1: Brothers
Fili held his father's hand, skipping as they walked along. At long, long last, he was a big brother! Mama had had her baby this morning, and he was going to meet him!
"I love it when this happens!" he said.
His father smiled.
"When what happens, Fili?"
"Babies!" Fili bellowed happily.
"It is quite something, isn't it?" his father mused. "But Fili, I need you to listen, because I have some instructions for you."
Fili looked at his father, wide-eyed.
"When we go in to see your mother, we need to be very quiet. The baby is still very small, and loud noises might hurt his ears and scare him. You can talk to mama if you want, but we'll need to talk very quietly. And no running about, either," he said, squeezing Fili's hand. "I know you've got a lot of energy and you're excited to see mama, but we need to be very quiet and gentle. If you ran into mama or the baby accidentally, you could really hurt them."
Fili nodded seriously. He clutched his father's hand tighter.
"Something wrong, Fee?" his father asked gently.
Fili was quiet for a moment.
"What if he don't like me?" he whispered, horrified at the thought.
His father scooped him up in his arms. Normally, he'd have corrected his son's grammar, but decided this wasn't the time.
"He's your brother, Fili. You'll love him as much as your mama and I do. You'll be the best of friends, you'll see."
As they rounded a corner, the guards stood aside to let them in. The sight of Thorin, who was pacing, greeted them. He looked up at his brother in law, and his face broke into a wide smile.
"A boy, Ronan."
He drew his brother-in-law into a hug, slapping him on the back.
Ronan laughed.
"I know! I"ve brought Fili to meet him."
Ronan set Fili down on the ground, and he ran to meet his uncle.
"Unca Forin!"
"Hello, Fili. Have you been good for your da?"
Fili nodded. " I saw a cat comin here! it had grey whispers."
Thorin laughed.
"Whiskers?"
"That's what I said, Unca Forin," said Fili, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
A healer appeared at Ronan's elbow.
"You can go in now," she said smiling.
Thorin, Ronan, and Fili trooped into the bedroom.
Fili's mother, Dis, was holding a small dwarfling in her arms, who was fast asleep.
Dis smiled at her husband, who crossed the room and kissed her. She looked at Fili and smiled.
"Come and meet your brother, Fili."
Fili had to restrain himself from scampering across the room and launching himself into his mother's bed. He walked up and stood at the edge of the bed, peering up at his mother.
"How are you? Are you being good for daddy?"
Fili nodded.
"That's a boy," she said, running a hand over his blond hair.
"Can I see him?" he asked.
"Of course!" Dis answered, her voice quiet, but happy. She held up the baby so he could see. Even on his very tippy-toes, Fili still couldn't see.
"Can I sit on your lap?" he asked shyly.
"How about you sit next to me, and you can hold your baby brother?" Dis asked. She was still sore from labor -it would have gone over Fili's head to explain why laps were out of the question.
Fili nodded eagerly.
Ronan scooped him up and deposited him onto the enormous bed next to his mother. He sat, his feet sticking out in front of him, and held his arms out.
Dis patiently taught him how to hold the baby and support his neck.
"We have to watch his head, because his neck is very flopsy. If his head snaps back, that could really hurt him."
Fili studied his brother. He had a mop of dark, curly hair, like his mother's. He opened his eyes- they were deep brown, like Dis and Thorins. Had Fili been old enough to notice, he'd have seen that they were clever and bright, already hinting at a spark of mischief. A tiny hand stretched out from the blankets.
Fili looked at his parents and Thorin, exhilerated.
"He waved at me!" he said, his voice shaking with suppressed excitement.
"Hi, baby!" he said.
"His name is Kili," said Ronan quietly.
"Hi baby brother Kili! I'm Fili. I'm your brother." suddenly, he remembered his manners. Introductions were necessary.
"That's mama. She's very nice - she makes the best cakes! And that's da - he's nice too. He's soo strong, and he can use a sword! I'm gonna use a sword too when I'm big, and when your big I'll teach you!"
Dis, Ronan, and Thorin hid their smiles as Fili quietly prattled on.
"And that's Unca Forin. He's nice, but he's serious. He fights with a big sword! When we get big, we'll protect the house from orcs, like da does."
Dis, Thorin, and Ronan exchanged a look. Fili had obviously been paying attention to the adult's conversation. But Fili paid no heed, rambling on to his brother, who was watching him, brown eyes wide. Fili had broached the topic of cooking – a favorite among dwarves.
"What's your favorite food? Mine's cake, but mama only lets me have some on special days. You're gonna love cake, Kee – it's sweet, and good. We have it on Durin's day, and mama makes a special one with almonds on my birthday. Maybe you'll get a special almond cake on your birthday too, Kee!"
he paused for breath, studying his brother. Kili squirmed a bit, but didn't cry; his tiny hand rubbed his eyes and brushed an already unruly lock of hair.
You gots dark hair, Kee - like mama! I gots light hair, like Da. He and Thorin have beards - big ones! And when we're big, we'll have big beards too!"
Kili began to squirm and fuss. His face scrunched up in a frown and he began to cry. Fili looked panicked.
"He's sad! Why's he sad?"
"He's not sad, Fili - he's hungry. That's his way of telling us," explained Dis, discreetly adjusting her nightgown so that she could nurse. She gently took Kili back.
Fili began peppering his parents with questions. Why was he so small? Why did he need to eat from mama? Why couldn't he have solid food? When would he get bigger? What was his favorite food? Did he like cake too?
Kili quietly finished his dinner, but then began fussing. But when Fili began talking to him again, Kili immediately calmed down at his brother's voice, watching him attentively.
Fili talked long into the afternoon, telling him all of the things they would do once they were bigger.
"We'll hunt bugs and worms and eat mama's cakes and visit Unca Forin, and we'll go and see the mines and the jewels and other shiny things, and we'll visit Mr. Bofur with his funny hat, and Mr. Balin will give us lessons, and..."
Dis and Ronan looked at each other and smiled. They were best friends already.