Epilogue

-Ten Months Later-

Snow lay thick on the forest and the house. Winter had come again to the forest where Kili and Tauriel lived. The year had passed quickly. Kili's leg had healed well, and he regained his skill as an archer with remarkable speed. Tauriel had to remind him repeatedly that she was a better shot than him, and he simply laughed at her. He would glance her up and down and say that she had an 'unfair advantage'. Two against one wasn't fair at all.

Tauriel would rub her pregnant belly and reply that he was lucky she was in a forgiving mood. To that he would just smile.

Tonight was the night. The labor started early in the afternoon, intensifying as the day waned. Now the night went on and on. Tauriel lay on the bed, bathed in sweat.

Kili was a mess. He sat beside the bed, holding Tauriel's hand in his own, "Do you want me to do anything? Get you anything? Anything?"

Tauriel took in a sharp breath and glanced at him, "Just calm down," she took in a deep breath as a wave of pain washing over her entire lower body, "I'm the one having the babe, just hold my hand. That's all I need."

Kili ran a hand through his hair and exhaled, "Its just that back home the fathers never was in the same room. They just stayed in the other room while the women handled this stuff."

Tauriel looked at him and frowned, "You're all I've got. You'll have to do."

Kili gulped, "Right."

Tauriel's breath caught in her chest as a vicious contraction came over her. "They're coming faster and closer together," she took in a quick breath, "You're going to have to catch the baby."

Kili paused, "Are you saying you're gonna toss it to me?"

Tauriel glared at him, "N-not funny!"

Kili chocked back a chuckle, "Right. Not funny."

She motioned to the end of the bed, "The baby is coming, now I need you to get down there and catch it for me."

Kili released her hand and walked to the end of the bed, "Now what?"

Tauriel grasped the blankets and squeezed them until her fists turned white, "What do you think?"

Kili looked at her, glancing down under the sheets, "Okay."

Tauriel felt the urge to push, and she did.

"Whoa!" Kili's eyes boggled, "Its a head! I see the head!"

Tauriel lay back in the bed, "Really? What were you expecting?!"

Kili shrugged, "I don't know, a head is good isn't it?"

Tauriel groaned, pushing hard again, "S-stupid dwarf!"

Kili shook his head, "You don't mean that."

Tauriel closed her eyes, gritting her teeth hard.

Kili grimaced, "It's coming!"

She sat halfway up in the bed, screaming from behind clenched teeth.

"Oh!" Kili grimaced again, then he looked up at her with aw in his eyes, "Almost! Almost there!"

She took in a gulp of air, then gave another strong heave. In that instant she felt her body shiver as the baby was pushed out.

"Its a boy," Kili gasped.

The babe's thin wail filled the cabin as it took its first lungful of air. He cried in protest of being taken out of his comfortable home where he had been living for the past nine months.

Tauriel lay back against the bed and exhaled. After a moment she glanced down at the foot of the bed, and took in the sight of Kili holding their first born babe in his arms. Tauriel smiled softly, "You cut the cord?"

Kili met her gaze and smiled back at her, "I'm not a completely stupid dwarf."

Tauriel smiled weakly. "No, not completely."

He came up beside her, placing the babe in her arms. "You do beautiful work." He brushed Tauriel's hair out of her face and kissed her forehead.

Tauriel looked down at their babe. Blonde curls caught the glow of the fire, and light brown eyes stared up at her from beneath long baby lashes. The babe yawned, wiggling his fingers. She glanced up at Kili, "He has your eyes."

Kili sat down beside the bed, "And your good looks."

Tauriel motioned for Kili to hand her a clean blanket and she wrapped their new babe in it. "What should we call him?"

"Maybe...Dunlin?"

Tauriel glanced down at the babe, "Dunlin? Do you like that name?"

The infant's eyes drifted closed and he began to suck on his fist.

Tauriel met Kili's gaze, "Dunlin sounds nice."

Kili reached down, kissing her softly on the mouth. "He's beautiful, love."

Tauriel smiled, "You helped a little."

"Yes. A little." Kili's smile widened.

