Bilba drifted to consciousness slowly.

She could feel a thick mattress under her and heavy blankets over her. Her body felt heavy, sleep dragging at her the way it did when she'd slept far longer and deeper than normal. Oddly her mind, foggy and muddled as it was from waking up, felt somehow sharper and clearer than it had since she didn't know when.

She set that aside, trying to figure out how long she'd been asleep. Ash and Frerin must be hungry. She should get up and feed them.

She shifted, planning to roll out of bed and look for the crib, only to stop with a quiet gasp as pain spiked through her shoulder.

Along with it came a rush of memories and she sagged back against the mattress. She wasn't in Bag End, hadn't been for over a month. She'd been chased out by the Nazgul, hunted through the wild and finally cornered by them on Weathertop.

She opened her eyes to darkness, barely lit by silver moonlight filtering through a window.

Bilba sighed in resignation.

She knew that window and the bed now that she was more awake. It was her room in Rivendell, the one she'd stayed in while recovering from giving birth to the boys. She'd stayed in it so long she'd gone nearly insane. She'd finally begged Fili to get her out and he and Kili had responded by taking turns carrying her to the gardens on a daily basis until she'd been strong enough to go on her own.

Favoring her shoulder, Bilba sat up gingerly and surveyed the darkened room.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Movement came from the other side of the room and then a familiar, deep baritone. "Bilba. Just a moment. Let me get the lantern."

"Thorin." She curled her legs under her on the bed and frowned at how weak she felt. "Where are the boys?"

She didn't have to specify which boys she was asking about.

"They're here," his voice stated from the dark, now several feet away from where it had originally been. "They're sleeping."

He had a tone in his voice she'd heard in her own a dozen times and couldn't stop a slight smile from spreading across her face. "Which is parent speak for keep your voice down for Mahal's sake before you wake them up?"

He chuckled. A lantern flickered into being, brightening until it threw the room into soft relief. Bilba could make Thorin out now, no longer dressed in the clothing he'd worn on the road but instead in a simple tunic and trousers, his hair and single braid clean and neatly redone.

A glance down showed she was wearing different clothes as well, a loose fitting white cotton nightgown. Her hair was also clean, the braid she pulled over her shoulder bound with the tight, flawless pattern Fili favored. When Kili did it he always tended to throw in a bit more flair, the braid just a bit more dramatic than necessary.

Thorin was beside her, arm held out. Bilba swung her legs over the edge of the bed, out from under the blanket, and settled them on the thick rug covering the floor. She slid her hands around his arm and stood up, shutting her eyes and gritting her teeth as nausea and dizziness rolled through her in waves.

"Oh, I feel perfectly awful."

"Do you want me to get Elrond?"

Bilba swallowed, her face twisting in disgust at the taste of bile, and opened her eyes. She focused on breathing out through her nose and in through her mouth and the nausea receded a little. "No, I'd like to see the boys, please."

He nodded and indicated the back of the room. Bilba could see a small crib there and eagerly started for it, leaning heavily on Thorin as she did.

As promised, Ash and Frerin were there. Bilba had known they would be, knew Thorin wouldn't lie to her about it, knew Fili and Kili would have protected them with their own lives, but it still brought a rush of relief to see them in the flesh, sleeping peacefully.

She braced her hands on the crib railing and studied her sleeping twins. "How are they?"

Thorin stood beside her, looking down at them. "They're fine. There was no one available to wetnurse but the elves keep goats so they were able to provide milk for them."

Bilba frowned. "How long was I out?"

"Slightly over a week," Thorin said. "It took three days to get to Rivendell." At her horrified look he sighed and said, "We moved as fast as possible. The boys were strong but…I would not have wished that on them."

Bilba swallowed, memories of being locked in the Treasury invading her mind. "Neither would I. They're too young to go through that." She looked up at him. "Did you carry them?'

"I carried you after waking up."

Bilba sighed. "How often did you get knocked out before meeting me?"

His eyes narrowed in confusion at the sudden change in topic. "Excuse me?"

"I certainly don't remember being knocked out all that much before meeting you," Bilba said dryly, giving him a sidelong look. "The goblin caves, then Azog, then the battle at Erebor and now Weathertop. We seem to spend a lot of time unconscious in one another's presence."

