Hi everyone,

I hope you're having a very relaxing and enjoyable holidays so far! I've been having quite a creative week, so getting a lot of writing done.

Thanks to my reviewers:
katia0203: I hope my description of placental abruption was convincing and realistic. I did quite a bit of reading around it. Traumatic thing to go through, but had to do it to advance to plot. Thanks for the review!
Ponytail goddess: Thanks for your continued support! I totally agree with you, marriage problems are usually a 2 person problem. In this case, neither Haldir or Lara have done anything wrong. They are just not able to communicate their feelings. In the next chapters, I'm hoping to convey how they learn about each other in order to come through this as a couple.

As always, I really appreciate your thoughts and opinions - drop me a review.

When she awoke, Lara found she had been cleaned and her clothes changed. She was no longer lying on her own bed. She sheets beneath her were new, unblemished by the materials of birth. It took her a moment to realize she was in Rumil and Inaya's spare bedroom. When she made to sit up, her arms would not support such effort and she immediately fell back into the soft bed.
"Lara! Thank goodness you're awake" Inaya's relieved voice said.

"What happened" Lara managed to croak, her voice was hoarse. Inaya lifted a glass of water to her and she drank quickly.

"You've been unconscious for days Lara. We were so close to losing you." Inaya said tearfully, at the mention of the dreadful memory.

"Where's Toberion?" his mother asked, more worried for his well-being than her own.

"He's fine. Orophin's spoiling him rotten at his flet" Inaya tried to lighten the tone.

"And the baby?" Lara asked hopefully, looking around the room for a crib or a fussing child. She found none.

"Lara, I'm so sorry" her friend's voice trailed off.

"Say it Inaya. Just say it. I need to hear it for you. Or else I won't ever believe it" Lara demanded.

Inaya looked away in order to swallow her own tears. Then she gathered her strength, took Lara's hands into hers. "Lara, your baby, she did not survive. The afterbirth detached early, it's a rare complication, it starved her of oxygen. There was nothing they could do."

It hit Lara like a ton of bricks. Deep down, she had known it but to hear it out loud seemed to make it real. "It was a girl?" she whispered. Inaya nodded. "She was beautiful Lara. She had your eyes and chubby cheeks just like Toberion" her friend said, crying now.

"No, oh valar, no. Please! No! I want my baby!" Lara screamed. She had never felt such pain and fury. Inaya enveloped her into a hug and rocked her back and forth. Rumil had rushed in upon hearing her screams, his face also distressed.

After a long time, Lara felt as though she had no more tears that day. Inaya had insisted she swallow a few mouthfuls of broth before going back to rest.

"Where is Haldir?" Lara asked. Surely, he had rushed home to be with his family.

Rumil answered. "He's on his way home, as soon as he heard what had happened, he rushed to get back."

"He's not here?" Lara stated the obvious. She furrowed her eyebrows. Her despair was rapidly turning into anger and she knew exactly who to unleash it on.

The marchwarden had no sooner reached Rivendell when word came that his wife and child were in mortal danger. Despite lord Elrond's well-intentioned suggestions that he rest a day before turning back, he immediately began the journey home. He rode hard and fast. The heavens had opened and rain beat down upon him, as if to mourn for his wife and child. The news had only said Lara and the baby had experienced a complication and they were both in danger. He did not know whether they had lived or died. For a marchwarden who had the command of thousands of soldiers, won a war against Sauron himself, he found himself at the mercy of the fates. He was completely helpless.

Haldir was helpless, but he was able to heap upon himself all the guilt and shame for the tragic situation. He had known Lara was unhappy, she had made that much clear to him. She had practically begged him not to go, but he left anyway. She was right, he was not there for his family when they needed him. If he could trade his life for either his wife or child's, he would do it instantaneously. How had it come to this?

