Bilba returned to her room to find her clothing mended, cleaned and spread out on her bed. She changed quickly from the dress back to her trousers, shirt and overcoat and then packed everything carefully.

After that she slung the pack over her shoulders and picked up the letters along with her parent's rings and the doll. She let herself out of the room carefully and stood uncertainly on the pathway, trying to think of the best course of action.

An idea occurred to her and she headed back in the direction of the small underground room. The odds were slim Aragorn would even still be there, and slimmer still he'd be able to help, but she couldn't think of anything else at the moment.

She found the room easily enough and, upon entering, was delighted to see Aragorn was indeed still there reading.

"I'm sorry to bother you," Bilba said, approaching and stopping a few feet away, "but I wondered if you know where Elrond or one of his sons might be?"

"I'm afraid they're probably all in a council meeting right now," he said, putting the book down, "perhaps I could help you in their stead?"

"Oh, it's all right," Bilba said. She held up the letters awkwardly. "I had some letters waiting for me when I arrived. I wrote some responses and hoped to find a way to get them sent to the Shire before I left."

Aragorn stood up. "In that case, you're in luck. I happen to be heading toward the Shire in a few days."

"Really?" Bilba said in surprise.

"I'm a Ranger," Aragorn explained. "I'm usually near the Shire or Bree. I was raised in Rivendell, however, so I visit from time to time." He smiled. "In fact I happen to be the one to transport your letters in the first place. I would be happy to make sure the responses are properly delivered."

"Oh," Bilba said, while mentally smacking herself for not putting two and two together. "Thank you! For bringing the letters and for the offer!"

"You're quite welcome," Aragorn said. He held a hand out. "If you give me the responses I'll see to it they're delivered."

Bilba nodded and handed over the letters. That left her with her parent's rings and the doll. She hesitated, clinging to them.

Aragorn raised an eyebrow and Bilba pulled them to her chest.

"These," she started and then stopped to take a breath before plunging ahead. "These belonged to my parents and my brother. I just got them back and I wanted to send them to my grandfather...the Thain..." She trailed off, would he think poorly of her that she was sending the items away? "It's just that – it's not going to be safe all the time and ---you know, what if I lose them or--"

She trailed off, her hands still clutching the rings and doll tight to her chest.

Aragorn stood over her, a look of compassion in his eyes. He shifted slightly and then knelt on one knee in front of her, his hands coming to cover hers.

"I give you my word," he said calmly, his eyes locking onto hers, "I will see them to your grandfather. They will not come to harm."

Bilba felt herself relax at the sincerity in his words. He'd already seen her letters safely to Rivendell and was clearly a friend to the Elves or he would not be so readily allowed in. Not to mention he was one of the Rangers, Men who'd long chosen to protect the Shire for no pay and little gratitude.

She released them, a feeling of loss rushing over her as they left her hands. She half wanted to take them back but knew it was a bad idea. The quest would be long and dangerous and that was before the dragon at the end. She'd never forgive herself if any harm came to the rings or Bungo's doll, especially after she'd just gotten them back.

Aragorn stood up. "Are you leaving immediately?" He indicated the pack on her back.

"Pretty soon," Bilba said. If she told him the truth she'd have to explain the whole thing and then she'd probably get a lecture on how dangerous it would be and how Thorin was a fool, which she already knew, and so on and so forth.

"In the event I don't see you before you go I'll bid you farewell then," Aaragorn said. "Until we meet again."

Bilba nodded. "I hope so. I'll have to invite you to lunch at Bag End."

He smiled. "I look forward to it."

He retrieved his book and took his leave of her. As he left Bilba noticed the shadows from the door way were deepening. Night had almost fallen. The only light left in the small room came from torches, primarily the ones illuminating the statue and the painting.

The dim, flickering light gave an otherworldly glow to the painting that wasn't present in the day when natural light spilled down through the door. The pattern of light and shadow now made the depiction of Sauron seem to twist and move on its own, as if the Dark Lord struggled to free himself from the artwork and enter the world once more.

Bilba shivered, wrapped her arms around her torso, and fled as fast as possible, the small room no longer welcome and inviting.

She walked past her room, then the one where the Jerk and the Pretty Twins were staying and finally stopped at the one next to it.

Nori opened the door a moment later, one eyebrow raised. "There you are. Fili and Kili have been looking for you."

Bilba didn't answer. She shoved past him into the room and dropped her pack into the corner.

"Should I even ask?" Nori said dryly, shutting the door. He gave her that wicked grin. "Not that I mind you staying in my room of course."

Bilba rolled her eyes. "I don't trust Thorin not to try and leave me while I'm sleeping. You're the only one I think would defy him and make sure I woke up."

She'd threatened to follow after Thorin if he did leave her but, to be honest, she wasn't sure she had the courage. She had no idea of what direction to go and the thought of wandering through the wild alone did not appeal to her.

Not that she'd let Thorin know that of course.

Nori leaned against the door casually. "And why do you assume I'd be the one to defy the King?" He studied her a moment. "And aren't you the one always going on about propriety? Staying in my room isn't exactly 'proper'."

