A Very Respectable Hobbit

by TheThirdStar

Bilbo Baggins is going on an adventure and along the way he might just learn that being respectable isn't all it's cracked up to be. A look into how Bilbo got to know and befriend the dwarves and maybe, just maybe, come to care for one in particular. Slow burn Bagginshield, rating may change.

21. Chapter 21

A/N Hello lovely readers! Quick note, I think I posted about this before, but I wrote another story about how Frerin died (which is not canonically correct oops). It's not necessary to understand this chapter, but for all of you angstophiles out there, I think it's a nice additional punch to the feels. So if that sort of thing is your MO, then you can find it on my page. Hope you enjoy :)

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They started off early the next day with dawn barely having broken atop the cross of the mountain. A nervous sort of energy permeated the air, for the company knew that if they did not find the secret door today, on the Day of Durin, then their quest would take a turn for the extremely dangerous and difficult. Not that it had been easy by any means so far, but Bilbo wasn't sure he wanted to find out what laid right behind the giant green doors of Erebor, if only because he knew the sight would probably do more damage to Thorin than he could even comprehend.

He and Balin set out on another of the paths that led along the side of the mountain. Despite the look of grim frustration that seemed to be present on every face, Bilbo was determined. Determined to make sure they hadn't come all this way to be stopped at the doors. No, he knew somewhere deep in his gut that they would find it today, they had to find it today.

Clambering up the stone steps carved into the side of the mountain, Bilbo and Balin made slow work. The other paths they had walked on the previous days had been more or less level as they wrapped alongside the hulking rock of the Lonely Mountain, but as the companions had stood at the point on the ground where the paths diverged, Bilbo had seen a small thrush flutter close past his face and fly above the narrowest and steepest path.

He wasn't much one for superstition, but as he saw the bird Thror's map spoke of, it filled Bilbo with a spark of hope. Plus, it wasn't like they had anything else to go on so when the hobbit had suggested to Balin that they take that path, the old dwarf did little but shrug and grumble about how his old bones weren't made for climbs like this anymore.

Bilbo took the lead, scrambling up loose rocks and sharp edges as the late autumn wind gusted past them. There were a few moments when the hobbit couldn't stop the memories of the High Pass when he had almost had a very long fall and met a gruesome, if quick, death; it didn't help either that he didn't have Fili's solid presence right behind him. Though he very much enjoyed Balin's company, he didn't think the dwarf would be entirely too pleased with him if he tried to hold his hand in comfort as he had Fili's.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Bilbo decided not to look over the ledge, in fact, he would be looking at nothing but at the side of the mountain in search of a door. As they climbed higher and higher up the pass, the same thrush that Bilbo had followed at the beginning of their climb dived and flapped above their heads. Though he had thought it a good sign earlier, Bilbo felt irritation grate at his nerves when he saw the ease with which the bird danced in the sky, untroubled with such trivial things at feet and sharp rocks.

'Taunting us,' the hobbit thought bitterly as he stumbled for what felt like the hundredth time that day, 'just flopping about in the sky while we suffer on this infernal mountain.' Bilbo shot the thrush a glare when it took that exact moment to start singing its birdsong. "Oh good," he muttered, "a little music to accompany our torment!" The hobbit raised his voice at the last word, shaking his fist as if that would make the bird go away. To his complete lack of surprise and annoyance, the thrush dived down and landed on his head, pecking away at his skull.

Flapping his arms around like a bird himself, the hobbit yelped as he waved the bird away. The thrush continued to flutter around his head, it's chirps sounding entirely too similar to shrill laughter.

"Looks like you've made yourself a friend, laddie," Balin chuckled behind him.

Bilbo had finally shooed the bird to a safe distance when he twisted back to glare at the old dwarf.

"No friend of mine would peck me," the hobbit shot the bird a scathing look, pointing an accusatory finger at it, "on the head. Now shoo! Shoo you demonic beast!"

The thrush dived down so quickly; Bilbo had only enough time to raise his arms to guard his precious eyes. If the vermin wanted to peck his face, he would not be getting there so easily. Eyes clenched shut, the hobbit waited a few moments for the sharp beak to start assaulting his person again, but nothing happened. Lowering his arm hesitantly, Bilbo unclenched his eyes slowly but he saw… nothing.

Letting out a sigh of relief, the hobbit simply hoped that the bird had grown bored and would finally leave him alone.

"Master Baggins…" Balin started with a dubious sort of amusement in his gravelly voice.

"Yes, Mister –" Bilbo had started to turn his head to respond but as soon as he twisted his neck, his eyes fell sharply on the small brown and white bird that had perched on his shoulder. Standing stalk still, Bilbo stared wide-eyed at the bird who looked back at him with a slight tilt of its small head as if considering the hobbit.

"Mister Balin, what do I do?" Bilbo hissed urgently, "it's on me!"

Balin took one long look at him and started to laugh, "I think you might as well accept it, laddie. The bird is stayin' there you whether you like it or not."

"What if it's just waiting to strike? To lure me into –" Bilbo spluttered, the thrush still staring back at him with round, black eyes, "— into complacency! Then the next thing I know, no eyes!"

The old dwarf shook his head with an exasperated but fond sigh, "Don't be dramatic, birds about as big as your palm, laddie. Now let's get a move on, if we wait around until your friend leaves we'll get nowhere."

Bilbo slowly turned his head to face forward but kept his eyes locked on the thrush. Taking a tentative step forward, he waited for the bird to flutter off, but it simply chirped once and started to preen its feathers as if it hadn't another care in the world. 'Which,' he thought to himself with no small amount of acidity, 'it probably didn't. Having a brain the size of a pea.'

They climbed steadily for what felt like another hour or so, though the sun had still not reached midday so Bilbo did not yet feel like they were quite running out of time. The stone of the mountain remained the same as it had been, rough and jagged at parts, all hard and cold. Nothing, and he meant nothing that looked like it could be a door. He hoped that somewhere, the other members of the company were having better luck than them.

There was a steep step that Bilbo had to almost pull himself over. Grunting at he hauled his weight up, as soon as the hobbit looked up from above the next step, he saw that the path curved into the mountain, a small archway and an even narrower path now in front of them. 'Well this is different…' he thought as he walked slowly over to where the dark passageway started.

The thrush suddenly took off from his shoulder and flew into the shadow. The hobbit heard Balin approach from behind him, "do you… do you think this is it?"

The old dwarf shook his head slowly, "This is not the door, laddie, dwarf doors are not simply a hole in the mountain, but I doubt someone would have made this for no reason…"

Bilbo took another step closer, trying to see as far inside as he could without actually going in, "Do you, uh, think its safe?"

Just as he spoke, they heard the thrush call from inside, its chirps echoing off he narrow walls. They exchanged a glance before Balin shrugged, "your friend has led us this far, perhaps we should follow."

The hobbit gulped nervously, he didn't think they were desperate enough to start taking directions from a bird of all things, but it was their only way forward… Taking a deep breath, Bilbo started forward, keeping a hand on either side of the passage as he plunged into darkness. Unable to see, the hobbit's progress was slow as he edged forward. The thrush continued to chirp in front of them and, he wouldn't lie, it did give him some comfort to hear the lilting song.

They edged their way through the passage cautiously until Bilbo saw a sliver of light in front of him, 'the exit! It had to be!' he thought excited, quickening his pace. "I think I see the end, Mister Balin!"

The old dwarf let out a small sigh of relief from behind him and they walked faster until the passage started to open up again. The shadows faded as they turned a corner and there, another opening much like the one they had entered. Bilbo all but scrambled out and saw the thrush swooping and diving above what appeared to be the end of the path, a small plateau carved out of the mountain and… there was something else.

Bilbo walked over to the side of the mountain near the edge. Instead of rough rock there was a portion smoothed out so finely he could almost see his own reflection in it.

"This…" he began slowly, turning to face Balin, "this is it isn't it?"

Balin walked slowly over to where Bilbo was standing, his eyes widening in awe. "Aye, laddie, I think it might be…"

The old dwarf reached out a hand and traced the smooth stone with reverent fingers. Turning sharply to face him, Balin spoke quickly, "I must go get Thorin and the rest of the company. You wait here, laddie."

"Are you sure, Mister Balin? I can go…" The hobbit knew Balin was probably more fit than him, but the dwarf wasn't exactly young anymore.

"No, laddie, you stay here and wait for the rest. Knowing some of them, they'd probably walk right off the edge of the path if someone wasn't here to tell them to stop." Balin waved him off and started to walk back towards the tunnel before turning back to face him, "I'll send up anyone I find, we should all be here by late afternoon."

Bilbo nodded, still standing by the door as Balin left him alone on the ledge. Setting his pack down against the rock, the hobbit examined the door further. Balin certainly hadn't been exaggerating; it looked nothing like any door he'd ever seen. He supposed the outline that the glassy gray rock sort of looked like the shape of a door but there was no seam and most certainly no keyhole.

