And then he froze.

The baby cried.

"Oh, hush, no, no, sweetheart, don't do that, don't let them know you're here." He whispered in all honesty and all desperation but the child would not become still. Instead, the baby cried even louder. "No, little lad, please."

But it was too late. Outside his cell the voice of the guards rose from a mumble to loud orders and though he could not understand their language he knew what they must be saying.

"There's a baby around. Quickly, go find him."

And they did. Within moments of time the guards were in front of Kíli's cell, eyeing him through the bars though he did not spare them a single glance. He was far too busy trying to shush the baby but he failed. Tears sprung in his eyes as he realized why the little fellow was crying so. The door was unlocked and the King himself stepped gracefully into the cell, but Kíli paid them no heed and tugged down his shirt so the child could drink.

"A dwarf who has given birth." Thranduil said, taking quick notice of his surroundings. His light eyes darted from one corner of the cell to the dried puddle of blood and then to the dwarf and his child. "It is rare."

"Yeah, well, it's even rarer it happened in a cell." Kíli spat. He held the child's head protectively with his hand, arms crossed as the baby kept sucking hungrily.

It was clear by the way he was radiating danger that he would fight tooth and nail to protect his baby, if necessary. Thranduil took a step back from him, feeling like he had invaded a nest of swans.

"That is indeed a commendable achievement." The elf said, not showing emotions of any kind. "I will add it to my list."

"Do so," Kíli hissed, "Do so and leave us in peace."

The king stood in silence for a while with two of his guards who had now joined him by his side. They watched as the baby was being fed. Kíli did his best to ignore them, fear for losing his baby gripping his heart but he wasn't willing to show that. Besides, his attention was fully on the child now and he could not focus on anything else. His thumb gently stroked the baby's cheek as the baby slurped Kíli's milk.

"This is disturbing." Thranduil finally said, making a silent sign with his right hand and tracing slender fingers through the air to hint something Kíli couldn't and didn't understand at his guards. "I have always known dwarves could reproduce in this unethical way, but to see it happen in my home is alarming. Tell me, boy, how long gone were you when you came here?"

Kíli, annoyed but too tired to fight, huffed. He was mustering all his strength, saving all his power, in the likely case he had to defend the baby in his arms. "Nine months." He said, a sigh escaping his lips. "I already knew when we set out on our quest."

"And your quest is leading you where?"

Thranduil's sly method of questioning was paying off, for Kíli was too scared of losing the babe and he knew he would give in.

"If I tell you will I keep my baby?" He asked, big brown eyes gawking at the elf.

"Better. If you tell me you and your baby will be reunited with the father."

Kíli bit his lip. Perhaps the elves were not so ruthless after all.

"Erebor." He said, with a nod and a final sigh. He closed his eyes and held the child to his chest. With a loud pop the baby let go of Kíli's nipple and started to make yawning noises.

"We're on our way to reclaim our home. To have a place to stay. For us. For my family."

Thranduil gave a nod and the guards behind him left the cell.

Almost seconds later Fíli was thrown inside, straight on top of Kíli, and had hardly crawled on hands and knees when one of the elves yanked the baby from Kíli's arms and took the child away. They closed the door behind them, the bars still allowing them view of the elves as they locked the cell and smirked, then took the baby away.

The moment had happened too fast for Kíli to give a proper fight but he managed to throw his brother off of him and make it to the bars of his cell. Tears had sprung in his eyes but above all there was rage inside of him.

The dark-haired dwarf cried and cried and screamed and shouted while his arms moved between the bars and he grabbed and reached. But it was all to no avail. The baby was already far away, carried in the arms on an unknown elf, crying for his parents. The sound, disturbing, shook the blond dwarf who had rolled onto the floor and now sat on hands and knees, realising what it meant he heard.

Kíli's screams turned into heavy sobs as he slunk against the bars and let his forehead rest against the coolness of the metal.

Behind him Fíli finally found his voice. He had been too stunned to talk. But when he did his voice was layered with grief. "Kíli," He said, but his brother only shook and cried. "Did they just… did they took…. Was that our…?"

"Our child." Kíli sniffed, "Yes." Then sobbed even louder as he clutched the bars between his arms and banged his head against them. "They took our son."

Fíli was behind him in an instant and he wrapped his arms around the younger sibling's waist, hugging him close.

"When did you?" he started to ask, but couldn't finish any of his sentences for he had too many questions and also too many emotions to ask them straight. "How could I not have noticed? Kíli, oh, Kíli, did you give birth here all alone? Or did they help you? Kíli, why didn't you tell me? How could I not have noticed?"

Kíli's choked voice sounded dull and tired as he answered his brother. He wanted to comfort Fíli, for he knew his older brother had been blissfully unaware and was now probably blaming himself for the outcome. He should have told him. He should have shared such important news.

"Because I knew you would not allow me to come along." He said, voice bitter. "You would not have approved. And the thought of being without you would tear me apart. No, Fíli, they did not help me with anything. I gave birth here on this vile ground alone. I tried to hide him from their prying eyes. And now, now they took him. "

Fíli shook, his body trembling against Kíli's in grief and anger. A silent vow to retrieve their son and to punish the vile creatures who took him away from his rightful parents was made by the blond heir of Durin. But their moment cuddled together didn't last long for Kíli collapsed in Fíli's arms.

The older dwarf was crying against Kíli's back, arms locked around his brother's waist, hands feeling the belly that had hold their son not too long before, and silent curses of his own stupidity filled the room. "I'm sorry," Fíli's muffled words sounded against Kíli's back. "Had I known it would not have come to this. I would have protected you. I would have protected you both."

But he could feel Kíli lose consciousness and gently placed him on the floor.

"Kíli?" He asked, and patted the boy. Fíli repeated his name several times, then pressed the back of his hand against Kíli's forehead and let out a loud shout.

"Thranduil! Thranduil! Anyone? He's dying!"