A few days later Poppy had fully recovered from giving birth and soon she and Fili faced the difficulties of having twins. They had enough clothes and blankets for both of them but for example only one cradle. For the first few days Lili and Vili slept in between their parents. In that way they could keep them close and it was easy for Poppy to feed them. But that wouldn't be a solution in the long run. In their storage room they found a basket. Poppy remembered that her mother had often placed her youngest brother in it when they were in the garden. So they decided to use the basket as a bed for one of the little ones until they had a second cradle.

One afternoon Poppy fed her children and then put them into their new beds. Then she went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. But just a few seconds later she heard on of the babies cry and ran back to the nursery. Lili was asleep in the cradle but Vili lay in the basket screaming terribly. She took him into her arms and tried to comfort him as good as possible. She whispered into his ear while stroking his golden curls and his back and placing soft kisses on his face. Vili continued to whimper for a few minutes but then calmed down. Poppy placed him in the basket again but decided to take him to the kitchen. She wanted to have him close and also didn't want him to wake his sister.

Poppy had barely left the room when Lili started to cry. She put Vili on the kitchen floor and went back to comfort Lili but she wouldn't stop crying no matter what Poppy did. She carried her to the kitchen as well because she wanted to check on Vili. He had tears in his eyes, too. Poppy sighed and brought Lili to the living room. Then she fetched Vili and sat down in their armchair. It was a bit difficult but soon she held both of her little ones in her arms. Finally they calmed down.

In the end Poppy decided to put some blankets onto the kitchen floor to let them sleep there. This wasn't the best solution but she had some work to do and like that they would at least be close to her. She built a little nest of blankets and put Lili in it first. She seemed to be happy. But Vili started to whimper once again when Poppy put him down. She was about to take him into her arms once again when Lili put her little arm on his belly. Vili immediately relaxed and stopped crying. It looked like they tried to get closer to each other. Poppy helped them and stroked their curls with a smile on her face. Soon they fell asleep while holding each other's hands.

Soon Fili returned home from the forge. He felt terrible for leaving Poppy alone with the children but he had to make the sword for the Thain's son. He entered the kitchen and saw their little ones in their nest on the floor. He kissed his wife and looked at her curiously. "What are Lili and Vili doing in the floor?"

Poppy held his hand but looked down "I had tried to put them in their beds but they wouldn't stop crying until they were together again. They are inseparable." She sighed. "I wanted to put them on our bed together but I had to do some chores and I didn't want to leave them alone. I worried that they might somehow fall down. I, I didn't know what to do. Im a terrible mother."

Fili noticed that Poppy was trying to hide her tears. He caressed her cheeks and chin and made her look at him. "No, you're not. You're doing very well. If someone is terrible here, it's me! I shouldn't have left you alone with them so soon after their birth. I'm sorry! You're nest of blankets is a good idea." He kissed his wife again and wrapped his arms around her.

After a few minutes Poppy asked. "Did you meet the carpenter today?"

Fili shook his head. "No, he wasn't a home when I went there earlier."

"Maybe it's good that he wasn't at home. I thought about something." Poppy said and looked towards her children. "As I said earlier, they seem to be inseparable. Maybe we could ask him to make a cradle that is big enough for both of them together."

"That's a wonderful idea, my love! I'm sure they'll like it and the carpenter can build something like that." Fili said and kissed her once more. "And if he won't I will do it."

While Poppy finished cooking, Fili kneeled down in front of his children and trailed his fingers over their faces, hair and bodies. He talked to them and Lili and Vili wrapped their tiny fingers about one of Fili's fingers. He still couldn't believe that they were his and Poppy's and smiled brightly.

That evening they tried to put the children into their separate little beds but they soon started crying. So Fili and Poppy took them to their bed once again. Vili and Lili soon fell asleep cuddled up close to each other. Their parents talked for a while and finally decided to ask someone for help since Fili couldn't stop working completely and it was difficult for Poppy to carry both children around at the same time. Camellia had her own family to look after and Daisy had to work at the inn. So they decided to ask Bilbo. He adored the children and they were sure that he'd happy be to help.

The next morning Fili went to Bilbo to ask him and of course the hobbit came back down the hill to their smial at once. Over the next few days he did the household and Poppy took care of her little ones. They quickly gained more weight and soon it was impossible for her to carry them both. So Bilbo started to help with the children, too. He carried them around and helped to change their diapers or to bathe them.

Lili liked uncle Bilbo and was happy when he carried her around as long as mother was around and she could watch her with her big blue eyes and her brother was in the same room as well. She smiled at him and tried to grab his hair.

Vili always cried when Bilbo spent time with him though. Bilbo couldn't comfort him, not even when they stood close to Poppy. Fili had a similar problem. When he carried Vili, the little boy often cried, too and only relaxed when he talked to him, especially when he talked in Khuzdul. But Vili only seemed to be truly happy and contented when his mother spent time with him. He loved to be in her arms with his head on her chest.

It looked like only his mother's heartbeat or the touch of his sister could calm him down completely. Fili and Poppy were pretty sure that Vili and Lili shared such a special bond because they were twins. They had spent nearly nine months together in their mother's womb and didn't want to be alone now either. But Vili's behaviour was different from Lili's. They were sure that something was wrong with him but they had no idea what it might be.