A month passed. A very uneventful month, which Thorin was thankful for. He had had enough drama in the months that Ila had come to live under the mountain. Not that her coming had not made him happier than any other singular event in his life, but it had been an event that shook his life up considerably. Females had a way of doing that though. He wondered what life would be like if they had a daughter one day. He smiled to himself at the thought and as he looked at his wife's belly. Ila was half way through her pregnancy now and her belly was getting rather large. Ila was lying on her back in their great bed, her chest slowly rising and falling as she slept peacefully. It was early in the morning and Thorin knew he should get up and go down to the practice arena, but he didn't want to risk rousing his wife. She was lying in his right arm, her head on his shoulder. Thorin was also extremely comfortable at the moment and selfishly wanted to remain so.

He let his loving gaze linger on his wife and unborn child for a moment longer and then laid his head on his pillow again, staring at the dark ceiling now. He wondered how long this peace could last. Hopefully forever. Since he had been home from the journey to Ered Luin, little if anything of note had transpired. Other than the fact that his best friend was engaged. What little that had happened the past few weeks was preparation for said wedding, which would be rather small indeed. Neither bride nor groom wanted a large wedding and neither liked being the center of attention. The wedding would be an intimate affair to take place on the following evening with only a few close friends present, just as the bride and groom wanted.

But other than the impending wedding, life under the mountain was happily quiet. It was about time, Thorin thought to himself. Not since the days before Smaug came had things been so pleasant and normal here. The relatively short space of time from the retaking of Erebor and Ila's coming to the mountain had been hectic to say the least. There was reconstruction and improvements were still being made all the time. There were so many things to be moved, dwarves to be moved, and of course the Battle of the Five Armies. Thorin felt sure that was the last battle he would see. He hoped it was true and really believed it was. He believed a time of peace had finally come to Middle Earth and by the time the next major conflict arose he would be too old to take part anyway. He hoped his sons never had to see and suffer the things he had, hopefully this peace would endure throughout their lifetime. He especially hoped Ila never had to suffer anything remotely resembling what he had; she was too innocent and too dear to him for that. He turned his head slowly to gently kiss her forehead. She shifted with a ghost of a smile coming over her face but did not wake. He didn't think she would, as she was beginning to become very tired. Oin had warned of that as the pregnancy progressed. Thorin had been gentle as they made love the night before, as he had to be more and more careful with her. He wondered how very big she would grow before it was over, considering she was but half way at the moment. Ila was impatient to feel the baby begin to kick, and if her hand was often on her belly before it practically never left it now. He was often rubbing and holding it himself though, eager to feel their little one move too.

Three more moons. Thorin could barely wait himself now, he knew that Ila was beside herself with anticipation. He smiled as he gave her another light kiss on her hair and decided to remain with her for another hour, deciding that training could wait at least that long.

Downstairs, there were some dwarves training if not Thorin. Dwalin was a beast in the arena, not that he usually wasn't, but this morning was even more intense than usual. Using his two axes as was his signature, he was quickly backing Fili into a corner. Fili was defending himself but feared a misstep as it was happening to fast to keep up with.

Deflecting Dwalin's powerful blows and jumping out of the way before he put him against the wall, Fili motioned for a timeout.

Breathing heavily, he inquired at the older dwarf.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Fili asked, only half joking.

Dwalin was breathing heavily as well, and had to take a minute before answering.

"If I do it will be your own fault, laddie. But no, not today." Dwalin said motioning for a lad of a dwarf to bring him some water.

"Nervous then?" Fili called. Dwalin was thankful that his back was turned to the prince as he stopped mid drink. Was he that obvious?

Dwalin turned back to him but finished his drink.

"I am certainly not. However, being married is no small thing. You'll understand one day."

"You're having second thoughts then?"

"No, no. No absolutely not." Dwalin said and Fili expected that to be the end of the conversation, but Dwalin became rather pensive then and to Fili's great surprise, he continued to speak.

