Disclaimer: I do not own the Lord of the Rings or Silmarillion books, or any of the characters in them.
Lightning flashed, tearing through the sky with electric precision and illuminating the night with an eerie greenish glow. Almost as soon as it vanished, thunder took it's place, crashing and echoing through the night. It was late—dark and cold with the howling winds of a storm throwing rain against the windows. Nerdanel was fast asleep, oblivious to the sounds of the storm outside. She was exhausted from the feast they had attended that evening with Fingolfin's family. Those gatherings were always tiresome; with her and Anairë fighting to mediate the tension between their husbands. She had been relieved to finally return home and had fallen into bed as soon as the kids were asleep. Fëanáro had decided to spend the night working in the forge to calm his mind, and Nerdanel had their whole bed to herself—A pleasantry she could not help but enjoy. With three kids and an overactive husband, it was hard to find time for oneself.
Nerdanel rolled over in bed, sighing and murmuring something unintelligible in her sleep. Something clawed at the edges of her mind, fumbling to draw her into wakefulness. She shifted again, trying to hold onto sleep, but her mind had already identified the sound as a soft troubled voice.
"Ammë?" the voice repeated, just as Nerdanel's eyes blinked open. She looked down to see a small figure standing in front of her bed; dark hair mussed and tousled from sleep and one hand gripping a little stuffed cat his older brother had given him.
"Yes Makalaurë? What's wrong?" she asked tenderly.
The child sniffed, and Nerdanel realised he was close to tears. "I don't feel well," he whimpered, reaching up to clutch her arm.
Nerdanel sat up in bed and leaned over to light the candle on her bedside table. "Oh dear…" she crooned, letting her hand ghost across her son's forehead. It was warm to the touch, and Makalaurë's hair was damp with sweat.
"Ammë, my tummy hurts," Makalaurë whimpered, his little features crinkling up in discomfort as he leaned in against his mother. "And I'm all dizzy."
"Oh honey…" Nerdanel sighed, brushing her fingers through her son's soft hair. "What about we go into the kitchen and I make you some tea? It will make you feel better," she offered, smiling encouragingly at him.
Makalaurë nodded, still clutching his stuffed cat close. "'Kay," he said quietly and followed Nerdanel out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.
It was dark except for the occasional bolts of lightning that flashed through the windows, and Nerdanel paused to light the oil lamp on the counter before moving into the kitchen. The fire in the main room had burned low but still held plenty of heat, and she set a pot of water next to the coals to boil.
With that done, she moved back into the kitchen and set to work mixing herbs for the tea. She would need ginger for the nausea and dizziness, and valerian and kava to help him settle and sleep. Nodding to herself in thought, Nerdanel pulled the pots of herbs from the cupboard and began measuring them out.
Behind her, Makalaurë stood silently in the kitchen entrance; staring down at the floor. He wished Nerdanel would stay with him instead of working on the tea. His stomach was doing odd little flips and he felt a very unpleasant sensation crawling up his throat. He didn't like it at all.
"Ammë," he called quietly.
"Just a minute, Káno. I have to finish mixing these."
Later, Nerdanel wished she had listened more closely to her son's tone, but as it was, her attention was dragged away from her work seconds later by sharp gagging sounds. She turned, taking in Makalaurë's shaking form. He stood hunched over in the hallway; staring down at the mess that covered the floor in front of him. Large grey eyes blinked once, twice, and then Makalaurë began to cry.
Dropping the bowl she had been holding, Nerdanel hurried to her son, already whispering comforting words.
"Shh, it's okay, Káno. It's okay," she crooned, pulling him into a hug. Makalaurë just sobbed harder, burying his face in his mother's shirt.
It was a long time before Nerdanel was able to calm him, and even then his little form was shaking badly. "Okay, how about you lie down on the chaise lounge in the other room for a bit while I clean this up?" she suggested, scooping up Makalaurë and carrying him into the living room next to the kitchen. She got him settled with a warm blanket and a few pillows and returned to the kitchen to fetch a basin.
"Alright, if you feel sick again, use this. Okay?" she said, placing the basin next to Makalaurë on the chaise lounge. "And if you think you might throw up again, call me. I'll just be in the next room."
Makalaurë nodded and shifted further down on the couch. He watched Nerdanel leave with wide, red-rimmed eyes, hugging his stuffed cat to his chest. It was only when Nerdanel was fully out of sight that he closed them. He was feeling a little better now and with the warm blankets, he was able to drift off to sleep.
