Running with Love
Chapter Nine- The best things in life- Part II
Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the computer I'm typing on…
Co-written with InsaneGiggles, her incredibly free roaming mind has been quite the source of inspiration. Million thanks.
Chapter summery: What would become of out heroes? Would they find their way back home? Do they even want to?... Stay tuned for the last episode of "Running with Love".
…oo00oo…
The next few weeks rolled by in an easy pace. Harry and Peter easily got into the routine and domestic life in the grand citadel of Minas Tirith. The king and prince took a real shine to them treating them like some young relatives, which was fine by Harry and Peter, at least as long as Legolas didn't make fun of their relationship. Especially around the breakfast table after a particularly hot night, Legolas never missed the chance to tease them on their sluggish movements and the way they blushed and devoured food as if they didn't see any for days.
The elven prince took it upon himself to teach Harry how to use a bow, to improve his… aim, as he often declared with a little wink that long since stopped embarrassing Harry. His aim has improved, greatly, under the tutelage of the slender elf and it made Harry feel like he had some purpose again, now that he was stranded away from Hogwarts and his magic.
Peter mostly busied himself with learning about the history of Middle Earth, ever the eager student he found the tangle of myths and stories to be like a giant mess of yarn, and it was up to him to sort it out again and put it neatly into a ball. Aragorn, Faramir, Eowyn and Legolas helped him as much as they could each giving him their own people's stories but secretly they all wished that Elrond and Gandalf would hurry up to show up to quench Peter's thirst for knowledge.
About three weeks after Peter and Harry showed up on the doorstep of the citadel a messenger arrived from the main gate to inform the king that the delegation from the Shire has arrived, and Aragorn was thoughtful enough, or amused enough to send a word of it to Peter and Harry. The two hurried to the courtyard where Aragorn and Legolas were already waiting for their guests along with the steward and his wife. Harry wasn't completely sure what to expect as he never actually met any hobbits but Peter was eager to find the truth behind the stories. When the small group arrived Harry looked curiously to see what kind of creatures hobbits might be. He already knew they were small- Halflings, and cheerful but nothing prepared him to the mess that issued once the hobbits saw their old friends. Kisses and hugs were given and received all around and he and Peter shied aside, suddenly feeling out of place but Eowyn, who noticed their discomfort called them forward and introduced the hobbits to them each by name.
There was the solemn, pale looking hobbit who kept his right hand hidden in his pocket that Harry learned was the one who actually went into the fires of Mordor to destroy the One Ring- Frodo was his name. Saviour of his world by a strange string of occurrences, just like me, he mused somewhat bitterly. Sam was the chubby one who constantly had to make sure that everything was alright with Frodo and with his own family- his wife Rosie, who was the only woman in the group and his three little children Elanor, Frodo and Rose. The one who was seemed taken with the fair lady Eowyn was Merry and the littlest hobbit with the widest smile was the notorious Pippin. Accompanying the group was a tall, white bearded wizard in white robes. To Harry he reminded of Dumbledore somewhat- probably the white beard and all that. Harry watched as the old man had a hushed conversation with Aragorn while sending curious glances at him and Peter and he also noticed that Peter seemed torn between owe and dread from the old man. Harry could sense the power radiating from him and knew this was the legendary Gandalf even without being told so.
After pleasantries were exchanged the king invited his guests back into the palace for a spot of dinner, much to the hobbits delight. Peter followed Harry inside, his hand clasp tight in Harry's, he wasn't sure why, but he felt nervous. Gandalf was here, which meant that he could confirm or break their story. Not that Peter was lying about things but he still felt a little uncertain, because he knew without a doubt that if it came to his word against the one of Gandalf he didn't stood a chance. He was rather agitated as he sat down to dinner but soon, under the influence of the great food and the laughter and merry making around the table (it's was the first time, after all, that so many people sat around that table), Peter felt like he was relaxing, almost against his will.
