Well, I meant to get another request story done this week (and don't worry, all the ones that I haven't written yet are still in the works, I promise) but then this little plot bunny popped up and I had to write it. I couldn't resist a story about Thorin having to take care of sick nephews. This is around the same time as my Puddle story so Fili and Kili are still little. Hope you enjoy it! Just a little shameless fluff and family h/c
Sick Durins
A Hobbit Fanfic
"Are you sure you've got everything settled?" Dis asked as she fussed around the kitchen, putting the last of the supper things out and ready. "I know it's short notice, but when Freya asked me to help take care of the baby while she was sick, I couldn't say no."
Thorin smiled at his sister and took her hands gently in his, squeezing them reassuringly. "The boys and I will be fine. You just go and take care of your friend until her husband gets back. I think I can mange a few days with the rascals."
Dis smiled back, and turned to Fili and Kili who were playing with their toys on the rug by the fire.
"Boys, come here," she said and they scrabbled up and hurried to their mother's side, looking up at her expectantly. "I want you to be good for Uncle Thorin, okay? He was very kind to offer to stay with you this weekend, and I want you on your best behavior. Mummy learned how to discipline naughty little dwarves from your uncle." She winked at Thorin as the boys nodded hurriedly. "And Fili, help take care of your brother."
"I will, Mummy," Fili said sincerely.
There was a knock at the door and Dis went to open it, revealing Dwalin who was going to drive her in the cart. He smiled as the boys ran to greet him, each hugging a leg.
"Ready?" he asked, Dis.
"Yes," she replied, handing him her bag before turning back to Thorin and kissing his cheek. "Thank you again for doing this, Thorin, it means a lot. And remember, I'm only an hour away if anything too terrible happens."
"Don't worry!" Thorin assured her.
"Boys, come give me a kiss," Dis said, leaning down as the two dwarflings ran into her arms and kissed a cheek each.
"Bye Mummy! We'll be good!" they cried in parting, as Dis hugged them tightly and then left with Dwalin after a final wave.
After the door was closed the two boys turned around to Thorin expectantly.
"Unca Forin, I hungry," Kili said, sticking his chubby little tummy out and pointing to it. Thorin couldn't help but smile and herded the two boys into the kitchen.
"All right, I suppose we'll make that the first priority then. The stew should be nearly done." They climbed up to the table as Thorin stirred the stew and started to dish it into bowls, making sure the boys' were cool enough before he set them in front of them. They were almost done before he even sat down to eat his and asked for seconds before he could put one spoonful into his mouth. He refrained from sighing and got up to refill the bowls, realizing how Dis felt all the time and wondering how she ever got a bite to eat.
After the boys had filled themselves, it was time for their bath, and thankfully, this Thorin had some experience in after a little escapade with a mud puddle several months back.
As they finished the bathing, Thorin noticed with a slight frown that Fili seemed to be coughing frequently.
"Are you all right, Fili?" he asked worriedly, hoping the boy wasn't getting sick, and felt his forehead for fever.
Fili nodded. "Yes, Uncle, I'm fine. My throat is a little dry though. Can I take a cup of water to bed?"
"Of course," Thorin said and helped Fili fill his cup and bring it to the room. The boys crawled into the bed they shared and Thorin tucked them in and sat in a chair beside the bed to read them a story. Kili was already drifting off by the time he was finished, and he got up quietly and stroked the hair from Fili's face before he turned the light out.
"Good night, boys," he whispered. His hand lingered on the older brother's cheek, wondering, again, if it was warmer than usual, but he shook his head. He was probably just worrying.
He went to smoke his pipe by the fire for a while before he too became drowsy and decided to head off to the guest room. He dressed in a nightshirt and crawled under the quilt, knowing that the next day would be long and tiring. He loved his nephews, but he couldn't deny the fact that they were full of more energy than he could imagine in his adult years.
He had fallen asleep, for how long he wasn't sure, but he was woken by the door of his room opening and the sound of little feet pattering toward his bed. He barely opened his eyes before little hands were grabbing his arm and shaking him to wake him up.
"Unca Forin, wake up! Fiwi's sick!"
Thorin groaned, propping himself up on one elbow as he tried to make sense of Kili's child talk. "What's wrong?"
"Fiwi's sick, Unca, he frew up all over!"
Thorin sat up immediately, taking Kili up into his arms and hurrying to the boys' room. He heard Fili crying and found him kneeling on the floor where he had obviously tried to get to the bathroom in time to throw up, though without much success. Thorin put Kili down and went to light a candle first before he went to the elder brother, crouching beside him.
