Chapter Four
Labor and Delivery (Part Two)

"A woman becomes a mother when she gets pregnant; a man becomes a father when he sees his baby for the first time."

By the time the storm finally broke, it was nearly dawn and Thorin had been awake for hours. His eyes were weary from the lack of sleep. He took a small number of shallow breaths then glanced away to the dwarf lad sitting upright less than a few feet from him, and the lass lying prone in his lap; her breathing was scarce and the only small comfort in knowing she was still alive was the ever so slight rise and fall of her chest. He stole a brief glimpse away from her to look at the oh so tiny dwarfling in his arms. By some miracle, the child still lived. Thorin watched for several painful seconds as the wee babe's chest rose and fell. He moved one hand over the baby's forehead. For the first time since the child was born, he noticed the small wisp of blonde hair.

Kildri could only watch though he felt his heart swell at the sight. He pulled his eyes away from Thorin and his newborn – he had yet to know whether it was a son or a daughter – to steal a look at his wife, who looked just as fragile, just as helpless as the babe in his brother-in-law's arms. He realized they couldn't stay there but he was too afraid to move.

But Thorin was able to swallow whatever fears he had and think about what Kildri couldn't. He'd be strong for both of them. After tugging the tunic tightly around the naked babe, he forced a lump down his throat then spoke to Kildri in a firm, commanding tone of voice that left no room for discussion. He shifted his body closer to his sister and moved the entire weight of her body into his lap. Her husband was on his feet within seconds and running for the door. He'd hated leaving them but he trusted they were in safe hands with Thorin. He had to; it was the only thing that was calming his racing heartbeat.

Crap. Now that he was alone in the room with his sister and nephew, he didn't rightly know what to do aside from what he was already doing. He wasn't above admitting he was scared in that very moment even though anyone looking at his face would argue otherwise. He moved two fingers to her neck and passed his hand over her face. Thorin found his fingers entwining with hers as an arm curled tighter around the babe. His calloused hand pulled the corner back ever so slightly to show off the infant's reddened face.

He was so lost in looking deep into the boy child's face and feeling his heart swell that he didn't notice when a weary-eyed Oin still dressed in his night clothes came barging in with Kildri fresh on his heels. The healer took the babe from Thorin's arms though used much coaxing to get the dwarf king to unlatch himself from his sister. He ordered Kildri to lift Dis to the bed then chased both dwarf men from the bedroom.

Both Thorin and Kildri were stained with blood but neither left the other side of the door. The dwarf king dropped into a small pile of pillows while a new father anxious for news on his child's condition and that of the mother leaned himself against the wall. But doing so lasted for only so long. Kildri was restless. He couldn't stand there without knowing what was going on. The minutes had gone by without anything save for their breathing.

Kildri began pacing, wringing his hands nervously. "I hate being out here." He looked back at the closed door and hoped that by pressing his ear against it, he could hear Oin moving about and quite possibly the voices his heart needed to hear. But there was silence, and then a sigh. "I should be in there with them…" He turned away from the door and his breathing tightened.

"You would only get in Oin's way." Kildri shot him a glance, but Thorin's words were true even with the curt and cold chill behind them. He was just as concerned though steeled his expression from showing anything his heart was feeling. "And you would do your son no good right now anyway."

Kildri scoffed, turning away from his king and his friend for just a moment before something in Thorin's voice forced him to look back. His eyes danced there on his face. He felt a tight knot in his heart, then a lump forming deep in his belly. "I have a son? Thorin, do not jest right now."

"I do not."

He looked away from his brother-in-law with a better feeling settling in his chest. He had a son to carry on his name, which was the greatest consolation any dwarf lass could give her husband. None of that would matter if they were to die now. If his son were to die still, even after Thorin breathed life into him, everything he thought and could hope for would all be for naught.

So he resigned himself to worry again. Kildri paced along the floor because that was the only thing he could do not to think about the son he could lose still. Not until he heard the shrill cry of a baby did his pacing cease. His eyes shot the door, as did Thorin's. His heartbeat quickened in his throat. The only thing stopping him from breaking through the bedroom door was a single thought instilled on him by Thorin's own words.

Not until the door opened, and he saw a squalling infant wrapped up in a blanket instead of his tunic held against the healer's chest did Kildri release a breath. He dared to creep up for a closer look. This was the first time since the child's birthing that he was truly able to see him. The tiny body wasn't as bloody as he was when he slithered from his mother's womb.

Kildri used caution as he took the baby from Oin's arms. He felt a strong sense of security and overwhelming responsibility for this new life now fidgeting in the blanket the healer had him wrapped in. Only after he was placed in his father's arms did he calm his movements and look into the man's warm face. Kildri smiled as he laid eyes on his son for the first time. He had the same dark blue eyes his mother did, and the same shade of blonde hair his father possessed. Kildri felt a sense of pride and accomplishment.

He bowed a kiss to the infant's forehead and nuzzled him with his nose. With tears welling up in his eyes and no thought to stop them, he allowed himself to cry. Those last few hours of wondering whether or not the newborn would live were the longest of his life but they all seemed worth it when he held a delicate hand over his son's tiny chest and could feel a heartbeat dancing against his palm. A relieved, overexcited laugh was pulled from his throat as he curled the infant into his own chest, still bare from relenting his tunic to Thorin earlier.

The dwarf king climbed to his feet after many seconds of silence. While he waited a good while for father and son to meet, there was still another life he was concerned about, and it seemed the thought was on the healer's mind as well. "Tell me- " he steeled his expression for fear of any betrayal his thoughts might give. " –what of my sister, Oin? Please tell me she is okay." He wouldn't be able to bare the notion of anything else, or even the suggestion.

Before the healer could answer, there was a straggled, weakened cry of "Thorin?" that pulled both of them from their thoughts. The dwarf king swept his body into the bedroom, crossing the floor to the bedside and dropping to his knees beside his sister in the most undignified manner fit for a king. He took up her hand and graced kisses across her knuckles then placed a hand to her forehead and felt it hot with fever.

Dis could see the tears spring to her brother's eyes. She cradled his head to her chest and started carding his fingers through his dark hair, entwining in every dark strand, in every smooth wavy and braid. Thorin let his arm fall to the other side of her body and his hand to cup her shoulder. A strangled laugh left him as he listened to her heartbeat with a steady thump-thump. Relief washed over him and his shoulders shook as his body was suddenly overcome with sobs.

Kildri soon joined them, and Oin as well; neither of them would repeat what they witnessed, because both would agree Thorin was right in his mind to cry. He cried, and cried, and cried until all his tears were spent and his sister's even breathing willed him to sleep.

Please review if you like what you read. I've read many stories where readers make Thorin out to be this big tough bad ass that can't show emotion. Seriously, he's not a Vulcan. I wanted to show a softer side to him that not many people touch on.

Italian Hobbit: Oh gosh, that was scary! You really captured the terror of childbirth gone wrong here. Can't wait for what comes next!

I hope this chapter puts your mind at ease. And I really do need to thank the others who reviewed so far. You make me smile :D