Hey guys. So... this took a while... yeah. I really don't know what to say about all this. I mean, I had an entire summer to write and didn't do any of it. I suck! I have a ridiculous amount of requests to do that I honestly have no idea when I'll get to. Right now my mind is trying to rebuild itself into something less bat shit crazy so it's taking a bit. Perfectly honest, most of my summer was spent sleeping. But now here we are, giving this thing a try again. Let's hope for the best!

Forever yours,

Fallendarkness666

Instantly they heard the sound of a chair scraping against wood before it crashed to the ground. Suddenly, the house seemed to come alive with sound. They could hear large feet sprinting, knocking into several things on their way. Then a couple of shouts, definitely from Bilbo. Before then knew what was happening, the door was ripped open, revealing an exhausted and frantic looking Bilbo Baggins.

"Have you found him ye…." Bilbo began franticly before cutting himself off, realizing who was at his door.

His eyes were wide and he seemed to stop breathing. His golden hair was slightly longer then it had been when they had last seen him and had a couple of grey hairs. There were dark circles under his eyes, revealing his lack of sleep. Worry lines seemed to form on his slightly aged face. For the briefest of seconds, they thought they saw fear run through his eyes. It took a moment for a grin to split his face in two.

"Dwalin! Balin! Oh, come in, come in, come in!" he said, allowing them in and then closing the door behind them, "It's been ages! My gods, what are you two doing here? "

"Come to see our favorite burglar, of course." Balin answered.

"Since ye ain't answerin' any o' our letters we decided to see if ye alright."

Bilbo's smile softened slightly. They noticed a cloud of sadness roll into his eyes. There were glimpses of pain and grief in his emerald orbs that they hadn't remembered him having back then. What had happened to their little happy hobbit? You know, besides…..that. Something was wrong…very wrong.

"Come." Bilbo instructed, gesturing toward his dining room, "You seem to be in luck. I've done quiet the lot of cooking."

As they walked through the living room, a couple of things caught their eyes. There was a sketch on the wall that hadn't been there before. It was of a woman, probably the most beautiful hobbit woman they had ever seen. Her hair was black as midnight and her eyes seemed to shine with the oddest color of pale purple they had ever seen. She was slender with very feminine curves. Her smile was dazzling. On the mantel above the fire, a golden pocket watch shimmered. At closer inspection, made by Balin, the engraving read,

"For our first year and ever on after -Prim".

Who was this new woman? Could Bilbo have found a she hobbit? Were they married? Did this mean there was a child around somewhere? Undoubtedly there was a child. So where were they?

Dwalin was slightly angered by the idea that Bilbo had moved on. Thorin, his king, his leader, his childhood friend, had fallen unbelievably in love with the hobbit. He had proclaimed Bilbo as his One. Did he not understand what that meant?! Dwarves may have many bed partners, but they have only one true other. The other half of the rock they were broken from. Thorin would wither away and die without his burglar and because of his mistakes; he would not complain once and suffer in silence.

They entered the dining room to find the table completely filled with pastries and breads and other lovely foods. It all smelled absolutely heavenly. In fact, there was plenty of food here to fill the entire company. Did he know that they would be arriving? Perhaps another hobbit had told Bilbo about seeing them. After looking at some of the breads in the center, they knew this baking craze had at least started a couple of days ago.

"What caused the baking addiction Master Baggins?" Balin asked conversationally.

Bilbo's face seemed to shadow over with worry and sadness for a moment. In that moment, he seemed to age a hundred years. His shoulders hunched forward a bit and his body slouched. His gaze ran over all of the baked goods on his table. Each had been created from another hours worry. He seemed about to speak when a knock came at the door.

Now his body went ridged and his eyes looked around frantically. It was obvious that he had been waiting for someone else, but the question was who. Bilbo excused himself and scampered to the door quickly and ripping it open. There stood Fili and Kili, as Balin and Dwalin had expected. Balin however did notice the extremely brief look of disappointment on his features before realizing who was there.

"Mr. Boggins!" the princes shouted in unison before crushing the poor hobbit into a hug.

"Boys!" Bilbo cried out, "My boys, what are you doing here? How have you fared? Well I should hope?"

The princes pulled away and grinned down at their favorite hobbit. They too took notice of his frazzled (not a word but is a word now) appearance. They could tell he was trying to hide it, but the darkness under his eyes gave it away. The brothers decided they must find out about this, but not this second. No, for now they would let him keep his secrets.

"Well come in now then!" Bilbo grinned, "Can't return you to your mother with a cold now."

"Please..." Fili said, "She'd be thrilled. Anything to have the excuse of making her "wonderful" chicken soup."

"More like crusty dirt soaking in horse piss if ya ask me." Kili mumbled.

"Kili!" Bilbo chastised, smacking him on the back of his head, "None of that. Now come, there is food in the dining room."

"You have enough this time?" Fili teased before entering the room.

Their eyes widen with surprise at the over loaded table. So many lovely breads and pastries scattered about with no one to eat them. It was nearly heart breaking to Kili. Instantly he made a grab for a strawberry glazed croissant, moving quickly to try to snatch a biscuit from Dwalin who seemed to have most of the chocolate ones by him. Fili however turned to Bilbo with a look of concern. He remembered the hobbit having told them of how he had inherited a habit of cooking when nervous or worrisome. Bilbo however ignored the look and smiled at them.

