As I stood there gaping at my cousin's place, the door opened, which temporarily brought my attention back to the present. It was my future mother in law, Rowan, who answered the door,

"Basil, dear! Welcome!" She embraced me and I couldn't help but smile as I hugged her back. She always gave the warmest hugs. She let me go and said, "We were starting to get worried, dear. You were supposed to get here hours ago." Before I could answer, she turned behind me and called out, "Hamren! Your fiancée is here!"

I could hear footsteps and Hamren appeared behind her. His strawberry blonde hair was disheveled and his brown eyes widened with excitement when he saw me. He wore a white flannel shirt with black overalls.

"Basil!" He exclaimed while embracing me. He gave me a peck on the cheek and slid his arm around my waist. As we went inside, I chuckled and explained,

"Sorry it took me so long. The party took a bit longer to prepare for than I expected."

"Should've accepted my offer to help you with the preparations." Hamren teased, tucking some of my curls behind my ear.

"We were able to manage. Besides you had plenty of things that needed some attending to here." I reminded him.

"I know but it would've been nice to accompany you on your journey." Hamren said.

"Perhaps next time." I suggested.

His eyes lightened up and as we entered the dining room where food was waiting to be eaten. He pulled out a seat for me. Once I sat down, he sat down next to me and the discussion of when the wedding should take place began. They suggested several dates and I could tell many of them wanted a summer wedding. So, I agreed and we began the topic of which month it should take place.

"Honestly, I'm just so happy for you two." Rowan said after about an hour of debating.

"Yeah. Feels like you two have been engaged for forever." Hobson, Hamren's elder brother, pointed out.

His wife, Sage, slapped his shoulder. He retorted, "What? They have! They have been together for so long that all of our kids see her as their auntie."

He was right. Hamren and I had been together for about... I'm embarrassed to say seven years. We have been engaged for three of those years, but that didn't really help matters.

I found myself glancing through the window towards Bilbo's place wondering what could be taking place there. Bilbo and I have been best friends ever since we were little and I could still recall how we would scour the hills in search of adventure. Those days have long since passed, though my heart wished they hadn't. I've always wanted to explore what was beyond the Shire and Buckland.

"Basil, are you alright?" Hamren asked while placing his hand over my own, bringing me back to the present.

My head snapped back towards the table, which had drifted off onto another topic. It seemed that Hamren was the only who noticed that something was on my mind. I squeezed his hand and nodded while saying, "Yes. I'm sorry. I'm just a little tired."

"You have had a long journey. We can call it a night. You are more than welcome to stay here." Hamren pointed out.

"Thank you, but Bilbo has already invited me to stay at his place." I told him.

He nodded and addressed the table, "Alright. It has been a long day and Basil needs some rest. We shall continue discussing the wedding date tomorrow around..." He turned toward me silently asking what time would suit best.

"Lunch?" I offered.

He nodded and continued, "Lunch it is. Thank you all for coming tonight."

I said goodbye to his family, which included his father Hob and mother Rowan, Hamren's elder brother Hobson and his wife, Sage and their three kids, Andwise, Hamfast, and their youngest child May.

Once I left their home, I made my way towards my cousin's place. While I was a bit weary from the journey, I was more eager to learn why Thorin had stopped by Bilbo's home. When I reached his door, I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. Surprisingly, Bilbo wasn't the one who answered the door. It was a tall man wearing a grey robe with a matching gray hat. He had a long grey beard and his eyes studied me for a moment and he seemed perplexed.

He whispered, "Belladonna... No, no." He shook his head and asked, "Who might you be, my dear?"

"Basil Brandybuck, at your service. I had plans to stay here with Bilbo Baggins tonight. He's my cousin." I explained.

"Basil!" I heard someone shout. I was suddenly embraced by my cousin, who seemed to be a bit overwhelmed. He muttered, "Finally, someone I was actually expecting this evening."

He pulled me inside and asked, "How was your dinner with the Gamgee's tonight?"

"It was good. We have plans to meet up again tomorrow." I told him.

"Have a date for your wedding yet? Also, how are the birthday preparations for Primula's 30th birthday coming along?" Bilbo wondered.

"They are coming along well. Hard to believe that she's almost an adult." I said getting a bit emotional.

"Basil, you didn't answer my first question..."

"I think that there are a little more pressing questions at the moment." I interrupted, then asked, "Bilbo, why didn't you mention that you were having company over?"

Before Bilbo could answer, the grey robed man replied, "I'm afraid that's because this was a rather last minute meeting."

Bilbo scoffed at that statement. The grey robed man introduced himself as Gandalf the Grey. Suddenly, the name clicked in my head.

I blurted out, "Wait... The Gandalf? Are you the same Gandalf who was good friends with my grandfather, the Old Took?"

"The one and the same. And who are your parents, my dear Basil?" Gandalf questioned.

"Gorbadac Brandybuck and Mirabella Took. I am their eldest." I informed him.

"Ah. Your father is the current master of Buckland, correct?" Gandalf wondered.

"Yes, sir." I answered.

Before I could continue, I heard someone cough as to try and get our attention. I turned to see several dwarves in Bilbo's home. When Thorin mentioned a meeting with his kin, I was thinking that there were going to be around two maybe three dwarves, but there had to be at least a dozen dwarves in here. If this meeting truly was last minute, no wonder Bilbo was overwhelmed.

"And just who is this little lass?" demanded one of the dwarves. He had long, thick red hair, a beard that matched, and he wore leather armor. I'm not sure if he meant to be rude by his statement, but I didn't exactly appreciate the tone of his voice.

"Little lass? Please mind your manners, good sir. I am no child." I scolded, then replied, "And for your information, my name is..."

"Basil..." Another voice answered. The dwarves turned towards the one who had spoken. It was Thorin.