Note: So yesterday (12/1/14) my brother Keely (yes, that is his name) became a daddy to my nephew Kade. I don't know but after I found out I kept thinking about the time when I was little and my sister Georgia was born, I guess it inspired this fic. It's funny how I can remember that and not what I have to do for my school work ha ha. Enjoy the fic.
::: Family means forever :::
By: DigitallyAlteredHeart
"I want to see mama," a five year old Fíli asked for the millionth time that day.
To the young dwarfling it felt like ages since he had seen his mother, how it had actually been little over a day and a half, but Fíli was used to being with his mother almost the whole day and so, to have her not around, was unsettling for the boy. The dwarf who sat with him chuckled and rolled his eyes, he knew what was happening even if Fíli didn't.
"You can't see your mother now. Later perhaps."
"But I don't want to see her later! I want to see her now!" Fíli cried, his steely eyes flashing with a five year old determination
"What's going on?"
"My lord," the dwarf bowed lightly as Thorin entered the room, his gaze quickly fixing upon his young nephew sitting at the table, his head resting on crossed arms with a sullen expression written across his small face.
"Is there any news?" Thorin asked the dwarf.
He shook his head whilst Thorin sighed.
"Leave us, I will see to him," he told the dwarf.
He looked a little surprised but gave a courteous nod and turned to leave, glancing back at the two he was leaving behind him.
"I want to see Mama!" Fíli wailed once again, as a rather tired Thorin rubbed his temple and let out a brief sigh.
He had been roused far earlier than normal by two dwarves and told the news. Part of him had leapt with joy at what he had been told. The other half however, had sunk and was weighted down by worry.
"You will see her soon," that was all that Thorin was able to say to the stony faced Fíli.
If there was no more news of what was happening then there was no more news to what was happening and it made him almost feel as bad as the confused Fíli not knowing what was happening. It was no wonder much of him was feeling the strain of the worry. He didn't want to force that onto his nephew though and he would try his best to not too.
"Why can't I see her now?" Fíli asked quietly as Thorin sat down heavily at the table. "Is it me…did I do something wrong?"
Blue eyes glazed at his uncle questionably. At once Thorin shook his head at his nephew. Fíli continued to gaze at the elder dwarf. Confusion still showing across his features. He scrambled over to his uncle, lifting his arms in the roundabout sign of 'pick me up'. Silently, Thorin did just that and sat the squirming child on his knee.
"It's nothing you've done," Thorin stated semi-comfortingly. Fíli continued to gaze up at his uncle, his eyes glazed with childish curiosity. "Your mother…she is...busy right now."
"Busy?" Fíli asked small eyebrows knitting together and Thorin hid a smirk at how his nephew's mood went from demanding to questionable in an instant.
"Yes, busy. Very," now how did he go about explaining the actuality of childbirth to a child? Especially one as young and curious as Fíli was. "Your mother is...readying your little brother...or sister to," he paused and smiled inwardly to himself. "...come into the world."
Fíli paused and frowned deeply.
"I don't want a brother or a sister," he said shortly gazing toward the floor. "Can you stop Mama?"
"No I can't," Thorin said awkwardly.
"Papa would have stopped her," Fíli grumbled darkly, not realising what he had said.
Thorin froze and sighed, the child's innocent words catching him somewhere deep inside his chest. It was not Fíli's fault by no means (he was a only a dwarfling after all) he simply did not realise nor understand the repercussions of the words he had spoken.
It hadn't been long since Tapio(1), Fíli's father, had been killed by goblins after hearing wind that they had been spotted lurking around the Blue Mountains. Thorin had been the first to find out and thus had the unfortunate task of explaining the situation this his own sister, that her husband had been killed in cold blood. With Dís several months pregnant at the time, Thorin became worried not only for the well-being of his sister but the unborn child's too.
"Why are you so sad?" Fíli asked quietly, gently rolling his uncle's hair through his fingers. It was a gesture his mother used to calm him down when he was aggravated.
"I'm fine Fíli, it's nothing for you too worry about," Thorin said more gruffly than he intended.
The pair sat in a developing silence for a few minutes, Fíli thinking things over slowly in his mind and Thorin dwelling in unforgiving and unspoken memories. Silently Fíli slid off Thorin's lap, walking over to his play box, it was beautifully carved chest that had been gifted to Dís after her marriage but now it held Fíli's toys. Unenthusiastically, he rifled through it but could not find anything that could divert his attention somewhere else besides where his mother.
"What's it like having a brother or sister?" Fíli asked suddenly, eyes once again light with questioning.
Thorin glanced sideways at his nephew who was playing with the edge of the blue tunic he wore. That gesture was a sure sign that Fíli was feeling inwardly anxious and was desperately trying not to show it. Thorin cleared his throat and let out a sigh.
"It is...strange at first," he began and then changed tactics after seeing Fíli's eyes widen a fraction. "You will have somebody to play with, grow up along side, learn to fight with and confide in."
Fíli didn't seem convinced though, his gaze was once again fixed on the floor.
"What if it's a girl?" the young dwarf asked, his voice hardly above a whisper. "They won't want to fight and play."
"Your mother used to fight and play along with Frerin and myself when we were younger," Thorin's lips twitched into a smirk as he thought about bygone days.