"Where's Gimli?" Legolas asked in an almost worried voice, and the hobbits sniggered,
"He decided to remain in Edoras for a while." Merry said in a highly amused voice, and Sam huffed in disapproval,
"He had a "drinking contest" with king Eomer," He said in his best condemning voice, "And apparently won, thus taking the king for a visit in the Glittering Caves. They should arrive within a week." By the time he finished the table was in various stages of laughter, while Eowyn and Pippin, along with Legolas were positively howling with hilarity.
"Crazy stubborn dwarf." Legolas mused fondly, almost to himself, as the table erupted with stories of crazy stubborn dwarves and horse-masters.
"So, where did you say you come from?" Gandalf's voice carried out throughout the hall and all the occupants of the table hushed and turned to look at Peter and Harry. Peter, as a defence mechanism, promptly blushed, before he swallowed his mouthful with some difficulty,
"Narnia, sir." Gandalf's piercing dark eyes flashed with an emotion Peter couldn't quite place,
"Have you, by any chance, met Jadis?" Peter and Harry exchanged an uneasy look before Harry tentatively asked,
"You mean the white witch?"
"Only when she's naughty." The old wizard replied with a wink and a ripple of amused sniggers passed the table, and Peter had to bite his lip, for the first time feeling some remorse for killing the white witch, Susan would keel over if she saw me now…
"Hum… we, er… defeated her." He said hesitantly, trying to break the news as gently as possible,
"Ah, then you have done what I could not." Gandalf intoned gravely, placing his elbow on the table and cupping his chin in his gnarled hand, a dreamy expression crossing his face, and a wistful sigh shaking his frame "Jadis… What a woman… Our tale was truly a song of ice and fire." Peter had to bite his lip to hold his smile at bay, but not everyone practiced such self-restraint as it seems, "I saw that, young elf," Gandalf said without bothering to turn his head and Legolas rolled his eyes, "And I'll have you know that even an old, nosy wizard has a merit for a love life. So, I take it Aslan has returned?" He finished by turning those smouldering eyes at Peter again,
"Yes. But then he left again." Gandalf rolled his eyes good-naturedly,
"Never trust a feline- that's what I always said."
"When did you ever say that?" Pippin piped from his seat next to Harry, who he used for cover once the old wizard turned to fix him with a stern gaze.
"Do you know Dumbledore?" Harry ventured, now that he had the wizard's attention, sort of,
"Not as intimately as I did Jadis." He replied with a smile and this time everyone could hear Legolas' reaction in the form of a loud snort, which broke the tension in the hall as the entire table, Gandalf included, burst in hearty laughter.
"Tell me your tale." The old wizard prompted and once again Peter and Harry found themselves telling their story. The hobbits were enthralled by the tale, especially Pippin who was eagerly sitting at the edge of his seat. The royal family of Gondor were having a little hushed conversation of their own, complete with little affectionate nips and kisses that didn't much help Peter concentrate on his words. When he was done Gandalf nodded in understanding, obviously already trying to figure out what is to be done with the two,
"Come, Aragorn, let us retire to the balcony for a little smoke. I have a pouch full of "Old Toby" weed, begging to be lit." Aragorn rose eagerly from his chair to join Gandalf and they retired outside while the others continued their conversation, namely- the hobbits were asking Peter and Harry question after question, their thirst seeming satiated. Peter didn't see Gandalf again for that night, and by the time he and Harry finally stumbled to their bed they dropped into heavy sleep as soon as their head touched the pillow.
As it turned out the hobbits decided to arrive almost a month ahead of time so that they could spend some of it with Aragorn and Legolas before they become too cooped up with their other guests. Those were indeed happy days all around the royal citadel of Minas Tirith. Aragorn and Legolas were reunited with their old time friends and Peter and especially Harry found accomplices for pranks and games. Gandalf spend a lot of time grilling Harry and Peter for any information they could give him on his friends, but he could not confirm or rebut Harry's elven heritage. This would have to wait until Lord Elrond deemed fit to arrive which, according to Aragorn was mere days before the celebrations would open.
