Author's Note: So here is the second part of the previous chapter. I don't know if you all agree with me once you read this chapter, but honestly I didn't find that this flowed with the first part of this chapter, which is why I broke them up into two.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy part two of chapter Fifty-Four, which is now, obviously, chapter Fifty-Five.

Chapter Fifty-Five

Preparing For the Road Ahead Via the Means of Remembering the Past

"Mama. Mama wake up." Bilbo groaned as her son shook her shoulder. She wrapped an arm around her head and tried to pull away from her son's little fingers.

"Mama. It's time to wake up." Her son followed her struggles to get away from him.

"No…" Bilbo grumbled.

"Mama!" Frodo's whine was piecing, breaking through the final barrier in her sleep idle mind.

"Fine. Fine, I'm awake. I'm awake." She rolled herself into a sitting position and scowled half-heartedly at her sweet smiling son.

"Well?" She asked her innocent faced son.

"I'm hungry." Frodo trilled loudly causing Bilbo to sigh and cover her face with her hands.

"Hello hungry, I'm mama." She retorted back behind her hands causing Frodo give a wordless whine.

"MAMA!"

"Well," Bilbo peeked through her fingers at her now impatient and pouting son, "you did say…"

"I'm hungry." He finished for her sulkily.

"And I'm mama."

"MAMA!"

Before Bilbo could reply, there was a gentle knock on the chamber door.

"Go on then." Bilbo encouraged her son who was practically vibrating on the bed.

Frodo bounced from the bed, his little feet hitting the floor at a run.

"Wait Frodo, ask who it is…" Bilbo started to say but gave up when Frodo threw open the door without stopping to even take a breath.

"Good morning lass." Oin rumbled as he strode into the bed chamber. Bilbo pulled on her dressing gown and walked to meet the old, mostly deaf dwarf.

"Morning Oin." She replied motioning for the old dwarf to take a seat in one of the chairs by the fire place.

"How you feeling? You're looking better, even from last night." The old dwarf rumbled as he checked her over, his calloused hands rough against the skin of her forehead as he checked her temperature and looked over her scar.

She fidgeted uncomfortably in her chair as he ran his fingers up and down the raged skin. She was grateful that Frodo had taken to sitting in her lap, allowing for her hands to be occupied by playing with his curls. She hated when people paid heed to her scar, worse they went about touching it. It triggered all sorts of unpleasant memories she would simply like to forget.

"How long before you had this looked to after you took the blow?"

Bilbo shrugged.

"Don't know."

"Eh," Oin looked away from her scar and focused upon her eyes and mouth, "what's that? You don't know? Hmmm, remember how you got it?"

"No."

"At the battle, yes?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm. Maybe a thrown rock or the edge of a shield. Doubt it was inflicted by an axe or sword. An arrow maybe? No, most likely a rock…" The more Oin spoke, the more she trembled. Her hands briefly fisted in Frodo's hair before she was able to calm herself down.

"The wizard healed this for you yes? Once he found you."

"He cleaned and stitched it up, if that's what you mean?"

"Aye." Oin nodded. "You're lucky, he must of found you just before the infection truly set into the wound."

"Yes, I was lucky. Very." She agreed quietly.

She remained mostly quiet during Oin's examination. From what she could gather from his stream of muttered comments beneath his breath was that she was in far better shape than he had been expecting her to be in, which gave her hope that she would soon be able to leave the confines of her chambers…

Her brain paused there as the events of the previous night came flying back to her with the speed of elven arrow.

Her cheeks immediately started to warm.

Had she really… and Thorin? Oh… dear.

"Mama?" She felt Frodo lightly patting her cheek, trying to draw her attention.

"Hmm," She shook herself and smiled at her son, "what is it my heart?"

"Your face is all red." Frodo observed wisely, his words causing her cheeks to heat even further.

"The lad's right, lass." Oin grunted in concern, "fever?"

"Ah, no." She let out a little breathless laugh, "no, no fever. Just… a thought."

Her son stared up at her, his small face completely clueless while Oin simply grunted once more.

