Disclaimer: The Hobbit belongs to Professor Tolkien and Peter Jackson.

Worth More Than Gold

Chapter 2

Kili stood in the sparring arena, his legs spread wide in a fighting stance as he faced his older brother. His dark eyes glittered as he studied his brother's body language and attempted to guess what move Fili was going to use next.

The blonde heir to Thorin's throne smirked. "I've got this match won, Ki." His bare chest glistened with sweat and mud from the dirt floor.

Kili refused to let himself be distracted. He would not allow his brother's words to sway him. Instead, he smiled silently back at his brother as he determined his next move. Footsteps pounded into the arena and both brothers lost their concentration as they turned to glare at their visitor.

"Prince Fili, you are needed in your chambers! The Lady Sigrid's time has come!" A disheveled messenger skidded to the stop at the side of the arena and shouted to the prince.

Fili dropped his stance immediately. "Is she all right?" he asked as his face paled with worry.

"Mr. Oin sent me to fetch you, Highness," was the dwarf's reply. "I do not know any more than that."

Kili sprung into motion. He grabbed his shirt and his brother's from the benches surrounding the arena. He tossed Fili his shirt. "Let's go, Fi! Time to meet your son or daughter."

Fili tugged his shirt on as he ran, nearly tripping over his own feet.

Kili barked out a laugh.

"Just wait until it's your turn," Fili tossed over his shoulder without thinking. Then his steps slowed and he grasped his brother's arm. "I'm sorry, Ki."

"It's all right," Kili smiled sadly. "We will have our turn. Now go; Sigrid is waiting for you." He shoved his brother away gently.

Fili nodded and took off at a run for the suite he shared with his wife.

By the time Kili arrived, Thorin and Drifa were shepherding Sigrid's small boys, Arne and Soren, down the hall to their own suite.

"How is Sigird?" Kili asked anxiously.

"Things are progressing well," Drifa replied although Kili could see the worry and the sadness in her eyes. He knew that Drifa had lost Thorin's child many years ago. Welcoming this new babe was probably as painful for her as it was for Tauriel.

"Tauriel is in with her now, as is Fili," Thorin reported as Soren whimpered and clasped the dwarf king's waist.

Thorin took the boy's hand. "Come, Soren. Let us go find a way to stay busy until your new sibling arrives."

Kili sighed as his family left and then leaned against the wall. He longed to be with Tauriel. She was so very excited for Sigrid and Fili, yet her empty arms ached to hold a child of her own – a child created with Kili.

He looked up in surprise when the door to Fili's suite opened and his wife stepped out. Her red hair was still perfectly groomed and a small smile curved her lips.

"Hello, my love," she murmured as she bent to place a kiss on his lips.

Kili traced his fingers over the smooth skin of her cheek. Her skin always fascinated him. It was flawless and creamy, his fingers feeling rough in comparison. "How are you, Tauriel?"

She tilted her forehead down to his. "I am fine, Kili. I am so very excited to meet this niece or nephew of ours."

"Sigrid and Fili both believe it's a boy," Kili reminded her.

"Aye," she quirked an eyebrow, "but we will not know for certain until the babe arrives." Tauriel brushed her husband's messy bangs back from his eyes. "Thorin and Drifa took the boys with them."

"That is probably for the best," Kili agreed.

"Now that Fili is here, Sigrid no longer needed me," Tauriel explained to her husband. "Come inside their suite. We can wait in their sitting room."

"Did my brother look as if he was going to pass out?" Kili quipped, his lips quirking upward in a grin as he followed his wife into his brother's rooms.

Tauriel's silvery laugh filled the air. "He looked none too steady," she smirked.

"I thought as much," Kili replied. "He can fight orcs without blinking, but watching Sigird have a baby….." He trailed off as Tauriel playfully slapped his shoulder.

Together, they settled on the sofa in front of the roaring fireplace. A cry of pain came from Sigrid in the room next door and Kili stiffened. "Will she be able to bear this child? She's so slender compared to a dwarrowdam." Worry coated his voice.

"I think she will be fine," Tauriel soothed. "She has had two children already which will make this birth a bit easier." She nestled her head against Kili's shoulder and linked her slender fingers with his much thicker, stubbier digits.

"This is hard for you," Kili commented softly, almost hesitantly.

Tauriel immediately knew what her husband meant. "I am very happy for our brother and sister," she commented quietly, "but I cannot help but wish that we had happy news of our own to share."

"My mother was married for many years before she conceived Fili," Kili admitted. "From what I understand, it took my grandmother many years before Thorin was conceived as well."