He wasn't looking at Fili but elsewhere, anywhere really but nowhere at all. "It is just that I did not expect to marry ever, and now that I am it seems a bit….unreal."

"Surreal?" Fili offered.

"Whatever," Dwalin replied. "When you find a dwarf who takes you by your heart and beard you'll understand what I mean." He finished gruffly.

"That will be a long time coming," Fili responded quickly.

Dwalin laughed gruffly. "Famous last words," he said and brought his ax down on Fili rather unexpectedly but Fili was young and agile enough to dodge it. That resumed training it seemed and ended the rare and rather strange insight into what was going on in Dwalin's mind.

Fili found that when he recalled the conversation later, that he envied Dwalin. He figured that it would be a long time indeed before he finally married, both Dwalin and his uncle only marrying now and being more than twice his age. He would first have to find a maiden to marry of course, and he felt that likely to take a very long time too. Even his brother- his younger brother- had a liaison it seemed, though he doubted the seriousness of it. But Kili had someone all the same. This left Fili feeling rather left out in a group of close knit dwarves that had been single as long as he'd known them all. He wondered that he shouldn't mention his feelings to mother, though he didn't know what she could do to make him feel better. Fili only knew that he wanted what Ila and Thorin had, and what Dwala and Dwalin had. Sighing, he made his way to lunch, eager to have something or someone take his mind off of these melancholy things and to happier thoughts.

As he made his way from his chambers, Ila was coming down the royal staircase, Dwala dutifully behind her. Fili stopped and made a flourishing and overdone bow to his queen, which she knew was just a lighthearted gesture.

"You needn't do that," she replied playfully.

Fili rose and gave her a smirk. "I wasn't bowing to you, I was bowing to the future king of Erebor," he said and Ila laughed out loud. She held her belly with one hand and reached out to take Fili's arm with the other as she reached him.

"And how do you know it is a prince? It could be a princess." She mused.

Fili smiled broadly. "Yes, indeed it could be. But as large as you are already I would wager it is a boy."

Ila returned his smile with a bright one of her own. "I hope so," she said gently rubbing her swell and looking down at it as she did, some doubt evident in her voice. "I believe Thorin would be very cross with me if his first born was not the boy and heir that was expected."

"Well, if it is not then you can always have more. And the odds are certainly in favor of a boy," Fili reassured her as they walked towards the great hall, he keeping a leisurely pace to accommodate Ila as her escort.

Ila smiled and nodded to say that she agreed, and then wondered that this was a good time to mention something she had been meaning to for a while.

"Fili, do you think…do you think that your mother would mind very much speaking with me about something?" she asked and realized it seemed very sudden. They had been joking and then she asked what seemed a serious and vague question.

Fili turned it over very briefly in his mind and then replied, "No, no I am sure she wouldn't. And besides, you are queen here and can summon her for an audience when you wish." Fili pointed out.

"Oh, no! No I would never summon her to me! I don't want it to be formal or anything of that nature, I only want to, to umm, ask for her advice." Ila said cryptically.

"On uncle? I could probably give you some advice there…" Fili began. Ila smiled and interjected a little lower.

"On babies. She did raise two princes after all," She said and added a smile at the last bit.

Fili seemed to be enlightened and bobbed his head in understanding. "Ahhhhh. I see. No, I am sure she would not mind it at all. Why don't you send for her?"

"Oh, well I was hoping as I said to be less formal about it…..do you think you could ask her for me? Just the next time you speak with her? No rush or anything." Ila said with big hazel doe eyes that Fili found to be impossible to resist. He wondered if that was how she had such a hold over uncle, staring at him like that when she wanted something.

"Of course. She will be happy to talk to you, she has little in the way of entertainment." Fili said.

"Thank you," Ila said giving his arm a squeeze. "I would ask your brother but I have not seen him lately to ask him anything…" Ila mentioned, but more speaking out loud to herself than to Fili. Fili's smile faded and he knew what she said was true. His brother had been rather absent all around lately.

