This part took me almost seven months (crazy, I know) and it went through so many writer's blocks and lazy spells. But here it is at last! I might like this even more than Little Wonders. It has about 90% less Bagginshield than I intended - and 90% more Dáin and his wife than I intended. Well, that happened xD

The name of Dáin's wife, Thira, is borrowed with permission from the lovely determamfidd

"No! I don't care what you think, I am not going to stop visiting my kin while I'm pregnant!"

Fíli groaned. It was the third time that week Kíli and Tauriel had got into that argument. And it was only Tuesday. Fíli understood perfectly that his brother was worried; this was his and Tauriel's first child, and Mirkwood was a dangerous place. Then again Tauriel was born and raised there, so she probably had an idea how to move around there. And that was when Fíli decided that if either of the couple came to him to ask him to be on their side he would stay impartial. It was the safest. He didn't want to be in the middle ground again.

There was a knock on the door and two seconds later Thorin came in. He took one look at the door of the room where Kíli and Tauriel were and asked, "Are they still fighting?"

"Yeah, it's been two hours now," Fíli replied. "Kee and I were supposed to go fishing by the river but somehow I don't see that happening now."

Thorin nodded and patted Fíli's shoulder. "Frerin is up from his nap, so would you like to come play with him?"

"Yes please," Fíli moaned in relief. He got up, said a quiet goodbye to Kíli and Tauriel's room's door and left with Thorin. Playing with his new adorable baby cousin sounded like a so much better idea than listening to a domestic quarrel.

In the meantime Tauriel had stopped yelling at Kíli and they were now sitting on their bed, holding hands. Kíli pressed a gentle kiss on his wife's cheek and said, "I'm sorry I snapped at you like that, I didn't mean to. I know full well the spiders are no match for you but I really can't help the worrying."

Tauriel laughed against Kíli's shoulder. "Silly Dwarf, it's me who carries the child, not you. Would you feel better if I took guards with me? Or maybe arranged the meeting in Dale?"

"Dale sounds good," Kíli stated. "I could go with you and say hello to Bard and his children. I know we're going to meet them next week for Frerin's naming ceremony anyway but–"

"Or," interjected Tauriel, "I could simply meet my kin in the naming ceremony. Legolas and King Thranduil are coming anyway, by the courtesy of their positions. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt anyone if we invited some of my friends there too... or suggest Legolas appointed them as their guards for the day."

Kíli laughed at the mental image of Thorin's face upon hearing there would be more Elves participating in the naming ceremony than originally anticipated. Tauriel was somewhat tolerated and respected under the Mountain, thanks to the feats she had done in the Battle of the Five Armies and the fact that she had saved the lives of both Kíli and Fíli several times. (Well, Fíli's she had saved only once but who cared about the details?) Even Thorin had grown to value Tauriel as a family member. But what came to the other Elves, the Dwarves were still barely able to remain civil when in the same space with them.

"Uncle Thorin hopes Frerin throws up on Thranduil," Kíli smirked. "And I have to admit I'd love to see it."

"Shame on you!" giggled Tauriel and gently swatted her husband to the backside of his head. "Although I must say I just pictured Thranduil's face if that should happen. I have spent entirely too much time with you Dwarves!"

Kíli just laughed so much he fell off the bed and Tauriel shook her head. What in the name of Varda had she married into? Sometimes she couldn't believe she had left her position as Captain of Guards for this madness. And then Kíli looked at her and smiled with so much love in his eyes that Tauriel sighed and leaned in to kiss him. Yes, her life was filled with madness but it was worth it when she was so loved. Both her and her unborn baby.

Kíli rubbed Tauriel's belly and asked, "It won't be that long now, right?"

"No," replied Tauriel. "About three more months or so. Plenty of time for you to craft the crib and other essentials."

"Mama still can't believe I'm about to become a dad," Kíli told her. "She says it was just yesterday she tried to feed me while I just threw the food at Uncle Thorin's face and peed on him when he tried to change my nappies."

Tauriel rolled her eyes. She did not need to know that.

"You must be joking."

Kíli had just got home and to Tauriel's horror he was dragging a crib with him. Under any other circumstances it would've moved her to tears but the crib happened to be solid gold with many gemstones embedded to it.

"What?" asked Kíli. "Our child deserves the best, and I thought we could use this since Bilbo rejected it."

Tauriel huffed. "And there is a reason he did. A simple wooden crib would suffice, meleth nín. That thing is absolutely ridiculous!"

"But gimlel..."

"No! I deal with enough madness with little Frerin's naming ceremony as it is! I have no formal gowns that would fit me at this point and it would be such waste to commission one because I'd never use it again!"

The expression on Kíli's face told Tauriel that he had no clue what she was talking about. She sighed and explained that a new gown would be waste because she had no intention of getting pregnant again and thus would not use a gown meant to be used when carrying a child again.

"Oh, okay," said Kíli. "Wait, what? You don't want to have another child?"

"Well, at least not very soon," corrected Tauriel. "Never is a bit too strong a word. This just hasn't been the easiest time for me."

Kíli was silent for a moment. "Tell you what," he said then. "I'll get rid of that crib and meanwhile you go into the bathtub and then I'll give you a nice massage. You sound like you need it."

Tauriel had never found her husband a particularly smart Dwarf but there truly were times when he had his moments. She kissed him with a smile and told him to hurry. Even the warmest bath was cold without him. Kíli chuckled, called her a proper poet, and started to drag the crib out of the room. Tauriel was right; the thing was ridiculous. What had he been thinking? Well, Kíli knew the answer to that: nothing, as per usual. Maybe fatherhood would make him more considerate.

Kíli asked the nearest guard to take the crib back to the treasury (the guard looked like she was biting back a laugh) and then went to the bathroom. Tauriel was already in the tub, her long hair tied up to a bun, leaning against the edge. Kíli took off his trousers and sat behind his wife, legs in water.

"Well that was quick," commented Tauriel as she turned around to smile at Kíli.

