I'd like to thank all my readers for their interest in this story and especially pallysdeeks for her regular comments

Sigrid spent the rest of the morning and a huge part of the afternoon with Tauriel in her room, after calling her father and saying that she would stay with a friend.

They watched a couple of DVDs together, talked, laughed and ate Tauriel's secret stack of biscuits.

At about four o'clock in the afternoon, Fíli and his brother came back from the zoo. Of course, an over-excited Kíli immediately ran up the stairs to tell Tauriel about his day and to show her what Fíli had bought for him.

"Look, Tauriel, look! Fíli bought me a plush koala! I love koalas, they smell of eu-... erm... eucalyptus, like my bubble bath and my shampoo!" he explained, presenting a huge stuffed animal to Tauriel.

She smiled genuinely at him, mussing up his hair by running her hand through it.

Sigrid noticed how this gesture made Fíli frown, knowing that it was too intimate and rather too affectionate but before Sigrid could make a remark, Fíli noticed that his girlfriend was in the room with them.

"Sigrid! I thought you wanted to go home to help your father with your siblings," he remarked.

She blushed. "Well, yeah, that was the original plan.. But then I ran into Tauriel and we... erm... well...we..." She seemed to have trouble finishing the sentence and looked at Tauriel for support.

Fíli smiled smugly. "Please don't tell me that you two fell madly in love with each other and plan to elope together", he joked.

Sigrid bit her lower lip and shook her head. Usually, she appreciated Fíli's sense of humour, but today it only increased her nervousness. However, Kíli's shaken expression made her almost laugh. She knew that Fíli's little brother had a crush on his nurse, though it was futile; he was not stupid or mentally retarded, yet he was special, having the mind of a little boy due to his accident when he was twelve. Sigrid had read his medical records, only to find out that his condition seemed to be a rather unique case since he had recovered quickly and better than anyone had expected, constantly surprising his doctors with his progress. However, he wasn't like other young men his age...

"Sigrid?"

Fíli's voice brought her back to the here and now. He really looked concerned, frowning and scowling at the same time.

"Sorry, I.. I'm just..." she stuttered.

Luckily, Tauriel came to her aid. "Fíli, Sigrid needs to tell you something. Something serious," she explained.

Now, the blond-haired young man looked really concerned.

"Sigrid, what is it? You are really worrying me, girl," he exclaimed and Sigrid flinched.

Immediately, Tauriel was at her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, clearing her throat. "Maybe you should just bring Kíli to his room, then come back here because... because it really is a sensitive subject," Tauriel elaborated, looking sternly at her employers' oldest son and nephew.

Fíli ran his hands through his golden locks, nodding slowly. "Alright. You are right. I'll bring Kíli to his room and put his favourite DVD into the player, then I'll come back and we'll talk. Come, Kíli!"

Extending his hand to his younger brother, he turned on his heel.

Confused, Kíli looked between his brother and the girls, then he took Fíli's hand, letting himself being led out of Tauriel's room.

"What's wrong with Sigrid, Fíli? Is she sick?" he asked while the brothers left Tauriel's small chamber.

"I don't know, Kíli, but that is none of your concern, okay? I'll find out and tell you later," he reassured his younger brother, while closing the door to Tauriel's room. Kíli, however, had more to say, as the girls could hear from the small corridor, through the closed door.

"I think something is wrong with her, Fíli. She looks paler and more tired than usual and smells differently," he frankly revealed.

Sigrid felt her stomach clench. "What did he say?" she whispered shell-shocked.

Tauriel bit her lower lip before answering, "He... he can sense things... sometimes. Only last year, he found out that his uncle was in danger of having a heart attack, even before he showed any symptoms. And this spring he noticed that his mother had pneumonia before she even felt ill. And he detected my... cystitis a couple of weeks ago," Tauriel explained, blushing.

"Oh, I didn't know that... I just thought that... well, I don't want to sound rude but I thought that this Professor Gandalf was using an euphemism in his report about Kíli's mental abilities when he said that Kíli was special," she confessed.

Tauriel smiled fondly at her. "Oh, no, he really meant it like that: Kíli is special. Professor Gandalf is a distinguished expert in psychology, yet he admitted that he had never dealt with a case like Kíli's," the redhead revealed.

Sigrid nodded slowly, trying to comprehend what she had just learned. Fíli had always been vague when talking about his little brother, only mentioning the accident and that Kíli was mentally like an eight-to-ten-year old, nothing more. After that exchange they fell silent.

However, they didn't have to wait long before Fíli returned, sans Kíli.

"So, what do you want to tell me, Sigrid?" he asked seriously while sitting down on the chair at Tauriel's desk (that also fulfilled the function of a vanity, considering the mirror on the wall behind it and the hair care utensils, make-up and nail polish next to a notebook, some notepads and several pens), his hands folded in his lap. If he found it strange that Tauriel was also in the room with them though this was a sensitive subject, he didn't say.

Sigrid, who was sitting next to Tauriel on the nurse's queen-sized four-poster bed, sighed before burting out, "I'm pregnant!"

Fíli's reaction was hilarious. His eyes went wide while he pressed his lips into a thin line, taking several deep breaths, flaring his nostrils.

"Are you sure?" he finally squeaked.

Sigrid nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I did a pregnancy test this morning... Tauriel?"

The redhead retrieved something from her nightstand, handing it to Fíli; it was Sigrid's positive pregnancy test. As soon as he comprehended what it was, he pressed a hand to his mouth.

"Oh... my... god..." he said slowly and quietly, "I'm going to be a father! We are having a baby! Oh, Sigrid, my uncle is going to kill me! My mother is going to kill me... if your father doesn't kill me first, that is!"

In his panic, he looked so adorable that Sigrid couldn't help but fall in love with him all over again. Without thinking twice, she got up from Tauriel's bed, kneeling down in front of him, taking his strong, calloused hands into hers.

"Nobody is going to kill you because I won't let them! You are the father of my child and I love you!" she declared.

Fíli smiled fondly at her, freeing his hands and cupping her cheeks with them. "So, you want to have this child? Don't get me wrong, I would be honoured to start a family with you, yet you are so young and if you have any doubts... I just want you to know that I will support you, no matter what your decision is," he said honestly.

Sigrid stood up, putting her hands on his cheeks and looking down at him, deeply into his eyes. "I want this child!" she stated firmly before kissing him.

"Then it's settled... We'll become parents. But we will have to tell your family... and mine," he mentioned, panting after they had separated.

Sigrid gave him a shy smile. "Knowing that you will support me, that we are in this together, will make it easier for me," she confessed.

Fíli looked deeply into her eyes for a moment, then he grinned before kissing her passionately.