The hobbit tried to remember the message on the map that Elrond had read to them so long ago in Rivendell. Something about the sunset on Durin's Day, a gray stone, and a thrush knocking… Well this was indeed a gray stone. And if Balin's calendar keeping was to be trusted, they were fairly certain that today was Durin's Day. There wasn't much he could do about a making the sun set any faster.

The small bird flew down and landed on his shoulder again, it's heard turning as if it was also examining the door. And he had the thrush. Which, he thought irritably, was not doing anything that resembled knocking.

"Maybe if I just throw you against the rock a few times that will count…" he grumbled, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the bird. The thrush leapt up to his head and started pecking at his skull angrily.

"Okay! Okay!" Bilbo pleaded as he tried to cover his head with his hands, "No throwing, got it! Just stop pecking!"

The thrush took one final peck at his skull before settling back down on his shoulder. Bilbo glared at it, rubbing at his throbbing scalp, "vicious little bugger," he mumbled. The thrush fluffed out its feathers irritably and nipped at his ear in retaliation.

"Sorry, sorry!" The hobbit covered his ear and decided that arguing with a bird was a task he just couldn't win.

Sighing, Bilbo couldn't think of anything useful to do but sit against the rock and wait for the others to join him. Thorin had the key after all, not that that was going to help him much right now seeing as how there was little by way of keyholes. Settling with his back against the gray rock, the hobbit sat and heard nothing but the wind and an occasional song from the bird perched on his shoulder.

The sun rose in the sky, creeping past the middle and now it's light shown fully on him. Despite the cool air, with the golden warmth basking on the western side of the Lonely Mountain, Bilbo felt pleasantly warm. And as he closed his eyes, the soft bird song in his ears, the hobbit felt some of the tension that had worried at his nerves over the past few days leave him in the face nature's beauty surrounding him. After all, it wasn't often that a hobbit of the Shire climbed up the side of a mountain.

'Not that hobbits are the climbing type of folk,' he thought ruefully. He'd like to see Lobelia's face if she could just see him now. It would go all pinched like it was want to do when he did something she thought wasn't very respectable. If she knew he was with a company of dwarves, scaling rocks, and perhaps about to face a dragon; well, he thought her head might just explode out of sheer rage. That was if she wasn't currently neck deep in his silver…

Bilbo felt his eyes start to stoop as the hours passed. With the sun on him, it was just so warm and with nothing to do… He might as well just… take a quick… nap.

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"—oggins!" There was a gentle shake of his shoulder. "Master Boggins! No napping on the job!"

"No…" the hobbit said sluggishly, sleep still clouding his mind, "don't take… don't take my spoons…

"Why would I take your spoons?" the voice was laced with confusion, "he did just say spoons, didn't he?"

Someone laughed, "perhaps Master Baggins is on to your thieving ways, brother, your life of crime is over."

"I don't thieve," the first voice hissed, "if anyone is taking spoons, it's Nori."

There was a pause until Bilbo's shoulder was shaken again, "C'mon Master Baggins, up you get."

The hobbit jerked up as shouted, "Not my spoons!" Glancing wide-eyed between the startled dwarf brother's, Bilbo saw that they were not, in fact, Lobelia pilfering his cupboards. 'Must've been a dream,' he thought with relief.

"Uh, sorry about that, was having a nasty dream," Bilbo said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. Fili and Kili exchanged a glance before laughing in unison, "you sure do like your spoons, Master Boggins," Kili grinned at him.

Bilbo snorted as he stood up, "I like my spoons being mine, not some godforsaken relative shoving them up her skirts when I'm not looking."

The thrush, who had been fluttering nervously above his head at the approach of the dwarves, flew back down to his shoulder. "What's that you've got there, Master Baggins?" Fili peered at the bird curiously. Backing up slightly and fluffing its feathers in agitation, the thrush started to chirp rapidly as Fili raised a hand towards it.

Turning to face the little bird, Bilbo let out a sigh, "oh they're harmless, you little demon, they won't hurt you; now stop making a fuss." The thrush pecked him in the ear again but quieted down.

The brother's exchanged another glance before turning to face Bilbo with identical looks of curiosity. The hobbit shrugged, "we followed it here, seems to think I'm an acceptable substitute for a tree."

Kili chuckled brightly, "don't know how it managed that, best you could do is a shrub!"

Bilbo glared at the younger dwarf, "that is hilarious coming from you, Master Dwarf, you aren't much taller than me."

Kili stuck out his tongue playfully with a wink, "but so much more handsome."

Bilbo laughed as Fili tugged a chunk of his brother's hair causing the young dwarf to yelp shrilly. "Don't forget modest, brother, it is by far your best quality." The blonde dwarf grinned at Kili.

"Are the rest of the company coming?" Bilbo glanced at the brothers, hoping that Balin had reached them all fine.

Fili nodded, "Master Balin found us first, I think the others should be along soon enough." The blonde dwarf turned to look at the sun that was high in the late afternoon sky, "they should hurry though, if Thorin is not here by sunset we might miss our chance."

The three companions settled down on the ledge next to the door. It wasn't long before Bofur and Bifur came out of the tunnel and joined them. Soon after it was Ori and Dori, who, much to Bilbo's pleasure, looked to be talking amiably. Then Oin and Gloin ambled through, and after several hours all the company had assembled on the ledge save for Balin, Dwalin, and Thorin.

The sun was now setting, not quite near it's last light, but down far enough that Bilbo had begun to feel a twinge of anxiety. He knew Thorin would get here in time, he had to, but that thought didn't abate the nagging thoughts of a nervous mind.

"Do you think he'll get here in time, Fili?" Kili glanced between the tunnel and his brother.

The blonde dwarf nodded and gave Kili a reassuring smile, "of course, he'll be along any—" Fili stopped as he craned his neck as if trying to catch a small sound. Then Bilbo heard it, footsteps. Heavy and familiar, he knew Thorin was going to come through first even before he saw the dwarf's face appear in the sunlight a moment later.

Thorin walked through, followed closely by Dwalin and Balin. Looking at no one, eyes locked on the smooth stone, Thorin stepped towards it slowly, as if not quite believing he had actually made it here. The company parted allowing their leader to walk up to the smooth, gray rock. The dwarf reached up a hand and gently traced down the stone and closed his eyes. "This is it…" he spoke softly to no one in particular, "our way in…"

The company remained silent as their leader stared at the door, a peculiar look on his face until he reached into his coat and pulled out his grandfather's map. "What did Elrond say exactly, Balin?" Thorin turned to look at the old dwarf.

"Stand by the gray stone when the thrush knocks," Balin said with easy memory, "and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the key-hole."

Thorin reached into his coat again and took out the key Gandalf had given him, his eyes shifting between the door and the key. "So we must wait…" Balin walked over to his king and placed a hand on his shoulder, "aye, when the sun sets and the thrush knocks, we will know."

"Master Boggins has a thrush here!" Kili shot in eagerly, pushing Bilbo forward. Thorin looked at him with abundant confusion, "You… have a thrush?"

The hobbit turned his shoulder so the small bird was facing his friend, "I think it led us up here," Bilbo glanced at Balin for support. "Aye, Thorin, it's been hanging on Master Baggin's all day."

Thorin stepped closer, eyeing the bird before looking at Bilbo, "has it… knocked?" The hobbit glared at the bird again, just for good measure, "unless you count my head, no, there hasn't been so much as a tap."

"And you say it led you here, Bilbo?" Thorin asked him with a slightly incredulous tone.

"I mean… I know it sounds ridiculous, being a bird and all," he gestured towards the perched thrush, "but what wild animal sits on someone's shoulder? I think it might be… special? Like it wanted us to find the door."

Thorin continued to look dubious but after a moment simply shrugged, "stranger things have happened on this journey, we should count ourselves lucky it chose to help you." The dwarf gave him a small smile before turning back to the stone. The sun was still setting and if Elrond's words were correct, they couldn't do much until the last light hit the door and Bilbo's 'friend' decided to contribute.

"We've got about an hour till nightfall, lads," Dwalin spoke gruffly from near the tunnel, "might as well rest while we're waiting."

It went unspoken, but Bilbo understood the underlying meaning of the dwarf's words. They could be facing a dragon soon, an actual dragon, which meant they would need all the strength they had. The company sat down, all except for Thorin who stood facing the door, looking as if he thought he would miss the opening if he turned away. Bilbo left the spot where he, Fili, and Kili had been sitting to stand next to their leader.

They stood for many long moments, only the soft chatter of the company and the thrush's occasional chirps accompanying the wind's gusts. The hobbit was close enough so that their arms were almost touching.

"So… we made it." Bilbo smiled up at his friend.

Thorin looked down at him, the grim determination he had worn since the dwarf had seen Durin's door still on his face. "Yes… I suppose we have."

The hobbit reached his fingers out until they clasped Thorin's larger hand. "Whatever's down there, Thorin, you're not alone, okay?"

The dwarf's hand remained limp, as he gave it a quick squeeze. "I am not afraid of the beast."

Bilbo felt a sad smile creep across his face, "I didn't just mean the dragon."

