Hello all, thank you so much for the lovely response last chapter. Again, I am sorry about the wait, and I feel I owe you an explanation. I have had the most awful case of writer's block, in that I lost all motivation to write at all. I have sat at my laptop with this very document open every day since I uploaded the last chapter, yet it's still taken this long and I'm really sorry. Personal problems have been weighing me down a lot recently and this story has suffered for it, especially in the last couple of chapters.
BUT – and this is a big but – I do believe the worst is behind us.
Your amazing reviews have helped beyond belief, as has the trailer for the last film (SQUEE, I'M SO EXCITED!) and I finally feel back in the swing of things, so things should speed up now.
I'm sorry once again, thank you for your endless patience, I really do appreciate it.
As usual, I apologise for any mistakes.
Read. Enjoy. Review.
Chapter Fifty Nine # Things Will Go My Way #
"My goodness, Bilbo, this looks incredible!" Dís gasped, genuinely impressed by the wonderful smelling array of food spread across the hobbit's table. "You did not cook all of this yourself?"
A faint blush coloured the hobbit's cheeks and he smiled with modest pride. "Well, not entirely – Kíli helped with the stew."
"Then I am most impressed, Master Baggins…" she admitted easily, looking over the various dishes before glancing to her youngest son with a sudden realisation. "Kíli, can you cook?"
Kíli nodded with a grin, pulling out a chair at the end of the table and motioning for her to sit in before sitting himself on her left hand side. "A little…"
"By which he means he could tell you how to roast beef fifty different ways and tell you exactly what herbs and spices to use with more dishes than you can think of." Fíli translated casually as he sat on opposite his brother, lifting a giggling Frodo into the air and setting him down on the bench beside him.
"That's a huge exaggeration!" Kíli protested, blushing fiercely.
"That's as maybe lad, but your steak and kidney pudding would give Bombur a run for his money." Bofur quipped as he entered the room.
Dís raised her eyebrows, impressed. While she had only really met Bofur, Bombur and Bifur a couple of times before the quest, when Dís had discovered who would be accompanying her brother and son she had made it her business to find out what she could about those volunteering for such a quest. As such, she had tasted the impressively rotund Bombur's cooking first hand. "Truly?"
Various calls of affirmation such as 'certainly', 'of course' and the simple 'yep' rose over Kíli's weak protests as Bilbo sat at the other end of the table with Bofur and Nori on either side.
"Although, as good as Kíli is, Bilbo is definitely better." Bofur added, causing the hobbit to turn just as bright red as his son.
"Well, now that Bofur has so kindly exaggerated my cooking skills, do dig in." Bilbo grinned as he clapped his hands together, and soon everyone was dishing themselves up generous portions of the appealing dishes on the table.
"You didn't run headfirst into too much trouble on the way here did you, Ama?" Fíli asked innocently as he filled an unusually small plate with unusually small portions.
Dís swatted her son lightly on the arm and he grinned cheekily. Realising that her son was trying to diffuse the tension, she smiled, though she could not lie to him. "I did not run headfirst into any trouble, though I did encounter some ruffians not two days into my journey."
"What?" Fíli's eyes widened and his fingers tightened around the spoon he was holding. "Are you alright?"
"Of course I'm alright," she smiled wryly. "They were but a dozen and they assumed that I was unable to defend myself and they paid dearly for it. I am fine, Fíli."
He nodded, though his eyes narrowed slightly and flickered over her, his worry recognisable. "Good…"
"Other than that everything went smoothly." Dís added calmly and her son nodded, placing the small plate down in front of Frodo, who tucked into his meal enthusiastically.
"Good…" Fíli repeated, shaking his head slightly. "We've had more than our fair share of troublesome journeys."
"Aye, I'd drink to that." Bofur muttered darkly.
Dís watched Frodo's eyes flicker over all the adults as the boy shuffled uncomfortably. "Uncle Bilbo, can we play the question game?"
"Uh, well…" Bilbo hesitated for a long moment, glancing at Dís.
Fíli looked between the two of them and grinned. "I think that's a brilliant idea, Frodo! What would we do without you?"
Frodo shrugged with a little pout. "That's not a very good question, Fíli."
Fíli laughed. "That's true enough. Do you want to explain the rules to my mother?"
Dís put down her fork to listen to the adorable little boy.
"Um, well someone asks a question and everyone answers it, round in a circle. There's not really many rules – you just can't lie." Frodo shrugged his little shoulders.
