Hi everyone,

Sorry for late update on this story. Got a little stuck on it but all good now.

Here's the next chapter.

Enjoy.

~~∞∞Ω∞∞~~ Chapter 24 ~~∞∞Ω∞∞~~

Bilbo woke later that night to soft crying making him slowly sit up, so he didn't disturb Frodo and Thorin who were sleeping beside him. Bilbo shuffled out of bed from beside Frodo and stood up and walked over to the crib to find Thrlin awake and crying. Bilbo leaned down and picked him up and started bouncing him to hopefully quieten him down so Thorin and Frodo didn't wake. Bilbo walked over into the other room that was connected to Thorin's where they had put a changing table and the little ones clothes, though they would need more. Bilbo laid Thrlin on the table and check his nappy before changing it after finding it dirty. Bilbo redressed Thrlin in his blanket after and walked back out to find that Belladonna was awake and becoming fussy. Bilbo placed Thrlin back in his cot now that he quiet and picked up Belladonna to find her needing a nappy change as well. Bilbo quickly took her into the other room to change her as well before coming back and finding Thrlin becoming fussy. Bilbo laid Belladonna down and picked Thrlin back up and tried to bounce him to calm him but found it didn't work.

"Are you hungry, maybe?" Bilbo said to himself out loud.

Bilbo left the room and walked back towards the entrance to the Royal chambers where the guards were stationed. One of the guards heard Thrlin fussing and turned and saw Bilbo walking towards them.

"Master Baggins?"

"Hi, can we please get Ranna up to feed the babies."

"Of course, Master Baggins. Head back into the room and we shall send for her."

"Thankyou."

Bilbo walked back to the room and found Thorin awake watching him as he walked back in. Bilbo could hear Belladonna getting fussy now and was obviously getting hungry as well. Thorin waved Bilbo over making Bilbo smile at him softly as he walked over.

"Let me take him. Is Ranna coming?" Thorin asked as Bilbo laid Thrlin beside him on the inside of the bed.

"Yes, the guards are sending for her."

"Good."

Bilbo walked over to the cot and picked up Belladonna, finding Dila sleeping peacefully in the cot still. Bilbo bounced Belladonna in his arms as he walked back around to Thorin's side of the bed. He sat down beside Thorin on the bed facing him as he bounced Belladonna lightly in his arms.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. I'm sorry, I was trying to not wake you."

"Bilbo it's ok. I don't mind. I would prefer to be awake with you if they wake at night. It's the least I can do since I can't really help out right now."

"I will keep that in mind. Soon you will need your sleep at night so you can continue ruling."

"There is not much ruling at the moment." Thorin grumbled.

"Well, yes there is. You tell Fili and he can relay things. Give him good practice even if he isn't making the decisions. He will need to deal with the council sooner or later."

"Hmmm." Thorin agreed without really saying anything.

Bilbo chuckled before looking to the door when there was a knock and it opened slightly as Ranna ducked her head around the door. Bilbo waved her over before handing over Belladonna since she was still fussy. Ranna disappeared behind the screen to feed Belladonna. They had told Ranna that for night feeding when they send for her that she just needed to knock on the door quietly and come in as they weren't going to call out in case some of the babies were still asleep, but any other time she would need to wait to be called in.

Bilbo got up and went back over to check on Dila to still find her sleeping peacefully unaware that her brother and sister were awake and wanting fed. Bilbo climbed back into bed in between Frodo and Thrlin. Frodo wasn't allowed to sleep through the night next to Thorin as they had from experience found that Frodo was a constant mover in his sleep and he tended to kicked and jerk around in his sleep. They didn't want to accidently hurt Thorin while they were all asleep so the only time was during the day when someone else was awake to make sure that when he started they could stop it before he might hurt Thorin.

Bilbo checked on Frodo carefully and found him still asleep and Thrlin was just fussing around but not making too much noise. Bilbo rolled onto his side facing Thorin and Thrlin and tickled the babies feet. Thrlin started squirming around and giggling at the sensation.

"How are you feeling?" Thorin asked.

"I'm feeling ok. Still a little sore but that's to be expected. What about you? Do you need any pain medicine? We almost lost you Thorin."

"I'm ok. Pain is very minimal. I'll be ok for now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Bilbo, I'm sure."

"Alright."

They looked aver as Ranna walked out from behind the screen with a now peaceful Belladonna and she laid her down in the cot beside her sister and walked over to the bed as Bilbo sat up and handed Thrlin over to her.

