As Mid-Winter dawned all the Dwarves awoke with a shock. Someone had left presents in all their rooms! And no-one had heard a thing!
Fili had a new, but ancient, thin sword. It had been made using a lost process of folding the metal until it was strong enough to cut almost anything.
Kili had a metal, yet flexible, bow. The technique to create such a wonder had been lost with Erebor.
Ori was given a new thick journal and travel ink and quill set.
Nori was shifty, trying to hide the intricacy wrought set of lock picks he had found on his pillow.
Dori was admiring a beautiful and delicate bone-china tea set.
Bofur had begun filling a new and handsomely carved pipe.
Bifur was looking for a piece of wood to try out his new whittling knives.
Bombur was itching to try out the recipes in his thick Hobbit cookbook.
Gloin had carefully cut his picture of his wife and son to fit into the golden locket he had been gifted.
Oin had begun reading his new book of herbalogical remedies.
Dwalin was putting his new weapons polishing kit to good use.
Balin had gone to find a mirror to see the fall of his new velvet cloak.
Finally Thorin, Bilbo had given him his present personally instead of leaving it to be found. After his initial embarrassment, the King of the Dwarves had put his new book to good use- Bilbo had called it the 'Karma Sutra', a strange name but very informative.
Every Dwarf loved their gift, but what really made the gifts special was the notes attached to them. They were simple slips of paper with the dwarf's name on it, but they each had a carved wooden bead attached. The bead was what made it all special. Giving a bead was only for family, and Bilbo knew too much about their culture to get that wrong; so that meant that he considered them all family!
With excited yells from the younger members, and more subdued smiles from the older set, all the Dwarves swarmed Bilbo while he was making breakfast to thank him for the presents- and ask how he had managed to go unheard while delivering them.
Pushing everyone into the dinning room for a light breakfast, Bilbo fielded as many thank you's as he could before grabbing Bombur and heading back to his preparations for the Mid-Winter feast.
It was lunchtime when everything was ready. Calling everyone in, Bilbo watched as faces turned to awe at the sight before them. Even the Wizard- who had received a book on polite behavior- was shocked by the sheer amount of food presented.
"Uncle Bilbo, what is this?" Kili held up a spoonful of something orange and thick.
"That is sweet potato casserole." And then he named off every dish laid out.
Sweet potato casserole, sweet potato fries, mashed potatoes, twice baked potatoes, roasted baby potatoes, candied yams, glazed carrots, roasted corn still on the cob, green bean casserole, creamed corn, cheese covered broccoli and cauliflower bake, three types of bread stuffing, two types of cranberry sauce- whole berry and jellied- a large tier of savory pies and a whole flotilla of gravy boats.
Next he named off the dishes on the sideboards: roasted turkey, a very large ham, a platter of herb braised fish fillet, roasted duck, glazed pheasant, a roast half as big as their host and a tower of mincemeat pies.
The breads were next: popovers, biscuits, scones- plain and cheese filled- garlic bread, bread sticks and eight loaves of fresh baked bread- each a different type of bread.
Lastly were the desserts: six types of pies, five multi-layered cakes, four flavors of tart, three types of cookies, two bowls of pudding and a pear baked in a cream sauce.
Finally finished he noticed everyone was too awed to dish themselves up- all except Bombur of course, he had gotten over his shock earlier and was now serving himself and his family. It was Balin that finally voice all their concerns.
"Laddie, even we cannot eat this much. And you shouldn't have emptied you pantry just for one meal." At this Bombur snorted, he had seen Bilbo's pantries and they were in no danger of depleting them.
"Balin- everyone- it is Hobbit tradition to cook at least twice as much food as ones guests or family will eat on mid-winter's day. It is also tradition to eat until you cannot move, and then grab a piece of pie and pass out in the sitting room. So don't worry about the amounts I fixed, I promise nothing will go to waste. Now eat up- although I'd be surprised if you all ate half as much as an equivalent number of Hobbits." Racial pride stung by this last comment, all the Dwarves dug in.
As conversation started up, Bilbo noticed how subdued Ori seemed to be. Asking him what was wrong, the hobbit instantly drew the attention of the entire table.
"Well, you see... you have been so wonderful to us all, and I was just trying to think of a way to repay you." As low groans came from around the table, Bilbo smiled reassuringly at them all.
"Ori, not a single one of you has anything to pay me back for. You have, in fact, given me the greatest present any Hobbit could ask for: a family." He could feel the tension about the table snap.
Leaning onto Thorin's side, Bilbo mused on just how happy he was. And that this could indeed be his own personal mid-winter miracle.
After the plates were cleared the small man looked over the casualties- their were no survivors. Not a single person had made it to dessert, and he know had a sitting room full of snoring dwarves.
Placing a blanket over the last member of the company- the Wizard had taken himself off to bed- Bilbo heard an odd noise.
Making his way to his front door he laid an ear to the wood, as he listened a grin stretched across his features. Quickly pulling the door open, three snow-covered tweens landed at his feet.
"Oh! Uh... Hi Uncle! Are we in time for dessert?" Looking over the three overly innocent smiles in front of him, Bilbo gave an indulgent grin and led the way to the dinning room.
"Now you boys can't eat it all this year, I have guests." Ignoring the frantic questions aimed at him, Bilbo kept moving.
The boys would meet his Dwarves soon enough, he just hoped they would all get along.
AN: One more chapter to go! And I'm so sorry about not updating sooner, everytime I'd write this chapter out it would get erased. I only hope it's fixed now.