"I couldn't keep you waiting," answered Kíli. "That would've been very rude."

Tauriel giggled. "My silly Dwarf," she said with a fond smile.

"And my strong-willed Elf." Kíli pressed a kiss in Tauriel's hair as he started to massage her shoulders. She was right, he was silly, but it was only because he was so in love. (And then Kíli couldn't help but picture Fíli laughing at him and telling him he had been silly since birth.) Tauriel leaned back against his knees and Kíli could see her body relax as she let out a pleased hum.

"Does this feel good?" Kíli asked and added a bit more pressure.

Tauriel nodded, eyes closed. Yes, she was definitely enjoying herself. Kíli grinned at himself and leaned in to kiss Tauriel's hair again.

"I was thinking," he said slowly, "how about you wear something that fits you to the naming ceremony and wear a long cloak that covers your body if having suitable clothes is that big a deal for you. How does that sound?"

Tauriel turned around to look at her husband in disbelief. Kíli never had two good ideas in one day, this was unbelievable!

"Who are you and what have you done to my husband?" she asked with a giggle.

"Well, maybe I've decided to actually use my brain to ease your load," Kíli replied, smirking a little as he kneaded her back.

"Thank Elbereth for that," sighed Tauriel. "Oh that feels so good."

"Let's find you a cloak that fits you tomorrow," said Kíli, "and if we can't find one we'll commission Dori."

Tauriel nodded again. Most of the clothes she owned were made by Dori or one of his weavers, and very fine clothes they were too. She had never before had any fancy clothes because she had had no need for them as a Captain of Guards. But now she was a princess (something she still had trouble comprehending) and it was expected of her to dress accordingly to everything. No exceptions allowed. Oh, Tauriel was sure Thorin did not mind what she was wearing, as long as she did wear something, but the rest of the court was still very wary of her. As a princess she was expected to attend some of the council meetings and Tauriel was determined to prove that she was worthy of calling the Mountain her home and Kíli her husband.

She wasn't sure if she had been able to last this long if it weren't for Kíli's unwavering support – and Bilbo's too. Fíli and Dís were great help as well, and Tauriel hadn't lived a single day under the Mountain when she hadn't been grateful of the support of her brother-in-law and mother-in-law. And of course when everything became simply overbearing she was always able to rely on Bilbo. They were both outsiders to this strange new world – and quite frankly, if they were mad enough to marry into the house of Durin they had better stick together. They both needed someone to rant to every once in a while.

Kíli finished with the massage and helped Tauriel get up from the bath. "Feeling better?" he asked.

"Yeah, a lot," Tauriel replied with a smile. "I've said it before but you are very good with your hands."

Kíli grinned at her. "Good to know I haven't lost my touch since that one time in your quarters in Mirkwood."

"Oh, you'd never lose it. It would be the same as you suddenly losing all of your hair, which isn't much but still. It's a part of what makes you who you are." She cupped his cheeks with her hands and pressed a kiss on his forehead.

"Let's get to bed now, it's getting late," said Kíli. "D'you need help with your clothes?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry so much!" huffed Tauriel as she put on her bathrobes. "I intend to sleep naked anyway."

The sound of Kíli's moan made her laugh out loud.

It was official, the whole Mountain had gone crazy simply because of all the new members in the royal family (those born and those not yet born). On the morning of little Frerin's naming ceremony Tauriel found several wilted flowers and branches left behind the door of her and Kíli's quarters, some of them with quite lovely congratulations cards. Honestly, what had she married into? Well, she sighed internally, at least the people of Erebor seemed to have accepted her, despite her being an Elf, which was definitely a positive thing. The sad thing was that they didn't know anything about plants and how to treat them.

Tauriel shook her head and tried to bend down to pick up the presents but quickly realised she couldn't. Her swollen belly was in the way. But she couldn't be that big yet! She still had around two and a half months to go!

"Kíli!" she called. "Are you busy?"

"Sort of," came the reply. "What is it?"

"I need your help!" answered Tauriel. "I can't seem to be able to bend anymore."

Kíli materialised two seconds later, wearing only his trousers. He looked down at the presents at Tauriel's feet and without another word started to collect them.

"You still have two more months and some to go, don't you?" he asked after he'd put the flowers to a vase and given them water (Bilbo was probably jumping for joy somewhere). "You shouldn't be this big yet, right?"

Tauriel shook her head again. "I'll ask Lord Elrond and Master Óin to check up on me after the ceremony. I'm not an expert with pregnancies but I know for a fact that this isn't normal at this point."

Kíli pressed a light kiss on Tauriel's knuckles and nodded. They didn't even have to stay at the naming ceremony and the party afterwards for that long if need be. Bilbo had already promised that they (and Fíli and Gimli) could leave as soon as the actual naming ceremony was over if they wanted to. He wouldn't mind. Although it was unlikely that any of them were going to leave, because there truly was going to be a feast afterwards and Dwarves simply loved to have an excuse to party and get drunk.

"Just tell me instantly if you're not feeling well, please?" asked Kíli as he was putting on his royal blue shirt.

"Of course," promised Tauriel, "but I'm sure it turns out to be nothing. Like I said, I am not an expert when it comes to pregnancies. I'm probably worrying over nothing."

"Well, better safe than sorry, eh," stated Kíli matter-of-factly and Tauriel leaned in to kiss his forehead. Thank Elbereth she was still able to do that at least. And fortunately Kíli was rather tall for a Dwarf, too.

"Right then, said Tauriel, "we ought to start getting ready for the ceremony, I suppose."

They were almost done, what with Kíli finishing with braiding Tauriel's hair, when Dís opened the door of their quarters and marched in. She was wearing a gorgeous periwinkle blue dress and carried herself with such grace Tauriel could never hope to master.

"Mama!" Kíli complained. "Don't just barge in like that! We could've been naked!"

