Fili woke up early the next with Poppy in his arms and softly kissed her forehead. Poppy stirred in her sleep and then opened her eyes. The young dwarf kissed her again and apologised for waking her up. Poppy didn't mind though and so Fili suggested that she could eat breakfast with him. Poppy nodded and got up to prepare some bread and eggs while Fili dressed. They ate and talked and soon Fili had to leave for work.

A few minutes after Fili was gone, Lili, Vili and Tulip appeared in the kitchen. Poppy smiled at them and told them that they didn't have to be frightened that something happened to her. The dwobbits smiled at their mother and hugged her. It was still early and they could sleep for another hour or two add so Poppy suggested that they could all come to her bed and cuddle a bit. Lili, Vili and Tulip cheered and followed her. They laid down on each side of her and soon fell asleep again curled around their mother.

At the end of his lunch break Fili finally met Bofur and got the chance to talk to him. The older dwarf sighed and patted Fili's upper arm. He had feared that something like that might happen; the wages were enough to cater for three or maybe even four dwarves but Fili's family consisted of six persons. Bofur told the younger dwarf that, unfortunately, there was nothing he could do. It simply was not allowed for anyone to work even more than Fili already did even if they wanted to. It was considered to dangerous. When he saw the desperate look in Fili's eyes, he patted his arm again and promised that he would try everything he could to find a solution.

The next day after lunch there was a knock on the door and Poppy wondered who it might be since normally they didn't get visitors. She opened the door and her mother-in-law smiled at her. Dis entered the small house and hugged the hobbit. Poppy looked a bit flabbergasted so Dis explained that from now on she would be allowed to visit them.

The hobbit smiled and hugged the dwarrowdam again. "It's good to see you Dis."

"It's good to see you, too. Where are my grandchildren, my dear?" Dis asked with a smile. She immediately noticed how skinny and pale the hobbit looked compared to back in the Shire but decided to say nothing for now.

"They are taking a nap but they should wake up soon. Do you want me to fetch them?" Poppy asked.

"No, let them sleep. There is something I have to talk to you about anyways." Dis answered.

Poppy led her to the kitchen and made some tea. Dis looked around her son's home curiously. She had visited the miners' settlement once but she had never been inside one of these small houses. It made her sad to see her son and his family live under such circumstances. She lifted the hem of her dress and put two bags that had been hidden under the dress onto the table. Then she opened the bags and put different kinds of food like bread, vegetables, fruits, cheese and sausages as well as four small toys and a slightly damaged small bunch of asters on the table.

Poppy looked at her mother-in-law with wide teary eyes. "But... But you are not allowed to help us." She stammered with some fear in her voice and eyes.

Dis embraced the hobbit again and stroked her back. "It's ok, Poppy. You don't have to worry. We know which dwarves in the mountain we can trust and what Thorin doesn't know won't hurt him. Ori brought all these things from Dale yesterday so no one will miss them in Erebor's pantries."

Poppy wiped her tears away and put a kiss on Dis' cheek. "Thank you! Lili, Vili and Tulip will love it. Maybe I can even make some fruit or vegetable mash for Ruby. She has grown so much and will need food soon."

Dis looked at Poppy sternly. "And you will also eat some of it, my dear."

The hobbit looked at the dwarrowdam sadly. "Did Fili talk to you?"

Dis shook her head. "No, but he talked to Bofur. He wanted to work even more to earn some additional money."

Now a new tear slipped down Poppy's cheek. "But he's working all the time already."

"And he won't be allowed to work even more. Bofur talked to me and some of those we can trust though. Ori immediately went to Dale to buy these things while we tried to sort out a plan to help you permanently. And I think we have an idea." Dis explained with a smile.

"What idea?" Poppy asked shyly and sat down on a chair.

"Well, we are not allowed to bring food or money here and I don't think that I can smuggle some in like today all the time. We simply can't trust anyone here. But we can be here." Dis said and sat down opposite to the hobbit. "So, we thought that you might work for a few hours each day to earn some additional money to buy enough food and firewood. When you are at work Dwalin, Ori, Bilbo, me or maybe even Bifur can look after the children. Dori will also make sure that you don't have to work on Fili's days off. It's not perfect but it might help."

Poppy stood up again and hugged Dis again. "Thank you so much!"

Dis patted Poppy's shoulder and continued to talk. "Well, we wanted you to help in the kitchen. You have some experience from the inn in Hobbiton and I'm sure you would have liked that job."

Poppy nodded but started crying again. She thought of Hobbiton and how happy she had been there.