A corner of Thorin's mouth lifted and he shook his head. "I suppose we do."

"We're awful influences on one another," Bilba concluded, "and now…now we've gone and had children together. Do you have any idea how bad it's going to be when they grow up? They'll spend most of their time unconscious!"

"Or nearly getting eaten," Thorin said. He gave her a hesitant look, unsure of himself.

Bilba sighed. "Oh, Yavanna, I forgot about that. We did nearly keep getting eaten didn't we? I even wrote about it in my journal and you kept adding idiotic addendums."

"Helpful," Thorin corrected. "I added helpful addendums."

"Agree to disagree on your definition of helpful" Bilba said dryly. She leaned heavily on the railing, studying the boys. "Having your luck and my luck combined they'll probably spend their time nearly getting eaten while unconscious."

Thorin shrugged. "I'll assign a battalion to watch them, at all times."

Bilba snorted. "I'm not sure that'll be enough but it's a start."

Thorin nodded and they lapsed into silence, studying the sleeping infants. They'd kept their voices down as they spoke, mere whispers to prevent waking the babies After a few moments Thorin cleared his throat and said, "I didn't carry them. I wanted to but I didn't want you to think I used your injury as an excuse to go behind your back."

Bilba rolled her eyes. "I never intended to keep them from you, Thorin. Just until they grew old enough they could defend themselves if you tried to take them."

She frowned as she said it, the words sounding...wrong on her lips. The belief which had seemed so perfectly rational for so long now seemed almost ridiculous. Thorin had behaved like an ass, granted, but he'd never physically harmed her. He'd thought her a witch but hadn't had her assassinated while she was still in Erebor or even during the two weeks she'd spent in Mirkwood. Fili and Kili had reported he'd been awake long before they'd left and it wouldn't have been hard to find where she'd gone. He could even have had her killed on the battlefield and blamed it on the orcs, or had her followed on her journey home and killed her in her sleep on the road. If he'd discovered her pregnancy he could have had her abducted, spirited away and locked in the deepest dungeons of Erebor while he publicly claimed he had no idea what had happened to her. No one would have been in any position to challenge him, not without risking at the very least a war on the belief he had her.

He hadn't made the slightest effort to do anything of the sort. In fact in a year and a half she'd never heard a peep from him or anyone associated with him. Not until he'd showed up and promptly saved her and Ash, followed them into the Wild with little to no supplies to guard them from the Nazgul and then stood between her and nine of Sauron's most wicked servants to save her yet again.

Why had she thought he would hurt her?

Why had it seemed so perfectly rational?

Why did it seem so utterly irrational now?

A memory rose to mind, ice resting on her breastbone, a faint voice in her head that only now did she realize wasn't hers, foreign emotions fanning her fears, trying to turn her against even Fili and Kili, a light calling her in the darkness…

Ice rolled through her veins and nausea rose again in her throat. Beside her, Thorin tensed. "Bilba? Are you alright?"

"Thorin," she said, her voice weak. She pushed off the railing and turned to face him. "Please, please, please tell me I was dreaming. Tell me I didn't attack you."

His eyes, shadowed in the flickering light from the lantern, looked startled and then immediately reassuring. "You did not. You did swing your fists at me but I blocked them. At the last you pulled your knife but I caught your wrist before it had even cleared the sheath. You were never a threat."

"That isn't the point," Bilba said, sharper than she'd intended. She shut her eyes, wrapping her arms around her waist. "I don't…" Her eyes began to burn and her throat tightened. "I don't know what was happening. I was dreaming…there was a light calling me and then a shadow wouldn't let me pass and…" she shook her head. "I don't know what happened."

"You were not yourself," Thorin said. "Glorfindel believes it was caused by the ring you were carrying. The one you found in the goblin tunnels."

Bilba's hand went to her throat and found it bare, no chain and certainly no ring hanging like a dead weight against her skin. "Where is it?"

"Glorfindel took it," Thorin said, his expression darkening. "His reaction to nearly touching it was…extreme. He began to curse in what I am fairly sure were multiple languages. Of the ones I could understand he seemed most angry at himself for knowing about the ring and assuming it was simply a common magic ring rather than investigating it further. He wrapped it in cloth and had Priscilla carry it until we reached Rivendell where he took it back. I haven't seen him since. Elrond was here long enough to heal you and then also vanished."

