A/N: Hey all! Sorry about the shortness of this chapter. I've been wrestling with it the last few days, trying to see if I liked it longer or if I liked it this length. In the end, it was this (the short) version that won out. I hope you all enjoy it~ Oh! And before I forget, if any of you like Harry Potter, I've started up a fanfiction called Sugar, Spice, and a Hint of Pepper Imps and it focuses on the Weasley Twins and Lee Jordan as well as a couple of OCs. I've posted the first chapter, so if you'd like, you can check that out~!

Chapter Twenty-Six

Bofur yawned as he sat across from Bombur at breakfast the next morning. Spooning some porridge into his mouth, he propped his chin up on his fist, doing his best to stay awake; it was a hard feat to accomplish, since he had stayed up until the wee hours of morning partying with the other returning travelers. As such, he was left thoroughly exhausted (with a bit of a hangover) and wanting little more than to eat before returning to bed. Of course, that wasn't possible –his bed was back at the toy shop and he was currently in the common room of the Full Tankard.

Bombur, on the other hand, seemed positively lively. Then again, he had been the smart brother and had gone to bed quite earlier than the rest of his fellow dwarrows. His appetite showed his good mood: A plate stacked with sausages, a large bowl of porridge, six fried eggs, seven pieces of crispy bacon, and three biscuits currently sat in front of him as he ate away. Bofur knew full well that this was a meager amount of food for his brother; Bombur could easily eat half of the Tankard's pantry in just one sitting. It was a wonder that he was still able to fit through doors…

"So, Bofur," Bombur began, speaking in Khuzdul, "I've heard word from a few trusty sources that you've managed to get yourself a lass."

Bofur looked up, managing to look quite surprised for how tired he was. "What? Who told you?" he demanded, not realizing that he had dunked his porridge spoon into his mug of tea. When he noticed the error, he frowned and felt thankful that no porridge had been clinging to the wooden utensil.

There was a mischievous twinkle in Bombur's eye as he watched his brother pull the spoon from his tea. "Oh, come on, brother –the drink was flowing freely last night and so the tongues were wagging! You know our friends as well as I do; they're ghastly secret-keepers. Out of the ten of us that remain, only Dwalin, Balin, Oin, and Gloin are any good at it."

Swallowing some of his porridge-infused tea, Bofur felt his cheeks redden. "I was supposed t' tell you myself," he grumbled. "I just hope no one else heard…" Shaking his head, he stole a piece of Bombur's bacon and crumbled it into his porridge –a habit he had picked up from Baylee.

Bombur chortled. "So tell me! Who's the lucky lass?" Peering around the room, he tried to guess out of the females he could see. "Is it that lass over there?" He pointed at Lovisa as she served Will and Adela some griddle cakes and Warren a stack of fried eggs and bacon.

"Oh no!" Bofur laughed. "If anything, that one's Bifur's lass."

Bombur gaped at his brother, shocked. "Bifur has a lass as well?"

"Well, not really but…" He shrugged. "The two o' them get along so well, we all know that they'll end up married soon enough. They've practically taken care o' the whole group by themselves as we came back from Rhûn."

"Good for him! She seems like a nice enough lass from what the two o' you were telling me last night." He started to cut up one of his sausages, sliding half of the pieces into Bofur's porridge bowl. "And she's certainly quite a sight –not as beautiful as my Gerdi, but she'd most definitely turn quite a few heads in Erebor!"

A tired smile came to Bofur's lips. "That's a high compliment, coming from you! You think Gerdi's as beautiful as the sun!"

At that, Bombur frowned. "She's as beautiful as the sun and moon," he corrected. He straightened up in his seat slightly, seeming almost offended by Bofur's understatement. "Anyway, let's get back to your lass. Is she in the room right now?"

Bofur shook his head. "No, she's not; the injuries she sustained durin' the trip keep her from walking, so she's back in her room."

Bombur raised his brow. "She lives here…?" He plucked up his ale and took a large drink from it. Setting the mug down, he sucked the foamed out of his mustache.