Soon people began to arrive; delegations of all the free folk of Middle Earth were making their way to gates of Minas Tirith. First came king Eomer of Rohan along with Gimli to spend a few days with their friends, but once the other nobles showed Eomer had to confine himself to official meetings with the king and prince of Gondor. Aragorn and Legolas were nearly run down with greeting guests and trying to keep political peace amongst them all. That left Harry and Peter to hang about with the hobbits, Gandalf and Gimli much to their pleasure as they soon grew tiered of answering people about what they were doing in Minas Tirith and where they came from. They mostly passed their days in the dining hall or strolling around the gardens. Harry still had to attend his daily bow practice, which seemed to be Legolas' main relive of the day and thus an almost sacred affair, as far as the elf was concerned.
Harry began to feel uneasy, his old shyness rearing its ugly head again. Although no one knew of "The Boy who lived" around Middle Earth he still felt a little overwhelmed with the masses of people around. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits- every last one of the free folk of Middle Earth have sent representatives to celebrate and honour the end of the war. He discovered he much preferred to stay in his room or find refuge in the huge library, the only person he was willing to tolerate the presence of for long was Peter. He also noticed his eating habits somewhat changed but he attributed it to the fact that by sitting next to Pippin during meals he could hardly be blamed for over eating.
Strange visions also started plaguing his dreams, none too specific and never nightmares. He couldn't remember much of them the next day, save for faint childish laughter echoing in his ears when he woke up, it wasn't unpleasant, it was just strange. For the first couple of days he thought it must have been Sam Gamgee's children having a late night playtime since the hobbits' rooms were next to his and Peter's, but a further inspection revealed that Sam and his merry bunch resided in the furthest room. So eventually Harry put it down to over eating- it was a good explanation for almost everything.
As promised Lord Elrond showed up about four days before the grand opening of the festivities, by that time the rest of the guests all managed to perform some sort of alliance with each other and allowed Aragorn and Legolas a little break of "babysitting" noble men. Lord Elrond refused to wait at the gate until a guard was sent up to the castle to fetch his son and thus he met him just as Aragorn came flying into the courtyard, Legolas and the rest hot at his hills as soon as the guard breathlessly panted Elrond's arrival,
"Adar!" Aragorn cried as he flung his arms around the elderly half-elf, Elrond's stern and impressive face broke into a hearty grin and he hugged his son tight,
"Ion nin, it is so good to see you again." The two then turned to Legolas who seemed stressed and grim, he held out his arm and put his hand on Elrond's shoulder, just as the older elf did the same. "Legolas, you look well."
"Thank you sir, so do you." Harry observed the exchange with interest, it seemed that Legolas was a trifle scared of his father-in-low, and that Elrond knew that, and was quite happy making Legolas feeling uncomfortable. Before Legolas had a chance to say something Elrond gazed at the congregated hobbits and a slow grin spread on his face,
"I have brought a little surprise for you." He stepped aside to reveal a tiny, fragile looking hobbit that looked so old and wrinkled, leaning against his staff that Harry wouldn't have been surprised if his name turned out to be Yoda.
"Uncle Bilbo!" Frodo exclaimed in astonishment and the old hobbit chuckled, a sound that reminded Harry of dry parchment rustling more than anything,
"My dear boy!" The hobbits all rushed to greet the famousest hobbit. Harry watched them amused, after all, nothing can beat an enthusiastic hobbit, and they always seemed to be enthusiastic about something. He didn't notice that Aragorn was whispering something in Elrond's ear until the Lord of Rivendell stood right in front of him, looming down curiously over Harry.
"My son tells me that you are a visitor from another world." Harry nodded, swallowing hard. He suddenly appreciated exactly what Legolas must be feeling every time he had to face the elf. "You have most curious eyes."
"Yes, Legolas seem to believe I have some elven blood in me." He answered in a slightly cracking voice,
"Does he now?"
"Adar, could you please exam Harry to see if this might be true?" Harry nearly sighed in relief as the sharp dark eyes turned to Aragorn.
