"Well, don't drop him." Elladan remarked, as he watched Legolas awkwardly holding Estel, arms extended so the baby was far away from his body, but completely supported.
"I was planning on it." Legolas retorted annoyed. He wished he had been there the first day the twins handled the small child, probably worse then he was handling the situation. Then it dawned on him, Arwen. Of course, they had handled Arwen when she was a babe. It was only he and she that had never held a baby, and it always seemed like girls were better at it. Not knowing what do, he looked over at Lord Elrond with pleading eyes. Was he to rock to baby, or should he put it back down before he truly did drop it. Then the thing he feared the most happened: the baby began to cry.
"I didn't do it. I didn't do anything, it just started. I mean Estel, Estel just started. Make it stop, please, someone take it and make it stop!" Legolas cried on top of the child's wails making for a unpleasant combination of sounds.
"Here, let me see him." Lord Elrond replied calmly, taking the yelling child from the elf prince's hands.
"Good one Las," Elrohir teased, elbowing his friend's ribs. Legolas went to go sit down, feeling quite overwhelmed with all the baby stuff: holding the baby and the crying of the baby; he had only spent an hour with the child and already he was exhausted. He began to sympathize with his father, how in the world had he dealt with three of them? And from what he heard Kaimelar was an awful infant to deal with. But watching Lord Elrond soothe the child back to sleep, Legolas supposed he could see why people liked those little things. The father and son looked so tender in that moment. Legolas only wished his sister was down here to witness, she really liked and appreciated moments of this sort much better than he could.
"What was wrong with him?" Legolas curious as to how a child could be screaming for his life one moment, and in the next be fast asleep, cuddled up to the elf lord's chest. Babies were certainly to most curious of creatures. Had he been that strange when he was that little? Or maybe this was a human thing.
"Perhaps he grew fearful that he was floating away, considering how you held him." Elrohir teased, doing an impression of Legolas holding the baby, as though it had the plague, arms completely extended.
"It was making...I mean, Estel was making sounds, what did you expect me to do?" Legolas defended. It was true, the little thing was making these gurgling sounds, as though it had something festering deep inside it. Perhaps the baby was evil.
"Babies make noises, Legolas." Elrond replied, rocking Estel gently in his arms. Legolas began to squirm in his chair, disliking the look that Lord Elrond was giving him. He glanced to the twins, on either side of them. Both were smiling evilly, getting the gist of what Elrond was thinking, Legolas began to feel sick.
"You know Legolas. With your sister delivering soon, it might be a good idea for you to learn the basics of infant care. So, how about tonight, you watch Estel." Lord Elrond suggested. It was if someone had punched him in the gut. Was Lord Elrond seriously? Did he really think that Legolas was capable of watching a little human baby for a whole night and not accidentally loose it or worse, kill it? He could barely take care of himself, how was he supposed to watch a baby, especially since he had never even been around one.
"I don't know. I'm really tired and..." Legolas began, slowly getting up and faking a yawn, even though it was only late afternoon.
"Oh come on Las. It isn't so hard, Estel sleeps most of the time anyway." Elladan said, placing a hand on Legolas' shoulders and pushing him back in his chair.
"And to help you out my boys will remain here and help you." Elrond offered. Both of his children turned, looking incredulous. The last thing they wanted was to spend the night in changing diapers and feeding and rocking and all that other bothersome childcare junk.
"Make Arwen do it, she actually likes Estel!" Elrohir exclaimed, earning a punch in the arm from his brother.
"What Ro means is, perhaps Arwen would prefer this responsibility, wait, no, honor. Better yet, Arwen deserves this honorable responsibility a great deal more than we ever could possibly.' Elladan said, earning no hint of sympathy from his father. The matter was decided, Elrohir thought glumly, nothing to do now except clue Legolas into the basics before he screwed something up tonight. He looked down at the younger elf, who weakly smiled up at him. Elrohir sighed to himself, what was he thinking, tonight they would actually be watching two babies.
"I felt it!" Arwen squealed, lifting her hand from Sildulin's stomach, taken aback by the sudden kick. "It's strange to think it's kicking in there. Does it hurt?"
"No, I like it actually. That way I know I have a healthy, active little one growing in there." Sildulin lovingly patted her stomach, as though through the motion she could actually stroke her baby's face. She couldn't wait to finally hold her child in her arms, have it's little eyes gaze up at her. Would the child know right away that she was it's mother? Or would it be confused as to who it was that was holding it? Sildulin thought back to her mother, trying to recall the moment she recognized her as her mother. When the word and the meaning came together. It was far too early on, she thought. It must have been that first moment. She had to feel right away that bond, that love. She only hoped her child felt the same about her; would love her as much as she was going to love her. Her, Sildulin wondered. Never before had she spoken of her baby with a gender, did this mean something? Did she perhaps know she was having a girl? Tulcah had confided in her that he would very much like a little girl. After living through the developmental years of Legolas, he had decided that a girl would be a far more enjoyable experience. At least he hoped so.
"Your father must be going crazy." Arwen commented, thinking of how her own father were to act, if perhaps one day she came to him to announce he was to be a grandfather.
"He cannot wait. Though he does tease he will be happy to finally see one of his own children go through what he had to." She smiled, "thought I cannot fathom what he speaks of. We were all perfectly behaved." She thought back to her childhood, sounds of breaking glass, her father yelling for whoever had broken it to get over to where he was, searching for Legolas when he had gone off on his own; all the laughter and smiles shared in times of woe. In her little family, she felt safe, supported, unquestionably loved and cared for.
"You really do irk me at times, you know that Sil?" Legolas burst through her guest quarters door and sprawled himself on the bed between the two occupants.
"What happened little one?" She asked, stroking his hair, waiting him to lift his face from the bed. He flipped himself onto his back, looking absolutely miserable.
"I have to watch that dirty little beast downstairs for a whole night." Legolas whined. Disliking the child a little more with every passing moment. "Look here, what he did to me!" He cried, pointing to peculiar looking stain on his left shoulder. Sildulin instantly grasping what had happened.
"Babies do that sometimes Las, you can't get angry at him." Sildulin replied, attempting to pacify him with rationality.
"I can't? You would be angry with me if I puked all over you." He said indignantly, crossing his arms over his chest, looking more a toddler than he did in his toddler years.
"That's because you are a grown-up and he is a baby. Though it is hard to tell the difference at this point." She replied, causing Arwen to snicker.
"Eh, you don't understand, you're girls." That comment earned him a smack on the arm from Arwen, which stung. Legolas sat up, giving her a shocked, pained look while rubbing his reddening arm. "What was that for?"
"It has nothing to do with being girls! We're simply more mature than you. I suppose residue infancy is a boy thing." Legolas rolled his eyes, obviously this room wasn't where sympathy was to be had. Legolas got up off the bed and started heading out the room without a word.
"Where are you off to Las? I haven't hurt your feelings have I?' Arwen jested. She was becoming more and more like her brother's everyday Legolas decided.
"No, my feelings are fine. It is my arm that worries me. I'm off to go find Lord Elrond and see if he can give me anything for the pain." Legolas joked. Arwen smirked back at him, throwing a pillow at his head.
"Stupid boy!" she called out, earning laughter from both Thranduil's children.
So end of another chapter, next chapter begins the night of Legolas' and the twin's night with baby Estel. Hope you enjoyed. Reviews are appreciated.