Author's Note: Hi everyone. No, I'm not dead, I've just been busy. Works been busy, lots of overtime and my personal life has been rather hectic, so writing hasn't really been at the forefront of my thoughts of late. I mean, I've still been thinking about the plot and I've written bits and pieces here and there but for the actual plot, yeah not so much. I've been too stressed out to try and write angst and political crap, and every time I've tried writing Bilbo and Thorin's "reunion" scene I've just ended up scraping it and shoving it further and further back because it's just not coming out right. I mean, I know they love each other, you know they love each other, they... not so much. And I don't know, I've been either writing him to aggressive and her too meek or vice verse and it's just coming out wrong and I've tried different setting, in front on the company, without the company, with Frodo, without Frodo, yelling at each other, being calm. I've even tried to draw off my passed experiences with my own parents (who separated when I was 18 months old) and yeah... no. Nothing seems to F-ing work! So I ask you, do you want them angry with each other, calm with each other or for them to be like, 'yeah, lets just deal with the crap in this mountain and with the Orc whose trying to kill us... again. And once that's all sorted, then we'll try and deal with the mess that is called our relationship.'
Like seriously, want do you guys want to happen because clearly, what I want for Thorin and Bilbo's reunion scene is not working.

By the way, while your all mulling over that this is an extremely short chapter and basically just a filler. Enjoy.
Next Chapter we're back with Nori, with my attempt of writing a detective novel. Detective Nori... Or would he be like private investigator.

Chapter Forty-Eight

The Suffering of Dreamer

She knew that she was dreaming but as it always started as such a good dream, she allowed herself to simply sink deeper within the peace and love that she felt in it, even though she knew that terror and grief and pain would be quick as a knife in the dark to follow. It wasn't the first time that she had dreamt a dream such as this and she was sure that it would not be the last.

She dreamed that she was walking through her beloved hobbit hole, searching, as always, for her wayward son only for her to turn a corner and suddenly find herself within the grand halls of Erebor, her dwarves walking around her, laughing and joking with each other, all sending her wide and friendly smiles and gesturing silently towards the throne room. She was never sure why, but she always knew that they were telling her where she could find her lad.

Smiling back at them she ran in the direction that they were all pointing, her smile only growing wider when she heard the sounds of her son's laughter. Picking up her pace she came with a rush into the grand chamber to see her son being swung around by Thorin, who was grinning as widely as their son. She could feel the tears pricking behind her eyes as she moved towards them.

"Mama!" Frodo's cry of her name was filled with delight as he squirmed in Thorin's arms to be let go and ran towards her, his arms embracing her in a fierce hug. She looked up at Thorin who was smiling softly back at them as he started moving after her son… their son.

He had just reached them when, as usual, everything turn to chaos and grief. The halls of Thorin's forefathers burnt away by dragon's fire and suddenly she was outside, standing upon Erebor's great rocky roots, an army of orcs and goblins streaming towards them from all directions.

Frodo screamed against her, his face buried into her stomach as she desperately reached for Sting only to find that she was without her little letter-opener. She could hear the screams of her dwarves around her as the goblins and orcs swept over them like crashing waves. She could see Bovin and his company swarming along with the orcs, smirking maliciously as they helped to attack her friends.

Smaug flew overhead, his flames burning the air, his roar causing the ground beneath her feet to tremble, hissing out words that made her heart pound furiously within her ears, "Where Thief? Where are you?"

She pulled Frodo along with her as she ran, hoping to find some hiding spot away from the terror bearing down upon them.

Frodo screamed and she felt her arm being yanked back. She swung around to see her baby in the hands of Azog, a knife pressed to his throat while Bovin smirked at his side.

"Frodo!" her arms were being caught by invisible hands, holding her back from her child.

"Let go! Let go! Frodo!"

"Mama!"

The world burnt around her and she was left kneeling in darkness with Thorin leaning over her, his hands tangled within her hair, his fingernails and rings biting into the back of her neck.

"Thorin, please…" she sobbed and struggled against him, "Frodo! Please our son!"

"You miserable hobbit!" his voice echoed around her and her neck throbbed horribly as his nails and rings bit more deeply into the flesh at the back of her neck. And then he was gone, his head all that remained being held by Azog along with… along with…

"FRODO!"

"Easy Halfling," gentle but iron firm hands took hold of her frantic shoulders as she thrashed about in the soft bedding that she was currently lying in, holding her down as her heart raced and her mind was still clouded with panic.

"Frodo…"

"Your son is safe. You are safe." The voice above her reassured gently, hands still firm against her shoulders, forcing her to remain still upon the bedding.

"Safe?" she choked out, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Where am I? I don't know where I am!"

"Erebor, Mistress Baggins. You are in Erebor. As is your son and the rest of your family"

"Ere-Erebor?" Bilbo blinked away her tears and slowly, with the release of the hands upon her shoulders, sat up and took in her surroundings.