Bilba let out a breath. "The Nazgul wanted it. It's what they've been after."

"Well," Thorin said, "if that's the case then it's a good thing you no longer have it. They should leave you alone now."

"I suppose so," Bilba said absently. "Not that it's any excuse but I think it was affecting me," she said slowly, "in much the way your grandfather's ring affected you. My mind feels clearer. I wasn't even aware it was clouded."

Thorin moved away from her, heading to sit on a padded bench against the wall. "You are able to recognize it the moment the ring is removed from you and accept it." He leaned back, his face lost in the shadows of the room. "Had I only done the same instead of sticking to my idiotic pride, insisting I was on the right course even as my heart told me I was not, much would have been different."

Bilba had begun to feel better, her body slowly settling and deciding maybe it would stay upright after all. Now she leaned over the crib and, using her good arm, carefully got Ash. He didn't wake up but instinctively snuggled into her side.

She turned and walked over to Thorin and leaned forward to hold Ash out to him. "Stop brooding and hold your son, Thorin."

Thorin's eyes went wide and he sat up sharply. His hands came up and took Ash gingerly, like he was handling glass. He settled him, the baby's tiny body nearly swallowed against Thorin's arm and chest. Thorin looked down and Bilba saw an almost stupid grin spread across his face.

"Technically you've already held him before," Bilba said, "but I thought you might want to do it when he wasn't crying and you weren't distracted trying to drag me back up a hill."

He looked back up at her. "Ashrin? Or Frerin?"

"Ashrin," Bilba said. "Your youngest. We usually call him Ash. He's the most energetic one. I think he might have enough energy in him to wear out Kili once he gets older."

Thorin nodded, focus already going back to Ash. "I heard the others saying their names when they were trying to calm them."

Bilba's stomach twisted at the thought of her sons being upset without her there, but there was little she could do about it. "It took forever to come up with their names. Ash is a good hobbit name but is strong enough to get him by among dwarves and then Frerin to pay homage to their dwarven heritage and their bloodline."

"You gave them the 'rin' endings," Thorin said, not looking up. "You didn't have to do that."

Bilba rolled her eyes again, apparently Thorin was just bringing it out in her, and crossed her arms over her chest. "I already told you, Thorin. They're still your sons. I wasn't going to be the one to take their father from them, even if I wasn't thrilled at the thought of them finding out he was royalty and far more exciting than I was."

That earned her a pointed look. "Given what you've been through since the first time you met me and the others I'd say your life is far more exciting than you think."

"You may have a point," Bilba conceded. She went back to the crib and got Frerin, carrying him over to switch out with Ash. "Here you go, your heir. You haven't met him at all yet. He's the calmer one and is hopelessly besotted with Fili. I'm hoping he and Fili combined might be able to help rein in Ash once they get older."

Thorin traded infants with her with the ease of one who'd clearly had practice handling small children. Bilba settled on the bench next to him with Ash. "Thorin…" She chewed on her lower lip, fixing her eyes on the window on the other side of the room. "Frerin…he's your heir, not Erebor's."

Thorin gave her a confused look. "Why?"

Bilba turned to make eye contact with him. "You have no idea how much Erebor means to Fili. I don't think he entirely understood it until it was taken from him."

There was no malice in her voice as she spoke. She wasn't trying to hurt him. She simply wanted him to understand.

"Erebor is everything to him," she continued, "and if it went to Frerin I have no doubt Fili would smile and accept it and spend his life supporting him but privately it would crush him. Frerin won't care. I know he's just a baby but I wasn't joking about how much he loves Fili. The two of them have a bond so strong I'm actually jealous of it sometimes." She'd been talking so fast she'd run out of breath and paused a moment to catch it. "I won't be the person who takes Erebor from Fili, not after all he's done for me." She shot a sideways glance at Thorin. "Though I am, of course, assuming you wish to give it back to him."

"It's always been his," Thorin responded. He looked down at Frerin. "I knew it was important to him but I failed to see just how much." His gaze met hers again. "Is that why he and Kili prefer to pretend I don't exist?"