Dís laughed and shook her head at her youngest son. "It takes a great deal more than that to shock me, my little falcon. Besides, I knew that couldn't have been the case because Frerin's naming ceremony begins in about half an hour and I know your wife is very punctual."

The two women shared a smile. Though they had their differences Tauriel was grateful how quick Dís had been to accept her. The fact that she had saved the lives of both her sons had helped the matter a lot, the Elf-maid suspected. Dís' acceptance had made it so much easier to adapt to the life under the Mountain.

"We are almost ready," Tauriel told her mother-in-law. "Oh, and I suppose you should know that I'm having Lord Elrond and Master Óin have a check-up after the feast."

"Why?" asked Dís and sat down on the sofa next to the couple. "Is there something wrong with the baby?"

"No, I don't think so, but I'm so big already and I still have two and a half months to go," explained Tauriel. "And both Kíli and I thought it's better to be safe than sorry. We want to be absolutely sure there is nothing wrong."

Dís let out a relieved sigh. This was her first grandchild so Tauriel was not going to judge her the least for being concerned. On the contrary, Tauriel herself was relieved someone knew what she was going through and could share the experience. Bilbo was another one with whom Tauriel often discussed these things, but it was always a bit different because Bilbo was male.

"Well that's good to hear," Dís smiled. "All right then, you two. We need to get going! Bilbo is going to be so disappointed if we're late!"

They ran into Fíli at halfway to the assembly hall at the eastern side of Erebor. He was rubbing his eyes as though he'd just woken up, which was most likely the case.

"I'm supposed to give a speech," he explained, "and I stayed up a-a-all night working on it."

"In that state you're definitely not going to do that," announced Dís. "Someone else can do it, but you look like you're about to drop dead on my feet, my little lion."

"Mama!" Fíli protested at his old childhood nickname.

Dís shook her head. "You won't do it. I'll not have my son sound like a drunkard when he is trying to give a speech for his newborn cousin. Now, show me what you were planning to say and I'll give the damned speech."

Fíli, thank Valar, knew better than to argue, so he simply tossed his pieces of parchment to Dís and asked her to have fun. Dís rolled her eyes at her eldest but said nothing.

"So, how's my favourite sister-in-law this beautiful day?" Fíli grinned at Tauriel.

"Pish-posh, I'm your only sister-in-law," retorted Tauriel. "And you only wish to know how your future niece or nephew fares. I know you too well, Fíli."

Next to Tauriel Kíli was choking on his restrained laughter.

Fíli just shrugged. "Oh, I want to know that too, but all the jokes aside, seriously, how are you, Tauriel?"

"I'm well enough, thanks for asking. Although, as I've already told your mother, I'm having Lord Elrond and Master Óin check up on me after the feast. You see..."

Tauriel gave her brother-in-law a quick summary of the situation. As she had suspected, Fíli insisted on being with her and Kíli when she'd go to the check-up. "Moral support, you know?"

"Thank you," said Tauriel sincerely and hugged Fíli.

"And now we really have to go," Dís pointed out. "I said Bilbo is going to be disappointed if we're late but Thorin will kill us."

Well they couldn't have that. Tauriel was not going to let the Durin brothers be killed after all she had gone through to keep the two idiots (especially her husband) alive.

The assembly hall was already full with the citizens for Erebor and the guests Bilbo and Thorin had invited by the time they got in. Tauriel looked around and soon spotted Legolas and King Thranduil, mainly because they were so much taller than majority of the folk gathered in the hall, and to her relief she saw familiar faces in the guards. She also spotted King Bard along with his three children, Lord Elrond and his kin, some familiar Dwarves, and then a lot of folk she had never seen in all her long life. They must've been the rulers of Gondor and Rohan and their closest kin. She hadn't especially had time to learn their names so she hoped her lack of knowledge wouldn't make her look like a fool in the eyes of everyone, especially her family.

Thankfully Dís came to the rescue and pointed out who the Men were and who was from Gondor and who hailed from Rohan, and Tauriel memorised them the best she could.

"Don't worry too much," said Dís. "You'll get the hold of this eventually, and everyone makes mistakes. I hear the King of Rohan couldn't make it, so he sent his son Thengel and his new wife, the Lady Morwen. Apparently Lady Morwen hasn't been in her position for long, so you're not the only one here making their first royal appearances."

Hearing about a fellow newly made princess made Tauriel slightly less self-conscious. Oh, this was not a good time to have social anxiety. Of course it was a bit different for Lady Morwen, as she hadn't married into a whole other culture, but Tauriel wasn't going to complain, they still were in a same boat. She sat down next to Kíli and waited for the ceremony to begin. She had decided to try to memorise it, as this was also waiting for her unborn baby.

The ceremony wasn't very long, at least when compared to regular Dwarven weddings. Gandalf had arrived sometime in the morning and was now officiating the naming with both Balin and Lord Dáin. There was a lot of Khuzdul that Tauriel did not understand and Kíli whispered her the translation the best he could. Baby Frerin was mostly asleep, only making a protesting noise when he was moved from Bilbo's arms to Dáin's for the first blessings of Mahal. He calmed down again when Dáin returned him to his papa with a wide smile. They then moved on to gibing out Frerin's first weapon, which had mostly been Thorin's decision as Bilbo still frowned on the idea of giving an infant a battle axe. This part was mostly ceremonial; every Dwarfling received their first weapon like this and the said weapon was to be kept safe by parents until the child was old enough to wield it. Every now and then it happened, though, that the child specialised in completely another weapon.

And that was mostly it. Balin announced Frerin's name to the public, and Gandalf, much because Bilbo had requested it, asked Mahal and Yavanna to bless him in everything he'd do in life and receive him with open arms when it was time for him to leave the world. There was also some Hobbit-y things Gandalf performed, giving out two flowers and a golden spoon as a sign of happiness and good fortune apparently.

