Bilbo slowly regained consciousness, his body aching as though he had gone through a nasty tumble. Groaning, he opened his eyes to an expansive meadow, not unlike the ones found in the Shire, soft grass speckled with flowers in various colours beneath him, and a bright blue sky stretched out above with white, fluffy clouds drifting lazily above. Shakily, he stood, marvelling at how easily his joints moved, something from his youth he had dearly missed, and stared at his hands in amazement, once again youthful, not wrinkled and spotted from time and age as he had grown used to seeing.
A small cough behind him sounded, and he whirled around, almost tripping over in his haste. His eyes widened as he recognised the figures before him and hastily swept into a low bow. The Earth-mother softly smiled, and with a voice softer and kinder than Bilbo could have ever imagined, bid him to rise.
"Bilbo Baggins, my dear child," Yavanna softly spoke, giving him a kind smile. "You have gone through much. I am so proud."
Aulë stepped forward, laying his hand on Bilbo's shoulder, and grinned. "Thank you for helping my children recover their home. Not all would help, nor show the amount of kindness towards them as you did." He spoke, and Bilbo shakily smiled back.
"Thank you, I grew quite fond of them during my travels and time with them. But with all due respect, why am I here, instead of the rolling green hills of my ancestors?" Bilbo inquired abruptly, though politely.
Yavanna's eyes sparkled with mirth, and Aulë quietly spoke.
"We watched your company as you helped reclaim the land and much after, and it was to our chagrin, you were unfairly banished. We hoped you would reunite, and reunite you did, but your time together was bought much too short."
Yavanna smiled and clasped her hands together. "We have presented you with a choice, Bilbo Baggins, as a thanks towards your sacrifices.
You can go onwards to the rolling hills of your ancestors, where your family is waiting for you, a much-awaited reunion. However, they have been informed of this offer, and know that it may be a while yet, dependent on your choice.
"Or" she continued, after a pause, "you can go back to the Dwarrow. You'll be aged back to what you were on the journey, and age at a rate similar to the race of Dwarrow, and you can join your family once you have outlived your life once again."
Bilbo's eyes glistened with tears at the generous offer laid before him, and it took all he had in him not to cry in gratitude.
Aulë smiled. "You deserve this, Bilbo Baggins. You played a bigger role than you know in assuring the peace of Middle Earth, and it is the least we can do to thank you."
Bilbo managed a small "Thank you," finding it hard to speak around the lump that had taken hold in his throat.
Yavanna waved her hand, almost lazily, and a white door manifested before him.
"Go, my dear child" she softly spoke, a smile on her face, and Bilbo slowly walked towards it. He turned around to speak, to pour forth his gratitudes, but to his shock, the two had disappeared.
Taking a deep breath, Bilbo steeled himself, and opened the door.
The company of Thorin Oakenshield were understandably upset, but none more so than Thorin. After all, it was his fault that he, and the company, had been separated from their hobbit for so long, and after gaining him back, they only had a few precious months with him before he departed once more, on a journey none came back from.
Most of them gathered around Bilbo's bed, Kili having run off once he heard the news, Fili, Bofur, Ori and Dwalin following in search of him. Some of the others had come and gone, Thorin staying with the ever-growing cold body, as he prepared for the funeral. He did not know the proper send-offs for hobbits, and he was determined to wait for a reply from the Shire before any moves were made, wanting to honour the hobbit's traditional methods.
The day had grown cool, and before they knew it, night had fallen. Everyone had left Bilbo's side, though some reluctantly, and the door was carefully shut. Therefore, no one was witness to when Bilbo's hair started to turn a coppery-brown, nor when the wrinkles and tells of time faded, and his chest started to rise and fall with soft breaths.
Bilbo woke with a soft gasp. Though the room was dark, Bilbo recognised it as the room he spent his stay in Erebor in, and silently thanked the Valar that the Dwarrow had not yet buried him.
Slowly, he got out of bed, hoping that the hour wasn't as so late that everyone would be asleep, and quickly got dressed in the clothing that was slightly too loose for him, preferring the baggier clothing as he got older, and walked to the door, before yanking it open with little hesitation.
It was hard to tell the time within Erebor, due to no windows. The halls, however, were deserted, and lanterns lined the walls, indicating a later hour. Softly, he walked the halls, his footsteps making little to no noise, the familiar twists and turns taking him to his desired location- the companies meeting hall.
Soon after they had reclaimed the lonely mountain, the company had decided that they needed a spot where they could get away from the loud intruders and people within the mountain and had decided upon one of the many meeting halls, now reserved for the company only. Fili and Kili had excitedly shown Bilbo upon his arrival, and he spent many fond hours with the company in the comfortable room.
The room wasn't too far, and he soon found the green door inlaid with gold, and slowly pushed it open, not sure who to expect on the other side.
Fili and Kili silently sat in the company's hall, just taking comfort in each other's presence. It had been an emotionally taxing day, and the boy's emotions were evident through the tear tracks down both their faces. The rest of the company had long gone to bed, and so it was much to their surprise when they heard the door open, though they didn't turn around when the person quietly entered.
"Please, just leave us be" Fili quietly sniffled, and Kili put his arm around him.
