June 1463

"How did you ever get used to this?" Fari sighed. He turned to look up at his father. They were sitting together in his parent's parlor, waiting for Goldi to give birth.

His father winked at him. "Ivy made sure I got a lot of practice."

Fari snorted. "All by herself?"

His father grinned. "Honest!"

Fari laughed and shook his head. "I'm sure, Dad."

"She was very persuasive. Ivy gets pretty mushy over babies. You have no idea how close you came to getting another brother or sister after Elanor had her first." His father nudged him. "At least now she can have grandchildren instead."

Fari snorted. "I think Goldi is planning on giving Ivy plenty of practice at being a gran." She'd already been talking about giving this one a brother or sister in a year or so.

"All by herself?" his dad asked, eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face.

Fari shrugged, his cheeks growing warm.

His dad patted his shoulder and they both sighed. Fari hadn't imagined how hard it would be, all this waiting. Goldi has started having pains this afternoon, but although Ivy had said the birth was going quickly, it didn't seem very quick to him. His father and Sam had both been working on keeping him calm, but it was nearly midnight now and still no baby. He sighed again and slumped back into the couch.

Stel peeked in the door. "Anything yet?" Unlike her sisters, she wasn't yet old enough to be allowed to attend a birth.

Fari shook his head.

She yawned and came over to sit with them. She settled down next to their dad, tucking her feet under the edge of her nightgown, and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Poor Goldi. It's been hours." She yawned again. "I can't imagine what she's going through."

"And you're not going to find out for a very, very long time, right?" their dad asked with a stern look. Fari bit back a snort. Their dad had gotten awful protective of his sisters since finding out about Willow and Bilbo.

"Right, Daddy," Stel said sweetly and she stretched up to kiss her father's cheek. Then she wriggled in under his arm and curled up next to him, her head on his chest.

"You might as well go back to bed," their dad told her. "It may be a while."

"Can't sleep anyway," she murmured, though her eyes were half closed.

The rattle of porcelain made Fari look up. Sam came in with a tray of tea.

"Here you go," he said, carefully placing the tray on the table. "This will help us stay awake." He looked up at Fari and grinned. "Not that you need any help with that, Fari." He poured out the tea and noticed Estella. "I'll need to go get another cup--"

"That's all right, Uncle Sam. I'm fine," she said. Sam nodded and sat next to Fari.

Soon Stel was asleep and the rest of them were dozing, even Fari. The excitement of the day was catching up to him and he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. Then the distant cries of a baby startled him and he looked at Sam. "Is that--?"

Sam nodded, smiling broadly, and Fari thought his heart was going to pound out of his chest. His baby was here!

"Wake up, Stel," his father said next to him. "You're an aunt."

Sam pulled Fari to his feet and he nearly stumbled into his father-in-law, his knees weak. Then he took a deep breath and hurried out into the hallway. The door to his bedroom was still closed, so he leaned against the wall and tried to remember how to breath. The wait seemed to take forever, but then Willow opened the door, a huge smile on her face. "Fari!" she exclaimed and gave him a quick hug as he came into the room.

Goldi was tucked into bed, Rosie sitting next to her. Their eyes were on the tiny baby in Goldi's arms. She looked up at him as he approached. Her golden curls were damp with sweat, but she was smiling."We have a son, Fari," she said. He gasped, his heart skipping a beat. He would have loved a daughter, but he had been hoping very much for a son.

Rosie stood up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Congratulations," she whispered to him, then moved out of the way so he could take her spot. He sat next to Goldi and kissed her. The he pulled back the blanket and gazed at his son.

"Oh, Goldi..." he breathed. The baby was awake, squinting up at his parents with dark blue eyes. Fari brushed his finger over a soft cheek and he had to swallow a sudden sob in his throat. This was his son. He was a dad. He smiled and looked at his wife. "He's so beautiful."

"I'm glad you like him," Goldi chuckled. "I worked hard to get him here." She smiled at him with a tired grin.

Fari kissed her again. "I think I should go introduce him to his grandfather," he said, looking into her eyes.

She gave him a knowing look and nodded. "I think that's a very good idea."

He picked up the tiny baby, still in awe that this was his son, and went over to his waiting family. His dad had his arm around Ivy and they were smiling at him. He went straight to his father and put the baby in his arms. "I'd like you to meet Peregrin Took, the Second," he said. His father looked up at him, mouth open in surprise, and Fari smiled, tears in his eyes. "I love you, Dad," he said. Ivy stepped back and his dad pulled Fari into a one-armed hug, the baby nestled between them. Next to them, Fari heard sniffling.

"Oh, Mum, don't cry," Éoleof pleaded.

-o-O-o-

"Have a good nap?"

Fari wiped a hand over his tired eyes and nodded at Ivy. He looked around the parlor. Ivy was alone with the baby. "You managed to get him away from Dad?" Fari asked incredulously.

Ivy grinned. "Your father had to go take care of some business. Which means I get Perry all to myself while his mum goes for a walk, right dearest?" Ivy cuddled the baby to her shoulder and pressed kisses to his downy head.

Fari sat next to them and reached out to touch Perry's little foot. Even after a week, it was still a little hard to believe Perry was his. "Why is Goldi out walking rather than napping?" Perry had been getting them up every couple hours. Fari was able to roll over and go back to sleep while Goldi nursed the baby and he was exhausted!

"She decided she needed some fresh air more." Ivy said. "So she and the girls went out to pick some strawberries. Sometimes, just getting some time to yourself can be enough." She patted Perry's back and chuckled. "These tiny little things can wear you right out."

"I know," Fari sighed. "I don't think we'll ever sleep more than a few hours at a time ever again."

Ivy laughed. "Don't worry. You will. And it will be worth all the trouble." She moved Perry back to the crook of her arm. "And you are certainly worth the trouble, little one," she said cheerfully to the baby.

Fari leaned over to whisper in Perry's ear. "Your gran is spoiling you."

"It's my job!" Ivy said with a huff, fighting to keep her face serious. "That's what grandmothers do!"

Fari smiled and rubbed Perry's tummy. "You're a lucky little boy to have such a wonderful gran," he said to his son. He looked up at Ivy. "I mean it, too. And I'm lucky to have such a wonderful mum."

"Fari..." Ivy pressed her lips together and sniffled.

They heard voices in the hallway and turned to the parlor door. Fari's dad came in with Goldi. Goldi's face was red from the sun, but she looked refreshed.

"There's my boy!" his dad said, going straight to Perry.

Ivy shook her head at her husband. "Don't you think his mum or dad might want to hold him for a while?"

He turned to Fari with such a look of pleading that Fari couldn't hide his giggle. He shared a look with Goldi, then turned back to his dad, grinning. "Go ahead, Granddad."