Chapter 9 - Incoming

At the shoulder of an Ent, Kili traveled during daylight for life signals of either flora or fauna. He was fully bundled in the garments his beloved weaved for him from organic materials, to resist the cold, and yet he shivered. He already missed the warmer days in which he could go outdoors freely, hunting again. Everyday for three weeks it was the same search, as long as there was no snow storms to force him stay indoors. He always returned home to Tauriel after his daily reckonings. Sometimes he left early, when Tauriel was still asleep. Her condition was very advanced, making her rest mostly. When not resting, she spent time melting some snow in order to have water for any purpose; from drinking to cleaning or bathing. The waterfalls were still frozen and she missed them dearly.

During one of these expeditions, and after hours of reckoning, Kili asked his ride partner to stop. The Ent offered its hand for Kili to jump in so he could be lowered to the ground, where he could make a closer examination. He brushed off some snow from what seemed to be a mound. To his surprise, he found a new growth; it was a sprout of some sort of perennial vegetation. He smiled widely. It meant the birds would soon migrate back. He collected just one leaf to show Tauriel, climbing back into the Ent's hand for a ride home. He was all excited upon returning, slamming the door open when he got back home. Tauriel had her gown on and was getting ready to melt some snow for water, when Kili startled her...

"Love, look what I have found! I took this sample from a new growth out there! It's just a sprout, I know. But soon there could be more!" He said all excited, as he placed his evidence on Tauriel's hand.
"This is wonderful news!" She said all joyous, giggling like a young lass. They held each other's hands with excitement, smiling widely. Kili squeezed hers a little tight, making her gasp.
"Sorry, sorry! I guess I got a little carried away..." he said, feeling foolish.
"Oh it's alright. I'm fine. I'm... " She responded, unable to finish her sentence when her water broke. Both their smiles erased simultaneously, as they looked down at Tauriel's legs being soaked by that viscous substance. The floor was a mess, and so was her gown. It needed to be washed. "Uh oh" she said with embarrassment...

"Oh my, oh my, oh my! How could I forget? It is the ninth moon already!" said Yavanna with excitement, ready to get hold of her project, when Aulë practically yanked it from the table.

"I want to watch! This has been tickling my curiosity for some time now!" he said.

"It's my project! Give it back!" she demanded.

"What is all this commotion about?" said Ilúvatar, who was walking by when he noticed the abrupt movements.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just telling Yavanna she forgot to set the spring." said Aulë to cover up.

"Is this all? Are you sure?" asked Ilúvatar.

"Absolutely positive. Now if you excuse us, we have some work to do!" said Yavanna, picking up her husband's words.

Ilúvatar raised an eyebrow at them both, shook his head and left the workshop rolling his eyes.

Kili's eyes and mouth were wide open. He began to scratch the back of his head nervously, feeling impotent to the scene before him; Tauriel ducked on the floor, embracing her belly and groaning painfully. Her teeth clenched, her eyelids tightly shut, her neck veins inflated, her face red with the extreme pressure. The pain eased for a moment, giving her a chance to pant heavily. Tears rolled down her cheeks. During that brief moment, he attempted to carry her to bed when he got yelled at.

"Don't... You... Dare... Touch... Me!" She said between gasps, glaring at him.
"What will you have me do?" He yelled, oblivious to what was happening and terrified for not knowing what to do.
"Hold me!" She whimpered painfully. He ducked with her, extending his arms to embrace her, when she grabbed both his hands, squeezing them really hard. Another contraction, stronger than the previous, had her groan again. She gasped between intervals.

"LET GO OF ME!" She demanded, just to quickly make up her mind, "No, no, don't go! Please!" she said whimpering. Kili was very scared. Never has he seen her so helpless and despairing. The amount of pain she projected was beyond anything he could possibly imagine and it was making him really stressful.
"Lay down!" he said.
"NO!" she yelled. It was only wise for him to remain silent.

Each time the contractions were stronger, in a process that seemed to never end. There was a very brief interval after the fifth contraction, between the previous and the next. This time, Tauriel squeezed Kili's hands so hard, he felt her fingernails digging deeply into his flesh. He groaned loudly, but it did not compare to what she was going through. The child began to crown, stretching her nether regions to their maximum capacity. She groaned longer this time, the pain was so unbearable she screamed loudly. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets with the pressure. Right at that moment, a tiny head showed out of Tauriel's body. She let go of Kili's hands finally. As an impulse, he cupped both his hands under her to receive the tiny body, as it began to slip out easy once it got past the shoulders.

The baby was born finally and the pain was over. Tauriel panted heavily, extremely exhausted and fully spent. She began to sob uncontrollably, lower lip quivering as she embraced her now sagging belly. Kili held the blood soaked baby in his arms, dumbfounded to the frail life before him. He laughed nervously like a fool, with tears in his eyes. It was a very healthy baby boy that began to cry at the top of his lungs. With one arm, he held the little one, while embracing Tauriel with the other. She retrieved the little bundle from Kili's arm, embracing it close to her heart. The baby did not hesitate to turn his face to one of her breasts, taking her nipple in his mouth and feeding from it with devotion. Kili embraced them both, kissing Tauriel's forehead and bursting into tears. The sole thought of losing her was too much to bear. Kili was glad the worse was over.

To be continued...