The following days passed quietly. Fili and his family tried to stay out of Kili's and Tauriel's way and spent most of the time together with the other refugees from the Shire.
The adults often sat together, talked and made clothes and other items they needed for their new lives in the Greenwood.
Lili, Vili and Tulip played with the other fauntlings and sometimes even some elflings joined them. Their way of life was quite different but soon the got along well.
One day Tauriel brought her son to play with the others. She looked at her nephew and nieces and whispered something in Ronon's ear. Then she left with an evil smile on her face.
For a while Ronon played together with the others without too many problems. He wasn't used to being denied anything and so he argued with them. He was pretty annoyed and didn't understand why the others didn't do what he wanted and why none of the parents supported him.
Soon Ronon realised that something was wrong with Vili. He asked him to give him a blue toy but of course Vili didn't know the colours of the toys. The elfling laughed at his younger cousin and called him a cripple. But he spoke in a low voice, so no one else noticed that.
Ronon continued bullying Vili. He hid the dwobbit's belongings and made fun of him when he couldn't find them anymore. After a while Vili looked like he burst in tears any minute but he didn't say anything since he didn't want to look weaker than he was anyways.
After a while Lili had seen enough. She hit Ronon in the face and yelled at him to stop. In that moment Kili and Tauriel entered the room and Ronon started to cry. He ran to his father and told him that Lili had hit him without a reason.
Tauriel took her son into her arms and Kili glared at the little girl. He raised his hand to hit Lili but Fili was able to stop him.
In the meantime Poopy had handed Ruby to Daisy and rushed to Vili who had started crying after all. She wrapped her arms around him and he told her what had happened. She also heard Fili and Kili yell at each other about what had happened.
When Vili had calmed down a bit she took his hand and walked over to Fili.
Then she heard Tauriel speak. "Kili, I told you that these mixed blooded creatures would only cause trouble. You should inform your uncle. If he decides to kill them so be it. They don't deserve to live anyways."
Poppy gasped and looked at her husband in shock. She had never seen Fili that angry. He looked like he wanted to kill his brother and the elf immediately. She put her hand on his arm and told him to stay calm.
Then she turned towards her sister-in-law. "Why do you hate me and my children? What have we done?"
Tauriel cocked an eyebrow at her. "Your mixed blooded daughter hit my son and you destroyed the relationship between Kili and his brother. For years my husband suffered because he thought that Fili was dead. Abd now you ask what you did?"
Fili snorted. "Poppy destroyed our relationship? That's hilarious! Kili has barely talked to me after he met you. If someone destroyed our bond, then it was you!"
Poppy squeezed Fili's arm and cleared her throat. "Miss Tauriel, why do you call my children such mean names? If your child had survived, he or she would have been mixed blooded as well."
Then Tauriel laughed. "You want to compare my dead son to those creatures? You can't be serious! Our son would have been something special. I'm sure he would have combined the best traits of elves and dwarves. He would have been a strong, intelligent, graceful warrior." She laughed again and looked at Lili and Vili. "But these? One of them is a cripple and I don't see anything special about the others either. But that's no surprise since from what I've heard hobbits can't do anything other than eating, gardening and breeding like rabbits. Any other race would have defended their home."
Poppy gasped and looked at her children. They certainly were no warriors but she had never seen anything wrong about that. For a short moment she wondered if Fili would have preferred sons and daughters who would have wanted to fight instead of helping in the garden.
Fili sensed her distress and put his arm around her waist. "You don't know anything. My children are perfect. Don't you dare-" Fili bit his lower lip. He wanted to tell her that the next time he wouldn't stay that calm if she insulted his family again. But this wasn't s good idea. He took a deep breath and looked at his twins. "Let's go back to our room. It's quite late already."
Poppy fetched Ruby and Tulip from Daisy and after a short stop in the kitchen they went to their room. The hobbit sat down on the bed to feed her youngest daughter while Fili sat on the floor with Lili, Vili and Tulip.
The dwarf noticed that all of them, including Poppy, had tears in their eyes. He whispered something to Lili and soon they joined Poppy on the bed.
Fili kissed his wife and children and told them how much he loved them. They cuddled until everyone felt a bit better. Then Lili and Tulip wanted to play some more but Vili wanted to stay with his father. Tauriel had insulted him the worst and he wanted to know if he truly loved him though he was a cripple.
Poppy looked at her husband with fresh tears in her eyes. His blindness had never bothered Vili and it made her incredibly sad to see him like that. She stayed with her daughters though. Vili had asked his father and she knew that he needed his reassurances. Vili looked like a dwarf but in his heart he was a hobbit and he knew that his mother loved him dearly.