He waited for his brother to become distracted by his breakfast again. "Well, she's sort of…the innkeeper's daughter." Watching his brother's eyes widen, he was glad that he had waited.

"She's what?"

"The innkeeper's daughter."

Trying to be subtle (a hard feat for a dwarf of Bombur's size), he glanced over his shoulder and stared at Warren. "His…daughter?"

"Mhm. An' that's her twin brother beside him." As he was busy eating, he failed to notice the look of horror on Bombur's face.

"Bofur…they're enormous!" he whispered loudly. "How can you court someone who stands twice the height of yourself!?"

Bofur stared at his brother for a moment, a bit of sausage tucked, half-chewed, into his cheek, making it stick out like a squirrel's cheek. He then burst out laughing, having to set his spoon down. "Bombur! She's not even close t' their size!"

Bombur frowned once more. "What do you mean? They're giants, Bofur, and you said that the lad over there is her twin. Her twin!" He let out a noise of despair as he slumped back (another hard feat) in his chair. "What will the family think when they find out you're courting a tall folk?" he moaned.

Rolling his eyes, Bofur leaned forward and patted his brother on the arm. "Baylee's barely taller than Dwalin, I promise."

"Oh, we'll see about that!" he scolded. "I'm not against the tall folk in any way, but things start to get messy when one starts courting a dwarrow." He almost instantly knew he had phrased that the wrong way.

"Messy?" he smirked. "I suppose, but only when the trousers or skirts are remo-"

"Bofur!"

"Sorry! Been around Nori too long, I suppose." Despite the apology, he still wore a cheeky grin.

Giving him a scolding look, Bombur shook his head. "Well, you need to stop if that's where your mind goes when I say a simple phrase," he told him. "Especially now that you're courting someone! Say the wrong thing around her brother or father and they'll hammer you into the ground like a peg and you know it!"

Bofur merely grinned. "Oh, don't worry. It's not a thing I often do. However! You'll be meeting her after breakfast."

Grumbled, Bombur went back to cutting up sausages and an egg or two. "Is that so?"

"Yes. Truthfully, there's a wee bit o' selfishness behind it."

"Oh?" He took another drink from his ale before taking a bite of sausage.

Nodding, Bofur shoved the last bite of his porridge into his mouth. "You see…she needs to stay somewhere that isn't this inn. She can't get the constant attention and care she needs here; everyone's too busy serving the patrons or cookin' away in the kitchen and with her room at the very back of the building."

"That doesn't sound very selfish."

"It does when I tell you I'd like her to stay with you and Gerdi."

His brow rose. "With me and Gerdi? Bofur, are you sure you're thinking about this correctly –I mean, we do have quite a number of children…"

"Aye, you do, but it's either you or Dori."

At that, Bombur cringed slightly; even he knew that Dori was a fusspot when it came to taking care of people. "I see. Well, it's something I'd have to discuss with Gerdi, you know. I'm sure she'd like to meet this woman for herself before bringing her into our home…"

He nodded in understanding. "Well, Bifur and I were thinking about keeping her in our part o' the mansion. You know, since it's quieter? But he an' Lovisa can't always be there for her an' the lass could really use a bit o' motherly care."

"I suppose that means the lass' mother is no longer with us…?"

He shook his head. "She died in the War."

Bombur's fiery brow tried to knit themselves together. "What? Don't you mean the sacking of Lake Town?"

Bofur shook his head, chewing on a link of sausage he stole from his brother. "Nay. She, Baylee, an' Baylee's aunt fought in the actual battle, believe it or not. I'm not sure about where they fought, but they did. Demelza an' Baylee both have scars to prove it."

"Huh. I would have never guessed a female human would be able to fight in a war," he admitted. "They've always seemed so…so fragile."

