My thanks go to pallysdeeks for her review on the last chapter!
When the dragon Smaug attacked Erebor, Dís was already pregnant with Dwalin's child. She didn't even have the chance to tell him before she had to flee with her oldest son, her parents and her grandfather while her brothers and Dwalin and all the other warriors tried to defend their mountain; it was all in vain.
Smaug killed many dwarves and those who survived the attack were homeless, doomed to wander the lands like vagabonds, looking for food and shelter because Smaug had claimed the Lonely Mountain as his own.
Not knowing whether her brothers or her lover had survived, Dís and her remaining family spent the night in a farmer's barn.
Fíli was clinging to her as if his life depended on it, mewling all the time, refusing to eat the buckwheat groats or drink the water the farmer kindly offered them. If she was honest, Dís would have liked to cry herself, like her poor mother who believed her sons to be dead since neither Frerin nor Thorin had caught up with them. Or Dwalin. Her warrior, her One, was also lost, most likely perished during the foolish attempt to fight a dragon. So she just held on to Fíli while praying that the baby in her womb might survive the exertions.
The next morning, however, Dwalin, Thorin and Frerin returned, dishevelled, exhausted and injured, yet alive. Dís thought that she was seeing ghosts when she came face to face with them while accompanying Fíli outside so that the dwarfling could pass water.
"Dís!" a very distinctive, booming voice called her name. Definitely Thorin.
Yet it was Fíli who reacted first. "Unca Fewin! Unca Towin! Adad!" the little one shouted excitedly, running towards the three dwarven warriors, lunging himself at Frerin, the uncle who looked like a grown-up version of himself.
"Hey, little prince! It's good to see that you are well!" he laughed, lifting his nephew up and swinging him above his head.
Dís let out a sound between a sob and a cry before she followed Fíli's example, throwing herself into Thorin's arms. Then Fíli was passed to Dwalin and she hugged Frerin before Thorin took Fíli into his arms and Dís could finally embrace Dwalin, her warrior, her One.
"I'm so glad that you are back, all of you! I thought... I thought..." she started but couldn't finish the sentence.
"Hush, Dís, it's okay, we're here now," Dwalin whispered into her hair before pressing his forehead against hers.
"Come, let's go inside, the others will be very happy to see you three alive," she finally said, taking Dwalin's hand into hers, leading her lover and her brother into the barn while Fíli was laughing happily in his uncle's arms.
I will tell him tonight, Dís thought, I will tell Dwalin that I'm expecting his child!
Actually it was happy news, yet under these circumstances Dís couldn't help but worry about her and her unborn child as well as little Fíli. Life on the road was tough for everyone, let alone a pregnant dwarrowdam and a little dwarfling.
