Bilbo hated being carried around

But he supposed in this instance he did not have much of a choice if he did not want to risk the baby being born into his pantleg from even more walking and running, he had already heard horror stories of that happening!

Bell Gamgee's waters had burst with one of her first little ones in his garden, then she had quipped that the baby just wanted to help their papa water the flowers.

And Bilbo had just fainted at the sight of the pinkish fluid and Bell had managed to walk herself over to her midwife's house which was thankfully nearby.

Only now Bilbo had no fainting option for this time

Bard ran for his house, being as gentle as he could not wanting to jostle the pregnant hobbit anymore than was necessary for a quick arrival to the home and pushed open the door with his foot and walked inside, Sigrid at his heels, they left Ori with a guard to wait for Thorin and Fili, not wanting to stress him out more with having to witness what was going to happen, they did not need a premature labor on top of a hopefully full-term one.

The bowman gently settled Bilbo onto the bed and turned to his children at the doorway to the bedroom.

"Alright, Sigrid, grab me as many towels as you can find and a warm blanket, Bain, you can heat up some water and also get some cold water as well, Tilda, you keep an eye out for the dwarf king, take the dagger by the door just in case, do not let anyone but the king or one of the princes inside, and shout if you see any signs of trouble," Bard said and the children quickly moved to obey their fathers commands.

"Are you going to find Oin or one of Dales midwives?" Bilbo asked he was not in too much pain, yet, that spasm he got was pretty bad though "And sorry about your coat" the hobbit apologized seeing the reddish marks on the sleeve of Bard's jacket and feeling stickiness between his legs, that meant he really was having the baby that night.

Bard just shrugged and took off the jacket and tossed it to the side "do not worry about it, it's just an old coat, not your fault and I don't think I should leave you here alone, Sigrid did help me deliver her siblings, but I don't want her doing it by herself and Oin could be all the way back in Erebor still"

"You delivered all your children?" Bilbo asked wanting to try and distract himself

"Yes, my wife only trusted me to help her with them, it was scary with Sigrid, I wanted to get help, but with the knowledge she trusted me to help her bring our children into the world safely...it meant more to me than anything" Bard smiled softly at the memory and Bilbo also found himself smiling at the content look on his friends face, he did trust Bard to help him.

Bain ran in carting a steaming pot of water and set it down and ran back out to grab the drinking water

"What is the hot water for?" Bilbo asked curiously

"Well if your little one arrives quickly since I'm not sure how hobbit or dwarven births go, it's there to clean him or her up, it should be cooled enough to not be harmful by the time they arrive, plus if he has to keep reheating it, it will keep him distracted from getting scared and help him feel useful" Bard explained and pat his boy's head when he ran back in with the cold water "Thank you, why don't you keep watch with Tilda for a while? I'll call you if we need anything else"

Bain just nodded and went to help his sister outside

"Father I have the towels and blankets," Sigrid said walking in and setting the items on a chair nearby.

"Thank you, Sigrid, now all we can do is keep him comfortable as possible till he feels he is ready" Bard smiles

"It's not too bad yet, I think we still-" Bilbo started before he heard the door slam open and booted footsteps run for the bedroom.

"BILBO!"

"Thorin! You made it and you are alright!" Bilbo exclaimed happily as he accepted a hug from his dwarf.

"Yes, everyone is alright, it was just a mountain troll, nothing that could not be handled, Fili went to find Ori and Oin will be here soon to help," Thorin said gently stroking Bilbo's hand.

"Good, I'm glad everyone is alright, things are not bad right now, Bard and his children have been very helpful, but I have to tell you right now, it's Roki, he is the one who unleashed the troll into the mountain, him and a few other dwarves, they wanted...to take the babies, he even planned on cutting Ori open! Since I was faking I was in labor...at that moment...he wanted to use them to-" Bilbo found himself interrupted by pain and bit back a wince, trying to not alarm Thorin.

Failed mission

"What is it?! Is it coming this moment? BARD! OIN!" Thorin bellowed, almost shaking the whole house with its force and making a dog outside start to howl, lovely.