Nerdanel finished cleaning up the kitchen floor and was about to return to Makalaurë when another voice caught her attention. She turned around to see her eldest son standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He looked wide awake despite the late hour and his brows were furrowed in concern.
"Ammë, Tyelko threw up," he announced matter of factly.
Nerdanel sighed, her eyes drifting past Maitimo to the dark bedroom beyond. "Okay. Thank you for coming to get me, Nelyo."
Maitimo nodded and followed his mother into the bedroom, half running to keep up with her long strides. "I woke up to him crying…" he explained, sitting on the edge of his bed as Nerdanel walked across to Tyelkormo's crib. The toddler was sitting up in bed, sobbing his eyes out. The sheets were coated in vomit, as was the child's hair.
"Oh, Tyelko…" Nerdanel murmured, leaning down and scooping him out of the crib. "Maitimo, can you grab me a towel from the privy, please?"
Maitimo hurried off immediately, proud his mother had trusted him to help out. He grabbed a towel from the rack and raced back to the bedroom.
Nerdanel had removed Tyelkormo's sick splattered clothes and was using the blankets to clean up his hair as best she could. She smiled at Maitimo when he returned and accepted the towel gratefully.
Stepping a little closer, Maitimo watched with interest as his mother wrapped the towel around Tyelkormo's wriggling body.
Despite his squirming, Tyelkormo was soon wrapped up and snuggled in his mother's arms.
"Okay…I'm going to run him a bath. Can you sit with him while I get the hot water?"
Maitimo nodded and the three of them made their way to the privy. Nerdanel set Tyelkormo down on the floor and Maitimo sat down next to his little brother. "Hey, Tyelko, don't cry," he said, hugging his brother close. "I know you feel bad, but Ammë's going to give you a nice warm bath. Then you'll feel better."
Nerdanel smiled to herself as she left, listening to Maitimo's comforting words. He was young, but he was already taking a protective motherly role over his two younger brothers.
Luckily Tyelko was small and didn't need much water for a bath, so Nerdanel was able to heat the required water quickly by the fire. Makalaurë was still peacefully asleep on the couch and she gave a small sigh of relief. For now he was resting and comfortable.
When she returned to the privy, Nerdanel found Maitimo seated cross-legged on the floor, cuddling a giggling Tyelko.
"Ammë, I think he's feeling better," Maitimo said cheerfully, bouncing Tyelkormo on his knee.
Nerdanel could not help but smile to herself. "Aye, so it seems, but he still needs a bath." She leaned down and scooped Tyelkormo from Maitimo's arms. Setting him in the bath, she grabbed the basin of water and poured it over his head.
Tyelko shrieked in delight, flailing his little arms in the air as the water cascaded over him.
Nerdanel smiled as she washed his hair and poured more water over his head to rinse it.
Once he was completely clean, she grabbed a fresh towel from the cupboard and wrapped the child in it, snuggling him to her chest as she dried his damp hair.
Since Tyelkormo's bed was still unusable, Nerdanel carried the bouncing toddler into the living room and set him down in a chair next to the fire.
Maitimo trailed in after her, hoping she wouldn't notice he was still awake and make him go to bed. To his relief, she was too distracted with the other two children to pay him much attention, and he was able to follow unnoticed.
Nerdanel got Tyelkormo settled—or as settled as he could be—and went over to check on her second eldest.
Makalaurë was now sitting up on the couch, a distinctly greenish colour to his pale cheeks. His eyes were fixed on Nerdanel, but he didn't say anything.
"Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?" Nerdanel asked gently, sitting down next to Makalaurë on the couch and feeling his forehead. His whole body was rigid and she watched worriedly as he swallowed thickly.
Grey eyes fell to the floor as Makalaurë leaned forward and Nerdanel felt his body shudder beneath her touch. With one fluid movement she grabbed the bucket from the other side of the couch and shoved it in front of her son's face just as he gagged.
Maitimo had crept up behind them and was regarding his sick little brother with large eyes. He watched as Nerdanel swept back Makalaurë's dark hair and whispered inaudible words into his ear; her other hand rubbing smooth circles across his back. Glancing once over his shoulder, Maitimo stepped closer and crawled up onto the couch; settling on Makalaurë's other side. Hesitantly he shifted a little closer to his brother and let his hand fall tentatively to Makalaurë's arm. "It's okay, Káno," he whispered. "Don't cry."
