A/N: Shameless plug, but if any of my readers are interested in Pirates of the Caribbean, I've started posting my PotC fanfic, 'Of Sparrow and Drystan'. So if you like pirates, history, or both, feel free to check it out~ Otherwise, enjoy some more cuteness between an Oakenshield and a Mouse-Lass

Something smelled warm and sweet.

Slowly opening her eyes, Baylee scrunched her nose up and blinked a few times against the bright morning light. Then, sitting up, she yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she looked around. Bombur was already beside the fire, stirring the contents of the same pot from last night—presumably, it had since been cleaned of the remaining mushroom stew. Fili and Kili were also awake, the former slicing up more strawberries while the latter sliced up apricots. Nori, Ori, and Bifur were all missing while everyone else remained asleep.

As she looked to her right, she found Bilbo and Bofur still curled up together. A smile came to her lips, though it faded somewhat as, when she looked to her left, she found that Thorin was gone, too.

'Had that been a dream?' she though, looking down at her hand. 'Or did…did we actually hold hands?' She knew there'd be no way to tell if he had actually held her hand or not, but she tried anyway. 'And why did it leave me feeling so warm and safe?'

"Ah, Baylee! You're up!" Bombur chirped. "Could you come taste this for me, please? It needs somethin', but I'm not quite sure what. I'm thinkin' it needs more cheese."

Nodding, she crawled off of the cushion and made her way over to him. "What is it?" she asked as she got closer.

"A savory custard that I made with some o' the cheese in Beorn's pantry," he explained. "Since there's no meat around an' I haven't been able t' find a griddle or pan, this was the next best thing I could think of." He held out a large spoon for her to taste from.

Taking the spoon, she blew on the custard a few times before sampling it. Being that she was still waking up, it took her a moment and a few more samples before coming to a conclusion. Then, handing the spoon back, she pushed some hair behind her ear. "It could do with more pepper and more cheese," she told him. "Maybe even a bit of rosemary if it's available."

"Ooh, rosemary would be a wonderful addition," he grinned. "An' I'm glad we agree on it needing more cheese. I didn't want t' go overboard, though."

She chuckled. "It's hard to go overboard on cheese," she told him, "unless it's a sharp cheese. This stuff seems to be fairly mild, though. Would you like me to go look in the garden for some rosemary?"

"Only if you'd like to. You just woke up, after all. I don't want t' have you doin' too much when you're still getting your wits about you."

"It's fine. The morning air may help wake me." Covering her mouth as she yawned, she started to make her way towards the large door.

Soon enough, she was walking through the garden, her skin being warmed by the early morning sun. She closed her eyes for half a moment, slowly inhaling the fresh air before letting out a soft sigh. Save for the size of the vegetables, she almost felt like she was back home in Bag End.

'Da' only wishes he could grow cabbages this big, though,' she thought with a chuckle. Opening her eyes once more, she suddenly let out a small yelp and threw herself backwards; in front of her had been a spiderweb, with the spider right in the middle of it.

"G-G-Going around then," she mumbled, a shudder running through her body. "The only bad things about gardens: The spiders…" Shaking her head, she went down a different row in order to reach the herb portion of the garden. The rosemary bush was easy enough to find, as it was one of a handful of plants in a raised bed to keep it from taking over the garden.

With a little effort, she was able to break off two stems from the plant. Mentally congratulating herself on her job well done, she turned around only to have her eyes widen as she froze to the spot.

No more than five yards from her was a giant man. He stood taller than any creature she had seen before—even taller than the Great Goblin! He had wild, black hair and, thanks to his lack of shirt, she could see that his body was muscled. His face was solemn, but from what she could see, there was a wildness to his eyes.

'So that's Beorn…Now I understand just why everything's so big,' she thought, crouching down and ducking behind the rosemary bed. She watched as the giant lifted an enormous axe and started to come towards the garden. 'Oh no…oh no…'

Pressing herself closer to the wooden frame, she watched Beorn get closer with every step. Her heart raced in her chest as he stopped right in front of her; instead of turning towards her, however, he faced away so he could pluck a few strawberries from a bush. Standing upright once more, he popped one into his mouth before turning and walking away.

Baylee let out a quiet sigh of relief. 'How he didn't see me walking out in the open is beyond me,' she thought. "Then again, I'm apparently good at hiding in plain sight.'

Before Beorn had the chance to come back, the hobbit lass darted out of her hiding spot and ran back inside. Out of breath, she held the rosemary out to Bombur. "He-here you go, Bom-Bombur," she panted.

"Why are you so out of breath?" he asked, frowning. Taking the rosemary from her, he put his hands on his hips.

"I-I saw…I saw Be-Beorn," she answered, putting her hands on her waist as she closed her eyes.

"You saw him?" Kili gasped, looking up from the apricots. "What did he look like?"

"How big was he?" Fili asked, his eyes also wide.

Still trying to catch her breath, she held up her hand with her index finger raised in a 'hold on' fashion. After a moment or two, she opened her eyes again; her breath, for the most part, caught.

