"Haldir?"
Opening his eyes slightly, Haldir squinted in the darkness. Though his mind was cloudy from his dreams, he knew it was his mother who was calling to him - anyone else entering the room would have brought a candle. As the joke had gone over the past few months, he and Galadriel had been roommates. He could not get comfort with his back from sleeping on the bed and so took to the couch, while his mother, heavy with her pregnancy, was resigned to resting in the rocker ever since the little one had begun to explore the possibilities of leaving her small home and had dropped down a bit a month prior.
The first thought was that she would be born early, but when she was not, it was only a matter of a few days before extra help had gathered, staying at the house 'just in case'. Among the newly assembled midwives was Thranduil, who had said he was merely there make sure that there was no panic in the house, but he had actually retrieved a great number of things Galadriel requested during the month. Once, Orophin swore he saw the past King of Mirkwood massaging his mother's feet and singing a lullaby to the unborn babe, but none of his siblings believed him.
"Haldir?"
"What?"
"Shhh!" hissed Galadriel.
"What?" Haldir was sitting up now, blinking and rubbing at his eyes. He realized that there was no familiar sound of the rocking chair, and looked up to see her sitting very still. "What's wrong?"
Galadriel breathed in sharply and grasped the arms of the chair. "Where is that book?"
Blinking once more, Haldir's eyes widened and he scrambled to the table. "Here, right here, should I get Ada?"
"No, all he did was panic when Celebrian was born," she mumbled.
"I'll wake Elrond," he amended, but as he passed, his mother reached out and took hold of his arm.
"Don't you dare!" she scolded him. "There is no way I want Elrond to see me like this. Go and get a blanket and-"
Haldir bit his bottom lip as he felt her nails dig into his wrist. She winced and shifted a little, and so he stood waiting for her command. "What?" he finally asked.
"Get Thranduil."
"What?!"
"Get-"
"Artanis." The tall elf stepped into the room. "I am here. What do you need?" When she didn't respond, scrunching up her face and clenching her teeth, he took charge. "Haldir, rekindle the fireplace, and then I want you to find three or four light blankets and some smaller cloths, nothing fancy. And a pitcher of cool water from the well." He knelt down beside Galadriel, taking her hand gently from her son's arm and into his hand. When Haldir turned from his work at the fire to see the skin on Thranduil's hand where his mother's fingers held it turning white while the elf did not flinch, he somehow gained a great deal more respect for him.
Thranduil watched Haldir gather the blankets from the back of the couch, waiting for calm to come briefly to Galadriel. "Where do you want to be?" he asked finally.
"Down by the sea," she pleaded. "Please, take me there."
Shaking his head, Thranduil stood up and then bent over, sliding his arms under her knees and behind her back. "I do not think that wise."
"But I want-"
"I know what you want," he said, his voice hushed and soothing. "Haldir, meet us in the garden," he said as he left the room.
Once he had gathered up the necessary items, Haldir silently left the house for the garden. In a corner, in a semi-fenced area surrounded by vines, was a moderately sized pond filled with cool, glistening water. At the moment, however, his mother was actually in the pond, and Thranduil's legs dangled over the side of it, boots gone and leggings shoved up to his knees. Pulling the bench as close as he could, Haldir set the pile he had carried out onto it and then knelt between the bench and Thranduil.
Motioning for one of the cloths, Thranduil took it from Haldir when he handed it to him and dipped it into the water. "By my reckoning, you have three hours, my dear, and after that, the sun rises," he said, half mocking. Galadriel laughed weakly as Thranduil dabbed her forehead with the cool water. "Haldir's here," he added, cooling off the cloth again.
Haldir reached over and took the hand she stretched out to him, coming to the sudden realization that though the light was dim and he could not be entirely sure, she was not wearing a stitch of clothing. While this should have perhaps seemed odd, it didn't. It actually seemed to be natural. "Whatever you need, let me know," he said.
"Just stay here for me, little one," she told him. She squeezed his hand again, and apologized afterwards.
"No, Nana, squeeze as hard as you want. It makes up for all the times I nearly pinched your fingers off when I would scrape myself and you'd have to bandage it," said Haldir. He looked to Thranduil, who had gone to the bench and was meticulously rearranging the items. "You've done this before," guessed Haldir as the older elf sat again.
Thranduil nodded. "Birth is a natural thing. You don't need a 'healer' for it, pardon my saying. If all goes well, the mother needs only encouragement and support. Not an excitable Peredhel jumping around with books and... things..."
"Were you there when Legolas was born?" asked Haldir, the conversation helping to keep his mind off of the dull pain in his hand. Again, Thranduil nodded.
"I was there for both of my sons. I am not afraid to admit, those were the two scariest times in my entire life. Ilmendin's birth was frightening; I was quite young at the time. Avisiel hardly trusted anyone, so when the time came, she refused to have anyone else in the room. I knew nothing; twice I had to run to the door to ask my father a question. But in the end, everything was just right and that night I stayed up into the morning, my wife beside me and my son cradled in my arm."
