Thorin lay in their great bed in the early hours of the morning, Ila asleep in his arms. He had her drawn close and she was sleeping peacefully. That was more than he could say for himself. Since all his suspicions surfaced, it had been hard for him to sleep well.

He looked down at her relaxed face. She was naked, as was he, and the covers were down around their hips. It was summer after all and warm inside the mountain.

Thorin looked at her swelling belly and gently dragged his fingers over it. A faint smile spread over her lips and she snuggled deeper into his embrace. She looked so innocent and so happy. He looked back at her stomach and wondered. It had been more than a week since he had told Zahra to keep tabs on her, but she had produced no intel of note. Perhaps he had just imagined all of that...he did believe she loved him. He would wait and see what Zahra might have to say, and when Fili returned in the next couple of days he would fish around a bit. If Kili was in love with Ila, surely Fili would have noticed something.

Thorin laid there for a while, then gently disengaged from Ila to go to Thora's crib. He peered down at his sleeping daughter, not believing that she wasn't his. As though on cue, her blue eyes opened and peered back into his. He smiled and picked her up, she thankfully not crying but happily smiled up at him. She cooed and snuggled into his chest as he held her and walked over to sit with her for a while. She was drowsy and soon falling asleep on his warm chest. He bent his head to lay his face next to hers. He loved her so much; Ila had thought that he would be upset that she had a girl…how wrong she had been. His princess was perfect to him. There was no way he could look at her and believe she wasn't his own.

He looked back to Ila's sleeping form in the bed. Perhaps he had made a mistake. He wasn't perfect; as anyone who'd been on the journey could attest he had his lapses in judgment. He would just have to wait and see. If he tried to confront Ila or Kili about it, they would outright deny anything, true or not.

The sound and feel of Thora's steady breathing was making Thorin sleepy again too, and he laid his head back and closed his eyes, falling into a more pleasant sleep than he'd had in his bed.

Ila woke some hours later to see her husband and child sleeping together in a nearby chair. As adorable a sight as they were, she wondered how Thora could have woken with her hearing. This worried her only a little, but then she worried for Thorin too. He seemed like something was bothering him, or weighing on his mind, but whenever she inquired he would insist it was nothing.

She smiled at him, thinking of how sweet he was for tending to Thora and not waking her. He must be concerned about her getting enough rest in her state. Little did she know.

Later that day, Zahra was following Ila and Kili along dutifully, with Thora in her arms, when Kili asked Ila if she wanted to take in some air.

Ila replied that she did, and Kili led her to one of the private balconies for the use of the royals only. It faced north and gave no view of the road in front of Erebor that Zahra was so eager to watch these days. Fili would be home so soon.

Ila then asked Zahra to take Thora for her bath and a nap, which she turned to do straightaway. Little did Ila know that Zahra was peeking around a corner, not yet off to her duties.

Thorin had said he wanted her to keep an eye on things when Ila and Kili were alone….but that was sometimes hard to do. She couldn't not attend to her duties so she just made sure to check in on things randomly when they wouldn't expect her. That meant looking around a corner once they thought she was gone.

Oh, this is ridiculous! Zahra thought, hoping Thora did not whine or make a sound that could be heard from there. Nothing ever went on between them, what was Thorin so afraid of?

The most likely answer was infidelity. Zahra knew that, she was a shy creature but not a daft one. But Ila was so obviously in love with Thorin, it made no sense that that should be the real motivator behind this task Thorin had given her.

So far, she has seen nothing worthy of reporting. Practice went on uneventfully every day. Kili held her hand sometimes when she was going up or down stairs but dropped it as soon as she was steady footed. Nothing to suggest an underlying relationship.

But still, Zahra did as she was bid. It only made her too happy to have nothing to report. What did trouble her a little is what to tell Fili of all this. Would it be something he would want to know? Would he be angry at her for spying on his brother? Or was this sort of thing not a big deal? Perhaps she wouldn't mention anything unless there was something to report…if no harm was being done then why speak of it? The last thing she wanted to do after not seeing him for three weeks was upset him. Although, she really felt like she should tell him if she was honest.