"Because you like annoying him," Bilba said sharply. She sat on the small chair in the room. "I refuse to be left behind and, besides, it's not like anyone from the Shire is here to judge me and I highly doubt any of the others care where I sleep."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Nori muttered under his breath.

"And," Bilba continued, "if you try anything inappropriate I'll castrate you in your sleep."

"Ouch," Nori said, "and I suppose you'd tell your two champions as well and let them at me."

Now it was Bilba's turn to have a wicked grin. "Worse."

"Really?" said Nori. "And what exactly would be worse than telling our two overprotective Princes?"

Bilba grinned. "I'll tell ORI. Just think of how disappointed he'd be."

Nori's eyes widened and then narrowed in admiration. "I think you'd have the workings of an amazing spy my Lady."

"Maybe," Bilba said. She shifted in the chair, finding a comfortable position, and said, "want to practice your Black Speech?"

Nori's eyes lit up. "Of course!" He shifted suddenly and a strange expression flitted across his face. "Wait here a moment."

He strode to the door and vanished through it. Bilba raised an eyebrow but settled herself back in the chair to wait for him to return.

Nori was back only a few minutes later, Ori trailing along behind him and understanding dawned.

"Ori!" Bilba said, genuinely happy to see the shy scribe. "I'm glad you could join us."

He smiled back and moved to sit on the edge of the bed near her. "I'm glad you're all right. I was worried after--" He trailed off and made a few gestures with his hands.

Bilba felt her mood dissipate slightly at the reminder of her fight with Thorin but she didn't let it show on her face. "It's fine. Thank you for standing up for me, it took a lot of courage."

He flushed and ducked his head.

There was more movement at the door and Dori strode in. He shot a look at Nori and then came to sit beside Ori.

Ori sighed. "He thinks he has to babysit me."

"I'm making sure your brother doesn't corrupt you with his stories of crime," Dori said in annoyance. "Not to mention ensuring Bilba's reputation. It wouldn't do at all for her to be in Nori's room alone."

"It's fine," Bilba said. "I already told him I'd castrate him if he tried anything."

Ori laughed and then nearly choked to death trying to cut it off. Dori didn't bother hiding his own laughter.

Nori just rolled his eyes and jumped up on the small table near the chair, settling back against it. "Just so you know, Bilba speaks Khuzdul so I'll be helping her with it, it's a tradeoff."

This time it was Bilba, Ori and Dori who all choked with varying levels of shock. Finally Bilba was able to compose herself enough to explain her mother had taught her though, with the way Dori was glaring at Nori, it seemed he thought Nori had somehow traveled to the Shire, taught Belladonna and then left again.

Actually, now that she thought about it, Bilba could see something like that happening.

Dori and Ori soon recovered from their shock at her knowing Khuzdul, though Dori commented he was really no longer surprised by ANYTHING it turned out she could do.

They spent the next several hours working on both Black Speech and Khuzdul. Dori proved to be just as interested as Ori was and all three of the Ri brothers demonstrated an amazing proclivity for picking up languages.

It grew later and later but Bilba was determined to stay up the entire night. She was pretty sure the three wouldn't leave her behind but, in the end, they were dwarves and Thorin was the dwarven king so she couldn't be entirely sure whose side they would come down on if Thorin commanded them to leave her.

In spite of her best efforts, however, Bilba could feel exhaustion encroaching. Her limbs slowly grew heavy and a chill crept over her as her body tried to convince her to go to sleep. Her mind grew fuzzy and entered that odd period in between being awake and being asleep. She imagined Thorin standing behind Nori, glaring at her, and proceeded to yell at him in Black Speech...or maybe Khuzdul...possibly Sindarin...Common...or Hobbitish...or possibly a bizarre combination of all five.

Eventually her mind gave up entirely and plunged her into unconsciousness.

It was not a quiet sleep. In her dreams Bilba found herself standing in a large dark space. Images flashed and jumped before her, moving too fast for her to comprehend. A cacophony of voices cried out at her but she couldn't make out what they were saying other than the tone was panicked.

A loud scream ripped through the area causing her to jump. Another one tore through and now she recognized it. Fili, his voice so full of pain it tore at her heart. She tried to find him but the screams seemed to come from every direction at once.

The voices shouting at her grew louder, the noise ramping up to a level so acute it was nearly painful. Bilba put her hands over her ears and knelt, trying to drown them out. The voice grew louder still, almost a physical presence bearing down on her. She screamed, sure the noise would crush her.

It stopped.

All of it, the screaming and the voices, all gave way to silence.

Bibla uncovered her ears slowly. She raised her head and found herself at the end of a long hallway. Faint, so faint she could barely hear it, the sound of someone sobbing floated through. The sound reminded her of her mother and she carefully pushed to her feet to try and find her. She tried to open the doors but each was locked so she gave up and ran, trying to track the crying. It grew steadily louder until, finally, she rounded a corner and found herself in front of a door at the end of the hall.