The feast following the ceremony was grand, as expected from the Dwarves. The tables were full with food, traditional Dwarvish ones and some that were clearly Hobbit-y. Ale and mead were streaming, and everyone drank several pintfuls for little Frerin's health. Tauriel wouldn't touch anything except fruit juices that were reserved for the pregnant and those who were breast-feeding their little ones (it was up to the parent whether they wanted to do it). She watched from the table reserved for the royal family and their closest friends how many of the guests were dancing, undisturbed, until Dáin sat next to her.

"Lord Dáin," Tauriel greeted the red-haired Dwarf with a polite nod. Dáin replied in kind.

"How are ye feeling, lass?" he asked.

"Tired, to be honest. I never thought a pregnancy would be this taxing."

"Aye, Thira says the same," Dáin told her, waving to his wife who was currently dancing with Balin. "It wasn't easy for her to carry Stonehelm. Made me sleep on the couch many a time and threatened to cut off my balls even more often. I hope it hasn't come to that with ye and Kíli."

Tauriel laughed. "At least not yet. Kíli has been most attentive and gentle these past months."

"I'm glad to hear it," Dáin grinned and patted Tauriel's elbow. "Now ye just take good care of yerself and the wee one. I think I'm gonna go ask Dís for a dance."

"In that case don't let me keep you, my lord," Tauriel replied and took another sip of her juice.

"Y'know, I think just Dáin will do, since you're family after all," stated Dáin with a very kind smile, and then took off to find Dís before Tauriel could say another word. Well, that had been very unexpected but Tauriel was pleasantly surprised.

Soon after Dáin had left Tauriel was joined by Sigrid who sat on the chair, kicked her shoes off and started to rub her feet.

"Are you well?" asked Tauriel.

"Tip for the future: never dance with a Dwarf who has two left feet," Sigrid answered with a disgruntled glare to Fíli's direction. "Fíli kept stepping on my toes and I'm not all that sure they will ever recover."

Tauriel offered the lass a sympathetic nod. She too had experienced this during her and Kíli's wedding feast after they had returned (apparently Dwarves took any excuse they could get to throw a party). The basic idea of them eloping had been to escape all the fuss but Dwarves were incorrigible. Kíli hadn't wanted a grand feast either. And Tauriel remembered Fíli's dancing skills, or the lack thereof, far too well. Oh well, not that she was really the one to talk, as she was a fairly poor dancer herself. The idea of every single Elf being a graceful creature was utter poppycock, as Bilbo would've put it.

"So," said Sigrid, "enough about me, how are you? Everything all right?"

"Yes, everything is well," replied Tauriel. "I'm still learning all the strange customs but I think I'm getting better. I managed to survive last week without offending a single member of the court. Or if I did then at least no one commented it."

Sigrid clapped her hands and told Tauriel that the Elf-maid had succeeded in something she still struggled to grasp. "All those bloody rules, and curtsying, and 'yes milady' and 'no milord'... I'm honestly surprised I've coped this long."

Tauriel understood perfectly what Sigrid meant. The two of them had been of royalty about the same amount of time, even though technically through her heritage Sigrid had always been a princess. Neither of them especially felt like princesses. Sigrid had, after all, lived most of her life as a bargeman's daughter in poverty, and Tauriel had been a soldier. And look at them now, both trying to survive in this strange new world.

"Do you still get ten marriage proposals a week?" asked Tauriel with a giggle. Sigrid snorted a laugh too.

"Thank Valar not. I think Da has put most of the suitors off, thinks none of them is worthy to even look into my direction."

"I have to agree with your Da, from what I've seen of them they truly aren't worthy of your time."

Sigrid have Tauriel a playful shove in the arm. "You're just as bad as he is! How am I ever supposed to marry when the two of you and Bain and Tilda are stalking behind my back all the time?"

Tauriel shrugged. "We simply agree that you deserve only the best."

Sigrid made a "pfft" noise and grabbed a glass of wine from the table. Thranduil had brought several barrels as a gift, mainly to Bilbo and Tauriel because they were the ones to appreciate good wine the most. While Dwarves didn't say no to it they still heavily preferred ale they had brewed with their own bare hands, as they liked to say. Tauriel noticed how Sigrid's eyes flickered more than once or twice to Fíli's direction as she drank her wine.

"So has Fíli even said he likes you yet?" she asked bluntly, resulting to Sigrid nearly choking on her drink.

"Sorry?" Sigrid managed to croak after several heavy coughs and one of Tauriel's bodyguards, Deryn, clapping her back.

"I asked if my silly brother-in-law has got past his awkwardness and told you that he likes you," repeated Tauriel with a shrewd smile, and Sigrid groaned. Deryn retreated further away, to Tauriel's eye because she was trying not to laugh and appear disrespectful.

Sigrid put the glass back on the table. "Has Fíli told you anything then?"

Tauriel shook her head. "He hasn't, but I know the way he looks at you, Sig. Elbereth knows Kíli has the same look in his eyes when he looks at me."

Sigrid blushed. "Do you think I should say something? Because I do like him, very much, and so do Bain, Tilda and Da, so everyone wins."

Tauriel reassured her friend that she absolutely should go talk to Fíli. "But if you don't feel like you're ready yet then just wait a while. There's no rush."

Sigrid glanced quickly again at Fíli's direction, briefly considered her actions and got up. She was going to do this.

"Wish me luck," she grinned.

"Galu, mellon nín," uttered Tauriel just before she felt a sharp twinge of pain in her belly and she let out a gasp. Sigrid halted immediately.

"Are you all right?"

"No," Tauriel breathed. "Help me up, I must go to the healing rooms now."

Sigrid sent Deryn to find Kíli before she helped Tauriel walk down the corridor to the healing rooms. Tauriel told her that she was most likely just experiencing a false labour but that it never hurt to be safe rather than sorry. Elrond and Óin arrived soon after them and helped Tauriel lie down on the bed. She explained the situation and what had happened and let Elrond to take a look at her belly. Fíli and Kíli barged in just as also Óin had finished with the examination and the two healers started to mumble something to each other.