"Fili?" Ila called him from those thoughts.

"Hm?" he inclined his head towards her.

"Is your brother cross with me about something? I don't think I have done anything to merit his displeasure but I also cannot account for his distance lately." Ila remarked and Fili could hear her concern. It was true, Kili had been scarce when Ila was around. He did not sit next to her at supper much anymore, but mostly he ate quickly and then went for what Fili knew was a rendezvous with Asta. She was not allowed to sit with the royal family.

"No, no as you say you have done nothing to warrant that. He is just…well I am not entirely certain. I think he is just going through a rough patch, you know, just restless and all. He doesn't have as much to occupy his time as I do, or as much responsibility yet. And the maids have always loved him, and as you've noticed there is one in particular who has his eye these days.

"Yes, she seems rather obsessed with him I've noticed. It is not a good look for a maiden. The way she looks at Kili I would never look at your uncle in public." Ila said and then blushed a bit. Fili felt himself blush a tiny bit as well.

"Yes, hopefully that tryst will pass." Fili said grudgingly, though he hadn't meant to.

"Does he spend less time with you, too?" Ila asked innocently enough. She could tell though from the sound in Fili's voice though that he felt as she did, though much more worse she was sure, since Fili likely couldn't remember his life before his brother was in it.

"Yes, but we cannot always be together. Things cannot always be as when we were young." Fili said without looking at her. He was so very mature for his age, Ila thought. And knew how to put on a strong front. Likely he learned that from Thorin, whom he reminded her so much of.

"But back to your original question, no, I do not believe for a second that you did anything to upset him. It is also perhaps the case that as you become more and more with child and likewise more and more fragile that he feels he should keep a fair distance. I know he still feels responsible for your fall."

"Oh, well I wish he wouldn't. As you can see, the baby is healthy and growing just fine." Ila said and gave her belly a smile. Fili returned her smile and led her to her seat, the three of them having finally reached the great hall for lunch. Thorin walked in right behind them, fresh from some meeting or another as always. He kissed Ila on the top of her head and gave her belly a gentle pat as he sat down next to her and wasted no time eating. Kili was nowhere in sight, but that had become increasingly normal as Ila and Fili had just discussed.

For the first time since they'd left her rooms, Ila turned to Dwala who was now sitting next to her.

"Well, how are you holding up?" she asked and couldn't suppress an excited smile.

Dwala on the other hand looked rather nervous already, which was funny since the wedding was tomorrow evening and still over a day away. Still, that was close enough to cause Dwala panic.

"I uh, I…I..I'm not hungry." She stampered out quietly.

"Oh, Dwala. You have to eat something. You can get nervous and refuse to eat tomorrow if you have to but now it will just make you weak. You need your strength, especially for tomorrow night…"

"Your majesty! Really," Dwala tried to keep her voice down as she blushed. Your majesty was one of the formal titles that Dwala used when she spoke to Ila in public, but it always sounded silly to Ila when she called her such things.

"Oh, come on," Ila whispered. "Enjoy your last full day of freedom and eat something."

Ila turned back to her own food and took Thorin's hand that was lying on her knee out of sight under the table. He smiled at her despite having a full mouth and she squeezed his hand. Inclining her head towards him, she said lowly, "I am going to see your sister soon, to seek her counsel about some things. You think that will be alright, yes?"

Thorin made a face that suggested he was surprised but not disapproving.

"Well, yes….I'm sure it will be. She will not refuse you of course, but as you know she is rather…" Thorin was struggling for the word that would be both right and delicate enough.

"…introverted." He settled on that word and it seemed appropriate.

"Yes, I know. But she has always been warm on the occasions that I have spoken to her, Fili thinks it is fine," Ila replied.

"May I ask what you seek her counsel in regards to?" Thorin said, clearly not able to think of what she would need to discuss with Dis that only she could enlighten her about.

"Babies," Ila answered simply.

Ah. Well there was that.