"Of course. Come here, Harry." Instinctively Harry grabbed Peter's hand and dragged him behind before stepping in front of Elrond. The elf lord peered into Harry's eyes closely, before running his hands over his face, shoulders and then torso. Harry gulped as the hands travelling his body seemed to have picked up heat and he tried his best not to move. "Most curious, most curious indeed." Elrond muttered under his breath before acknowledging Harry again, "Have you a bed, lad?" Harry gazed at him wide eyed, and Elrond smiled warmly, "I believe you better lie down to listen to what I have to say." Harry nodded dumbly and led him towards his room, fully aware that everyone else was following with rapt interest.
Harry gingerly lowered himself to the bed, resting his back against the headboard as Elrond ran his hand over his abdomen once more before he turned to look at Harry,
"Tell me, Harry, have you been engaged in any sexual activity?" To Harry's immense horror he could hear the others snicker in a "Hell Yes!" sort of way and gulped before offering Elrond a weak smile,
"Yes, sir." He almost whispered,
"Then I believe I have an answer for you and some news." Harry frowned, and Lord Elrond continued with an amused tone, "It seems that one of your ancestors has wondered into Middle Earth at some point and here she encountered an elf, most likely a Mirkwood elf." At that he gave Legolas a stern look and the young elf blanched and withdrew closer to Aragorn, "They had an affair, resulting in the human female's pregnancy. I can safely say that yes, you do indeed carry within you the mark of elven blood." The others in the room nodded in approval and the hobbits cheered loudly, "As for the news, you are with child." The cheering abruptly stopped and all eyes went from Harry to Elrond, wide and astonished,
"What?" Harry's mind was buzzing so loudly he couldn't even think of what Elrond had said,
"You are pregnant, my child." Harry felt the air suddenly in short supply and started to hyperventilate. How could that be, it's not even biologically possible, his mind protested when he heard a loud thud and looked on the floor to see Peter, white as a sheet and out cold.
"Peter!" Aragorn immediately stooped to examine the unconscious boy,
"He'll be alright, he's just in shock." He told Harry and with the help of Faramir, Peter was soon placed on the bed besides Harry, a cold cloth over his head. Once Harry confirmed Peter was going to live he turned back to Elrond, bursting with questions,
"How did this happen? Why?"
"As to how, I believe you have a better idea than I," Elrond said with a little twinkle in his eye that made Harry blush, "As to why- It was known in the old times that male elves of the Sindarin could produce children. This is a gift that unfortunately was lost or at least unpractised during the last age as the elves stopped reproducing and began to leave Middle Earth. You, who have elven blood in your heritage, must have inherited the ability to yield a child. This is a blessing, my dear boy."
"How long?" Harry whispered, completely mesmerised with the words coming out of Elrond's mouth,
"About three and a half months."
"How is it possible? I don't have a womb!" Harry persisted, hardly believing this could be real. He placed a protecting hand on his stomach without even thinking about it,
"Your body will form a protecting and nourishing barrier around the baby that would keep it safe and provide for it as long as it's in you."
"How will the baby come out?" Pippin stepped forward, always the curious hobbit, while Merry tried to pull him back,
"When the baby will be ready to be born, a birthing channel would form to allow its exit."
"Where?" Elrond suddenly looked uneasy at the little hobbit's question and held for a long moment before admitting,
"I don't know." Harry's eyes grew almost comically wide, having a tiny life growing inside him was a nice thought, all in all, comforting even, having strange openings forming in his body was down right frightening! "There hasn't been a male pregnancy in Middle Earth in over an age." He placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder, "But I promise you, young Harry, that I shall return to Rivendell and search my library for any useful information." Before Harry could ask any of the other questions that were plaguing his mind, Legolas stepped forward and cried out,
"Hold on! How is it possible for Harry to be pregnant? He's only a smidgen elf! What of me? By rights I should have borne a hoard of children by now, Aragorn and I have been at it for ages!" Behind his back Aragorn closed his eyes as if in pain and Gandalf was doing his best to hide his smile behind his beard. Elrond bristled like an angry cat as he rose from the bed and pierced his son-in-low with a menacing glare,
"Ages? How many ages?" Legolas blanched and promptly answered, a little too quickly,
"Five years!" Lord Elrond used all his little tricks to enhance and magnify his appearance in a way that would have put Gandalf to shame,
"You probably do not know of that, but in male pregnancies there is always an element of wishing. Apparently you are not quite ready to share the undoubted charms of my son with someone else yet." He finished in a cold tone before turning to his son, "Ion nin, a private word, please." Aragorn nodded tightly and turned to follow his father out of the room, smiling albeit sadly at the pleading frown on his husband's face.