"It's part of it," Bilba agreed, "but I think his anger goes much deeper than that. I've tried to talk to him about it but he's not interested in discussing it. As for Kili, he is angry but I think much of it stems from loyalty to his brother, and me I suppose. I don't think he's as far away from you as you might believe." She leaned back and rested her head against the wall. "I'll let you tell Fili he's reinstated and still the Crown Prince. That should do a lot to get you back in Kili's good graces and hopefully get through to Fili a little, maybe enough that he might actually start talking to you."

Thorin studied her. "You don't have to do that, any of it. I've done nothing to deserve it."

He was making her want to roll her eyes again. At this rate she was going to end up dizzy. "You've more than deserved it, you stubborn idiot. In fact," she moved one hand off Ash and reached down, only to feel a flash of panic as she remembered she was no longer wearing her old clothes.

"What's wrong?" Thorin asked.

"The braid!" Bilba said. "I don't have it."

"I have it," Thorin said. "It's in my quarters." Bilba sagged in relief and he shook his head, amused. "It wouldn't have been so very bad if you'd lost it. Mahal looks at intent, losing it is quite different from deliberately casting it aside. I would have just made you another one."

"That's good." Bilba took a deep breath. "Anyway, you having it saves me the trouble of giving it back to you."

Thorin went still beside her. "Bilba-"

"I had a lot of hurt in the beginning," Bilba said, cutting him off, "and anger. If you'd come immediately after I left Erebor I probably would have started crying and run off." She shook her head at how different she'd been back then. Priscilla had mentioned she'd come home older and wiser and Bilba desperately hoped it was true. She knew she was calmer, less prone to panic, particularly now without the ring on. She felt less afraid of Thorin, less conviction she was somehow unworthy of him. "If you'd come later, during the journey home I'd probably have thrown something at you." She frowned. "The paranoia soon took over though, the conviction you were going to show up and somehow take the boys from me. It started in Mirkwood, maybe even before that, and grew until it was so overwhelming it covered all other emotion."

She paused, trying to organize her thoughts, picking through what she actually felt now that the ring's influence was no longer clouding her mind. It was amazing how fast she could do it now that she knew it had been affecting her. She wondered if that was part of it, whatever it was. Would it be able to influence her so easily now that she knew about it and would be on guard against it?

She blinked, startled at her own line of thought. Why was she thinking she'd be anywhere near it again? The ring was gone, in hands stronger and wiser than hers. They would know what to do with it, how to stand against those that sought it for whatever reason. She and her sons would be gone, as far as she could possibly take them until nothing evil or dark could ever touch them.

"Anyway," she continued, realizing she'd been sitting in silence for several long minutes. "Once you arrived that same fear and paranoia was still there. I began to question if I'd ever known you at all, if the Thorin I'd met on the road wasn't the real one but just a façade that came off as soon as you entered Erebor." She shook her head, laughing bitterly at herself. "This in spite of the fact that I recognized how well raised Fili and Kili were, how you behaved on the road, how well the Blue Mountains were doing. I had all the evidence in front of me but still feared somehow, someway I'd been misled."

"It was the ring," Thorin said. "It took your emotions and twisted them, corrupted them, as my grandfather's ring did mind, though to a much greater extent it would seem. I would guess the ring is one of the lost rings of power, as mine was. Probably one of the dwarven ones given how few we were able to hang onto, though I have never heard of one so plainly made."

Bilba shuddered, disgusted at having carried that thing, at having had it so close to her infants. "I understand now, more of what you were going through."

"Perhaps while I was wearing the ring," Thorin agreed. "But Fili took it from me and got rid of it. Once that happened its influence over me was gone just as this ring's influence over you was as soon as it was removed from you. My actions after that were my own, borne from my own pride and stubbornness, my refusal to accept I could be…manipulated as my father and grandfather both were."

Bilba flinched, the memory of him roaring words along those lines at her in the mountain. She took a deep breath, settling her nerves. "We've both made mistakes, enough for a lifetime. We should have died a dozen times over. You saved my life several times just as I saved yours."

"And in return I caused you to suffer," Thorin said bitterly. "You had to travel home while carrying my twins, nearly died giving birth to them."

"None of that's on you," Bilba said sharply. "You didn't know I was pregnant."

