Putting down the platter of glazed yams he was carrying, Bilbo went to greet his first guest of the night. This was one holiday he wouldn't be spending alone and he couldn't be happier.

Opening the door with a smile and a warm greeting, the young hobbit was only slightly taken aback to be met by a Dwarf instead of a Man.

"Dwalin, at your service." The tattooed dwarf gave courteous bow.

Tearing his eyes away from the fascinating sight of colored in skin- he had never seen so much on one person before- and remembering all he had read on dwarvish custom- quite a lot, actually- Bilbo hastened to return the bow and introduce himself.

"Bilbo Baggins, at yours. Please come in, you are a little earlier than I was expecting; but I am almost done setting the table. If you would like to wait for the others in the sitting room, I will bring out some light snacks and tea to tide you over until everyone arrives."

Leading the tall male to the sitting room and bringing him the promised tea- as well as a mounded over tray of sweet goodies that had the others' eyes popping out- Bilbo took the dwarves' pack and placed it in a random room; they could sort out who was going to sleep where later.

As he had finished settling Dwalin, Bilbo went back to setting the dinning room up. He truly hoped that there were going to be more dwarves coming- not even the elves held as much fascination for our dear hobbit as dwarves did.

He had taught himself their language, studied their social customs and read through their histories. He bought ever book and trinket that came his way that had anything to do with the proud Peoples of Durin.

Not that he didn't also study the languages and histories of Elves and Men- he even collected books and odd memorabilia about them, same as he did for the Dwarves- it just wasn't with the same passion.

Just as he was placing a large clove-studded ham on the side counter there came another knock on his door. Rushing out, the small man opened the door wide to reveal another- albeit older- dwarf.

"Balin, at your service." Balin? Why did that name sound familiar?

"Bilbo Baggins, at yours." Feeling a sudden heaviness to the air, Bilbo looked up to the sky with trepidation- dark clouds had rolled in.

"I think it might rain later. Am I late?" Turning his attention back to his guest, the hobbit assured him he wasn't late and that he was one of the first to arrive.

Placing Balin's pack in with Dwalin's- if Bilbo remembered correctly the two should be brothers, you could tell because of their names- he lead the happily smiling dwarf to the sitting room for tea. They arrived to see Dwalin poking at the pile of treats, looking lost, as if he didn't know where to start.

"Evening brother!" The tattooed dwarf looked up from his explorations, and, with a wide grin, strode over to the pair at the door.

"By my beard, you're shorter and wider than last we met."

"Wider, not shorter. Sharp enough for both of us." They laughed a moment and clapped each others shoulders, then- it excited Bilbo to no end to see such a familial display in his own smial- they butted heads.

Pouring a cup of tea for his newest arrival, and promising another tray of goodies- making Dwalin renew his examination of the first one- as the one provided wouldn't last long- at least for a pair of hobbits it wouldn't- Bilbo headed back to the kitchen. He was almost done with the setup, all he really had left to do was bring up some barrels of mead, bottles of wine and some hearty spirits so everyone could drink as they saw fit.

Placing another tray in the sitting room- mounded even higher, and with all different dishes than the first- Bilbo was heading for his drinks cellar when his bell went off. Rushing to answer, the small man was greeted by a cute sight: two boys- obviously brothers, even though their coloring was different- leaning on the door with grins that said that they would be a handful.

"Fili"

"And Kili"

"At your service." They said the last part together, making them look even more adorable.

"Bilbo Baggins, at yours. Come in boys, let's get you settled in a room and then I have snacks in the sitting room." As soon as the word 'snacks' left his mouth, Bilbo knew it was a lost cause.

Pushing their packs at him, the brothers took off towards the first set of doors they saw- thankfully the correct set- and the hobbit could hear greetings exchanged and the noisy arguments of who got to eat what. Shaking his head, Bilbo put the boys in a room together; that was at least one pair who wouldn't mind sharing.

As he brought up the barrels and bottles, Bilbo thought about the exchanges between his guests. They had not been traveling together it seemed, but they did know each other well. With a sigh the hobbit finished preparing for dinner, he would just need to ask Gandalf why he had lied about his traveling companions when he arrived.

The last barrel tapped, and the wine let out to breathe- the harder stuff would remain safely secured under wired down corks until someone wanted to chance it- a new pot of tea set to boil for those with a more sensitive pallet, and he was done. All he needed now was for his guests to finish arriving.

A knock on his door and he went to answer. Upon opening said door, a pile of dwarves fell into his home; quickly followed by Gandalf.

Helping every one up, introductions were made one by one as he sent everybody off to the sitting room. They would need to move to the dinning room soon- there simply wasn't any room left in the sitting room- and fights were bound to start over the meager snack plates he had whipped up.

Looking around, Bilbo realized they seemed to be one person short of all that he was told to expect- not that he minded really, he had twelve dwarves wandering around his home; it was like a dream come true- but it would be rude to serve dinner before all had arrived. Turning to the grey wizard, the small man asked:

"Gandalf? Dinner is ready. Is this everyone? I know you said thirteen, but you never mentioned that they were Dwarves; or that you weren't actually traveling with them. So I'm not sure about what else you may have neglected to mention, so I need you to enlighten me."

