Author's Note: Hello there. Here is chapter five and we've back with dear ol' Bofur. What can I say, I love him. If I wasn't such a fem!Bilbo/Thorin fan, I would most definitely have paired my Billanna with Bofur. Bofur deserves all the love in the world... he really does :)

Chapter Five

A Set Path, Lost of Way

"Your Uncle is not going to approve of this Kili." Bofur sighed, half-heartedly trying to convince the young prince to go on to Ered Luin with the rest of their party.

The young Dwarf shot him a look that almost rivalled his uncle's in its fierceness and Bofur sighed again, but also felt a small smile grace his lips beneath his beard.

This hadn't been planned, not at all. It had been a passing fancy a night or so ago, when he recognised some landmarks that he had seen during their journey to and from the Shire some four or so years ago.

He hadn't meant to speak his desire to see the Shire again out loud in the hearing range of a Prince looking for any excuse to get away from the rest of their party, a cousin who was all but fed up with their current company as all except for their small group had given up trying to converse with him - just because he only spoke Khuzdul, didn't mean he didn't want to be included in conversations - and a young scribe who had taken a liking to the Shire – the people there suited his personality far more closely than his own kin – and was happy to go along with any excuse to visit it, even if he was a tad worried about the consequences that may follow.

"We're going to be caught." Ori mumbled as they encouraged their ponies down a small, but well-cared for road leading them through rolling green hills and patches of woodlands.

"No one said you had to come along Ori." Kili replied as he took a bite of an apple he had snared when they passed an orchard earlier. "Besides, Uncle never said we couldn't return to the Shire, only that…" his voice trailed off as his face filled with almost uncontrollable rage.

Bifur gave a grunted and Kili seemed to remember himself and went back to lounging in his saddle, munching on his apple.

"What are we hoping to… ah achieve?" Ori asked as he moved his pony next to Bofur so that they now rode side by side.

"To achieve? Why, a successful trading agreement between us and the Shire-folk, of course." Bofur replied with his easy smile. Or rather a poor copy of his once easy smile.

Ori gave him a very impressive mimic of his oldest brother's disbelieving and sceptical look, but the young red haired dwarf says nothing more and Bofur leads the way towards the heart of the Shire, towards Hobbiton and the answers of unasked questions might finally be answered.

"I can't believe you've gotten us lost, Ori! I thought you were meant to be good with directions!" Kili complained at the flustered red-headed dwarf some hours later.

"This country hasn't been laid out in any particular pattern; it's not like at home where everything is set out nicely! In this place the people just seem to randomly pick a bit of land to call their own, create a road or two to and from it and that's about it. We're lucky to get a signpost." Ori exclaimed, sounding quite stressed.

"We could always ask someone, couldn't we?" Bofur said, raising his voice so as to stop any further squabbling between the two.

Honestly, why had he agreed to allow them to come along again? He should have sent them on with the rest of the party to Ered Luin. He didn't care if he landed himself in the youngest prince's bad books, the boy would get over it eventually. He on the other hand, was quite ready to give the young prince a cheerful smack over the back of his head with his mattock if the lad didn't stop his whining for more than five seconds.

"Ask who?" Kili grumbled, "There's no one around!"

Bofur simply rolled his eyes before spurring his pony onwards.

After a five minute of searching, they came across a farm. At least, it looked like a farm to Bofur's eyes but you could never be sure with Shire folk, they were a queer lot. He thought he could make out a house off in the distance and he was certain that the fence they had come across was meant to keep people out of a field growing… something or other. Some kind of green vegetable was all he could tell.

"Who are you then?"

Bofur thought he did very well not to jump right out of his skin then and there when an unexpected voice called out to him from within the farm's fence line. It took another look into the farm's field for him to see the owner of the voice.

A hobbit man with messy brown curls streaked with grey, leaning against a pick was watching them closely with narrowed brown eyes. He wore clothes that had seen many hard days of work, but were still reasonably neat and respectable. A large wolf-like dog sat nearby, panting and eyed them in a way that made Bofur think that if the mutt was given the command, he'd given them all a good bite.

"Good day." Bofur called, putting on the best smile he could manage these days. He quickly saw that it did him little good when it only caused for the farmer to eye him with a further narrowing of his eyes.

"Good day." He replied slowly, "What are dwarves doing in these parts?" he asked after a moment, getting straight to the point.

"We've here to discuss…"

"We're here to visit a friend." Kili said, interrupting Bofur, who was once more fighting the desire to smack the young dwarf over the head.

"A friend?" the farmer replied, looking and sounding unconvinced. His mutt got slowly to its feet, watching them closely its lips curling back to show its impressive fangs.

"By the name of Baggins, yes." Kili went on, seemingly oblivious to the nasty mutt.

"Lad," the farmer snorted, "there are no Baggins in these parts, they're all up in Hobbiton and to my knowledge none of them would be friends with… well, you lot."

"What's that's supposed to mean!" Kili all but yelled before letting out a yelp as Bifur smacked him over the back of his skull with the hilt of his Boar Spear.

"All the same, we are here to see a Baggins," hopefully, Bofur thought though his heart was already sinking. This was a stupid idea, why had he allowed himself to hope so… "Where is the way to Hobbiton, my good sir? We're quite lost."