"Very well, that sounds like fun." Dís nodded with a smile, looking to her younger son.
Kíli was gazing down at his plate, a faint smile playing on his lips. The dark haired dwarf's eyes flickered up to Bilbo and his smile curled further up one of his cheeks into a little half-smile that clearly reminded the hobbit of a past conversation or private joke.
Inconspicuously, Dís took a deep breath through her nose and ignored the pain that the interaction sent stabbing through her heart.
She had grown rather accustomed at ignoring pain.
"Will you go first, Bofur?" Frodo asked. "You always have fun questions."
"Hmm…" Bofur looked around the table, grinning evilly when his eyes settled on Kíli. "What is your most irrational fear?"
Kíli groaned, his smile transforming to a long suffering smirk. "Thank you very much, Bofur."
"Would you like to start?" Bofur grinned, and Dís looked curiously at her son.
Taking a deep breath, Kíli rubbed his forehead, hiding his eyes behind his hand. "I am slightly unnerved by felines."
"Specifically…?" Fíli urged, and Kíli rolled his eyes.
"Kittens."
"Kittens?" Dís almost choked on her mouthful. "You fear kittens?"
"No! It's not funny!" Kíli howled over the laughter of Nori, Bofur, Fíli and Frodo. "They just unnerve me! Stop laughing, Fee, it's not fun."
"It's very funny." Fíli replied calmly.
Kíli looked to his left, looking thoroughly embarrassed. "Well Bofur? What's your own answer?"
The toymaker barely paused. "I'm afraid of heights."
"Heights?" Frodo looked very puzzled. "But you live in the mountains?"
"Exactly – I live in them, not up them. And I'd just like to say that being thrown around by stone giants didn't help in the slightest." Bofur shuddered slightly, though Frodo still looked confused.
"But then do you get scared when you do down into mines?"
"Nah…" Bofur shook his head. "I'm used to it. Besides – it's always good to face your fears now and again. What about you, Bilbo?"
The hobbit paused. "Irrational fears?"
"Aye." Bofur nodded. "Everyone has them…"
Bilbo nodded slowly. "Riding a pony. It is not so much a fear more as a discomfort, but it is all I can think of."
"Fair enough." Bofur nodded, and Dís silently agreed that among this company, questions of fears were not ones to push. "Nori?"
"Spider webs." Was all Nori said in a rather matter of fact tone, before reaching for another potato.
"But not spiders?" Frodo frowned and Nori shook his head.
"You're next, Frodo." Fíli nudged the boy who looked thoughtful.
"Irrational means silly, right?"
"Something like that." Bofur nodded.
"Then I'm scared of Otho Sackville-Baggins."
Dís frowned lightly as everyone snickered. "Who is Otho Sackville-Baggins?"
"The most unpleasant hobbit you are ever likely to meet, save his wife Lobelia." Bilbo explained, taking a sip of wine. "Unfortunately he's also my cousin, though I tend to pretend that we're not related. They were actually my legal heirs until I adopted Kíli."
"Yet another reason why they loath me – Otho and Lobelia were desperate to get their sticky hands on Bag End and they're disgusted that a dwarf is cheating them out of their rightful inheritance." Kíli grinned. "Now, Fíli, what scares you?"
"Hm…" Fíli paused for a long moment. "Oh, I know – worms and parasites…Urgh."
Dís smiled slightly as her son shuddered dramatically and looked at her expectantly. "I myself am irrationally afraid of bees."
Kíli looked up at her in interest, though he did not say anything. Dís yearned to know what he was thinking, but she could not say anything. It was still just too difficult.
However, as the meal went on, somehow things began to get easier. The questions ranged from simple things such as 'what is your favourite colour' or 'what is your favourite thing to do in your spare time' to more interesting questions like 'what would you do if you woke up invisible' or 'what would you do if you had twenty four hours before getting turned into a squirrel', and Dís found that she enjoyed both asking and answering such strange and often funny questions.
She had to hand it to the little hobbit – Frodo certainly knew how to break the ice.
They spoke for so long that the sun began to sink down in the sky, and by the time they all moved on to pudding it was closer to dinner time. By then, Dís no longer felt so horribly awkward. Though she did not feel completely comfortable, she was speaking as informally as she usually did, having allowed some of her more stifling manners to fade away.
She just could not believe that it was indeed her own son that was sitting by her side, laughing and smiling and chatting away. Her heart ached as she watched him eat and drink and speak, little actions she had thought - known - that she would never see again.