"Should I be expecting anymore surprise guests this evening?"

Before they could reply, more knocks were heard at the door. Yes, he very much remembered how this went. He went to answer it and smiled bright. To say he was surprised when dwarves didn't tumble through the doorway like they had before was an understatement. Instead, Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur grinned at him, managing to stay on their feet.

"Bilbo!" Bofur shouted, rushing forward to hug the hobbit who laughed in response.

"It's been too long Bilbo!" Bombur said as he entered, in which time Bofur released him.

"Too long indeed."

Bifur entered next and instead of trying to speak or sign, he clapped Bilbo on the back. Bilbo in return clapped him as well. They had never quite gotten to the point of being able to speak to one another clearly. Over time, though they both eventually got the jest of what was being said by the other most of the time.

"The others are in the dining room." Bilbo said, "I'll trust you recall where that is?"

The others blushed slightly, minus Bifur who barked a laugh, at the memory of raiding the poor unsuspecting hobbits home. Again, he led the dwarves to the dining room, not paying attention to the notice the others were taking in the changes of his home and himself.

Upon seeing the large lay out of food, Bombur nearly squealed with delight before scarfing down a quarter of it. Bofur on the other hand gave a look to Fili and Balin. They all noticed the changes in Bilbo's demeanor and the cloud that seemed to hang over him. He was staring off into space, an empty look melding into his eyes.

"Bilbo," Bofur asked casually, "You alright?"

"Yes!" he said, a bit startled, "Yes, I'm quiet good. I'm so glad to see you all again! I can't even begin to tell you how I've missed you all."

"And we've missed you Mr. Boggins." Balin said, sipping on some ale.

"Especially Uncle!" Kili stated through a mouthful of biscuits he managed away from Dwalin.

Everyone seemed to freeze for a moment. Kili hadn't even realized he had said it until it was too late. They were all wide eyed, either glaring at Kili or taking glances to gage Bilbo's react. His spin had stiffened considerably and he seemed to stop breathing. His gaze was distant, this time his emerald eyes turning a shade pinker. The smile he had on his face a faded slightly, still trying to seem as if there was nothing wrong. Bilbo blinked a time or two and managed to knock himself out of whatever he was thinking. HIs smile grew, obviously forced, and his eyes attempted to soften.

"Of course," he said lightly, "Erebor must have blossomed beautifully for him. A wonderful king he must be."

"Yes, well, it slowly returns to the days of old." Balin mused, trying to ease the tension.

"It must be glorious to see again Mr. Balin. It being the way it once was."

"It is. Better almost. The kingdoms of Erebor and Mirkwood have recreated trade and even some camaraderie amoungst each other."

Then another knock at the door caught Bilbo's attention. He excused himself and left the dining room. Once he was out, a hushed discussion mainly of how Kili needs to shut it occurred. They couldn't afford anything messing up Thorins chances, no matter how much smaller they were seeming to become.

A moment later, Bilbo returned, happy as can be, in the company of Dori, Ori, and Nori. He and Ori were linked by the arm, discussing "the lovely cuff" Ori wore on his ear that was knew. It had been a courting gift from Dwalin in the early stages of their relationship. He had yet to mention that part to the hobbit, that is, until they entered the room. When Bilbo released the dwarfs arm, Ori went directly over to Dwalin a kissed his cheek.

Bilbo's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, disappearing completely. When Dwalin leaned down a placed a kiss on his ones temple, the hobbit nearly busted a gut. He stared a moment, wide eyed and gaping, before curling in on himself and howling with laughter. Some of the others followed in suite, understanding the hilarity of the situation. Big, mean Dwalin being gentle and sweet with puppy faced Ori. Nori and Dori groaned in exasperation.

"I suppose I really shouldn't be surprised." Bilbo chuckled after calming down, nearly ten minutes later, "When did this happen?"

"Not long after you left."

"Really?"

"There had been a collapse in one of the mines during the first winter. It was awful and a lot of dwarves were killed." Ori explained, "Real early one morning, several days later, I was opening the library. I have the keys so I open it every morning and lock it every evening. Anyways, this time I found this lump asleep on the floor in front of the doors. I woke him up and he told me that the collapse had made him realize he cared about me and all. He had waited there all night! Anyway, how could I resist? We courted nearly two years before wedding."

"Married too?!" Bilbo exclaimed, just noticing the braids in their hair, "Bullocks! I have missed quite a bit!"

Ori was about to bring up the invitation when a light knock was heard at the front door. They all froze yet again, knowing who was on the other side. Bilbo, however, was too excited for them to think clearly. He grinned and sprang to his feet, making a comment of how he betted it was Gandalf who had gathered them. He thought it was the wizard?! Balin instantly realized that Bilbo would never assume Thorin would leave his throne, not even for him. This was bad. This was very bad!

Bilbo stopped in front of the door, his grin still intact. He hadn't felt this happy and excited in so long. At the moment, he couldn't even remember why. All he knew was that he couldn't wait to throw his arms around Gandalf and celebrate with his friends. Nearly bursting, Bilbo grabbed the handle and threw the door open.

xxx

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