Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, or any associated characters or concepts. Quotes in this chapter taken directly from The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien.
Summary: On the way to the Undying Lands, Billa is eaten by a time-traveling sea monster. The elves on board attack the monster in retaliation, and it escapes by swimming into the past: several decades into the past. Billa wakes up in a sweat, gasping and frightened, only to realize that she is back in her thirty-three-year old body. What on earth is she going to do?
Chapter 18
The group that rode into Hobbiton in the early afternoon on Friday was sopping wet, irritable and exhausted. They had woken up to heavy rainfall, and Thorin had been tempted to try and find shelter to wait out the storm, but Billa reminded him that there would be hot baths, soft beds and as much food as they liked if they made the last stretch of the journey to Bag End. That had convinced the group, and they had pushed the ponies as fast as they could along the East Road, and made good time despite the mud.
The rain was still coming down in sheets as they rode up Bagshot Row. Billa guided the ponies to the pasture behind her smial, and shouted instructions over the rain as they dismounted.
"Boots off when you come through the door!" she yelled, "And cloaks on the coat-rack! Nothing in my house is as sturdy as you are, so please treat things gently!"
After Billa unlocked the door, Fili made to dash into shelter immediately, but Thorin seized his shoulder and glanced significantly down at his boots. Fili sagged a little, but did as instructed while the others waited in the downpour. One by one, they each obeyed Billa's instructions and entered the house, Thorin and Billa coming last. Billa touched his shoulder just before he entered.
"Thank you," she said quietly when he turned to glance imperiously at her. He gave a dismissive nod, ignoring the way her hair curled damply against her neck, or the way her wet tunic clung in places and turning his attention to her house, or 'smial' as she'd called it. It was not what he'd expected.
Instead of the stone halls he longed for or the flimsy wooden huts men seemed to favor, this was a warm bolt-hole, well-made, obviously cared for, and clean. Despite the fact that none of the dwarves had ever been here before or seen anything like it, they all seemed to relax a little as they looked around. Thorin could see why. For all her chattering and pestering, Billa Baggins certainly was welcoming, and her home felt welcoming too.
"Welcome, guests!" Billa cried cheerfully after she finished wiping her feet. "This smial was built by my father as a wedding present to my mother, and to earn her father's approval. He wanted it to be the finest smial in all of the Shire, and it is. I've received several marriage proposals from complete strangers, all more interested in my smial than in me," She joked.
'It's very fine, lass," came Dwalin's voice from the back of the group, "But where is the food and the beds?"
Billa laughed. "This way, honored guests. I'll show you to your rooms first, and then get started on dinner." She directed them down the hallway, opening all the guest room doors and letting them choose for themselves where they would stay. "The baths have hot water, and if you leave your dirty clothes in the bins by the baths, they'll be washed and returned to you."
The dwarves shuffled into their rooms on their strange socked feet- Socks, Billa thought, amused, like hats for your feet!- and Billa walked promptly into her room, where she put on a dry tunic and wound her hair into a knot on top of her head. She rinsed the dirt from her face and arms, and then promptly went to the first pantry.
Mister Gamgee had indeed come through for her! Her first pantry's shelves were filled to bursting, and when she went through the hidden door to the second pantry, she saw the same. Mister Gamgee didn't know about the third pantry, but it was still stocked with well-preserved meats and grains, an emergency store in case of another Fell Winter.
Billa painstakingly rolled her (rather impressive) collection of ales and wines into the second pantry, leaving only one keg in the first pantry. She'd provide ale, but not enough to get drunk on. There was a pub for that, thank you! She closed the second pantry, and started ferrying food from the first pantry to the kitchen and the table.
After only 10 minutes, dwarves started showing up. First Dwalin, then Fili and Kili, Oin, Boris and Noris. Dis and Thorin took the longest, and when they came they were well groomed and clean, having obviously taken advantage of the baths. Billa, seeing that there was more than enough food for everyone, told them to help themselves, eat as much as they liked, and that she would be making breakfast at 6 and at 8:30 tomorrow, followed by elevensies at 11, Luncheon at 1, afternoon tea at 2:30, dinner at 4 and supper at 7.
The dwarves froze, gaping at her with forks on the way to their mouths or, in Kili's case, with his mouth hanging open with half-chewed food spilling out. Billa wrinkled her nose, and Kili quickly closed his mouth and kept chewing.
"Enjoy your food and your beds, my friends. If anything is lacking, mine is the room with the blue door and bronze handle, knock and let me know. Hobbits take hospitality very seriously, and I want you to enjoy your stay. Feast, everyone! I'm going to get cleaned up."
She waited for a moment, to see if they had any questions, but Kili burst into applause and the other dwarves soon followed, even Thorin clapping a few times before turning to his food.
Recognizing the dismissal for what it was, Billa curtsied, and then retreated to her rooms and ran a hot bath, gratefully stripping off her damp, clinging clothes. She soaked for almost an hour, even draining the tub after she washed the muck off and drawing a clean bath just for enjoyment. Her curls hung over the edge of the bath, drying while she luxuriated in her peach-and-apple scented bath salts.
After she dried off, she considered her closet. She started to reach for her trousers, but... There's no need, she reminded herself. I am here, in Bag End, as Miss Billa Baggins, and I have already proven I am no wilting flower. I can wear whatever I like! Convinced, she reached instead for one of her finest dresses, the deep blue, tightly cinched wonder that she had worn to her coming of age party. She wore her finest corset over the top, and brushed out her curls with a few drops of oil until they shone in the lamplight.
As she looked into the mirror, Billa felt a warm little glow. She looked more like a proper hobbit lass than she had in what felt like a lifetime. She looked beautiful, and as she took in the looks of shock on the dwarves faces when she walked back into the dining room, she felt beautiful, too.