"Fili?" he asked.
"I'm sorry," the older dwarfling cried.
Thorin reached out and gathered the boy into his arms, feeling how hot he was and wishing he had listened to his earlier fears. "It's not your fault you're sick, Fili. Let's get you cleaned up. Kili, stay in bed."
He brought Fili into the bathroom and took his dirty nightshirt off before washing the sweat from him with a cloth. Fili was still whimpering and Thorin knew how hard it was to be fevered. He smoothed the blond hair back from Fili's sweaty face and kissed his forehead.
"It's all right, Fili, I'm sorry you're sick, but you'll get better soon. Now let's get you back into bed."
Before he could make another move, Fili whimpered again and clutched his stomach. Thorin was only barely able to get him to the toilet before he threw up again. The older dwarf did not like the implications of that. He helped Fili rinse his mouth out and then carried him back to the room and found tucked him into the bed. Kili hovered over his worriedly.
"Fi?" he asked, scared.
"It's all right, Kili," Thorin told the youngest. "Fili's just got a nasty bug, but he'll be okay in a couple days. Probably before your mother gets back." Dis. Thorin wished she was here. He knew nothing about caring for sick children. Scrapes and hurts he could do, being a soldier, but illness was another thing all together. "Watch over your brother while I clean the floor, Kili." He said and went to clean up he vomit.
As he did so, he was surprised to find how much it made him want to throw up himself. He stiffened his spine, however, shamed that he could be up to his elbows in gore on the battlefield and not feel queasy, but couldn't seem to clean up a little vomit. Dis would likely laugh at him now if she saw how green he must look. He finished quickly, and went to find a bucket for Fili before he came back and settled down in the chair by the bed, placing a cool cloth of Fili's brow again while the little dwarf moaned and cried.
Kili got out of bed and started to climb into Thorin's lap. The older dwarf lifted his youngest up onto his knee and Kili leaned against his chest, one hand clutching Thorin's nightshirt and the other inserted into his mouth as he sucked his fingers. He still hadn't grown out of that, Thorin realized, with a small smile; either that, or it was because he was worried for his brother. He noticed Kili's wide dark eyes fixed on Fili and he realized, as he did often, that the two had a very strong bond as brothers should. Certainly as strong as the one Thorin had shared with his own brother, Frerin. He held Kili tighter subconsciously. It was still early to be thinking such things, but he knew that he would do everything he could to never make his nephews go through what he did. Never one before the other. He would die before he would let that happen.
To get his mind off his dark thoughts, he started to hum an old song, and then he began to sing the words in a low voice. Kili's eyes began to slide shut, and Fili seemed to calm down. He rocked Kili slightly in his lap until he was sure the dwarfling was asleep, but he didn't have the heart to let him go just then. He continued to administer to Fili and decided that he would call Oin tomorrow to come and see them. Bofur lived just across the street, so maybe he could get him to go for Oin so he wouldn't have to leave the boys.
Thorin was glad to see Fili falling into an actual sleep, even if he was still burning, and before he knew it, he was leaning back in his chair and also drifting off to sleep with Kili still in his arms.
Thorin woke to a whimpering the next morning and something wriggled on his lap. He opened his eyes with a start and remembered what had happened. Kili was waking up from where he had slept in Thorin's arms and Thorin noticed with a sigh that the dwarfling was flushed and also felt warm to the touch. He cast a quick glance to Fili and saw him still flushed and restless in the bed.
"Unca," Kili whimpered, trying to sit up. "I don't feels good!" And then he threw up all over Thorin.
After Thorin had cleaned both himself and Kili up, he left the two brothers in their bed, having a moment of panic. He might have been able to take care of one sick nephew, but two? He would need some help; he had no idea what to do.
He went back into the room as he heard Kili crying and ran to the bedside, grabbing the bucket just in time for the youngest to throw up in it. Hearing his brother's distress woke Fili and sitting up make him remember his upset stomach and Thorin had to rush over to let him throw up too. Kili was crying and grabbing onto his sleeve the whole time and Thorin didn't have the heart to shake him off, though he couldn't help Fili very well with Kili hanging onto him. After he settled them, he said gently, "Boys, I need to go across the street for just a few minutes. Can you stay here until then?"
"Unca!" Kili cried desperately, reaching out to him. Thorin pushed him back to the bed.
"Kili, stay here," he said gently, but Kili wasn't having it. He held onto Thorin's arm and finally the older dwarf just wrapped him in a blanket and picked him up. "Fili, I'll be right back, I promise," he assured the elder who also looked worried like Thorin was abandoning him. He hurried out of the house and across the street to Bofur's place, praying he was home. He knocked on the door and it was opened a few minutes later by the smiling dwarf.