Fili took his son in his arms and stroked his golden curls. He told him that nothing was wrong with him. There were blind dwarves and certainly also elves; his disability had nothing to do with being a dwobbit and he definitely wasn't a cripple.
Vili tried to smile and put a kiss on his father's cheek. He wrapped his as around Fili's neck and fell asleep after a while.
Somewhere else in Mirkwood's palace Kili and Tauriel sat together in their bedroom. The elf was angry that her husband hadn't supported her during her argument with Fili and Poppy.
When he had been told that Fili was dead, Kili was shocked and realised how terribly he had treated his brother since he had met Tauriel. The elf had been everything he had left and he loved her. She had blamed him for the death of their son and the fact that she could never have a child again. He felt terrible about what had happened and did everything she wanted from that day onwards.
Now that Fili was back in his life Kili wanted to spend time with him and his family. He remembered the nice barmaid from the Green Dragon Inn and he wanted to get to know his nieces and nephew.
Kili new that Tauriel hated Fili, Poppy and the little ones the moment she first saw them from the look in her eyes. He wondered if she hated hobbits because she had been blamed when Bilbo had stolen the keys or if she was simply jealous because Poppy had children with a dwarf and she didn't.
The younger dwarf felt terrible about everything he had sad to Fili and Poppy but he didn't know what else to do. He had lost his brother long ago. Tauriel and Ronon were everything he had left and he was sure that his wife expected him to behave like that. She even yelled at him because he had stayed silent today and threatened him to ask King Thranduil to send him away. Then he wouldn't be able to see Ronon, too. His adopted son was a spoiled brat but he still loved him.
Kili sighed sadly but kissed his wife. He promised to support her in the future. He didn't like it and he knew he was selfish but he didn't want to live without the small family he still had.
The next two weeks passed without any new incidents. The hobbits were allowed to spent some time outdoors in the woods and they were quite happy in their new home. It wasn't the Shire but still alright.
Fili and his family came back from a walk and talked to Daisy and her family in the hallway. They hadn't seen Ruby for a few days and were surprised how much she had grown. Lili, Vili and Tulip waited a few metres away and adored the flowers they had picked for their mother.
Suddenly they heard a shriek. Ronon laid at the bottom of the stairs and held his arm. Next to him laid a broken bow.
The loud noise alarmed his parents and so Tauriel and Kili rushed towards him. Tauriel wanted to pick him up but noticed that he arm was broken. "What happened, my dear?" She asked.
Ronon pointed at Vili and Lili and sobbed. "They pushed me down the stairs and they destroyed the bow you made for me. My arm hurts so much!"
Poppy and Fili looked at them in shock. They knew that their children hadn't done anything since they weren't on top of the stairs. Poppy saw Tauriel grin for a second and wondered if the elf had instructed her son to do that to cause trouble. It was clear that she hated them and that she didn't want them there.
Vili didn't even understand what had happened and Lili declared that they hadn't done anything. Fili was about to tell them to ignore Ronon when Kili suddenly walked towards the twins and hit them in the face.
Lili and especially Vili screamed and started to cry. Poppy ran towards them and pulled them close. Fili stood between his family and his brother and yelled at the latter.
Then he took a deep breath and turned towards Daisy. "Would you bring Poppy and the children to our room. I will be there soon."
Daisy nodded. She carried Ruby while her mother took Tulip's hand and her father helped Poppy with the twins.
When they were gone, Fili turned towards his brother again. "Don't you ever dare to touch my children again. I really can't understand how my little brother could turn into such a monster. I hate you, Kili!" He yelled and then left.
Kili closed his eyes for a short moment. Now he had lost his brother for sure but at least Tauriel seed to be proud of him. They brought Ronon to a healer. The elfling's arm was indeed broken but would heal completely soon. But Kili knew that he had to do something about the current situation.
Fili joined his family in their room. He thanked Daisy and her family for their support and told them that they would be fine on their own.
Lili and Vili sat on the bed and still cried. Their cheeks were bright red and Fili knew how much this had to hurt. He stroked their hair and put a kiss on their foreheads. Poppy put an ointment on their cheeks and gave them a tea that would help them sleep.
When Tulip and Ruby had fallen asleep, Poppy sat in Fili's lap and cried. Hours later Poppy fed Ruby again and then she and Fili fell asleep, too.
Early the next morning they were woken up by a knock on the door. Fili stood up to open the door when Kili entered. "I just wanted to let you know that I have sent a letter to Erebor to let Thorin know that you are here."
