AN: Thank you so much for reading this fanfic. I had originally planned on waiting to publish this story until I had at least finished writing I See Fire, but I love it so much and I already lost it once (I had several chapters written already) to my computer crashing and I don't want to take that chance again, so here it is for your enjoyment. Please feel free to leave me any comments as I love all the things that everyone says.

PS. When I say this is a slow burn Thilbo fic, I mean its going to be several chapters before Thorin is even introduced. Just so you all know.

Anyway, Enjoy!

Hobbits have nolove for adventure. That is a well-known fact between all the peoples of Middle Earth (at least between the ones who actually believed Hobbits existed). There were many reasons for their utter hatred of such an event (unless they were Tooks who were a naturally more adventurous breed). Not the least of which was that they were nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things that perpetually made you late for dinner (or any other meal that happened to occur during the affair). They're hatred of adventures is so strong in fact that many who don't live immediately on their border believe them to be nothing more than a fairy tale.

Of all the many reasons that a hobbit refused to go on an adventure, there was exactly one that would call them out the door of their lovely, comfortable abodes without fail. A soulmate in danger.

Hobbit instincts were a thing to behold. They were so strong in fact, that they extended even to their soulmates and called them to the other at the slightest sign of danger. Usually this meant a short trek to the other side of the Shire where one's soulmate fell down a hill and twisted their ankle. Perhaps there would even be a vicious animal to contend with (hobbits had long since learned that many predators could be scared off with a fire if one was careful enough to bring one). On some rare occasions, however, the hobbit was called farther. So far in fact, that they were taken outside of their own borders and far into the wild. These hobbits were called the Unlucky Ones (and they never returned).

Bilbo Baggins had never once thought that he would be one of the Unlucky Ones. When many years passed without any sign of his soulmate being in any sort of danger, he had assumed that the other was a particularly cautious soul (even during the Fell Winter where many lost their lives and many soul mates were found). He paid no never mind to the fact that he got into plenty of danger when he was a fauntling and that he probably should have met his soul mate a long time ago if they had been a hobbit. He was, after all, very young at the time and their connection may not have yet solidified at that point (no hobbit could really tell when a soul mate connection was made for certain).

So Bilbo always stubbornly believed that his soulmate was indeed another hobbit (just like his parents). Yet, here he was in the middle of the night on the day of his birth, frantically throwing clothes and food into a bag while trying to get all his things in order. All because his instincts called him far to the East.

"Oh dear," he said to himself as he finally stepped out his door. He surely hadn't gotten everything that he needed and most certainly did not have enough food, but the door clicked shut and Bilbo had already sealed they key inside an envelope addressed to the Thain. "There's nothing for it. No time to go back. I'm sure I can cut back on eating." The grumbling of his stomach most certainly did not agree with him. "Oh hush," he said to the darn thing. "You'll wake the whole neighborhood."

"Mr. Bilbo?" someone asked from down the path a way, startling the poor hobbit who was already on the edge of his nerve anyway.

"Oh!" he said, clutching at his chest. "Don't scare me like that, Gaffer. What on this good Earth are you doing up at such a time of night anyway?"

"We heard some commotion from your smial," Gaffer responded. "I thought I should check up and make sure that you're all right." The Gamgee family (of whom Gaffer would soon be the head), had been the Baggins family's gardeners for generations and they were still very loyal to its head (who was currently Bilbo Baggins despite his young age).

"I'm quite all right," Bilbo said, "I've just received a distress and I must be on my way now. You understand right?"

Gaffer nodded. "I'll be taking care of your home while you're away then," he said. "Don't you worry about a thing."

It was indeed a relief that Gaffer would was so willing to assist Bilbo. He hadn't really been sure what would happen if he had left. Perhaps, he had thought, he would be declared dead and they would auction off all his things so that Lobelia Sackville-Baggins could take over his home (that would be a horrible outcome indeed). He knew, however, that Gaffer would never allow that to happen and it was indeed a relief that he gave his word to take care of it in Bilbo's absence. "Do you still have the spare key?" Bilbo asked.

Gaffer produced the little iron thing immediately. He had already had it in hand just in case he would need to make his way into the smial without Bilbo's assistance. "How long should I expect you to be away then?"

"I fear it may be a long while," Bilbo replied.

"That is unlucky."

Bilbo nodded. "I must be off now. I still have to meet with the Thain and I don't have much time at all. I may already be too late."

"I wish you every luck!" Gaffer called after him as he ran down the road.

"My dear Bilbo," the Thain said from his doorway, though his eyes were groggy and he was still very much in his night gown (he must have been truly cold as he let the nighttime air into his house for the sake of speaking with Bilbo), "what brings you here so late at night?"

"I have come to give this to you," Bilbo said, holding out a fat envelope. "It contains all my instructions on how to keep my house and property as well as my will if I should not return within a year or two."

Suddenly, the Thain straightened, his eyes turning sharp. "Is it so dire?" he asked.

"It is," Bilbo nodded, hopping from one foot to the other in his impatience to be on the road. "I fear I might not make it in time, though I am sure the danger is still months away."

"I see," the Thain replied. He turned to another hobbit who was equally dressed in his night robes and said. "Go and get the pony we purchased from those men the other day." Then he turned back to Bilbo. "I feel your need for it is greater than ours."

"Thank you!" Bilbo said. Had he not been so worried, he may have even managed to smile up at his kind grandfather who was willing to give him such an expensive gift. The Unlucky Ones were often shunned once they found themselves to be such. They were often treated as though they were already dead because no one believed that they would ever come back (though everyone liked to believe that they did find their soulmates and just chose not to come back). Therefore, the giving of gifts was often avoided because there would be no return for them.

"You had better write to me," the Thain said, "as soon as you get where you're going."

"I will do my best to get word to you as soon as I find what I'm looking for," Bilbo responded.

"And you'll bring them to meet us, won't you?" the Thain said with a raised brow as the pony was finally brought around to the door. "I will not have my grandson marrying away without even meeting the one he is to be married to. They had better be a good person or I won't tolerate losing you to them."

Bilbo scrambled atop his new pony with a hobbit's help and grinned. "I'm sure they're the most amazing person in the world," he said.

"Good," the Thain nodded. "Go now, but remember not to push too hard. You will do little good to your soulmate if you or your pony go down on the way there. I expect to receive my grandson back in good health."

"I will be careful," Bilbo said and with that, he kicked the pony's sides and the two of them were off into the wilderness (hopefully to be seen again).