Tauriel looked up at him and saw the pride in his eyes. Their babe was beautiful. She couldn't deny that.

****Thirty Years Later***

Tauriel had wanted to come along. The return to the Lonely Mountain was a strange trek through the forest for her, Kili, and their two sons. They had visited with a traveling band of dwarves who spoke of Kili's mother and said she was unwell. It was the next day that they had set out to travel back to the Lonely Mountain. Night had fallen and now the small group was making their way through the city that stood on the side of the mountain.

"Are you sure you don't want to come in?" Kili looked up at Tauriel.

Tauriel shook his head, "No."

Dunlin, who was now nearly grown stood taller than Kili, "Why not?"

Kili glared at Dunlin, "You know why not," he scolded.

Thanlin, the youngest, peered through the window to the cottage, "Do you think she'll even want to see us, father?" Thanlin was the darker of the two brothers. His hair was brown, but he had more of Tauriel's fine features. He was a fierce lad, while Dunlin was the more cheerful.

Kili glanced at Thanlin, "I don't know if she'll want to or not, but she deserves to know about you."

Tauriel glanced around them as the city began to get ready for sleep. "You'd better knock," she said to Kili quietly, "Before she goes to bed."

Kili gazed up at her and nodded. He hadn't aged much, but he still had to walk with a crutch because of the loss of his leg. Gray patches had began to tinge his hair near his temples, but he had not changed more than that. Slowly he made his way up the front path to the door of the house.

Thanlin and Dunlin hesitated beside Tauriel, but she motioned for them to follow their father.

Kili knocked on the door to his mother's house.

Tauriel retreated to the shadows under a tree, having the keen ears of an elf to hear every word that was uttered in the house.

The door was opened slowly, bathing Kili, Thanlin, and Dunlin, in the warm candlelight from inside.

A shocked voice gasped, "Thorin? Is that you?"

Kili took a step back, "No mother," he said, "It's me. Kili."

"K-Kili?" The short dwarven woman stepped out of the house, and then threw her arms around Kili's kneck. "You wretched boy! What curse has kept you away for so long?"

Kili smiled, "Its a long story mother," Kili replied, "These are my sons."

Tauriel's two boys glanced over at her, wanting to see what she thought of the whole thing. Tauriel simply nodded for them to follow Kili.

"Come in!" Kili's mother said, "Come in! Let me look at you!"

Tauriel turned away. This was the dwarven world. She wasn't a part of it. She hadn't felt guilt for thirty years, but it pained her now. Their lives had been good hidden in the woods. Kili had taken it upon himself to become a guardian of all the travelers that passed through the forest's boundaries. Together Kili and Tauriel had fended off robbers, giant spiders, and other monsters that wanted to plunder the travelers.

Eventually the travelers began to tell stories about them. They said that the ghost of Thorin, the last king, haunted the forest. The stories told of a dwarf king and an elf princess who walked the woods together. In a way the stories weren't wrong.

Kili had been right, however. Their sons were different, but their differences made them strong. Dunlin and Thanlin were better archers than she had ever been. They were stronger than any elf or dwarf, and they had the speed of lightning. Together the two of them were unstoppable. Tauriel and Kili had taught them to take stewardship of the forest, and to protect the helpless.

Other dwarves and elves didn't know what to think of Dunlin and Thanlin. Most of the time they were too shocked to say anything. The time of the elves was coming to an end, and Tauriel knew it. The traveling elves that Dunlin and Thanlin met simply looked upon them with exhaustion. Most elves simply didn't care anymore. The dwarf men would always find themselves wanting to challenge her boys, and they always lost.

Tauriel paused and glanced into the window of the house. Kili's mother stood in front of Dunlin and Thanlin, holding their hands in hers. The boys stood towering over her, smiling. Tauriel didn't know if Kili had told his mother about her and she tried not to care. It was obvious her boys were different.

Kili gazed out the window, knowing that Tauriel was watching him. He smiled and winked at her. Tauriel smiled to herself. Kili was still right even now. It didn't matter if his mother didn't accept her. Kili loved her and she loved him. They had made their place in this world. It wasn't the easiest life, but Tauriel knew it had a purpose.

The end

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