"Deryn told us what happened," Kíli said as he sat next to his wife. "Is there something wrong with you or the baby?"

"No, doesn't look like it," replied Tauriel. "The pains stopped already and I think Lord Elrond and Master Óin would've already told me if there was a problem."

Kíli let out a relieved sigh and kissed Tauriel's forehead. Fíli sat down next to a shaken Sigrid on a sofa at the side of the room and the two of them appeared to be holding hands.

"Um, Tauriel?" said Óin. "Have we discussed the possibility of multiple births?"

"No, but let's discuss it after I've got through this one," sighed Tauriel.

Elrond cleared his throat. "That isn't what Master Óin means. He means you are carrying twins."

... Okay that came right out of the blue.

"E-excuse me?" blurted Tauriel.

"Twins?!" shrieked Kíli.

Elrond nodded and apologised to them that he and Óin hadn't been able to discover this earlier. But now there was no doubt of it; they both had detected two sets of heartbeats. Kíli and Tauriel shared a flabbergasted look. Twins were rare amongst the Elves, and even more so for the Dwarves. There only was a word for twins in Khuzdul because there had been one occasion long ago when a Dwarrowdam had given birth to two children at the same time.

"Elo!" gasped Tauriel while Kíli kept repeating the word "twins", trying to process the idea.

"Um, you two are freaking out," Fíli pointed out.

"Uh huh, join us, won't you!" retorted Kíli. "In case you didn't hear Lord Elrond, Tauriel and I are going to have two children instead of one!"

Fíli rolled his eyes at his younger brother. "Yes, I heard it, and while I am screaming internally I think someone here has to keep their cool and it looks like it's me."

"I can't do this," said Tauriel suddenly, grasping the mattress she was lying on. Everyone's attention flew straight back to her. "Two children at once. I can't. Even one child feels like too much, I can't do it, I can't..."

For everyone's surprise Sigrid stood up, sat on the bed next to Tauriel and gently touched her hand. "Mellon, you'll be fine. I can't say giving birth will be easy but you've survived many battles and fights. Regard this as just another battle you have to win."

"She's right," stated Fíli. "And besides, it's not like the babies will come out at the same time, or even right after each other, right?"

The golden-haired prince gave Elrond and Óin an asking look. Both healers nodded and Elrond told them that his son Elrohir had been born an hour after Elladan, which had given his wife a good break to restore her strength.

"And my gift of foresight has granted me knowledge that you will be fine," the Elf lord added with a small smile. This reassured Tauriel a bit, though she kept clutching the mattress, slightly fidgeting where she sat.

Fíli motioned Sigrid to leave the room with him, to give Tauriel and Kíli some time and space to process all this. Sigrid nodded and got up from the bed after hugging Tauriel.

"We're going," Fíli told his brother. "If I see Mama, do you want me to tell her or do you want to do it yourself?"

"You can tell her," Kíli answered. "And Bilbo and Thorin and the Company, too, just be discreet about it. Tell them not to spread it any further. We don't wanna steal Frerin's thunder, right?"

He looked at Tauriel who shook her head. "No, we don't. We'll make an official announcement later, let this day be just about little Frerin."

Fíli nodded in agreement and hugged both Kíli and Tauriel quickly before leaving the room with Sigrid. And just as the door was closed he sank onto the nearest chair, breathing heavily.

"I can't believe I'll have two nephews or nieces... Or one of each!"

"Breathe," Sigrid told him. "Honestly, what is it with you males? The minute a female is going to have a baby you lot go nuts!"

"You're not going to be an aunt, you don't know how this feels," retorted Fíli. Sigrid just snorted and told him how Tauriel had some weeks prior asked her to be the godmother.

"And I said yes, so I do know how this feels," she hissed. Fíli made a face but grumbled something that sounded like, "Okay, I suppose so."

Sigrid helped Fíli up and back to the doors of the assemble hall where they were met by prince Legolas who seemed like he didn't know whether to laugh or not, judging from the way his mouth was twitching.

"What's the matter?" asked Fíli.

Legolas finally let out a giggle. "Your little cousin ever so discreetly threw up on my father. I know I should be livid for him or something, but ada's face was simply too priceless!"

Fíli and Sigrid laughed as well at the mental image. What a shame they had missed it, but then again babies did it all the time, they might just get another chance to witness it. Though chances also were that after this Thranduil would never again get closer to Frerin than fifty yards.

"Anyway," said Legolas when the trio had stopped chortling, "have you seen Tauriel? Some of her friends, myself included, would like to offer her our congratulations."

"She's in the healing rooms," answered Sigrid. "She had some false contractions so I took her there just in case. Turned out it was nothing alarming, but it also turned out she's going to," she motioned Legolas closer to herself so she could whisper, "have twins."

Legolas had never looked as flabbergasted, as far as they knew, and it nearly made Fíli laugh again.

Later that night Kíli and Tauriel were lying on their bed, Kíli resting his head on Tauriel's shoulder. They both still had a hard time comprehending what they had just found out. The reactions of the rest of the family sure had been amusing but still, this was huge. Tauriel was still unsure whether or not she'd be able to do this, and Kíli had no idea how to comfort her.

"So, uh..." Kíli began and his voice was much higher than usual. "Have you, um, given any thought about the names?"

Tauriel groaned and leaned back on her pillow. Kíli took this as a cue to leave the bed as quickly as possible.

"I'll, uh, go put the kettle on," he muttered, unclear whether it was for Tauriel or just for himself. Either way he slid to the kitchen of their chambers and filled the kettle with water.

Tauriel followed him to the drawing room right after the kettle had whistled and Kíli had put the teabags into the cups. She had wrapped a blanket around her shoulders.

"Thank you," she said with a tiny voice when Kíli passed her one of the cups.

"Feeling any better?" asked Kíli.

Tauriel sipped her tea and sighed. "Not really. I had just got used to the idea of one baby and now there are two in the way. I don't know what to think."

Kíli nudged her gently. "Well, whatever happens, I'm here for you. We'll get through this, just like we always have."

