Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I won't be posting anything during the holiday weekend, so I am trying to get the updates out as quickly as I can.

I am so glad that you all have enjoyed taking this journey with me. I do plan on posting a whole new Hobbit story, but I am currently looking for a Beta who is willing to work with me on it before I even post the first chapter. So if you are interested in being the Beta for the new story please message me.

Khuzdul. Sindarin.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hobbit or LOTR.

Five months later…

The white city of Minas Tirith is being repaired, though slowly, but they had help. After helping one another on the battlefields, the dwarves decided that they too would help this city of Men rebuild. Many of the dwarves left to follow their king and queen back to Erebor, but there were few who remained behind to help with repairing the white city. Among those who stayed behind were Kili, his wife Tauriel, their two daughters, and Gimli.

Yet on this particular day, there was no work being done in the city. Instead, there was to be a day of celebration. For today is the day that this city of Men would see the restoration of the line of their kings. Today was Aragorn's coronation day.

The preparations for the ceremony had taken several days to complete, which Tauriel saw to the many boughs of greenery were placed just so. To many, this may have been a normal sight to see an elleth weaving plants and flowers together, but for those who knew Tauriel, this was uncommon for the female warrior. Kili and Gimli, however, were given a different sort of task in the preparations. They were given what had once been the crown of Gondor, but it was tarnished with age and its inlaid design was dented through the years. So the two dwarves found themselves hard at work to complete the restoration of the crown.

Atop the main citadel, the small garden is filled with many of Minas Tirith's people, honored guests, and countless others. For everyone wanted to see their king crowned by the white wizard, and those who weren't able to be in the citadel were standing in the streets of the city.

Standing in front of the wooden doors, at the top of the short set of stairs, is Gandalf. Kneeling before the wizard is Aragorn, wearing his royal finery that befits his station as King of Gondor. To Gandalf's left is Gimli, who is wearing dwarven warrior garbs that show him a cousin to the King of Erebor. In the dwarf's hands is the newly polished crown of Gondor, silver and gold polished with the inset designs reworked.

Gandalf takes the crown from Gimli after Aragorn has made his vows, and he lifts the crown into the air for all to see before placing it upon Aragorn's head. With the crown settled upon the new king's head, the wizard addresses the crowd in front of him.

"Now comes the days of the king."

Looking down at Aragorn, Gandalf softly speaks to the man. "May they be blessed."

Slowly, the wizard steps off to the right to allow Aragorn to rise and address his people and guests. Once Aragorn has let out a sigh, he turns to face the crowds. With a set, neutral look Aragorn looks out and is surprised by the cheering of the crowd, and takes a deep breath before speaking.

"This day does not belong to one man, but to all. Let us together rebuild this world. That we may share in the days of peace."

The crowds cheer again, and from some higher places in the surrounding buildings, white rose petals begin to fall into the air. It is at this point that Aragorn begins to sing in elvish, and this causes the crowds to go silent so that they may listen to his song.

When his song ends, Aragorn begins to walk along the opening in the crowd. As he walks, he notices Faramir and Éowyn standing together, and they give him a short bow and curtsy which he returns in kind. He keeps walking till Éomer steps out, dressed in his ceremonial armor of Rohan, and the new ruler of Rohan bows to Aragorn.

Kili steps out next, dressed in his Prince of Erebor robes, and offers Aragorn a sword that Fili had made and sent down from Erebor. Its scabbard and pummel are made of gold and silver with designs that match those in Aragorn's crown. The inset jewels are deep green emeralds with some diamonds surrounding them. The blade of the sword is made out of silver and the last of Erebor's Mithril stores.

Aragorn accepts the offered weapon, having already been made aware of it and its symbolic meaning to the dwarves by Gimli and Kili a few days ago. The King of Gondor also returns the bow which Kili is now giving him. Looking directly behind Kili, Aragorn offers a nod of gratitude to Tauriel. He has come to know Tauriel and isn't surprised at all to see the elleth wearing a royal dwarven dress that matches Kili's dark blue and silver trimmed robes. Their two daughters, Kelda and Toril, are dressed in the same fashion of dwarven dresses of dark blue and silver trim. Even their fine gems braided into their hair are the same. However, Aragorn knows that the braids of dwarves have meaning and that each member of Kili's family only share two braids that are of the same design.

Continuing on his walk, Aragorn keeps moving till Legolas steps forth with a group of elves. All of them are wearing shining, white robes and each has a neutral look on their faces. Yet Aragorn greets Legolas as a friend and takes hold of the elf's shoulder. They share a look between them before Legolas averts his eyes and steps gently out of the way. There, only several people away, is Lord Elrond standing next to a flag bearer, but it is the flag bearer that has caught Aragorn's eyes.

At her father's words, Arwen moves towards Aragorn with the flag still in her hands.

Aragorn, who hasn't seen his beloved since before the journey began, moves towards her as well. He is surprised to see her alive and well. Coming to a stop before her, Aragorn takes hold of the flag's pole and hands it to one of the nearby soldiers. He watches her closely as she bows her head to him, and he can't stand to see it. Placing his hand gently under Arwen's chin, he lifts it before surging forwards to kiss her.

