Author's Note: Hello everyone. Long time, no see. Sorry about that. As you can clearly see I haven't dropped off the planet or died or been promised all time and space by the Doctor nor have my feet been swept out from under on a road so few have travelled along on the course of an unexpected journey. No, sadly nothing as interesting as that has happened in the past few months. No rather, my grandmother decided that it would be fun for us to think that she was knocking at Death's door for a number of weeks. Oh, she's fine now, about two or three blocks away from Death's house, but for a while there it was a bit touch and go, which unsurprising rather killed all creativity or rather the buzz to write more chapters for this. And most of the writing I did for this fic was crapped during that time, that I basically just deleted it all and started from scrape. But even now, this chapter in particular and specifically the beginning of it, I'm not happy with it but I can't bear to deal with it any more and you have all waited, so patiently, long enough for the next instalment of Frodo's shenanigans. Even if this chapter is really just a filled, but, but before I lose you all as you yet again presented with another chapter that lacks any Frodo/Thorin interaction what's so ever, hear me loud and clear that after this chapter, that - is - all - about - to - CHANGE!
Uh huh, that's right, they will meet (Yes, yes, I can hear you all groaning 'Finally' under your breaths, thank you) in the next chapter and from that chapter onwards we embrace the fun that is Thorin trying to figure out how to be a Dad to our adorable little Dwobbit while at the same time trying to keep himself from running out of Erebor to hunt and safe our beloved heroine (and no, I hadn't forgotten about her. We will see dear Bilbo again, just probably in Part Three of this fic.

Anyway, I'm simply going to shut up now and allow all of you lovely readers to read this chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Three

Friends in the Dark

Frodo woke slowly, his head throbbing as he sat up cautiously on the low pallet in the dully lit storeroom.

He sniffled softly.

He had been having such a nice dream where he was back with his mama and they were safely back in Bag End.

He stretched as he swung himself out of his little nest of blankets, his tummy rumbling softly. He rubbed it thoughtfully as he wondered where he might be able to get himself some breakfast.

After a few moments for quiet contemplation, he crept silently to the storeroom door and pressed his ear against the wood. He could hear the faint sounds of heavy footsteps against stone somewhere nearby.

Frodo took a step away from the door, swallowing hard. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to find his Uncle Bofur – or any of his uncles really – but he didn't know where to start. And his rumbling tummy wasn't making thinking any easier.

What was he going to do?

He bit down hard upon his lower lip to stifle a small sob of despair from escaping his trembling lips. Crying wouldn't help him!

Shaking himself, he once more pressed his ear to the door, listening for any sounds of movement nearby. He could still hear the heavy footsteps upon stone but they were not near to where he was. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door a few inches and peered out. The corridor was deserted.

Come on, Frodo thought, thoroughly fed up with himself and his own misery, it just like when Mama was sneaking around the elven place to rescue the dwarves.

Yes, but Mama had her magic ring… Frodo shook his head. Negative thoughts would not help him in any way. He had to find his uncles! Besides, despite not possessing his Mama's magic ring, he was still small and quick on his feet, silent on them as well and he could easily slip into a dark corner and go by unnoticed.

He set out cautiously on his mission to find his uncles (and some breakfast), keeping his body pressed flush against the stone walls on the maze like corridors he was trying to navigate through. Any time he heard a noise that sounded too close to where he was, he flew into a dark corner of the corridor or at times he even pressed himself inside of long, narrow crack in the wall.

Few dwarves passed him by in the corridors; most of them were guards though there were a few who appeared to be miners or simply ordinary folk going about their business. He made a point to keep out of sight of both.

But inevitably his tummy growls grew too loud to be ignored and passing dwarves looked about them when they heard the rumbles. Some, those with companions, laughed it off. While others, like the city guards, looked about themselves far more suspiciously.

Several times his belly almost betrayed his location and Frodo's young mind was starting to panic. He needed to find food to make his belly be quiet, but he had no idea how to get any without being caught!

He also didn't know where any kitchens or pantry or any food storage areas were. His mother and uncles had failed him to inform him of such areas of the mountain. He did know that there was a huge royal kitchen – it was where Uncle Bofur's younger brother worked as head cook – but he had no idea where that was.