Tauriel pressed her forehead against Kíli's and smiled. That made her feel slightly better. Well, not that she ever doubted her husband, it was just nice to hear it said out loud that she wasn't going to have to get through this alone.

"Do you want some biscuits?" asked Kíli. "Bombur just sent us some oatmeal cranberry ones."

Tauriel giggled. "That sounds lovely."

As Kíli went to fetch the biscuits someone knocked the door. It meant it was Fíli, Bilbo, or Thorin, because Dís never knocked. Tauriel called, "Come in!" and Fíli opened the door.

"Am I disturbing?" he asked.

"No, not at all," replied Tauriel. "Kíli made tea, do you want some?"

Fíli seemed pleased. "Don't mind if I do. After Sigrid and I let the healing rooms I've spent a long day trying to evade Stonehelm. The idiot keeps trying to challenge me into a drinking contest but no offence, I've drunk myself under the table with him for too many times."

Tauriel shrugged as she poured water into the cup Fíli had brought as he had talked, and stated, "Well, that just shows you've got more sense in your head than most of your kin. Oh, and speaking of Sigrid, did she say she wanted to talk to you about something?"

Fíli made a face. "Yeah, but we never actually talked because we were ambushed by Dáin who told us to stop flirting with each other and then Sig sort of... closed off and wouldn't talk to me anymore."

"Were you then?" asked Tauriel.

"What?"

"Flirting!" exclaimed Kíli who came back with a jar of freshly baked biscuits. Fíli made a face again, pondering his answer.

"I don't know, I suppose we kind of were. Why? Do you think she likes me?"

Kíli and Tauriel shared a look. By the Valar Fíli was slow! Tauriel could swear she had seen pigeons learn faster than him.

"Well, quite honestly I don't know what other reason she'd have for ogling you the way she did today," stated Tauriel and grabbed two biscuits from the jar. Fíli blushed thoroughly, and Kíli nudged him.

"You do realise that if you wish to court her you have to tell her... you know."

Fíli sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'll – I'll tell her the next time we're alone."

Tauriel patted her brother-in-law's hand. "If it helps, she told me today that she likes you very much and was going to tell you that if my false labour hadn't interrupted."

She smiled as Fíli's face lit up again.

"So what should I say to her?"

Tauriel and Kíli groaned.

Tauriel leaned against a wall and took several deep breaths, clutching her belly with her other hand. The pains were back, now stronger than ever before, and she felt woozy. By Elbereth, why was she never close to the healing rooms when this happened? She was now close to the Sapphire District where the quarters of nobles and visitors of the royal family lived, and the healing rooms were almost directly the other side of the mountain.

"Oh bugger," she swore, grimacing from the pain.

"Tauriel?"

She turned around to meet the concerned looks of Dáin and Thira.

"Are you all right?" asked Thira.

"No, I – I think my water just broke," replied Tauriel, feeling a blush appear on her cheeks. For her surprise the couple didn't seem to panic at all. In fact Dáin insisted that they'd take her to their quarters that were so much closer than the healing rooms.

"It's quite all right, let's just get those bairns out of you," Dáin told Tauriel. "Thira here is an experienced midwife, you're in the best o' hands."

"Can someone get Kíli?" grunted Tauriel as she was helped on the bed, and Thira started to gather towels. Dáin immediately sent his son to fetch Kíli (and Óin and Elrond on the way) and then began to heat up some water at his wife's orders.

The pains ceased for a while and Tauriel sighed, "This really isn't how I pictured this day. It's too early, I still should have two and a half weeks to go!"

Thira lifted Tauriel's legs to get the towels underneath her. "Oh, don't worry, dear, two and a half weeks isn't a lot. The bairns will be fine."

Tauriel snorted a laugh. "I know the babies are well, it's my husband and my brother-in-law I'm worried about."

Thira laughed as well. "Fair point there. You should've seen Dáin when I was giving birth. The poor sod couldn't settle down for a second and in the end he went and fainted."

"Did not!" protested Dáin as he brought a bowl full of steaming water. Thira snorted and asked him if he had a habit of collapsing on stone floor simply out of fun. Dáin huffed and went back to the kitchen to get more water, and Thira gave Tauriel a significant look.

"All right, you're about five centimetres dilated, so this will take a little while longer," said Thira, puffing up some pillows for Tauriel. "Are you comfortable?"

"As much as is possible, given the circumstances," answered Tauriel and leaned back against the pillow Thira gave her. "Why isn't that bloody idiot here yet?"

Just as she had said it, the door opened, only it wasn't Kíli like Tauriel had hoped. It was the second best thing though; Dís, closely followed by Sigrid. Thira gave them a quick catch-up on what had happened and then the three ladies got into work. Dáin they shooed back to the drawing room, telling him they'd holler if they needed anything. Dáin didn't complain; he'd rather steer clear from Dís' path if possible. It was always the safest choice.

Sigrid brought Tauriel some ice chips and Dís and Thira tea. This really would take a while longer so they might as well make themselves comfortable and spend some quality time together. Dís helped Tauriel tie up her hair, since it was bound to get in the way of everything if left loose.

"Oh, and before I forget," said Sigrid as she was pouring the tea, "I had a chat with Fíli."

Both Tauriel and Dís almost dropped their cups. Sigrid tugged at her sleeves of her dress and continued, "I still have to make sure Da doesn't object, but Fíli told me he wants to court me."

She blushed, and Tauriel, Dís and Thira all squealed with joy and congratulated her. Dís joked how she clearly was blessed with sons who had the best of taste with who they wanted to marry. "I'll have the two loveliest daughter-in-laws!"

"So he told you about – that," asked Tauriel. Sigrid nodded solemnly.

"Aye, it was the first thing he told me. And I told him that I couldn't care less what he has between his legs. Quite frankly I'm relieved."

