Chapter 2: Peace and Love

When her horse finally crested the top of the hill, Quinn let out a low whistle. The field below was dotted with tents and tables full of food, all of it illuminated by lanterns that were strung from trees and posts holding up fluttering streamers. More hobbits than she could count were milling about, looking like colorful ants. Even from the top of the hill, she could smell the roasted meat, fresh fruit, and ale.

"Wow. Bilbo wasn't kidding when he said he went all out."

A pair of skinny arms wrapped around her waist. "Are we there yet?"

"Just about, kiddo." Quinn turned to glance at the boy sitting behind her in the saddle. Toven was looking at her with a slight crease in his brow. "What's wrong?"

"What if they don't like me?" he asked. "What if they think I'm…"

"Hey, none of that." She patted his hand. "You're gonna be fine. All the hobbit boys cut their hair short too, so you'll fit right in."

"I'm not short like a hobbit."

"That's what we call a tactical advantage in my business." Quinn flicked the reins, and the horse began walking again. "If anyone says anything mean to you, I give you full permission to punch 'em in the face."

Toven snorted at that, but remained silent for the rest of the ride.

When they reached the edge of the field, Quinn climbed off the horse and helped Toven down. She tied her mount's lead to a nearby fence, with enough slack that it could walk around a little. After a moment's consideration, she left her sword strapped to the saddle. Bilbo had assured her that there wouldn't be any need for it in Hobbiton, but she felt better having it nearby.

She turned to Toven. "Ready?"

He nodded, still frowning slightly.

She patted his shoulder as they began walking towards the party. "Just play it cool, and don't take anything you wouldn't dish out. Okay?"

"Okay."

"And if you're cool, I'll let you have some ale."

Toven looked up at her, eyebrows raising. "Really?"

"Just a sip. And you're probably gonna hate the taste anyway, but you keep asking me, so…" She glanced at him, eyes narrowing. "The rangers didn't give you any, did they?"

"No…"

"Okay. Just remember, you're only allowed to get alcohol from mom."

She sighed. There were times she worried she was missing out, leaving him with rangers while she went on her missions. But he always seemed happy to see her when she came back, so she tried to focus on that.

Juggling parenting and being an ancient warrior was a lot harder than she'd thought.

As they drew closer to the party, Quinn suppressed a groan as the smell of fresh bread drifted over the grass. Being dead meant she couldn't eat anything, but she swore she could feel her stomach rumbling.

Bilbo and Thorin were standing near one of the tents, talking to a group of hobbits, though the group had walked away by the time Quinn and Toven reached them.

"Hey, guys." Quinn nodded to Bilbo. "Happy birthday."

"Quinn! I'm glad to see you could make it." His gaze fell to Toven, who was standing slightly behind her. "And who's this?"

"Oh, yeah. Remember how I told you I had a kid?" She put a hand on his shoulder and nudged him towards the pair. "This is my son, Toven."

Still looking slightly nervous, Toven straightened and said, "Well met, Master Hobbit."

Bilbo blinked at him for a moment. "Oh, I see. It's a pleasure to meet you." He smiled and held out a hand. "Bilbo Baggins, at your service."

"Yeah, we're trying something new," Quinn said, one hand still on Toven's shoulder. "Dori helped him pick out the name."

Thorin inclined his head. "It is a pleasure to meet you, young Master Toven."

Quinn smiled. "This is Thorin, former king of Erebor."

Toven's eyes widened. He stared at him for a long moment, then whispered, "Hi."

Quinn leaned over and whispered conspiratorially, "You're kind of his hero."

Thorin smiled at that, and Bilbo chuckled as Toven went red.

"Alright, we're gonna go find some food," Quinn said, noticing another group of hobbits approaching. "You know where Frodo is? I wanna wish him a happy birthday, too."

"Oh, he's been here and there for most of the night," Bilbo said. "I'm sure you'll find him eventually."

Quinn waved goodbye and set off with Toven towards the busiest part of the field, where several picnic tables laden with food were lined up. She spotted a platter of mince pies, still steaming through the crust, and put a hand over her eyes.

"Oh, god, I can't even look. Go get whatever you want, but you better not come back with a plate full of cake."

"Got it."

As Toven headed for the food, Quinn found a table and sat down, the bench creaking under her weight. She hadn't missed the glances most of the hobbits sent her way, like they did every time she visited the Shire. Although she'd traded her armor for a simple tunic and coat to try and blend in, she guessed standing head and shoulders above the crowd didn't really help in that regard.

When Toven reached the table with his food, she raised an eyebrow. "What did I say?"

"You said not to come back with a plate full of cake," he said, setting his food on the table. "You didn't say anything about half. And I got vegetables, too." He pointed at the lone lettuce leaf on the edge of the plate.

