The following weeks were the happiest since Poppy's and Fili's wedding. Both were relieved to finally know what troubled each other. Fili told Poppy more about his family and what had happened during their journey to Erebor and once they had reclaimed the mountain. He also told her more about the letters from his mother and how she was forced to marry and to bear more children even though dwarves normally married only once in their lives. Poppy had tears in her eyes and silently blamed herself for Dis' fate. Dwalin seemed to be a good dwarf though and she was glad that Dis had been allowed to marry a friend at least. She liked the dwarf lady although she had never met her.

Fili also gave her the blanket Dis had sent. He worried about how Poppy might react but she just smiled and tried to imagine Fili as a baby wrapped in this blanket. She kissed him and put it into the living room next to the picture of Fili's family.

The night after he had come back from Frogmorton Fili had explained the meaning of a 'One' to a dwarf and told her how difficult it often was for dwarves to become parents. He'd live with her happily also if they didn't have children and mostly worried if she could live without one. Poppy admitted that it would make her sad because she had always dreamed about having children since she was a fauntling. But she'd be happy as long she had Fili at her side. She promised that she'd never leave him.

From that night onwards they didn't try to make a baby that desperately any more. Sometimes they just lay in each other's arms talking and laughing.

A few weeks before their first wedding anniversary, Fili had finally finished all his orders from Frogmorton. He had planned to travel further to Bree after his visit to Frogmorton to buy metal and because he had heard that the men there were looking for somone who could craft good weapons. Fili didn't mind mending the hobbits' kitchen utensils but he liked the idea of forging an axe or sword. He didn't want to leave Poppy for such a long time though and was unsure what to do. They had promised each other that there wouldn't be any secrets between them anymore and so he told her about his plans. Poppy took his hands and smiled at him. She suggested to come with him. She had never been further away from Hobbiton than Dwaling and was curious to see Bree, a town where hobbits and men lived peacefully together. Fili happily agreed. The Shire was a safe place to travel and Bree wasn't far from its borders.

The young dwarf hired the cart and the pony again. They packed everything they might need on their journey and told Bilbo, Daisy and Camelia about their plans to go on a little holiday to Bree. Their friends promised to look after their smial and the forge and told them that a few weeks away from Hobbiton might be good for them.

#

A few days later Fili and Poppy arrived in Frogmorton. The hobbits there were very happy about the result of their orders and bought all of the toys. They made them stay for two days because it rained all the time and were very curious about how Fili and Poppy had fallen in love. When they left on the third they, the hobbits asked him to return one day.

They needed a few more days until they finally arrived in Bree. On the way there they tried to stay in an inn as often as possible but most of the time they slept in their tent. Poppy didn't mind that, she was happy as long as she could sleep in Fili's arms.

When they finally arrived in Bree, they asked for a stable for the pony and the cart and a room at the Prancing Pony. There were no hobbit sized rooms available, so they were given a normal room instead. The last part of their journey was quite long and so Poppy collapsed on the bed the moment Fili closed the door behind them. He laughed when he saw her in the huge bed. She looked like a child. But Poppy didn't even notice, she was already asleep. He lay down next to her and soon fell asleep, too.

Over the next few days Fili bought the metals he needed and met with a few men, who wanted him to craft some weapons.

One evening the young dwarf met a customer at the Prancing Pony for supper. Poppy sat a few tables away in front of the fireplace and talked to one of the hobbit barmaids. The maid had to continue to work and Poppy decided to eat supper. Suddenly a drunken man approached her. "You have to be the dwarf wench I've heard about. I'm sure we can have much more fun than he can give you." Poppy shivered but tried to ignore him. He grabbed her arms and tried to drag her to one of the rooms. Fili didn't notice because he had his back towards her. But when he heard his wife's screams, he drew his twin blades and tried to get to them immediately. A few other men noticed what was happening and pulled the man away from the hobbit woman. They made sure that Poppy was safe with her husband and brought the drunken man to a guard.

Fili wrapped his arms around her and made sure that she was fine. They returned to Fili's customer and the barmaid brought her a pot of hot milk with honey to calm her down. Fili asked the maid for hot water for the tub in their room and she promised to fill it as soon as possible. The dwarf and the man needed another hour to talk about the details of the swords Fili was going to make and how to contact him once they were ready.

Finally the couple retired to their room. Fili wanted to hug her but Poppy flinched when he touched her upper arms.

"You're hurt? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Fili asked with worry.

"This man's order was important for you. I didn't want to disturb you. The drunk just grabbed my arm a bit too hard. You don't have to worry." Poppy explained and tried to smile.

Fili kissed her nose and caressed her cheek. "That's very thoughtful. But you should have told me anyways." He opened the laces of her dress and helped her out of it. He gasped when he saw the bruises on her arms and neck and carefully trailed the tips of his fingers over them. When he wanted to kiss her neck, Poppy recoiled. "Don't kiss me. I feel dirty where he touched me."

The young dwarf nodded and took his wife's small hands in his much bigger ones. "I understand that. I asked the barmaid to prepare a bath for us." He led her towards the huge tub and helped her undress and step into the warm water. He quickly undressed too and stepped into the water behind her. He took the soap and oils provided and washed Poppy's hair and body until she finally relaxed and leaned back against his chest.

Poppy looked up towards Fili and smiled at him"Thank you! I feel so much better now."

Fili kissed her softly and then trailed his lips along her neck and ear while his fingers caressed her breasts, belly and thighs. Poppy enjoyed his touches and moaned softly. When the water cooled down, they towelled each other off and cuddled up under the covers of their bed.

#

Fili and Poppy stayed in Bree for two more days. Many men had commissioned weapons after they had seen Fili's talent. He told them that it would take at least six months to forge everything and to return to Bree. The men didn't mind the waiting time to much. They rather waited for some months than to buy the poorly made weapons from the blacksmith in Bree.

On their way back to Hobbiton Fili and Poppy slept in their tent every night. The weather was fine and they enjoyed their journey. On the third morning Poppy woke up with a strange feeling to her stomach. She ran out of the tent and threw up behind a tree. Fili needed a few seconds to open his eyes and to realise what was wrong. Then he quickly followed her and held back her hair. He rubbed small circles on her back and hugged her when she was done. Poppy drank some water and ate some bread and soon felt better.

They continued their journey home but needed longer than expected. Poppy was sick every morning and more tired than usual in the evenings. Both of them didn't understand what was wrong. Fili worried about his wife. What if she had caught some terrible illness in Bree. He would make sure that Pimpernel examined her as soon as they were back in Hobbiton.

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, followed and favoured my story!
Dear guest, don't worry! Fili and Thorin will meet again in the future, but it will still take some time for that to happen :)