Disclaimer: I don't own LOTR
A/N: No I don't have Orli anymore. To be honest I got sick of him, so I let him go. I have Ville Valo now. Mwahahahahaha! Anyway, I love this chapter! Also, I don't own the song in this chapter, I have no idea who does because I can't remember the artist for the life of me, but it's called 'Celtic Moods'.
Chapter 30
Baby Blues
"Look, Legolas, look," said Tigerlily. She placed the grape on her huge belly. Legolas smiled as he watched it bounce as their child kicked. He remembered the first time he had felt his son kick. To feel something that he had helped create start moving had brought him almost to tears. It was now late December and the Hobbits had long since gone home, as had his friends. Both he and Tigerlily had become very anxious. The baby was a few weeks overdue now. But Aragorn had assured them the child was perfectly healthy. Something else now was plaguing Legolas' mind. It was the 23rd today; it had been almost a year since they had left Rivendell. He gently placed his hand on Tigerlily's belly and felt his son kick again. Tigerlily no longer flinched when the baby kicked. It had at first kept her up most the night but she was used to it now. Often Legolas would just sit and watch Tigerlily talk to her belly. He thought she had never looked more beautiful than now. He too talked to his son and often said he couldn't wait to see him in person but it seemed no amount of persuasion would get him to come out…well for the moment.
It was the middle of the night when Tigerlily shook Legolas awake. "Legolas, wake up, quickly!" she said. Legolas sat up and looked at her.
"What's wrong Tigerlily?" he asked.
"My water's just broke," said Tigerlily, "I think the baby's coming."
"I'll go get Aragorn," said Legolas. He got up and ran to Aragorn's room and banged on the door. "What?" asked a sleepy Aragorn.
"Tigerlily's gone into labour," said Legolas, "The baby's coming." Aragorn stuck his head out in the corridor and looked around. "If you're here," said Aragorn, "Who's with Tigerlily? Never mind, go on, I'll be there in a minute." Legolas turned and ran back to Tigerlily. He found her up and squeezing the blanket on the bed as a contraction hit her.
"This really hurts," she said.
"It'll be alright," said Legolas, "Just think our son will be here soon."
2 days later…
"Tigerlily, you are a hero," said Aragorn, "You've been in labour for forty hours."
"Yes, but why?" asked Tigerlily, "With Alannah, she was in and out with a baby before you were even up here. Which reminds me, we have to go see them, I want to see my new niece."
"It may have something to do with the fact it's half elf," said Aragorn, "Elven pregnancies and labours are sometimes longer than humans. Of course," he saw Tigerlily almost crush Legolas' hand as another contraction happened, "Elven women have a lot more patience than humans."
"Aragorn, I think they're getting closer," panted Tigerlily. A female healer came in and checked Tigerlily. "You're almost ready, the next contraction should be about thirty seconds," she said. Tigerlily started muttering incoherently as she had yet another contraction. "Thirty seconds my arse!" she shouted, "That's it, I don't care if he's ready or not, he's coming out!" Aragorn tried to grab Legolas and drag him away to a safe distance but Tigerlily got there first. She pulled him so he was only millimetres away from her face. "You did this to me!" she snarled. Aragorn got hold of Legolas and pulled him away and outside the room. Gimli was sat there. "Well, lad," said Gimli, "Any last wishes before we don't see you for dirty clothes and sleepless nights?"
"Not funny Gimli," said Legolas, as Aragorn closed the door. Legolas dropped down next to Gimli. "That's my son in there," he said, "That's my son being born, but Tigerlily has to go through so much pain for him."
"It won't end here," said Aragorn, "Tigerlily will continually make sacrifices for your son and any other children you may have. It's her maternal instinct."
A few hours later…
"You're not going to help by standing there with your ear to the door," said Aragorn but Legolas didn't listen. All he could hear was Tigerlily's screams of pain. Then he heard the words he'd been waiting for, "One last push Tigerlily." Next thing he heard was the sound of a baby crying. He pulled the door open and ran inside. He dropped to his knees by Tigerlily's side. Her face and hair were covered in sweat, she was exhausted but she was happy. "You did it," said Legolas.
"Tell me," she said, her normal calm self, "What does he look like?" Legolas looked up. A healer who was cleaning the baby allowed Legolas to have a brief glimpse. "He's beautiful," said Legolas, "Just like his mother. Come on, let's have you sat up." He helped her sit up and made sure she was comfortable. The healer walked over and placed the baby in Tigerlily's arms. He wasn't crying anymore and Legolas had been right; he was beautiful. He had a head of dark hair already and a pair of bright blue eyes, the exact same colour as Legolas'. "He's a Solaris," said Tigerlily, "Look at that hair."
"You looked exactly like that when you were born," said Aragorn.
"Legolas," said Tigerlily, "I know the elves give their children two names, and the father is the one to give the first name. So, why don't you give him his father-name and I'll give him one later." Legolas stroked his son's hair and looked at the boy. He remembered something his mother had said once. "Oropher," he said finally, "After my grandfather. He shares the same eyes as him."
"Oropher," said Tigerlily, "Yes, that's a good name. Welcome to the world, Oropher Greenleaf."