"Can I help you clean up, Bilbo?" She offered when dinner was finally over.
The hobbit smiled warmly. "No, no, you've just arrived, we'll be fine. Frodo my lad, you and Bofur will clear the table, bring everything into the kitchen and sort of what little we have left. I'll wash the dishes, Fíli and Nori you can dry them and put them away. That way we'll be done in no time."
Thoroughly impressed by the way that no one protested, Dís noted with a spark of surprise that the hobbit seemed to have purposefully left Kíli without a job and she was extremely grateful for the opportunity to speak alone to her son, but she was not accustomed to sitting still while others did the work for her and she spoke firmly. "Master Baggins, if I can help..."
"Truly, we will be absolutely fine." Bilbo insisted calmly, already standing up. "If there are too many people bustling around, we'll all just fall over each other."
"Perhaps we should get out of the way." Kíli smiled almost shyly at Dís.
"Very well..." she sighed with a smile, following Kíli as he stood up and left the room.
The young dwarf paused and looked at his mother, grinning slightly. "Can I show you something?"
"Of course," Dís smiled, following him through the halls of Bag End. "I must say, this house like a labyrinth."
Kíli laughed. "It is a bit, isn't it? Hobbit holes always tend to look smaller on the outside than they actually are. This here is my room – and Fíli's at the moment."
Dís followed her son inside, looking around curiously at the bedroom. Even with two beds there was plenty of room, and the wardrobe was surprisingly large. There were pictures on every wall – maps and illustrations and portraits, and while some looked very new, others were obviously rather old.
"Now, where did I put it?" Kíli muttered, pulling open several drawers on the wooden dresser. "Oh, come on!"
A quiet laugh fell from Dís' lips and she shook her head slightly. At least Kíli was still hopeless at leaving things where he found them – some things apparently never changed.
"Aha! Here… this is what I was talking about at dinner, my book…" Kíli sat down on his bed and looked up at her. Dís sank down beside her son and looked at the huge, leather bound book he was easing open. "I showed these to Fíli when he first arrived – the sketches in this book essentially document my time in the Shire. I mentioned the dreams that I used to have over dinner, didn't I?"
"Aye, you did." Dís nodded before gasping as she saw three incredibly detailed sketches – one of herself, one of Thorin and one of Fíli. "These are incredible! How old was your friend when she drew these?"
"Oh, fifteen, sixteen, I think." Kíli smiled proudly, and with that he began slowly leading his mother through the book.
"I think I have aged a lot since then…." She mused with a soft smile.
"Not really…" Kíli argued softly, looking up at her almost shyly.
Dís looked up and caught his eye, smiling slightly. "Now, do you really believe that or are you just trying to flatter me?"
"I really believe that." Kíli said quietly, nothing but honesty shining in his bright eyes.
Dís was unable to suppress the urge to reach out and gently stroke Kíli's dark brown hair away from his face and she smiled sadly as he stiffened slightly. "I'm sorry, Kíli, I-"
"Don't be," he shook his head quickly, lifting up his hand to almost hesitantly touch hers with a small, shy smile. "Don't be sorry. It's alright… It's just been a long time…"
Taking her hand away from his face, Dís tried to smile. "Too long a time…"
Kíli nodded, hesitating for a short moment before reaching out and taking her hand. "But we've got time now."
"We do…" Dís squeezed Kíli's hand and smiled, "So, what's on the next page?"
Kíli beamed and turned the page to reveal a picture of four laughing, waving children.
"Oh, let me guess," Dís bit her lip slightly, pointing to each child in turn. "That is obviously you, and then this must be Esmeralda, Saradoc and Paladin?"
Kíli nodded happily, looking very pleased that his mother had guessed correctly.
"It's a beautiful picture…" She murmured, mesmerised by the images before her.
At first it hurt worse than ever to see snippets of the two decades she had lost, but as Kíli quietly described the story of each and every sketch and painting Dís began to feel peace settling into her bones – a peace that she had not felt for twenty two years.
Kíli had not grown up with her, but he had grown up being loved and cared for, that much was clear. Bilbo's adoration of Kíli was just as obvious as Kíli's devotion to the hobbit, and Dís was heartened by it even as it granted her peace, because she finally knew that her son was safe.
As she stared at a watercolour painting of Kíli and Bilbo sharing an ale in the local inn, Dís wondered if Fíli was right – maybe Bilbo Baggins was the best person Kíli could have ended up with, though she was still not entirely sure what to make of him.
