Fili walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Sigrid was asleep in her bed and the baby was sleeping in his cot, right next to the bed. He went to Milly's room and peeked in. She had slept through all the excitement. She would meet her baby brother in the morning.
The lights in the sitting room were out. Only the fire in the hearth provided any light. Fili sat down on a chair, allowing himself for the first time since Sigrid's pains began, to relax. In a flash, his mind went through the events of the day. He remembered the long hours Sigrid labored. He had not wanted to leave Sigrid's side, but he had had to when the time had come for him to fetch Oin. On his way he had run into Kili. Kili had gathered Tauriel, Dis and Thorin.
Fili remembered how with each hour, Sigrid's pains became more painful, lasted longer and nothing he did really helped her. He remembered the feeling of helplessness as he watched her bear the pain and wishing he could take it all from her and bear it himself.
It was never far from his mind the danger Sigrid was in. The danger the babe was in. What Fili stood to lose if anything happened. He had lost one wife to childbirth. If it had not been for Milly, he would have followed Mailli in death. He didn't know if he would survive it again. If Sigrid had died... Oh, he didn't want to think about it.
Finally alone for the first time all day, every fear that he had pushed away so he could concentrate on helping Sigrid, came back to him. A fear like he had not felt since he and Kili lay dying after the great battle rose up in his body. He started to shake.
It was no secret among those that knew Thorin's nephews, that Fili and Kili shared a bond, but no one really knew how strong that bond actually was. There was no knowing how many times that bond had saved each other's lives and even they didn't really know how it worked, but tonight, Fili reached out to Kili and Kili felt it, because he was soon knocking quietly at Fili's door. Kili didn't wait for an answer. He knocked once and walked in. He saw Fili, sitting in the dark, his entire body shaking.
He was at Fili's side in a moment. He wrapped his arms around his big brother and held him. Fili's body curled up against Kili's and he let himself be held and rocked like a child. They cried silently. No words were needed between them. Kili knew Fili's thoughts. He said nothing to try and sooth away his fears, because they were very real. They acknowledged the fears and cried for them. Once Fili had faced and accepted the fears he had so long pushed away, he felt better. Those fears were past now and there was so much joy to look forward too.
"You going to be alright now?" Kili asked after several hours. He could sense Fili's need for comfort was over.
"Yes. Thank you." Fili embraced his brother once more.
"Anytime. I'm here for you, my brother."
"I know," Fili sniffed.
"You'd better get some sleep. You've got two dwarflings to look after now." Kili headed to the door, and laid his hand on the handle. He turned around. "Tauriel and I are willing to return the favor when Hrafn gets a little older and you and Sigrid need some time alone together again."
"Don't worry. We'll take you up on it. Night, Kili."
"Night Fee."
Fili slipped into bed beside his wife. He would need to make Sigrid another new silver chain with an emerald to add to her necklace. A beautiful wife and two dwarflings. How had he gotten so lucky?
NAMESNAMESNAMES
Note: Hrafn is an Old Norse personal name and word that means 'raven'. It seemed an appropriate name for a son in the line of Durin, the Ravenspeakers.
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