The next afternoon Runa come over with her son Runor. She had baked a few sweet buns for the little ones and hoped that they would like them.

Poppy opened the door with a smile and led them to the living room. There she asked her children who were playing on the fur in front of the fireplace to come to her.

They nodded and stood up. Vili was quite reluctant so Lili took his hand and pulled him towards their mother. They stood next to Poppy and looked at their visitors curiously.

Poppy looked down at them and smiled. "This is Runa who works with me. And Runor, her son, would like to get to know you and play with you."

Runa smiled at them and bowed. "Runa, at your service."

Runor waved at them and touched Vili's arm to greet him.

Lili and Tulip giggled and waved at the dwarves. But Vili shrieked and flinched towards his mother and buried his face in her dress. Poppy picked him up and he wrapped his arms around her neck. She put a kiss on his cheek and whispered into his ear that he didn't have to be afraid because Runor wouldn't hurt him. But Vili still wasn't convinced and clutched her marriage braid. "I want to stay with Mama!"

Poppy looked at her friend and the dwarfling sadly. "I'm sorry! But I can't force him to play with you."

Runor nodded. "Vili, I just want to play with you. I promise that I won't say mean things."

Vili still shook his head and buried his face in his mother's hair. Poppy and Runa both didn't know what to do now, so Runa suggested to sit down and have afternoon tea. Maybe Vili would relax when he noticed that Runor didn't want to do something bad. Poppy agreed and fetched Ruby. She built a small nest of blankets and put her down. Runa kneeled down next to her and caressed her face. "She's so cute."

Poppy smiled. "She looks like Fili. I hope you don't mind her being here. It has to be difficult to be around my children after your husband's death."

Runa shook her head. "No, it's fine. Of course Anor and me wanted another dwarfling but I'm not jealous. I'm happy for you! You have been through so many terrible things recently and you deserve the happiness your children give you. And I would be happy if you had many more if this is Mahal's wants for you."

"That's good to know. I was quite worried." Poppy said and hugged the dwarrowdam. "Well, I don't think another child would be a good idea. But let's not talk about that now."

Runa frowned but nodded and sat down at the table next to her son. Vili sat down in his mother's lap between his sisters. He still had tears in his eyes and clutched Poppy's dress. They ate the buns and drank tea and talked. Runa and her son also explained why Runor wanted to be friends with Vili. When they were finished Tulip suggested that they could play a bit. She got up and grabbed Runor's hand to pull him to the fur in front of the fireplace and the dwarfling followed her with a smile. Lili wanted to take Vili's hand but he whimpered and held tightly onto his mother. So she hugged him but went to Runor. The girls showed him some of their toys and they played but the dwarfling watched the dwobbit all the time. After nearly an hour he went towards him again and asked if he wanted to play as well.

Vili bit his lower lip and finally spoke. "Yes, but don't hurt me, please."

"I swear that I won't." Runor promised and took Vili's hand.

The little ones played happily while Runa and Poppy talked and played with Ruby who seemed to be quite fascinated of Runa's beard.

When they had to leave again, Vili even hugged Runor and asked if they were allowed to play again. Of course this wasn't a problem and so they met very often from that day onwards.

Fili could remember Runa and Anor from Ered Luin. He was shocked to find out that the dwarf who was a bit older than himself had died. He had liked Anor, who was also one of the few who had wanted to join Thorin's company. But since Runa had found out that she was with child a few days before they had wanted to leave, they had made him stay with her.

The young dwarf was devastated to find about about Anor's death in a mining accident. He had also seen the fear in Poppy's eyes when she told him about it and promised to be careful. Fili had heard rumours how, or better said why, one of the dwarves of his group had died but he hoped that these weren't true and didn't want to talk about it.

Fili was happy that Poppy had found a friend in Runa and that their children liked each other and had become friends as well. Their life was still difficult but they had enough food and even a few friends. That was all that mattered for now.

The following weeks passed in a similar way. Fili and Poppy worked nearly every day while Bilbo, Ori or Dis looked after Vili, Lili, Tulip, Ruby and since a few weeks also Runor. The dwobbits and the dwarfling had become good friends and were nearly inseparable.

On their days off Fili and Poppy stayed with the children and played with them. They all missed the games they had played in their old home and garden in Hobbiton though. There wasn't too much they could do in their small house, so they usually sat in front of the fireplace and played with the wooden toys they had received from Bifur and Bofur.

Fili had also started teaching the little ones how to speak Khuzdul. They were no pure blooded dwarves but they looked like them and so he thought they deserved to learn it. Poppy know that the dwarves kept their language a secret but she still loved to hear her husband's much deeper voice when he spoke Khuzdul and so she often listened to him although she didn't understand anything.

One day Poppy and Fili had to work for just a few hours in the morning. Dis played with the little ones and fed Ruby some potato mash when Fili came home with Bofur and Dwalin. They talked a bit and soon Poppy entered the living room with a bright smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

"I have seen the sun today." She announced happily but started crying when Dwalin and Bofur chuckled.

Dis slapped them for making fun of the hobbit and Fili rushed to her to embrace her. "That's wonderful. How did you see it?" He asked and kissed her tears away.

Poppy sniffed. "Do you really want to know or do you want to make fun of me?"

"Of course I want to know. I know how much you miss being outdoors, my love." Fili sad and caressed his wife's face.

Bofur und Dwalin also remembered how much hobbits loved their gardens and apologised.

Poppy nodded at them and explained. "We had to clean in the entrance hall. Sometimes the gates opened and then I could see the sun, the sky and even some trees in the distance." She took a deep breath. "I thought I'd never see it again. And Mister Dori even said that I will be allowed to help cleaning there and maybe even on some of the balconies more often in the future.

The dwarves saw how happy Poppy was about such a small thing and told her that this was wonderful news.

In early winter they celebrated Tulip's fifth birthday and a few weeks later Lili's and Vili's sixth birthday. Runa, Runor, Dis, Dwalin, Dwalis, Balin, Bofur, Bifur, Dori, Ori and Bombur had come with presents and some food. Fili had been worried but Dwalin assured him that they could trust the guards they had passed. Most dwarves in Erebor saw the dwobbits as a treasure and they didn't want them to suffer.

The children loved the food and their new toys. Runor received a new toy as well and had tears in his eyes because normally his mother couldn't afford the quite expensive toys Bifur made.

Fili was incredibly happy to finally see Vili interact with Runor. The dwarfling helped the younger boy whenever he could and they played happily. Fili was glad that his son finally has another male he could trust after everything that had happened with Ronon in Mirkwood. He had always dreamed about teaching his son how to fight with a sword, maybe even with his twin swords. He couldn't imagine his blind and softhearted son to be a warrior though. But maybe he could still teach him and Runor how to fight with soft toy swords. He was sure the dwarfling who didn't have a father might like that.

Runa was happy that Fili, who in her eyes was still a prince, liked her and her son and accepted their friendship. She felt a bit uncomfortable among Lady Dis and the members of King Thorin's company who had all become Lords. They treated her like she was one of them tough and so she even wondered if Fili might become a kind of a father figure for Runor.

Hello everyone! Thanks again for the reviews, follows and favourites! Over the last few chapters I have lost quite a few readers and so those who still read my story and especially the new readers make me really happy :) You give me the strength and motivation to continue writing :*