"He was massive," she told them. "I think I'm just an inch or two taller than his knees…But I didn't get too much of a good look at him. Understandably, I was trying my best to not be seen, especially when I saw him pick up an enormous axe."

"…Only…his knees?" Kili repeated, a bit of color draining from his face. He looked at his brother. "That means we'll barely reach his hips!"

"Hopefully Gandalf's already talked to him," Bombur said, his frown growing in size. "If he's more than twice our heights, I don't want t' even think about what'll happen if he gets upset with us…"

"If who gets upset with us?"

Everyone looked over, seeing Bilbo sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Thanks to how large the cushion was compared to him and the bits of hair he had sticking out all over the place, Baylee thought her father looked very much like a hobbit child.

"Beorn," she answered him. "I saw him outside just now."

His eyes widened as he stared at her. "Y-yo-you saw him?!" he squeaked.

She nodded. "I did…I'm just barely taller than his knees."

"Ooh, that's not good…not good," he mumbled. "I knew he was big, but that big?! Please tell me he didn't see you!"

She gave him a reassuring smile. "I don't think he did. I hid myself under the rosemary bush." She then tried to not giggle as Bilbo attempted to crawl off the cushion, but Bofur's arms were still wrapped around him.

Bilbo's cheeks turned dark red as he managed to untangle himself from the dwarf, who continued to sleep as if nothing had happened. He was more than a little thankful that no one seemed to pay him any attention. "Has Gandalf come back yet?"

"He's off talkin' with uncle," Fili answered. As Baylee walked over to see how much fruit they had sliced up, he cut the stem off a strawberry and offered it to her.

"Where are Nori, Ori, and Bifur then?" she asked. "Thank you, by the way." She took a bite of the berry.

"They're in the front half o' the house," Bombur answered. "They're tendin' to the animals that need milking."

Bilbo nodded slowly in understanding. "Well, that's kind of them," he said with a small chuckle. He ran a hand through his hair before covering his mouth as he yawned. "What're you making, Bombur?"

He pulled the leaves from the stems before piling them up for cutting. "A savory cheese custard with a bit o' rosemary. Fili an' Kili are cutting up some fruit t' go with it." He pulled out one of his knives and, after checking that it was nice and sharp, started to cut the rosemary up.

Baylee went over and sat down on the cushion once more. "I bet we won't even miss the bacon and sausage," she chuckled. Bringing her hair over her shoulder, she started to finger-comb it.

"Hmm…I wouldn't go that far," Fili told her. "Because I could really do with some ham an' eggs about now."

Kili groaned, flopping backwards onto their cushion. "Don't remind me! It feels like forever ago when we last had meat!"

Fili rolled his eyes. "We had meat the day before yesterday."

"Like I said: Forever ago!"

"Going without meat for a few days won't kill you," Bilbo lightly scolded. "I daresay, you could use the ruffage." He looked over at Baylee, giving her a pitying look when he saw her struggling with her hair. "What a time to not have a comb on us anymore," he sighed.

She wore a reassuring smile. "I'm sure I'll manage, da'. Once I get these big knots out, it should get easier. Anyway, you're the one who needs a comb more—your hair's sticking out all over the place!" A giggle left her mouth as she saw Bilbo try to flatten his hair. Looking past him, she could see the pantry door opening. Out came Thorin and Gandalf, the latter lightly shaking his head. 'I wonder what those two talked about?' she thought.

"How much longer until breakfast is done?" Bilbo asked, watching as Bombur stood up.

"Shouldn't be too much longer," he replied. "Maybe five minutes at the most. I just need t' let it sit for a few minutes so the rosemary can spread its flavor."

Nodding, Bilbo sighed; seeing movement, he turned his head and found Gandalf moving towards the fire to peer into it. "Well, there you are. I had expected you to be fast asleep after keeping watch all night."

Gandalf leaned over, peering into the cauldron of custard. "We wizards are more akin to elves in that we needn't rest nearly as much as humans, hobbits, and dwarves." He looked over at Bilbo, giving him a small smile. Despite his words, however, Bilbo could see lines of exhaustion on the old man's face. "Did you sleep well?"

"For the most part, yes. This cushion is almost as nice as my bed back home in Bag End," he chuckled. His laughter faded ever so slightly as he looked at Baylee only to find that she still looked exhausted; looking at Fili, Kili, and Bombur, though, he saw that they, too, also looked beat. The last few days had been quite rough on them all…"Though, I would have enjoyed having a small pillow to rest my head on…but I'm not complaining."

"You had a pillow," Baylee told him, speaking loud enough that only he could hear her. "His name is Bofur." She giggled as she was lightly nudged by her father.

"You shush, young lady," he murmured scoldingly. Despite his tone, however, there was a bashful smile on his lips. "It's bad enough he seems to be quite the cuddler…makes it difficult to sit up." In all actuality, he didn't find it the least bit bad.

Another giggle left her mouth as she tucked some hair behind her ear. "You looked quite happy, though, all snuggled up to him like that." Both brows rose in surprise as she felt the cushion shift behind her and, feeling a pair of hands gently gather up her hair, her cheeks turned red. "G-good morning, Oakenshield." She was startled by how casually he had sat down and started doing her hair—especially in a room filled with people.

