Author's Note: Hello everyone. Look a new chapter and since the next chapter is closely linked to this one, I'll be updating with it shortly, maybe later today or tomorrow. These next couple of chapters are greatly Frodo centered. I don't know if you've been missed reading from his POV but I've certainly missed writing for him. He makes me feel all happy inside, even when he's not exactly happy, like he is here. Please enjoy

Chapter Fifty-Six

It's beginning to get too much for one little heart

Frodo walked slowly with Bombur's boys, following Kili as he led them to Bifur and Bofur toy stall in the busy dwarf market. He was hunched in on himself, trying to make himself as small as possible while at the same time trying to avoid being stepped on. He had often visited markets with his mother; he frequently went to the weekly markets in Hobbiton, cheerfully eating his weight in strawberries and wild berry sweet pies. The markets in Hobbiton were supremely different to the market he was currently walking through.

Hobbiton markets were bright, always taking place under a brilliant blue sky and blazing sun, fresh food and flowers scenting the air, along with cheerful chatter and laughter. Here in this dwarven market, set within a huge green stone carven, things were not so bright or cheerful. There was a lot of noise but there was to be little cheer found in the voices and barely any laughter, and most of the wares consisted of metal or stone.

He could smell food in the air but it wasn't like any of the food back home and he found he had little desire to try what was on offer. There was no fresh fruit or vegetables for sale nor any flowers. It was the lack of these little things in particular that had Frodo becoming acutely aware of just how much he missed the Shire. He missed flowers; he missed colours, natural colours that came from the well-turned earth and bright sunlight. The colours in these markets were stagnant and dwarven or man-made.

He hunched in further into himself and not for the first time wished that he could have just remained with his mother in her chambers.

"Ya alright, Frodo?" Bofdur asked by his side, his hazel eyes wide with concern. "Yer Mama?"

"Oh, she's fine. I'm fine." Frodo forced himself to smile at the younger (though not in years) red headed boy. "I'm just thinking." He gave a careless shrug of his shoulders. He didn't want to admit just how unhappy he was to be leaving his mama so soon after her waking up. And he couldn't help but feel that his time spent with Bofar and Bofdur was actually a means to get him out of the way, away from his mama.

He huffed quietly, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Come on Frodo." Kili called over his shoulder. Frodo broke into a trot to catch up with Kili and Bombur's boys.

"Hello laddies." Bofur called when he saw them as they approached his and Bifur's toy store.

"Hello Uncle Bofur." The dwarf lads chanted back with wide grins before turning their attention onto the toys that decorated the stall. Bifur gave them a friendly grunt as they pawed at some dwarven warrior and orc toys.

"Come on Frodo." Kili coaxed when he noticed Frodo was still standing a little back, his bright blue eyes roving around the rest of the markets, taking in the stalls of different wares, a slight frown playing on his tiny face.

"Ya alright laddie?" Bofur asked once Frodo was standing by the stall.

"Uh huh… just…"

"What's up?" Kili asked, ruffling his little cousins black curls.

Frodo gave a little shrug.

"It's just, its inside. The market… markets are meant to be outside, under the sun, not in a carven under a mountain." Frodo muttered, crossing his arms across his chest once more, his mouth pouting. Over his head Kili and Bofur looked at each other, both at a bit of loss as to what to say to the little lad. It was a first for them both to see the little lad in such a bad temper. Normally Frodo was a cheerful little lad, happy and open to try new things, so it was odd to see him so upset over how different a dwarven market was to the ones he had seen in the Shire.

"C'mon here, laddie." Bofur came forward and wrapped his arm around Frodo's shoulders and gently pulled the little boy around and behind his and Bifur's toy stall.

He sat the little boy down upon an upturned crate before crouching down beside him.

"What's the matter laddie?" Frodo shook his head.

"C'mon, laddie. Ya can talk ta me." Bofur smiled at Frodo encouragingly, cupping a hand under his cheek.

Frodo stared at him before looking over to where a stack of unpainted toy wooden swords stood behind the stall.

"You should paint them silver and blue." Frodo answered instead as he pointed towards the toy swords.

Bofur smiled a little more widely.

"Like yeh mother's little letter-opener?"

"Or like Glamdring… or Orcrist." Bofur watched as the dwobbit lad shifted uncomfortably on the crate, his blue eyes filling with unhappiness.

"Did you know?" Frodo asked softly, his brilliant eyes boring into Bofur's. Bofur stared back at the boy, completely mystified as to what the boy was asking, "Who my father is?" Bofur felt his stomach drop as Frodo clarified his question more clearly.

Ah… well… dammit, he was not the right dwarf the laddie should be talking to about this with. He'd only say the wrong thing and upset the little lad more. Bilbo would have his hide if he did!

"Well, eh…"

"I know…. well, I understand why it was kept a secret from me." Frodo continued on, oblivious or simply ignoring Bofur's floundering, "I mean, he didn't even know that I existed until a little before I got here, right? And he thought mama was dead, but…" Frodo's voice had grown small before it finally trailed off.