There was a city down there, there was a city full of bones and ash and gilded memories that no one could protect Thorin against. His brother's body lay deep within the mountain. A dark shade that resembled the dwarf's old life painted every corridor, every wall, every groove carved into the stone. And the hobbit knew if the dragon didn't kill them those dark, shattered mirrors of the past might be the end of his friend.

Bilbo felt the limp hand suddenly grasp his own, almost tightly enough to hurt. Looking up at Thorin, the hobbit could see the dwarf's jaw had clenched though he did not look away from the door.

They stood together as the sun began to slip beneath the trees. The sky was starting to lose its reddish hue in favor of a deep blue. Bilbo heard Thorin's breathing begin to quicken and lose its steady pace. The hobbit clutched his friend's hand with all his might. No matter what happened, he would be there, by Thorin's side and ready to help as best he could.

Suddenly the thrush flew off of Bilbo's shoulder and circled their head's for a few moments before disappearing down the mountain. The hobbit gazed shocked at where the bird had been only a second ago, "did it just… leave?"

The hobbit spluttered with anger, "it spent all day, all day sitting on me only to leave just when we needed it? Oh you have got to be joking! I am going to pluck that little vermin and eat it myself!" Bilbo had been about to turn, to… he didn't know, chase it down the mountain if he had to when he felt Thorin tug at his hand. "Look."

The thrush had flown back up in his fit of rage, something small and rather snail like in its beak. The small bird flapped down until it was perched on one of the rocks that jutted out near the edge of the smooth stone. And it began to knock. It began to knock the snail against the mountain over and over as the last light of day broke through the forest beyond hit the door.

Right where the bird was hitting the shell against the door, what looked to be a glowing line shot out from the spot. It curled on itself tracing invisible patterns until a keyhole shone out from the stone. But it didn't stop there, the lines continued to climb and grow until an intricate design had formed all around the door.

Bilbo heard Thorin mutter something in dwarvish before he let go of the hobbit's hand and grasped the key once more. Inserting the it into the spot on the door that glowed most brightly, Bilbo almost sighed with relief when he saw the small black stone sink into the door as if the stone was not even there. There was a tiny, almost inaudible 'click' as Thorin turned the key and the stone gave a great groan as it opened.

The mountain seemed to break itself apart as dust and bits of rock burst out. The company was completely silent while the door opened, too shocked that they had actually made it to even completely register what was happening. Then the groaning stopped and the door was open. They could go through, into the Lonely Mountain. The thrush dropped its snail and flew back up to Bilbo's shoulder, giving the hobbit one last peck on the ear before it soared off him into the night. Absently, Bilbo reached up to rub his ear but he never looked away from the gaping hole that now rested in the mountain.

"Time to move," Thorin finally turned to face the company, "time to go home."

"Wait Thorin," Bilbo started quickly, "I don't think we should all go in at once."

"I cannot just wait out here, Bilbo," the dwarf looked at him, his gaze reproachful that the hobbit would try to stop him now. Thorin turned to go through the door but Bilbo quickly shot out a hand and gripped the dwarf's sleeve.

"Just hear me out, Thorin!" Bilbo pulled his friend as hard as he dared to stop the dwarf moving. Finally he halted and slowly turned to face the hobbit.

"The whole reason Gandalf said you lot needed me to come along was because Smaug won't be able to recognize my scent, whatever that means," Bilbo let go of Thorin's sleeve, "if it can smell you all coming then wouldn't the whole company going down there alert the dragon?"

The dwarf continued to gaze at him, "If it is there, then we'll need every little advantage we can get, throwing away a surprise attack would be foolish, Thorin, you know it would be."

"Then what do you suggest?" Thorin asked, his words laced with trepidation.

"I'll go down first and check it out," Bilbo said with certainly more confidence than he was feeling at the moment. He didn't want to walk into a dragon's den alone by any means, but if the alternative was endangering the company, well… then the choice was obvious to him.

"No. Absolutely not." Thorin ground out, crossing his arms and looking none too pleased that Bilbo had the audacity to suggest such an idea.

"What—" the hobbit glared at Thorin, "What do you mean absolutely not? It's the best plan we have! Anyway," Bilbo stalked forwards towards the door, "you have no right to stop me!"

The dwarf grabbed a fistful of Bilbo's coat and hauled him back; "I will not let you walk in there by yourself. It is far too dangerous."

The hobbit twisted until his coat and pack were almost half off his body so he could give Thorin the full Baggin's glare, "I know the risks, Thorin, but this is the best option!"

The dwarf looked ready to argue when Dwalin stepped in and unlatched his friend's fist from Bilbo's coat. "He's right, let the lad go."

Thorin looked over at Dwalin like the dwarf had burned him, "I will do no such thing!"

Balin walked over to stand beside his brother, "None of us wants Master Baggins to be in danger, Thorin, but he is right. This is why we brought along a hobbit, so the dragon wouldn't notice our arrival."

Their leader glanced between Dwalin and Balin, searching their faces for an answer he clearly wasn't going to get. The old dwarf stepped forward and placed a hand on each of Thorin's arms, "We don't have an army, lad. We cannot take this mountain by force." Balin tightened his grip, "we need the element of surprise if you want us to have even a remote chance of success. Master Baggins has volunteered to go and you must let him."

"This is foolish," Thorin all but spat, "this is foolish and dangerous and not what I wanted."

"But it's what you need," Bilbo smiled at his friend, "don't worry, I can be very quiet when I need to."

Balin let go of their leader, who shook out his arms with a glare at the rest of the company. Thorin's fists balled and he turned back towards the hobbit.

"Are you sure, Bilbo?"

Nodding, Bilbo hitched up his pack, "Of course, I'll just take a quick look, nothing dangerous."

The dwarf's fists unclenched and for a moment Bilbo thought he was going to reach out for his hands but they stayed firmly by Thorin's side except for a slight jerk. "Promise me, Bilbo, that you will be careful and do nothing foolhardy that will put yourself in harms way."

Bilbo rolled his eyes with an exasperated smile as he started to turn towards the door again, "I won't do anything stupid, Thorin." He felt a hand reach out and grip his arm tightly.

"Promise," Thorin's jaw was clenched again and his brows were drawn low over his eyes.

Bilbo glanced from the dwarf's hand and the dark expression on his face. "I promise."

Their gazes locked together for several moments; the hobbit felt something in his stomach clench and he wasn't sure it was from nerves.

"Get him a torch," Thorin snapped to the company, still looking at Bilbo but letting his hand fall back to his side. Bofur came up to him moments later, a small torch in his hand and handed it to the hobbit. There was a chorus of 'good luck,' and 'stay safe' from the company as Bilbo turned his back to them and started down into the dark passage.

The passage was winding but thankfully not too narrow. It also seemed to be carved and therefore relatively smooth which did wonders for his aching feet. He walked and walked until he could no longer see hear the company talking nor could he hear the wind. Now there was nothing apart from his own soft footfalls and the occasional drip of water.

He continued until he walked into what appeared to be a cave that the passage continued on at the opposite end. The shadows from his torch cast dancing images of rocks hanging from the ceiling and his own flickering shape. It was so quiet down here he almost wished he had the thrush from earlier still chirping on his shoulder. The further he had gone, the more rapidly his heart had started to beat.

There could be a dragon at the end of this passage. The beast that had ravaged Dale and Erebor in all but a few hours could be waiting for him. To tear his flesh from his bone in a single breath of fiery fury! If only he was a better fighter or a wizard like Gandalf! If only he was something rather more remarkable than a hobbit—

Wait.

He had the ring! How did he keep forgetting about that, 'stupid, stupid hobbit!' If the dragon couldn't see him and didn't recognize his smell, well then maybe he had a chance. Slipping it on his finger, Bilbo felt the slightly suffocating embrace of the rings presence as it cloaked him with invisibility.

He wasn't confident, per say, but he couldn't help but feel slightly more assured than he had before. Steeling himself once more, Bilbo pushed forward to the end of the cave and walked through. The passage twisted and turned as it had before; but there was something different now. Something lighter.

There was a light somewhere and that meant the end of the tunnel. Bilbo took a few deep breaths as he set his torch against the wall, praying that it would not go out. Walking forward with more care than he had before, the hobbit followed the passage as it curved down and started to open up wider and wider. Suddenly he could see the end of tunnel and in front of him, almost blocking the exit, was a massive pile of gold.

'This must be the treasure room…' he thought to himself as he stepped lightly around the pile of gold, trying not to touch anything that looked too likely to fall.

That was when he saw it. Turning around the pile, Bilbo almost let out a yell of terror, but quickly slapped his hand over his mouth. Laying much too close to where he was standing, there was a dragon. The dragon.

Smaug the Terrible lay on his side, his stomach exposed, covered in jewels, his great chest heaving with every breath.

And it was terrible. Magnificent and terrible. Each scale glittered like they were made out of the very rubies he laid upon. And then there were claws. Massive, long claws shone like razor-sharp obsidian swords ready to cleave and tear. Bilbo could see two massive fangs jutting out from the dragon's upper jaw and knew somewhere deep in his heart that those teeth had claimed countless lives. That maybe the dragon's scales were red because they had been stained by the blood of all Smaug's victims.

