They had all finished eating and were drinking. They talked about the quest ahead and officially scared poor Bilbo. When Bofur spoke of incineration and all that, Bilbo had fainted.

"Bilbo!" she shouted as she ran over to his aid.

The other dwarves were scolding Bofur for scaring him. A few seemed a little amused, but that went away when they saw the terror in the girl. She was so worried about him. Once she reached the hobbit, she hit her knees and held his head in her lap. Raven knew this all needed to happen, but it hurt way too much to stand by without being able to assist.

"Maybe it would be best we found another burglar…"Thorin suggested.

"No!" she squeaked, surprising the others, "No you need Bilbo! It might not seem like it now, but Bilbo will prove himself largely!"

"And how do you know this Lady Raven?" Gandalf asked.

"Because…." They all watched intently, "Because I know how this ends."

"How?!" Thorin demanded.

"Look I don't know how to explain it, but I know this whole story! Smaug lives…and…and so does Azog…"

Thorin rose from his seat and pulled Raven up by her arms. She screamed in pain for he held her way too tightly.

"UNCLE STOP!" Kili shouted

"YOU ARE HURTING HER UNCLE!"

"THORIN REALEASE HER!" Balin hollered.

He didn't listen to any of them. Still grabbing her arms, he slammed her against a wall and raised her off her feet.

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF THE PALE ORC!" he shouted "HE DIED OF HIS WOUNDS LONG AGO!"

"LET GO!" she screamed, desperate with tears streaming down her face, "LET GO OF ME YOU FUCKING BASTERD!"

Suddenly, Thorin was ripped away from her. She hit the ground on her knees with a thud. She wrapped her arms around herself and shook, trying to stop her tears. When she looked up, Dwalin had Thorin by the throat with one hand, slammed into the wall. He was shouting at the prince in Kulzdul, seeming like he was trying to calm him down or threatening him. Soon the two heirs were at her side, helping her to her feet. She was glad for that, for she could barely feel her legs. She didn't want to meet any of the others looks. All she could do was watch as Dwalin held the prince at bay. He looked back and nodded to her. Something about the look made her smile slightly. It was almost like he had said, "See, I won't even let my king raise his hand to you". It sort of made her feel special to him. Then she remembered what she had started.

"As…As I was saying. There are many things waiting for you guys as you trek to Erebor. The Pale Orc being one," she looked to Thorin, "He was wounded yes, but he only lost his hand. Not his life. Bilbo will be of serious aid to you and your company. This I swear."

Thorin calmed down, taking in the information. He was shocked, confused, and angry. However he understood that he should never have attacked Raven. After a while, Dwalin released his throat and he looked ashamed. Raven stared at him for a while, unsure of what he would do.

All he did was nod. Others were confused, but Raven understood. It was an unspoken apology. Some people just weren't able to verbally do it, so they would nod or simply look upon the other with remorse. It was enough that it could be understood. She nodded in return and moved back toward Bilbo. Fili and Kili were lifting the poor fainted hobbit and carrying him to his study.

It was a couple of hours before Bilbo woke up. When he did, he was rather angry with Gandalf. The wizard had him caught between a rock and a hard place and he didn't know what to do. He was Bilbo Baggins, the respectable owner of Bag End. However, the wizard would not let him forget that he was also Bilbo Baggins, grandson to Old Took. There was a curious and adventurous side to him that never went away, only hid in the shadows till it was needed. And now here it was needed, here was the time for his Tookish heritage to take over him. Bilbo wanted to go, but he also did not want to go.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't heard Raven when she came in.

"Bilbo?" she asked quietly, stepping to his side, "How are you feeling?"

"Miss Raven! You surprised me…" he strained a good natured smile, "I am quite alright dear."

"You don't look like you're alright?"

"Miss Raven" he sighed, "Am I crazy to even be considering this journey?"

"Yes." She paused as he chuckled, "But it's a good kind of crazy."

He chuckled a bit more before looking to her nervously.

"Do you think I would make it back?" he asked.

"Bilbo, sweetie, don't tell the others I told you this, okay?" she said quietly.

He nodded and looked on expectantly.

"I know how this will end Bilbo. This journey is set in stone decided."

"How do you know this?"

"I'm not sure, but I do know this for certain. You will return home Bilbo, just not the same as when you left."

He took in the information for a while. Outside the study, they could hear the company singing of the day Erebor was lost to Smaug. Some of the things they sang of, she remembered from the house fire. Screams of terror, everything set ablaze, ash leading into the sky. It wasn't until now that she realized that there had been families living in houses on both sides of her own. One even had a newborn child, no doubt curled up in its crib or their mother's arms when the fire began. She was no different than the dragon.

"Well," Bilbo said finally, a soft smile upon his face, "At least the leader isn't too bad to look at."

She almost died right there. She had no idea from reading the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy that Bilbo Baggins was gay. To say that it was Thorin who had caught his eye was a little disheartening.

'Oh, if only I had the heart to tell him what lie ahead for the dwarf.' She thought sorrowfully.

However, what she ended up saying was:

"My, my Mr. Bilbo Baggins." She grinned, "A little flirt are we not?"

"It's a sickness, I know, but I couldn't help it!"

"A sickness? Bilbo, finding the same gender attractive isn't a bad thing…Its perfectly normal."

"What on middle earth are you talking about?! Miss Raven it is very abnormal, very improper of a respectable hobbit! Why I would rather parish then admit that to another but I trust you enough. What would make you think it is okay?"

"Where I come from, love is love. It doesn't matter the shape, shade, race, or gender, There is so little love in the world in my time. There are wars and starving people, there are children lost alone to the world with nowhere to go. There are people so cruel to the world that they hurt the ones they are supposed to love the most. When you think about how little love there is out there, why should something as simple as whether or not they have extra bits be important enough to change what is real?"

He sat and watched her for a moment. Bilbo was in complete wonder and awe of her.

"How old are you Miss Raven?"

"Um….about…maybe 22? Give or take a year or so."

"So young and yet so wise all the while. How do you do it?"

She smiled at him and chuckled. The two continued to talk, just the two of them for some time. Raven didn't tell Bilbo about what Thorin did. It was understandable to get angry at the thought of one of your enemies living when you thought you had killed them. What he had done was basically the same as what she had done earlier to Bilbo. She understood and wasn't too upset about it. It was just being grabbed like that was all too familiar to her. She wasn't eager to go back out there and face them all, so she was glad Bilbo wasn't either and just wanted to sit with her in solitude.