She was in a well-lit stone room with very little in the way of décor or furnishings, with the only furniture in it being the bed she was currently in, a bedside table, a desk and chair pressed against one wall, a large wooden wardrobe. A large and very comfortable looking armchair sat in front of merrily crackling fire. There was also, to her great delight, a door leading to a private bathing room of to one side room.

But what truly stole her breath away was the dwarf sitting by her bedside.

Thorin… ah no, not quite.

"Dis?"

The dwarrowdam seemed to be amused by this guess.

"He mentioned that you were quick, I just did not belief how quick. I have been told, though, that the family resemblance is very strong to those outside of our family. Personally I don't believe I look a fig like him but I have been informed otherwise."

"You talk more than him." Bilbo said before clapping a hand to her mouth, horrified by her blunt words. The dwarrowdam however did something that surprise Bilbo ever further… she laughed. "And you have more of a sense of humour than what I remember him having." She added, still somewhat cautious.

"Aye, that I do. It was not always so, once he was quick to smile and laugh as my lads still sometimes do, but then the great worm flew into our halls and stole that away from him…" Dis's sapphire eyes grew dark for a moment and Bilbo felt an old terror grip her heart. But then the moment was over and Dis's eyes cleared to a gentler colour of blue than her brothers, even at his sweetest of moments.

"How do you feel?" Bilbo jumped at little at Dis's sudden blunt business tone.

"Ah…" and of course it was at this moment that her belly decided to grumble.

She blushed violently.

"I beg your pardon." But her apologies seemed to only amuse the Dwarrowdam further.

"Wait here and I will summon for some food to be bought to us."

"Ah thank you." Bilbo muttered, though really she had no wish to stay put. She wanted to find her son, though maybe not before she took herself to the lavatory. While Dis left the room to summon up a servant, Bilbo swung herself cautiously out of the bed, wincing as her stiff muscles protested loudly to her movements. She must have been asleep for quite some time for her muscles to seize up like they had.

Her feet landed lightly upon the stone floor, her white night dress flapping around the top of her feet. She went to take a step only to squeal as her legs gave out on her sending her tumbling to the floor, groaning and wincing as her limps howled out in agony.

"Now lass, what are you trying to do? Kill yourself?" Bilbo only groaned as she felt Dis's strong hands take hold of her and pull her to her trembling feet.

"Lavatory?" Dis guessed without a hint of embarrassment even though Bilbo's cheeks glowed brightly.

"Come along." Dis helped her walk to the bathing room and into the lavatory just off of it. And then once she was done, after spending a moment to admire the glorious bathtub in the centre of the room, Dis helped her back to bed. It was amazing how such a short trip could exhaust her so.

"Thank you." Bilbo gasped as she flopped limply back down upon the bedding.

"You are very welcome. Do you need anything?"

"Just food please. And more sleep. And then," and she wrinkled her nose at this, trying not to think too long on just how dirty her body currently was, "a bath,"

Dis gave an amused chuckle before moving to open the chamber doors where a servant was waiting with a tray of food. Bilbo felt some energy flow through as she smelt the wonderful smelling stew and hot bread making its way over to her being carried by Dis on a tray.

She set it down carefully upon Bilbo's lap and it took all Bilbo's self-control not to simply rip into the offered food.

"Thank you." She said instead and picked up her spoon carefully and spooned up some of the beautifully smelling stew.

"You are very polite, aren't you?" Dis observed and Bilbo looked over at the dwarrowdam curiously.

"Not," and Dis smiling widely, "that there is anything wrong with being polite, but as you've most likely noticed we're a very blunt race, we do not spend too much time on niceties."

"Oh, well… niceties is basically the code that us hobbit's live by." Bilbo admitted with a shrug as she tucked into her dinner… or was it lunch? Or maybe even breakfast. Being beneath a mountain did mess up ones internal clock with no sun or moon to go by.

Not that it truly mattered when all she wanted to do now, having finished her dinner… lunch… breakfast… food was to curl up and sleep. Which she did so but not before looking over at Dis from where she was placing the tray outside of the chamber's door.

"My son? And family? Are they…"

"They are all well. Your little lad has been demanding to see you for the past two days, coming by every couple of hours. Most of the time chaperone, sometimes not." Dis gave her an exasperated but amused smile.

Bilbo sighed softly.

"Yes, that sounds like my lad." She sighed sleepily. "Does he… does Thorin…" her words were growing heavy upon her tongue and before she knew it she had fallen once more in to a deep sleep. She still had nightmares but they were easier to deal with now that her belly was full and she could see a light at the end of the tunnel, promising her peace and safety, away from the mindless and brutal chaos that were her memories all mashing together to create one huge horrific dream landscape.

She would never be free of her nightmares but at least she had these rare moments of peace and she cherished every single moment of them.