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 31

Billa waits by the camp, hiding in the bushes and waiting for the slavers to descend into sleep. She can hear Lily's sniffles from all the way over here. The poor girl's cheeks were smudged with dirt and streaked with tears, and it's one of the most pitiful sights that Billa has ever seen. She sighs silently, wishing she could let them know, somehow, that help was on the way. As she shakes her head sadly, she spies a flower out of the corner of her eye. Not just any flower, a spider flower. She fingers the handkerchief in her pocket, and an idea forms. A few minutes later, she finishes the message, tying the handkerchief around the flower and a sizable rock. She takes careful aim and then throws. The projectile soars through the air, into the tent and right into Lily's lap.


Lily is uncomfortable, cold, and scared. She sniffles and wipes at her eyes, but only smears the tears into the dirt on her cheeks, and her hand comes away muddy. This wasn't supposed to happen, she thought. I just want to go home! she whimpered.

She and Jenny had been playing and laughing, racing each other in the Greenfields and singing about fairies. They'd gotten separated, and Lily had stumbled onto a group of Men. At first she had been astounded at their size, but then she saw their expressions and a primal kind of fear kicked in, and she fled. They gave chase.

She found Jenny, and then screamed for her to run. She thought Jenny had managed to get away, but then the Men were on her and laughing and shouting at her. They'd hit her for running away from them, and then held her down and snapped chains around her wrists. When they finished, bruises were rising on her skin from their hands, and they started dragging her away by the chain, uncaring if she walked or was dragged the whole way.

Lily was drawn out of her fearful memories with a start as something landed in her lap. She stared, befuddled. Was that a - handkerchief? She shot wary glances around, but no one seemed to be looking at her. Where had it come from? Cautiously, she teased the knots apart, and then stared.

B. B. was embroidered in one corner on the handkerchief in elegant, extravagant cursive. The lines curled around the edge, and in the opposite corner the lines combined into the Took and Baggins family crest. This handkerchief could only belong to Billa Baggins! But, how had it gotten so far from the Shire and into her lap?

A flower tumbles from the handkerchief. After a moment, she identifies it. A spider flower? she wonders. But why on earth would someone ask me to elope with them? This is hardly the time! Oh, think Lily! What else could 'elope with me' mean? Elope, elope, elope... to elope is to sneak away with someone. Maybe... Then her eyes flicker to the handkerchief, and she understands. Miss Billa is out there, right now, and she's telling me to sneak away with her. That's it! It's a rescue!

Lily could hardly control her excitement. After glancing around warily, she nudged Posco and whispered, "Miss Billa is here and she's planning a rescue."

He gaped at her, but then she showed him the message in her lap, and his eyes light up in excitement. He passes the message on, and Lily can hardly sit still. Her veins are thrumming with hope. Sure, there were a lot of Men out there, but she'd seen Miss Billa fight with a stick, and she'd seen her silence a room by simply raising an eyebrow. Miss Billa would take care of everything, she was sure. Soon, they would be going home!


Finally, at moonrise, the camp has settled down into sleep, and Billa gives the all-clear to Thorin.

She, Nori, Dwalin, Olvin and Angar sneak up towards the camp. Knowing how noisy dwarves are, she makes them walk in a single file behind her, stepping in her footprints. This way, she hears the leaves rustle beneath their boots, but at least they don't step on any twigs or branches. Once they reach the camp, she waits with Dwalin and the others while Nori throws his knives.

The guards crumple to the ground, knives in their throats, silently.

They wait for a moment, but no one stirs.

Billa creeps into the camp, leaving clear footprints for the dwarves to follow her. The children see her coming and start to get up, but she shakes her hand at them and makes a shushing gesture.

"This is a rescue," she breathes quietly as she enters the tent. "Without speaking, nod if you are able to walk." All six of them nodded, hope shining in their eyes.

"That's good," Billa said gently, still as silent as she could be. "How many of you need medical attention as soon as we reach safety?" she asked. All eyes looked to the elf, who hung its head. Billa couldn't tell the gender of the dwarves or the elf-child at this age. "That's fine," she said reassuringly. "We'll get you fixed up as soon as we can. Now, here's the plan. Three dwarves are going to sneak into this tent, and they are going to carry you out while the slavers sleep. As soon as they pick you up, close your eyes as tight as you can, and do not open them until I tell you. Do you understand?" she said, her voice intense. If a slaver woke up and saw them being carried away, Billa would have to silence them before they woke the entire camp, and she didn't want the children to see that.

