Frerin- 17

Fien- 15

Gideon- 12.5

Fali- 11

Kien- 14.5

Tauris- 12

Orian- 12.8

Vesper- 10.5

"Fali, not so fast…not so fast!" Gideon tried to persuade her to slow her pony down. Fali hardly listened to him. This was the farthest from home she had ever been and the most fun she had ever had. She'd spent a whole month out of Erebor, traveling with her family. The open sky, the open lands, the endless sun, moon and stars, they were all thrilling her.

The trip was certainly unexpected. The farthest she had ever gone was to Mirkwood, and that had only been for a day. She had been to Dale, but not for more than a few days, almost a week. Now she had been traveled the two weeks it took to reach the Blue Mountains, and seen her father's childhood home. Then came the next month that followed to reach their final destination: the Shire.

Mother said there was once a great road for trade that would could be traveled to the Shire in a month from Erebor…three weeks if you traveled light and on a fast steed. It was long gone now. Now you had to take multiple smaller roads, some of which lead you farther away at first to move out of the way of a great lake or swamp.

Fali didn't care, she loved the open road. She loved the adventure (if it could be called that, nothing very exciting had happened, apart from Fien and Kien finding a den of snakes). Mother seemed right back at home. She also seemed a little uneasy.

It had started months ago. The letters from 'Uncle Bilbo' stopped coming, quite suddenly and unexpectedly. Mother waited, and wrote again, and waited. She received no reply, and this was when she became quite worried. Fali had never met her Uncle Bilbo, he lived in the Shire, and it was far away, and apart from his stay shortly before her birth, he'd been quite happy to remain at his home. She did know one thing of her hobbit 'uncle' and that was he was quite old by now.

So when the letters stopped, her family becoming concerned of his health. It was entirely possible that he had fallen ill, given his age.

Another, more unfortunate, possibility was that Uncle Bilbo had passed away. They didn't want to think of it, though they knew it may be the case.

So when they had enough of waiting and not getting any answers, they decided they should venture to the Shire, and see what had happened to this family friend. It was her Father and Uncle Kili who had decided to go in the first place, but then they was no keeping Mother and Aunt away, and then her and her brothers and cousins had to be included. After this, Bofur left Bombur in charge of the shop, Ori (with his family), Nori and Dori were packing up, and Dwalin decided to come along as well.

Most surprising was when Great-uncle Thorin put down his work and said he would be coming. Balin had agreed to mind the kingdom in their absence.

So off they had all went, the weeks of traveling enoyed and endured, and they were just presently coming upon the border of the Sire, and Fali had never seen a place so wonderfully charming in all her life. The hills were lush, green and rolling. The air was warm and clear. The whole place was just beautifully calm and green and quaint.

"Hurry!" She urged her brother, giving her pony a little kick in it's side and trotting up the hill.

A view of Hobbiton lay before her, and it was something she fancied to be out of a storybook. So sweet!...everyone had curly hair and wore no shoes.

"It looks the same as when we saw it." Father called to the others, catching up to her. Mother approached as well.

"It's so beautiful." She smiled. She sighed "I do hope Bilbo is alright."

"He will be." Father remained optimistic. "He's probably tucked away in an armchair right now."

"I hope so." Mother replied.

"Fali, I told you to wait." Gideon said, trotting up alongside the rest of them.

"Now, hopefully you can recall the way to Bag End." Mother said to Father.

"You don't think he'll be startled to see all of us?" Frerin asked. "From the stories you told us, it sounds like the last time had a rather unexpected dinner party, and he didn't take very well to having uninvited guests."

"We did write him we were coming." Uncle Kili replied.

"Suppose he hasn't been getting our letters either?"

"He did say we could drop by any time." Nori replied.

"Nori, that was quite a while ago, and Bilbo was much younger." Mother reminded him.

"Well it didn't stop us from coming." Uncle Nori shrugged.

"I hope he will be pleased to see us all the same." Mother finished.

"Let us hope he will be there to see us." Great-uncle Thorin said.

"Damn and blast…Kili, which way did we go to reach Bag End?"