"The Braddock family is a hardy family," Bofur grinned. "I think you'll approve of Baylee partially because o' it. She's sweet, kind, a good cook, pretty…" A dreamy grin started to come to his face as he held his mug of tea between his hands. "She's got the prettiest green eyes, Bombur; I swear to Mahal, they're actually peridots amongst pearls. And her smile! It's so honest and sweet…"

Chuckling, Bombur shook his head. "Bofur, my beloved brother, I think you have fallen hard for this woman," he told him. He was glad to see his brother in such a love-struck state again, but at the same time, he couldn't help but worry. Of all the relationships between a human and a dwarf he had heard of, very few of them actually ended happily. He prayed to Mahal that Bofur would have one of the happy endings.

"Aye, I have," he happily sighed. "And I don't think I'll be getting back up any time soon."

Nearly half an hour later found the two dwarves walking down the hall in the family section of the inn. As it was Bofur's first time in this part of the inn, he felt a bit nervous –not only was he secretly courting Baylee, but now he was being welcomed into the family's home by Warren, who led the way for the two dwarves. When they came to Baylee's door, he patted Bofur on the shoulder and left, having to attend to a number of dented pots and pans that had accumulated while he was gone.

Swallowing hard, Bofur knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" came Baylee's voice.

"Bofur!" he replied. "An' I've brought a visitor."

"Oh? Who?"

He pressed his ear against the door, trying to hear if her voice was moving throughout the room. "My brother, Bombur. Is that alright?"

"Aye, it's fine!" She sounded stationary enough, so Bofur knew he wouldn't have to give her a scolding. "Both o' you can come in; I'm decent. Just brushing my hair."

Opening the door, Bofur lead the way in. He glanced around the room, finding it sparsely furnished –only a few tapestries hung on the walls, there was a table and stool by her bed, and a trunk sat at the foot of her bed. Baylee smiled at the two dwarves as they came in, her hands in the process of brushing out her short locks. Bofur returned the smile, albeit a bit sadly; he missed her long hair, but knew it could not have been helped.

"Baylee, this is Bombur, me younger brother," he introduced, motioning between the two beings. "An' Bombur, this is Baylee."

"It's a pleasure t' meet you," Baylee told Bombur, still smiling. She held her hand out to shake only to be taken by surprise as Bombur bowed and gently kissed the back of her hand.

"Bombur at your service, milady!" he replied as he released her hand. "My brother's told me much about you." He wore a jovial smile as he spoke, an expression that made his eyes nearly disappear behind his rosy cheeks. He wouldn't admit it to his brother, but he was quite relieved to find that this human was much smaller than the rest of Dale.

Her cheeks flushed a bit, leaving her skin a light shade of pink. "Has he now?" she mused, glancing at Bofur. "I hope none o' it was bad!"

Bofur dismissively waved his hand at her. "Don't be silly, Baylee. I'd never speak ill o' ya! Especially after everything ya had to go through." He leaned over the side of the bed and kissed her cheek. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

"O' course. Adela brought me some long before you woke up," she chuckled. "So, Bombur –What brings ya t' our humble inn?"

"Well, to be honest, I wanted to make sure my brother and cousin had returned from their little excursion in one piece," he admitted. "And I'm glad to see that they have! Though, I am sorry to hear that you and Dwalin weren't so lucky."

She waved her hand. "I'd rather lose some fingers than my head," she replied. "An' I'm sure Dwalin feels the same about his eye."

He nodded in understanding. "I trust you're not in too much pain anymore?"

"Not too much in the hands," she answered, looking over the bandages. They no longer had bloodstains over her fingers, but she knew it'd be a week or two yet before they were completely healed. "Hopefully, when I'm up and about, they won't prove t' work too much differently than when I had all ten fingers; it's nearly blackberry season and I'm goin' t' be busy making lots o' pies and cobblers."

At that, Bombur's eyes lit up. "Is that so?"

She nodded and wore a rather proud grin. "Me blackberry pies an' cobblers are the best in Dale an' Lake Town," she told him.

"I like blackberries," Bofur chirped. "We didn't get them much over in Ered Luin."

Bombur shook head his. "No, we didn't…but we had plenty of strawberries an' raspberries," he added. "Blackberries never really took to the area. We had to import them from the Shire."

