Ronan surveyed the scene in his family room and smiled proudly. Dis sat in the rocking chair with Fili on her lap. The two of them were reading together, with Fili sounding out the easier words.
"And then, the dwarf said to the..."
"Cat!" Fili said.
"yes, that's right. The dwarf said to the cat, "no, you may not have cream, for you did not catch any mice today. If you catch mice tomorrow, you may have cream. Now,..."
" Scat, Cat!"
"very good, Fili!"
A baby's voice gurgled next to them: Kili was standing, hanging on to the edge of the loveseat for dear life, edging his way closer to Ronan. He stood on wobbling, chubby legs, his wide brown eyes peering curiously up at his father.
"Hello, Kili," said Roman, running a hand through the unruly brown curls. Kili babbled back happily, clearly quite proud of himself at having maneuvered over to his father.
"Shall we go and see mama?" Ronan asked. He stood, and took both of Kili's hands, helping him walk towards his mother and brother.
Dis and Fili stopped their reading and watched him.
Kili began to fuss, pulling his hands out of his father's grip. He wobbled a bit, but stayed upright. Dis gently set Fili on the ground and sat on the ground, holding out her arms to Kili.
"Mama, what are you doing?" Fili asked.
Dis smiled at her firstborn.
"I want to see if he'll walk."
Both parents watched as Kili wobbled again, then cautiously put one foot in front of another. He wobbled, toppled, and landed on his bottom.
"Whoops!" Ronan said.
Kili looked at his parents, his lip trembling a bit.
"That's alright, love," said Dis brightly "You're alright!"
"Shall we try again?" said Ronan, picking Kili up so that he could stand again.
"Come on, Kee- you can do it!" Fili cheered him on.
Kili stood for a minute, his expression confused - then, a hard, determined look came over his face. He stepped forward - one, two, three, four steps! He toppled forward, but Dis caught him before he hit the ground.
"Yay, Kili!" crowed his brother.
"Well done!" Dis gushed, planting kisses all over her son's round cheeks.
Kili laughed and clapped his tiny hands- this was a very great game.
Dis turned him around so that he could try again, walking towards his father.
He was still a bit unsteady, and stepped backward, losing his balance and landing in his mother's lap. Unhurt, he giggled again, craning his neck to look up at his mother.
Dis was laughing too.
"Can you go to daddy?" she asked, encouraging.
Kili stood again, and stepped towards his father.
Ronan opened his arms. Kili stepped, then stepped again.
What happened next amazed everyone - with a look of mischief, Kili ran - actually RAN, launching himself at his brother. The two dwarflings collapsed on the floor in a fit of giggles.
Dis and Ronan burst out laughing- both in surprise and from the look on Kili's face when he saw his brother.
Ronan joined the merry fray, tickling his two sons until they were shrieking with laughter.
"Mama," cried Fili through his giggles, "Save me, mama!"
Dis shrugged, then joined in tickling her two sons and her husband. Soon, it was just Dis and Ronan tickling each other, squirming and laughing. Kili and Fili looked at each other in amazement - their parents had never done this before.
Dis was attacking her husband's midsection, and Ronan's belly laugh filled the room. The minute Dis stopped, he looked at his wife with the same mischievous twinkle that Kili had just done to his brother.
"Right, boys, on the count of three, everybody hug mama! One, two, three!"
"Wait, what - ah!"
The two dwarflings and her husband had knocked her clean over, hugging her and covering her face with kisses.
She threw back her head and laughed with abandon - something she'd not done since before Erabor had been lost.
Eventually, the overflow of glee subsided, and the family lay happily on the ground, talking.
Ronan began to tell a story about a troll and a princess, and Dis watched her two son's faces as they listened, wide-eyed with wonderment, looking nervous at all the scary parts, and cheering at all the good ones.
She thought of her brother, Thorin. He had always been serious, but she'd noticed his mood had turned dark after the loss of Erabor. She mourned her homeland as he did, but she was concerned - it filled his every waking thought. Watching her husband and sons, Dis wished that he might someday have this same joy.
"FEE!"
Everyone turned and looked at Kili. He was smiling broadly, looking at his brother. He pointed at Fili and spoke again, stretching his arms to the ceiling.
"Fee!" he bellowed again.
Dis scooped him up in her arms.
"Yes, Kili - that's your brother! That's Fili! Ronan, did you hear...?"
"His first word! I know!"
Dis looked at Fili, feeling tears well in her eyes.
Fili was staring at his younger brother, his cheeks burning from the wide smile that nearly split his little face in two.
"Hey, baby brother Kili." he said quietly.