"Wow." Haldir traded his right hand with his left. "That's incredible."
"It is. I hope one day you experience it. I could not begin to describe it to you," said Thranduil as he rung out the cloth and held it to Galadriel's forehead. "How are you doing?" he asked.
Opening her eyes, she looked up and nodded. "Just another few minutes." Thranduil returned the nod, pulling a small leather case from his pocket.
"Haldir, take this inside to the fire and sear the blade, then bring it back. Not for too long, it just needs to be clean."
Taking the case, Haldir snuck back into the house and did as he was told, returning to find his mother was repositioned up on a bit of a ledge. "Soon, now," confirmed Thranduil. "Less than an hour, this is going very well. You're doing well, and I'm sure she's going to be just fine." Looking to Haldir, Thranduil said, "Cool it in the pitcher of water, and then hold fast to it or you'll need to clean it again, and I don't think we've the time for it now."
Patiently, Haldir held onto the small knife, but nothing more seemed to be happening. "I feel like I'm being watched," Galadriel finally managed with a faint smile. Haldir looked immediately to the ground, but Thranduil continued to cool her face with the cloth.
"You wondered about Legolas," Thranduil said after another few minutes. "He was a difficult case." Thranduil's voice took on an unusual tone. "I nearly thought we were going to lose him, and Avisiel." Closing his eyes, he continued. "Everything seemed to be going so well, except that she wasn't gaining weight quite the same way as she had for Ilmendin. When a year came, she still looked so thin, and on the night of his birth, I realized too late that he was not on his head as he should have been, but was upright. What's more, it was happening too fast, his foot began to come out, and Avisiel cried out that he was struck, that he was being strangled. I prayed in my mind to anyone I could think of. I pleaded with Eru," he said, his eyes opening and a single tear falling down his cheek. "I begged him to help me."
Thranduil paused as another rogue drop slid down the other side of his face, wiping them away with the back of his hand. "Bloodshed in battle is a horrid thing, but when it's something like what I saw, one I loved so dearly hurting so much... I would have given anything for it to have been me and not her. But somehow, and I can only imagine how," he added, looking up to the fading stars, "against the odds, he was born, and Avisiel survived. There isn't a day," he added, wiping his face again, "that I don't thank HIM for those three miracles I was given."
"Legolas was the tiniest elfling I ever saw, but he had ten toes, and ten fingers, two arms, two legs, a good head on his shoulders, and a perfect set of lungs. I swear, he cried for months and months. And I told him to just go ahead and scream as loud and as long as he wanted to, I could handle that. And he did," Thranduil chuckled to himself. "It's a fascinating thing, one I hope you have the chance to experience one day as a father."
"Maybe we should get Ada," Haldir said, but Galadriel shook her head adamantly.
"When I was in labor with Celebrian, he asked if there were herbs to ease the pain. I told him I needed none and he replied, 'Not for you!' Twice, I expected him to faint. He was half drunk by the time I was holding her." Galadriel frowned then. "Although, I do suppose he would want to be here. Maybe-"
"No time for that now." Thranduil pointed to the blankets. "I need that small one, yes, that's it," he said, entering the water. "Now, watch carefully and do as I ask, if you would be so kind. A most amazing thing is about to happen."
- - -
"I missed it?" Orophin huffed his way across the kitchen. "I missed it! I missed the WHOLE thing. All of the good parts!" he whined. "Haldir got to be there, he always gets to be there."
Haldir sat in the corner of the kitchen, rocking the sleeping elfling in his arms. "Hush, Oro, you'll wake the baby."
"Oh, there she is!" exclaimed Nenniach in a soft voice. "Oh, I want to hold her!"
"Get in line," advised Rumil, pointing out the row that had formed. "And watch out for that one," he said, acknowledging Celeborn. "He keeps thinking he has the right to skip the rest of us."
In the parlor, two elves sat bundled in blankets by the fire, one drinking coffee and the other leaning against him. "You may not get to see your daughter until she's ten at this rate," said Thranduil, watching the fire.
"Fine by me," Galadriel said. "It's been a year since I've had a decent nap." She closed her eyes and snuggled closer to him, and then suddenly craned her neck and kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she said as she leaned her head back on his shoulder.
"No need," he said modestly. "I enjoy it, or I would not have offered." Kissing the top of her head, he said simply, "I love you."
Galadriel drew back in shock. "What?"
"You heard me. Don't look so surprised." He tucked her back next to him. "Oh, not like that, you're as bad as your sons."
Blushing, Galadriel relaxed. After a few minutes she sat up again and gave Thranduil another kiss on the cheek. "Love you, too. Don't particularly agree with you sometimes, but... you're a good elf." Looking over her shoulder, she said, "We, uh... let's not..."
Chuckling, Thranduil pulled her back to lean against him comfortably. "Your secret's safe with me," he promised as he sipped his coffee.