"Luckily, they're overly abundant up here," she chuckled, setting her brush down on her nightstand. "Ya won't run out o' them –unless ya can't eat 'em fast enough an' they rot. That ends up happening quite a bit."

"I would imagine! After all, the sides of Erebor an' Dale are lined with the things," Bombur chuckled. "But from the sounds of it, I'll have to have Bifur and Bofur send me a few of your pies."

"You mean a dozen o' 'em!" Bofur laughed. "Between you, Gerdi, an' your children, one pie won't be nearly enough!"

Puffing up slightly from embarrassment, Bombur gave his brother a look. "If I recall correctly, it was you who ate five o' Gerdi's pies last year around Yuletide."

A cheeky grin came to Bofur's lips. "Oi, I never said I didn't have a healthy appetite for good cookin'," he joked, earning a quiet giggle from Baylee. "Just ask Baylee here –I think I've gained a few pounds since our first night here thanks t' Galiene."

"Aye, but you went an' lost them all again when you an' the others came after Ori, Tyko, an' me," she teased, poking his stomach. "An' then some! Your belt's on the loose side an' your shirt's a wee bit baggy around your belly."

He patted his stomach. "Looks like I'll have t' have me some o' those pies o' yours t' make up for it," he beamed, giving her a small wink. "After all, what use is a skinny dwarf, eh?"

Again, she quietly giggled. "Hard sayin'. I think Ori's the skinniest one I've seen, an' he's still got himself a wee belly. But he certainly has his uses –especially when it comes t' noticing details."

"Aye, that's why the lad makes such an excellent scribe!" Bombur agreed. "He's also a big help when I'm tryin' to come up with a new recipe, since he pays attention to what goes into things while I'm runnin' around, just throwing things into the pot."

"Bombur, you don't 'run about'. It's more like 'waddle about'," Bofur grinned.

Pouting, Bombur gave his brother a light shove. "Shush, you."

Lovisa let out a quiet sigh as she sat off in a corner of the common room, doing her best to brush through her floor-length hair. Because it was so long, she was tempted to go against every dwarvish fiber of her being and cut most of it off. It would certainly be less of a hassle to deal with every morning –and it would be much lighter. At the same time, however, she knew that if she were to cut it, she would not be able to do as intricate of braid work. That would be a shame, since she felt that her braids were the most attractive part of herself (even if most males thought differently).

Her arms growing a bit tired, she set the brush down, instead picking up her tea. Closing her eyes, she flicked her locks over her shoulder and propped her feet up on the table. It wasn't the best of manners, having had to scold Will and Baylee for doing such things in their youth, but she felt strangely tired that day and didn't care much. As she sipped her tea, she could hear the patrons walking around the common room as they found places to sit and the employees serving them. Somewhere towards the bar, Dwalin was flirting with Ori and at a table closer to her, Nori was feeding Zori some mashed yams and biscuits. She quietly chuckled as Zori let out a loud noise of approval.

And then someone started to walk towards her.

She opened her eyes just in time to see someone snatch up her hairbrush and grab a chair. A small noise of protest left her mouth, but then she felt a pair of strong hands scoop up a quarter of her hair only to begin the arduous task of brushing it. Blinking, she turned around and saw Bifur working through the ends of her hair, being as gentle as he could. Almost instantly, her cheeks flushed a deep shade of red.

'What doing?' she signed.

"Brushing your hair," he replied in Khuzdul.

'Why?' She noticed that Dwalin had fallen quiet, but didn't move to look at him.

"You looked like you could use some help." His tone was cheery enough, though Lovisa could see that, under his beard, his cheeks were a bright shade of red as well. "And with all this hair, I don't blame you."

She took a sip of her tea, turning back around; she knew Bifur wouldn't hurt her hair. 'Almost too long. May cut it.'

"I can see why you'd want to do that," he chuckled. "You do have a lot of hair, after all. I don't think there are any females in Erebor with hair as long as yours."

Her cheeks darkened a bit more. 'Only reason keep long is to braid,' she explained. 'Is large burden. Heavy, too!'