This statement resulted to Dís and Thira to hug Sigrid very tightly. Tauriel did so too, though it was a rather awkward one-arm hug. She couldn't do it better, sitting on the bed as she was. The angle was completely wrong.

"So, what happened then?" asked Thira, going back to her tea.

"Well," Sigrid shrugged a bit, "we agreed that I'd talk to Da before we make any final agreements and – well, I suppose if Da approves we'll begin the courtship."

Dís and Thira were both going to say something, probably words of encouragement, but were cut off by Tauriel groaning and clutching on the sheets. Thira took a look at the Elf maid and after a quick inspection deemed it was time to push the twins out. Tauriel groaned again, this time more loudly and not because of the pain.

"What in the name of Aulë's hairy balls is taking Kíli so long?!"

Dís and Thira looked at each other with smirks. The Dwarvish swears truly were rubbing off on Tauriel at last. They called Dáin and told him to heat the water back up quickly, which he did with rather astonishing speed. He later stated that this wasn't the first time he was assisting a birth.

"I'll be in the drawing room in case ye need me," Dáin said after giving Sigrid the bowl. "And Tauriel, just keep thinking it's over soon and you'll be fine!" he added before closing the bedroom door again. Even through the pain Tauriel had to admit that he had a fair point. Sigrid returned to her post to support Tauriel's back after placing the bowl on the counter.

The first birth was halfway through when Óin and Lord Elrond finally arrived, but they both decided to stay out of the way. The ladies were doing such outstanding work that they felt they were just bothering if they meddled at this point. Without much further due they joined Dáin in the drawing room.

"Bet they're having a smoke and a glass of wine," snorted Thira. "Alright, there's the head! You're doing so well, Tauriel, just one more big push!"

And just as Tauriel pushed the baby out, Kíli turned up at last, followed by Fíli judging by the sounds coming from the drawing room. Tauriel glared at him like she'd never glared anyone.

"Where the hell have you been?!"

"I'm so sorry, I had to finish something I've been making for you and the babies," explained Kíli and sat next to his wife, holding her hand. "Did I miss it?"

"No," replied Dís as she washed the crying baby, wrapped it in soft cloth and handed to her son. "Say hello to your daughter."

Kíli's jaw dropped when he accepted the tiny bundle into his arms. "It's a girl? We have a daughter?"

"That's what I said!" laughed Dís and kissed Kíli's forehead. Tauriel kissed him too, the previous anger completely forgotten, as she looked at the crying face of her daughter. The little girl didn't have much hair yet but what she had was ginger and rather thick – a perfect mixture of her mother and father. Thira let out a loud sniff (and explained she had a weak spot for new parents looking at their child for the first time), and Sigrid hugged Dís out of joy.

"She's perfect," Tauriel managed. "And she's here."

Thira wiped her eyes and said, "Don't get too touchy feely yet, love, the other one's on the way now, it seems."

Tauriel moaned. "I already had one baby, leave me alone!"

Kíli quickly gave his newborn daughter to Sigrid and then squeezed Tauriel's hand. "You can do this, I'm right here to support you, and after this I promise you'll never have to do this again."

Tauriel frowned at her husband. "Are you serious?"

"Yes! We can discuss the details later, now let's get the other one out!"

Tauriel nodded and leaned forward, Kíli supporting her back the way Sigrid had during the first birth. By the grace of Valar this one was quicker than the first and was over before any of them even realised this. As the baby came out, Dís and Thira first frowned and then their mouths fell open.

"You're not going to believe this," said Dís with a feeble voice.

"What? Is the baby not well?" asked Tauriel, tears in her eyes.

Dís shook her head quickly. "No no, the baby is healthy–" the baby cried– "it's just... you have twin girls."

Kíli didn't register it at first. He had to take several looks at the firstborn in Sigrid's arms and then the newcomer (still in naught but her skin, crying like she was in danger) before he was able to understand what had happened. And then he started to weep too. Tauriel couldn't help a giggle.

Sigrid looked at the three Dwarves, frowning. "What? What's so special about twin girls?"

Thira wiped her hands on a towel. "Lass, the question is, what is not special about twin girls. Baby girls are very rare, and twins even rarer."

Dís nodded in agreement. "But let's not make any definitions final. Yes, they were born with female genitalia but it doesn't mean they'll necessarily identify as girls later in their lives. That happened with Fíli, bless my little lion."

Sigrid wrapped the younger baby in cloth and then placed both of the girls in Tauriel's arms. Equal the babies were in beauty, the elder with her thick ginger curls and the younger with her sleek brown hair. Tauriel was wiping her eyes and Kíli, having managed to dry his, kissed her forehead.

Fíli opened the door and whispered, "Can we come in?"

Thira motioned them to come over. Fíli was followed first by Dáin, then Stonehelm, and finally Elrond and Óin who were allowed to check on the bairns and Tauriel – which didn't take long. They deemed all three of them healthy as eagles or mountain rams (depending on which one of them you asked).

"I would advise to take the first week easy and make sure you have help available at all times," stated Elrond. "This just to be sure everything is well, even if the babies weren't born too prematurely."

"I still can't believe you had twin girls," said Fíli, peeking at his nieces over his brother's shoulder. Dáin was doing the same and he announced that he had never seen prettier baby girls in his life. Stonehelm cleared his throat a bit at the comment and Dáin looked at his son.

"I said baby girls," he sighed.

"I only meant that you'd stop the embarrassing baby talk," huffed Stonehelm. "Da, honestly!"

Dáin ruffled his son's hair and promised to stop if it bothered him so much. Thira just shook her head at both of them with an affectionate smile.

They let Tauriel rest for a while before she was allowed to leave for her own quarters. There she was met with a surprise; the whole Company had gathered there, along with Legolas and Gimli who apparently had stricken a civil conversation during the waiting (truly a unicorn if there ever was one), and two beautifully carved wooden cribs that had no other decorations but a gem on each one's headboard. One had a sapphire and the other an emerald.

"Mellon nín, ci maer?" asked Legolas upon seeing Tauriel. She smiled at him and nodded.

