It was time, time for Thorin and his Company to depart to The Shire and Ered Luin. But, Thorin was reluctant to leave his One, and as a last ditch effort to delay his departure he decided that everyone should have breakfast together. After all, time was on their side this time. Everyone was invited to breakfast, and by everyone Thorin meant everyone including Bard and his family as well. He was sure that Sigrid did not want to miss Fili's departure anyway.
The kitchen staff prepared a beautiful breakfast for everyone, overseen by Bombur. There was of course a great deal of meat served. Much to Thorin's disappointment, Alina did not join them for breakfast, the minute she walked into the dining room and the smell of the food hit her nose, she was out the door in a flash and in the washroom throwing up. She instead went to lay down until it was time for them to depart. Thorin tried to weasel his way out of having breakfast with everyone, but Alina wouldn't let him.
"Thorin, you invited them, it wouldn't be right that you leave them all alone just because I got sick." He knew it was true, but he had to try. Breakfast still turned out to be an enjoyable affair, with everyone laughing and joking.
Finally the time came for them to depart. Thorin went into his bed chambers to inform Alina that it was time for them to go. She lying in bed drinking a ginger ale and eating crackers. He came and sat next to her.
"It is time for me to go, dear one."
"Okay let me get up and walk you." He pushed her back down.
"Do you feel up to it?"
"Yes, Thorin, I feel well enough to go see you off." she says as she lightly touches his cheek. He catches her hand and kisses it.
"Come, then let us be off."
Everyone was gathered at the entrance of the Royal Halls. Fili was saying goodbye to Bard and the children, when he got to Sigrid she was already crying. He gathers her in his arms, hugging her tightly and placing his forehead to hers.
"I shall miss you so much very much." Sigrid tells him
"No more than I will miss you." Fili says. Bard rolls his eyes.
When Thorin and Alina finally showed up everyone had said their goodbyes and were ready to go. They were just waiting on Thorin. Thorin hugged his ghivashel to him tightly.
"I shall miss you so much, a day will not pass that I do not think of you and wish to be with you." Thorin says as he places his forehead to Alina's. She throws her arms around his neck hugging him tightly.
"Don't go." She whisper as she kisses his lips.
"I must go, Men gehyith (My little Dove), but I shall return to you as soon as I can." He pried her off of him and handed her to Logan.
"Take care of her, Logan, and make sure she eats. I am trusting you with the three most important treasures in my life." Logan put his arm around her shoulders as fat tears ran silently down her face.
"Don't worry, Thorin, she's in good hands."
Thorin gave her one last fierce kiss, then walked away. "Jarvis the Portal." Jarvis turned on the portal and a white blinding light appeared. The company walked through, Thorin turned around and yells.
"Men zirup men!" (You complete me!)" Then vanished through the portal.
Thorin, Bilbo, and the Company appear in the forest just outside of Hobbiton.
"I will have to ask Tony or Jarvis to adjust this so that we appear right outside your door next time." Thorin says as he looks at his wrist.
"No, no this is just fine, we're really not that far from Hobbiton. It will not take me that long to walk home." Bilbo assures the Dwarves.
"If you think we are letting you go alone then you are truly daft, Master Baggins." Dwalin informs the little Hobbit.
"Dwalin is right, Bilbo. After everything that we have been through, we can not let you go into the unknown alone." Thorin agreed.
"Un-unknown? It's just home, there isn't anything unknown there."
"Be that as it may, we do not feel right," Dori states, "you are still part of the Company." Bilbo sighed in resignation. If he was honest with himself, he wasn't ready to part ways with the Dwarves just yet.
"Alright let's get going."
They make their way to Hobbiton laughing and reminiscing about their travel to the Shire. They begin to climb the hill leading to Bilbo's home when they begin to notice something odd.
"Wait a minute, that's my mother's glory box, and that's my dining chair. Ah, put that pouf down! What is going on?"
Hello, Mr. Bilbo… you're not suppose to be here." Master Worrywort says.
"What do you mean?" Bilbo asks
"On account of you being presumed dead and all."
I'm not dead, presumed or otherwise." Bilbo takes off running towards his house with the others following behind.
"I'm not sure that's permitted, Mr. Bilbo!" Master Worrywort calls after them. As they near, they can hear the auctioning continuing on.