Combined with the way he had held her hand during the night, it made her wonder if, perhaps, he was flirting with her? She brushed the thought from her mind, though, and reminded herself that he was a dwarf and a king. He would never fall for a common hobbit lass.

"Good morning, Mouse-Lass, Bilbo," Thorin said, beginning to comb through her hair.

It took a great deal of willpower for Bilbo to not act like anything was out of the norm. "Morning…What were you and Gandalf off talking about?"

"How to best approach Beorn and ask him for his help," he answered. He glanced over at the male hobbit; he had been half expecting him to jump up and start scolding him or stuttering about how he shouldn't be touching his daughter's hair like this. "We'll do it after breakfast, when we've had a bit of time to go over the plan as well as pick up the area a bit."

Bilbo nodded slowly in understanding, giving Thorin a wary look. "That's good…It could do with a bit of tidying up in here." While they hadn't left the hall a complete mess, the area immediately around the hearth was strewn with various articles of clothing and the cushions did take up a good deal of space.

"With how big Beorn is, I wouldn't want to get him upset," Baylee chuckled. "Especially if he were to turn back into his bear form."

At that, Thorin frowned and paused in his combing. "How do you know how large he is when he's not a bear?"

Her cheeks pinkened. "I went out to the garden to get Bombur some rosemary and…well, I saw Beorn. I'm barely taller than his knees."

"And just how do you know that bit?"

"…Well, while I was getting the rosemary, he may have stepped into the garden to get himself some strawberries," she said. "And he may have been less than three feet from me when he did such."

"You didn't tell me that part!" Bilbo cried, his eyes wide.

She smiled innocently. "When I originally told you about my Beorn sighting, I had just come back," she explained. "And I had run back, mind you, which left me fairly out of breath. I was more focused on trying to breathe."

Shaking his head, Bilbo let out a heavy sigh. "What am I to do with you?" he sighed. He moved to finally crawl off of the cushion, intent on getting himself some breakfast.

"He seems to be in a good mood this morning," Thorin commented with a quiet chuckle.

"You should have seen him struggle to untangle himself from Bofur," she smiled. "It was adorable."

"I'll take your word for it, Mouse-Lass." Setting his comb aside, he began sectioning off her hair. "How did you sleep, by the way?"

She bit her lower lip slightly, feeling her cheeks begin to grow warm. "Much better than before the nightmare, though I daresay I could use a few more days of straight sleeping. I think we all could, for that matter."

"I definitely agree with that." Seeing that he had missed a few wisps of hair near the front of her ear, he used his fingers to gently pull them back into place. "And I'm happy to hear you slept better. With how bad you had been thrashing about…I was hoping you wouldn't have any more nightmares."

Closing her eyes, she let out a soft, content sigh. "Thank you, by the way," she told him, her voice a bit softer. "For comforting me."

"You seemed like you needed someone with you." He pretended to brush back more wisps of hair, using it as a chance to gently brush his knuckles against her cheek. "If…it happens again and there's no one awake…feel free to wake me. I promise you wouldn't be bothering me."

Her cheeks grew a touch warm and a gentle smile came to her lips. "I'll keep that in mind."

He smiled, starting to braid one of the sections of hair. As he did such, he looked around. Gloin, Oin, and Balin were starting to stir while Dori, Bofur, and Dwalin remained fast asleep. Normally, he would have had them all awake by that point, but after how mentally and physically exhausting the last few days had been, he thought he ought to let them sleep in a bit.

Glancing over at his nephews, his brow rose slightly. They were huddled close together, being none-too-subtle in their whisperings and snickers about him and Baylee. Fili caught sight of him watching and froze up, his eyes wide. He elbowed his brother in the ribs and both quickly returned to their task of fruit cutting.

Thorin shook his head, his attention returning to the braid he was working on. "Am I pulling too tight, by the way?" he asked after a moment.

"Not at all," she assured him. "You're being quite gentle as a matter of fact."

He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could utter even a single syllable, a loud yawn came from their right. Both looked over in time to see Bofur stretching out his limbs, his face scrunching up slightly. After a few seconds, his limbs and face relaxed; he tiredly opened his eyes before sitting up, his hat all askew.

"What time is it?" he asked, yawning again. He looked around blearily, glad to see that he wasn't the only one who had still been asleep.

"It's still morning," Thorin assured him. "And breakfast only just got finished, so you haven't missed much."

Bofur nodded in understanding before looking over at the pair; he had to blink to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "What'd Bombur make?" he asked, forcing himself to look away. Spotting Bilbo near the fire, where Bombur was filling a bowl of food for him, he looked for any signs of distress on his face. At the moment, he couldn't see any, but something told him that he would be letting the hobbit vent to him again later in the day.

"A savory cheese custard," Baylee answered. "With a side of sliced fruit." She, too, was watching her father and wondering if he was alright. Given that Bombur was giving him a healthy portion of the custard, she knew he couldn't have been too upset. Bilbo couldn't eat when he was truly upset.