"Thorin! I am fine, it was just a single contraction, it smarted a bit, but it was nothing I can't handle" Bilbo had to fight against rolling his eyes, perhaps Oin was right about Thorin being the one who needed the drugs.

"You bellowed your royal highness?" Bard said obviously biting back his own smirk as he walked in with Oin at his heels and actually did grin when Thorin shot him a glare that could have killed an oliphant.

"Enough you two..." Oin grumbled as he made his way to the bed to look Bilbo over "I would have much rather you do this inside Erebor, but I suppose I can't ask the little one to stay put after what it has been through tonight, anyone would revolt against that"

"Yes, well falling down a steep hill and having to deal with a barrel of crazy does that" Bilbo deadpanned as Oin's eyes widened and opened his mouth to say something, but Thorin beat him to it.

"YOU FELL DOWN A HILL!?"

"Oh, dear..."

Once Oin had threatened to shove some calming but foul-tasting medicine into Thorin's mouth to shut him up, the king under the mountain chose to just sit next to his hobbit and hold his hand well they waited for their child to make an appearance.

The medical Dwarf gently checked Bilbo's progress and ignored the blush and the glare he got from his searching around to monitor how far in things were.

"You seem to be progressing well, your water has broken, correct?" At the nod Oin made a few other hmm's and got off the bed "rest well you can laddy, when you feel you're ready, we can set you up and help the baby forward, now I'm going to see to Ori outside and make sure we don't have any issues with him tonight, but Bard says he knows what to do and that he will let me know when your little one is coming, alright?"

Bilbo just nodded and turned onto his side so he was facing Thorin, looking into the blue eyes that had stolen his heart in both worlds, that had once been darkened by sickness, that he had been so happy to see clear once again, then had felt like his heart had been ripped out when they had closed for what he thought would be forever, that he would never see anything like them again, only to come to this world, and find it had turned out almost perfectly for them both, but he was not this Thorin's One.

He had stolen someone else's happy life! The one who this Thorin was going to have children with, the one who had saved little May Gamgee from drowning, the one who's memories were being forced into his head every time he shut his eyes.

He could not

Would not lie anymore

Thorin did not deserve to be tricked by him again

"My-er-Thorin...there is something I need to confess, I will understand if you're angry with me, if you do not want to see me again, but, I'm not who you think I am.." Bilbo closed his eyes, he hated how thick his tongue felt like his mouth had suddenly become both too wet and too dry at the same time like clay had been stuffed into it "The place I came from, is not here-I-" the hobbit felt two calloused fingers go up against his lips and a soft shush came from in front of him forcing his eyes, now filled with tears, open.

"I know, we both are in the same boat my Mizimelûh, I'm so happy you have finally joined me, it's what I have wanted for so long" Thorin smiled, eyes also getting misty, his Bilbo was here with him! Oh there was so much he wanted to ask him, if he had a long and happy life, if he had another One in the other place, children, friends, but remembering the old and tired look that he had seen months back, the king guessed his beloved had a much darker tale to tell.

Bilbo stared at him, eyes and mouth open, the growing contractions not even registering in his mind as it was trying to process what he had just heard, this Thorin was the one he had seen die? He had come here too? When? How? Did the others who died come here? Were they here now? That meant Balin, Fili, Kili, Ori, Oin and perhaps even Bard himself all knew!

"But the original ..." Bilbo started but was once again shushed

"This happy life is ours, no one has been replaced, we just are molding back into one, like a cracked gem being reformed, just rest," Thorin said smiling softly trying to sooth his hobbits fears, he did not need any more stress, not now, they could talk about it all once they were back in Erebor with their child.

But for now, they had to wait

Bilbo smiles "I am glad you are here with me"

"You were with me during my pain, laying on the cold snow, only now we will have a much happier ending, a reward for our pain" Thorin smoothed out the blankets and rested a hand on top of the bump, feeling it shift and ripple under his fingers "I want to know all about your life, what happened back there, once you are safely back in our home and with our little one in your arms of course"

"I promise, I will tell you everything, and I have a feeling you will be meeting someone who gave me a purpose in that life very soon"

Sorry, no baby this chapter...next one I promise!