"They will carry you for several minutes, and then they will put you down, and I will guide you to our camp, where we will take off your chains and treat your injuries, and get you something to eat, okay? Are there any questions?"

One of the dwarves gave her a hard stare. "How do we know that you aren't just another group of slavers?" it hissed suspiciously.

Billa smiled and gave the all-clear signal to the dwarves in the trees. Suspicion must be a dwarf thing. "One, because Lily here has known me all her life. Do you come from the Blue Mountains?" she asked. Eyes still narrowed, the dwarfling nodded. Billa grinned. "Two, because Thorin Oakenshield and Dwalin son of Fundin are two of the warriors who came with me to rescue you."

It was at this moment that Dwalin and the others started sneaking into the camp, and the dwarflings' eyes widened in recognition and then, excitement. "Shhh!" Billa reminded them.

Dwalin and the others entered the tent, and carefully, silently, picked up a child in each arm, trying to move the chains as little as possible. When everyone was settled, Billa told them to close their eyes. As soon as they did, Billa snuck out before them and stood watch while the dwarrow crept cautiously out of camp. Then Angar made a misstep and accidentally kicked a slaver in the foot. The dwarves immediately froze. The slaver opened his eyes groggily, and then saw the dwarves carrying the children. He immediately started to leap up to wake the others.

Billa's knife was in her hand and then in his throat before he'd finished sitting up. She carefully wiped her knife on his shirt as she looked around to see if any of the others had woken. For several moments, no one moved. The children's eyes were still clenched shut, which Billa was relieved to see. The dwarves stared at her, mixtures of surprise, wariness, relief and approval in their eyes. Billa herself had swallowed down her inner conflict the moment she saw the children in the tent. She had never killed a Man, before, but although these Men might look fairer than Orcs, their actions proved them to be just as foul and filthy, and it would be just to say that they were far more Orcish than Mannish. Billa was not a robber, or a murderer, come to kill innocent men in their sleep- no. Billa had come to protect children and to protect her dwarves,and if she had to kill a Man and silence him to keep them safe, she would do so.

Finally, she gave a nod and the dwarves began to move out. They made it to the edge of the clearing without any more disturbances, and Billa took the lead, leading them on a silent path. . They made it back to the main attack force, Nori keeping watch over the camp, and then continued to walk, trekking back to where the rear-guard waited with the ponies.

When they were 10 minutes away from the main attack force and far enough away from the slaver camp that the jingling of their chains wouldn't matter, Billa let the children open their eyes as the dwarves put them down. "This way, little ones," she whispered. The elf, who was already a little taller than she was, smiled at that. The dwarves turned back, walking back to Thorin's main attack force as Billa and the captives continued on to the rearguard, where they'd left the ponies.

"This is the plan," Billa told them as they clanked and clattered after her. "We will reach the ponies and the three dwarves stationed there. Then, I will see if I can get them to cut the chains between you. We'll put you on the ponies and then all of us will go back towards the main camp of the dwarves. We will make sure everyone is all right, patch everyone up and feed them, and then either make camp or ride through the night back to Hobbiton, depending on what Thorin decides. Any questions?"

She was hoping that talking and telling them what to expect would help them feel a little more in control after such a frightening experience. Lily's face furrowed, and then crumpled a little.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" she asked in a very small voice.

Billa hmmed. "Well, you were playing very far out, where you knew there could be danger. That put you and your friend at risk. If the dwarves hadn't been here, you would have been taken far away and you never would have seen your home or your family ever again." Billa didn't believe in sugar-coating the facts unless it was absolutely necessary.

Lily hung her head and began to sniffle.

"On the other hand," Billa said, trying to be fair, "You did send your friend away to get help, which is the smart thing to do. And you stayed alive until we got here, which is the most important thing when it comes to waiting for rescue. Jenny came into the market, screaming that you'd been taken. Mister Thorin and Mister Dwalin mustered a force of dwarrow and we rode out to find you immediately." Lily smiled, pleased that she'd done the right thing. Then she made a face.

"Miss Billa," Lily said, "If they came to rescue me, why aren't we all leaving right now?" One of the little dwarves made a snort at her naivete.

