Finally, here it is, the next chapter for the baby story.

The last time in our baby story;

Another yelled; "No! I saw him running off with the farmers' daughter! He sold your dogs for naught but her hand!"

The farmer hit this man on the back of his head. "He has gone to the lake I tell you. The cursed lake where Shena the witch lures young boys and steals their souls!" People started laughing. "Ignore them, my king, for what I say is true. It is how I lost my son."

The king wasted no time. "Let's go to the cursed lake!" he announced. Some people stayed to watch the king leave for the place the fool had told him about.

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"Maybe this is not the right story for you" you said, kissing Thorin on top of his head.

He didn't respond.

You quietly put the book away. The book barely made a sound as it was placed on your nightstand. You leaned back against the pillow, pulling Thorin up so he was laying on your chest.

The king softly snored as his dreams had taken him to a new world.

One where you would soon follow him. Your eyes already began to close. "Tomorrow you will already be a child." You yawned. "Time sure passes fast."

The door to your room closed, unbeknownst to you. Your dreams had already claimed you for their own.

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"We can't do that. She will find out and I don't want to be stuck inside this room for the remainder of this stage" a high but authoritative voice said. 

You frowned, feeling a little drowsy still from your sleep. 

Something shifted on your bed. Perhaps Thorin had already woken up. 

"Is she still asleep?" a soft voice asked.

A small hand grazed your cheek. It stayed silent for a few seconds. "Aye, I think she is. Now, you two." The person moved on your bed again. "Don't get yourselves into trouble."

"Are you not coming with us?" a third voice asked.

They sounded an awful lot like... "What are you three idiots up to?" you asked, your eyes still closed.

The room fell silent. 

"You said she was asleep" Kili whispered.

"I can still hear you." You opened your eyes, sitting up in bed. Kili and Fili were kneeling on the ground beside the bed. Thorin was sitting in front of them, his arms in front of his chest. 

"You were asleep" he said gruffly. It didn't have the desired effect when his voice hadn't gone through puberty yet.

"And that matters because?" You looked at him, challenging him to say another word. "The three of you were up to something you weren't supposed to. And you knew that very well" you said sternly.

Fili and Kili pouted. "It was nothing bad auntie. We just wanted to go looking for some pudding in the kitchen" the eldest explained.

Thorin glared at them. "Don't tell her."

"But you said it yourself, we will get into a lot more trouble if we don't tell her" Kili said confused.

"And you are correct Kili. You two" you pointed at the two brothers, "you are free to leave. Thorin on the other hand has to stay in this room. Dearest, you said something about having to stay until your next life stage? That does sound like a great idea."

He narrowed his eyes as he directed his glare at you.

His nephews saw that as their chance to run away before you had a chance to change your mind.

"We haven't done anything" Thorin pointed out grumpily.

You shrugged. "Your behaviour has been afwul the last couple of days. And I am the adult here." Without looking at him, you got up from the bed and changed into your day wear. 

Thorin had sat himself down on the window sill. He was overlooking the large garden below. "I don't see why I am punished for something I haven't done yet" he said calmly.

"The reason is very simple; you are their uncle and should have known better" you pointed out.

"You promised desert last night and didn't give it to us. I wouldn't call that fair" he said. He pushed himself off the wall to pace through the room instead. "And now I am stuck in the room and in my younger years."

"Thorin, you should h-"

He turned around sharply. "I know that. Why do you always have to tell me what to do? I am old enough to come up with that myself!"

"So why didn't you?"

He growled, frustrated with your words. Instead of arguing with you he turned inwards. His face became the unreadable book that you were forced to read very often. Instead of reaching for words, he grabbed a nearby pillow and threw it against the wall.

"Why do you always have to point out the stuff I do wrong? It is unfair!" he shouted, stomping his foot on the ground.

"I don't only point out the things you do wrong. There is a lot you do right as well" you said, your voice getting thicker.