A quiet laugh left his mouth. "I bet. If you were to cut it, how much would you cut off?"

She shrugged. 'Some days feel like all.'

"But if you cut all of it off, then what would I have to brush?" He grinned, able to see the smile that came to her lips. "Anyway, it's too pretty to cut all of it off."

'Just white hair.'

"Yes, but it's pretty white hair." Setting the brush down, he started to separate her hair into sections and those sections into sections. He stood up and started to make a braid that encircled her scalp. As he did so, he was entirely aware of the staring eyes of Dwalin, Ori, and Nori; they would poke fun at him later, but for now, he didn't care. He had grown quite fond of Lovisa and wanted to let her know in one of the most affectionate ways a dwarf could –and by Mahal's beard, was he going to show her.

Lovisa nervously licked her lower lip before lightly biting it. She tried to peek over her shoulder to see what Bifur was doing to her hair, but every time she tried, he'd lightly force her head forwards again. Taking a drink of her tea, she could feel him starting to make a smaller braid around her scalp and her blush darkened. He was getting rather intricate…

During his life, her father had constantly told her that she shouldn't let a male dwarf touch her hair unless she planned to marry him. While she knew Bifur was a very gentle and caring dwarf (and handsome), she didn't know if she wanted to marry him. What didn't help was that she had never pictured herself getting married, as much as she'd like to. She had only courted two males in her life, after all –and they had grown a bit tired of her when she didn't prove to be as easy to get into bed as the local barmaids. She started to wonder if Bifur had ever courted anyone and, if he had, what they had been like.

"Are you comfortable?" Bifur asked after some minutes had passed. He still spoke in Khuzdul, finding it easier to use for the time being.

'Yes. Wondering what are doing.'

"Braiding and brushing your hair."

She rolled her eyes, a small, hoarse laugh leaving her throat. 'Very funny.' Taking another drink of her tea, she set the mug back down on the table.

"It's the truth," he told her. Setting her brush down, he started to weave the loose, untwisted ends of the three braids he had already made.

He glanced up, looking around the common room to see what all he was missing. Dwalin and Ori had disappeared from the ale barrels –in fact, they had disappeared completely- and Dori was now sitting at the table with Nori while Zori smashed mashed yams onto his face. Nori, though, was looking right at Bifur and Lovisa, his eyes slightly narrowed. Bifur couldn't tell if he was glaring or if he was simply trying to drown out Dori's babbling.

Bifur, however, was betting on the former option.

Warren felt nervous. It had been a long while since he last felt such a way, but knowing he had to tell Baylee that she would be leaving the next day for Erebor left him feeling anxious. He was damned sure that Baylee would object to the whole plan –no one had asked for her input, even if she knew that this was being done for her own good. After all, she had only been home for a day and a half; to suddenly send her away again could bring about her rarely-seen anger.

So, in order to quell her potential wrath, he had gone out and bought her some of her favorite sweets. It had meant that he had to be up before sunrise, but getting the freshly-made candies before everyone else would (hopefully) be worth it. In addition to the candies, he had also convinced Adela to make another lemon tart for her as well as had Galiene make some chicken and sausage stew for her.

Knocking on the door to his daughter's room, sweets in hand, he took a deep breath. "Baylee, love? Can I come in?"

"O' course you can, papa."

As he entered her room, he found that she was propped up on a pile of pillows while she attempted to do some needlepoint. A small smile came to his lips as he walked over to the bed, moving to sit on the edge of it.

"How're ya doin'?"

She gave him a somewhat frustrated smile. "Alright. Side aches a little, but eh…I'm trying to do a wee bit o' needlepoint."

"I see that!" he chuckled. "What're ya makin'?"

Holding the cloth over to him, she sighed. "It's supposed t' be a flower, but it's just lookin' like a pink goblin."

Warren laughed; her words were true. Her work so far did not quite resemble a flower. "I hate t' say it, love, but now I can only see the goblin." He handed the cloth back to her.