"But…" Fíli paused as though for dramatic effect. "What if…What if Mama…does Mama not want me anymore? What if she likes this brother or sister better?"
Thorin closed his eyes and inwardly laughed. Of course Fíli would be worried about something as trivial as the likes of that. As the eldest in his family, the same thoughts and plagued him when he found out that his own mother was pregnant with Frerin and these thoughts had also been his brothers when Dís was born.
There was suddenly a sharp rap on the door and Thorin stood swiftly, his chair scraping back over the stone floor, startling Fíli suddenly. Thorin called for the dwarf to enter and the dwarf from before entered the room. His face was flushed as though he had run for a few miles non-stop.
"My lord," he bowed lightly, like previously, to Thorin and then breathed deeply. "She's finished."
Thorin was an expert in concealing his feelings so that nobody could guess what he was thinking and applied every technique he had ever learnt to keep his face composed. It was essential at a time like this.
"And? Any news?" Thorin demanded roughly.
"I've been told, that you're allowed in now, Fíli too," the dwarf replied.
"Mama?" Fíli asked quickly, in a roundabout way understanding what was actually happening.
"Yes," Thorin said, scooping his nephew from the floor.
Thorin easily covering the distance that the young dwarfling's could not, he strode from the room and headed towards his sister's room. There was general bustling around the house as Thorin approached, dwarves coming and going, doing various things. They parted to let him pass, some cooing affectionately over Fíli and the blonde burrowed his face shyly into the crook of Thorin's neck, not entirely used to attention that wasn't from his mother.
Setting Fíli down, Thorin led the way towards the bed chamber. Pushing the door open, it was warm inside and the lighting was dim but if felt welcoming all the same. More dwarves smiled at him as the two heirs of Durín passed by the rest, both ready to meet the newest arrival to the world.
"Mama!" Fíli nearly squeaked as he saw his mother (after what felt like years in the eyes of the five year old), sitting up in her bed, hair damp and sticking slightly to her face.
She smiled warmly down at her son, opening her arms to him as he hurried into the small room. Carefully, Thorin picked him up and placed him on the bed.
"Be careful, your mother is tired," he warned gently as Fíli snuggled into her side and smiled as she stroked his hair.
Talking away as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened, he missed the conversation happening above his blonde head as brother and sister managed to talk without words and only through glances and nods of heads.
"Fíli, there's somebody I think you would like to meet," Dís said, almost breathlessly. "Thorin, can you get Kíli for us?"
Thorin started to speak but instead nodded modestly. He walked over to the little crib that had been set up in the corner of the room. Nestled inside was the smallest dwarf child Thorin thought he had ever laid eyes upon.
Thorin bent stiffly to lift his new nephew from the crib, his movements were hardly that of the warrior that everybody knew he was. He had practice handling a new born child when Fíli was born but that had been five years ago now and it felt longer. Cautiously, he adjusted the baby so it was lying in the crook of his arm, for a moment Thorin just gazed wondrously down at the new life, barely a few hours old, carefully resting in his arms.
He was another continuation of the line of Durín.
He moved lightly so not to wake the young child in his arm. Thorin could feel Dís watching him fondly before her eyes latched onto her new son. Handing him over, Thorin placed the baby in his mother's arms. Only then did the baby awake, dark blue(2) eyes fluttering open, mouth twitching into a minuscule yawn, arms flailing slightly.
"There, there," Dís hushed her newborn son, rocking him gently and gazing downwards. "Fíli, come over and see your brother Kíli."
Thorin lifted Fíli into his own arms so that the dwarfling could get a better look at his new brother without trampling his mother or the baby. Thorin could tell the realisation had hit Fíli finally, his nephew's eyes widening out of happiness, as he gazed at his brother before him.
"Kíli?" Fíli tried the name out. Mumbling it over a few times trying it out before smiling widely. "I like it."
Fíli leant forwards in Thorin's arms to get a better look at his younger brother. Fingers lightly brushing the fine hair from his forehead. Fíli smiled as he felt his brother's tiny fist close around one of his fingers. Taking the tiny fist in his own hand, Fíli looked towards his mother.
"Can I hold him?" he asked cautiously as though somebody were going to tell him no.
"Yes, you can," Dís said gently.
Thorin set Fíli down next to his mother's side as Dís arranged his arms carefully so that Kíli could lie comfortably in his brother's caring hold. Once holding Kíli, Fíli did nothing but gaze down at his brother. It felt weird to the young dwarfling, to have a little brother. Another member of his family.
"I want you to look out for Kíli through everything, look after him. He's always going to need his older brother and you should always be there for him. Do you think you can do that Fíli?" Dís asked.
"I will Mama," Fíli replied quietly.
Even for a five year old, Fíli knew he had to keep his word
(1) Heis a Finnish God forests, animals, and hunting. Thank you Mia for that suggestion
(2) Now my eyes are brown when I was born however, they were dark blue. Checked by pictures and what my mum told me.
Note: It ended up being longer than I thought. I got a little help from my friend Mia but that bit at the end was basically what my mum told me to do with my sister Georgia who is also 5 years younger than I am. Hope you liked it.