He couldn't move, couldn't breath. Bilbo Baggins was staring at the face of death and he could not laugh. He couldn't even shake; the cacophony of terror that screamed in his head would not be calmed. He would die here. Thorin would die here. They would all die here in a blaze of searing malice.

'Promise me.'

He would be torn apart by furious claws. He would be split apart by cruel teeth, sharpened by all the bones of those who had died before him.

'Promise me, Bilbo.'

He would…

No, he would get back to Thorin. He would leave this place whole and healthy. He would not wake the sleeping dragon because he had promised Thorin that he would not do anything stupid and he was sure rousing the beast from it's slumber would fall at the top of Thorin's list of 'stupid things Bilbo Baggins should not do.'

He would move his legs and he would walk right back up that passage and report back to his friend because this was Thorin's home and they were here to take it back. 'Move, move, move!' He thought at his legs angrily. Bilbo clenched his eyes and thought of Thorin's face after he had saved the dwarf from Azog. He thought of that smile and the look of peaceful relief, he thought of how much a king his friend had looked in that moment.

His foot moved back. One step. Then two steps. He was backing away from the dragon. He was going to get back to that passage and nothing was going to go wrong. Bilbo felt his elbow hit something that started to tumble. Twisting rapidly, Bilbo spun and shot out his hand, catching a golden cup before it went crashing to the floor.

The hobbit shut his eyes and took in a few shuddering breaths, waiting from something else to fall, to alert Smaug of his presence, but nothing happened. Silence rang in his ears apart from his own trembling breathing. 'Okay. Okay.' Bilbo chanted to himself, "Okay, Bilbo Baggins, you can do this. Almost there."

He stepped very slowly around the mound, careful not to touch anything else and crept towards the passage. If felt like it took hours for him to reach the hole imbedded in the wall but as soon as he passed back into the stone tunnel, Bilbo all but collapsed onto the ground. Feeling something poke into his side, the hobbit looked down to see the golden cup was still in his hand.

'Oops…'

Well, he was most certainly not going back in there to put back some stupid cup. Smaug would just have to make due with one less piece of treasure. Bilbo sat there for a few minutes simply calming his rattled nerves and shaking legs until he thought he could walk again. He almost cried with joy when he saw his torch had remained lit and slipped the ring back into his pocket.

Bilbo made his way back up the passage as quickly as he could without making an obscene amount of noise. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins from his encounter with the dragon and Bilbo didn't feel even the least bit tired as he pumped his legs up the winding stone tunnels.

He ran back through the cave and up the passage at the opposite end. The moment he heard the soft talk of the company, he felt his heart lift with relief. He had made it back, alive and in one piece. Bursting through the door, the hobbit practically skidded onto the stone ledge where the company was sitting.

"Master Boggins!" Kili was closest to him and shot up, gathering him in a tight hug. Fili let out a happy laugh and wrapped his arms around both of them, lifting Bilbo and Kili until their feet were off the ground. "You're alright, Master Baggins!"

Bilbo grinned at both of them, "Told you I'd be fine."

Fili set them down and Bilbo was quickly pulled around by a pair of strong hands. "Are you injured, Bilbo? Are you—" The hobbit gripped his friend's forearms in his hands.

"Perfectly fine, Thorin, just like I promised." The dwarf let out a sigh of relief and Bilbo saw Thorin's shoulder's slump as if some of their tense anxiety had been relieved.

"What did you find, Master Baggins?" Balin asked him calmly from behind their leader.

The hobbit couldn't help the grimace that crept onto his face. "Smaug is inside."

There was a collective groan from the company and Bilbo knew he had dashed the last bit of hope they had been clinging to that this quest would somehow just entail entering the mountain and claiming their gold.

"We all knew this was likely," Thorin said gruffly over their mutterings.

"The passage leads right into the treasure room," Bilbo continued, "Smaug was sleeping when I went inside." The hobbit held up the gold cup for Thorin to take, "On the bright side, there's more gold inside than there is dragon."

The dwarf reached out and grasped the cup, "So the dragon sleeps, we will have –"

There was a terrible roar that seemed to shake the entire mountain. Bilbo stumbled back into Fili at the force of the screech. The hobbit looked up at Thorin, his mouth agape, "What was—"

Another roar.

"I don't think the dragon is asleep anymore, Master Boggins," Kili said as he slotted an arrow into his bow. He knew the dwarf couldn't do anything against a dragon with something so paltry as an arrow, but it must have reassured Kili anyway.

There was a great groan from the distant green doors of Erebor and Smaug burst out in a flurry of fire and claws. Stretching out his great leathery black wings, the beast looked massive even from where the company stood. Letting out another fiery roar, Smaug's wings beat one, twice, and then he was in the air. The dragon started to lay waste to the already scorched land until it spotted where their ponies had been left to graze what little they could.

The shriek Smaug let out shook Bilbo to his very bone as he watched the dragon swoop down on the ponies in a storm of snapping jaws and deadly claws. They could hear the distant cries of their steeds before there was little left but smears on the ground. The dragon took off again back towards the mountain. Towards them.

"Into the passage!" Thorin shouted, starting to shove whoever was closest to him through the door, "hurry!"

The rest of the company except Thorin had pushed through when Bilbo felt each of his arms hooked around one of Fili and Kili's as they jointly lifted him. His weight did little to slow the brothers down at the hurtled into the dark passage and away from the dragon's horrible roars. They ran down the twisting tunnel in chaotic confusion. The hobbit could hear the shouts of the company and pounding feet but he could barely formulate his own thoughts. He knew Thorin should be just behind them and prayed that his friend had not been too late, that the dragon would not claim another of Durin's line this night.

Then there was a crash that forced them all hurtling forward until he was skidding on his stomach across the stone bottom of the passageway. The hobbit felt himself tumble around and around until his back hit one of the curved sides of the tunnel. Blinking a few times, Bilbo tried to steady his vision but he soon realized it wasn't his eyes that weren't working, it was a cloud of dust and debris hovering thickly in the air around them.

"Fili?" he shouted out into the dark, "Kili? Are you alright?" Bilbo heard two groans from behind him and he felt along the ground until his hand hit a body. The hobbit shook what felt like an arm furiously, "Fili, Fili wake up we need to move!"

There was another groan, "It's Kili, Master Boggins." Bilbo could see the outline of his friend sitting up.

"We don't even look alike," Kili coughed at the dust, "and you still can't tell us apart."

The hobbit raised the necktie to his mouth to try and keep the dirt out, "Very funny, now where is Fili?"

"Over here…" Kili and Bilbo scrambled over to where they saw the blonde dwarf still laying on the ground, his leg trapped under a piece of stone that had been dislodged from the now crumbling wall. "Lift this off me, would you?"

Between the two of them they lifted the stone long enough for Fili to pull his leg out from underneath. Bilbo crouched down, "Are you hurt? Does anything feel broken?"

The dwarf shook his head as he stood up gingerly, "I don't think so."

"We need to find Thorin," Bilbo said urgently, "the damage will be worse the closer it is to the door."

Fili and Kili nodded in agreement and they set out back up the passageway, weaving around rocks and rubble. Kili led the way, one of his hands gripped firmly in Bilbo's while the hobbit held Fili's hand in his other hand. The dust still made it hard for them to see, let alone try and call out to Thorin.

"Thorin!" Bilbo coughed out as another piece of rock fell out from the ceiling.

"Uncle!" The brothers shouted with greater and greater urgency.

He couldn't be… No, he would not let himself even think that. Thorin was fine, they just had to find him.

They pressed forward until Kili suddenly halted, Bilbo stuttering to a stop behind him, "Do you see something?"

The young dwarf shook his head, "I think… I think I feel something." Kili bent down his free hand blindly sweeping the floor. "I did! It's… I think it's uncle's boot."

Bilbo and Fili quickly moved around him and what the hobbit saw made his heart clench. Thorin's legs were free but his upper half looked to be covered in stone. He couldn't make out if the dwarf was being crushed or they just couldn't see how the rocks had fallen.

"We need to pull him out," Fili grabbed one of his uncle's boots as Kili grabbed the other. They gave a great yank and Thorin's body slid out from under the rocks. Bilbo fell down to his knees and started to examine the dwarf as best he could. Pressing his ear to Thorin's chest and a hand just above the dwarf's mouth, Bilbo waited, prayed that there was still life in his friend's chest.

There was a moment; a single moment in which he could hear nothing and the hobbit felt the world to start crashing down around him. But there. There he felt the dwarf's chest move up so his cheek was resting on Thorin and a puff of air ghosted onto his hand. Bilbo let out a choked laugh as he allowed himself leave his face against the dwarf's chest and hear the pulse of pure life that pumped through Thorin.

"He's alive."

Fili and Kili let out twin noises of relieved happiness as the blonde dwarf gathered his younger brother into a fierce hug. "Uncle will be fine, Kili, have faith."