"You seem to have made a surprising recovering." Oin finally said, "Though it has come to my attention that you suffer from battle-dreams."

Bilbo blinked at him for a moment before understanding.

"Oh, my nightmares? What about them?"

"Well, there's two ways to deal with them." Oin offered her seriously, "the first and easiest way is for you to talk with someone about them, but…" he rolled his eyes at her shaking head, "obviously you don't feel comfortable with that solution… yet. The other option is a tonic that you take every night before you go to bed. It will make you sleep heavily and you will not dream."

"Alright." Bilbo grinned, delighted by the idea of finally being free of her nightmares.

"However," Oin waved her off, "it can have side-effects."

Bilbo sighed; of course it would. Didn't they always?

"And they are?"

"You may find yourself becoming easily irritable. You will find yourself to be more tired during the day, lacking energy. Some find that by taking the tonic, while they receive relief from battle-dreams at night, they are severely affected by headaches during the day."

"Wonderful." Bilbo grumbled, "Almost doesn't seem worth the bother."

She thought over her nightmares, her battle-dreams. A reprieve from them would be lovely, but the last thing she needed, here of all places, was for her to be irritable, tired, without any energy and suffering a headache. No, she would suffer with her dreams as she had always had done.

"You could always talk with someone about them." Oin offered gently again, "Many have found that talking over their battle-dreams with those who share similar experiences to be a great help."

"Maybe." Bilbo muttered, not looking at the old dwarf. For her to talk about her battle-dreams meant opening a whole can of worms Bilbo would just rather remained sealed. Talking about her dreams would be having to admit how scared of Thorin, in all his gold sickness terror, she still was. It was all fine to admit still being frightened of the things Smaug and Azog, the goblins and Gollum had done during their travels, but to talk about Thorin? No, she couldn't.

He's fine now, a part of her whispered, he looked so well and healthy last night. He was begging for your forgiveness… and you gave it to him, remember.

I thought it was all a dream, she growled back angrily; I was trying to fend off the gold sick Thorin for as long as possible. I was saying anything to keep that version of him away!

Liar, the voice whispered before disappearing from her mind.

Bilbo sighed heavily.

Maybe she was a liar (and a thief, let not all forget that), but it still didn't stop her feeling utterly confused and twisted inside and talking about it, talking about any of it, with anyone, wasn't going to help.

"Think on it lass. Believe it or not, talking does help." Oin said gently as he lay a hand upon her arm.

She simply nodded, not wanting to say yay or nay to anything at this point.

Oin left with the promise that food would be sent to them, leaving mother and son to themselves for a time. Bilbo was able to find a simple (though to her it was still far too grand for every day wear) red dress in the closet, pulling it on and braiding her hair into a long simple braid. It felt nice to be able to do things for herself by herself.

Getting Frodo dressed was another matter entirely. The boy was far too energetic to stay still, desperate to get out and start exploring, not caring a wit that he was still wearing the clothes that he had slept in.

"Frodo." Bilbo growled in exasperation, "Come here this instance, young man. You're not leaving this room without changing your clothes and giving that bird nest of yours a good brush."

"But-but… Mama!"

"No, come…"

Frodo shot for the door just as it opened after a brief knock.

"Grab him!" Bilbo cried ignoring the small cry of outrage as Frodo was caught clean off his feet by Dwalin and placed upon his shoulders.

"No fair!" Frodo whined before sighing heavily, resigned to his capture.

"No running off." Dwalin replied simply to the lad hanging like a sack of wheat over his shoulder, "and apologize to your mother."

"Sorry Mama." Her son gave her his best kicked puppy-dog look over his shoulder at her.

"It's fine. Let's finish getting you dressed and presentable and then we can get up to as much madness as you wish."

"Outside! Outside!" Frodo cheered as Dwalin set him down upon his feet again.

"Well…" Bilbo looked to both Dwalin and Balin, who had come into the chamber behind his brother.

"Maybe not today Laddie," Balin answered kindly, "at least, not today for your mother." Bilbo gave him a questioning look that Balin returned with an apologetic one.

"Kili will be along soon to take you to play with your friends." Balin added to the lad.