You're a hobbit! Use your nose, you stupid boy! A voice that sounded very much like his loathsome Uncle Lotho snapped inside his head. Now normally Frodo did not listen to anything his Uncle Lotho said, in fact usually he went out his way to do the exact opposite to what his Sackville-Baggin's cousin said but at that current moment in time in his current predicament it was surprisingly sound advice. Even if he was only half a hobbit and his nose's smelling abilities were not quite up to the same par as his hobbit cousins, he could still smell his mother's freshly baked apple turnover from the bottom of Bag Shot Road on a breathless summers day.

As quietly as he could, he took a big sniff of air and after a moment his nose picked up on the faint scent of cooking.

Despite himself, the little dwobbit grinned and darted silently in the direction that his nose smelt food.

Every so often, particularly when he came to a fork in his path, he would sniff the air and choose the corridor that food smelt strongest to him.

He moved up many levels by using this method, into vastly more populated areas of the mountain and before he fully comprehended this new predicament he had landed himself in head first (or in this case, nose first), he suddenly found himself cornered by none other than Dwalin. Not that the head of the Kings Guard noticed him, too busy was he talking with a round, white bearded dwarf to notice Frodo standing a few feet down the corridor from him.

Frodo bit back a yelp, clapping his hand across his mouth and ducked into the nearest door, almost being knocked over by a large pot of steaming stew.

"Oi! Ya know ya lot aren't allowed in 'ere!" the dwarf carrying the large pot out the door. "Damn kids!" he added as Frodo darted pass him.

"Oi! Get back e're!" But Frodo continued to run through the kitchen where he, by some luck, had somehow managed to find himself.

He ducked and weaved around dwarf cooks, all of whom shouted after him to come back or to go back to the crèche or they'd tell his mother, but none made any attempt to chase after him.

They must think me a dwarfling or something, Frodo thought as he ducked into what he presumed was the pantry; though it was larger than any pantry he had ever seen before in all his short life. Larger even the pantry at Brandy Hall!

He kept moving through the huge pantry until he found a nice, cosy little corner, hidden behind some large barrels of wine and beer. Here he hide for a time until he was sure that no one was coming after him before he moved out to gather himself up some much needed breakfast.

As he foraged about for breakfast he found a side door that lead out to a deserted and presumably a rarely used corridor if the lack of lit torches were anything to go by.

He kept the corridor in mind for when he might need an escape route from the pantry if someone should come too close to his hiding spot behind the barrels of wine.

Behind them, he ate his breakfast in silence, all the while contemplating his next step. Not that he had very long to eat his breakfast and to contemplate his next step before he heard voices speaking at the other end of the storage room, heading steadily towards his hiding spot. Shoving what was left of the bread and cheese that he had not eaten into his tattered jacket pocket, he slipped out from behind the barrels, catching a glimpse as he did so of several dwarves heading towards him.

He ducked in between barrels and crates, heading for the side door he had found only a little while before. The corridor was thankfully still empty.

He sprinted down it hearing behind him some say that the side door was open. He kept on running, not stopping until he had once more gotten him so completely lost that it would be near impossible for him to find his way back to the kitchens with all the weaving down different corridors he had done to escape capture.

"Smart Frodo." He mumbled as he pushed open a door to another storeroom. "Real smart." He had never thought that it would be so difficult to keeps one way in someone's home.

In the Shire he had never gotten lost, not even as a small child but here, here he was lost with every turn he took.

His respect for his Mama and her being able to sneak around and then escape with thirteen dwarves from the Elven's King's palace rose several more notches.

He rubbed his face as he flopped down on to a sack of grain and pulled out the rest of his breakfast. Maybe he should save some of it for later…

Oh… He looked down into his hands and saw that all the bread and cheese was gone.

He giggled weakly at his silliness before sighing and leant back against the stone wall behind him.

"What am I doing?" Frodo whispered, sniffing, "What am I doing? I want to go home. I want to go home." he sniffed miserably, "I want mama."

oOo

Frodo woke up with a start at the opening of the store room door. He shot off his sake of grain and backed away as someone crept into the room. Whoever it was didn't appear to be an adult dwarf, at least they didn't appear to be as tall as the other dwarves Frodo had met and seen. Even so, he was still cautious, up until the moment he tripped backwards over a wayward box and let out a small yelp of pain.

