This story is the result of my many baby!dragon feels. There is some art I drew some while ago and people seemd to like it, so yeah, why not. Art can be found here: tagged/art/

My thanks goes to my lovely beta Zayroen.

Coments are welcome.

**Beware minor DoS spoilers**

Chapter 1 – Not just a stone

Slumped against a cold stony pillar, Bilbo watched his friends rake through the enormous hoard of gold with a heavy heart.

The dragon was dead, the Lonely Mountain was reclaimed and the homeless blacksmith became a king once more. A very ignorant, gold-mad and cold-hearted king.

Smaug´s venomous words echoed in Bilbo´s head. It was just as the drake said but Bilbo was stupid enough not to believe him. He thought Thorin´s heart was stronger and his mind wiser but his hopes died away when he felt the edge of Thorin´s blade touch his chest. He always thought the dwarves were the least of his worries. He could handle an occasional brawl or an exchange of views and they weren´t really all that scary when one got to know them.

And after a while, he felt safe amongst them.

He would even go so far as to say that he felt the safest by Thorin´s side.

The irony of that.

Now they were only shadows of their former selves - greedy shells, hungry for gold and riches. Bilbo continued watching them from shadows, not daring to step closer. The Arkenstone grew heavier in his pocket with Thorin´s every mad shout and order to find it.

The mountain was suddenly too cold and the jewel in his pocket too hot.

"Fools!" Bilbo whispered from where he sat, "each and every one of you."

Cursing under his breath, Bilbo stood up and walked outside into the night. A chilly gush of wind jerked him out of his thoughts. He gazed around. The fires of Lake-Town were extinguished but from what Bilbo could see, they didn´t manage to save much of it.

He'd watched it turn to a small hell when Smaug descended upon it and he could still feel the cold fingers of horror claw at his heart. Taking few big breaths to calm himself down he turned his attention to the two camps that made themselves at home under the gates of Erebor.

The ravens came after Smaug´s fall, declaring Thorin a rightful king. But the joy did not last long. Right after that, another raven came flying from south, bringing tidings about an army of orcs marching on to the Lonely Mountain.

The Elves and the Men came offering their help, asking a fair share of the gold in order to sustain their people and repair the damages.

But Thorin was already mad, bewitched by the gold and gave none of it away.

Bilbo was desperate. While Thorin showered his royal ass in the riches of the mountain, armies came knocking on his front door. Bilbo didn´t want his friends to die. He had a plan and he would carry it out even if it meant that Thorin would hate him until the end of the World.

He took the Arkenstone out of his pocket, regarding it with disdain. But he couldn't help but to admire it´s radiance and beauty. A sudden wave of anger came over him and the hateful words echoed in his mind once more.

...would corrupt his heart...

...drive him mad...

...destroy him...

"Fools," he said silently. "STUBBORN AND GREEDY FOOLS!"

And with an anxious cry he swung the stone, his every fiber yelling at him to get rid of the cursed jewel.

And he would have done it, if it wasn't for the stone´s slight tremble. Bilbo´s body went rigid while his mind was trying to digest what just happened.

He lowered his hand, eyeing the Arkenstone suspiciously.

"Hello?" He said, immediately kicking himself mentally. As if a stone could give him an answer. But he felt something.

He put it to his ear and listened. Nothing.

"Oh, look at me," Bilbo sighed, "now I am getting crazy." He shrugged and as he was putting the jewel back into his pocket it trembled again.

Bilbo cupped the big shiny stone and huffed in exasperation. "What are you doing?" He asked, no longer caring if he sounded like an idiot. "Are you trembling in fright? Are you afraid I would destroy you?" The Arkenstone was, however, dead still again, refusing to communicate.

"Hey! Don´t you ignore me now!" He poked the rock, "wake up!"

And that´s when the stone suddenly jumped in his hands, startling the poor hobbit. Bilbo just barely managed to get a hold of the Arkenstone before it fell to the ground.

"Are you mad? I didn´t mean it with the breaking!" Bilbo squeaked. As he was feeling the surface of the stone for damage he froze once again. Bilbo could swear that his heart left out more than just one beat when he felt the crack on the stone.

"Why..." Bilbo whined as he turned the Jewel over to inspect the crack. Just brilliant. He managed to break the one thing Thorin longed for at most.

