I sit outside my sister's bedroom pacing back and forth. This isn't good. She could be dead for all I know. She hasn't screamed all that much. The birthing process is very dangerous by itself but when the baby is early and the mother distraught things can easily take a turn for the worse. The cold January snow whips against the window and I can't help but fear the worst. I hear the door open and I spin around to see Oin walk out with a grim expression on his face. Oh Mahal don't let both of them be dead.

"Well how is she? How is the baby?" I cannot get the questions out fast enough.

"Dis will live. She is very weak right now from the birth and from the shock of losing Daiun. From now on she is always going to be weak, frail, delegate. She is never going to fully recover to her old self but she will live. As for the baby well it is a boy. He will probably not last the night never mind the winter. He is 2 and a half months early and he is only 5 pounds. He may have breathing problems, heart problems that will kill him soon if not in the next few hours. If he lives the lad will always be smaller than most and he will most likely have growth problems as well as learning disabilities and maybe some deformities. He may not function correctly and only be a burden. Adding to that because he was born because of a traumatic event it makes him less likely to live. If he lives he will have a tough road ahead of him. His chances aren't looking good Thorin." The healer explains the issues to the king the doubt clear in his voice.

I sit down on the floor and rub my head. It's a boy! Then it hits me. My nephew could die. He isn't even a day old and he could easily die.

"What is his name? Has Dis named him?"

"Dis doesn't want to get attached but she said to call him Kili. She didn't want to put her heart into it. She fears she will get attached and lose him like her husband." Oin tells me.

"Kili." I let the name roll off my lips. "The name of a fighter and a warrior. What can I do to make sure he lives? I will do everything in my power to keep him alive."

"He must be kept warm at all times and kept out of the cold and he must eat every 6 hours. Thorin there is not much you can do for the lad. He is so tiny and frail. It's a fight that we very well may lose." Oin says trying to reason with me.

"I will keep him alive at all costs. After you finish here can you go to Balin and Dwalin's house and ask if they can watch Fili for a little while longer? I cannot deal with another young dwarfling running around the house when I must focus my attention on keeping Kili alive." I ask Oin.

"Of course my friend and after I do that I will come back and help care for young Kili. He has a long fight ahead of him and he needs all the help he can get." Oin reassures me and then leaves.

I walk into my sister's room and see Dis is sleeping. She must she exhausted. Dis lost her husband and gave birth early two months. I walk over to the midwife who hands me Kili and I stare down at the bundle in my arms.

He is very small even for a dwarf baby. I think a hobbit baby is bigger and plumper than my nephew is. He is as light as a feather. He has is very pale and his lips have a slight blue tint to them. I grab another blanket and swaddle him into it hoping to give him some extra warmth. I walk into the living room and sit right next to the fire and lay Kili down on my lap. He moves slightly in his swaddle before laying still. I can't help but smile at that. I don't know how long I sit by the fire with Kili on my lap thinking about the lad's future and about Dis and Fili when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look up and see Oin smiling down at me.

"It's time the lad eats Thorin. I have formula in the kitchen for him."

I stand up carefully and walk into the small kitchen with Oin. He puts some powder in a bowl and then adds some water and then mixes it up. He then places it in a small bowl that is tiny enough for the baby.

"Have the lad drink this." He says and holds it out to me. I grasp Kili in one arm while I take the bowl in the other hand and put it to his lips. The baby finishes the bowl quite quickly and I was surprised something so small could finish something that quickly. I walk back over to the fire and sit in the big chair next to it and start thinking again. Fili was so excited to have a younger sibling. When Dis said it might be a girl Fili would refuse to believe it and said if it was a girl he would sell it at the market and buy himself a baby brother. Fili doesn't even know about his father being dead the poor lad and now that his little brother might not make it. Fili would be heartbroken. He needs a lifelong friend in his life and Kili could easily be that friend. All he talked about for the past 6 months was what he was going to do with his baby brother. I look down at Kili and look at his little baby face. He would make a fine Durin and heir if he survives.