"Oh…" Frodo thought on that for a moment before smiling, "Will Thorin come and visit? He said that he would." Frodo was bouncing on the soles of his feet. "He promised, didn't he Mama." Frodo looked back at her with a hopeful but almost begging expression, "he promised."

"Eh…" Both brothers looked startled and a little dumbstruck as they looked at her as well. She shrugged her shoulders in careless manner even though her heart raced as yet another piece of evidence fell into place that last night had definitely not been just a very life-like dream.

"We'll see my heart. You know that Thorin," how did it no longer hurt to speak his name? Before last night, the mere thought of him caused her to be almost crippled beneath a weight of regret, guilt and anger, but now, now…. "is a king and kings are very busy doing… kingly things." She swore she heard Dwalin snort but when she looked at him his face was expressionless.

"Oh…." Frodo's whole face fell and Bilbo felt her own heart sink.

"But that doesn't mean," She continued quickly, "that he won't make every effort to come and visit you."

"He has meetings for all of this morning laddie but the afternoon is his own." Balin offered causing Frodo to beam.

"So he might come then, yes?"

"Well…" both brothers were looking at her causing her to sigh.

"I told him that he could come and see you today, so hopefully this afternoon he will do so." She ignored the once more bewildered looks that crossed both Balin's and Dwalin's faces. She was glad that their breakfast arrived at just that moment so the two brothers didn't have time to question her of when she gave Thorin permission to see their child. She was still trying to get the events of last night sorted in her own head, let alone try and explain them to another person.

Once both she and Frodo had consumed their breakfasts, Kili arrived (with Ori close on his tail) to collect Frodo to spend time with Bombur's lads. Frodo was a little hesitant to leave her side, making her promise multiple times not to go anywhere while he was gone. It was only when she promised profusely that she wasn't going anywhere and she would be right where she was currently standing the very moment he returned was Kili finally able to coax him out of the chamber. It broke her heart still, when she saw the worried looks Frodo kept sending her way as Kili guided him out of the room.

When they were gone and she could no longer hear either of their chattering voices in the corridor she turned to face the three dwarves who remained. Ori was sitting at the table, paper and ink set up around him, looking rather grumpy and disgruntled about something. Balin sat beside him, still wearing an apologetic look while Dwalin was finishing off what was left of hers and Frodo's breakfast.

"Well, this doesn't look worrying and ominous at all." She spoke mainly to the two sitting at the table but Dwalin stopped eating, watching her closely. "What's going on?"

While Balin was clearly trying to think of how to phrase whatever was going on delicately only to have Ori beat him to the punch by simply being blunt out.

"They want a trial."

She blinked back at him owlishly.

"Who do? For who?" She paused for a moment as a terrifying thought invaded her mind unwantedly, "for me? A trial for me? Or against me?"

"Sit down lass," Dwalin ordered as she started to hyperventilate, hand pressed firmly over her racing heart.

"I haven't even said goodbye to my family," she continued to babble, "and Frodo? I just got here and… I promised him. I promised that I would still be here when he got back and…"

"Bilbo!" She felt herself being shoved gently into a spare chair, her whole body trembling.

"This isn't a bad thing." Balin said shooting Ori a displeased look that caused the lad to wilt a little in his chair.

"How? How is it not bad?" Bilbo yelled startling the three dwarves with her volume. Obviously they had all forgot just how high her voice could get when she was yelling and upset.

"Because by having a trial, we can have your banishment and the label of traitor lifted…" Balin replied calmly.

"But… how?" She asked in quieter voice but no less squeaky, "I don't understand."

"The trial is not to condemn you lass, but to lift all allocations and clearing your name of all crimes."

"How?"

"You tell your side of the story." Ori explained quietly, his wide brown eyes gentle and worried.

"My-my side? How will that help?" She didn't understand what they were saying. The whole concept of a trial was completely foreign to her; the Shire had no need for such things, there was never a crime worse than the stealing of vegetables (and occasionally spoons) that warranted for such an event to take place. The only trials she knew of were the ones she read in her books and those had been great and involved things with the person the trial was for usually met a terrible fate in the end. Deservingly so, in most cases, but still, a terrible end all the same.