Thorin' eyes are ablaze. "You always doubt my decisions in front of my company. How are they supposed to respect me when even my own wife doubts me out loud?" he shouted. He turned around sharply, letting you know that the conversation was over.

You sat down on your bed in defeat. "Why do you always turn away from me instead of finishing a conversation?" you asked silently.

You heard him taking a deep breath in the corner to your right.

He kicked at something near his feet. "Because I don't want to ruin this" he whispered. It would have escaped our ears if the rest of the room hadn't been so quiet.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Thorin?"

"Not now. Maybe later. I would like to be left alone right now" he said with a restraint voice.

This time you chose to do as he asked. Normally the shouting and fighting would continue. Not this time. He was a literal chid this time, maybe he did need his space. And who knew how it would turn out.

You walked away, turning your head once before leaving the bedroom. Thorin in his smaller form was still standing in the corner. He was supposed to stay in his room anyway. Everything would be fine.

You closed the door behind you as you left.

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"I can't believe that he is the worst of the whole lot" Dwalin growled. From the corner of his eye, he noticed you walking through the door. "There you are! Where is Thorin?"

You avoided looking at him. "He is in our room. And he is staying there until the teenage fase" you explained.

Balin and Dwalin looked at you symphatically.

"In the mean time, we have to have all our eyes on the hobbit" one of the elves said desperately. They really didn't have the time to talk over other things.

"What is going on?" You looked over all the little heads in the smaller garden.

Most dwarves had wood or stone in their hands and were working on some projects. It was nice to see them being able to use full sentences again. And the crafts they were working on were starting to look great. Maybe you could use them during your quest.

In the back was Bilbo climbing - "Bilbo, be careful!" you shouted.

The small hobbit was trying to climb a tree. Judging by the exasperated looks on everyone' face, he had been doing this all morning.

"We found him up there right after we woke up" Balin explained as you ran towards the tree.

"Gandalf said something like that when he told us about the hobbit, didn't he?" you asked, feeling slightly out of breath. "Something about him being adventurous in his younger years."

"Where is the wizard anyway?" Dwalin growled. "He was supposed to watch them during breakfast. I bet ya he is off somewhere on another quest."

When you finally reached the tree, the hobbit child was already up a few branches. 

"Look!" he shouted from up above your heads. "I am going to reach the stars today!" he squeeled in delight.

You had to stop yourself from smirking. Dwalin wouldn't think it was as funny as you considered it to be. "You will one day but maybe today is a bit too early. It isn't night yet sweetheart." 

Blonde curls shifted around as Bilbo looked at you. "Why not?"

Now you did laugh. "Because the day has just started. The stars won't appear before the nightfalls. Tonight you will have anoter shot at it" you said soothingly.

"Or we are just going to stay on the ground, the lot of us. That includes you" Dwalin suggested.

The hobbit pouted. However, he didn't immediately come down as he was told. Instead, he reached for the branch above him and pulled himself up higher. 

"Let this be Gandalf' problem" you suggested. "Bilbo survived his earlier childhood without a tragic accident so why should something happen to him now? I say we take the children to go for a nice swim in the fountains. Who is with me?" 

The dwarves abandoned their crafts immediately and circled around you. 

"Are we really going swimming?" little Ori asked you with bright, big eyes.

You nodded. "Aye, I think we all need a break. Everyone who doesn't want to come can stay behind. I think Lindir still needs some help with cleaning up the breakfast table."

Before you were able to walk off towards the fountains, you heard a low thump and running feet. Bilbo grabbed your hand and walked with you for his swim. 

"I don't want to help to clean up your mess" he whispered to Bofur.

The happy little group walked away to their relaxing afternoon. Behind the window stood a dwarven child, stubbornly watching the group walk away. He wanted to apologize but not yet. For now he wanted to sulk and think things over.

And maybe, in all honesty, he wanted to take a swim as well.

So Thorin snuck out the window and followed them.