Ila had laid in bed all day, only half listening to Dwala reading and trying to distract her. Occasionally, Ila's mind would wander to the worst scenarios possible regarding the outcome of her current predicament, and she would start to cry and shake. Dwala would then lay down the book and dab her tears away, all the while telling Ila that everything would be alright.

"You must not trouble yourself so, it will upset the baby," Dwala would say, and Ila would force herself to stop and lay still. Dwala would let Ila catch her breath and calm down, then return to reading. Oin would check on them every two to three hours, as he was remaining close. Lunch and supper had been brought up and laid out, but Ila had not been hungry. Still, Dwala had brought a plate to Ila in bed, insisting she have just a little bit of something for the baby's sake. Ila had consumed what little Dwala forced on her, then returned to lying there with her eyes closed. She was afraid sleep was never going to take her, and it was long after the moon was high in the sky that it finally did.

Ila's sleep was light and fitful, so Dwala took care that her movements were as quiet as possible. She sat in a comfortable chair at Ila's bedside, a warm blanket around her and dozing in and out of sleep all night. Fili and Kili had come to check on Ila before she had fallen asleep, both of them reassuring her that everything would be well in the morning. She had smiled weakly at them and Fili leaned over to kiss her forehead, which took Ila by surprise but she thought it very sweet. She and Fili spent the least time together, but she could easily see Thorin's better qualities in him. Likely he had grown up trying to emulate his uncle and Ila could understand why.

Kili had only squeezed her hand and gave her an encouraging smile before leaving. Fili promised to remain close by should she need him. Ila prayed he wouldn't, and tried so very hard to fall asleep so that she could not lie there fretting.

When she finally did fall asleep, Ila's dreams were troubled as well. She dreamed that there was something wrong with the baby, but that she was much farther along in her pregnancy. They wanted to cut the baby out of her to try and save it, and Thorin being afraid to lose his long awaited heir was going to allow it. Ila had awakened before it could come to pass however.

She woke covered in sweat, her hand going to her belly to see that it was indeed still there and still quite small. She rubbed it so gently she barely touched it, still afraid. She looked to Dwala to see that she still sat close to her, sleeping herself with her head leaning to the side and a great blanket covering her. Ila did not want to wake her. She felt intuitively that it was still long from sunrise. She was getting better about being able to tell such things, despite living under a great mountain.

Laying back down and trying to get comfortable, Ila noted how she felt. Her left side was sore and becoming more and more so, but other than that she felt fine. She had no abdominal pain. Still, she should check for blood.

Ila looked to Dwala again, still sleeping soundly. Ila shifted under the covers to look at where she lay.

No blood. Ila then pulled up her gown and felt between her legs. She felt nothing and when she withdrew her hand saw no traces of blood.

Sighing, Ila lay back down for good. She closed her eyes, wondering where Thorin was now. Sleeping under the stars most likely, and having no idea what a fateful night this was. She hoped his dreams were pleasant and gave him no cause to fret. Hopefully, there would not be a reason to fret at all once the morning came.

Thorin was indeed lying under the stars, and had been sleeping, but the sound of the night watch changing woke him. The months since his return to the mountain had him used to sleeping in his great, plush bed, and not in the wild as he had once done a fair bit of. Truly, he was not one for journeys anymore. He was older and enjoyed the comforts of home, much like Bilbo did and always talked about. He hoped his hobbit friend was happy, being safe and secure in his hobbit hole once more. He understood Bilbo much better now he thought, as he was coming to value home and hearth more and more.

Especially since he had a wife and baby on the way. Ila had truly changed everything. He wished he was next to her in their great bed, instead of lying out here in the cold. He also hoped that Ila was taking it easy as he had asked. But being this time of night, he knew that she must be. She would be fast asleep in their bed, likely with a hand laid lovingly on her belly as she so often did now, hopefully with pleasant dreams.

Thorin heard the dwarf nearest him shift, so much so that he must be awake too. It was Dwalin of course, and Thorin turned his head in towards him.

"Can't sleep either?" he asked.

"I'm too old for this," he grumbled in reply.

Thorin smiled up at the stars. He was too, but knew that was not all that kept them awake.

"But that is not the only reason why you don't sleep, is it?"

Dwalin didn't answer at first, but looked at the lock of light brown hair between his fingers. He had cut it from Dwala while she slept last night and wrapped it in a handkerchief to take with him. He hadn't mentioned it to her, lest she think it strange or be angry that he cut her hair. But it was a small piece and he very much doubted she would even notice.

"No, I suppose not." He answered Thorin.

"It's amazing isn't it, how they change everything. And seemingly without even trying." Thorin mused to his old friend.

Dwalin sighed. "Yes, they have a way about them. A bewitching and other worldly way almost."

Thorin smiled even wider. How right Dwalin was. Ila had certainly bewitched him. He would never forget the moment he saw her face. Her long, dark hair plastered to her back, hiding her face from him as she slowly turned to reveal those full and innocently parted lips, those hazel doe eyes above them, asking if they were pleasing to him, if they were what he wanted and would want forever after. It had only been a moment, half of a moment really, before Dwala screamed and brought them to their senses.

Every day since that one, Thorin had felt his heart become less and less his own and more and more hers. Her every word, her every graceful move and touch claimed him as hers, whether he wanted it to or not. He had of course wanted it, he had just not known how very much he wanted a companion until Ila came into his life. He had never had time for it, had always been preoccupied, but now things were different. He thought on how very fortunate he was, and how he would never, ever let her go. Nothing, dragon or dwarf or the end of all time would take Ila from him. He would tear down the heavens if anything ever dared try.