"Lily," Billa tried to explain without traumatizing her. "The dwarves first have to make sure that the slavers never steal anyone ever again. Men like this, they would steal your little brothers and sisters and hurt them and beat them and starve them, and you would never see them again. Men like this need to be stopped. This is what Mister Dwalin does as a protector of the weak and defender of the innocent. Do you understand?"

Lily nodded. Then she whispered, "I don't want to be weak anymore. When they took me, I couldn't fight back or anything. They didn't listen, and they didn't care when they hurt me. They just laughed," she sniffled. "Is the world full of people like that, Miss Billa?" she sobbed. "Is that why no one ever leaves the Shire, because if they do, they won't come back?"

Billa patted her head gently as Lily mopped her eyes with her blood-stained handkerchief. "I left the Shire," she reminded the girl. "And I found Mister Dwalin and dwarves like him out there. When the teachers come from Ered Luin, you remember how it feels to be helpless and frightened, and you do your best in that class. Grow strong, and be fierce, and the next time someone tries to hurt you or someone else, you will be able to stop them, just like Mister Dwalin."

Lily sniffed a little. "Is that why you're learning from Mister Dwalin, Miss Billa?" she asked.

"Yes, Lily. During the Fell Winter, when you weren't even a teen, goblins came and killed my parents. I wasn't strong enough to stop them, but Mister Dwalin is teaching me now, and so is Thorin."

"Thorin Oakenshield is teaching you?" the talkative dwarf asked, incredulous. "I don't believe it!" it said angrily.

"Here," Billa said, stopping to show the dwarves the bead of the line of Durin glinting in the moonlight, marking her as part of the royal family. "Lady Dis and Prince Fili and Prince Kili claim me as their sister, and Thorin Oakenshield recognizes their claim." The children gaped at the bead, and Billa wondered absently if their eyes were going to pop out of their heads. She was becoming very fond of the way dwarves reacted to that bead! She explained a little more. "The dwarves of Ered Luin have forged an alliance with the hobbits of the Shire, and caravans of younglings and elderly dwarrow will be arriving soon to live here for the winter, at Thorin's request."

At this, the two dwarves shifted uncomfortably. "We were in one of those caravans," the other dwarf admitted in a much higher voice. Ah, that was how you could tell their sex! Billa thought. By the voices.

"Well," Billa said, "I am sure your family will be very relieved that we have recovered you safely. What are your names, if I may ask?"

"Lori, at your service," the female dwarfling said shyly.

"Hm," Billa said. "Are you by any chance related to Dori, Nori, or Ori?" she asked.

"Yes!" Lori said happily, "Those are my brothers."

"Well, Nori is actually here, on this rescue, and I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you are safe," Billa told her.

"Gimli, at your service," the other dwarfling said, and Billa grinned.

"What a coincidence," she said laughingly. "Are you, in fact, Gimli son of Gloin?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Aye, I am," he said gruffly.

"I met your Uncle Oin when in Bree. Is he or your father in the caravan also?" she asked.

"No, just my mother, Barsala," Gimli said, grumpily.

"Well, Gimli and Lori, I'm very pleased to meet you. What about you, mellon?" she asked the elf child. Lori tripped with a yelp, tugging Gimli and the elf down with her.

"I am Lithir," the elf said quietly, as she and Gimli helped Lori back up.

"And where is your family, Lithir?" Billa asked. There weren't any nearby elf cities, as far as she knew.

"They... they are no more," Lithir said, subdued. "I am alone." Lori took Lithir's hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

"I have three brothers," Lori told her. "That's enough to share, if you want one." Lithir smiled faintly at her, and Billa was surprised at the friendliness between them. She was even more surprised when Gimli didn't protest. Perhaps being abducted and chained together is a good way to create inter-species unity, she thought wryly. Unfortunately, if I tried that trick with Thranduil and Thorin, I don't think it would have quite the same ending.

"What about you, hobbit lads? I can't recognize you under all that dirt."

"Truly, Auntie Billa? You don't recognize us at all?" They said, drooping. Billa gasped and spun around to examine them.

"Drogo and Posco Baggins, my stars! What on earth were you doing that got you abducted by slavers, and covered in mud, no less?" She demanded, waving an accusatory finger at them.