"The council has only ever heard our side of the story, never yours." Balin answered clearing seeing her distressing and trying his hardest to help ease some of it, "By hearing your side, it is the hope that they will be more willing to lift your banishment. Well, will be more willing to agree with Thorin for him to lift your banishment. Up until now, we have been met by stone walls every time we have brought up the matter of rescinding your banishment due to the council's belief that your stole the Arkenstone for your own purposes and under selfish motivation and not at all because you wish to save us."

"So if I can convince them that I – I stole the stone because I didn't wish for a battle to break between us, I mean you and the elves and the people of Laketown, I will not be a traitor? I won't be banished anymore?"

"That is our hope, yes. Thorin has already signed the paperwork for your banishment to be lifted; it simply needs to be agreed upon by the council."

"And what are the chances of them agreeing?" Bilbo asked slowly, her tone careful. She wasn't stupid; she could read the hesitation on Balin and Ori's faces. Even Dwalin had paused in his eating and looking mildly uncomfortable.

"Higher than you might think," Balin said finally, "but…"

"Hopefully with the trial you will convince them completely to agree with Thorin's decision." Ori finished for him, giving Bilbo a hopeful smile. Bilbo returned it weakly, running a hand worriedly against her cheek.

"I don't – I don't really want to do this." She admitted with a small sigh.

"We know lass," Balin replied touching her hand lightly on the table with his own, "we've done everything to try and keep you from this situation. But it's the only one that will be entirely fair to you."

"Will it be though?" Bilbo asked.

"You will tell your story to the council and a select few of the public. We will be there, the company and Thorin. As I said lassie, the papers for the lift to your banishment have already been signed by Thorin, this will simply make it legal and binding. By having this trial no one under the mountain or outside of it can say that the rescinding of your banishment was anything but lawful and binding."

"Or Thorin showing favouritism." Bilbo muttered under her breath.

"Yes, that too." Balin agreed causing Bilbo to blush. She hadn't meant to be heard.

"So," She swallowed and ran a finger over the table top, tracing her fingertip along the grain of the wood, "what do I have to do? How do I prepare for this?"

"That's why we're here," Ori replied with a bright smile, "we'll help you through it. Everything will be fine."

"I hope so." Bilbo smiled back at the young dwarf tentatively.

"All will be well," Balin promised her, his old face firm and determined, "we will make it so."

Dwalin bumped his fist lightly against her forehead before taking his leave; there was some important head of the guard business he had to attend this morning and he didn't want to leave the thief of a Spy Master with too much time on his hands to get up to any mischief.

It was nerve-wrecking to sit and be questioned over her reasons for taking the Arkenstone by Balin, with Ori diligently writing down her stuttered response. She kept all her answers to his question as brief as possible trying to keep herself detached and not involving any emotion. But it was hard.

She had never made a point to remember what had occurred during those awful days and thinking back on them, the old fear of dying in a tomb of stone, to never see flowers, trees and rolling hills of green grass, to never feel the wind or the warmth of the sun on her face again, started to creep within her chest.

She had been so scared then and filled with such uncertainty, that even with the repeated promises from everyone that Dain and his army were coming, she had simply wanted it to end, all of it, the fear, the hunger, Thorin's strange behaviour, everything, to simply end, be over, finished.

In truth, she had never thought much of the consequences of her taking the damn stone, only wishing to be spared a war, hoping, praying that a trade could be set up between her dwarves and the elves and men and that everyone would be able to just go home, safe, happy, unscathed. But of course, that hadn't happened at all and now remembering back on it she couldn't help but berate herself on what on earth she had been thinking at the time! How on earth had she ever thought that that ridiculous half-plan would ever work? It should have been obvious to her then that it wouldn't but even so, she still gone along with it and…

"Bilbo…" Bilbo was shaken out of her silent war by both Balin and Ori looking at her in concern and a queer noise filling the room. It took her another moment for her to realise the noise was coming from her and that she was actually crying. No, sobbing would be more accurate.