"Fili? Kili?" the person asked, and the two started. That voice was so familiar, yet so different, and one they had just accepted was not returning. The two quickly turned around with confusion, and saw a young-looking Bilbo Baggins standing before them.
Kili's eyes widened, and he scrambled back. "Mr. Boggins! Ghost!" he gasped, and Fili was speechless.
Bilbo grinned. "No, not a ghost. I'm here, proper, promise. The Valar gave me another chance" he explained, seeing the confusion evident on the brother's faces. He slowly walked towards them, as if approaching a scared animal, and sat next to them when they made no further movements.
Holding out his hand, Bilbo waited, unit Fili was brave enough to place his hand on top. Bilbo grinned again, and Fili gasped as he came into contact with the warm, not dead hobbit.
"Bilbo!" he cried, and launched himself at the shorter being, Kili not hesitating to do so either after his brother had confirmed the state of the hobbit.
It took a while for them to calm down, tears streaming down all three of their faces. Fili and Kili were reluctant to let go of the hobbit, however, so Bilbo explained to them what happened as best he could within the two's embrace.
By the time he had finished, however, the candles had burnt down low, and the three succumbed to their exhaustion in the dimly lit room, bundled up close to each other.
The company of Thorin Oakenshield were in various states of confusion, shock and anger come morning. Thorin had woken up when Dwalin had burst into his chambers and loudly declared that Bilbo's body was missing. After quickly alerting the rest of the company that could be found, they had gathered in the now empty chambers, discussing what to do now.
"How could someone do this, who would do such a thing?" cried out Bofur, and Thorin swept his gaze over the distraught company.
"Whoever took Bilbo will dearly pay" he vowed to the surrounding Dwarrow, eyes narrowed in anger. "We will split up and search every room in this mountain. Tell no one, as we don't know who is on in this. And if you see Fili and Kili, send them straight to me, please." He continued, and the company quickly split up to search the mountain for Bilbo.
It didn't take Balin, who had agreed to search the lower halls, to stumble across Fili, Kili and Bilbo in the company's hall, sound asleep. He crept towards them in shock, eyes never leaving Bilbo's form.
Due to the keen ears of hobbits, Bilbo woke, and saw Balin standing above him.
"Ah! Balin! So sorry, I must have dozed off last night…" Bilbo trailed off as he saw Fili and Kili next to him.
"Bilbo? How is this possible?" Balin asked, quietly, as not to disturb the still-sleeping boys.
Bilbo quickly ran Balin through what had happened, and unlike the boys, he was not in a state of denial, for he knew of the powers of the Valar. He instead clapped Bilbo on the back, and welcomed him back with a grin. If either of them had tears in their eyes, neither of them mentioned it.
Balin quickly remembered the rest of the company, searching various parts of the mountain for Bilbo, who, he had to remind himself, they thought was dead, and quickly resolved to call them to the room.
Excusing himself with the promise of the rest of the company, he summoned a few guards standing nearby and told them to bring the heroes of Erebor to the meeting hall.
It took nearly half an hour to gather the entire company together, and they were milling outside of the room, Balin restraining them from entering just yet. Fili and Kili stood outside, trying very hard (and failing on Kili's part) not to grin.
Once they were all gathered, Balin turned to address them all.
"Now," he started, "I know this may come to a slight shock, but what you're about to see is the real deal."
The Dwarrow shifted uncomfortably, and many furrowed their eyebrows.
"Balin, just get on with it, please" Thorin pinched his nose in frustration, among many who were wondering why they were pulled from their search for Master Baggins, and eyeing the too-happy mischief makers warily.
Balin sighed, and grabbed the door handle, leading the company into the room.
"Balin, just get on with it, please" Bilbo heard Thorin say, and a small amount of silence, before the door opened. Balin lead the company in, and many of them stopped short as they saw him as soon as they walked in.
"I'm glad to present Bilbo Baggins" Balin said to the shocked company, and Bilbo gave a cheeky grin and a quick wave.
"Bilbo Baggins, at your service" Bilbo smiled, dipping his head in acknowledgement, mainly to avoid them seeing the tears gathering in his eyes. Thorin slowly walked up to him.
"Bilbo?" he whispered, laying his hand upon Bilbo's shoulder. Bilbo looked up to him, and nodded, before launching himself at the dwarf, hugging him, and almost burying himself in the blue coat. The rest of the company barely hesitated before surrounding Bilbo and Thorin in a hug, and didn't let go. There wasn't a single one who didn't have tears streaming down their face.
Soon, Bilbo pulled out of the hugs, and once again explained how this was to be.
"I woke up, and Yavanna and Aulë were waiting for me. They presented me a choice, to carry on to the halls of my ancestors, or to come back to you guys. I couldn't leave you guys, so I decided to come back, obviously" Bilbo explained, wiping the occasional tear, and gave them all a watery smile.
"What's even better?" he continued happily "is that I will now age about the same rate as you lot. I was 50 when I left the Shire, so am back to being middle aged, so I'm sticking around for a while. Good luck getting rid of me, I'm here to stay."
"We wouldn't have it any other way" Bofur told him with a smile, with cries of agreement from the surrounding company.
The company of Thorin Oakenshield was finally back together, as it should be, and all was well.
(Next time Gandalf visited, it was quite a shock for him, but that's another story.)