Babysitting
Fili opened his eyes and waited for them to focus to the morning world. He rolled over and gazed upon the most beautiful thing he had ever seen – his wife. He smiled. His wife. He never grew tired of that. She was the most beautiful, kind, wonderful person he had ever known and she was his and he was hers.
They had known each other for more than fifty years and they had lived under the same roof for ten years now, after her family died in the mudslide that had also killed his father. But now, it wasn't just sharing a home. It was sharing their own home and sharing a bed that made the world so perfect. He couldn't help but just scooting in closer to her. Her eyes opened and she smiled at him.
"Good morning," she said.
"It is when I wake up with you by my side," Fili replied.
She leaned forward and kissed him. "I didn't mean to sleep in so late. I should have gotten up and started breakfast." She sat up and started to get out of bed, but Fili pulled her back down. She fell with a plop onto her side of the bed, but her head landed on his chest. She giggled as he pulled her closer.
"Didn't you hear me?" he asked. "I said it's a good morning when I wake up by your side."
"So, what about those morning when I get up earlier than you or when we have our own baby one day and I'm awake with it before you wake. Does that mean you will not have a good morning?"
"No. It just means it won't be as good of a morning if you're not by my side," he kissed her neck.
She rolled over, laying on her stomach and looking at his clear blue eyes. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Anything."
"Kiss me again and I'll go fix you anything," she smiled.
"Your wish is my command," Fili grinned and kissed Thora in a deep, loving kiss.
She sighed contentedly when they pulled away. "I'll go fix breakfast," she hopped up.
Fili got out of bed, washed his hands and face and dressed for the day. He was leaving in three weeks and so was trying to finish up every bit of smithing work in the forge. He would leave nothing undone and would make sure to collect all his payments before he left. Once he and Kili were gone, it would be up to Dis and Thora to provide for themselves. A part of him felt he should not leave the women-folk here, alone. But, he had committed to Thorin to go. He was Thorin's prince and heir and with only thirteen dwarrow going, every sword was needed.
By the time he had dressed for the day, Thora was placing food onto a plate. She passed it to him and they sat down together for breakfast. Then, Fili was off for the day. Thora cleaned up dishes and started some bread. She gathered dirty clothes and headed over to Dis's home. They would be washing today. They chatted together as they worked, like they had for the last ten years.
Not long after they got started, a young dwarfling ran down the path towards them, calling for Lady Dis.
The small child was round and had bright red hair. It was obviously one of Bombur and Izzy's many children. One dwarfling to a family was a blessing. Two were doubly so. Three dwarflings, while rarer, were not unheard of, after all, Dis herself was the youngest of three, and three were considered to be a great gift from Mahal. But, for whatever reason, most dwarven families never had more than three. But Bombur and Izzy had done something completely unheard of among dwarf-kind. They had eleven children, with a twelfth one on the way.
Dis couldn't keep track of all their names and she did not know the name of the one running up her path now; only that it was a son of Bombur.
"Lady Dis! Lady Dis!" the child yelled, an edge of panic to his voice.
Dis and Thora dropped what they were doing and ran to the child. "What is it young one?"
The little boy was panting. "It's Mama. The baby! She wants your help."
Dis took the child by the hand and they ran back down the path towards Izzy's home. Thora was close behind. Dis had attended all of the births of Izzy's children, so she could tell right away that things weren't quite right. The children hovered quietly outside of the house. Usually, Izzy was surrounded by her children and family when she gave birth. Izzy's eldest daughter, a lovely lass in her fifties now, greeted them.
"Lady Dis, I'm so glad you could come. Amad's not doing well. The baby's on its way and it's not going right." Dis followed the lass into the house. Thora could hear a cry from within the home.
She looked around at the children, who stood nervously outside the door. They were scared and the youngest one, who looked to be about six was quietly crying. The oldest three sons, who were closest to Fili and Kili's ages, were off at work. That left seven children standing outside the house.
"Dear ones," Thora said. "Would you like to come to my house while your Amad has her baby?"
"I want Mama!" the youngest lad cried.
"Mama is busy right now, little one. Why don't you come to my house? We'll play, I'll fix lunch and we'll wait for the new baby together. How does that sound?" Thora looked to the older children. They nodded. "Wonderful. Wait here while I tell you Amad that I'm taking you." Thora went into the house. She found Dis and several dams working around a laboring Izzy.