And that brought Dís' mind to the miracle she had not even thought to hope for.
Fíli.
It was not all that surprising when she thought about it, that finding Kíli had brought her older son back to life as well, but it still took Dís' breath away to see the spark that had once lived in Fíli dancing in his eyes once again. Ever since he met her at the edge of Hobbiton, he had been so much more himself than he had been for years, and it warmed her heart beyond belief.
The mother could easily see that her sons were fiercely dependent on each other, perhaps more so than they had been as children, and she could see that they had rebuilt a new, wonderful relationship that made her heart burst with pride and sorrow and joy and hope and grief.
While Dís and Kíli poured over the old book, the other occupants of the house attacked the mounds of dishes.
"Do you think it was the right thing, to give Kíli and Dís time alone, or is it too awkward?" Bilbo asked Fíli as he passed the young dwarf a soaking dish.
"I think you did the right thing, Bilbo. I bet Kíli is showing her his book – and that will be beneficial for the both of them, I promise." Fíli smiled calmly. "I felt that dinner went well. Everything is going to be fine."
"Are you sure?" Frodo asked as he struggled to carry a casserole dish into the kitchen himself. "She seemed really mannervous."
"What the devil does 'mannervous' mean?" Nori raised his eyebrows as he took the crockery off of the boy and put it on the side.
"It's when you get all nervous so you do lots and lots more manners than you need to. She wasn't as mannervous at the end, I suppose…" Frodo pondered.
"I think you made that word up, Frodo." Bilbo commented, and Fíli ruffled the lad's hair.
"I think she probably was a bit, but can you really blame her?"
Frodo shook his head. "Not really. I liked her questions though, they were funny."
Bilbo shook his head. "Really, I'm not sure what I'm doing, I'm-"
Fíli stopped and put his hands on Bilbo's shoulders. "Getting rather worked up where there is no need to do so. Calm yourself, Bilbo, I am telling you that everything is going brilliantly. Think of it this way – no one has attacked, offended or terrified anyone this time."
"Yet." Nori added with a devilish grin, ducking Fíli's dishtowel with ease and whistling innocently to himself.
"Don't worry, Bilbo, truly." Fíli insisted calmly. "It will all be fine."
The hobbit simply shook his head and returned to his dishes. Frodo studied his uncle as he moved between the kitchen and dining room.
"Do you think Uncle Bilbo's going to have a heart attack?" he asked Bofur worriedly when they were both in the dining room. "Because he looks very frazzled."
"Who's been teaching you new words, Frodo?" Bofur raised his eyebrows, before pausing. "Oh, you're serious, lad? Don't worry yourself, Bilbo's still strong and healthy and he isn't going to have a heart attack anytime soon."
Frodo sighed sadly as Bofur patted him on the shoulder, but he continued helping with the endless dishes until he got so bored that he clambered up onto Bofur's shoulders until they were finally all done.
"That took forever!" Frodo moaned.
"Actually, it brought us right up to your bedtime." Bilbo pointed out and Frodo dropped his jaw, scandalised.
"What?!"
"Frodo Baggins, what have I told you about shrieking in the house?" Bilbo's jaw set in a warning but Frodo just gaped.
"Bedtime? How do you expect me to even sleep when there's so much happening?"
"Is everything alright? We heard shrieking?" An amused looking Kíli piped up from the doorway, his mother behind him. Both dwarves looked happy enough to Frodo, who looked at Kíli desperately.
"Please tell Uncle Bilbo that it's too early to go to bed, Kíli!" he begged, making himself look as sad as possible.
Kíli laughed. "Oh no, I won't get in the middle of an argument between the two of you – I'm not that brave."
"Half an hour." Bilbo said shortly, though he looked a little amused. "Now, who would like a nice cup of tea or coffee?"
It did not take very long for everyone to get settled in the living room, though Frodo ended up in Fíli's lap on the floor beneath Dís' chair due to a lack of room. Not that the little hobbit minded, of course, for Fíli's lap was very comfortable.
Dís was the first to speak. "So, may I hear of your journey at last? I know very few details and I am very interested to know what you've been doing – and whether or not my Thorin and Fíli have been behaving themselves."
