"Orcs? Here?" Bilbo said, gripping Thorin's arms tightly. Orcs never came this close to the Shire, not this far from winter.

"Three of them? A scouting party." Thorin muttered darkly.

Bilbo gasped and turned wide eyes to the dwarrow. "This soon? I wasn't expecting them for weeks at least."

Thorin shook his head. "I need to contact the others. It will have to be through raven to get there soon enough. Can you make it to Bag End

on your own?"

Bilbo nodded, "Of course, I'll explain everything to Dís." The hobbit smiled tensely, "Go take care of your people. Falco," the younger hobbit jumped to attention. "Head back to Old Took's place and ask him what we need to do. He'll know what's going on, alright?"

"Right away, Bilbo! I'm on it!" Falco took off back the way he had come, leaving Thorin and Bilbo again.

"I'll see you back at Bag End," Thorin said meeting the clear eyes of the hobbit.

"See you then," Bilbo replied, feeling calmer than he had all morning.

Dís saw the hobbit through the window hobbling toward the big green door that marked Bag End. "Nori! Help our host." She barked watching as the dwarf slipped from his seat and was out the door before Dori could finish his sentence. Thorin's sister had just finished checking on Fili. The boy was asleep again which, considering the stress of the last few days, Dís thought was best.

The lady dwarf met Bilbo and Nori at the door, and couldn't help but notice the lack of her brother with the hobbit. "Where is Thorin?" Dís asked closing the round green door behind dwarf and hobbit.

"Orcs," Bilbo began, "were spotted and killed just outside of Bree-Land. Thorin left to send notice to your people. We have to move quickly." The hobbit inhaled sharply, it seemed in his attempt to return to Bag End he had jarred his arm and he was paying for it now.

"Sit down you dratted hobbit, before you hurt yourself further. I see blood spots through some of your wrappings," Dís said, exasperated.

"I will grab the bandages, Lady Dís." Dori said leaving the table and disappearing into the next room.

"I will go help Thorin. I fear if our King under the Mountain is left on his own he will never make it back to the house," Nori remarked earning a chuckle from Dís. "I shall return." The dwarf disappeared out the door without another word, just as quickly as Dori had left.

"Mr. Boggins!" Kili shouted running full speed toward the hobbit. Bilbo winced and Dís laughed when instead of reaching the hobbit and his mother Kili face planted, tripping over his own feet.

The little dark headed dwarrow sat up and rubbed at his face. "Owww."

Dís shook her head, walked the few steps to her son and plucked him from the ground. "This is why you don't run on Mr. Baggins' well waxed floors. Little dwarrow feet do not have the proper grip, without their boots."

Kili sniffed and rubbed at the red mark that was slowly growing on his forehead. "My head hurts, momma."

Dís carefully rubbed her fingers across the dwarfling's forehead and pressed a soft kiss to the red spot. "I know it does. Thank Mahal we dwarrows have hard heads, us Durin's folk especially. Now go sit with your hobbit and stay still." The mother placed her son on the ground and watched as he scurried to sit next to the hobbit who immediately began checking on him.

"Here, lady Dís. I heard a crash is everything alright?" Dori asked, handing the lady dwarf the bandages.

Dís just laughed, "Kili took a tumble and bumped his head. All is well. Ori still napping?"

"Oh yes, all the excitement as of late has tired him out. Poor dear." Dori remarked as they walked back to the hobbit and dwarfling. "My, my little Prince, that is quite a bump you've got there." Dori said eyeing the red mark that was still growing on the dwarfling's head.

Kili grinned and nodded. "Momma says I've got a hard head!" He told Dori proudly.

"I see that," Dori said with a laugh. "Where did Nori get off too?"

"Ouch! Not so rough, please. You dwarrows maybe be made of stone but we hobbits are more fragile creatures!" Bilbo said as Dís frowned and muttered rather un-nice things under her breath.