"Gotcha!" someone was suddenly on top of him, using their vaster weight to hold him down.

"Get off!" Frodo shrieked as he kicked and punched his attacker who reared off him, howling in pain.

"Whacha do that for? That's not part of the game!"

Game?

"Ow!" His would-be attacker complained as he rubbed the various places Frodo had kicked and punched him, "Ow! Why didja do that?"

"Sorry," Frodo mumbled, "you-you scared me."

"And this is why we don't let you little'ns play! You all get scared at the drop of gem!"

Frodo scowled furiously back at the dwarf.

"I'm not a little kid!" He snapped back in outrage.

"Oh yea? How old are you then?"

"I'm nine. Almost ten!"

"Wha…" Frodo suddenly felt himself being grabbed again and being roughly dragged to his feet.

"Whatcha doing away from your ma and da for? You're just a baby."

"I am not!" Frodo cried as he wrenched himself from his attacker's grip. "I'll have you know that back home I'm considered to be quite mature and adult like. I look after the babies and little kids while their ma's and pa's are busy."

"But," he heard his attacker stutter, "Ya're only nine. Though," he paused for a moment, "ya don't sound like a baby and yer bigger than any nine year old I've ever seen."

"That because I'm probably not like any nine year old you've ever seen!" Frodo snapped sharply back, "I'm not a dwarf!"

"What?" His would-be attacker yelped in surprise, jumping away from him.

"A dwarf. I'm not a dwarf." Well, not a full-blooded one at least.

"Human's aren't allowed inside Erebor unless they're 'ere on business of trade and they're certainly not allowed to be in this section of the mountain." Frodo's attacker snapped angrily.

"I'm not a human." Frodo replied, a hint of impish mischief sneaking into his voice, as he fought back a smile. He was rather enjoying this conversation now, despite himself.

"An elf?" but the doubt was evident in his attacker's voice.

"Nope," Frodo replied in a sing-song voice that he copied from his mother; she always used a sing-song voice whenever she was feeling in a particularly teasing mood.

"Then… what are ya?" Frodo watch the dark outline of his attacker taking several steps away from him.

"I'm," Frodo grinned impishly, "a Gollum! gollum, gollum."

To his great surprise, the dwarf laughed.

"Nah, ya can't be. My Da and Uncle said that that creature is somewhere hidden up in the Misty Mountains."

Frodo blinked in surprise.

"Has your Da seen Gollum?" Frodo asked curiously. He had meant the Gollum comment as his own private joke that the dwarf lad, because his attacker was obviously only a young dwarf, wouldn't understand but… he did… but how?

"Nah, but he 'ad a friend who did. It's my uncle's favourite tale to tell us kids before bedtime. He calls it…"

"Riddle's in the Dark." They said as one.

"How did ja know?" the dwarf lad yelped in surprise but Frodo's mind was moving simply too fast to care.

"Who's your Uncle?" Frodo demanded, catching the dwarf lad's coat in his hand to keep him from running away before he answered his questions, "Your uncle and da, what's their name?"

"Why do ya…"

"TELL ME!" Frodo cried, jumping up and down impatiently.

"Bom - Bombur is my da," the dwarf lad stuttered, "and Bofur and Bifur are my uncles."

"Bofur?" Frodo said his heart racing in delight. "He's my uncle too!"

"Huh?"

"I mean," Frodo took several deep breaths to calm his excitement down, "He's not really my uncle. We're not related by blood. But he's a close friend of my mama's."

"Who's ya mama?" Bofur's nephew asked curiously.

"Um…" Frodo hesitated, not wishing to receive a similar reaction from Bofur's nephew as he had when he told Aivion who his mama was. "Bilbo Baggins."

The dwarf lad's reaction was nothing like Frodo had expected.

"Really!" the lad gasped, delight and amazement filling his voice.

"Um… yes."

"But I thought she was dead."