"There's a cave further down the passage, we need to get Thorin there so I can examine him," Bilbo said as he stood up shakily. The brothers hauled their uncle up so they each had an arm slung over one shoulder. The hobbit started to walk in front of them, trying to clear the way as best he could.

"Don't walk too far ahead, Master Baggins, I can hardly see you as it is," Fili called out through labored breaths. Then inspiration hit Bilbo, they couldn't see him, but they could hear him. The hobbit started to sing the notes of the lullaby he'd heard Bofur sing while making countless dinners and Kili had told him about on their first night in Mirkwood.

And so he led the dwarves through the wreckage of the passageway as the thrush had led him earlier. Not walking too far ahead, always singing and moving what rubble he could out of the way. Bilbo knew the passage way wasn't too long until the cave but they were making slow progress with Thorin unconscious and the debris littered everywhere. He could hear the grunts of effort Fili and Kili made as they hauled their uncle further and further down the passage.

The air started to clear the further down they went until there was little dust left in the air. "I think we're almost there," Bilbo called over his shoulder. And sure enough, they twisted around several more corners and he saw the tunnel opening up into the cave he'd seen before. The rest of the company was sprawled about on the floor in various states of haggard distress but as soon as the hobbit stepped into the cave, they shot up.

Dwalin stood up fast as lightening and practially leapt to where Fili and Kili were staggering a few feet behind Bilbo, taking Thorin from their tired shoulders gently as he could. The hobbit followed the dwarf over to a smooth portion of ground and Dwalin set their leader down.

"Is he alright, lad?" The dwarf looked up at him from under a scarred eyebrow.

"He's breathing, but I didn't have time to really check…"Bilbo hesitated as he looked down at Thorin's dirty face.

Dwalin moved aside, "Well then check him now."

The hobbit slung off his pack and rifled around inside until he felt the jar he had liberated from Oin. Pulling it out along with the cloth Bard had given him, Bilbo knelt down next to Thorin's face and began to wipe away what little of the dirt and grime he could. Reaching up to push some of Thorin's wild hair away, the hobbit felt his hands brush something wet, blood. Bilbo pushed his friend's hair behind him and examined the wound. It didn't look very deep, thankfully, and he hoped that Thorin had just been grazed by some spare piece of rubble.

Wiping away the rest of the blood, Bilbo dipped his fingers into some of the ointment and started to spread the balm on Thorin's head. He worked silently for a few moments when the dwarf suddenly jerked and his hand snapped up and gripped Bilbo's wrist with the strength of an iron trap. Letting out a stream of dry coughs, the dwarf heaved until he could cough no more.

"Wa—" he started but another hacking fit interrupted him, "…water."

Dwalin sprang up again and ran to his pack, pulling out a thick skin of water before sprinting back to knell next to Thorin's face. Tilting it up until a stream of water poured out the end, Dwalin held it steady as their leader gulped down the liquid.

"My nephews…. Are they—" he coughed again, "are they well?"

Fili and Kili ran over as soon as their uncle started to move. Bilbo tried to shift over to let Thorin's nephews in closer but the dwarf still had a vice grip on his wrist. "We're fine, uncle," Fili smiled at their leader, "nothing wrong," Kili added from his brother's side.

Thorin nodded before letting his head fall back onto the stone, "good."

Dwalin ushered Fili and Kili over to their packs to help the company unload what little they had brought with them, muttering something about foolish Durin royals who thought it amusing to flirt with death.

"Uh… Thorin?" Bilbo spoke quietly, "You've, uh, got my…" No answer. The hobbit gently poked his friend in the cheek with his free hand, "Thorin?"

The dwarf opened dusty eyelashes to glare at Bilbo, "What?"

"It's just, well, uh…" he lifted up the wrist the dwarf still clutched tightly, "I can't do my thing," he wiggled his fingers at the jar of ointment, "very well with only one hand."

Thorin glanced down at his hand like he hadn't even realized what he'd been doing, "Oh… of course."

The dwarf let go and started to sit up, pushing himself back until he hit the rock all of the cave. Bilbo shoved his stuff after his friend and fished out his own flask of water, handing it to Thorin who took it gratefully.

"So, anywhere hurt aside from your head?"

The dwarf started to move separate parts of his body until he seemed satisfied that everything was in working order. "I don't think so." Letting out a little sigh of relief, Bilbo dabbed his fingers into the balm once more, "oh good, that makes this so much less… stressful." The hobbit tried to move Thorin's hair away again but found with the dwarf's head again the wall; he couldn't exactly just shove it behind him.

Bilbo simply shrugged a little and shoved his fingers into the mass of inky black hair and pushed his hand back until the offending chunk was out of his way and let it rest against the dwarf's head. Thorin looked up at him almost startled at the contact, eyes going wide.

Bilbo looked down at him unimpressed. "No complaining, your highness, I'm healing," he wiggled his fingers that were covered in the green mixture again. Leaning in close to see the best he could in the relative darkness of the cave, Bilbo started to rub the balm gently into Thorin's wound.

He heard the dwarf's breath quicken and immediately halted his hand, "Sorry, does it hurt? I can try not to touch it as much but there's only so much I can do…"

"I…"Thorin looked away from his friend, "No, it is fine. Continue."

The hobbit nodded but tried his best not to poke the wound. "It isn't too deep, really looks worse than it is."

"I will be alright," Thorin spoke, still looking away from the hobbit.

Bilbo chuckled lightly, "And this time, I actually feel inclined to believe you."

Without the blood obscuring Thorin's head, Bilbo could see that the wound was less a blunt impact and more like something had just scraped away the skin. It would sting, but there wasn't any damage the balm wouldn't help fix. He continued to apply the paste until the raw skin was covered. Now all they would have to do is let it soak in and do its work. Bilbo gave the wound one last check and felt satisfied with his work. The hobbit pulled his hand out of Thorin's hair and reached down to grab the cloth, missing the slight jerk of the dwarf's head as if to follow.

He held up Bard's gift motioning for Thorin, "Pour some water on this, would you?"

The dwarf tilted the skin, dampening the cloth. Bilbo raised it to his friend's face and started to wipe away at the dirt. Shooting him a glare, Thorin tried to pull his face away, "You do not need to clean me. I am not some helpless dwarfling."

If Bilbo could have rolled his eyes all the way back into his head and just left them there, he was sure that would be the most expedient method of communicating his seemingly ever-present exasperation with Thorin Oakenshield. "You see that is so odd, because I was checking for more wounds."

"But if you want to be killed by some sort of infection from a silly cut," Bilbo narrowed his eyes, "then you are, of course, more than welcome to do so."

Thorin remained silent as they tried to out-glare each other. "I'm going to take your silence as the 'of course you're right, Bilbo, but I'm just too stubborn to admit it' variety." The hobbit raised the cloth again with a challenging stare and resumed cleaning the dwarf's face. He wiped away all the dust and small bits of earth that still clung there, turning the dwarf's face this way and that to make sure he didn't miss anything.

Thorin had closed his eyes as the hobbit went about his work. Bilbo was sure the dwarf was tired. Not just physically from all the rummaging around the side of the mountain they'd been doing for the past few days, but emotionally. He had seen Thorin sitting at the edge of camp, staring at the doors of Erebor late into the night. Now that thought on it, he wasn't sure he actually seen Thorin sleep since they set out from Lake Town.

The hobbit finished wiping the last of the dirt from his friend's face and stuffed his supplies into his pack then shoved it over so he could sit next to Thorin against the wall. "How long has it been?"

The dwarf glanced over at him, "How long has it been…?"

Bilbo fished his blanket out of his pack and spread it over both of their legs. "Don't play dumb with me, Thorin. How long has it been since you slept?"

The dwarf stiffened beside him for a moment before Thorin seemed to deflate, his shoulder's slumping and arms going limp. "A few days."

The hobbit turned his head to look at his friend, "Thorin…" The dwarf continued to look at some mysterious point in the corner of the cave Bilbo was sure his friend wasn't actually seeing. "Thorin look at me…" Thorin shifted his gaze slowly so he met the hobbit's gaze out of the corner of his eyes. "You need to rest. We need you to be strong and you can't do that without letting yourself get some sleep."

The dwaf's eyes looked… hollow now. None of the tortured pain he had seen the night before, instead there was a tired sort of emptiness. "I… cannot."

Bilbo held his friend's gaze, "Why can't you?"

Thorin finally looked away and brought a hand up to his face, the heel of his palm rubbing at his eyes. "I have… dreams."

The hobbit nodded, "what sort of dreams?" his voice was calm and belayed none of the worry he felt squirming in his stomach.

The dwarf was silent for a long while before he sighed, "Nightmares. Of the day Erebor was attacked. Of my brother being… torn apart by the dragon. Of Thror's rage when he lost the Arkenstone..."

"And then I dream…" Thorin clenched his eyes shut, "of Fili and Kili burning alive. And of you," the dwarf hesitated for a moment, "being swallowed whole by the beast while I do nothing but stand by, consumed with greed for the golden horde."

"They're just dreams, Thorin," Bilbo spoke softly, "nothing more."