Frodo squirmed excitedly in Fíli's lap. He loved hearing of the adventures his family had undertaken over the past year, though he had only heard the whole story once (something told him that even that was not the whole story, but Frodo was not blind and he did not like the way that Kíli's eyes darkened at the mention of the battle or the way that Bilbo shuddered when he asked if the wolf cubs were still there when they came back through Beorn's, so he did not bring up those particular subjects) and he was excited to hear it again.
"Well, the first thing Thorin did on the quest was to charge at Bilbo and the first thing Fíli did was to attack his brother, so I'd have to say no, they haven't been behaving well at all." Bofur said casually and Dís' mouth fell open.
"What?!" she cried, glaring murderously at her eldest son.
"Context!" Fíli yelped, scooting across the floor to sit beside Bilbo's chair, out of his mother's reach with Frodo still in his lap as Kíli, Bilbo, Bofur and Nori laughed at him. "Don't say things like that out of context, Bofur!"
"I suppose it was my fault really, I did provoke Thorin…" Bilbo began, but Nori cut him off with a snort.
"It wasn't anyone's fault; it was a group of somewhat emotional, somewhat frightened men misunderstanding each other." He said dryly. "After an awkward confrontation, Bilbo asked Thorin if he had been the one to beat Kíli and throw him in the river so Thorin lurched at Bilbo. Kíli didn't arrive home until that moment and he tackled Thorin away from Bilbo, so obviously Fíli then fought Kíli away from Thorin."
"You make it sound so unexciting." Kíli commented.
Nori raised his hands up. "I'm not a storyteller; I tell things how they are."
Bilbo took over at that point, and Frodo had to say that his cousin was a far better storyteller than Nori was. Though he had heard the story before, Frodo still felt as excited as ever as Bilbo and Kíli shared the story between them.
Though he was utterly enraptured by the story, every now and again Frodo would look away from whoever was speaking to glance at Kíli's mother. Every time he did so, Dís would look utterly captivated by the tale, though her face was often pinched with emotions that Frodo could not read.
"…and then we arrived on the outskirts of Mirkwood. That marks half an hour, so Frodo…"
Frodo sighed at the insinuation behind Bilbo's voice and he stood up reluctantly. "Do I have to go to bed?"
"Yes, now come on…" Bilbo began to stand up, but Fíli stood up and hoisted Frodo onto his hip.
"I'll put the troublemaker to bed. You carry on with the story or we'll be here all night." The young blonde dwarf smiled and Frodo sighed again, dropping his head onto Fíli's shoulder.
"Goodnight everyone!" he waved, stifling a yawn.
"Goodnight!" the others called back as Fíli walked away.
"He is really very adorable…" Dís commented with a small smile, watching her son carry away the insightful little boy.
"Isn't he, though?" Kíli beamed proudly.
After a short moment, the story began to gain momentum once more, and even when Fíli returned the story went uninterrupted until they finished telling her of how they came to the decision to bring Frodo back to Bag End. Fíli knew that his mother would rather listen to a whole tale and ask questions at the end than interrupt the flow of the story, and he knew from the look on her face that she had saved many, many questions, though he doubted she would ask more than two or three at once. She liked springing questions on people when they least expected it.
Silence fell over the group as they waited for Dís reaction to their mammoth tale and she rubbed her jaw. "Fíli?"
"Yes, Amad?"
"You listen to Balin, don't you?" She looked directly into her son's eyes with a gaze as hard as her steely tone.
Fíli frowned slightly, unsure of where his mother was going. "Um… yes?"
"Good, good…" Dís nodded and inspected the fingernails on her left hand. It looked like her hand was trembling. "If you listen to Balin you will have no problems whatsoever sitting on the throne when I murder your uncle."
"Ah, I'd really rather not be king yet, if you don't mind!" Fíli said quickly, unable to keep a slight grin off his face despite recognising his mother's barely restrained fury.
She shook her head. "He did not write a word to tell me of the incident at Beorn's house, nor did he mention how extensive the injuries you sustained in battle, Fíli. And do not think you are off the hook either – you were unconscious for four days and you did not think to tell me?"
"That whole story and all you picked up on was that I slept for four days?" Fíli rolled his eyes, before cringing away from his mother's glare. "Alright, I'm sorry, I should have told you!"
Dís covered her face with her hand for a long moment. "Is anyone still hurt? Are there still traitors running around?"
"No, we're all fine. As far as we know, all the traitors were killed." Kíli murmured quietly, and Dís sighed heavily.
"Perhaps we should call it a night…" Fíli suggested quietly, taking in the emotional exhaustion on his mother's face.