"No, she isn't," not yet at least, "but she needs help. I need to get to Bofur so that he can help her." Frodo said looking up at the taller dwarf lad desperately.

"Why? What's going on?"

Frodo hesitated for a moment before recounting to the dwarf lad the tale of his and his family's capture by Bovin.

The dwarf lad whistled softly once he had finished.

"He's a dead dwarf." He said simply.

"He can be a dead dwarf after I get mama back." Frodo muttered. "So, will you help me?"

"Well," the dwarf lad scratched his rough, still beardless chin thoughtfully, "I don't see why not. Just as long as ya don't go kicking me again. That hurt!"

"Sorry," Frodo replied meekly. "Um, I'm Frodo by the way. Frodo Baggins." He held out his hand towards the dwarf lad.

"Bofar son of Bombur, nephew of Bofur and second cousin of Bifur of the Great Company of Thorin Oakenshield at your service." Bofar replied shaking Frodo's hand enthusiastically.

"Please to meet you." Frodo said with a grin causing Bofar to chuckle.

"Same 'ere."

"What are you doing down here?"

Frodo shrugged, not really ready to admit to his new friend that he had run away from his family and consequently gotten himself completely and utterly lost within the great roots of the Lonely Mountain simply because he had panicked over the idea of meeting Thorin Oakenshield. He wasn't ready to admit just yet to Bofar that he had worked himself into such a state that if he hadn't run away when he had he might just have exploded at the very thought of the King under the Mountain not liking him. And that was just silly. He really shouldn't care about whether or not Thorin liked him just along as he promised to help find his mama.

Frodo swallowed thickly at the thought of his mama. How could he have wasted so much time running away simply because he was scared when his mama was still in Bovin's evil hands, being forced to face some terrible, unknown fate.

He was such a coward! A baby! His mama would never run away from her problems, she'd have faced them head on, with Sting in one hand and her witty mouth firing left, right and centre.

He rubbed his face miserably.

"Ya alright?"

Frodo jumped, having, for a moment, completely forgotten about Bofar's presences as he mused over his mother and his cowardly nature.

"No, not really. I need to find away to save my mama. Before it's too late."

Bofar nodded seriously.

"Well, we could…" Frodo's stomach rumbled loudly causing both lads to start giggling.

"Maybe we should get you some food first." Bofar giggled as Frodo rubbed his rumbling belly.

"That would be appreciated." Frodo replied as his tummy rumbled again.

"Wait here. I'll sneak up to the kitchen and grab you something hot to eat. And then, then we'll go and see Da and my uncles, alright?"

"Alright." Frodo said, "thank you." He held out his hand to the Dwarf lad who shook it with a wide grin.

"Just stay 'ere. I'll be back soon." Bofar said as he moved to the storeroom door.

"Alright." Frodo replied as he moved back to his sake of grain and curled back up upon it. He heard the storeroom door close and darkness surrounded him again.

Soon Mama. Soon we'll be back together again and we can go home.

He slipped into an uneasy sleep with dreams fill with great wars with elves, of three great gems that shone brighter than any star in the night sky or the sun on clear summer's day. Before long, his dreams grew too dark, too confusing for his young mind to understand and he slipped into dreams of running through the Shire, the wind in his curls, the sun warming his back and his mother's laughter filling his ears.

Here, here he was safe. Here he was loved. Here would where he would stay until Bofar returned and he could be taken to Uncle Bofur.

With a small smile, he held onto his mother's laugh, her smile and her warmth. For just now, he was back with her, for now he was with her. Just for now.

Author's Note: So that's Chapter 33 done and dusted. 'groan' The amount of re-writes this took to punch out this, because when you knuckle down to it really, filler chapter, is astonishing. I will try to get back into updating more frequently again. I just haven't been in the mood to write of late but hopefully that will change with the Desolation of Smaug growing ever near. I have felt more incline to write since I've gotten my little paws on the extended edition of the Hobbit (though I admit, I wasn't as impressed with the extended scenes as I was with the LOTR extended editions. But whatever, I still love it and there were some truly golden moments that I'm so glad to see in the movie now).

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed. Thanks for reading and reviews are very much loved and appreciated.
Bye for now.