"And what of his mother-name?" said Legolas, "The name he shall always be called by you?" Tigerlily looked down at her son who now had taken hold of one of Legolas' fingers. "Milo," she said, "Yes, Milo. He reminds me of Milo." They sound of running feet was heard and Arwen and Eowyn came running in. "Let us see him!" said Arwen excitedly. Legolas moved away and rolled his eyes as the two women squealed with delight. They crowded round Tigerlily and Oropher. "Oh Tigerlily, he is beautiful," said Eowyn.
"He's got his father's eyes," said Arwen.
"And his father's ears!" said Eowyn. There came shouting and Eomer, who was visiting, and Faramir came in. Their noises made the baby start crying again. Arwen and Eowyn moved away. Eomer and Faramir took a look. "Good Gods, will you look at all that hair!" said Faramir, making Oropher cry even louder.
"Well, he's got lungs like his mother," said Eomer, "Other than that, good job Tigerlily and Legolas. He'll make a good soldier one day."
"My son will never be a soldier," said Tigerlily. Oropher stopped crying and the others fell silent. "What?" said Eomer.
"Legolas and I fought hard to keep this world safe," said Tigerlily, "My son will never have to pick up a blade in defence. He will never have to fight an enemy! I did his fighting for him, so he doesn't have to."
"I think you ought to leave," said Legolas. Eomer stepped away from Tigerlily and left.
"Humph, another pointy-ear," grumbled Gimli. Tigerlily smiled, she knew that Gimli was happy for her. "You're right Gimli," said Legolas, bending down and looking closely at his son's head, "He is an elf. But his mother is an immortal human who stole my heart."
Later that day, Tigerlily was allowed to take Oropher 'home'. She smiled as she laid him down in the crib her parents had given her as a wedding gift. No sooner had she put him down, he started crying. She immediately picked him back up. "What's wrong, my little angel?" she said softly. Her instincts called out to her and she knew. She sat down on the chair and moved her shirt so she could feed him. Legolas came in a few moments later but Tigerlily didn't hear him. Legolas didn't say a word as he watched his wife feed their son. When she was finished, Tigerlily pulled her shirt back on properly and winded Oropher, a skill she had developed from years of practicing on nieces and nephews. She then started trying to get him to sleep. But Oropher was reluctant to sleep. It was as if he didn't want to be out of sight of his mother. But Tigerlily had a trick for this, a song.
'When the moon on a cloud cast night,
Shine above in a treetops flight,
You sang me of some distant past
That made my heart beat strong and fast,
Now I know I'm home at last.
You offered me an eagle's wing,
That to the sun my song I'd sing,
And if I heard the owl's cry,
Then to the furnace I would fly,
And in it's darkness find you by.
Summer love's not a simple thing,
Nor our truth's unwavering,
Like the moon's pull on the tide,
Our fingers touch, our hearts combine,
I'll be our moon's bride from your side,
I'll be our moon's bride from your side,
I'll be our moon's bride from your side,' She sang. She smiled to see her son's eyes were closed. She stood up gently and placed him in the crib and made sure the blanket was keeping him warm. She stood there for a while doing nothing except watching him. She jumped slightly when Legolas slid his arms around her. "You scared me," she said.
"That song was beautiful," said Legolas.
"My mother sang it to me when I was a baby," said Tigerlily, "He's so perfect."
"He's your son," said Legolas, "I wouldn't expect anything else."
"I can't believe Sauron wanted to use him for evil," said Tigerlily, "I couldn't imagine him being anything but good."
"Let's not think about what may have been," said Legolas, "Let's focus on what is. I have something to show you, but it can wait a few days."
A few days later…
"Keep your eyes closed," said Legolas as he guided Tigerlily through the trees.
"Legolas, I want to get back to Oropher," said Tigerlily.
"He'll be fine, just come look at this," said Legolas, "Right, now stop here. Now, open your eyes!" Tigerlily opened her eyes to see the house she and Legolas had stumbled upon so many months ago. "Guess what," said Legolas, "It's ours, all of it. The old woman who lived here said we could have it if I found her somewhere else and I did so this is our home. Now come look inside." He pulled her inside. Immediately before the door was a large living area and dining room with some stairs leading upstairs. Through a door on the left was the kitchen. "Oh my goodness," said Tigerlily, "Legolas, we could have a dozen children and still have room to spare."
"You haven't seen upstairs yet," said Legolas. He led her up the stairs.
"This is the master bedroom," he said, showing Tigerlily a large room, "And through here," he pushed her into the room and opened a door near to it, "is a nursery. This means, we would have Oropher right next door to us and we wouldn't have to walk down the hall in the dark in the middle of the night."
"I…I don't know what to say," said Tigerlily, "You did the one thing I ever would have asked of you, a shelter for me and your son." She gently kissed him. Legolas smiled.
"Now," he said, "About this 'dozen children'?"
A/N: Can I get an 'aw' for baby Oropher? Thank you! Now, as you may or may not know, I had planned for this to be about 57 chapters long. Well not any more. I've reduced the timeline for Diamond in the rough. It will now be 40 chapters total. There will however be a sequel, which I have already finished planning and will be up as soon as I finish my current stories and are well under way with Child Of Light. So when Child Of Light comes up, expect to see the sequel popping up.