"Dis," Thora tapped her mother-by-wed on the shoulder. "I'm going to take the children to my house. There are seven of them that will be coming."
"Oh, good. Thank you." Dis leaned into Thora and whispered, "Things aren't going well here. It will be for the best if the young ones aren't around."
Thora felt her stomach clinch with worry. She looked to Izzy's eldest daughter. "I'm taking your siblings to my house. Do they have anything here they would like while they stay with me? Any blankets, toys or story books?"
The daughter nodded and left the room. Thora was about to follow when Izzy called to her.
"Thora," she panted. "Thank you."
Thora smiled kindly. "You don't worry about a thing. You just focus on getting that new little one here." She kissed Izzy's forehead, then she went to find the daughter.
The daughter was gathering things and putting them into a bundle. Then she passed it to Thora. "Thank you."
Thora nodded her head and took the bundle. She went back outside to where the children waited. "Now then, come with me." She took the youngest one by the hand and they walked down the path. They were all a little nervous. She led them into her house and suddenly wondered what to do with seven dwarflings. Three of them were still quite young.
"Now, first things first. I'm Thora and I want to learn all of your names," she smiled at them.
The eldest of the group introduced himself as Olur. From him, she learned the rest were Wilur, Mandur, Cofur, Dombur, Bufur, and the little girl was Mizzy. Thora knew there was no way she could keep them all straight.
"I'm very happy to know you all. I've seen you around the village for years, but I never knew all your names. I hope you'll forgive me if I forget or get them mixed up."
"It's alright," one of them said. "Adad never gets our names right either." The children all laughed.
"Well then," Thora chuckled, "what kinds of things do you like to do? What do you do when you are at home?"
"We play," one said.
"And we eat!" said another.
"I like stories," Mizzy said.
"No, I want to sword fight!" the littlest one said.
Thora laughed, "Wait, wait. You older ones may go outside, but you must stay in front of the house and you cannot go more than twenty paces down the path. Always be where I can see you if I look out the window or door. You do not have to go out if you don't want to, though. Your sister gave me some of your things." She opened the bundle and pulled out several worn blankets, a rag doll, several wooden play figures of dwarves and ponies, a small book and a small wooden box.
"We can play flip flop!" one of the children said, picking up the small box.
"What's flip flop?" Thora asked.
"It's a game Uncle Bofur taught us."
Thora watched the child open the box and dump its contents. It looked like dozens of small round, polished, wood pieces. The four of the children sat down in a circle. The older three went out the front door. Thora looked out the window to make sure they were obeying her instructions and was pleased to see they were, so far. She would check again in a few moments. She went back to the circle of children and watched as they each picked up one of the round chips. The box was placed in the middle of the circle and the first child used his chip to press down on one of the other round pieces. A moment later, the piece of wood flew up into the air and landed near the box. He groaned. The next child did the same, but his piece flew backwards and landed farther away from the box. They all laughed. The third child pressed his chip onto one of the others. The piece flew up and landed right into the box. They all cheered and he got to go again. Last, Mizzy took her turn and sent her little round flying across the circle.
They went around and around until all the pieces had been flipped into the box. Thora was invited to join them on the next game. She took one last look at the three older children outside and saw they were playing a game of touch and run in front of the house. She went to the circle and sat in the spot where the children had made room for her. She got her own round piece and they started the game again. Thora quickly learned there was an art to the way they pressed down on one piece of wood with another to get them to fly into the air at all, and a whole lot of luck involved in getting the pieces into the box.
They played for a long time, with Thora checking on the others periodically. They were good, obedient children and never left the borders that Thora set for them. Later, they were all quite hungry and they all ate all the food Thora had planned on her and Fili's dinner, including the fresh loaf of bread. It didn't matter. With a little help from the children, she mixed up a new batch of bread, and started a hearty stew.
After lunch, they sat together, in the house and listened while Thora read a story from the small book their sister had sent. When Fili and Thora had moved into Thorin's house, after the wedding, Fili had brought over several of his own favorite books. One of them had dwarven tales of old and she read a few of Fili's favorite stories out loud. The small ones fell asleep after a while and Thora laid them down on her bed.
With the elder children's help, she brought back the clothes she and Dis had started washing. She filled up her own smaller wash tub and worked outside, washing clothes, while the little ones slept.