Quinn snorted. "Okay, good one." She reached over the table to high five him.

While Toven dug in, Quinn busied herself looking around at the other partygoers. Several hobbits were dancing and clapping along to the small band playing in one corner. Three of them were winding through the tables, balancing an enormous birthday cake on their palms. There were plenty of exits out of the field, but it was still crowded enough that everyone would be tripping over each other if something happened.

She sighed and shook her head. Nothing was going to happen—Bilbo had always assured her as much. Usually she wouldn't have worried about stuff like that, but…

Quinn looked over at the kid sitting across from her. Things were different now.

He still claimed he didn't remember the close call with the bandits, and he'd been young enough that Quinn sometimes believed him. They'd been crossing the Misty Mountains when it happened, during their first and only long journey together. She still wondered sometimes if she should have let him stay in Erebor, at least until he was older. But the Rangers of the North had needed her help—they were spread out, and didn't have any strong fortifications like in the east. And Quinn had decided she didn't want to go months at a time without seeing her son.

"What are you thinking about?" Toven asked.

She looked at him and realized he was staring at her, his plate empty.

Quinn leaned her elbows on the table. "Be straight with me. Are you happy?"

He blinked at her for a moment. "Yeah. Why?"

"Just checking." She leaned back with a smile. "You finished? Why don't you go play with the other kids?"

He glanced over to where a group of children were kneeling beneath a tree, drawing something in the dirt.

"You'll be fine. Remember what I said—if anyone says anything mean, just sock 'em."

Toven smiled wryly, then stood up and walked over to the tree. Quinn watched as he knelt down and said something, and the hobbit who looked to be the oldest responded.

"He must be your first."

Quinn looked up to see a hobbit with ruddy cheeks and tight blonde curls standing next to her. "How can you tell?"

She laughed and took Toven's vacated spot. "I was the same with mine. Barely took my eyes off him. I was always worried he was going to get into some sort of trouble, and I would have to be there to wipe his tears away. But when you have your second, you'll realize you needn't have worried at all."

Quinn smiled and shook her head. Definitely don't plan on having a second one. "And how many kids do you have?"

The hobbit tilted her head in thought. "I had my twelfth just this past spring."

"Twelve?" Her eyes widened. "So you're, like, an expert."

She chuckled, her cheeks growing redder. "I suppose you could say that. And believe me, it comes from experience when I say you have nothing to worry about."

Quinn glanced at the group of children. Toven was laughing as one of the hobbits threw something onto the ground. She thought back to the night in the mountains when she'd had to pull three arrows out of her back after killing the bandits that had threatened her son. "Yeah, I guess it kind of depends on the situation."

The hobbit nodded. "I suppose."

"Respect to you, though. Twelve kids has gotta be a lot of work."

She smiled. "I daresay it's the most respectable occupation in the Shire." She raised her mug and walked off.

Quinn went back to scanning the crowd, and perked up as she spotted two taller figures making their way past the row of tents. She skirted around the table and ran past a couple of tents, nearly knocking over a hobbit with a keg balanced on one shoulder.

When she finally reached the pair, she spread her arms wide. "Look who decided to show up!"

"Quinn!" Kíli's face broke into a grin. "I didn't know you were coming."

"It's good to see you again." Tauriel laughed as Quinn picked her up and spun her around. "How have you been?"

"You know me. Same old. Fought a small dragon, so remind me to tell you about that one."

Kíli looked around. "Is Toven here?"

"Yeah, playing with the other kids. How are things in Erebor?"

"Fíli sends his regards. Technically, I'm supposed to be overseeing some matters in the Blue Mountains, but…" He looked around and shrugged. "It was perfect timing for us to stop by."

"Genius move, my lord." Quinn bowed, and Kíli rolled his eyes.

He did look more like a dwarf lord now that his beard had finally grown in. Tauriel, on the other hand, looked exactly the same as she had the day they'd met, except for the braid in her hair that matched Kíli's.

A low crack sounded overhead, and they all looked up to see a shower of gold sparks burst across the night sky.

Quinn's mouth dropped open. "Was that a firework?"

Kíli nodded. "Bilbo said Gandalf would bring some. Apparently the last time he brought them was decades ago."

"This world has fireworks? Gandalf has some? And no one told me?"

"Naturally." Kíli chuckled.

"I didn't realize this would be such a shock to you," Tauriel said, arching one elegant eyebrow.

"Did you know about this too?" Quinn asked. When she nodded, lips twitching, Quinn threw up her hands. "Alright, well, you guys aren't my best friends anymore."

She looked down as someone tugged on her coat. Toven was at her side, brow furrowed. "What's that loud noise?"

