"Have you calmed down now?" The dwarf asked after a moment, still running his thumb over Bilbo's cheek.

"Yes," Bilbo said. "Yes, I'm okay now. I don't know what came over me. I'm usually not so bad with names, though my memory can't be said to be good in the first place. But I seem to be very forgetful as of late. I can't even remember why I've come here. Besides meeting with you of course. I'm sure it was something really important, but I just can't think of it. Yet the dwarves trusted me with this task and I would feel awful if I should fail it. I already have much that I feel sorry for. Oh, but surely nothing will top forgetting their names. I truly am a horrible friend. Please don't tell them that I've forgotten their names."

"I cannot," said the dwarf, "when I do not know which dwarves you are referring to. Perhaps you could describe them?"

"Oh yes," Bilbo said. "You did say that. I don't know what's come over me. I just can't think straight at all." Bilbo thought about his friends. Yet even their faces were suddenly blurry to him. It was like he hadn't seen them for many years, though he knew he had only seen them a few days before. Or maybe it was weeks. Surely it couldn't have been more than a month. Though, the sun had risen and fallen too fast for Bilbo to really keep any track of. "Well, I can't say for sure. I mean, I don't know why, but for some reason I can't quite recall what they look like. It's all a bit fuzzy I'll have you know. But they had blonde hair. Or was it black. Or white. I think one definitely had white hair. Or grey. He's pretty old I think. His hair's greyed with age. I think. But the other one is blonde. And the third has black hair, or brown hair. It's definitely darker than the other two. At least I think it was. Yes. Yes it was."

"Blonde hair is a rare feature for dwarves," the dwarf said. "Could you describe that one a bit more?"

"Oh!" Bilbo said, clapping his hands. "That's true. Now that I think of it, no one in our group has blonde hair. Well, except for me." He plucked at his own honey blonde hair pulling a curl forward for the dwarf to inspect. "Oh! And the prince! He's got really blonde hair. Even blonder than mine."

The dwarf froze, his eyes widened and his jaw opened by millimeters. Bilbo got the feeling that this dwarf was not known for showing his emotions. Perhaps this was the closest to shock that Bilbo would ever see.

Then the dwarf's grip tightened and he shook Bilbo by the shoulders, cutting off anything more Bilbo might have tried to say. "Did you say the prince?" he asked. "You said a blonde prince?"

"Yes," Bilbo said, trying to keep himself from losing all his senses while his head was knocked about by the shaking. It wasn't exactly the nicest thing to be shaken in such a way.

"Is it Frerin?" the dwarf asked. "Please tell me its Frerin!"

"Yes!" Bilbo gasped, pointing at the dwarf in front of him. "Yes! You got it! That's the one I was trying to think of."

The dwarf suddenly sagged. His breath came out of him as a whisper. "He's alive… I can't believe it… He's actually alive."

"Well, of course he is," Bilbo said. "At least he was last I saw him. I don't know how long ago that was, but they seem very capable of taking care of themselves if I do say so myself. Besides, he's got that guard of his. He's the one that I thought hated me, but he's actually very kind if you get to know him."

Once again the dwarf's eyes widened as his head shot up. "Vili?"

"Yes!" Bilbo clapped his hands. "You're really good at this. I was having such a hard time remembering them, but you just figured it out so quickly. I should have known, though. Frerin is related to you after all."

The dwarf's head sagged once more. So much so that Bilbo thought he might actually fall on the ground (which was not a very good idea since it was quite dirty). "Thank you," he said quietly. "Thank you so much."

"I don't know what you're thanking me for," Bilbo said. "I didn't really do anything. The dwarves are the ones who have been taking care of me this whole time. But maybe you should have a seat. You aren't looking too well if I do say so myself. I find that sitting for a bit always makes me feel better." He tried to direct the dwarf to a wobbly seat nearby, but his feet were thoroughly planted. "Oh, if only I had some tea. Tea is the best thing to soothe the soul. Or so my mother always says when she makes some for my father. He was a worrisome fellow. But, I mean, it's not like he didn't have reason to worry. My mother wasn't the carefulest of hobbits and I often heard that when I was born I only added to his troubles. But father loved us very much, I think, no matter what those busybodies from the Shire may say."

With every word that Bilbo spoke, the dwarf seemed to come back to himself just that little bit more. Until he was standing tall (quite the handsome figure if Bilbo did say so himself). "You said you were travelling with the dwarves correct?" Bilbo nodded. "Then can you bring them a message for me?"

"Of course!" Bilbo grinned. "I will be happy to do so. Only, I'm not quite sure where they are at the moment. I'm already a little concerned about finding my body, you know. Hobbits don't often leave their bodies and I've never heard of one returning to it. Perhaps it is hard to find? I mean, it was easy enough getting here because of that thread, but I don't know how on earth I'm going to get back."

"If I help you find your body, will you bring them my message?"

"If I am able to return, I will certainly tell them anything you have to say," Bilbo agreed with a steadfast nod. He would not forget this time. He couldn't forget. Anything that his soulmate said to him had to be seriously important enough to stick in his mind no matter how forgetful he was.

The dwarf nodded and went to the door, calling for a guard. "Bring me a map immediately. One that spans the distance between here and Erebor."