows LOTR but of course with a lot of twists and changes considering different characters, timing and a different starting point. However I have LOADS of homework and study to do as my exams are coming up so I don't know when I will get round to writing/publishing it. But it WILL happen eventually, even if it means I have to wait until the holidays in a few months time to get started.