Dis realised that she had made the hobbit cry and pulled her close against her chest. "I'm sorry, my dear. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Poppy nodded. "It's alright. But Hobbiton or better said the thought of it will always make me sad."

"I understand, my dear." Dis whispered and continued explaining their plan. "But, well, as I said we thought that you might work in the kitchen. But the King won't allow it. It seems that he is worried that you might steel food. So Dori, who is in charge of the housekeeping, suggested that you could work with the cleaners. They have many dwarrowdams who need to support their families there and they can always need a helping hand."

Poppy smiled at Dis. "Thank you, Dis! This is such a wonderful idea. Can you tell Mister Dori that I would like to work there as soon as possible."

Dis nodded and in that moment Lili, Vili and Tulip entered the kitchen and ran towards their grandmother. She hugged them and gave them the new toys. Poppy fetched Ruby and handed her to Dis. She trailed her fingers over the little girls golden curls and told Poppy that she looked exactly like Fili. She gave her a small stuffed toy lion to play with. Ruby grabbed it and started chewing on it happily. They played together and ate a few plums when suddenly Fili entered the house together with Dori, Dwalin, Dwalis, Ori, Bilbo and Bifur. He explained that there had been a small accident in the mines and so the miners had been sent home. On his was he had run in the others who were on their way to visit them. Poppy ran to him and told him about Dis' plans. The youngest dwarf was relieved and happy and thanked everyone for their help.

The male dwarves and Bilbo sat down on a blanket and played with the little ones while Dis prepared some sandwiches for dinner and Poppy put the flowers in a vase. She smiled and looked at the flowers as if they were her biggest treasure. In that moment the adults in the room remembered how much hobbits loved their gardens. They knew that Poppy probably simply would have to leave the mountain from time to time to be a lot happier but they knew that Thorin would never allow that.

Three days later Poppy started working. She was excited but also a bit worried if the dwarrowdams in her group would accept her. Dori introduced her to the group and explained what she had to do. Poppy immediately liked the job and Dori was very satisfied with her work. Lili, Vili, Tulip and Ruby were happy to spend some time each day with their new caretakers. Poppy had worried about feeding Ruby but she nursed her before she went to work and immediately after work. If the baby dwobbit was hungry when her mother wasn't at home, she got some tea and mashed fruits or potatoes and was happy with that. Her older children always rushed towards Poppy when she came back and hugged her but they seemed to understand why their mother had to leave every morning.

After a few days another dwarrowdam joined the group. She had been with a different group but had asked Dori if she was allowed to work with Poppy. She had watched her in the miners' settlement and wanted to get to know her. Dori happily agreed because he knew that she was a good dwarrowdam and Poppy could certainly need a friend. So he decided that they would work together from now on.

Poppy liked her new coworker, Runa, from the beginning. She was nice and didn't seem to treat her any different although she was no dwarf. They couldn't talk a lot during work but walked back home together since Runa lived very close to Poppy. On the second day she asked "I would like to get to know you better. Do you think we could maybe meet in the afternoon? I would also love to meet your children."

"Of course we can meet. I'm sure the little ones would like that, too." Poppy answered with a smile.

Runa bit her lip. "Could my son come as well? Runor has seen Vili in the market and he would like to play with him. They should be around the same age."

Poppy frowned. "Well, I don't know if this is such a good idea. Children can be cruel and Vili is a very soft character and a bit scared to meet new people. He tried during our stay in Mirkwood but he has been bullied because of his blindness a lot. I worry that the same might happen again."

Runa put her hand on Poppy's arm. "I promise that he won't bully him."

"Are you sure?" Poppy asked with another frown.

Runa nodded. "Runor knows that your son is different. That's why he wants to meet him. He doesn't have friends around here either. There aren't many dwarflings anyways and those boys around his age bullied him after the death of his father. They said that his father died in the mining accident because he was to stupid to do his work properly. They also bullied him because I couldn't afford the best clothes and special food after my husband's death and because he cried a lot. They said that no male of any race would cry and those who did were weak." When she finished talking a tear slipped down her face.

Poppy was shocked and looked at her friend with wide eyes. "That's horrible! I didn't know that your husband died in the mines." Poppy embraced her new friend tightly. Suddenly she worried that something might happen to Fili as well. She had known that the mines were a dangerous place but she had never thought about dwarves dying there.

Runa hugged her back. "Aye, Anor, my husband, died in the mines last year. Our life has been difficult since then and Runor is always lonely. But that's not the only reason why I wanted to get to know you. So would you allow me to bring Runor?"

Poppy smiled and nodded. "Of course you can bring him. I want to meet him and maybe he and Vili will become friends. It would be wonderful for both of them."