Fili wanted to talk to Hana, but the opportunity didn't arise nor did he see her at all for five days. Fili had planned on taking Kili to see the farming site, but a spring downpour of rain prevented them from making that trip.

A training mock battle for the young militia trainees turned a ugly when four of the lads from the two different sides got a angry with each other and went against the mock battle rules, turning it into a real fight. Twenty lads ended up in the infirmary with various degrees of injuries, the worst being a broken leg that required surgery.

The four youth involved were sentenced to hard labor in the darkest parts of Erebor for one week. One of them ended up scrubbing the entire floor of the prison cells by hand with a single scrub brush. Another one had to manually push and pull the mining carts, loaded with heavy rocks, after the mechanism that normally kept the gears turning for the cart train, broke.

That business kept Fili busy for days and he could only assume Hana was kept busy in the infirmary with the wounded lads.

Ten days after sending the raven to Gondor, the raven returned. It looked exhausted. Fili petted and praised the raven before sending for the raven keepers.

The ravens all had their own nests outside of the mountain, or at least Fili assumed they did. He never asked as it would have been very rude to ask the ravens about their private homes. But there was also a home in the mountain for the ravens. It was an old battlement high on the mountain's side. It had been turned into a home away from home for the ravens. Two lads lived there and kept the place clean and stocked with food. They also cared for any ravens that were injured. They were the raven keepers and Fili was always grateful for their devotion to his precious ravens.

After the raven keepers had taken the tired bird away, Fili tore open the letter.

"Fili of Erebor, King Under the Mountain,

I was delighted to received your letter. I am sorry to hear your daughter's pregnancy has been so difficult. I will of course come to Erebor and see what I can do for her. Thank you for inviting me. It is my privilege to attend to the Princess. King Aragorn and I will leave immediately and provided all goes well, we will arrive in Erebor in a fortnight.

Your friend and servant,
Queen Arwen."

"Kili!" Fili called to his brother. "Kili, where are you?"

Kili came running into the room, his sword in hand, ready to take down any who threatened his brother. "Fili? What is it?"

"They are coming, Kili! King Aragorn and Queen Arwen. They are coming here!"

"When?"

"In a fortnight. She will see Milly. Oh, Mahal, Milly might have a chance to survive," Fili about fell to the floor.

"Tauriel has the rooms already cleaned and ready. Staff and servants have been assigned. They are ready for our visitors," Kili said.

Fili looked relieved for a moment. "I need to speak to Milly," Fili said. He left the letter with Kili and Fili took off running for Milly's apartment. Graig opened the door.

"Is she awake?" Fili asked.

"The healer is with her now," Graig explained. "Come on in." Graig led Fili to Milly's room. Hana was sitting on the corner of the bed, repacking her things into her bag. Milly looked as pale as ever. Fili's heart broke. Seeing his Milly like this was terrible. Under the blankets, Fili could see the small bump that was Milly's stomach. She deserved to be wearing dresses of beautiful colors, sewn to show off the royal baby she carried. She should be glowing and smiling and floating down the halls of Erebor. Her people should be admiring their princess. Instead, Milly laid in her bed, pale and ill, wearing a loose night gown and covered in blankets.

"Adad," Milly smiled. Fili went to her and kissed her cheek.

His hand hovered over her stomach. "May I?" he asked.

Milly nodded and Fili pulled away the top blanket. He laid his hand on her stomach and felt the tough muscle under his hand. "How is our royal troublemaker today?"

Milly smiled. "He's good. I've been feeling him move more. It's such an amazing feeling."

Fili felt a light bump against his hand. He grinned at Milly. She nodded. "That's your grandchild. I think he's going to be a fighter."

"Of course he is. He's a Durin." Fili left his hand on her stomach a moment longer, hoping to feel another kick, but it seemed his grandchild would not oblige. He stood up and looked for Hana. She was moving to the door. "Not so fast, Hana," he said. She stopped and waited. "I've just recieved a letter from Queen Arwen. She will be here in a fortnight."

"Oh that's good news," Hana said. "Did she mention if she needed anything?"

"No. Nothing was mentioned in her letter, anyway," Fili answered. He turned back to Milly. "Don't forget that you're a Durin too and Durin's are strong. Stay strong, Milly, please? Help is coming."

"Oh, don't worry about me, Adad," Milly smiled. "Better worry about poor Graig here. I've had him get up at all hours of the night to go to the kitchens to fetch me the oddest foods."

"I remember your Ma doing that to me," Fili laughed. "And are you eating these odd foods?"

"Yes," Milly answered, "I eat them, but they never stay long before my body rejects them. Odd food cravings seem like a good idea at the time, but they are terrible when they come back up."

Fili grimaced. "Well, keep trying. Maybe you'll find the food that baby of yours needs and you can keep it down."

"That's my hope," Milly leaned back into her pillows and closed her eyes.

Fili kissed her head again and followed Hana and Graig out.

"Thanks for coming," Graig said. "This is just the news she needed to hear today."

Hana nodded.

"What do you mean? Is something wrong?" Fili asked.

"Nothing more than usual," Hana said, "It's just, she's losing hope. She's only halfway there, but she's giving up."

"Oh, my Milly," Fili sighed.

"Graig?" they hear Milly call out.

Graig turned and dashed back into the bedroom. Hana and Fili waited. Graig returned moments later. "Fili, she wants to talk to you."

Fili looked to Hana. "I'll wait," she said.

Fili went to Milly's room and shut the door. He took her by the hand and sat next to her on the bed. "What is it?"