Tauriel sighed. "I realize that children among the dwarves are treasured because they have often been so few. That is changing now that the city of Erebor is thriving. There is plenty of food and medical care. Children among my own people are also rare. It is only logical that it would take us much longer than Sigrid and Fili to create a child. In the world of men, children are very easily conceived."

Tauriel shifted so that she could look into Kili's face, her own expression filled with sadness. "We may never have a child my love."

Kili's dark eyes took on a hint of mirth which surprised his wife. "Then we will spoil Fili's rotten and send him back to them."

A small laugh escaped her lips. "Yes, I suppose we will," she admitted. Kili was always able to lighten her mood, and Tauriel loved him for it.

Kili slipped his free hand behind her neck and pulled her close for a tender kiss. "We will have our turn, my love. I know we will."

Sigrid's cries from the bed chambers intensified. Kili buried his face in his wife's shoulder and wondered how he would ever stand it if Tauriel was in such pain.

Another cry filled the air a short time later, this time that of a babe. Kili sat up straight and shared a look of wonder with his wife.

Tauriel smiled softly at him and cupped his cheek. "You are an uncle, my dearest."

"Fili is a da." Kili managed a goofy, excited grin before lurching to his feet and pulling Tauriel with him.

"They may want some time alone," Tauriel protested as Kili tugged her toward the bedroom door.

"Aye, but we will be waiting right here when it is our turn to greet my niece or nephew." The dwarf's dark eyes glinted with excitement.

It wasn't long before Fili jerked the door open, his blue eyes sparkling like sapphires as he reached for his younger brother's arm. "Let me introduce you to your brother-son, Kili," he beamed with excitement.

Kili and Tauriel entered Fili's and Sigrid's bedchamber quietly, their gazes fixed on the tired young woman in the bed who held a wrapped bundle in her arms. Her face was pale and sweaty, and her hair clung to her damp forehead and cheeks, but she looked happy.

"Kili, Tauriel," she smiled, "come and meet your brother-son."

Fili lifted the babe carefully from his wife's arms and turned to his brother. "Kili, this is Freyr."

Kili stared down at the blue-eyed babe in his brother's arms. "He's so small. What if I drop him?"

"You won't drop him," Fili reassured his brother. "Just keep your arm under his head and you will be fine."

Kili bit his bottom lip anxiously as he took the babe into his arms. "Fi, he looks so much like you," he breathed quietly as the baby blinked up at him with Fili's blue eyes and hair a shade darker than the blonde dwarf's.

"Aye, but he has Sigrid's chin and ears," Fili pointed out eagerly with a smile at his tired, yet happy wife.

Kili cradled the baby to his chest. "Hello, Freyr; I'm your Uncle Kili and I'm going to be your most favorite person."

Fili snorted. "You will probably end up getting into lots of trouble together."

Kili flashed his trademark grin at his brother before glancing back down at the baby in his arms. "He's perfect, Fi, just perfect."

Tauriel watched her husband hold his brother's son. Kili looked down at the babe in awe and held Freyr as if he was the world's greatest treasure, which to Kili he was. An ache blossomed in her heart. She longed to give Kili a child of his own more than anything.

The she-elf watched as Fili checked on his tired wife and tucked the blankets snuggly around her before brushing a kiss to her sweaty brow. Sigrid smiled up at her husband before her eyes strayed to the babe that lay contentedly in Kili's arms.

Tauriel was jolted from her thoughts as Kili moved to her side. "Look at him, love. Isn't he perfect?"

"Aye," she breathed as the babe's crystal blue eyes stared up at her. "Nothing could be more perfect."

Freyr chose that moment to screw his face up in a scowl. He emitted a squawk which turned into a blustery cry.

Kili was startled. "What's wrong? Did I hurt him?" He turned panicked eyes to his brother and Sigrid.

"No, I think he's just hungry," Sigrid explained.

Fili took the baby from his brother and carried him to his wife.

"We will take our leave and let you get some rest," Tauriel smiled softly. "We will be back in the morning so that I may hold the little one."

Kili clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder. "He's amazing, Fi. I know you're going to make a great da for him. You are so good with Soren and Arne."

Fili smiled. "Thank you, Kili."

As they walked back to their own rooms, Kili threaded his fingers with those of his wife. "Freyr is so amazing, Tauriel. He's so tiny and a perfect combination of my brother and Sigrid."

"Aye, that he is," Tauriel agreed as she tried to imagine a tiny babe that was the perfect combination of herself and her dark-eyed dwarf husband.

To Be Continued…