"Stop, stop, there's been a mistake." Bilbo exclaims.
"Who are you?" Asks a woman in the most god awful dress and tacky hat Thorin has ever seen.
"What do you mean who am I? You know perfectly well who I am, Lobelia Sackville Baggins. This is my home and those are my spoons, thank you very much."
"This is most irregular, it's been more than 13 months since the disappearance," says Tosser Grubb, "if you are in fact Bilbo Baggins and undeceased, can you prove it?" Dwalin lunged for the fat Hobbit only to be held back by Gloin and Dori.
"What?!"
"Well, uh, something official with your name on it would suffice." Tosser Grubb said as he eyed the burly Dwarf.
"Alright, right." Bilbo rummaged through his bag and produced his contract.
"A contract of employment as a - a-b- nevermind as what. There my signature."
"Yes, well it certainly seems to be in order, seems there can be no doubt. Who is this person you pledge your service to, Thorin Oakenshield?"
"I am Thorin Oakenshield," Thorin says as he steps forward, "King Under the Mountain." A murmur goes through the group of Hobbits as they look upon Thorin with awe.
"Welcome, to Hobbiton, your Majesty," Tosser Grubb says with a bow, "If there is anything we can do to make your stay here more pleasant please do not hesitate to ask." The hobbits present agree with Tosser Grubb.
"There is in fact one thing you can do, return all of Master Baggins' belongings to him at once." Thorin demanded.
Tosser Grubb let out a nervous laugh, "That maybe a little more difficult than you may know."
"Why is that? You have a list of all the people that purchased the items, it is only a matter of you going to their homes, retrieving the items and returning their money. I expect his belonging returned by the end of the week." With that, he swept passed the stunned Hobbits and ushered Bilbo into his home followed by the rest of the Dwarves. They looked around and realized the Hobbits had cleaned Bilbo out.
"Perhaps we should have brought some supplies with us." Gloin said. The other Dwarves nod.
"Don't worry I'll go down the market and get some food and blankets."
"I will go with you." Dori offered. He and Bilbo left immediately for the market.
"The rest of us will clean up," Thorin said as he took off his coat. Thankfully Bilbo's brooms, buckets, and mops were still there. The rest of the Dwarves followed Thorin's lead.
By the time Bilbo and Dori got back, there was a roaring fire and the smial was spick and span. The Dwarves were outside smoking, Dori and Bilbo walked passed them into the house with their groceries when Bilbo comes running back out again.
"How did you get my dining room set back so fast?" Fili and Kili laugh.
"When the King commands it," Fili says.
"It get done." Kili finishes. Then they both start laughing.
Bilbo hums his agreement, then goes back inside to cook dinner.
The Dwarves stay the rest of the week to make sure that Bilbo's belongings are indeed returned to him, then once again they open the portal to head to Ered Luin. They step through and once more end up a few miles away from Ered Luin.
"I really must speak with Tony about this." Thorin says as they begin their walk.
"Maybe it's better this way, we do not want to frighten anyone." Gloin observes.
"Perhaps that is the reason Tony set it up that way?" Kili inquired
"Perhaps you are right." Thorin said. It really didn't matter, the walk wasn't that far. Five miles at the most, nothing too strenuous. Just a good stretch of the legs.
Thorin and Company began walking toward the settlement of Ered Luin, there was an anticipation in the air. Gloin and Bombur couldn't wait to see their families again, their happiness was obvious. There was an extra spring in their step.
It was midday when they came over the hill and saw the village nestled in between the two peaks of the mountain. Kili was the first to spot his mother as she walked home for lunch.
"Amad!" Kili yelled as he ran towards his mother. Dis squinted against the bright winter sun, then her eyes went wide when she realized who it was.
"Kili, Miz Makk! (My son!)" Dis screamed as she ran foward and met Kili half way.
Fili walked faster down the hill to meet his mother. When Dis saw him she pulled him into an embrace. Thorin paused to look upon the scene. The commotion they were causing caught the attention of other Dwarves in the area, it didn't take them long to realize that their King had returned home. Word spread through the village like wild fire and soon the families of both Bombur and Gloin were running to meet them. Their wives collided with them nearly knocking them over, or in Bombur's case, making him take a few steps back.
