July 1462
Fari busied himself in the Brandy Hall kitchen, searching through cupboards for tea. Seeing as it was the middle of the night, he had the kitchen all to himself. He'd arrived in Buckland yesterday, coming along with Goldi and her mum and Daisy. They'd arrived just in time, because Rose went into labor this afternoon.
He wasn't looking forward to sitting around, watching Theo being nervous. And Eomer was being nervous, too, because they'd just found out Moira was pregnant. So the two of them were being panicky fathers. At least Uncle Merry seemed to be getting some amusement out of watching them. Fari just found them annoying. So, he'd volunteered to get tea and food from the kitchens.
He put the kettle on the stove. Babies were all right. He'd certainly had enough experience with them. He just didn't see the big fuss. Why would anyone look forward to no sleep and smelly diapers anyway? He'd had enough of that with his brothers and sisters. He'd nearly thrown up the first time he'd smelled one of Bori's disgusting diapers. Fari chuckled. He'd have to remember that, bring it up some time when his brother annoyed him.
He knew Goldi was going to be going on and on about babies for the next few days, trying to give him that look that Rose always gave Theo. Little did she know that he was immune to it. Perhaps he could distract her from babies with his look. He grinned at that, but then frowned at a sudden thought. The Took Charm was probably the reason why he had seven brothers and sisters. He'd have to be more careful with how he used it.
The kettle started to boil and he transferred tea and cakes to a tray. He picked everything up and headed out towards the Master's wing of Brandy hall. Theo and Uncle Merry were both in the parlor, but Eomer was gone.
"Where's Eomer," he asked. He set the tray down on the table.
"Moira felt sick, so he took her to their room," said Theo. "She's been getting nausea pretty bad."
Fari cringed. He remembered how bad Ivy had gotten it a few times, bedridden for days. Poor Eomer.
Eomer peeked his head in the parlor door. He looked tired. "How's she doing?" Merry asked.
"She's going to try to sleep. I'm going to go get her some peppermint tea and biscuits. Éowyn said that helps." Eomer rushed off again.
"So, are you looking forward to all this, Fari?" Merry asked.
Fari shook his head. "Not in the least." He didn't want to think about how grouchy Goldi would get if she had morning sickness.
"It's worth it, though," Theo said. "When you hold your own baby in your arms."
Fari gaped at him. "Are you trying to talk me into it?" he asked. "Because if you are, Sam might have something to say to you." Theo and Merry both laughed. Fari sighed. "I'll be lucky if he lets me take Goldi out again before we're married."
"He's just being protective," Merry said. "Fathers worry about their daughters."
Fari nodded. Merry had certainly had a lot to worry about because of his father and Ivy. He wondered if that was why Sam worried about him being alone with Goldi, because Sam thought he was going to be like his dad. Because of what his dad had done with Ivy. He pushed those thoughts away. "I know, Uncle Merry," he said.
-o-O-o-
Just before dawn, Theo's daughter came into the world.
"Her name's Arwen," he said proudly, "because it was Queen Arwen who brought us together." He smiled at Rose. Rose gave him a tired smile back.
Goldi came up next to Fari and took his hand. "Isn't she wonderful?" she asked, squeezing Fari's hand and kissing his cheek.
Fari sighed and looked at her. "No, you can't have one."
She stuck her tongue out at him and went over to see Rose.
Theo showed the baby around, then brought her over to Fari. "Want to hold her, Fari?"
"Nah," Fari said, giving a casual look at the tiny girl. She was cute as far as newborns go, mostly for the fact that she was sleeping peacefully in her blanket rather than crying. "I think Éowyn wants to hold her again." He pointed over towards Éowyn, distracting Theo so he could escape. He went over to see Rose.
"Ready for one of your own, now?" Rose asked him.
He rolled his eyes and poked Goldi in the arm. "Did Goldi put you up to that?"
Rose and Goldi both giggled. Fari shook his head and sighed.
-o-O-o-
"I thought you didn't like babies."
Fari looked up as Goldi came out to the garden. He was sitting next to a a flowerbed left muddy from a morning rainfall, digging canals with Saradoc. Fari had offered to watch Sar, to give his parents a rest. Theo and Rose were both in the constant state of exhaustion that came with being new parents. Fari didn't mind watching him, though. Now that he was older, Sar was fun to play with.
"I never said I didn't like babies," he said. "Just that they're a pain. Anyway, Saradoc's not a baby anymore, right Sar?"
The little boy grinned up at him. "Not a baby." He held up two pudgy fingers. "Two!"
"See, he's all grown up," Fari said. He ruffled Sar's curls and grinned up at Goldi.
Goldi leaned over and wiped mud from Fari's cheek. "Well, he's as grown up as you are, at least."
He stuck his tongue out at her and she giggled. She sat down next to Sar and pulled him onto her lap, not caring about muddy hands. "Are you having fun with Uncle Fari?" she said, then kissed his cheek.
Sar nodded, then squirmed out of her arms and crawled back over to his canals.
Goldi sighed. "I guess mud is better than Aunt Goldi's lap."
"I like your lap better than mud," Fari said. He had to fight hard to keep a straight face.
She rolled her eyes and nudged his leg with her toes. "I'm sure you do."
He grinned and scooted over next to her. "Want me to prove it?" he whispered in her ear. She just gave him an exasperated look. "Fine," he said and tried to look dejected. He pouted. "I'll go back to my canals." He started to slide back, but Goldi caught his arm.
"You can stay over here," she said, and tugged him back.
He sat close to her and put his arm around her. "Don't you think we'll get into trouble?" he murmured in her ear. "Being out here alone together."
"We're not alone. We've got a chaperone." She nodded towards Sar. The little boy had his back to them and was elbow deep in mud.
Fari chuckled. "Somehow, I don't think your dad would approve of Sar as a chaperone."
Goldi smiled at him and reached up to play with the collar of his shirt. "Well, since Dad won't get here until this evening, we don't have to worry about it right now." She gazed into his eyes and he leaned in to kiss her.
"Kiss!" Sar threw himself between them and gave them each a sloppy kiss on the cheek before returning to his mud.
Fari grinned at Goldi. She was giggling and wiping a muddy handprint from her cheek. He leaned over and nuzzled her ear. "Maybe your dad would approve of Sar as a chaperone."
Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay--trouble with uploading to FFNet this weekend. Next chapter will be posted tomorrow (Monday).