A long silence stretched after the departure of Elrond and Aragorn until Legolas managed to gather control over himself and turned savagely to Harry,
"Well, now that you have proven to be of elven heritage there really isn't any excuse for your poor aiming! I expect to see you at the archery field after breakfast!" With that he spun around and left the room without waiting for the stunned Harry to reply.
"Don't worry, laddie. He's just upset because of his own traitorous tongue. He'll cool off soon enough." Boomed Gimli, and the tension in the room somewhat lessened.
"Congratulations, Harry!" Merry cried out excitedly and Harry smiled for the first time in what felt like years. He was pregnant, with child; he was going to have a baby! Before Harry found himself practically buried in a heap of hobbits, all laughing and hugging him,
"All this excitement sure worked an appetite in me; I believe a luncheon is in order." Pippin declared and a loud chorus of approving hobbits answered him. They scrambled off of Harry and made their way towards the door, chatting amicably about babies and lunch, carrying the dwarf along with them. When the room was empty and quiet once again, Gandalf approached Harry and sat on the edge of the bed.
"I have a feeling Dumbledore would be especially pleased with the news." Harry gave him a small smile and rubbed his stomach again. His abdomen was still flat and nothing in his appearance gave away his true condition, but Harry felt different.
"I hope that Legolas and Aragorn will be alright." Gandalf gave him an amused chuckle and leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner,
"Don't worry young Harry, Lord Elrond just likes to extract a little extra authority when it comes to his son-in-low. Legolas would have to learn to stand up to him one of these days." The old wizard patted Harry's hand and prepared to get up when Harry suddenly remembered something,
"Oh, damn, I forgot to ask Lord Elrond if he could tell me the baby's sex." He lamented,
"Why don't you find out for yourself?" Harry blinked at Gandalf in confusion, well, he could wait five and a half more months, but he really rather know sooner… "If you are able to conceive through your elvish heritage, I'll wager you got the sight, At least at a limited capacity. You should be able to see your unborn child. Concentrate." He instructed before getting up from the bed, "I better go rescue the poor king." He said with a small wink and Harry smiled.
When the door closed behind Gandalf's back Harry turned to look at Peter, still unconscious next to him. He concentrated on the slow rise and fall of Peter's chest before his curiosity got the better of him and he closed his eyes, letting his body relax and moving his tunic away so he could touch the bare skin of his belly. He concentrated, thinking of the tiny life growing inside him, completely depending on him for food and protection, when suddenly he found himself walking in an alien forest, as far as Harry could tell from his limited acquaintanceship with woods he could defiantly say this was not the forest surrounding the lamppost in Narnia, nor was it the forbidden forest in Hogwarts. Here the trees were huge, their bark was smooth and almost silver, the foliage so green Harry thought it impossible.
He wondered around, gazing curiously at the trees, touching their trunk softly and marveling at the feeling, Mallorn trees was their name, he somehow knew by instinct, even though he never seen them before. The hot sun filtered through the wood canopy, warming the cool air under the trees. Harry walked a short distance when a flash of gold caught his eye and he turned his head to see a little clearing bathed in warm liquid yellow sunlight and in the middle of the clearing stood a little boy. A little boy with soft golden hair and brilliant green eyes. My son, Harry thought in amazement, my Mallen. Harry moved towards the clearing, where the boy stood smiling and waiting for him, his small mouth pink and perfect, so happy, when a loud groan broke Harry's concentration and startled him back to reality.