"You expect me to remember after all these years? We practically walked around the whole village looking for the mark Gandalf left on the door."

"Perhaps, it would work best if we simply inquired if Bilbo still stays at Bag End." Hana suggested quietly. "With his age, it's quite possible family has taken him in."

"Fali, wait!" Gideon called after her, as she was off. The pony ran down the road and through the winding paths into was looked like a commons of the village.

Hobbits were not used to racing ponies. Some dived right out of her way, into the wildflowers in the ditches. "Excuse me?" She called out. "Is there a Bilbo…uh…Bilbo Boggins, around here?"

"Bilbo Baggins?" A startled, wooly haired hobbit asked, hurrying his wheelbarrow out of the way.

"Yes! That's his name."

"He lives at Bag End." Clearly, Bilbo Baggins and this Bag End were inseperable.

"Where is that?" She asked.

Hobbits were also not used to having strange, new guests asking questions either. Especially young and spirited girls.

Her pony, who must have been feeling anxious given his rider's excitement, charged forward just a little. The poor hobbit was startled even further and tripped backwards into his wheelbarrow. "That way…f-follow the r-road that way." He stuttered, trying to right himself again. "The one with the g-green door."

"I found it!" Fali shouted at her approaching family. Off she went, hair flying behind her and dress billowing, because she was riding like a man. She followed the little path that let over little hills and brooks (meanwhile, surprising a few more hobbits on the road), until she did spot a hill in which their sat windows and a great, round, green door.

She had found it, and all on her own too. She smiled brightly.

Her pony stopped upon her command, and stepped down from it's back.

"Clearly, you're in a hurry." Kien said, coming up behind her.

"Bag End hasn't changed either." Father smiled. "Except for the oak tree." He nodded at the sturdy tree at the back of the garden.

"So it is true…hobbits do live in holes in the ground." Orian mused.

"I suppose we'd better knock." Gideon said.

Dwalin was already walking up the path to the doorway, where he knocked thrice upon the green door, and waited. Everyone gathered on the front step.

"Is he coming?"

"Do you hear anything?"

"Maybe if you'd stop whispering."

"Shh, you three! I think I can hear…"

The door swung open and everyone spilled over the threshold and into a rather pleasant looking little house. Fali was pinned between Fien and Kien. The only two people who had not tripped were Aunt Tauriel, who was too graceful for such things, and Great-uncle Thorin, who was too majestic for such things.

Fali looked up from her somewhat straining position, and laid eyes on her final 'uncle'. He didn't look nearly as old as she thought he would. His hair was curly, and he looked like a sweet, little aged man.

It was hard to think of him as the burglar from the stories. She'd always imagined him to be a bit bolder and perhaps a tiny bit taller.

Of course, he did look bit shocked at the moment, what with the unanticipated company.

"Master Baggins." Thorin was smiling.

"Oh my goodness…" Bilbo was grinning back, finally absorbing who was at his door.

"Fili…"

"…and Kili…"

"…at your service." Her father and uncle groaned as they pushed people off of them and rose from the floor.

"Bilbo!" Mother gasped. "What happened to you?!" She was examining his face, and pulling him close for a quick hug. "You've aged incredibly well."

Then there was laughter as her various uncles rose and took their turns embracing their old friend.

"What are you doing here?" Bilbo asked. "You're in the Shire."

"We stopped receiving the letters from you and we worried something may have happened." Mother explained. "I'm glad to see you appear to be alright."

"Hello Uncle Bilbo." Fali finally spoke, being lifted to her feet by Frerin.

Bilbo noticed her then. "My goodness, that wouldn't be Fali, now would it?"

"It is."

He smiled at her warmly. "So grown up already. You look just like your father, you know."

There was then much cheer at the reunion, and Bilbo appeared a little overwhelmed by them all.

"Please, perhaps if we could be a little more quiet…" He tried (in vain) to settle down the happy dwarves.

"Oi, Bilbo, do you remember this little tune…" Bofur sought to begin a round of song which had occurred years back.

Blunt the knives and bend the forks!

Smash the bottles and burn the corks!

Chip the glasses and crack the plates!

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!