"I'm sorry." She choked out, her sobs making it difficult to speak, harder even to breath. She pressed her face into her hands, trying to calm herself down by taking deep breaths and thinking of things that made her unconditionally happy; thinking of Frodo had always been her best go to method for calming down and cheering up quickly.

"Maybe we should call it a day." Balin offered gently, his face clearly showing how unhappy he was for making her cry.

"No," she hiccuped, "I'm fine." She took the handkerchief Ori offered her and wiped the tears streams from her face. "I'm sorry. I don't – I haven't – I don't make a habit of thinking back over those days and I guess – I didn't realise just how raw I still am over them. Silly really." She tried to joke but the gentle hand that Balin lay upon her shoulder almost had her in tears again.

"Never." He replied softly, "I can't begin to imagine how hard this is for you, and I truly wish from the bottom of my heart that those days, that particular day had gone differently but…"

"We cannot change the past. We can only learn from it and proceed forward as best we can." Bilbo replied in a low voice but her tears had at least abated for the time being.

Both dwarves smiled at her approvingly before Balin continued with his questioning. He asked the same questions over and over again, sometimes asking it in a different way, using different words while others he asked exactly the same, word for word.

It took a while for Bilbo to fully understand what he was trying to do, but once she did she was impressed. He was trying to get her to answer precisely what his questions were asking for, in manner that could not be twisted or misinterpreted in anyway. It wasn't an easy feat, and with her being a story-teller at heart she tended to wander off track, adding in a detail that she hadn't previously mention in her answer the first five times Balin had asked her that particular question, which of course lead for her answer being tweaked and Balin having to rephrase his question to fit in this new detail if he deemed it worthy of her mentioning in her trial.

This whole process was exhausting both physically and mentally but in the end when she started to see a fierce light burning within Balin's eyes Bilbo started to feel hope.

Maybe this would all work out and everything would be alright.

She could put hope in this, at least for now.

Taking another sip of her water to cleanse her throat, she forced her head to hold the constructed answers to Balin's questions firmly in her head, ready to speak them the moment Balin asked for them.

She could feel herself wearying quickly from this structured, repetitive questioning and answering, but she had faith in Balin, faith that he knew what he was going and in the end, it would all be worth it.

Author's Note: So we're on our way with Bilbo's trial... FINALLY! No, you all do not know how long her damn trial and plans leading up to it have been invading my head. From pretty much when I started writing this monster, I have been thinking how to write and prepare for Bilbo's trial. I actually worried more about her trial than I did over the whole Bilbo/Thorin reunion, so you have no idea how happy I am to finally, finally get this arc fully on its way.
Also, just letting it be known here and now; if Bilbo truly wished, she wouldn't be forced to have a trial. This trial is purely for her banishment and traitor label to be rescinded, its got nothing to do with punishing her or condemning her or anything like that. If Bilbo said she wanted to leave Erebor with Frodo and her family and return to the Shire, than her dwarves would honor her wishes and allow for her to do so. But for her to remain in Erebor, for Frodo's sake and for her, she needs to have her banishment lifted and to do that, she needs to have this trial. No other reason. She honestly could up and leave, there would be some who would not be happy about this but they would have to go with it, because Bilbo does have powerful friends (Gandalf, Beorn, Lord Elrond and so on) whom would be more than happy to help her. Not that Bilbo would ever call upon them but you understand what I mean... I hope.
Even though, I have been thinking this over for almost two years, there are still little details (and big ones too) to Bilbo Trial that I'm working out. I'm not a lawyer, my study of law is very, very limited. All Trials that I've read about and watched have been the stuff in books, movies and TV series, so as you can probably guess this is new territory for me, but I'm trying my best to write this as realistically as I can within a fantasy setting. If I have anyone reading this with some experience with Law and you have any tips, please I would love to hear/read them because I want to write this as realistically as possible but the law books I have read, my brain just... can't comprehend what is being said. So yeah, any advise would be appreciated.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed these two chapters. Next couple of chapters are very Frodo center-ed which I'm quite excited about you all reading, but until then, bye for now, see you all soon.