"Ni maer, mellon nín. I'd like you, all of you, to meet mine and Kíli's daughters."

Later that night Tauriel and Kíli were leaning against the sides of the cribs. They had decided to give the sapphire one to the redhead and the emerald one to the brunette. Somehow it had felt the most fitting. Kíli gently stroke the cheek of the redhead and looked up at Tauriel who was doing the same with the brunette.

"Don't be mad, but we still need names for these two."

Tauriel smiled at him. "Worry not, I've already come up with rather good ones."

Kíli raised an eyebrow. They had agreed that as per the Dwarven tradition he ought to give the two their inner names (which he had) and in return Tauriel could give them the outer names. And he knew how much Tauriel had struggled to come up with any ideas.

"What are they?"

"This one's Anya," said Tauriel, pointing at the brunette, "and that one is Aneira. What do you think? I wanted names that would sound both Elvish and Dwarvish, a nice mixture of both worlds."

Kíli got up and kissed her. "I love them. I know it should be too early to say it but I think they suit our girls well."

Tauriel giggled, sighed with relief and then looked back at her daughters. Aneira and Anya. Both were good, strong names, and strength the two of them were going to need, were they going to survive the madness that was their uncles, all sixteen of them (the Company plus Dáin, Stonehelm, Gimli, and Legolas – Bilbo was too sane to be counted in). Their reactions to the announcement of twin girls had been the best entertainment Tauriel had had in years. Dwalin had cried, and Legolas had tumbled right into Gimli's lap, for their dismay and everyone else's delight.

"Anyway," said Tauriel, "were these cribs the reason it took you so long today? I'm not angry about it anymore because you still came, and that's what matters," she added upon seeing Kíli fidgeting a little.

"Well, partially," he answered. "Actually Kíli was finishing with the carvings of the sideboards when Stonehelm came to alert us. I was making these."

He pulled out a small beige bag from his pocket and emptied it on Tauriel's palm. Three small stones that were olive green and blue striped fell out – and Tauriel instantly realised they were rune stones.

"Oh, Kíli–"

"These two are for the girls," Kíli picked out the stones and showed the inscriptions. "The runes mean 'most beloved' and 'greatest treasure'. I didn't want to make the exact same things, considering that while they are twins they're still going to be two different people."

Tauriel hummed. "When did you become so smart?"

Kíli grinned. "Probably around the time I heard you were going to have twins."

They burst into laughter, and Anya made a small protesting noise in her sleep. Aneira didn't react at all. Tauriel stroke Anya's hair in a soothing manner and soon the bairn drifted off again.

"And the third one?"

Kíli turned it around on Tauriel's palm and mumbled that she might be able to recognise the runes. She took a closer look at the stone and frowned as she deciphered the letters. It took her a while but the word they constructed was very familiar to her indeed.

"Amrâlimê."

Tauriel raised her glance to Kíli who had spoken the endearment out loud. The Dwarf prince was smiling as he reached out to stroke Tauriel's braids that he had remade after everyone had left and they had got a moment of peace. Tauriel had fed the twins for the first time and Kíli had braided.

Kíli picked Aneira up from the crib (the girl didn't react at all) and asked, "Let's go outside on the balcony for a while. It's a warm night and I think the girls would like it."

Tauriel chuckled that they were sleeping, but she picked up Anya nonetheless and holding her close to her chest she followed Kíli to the balcony – and let out a gasp.

It was a starlit night, nothing uncommon for a night in the middle of August, but the moon was huge and red-and-gold, just like Kíli had described to her what felt like centuries ago. Never before had she seen a firemoon with her own two eyes and now at last one was on the sky, the same night as her daughters were born.

"It's even more beautiful than what I pictured in my head," Tauriel commented to Kíli.

"I hear some men consider it a bad omen," Kíli told her, "but I can't believe in such statements. How can something so warm and lovely be bad? Nah, I don't think it's an omen at all, just something beautiful that happens every once in a while for reasons we can't understand."

Tauriel laughed, quietly as not to wake up the babies, and leaned in to kiss Kíli. To her this was definitely a good omen. Children born on a day with a starlit night were considered lucky amongst the Elves, and if there also happened to be a full moon the luck only increased, as they were close to Elbereth Gilthoniel. She didn't voice these thoughts aloud but thinking about her daughters she knew she was having the right idea.

Tauriel and Kíli parted from the kiss and went back inside to tuck the twins back to their cribs. It had been a long day to them all and even Tauriel who generally did not need to sleep wanted to do so for the next week through. She settled the rune stone on her nightstand and smiled at it. When Kíli had recovered from the Battle Tauriel had given the stone he'd first given her back to him, so that he could return it to Dís, and truth be told after that Tauriel had felt somehow empty, not having one to carry around in her pocket. It had felt comforting, and now that she had her own she'd have it with her always.

"Kíli?" Tauriel whispered.

"Mmh?" replied the half asleep Dwarf next to her.

"Amrâlimê."

Kíli hummed and tucked his head under Tauriel's chin.

Translations:
Gimlel = star of all stars (Khuzdul)
Meleth nín = my love (Sindarin)
Galu, mellon nín = Good luck, my friend (Sindarin)
Elo! = Wow!/Whoa! (Sindarin)
Mellon = friend (Sindarin)
Mellon nín, ci maer? = My friend, are you well? (Sindarin)
Ni maer, mellon nín. = I am well, my friend (Sindarin)
Amrâlimê = my love (Khuzdul)

Kíli and Tauriel having twin girls was planned. Genderqueer Fíli was not - but it was a pleasant surprise for me and I'll write another fic to this series that explores it more. I haven't decided yet if Fíli is female to male trans or nonbinary or genderfluid or something else, so if you have opinions and/or suggestions concerning the matter, you're more than welcome to tell me ^_^ everything will be considered and taken into account. Also I've planned to go back to the previous part and make Bilbo female to male trans. I'll do that when I have the time.