"Ah, a dish that combines both o' Bombur's favorite foods," Bofur chuckled. "Doesn't surprise me he went an' made that for breakfast, t' be honest. There's plenty o' milk, eggs, an' cheese laying around." Watching Bilbo come towards them, two bowls in hand, he smiled fondly.

"I see you're finally awake," Bilbo commented, also wearing a smile, though his was more amused. He held out one of the bowls to the dwarf, who eagerly took it.

"Ooh, thank you, lad," he said, looking down into the bowl. He then took a good sniff of the food. "Is there rosemary in this?"

Bilbo nodded as he sat down closer to his daughter, since he intended to share the other bowl with her. "Yes. Baylee went and fetched some from the garden…And while she was out there, she got a peek at our host. Apparently, he's enormous."

Bofur, having just shoved a spoonful of custard into his mouth, cocked a brow and looked at them. Swallowing, he then asked, "How big are we talkin'? Normal human sized big or big like those giants in the mountain pass?"

"Neither," Thorin answered. "From what the Mouse-Lass described, he's about twelve and a half feet tall."

"How do you figure that?" Bilbo questioned, his brow rising.

"It's proportions. If this Beorn's human form has the same proportions of an elf or human, then you would double the height of his knees to get the length of his legs. Then you double the height of his legs to get his upper half, as they're roughly equal," the king explained. "If he were to have proportions more similar to a dwarf, then he would a bit shorter, but being that we dwarves were crafted by Mahal rather than Eru, I highly doubt that's the case." He held one of the braids over Baylee's shoulder. "Could you hold this, please?"

Taking the braid and holding it, Baylee saw that it was a four-strand braid. "But how did you figure out the twelve-foot-tall part? You don't know how tall I am."

At that, Bofur snorted. "Lass, it's not hard t' tell that you're under four foot. Your dad here is just barely over four feet tall and he's a good seven or eight inches taller than you. Which puts you around three-foot-six or seven."

"You must remember, dear, that even for a hobbit, you're fairly small," Bilbo chuckled, seeing the small pout on her lips. He glanced back at Thorin only to find him weaving smaller braids together to form large braids.

Bofur, too, did his best to subtly watch the king as he worked; only, he was keeping an eye out for a very specific kind of braid that dwarves did. It was one that almost all dwarves would put in their lover's hair, signaling to other dwarves that they were taken. So far, however, he couldn't see it—but, he also wasn't at the best angle for spying on them. For all he knew, it was on the opposite side.

After a moment of silence which let him eat a few bites of custard (which was delicious), Bilbo cleared his throat. "S-so, what's the plan for when we go to meet Beorn?"

"You, Gandalf, and Mouse-Lass will go out first. Gandalf will do the talking, of course…he'll then give a signal, at which point we're supposed to leave the house in pairs, with about five minutes between each pair coming out."

"That's a curious way to introduce ourselves," Baylee commented.

He nodded in agreement. "He told me it would be best to show ourselves slowly so that we don't bring about his anger."

"Makes sense, given that Gandalf told us this fellow didn't like dwarves much," Bilbo said. He held out a spoonful of custard to Baylee, who gladly took it and started to take small bites from it. "I do hope he won't be upset when he realizes that we already stayed one night in his house…" As Baylee handed the spoon back, he took it only to fill it again.

"I brought that up with Gandalf," Thorin said. "He said that, should all go well, Beorn won't mind much, especially if we take care to leave it neat and tidy."

Bofur snorted. "Neat an' tidy for us dwarves…aye, that's an achievable task," he joked.

Thorin rolled his eyes, though he wore a smile. "Says the dwarf who had his room in Ered Luin more organized than the royal library."

Both Bagginses looked quite surprised to hear this and they looked at Bofur, who wore a guilty, but cheeky, grin. "My home an' someone else's home are two entirely different places with entirely different sets o' rules," he chuckled. He suddenly went cross-eyed as Bilbo pointed a stern finger at him.

"You had best be neat and tidy when you come to Bag End," he jokingly scolded. "You helped leave my house a mess once; I won't have it happen again."

"Oh, come now, Bilbo! I helped with the clean-up, didn't I?" he laughed.

"Actually, for the most part, you stood off to the side, playing your whistle while Dwalin played his fiddle," Baylee laughed. As Thorin reached for the braid she still held, she gave it to him. "Though, you did pass a few dishes to Fili." As she remembered that night, she smiled; it felt like it had taken place years ago when, in fact, only a few months had passed.

"I missed quite the party from the sounds of it," Thorin commented. Finished with braiding her hair, he leaned back slightly to admire his handiwork; it was many smaller braids woven into and around a larger, singular braid. "There. Should our travels go well, you won't need to worry about your hair for many days."

Biting her lower lip, she pulled the braid over her shoulder so she could look at it. "Ooh, it's so pretty!" she told him, running her fingers along the smaller braids. She was surprised by just how tiny some of them were; she would have never expected the large hands of a dwarf to do such fine work. Then, glancing over her shoulder at him with a shy smile and rosy cheeks, she said, "Thank you, Oakenshield."

"You're welcome, Mouse-Lass," he replied, fondness in his voice.