Harry opened his eyes, briefly wondering where he was and what happened, the only thing clear on his mind was the image of the little boy he saw in the wood. He smiled wistfully and caressed his stomach lovingly when the groan sounded again, this time accompanied with the shifting of the mattress and Harry turned his head to see Peter come to.
"How are you feeling?" Harry asked tentatively, placing a tender hand on Peter's shoulder,
"Like a herd of centaurs is galloping through my brain." He complained and Harry smiled, "What happened?"
"You fainted."
"Really? Why?" Harry worried his lip for a moment, not sure how to broach the subject. While he rapidly came to terms with the fact that he was pregnant and could only feel love and want to protect his child he wasn't entirely sure how Peter might react to the knowledge he was going to be a father at seventeen.
"Peter, there is something I need to tell you, but you have to promise not to flip over." Peter gave him a strange look, and Harry took a deep breath, "I'm pregnant."
"What? How, why… where?" Peter stammered barely coherent in his shock,
"If you're going to ask who, I'll smack you!" Harry warned and Peter chuckled despite of himself, before he calmed a bit, taking a couple of deep breaths,
"How is that possible?"
"Apparently it is for elves, or part elves."
"Oh, that's right, you're part elf! I remember Elrond saying that, just before…" He stopped and turned a brilliant shade of pink,
"You took a tumble." Harry finished for him helpfully and Peter grinned sheepishly.
"It was quite a shock." He cried defensively,
"Yeah, I know!" The two teens looked at each other for a long while not saying a word, Peter was still trying to wrap his mind around the latest development while Harry studied his face intently, watching for any signs of dejection.
"So… What now?" Peter asked slowly, not wanting to upset Harry, from what he remembered of his mother's pregnancies with Ed and Lu, she was the touchiest person alive and any comment would set the water works in motion. He vaguely wondered if pregnant boys had morning sickness and strange food cravings as girls did.
"I don't know." Harry answered part of him glad that Peter didn't say he wanted to get rid of the baby and part of him suddenly scared, once the heavy responsibilities of reality seemed to have dropped heavy on his shoulders. "I don't want to lose him, Peter." He suddenly cried out, hands curling over his stomach again, as if Peter was about to launch and try to harm his precious baby.
"Him? You know it's a him?" Harry nodded vigorously, his eyes shining with excitement as he turned to Peter,
"Well, there is this thing called elven sight and apparently I got some of it and I could see our son, he was walking in a forest of huge trees, looking so cute and happy, he's our Mallen."
"You named him already?"
"No, no, no, Mallen means golden in Sindarin. He looked just like you." Harry answered in a chuckle. "You can name him George for all I care."
"I think we still have some time before we need to figure that one out." Peter said reasonably, trying to crush a sudden wince at the name George. He snuggled close to Harry and place a tender hand on his boyfriend's abdomen, not missing Harry's teary smile as he rubbed slowly, a slow smile spreading on his face.
"So, you're not upset?" Harry whispered and wrapped his arms tightly around Peter,
"Of course not. It's partly my doing I suppose."
"You bet your arse it is!" The two shared a hearty laugh, when Peter suddenly remembered something,
"I suppose we better tell everyone the news then."
"No need," Harry exclaimed happily, "They already know."
The stayed in bed most of that day, Aragorn sent a trey laden with food for them and they lay in bed, eating and talking about things. Inevitably things would be very different from now on. By next morning they got up and about to find the whole city in uproar, as the mark for the celebrations to begin has been given. Soon enough they were caught in the joyous festivities that broke spontaneously all over the place, going from one congregation of merry-making to another, dragged by Pippin and Merry who never missed a good party.
Physically Harry was feeling wonderful, which quite surprised him, as he thought he would spend most of his time bend over the toilet, but apart from mild nausea that Aragorn told him was caused due to over-eating (serves him right for joining the hobbits in all their partying), he didn't suffer much. Peter had become quite an expert at identifying and pinpointing the moment Harry's hormones were about to go wild and usually managed to calm him down before any major tantrums were issued.