Thorin nodded his head and made a noise to say he saw her point as he chewed a great mouthful of roast mutton. He swallowed and added, "I am sure you will be happy to tell you all about that, and who better to."

"Perhaps I will see her tonight? I want it to be as informal as possible and at her convenience of course."

"That sounds like a good idea." Thorin agreed.

"Oh, but tonight won't do! Tonight is my handmaiden's last night of—well—maidenhood." Ila realized.

Thorin made another noise that told his wife he agreed with her, more because that meant it was Dwalin's last night as a single dwarf and he should spend it with him, as Ila would want to spend it with Dwala.

"You have three months before you're a mother, you can wait another night to ask Dis whatever it is you need to know about babies. But I think that you are overthinking. It is rather obvious what one does with babies." He said matter of factly as he continued to eat.

Ila practically snorted with laughter and he have her a comical look, clearly not seeing anything funny.

"You are so matter of fact about it my love, how many babies have you cared for?"

"Well, the lads when they were born, a bit anyway. I mean Dis and her attendants did most of it but I held them now and again…" Thorin stated almost defensively.

"Oh you held them! Did you change them too? Or rock them to sleep when they woke crying in the middle of the night?"

Thorin looked at her out of the corner of his eyes while he took a drink and took his time answering after he sat his cup down.

"Not that I particularly recall," he said grudgingly.

Ila couldn't suppress a smile and squeezed his leg. "Well, you will get plenty of practice soon enough my love, so that by the time our second little one comes into the world you will be an expert."

Ila went back to her food but then decided to continue, her tone and expression more serious now.

"But, those things are not what I want to ask her about, not really. I am more worried about things like, well, actually having the baby."

Thorin could tell his wife was obviously worried about this. It was true, it has crossed his mind before that he could lose Ila in trying to gain an heir, but that is something every female had to face. He would make sure she had the best care during her labor, but ultimately he knew that it was out of their hands. Ila was healthy and strong, but not as strong as some dwarven females. She had a human ancestor back some ways, he knew that, and she was not as stout or muscular as most of her counterparts. That in truth worried him, but he would never let Ila know that. His fear of losing her was something that he needed to keep buried, locked away from her so that she would in turn not worry so.

"All will be well my love, it is natural to be anxious about that though I am sure." Thorin reassured her. She smiled at him but secretly felt no better. While she generally only wanted her little one to hurry up and make its entrance into the world, sometimes she was glad she yet had time before giving birth. The closer the moment drew near the more anxious and afraid she became of the pain, and of course, the possibility that she might not be able to give birth at all.

Ila turned her attention back to the events of the day, namely getting Dwala through her last day as a maid, about which her friend was far more anxious than she was about anything at the moment.

Later than evening, Thorin departed their chambers with a soft kiss on Ila's forehead as he went to accompany Dwalin for his bachelor party. That seemed like a strange thing to call your last night before being married, Ila thought. Dwalin was not a bachelor, he was a taken dwarf, despite the fact that the ceremony had not yet taken place. She wondered had Thorin enjoyed a similar celebration.

"No, my love. I spent the night before our union wishing it away so that you would finally be in my arms." He assured her. "And it is a small gathering of our old company, nothing extravagant or with the potential for becoming wild."

The company was of course the band of dwarves that had made the journey to reclaim Erebor. They had assembled for the royal wedding as well, but as that was so involved and an affair of the entire kingdom, Thorin had not had the chance to socialize with his old friends as he would have liked. Ila did not get to meet all of them, though some were very familiar to her such as Oin and her nephews. She knew that Thorin was looking forward to seeing them all tonight.

"But what will you and the bride be doing then?" he asked as he neared the door to their chambers.

"Oh, not much probably. Dwala is rather nervous and I expect she won't want to do much."