All the Dwarves came out to meet the 'weary' travelers. The last to arrive were the members of Thorin's council. Boldin, Chalbar, and Nalbar, Garond, and Storond made their way down to greet Thorin. Dimrund, Grogrim, and Nalkon walked a little slower.
"I thought you said that the Dragon sickness would be his downfall?" Dimrund whispered to Nalkon.
"I thought it would be." Nalkon responded.
"In any event, the Pale Orc should have finished him." Grogrim commented.
"Evidently we were wrong, he is more formidible than we thought." Dimrund said.
"THORIN, My King," Dimrund greeted loudly as he clapped Thorin on the back, "It is good to have you back. We have heard rumors that you succeeded in reclaiming Erebor and that the Dragon Smaug is dead, is this true?"
Thorin stepped away from the slimey politician and inclined his head. "It is true, the mountain is ours once again." There was an eruption of cheers from all of the Dwarves that were in the area.
"When shall we leave for Erebor, My Lord?" One Dwarf asked Thorin.
"As soon as we can make ready. I wish to leave within two weeks time." Thorin Bellowed for all to hear.
"Two weeks?! We can not possibly be ready in two weeks. What of the weather? Perhaps we can wait until summer, we can discuss this in council." Boldin said. Thorin inclined his head in acknowledgment.
"Council will have to wait, they have been gone far too long. Their return has given us something to celebrate." Dis said, then it occured to her. "Where are the others, do not tell me something has happened?"
"All is well, sister dear, I left Balin and the others in charge of Erebor while I am away. Dwarves have already moved in from the Iron Hills and repairs have already begun." He said as he hugged and kissed his sister. Satisfied with the answer, she lead her boys Dori and Dwalin back to her home.
"You must be starving, I have a stew on that should be ready by now. Come let us eat, talk and tonight we celebrate." Dis declared.
True to her word, Dis had a fine stew on the fire, ready for them. They ate until their heart's content. Afterwards they talked about their adventures and of the battle. They told her everything that happened from meeting Bilbo to being chased by Wargs.
"After we were chased by Wargs, Gandalf led us to the Rivendell." Dis growled at the thought of the wizard's treachery.
"It turned out to be a good thing, there were moon runes written on the map that only Lord Elrond could read," Thorin explains.
"While we were there, we met a young woman, who joined us on our quest." Dwalin mentioned. Thorin turned and looked at Dwalin as if to tell him 'shut up.'
"You let a woman join you, Thorin, why?" Dis asked. Thorin opened his mouth to answer, but Dwalin beat him to it.
"She is a talented healer and a great warrior." Dwalin said as he glanced at Thorin.
"Yes, Amad, she helped us on several difficult occasions." Fili said.
"And during the Battle she was able to save many of the lives of the warriors involved." Kili stated
"She sounds like an interesting woman, I can not wait to meet her." Thorin suddenly had a wistful look about him, Dori quickly changed the subject.
"You should have seen the Worm, Dis, he had grown larger and fatter these past 60 years. We tried to kill him ourselves, but failed. It took a black arrow from Bard of Esgaroth. He is the descendant of Girion, the Last Lord of Dale."
"Yes, his people made him King of Dale which they are currently rebuilding." Fili informed his mother. They continued to talk into the evening for all work had been cancelled for the rest of the day to make ready for the welcome home celebration. Thorin sat there in silence smoking his pipe.
While the others are engrossed in their conversation, Thorin takes the opportunity slip outside. He stands on the front porch, watching the setting sun, smoking absent mindedly. He didn't even notice when the door opened and out walked Dwalin.
"She's alright, you know." Dwalin says to his best friend as he puts an arm around Thorin's shoulder.
"I know she is, Dwalin, I can not help but feel a little melancholy. I miss her terribly and my unborn children."
"I know you do, just as I miss Natasha. Though I will never know what it is like to be a father."
Thorin raised an eyebrow, "Oh, why is that?"
"Natasha confessed to me that when she was younger, she was sterilized to make a more proficient killer out of her. In other words, she can not have children."
Thorin gave Dwalin a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry to hear that."
"So am I, but I still have my One and we will still be happy together with or without children. Now come on there is a celebration tonight, we need to get ready." Dwalin tells Thorin as he pats him on the back.