Bilbo said nothing as he ate a bite of custard, but inwardly, he was making a note to sit down with Thorin at some point and have a chat about his daughter…

Nearly two hours later found the Bagginses walking alongside Gandalf as they traveled down a well-worn dirt path leading away from Beorn's house. In the distance, they could hear sound of splitting wood quickly followed by the dull 'thud' of the axe hitting the chopping block. Soon, the three of them could see the top of Beorn's head and the head of his axe as he raised it up.

"O-oh, bl-blessing," Bilbo stammered, his eyes wide. "I-I know you said he was la-large, dear, but…"

"Quiet," Gandalf gently scolded. "I do not know how good his hearing is in his mannish form and we do not want to accidentally offer him insult." He looked down at the two hobbits. "Now remember, stay behind me. Try not to let yourselves be seen for a few min—" He frowned as he looked down, finding that both hobbits were gone. Upon turning around, however, he found the pair already behind him, with Bilbo standing in front of Baylee. "Ah, good, you're already back there," he said, sounding just a touch exasperated.

As they continued to follow behind him, Bilbo reached back and took hold of Baylee's hand. Giving it a gentle squeeze, he looked over her shoulder at her. "Everything's going to be alright," he quietly reassured her.

She managed a small smile and nodded. "I know, da'."

Neither quite believed their words, though. As they came around the corner of a low hedge, they found themselves no less than fifty feet from the skin-changer. Gandalf was quiet for a moment, trying to come up with the best way in which to introduce themselves.

"Go-good morning!" he called out. When Beorn didn't seem to hear him, he called out again, a bit louder. "Good morning!" Neither hobbit liked how nervous he sounded.

Beorn turned slightly, a thick brow rising as he saw the wizard. "Who are you?" His voice was deep and rumbling and filled with a mixture of annoyance and distrust.

"I'm Gandalf! Gandalf the Grey."

Baylee flinched as Beorn fully faced Gandalf now, bringing his axe off the chopping block in favor of letting the axe head sit on the ground while his hands rested over the butt of the handle. "Never heard of him." Then, much to the wizard's chagrin, Beorn leaned over, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of the two figures behind him. "And what're these little fellows?" he demanded.

Motioning for them to come out of hiding, Gandalf introduced them. "They are Mister Baggins and his daughter, hobbits of a good family and unimpeachable reputation," he explained. "And I am a wizard. I have heard of you, even if you have not heard of me. But, perhaps, you have heard of my good cousin, Radagast, who lives near the southern borders of Mirkwood?"

"Yes…not a bad fellow as wizards go, I believe. I used to see him now and again," said Beorn. He watched the pair of hobbits carefully, one of his thick brows raised. "Well, now I know who you are, or who you say you are. What do you want?"

"To tell you the truth, we have lost our luggage and nearly lost our way. We're actually rather in need of help, or at least of advice. I may say we have had rather a bad time with goblins in the mountains."

Once more his eyes narrowed and a bit of a sneer came to Beorn's face. "Goblins?" he repeated gruffly. "What did you go near them for? A stupid thing to do."

"Oh, I absolutely agree!" Gandalf said, gesturing with his hand for emphasis. "But, you see, we did not mean to. They surprised us at night in a pass which we had to cross; we were coming out of the western lands over into these countries—it's a rather long tale, to be honest."

"Then you had better begin speaking and tell me some of it—if it won't take all day, that is."

A quiet sigh of relief left the trio's mouths as the skin-changer seemed to be relaxing.

"You see, I was coming over the mountains with a friend or three," Gandalf began, but before he could say anymore, Beorn interrupted.

"Or three? I can see only two, and little ones at that."

"Well, to tell you the truth, I did not want to bother you with a lot of us until I found out if you were busy. I will give a call, if I—" He stiffened as Beorn suddenly lifted his axe, a snarl on his face. As he turned, he saw that Balin and Dwalin had come around the hedge. They bowed low to the ground.

"One or three you meant, I see," Beorn snapped. "But these aren't hobbits—They're dwarves." He practically spat the word now.

"Ah…yes, as a matter of fact, several members of our group happen to be…ah…dwarves…"

Beorn glared down at him. "Do you call two 'several'?" he growled.

"Well, no. As a matter of fact, there were more than two."

"Where are they, then? Killed? Eaten? Gone home?" He slightly lowered his axe.

Gandalf cleared his throat. "Well, no. They haven't all come out; shy, I expect. You see, we are very much afraid that we are rather a lot for you to entertain."

As if on cue, Dori and Ori came scrambling around the hedge. Beorn frowned again.

"Dori and Ori!" they stammered before bowing low. "At your service!"

"I don't need your service," Beorn snapped, making them jump. He looked back at Gandalf. "Go on with your story, wizard," he commanded.

Nodding Gandalf quickly collected his thoughts. "Ah, yes, of course! Well, as we made our way through the mountains, the stone giants had come out to hurl stones at one another. We sought refuge in a cave, but while we slept, goblins came and snatched up the poor hobbits and our troop of dwarves."

"A troop? What were you—a traveling circus? Or do you always call seven a 'troop'?"