The afternoon went quickly and Thora stayed very busy with the children. Dinner was ready and now they were waiting for Fili to come home. No news of Izzy had come to them yet. The youngest child was perched on Thora's hip while she set out all the bowls that were in the house. It wouldn't be enough. After Fili came home, she would send him over to Dis's house to collect more bowls and invite Kili to dine with them.
Dis exchanged one bowl of lukewarm water for another bowl of colder water from the well. Izzy was having such a hard time. With the cooler water, Dis sponged Izzy's face and neck, trying to help her keep cool and as comfortable as was possible while in hard labor. She had been at this for hours, which was very unusual. She had given birth so many times, her body didn't require quite so much time to prepare for birth. The midwife suspected the baby was turned wrong. Bombur had come home a while ago, but there was nothing he could do to help and his massive bulk made it hard for the dams to work, so he was sent to the local ale house with his brother and cousin to wait out the birth.
Izzy cried out again as another contraction pushed on her. She finally was reaching the point where the midwife could properly feel the baby to determine its position. She was right. The baby was turned wrong. The midwife was going to have to reach in and try and turn the baby before it became completely lodged. If they couldn't turn it, they would lose both Izzy and the baby.
Dis prayed to Mahal to ask him to see Izzy through this. It would take all the midwife's skill, Izzy's dwarven determination and strength and a lot of luck to get the baby here safely.
Fili was not expecting a house full of young dwarflings when he walked in, but after the initial shock, his heart fluttered to see his lovely Thora surrounded by children. They would have to have lots of children. Thora would make such a perfect mother.
"Well," Fili grinned. "Where did these rascals come from? Did someone leave them on our doorstep?" He knew very well who these children belonged too. There was no mistaking Bombur's clan of dwarflings.
"I just found them, growing in a nearby tree," Thora said with a straight face, "and I thought they were so sweet, I plucked them from the tree and brought them home."
Mizzy giggled. "No Mister Fili, we didn't grow on a tree."
"No?" Fili asked. "Perhaps you grew out of the rock and the miners found you?"
"No, we didn't grow out of rock!" the youngest boy, Bufur laughed.
"Then where did all these children come from, Thora?" Fili asked, his eyes twinkling with merriment.
"From our house," Mizzy said, as if the answer should be as clear as a diamond.
Thora nodded. She went up to Fili and kissed his cheek. "Izzy's having her baby," she explained, "and so some of the children are staying with me until the baby has arrived. Now everyone," Thora looked to the army of children, "supper is almost ready. Go to the water barrel outside and wash your hands." She handed Bufur to the eldest, Olur. The children all went out, leaving Thora and Fili alone in the house. "A moment of peace," she laughed. "Fili, I don't believe Izzy's birth is going well. I've had the children here since mid-morning."
"Perhaps this one is just taking longer," Fili offered.
Thora nodded. "Perhaps. I hope so. Anyway, I don't know how long they'll be here, so we might need to find places for them to sleep later." Fili nodded in agreement.
The first two children walked back into the house, their hands and faces wet and dripping.
"All clean!" one child announced.
"Good for you. Now, go and sit down," Thora said. She looked back to Fili. "Would you go to your amad's home and get some more bowls? Also, invite Kili to dinner. Goodness knows I could use another set of hands."
"Sure," Fili said, backing out of the house and two more children came in. He left down the path and Thora did her best to find a place for all the children to sit. Most of them would be eating on the floor, but they didn't seem to mind. Thora dished up what she could and gave the food to the youngest children. Little Bufur needed help, so Thora picked him up into her lap and fed him. It wasn't long until Fili and Kili arrived with more bowls and two more chairs.
They all ate and Kili entertained the children with some songs on his fiddle. The night grew darker and later and still they hadn't heard from Dis about Izzy. Thora decided the children would just have to stay for the night. She sent the three older children with Kili back to Dis's house. She pulled out every blanket she could find and laid out a sleeping spot at the foot of her bed. It wasn't ideal, but it would have to do for this one night. The four children laid down on the blankets, snuggled closely together. Fili sat on the edge of the bed and told the children a story. Thora kissed them all good night and she and Fili went back into the sitting room.
They talked quietly about their days and Fili enjoyed hearing about Thora's day with the children. She decided to go and check on Kili and make sure he was doing alright with the older children and was very pleased to find that he had found them places to sleep and the children were all asleep. She explained what she knew about what was going with Izzy to Kili, but it was very little. Once she was sure Kili was fine with his charges, Thora went to Izzy's house. She could see lights coming through the windows. She didn't even bother to knock, but walked in.