"But?" Bofur prompted him gently.

"You thought mama was dead too right? You and Uncle Kili, Ori and Bifur but, but you all still came looking, you still came and found us. Why didn't…" Frodo looked away from Bofur, out into the dwarven market where no one gave a damn about their very serious conversation. Bofur watched sadly as the little lad's tiny, oh so tiny hands curled into fists, his normally bright blue eyes squeezed shut, his chest heaving. Bofur are a moment of simply feeling completely helpless, wrapped his arms around his favourite dwobbit and hugged him close to his chest.

"How long 'ave ya known?" Bofur asked gently, running a hand over Frodo's head of curls. Frodo sniffed against his shoulder.

"Since-since just after we found out about Mama being rescued by Nori. I mean, I think I always suspected 'fore hand, but I only, I only found out for sure when I…" Bofur fought back a smile at the lad's sheepish blush the consuming his face, like a flame. "I wandered off during the night," Frodo finally admitted sheepishly, "and Thorin found me. We talked and he…. Well, he, I mean, I confirmed that he was," Frodo swallowed thickly, "you know, my father." The last word came out as a whisper as if the little lad was afraid to say the word too loudly.

"Wouldn't 'ave guessed ya knew," Bofur admitted, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck, "I mean, he's been acting somewhat better… ish around ya, but yer've been just about the same around him."

"Didn't know how else to act." Frodo muttered, "And it was fine, but then… then Mama's comes and now he hasn't come anywhere near me and-and he hasn't visited mama," as he spoke, the little boy's face twisted into a frown, "at least I don't think he has. But Mama said this morning that he would see me today… or I said that. I don't know. But what if he doesn't? Come, I mean. I haven't seen him in days and he didn't come with you yesterday to see Mama and-and." Frodo sighed, "I thought he cared."

"He does care." Bofur said softly, running a hand over Frodo's curls, "he's just been very busy, being majestic for the masses. Not an easy job, I hear, being the king. Wouldn't trade with 'im for all the world, meself."

Frodo sighed.

"He promised, he said he'd visit."

"And he will." Bofur reassured the little lad, hoping with all his heart that he was speaking the truth and not giving false hope.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled and Bofur ruffled his hair.

"N'uthing to be sorry bout. Everyone get lonely and sad from time ta time."

"Did you know? That Thorin was my…"

"Aye."

"And Kili, Ori and Bifur?"

"Aye."

"The whole company?" Frodo stretched his head back to look at Bofur who nodded sheepishly back at him, causing the lad to huff.

"So everybody beside me knew?"

"Aye." Bofur paused for a moment before asking, "are ya angry about that?"

Frodo opened his mouth before sighing and shaking his head.

"No, not really. I guess you all had you're reasons. I'm not even really angry with Thorin, because he has he's reason to, hasn't he? So I can't really be mad at him either."

"Well," Bofur said scratching his neck, "ya can but tha's not in ya nature."

Frodo simply shrugged and went back to looking at the swords.

"Is there anything else upsetting ya?" Bofur asked and Frodo gave a small huff.

"I barely get Mama back," Frodo muttered, "and I'm already being kicked out."

"Eh? How ya mean?"

"This morning! I'm barely awake and I'm already being pushed out the door because Balin, Uncle Ori and Dwalin wants to talk to Mama about adult stuff. And I'm not allowed to stay because I'm a fauntling. And the same happened when Mama was sleeping! No one let me go see her then either!"

"Aye." Bofur nodded seriously, "But I thought tha' was due ta her needing some quiet time ta heal?"

"I can be quiet." Frodo grumbled, "Mama would never have allowed for me to be in a strange room all by myself in I was sick and hurt."

"But she wasn't, was she? Tha Lady Dis, Kili's mama stayed with her the whole time, did she not?"

"It's not the same! It's not! She's my mama! I should 'ave been allowed to stay with her. She would have let me…"

"Aye, she might 'ave." Bofur agreed gently, "but yer mama's an adult…"

"And adults get to do whatever they want." Frodo growled, crossing his arms in a huff causing Bofur, despite himself, to chuckle deep with his chest.

"Well now, I won't go so far and say that now," Bofur replied as he ruffled Frodo's curls, "But adults are meant ta 'ave a better idea of things."

"I have a good idea of things." Frodo retorted but his tone lacked any real anger now and his eyes had simply become resigned.

"I know laddie. I know ya do."

"I just feel as if everyone else knows what's going on except me." Frodo said earnestly, "I know that mama being here causes problems for you, all of you under the mountain. And I'm scared…" the boy's bottom lip started to tremble, "so scared that she might be taken from me. And I-I can't lose my Mama. I just got her back! I won't – I won't let them! Not anyone under the mountain can take Mama away, no one, not even Thorin!"

"Laddie," Bofur caught Frodo's face in his hands, "No one is gonna take yah mama away from ya. No one."

"But…"

"Aye, there's some… issues to be sorted, to be sure of. But Thorin and Balin and Ori are all working of that. Yer mama will be fine and she'll be with ya, until the day she stops breathing, which will be a long, long time away yet."