Looking over at the silent group, everyone was watching him question the tall Man, some even glaring to show support for Bilbo's' argument. They were all also eating the last of the snacks, letting Bilbo know just how hungry they were, even if they didn't say anything about it.

"Gandalf?" The tall Man seemed to be caught up in his own thoughts, so the hobbit turned towards the large grouping in front of him.

"As I am not getting an answer out of this one: can anyone tell me if you are all here? Is anyone else coming?" Bilbo looked around the group, until finally Dwalin stepped forward.

"Our leader hasn't arrived yet, but he may take a while. He traveled North to meet our kin." Giving a nod- from that statement, and from what he knew of Dwarvish custom, that meant that this group was headed out to see battle of some sort- Bilbo gestured towards his dinning room.

"If you believe he is going to be a long while, then I see no reason to stay our dinner until he arrives. If you would all like to have a seat?" Pressing himself against the wall to avoid the sudden stampede, Bilbo then grabbed the oblivious wizard by the hand and dragged him into the dinning room.

There was complete and utter silence reigning within.

Pushing the large Man into the biggest chair he owned, Bilbo looked around to find the source of the all-pervasive quiet. All he could see was twelve shocked faces looking around at the food, so Bilbo looked for himself.

Every space, nook and cranny not holding a plate or glass was covered in food. The sideboards- four of them- had been burdened with all the different meats and breads, while the table top was a sea of casseroles, savory pies and deliecious looking vegetable platters. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, Bilbo looked around the group again.

"Well, dig in. I don't stand on ceremony, so there is no need to wait on me." No one had yet to move to touch a single dish, though they were all staring hungrily.

Walking over to Balin, Bilbo took the old dwarf by the shoulder and shook until he had his attention.

"Master Balin, can you please tell me why no one is eating?"

"Aye laddie, I can. Ya see... we have all had hard lives, and are not used to having so many options to pick and choose from. So to see a spread of this magnitude- one I have not seen the likes of since our mountain home was taken- is a bit much to take in." Bilbo nodded, he thought he understood.

"Would it make it easier if I removed some of the dishes? I had only brought out such a wide variety so that everyone could choose something that they enjoyed. But if it's bothersome..." He went to remove a dish of creamy potatoes, when a hand reached to stop him.

Looking up at Fili's wide-eyed and amazed stare- it was so sad that such a young person could be so in awe of such a small bit of food- an idea occurred to him.

Putting his fingers in his mouth he gave a sharp whistle. As all heads turned to him, Bilbo threw his head and shoulders back and gave his best glare- really, it was going to be like marshaling the young ones at a sweets fest.

"Alright everyone, you are to all grab the dish closest to you and take a spoonful or slice of whatever it is and then pass it on to your right." He stared them down until they had done as told.

"Now everyone can place their new dish down and grab another one, you know what to do after that." They all repeated their previous movements. He really hoped that once he had them all eating things would become easier.

As the second round of dishes were set down all eyes once more turned to him. Bilbo gestured to four of the dwarves, the ones closest to the side tables.

"If you four would each take a platter and serve those around the table, not forgetting yourselves of course." Still standing next to Balin and Fili, Bilbo watched as everyone was served and the platters of meat and bread were placed back on the sideboards.

Finally allowing himself to smile- everyone visible relaxed when he did- Bilbo double checked that every plate had two servings of vegetables and plenty of meat- he knew dwarves loved meat more than vegetables; and if the healing text he had had spoken the truth, then they needed lots of meat in their diet to live properly- seeing that all plates- except for Gandalf's, his and the empty place setting for their missing leader- were filled, he relaxed a bit. Satisfied that everyone had enough to start with, Bilbo finally sat down and addressed the table as a whole.

"You each now have a plate in front of you to try. If you do not like what you have been served, then do not force yourselves to eat it. Pick something else. I do not want any one leaving this table hungry. Or unhappy. I would prefer to have no leftovers when everyone is done, but I do not want you stuffing yourselves until you are sick. So do, please, dig in." Still no one made a move to eat.

Slamming a fist on the table, Bilbo glared at them all once more as that seemed to get the best response.

"Eat!" And with that final command they all dug in.

Giving a quiet sigh, the young hobbit stood to start filling mugs and cups with whatever the owner prefered. As he filled Balin's cup with wine, he overheard Kili whisper to Fili:

"Mr. Boggins is scarier than Uncle Thorin!" Fili only nodded at this and continued to eat.

Now that the invisible wall of 'choice' had been broken, everyone ate as if they had never seen food before; the vegetable dishes disappearing as quickly as the meat dishes.

As people began to relax, conversations started up. Eventually noise and laughter filled the large hobbit hole, and no one seemed inclined to stop anytime soon; even Gandalf had been coaxed out of his own head to join the fun.

So no one noticed when their host slipped from the room. Nor did they notice his return with a thirteenth dwarf.