First Flower

The gardens outside didn't help ease his mind at all. Everywhere he looked, he saw the signs of life that he had planted and grown from tiny seeds. The thought irrevocably brought his mind to what was happening inside.

When Rosie had told him, he had been ecstatic. A child, they were going to have a baby of their own! But now...now all he felt was a strange sense of dread. What if he wouldn't make a good father? What if something was wrong with the child?

So many questions raced through his mind and not one of them would be answered for a little more time yet.

Frodo came and joined him on the steps then, smiling widely and patting him with his four-fingered hand. "Well, are congatulations in order?" Frodo asked, looking at the gardener keenly.

Sam could do nothing but give a hopeless shrug as an answer, before burying his head in his hands. "How long can this take!" he asked his closest friend, looking at Frodo with wide eyes.

Frodo shook his head and gave a laughh of joy. "Around nine months to a year from conception to birth."

Sam looked a bit green and scowled at the other Hobbit. "Well, don't you know exactly what to say on such matters..." Sam found himself wondering if perhaps Frodo was the right one to talk to about such matters. After all, the Baggins was a bachelor like his dear Uncle is.

Frodo decided to ignore what he had just said, Sam was quick to spot and he was ever thankful for that. He was too nervous for anything other than seeing his dear Rosie and a few pints of ale. Or at the present moment, a few pints of ale and a good rest from his nervousness.

He was about to get up and try and find some ale when Merry and Pippin decided to join him, huge smiles on both their faces. "Well, are we to be celebrating yet?" asked Pippin, who was bouncing about on the balls of his feet in excitement.

At almost the same time, Merry was kind enough to smile gently and ask about Rosie's state.

Sam jumped to his feet and began pacing, all thoughts of trying to get rid of his nervousness fleeing at the sound of a pained shout from inside. All he wanted now was to comfort his wife through the awful pain she must be going through. Of which she had blamed him for before he had been ushered outside by the midwife.

All was silent for a few seconds before a scream was heard. Sam's head immediately flew to the door, a huge smile on his face when the screaming cries continued. He soon had gotten to the door, opened it and made his way into the room of which they had deemed fit for a birthing.

His dear Rosie, sweat coating her thickly from the effort she had just taken to bring the small bundle into the world was smiling as brightly, if not more so than the day they had married.

The midwife was cleaning off their first child. As soon as she had finished, she handed the healthy child to its mother and smiled gently, before turning towards Sam. "It's a healthy little girl," she stated.

Sam's smile lit up his whole face as he was led towards the bed Rosie was laying in, quite exhausted.

"Hear that, Rosie. A girl!" he stated himself, bending down to kiss her forehead gently. She smiled and nodded, before her eyes began to flicker closed as her exhaustion caught up with her.

The small child was then placed in his arms. She was so small, so tiny that he was afraid to hold her, yet at the same time, his heart swelled with a fierce pride. This child was his, to protect, to love, to hold. And by all that was good in the world, that was exactly what he would do.

Rosie and he had already picked out a name for this child, their first, unfortunately, that name had been Frodo, and this was a maid-child. With as much care and gentleness he could muster, he left the room and made his way outside to where his three friends were waiting for him expectantly.

"Mr Frodo, Sir Peregrin, Sir Meriadoc. I want to introduce you to my first child."

There was much fussing over the child before they turned and talked to him again. "Sam, no need to be so formal! We have all known each other for a long time now!" Merry stated, hugging Sam close, careful not to hurt the child.

"That may be true, Sir, but it is also my right to be so when naming my child," he stated back, before heading inside, Frodo following him.

"Sam, you haven't named the child yet," Frodo said softly, before he turned to Sam as he put the little bundle of a baby in the cot that had been readied.

"Well, Rosie and I had decided to name him Frodo, but it is a she and that doesn't work out very well." Sam said, turning towards his loyal and best friend.

"Name her after a flower then. That is common for maid children."

Sam nodded. "The Gaffer says something small, so it won't have to be broken down, but when it comes to flowers...I want to name her after a beautiful flower you see..."

Frodo nodded, thought for a while before he smiled brightly. He then said the name of a flower that Sam found very much appropriate, and it was agreed upon. Sam knew that Rosie wouldn't object. It was a nice name after all.

Soon after, Frodo left and Rosie woke for a short time, in which he told her what name had been chosen and what it meant. As suspected, she liked the name.

When Rosie slept again, Sam went back over to the cot and just looked upon the small child within.

He knew one thing for sure. The tiny bundle he looked down at, that was now sleeping quite peacefully in the cot was his sun. His golden light. He would treasure her and whatever memories she would give to him and his beloved Rosie.

She was his little Elanor.

A/N - Looky! Practically bookverse! Horray!

Celebration of some sort. The first thing to come to mind was a birth and which one other than the birth of Samwise Gamgee's first child.

Hope you all enjoy!