Hunger

Credit to JaceDexter

Summary:Bilbo Baggins was a hobbit and hobbits eat seven large meals a day. However the Dwarves are unaware of this fact so when Bilbo goes into hibernation, it is safe to say they freaked out.

Bilbo Baggins was hungry. There, he said it. Well, if he was being more honest he'd say he was famished despite the meal the Dwarves had just given him. It was safe to say that when he expected to lack in food, it was only from missing a couple of meals a day, not most of them. As rations were constantly small and only served at a maximum of twice a day (if he was lucky) it seemed to be hitting him harder than the rest. Afterall, he normally ate seven full meals a day, not two small servings.

His stomach grumbled but he never asked for more. He was a respectable hobbit and never wanted to appear greedy and the other Dwarves never complained of hunger, even Bombur. So on he trudged through the cold, slick mud, eyes widened in hope of finding more food.

A few days later in their travels the ground cleared up and they decided to make camp near a slow moving stream. Fili and Kili were out searching for more firewood as they always seemed to be. Ori was covering his ears as Dwalin and Dori were fighting around him. Nori was sharping his blades while talking to Bifur. Bombur and Bofur were preparing dinner. Gloin was tossing pebbles into the river as Oin was fussing over a scratch on Thorin's face. Sighing, Bilbo rose and walked to Bofur.

"I'm just going for a walk," he said.

Bofur nodded, "Okay but be careful though. "

With that, Bilbo walked into the forest, ever eager to find more food.

It was quite by accident when he was walking back that he found some food. He tripped over and exposed tree root and landed face first in a pile of leaves. Groaning in pain, Bilbo slowly rose only to freeze when his eyes locked onto a peculiar patch of flowers right next to his head. How he didn't spot them before was a mystery but Bilbo was glad. He knew these flowers well and knew they were both edible and delicious. Hastily he jumped up and grabbed as many of the flowers as he could fit in his pouch before returning to camp just as supper was served.

Approaching the fire, he sat down slightly away from the rest of the company before being served and then surrounded by the Durin brothers. Bilbo looked between them suspiciously but they just smiled making Bilbo even more nervous.

"Mr Boggins-" Kili began.

"Baggins," Bilbo corrected for the umpteenth time.

"-we were wondering," Kili continued without missing a beat.

"Whether you could tell us about hobbit courting traditions?" Fili ended.

Frowning in confusion, Bilbo between their eager faces before sighing.

"I guess I could do that. "

Fili and Kili's grins expanded so fast that Bilbo started to regret agreeing.

"Hobbits don't have very complicated courting traditions, to be honest. It starts by one making a flower crown for the intended with the flowers they believe reflects the personality of the intended. If the intended agrees upon the courting he or she then offers to cook all seven meals for the hobbit the following day. Then it is just an exchange of gifts or stories until the intended proposes to the courter."

Bilbo looked up at the brothers once more, to find their mouths wide open.

"You have seven meals a day?!" Kili asked.

Bilbo frowned, "Yes of course we do. There is breakfast, second breakfast, elevenies, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and then supper."

The boys frowned before Fili noticed some flowers hanging out of Bilbo's pouch.

"What are those? What do they mean?" He asked curiously.

Kili leaned around Bilbo to see what Fili was pointing at.

"Master Boggins, are you courting someone?"

Bilbo turned a bright red before hiding the flowers once more. "No! I am not courting someone! These are for eating!" It was too late for Bilbo to realise his mistake as he watched their faces brighten.

"Can we please have some, Master Boggins?" Kili asked eagerly.

"NO,"

"So they are for courting. Who are you courting Master Baggins?" Fili asked thoughtfully.

"Is it uncle Master Boggins?"

Bilbo spluttered as he turned bright red, his eyes automatically darting to where Thorin and Dwalin were talking together. Admittedly, he did fancy the exiled king but he would never court him. Thorin hated his guts and had done nothing but try and send him home this entire journey.

"No, definitely not!" Bilbo managed to get out.

"So it's not uncle? He will be upset at that. Is it Bofur?" Kili continued.

Bilbo was very red by this point.