"I do not think they are," the dwarf leaned his head back against the cold stone of the cave as if it could cool his thoughts, "I fear it is going to happen and it will be all my fault."

"You would never let anyone in this company die for gold, no matter how much it's worth," Bilbo shot in quickly, he would not let his friend spiral in a fit of agonizing self-loathing when they had finally made it in the mountain.

Thorin let out a bitter laugh, "Wouldn't I? It's in my blood, Bilbo. My grandfather almost got both of us killed because he wouldn't leave a stone behind. Frerin… died partially because of that. If I –" Thorin took a deep breath, "if I let my own brother die, what makes you think any of this company is safe?"

"That is ridiculous, Thorin, and you know it." Bilbo glared at his friend, "you did not let Frerin die, you were trying to save your grandfather. I have no idea what this Arkenstone business is, but I feel very confident in saying that if it came down to a member of this company and it, you would choose your friends."

Thorin's eyes remained shut. "The Arkenstone is… it is our greatest treasure. It is the very heart of this mountain and more ancient than any gem or metal ever found by our kind. To see it is to see the very nature of all the life that flows through this world manifested in a single shard."

The hobbit tried to picture the stone but found he didn't even know where to begin. "Whatever your grandfather's mistakes, you are not destined to make them simply because you share the same lineage." Bilbo's face was set with determination, "You are strong, Thorin. Whatever else you think of yourself, know that you are strong."

"A stone, however old or mystical or whatever, is not worth the life of a person," the hobbit sought Thorin's hand under the blanket and squeezed it as soon as his fingers made contact, "and I know you know that. Your grandfather didn't, or maybe he couldn't, but you do, Thorin, and you won't prove me wrong."

The dwarf sat in silence for many long moments, "What have I done to earn such confidence, Bilbo?"

The hobbit groaned quietly, "You've been yourself, that's what I've been trying to tell you this whole time! You don't need to do anything, just, uh, be, I suppose."

And then Thorin laughed, it was quiet and rough but it was genuine. And he laughed and laughed until the rest of the company started to look over at them with curious glances.

Bilbo felt his face begin to flush. "What exactly did I say that was so funny?" He hissed at the dwarf who was starting to calm himself.

Thorin raised a brow with mock incredulity, "Nothing. You've just been yourself, Master Baggins."

"Oh, I see how it is," the hobbit pouted, "I try to cheer you up and you make fun of me."

The dwarf smiled at him, "I am not poking fun, Bilbo, just… appreciating how strange life can be."

Bilbo tried to hold his pout but couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "Fine, fine, do you think you can try to sleep now at least?"

Thorin nodded slowly, "I will try." The dwarf closed his eyes leaning back against the stone and started to breath steadily. Bilbo tried to pull his hand out after a while, but just felt the fingers around his tighten in response.

He guessed maybe an hour had passed by when he felt Thorin's head start to drift sideways until the very top was leaning against Bilbo's. Smiling to himself and very lightly giving his back a little mental pat, he shifted his own head so it rested on the dwarf's shoulder and Thorin's was leaning a bit more comfortably on his own.

---

Bilbo woke to the sound of the company shifting restlessly around the cave. Moving his sore neck, he forgot Thorin's head was resting on his own and ended up jerking the dwarf awake rather suddenly.

"What—" the dwarf grumbled before his eyes opened with sudden realization, "I slept."

Creaking his neck with a small pop, Bilbo grinned up at his friend, "indeed you did!" The hobbit glanced at Thorin's wound and was pleased to see it healing very nicely under the thick paste of Oin's balm. It wasn't of Beorn's quality, but he had to admit it was working quite well.

"Good, you're up," came Dwalin gruff voice from across the cave, "we need a plan Thorin." The dwarf stood up and made his over to where Thorin and Bilbo were sitting followed closely by Balin, Fili, and Kili.

"There doesn't seem to be very many options…" Fili trailed off as he glanced back at the way they had come in through, "there's only one way out as far as I know." Kili nodded in agreement gesturing to the remaining passage from the cave, "and it's through there."

"It seems pretty simple to me," Bilbo joined in, looking at his companions, "I'll go scout the cave again, see if Smaug is back."

Thorin turned quickly to face him but Balin cut in before their leader could argue, "Aye, laddie, I have to agree. We can't risk a frontal assault. Master Baggins can look for any weaknesses and report back, then we'll formulate a real strategy."

Their leader looked at Bilbo, searching his face for something he could argue with. "We're running out of options, Thorin, it'll be just like before; quick and quiet as I can."

Thorin nodded hesitantly, "if it's just like before, then your promise still stands, Bilbo, don't do anything idiotic and come back."

"I promise," the hobbit stood up and stretched his legs, "well, no time like the present, I suppose…"

Fili and Kili walked with him to the mouth of the passage, "be careful, Master Boggins."

Fili thrust the hilt of one of his daggers into Bilbo's hand, "I know you have a sword, but this is faster," the blonde dwarf smiled at him, "and rather more suits you I think."

Bilbo glanced down at the finely carved hilt, crested with the same pattern that Fili wore on his clothes, "I can't… I can't take this, Mister Fili…"

The young dwarf simply waved him off, "just borrowing it, Master Baggins, I'm going to want that back." The hobbit understood then and hugged the dwarf brothers, pushing them tightly together so he could fit his arms at least somewhat around them.

"Thank you, I'll bring it back right away," and with that the hobbit turned from them swiftly before he lost his nerve. Slipping the ring on, Bilbo vanished and made his way down the passageway towards the treasure room for the second time. Now that he had seen the dragon not just sleeping, but wreaking destructive havoc on the mountain, he knew the shaking in his hands was not going to stop anytime soon.

He was invisible. He was invisible and the dragon couldn't smell him, Bilbo told himself over and over again as he followed the dark passageway. 'Please be gone, please be gone, please be gone,' the hobbit prayed as he saw the gold mound that rested in front of the passage. Forcing his foot to step out onto the treasure room floor, the hobbit took a few steps around the mound to see…

Yes, that was indeed a dragon.

He had at least seen the beast before and so he didn't need to mufle another yell. However, that knowledge did nothing to quell the nervous bile rising in his throat or his fluttering heartbeat. 'Well it's… asleep at least," he thought to himself but felt no relief. The dragon was lying down much as it had been before but now there was…

One great eyelid blinked so quickly, Bilbo wasn't sure if his mind hadn't just invented the terror until he saw a flash of red that was dragon's eye. Like fire itself swirled within the beast. Smaug had been watching the entrance of the tunnel the entire time.

'And that' Bilbo started to scramble back towards the passage, 'is my cue to leave.'

"I smell you thief," the hobbit shuddered to a halt at the low voice. It sounded rough and deep, like the dragon's voice was flints striking together; ready to make flames pour out at any moment.

"I feel you in the air. I can hear your breath."

Bilbo stood rigid, still facing the tunnel, unable to make himself move.

"Why don't you come back, little thief," Smaug growled with false humor, "there's plenty more to fill your pockets."

'Think, Bilbo, think,' he tried to push his brain into moving faster than it's current sluggish and terrified pace. Could he leave? Could he make it back to the tunnel? 'No,' he thought dejectedly, the dragon could burn him at anytime; there was no way he could make it out alive. What did he know about dragons! What had he read in his books…

Taking a deep breath, Bilbo forced himself to remember the tales written within the old tomes of Bag Eng.

You must never reveal your name; he could practically hear his mother's voice hushed with mystery. You don't want to make them mad; for they dearly love to watch things burn. You must never refuse them, for a dragon spurned is even more dangerous than a dragon scorned. And above all else, a dragon loves a challenge. But be warned, his mother's voiced floated in his ears, for they are vain and cunning creatures. Never ever challenge a dragon unless you know you can win because if you lose, you burn.

The question was becoming less of whether he thought he could win, and more of whether he had any choice. And it hit him in a very sudden and very anoxious moment, a choice was the last thing he had. Turning around slowly, Bilbo tried to push all his terror, all his fear of a painful death and never leaving this mountain alive to the very back of his head. He may not be the smartest hobbit, or the wisest, but there was no doubt in the Shire who was the cleverest.

Walking forward several steps, Bilbo called up to the dragon with his most humble voice, "No thank you, Oh Smaug the Mighty," the hobbit gave a curt bow knowing the dragon could not see him, but felt he might as well give it his all, "I did not come to gather trinkets or treasure."

"Oh good, it wants to play." The dragons mouth split open into what Bilbo thought might have been a smile, "I was afraid this was going to be boring. Very well, thief, why have you come if not for gold?"

"Ah," Bilbo took a step forward, "but all that is gold does not glitter. What I value here was to see you, to see if the tales of your greatness were true for I did not believe them."

Smaug let out a snort, a puff of smoke shooting out of his nostril, "Well then I find myself curious, thief, how do you find the truth of these tales now that you have seen?" The dragon sounded amused but rather like he was merely humoring a brief distraction and not actually believing a single word.

"They do you no justice, O Smaug the Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities," Bilbo replied, "the songs and tales speak nothing of your truly fearsome presence."