"Oh, no, no, no!" He let out a nervous laugh. "There are more than seven of us and, well…" Glancing over his shoulder, he could see the top of Nori's hair behind the hedge. "Here are two more!" Right on cue, Nori and Oin came around the corner.

"Troop was right," Beorn gruffed, lowering his ax entirely. "Now go on again!"

"Yes, of course. I had not been grabbed, as I had stepped out of the cave to collect my thoughts," he continued. Of course, he was making some of the story up, as he had not been present when the others had been snatched. "But I did slip inside the crack before it closed. However, I managed to get myself lost, but after stumbling across Miss Baggins, who had also gotten separated from the group, we were able to find the main hall. There were so many goblins there, I thought to myself 'what can thirteen do against so many' and—"

"Thirteen? That's the first time I've heard nine called thirteen—or have you still got some more dwarves hiding that haven't yet come out?" By now, Beorn was sounding more exasperated than anything.

"Ah, yes, well, there are a few more of us and, in fact, I think I hear them coming." Once more, he turned, expecting to see just two dwarves come around the corner. Instead he saw Bofur, Bifur, Gloin, Fili, Kili, and Bombur stumbling out from behind the hedge.

"Is that the last of them?" Beorn demanded. His brow rose as one more dwarf came out from behind the hedge: Thorin. Recognition filled the skin-changer's eyes as he saw him. "Very well," he said with a bit of a sigh. Leaning his axe against the chopping block, he picked up a vest from the ground and put it on. "I see I'm to be hosting an unexpected party…Come along then—everyone back inside. Gandalf, I fully expect you to tell me this tale properly once we're sitting around the fire." He started to walk up the path, passing by Gandalf and the hobbits without looking at them.

Soon enough, they were all once more gathered around the fire and Gandalf was recounting their tale to Beorn. The skin-changer walked around, serving everyone milk in large, wooden tankards—save for Baylee and Bilbo. He had managed to find a pair of smaller, clay cups for the two of them, though they were still large compared to the hobbits. By the time Gandalf had finished his tale, everyone had their own serving of milk and Beorn had dragged over an arm chair to sit in.

He was silent for many minutes, thinking over the story he had just been told and whether or not he should trust it to be true. At long last and after taking a drink from his own milk, he looked at Thorin and said, "So, you are the one they call 'Oakenshield'. Tell me: Why is Azog hunting you?"

Thorin frowned. "You know of Azog? How?"

Beorn was quiet for another moment as he took another drink from his milk. "My people were the first to live in the mountains," he said at length, "before the orcs came down from the north. The Defiler killed most of my family, but some he enslaved." He held up his wrist, showing the remnants of a shackle on his wrist. "Not for work, you understand, but for sport. Caging skin-changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him."

"That's horrible," Baylee murmured.

"There are others like you?" asked Bilbo.

"Once, there were many…but now, there are only a few of us left." He glanced around at the ragtag troop of dwarves, hobbits, and their wizard. "You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn?"

Gandalf nodded. "Before Durin's Day falls, yes."

"You are running out of time," Beorn told them, his face more grim than before. "You intend to go through Mirkwood, do you not?"

Thorin nodded. "We do."

"A darkness lies upon that forest. Fell things creep beneath those trees." He set aside his mug of milk. "There is an alliance between the orcs of Moria and the Necromancer in Dol Guldur. I would not venture there except in great need."

Gandalf lightly shook his head. "We will be taking the elven road. That path is still safe." He frowned as Beorn let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Safe?" he scoffed as he rose from his seat. "The Wood Elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They're less wise and more dangerous…but it matters not."

"What do you mean?" Thorin questioned.

Beorn walked over to the window. "These lands are crawling with orcs," he told them. "Their numbers are growing and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive." Though he couldn't see it, he knew the company was more than a little shocked. "I don't like dwarves," he continued, reached out and picking something up from the windowsill. "They're greedy and blind…blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own." As he turned around, Baylee could see that it was a tiny mouse he had picked up and was letting crawl over his hand. "But orcs I hate more. I will help you, but it will take time to gather the supplies you will need."

"How long?" Thorin asked.

"It will take most of the day to get everything ready," he answered, watching the mouse as it crawled over his hand, "but you will be able to leave tomorrow morning."

"Will you need help?" Fili asked, wondering if assistance would mean they could leave sooner.

Beorn shook his head as he finally set the mouse down atop the dining table. "No. You do not know my house and my gardens as well as I do, so you would only slow things down." He looked over the group, seeing varying degrees of weariness on their faces. "Spend the day resting and gathering your strength. This may be your last chance to do such for quite some time."

And so, heeding Beorn's advice, the dwarves and the hobbits had a small lunch of honey cakes and fruit pies before they brought the cushions back out. This time, they lined them up against the wall so as to stay out of Beorn's way as he walked about. Much of the company then returned to bed for a midday nap while others wandered about outside, enjoying the summer sun.

Standing on her tiptoes, Baylee reached up and plucked a large strawberry off the bush. She wore a small, victorious grin before taking a bite out of it. It was sweeter than the strawberries of the Shire—sweet enough that she was sure only half the amount of sugar would be needed to turn it into jelly or pie.