"Perhaps you are right…" Dís nodded with another soft sigh, and Bilbo stood up slowly.
"That sounds like a plan – is there anything else I can do for you?"
Dís smiled up at the hobbit wryly. "No thank you, Master Baggins. Thank you for the lovely meal."
"You're most welcome." Bilbo bowed slightly with a smile. "Now, if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to bed…"
Bofur and Nori followed quickly after that, leaving Fíli alone with his mother and brother. He glanced at Kíli, smiling slightly as his brother stifled a yawn and stood up slowly.
"I'll see you both in the morning…" he yawned once more. "Goodnight…"
"Goodnight." Fíli and Dís said in unison, and Fíli smiled as his mother stood up to hug Kíli shortly before he left. As soon as Kíli was out of earshot, Fíli smiled at his mother and hugged her tightly.
"I've missed you…"
"I've missed you, too…" she murmured, holding him fiercely. "I can scarcely believe how much trouble you've gotten yourself into over the past year, Fíli, honestly I could have lost you so many times…"
"But you didn't…" Fíli pointed out, though his mother only held him tighter.
"That isn't the point, Fíli." Dís shook her head against her son's shoulder. "You're not invincible. Nothing is…"
"Some things are." Fíli promised, pulling away to smile at the weary woman. "Ama, I think that went well."
"Do you really?" Dís raised her eyebrows.
Fíli smiled. "I do. What did you think of Bilbo?"
Dís paused for a long moment before smiling slightly. "I like him."
Fíli's face broke into a grin. "That's a relief…"
"You're very fond of him, aren't you?" Dís smiled slightly.
"I am," Fíli admitted readily. "And not just because of what he did for Kíli."
"I can tell," Dís' smile strengthened. "And I think I can see why…"
Fíli beamed without restraint. "I'm so glad… Come on, I'm sure you're exhausted and we have plenty of time to talk over the coming weeks, don't we?"
"Well, actually, I think we do… That's a nice change."
The mother and son walked arm in arm down the hall until they reached the door to Dís' room.
"Well, goodnight, Ama." Fíli smiled, embracing his mother one last time. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Goodnight, Fíli." Dís smiled, kissing his cheek. "I hope you sleep well…"
Smiling, Fíli nodded and turned away to shuffle down the hall to the room he now shared with Kíli, striding over to his own bed and flopping down on the mattress with a yawn.
"Do you think that went well?" Kíli asked quietly from the next bed.
Fíli hummed to himself. "What do you think?"
"Well, I think it did, but…" Kíli's voice was smaller than it had been in months.
Fíli rolled over to face his brother, to see Kíli staring pointedly at the floor. Fíli smiled wryly. "It went well, Kee. It went as well as it could go."
Kíli glanced up with a small smile. "Are you sure?"
"Of course… It will take a while for us all to find out feet, and no doubt there'll be some incredibly awkward moments while we do, but if you can handle thirteen dwarves, you can certainly handle our mother, and she has far more tact than the rest of them put together." Fíli grinned, before yawning. "No one ever said this would be easy, but it could have been far worse. Everything will work out, you'll see…"
"Are you sure?"
Fíli raised his eyebrows. "Kíli, trust me. This is going well. Believe me, little brother."
Kíli smiled slightly, "Alright, Fee. Goodnight…"
"Goodnight, Kíli…" Fíli replied, and his brother blew out the candle on the bedside table.
As the room plunged into darkness, Fíli thought on how the day had gone. The first hour or so had been cripplingly awkward, though things had eased off over dinner. Though he had spent so much time comforting everyone else, Fíli had been terrified of everything that could have gone wrong, but none of his fears had not been realised. His mother had liked the hobbit, Bilbo had apparently liked his mother, and Frodo Baggins had smoothed over the largest bumps in their road.
No one seems to hate each other yet… he noted, rolling onto his back and stretching as one last thought floated into his mind before he fell asleep. Though I have a feeling that Thorin may be in big trouble…
So there, I hope you enjoyed that chapter! Do let me know what you thought!
Now, as another quick note before I go, though I do know where I'm steering this story to, I want to know what you would like to see – whether it be prompts for conversations, scenarios or even where this story arc should lead to. I love hearing your theories, and some of the ideas that have been mentioned in reviews are already weaving their way into the plot, so if you suggest it I will most certainly take it into consideration.
So yeah, if there's something you really want to see, leave a review and I will see what I can do!
Thank you for reading – and for your patience!