"It's just fireworks, kiddo." She frowned as another one went off and he flinched. "Hey, don't worry. They're not dangerous." She paused. "Actually, that's not true. A firework sent me to the ER once."

Kíli put a hand on Toven's shoulder and said something in Khuzdul that made him nod and reply in the same language.

Quinn spread her hands and turned to Tauriel. "Still can't believe he can speak it, but not me."

Tauriel smiled. "To be fair, you did fall asleep when Balin tried to give you a lesson."

"Yeah, and I don't even need to sleep anymore. It was just that boring."

Kíli stepped back and straightened. "We're going to find Thorin. See you later?"

"Alright, I'll see you guys around." Quinn stepped aside to let him and Tauriel pass, then turned to Toven. "Let's see what else they've got going on here."

They wandered past a few tents and a portion of the field where a group of hobbits were playing what looked suspiciously like mini golf. They swung back around to the food table so Toven could grab a snack, then ended up outside a canopy where Bilbo was sitting in front of a crowd of younger hobbit children.

"So there I was, at the mercy of three monstrous trolls…" Bilbo looked up as he noticed them. "Oh, hello! I was just telling a story—you're welcome to sit in." He winked at Quinn. "I think you might be familiar with this one."

Toven looked up at her with wide eyes. "Is this the story of your quest?"

"Yeah. I've told you this one before."

"But when you tell it, it never makes much sense." He took a seat on the grass.

"Wow…" Quinn crossed her arms and shook her head, but stayed to listen as Bilbo continued with his tale. She had to admit, Bilbo was a much better storyteller, and she found herself captivated even though she knew the Company eventually made it safely to Rivendell.

"We stayed for many days in Rivendell, enjoying the wonderful songs of the elves and resting for the next part of our journey. And it was there that we were joined by a tall warrior…"

Toven turned to look at her, an excited grin shining on his face, and Quinn couldn't help but smile back.

That right there…that made everything worth it.

Quinn decided he was in good hands for the moment, and decided to try and find Frodo. Besides, she didn't really want to hear Bilbo retell all the dumb mistakes she'd made during the quest.

She wandered to the other side of the field, and paused as she heard a pair of arguing voices coming from behind one of the tents.

"You said you were going to be the lookout!"

"No I didn't, now help me up! And watch where you're sitting, you're squashing them!"

Narrowing her eyes, Quinn walked around the tent and peered around the corner. Two hobbits were sitting in a large wagon filled with fireworks. They both froze when they saw her.

She pointed. "Are those Gandalf's fireworks?"

They exchanged a guilty glance.

"Wait, are you guys stealing them?"

Both hobbits began stammering excuses.

"W-Well we were just—"

"No, no. I mean, I don't think—"

Quinn stepped forward and hopped up on the wheel so she could get a better look at the wagon's contents. "Did you pick any out yet?"

One of them stopped his stammering and lifted up a blue and white rocket. His companion whacked him on the arm.

"No, grab the big one there!" He pointed.

Quinn grinned as he lifted a red and gold one shaped like a dragon's head. "Oh, that's gonna be sick." She leaned over to take half a dozen green ones. "Don't mind if I do…"

"Did you want to help us light this one?" The hobbit held up the dragon rocket.

"Of course." She waved her bundle. "And then I'm gonna teach you guys how to make a Floridian Matchstick." She held out a hand. "Quinn."

"Pippin." The hobbit shook her hand eagerly. "And this is my cousin Merry."

Giggling, they crept away from the wagon and into a small alley between two tents. Quinn stuck the firework in the ground while Pippin lit a match.

"We gotta get a perfect angle on this bad boy," she said, wiggling it. "If you do it straight upwards, you risk getting pelted with burning cardboard. But if you lean it too far, it'll go through your neighbor's window, and then you have to hide from the cops."

"Are you an expert on fireworks, or something?" Merry asked.

"I've had my fair share of experience." Satisfied, she stepped back, and Pippin lit the fuse. "It's been a while, though."

The firework shot into the sky, and the hobbits coughed at the cloud of smoke it left behind. Quinn smiled as it burst into gold sparks. Out in the field, the crowd cheered.

"Nice one. Oh, it's…still going."

The firework dipped down suddenly, and a pair of sparkling wings flared out on either side.

"What the fuck is that?" Quinn's eyes widened as the firework-dragon swooped towards the crowd, and the cheers turned into screams. She put one hand on her hip, but she'd left her sword back with the horse—and she'd left Toven alone—

The dragon swept over the field and the lake, then exploded above the hills on the horizon. The crowd began cheering again.

"Phew." Quinn put a hand on her forehead. "Note to self: don't do that again."

Merry and Pippin were wearing matching grins.

"Oh, that was good."

"Let's do another one!"