Thorin was shaken from that thought though by the sound of crunching.

"Are you eating? At this hour?" he whispered to Dwalin.

"I may as well I can't sleep anyway," he answered with a full mouth. "Here," he said and handed Thorin a cookie.

Thorin took it and looked it over first. It was a rather large and delicious looking chocolate chip cookie. He took a bite and was instantly glad that he did. He made an appreciative noise as he chewed.

"From your lady for the trip?" he asked.

"Aye. Trying not to eat them all before we reach Ered Luin."

Good luck, Thorin thought as he continued eating, and then thought that Dwala might have poor timing, but she certainly knew how to bake.

The next morning, Dwala woke with a cramp in her neck from the manner she had been sleeping in the chair. She rubbed her neck vigorously and blinked to wake herself up, having slept rather deeply despite her position. She knew the sun must be up now but would need to look out a window to know what time it was exactly.

Dwala looked to the bed then, to see Ila sleeping calmly. The covers were drawn to her waist and Dwala wanted to pull them back to get a better look at her, but thought she should let Ila rest and wait for Oin to come in. He would know better than her anyway.

Dwala leaned back into the chair, wondering where Dwalin was now. She hoped he had not eaten all the cookies yet, but was sure he had put a sizeable dent into them. The appetite of that dwarf….Dwala wondered for a moment if his appetite for food was any indication of his appetite for other things. If so, she hoped that she could keep pace with him. She was so glad she had Ila to shed light on that sort of thing for her, she could not imagine going to the marriage bed knowing nothing.

But she was getting ahead of herself. He had not proposed, and there were more important things at hand. Like Ila and the royal heir, she reminded herself.

Ila was still sleeping. Dwala quietly rose from her chair and folded the blanket to lay in the seat. She quietly went to open the doors and move to the next room to look out the window. She was met by Oin, who was draped over a sofa and snoring loudly. She didn't wake him, but went to the balcony and pulled back the drapes to see the sun low in the sky. It was still very early.

Oin must have heard her, because he snored very loudly then and woke himself up. He seemed to have forgotten where he was, and took a moment to get his bearings. Dwala heard another noise then, and had not even noticed Fili asleep in the corner in a chair. He stood up quickly, obviously not sleeping as heavily as Oin, and looked to Dwala expectantly.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Still sleeping, but she appears to be peacefully so," Dwala replied.

"Ah, well. Let's have a look at her then," Oin said pushing himself up from the sofa. He waddled towards the bed chamber with Dwala and Fili following.

All the talking and movement in the next room had obviously woke Ila as she had her eyes open when they walked in.

"Well then, how's the patient?" Oin asked and Ila gave him a little smile.

"I feel well enough I suppose, though I am sore…" she replied quietly.

Oin sat on the bedside and felt for a fever, which there was none. He then felt her abdomen and Fili turned his back as Oin raised the sheets to check for blood. There was none, just as when Ila had looked before.

"Well, I do believe as I said last night, that the heir is unharmed." He said with a smile.

Everyone else in the room let out a great sigh then, happy that the morning had finally come and all appeared well.

"But I still think you should remain in bed for a few days, if for no other reason than to heal your bruises faster." Oin said and Ila nodded that she understood.

"I'll be back to check on you later." He said and rose to leave. Dwala was smiling brightly and Fili was happy as well. He sat next to Ila next.

"See there, all is well. But I agree you should remain in bed for the next few days. I'll make sure anything and everything you need is brought to you in the meantime." He said.

"Thank you," Ila replied and Fili gave her hand a squeeze before rising to leave.

"Fili?" Ila called and he turned to face her again.

"Will you send Kili to see me? Whenever he is free of any other duties?" Ila asked.

Fili's smile faded a bit, and Ila did not really understand why. He hesitated a moment before answering.

"Yes, yes of course. But please try to go back to sleep now. You need to rest."

Ila smiled and nodded to him, and Fili took his leave of them, closing the doors as he did. Dwala knew why Fili had reacted as he did, but said nothing. She wondered very strongly that she should, and she really probably should, but decided not to right then. Ila did not need anything weighing on her mind, she only needed to focus on recovering. Once she had, Dwala would tell her what she overheard. She had noticed all the things that Fili noticed, and felt that they must be true, since other than their mother, it was likely that no one knew Kili better than his own brother. But Ila didn't need to know that now.

Dwala laid next to Ila on the bed, a big smile on her face.

"See? All is well, just as we said."

Ila smiled at her. "I hope you are right," she said.

"Of course we are right. It takes more than a little slip to harm a Durin." She said and Ila giggled, rubbing her belly yet again.

On a more somber note, Dwala asked, "Will you tell Thorin?"

Ila's smile faded. She did not want to, but knew she must. Fili would probably tell him anyway so she would have to. It was her bruises that truly worried her about that.

"I will have to, but hopefully my bruises will have gone, and I can just tell him it was a little slip, no worse than the fall in the practice arena that day." Ila said.

"That sounds like a plan." Dwala said smiling. The she got up and pulled the covers up to Ila's neck.

"Now, go back to sleep." Dwala said and kissed Ila's forehead. Ila smiled sweetly at her friend and closed her eyes, finally able to fall asleep with some peace in her heart and mind.

A/N: No way I was going to let Ila lose her first little Durin, not like that. Be at peace, my dear readers, and have a great week.