They continued on, singing about spilling milk and wine, and mashing up rolls. Bilbo continued to try and get them to quiet down, but such was impossible, as they ended with a loud and boisterous:

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!

"Shhh!" Bilbo shushed them hurriedly.

That was when a baby started crying.

Which stunned everyone else into a silent state.

"Not again…" Bilbo sighed, walking off to the back of the hobbit-hole, He returned shortly with a young hobbit, probably less than a year old, held against his shoulder. The little thing had dark curls, and it peeked over to them for a second, showing off incredibly blue eyes, before tucking his face away.

"He's a bit shy at first." Biblo explained. "I'm sure he'll warm up to you soon."

"Where did you get one of those?" Nori demanded.

"Nori, it's a child, one simply doesn't get them at market like a loaf of bread." Mother replied. "Bilbo, did you marry without telling us?"

"Marry? Oh, no. No, no, no. He's my nephew." He said, trying to soothe the small child back to sleep.

"What happened?" Thorin asked the question everyone was thinking.

"His parents drowned some months ago. Terrible thing, they were some of the nicest people I knew here. I'm his closest living relative, so he was put in my care, and well, the last few months I've been playing nursemaid, it seems."

"Are you keeping him?" Hana asked.

"Well, there is plenty of room here for one more." Bilbo said. "Of course, Rosemary might be better suited, she has three children of her own already. It might be a bit cramped at her house, but she'd manage…and she understands children, more importantly."

Mother had an amused look on her face, as if she were recalling her first days with Frerin and her attempts to get through the days.

"I don't want to give up on him quite yet though." Bilbo said.

"So this is why your letters stopped." Mother replied. "No wonder." She took a step forward. "May I?" She held out her arms for the child. Bilbo passed him over, and the tiny hobbit squirmed in her hold for a few minutes before settling down. True to Bilbo's word, the child did warm up to her, and quite quickly.

"You always had a knack for winning people over." Bilbo mused.

"Almost everyone." Mother winked back at Great-uncle Thorin. "What is he called?" She asked about the child.

"They named him Frodo."

"That's a silly name." Fali said, under her breath.

/

Of course, everyone wanted to hear of what had occupied Bilbo's time over the years, and he was quite anxious to hear of Erebor again. Frodo proved quite beyond sleep. So eventually, Frerin suggested that the younger people might go outside, into the hills behind Bag End, and bring Frodo along. Fali liked the idea of exploring the hills and meadows.

She didn't care too much for the baby though.

As soon as she had raced up the first hillside, Fien passed the little hobbit to her. "Here you go." He said.

"What? Why do I have to hold him?" Fali asked.

"He likes you." Kien said.

Frodo did not like her though. He squirmed in her hold and protested quite vocally.

"No, he doesn't." She grappled with the hobbit.

"Oh, he'll warm up." Fien assured her. "He did with Mother."

Fali shot her brother a look. "Do you really think that just because I'm a girl, I'm somehow magically able to care for children?"

Fien gave her a responding look that said that was exactly what he thought. "Well…yes." He admitted. "Or at least that you'd like looking after him."

Fali groaned. "Gideon, you take him." She tried to delegate the task. "You're better with small things, like this. You're more gentle."

"Why?" Gideon said. "He probably likes me as much as he likes you."

"I don't want to mind him." Fali pressed.

"You'll probably be just as good as any one of us." Orian said.

"Frerin…" Fali made one last plea to be freed of the small boy.

"He's right you know." Frerin replied. "We can take watching over him in turns."

"You minded me as a baby."

"Now it's your turn." Frerin nodded. "It can't be that bad. You were easy enough to look after."

"I have no clue what to do with him!" Fali snapped lightly as they started walking away from her. Her louder statement made the boy begin to whimper, threatening tears.

"He has a name." Frerin nodded back at the child. "It's Frodo."

So she was left stranded at the top of the hill, with Frodo in her arms. Oh, she could just slap them all upside their heads for leaving her with the boy, who was little more than a baby. Frodo whimpered again, because Fali wasn't holding him all that close to her body, and he felt as though he might be dropped. Fali stared down into his scrunched up little face. "Please don't cry." She begged him. "Mahal, please don't cry now."