"Thorin," he said with some surprise and then frowned as he saw Kili bundled in the dwarf's arms. "What happened? Is the lad all right?"
"Fili and Kili seem to have caught the sickness going around," Thorin said with a sigh. "Dis is away and I can't leave them, so I wondered if you could do me a favor and go fetch Oin. I'm afraid I don't know what I'm doing."
Bofur smiled and nodded, reaching inside to grab his coat. "Say no more, I understand. I'll be back with Oin soon, you just take care of the lads." He hurried off down the street and Thorin made his way back to the house with Kili. He was startled to find Fili standing shakily by the door when he entered, nearly having hit the dwarfling with the door when he had opened it.
"Fili, what are you doing out of bed?" he asked.
Fili was crying and he threw himself at Thorin as he came in. "I had a bad dream!" he cried. "I thought you left me!"
Thorin reached down and, with some difficulty, picked Fili up as well. "I will never leave you and Kili alone, Fili. I promise. Now, Uncle Oin is coming soon to help make you feel better, so let's get you back into bed while you wait for him."
Thorin tucked the two back into the bed and waited anxiously for Oin to come and help.
He nearly sprinted to the door when the knock came and sighed in relief as he saw the old dwarf. "Oh, thank Mahal, I didn't know what else to do."
Oin gave him a knowing smile. "It will be all right, laddie, I'll take care of the boys."
Thorin followed him into the boys' room and watched as Oin examined the dwarflings and reached into his bag to find the right herbs for them. He mixed some up and with some coaxing, got them to drink it then turned back to Thorin, handing him the package.
"Give them this every four hours in some tea. Apart from that, make sure to keep them hydrated, and if they can go three hours without vomiting, you can feed them some oatmeal to help settle their stomachs. I'll be back tomorrow to see how they're doing."
Thorin smiled gratefully as he clasped Oin's hand upon parting. "Thank you, Oin. This had to happen when Dis was out of town. Just when I think I know how to take care of the boys, something always comes up to make me unsure of myself again."
Oin laughed. "That's how it always is with children, laddie. No one ever knows all the tricks of the trade."
Thorin watched his nephews for a few moments as they became drowsy from the effects of what Oin had given them. He decided that he could leave them for a few minutes at least and went to find something to eat, realizing he hadn't had anything since the night before and that he was rather hungry. He made himself some tea and found some bread and cheese to eat. He was just finishing up when he heard a whimper from the boys' room and hurried over, fearing one of them was going to be sick again.
Kili was sitting up in the bed, looking around and crying, but when he saw Thorin he stopped and held his arms out.
"Unca Forin," he pleaded and Thorin went over to him, pressing the boy back into the bed and washing his fevered brow gently.
"I don' want you to leave," Kili said with a sniff, and Thorin felt his heart melt a little at the watery look he received from his nephew. He looked over to Fili who had woken up too and was looking at him with much the same expression. He finally caved and nodded.
"All right, I'm not going to leave. Come here." He lifted Kili into his arms and slid onto the bed, sitting up against the headboard and settled Kili into his lap. He reached over and pulled Fili against his chest and kissed both their foreheads. "How about I tell you a story?" he asked.
They nodded and he started telling a story he remembered that he had liked when he was a boy and eventually, the two boys drifted off, and Thorin, exhausted from his long night, decided it wouldn't hurt to join them.
Two days later, Dis came home to find her brother hollow-eyed and exhausted, and two boys tired and pale, but on the mend. She cuddled them to her as they greeted her return happily.
"Oh boys, I'm so sorry I left you when you weren't feeling well!" she exclaimed, kissing them. "I was afraid you might get what was going around."
"Uncle Thorin took good care of us," Fili said.
"He tolded us lots of stories," Kili added, not looking like he was going to let him mother go anytime soon.
Dis smiled as she turned to Thorin and patted the bed beside her to get him to sit there. He offered her a small smile as he sat down and put an arm around her.
"Thank you for taking care of my boys, Thorin. I know it must have been hard for you."
"I'm learning," Thorin told her with a chuckle as she squeezed his hand gratefully and got up, promising to make the boys something yummy.
"I know I can always count on my big brother," Dis said with a smile, kissing Thorin on the cheek before she went off and Thorin was glad that he hadn't let her down.
Meh, not too happy with the ending, I wasn't entirely sure how to end it. I'm going to write another part to this where Fili and Kili end up somehow having to take care of sick Thorin :) That one will probably be more humorous than anything. Stay tuned!