"I would have thought you'd be sick o' those by now, lass."

She blinked, looking to her left to find Bofur walking towards her, a bit of smoke furling from his mouth as he smoked his pipe. A small chuckle left her mouth as she turned to face him. "I'm trying to get my fill of them before we leave. Yavanna only knows the next time I'll be able to eat fresh berries." Part of her felt a little jealous that he still had his pipe on him; she had lost hers back in Goblin Town.

Bofur chuckled, his brow rising slightly as he looked up at the strawberry bush. "Aye, I suppose that's a good idea," he agreed. "If only there were a blackberry bush or two 'round her…then I'd be doin' the same as you."

"Oh, this is the perfect time of year for blackberries, too," she said with a small frown. "If I were back in the Shire, I'd be making so many pies and pastries with them…"

"Sounds like I'm goin' to really like livin' in the Shire then," he said with a small laugh. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye as he took a pull from his pipe. "…Speakin' which, I'd like t' talk with you about that."

"Hm?" Her head tilted curiously. "About you coming to live with us?"

"Aye. I wanted t' make sure—t' make sure that it was alright with you." He cleared his throat, sounding uncharacteristically nervous.

"Of course it is!" She let out a laugh, her brow rising. "Why wouldn't it be?"

He took another pull from his pipe, letting the smoke leave his mouth a few seconds later. "Well, you're Bilbo's wee lassie—you're the most important person in his life. I…I wanted t' make sure we had your approval. I know that it's not exactly a—a normal relationship among hobbits, but I—" He blinked as he suddenly found a strawberry in his mouth.

"Bofur, you make my da' happy," Baylee told him, still holding her onto her own berry. "And, to be perfectly honest, I wasn't entirely sure my da' would ever find himself a person who made him happy like you do. As far as I know, you're the first person he's ever showed romantic interest in." She watched as he took the berry out of his mouth, having taken a bite from it. "You've been the one dwarf who's always been confident in my da' during this quest; everyone else has questioned his worth at least once. But you? Not once. That alone is more than enough to make you deserving of him."

His cheeks turned a bit red and he quietly chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well…he's a bit o' an outsider like me, Bombur, an' Bifur—an' you, for that matter. I always thought we outsiders should stick together."

Her head tilted slightly. "Do you say that because you're Broadbeams while everyone else are Longbeards?"

He stared at her for a moment, more than a little surprised that she knew such a thing. Then, remembering how she enjoyed learning about their culture, he let out a laugh. "I suppose you learned that from one o' the Durins?"

"Thorin told me," she chuckled, nodding. "He told me about all the houses of the dwarves."

"I thought you're supposed to be callin' him 'Oakenshield?'?" he asked with a playful smile and a raised brow.

Her cheeks turned a bit red. "That's only to him. To anyone else, I can call him by his name," she said, her tone quite matter-of-fact. She took a bite of her strawberry and glanced away.

He quietly laughed as he watched her look away. "Y'know, he's startin' to fancy you…Thorin, I mean." Her cheeks turned as red as the strawberry she ate, making him chuckle again.

"N-No, he's not," she stammered, a nervous laugh leaving her mouth. "We're—we're just friends. He'd never fancy me." Despite her words, she thought back to the previous night and the tenderness in his smile as Thorin held her hand.

Maybe…maybe he was starting to fancy her…?

Bofur's brow rose. "Lass, I'm fairly certain even you didn't believe what you just said." As she looked away again, he tilted his head ever so slightly. "Y'know, most lasses would be overjoyed t' find out a king fancies them…but something's tellin' me that it's just leavin' you a wee bit confused."

"More than a wee bit, I'm afraid," she sighed, rubbing the side of her neck. She closed her eyes for a moment, her shoulders slouching somewhat.

He gave her a pitying smile. Walking over to her, he said a hand on her shoulder and guided her over to the raised garden beds, where he sat her down on the wooden edge of the box. He then plopped down beside her. "Alright, lass. Start talkin'."

She pulled her knees up to her chest, making sure to pull her dress and petticoats over them to remain decent. "Well…first of all, I don't see why Thorin of all people would fancy me. I-I'm just a hobbit! I'm not a warrior or a-a-a princess or anything that royalty looks for in a partner!"

"Ah, see, now that's where you're wrong," Bofur gently countered. He found it rather adorable that she stuttered like her father when venting. "While royal humans an' elves might want t' make sure their children marry noble blood, we dwarves don't care about that sort o' thing. If a member o' the royal family falls for a dwarf o' far lower status? So be it. They're not goin' to waste their one chance at love just because their love isn't o' noble blood."

"But sometimes, they'll be given tests to prove their worthiness."

A quiet laugh left his mouth. "I see you an' Thorin have talked about marriage customs at some point." He saw her cheeks grow rosy again when he gave her a playful wink. "Aye, sometimes a challenge will be issued, but they're never meant t' really dissuade the couple from joining. If anything, they're issued in order t' show what the potential spouse needs t' work on t' improve themselves." He took a long, slow pull from his pipe.