Ila had called for some tea to be brought and a servant had arrived to do just that. Kili was sitting on the balcony itself and swinging his legs. He faced Ila who sat in a well-padded chair.

Zahra was about to turn away and take Thora up for her bath, but then Kili got down and sat at Ila's feet. He faced away from her and she reached forward to grab some of this hair. It quickly became evident that he had asked her to rebraid parts of it. At least she thought he'd asked, from her angle he had been doing most of the talking and Ila only listening.

Was that weird? He was her nephew after all. It wasn't that weird.

Kili leaned back and looked up at Ila, saying something to make her laugh. Zahra admitted that had she not known them, they easily could have been a couple. OR brother and sister. Hmm. Perhaps she would mention this to Thorin, since it was harmless and that way he wouldn't think she was not doing as he'd asked. His suspicions seemed too great to her that he would be constantly satisfied with no report at all. And she couldn't risk his wrath and be sent home…..Oh what a right awful position that old dwarf had put her in! She hated spying on Ila, she had been so very kind to her, and he threaten to send her away at that. Grumpy, paranoid old creature. If he really did suspect Ila of being untrue, he was dumber than he was grumpy. Anyone could look at Ila and see that she radiated love for her husband.

Having seen enough and starting to be very angry, Zahra took the princess upstairs finally. She'd done enough spying for one day.

It was finally here, the day Fili was to return. Zahra could barely contain her excitement. She put on her nicest dress, a dark pink that showed with little bust she had been blessed with, and pinched her cheeks in the mirror to add some color to her pale face. She bit her lips a little too, bidding them to be rosier. She smoothed her hair back, smoothing any flyaways. She had left Thora with Ila, the latter feeding the former and giving her a bit of free time to do down to the main entrance and see if he had come yet. She was practically running when she turned a corner and almost collided with his majesty.

"My king, I am so sorry." She huffed, out of breath.

"No need to apologize. Coming to find me in such a hurry?" he asked.

"Oh no! No I have some errands to attend to, that's all."

"I see. Well, I did not get the chance to speak with you yesterday."

That was true. He usually came by during practice while Ila and Kili were training or he caught her right after Ila dismissed her for the evening. But he'd been too busy to do either yesterday.

"So, what have you to tell me? More of the same?" he asked.

"For the most part," Zahra said nervously. She had not expected to see him and had been in no frame of mind to.

"Oh?" Thorin asked with an upturned brow.

"Yesterday, after her majesty asked me to take the princess up for her bath, Prince Kili asked her to redo his braids."

Thorin made a face. "Redo his braids?" he repeated, as though that were a stupid thing to ask anyone to do.

"Yes sire."

"And did her majesty?"

"Yes, he sat at her feet and she did as he asked."

"And that is all?"

"Yes-"

"But you left them alone? You went to bathe the princess?"

"Well, yes my lord I did as her majesty instructed." Zahra said with a shaky voice.

Thorin stared at her for a moment, then dismissed her. Zahra spared no time in walking past him and continuing her journey towards the great doors.

Thorin stepped into a dark corridor and thought that report over. Braid his hair. Couldn't his mother do that? Why should he ask Ila to braid his hair…..she had braided his hair before, certainly, but that was to be expected.

Thorin contemplated this. It proved nothing, though Zahra had to leave them alone for a while to do as she was told. Why send Zahra away though? Could she not have bathed Thora that night after supper when she would be in the room as well? Why did she have to send her away to do it in the middle of the day?

Thorin resolved to file this bit of information away for the time. He looked towards their rooms and started to go up, but then turned and went back down to his throne room instead.

Zahra had made it to the great entrance and heard Dwalin's unmistakable voice before she saw him. That meant Fili was back too! Her heart leapt. But where was he?