"We heard Lily and Jenny were going to look for fairies, so we decided to look farther and harder to find one before they did," Drogo admitted bashfully. Billa snorted.

"You lads are in extra trouble, and make no mistake!" Billa told them firmly.

Just then, the ponies came into sight, as well as the three dwarves guarding them, Bombur, Balfin and Dolin.

After introducing everyone, Billa convinced Balfin to use his ax and break the chains binding the children together. Then, they all mounted up and made their way back to Thorin's warriors. They made a funny sight, as Balfin and Dolin and Billa each had two passengers clinging to them. Bombur was rather too big to share a pony, so he rode alone, and guided the rest of the ponies.

This ride went much quicker with the ponies, and when they could see the distant firelight of the slaver camp through the trees, they could hear the noise of metal and dwarven war-cries.

"Bombur," she ordered quickly, "Stay here with Dolin to guard the children and the ponies. Balfin, with me."

She and Balfin dismounted and made their way quickly towards the camp. When they arrived, it was oddly silent, and Billa gasped to realize that one of the dwarves was being held hostage!


It had all been going splendidly for young Nolwin. He was fighting beside his king in a noble battle, and the war-cries and war-songs of his brothers-in-arms sung in his ears, rousing his blood.

Unfortunately, Nolwin had never faced a Man in battle before, or any battle at all. He'd been trained, like all dwarrow were, and could wield whatever implement was nearby, but he was young, and more inexperienced than he thought, and when he charged into a knot of 4 Men, swinging his ax with all his vigor, he was rather quickly outnumbered and outmatched. He managed to bring one Man down with a vicious swipe of his axe, but did so in a way that exposed his back to the others.

The leader of the bandits, a sly older Man who was more devious than brash decided that, instead of stabbing the young dwarf through the back, he'd take him hostage instead. Perhaps they could negotiate the dwarves' surrender- or perhaps it would simply give him enough time to cover his own retreat. It didn't matter- the reckless young dwarf would serve a purpose somehow.

When Nolwin was seized round the middle, he began to struggle, but then a sword was put to his throat, and he instinctively froze.

"Good lad," the sly old slaver said in a cold kind of voice. "Now, scream." He twisted Nolwin's arm brutally behind him, and Nolwin had no choice but to scream.

When Nolwin's savage scream cut through the air, the dwarves immediately took note, and slowed their assault. The slavers, rather the worse for wear, regrouped as much as they could but didn't yet dare to give up the fight. Victory could yet be obtained, they thought as they looked to their leader. He'd never let them down yet. Surely, he'd get them through this as well.

So it was when Billa and Balfin crept up to the battle, that they found one dwarf taken hostage and the other slavers standing between the dwarves and the young victim. The group of slavers holding the young dwarf hostage were to the rear of the slaver group, nearest to the edge of the clearing, and Billa and Balfin had come up right behind them.

Snorting to herself, come rescue you indeed, Billa crept up behind the hostage-taker and took the stance Dwalin had taught her. She wound up and then released with all her strength, bashing him in the head with her stick as hard as she could. He crumpled, head misshapen, and the wounded dwarf wrenched himself away, scrambling through the slavers towards the other dwarves as quick as he could. The other dwarves immediately yelled and charged, taking immediate advantage of the sudden turn of fortune.

Balfin, who had been sneaking in with much the same plan as Billa, let his axe swing, taking down the second slaver, and Billa engaged the third in a vicious by-play of sword against staff. Unlike the thugs in Bree, this Man knew his way around a sword and he was willing to kill. Two months ago, she would have held on as long as she could until she was rescued. Unfortunately for the slaver, Billa had spent the last several weeks fending off daily attacks from Dwalin, one of the fiercest warriors alive. Though the height was different, Dwalin was far stronger than this Man, and Billa was able to weather his attacks - first with desperation, and then with growing confidence.

Beyond her personal fight, the dwarves had rejoined the battle, and Billa's heart began to pound as no one came to her rescue. I'm not the weak link, she thought, vicious and suddenly gleeful. I am a capable and dangerous member of this team. I belong here! With that thought buoying her up, it was easy to find an opening. She swiped the Man's legs out from under him and bludgeoned him in the head as he fell. It was only afterwards that she realized that she was wearing a vicious, snarling grin as her body thrummed with elation and adrenaline. Had this been her first battle, she might have felt terribly guilty at her adrenaline-fueled elation, but she had seen the same feral smile on her dwarves' faces in battle. It was not wrong to celebrate the victory over such a foe as this.

