An Unexpected Addition (Thilbo - Bagginshield)

Mother, Sister

"Frodo, my boy, could you come over here for a moment?"

The caravan from the Blue Mountains had arrived late in the evening, hundreds of dwarves and their families bustling about the entrance hall in excitement. Bilbo remained in the royal wing with Fíli and the children throughout all of it, quite conscious of the fact that some of the new dwarves might not respond very well to a pair of hobbits living in the Lonely Mountain. All of the dwarves who'd been living in the mountain for months were already accustomed to Bilbo's presence, a direct result of his actions in the previous weeks and the Company making it very clear that Erebor wouldn't have been reclaimed if it was not for the hobbit. None of them had acted rude or hostile towards him, even when Bilbo was down in the kitchens the other day with his courting bead in plain sight. But there was no guarantee that the same would apply to these new arrivals, their loyalty to Thorin and the princes far more questionable than the earliest volunteer migrants.

"Yes?"

Frodo had spent the last hour in bed with Fíli and the other dwarflings, the injured prince going over Khuzdul runes and elementary grammar with the three children. And to Bilbo's great surprise, it seemed that Fíli was an excellent instructor, his voice patient and demeanor soft as he worked with them.

"Would you like to add a string into the bracelet?" asked Bilbo, barely able to get the words out before Frodo was scrambling onto his lap. "Okay, okay, careful with those knees and feet, my boy. Now, which color would you like?"

"Light blue," said Frodo. "He really likes blue, right?"

"Aye, that he does," assured the older hobbit. "Now, give me your fingers and we will start right about here, twisting like this and..."

The next ten minutes were spent with Bilbo assisting his nephew with the colorful bond-bracelet that he'd been preparing for Thorin as a courting gift. Hobbits often made a thick and multi-colored string bracelet for their intended, a gift that the receiver was never supposed to take off for as long as their husband or wife lived. For as long as Bilbo could remember, his parents had worn an inversely-making set, which had finally been removed when Bungo took ill and passed two decades ago. Although not nearly as grand as the gift he'd received from the Dwarf-King, Bilbo hoped that Thorin would appreciate the feeling and love that went into hobbit courting gifts.

"Now through the hole right over here. Ah, that's it! A superb Proudfoot knot, my boy."

However, despite his newfound love for Erebor, it would be nice to visit the Shire every couple of years. The journey would be quite a bit easier once Frodo was older, and Bilbo felt a strong urge for his nephew to remain well acquainted with their homeland and its customs. After all, they still had Bag End to return to for prolonged visits, Gaffer Gamgee and his family ever-loyal friends of the Baggins family. And it'd be good for Frodo to mingle with his more accepting and adventurous Took and Brandybuck cousins, a relationship that all young hobbits needed at some point in their lives. It'd be a nice reprieve from the sometimes dangerous climate and politics of Erebor as well.

"Almost done," said Bilbo. He reached over to the small container that Thorin had placed Frodo's lost tooth in. "Just a few finishing touches."

"My tooth?"

"Aye, a little memento for him," answered Bilbo, very carefully needling into the tiny tooth with a miniature drill Bifur had given him. "My parents had specially designed and crafted bangles, but I think this will do just fine, too."

"Can I give it to him?"

Bilbo slipped a few strands of sturdy string through the hole, slowly weaving the tooth into the primary threads of the bracelet. The tiny white tooth clashed very well with the blues, blacks, and dark purples that Bilbo had used to construct his gift. And with one final pull, it looked like the bracelet was ready to be given to the King.