This continued till all the children were fed and now peacefully asleep in their cots. Ranna bowed and bid them a goodnight before leaving. Bilbo relaxed back on the bed and checked on Frodo who was squirming in his sleep. Bilbo ran his hand over Frodo's hair gently and he slowly settled to a peaceful sleep.

For the next few weeks they got into a rhythm with the babes and Thorin was now able to at least sit up in bed. He hated not being able to look after himself and for the first week or so did not want Bilbo cleaning up after him. He found it humiliating and degrading till Bilbo basically got it through his head that he didn't find like that. He wanted to look after Thorin just like Thorin would want to look after him. He had already been looking after Thorin when he was unconscious but Thorin argued that he wasn't awake to know any different. Bilbo won the argument and was able to help care for Thorin like he wanted to.

After a few more weeks of recovery Thorin was finally able (with lots of help) to have a proper wash and able to use the bathroom when needed. He still needed help but at least he was able to clean up after himself. He wasn't allowed to try and walk without assistance as he was not supposed to put weight on his legs for a bit longer.

They had made a mobile desk for Thorin that could slid in across the bed so that he could sit up and do the paperwork more easily which also increased Thorin's mood as he was able to actually do something rather than sleeping or laying in bed. While he was able to interact with his children it was hard as he couldn't really move all too well.

Their children had grown so much in their first few weeks and they were already slowly moving across the floor. Bilbo had now recovered and was able to attend to the children much easier than he had after their birth. Bilbo suspected that if he had given birth to three hobbits rather than half hobbit, half dwarf than he would have not been in so much pain after the birth. He knew that there would be pain after the birth but given that dwarves were larger than hobbits and also more solid even as babies that there would be pain.

Right now Thorin was sitting in bed with Dila doing his paperwork. He had her on his lap with a stuffed toy in his hand to keep her entertained. She was only half interested in it and more interested than just sitting in her father's arms making little babbling noises. Thorin was dealing with the aftermath of the tunnel collapse and what it would take to get the tunnel cleared and reenforced to prevent another collapse, even if it was sabotage. Bilbo was with Thrlin on the floor playing with a toy and Belladonna was sleeping in her cot.

There was a knock on the door and Thorin called for them to enter and the company piled into the room with Dis in front of them. Bilbo looked up and smiled before it disappeared and grim and some angry looks on their faces. Bilbo grabbed Thrlin and stood up and walked towards the company and the bed. Ori walked over to Bilbo with a forced smile on his face and held out his hands for Thrlin. Most of the company silently fought over who would hold the children when they were with Bilbo and Thorin. It was quite funny at times and gave Thorin and Bilbo a chuckle, especially when the children were being fussy and didn't want anyone but Bilbo or Thorin to hold them. Bilbo handed Thrlin to Ori with a worried smile.

"What's going on?" Bilbo asked looking around at everyone.

"Bilbo you may want to sit down." Balin said as he came over and put his hand on Bilbo's elbow.

Bilbo walked around the bed and sat down beside Thorin who wrapped his arm around him and held him in close noticing the looks from the company and neither of them were going to like this. Dwalin having moved the table aside so it was out of the way and more comfortable for them.

"What's happened?" Thorin asked.

"We have some bad new Thorin?" Balin said and Thorin looked at him to continue. "We have been unable to find out anything about who cased the tunnel collapse. They have simply disappeared."

"Well we know that they are here and we will just have to wait them out till they try again. They will wait till we are relaxed in our home again before they strike again."

"They will likely wait till you are up and about to try again." Dwalin said.

"So, we wait." Thorin said. "We could even set a trap."

"What?" Bilbo said. "Wait! Thorin…"

"Shh, it's ok." Thorin said, he could feel Bilbo tense up when Dwalin spoke and he knew Bilbo was worried. "We'll set a trap and everything will be fine. Until then no one goes anywhere alone like we have been doing since before this happened." Thorin said. "When will I be able to make an appearance in the mountain, Oin?"

"I would say in about three or four months, Thorin. You were injured quite extensively."

"Let's put that information around and start working on getting me up and about earlier so we can use that to set a trap."

"Thorin, no, you need to heal properly."

"Oin will make sure I don't hurt myself but we want to catch these people so we can go back to life as normal."

"I'm assuming you are devising a plan?" Balin asked, interested.

"I am."

"Let's hear it." Balin said as everyone gathered around and got comfortable.

~~∞∞Ω∞∞~~ End of Chapter 24 ~~∞∞Ω∞∞~~

Hope you liked it. Please review.