Epilogue

"She doesn't have a beard," said Gloin.

"Do you think she'll ever grow it?" asked Ori.

Oin barked in laughter.

"Of course she won't, you little fool! Have you seen her mother?" this time Bifur spoke, eyeing the rest of his comrades like they were children and he was the only grown up with common sense.

"She's hairless!" protested Dori.

"But it's not entirely her fault. Have you seen her father? The lad is almost hairless himself, for a dwarf that is…" Bofur came forward and let the little baby hold on to one of his fingers as he talked.

Dwalin nodded, getting closer. "And she's really pretty; none of us ever looked this sweet."

"Who said something about sweets? You got any?" Bombur, who seemed to be paying attention to everything but the conversation that was being held around him, spoke for the first time and earned some furious looks as a response to his previous comment.

"Just one and that is the baby. Doubt you want to eat her," Balin smiled at Bombur, then patted his back and showed him all the sympathy he could muster in said gesture.

"Where is Nori?" asked Dori.

"He went along with Thorin and Kili to Dale, I believe…" Gloin's answer faded as he leaned forward into the crib to get a better look of the baby.

"What? What could possibly be Nori's business in Dale?" Ori asked timidly, as if he were worried of waking up the little girl.

Bifur eyed him suspiciously. "For Durin's beard! Why do you talk so low? Babe's not even sleeping!" he pointed out.

Ori knit his brows together, clearly annoyed. "She might be if you weren't talking like we're miles away from each other!"

The sound of a door being pushed open interrupted their conversation, in came the three missing dwarves.

"Now, now, gentlemen. I remember saying you were welcome to greet my daughter, crowding her was not part of the deal," Kili smiled as he approached the other dwarves, who were paralyzed on the spot. All of them were around the crib, if not all over it. His friends made way for him and Kili stood next to the crib, watching his daughter stare right back at him.

Balin came forward and put his arm around Kili's shoulders.

"Tell us, son, what's the name of this little girl?"

Thorin, who'd been silent all along, finally spoke.

"If you truly seek the answer to that question then perhaps you should wait for her mother to come over, Kili here has trouble explaining…" Thorin earned a hurt look from his nephew he recognized to be false, so instead of making another remark, he just winked his eye at him.

Balin smiled knowingly and nodded.

"Then it's an Elven name, isn't it?" guessed Bifur.

"Yes, yes it is…" Kili sighed.

Five minutes later Tauriel walked in only to be greeted by Thorin Oakenshield's company. They all stared at her in silence and Tauriel smiled, trying to ignore the tension that thickened with every passing second. She thanked the Valar Kili came to her aid and immediately requested her to tell his friends the name of their daughter.

This time she smiled with pride.

"Her name is Caraniêl."

To say they were flummoxed wouldn't suffice.

"Does it mean anything?" Oin seemed to be the most troubled one.

Kili took the baby in his arms and rocked her gently, swaying like the soothing tide of the Anduin River.

"Red Star. That's the meaning in common tongue; otherwise her name's in Sindarin…" Kili explained more to the girl in his arms than his companions. Tauriel admired how easily he could get lost in her, and it made her love him more every single day.

Red for the Moon that was burning like our passion and Star for the time Kili thought I walked in starlight, in another world.

She'll shine forever, and burn everyone she meets with the love that runs in her veins.

After some more chatter Thorin asked the dwarves to leave Tauriel and Kili be with their daughter, when they left the two of them felt like they could breathe again. It didn't matter the other dwarves seemed to have forgiven Tauriel for keeping them locked in Mirkwood years ago, their situation was awkward at best. They tried for Kili's sake and were slowly making progress, every now and then she'd become more interested in the world of mining and they, for a change, would ask her to tell the stories of old… If the mood was right, then they'd ask about her people's traditions.

"It's scary…" Kili whispered, sitting down on a bench that was placed next to a big window, still the landscape outside was outshined by the beauty of Caraniêl and he didn't dare take his eyes off the girl "how much she resembles you," he continued "she barely has hair but you can tell she'll have your red-flamed hair. And don't get me started on her pointy ears; they're so small and pretty…"

Tauriel walked to sit right next to him, her eyes on the girl too.

"But she has your eyes, the same heart-warming shade of brown."

"I wish Fili was here to see her, I'm sure he would've loved her."

Her eyes watered. "And I'm sure he's watching," Tauriel always told him that, and she truly believed in her words "she would've loved him too."

After some minutes in utter silence, Kili tore his eyes away from Caraniêl and looked up at Tauriel, then he smirked.

"What do you think her height will be? That's the real question, don't you think?"

Tauriel laughed.

"Perhaps taller than you but shorter than me, does it really matter?"

"It doesn't. Regardless of her physical appearance she's beautiful, and most importantly, she's ours." Kili kissed the tiny forehead once he finished talking.

Tauriel never thought she could be so happy; not when she'd been so close to remain miserable for the rest of her life. She wouldn't ever stop thanking Ilúvatar and the Valar, and now more than ever she would look after her family. So she leaned in and kissed him, she let herself linger in the kiss for a few seconds before pulling away with a wide smile on her face.

And faraway from Erebor, in the sacred lands of the Valar, Aulë watched with happiness the scene that played in that room, he could feel the love, that love that had travelled in time and all the distance across Arda to reach him as an almost physical entity.

It was meant to be.

Kili and Tauriel were always meant to be.

The end.

A/N: Well, I fell in love with this idea and that's why I felt like writing it... Now that it's over I don't know what to do. Had I been able to write more chapters, trust me, I would have done it; but my mind said it was time to let it go.

THANK YOU ALL SO VERY, VERY MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS! They meant (and mean) a lot! They do.

I hope you liked the epilogue! And I also hope you'll review one last time :)

Let my love travel the globe and reach you, for this is goodbye (at least for now). We'll read each other soon!