She nodded slowly in understanding. "But…but regardless, I still don't know why he'd fancy me. Not to mention, Halfast is waiting for me back in the Shire and—and—" She bit her lower lip again, and brought her braid over her shoulder, running her hands along it.

"An' you don't know which lad you fancy more?" She nodded. "Well…how does being around them make you feel?" As he spoke, smoke furled out from his lips.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"What sorts o' emotions do you feel when you're around them? Do they make you happy or sad or anything o' the sort?"

Baylee was quiet for many minutes as she pondered the question. It was such a simple question—one she hadn't even thought of asking herself. "Well…When I'm around Halfast, I get quite shy and nervous. Like I don't want to accidentally say or do something that'll end up making me embarrass myself in front of him. But he also leaves my stomach feeling like it's full of butterflies and it's really easy for him to make me blush.

"And then there's Thorin…When we first started the quest, I was nervous around him, yes, but now being around him feels like being around any other person—normal and natural. There are times when he makes my stomach flutter, but for the most part, around him, I feel—I feel safe as odd as that is to say." She closed her eyes, continuing to run her fingers over her braid; she was starting to see why her father found it so easy to talk with Bofur. He was a very good listener and didn't ask too many unnecessary questions. "I…I also find it easier to talk about certain things with him that I can't bring myself to discuss with da'."

Bofur cocked his head, looking at her curiously. "Oh? What sorts o' things?"

She glanced up at him. "Do you promise not to tell da'?" she quietly asked. When he nodded, she let out a soft sigh. "One o' the things that scares me most about returning home to the Shire is how I'll potentially be ostracized. Not only did I go off on a great big adventure, but I learned how to fight and…and I came back with all these scars. Hobbits aren't particularly fond of scars and proper young lasses are expected to have none—at least, none that are visible."

"An' you think that means Halfast won't be fancyin' you anymore?" She nodded. "Well, if that were t' happen, he's a fool."

A soft laugh left her mouth. "That's what Thorin said." Letting go of her braid, she instead wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin atop her knees. "He said my scars show my courage and that they should be respected instead of frowned upon." As the words left her mouth, a sense of realization slowly washed over her.

"He's right. But…that's also the mindset o' us dwarves are raised with. You hobbits are far more peaceful than our lot an' get into far fewer scraps than us." He chuckled quietly and shook his head. Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, he saw that her gaze was fixed on the berry bush across from them. "For what it's worth, though, lass…If I had t' pick between two people an' one of them left me feelin' safe an' like I could tell them anything while the other left me worryin' about whether or not they'd leave me because o' some scars, I'd go for the one who left me feelin' safe."

There was a small smile on her lips as she looked at him. "Yes…I believe I've come to the same conclusion." The smile then faded from her face as it turned into a frown. "…I don't think da's going to be very happy about this, though."

"No, he's not," Bofur agreed, "but he's not going t' stop you if things between you an' Thorin get serious. Not that he'd be able to, t' be honest." He quietly chuckled. "If you do turn out t' be Thorin's One, then there won't be anything in this world that'll be able t' keep the two o' you apart." He took a last pull of his pipe before gently tapping it against the bottom of the flowerbox.

"Why's that?" she asked, her brows furrowing slightly.

"When we find our One, we get protective over them. Other races may think it's overly so, but when we dwarves fall in love, it's for life. If our lover dies young, then we spend the rest o' our lives mourning their loss while trying t' continue on without them." Tucking his pipe away inside his vest, he let out a sigh and looked up at the cloudless sky. "Very rarely, though, Mahal will grant a dwarf what's called a Second Chance. It's exactly what it sounds like: A second chance at falling in love."

She tilted her head, listening with great curiosity. "What does a dwarf have to do in order to earn such an honor?"

He shook his head and shrugged. "No one knows. Some say the lover has t' be taken from their spouse in an incredibly tragic way, others say that the one who died had to be with child when they passed…Between you an' me, though, lass? I don't think it's Mahal who grants us the Second Chance."

"Then who do you think it is? Yavanna?"

"Either Yavanna or Nienna," he said with a small nod.

"I can see why Yavanna would, being that she's Mahal's wife, but Nienna…?"

"Aye. She's not just the Vala of mourning, but also pity an' courage, remember. An' what greater pity can you give a heartbroken dwarf than t' give them the courage t' love again?"

"…I never thought of her in such a way," Baylee admitted. "Of course, we hobbits respect her, but she's seen more as a Vala who assists the dead rather than the living. And hobbits think anything having to do with death is eerie, so not many talk about her."

He nodded in understanding. "I'm guessing you lot mostly pay respects t' Yavanna?" he chuckled.

"Yavanna, Vána, and Nessa, actually."

"Nessa? Now that's a surprise. Why her?"

"She's the Dancer and hobbits love to dance," she chuckled. "We may not be even a quarter as swift as her, but if music starts to play and drink starts flowing, hobbits can't help but start dancing." She sat upright again and let her legs dangle over the edge of the box. "When you move into Bag End, you'll come to learn that hobbits know how to have just as much fun as you dwarves."

"Oh, I'm sure I will, lass," he laughed, his brow rising. "I'm goin' t' have a lot t' learn when this adventure's all over, I'm certain o' that."