Milly smiled. "Adad? When are you going to tell Hana that you love her?"

"What?" Fili chuckled. "Am I that obvious?"

"No, not too badly, but Hana is. She keeps asking me funny little questions about you or she'll ask if you've been to see me recently. Adad, she likes you and I'm guessing the feeling is mutual? I mean, this isn't some one-sided infatuation on her part, is it?"

Fili was grinning. "No, it's not. Do you approve, though? She's your midwife."

"And you're my father. Yes, I approve. Although, if you marry her, you'll either have to build me a chair like Torsten's so I can go to the wedding, or you'll have to hold the wedding in here. I don't want to miss it."

"Who said anything about a wedding? I've hardly seen her in a week and we have done little more than hold hands," Fili blushed.

"But you do love her, don't you?" Milly asked.

Fili looked at his daughter; the child of his love for his first wife. How could he ask his daughter to accept a third mother? "Yes," Fili sighed. "I do love her."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Milly grinned.

Fili gave her hand a squeeze, then he left.

"Is everything alright?" Hana asked as Fili came out of the room. He turned back and saw Milly smiling at him.

"Yes, everything is fine," he said. "Come on, let's let Milly rest."

They said their goodbye to Graig and left. Hana slung her bag over her shoulder. Fili reached to her and took her hand in his. She looked to him and he smiled at her.

"Do you have a few minutes to talk?" he asked.

"Yes, I do, but do you realize it's the middle of the day? Someone might see this," she gave his hand a squeeze.

He started to walk, but he didn't know where to go. It wasn't something to be discussed in the hall and going to one of their homes was out of the question. He would take her to the lake. It was risky in the middle of the day. Anyone could see them along the way or even be visiting the lake, but nowhere else seemed a better place to go.

They reached their favorite alcove without seeing anyone. They sat down in their usual places, but Fili didn't let go of her hand.

"Hana, I, um," Fili felt such a fool. It had been far too long since he had tried to woo a lass. "I have, over the last few months, been very happy to have your friendship. You have made me happy."

"As have you to me, my King."

"I have to admit now, though, that my feelings for you run a little deeper than friendship. I have come to love you and I hope you can accept my love." Fili could feel himself shaking.

"Fili," Hana spoke slowly and quietly, "I do accept your love, with all my heart ad I am happy to give you my love in return. I love you, too."

They leaned forward and kissed. For a moment, it was very awkward, but then they melted into each other, remembering how sweet it was to kiss someone like this. Their lips didn't move, but their hands curled themselves around each other's shoulders and head. Hana let out a little moan. She quickly pulled her face away from Fili, her cheeks red.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Sorry for what? Enjoying the kiss? Don't be. I loved it," he leaned in to kiss her again.

Her hands moved to cup his face and she ran her fingers along his jaw line through his beard. This time it was Fili's turn to moan. Hana gave a little giggle before she moved her mouth to his cheek.

"I'm afraid I'm rather out of practice," she said.

"I don't care. So am I," he said. This time they both laughed before going to another kiss.

"What about your family?" Hana said after they had spent several minutes exploring each other's faces with their lips.

"Milly and Kili already know."

Hana sat back, blushing in embarrassment and shock. "Milly and the Prince?"

"I know. Terrible, isn't it? They realized it before I did. Besides, I can't keep anything from Kili. He knows me too well." Fili smiled. "They both encourage the relationship, so, may I ask, Healer Hana, if I might court you?"

"Aren't we too old to be courting?" Hana asked with a smile.

"Not at all. Uncle Thorin courted Fire when he was two hundred and five," Fili told her.

"Oh? But we love each other. Do we have to bother with courting at all?"

"Yes, but don't worry. We can make it a very short courtship, if you wish," Fili answered.

"Who would marry us?"

"Kili."

"How soon can he get here?" she smiled.

Fili laughed. "Eager, are you?"

Hana's smile faded. "Fili, I love you and I don't want to see our friendship go, but truly, before I can agree to courtship or marriage, I need to know something very important first."

Fili nodded. They were rather rushing things.

"I'm young. We both are. Well, sort of, I guess, anyway, I see we could still have a good century of life ahead of us, or more. I, well, how would, no." She paused, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "What I mean is, I want, um," she stumbled over her words.

Fili took her face in his hands and brought their foreheads together. "Hana, I would never deny you a child," he said.

Hana gasped. Without her asking, he had already acknowledged her fear and granted her permission for her greatest wish. Tears formed in her eyes. "But you're going to be a grandfather soon. You wouldn't want a new child of your own."

"Ever since I was very young," Fili continued to hold her face in his hands and used the pads of his thumbs to wipe at her tears, "I knew I wanted a family. Mailli and I wanted many children, but that didn't work out for us and Mailli died. Sigrid and I wanted more children, but the dwarven pregnancy was too hard on her human body, so we had our one and were thankful for him. I love my children. I have loved being a father and if Mahal were to bless us and give us a child, I would be so very, very happy."

"Really? You know how much having a child means to me. I would rather go through the rest of my life alone than have a husband who would not give me the chance to be a mother. Do you tease me?"

"I would never tease you about this," Fili said in all seriousness. "If we marry and you conceive a child, I would celebrate our good fortune every day. The opportunity to be a mother would never be denied to you."

Hana's mouth was on Fili's lips in an instant. She laughed as tears streamed down her face.

"Oh, Fili," she cried into his shoulder.

He held her tight. It felt so good to hold her. He might never let go.