She left out the fact that, in their haste to save her life, the elves had been unable to preserve her ability to bear children. Ash and Frerin would be the only ones she would ever have. She bore no animosity toward Thorin for that. Had everything gone perfectly, utterly flawless, and she'd had the boys in Erebor they still would have been far too big, her own body far too small. In all likelihood the outcome would have been little different, might have been worse, in fact, as the dwarves didn't have the benefit of centuries of experience with difficult births and medical techniques. Had she had them in Erebor she could have died so, in that respect at least, Thorin had done her a favor in a twisted sort of way.

"But if I had-"

"You didn't," Bilba cut in, "which makes any speculation simply that, speculation. Stop trying to blame yourself for everything, Thorin. It's greedy. I could have told you. I was in Mirkwood after all. What were you going to do? March on Thranduil to try and get at me?"

She'd actually feared exactly that at one time but, now, looking back on it with a clear and unclouded mind the entire thing seemed ludicrous. Yavanna, why hadn't she figured it out? So much could have been different.

She laughed suddenly, realizing she was repeating the exact words Thorin had said to her. He'd once told her they were a matched pair, she was beginning to see just how right he was.

"What I'm trying to get at," she said, "is that now that I can think clearly, now that the paranoia is gone, I find there's little anger underneath it." She stood up and moved to stand before him where he was still seated, holding Frerin. She cradled Ash in her arms and locked eyes with Thorin. "The realization I was so strongly influenced by a magical object, as you were, also gives me sympathy for what you went through." He opened his mouth to protest but she rushed on, cutting him off before he could. "I know it doesn't excuse you for what you did after but going by what your life has been to this point, how you treated me on the journey, as well as the fact you went to such lengths to come and seek forgiveness…" She gave a faint smile. "The truth is I forgave you a long time ago, Thorin. I just wasn't able to fully see it until that cursed ring was gone. The braid, and Erebor, are yours. Return to her in good faith as her King. You've more than earned it."

He was staring at her, literally stunned speechless which, for Thorin Oakenshield, was a big thing indeed. Bilba turned away and went to put Ash back down. Her burst of energy had proven short lived and was quickly waning. As she leaned over the crib she said, "Having my forgiveness, as well as returning Erebor to Fili, should go far to break the ice between you, him and Kili as well. I can't guarantee they'll forgive you immediately but it'll put you on the path."

"And what about you?" His voice said, cutting through the shadows separating them. "Will you return to Erebor with me?"

Bilba frowned and straightened, Ash comfortably settled back in his crib. "Do you need me to? Won't they take the fact you haven't been struck down as proof you've been given my forgiveness?" A thought occurred to her and she said, "I'll visit, regularly so you can see the boys. We can probably work it out where you can keep them part of the year even, perhaps in the summer or winter." Her heart twisted at the thought of handing one or both of them over for months at a time but they were as much Thorin's as hers, he deserved equal time with them.

"That isn't what I meant," Thorin said. He stood up and approached with Frerin. He held the baby out and Bilba took him and settled him beside Ashrin. When she was done she and Thorin were facing each other, each with a hand on the railing of the crib, their sons sleeping peacefully under their watch. "I meant would you and the boys come back with me, at my side?"

Bilba sucked in a sharp breath. "Thorin." She allowed her hand to fall off the railing and stepped away, toward the middle of the room. Once there she turned to look at him again, crossing her arms over her chest. She was starting to tremble a little from fatigue and desperately wanted to go back to bed but she needed to deal with this first. "You can't…" She stopped and looked away as her eyes began to burn. And here she'd just been thinking how much more mature and grown up she was. She shook her head and gave a quiet laugh at her own inability to keep herself under control. "It's been a year and a half. A year and a half. You…you broke my heart." She'd still been facing away from him and turned toward him again. "You broke my heart and you threw me out of Erebor and said we'd never speak again and I believed you. I had no reason not to."

He was silent, partly lost in the darkness of the room. The lantern was somewhere behind her, placed far enough away that the light wouldn't bother the twins.

Bilba sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I'm not trying to hurt you, or punish you, I swear I'm not but you need to understand." She took a deep breath. "I got over you. You broke my heart and then you sent me away and I left. And I was hurt and I was angry and I…" She lifted her hands helplessly. "Thorin, it's been a year and a half. I moved on." She pulled her braid over her shoulder as she spoke, running her fingers over the pattern in it.