"No one?"

"No one."

Frodo sighed heavily, his face beginning to relax and his blue eyes were starting to lose their cold, hard edge.

"I miss home." The little boy admitted after a few moments of companionable silence.

"Of course ya do. It's called home-sickness. Everybody gets it. Yer mama did." Bofur watched as the little boy's eyes lit up at the mention of his mother.

"She did? When? Not on your adventure."

"Oh aye."

Frodo stared at him in shocked disbelief.

"But-but how? She was on an adventure, how could she ever have the time to be homesick?"

"Eh, same as ya just now. It just caught up ta her. She was feeling lonely, and sad, not really understanding what was going on around her. So she felt home sick."

"What did she do? To stop feeling home sick?"

"Eh, well." Bofur rubbed his neck. Yelled at him for one thing, but that hadn't stop her from being home sick, she just got distracted from it when they were all snatched by the goblins and she was separated from the group. "She didn't really stop, she just… learn ta cope with it."

"Oh…"

"Everybody copes with tha pains of being away from home in different ways."

"So, I just need to find my way of coping, yes?"

"Aye."

Frodo looked around him, at the market and the dwarves moving around it.

"Okay."

"Good lad." Bofur ruffled his hair.

"Sorry, I got upset and angry with you." Frodo said quietly, his bright blue eyes begging for forgiveness.

Bofur chuckled softly.

"Ya don't need to apologize. Sometimes, we just need to have a good rant. Feel better?"

Frodo touched his chest, laying a hand over his heart before looking up at Bofur with a smile, nodding.

"Good lad." He said again, feeling relief settle nicely within his heart. He didn't know what he'd have done if Frodo had remained feeling miserable and upset with the world, probably say something of foolish proportion to his king. Frodo was far too young to be feeling the emotion he was obviously feeling. Fili and Kili had never felt those sorts of emotions when they were triple Frodo's current age, so it wasn't right for a child so young, no matter how mature he was, to feel what the little dwobbit was currently feeling.

With a much happier Frodo in tow, Bofur walked back around to the front of his stall to where Kili was waiting with his nephews, each of them happily eating their way through a sweet pie. With an easy grin, Kili handed one to Frodo who eyes it cautiously for a moment before taking it with a polite thank you. With Kili and Bifur by his side he watched as the little dwobbit sniffed the pie experimentally before biting into it. It was clear that while it was not the best the little lad had eaten, he was content and quickly demolished the treat and wasn't so dishearten by the taste of it to not ask if he could have another.

"Cheeky," Kili laughed but it was obvious to all that the young dark haired prince was relieved in Frodo change of attitude. He kept shooting Bofur grateful looks, though there were clearly questions within Kili's brown eyes.

Bofur shook his head and thankfully the young prince appeared to drop the matter. After a few more moments of hanging around Bofur's stall, his nephews started making noise of wanting to see other things, to show Frodo more of Erebor's markets and so on. At first it was clear Frodo wasn't overly keen to leave but after a bit more coaxing the boy relented to being pulled along by Bofar who was chattering away about different stalls.

"We'll do a lap of the market and then come back." Kili told Bofur as they both watched the trio standing across away, admiring some finally crafted axes and war-hammers.

"Aye. Maybe get some more sweet pies too?"

"For Frodo?"

"Aye."

Kili shifted unhappily from one foot to the other before nodding. "See you soon." Before he strode over to the boys and the four of them disappeared in amongst the crowd.

Bifur made a soft series of grunts behind him causing Bofur to sigh.

"Not at tha' moment, but he will be. He holds too much in." Bifur nodded seriously and went back to the toy eagle he was carving.

Bofur picked up one of the toy swords Frodo had been looking at earlier and pulled out a paint kit from under the stall table. After a moment of contemplation, he picked out the colours silver, brown and blue before setting to work, hoping his memory was up to scratch of remembering the intricate details of Bilbo's little letter-opener.

Author's Note: Poor Frodo. He's not really happy about being separated from his mama after so soon being reunited with her. And Thorin's been a little too distant for Frodo's liking these past few days.
Frodo and Bofur conversation originally was meant for an earlier chapter but was cut because I couldn't work it in. I'm really glad I could work it back in and instead of being an off to the side ending of a main chapter, its now the main point of the chapter because I was able to expand and extend upon it, which makes me happy. I love Bofur and any excuse to write him makes me incredibly and there is simply something about writing him with Frodo, that makes my heart go all goo-ey. Just out of curiousity, do people want to read more Bofur? Like him interacting with Frodo and Bilbo? Because I'm more than happy to write more of him, lol. Let me know

Anyway, so next chapter Frodo will be forced to deal with more emotional angst, the poor little lad, as we'll be starting to deal with his identity crisis arc, which I don't think he'll ever get over, he'll just learn how to cope with it. Anyway, I won't say anymore, so as not to spoil the next chapter. Hope you all enjoyed this one and I'll see you very soon.