"I am not courting ANYONE!" He must of shouted a bit too loud as the entire company stopped to stare at him, even Thorin.

He watched sourly as Thorin rose from his position on the other side of camp and walked towards the trio.

"What is going on here?" Thorin asked authoritatively making Bilbo shiver which in turn made the brothers snicker. Thorin shot them both an icy glare before Fili spoke up.

"Master Baggins is courting someone and won't tell us who!"

Bilbo scrunched his face up on frustration and anger before spitting out, "These flowers are for eating and nothing more!"

"Then why won't you share them with us Master Boggins?" Kili piped in.

Thorin crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Well- well I-" Bilbo began before Thorin interrupted.

"What our burglar is trying to say is that he was being greedy and didn’t want to share."

Kili looked hurt as he replied, "But- but Master Boggins? We share our food with you?"

Bilbo sighed and felt his shoulders drop. They were right, of course. They always shared the food equally among the company and it was not their fault that hobbits generally eat a lot more than Dwarves. Resentfully, he sort out the flowers from his pouch and handed them to Bofur who had risen to collect them. Bilbo watched as his flowers were evenly distribued among the thirteen Dwarves and himself. He almost cried in starvation as he looked down upon the two flowers returned to him from the entire meals' worth. Feeling completely depleted and empty with sadness, Bilbo munched on his flowers before preparing for bed, stomach still empty.

It was a fair number of days later, after the goblins and orcs and that shocking hug from Thorin, that Bilbo realised his system was slowing down. His cuts weren't healing at the right pace, his hunger was becoming less noticeable and his body appeared to be getting heavier. It took him a long time to notice this and then realise his body was going into hibernation.

It was safe to say that Bilbo's panic rose quite dramatically after that. Covertly and hastily, Bilbo started covering his feet and hands with spare rags and when they stopped for the night, he quickly added more layers to his body using his spare clothes. Hibernation could be stopped if he kept warm. Normally this cool winter weather would not affect his body so much but because of the lack of eating his layers of insulating body fat and slowly fallen away leaving him rather exposed to even the friendliest of weathers.

Bilbo thought about telling Thorin but decided against it. He had only just become useful in the eyes of the king and he didn't want to be a burden again.

This, however, quickly became impossible when his condition worsened throughout the night and into the following morning.

Bilbo was even slower than normal throughout the day, dragging himself at such a rate he could barely make out the rest of the company ahead of him. Realising he could not continue, Bilbo tried to prop himself against a tree before he promptly slid down it. Dizziness and darkness soon took over as he faintly heard Kili yell out his name in distress.

"We starved him!" Bombour cried out.

Oin stepped forward, "But that still doesn't explain what happened to him?"

Gandalf sighed, "Hobbits are generally a peaceful race who don't depend on anyone but themselves and they have been like that for many generations. Unfortunately though, winter is always quite harsh against them. It is one of the reasons they eat so much. The amount of food they eat provides a layer of insulation against the cold, come winter. Sometimes this however, is not enough. So in order to protect itself from the weather, the body of a Hobbit can go into hibernation where everything shuts down and focuses on keeping them warm. Usually this means a night in heavy blankets and near fire to keep warm as most Hobbit Holes are extremely insulated and it works with them." Gandalf trailed off as he looked towards the frail Hobbit. He felt as though he had failed him and poor Belladonna. She was probably shaking her fist down at him in disappointment.

"What happens if they do not warm up after the first night?" Thorin's deep voice rung out.

"Well that depends on the Hobbit. Some last a few nights maybe before dying of starvation, some don't make it to next day."

"What about Bilbo?" Fili spoke up.

Gandalf crouched next to the burglar-hobbit and sighed, "That remains to be seen but given his current state, we can only hope for the best."

The air around the cabin seemed to drop in temperature at that statement.