"Well, I am not sure how late I will be my love. You and the little one do not wait up for me." Thorin said sweetly and Ila blew him a kiss from where she sat on the bed. He winked at her and passed through the door, and Ila sat for a moment before getting up to go find Dwala. It was not late in the evening yet, but she was already tired. She was tired of always feeling tired, she thought, but the health of the dwarf inside her was more important than how she felt, she knew that. She rubbed her belly and wished the baby would kick already, she was so eager to feel him or her move. Ila rose and went to her door, but before she could open it Dwala came through it. She must have seen Thorin leave, because if she ever feared he might be there she announced herself rather than simply entering. She didn't want to ever catch Thorin undressing, or worse yet-in the middle of something. She would probably die on the spot.

"There you are! My blushing bride to be!" Ila said cheerily. Dwala blushed a bit and Ila grabbed her by the hands.

"What do you want to do tonight? We can do whatever you wish." Ila insisted.

"Oh, I don't know. Nothing is fine really." Dwala said sheepishly.

Ila wouldn't accept that. "Oh! Come on, your intended is having fun, why shouldn't you?"

"There is nothing I desire to do really, other than fall asleep but I don't think I will be able to."

"It's not nearly late enough to fall asleep. And if you did you'd wake well before dawn." Ila said and drew her towards a chair to set in.

Dwala sat and thought for a moment. There really wasn't much that she wanted in the world that night, only to relax. Ila sensed that, and was racking her brain for what to suggest.

"Perhaps, I could have some dessert brought and we could have an old fashioned sleep in, like we used to when we were girls. We can go to my old room and sleep together with Sam and I can read fairy tales aloud…just like when we were young."

It didn't take long for Dwala to begin to smile widely at that suggestion. She had missed those nights since Ila had gotten married, though there had been many more nights like that when they were children.

"But…won't Thorin be angry that you are not in bed when he returns?" Dwala asked.

"Oh, no. I will leave him a note. Besides he warned that he might be quite late anyway."

Dwala was satisfied with that answer and she got up happily to go fetch Sam from her own room. Ila called for Thorin's servant to order that sweets be brought to her old rooms from the kitchens and then sat about locating one of their favorite storybooks. She met Dwala soon after in her old bedroom, where Ila had ordered a warm fire to be built to ward off the late winter chill and make the unused room cozy again. A large tray laden with an array of desserts followed soon and Ila was very pleased with that idea of hers.

Sam bounded happily up onto the bed and snuggled in next to Ila, laying his head gently on her swell. Ila wondered if Sam would be protective of the babe, if Thorin allowed him near it of course. Ila had her doubts and was momentarily very sad that he would not let Sam sleep with them. Perhaps she could lobby for a dog bed in the same room though? But she knew Sam would never sleep in it after a life of sleeping in beds with dwarves though.

Dwala climbed into the great bed and got comfortable, settling in against the oak headboard and drawing the covers up to her waist. Ila selected a fluffy piece of cake to dive into while Dwala flipped through the great, blue leather bound book of fairy tales, old even when they were little, searching for a favorite. Sam was stealthily trying to take a lick at something on the dessert tray, but Ila gently took him by the collar and he laid against her again, but with his eyes unblinking and fixed on the confections before him.

"This one here," Dwala said handing the great book to Ila. Ila placed her cake next to her and took the book, which Sam began to sniff excessively. It was old there was no knowing what trace scents his nose picked up on it. It had been passed down from her mother from her mother and so on, Ila knew not how far back.

Ila looked at the heading on the aging page. It was the one about the mountains of fairy-gold in the islands where the marigolds grow, and where the fairies where thought to still be seen.

Ila began to read it, and noticed out of the corner of her eye that Dwala seemed relaxed finally as she slowly enjoyed a slice of cake with sweet berries on top. She was glad to see it, and wondered that she was missing her mother this night. Dwala's mother had died giving birth to her youngest brother, of which Dwala had three. She did not speak of her mother very much, but knew that Dwala missed her terribly. Ila missed her own mother quite a bit, but she was yet living and Ila knew she would see her again, and that she could write to her when she wanted. She needed to do that in fact. She hoped her mother would come shortly after the baby was born, but wondered that she might not if she did not produce the son and heir that was so desired by all.