"Have you found someone else then?" Thorin's voice sounded hoarse and Bilba felt a stab in her heart. She honestly had no desire to hurt him but she also didn't want him having false hopes. Leading him on wouldn't be any kinder than telling him the truth.

"No," she said, "I haven't moved on quite that far." There also hadn't exactly been a lot of time, most of the last year and a half for her had been spent on the road or recovering in Rivendell. She frowned. "Speaking of which, I still need to yell at you for assuming I jumped in bed with your nephew the second we left Erebor, while we were on the road no less, with his brother nearby. Lucky for you I'm far too tired do it at the moment."

He stepped forward and lightly grabbed her arm, slid his other arm around her waist and helped her back to the bed. Bilba sat on the edge and slid onto the mattress, nearly groaning in relief at no longer having to stand.

Thorin stood over her and Bilba raised an eyebrow. "You're looming."

"Would you have thought a year ago that you would forgive me for what I'd done?"

She frowned, considering. "No," she said finally. "I don't imagine I would have."

He stepped away, getting the lantern and lowering the flame in it until it was a bare flicker. The shadows deepened, the silver light from the moon becoming more dominant.

"And now you probably can't imagine ever falling back in love with me."

Bilba blinked, catching onto where he was heading. "Thorin, that's not fair, to either one of us."

He retrieved a chair she'd seen sitting near the crib and carried it over to set beside her bed. He sank into it and leaned forward, his eyes intense. "I'm willing to take the risk. You're more than worth it. You always have been."

"Damn it, Thorin," Bilba whispered, "why do you have to say things like that?" Her body politely informed her it was done with the whole sitting thing and she carefully laid down on her side, and on her good shoulder, noting as she did Thorin had placed himself on the correct side of the bed so she'd still be facing him. "And why do you always have to be so stubborn? You can never just give up on something."

He leaned forward, clasping his hands together and resting them on the bed. "Do you want me to give up?"

She flinched. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed him until he'd come back and, now, the thought of him leaving again hurt. She reached out and rested a hand on his, her fingers lightly tracing along his knuckles. "I don't know," she said honestly. "I'm not in love with you anymore. As to if there's ever a chance…I honestly don't know, Thorin." She shifted and slid her free hand under her pillow. She started to pull her other hand away but he caught it in both of his. "What if you stay and I never feel the same again?" she murmured, fatigue tugging at her. "Or what if I meet someone else, or you do?"

"I won't," he said and she gave a tired chuckle.

"You say that now but we already agreed I didn't think I'd ever forgive you at one time."

"As you say," he admitted but she could tell he wasn't being genuine about it.

"Still as stubborn as ever," she said quietly. "It's not fair, Thorin," she repeated. "Not to either of us. It just isn't." She tugged her hand out of his and put it on the mattress. "If it's about the children you don't have to worry. We'll work it out. You'll be as much a part of their life as you wish."

"It's not about them," Thorin said, his voice low. "I didn't know about them when I left Erebor. I left to come after you and Fili and Kili." He picked her hand up again and intertwined their fingers. "I understand the risks and I'm more than willing to accept them. If you're willing, if you think there's even the slightest possibility, let me try to win you back. I don't deserve it, not after what I did to you, but I'm selfish enough I'll ask anyway. I lived a long life without you in it and now I can't understand how I managed even a single day of it."

"Damn," Bilba breathed out. She felt…affection for him, certainly, like what one might feel toward an old friend they hadn't seen in a very long time, a certain nostalgia for something long lost. If he kept talking like that though…she wasn't sure. She was exhausted, feeling grateful toward him for saving her, wanted a good relationship for the sake of their children. Not only that but she'd worked so hard, so hard to put him behind her, to build herself a new life without him in it.

What if she risked it and there was simply nothing there anymore? Or, worse, what if there was and it ended badly? What if Thorin changed his mind? He said he wouldn't but what if he got tired of her not responding fast enough and left? Or what if fate conspired against them as it so often seemed to do and let them have a second chance only to separate them again in some other cruel way she hadn't even foreseen yet?

What if?

Thorin reached his free hand out and brushed some of the loose hair around her face back. "You're overthinking. You have a tendency to do that."