She surveyed the scene, looking for the next opponent. Unfortunately, it seemed the dwarves had finished up, and no slavers were left standing. Several dwarves were clutching wounds, but Thorin, Dwalin, and Balin stood unscathed, as far as she could tell.

The tent walls had been spattered with blood, and she remembered the way Beorn had mounted goblin heads and warg hides around his property, as a warning against them. She swallowed down her disgust, and reminded herself that the slavers would come again and again unless a strong message was sent. This couldn't be the only slaving party operating across Eriador and the Forodwaith, after all.

Grimly, as the others checked over themselves, she hunted through the carnage until she found a loose head and an intact slaver spear.

"Thorin," she called, as she brought her gruesome prizes over to the tent. He joined her, eyeing the head she carried by the hair with curiosity and a hint of caution. "Thorin, can you thrust this spear into the ground? There will be other slavers, and if they come across this camp, I want to leave a message," she said firmly. He did as she asked, and the spear stood tall and firm. Nodding to herself, she lifted the head over the spear and steeled herself. This is going to be disgusting, she thought. Then she forced the head onto the spear. Thorin stared, impressed. This is so gross, she mentally whimpered.

She swallowed down her bile, and went to the tent. The tent had a rough, gang emblem emblazoned on the side. It was splattered all over with gore from the fight, and Billa drew her knife. She carved into the fabric walls of the tent seven Westron letters, as large as she could make them.

S,L,A,V,E,R,S, it read when she was done. She backed away from her work.

The blood-spattered tent sported a gang emblem and her letters, and in front of it stood the head on a spear. That, combined with the bodies that the dwarves were now searching through for valuables would leave a clear message that slavers were no longer welcome in this part of the world, and these people were no longer defenseless.

Satisfied, Billa and the dwarves made their way back to the ponies, where Bombur had set up a fire and unpacked her rations. He had made a soup from her supplies, and everyone was digging in hungrily. She led Nori over to Lori, and who embraced him tightly, and then Lori set to introducing him to Lither and the others while he picked the locks on their manacles.

The dwarves and the children ate as Billa walked among them, distributing medical supplies, applying ointments and bandaging wounds. Then, after collecting her share of food, she made her way over to Thorin, Dwalin and Balin, sitting between them to eat while they decided the next course of action.

"The caravans need to know that we've found the children," Thorin said. "We should ride back tonight at full speed, get the children settled, and send a rider to the caravans." Billa nodded in agreement.

"Whatever we do," she said, "We need to make sure we've cleaned the blood off before anyone in the Shire sees us. A triumphant entry with the children into the morning market would not go amiss," she mused.

Thorin snorted fondly, and patted her thigh. "If only all hobbits were as fierce as you, Billa Baggins. We'll ride into the work site, then, and send a rider to the caravan immediately. The rest of us will wash and sleep, and then ride into the market in full battle gear with the children tomorrow," he said.

All agreed, they issued orders and broke camp. Each of the children rode with a warrior, and the elf rode with Billa.

An hour after midnight, they made it into the dwarf campsite by the smials. Thorin woke the dwarves who had stayed behind, sending one of them off with two ponies and strict instructions to ride until he found the caravan. The rest of them were set to washing gear and cleaning weapons until they shone, while the children and all those in the war party bedded down to sleep.

The children snuggled together, with Nori on one side and Dwalin on the other, and Billa smiled at the sight. She looked for her own place, and Thorin caught her eye, nodding at the spot between him and Balin. She grinned, pleased. On the road, it was common to sleep only with those you trusted nearby, and this gesture from Thorin proved how much things had changed between them. No longer was she the outcast or the burden who had no place among them. Now, she had Thorin's respect and his friendship, and she relished it.

She made her way over and stretched out next to the dwarf who had swiftly become her dearest friend. He draped his fur coat over them both, pulling her closer until her head was pillowed on his arm. She scooted back, pressing her back into his chest, enjoying the warmth and security that came with his nearness. There were no nightmares or painful memories here, only peace, trust, and a burgeoning sense of elation every time he was near. Yes, she thought, this is what I have been fighting for. This is what it feels like to belong, to have a family... to have a home. This is my Erebor.