Author's Note: So here we finally have the chapter where the Dwarves leave the Shire after being there for about, what eight-nine chapters?

Anyway, this is a short chapter, sorry about that. But I hope you enjoy.

Chapter Thirteen

The Road goes Ever On

The day the dwarves chose to leave Bag End came all too quickly for them all.

The Gaffer and his Da helped the dwarves with getting all their bags and weapons tied to their ponies, while Bilbo fussed over things such as whether or not they had enough food and other necessary comforts.

"Like a handkerchief. Can't have us forgetting our handkerchiefs." Bofur teased causing the hobbit to stick her tongue out at him in response.

"I think that's about it." Ori said sounding quite sad as he looked over the well-packed ponies.

"You'll keep safe now, won't you? You won't go off looking for trouble?" Bilbo shot a particularly worried look towards Kili who was having one last game with Frodo.

"Oi!" Kili complained when he realised Bilbo was directing her comment at him as he held a squealing and laughing Frodo above his head.

"Well, it was you and Fili who lost the ponies to the Trolls." Bilbo retorted pressing her hands to her hips, her brown eyes filled with annoyance and worry for them.

"That wasn't us looking for trouble!" Kili complained as he continued to bounce Frodo up and down in his arms.

"No, you just sent the burglar head first into trouble, saying that you would be right behind me." Bilbo snorted.

"And we were… kind of. We brought the rest of the company to save you, did we not?" Kili grumbled, pouting at her. His pouting face caused his little cousin to laugh and clap his hands together.

Kili stuck his tongue at his little cousin who was now struggling to get down from his arms so as to go and investigate something or other that had caught the attention of his young and inquisitive mind.

"And that was such a brilliant and well thought out plan once you got yourselves all captured." Bilbo continued on as if she had not heard him, running her fingers lightly threw her son's curls as he tottered by her, his eyes focused solely on a butterfly with sapphire blue wings "Though I suppose that could have been said to my fault, but in the end…"

"It was you who saved us, lass." Bofur said pressing a reassuring hand upon her shoulder, "Do not worry yourself lass, we'll keep ourselves safe. We won't take any detours or any unnecessary risk, I promise ya."

"You had better keep your promise, Master Dwarf," Bilbo said, punching Bofur's arm affectionately, "for I expect to see you all next year and I will not excuse your absence just because you all happen to be altogether too dead to visit."

Kili and Ori sniggered at her words while Bofur shook his head, silently laughing.

Bifur moved forward and Bilbo spoke a few words of ancient Khuzdul which soon had the dwarf embracing her and spinning her around her garden as she squealed and laughed, crying through her laughter for him to put her down.

"Are you all ready to go then?" Bungo asked as he walked slowly out of the hobbit-hole, leaning heavily upon his cane as he did so, looking more than a little bemused by seeing his daughter being spun around by the dwarf who spoke no common tongue and had a piece of metal sticking out of his head, but Bungo made no comment and instead moved slowly to stand with the others and their ponies.

"Aye, it would seem we are." Bofur said, fighting back several emotions that were causing his heart to constrict tightly within his chest. He forced himself to ignore these emotions for the moment, though.

"Thanking you kindly Master Baggins for all your hospitality." He added with a bow that was quickly followed by Ori and Kili.

"Well," the old hobbit looked quite embarrassed as well as pleased, "well now, you are very welcome. I should - I should actually be thanking you as well, Master Dwarves." Bungo said seriously while the dwarves looked back at him in confusion and curiosity.

"Thank you," Bungo took a deep breath, determined to finish his sentence, "thank you for – for making my – my daughter smile again. It's been too – too long since I've – seen her smile."

The dwarves felt their faces turn red and shuffled their feet.

"Papa," Bilbo said laughing, her eyes wide and sparkling, "what in all of Middle-Earth did you say to put them into this state?" she teased as she looped arms with her father, a loving gesture that also gave her father an extra bit of support to keep him up right.

"Ah, dear one, that – that is for me to know…"

"And for me to always wonder?"

"Yes," Bungo said with a smile, "something like that."

Bilbo fought to keep her smile wide and happy as she watched the dwarves strap on the final pieces of their belongings on to their ponies.

She wouldn't cry! She refused to cry!

"Kee?" Frodo was once more following the dwarves around with a confused and worried expression on his young face.

"Kee going?" the boy's bottom lip trembled.

"Only for a little while?" KIli assured his cousin as he lifted him up into his arms, "I'll be back before you know it, I promise."

"romise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

"I hope not." Bilbo replied softly reaching out to take her son from Kili, her little boy looking close to tears.

"Safe journey." Gaffer Gamgee said as he held a particularly frisky pony still so that Ori could mount it.

"Easy Petal." Ori said before giving a Gaffer Gamgee an appreciative grin. "Thank you."

Bilbo fought back tears as she watched the rest of the dwarves mount their ponies.

"See you soon." Bofur promised from atop of his pony.

"You had better," Bilbo said as she gently pressed hand to her nose in a vain attempt to keep herself from crying. Frodo was already sniffling against her shoulder, his little arms tightening around her neck.

"Goodbye."

"Farewell."

"Safe Journey.

"Be safe. Please Mahal keep them safe." Bilbo whispered as she lifted her arm in farewell as she watched the four ponies break into a trot down Bagshot Row, their riders twisting in their saddles to wave back in return.

"Keep them safe so they can one day return to me."

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began

Now far ahead the road has gone

And I must follow, if I can

Author's Note: So the dwarves have finally leave the Shire and are returning to Erebor.
A bit a trivia about this chapter is that it was written before The Weakness of Hearts. I was having a lot of trouble with writing The Weakness of Hearts, it was only when I threw in the final scene with Kili and Bilbo that I became sort of happy with it. However as you noticed this chapter as well as the last chapter both have Kili and Bilbo talking about the Trolls. And even though I had Bilbo more or less saying that she had forgiven Kili for the whole incident with the Trolls in the last chapter, I liked this chapter too much to change it. So basically Bilbo isn't holding a grudge against Kili about the Troll incident, she's just teasing him and worrying that he might go off and do something reckless simply because he is young and is naturally reckless and is trying to remind him that by being reckless he can put those he cares about in danger.
Anyway, that's the bit of Trivia - not that its really trivia at all - for this chapter and the last.

The next chapter will be taking place in Erebor which means Thorin and few more members of the complany will be making an appearence. YAY!
I'll try and update more quickly with chapter fourteen and the rest. I'm currently writing Chapter Twenty, which is being both enjoyable and a hardship to write due to me writing it from a completely new POV of a character of my own creation. I'm discovering its alot harder than I was expecting to getting Frodo meeting Thorin and so on. But I'll figure it out, it's just the flow. I know what I want to happen, I just need to get it down on my laptop and written with the correct flow to it.

Anyway, I'll shut up and go on with writing chapter twenty.
Next Chapter: Chapter Fourteen - For Home a Song that Echoes On