The dragon opened his eyes fully now and Bilbo finally thought he might have caught Smaug's interest. "You have pretty manners for a thief, shame you're a liar as well."

"Consider me reluctantly intrigued," Smaug raised his great, scaled head to fold two clawed feet in front of him, "And it is so dreadfully boring here. Your smell is unfamiliar to me, who are you and where do you come from?"

'Challenge him,' Bilbo thought to himself urgently, 'keep him interested.'

"I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my path led. And through the air, I am he that walks unseen."

The dragon sat up a little straighter, "And so the liar tells a truth, how delightfully unpredictable, but that is hardly your usual name."

"I am," Bilbo thought back on his journey, "the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinger in the night."

"Such lovely titles you have," Smaug let out a deep, sneering laugh that chilled Bilbo down his spine with prick after prick of fear.

"I am he that buries his friends alive and drowns them and draws them alive again from the water," Bilbo added quickly, "I came from the end of a bag, but no bag was drawn over me."

"And here I thought you had decided spin some truth into your tale," the dragon let a plume of smoke out of his mouth that Bilbo eyed feeling sweat start to run down his neck. Perhaps he should… reign it in a little before that smoke turned into something slightly hotter and much more lethal.

"I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am the ring-winner," the used his thumb to twist the golden ring around his finger in nervous anticipation, "and the barrel-rider."

"Hmm," Smaug let out a pleased purr from low in his throat, "that was much better, little liar, never let the tale lose its plausibility or you lose your audience."

And now he was getting lectured from the single most terrifying beast he'd ever seen about his storytelling. This day was certainly turning out to be a rather horrible mixture of dread and the appallingly absurd.

"Very well, barrel-rider, since you provided me with such an excellent meal of fresh horse last night," the dragon raised one long claw to pick at a tooth, "and I'm feeling generous at the moment, I will offer you one piece of advice: abandon those fool dwarves."

'Oh bugger,' Bilbo felt his stomach sink. "What dwarves does your magnificence refer—"

Smaug let out a loud roar that drowned out the hobbit's voice, "Do not pretend to be an imbecile, little lair, when you are not. And I know the stench of dwarf. I can smell that vile stink all over you."

The dragon's wicked smile spread over his face again, "you'll come to a bad and, might I say, very painful end if you call such creatures your companions. You can run along and tell them I said so."

Bilbo couldn't believe his ears, was the dragon letting him go? The hobbit had just been about to sprint as far and as fast as his legs would take him when he heard the dragon begin to speak once more.

"I suppose that cup you stole came to a fair price, did it?"

Bilbo paused for a moment, not seeing where this was going and that frightened him immensely, "I… received no payment."

Smaug snorted again like Bilbo had answered exactly as he expected him to, "How tediously typical. And I suppose these dwarves are skulking just outside while you are sent in for the dangerous work?" the dragon's laugh shook the piles of golden treasure, "I'll hazard a guess they offered you equal split of the spoils too. Don't believe it, little liar, you'll sooner end up dead before you prize your payment from their greedy hands."

Bilbo clenched his hands tightly; feeling the same righteous indignation flood his veins that always did whenever someone insulted his company. "You do not know everything, O Smaug the Mighty. It was not just gold that brought us here."

The dragon's tail flicked with amusement, "So you admit the 'us'? Why not just admit that you are a company of fourteen and be done with it. I enjoy your riddles but do not mistake me for a fool, I find the notion quite insulting."

"I am pleased it is not just my gold that brought you here, otherwise I'm afraid that your journey would have been altogether quite a monumental waste of time," the dragon resumed picking at his giant tooth, "for I find myself rather reluctant to give any up."

Bilbo felt anger rising within him. Danger he could take, not well, but he could take it. But to face a dragon, the most fearsome and mighty beast to fly the skies, only to have their motives mocked? 'Alright, that is it,' Bilbo clenched his teeth, 'if a fiery death awaits me then so be it!'

"Perhaps you will not need to give it up. The dead hardly have any say in the matter," Bilbo shot out, anger lacing every word. "Surely you must know that you have made many bitter enemies over the years? Many enemies that only wait for the right moment to take their revenge."

Then Smaug let out a laugh, but this one was far more terrible than anything Bilbo had ever heard before. His legs started to shake in fear as the mountains of gold around the room began to collapse at the force.

"Revenge!" the dragon hissed with a sneer, his eyes flashing red with the promise of a raging inferno for all who challenged him, "The King under the Mountain is dead and where are his kin that dare seek revenge? The Lord of Dale is dead and I have eaten his people like a wolf among sheep, and where are his kin that dare approach me?"

Smaug's voice grew higher as if the even the notion of revenge was the finest joke he'd ever heard. "I kill where I wish. I eat where I wish and none resist. I tore apart the best warriors Erebor had to offer without even a fraction of my true strength and where are the armies to challenge me now?"

"I have grown older and stronger. My armor is tenfold of your petty shields. My teeth are shaper and stronger than any sword. My claws are deadlier than an entire army of spears. My wings are stronger than any hurricane and they say my breath brings naught but death. Tell me, little liar, what have I to fear?"

'Think, think think,' Bilbo cursed silently. Then he remembered something, something his mother had told him long ago that might just work.

"I've be told," the hobbit's voice was much shakier than he would have liked, "that dragons are weakest under their chests."

Smaug reared up so his stomach was exposed, "I have placed iron scales and the hardest gems there. No blade can pierce me!"

Bilbo scanned the dragon, looking for something, anything that could help them. And then he saw it; there was small patch on the upper left corner of the dragon's chest that was nothing more than flesh with no metal scale or jewel to cover it. It wasn't much, admittedly, but it was something. He eyes fell on a small fluttering something that lingered near one of the doors out of the treasure room. It looked almost like the thrush that had helped them earlier, but he didn't have time to consider the bird's mysterious presence further.

"Maybe not a blade, but certainly an arrow," Bilbo saw the shift in Smaug's eyes and knew if he didn't get out right now, this could mean a very unfortunate end to his tale. Sprinting towards the door to the passageway as quickly as he could, the hobbit heard Smaug's terrible roar before he felt the heat of the flames.

'Bugger, bugger, bugger!' Bilbo ran as fast he could up the passageway but felt the suffocating heat chasing him all the way. If there was every a time in his life when Bilbo cursed his small size, it had to be right then when he knew having longer legs would have certainly mean getting away from the dragon's flame much quicker and with significantly less of his person singed.

He shoved the ring into his pocket and ran until his lungs burned. He ran until he burst out of the tunnel into the cave to see thirteen shocked faces look at him. The hobbit bent over, his hands on his knees, and panted heavily.

"Um, Master Baggins…" he heard Fili speak up hesitantly.

"Wh—" Bilbo took another shuddering gasp of air, "what?"

"It's just, well…" Fili replied slowly, "your coat is sort of… on fire."

"What?!"

---

Bilbo had just thrown his coat on the ground and started to stamp on the flames when they heard another great roar echo through the mountain; which could only mean Smaug was leaving the mountain again. Sure enough, the sound of the distant gates being ripped opened followed soon the dragon's fearsome cry. They all stilled for several moments, no one making a sound until they could hear none of the dragon's fury.

"What did you do to it, Master Baggins?" Kili was eyeing him with a mixture of disbelief and awe.

"I didn't do anything," he shot back indignantly. The hobbit looked around at the group all with faces that said very plainly they did not believe him.

"Fine, I talked to him for a little while and he got…" Bilbo put his burnt coat back on "irritated."

"You spoke to the dragon?" Thorin's face was as furious as his tone.

The hobbit placed his hands on his hips in a show of defiance, "I hadn't intended to do anything but Smaug knew I was there the moment I walked in. I had to distract him and the only way I could do that, is talk."

And so Bilbo regaled his tale to the company from the riddles he told the dragon to his perhaps less than wise taunting. "So he reared up," the hobbit raised his arms, imitating the beast, "and I was able to see his stomach.

"Most is covered by iron plates and jewels, but there was one spot on his upper chest," Bilbo pointed on his own body where it would have been, "that was bare. As far as I could tell, that may as well be the only way to kill him."

Bofur groaned with his face in his hand, "If I woulda' know you was foolish enough to taunt a dragon, I woulda' never let you go down there."

Bilbo glared at the dwarf, "I did what I had to and it all turned out for the best. We have information, the dragon is gone for the time being, and I'm not burned. Much."

Balin stood up, "Aye, but the question of what do we do now remains."

The company all looked to Thorin who sat in thought for a few moments. "We need to go in while the dragon is gone. We can do nothing sitting in this cave, there are plenty of places we can hide within the city."

There was a flurry of activity as the company dispersed to pack up their bags again. The nervous energy was almost palpable in the air as the dwarves prepared themselves for whatever was to come inside. For the final part of their journey, for better or worse. Bilbo grabbed his pack from the side of the cave and made his way over to where Thorin was standing, his jaw set and eyes dark.

The hobbit wanted to offer his friend another option, another way out than having to go through the destruction of his city but there were no other paths they could take now. The only way forward was through Erebor, so through Erebor they would have to go.