A eerie silence fell upon the group and no one felt the need to break it. Thorin stormed out of the cabin in frustration. Kili and Fili looked towards in each other in worry before deciding against following him. Instead they opted to lay down next to their hobbit, hoping that their body temperatures would help warm the hobbit. The Dwarves prepared dinner solemnly, no one really feeling the need to eat. Each Dwarf had made their own bond with the hobbit and each felt as though it was his own fault for Bilbo's state. When Thorin did not return for dinner, they put aside a meal from him. Rain had started up, making the cabin seem even colder than before. Fearing for their hobbit, the company decided it would be best to make a dwarf mountain around the hobbit.

When Thorin finally returned later in the night, sloshing water everywhere from the rain, he found Bilbo buried under three layers of Dwarf. He noted irritatedly, that the damned wizard had disappeared once more but there was nothing that could be done for it. He took off his outer clothes before stoking the fire that had started to dwindle. Thorin, like the rest of his company, also felt it was his fault for Bilbo's state. He was the leader of the company after all, and it was his responsibility to look after each and every one of his members. The hobbit had sacrificed a lot already on this quest. He'd left his comfortable home behind to join a company of foreign dwarves and one confounded wizard to help fight a dragon for something that he'd only briefly heard about for no real gain for himself. He'd fought trolls and goblins and orcs, surviving and only becoming stronger as a result. He was truly tempered steel. And now, he laid on his death bed facing an evil for which Thorin felt himself to blame. After all, the only thing he'd done for the hobbit was discourage him, call him useless and scream at him.

Laying down in his own bedroll Thorin fell into a fitful sleep, his nightmares of Erebor only fading for a far worse nightmare of Bilbo.

In the morning, Thorin woke only after the day had well and truly begun. He sat up abruptly and turned to the hobbit, only to find him still unconscious. The little rises of his chest were the only indication of his life and Thorin sighed deeply. Looking around the cabin, he found it mostly empty. The wizard had not yet returned, Balin sat in the corner calming Dwalin down. Ori sat beside Dwalin, sketching a picture into neverending book. Thorin watched as Ori showed Dwalin what he was sketching. Dwalin seemed to visibly relax after seeing the drawing and pointed out something to Ori who frowned then quickly corrected whatever had been pointed out. Deciding to find the rest of the company, Thorin rose from his bedroll and made his way outside of the cavern.

He promptly found Kili and Fili as they were standing guard outside. With a nod to them, he continued further to find Bombur and Bifur conversing quietly on the edge of a small gathering. A quick question and he found out that Gloin and Bofur were out hunting some food, Oin and Dori were herb gathering and Nori was scouting.

***

That night Gandalf returned looking grim. He took in the state of the hobbit and had a quick word to Oin. Things were getting desperate and something drastic had to be done. Oin frowned at whatever Gandalf was suggesting but seemed to agree it. Oin then gestured Thorin outside to have a quick word. The rest of the dwarves waited in the silence, all huddled next to hobbit in a desperate attempt to keep him warm. Thorin returned looking even worse than before and the dwarves little hopes dashed.

When the morning came without change, Thorin called a meeting with the company.

"As many of you are aware, Master Baggins is not getting better. I cannot risk another night with him in this state as Gandalf has indicated that there is a possibility he might not make it."

The Dwarves all looked down in sorrow.

"There may be a solution but neither Oin nor I can make this decision alone. There is an ointment which some of might know about. It commonly known amongst you as jalur 'umhar. For those not aware, it is an ointment applied when muscles are overused to help heal the pain. It produces a heat like no other and if improperly applied can burn dwarrow skin. It is this reason and another to which I ask your advice on. Hobbit skin is a lot more sensitive than ours and it is likely to burn Master Baggins before it wakes him. The burns, however, are treatable. The second reason I ask is, for this to work, it needs to be applied to as much skin as possible and that would require removing some of his small clothes without his permission or knowledge."

Fili was the first to speak up, "Will this work, uncle? Is there any possibility that this might not work?" Fili received a glare from Kili for his question.

"There is a possibility that this might work though?" Bofur spoke up. "Is that not work the risk of his dignity?"

A small murmur went through the crowd before Balin spoke up, "What if only Oin and a helper did it? To preserve the hobbit's dignity?"

That seemed to win the approval of the company.

It was quickly decided that Thorin was to be the helper and with that Oin went to collect the things he needed to make the ointment.