Baylee thoughtfully looked it over. "Think I'll name him Jorvik Skullcrusher, the dandy goblin."

"A dandy goblin?" Warren repeated, his brow rising. "I didn't know there was such a thing."

She shrugged. "Me neither." Giggling, she tucked the needle through the cloth before tossing it aside. "Maybe I'd be better at writin' stories than sewing things. I'm a bit wasted on that sort o' thing."

Leaning over, Warren lightly ruffled her hair. "Ah, you'll find your place eventually, love. For now, though, I've brought ya a small present." He plopped the bag of sweets in her lap.

Her brow rising, she cautiously looked into the bag before letting out a surprised noise. "Thank-you, papa!" she grinned. Sticking her hand in the bag, she pulled out a handful of the brightly-colored treats, sorting through them to see which one she wanted first. She picked out a red one and popped it in her mouth.

"So, I heard ya got t' meet Bombur today," he commented, trying to sound casual. "How'd you like him?" He musingly stroked his beard.

"He's just as sweet an' funny as Bofur," she answered, tucking the candy in the corner of her mouth. Plucking up a black one, she held it out to her father. "You can have this one."

His brow rose as he took it. "Why this one?"

"It's licorice."

"Ah," he grinned, knowing she didn't like the strong anise flavor. He tossed it into his mouth. "How would ya feel about meeting the rest o' Bombur's family?"

She shrugged, letting the rest of the sweets slide back into the bag. "They sound like a nice lot; from what Bofur an' Bombur were tellin' me, Gerdi is a bit like a mix between Adela, Galiene, an' Lovisa. Lots o' children, too, though most o' them are grown." Curiously, she glanced up at her father. "Why d'ya ask?"

"Well…I wanted t' see if ya liked him well enough because…" Glancing away, he nervously rubbed his upper arm, "because tomorrow you may be leavin' with Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, an' Lovisa for Erebor."

It was so quiet, he could have heard a pin drop –in fact, he did hear a pin drop, because Baylee's needlepoint slid off of the bed and landed on the floor. Baylee stared at her father, a mixture of confusion and horror on her face. Warren, however, couldn't bear to look at his daughter. He gazed at the floor, a guilty expression on his features.

"But…I only just got home, papa." Her voice was small and almost scared sounding. Warren's heart nearly broke as he heard it.

"I know, 'Lee." His voice was soft as he leaned over, carefully scooping her into his arms. "I know. But…ya can't get the proper care while you're here. You're just too far away from the hustle an' bustle of the common room for any o' us t' keep runnin' back here t' check on you." Kissing the top of her head, he sighed. "We need ya t' get better and if we keep forgetting 'bout you way back here, that won't happen. You'll just get up an' walk around yourself, which will only further irritate your wound."

She glanced up at him. "Why can't Caranonel or Rhovathor be my caretakers?"

He shook his head. "They're already gone again; they're on their way t' Lake Town." Sighing, he closed his eyes. Thanks to Baylee's smallness, she still felt like nothing more than a child to him; then again, she would alwaysbe his little girl. "They'll be back in a month or so."

Nodding slowly, Baylee closed her eyes as well. "I guess Will won't be comin' along with me?"

"He can walk. You can't."

"I can, I'm just not bein' allowed to."

"Baylee, you know very well that ya can't walk more 'n three steps. I watched when you tried to get out o' bed this morning –it wasn't pleasant in the least an' I imagine it was worse for you." He looked down at her, a stern frown on his lips. "Which is why you'll be goin' t' Erebor in the morning. Bombur an' his wife will take plenty good care o' you –Not to mention, Bifur an' Lovisa are going t' be there, too. They'll make sure you get all the care you need."

She still did not look at her father. "How long are Bofur, Bifur, an' Lovisa stayin'?"

"Bofur's goin' t' stay a few days t' make sure you get settled in. Bifur an' Lovisa are goin' t' stay the whole time you're there." He gave her a gentle, but reassuring, squeeze. "You'll be well taken care of while there, I promise."

She sighed. "But it won't be home…"