She saw Dwalin carrying his pack in and thankfully did not notice her. She saw the ponies just outside the entrance, and there next to a handsome brown pony with a black mane stood her fair haired prince. Dwalin walked back past her without even noticing and took the reins of his pony to lead around the side of the mountain to where the stables were. Fili looked up and saw her then, his blue eyes sparkling at the surprise of her appearance. Before either of them could say anything, he raised a finger to his lips to quiet her. He then waved hurriedly for her to come to him, which after a moments hesitation and looking about Zahra did so. She bent down behind Fili's pony while he spoke to Dwalin.

"Here, give me her reins. I'll take Sugar to her stall. You go on upstairs and see your wife and dwarfling." Fili said.

Dwalin thanked him and took the offer, striding towards the door without another look. Fili took the reins of both ponies and led them around the Mountain, Zahra hiding behind Fili's the whole way lest anyone see her. The stables were dug out of the very rock itself, and looked to be a recent addition to Zahra. Fili quickly led each pony to its stall and tied them up, they happy to be home and began eating right away.

Zahra looked around to ensure they were alone, and Fili grabbed her by the hand and pulled her towards the back.

Taking both of her hands, he gently fell into a giant pile of hay and brought her down with him.

She barely stifled a yelp and he covered her mouth with his own.

Zahra whimpered into him, his hands holding her face. Hers went to grab his shoulders and they enjoyed a long and sensual kiss.

When it broke, they were both out of breath.

"The last three weeks may have been the longest of my life." Fili said.

"For me too," Zahra replied.

"You missed me then?"

"Obviously, I met you at the entrance didn't I?"

"Yes, and you surprise me. Coming out to the stables with me alone…"

"I didn't know what you had in mind, I only wanted to see you."

"I know." He assured her. "I'm not going to try anything. I just couldn't wait for hours to kiss you, that's all."

Zahra giggled and kissed him this time. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight to him, savoring the feeling that had been but a memory those past weeks.

"How long before anyone wonders where you are?"

"Let them wonder a little, I've lost time to make up for." Fili replied, and the two lay in the straw, kissing until their lips were sore.

Upstairs, Dwalin opened his door and was met by an ecstatic Sam, overjoyed to see his master return.

"Aye, I missed you too. But where is your mistress?" he asked the shaggy dog.

He didn't hear his wife or child in the next room, but pushed the door open gently in case either was in there sleeping.

Dwalin saw there was no babe in the crib, but his wife lay in their bed.

Dwala was there with the covers pulled up over her breasts, but appeared to be wearing nothing underneath.

"Hello husband," she said happily from where she lay.

"Hello wife." Dwalin said, obviously pleased by what he saw. "And where is the wee one?"

"With Dis for a while. You know how she loves dwarflings…"

"Aye. So we're all alone then?"

"Aye," she answered and tossed back the sheet.

Dwalin growled low in his throat. "Well have you become a wanton in my absence." He said as he tore his clothes off in short order.

Dwala laughed at him. She was less wanton and more proud. She could see a difference in herself since he'd left, and she was happily showing off for her husband.

Dwalin pounced on the bed then and Dwala squeaked for fear it was going to break beneath them.

He bent his head and kissed a trail from her lower belly to her neck.

"I do believe you've lost a bit wife….but not too much now…..you know I like some meat on you"

"I have plenty,"

"I have to have something to hold onto—"

She smacked him on the arm and he savagely invaded her mouth, grabbing her legs and forcing them apart to lie over his back. But Dwala didn't mind, she'd been waiting for this. Her dwarf was home, and she couldn't be happier at the moment.

A/N: Yes, Dwalin's pony is named Sugar. Because.

Not much Ila in this chapter. Since things aren't going well between she and Thorin (not that she is aware), I wanted to focus on a happy homecoming for everyone else, especially since things are going to get darker.