A Shot in the Dark (Thilbo - Bagginshield)

Chapter 43

The days went by quickly. Bilbo found himself surprised by how fast time seemed to pass. Before he knew it, three days had gone by in a blink of an eye. In that time he found his mind growing clearer and his memories returning. He even found his headaches beginning to decrease as his strength grew. Even his appetite was returning and he no longer needed assistance in walking.

In that time, he also realized that quite a few of his friends were avoiding him.

Bofur, Glóin, and Bifur seemed to be perfectly content to pretend that he didn't exist. Occasionally he noticed them watching him, but they never approached him. It didn't take a lot to realize that they were still angry and hurt with his actions.

"I'm not sure how to approach them. Every time I try, they walk away," he complained to Balin on the fourth day as they stopped for a break. "How am I supposed to apologize if they won't even listen to me?"

"Give them time. Your letters and departure threw us all off," the Dwarf consoled as he massaged his wrists. "Then when we realized where you had gone, we faced the possibility of your death. It's only natural that we would be angry and upset with you."

"But you're taking this all awfully well," he accused with a pout.

Balin laughed. "Bilbo, for the past three moons I didn't know if you were alive or dead. Finding you now — ill and forgetful and weak — is enough for me to let go of whatever anger I held."

"Wish the others would do the same," he muttered, pulling his borrowed coat from a certain king tighter around him. "Thorin isn't speaking to me either. Why do you think that is?"

"Because it's Thorin?" answered the Dwarf, rolling his eyes. "He's no good with expressing his feelings in words, remember?"

He couldn't deny that. "It's still strange though."

"What is?"

"That no one has asked me about their futures. I thought you would all be curious."

Balin looked up at him from under his snowy brows. "What is there left to say? You told us of our glories and failures. You wrote of our lives and even told some of us of our deaths. What more can you tell us?"

"I suppose there isn't much left to say," he acknowledged. "I just… I don't know. I guess I built it up in my head for so long that I expected a bigger reaction from everyone."

"Oh there was a big reaction," reassured Balin, winking. "You just missed it."

Bilbo bit his lower lip in thought. "So did you… Did my letter scare you? When it mentioned your death, I mean."

Balin scoffed and shook his head. "Hardly. Dwalin took the news harder than I did."

"Of course he did. You're his only brother," he reminded the Dwarf, rolling his eyes.

"Glóin was shaken too by Óin's letter," his friend added, stroking his beard. "Dori too, of course, when he read Ori's letter. Even Nori was upset. Followed Ori around like a shadow until the lad finally snapped and threw his book at him."

"Ori can be scary when he loses his temper," he agreed, recalling the punch the young Dwarf had given him after the battle.

Balin nodded. "Mmm. He gets it from his mother. His father apparently wasn't very temperamental."

"You knew Ori's parents?" Bilbo asked in surprise.

"No. I only met his mother once, and everything about his father I learned from Dori," the Dwarf explained, shaking his head. "His mother — Rikka — was a lovely Dwarf-maiden. Dori looks the most like her, I believe, but Nori has her fierce spirit. Ori looks like he has it too."