"You're one to talk," Bilba shot back. "They should call you the King of Brooding instead of the King under the Mountain."

He laughed.

Bilba swallowed, fear lacing through her. "What if it doesn't work out?"

His hand paused on her face, his thumb lightly running over her cheekbone. "What if it does?"

Sleep was tugging at her and Bilba felt herself sinking deeper into the mattress. She yawned and pulled her hand away from Thorin's again, curling up on the mattress. The hand on her face paused.

"We should put a limit on it," she said, her voice heavy with fatigue. "A year. That should be more than enough time to know, maybe even sooner. If nothing has changed then it's unlikely anything will. You can go back to Erebor in the meantime, do your kinging thing."

"And you'll go with me?" The implied yes behind her statement clearly hadn't been lost on him, she could hear it in his voice.

Her eyes had closed but she managed to slit them open, focusing blearily on him. "I don't know yet. I don't know what Fili and Kili will say. I won't abandon them. If they don't wish to come then perhaps…" she paused to yawn again, "perhaps I can convince them to stay in Dale, help rebuild. We'll be close enough."

Thorin looked as though a massive weight had been lifted off him. "I'll keep the braid off for the year and return the bracelet to you during that time as well."

Somehow Bilba found the strength to roll her eyes again. It was important to have priorities and rolling her eyes at Thorin was fast becoming one of them. "Thorin."

"Fili can take the throne in my stead for the year," he cut in, "while I live in Dale with you and the boys. At the end of that time you can return the braid and I'll be crowned"

Thus showing everyone, and most importantly Fili, who the heir to Erebor was while simultaneously getting to stay close to the mountain and her at the same time.

"You're kind of scary good at this strategy thing," she murmured. "I'm going to fall asleep on you now, so let's assume we had a long argument on that and I ended up agreeing and now everyone is happy."

"As you wish."

She laughed. Her eyes were closed and weren't going to open no matter how much she wanted. "It'll be nice…to see Dale again..."

It'd be nice to have somewhere to go. Somewhere she wasn't exiled from. Somewhere she had friends and wasn't being chased by anything evil.

The ring was a worry but it was no longer her worry. Better minds had it. Surely they would be able to find out what it was and deal with it.

As for her, she would travel to Dale with the boys. She had no doubt Fili and Kili would agree to go with her, at least to Dale, if only because its proximity to Erebor would let them see their mother again.

Speaking of Fili and Kili…

"Thorin?"

"Yes?"

She spoke with her eyes shut, her body not moving. He'd removed his hand from her cheek but was still clearly very close, his voice coming from the chair next to her bed.

"Who's coming next?"

"Priscilla I believe. Seth was in here before I was."

"Can it be the boys instead?"

"Of course. I can get them now if you want."

"No," she murmured. "Go hold your sons. Just…after."

He may have responded to her but she was too far gone to hear it. She drifted for a while after that, how long she wasn't sure, until the feeling of the mattress dipping on both sides of her jostled her somewhat back awake.

On the journey home the boys had taken to sleeping close on either side of her. She could barely move the larger she got and it allowed them to protect her from any threat coming from outside the camp as well as help her if she needed to get up for any reason as she was far past the point of being able to do it herself. In Rivendell they'd slept on either side of her while waiting for her to wake up, terrified if they took their eyes off her even for a moment she'd slip away and be lost forever. Even after she'd awakened and been eventually moved to this room they'd stayed, there to give her aid at night when she was so weak she could barely sit up let alone stand. When Ash or Frerin would wake up hungry it had been one of them who would get up to retrieve them, bringing them to her so she didn't have to try and get them herself.

She'd become so used to it that her sleep often became restless without them at the very least in the room with her. It hadn't been a problem the short time she'd been in Bag End due to how exhausted she'd been from travel but she had no doubt she'd have eventually started struggling to fall asleep without the presence of other people aside from the babies in the room.

She was still on her side and snuggled close under the blankets to the person who'd laid down on top of them on that side. An arm slid around her back and she curled up with a yawn, throwing an arm across a slim waist and resting her head on a narrow chest.

Kili.

Behind her she could feel Fili's side pressed along her back and she sighed allowed herself to sink back into sleep.

Things would be alright, she thought hazily.

It would be a good year ahead of her.

She just knew it.