"Whatever you need, Thorin," Bilbo turned to their leader quietly, "I'm here."

The dwarf looked down at him for a few moments and gave him a stiff nod.

As soon as the company had assembled, they started down the passage, Bilbo and Thorin leading the way. Now familiar with these passages, the hobbit walked with surety around each bend that was now blackened with dragon's fire. Not one member of their group spoke as they journeyed deeper into the mountain until the darkness started to fade. The golden like of the treasure room started to fill passage and soon enough there was a collective gasp as they saw the first mound of gold.

There was a chaotic moment when it seemed to Bilbo that every dwarf surged forward simultaneously with shouts and whoops of glee at the sight of the golden horde, at the sight of their golden horde. There was a great deal of pushing and shoving to get through as Bilbo pushed himself to the back of the group, not wanting to get between a dwarf and his gold. As soon as they were through the door, the company started to fan out, examining as much as they could as fast as they could, all the while shouting at each priceless treasure they found.

Bilbo looked up to see that he was wrong, not every dwarf had run into the room. Thorin stood stalk still, his hand against the wall of the passage as if to support him. The hobbit padded up to his friend silently to stand beside him.

"Are you alright, Thorin?" The dwarf didn't respond, simply staring at the room unable to bring himself to move.

"I do not think I can…" Thorin trailed off, looking down at his feet as if they were foreign to him. Bilbo felt his heart clench at the sight, at his friend so paralyzed by whatever was running through his thoughts that the dwarf could do nothing but stare.

"You can Thorin, I know you can," the hobbit placed a hand on Thorin's arm. The dwarf looked at him blankly as if not really even seeing him. "Shall we go together?" Bilbo asked, sticking out his hand for Thorin to take.

Blinking a few times, his friend shook his head and gave a small nod. As soon as the dwarf reached out slowly to clasp his hand, Bilbo took it firmly in his own and started to take small steps forward. Thorin followed behind him until they passed through end of the passageway and into the larger room.

He heard his friend let out a large breath of air he must have been holding and the dwarf started to walk more resolutely. The hobbit let go of Thorin's hand and watched as the dwarf pushed aside whatever poisonous thoughts were currently twisting in his mind and walked towards the center of the chamber were Smaug had slumbered.

The rest of the company was still scattered around the vast room, some partially hidden by the heaps of treasure. Bilbo started to walk around to the back of the room, examining the heaps of treasure until he was completely out of sight, hidden by gold. It must have been an hour at least until he heard Dwalin call out that he was taking the company further into Erebor to find a suitable place to camp.

Bilbo had been about to join them when something caught his eye. It looked to be some sort of tome, encased in a heavy sleeve of pure gold with rubies sticking out of the cover. He wondered what a book was doing here, regardless of the fine case, and so he pulled it out of the pile as gently as he could. On the cover there was an intricately carved dragon, its body arched and flames coming out of the golden mouth.

Fire Drake Lore was written in the common script across the top and he couldn't help feel a mixture of amusement and irritation. On the one had, he could have really used it earlier when dealing with the actual dragon. On the other, he couldn't help but find it slightly entertaining that Smaug would have a book on himself. Not that it surprised the hobbit after having dealt with the beast. Bilbo turned open the first page to see painted there was a rather majestic portrait of what could only be Smaug himself. Snorting at the dragon's rather intense brand of narcissism, Bilbo made his way out from mounds of treasure in the back. Perhaps if he showed it to Thorin, that would cheer the dwarf up.

"Hey, Thorin, look at what I—" the hobbit had started to call out but halted as soon as he looked to where the dwarf had been standing but there was now nothing. 'Maybe he left with Dwalin…' Bilbo thought hesitantly, peering around the room. Then he heard what sounded to him like low wail and then a harrowing sob.

'What was that?' Bilbo walked to the center of the room and still saw nothing. He heard it again. The hobbit started to follow the noise towards the far corner of the room. From what he could tell around the mounds of treasure, there must have been a short set of stairs up the low balcony that circled the room. Several doors lined the way he walked towards, trying to find out where the noise was coming from.

He walked around several piles of gold until he saw something made his entire being go cold with dread. Thorin's body was hunched over something, his back a twisted arc of torment as sob after sob wracked his body. The dwarf's hands were hovering over something, not touching but shaking just above it. Bilbo took another step forward and saw what he thought might have been a bone.

'Oh no…' The hobbit thought with mounting panic, 'oh no, no, no.'

Thorin let out another horrible wail as he rocked slowly back and forth on knees. Bilbo had never see his friend cry. He'd never seen Thorin even remotely near crying and to see him now, hunched over like some pitiful creature tore at his heart like no knife ever could. There was only one dwarf these… remains could belong to. Only one dwarf whose death ate away Thorin's mind.

Frerin.

Bilbo knew Thorin had never seen the body, never had it actually confirmed with his own eyes that his brother was truly dead. There must have been some small part of Thorin that had clung to hope that Frerin had gotten away, had escaped the Lonely Mountain and was living somewhere safe and happy. And the hobbit was seeing that hope being torn out of him, ripped from Thorin's heart as his impossible grief made claim to his soul.

He had to… he had to do something. But for the first time in his life, hand stretched out towards Thorin's shaking back, he felt completely and utterly lost. How could he comfort Thorin? How could he even begin to know what to do in the face of such horrible despair?

"Thorin…?" Bilbo spoke quietly.

The dwarf continued to sob, wild hair falling around his face, hands still hovering over the charred old bones of his brother. Bilbo stepped closer and saw that there wasn't just one body lying on the ground, but two, intertwined in one final embrace as blistering death swirled around them. Around one of the arms that held the second body, a half melted vambrace hung off the blackened bone. As Bilbo looked at it closer, he could see the same crest as the one on Fili's knife was etched into the metal.

The hobbit turned towards his friend and knelt beside him. Bilbo tried to gently turn Thorin's shoulders to face him but the dwarf let out another cry and shoved him away, face never leaving the bones in front of him. He had never seen such sorrow in another being before, never seen such despair, but he knew Thorin. He knew that the dwarf would sit here, slowly losing his mind, blaming himself for something that wasn't his fault if Bilbo let him.

But he wouldn't. He would not let Thorin fade away into pain when they had made it into Erebor. Not while Thorin still called him friend.

"Thorin you need to look at me."

And then he heard the quiet muttering between each shaking sob, "It's my fault. All my fault. He's dead, dead, dead because of me." The dwarf would let out a wail then repeat the quiet words.

"Thorin," Bilbo placed a hand on the dwarf's far cheek, "look at me."

Thorin jerked back at the touch, but the hobbit kept his hand firm. Placing his other hand of the dwarf's face, Bilbo turned his friend's head until it was partially facing him. "Look at me, Thorin," he repeated again, trying to pour every ounce of will he had into each word.

The dwarf's wild, bloodshot eyes stayed fixed on the bodies for several long moments until they slowly moved up to Bilbo's face.

"Good, very good, keep your eyes on me," he spoke as softly and gently as he knew how.

Thorin looked up at him, though Bilbo could tell the dwarf saw nothing that was in front of him. He had to pull Thorin back, back to the treasure room, back to him. The hobbit gently moved his face forward until his forehead rested on Thorin's, their noses almost touching, hands still firmly clasped on the dwarf's face.

"Thorin Oakenshield," Bilbo spoke, his eyes fixed on Thorin's bright blue ones, "this was not your fault, Frerin did not die because of you."

The dwarf's eyes flicked backed to the corpse.

"No," Bilbo spoke slowly and firmly as he gave his friend's face a small shake with his hands, "eyes on me."

They shifted back.

"None of this was your fault, Thorin, absolutely none of it." Bilbo's voice was determined now; he had to make his friend see, to understand. "You did everything you could to save your people and your family and you need to accept that."

The hobbit pressed his forehead harder into Thorin's, he was going to get his friend back and there was nothing that would stop him. "You are the bravest warrior I have ever seen, you are the truest friend I have ever had and I know you would never abandon your family even if there were a hundred dragons blocking your path. You are Thorin Oakenshield and you are king under this mountain now."

"I know this hurts you, I know this hurts more than I could ever possibly understand," Bilbo clenched his eyes shut, "but you cannot let your grief overcome you. Frerin loved you and he would never want his death to define you. I won't let it."

The hobbit was so absorbed in his desperation that he didn't even notice the sobbing had stopped.

"Your company needs you, Thorin. Fili and Kili need you. I –" Bilbo took a deep breath, "I need you. So come back to me, damn it, come back."

The hobbit felt Thorin's head shift beneath him and a gust of breath on his face. Then a pair of dry lips pushed forward onto his own, so gently he almost didn't feel it. The dwarf's hands reached up from their limp position at his side to clutch tightly at the back of his jacket as if Bilbo Baggins was the only thing keeping him from falling into some dark abyss.

The hobbit's eyes stayed shut as his mind went completely blank. 'Thorin was…' but he couldn't finish the thought, 'Thorin was…'

'Oh my.'