Fili returned from Frogmorton about a week later. His cart was full of kitchen utensils, that needed to be mended. He also had a list of orders and was asked to bring a few more toys when he came back. He unloaded the cart and brought it back to its owner. He'd start work tomorrow since he wanted to spend the evening with his wife. He had missed Poppy very much and couldn't wait to hold her in his arms again.

On his way back home he had stopped at the Green Dragon to inform Daisy that he was back home. She was happy and told him that she'd pick up her belongings tomorrow and gave him a basket with food.

#

Fili entered his home and went into the kitchen but he couldn't see Poppy anywhere. He put the basket onto the table and suddenly heard some noises from the room that was supposed to be the nursery one day. He quietly opened the door and saw Poppy standing in front of a big box with her back towards him. He walked towards her but she didn't seem to hear him coming. He noticed that she had put most of the baby things, they had gotten as wedding gifts, in it. At the moment she held a tiny night gown close to her chest.

Fili cleared his throat. "Good afternoon, my love!"

Poppy startled and turned around smiling at her husband. "Fili, you're back!"

The young dwarf walked closer to his wife with a smile on his face. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her passionately. Suddenly Poppy started to cry but still smiled. Fili caressed her cheek. "What's wrong, my flower? Why are you crying?"

Poppy looked into these beautiful blue eyes she loved so much and placed her hands on his chest. "I'm just so very happy that you are back!"

Fili looked puzzled. "Why should I not come back?"

Poppy smiled sadly "While you were gone, I dreamed every night, that the business in Frogmorton was a lie and that you left me to live with a dwarf woman to -" then she took a deep breath "to have a baby."

Fili played with her wedding braid and kissed her again. "My love, this was just a nightmare! I'm never going to leave you. And even if I wanted to, I had nowhere to go."

"Why? I understand that you wouldn't want to go back to your family but I'm sure that there are other dwarvish settlements where you could live." Poppy said with a frown.

Fili shook his head "No, they'd recognise me and tell my uncle."

Now Poppy had to chuckle "Fili, you are an incredibly good looking dwarf! But I can't imagine that your that famous."

Fili closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He couldn't keep his secrets any longer. Poppy deserved to know the truth. "Let's sit down in the living room. I think I have to explain a few things about who I really am."

Poppy nodded. She went to the kitchen and made some tea. Then they cuddled up in their favourite armchair. She placed her head on her husbands shoulder while Fili wrapped his arms around her waist.

Poppy looked up and placed a kiss on her husband's chin. "So Fili, who are you?"

Fili sighed, he didn't know where to start. "Umm, I'm not just a simple blacksmith."

Poppy nodded "I've already thought as much from what you said earlier."

Fili swallowed hard. "Well, do you remember what I told you about my uncle during our first picnic?"

"You said, that some dwarves went mad when they are around too much gold and that that happened to your uncle." Poppy remembered.

"Right. Well, this actually only happened to dwarves of the Line of Durin so far." Fili said but quickly continued when his wife looked at him questioningly"Durin is one of the seven fathers of the dwarves. His sons have ruled in Erebor for a very long time. My uncle is the King under the Mountain now."

Poppy gasped "So, your mother is the king's sister. That makes you a prince! That's why the dwarves would recognise you!"

Fili nodded " Yes, and I wasn't any prince. My uncle didn't have children, so I was the heir to the throne of Erebor until I went to the Shire to win your heart. My uncle wanted to force me to marry a dwarf lady, who I didn't even know. Political marriages happen often among royalty and I would have accepted my fate but I knew that you're my One and I couldn't bear the thought to be intimate with anyone else then the one my heart belonged to." Fili sighed again and carressed Poppy's face. "So I told them that I'd accompany Bilbo back to the Shire and that I'd return with one of the caravans from Ered Luin. Well , now they think I died near Rivendell in an orc attack. The only one who knows the truth is my mother since I couldn't let her suffer that much. That's why I would never be able to live among dwarves again."

"You gave up your whole life for me? What if I hadn't returned your feelings?" Poppy asked.

"I never thought about that on my way here. All I could think of was you and how to win your heart." Fili smiled and kissed her forehead. "But when you fell into the Water last winter and everyone thought that you'd die, I started to think about what I'd do without you. The same thoughts came back to my mind when I worried that you'd leave me to have children with another hobbit a while ago."

Poppy looked at him with wide eyes. "I will never leave you, Fili! Please don't even think about such terrible things. I will stay with you until I die or you send me away! But please tell me what you would have done?"

"I realised that I can't live without you, Poppy. I would have tried to kill myself. And if I hadn't been brave enough to do that, I would have travelled away from Hobbiton to find an orc pack who would do the job."

Now a few tears rolled down Poppy's cheeks. "Fili, no! Please do never think about such things again."

Fili nodded "I promise and I'm relieved that you know the truth now."

Poppy tried to smile through teary eyes "I'm glad that you told me! I love you, Fili!"

"And I love you even more than you can imagine! But tell me, why did you put all the baby things in this box?"

"Well, we won't need them anytime soon and they will become dirty and dusty if there are spread all over the room. That's all. I'm sure we're going to need them one day." Poppy explained.

Fili smiled and bent down to kiss her again.

After a few more minutes they went to the kitchen to have dinner. Fili told Poppy about his stay in Frogmorton. Poppy was incredibly proud that the hobbits appreciated his work that much.

They quickly cleaned their plates and went to bed. Fili showed Poppy how much he loved her and how much he had missed her for most of the night until they fell asleep in each other's arms.