Haldir felt a weight lift from his shoulders when he saw the gates of his beloved woods. He had been gone for far too many months and the sight was a welcome one. He could hear the murmur of his soldiers, the increased cadence of their steps as they too knew they were soon to be reunited with their loved ones. It had been a long and bloody war. Too much elven blood had been shed. But they had no choice but to meet and fight evil itself. For if they did not, Sauron would have defiled these beloved woods. His beautiful Lara, his brothers, his baby would have all been at the mercy of the darkness. That, he could not allow. Thankfully, he had survived. That was all he could say, there was no triumph or celebration when so many had been lost.

All he wanted now was to go home and see his wife. His wife and baby, for surely the child had been born. It was a miracle to Haldir that they conceived at all. They have been married only months before he was called to battle. Lara had told him of the happy news when he'd come home during a weekend leave, the only one he'd had this entire war. Amidst all this death and carnage, they had created life. It was a miracle indeed. Haldir suddenly found himself anxious. Was the baby healthy? Would he be a good father? He did not have time to dwell on these worries for they had arrived at the city gates.

Flower petals floated in the air magically, as if they knew there was a victory to celebrate. The marchwarden watched impatiently as his troops were the first to receive their garlands and greet their families. Then, the crowd gathered for his turn. He was surprised to see it was Inaya who held the garland out for him. He wordlessly knelt to receive it upon his brow, but his worry must have shown on his face.

Inaya smiled. "Don't worry Haldir, I come in her place for she has her hands full" she said, before glancing behind her and stepping aside. Then his beloved Lara came into view. She was holding in her arms a small bundle, wrapped in blanket. Haldir caught sight of a tiny hand and a tiny foot. He stood up to meet his wife.

"Meleth, meet your son" she said proudly, lifting the bundle to him. He had not held a newborn for centuries, yet his arms seemed to know what to do. When the child was safely in his arms, he looked down and his breath caught in his chest. The most beautiful baby in all of arda, he was sure of it. Haldir could not believe he had helped create something so wonderful. His disbelief must have been evident to his wife.

Lara laughed. "Yes Haldir, he is most certainly yours. He has your iron will, for he will not sleep through the night unless swaddled a certain way." To that, the marchwarden chuckled. He leaned down to touch his forehead to Lara's and kissed her deeply.

"Thank you Lara, for giving me everything that is good."

Haldir arrived in Lorien at the dead of night. There was no garland ceremony for him, the sentries hastily opened the gates when they saw him approach. Their eyes were downcast in grief. Haldir felt his heart clench, suddenly very afraid of what he would find. He begged the valars to spare them, to take his life for theirs. He was met at the stables by Rumil.

"Brother, I'm glad you have returned safely. We did not expect you so soon, did you even rest on the journey?" the middle brother greeted him, worry tinged in his tone.

"I'm fine" Haldir said gruffly, brushing aside any concern for himself. "Where is Lara and the baby?"

Rumil put his hand onto his shoulder to steady him. They were alone in the stables. "Hal, the afterbirth tore prematurely. Lara bled. It nearly took her life. The baby did not survive the birth. I'm sorry."

Haldir was used to being stoic, for his people, his soldiers and his family. He had led them through the darkest times in the history of Middle Earth. He tried to do the same now, but his will crumbled. He fell against the wall of the stable and slid to the floor. Rumil silently steadied him, making sure he did not hurt himself. An agonized wail came from him, so foreign that he wasn't sure it was his own voice. His brother said nothing but crouched beside him, in the corner of the stables, and made sure the marchwarden could grieve in privacy. He knew his older brother, the pillar of his family and the one he had looked up to his whole life, needed a moment to gather himself. When Haldir walked out of the stables, he would be that pillar for his wife and family again. He would be strong for them. But right now, he was a father who had lost his daughter without even having a chance to lay eyes on her, a father to a son who would not understand why the baby that had been expected would not arrive, a husband who very nearly lost his wife and would now have to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart. Haldir never asked anything for himself, but tonight Rumil would make sure he got a moment to himself.