Quinn remembered the bundle of fireworks in her hand. "Right." These looked pretty nondescript, and she hoped they wouldn't turn into any terrorizing magical creatures. "Okay, here's how you make a Floridian Matchstick." She squatted down and placed all of them in the ground. "Normally I would duct tape them together, but I'll settle for a piece of string or something."

Merry took a piece of fishing line out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"That works." She tied the string around the rockets. "Now, you turn the fuses outward like so… And this is just a tradition with my friends, but we used to light the firework, then use it to light our joints. Do you guys smoke?"

Pippin patted his pockets. "Ah, I left my pipe at home."

She pointed at him. "We're smoking later." She finished arranging the fuses. "Okay, now hand me the…" All three of them froze as a looming shadow appeared at the end of the alley.

"Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took." Gandalf glanced at the two hobbits, then looked at her, and Quinn swore she could see his hair get a little bit grayer. "And Quinn. I didn't realize you three were…"

"What fireworks?" Quinn shoved the bundle of fireworks under the flap of one of the tents.

Gandalf let out a bone-deep sigh and turned back to the hobbits. "I think you two should come with me." They sidled out of the alley, wearing matching guilty expressions.

Quinn rested her elbows on her knees. "You giving me a pass on this one?"

"I'll deal with you later." Gandalf gave her a warning look before following Merry and Pippin.

"Looking forward to it, my man," she called after him.

She stood up and stretched, then made her way back into the main area. Most of the commotion seemed to have died down, and the partygoers were lounging at tables and on blankets, sipping ale and talking amongst each other.

Quinn spotted Frodo's dark curly hair and vaulted over the table so she could sit next to him. "Hey, Froyo!"

He jumped at her sudden appearance, then smiled. "Quinn! Are you enjoying the party?"

"Of course, this is the best time I've had in years." She punched his shoulder lightly. "And happy birthday. Big thirty-three, huh?"

He chuckled. "That's right. I didn't expect this whole affair to be so… I mean, these joint birthday parties have gotten more ostentatious over the years, but this time Bilbo's really outdone himself."

"Yeah, he really knows how to show people a good time." She tilted her head, noticing a slight crease in Frodo's brow. "Something wrong?"

"It's just that Bilbo's been acting…strange these past few days. He's been more secretive than usual, looking over old maps and muttering to himself when he thinks I'm not listening. Thorin won't give me any indication as to what's on his mind. In fact, he's been acting a bit odd as well." Frodo glanced at her. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"Not a clue." Quinn shrugged. "You know, sometimes old people are just weird. I wouldn't worry about it too much."

The bench creaked, and they turned to see Toven walking down from the end.

"Hey, you." Quinn turned back to Frodo. "This is my son, Toven."

Frodo reached across to shake his hand. "Frodo Baggins. It's a pleasure to meet you."

A few people in the crowd started calling out for a speech, and they all looked up to see Bilbo climb onto the stage at one end of the area. Frodo joined in, and Quinn whistled loudly.

"My dear Bagginses and Boffins, Tooks and Brandybucks…"

Quinn figured she didn't need to listen to the introductions and turned to Toven. "Still having a good time?" she whispered.

He nodded.

"Did you see that dragon firework?"

"Yeah. Everyone was scared, but I wasn't."

"Proud of you." She patted his shoulder. "I don't even know what kind of psycho would light that one up, especially with some of the guests here." She glanced around. Kíli was standing at the edge of the crowd, his arm around Tauriel's waist. Thorin was nowhere to be seen, however.

The crowd, which had been laughing and murmuring during Bilbo's speech, fell silent. Quinn looked back at the stage, where Bilbo was fiddling with something in his waistcoat pocket.

"I, uh, I have things to do." He clasped his hands behind his back, looking rather distracted. "I regret to announce this is the end. I'm going now. I bid you all a very fond farewell." He looked at Frodo and said with a smile, "Goodbye."

And he vanished.

The crowd gasped, and several hobbits leapt to their feet. A few of those in front ran towards the stage and looked around it.

Toven's mouth fell open. "How did he do that?"

"Oh, damn." Quinn turned to Frodo. "Yeah, that was definitely weird."

And I'm back after a year hiatus! I've been wanting to come back to this story for a while, so I hope you all enjoy it.

PTH chapter titles were all video game references, but this time around I'm going with Luca Turilli lyrics. This is partially to indicate a more serious tone for the story (there's gonna be plenty of dumb jokes though, don't worry) and because all of their songs just have bangin' lyrics.

Anyway, this is the second of the sort of recap chapters since there's been a huge time gap between PTH and this one. I'm hoping the pacing wasn't too weird with all the new information, but let me know. Next chapter we'll have another time jump and get into some more serious stuff.