Seeing this display of love, the crowds cheer with excitement that their newly crowned king has shown them who their future queen will be.

Once Aragorn and Arwen have had their moment, they continue walking till they come upon four hobbits. Each of the hobbits are wearing nice waistcoats, white shirts, and knee length trousers. Merry has on a deep golden waistcoat, while Frodo has on a maroon waistcoat. Samwise has on a cream colored waistcoat, while Pippin has on a green waistcoat with a small, silver dwarf emblem stitched over his heart.

Seeing the hobbits bow before him makes Aragorn feel uneasy. So he decides to address his small friends.

"My friends, you bow to no one."

Knowing just how much Middle Earth owes these four hobbits, Aragorn bows to them instead. This causes everyone else to bow to them as well. Even the dwarves and elves bow to the four hobbits, for they too know who it is to thank for Sauron's demise.

Back in Erebor…

"And so nadad, it is my great pleasure to inform you that Tauriel and I will soon be departing Minas Tirith within the fortnight. But first we will be making a few stops on our way home, so look for us to return in two-months' time.

Looking forwards to seeing you again,

Kili."

Fili folds the letter up and places it down on his desk. When Kili's letter had first arrived that morning, Fili had their family and friends come to his royal office so that he may share the news with them.

"So adad and naneth are coming home then?" Kilian asks his uncle from where he is leaning against the stone wall.

"It would appear so." Fili replies, giving Kili's doppelganger a grin.

"Should I make sure to notify the patrols and cousin Bard to keep a lookout for them?" Durin asks, arms folded against his chest.

Fili looks to his heir with sad eyes locking on to the new braid that is in the lad's hair. Frerin had went off on his own after staying behind with Kili in Minas Tirith. No one knew where the wayward Heir of Erebor had gone till about a month ago when Fili received a letter from the Blue Mountains. It was with that information that Fili wrote to Frerin, asking him to govern the Blue Mountains in his stead, which the young dwarf accepted. With Frerin now governing the Blue Mountains, Fili had named Durin his heir for Erebor.

"If you think that is best, Durin." Fili calmly says, trying to encourage the youth to start learning the ins and outs of ruling.

"I'll go with you, Durin." Balder moves away from his siblings and heads towards his cousin. "I promised Bard that I would help rebuild their blacksmith forges. He has been so fixated on getting shelters built that he forgot about his people's livelihoods."

"Very well. Though I think that you are just wanting to get away from that lass of yours." Durin teases his younger cousin while flicking at said cousin's newly made courtship braid.

"And what about you and your second in command?" Balder growls out teasingly at Durin.

"Leave Durin alone, Balder." Rìka grouses out from her place next to Kilian. "I think it is romantic that he is courting Brea."

"As long as he is not sneaking into her room or vice versa, I have no issue with their courting." Fili sighs out in frustration. He knows of the rumors that had been recently making their way through the mountain, and has advised Durin and Brea to take it slow in their courting.

The rest of the family and friends chuckle at Fili's sigh for they too had been finding it hilarious that Fili has to contend with dealing with two royal courtships happening at the same time. Dwalin, however, is the only one who isn't chuckling at Fili's frustration. His mind is currently focused on the one who isn't in the room.

A quick knock on Fili's office door causes everyone to go silent as Dwalin moves to answer it. Opening the door, everyone can see a nervous looking dwarf standing in the hallway.

"My king. It's time." The dwarf stammers out with nervous energy in his words.

Dwalin looks towards Fili before looking back at the nervous dwarf. "Are you sure, laddie?"

"The healers sent me, and they are sure of it." The nervous dwarf says, shifting from foot to foot.

Dwalin and Fili share a look before Dwalin sends the dwarf away. The rest of the family is silent, but are watching Fili closely for any signs of what he plans to do.

"You'd best go to amad's side." Vân says to Fili with a sad smile on his face.

"She'll be needing you by her side since adad isn't here to help her." Durin looks at Fili with shiny, wet eyes, begging his oldest cousin to do what none of the children could not.

Since waking up a day after the battle before the gates of Mordor, Inara has been recluse and refusing to see or speak to anyone. She eats when food is brought before her, but Gandalf had warned Fili about Inara's growing depression. It was both the wizard and Fili who decided that Inara was to be taken back to Erebor and be taken care of there. With his promise to Thorin, and again to Gandalf, Fili had followed through with his oaths. However, there was one oath that Fili knew he might not be able to keep.

So with trepidation in his heart, Fili nods his head towards his family before leaving his office with Dwalin following close behind. They are heading back to the royal halls, to where Inara and Thorin's bedroom is and to where Inara has been staying since returning.

"What are ya plannin' on havin' the healers do?" Dwalin asks in a huff as he tries to keep up with Fili's stride.

"I don't know till I have spoken to them." Fili replies as he turns a corner.

"If ya are plannin' on havin' the bairn cut out of her, the healers will be needin' a hand on keepin' Inara still."

"That's only if she gives up or refuses to cooperate with the healers while in labor. I promised Thorin that I would look after them both and keep them safe."