"Quite lost indeed, Master Dwarf, heading completely in the wrong direction in fact."

"Could you please give as the direction to Hobbiton?" Bofur asked.

The farmer heavied a great long suffering sigh before trotting over to them, leaning on the fence and gave Bofur some very thorough directions on how to get onto the East Road and when to turn off to go into Hobbiton. His huge dog followed him to the fence and was now sniffing Bifur's outstretched hand with interest.

"Which Baggins are you looking to meet with, if you don't mind my asking?" The farmer asked.

"Ah," Bofur hesitated for a moment, shooting a warning look at Kili to keep his mouth shut under pain of another smack to his head, "Bilbo Baggins."

"Bilbo, Bilbo, Bilbo." The farmer rolled the name over his tongue for several moments, "sounds familiar but can't say I know the lad personally."

"Oh, he isn't a he," Ori butted in quickly edging a little closer but keeping his eyes warily on the huge dog, "Bilbo is a hobbit lass."

"A lass?" the farmer frowned before his dark brown eyes widen, "Oh, you wouldn't mean Billanna Baggins, would you? Belladonna's lass? Heard that the lass went and got herself involved in some dwarrow folk misadventures a few years back."

"Ah, yes," Bofur said trying not take offense at the hobbit farmer's manner, "that'd be her. Is she still living in Hobbiton?"

"Haven't seen her in a good many years. Always kept to herself, she did. That is," and the farmer actually smirked, "when she wasn't leading a group of young whipper-snappers to steal my mushrooms."

"Stealing mushrooms?" Kili asked looking delightedly amused by this information. Obviously thinking of all the times she scolded him over sneaking extra helpings when no one else was looking.

"Yes, that she did. Would never have caught her too if it weren't for my dogs chasing her up a tree that one time." He patted his big dog's head, still smirking with amusement.

"Dogs? Chased her up a tree?" Kili was almost beside himself with laughter.

"Alright, calm down." Bofur said, forgetting for a moment that he was in fact talking to a prince – not that the lad acted like one most of the time – but he didn't have time for the lad's amusement, he had to find out the truth.

"So she's still living in Hobbiton?" Is she still alive? Was what he really wanted to know, as so far the farmer had only spoken of her in past tense.

"I believe so." The farmer replied, running a worn, weather-beaten hand over his beardless chin thoughtfully, "Last I heard was of her coming back from her misadventures, a little worse for wear and apparently started waving some little blade about because she stumbled upon an auction taking place at her Hobbit-hole ."

"An auction?"

"Well, she was gone for an awfully long time, to wherever it was you lot took her to, that we all presumed she was dead. Her Pa didn't of course, but that wasn't enough to stop people talking and for the Sackville-Baggins to claim that they had ownership over Bag End, even though their lad of theirs never married Miss Billanna, but that family has always been a slippery lot."

"So, she came back?!" Bofur asked in a voice that was little more than a whisper.

"Of course she did." The farmer was now giving them all a very strange look, "With that tall grey fellow - what his name? Gandalf? - with her. He stayed for a while, or so I heard. He visits from time to time, to check of her and…" the farmer stopped suddenly and started eying them suspiciously once more.

"You lot, you're not here for any particular reason are you?"

"Um? Besides from wanting to see her, none that I can think of." Kili replied, maybe a tad to flippantly and made Bofur want to smack him over the head again, especially with the look that the farmer was currently giving him

The farmer was giving the young dwarf's a good, thorough looking over, eyeing the lad's dark hair in particular with an almost unreadable expression.

"You're not here to take her away on any more nonsense, are you?" the farmer asked them slowly and Bofur felt that if they gave the wrong answer now, the hobbit farmer would set his nasty mutt on them faster than any of them would be able to draw any of their many weapons.

"No sir." They vigorously shook their heads and farmer nodded, seeming to believe them.

"Farmer Maggot." He said after a moment, holding out a weather-worn, brown hand to Bofur.

"Bofur at your service." Bofur replied politely, still eying the farmer's dog warily, even though the mutt had now sat itself comfortably down by the farmer's feet. "And my companions are Kili, Ori and my cousin Bifur."

"At your service." The two young dwarves said as they bowed. Bifur, grunting slightly, followed their example.

"Well, I don't really need your service, but thanks to you anyways." Farmer Maggot chuckled. "Give my best to Miss Baggins and her father." He added as he waved them off.

"We will." Bofur assured him with a nod of his head. "Thank you for all your help." And for not setting your nasty-looking dog on us, he added privately to himself as his small company made their way in the direction that Farmer Maggot had directed them in.

They should reach Hobbiton in a few days, if they kept a good pace. They would have ridden straight to Hobbiton with no stops for food or sleep if it were up to Kili but Bofur had a firm hand and as much as he wanted to see the hobbit lass again, he knew it would be better than to turn up close to death on her doorstep, something he was quite sure she wouldn't appreciate one bit.

Author's Note: Well most of you can probably guess what the next chapter is going to be about 'wink, wink, nudge, nudge'.
And yes, I threw Farmer Maggot in and gave Bilbo a bit of Frodo's childhood backstory, but as this is an AU, who says I can't? Besides, I like Farmer Maggot and he's awesome wolf-like dogs and I don't read many fanfics that have him in them, so I put him in mine.