Makalaurë looked up at him with wide eyes, his lower lip trembling as he fought to hold back tears.
Nerdanel lifted her hand from his back and removed the basin, then reached over to wipe his mouth with the hem of her sleeve.
"Nelyo is right, dear. You're okay. Just take slow breaths."
Makalaurë took two shuddery breaths and buried his face in Nerdanel's dress; sobbing silently.
Maitimo was regarding her with wide, inquisitive eyes; his brows furrowed in worry. "Ammë, is Káno going to be okay? And Tyelko?"
Nerdanel nodded, reaching out to ruffle Maitimo's hair with the hand that wasn't holding Makalaurë. "Yes dear, they will be fine. They are just a bit sick. I suspect there was something in the food last night that did not agree with them."
"Oh," Maitimo said, frowning as he thought this over. "Why am I not sick?"
"Well...It could be any number of reasons, but my guess is that it is because you did not eat whatever it is that is making them sick at the feast last night," Nerdanel replied.
"Oh," Maitimo said again. "I'm glad I didn't eat it."
Things finally seemed to be calming down and Nerdanel felt herself drifting off; still holding Makalaurë close. She was in that strange area between sleep and wakefulness when a piercing scream jolted her awake.
She felt Makalaurë flinch beside her and heard Maitimo's surprised gasp as she looked wildly around for the cause of the scream.
Her eyes fell on Tyelkormo, once again covered in vomit and wailing at the top of his lungs. Nerdanel sighed, closing her eyes briefly before removing Makalaurë's grasp from her arm and dragging herself to her feet. A headache was building behind her eyes, and a great weariness swamped her as she walked over to the chair where Tyelkormo sat screaming.
"Shh, hush…hush Tyelko," she soothed, but Tyelkormo just screamed louder, punching at her with his little fists as tears streamed down his flushed cheeks.
It took a whole hour to get Tyelkormo washed and settled again—an hour Makalaurë and Maitimo spent huddled together on the couch; trying very hard not to cry.
When Nerdanel finally returned to the front room, she was exhausted. Her mind felt fuzzy and strained and even though Tyelko's screams had blessedly stopped, pain lanced through her head with every step.
Wearily she sank down onto one of the chairs by the fire, sighing as she briefly closed her eyes. Tyelkormo was finally asleep again and even Makalaurë was dozing on the couch. Maybe, just maybe, she could have a few hours of rest…
The sound of a door opening jolted Nerdanel from her doze, and she looked up to see Fëanáro standing in the front doorway. His hair was mussed and full of soot and his clothes were stained with grease from the forge. "Good morning, dear," he called, kicking off his boots at the front door.
With a tired sigh, Nerdanel pulled herself up from the chair and walked across the room to her husband. "It can't be morning," she groaned and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
Fëanáro smiled at her, then let his gaze travel across the front room. Confusion flickered in his dark eyes and he frowned, seemingly baffled by what he saw. "Why are you all sleeping in here?" he asked. "We have two bedrooms with the best quality beds."
"They might not be considered the best quality anymore…" Nerdanel said with a grimace. She almost wanted to laugh at the utter confusion in her husband's eyes, but she finally took pity on him and explained. "Káno and Tyelko got sick not long after you left for the forge. It's been a rather…long night." She sighed and ran a hand through her messy auburn hair.
Fëanáro was immediately concerned, his eyes flicking back to the living room where his three sons lay sleeping. "Are they okay? Should we call a healer? I can go right now an—"
"Hush, no, it's fine, dear," Nerdanel reassured, catching her husband's arm as he made for the door. "I think the worst is over. They are sleeping now."
Fëanáro moved away from the door but didn't seem to relax. His eyes were still fixed on his children; probing, scanning, for any dangers.
"Fëanáro, I told you, there is nothing to worry about. They are well taken care of," Nerdanel assured her husband once more. She leaned forward and hugged him; breathing in the soothing scent of the forge that lingered around him. "Everything will be okay now. It was—"
"I feel kind of sick…" Nerdanel felt a wave of despair slam over her. She turned, hardly daring to breathe, and blinked down at Maitimo standing shivering in the hallway. For a minute everything seemed to spin around her, and then Nerdanel turned to fix her husband with an ordering stare.
"Fëanáro, you are dealing with him."