Her pleas went unheard, as she continued to hold him out from her, seemingly rejecting him. Frodo's eyes filled with tears, that spilt down his little face.

How did Mother and Aunt Tauriel and Hana ever deal with this? At least they had their expectant months to prepare, wheras she had just been handed a baby.

"No, no, no." Fali sighed. She tried to calm him down and when this was not successful she simply sat down on the hill top and laid Frodo down on the grass beside her, overtop a small blanket they had loosely wrapped him in.

She waited with still breath for him to stop his tears. Luckily, he did. "Of course you stop when I'm not holding you." Fali rolled her eyes. She looked around her, at the fields and glens. She wanted to just run circles and straightways about Hobbiton, taking in every inch of the new place, but she couldn't do that with a small child. She glanced beside her, and noticed Frodo had crawled away from his spot on the grass, and had traveled a few yards away. She sprang up immediately, grabbing the blanket from the ground and chasing after him. "Frodo!" She called. "Stop!"

Frodo did not listen, and she swore, if anything, he began to move away from her faster. She was a bit unsure if she should pick him up, because he didn't seem to like her holding him.

So she simply sat down, right in front of him, and grabbed him into her lap. Frodo did not like being restrained. The two of them squirmed, one trying to free himself, the other trying to keep him from wandering off. "Am I really that terrible?" Fali asked. This might be tolerable if Frodo at least pretended to like her, and didn't try to crawl away from her. Frodo continued wriggling.

She sighed, and as she tried to adjust him in her hold, she tickled his sides, and Frodo laughed. It was, admittedly, one of the most adorable sounds she had heard. "What?" She smiled down at him. "Did you like that?"

She did it again, and Frodo laughed, blue eyes lighting up incredibly bright and merry.

Fali smiled, pretending she was about to tickle his sides again, then freezing just short of it, with a little gasp. Frodo's eyes would widen comically, and his lips would turn up in a little smile. Sometimes a tiny giggle would escape from him. Ever so often she would actually attack him (gently) and they'd have little wrestles in the grass.

She would never admit it to her brothers, but she was enjoying looking after him. Now that he was smiling and not crying, Frodo was actually rather sweet. Not to mention, when he liked you he would stay in one place so it was realatively easy to mind him. By the end of the hour, it was safe to assume they were friends.

Gideon ran up, finding them near where he had left them. "See? It wasn't so bad." He noted the smile on both of their faces. "I'll mind him for a while now."

"That's alright." Fali waved him off. "I think he likes me now."

"I thought we were taking it in turns."

"I don't mind." Fali shrugged, playing with Frodo more.

"What?"

"I don't mind." She repeated.

"But an hour ago…"

"I can change my mind, can't I?"

"So…you want to keep looking after him?"

Fali nodded. "Look, he even let's me hold him now." She stood, and Frodo automatically lifted his arms to been held up. Fali scooped him up and nestled him on her hip, like she had seen mothers do. "See? I think I can explore the glens now, I'll just have to hold him, and be careful not to run too fast."

She did, returning late in the afternoon, a little browner from the sun, and with a few flowers stuck in between the plaits of her braids. Frodo was slumped across her shoulder, nearly asleep. Fali was softly singing one of her old lullabies.

Night is now falling

So ends this day

The road is now calling

And I must away

Over hill and under tree

Through lands where never light has shone

By silver streams that run down to the sea

Under cloud, beneath the stars

Over snow and winter's morn

I turn at last to paths that lead home

And though where the road then takes me,

I cannot tell

We came all this way

But now comes the day

To bid you farewell.

She laid Frodo down on an armchair, where he lay like a limp rag, asleep now.

"I bid you a very fond farewell…" She trailed off, half singing and half speaking.

"So he warmed up to her." Bilbo noticed.

"I think she warmed up to him too." Mother smiled.

And they were to be friends, from that first afternoon where they first saw each other and long after the last afternoon, where they said goodbye, and did not see each other again.

Obviously, I don't own the songs. They're from the Hobbit trilogy.