The night of the banquet, which was the major event of the celebrations, the throne hall of the citadel was packed full with people, all sitting around long tables, covered in all sorts and ends of food, ale, and wine. The guests were chatting and laughing and the noise seemed to Harry almost deafening. He sat next to Peter, nervously holding his hand under the table while the other rested on his abdomen in the protective gesture that seemed like the most natural thing in the world for him now. His whole body was screaming for escape, and he found he had difficulties breathing. A thin shine of perspiration covered his face and made his body feel clammy.
"Harry, would you help an old wizard to the balcony for a much needed smoke?" Harry turned to look at Gandalf and saw that glinting twinkle in his eye that told Harry that Gandalf knew exactly how he was feeling and nearly wept in relief and gratitude. He followed the wizard outside into the cool air that evaporated the sweat off his brow and chilled the burning in his cheeks. "You seemed a little ill there."
"It's having so many people around, I suppose. I was never too good at dealing with masses." Harry answered as he filled his lungs with refreshing gulps of air, feeling as if he didn't have a proper breather in ages.
"What would you do now?" Gandalf asked as he leaned against the rail, watching over the plain and fingering his pipe in longing but not lighting it because of the pregnant teen next to him.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you planning to return to Hogwarts?" Harry looked down at his hands; it was time to face the questions both he and Peter have been avoiding so far.
"I don't know if we can." He admitted quietly,
"Why ever not?"
"Could you send us back?" Gandalf took a long time to weigh his answer,
"I can."
"What about the baby?" Harry asked in ill-masked concern, looking up at the tall man,
"Are you planning to leave your son behind?" Harry looked startled at the very notion,
"Of course not!"
"This child is a part of you, it would always be. You are his parents, you and Peter and wherever you choose to go, you are more than expected to take him with you." Harry chewed his lip in thought, well, that answered one concern he had.
"I think," He began slowly, "That we shall stay here, at least until the baby is born. I still Lord Elrond's help with the birth and all that."
"A wise decision." Gandalf agreed and then looked wistfully at his pipe again. "Well, young Harry, I believe I shall leave you to it, and go find myself a quiet place to smoke." With a little apologetic smile the wizard disappeared back into the hall and Harry was left alone to muse. He ran a hand down his front for the who-knows-how-many time that evening. Although his stomach was still quite flat he was already starting to feel it rounding up. He smiled and suddenly felt very impatient for the pregnancy to develop, he simply couldn't wait to start showing. He envisioned himself walking proudly all around the citadel, his stance beaming with pride. He wanted to feel his child moving inside him, making himself known. Throughout the last couple of days, ever since he discovered the truth, this baby was his source of solace and peace of mind.
This was real, this was what he'd been waiting for all his life, the kind of feeling he never thought he'd know. The desire to take care of someone else, to give the kind of unconditional love and care to someone who's totally depending on you. Harry figured he had that when his parents were still alive but of course he was too young to remember any of it, but here he had a chance to rectify things, to turn a new leaf and give everything he could ever give to this child, his child- His and Peter's. This child is going to be so loved and spoiled, he thought with a smile.
"Harry, Harry!" Harry woke from his reverie in a slight daze and turned to see Peter standing near the doorway, looking a little worried. Harry smiled and reached his hand for his boyfriend and Peter came forward, wrapping Harry soundly in his arms. The young couple gazed over the plain together, Peter's fingers entwined with Harry's over his belly. Neither of them spoke for a while. Decisions would have to be made at some point, not too far along into the future but tonight there were only them and their unborn child to hold and love.
A/N: "A song of ice and fire" is a series of books by George R.R. Martin.
This story is not trying to advocate or legitimise teen pregnancies. So next time you're having sex with someone, make sure he's not a part elf!
Sindarin to English Quicktionary:
(Translations are curtsey of Love.
Adar- Father.
Ion Nin- my son.
Mallen- Golden.
Meleth- Love.
YES!!!! IT'S OVER, IT'S DONE! AT LONG, LONG LAST!!!
I want to thank you all for sticking with me for so long and not losing your faith. Thank you InsaneGiggles for the great ideas and the encouragement to write this fic, stitchpotter626 for the inspiration and the rest of you for reading and reviewing.