"Nori went off to find Thorin." Bilbo said through gritted teeth when Dís tightened a bandage just a little too much. "Would you be careful, you blasted dwarf! I'm not made of stone you know!" Though Bilbo couldn't see it Dís rolled her eyes and continued to mutter, making Kili and Dori laugh.

"Males," Dís exclaimed when she had finished fixing the bandages, "You are all the same, hobbit or dwarf. Whiners the lot of you!"

Kili laughed until Dori poked him in the side softly. "You are male too, little Kili."

They shared a laugh as Kili's wide eyed look.

"When do you think they will arrive?" Nori asked Thorin as they watched the murder of ravens fly away. Dwarrows and ravens had a very special relationship. When a dwarf needed a missive carried they chose ravens, when ravens needed food and protection they could always find it with dwarves.

"A few weeks, at most, but I expect we will start seeing them arrive within the week at the earliest. Those with little to their name, and no attachments. Might even see a few from Ered Luin, who wish want to see the hobbits," Thorin replied, watching as the ravens disappeared in the distance.

"I can only hope they arrive soon enough, orcs this close, this soon." Nori shook his head. "Dangerous business."

Thunder rumbled deep from within the clouds. "Rain, now? This isn't going to end well Thorin," Nori cautioned. While neither Thorin nor Nori were particularly superstitious dwarrows, even they couldn't ignore the dark feelings that were beginning to grow within their guts.

"Come, we must return to Bag End quickly. I fear for the others," Thorin said as the rain began to gently fall to the ground.

Thunder crashed and Kili jumped, the thunder always sounded much further from within their mountain. "I don't like it," Kili said from his spot cuddled into Bilbo's side.

"Me neither!" Ori said, the little dwarf had been woken by the first clap of thunder and had run to Dori's side. "Where's Nori?" Ori asked poking at his brother. "I want Nori."

"Uncle Thorin and Nori will be be back soon," Fili said poking at the soup his mother had placed in front of him. His fever had broken and when he awoke his mother had allowed him to eat at the table as a reward.

"This rain, it came on so suddenly," Bilbo remarked twisting a piece of Kili's hair between his fingers idly.

"Aye. It is strange," Dori agreed, sipping at his tea.

Dís shook her head. "Rain is rain, you fusspots. Nothing dark or mysterious about it." She said.

Everyone froze when thunder shook the hobbit hole and those inside of it. "Just thunder." Dís said snappishly as she stared out the window squinting slightly. "And that looks like Thorin and Nori." She smiled at the others. "Nothing to worry about."

"Dís, that's not Nori and Thorin," Dori said standing from his spot.

"Hobbit, take the boys and hide." Dís commanded taking up her axe from the floor near the doorway. Dori appeared to ready himself as well while Bilbo began to usher the dwarflings out of the kitchen.

"Come now lads, off we go." Bilbo said voice shaking.

The hobbit and dwarflings had just managed to hide when there was once again a knock on the door of Bag End.

"I swear you have the worst sense of direction I have ever had the misfortune of encountering," Nori remarked, pushing his wet hair away from his face again. Thorin had insisted that he knew where they were going and had them turn at the wrong hill. Nori, knowing that the other dwarf had no idea where they were heading, argued with him.

"All of these hills look the same!" Thorin groused as his own thick wet hair stuck stubbornly to his face.

"If I didn't think that you sister would have my beard I would have left you out here to stumble around by yourself!" Nori said with little heat behind his words. "Your boy, Fili," Nori said, changing the subject suddenly. "He did well. Watching after the little ones." Nori had gotten the whole story from Ori just hours before.

Thorin nodded feeling pride well up in his chest at his sister-son. "Fili is a good boy and a good heir."

They both descended into silence, only the wet squish of their boots in the mud could be heard above the rain and rolling thunder. They continued on at their pace and without much hurry, only wanting to find the

hobbit hole and get out of the rain, until Nori spotted something.

"The lights," Nori said harshly. "The lights are out in Bag End."