But his unhappy musing was cut short when the Arkenstone shook once more. Bilbo felt the hot tears in his eyes.

"No, no, no...!" He chanted silently caressing the stone as if it would stop it from breaking, when the upper half of the jewel shattered entirely.

Bilbo stared at the broken jewel with his mouth open and eyes wide as dinner plates. Not even in his wildest dreams could he imagine this! That the King´s Jewel wasn´t a jewel at all!

A faint pule came out of the rock – no! Egg!

First came out a little red tail, then a tiny little paw and finally a golden-red head.

An equally faint "Ah!" was all Bilbo could muster.

The little creature squirmed a little and struck his head out to get a better view. Little golden eyes landed on Bilbo and the hobbit felt a mix of dread, awe and comprehension.

Smaug has laid an egg – or better, he made the Arkenstone into an egg! But was that even possible? Apparently yes, since he was holding a living baby dragon in his hands.

The panic attack that was creeping onto Bilbo was interrupted by a high pitched... bark? Do dragons even bark? Whatever sound just came out of the tiny dragon baby was enough to make Bilbo coo at it.

"Hello little one." He said, still not moving but relaxing a little bit. The dragon somehow made him feel at ease. Very familiar golden eyes met Bilbo´s but he didn´t feel any fright. The baby climbed out of the shiny shell onto the hobbit´s arms and started scratching at his sleeve. Bilbo´s upper half of the body was frozen but he managed to turn around and kneel. The miniature Smaug climbed down on the cold stone floor and looked around sniffing but it eventually got back to scratching whatever Bilbo was wearing.

Watching the dragon trying to tear his trousers off, he noticed several things. Like the missing wings and no pointy horns. Or deadly claws for that matter, although the tiny claws the baby possessed were sharp enough to go through the fabric of his trousers.

"Are you trying to strip me, little Smaug?" He chuckled when the dragon stopped it´ s scratching and looked at Bilbo questionably.

"What are you—"

"Bilbo!"

Bilbo spun around looking at Thorin, who just crossed the threshold of the gate.

"What are you doing, burglar? Why are you not searching for the—" Thorin said but stopped himself and Bilbo could feel the tension and anger radiating from the king. It took him a second to understand why.

He followed Thorin´s gaze, which was fixed on the shards of the Arkenston he was still holding.

The murderous fury that Bilbo found in the dwarf´s eyes was like a blow to his gut. He abruptly stood up as Thorin took the first step towards him.

"You miserable wretch!" The king cursed. "What have you done!"

"N-no, Thorin!" Bilbo stammered taking a step back, trying to push the baby away with his foot.

"You broke it! The Arkenstone! You broke the most valuable jewel in all Middle-Earth!" Thorin hissed through clenched teeth. "You—"

He was interrupted by a quiet growl. Thorin stood frozen in front of Bilbo, staring at the little growling creature the hobbit was trying to shield from him.

"TRAITOR!" Thorin howled and threw himself at the dragon. Bilbo immediately pushed him aside and gripped the front of the dwarf´s tunic.

"Thorin listen to me! Stop!" Bilbo shouted but Thorin´s mind was clouded and poisoned and he couldn´t hear Bilbo´s pleading voice anymore.

"YOU MISERABLE HOBBIT! TRAITOR! HOW COULD YOU!"

The force of Thorin´s hand hitting Bilbo´s face spun him around and as he fell to the ground a sharp pain jerked through his torso.

He didn´t even notice when the other dwarves came, or their cries and attempts to calm Thorin´s temper down and hold him back, or the king´s angry yells anymore.

The only thing he heard was the lazy beat of his heart and the grievous cry of the tiny dragon. Nestling the unhappy dragon to his chest, he forced himself to stand up and tumbled down the stairs.

Last thing he remembered was how dull and unfamiliar everything was. Everything, except the crying, now crimson-red dragon, whimpering in his arms.

If anybody is questioning the egg part, I have an answer: "Magic, bitches!" Those who read The Silmarillion know that dragons are capable of some hard-core magic stuff, I just enhanced the idea a little bit. So yeah, Smaug turned the jewel into an egg... OUT OF SPITE! Because why not.

Next chapter coming if you people like it. But of course, you will have to let me know! R&R