Casting that thought from her mind, Ila reminded herself that her most pressing duty was to be a good storyteller and keep Dwala's mind from any anxiety or distress. So she did her best to be as intriguing and entertaining as possible, eventually lulling her friend into a contented sleep.

Downstairs, a celebration of a much different kind was taking place. It had taken no time at all for the spirits to begin flowing as soon as all the dwarves assembled. Instead of dining in the great hall that night, Thorin had one of the private rooms on the main level set for a special feast to honor his friend and right hand.

In attendance where the thirteen dwarves that had set out to reclaim Erebor not so very long ago. The dwarf called Bofur was singing and dancing on top of the table-what little part of the table that wasn't covered in food. Balin was smoking in a comfy chair, Oin and Gloin were eating heartily, an impossibly large dwarf called Bombur was on his third plate of food, a disheveled and disoriented dwarf named Bifur mumbled in Khuzdul to his salad before eating it, a young dwarf called Nori was carefully removing his knitted mittens before he dined, least he dirty them. His brothers Nori and Dori were fussing about something that was missing that the latter felt the former had taken from him, and Fili and Kili were well on their way to one of the worst hangovers of their lives thus far. The object of that night's celebration, Dwalin, was at the head of the table, which had made him feel a bit out of sorts at first but Thorin had insisted. He had enough drinks in him now though to feel just fine, and Thorin was nursing his ale as usual, especially in case he needed to keep this group in check. He had just rebuilt much of Erebor, he didn't need it demolished again and so soon. And this group was capable of anything.

Thorin was leaning back in his chair and happily watching the revelry unfold around him. Balin had begun to tell stories of what his younger brother was like as a wee lad, much to Dwalin's protest. Apparently their fearsome companion had been far from such as a little dwarfling. Laughter and the clanging of cups filled the hall and likely all of Erebor. Thorin mused he was the only sober member of the party then but that was alright. He had half wondered if his youngest nephew would even show, as he had been scarce lately and Thorin had not overlooked that fact. Rumor was there was a maid to blame, and he needed to have someone discreetly look into that. Boys would be boys of course, but he couldn't have a bastard with royal blood pop up out of nowhere.

Bringing his attention back to the present, Thorin was just in time to hear Balin telling everyone that Dwalin cried more than any other little dwarf he had ever seen, and that his new bride had no idea what she was getting into by agreeing to have his colicky little dwarflings. Thorin laughed heartily, imaging Dwalin crawling in little, crying and fussing dwarflings.

"If we have any!" Dwalin's response had been. But Thorin quickly interjected. "You are plenty young enough and she certainly is. Look how soon I got mine with child!"

Everyone agreed that Dwalin was in great danger of becoming a father and soon. Dwalin blushed and didn't make to suggest at all that he didn't want any. He only took another great drink of ale and his brother slapped him on the back a couple of times. Everyone cheered and laughed and talked of how his babies would have mohawks as he did in his youth and demand ale over their mother's milk. Bombur moved on to his fourth plate of food, the lads stumbled about the room and clutched each other to steady themselves, and all made merry while Thorin looked on from where he sat next to Dwalin. He had sometimes during their journey from Bilbo's house until the very moment Smaug was defeated wondered if such a sight would ever be more than a dream. His friends eating and drinking and celebrating together under the mountain. Just living and existing happily together under the mountain. But it had been a reality, and he would never forget how close it came to being just a far flung dream.

With that thought, and the even happier thought of his love and unborn child likely sleeping soundly above him at that moment, pulled his harp out and began to pluck it gently, providing the revelers with a bit of background music to celebrate by.

A/N: Sorry for the unexpected hiatus dear readers. What can I say? Sometimes life just down right sucks. Apologies to those who thought I had given up on this one. I promise I will see it through to the end! I hope you enjoy and have a great week.