The sobbing came from behind it. Bilba grabbed the doorknob and turned it, pushing the door open. Beyond she saw a darkened room. The only light illuminated a low bed upon which two shadowy figures lay. At the foot of the bed, collapsed over the covers, sobbing wretchedly was Thorin. He had his head down on the bed and both hands clutched at the covers as his shoulders shook from the force of his despair. Bilba called out to him but he didn't respond so she walked forward trying to see what was on the bed. As she neared the shadowy forms grew clearer and solidified until their identities were unmistakable.

Fili and Kili, their bodies still, blood covering their clothes. She raised her gaze to their faces and saw their eyes open and fixed, staring lifelessly overhead.

Bilba screamed, trying to reach out and shake them, anything to wake them up. A wall of black snapped up in front of her before her fingers could touch them, drowning out her voice as she screamed again.

She threw her hands up over her head and shut her eyes. A violent wind whipped around her and a horribly loud roaring noised filled her ears. She risked a glimpse and realized she stood in the midst of a maelstrom, a swirling vortex of darkness whipping by inches from her face. Bilba let out a moan of terror and squeezed her eyes shut again.

A moment later the wind died down.

She kept her eyes shut for long moments before finally risking opening them again.

She wished she hadn't.

She stood alone in darkness, it stretched in every direction...every direction but one.

Just in front of her, so close she could touch it stood a massive ring of fire. In the very center was a crescent of black. It almost reminded her of an eye.

A piercing light suddenly illuminated her, searing and hot as though burning right through her.

Beware, a voice thundered. Bilba looked to try and find who spoke but saw nothing.

She looked back and the eye was on top of her, the heat from it scorching through her skin like paper.

I see you.

She screamed and this time didn't stop.

"Bilba!"

Arms were grabbing her and Bilba lashed out. She felt her hand connect with something and heard a grunt of pain.

"Bilba! It's me! Wake up!"

Her eyes snapped open and found Fili, his eyes wide and worried, and ALIVE, only a few inches away. Bilba lunged up and threw her arms around him. She could feel the thrum of his pulse and buried her face in his neck, listening to the beat of his heart.

Knowing where one went the other followed she glanced up to see Kili less than a foot away. She put a hand out and, when he stepped forward, dragged him in and shifted to be able to hug both of them at the same time.

They both hugged her back without reservation. After a few minutes, Fili pulled back to look at her.

"Are you all right? You were screaming so loudly we heard you next door. Dori said couldn't he couldn't wake you."

For the first time Bilba noticed she was in a bed and not the chair she'd last been sitting in. She looked to the side and saw blankets and pillows spread around the floor. Ori still sat on one, staring at her with worry in his eyes. Dori stood a few feet away from him, Nori just behind him and, farther back, leaning against the doorframe, was Thorin.

Bilba felt her face flush and carefully disentangled herself from the Pretty Twins. Way to prove to Thorin she could take care of herself and wouldn't be a distraction.

"Sorry," she whispered, scrubbing a hand across her face. "It was just a nightmare."

"I suppose we should have expected that," Dori said, "after what you remembered going through."

Bilba didn't correct him. Let him think the nightmare had been about the Trolls.

"I wonder, Burglar," Thorin's voice came from the door, "why you were in Nori's room."

Bilba gave him a look of disgust. "I was ensuring you didn't try to abandon me while I slept. And in case you failed to notice Nori, Ori AND Dori all slept here."

She felt a surge of gratitude toward Nori for bringing his brothers in and to Dori for thinking of her reputation when she hadn't been. At the time she'd still been so angry at Thorin, and so intent on the notion of him not leaving her behind, she'd ignored how damaging it would be to her reputation to spend the night in Nori's room. With his brothers both there, especially Dori, there was no way Thorin could question her.

Thorin studied her then glanced idly at the bedding on the floor. He muttered something under his breath and said, "We leave immediately."

With that he turned and stalked away. Bilba sighed and watched him go. "This is going to be a long trip."

"He'll get over it," Fili said. "He's actually worried about you but is just too stubborn to admit it."

Bilba shook her head; she doubted Thorin worried in the slightest about her.

She slid out of bed and gathered her pack, hefting it up onto her shoulders once more.

When she turned to face the room she saw Fili, Kili and the Ri brothers all studying her.

"What?" She asked.

"Bilba," Fili said slowly, "I have no problem with you joining us but I do want you to understand. Where we're going is nothing at all like what we've done so far. It'll be a thousand times worse and a thousand times more dangerous." His eyes narrowed, studying her. "No one will think poorly of you for not going on. You've never been very far from home, never had to rough it like we have. It's not a mark against you but it is a fear that you truly don't understand what you're about to face."

"Once we leave that's it," Kili said, his own voice serious. "We can't turn back if you change your mind."

Bilba's mind went back to the dream and the memory of the two boys laid out dead on a bed. She didn't want that fate for them and couldn't handle the thought of going back to the Shire to wait for news. She wanted to pay Thorin back for what he'd done for her but, even beyond that, she wanted to protect the people she was slowly beginning to see as a second family.

She stood up straighter and lifted her head. "I understand and I want to go." She grinned at them, "just you wait. I may end up surprising you."

Nori laughed. "Oh, you've already more than done that, my Lady."

Fili snorted, also looking amused. "In that case allow me to welcome you to the Company of Thorin Oakenshield, officially."