"Aye, but how are ya goin' to keep her alive when she doesn't want to be?"

"I'll find I way." Fili retorts as he barges into the halls of his family.

Fili charges up the steps as he hears Inara's scream echoing down from her rooms. Not missing a beat, Fili runs down the hallway and pushes the doors open to Thorin and Inara's rooms. The door leading to the bedroom is half-open and there is groaning on the other side of it.

"Go on lad. She'll be needin' ya strength to birth the bairn." Dwalin says to Fili, squeezing the blonde dwarf's shoulder.

"You'll stay?" Fili asks as if he is a young dwarfling and not a fully grown one.

"Till the end." Dwalin promises before gently nudging Fili towards the room. "Now's not the time to be squeamish. Best gather your wits about ya before goin' in."

Fili closes his eyes and mentally steels himself for what he is going to be walking into. He hasn't been involved in the birthing process since young Solen was born, and not since Frerin and Durin's birth for it to be Inara being the one birthing a child. Taking a deep breath, Fili opens his eyes and heads to the half-open door.

As he pushes the door open further, Fili takes in the sight before him. Two mid-wives and three healers are standing in a corner of the room, away from their laboring queen. Inara, however, is bent over at the waist with her arms braced against the mattress of the bed while her feet are planted on the cold, stone floor. The cream colored shift is the only thing that is covering her body, and her hair has been left free of any restraints.

"Holy… motherfucking…shit!" Inara growls out as another contraction rips through her sweating body.

"You need to breathe, my lady." The braver of the two mid-wives calls out to Inara from her place near the others.

"Oh… go… to hell!" Inara screams out, causing the mid-wives and healers to flinch at the ferocity in her voice.

"Inara." Fili says calmly as he slowly makes his way towards Inara with both of his hands up in surrender.

Inara turns her red face towards Fili and gives him a glare. "And you can… get the fuck out, you… bastard."

Fili doesn't let Inara's harsh words startle him or deter him. He remembers long ago when Inara had warned him that females were known to become overly aggressive during the birthing process. So with his head held high, Fili comes to stand next to the groaning Inara and places one of his hands over hers and gives her a pointed, serious look.

"I made a promise to look after you and this child. No matter how harsh your words or how violent you become, I will not leave this room. So I suggest you stop being so damn stubborn and accept the fact that I will be by your side, in Thorin's place."

With Thorin's name rolling off of Fili tongue, Inara's face crumples into one of sorrow. The pain of childbirth is nothing compared to the pain of losing the love of her life. Tears begin to trail down her cheeks and her breathing starts to become more pronounced with every sob.

Fili, knowing just how much grief Inara is in, pulls Inara into his arms and holds her. He whispers soothing words against damp hair, and tries to help Inara get into bed. Carefully, and with the help of Dwalin, who had entered the room when he heard Inara's sobs, Fili manages to get Inara into bed. However, what he wasn't expecting was for Inara to keep her tight grip on not only his arm, but on Dwalin's arm as well.

"Don't leave me. Please." Inara cries out through her tears and her pain as another contraction hits.

"Never, lass." Dwalin promises Inara as he climbs over her legs so that he can sit on the other side of her.

"We'll stay with you." Fili murmurs to Inara as he lets her scream her way through the contraction. Yet both dwarfs share a look between the two of them and they know that this birth will be the hardest one Inara has ever gone through.

So with Dwalin and Fili by her side, Inara spends the next several hours laboring till the cry of her child echo throughout the room. While two of the healers keep themselves occupied with checking over the three and a half week early newborn, the mid-wives stay occupied with helping Inara with the afterbirth. It is only after it has been delivered that the healers bring over the babe.

"You have a lass, my queen." The healer says to Inara as he passes the bairn to her mother.

"A girl." Inara gasps out in a tired and strained voice.

"Aye, and ain't she a beauty." Dwalin says, smiling as Inara's tired arms take hold of the child.

Safely snuggled in her mother's arms and soft blanket of fur, the newborn opens her eyes to look up at her mother's face. Deep, crystal blue eyes stare wonderingly into dark brown eyes. All three of the adults on the bed let out a gasp at seeing those eyes.

"She's got Thorin's eyes." Fili whispers out as he stares down at his uncle's newborn daughter. "Though it might be the only thing of his that she has of his."

In truth, Fili is certain that if he had ever seen Aliena as an infant, that this is what she would look like. A small smattering of soft brown hair on the head, perfect cupid's bow lips that are pink, chubby cheeks, a button-like nose, and a soft, small chin on a perfectly shaped head.

"Faith." Inara whispers out softly before leaning down to kiss her newborn daughter's forehead. "Her name is Faith."

Neither Dwalin or Fili say anything at the odd choice of name that Inara has given this new member of the royal family. Yet both of the males know that this new little girl, Thorin's daughter will have nearly everyone in Erebor wrapped around her little pinky finger.

So there is the last chapter to the LOTR events. I know, it isn't very informative but I didn't want to drag it out for you all. So the next update will be the last one for this story and it will be the epilogue.

Reviews are welcomed, cherished, and loved.

Selene