Izzy's room was a beehive of activity, but right away, Thora noticed the eldest daughter with a small bundle in her arms and judging by the way she was smiling and cooing over the blankets, Thora could only assume a baby strong and alive was cradled in her arms. Izzy was pale, her eyes closed and her forehead creased with pain. The midwife, Dis and the other two dams were working over Izzy's body, the midwife quietly asking for things, that Dis and the others would fetch.
"Oh, Thora," Dis said when she spotted her adopted daughter. "The baby's here. A girl this time."
Thora smiled at the eldest daughter. She shyly smiled back.
"And Izzy?" Thora asked quietly.
"We're doing all we can to keep her alive, but she's strong. If anyone can recover from a birth like this, it will be Izzy."
"Is there anything I can do?" Thora asked.
"My children?" Izzy whispered, her voice hoarse.
"They are well. Three of them are with Kili at Lady Dis's house and the four youngest are with Fili and I at Thorin's house," Thora answered.
Izzy smiled tiredly. "Go get Bombur," she said.
Thora nodded. "I'll send Fili to fetch him. You relax now, Izzy. Your children are safe and well. We'll check on you tomorrow. May I tell them they have a sister?"
Izzy nodded.
Thora turned to Dis and whispered. "Where will I find Bombur?"
"Ale house," Dis answered. "He should be there with Bofur."
Thora left and went home. When she got there, Fili was holding little Mizzy. She was asleep on his shoulder and he was walking around the room, bouncing her gently and singing. Suddenly Thora wanted to have a dozen dwarflings of her own, just to see Fili like this again.
"Well?" he asked when she walked in.
"A girl," Thora smiled. "But, Izzy's still not doing well and they aren't entirely sure she is going to live through the night."
Fili gasped. "Is there anything we can do?"
Thora nodded. "Izzy asked for you to get Bombur. He's at the ale house with Bofur."
Fili transferred the sleeping dwarfling into Thora's arms, kissed Mizzy's head then Thora's lips and he left. Thora was exhausted. She laid Mizzy down on her side of the bed, then she went into the washroom and changed into her night dress. She climbed into the center of the bed and pulled Mizzy close to her. She wanted to wait for Fili, but she was just too tired and soon fell asleep.
She woke to a darkened room, with a small, warm body in front of her and a large, warm body climbing into bed behind her.
"Sorry," Fili whispered, "I didn't mean to wake you."
"It's alright," Thora said. "Did you get Bombur back home?"
"Yeah. You should have seen the poor dwarrow. His hair was standing on end. His three oldest children were there with him. The oldest, Vhur, lives with Bofur, so Bofur just took his three nephews with him. I went with Bombur and got to see the baby. She's a beautiful red head, just like Izzy ."
"How was Izzy doing?" Thora asked.
"They're worried for her. She's developed a fever," Fili sighed. "Amad asked if we were willing to keep the children tomorrow as well. I told her we could and I promised her I'll stay home to help you with them all. Kili will stay too, if we ask him."
"It would probably be a good idea. Or maybe you and Kili can take the older ones hunting. We'll need more food if we are to keep feeding this lot regularly."
She could feel Fili chuckling behind her. He curled up behind her. "We'll do whatever we need to," he said.
The children stayed for two more days with Thora and Fili while Izzy slowly overcame her fever. Then, the oldest children went home and the five youngest were divided between Dis and Beleza, where they stayed for several weeks. Izzy was strong and two weeks after the hard, traumatic birth, she was back on her feet as if nothing had happened. The newest one, Cizzy, was strapped to Izzy's front with a sling and their days resumed as normal, which was good, because she recovered just in time for Bombur to leave with the rest of the dwarrow who were going with Thorin to Erebor.
"When we reclaim Erebor and get settled into our new home, I want a dozen children, just like Bombur, except, I want all girls who look like you," Fili nuzzled his nose into Thora's neck one night.
"How about we split the numbers? Six golden haired, strong dwarrow like you and six daughters," Thora lifted her chin so Fili could access her neck better for kissing.
He hummed into neck. "Sounds wonderful."
Thora felt a tear come to her eye. She knew Fili would be the greatest father. All he had to do was survive the slaying of a dragon.